The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.

The New York Times
Current History
July 1918

TABLE OF CONTENTS AND INDEX

Volume VIII.

[SECOND PART]

July-September, 1918

Pages 1-570

[Titles of articles appear in italics]

A
AERONAUTICS,
"Aerial Record," [51];
"The War in the Air," [80];
hospitals bombed, [83];
Lufbery's last fight, [85];
Richthofen's death, [85];
list of German aviators killed, [86];
ingenious devices for sending propaganda to the enemy, 198;
German giant airplane described, 201;
casualties from bombing of hospitals, 204;
"War in the Air," 439;
number of enemy machines brought down during year ended June 30, 439;
Allies' activities during period ending Aug. 15, 439;
allied raids on German cities, 439.
See also PROGRESS of the War, [51], 223, 436.
AIMS of the War,
defined by Emperor of Germany,[36];
stated by Pres. Wilson, July 4 at Mount Vernon, 191;
reply of Austrian Foreign Minister, 194;
Chancellor von Hertling's reply in Reichstag, 311;
Viscount Milner speaks of German domination over her allies, 313;
Count Burian replies, 313.
See also
CAUSES of the War;
Peace.
AIRPLANES, see AERONAUTICS.
ALBANIA,
"Albanian and Slav," 201.
ALIEN Enemies, see ENEMY Aliens.
Allied Man Power Compared with That of Central Allies, [75].
ALMEREYDA, editor of "Bonnet Rouge,"
dies mysteriously in prison, 198.
Alsace-Lorraine: Its Relation to France, 308.
American Invasion of England, 433.
American Offensive a Success. First, [57].
American Soldiers in Action, [55].
Americans, Premier Lloyd George Lauds, [148].
Americans on the Battlefront, 226.
Americans' Defense of Chateau-Thierry, [62].
America's Answer, (poem,) [144].
America's Army, No Size Limit to, [70].
America's First Anniversary in France, [78].
America's First Field Army, 429.
Anniversary of the War, Fourth, 529.
ANNUNZIO, Gabriele d', 440.
ARMENIA,
Turkish invasion under Brest-Litovsk Treaty, [131].
ARMIES,
"Armies Under Foreign Generals," [2];
allied war power compared with that of Central Allies, [75].
See also under names of countries.
ASPHYXIATING Gas, see GAS Warfare.
ASQUITH, Herbert H.;
"Final Phases of the War," 301;
"President Wilson and the League of Nations," 511;
address on occasion of silver wedding anniversary of King George, 532.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY,
"New Austro-German Alliance." [91];
"Austrians at Grips with Italians," [33];
Austria's leaders accept Germany's policy, 513.
See also
CAMPAIGN on Austro-Italian Border;
JUGOSLAVIA;
PROGRESS of the War, [53].
Austria's Disastrous Offensive, 218.
B
BAKER, (Sec.) Newton D.,
"America's War Effort," 229.
BALFOUR, Arthur J.,
"The Basis of Peace"; "Belgium as a Pawn," 516.
BALKAN States, see
CAMPAIGNS in Balkan States;
CZECHOSLOVAKS;
JUGOSLAVIA, and under names of States.
BARRES, Maurice,
"Fraternity of English and French," 533.
BASTILE, History of, 200.
BASTILE Day
in the United States, 244;
"Fraternity of English and French," 533.
Battle, A, Seen from Above, [54].
BATTLES, see
CAMPAIGNS,
NAVAL Operations.
BEGBIE, Harold,
"The Living Line," (poem,) [149].
BELGIUM,
"Belgium as a Pawn," 312, 516;
Belgian courts superseded, 323;
"Belgium Under the Iron Heel," 519;
zinc coins issued, [87];
"Saving Belgium from Starvation," 521;
Germans seize church bells and organ pipes, 344.
Belleau Wood, Capture of, [65].
BENNETT, Arnold,
"A Peace League of Nations," 355.
BERG, (Lieut.) von,
German official army report, 243.
Bessarabia, Rumania and, 326.
Bessarabia's Historical Background, 328.
BIDDLE (Gen.), 336.
Bombing Hospitals, 330.
BONNET Rouge,
proprietor and staff tried for treason, 198.
BORAH (Sen.),
criticises America's inaction with regard to Russia, 260.
BORDEN, Sir Robert,
"Canada's War Achievements," 306.
Boycotting Germany, 545.
BRIDGE, Admiral Sir Cyprian,
reviews debatable phases of Battle of Jutland, [152].
Britain's Imperial Hopes Realized, 299.
BRYCE (Viscount),
"England and the War's Causes," [162];
speech at Fourth of July celebration, 336.
BUCHAREST, Treaty, see
PEACE—Rumanian Separate Peace.
BUCHET, Marguerite,
"Agony of the City of Lille," 281, 456.
BULLARD, (Maj. Gen.) R. L., 243.
BUNDY, (Maj. Gen.) Omar, 243.
BURIAN (Baron),
reply to American war aims, 194;
replies to Viscount Milner's reference to German domination over her allies, 313.
BURR, Amelia Josephine,
"Pershing at the Tomb of Lafayette," (poem,) 329.
C
CAINE, (Sir) Hall,
"The World's Independence Day," 342.
CALDWELL, Charles Pope,
"War Record of the United States," [73].
CAMMAERTS, Emile,
"Another Cross for Belgium to Bear," 344.
CAMPAIGN in Asia Minor—
Anglo-Indian advance blocked by Turks, [15].
See also PROGRESS of the War, [51].
CAMPAIGN on Austro-Italian border,
"The Austrian Defeat on the Piave," 463;
unsuccessful Austrian offensive in Piave region, [13];
"Austrians at grips with Italians, [33];
"Along the Piave," 210;
"Austria's Disastrous Offensive," 218.
See also PROGRESS of the War, [51], 436.
CAMPAIGN in Balkan States,
Greeks take 1,500 Bulgar-German troops in Macedonia, [15];
Allies' success, 211.
See also PROGRESS of the War, [51], 223, 436.
CAMPAIGN in Eastern Europe,
allied troops guard Murman coast, 252;
Czechoslovak Army fight Bolshevists in Siberia and Volga region, 253.
CAMPAIGN in Western Europe,
review of month's fighting, [1], [ 9];
Germans cross the Aisne, [9];
second battle of the Marne, [10], [12];
description by Geo. H. Perris, [17];
"The German Offensive," [17];
"The Turning Point of the Battle," [28];
description of the French counterblow, [30];
"End of the Fourth Phase," [32];
Petain's tactics by W. Duranty, [32];
"A German View of Germany's Effort," [35];
"A Battle Seen from Above," [54];
American soldiers in action in Champagne and Picardy, [55];
capture of Cantigny by Americans, [57];
"First American Offensive a Success," [57];
"Americans' Defense of Chateau-Thierry," [62];
"Capture of Belleau Wood," [65];
"The War in the Air," [80];
hospitals bombed, [83];
Americans advance northwest of Chateau-Thierry,
take Vaux and Belleau Wood, 197;
Australians and Americans take Hamel, 197;
French drive back Germans near Rheims, 197;
"Allied Successes on Three Fronts," 205;
American troops check German advance between
Chateau-Thierry and Jaulgonne, 213;
beginning of the allied offensive, 216;
"Americans on the Battlefront," 226;
"Taking the Village of Vaux," 233;
"Thorough American Work at Vaux," 235;
"The Advance at Hamel," 237;
"Agony of the City of Lille," 281, 456;
"Nieuport, City of Desolation," 286;
German offensive, [17];
enemy offensive in its fifth phase defeated on the Marne, 389;
America's part in second battle of the Marne described, 398;
account of the strategical plan which won the
second battle of the Marne, 414;
"How Foch Outgeneraled the Germans," 416;
German gains claimed, 425.
See also Progress of the War, [50], 221, 435.
CANADA,
war finance in Canada, [72];
war achievements, 306.
CANADA'S Four Years of War Effort, 451.
CANBY (Prof.), 336.
CARRE, (Dr.) P.,
"Chemists and Chemistry in the War," 294.
CASUALTIES,
Chaplains on service, [8];
losses due to bombing of British hospitals in France, [83];
list of German aviators killed, [86];
casualties of belligerents during four years, 279;
losses from bombing of hospitals, 204;
estimate of German losses on western front, 389;
summary of American losses to Aug. 16, 431;
losses from air raids on Paris, 441.
See also PRISONERS of War.
CAUCASUS Region, see ARMENIA.
CAUSES of the War,
Prince Lichnowsky's memorandum, [162];
Lord Haldane's report of his conciliatory mission to
Germany in 1912, [166];
"Albanian and Slav," 201,
Dr. Wm. Muehlon lays responsibility for the war on
German Government, 547.
See also AIMS of the War.
Cavalry in Recent Battles, 387.
CENTRAL Powers,
"Austria's Leaders Accept Germany's Policy," 513;
man power of, compared with that of the Allies, [75].
See also
AUSTRIA—HUNGARY;
GERMANY.
CECIL, (Lord) Robert,
views on an economic league of nations, 297.
CHATEAU-THIERRY,
historical sketch, [6].
See also CAMPAIGN in Western Europe.
Chemists and Chemistry in the War, 294.
CHELMSFORD, Baron, 204.
CHINA,
Chinese-Japanese military alliance, 498.
CHURCHILL, Winston Spencer,
speech at Fourth of July celebration, 336;
"American Independence Day," 535.
CLEMENCEAU (Premier),
text of speech of defiance to Socialist pacifists, 307;
"Clemenceau's Defiance of Obstructors," [149].
CIOTORI, D. N.,
"Bessarabia's Historical Background," 328.
COLLEGE graduates in United States service, 203.
COMMERCE,
"American Exports Versus the U-boats," [45];
"An Economic League of Nations to Govern Trade After the War," 297;
"Trade After the War," [160];
world movement against German trade, 545.
See also SHIPPING.
COMMUNIST Party, see RUSSIA—Bolsheviki.
COMPIÉGNE,
historical sketch, [6].
See also CAMPAIGN in Western Europe.
Constantine's Treachery, 504.
COST of the War,
public debts of chief belligerent powers, 277.
See also FINANCES under names of countries.
COSTA RICA
declares war on Germany, [8].
Current History Chronicled, [1], 191, 381.
CURZON, Earl,
on League of Nations, 352.
CZECHOSLOVAK Nation,
Austria-Hungary denounces British recognition, 386.
CZECHOSLOVAKS,
role in Russian affairs, 265;
allied assistance, 465;
recognized as a nation, 489;
Czechoslovaks of Bohemia and Moravia, 491.
See also PROGRESS of the War—Russia, 437.
CZERNIN von Chudenitz, (Count) Ottokar,
"Austria's Leaders Accept Germany's Policy," 513.
D
DALY, John,
"A Toast to the Flag," (poem,) 360.
Death Knell of Empire, 353.
DECORATIONS and honors,
distinguished service crosses, awarded to 100 Americans, 242;
Gen. Petain receives Military Medal, 382;
Gen. Foch becomes Marshal of France, 382;
conferring of foreign decorations on Americans, 383;
Legion of Honor conferred on Lieut. Nungesser, 442.
DEGOUTTE (Gen.),
sketch of career, 384.
DESCHANEL, Paul,
"American Ideals in the War," 543.
DISTINGUISHED Service Crosses,
see DECORATIONS.
DOBRUDJA,
see PEACE—Rumanian Separate Peace.
DRUNKENNESS,
reduced in England, [3].
DUBOST, Anthonin,
"What America Gives and Gains," 542.

DURANTY, Walter,
"The Turning Point of the Battle," [28];
Petain's masterly tactics, [32];
"How Foch Outgeneraled the Germans," 416.
DUVAL, Emile,
proprietor of Bonnet Rouge, shot for treason, 198.
E
EDDY, Sherwood,
"Poison Gas in Warfare," 291.
"ENEMY Aliens in the United States," 249;
property of, 250;
"Rumely Propaganda Case," 251.
England and the War's Causes, [162].
ENGLAND:—
Achievements 1914-1918 reviewed by Premier Lloyd George, 505.
Anniversary of the war, Fourth, 529.
Army, Irish volunteers, 1914-1917, [8].
Drunkenness reduced in, [3].
Finances, new vote of credit given, [8];
war pensions, 203.
"France's Tribute to Great Britain," [77].
Germany, Relations with,
Lord Haldane's official report of his conciliatory mission
prior to the war, [166];
Prince Lichnowsky's memorandum, [162];
"England and the War's Causes;" Prince Lichnowsky's memorandum, [162];
Lord Haldane's report of his conciliatory mission of 1912, [166];
British official statement issued in 1915, [169].
Exchanging Thousands of Prisoners, [94].
F
FERDINAND, (King) of Rumania,
accepts terms of treaty of Bucharest, 321.
Final Phases of the War, 301.
FINANCES, public debts of chief belligerent powers, 277.
See also under names of countries.
FINLAND,
proposed constitution, 265;
German influence, 264.
See also PROGRESS of the War, [53].
Flame Throwers, 397.
FOCH, (Gen.) Ferdinand,
receives Marshal's baton, 382;
his use of cavalry, 387.
FOODSTUFFS:—
Belgium, "Saving Belgium from Starvation," 521.
Canada's contribution, 307.
England, [7].
Ireland's food shipments to England, [90].
United States, "How America Has Fed the Allies," 450.
United States assistance to Allies, 387.
FOURTH of July,
worldwide celebration, 335;
"The World's Independence Day," 342;
addresses and papers, Cherioux Adolphe, 541;
Churchill, Winston Spencer, 535;
London Times editor, 538;
London Telegraph editor, 539;
Dubost, Anthonin, 543;
address and papers, Deschanel, Paul, 543.
FRANCE—
Premier Clemenceau receives vote of confidence, [149];
Bastile Day greeting received from Pres. Wilson, 245;
"Reconstructing the Life of France," 286;
"Alsace-Lorraine: Its Relation to France," 308.
See also CAMPAIGN in Western Europe.
Fraternity of English and French, 533.
French Armies at Close Range, 414.
G
GALEAZZI, (Prof.) Riccardo,
"Rebuilding Disabled Soldiers," [101].
GALSWORTHY, John,
"The Soldier Speaks," (poem), [79].
GAS Warfare,
sneezing powder in gas attacks, [102];
"Poison Gas in Warfare," 291;
gas masks for horses. 290;
U-boat makes mustard gas attack off North Carolina, 448.
GASES, asphyxiating and poisonous, see GAS Warfare.
GEORGE V., (King of England,)
reviews American troops in London, [69];
Paris renames street in honor of, 204;
attends fourth anniversary of the war ceremonies at
St. Margaret's, Westminster, 529;
congratulatory address on occasion of silver wedding delivered by
Premier Lloyd George, and H. H. Asquith, 532, 248.
German Aims and Servile States, 313.
German Official View of the Americans, 243.
Germany and Great Britain in 1912, [166].
GERMANY:—
Army,
text of order for fraternization on Italian front, [ 16];
estimate of losses on the western front, 389.
Austria-Hungary, Relations with,
"New Austro-German Alliance," [91].
Commerce,
world movement against German trade, 545.
Demoralization and crime in England;
Relations with, see
ENGLAND.
England, Relations with;
ENGLAND—Germany, Relations with.
Finances,
"Germany's Debt and Credit," 460.
Foreign relations,
von Kuhlmann's summary of war situation, 315;
criticised by Count Westarp, 318;
by Socialist leaders, 319;
Germany's financial burden, 550.
Infant welfare in, [7].
Population declining, [4].
Russia, relations with;
German Ambassador at Moscow assassinated, 258;
German intervention in Russia, 262.
South American States, relations with, [8].
See also CENTRAL Allies.
Germany's Control of the Danube, 324.
"Germany's First Great Defeat," 389.
GIBBS, Philip,
"The Advance at Hamel," 237.
GOURAUD (Gen.), 385.
Great Britain's War Record, 505.
GREECE,
"Constantine's Treachery," 504.
GREY of Falloden (Viscount),
"A League of Nations," 345.
H
HALDANE (Lord),
official report of his conciliatory mission to
Germany prior to the war, [166].
Hamel, The Advance at, 237.
HAMEL,
see CAMPAIGN in Western Europe.
HELSINGFORS, [8].
HENDERSON, Daniel M.,
"The Road to France," (poem,) 534.
HEROES, Pershing (Gen.)
cites many Americans for special acts of bravery, 241.
See DECORATIONS and Honors.
Heroic American Deeds, 239.
HERTLING, (Chancellor) George F. von,
outlines German official view on peace, 311.
HINTZE, (Admiral) von,
appointed German Foreign Secretary, 312.
HONORS, Military,
see Decorations and Honors.
HOOVER, Herbert C.,
"How America Has Fed the Allies," 450.
HORVATH, Gen.,
declares himself dictator in East Siberia, 199, 254.
HOSPITAL ships,
sinkings, 447;
Llandovery Castle sunk, 246.
HOSPITALS
bombed, [83];
casualties, 204;
Col. Andrews describes attack on hospital at Boulenes,
Chaplain describes it to King George, 330;
protest by Conan Doyle, 331;
by Prussian Order of St. John, 331.
How Foch Outgeneraled the Germans, 416.
How America Has Fed the Allies, 450.
I
"In Flanders Fields," (poem), [144].
INDEPENDENCE Day,
see FOURTH of July.
INDIA,
report on constitutional reforms, 204.
IRELAND,
food shipments to England, [90];
69 Sinn Feiners arrested, [88];
statistics of volunteers 1914-1917, [8].
Irish Plotters, Arrest of, [88].
ITALY,
"Italy's Third Year of War," [76];
address by Secretary Lansing in honor of the
third anniversary of Italy's entrance into the war,[145];
speech of Count Macchi di Cellere, Italian Ambassador,
at Italian anniversary celebration, 146.
Italy's Third Year of War, [76].
Italy's Troops, Trying to Corrupt, [16].
J
JAMES, Edwin L.,
"America's Part in a Historic Battle," 398;
"Capture of Belleau Wood," [65;]
"Defeating the German Offensive," 213;
"The Enemy Outflanked and Beaten," 216;
"Heroic American Deeds," 239;
"Thorough American Work at Vaux," [23].
JAPAN,
"Chinese-Japanese Military Alliance," 498.
JOHNSON, Thomas F.,
"First American Offensive a Success," [57].
JORDAN, E.,
"Czechoslovaks of Bohemia and Moravia," 491.
JUGOSLAVIA,
project for a South Slavic State Threatens to Disrupt
Austria-Hungary, [115];
Supreme War Council favors free Poland and Jugoslavia, [126];
"Great Britain and the Jugoslav State," 275;
conference of Poles, Jugoslavs, and Italians at Rome, [119];
the case of Bohemia, [123];
the case of Transylvania, [125];
Supreme War Council at Versailles favors free Poland and Jugoslavia, [126];
"Growth of the Jugoslav Movement," [115];
declaration of Czech members of Reichsrat, [115];
Jugoslav deputies and Croatian labor demand independent States of
Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs, [118].
Jutland, Battle of, [152].
K
KERENSKY, (ex-Premier) Alexander,
speech in London on Russian affairs, 259.
KIPLING, Rudyard,
"American Invasion of England," 433.
KOLA,
see MURMAN District.
KROPOTKIN (Prince), speaks on Russian internal conditions, 263.
KUHLMANN, (Dr.) Richard von,
resignation, 312;
address leading to resignation, 315.
KUHLWETTER, (Capt.) von,
"Battle of Skagerrak as Germany Sees It," [156].
L
LANSING, (Sec. of State) Robert,
address In honor of third anniversary of Italy's
entrance into the war, [145].
LEAGUE of Nations,
views of Lord Robert Cecil, 297;
discussion by Viscount Grey of Falloden, 345;
by Premier Lloyd George, 351;
by Earl Curzon, 352;
"The Death of Empire," by H. G. Wells, 353;
French view, 350;
"Based on Population," by Arnold Bennett, 355;
"President Wilson and the League of Nations," 511.
LEWIS, J. Hamilton,
"Price of Peace," 523.
LICHNOWSKY (Prince),
record of his conduct while German Ambassador in England, [162].
LILLARD, R. W.,
America's answer, (poem), [144].
LILLE,
Agony of the city of, 281, 456.
LISLE, Claude Joseph Rouget de,
see ROUGET de LISLE, CLAUDE JOSEPH.
LITHUANIA,
proclaimed an independent State allied to Germany, [109].
Living Line, The, (poem), [149].
LLANDOVERY Castle (hospital ship) sunk, 246.
LLOYD GEORGE, (Premier) David,
congratulates Pershing on Fourth of July celebration, 336;
"A Real League of Nations," 351;
"Britain's Imperial Hopes Realized," 299;
"Great Britain's War Record," 505;
address on occasion of silver wedding anniversary of King George, 532.
LUXEMBURG,
sketch of the history of, 202.
M
MACCHI DI CELLERE (Count),
speech at Italian anniversary celebration, [146].
McCRAE, (Lieut. Col.) John,
"In Flanders Fields," (poem), [144];
"America's Answer," (in honor of Lieut. Col. John McCrae,) [144].
McCUDDEN, (Capt.) James B.,
awarded Victoria Cross, [87].
McCUDDEN, (Maj.) James B.,
death, 442.
McGILLICUDDY, Owen E.,
Canada's four years of war effort, 451.
MACKENZIE, Cameron,
"Taking the Village of Vaux," 233.
MACLAY, (Sir) Joseph,
"Transporting America's Army Overseas," 443.
MAETERLINCK, Maurice,
"Brute Force Versus Humanity," [150].
MALVY, Louis J.,
trial for treason by French Senate, 198;
banishment, 384.
MAN Power—
Allied man power compared with that of the Central Powers, [75].
MANGIN, (Gen.) Joseph,
sketch of career, 385.
Marne, Second Battle of, 398.
MASARYK (Prof.),
receives message from Czechoslovaks, 469;
sends messages to Pres. Poincare and Secretary Balfour on recognition
of the Czechoslovak Nation, 489.
MARSEILLAISE,
story of, 200.
MEXICO and the United States, [142].
MEYNELL, Alice,
"In Honor of America," (poem), 445.
MILITARY Medal,
see DECORATIONS and Honors.
MILNER (Viscount), British War Secretary,
speaks on German aims, 313;
Count Burian replies, 313.
MIRBACH (Count) von, German Ambassador,
assassinated in Moscow, 259;
his duplicity, 261.
MONTAGUE, Edwin Samuel, 204.
Mount Vernon Address, 191.
MUEHLON, (Dr.) Wilhelm,
lays responsibility for the war on the German Government, 547.
MURAVIEFF,
Bolshevist Commander in Chief, 266.
MURMAN District,
see RUSSIA—Murman District.
MUSTARD gas,
see GAS Warfare.
N
NATIONS at war, 388, 461.
NAUDEAU, Ludovic,
"Russia's Constituent Assembly," 267.
NAVAL operations,
Capt. Rizzo sinks Austrian dreadnoughts off Trieste and Dalmatia, [15];
"The Battle of Jutland," [152];
Thomas G. Frotheringham's account of the battle of Jutland reviewed
by Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge, Vice Admiral E. F. Fournier, and
Arthur Pollen, [152];
"Battle of Skagerrak (Jutland) as Germany Sees It," [156].
See also
PROGRESS of the War, 224, 437;
SUBMARINE warfare.
NEW York Evening Mail, 251.
NICHOLAS, (Romanoff) ex-Czar of Russia,
"The Imprisoned ex-Czar in the Crimea," [93];
biographical sketch, 381.
Nieuport, City of Desolation, 285.
NUNGESSER (Lieut.),
cited for Legion of Honor, 442.
P
PALLIS (Gen.),
sentenced for disloyalty, 204.
PARIS,
re-names streets in honor of allies, 204;
account of bombardments given by le Temps, 204.
Peace League of Nations, 355.
Peace, The Basis of, 303.
PEACE:—
"International Socialists' Peace Campaign," [158].
General Chancellor von Hertling outlines official view of
Berlin Government, 311;
"American Government's Peace Terms," 523.
Rumanian separate peace ratified, 321;
view of Rumanian ex-Premier, 323;
Protest of Rumanians in exile against, 325.
Russo-German, views of Trotzky and Savinkov,[113].
See also AIMS of the War.
PENSIONS, England, 203.
PERRIS, George H.,
"The German Offensive," [17];
description of the French counterblow, [30];
"French Armies at Close Range," 414.
Pershing at the Tomb of Lafayette, (poem), 329.
PERSHING (Gen.),
cites Americans for special acts of bravery, 241.
PETAIN (Gen.),
masterly tactics in allied counterattacks, [32];
receives Military Medal, 382.
PICARDY,
see CAMPAIGN in Western Europe, 423.
POINCARE, (Pres.) Raymond,
replies to Pres. Wilson's Bastile Day greeting, 245;
congratulates Pres. Wilson on Fourth of July celebration, 337.
POISON Gas,
see GAS Warfare.
POLAND,
Allies Supreme War Council favors independent State, [126];
POLLEN, Arthur,
reviews debatable phases of Battle of Jutland, [155].
PRISONERS of War, number taken in third German offensive, [1];
Franco-German agreement for release of, [94];
inhuman treatment of civilian prisoners in Austrian prison camps, [97];
abuses in German prison camps, [100];
prisoners taken in Bouresches Sector, German report on
examination of, 243;
appalling cruelty of Germans to, 288;
"Acme of German Cruelty," 314;
treatment of in German prison camps, 332.
Prisons, Horror of Austrian, [97].
Progress of the War, [49], 221, 434.
PROPAGANDA,
German, in the United States, 251;
sent to the enemy by balloons, 198.
PUTNAM, George Haven, 336.
R
RAILROADS,
Cairo to Jerusalem, [5];
Cape to Cairo, [5];
Kola to Petrograd, 255.
Rebuilding Disabled Soldiers, [101].
Reconstructing the Life of France, 286.
RED Cross,
second drive, [8];
President Wilson's address to inaugurate second Red Cross campaign, [137];
"Remarkable Work of American Red Cross in Italy," 472.
REHABILITATION,
see SOLDIERS and Sailors, Rehabilitation.
RELIEF Work,
see Hospital Ships.
RHEIMS,
see CAMPAIGN in Western Europe.
RICHTHOFEN, Capt. Baron von,
death, [85].
RIGGS, Edward G.,
estimates college graduates in United States Service, 203.
RIZZO, Capt., [15].
Road (The) to France, (poem,) 534.
RODMAN (Admiral),
awarded the Order of the Bath, 383.
ROGERS, D. G.,
war finances, 277.
ROOSEVELT, (Lieut.) Quentin,
death, 441.
ROOSEVELT, Theodore,
sends letter to be read at Philadelphia celebration of Bastile Day, 246.
ROSENBERG, von,
appointed German Ambassador in Moscow, 259.
ROUGET DE LISLE,
Claude Joseph, 200.
RUBIN, A.,
Rumania and Bessarabia, 326.
RUMANIA,
signs legal and political supplementary agreement to
Peace of Bucharest, [127];
German control of Rumanian oilfields and harvest, [129];
Ferdinand accepts terms of Treaty of Bucharest, 321;
Rumanian peace treaty ratified, 321;
"Rumania and Bessarabia," 326;
"Rumania's Thralldom," [127];
"Rumania's Humiliation," 502.
RUMELY Propaganda Case,
see Enemy Aliens.
RUSSIA:—
Allied intervention discussed by Allies, [110];
Japan and China make treaty for intervention in Siberia, [110];
Sen. King's resolution in favor of, [111];
"New Forces at Work to Save Russia," 252.
"Czechoslovaks, Role of," 265.
Finances, Russia's debt, 277;
Germany, relations with, 258, 261, 262.
Internal conditions, [105], 259, 283.
Murman district, Anglo-American occupation of Kem, 199;
German-Finnish forces attack Murman railway, complete a railroad to
Kem, German submarines in White Sea, 255;
meaning of word "Murman," 256;
Murman railway, 257;
importance of the port of Kola, 257;
Allies intervene at request of Murman inhabitants against Soviet, 259;
Bolshevist and Finno-German invasion, 259;
intervention of the Allies, 259, 465;
allied forces at Murmansk and Archangel, 470.
Revolution, Bolsheviki fail to make peace with the Ukraine, [105];
"Russia under Many Masters," [103];
Czechoslovak Army fighting Bolsheviki in Siberia and in
Volga region, 252;
attitude of Czechoslovaks toward Soviets, 254;
Armed allied intervention discussed, [110], 259, 260, 261;
German intervention, 262;
Russia's Constituent Assembly, 267;
non-Bolshevist Government established in Siberia, 199, 254, 467;
anti-Bolshevists establish "Provisional Government of the Country of the North," 470;
Japan sends aid to Czechoslovak troops, 466;
"Siberian Temporary Government" established, 467.
See also
CAMPAIGN in Eastern Europe;
ESTHONIA—Finland;
GERMANY;
JAPAN—Chinese-Japanese Military Alliance;
Relation with Russia;
UKRAINIA, LITHUANIA, POLAND;
PROGRESS of the War—RUSSIA.
RUSSIAN Situation, summary of, 265.
S
ST. JOHN of Jerusalem, Order of,
protest against bombing of hospitals, 331.
SAVINKOV, (ex-Minister) Boris,
on Bolshevist peace, [113].
SHERMAN, L. Y.,
"Germany Must Be Vanquished," 527.
SHIPBUILDING,
new records in, [43];
statistics of allied output for Jan. to May, 1918, 248;
American output Jan. to July, 1918, 203;
British and American output to August, [49].
SHIPPING,
"American Exports Versus the U-boats," [45];
American losses, 203;
tonnage acquired from other nations, 204;
Allies' losses Jan. to May, 1918, 248;
losses to allied and neutral during Jan.-Aug. 15, 446;
Canada's contribution, 307.
See also SHIPBUILDING.
SHIPYARDS, new American shipyards, 449.
SIBERIA,
temporary non-Bolshevist Government with Gen. Horvath as President established, 254.
SIMS, Admiral, 336.
SINN FEIN,
see IRELAND.
SKAGGERRAK, Battle of,
see NAVAL Operations.
SLAVS,
account of Slavonic peoples, [3];
"Albanian and Slav," 201.
See also
CZECHOSLOVAKS;
JUGOSLAVIA.
SNEEZING Powder, see GAS Warfare.
SOCIALISTS,
"International Socialists Peace Campaign," [158];
criticism of von Kuhlmann's summary of war situation, 319;
view of Treaty of Bucharest, 322;
text of Premier Clemenceau's speech of defiance to Socialist pacifists, 307.
SOISSONS, [21], 386;
see also CAMPAIGN in Western Europe.
Soldier Speaks, (poem), [79].
SOLDIERS and sailors,
rehabilitation of, "Rebuilding Disabled Soldiers," [101];
pensions granted to British disabled soldiers, 203.
Somme, Third Battle of, 423.
Stars and Stripes, (poem,) 225.
STEPHENS, Winifred,
"Reconstructing the Life of France," 286.
STRESEMANN, (Dr.) Gustave,
criticises von Kuehlmann's summary of war situation, 319.
STURGES, (Lieut.) R. S. H.,
"Fashions of the Firing Line," 309.
SUBMARINE warfare,
"The U-boat Raid in American Waters," [38];
other submarine activities of the month, [40];
"Out of the Sleep of Death," [42];
summary of losses, [49];
Llandovery Castle sunk, 246;
statistics of Allies' losses, January to May, 1918, 248;
"The Submarine's Increasing Failure": summary of recent activities, 446.
See also Hospital Ships.
See also Progress of the War, [49], 221, 434.
SUPREME War Council, favors independent Poland and Jugoslavia, [126].
SWITZERLAND an oasis in wartime, 289.
T
Theodoric and Attila on the Marne, 427.
"Toast to the Flag, A," (poem,) 360.
TRADE, see COMMERCE.
TRANSATLANTIC Trust Company, 251.
Transporting America's Army Overseas, 443.
Troops, Transportation of, [2].
See also U. S. Army.
TROTZKY, Leon,
attitude on peace with Germany, [113].
TURKEY,
invasion of Caucasus under Brest Treaty,[131].
U
U-BOATS, see SUBMARINE Warfare.
UKRAINIA,
refuses to make peace with Bolshevist Government, [105];
peace signed with Russia, 264.
UNITED STATES:—
Army,
number of troops in France, [1];
"Transportation of Troops," [2];
"Armies Under Foreign Generals," [2];
"First units of our new army reviewed by King George," [69];
"No Limit to Size America's Army," [70];
"War Record of the United States," [73];
America's first anniversary in France, [78];
"Premier Lloyd George Lauds Americans," [148];
number of negroes in, 204;
"America's War Effort," 229;
German official view of, 243;
reorganizations of, 429;
consolidation of all branches into one "United States Army," 430;
"Transporting America's Army Overseas," 443.
See also CAMPAIGN in Western Europe.
Commerce,
"American Exports Versus the U-boats," [45];
finances, address by President Wilson on Federal Revenue bill, [139].
See also COST of the War.
French aid in the American Revolution, 201.
"Mexico and the United States," [142].
Navy, largest naval appropriation bill passed, 431.
Russian Situation—Inaction criticised, 260.
SHIPPING, see
SHIPPING;
SHIPBUILDING.
War Dept.,
summary of achievements to July, 1918, 229;
war with Germany and Austria-Hungary, "War Record of the United States," [73].
See also TITLES Beginning
America,
American.
See also PROGRESS of the War, [49], 221, 434.
V
VAN DYKE, Henry,
"The Stars and Stripes," (poem,) 225.
Vaux, Taking the Village of, 233.
Vaux, Thorough American Work at, 235.
VERSAILLES Council, see SUPREME War Council.
VICTORIA Cross
awarded to Capt. James B. McCudden, [87].
VILLERS-COTTERETS,
historical sketch, [6].
See also CAMPAIGN in Western Europe.
W
"War in the Air," [80].
WELLS, H. G.,
"Boycotting Germany," 545;
"The Death Knell of Empire," 353.
WEST, Austin,
"Austrians at Grips with Italians," [33].
WESTARP (Count), leader of Conservatives,
criticises von Kuhlmann's summary of war situation, 318.
WHEELER, W. Reginald,
"Chinese-Japanese Military Alliance," 498.
WILLIAM II., Emperor of Germany,
defines issues of the war, [36].
WILLIAMS, Harold,
summary of the Russian situation, 265.
WILSON, (Pres.) Woodrow,
Red Cross speech in New York, [137];
Federal Revenue Bill, [139];
appeals for economy, [141];
Memorial Day proclamation, [141];
address to Mexican editors, [142];
"Mount Vernon address"; a statement of American war aims, 191;
reply of Baron Burian, 194;
Chancellor von Hertling's reply in Reichstag, 311;
Paris renames street in honor of, 204;
sends greeting to France on Bastile Day, 245;
reply of Pres. Poincare, 245;
congratulated by Pres. Poincare on Fourth of July celebration, 337;
reply, 337;
by King George of Greece, 340;
reply, 341;
denounces mob action, 384;
"President Wilson and the League of Nations," 511.

Portraits

ARNIM, (Gen.) Sixt von, [47].
BERTHELOT, (Gen.) Henri, 410.
BOEHM, (Gen.) von, [47].
BOROEVIC (Field Marshal). 237.
BRITISH Imperial War Conference, Members, 474.
BULLARD, (Maj. Gen.) R. L., 191.
BUNDY, (Maj. Gen.) Omar, 191.
BURNHAM, (Maj. Gen.) W. P., 204.
BURTSEFF, Vladimir, 268.
CAMERON, (Maj. Gen.) G. H., 394.
CHAPMAN, Victor, 395.
DICKMAN, (Maj. Gen.) J. T., 14, 191.
DUNCAN, (Maj. Gen.) G. B., 204.
EICHHORN, (Field Marshal) von, 427.
FOSDICK, Raymond B., 269.
GLENN, (Maj. Gen.) E. F., 204.
GOURAUD (Gen.), 410.
GREENE, (Maj. Gen.) H. A., [14].
HAAN, (Maj. Gen.) W. A., 394.
HALDANE, Viscount, Lord High Chancellor of England, [47].
HALE, (Maj. Gen.) H. S., [14].
HARBORD (Maj. Gen.), [68], 191.
HINTZE, (Admiral) Paul von, 411.
HITCHCOCK, (Sen.) G. M.,[15].
HOLUBOWICZ, H. M.,[78].
HORVATH (Gen.), 268.
HUMBERT (Gen.), 410.
HUTIER, (Gen.) von, [47].
KITCHIN, (Congressman) Claude, [ 15].
KNIGHT, (Rear Admiral) Austin M., 205.
LENINE, Nikolai, 458.
LIGGETT, (Maj. Gen.) Hunter, 191.
LOMONOSSOFF, (Dr.) G. V., 268.
LUFBERY, (Maj. Gen.) Ravul, 395.
McMAHON, (Maj. Gen.) J. E., 394.
MANGIN, (Gen.) Joseph, 410.
MARWITZ, (Gen.) von der, [47].
MARTIN, (Maj. Gen.) C. T., 204.
MASARYK (Prof.), [78].
MAUD'HUY, (Gen.) de, 220.
MIRBACH, (Count) von, 427.
MITCHEL, (Maj.) J. Purroy, 395.
MUIR, (Maj. Gen.) C. H., 394.
NIBLOCK, (Rear Admiral) Albert T., 205.
NICHOLAS, Romanoff, 426.
OVERMAN, (Sen.) L. S., [15].
PETLJURA (Gen.), [78].
READ, (Maj. Gen.) George W., 381.
RODMAN, (Rear Admiral) Hugh, 205.
ROOSEVELT, (Lieut.) Quentin, 395.
SENATE Committee on Military Affairs, 475.
SIMMONS, (Sen.) F. M.,[15]
SIXTUS (Prince of Bourbon),[79].
SKOROPADSKI, Pavel Petrovitch, 268.
SVINHUFVUD (Judge),[78].
TALAAT Pasha, 236.
TCHITCHERIN, Georg, 459.
VALERA, (Prof.) Edward de, [79].
WILSON, (Rear Admiral) H. B., 205.
WOOD, (Maj. Gen.) Leonard, [14].
WRIGHT, (Maj. Gen.) Wm. M., 381.

Maps

ALBANIA, relation of, to other Balkan States, 212.
ARMENIA, [134].
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, showing populations in threatened revolt, [117].
AUSTRO-ITALIAN
Campaign, [15];
Piave delta, 210;
Albania, Italo-French advance, 212;
Cairo-Jerusalem Railway, [4.]
CAUCASUS region, 133.
EUROPE, showing territorial status of the war at the end of the
fourth year, 462.
JUGOSLAVIA, projected States, [116].
MURMAN Coast, 256.
MURMAN District, 471.
MURMAN-PETROGRAD Railway, 255.
RUSSIA, showing points where Bolsheviki have been fighting, 260.
RUSSIA, showing positions of Allied Expeditionary Forces, 476.
RUSSIA, railway system, 262.
SIBERIA, showing Trans-Siberian Railway, 263.
WESTERN Campaign:
German offensive of May, [10];
offensive of June 9, [12];
offensive of March to June, [18];
Cantigny captured by American troops, [59];
territory near Chateau-Thierry won back by American soldiers, [66];
Aisne-Marne region showing Allies' gains July, 1918, 206;
Marne front, 206;
Rheims, 207;
Allies' gains near Albert, Chateau-Thierry, and Bethune, 208;
battlefront, August, 1918, 391;
Chateau-Thierry "pocket," 393;
Lys Salient, 395;
Montdidier Salient, 396.

Illustrations

AMERICAN officers decorated by Gen. Philipot, [31].
AMERICAN patrol in trenches in France, [142].
AMERICAN troops on German soil, (Massevaux, Alsace,) 523.
BATTLEFIELD in France, 316.
CAMP Jackson, 333.
CHATEAU-THIERRY, bridge across the Marne, 506.
COLISEUM, Rome, during Italian celebration of anniversary of America's
entry into the war,[126].
DOGS trained for the British Army as dispatch bearers, 284.
FRENCH Chasseurs Alpins visiting Statue of Liberty, [ 1].
FRENCH town wiped out in German offensive, [ 95].
FRENCH town wrecked by retreating Germans, 506.
GAS attack as seen from an airplane, 317.
GAS masks, 317.
GUNS of the largest calibre, 285.
KENNELS of French war dogs, 284.
KING George's message to the soldiers of the United States, [69].
LOCRE, Ruins of village of, 221.
PICARDY inhabitants leaving their homes when German advance began, [94].
LUSITANIA'S victims' graves, [127].
PONT-A-MOUSSON, [143].
RED CROSS parade in New York reviewed by President Wilson, [1].
TANK, armored man power, 332.
TANK, new British type, 332.
UNITED STATES National Army men parade in London,[30]
VILLIERS-BRETONNEUX, entrance to chateau, 221.
WAR Dept. Building, Washington, 522.
Cartoons
171-190; 361-380; 551-570.

French Chasseurs Alpins, during a visit to New York City, visiting the Statue of Liberty on Bedlow's Island

(© International Film Service)

Opening of Second Red Cross Campaign, May 18, 1918. The parade in New York City, which was led and reviewed by President Wilson, passing down Fifth Avenue at Twenty-fifth Street

(Times Photo Service)

[CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED]

[Period Ended June 20, 1918]

A Month of Battles

Military activity superseded everything else during the month under review. Europe shook with the roar of battle. From May 27 to June 15 fully 3,000,000 men were engaged in deadly conflict along the battlefronts of France, with a ghastly toll of blood, while in Italy along a front of 100 miles more than 2,000,000 joined battle on June 15 and were furiously fighting when this issue went to press. The third German offensive, which continued for three weeks, did not break the front, nor did it divide the Allies, nor were the Channel ports reached, nor was Paris invested. In all these respects the drive failed, but important new territory was won by the Germans, and they claimed over 85,000 prisoners and an enormous amount of booty; the Allies declared that the failure of the Germans to obtain any of their objectives, coupled with the frightful price they had paid in killed and wounded, the shock to the army morale, and the disappointment in the enemy leadership, operated practically as a German defeat almost approaching disaster.

American co-operation in the war became profoundly significant during the month. The announcement was authorized early in June that more than 800,000 Americans were in France and that American soldiers were occupying important sectors on the front. Their brilliant stand on the Marne and at Belleau Wood, where they were victorious over crack Prussian divisions, created great enthusiasm throughout this country and evoked warmest encomiums from all the Allies. It was announced that American forces were holding a sector on German soil in the Vosges. It was understood that United States troops were crossing the Atlantic at the rate of nearly 40,000 a week, and that with the steady gain in shipping facilities an American Army in France of 1,500,000 was assured by Oct. 15, 1918. There was evidence that the Germans had realized the gravity of American intervention, and that their great offensive was based on the fear that ultimate defeat awaited them unless they could obtain immediate victory.

The offensive launched by the Austrians in Italy on June 15 was their most ambitious undertaking during the war. It was reported that they had 1,000,000 men engaged and 7,500 guns. At the end of the fourth day it was generally felt that the offensive had failed, as none of the objectives was obtained.

There were no important military activities on any of the other fronts.

German submarines invaded American waters late in May and within three weeks torpedoed twenty vessels, among them several steamships. There was no panic; the only effect was a fuller realization that the country was at war, with a marked speeding up of recruiting and a deepened determination that the war should be waged until victory was won. The raid caused no pause in the steady flow of troops to Europe. The submarine sinkings materially diminished in European waters, and the completion of new tonnage by the Allies during the month outstripped the losses by thousands of tons. It was clear during this period that the United States had attained its full stride in building ships, airplanes, and ordnance.

The growing importance of aerial warfare was universally recognized during the month, and the deadly efficiency of air squadrons in battle was demonstrated as never before.

The Russian situation became no clearer, though there was a growing impression that the Bolsheviki were steadily declining in power, while the forces of order and moderation were strengthening. The movement for intervention by Japan in Siberia gained momentum, but Washington gave no indication of giving its assent. The German progress into Russia continued, yet there were signs that the Ukrainians were resenting German methods and were becoming a troublesome factor to the invaders. The Germanization of Finland and the other Russian border provinces proceeded apace. In the Caucasus the Turks continued to acquire new power over former Russian territory, and the spread of Turanian dominion was advanced.

Austria-Hungary was in a ferment during the month, and there was every indication that the Poles, Czechs, and Slavs were working in harmony and were threatening the existence of the Dual Empire.

In Great Britain, Italy, and France political matters were quieter, and a better feeling prevailed than for many months, while in our own country there was more war enthusiasm and less political discord than at any previous time in the nation's history.

The Transportation of Troops in Great Wars

The announcement on June 15 that the United States had successfully carried over three-quarters of a million troops to France, a distance of more than 3,000 miles by sea, with the statement, made at the same time, that the Allies had successfully transported the enormous number of 17,000,000 to and from the various battle zones, both with absolutely negligible losses, serves to bring up the interesting question of the movements of vast bodies of men in earlier wars. Leaving out the primitive wars, in which troops were moved only by land, and almost wholly on foot, to begin with the great Persian invasion of Europe, in the fifth century before our era: Xerxes transported an enormous army, fabled to number five millions, and certainly reaching nearly half a million combatants, across the water-barrier of Europe by building a pontoon bridge over the Hellespont, between three and four miles wide; but the Persians had also, at Salamis, between 1,000 and 1,200 ships, which was a sufficiently great achievement in transportation. On the return invasion of Asia by the Greeks, Alexander the Great likewise crossed the Hellespont, at the site of the Gallipoli fighting, by a bridge of boats; the latest crossing of a great army on pontoons being that of the Russians at the Danube, when they invaded Turkey in 1877. A feat in transportation of another kind was that of Hannibal, who carried his mixed army of Africans, Spaniards, and Gauls across the Alps, probably at Mont Genevre, in the Summer of 218; an achievement later repeated by Napoleon and the Russian General Suvoroff. A more recent feat in transportation was the bringing of British and French troops to America, in the days of Washington. But the closest analogy to the present achievement of the American Army and Navy is probably that of the transportation of British troops to South Africa, twenty years ago, the distance being over 6,000 miles, or about twice the distance of our Atlantic port from the landing place of our troops in France. The total British losses in South Africa have more than once been equaled by one week's British casualties in the present struggle in France, the ratio of killed to wounded being about the same, namely, one to five.

Armies Under Foreign Generals

The brigading of American troops with French and English commands and the fact that the entire forces of England and Italy, as well as America, on the Continent, are commanded by a French soldier recall that in many past wars large forces of one nation served under leaders of another nation. In the Napoleonic wars there were numberless instances of these armies of composite nationality, the most striking example being, probably, the Grand Army which invaded Russia in 1811, in which there was only a minority of French soldiers, nearly all Western Europe contributing the majority. But these foreign troops served by compulsion, not of good-will. A better analogy is the war of the Spanish succession, in which both the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene commanded composite armies, voluntarily united; this war transferred Newfoundland and Nova Scotia from France to England. In the wars in India, English commanders have almost invariably had a majority of native troops in their forces, and this was conspicuously the case in the second half of the eighteenth century, as in Clive's decisive victory at Plassey.

Considerable numbers of French troops served under an American Commander in Chief at an eventful period in this country's history; of the 16,000 who forced the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, about half were French troops, under Lafayette and Rochambeau. A generation later, when Napoleon was trying to subdue Spain, mixed forces of English, Portuguese, and Spanish troops fought, under the Duke of Wellington and his colleagues, against the invaders. At Waterloo also the Duke of Wellington had an army of several different nationalities under his command, though the Dutch and Belgian troops played no great part in the later stages of the battle. In the war of 1877, considerable Russian and Rumanian armies fought under a single commander who was, for a considerable period, Prince Charles (later King) of Rumania.

The Northern and Southern Slavs

The conference at Rome, April 10, 1918, to settle outstanding questions between the Italians and the Slavs of the Adriatic, has once more drawn attention to those Slavonic peoples in Europe who are under non-Slavonic rule. At the beginning of the war there were three great Slavonic groups in Europe: First, the Russians with the Little Russians, speaking languages not more different than the dialect of Yorkshire is from the dialect of Devonshire; second, a central group, including the Poles, the Czechs or Bohemians, the Moravians, and Slovaks, this group thus being separated under the four crowns of Russia, Germany, Austria, and Hungary; the third, the southern group, included the Sclavonians, the Croatians, the Dalmatians, Bosnians, Herzegovinians, the Slavs, generally called Slovenes, in the western portion of Austria, down to Goritzia, and also the two independent kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia.

Like the central group, this southern group of Slavs was divided under four crowns, Hungary, Austria, Montenegro, and Serbia; but, in spite of the fact that half belong to the Western and half to the Eastern Church, they are all essentially the same people, though with considerable infusion of non-Slavonic blood, there being a good deal of Turkish blood in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The languages, however, are practically identical, formed largely of pure Slavonic materials, and, curiously, much more closely connected with the eastern Slav group—Russia and Little Russia—than with the central group, Polish and Bohemian. A Russian of Moscow will find it much easier to understand a Slovene from Goritzia than a Pole from Warsaw. The Ruthenians, in Southern Galicia and Bukowina, are identical in race and speech with the Little Russians of Ukrainia.

Of the central group, the Poles have generally inclined to Austria, which has always supported the Polish landlords of Galicia against the Ruthenian peasantry; while the Czechs have been not so much anti-Austrian as anti-German. Indeed, the Hapsburg rulers have again and again played these Slavs off against their German subjects. It was the Southern Slav question, as affecting Serbia and Austria, that gave the pretext for the present war. At this moment, the central Slav question—the future destiny of the Poles—is a bone of contention between Austria and Germany. It is the custom to call these Southern Slavs "Jugoslavs," from the Slav word Yugo, "south," but as this is a concession to German transliteration, many prefer to write the word "Yugoslav," which represents its pronunciation. The South Slav question was created by the incursions of three Asiatic peoples—Huns, Magyars, Turks—who broke up the originally continuous Slav territory that ran from the White Sea to the confines of Greece and the Adriatic.

Drunkenness Reduced in Great Britain

The result of the control of the liquor traffic in Great Britain is shown by the following figures of convictions for drunkenness in the years named, the upper line of figures referring to males, the lower line to females:

In England and Wales the deaths due to or connected with alcoholism (excluding cirrhosis of the liver) fell from 1,112 (males) and 719 (females) in 1913 to 358 (males) and 222 (females) in 1917; deaths due to cirrhosis of the liver, from 2,215 (males) and 1,665 (females) to 1,475 (males) and 808 (females); cases of attempted suicide, from 1,458 (males) and 968 (females) to 483 (males) and 452 (females); deaths from suffocation of infants under one year declined from 1,226 to 704.

Germany's Population Declining

A careful study of the vital statistics of Germany and Great Britain reveals the fact that the population of Germany is declining, while that of Great Britain is increasing. The German Empire, which in June, 1919, at the previous rate of increase should have had 72,000,000 people, will have no more than 64,500,000. Germany as a whole will have 5 per cent. less population than when the war began. Of those who have been killed the greater number were men in the prime of life and energy, whom Germany could least spare. By deaths in the battle zone the empire has lost at least 3,000,000 men.

The birth rate has sunk to such a figure that by next year the number of births will have fallen short of what they would have been had there been no war by 3,333,000. In the same period the annual number of deaths among the German civilian population, owing to the stress and anxiety of the war, and sickness, which has been aggravated by hardships and food troubles, has increased by 1,000,000 over the normal.

While by next year the German Empire will be 7,500,000 lower in population than it would have been had the war not taken place, the vitality of the peoples of Austria and Hungary has suffered even more. The peoples of Austria will be 11 per cent. poorer in numbers next year than if the war had not taken place. They will be 8 per cent. lower in numbers than they were in 1914. Hungary will be still worse off. It will have a population 9 per cent. lower than before the war, and 13 per cent. lower than it would have been if there had been no war.

Meanwhile, despite the losses suffered in the war zone, the British population has been growing. By the middle of 1919 this population will be only 3 per cent. lower than it would have been without war. Great Britain in 1919 will have a larger population than in 1914.

Cairo to Jerusalem by Rail

It was officially announced May 11 that the swing bridge over the Suez Canal at Kantara was completed, and that on May 15, 1918, there was direct railway service from Cairo to Jerusalem. When the war broke out there were no railways between the Suez Canal and the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway, a distance of some 200 miles, mainly desert.

At that time a line ran along the western bank of the canal from Suez to Port Said. It was linked up with the main lines of the Egyptian State railways by a single track from Ismailia to Zagazig. A few miles to the north of that track another line from Zagazig stopped some eighteen miles short of the canal at El Salhia. At the beginning of the war, to facilitate the transport of troops and supplies to the canal and beyond, the track from Zagazig to Ismailia was doubled, and a new line was pushed out from the dead end at El Salhia to the canal opposite Kantara, a village on the eastern, or Sinai, side of the canal. Later, when the British troops entered the Sinai Peninsula, a railway was begun from Kantara eastward, and as the British troops advanced so did the railway. It followed the northern track across Sinai, and had been taken within a few miles of Gaza when that town was captured last November. Meantime the Turks had built a branch from the Jaffa-Jerusalem line to a point only five miles north of Gaza, and by February General Allenby had joined the two systems, so that there was direct railway connection between Kantara and Jerusalem.

Kindling the Holy Fire

The annual ceremony of the Kindling of the Holy Fire took place May 4 in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In Turkish days it was the custom to provide a guard of not less than 600 soldiers in order to keep the peace between the Greeks and Armenians, as disorders almost invariably occurred. On this occasion there was no guard of any kind other than the ordinary police, and the ceremony took place without any sign of disturbance.

The ceremony of the Holy Fire—at which, it is held, flame comes by a miracle from heaven to kindle the lamps of the Holy Sepulchre—apparently began in the ninth century, and was formerly attended by leading representatives of all the churches. These have long ago withdrawn from it, and it is now attended by members of the Greek and Armenian Churches, mostly ignorant pilgrims of Eastern Christendom. Many enlightened members of the Greek Church discouraged the ceremony, as the vast crowds of frenzied people attending it had to be kept in some sort of order by Turkish soldiers. At the appointed time a bright flame of burning wood appears through a hole in the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre; the rush to obtain this new fire is overwhelming, and it is handed on from taper to taper until thousands of lights appear. A mounted horseman takes a lighted torch to convey the sacred fire to the lamp of the Greek Church in the convent at Bethlehem. In 1834 hundreds of lives were lost in the violent pressure of the unruly crowd.

Building the Cape to Cairo Railway

Notwithstanding the war, 200 miles of the Cape to Cairo Railway in Africa were laid in the last four years, and a total of 450 miles in the last eight years from the Rhodesian frontier to the navigable waterway of the Congo. The latest section of the Katanga Railway reached Bukama, on the Congo River, May 22.

The railway starts from Cape Town and crosses Bechuanaland and Rhodesia; it reached the Congo frontier in 1909. The first section (158 miles) reached the copper mines of the Star of the Congo in November, 1910, where Elizabethville, a populous town, inhabited by 1,400 white men, has since developed. The railway was pushed in 1913 as far as Kambové, another important mining district, (99 miles.) In spite of the difficulties caused by the war, a third section was open to traffic north of Kambové, reaching Djilongo (68 miles) in July, 1915. It was through this road that the two English monitors, under the direction of Commander G. B. Spicer Simson, reached the waters of Lake Tanganyika, which they cleared of enemy craft. Understanding the advantages which the line would afford, the Belgian Colonial Government opened new credits for the completion of the railway as far as Bukama, (125 miles.) The building started from Djilongo and Bukama at the same time, and, in spite of the difficulties of the ground and the scarcity of labor in the region traversed, has now been successfully completed. More than 30,000 tons of copper are annually transported from the Congo copper mines.

Compiegne and Its Forest

Compiegne, the northern support of the French battlefront during the early part of June, goes back to Roman days. Its name is a modernization of Compendium, which seems to have meant the "short cut" between Soissons and Beauvais. The castle, which was founded by Charles the Bald, was rebuilt by Charles V. and Louis XV. It is now practically a historical museum of pictures, sculpture, vases, beautiful French furniture. The Hôtel de Ville, the Town Hall, was built under Louis XII., and is now adorned by a recent statue of Jeanne d'Arc, whose cult has been so widely revived in the last few years in France. And the old churches of Saint James and Saint Antony go back to the France of Charles VIII. and Louis XII. The magnificent forest of Compiègne, with its century-old oaks and beeches, covers some 36,000 acres, or almost sixty square miles, and has nearly ninety miles of parkways under its shady boughs. Within it, near Champlieu, are old Roman ruins, and the huge, many-towered Château of Pierrefonds, which was a favorite hunting lodge of the Kings of France. Built in the fourteenth century, it was rebuilt by Viollet-le-Duc. It is curious that the modern use of airplanes in military scouting, in conjunction with our powerful artillery, has given these forests a significance in battle which takes us back not merely to the days of mediaeval warfare with its forest ambushes but to the earlier fighting of primitive tribes.

The Forest of Villers-Cotterets

The immense importance of forests in the present battle is only one among many returns to the machinery of mediaeval war, like the revival of helmets, bombs, mortars, the use of a trench knife, which is simply an adapted Roman broadsword. And, in exactly the same way, the pressure of races in the present war has brought the fighting back to the old, famous battle areas, on which the Latin races have fought against the barbarians any time these two thousand years. This is particularly true of the area of the fighting in the first half of June. Much of the history here goes back to old Roman times, much to the earliest Kings of France. Villers-Cotterets, in the old feudal territory of Valois, has developed from a sixth century hamlet, first named Villers-Saint-Georges. The great forest, which has been so strong a buttress for the French and American line, was then known as Col-de-Retz, and was a favorite hunting ground of the early Kings. The Château Malmaison, rebuilt by Francis I. in 1530, was really a magnificent hunting lodge; his son, Henry II., and Francis II. often sojourned there. Charles V. halted there during his campaign in Champagne. Charles IX. spent his honeymoon there with his young Queen Elizabeth. The castle was restored by the Duke of Orleans in 1750, at a cost of 2,000,000 francs, when the great walls of the park were built. He was the father of Philippe-Egalité and the grandfather of King Louis Philippe. Alexandre Dumas, who was born at Villers-Cotterets, described the castle as being "as big as the whole town." Later it became an orphanage, sheltering 800 children. In the forest is the "enchanted butte," 752 feet above sea level, which is dimly visible from Laon, forty-four miles away; here the fairies were traditionally believed to dance in the moonlight. Finally, in the last martial act of Napoleon's Hundred Days—on June 27, 1815, a week after Waterloo—Marshal Grouchy fought the Prussians under Pirch within sight of Villers-Cotterets.

Chateau-Thierry

Chateau-Thierry, which has added a splendid page to the martial history of the American Army, is another of the ancient strongholds whose strategic position has given it equal significance in the recent fighting. It was originally a Roman camp, Castrum Theodorici. The castle, built in 730 by Charles Martel, was given in 877 by Louis II., "the Stammerer," to Herbert, Count of Vermandois, from whose family it passed in the tenth century to the Counts of Troyes. At the end of the eleventh century the town, which had grown up under the shelter of the fortress, was surrounded by a wall, and the Burgesses of the town, in 1520, received permission from Francis I. to found a leather and cloth fair, which was long famous. Often a battleground, Château-Thierry was captured by the English in 1421. It was sacked by the Spanish in 1591. It was a centre of French resistance in the invasion of 1814, and Napoleon with 24,000 veterans decisively beat Blücher with 50,000 men under the historic walls of the ancient fortress. The fabulist La Fontaine was born here on July 8, 1621.

Infant Welfare in Germany

The British Local Government Board issued a report on infant welfare in Germany, May 17, 1918, from which the following facts are taken:

During the war there has been a heavy fall in the number of births in Germany. The first three years alone of the war reduced by over 2,000,000 the number of babies who would have been born had peace prevailed. Some 40 per cent. fewer babies were born in 1916 than in 1913. The infantile death rate has been kept well down, but is 50 per cent. higher than in Great Britain.

The birth rate, which had risen from 36.1 per 1,000 inhabitants in the decade 1841-1850 to 39.1 per 1,000 in the period 1871-1880, fell in the succeeding decades to 36.8, 36.1, and 31.9. The rate for the last year of the period 1901-1910 was under 30 per 1,000, and the continuance of the fall brought the rate as low as 28.3 in 1912.

In 1913 there were 1,839,000 live births in Germany; in 1916 there were only 1,103,000—a decrease of 40 per cent. as compared with 1913. The corresponding figures for England and Wales (785,520 live births in 1916 against 881,890 in 1913) show a decrease of 10.9 per cent.

In 1913 the infant mortality rate for Germany was 151 per 1,000, as compared with 108 in England and Wales. The rates in 1914 for Prussia, Saxony, and Bavaria (comprising nearly 80 per cent. of the total population of Germany) were 164, 173, and 193 per 1,000 respectively. The abnormal increase in infant mortality during the first months of the war is shown by the fact that in Prussia in the third quarter of 1914 the rate rose from 128 to 143; in Saxony from 140 to 242; and in Bavaria from 170 to 239.

The principal measure adopted in Germany to promote infant welfare during the war has been the distribution of the imperial maternity grants. "Necessity" must first be proved, but instructions have been given that the term "necessity" is to be liberally interpreted. There was a general demand that some further provision should be made for soldiers' wives who could not meet the extra expenses connected with the birth of a child, and by a Federal Order, published on Dec. 3, 1914, provision was made for the payment (partly from imperial funds and partly from the funds of the sickness insurance societies) of the following allowances:

(a) A single payment of $6.25 toward the expenses of confinement.

(b) An allowance of 25 cents daily, including Sundays and holidays, for eight weeks, at least six of which must be after the confinement.

(c) A grant up to $2.50 for medical attendance during pregnancy if needed.

(d) An allowance for breast-feeding at the rate of 12½ cents a day, including Sundays and holidays, for 12 weeks after confinement.

These grants were afterward extended to women whose husbands were employed on patriotic auxiliary service and women who were themselves employed on such service. In addition to this special measure, steps were taken to encourage the formation of local societies for promoting infant welfare and the establishment by the societies of infant welfare centres. Steps were taken to protect illegitimate children by assisting unmarried mothers from municipal funds and to give expectant and nursing mothers additional rations of food.

As a result of intensive farming propaganda, the acreage of cereals and potatoes in England and Wales in 1917 was 8,302,000, an increase of 2,042,000 over 1916. It is estimated that the tillage in 1917 in Scotland increased 300,000 acres over 1916, and in Ireland the figures showed an increase of 1,500,000 acres, making a total of about 4,000,000 acres increase in the United Kingdom in the year. This was accomplished in the face of the fact that in England and Wales alone there were 200,000 fewer male laborers on the land in 1917 than before the war. It is estimated that the United Kingdom in 1918-19 will produce 80 per cent. of the total breadstuff requirements for the year, whereas in 1916-17 the production was but 20 per cent. of the needs.

The volunteers furnished by Ireland, divided between Ulster and the rest of the country, were as follows:

The Parliamentary Under Secretary to the British War Office, Mr. Macpherson, in a statement in Parliament, May 3, 1918, gave the following figures of Chaplains in the war, killed, died of wounds, or died of disease while on service in the war. The figures do not include colonial Chaplains or the Chaplains of the Indian Ecclesiastical Establishment:

The Government of Costa Rica declared war on Germany May 23, 1918, bringing the number of nations aligned against the Central Powers to a total of twenty-one. Of the other Central American States Panama, Nicaragua, and Guatemala had issued declarations of war. Honduras severed diplomatic relations, and San Salvador proclaimed neutrality, but explained that it was friendly to the United States. The Government of Peru seized 50,000 tons of interned German ships, and the Government of Chile is negotiating with the United States for the seizure, by appropriation or sale to this country, of 200,000 tons interned in its ports.

The Second American Red Cross drive was begun on May 20. The final subscriptions, as announced on May 28, were $148,833,367, an oversubscription of more than $48,000,000. The subscriptions in New York City exceeded $33,000,000; in the rest of New York State they were about $9,000,000. The oversubscription maintained a similar average in all parts of the country.

When the Germans came in possession of Helsingfors there were seven British submarines in the Baltic with stores, workshops, and barges for floating mechanics, which had been moved into the harbor from different parts of the Baltic as the Germans advanced into Russia. The British naval contingent was in charge of Lieut. Commander Downie, and when it was apparent that the Germans would come in possession of the harbor the entire property was destroyed, including all the submarines, repair shops, and supplies, estimated in value at $15,000,000.

Andrew Bonar Law, Chancellor of the British Exchequer, in introducing a new vote of credit in Parliament June 18, announced that it was felt that the German offensive in France had wholly failed and that the Austrian offensive in Italy was the war's worst initial failure. He extolled America's aid in the war and the brilliant part taken already by American troops. He moved a vote of credit of $2,500,000,000, which was promptly given. The vote brought the total British war credits to $36,500,000,000. It will cover expenditures to Sept. 1, 1918. Bonar Law stated that the daily cost of the war to Great Britain was $34,240,000. The debt due Great Britain from her allies was stated to be $6,850,000,000, and from the Dominions $1,030,000,000.

It was announced June 16 that an American contingent had been assigned to the Vosges Mountains in Alsace in territory which belonged to Germany prior to the war. Private W. J. Gwyton of Evart, Mich., of this force was the first American killed on former German soil, having met his death by machine-gun fire on the day after the unit entered the line, (May 27, 1918.) He was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

Battles in France and Italy

Military Review From May 18 to June 18, 1918—Fighting on the Marne and Oise—The Austrian Offensive

The third month of the great German offensive may be considered the complement of the second; it has been an attempt to accomplish south of the great Picardy salient what north of it had been tried and had failed. In the second month the Lys salient had been developed, but the barrier ridges of Ypres and Arras still held. At the end of the third month the southern barriers—the Chemin-des-Dames and the watershed of the Oise-Aisne—had been carried by the enemy, but the terrain of occupation was so constricted, the enemy troops so distributed, that neither of his ambitious objectives had been brought nearer attainment. These objectives were the reaching of the sea by the Somme via Amiens, with its corollaries, the isolation of the allied armies north of that river and the occupation of the Channel ports; the decisive defeat of the French armies in the field, with whatever moral and political corollary that eventuality might produce; the occupation of Paris, and the demoralization of the French body politic. [See map on Page 19.]

But the German failure of the third month is far more significant, has a far greater bearing on the war, than the failure of the second. The enemy has not only failed to broaden the Picardy front so as to permit a further advance down the Somme, to inflict vital losses on the Allies, to force the French back on the defenses of Paris, but, in attempting to do these things he has transformed all his potential resources into active resources, and these give evidence of approaching exhaustion.

Only one conclusion is possible: Ludendorff with an initial preponderance of men and war material, with the tactical advantage of being able to manoeuvre from the centre outward, has been outgeneraled both in tactics and in strategy by Foch, so that the former's gains of terrain, while being of no advantage whatever—even a danger in certain sectors—have been purchased at an expenditure of men and material utterly incommensurate with their area and position.

FORCING THE AISNE

Ludendorff, on May 27, with a simultaneous diversion on the Lys salient and another at the southwest angle of the Picardy salient, northwest of Montdidier, began, with the most stupendous preparations ever concentrated, an attack on the southern barriers over a forty-mile front. He forced the Aisne the next day on an eighteen-mile front, and on May 31 he brought up at the Marne on a six-mile front, having made a penetration of thirty miles to the south. There he attempted to deploy both east and west, and was held.

Meanwhile his baseline had been extended twenty miles to the west—to near Noyon. He had occupied about 650 square miles of new territory and had reduced his nearest approach to Paris from sixty-two to forty-four miles.

Then, on June 9, with even a greater array of men and material, he attempted to invert the western bow-like side of the salient already formed by turning it outward. He made a fierce attack from a twenty-mile front between Montdidier and Noyon in the direction of Compiègne. With this objective attained, his Picardy front would have been sufficiently broadened to enable him to resume his journey down the Somme. Moreover, he would have been within striking distance of Paris. He gained seven miles, which was later reduced to less than six by French counterattacks. French counterattacks and a thrust of American marines on his flanks in the three succeeding days not only held him in a vise, but revealed his tremendous losses and the extraordinary means he had expended in preparations. By June 12 his failure, the ramifications of which actually demonstrated his defeat, was an established fact. Then, on the following Saturday, June 15, this failure was acknowledged by the sudden launching of an Austrian offensive in Italy. How this was an acknowledgment we shall see in the proper place.

UPPER MAP: WHERE THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE BEGAN ON MAY 27, 1918
LOWER MAP: WHERE IT WAS STOPPED, MAY 31

SECOND MARNE BATTLE

Held at the Ypres and Arras barriers in the north it was inevitable that Ludendorff's next move would be in the south. The railways freed by the expansion of the Picardy salient in March, the unhampered concentrations made possible at Péronne, St. Quentin, La Fère, and Hirson, and the admirable surface of the Laon Plateau for purposes of manoeuvring large bodies of troops—all pointed to the line northwest of Rheims as the probable point of attack. Then, when it came on May 27, consternation reigned among military critics as they observed the apparent ease with which the Germans carried, first, the mighty Chemin des Dames, protected on the east by Craonne and its three plateaux and on the west by the Ailette and the Oise, and then the south bank of the Aisne, with its formidable prepared fortifications at Soissons. The German feints in the Lys salient and before Amiens in the preceding week were said to have distracted Foch, who had thus been outgeneraled. And when the Marne was reached between Dormans and Château-Thierry, it was remembered how the Third German Army under General von Hausen had swept across the river at that identical spot on Aug. 25, 1914.

In the first three days of the drive the Germans with the greatest auxiliary force of tanks, machine guns, and poison gas projectors they had ever mobilized employed twenty-five divisions, or 325,000 men. When they doubled their base line and had reached the Marne and were trying to deploy they were using forty divisions containing over 400,000 of their best troops. When the offensive quieted down in the first days of June it was estimated that they had lost fully 30 per cent. of the total in casualties. On the other hand, they claimed to have captured over 45,000 prisoners and taken 400 guns. They had come thirty miles and had occupied 650 square miles of territory. But they were held.

What is the explanation of this seeming paradox? Foch could by calling on a certain number of reserves easily have held the Chemin des Dames until—he had been flanked and enfiladed out, between Neufchatel and Rheims on the east and from the Oise where it enters the Aisne on the west. He might have held out longer on the southern bank of the Aisne, but the result would have been the same—losses equaling if not surpassing those of the enemy and the surrender of thousands of guns and large quantities of war material. Finally, he would have gained nothing and might even have been unable to hold the Marne.

It is obvious that he did none of these things. But what did he do? He left his front protected by only sufficient men and guns to produce the greatest possible losses among the enemy as he slowly advanced south and concentrated heavily on the enemy's flanks. It was he and not Ludendorff who decreed that the Germans should reach the Marne between Dormans and Château-Thierry, and nowhere else. But it was Pétain who executed the plans of Foch.

THE FIGHT IN DETAIL

The German attack under the personal command of the Crown Prince launched on the morning of May 27 was mainly directed against the British 8th, 50th, 25th, and 21st Divisions and the French 6th Army, which occupied the front from Vauxaillon eastward to the Brimont region—from north of Soissons to the north and a little west of Rheims. Certain sectors at once gave way under the strong pressure—particularly in the Chambrettes. There was no mistaking this for the main offensive, although in the Lys salient, between Ypres and Arras in the north, and on both sides of the Somme and the Ardre in the centre, there were simultaneous artillery preparations of great violence. Toward the end of the day the weight of the enemy's attacks carried his troops across both the River Aisne and the Chemin des Dames. The line, however, remained unbroken, as the Allies retreated across the Aisne between Vailly and Berry-au-Bac, which are eighteen miles apart, and then gave way across the Vesle near Fismes.

On the 28th Franco-British troops proved the assault in the north to be abortive by quickly re-establishing their lines east of Dickebusch Lake and capturing a few prisoners. On the main field of battle in the south the Franco-British right deployed to the east covering the Brouillet-Savigny-Thillois line protecting Rheims. On the west they did the same, but with more elasticity, while the centre continued to give. On the 29th the acute angle of the German penetration, with its vertex covering Fismes, suddenly sprung to the shape of a bow. The line still held covering the Cathedral City, but on the west the defenders of Soissons were killing their last Germans, and in the south Savigny on the Ardre had been reached. At Savigny the line of advance was diverted westward until it embraced Fère-en-Tardennois and Vezilly. And still the retreating but unbroken Allies were deploying east and west as its pressure increased, or were taken prisoner when retreat became impossible.

On the 30th the enemy attempted to broaden his front northwest of Rheims and failed, but he succeeded in obliterating the salient south of Noyon, from the Oise Canal to Soissons, and on the 31st by an advance from a twenty-five-mile curved front he reached the Marne between Château-Thierry and Dormans on a contracted six-mile front. Here he met on the south bank the prepared defenses, and has been kept on the north bank ever since.

AMERICAN MARINES

In the enemy's attempts to broaden his front on the Marne salient, June 1 and 2, he managed to rectify the eastern side by reaching Sarcy and Olizy and by working along up the Marne a couple of miles east of Dormans. He also measurably consolidated his positions between the Oise Canal and Soissons, and south of the latter stretched the line into a segment with a five mile vertical as far south as, but not including, Château-Thierry on the Marne. This swing to the westward appears to have been a deliberate attempt to force Foch to meet shock with shock by throwing in his reserves, as the German advance had reached a point only forty miles from Paris.

OFFENSIVE OF JUNE 9, AIMED AT COMPIEGNE, AND BLOCKED BY THE FRENCH AFTER FIVE DAYS. LIGHT SHADED AREA WON BY GERMANS; DARK SHADED AREA AT BOTTOM WON BACK BY AMERICANS NEAR CHATEAU-THIERRY

This was unnecessary, however, for here, north of Château-Thierry, the enemy was to meet a new foe—the American marines. It is doubtful whether the extraordinary performance of this corps and its French supports between June 6 and June 12, when they bent back the lower part of the bow between La Feste-Milon and Château-Thierry—from Grandeles, Champillon, and Clerembant Wood to Bussiares and Bouresches—can be included in the second battle of the Marne or serves as a diversion to the later battle of the Oise, directed against Compiègne. At any rate, the ardor of the marines had the desired effect, for on the very day they began their work the inspired Berlin Vossische Zeitung said: "The German Supreme Command cannot well proceed now against the newly consolidated French front, which is richly provided with reserves, and bear the great losses which experience shows are entailed by such operations." Thus ended the second battle of the Marne, sometimes called the Aisne-Marne battle.

BATTLE OF THE OISE

The flanking lines between which the Germans were directed to the Marne made the battle of the Oise inevitable as far as the Marne salient was concerned. For the salient, there was only this alternative, if its front could not be broadened: it must be "dug in" or be abandoned. But, being necessary, if it could be waged beyond a certain point, it would also become ambitious. It would supplement the Picardy front by continuing its line down to the Marne. Reaching the Oise at Montmacq, it would flank the French salient north of the Oise. Utilizing the Oise and Ourcq Valleys, it would envelop the defensive forests of Aigue, Compiègne, and Villers-Cotterets. This would mean Compiègne. From Compiègne the investment of Paris was possible.

The battle, as far as the Germans are concerned, was probably their most disastrous effort of the war within the given time. Between thirty and thirty-four divisions were completely used up—a cost of over 400,000 effectives. Not only did their advance lack the element of surprise, but it entered a veritable trap. Their front was enfiladed with a destructive fire from impregnable flanks.

The battle was also a revelation; it demonstrated as nothing else the waning man power of the enemy—the desperate mobilization of 16-year-old boys, of old men, of convicts, even.

The artillery preparation, rich in gas shells, began at midnight on June 8-9. On the following morning at 4:30 the attack was launched over the twenty miles from Montdidier to Noyon. And, as usual, there was the northern diversion—the pounding of the British lines by gunfire from Villers-Bretonneux to Arras. Even on the first day of the assault, when the German centre advanced two and a half miles, the French made a spirited counterattack near Hautebraye, between the Aisne and the Oise. On the second day the enemy took at tremendous cost the villages of Mery, Belloy, and St. Maur and debouched from Thiescourt Wood. On the third day, with the aid of four fresh divisions, he managed to reach the Aronde, on the west; to descend a mile astride the Matz and to occupy its northern bank almost to the Oise, in the centre; and to envelop the forest of Ourscamps, on the east. Before the sun set the French, by a counterattack, had entirely won back the gains on the west, with over 1,000 prisoners captured. On the fourth and fifth days (June 13 and 14) the French heavily attacked on the flanks of the centre—at Courcelles and at Croix Ricard. Then came two final kicks from the foe; on June 16 he attempted to cross the Matz near its junction with the Oise and was driven back with heavy losses. The next day he drenched the south bank of the Marne with gas shells, but did not attempt to cross the stream.

All this time abortive diversions had been going on in the north, in the Lys salient, where on June 15 the British and Scottish troops took the initiative and captured two miles of enemy positions seven miles west of La Bassée and just north of Béthune.

THE AUSTRIAN OFFENSIVE

Just as the German defeat on the Marne and Oise was beginning to be realized abroad—its losses calculated, its meaning interpreted—the Austrians, on June 15, suddenly launched an offensive in the mountain region of Veneto and from the left bank of the Piave. So far the enemy has been firmly held in the mountains, but has crossed the river at two places without, however, being able to bring over any effective artillery—on the middle reaches he has gained the Plateau of Montello, defended by the intrenchments prepared there by the British under Plumer last December, and near the mouth he has succeeded in establishing one or two bridgeheads in the vicinity of Capo Sile.

As a military proposition the offensive has lacked the so far inevitable successes of a prepared initiative; in the mountains the first attacks were almost instantly broken up by simultaneous counterattacks. Along the river, especially in the vicinity of the crossings, the battle is developing in scope and intensity.

Aside from the military paradox already noted, this offensive possesses several characteristics, some military, some political, which seem well worth while dwelling upon.

In the first place, the location of the active front east of the Lago di Garda, from the Asiago Plateau to the sea, offers a certain indication of the German military situation in France. Its abortive character may also indicate the political situation in Austria-Hungary. With the lines in the mountains held, the operations on the Piave present no formidable danger to Italy.

It was well known by the Italian General Staff that the Austro-German High Command intended to make the attempt to confirm the Italian disaster of Caporetto as soon as the melting of the snows permitted the transportation of men and supplies through the Alps. In the first place, the material and man power lost by the Italians in the retreat to the Piave, which included the actual elimination of the 2d Army, were replaced. In the second, it was absolutely necessary to rectify, even in the Winter, the northern mountain line east of the Lago di Garda. West of the lake up to the Tonale Pass, over the great glacier of the Adamello, it was practically invulnerable, save through the Giudicaria Valley.

From west to east there were three doors, as it were, which had only been partly shut—the Vallarsa south of Rovereto, the path of the Frenzela Torrent and the angle it forms with the Brenta just above Valstagna, and the approach down the Piave in the region of Monte Monfenera from the Calcina Torrent. There were also other minor openings—the passes of Monte Asolone, between the Brenta and the Piave, covering the path south along the Val San Lorenzo, the Nos and Campo Mulo Valleys between Asiago and the Brenta. All these were closed in December and January, with a total loss to the enemy of over 10,000 men and 100 guns, save the domination of the Vallarsa, that was taken from the Austrians by the capture of Monte Corno on May 15. Meanwhile, the British and French armies had been transferred, the former from Il Montello on the Piave to the Asiago Plateau, and the latter from the Monfenera region to that of Monte Grappa. Between 200,000 and 300,000 Italian troops had been sent to the aid of France.

Thus the Italian General Staff awaited the inevitable with confidence—a confidence fully seconded by people and press, for if the mass of the Italians had fought in ignorance before the catastrophe of Caporetto, since then they had learned the objects of the war—national as well as allied.

But the General Staff had also learned something else. This was most important. If Ludendorff in France should be successful—if he should succeed in isolating the allied armies north of the Somme, or force the French back upon the defenses of Paris, or both—then the Austrian Commander in Chief with his million men would be aided by German generalship and German divisions, and, together, they would strike down the Giudicaria to the west of the Lago di Garda, with all strength and disregarding all sacrifices in order to reach the metallurgic centre of Italy in Lombardia and Emilia, thereby forcing Italy out of the war and gaining access to the back door of France. If, however, Ludendorff should be blocked in France, the offensive must still be made at the propitious moment, but its plan of attack would be to the east of the Lago di Garda, from the Astico to the sea. It would be entirely an Austrian affair, and would naturally be limited by the political and military situation in the Dual Monarchy.

It is of significance, therefore, that the offensive has been launched to the east and not to the west of the Lago di Garda. Its locality reveals Ludendorff's conviction that he is at least blocked in France, if nothing else, whatever light its development may later throw upon the parlous internal conditions of the Hapsburg Empire.

This admitted, the Austrian plan of campaign becomes a simple problem—simple because there could be no other. At the beginning of the war Italy attempted to neutralize the Trentino and the Carnic region by sealing the passes and then made her attack across the Isonzo. But she could never be certain that the passes had been effectually sealed. A successful Austrian invasion through them would jeopardize her armies on the Isonzo, isolate them by cutting their lines of communication. That was the danger which threatened those armies when the Austrians made their drive upon the Asiago Plateau in May, 1916, which was ultimately outflanked and forced back. That was also the disaster when last October the Austro-German armies, having penetrated the Isonzo line from the north, forced it to retire westward, forced a withdrawal from the passes in the Carnic and the Dolomite Alps, and again reached the Asiago Plateau, this time free from the danger of being flanked.

LEADING GENERALS OF THE AMERICAN ARMY

Major Gen. H. A. Greene
(Press Illus. Service)

Major Gen. Leonard Wood
(© Clinedinst)

Major Gen. H. S. Hale

Major Gen. J. T. Dickman

PROMINENT IN AMERICAN WAR LEGISLATION

Senator G. M. Hitchcock
Chairman Foreign Relations Committee
(Harris & Ewing)

Congressman Claude Kitchin
Chairman House Ways and Means Committee
(Harris & Ewing)

Senator L. S. Overman

Senator F. M. Simmons

SCENE OF THE NEW AUSTRIAN OFFENSIVE

It is thus of most vital influence upon the operations going on along the Piave that the British on the Asiago Plateau, on June 15, and the French on Monte Grappa, the next day, and the Italians elsewhere even covering a diversion at the Tonale Pass, should have hurled back with severe losses the initial assaults of the enemy in the mountain regions. On June 18 the Austrians claimed to have taken 30,000 prisoners and 120 guns since the 15th; the Italians and their allies claimed 2,500 prisoners.

That the Greeks are certainly in the war was revealed on May 31, when the news was published that they had, with the aid of French artillery, captured some 1,500 Bulgar-German troops on the Struma front in Macedonia. Meanwhile, however, General Guillaumat, who succeeded General Sarrail as commander of the allied armies there in December, has returned to France to take charge of the defenses of Paris.

Advices from Constantinople, via Moscow and London, indicate that the Turks, having reached an agreement with the Caucasus peoples, are assembling troops across the Armenian-Persian frontier, so as to block the advance of General Marshall with the Anglo-Indian forces up the Tigris. The left wing of the Turks, on June 14, reached Tabriz and Lake Urumiah, in Persia, 200 miles northeast of Mosul on the Tigris. Marshall is 60 miles south of that place.

Captain Rizzo of the Italian Navy, who on the night of Dec. 9-10 sank the Austrian pre-dreadnought Wien in the Harbor of Trieste and put another ship of the 5,000-ton class, now known to be the Budapest, out of commission, again distinguished himself on June 10, when with two torpedo boats he cut through the destroyer convoy of two dreadnoughts of the Viribus Unitis class (20,000 tons) and sent certainly one and probably both to the bottom off Dalmatia—one being seen to sink before his eyes and the wreckage of the other being subsequently picked up. This exploit leaves only one of these mighty ships afloat, the first having been torpedoed in the Harbor of Pola on May 15.

Trying to Corrupt Italy's Troops

The Astounding German Order for Fraternization and Penetration on the Italian Front

The April issue of Current History Magazine contained the text of a German order for undermining the morale of Russian troops by fraternization. Early in May a similar order was found on a German prisoner captured by French troops on the Italian front. The order is as follows:

281st Division, First Section, No. 226.—Confidential.

Not to be communicated to troops in the first line.

First—Following the telephone order, Geroch No. 2,080, you are asked to intensify with efficacy the propaganda with the enemy army.

Second—The object of this propaganda is to disorganize the enemy army and to obtain information regarding it. The propaganda must be carried out in the following manner: (a) By throwing into the enemy's trenches newspapers and proclamations destined for the more intelligent elements; (b) by persuading the troops by oral propaganda. For that it will be necessary to utilize officers, under-officers, and soldiers who appear to be most adapted. The posts for making contacts with the enemy must be placed under the direction of the company commander, who must be in the first-line positions. These officers must ascertain the points where it will be the easiest to throw into the enemy trenches newspapers, proclamations, &c. At these points you must seek to gain contact with the enemy by means of our interpreters, and if the enemy consents then fix an hour for future conversations. You must then advise immediately by telephone the chief of the Information Bureau of the division of every contact with the enemy.

Only the chief of the Information Bureau will have the right to direct the conversations according to the instructions he has received. It is rigorously prohibited for any of our soldiers to enter into relation with the enemy except those who have received the mission to do so, for fear that the enemy may seek to profit by their ingenuousness. All letters and printed matter which the enemy may have on his person must be taken from him, and transmitted to the chief of the Information Bureau. Company commanders, above all, must seek to establish the points where the enemy's soldiers have received newspapers, the points where the newspapers were taken openly, and without precaution. There are posts of observation for the artillery, as it may happen that French officers or foreign army instructors are in these posts.

In these enterprises for obtaining contact with the enemy, success depends on the ability with which you operate. Good results can be obtained by calling in a friendly tone and indicating sentiments of comradeship or by reiterated promises not to fire and offers of tobacco. The tobacco for this purpose will be furnished by the company commanders.

Every evening, at 8 o'clock, the company commander must transmit directly to the information officer a report of the propaganda accomplished during the day. This report must contain the following indications: (a) Has the enemy picked up our newspapers and proclamations? (b) Have you endeavored to enter into relations with the enemy? (c) With whom have you had contact—officers, under-officers, soldiers? (d) Where and when were our newspapers and proclamations thrown into the enemy's trenches? (e) All other information of the enemy's conduct. At the same time, our interpreters will send to the chief of the Information Bureau a detailed report on all conversations they have had with the enemy. The enemy's positions where propaganda is under way must not be shelled by our artillery; they must indicate to the batteries the positions of these points to be spared. The enemy is perfidious and without honor, and it is necessary as a consequence to be careful that they neither take our propagandists prisoners nor kill them. Those of our soldiers who leave our lines for the purpose of carrying newspapers and pamphlets to the enemy must be advised. To protect them it will be necessary to constitute with care special detachments, who will mount guard in the trenches, and who will fire only on the order of the company commander who is directing relations with the enemy.—Signed, on behalf of the temporary commander of the division, the Major General commanding the 62d Brigade.

THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE

Third Month of Desperate Effort to Break the French and British Lines in France

By GEORGE H. PERRIS

Special Correspondent with the French Armies

[Copyrighted in the United States of America]

The May and June issue of Current History Magazine contained detailed descriptions of the first and second months of the great German offensive in France, which began with a terrific blow in Picardy, apparently with the object of driving a wedge between the French and British, and then shifted to a deadly attack on the British in Flanders, aiming to break through to the Channel ports. These phases of the great battle were described by Philip Gibbs. The new phases, sometimes called the third and fourth offensives, began May 27 and June 9, respectively, and are known as the battle for Paris and the battle of the Oise. The blow of May 27 was delivered between Rheims and Montdidier, with the evident purpose of breaking the French lines and clearing the way for a drive to Paris. The descriptions which follow are written by George H. Perris, a special correspondent with the French armies.

[This dispatch was written before the drive toward Paris was launched, and indicates that Mr. Perris had a clear and correct idea of the German plan]

May 26, 1918.—The delay of the third act of the German offensive was abnormal. The first was perhaps, in design and execution, the most powerful operation in the history of warfare. The second, the attack in Flanders in the middle week of April, almost certainly began as a diversion intended to draw the British reserves from the Amiens front and to fill the interval needed for the reorganization of forces.

Up to the middle of April the German armies not occupied in fighting could do little but commence the strengthening of their new fronts, as lines of defense and departure. Their staffs, high and low, must, however, have been already engaged upon plans for the next push. Six or seven weeks then have passed in constituting a new mass of attack, with its armament and transport, in constructing roads and railways, dumps and supply centres, in bringing forward batteries, airdromes, hospitals, and so on.

True, this is not as long as the time of preparation for the first phase of the battle, which may be broadly counted as from New Year's to March 21. But there should be a vast difference between the mounting of a wholly fresh offensive and its pursuit into the later stages. A relentless continuity of pressure is evidently of very great importance after the advantage of the initial surprise. It is the thing which a commander will most aim at.

If the Germans did not keep going on the main line of their attack north and south of the Somme after the middle of April, it was because they could not do so; and the partial success of their ex-temporized campaign in Flanders should not disguise from us this significant fact.

It would be useless at this period of the war, when all Germany demands a decision and nothing less, if the new offensive did not lead to the capture at least of some place of symbolic importance, such as Rheims, Verdun, or Nancy. But that would require a force so large as to cripple the major effort in the northwest. All the military virtue of the German strategy is against such a dispersal of effort.

CHEMIN DES DAMES LOST

May 28—The opening of the attack and the first day's results are thus described by Mr. Perris:

Hindenburg has scored another spectacular success. At dawn yesterday, after three hours' bombardment, composed largely of gas shells, a new German mass attack was thrown upon a twenty-five-mile front, extending from the Ailette near Vauxaillon to the Aisne-Marne Canal near Brimont.

It was four or five times as numerous as the defenders, and in other regards correspondingly stronger. In these circumstances, an attempt to retain the line of the Chemin des Dames would have meant that the French troops would have been massacred before reserves could reach them, and there was nothing for it but to fall back steadily and in good order, using successive lines of trenches and deep folds of ground to punish the enemy for every forward step he made.

As I anticipated in my last message, the method of the first phase of the German offensive was again employed with some improvements. This method rests upon two main elements—the prodigal expenditure of the large reserves obtained by the collapse of Russia and Rumania, and the skillful use of the great advantage of what are called interior lines of communication to throw a mass attack suddenly upon the chosen sector, and so to gain the further advantage of surprise.

The front now chosen was held till a day or two ago by parts of two armies belonging to the group of which the Prussian Crown Prince is the titular chief. General von Boehm's army, extending from the Oise at Noyon to east of Craonne, numbered nine divisions. In the sector of General Fritz von Below, extending across the Rheims front to Suippe, near Auberive, there were eight divisions. The whole twenty-five miles attacked yesterday had therefore been held till the eve of battle by only seven or eight divisions. The exact number of divisions engaged yesterday is not yet known, but it seems to have been about twenty-five, or over a quarter of a million combatants.

There is here a curious difference and likeness as compared with the first phase of the offensive on March 21. To the seventeen divisions already holding the sector of attack there were added another seventeen. This time the same number has been added where there were only eight. Two months ago the front of attack was about forty miles long. This time a rather denser force was employed, perhaps because the Aisne height constituted a formidable position, and it was intended to carry it at a single rush.

While the front keeps its present shape the German staff has necessarily a great advantage over that of the Allies in that it is acting from the centre of a crescent, and they are around and outside of it. If enough time can be given to preparations—and as my last message showed the pause had been abnormal—they must gain a certain benefit of surprise, and with this benefit such a mass of shock must win a certain depth of ground.

Our only notions of the Chemin des Dames were obtained in a time very different from the present emergency, the time of fixed fronts and of methods defensive and offensive that are already old-fashioned to those of us who have watched these blood-soaked hills and gullies for nearly four years through heartrending vicissitudes, who remember Haig's and Smith-Dorrien's first attempts to scale what seemed an impregnable fortress, who saw the French bluecoats rush forward last Summer till at length they stood firm on the cliffs of Craonne and Heurtebise, who explored the Dragon's Cave at Malmaison Fort and the vast Montparnasse quarry when they still stank from rotting flesh.

WITHDRAWAL NECESSARY

It is not a light thing that ground so full of tragic memories should be lost. It seems only the other day that I was adventuring along the Ailette by Anizyle-Château, sleeping in a dugout in Pinon Forest, and examining the outposts that then held the northern edge of the hills.

War pays little regard to sentiment, and it is not any spectacular stroke or sentimental score that will restore the falling fortunes of the Hohenzollerns.

Total Gains of German Drive

SHADED PORTIONS SHOW TOTAL GAINS OF THE GREAT GERMAN OFFENSIVE. THE NUMERALS INDICATE THE SEQUENCE OF THE FOUR BATTLES OR PHASES. THE DRIVE ON THE SOMME WAS LAUNCHED MARCH 21, THAT IN FLANDERS APRIL 9, THE CHAMPAGNE DRIVE MAY 27, AND THE OFFENSIVE ON THE OISE JUNE 9

No doubt the French command found it grievous yesterday to order a retreat to the Aisne. Feebler men might have temporized and lost in doing so many good lives which are, after all, more sacred than the most sacred earth.

The attack could not be anticipated. It was far beyond the powers of the small defending forces to ward it off. With sound tactical sense the heaviest assault was directed toward the eastern end of the Aisne Hills at Craonne as soon as it became evident that this corner could not be held, and that from here the whole line was in danger of being turned.

The German forces included some of the specially trained units that fought in von Hutier's army in the March attack—two divisions of the Prussian Guard and other crack formations. It was only at heavy cost that they got forward so quickly. The French retired from position to position without confusion, firing continuously. The fact that their losses are small in comparison with those of the enemy is an essential point.

THE SECOND DAY

May 29—There has been very severe fighting today, with results necessarily favorable on the whole to the enemy because the allied reserves are only just beginning to reach the front. A strong thrust toward Soissons and the road and railway from Soissons to Coucy-le-Château at the moment when the head of the columns of the offensive were striking south of the Vesle from Braisne, Bazoches, and Fismes suggests that the armies engaged have already been reinforced. [See maps in preceding pages.]

So far an almost insolent boldness has won through, but the French resistance is steadily increasing, and more prudence will soon be necessary. For instance, the River Aisne is a most awkward obstacle to have on your line of communications. The enemy was able to prevent the Allies from destroying all the bridges during the withdrawal, but it is not too late, and the bombarding squadrons of the Allies will doubtless find telling work to do in the early future.

Last evening when the enemy had got across the Aisne near Pontavert part of the British brigade was falling back. A group of French territorials, firing continuously upon the swarming graycoats, were taking refuge in Germicourt Wood and being gradually surrounded. Some Englishmen and older Frenchmen decided to make their last stand, to die there together or to beat the enemy off. A handful of territorials got away to tell the tale. The Englishmen fell to a man.

The French officer who told me of this episode of the battle spoke also of the gallant work of a British cyclist battalion fighting with the French before Fismes, and of the fate of some British officers who lost their lives in blowing up Aisne bridges near Craonne. There was no time to take the usual precautions, but the thing had to be done, and they did it. My informant showed that he felt all the nobility and pathos of these sacrifices, and he wished, as much as I, that the folk at home should hear of them.

The first reports seemed to indicate that the success of the German assault on the British sector led the defenders by a threat of envelopment to retreat from the Aisne heights. This was not so. The Germans first crossed the river further west, and the British left was therefore obliged to fall back.

TERRIBLE BOMBARDMENT

It was the left, and particularly the 50th Division, that had to bear the heaviest of the shock. The bombardment, which lasted three hours, was of indescribable intensity, the chill night air being soon saturated with poison gas, and when at dawn the German infantry, hideous in their masks, broke like a tidal wave upon the thin British line it was overwhelmed. The 50th is a territorial division.

A counterattack toward Craonne failed under a flank fire from tanks and machine guns, and step by step the heroic line was withdrawn through wooded and marshy ground to the Aisne.

The French on the left were resisting like masses with the same bravery; contact was lost with them for a short time, as also with the British 25th and 8th Divisions further east, and as the men fell back a front could be preserved only by a converging retreat toward the south by night. When the hills north of Vosle were reached the 50th Division had lost a number of its officers and other ranks.

The British centre, consisting of part of the 25th and 8th Divisions, was more fortunate. The 25th had been in reserve, and its support in the low and difficult ground at the east end of the Aisne Valley was most important. It and the 8th maintained their second positions till late in the afternoon.

On the right the 21st Division, together with the neighboring French division, had to defend the line of the canal from Berry-au-Bac to Bermericourt against the onset of four German divisions, aided by the strongest fleet of tanks the enemy has yet put into the field. This northwestern edge of the great plain of Champagne is very favorable ground for the use of cars of assault, and it was here that the French made their first experiments with indifferent results that have since been greatly bettered.

These two British and French divisions had the advantage of a line of heights with batteries and perfect observation behind them. They held out obstinately till the retreat of the left made it necessary to move southward.

DESTRUCTION OF SOISSONS

May 30.—During last night the enemy took Fère-en-Tardenois and drove the allied rearguards back to Vesilly, whence the line ran this morning northeast to the outskirts of Rheims. As the Marne is thus brought into the picture, it is pertinent to point out that in the famous battle of September, 1914, the Germans reached to more than thirty miles south of the river in this region.

This is at present their strongest push. The road from Soissons to Compiègne is closed to them, but further south they have got to the road Soissons-Hartennes.

Lest it be thought that the allied reserves are slow in coming into play, I may point out that the front of the offensive has been nearly doubled in length in the last three days. At the outset it was about thirty-five miles. It is now sixty. Merely to make good losses and to provide a screen of troops along this greater extent, with everything in movement, has required effort.

At midnight on May 26 the battlefront was ten miles away from Soissons. The few civilian inhabitants and the many hospital patients had settled down to sleep, the usual hour for airplane raids having passed.

An hour later they and the few army bureaus in the neighborhood were aroused by a sudden outbreak of bombardment, such as they had never heard before, and soon afterward shells began to crash upon the town.

With the wounds of four years of war upon it, the northern quarter completely destroyed and the cathedral grievously damaged, Soissons still possessed something of its old-time grace and air of substantial well being. It would be an exaggeration to compare it with Richmond, for the Aisne is not the Thames and the French woods are not English parks; but after the victory of Malmaison had put the boche back beyond the Ailette we hoped to see the great mansions repaired and the happy life of the shopping quarters gradually revived. Today the Germans are camped in the smoking ruins of Soissons.

INCENDIARY SHELLS

On May 27 at least 1,200 explosive and incendiary shells were fired into the place. The hospitals, including a special hospital for poison gas cases, were hurriedly evacuated, American ambulance cars doing good service in carrying away the wounded.

On Tuesday, the 28th, the bombardment continued, its purpose being, no doubt, to put out of service the most important bridgehead of the Aisne Valley and one of the most important lines of communication between the regions to the south and north, the town being a railway centre of some local consequence. That afternoon a good many houses were in flames, and during the night a large part of the town was involved in fire.

The enemy had now shouldered his way on the north of the Aisne westward from Pinon, Laffaux, and Vregny, and had reached the highroad running from Coucy-le-Château to Soissons. Yesterday he pressed still further west, and the road being thus covered, as well as the roads from Laffaux and Vailly, made a powerful direct attack upon the town.

It looked at first like being an easy success. The French, wearied with thirty hours of unceasing combat and impossibly outnumbered, fell back, and the Germans reached the centre of the town. In the narrow streets, however, the effect of superior numbers largely disappeared. The French fought fiercely from corner to corner, and at last, gathering themselves together, swept the enemy back to the northern and eastern suburbs. In the afternoon new German contingents were brought up and in a few hours gained complete possession of the place.

Soissons was, of course, in no sense fortified, and, the northern and eastern roads having been lost, it had no military value. The highway down the valley to Compiègne is bordered by the old French trench and wire systems and dominated by hills on either side of the river. The range on the south bank is covered for miles by the great forests of Villers-Cotterets and Compiègne.

[Another correspondent stated that 1,200 shells fell in Soissons on May 27. The Bishop of Soissons stated in Paris on June 7 that 100 churches had been razed to the ground by the Germans, and that at least 100 others had been pillaged and partially demolished. The famous cathedral in Soissons suffered severely. The Bishop added that the Germans knew neither faith nor law. They knew nothing but war and pillage. The Germans, he said, were stripping and carrying everything away methodically.

The Bishop also asserted that women, children, and old men had been brutally murdered by German aviators, who flew over and fired with their machine guns upon long lines of refugees on country roads.]

VON HUTIER'S METHOD

Something like forty divisions, most of them the best troops available, have now been thrown across the Aisne—400,000 men who might possibly have reached some vital part of the allied defenses in the north.

The von Hutier method is a prodigious invention, but it is as costly in fire and blood as it is impressive for force and speed. In the last week of March it was, in a purely military sense, properly employed, even though it failed, because the objective could be said to be of a vital or decisive character.

What vital objective is there in the present operation? The central part of the German line has been pressed a little further in the last twenty-four hours in the obscure region of scattered hamlets, large farms, and deep tortuous valleys, midway between the Aisne and the Marne. It now comes nearly down to the small market towns of Fère-en-Tardenois and Ville-en-Tardenois, thence running east-northeast to the Vesle just outside of Rheims.

The advance is meeting everincreasing resistance, and by the time the first week is out it will perhaps be definitely arrested. But suppose that it goes much further and reaches the Marne Valley, or even still further to the Montmirail Valley. Two useful highroads, with some country towns, would be lost to the Allies in these altogether unlikely contingencies, but nothing vital would be lost. The German Army would be no nearer than it now is to winning the war.

A TRAIN UNDER FIRE

In an evacuation station, where a number of British were waiting for the hospital train, the ragged fellows told me of adventures that only their scarlet, honest faces made credible. There was a young Lieutenant who was on a train that was sent up north yesterday toward Fismes. The exact whereabouts of the enemy was unknown. They ran right into the German lines.

The outposts received them with a volley of rifle shots and then came on with grenades. The engine driver stopped the train, jumped down, and took refuge in a ditch. While the fight waxed hotter he was induced to return, and they managed to steam backward just in time, carrying some wounded and three German prisoners with them. The Lieutenant's satisfaction in this last item seemed, however, to be marred by the impression that the Germans were not forcibly captured, but wished to surrender.

The civilian refugees are going south in processions of farm carts, high-ended wagons, and ancient traps, or footing it behind barrows and perambulators. I would not speak lightly of the temporary loss of their lands and homes, but in their ranks there was no sign of panic or fear for the final result.

Most of them were women and children, with a few gaffers, heading a family group or driving cows and big white oxen. Girls with umbrellas up against the hot sun and dust clouds, little children in their Sunday best, and old ladies in Scotch caps sat on piles of straw, amid bedding and furniture, on high wagons. Many of the younger folks had bicycles and many walked, with dogs and goats frisking about them.

EXTENSION OF THE BATTLE

On May 31 Mr. Perris described the extension of the battlefront during the preceding twenty-four hours. He wrote:

The battlefront now forms a vast triangle, the apex pointing markedly toward Château-Thierry and less markedly toward Dormans. The west side runs for about fifty miles from the Oise opposite Noyon to the Marne. The east side runs back thirty miles to Rheims.

The enemy goes on multiplying his objective and distending his lines. The military worth of this strategy is perhaps in inverse ratio to its shown appearance on the map.

On the opposite flanks of the battlefield the allied forces have here been drawn slightly back from the acute salient, marked by the two trivial points named in a previous message, Betheny and Laneuvillette. The ruins of Rheims thus become the corner of the allied defenses on this line. I have explained that the city lies exposed in a saucer at the southwestern corner of the Champagne and is completely dominated by the allied crescent of high positions on the mountains of Rheims.

FIRM ON THE FLANKS

In contrast with the further advance of the German centre, the French and British forces on the wings are holding firm. The great highroad from Soissons to Château-Thierry marks broadly the western limit of the offensive.

On the northern stretch of it there was hard fighting yesterday. In the morning the enemy crossed the road at Hartennes and attacked westward with a number of tanks, but was checked near the hamlet of Tigny.

Further north a well known French division made, with its traditional spirit, a thrust westward across the road and the little River Crise and reached the village of Noyant. It had to fall back, but here, too, the German advance was arrested. The Compiègne road is firmly held, and the disparity of forces is being rapidly reduced.

On the other flank of the battlefield the French and British divisions stand across the hills on the other bank of the Ardre, a small tributary of the Vesle, from Brouillet to Thillois, on the northern foothills of the mountain of Rheims, whence the front runs around the ruined city.

This French division struck out from Le Neuvillette along the canal and captured two hummocks, called Castalliers and De Courcy. It was a bold effort, intended to check the enemy rather than in the hope of retaining the position. This indeed proved impossible, but the French were slow to retire, and the lesson will not be lost upon their adversaries.

FIGHT TO THE DEATH

The news is gradually coming in of what happened on the front, submerged by the assault of Monday morning, (May 27.) Its most northerly part was the low ground beside the Ailette called the Forest of Pinon, which I described fully last Christmas, when I spent several days with the outposts by which it was held, in conditions somewhat reminiscent of Wild West warfare. The nearest trenches were on the hills a mile or two behind, this ground being too marshy to dig in. In the forest blockhouses were then being built, and were laid out while each side raided the other across the frontier on the stream and canal. Nothing then seemed less likely than an attack across such ground, but preparations were being pushed forward with the idea that a few groups of defenders would gather in and around the blockhouses and fight a delaying action, and then, if possible, escape back to the hill trenches.

The event turned out otherwise. When the surviving groups and outposts, amounting in all to three battalions, got together on Monday morning they decided to intrench themselves and to fight to the death. Carrier pigeons brought notes from them to this effect. The last note received was dated 2 P. M. on Tuesday. The best that can be hoped is that some survive as prisoners.

I think it may be said that there is now no danger of a break through toward any vital objective.

STRONGER RESISTANCE

Mr. Perris on June 2 gave the first hint of improved aspects of the battle in the following dispatch:

On Friday afternoon, May 31, General von Boehm's troops opened a new pocket beyond Oulchy of a depth of about five miles and on either side of the Ourcq Valley yesterday. In the course of stubborn fighting this salient was slightly extended, and at the same time a narrow bend was added to their gains between the Oise about Pont Eveque and the Aisne west of Soissons.

The main line of pressure was thus changed from south to southwest, and while the rest of the new front is relatively quiet, there have developed two bulges, which represent the acutest stress of the battle.

The first of these is between the Oise and the Aisne, directed toward the angle of the two rivers at Compiègne; the second, midway between the Aisne and the Marne, points westward along the Ourcq, toward the ancient town of Laferte-Milon.

In both these fields there has been a series of violent struggles this morning, with a notable increase of the power of resistance of the Allies. North of the Aisne the German assaults have been nearly everywhere broken. A slight advance by the Germans on the Ourcq has been won at the cost of very heavy losses, and the French are standing with splendid resolution along its small tributary, the Savieres, which marks the border of the forest region of Villers-Cotterets.

As the enemy has reached the heights northwest of Château-Thierry, where we watch them from the south side of the river, an attempt to push westward along the north bank of the Marne is to be expected.

THE ADVANCE CHECKED

On June 3 Mr Perris was more optimistic than at any time since the battle began. He wrote as follows:

There is a slackening in the violence of the battle. Yesterday's fighting was the most equal I have seen in this stage of the offensive. We lost Faverolles again—this village has since been recaptured—but regained Hill 163, just west of the village of Passy, and broke attacks against Corcy, Troesnes, and Torcy. It is to be expected that the enemy will make new efforts to destroy the French bastion on the bare plateaus between the Aisne and the Ourcq.

Local currents of fortune are also in the nature of things, according as one side or the other decides to throw its local reserves upon this or that point. So far as the intentions of the German command have been revealed, however, it may now be said that the position is in hand at the end of the first week of this third act of the German offensive.

What is the outlook? By lengthy preparation aimed at an unlikely sector the enemy gained ground to nearly as large an extent as in the first act. In the last week of March von Hutier pierced from St. Quentin to Montdidier, say, thirty-five miles. In the last week von Boehm advanced from the Ailette to Château-Thierry, about thirty miles, on a similar length of front. It is too early to attempt comparison of the cost of the two enterprises in losses and exhaustion.

The German staff seems to have counted on employing forty-five divisions in the Aisne offensive. Before the end of last week this figure had been exceeded. No essential objective has been attained, and none has been approached as nearly as in the two northern phases of the offensive. Concentration, not dispersal, of effort is the means to a quick decision. If Germany were not pressed for time and could be content with partial victories, she might be satisfied, but Germany is decidedly pressed for time, and only decisive actions now count.

The Americans are coming into the battlefront, and will presently be there in force. This front now extends over 200 miles. The superiority of aggressive force given by the collapse of Russia and Rumania is ebbing away.

FRENCH OUTNUMBERED

The question will have arisen in some minds why, if the defenses of the Chemin des Dames were as strong as I had represented them to be, last Monday's attack should have so quickly overcome them. Detailed narratives are being accumulated which throw light on this subject. I take the case of the division holding the French left a week ago. We all remember its front, which was naturally and artificially of the strongest. It had nearly twelve hours' notice of what was afoot.

In the first place, the German artillery preparation, though short, was of infernal violence. The rolling barrage was two miles deep. It destroyed the French telephone wires and filled the battery emplacements and machine-gun posts with various kinds of poison gas. Dust and artificial smoke clouds isolated groups of defenders and hid the waves of assault till they broke with a four-fold superiority of force. Many groups were thus surrounded, but fought on for a couple of hours, causing the enemy heavy losses. Many short counterattacks delayed advances and every line of trench wire was used.

But the next most important thing, since reinforcements could not arrive immediately, was that the mass of the division should be held together and drawn back gradually for the defense of more essential positions. These lay beyond the Soissons bridgehead. Reinforced last Tuesday night, the division defended the plateau southeast of Soissons for four days with obstinate heroism.

AIR SUPREMACY OF ALLIES

It may now be said that the allied airmen have established decided supremacy in the new battlefield. The Germans had a week ago, in this as in other respects, the advantage of their preparations and initiative, and they used it boldly, flying low in numbers, and machine-gunning our retreating ranks.

The balance could not be instantly redressed. The airplane seems to be the very type of mobility, but it devours petrol, demands repairs, and, in brief, must carry its camp with it.

Every day of this critical week has seen a larger concentration between the Oise and the Marne, and an increasing number of combats and expeditions. The first essential was to have constant information of the enemy's movements; and this scouting work, though less sensational than some other parts of the air program, remains perhaps the most important of all.

Then followed with growing vigor the development of the aggressive functions of the air service in which it became a sort of extension of artillery and cavalry and even of infantry. A single group in one day brought down six boche planes and three sausages, dropped seventeen tons of bombs in the region of Rheims, and tons on marching columns of the enemy in the neighborhood of Ville-en-Tardenois.