The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 8) - Battle of Jutland Bank; Russian Offensive; Kut-El-Amara; East Africa; Verdun; The Great Somme Drive; United States and Belligerents; Summary of Two Years' War

Allen L. (Allen Leon) Churchill, Francis Trevelyan Miller, Francis J. (Francis Joseph) Reynolds

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The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Story of the Great War,
Volume V (of 8), Edited by Francis J. (Francis Joseph)
Reynolds, Allen L. (Allen Leon) Churchill, and Francis
Trevelyan Miller
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 8)
Battle of Jutland Bank; Russian Offensive; Kut-El-Amara; East Africa; Verdun; The Great Somme Drive; United States
and Belligerents; Summary of Two Years' War
Editor: Francis J. (Francis Joseph) Reynolds, Allen L. (Allen Leon) Churchill, and Francis Trevelyan Miller
Release Date: July 7, 2009 [eBook #29341]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR, VOLUME V (OF 8)***
E-text prepared by Charlene Taylor, Christine P. Travers,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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from page images generously made available by
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(http://www.archive.org)

Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See
Note:
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Transcriber's note:
Obvious printer's errors have been corrected. Hyphenation and accentuation have been made consistent. All other
inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's ...

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• Publié par: phowyor
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 53
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 8), Edited by Francis J. (Francis Joseph) Reynolds, Allen L. (Allen Leon) Churchill, and Francis Trevelyan Miller

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 8) Battle of Jutland Bank; Russian Offensive; Kut-El-Amara; East Africa; Verdun; The Great Somme Drive; United States and Belligerents; Summary of Two Years' War Editor: Francis J. (Francis Joseph) Reynolds, Allen L. (Allen Leon) Churchill, and Francis Trevelyan Miller Release Date: July 7, 2009 [eBook #29341] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR, VOLUME V (OF 8)***

E-text prepared by Charlene Taylor, Christine P. Travers, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by

Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org)

N o t e :

Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See http://www.archive.org/details/storyofgreatwarh05churuoft

Transcriber's note:

Obvious printer's errors have been corrected. Hyphenation and accentuation have been made consistent. All other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling has been retained.

Page 26: "notwithstanding he or they may believe to the contrary" has been changed to "notwithstanding what he or they may believe to the contrary".

Pages 178/179: Words are missing between "cross-" and "of" in the sentence: Ten miles west of Kolki the Russians succeeded in cross- of Gruziatin, two miles north of Godomitchy, the small German garrison of which, consisting of some five hundred officers and men, fell into Russian captivity.

Page 200: "during pursuit of the Russians" has been changed to "during pursuit by the Russians".

Frontispiece Jutland

The STORY OF THE GREAT WAR

BATTLE OF JUTLAND BANK · RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE · KUT-EL-AMARA EAST AFRICA · VERDUN · THE GREAT SOMME DRIVE · UNITED STATES AND BELLIGERENTS SUMMARY OF TWO YEARS' WAR

Editor's logo VOLUME V P · F · COLLIER & SON · NEW YORK

Copyright 1916 By P. F. Collier & Son CONTENTS

PART I.—AUSTRIAN PROPAGANDA CHAPTER Austrian Ambassador Implicated in Strike Plots—his Recall— Ramifications of German Conspiracies9 The Plot To Destroy Ships—Pacific Coast Conspiracies—Hamburg- American Case—Scope of New York Investigations15 Von Rintelen's Activities—Congressman Involved—Germany's Repudiations—Dismissal of Captains Boy-Ed and Von Papen22 Great Britain's Defense of Blockade—American Methods in Civil War Cited28 British Blockade Denounced As Illegal and Ineffective by the United States—The American Position35

Great Britain Unyielding—Effect of the Blockade—The Chicago Meat Packers' Case44 Seizure of Suspected Ships—Trading With the Enemy—The Appam— The Anglo-French Loan—Ford Peace Expedition49 American Pacificism—Preparedness—Munition Safeguard54

PART II.—OPERATIONS ON THE SEA

Naval Engagements in Many Waters59 Minor Engagements and Losses66 The Battle of Jutland Bank—Beginning70 Some Secondary Features of the Battle89 Losses and Tactics94 Death of Lord Kitchener—Other Events of the Second Year108

PART III.—CAMPAIGN ON THE EASTERN FRONT

The Eastern Front at the Approach of Spring, 1916116 The Russian March—Offensive from Riga to Pinsk122 Resumption of Austro-Russian Operations133 Thaw and Spring Floods141 Artillery Duels149 The Great Russian Offensive154 The Russian Reconquest of the Bukowina162 In Conquered East Galicia173 The German Counteroffensive Before Kovel178 Progress of the Bukowinian Conquest183 Temporary Lull in the Russian Offensive188 Advance Against Lemberg and Kovel192 The Germans' Stand on the Stokhod198 Increased Strength of the Russian Drive207

PART IV.—THE BALKANS

Holding Fast in Saloniki212 Military and Political Events in Greece216

PART V.—AUSTRO-ITALIAN CAMPAIGN

Resumption of Operations on the Italian Front229 The Spring of 1916 on the Austro-Italian Front235 The Austrian May Drive in the Trentino244 The Rise and Failure of the Austro-Hungarian Drive255 The Italian Counteroffensive in the Trentino265 Continuation of the Italian Counteroffensive276

Minor Operations on the Austro-Italian Front in Trentino Offensive283

PART VI.—RUSSO-TURKISH CAMPAIGN

Russian Successes After Erzerum292

PART VII.—CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA AND PERSIA

Renewed Attempt To Relieve Kut-el-Amara307 The Surrender of Kut-el-Amara318 Spring and Summer Trench War on the Tigris326 Russian Advance Toward Bagdad330 Turkish Offensive and Russian Counteroffensive in Armenia and Persia335

PART VIII.—OPERATIONS ON THE WESTERN FRONT

Renewal of the Battle of Verdun340 The Struggle for Vaux Fort and Village—Battle of Mort Homme348 Battle of Hill 304 and Douaumont—The Struggle at Fleury361 Spring Operations in Other Sectors371 Battle of the Somme—Allied Preparations—Position of the Opposing Forces377 The British Attack382 The French Attacks North and South of the Somme387 The British Attack (Continued)392 The Second Phase of the Battle of the Somme401

PART IX.—THE WAR IN THE AIR

The Value of Zeppelins in Long-Distance Reconnoitering—Naval Auxiliaries412 Aeroplane Improvements—Giant Machines—Technical Developments 418 Losses and Casualties in Aerial Warfare—Discrepancies in Official Reports—"Driven Down" and "Destroyed"424 Aerial Combats and Raids427

PART X.—THE UNITED STATES AND THE BELLIGERENTS

War Cloud in Congress433 The President Upheld in Armed-Merchantmen Issue—Final Crisis With Germany439 The American Ultimatum—Germany Yields449

Two Years of the War. By Frank H. Simonds 1. The German Problem461 2. The Belgian Phase463 3. The French Offensive466 4. The Battle of the Marne469 5. The End of the First Western Campaign472 6. The Russian Phase476 7. Tannenberg and Lemberg476 8. Warsaw and Lodz479 9. The Galician Campaign480 10. The Battle of the Dunajec481 11. Russia Survives484 12. The Balkan Campaign484 13. In the West487 14. Italy488 15. Verdun488 16. The February Attack490 17. Later Phases491 18. Gettysburg493 19. The Austrian Offensive494 20. Germany Loses the Offensive495 21. The Russian Attack496 22. The Battle of the Somme499 23. Gorizia499 24. As the Third Year Begins501 The Second Anniversary of the War, Statements from the British, French, and German Ambassadors to the United States503

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

JutlandFrontispiece Opposite Page Queen Mary, British Battle Cruiser78 Earl Kitchener110 Austrian 30.5-Centimeter Gun158 Austrian Intrenchment High on a Mountain238 German Crown Prince giving Crosses for Valor350 French Aviation Camp near Verdun366 U-C-5, German Mine-Laying Submarine446 Motor-Mounted French 75's494

LIST OF MAPS

Page Expansion of the War—Dates on which Declarations of War were made ( Colored Map )Front Insert Battle of Jutland Bank, the 1. Plate I—Distribution of Forces74 2. Plate II—Running Fight to the Southward77 3. Plate III—Running Fight to the Northward79 4. Plate IV—British Grand Fleet approaching from Northwest81 5. Plate V—British Grand Fleet coming into Action83 6. Plate VI—Jellicoe and Beatty acting together to "cap" German Fleet85 7. Plate VII—Jellicoe and Beatty pass around the German Flank, "capping" it86 8. Plate VIII—British Forces heading off to Southward to avoid Attack during Darkness88 9. Plate IX—Movement of Forces103 10. Plate X—Movement of Jellicoe's Forces on May 31105 11. Plate XI—What Von Scheer should have done106 Eastern Battle Front, August, 1916119 Russian Offensive from Pinsk to Dubno, The157 Russian Offensive in Galicia, The175 Italian Front, The241 Austrian Offensive, May, 1916, Detail of263 Gorizia272 Kut-el-Amara322 Russians in Persia, The333 Russians in Armenia, The338 Western Battle Front, August, 1916343 Four Zone Maps ( colored ) Opposite 344 Verdun, First Attack on346 Verdun, Northeast District in Detail352 Verdun, Northwest District in Detail356 Mort Homme Sector in Detail364 Verdun to St. Mihiel366 Verdun gain up to August, 1916369 Sector Where Grand Offensive was started379 English Gains, The394 French Gains, The406 Two Years of the War 1. August 18, 1914, When the Belgian Retreat to Antwerp began 465 2. August 23, 1914, After the Allies had lost all the First Battles467 3. September 6, 1914, the Battle of the Marne471

4. September 20, 1914, the Deadlock473 5. November 15, 1914, the End of the Western Campaign475 6. October 24, 1914, the Battle of the Vistula478 7. October 1, 1915, at the End of the Russian Retreat483 8. The Conquest of Serbia, December, 1915485 9. The Russian Spring Offensive, 1916497 10. Austro-Italian Campaigns, May To September, 1916500 Expansion of the War—Dates on which Declarations of War were made

PART I—AUSTRIAN PROPAGANDA CHAPTER I

AUSTRIAN AMBASSADOR IMPLICATED IN STRIKE PLOTS—HIS RECALL—RAMIFICATIONS OF GERMAN CONSPIRACIES

Public absorption in German propaganda was abating when attention became directed to it again from another quarter. An American war correspondent, James F. J. Archibald, a passenger on the liner Rotterdam from New York, who was suspected by the British authorities of being a bearer of dispatches from the German and Austrian Ambassadors at Washington, to their respective Governments, was detained and searched on the steamer's arrival at Falmouth on August 30, 1915. A number of confidential documents found among his belongings were seized and confiscated, the British officials justifying their action as coming within their rights under English municipal law. The character of the papers confirmed the British suspicions that Archibald was misusing his American passport by acting as a secret courier for countries at war with which the United States was at peace.

The seized papers were later presented to the British Parliament and published. In a bulky dossier, comprising thirty-four documents found in Archibald's possession, was a letter from the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador at Washington, Dr. Dumba, to Baron Burian, the Austro- Hungarian Foreign Minister. In this letter Dr. Dumba took "this rare and safe opportunity" of "warmly recommending" to the Austrian Foreign Office certain proposals made by the editor of a Hungarian-American organ, the "Szabadsag," for effecting strikes in plants of the Bethlehem Steel Company and others in the Middle West engaged in making munitions for the Allies. The United States Government took a serious view of the letter

recommending the plan for instigating strikes in American factories. Dr. Dumba, thrown on his defense, explained to the State Department that the incriminating proposals recommended in the document did not originate from him personally, but were the fruit of orders received from Vienna. This explanation was not easily acceptable. The phraseology of Dr. Dumba far from conveyed the impression that he was submitting a report on an irregular proposal inspired by instructions of the Austrian Government. Such a defense, however, if accepted, only made the matter more serious. Instead of the American Government having to take cognizance of an offensive act by an ambassador, the Government which employed him would rather have to be called to account. Another explanation by Dr. Dumba justified his letter to Vienna on the ground that the strike proposal urged merely represented a plan for warning all Austrians and Hungarians, employed in the munition factories, of the penalties they would have to pay if they ever returned to their home country, after aiding in producing weapons and missiles of destruction to be used against the Teutonic forces. This defense also lacked convincing force, as the letter indicated that the aim was so to cripple the munition factories that their output would be curtailed or stopped altogether—an object that could only be achieved by a general strike of all workers.

The Administration did not take long to make up its mind that the time for disciplining foreign diplomats who exceeded the duties of their office had come. On September 8, 1915, Austria-Hungary was notified that Dr. Konstantin Theodor Dumba was no longer acceptable as that country's envoy in Washington. The American note dispatched to Ambassador Penfield at Vienna for transmission to the Austrian Foreign Minister was blunt and direct. After informing Baron Burian that Dr. Dumba had admitted improper conduct in proposing to his Government plans to instigate strikes in American manufacturing plants, the United States thus demanded his recall:

"By reason of the admitted purpose and intent of Dr. Dumba to conspire to cripple legitimate industries of the people of the United States and to interrupt their legitimate trade, and by reason of the flagrant violation of diplomatic propriety in employing an American citizen, protected by an American passport, as a secret bearer of official dispatches through the lines of the enemy of Austria-Hungary, the President directs us to inform your excellency that Dr. Dumba is no longer acceptable to the Government of the United States as the Ambassador of His Imperial Majesty at Washington."

Dr. Dumba was not recalled by his Government until September 22, 1915, fourteen days after the American demand. Meanwhile Dr. Dumba had

cabled to Vienna, requesting that he be ordered to return on leave of absence "to report." His recall was ostensibly in response to his personal request, but the Administration objected to this resort to a device intended to cloak the fact that he was now persona non grata whose return was really involuntary, and would not recognize a recall "on leave of absence." His Government had no choice but to recall him officially in view of the imminent contingency that otherwise he would be ousted, and in that case would be denied safe conduct from capture by an allied cruiser in his passage across the ocean. His request for passports and safe conduct was, in fact, disregarded by the Administration, which informed him that the matter was one to be dealt directly with his Government, pending whose official intimation of recall nothing to facilitate his departure could be done. On the Austrian Government being notified that Dr. Dumba's departure "on leave of absence" would not be satisfactory, he was formally recalled on September 28, 1915.

The seized Archibald dossier included a letter from the German military attaché, Captain Franz von Papen, to his wife, containing reference to Dr. Albert's correspondence, which left no doubt that the letters were genuine:

"Unfortunately, they stole a fat portfolio from our good Albert in the elevated (a New York street railroad). The English secret service of course. Unfortunately, there were some very important things from my report among them such as buying up liquid chlorine and about the Bridgeport Projectile Company, as well as documents regarding the buying up of phenol and the acquisition of Wright's aeroplane patent. But things like that must occur. I send you Albert's reply for you to see how we protect ourselves. We composed the document to-day."

The "document" evidently was Dr. Albert's explanation discounting the significance and importance of the letters. This explanation was published on August 20, 1915.

The foregoing disclosures of documents covered a wide range of organized German plans for embarrassing the Allies' dealings with American interests; but they related rather more to accomplished operations and such activities as were revealed to be under way—e. g., the acquisition of munitions combined with propaganda for an embargo— were not deemed to be violative of American law. But this stage of intent to clog the Allies' facilities for obtaining sinews of war, in the face of law, speedily grew to one of achievement more or less effective according to the success with which the law interposed to spoil the plans. The autumn and winter of 1915 were marked by the exposure of a number