The Story of the Great War, Volume IV (of 8) - Champagne, Artois, Grodno; Fall of Nish; Caucasus; Mesopotamia; Development of Air Strategy; United States and the War

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

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• Publié par: anti
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 51
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Story of the Great War, Volume IV (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 IV (of 8)

Champagne, Artois, Grodno; Fall of Nish; Caucasus; Mesopotamia; Development of Air Strategy; United States and the War

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

Release Date: July 7, 2009 [eBook #29340]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR, VOLUME IV (OF 8)***

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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 spelling has been retained.

Frontispiece

K AISER W ILHELM II, G ERMAN E MPEROR , INSPECTING A USTRO -H UNGARIANTROOPSONTHE E AST G ALICIANFRONT , N EW Y EAR ' S D AY , 1916. A TTHE K AISER ' SLEFTIS G ENERAL C OUNT VON B OTHMER

The STORY OF THE GREAT WAR

CHAMPAGNE · ARTOIS · GRODNO FALL OF NISH · CAUCASUS MESOPOTAMIA · DEVELOPMENT OF AIR STRATEGY · UNITED STATES AND THE WAR

Editor's logo

VOLUME IV

P · F · COLLIER & SON · NEW YORK

Copyright 1916 By & SP. F. C OLLIER ON

CHAPTER I. Renewed Turkish Attempts

CONTENTS

PART I.—WAR IN SYRIA AND EGYPT

PART II.—WAR IN THE AIR

I. Raids of the Airmen II. Zeppelins Attack London—Battles in the Air III. Venice Attacked—Other Raids

PART III.—THE WESTERN FRONT I. Summary of First Year's Operations II. Fighting in Artois and the Vosges III. Political Crisis in France—Aeroplane Warfare—Fierce Combats in the Vosges—Preparations for Allied Offense IV. The Great Champagne Offensive V. The British Front in Artois VI. The Battle of Loos VII. The Cavell Case—Accident to King George VIII. Operations in Champagne And Artois—Preparations for Winter Campaign IX. Events in the Winter Campaign X. The Battle of Verdun—The German Attack

PART IV.—THE WAR AT SEA I. Naval Situation at the Beginning of the Second Year—Submarine Exploits II. The Sinking of the Arabic—British Submarine Successes III. Cruise of the Moewe—Loss of British Battleships IV. Continuation of War on Merchant Shipping—Italian and Russian Naval Movements—Sinking of La Provence

PART V.—THE WAR ON THE EASTERN FRONT I. Summary of First Year's Operations II. The Fall of the Niemen and Nareff Fortresses III. The Conquest of Grodno and Vilna IV. The Capture of Brest-Litovsk V. The Struggle in East Galicia and Volhynia and the Capture of Pinsk VI. In the Pripet Marshes VII. Fighting on the Dvina and in the Dvina-Vilna Sector VIII. Winter Battles on the Styr and Strypa Rivers IX. On the Tracks of the Russian Retreat X. Sidelights on the Russian Retreat and German Advance XI. Winter on the Eastern Front

PART VI.—THE BALKANS

I. Battle Clouds Gather Again II. The Invasion Begins III. Bulgaria Enters the War IV. The Teutonic Invasion Rolls on V. The Fall of Nish—Defense of Babuna Pass VI. Bulgarian Advance—Serbian Resistance VII. End of German Operations—Flight of Serb People—Greece VIII. Allies Withdraw into Greece—Attitude of Greek Government IX. Bulgarian Attacks—Allies Concentrate at Saloniki X. Italian Movements in Albania—Conquest of Montenegro XI. Conditions in Serbia, Greece, and Rumania

9

16 29 34

39 46

52 61 81 90 98 104 117 131

143 150 156

165

174 178 185 193 200 209 212 223 229 240 250

255 263 269 273 282 290 300 308 316 327 339

PART VII.—THE DARDANELLES AND RUSSO-TURKISH CAMPAIGN

I. Conditions in Gallipoli—Attack at Suvla Bay

PART VIII.—AGGRESSIVE TURKISH CAMPAIGN AT DARDANELLES

I. Sari Bair—Partial Withdrawal of Allies II. Aggressive Turkish Movements—Opinion in England—Change in Command III. Abandonment of Dardanelles—Armenian Atrocities IV. Campaign in Caucasus—Fall of Erzerum

PART IX.—ITALY IN THE WAR

I. Review OF Preceding Operations—Italian Movements II. Italy's Relations to the Other Warring Nations III. Problems of Strategy IV. Move Against Germany V. Renewed Attacks—Italy's Situation At the Beginning of March, 1916

PART X.—CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA

I. Operations Against Bagdad and Around the Tigris II. Advance Toward Bagdad—Battle of Kut-el-Amara III. Battle of Ctesiphon IV. Stand at Kut-el-Amara—Attempts at Relief

PART XI.—THE WAR IN THE AIR

I. Development of the Strategy and Tactics of Air Fighting II. Zeppelin Raids—Attacks on German Arms Factories—German Over-Sea Raids III. Attacks on London—Bombardment of Italian Ports—Aeroplane as Commerce Destroyer IV. Air Fighting on all Fronts—Losses

PART XII.—THE UNITED STATES AND THE BELLIGERENTS I. Sinking of the Arabic—Another Crisis—Germany's Defense and Concessions II. Issue with Austria-Hungary Over the Ancona—Surrender to American Demands III. The Lusitania Deadlock—Agreement Blocked by Armed Merchantmen Issue—Crisis in Congress IV. Developments of Pro-German Propaganda—Munitions Crusade Defended—New Aspects of American Policy

344

353 357 369 380

393 399 404 410 413

419 426 437 444

454 459 466 473

480 490 496

505

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Kaiser Wilhelm Inspecting His Troops Zigzag Trenches in the Champagne German Infantry Storming a Hill General Joffre and General Pétain Austrian Infantry in Russia Constructing a Bridge Over the Danube British Hydroplane on Guard at Saloniki Aeroplane Guns on Turntable Firing a Torpedo from the Deck of a Destroyer

Frontispiece Opposite Page 62 94 142 238 270 318 462 494

LIST OF MAPS

Middle Europe—The German Vision of an Empire from the Baltic to the Persian Gulf (Colored Map) Champagne District, The Battle in Champagne, September, 1915, Detail Map of Artois Region, September, 1915, The French Gains in Battle at Loos, The Verdun, The Forts at Verdun, Fighting at, up to March 1, 1916 Verdun (Colored Map) Kiel Canal Russia, The Battle Front in, January 1, 1916 Balkan (Serbian) Operations, General Map of German-Austro-Bulgar Campaign Against Serbia, The Beginning of the Retreat of Serbians Saloniki, The Allies at Montenegro, The Austrian Campaign in Dardanelles, Operations at the Turkish Empire, The Turkey in Armenia, The Russian Advance on Bagdad Railroad, The Russian Advance Through Persia, The Mesopotamia, The British Campaign in

Middle Europe—The German Vision of an Empire from the Baltic to the Persian Gulf.

Page Front Insert 63 69 86 95 134 141 Opposite142 167 228 262 268 304 324 335 368 381 390 420 438 451

PART I—WAR IN SYRIA AND EGYPT

CHAPTER I

RENEWED TURKISH ATTEMPTS

The leaders of the Turkish troops had been hard at work arousing the fanaticism of the Turkish soldiery against the British foe before the next day's battle began. It is due these noisy "Holy Warriors" that sentries of the Fifth Egyptian Field Battery were warned of the near presence of the enemy.

The Indian troops now took the offensive, supported by the warships and mountain and field artillery. The Serapeum garrison, consisting of Ninety-second Punjabis and Rajputs, now cleared its front of the enemy who had been stopped three-quarters of a mile away. A counterattack made by the Sixty-second Punjabis of the Tussum garrison drove the Turks back. Two battalions of the Turkish Twenty-eighth Regiment now joined the fight, but the British artillery threw them into disorder, and by 3 p. m. of February 3, 1915, the Moslems were in retreat, leaving behind them a rear guard of a few hundred men hidden in the gaps among the brush along the eastern bank.

The warships on Lake Timsah had been in action since morning, and the sand hills near Ismailia were at first crowded by civilians and soldiers eager to witness the fight, until the Turkish guns to the east and southeast of the Ferry post drove them in cover.

About 11 a. m. an old unprotected Indian Marine transport, H. M. S.Hardinge, was struck by two 6-inch shells. One carried away the funnel and the other burst inboard doing much damage. Two of the crew were killed and nine wounded. George Carew, the pilot, lost a leg, but continued on duty and helped to bring the injured vessel into Ismailia. The French coast guard battleshipRequin came now under the Turkish fire, but her 10.8-inch guns soon silenced the enemy's batteries.

The morning of February 3, 1915, the Turks advanced on the Ismailia Ferry, then held by Sikhs, Punjabi Rifles, a battery of Indian mountain artillery and Australian engineers, digging shelter pits as they moved forward, covered by two field batteries. Their advance was stopped by the British guns when they had come within 1,000 yards of the outpost line. During the afternoon the Turks kept up some desultory firing that was ineffective; they also engaged in some reconnoitering of British positions during the dark night that followed, but when morning broke they had all disappeared.

Meanwhile, at El Kantara the struggle had reached much the same conclusion. The Indian troops had repelled an advance from the south, in which two Turkish regiments, the Eightieth and Eighty-first of the Twenty-seventh Division, were engaged. H.M.S.Swiftsure, which had taken the place of the disabledHardinge, aided by Indian and Territorial artillery, did effective work in covering the British positions. The nature of the ground here was so marshy that in places the Turks sank to their waists in muddy ooze, and foredoomed their attack to failure. Again it was demonstrated that they are poor strategists and fail to make careful observations of the terrain before advancing to attack. At El Ferdan, where some Turks made a demonstration with a battery about this time, there were no losses, though the gunboatCliowas hit several times. At El Kantara, where a part of General Cox's brigade of Gurkhas, Sikhs, and Punjabis were engaged, there were thirty casualties.

Between Tussum and Serapeum there was some sniping during the late afternoon of February 3 from the east bank of the canal, during which a British sailor was killed on H.M.S.Swiftsure. The desultory firing continued during the night and through the early morning of February 4. A deplorable incident occurred this day in which a brave British officer and several of his men were the victims of Turkish treachery. Several hundred Turks had been discovered by half a battalion of Ninety-second Punjabis sent out from Serapeum. In the encounter that followed, some of the Turks held up their hands as a sign of surrender, while others continued to fire. Captain Cochran of the Ninety-second company, who was advancing with his men to take the surrender, was killed. A few of his soldiers also fell, and some others were wounded. The British took a prompt and complete revenge for the loss of these men. After being reenforced by Indian troops they overpowered the enemy in a hand-to-hand struggle, in which a Turkish officer was killed by a British officer in a sword combat. The Turks had lost in this brisk engagement about 120 killed and wounded, and 6 officers and 25 men were captured with 3 Maxim guns.

The Turkish attempts at Suez on February 2, 1915, were insignificant, and did not cost the British the loss of a single man. By nightfall, just as their compatriots had done along other parts of the canal, the Turks fled in the direction of Nakhl, Djebel, Habeite, and Katia. On the afternoon of the 4th, when the fighting between Serapeum and Tussum was concluded, Indian cavalry and various patrols captured some men and war materials. At Ismailia preparations were under way to pursue the retreating Turks across the canal. This plan, for some reason, was subsequently abandoned.

During these various fights along the canal, the British had lost 115 killed and wounded, a small number considering the character of the ground and the very numerous attacks and skirmishes. Nine hundred Turks were buried or found drowned in the canal, 650 were taken prisoners, while it is estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 must have been wounded. The brunt of the struggle fell on the Indian troops, who, in general, fought with great bravery. There were some Australian and Egyptian troops engaged who proved themselves valuable auxiliaries.

In these engagements along the canal the Syrian Moslems displayed even greater bravery than the Turks, who were not lacking in intrepidity, though they showed poor judgment. They had much to learn in the way of taking cover, and would often blindly advance over difficult ground that placed them at a disadvantage.