His audience (the legislative arm of our government and the co-ordinate judiciary arm as represented by Justices of the Supreme Court; the members of the President's cabinet, the diplomatic corps; and high officers of the army and navy) was less repressed. As the strongest points were reached, all present joined in mighty applause.

THE NATION LISTENS AND APPLAUDS

The whole country was listening, for while the President's voice was being heard in that place, the wires were carrying the words to every city and hamlet in all the broad land.

The armistice had been signed by the German envoys in the very last hour of the seventy-two that Marshal Foch had granted them. Long before daylight, the news came by cable, the sirens and factory whistles were thrown wide open, and the whole population of the United States, men, women and children, roused out of bed, swarmed the streets and highways, and gave themselves over to such a jubilation as no country ever before had seen—nor any previous day in the story of the human race had called for. It is not to be forgotten; for by reason of the magnificent and final victory of right over might, another such day need never dawn.

PRESIDENT MAKES ARMISTICE PUBLIC

President Wilson in making public the armistice terms addressed the governing bodies of our country as follows:

"Gentlemen of the Congress: In these anxious times of rapid and stupendous change it will in some degree lighten my sense of responsibility to perform in person the duty of communicating to you some of the larger circumstances of the situation with which it is necessary to deal.

"The German authorities who have, at the invitation of the supreme war council, been in communication with Marshal Foch, have accepted and signed the terms of armistice which he was authorized and instructed to communicate to them.

TERMS OF THE ARMISTICE

One—Cessation of operations by land and in the air six hours after the signature of the armistice.

Two—Immediate evacuation of invaded countries; Belgium, France, Alsace-Lorraine, Luxemburg, so ordered as to be completed within fifteen days from the signature of the armistice. German troops which have not left the above mentioned territories within the period fixed will become prisoners of war. Occupation by the allied and United States forces jointly will keep pace with evacuation in these areas. All movements of evacuation and occupation will be regulated in accordance with a note annexed to the stated terms.

Three—Repatriation, beginning at once and to be completed within fifteen days, of all inhabitants of the countries above mentioned, including hostages and persons under trial or convicted.

MUST SURRENDER MILITARY SUPPLIES

Four—Surrender in good condition by the German armies of the following equipment: Five thousand guns (2,500 heavy, 2,500 field), 25,000 machine guns, 3,000 minenwerfer (mine throwers), 1,700 aeroplanes (fighters, bombers, firstly D-73 Js and night bombing machines). The above to be delivered in situ to the allies and the United States troops in accordance with the detailed conditions laid down in the annexed note.

Five—Evacuation by the German armies of the countries on the left bank of the Rhine. These countries on the left bank of the Rhine shall be administered by the local troops of occupation under the control of the allied and United States armies of occupation. The occupation of these territories will be carried out by allied and United States garrisons holding the principal crossings of the Rhine—Mayence, Coblenz, Cologne—together with bridgeheads at these points in thirty kilometer radius on the right bank and by garrisons similarly holding the strategic points of the regions. A neutral zone shall be reserved on the right of the Rhine between the stream and a line drawn parallel to it, forty kilometers to the east from the frontier of Holland to the parallel of Gernsheim and as far as practicable a distance of thirty kilometers from the east of the stream from this parallel upon the Swiss frontier. Evacuation by the enemy of the Rhine lands shall be so ordered as to be completed within a further period of eleven days, in all nineteen days after the signature of the armistice. All movements of evacuation and occupation will be regulated according to the note annexed.

Six—In all territory evacuated by the enemy there shall be no evacuation of inhabitants; no damage or harm shall be done to the persons or property of the inhabitants; no person shall be prosecuted for participation in war measures prior to the signing of this armistice. No destruction of any kind to be committed. Military establishments of all kinds shall be delivered intact, as well as military stores of food, munitions, equipment not removed during the periods fixed for evacuation. Stores of food of all kinds for the civil population, cattle, etc., shall be left in situ. Industrial establishments shall not be impaired in any way and their personnel shall not be moved. Roads and means of communication of every kind, railroad, waterways, main roads, bridges, telegraphs, telephones, shall be in no manner impaired.

Seven—All civil and military personnel at present employed on them shall remain. Five thousand locomotives, 150,000 wagons and 5,000 motor lorries in good working order, with all necessary spare parts and fittings, shall be delivered to the associated powers within the period fixed for the evacuation of Belgium and Luxemburg. The railways of Alsace-Lorraine shall be handed over within the same period, together with all pre-war personnel and material. Further material necessary for the working of railways in the country on the left bank of the Rhine shall be left in situ. All stores of coal and material for upkeep of permanent ways, signals and repair shops left entire in situ and kept in an efficient state by Germany during the whole period of armistice. All barges taken from the allies shall be restored to them. A note appended regulates the details of these measures.

MUST REVEAL ALL MINES

Eight—The German command shall be responsible for revealing within forty-eight hours all mines or delay-acting fuses deposed on territory evacuated by the German troops, and shall assist in their discovery and destruction. The German command shall also reveal all destructive measures that may have been taken (such as poisoning or polluting of springs, wells, etc.), under penalty of reprisals.

Nine—The right of requisition shall be exercised by the allies and the United States armies in all occupied territory. The upkeep of the troops of occupation in the Rhineland (excluding Alsace-Lorraine) shall be charged to the German government, subject to the regulation of accounts with those whom it may concern.

Ten—An immediate repatriation without reciprocity according to detailed conditions, which shall be fixed, of all allied and United States prisoners of war. The allied powers and the United States shall be able to dispose of these prisoners as they wish. This condition annuls the previous conventions on the subject of the exchange of prisoners of war, including the one of July, 1918, in course of ratification. However, the repatriation of German prisoners of war interned in Holland and Switzerland shall continue as before. The repatriation of German prisoners of war shall be regulated at the conclusion of the preliminaries of peace.

Eleven—Sick and wounded who cannot be removed from evacuated territory will be cared for by German personnel, who will be left on the spot with the medical material required.

Twelve—All German troops at present in any territory which before the war belonged to Roumania or Turkey shall withdraw within the frontiers of Germany as they existed on August 3, 1914. Territory which belonged to Austria-Hungary is added to that from which the Germans must withdraw immediately, and as to territory which belonged to Russia it is provided that the German troops now there shall withdraw within the frontiers of Germany as soon as the allies, taking into account the internal situation of those territories, shall decide that the time for this has come.

Thirteen—Evacuation by German troops to begin at once and all German instructors, prisoners, and civilian, as well as military agents, now on the territory of Russia (as defined before 1914) to be recalled.

Fourteen—German troops to cease at once all requisitions and seizures and any other undertaking with a view to obtaining supplies intended for Germany in Roumania and Russia (as defined on August 1, 1914).

Fifteen—Denunciation of the treaties of Bucharest and Brest-Litovsk and of the supplementary treaties. Sixteen—The allies shall have free access to the territories evacuated by the Germans on their eastern frontier, either through Danzig or by the Vistula, in order to convey supplies to the populations of those territories and for the purpose of maintaining order.

Seventeen—Evacuation by all German forces operating in East Africa within a period to be fixed by the allies.

REPATRIATION AND REPARATION

Eighteen—Repatriation, without reciprocity, within a maximum period of one month, in accordance with detailed conditions hereafter to be fixed, of all civilians interned or deported who may be citizens of other allied or associated states than those mentioned in clause three, paragraph nineteen, with the reservation that any future claims and demands of the allies and the United States of America remain unaffected.

Nineteen—The following financial conditions are required:

Reparation for damage done. While such armistice lasts no public securities shall be removed by the enemy which can serve as a pledge to the allies for the recovery or repatriation for war losses. Immediate restitution of the cash deposit in the National Bank of Belgium, and in general immediate return of all documents, specie, stocks, shares, paper money, together with plant for the issue thereof, touching public or private interests in the invaded countries. Restitution of the Russian and Roumanian gold yielded to Germany or taken by that power. This gold to be delivered in trust to the allies until the signature of peace.

Twenty—Immediate cessation of all hostilities at sea and definite information to be given as to the location and movements of all German ships. Notification to be given to neutrals that freedom of navigation in all territorial waters is given to the naval and mercantile marines of the allied and associated powers, all questions of neutrality being waived.

Twenty-one—All naval and mercantile marine prisoners of war of the allied and associated powers in German hands to be returned without reciprocity.

Twenty-two—Surrender to the allies and the United States of America of all German submarines now existing (including all submarine cruisers and mine-laying submarines), with their complete armament and equipment, in ports which will be specified by the allies and the United States of America. Those that cannot take the sea shall be disarmed of their material and personnel and shall remain under the supervision of the allies and the United States.

Twenty-three—The following German surface warships, which shall be designated by the allies and the United States of America, shall forthwith be disarmed and thereafter interned in neutral ports, or, for the want of them, in allied ports to be designated by the allies and the United States of America and placed under the surveillance of the allies and the United States of America, only caretakers being left on board—namely: Six battle cruisers, ten battleships, eight light cruisers (including two mine layers), fifty destroyers of the most modern type. All other surface warships (including river craft) are to be concentrated in German naval bases to be designated by the allies and the United States of America, and are to be paid off and completely disarmed and placed under the supervision of the allies and the United States of America. All vessels of the auxiliary fleet (trawlers, motor vessels, etc.) are to be disarmed. Vessels designated for internment shall be ready to leave German ports within seven days upon direction by wireless. The military armament of all vessels of the auxiliary fleet shall be put on shore.

Twenty-four—The allies and the United States of America shall have the right to sweep up all mine fields and obstructions laid by Germany outside German territorial waters and the positions of these are to be indicated.

Twenty-five—Freedom of access to and from the Baltic to be given to the naval and mercantile marines of the allied and associated powers. To secure this, the allies and the United States of America shall be empowered to occupy all German forts, fortifications, batteries, and defense works of all kinds in all the entrances from the Cattegat into the Baltic, and to sweep up all mines and obstructions within and without German territorial waters without any question of neutrality being raised, and the positions of all such mines and obstructions are to be indicated.

Twenty-six—The existing "blockade conditions set up by the allies and associated powers are to remain unchanged, and all German merchant ships found at sea are to remain liable to capture. The allies and the United States shall give consideration to the provisioning of Germany during the armistice to the extent recognized as necessary.

Twenty-seven—All naval aircraft are to be concentrated and immobilized in German bases to be specified by the allies and the United States of America.

Twenty-eight—in evacuating the Belgian coasts and ports, Germany shall abandon all merchant ships, tugs, lighters, cranes, and all other harbor materials, all materials for inland navigation, all aircraft and all materials and stores, all arms, and armaments, and all stores and apparatus of all kinds.

EVACUATED ALL BLACK SEA PORTS

Twenty-nine—All Black Sea ports are to be evacuated by Germany; all Russian war vessels of all descriptions seized by Germany in the Black Sea are to be handed over to the allies and the United States of America; all neutral merchant vessels seized are to be released; all warlike and other materials of all kinds seized in those ports are to be returned and German materials as specified in clause twenty-eight are to be abandoned.

Thirty—All merchant vessels in German hands belonging to the allied and associated powers are to be restored in ports to be specified by the allies and the United States of America without reciprocity.

Thirty-one—No destruction of ships or of materials to be permitted before evacuation, surrender, or restoration.

Thirty-two—The German government will notify the neutral governments of the world, and particularly the governments of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Holland, that all restrictions placed on the trading of their vessels with the allied and associated countries, whether by the German government or by private German interests, and whether in return for specific concessions, such as the export of shipbuilding materials or not, are immediately canceled.

Thirty-three—No transfers of German merchant shipping of any description to any neutral flag are to take place after signature of the armistice.

Thirty-four—The duration of the armistice is to be thirty days, with option to extend. During this period, on failure of execution of any of the above clauses, the armistice may be denounced by one of the contracting parties on forty-eight hours' previous notice.

It is understood that the execution of articles three and eighteen shall not warrant the denunciation of the armistice on the ground of insufficient execution within a period fixed except in the case of bad faith in carrying them into execution. In order to assure the execution of this convention under the best conditions the principle of a permanent international armistice commission is admitted. This commission shall act under the authority of the allied military and naval commanders-in-chief.

Thirty-five—This armistice to be accepted or refused by Germany within seventy-two hours of notification.

PRESIDENT'S COMMENT ON ARMISTICE

"The war thus comes to an end; for, having accepted these terms of armistice, it will be impossible for the German command to renew it.

"It is not now possible to assess the consequences of this great consummation. We know only that this tragical war, whose consuming flames swept from one nation to another until all the world was on fire, is at an end and that it was the privilege of our own people to enter it at its most critical juncture in such fashion and in such force as to contribute, in a way of which we are all deeply proud, to the great result.

"We know, too, that the object of the war is attained; the object upon which all free men had set their hearts; and attained with a sweeping completeness which even now we do not realize.

"Armed imperialism, such as the men conceived who were but yesterday the masters of Germany, is at an end, its illicit ambitions engulfed in black disaster. Who will now seek to revive it? The arbitrary power of the military caste of Germany, which once could secretly and of its own single choice disturb the peace of the world, is discredited and destroyed.

"And more than that—much more than that—has been accomplished. The great nations which associated themselves to destroy it had now definitely united in the common purpose to set up such a peace as will satisfy the longing of the whole world for disinterested justice, embodied in settlements which are based upon something much better and much more lasting than selfish competitive interests of powerful states.

"There is no longer conjecture as to the objects the victors have in mind. They have a mind in the matter, not only, but a heart also. Their avowed and concerted purpose is to satisfy and protect the weak as well as to accord their just rights to the strong.

"The humane temper and intention of the victorious governments has already been manifested in a very practical way. Their representatives in the supreme war council at Versailles have by unanimous resolution assured the people of the central empires that everything that is possible in the circumstances will be done to supply them with food and relieve the distressing want that is in so many places threatening their very lives; and steps are to be taken immediately to organize these efforts at relief in the same systematic manner that they were organized in the case of Belgium.

"For, with the fall of the ancient governments which rested like an incubus upon the people of the central empires, has come political change not merely, but revolution; and revolution which seems as yet to assume no final and ordered form.

"Excesses accomplish nothing. Unhappy Russia has furnished abundant recent proof of that. Disorder immediately defeats itself. If excesses should occur, if disorder should for a time raise its head, a sober second thought will follow and a day of constructive action, if we help and do not hinder.

"To conquer with arms is to make only a temporary conquest; to conquer the world by earning its esteem is to make permanent conquest. I am confident that the nations that have learned the discipline of freedom and that have settled with self-possession to its ordered practice are now about to make conquest of the world by the sheer power of example and of friendly helpfulness.

"The peoples who have but just come out from under the yoke of arbitrary government and who are now coming at last into their freedom will never find the treasures of liberty they are in search of if they look for them by the light of the torch. They will find that every pathway that is stained with the blood of their own brothers leads to the wilderness, not to the seat of their hope.

"They are now face to face with their initial tests. We must hold the light steady until they find themselves. And in the meantime, if it be possible, we must establish a peace that will justly define their place among the nations, remove all fear of their neighbors and of their former masters, and enable them to live in security and contentment when they have set their own affairs in order.

"If they do we shall put our aid at their disposal in every way that we can. If they do not we must await with patience and sympathy the awakening and recovery that will assuredly come at last."



GERMAN MALTREATMENT OF PRISONERS

Prisoners set free under terms of the armistice brought back tales of their almost unbelievably barbarous treatment in German prison camps. A correspondent, Philip Gibbs, describes some of them as living skeletons. Of one typical group he says "they were so thin and weak they could scarcely walk, and had dry skins, through which their cheekbones stood out, and the look of men who had been buried and come to life again. Many of them were covered with blotches. 'It was six months of starvation,' said one young man who was a mere wreck. They told me food was so scarce and they were tortured with hunger so vile that some of them had a sort of dropsy and swelled up horribly, and died. After they left their prison camp they were so weak and ill they could hardly hobble along; and some of them died on the way back, at the very threshhold of new life on this side of the line."



CHAPTER XXXIV.

HONOR TO THE VICTORS

November 16, 1918, the American Distinguished Service Medal was conferred upon General Pershing at his headquarters in the field by General Tasker H. Bliss, representing President Wilson. The ceremony was witnessed by the members of the allied missions, and was most impressive, Admiral Benson, representing the United States Navy, and William G. Sharp, American Ambassador to France, were also present.

SERVICE MEDAL TO GENERAL PERSHING

General Bliss, in presenting the decoration, read this order issued by Newton T. Baker, Secretary of War:

"The President directs you to say to Gen. Pershing that he awards the medal to the commander of our armies in the field as a token of the gratitude of the American people for his distinguished services and in appreciation of the successes which oar armies have achieved under his leadership."

After reading the order General Bliss called to mind that when the first division went away many doubted if it would be followed by another for at least a year.

"But," he added, "you have created and organized and trained here on the soil of France an American army of between two and two and a half million men. You have created the agencies for its reception, its transportation and supply. To the delight of all of us you have consistently adhered to your ideal of an American army under American officers and American leadership.

"And I know that I speak for our president, when I say that, as to those who have died, the good God has given eternal rest, so may He give to us eternal peace."

At a previous date, and while hostilities were still in course, Marshal Foch had conferred upon General Pershing the grand cordon of the Legion of Honor. The names of these two great commanders, reflecting supreme honor upon their respective countries, have become imperishable in the records of civilization. Their careers present unusual analogy. They were bred to the art of war, and stand among the foremost in the roll of great soldiers who have fought for and established Peace, in many lands and many ages.

PERSHING'S SPLENDID RECORD

John Joseph Pershing was born September 30, 1860, in Linn county, Missouri, to John F. and Ann E. (Thompson) Pershing. He was given the degree of Bachelor of Arts by the Kirksville (Missouri) normal school in 1880; graduated at West Point in 1886; was made Bachelor of Laws by the University of Nebraska in 1893; married Francis H. Warren, daughter of Senator Warren of Wyoming, at Washington, January 28, 1905. (His wife and two daughters perished in the fire at the Presidio, San Francisco, August 15,1915.) He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 6th cavalry July 1, 1886; became a captain in the 10th cavalry October 20, 1892. Passed through the other grades up to that of Brigadier General in 1913, after the battle of Bagsag, P.I., in June of that year. Had seen service in several Indian campaigns, in Cuba and the Phillipines, and was United States military attache with the army of General Kuroko in the war between Japan and Russia. Later was officer commanding at the Presidio, going thence to the Mexican border in 1913. Was in command of the troops that went into Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa in 1916. When the United States entered the European war he was placed in command. Here was displayed in full not only his genius as a soldier, but as an organizer of the very highest skill. His home is in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

HONORS TO MARSHAL FOCH

At Senlis in France on Tuesday, November 12th, the day after the armistice was signed, General Pershing conferred upon Marshal Foch the American Distinguished Service Medal. The presentation was made in the name of President Wilson, at the villa where Marshal Foch had his headquarters, and was an impressive ceremony.

A guard of honor was drawn up and trumpeters blew a fanfare as Marshal Foch, with General Pershing on his right, took position a few paces in front of the guard. General Pershing said:

"The Congress of the United States has created this medal to be conferred upon those who have rendered distinguished service to our country. President Wilson has directed me to present to you the first of these medals in the name of the United States Government and the American army, as an expression of their admiration and their confidence. It is a token of the gratitude of the American people for your great achievements. I am very happy to have been given the honor of presenting this medal to you."

In accepting the decoration, Marshal Foch said:

"I will wear this medal with pleasure and pride. In days of triumph, as well as in dark and critical hours, I will never forget the tragical day last March when General Pershing put at my disposal, without restriction, all the resources of the American army. The success won in the hard fighting by the American army is the consequence of the excellent conception, command and organization of the American General Staff, and the irreducible will to win of the American troops. The name 'Meuse' may be inscribed proudly upon the American flag."

MARSHAL FOCH'S RECORD

Ferdinand Foch, Marshal of France, was born at Tarbes in the French Pyrenees, August 4th of 1851—a year during which all Europe was agitated by the approach of war. His earlier education, largely religious, was had at the schools of Saint Etienne, Rodez and Metz. In his twentieth year he entered the Ecole Polytechnique at Paris for a course of instruction in military science, after which he was commissioned a lieutenant in the artillery branch of the French army, rising to a captaincy in 1878.

In 1892, with the rank of major, he became an instructor in the war school, specializing in military history and theory. He returned to army service as a lieutenant colonel in 1901, and in 1907 was made a general of brigade. Shortly thereafter, at the close of a term in command of artillery in the Fifth Army Corps, he was put at the head of the war school.

When war broke out in August, 1914, General Foch was in charge of the military post at Nancy, a point commanding the way between the Vosges mountains and the Duchy of Luxemburg. When the Germans came down toward the Marne and the situation in the field became very critical, his controlling doctrine of attack was brought into brilliant play.

The part of the French line under his command being endangered, he reported to Marshal Joffre: "My right wing is suffering severe pressure. My left is suffering from heavy assaults. I am about to attack with my centre."

He did. That attack stopped the German advance, turned their forces from the road to Paris, and sent them suddenly southward.

Looking back over those days, it is seen now that this action marked the shock-point of the war. It disjointed the whole German plan, saved France, and gave France and England time to raise and equip their armies, and mobilize their industrial resources. The German high command had promised the German people to finish the war in six weeks. General Foch inaugurated their finish in less than four.

His operations since that time are well remembered. Down to the day when at President Wilson's earnest urging he was placed in supreme command of the allied armies on all fronts, March 29, 1918, he had been steadily victorious. The week before, the Germans had begun their last and most powerful "drive." The manner in which General Foch sold terrain to them for the highest price they could be made to pay in German lives is understood now, and admired. When he had teased them along and worn them down, he sharply altered his strategy and attacked with a force and continuity so terrific that it practically destroyed the German armies, and compelled Germany to beg for the armistice that ended the war. From July 18, 1918, down to November 11, he pounded and powdered the enemy without cessation.

It is a matter of which Americans may well be proud that Marshal Foch, with keen judgment and knowledge of military values, selected the first and second divisions of the United States regular army to strike the first blow in that tremendous assault. The only other troops participating were those of a French colonial division, from Morocco.

GENERAL PERSHING'S THANKSGIVING ADDRESS

Thanksgiving Day, 1918, was celebrated in the most befitting manner at the American Army headquarters in France. After Bishop Brent's benediction, a band concert was given. General Pershing then addressed his victorious army as follows:

"Fellow soldiers: Never in the history of our country have we as a people, come together with such full hearts as on this greatest of all Thanksgiving days. The moment throbs with emotion, seeking to find full expression. Representing the high ideals of our countrymen and cherishing the spirit of our forefathers who first celebrated this festival of Thanksgiving, we are proud to have repaid a debt of gratitude to the land of Lafayette and to have lent our aid in saving civilization from destruction.

"The unscrupulous invader has been driven from the devastated scenes of his unholy conquest. The tide of conflict which during the dark days of midsummer threatened to overwhelm the allied forces has been turned into glorious victory. As the sounds of battle die away and the beaten foe hurries from the field it is fitting that the conquering armies should pause to give thanks to the God of Battles, who has guided our cause aright.

"VICTORY OUR GOAL"

"Victory was our goal. It is a hard won gift of the soldier to his country.

"In this hour of thanksgiving our eternal gratitude goes out to those heroes who loved liberty better than life, who sleep yonder, where they fell; to the maimed, whose honorable scars testify stronger than words to their splendid valor, and to the brave fellows whose strong, relentless blows finally crushed the enemy's power.

"Nor in our prayer shall we forget the widow who freely gave the husband more precious than her life, nor those who, in hidden heroism, have impoverished themselves to enrich the cause, nor our comrades who in more obscure posts here and at home have furnished their toll to the soldiers at the front.

"Great cause, indeed, have we to thank God for trials successfully met and victories won. Still more should we thank Him for the golden future, with its wealth of opportunity and its hope of a permanent, universal peace."

THE HOMECOMING OF KING ALBERT

The world rejoiced with Belgium when King Albert and the Queen returned in triumph to Brussels, November 21, 1918, just a little over four years after the bodeful day when they left it, in 1914. Belgium, the first martyr to German ferocity, had come back to its own—had justified the historic words of its King to the insolent Germans, "Belgium is a country, not a road," and stood firm, a David of the Nations, against the onslaught of the most awful and bloody hordes the world has seen since Attila, the other Hun, drove with his swarming savages over Europe, centuries ago, roaring that grass would never grow again where their horses trod.

Civilization had been justified. The "scrap of paper" had come to life. It was a great day, an hour of right and might, a soul-stirring climax to a most stupendous drama. The hero rode in triumph; and the villain, after ignominious flight, was hiding behind the skirts of a Dutchwoman, over the border.

No finer troops marched through Brussels on this gala day than the Yanks, who were given a conspicuous place in the celebration. A battalion of infantry from the Ninety-First American Division and a battery from the Fifty-Third Brigade, fresh from the beating they had given the Huns at Oudenark a few days before, were prominent in the lines, and shared in the plaudits a liberated people showered upon their own heroic troops. Troops that had held the last strip of Belgian soil through all those bitter years with a tenacity the Huns could never shake. These Belgian soldiers, had, of course, the place of honor. French and British troops, with bands playing and colors flying, shared in the glorious triumph.

The King and the royal family rode at the head of two Belgian divisions—a column of veterans stretching out fifteen miles. The day was like midsummer—bright and fair. All the roads leading to the Rue Royale and the Boulevard Anspach were packed hours before the King's arrival. At the Port de Flandre the throngs were so dense they were impassable. The whole city was gorgeously decorated. Aircraft were overhead, dropping confetti. The balconies all along the route were draped with flags and colored banners, and filled with people who, when the King and his family rode by, showered them with flowers and little flags. At one place a company of five hundred young women sang the Brabanconne, the Belgian national song, and the American, French and British national anthems.

The royal progress ended at the Palais de la Nation, where the King dismounted and entered, to address the parliament in its first assembly after the war—an historic session. Then he reviewed the troops in the great square, and thence went to the Hotel de Ville to receive the address of the Burgomaster Max, that sturdy figure, which the Germans at the height of their tyranny had not been able to budge.

AMERICA'S TREMENDOUS ACHIEVEMENT BEHIND THE LINES

When the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, the United States land forces in Europe numbered some 2,200,000 fighting men. Of these about 750,000 were in the Argonne section, on the French front. The others were in various units on the French, Belgian, Italian and other fronts. Additions were arriving from the States at the rate of 8,000 men each day.

Behind these combat forces was an immense support in men and supplies of every kind from home, and a transport system surpassing that of any other belligerent, perfectly equipped; and a great army of relief workers, in addition to one of the finest hospital systems the world has ever seen.

The American army had taken to France and had in operation 967 standard gauge locomotives and 13,174 standard gauge freight cars of American manufacture. In addition it had in service 350 locomotives and 973 cars of foreign origin. To meet demands which the existing French railways were unable to meet, 843 miles of standard gauge railway were constructed. Five hundred miles of this had been built since June, 1918.

The department of light railways had constructed 115 miles of road, and 140 miles of German light railways were repaired and put in operation. Two hundred and twenty-five miles of French railway were operated by the Americans.

But railways represent only a fraction of the transport effort Modern warfare is motor warfare and it is virtually impossible to present in figures this phase of the work of the American army.

In building new roads as the exigencies of battle operations required, in keeping French roads repaired under the ceaseless tide of war transport and in constructing bridges in devastated battle regions, American engineers worked day and night. The whole region behind the American lines was full of typical American road machinery, much of it of a character never seen before in Europe.

To do this work the American expeditionary forces had in operation November 11, 1918, more than 53,000 motor vehicles of all descriptions.

The American forces were in no danger of being placed on short rations, had the war continued.

One ration represents the quantity of each article each man is entitled to daily. It is interesting to note the supply of some of the principal ration components on hand.

The Americans had 390,000,000 rations of beans alone, 183,000, rations of flour and flour substitutes, 267,000,000 rations of milk; 161,000,000 rations of butter or substitutes; 143,000,000 rations of sugar; 89,000,000 rations of meat; 57,000,000 rations of coffee and 113,000,000 rations of rice, hominy and other foods, with requisites such as flavorings, fruits, candy and potatoes in proportion, while for smokers, there were 761,000,000 rations of cigarettes and tobacco in other forms.

It is difficult to describe in exact figures what the American expeditionary forces have done in the construction and improvement of dockage and warehouses since the first troops landed. This work has been proportionate to the whole effort in other directions. Ten steamer berths have been built at Bordeaux, having a total length of 4,100 feet. At Montoir, near St. Nazaire, eight berths were under construction with a total length of over 3,200 feet.

Great labor had been expended in dredging operations, repairing French docks and increasing railway terminal facilities. Warehouses having an aggregate floor area of almost 23,000,000 square feet had been constructed. This development of French ports increased facilities to such an extent that even if the Germans had captured Calais and other channel ports, as they had planned, the allies' loss would have been strategically unimportant.

So largely were facilities increased that the English armies could have had their bases at the lower French ports, if necessary. In other words, American work in port construction lessened to a material degree the value to the Germans of their proposed capture of the channel ports.

These figures serve in a measure to show the magnitude of American accomplishments, and the great machine is in operation today as the American Third army moves forward into German territory.

During the second stage of the Argonne operation a captured German major, while in casual conversation with an American officer said: "We know defeat is inevitable. We know your First and Second armies are operating and that your Third army is nearly ready to function. We know there are more and more armies to follow. We can measure your effort. The end must come soon."

AMERICAN FORCES AND CASUALTIES

At the opening of November, 1918, the United States armies on all fronts numbered about 2,200,000 men, and was being increased at an average rate of 250,000 a month. In transit from home ports to ports in Europe and Siberia, only one transport ship was lost, and of its complement of troops 126 men were drowned. The sinking was caused by collision with another ship in the same convoy, not by an enemy submarine. The United States has not lost one man in transport, by an act of a hostile ship or submarine.

Army and marine casualties reported by the commanders of overseas forces to the government at Washington up to November 27th, 1918 (after the seventeenth month of our participation in the war), were as follows:

Killed in action, 28,363; died of wounds, 12,101; died of disease, 16,034; died of other causes, 1,980; wounded, 189,995 (of this number 92,036 only slightly wounded); missing in action and prisoners, 14,250; making a total numbering 262,723.

War Department reports show that over-seas Air Service Casualties to October 24th, 1918, were 128 battle fatalities and 224 killed in accidents.

TOTAL OF CIVIL WAR CASUALTIES COMPARED ARE AS FOLLOWS

Federal troops killed in action, 67,058; died of wounds, 43,012; died of disease, 224,586; making total Federal fatalities 334,656.

Confederates killed and died of wounds, 95,000; died of disease, 164,000; making the total Confederate fatalities 259,000.

According to the War Department records, total dead of the Civil War is 618,524.

BRITISH, FRENCH AND ITALIAN LOSSES

British losses are estimated at 1,000,000 killed and 2,049,991 wounded, missing and prisoners.

The French losses are over 1,500,000 in killed and over 3,000,000 in wounded and prisoners.

The Italian losses, including casualties and prisoners, are estimated at a total of 2,000,000, including 500,000 dead.

7,589 CASUALTIES IN ROYAL AIR FORCES

Casualties in the royal air forces from April, 1918, when the air forces were amalgamated, to Nov. 11, were: Killed, 2,680; wounded, missing and prisoners, 4,909, according to an official statement by the air ministry.

CANADA'S CASUALTIES

Canada's casualty list up to November 1, 1918 (eleven days before the armistice), totaled 211,358, classified as follows: Killed in action, 34,877; died of wounds or disease, 15,457; wounded, 152,779; presumed dead, missing in action and known prisoners of war, 8,245. Canada's total land forces numbered nearly a half million men; that is, over eighty per cent of the men of the Dominion of military age, who were physically fit. They constituted over forty per cent of the male population. It is a strange coincidence of figures that the losses above enumerated constitute just about the same per cent (forty) of the armed forces, that those forces bore to the young nation's total manhood. Canada's efforts and sacrifices in the war have not been fully understood. When they are, they will evoke the admiration of the world, and of history.

GERMAN LOSSES

Exact figures covering, German losses since August 1st, 1914, when the war began with the German invasion of Belgium, cannot be had. The records are kept at Berlin and their figures have been withheld from even the people of Germany.

The only estimates available are those made by commanders opposing the German forces, and these were confessedly cautious, the allied policy being to minimize estimates of enemy reverses, so that no false encouragement might reach the public in any of the allied countries. On this basis, the estimates approximate a German loss of over 1,580, killed and 4,490,000 disabled, prisoners, and missing, a total of 6,070,000.

The Austrian losses in killed are estimated at 800,000 and 3,200, prisoners, wounded and missing.

TOTAL LOSSES

The world's actual loss of men in the war is estimated at not less than 10,000,000, counting those killed in action, died of wounds, or dead from other causes in prison camps or in the field.

These estimates do not include 800,000 Armenian Christians massacred by the Turks at the order of the German general staff, nor the Belgian and French civilians starved to death, infected with typhus and tuberculosis by hypodermic injection, or murdered outright by German soldiery under orders, nor the German wholesale slaughter of Serbians, of Greeks in Asia Minor, nor similar victims in Poland, Lithuania and southwest Russia, outnumbering no doubt the total loss of fighting men in all the armies. It is not likely these murders of noncombatants can ever be counted up.

GERMANY'S NAVAL SURRENDER

Surrender of the German navy and delivery of its ships to the Grand Fleet (consisting of the British and United States navies), began November 21, 1918, just ten days after the armistice was signed Ninety German ships of all grades constituted the first delivery. Admiral Sims, of the American Navy, King George and the Prince of Wales, were aboard the Queen Elizabeth, the flagship of Admiral Beatty, commanding the Grand Fleet. Five hundred British and American war vessels were in the receiving lines, and convoyed the surrendered German ships to the Firth of Forth, just below Edinburgh, Scotland, where they will lie until their disposal is determined. Among the German vessels surrendered that day were sixty submarines.

Other deliveries of German war vessels were continued. On November 29th it was discovered that of the 360 submarines of all types built by the Germans, the Grand Fleet had destroyed or captured 200. Of the remaining 160 nearly all had been surrendered by that date. This being the exact number called to surrender by the terms of the armistice, it would appear the allied conference was fully informed to that effect, and thereby was enabled to strip Germany of the last of these vessels, whose record of murder and piracy at sea is without any precedent whatever in history.

FORMER KAISERIN WEEPS

The meeting of former Emperor William and the former empress at Amerongen is described by a Dutch correspondent as follows:

"The gates were thrown open, the drawbridge was lowered with a noise of chains and iron bars that sounded very medieval, and in the courtyard before the castle an elderly man in a gray military cloak was seen at a distance, walking slowly and leaning on his stick. It was the ex-kaiser. The ex-kaiserin's car was driven into the courtyard, the ex-kaiser threw down his stick and, before the valet was able, opened the door and handed out his wife.

"They shook hands and then threw themselves into each other's arms, the ex-kaiserin falling upon her husband's shoulder and crying like a child."

FORMER KAISER'S ACT OF RENUNCIATION

The text of the former German emperor's act of renunciation, which was issued by the New German government, "in order to reply to certain misunderstandings which have arisen with regard to the abdication," follows:

By the present document I renounce forever my rights to the crown of Prussia and the rights to the German imperial crown. I release, at the same time, all the officials of the German empire and Prussia, and also all officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Prussian navy and army and of contingents from confederate states from the oath of fidelity they have taken to me.

As their emperor, king and supreme chief, I expect from them, until a new organization of the German empire exists, that they will aid those who effectively hold the power in Germany to protect the German people against the menacing dangers of anarchy, famine and foreign domination.

Made and executed and signed by our own hand with the imperial seal at Amerongen Nov. 28.

WILLIAM.

PERSHING PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIS MEN

In closing his preliminary report to the Secretary of War, made public on December 4, 1918, General Pershing expresses his feeling for the men who served with him, as follows:

"I pay the supreme tribute to our officers and soldiers of the line. When I think of their heroism, their patience under hardships, their unflinching spirit of offensive action, I am filled with emotion which I am unable to express. Their deeds are immortal, and they have earned the eternal gratitude of our country."



CHAPTER XXXV.

CHRONOLOGY OF WORLD WAR

Comprehensive Chronology of the Four Years of War—Dates of Important Battles and Naval Engagements—Ready Reference of Historical Events from June, 1914, to End of War in 1918.

June 28—Archduke Ferdinand and wife assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

July 28—Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.

August 1—Germany declares war on Russia and general mobilization is under way in France and Austria-Hungary. Aug. 2—German troops enter France at Cirey; Russian troops enter Germany at Schwidden; German army enters Luxemburg over protest, and Germany asks Belgium for free passage of her troops. Aug. 3—British fleet mobilizes; Belgium appeals to Great Britain for diplomatic aid and German ambassador quits Paris.

Aug. 4—France declares war on Germany; Germany declares war on Belgium; Great Britain sends Belgium neutrality ultimatum to Germany; British army mobilized and state of war between Great Britain and Germany is declared. President Wilson issues neutrality proclamation. Aug. 5—Germans begin fighting on Belgium frontier; Germany asks for Italy's help. Aug. 6—Austria declares war on Russia. Aug. 7—Germans defeated by French at Altkirch. Aug. 9—Germans capture Liege. Portugal announces it will support Great Britain; British land troops in France. Aug. 10—France declares war on Austria-Hungary.

Aug. 12—Great Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary; Montenegro declares war on Germany. Aug. 15—Japan sends ultimatum to Germany to withdraw from Japanese and Chinese waters and evacuate Kiao-chow; Russia offers autonomy to Poland. Aug. 20—German army enters Brussels. Aug. 23—Japan declares war on Germany; Russia victorious in battles in East Prussia. Aug. 24—Japanese warships bombard Tsingtao. Aug. 25—Japan and Austria break off diplomatic relations. Aug. 28—English win naval battle over German fleet near Helgoland, Aug. 29—Germans defeat Russians at Allenstein; occupy Amiens; advance to La Fere, sixty-five miles from Paris.

September 1—Germans cross Marne; bombs dropped on Paris; Turkish army mobilized; Zeppelins drop bombs on Antwerp. Sept. 2—Government of France transferred to Bordeaux; Russians capture Lemberg. Sept. 4—Germans cross the Marne. Sept. 5—England, France, and Russia sign pact to make no separate peace. Sept. 6—French win battle of Marne; British cruiser Path finder sunk in North sea by a German submarine. Sept. 7—Germans retreat from the Marne. Sept. 14—Battle of Aisne starts; German retreat halted. Sept. 15—-First battle of Soissons fought. Sept. 20—Russians capture Jaroslau and begin siege of Przemysl.

October 9-10—Germans capture Antwerp. Oct. 12—Germans take Ghent. Oct. 20—Fighting along Yser river begins. Oct. 29—Turkey begins war on Russia.

November 7—Tsingtro falls before Japanese troops. Nov. 9—German cruiser Emden destroyed.

December 11—German advance on Warsaw checked. Dec. 14—Belgrade recaptured by Serbians. Dec. 16—German cruisers bombard Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby, on English coast, killing fifty or more persons; Austrians said to have lost upwards of 100,000 men in Serbian defeat. Dec. 25—Italy occupies Avlona, Albania.



January 1—British battleship Formidable sunk. Jan. 8—Roumania mobilizes 750,000 men; violent fighting in the Argonne. Jan. 11—Germans cross the Rawka, thirty miles from Warsaw. Jan. 24—British win naval battle in North sea. Jan. 29—Russian army invades Hungary; German efforts to cross Aisne repulsed.

February 1—British repel strong German attack near La Bassee. Feb. 2—Turks are defeated in attack on Suez canal. Feb. 4—Russians capture Tarnow in Galicia. Feb. 8—Turks along Suez canal in full retreat; Turkish land defenses at the Dardanelles shelled by British torpedo boats. Feb. 11—Germans evacuate Lodz. Feb. 12—Germans drive Russians from positions in East Prussia, taking 26,000 prisoners. Feb. 14—Russians report capture of fortifications at Smolnik. Feb. 16—Germans capture Plock and Bielsk in Poland; French capture two miles of German trenches in Champagne district.

February 17—Germans report they have taken 50,000 Russian prisoners in Mazurian lake district. Feb. 18—German blockade of English and French coasts put into effect. Feb. 19-20—British and French fleets bombard Dardanelles forts. Feb. 21—American steamer Evelyn sunk by mine in North sea. Feb. 22—German war office announces capture of 100, Russian prisoners in engagements in Mazurian lake region; American steamer Carib sunk by mine in North sea. Feb. 28—Dardanelles entrance forts capitulate to English and French.

March 4—Landing of allied troops on both sides of Dardanelles straits reported; German U-4 sunk by French destroyers. March 10—Battle of Neuve Chapelle begins. March, 14—German cruiser Dresden sunk in Pacific by English. March 18—British battleships Irresistible and Ocean and French battleship Bouvet sunk in Dardanelles strait. March 22—Fort of Przemysl surrenders to Russians. March 23—Allies land troops on Gallipoli peninsula. March 25—Russians victorious over Austrians in Carpathians.

April 8—German auxiliary cruiser, Prinz Eitel Friedrich, interned at Newport News, Va. April 16—Italy has 1,200,000 men mobilized under arms; Austrians report complete defeat of Russians in Carpathian campaign. April 23—Germans force way across Ypres canal and take 1, prisoners. April 25—Allies stop German drive on Ypres line in Belgium. April 29—British report regaining of two-thirds of lost ground in Ypres battle.

May 7—Liner Lusitania torpedoed and sunk by German submarine off the coast of Ireland with the loss of more than 1,000 lives, 102 Americans. May 9—French advance two and one-half miles against German forces north of Arras, taking 2,000 prisoners. May 23—Italy declares war on Austria.

June 3—Germans recapture Przemysl with Austrian help. June 18—British suffer defeat north of La Bassee canal. June 28—Italians enter Austrian territory south of Riva on western shore of Lake Garda.

July 3—Tolmino falls into Italian hands. July 9—British make gains north of Ypres and French retake trenches in the Vosges. July 13—Germans defeated in the Argonne. July 29—Warsaw evacuated; Lublin captured by Austrians.

August 4—Germans occupy Warsaw. Aug. 14—Austrians and Germans concentrate 400,000 soldiers on Serbian frontier. Aug. 21—Italy declares war on Turkey.

September 1—Ambassador Bernstorff announces Germans will sink no more liners without warning. Sept. 4—German submarine torpedoes liner Hesperian. Sept. 9—Germans make air raid on London, killing twenty persons and wounding 100 others; United States asks Austria to recall Ambassador Dumba. Sept. 20—Germans begin drive on Serbia to open route to Turkey. Sept. 22—Russian army retreating from Vilna, escapes German encircling movement. Sept. 25-30—Battle of Champagne, resulting in great advance for allied armies and causing Kaiser Wilhelm to rush to the west front; German counter attacks repulsed.

October 5—Russia and Bulgaria sever diplomatic relations; Russian, French, British, Italian, and Serbian diplomatic representatives ask for passports in Sofia. Oct. 10—Gen. Mackensen's forces take Belgrade. Oct. 12—Edith Cavell executed by Germans. Oct. 13—Bulgaria declares war on Serbia. Oct. 15—Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria. Oct. 16—France declares war on Bulgaria. Oct. 19—Russia and Italy declare war on Bulgaria. Oct. 27—Germans join Bulgarians in northeastern Serbia and open way to Constantinople. Oct. 30—Germans defeated at Mitau.

November 9—Italian liner Ancona torpedoed.

December 1—British retreat from near Bagdad. Dec. 4—Ford "peace party" sails for Europe. Dec. 8-9—Allies defeated in Macedonia. Dec. 15—Sir John Douglas Haig succeeds Sir John French as chief of English Armies on west front.



January 8—British troops at Kut-el-Amara surrounded. Jan. 9—British evacuate Gallipoli peninsula. Jan. 13—Austrians capture Cetinje, capital of Montenegro. Jan. 23—Scutari, capital of Albania, captured by Austrians.

February 22—Crown prince's army begins attack on Verdun.

March 8—Germany declares war on Portugal. March, 15—Austria-Hungary declares war on Portugal. March 24—Steamer Sussex torpedoed and sunk.

April 18—President Wilson sends note to Germany. April 19—President Wilson speaks to congress, explaining diplomatic situation. April 24—Insurrection in Dublin. April 29—British troops at Kut-el-Amara surrender to Turks. April 30—Irish revolution suppressed.

May 3—Irish leaders of insurrection executed. May 4—Germany makes promise to change methods of submarine warfare. May 13—Austrians begin great offensive against Italians in Trentino. May 31—Great naval battle off Danish coast.

June 5—Lord Kitchener lost with cruiser Hampshire. June 11—Russians capture Dubno. June 29—Sir Roger Casement sentenced to be hanged for treason.

July 1—British and French begin great offensive on the Somme. July 6—David Lloyd George appointed secretary of war. July 9—German merchant submarine Deutschland arrives at Baltimore. July 23—Gen. Kuropatkin's army wins battle near Riga. July 27—English take Delville wood; Serbian forces begin attack on Bulgars in Macedonia.

August 2—French take Fleury. Aug. 3—Sir Roger Casement executed for treason. Aug. 4—French recapture Thiaumont for fourth time; British repulse Turkish attack on Suez canal. Aug, 7—Italians on Isonzo front capture Monte Sabotino and Monte San Michele. Aug. 8—Turks force Russian evacuation of Bitlis and Mush. Aug. 9—Italians cross Isonzo river and occupy Austrian city of Goeritz. Aug. 10—Austrians evacuate Stanislau; allies take Doiran, near Saloniki, from Bulgarians.

August 19—German submarines sink British light cruisers Nottingham and Falmouth. Aug. 24—French occupy Maurepas, north of the Somme; Russians recapture Mush in Armenia. Aug. 27—Italy declares war on Germany; Roumania enters war on side of allies. Aug. 29—Field Marshal von Hindenburg made chief of staff of German armies, succeeding Gen. von Falkenhayn. August 30—Russian armies seize all five passes in Carpathians into Hungary.

September 3—Allies renew offensive north of Somme; Bulgarian and German troops invade Dobrudja, in Roumania. Sept. 7—Germans and Bulgarians capture Roumanian fortress of Tutrakan; Roumanians take Orsova, Bulgarian city. Sept. 19—German-Bulgarian army captures Roumanian fortress of Silistria. Sept. 14—British for first time use "tanks." Sept. 15—Italians begin new offensive on Carso.

October 2—Roumanian army of invasion in Bulgaria defeated by Germans and Bulgarians under Von Mackensen. Oct. 4—German submarines sink French cruiser Gallia and Cunard liner Franconia. Oct. 8—German submarines sink six merchant steamships off Nantucket, Mass. Oct. 11—Greek seacoast forts dismantled and turned over to allies on demand of England and France. Oct. 23—German-Bulgar armies capture Constanza, Roumania Oct. 24—French win back Douaumont, Thiaumont field work, Haudromont quarries, and Caillette wood near Verdun, in smash of two miles.

November 1—Italians, in new offensive on the Carso plateau, capture 5,000 Austrians. Nov. 2—Germans evacuate Fort Vaux at Verdun. Nov. 5—Germans and Austrians proclaim new kingdom of Poland, of territory captured from Russia. Nov. 6—Submarine sinks British passenger steamer Arabia. Nov. 7—Cardinal Mercier protests against German deportation of Belgians; submarine sinks American steamer Columbian. Nov. 8—Russian army invades Transylvania, Hungary. Nov. 9—Austro-German armies defeat Russians in Volhyina and take 4,000 prisoners.

November 13—British launch new offensive in Somme region on both sides of Ancre. Nov. 14—British capture fortified village of Beacourt, near the Ancre. Nov. 19—Serbian, French, and Russian troops recapture Monastir; Germans cross Transylvania Alps and enter western Roumania. Nov. 21—British hospital ship Britannic sunk by mine in Aegean sea. Nov. 23—Roumanian army retreats ninety miles from Bucharest. Nov. 24—German-Bulgarian armies take Orsova and Turnu-Severin from Roumanians. Nov. 25—Greek provisional government declares war on Germany and Bulgaria. Nov. 28—Roumanian government abandons Bucharest and moves capital to Jassy.

December 5—Premier Herbert Asquith of England resigns. Dec. 7—David Lloyd George accepts British premiership. Dec. 8—Gen. von Mackensen captures big Roumanian army in Prohova valley. Dec. 12—Chancellor von Bethman-Hollweg announces in reichstag that Germany will propose peace; new cabinet in France under Aristide Briand as premier, and Gen. Robert Georges Nivelle given chief of command of French army. Dec. 15—French at Verdun win two miles of front and capture 11,000.

December 19—Llloyd George declines German peace proposals. Dec. 23—Baron Burian succeeded as minister of foreign affairs in Austria by Count Czernin. Dec. 26—Germany proposes to President Wilson "an immediate meeting of delegates of the belligerents." Dec. 27—Russians defeated in five-day battle in eastern Wallachia, Roumauia.



January 1—Submarine sinks British transport Ivernia. Jan. 9—Russian premier, Trepoff, resigns. Golitzin succeeds him. Jan. 31—Germany announces unrestricted submarine warfare.

February 3—President Wilson reviews submarine controversy before congress; United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany; American steamer Housatonic sunk without warning. Feb. 7—Senate indorses President's act of breaking off diplomatic relations. Feb. 12—United States refuses German request to discuss matters of difference unless Germany withdraws unrestricted submarine warfare order.

February 14—Von Bernstorff sails for Germany. Feb. 25—British under Gen. Maude capture Kut-el-Amara; submarine sinks liner Laconia without warning; many lost including two Americans. Feb. 26—President Wilson asks congress for authority to arm American merchantships. Feb. 28—Secretary Lansing makes public Zimmerman note to Mexico, proposing Mexican-Japanese-German alliance.

March 9—President Wilson calls extra session of congress for April 16. March 11—British under Gen. Maude capture Bagdad; revolution starts in Petrograd. March 15—Czar Nicholas of Russia abdicates. March 17—French and British capture Bapaume. March 18—New French ministry formed by Alexander Ribot.

March 21—Russian forces cross Persian border into Turkish territory; American oil steamer Healdton torpedoed without warning. March 22—-United States recognizes new government of Russia. March 27—Gen. Murray's British expedition into the Holy Land defeats Turkish army near Gaza.

April 2—President Wilson asks congress to declare that acts of Germany constitute a state of war; submarine sinks American steamer Aztec without warning. April 4—United States senate passes resolution declaring a state of war exists with Germany. April 6—House passes war resolution and President Wilson signs joint resolution of congress. April 8—Austria declares severance of diplomatic relations with United States.

April 9—British defeat Germans at Vimy Ridge and take 6,000 prisoners; United States seizes fourteen Austrian interned ships. April 20—Turkey severs diplomatic relations with the U.S. April 28—Congress passes selective service act for raising of army of 500,000; Guatemala severs diplomatic relations with Germany.

May 7—War department orders raising of nine volunteer regiments of engineers to go to France. May 14—Espionage act becomes law by passing senate. May 18—President Wilson signs selective service act. Also directs expeditionary force of regulars under Gen. Pershing to go to France. May 19—Congress passes war appropriation bill of $3,000,000,000.

June 5—Nearly 10,000,000 men in U. S. register for military service. June 12—King Constantino of Greece abdicates. June 13—Gen. Pershing and staff arrive in Paris. June 15—First Liberty loan closes with large over-subscription. June 26—First contingent American troops under Gen. Sibert arrives in France. June 29—Greece severs diplomatic relations with Teutonic allies.

July 9—President Wilson drafts state militia into federal service. Also places food and fuel under federal control. July 13—War department order drafts 678,000 men into military service. July 14—Aircraft appropriation bill of $640,000,000 passes house; Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg's resignation forced by German political crisis.

July 18—United States government orders censorship of telegrams and cablegrams crossing frontiers. July 19—New German Chancellor Michaelis declares Germany will not war for conquest; radicals and Catholic party ask peace without forced acquisitions of territory. July 22—Siam declares war on Germany. July 23—Premier Kerensky given unlimited powers in Russia. July 28—United States war industries board created to supervise expenditures.

August 25—Italian Second army breaks through Austrian line on Isonzo front. Aug. 28—President Wilson rejects Pope Benedict's peace plea.

September 10—Gen. Korniloff demands control of Russian government. Sept. 11—Russian deputies vote to support Kerensky. Korniloff's generals ordered arrested. Sept. 16—Russia proclaims new republic by order of Premier Kerensky. Sept. 20—Gen. Haig advances mile through German lines at Ypres. Sept. 21—Gen. Tasker H. Bliss named chief of staff, U.S. army.

October 16—Germans occupy islands of Runo and Adro in the Gulf of Riga. Oct. 25—French under Gen. Petain advance and take 12,000 prisoners on Aisne front. Oct. 27—Formal announcement made that American troops in France had fired their first shots in the war. Oct. 29—Italian Isonzo front collapses and Austro-German army reaches outposts of Udine.

November 1—Secretary Lansing makes public the Luxburg "spurlos versenkt" note. Nov. 7—Austro-German troops capture? Nov. 9—Permanent interallied military commission created. Nov. 24—Navy department announces capture of first German submarine by American destroyer. Nov. 28—Bolsheviki get absolute control of Russian assembly in Russian elections.

December 6—Submarine sinks the Jacob Jones, first regular warship of American navy destroyed. Dec. 7—Congress declares war on Austria-Hungary. Dec. 8—Jerusalem surrenders to Gen. Allenby's forces.



January 5—President Wilson delivers speech to congress giving "fourteen points" necessary to peace. Jan. 20—British monitors win seafight with cruisers Goeben and Breslau, sinking latter. Jan. 28—Russia and Roumania sever diplomatic relations.

February 2—United States troops take over their first sector, near Toul. Feb. 6—United States troopship Tuscania sunk by submarine, lost. Feb. 11—President Wilson, in address to congress, gives four additional peace principles, including self-determination of nations; Bolsheviki declare war with Germany over, but refuse to sign peace treaty. Feb. 13—Bolo Pasha sentenced to death in France for treason. Feb. 25—Germans take Reval, Russian naval base, and Pskov; Chancellor von Hertling agrees "in principle" with President Wilson's peace principles, in address to reichstag.

March 1—Americans repulse German attack on Toul sector. March 2—Treaty of peace with Germany signed by Bolsheviki at Brest-Litovsk. March 4—Germany and Roumania sign armistice on German terms. March 13—German troops occupy Odessa. March 14—All Russian congress of soviets ratifies peace treaty. March 21—German spring offensive starts on fifty mile front. March 22—Germans take 16,000 British prisoners and 200 guns.

March 23—German drive gains nine miles. "Mystery gun" shells Paris. March 24—Germans reach the Somme, gaining fifteen miles. American engineers rushed to aid British. March 25—Germans take Bapaume. March 27—Germans take Albert. March 28—British counter attack and gain; French take three towns; Germans advance toward Amiens. March 29—"Mystery gun" kills seventy-five churchgoers in Paris on Good Friday.

April 4—Germans start second phase of their spring drive on the Somme. April 10—Germans take 10,000 British prisoners in Flanders. April 16—Germans capture Messines ridge, near Ypres; Bolo Pasha executed. April 23—British and French navies "bottle up" Zeebrugge. April 26—Germans capture Mount Kemmel, taking 6,500 prisoners.

May 5—Austria starts drive on Italy. May 10—British navy bottles up Ostend. May 24—British ship Moldavia, carrying American troops, torpedoed; 56 lost. May 27—Germans begin third phase of drive on west front; gain five miles. May 28—Germans take 15,000 prisoners in drive. May 29—Germans take Soissons and menace Reims. American troops capture Cantigny. May 30—Germans reach the Marne, fifty-five miles from Paris. May 31—Germans take 45,000 prisoners in drive.

June 1—Germans advance nine miles; are forty-six miles from Paris. June 3—Five German submarines attack the coast and sink eleven ships. June 5—U. S. marines fight on the Marne near Chateau Thierry. June 9—Germans start fourth phase of their drive by advancing toward Noyon. June 10—Germans gain two miles. U. S. marines capture south end of Belleau wood.

June 12—French and Americans start counter attack. June 15—Austrians begin another drive on Italy and take 16,000 prisoners. June 17—Italians check Austrians on Piave river. June 19—Austrians cross the Piave, June 22—Italians defeat Austrians on the Piave. June 23—Austrians begin great retreat across the Piave.

July 18—-Gen. Foch launches allied offensive, with French, American, British, Italian and Belgian troops. July 21—Americans and French capture Chateau Thierry. July 30—German crown prince flees from the Marne and withdraws army.

August 2—Soissons recaptured by Foch. Aug. 4—Americans take Fismes. Aug. 5—American troops landed at Archangel. Aug. 7—Americans cross the Yesle. Aug. 16—Bapaume recaptured. Aug. 28—French recross the Somme.

September 1—Foch retakes Peronne. Sept. 12—Americans launch successful attack in St. Mihiel salient. Sept. 28—Allies win on 250 mile line, from North sea to Verdun. Sept, 29—Allies cross Hindenburg line. Sept. 30—Bulgaria surrenders, after successful allied campaign in Balkans. October 1—French take St. Quentin. Oct. 4—Austria asks Holland to mediate with allies for peace. Oct. 5—Germans start abandonment of Lille and from Douai. Oct. 6—Germany asks President Wilson for armistice. Oct. 7—Americans capture hills around Argonne. Oct. 8—President Wilson refuses armistice. Oct. 9—Allies capture Cambrai. Oct. 10—Allies capture Le Gateau. Oct. 11—American transport Otranto torpedoed and sunk; 500 lost. Oct. 13—Foch's troops take Laon and La Fere.

October 14:—British and Belgians take Koulers; President Wilson demands surrender by Germany. Oct. 15—British and Belgians cross Lys river, take 12,000 prisoners and 100 guns. Oct. 16—Allies enter Lille outskirts. Oct. 17—Allies capture Lille, Bruges, Zeebrugge, Ostend, and Douai. Oct. 18—Czecho-slovaks issue declaration of independence; Czechs rebel and seize Prague, captial of Bohemia; French take Thielt.

October 19—President Wilson refuses Austrian peace plea and says Czecho-slovak state must be considered. Oct. 21—Allies cross the Oise and threaten Valenciennes. Oct. 22—Haig's forces cross the Scheldt. Oct. 23—President Wilson refuses latest German peace plea. Oct. 27—German government asks President Wilson to state terms. Oct. 28—Austria begs for separate peace.

October 29—Austria opens direct negotiations with Secretary Lansing. Oct. 30—Italians inflict great defeat on Austria; capture 33, Austrians evacuating Italian territory. Oct. 31—Turkey surrenders; Austrians utterly routed by Italians; lose 50,000; Austrian envoys, under white flag, enter Italian lines.

November 1—Italians pursue beaten Austrians across Tagliamento river; allied conference at Versailles fixes peace terms for Germany. Nov. 3—Austria signs armistice amounting virtually to unconditional surrender. Nov. 4—Allied terms are sent to Germany. Nov. 7—Germany's envoys enter allied lines by arrangement.

November 9—Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates and crown prince renounces throne. Nov. 10—Former Kaiser Wilhelm and his eldest son, Friedrick Wilhelm, flee to Holland to escape widespread revolution throughout Germany.

November 9—-Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates and crown prince renounces throne. British battleship Britannia torpedoed and sunk by German submarine off entrance to Straits of Gibraltar. Nov. 10—Former Kaiser Wilhelm and his eldest son, Frederick Wilhelm, flee to Holland to escape widespread revolution throughout Germany. King of Bavaria abdicates. Nov. 11—Armistice signed at 11 o'clock a. m., Paris time. Firing ceased on all fronts. An American battery from Providence, Rhode Island, fired last shot at exactly 11 o'clock on the front northwest of Verdun. Germans began evacuation of Belgium and Alsace-Lorraine.

November 12—German republic proclaimed at Berlin. Emperor Charles of Austria abdicates. Belgium demands complete independence instead of guaranteed neutrality. To secure status as a belligerent at the peace council, Roumania again declares war on Germany. United States decides to feed the German people. United States stops draft boards and lifts war restriction of industries. Nov. 13—American troops cross the German former frontier and enter Alsace-Lorraine.

November 14—Polish troops occupy the royal palaces in Warsaw and seize telegraph and telephone connections with Vienna. United States loans another hundred million dollars to Italy for food supplies. Dangerous bolshevik disorders in Germany and Austria. German crown prince interned in Holland.

November 15—Distinguished Service Medal conferred on General Pershing at his headquarters in France by General Tasker H. Bliss. United States Postoffice department takes control of all ocean cable lines, consent of other governments having been obtained. Prof. Thomas G. Masaryk proclaimed President of the new Czecho-Slav republic.

November 16—Copenhagen reported many German ships due for surrender under armistice conditions. Demobilization of United States troops ordered by the government, beginning with those in army camps at home. United States takes over express service. Belgian troops enter Brussels. German cruiser Wiesbaden torpedoed by German revolutionary sailors, with loss of 330 lives.

November 17—Two hundred and fifty thousand American troops advance nine miles in French territory evacuated by Germans. French armies advance across the west boundary of Alsace-Lorraine and occupy many towns. People of Luxemburg demand abdication of Grand Duchess.

November 18—President Wilson decides to attend the peace conference to be held in Europe. French occupy Metz. American troops reach the German border. British troops land at Gallipoli. American troops defeat bolshevik forces at Fulka, on the river Dvina. United States government takes over German insurance companies' agencies in America to be sold by the Custodian of alien property.

November 29—The President announced names of commissioners to represent the United States at peace conference. They are: Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States; Robert Lansing, Secretary of State; Col. Edward M. House; Henry White, former ambassador to Italy and to France, and Gen. Tasker H. Bliss, American adviser of the supreme war council.

December 4, 1918—President Wilson and a numerous staff sailed for Europe from New York aboard the George Washington, escorted by warships under command of Admiral Mayo, to attend the Peace Conference at Versailles, France.

THE END