"I extended my hand to the doctor and thanked him, as also the attendant, whom I commissioned to ask the sergeant to send word to my family. The doctor had carefully placed my cloak over me, with my helmet firmly on my head, in order in some measure to protect me from the leaden hail.

"Thus I lay alone with my own thoughts amid the most terrible fire for perhaps an hour and a half. All my thoughts, as far as pain and increasing weakness allowed, were fixed on my family. Gradually I got accustomed to the danger which surrounded me, and only when too much sand from the striking bullets was thrown on my body did I remember my little enviable position. At last, after long, long waiting, the sanitary detachment came for me."

THE REAL TRAGEDY OF WAR

It is not a pleasant picture—this story of the French soldier. It has little in it of the grandeur, the beat of drums, the sound of martial music, which is supposed to accompany war. The tread of marching feet has died away, the excitement is gone, and man the demon is supplanted by man the everyday human creature of suffering and home folks and fear.

It is only a personal account of an individual experience, yet in it may be found the real significance and the real tragedy of war; for, after the fighting is over, after the intoxication of legalized murder has gone, after nations turn their attention from victories to men, it is the aggregate of individual experiences which counts the costs of war.

Thousands of German, French, Belgian, Austrian, Russian, and British men in the prime of life have been miserably slain and lie in obscure graves of which the enemy now is the guardian, while others writhe in the agony of lingering wounds or sullenly brood over their fate in the dull routine of military prisons. In every part of the warring countries mothers weep over the sons they shall see no more, and wives over the husbands snatched from them forever. In many a mansion, in many a comfortable home, in many a peasant's cottage, the empty chair is eloquent of the absent father, brother, husband or son who shall be absent forever.



CHAPTER X

GERMAN ADVANCE ON PARIS

Allies Withdraw for Ten Days, Disputing Every Inch of Ground With the Kaiser's Troops—Germans Push Their Way Through France in Three Main Columns— Reports of the Withdrawing Engagements— Paris Almost in Sight.

Flushed with their successes over the Allies at Mons and Charleroi, the Germans pushed their advance toward the French capital with great celerity and vigor. During the last week of August and the first few days of September, it appeared inevitable that the experience of Paris in 1870-71 was to be repeated and that a siege of the city by the German forces would follow immediately.

It was conceded that the armies of the Allies had been forced back and that Paris was endangered. The German advance was general, all along the line. The flower of the Kaiser's army had marched through Belgium and pushed back the lines of the Allies to the formidable rows of fortifications that surround Paris. The Germans advanced in three main columns, constantly in touch with one another, from the right, passing through Mons, Cambrai and Amiens, to the extreme left in Lorraine. The center threatened Verdun, and from that point the right advance swept through Northern France like an opening fan, with the fortress of Verdun as the pivot.

Three million men were engaged in the main struggle. When the Germans first reached the Franco-Belgian frontier near Charleroi they were opposed by 700,000 French and 150,000 British troops. After being driven back the Allies began assembling 1,000,000 men between the frontier and Paris, The Allies hoped to hold the whole German army in check while the Russians pursued their successes in eastern Germany. French troops guarded the entire frontier, battling to check the other German invading columns. The holding of the Germans, once they broke through the fortifications that formed the chief reliance of the French, would be impossible. The next stand would be around Paris, which was well fortified. The invaders were, of course, attempting to get through where there were no forts.

ALLIES MAKE STRENUOUS RESISTANCE

Strenuous resistance to the onward movement of the German enemy was made by the Allies from day to day, but for a period of ten days there was an almost continual retirement of the French and British upon Paris. It was in fact a masterly retreat, but a retreat nevertheless. From the line of La Fere and Mezieres, occupied by the Allies after the battles at Mons and Charleroi, they fell back 70 miles in seven days, disputing every step of the way, but withdrawing gradually to the line of defenses around the French capital. From Cambrai the Germans pushed through Amiens to Beauvais; from Peronne to Roye, Montdidier, Creil, and on to the forest of Chantilly. From the region of Le Cateau and St. Quentin the German advance was by Noyon to Compiegne (famous for its memories of Joan of Arc's famous sortie), at which point the Allies made a desperate stand and the Germans had to fight for every inch of ground. They then passed through Senlis, which was first bombarded, down to Meaux, almost within sight of Paris, the head of the German army resting on a line between Beaumont, Meaux and La Ferte, at which point the resistance of the Allies finally forced a change in German plans.

Other German forces passed through Laon, Soissons and Chateau Thierry. Farther to the east, the road from Mezieres led the Germans to Rheims, Mourmelon, and opposite Chalons on the River Marne.

Another German army from the direction of Longwy, under the command of the Crown Prince, was operating through Suippes and on the wooded Argonne plateau, with its five passes, famous in the action of which preceded the battle of Valmy. At the entrance to this hilly country stands the little town of Sainte Menehould, where there was severe fighting with the French. Here the German Crown Prince made his headquarters.

The great plain of the Argonne is full of most wonderful ecclesiastical buildings and many magnificent cathedrals, townhalls and ancient fortresses were passed by the warring armies in their advance and withdrawal, some of these historic structures sustaining irreparable damage.

The German advance continued southward toward Paris until September 4.

RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF THE BRITISH

All reports agree that during the retirement of the Allies, the Germans pursued the British headquarters staff with uncanny precision throughout the ten days from Mons back to Compiegne. After fierce street fighting in Denain and Landrecies Sir John French withdrew his headquarters to Le Cateau, which was at once made the target of a terrific bombardment. The town caught fire, burning throughout one night, and the British headquarters had to be evacuated, this time in favor of St. Quentin, in the local college. Here the same thing happened and Field Marshal French was compelled once more to retire, to the neighborhood of Compiegne.

In an official report issued on Sunday, September 6, it is stated that, "The 5th French army on August 29 advanced from the line of the Oise River to meet and counter the German forward movement and a considerable battle developed to the south of Guise. In this the 5th French army gained a marked and solid success, driving back with heavy loss and in disorder three German army corps, the 10th, the Guard, and a reserve corps. In spite of this success, however, and all the benefits which flowed from it, the general retirement to the south continued and the German armies, seeking persistently after the British troops, remained in practically continuous contact with the rearguards.

"On August 30 and 31 the British covering and delaying troops were frequently engaged, and on September 1 a very vigorous effort was made by the Germans, which brought about a sharp action in the neighborhood of Compiegne. This action was fought principally by the 1st British Cavalry Brigade and the 4th Guards Brigade and was entirely satisfactory to the British. The German attack, which was most strongly pressed, was not brought to a standstill until much slaughter had been inflicted upon them and until ten German guns had been captured. The brunt of this affair fell upon the Guards Brigade, which lost in killed and wounded about 300 men."

This affair was typical of the numerous rearguard engagements fought by both the British and the French forces during their retirement.

MASTERLY TACTICS IN RETIRING

Pressing hard upon the rear of the Allies for ten days was the greatest military machine that has ever been assembled in one cohesive force. Through Belgium had poured nearly 2,000,000 German troops, made up of about 800,000 first-line soldiers and more than 1,000,000 reserves. The twenty-six-hour march of part of the German army through Brussels was stunning evidence of the might of the "war machine," and despite fierce fighting all the way, the great army had never faltered in its 150-mile advance in Belgium.

But the numerical might of the German advance was matched by the masterly tactics of the Allies in retiring. By these tactics, in which General Joffre, the French commander-in-chief, co-operated with the British field-marshal, Sir John French, the Allies prevented their lines being overwhelmed by the superior numbers of their foe, but the German right flank and center, strung out over a line more than 150 miles long, northeast of Paris, kept smashing on. Losses were frightfully heavy, but the Kaiser's order was "Take Paris!"

It was believed certain that the German general staff had staked everything on investing Paris immediately, by completely breaking down the opposition massed between the German lines and the city. Paris had therefore prepared for the siege, with her great circles of forts strengthened and her food supply replenished. Many of the residents fled the city in panic, fearing a repetition of the dread days of 1871, with their privation and distress, but the spirit of the French people generally remained unshaken and General Gallieni, military governor of Paris, assumed complete control of the situation in the city.

GOVERNMENT MOVED TO BORDEAUX

On August 26 the French cabinet had resigned in a body and it was reconstructed on broader lines under Premier Viviani to meet the demands of the national emergency.

German troops were reported within 40 miles of Paris on September 3, and at 3 A. M. of that day a proclamation was issued by President Poincare, announcing that the seat of government would be temporarily transferred from Paris to Bordeaux. The minister of the interior stated that this decision had been taken "solely upon the demand of the military authorities because the fortified places of Paris, while not necessarily likely to be attacked, would become the pivot of the field operations of the two armies."

The text of President Poincare's proclamation was as follows:

"ENDURE AND FIGHT!"

"FEENCHMEN: For several weeks our heroic troops have been engaged in the fierce combat with the enemy. The courage of our soldiers has won for them a number of marked advantages. But in the north the pressure of the German forces has constrained us to retire. This situation imposes on the president of the Republic and the government a painful decision.

"To safeguard the national safety the public authorities are obliged to leave for the moment the city of Paris. Under the command of its eminent chief, the French army, full of courage and spirit, will defend the capital and its patriotic population against the invader. But the war must be pursued at the same time in the rest of the French territory.

"The sacred struggle for the honor of the nation and the reparation of violated rights will continue without peace or truce and without a stop or a failure. None of our armies has been broken.

"If some of them have suffered only too evident losses, the gaps in the ranks have been filled up from the waiting reserve forces, while the calling out of a new class of reserves brings us tomorrow new resources in men and energy.

"Endure and fight! Such should be the motto of the allied army, British, Russians, Belgians and French.

"Endure and fight! While on the sea our allies aid us to cut the enemy's communications with the world.

"Endure and fight! While the Russians continue to carry a decisive blow to the heart of the German empire.

"It is for the government of this republic to direct this resistance to the very end and to give to this formidable struggle all its vigor and efficiency. It is indispensable that the government retain the mastery of its own actions. On the demand of the military authorities the government therefore transfers its seat momentarily to a point of the territory whence it may remain in constant relations with the rest of the country. It invites the members of parliament not to remain distant from the government, in order to form, in the face of the enemy, with the government and their colleagues, a group of national unity.

"The government does not leave Paris without having assured a defense of the city and its entrenched camp by all means in its power. It knows it has not the need to recommend to the admirable Parisian population a calm resolution and sangfroid, for it shows every day it is equal to its greatest duties.

"Frenchmen, let us all be worthy of these tragic circumstances. We shall gain a final victory and we shall gain it by untiring will, endurance and tenacity. A nation that will not perish, and which, to live, retreats before neither suffering nor sacrifice, is sure to vanquish."

The removal of the French government departments to Bordeaux was accomplished within twenty-four hours and the southern city became at once a center of remarkable activity. Ambassador Herrick, representing the United States, remained in Paris to render aid to his fellow-countrymen who were seeking means of returning to America and were more than ever anxious to get away when a state of siege became imminent. A radical change in the French military operations was put in effect after the Germans had swept in from Belgium, and had taken the cities of Lille, Roubaix, and Longwy. The French army had attempted to strike and shatter the Germans at their weakest point, and failed.

Paris prepared for the worst when the Kaiser's conquering army reached La Fere, about seventy miles away. From Amiens to La Fere the Germans pressed their attack hardest. As the Allies were seen to be gradually falling back, reserve troops were assembled in Paris and the forts put in readiness for siege.

THE FORTIFICATIONS OP PARIS

Paris has one of the strongest fortification systems of any city in the world. The siege of the giant city would be a much greater undertaking than forty-four years ago, as the fortifications have been essentially augmented and strengthened since the Franco-Prussian war.



The fortifications consist of the old city walls, the old belt of forts and the new enceinture of the fortified camps, which have been advanced far outside of the reach of the old forts. The main wall, ten meters (33 feet) high, consists of ninety-four bastions and is surrounded by a ditch fifteen meters wide. Behind the wall a ringroad and a belt line run around the city.

The belt of old forts surrounds this main fortification of the city at a little distance and consists of not less than sixteen forts. Those farthest advanced are hardly half a mile distant from the main wall. The experiences of the last war, the immense progress of the artillery, and especially the wider reach of the modern siege guns induced the French army authorities to build a belt of still stronger forts, which surrounds the old fortress of 1870 like a protective net. The forts, redoubts and batteries belonging to this last belt of fortifications are situated at least two miles from the city limits proper, and even Versailles is taken into this belt of fortifications.

The circumference of the circle formed by them is 124 kilometers (nearly 77 miles) and the space included in it amounts to 1,200 square kilometers. This new belt of fortifications consists of seven forts of the first class, sixteen forts of the second class and fifty redoubts or batteries, which are connected with each other by the "Great Belt Line," of 113 kilometers (71 miles).

FORM LARGE FORTIFIED CAMPS

The strongest of these forts form fortified camps, large enough to give protection to strong armies and also the possibility for a new reconcentration. There are three of these camps. The northern camp includes the fortifications from the Fort de Cormeilles on the left to the Fort de Stains on the right wing, with the forts of the first class, Cormeilles and Domont, and the forts of the second class, Montlignon, Montmorency, Ecouen and Stains, and it is protected in the rear by the strong forts in the vicinity of St. Denis. The eastern camp goes from the Ourcq canal and the forest of Bondy to the Seine, and its main strongholds are the forts of Vaujours and Villeneuve-St. Georges, with the smaller forts of Chelles, Villiers, Champigny and Sully.

On the left bank of the Seine the southwestern camp is situated, including Versailles, whose main forts are those of St. Cyr, Haut-Bue, Villeras and Palaiseau, to which the large redubt of Bois d'Arey and the forts of Chatillon and Hautes-Bruyeres, situated a little to the rear, belong likewise.

To invest this strongest fortress of the world the line of the Germans ought to have a length of 175 kilometers and to its continuous occupation, even if the ring of the investing masses were not very deep, a much greater number of troops would be necessary than were used in 1870 for the siege of Paris.

GERMAN AMMUNITION CAPTURED

A correspondent at Nanteuil, September 12, thus described the capture of a German ammunition column while the Germans were feeling their way toward Paris:

"The seven-kilometer column was winding its way along Crepy-en-Valois when General Pan sent cavalry and artillery to intercept it. The column was too weakly guarded to cope with the attack, and so was captured and destroyed. This capture had an important bearing on the subsequent fighting.

"A noticeable feature of the operations has been the splendid marching qualities of the French troops. This was displayed especially when two divisions, which were sent to intercept the expected attempt of the Germans to invest Paris, covered eighty kilometers (491/2 miles) in two stages."

ALLIES PLAN TO PROTECT PARIS

The plan of the Allies on September 1 was to make a determined stand before Paris, in the effort to protect the city from the horrors of a siege. With their left wing resting on the strongly fortified line of the Paris forts and with their right wing strengthened by the defensive line from Verdun to Belfort, they would occupy a position of enormous military strength. If the Germans concentrated to move against their front the French reserve armies could assemble west of the Seine, move forward and attack the German invading columns in flank. If in their effort to continue the great turning movement the Germans pushed forward across the Seine and attempted by encircling Paris to gain the rear of the allied armies, the French could mass their reserve corps behind their center at Reims, push forward against the weakened German center in an attack that if successful would cut off the German invading columns and expose them to annihilation.

Such were the conditions and the possibilities when the German advance reached its climax on September 4.



CHAPTER XI

BATTLE OF THE MARNE

German Plans Suddenly Changed—Direction of Advance Swings to the Southeast When Close to the French Capital—Successful Resistance by the Allies—The Prolonged Encounter at the Marne—Germans Retreat With Allies in Hot Pursuit for Many Miles.

Suddenly the German plans were changed. With Paris almost in sight, almost within the range of their heavy artillery, the German forces on the right of the line on September 4 changed the direction of their advance to a southeasterly course, which would leave Paris to the west. The people of the gay capital, who for several days had been preparing themselves once more for the thunder of the Prussian guns, began to breathe more freely, while all the world wondered at the sudden and spectacular transformation in the conditions of the conflict.

What had happened? Why was the advance thus checked and the march on Paris abandoned? Was it a trick, designed to lead the Allies into a trap? Or were the German troops too exhausted by forced marches and lack of rest to face the determined resistance of the allied forces before Paris?

These were the questions on every tongue, on both sides of the Atlantic, while the military experts sought strategic reasons for the change in German plans.

When the movement towards the east began the right of the German forces moved through Beaumont and L'Isle towards Meaux, apparently with the intention of avoiding Paris. Their front some twenty-four hours later was found to be extending across the River Marne as far south as Conlommiers and La Ferte-Gaucher, the two opposing lines at that time stretching between Paris on the left flank and Verdun on the right.

On Monday, September 7, there came news that the southward movement of the German army had been arrested, and that it had been forced back across the Marne to positions where the German right wing curved back from La Ferte-sous-Jouarre along the bank of the River Ourcq, a tributary of the Marne, to the northward of Chateau Thierry. All this territory forms part of the district known as the "Bassin de Paris."

Then came a turn in the tide of war and the German plans were temporarily lost sight of when the Allies assumed the offensive along the Marne and the Ourcq and the Germans began to fall back. For four days their retreat continued. Ten miles, thirty miles, forty-five miles, back toward the northeast and east the invaders retired and Paris was relieved. The tide of battle had thrown the Germans away from the French capital and Frenchmen believed their retirement was permanent.

BATTLE OF THE MARNE

Important and interesting details of the battle of the Marne and the movements that preceded it are given in an official report compiled from information sent from the headquarters of Field Marshal Sir John French (commander-in-chief of the British expeditionary forces), under date of September 11. This account describes the movements both of the British force and of the French armies in immediate touch with it. It carries the operations from the 4th to the 10th of September, both days inclusive, and says:

"The general position of our troops Sunday, September 6, was south of the River Marne, with the French forces in line on our right and left. Practically there had been no change since Saturday, September 5, which marked the end of our army's long retirement from the Belgian frontier through Northern France.

"On Friday, September 4, it became apparent that there was an alteration in the advance of almost the whole of the first German army. That army since the battle near Mons on the 23d of August had been playing its part in a colossal strategic endeavor to create a Sedan for the Allies by out-flanking and enveloping the left of their whole line so as to encircle and drive both the British and French to the south.

THE CHANGE IN GERMAN STRATEGY

"There was now a change in its objective and it was observed that the German forces opposite the British were beginning to move in a southeasterly direction instead of continuing southwest on to the capital, leaving a strong rear guard along the line of the River Ourcq (which flows south of and joins the Marne at Lizy-sur-Ourcq) to keep off the French Sixth Army, which by then had been formed and was to the northwest of Paris. They were evidently executing what amounted to a flank march diagonally across our front.

"Prepared to ignore the British as being driven out of the fight, they were initiating an effort to attack the left flank of the main French army, which stretched in a long curved line from our right toward the east, and so to carry out against it alone an envelopment which so far had failed against the combined forces of the Allies.

"On Saturday, the 5th, this movement on the part of the Germans was continued and large advance parties crossed the Marne southward at Trilport, Sammeron, La Ferte-sous-Jouarre and Chateau Thierry. There was considerable fighting with the French Fifth Army on the French left, which fell back from its position south of the Marne toward the Seine.

"On Sunday large hostile forces crossed the Marne and pushed on through Coulommiers and past the British right, farther to the east. They were attacked at night by the French Fifth, which captured three villages at the point of bayonets.

ALLIES TAKE THE OFFENSIVE

"On Monday, September 7, there was a general advance on the part of the Allies. In this quarter of the field our forces, which had now been reinforced, pushed on in a northeasterly direction in co-operation with the advance of the French Fifth Army to the north and of the French Sixth Army to the eastward against the German rearguard along the River Ourcq.

"Possibly weakened by the detachment of troops to the eastern theater of operations and realizing that the action of the French Sixth Army against the line of Ourcq and the advance of the British placed their own flanking movement in considerable danger of being taken in the rear and on its flank, the Germans on this day commenced to retire toward the northeast.

"This was the first time that these troops had turned back since their attack at Mons a fortnight before and from reports received the order to retreat when so close to Paris was a bitter disappointment. From letters found on dead soldiers there is no doubt there was a general impression among the enemy's troops that they were about to enter Paris.

GERMAN RETREAT IS HASTENED

"On Tuesday, September 8, the German movement north-eastward was continued. Their rear guards on the south of the Marne were being pressed back to that river by our troops and by the French on our right, the latter capturing three villages after a hand-to-hand fight and the infliction of severe loss on the enemy.

"The fighting along the Ourcq continued on this day and was of the most sanguinary character, for the Germans had massed a great force of artillery along this line. Very few of their infantry were seen by the French. The French Fifth Army also made a fierce attack on the Germans in Montmirail, regaining that place.

"On Wednesday, September 9, the battle between the French Sixth Army and what was now the German flank guard along the Ourcq continued.

"The British corps, overcoming some resistance on the River Petit Morin, crossed the Marne in pursuit of the Germans, who now were hastily retreating northwest. One of our corps was delayed by an obstinate defense made by a strong rear guard with machine guns at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, where the bridge had been destroyed.

"On Thursday, September 10, the French Sixth Army continued its pressure on the west while the Fifth Army by forced marches reached the line of Chateau Thierry and Dormans on the Marne. Our troops also continued the pursuit on the north of the latter river and after a considerable amount of fighting captured some 1,500 prisoners, four guns, six machine guns and fifty transport wagons.

"Many of the enemy were killed or wounded and the numerous thick woods which dot the country north of the Marne are filled with German stragglers. Most of them appear to have been without food for at least two days.

"Indeed, in this area of the operations, the Germans seem to be demoralized and inclined to surrender in small parties. The general situation appears to be most favorable to the Allies.

"Much brutal and senseless damage has been done in the villages occupied by the enemy. Property has been wantonly destroyed. Pictures in chateaus have been ripped up and houses generally have been pillaged.

"It is stated on unimpeachable authority also that the inhabitants have been much ill-treated.

TRAPPED IN A SUNKEN ROAD

"Interesting incidents have occurred during the fighting. On the 10th of September part of our Second Army Corps, advancing into the north, found itself marching parallel with another infantry force some little distance away. At first it was thought this was another British unit. After some time, however, it was discovered that it was a body of Germans retreating.

"Measures promptly were taken to head off the enemy, who were surrounded and trapped in a sunken road, where over 400 men surrendered.

"On September 10 a small party under a noncommissioned officer was cut off and surrounded. After a desperate resistance it was decided to go on fighting to the end. Finally the noncommissioned officer and one man only were left, both of them being wounded.

"The Germans came up and shouted to them: 'Lay down your arms!' The German commander, however, signed to them to keep their arms and then asked to shake hands with the wounded noncommissioned officer, who was carried off on his stretcher with his rifle by his side.

"Arrival of reinforcements and the continued advance have delighted our troops, who are full of zeal and anxious to press on.

SUCCESS OF THE FLYING CORPS

"One of the features of the campaign on our side has been the success obtained by the Royal Flying Corps. In regard to the collection of information it is impossible either to award too much praise to our aviators for the way they have carried out their duties or to overestimate the value of the intelligence collected, more especially during the recent advance.

"In due course certain examples of what has been effected may be specified and the far-reaching nature of the results fully explained, but that time has not arrived.

"That the services of our Flying Corps, which, has really been on trial, are fully appreciated by our allies is shown by the following message from the commander-in-chief of the French armies, received September by Field Marshal Lord Kitchener:

"'Please express most particularly to Marshal French my thanks for the services rendered on every day by the English flying corps. The precision, exactitude and regularity of the news brought in by its members are evidence of their perfect organization and also of the perfect training of the pilots and the observers.—JOSEPH JOFFRE, General,'

"To give a rough idea of the amount of work carried out it is sufficient to mention that during a period of twenty days up to the 10th of September a daily average of more than nine reconnaissance flights of over 100 miles each has been maintained.

FIVE GERMAN PILOTS SHOT

"The constant object of our aviators has been to effect an accurate location of the enemy's forces and, incidentally, since the operations cover so large an area, of our own units. Nevertheless, the tactics adopted for dealing with hostile air craft are to attack them instantly with one or more British machines. This has been so far successful that in five cases German pilots or observers have been shot while in the air and their machines brought to ground.

"As a consequence the British Flying Corps has succeeded in establishing an individual ascendancy which is as serviceable to us as it is dangerous to the enemy.

"How far it is due to this cause it is not possible at present to ascertain definitely, but the fact remains that the enemy have recently become much less enterprising in their flights. Something in the direction of the mastery of the air already has been gained in pursuance of the principle that the main object of military aviators is the collection of information.

"Bomb dropping has not been indulged in to any great extent. On one occasion a petrol bomb was successfully exploded in a German bivouac at night, while from a diary found on a dead German cavalry soldier it has been discovered that a high explosive bomb, thrown at a cavalry column from one of our aeroplanes, struck an ammunition wagon, resulting in an explosion which killed fifteen of the enemy."

LOSSES AT THE MARNE ENORMOUS

Some idea of the terrific character of the fighting at the Marne and of the great losses in the prolonged battle may be gained from the following story, telegraphed on September 14 by a correspondent who followed in the rear of the allied army:

"General von Kluck's host in coming down over the Marne and the Grand Morin rivers to Sezanne, twenty-five miles southwest of Epernay, met little opposition, and I believe little opposition was intended. The Allies, in fact, led their opponents straight into a trap. The English cavalry led the tired Germans mile after mile, and the Germans believed the Englishmen were running away. When the tremendous advance reached Provins the Allies' plan was accomplished, and it got no farther.

"Fighting Sunday, September 6, was of a terrible character, and began at dawn in the region of La Ferte-Gaucher. The Allies' troops, who were drawn up to receive the Germans, understood it would be their duty to hold on their very best that the attacking force at Meaux might achieve its task in security. The battle lasted all night and until late Monday.

"The Germany artillery fire was very severe, but not accurate. The French and English fought sternly on and slowly beat the enemy back.

"Attempts of the Germans to cross the Marne at Meaux entailed terrible losses. Sixteen attempts were foiled by the French artillery fire directed on the river and in one trench 600 dead Germans were counted.

COUNTRY STREWN WITH DEAD

"The whole country was strewn with the dead and dying. When at last the Germans retired they slackened their rifle fire and in once place retired twelve miles without firing a single shot. One prisoner declared that they were short of ammunition and had been told to spare it as much as possible.

"Monday saw a tremendous encounter on the Oureq. In one village, which the Germans hurriedly vacated, the French in a large house found a dinner table beautifully set, with candles still burning on the table, where evidently the German staff had been dining. A woman occupant said they fled precipitately.

"There was a great deal of hand-to-hand fighting and bayonet work on the Ourcq, which resulted in the terrible Magdeburg regiment beating a retreat.

"Monday night General von Kluck's army had been thrown back from the Marne and from the Morin and to the region of Sezanne and his position was serious. Immediate steps were necessary to save his line of communications and retreat. To this end reinforcements were hurried north to the Meaux district and the Ourcq and tremendous efforts were made to break up the French resistance in this section.

GERMAN GUNS ARE SILENCED

"The second attempt on the Oureq shared the fate of the first. Though all Monday night and well on into Tuesday the great German guns boomed along this river, the resistance of the allies could not be broken. 'Hold on!' was the command and every man braced himself to obey. While the Ourcq was being held the struggle of Sezanne was bearing fruit.

"The German resistance on Thursday morning was broken. I heard the news in two ways: from the silence of the German guns and from the wounded who poured down to the bases.

"The wounded men no longer were downhearted, but eager to rejoin the fray. On every French lip was the exclamation that 'They are in full retreat!' and 'They are rushing back home!' and in the same breath came generous recognition of the great help given by the British army.

"The number of wounded entailed colossal transportation work. I counted fifteen trains in eight hours. A fine, grim set of men, terribly weary but amiable, except for the officers.

GERMANS LEAVE SPOILS BEHIND

"The enemy crossed the Marne on the return journey north under great difficulties and beneath a withering fire from the British troops, who pursued them hotly. The German artillery operated from a height. There was again much hand-to-hand fighting and the river was swollen with dead.

"Tuesday night the British were in possession of La Ferte-sous-Jouarre and Chateau Thierry and the Germans had fallen back forty miles, leaving a long train of spoils behind them.

"On the same day, in the neighborhood of Vitry-le-Francois, the French troops achieved a victory. Incidentally they drove back the famous Imperial Guard of Germany from Sezanne, toward the swamps of Saint Cond, where, a century ago, Napoleon achieved one of his last successes. The main body of the guard passed to the north of the swamps, but I heard of men and horses engulfed and destroyed.

"'It is our revenge for 1814,' the French officers said. 'If only the emperor were here to see.'

BRITISH KEEP UP PURSUIT

"Wednesday the English army continued the pursuit toward the north, taking guns and prisoners.

"On that day I found myself in a new France. The good news had spread. Girls threw flowers at the passing soldiers and joy was manifested everywhere.

"The incidents of Wednesday will astound the world when made known in full. I know that two German detachments of 1,000 men each, which were surrounded and cornered but which refused to surrender, were wiped out almost to the last man. The keynote of these operations was the tremendous attack of the Allies along the Ourcq Tuesday, which showed the German commander that his lines were threatened. Then came the crowning stroke.

"The army of the Ourcq and of Meaux and the army of Sezanne drew together like the blades of a pair of shears, the pivot of which was in the region of the Grand Morin. The German retreat was thus forced toward the east and it speedily became a rout."

RETREAT SEEN FROM THE SKY

The best view of the retreating German armies was obtained, according to a Paris report, by a French military airman, who, ascending from a point near Vitry, flew northward across the Marne and then eastward by way of Rheims down to the region of Verdun and back again in a zigzag course to a spot near Soissons.

He saw the German hosts not merely in retreat, but in flight, and in some places in disorderly flight.

"It was a wonderful sight," the airman said, "to look down upon these hundreds and thousands of moving military columns, the long gray lines of the Kaiser's picked troops, some marching in a northerly, others in a northeasterly direction, and all moving with a tremendous rapidity.

"The retreat was not confined to the highways, but many German soldiers were running across fields, jumping over fences, crawling through hedges, and making their way through woods without any semblance of order or discipline.

"These men doubtless belonged to regiments which were badly cut up in the fierce fighting which preceded the general retreat. Deprived of the majority of their officers, they made a mere rabble of fugitives, Many were without rifles, having abandoned their weapons in their haste to escape their French and British pursuers."

GERMANS ABANDON GUNS

The London Times correspondent describes the German retreat in a hurricane, with rain descending in torrents, the wayside brooks swollen to little torrents.

"The gun wheels sank deep in the mud, and the soldiers, unable to extricate them, abandoned the guns," he said.

"A wounded soldier, returned from the front, told me that the Germans fled as animals flee which are cornered and know it.

"Imagine the roadway littered with guns, knapsacks, cartridge belts, Maxims and heavy cannon. There were miles of roads like this.

"And the dead! Those piles of horses and those stacks of men I have seen again and again. I have seen men shot so close to one another that they remained standing after death.

"At night time the sight was horrible beyond description. They cannot bury whole armies.

"In the day time over the fields of dead carrion birds gathered, led by the gray-throated crow of evil omen with a host of lesser marauders at his back. Robbers, too, have descended upon these fields.

"Trainload after trainload of British and French troops swept toward the weak points of the retreating host.

"The Allies benefited by this advantage of the battle-ground; there is a network of railways, like the network of a spider's web."

FIGHTING DESCRIBED BY U.S. OFFICERS

Two military attaches of the United States embassy at Paris, Lieut.-Col. H. T. Allen and Capt. Frank Parker, both of the Eleventh cavalry, U.S.A., returned on September 15 from an automobile trip over the battlefield where from September 8 until the night of September 11 the French and Germans were fiercely engaged. This battle was the one which assured the safety of Paris.

On September 1 the German left and center were separated, but like a letter "V" were approaching each other, with Paris as their objective. Had the Allies attacked at that time they would have had to divide their forces and, so weakened, give battle to two armies. By retreating they drew after them the two converging lines of the V and when the Germans were in wedge-shaped formation, attacked them on the flank and center at Meaux and made a direct attack at Sezanne.

The four days' battle at Meaux ended with the Germans crossing the river Aisne and retreating to the hills north and west of Soissons. Col. Allen and Capt. Parker saw the end of the battle north of Sezanne, which resulted in the retreat of the Germans to Rheims.

The battles, as Col. Allen and Capt. Parker describe them, were as follows:

On the 8th the Germans advanced from a line stretching from Epernay and Chalons, a distance of twenty-five kilometers (sixteen miles). In this front, counting from the German right, were the Tenth, the Guards, the Ninth and Twelfth Army Corps. The presence of the Guards, the corps d'elite of the German army, suggested that this was intended to be a main attack upon Paris and that the army at Meaux was to occupy the center. The four combined corps numbered over 200,000. The French met them, they assert, with 190,000.

The Germans advanced until their left was at Vitry-le-Francois and their right rested at Sezanne, making a column 15 miles long, headed west toward Paris. The French butted the line six miles east of Sezanne, in the forests of La Fere and Champenoise. It was here that the greater part of the fight occurred. It was fighting at long distance with artillery and from trench to trench with the bayonet.

THIRTY THOUSAND MEN KILLED

During the four days in which fortune rested first on one flag and then on another 30,000 men of both armies are said to have been killed and a considerable number of villages were wiped from the map by the artillery of both armies.

Two miles from Sezanne a French regiment was destroyed by an ambush. The Germans had thrown up conspicuous trenches and with decoys sparsely filled them. From the forest in the rear the mitrailleuse was trained on the French. The French infantry charged this trench and the decoys fled, making toward the flanks, and as the French poured over the trenches the hidden guns swept them.

In another trench the American attaches counted the bodies of more than 900 German guards, not one of whom had attempted to retreat. They had stood fast with their shoulders against the parapet and taken the cold steel. Everywhere the loss of life was appalling. In places the dead lay across each other three and four deep.

TURCOS FIERCEST FIGHTERS OF ALL

"The fiercest fighting of all seems to have been done by the Turcos and Senegalese. In trenches taken by them from the guards and the famous Death's Head Hussars, the Germans showed no bullet wounds. In nearly every attack the men from the desert had flung themselves upon the enemy, using only the butt or the bayonet. Man for man no white man drugged for years with meat and alcohol is a physical match for these Turcos, who eat dates and drink water," said Richard Harding Davis, who saw the end of the fighting at Meaux. "They are as lean as starved wolves. They move like panthers. They are muscle and nerves and they have the warrior's disregard of their own personal safety in battle, and a perfect scorn of the foe.

"As Kipling says, 'A man who has a sneaking desire to live has a poor chance against one who is indifferent whether he kills you or you kill him.'"

NIGHT BATTLE DESCRIBED BY SOLDIER

The following narrative of a night engagement during the prolonged battle of the Marne is quoted from a French soldier's letter to a compatriot in London:

"Our strength was about 400 infantrymen. Toward midnight we broke up our camp and marched off in great silence, of course not in closed files, but in open order. We were not allowed to speak to each other or to make any unnecessary noise, and as we walked through the forest the only sound to be heard was that of our steps and the rustling of the leaves. It was a perfectly lovely night; the sky was so clear, the atmosphere so pure, the forest so romantic, everything seemed so charming and peaceful that I could not imagine that we were on the warpath, and that perhaps in a few hours this forest would be aflame, the soil drenched by human blood, and the fragrant herbs covered with broken limbs.

"Yet all those silent, armed men, marching in the same direction as I did, were ever so many proofs that no peace meeting or any delightful romantic adventure was near, and I wondered what thoughts were stirring all those brains. Suddenly a whisper passed on from man to man. It was the officer's command. A halt was made, and in the same whisper we were told that part of us had to change our direction so that the two directions would form a V. A third division proceeded slowly in the original direction.

COMMANDS ARE WHISPERED

"I belonged to what may be called the left leg of the V. After what seemed to be about half an hour, we reached the edge of the forest, and from behind the trees we saw an almost flat country before us, with here and there a tiny little hill, a mere hump four or five feet high. On the extreme left-hand side the land seemed to be intersected by ditches and trenches.

"Another whispered command was passed from man to man, and we all had to lie down on the soil. A moment afterward we were thus making our way to the above-mentioned ditches and trenches. It is neither the easiest nor the quickest way to move, but undoubtedly the safest, for an occasional enemy somewhere on the hills at the farther end of the field would not possibly be able to detect us. I don't know how long it took us to reach the ditches, which were, for the greater part, dry; nor do I know how long we remained there or what was happening. We were perfectly hidden from view, lying flat down on our stomachs, but we were also unable to see anything. Everybody's ears were attentive, every nerve was strained. The sun was rising. It promised to be a hot day.

FIRST SHOT IS HEARD

"Suddenly we heard a shot, at a distance of what seemed to be a mile or so, followed by several other shots. I ventured to lift my body up in order to see what was happening. But the next moment my sergeant, who was close by me, warned me with a knock on my shoulder not to move, and the whispered order ran, 'Keep quiet! Hide yourself!' Still, the short glance had been sufficient to see what was going on. Our troops, probably those who had been left behind in the forest, were crossing the plain and shooting at the Germans on the crest of the hill, who returned the fire.

"The silence was gone. We heard the rushing of feet at a short distance; then, suddenly, it ceased when the attacking soldiers dropped to aim and shoot. Some firing was heard, and then again a swift rush followed. This seemed to last a long time, but it was broken by distant cries, coming apparently from the enemy. I was wondering all the time why we kept hidden and did not share in the assault.

"The rifle fire was incessant. I saw nothing of the battle. Would, our troops be able to repulse the Germans? How strong were the enemy! They seemed to have no guns, but the number of our soldiers in that field was not very large.

ATTACKED WITH BAYONETS

"A piercing yell rose from the enemy. Was it a cry of triumph? A short command rang over the field in French, an order to retreat. A swift rush followed; our troops were being pursued by the enemy. What on earth were we waiting for in our ditches? A bugle signal, clear and bright. We sprang to our feet, and 'At the bayonet!' the order came. We threw ourselves on the enemy, who were at the same time attacked on the other side by the division which formed the other 'leg' of the V, while the 'fleeing' French soldiers turned and made a savage attack.

"It is impossible to say or to describe what one feels at such a moment. I believe one is in a state of temporary madness, of perfect rage. It is terrible, and if we could see ourselves in such a state I feel sure we would shrink with horror.

"In a few minutes the field was covered with dead and wounded men, almost all of them Germans, and our hands and bayonets were dripping with blood. I felt hot spurts of blood in my face, of other men's blood, and as I paused to wipe them off, I saw a narrow stream of blood running along the barrel of my rifle.

"Such was the beginning of a summer day."

SCENES ON THE BATTLEFIELD

Writing from Sezanne a few days after the battle of the Marne a visitor to the battlefield described the conditions at that time as follows:

"The territory over which the battle of the Marne was fought is now a picture of devastation, abomination and death almost too awful to describe.

"Many sons of the fatherland are sleeping their last sleep in the open fields and in ditches where they fell or under hedges where they crawled after being caught by a rifle bullet or piece of shell, or where they sought shelter from the mad rush of the franc-tireurs, who have not lost their natural dexterity with the knife and who at close quarters frequently throw away their rifles and fight hand to hand.

"The German prisoners are being used on the battlefield in searching for and burying their dead comrades. Over the greater part of the huge battlefield there have been buried at least those who died in open trenches on the plateaus or on the high roads. The extensive forest area, however, has hardly been searched for bodies, although hundreds of both French and Germans must have sought refuge and died there. The difficulty of finding bodies is considerable on account of the undergrowth.

"Long lines of newly broken brown earth mark the graves of the victims. Some of these burial trenches are 150 yards long. The dead are placed shoulder to shoulder and often in layers. This gives some idea of the slaughter that took place in this battle.

"The peasants, who are rapidly coming back to the scene, are marking the grave trenches with crosses and planting flowers above or placing on them simple bouquets of dahlias, sunflowers and roses.

FOUGHT ON BEAUTIFUL CHATEAU LAWNS

"Some of the hottest fighting of the prolonged battle took place around the beautiful chateau of Mondement, on a hill six miles east of Sezanne. This relic of the architectural art of Louis XIV occupied a position which both sides regarded as strategically important.

"To the east it looked down into a great declivity in the shape of an immense Greek lamp, with the concealed marshes of St. Sond at the bottom. Beyond are the downs and heaths of Epernay, Rheims and Champagne, while the heights of Argonne stand out boldly in the distance. To the west is a rich agricultural country.

"The possession of the ridge of Mondement was vital to either the attackers or the defenders. The conflict here was of furnace intensity for four days. The Germans drove the French out in a terrific assault, and then the French guns were brought to bear, followed by hand-to-hand fighting on the gardens and lawns of the chateau and even through the breached walls.

"Frenchmen again held the building for a few hours, only to retire before another determined German attack. On the fourth day they swept the Germans out again with shell fire, under which the walls of the chateau, although two or three feet thick, crumpled like paper."

The same correspondent described evidences on the battlefields of how abundantly the Germans were equipped with ammunition and other material. He saw pyramid after pyramid of shrapnel shells abandoned in the rout, also innumerable paniers for carrying such ammunition. These paniers are carefully constructed of wicker and hold three shells in exactly fitting tubes so that there can be no movement.

The villages of Oyes, Villeneuve, Chatillon and Soizy-aux-Bois were all bombarded and completely destroyed. Some fantastic capers were played by the shells, such as blowing away half a house and leaving the other half intact; going through a window and out by the back wall without damaging the interior, or going a few inches into the wall and remaining fast without exploding.

Villeneuve, which was retaken three times, was, including its fine old church, in absolute ruins.

A SERIES OF BATTLES

The battle line along the Marne was so extended that the four-days' fighting from Sunday, September 6, to Thursday morning, September 10, when the Germans were in full retreat, comprised a series of bloody engagements, each worthy of being called a battle. There were hot encounters south of the Marne at Crecy, Montmirail and other points. At Chalons-sur-Marne the French fought for twenty-four hours and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. General Exelmans, one of France's most brilliant cavalry leaders, was dangerously wounded in leading a charge.

There was hard fighting on September 7 between Lagny and Meaux, on the Trilport and Crecy-en-Brie line, the Germans under General von Kluck being compelled to give way and retire on Meaux, at which point their resistance was broken on the 9th.

General French's army advanced to meet the German hosts with forced marches from their temporary base to the southeast of Paris.

The whole British army, except cavalry, passed through Lagny, and the incoming troops were so wearied that many of them at the first opportunity lay down in the dust and slept where they were.

But a few hours' rest worked a great change, and a little later the British troops were following the German retreat up the valley with bulldog tenacity.

The British artillery did notable work in those days, according to the French military surgeons who were stationed at Lagny. At points near there the bodies of slain Germans who fell before the British gunners still littered the ground on September 10, and the grim crop was still heavier on the soil farther up the valley, where the fighting was more desperate.

As far as possible the bodies were buried at night, each attending to its own fallen.

MANY SANGUINARY INCIDENTS

Sanguinary incidents were plentiful in the week of fighting to the south of the Marne. In an engagement not far from Lagny the British captured thirty Germans who had given up their arms and were standing under guard when, encouraged by a sudden forward effort of the German front, they made a dash for their rifles. They were cut down by a volley from their British guards before they could reach their weapons.

"Among dramatic incidents in the fighting," according to an English correspondent, "may be mentioned the grim work at the ancient fishponds near Ermenonville. These ponds are shut in by high trees. Driving the enemy through the woods, a Scotch regiment hustled its foes right into the fishponds, the Scotchmen jumping in after the Germans up to the middle to finish them in the water, which was packed with their bodies." This scene is illustrated on another page.

VAST GRAVEYARD AT MEAUX

Some idea of how the Germans were harassed by artillery fire during their retreat was obtained on a visit to the fields near Meaux, the scene of severe fighting. The German infantry had taken a position in a sunken road, on either side of which were stretched in extended lines hummocks, some of them natural and some the work of spades in the hands of German soldiers.

The sunken road was littered with bodies. Sprawling in ghastly fashion, the faces had almost the same greenish-gray hue as the uniforms worn. The road is lined with poplars, the branches of which, severed by fragments of shells, were strewn among the dead. In places whole tops of trees had been torn away by the artillery fire.

Beside many bodies were forty or fifty empty cartridge shells, while fragments of clothing, caps and knapsacks were scattered about. This destruction was wrought by batteries a little more than three miles distant. Straggling clumps of wood intervened between the batteries and their mark, but the range had been determined by an officer on an elevation a mile from the gunners. He telephoned directions for the firing and through glasses watched the bursting shells.

THE BATTLE AT CRECY

A graphic picture of the fight in Crecy wood was given by a correspondent who said: The French and English in overwhelming numbers had poured in from Lagny toward the River Marne to reinforce the flanking skirmishers. One of the smaller woods southeast of Crecy furnished cover for the enemy for a time, but led to their undoing. The Allies' patrols discovered them in the night as the Germans were moving about with lanterns.

Suddenly the invaders found their twinkling glow-worms the mark for a foe of whom they had been unaware. Without warning a midnight hail storm from Maxims screamed through the trees. The next morning scores of lanterns were picked up in the wood, with the glasses shattered. A dashing cavalry charge by the British finally cleared the tragic wood of the Germans.

BRITISH BLOW UP A BRIDGE

At Lagny one of the sights of the town was a shattered bridge, which was blown up by General French as soon as he got his army across it. At that time British infantry and artillery had poured through the town and over the bridge for several days. General French's idea was to keep raiding detachments of German cavalry from incursions into the beautiful villas and gardens of the western suburbs.

Fifteen minutes after the bridge had been reduced to a twisted mass of steel and broken masonry a belated order came to save it, but the British engineers who had received the order to destroy it had done their work well.

The inhabitants were cleared out of all the neighboring houses, which were shaken by the terrific explosion when the charge was set off. Every window in the nearby houses was shattered.

The people of Lagny took the destruction of their beautiful bridge in good part. They were too grateful for their deliverance from the Germans to grumble about the wrecked bridge.

GERMAN LOSSES AT THE MARNE

There is no doubt that the German losses in the engagements at the Marne far exceeded those of the Allies and were most severe, in both men and material. The Germans made incredible efforts to cross the Marne. The French having destroyed all the bridges, the Germans tried to construct three bridges of boats. Sixteen times the bridges were on the point of completion, but each time they were reduced to matchwood by the French artillery.

"There is not the slightest doubt," said a reliable correspondent, "that but for the superb handling of the German right by General von Kluck, a large part of Emperor William's forces would have been captured at the Marne. The allied cavalry did wonders, and three or four additional divisions of cavalry could have contributed towards a complete rout of the Germans."

The general direction of the German retirement was northeast, and it was continued for seventy miles, to a line drawn between Soissons, Rheims and Verdun.

A week after the battle the field around Meaux had been cleared of dead and wounded, and only little mounds with tiny crosses, flowers and tricolored flags recalled the terrible struggle.

The inhabitants of neighboring villages soon returned to their homes and resumed their ordinary occupations.

FALL OF MAUBEUGE

While the fighting at the Marne was in progress, German troops achieved some successes in other parts of the theater of war. Thus, the fortified French town of Maubeuge, on the Sambre river midway between Namur in Belgium and St. Quentin, France, fell to the Germans on September 7. The investment began on August 25. More than a thousand shells fell in one night near the railway station and the Rue de France was partially destroyed. The loss of life, however, was comparatively slight.

At 11:50 o'clock on the morning of September 7 a white flag was hoisted on the church tower and trumpets sounded "cease firing," but the firing only ceased at 3:08 o'clock that afternoon. In the meantime the greater part of the garrison succeeded in evacuating the town. The German forces marched in at 7:08 o'clock that evening.

The retreat of the German forces from the Marne ended the second stage of the great war.



CHAPTER XII

THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN

Slow Mobilization of Troops—Invasion of German and Austrian Territory—Cossacks Lead the Van—Early Successes in East Prussia—"On to Berlin"—Heavy Losses Inflicted on Austrians—German Troops Rushed to the Defense of the Eastern Territory.

When at 7:30 o'clock on the evening of August 1, 1914, the German Ambassador at St. Petersburg handed the declaration of war to the Russian foreign minister, the immediate reason was that Russia had refused to stop mobilizing her army, as requested by Germany on July 30.

The general mobilization of the Russian army and fleet was proclaimed on July 31 and martial law was proclaimed forthwith in Germany. The government of the Kaiser had given Russia twenty-four hours in which to reply to its ultimatum of the 30th. Russia paid no attention to the ultimatum, but M. Goremykin, president of the Council of the Russian Empire, issued a manifesto which read:

"Russia is determined not to allow Servia to be crushed and will fulfill its duty in regard to that small kingdom, which has already suffered so much at Austria's hands."

Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia on August 6. From that time on the Russian army had two main objectives—first, the Austrian province of Galicia, and second the eastern frontier of Germany, across which lay the territory known as East Prussia. And while the early days of the great conflict saw a German host pouring into Belgium, animated by the battle-cry, "On to Paris!" the gathering legions of the Czar headed to the west and crossed the Prussian frontier with hoarse, resounding shouts of "On to Berlin!"

MOBILIZATION WAS SLOW

The mobilization of the Russian army was slow compared with that of Germany, France and Austria, and some weeks elapsed after the declaration of war before Russia was prepared to attack Germany with the full force of which it was capable. The immense distances to be traversed by troops proceeding to the frontier and by the reserves to their respective depots caused delays that were unavoidable but were minimized by the eagerness of the Russian soldiery to get to the front. In Russia, as in all the other great countries engaged in the conflict, with the probable exception of Austria, the war was popular and a wave of patriotic enthusiasm and martial ardor swept over the land, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, from St. Petersburg to Siberia.

In Russia military service is universal and begins at the age of 20, continuing for twenty-three years. There are three divisions of the Russian army—the European, Caucasian and Asiatic armies. Military service of the Russian consists of three years in the first line, fourteen years in the reserve (during which time he has to undergo two periods of training of six weeks each) and five years in the territorial reserve. The Cossacks, however, hold their land by military tenure and are liable to serve at any time in the army. They provide their own horses and accouterments. The total strength of the Russian army is about 5,500,000 men; the field force of the European army consists of 1,000,000 soldiers with about the same number in the second line. There were besides at the beginning of the war over 5,000,000 men unorganized but available for duty.

ARMY REORGANIZED RECENTLY

Since the disastrous war with Japan the Russian army has been reorganized and it has profited largely by the harsh experience of the Manchurian campaign.

The physique of the Russian infantryman is second to none in Europe. The Russian "moujik" (peasant) is from childhood accustomed to cover long distances on foot, so that marches of from 30 to 40 miles are covered without fatigue by even the youngest recruits. They wear long boots, which are made of excellent soft leather, so that sore feet were quite the exception even in Manchuria, where very long marches were undergone by many of the units.

Each regiment of infantry contains four battalions commanded by a major or lieutenant-colonel. The battalion consists of four companies of men, commanded by a captain, so that each regiment on a war footing numbers upwards of 2,000 men.

The Russian cavalry is divided into two main categories. There are the heavy regiments of the Guard, which consist mainly of Lancer regiments, and there are also numberless Cossack or irregular cavalry regiments, which are recruited chiefly from the districts of the River Don and the highlands of the Caucasus.

The horses of the Russian horse and field artillery are distinctly poor and very inferior to those of the cavalry. The artillery is therefore somewhat slow in coming into action. But the horses, while weedy-looking, are very hardy and pull the guns up steep gradients. The Russian gunners prefer to take up "indirect" rather than "direct" positions. Batteries are also rather slow in changing positions and in moving up in support of their infantry units.

THE RUSSIAN COSSACKS

What the Uhlans are to the German army, the Cossacks of the Don and the Caucasus are to the Russians—scouts, advance guards and "covering" cavalry. They are good all-round fighters, capable of long-continued effort and tireless in the saddle; they are also trained to fight in dismounted action.

As a soldier the Cossack is altogether unique; his ways are his own and his confidence in his officers and himself is perfect. His passionate love of horses makes his work a pleasure. The Cossack seat on horseback is on a high pad-saddle, with the knee almost vertical and the heel well drawn back. Spurs are not worn, and another remarkable thing is that he has absolutely no guard to his sword. The Russian soldier scorns buttons; he says, "They are a nuisance; they have to be cleaned, they wear away the cloth, they are heavy, and they attract the attention of the enemy."

The Cossack pony is a quaint little beast to look at, but the finest animal living for his work, and very remarkable for his wonderful powers of endurance. The Cossack and his mount have been likened to a clever nurse and a spoilt child—each understands and loves the other, but neither is completely under control. The Cossack does not want his horse to be a slave, and recognizes perfectly that horses, like children, have their whims and humors and must be coaxed and reasoned with, but rarely punished. The famous knout (whip) is carried by the Cossacks at the end of a strap across the left shoulder. Most of the men are bearded and in full dress, with the high fur cap stuck jauntily on the head of square cut hair, the Cossack presents a picturesque and martial figure. The appearance of these men is quite different from that of the clean-shaven regular infantryman of the Russian army.

RUSSIAN PLAN OF CAMPAIGN

"While the direct objective of the Russians was Berlin, there were many reasons why a bee-line course could not be followed. Germany had prepared an elaborate defense system to cover the direct approaches to Berlin, and the fortresses of Danzig, Graudenz, Thorn, and Posen were important points in this scheme. The nature of the country also adapts itself to these defensive works and would make progress slow for an attacker.

Moreover, as Austria and her forces mobilized before Russia, a diversion was created by the Austrian invasion of south Poland, in which the Germans also took the offensive. Under these circumstances the Russian plan of campaign resolved itself into three parts:—

(1) A northern movement from Kovno and Grodno on Insterburg and Koenigsberg as a counter-attack.

(2) A central movement from Warsaw towards Posen with supporting movements north and south.

(3) A southern movement on Lublin in Poland to repulse the invaders combined with a movement from the east on Lemberg in order to turn the Austrian flank.

The first purpose of Russia was to clear Poland of enemies, as they threatened the Russian left flank. At the same time Russia took the offensive by an invasion of Prussia in the north. This latter movement led to a victory at Gumbinnen and the investment of Koenigsberg. Later came victory at Lublin, rolling back the Austrians, and the capture of Lemberg, which signalized the Russian invasion of Austrian territory. Thus Russia was for awhile clear of the enemy, while she established a strong footing in both Prussia and Austria.



We can now understand the main Russian plan a little better. In the north the army was to advance from Koenigsberg and endeavor to cut off Danzig and break the line of defenses between that place and Thorn, thus leaving this fortress in the rear. In the south the Austrians, already heavily punished, would be driven back on the Carpathian passes to the south, and westward also toward Cracow, which is the key to the situation. If Cracow fell Russia would have a good route into Germany, and the move would be supported by advances from Warsaw, thus threatening Breslau from two sides.

GERMAN TROOPS HURRIED EAST

Early in September, however, the danger of the Russian advance into Germany, which apparently had given the German general staff but little concern at first, was fully realized and large bodies of German troops were detached from the western theater of war and hurried to the eastern frontier. Germany had evidently reckoned on Austria being able to hold its ground better, and was badly prepared for a flanking move on Breslau so early in the campaign. But the Servian and Russian defeats of Austria left Germany to bear the full force of the terrific Russian onslaught, and her forces proved equal to the occasion. Under General von Hindenberg the German army of the east soon repelled the Russian invaders and forced them to retire from East Prussia across their own border, where they were followed by the Germans. A series of engagements on Russian soil followed, in which the advantage lay as a rule with the Germans. The losses on both sides were heavy, but the Germans captured many thousands of Russian prisoners and considerable quantities of arms and munitions of war. The immense resources of the Russian empire in men and material made the problem of Russian invasion a very serious one for Germany. This was fully realized by the Kaiser, who about October 1, at the end of the second month of the war, proceeded in person to his eastern frontier to direct the defensive operations against Russia.

CZAR NICHOLAS AT THE FRONT

About the same time the Czar, Nicholas II, also took the field in person, arriving at the front on October 5, accompanied by General Soukhomlinoff, the Russian minister of war.

"I am resolved to go to Berlin itself, even if it causes me to lose my last moujik (peasant)," the Czar is reported as saying in September. The spirit and temper of the Russian government may be judged by the fact that before the war was many days old the name of the Russian capital was officially changed from "St. Petersburg," which was considered to have a German flavor, to "Petrograd," a purely Russian or Slavic form of nomenclature.

RUSSIA PREPARES TO STRIKE AUSTRIA

By the third week of August, according to an announcement from Petrograd, Russian troops had checked an attempt by the Austrians to enter Poland from the Galician frontier and were preparing to invade Austria on a large scale. At that time Russia was said to have 2,000, men under arms for the invasion of Germany and Austria, also 500,000 on the Roumanian and Turkish borders, and 3,000,000 men in reserve. (The latter were called out by imperial ukase before Czar Nicholas started for the front.) The Poles had been promised self-government and had been called on to support Russia. The Jews throughout the Russian empire were also promised a greater measure of protection, freedom of action and civil rights. These measures inaugurated an era of better feeling in Russia and Poland and were strongly approved by the allies of Russia.

Most of the Austrian reserves were mobilized by August 15 and Germany's ally announced that she would soon have her total war strength of 2,000,000 men in the field. Austria sent some troops to join the German forces in Belgium and an army of several hundred thousand men was gathered along the Austro-Russian frontier under command of the Archduke Frederick. General Rennenkampf was in command of the Russian forces for the invasion of East Prussia, while General Russky led the Russian army operating against Galicia.

INVASION OF PRUSSIA

Within a week the Russian movement in eastern Germany assumed menacing proportions, the great army of invasion having moved rapidly, considering the natural obstacles. More than 800,000 men were sent over the border into Prussia. The Germans evacuated a number of towns, after setting them afire, and a considerable part of the Kaiser's eastern field forces was bottled up in military centers. Germany's active field force was at this time inferior in numbers to the invading army.

By the capture of Insterberg the Russians paralyzed one of the main German strategic centers and gained control of an important railroad. The German Twentieth Army Corps was reported to have been routed near Lyck. At the start the Russian forces extended from Insterberg to Goldapp, a distance of about thirty-two miles. Seventy-five miles further on was the first of the two strong German lines of fortifications.

Early victories were claimed by the Russians in their advance into Austria, which was made slowly. Austria then turned to fight the Russian invasion. It was forced to gather all its forces for this principal struggle and hence retired from offensive operations against the Servians. Unless she could halt the Russians pouring in from the north, a success against Servia could do her no good.

By the first of September the Russian advance into East Prussia was well under way and the strong fortress of Koenigsberg was in danger of a siege, German troops were being rushed to its defense. In Galicia there were fierce encounters between the Russian invaders and the Austrians. Several victories were claimed by the Russians all along the line and whole brigades of Austrian troops were reported destroyed, while the Russian losses were also admittedly heavy. The fiercest fighting occurred in the vicinity of Lemberg, the capital of Galicia, which was soon to fall to General Russky. The Austrian attack on Russian Poland failed and the Austrians were driven back across their own frontier. The Russians were seeking to destroy the hope of the Kaiser for help from Austria in Eastern Germany, where the Russian advance, ridiculed or belittled by Germany before it began, became more menacing every day. The German war plans had contemplated a quick, decisive blow in France and then a rapid turn to the East to meet the Russians with a tremendous force. But the belligerency of the Belgians and the cooperation of the British balked these plans, while the Russians moved faster than was expected by their foe. Austria had failed everywhere to stop the Czar's forces, and then came a crushing blow to Austrian hopes in a ruinous defeat near Lemberg and the loss of that fortress.

THE FALL OF LEMBERG

The capture of Lemberg from the Austrians early in September after a four days' battle was one of the striking Russian successes of the war. Details reached the outer world on September 10th from Petrograd (St. Petersburg) as follows, the story being that of an eyewitness:

"The commencement of the fighting which resulted in the capture of Lemberg began August 29th, when the Russians drove the enemy from Zisczow (forty-five miles east of Lemberg) and moved on to Golaya Gorka—a name which means 'the naked hill.'

"We spent the night on Naked Hill, and the actual storming of the town was begun at 2:30 o'clock in the morning. Then followed a four days' battle. A virtually continuous cannonade continued from dawn to darkness without cessation.

"Even in the darkness the weary fighters got little sleep. Whenever a single shot was heard the men dashed for their places and the battle boiled again with renewed fury.

"The enemy's counter attacks were delivered with great energy and a dense hail of lead and iron was poured over our ranks. The Russian advance was greatly impeded by the hilly nature of the ground and the great number of extinct craters, which formed splendid natural fortifications for the enemy, which held them doggedly. Out of these, however, the enemy was driven in succession.

"We suffered much from thirst, for the stony, country was devoid of springs. The days were oppressively hot and the nights bitterly cold.

RUSSIAN ARTILLERY SUPERIOR

"Both sides fought with great obstinacy, but the nearer we approached Lemberg the harder the struggle became. However, it soon was evident that we were superior in artillery.

"At length the enemy was driven from all sides beneath the protection of the Lemberg forts. Our troops were very weary, but in high spirits.

"For two days the fight raged around the forts, but we were always confident of the prowess of our artillery. The big guns of both sides rained a terrific hail down on the armies, which suffered terrific losses.

"At last we noticed that the resistance of the forts was growing weaker. A charge at double quick was ordered, and we carried the first line of works.

"It was evident from that point that many of the enemy's guns had been destroyed. Not enough of them had been left to continue an effective defense, but the enemy was undiscouraged and tried to make up with rifle fire what it lacked in artillery.

LOSSES BECOME HEAVIER

"Between the first and second lines our losses were heavier than before, but under bayonet charges the enemy broke and fled in panic.

"Our troops entered the town at the enemy's heels. We ran into the town, despite our fatigue, with thunderous cheering.

"An episode which had much to do with ending the enemy's dogged resistance occurred during the fighting between the first and second lines. The Austrians in the hope of checking the Russian effort to encircle the town had thrown out a heavy screen of Slav troops with a backing of Magyars who had been ordered to shoot down the Slavs from behind if they showed any hesitation.

"This circumstance became known to the Russian commander, who ordered a terrific artillery fire over the heads of the Slavs and into the ranks of the Magyars. This well-directed fire set the whole line in panic."

More than 35,000 Austrians and Russian wounded were abandoned on the field of battle between Tarnow, Lemberg and Tarnopol owing to lack of means of transportation, according to reliable reports. Both armies declined to ask for an armistice for the burial of the dead and the collection of the wounded, each fearing to give an advantage to the other.

THE BATTLE BEFORE LEMBERG

The immense superiority of the Austrian forces east of Lemberg enabled the Austrians at first to adopt the offensive. As soon, however, as the Austrians realized the impossibility of an advance on Warsaw they concentrated their large and overwhelming forces in an attempt to outflank the right wing of the Russian army, which was drawing slowly but surely towards Lemberg, On the other Russian flank the two Russian army corps, after crossing the River Zlota Lipa without much opposition, continued their advance to the River Knila Lipa, where they found the bridges had all been destroyed by the Austrian advance guards. Two bridges were constructed on the Rogarten-Halicz line, which enabled a crossing to be effected in spite of heavy and incessant artillery fire from the Austrian 24-centimeter guns.

Once across the river, the two Russian corps crossed the upper reaches of the River Boog and so approached the town of Lemberg from the east. The main Austrian army, however, had by this time moved up to bar the further advance of the Russian forces, and the whole of their armies on the left bank of the River Vistula being in front of the three Russian corps, the latter were compelled to adopt a defensive role for three or four days, after which, having received large reinforcements, the Russian force moved forward and drove the Austrian troops out of their entrenchments outside Lemberg at the point of the bayonet. A desperate attempt was made by means of a counter-attack to arrest the advance of the Russian troops, but this only resulted in the capture of 6,000 Austrian prisoners.



Lemberg was not a fortress but was recently converted into a semi-fortified place, as a series of lunettes, redoubts, etc., had been hastily prepared. It was the headquarters of the 11th Austrian Corps, which consisted of the famous 43rd Landwehr infantry division, and was further divided into three Landwehr brigades. There was also a Landwehr Uhlan regiment, together with a howitzer division of field artillery. These batteries were armed with 10.5-centimeter guns, fitted with the German or Krupp eccentric breech action. The forts outside the town were said to be armed with the 15-centimeter siege gun made of steel, also with a Krupp action. The ammunition for these guns is chiefly high explosive shell and shrapnel; one of the forts is also said to have had a battery of three 24-centimeter heavy siege guns of quite a modern pattern.

GERMANY RUSHES REINFORCEMENTS

When Lemberg fell the Russian advance covered a line extending from far up in Eastern Prussia, near Tilsit, across the frontier and on down south into Austrian Galicia. Koenigsberg was hearing the sound of the Russian guns and its besiegers seemed on the verge of victory. A central column of mighty strength was pushing its way into Germany, despite a stubborn resistance. Then the tide turned. German reinforcements were brought up and under General von Hindenberg the Germans administered a severe defeat to General Rennenkampf's army near Allenstein, in which it was claimed that 60,000 prisoners were taken. Other reverses were suffered by the Russians and soon after the middle of September they had been forced to retire from German territory, the German troops following them into Russia, where a series of minor engagements occurred near the frontier.

GENERAL RENNENKAMPF'S DEFEAT

The operations leading to the defeat of General Rennenkampf's Russian army by the Germans were as follows:

From September 7 to 13 the Russians took a strong position on the line from Angerburg to Gerdauen, Allenburg, and Kehlau, the left wing resting on the Mazurian lakes and the right wing protected in the rear and flank by the forest of Frisching, whose pathless woods and swamps furnished an almost impregnable position. The Russians devoted great efforts to intrenching their position and brought up besides their heavy artillery. Russian cavalry scouted far to the west and south, but otherwise the army-undertook no offensive operations in the days following a battle at Tannenberg.

The German forces, according to the German official account, were composed of the Second, Third, Fourth and Twentieth corps, two reserve divisions and five cavalry divisions.

General von Hindenburg, the German commander, meanwhile was assembling every available man, depriving the fortresses of their garrisons and calling in all but a bare remnant of the force protecting the southern frontier in the vicinity of Soldau, adding them to reinforcements received from the west.

General von Hindenburg again resorted to the customary German flanking movement, and since the German right, protected by the forest and marshes, seemed too strong, he adopted the daring strategy of sending the flanking force to the lake region to the south, the same character of movement by which the Russian Narew army had been defeated on August 28, in the vicinity of Ortelsburg, and which in case of failure might have been equally as disastrous for the Germans.

STRATEGY IS SUCCESSFUL

The strategy, however, succeeded, although General Rennenkampf offered a desperate resistance to the frontal attacks. After three days' fighting the Russians were forced back slightly in the center. When the flank movement of the Germans was discovered already threatening the flank, a counter-movement was launched with a new army collected at Lyck, including the Twenty-second corps and parts of the Third Siberian corps, just arriving from Irkutsk, and the balance of the defeated army. The counter-attacks failed and on September 10 the Russians began to fall back on their main position, retreating in good order and well covered.

The Russian artillery on the right wing appears to have made a good retreat owing to a timely start, while the left wing was hard pressed by the enveloping German infantry. From this wing the Russians retreated across the border in two columns, while the main body went northward and the others in an easterly direction, pursued by the Germans, who advanced far from the border.

The German government appointed Count von Merveldt as governor of the Russian province of Suwalki and other points occupied by them.

The University of Koenigsberg on September 18 conferred upon General von Hindenburg honorary doctors' degrees from all four of the departments of philosophy, theology, law and medicine, in recognition of his success against the Russian invader.

AUSTRIA STRUGGLING FOR EXISTENCE

In Galicia, however, Russian successes continued. The important fortress of Mikolajoff, 25 miles south of Lemberg, was captured and this cleared away every Austrian stronghold east of Przemysl, which was then invested by the Russians.

Austria was now struggling for her very existence as a monarchy. Following the crushing defeats administered to the Austrian troops and with the Czar's forces sweeping Galicia, Vienna was hurriedly fortified. All reports indicated that the large Austrian force, nearly 1,000, men in all, opposing the main Russian invasion had proved ineffective. Help from Germany did not arrive in time. Official dispatches reported the main Austrian army retreating, pursued and harassed by the Russians. The other important Austrian army was surrounded near Lublin.

While the Muscovite host went smashing through Galicia, chasing the Austrian army before it, the Russian staff belittled the retreat from East Prussia, saying that the Russian army was merely falling back on a new defensive position. The German artillery had been getting in its deadly work and the pressure on Koenigsberg was soon to be relieved.

There were many reports at this time of a popular demand in Austria that an end be made to the struggle. Peace talk was a marked feature of the sixth week of the war, but there were no definite results in any part of the immense theater of war.

The third week of September found the Germans, greatly reinforced, making a strong resistance to Russian progress, with the aid of the heavy German artillery. The shattered Austrian armies, under Generals von Auffenberg and Dankl, were making desperate endeavors to concentrate in the vicinity of Rawaruska, but were apparently surrounded by the Russians, who continued to capture Austrian prisoners by the thousand. Fears were entertained for Cracow, one of the strongest fortresses in Austria, if not in Europe, which seemed likely soon to fall into the hands of Russia.

It was stated in Rome, and said to be admitted in Vienna, that the Archduke Frederick, commanding the Austrian forces in Galicia, had lost 120,000 men, or one-fourth of his entire army. German troops were reported marching south toward Poland to assist the Austrians.

The Russian successes in Galicia gave them command of the Galician oil-fields, upon which Germany largely depended for her supply of gasoline, which is a prime necessary in modern war.

RUSSIANS AT PRZEMYSL

On September 21 the Russians began the bombardment of Przemysl, having previously occupied Grodek and Mosciska, west of Lemberg. The shattered second Austrian army was evidently incapable of staying the Russian advance, and took refuge in Przemysl. A part of this Galician stronghold was soon captured by the Russians, forcing the Austrians to take refuge in the eastern forts, where the entire garrison was concentrated at the end of September, preparing to make a final resistance. The situation of the garrison was critical, as it was entirely surrounded by the enemy. On September 21 also the Russian troops took by storm the fortifications of Jaroslav, on the river San, and captured many guns.

The German offensive from East Prussia was apparently halted October by the almost impassable condition of the Russian roads in the north. Germany was said to have at this time thirty army corps of the line and the first reserve prepared to operate against Russia and to resist the Russian advance upon Cracow.

The German main defenses against Russia extended in a general line from Koenigsberg to Danzig, thence south along the Vistula to the great fortress of Thorn. From there the fortified line swung to the southwest to Posen, thence south to Breslau, the main fortress along the Oder, and from there to Cracow.

Early in October the Russian invasion of Hungary began. The Russian armies continued to sweep through Galicia and that province was reported clear of Austrian troops. The German successes claimed against the Czar farther north included victories at Krasnik and Zamoso, in Russian Poland; Insterburg and Tannenburg, in East Prussia.

ESTIMATE OF AUSTRIAN LOSSES

A Russian estimate places the Austrian losses in Galicia at 300, in killed, wounded and prisoners, or nearly one-third of their total forces. They also lost, it was claimed at Petrograd, 1,000 guns, more than two-thirds of their available artillery.

The Russian newspaper correspondents described horrible scenes on the battlefields abandoned by the Austro-German forces in Galicia.

"Streams," said one eyewitness, "were choked full with slain men, trodden down in the headlong flight till the waters were dammed and overflowing the banks. Piles of dead are awaiting burial or burning. Hundreds of acres are sown with bodies and littered with weapons and battle debris, while wounded and riderless horses are careering madly over the abandoned country. The trophies captured comprise much German equipment. An ammunition train captured at Janow (eleven miles northwest of Lemberg) was German, while the guns taken included thirty-six of heavy caliber bearing Emperor William's initials and belonging to the German Sixth army corps.