[Transcriber's Notes]

My father's part in WWI attracted me to this book. I recall him talking briefly about fighting the Bolsheviki in Archangel. "The machine gun bullets trimmed the leaves off the trees, as if it were fall." Like most veterans, he had little else to say.

This book mentions his campaign on page 736; "August 3, 1918.—President Wilson announces new policy regarding Russia and agrees to cooperate with Great Britain, France and Japan in sending forces to Murmansk, Archangel and Vladivostok."

My father's experience seems to be described in the following excerpt from the University of Michigan "The University Record", April 5, 1999. "Bentley showcases items from World War I 'Polar Bears'"; by Joanne Nesbit.

"During the summer of 1918, the U.S. Army's 85th Division, made up primarily of men from Michigan and Wisconsin, completed training at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Mich., and proceeded to England. The 5,000 troops of the division's 339th Infantry and support units realized that they were not being sent to France to join the great battles on the Western Front when they were issued Russian weapons and equipment and lectured on life in the Arctic regions.

"When they reached their destination in early September, 600 miles north of Moscow, the men of the 339th joined an international force commanded by the British that had been sent to northern Russia for purposes that were never made clear. The Americans were soon spread in small fighting units across hundreds of miles of the Russian forest fighting the Bolsheviks who had taken power in Petrograd and Moscow.

"The day of the Armistice (Nov. 11) when fighting ceased for other American armies, the allied soldiers were fighting the Bolsheviks said to be led by Trotsky himself. After three days, the allies finally were able to drive off the Bolsheviks. While this fight was a victory for the Americans, the battle led to the realization that the war was not over for these men. As the weeks and months passed and more battles were fought, the men began to wonder if they would ever get home.

"The men of the 339th generally were well equipped with winter clothing during the winter of 1918-19 while stationed near the Arctic Circle, where temperatures reached minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

"There was little daylight for months at a time. Knowing that the war was over for other American soldiers, the morale of the troops declined throughout the winter.

"Families and friends of the men began to clamor for their return. Politicians unwilling to support an undeclared war against the Russian government joined in their demand. A petition to Congress was circulated. Several of the British and French units mutinied and refused to continue fighting. In early April, the American troops learned that they would be withdrawn as soon as the harbor at Archangel was cleared of ice.

"It was not until June of 1919 that the men of the 339th sailed from Russia and adopted the polar bear as their regimental symbol. After a stop in New York, the troops went on to Detroit where they took part in a gala July 4 homecoming parade at Belle Isle."

When considering monetary values listed in the text, one United States dollar in 1918 is equivalent to about thirteen dollars in 2006. One United States dollar in 1918 is equivalent to about 5.6 French Francs in 1918; one Franc in 1918 is equivalent to about 2.3 dollars in 2006.

For additional insight into the pilots and air battles of the war read "The Red Knight of Germany; The Story of Baron von Richthofen, Germany's Great War Bird" by Floyd Gibbons. This book is copyright 1927 and will not be freely available online until 2022.

In the PDf and Doc versions, the following pages contain additional maps that may assist in understanding some of the references to locations in the text. The first shows Western France. The second map contains many of the locations of the European battles. They are adapted from Putnam's Handy Volume Atlas of the World, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London, 1921.

The next two maps from the USMA, West Point, map collection, compare Europe before and after World War I.

Finally, a full map of the European theater has much detail. It should be scaled up to about 500% for detail viewing. It is derived from a larger map from Rand, McNally & Company's Indexed Atlas of the World, Copyright 1898.



This is a glossary of unfamiliar (to me) terms and places.

Boche Disparaging term for a German.

camion Truck or bus. [French]

charnel Repository for the dead.

colliers Coal miner

congerie Accumulation, aggregation, collection, gathering

consanguinities Relationship by blood or common ancestor. Close affinity.

deadweight Displacement of a ship at any loaded condition minus the lightship weight (weight of the ship with no fuel, passengers, cargo). It includes the crew, passengers, cargo, fuel, water, and stores.

debouch March from a confined area into the open; to emerge

Gross Tonnage Volume of all ship's enclosed spaces (from keel to funnel) measured to the outside of the hull framing (1 ton / 100 cu.ft.).

inst. The current month: your letter of the 15th instant.

invest Surround with troops or ships; besiege.

irredenta Region culturally or historically related to one nation, but subject to a foreign government.

Junker Member of the Prussian landed aristocracy, formerly associated with political reaction and militarism.

Kiao-chau German protectorate from 1898 to 1915, on the Yellow Sea coast of China. It was on 200 square miles of the Shantung Peninsula around the city of Tsingtao, leased to Germany for one hundred years by the imperial Chinese government. In 1898 Tsingtao was an obscure fishing village of 83,000 inhabitants. When Germany withdrew in 1915, Tsingtao was an important trading port with a population of 275,000.

kine Plural of cow.

kultur German culture and civilization as idealized by the exponents of German imperialism during the Hohenzollern and Nazi regimes.

lighterage Transportation of goods on a lighter (large flatbottom barge used to deliver or unload goods to or from a cargo ship or transport goods over short distances.)

lyddite An explosive consisting chiefly of picric acid, a poisonous, explosive yellow crystalline solid, C6H2(NO2)3OH.

mitrailleuse Machine gun.

morganatic Marriage between a person of royal birth and a partner of lower rank, where no titles or estates of the royal partner are to be shared by the partner of inferior rank nor by any of the offspring.

nugatory Of little or no importance; trifling; invalid.

pastils Small medicated or flavored tablet; tablet containing aromatic substances burned to fumigate or deodorize the air; pastel paste or crayon.

poilus French soldier, especially in World War I.

pourparler Discussion preliminary to negotiation.

prorogue Discontinue a session of parliament; postpone; defer.

punctilio Fine point of etiquette; precise observance of formalities.

rinderpest Contagious viral disease, chiefly of cattle, causing ulceration of the alimentary tract and diarrhea.

Sublime Porte [French. Porte: a gate] Ottoman court; government of the Turkish empire; from the gate of the sultan's palace.

Tsing-tao (Qing-dao) City in eastern China on the Yellow Sea, north-northwest of Shanghai. The city was leased in 1898 to the Germans, who established a famous brewery.

Uhlans Horse cavalry of the Polish, German, Austrian, and Russian armies.

ukase Order or decree; an edict; proclamation of a czar having the force of law in imperial Russia.

verbund [German] Interconnection.

Wipers British soldiers' pronunciation of "Ypres".

Zemstvos An elective council for the administration of a provincial district in czarist Russia.

[End Transcriber's notes]



General Foch, Commander-in-Chief of all Allied forces. General Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American armies. Field Marshal Haig, head of the British armies. General d'Esperey (French) to whom Bulgaria surrendered. General Diaz, Commander-in-Chief of the Italian armies. General Marshall (British), head of the Mesopotamian expedition. General Allenby (British), who redeemed Palestine from the Turks.



HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR

An Authentic Narrative of The World's Greatest War

By FRANCIS A. MARCH, Ph.D. In Collaboration with RICHARD J. BEAMISH Special War Correspondent and Military Analyst

With an Introduction By GENERAL PEYTON C. MARCH Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Illustrated with Reproductions from the Official Photographs of the United States, British and French Governments

PUBLISHED FOR THE UNITED PUBLISHERS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO TORONTO 1919



COPYRIGHT, 1918

FRANCIS A. MARCH

This history is an original work and is fully protected by the copyright laws, including the right of translation. All persons are warned against reproducing the text in whole or in part without the permission of the publishers.

WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF. WASHINGTON,

NOVEMBER 14, 1918. With the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918, the World War has been practically brought to an end. The events of the past four years have been of such magnitude that the various steps, the numberless battles, and the growth of Allied power which led up to the final victory are not clearly defined even in the minds of many military men. A history of this great period which will state in an orderly fashion this series of events will be of the greatest value to the future students of the war, and to everyone of the present day who desires to refer in exact terms to matters which led up to the final conclusion.

The war will be discussed and re-discussed from every angle and the sooner such a compilation of facts is available, the more valuable it will be. I understand that this History of the World War intends to put at the disposal of all who are interested, such a compendium of facts of the past period of over four years; and that the system employed in safeguarding the accuracy of statements contained in it will produce a document of great historical value without entering upon any speculative conclusions as to cause and effect of the various phases of the war or attempting to project into an historical document individual opinions. With these ends in view, this History will be of the greatest value. Signature [Payton C. March] General, Chief of Staff. United States Army.



CONTENTS

CHAPTER I. A WAR FOR INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM A Conflict that was Inevitable—The Flower of Manhood on the Fields of France—Germany's Defiance to the World—Heroic Belgium—Four Autocratic Nations against Twenty-four Committed to the Principles of Liberty—America's Titanic Effort—Four Million Men Under Arms, Two Million Overseas—France the Martyr Nation—The British Empire's Tremendous Share in the Victory—A River of Blood Watering the Desert of Autocracy

CHAPTER II. THE WORLD SUDDENLY TURNED UPSIDE DOWN The War Storm Breaks—Trade and Commerce Paralyzed—Homeward Rush of Travelers—Harrowing Scenes as Ships Sail for America—Stock Markets Closed—The Tide of Desolation Following in the Wake of War

CHAPTER III. WHY THE WORLD WENT TO WAR The Balkan Ferment—Russia, the Dying Giant Among Autocracies—Turkey the "Sick Man" of Europe—Scars Left by the Balkan War—Germany's Determination to Seize a Place in the Sun.

CHAPTER IV. THE PLOTTER BEHIND THE SCENES The Assassination at Sarajevo—The Slavic Ferment—Austria's Domineering Note—The Plotters of Potsdam—The Mailed Fist of Militarism Beneath the Velvet Glove of Diplomacy—Mobilization and Declarations of War

CHAPTER V. THE GREAT WAR BEGINS Germany Invades Belgium and Luxemburg—French Invade Alsace—England's "Contemptible Little Army" Lands in France and Belgium—The Murderous Gray-Green Tide—Heroic Retreat of the British from Mons—Belgium Overrun—Northern France Invaded—Marshal Joffre Makes Ready to Strike

CHAPTER VI. THE TRAIL OF THE BEAST IN BELGIUM Barbarities that Shocked Humanity—Planned as Part of the Teutonic Policy of Schrecklichkeit—How the German and the Hun Became Synonymous Terms—The Unmatchable Crimes of a War-Mad Army—A Record of Infamy Written in Blood and Tears—Official Reports

CHAPTER VII. THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE Joffre's Masterly Plan—The Enemy Trapped Between Verdun and Paris—Gallieni's "Army in Taxicabs"—Foch, the "Savior of Civilization," Appears—His Mighty Thrust Routs the Army of Hausen—Joffre Salutes Foch as "First Strategist in Europe"—Battle that Won the Baton of a Marshal

CHAPTER VIII. JAPAN IN THE WAR Tsing Tau Seized by the Mikado—German "Gibraltar" of the Far East Surrendered After Short Siege—Japan's Aid to the Allies in Money, Ships, Men and Nurses—German Propaganda in the Far East Fails

CHAPTER IX. CAMPAIGN IN THE EAST Invasion of East Prussia—Von Hindenburg and Masurian Lakes—Battle of Tannenberg—Augustovo—Russians Capture Lemberg—The Offer to Poland

CHAPTER X. STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY ON THE SEA The British Blockade—German Raiders and Their Fate—Story of the Emden's Remarkable Voyage—Appearance of the Submarine—British Naval Victory off Helgoland—U-9 Sinks Three British Cruisers

CHAPTER XI. THE SUBLIME PORTE Turkish Intrigues—The Holy War—Mesopotamia and Transcaucasia—The Suez Canal—Turkey the Catspaw of Germany

CHAPTER XII. RESCUE OF THE STARVING Famine in Belgium—Belgium Relief Commission Organized in London—Herbert C. Hoover—American Aid—The Great Cardinal's Famous Challenge

CHAPTER XIII. BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES German and British Squadrons Grapple off the Chilean Coast—Germany Wins the First Round—England Comes Back with Terrific Force—Graphic Picture of the Destruction of the German Squadron off Falkland Islands—English Coast Towns Bombarded for the First Time in Many Years.

CHAPTER XIV. NEW METHODS AND HORRORS OF WARFARE Tanks—Poison Gas—Flame Projectors—Airplane Bombs—Trench Mortars—Machine Guns—Modern Uses of Airplanes for Liaison and Attacks on Infantry—Radio—Rifle and Hand Grenades—A War of Intensive Artillery Preparation—A Debacle of Insanities, Terrible Wounds and Horrible Deaths.

CHAPTER XV. GERMAN PLOTS AND PROPAGANDA IN AMERICA Trailing the German Plotters—Destruction of Ships—Pressure on Congress—Attacks in Canada—Zimmerman's Foolish Effort to Embroil America with Mexico and Japan—Lies of the Propagandists After America Entered the War—Dumba, Von Bernstorff, Van Papen and Boy-Ed, a quartet of Unscrupulous Destructionists

CHAPTER XVI. SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA The Submarine Murderers at Work—Germany's Blackband Warning—No Chance for Life—The Ship Unarmed and Without Munitions—The President's Note—Germany's Lying Denials—Coroner's Inquest Charges Kaiser with Wilful Murder—"Remember the Lusitania" One of America's Big Reasons for Declaring War

CHAPTER XVII. NEUVE CHAPELLE AND WAR IN BLOOD-SOAKED TRENCHES War Amid Barbed-Wire Entanglements and the Desolation of No Man's Land—Subterranean Tactics Continuing Over Four Years—Attacks that Cost Thousands of Lives for Every Foot of Gain

CHAPTER XVIII. STEADFAST SOUTH AFRICA Botha and Smuts, Rocks of Loyalty Amid a Sea of Treachery—Civil War that Ended with the Drowning of General Beyers and the Arrest of General De Wet—Conquest of German Colonies—Trail of the Hun in the Jungle

CHAPTER XIX. ITALY DECLARES WAR ON AUSTRIA Her Great Decision—D'Annunzio, Poet and Patriot—Italia Irredenta—German Indignation—The Campaigns on the Isonzo and in the Tyrol

CHAPTER XX. GLORIOUS GALLIPOLI A Titanic Enterprise—Its Objects—Disasters and Deeds of Deathless Glory—The Heroic Anzacs—Bloody Dashes up Impregnable Slopes—Silently they Stole Away—A Successful Failure

CHAPTER XXI. THE GREATEST NAVAL BATTLE IN HISTORY The Battle of Jutland—Every Factor on Sea and in Sky Favorable to the Germans—Low Visibility a Great Factor—A Modern Sea Battle—Light Cruisers Screening Battleship Squadron—Germans Run Away when British Fleet Marshals Its Full Strength—Death of Lord Kitchener

CHAPTER XXII. THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN The Advance on Cracow—Van Hindenburg Strikes at Warsaw—German Barbarism—The War in Galicia—The Fall of Przemysl—Russia's Ammunition Fails—The Russian Retreat—The Fall of Warsaw—Czernowitz

CHAPTER XXIII. HOW THE BALKANS DECIDED Ferdinand of Bulgaria Insists Upon Joining Germany—Dramatic Scene in the King's Palace—The Die is Cast—Bulgaria Succumbs to Seductions of Potsdam Gang—Greece Mobilizes—French and British Troops at Saloniki—Serbia Over-run—Roumania's Disastrous Venture in the Arena of Mars

CHAPTER XXIV. THE CAMPAIGN IN MESOPOTAMIA British Army Threatening Bagdad Besieged in Kut-el-Amara—After Heroic Defense General Townshend Surrenders After 143 Days of Siege—New British Expedition Recaptures Kut—Troops Push on up the Tigris—Fall of Bagdad, the Magnificent

CHAPTER XXV. CANADA'S PART IN THE GREAT WAR By COL. GEORGE G. NASMITH, C. M. G. Enthusiastic Response to the Call to Action—Valcartier Camp a Splendid Example of the Driving Power of Sir Sam Hughes—Thirty-three Liners Cross the Atlantic with First Contingent of Men and Equipment—Largest Convoy Ever Gathered Together—At the Front with the Princess Pat's—Red Cross—Financial Aid—Half a Million Soldiers Overseas—Mons, the Last Stronghold of the Enemy, Won by the Men from Canada—A Record of Glory

CHAPTER XXVI. IMMORTAL VERDUN Grave of the Military Reputations of Von Falkenhayn and the Crown Prince—Hindenburg's Warning—Why the Germans Made the Disastrous Attempt to Capture the Great Fortress—Heroic France Reveals Itself to the World—"They Shall Not Pass"—Nivelle's Glorious Stand on Dead Man Hill—Lord Northcliffe's Description—A Defense Unsurpassed in the History of France

CHAPTER XXVII. MURDERS AND MARTYRS The Case of Edith Cavell—Nurse Who Befriended the Helpless, Dies at the Hands of the Germans—Captain Fryatt's Martyrdom—How Germany Sowed the Seeds of Disaster

CHAPTER XXVIII. THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES The Canadians in Action—Undismayed by the New Weapon of the Enemy—Holding the Line Against Terrific Odds—Men from the Dominion Fight Like Veterans

CHAPTER XXIX. ZEPPELIN RAIDS ON FRANCE AND ENGLAND First Zeppelin Attack Kills Twenty-eight and Injures Forty-four—Part of Germany's Policy of Frightfulness—Raids by German Airplanes on Unfortified Towns—Killing of Non-Combatants—The British Lion Awakes—Anti-Aircraft Precautions and Protections—Policy of Terrorism Fails

CHAPTER XXX. RED REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA Rasputin, the Mystic—The Cry for Bread—Rise of the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates—Rioting in Petrograd—The Threatening Cloud of Disaster—Moderate Policy of the Duma Fails—The Fatal Easter Week of 1917—Abdication of the Czar—Last Tragic Moments of the Autocrat of All the Russias—Grand Duke Issues Declaration Ending Power of Romanovs in Russia—Release of Siberian Revolutionists—Free Russia

CHAPTER XXXI. THE DESCENT TO BOLSHEVISM Russia Intoxicated with Freedom—Elihu Root and His Mission—Last Brilliant Offensive in Galicia—The Great Mutiny in the Army—The Battalion of Death—Kerensky's Skyrocket Career—Kornilov's Revolt—Loss of Riga—Lenine, the Dictator—The Impossible "Peace" of Brest-Litovsk

CHAPTER XXXII. GERMANY'S OBJECT LESSON TO THE UNITED STATES Two Voyages of the Deutschland—U-53 German Submarine Reaches Newport and Sinks Five British and Neutral Steamers off Nantucket—Rescue of Survivors by United States Warships—Anti-German Feeling in America Reaching a Climax

CHAPTER XXXIII. AMERICA TRANSFORMED BY WAR The United States Enters the Conflict—The Efficiency of Democracy— Six Months in an American Training Camp Equal to Six Years of German Compulsory Service—American Soldiers and Their Resourcefulness on the Battlefield—Methods of Training and Their Results— The S. A. T. C.

CHAPTER XXXIV. HOW FOOD WON THE WAR The American Farmer a Potent Factor in Civilization's Victory—Scientific Studies of Food Production, Distribution and Consumption—Hoover Lays Down the Law Regulating Wholesalers and Grocers—Getting the Food Across—Feeding Armies in the Field

CHAPTER XXXV. THE UNITED STATES NAVY IN THE WAR Increase from 58,000 Men to Approximately 500,000—Destroyer Fleet Arrives in British Waters—"We Are Ready Now"—The Hunt of the U-Boats—Gunnery that is Unrivalled—Depth Charges and Other New Inventions—The U-Boat Menace Removed—Surrender of German Under-Sea Navy

CHAPTER XXXVI. CHINA JOINS THE FIGHTING DEMOCRACIES How the Germans Behaved in China Seventeen Years Before—The Whirligig of Time Brings Its Own Revenge—The Far Eastern Republic Joins Hands with the Allies—German Propaganda at Work—Futile Attempt to Restore the Monarchy—Fear of Japan—War—Thousands of Chinese Toil Behind the Battle Lines in France—Siam with Its Eight Millions Defies the Germans—End of Teuton Influence in the Orient

CHAPTER XXXVII. THE DEFEAT AND RECOVERY OF ITALY Subtle Socialist Gospel Preached by Enemy Plays Havoc with Guileless Italians—Sudden Onslaught of Germans Drives Cadorna's Men from Heights—The Spectacular Retreat that Dismayed the World—Glorious Stand of the Italians on the Piave—Rise of Diaz

CHAPTER XXXVIII. REDEMPTION OF THE HOLY LAND A Long Campaign Progressing Through Hardships to Glory—General Allenby Enters Jerusalem on Foot—Turkish Army Crushed in Palestine— Battle of Armageddon

CHAPTER XXXIX. AMERICA'S TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS Government Ownership of Railroads, Telegraphs, Telephones—Getting the Men from Training Camps to the Battle Fronts—From Texas to Toul—A Gigantic System Working Without a Hitch

CHAPTER XL. SHIPS AND THE MEN WHO MADE THEM The Emergency Fleet Corporation—Charles M. Schwab as Master Shipbuilder—Hog Island the Wonder Shipyard of the World—An Unbeatable Record—Concrete Ships—Wooden Ships—Standardizing the Steel Ship—Attitude of Labor in the War—Samuel Gompers an Unofficial Member of the Cabinet—Great Task of the United States Employment Service

CHAPTER XLI. GERMANY'S DYING DESPERATE EFFORT The High Tide of German Success—An Army of Six Million Men Flung Recklessly on the Allies—Most Terrific Battles in all History—The Red Ruin of War from Arras to St. Quentin—Amiens Within Arms' Reach of the Invaders—Paris Bombarded by Long-Range Guns from Distance of Seventy-six Miles—A Generalissimo at Last—Marshal Foch in Supreme Command

CHAPTER XLII. CHATEAU-THIERRY, FIELD OF GLORY German Wave Stops with the Americans—Prussian Guard Flung Back—The Beginning of Autocracy's End—America's Record of Valor and Victory— Cantigny—Belleau Wood—Thierry—St. Mihiel—Shock Troops of the Enemy Annihilated—Soldier's Remarkable Letter.

CHAPTER XLIII. ENGLAND AND FRANCE STRIKE IN THE NORTH Second Terrific Blow of General Foch—Lens, the Storehouse of Minerals, Captured—Bapaume Retaken—British Snap the Famous Hindenburg Line—The Great Thrust Through Cambrai—Tanks to the Front—Cavalry in Action

CHAPTER XLIV. BELGIUM'S GALLANT EFFORT The Little Army Under King Albert Thrusts Savagely at the Germans—Ostend and Zeebrugge Freed from the Submarine Pirates—Pathetic Scenes as Belgians are Restored to Their Homes

CHAPTER XLV. ITALY'S TERRIFIC DRIVE Enemy Offensive Opens on Front of Ninety-Seven Miles—Repulse of the Austrians—Italy Turns the Tables—Terrific Counter-Thrusts from the Piave to Trente—Forcing the Alpine Passages—Battles High in the Air—English, French and Americans Back up the Italians in Humbling the Might of Austria—D'Annunzio's Romantic Bombardment of Vienna—Diaz Leads his Men to Victory

CHAPTER XLVI. BULGARIA DESERTS GERMANY Greece in the Throes of Revolution—Fall of Constantine—Serbians Begin Advance on Bulgars—Thousands of Prisoners Taken—Surrender of Bulgaria—Panic in Berlin—Passage Through the Country Granted for Armies of the Allies—Ferdinand Abdicates—Germany's Imagined Mittel-Europa Dream Forever Destroyed

CHAPTER XLVII. THE CENTRAL EMPIRES WHINE FOR PEACE Austria-Hungary Makes the First Plea—President Wilson's Abrupt Answer—Prince Max, Camouflaged as an Apostle of Peace, made Chancellor and Opens Germany's Pathetic Plea for a Peace by Negotiation—The President Replies on Behalf of all the Allied Powers—Foch Pushes on Regardless of Peace Notes

CHAPTER XLVIII. BATTLES IN THE AIR Conquering the Fear of Death—From Individual Fights to Battles Between Squadrons—Heroes of the Warring Nations—America's Wonderful Record—From Nowhere to First Place in Eighteen Months—The Liberty Motor

CHAPTER XLIX. HEALTH AND HAPPINESS OF THE AMERICAN FORCES Record of the Red Cross on all Fronts—A Gigantic Work Well Executed—Y. M. C. A.—Y. W. C. A.—Knights of Columbus—Jewish Welfare Association—Salvation Army—American Library Association—Other Organizations—Surgery and Sanitation

CHAPTER L. THE PIRATES OF THE UNDER-SEAS Germany's Ruthless Submarine Policy—A Boomerang Destroying the Hand that Cast It—Terrorism that Failed—One Hundred and Fifty U-Boats Sunk or Captured—Shameless Surrender of the German Submarines and of the Fleet They Protected

CHAPTER LI. APPROACHING THE FINAL STAGE Cutting the Railroads to Cambrai—Americans Co-operate with British in Furious Attack—Douai and St. Quentin Taken—The Battle Line Straightened for the Last Mighty Assault—All Hope Abandoned by the Kaiser

CHAPTER LII. LAST DAYS OF THE WAR American Troops Join with the Allies in Colossal Drive on 71-mile Front—Historic Sedan Taken by the Yanks—Stenay, the Last Battle of the War—How the Opposing Forces Greeted the News of the Armistice

CHAPTER LIII. THE DRASTIC TERMS OF SURRENDER Handcuffs for Four Nations—Bulgaria First to Fly the White Flag— Allenby's Great Victory Forces Turkey Out—Austria Signs Quickly— Germany's Capitulation Complete and Humiliating

CHAPTER LIV. PEACE AT LAST An Unfounded Rumor Starts Enormous Jubilation—Armistice Signed Four Days Later—Kaiser Abdicates and Flees to Holland—Cowardly Ruler Seeks Protection of Small Neutral Nation—Looking Into the Future—Cost of War to the Nations—Liberty Loans—Reconstruction Problems—McAdoo Resigns—American Ideals in the Old World

CHAPTER LV. AMERICA'S POSITION IN PEACE AND WAR President Wilson's Stirring Speech in Congress Which Brought the United States into the War—His Great Speech Before Congress Ending the War—The Fourteen Points Outlining America's Demands Before Peace Could be Concluded—Later Peace Principles Enunciated by the President

CHAPTER LVI. THE WAR BY YEARS Condensed Word-Picture of the Happenings of the Most Momentous Fifty-two Months in All History—Leading Up to the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month of 1918

CHAPTER LVII. BEHIND AMERICA'S BATTLE LINE General March's Story of the Work of the Military Intelligence Division—Of the War Plans Division—Of the Purchase and Traffic Divisions—How Men, Munitions and Supplies Reached the Western Front

CHAPTER LVIII. GENERAL PERSHING'S OWN STORY The Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces Tells the Story of the Magnificent Combat Operations of his Troops that Defeated Prussia's Legions—Official Account Discloses Full Details of the Fighting.

CHAPTER LIX. PRESIDENT WILSON'S REVIEW OF THE WAR A Year in the Life of the United States Crowded with Great Events—Tribute to the Soldiers and Sailors, the Workers at Home Who Supplied the Sinews of the Great Undertaking, the Women of the Land Who Contributed to the Great Result—The Future Safe in the Hands of American Businessmen

SUMMARIZED CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR



FOREWORD

This is a popular narrative history of the world's greatest war. Written frankly from the viewpoint of the United States and the Allies, it visualizes the bloodiest and most destructive conflict of all the ages from its remote causes to its glorious conclusion and beneficent results. The world-shaking rise of new democracies is set forth, and the enormous national and individual sacrifices producing that resurrection of human equality are detailed.

Two ideals have been before us in the preparation of this necessary work. These are simplicity and thoroughness. It is of no avail to describe the greatest of human events if the description is so confused that the reader loses interest. Thoroughness is an historical essential beyond price. So it is that official documents prepared in many instances upon the field of battle, and others taken from the files of the governments at war, are the basis of this work. Maps and photographs of unusual clearness and high authenticity illuminate the text. All that has gone into war making, into the regeneration of the world, are herein set forth with historical particularity. The stark horrors of Belgium, the blighting terrors of chemical warfare, the governmental restrictions placed upon hundreds of millions of civilians, the war sacrifices falling upon all the civilized peoples of earth, are in these pages.

It is a book that mankind can well read and treasure.



CHAPTER I

A WAR FOR INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM

"My FELLOW COUNTRYMEN: The armistice was signed this morning. Everything for which America fought has been accomplished. The war thus comes to an end."

Speaking to the Congress and the people of the United States, President Wilson made this declaration on November 11, 1918. A few hours before he made this statement, Germany, the empire of blood and iron, had agreed to an armistice, terms of which were the hardest and most humiliating ever imposed upon a nation of the first class. It was the end of a war for which Germany had prepared for generations, a war bred of a philosophy that Might can take its toll of earth's possessions, of human lives and liberties, when and where it will. That philosophy involved the cession to imperial Germany of the best years of young German manhood, the training of German youths to be killers of men. It involved the creation of a military caste, arrogant beyond all precedent, a caste that set its strength and pride against the righteousness of democracy, against the possession of wealth and bodily comforts, a caste that visualized itself as part of a power-mad Kaiser's assumption that he and God were to shape the destinies of earth.

When Marshal Foch, the foremost strategist in the world, representing the governments of the Allies and the United States, delivered to the emissaries of Germany terms upon which they might surrender, he brought to an end the bloodiest, the most destructive and the most beneficent war the world has known. It is worthy of note in this connection that the three great wars in which the United States of America engaged have been wars for freedom. The Revolutionary War was for the liberty of the colonies; the Civil War was waged for the freedom of manhood and for the principle of the indissolubility of the Union; the World War, beginning 1914, was fought for the right of small nations to self-government and for the right of every country to the free use of the high seas.

More than four million American men were under arms when the conflict ended. Of these, more than two million were upon the fields of France and Italy. These were thoroughly trained in the military art. They had proved their right to be considered among the most formidable soldiers the world has known. Against the brown rock of that host in khaki, the flower of German savagery and courage had broken at Chateau-Thierry. There the high tide of Prussian militarism, after what had seemed to be an irresistible dash for the destruction of France, spent itself in the bloody froth and spume of bitter defeat. There the Prussian Guard encountered the Marines, the Iron Division and the other heroic organizations of America's new army. There German soldiers who had been hardened and trained under German conscription before the war, and who had learned new arts in their bloody trade, through their service in the World War, met their masters in young Americans taken from the shop, the field, and the forge, youths who had been sent into battle with a scant six months' intensive training in the art of war. Not only did these American soldiers hold the German onslaught where it was but, in a sudden, fierce, resistless counter-thrust they drove back in defeat and confusion the Prussian Guard, the Pommeranian Reserves, and smashed the morale of that German division beyond hope of resurrection.

The news of that exploit sped from the Alps to the North Sea Coast, through all the camps of the Allies, with incredible rapidity. "The Americans have held the Germans. They can fight," ran the message. New life came into the war-weary ranks of heroic poilus and into the steel-hard armies of Great Britain. "The Americans are as good as the best. There are millions of them, and millions more are coming," was heard on every side. The transfusion of American blood came as magic tonic, and from that glorious day there was never a doubt as to the speedy defeat of Germany. From that day the German retreat dated. The armistice signed on November 11, 1918, was merely the period finishing the death sentence of German militarism, the first word of which was uttered at Chateau-Thierry.

Germany's defiance to the world, her determination to force her will and her "kultur" upon the democracies of earth, produced the conflict. She called to her aid three sister autocracies: Turkey, a land ruled by the whims of a long line of moody misanthropic monarchs; Bulgaria, the traitor nation cast by its Teutonic king into a war in which its people had no choice and little sympathy; Austria-Hungary, a congeries of races in which a Teutonic minority ruled with an iron scepter.

Against this phalanx of autocracy, twenty-four nations arrayed themselves. Populations of these twenty-eight warring nations far exceeded the total population of all the remainder of humanity. The conflagration of war literally belted the earth. It consumed the most civilized of capitals. It raged in the swamps and forests of Africa. To its call came alien peoples speaking words that none but themselves could translate, wearing garments of exotic cut and hue amid the smart garbs and sober hues of modern civilization. A twentieth century Babel came to the fields of France for freedom's sake, and there was born an internationalism making for the future understanding and peace of the world. The list of the twenty-eight nations entering the World War and their populations follow:

Countries. Population. Countries. Population. United States 110,000,000 Italy 37,000,000 Austria-Hungary 50,000,000 Japan 54,000,000 Belgium 8,000,000 Liberia 2,000,000 Bulgaria 5,000,000 Montenegro 500,000 Brazil 23,000,000 Nicaragua 700,000 China 420,000,000 Panama 400,000 Costa Rica 425,000 Portugal* 15,000,000 Cuba 2,500,000 Roumania 7,500,000 France 90,000,000 Russia 180,000,000 Gautemala 2,000,000 San Marino 10,000 Germany 67,000,000 Serbia 4,500,000 Great Britain 440,000,000 Siam 6,000,000 Greece 5,000,000 Turkey 42,000,000 Haiti 2,000,000 ————————- Honduras 600,000 Total 1,575,135,000 * Including colonies

The following nations, with their populations, took no part in the World War:

Countries. Population. Countries. Population. Abyssinia 8,000,000 Argentina 8,000,000 Afghanistan 6,000,000 Bhutan 250,000 Andorra 6,000 Chile 5,000,000 Colombia 5,000,000 Paraguay 800,000 Denmark 3,000,000 Persia 9,000,000 Ecuador 1,500,000 Salvador 1,250,000 Mexico 15,000,000 Spain 20,000,000 Monaco 20,000 Switzerland 3,750,000 Nepal 4,000,000 Venezuela 2,800,000 Holland* 40,000,000 ————————- Norway 2,500,000 Total 135,876,000 * Including colonies.

Never before in the history of the world were so many races and peoples mingled in a military effort as those that came together under the command of Marshal Foch. If we divide the human races into white, yellow, red and black, all four were largely represented. Among the white races there were Frenchmen, Italians, Portuguese, English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Canadians, Australians, South Africans (of both British and Dutch descent) New Zealanders; in the American army, probably every other European nation was represented, with additional contingents from those already named, so that every branch of the white race figured in the ethnological total.

There were representatives of many Asiatic races, including not only the volunteers from the native states of India, but elements from the French colony in Cochin China, with Annam, Cambodia, Tonkin, Laos, and Kwang Chau Wan. England and France both contributed many African tribes, including Arabs from Algeria and Tunis, Senegalese, Saharans, and many of the South African races. The red races of North America were represented in the armies of both Canada and the United States, while the Maoris, Samoans, and other Polynesian races were likewise represented. And as, in the American Army, there were men of German, Austrian, and Hungarian descent, and, in all probability, contingents also of Bulgarian and Turkish blood, it may be said that Foch commanded an army representing the whole human race, united in defense of the ideals of the Allies.

It will be seen that more than ten times the number of neutral persons were engulfed in the maelstrom of war. Millions of these suffered from it during the entire period of the conflict, four years three months and fifteen days, a total of 1,567 days. For almost four years Germany rolled up a record of victories on land and of piracies on and under the seas.

Dotted area, invaded territory of Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Alsace-Lorraine to be evacuated in fourteen days; area in small squares, part of Germany west of the Rhine to be evacuated in twenty-five days and occupied by Allied and U. S. troops; lightly shaded area to east of Rhine, neutral zone; black semi-circles bridge-heads of thirty kilometers radius in the neutral zone to be occupied by Allied armies.

Little by little, day after day, piracies dwindled as the murderous submarine was mastered and its menace strangled. On the land, the Allies, under the matchless leadership of Marshal Ferdinand Foch and the generous co-operation of Americans, British, French and Italians, under the great Generals Pershing, Haig, Petain and Diaz, wrested the initiative from von Hindenburg and Ludendorf, late in July, 1918. Then, in one hundred and fifteen days of wonderful strategy and the fiercest fighting the world has ever witnessed, Foch and the Allies closed upon the Germanic armies the jaws of a steel trap. A series of brilliant maneuvers dating from the battle of Chateau-Thierry in which the Americans checked the Teutonic rush, resulted in the defeat and rout on all the fronts of the Teutonic commands.

In that titanic effort, America's share was that of the final deciding factor. A nation unjustly titled the "Dollar Nation," believed by Germany and by other countries to be soft, selfish and wasteful, became over night hard as tempered steel, self-sacrificing with an altruism that inspired the world and thrifty beyond all precedent in order that not only its own armies but the armies of the Allies might be fed and munitioned.

Leading American thought and American action, President Wilson stood out as the prophet of the democracies of the world. Not only did he inspire America and the Allies to a military and naval effort beyond precedent, but he inspired the civilian populations of the world to extraordinary effort, efforts that eventually won the war. For the decision was gained quite as certainly on the wheat fields of Western America, in the shops and the mines and the homes of America as it was upon the battle-field.

This effort came in response to the following appeal by the President:

These, then, are the things we must do, and do well, besides fighting—the things without which mere fighting would be fruitless:

We must supply abundant food for ourselves and for our armies and our seamen not only, but also for a large part of the nations with whom we have now made common cause, in whose support and by whose sides we shall be fighting;

We must supply ships by the hundreds out of our shipyards to carry to the other side of the sea, submarines or no submarines, what will every day be needed there; and—

Abundant materials out of our fields and our mines and our factories with which not only to clothe and equip our own forces on land and sea but also to clothe and support our people for whom the gallant fellows under arms can no longer work, to help clothe and equip the armies with which we are co-operating in Europe, and to keep the looms and manufactories there in raw material;

Coal to keep the fires going in ships at sea and in the furnaces of hundreds of factories across the sea;

Steel out of which to make arms and ammunition both here and there;

Rails for worn-out railways back of the fighting fronts;

Locomotives and rolling stock to take the place of those every day going to pieces;

Everything with which the people of England and France and Italy and Russia have usually supplied themselves, but cannot now afford the men, the materials, or the machinery to make.

I particularly appeal to the farmers of the South to plant abundant foodstuffs as well as cotton. They can show their patriotism in no better or more convincing way than by resisting the great temptation of the present price of cotton and helping, helping upon a large scale, to feed the nation and the peoples everywhere who are fighting for their liberties and for our own. The variety of their crops will be the visible measure of their comprehension of their national duty.

The response was amazing in its enthusiastic and general compliance. No autocracy issuing a ukase could have been obeyed so explicitly. Not only did the various classes of workers and individuals observe the President's suggestions to the letter, but they yielded up individual right after right in order that the war work of the government might be expedited. Extraordinary powers and functions were granted by the people through Congress, and it was not until peace was declared that these rights and powers returned to the people.

These governmental activities ceased functioning after the war: Food administration; Fuel administration; Espionage act; War trade board; Alien property custodian (with extension of time for certain duties); Agricultural stimulation; Housing construction (except for shipbuilders); Control of telegraphs and telephones; Export control.

These functions were extended: Control over railroads: to cease within twenty-one months after the proclamation of peace.

The War Finance Corporation: to cease to function six months after the war, with further time for liquidation.

The Capital Issues Committee: to terminate in six months after the peace proclamation.

The Aircraft Board: to end in six months after peace was proclaimed; and the government operation of ships, within five years after the war was officially ended.

President Wilson, generally acclaimed as the leader of the world's democracies, phrased for civilization the arguments against autocracy in the great peace conference after the war. The President headed the American delegation to that conclave of world re-construction. With him as delegates to the conference were Robert Lansing, Secretary of State; Henry White, former Ambassador to France and Italy; Edward M. House and General Tasker H. Bliss.

Representing American Labor at the International Labor conference held in Paris simultaneously with the Peace Conference were Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor; William Green, secretary-treasurer of the United Mine Workers of America; John R. Alpine, president of the Plumbers' Union; James Duncan, president of the International Association of Granite Cutters; Frank Duffy, president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and Frank Morrison, secretary of the American Federation of Labor.

Estimating the share of each Allied nation in the great victory, mankind will conclude that the heaviest cost in proportion to prewar population and treasure was paid by the nations that first felt the shock of war, Belgium, Serbia, Poland and France. All four were the battle-grounds of huge armies, oscillating in a bloody frenzy over once fertile fields and once prosperous towns.

Belgium, with a population of 8,000,000, had a casualty list of more than 350,000; France, with its casualties of 4,000,000 out of a population (including its colonies) of 90,000,000, is really the martyr nation of the world. Her gallant poilus showed the world how cheerfully men may die in defense of home and liberty. Huge Russia, including hapless Poland, had a casualty list of 7,000,000 out of its entire population of 180,000,000. The United States out of a population of 110,000,000 had a casualty list of 236,117 for nineteen months of war; of these 53,169 were killed or died of disease; 179,625 were wounded; and 3,323 prisoners or missing.



Copyright International Film Service. THE "TIGER" OF FRANCE George Benjamin Eugene Clemenceau, world-famous Premier of France, who by his inspiring leadership maintained the magnificent morale of his countrymen in the face of terrific assaults of the enemy.



British Premier, who headed the coalition cabinet which carried England through the war to victory.



King of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, who struggled earnestly to prevent the war, but when Germany attacked Belgium sent the mighty forces of the British Empire to stop the Hun.

To the glory of Great Britain must be recorded the enormous effort made by its people, showing through operations of its army and navy. The British Empire, including, the Colonies, had a casualty list of 3,049,992 men out of a total population of 440,000,000. Of these 658,665 were killed; 2,032,122 were wounded, and 359,204 were reported missing. It raised an army of 7,000,000, and fought seven separate foreign campaigns, in France, Italy, Dardanelles, Mesopotamia, Macedonia, East Africa and Egypt. It raised its navy personnel from 115,000 to 450,000 men. Co-operating with its allies on the sea, it destroyed approximately one hundred and fifty German and Austrian submarines. It aided materially the American navy and transport service in sending overseas the great American army whose coming decided the war. The British navy and transport service during the war made the following record of transportation and convoy:

Twenty million men, 2,000,000 horses, 130,000,000 tons of food, 25,000,000 tons of explosives and supplies, 51,000,000 tons of oil and fuels, 500,000 vehicles. In 1917 alone 7,000,000 men, 500,000 animals, 200,000 vehicles and 9,500,000 tons of stores were conveyed to the several war fronts.

The German losses were estimated at 1,588,000 killed or died of disease; 4,000,000 wounded; and 750,000 prisoners and missing.

A tabulation of the estimates of casualties and the money cost of the war reveals the enormous price paid by humanity to convince a military-mad Germanic caste that Right and not Might must hereafter rule the world. These figures do not include Serbian losses, which are unavailable. Following is the tabulation:

THE ENTENTE ALLIES THE CENTRAL POWERS Russia 7,000,000 Germany 6,338,000 France 4,000,000 Austria-Hungary 4,500,000 British Empire (official) 3,049,992 Turkey 750,000 Italy 1,000,000 Bulgaria 200,000 Belgium 350,000 Roumania 200,000 United States (official) 236,117 Total 15,836,109 Total 11,788,000

Grand total of estimated casualties, 27,624,109, of which the dead alone number perhaps 7,000,000.

ESTIMATED COST IN MONEY THE ENTENTE ALLIES THE CENTRAL POWERS Russia $30,000,000,000 Germany $45,000,000,000 Britain 52,000,000,000 Austria-Hungary 25,000,000,000 France 32,000,000,000 Turkey 5,000,000,000 United States 40,000,000,000 Bulgaria 2,000,000,000 Italy 12,000,000,000 ————————— Roumania 3,000,000,000 Total $77,000,000,000 Serbia 3,000,000,000 —————————— Total $172,000,000,000

Grand total of estimated cost in money, $249,000,000,000. Was the cost too heavy? Was the price of international liberty paid in human lives and in sacrifices untold too great for the peace that followed?

Even the most practical of money changers, the most sentimental pacifist, viewing the cost in connection with the liberation of whole nations, with the spread of enlightened liberty through oppressed and benighted lands, with the destruction of autocracy, of the military caste, and of Teutonic kultur in its materialistic aspect, must agree that the blood was well shed, the treasure well spent.

Millions of gallant, eager youths learned how to die fearlessly and gloriously. They died to teach vandal nations that nevermore will humanity permit the exploitation of peoples for militaristic purposes.

As Milton, the great philosopher poet, phrased the lesson taught to Germany on the fields of France:

They err who count it glorious to subdue By conquest far and wide, to overrun Large countries, and in field great battles win, Great cities by assault; what do these worthies But rob and spoil, burn, slaughter, and enslave Peaceable nations, neighboring or remote Made captive, yet deserving freedom more Than those their conquerors, who leave behind Nothing but ruin wheresoe'er they rove And all the flourishing works of peace destroy.



CHAPTER II

THE WORLD SUDDENLY TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

Demoralization, like the black plague of the middle ages, spread in every direction immediately following the first overt acts of war. Men who were millionaires at nightfall awoke the next morning to find themselves bankrupt through depreciation of their stock-holdings. Prosperous firms of importers were put out of business. International commerce was dislocated to an extent unprecedented in history.

The greatest of hardships immediately following the war, however, were visited upon those who unhappily were caught on their vacations or on their business trips within the area affected by the war. Not only men, but women and children, were subjected to privations of the severest character. Notes which had been negotiable, paper money of every description, and even silver currency suddenly became of little value. Americans living in hotels and pensions facing this sudden shrinkage in their money, were compelled to leave the roofs that had sheltered them. That which was true of Americans was true of all other nationalities, so that every embassy and the office of every consul became a miniature Babel of excited, distressed humanity.

The sudden seizure of railroads for war purposes in Germany, France, Austria and Russia, cut off thousands of travelers in villages that were almost inaccessible. Europeans being comparatively close to their homes, were not in straits as severe as the Americans whose only hope for aid lay in the speedy arrival of American gold. Prices of food soared beyond all precedent and many of these hapless strangers went under. Paris, the brightest and gayest city in Europe, suddenly became the most somber of dwelling places. No traffic was permitted on the highways at night. No lights were permitted and all the cafes were closed at eight o'clock. The gay capital was placed under iron military rule.

Seaports, and especially the pleasure resorts in France, Belgium and England, were placed under a military supervision. Visitors were ordered to return to their homes and every resort was shrouded with darkness at night. The records of those early days are filled with stories of dramatic happenings.

On the night of July 31st Jean Leon Jaures, the famous leader of French Socialists, was assassinated while dining in a small restaurant near the Paris Bourse. His assassin was Raoul Villein. Jaures had been endeavoring to accomplish a union of French and German Socialists with the aim of preventing the war. The object of the assassination appeared to have been wholly political.

On the same day stock exchanges throughout the United States were closed, following the example of European stock exchanges. Ship insurance soared to prohibitive figures. Reservists of the French and German armies living outside of their native land were called to the colors and their homeward rush still further complicated transportation for civilians. All the countries of Europe clamored for gold. North and South America complied with the demand by sending cargoes of the precious metal overseas. The German ship Kron Prinzessin with a cargo of gold, attempted to make the voyage to Hamburg, but a wireless warning that Allied cruisers were waiting for it off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, compelled the big ship to turn back to safety in America.

Channel boats bearing American refugees from the Continent to London were described as floating hells. London was excited over the war and holiday spirit, and overrun with five thousand citizens of the United States tearfully pleading with the American Ambassador for money for transportation home or assurances of personal safety.

The condition of the terror-stricken tourists fleeing to the friendly shores of England from Continental countries crowded with soldiers dragging in their wake heavy guns, resulted in an extraordinary gathering of two thousand Americans at a hotel one afternoon and the formation of a preliminary organization to afford relief. Some people who attended the meeting were already beginning to feel the pinch of want with little prospects of immediate succor. One man and wife, with four children, had six cents when he appealed to Ambassador Page after an exciting escape from German territory.



Oscar Straus, worth ten millions, struck London with nine dollars. Although he had letters of credit for five thousand, he was unable to cash them in Vienna. Women hugging newspaper bundles containing expensive Paris frocks and millinery were herded in third-class carriages and compelled to stand many hours. They reached London utterly fatigued and unkempt, but mainly cheerful, only to find the hotels choked with fellow countrymen fortunate to reach there sooner.

The Ambassador was harassed by anxious women and children who asked many absurd questions which he could not answer. He said:

"The appeals of these people are most distressing. They are very much excited, and no small wonder. I regret I have no definite news of the prospects or plans of the government for relief. I have communicated their condition to the Department of State and expect a response and assurances of coming aid as soon as possible. That the government will act I have not the slightest doubt. I am confident that Washington will do everything in her power for relief. How soon, I cannot tell. I have heard many distressing tales during the last forty-eight hours."

A crowd filled the Ambassador's office on the first floor of the flat building, in Victoria Street, which was mainly composed of women, school teachers, art students, and other persons doing Europe on a shoestring. Many were entirely out of money and with limited securities, which were not negotiable.

The action of the British Government extending the bank holiday till Thursday of that week was discouraging news for the new arrivals from the Continent, as it was uncertain whether the express and steamship companies would open in the morning for the cashing of checks and the delivery of mail, as was announced the previous Saturday.

Doctors J. Riddle Goffe, of New York; Frank F. Simpson, of Pittsburgh; Arthur D. Ballon of Vistaburg, Mich., and B. F. Martin, of Chicago, formed themselves into a committee, and asked the co-operation of the press in America to bring about adequate assistance for the marooned Americans, and to urge the bankers of the United States to insist on their letters of credit and travelers' checks being honored so far as possible by the agents in Europe upon whom they were drawn.



In the first weeks of the war the Germans occupied Rheims, but were driven out after von Kluck's retreat. On September 20, 1914, they were reported as first shelling the Cathedral of Rheims and the civilized world stood aghast, for the edifice, begun in 1212, is one of the chief glories of Gothic architecture in all Europe.



Photo by Underwood and Underwood. N.Y. THE KAISER AND HIS SIX SONS The ex-Emperor and his sons leading a procession in Berlin soon after the declaration of war. It was noted that in spite of their martial appearance the royal family were extremely careful to keep out of range of the Allied guns. From left to right they are: The Kaiser, Crown Prince Wilhelm, Princes Eitel Friedrich, Adalbert, August, Oscar and Joachim.

Dr. Martin and Dr. Simpson, who left London on Saturday for Switzerland to fetch back a young American girl, were unable to get beyond Paris, and they returned to London. Everywhere they found trains packed with refugees whose only object in life apparently was to reach the channel boats, accepting cheerfully the discomforts of those vessels if only able to get out of the war.

Rev. J. P. Garfield, of Claremore, N. H., gave the following account of his experiences in Holland:

"On sailing from the Hook of Holland near midnight we pulled out just as the boat train from The Hague arrived. The steamer paused, but as she was filled to her capacity she later continued on her voyage, leaving fully two hundred persons marooned on the wharf.

"Our discomforts while crossing the North Sea were great. Every seat was filled with sleepers, the cabins were given to women and children. The crowd, as a rule, was helpful and kindly, the single men carrying the babies and people lending money to those without funds. Despite the refugee conditions prevailing it was noticeable that many women on the Hook wharf clung tenaciously to bandboxes containing Parisian hats."

Travelers from Cologne said that searchlights were operated from the tops of the hotels all night searching for airplanes, and machine guns were mounted on the famous Cologne Cathedral. They also reported that tourists were refused hotel accommodations at Frankfort because they were without cash.

Men, women and children sat in the streets all night. The trains were stopped several miles from the German frontier and the passengers, especially the women and children, suffered great hardship being forced to continue their journey on foot.

Passengers arriving at London from Montreal on the Cunard Line steamer Andania, bound for Southampton, reported the vessel was met at sea by a British torpedo boat and ordered by wireless to stop. The liner then was led into Plymouth as a matter of precaution against mines. Plymouth was filled with soldiers and searchlights were seen constantly flashing about the harbor.

Otis B. Kent, an attorney for the Interstate Commerce Commission, of Washington, arrived in London after an exciting journey from Petrograd. Unable to find accommodations at a hotel he slept on the railway station floor. He said:

"I had been on a trip to Sweden to see the midnight sun. I did not realize the gravity of the situation until I saw the Russian fleet cleared for action. This was only July 26th, at Kronstadt, where the shipyards were working overtime.

"I arrived at the Russian capital on the following day. Enormous demonstrations were taking place. I was warned to get out and left on the night of the 28th for Berlin. I saw Russian soldiers drilling at the stations and artillery constantly on the move.

"At Berlin I was warned to keep off the streets for fear of being mistaken for an Englishmen. At Hamburg the number of warnings was increased. Two Russians who refused to rise in a cafe when the German anthem was played were attacked and badly beaten. I also saw two Englishmen attacked in the street, but they finally were rescued by the police.

"There was a harrowing scene when the Hamburg-American Line steamer Imperator canceled its sailing. She left stranded three thousand passengers, most of them short of money, and the women wailing. About one hundred and fifty of us were given passage in the second class of the American Line steamship Philadelphia, for which I was offered $400 by a speculator.

"The journey to Flushing was made in a packed train, its occupants lacking sleep and food. No trouble was encountered on the frontier."

Theodore Hetzler, of the Fifth Avenue Bank, was appointed chairman of the meeting for preliminary relief of the stranded tourists, and committees were named to interview officials of the steamship companies and of the hotels, to search for lost baggage, to make arrangements for the honoring of all proper checks and notes, and to confer with the members of the American embassy.

Oscar Straus, who arrived from Paris, said that the United States embassy there was working hard to get Americans out of France. Great enthusiasm prevailed at the French capital, he said, owing to the announcement that the United States Government was considering a plan to send transports to take Americans home.

The following committees were appointed at the meeting:

Finance—Theodore Hetzler, Fred I. Kent and James G. Cannon; Transportation—Joseph F. Day, Francis M. Weld and George D. Smith, all of New York; Diplomatic—Oscar S. Straus, Walter L. Fisher and James Byrne; Hotels—L. H. Armour, of Chicago, and Thomas J. Shanley, New York.

The committee established headquarters where Americans might register and obtain assistance. Chandler Anderson, a member of the International Claims Commission, arrived in London from Paris. He said he had been engaged with the work of the commission at Versailles, when he was warned by the American embassy that he had better leave France. He acted promptly on this advice and the commission was adjourned until after the war. Mr. Anderson had to leave his baggage behind him because the railway company would not register it. He said the city of Paris presented a strange contrast to the ordinary animation prevailing there. Most of the shops were closed. There were no taxis in the streets, and only a few vehicles drawn by horses.

The armored cruiser Tennessee, converted for the time being into a treasure ship, left New York on the night of August 6th, 1914, to carry $7,500,000 in gold to the many thousand Americans who were in want in European countries. Included in the $7,500,000 was $2,500,000 appropriated by the government. Private consignments in gold in sums from $1,000 to $5,000 were accepted by Colonel Smith, of the army quartermaster's department, who undertook their delivery to Americans in Paris and other European ports.

The cruiser carried as passengers Ambassador Willard, who returned to his post at Madrid, and army and naval officers assigned as military observers in Europe. On the return trip accommodations for 200 Americans were available.

The dreadnaught Florida, after being hastily coaled and provisioned, left the Brooklyn Navy Yard under sealed orders at 9.30 o'clock the morning of August 6th and proceeded to Tompkinsville, where she dropped anchor near the Tennessee.

The Florida was sent to protect the neutrality of American ports and prohibit supplies to belligerent ships. Secretary Daniels ordered her to watch the port of New York and sent the Mayflower to Hampton Roads. Destroyers guarded ports along the New England coast and those at Lewes, Del., to prevent violations of neutrality at Philadelphia and in that territory. Any vessel that attempted to sail for a belligerent port without clearance papers was boarded by American officials.

The Texas and Louisiana, at Vera Cruz and the Minnesota, at Tampico, were ordered to New York, and Secretary Daniels announced that other American vessels would be ordered north as fast as room could be found for them in navy yard docks.

At wireless stations, under the censorship ordered by the President, no code messages were allowed in any circumstances. Messages which might help any of the belligerents in any way were barred.

The torpedo-boat destroyer Warrington and the revenue cutter Androscoggin arrived at Bar Harbor on August 6th, to enforce neutrality regulations and allowed no foreign ships to leave Frenchman's Bay without clearance papers. The United States cruiser Milwaukee sailed the same day from the Puget Sound Navy Yard to form part of the coast patrol to enforce neutrality regulations.

Arrangements were made in Paris by Myron T. Herrick, the American Ambassador, acting under instructions from Washington, to take over the affairs of the German embassy, while Alexander H. Thackara, the American Consul General, looked after the affairs of the German consulate.

President Poincare and the members of the French cabinet later issued a joint proclamation to the French nation in which was the phrase "mobilization is not war."

The marching of the soldiers in the streets with the English, Russian and French flags flying, the singing of patriotic songs and the shouting of "On to Berlin!" were much less remarkable than the general demeanor and cold resolution of most of the people.

The response to the order of mobilization was instant, and the stations of all the railways, particularly those leading to the eastward, were crowded with reservists. Many women accompanied the men until close to the stations, where, softly crying, farewells were said. The troop trains left at frequent intervals. All the automobile busses disappeared, having been requisitioned by the army to carry meat, the coachwork of the vehicles being removed and replaced with specially designed bodies. A large number of taxicabs, private automobiles and horses and carts also were taken over by the military for transport purposes.

The wildest enthusiasm was manifested on the boulevards when the news of the ordering of the mobilization became known. Bodies of men formed into regular companies in ranks ten deep, paraded the streets waving the tricolor and other national emblems and cheering and singing the "Marseillaise" and the "Internationale," at the same time throwing their hats in the air. On the sidewalks were many weeping women and children. All the stores and cafes were deserted.

All foreigners were compelled to leave Paris or France before the end of the first day of mobilization by train but not by automobile. Time tables were posted on the walls of Paris giving the times of certain trains on which these people might leave the city.

American citizens or British subjects were allowed to remain in France, except in the regions on the eastern frontier and near certain fortresses, provided they made declaration to the police and obtained a special permit.

As to Italy's situation, Rome was quite calm and the normal aspect made tourists decide that Italy was the safest place. Austria's note to Serbia was issued without consulting Italy. One point of the Triple Alliance provided that no member should take action in the Balkans before an agreement with the other allies. Such an agreement did not take place. The alliance was of defensive, not aggressive, character and could not force an ally to follow any enterprise taken on the sole account and without a notice, as such action taken by Austria against Serbia. It was felt even then that Italy would eventually cast its lot with the Entente Allies.

Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo; John Skelton Williams, Comptroller of the Currency; Charles S. Hamblin and William P. G. Harding, members of the Federal Reserve Board, went to New York early in August, 1914, where they discussed relief measures with a group of leading bankers at what was regarded as the most momentous conference of the kind held in the country in recent years.

The New York Clearing House Committee, on August 2d, called a meeting of the Clearing House Association, to arrange for the immediate issuance of clearing house certificates. Among those at the conference were J. P. Morgan and his partner, Henry P. Davison; Frank A. Vanderlip, president of the National City Bank, and A. Barton Hepburn, chairman of the Chase National Bank.



CHAPTER III

WHY THE WORLD WENT TO WAR

While it is true that the war was conceived in Berlin, it is none the less true that it was born in the Balkans. It is necessary in order that we may view with correct perspective the background of the World War, that we gain some notion of the Balkan States and the complications entering into their relations. These countries have been the adopted children of the great European powers during generations of rulers. Russia assumed guardianship of the nations having a preponderance of Slavic blood; Roumania with its Latin consanguinities was close to France and Italy; Bulgaria, Greece, and Balkan Turkey were debatable regions wherein the diplomats of the rival nations secured temporary victories by devious methods.

The Balkans have fierce hatreds and have been the site of sudden historic wars. At the time of the declaration of the World War, the Balkan nations were living under the provisions of the Treaty of Bucharest, dated August 10, 1913. Greece, Roumania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro were signers, and Turkey acquiesced in its provisions.



The assassination at Sarajevo had sent a convulsive shudder throughout the Balkans. The reason lay in the century-old antagonism between the Slav and the Teuton. Serbia, Montenegro and Russia had never forgiven Austria for seizing Bosnia and Herzegovina and making these Slavic people subjects of the Austrian crown. Bulgaria, Roumania and Turkey remained cold at the news of the assassination. German diplomacy was in the ascendant at these courts and the prospect of war with Germany as their great ally presented no terrors for them. The sympathies of the people of Greece were with Serbia, but the Grecian Court, because the Queen of Greece was the only sister of the German Kaiser, was whole heartedly with Austria. Perhaps at the first the Roumanians were most nearly neutral. They believed strongly that each of the small nations of the Balkan region as well as all of the small nations that had been absorbed but had not been digested by Austria, should cut itself from the leading strings held by the large European powers. There was a distinct undercurrent, for a federation resembling that of the United States of America between these peoples. This was expressed most clearly by M. Jonesco, leader of the Liberal party of Roumania and generally recognized as the ablest statesman of middle Europe. He declared:

"I always believed, and still believe, that the Balkan States cannot secure their future otherwise than by a close understanding among themselves, whether this understanding shall or shall not take the form of a federation. No one of the Balkan States is strong enough to resist the pressure from one or another of the European powers.

"For this reason I am deeply grieved to see in the Balkan coalition of 1912 Roumania not invited. If Roumania had taken part in the first one, we should not have had the second. I did all that was in my power and succeeded in preventing the war between Roumania and the Balkan League in the winter of 1912-13.

"I risked my popularity, and I do not feel sorry for it. I employed all my efforts to prevent the second Balkan war, which, as is well known, was profitable to us. I repeatedly told the Bulgarians that they ought not to enter it because in that case we would enter it too. But I was not successful in my efforts.

"During the second Balkan war I did all in my power to end it as quickly as possible. At the conference at Bucharest I made efforts, as Mr. Pashich and Mr. Venizelos know very well, to secure for beaten Bulgaria the best terms. My object was to obtain a new coalition of all the Balkan States, including Roumania. Had I succeeded in this the situation would be much better. No reasonable man will deny that the Balkan States are neutralizing each other at the present time, which in itself makes the whole situation all the more miserable.

"In October, 1913, when I succeeded in facilitating the conclusion of peace between Greece and Turkey, I was pursuing the same object of the Balkan coalition. On my return from Athens I endeavored, though without success, to put the Greco-Turkish relations on a basis of friendship, being convinced that the well-understood interest of both countries lies not only in friendly relations, but even in an alliance between them.

"The dissensions that exist between the Balkan States can be settled in a friendly way without war. The best moment for this would be after the general war, when the map of Europe will be remade. The Balkan country which would start war against another Balkan country would commit, not only a crime against her own future, but an act of folly as well.

"The destiny and future of the Balkan States, and of all the small European peoples as well, will not be regulated by fratricidal wars, but, with this great European struggle, the real object of which is to settle the question whether Europe shall enter an era of justice, and therefore happiness for the small peoples, or whether we will face a period of oppression more or less gilt-edged. And as I always believed that wisdom and truth will triumph in the end, I want to believe, too, that, in spite of the pessimistic news reaching me from the different sides of the Balkan countries, there will be no war among them in order to justify those who do not believe in the vitality of the small peoples."

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

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

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



THE MIXTURE OF RACES IN SOUTH CENTRAL EUROPE.



Copyright Underwood and Underwood, N. Y. SERBS DEFENDING THE MOUNTAIN PASSES LEADING TO THEIR CAPITAL Little Serbia, before she was overwhelmed by the concentrated force of a mighty Teuton drive, and afterward, did some fighting that astonished the world. The photo shows some of her artillery engaged in holding back the enemy in the mountain regions near Nish.



From the woods in the background the British charge on an angle of the German breastworks under cover of artillery and machine-gun fire. This illustrates the early trench warfare before the development of the elaborate concrete-protected structures the Germans later devised. They can be seen wearing the famous spiked helmets which were later replaced by steel ones.

This was the complex of nationalities, the ferment of races existing in 1914. Out of the hatreds engendered by the domination over the liberty-loving Slavic peoples by an arrogant Teutonic minority grew the assassinations at Sarajevo. These crimes were the expression of hatred not for the heir apparent of Austria but for the Hapsburg and their Germanic associates.

By a twist of the wheel of fate, the same Slavic peoples whose determination to rid themselves of the Teutonic yoke, started the war, also bore rather more than their share in the swift-moving events that decided and closed the war.

Russia, the dying giant among the great nations, championed the Slavic peoples at the beginning of the war. It entered the conflict in aid of little Serbia, but at the end Russia bowed to Germany in the infamous peace treaty at Brest-Litovsk. Thereafter during the last months of the war Russia was virtually an ally of its ancient enemy, Turkey, the "Sick Man of Europe," and the central German empires. With these allies the Bolshevik government of Russia attempted to head off the Czecho-Slovak regiments that had been captured by Russia during its drive into Austria and had been imprisoned in Siberia. After the peace consummated at Brest-Litovsk, these regiments determined to fight on the side of the Allies and endeavored to make their way to the western front.

No war problems were more difficult than those of the Czecho-Slovaks. Few have been handled so masterfully. Surrounded by powerful enemies which for centuries have been bent on destroying every trace of Slavic culture, they had learned how to defend themselves against every trick or scheme of the brutal Germans.

The Czecho-Slovak plan in Russia was of great value to the Allies all over the world, and was put at their service by Professor Thomas G. Masaryk. He went to Russia when everything was adrift and got hold of Bohemian prisoners here and there and organized them into a compact little army of 50,000 to 60,000 men. Equipped and fed, he moved them to whatever point had most power to thoroughly disrupt the German plans. They did much to check the German army for months. They resolutely refused to take any part in Russian political affairs, and when it seemed no longer possible to work effectively in Russia this remarkable little band started on a journey all round the world to get to the western front. They loyally gave up most of their arms under agreement with Lenine and Trotzky that they might peacefully proceed out of Russia via Vladivostok.

While they were carrying out their part of the agreement, and well on the way, they were surprised by telegrams from Lenine and Trotzky to the Soviets in Siberia ordering them to take away their arms and intern them.

The story of what occurred then was told by two American engineers, Emerson and Hawkins, who, on the way to Ambassador Francis, and not being able to reach Vologda, joined a band of four or five thousand. The engineers were with them three months, while they were making it safe along the lines of the railroad for the rest of the Czecho-Slovaks to get out, and incidentally for Siberians to resume peaceful occupations. They were also supported by old railway organizations which had stuck bravely to them without wages and which every little while were "shot up" by the Bolsheviki.

Distress in Russia would have been much more intense had it not been for the loyalty of the railway men in sticking to their tasks. Some American engineers at Irkutsk, on a peaceful journey out of Russia, on descending from the cars were met with a demand to surrender, and shots from machine guns. Some, fortunately, had kept hand grenades, and with these and a few rifles went straight at the machine guns. Although outnumbered, the attackers took the guns and soon afterward took the town. The Czecho-Slovaks, in the beginning almost unarmed, went against great odds and won for themselves the right to be considered a nation.

Seeing the treachery of Lenine and Trotzky, they went back toward the west and made things secure for their men left behind. They took town after town with the arms they first took away from the Bolsheviki and Germans; but in every town they immediately set up a government, with all the elements of normal life. They established police and sanitary systems, opened hospitals, and had roads repaired, leaving a handful of men in the midst of enemies to carry on the plans of their leaders. American engineers speaking of the cleanliness of the Czecho-Slovak army, said that they lived like Spartans.

The whole story is a remarkable evidence of the struggle of these little people for self-government.

The emergence of the Czecho-Slovak nation has been one of the most remarkable and noteworthy features of the war. Out of the confusion of the situation, with the possibility of the resurrection of oppressed peoples, something of the dignity of old Bohemia was comprehended, and it was recognized that the Czechs were to be rescued from Austria and the Slovaks from Hungary, and united in one country with entire independence. This was undoubtedly due, in large measure, to the activities of Professor Masaryk, the president of the National Executive Council of the Czecho-Slovaks. His four-year exile in the United States had the establishment of the new nation as its fruit.

Professor Masaryk called attention to the fact that there is a peculiar discrepancy between the number of states in Europe and the number of nationalities—twenty-seven states to seventy nationalities. He explained, also, that almost all the states are mixed, from the point of nationality. From the west of Europe to the east, this is found to be true, and the farther east one goes the more mixed do the states become. Austria is the most mixed of all the states. There is no Austrian language, but there are nine languages, and six smaller nations or remnants of nations. In all of Germany there are eight nationalities besides the Germans, who have been independent, and who have their own literature. Turkey is an anomaly, a combination of various nations overthrown and kept down.

Since the eighteenth century there has been a continuing strong movement from each nation to have its own state. Because of the mixed peoples, there is much confusion. There are Roumanians in Austria, but there is a kingdom of Roumania. There are Southern Slavs, but there are also Serbia and Montenegro. It is natural that the Southern Slavs should want to be united as one state. So it is with Italy.

There was no justice in Poland being separated in three parts to serve the dynasties of Prussia, Russia and Austria. The Czecho-Slovaks of Austria and Hungary claimed a union. The national union consists in an endeavor to make the suppressed nations free, to unite them in their own states, and to readjust the states that exist; to force Austria and Prussia to give up the states that should be free.

In the future, said Doctor Masaryk, there are to be sharp ethnological boundaries. The Czecho-Slovaks will guarantee the minorities absolute equality, but they will keep the German part of their country, because there are many Bohemians in it and they do not trust the Germans.



CHAPTER IV

THE PLOTTER BEHIND THE SCENES

One factor alone caused the great war. It was not the assassination at Sarajevo, not the Slavic ferment of anti-Teutonism in Austria and the Balkans. The only cause of the world's greatest war was the determination of the German High Command and the powerful circle surrounding it that "Der Tag" had arrived. The assassination at Sarajevo was only the peg for the pendant of war. Another peg would have been found inevitably had not the projection of that assassination presented itself as the excuse.

Germany's military machine was ready. A gray-green uniform that at a distance would fade into misty obscurity had been devised after exhaustive experiments by optical, dye and cloth experts co-operating with the military high command. These uniforms had been standardized and fitted for the millions of men enrolled in Germany's regular and reserve armies. Rifles, great pyramids of munitions, field kitchens, traveling post-offices, motor lorries, a network of military railways leading to the French and Belgian border, all these and more had been made ready. German soldiers had received instructions which enabled each man at a signal to go to an appointed place where he found everything in readiness for his long forced marches into the territory of Germany's neighbors.

More than all this, Germany's spy system, the most elaborate and unscrupulous in the history of mankind, had enabled the German High Command to construct in advance of the declaration of war concrete gun emplacements in Belgium and other invaded territory. The cellars of dwellings and shops rented or owned by German spies were camouflaged concrete foundations for the great guns of Austria and Germany. These emplacements were in exactly the right position for use against the fortresses of Germany's foes. Advertisements and shop-signs were used by spies as guides for the marching German armies of invasion.



Copyright Press Illustrating Service. KAISER WILLIAM II OF GERMANY Posterity will regard him as more responsible than any other human being for the sacrifice of millions of lives in the great war, as a ruler who might have been beneficent and wise, but attempted to destroy the liberties of mankind and to raise on their ruins an odious despotism. To forgive him and to forget his terrible transgressions would be to condone them.

Copyright Underwood and Underwood, N, Y. FRANCIS JOSEPH I OF AUSTRIA, THE "OLD EMPEROR," ON A STATE OCCASION. Francis Joseph died before the war had settled the fate of the Hapsburgs. The end came on November 21, 1916, in the sixty-eighth year of his reign. His life was tragic. He lived to see his brother executed, his Queen assassinated, and his only son a suicide, with always before him the specter of the disintegration of his many-raced empire.