END OF THE WORLD WAR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17006, 13 November 1918, Page 9

END OF THE WORLD WAR

OVERTHROW OF PRUSSIANISM

RECORD OF THE GREAT CONFLICT

BATTLES BY LAND AND SEA

The period of hostilities dates from the Austrian declaration oi war against Servla on July 28, 1914. With the cessation of hostilities in accordance with the terms of the armistice, which Germany has accepted, the war has lasted four years and 15 weeks. During 1914, seven nations became allied In the defence against the German plan of world-conquest, while Austria and Germany secured the assistance of Turkey. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria the Central Alliance. In 1916, three nations declared war against Germany, in 1917, eight others, and in 1918 five of the small American States declared war. Treaties of peace were signed between the Central Empires and the Bolshevik Government of Russia at Brest Litovsk on March 3, 1918, arid Roumania at Bucharest on May 7, 1918. The dates on which the allies of Germany surrendered on the allied conditions are as follows:—Bulgaria, September 29; Turkey, October 30; Austria, November 3. The history of the war is briefly recapitulated in the follow ing articles. In view of the enormous dimensions of the con* flict, which has involved sacrifices and suffering by virtually the whole human race, and has been fought to its final issue on battlefronts measuring hundreds of miles, and on all the seas of the earth, only the principal events in the military and naval operations can be recalled.

WORLD GREATEST BATTLES. CAMPAIGNS IN THE WEST. DEFENSIVE AND OFFENSIVE. RETREAT WHICH TURNED TO VICTORY. The first phase of the war will ever be associated with the heroic defence of Liege, where a handful of Belgians were flung in the path, of the great German military machine and delayed its progress (for several invaluable days. After the defences of Liege had been pierced, the German army quickly over-ran the portion of Belgium deemed necessary for an invasion of France. On August 20, 1914,' Brussels, abandoned without a fight as an open city, was occupied by the Germans. The pillage, murder, and violence which marked the trail of the invading army in portions of Belgium and France have bean investigated by trustworthy commissions}, and yielded records of outrages which can never be forgotten. Whili* the Germans were sweepikig,, across Belgium the British Expeditionary Force had been landed in France. Itu arrival was announced four days before the Germans entered Brussels. By August 22 it had taken up a line stretching from Conde, just within French territory, north of Valencienries, to Mons. Suddenly, the main German bodies swung at right angle* from Brussels and poured southward in six mighty columns. The siegeguns which had done such deadly execution at Liege were brought up before ■Samur, and on August 24 the stronghold, which had been expected to resist at least a month, has fallen.

The BriUab Betreat. In face of overwhelming numbare, the position of the small British army was one of great peril. There was no option but to retire. On the morning of August 24 the force was withdrawn to the line Maubeuge-Valenciennes; on the 25th to the line Le Cateau-Carnbrai, and the retreat continued until the army stood on the line La Fere-Noyon, along the Uise River. Throughout these days and nights the British were subjected to ceaseless and relentless pursuit by five German army corps. The 19th British Brigade was brought up from the line of communication on August 24, and the 4th Division joined it on the morning of the <ath, when General D'Amade, commanding the French army on the immediate nght, was nf:io able at length to offer some support. By a- masterly alternative use of the two sections of the force, the one to coyer the retirement of the other, while the cavalry fought brilliantly to c*ver both, tho troops were finally extricated. , Battle oi the Marne.

For two davs the allied forces of the ltfc rested on "the line of the Owe,, f white the French right maintained the line of the Upper Meuae. The German advance was, however, still being pressed with great rigour, and had by September Z (the anniversary of Sedan) pressed the allied French and British back to the line of the Seine and its tributary, the Marne The allied left rested on the advanced forts of Paris itself. ' Arrived before the outer fortified positions of Paris, the German right army tamed eout>i-eastward, either with the purpose of cutting the railways into Paris from the south or to pierce the allied line and drive one portion back against the city while the other might be enveloped in the open. It was at this critical moment that the French commander-in-chief ordered a,., general 'counter-offensive all •long the line. The Allies were now stronglv placed, their left resting on Par's a"nd the right on the great fortress of Verdun. Moreover, a new (6th) French army began to make itself felt on the extreme left of the British, who had previously held the. flank position. Qt\ the now-exhaii?ted Germans the Allies turned In furious attack. Driven back across the Mum?, in real danger of being outflanked and surrounded, veil Kluek's army began to retire at first steadily, but rapidly. To add to its discomfiture heavy rams began to fall. On September 12 the Herman retreat had become almost a rout. On that day 160 guns and many prisoners Were raptured. Moreover, i the German army of the left, under the Crown Princx, had been simultaneously pushed back from before Verdun am) Nancy. Rheims fell again into French hands, hut by September 15 tne Germans rallied and entrenched themselves strongly on the north bank of the Aisnc River.

Fight lor the Coast Early in October a new development Wan to appeal-. The line began to lengthen from the western and toward tin north : and about the middle of October the Germans rcccupied Lille for the *cconJ time in force. In the meantime the Germans had taken Antwerp, and the Belgian army, withdrawn from that city, wag making it? way by the i coast route to join the main forces of the Allies, who were pressing toward the southern Belgian frontier. The British, who had been transferred from the Aisne. effected a junction with the Belgians at Vpres. «yid by October 16 the allied line reached out to the coast. It was very thin, compared with the large forces of Germans How thrown against "it in an effort to hew » way through to Calais. For some days the position was very critical, but after * resistance against great odds comparable with the finest feats to the credit of the army, the thin British line was reinforced, and the way to the coast was feaßjf fearred,

The action of Neuve Chapelle, in March, was the first attack of the British during 1915. Next month the Germans commenced the use of poison gases, which gave them a slight temporary advantage along the Yser front, despite the magnificent defence of the Canadians. Like the Russians, although not to the same extent, the British had been handicapped b; a shortage of artillory munitions, notably of high explosives, but by August, 1915, this deficiency had been made good, and on September 25 the British attacked the German trenches between Lens and La Bassee. Subsidiary assaults were delivered elsewhere. Sir Douglas Haig, in command of the Ist and 4th Army Corps of the First Army, .delivered the main attack, which followed an intense bombardment of the enemy lines, and was assisted by asphyxiating gases, now first used by the British. The 4th Corps, under Sir Henrv Rawlinson, achieved an immediate and brilliant success. The 47th, London. Territorial Division rushed the village or. Loos, its cemetery and chalk-pits on the south side, while the 15th. Highland, Division of the new armies seized the northern exits of Loos, and poshed two miles beyond, overrunning Hill 70 and ithe Cite St. August*. Meantime the centre brigade had penetrated Hulluch tothe north and captured gun positions. The Ist Army Corps, under General Hubert Gough. in the brickfields and quarries farther north, captured' Cite St. blie and penetrated into the village of Haisnes. The 9th Division, on the left, won the first line of .German .trenches east .of tlu Vermelles railway, but after heavy losses, were driven back to tluir own trenches. It was found impossible to hold the village of Haisnes; while, a the south, owing to lack of support, '.he Highland Division had to withdraw to the western slopes of Hill 70. The French immediately on the British right had, during these operations, finally made themselves masters of Souches, and pressed on to the ridges of La Polie and Vimy. The main French offensive was, however, in Champagne, over a front of 154 miles, between Auberive and Ville-sur-Tourbe, and with Perthes as its centre. Throughout this portion of the line the Germans were driven to an average depth of 24 miles. Seventy-nine field guns were included in the spoil with 23,000 prisoners. The important hill at Tahure was the centre of fierce fighting over several weeks. The French were in possession on October 1 6, and gained a secure hold on the ground to the south-east of it, but on October 30 the Germans had retaken the summit.

The Battle o! Verdun. The winter of 1915-16 was quiet, but the snow was still on the ground when the fury of a great German offensive burst on Vifrdun. There had been certain signs of the coming storm in the form of German attacks at first one point and then another of the allied lines in the west, but it was not till February 21, 1916, that the Germans made their first infantry attack on the Verdun front, and not till several days later that the world knew that the attacks elsewhere had been demonstrations, and that the weight of the ( blow was fallin- at Verdun, fhe battle commenced with the gradual withdrawal of the French from country which they were not prepared to defend seriously, and the first determined resistance was offered at Douaumont, the ruins of which were captured by the Germans on February 26 but were almost immediately retaken. Round the ruined fort and village of the game name a sanguinary struggle raged for weeks, and gradually extended to Vaux. The French slowly relinquished ground inflicting unprecedented losses on the enemy ; but making several successful counter-attacks at points deemed vita! to their plans of defence. From February to July, when the British and French offengive in the Sorame region drew off German 'troops, the battle of Verdun raged almost continuously. An occasional lull was but the prelude to a fiercer phase of the battle than had yet developed. The conflict was chicflv at three points, first, in the Woevre region, the plain which lies to the east of the ridges of the Mouse on the east of Verdun, between the great entrenched camp and Metz: second, on the right (east) bank of the Meuse, in the region between Douaumont and Vaux; and, third, on the left (west) bank of the Meuse against the Mort Homme Hill, Hill 304. and Hill 287. Although the Germans successively captured Douaumont, Vaiu, and Thiaumont. they were unable to break the French resistance, and in five months captured only half the area of ground which the British and French won in the Somme region in 16 days. A French semiofficial estimate of Herman losses in the battle of Verdun placed them at 410,UW.

British Strike on the Somme. When the battle of the Homme was it its height the Verdun front was so denuded of aims that the fort at Douaumont was counter-attacked by general PeUtn, and taken in as many hours as the barmans took weeks in its original capture, 3600 men being taken with the ruins of the old fort on October 25. J wo months later another surprise attack, preceded by an immense artillery preparation, liberated another stretch of territory to the northwest of Verdun, the French taking 10,000 prisoners and 81 guns nine days before Christmas. In this action Vaeheniuville, Pepper Hill. l/>uvemeut< Lea Chambrettes, Caurieres Wood, Hardnumont, and Bezonvaux were torn from the grip of the Germans. ~ General Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Field Marsha] Sir John French in command of the British armies in Fiance in Jamia.y, 1916: The Field-Marshal returned home to receive a peerage. In the early part of the year no great operations took place on the British front, but the Canadians were very severely engaged in the Ypres district, and on May 21 the Germans captured the British front-line trenches on the north end of the Vimy Ridge. It would have suited the British , beat &a have deferred in attack th^

enemy until a date latter than July; but [ the situation at Verdun and the state of [ affairs in the Italian and Russian theatres made it virtually impracticable to delay any longer. Help was needed, and the only course open was to lend a hand to the French. It was decided by muturj agreement that the British and French armies should attack side by side astride the Somme, the French mostly south of the river and tho British to the north from Hardecourt to Gommecourt inclusive. After a heavy bombardment lasting for seven days and concluding with a particularly violent artillery attack, the French and British columns of assault were launched on the morning of July 1, and almost everywhere entered the enemy's positions.

On this first day of the attack the French established themselves near Hardecourt and Curb, north of the Somme, and to the southward captured Doiqpierrp and the adjacent villages of the Ge man fi stline position. The British to the northward captured the enemy's positions c:i a front of seven miles to a depth of 1000 yards, including Montauban and Mametz, but farther to the north, particular!'/ at Thiepval, Beaumont-Hamel, and Oommecourt, were unable to retain most of the pound gained. On July 2 Frieourt fell into the British hands, and Curlu as well as Frise into the hands of the French. In these two days some 10,000 German prisoners were taken, but the losses on the British side were severe. On Julv 3 the British took La Bolsselle, and the" French carried a second line of Gorman trencher from Feuilleres through Herbecourt nearly to Assevillers. Fighting continued on this general front, and the first eight days of battle resulted in the capture of 20,000 prisoners and 100 guns. Efforts of the Campaign, The first crust was broken through, and very hard it had proved to I*. More formidable obstacles have seldom, if ever, been encountered bv troops; and as the defenders fought valiantly, and most of the points attacked were' swept and flanked by guns of all calibres, the greater was the honour to the French and British troops, who in the long months that followed, mastered one by one the defences of first, second, and third lines, and were never permanently, nor even often, driven out of any point of vantage gained. When tho results of the first fighting were known Sir Douglas Haig de cided not to press the northern attack, but to take advantage of his success in tho southern sector and to work up to the Ancre defences from the south. This course proved the best, and before the weather and the state of the ground towards the end of November compelled a temporary suspension of the attack every one of the objectives of July 1, from Beaumont-Hamel southwards, had beet; secured. In the area attacked by the British troops during these five months there is not a village, a wood, nor a section of the German trenches that will not live in the history of the British Army an.! of the splendid Dominion troops which fought side by side with it and fought so well. The practical aims of the operation were completely achieved. Verdun was relieved; not many German divisions were able to leave the west for other fields; and, above all, tho German losses, estimated at 600,000, including 80.000 prisoners, caused a drain upon German man-power which, coming after Verdun, was stunning, and accounted to a large extent for the change of tone in Germany and the offer made in December to negotiate for peace. These battles in the west further established the moral, material and even the professional superiority of French and British arms over those of Germany. The Hindenburg Retreat.

In contrast to the preceding winter, the winter o.' 1916-17 was by no means quiet. The battle of the Somme was continued in isolated attacks which were part of a comprehensive, systematic scheme designed to prepare a favourable situation for the spring fighting. Salients were straightened out, spurs which, though only in the nature of rolling downs, gave the observation for miles around, and gave command of the river valleys. Three miles of valuable positions were captured in January, and in February the MorvalThiepv'al Ridgo was taken, necessitating the abandonment by the enemy of a number of vilhges. The constant hammering which the Germans were receiving here was not to their liking, nnd General Hindenburg, who had succeeded to the actual command of the German Army, with General Ludendorff as his close adviser, was forced to retreat along an extensive front. He prepared a new defensive system, known as the Hindenburg line, running from Arras south-eastward to Queant, thence west of Cambrai towards St. Quentin, while various switches branched off. Under cover of great rearguards, equipped with thousands of machine-guns, innumerable field guns and death dealing devices of everv imaginable kind, the Germans retreated. Oi March 17, 1917, the British were in possesion of Bapaurae, Mid a day or two later they were pursuing the Germans to the new line, the retreat j involving the abandonment of Peronne,

Chaulnea Neale and Noyon, while over eighty villages, extending to a depth of six miles, were won back for France. The British had a very difficult task, in following up the retreat, for every road and bridge bad been destroyed, while the devastated ground offered great difficulties to the passage of gun* and transport. Strong enemv detachments occupied vantage points along the line of advance. Guns were available at any moment to support a counter-stroke, while the British guns could only go forward at a very slow pace. Then the bulk of the enemy's forces wcro holding a very formidable defensive system, upon which he could fall back at anv moment should the counterstroke miss its aim. On the contrary, the British, as they moved forward, left their defensive positions further behind, and therefore the greatest caution had to be observed. Under the circumstances the British advance was carried out with consummate skill and success, until contact was made with the new defensive line and its switch trenches.

Battle of Anas. While this retreat and pursuit were in progress the British struck heavily again, this time to the north of the earlier battle line, pivoting on Arras and swinging both to the north-east and the south-east. This fight, the Battle of Arras, began on April 9, when, after the usual bombardment, a surprise attack of considerable magnitude was developed. This shattered the enemy line along a wide front, and gave Sir Douglas Haig's forces possession of a wide stretch of territory, including many villages, while it also 'brought thorn up to the Oppv line, the last switch before the Hindenburg defences. The battle developed on the lines of the struggle in the Nomine, swayed back and forward, but the attacking forces always held the upper hand, and took heavy toll of the enemy until the battle gradually died away. Of less extent, out still of great importance, was the light for Viray Ridge. The attack on this famous position, held by tho Germans for two years, was launched on Easter Monday with a terrible fire from massed artillery and field guns hidden in advanced positions. The Canadians wore given the post of honour, and they attacked the heights with the greatest vigour. They took the first line along the whole ridge at the first dash, but were stopped by the socond, especially in the centre. They fought their way to the objectives on 'the flanks, and then found themselves enfiladed from both sides, while hordes of Germans who had been hiding in caves reocenpied their old trenches and attacked them from the rear, ['hey fouirht all day, and by ten o'clock at night had disposed of the enemy in the rear and taken the major portion of the trenches in the centre. Then they dug in, and after consolidating their gains through the night went forward tho next morning behind their leaping barrage to take the •eeond and third positions. The Germans were now surrendering freely, and by the end of the third day the whole of the ridge, with the exception of a few trenches, was in Canadian hands. Thus for the first lime since the German occupation in 1914. British troops looked down on the level plain of Douai. They had captured one if the strongest points on the whole Western line,' one on the defence of which the Germans had lavished men, money, and guns, and which they had orders from the Kaiser himself to hold at all costs. General Nivelie's Offensive.

The most intensive fighting on tlio French front during 1917 was tho new buttle of the Aisne, which began on April 16, when General Nivelle. who had succeeded General J off re. launched a peat offensive on a 25-mile front between Soissons and Rheinis, along the line to which the Germans retreated alter Uio battle of the Maine. The preliminary bombardment lasted 10 days, and gave the Germans time to mass largo lorces and many guns; but, although a desperate defence was offered, the enemy's first line positions along the whole front .were taken, and 10,000 prisoners were sent back the same day. The attack was maintained with spirit, and by the third day 17,000 prisoners and 75 guns were taken. Important positions and villages were taken, and the Germans, whose heavy counter-attacks were beaten off, were* squeezed back towards the Chemm dcs Dames, the great high road running east and west to the north of the Aisne on the crest of a gently sloping ridge. Relentless pressure m one of the most desperate struggles of tho war gave the French possession of the ridge, and all the posts of observations along it by the middle of May, while simultaneously attacks in the Western Champagno wrested the higher ground from the Germans from Cernay almost to Auberive including Mont Haut and Mont Cornillet. The Germans multiplied their counter-attacks. flinging in reserve after reserve, but the detente stood firm. The battle slackened down for a time, and in the interval General Nivelle w«a removed from the high command. It is believed that the French Government had come to tho con. elusion that his strategical objective, which was nothing less than tho breaking of the German front, had proved impracticable, and preferred a moie cautious plan of campaign. The attempt on the — ~-»~r~* ■ i ' ■ ■

Aisne Heights, although it gained much ground and many prisoners was strategically a failure, and caused great disappointment in France. General Petain, the hero of Verdun, was given the post of Commander-in-Chief. The fight was renewed in June and July, when the attacks of the enemy were made with extraordinary insistence, 40 separate coun-ter-strokes being delivered in 85 days. The enemy won hack a little ground as a result of these, but the French would not be denied, and, fighting with magnificent valour and dash, they won back the whole of the lost positions'.

Ths Messineu Ridge. The next outstanding feature of the Western war was the capful• of the Messines-Wytsehaete ridge, in Belgium. The New Zealand Division took part in this enterprise. Nineteen huge mines were dug under the German hues, and when they were ready a terrific bombardment was maintained fir a week, the shelling being heavier than anything before known. At the appointed hour on June 7. tons of ammonal in the nines were touched off, 19 mighty explosions (hanged the whole face of that part of Flanders, and at the signal New Zealandeis and other troops dashed from their trenches with such tagerness that they appeared to the Gorilians to come through ahead of their own barrage. A hundred minutes later positions which the Germans had spent two and a-half years in rendering impregnable had been captured. The New Zealanders dug in under heavy f-hell tire, and Australians passed through them to capture the second objectives at the foot of the slopes, and on to the village of Oostaverne. Further to the north Irish, Scottish, and English battalions cleared Wytschaete and Zillebcke. Conquest of Flanders Ridge.

The opening of the fourth year practically coincided with the commencement of the British offensive in Flanders. A British army, supported on its left by a French army, attacked on July 31 on a wide front north. of the River Lys.from La Basse Viile on the right to Steenntraate on the Yser on the left. The British right captured Hollebeke and La Basse Villa ; the right centre gained the village of Hooge; the left centre secured the crossings of the River Steenbeck; whi'.e the French captured Steenntraate and prolonged their advance to Bixsrhoote. Some 5000 prisoners fell to the British troops in this attack. Bad weather supervened, and gravely prejudiced '.he continuation of the advance; hut on August 10 fresh ground was gained. The advance was resumed on August 16. when the Allies attacked on a front of nine miles north of the Ypres-Men n road and carried Langemarck. On September 20 a fresh advance began on a front of eight miles between the Ypres Comities Canal and the YpresStaden railway. Many villages, woods, farms, and defended localities were captured, and all the German return attacks were defeated, while several thousand prisoners were taken. The advance was continued on September 26, when fresh and considerable gains were made. On October 4 thee was a notable advance, in the course of which New Zealand troops captured Graverstafel and Abraham Heights. The battle cf Bellevue Spur, a gallant but tragic episode in .he conquest of Passchendaele Ridge, took place on October 12. Minor fighting continued until November, when the Canadian troops assaulted and captured Passchendaele, and held it firmly against all-comers.

French Confidence Restored. The new French commander, General Petain, took time tc restore the confidence of the French armies, which had been somewhat shaken by the offensive of April, and to regroup his armies and change some of their commanders. These duties successfully accomplished, he set himself first to free the north front of Verdun more completely from German pressure, and launched his old second army, now under General Guillaumat, on this quest. On August 20 the infantry assaulted on a front of 11 miles on both banks of the Mouse, and penetrated the enemy's position to a depth of one mile and a-quarter, as ordered. Mort Homme, with the Talou and other heights, with many defended woods, were captured, and 4000 unbounded German prisoners were taken. The advance was continued with equal success on the days following, and by the 26th the French line had readied Beaumont, and stood on a continuous and unbroken line on both banks of the river.

Reassured on this side. General Petain now turned to the Aisne, determined to make an example of the German salient in the Malrnaison region, and to force the enemy back over the Ailette. After another elaborate preparation by artillery, General Petain sent forward his infantry at 5.15 a.m. on October 23 against the powerful German defences round Allemant and Malrnaison, captured both places, as well as many quarries and strong places, and penetrated the defences to a considerable depth, capturing prisoners from eight German divisions. The advance was continued on October 25, by which data 11,000 prisoners and 120 guns had been captured. The enemy, pressed by the infantry and' heavily hit by the French guns from the newly-captured positions, re-

treated on a front of over 12 miles and j recrossed the Ailette, completely eurren-; dering the whole position, But . one more British victory, of a different kind, and with different consequences, was to mark the campaign of 1917 in the West. The Third Army Tanks, moving in front of the infantry on November 20, broke through the successive deep and strong belts of German wire, and through these gaps the infantry rushed and stormed the first defensive system of the Hindenburg line on the whole front attacked from Honnerourt to Mceuvres. The support line was then captured in the same manner; and by November 22 an area 12 miles broad by four to five deep had been secured, including many towns and villages. Some 11,000 prisoners and 138 guns were the fruits of this surprising! and unique battle. The enemy was too prostrated to make any successful reply at, first, but steps were taken by him to collect some 10 divisions, in addition to eight that had been f.lready engaged, for a fierce enveloping attack upon the new British salient. This storm fell upon the British line on the morning of November 30. On the northern, and on nearly all the eastern front of the salient the defence held, and the main attack of the enemy' was driven back with immense loss; but at the south-east angle near Villcrs-Guis- J kin a secondary German attack broke in, traversed General Byng's original line, reached the British gun positions, and penetrated as far as Gouzeaucourt. The enemy was driven back out of Gouzeaucourt" and Gonnelieu, but on December 1 the German attack was renewed, and that night General Byng withdrew from Masnieres; while on the night ii December 4 Bourlon Wood, an exposed salient, was evacuated, and the troopis withdrew without molestation to a more defensible line. German Offensive. Commences.

After the battle of Cambrai there was a hill on the western front, which continued throughout the winter. The collapse of Russia had raised expectations that Germany would make an attempt in 1918 to obtain a decision on the western front, and preparations had been made to strengthen the Allies' defonce and to secure a near?r approximation to unity of command by means of the Versailles Council. The 'storm burst on March 21, when the Germans attacked, after a heavy bombardment on a front of 50 miles from the Tliver ik irpe to the Oise. On the first day the Germans, although in immensely superior force, made little progress, but on the second day they broke the British front west of St. Quentin, and a retirement in good order commenced. On March 24 the British offered battle on the line of the Somme, but the enemy was still in superior strength, and on March 25 he occupied Bapaume and crossed the defensive line of the Upper Romme. On the following day he entered Albert, hut on March 27 the British resistance began to stiffen, and French troops, sent by Marshal Foch, who had taken over the united command of the allied armies, began to appear on the southern face of the salient produced by the enemy's advance. These reinforcements, together with the decrease in the momentum of the enemy « advance, tended to produce stability, and there was a lull of a week, until April 4,1 when the Germans made a great effort to I turn Amiens from the south and were J repulsed by the French. i The same tactics gave the Germans another considerable success in Flanders. They had already attempted on March 27 and 28, during the progress of the battle in Picardy, to break the hinge at Arras upon which the British front was swinging, and had been repulsed with such heavy losses as to constitute a, severe defeat The Flanders attack was at first on a comparatively short sector in front of Lillo. The defensive front was pierced and by the evening of the first day, April 9, the whole of the marshy country up to the Lye had been over-run. The Germans crossed the Lye at Bas St. Manx, and a day later were everywhere a mile or two beyond the river, and had captured Armentieres. By the night of the third day they had added almost as much again to the rapidly-growing salient, and were almost up to the Forest of Nieppe, on their left, and to Baillieul and ITeuve EglUe, at the foot of the Flanders Bidjr,e. Both sides had by this time heavily reinforced the sector. The Germans tool: the Messines Ridge and Baillieul. bu'. on April 17 an attempt to cut off the Ypres salient from the north was broken by the Belgians, and on the following day six divisions, which tried to cut the laaral communications behind the Bethune O inal, were heavily defeated. On April 25 the Germans commenced a fight which lasted 36 hours, and ultimately gained M >unt Kemmel. Three days later they attempted to exploit this success by occ ipying the hills further west. The en amy was so heavily defeated that he did not renew his Flanders offensive.

Attack on the Atone. There was a lull after this til] May 27, when the enemy, having concentrated 40 divisions against the front between Rheims and the Forest of Pinon, overran the defences and crossed the Aisne. On the second dav he crossed the Vesle, and on the third day was approaching the Marne. The defences of Rheims had stood, and although the French had to withdraw from Soissons they wore able to prevent the enemy debouching from that town. The German advance, therefore, took the form of a salient 24 miles wide at the base between Soissons and Rheims, 25 miles deep and tapering to 14 miles on the Marne. Having reached that river, the Germans turned west and strove to render their salient safe by enlarging the nark, with a view to turning the.French positions near Soissons, and so widening the neck of the bottle. They succeeded in bulging out the Aide a little, but, could make no impression on the French positions round Soissons. They accordingly shifted their attack to the Montdidier-Noyon front, with a view to eliminating the salient of Noyon, and thus relieving th* Marne salient. The French were fully prepared for this attack, which commenced on June 9, and although they gave a little ground they defeated the enemy's "strategic plan, and a successful counter-attack resulted in the abandonment of the German effort. The next attempt came on July 15, on a front of 50 miles, from the Marne round Rheimß to the Champagne. The French again expected this attack, and it wan repulsed with the low of on.lv a little ground in the Champagne, which was subsequently recovered. Immediately after the German repulse Marshal Foch launched a counter-offensive against the German salient between the Aiane and the Mame. The first effect was to compel the withdrawal over the river of German troops which had crossed the Marne, the second was to pinch the sides of the salient, with the consequence that the German resistance at the head of the salient commenced to weaken. The German withdrawal from the Marne was at first gradual, but on July 27 it assumed the character of a definite retreat, and on August 4 the enemy was across the Vesle, where he took up a defensive position.

The Turn or the Tide. Having regained the initiative, Marshal Foch made full use of it. He determined to press 'he enemy bick from Amiens, which, although still held oy the Allies, was under artillery fire, with the result that the railway running through Amiens from Paris to the north was useless. At daybreak on August 8 the British fourth army and portion of the French first army launched an attack on a short sector east end north east of Amiens. Dispensing with lengthy artillery preparation, and using several hundred fast tanks to lead the advance, Sir Douglas Haig secured a surprise, and drove the enemy beyond range of Amiens within a day. The following day the remainder of the French first army intervened farther east, and surrounded Montdidier. On the third day the French third army, on the right of the first, took up the attack and extended the battle-line to the Oise. The enemy was now in rapid but orderly retreat from the apex of the salient formed by the great angle of their front in the west. On August 17 General Mangin attacked upon the Aisne and the whole of the front from Rheims to Yille, on the Ancre. A distance of over 100 miles was now ablaze. The chief effect of the last movement was to compel the enemy to abandon liassigny, and fall back behind the Diveite. Still the battle-fiont wat extending. On August 21 General Bvng, with the British third army, attacked on the Ancre , ftom north of Albeit, and met with almost | immediate success. The attack quickly I developed into, as attempt to turn all the

ridges of lb* rlc isorume battlefield from the north, !Ast6..ti of attacking them frontallv, &r.' it coved brilliantly Buccessful. On AusM*,'« the Australians were astride the Thwpval ridge, and the New Zealanders were within half a mile of Bapaume. Thev entered the town five days late". More heavy blows were rained on the (j'ruian front. While the enemy was in full retreat across the Somme battlefield, the British on August 26 attacked east of Arras, and three days later reached a point further east than thev had penetrated in 1917. :

Strong Positions Uncovered. Success crowded on success. In the last few days of August; the enemy relinquished portion of the immensely strong Aisne Heights, and commenced a definite retreat in Flanders, abandoning Bailleul and Mount Kemmel without firing a shot. On September 1 the Australians entered I'eroiine, and the .'tallowing day the Drocourt switch line, an integral portion of the Himlenlmrg .system, was broken. A thrust at Cambrai came two days later, and on September 5 the Germans. retired to the- north bank of the Aisne. On September 12 the centre of interest was dramatically turned to an eastern part of the battle-field. The Araer can Army mado its pressure felt for tic first time as an organised force, by eliminating the St. Mihie! salient and capturing over 13,000 prisoners m the process. There was it lull tor a few days while Marshal Foch was completing his preparation" for an attack on the Hindenburg line, en which the Germans were . now resting between Arras and the Aisne Heights. He accompanied the assault on the centre by heavy attacks on the wings. The French and Americans first made a movement in the Champagne and the Argumie on September 26. The following dav the British attacked near Gambia:, and on September 2d they attacked, in conjunction with the Belgians, between Ypr»s and Dixmude. The results were everywhere striking. By .Septemter.29 the (Jermaa defences between Cnmbrai and St. Queitin had been deeply bitten inti. The Flanders ridge had been captured, and th- enemy abandoned a considerable portion of the Aisne Heights. The French entered St. Qucutin on October 2. Four days later the enemy was in retreat in the Champagne. :

The Decisive Battles. ! On October 8 the British broke the last I defence of the Bindenburg line between i Cambrai and St. yuentin, and on the fob j losing day occupied Cambrai. 'Hie break- I ing down of the Hindenburg system in the: centre destroyed the value of the Laon I bastion to the enemy, and he abandoned | the town of that name on October 14. I The British. French, and Belgians now attacked in Flanders, and on October 17 , captured Ostein!. Lille fell the same day. j The enemy rapidly abandoned the Belgian coast, and fell bark to the Scheldt, on! which he made a stand. The British en- j tered Valenciennes on October 23, and I completed the captuio of the town on . November 1. | At the beginning of this week the ! enemy was standing on hastily-organised i defences behind the Scheldt and the Lys . before the Belgians and the British, tribu- j taries of the Oise and the northern water- | shed of the Aisne before the French, and j it. the rugged wooded country of the Argonne and the Meuse before ths Amcri- \ cans. The decisive battle of the western , front was launched on the morning of November 4. the Allies attacking on prac-, tically the whole front from the Dutch ; frontier to the Meuse. A violent conflict raged throughout the day. The enemy's centre was broken by the British attack j east of Valenciennes, and his left wing. was shattered by the French md American assault. When night fell the enemy had suffered a crushing defeat, *nd a general retreat began. The retiring forces were closely pursued by the Allies-, progress on the northern sectors of t'.ie battlefield being rapid, and meeting onlv the opposi- ! tion of rearguards. On fhe right a | desperate effort was made, to check the ! advance, but the entry of the Americans I into Sedan deprived the eneinv of the only line of communication between the armies | operating in Beljium and those in LorI raine, and the isolation of the two groups ! was confirmed by the French entry into ! Herson. I With her armies driven back upon the ! mountainous mass of the Ardennes, Germany's continuous front was at last , broken and shattered. Faced with irrei vocable disaster, Germany sent envoys to l Marshal Forh to ask for the terms on which the Allies would conclude an armistice. Those terms, including the unconI ditional surrender of Germany under proI visions rendering it impossible for h u r to ; renew the war, were announced to the ; German delegation on Friday. They h.we ! now been accepted, and tie way to peice j has been opened.

At this time the Russians again invaclftd East Prrssia, and the Germans were forced to send half a million men to drive them out. This was accomplished by February 12, 1915, and the enemy £ere moved down from the north and east on to Warsaw. In the third week of February the encmv advanced on the line of the Rivers Narew and Niemon, which protected the railway communications of Warsaw, but his offensive was delayed for some weeks after the battle of Prazr.ycl, on February 26. The Russians in Galicia were still progressing, and Przemytl, which had been invested for some time, fell on March Is. With a protecting screen of about 120,(X£ men along the line of the Dunajec aai Biala Rivers, : the Russians commenced operations afrahst the passes of the Carpathians, and were threatening the Hungarian Plain. On April 9 the KussianiA claimed that they held all the Carpathian summits along a front of 70 miles from a point south of the Dukla Pass to th» north of the Uesok Pass. Russian Retreat Commences.

This was the high-water mark of Russian invasion. Germany had become thoroughly alarmed by the distress of Austria, and had organised a gigantic offensive, supported by the most powerful artillery. To the German concentration of gun's the Russians were able to make no effective reply, and a slow and reluctant retreat began all along the line, in which thn Russian infantry were continuously matching their bayonets against the enemy's artillery. On May 5 the Russians began to withdraw their third army from its position along the River Duna'jec in West Galicia back to the San line, and on May 16 they had evacuated the Carpathian passes. South of the Dniester River in the Bukovina they maintained their successful offensive up till the end of May, and on May 29 took 7000 Austrian prisoners in this region. Przemysl Lost Again.

Von MackeniwnY great army began, however, an overpowering advance from the western corner of Galicia, It was desperately resisted step by step, bit on June 2 a circling movement rouid Przemysl had been nearly effected, and three of tire outer forts had fallen. On June 3, after a short bombardment by their loin guns, the Germans and Aue-

Irian? were again roasters of the gra.o San fortress. Immediately they pressed their advance westward towards LemWg. With the same objective, another armv, under Genera! von Linßingen, was struggling to cross the Dniester. For 40 miles along this river-front the struggle was maintained for many days, the Russians claiming on June 18 that the Austrian? had lost from 120,000 to 150,000 men in the fighting. Von Mackenseii, after one severe repulse at Mosciska, continued h:s successes. By June 14 his army had readied Jaworow, north-west of Lemberg, and on its advance on June 19 against the Grodek line the Russians fell back to positions immediately in front of Lemberg. Zolkiew and Rawa Ruska fell to the Austrian? and Germans on June 19, and Lemberg itself was recaptured by the Second Austrian Army under General Bohm-Ermoli on June 22. Withdrawal from Warsaw. Having failed to destroy the Russian armies in the south, the enemy decided on a further thrust at Warsaw, which now constituted a dangerous salient, owing to the turning of the Vistula line. Half a million men pressed upon the Upper Dniester and tfie Upper Bug, and a million drove northward towards Lublin and Cholm. | Th.'re were about another 2.500,000 enemy forces on the whole front, and one section ! of these pressed along the line in front |of Warsaw; another section, under Hin- , denburg, moved south against the Narew, i while the remainder advanced into Courland in the north, and threatened the long ; railway line between Warsaw and Petroi grad. i With Hindenburg striking down from I the north towards the Lubhr-Cholm railway, and the large enemy force pressing I up towards the same locality from the I south-west, the Russian armies at War- | saw were threatened with being caught ! between the jaws of a gigantic pair of ! pincers, and nothing remained for them I but to evacuate Warsaw. This they did on August 4, escaping before the jaws of ! the pincers closed on them. Everything ' of value had been removed from the Polish | capital weeks before. I The Russians time and again defeated the German plan of enveloping sections of I their forces, and in September reached a line which they were able to hold, and from which they commenced to hit back. Throughout October the Germans strove to reach Riga and Dvinsk, bat failed, while in the centre the Prussians had extricated themselves from Vilna, and in the south Genera] Ivanoff gained a series of victories along the Strypa River. Throughout, the winter the Russian line remained practically stationery from Riga to Roumania, whi,e fresh Russian armies were formed. Although comparative successes were gained in Bukovina in November, 1915, and January, 1916, it wac not till June, 1916, that the Russians were able to strikG again. Revival of Russia's.

STRUGGLES OF RUSSIA. BRILLIANT COMMENCEMENT. RETREAT AND RECOVERY. FINAL DEBACLE AND CHAOS. Among the first serious operations the Russians undertook was one prompted by the military necessities of their western allies. When the German thrust against Paris looked ominous, the Russians threw «bout 300,000 men across the 'East Prussian frontier, under Generals Rennenkarapf and Samsonoff. Rennenkampf drove the Germans from their trenches near Gumbinnen after four days' fighting, and advanced' on Konigsberg. Samsonoff had in the meantime fought his way through the Masurian Lakes to Allenstein, communication being maintained, with Rennenkampf by means of Cossack cavalry. The retired Prussian General. Hindenburg, who knew well the nature of the country with its marshes and bogs, traversed by narrow winding passages, was sent to repel the invasion. On August 26 he got into touch with Samsonoff force, and. in a battie lasting five days, severely defeated it. The battle left Rennenkampf 8 flank unprotected, and he had to fall back hurriedly across the border. The invasion of East Prussia was, therefore, at an end, but it had served a purpose by drawing off German forces which might otherwise have been employed on the western front. Hindenburg pressed on after this victory towards the River Niemen, but was driven back about the end of September. In the first week of October he commenced an advance on Warsaw with a largely-increased force, the object being to relieve the pressure on the Austrians in Galicia. He was close to Warsaw on October 16. but a Russian attack from Novo Georgicvsk a few days later threatened his communications, and he had to retire rapidly into Germany, suffering heavily from the pursuing Russians. While the Russians in the north wero busy driving Hiutienburg's forces back across the border, the armies in Galicia. were pushing the Austriaii6 back towards Cracow. Lembarg was captured on September 3 and the Austrians were severely defeated, 'ionards the end of November, however, the Germans, having failed to obtain a decisive victory on the western front, decided, while holding the ground gained in the western theatre, to throw their main weight against Russia, break her line at several points, crumple up her armies, and destroy them in sections.

German Attacks on Warsaw. General Hindenburg, with large reinforcements, attacked and broke the Russian line covering Warsaw on November 23. The timely arrival of Russian reinforcements formed a kind of crescen', or pociii., in the broken line. In this the Gem jus were in danger of being enclosed, but expected Russian reinforcements from the north arrived too late to accomplish this, and the Germans, after losing aoout half their force, succeeded in extricating themselves. The Russians now took up positions on the Bzura and Rawka Rivers, while Hindenburg prepared for a big frontal attack on Warsaw, with the aid of fresh masses of men. During the tatter half of December and the whole of the month of January, the Germans made repeated efforts'to hammer a way through to War-1 saw by shelling and charging the Bflira «nd Eawka linen, but without success. J

The intimation made by the British Admiralty, that Earl Kitchener was on his way to Russia for consultative purposes when he was lost through the cruiser Hampshire striking a mine on June 5, was quickly followed by a Russian offensive. The Russians attacked on June 4, when the Austrian front from the Pripet marshes to the Roumanian frontier was broken in three places. A few days later the Russians occupied Lutsk, the westernmost of the Volhynian triangle of fortresses. The defeat of the Austrians in Bukovina was even more complete than further north, and Czernowitz, the capital of the province, fell to the Russians on June 18, while the Austrian forces quickly retired to the Carpathians, Thich Russian cavalry crossed. A further Russian advance was recorded on June 30 in the capture of the important railway junction of Kolomea. The captures by General Brussilofi alone in two months were officially stated at 300.C00. The Russian advance practically e-ded on August 9 with the occupation of StaniElau. That the success of those two months was not further exploited was due to German influences in Russia, which refused General BnissiloS the forces and the equipment he required in Galicia, and to render the assistance promised to Rouraania on her entry into the war at the end of that month. The Roumanian campaign opened with rare promise, hut within three months her earlier successes in Transylvania had been nullified and almost the whole of her territory over-run by German armies.

Revolution and Chaos. The whole world was amazed early in March. 1917, by the consummation of the most dramatic and complete upheaval in recorded history. Th© Romanoff dynasty, which had ruled the nation for 300 >eais was overthrown in the twinkling of an eys. The Tsar was forced to abdicate, and r> new regime was set- up by the people. almost without bloodshed. But though the revolution was so effective there was no union among the people, with the result that terrible disorganisation followed. The troops left the trenches in thousands to participate in a projected land distribution, munition workers went on strike. business was suspended, and the troops who remained loyal were left without support. German agents who had broil fomenting trouble in Russia for months sought to wean the nation from the alliance, and therefore no attempt was made to attack their demoralised front. ' Some sort of order was evolved out of chaos, and finally an offensive was launched against the Hermans in the southern sector of the line. It prospered exceedingly, for the Germans had taken advantage" of the opportunity to denude their line : n order to bolster up the line in the west, and on the Italian front, but the reaction quickly set in when the enemy was reinforced. Whole Russian units" deserted, retreat became rent,-and wi'VTt a blow the Germans won . SacK mrte after mile of strongly-defensive positions which had cost ttgg" d* °* lhes to capture. By *%& £& only a few Russian *&*£*& in/on the southern . front, Il *L < * w £! northern front .- «*m**£^«;*£ where taking &%£Lg2&m*« dant evidence of ft;M| *"/ a peace mora ie which wt^mjijjE . treaty at gj*M«MSBM