Chapter XII: Part 12

The scope of your planning and of your accomplishment, the very rank luxuriance of your life, will be marveled at as a fairy wonder. We, victors and conquered and neutrals, will alike be confined by duty to austere simplicity of living. Your complaint is unfounded; only gird yourselves for a wee short time in patience. Whether the business deals which you grab in the wartime smell good or bad, we shall not now publicly investigate. If law and custom permit them, what do you care for alien heartache? If the statutes of international law prohibit them, the Governments must insure the effectiveness thereof. Scolding does not help. Until the battle has been fought out to the finish, until the book of its genesis has been exalted above every doubt, your opinion weighs as heavy as a little chicken's feather to us. Let writer and talker rave till they are exhausted--not a syllable yet in defense.

We do not feel hurt, (haven't spare time for it;) indeed, we are glad that you gave ten millions each month for Belgium, that you intend to help care for Poland, that you are opening the savings banks of your children. But, seriously, we beg you not to howl if American ships are damaged by the attack of German submarines. England wishes to shut off our imports of foodstuffs and raw materials, and we wish to shut off England's. You do not attempt to land on our coast; keep away also from that of Britain. You were warned early. What is now to take place is commanded by merciless necessity; must be.

And let no woeful cries, no threats, crowd into Germany's ears.

ENDOWED WITH A NOBLE FIRE OF BLOOD

By A. Kouprine

[From King Albert's Book.]

Not applause, not admiration, but the deep, eternal gratitude of the whole civilized world is now due to the self-denying Belgian people and their noble young sovereign. They first threw themselves before the savage beast, foaming with pride, maddened with blood. They thought not of their own safety, nor of the prosperity of their houses, nor of the fate of the high culture of their country, nor of the vast numbers and cruelty of the enemy. They have saved not only their fatherland, but all Europe--the cradle of intellect, taste, science, creative art, and beauty--they have saved from the fury of the barbarians trampling, in their insolence, the best roses in the holy garden of God. Compared with their modest heroism the deed of Leonidas and his Spartans, who fought in the Pass of Thermopylae, falls into the shade. And the hearts of all the noble and the good beat in accord with their great hearts....

No, never shall die or lose its power a people endowed with such a noble fire of blood, with such feelings that inspire it to confront bereavement, sorrow, sickness, wounds; to march as friends, hand in hand, adored King and simple cottager, man and woman, poor and rich, weak and strong, aristocrat and laborer. Salutation and humblest reverence to them!

Chronology of the War

Showing Progress of Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events from Feb. 28, 1915, Up To and Including March 31, 1915

[Continued from the March Number]

CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE

March 1--Two German army corps are defeated in struggle for Przasnysz; Germans bombard Ossowetz.

March 2--Russians win Dukla Pass; 10,000 Germans taken prisoner at Przasnysz; Russians reinforced on both flanks in Poland; Austrians meet reverse near Stanislau; Austrians make progress in the Carpathians; Russians shell Czernowitz.

March 3--Russians press forward from the Niemen and the Dniester; Austro-German army driven back in Galicia; Germans demolish two Ossowetz forts.

March 4--Russians are pressing four armies through the mountain passes into Hungary; they have checked a new Bukowina drive on the part of the Austrians.

March 5--Russians are taking the offensive from the Baltic Sea to the Rumanian frontier; German armies in the north have been split into isolated columns; Russians report the recapture of Stanislau and Czernowitz; snow is retarding the invasion of Hungary.

March 6--Russian centre takes up attack; Russians are gaining in North Poland; Austrians give ground in East Galicia.

March 7--Germans start another drive in region of Pilica River; Austrians retreat in Bukowina.

March 8--Russians silence two batteries of German siege artillery at Ossowetz; Austrians gain ground in the Carpathians and Galicia; it is reported that German troops in Northern Poland and Galicia are exhausted.

March 9--Germans are raising the siege of Ossowetz and are retreating in Northern Poland; Russians claim that the Austrian offensive in Eastern Galicia is a complete failure.

March 10--Germans attempt to break through Russian line in Northern Poland; General Eichorn's army, retreating from the Niemen, is being harried by Russian cavalry and has been pierced at one point; Austrians have successes in the Carpathians and Western Galicia.

March 11--One million men are engaged in a series of battles in Northern Poland, the front being eighty miles long.

March 12--In the Carpathians the Russians capture the villages of Lupkow and Smolnik and the surrounding heights.

March 13--Russians check German offensive against Przasnysz; fighting in progress along Orzyc River; Austrians repulse Russian attack near Cisna in the Carpathians.

March 14--Russians check German advance in Mlawa region.

March 15--Russians capture the chief eastern defense of Przemysl, three miles from the heart of the defense system, Austrian troops which held the position leaving many guns in the snow; the siege ring is now drawn tighter; battle is on in Bukowina; there is fighting among the ice fields of the Carpathians.

March 16--Russians take vigorous offensive and drive back army that was marching on Przasnysz; 100,000 men have been buried in a triangle a few miles in area between Warsaw and Skierniewice; Germans are making use of fireworks at night to locate Russian guns; Austrian Archduke Frederick suggests to Emperor Francis Joseph the abandonment of the campaign against Serbia, all troops to be diverted to the Carpathians.

March 17--Przemysl is in peril; Russians have recrossed the German frontier in two places; there is fighting on a 600-mile front; it is reported that the Austrian Army in East Galicia has been flanked; a battle is being fought in the snow for the possession of Tarnowice.

March 18--Germans threaten severe reprisals on Russians for devastation in East Prussia; German offensive in much of Poland is reported to be broken.

March 19--Memel, German port on the Baltic, is occupied by the Russians; Tilsit is menaced; Von Hindenburg starts a new offensive in Central Poland; the Germans have lost heavily along the Pilica; Austrians claim that they have halted the Russian advance in the Carpathians.

March 20--Russians win battle in streets of Memel; battle line extends to Rumanian border; sortie by Przemysl garrison is driven back; statistics published in Petrograd show that 95 towns and 4,500 villages in Russian Poland have been devastated as result of German invasion; damage estimated at $500,000,000.

March 21--Austrians renew operations against Serbia and are defeated in artillery duel near Belgrade; Russians are advancing on Tilsit; another Przemysl sortie is repelled.

March 22--After a siege which began on Sept. 2, the longest siege in modern history, the great Galician fortress of Przemysl is surrendered to the Russians, who capture 9 Austrian Generals, 300 officers, and 125,000 men, according to Russian statements; the strategic value of Przemysl is considered great, as it guarded the way to Cracow and to important Carpathian passes; Germans retake Memel; Russians are preparing for vigorous offensive in the Carpathians; Austrians are shelling the Montenegrin front.

March 23--Demonstrations are held in Russia over fall of Przemysl; Germans say that the capture of the place cannot influence general situation.

March 24--Battle is being fought in the Carpathians; Russians march on Hungary and pursue strong column that had been seeking to relieve Przemysl; Germans withdraw big guns from Ossowetz.

March 25--Russians carry Austrian position on crest of Beskid Mountains in Lupkow Pass region and win victory in Bukowina; fighting in Southern Poland is resumed.

March 26--It is reported that the Austro-German armies in the Carpathians are withdrawing into Hungary; Germans retreat in the north.

March 27--Violent fighting in the Carpathians; Austrians make gains in Bukowina.

March 28--Russians break into Hungary and carry on offensive operations against Uszok and Lupkow Passes.

March 29--Austrians make gains at several points; Russians say that the Memel dash was a mere raid.

March 30--Russians storm crests in the Carpathians; Austrians are in a big drive across Bukowina; 160,000 Germans are reported as being rushed to Austria.

March 31--Russians are making their way down the southern slopes of the Carpathians into Hungary; German army corps reported trapped and cut to pieces in Northern Poland; Pola is preparing for a siege.

CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE.

March 2--Germans are pouring reinforcements into Belgium; British gain ground near La Bassée.

March 4--Hard fighting in the Vosges; Germans spray burning oil and chemicals upon French advancing in Malancourt woods.

March 5--Germans checked at Rheims; report of Sir John French says situation is unchanged in Belgium; Germans are holding reserves in Alsace.

March 9--Floods hamper campaign in Alsace; it is reported that Germans are shelling factories in France which they cannot capture.

March 10--Germans declare that the French have failed in the Champagne district and have lost 45,000 men.

March 11--After several days of severe fighting the British capture Neuve Chapelle, the German loss being estimated by British at 18,000; the British also have lost heavily, particularly in officers; British believe they will now be able to threaten seriously the German position at La Bassée; French War Office says operations in Champagne have aided Russians by preventing Germans from reinforcing eastern armies.

March 12--British are pressing on toward Lille; they gain near Armentières, occupy Epinette, and advance toward La Bassée; Germans are intrenched in Aubers; the new drive is expected by Allies to prevent Germans in the west from sending reinforcements to the east.

March 13--Sir John French reports further gains in Neuve Chapelle region.

March 14--French occupy Vauquois, the key to a wide area of the Argonne; they capture trenches and occupy Embermenil; Belgians gain on the Yser; British repel German attack on Neuve Chapelle; it is announced that the French recently won a victory at Reichackerkopf in Alsace.

March 15--French capture trenches north of Arras; Germans drive back British south of Ypres; Germans meet reverse at Neuve Chapelle; it is announced that the French recently won a victory at Combres; French and British are preparing for a general offensive; the first installment is given out from French official sources of a historical review of the war, from the French viewpoint, covering the first six months.

March 16--Belgians cross the Yser; they drive Germans from trenches south of Nieuport; British retake St. Eloi; barbed wire fence, ten feet high, encompasses entire zone of German military operations in Alsace; British still hold Neuve Chapelle after several spirited attempts to retake it.

March 17--Westende bombarded; Belgians carry two positions in Yser region.

March 18--Belgian Army continues to advance on the Yser; French continue to hold the heights near Notre Dame de Lorette despite repeated shelling of their position; Germans are fortifying towns in Alsace.

March 19--Belgians and Germans are fighting a battle in the underground passages of a monastery in front of Ramscappelle; official British report tells of new German repulse at St. Eloi.

March 21--Germans take a hill in the Vosges.

March 24--New battle begins along the Yser.

March 26--Belgians make progress on road from Dixmude to Ypres.

March 27--French capture summit of Hartmanns-Weilerkopf Mountain.

March 29--French are pressing the Germans hard at various points in Champagne; as an offset, the Germans renew activity against Rheims with lively bombardments; sapping and mining operations are stated to be the only means of gaining ground in the Argonne.

TURKISH AND EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN.

March 1--Turkish forces mass on Asiatic side of the Dardanelles under Essad Pasha, defender of Janina; Russians have completed the expulsion of Turks from Transcaucasus region and dominate the Black Sea.

March 3--Russians, after three days' battle, stop reinforcements for Turks in the Caucasus.

March 5--Turks abandon for the time the campaign against Egypt and recall troops.

March 7--British drive Turks back from the Persian Gulf, with considerable losses on both sides; it is reported that the Germans killed 300 Turks in a conflict between these allies after the Egyptian retreat.

March 9--Germans report that British were routed recently in Southern Mesopotamia.

March 12--General d'Amaade, commander of the French forces in Morocco, has been put in command of a force which is to aid the allied fleets in operations against Constantinople.

March 13--Turks are driven back in Armenia and Northwestern Persia.

March 16--Russians rout Turks in Armenia and threaten Turks in the Caucasus.

March 18--Turkish soldiers kill several civilians in the Urumiah district of Persia; Turks are massing large forces near Constantinople and on Asiatic side of the Dardanelles.

March 19--Russians occupy Archawa.

March 20--Turks reported to be four days' march from Suez Canal.

March 23--Turkish force operating against town of Suez is routed.

CAMPAIGN IN FAR EAST.

March 12--It is reported from Peking that nine Germans, among them the German Military Attaché at Peking, who is leading the party, escaped from Tsing-tao when it fell, and have made their way 1,000 miles into Manchuria, where they are trying to blow up tunnels along the Trans-Siberian railway; Russian troops are pursuing them.

CAMPAIGN IN AFRICA.

March 21--Official announcement is made that General Botha, Commander in Chief of the Army of the Union of South Africa, has captured 200 Germans and two field guns at Swakopmund, German Southwest Africa.

NAVAL RECORD--GENERAL.

March 1--Norwegian steamer reports ramming a submarine off English coast.

March 2--Bulgaria protests to Austria, Russia, and Serbia against mines in the Danube; diligent inquiry in England fails to produce any evidence supporting report that British superdreadnought Audacious, wrecked by mine or torpedo on Oct. 27, is about to be restored to the fighting line.

March 3--Allied fleet silences three inner forts on the Asiatic side of the Dardanelles; Berlin report says British cruiser Zephyr was damaged.

March 4--Attack on Dardanelles continues; French ships bombard Bulair forts and destroy Kavak Bridge; Field Marshal von der Goltz has asked for German artillery officers to aid in defending Dardanelles, but it is reported that Germans cannot spare any; German submarine U-8 is sunk by destroyers of the Dover flotilla; German submarine chases hospital ship St. Andrew.

March 5--Allies report that six, possibly seven, German submarines have been sunk since beginning of the war; two Captains of British merchant ships claim prize for sinking German submarines; British Admiralty informs shipping interests that a new mine field has been laid in the North Sea; Germans report a French ammunition ship sunk at Ostend; Japanese report that the schooner Aysha, manned by part of the crew of the Emden, is still roving the Indian Ocean; there is despair in Constantinople as Dardanelles bombardment continues; Russian Black Sea fleet is steaming toward the Bosporus; allied fleet is bombarding Smyrna.

March 6--British ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince George attack strong Dardanelles forts, they blow up one and damage two; allied landing party suffers loss; Asia Minor ports are being shelled; one-third of the Dardanelles reported clear of Turkish mines; concentration of Turkish fleet reported; Germans state that a submarine, reported by the Captain of British merchantman Thordis to have been sunk by his vessel, escaped; German Embassy at Washington expresses regret over torpedo attack on British hospital ship Asturias in February, stating that the attack, which did no harm, was due to mistake.

March 7--Queen Elizabeth and other ships continue bombardment of Dardanelles forts.

March 8--Allied fleet forces its way further into Dardanelles, British ships opening direct fire on main Turkish positions; more forts are silenced; most of the Allies' ships are hit, but little damage is done; effective fire at 21,000 yards against batteries on the Asiatic side; seaplanes are being much used for locating concealed guns; it is reported from Petrograd that when the allied fleets began the forcing of the Dardanelles a Russian ship was invited to head the column, and did so; ports on the Black Sea are destroyed by Russians; British Admiralty announces that prisoners from U-8 will be segregated under special restrictions, and they may be put on trial after the war because of German submarine methods; British collier Bengrove sunk in Bristol Channel by torpedo or mine.

March 9--German submarines sink three British merchantmen, thirty-seven men going down with one ship; Military Governor of Smyrna says that British have bombarded unfortified villages; another British superdreadnought joins allied fleet at Dardanelles; French transports are on way with troops; Turks lose coal supply by Russian bombardment of Zunguldiak; report from Berlin that German submarine U-16 has sunk five merchantmen; British Admiralty states that German submarines, from Jan. 21 to March 3, sank fifteen British steamships out of a total of 8,734 vessels above 300 tons arriving at or departing from British ports in that period; more mines planted near Denmark.

March 10--German auxiliary cruiser Prince Eitel Friedrich anchors at Newport News for repairs and supplies; she brings passengers and crews of eleven merchant ships sunk by her in a cruise of 30,000 miles, including crew of American sailing ship William P. Frye, bound from Seattle to Queenstown with wheat, sunk on Jan. 28, despite protests of the Frye's Captain; more Dardanelles forts are reduced; batteries on Eren-Keui Heights silenced; British sink German submarine U-12; British collier Beethoven sunk.

March 11--President Wilson states that there will be "a most searching inquiry" into the sinking of the William P. Frye by the Prinz Eitel Friedrich, "and whatever action is taken will be based on the result of that inquiry"; Commander Thierichens of the Eitel defends sinking of the Frye, claiming her cargo was contraband; British warships are ordered to the entrance to the Capes of the Chesapeake to prevent escape of the Eitel; Eitel goes into drydock for repairs; more Dardanelles forts are damaged; mine sweeping is being conducted by the Allies at night; allied fleet before Smyrna gives Turkish commander twenty-four hours to surrender, otherwise bombardment will go on; it is reported from The Hague that twelve German submarines are missing; Germans talk of reprisals if British do not treat submarine crews as prisoners of war.

March 12--Dardanus batteries on the Dardanelles are silenced; Germans are fortifying Constantinople; Allies' Consuls demand establishment of a neutral zone at Smyrna; British auxiliary cruiser Bayano sunk off coast of Scotland, probably by a submarine, with loss of 200; it is learned that British bark Conway Castle was sunk on Feb. 27 off the Chilean coast by the German cruiser Dresden; it is learned that French steamer Guadeloupe has been sunk off Brazil by the German auxiliary cruiser Kronprinz Wilhelm; it is reported from Berlin that Germans have sunk 111 merchant steamships, with tonnage of 400,000, since war began; British cotton ship Indian Prince is reported sunk.

March 13--England has lost 90 merchant ships and 47 fishing vessels, sunk or captured, since the war began; Vice Admiral Carden is stated to have predicted the forcing of the Dardanelles by Easter; fog delays Allies' operations in Dardanelles; five British warships wait for Eitel off Virginia Capes.

March 14--Three British cruisers sink German cruiser Dresden near Juan Fernandez Island; no damage to British ships; French steamer Auguste Conseil sunk by German submarine; German submarine U-29 is reported to have sunk five British merchantmen in the last few days; citizen of Leipsic offers reward to crew of submarine that sinks a British transport.

March 15--It is reported from Rio Janeiro that Kronprinz Wilhelm has sunk thirteen ships since she began her attack on Allies' commerce.

March 16--Officers of the Dresden at Valparaiso say their ship was sunk in neutral waters; British say she was sunk ten miles off shore; German liner Macedonia, interned at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, slips out of port; British cruiser Amethyst is reported to have made a dash to the further end of the Dardanelles and back; a mine sweeper of the Allies is blown up; Vice Admiral Carden, "incapacitated by illness," in words of British Admiralty, is succeeded in chief command in the Dardanelles by Vice Admiral De Robeck; Germany protests to England against promised harsh treatment of submarine crews; British and French warships again appear off coast of Belgium.

March 17--It is reported from Denmark that the German cruiser Karlsruhe has been sunk; it is reported from Spain that the Macedonia has been captured by a British cruiser; two British steamers are sunk and one is damaged by German submarines; German steamer Sierra Cordoba, which aided the Dresden, is detained by Peruvian authorities until end of the war; British lose three mine sweepers and one sailing vessel in the Dardanelles.

March 18--British battleships Irresistible and Ocean and French battleship Bouvet are sunk by floating mines in the Dardanelles while bombarding forts; 600 men lost with the Bouvet, but almost all of the British escape; British battle-cruiser Inflexible and French battleship Gaulois are badly damaged by shells from the forts; most of the forts suffer severely from the fleet fire; French submarine is sunk in the Dardanelles; there is a lull in bombardment of Dardanelles and of Smyrna; German submarine sinks British steamer Glenartney in English Channel; Copenhagen report says a German sea Captain states that the Karlsruhe was sunk in December.

March 19--Negotiations are being carried on, with American Embassy at Constantinople as intermediary, to try to avert shelling of Pera when allied fleet forces the Dardanelles; British steamers Hyndford and Bluejacket torpedoed in English Channel.

March 20--One French and two British battleships are on their way to Dardanelles to take place of vessels sunk; new attack is planned by Allies, with Russia co-operating; Turks say that the ships sunk on March 18 were torpedoed; Chilean seamen say Dresden was sunk in Chilean waters; Smyrna garrison is reinforced; dummy war fleet, composed of disguised merchantmen, is reported to be ready in England for use in strategy against the Germans.

March 21--German submarine sinks British collier Cairntorr off Beachy Head.

March 22--British steamer Concord is torpedoed by a German submarine, but is stated not to have been sunk.

March 23--Dutch steamer is fired on by a German trawler; Turks send reinforcements to Dardanelles forts.

March 24--German vessels shell Russian positions near Memel; allied fleet resumes bombardment of Dardanelles forts; Allies land troops on Gallipoli Peninsula to help in a general attack on the forts which is planned on arrival of more British and French ships; many Europeans are leaving Constantinople.

March 27--U.S. battleship Alabama is ordered to proceed to Norfolk at once to guard American neutrality should Prinz Eitel Friedrich leave port.

March 28--British African liner Falaba is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine in St. George's Channel; she carried 160 passengers and crew of 90, of which total 140 were saved; many were killed by the torpedo explosion; British steamer Aguila is sunk by German submarine U-28 off Pembrokeshire coast; she carried three passengers and crew of forty-two, all passengers and twenty-three of crew being lost; Russian Black Sea fleet attacks Bosporus forts; Dardanelles forts again bombarded; German Government, in official statement, says that Dresden was sunk in neutral Chilean waters.

March 29--Dutch steamer Amstel is blown up by a mine; Russians renew Bosporus attack; allied fleet shells Dardanelles forts at long range; reinforced Russian fleet is showing activity in the Baltic; German Baltic fleet is out.

March 31--London reports that three fleets and three armies will combine in attack on Dardanelles forts; the forts are again bombarded; British steamers Flaminian and Crown of Castile are sunk by German submarines; Prinz Eitel Friedrich coals under guard of American sailors and soldiers; Germans shell Libau.

NAVAL RECORD--EMBARGO AND WAR ZONE.

March 1--Premier Asquith announces in the House of Commons the purpose of England and France to cut Germany off from all trade with the rest of the world; "the British and French Governments will, therefore, hold themselves free to detain and take into port ships carrying goods of presumed enemy destination, ownership, or origin"; officials in Washington think this attitude of the Allies disregards American rights.

March 3--Germany alters relief ship rules; vessels may pass through the English Channel unmolested, but because of mines Germany cannot grant safe conduct for relief ships to and from England.

March 4--Secretary Bryan makes public the text of German reply to American note suggesting modifications of war zone decree; Germany expresses willingness to make modifications if England will allow foodstuffs and raw materials to go to German civilians, and if England will make other modifications in her sea policy; German reply is forwarded to Ambassador Page to be submitted to the British Foreign Office for information of English Government; American State Department makes public part of a recent dispatch from Ambassador Gerard stating that German Government refuses to accept responsibility for routes followed by neutral steamers outside German waters; Henry van Dyke, American Minister at The Hague, advises the State Department that Germany is anxious to give every possible support to the work of American Relief Commission for Belgium, and will facilitate the passage of ships as much as possible.

March 5--Holland-America Line steamer Noorderdijk, bound for New York, returns to Rotterdam badly disabled, it being reported that she was torpedoed in English Channel.

March 6--Passenger service from Holland to England is to be extended.

March 8--Germany includes in the war zone the waters surrounding the Orkney and Shetland Islands, but navigation on both sides of the Faroe Islands is not endangered.

March 9--It is announced at Washington that identical notes of inquiry have been sent to the British and French Governments asking for particulars as to how embargo on shipments to and from Germany is to be enforced.

March 18--Submarine blows up Swedish steamer Hanna, flying her own flag, off east coast of England; six of crew lost.

March 15--Text made public of British Order in Council cutting off trade to and from Germany; British Government, replying to American note, refuses to permit foodstuffs to enter Germany for civilian population as suggested; British Government also replies to American note of inquiry as to particulars of embargo, Sir Edward Grey saying that object of Allies is, "succinctly stated, to establish a blockade to prevent vessels from carrying goods for or coming from Germany."

March 17--Secretary Bryan makes public full text of six recent notes exchanged between the United States and the Allies and Germany regarding the embargo and the war zone; Allies contend German war methods compel the new means of reprisal.

March 18--Denmark, Norway and Sweden make an identical representation to the Allies against the embargo decree on trade to and from Germany.

March 20--Holland protests to Allies against embargo.

March 21--German submarine U-28 seizes Dutch steamers Batavier V. and Zaanstroom and their cargoes.

March 22--Holland asks explanation from Germany of seizure of Batavier V. and Zaanstroom.

March 25--Submarine U-28 sinks Dutch steamer Medea.

March 26--Dutch press is aroused over the sinking of the Medea; Ministry holds extraordinary council.

March 27--Germany tells Holland that investigation into seizure of the Batavier V. and Zaanstroom has not been concluded.

AERIAL RECORD.

March 2--It is learned that in a recent air raid German aviators killed two women and a child at La Panne, a bathing town on Belgian coast.

March 3--German aviator bombards Warsaw.

March 4--French bombard German powder magazine at Rottweil.

March 5--Zeppelin raid over Calais fails; Pegoud receives French military medal for his services.

March 7--French official statement shows that French airmen during the war have made 10,000 aerial reconnoissances, consuming 18,000 hours in the air, and have traveled more than 1,116,000 miles; Zeppelin reported captured by allied airmen near Bethune.

March 9--British seaplanes drop bombs on Ostend; Lieut. von Hidelen, who dropped bombs on Paris in September, is at Toulon as a prisoner of war.

March 12--German airmen bombard Ossowetz.

March 14--Strassburg is threatened by a fire started by French airman's bomb; allied aeroplanes said to have wrecked Zeppelin near Tirlemont.

March 17--German airman unsuccessfully aims five bombs at British coasting steamer Blonde in the North Sea.

March 18--Bombs from Zeppelin kill seven in Calais.

March 20--German airmen drop bombs near Deal, but all fall into the sea; one bomb narrowly misses American bark Manga Reva.

March 21--Two Zeppelins drop bombs on Paris, but damage is slight; eight persons are injured; Zeppelin drops bombs on Calais, with slight damage, and is driven off by guns.

March 22--Rotterdam reports that German aviators are aiming bombs indiscriminately at ships in the North Sea, one Taube dropping five bombs near a Belgian relief ship; airmen of Allies drop bombs on Mulheim, injuring three German soldiers.

March 23--German aeroplane aims seven bombs at British steamer Pandion, all missing; Paris Temps says that authorities plan hereafter to fight Zeppelins by aeroplanes over Paris, something which had hitherto been avoided because of danger to Parisians.

March 24--British airmen, in dash on Antwerp shipyards, destroy one German submarine and damage another; German aviators aim bombs and arrows at British freighter Teal, doing little damage.

March 26--French drop bombs on Metz, killing three soldiers; little damage to property.

March 27--German aviators drop bombs on Calais and Dunkirk; little damage.

March 28--German aviator drops bombs on Calais; little damage.

March 29--Germans state that during recent raid on Strassburg, bombs dropped by allied aviators killed two children and wounded seven others and one woman.

March 30--Copenhagen reports that two Zeppelins have been badly damaged by a storm while manoeuvering for a raid on England; Turkish seaplane drops bombs on British warship outside Dardanelles.

March 31--Thirty German soldiers are killed and sixty wounded near Thourout, Belgium, by bombs dropped by airmen of Allies; fifteen German aeroplanes drop 100 bombs at Ostrolenka, Russia; German aeroplane aims bomb at Dutch trawler in North Sea, but misses her.

AUSTRIA.

March 1--Two Czech regiments revolt.

March 2--It is learned that the troops executed 200 civilians in Stanislau.

March 17--Conviction is stated to prevail in Vienna that war with Italy is inevitable in the near future; many Austrians are declared to be indignant that Germany is trying to force the nation to cede territory to Italy.

March 18--Russian prisoners and Galician refugees are working on defensive fortifications in the Trentino, which are being prepared in event of war with Italy; heavy guns are being mounted in the mountain passes; fleet is again concentrated at Pola; Austria and Serbia agree to exchange interned men under 18 or over 50, and also women.

March 22--Men up to 52 are now being trained for active service; men formerly rejected as unfit are being called to the colors.

March 24--Five hundred thousand troops are massed in Southern Tyrol and the Trentino; many villages near the Italian frontier have been evacuated and many houses destroyed by dynamite, so as to afford better range for the big guns.

March 26--Army contract frauds are discovered in Hungary; rich manufacturers jailed.

BELGIUM.

March 2--Gen. von Bissing, German Governor General, says the tax recently ordered imposed on Belgians who do not return to their homes was suggested by Belgians themselves.

March 8--Belgian Press Bureau announces that King Albert now has an army of 140,000 men, a larger force than that which began the war.

March 9--As a result of new royal decrees calling refugee youths to the colors the number of recruits is increasing daily; a few days ago King Albert presented a number of recruits to two veteran regiments in a speech; Belgian officials are arrested by Germans on charge that they induced Belgian customs officials to go through Holland to join Belgian Army.

March 17--Government issues protest against the German allegation that documents found in Brussels show that Belgium and England had a secret understanding before the war of such a nature as to constitute a violation of Belgium's neutrality; the Government declares that conversations which took place between Belgian and British military officers in 1906 and 1912 had reference only to the situation that would be created if Belgium's neutrality had already been violated by a third party; it is declared that the documents found by Germans, "provided no part of them is either garbled or suppressed," will prove the innocent nature of negotiations between Belgium and England.

March 18--Firm of Henri Leten is fined $5,000 for violating order of German Governor General prohibiting payments to creditors in England.

March 20--One million pigs owned by Germans are billeted on the civilian population of Belgium, the Belgians being required to feed and care for the animals.

March 21--Germans are relaxing iron regulations to some extent in attempt to get the normal life of Belgium moving again.

March 23--Seventeen Belgian men are shot in Ghent barracks after having been found guilty by German court-martial of espionage in the interests of the Allies.

March 28--Belgian Legation at Washington issues official response to statement made by Herr von Jagow, the Imperial German Secretary of State, that "Belgium was dragged into the war by England"; response says that it was Germany, not England, that drew the nation into war.

BULGARIA.

March 6--Mobilization is now completed of three divisions of troops near Tirnova.

March 12--Heavy artillery is being transported to Janthe, near the Greek frontier.

March 20--Three Bulgarian soldiers are killed and several Greek soldiers are wounded in a fight which followed an attempted movement by strong Bulgarian force into the region of Demir-Hissar, formerly Turkish territory, now Greek.

March 26--Opposition leaders are demanding an interview with the King with a view of bringing about a change of policy favoring the Anglo-Franco-Russian alliance; Field Marshal von der Goltz is in Sofia.

March 30--Bulgaria is holding up shipments of German artillery and large quantities of ammunition destined for Constantinople.

CANADA.

March 5--Three transports arrive in England with 4,000 Canadian troops.

March 14--Second contingent is now in camp in England; it is expected that these troops will soon go to the front.

March 26--Publication of first account by Official Canadian Recorder with troops in the field of contingent's experiences; he states that there have been but few casualties so far; the infantry was held in reserve in the Neuve Chapelle fight, but the artillery was engaged.

March 27--There is made public in Ottawa the address delivered by General Alderon, commanding the Canadian Division, just before the men first entered the trenches; he warns against taking needless risks and tells the men he expects them to win, when they meet the Germans with the bayonet, because of their physique.

ENGLAND.

March 2--Order in Council promulgated providing for prize money for crews of British ships which capture or destroy enemy vessels to be distributed among officers and men at rate calculated at $25 for each person aboard the enemy vessel at beginning of engagement; British spy system has been so perfected that it is said in some respects to excel the German; Embassy in Washington denies that women or children are interned in civilian camps.

March 4--Government appeals to aviators of British nationality in United States and Canada to join the Royal Flying Corps.

March 8--Shipowner offers $2,000 apiece to next four merchant ships which sink German submarines.

March 9--House of Commons authorizes Government to take over control of engineering trade of country in order to increase output of war munitions.

March 14--John E. Redmond, leader of the Irish Nationalist Party, declares in speech that Ireland is now firmly united in England's cause, and that 250,000 Irishmen are fighting for Britain.

March 15--Kitchener discusses the war situation in House of Lords, he expresses anxiety over supply of war materials and blames labor unions and dram shops in part for the slow output; he praises the Canadian and Indian troops and the French Army; passport rules for persons going to France are made more stringent.

March 16--Heavy losses among officers cause anxiety; T.P. O'Connor says Irish are with the Allies; stringent passport rules are extended to persons going into Holland.

March 19--In six days 511 officers have been lost in killed, wounded, and missing; newspapers hint at conscription.

March 20--Officers lost since beginning of the war, in killed, wounded, and missing, now total 5,476, of which 1,783 have been killed.

March 23--It is reported that a second German spy was shot in the Tower of London on March 5, that a third spy is under sentence, and that a fourth man, a suspect, is under arrest.

March 24--Earl Percy is acting as Official Observer with the expeditionary force; warships are ordered not to get supplies from neutral nations in Western Hemisphere.

March 26--Field Marshal French says that "the protraction of the war depends entirely upon the supply of men and munitions," and if this supply is unsatisfactory the war will be prolonged; German newspapers charge British atrocities at Neuve Chapelle; Colonial Premiers may meet for consultation before terms of peace are arranged.

March 27--Storm of protest is aroused by suggestions of Dr. Lyttelton, Headmaster of Eton, that concessions should be made to Germany.

March 28--Premier Asquith is attacked by the Unionist press for alleged lack of vigor in direction of the war.

March 30--Three of the nine prison ships on which prisoners have been kept are vacated, and it is planned to empty the others by the end of April, prisoners being cared for on shore.

March 31--King George announces that he is ready to give up use of liquor in the royal household as an example to the working classes, it being stated that slowness of output of munitions of war is partly due to drink; Lord Derby announces that Liverpool dock workers are to be organized into a battalion, enlisted under military law, as a means of preventing delays in making war supplies.

FRANCE.

March 1--Official note issued in Paris states that there are 2,080,000 Germans and Austrians on the Russian and Serbian front, and 1,800,000 Germans on the French and Belgian front.

March 5--War Minister introduces bill in Chamber of Deputies giving authorization to call to the colors the recruits of 1915 and to start training those of 1916.

March 6--French Press Bureau estimates the total German losses since the beginning of the war, in killed, wounded, sick, and prisoners, at 3,000,000.

March 10--Foreign Office issues report on treatment of French civilian prisoners by the Germans, charging many instances of cruelty.

March 11--Eight thousand German and Austrian houses have been sequestered to date; bill introduced into Chamber of Deputies provides for burning of soldiers' bodies as a precaution against possible epidemic of disease; Mi-Carême festivities omitted because of the war.

March 12--Fine of $100,000, to be paid before March 20, is imposed on inhabitants of Lille, in hands of the Germans, because of a demonstration over a group of French prisoners of war brought into the city.

March 14--Copenhagen report states that there has been a revolt in Lille.

March 25--War Ministry denies General von Bernhardi's charge that France and England had an arrangement for violation of the neutrality of Belgium.

March 28--A cannon is mentioned in the orders of the day for gallantry in action; General Joffre decorates thirty men for gallantry in action in the Champagne district.

March 31--Intense indignation is expressed by the French press over sinking of British passenger steamer Falaba by German submarine.

GERMANY.

March 5--Interned French civilians are sent to Switzerland for exchange for German civilians held by the French.

March 6--Government asks the United States to care for German diplomatic interests in Constantinople if Allies occupy the Turkish capital; two British prisoners of war are punished for refusing to obey their own officers.

March 7--Copenhagen reports that men up to 55 have been called out; it is stated that there are now 781,000 war prisoners interned in Germany.

March 8--British charge that German dumdum bullets were found after a recent battle in Egypt.

March 10--Reichstag is informed that the budget is $3,250,000,000--four times greater than any estimates ever before presented; a further war credit is asked of $2,500,000,000, to insure financing the war until the late Autumn; Landsturm classes of 1869-1873 are summoned to the colors in the Rhine provinces.

March 15--Prussian losses to date (excluding Bavarian, Württemberg, Saxon, and naval losses) are 1,050,029 in killed, wounded, and missing.

March 16--German committee is planning to send Americans to the United States as propagandists to lay German case before the American people; 20,000 high school boys have volunteered for service.

March 18--Copenhagen reports that Emperor William and General von Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, arrived today at the German Army Headquarters near Lille to participate in a council of war; Chief President of the Province of East Prussia states that 80,000 houses have been entirely destroyed by the Russians and that 300,000 refugees have left the province; German War Department states that for every German village burned by the Russians three Russian villages will be burned by the Germans.

March 21--Archbishop of Cologne asks children for prayers and offerings, and suggests that they do without new clothes at confirmation.

March 22--Lieut. Colonel Kaden urges teachers and parents to foster hatred of England.

March 23--English women and children allowed to leave Belgium.

March 30--It is reported that Emperor William is holding an important war council in Berlin with military chiefs.

March 31--Much enthusiasm over sinking of British passenger steamer Falaba; official statistics of second war loan show that $2,265,000,000 was subscribed, of which $17,750,000 came from 452,113 persons in sums of $50 or less; local option is permitted by German Federal Council.

GREECE.

March 3--Crown Council meets at the palace in Athens under Presidency of the King; among the eminent statesmen present are five ex-Premiers; deliberations deal with question whether Greece should take part in the war; further conferences of the Council are planned, and Parliament has been summoned to meet, after the deliberations are finished.

March 4--Crown Council meets again.

March 10--M. Ghounaris completes formation of a new Cabinet; Ministerial statement declares that the observance of neutrality is imperative on Greece if she is to protect her national interests.

March 14--M. Venizelos, former Premier, says that Greece will soon be forced by course of events to abandon neutrality and join with Allies in operations against Constantinople and Smyrna; by so doing, he says, the Government can quadruple the area of Greece.

March 17--M. Venizelos is quoted by an Italian newspaper correspondent as saying that the Allies have twice asked Greece since the outbreak of the war to help Serbia, but attitude of Bulgaria prevented Greece from doing so; Venizelos resigned, according to this correspondent, because Crown Council overruled his plan to send 50,000 men to aid Allies.

HOLLAND.

March 2--Semi-official circles deny persistent reports that country is to enter the war; American Minister van Dyke says that he sees no signs of any change in the attitude of Holland.

ITALY.

March 2--Much Italian comment caused by introduction in Chamber of Deputies of bills against espionage, contraband, and publication in newspapers of news of military movements; Italy is hiring hulks of ships for grain storage.

March 3--General Zupelli, Minister of War, speaks in Chamber of Deputies in favor of a bill authorizing a recall to the colors of reserve officers; Government asks Chamber for authorization to take control of every industry connected with the defense of the country, including wireless telegraphy and aviation.

March 8--Premier Salandra hints at war at inauguration of new military harbor at Gaeta.

March 10--Garibaldians in the French Foreign Legion are allowed by French Government to return to Italy in response to call of certain categories of reservists by Italian Government.

March 11--Military preparations are being pushed with much vigor.

March 12--Soldiers near Austro-Italian frontier are drilling daily; new cannon is being tested; fleet is in readiness under Duke of the Abruzzi; Prince von Buelow is reported to have failed in his efforts to satisfy Italian demands for Austrian territory as the price of continued neutrality; it is said that Italy was asked to be satisfied with the Trentino, while nothing was said as to Trieste.

March 14--Rome reports that Emperor Francis Joseph, despite urgent solicitations of Emperor William, refuses to sanction any cession of territory to Italy and insists that von Buelow's negotiations with the Italian Government be stopped; Premier Salandra's personal organ, the Giornale d'Italia, says Italy must obtain territorial expansion; National League meets at Milan and demands, through intervention in the war, the liberation of all Italians from Austrian rule.

March 15--Exchange of telegraphic money orders with Austria is suspended; the traveling Post Offices on trains bound for the Austrian frontier are also stopped; it is denied that Austria has refused to cede any territory whatever, but that what she is willing to cede is far too little from the Italian viewpoint.

March 16--Report from Rome states that an authoritative outline of the territorial demands of Italy shows that she wishes a sweep of territory to the north and east which would extend her boundary around northern end of the Adriatic as far south as Fiume on the eastern coast; this would include Austrian naval base at Pola and the provinces of Trent and Trieste; von Buelow is said to have assured Italian Government that concessions will be made.

March 18--Germans are leaving the Riviera.

March 20--Identification cards for use in active service are distributed among soldiers.

March 21--King signs the decree promulgating a national defense law, which will become operative tomorrow; the law gives the Government various powers necessary for efficient war preparations; Parliament adjourns until the middle of May, leaving military preparations in hands of the Government.

March 22--Austrians and Germans are advised by their Consuls to leave Italy as quickly as possible.

March 23--Crowds in streets of Venice clamor for war; Government orders seizure of twenty-nine freight cars with material destined for Krupp gun works in Germany.

March 26--All is ready for general mobilization; seven complete classes are already under the colors; Austrian and German families are leaving.

March 27--Italian Consul at Buenos Aires calls a meeting of agents of Italian steamship lines and warns them to be in readiness for possible transportation of 60,000 reservists.

March 28--Report from Berne that Emperor William in person has persuaded Emperor Francis Joseph to cede the territory to Italy which the latter desires; it is also said that negotiations are being conducted with Rome directly and solely by Berlin.

PERSIA.

March 18--India Office of British Government says that documents have reached London showing that German Consular officers and business men have been engaged in intrigues with the object of facilitating a Turkish invasion of Persia.

March 20--Persian Government calls upon Russia to evacuate the Province of Azerbijan, Northwest Persia.

March 25--Kurds and Turks are massacring Christians at Urumiah, Northwestern Persia; situation of American Presbyterian Mission there is described as desperate; Dr. Harry P. Packard, doctor of the American missionary station, risks his life to unfurl American flag and save Persian Christians at Geogtopa; 15,000 Christians are under protection of American Mission and 2,000 under protection of French Mission at Urumiah; it is learned that at Gulpashan, the last of 103 villages to be taken after resistance, the Kurds shot the male citizens in groups of five, while the younger women were taken as slaves; 20,000 Persian Christians are dead or missing, while 12,000 are refugees in the Caucasus; disease is raging among the refugees.

March 26--Turks force their way into the compound of the American Mission at Urumiah, seize some Assyrian Christian refugees and kill them; Turks beat and insult American missionaries; American and British Consuls at Tabriz, near Urumiah, have joined in appeal to General commanding Russian forces at Tabriz to go to relief of American Mission at Urumiah, which is described as practically besieged by Turks and Kurds; United States State Department is active and asks Ambassador Morgenthau at Constantinople to urge the Turkish Government to send protection; Persian War Relief Committee cables funds to American Consul at Tabriz for relief at Urumiah.

March 27--Turkish Grand Vizier issues orders that Christians in disturbed Persian regions be protected and uprisings be suppressed.

March 28--Turkish regulars are due to arrive at Urumiah to protect Christians and suppress disorder; Turkish War Office says that "no acts of violence had been committed at Urumiah"; Grand Vizier states that reported atrocities are "grossly exaggerated."

March 30--Turkish Government gives renewed assurances to Ambassador Morgenthau that protection will be given to Christians at Urumiah.

RUMANIA.

March 6--Parliament passes a law empowering Government to proclaim a state of siege until the end of the war, if such a step is thought necessary; military representatives of the Government are seeking to place large orders for arms and ammunition with American firms.

March 12--Prime Minister Jonesco is quoted in a newspaper interview as saying that he is sure the Allies will force the Dardanelles, the result of which will be that Rumania will join the war.

March 15--Rumania's war preparations are causing uneasiness in Austria-Hungary.

March 18--Government seizes a large quantity of shells in transit from Germany for Turkish troops.

RUSSIA.

March 1--Paris Temps says that the Allies have reached an agreement by which Russia will have free passage through the Dardanelles.

March 4--Village women capture and bind a detachment of German soldiers.

March 24--Congress of Representatives of the Nobility, in annual session at Petrograd, passes resolutions stating that "the vital interests of Russia require full possession of Constantinople, and both shores of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles and the adjacent islands."

TURKEY.

March 9--American missionaries, arriving in New York from Jerusalem, say that the fall of the Dardanelles will probably mean a massacre of Jews and Gentiles in the Holy Land.

March 11--There is a panic in Constantinople and many foreigners are leaving.

March 15--All Serbs and Montenegrins have been ordered to leave Constantinople within twenty-four hours.

March 18--The rich are leaving Constantinople; Germans from the provinces are concentrating there.

March 19--Appalling conditions prevail in Armenia, following massacres by Turks and Kurds.

UNITED STATES.

March 1--Indictments are returned by the Federal Grand Jury in New York against the Hamburg-American Steamship Company and against officials of the line on the charge of conspiring against the United States by making out false clearance papers and false manifests in connection with voyages made by four steamships to supply German cruiser Karlsruhe and auxiliary cruiser Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse with coal and provisions; indictments are returned by the Federal Grand Jury in New York against Richard P. Stegler, a German, Gustave Cook and Richard Madden on the charge of conspiracy to defraud the Government in obtaining a passport.

March 2--Three indictments charging the illegal transportation of dynamite in interstate commerce are returned by the Federal Grand Jury in Boston against Warner Horn, a German, who tried to destroy the international railway bridge at Vanceboro, Me., last month; extradition proceedings by Canada, officials state, will probably have to be halted until this indictment is disposed of.

March 7--Horn is made a Federal prisoner in Maine.

March 8--Carl Ruroede, who was arrested in January with four Germans to whom he had issued spurious American passports, pleads guilty in the Federal District Court to charge of conspiring to defraud the United States Government, and is sentenced to three years' imprisonment; the four Germans who bought passports are fined $200 each; the Department of Justice is still investigating in belief there are other conspirators.

March 16--Stegler turns State's evidence and testifies against Cook and Madden in the Federal District Court.

March 18--Cook and Madden are found guilty, the jury making a strong recommendation for mercy; before the United States Commissioner at Bangor, Me., Horn claims that his act was an act of war and contests right of the courts to try him.

March 19--Stegler is sentenced to sixty days' imprisonment, and Cook and Madden to ten months; United States Commissioner at Bangor decides that Horn must stand trial in Boston.

March 24--Major General Hughes, Minister of Militia and Defense for Canada, states in the Canadian Parliament that two dozen Americans with the first Canadian contingent have fallen in battle, and that "hundreds more are in the Canadian regiments fighting bravely."

March 25--Horn is taken to Boston from Portland, after two unsuccessful attempts to obtain a writ of habeas corpus.

March 31--Leon C. Thrasher of Hardwick, Mass., an American by birth, was among the passengers lost on the Falaba; American Embassy in London and the State Department are investigating; the Thrasher family appeals to Washington for information about his death; Raymond Swoboda, American, a passenger on the French liner Touraine, which was imperiled by fire at sea on March 6, has been arrested in Paris charged with causing the fire.

RELIEF WORK.

March 1--Herbert C. Hoover, Chairman of the American Belgian Relief Committee, issues statement in London that the Germans have scrupulously kept their promise, given in December, not to make further requisitions of foodstuffs in the occupied zone of Belgium for use by the German Army; he says the Germans have never interfered with foodstuffs imported by the commission and that all these foodstuffs have gone to the Belgian civil population; Mr. Hoover further states that "every Belgian is today on a ration from this commission"; every State in the Union contributes to the fund for the Easter Argosy, the ship which it is planned the children of the United States will send with a cargo to Belgium in the name of Princess Marie José, the little daughter of the King and Queen of the Belgians; plans are made for the sending of two ships with cargoes supplied by the people of the State of New York.

March 2--American Red Cross sends large shipments of supplies to Serbia and Germany; four American Red Cross nurses sail for Germany; Serbian Agricultural Relief Committee asks for farming implements.

March 5--Mississippi, Ohio, and Nebraska form organizations to send relief ships; American Red Cross is sending large consignments of supplies to the American Relief Clearing House in Paris.