Chapter XXVII: Succor and Solace (1)

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Primarily the Canadian Red Cross Society set out to augment the work of the military establishment in caring for the sick and wounded. It acted as a voluntary auxiliary organization to the Canadian Army Medical Corps, and as such furnished all manner of comforts, over and above the supplies issued by the Government, to military hospitals and other units. It also held itself in readiness to assist the Medical Service in times of emergency by providing at a moment's notice any supplies which might be needed.

But its help was not confined to Canadians only. British and French institutions were assisted. The needs of the civil population whom the enemy had driven from French and Belgian areas were not overlooked. Old and feeble men and women, suffering mothers and emaciated children, whom the Germans had deprived of the necessities of life, were among the afflicted who were comforted by its timely succor and sympathy. It took care not only of the wounded and sick, but of the tired and weary. The Canadian prisoners of war were among its beneficiaries, as well as the refugees in the devastated areas of Europe, who needed assistance, especially clothing, in becoming repatriated after being freed of the German oppressor. Thus were many lives saved, breakdowns averted, much discomfort removed, and much suffering relieved by the aid of the Canadian Red Cross.

The society had eight Provincial centers in Canada, and about 1,200 local branches, and these formed its home organization. It collected $7,771,083 in money, and gifts to the value of more than $13,500,000.

Its overseas organization at first was of modest dimensions. One warehouse with unpretentious headquarters in France sufficed in November, 1916, and there was only one Canadian hospital to supply in the early months of August, 1915. Then the organization, like everything else produced by the war, rapidly developed and became far-reaching in its scope.

The French were early recipients of Canadian bounty through the Red Cross. Money and hospital supplies went from the Dominion to the French sick and wounded, and a depot was opened in Paris for receiving and distributing Canadian supplies to French hospitals. This was merely a beginning of the practical sympathy Canada was eager to show to France. The Red Cross subscribed upward of $100,000 for various French war charities. It presented a hospital to France located at Joinville-le-Pont, Vincennes, at a cost of $370,000, equipped with medical supplies and staffed by Canadian surgeons and nurses, and provided a service of motor lorries and motor ambulances for the benefit of other French hospitals.

Money and supplies were bestowed on other Allied countries. The total grants made to the various Allies, including France, amounted to more than $500,000. Substantial help, embracing 21,000 cases of supplies, was also furnished to the Belgian, Italian, Russian, Serbian, and Rumanian Red Cross societies and to the Wounded Allies Relief Fund.

A glimpse of the activities of the Canadian Red Cross is afforded by these extracts from the record of its principal work overseas during the war period:

1914--Canadian Red Cross supplies given to the following hospitals in France: Two casualty clearing stations with 200 beds each; four stationary hospitals with 200 beds each; four general hospitals with 1,040 beds each; six field ambulances with 50 beds each; and in England, the opening of the Duchess of Connaught Red Cross Hospital with 1,000 beds, besides the sending of comforts to Canadians in other hospitals.

1915-16--Assistance given to the Canadian Army Medical Corps in England on behalf of 16,000 to 18,000 sick and wounded Canadians monthly.

Aid given in the erection and equipping of huts and other buildings for five Canadian hospitals in England and five in France.

Recreation huts erected, equipped, and maintained in the Canadian hut hospitals.

1916-17--Assistance given in France to five general and three stationary hospitals, four casualty clearing stations, thirteen field ambulances, and fourteen small hospitals attached to forestry, tunneling and other companies.

Comforts distributed to 20,000 sick and wounded Canadians throughout Great Britain and to 21 Canadian and 130 British hospitals.

The transfer to the military authorities of four hospitals in England opened by the Canadian Red Cross Society.

1918--Opening of Canadian Rest Homes for nurses and officers' hospitals in England.

The society had its fount and inspiration in Canada and its supply clearing houses, stores, and hospitals in England. In France it maintained an advance supply store at the Canadian Corps headquarters, whence its special transports carried what was needed to the fighting front, and, to facilitate the distribution, stores were also attached to every Canadian hospital. It built large recreation huts as annexes to the Canadian general and stationary hospitals, as well as special wards for pulmonary cases. It supplied Christmas gifts to all Canadian soldiers in every hospital in France. It furnished musical instruments for hospital orchestras, provided special furniture and fittings where required, and opened a Canadian Rest House at Boulogne for nursing sisters passing through, which afforded repose and shelter to 6,859 nurses.

As a source of field supplies, the Canadian Red Cross was a dependable dispenser which the military hospitals, dressing stations, and regimental aid posts always turned to for their requirements, knowing that what they needed was not only waiting to be forwarded at the first call for help, but would frequently be sent in anticipation of the need. When a severe action was in progress the Red Cross always had on hand the articles for which there was a constant demand by field ambulances and aid posts, such as dressings, special foods, instruments, socks, scissors, chocolate, pajamas, and even comfort bags into which wounded men put their small personal comforts. Even before troops entered the trenches their needs were considered, the battalion medical officers receiving a parcel of comforts from the Red Cross advance store.

A notable feature of the hospital work was in gratifying the desires of Canadian patients who asked for various articles they needed. Nearly half a million parcels were sent to every hospital which cared for wounded Canadians in the course of the war. The parcels contained, among other articles, toilet requisites, cigarettes, stationery, games, books, sweets, fruit, and materials for work. It needed wholesale purchasing to supply this demand. Cigarettes in millions were bought, not to speak of eight tons of tobacco, 40,000 shaving brushes, five tons of fruit drops, and ten tons of eating chocolate. Those in hospital who were homesick were cheered by the arrival monthly of seventy-nine sacks of Canadian newspapers.

Thus the Canadian soldier received tangible evidence that the people at home were ever giving and working in order that he might not be denied comforts in his need. Whether he was in action, or in a hospital at the base, or in England, or returning to his reserve unit, or taking his discharge on his native soil, he was the recipient of benefits from the Canadian Red Cross, though he might not always be aware of the tireless role it undertook as his good angel.

1. AWARDS OF THE VICTORIA CROSS (V.C.) FOR CONSPICUOUS BRAVERY INSTITUTED JANUARY 29, 1856

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORLD WAR

1914

June 28. Archduke Francis Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo, Bosnia.

July 23. Austria presented an ultimatum to Serbia.

July 28. Austria declared war on Serbia.

July 30. Austrians bombarded Belgrade, and Russia began mobilization.

July 30. Germany made demand for the cessation of Russian mobilization.

August 1. Germany declared war upon Russia, and France declared mobilization. Italy notified Germany that she would remain neutral.

August 2. German troops entered the duchy of Luxemburg, and German forces appeared before Liege, Belgium. Belgium refused the passage of German troops through its territory.

August 3. The German Ambassador to Paris demanded his passports and the French Ambassador to Berlin was recalled. War was declared between France and Germany. German troops invaded Belgium.

August 4. Great Britain declared war on Germany, and the House of Commons voted a war credit of $525,000,000. Germany notified Belgium of the existence of a state of war between the two countries. The United States proclaimed its neutrality.

August 5. The Germans attacked Liege. Earl Kitchener was appointed British Secretary of State for War.

August 6. Austria-Hungary declared war upon Russia, and the English Parliament voted an additional $500,000,000.

August 8. British troops landed in Belgium. Portugal declared herself an ally of Great Britain. French troops entered Alsace-Lorraine. French and German troops met in their first clash in the Vosges.

August 10. France declared war on Austria-Hungary.

August 12. Great Britain declared war on Austria-Hungary. The Germans were temporarily repulsed at Haelen.

August 13. Japan sent an ultimatum to Germany.

August 16. German cavalry appeared before Brussels.

August 18. The Belgian Government left Brussels for Antwerp.

August 20. The Germans, unopposed, entered Brussels.

August 22. Namur was besieged by the Germans.

August 23. The Emperor of China declared war upon Germany.

August 23. The Great Retreat of the English and French armies from Mons began.

August 27. Namur was captured by the Germans. The _Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse_, formerly North German Lloyd liner, was sunk off the west African coast by the British cruiser _Highflyer_.

August 30. The Allied forces continued to retire in the direction of Paris.

September 3. The French Government moved from Paris to Bordeaux.

September 6. The Germans reached the high tide of invasion in France.

September 12. The Germans continued their retreat from the Marne.

September 14. Germans reached the Aisne and the Allied armies attempted to cross, in the face of bitter resistance.

September 14. The Allies crossed the Aisne near Soissons.

September 16. The Russian northern army was forced behind the Niemen.

September 22. The Germans retired to Noyon. British cruisers _Aboukir_, _Cressy_, and _Hogue_ were sunk in the North Sea by submarines.

September 24. The Russian forces passed the fortress of Przemsyl.

September 28. Japanese and British forces attacked the fortress of Tsingtau.

September 29. German forces invested Antwerp.

October 8. Germans entered Antwerp. The garrison escaped.

October 15. The British cruiser _Hawke_ was sunk by a German submarine in the North Sea.

October 17. Russian armies resumed offensive operations in the east.

October 20. The bloody battle of the Yser followed the attempt of German forces to reach the Channel ports.

October 22. The German forces bombarded Lille, France.

October 25. Germans crossed the Yser River near the coast.

October 26. Gavrilo Prinzep and twenty-three accomplices were found guilty of the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife.

October 28. The German cruiser _Emden_ sank the Russian cruiser _Zhemtchug_ in the harbor of Penang. Germans were forced to evacuate the southern branch of the Yser.

November 1. Five German cruisers defeated the British fleet under Admiral Cradock off the Chilean coast.

November 2. Great Britain declared the North Sea closed to commerce.

November 5. Great Britain and France declared war on Turkey.

November 7. The Japanese forces captured Tsingtau.

November 9. The German cruiser _Emden_ was destroyed by the Australian cruiser _Sydney_.

November 10. The struggle along the Yser River continued. Serbians defeated the Austrian army, capturing 2,000 prisoners. Russian forces resumed the offensive around Warsaw.

November 15. The Serbians were defeated by the Austrian army.

November 16. Belgians flooded the coast lands in order to prevent the advance of the German forces.

November 19. German forces advancing into Poland were driven back.

November 29. The Russians continued success against Germans in Poland.

December 1. General De Wet, leader of the rebellion in South Africa, was captured, practically ending the rebellion.

December 2. Belgrade was captured by the Austrians.

December 6. Battle of Lodz in Russian Poland, which began on November 19, was ended with an inconclusive German victory.

December 8. The British fleet near the Falkland Islands met and destroyed the German squadron which sank two British warships on November 1, off the coast of Chile.

December 10. A German submarine raided the harbor of Dover, England.

December 13. British submarine _B-11_ entered the Dardanelles under the mine fields and torpedoes and sunk the Turkish battleship _Messudiah_.

December 14. Russians defeated the German forces at Mlawa. Belgrade was recaptured by the Serbians.

December 18. The German army approached Warsaw.

December 19. The Germans were forced to evacuate Dixmude.

December 23. The Turkish army began an advance on the Suez Canal.

December 24. The Germans defeated the Russian army at Mlawa in northern Poland. The entire Russian army began a retreat.

December 29. Russian forces were forced to retire in Galicia.

1915

January 1. British battleship _Formidable_ was sunk by a German submarine in the English Channel.

January 3. The Russian army defeated the Turkish forces in the Caucasus.

January 6. The Germany army continued to advance in Poland.

January 16. The Russian army of invasion captured one of the passes over the Carpathian Mountains.

January 21. Austrian forces in northeastern Hungary were shattered by attacks. General von Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, resigned the office of minister of war, and was succeeded by General von Hohenborn.

January 24. A naval engagement between British and German fleets. German armored cruiser _Bluecher_ was sunk. Other German vessels fled.

January 29. The Germans assumed the offensive in the forest of the Argonne.

January 31. German submarines made a second raid in the British Channel and destroyed several British merchant ships.

February 2. Wiener von Horn, a German-American, unsuccessfully attempted to dynamite the bridge across the St. Croix River.

February 3. The Turkish forces attempted to force a passage over the Suez Canal and were repulsed by the British troops.

February 4. Germany declared a war zone of the waters around Great Britain and Ireland, to go into effect on February 18.

February 8. Russian forces were obliged to evacuate a large part of the territory held in the province of Bukowina.

February 10. Russian army suffered a disastrous defeat in East Prussia.

February 18. German decree creating a war zone in the waters around Great Britain and Ireland went into effect.

February 24. Germans captured Przasnysz, in Russian Poland.

February 27. The _William P. Fry_, an American sailing vessel, was sunk by a German cruiser.

March 1. Great Britain and France announced their intention to prevent commodities of any kind from reaching or leaving Germany.

March 2. Germany offered to modify her submarine warfare if Great Britain would also make concessions.

March 6. Premier Venizelos resigned his office on account of the decision of King Constantine to the entrance of Greece on the side of the Allies.

March 14. The German cruiser _Dresden_ was sunk off the Chilean coast.

March 19. The French battleship _Bouvet_ and two British battleships were sunk by floating mines in the Dardanelles.

March 21. Major General Sir William Robert Robertson was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the British army.

March 22. Austrian fortress of Przemsyl surrendered to the Russian army.

March 25. French achieved success in upper Alsace.

April 4. German forces in Russia prepared for a great offensive.

April 22. The second battle of Ypres began.

April 25. The battle of Ypres continued.

April 26. The German cruiser _Kronprinz Wilhelm_ was interned at Newport News.

April 27. The battle of Ypres continued with heavy losses on both sides.

May 1. Fierce fighting went on in the Gallipoli peninsula. The American tank ship _Gulflight_ was sunk by a German submarine.

May 6. The Russian forces on the eastern front were routed by Germans under General Mackensen.

May 7. The transatlantic liner _Lusitania_ was sunk by a German submarine, with a loss of 1,150 persons, including over 100 Americans.

May 13. The Bryce Commission on Belgian atrocities made public its report. The American Government protested to Germany over the sinking of the _Lusitania_.

May 14. Fierce fighting continued in the Ypres sector. The Russian armies retreated before the Germans, barely escaping a rout.

May 23. Italy declared war against Austria-Hungary.

May 28. Germany replied to the American note on the _Lusitania_.

June 1. Przemsyl was recaptured by the Austro-German forces.

June 9. Italian troops defeated Austrians on the Isonzo River.

June 20. Mackensen defeated Russians at Rawa-Russka.

July 9. The German forces in German Southwest Africa surrendered to General Botha.

July 12. The German cruiser _Koenigsberg_ was destroyed by British war vessels off East Africa.

August 5. Warsaw was captured by Austro-German forces.

August 10. The training of reserve officers was begun at Plattsburg.

August 17. London was raided by a Zeppelin, killing ten persons.

August 19. The liner _Arabic_ was sunk by a German submarine.

August 21. Italy declared war against Turkey.

September 1. The German Ambassador declared that no more passenger ships would be sunk without warning.

September 2. President Wilson received a message from the Pope in relation to peace.

September 9. United States Government asked Austria-Hungary to recall Ambassador Dumba.

September 25. The French and British began offensive in Champagne.

September 29. British forces defeated the Turks in Mesopotamia.

October 4. British and French troops landed at Saloniki aid Serbia.

October 5. Premier Venizelos of Greece resigned after King Constantine refused to support the Allies.

October 6. The French launched a successful attack in Champagne.

October 9. Belgrade was captured by the Austro-German forces.

October 13. Edith Cavell was shot by the Germans as a spy.

October 14. Bulgaria declared war on Serbia.

October 19. Major General Monro succeeded Sir Ian Hamilton in command of operations in the Dardanelles.

October 22. The Germans inflicted a severe defeat on the Russian armies.

October 25. The French made gains in Champagne.

November 18. The British resumed advance at Gallipoli.

November 25. The British retired to Kut-el-Amara.

December 3. The American Government demanded the recall of Captains Boy-Ed and Von Papen, German diplomats.

December 15. Sir Douglas Haig was appointed Commander in Chief of the British forces in France.

December 19. The British evacuated Anzac and Suvla Bay, Gallipoli.

December 29. Austria met American demands in regard to the _Anoona_.

1916

January 1. Fighting was renewed at the Dardanelles.

January 7. German Ambassador notified the American Government that submarine operations in the Mediterranean would be conducted according to international law.

January 8. Germany notified the United States that vessels would be sunk only when carrying contraband of war and that the safety of crews would be provided for.

January 9. British forces successfully evacuated Gallipoli.

January 25. The French carried on successful operations around Nieuport.

January 29. Paris was attacked by Zeppelins.

February 6. Field Marshal von Mackensen assumed command of the Austro-German army opposing the Allies at Saloniki.

February 9. The Russians began a new offensive in Galicia.

February 16. The city of Erzerum was captured by the Russians. The British declared that they had completed the conquest of Kamerun, a German colony in Africa.

February 24. The great German drive at Verdun was repulsed.

February 26. The Germans captured important points about Verdun.

February 28. Turks evacuated Trebizond and other Black Sea ports.

March 8. The German Government presented a memorandum stating its attitude on the submarine boat controversy.

March 16. Terrific fighting went on around Verdun.

March 18. Germans occupied part of the town of Vaux.

March 24. The English steamship _Sussex_ was sunk by a German submarine; many passengers killed.

April 18. Secretary Lansing declared to Germany that relations would be severed if submarine attacks on steamships continued.

April 19. President Wilson addressed Congress on the submarine issue.

April 22. Sir Roger Casement was captured on the Irish coast.

April 24. A revolt broke out in Dublin.

April 25. A squadron of German cruisers raided the English coast.

April 27. Martial law was declared throughout Ireland.

April 29. Surrender of British at Kut-el-Amara was announced.

May 3. Several leaders of the Irish rebellion were executed for treason.

May 5. Activity was renewed along the entire Eastern front.

May 10. Germany admitted that the _Sussex_ was sunk by a German submarine.

May 31. The British and German fleets met at Jutland; after a fierce engagement the German fleet fled.

June 5. Earl Kitchener and many others were lost when the British cruiser _Hampshire_ went down off the Orkney Islands.

June 17. The Russian army entered Czernowitz.

July 6. David Lloyd George was appointed Secretary of War for Great Britain.

July 7. The British resumed the offensive on the Somme.

July 11. The Germans advanced east of the Meuse at Verdun.

July 22. Russian forces achieved successes in the Riga district.

July 27. Captain Charles Fryatt was executed by the Germans for attempting to ram a submarine.

August 4. The French gained successes at Verdun.

August 9. Italian forces occupied the Austrian city of Goritz.

August 27. Rumania declared war on Austria-Hungary.

August 30. Field Marshal von Hindenburg succeeded General von Falkenhayn as Chief of Staff of the German armies.

September 3. Allies renewed their offensive north of the Somme River. Bulgarian and German troops invaded Rumania in Dobrudja.

September 14. The Fourth Greek Army Corps, with headquarters at the port of Kavala, was placed in the hands of the Germans.

October 7. British and French troops in the Somme district advanced on a front of ten miles.

October 23. Constanza, Rumania, was captured by the Bulgar-Turco-German army.

October 24. At Verdun, French penetrated German lines to a depth of two miles, winning back the fort and village of Douaumont, the Thiaumont field work, Haudromont Quarries, and Caillette Wood.

November 2. The Germans at Verdun evacuated Fort Vaux.

November 6. British steamer _Arabia_ torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean; passengers rescued.

November 13. British launched a new offensive against German line in France on both sides of the Ancre Brook.

November 21. The German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gottlieb von Jagow, resigned. Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, died at Schoenbrunn Castle, near Vienna, at the age of eighty-six. His nephew, Archduke Charles Francis Joseph, succeeded.

November 29. Admiral Sir David Beatty was appointed to command the British grand fleet, succeeding Sir Jellicoe.

December 5. Herbert H. Asquith resigned as Prime Minister of England.

December 7. David Lloyd George accepted the British post of Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.

1917

January 10. The Allied Governments stated their terms of peace; a separate note from Belgium included.

January 22. President Wilson addressed the Senate, giving his ideas of steps necessary for world peace.

January 31. Germany announced unrestricted submarine warfare in specified zones.

February 3. United States severed diplomatic relations with Germany; German Ambassador von Bernstorff was dismissed.

February 24. Kut-el-Amara taken by British, under General Maude (campaign begun December 13).

March 4. Announced that the British had taken over from the French the entire Somme front.

March 11. Bagdad captured by British under General Maude.

March 11-15. Revolution in Russia, leading to abdication of Czar Nicholas II.

March 15. Russian Provisional Government formed by Constitutional Democrats under Prince Lvoff and M. Milyukoff.

March 17-19. Retirement of Germans to "Hindenburg Line"; evacuation of 1,300 square miles of French territory on front of 100 miles from Arras to Soissons.

March 27. United States Minister Brand Whitlock and American Relief Commission were withdrawn from Belgium.

April 2. President Wilson asked Congress to declare the existence of a state of war with Germany.

April 6. United States declared war on Germany.

April 8. Austria-Hungary severed diplomatic relations with the United States.

April 9-May 14. British successes in Battle of Arras (Vimy Ridge taken April 9).

April 16-May 6. French successes in Battle of the Aisne between Soissons and Rheims.

April 20. Turkey severed relations with United States.

May 15-September 15. Great Italian offensive on Isonzo front (Carso Plateau); capture of Gorizia, August 9; Monte Santo taken August 24; Monte Gabriele, September 14.

May 15. General Petain succeeded General Nivelle as commander in chief of the French armies.

May 17. Russian Provisional Government reconstructed. Kerensky (former Minister of Justice) became Minister of War. Milyukoff resigned.

May 18. President Wilson signed Selective Service Act.

June 7. British blew up Messines Ridge, south of Ypres, and captured 7,500 German prisoners.

June 12. King Constantine of Greece forced to abdicate.

June 26. First American troops reached France.

June 29. Greece entered war against Germany and her allies.

July 4. Resignation of Bethmann-Hollweg as German Chancellor. Dr. George Michaelis, Chancellor (July 14).

July 20. Drawing at Washington of names for first army under selective service.

July 20. Kerensky became Russian Premier on resignation of Prince Lvoff.

July 31-November. Battle of Flanders (Passchendaele Ridge); British successes.

August 15. Peace proposals of Pope Benedict revealed (dated August 1); United States replies, August 27; Germany and Austria, September 21; supplementary German reply, September 26.

August 20-24. French at Verdun recaptured high ground lost in 1916.

September 8. Luxburg dispatches ("spurlos versenkt") revealed.

October 24-December. Great German-Austrian counterdrive into Italy; Italian line shifted to Piave River, Asiago Plateau, and Brenta River.

October 26. Brazil declared war on Germany.

October 27. Second Liberty Loan closed ($3,000,000,000 offered; $4,617,532,300 subscribed).

November 7. Overthrow of Kerensky and Provisional Government of Russia by the Bolsheviki.

November 13. Clemenceau succeeds Ribot as French Premier.

November 18. British forces in Palestine take Jaffa.

November 22-December 13. Battle of Cambrai; successful surprise attack near Cambrai by British under General Byng on November 22 (employs "tanks" to break down wire entanglements in place of the usual artillery preparations); Bourlon Wood, dominating Cambrai, taken November 26; surprise counterattack by Germans, December 2, compels British to give up fourth of ground gained.

November 29. First plenary session of the Inter-Allied Conference in Paris; sixteen nations represented; Colonel E. M. House, Chairman of American delegation.

December 5. President Wilson, in message to Congress, advised war with Austria.

December 6. United States destroyer _Jacob Jones_ sunk by submarine.

December 6-9. Armed revolt overthrew Administration in Portugal.

December 7. United States declared war on Austria-Hungary.

December 9. Jerusalem captured by British advancing from Egypt.

December 13. Berlin announced armistice negotiations with Russia; began December 16. German aerial bombs kill several United States railway engineers, and two engineers died from gunshot wounds.

December 15. Inter-Allied Economic Council, Great Britain, France, and Italy represented, organizes in London, elects Assistant Secretary of United States Treasury, Oscar T. Crosby, president. Armistice agreement between Bolshevik Government and Central Powers signed at Brest-Litovsk.

December 18. Sixteen to twenty large German Gothas raid London, kill ten, injure seventy; two of the raiders are brought down.

December 23. General Guillaumat succeeded Sarrail as commander in chief of Allied forces at Saloniki.

December 27. Turkish army defeated by British in attempt to retake Jerusalem.

1918

January 5. Between Lens and St. Quentin, German raids on British lines were repulsed with heavy enemy losses.

January 7. In mutiny at Kiel, German naval base, submarine crews killed thirty-eight of their officers.

January 14. Attempt was made to shoot Russian Premier Lenine.

January 28. In Italian offensive east of Asiago Plateau, Italian forces captured Col del Rosso and Col d'Echele, and 1,500 prisoners. Rumanians captured Kishineff, capital of Bessarabia. Allied aviators attacked Zeebrugge. German airplanes raided London, killed 47, injured 169. Germans made air raid on Paris, killed 36, injured 190.

January 31. It was for the first time announced that the United States troops were occupying first-line trenches. Germans raided American line, killed two, wounded four, one missing.

February 1. Major General Peyton C. March made Chief of General Staff. Italians advanced to head of Melago Valley. Rumanians occupied Kishineff. Bolsheviki seized Rumanian ships in Black Sea; captured Odessa and Orenburg.

February 5. United States transport _Tuscania_ torpedoed off Irish coast; loss, 101.

February 21. British troops occupied Jericho, fourteen miles from Jerusalem.

February 22. United States troops were in the Chemin-des-Dames sector, the Aisne, France.

February 27. Japan proposed joint military operation with Allies in Siberia to save military and other supplies.

March 1. Generals Kaledine and Korniloff defeated by Bolsheviki near Rostof-on-Don.

March 2. Kieff, held by Bolsheviki since February 8, was occupied by German and Ukrainian troops.

March 3. By treaty of peace with four Central Powers signed at Brest-Litovsk, Bolsheviki agreed to evacuate Ukrainia, Esthonia, and Livonia, Finland, the Aland Islands, and Transcaucasian districts of Erivan, Kars, and Batum.

March 4. Germany and Finland signed treaty.

March 8. In the Ypres-Dixmude sector Germans attacked on mile front; English counterattacked. Leon Trotzky resigned as Russian Foreign Minister.

March 9. Russian capital moved from Petrograd to Moscow.

March 10. British occupied Hit, in Mesopotamia.

March 12. In Toul sector United States artillery discovered and blew to pieces German gas projectors, upsetting plans for gas attack.

March 13. German troops entered Odessa and gained control of Black Sea, with fifteen Russian warships.

March 18. Great Britain and United States took over Dutch shipping in United States and British ports.

March 21. Beginning of "Big Drive" on 50-mile front, from Arras to La Fere. On Luneville sector United States artillery fire destroyed first-and second-line positions. Canadians made gas attack between Lens and Hill 70. British monitors bombard Ostend. German long-range gun bombarded Paris.

March 26. Battle continued on whole front south of Somme.

March 27. General Pershing offered all United States forces for service wherever needed.

March 28. Heavy fighting along 55-mile front, from the southeast of Somme to northeast of Arras. Entire Turkish force in area of Hit, in Mesopotamia, was captured or destroyed; 3,000 prisoners taken (including German officers), 10 guns, 2,000 rifles, many machine guns, 600 animals. British forces crossed the River Jordan.

March 29. The French General, Ferdinand Foch, chosen commander in chief of all Allied forces in France (British, French, American, Italian, Belgian, and Portuguese). The German long-range gun killed seventy-five worshipers at Good Friday services in a Paris church, and wounded ninety.

April 1. Long-distance bombardment of Paris continued; four were killed, nine injured.

April 3. War Council at Washington, D. C., announced that all available shipping would be used to rush troops to France.

April 5. United States army at end of the first year of the war totaled more than 1,500,000 men.

April 7. United States troops in Toul sector repelled two German raids. Turks took Ardahan from Armenians; Constantinople reported Turkish troops advancing over wide area in the Caucasus.

April 10. British and Portuguese, on line from La Bassee Canal to Armentieres, were forced back six miles; at Messines Ridge, south of Ypres, British retired two miles. In a counterattack on Givenchy, British took 750 prisoners.

April 12. Field Marshal Haig issued a special order of the day: "All positions must be held to the last man."

April 13. Germans captured Rossignol, advanced to border of Nieppe Wood; took 400 prisoners. French held Hangard against repeated counterattacks and repulsed German raids between the Ailette and the Aisne. The British and French Governments agreed to confer on General Foch title of Commander in Chief of Allied armies in France.

April 15. Count Czernin, Austro-Hungarian Minister, resigned.

April 22. Baron von Richthofen, the leader of the German flyers, with eighty victories, was brought down behind the British lines.

April 24. Germans attacked the whole front south of the Somme, but were repulsed; in later attacks gained Villers-Bretonneux, east of Robec.

April 25. Germans assaulted from Wytschaete to Bailleul; in Lys salient, French and British lost ground. Germans captured Hangard.

April 28. The loss of Kemmel Heights forced British to retire. Locre changed hands five times; Germans got footing there, but were driven from Voormezeele.

May 6. Treaty of peace was signed at Bucharest by representatives of Rumania and the four Central Powers.

May 19. Australians captured Ville-sur-Ancre, a mile from Morlancourt; 360 prisoners, 20 machine guns; German raids in Picardy and Lorraine are repelled by United States troops.

May 21. President Wilson named Peyton C. March, Chief of Staff, with rank of General.

May 25-June 14. German submarines sank nineteen ships off coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

May 27. Big drive begun on western front; Germans drove Allies across the Aisne-Marne Canal; Germans attacked British at Berry-au-Bac and the French by the Chemin-des-Dames Ridge; near Dickebusch Lake, Germans penetrated French positions, advanced in Aisne Valley, reached Pont-Arcy.

May 30. Germans advanced to within two miles of Rheims.

May 31. German forces north of the Aisne advanced to Nouvron and Fontenoy, but failed to cross the Marne.

June 1. Germans attacked on whole front between the Oise and the Marne, advanced as far as Nouvron and Fontenoy; attack on Fort de la Pompelle drove out French, who counterattacked, regained positions, and took 400 prisoners and four tanks.

June 5. Germans advanced on south bank of Aisne, took Dommiers; United States troops penetrated enemy positions in Picardy and Lorraine; French counterattack regained ground near Vingre.

June 6. West of Chateau-Thierry, United States troops drove Germans a mile on two-mile front, took 270 prisoners; United States and French troops advanced in region of Neuilly-la-Poterie and Bouresches; German attacks at Champlat, heights of Bligny, southwest of Ste. Euphraise and between the Marne and Rheims, were repulsed: French took Le Port, west of Fontenoy and north of the Aisne, village of Vinly, and regained Hill 204.

June 7. United States and French troops took villages of Neuilly-la-Poterie and Bouresches and Bligny, between the Marne and Rheims, and 200 prisoners.

June 8. By attacks on the Marne, Franco-American troops put Germans on defensive; United States forces, under General Pershing, captured and held Bouresches.

June 11. Allies in counteroffensive advance on seven-mile front between Montdidier and Noyon retook much ground; took 1,000 prisoners.

June 16. On Italian front Allies regained all ground lost in first Austrian rush, except a few places on Piave River.

June 19. 40,000 Germans attacked Rheims from three sides; repulsed.

June 23. Italian forces drove the Austrians across the Piave River, with a loss of 180,000 men.

June 25. American marines and regulars cleared Belleau Wood.

June 29. Italian forces continued successes.

June 30. France recognized the Czecho-Slovaks as a separate nation.

July 1. American forces landed at Kola, Finland.

July 9. The French armies advanced on a wide front.

July 12. The Austrian armies were badly beaten by the Italians at Berat. French troops continued advance on western front.

July 13. The former Czar Nicholas of Russia was assassinated.

July 15. Germans began fifth drive on a fifty-mile front.

July 18. French and German troops began great counteroffensive.

July 19. Germans began retreat from the Marne.

July 21. Chateau Thierry was occupied by French and American forces.

July 25. Allies continued to close the pocket of the Aisne-Marne salient.

August 3. The Allies advanced on a wide front.

August 4. The German retreat in the Aisne region continued.

August 7. American and French troops crossed the Vesle River in pursuit of the Germans.

August 8. New French and British offensive in the Somme region.

August 17. American troops took back several villages.

August 23. The British continued to advance in the Somme region.

August 25. The British advanced ten miles on a thirty-mile front, taking nearly 20,000 prisoners.

August 29. The British captured Bapaume.

August 31. The British, aided by the 27th and 30th American Divisions, captured Mount Kemmel.

September 5. The Allies advanced on a ninety-mile front.

September 7. The Germans began retreat on a 100-mile front.

September 11. British, French, and American forces closed in on the Hindenburg line.

September 13. American forces cleared the St. Mihiel salient and took 12,000 prisoners.

September 22. General Allenby defeated Turks in Palestine.

September 27. The British advanced on the Cambrai front.

September 29. British and American forces pierced the Hindenburg line.

September 30. The Belgians captured Roulers.

October 1. French reentered St. Quentin.

October 2. American troops forced back Germans in Argonne Forest.

October 5. Germans abandoned Lille.

October 6. Prince Max, the German Chancellor, proposed a suspension of hostilities.

October 7. The German retreat continued.

October 8. President Wilson asked Germany's intentions in regard to peace.

October 9. The British took Cambrai.

October 18. Many towns in Belgium recaptured by Allies.

October 24. Allies continued to advance on all fronts.

October 28. Hungary accepted terms offered by Allies.

October 30. Italians advanced north of the Piave.

November 1. American troops advanced to Grandpre.

November 4. Austria accepts terms of truce.

November 5. The American first army advanced on both sides of the Meuse.

November 8. General Foch received German armistice delegates. Republic proclaimed in Bavaria.

November 9. Socialists took over government in Berlin.

November 10. Kaiser Wilhelm fled to Holland.

November 11. German envoys signed armistice terms.

November 20. French entered Buda-Pesth. German submarines surrendered to British. American troops crossed the Lorraine frontier.

November 21. The entire German fleet surrendered to Allies.

November 22. King Albert makes triumphal entry into Brussels.

December 1. American troops crossed the frontier of Prussia.

1919

January 7. The Spartacides in Berlin started a revolutionary outbreak.

January 9. The Government troops in Berlin defeated the Spartacides.

January 12. The Supreme War Council met in Paris.

January 15. The Berlin Government announced the completion of a newly drafted constitution covering the union of fifteen states.

January 17. Jan Ignace Paderewski was agreed upon by the Polish factions as the first premier of Poland.

January 18. The Peace Conference held its first session in Paris. Clemenceau was chosen president.

January 19. General election was held in Germany.

January 25. The Peace Conference adopted a resolution creating a League of Nations.

February 6. The German National Assembly convened at Weimar. Friedrich Ebert was elected president.

February 14. President Wilson read before the Peace Conference the summary of the Covenant of the League of Nations.

February 21. Kurt Eisner, Socialist Premier of Bavaria, was assassinated.

March 13. The German Government executed over 200 Spartacides in Berlin.

March 25. A new Socialist cabinet was installed in Prussia.

April 15. Communists again captured Munich.

April 23. The Italian delegation to the Peace Conference announced their withdrawal as a result of President Wilson's declaration that Italy should not have Fiume.

April 25. The German couriers in advance of the peace delegates arrived in Paris.

April 28. The Covenant of the League of Nations was adopted by the Peace Conference.

May 6. The terms of the Peace Treaty were presented to all the powers represented at the conference.

May 19. The Austrian peace delegates arrived at St. Germain.

May 21. An extension of one week was granted to the Germans for consideration of the Peace Treaty.

May 26. The Council of Four declared in favor of recognizing the Kolchak Government in Russia.

May 29. The German delegates presented counterproposals.

June 14. The Council of Four finished revisions to meet the German protests.

June 16. The German delegates were handed the revised treaty.

June 22. German men and officers sank the vessels interned at Scapa Flow.

June 25. General von Hindenburg resigned as commander in chief of the German armies.

June 28. The Treaty of Peace was signed by the German, Allied, and associated delegates, thus ending the World War.

INDEX

Abyssinia, Italian defeats in, I, 192
Achiet-le-Grand, VIII, 28
Adige River, fighting along, V, 280
Adige Valley, operations in, VI, 460
Aerial raids, VI, 492
Aerial warfare, VII, 260-268
Aerodromes, British, IV, 473
Aerodromes, German, IV, 470
Aeroplane improvements, V, 418
Aeroplane operations around Constantinople, IV, 475
Aeroplane warfare on submarines, V, 414
Aeroplanes and submarines, I, 23
Aeroplanes, increase in, VI, 485
Aeroplanes, losses in, April, 1917, VI, 255
Africa, British possessions in, I, 181
African coast, III, 493
Agadir, I, 140
Agar Khan, III, 24
Ailette River, advance on, VIII, 39
Ailette Valley, VIII, 28
Aircraft, loss of, IV, 479
Aire River, VIII, 173
Air fighting, tactics of, IV, 459
Aisne, French attack on, VII, 47
Aisne-Marne Canal, VIII, 53
Aisne, operations along, in March, 1916, V, 66
Aisne-Vesle front, VIII, 11
Albania, Austrians in, IV, 366
Albania, withdrawal of Serbian forces from, IV, 337
Albanian uprising, I, 247
Albert I, I, 199
Albert, captured, VIII, 28
Albert, King, commands battle in Flanders, VIII, 59
Albert sector, gain in, VIII, 11
_Alcantara_, British merchantman, sinking of, V, 59
Alderson, General, commands Canadian troops, VIII, 303, 340
Alderson, General, at St. Julien, VIII, 316
Alexandretta, III, 503
Alexeieff, General, ability of, V, 121
_Algonquin_, submarined, VI, 317
Allenby, General, commands cavalry division, II, 60
Allenby, General, directs offensive in Holy Land, VIII, 116
Allenby, General, in Battle of the Marne, II, 135
Allenstein, capture of, II, 437
Allied demands on Greece, V, 224-229
Allied offensive, March, 1915, IV, 45
Allied offensive in August, 1915, postponement of, IV, 49
Allied war conference, VII, 80
Allies, condition of, in 1917, VIII, 153
Allies' losses in aircraft, VI, 51
Alsace and Lorraine, campaigns in, II, 38-45, VII, 56
Alsace, German activities in, V, 70
Alsace-Lorraine, conditions in, I, 138
Alsace-Lorraine, restored to France, VIII, 226
Altkirch, captured by French, IV, 70
Amara, surrender of, III, 502
American Army, necessary strength of, I, 11
American Army, scope of operation, VII, 81
American Army, transportation overseas, VII, 344
American aviators, VI, 173-174, 181
American battleships at naval surrender, VIII, 147
American coast, German submarines along, VII, 464
American Congress, resolution on armed merchantmen, IV, 502
American cooperation with French, VII, 407
American declaration of war with Austria-Hungary, VII, 105
American destroyer flotilla, VI, 357
American engineers, VII, 94, 368
American engineers, deeds of, at Cambrai, VII, 94
American Expeditionary Force, VIII, 151
American Expeditionary Force, Service of Supply, VIII, 153
American Expeditionary Force to France, VII, 83
American First Division, VIII, 155-156, 159, 186
American forces in France, VII, 351
American 42d Division, VIII, 156, 159
American Fourth Division, VIII, 163
American fronts, VII, 96, 373
American Independence Day, celebration of, by Allies, VII, 321
American losses on sea, VII, 463
American merchant marine, losses of, by German submarines, VI, 477
American Navy, work of, in foreign waters, VI, 357
American negotiations over _Ancona_ sinking, IV, 490-496
American note to Austria on _Ancona_ issue, character of, IV, 492
American participation in Siberia, VII, 449
American preparations for war, VI, 328
American prisoners first taken by Germans, VII, 88
American-Prussian treaties, 1799-1828, attempts to renew, VI, 298
American Red Cross in Serbia, II, 354
American response to German note on _Sussex_, V, 458
American Second Division, VIII, 156, 159
American 77th Division, VIII, 163
American soldiers first killed in battle, VII, 91
American Third Division, VIII, 159, 162
American 30th Division, VIII, 183
American 32d Division, VIII, 162
American troops in Italy, VIII, 97
American troops, on Lorraine-Alsace front, VII, 358
American troops, training of, in France, VII, 84-85
American troops, transportation of, to France, VI, 358
American 26th Division, VIII, 156, 162
American 27th Division, VIII, 183
American vessels sunk by German submarines, VI, 202
Amiens, Allied advance, VIII, 16
Amiens, April offensive, VII, 289
Amiens, Battle of, VIII, 384
Ammunition, conservation of, I, 68
Anafarta Ridge, attack on, IV, 352
_Ancona_, Austro-Hungarian explanation of sinking of, IV, 490
Ancre, British successes in, February, 1917, VI, 223
Andoye, taken by Belgians, VIII, 60
Anglo-French agreement of 1904, I, 136
Anglo-French forces in Italy, VII, 207
Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907, I, 136
Anti-Bolshevists, cooperate, VIII, 87
Antwerp, fall of, II, 167
"Anzacs," heroism of, III, 460-462
_Appam_, British steamship, capture of, IV, 160
Arabia, campaigns in, VII, 238
_Arabic_, British steamship, sinking of, IV, 150, 480-490
Arabs, confederation of, IV, 429
Arabs, in Great War, VIII, 118
Arbitration, failure of, I, 14
Archangel, Allies at, VIII, 89
Archibald papers, V, 11
"Archibalds," III, 94
Argonne, activity in, III, 158
Argonne, campaign in, II, 193-194
Argonne Forest, VIII, 171
Argonne-Verdun sector, fighting in, in March, 1916, V, 71
_Argyll_, loss of, IV, 154
Arleux-en-Gohelle, VIII, 48
Arleux-en-Gohelle, taken by the Canadians, VIII, 362
Armancourt, VIII, 19
Armed neutrality, address of President Wilson, VI, 304
Armenians, massacre of, IV, 378
Armies of Occupation, VIII, 79
Armistice, German delegates leave Berlin, VIII, 74
Armistice, November 11, 1918, VIII, 78
Armistice, with Austria-Hungary, VIII, 134
Armistice, with Turkey, VIII, 136
Armor for battleships; for battle cruisers, I, 22
Arnim, General von, II, 31
Arras, British operations around, VI, 38; VII, 281
Arras, British operations at, VIII, 362
Arras-Cambrai, battle, results of, VIII, 405
Arras-Cambrai road, VIII, 44
Arras-Cambrai road, Canadians on, VIII, 390
Artillery operations on the eastern front, V, 141-143
Artois, British successes in, IV, 85
Artois, fighting in, III, 121-128
Artois, French attack in, IV, 46
Artois sector, V, 373
Asfeld-la-Ville, VIII, 59
Asiago and Brenta front, VIII, 98
Asiago Plateau, fighting on, VIII, 100
Asiago Plateau, French troops on, VIII, 103
Asiago sector, operations in, VII, 213
Asia Minor, Germany in, I, 50
Asiatic Turkey, disorders in, IV, 377
Asphyxiation from gas, I, 53
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, I, 258
Aubers Ridge, VIII, 323
Aubers Ridge, attacks on, III, 128
Aubigny-au-Bac, taken by Canadians, VIII, 409
Audacious, sinking of, II, 235
August 8, 1918, British victory on, VIII, 13, 384
Australian Army Corps, in battle of August 8, 1918, VIII, 384
Australians, gallantry of, at Suvla Bay, IV, 356
Australians storm Mont St. Quentin and Feuilleucourt, VIII, 38
Australians, successes of, VII, 329
Australians, take Cateau Wood, VIII, 21
Australians, take Villers-Bretonneux, VII, 299
Austria and Prussia, I, 127
Austria-Hungary, American declaration of war with, VII, 105
Austria-Hungary, area of, I, 286
Austrian armies in Poland and Galicia, command of, IV, 181
Austrian army in Serbia, strength of, IV, 259
Austrian circular note of July 27, 1914, I, 270
Austrian defenses in the Alps, IV, 394
Austrian, demands on Serbia, I, 261
Austrian fleet in the Danube, VI, 97
Austrian forces along the Italian front, increase of, V, 245
Austrian losses, II, 405
Austrian losses in Serbia, II, 343
Austrian naval strength, II, 206
Austrian note to Serbia, I, 261
Austrian offensive of 1918, VIII, 96
Austrian offensives, V, 138, 245
Austrian prisoners taken by Italians, VII, 189
Austrian proposals to Rumania, III, 377
Austrian raids on Italian coast, III, 394
Austrian retreat in Italy, VII, 458
Austrian rupture with the United States, VI, 328
Austrians, retreat of, VIII, 128
Austro-German invasion of Serbia, IV, 263
Austro-German offensive in Italy, VII, 200-213
Austro-Hungarian press, alleged misrepresentation by, I, 351
Austro-Italian front, operations on, in spring of 1916, V, 133
Austro-Russian front, summary of conditions, III, 236
Austro-Russian operations, resumption of, V, 133-141
Autreches, French attack near, VIII, 23
Aviation, aeroplane saves British detachment, VIII, 31
Aviators, American, VII, 120
Avlona, battle between Austrians and Italians near, V, 120
Avocourt Wood, German occupation of, V, 351
Avre, crossed by French, VIII, 15
Avre marshes, VIII, 32
Avrincourt, stormed, VIII, 43
Ayesha, voyage of, III, 196
Azerbaijan, Turks fail in, III, 477

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The Story of the Great War, Volume 8Chapter XXVII: Succor and Solace (1)

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