Chapter IX: Part II: Russia

MAP OF WESTERN FRONT

Although many important campaigns, some of them of dazzling brilliancy, were carried on during the World War in various parts of Europe and Asia in Russia, Palestine, Bulgaria, and on the Italo Austrian frontier, the result of the struggle was decided on the western front. Here the great armies of Germany and the Entente were locked for four years in death grapple. The map shows the theater of operations. The white line marks the farthest limit of the German advance, when in September, 1914, their armies were turned back when Von Kluck was within twenty two miles of Paris. Within that line and the black line with white dots which marks the position of the contending armies when the armistice was signed, November 11, 1918, the heaviest fighting of the war took place. In this area are shown the Marne River, which the Germans reached in 1914 and 1918, the Aisne, to which they retreated after their first repulse before Paris, and the Somme, where the Allies were victorious in the campaign of 1918. The heavy red lines include the territory of Germany occupied by the victorious Allies after the armistice. Of this, Alsace and Lorraine have been definitely ceded to France by the Peace Treaty. At three great crossings of the Rhine--Cologne, Coblenz and Mayence--bridgeheads were established, each with a radius of eighteen miles to be occupied respectively by British, American, and French armies. The oblique red lines on the right bank of the Rhine mark a strip six miles wide and parallel with the river that constitutes a neutral zone. The occupied territory is to be held for fifteen years, the period in which it is estimated Germany will have paid the indemnity demanded by the Treaty.

ST. MIHIEL BATTLE GROUND

The battle of St. Mihiel was fought September 12th, 1918. It was notable not only for the completeness of the victory, but also because it was the first great battle planned and fought wholly under American direction. The St. Mihiel salient had been formed during the first invasion by the Germans in 1914 and had been held by them for four years. In two days the American First Army wiped it out of existence. The red dots indicate the line of the contending armies when the battle was joined. The broad red line shows the position three days later. The salient was crushed by the irristible onset of the Americans, and 152 square miles of territory, including seventy-two villages, were taken. In twenty-seven hours after the attack was launched 15,000 prisoners and hundreds of guns were captured, together with vast stores of munitions and supplies, while a force of Germans, estimated from 90,000 to 100,000 men, was in headlong retreat. The battle was of immense strategic importance, as it freed Verdun from menace on its right flank and placed the dominating heights of the Meuse in Allied hands.

MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE

The battle of the Argonne Forest has been described as the greatest of the war. It was certainly the most difficult. The story of its taking is an epic and reflects imperishable glory on American arms. The forest had been held by the Germans for four years. Its natural difficulties were so great that Napoleon himself had refused to attack it, believing it impregnable. To these natural obstacles the Germans had brought all the aids of military science. Every foot of it had been ranged for their artillery. Thousands of miles of barbed wire had been wound from bush to bush and tree to tree. Myriads of machine-gun nests commanded all strategic points. The ground had to be won foot by foot. It was believed even by many of the Allied commanders that success was impossible. The Germans realized the tremendous importance of the position, and had brought up their best divisions for its defense. But the power and fury of the American attack could not be denied. The American First Army began the battle September 26, 1918, between the Meuse and Aisne Rivers, directly east of Rheims, on a front of twenty miles. They took 5,000 prisoners on the first day, and 3,000 more on the second, besides obtaining all their objectives. Day by day the struggle continued, the Americans always advancing, until by October 16 Grand Pre was taken and the forest was practically cleared. From that point the First Army under General Liggett, and the Second under General Bullard fought their way to the Meuse. The red dotted line shows where the offensive began, and the broad red line indicates the position when the armistice was signed, November 11, 1918.]

NEW MAP OF EUROPE

The arbitrament of war has changed the face of Europe. In the central and eastern portions of the Continent all national boundary lines have been recast. Some of the changes made are definite and final. Others are tentative and still await final definition. A multitude of conflicting claims have had to be adjusted, and the task is so colossal that months or years may elapse before the work of the various boundary commissions is completed. In cases where doubt existed as to the propriety of certain proposed changes, arrangements were made for a plebiscite whereby the people of the territory in question could determine by vote to what nation they wished to belong. In still other cases, cities, districts, and waterways were internationalized and placed under the control of the League of Nations. The general principle sought to be followed was that of self-determination of peoples and an opportunity for every nation to develop economic prosperity. The principle was of necessity modified in judging the Central Powers, where the question of reparation was a factor. Territorially, France and Poland have gained most heavily, while Germany and Austria-Hungary have been the greatest losers.

The one decision concerning which there was no question in the Peace Conference was the restoration of Alsace-Lorraine (1) to France, from whom it had been wrested by Germany forty-eight years before. The coal mines of the Saar Valley (2) region were given to France outright in compensation for the wrecking of French coal mines at Lens, and whether the region itself should be restored to Germany or remain attached to France was to be determined by vote of the inhabitants after fifteen years. The district covers 738 square miles. The sovereignty of Germany over Moresnet and the circles of Eupen and Malmedy (3) was relinquished to Belgium. The people of these circles could, if they chose, protest within six months this change of nationality. The territory in question covers 382 square miles. Parts of Schleswig (4) representing 2,787 square miles, formerly taken from Denmark by Prussia, are to determine their nationality by popular vote. The district is divided into three zones for this purpose. Poland (5) receives outright parts of Silesia, Posen, and West Prussia, with a total of 27,683 square miles. The city of Danzig (6) on the Baltic is made a free port under the supervision of the League of Nations. An area about the city aggregating 729 square miles is internationalized. Parts of East Prussia (7) and Upper Silesia (8) will have their destiny determined by vote of the inhabitants. By far the greatest sufferer in the new territorial adjustment is the former empire of Austria-Hungary (9), which from an area of 240,000 square miles was reduced to about 25,000 square miles. Part of this had been lost when Hungary (10) seceded from the Dual Empire shortly after the armistice was declared. Apart from the cessions to Italy, the new state of Czecho-Slovakia (11), four times as large as Belgium, and covering 48,000 square miles, has been carved out of the former territory of the Hapsburg Monarchy. The greater part of Jugoslavia (12), officially known as the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, has also been formed from former Austro-Hungarian territory. The fate of the city of Fiume (13) is still undetermined, as is the final disposition of the Dalmation coast (14), the greater part of which, however, is certain to be assigned to Italy. The Trentino (15) and Istria (16), formerly part of the "Italian Irredenta," have been made definitely Italian. Thrace (17) has been taken from Bulgarian control and placed at the disposition of the Allies, and Bulgaria (18) has been compelled to rectify her frontiers at several points in favor of Serbia. Rumania receives Transylvania (19) and the richest part of the Banat of Temesvar (20). Bessarabia (21) was united with Rumania before the conclusion of the war. The Ukraine (22), one of the richest sections of the old Russian Empire, has seceded from the parent state. Finland's independence (23) has been recognized by the Powers. The group of what was known as the Russian Baltic Provinces, and whose problems are largely identical, Esthonia (24), Latvia (25), and Lithuania (26), have declared themselves independent republics. The truncated territory of the former Russian Empire is now under Soviet government with Moscow as capital. In the Near East, Georgia (28) and Armenia have set up a republican form of government, but their boundaries are as yet ill-defined.

[Transcriber's note: the numbering in the text skips from (26) to (28)--there is no (27)! Also, there are no footnotes on the page to match the numbers.]]