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That those fatal shots would echo around the +world and, flashing out suddenly like a bolt from the blue, hurl +nearly the whole of Europe within a week's time from a state of +profound peace into one of continental war, unannounced, +unexpected, unexplained, unprecedented in suddenness and +enormity, was an unimaginable possibility. And yet the ringing of +the church bells was suddenly drowned by the roar of cannon, the +voice of the dove of peace by the blare of the trump of war, and +throughout the world ran a shudder of terror at these unwonted +and ominous sounds. + +But in looking back through history, tracing the course of events +during the past century, following the footsteps of men in war +and peace from that day of upheaval when medieval feudalism went +down in disarray before the arms of the people in the French +Revolution, some explanation of the Great European war of 1914 +may be reached. Every event in history has its roots somewhere in +earlier history, and we need but dig deep enough to find them. + +Such is the purpose of the present work. It proposes to lay down +in a series of apposite chapters the story of the past century, +beginning, in fact, rather more than a century ago with the +meteoric career of Napoleon and seeking to show to what it led, +and what effects it had upon the political evolution of mankind. +The French Revolution stood midway between two spheres of +history, the sphere of medieval barbarism and that of modern +enlightenment. It exploded like a bomb in the midst of the +self-satisfied aristocracy of the earlier social system and rent +it into the fragments which no hand could put together again. In +this sense the career of Napoleon seems providential. The era of +popular government had replaced that of autocratic and +aristocratic government in France, and the armies of Napoleon +spread these radical ideas throughout Europe until the oppressed +people of every nation began to look upward with hope and see in +the distance before them a haven of justice in the coming realm +of human rights. + +It required considerable time for these new conceptions to become +thoroughly disseminated. A down-trodden people enchained by the +theory of the "divine right of kings" to autocratic rule, had to +break the fetters one by one and gradually emerge from a state of +practical serfdom to one of enlightened emancipation. There were +many setbacks, and progress was distressingly slow but +nevertheless sure. + +The story of this upward progress is the history of the +nineteenth century, regarded from the special point of view of +political progress and the development of human rights. This is +definitely shown in the present work, which is a history of the +past century and of the twentieth century so far as it has gone. +Gradually the autocrat has declined in power and authority, and +the principle of popular rights has risen into view. This war +will not have been fought in vain if, as predicted, it will +result in the complete downfall of autocracy as a political +principle, and the rise of the rule of the people, so that the +civilized nations of the earth may never again be driven into a +frightful war of extermination against peaceful neighbors at the +nod of a hereditary sovereign. Logan Marshall + +CONTENTS + +Chapter I +All Europe Plunged into War + +Dramatic Suddenness of the Outbreak - Trade and Commerce +Paralyzed - Widespread Influences - Terrible Effects of War - The +Tide of Destruction - Half Century to Pay Debts + +Chapter II +Underlying Causes of the Great European War +Assassination of the Austrian Crown Prince - Austria's Motive in +Making War - Servia Accepts Austria's Demand - The Ironies of +History - What Austria Has to Gain - How the War Became +Continental - An Editorial Opinion - Is the Kaiser Responsible? - +Germany's Stake in the War - Why Russia Entered the Field - +France's Hatred of Germany - Great Britain and Italy - The Triple +Alliance and Triple Entente + +Chapter III +Strength and Resources of the Warring Powers +Old and New Methods in War - Costs of Modern Warfare - Nature of +National Resources - British and American Military Systems - +Naval Strength - Resources of Austria-Hungary - Resources of +Germany - Resources of Russia - Resources of France - Resources +of Great Britain - Servia and Belgium + +Chapter IV +Great Britain and the War +The Growth of German Importance - German Militarism - Great +Britain's Peace Efforts - Germany's Naval Program - German +Ambitions - Preparation for War - Effect on the Empire + +Chapter V +The World's Greatest War +Wars as Mileposts - A Continent in Arms - How Canada Prepared for +War - the British Sentiment - Lord Kitchener's Career - A +Forceful Character + +Chapter VI +The Earthquake of Napoleonism +Its Effect on National Conditions Finally Led to the War of 1914 + +Conditions in France and Germany - The Campaign in Italy - The +Victory at Marengo - Moreau at Hohenlinden - The Consul Made +Emperor - The Code Napoleon - Campaign of 1805 - Battle of +Austerlitz - The Conquest of Prussia - The Invasion of Poland - +Eylau and Friedland - Campaign of 1809 - Victory at Wagram - The +Campaign in Spain - The Invasion of Russia - A Fatal Retreat - +Dresden and Leipzig - The Hundred Days - The Congress of Vienna - +The Holy Alliance + +Chapter VII +Pan-Slavism Versus Pan-Germanism +Russia's Part in the Servian Issue - Strength of the Russian Army +- The Distribution of the Slavs - Origin of Pan-Slavism - The +Czar's Proclamation - The Teutons of Europe - Intermingling of +Races - The Nations at War + +Chapter VIII +The Ambition of Louis Napoleon +The Coup-d'etat of 1851 - From President to Emperor - The Empire +is Peace - War With Austria - The Austrians Advance - The Battle +of Magenta - Possession of Lombardy - French Victory at Solferino +- Treaty of Peace - Invasion of Mexico - End of Napoleon's Career + +Chapter IX +Garibaldi and Italian Unity +Power of Austria Broken +The Carbonari - Massini and Garibaldi - Cavour, the Statesman - +The Invasion of Sicily - Occupation of Naples - Victor Emmanuel +Takes Command - Watchword of the Patriots - Garibaldi Marches +Against Rome - Battle of Ironclads - Final Act of Italian Unity + +Chapter X +The Expansion of Germany +Beginnings of Modern World Power +William I of Prussia - Bismarck's Early Career - The +Schleswig-Holstein Question - Conquest of the Duchies - +Bismarck's Wider Views - War Forced on Austria - The War in Italy +- Austria's Signal Defeat at Sadowa - The Treaty of Prague - +Germany after 1866 + +Chapter XI +The Franco-Prussian War +Birth of the German Empire and the French Republic +Causes of Hostile Relations - Discontent in France - War with +Prussia Declared - Self deception of the French - First Meeting +of the Armies - The Stronghold of Metz - Mars-la-Tour and +Gravelotte - Napoleon III at Sedan - The Emperor a Captive; +France a Republic - Bismarck Refuses Intervention - Fall of the +Fortresses - Paris is Besieged - Defiant Spirit of the French - +The Struggle Continued - Operations Before Paris - Fighting in +the South - The War at an End + +Chapter XII +Bismarck and the German Empire +Building the Bulwarks of the Twentieth Century Nation +Bismarck as a Statesman - Uniting the German States - William I +Crowned at Versailles - A Significant Decade - The Problem of +Church Power - Progress of Socialism - William II and the +Resignation of Bismarck - Old Age Insurance - Political and +Industrial Conditions in Germany + +Chapter XIII +Gladstone as an Apostle of Reform +Great Britain Becomes a World Power +Gladstone and Disraeli - Gladstone's Famous Budget - A Suffrage +Reform Bill - Disraeli's Reform Measure - Irish Church +Disestablishment - An Irish Land Bill - Desperate State of +Ireland - The Coercion Bill - War in Africa - Home Rule for +Ireland + +Chapter XIV +The French Republic +Struggles of a New Nation +The Republic Organized - The Commune of Paris - Instability of +the Government - Thiers Proclaimed President - Punishment of the +Unsuccessful Generals - MacMahon a Royalist President - Bazaine's +Sentence and Escape - Grevy, Gambetta and Boulanger - The Panama +Canal Scandal - Despotism of the Army Leaders - The Dreyfus Case +- Church and State - The Moroccan Controversy + +Chapter XV +Russia in the Field of War +The Outcome of Slavic Ambition +Siege of Sebastopol - Russia in Asia - The Russo-Japanese War +-Port Arthur Taken - The Russian Fleet Defeated + +Chapter XVI +Great Britain and Her Colonies +How England Became Mistress of the Seas +Great Britain as a Colonizing Power - Colonies in the Pacific +Region - Colonization in Africa - British Colonies in Africa - +The Mahdi Rebellion in Egypt - Gordon at Khartoum - Suppression +of the Mahdi Revolt - Colonization in Asia - The British in India +- Colonies in America - Development of Canada - Progress in +Canada + +Chapter XVII + +The Open Door in China and Japan +Development of World Power in the East +Warlike Invasions of China - Commodore Perry and His Treaty - +Japan's Rapid Progress - Origin of the China-Japan War - The +Position of Korea - Li Hung Chang and the Empress - How Japan +Began War - The Chinese and Japanese Fleets - The Battle of the +Yalu - Capture of Wei Hai Wei - Europe Invades China - The Boxer +Outbreak - Russian Designs on Manchuria - Japan Begins War on +Russia - The Armies Meet - China Becomes a Republic + +Chapter XVIII +Turkey and the Balkan States +Checking the Dominion of the Turk in Europe +The Story of Servia - Turkey in Europe - The Bulgarian Horrors - +The Defense of Plevna - The Congress of Berlin - Hostile +Sentiments in the Balkans - Incitement to War - Fighting Begins - +The Advance on Adrianople - Servian and Greek victories - The +Bulgarian Successes - Steps toward Peace - The War Resumed - +Siege of Scutari - Treaty of Peace - War Between the Allies - The +Final Settlement + +Chapter XIX +Methods in Modern Warfare +Ancient and Modern Weapons - New Types of Weapons - The Iron-clad +Warship - The Balloon in War - Tennyson's Foresight - Gunning for +Airships - The Submarine - Under-water Warfare - The New Type of +Battleship - Mobilization - The Waste of War + +Chapter XX +Canada's Part in the World War +New Relations Toward the Empire - Military Preparations - The +Great Camp at Valcartier - The Canadian Expeditionary Force - +Political Effect of Canada's Action on Future of the Dominion + +Chapter I. ALL EUROPE PLUNGED INTO WAR +Dramatic Suddenness of the Outbreak - Trade and Commerce +Paralyzed - Widespread Influences - Terrible Effects of War - The +Tide of Destruction - Who Caused the Conflict? - Half Century to +Pay Debts + +At the opening of the final week of July, 1914, the whole world - +with the exception of Mexico, in which the smouldering embers of +the revolution still burned - was in a state of profound peace. +The clattering hammers and whirling wheels of industry were +everywhere to be heard; great ships furrowed the ocean waves, +deep-laden with the world's products and carrying thousands of +travelers bent on business or enjoyment. Countless trains of +cars, drawn by smoke-belching locomotives, traversed the long +leagues of iron rails, similarly laden with passengers engaged in +peaceful errands and freight intended for peaceful purposes. All +seemed at rest so far as national hostile sentiments were +concerned. All was in motion so far as useful industries demanded +service. Europe, America, Asia, and Africa alike had settled down +as if to a long holiday from war, and the advocates of universal +peace were jubilant over the progress of their cause, holding +peace congresses and conferences at The Hague and elsewhere, +fully satisfied that the last war had been fought and that +arbitration boards would settle all future disputes among +nations, however serious. + +Such occasions occur at frequent intervals in nature, in which a +deep calm, a profound peace, rests over land and sea. The winds +are hushed, the waves at rest; only the needful processes of the +universe are in action, while for the time the world forgets the +chained demons of unrest and destruction. But too quickly the +chains are loosened, the winds and waves set free; and the +hostile forces of nature rush over earth and sea, spreading +terror and devastation in their path. Such energies of hostility +are not confined to the elements. They exist in human +communities. They underlie the political conditions of the +nations, and their outbreak is at times as sudden and +unlooked-for as that of the winds and waves. Such was the state +of political affairs in Europe at the date mentioned, apparently +calm and restful, while below the surface hostile forces which +had long been fomenting unseen were ready to burst forth and +whelm the world. + +DRAMATIC SUDDENNESS OF THE OUTBREAK + +On the night of July 25th the people of the civilized world +settled down to restful slumbers, with no dreams of the turmoil +that was ready to burst forth. On the morning of the 26th they +rose to learn that a great war had begun, a conflict the possible +width and depth of which no man was yet able to foresee; and as +day after day passed on, each day some new nation springing into +the terrible arena until practically the whole of Europe was in +arms and the Armageddon seemed at hand, the world stood amazed +and astounded, wondering what hand had loosed so vast a +catastrophe, what deep and secret causes lay below the ostensible +causes of the war. The causes of this were largely unknown. As a +panic at times affects a vast assemblage, with no one aware of +its origin, so a wave of hostile sentiment may sweep over vast +communities until the air is full of urgent demands for war with +scarce a man knowing why. + +What is already said only feebly outlines the state of +consternation into which the world was cast in that fateful week +in which the doors of the Temple of Janus, long closed, were +suddenly thrown wide open and the terrible God of War marched +forth, the whole earth trembling beneath his feet. It was the +breaking of a mighty storm in a placid sky, the fall of a meteor +which spreads terror and destruction on all sides, the explosion +of a vast bomb in a great assemblage; it was everything that can +be imagined of the sudden and overwhelming, of the amazing and +incredible. + +TRADE AND COMMERCE PARALYZED + +For the moment the world stood still, plunged into a panic that +stopped all its activities. The stock exchanges throughout the +nations were closed, to prevent that wild and hasty action which +precipitates disaster. Throughout Europe trade, industry, +commerce all ceased, paralyzed at their sources. No ship of any +of the nations concerned except Britain dared venture from port, +lest it should fall a prey to the prowling sea dogs of war which +made all the oceans unsafe. The hosts of American tourists who +had gone abroad under the sunny skies of peace suddenly beheld +the dark clouds of war rolling overhead, blotting out the sun, +and casting their black shadows over all things fair. + +What does this state of affairs, this sudden stoppage of the +wheels of industry, this unforeseen and wide spread of the +conditions of war portend? Emerson has said: "When a great +thinker comes into the world all things are at risk." There is +potency in this, and also in a variation of Emerson's text which +we shall venture to make: "When a great war comes upon the world +all things are at risk." Everything which we have looked upon as +fixed and stable quakes as if from mighty hidden forces. The +whole world stands irresolute and amazed. The steady-going habits +and occupations of peace cease or are perilously threatened, and +no one can be sure of escaping from some of the dire effects of +the catastrophe. + +WIDESPREAD INFLUENCES + +The conditions of production vanish, to be replaced by conditions +of destruction. That which had been growing in grace and beauty +for years is overturned and destroyed in a moment of ravage. +Changes of this kind are not confined to the countries in which +the war rages or the cities which conquering column of troops +occupy. They go beyond the borders of military activity; they +extend to far-off quarters of the earth. We quote from the New +York WORLD a vivid picture drawn at the opening of the great +European war. Its motto is "all the world is paying the cost of +the folly of Europe." + +Never before was war made so swiftly wide. News of it comes from +Japan, from Porto Rico, from Africa, from places where in old +days news of hostilities might not travel for months. + +"Non-combatants are in the vast majority, even in the countries +at war, but they are not immune to its blight. Austria is +isolated from the world because her ally, Germany, will take no +chances of spilling military information and will not forward +mails. If, telephoning in France, you use a single foreign word, +even an English one, your wire is cut. Hans the German waiter, +Franz the clarinettist in the little street band, is locked up as +a possible spy. There are great German business houses in London +and Paris; their condition is that of English and French business +houses in Berlin, and that is not pleasant. Great Britain +contemplates, as an act of war, the voiding of patents held by +Germans in the United Kingdom. + +"Nothing is too petty, nothing too great, nothing too distant in +kind or miles from the field of war to feel its influence. The +whole world is the loser by it, whoever at the end of all the +battles may say that he has won. + +DILEMMA OF THE TOURISTS + +Let us consider one of the early results of the war. It vitally +affected great numbers of Americans, the army of tourists who had +made their way abroad for rest, study and recreation and whose +numbers, while unknown, were great, some estimating them at the +high total of 100,000 or more. These, scattered over all sections +of Europe, some with money in abundance, some with just enough +for a brief journey, capitalists, teachers, students, all were +caught in the sudden flurry of the war, their letters of credit +useless, transportation difficult or impossible to obtain, all +exposed to inconveniences, some to indignities, some of them on +the flimsiest pretence seized and searched as spies, the great +mass of them thrown into a state of panic that added greatly to +the unpleasantness of the situation in which they found +themselves. + +While these conditions of panic gradually adjusted themselves, +the status of the tourists continued difficult and annoying. The +railroads were seized for the transportation of troops, leaving +many Americans helplessly held in far interior parts, frequently +without money or credit. One example of the difficulties +encountered will serve as an instance which might be repeated a +hundred fold. + +Seven hundred Americans from Geneva were made by Swiss troops to +leave a train. Many who refused were forced off at the point or +guns. This compulsory removal took place at some distance from a +station near the border, according to Mrs. Edward Collins, of New +York, who with her three daughters was on the train. With 200 +others they reached Paris and were taken aboard a French troop +train. Most of the arrivals were women; the men were left behind +because of lack of space. One hundred women refused to take the +train without their husbands; scores struck back for Geneva; +others on foot, carrying articles of baggage, started in the +direction of Paris, hoping to get trains somewhere. Just why +Swiss troops thus occupied themselves is not explained; but in +times of warlike turmoil many unexplainable things occur. Here is +an incident of a different kind, told by one of the escaping +host: "I went into the restaurant car for lunch," he said. "When +I tried to return to the car where I'd left my suitcase, hat, +cane and overcoat, I couldn't find it. Finally the conductor said +blithely, 'Oh, that car was taken off for the use of the army.' + +"I was forced to continue traveling coatless, hatless and minus +my baggage until I boarded the steamer FLUSHING, when I managed +to swipe a straw hat during the course of the Channel passage +while the people were down eating in the saloon. I grabbed the +first one on the hatrack. Talk about a romantic age. Why, I +wouldn't live in any other time than now. We will be boring our +grandchildren talking about this war." + +The scarcity of provisions in many localities and the withholding +of money by the banks made the situation, as regarded Americans, +especially serious. Those fortunate enough to reach port without +encountering these difficulties found the situation there equally +embarrassing. The great German and English liners, for instance, +were held up by order of the government, or feared to sail lest +they should be taken captive by hostile cruisers. Many of these +lay in port in New York, forbidden to sail for fear of capture. +These included ships of the Cunard and International Marine +lines, the north German Lloyd, the Hamburg-American, the +Russian-American, and the French lines, until this port led the +world in the congestion of great liners rendered inactive by the +war situation abroad. The few that put to sea were utterly +incapable of accommodating a tithe of the anxious and appealing +applicants. It had ceased, in the state of panic that prevailed, +to be a mere question of money. Frightened millionaires were +credited with begging for steerage berths. Everywhere was dread +and confusion, men and women being in a state of mind past the +limits of calm reasoning. Impulse is the sole ruling force where +reason has ceased to act. + +Slowly the skies cleared; calmer conditions began to prevail. The +United States government sent the battleship TENNESSEE abroad +with several millions of dollars for the aid of destitute +travelers and the relief of those who could not get their letters +or credit and travelers' checks cashed. Such a measure of relief +was necessary, there being people abroad with letters of credit +for as much as $5,000 without money enough to buy a meal. One +tourist said: "I had to give a Milwaukee doctor, who had a letter +of credit for $2,500 money to get shaved." London hotels showed +much consideration for the needs of travelers without ready cash, +but on the continent there were many such who were refused hotel +accommodation. + +As for those who reached New York or other American ports, many +had fled in such haste as to leave their baggage behind. Numbers +of the poorer travelers had exhausted their scanty stores of cash +in the effort to escape from Europe and reached port utterly +penniless. The case was one that called for immediate and +adequate solution and the governmental and moneyed interests on +this side did their utmost to cope with the situation. Vessels of +American register were too few to carry the host applying for +transportation, and it was finally decided to charter foreign +vessels for this purpose and thus hasten the work of moving the +multitude of appealing tourists. From 15,000 to 20,000 of these +needed immediate attention, a majority of them being destitute. + +AN OCEAN INCIDENT + +Men and women needed not only transportation, but money also, and +in this particular there is an interesting story to tell. The +German steamer KRONPRINZESSIN CECILIE, bound for Bremen, had +sailed from New York before the outbreak of the war, carrying +about 1,200 passengers and a precious freight of gold, valued at +$10,700,000. The value of the vessel herself added $5,000,000 to +this sum. What had become of her and her tempting cargo was for a +time unknown. There were rumors that she had been captured by a +British cruiser, but this had no better foundation than such +rumors usually have. Her captain was alert to the situation, +being informed by wireless of the sudden change from peace to +war. One such message, received from an Irish wireless station, +conveyed an order from the Bremen company for him to return with +all haste to an American port. + +It was on the evening of Friday, July 31st, that this order came. +At once the vessel changed its course. One by one the ship's +lights were put out. The decks which could not be made absolutely +dark were enclosed with canvas. By midnight the ship was as dark +as the sea surrounding. On she went through Saturday and on +Sunday ran into a dense fog. Through this she rushed with +unchecked speed and in utter silence, not a toot coming from her +fog-horn. This was all very well as a measure of secrecy, but it +opened the way to serious danger through a possible collision, +and a committee of passengers was formed to request the captain +to reconsider his action. Just as the committee reached his room +the first blast of the fog-horn was heard, its welcome tone +bringing a sense of security where grave apprehension had +prevailed. + +A group of financiers were on board who offered to buy the ship +and sail her under American colors. But to all such proposals +Captain Polack turned a deaf ear. He said that his duty was +spelled by his orders from Bremen to turn back and save his ship, +and these he proposed to obey. A passenger stated: + +"There were seven of the crew on watch all the time, two aloft. +This enabled the captain to know of passing vessels before they +came above the horizon. We were undoubtedly in danger on Sunday +afternoon. We intercepted a wireless message in French in which +two French cruisers were exchanging data in regard to their +positions. + +"The captain told me that he imagined those to be two vessels who +regularly patroled the fishing grounds in the interest of French +fisheries. If the captain of either of those vessels should have +come out of the fog and found us, his share of the prize in money +might have amounted to $4,000,000. Did privateer ever dream of +such booty! + +"Early on Saturday our four great funnels were given broad black +bands in order to make us look like the Olympic, which was +supposed to be twenty-four hours ahead of us. There was a certain +grim humor in the fact that the wireless operator on the Olympic +kept calling us all Friday night. Of course we did not answer." + +On Tuesday, August 4th, the great ship came within sight of land +at the little village of Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island, off the +coast of Maine; a port scarce large enough to hold the giant +liner that had sought safety in its waters. Wireless messages +were at once flashed to all parts of the country and the news +that the endangered vessel, with its precious cargo, was safe, +was received with general relief. As regards the future movements +of the ship Captain Polack said: + +"I can see no possibility of taking this ship to New York from +here with safety. To avoid foreign vessels we should have to keep +within the three-mile limit, and to accomplish this the ship +would have to be built like a canoe. We have reached an American +port in safety and that was more than I dared to hope. We have +been in almost constant danger of capture, and we can consider +ourselves extremely lucky to have come out so well. + +"I know I have been criticized for making too great speed under +bad weather conditions, but I have not wilfully endangered the +lives of the passengers. I would rather have lost the whole whip +and cargo than have assumed any such risk. Of course, aside from +this consideration, my one aim has been to save my ship and my +cargo from capture. + +"I have not been acting on my own initiative, but under orders +from the North German Lloyd in Bremen, and although I am an +officer in the German navy my duty has been to the steamship +line." + +CLOSING THE STOCK MARKETS + +We have so far dealt with only a few of the results of the war. +There were various others of great moment, to some of which a +passing allusion has been made. + +On July 30th, for the first time in history, the stock markets of +the world were all closed at the same time. Heretofore when the +European markets have been closed those on this side of the ocean +remained open. The New York Exchange was the last big stock +market to announce temporary suspension of business. The New York +Cotton Exchange closed, following the announcement of the failure +of several brokerage firms. Stock Exchanges throughout the United +States followed the example set by New York. The Stock Exchanges +in London and the big provincial cities, as well as those on the +Continent, ceased business, owing to the breakdown of the credit +system, which was made complete by the postponement of the Paris +settlement. + +Depositors stormed every bank in London for gold, and the runs +continued for a couple of days. In order to protect its dwindling +gold supply the Bank of England raised its discount rate to 8 per +cent. Leading bankers of London requested Premier Asquith to +suspend the bank act, and he promised to lay the matter before +the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In all the capitals of Europe +financial transactions virtually came to a standstill. The slump +in the market value of securities within the first week of the +war flurry was estimated at $2,000,000,000, and radical measures +were necessary to prevent hasty action while the condition of +panic prevailed. + +This sudden stoppage of ordinary financial operations was +accompanied by a similar cessation of the industries of peace +over a wide range of territory. The artisan was forced to let +fall the tools of his trade and take up those of war. The +railroads were similarly denuded of their employees except in so +far as they were needed to convey soldiers and military supplies. +The customary uses of the railroad were largely suspended and +travel went on under great difficulties. In a measure it had +returned to the conditions existing before the invention of the +locomotive. Even horse traffic was limited by the demands of the +army for these animals, and foot travel regained some of its old +ascendency. + +War makes business active in one direction and in one only, that +of army and navy supply, of the manufacture of the implements of +destruction, of vast quantities of explosives, of multitudes of +death-dealing weapons. Food supplies need to be diverted in the +same direction, the demands of the soldier being considered +first, those of the home people last, the latter being often +supplied at starvation prices. There is plenty of work to do - of +its kind. But it is of a kind that injures instead of aiding the +people of the nations. + +TERRIBLE EFFECTS OF WAR + +This individual source of misery and suffering in war times is +accompanied by a more direct one, that of the main purpose of war +- destruction of human life and of property that might be +utilized by an enemy, frequently of merciless brigandage and +devastation. It is horrible to think of the frightful suffering +caused by every great battle. Immediate death on the field might +reasonably be welcomed as an escape from the suffering arising +from wounds, the terrible mutilations, the injuries that rankle +throughout life, the conversion of hosts of able-bodied men into +feeble invalids, to be kept by the direct aid of their fellows or +the indirect aid of the people at large through a system of +pensions. + +The physical sufferings of the soldiers from wounds and +privations are perhaps not the greatest. Side by side with them +are the mental anxieties of their families at home, their +terrible suspense, the effect upon them of tidings of the maiming +or death of those dear to them or on whose labor they immediately +depend. The harvest of misery arising from this cause it is +impossible to estimate. It is not to be seen in the open. It +dwells unseen in humble homes, in city, village, or field, borne +often uncomplainingly, but not less poignant from this cause. The +tears and terrors thus produced are beyond calculation. But while +the glories of war are celebrated with blast of trumpet and roll +of drum, the terrible accompaniment of groans of misery is too +apt to pass unheard and die away forgotten. + +To turn from this roll of horrors, there are costs of war in +other directions to be considered. Those include the ravage of +cities by flame or pillage, the loss of splendid works of +architecture, the irretrievable destruction of great productions +of art, the vanishing of much on which the world had long set +store. + +THE TIDE OF DESTRUCTION + +Not only on land, but at sea as well, the tide of destruction +rises and swells. Huge warships, built at a cost of millions of +dollars and tenanted by hundreds of hardy sailors, are torn and +rent by shot and shell and at times sent to the bottom with all +on board by the explosion of torpedoes beneath their unprotected +lower hulls. The torpedo boat, the submarine, with other agencies +of unseen destruction, have come into play to add enormously to +the horrors of naval warfare, while the bomb-dropping airships, +letting fall its dire missiles from the sky, has come to add to +the dread terror and torment of the battle-field. + +We began this chapter with a statement of the startling +suddenness of this great war, and the widespread consequences +which immediately followed. We have been led into a discussion of +its issues, of the disturbing and distracting consequences which +cannot fail to follow any great modern war between civilized +nations. We had some examples of this on a small scale in the +recent Balkan-Turkish war. But that was of minor importance and +its effects, many of them sanguinary and horrible, were mainly +confined to the region in which it occurred. But a war covering +nearly a whole continent cannot be confined and circumscribed in +its consequences. All the world must feel them in a measure - +though diminishing with distance. The vast expanse of water which +separates the United States from the European continent could not +save its citizens from feeling certain ill effects from the +struggle of war lords. America and Europe are tied together with +many cords of business and interest, and the severing or +weakening of these cannot fail to be seriously felt. Canada, at a +similar width of removal from Europe, had reason to feel it still +more seriously, from its close political relations with Great +Britain. + +In these days in which we live the cost of war is a giant to be +reckoned with. With every increase in the size of cannon, the +tonnage of warships, the destructiveness of weapons and +ammunition, this element of cost grows proportionately greater +and has in our day become stupendous. Nations may spend in our +era more cold cash in a day of war than would have served for a +year in the famous days of chivalry. A study of this question was +made by army and navy experts in 1914, and they decided that the +expense to the five nations concerned in the European war would +be not less than $50,000,000 a day. + +If we add to this the loss of untold numbers of young men in the +prime of life, whose labor is needed in the fields and workshops +of the nations involved, other billions of dollars must be added +to the estimate, due to the crippling of industries. There is +also the destruction of property to be considered, including the +very costly modern battleships, this also footing up into the +billions. + +When it is considered that in thirteen years the cost of +maintenance of the armies and navies of the warring countries, as +well as the cost of naval construction, exceeded $20,000,000,000 +some idea may be had of the expense attached to war and the +preparations of European countries for just such contingencies as +those that arose in Europe in 1914. The cost of the Panama Canal, +one of the most useful aids to the commerce of the world, was +approximately $375,000,000, but the expense of the preparations +for war in Europe during the time it took to build the canal +exceeded the cost of this gigantic undertaking nearly sixty to +one. + +The money thus expended on preparation for war during the +thirteen years named would, if spent in railroad and marine +construction, have given vast commercial power to these nations. +To what extent have they been benefited by the rivalry to gain +precedence in military power? They stand on practically the same +basis now that it is all at an end. Would they not be on the same +basis if it had never begun? Aside from this is the incentive to +employ these vast armaments in the purpose for which they were +designed, the effect of creating a military spirit and developing +a military caste in each by the nations, a result very likely to +be productive of ill effects. + +The total expense of maintenance of armies and navies, together +with the cost of construction in thirteen years, in Germany, +Austria, Russia, France and Great Britain, was as follows: + +Naval expenditures $5,648,525,000 +Construction 2,146,765,000 +Cost of armies 13,138,403,000 +Total $20,933,693,000 + +The wealth of the same nations in round figures is: + +Great Britain $80,000,000,000 +Germany 60,500,000,000 +Austria 25,000,000,000 +France 65,000,000,000 +Russia 40,000,000,000 +Total 270,500,000,000 + +This enormous expense which was incurred in preparation for war +needed to be rapidly increased to meet the expenses of actual +warfare. The British House of Commons authorized war credits +amounting to $1,025,000,000, while the German Reichstag voted +$1,250,000,000. Austria and France had to set aside vast sums for +their respective war chests. + +HALF CENTURY TO PAY DEBTS + +In anticipation of trouble Germany in 1913 voted $250,000,000 for +extraordinary war expenses and about $100,000,000 was spent on an +aerial fleet. France spent $60,000,000 for the same purpose. + +The annual cost of maintaining the great armies and navies of +Europe even on a peace basis is enormous, and it must be vastly +increased during war. The official figures for 1913-14 are: + +British army $224,300,000 +British navy 224,140,000 +German army 183,090,00 +German navy 111,300,000 +French army 191,431,580 +French navy 119,571,400 +Russian army 317,800,000 +Russian navy 122,500,000 +Austrian army 82,300,000 +Austrian navy 42,000,000 +Total $1,618,432,980 + +It was evident that taxes to meet the extraordinary expenses of +war would have to be greatly increased in Germany and France. As +business became at a standstill throughout Europe and every port +of entry blocked, experts wondered where the money was to come +from. All agreed that, when peace should be declared and the +figures were all in, the result financially would be staggering +and that the heaviest burden it had ever borne would rest upon +Europe for fifty years to come. For when the roar of the cannon +ceases and the nations are at rest, then dawns the era of +payment, inevitable, unescapable, one in which for generations +every man and woman must share. + + +Chapter II. UNDERLYING CAUSES OF THE GREAT EUROPEAN WAR +Assassination of the Austrian Crown Prince - Austria's motive in +Making War - Servia Accepts Austria's Demand - The Ironies of +History - What Austria had to Gain - How the War Became +Continental - An Editorial Opinion - Is the Kaiser Responsible? +-Germany's Stake in the War - Why Russia Entered the Field - +France's Hatred of Germany - Great Britain and Italy - The Triple +Alliance and Triple Entente + +What brought on the mighty war which so suddenly sprang forth? +What evident, what subtle, what deep-hidden causes led to this +sudden demolition of the temple of peace? What pride of power, +what lust of ambition, what desire of imperial dominion cast the +armed hosts of the nations into the field of conflict, on which +multitudes of innocent victims were to be sacrificed to the +insatiate hunger for blood of the modern Moloch? + +Here are questions which few are capable of answering. Ostensible +answers may be given, surface causes, reasons of immediate +potency. But no one will be willing to accept these as the true +moving causes. For a continent to spring in a week's time from +complete peace into almost universal war, with all the great and +several of the small Powers involved, is not to be explained by +an apothegm or embraced within the limits of a paragraph. If not +all, certainly several of these nations had enmities to be +unchained, ambitions to be gratified, long-hidden purposes to be +put in action. They seemed to have been awaiting an opportunity, +and it came when the anger of the Servians at the seizure of +Bosnia by Austria culminated in a mad act of assassination + +ASSASSINATION OF THE AUSTRIAN CROWN PRINCE + +The immediate cause, so far as apparent to us, of the war in +question was the murder, on June 29, 1914, of the Austrian Crown +Prince Francis Ferdinand and his wife, while on a visit to +Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, the assassin being a Servian +student, supposed to have come for that purpose from Belgrade, +the Servian capital. The inspiring cause of this dastardly act +was the feeling of hostility towards Austria which was widely +entertained in Servia. Bosnia was a part of the ancient kingdom +of Servia. The bulk of its people are of Slavic origin and speak +the Servian language. Servia was eager to regain it, as a +possible outlet for a border on the Mediterranean Sea. When, +therefore, in 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, which +had been under her military control since 1878, the indignation +in Servia was great. While it had died down in a measure in the +subsequent years, the feeling of injury survived in many hearts, +and there is little reason to doubt that the assassination of +Archduke Ferdinand was a result of this pervading sentiment. + +In fact, the Austrian government was satisfied that the murder +plot was hatched in Belgrade and held that Servian officials were +in some way concerned in it. The Servian press gave some warrant +for this, being openly boastful and defiant in its comments. When +the Austrian consul-general at Belgrade dropped dead in the +consulate the papers showed their satisfaction and hinted that he +had been poisoned. This attitude of the press evidently was one +of the reasons for the stringent demand made by Austria on July +23d, requiring apology and change of attitude from Servia and +asking for a reply by the hour of 6 P.M. on the 25th. The demands +were in part as follows: + +1. An apology by the Servian government in its official journal +for all Pan-Servian propaganda and for the participation of +Servian army officers in it, and warning all Servians in the +future to desist from anti-Austrian demonstrations. + +2. That orders to this effect should be issued to the Servian +army. + +3. That Servia should dissolve all societies capable of +conducting intrigues against Austria. + +4. That Servia should curb the activities of the Servian press in +regard to Austria. + +5. That Austrian officials should be permitted to conduct an +inquiry in Servia independent of the Servian government into the +Sarajevo plot. + +An answer to these demands was sent out at ten minutes before 6 +o"clock on the 25th, in which Servia accepted all demands except +the last, which it did not deem "in accordance with international +law and good neighborly relations." It asked that this demand +should be submitted to The Hague Tribunal. The Austrian Minister +at Belgrade, Baron Giesl von Gieslingen, refused to accept this +reply and at once left the capital with the entire staff of the +legation. The die was cast, as Austria probably intended that it +should be. + +AUSTRIA'S MOTIVE IN MAKING WAR + +It had, in fact, become evident early in July that the military +party in Austria was seeking to manufacture a popular demand for +war, based on the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand and his +wife. Such was the indication of the tone of the Vienna +newspapers, which appeared desirous of working up a sentiment +hostile to Servia. It may be doubted if the aged emperor was a +party to this. Probably his assent was a forced one, due to the +insistence of the war party and the public sentiment developed by +it. That the murder of the Archduke was the real cause of the +action of Austria can scarcely be accepted in view of Servia's +acceptance of Austria's rigid demands. The actual cause was +undoubtedly a deeper one, that of Austria's long-cherished +purpose of gaining a foothold on the Aegean Sea, for which the +possession of Servia was necessary as a preliminary step. A +plausible motive was needed, any pretext that would serve as a +satisfactory excuse to Europe for hostile action and that could +at the same time be utilized in developing Austrian indignation +against the Servians. Such a motive came in the act of +assassination and immediate use was made of it. The Austrian war +party contended that the deed was planned at Belgrade, that it +had been fomented by Servian officials, and that these had +supplied the murderer with explosives and aided in their transfer +into Bosnia. + +What evidence Austria possessed leading to this opinion we do not +know. While it is not likely that there was any actual evidence, +the case was one that called for investigation, and Austria was +plainly within its rights in demanding such an inquiry and due +punishment of every one found to be connected with the tragic +deed. But Austria went farther than this. It was willing to +accept nothing less than a complete and humiliating submission on +the part of Servia. And the impression was widely entertained, +whether with or without cause, that in this Austria was not +acting alone but that it had the full support of Germany. That +country also may be supposed to have had its ends to gain. What +these were we shall consider later. + +SERVIA ACCEPTS AUSTRIA'S DEMANDS + +Imperious as had been the demand of Austria, one which would +never have been submitted to a Power of equal strength, Servia +accepted it, expressing itself as willing to comply with all the +conditions imposed except that relating to the participation of +Austrian officials in the inquiry, an explanation being asked on +this point. If this reply should be deemed inadequate, Servia +stood ready to submit the question at issue to The Hague Peace +Tribunal and to the Powers which had signed the declaration of +1909 relating to Bosnia and Herzegovina. + +The subsequent action of Austria was significant. The Austrian +Minister at Belgrade, as before stated, rejected it as +unsatisfactory and immediately left the Servian capital. He +acted, in short, with a precipitancy that indicated that he was +acting under instructions. This was made very evident by what +immediately followed. When news came on July 28th that war had +been declared and active hostilities commenced, it was +accompanied by the statement that Austria would not now be +satisfied even with a full acceptance of her demands. + +That the intention of this imperious demand and what quickly +followed was to force a war, no one can doubt. Servia's nearly +complete assent to the conditions imposed was declared to be not +only unsatisfactory, but also "dishonorable," a word doubtless +deliberately used. Evidently no door was to be left open for +retrogressive consideration. + +THE IRONIES OF HISTORY + +It is one of the ironies of history that a people who once played +a leading part in saving the Austrian capital from capture should +come to be threatened by the armies of that capital. This takes +us back to the era when Servia, a powerful empire of those days, +fell under the dominion of the conquering Turks, whose armies +further overran Hungary and besieged Vienna. Had this city been +captured, all central Europe would have lain open to the +barbarities of the Turks. In its defense the Servians played a +leading part, so great a one that we are told by a Hungarian +historian, "It was the Serb Bacich who saved Vienna." But in 1914 +Servia was brought to the need of saving itself from Vienna. + +WHAT AUSTRIA HAD TO GAIN + +If it be asked what Austria had to gain by this act; what was her +aim in forcing war upon a far weaker state; the answer is at +hand. The Balkan States, of which Servia is a prominent member, +lie in a direct line between Europe and the Orient. A great power +occupying the whole of the Balkan peninsula would possess +political advantages far beyond those enjoyed by Austria-Hungary. +It would be in a position giving it great influence over, if not +strategic control of, the Suez Canal, the commerce of the +Mediterranean, and a considerable all-rail route between Central +Europe and the far East. Salonika, on the AEgean Sea, now in +Greek territory, is one of the finest harbors on the +Mediterranean Sea. A railway through Servia now connects this +port with Austria and Germany. In addition to this railway it is +not unlikely that a canal may in the near future connect the +Danube with the harbor of Salonika. If this project should be +carried out, the commerce of the Danube and its tributary streams +and canals, even that of central and western Germany, would be +able to reach the Mediterranean without passing through the +perilous Iron Gates of the Danube or being subjected to the +delays and dangers incident to the long passage through the Black +Sea and the Grecian Archipelago. + +We can see in all this a powerful motive for Austria to seek to +gain possession of Servia, as a step towards possible future +control of the whole Balkan peninsula. The commercial and +manufacturing interests of Austria-Hungary were growing, and +mastership of such a route to the Mediterranean would mean +immense advantage to this ambitious empire. Possession of +northern Italy once gave her the advantage of an important outlet +to the Mediterranean. This, through events that will be spoken of +in later chapters, was lost to her. She apparently then sought to +reach it by a more direct and open road, that leading through +Salonika. + +Such seem the reasons most likely to have been active in the +Austrian assault upon Servia. The murder of an Austrian archduke +by an insignificant assassin gave no sufficient warrant for the +act. The whole movement of events indicates that Austria was not +seeking retribution for a crime but seizing upon a pretext for a +predetermined purpose and couching her demands upon Servia in +terms which no self-respecting nation could accept without +protest. Servia was to be put in a position from which she could +not escape and every door of retreat against the arbitrament of +war was closed against her. + +But in this retrospect we are dealing with Austria and Servia +alone. What brought Germany, what brought France, what brought +practically the whole of Europe into the struggle? What caused it +to grow with startling suddenness from a minor into a major +conflict, from a contest between a bulldog and a terrier into a +battle between lions? What were the unseen and unnoted conditions +that, within little more than a week's time, induced all the +leading nations of Europe to cast down the gage of battle and +spring full-armed into the arena, bent upon a struggle which +threatened to surpass any that the world had ever seen? Certainly +no trifling causes were here involved. Only great and +far-reaching causes could have brought about such a catastrophe. +All Europe appeared to be sitting, unknowingly or knowingly, upon +a powder barrel which only needed some inconsequent hand to apply +the match. It seems incredible that the mere pulling of a trigger +by a Servian student and the slaughter of an archduke in the +Bosnian capital could in a month's time have plunged all Europe +into war. From small causes great events may rise. Certainly that +with which we are here dealing strikingly illustrates this homely +apothegm. + +HOW THE WAR BECAME CONTINENTAL + +We cannot hope to point out the varied causes which were at work +in this vast event. Very possibly the leading ones are unknown to +us. Yet some of the important ones are evident and may be made +evident, and to these we must restrict ourselves. + +Allusion has already been made to the general belief that the +Emperor of Germany was deeply concerned in it, and that Austria +would not have acted as it did without assurance of support, in +fact without direct instigation, from some strong allied Power, +and this Power is adjudged alike by public and private opinion to +have been Germany, acting in the person of its ambitious war +lord, the dominating Kaiser. + +It may be stated that all the Powers concerned have sought to +disclaim responsibility. Thus Servia called the world to witness +that her answer to Austria was the limit of submission and +conciliation. Austria, through her ambassador to the United +States, solemnly declared that her assault upon Servia was a +measure of "self-defense." Russia explained her action as +"benevolent intervention," and expressed "a humble hope in +omnipotent providence" that her hosts would be triumphant. +Germany charged France with perfidious attack upon the unarmed +border of the fatherland, and proclaimed a holy war for "the +security of her territory." France and England, Belgium and Italy +deplored the conflict and protested that they were innocent of +offense. So far as all this is concerned the facts are generally +held to point to Germany as the chief instigator of the war. + +Russia, indeed, had made threatening movements toward Austria as +a warning to her to desist from her threatened invasion of +Servia. Great Britain proposed mediation. Germany made no +movement in the direction of preventing the war, but directed its +attention to Russia, warning it to stop mobilization within +twenty-four hours, and immediately afterward beginning a similar +movement of mobilization in its own territory. On August 1st +Germany declared war against Russia, the first step towards +making the contest a continental one. On the 2d, when France +began mobilization, German forces moved against Russia and France +simultaneously and invaded the neutral states of Luxembourg and +Belgium. It was her persistence in the latter movement that +brought Great Britain into the contest, as this country was +pledged to support Belgian neutrality. On August 4th, Great +Britain sent an ultimatum to Germany to withdraw from the neutral +territory which her troops had entered and demanded an answer by +midnight. Germany declined to answer satisfactorily and at 11 +o'clock war was declared by Great Britain. + +AN EDITORIAL OPINION + +As regards the significance of these movements, in which Germany +hurled declarations of war in rapid succession to east and west, +and forced the issue of a continental war upon nations which had +taken no decisive step, it may suffice to quote an editorial +summing up of the situation as regards Germany, from the +Philadelphia North American of August 7th: + +"From these facts there is no escape. Leaving aside all questions +of justice or political expediency, the aggressor throughout has +been Germany. Austria's fury over the assassination of the heir +to the throne was natural. But Servia tendered full reparation. + +So keen and conservative an authority as Rear Admiral Mahan +declares that 'the aggressive insolence' of Austria's ultimatum +'and Sevia's concession of all demands except those too +humiliating for national self-respect' show that behind Austria's +assault was the instigation of Berlin. He adds: + +"Knowing how the matter would be viewed in Russia, it is +incredible that Austria would have ventured on the ultimatum +unless assured beforehand of the consent of Germany. The +inference is irresistible that it was the pretext for a war +already determined upon as soon as plausible occasion offered.' + +"Circumstantial evidence, at least, places responsibility for the +flinging of the first firebrand upon the government of the +Kaiser. Now, who added fuel to the flames, until the great +conflagration was under way? + +"The next move was the Czar's. 'Fraternal sentiments of the +Russian people for the Slavs in Servia,' he says, led him to +order partial mobilization, following Austria's invasion of +Servia. Instantly Germany protested, and within forty-eight hours +sent an ultimatum demanding that Russia cease her preparations. +On the following day Germany began mobilizing, and twenty-four +hours later declared war on Russia. Mobilization in France, +necessitated by these events, was anticipated by Germany, which +simultaneously flung forces into Russia, France, Luxembourg and +Belgium. + +"It was Germany's historic policy of "blood and iron" that fired +Austria to attempt the crushing of Servia. It was Germany that +hurled an ultimatum, swiftly followed by an army, at Russia. It +was Germany that struck first at the French frontier. It was +Germany that trampled upon solemn treaty engagements by invading +the neutral states of Luxembourg and Belgium. And it was Germany +that, in answer to England's demand that the neutrality of +Belgium be protected, declared war against Great Britain. + +"Regardless, therefore, of questions of right and wrong, it is +undeniable that in each succeeding crisis Germany has taken the +aggressive. In so doing she has been inspired by a supreme +confidence in her military might. But she has less reason to be +proud of her diplomacy. The splendid audacity of her moves cannot +obscure the fact that in making the case upon which she will be +judged she has been outmaneuvered by the deliberation of Russia, +the forbearance of France and the patience of Great Britain. She +has assumed the role of international autocrat, while giving her +foes the advantage of prosecuting a patriotic war of defense. + +"Particularly is this true touching the violation of neutral +territory. For nearly half a century the duchy of Luxembourg has +been considered a 'perpetually neutral state,' under solemn +guarantee of Austria, Great Britain, Germany and Russia. Since +1830, when Belgium seceded from the Netherlands, it, too, has +been held 'an independent and perpetually neutral state,' that +status being solemnly declared in a convention signed hy Great +Britain, France, Russia, Austria and Prussia. Yet the first war +move of Germany was to overrun these countries, seize their +railroads, bombard their cities and lay waste their territories. + +"For forty years Germany has been the exemplar of a progressive +civilization. In spite of her adherence to inflated militarism, +she has put the whole world in her debt by her inspiring +industrial and scientific achievements. Her people have taught +mankind lessons of incalculable value, and her sons have enriched +far distant lands with their genius. Not the least of the +catastrophes inflicted by this inhuman war is that an unbridled +autocracy has brought against the great German empire an +indictment for arrogant assault upon the peace of nations and the +security of human institutions." + +IS THE KAISER RESPONSIBLE? + +How much reliance is to be placed on the foregoing newspaper +opinion, and on the prevailing sentiment holding Kaiser Wilhelm +responsible for flinging the war bomb that disrupted the ranks of +peace, no one can say. Every one naturally looked for the +fomenter of this frightful international conflict and was +disposed to place the blame on the basis of rumor and personal +feeling. On the other hand each nation concerned has vigorously +disclaimed responsibility for the cataclysm. Austria - very +meekly - claimed that Servia precipitated the conflict. Germany +blamed it upon Russia and France, the former from Slavic race +sentiment, the latter from enmity that had existed since the loss +of Alsace and Lorraine in 1870. They, on the contrary, laid all +the blame upon Germany. In the case of England alone we have a +clear vista. The obligation of the island kingdom to maintain the +neutral position of Belgium and the utter disregard of this +neutrality by Germany forced her to take part and throw her +armies into the field for the preservation of her international +obligations. + +Many opinions were extant, many views advanced. One of these, +from Robert C. Long, a war correspondent of note, laid the total +responsibility upon Austria, which, he said, plunged Europe into +war in disregard of the Kaiser, who vigorously sought to prevent +the outbreak, even threatening his ally in his efforts to +preserve peace. In his view, "All the blood-guiltiness in this +war will rest upon two Powers, Austria and Russia. It rests on +Austria for her undue harshness to Servia and on Russia for its +dishonesty in secretly mobilizing its entire army at a time when +it was imploring the Kaiser to intervene for peace, and when the +Kaiser was working for peace with every prospect of success." + +We have quoted one editorial opinion holding Germany wholly +responsible. Here is another, from the New York TIMES, which, +with a fair degree of justice, distributes the responsibility +among all the warring nations of Europe: + +"Germany is not responsible; Russia is not responsible, or +Austria, or France, or England. The pillars of civilization are +undermined and human aspirations bludgeoned down by no Power, but +by all Powers; by no autocrats, but by all autocrats; not because +this one or that has erred or dared or dreamed or swaggered, but +because all, in a mad stampede for armament, trade and territory, +have sowed swords and guns, nourished harvests of death-dealing +crops, made ready the way. + +"For what reason other than war have billions in bonds and taxes +been clamped on the backs of all Europe? None sought to evade +war; each sought to be prepared to triumph when it came. At most +some chancelleries whispered for delay, postponement; they knew +the clash to be inevitable; if not today, tomorrow. Avoid war! +What else have they lived for, what else prepared for, what else +have they inculcated in the mind of youth than the sureness of +the conflict and the great glory of offering themselves to this +Moloch in sacrifice? + +"No Power involved can cover up the stain. It is indelible, the +sin of all Europe. It could have been prevented by common +agreement. There was no wish to prevent it. Munition +manufacturers were not alone in urging the race to destruction, +physical and financial. The leaders were for it. It was policy. A +boiling pot will boil, a nurtured seed will grow. There was no +escape from the avowed goal. A slow drift to the inevitable, a +thunderbolt forged, the awful push toward the vortex! What men +and nations want they get." + +GERMANY'S STAKE IN THE WAR + +What had Germany to gain in the war in the instigation of which +she is charged with being so deeply involved? Territorial +aggrandizement may have been one of her purposes. Belgium and +Holland lay between her and the open Atlantic, and the possession +of these countries, with their splendid ports, would pay her well +for a reasonable degree of risk and cost. The invasion of Belgium +as her first move in the war game may have had an ulterior +purpose in the acquisition of that country, one likely to be as +distasteful to France as the taking over of Alsace-Lorraine. +Perhaps the neutral position taken by Holland, with her seeming +inclination in favor of Germany, may have had more than racial +relations behind it. Considerations of ultimate safety from +annexation may have had its share in this attitude of neutrality. + +The general impression has been that Germany went to war with the +purpose of establishing beyond question her political and +military supremacy on the European continent. Military despotism +in Germany was the decisive factor in making inevitable the +general war. The Emperor of Germany stood as the incarnation and +exponent of the Prussian policy of military autocracy. He had +ruled all German States in unwavering obedience to the militarist +maxim: "In times of peace prepare for war." He had used to the +full his autocratic power in building up the German Empire and in +making it not only a marvel of industrial efficiency, but also a +stupendous military machine. In this effort he had burdened the +people of Germany with an ever-increasing war budget. The limit +in this direction was reached with the war budget of the year +1912 when the revenues of the princes and of all citizens of +wealth were specially taxed. No new sources of revenue remained. +A crisis had come. + +That crisis, as sometimes claimed, was not any menace from +Britain or any fear of the British power. It was rather the very +real and very rapidly rising menace of the new great Slav power +on Germany's border, including, as it did, the Russian Empire and +the entire line of Slav countries that encircled Germanic Austria +from the Adriatic to Bohemia. These Slav peoples are separated +from the governing Teutonic race in the Austrian Empire by the +gulfs of blood, language, and religion. And in Europe the Slav +population very largely outnumbers the Teuton population and is +growing much more rapidly. + +Recent events, especially in the Balkan wars, had made it plain, +not to the German Emperor alone, but to all the world, that the +growth into an organized power of more than two hundred millions +of Slav peoples along nearly three thousand miles of +international frontier was a menace to the preservation of Teuton +supremacy in Europe. That Teuton supremacy was based on the +sword. The German Emperor's appeal was to "My sword." But when +the new sword of the united Slav power was allowed to be +unsheathed, German supremacy was threatened on its own ground and +by the weapon of its own choosing. + +However all this be, and it must be admitted that it is to a +degree speculative, there were in 1914 conditions existing that +appeared to render the time a suitable one for the seemingly +inevitable continental war. Revelations pointing to defects in +the French army, deficiencies of equipment and weaknesses in +artillery, had been made in the French Parliament. The debate +that occurred was fully dwelt upon in the German papers. And on +July 16th the organ of Berlin radicalism, the VOSSICHE ZEITUNG, +published a leading article to show that Russia was not prepared +for war, and never had been. As for France, it said: "A Gallic +cock with a lame wing is not the ideal set up by the Russians. +And when the Russian eagle boasts of being in the best of health +who is to believe him? Why should the French place greater +confidence in the inveterate Russian disorganization than in +their own defective organization?" + +As regards the Kaiser's own estimate of his preparedness for war, +and the views of national polity he entertained, we shall let him +speak for himself in the following extracts from former +utterances: + +"We will be everywhere victorious even if we are surrounded by +enemies on all sides and even if we have to fight superior +numbers, for our most powerful ally is God above, who, since the +time of the Great Elector and Great King, has always been on our +side." - At Berlin, March 29, 1901. + +"I vowed never to strike for world mastery. The world empire that +I then dreamed of was to create for the German empire on all +sides the most absolute confidence as a quiet, honest and +peaceable neighbor. I have vowed that if ever the time came when +history should speak of a German world power or a Hohenzollern +world power this should not be based on conquest, but come +through a mutual striving of nations after a common purpose. + +"After much has been done internally in a military way, the next +thing must be the arming ourselves at sea. Every German +battleship is a new guarantee for the peace of the world. We are +the salt of the earth, but must prove worthy of being so. +Therefore, our youth must learn to deny what is not good for +them. + +"With all my heart I hope that golden peace will continue to be +present with us." - At Bremen, March 22, 1905. + +"My final and last care is for my fighting forces on land and +sea. May God grant that war may not come, but should the cloud +descend, I am firmly convinced that the army will acquit itself +as it did so nobly thirty-five years ago." - At Berlin, February +25, 1906. + +In the early days of the reign of William II war was prominent in +his utterances. He was the War Lord in full feather, and the +world at that time looked with dread upon this new and somewhat +blatant apostle of militarism. Yet year after year passed until +the toll of almost three decades was achieved, without his +drawing the sword, and the world began to regard him as an +apostle of peace, a wise and capable ruler who could gain his +ends without the shedding of blood. What are we to believe now? +Had he been wearing a mask for all these years, biding his time, +hiding from view a deeply cherished purpose? Or did he really +believe that a mission awaited him, that regeneration of the +world through the sanguinary path of the battle-field was his +duty, and that by the aid of a successful war he could inaugurate +a safer and sounder era of peace? + +We throw out these ideas as suggestions only. What the Kaiser +purposed, what deep-laid schemes of international policy he +entertained, will, perhaps, never be known. But if he was really +responsible for the great war, as he was so widely accused of +being, the responsibility he assumed was an awful one. If he was +not responsible, as he declared and as some who claim to have +been behind the scenes maintain, the world will be ready to +absolve him when his innocence has been made evident. + +WHY RUSSIA ENTERED THE FIELD + +In this survey of the causes of the great war under consideration +the position of Russia comes next. That country was the first to +follow Austria and begin the threatening work of mobilization. +Germany's first open participation consisted in a warming to +Russia that this work must cease. Only when her warning was +disregarded did Germany begin mobilization and declare war. All +this was the work of a very few days, but in this era of active +military preparedness it needs only days, only hours in some +instances, to change from a state of peace into a state of war +and hurl great armed hosts against the borders of hostile +nations. + +The general impression was that it was the Slavic race sentiment +that inspired Russia's quick action. Servia, a country of Slavs, +brothers in race to a large section of the people of Russia, was +threatened with national annihilation and her great kinsman +sprang to her rescue, determined that she should not be absorbed +by her land-hungry neighbor. This seemed to many a sufficient +cause for Russia's action. Not many years before, when Austria +annexed her wards, Bosnia and Herzegovina, both Slavic countries, +Russia protested against the act. She would doubtless have done +more than protest but for her financial and military weakness +arising from the then recent Russo-Japanese War. In 1914 she was +much stronger in both these elements of national power and lost +not a day in preparing to march to Servia's aid. + +But was this the whole, or indeed the chief, moving impulse in +Russia's action? Was she so eager an advocate of Pan-Slavism as +such a fact would indicate? Had she not some other purpose in +view, some fish of her own to fry, some object of moment to +obtain? Many thought so. They were not willing to credit the +Russian bear with an act of pure international benevolence. Wars +of pure charity are rarely among the virtuous acts of nations. As +it had been suggested that Germany saw in the war a possible +opportunity to gain a frontier on the Atlantic, so it was hinted +that Russia had in mind a similar frontier on the Mediterranean. +Time and again she had sought to wring Constantinople from the +hands of the Turks. In 1877 she was on the point of achieving +this purpose when she was halted and turned back by the Congress +of Berlin and the bellicose attitude of the nations that stood +behind it. + +Here was another and seemingly a much better opportunity. The +Balkan War had almost accomplished the conquest of the great +Turkish capital and left Turkey in a state of serious weakness. +If Europe should be thrown into the throes of a general war, in +which every nation would have its own interests to care for, +Russia's opportunity to seize upon the prize for which she had so +long sought was an excellent one, there being no one in a +position to say her nay. To Russia the possession of +Constantinople was like the possession of a new world, and this +may well have been her secret motive in springing without +hesitation into the war. Her long-sought prize hung temptingly +within reach of her hand, the European counterpart of the "Monroe +Doctrine" could not now be evoked to stay her grasp, and it seems +highly probable that in this may have lain the chief cause of +Russia's participation in the war. + +FRANCE'S HATRED OF GERMANY + +The Republic of France was less hasty than Russia and Germany in +issuing a declaration of war. Yet there, too, the order of +mobilization was quickly issued and French troops were on the +march toward the German border before Germany had taken a similar +step. France had not forgotten her humiliation in 1870. So far +was she from forgetting it that she cherished a vivid +recollection of what she had lost and an equally vivid enmity +towards Germany in consequence. Enmity is hardly the word. Hatred +better fits the feeling entertained. And this was kept vitally +alive by the fact that Alsace and Lorraine, two of her former +provinces, still possessing a considerable French population, +were now held as part of the dominions of her enemy. The sore +rankled and hope of retribution lay deep in the heart of the +French. Here seemed an opportunity to achieve this long-cherished +purpose, and we may reasonably believe that the possibility of +regaining this lost territory made France eager to take part in +the coming war. She had been despoiled by Germany, a valued +portion of her territory had been wrested from her grasp, a +promising chance of regaining it lay before her. She had the men; +she had the arms; she had a military organization vastly superior +to that of 1870; she had the memory of her former triumphs over +the now allied nations of Austria and Germany; she had her +obligations to aid Russia as a further inducement. The causes of +her taking part in the war are patent, especially in view of the +fact that in a very brief interval after her declaration her +troops had crossed the border and were marching gaily into +Alsace, winning battles and occupying towns as they advanced. + +GREAT BRITAIN AND ITALY + +We have suggested that in the case alike of Austria, Russia, +Germany and France the hope of gaining valuable acquisitions of +territory was entertained. In the case of France, enmity to +Germany was an added motive, the territory she sought being land +of which she had been formerly despoiled. These purposes of +changing the map of Europe did not apply to or influence Great +Britain. That country had no territory to gain and no great +military organization to exercise. She possessed the most +powerful navy of any country in the world, but she was moved by +no desire of showing her strength upon the sea. There was no +reason, so far as any special advantage to herself was concerned, +for her taking part in the war, and her first step was a generous +effort to mediate between the Powers in arms. + +Only when Belgium - a small nation that was in a sense under the +guardianship of Great Britain, so far as its nationality and +neutrality were concerned - was invaded by Germany without +warning, did Britain feel it incumbent upon her to come to its +aid. This may not have been entirely an act of benevolence. There +was a probability that Germany, once in control of Belgium, could +not readily let go. She might add it to her empire, a fact likely +to seriously affect British sea-power. However this be, Great +Britain lost no time after the invasion in becoming a party to +the continental war, sending her fleet abroad and enlisting +troops for service in the aid of her allies, France and Belgium. + +Italy, a member of the Triple Alliance, the other members of +which were Germany and Austria, was the only one of the great +Powers that held aloof. She had absolutely nothing to gain by +taking part in the war, while her late large expenses in the +conquest of Tripoli had seriously depleted her war chest. As +regards her alliance with Germany and Austria, it put her under +no obligation to come to their aid in an offensive war. Her +obligation was restricted to aid in case they were attacked, and +she justly held that no such condition existed. As a result, +Germany and Austria found themselves at war with the three +powerful members of the Triple Entente, while Italy, the third +member of the Triple Alliance, declined to draw the sword. + +The defection of Italy was a serious loss to the power of the +allies, so much so that Emperor William threatened her with war +if she failed to fulfil her assumed obligations. This threat +Italy quietly ignored. She gave indications, in fact, that her +sympathies were with the opposite party. Thus Germany and Austria +found themselves pitted against three great Powers and a possible +fourth, with the addition of the two small nations of Servia and +Belgium. And the latter were not to be despised as of negligible +importance. Servia quickly showed an ability to check the forward +movements of Austria, while Belgium, without aid, long held a +powerful German army at bay, defending the city and fortresses of +Liege with a boldness and success that called forth the admiring +acclamations of the world. + +THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE AND TRIPLE ENTENTE + +This review of causes and motives may be supplemented by a brief +statement of what is meant by the Triple Alliance and Triple +Entente, terms which come into common prominence in discussing +European politics. They indicate the division of Europe, so far +as its greater Powers are concerned, into two fully or partially +allied bodies, the former consisting of Germany, Austria and +Italy, the latter of Great Britain, France and Russia. These +organizations are of comparatively recent date. The Alliance +began in 1879 in a compact between Germany and Austria, a Dual +Alliance, which was converted into a Triple one in 1883, Italy +then, through the influence of Bismarck, joining the alliance. In +this compact Austria and Germany pledged themselves to mutual +assistance if attacked by Russia; Italy and Germany to the same +if attacked by France. + +The Triple Entente - or Understanding - arose from a Dual +Alliance between France and Russia, formed in 1887, an informal +understanding between Britain and France in 1904 and a similar +understanding between Britain and Russia in 1907. Its purpose, as +formed by Edward VII, was to balance the Triple Alliance and thus +convert Europe into two great military camps. When organized +there seemed little probability of its being called into activity +for many years. + + +Chapter III. STRENGTH AND RESOURCES OF THE WARRING POWERS +Old and New Methods in War - Costs of Modern Warfare - Nature of +National Resources - British and American Military Systems - +Naval Strength - Resources of Austria-Hungary - Resources of +Germany - Resources of Russia - Resources of France - Resources +of Great Britain - Servia and Belgium + +Within the whole history of mankind the nations of the earth had +never been so thoroughly equipped for the art of warfare as they +were in 1914. While the arts of construction have enormously +developed, those of destruction have fully kept pace with them; +and the horrors of war have enormously increased side by side +with the benignities of peace. It is interesting to trace the +history of warfare from this point of view. Beginning with the +club and hammer of the stone age, advancing through the bow and +arrow and the sling-shot of later times, this art, even in the +great days of ancient civilization, the eras of Greece and Rome, +had advanced little beyond the sword and spear, crude weapons of +destruction as regarded in our times. They have in great part +been set aside as symbols of military dignity, emblems of the +"pomp and circumstance of glorious war." + +Descending through the Middle Ages we find the sword and spear +still holding sway, with the bow as an important accessory for +the use of the common soldier. As for the knight, he became an +iron-clad champion, so incased in steel that he could fight +effectively only on horseback, becoming largely helpless on foot. +At length, the greatest stage in the history of war, the notable +invention of gunpowder was achieved, and an enormous +transformation took place in the whole terrible art. The musket, +the rifle, the pistol, the cannon were one by one evolved, to +develop in the nineteenth century into the breech-loader, the +machine gun, the bomb, and the multitude of devices fitted to +bring about death and destruction by wholesale, instead of by the +retail methods of older days. + +At sea, the sailing vessel, with her far-flung white wings and +rows of puny guns, has given way to the steel-clad battleship +with her fewer but enormously larger cannons, capable of flinging +huge masses of iron many miles through the air and with a +precision of aim that seems incredible for such great distances. + +We must add to this the torpedo boat, a tiny craft with a weapon +capable of sinking the most costly and stupendous of battleships, +and the submarine, fitted to creep unseen under blockading +fleets, and deal destruction with nothing to show the hand that +dealt the deadly blow. Even the broad expanse of the air has been +made a field of warlike activity, with scouting airships flying +above contending armies and signaling their most secret movements +to the forces below. + +OLD AND NEW METHODS IN WAR + +In regard to loss of life on the battle-field, it may be said +that many of the wars of ancient times surpassed the bloodiest of +those of modern days, despite the enormously more destructive +weapons and implements now employed. When men fought hand to +hand, and no idea of quarter for the defeated existed, entire +armies were at times slaughtered on the field. In our days, when +the idea of mercy for the vanquished prevails, this wholesale +slaughter of beaten hosts has ceased, and the death list of the +battle-field has been largely reduced by caution on the part of +the fighters. With the feeling that a dead soldier is utterly +useless, and a wounded one often worse than useless, as +constituting an impediment, every means of saving life is +utilized. Soldiers now fight miles apart. Prostrate, hidden, +taking advantage of every opportunity of protection, every +natural advantage or artificial device, vast quantities of +ammunition are wasted on the empty air, every ball that finds its +quarry in human flesh being mayhap but one in hundreds that go +astray. In the old-time wars actual hand-to-hand fighting took +place. Almost every stroke told, every thrusting blade was +directly parried or came back stained with blood. In modern wars +fighting of this kind has ceased. A battle has become a matter of +machinery. The strong arm and stalwart heart are replaced by the +bullet-flinging machine, and it is a rare event for a man to know +to whose hand he owes wound or death. Such, at least, was largely +the case in the war between Russia and Japan in 1905. But in +recent battles we read of hordes of soldiers charging up to the +muzzles of machine guns, and being mowed down like ripened wheat. + +COSTS OF MODERN WARFARE + +But while loss of human life in war has not greatly increased, in +other directions the cost of warfare has enormously grown. In the +past, little special preparation was needed by the fighter. +Armies could be recruited off-hand from city or farm and do +valiant duty in the field, with simple and cheap weapons. In our +days years of preliminary preparation are deemed necessary and +the costs of war go on during times of profound peace, millions +of men who could be used effectively in the peaceful industries +spending the best years of their lives in learning the most +effective methods of destroying their fellow men. + +This is only one phase of the element of cost. Great workshops +are devoted to the preparation of military material, of +absolutely no use to mankind except as instruments of +destruction. The costs of war, even in times of peace, are thus +very large. But they increase in an enormous proportion after war +has actually begun, millions of dollars being needed where tens +formerly sufficed, and national bankruptcy threatening the nation +that keeps its armies long in the field. The American Civil War, +fought half a century ago, was a costly procedure for the +American people. If it had been fought five or ten years ago its +cost would have been increased five-fold, so great has been the +progress in this terrible art in the interval. + +NATURE OF NATIONAL RESOURCES + +It is our purpose in the present chapter to take up the subject +of this cost and review the condition and resources of the +several nations which were involved in the dread internecine +struggle of 1914, the frightful conflict of nations that moved +like a great panorama before our eyes. These resources are of two +kinds. One of them consists in the material wealth of the nations +concerned, the product of the fields and factories, the mineral +treasures beneath the soil, the results of trade and commercial +activity and the conditions of national finance, including the +extent of available revenue and the indebtedness which hangs over +each nation, much of it a heritage from former wars which have +left little beyond this aggravating record of their existence. It +is one which adds something to the cost of every particle of food +consumed by the people, every shred of clothing worn by them. +Additions to this incubus of debt little disturb the rules when +blithely or bitterly engaging in new wars, but every such +addition adds to the burdens of taxation laid on the shoulders of +the groaning citizens, and is sure to deepen the harvest of +retribution when the time for it arrives. + +A second of these resources is that of preparation for war in +time of peace, the training of the able-bodied citizens in the +military art, until practically the entire nation becomes +converted into a vast army, its members, after their term of +compulsory service, engaging in ordinary labors in times of +peace, yet liable to be called into the field whenever the war +lords desire, to face the death-belching field piece and machine +gun in a sanguinary service in which they have little or no +personal concern. This preparedness, with the knowledge of the +duties of a soldier which it involves, is a valuable war resource +to any nation that is saddled with such a system of universal +military training. And few nations of Europe and the East are now +without it. Great Britain is the chief one in Europe, while in +America the United States is a notable example of a nation that +has adopted the opposite policy, that of keeping its population +at peaceful labor, steadily adding to its resources, during the +whole time in which peace prevails, and trusting to the courage +and mental resources of its citizens to teach them quickly the +art of fighting when, if ever, the occasion shall arrive. + +It must be admitted that the European system of militarism is +likely to be of great advantage in the early days of a war, in +which large bodies of trained soldiers can be hurled with +destructive force against hastily gathered militia. The +distinction between trained and untrained soldiers, however, +rapidly disappears in a war of long continuance. Experience in +the field is a lesson far superior to any gained in mock warfare, +and the taking part in a few battles will teach the art of +warfare to an extent surpassing that of years of marching and +counter-marching upon the training field. + +BRITISH AND AMERICAN MILITARY SYSTEMS + +Britain and the United States, the only two of the greater +nations that have adopted the policy here considered, are not +trusting completely to chance. Each of them has a body of regular +troops, fitted for police duty in time of peace and for field +duty in time of war, and serving as a nucleus fitted to give a +degree of coherence to raw militia when the sword is drawn. +Subsidiary to these are bodies of volunteer troops, training as a +recreation rather than as an occupation, yet constituting a +valuable auxiliary to the regular forces. This system possesses +the advantage of maintaining no soldiers except those kept in +constant and needful duty, all the remaining population staying +at their regular labors and adding very materially every year to +the resources of the nation, while saving the great sums expended +without adequate return in the process of keeping up the system +of militarism. + +What is above said refers only to the human element in the +system. In addition is the necessity of preparing and keeping in +store large quantities or war material - cannons, rifles, +ammunition, etc. - the building of inland forts and coast and +harbor fortifications, for ready and immediate use in time of +war. In this all the nations are alike actively engaged, the +United States and Britain as well as those of the European +continent, and none of them are likely to be caught amiss in this +particular. Cannon and gunpowder eat no food and call for no pay +or pension, and once got ready can wait with little loss of +efficiency. They may, indeed, become antiquated through new +invention and development, and need to be kept up to date in this +particular. But otherwise they can be readily kept in store and +each nation may with comparative ease maintain itself on a level +with others as regards its supply of material of war. + +NAVAL STRENGTH + +In one field of war-preparation little of the distinction +indicated exists. This is that of ocean warfare, in which rivalry +between the great Powers goes on without restriction - at least +between the distinctively maritime nations. In this field of +effort, the building of gigantic battleships and minor war +vessels, Britain has kept itself in advance of all others, as a +nation in which the sea is likely to be the chief field of +warlike activity. Beginning with a predominance in war ships, it +has steadily retained it, adding new and constantly greater war +ships to its fleet with a feverish activity, under the idea that +here is its true field of defense. It has sought vigorously to +keep itself on a level in this particular with any two of its +rivals in sea power. While it has not quite succeeded in this, +the United States and Germany pushing it closely, it is well in +the lead as compared with any single Power, and to keep this lead +it is straining every nerve and fiber of its national capacity. + +RESOURCES OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY + +Coming now to a statement of the strength and resources of the +chief Powers concerned in the present war, Austria-Hungary, as +the originator of the outbreak, stands first. It is scarcely +necessary to repeat that its severe demands upon Servia, arising +from the murder of the Archduke Ferdinand and its refusal to +accept Servia's almost complete acceptance of its terms, led to +an immediate declaration of war upon the small offending state, +the war fever thus started quickly extending from side to side of +the continent. Therefore in considering the existing conditions +of the various countries involved, those of Austria-Hungary +properly come first, the others following in due succession. + +Austria-Hungary is a dual kingdom, each partner to the union +having its separate national organization and legislative body. +While both are under the rule of one monarch, Francis Joseph +being at once the Emperor of Austria and the King of Hungary, +their union is not a very intimate one. There is large racial +distinction between the two countries, and Hungary cherishes a +strong feeling of animosity to Austria, the outcome of acts of +tyranny and barbarity not far in the past. + +The two countries closely approach each other in area, Austria +having 115,903 and Hungary 125,039 square miles; making a total +of 240,942. The populations also do not vary largely, the total +being estimated at about 50,000,000. Of these the Slavs number +more than 24,000,000, approaching one half the total , while of +Germans there are but 11,500,000, little more than half of the +Slavic population. The Magyars, or Hungarians, a people of +eastern origin, and the main element of Hungarian population, +number about 8,750,000. In addition there are several millions of +Roumanian and Italic stock, and a considerable number of Jews and +Gypsies. The inclusion of this heterogeneous population into one +kingdom dates far back in medieval history, and it was not until +1867, as a consequence of a vigorous Hungarian demand, that +Austria and Hungary became divided into separate nations, the +remnant of their former close union remaining in their being +ruled by one monarch, the venerable Francis Joseph, who is still +upon the throne. This division quickly followed the war between +Prussia and Austria in 1866, and was one of the results of the +defeat of Austria in that war. + +Austria is a hilly or mountainous country, its plains occupying +only about one fifth of the total territory. The most extensive +tracts of low or flat land occur in Hungary, Galicia and +Slavonia, the great Hungarian plain having an area of 36,000 +square miles. Much of this is highly fertile, and Hungary is the +great granary of the country. Austria-Hungary is well watered by +the Danube and its tributaries and has a small extent of +sea-coast on the Adriatic, its principal ports being Trieste, +Pola and Fiume. Its railways are about 30,000 miles in length. In +consequence of its interior position its largest trade is with +Germany, through which empire there is also an extensive transit +commerce. Its mountainous character makes it rich in minerals, +the chief of these being coal, iron, and salt. + +Bosnia and Herzegovina, formerly part of Turkey in Europe, were +put under the military occupation and administrative rule of +Austria after the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-8, and in 1908 were +fully annexed by Austria, an act of spoliation which had its +ultimate result in the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in +1914, and may thus be considered the instigating agency in the +1914 war. + +The finances of Austria-Hungary may be briefly given. Austria has +an annual revenue of $636,909,000; Hungary of $410,068,000; their +expenditure equaling these sums. The debt of Austria is stated at +$1,433,511,000; of Hungary, $1,257,810,000; and of the joint +states at $1,050,000,000. Military service is obligatory on all +over twenty years of age who are capable of bearing arms, the +total terms of service being twelve years, of which three are +passed in the line, seven in the reserve, and two in the +Landwehr. The army is estimated to number 390,000 on the peace +footing and over 2,000,000 on the war footing. Its navy numbers +four modern and nine older battleships, with twelve cruisers and +a number of smaller craft. + +RESOURCES OF GERMANY + +Germany, in the census of 1910, was credited with a population of +64,925,993. This is in great part composed of Teutons, or men of +German race, its people being far less heterogeneous than those +of Austria, though it includes several millions of Slavs, +Lithuanians, Poles and others. It has an area of 208,738 square +miles. It is mountainous in the south and center, but in the +north there is a wide plain extending to the German Ocean and the +Baltic Sea, and forming part of the great watershed which +stretches across Europe. Its soil, except in the more rugged and +mountainous districts, is prolific, being well watered and +bearing abundant crops of the ordinary cereals. Potatoes, hemp, +and flax are very abundant crops and the sugar beet is +extensively cultivated. The forests are of great extent and +value, and are carefully conserved to yield a large production +without over cutting. Among domestic animals, the cattle, sheep +and swine of certain districts have long been famous. + +The minerals are numerous and some of them of much value, those +of chief importance being coal, iron, zinc, lead and salt. While +much attention is given to mining and agriculture, the +manufacturing industries are especially important. Linens and +other textiles are widely produced and iron manufacture is +largely carried on. The Krupp iron works at Essen are of +world-wide fame, and the cannon made there are used in the forts +of many distant nations. + +These are a few only of the large variety of manufactures, a +market for which is found in all parts of the world, the commerce +of Germany being widely extended. In short, the empire has come +into very active rivalry with Great Britain in the development of +commerce, and to its progress in this direction it owes much of +its flourishing condition. Hamburg is by far the most important +seaport, Bremen, Stettin, Danzig and others also being thriving +ports. The total length of railway is over 40,000 miles. + +The annual revenue of the German Empire is nearly $900,000,000; +that of its component states, $1,500,000,000; that of the states +at $3,735,000,000. The revenue is derived chiefly from customs +duties, excise duties on beet-root sugar, salt, tobacco and malt +and contributions from the several states. + +Germany is the foster home of modern militarism and is held to +have the most complete army system in the world. Every man +capable of bearing arms must begin his military training on the +1st of January of the year in which he reaches the age of twenty, +and continue it to the end of his forty-second year, unless +released from this duty by the competent authorities, either +altogether or for times of peace. + +Seven years of this time must be spent in the army or fleet; +three of them in active service, four in the reserve. Seven more +years are passed in the Landwehr, the members of which may be +called out only twice for training. The remaining time is passed +in the Landsturm, which is called out only in case of invasion of +the empire. The total peace strength of the army is given at +870,000; of the reserves at 4,430,000; the total being 5,300,000. + +The navel force of Germany is very powerful, though considerably +less than that of Great Britain. It comprises 19 of the enormous +modern battleships, 7 cruiser battleships, and 20 of older type; +9 first-class and 45 second and third-class cruisers, and +numerous smaller warships, including 47 torpedo boats, 141 +destroyers and 60 submarines. + +RESOURCES OF RUSSIA + +Russia, the third of the three nations to which the war was most +immediately due, is the most extensive consolidated empire in the +world, its total area being estimated at 8,647,657 square miles, +of which 1,852,524 are in Europe, the remainder in Asia. The +population is given at about 160,000,000, of which 130,000,000 +are in Europe. + +Agriculture is the chief pursuit of this great population, though +manufactures are largely developing. The forests, immense in +extent, cover forty-two per cent of the area and contain timber +in enormous quantities. While a large part of the area is level +ground, there is much elevated territory, and the mineral wealth +is very important. It includes gold, silver, platinum, iron, +copper, coal and salt, all of large occurrence. Of the people, +over 1,800,000 are employed in manufacture, and the annual value +of the commerce amounts to $1,300,000,000. The length of railway +is about 50,000 miles. + +Russia is heavily in debt, Germany being its largest creditor. +The total debt is stated at $4,553,000,000, its revenue +$1,674,000,000. The liability to military service covers all +able-bodied men between the ages of twenty and forty-two years. +Five years must be passed in active service, the remainder in the +various reserves. On a peace footing the army is 1,290,000 +strong; its war strength is 5,500,000. The territor8al service is +capable of supplying about 3,000,000 more, making a possible +total of 7,500,000. As regards the navy, it was greatly reduced +in strength in the war with Japan and has not yet fully +recovered. The empire now possesses nine modern battleships, four +cruiser battleships, and eight of old type. There are also +cruisers and other vessels, including 23 torpedo boats, 105 +destroyers, and 48 submarines. + +RESOURCES OF FRANCE + +France, the one large Power in Europe in which the people have +created a republic and have got rid of the FACT of a king, as +illustrated in the other continental Powers, - and in addition to +the mountain realm of Switzerland, in which the people govern +themselves through their representatives, - has taken up the +dogma of militarism in common with its neighbors and constitutes +the fourth of the Powers in which this system has been carried to +its ultimate conclusion of a world-wide war. + +France had a startling object lesson in 1870. It had, under +Napoleon III, been imitating Prussia in its military +establishment, and its government officials coincided with the +emperor in the theory that its army was in a splendid state of +preparation. Marshal Leboeuf lightly declared that "everything +was ready, more than ready, and not a gaiter button missing," and +it was with a light-hearted confidence that the Emperor Napoleon +declared war against Prussia, the insensate multitude filling +Paris with their futile war cry of "On to Berlin." + +This is not the place to deal with this subject, but it may be +said that France quickly learned that nothing was ready and the +nation went down in the most sudden and awful disaster of modern +times. A lesson had been taught, one not easy to forget. The +Republic succeeded the Empire, and has since been working on the +theory that war with its old enemy might at any time become +imminent and no negligence in the matter of preparation could be +permitted. As a consequence, France went into the war of 1914 in +a state of fitness greatly superior to that of 1870, and Germany +found France waiting on its border line, alert and able, ready +alike for offense or defense. + +What are the natural conditions, the strength and resources, of +this great republic? France has an area of 207,054 square miles, +almost the same as that of the German Empire. If its numerous +colonies be added, its total area is over 4,000,000 square miles. +But this vast colonial expanse is of no special advantage to it +in a European war. Its population is 39,601,509; if Algeria, its +most available colony, be added, it is about 45,000,000, a total +20,000,000 less than the population of Germany. + +Its soil is highly fitted for agricultural use, about mine tenths +of it being productive and more than half of it under the plow, +the cereals forming the bulk of its products. Its wheat crop is +large and oats, rye and barley are also of value, though the +raising of the domestic animals is of less importance than in the +surrounding countries. The growth of the vine is one of its most +important branches of agriculture, and in good years France +produces about half of the total wine yield of the world. In +mineral wealth it stands at a somewhat low level, its yield of +coal, iron, etc. being of minor importance. + +France enjoys a large and valuable commerce and active +manufacturing industries, products of a more or less artistic +character being especially attended to. Of the textile fabrics, +those of silk goods are much the most important, this industry +employing about 2,000,000 persons and yielding more than a fourth +in value of the whole manufactured products of France. Other +products are carpets, tapestry, fine muslins, lace and cotton +goods. Products of different character are numerous and their +value large. The fisheries of France are also of much importance. +Its commerce, while large, is very considerably less than that of +Great Britain and Germany, France being especially a +self-centered country, largely using what it makes. + +There is abundant provision for internal trade and travel, there +being 30,000 miles of railway, 3,000 miles or canal, and 5,500 +miles of navigable rivers. The annual revenue approaches +$1,000,000,000, and the public debt in 1914 was at the large +total of over $6,200,000,000. This is much the largest debt of +any nation in the world, the debt of Russia, which comes next in +amount, being about $l,l700,000,000 less. It is largely due to +the cost of the war of 1870 and the subsequent large payment to +Germany. Yet the French people carry it without feeling seriously +overburdened. + +Coming now to the French military system, it rivals that of +Germany in efficiency. The law requires the compulsory military +service of every French citizen who is not unfit for such +service. They have to serve in the regular army for three years, +in the regular reserves for six years, in the territorial army +for six years, and finally in the reserves of this army for ten +years. This gives France a peace strength of 720,000 and a total +war strength of 4,000,000. The navy is manned partly by +conscription, partly by voluntary enlistment, the naval forces +comprising about 60,000 officers and men. + +The naval strength of the republic embraces 17 modern +battleships, 25 of older type, 18 first-class, 13 second and +third-class cruisers, 173 torpedo boats, 87 destroyers, and 90 +submarines. There is another element of modern military strength +of growing importance and sure to be of large use in the war +under review. This is that of the airship. In 1914 France stood +at the head in this particular, its aeroplanes, built or under +construction, numbering 550. Germany had 375, Russia 315, Italy +270, Austria 220, Britain 180 and Belgium 150. In dirigible +balloons Germany stood first, with 50. France had 30, Russia 15, +Austria 10 and Britain 7. These air-soaring implements of war +came into play early in the conflict and Tennyson's vision of +"battles in the blue" was realized in attacks of aeroplanes upon +dirigibles, with death to the crews of each. + +RESOURCES OF GREAT BRITAIN. + +Great Britain, the remaining party to the five-fold war of great +European Powers, is an island country of considerably smaller +area than those so far named. Including Ireland it has an area of +121,391 square miles, about equal to that of the American State +of New Mexico and not half the size of the Canadian province of +Saskatchewan. Its population, however, surpasses that of France, +amounting to 45,221,615. If the outlying dominions of Great +Britain be added it becomes the greatest empire in the world's +history, its colonial dominions being estimated at over +13,000,000 square miles, and the total population of kingdom and +colonies at 435,000,000, the greatest population of any country +in the world. And Britain differs from France in the fact that +much of this outlying population is available for war purposes in +case of peril to the liberties of the mother country. At the +outbreak of the war of 1914 the loyal Dominion of Canada sprang +at once into the field, mobilized its forces, and offered the +mother land material aid in men and gifts of varied nature. + +The same sense of loyalty was shown in Australia and South Africa +and in others of the British oversea dominions, while India added +an important contingent to the army and much other aid. + +As for the immediate kingdom, it is not of high value in +agricultural wealth, being at present divided up to a +considerable extent into large unproductive estates, and it is +quite unable to feed its teeming population, depending for this +on its large commerce in food products. Its annual imports amount +to about $3,000,000,000, its exports to $2,250,000,000. + +Commercially and industrially alike Great Britain stands at the +head of all European nations. Its abundant mineral wealth, +especially in coal and iron, has stimulated manufactures to the +highest degree, while its insular character and numerous seaports +have had a similar stimulating effect upon commerce. Its revenue, +aside from that of the colonies, amounts to about $920,000,000 +annually, and its public debt reaches a total of $3,485,000,000. + +The British government depends largely for safety from invasion +upon its insular position and its enormously developed navy, and +has not felt it necessary to enter upon the frenzy of military +preparation which pervades the continental nations. No British +citizen is obliged to bear arms except for the defense of his +country, but all able-bodied men are liable to militia service, +the militia being raised, when required, by ballot. Enlistment +among the regulars is either for twelve years' army service, or +for seven years' army service and five years' reserve service. +The peace strength of the army is estimated at about 255,000 men, +the reserves at 475,000; making a total of 730,000. + +It is in its navy that Great Britain's chief warlike strength +exists, the naval force being much greater than that of any other +nation. It possesses in all 29 modern battleships, many of them +of the great dreadnaught and super-dreadnaught type. In addition +it has 10 cruiser battleships, and 38 older battleships, most of +the latter likely to be of little service for warlike duty. There +are also 45 first-class, and 70 second and third-class cruisers, +58 torpedo boats, 212 destroyers and 85 submarines, the whole +forming a total navel strength approaching that of any two of the +other Powers. + +SERVIA AND BELGIUM + +As regards the remaining nations engaged in the war, Servia, in +which the contest began, has an area of 18,782 square miles, a +population of 4,000,000, and a standing army of 240,000, a number +seemingly very inadequate to face the enormously greater power of +Austria-Hungary. But the men had become practically all soldiers, +very many of them tried veterans of the recent Balkan War; their +country is mountainous and admirably fitted for defensive +warfare, and their power of resistance to invasion was quickly +shown to be great. + +Belgium, the other early seat of the war, is still smaller in +area, having but 11,366 square miles. But it is very densely +populated, possessing 7,432,784 inhabitants. Its army proved +brave and capable, its fortifications modern and well adapted to +defense, and small as was its field force it held back the far +more numerous German invaders until France and Great Britain had +their troops in position for available defense. This small +intermediate kingdom therefore played a very important part in +the outset of the war. + +If one judges by the figures given of the available military +strength of the nations involved, the huge host said to have +followed Xerxes to the invasion of Greece could easily be far +surpassed in modern warfare. The fact is, however, that these +huge figures greatly exceed the numbers that could, except in the +most extreme exigency, be available for use in the field, and for +real active service we should be obliged to greatly reduce these +paper estimates. It must be taken into account that the fields +and factories of the nations cannot be too greatly denuded of +their trained workers. It was a shrewd saying of Napoleon +Bonaparte that "An army marches on its stomach," and the +important duty of keeping the stomach adequately filled can not +be overlooked. + +In actual war also there is an enormous exhaustion of military +material, which must be constantly replaced, and this in turn +demands the services of great numbers of trained artisans. The +question of finance also cannot be overlooked. It needs vast sums +of money to keep a modern army in the field, this increasing +rapidly as the forces grow in numbers, and no national treasure +chest is inexhaustible. Tax as they may, the war lords cannot +squeeze out of their people more blood than flows in their veins, +and exhaustion of the war-chest may prove even more disastrous +than exhaustion of the regiments. For these reasons a limit to +the size of armies is inevitable and in any great war this +limitation must quickly make itself apparent. + + +Chapter IV. GREAT BRITAIN AND THE WAR +The Growth of German Importance - German Militarism - Great +Britain's Peace Efforts - Germany's Naval Program - German +Ambitions - Preparation for War - Effect on the Empire + +The influence of the European War permeated everything from and +through the nation to the individual, from trade and commerce and +world-finance to the cost of food and the price of labor. The +whole world, civilized and uncivilized, was drawn into this +whirlpool of disaster - the majority of the population of the +earth was actually at war. Was it possible that such a vast +conflict - so far reaching in its racial and national elements, +so bitter in its old and new animosities, so great in its +territorial area, so tremendous in the numbers of men in arms - +could come, as some commentators say, like a thief in the night +or have fallen upon the world like a bolt from the blue! All +available information of an exact character, all the preparation +of the preceding few years, all the inner statecraft of the world +as revealed in policy and action, prove the fallacy of this +supposition. + +THE GROWTH OF GERMAN IMPORTANCE + +As a matter of fact one nation had been for nearly half a century +the pivot upon which European hopes and fears have turned in the +matter of peace and war, of military and naval preparation, of +diplomatic interchange. During this period Germany rose to a +foremost place amongst the nations of Europe, to the first place +in strength of military power and organized fighting force, to +the second place in naval strength and commercial progress. The +growth itself was a legitimate one in the main; and, given the +character of its people and their cultivated convictions as to +inherent greatness, was inevitable. For other nations the vital +question asked in diplomacy and answered in their military or +naval preparations was equally inevitable: How would Germany use +this power, against whom was it aimed, for what specific purpose +was it being organized with such capable precision, such splendid +skill? + +GERMAN MILITARISM + +Great Britain, meanwhile, had devoted her main attention to the +trade and diplomacy and little wars associated with the +maintenance of a world-empire and, in self-defense, had +cultivated friendships with Russia and France and the United +States and Japan as this German power began to come closer and +touch the most vital British interests. France naturally +strengthened itself as its historic enemy grew in power; Russia +improved her military position after the Japanese was as she was +bound to do; Germany appeared to set the pace upon sea and land +with an aggressive diplomacy in Morocco and in China, at Paris +and at St. Petersburg, which was bound to cause trouble and to +promote what is commonly called militarism. The vast ambitions +and persistent policy of the German ruler and his people, the +unsatisfied characteristics of German diplomacy, the militant +ideals and military preparations and naval expansion of Germany +between 1900 and 1914 became the dominant consideration in the +chancelleries of Europe. Armies and navies, wars in the Balkans +or struggles for colonial spheres of influence, financial +reserves and naval construction and volunteer forces - all came +to be measured against current developments in this center of +European gravity. + +GREAT BRITAIN'S PEACE EFFORTS + +Great Britain tried to hold aloof from this international +rivalry, this preparation for a war which her people and leaders +hoped against hope would be averted. Royal visits of a pacific +character were exchanged, parties of Great Britain's business men +visited Berlin, while leaders such as King Edward and Lord +Haldane exercised all their ability in striving for some mutual +ground of friendly action. Lovers of peace wrote many volumes and +filled many newspapers with articles on the beneficence of that +policy and the terrors of militarism - books and articles which +were never seen in Germany except by those who regarded them as +so many confessions of national weakness. Between 1904 and 1908 +Grear Britain actually reduced her naval expenditures and limited +her construction of battleships in the hope that Germany would +follow the lead, pleaded at two Hague Conferences for +international reduction of armaments, kept away from all increase +in her own almost ridiculous military establishment, urged upon +two occasions (in 1912-1913) a naval holiday in construction. The +following figures from Brassey's authoritative NAVAL ANNUAL shows +that her naval expenditure upon new ships in 1913 was actually +less than in 1904, that Germany's was nearly three times greater, +that France and Russia and Italy had doubled theirs: +--------------------------------------------------------- +Great Britain/Germany/France/Russia/Italy/Austro-Hungary +---------------------------------------------------------- +1904 (in British pounds) +---------------------------------------------------------- +13,508,176/4,275,489/4,370,102/4,480,188/1,121,753/1,329,590 +---------------------------------------------------------- +1908 +---------------------------------------------------------- +8,660,202/7,795,499/4,193,544/2,703,721/1,866,158/716,662 +---------------------------------------------------------- +1911 +---------------------------------------------------------- +17,566,877/11,710,859/5,876,659/3,240,394/2,677,302/3,125,000 +---------------------------------------------------------- +1912 +---------------------------------------------------------- +17,271,527/11,491,157/6,997,552/7,904,094/2,500,000/3,620,881 +---------------------------------------------------------- +1913 +---------------------------------------------------------- +13,276,400/11,176,407/7,595,010/10,953,616/2,800,000/3,280,473 +------------------------------------------------------------- + +GERMANY'S NAVAL PROBLEM + +Between 1909 and 1914 British leaders became convinced, as France +and Russia and other countries had long been certain, that +Germany meant war as soon as she was ready; that her policy was +to take the two border enemies, or rivals, first with a great +war-machine which would give them no chance for preparation or +success, to dictate a peace which would give her control of the +sea-coasts and channel touching Britain, to make that country the +seat of war preparations, naval uncertainty, perhaps financial +difficulty and commercial injury, to prepare at leisure for the +war which would conquer England and acquire her colonies. In the +first-named year British statesmen of both parties told an amazed +Parliament and country that German naval construction of big +ships was approaching the British standard, that the cherished +policy of a British navy equal to those of any two other nations +was absolutely gone, that England would be lucky if, in a few +years, she held a 60 per cent superiority over that of Germany +alone, that the latter country's naval construction was clearly +aimed at Britain and could be for no other than a hostile +purpose. British ships had already been recalled from the Seven +Seas to hold the North Sea against the growing naval power of a +nation which had 5,000,000 soldiers behind its ships as compared +with England's 250,000 men scattered over the world. From that +date in 1909 all who shared in the statecraft of the British +Empire understood the issue to be a real one - with France and +Russia as allies or without them. + +What was back of this situation? Germany was already dominant in +Continental Europe. It had compelled Russia to submit when +Austria in 1908 annexed the Slav states of Bosnia and Herzegovina +and defied Servia to interfere or its proud patron at St. +Petersburg to prevent the humiliation; it had brought France to +her knees over the Morocco incident and the Delcasse resignation, +and would have done so again in 1911 if Great Britain had not +ranged herself behind the French republic; it held the issues of +peace and war between the great Powers during the Balkan +struggles of 1912 and 1913 and prevented Servia from winning its +legitimate fruits of victory or Montenegro from holding what it +had won; it had watched with delight the defeat of unorganized +Russia at the hands of Japan and saw what its writers described +as a decadent British Empire holding in feeble hands a quarter of +the earth in fee, with revolt coming in Ireland, rebellion +seething in India, dissatisfaction in South Africa, separation +upon the horizon in Canada and Australia. Here lay the secret of +German naval policy, of German hopes that Britain would remain +out of the inevitable struggle with France and Russia, of German +ambitions for a world-empire. + +GERMAN AMBITIONS + +The German nation had not up to the passing of Bismarck been the +enemy of the British people and until its belated entrance upon +the field of world politics and expansion the people had not even +been rivals. In the long series of European wars between 1688 and +1815, the German states were allies and friends of England. After +that, Prussia, and then the German Empire, became gradually a +great national force in the world and its spirit of unity, pride +of power, energy in trade, skill and success in industry, vigor +of development in tariffs, progress in military power and naval +construction were, from the standpoint of its own people, +altogether admirable. Following the Franco-Prussian War it had +steadily attained a position of European supremacy. Then came the +increase of population and trade, the desire for colonies, the +restriction of emigration to foreign countries. + +It was a natural though difficult ambition. The marriage of Queen +Wilhelmina, and later the birth of a heir, averted any immediate +probability of acquiring Holland and, with it, the Dutch colonial +possessions, except by means of force. The assertion of the +United States' Monroe Doctrine checked German efforts which had +been directed to South America and concentrated in Brazil, where +100,000 Germans had settled and where trade relations had become +very close. British diplomacy of a trade, as well as political +character, in Persia, prevented certain railway schemes from +being carried out, which would have given Germany a dominating +influence in Asia Minor and on the Persian Gulf. Although the +partition of Africa gave the German Empire nearly one million +square miles and an obvious opening for colonization and power, +the inexperience and ineptitude of German officials in Colonial +government, the dislike, also, of Germans for emigration and the +fact that the movement of settlers abroad steadily decreased in +late years, tended to prevent, on the Continent, an expansion +which would have been assured under British colonization and +business effort. + +At the same time the acquisition of these and other regions such +as Samoa was significant. Prior to 1870 Germany was a +geographical expression which meant a loose combination of States +with sometimes clashing interests, and incoherent expression, and +varied patriotism. German trade was then small, the industries +too poor to compete with those of Britain, while its people +possessed not an acre of soil beyond their European boundaries. +Since then it had become a closely-united people with an army of +over five million men - admittedly the best-trained troops in the +world; with a trade totalling $4,400,000,000 and competing in +Britain's home market, taking away her contracts in India and +some of the colonies, beating her in many foreign fields; with an +industrial production which included great steel works such as +Krupps, ship-building yards said to be of greater productive +power than those of Britain, factories of well-kept character +operating at high pressure with workmen trained in the best +technical system of the world today; with other productive +conditions aided by high protective duties and with exports +totalling (1910) $2,020,000,000 and imports of $2,380,000,000; +with Savings Bank deposits in 1911 totalling $4,500,000.0000 as +against a British total of $1,135,000,000. + +Couple these conditions with Colonial ambitions dwarfed, or +unsuccessful in comparison with British success; continental +power as supreme, by virtue of military strength, as Napoleon's +was one hundred years before by the force of genius, but +hampered, as was his, by the power of Britain on the seas; a +productive force of industry increasing out of all proportion to +home requirements, competing with British commerce in every +corner of the world and threatened by a possible but finally +postponed combination of British countries in a system of +inter-Empire tariffs; a population of 64,000,000, increasing at +the rate of one million a year and having no suitable opening for +emigration or settlement within its own territories; and we have +conditions which explained and emphasized German naval +construction. Both German ambition and German naval construction +were therefore easily comprehensible. + +Nor was the ambition for sea-power concealed. The first large +naval program was passed by the Reichstag in 1898 and fixed the +naval estimate up to 1903, when the total expenditure was to be +$45,000,000 - in 1906 the naval expenditure was over $60,000,000. +The second Naval Bill was passed in 1900 during the Boer War, and +the preamble to this Act stated that its object was to give +Germany "a fleet of such strength that even for the mightiest +Naval Power, a war with her would involve such risks as to +endanger its own supremacy." Other Acts were passed in 1906 and +1908, and for the years 1908 to 1917 arrangements were made for a +total expenditure of $1,035,000,000 - this including a portion of +the "accelerated program" and the Special Dreadnought +construction which caused the memorable debate in the British +Commons in 1909. + +The Law of 1912 - passing the Reichstag on May 21st of that year +- provided for an addition to the program of three battleships, +three large cruisers and three small ones. During the years 1898 +-1904 Grear Britain launched 26 battleships to Germany's 14, with +27 armored cruisers, 17 protected cruisers and 55 destroyers to +Germany's 5, 16 and 35 respectively, or a total of 125 to 70. In +1905-11 Great Britain launched 20 battleships to Germany's 15, +with 13 armored cruisers, 10 protected cruisers and 80 destroyers +to Germany's 6, 16 and 70 respectively, or a total of 123 to 107. +Excluding destroyers Great Britain launched 70 sea-going warships +in the first period to Germany's 25 and in the second period 43 +to 37. + +PREPARATION FOR WAR + +Meanwhile German preparations for war went on apace in every +direction. Following up the war teachings of Nietzsche and +Treitschke and others, General Von Bernhardi issued book after +book defining in clear language the alleged national beneficence, +biological desirability and inevitability of war, which, when it +came, would be "fought to conquer for Germany the rank of a +world-power;" the universities and schools and press teemed with +militarist ideals and practices; the army charges rose to +$250,000,000 and the trained soldiers available at the beginning +of 1910 were alleged to have 6,000 field-guns; Colonel Gaedke, +the German naval expert, stated on February 24th of that year +that the German government was building a fleet of 58 battleships +and that "the time is gradually approaching when the German fleet +will be superior to all the fleets of the world, with the single +exception of the English fleet," and that in the past twelve +years Germany had spent on new ships alone 63,200,000 pounds, or +$316,000,000, while between then and 1914 she would spend +57,500,000 pounds more, or $287,500,000. + +The annual report of the German Navy League in 1910 showed a +total of 1,031,339 members as against an estimated membership in +Britain's League of 20,000. Professor T. Schieman of the +University of Berlin, in the New York MCCLURE'S MAGAZINE for May +of that year, clearly stated that Germany would not submit in +future to British naval supremacy or to any limitation of +armaments. During this period, also, Heligoland, the island +handed over by Britain in 1890 in exchange for certain East +African rights, became the key and center of the whole German +coast defense system against England. Cuxhaven, Borkum, Emden, +Wilhelmshaven - with twice as many Dreadnought docks as +Portsmouth - Wangeroog, Bremerhaven, Geestemunde, etc., were +magnificently fortified and guarded. Whether dictated by +diplomatic considerations and affected latterly by the +British-French alliance or influenced by Colonial and naval and +commercial ambitions, there could be no doubt as to the danger of +the situation at the beginning of 1914. In a book entitled +"England and Germany," published during 1912, Mr. A. J. Balfour, +the British conservative leader, replied to various German +contributors and gave the British view of the situation: + +It must be remembered in the first place that we are a commercial +nation, and war, whatever its issue, is ruinous to commerce and +to the credit on which commerce depends. It must be remembered in +the second place that we are a political nation, and unprovoked +war (by us) would shatter in a day the most powerful Government +and the most united party. It must be remembered in the third +place that we are an insular nation, wholly dependent upon +sea-borne supplies, possessing no considerable army, either for +home defense or foreign service, and compelled therefore to play +for very unequal stakes should Germany be our opponent in the +hazardous game of war. It is this last consideration which I +should earnestly ask enlightened Germans to weigh well if they +would understand the British point of view. It can be made clear +in a very few sentences. There are two ways in which a hostile +country can be crushed. It can be conquered or it can be starved. +If Germany were supreme in our home waters she could apply both +methods to Britain. Were Britain ten times Mistress in the North +Sea she could apply neither method to Germany. Without a superior +fleet Britain would no longer count as a Power. Without any fleet +at all Germany would remain the greatest power in Europe. + +The Balkan wars proved and strengthened the power of Germany in +diplomacy and in the Eastern Question, while it showed that a +deadly struggle between nations might spring to an issue in a few +days and a million armed men leap into war at a word. The +enormous German special taxation of $250,000,000 authorized in +the first part of 1913 for an additional military establishment +of 4,000 officers, 15,000 non-commissioned officers and 117,000 +men indicated the basic strength of the people's military +feeling, and ensured the still greater predominance of its army. + +EFFECT ON THE EMPIRE + +When war broke out on August 1, 1914, between the five greater +Powers of Europe - Great Britain, Russia and France, on the one +side and Germany and Austria on the other - the issue was at once +brought home to about 450 millions of people in America, Asia and +Africa who were connected with these nations by ties of +allegiance or government, by racial association, or historic +conquest. Of these peoples and lands by far the greater +proportion were in the British Empire and included India, Burmah, +South Africa, Australia, Canada and a multitude of smaller states +and countries. Not the least remarkable of the events which +ensued in the succeeding early weeks of the great War was the +extraordinary way in which this vast and complex Empire found +itself as a unit in fighting force, a unit in sentiment, a unit +in co-operative action. Irish sedition, whether "loyal or +disloyal," Protestant or Catholic, largely vanished like the +shadow of an evil dream; Indian talk of civil war and trouble +disappeared; South African threats of rebellion took form in a +feeble effort which melted away under the pressure of a Boer +statesman and leader - General Botha; the idea that Colonial +Dominions were seeking separation and would now find it proved as +evanescent as a light mist before the sun. The following table +indicates the nature of the resources of opposing nations and the +character of their Colonial sources of support: + +Wealth/Population/Total Army/Navy/Population of Colonies +--------------------------------------------------------- +Great Britain +$80,000,000,000/45,000,000/800,000/681/368,000,000 +---------------------------------------------------- +France +65,000,000,000/39,000,000/2,100,000/382/41,000,000 +---------------------------------------------------- +Russia +40,000,000,000/171,000,000/8,000,000/249/5,000,000 +---------------------------------------------------- +Germany +60,000,000,000/65,000,000/5,000,000/354/12,000,000 +---------------------------------------------------- +Austria +25,000,000,000/49,000,000/2,200,000/155/15,000,000 +---------------------------------------------------- + +It was a curious characteristic of the press comments and +magazine articles and book studies of the War during these months +that while varied fighting was going on in the various Colonies +of these Powers and in the case of Great Britain, notably, +countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India were +pouring out men and gifts to aid the Empire, statistical +calculations usually rated Great Britain as not an Empire but +simply a nation with the wealth and population of its two little +islands in the North Sea. + +Properly the $80,000,000,000 of estimated British wealth should +have e included the thousands of millions of treasure in India +and Egypt, the gold mines and diamond resources of South Africa, +the wheat fields and mines of Canada, the sheep farms and gold of +Australia and many other sources; the estimate of population +should have included the countless millions from which Britain +could draw and did draw in the day of emergency. In this vast +Empire British capital had been invested to an enormous amount - +the estimated total in 1914 being $2,570,0000,000 for Canada and +Newfoundland, $1,893,000,000 in India and Ceylon,$1,850,000,000 +in +south Africa, $1,660,000,000 in Australia, or a total in all +British countries of $8,900,000,000. When the War broke out these +Dominions endeavored to help the Mother Country in every possible +way and the following table shows what was done in Canada alone +during the first few months of the conflict: + +THE DOMINION + +Expeditionary force of over 32,000 men, fully equipped; 50,000 +others under training for the front. +Over 200 field and machine guns. +Two submarines, for general service ($1,050,000); H.M.C.S. Niobe +and Rainbow for general service. +1,000,000 bags of flour. +$100,000 for "Hospice Canadien" in France. +$50,000 for the relief of Belgian sufferers. + +THE PROVINCES + +ALBERTA: 500,000 bushels of oats; 5,000 bags of flour for +Belgians. Civil service, 5 per cent of salaries up to $1500 per +annum, and 10 per cent in excess of that amount to Canadian +Patriotic Fund. + +BRITISH COLUMBIA: 25,000 cases of canned salmon; $5,000 to +Belgian Relief Fund. + +MANITOBA: 10,000 men; 50,000 bags of flour; $5,000 to Belgian +Relief Fund. + +NEW BRUNSWICK: 1,000 men; 100,000 bushels of potatoes, 15,000 +barrels of potatoes for Belgium. + +NOVA SCOTIA: $100,000 to the Prince of Wales Fund; apples for the +troops; food and clothing for Belgium. + +ONTARIO: $500,000; 250,000 bags of flour; 100,000 lbs of +evaporated apples for the Navy; $15,000 to the Belgian Relief +Fund. + +PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: 100,000 bushels of oats; cheese and hay. + +QUEBEC: 4,000,000 lbs of cheese; $25,000 to Belgian Relief Fund. + +SASKATCHEWAN: 1,500 horses ($250,000); $5,000 to Belgian Relief +Fund + +THE YUKON: $6,000 to the Canadian Patriotic fund + +THE CITIES + +OTTAWA: $300,000 (for machine gun sections - 4 guns on armored +motors and a detachment of 30 men); $50,000 to the Canadian +Patriotic Fund. + +QUEBEC: $20,000 Canadian Patriotic fund; insuring lives of Quebec +volunteers. + +MONTREAL: $150,000 (Canadian Patriotic Fund); battery of +quick-firing guns; $10,000 to Belgian Relief fund. + +TORONTO: $50,000 (Canadian Patriotic Fund); insuring lives of all +Toronto volunteers; 100 horses for training purposes; carload for +Belgians of canned provisions. + +WINNIPEG: $5,000 monthly to Patriotic Fund + +REGINA: $1,000 for comfort of the city's soldiers; $62,500 To +Belgian Relief Fund. + +CALGARY: 1,000 MEN (Legion of Frontiersmen). + +HAMILTON: $20,000 Patriotic Fund; $5,000 for local relief. + +BERLIN: $10,000 Patriotic Fund. + +ST. JOHNS, N.B. $10,000 Patriotic Fund; $2,000 Belgian Fund + +THE WOMEN OF CANADA: +Building, equipping and maintenance of "Canadian Women's +Hospital" of 100 beds to supplement Naval Hospital at Haslar +($182,857); $100,000 To War Office (40 motor ambulance cars +purchased). Women of Nova Scotia $15,170 ($7,000 to Hospital, +$5,000 Canadian Patriotic fund and rest to Red Cross). + +THE BANKS AND THE PATRIOTIC FUNDS + +BANK OF MONTREAL $110,000 + +CANADIAN BANK OF COMMERCE 50,000 +ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 50,000 +MERCHANTS BANK 30,000 +DOMINION BANK 25,000 +UNION BANK OF CANADA 25,000 +BANK OF TORONTO 25,000 +BANK OF OTTAWA 25,000 +BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA 25,000 +BANK OF HAMILTON 25,000 +BANK OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA 25,000 + +Little Newfoundland sent a contingent of 510; placed a Naval +Reserve force of 1,000 men in training and prepared a second +contingent of 500 men, while contributing $120,000 to a local +Patriotic Fund. Australia handed over its fleet of battleships +and cruisers to the Admiralty and one of these, The Sydney, +captured the Emden of German fame, while the New Zealand, a +dreadnought from the Island Dominion of that name, held a place +in the North Sea fighting line. Australia also sent 20,000 men +who saw service before the end of the year in Egypt, provided +reserves and prepared two more contingents, while sending +donations of all kinds of food supplies for the poor in Britain +or for the Belgian refugees. From India at once went a portion of +the British Army which was replaced by native troops and then a +large contingent of the latter, which took part in the protection +of Egypt and in the fighting in France. + +The great Princes of India - notably the Maharajahs of Nepaul, +Gwalior, Patiala, Baratppur, Sikkim and Dholpur - placed the +entire military resources of tens of millions of people at the +disposal of the King-Emperor. The Maharajah of Rewa cabled this +splendid message: "What orders from His Majesty for me and my +troops?" The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maharajah of Bikanir +offered not only their troops, but the entire resources of their +great states and their own personal services at the front. Bengal +gave a million bags of jute for the army and the Maharajah of +Mysore proffered 3,500 men and 50 lakhs of rupees (about +$350,000). Practically all the 700 native rulers of states in +India offered personal services, men and money. For active +personal service the Viceroy selected the Chiefs of Jodhpur, +Bikanir, Kishangarh, Rutlam, Sachin, Patiala, Sir Pertab Singh, +Regent of Jodhpur, and others. Contingents of cavalry and +infantry, supplies and transports were forwarded besides a camel +corps from Bikanir, horses from many states, machine guns, +hospital-bed contributions, motor cars and large gifts to the +Patriotic and Belgian Relief Funds. New Zealand sent a first +contingent of 8,000 troops and relief forces, prepared to send +more and promised, like Canada and Australia, to continue +training and sending troops as long as they should be required. +On the other hand Great Britain undertook to finance the actual +military operations of these countries by lending the four +Dominions $210,000,000 and undertaking to provide more when +needed. + +It was with this unity, and in this spirit, that the British +Empire entered the great War for the redemption of its pledges to +Belgium and adherence to its French obligations - Russia only +coming indirectly into the first stage of the question and Japan, +through the force of its Treaty, undertaking to guard British +interests in the East. + + +Chapter V. THE WORLD'S GREATEST WAR +Wars as Mileposts - A Continent in Arms - How Canada Prepared for +War - The British Sentiment - Lord Kitchener's Career - A +Forceful Character + +The history of the leading events in the nations of Europe during +a hundred years of the past, so far as they related to the +decline of autocratic power in the monarchs and the development +of popular rights and liberty, has been given in the preceding +chapters, where it is brought down to the close of the Balkan War +and the opening of the great war that succeeded in 1914. As +regards this war, its story cannot be told or even summarized in +a chapter, but some indication of its general character may be +given. + +WARS AS MILEPOSTS + +Wars serve as convenient mileposts in the history of mankind. +They deal with the great struggles which break up the monotony of +peace and bring the nations into volcanic relations. They have +been many and their causes and effects various; strifes for spoil +or dominion; savage invasions of civilized lands; overflow of +vast areas by conquering tribes or nations. But among all the +world has so far known there has been none so stupendous in +character, so portentous in purpose, so vast in fighting +multitudes, so terrible in bloodshed, as the one with which we +are here concerned, the lurid meeting of the nations on the +blood-stained fields of battle which broke upon the quiet of the +world with startling suddenness in the summer of 1914. Launched +on the borders of little Servia, it soon had the continent for +its field of action, and all but one of the greater nations of +Europe for its participants. It may therefore fitly be designated +the Great War. Great it was, alike in the number and strength of +the Powers involved, in the enormous array of armed men engaged, +in the destructive power of the weapons employed, in the loss of +life and waste of wealth that attended its earthquaking +development. + +In reading the history of the past we find it thickly strewn with +stories of fierce battles, a day, two days, rarely much longer in +extent, protracted intervals of marching and countermarching +succeeding before the armies again locked horns. Such was the +case in the American Civil War, in which the three days' battle +at Gettysburg was the greatest in length, if the six days' +fighting before Richmond be taken to constitute a succession of +battles. + +In the Russo-Japanese war much longer struggles took place. The +armies at Liaoyung fought for eight days and those before Mukden +for twenty days. But a more obstinate struggle still was that of +September and October, 1914, when two armies, stretched out over +a line two hundred miles or more in length, fought with ceaseless +fury, by day and night alike, for more than a month. On the +moving picture screen of time this vast conflict stands out +without parallel in the world's annals, the most unyielding, +incessant battling ever known. + +A CONTINENT IN ARMS + +In the giant warfare here described we behold a continent, well +nigh a world, in arms. Along the rivers north of Paris three +powerful nations, Germany, France and Britain, wrestled like +mighty behemoths for supremacy. Far eastward, on the borders of +Russia, Austria and Germany, two other great Powers, Russia and +Austria, with German armies to aid the latter, strove with equal +fury for victory. + +Thus raged the Great War. How many took part it is difficult to +estimate. Among the war tales of the past the most stupendous +army on record is that of Xerxes, said by Herodotus to number +2,317,600 men, who marched from Asia to face defeat in the +diminutive land of Greece. How large this fabulously great army +really was we shall never know, but even at the figures given it +was dwarfed by the hosts in arms in the Great European War, in +which between four and five million men fought with fierceness +unsurpassed. + +The field of action of this mighty contest was not confined to +Europe. On the far-off border of Asia another Power, the warlike +empire of Japan, sent forth its soldiers to drive the Germans +from China. In Africa and on the South Pacific the colonists of +Britain set other forces in motion to invade the German colonial +regions. From British India sailed a strong array of dark-skinned +warriors to take part in the war in France. From Algeria and +Senegal came hordes of sable recruits for the French army, and +from the cities and provinces of the Dominion of Canada came +still another army of ardent patriots eager to aid the forces of +their fatherland. We may well speak of the contest as not one of +a continent but of the entire world. + +HOW CANADA PREPARED FOR WAR + +The story of the patriotic ardor of the Canadians is of interest, +as given by a correspondent of the London GRAPHIC, who passed +through the Dominion after the opening of the war. + +"The news of the great war came like a bolt from the blue. The +effect was startling. The ordinary flow of Canadian life was +suddenly arrested. The customary routine seemed to stop dead +still. The whole of Canadian thought and much of the people's +energy were switched on to the great staggering fact that Europe +was at war, and the old country fighting for its life. A most +wonderful and touching patriotism welled up in the heart of the +Canadians. The air became electric with excitement and +enthusiasm. The prairie was indeed on fire. Passing through +English towns on my journey to London the calm and peaceful +demeanor of the people and the even flow of life seemed in +strange contrast with the land I had just left, where the +population was throbbing with loyal passion, and the war +dominated the existence of the inhabitants, high and low, from +Victoria to Halifax. One Canadian scene that remains impressed +upon my mind was the sea of upturned faces in front of the +offices of the Calgary News Telegram - every ear straining to the +point where the war news was announced at intervals through a +megaphone. + +"'We stand shoulder to shoulder.' Sir Robert Borden, the Premier, +had said, 'with Britain and the other British Dominions in this +quarrel, and that duty we shall not fail to fulfil as the honor +of Canada demands.' It is being fulfilled in a score of different +ways, but mainly in the practical spirit that is characteristic +of the country. The Dominion is the Empire's granary, and through +the granary doors, as the Motherland knows, are passing huge +gifts of food to the British population. At the same time the +stoppage of the export of all foodstuffs to other countries is +proposed. + +"Soon the Dominion began to mobilize. Regiments seemed to spring +up, as if by magic, from the ground - not hordes of untrained +men, but stalwart horsemen, accustomed to the rifle and inured to +a hard outdoor life. The Germans will knock against another 'bit +of hard stuff' when they meet the Canadian contingents. One of +the regiments carries the name of the Princess Patricia, who, by +the way, holds quite a unique position in the hearts of the +people. The popular Princess was, shortly after I left, to have +presented her regiment with their colors - worked by her own +hands. + +"Londoners were happy in the knowledge that more such men could +be sent, if necessary, up to 200,000 in number - such was the +earnestness of the people. One met this practical earnestness in +a dozen different directions - in such facts, for instance, as +the conversion of the great Winnipeg Industrial Hall into a +military training center - and not the least significant feature +in the situation is the manner in which the prevalent enthusiasm +had spread to the American inhabitants of the country. The trade +intimacy between the United States and the Dominion was, indeed, +constantly growing, and the many great American manufacturing +concerns which had planted themselves in Canada had attained +prosperity. It was pleasant and reassuring to think that this had +not weakened the ties of attachment to the old country. In the +days to succeed the war the Dominion can look back with pride +upon the part she bore in sustaining the arms of Mother England, +and can take her place with happy confidence and added strength +as the eldest daughter in the great family of British peoples." + +The enthusiasm thus indicated among the Canadians, which had its +outcome in the despatch of 323,000 sons of the dominion in late +September to the seat of war, to be quickly followed by a second +contingent, was paralleled in India, which sent to France 70,000 +of its dusky sons to join the struggling hosts. As for the +remaining countries of the British empire, Australia, South +Africa, East Africa, etc., a similar sentiment of loyalty +prevailed, manifested there by the sending of contingents or in +expeditions against the German colonies in the South Sea and in +Africa. The whole empire was ready to support the mother country. + +Certainly the Kaiser of Germany, William the War Lord, had set +loose in the air a nest of hornets to sting his well-trained +warriors. By his side stood only Austria, a composite empire +which soon found all its strength too little to hold back the +mighty Russian tide that swept across its borders. Thus this one +stalwart nation, with its weak auxiliary, was forced to face now +east, now west, against a continent in arms. It is difficult to +imagine that the Kaiser could have hoped to succeed, despite the +training of his people and the strength of his artillery. "God +fights with the heaviest battalions," said one who knew, and the +weight of battalions, though at first on William's side, could +not remain so. + +THE BRITISH SENTIMENT + +While the British people, with their lack of a system of +militarism, were not in condition to send large bodies of troops +at once to the aid of the mobilized French, they were soon ready +to despatch a useful contingent of trained men. Probably the +German emperor counted upon the disturbance in Ireland between +the Ulsterites and the people of the Catholic provinces to tie +the hands of the government, but these people at once suspended +their hostile sentiments in favor of the larger needs of their +country. In England itself the militant suffragettes showed equal +patriotism, at once agreeing to desist from all acts of violence +and offering to aid their country to the extent of their powers. + +LORD KITCHENER'S CAREER + +The British government appointed Lord Kitchener, the hero of many +successful expeditions, Secretary of State for War, putting the +whole management of military affairs into his competent hands. +His fitness for this was thoroughly attested by his long and +brilliant service, and as the presence of Napoleon was said to be +equal to an army, so was that of this able military leader. + +For those who are not familiar with Kitchener's career a brief +statement concerning it may be useful. Born in 1850, Horatio +Herbert Kitchener entered the army in 1871, was in civil life +1874-82, then returned to army duty. He took part in the Nile +expedition of 1884 for the rescue of General Gordon and commanded +a brigade in the Suakim campaign of 1888. Governor of Suakim +1886-88, adjutant-general of the Egyptian army 1888-92, he was +appointed to the command of this army, with the Egyptian rank of +Sirdar, in 1890. + +His service in Egypt was during the period of the Mahdi outbreak, +which began in 1883, defeated all the armies sent to quell it, +and for years held the Sudan region of Egypt. In 1896 Kitchener +set out for its suppression, recovering Dongola, and organizing +an expedition against the Khalifa, the successor of the Mahdi. He +defeated the Dervish army of the Khalifa in April, 1898, and on +September 2d of that year utterly crushed the Dervish hosts at +Omdurman, regaining the Sudan for Egypt and Britain. + +This exploit brought him the thanks of parliament and the title +of baron, with a grant of 30,000 pounds and a sword of honor. In +1899 he went with Lord Roberts to South Africa as chief of staff, +and on Lord Roberts' return in 1900 he succeeded him as +commander-in-chief and brought the Boer War to a successful +conclusion. He was now made full general, with the rank of +viscount, and subsequently served as commander-in-chief in India. + +A FORCEFUL CHARACTER + +In an illuminating article in COLLIER'S WEEKLY, the well-known +Irish journalist, T. P. O'Connor, thus brought out the character +of the hero of Khartoum: + +"I attribute something of the Lord Kitchener we know to the fact +that, though English by blood, he spent the first years of his +life in wandering over the hills and looking down on the +sea-tossed shores of County Kerry. That tact which enabled him to +settle the issue with Marchand, the French explorer, at Fashoda, +suggests some of the lessons in the soft answer which Ireland can +teach. You remember how, when it was possible that a collision +between him and Marchand might mean a war between England and +France, Lord Kitchener sent some fresh vegetables and champagne +to the daring French explorer, who had gone through the hunger, +thirst, and hardship of the desert for months. Marchand had to go +from Fashoda all the same, but he went with no personal +grievance. + +"If I look for the roots of Lord Kitchener's greatness, I trace +them to intense ambition to succeed, to make the most of his +opportunities - above all, to the incessant desire to work and +fill every hour of his days with something done. He is sent as a +youngster to Palestine, through peril to life, through great +privation, through heart-breaking drudgery, he pursues his work +until he has completed a map of all western Palestine to the +amazement and delight of his employers. And he values this +experience so largely because he learns Arabic, and, above all, +he learns the Arabic character. One of the chroniclers of his +career makes the apt observation that, while the baton of the +marshal is in every French soldier's knapsack, Kitchener found +his coronet in the Arab grammar. But how many soldiers or men of +any class would have devoted the leisure hours of a fiercely +active task like Kitchener's in Palestine to the study of one of +the most difficult of languages? + +"Hard work, patience, and the utilization of every second of +time, the eagerness always to learn - these are the chief secrets +of Lord Kitchener's enormous success in life. But the man who +works himself is ineffective in great things unless he has the +gift to choose the men who can work for him and with him. This +choice of subordinates is one or Lord Kitchener's greatest +powers. He nearly always has had the right man in the right +place. And his men return his confidence because he gives them +absolute confidence. He never thinks of asking a subordinate +whether he has done the job he has given him; he takes that for +granted, knowing his man; and he never worries his subordinates. + +"This is one of the reasons why, though he works so terrifically, +he never is tired, never worried. He sits down at his desk at the +War Office for about ten hours a day; but he sits there calmly, +isn't ringing at bells and shouting down pipes; he does it all so +quietly that it seems mere pastime; and the effect of this +perfect tranquillity produces an extraordinary result on those +who work with him. They also do their work easily, tranquilly, +and without feeling it. + +"A great soldier certainly; but perhaps a greater organizer than +anything else. This is his supreme quality, and for that quality +there is necessary, above all things, a clear, penetrating brain. +He doesn't form any visions - as Napoleon used to complain of +some of his marshals. At school he was celebrated for his +knowledge of mathematics, and especially for his phenomenal +rapidity in dealing with figures, and it was not accident that so +truly a scientific mind found its natural place in the engineers. +A mathematician, an engineer, a man of science, a great +accountant - these things he has been in all his enterprises. It +was these qualities that enabled him to make that astounding +railway which brought Cairo almost into touch with the Khalifa, +who, with his predecessor, the Mahdi, and with his tragically +potent ally, the hungry and all-devouring desert, had beaten back +so many other attempts to reach and to beat him. + +"This man, who has fought such tremendous and historic battles +and confronted great odds, is yet a man who prefers a deal to a +struggle; and, though he can be so stern, has yet a diplomatic +tact that gets him and his country out of difficult hours. The +nature, doubtless, is complex, and stern determination and +tenacity are part of it; but there is also the other side, which +is much forgotten - especially by that class of writers who have +to describe human character as rigidly symmetrical and +unnaturally harmonious. + +"That cold and penetrating eye of his makes it impossible to +imagine anybody taking any liberties with Lord Kitchener; yet one +of his greatest qualities, at once useful and charming, is his +accessibility. Anybody who has anything to say to him can +approach him; anybody who has anything to teach him will find a +ready and grateful learner. This is one of the secrets of his +extraordinary success and universal popularity in Egypt. Lord +Cromer was a great Egyptian ruler, and his services are +imperishable and gigantic; but Lord Cromer was the stern, +solitary, and inaccessible bureaucrat who worked innumerable +hours every day at his desk, never learned the Arabic language, +and possibly never quite grasped the Arab nature. Lord Kitchener +is the cadi under the tree. The mayor or the citizens of the +little Arab village can come to him, and the old soldier, and +even the fellah, alone; and they will find Lord Kitchener ready +to listen and to talk to them in their own tongue, to enter with +gusto into the pettiest details of their daily and squalid lives, +and ready also to apply the remedy to such grievances as commend +themselves to his judgment. + +"As an illustration of his accessibility, let me repeat a +delicious story which delighted all Egypt. An old peasant came +out of the depths of the land all the way to Cairo to see the +great Kitchener, with the complaint that his white mule had been +stolen. The whole official machinery was interrupted for a while, +and the old fellah went back with his white mule. You can fancy +how that story was repeated in every fellah cabin in the land, +and how the devotion to Kitchener and trust in his justice and in +his sympathy went trumpet-tongued among this race, downtrodden +and neglected almost from the beginning of time." + +Such is the man who, when chosen to head the British War +Department, had his bed sent to the office, that he might be on +duty day and night if needed; who insisted that no raw recruits +should be sent to the front, but put them through a rigid system +of drill and physical exercise to toughen their muscles and fit +them for the work of a soldier; who said that there would be +abundant time for fighting, as in his judgment there was a year +or more of war in prospect. + + +Chapter VI. THE EARTHQUAKE OF NAPOLEONISM + +Its Effect on National conditions Finally Led to the War of 1914 + +Conditions in France and Germany - The Campaign in Italy - The +Victory at Marengo - Moreau at Hohenlinden - The Consul made +Emperor - The Code Napoleon - Campaign of 1805 - Battle of +Austerlitz - The Conquest of Prussia - The Invasion of Poland - +Eylau and Friedland - Campaign of 1809 - Victory at Wagram - The +Campaign in Spain - The Invasion of Russia - A Fatal Retreat - +Dresden and Leipzig - The Hundred Days - The Congress of Vienna - +The Holy Alliance + +When, after a weary climb, we find ourselves on the summit of a +lofty mountain, and look back from that commanding altitude over +the ground we have traversed, what is it that we behold? The +minor details of the scenery, many of which seemed large and +important to us as we passed, are now lost to view, and we see +only the great and imposing features of the landscape, the high +elevations, the town-studded valleys, the deep and winding +streams, the broad forests. It is the same when, from the summit +of an age, we gaze backward over the plain of time. The myriad of +petty happenings are lost to sight, and we see only the striking +events, the critical epochs, the mighty crises through which the +world has passed. These are the things that make true history, +not the daily doings in the king's palace or the peasant's hut. +What we should seek to observe and store up in our memories are +the turning points in human events, the great thoughts which have +ripened into noble deeds, the hands of might which have pushed +the world forward in its career; not the trifling occurrences +which signify nothing, the passing actions which have borne no +fruit in human affairs. It is with such turning points, such +critical periods in modern history, that we are here dealing; not +to picture the passing bubbles on the stream of time, but to +point out the great ships which have sailed up that stream laden +with a noble freight. This is history in its deepest and best +aspect, and we have set our camera to photograph only the men who +have made and the events which constitute history in the phase +here outlined. + +The first fifteen years of the nineteenth century in Europe yield +us the history of a man rather than of a continent. France was +the center of Europe; Napoleon, the Corsican, was the center of +France. All the affairs of all the nations seemed to gather +around this genius of war. He was respected, feared, hated; he +had risen with the suddenness of a thunder-cloud on a clear +horizon, and flashed the lightnings of victory in the dazzled +eyes of the nations. All the events of the period were +concentrated into one great event, and the name of that event was +Napoleon. He seemed incarnate war, organized destruction; sword +in hand, he dominated the nations, and victory sat on his banners +with folded wings. He was, in a full sense, the man of destiny, +and Europe was his prey. + +Never has there been a more wonderful career. The earlier great +conquerors began life at the top; Napoleon began his at the +bottom. Alexander was a king; Caesar was an aristocrat of the +Roman republic; Napoleon rose from the people, and was not even a +native of the land which became the scene of his exploits. Pure +force of military genius lifted him from the lowest to the +highest place among mankind, and for long and terrible years +Europe shuddered at his name and trembled beneath the tread of +his marching legions. As for France, he brought it glory and left +it ruin and dismay. + +The career of Napoleon Bonaparte began in a very modest way. Born +in Corsica and trained in a military school in France, his native +ability as a man of action was first made evident in 1794, when, +under the orders of the National Convention, he quelled the mob +of Paris with loaded cannon and put a final end to the Reign of +Terror that had long prevailed. + +Placed at the head of the French army in Italy, Napoleon quickly +astonished the world by a series of the most brilliant victories, +defeating the Austrians and the Sardinians wherever he met them, +seizing Venice, the city of the lagoon, and forcing almost all +Italy to submit to his arms. A republic was established here and +a new one in Switzerland, while Belgium and the left bank of the +Rhine were held by France. + +His wars here at an end, Napoleon's ambition led him to Egypt, +inspired by great designs which he failed to realize. In his +absence anarchy arose in France. The five Directors, then at the +head of the government, had lost all authority, and Napoleon, who +had unexpectedly returned, did not hesitate to overthrow them and +the Assembly which supported them. A new government, with three +Consuls at its head, was formed, Napoleon, as First Consul, +holding almost royal power. Thus France stood in 1800, at the end +of the eighteenth century. + +CONDITIONS IN FRANCE AND GERMANY + +In the remainder of Europe there was nothing to compare with the +momentous convulsion which had taken place in France. England had +gone through its two revolutions more than a century before, and +its people were the freest of any in Europe. Recently it had lost +its colonies in America, but it still held in that continent the +broad domain of Canada, and was building for itself a new empire +in India, while founding colonies in twenty other lands. In +commerce and manufactures it entered the nineteenth century as +the greatest nation on the earth. The hammer and the loom +resounded from end to end of the island, mighty centers of +industry arose where cattle had grazed a century before, coal and +iron were being torn in great quantities from the depths of the +earth, and there seemed everywhere an endless bustle and whirr. +The ships of England haunted all seas and visited the most remote +ports, laden with the products of her workshops and bringing back +raw material for her factories and looms. Wealth accumulated, +London became the money market of the world, the riches and +prosperity of the island kingdom were growing to be a parable +among the nations of the earth. + +On the continent of Europe, Prussia, destined in time to become +great, had recently emerged from its medieval feebleness, mainly +under the powerful hand of Frederick the Great, whose reign +extended until 1786, and whose ambition, daring, and military +genius made him a fitting predecessor of Napoleon the Great, who +so soon succeeded him in the annals of war. Unscrupulous in his +aims, this warrior king had torn Silesia from Austria, added to +his kingdom a portion of unfortunate Poland, annexed the +principality of East Friesland, and lifted Prussia into a leading +position among the European states. + +Germany, now - with the exception of Austria - a compact empire, +was then a series of disconnected states, variously known as +kingdoms, principalities, margravates, electorates, and by other +titles, the whole forming the so-called Holy Empire, though it +was "neither holy nor an empire." It had drifted down in this +fashion from the Middle Ages, and the work of consolidation had +but just begun, in the conquests of Frederick the Great. A host +of petty potentates ruled the land, whose states, aside from +Prussia and Austria, were too weak to have a voice in the +councils of Europe. Joseph II, the titular emperor of Germany, +made an earnest and vigorous effort to combine its elements into +a powerful unit; but he signally failed, and died in 1790, a +disappointed and embittered man. + +Austria, then far the most powerful of the German states, was +from 1740 to 1780 under the reign of a woman, Maria Theresa, who +struggled in vain against her ambitious neighbor, Frederick the +Great, his kingdom being extended ruthlessly at the expense of +her imperial dominions. Austria remained a great country, +however, including Bohemia and Hungary among its domains. It was +lord of Lombardy and Venice in Italy, but was destined to play an +unfortunate part in the coming Napoleonic wars. + +We have briefly epitomized Napoleon's early career, his doings in +the Revolution, in Italy, and in Egypt, unto the time that +France's worship of his military genius raised him to the rank of +First Consul, and gave him in effect the power of a king. No one +dared question his word, the army was at his beck and call, the +nation lay prostrate at his feet - not in fear but in admiration. +Such was the state of affairs in France in the closing year of +the eighteenth century. The Revolution was at an end, the +Republic existed only as a name; Napoleon was the autocrat of +France and the terror of Europe. From this point we resume the +story of his career. + +The First Consul began his reign with two enemies in the field, +England and Austria. Prussia was neutral, and he had won the +friendship of Paul, the emperor of Russia, by a shrewd move. +While the other nations refused to exchange the Russian prisoners +they held, Napoleon sent home 6,000 of these captives, newly clad +and armed, under their own leaders, and without demanding ransom. +This was enough to win to his side the weak-minded Paul, whose +delight in soldiers he well knew. + +Napoleon now had but two enemies in arms to deal with. He wrote +letters to the king of England and the emperor of Austria, +offering peace. The answers were cold and insulting, asking +France to take back her Bourbon kings and return to her old +boundaries. Nothing remained but war. Napoleon prepared it with +his usual rapidity, secrecy, and keenness of judgment. + +THE CAMPAIGN IN ITALY + +There were two French armies in the field in the spring of 1800, +Moreau commanding in Germany, Massena in Italy. Switzerland, +which was occupied by the French, divided the armies of the +enemy, and Napoleon determined to take advantage of the +separation of their forces, and strike an overwhelming blow. He +sent word to Moreau and Massena to keep the enemy in check at any +cost, and secretly gathered a third army, whose corps were +dispersed here and there, while the Powers of Europe were aware +only of the army of reserve at Dijon, made up of conscripts and +invalids. All was ready for the great movement which Napoleon had +in view. + +Twenty centuries before, Hannibal had led his army across the +great mountain barrier of the Alps, and poured down like an +avalanche upon the fertile plains of Italy. The Corsican +determined to repeat this brilliant achievement and emulate +Hannibal's career. Several passes across the mountains seemed +favorable to his purpose, especially those of the St. Bernard, +the Simplon and Mount Cenis. Of these the first was the most +difficult; but it was much the shorter, and Napoleon determined +to lead the main body of his army over this ice-covered mountain +pass, despite its dangers and difficulties. The enterprise was +one to deter any man less bold than Hannibal or Napoleon, but it +was welcome to the hardihood and daring of these men, who +rejoiced in the seemingly impossible and spurned faltering at +hardships and perils. + +The task of the Corsican was greater than that of the +Carthaginian. He had cannon to transport, while Hannibal's men +carried only swords and spears. But the genius of Napoleon was +equal to the task. The cannon were taken from their carriages and +placed in the hollowed-out trunks of trees, which could be +dragged with ropes over the ice and snow. Mules were used to draw +the gun-carriages and the wagon-loads of food and munitions of +war. Stores of provisions had been placed at suitable points +along the road. + +The sudden appearance of the French in Italy was an utter +surprise to the Austrians. They descended like a torrent into the +valley, seized Ivry, and five days after reaching Italy met and +repulsed an Austrian force. The divisions which had crossed by +other passes one by one joined Napoleon. On June 9th Marshal +Lannes met and defeated the Austrians at Montebello, after a hot +engagement. "I heard the bones crackle like a hailstorm on the +roofs," he said. On the 14th, the two armies met on the plain of +Marengo, and one of the most famous of Napoleon's battles began. + +THE VICTORY AR MARENGO + +Napoleon was not ready for the coming battle, and was taken by +surprise. He had been obliged to break up his army in order to +guard all the passages open to the enemy. Suddenly attacked and +taken by surprise, his army was defeated and driven back in +retreat in the first stage of the battle. But Napoleon was not +the man to accept defeat. Hurrying up Desaix, one of his most +trusted generals, with his corps, he flung these fresh troops +upon the enemy, following up the assault with the dragoons of +Kellermann. The result was a disastrous rout of the Austrians, +who were driven from the field, leaving thousands of dead, and +other thousands of prisoners in the hands of the enemy. + +A few days afterwards on the 19th, Moreau in Germany won a +brilliant victory at Hockstadt, near Blemheim, took 5,000 +prisoners and twenty pieces of cannon, and forced from the +Austrians an armed truce which left him master of South Germany. +A still more momentous armistice was signed by Melas in Italy, by +which the Austrians surrendered Piedmont, Lombardy, and all their +territory as far as the Mincio, leaving France master of Italy. + +MOREAU AT HOHENLINDEN + +What followed must be briefly detailed. Only a truce, not a +peace, had followed the victories of Napoleon and Moreau, and +five months later, Austria refusing to make peace without the +concurrence of England, the war began again. Moreau winning +another famous victory on the plains of Hohenlinden, the +Austrians losing 8,000 in killed and wounded and 12,000 in +prisoners. + +Moreau advanced to Vienna, where the emperor was forced to sign +an armistice, giving up to France the valley of the Danube, the +country of the Tyrol, a number of fortresses and large magazines +of war material. This truce was followed by a peace in February, +1801. It was one that left Napoleon the idol of France, the +terror of Europe, and the admiration of the world. He had proved +himself the mate of Caesar and Alexander as a conqueror. + +THE CONSUL MADE EMPEROR + +The events that followed must be briefly epitomized. For nearly +the only time in his career Napoleon had a period of peace. In +this he showed himself an autocratic but able ruler, making +himself king in everything but name, restoring the old court +customs and etiquette, but not interfering with the liberties and +privileges which the people had won by the Revolution. Feudalism +had been definitely overthrown and Napoleon's supremacy in the +state was one that recognized the popular freedom. + +The culmination of Napoleon's ambition came in 1804, when he +followed the example of Caesar, the Roman conqueror, seeking the +crown as a reward for his victories. Like Caesar, he had his +enemies, but, more fortunate than Caesar, he escaped their plots +and was elected Emperor of the French by an almost unanimous vote +of the people. The Pope was obliged to come to Paris at the fiat +of the new autocrat and to anoint him as emperor, the sanction of +the Church being thus given to his new dignity. His empire was +one founded upon modern ideas, one called into existence by the +votes of a free people, not resting upon the necks of a nation of +serfs. + +THE CODE NAPOLEON + +During his brief respite from war Napoleon's activity was great, +his statesmanship notable. Great public works, monuments to his +glory, were constructed, wide schemes of public improvement were +entered upon, and important changes were made in the financial +system that provided the great sums needed for these enterprises. +The most important of these evidences of intellectual activity +was the Code Napoleon, the first organized code of French law and +still the basis of jurisprudence in France. This, first +promulgated in 1801 as the civil code of France, had its title +changed to Code Napoleon in 1804, and as such stands as one of +the greatest monuments to the mental capacity of this +extraordinary man. + +The period of peace during which these events took place was one +of brief endurance. It practically ended in 1803, when Great +Britain, Napoleon's most persistent foe, again declared war. But +actual war did not begin until two years later. + +The Emperor's role in this period was one of threat. England had +been invaded and conquered from France once before. It might be +again. Like William of Normandy, Napoleon prepared a large fleet +and strong army and threatened an invasion of the island kingdom. +This might possibly have been successful but for the shrewd +policy of William Pitt, the British Prime Minister, who organized +a coalition of Napoleon's enemies in Europe which gave him a new +use for his army. + +CAMPAIGN OF 1805 + +The coalition embraced Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden and +Norway, with Great Britain at their back. The bold Corsican had +roused nearly all Europe against him. He dealt with it in his +usual alert and successful manner. + +Quick as were his enemies to come into the field, they were not +quick enough for their vigilant foe. The army prepared for the +invasion of England was at once set in motion towards the Rhine, +and was handled with such skill as to surround at Ulm the +Austrian army under General Mack and force its surrender. + +This took place in October. On the 1st of December the two armies +(92,000 of the allies to 70,000 French) came face to face on the +field of Austerlitz, where on the following day was to be fought +one of the world's most memorable battles. + +BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ + +The Emperor Alexander had joined Francis of Austria, and the two +monarchs with their staff officers, occupied the castle and +village of Austerlitz. Their troops hastened to occupy the +plateau of Pratzen, which Napoleon had designedly left free. His +plans of battle were already fully made. He had, with the +intuition of genius, foreseen the probable maneuvers of the +enemy, and had left open for them the position which he wished +them to occupy. He even announced their movement in a +proclamation to his troops. + +"The positions that we occupy are formidable," he said, "and +while the enemy march to turn my right they will present to me +their flank." + +This movement to the right was indeed the one that had been +decided upon by the allies, with the purpose of cutting off the +road to Vienna by isolating numerous corps dispersed in Austria +and Styria. It had been shrewdly divined by Napoleon in choosing +his ground. + +He held his own men in readiness while the line of the enemy +deployed. The sun was rising, its rays gleaming through a mist, +which dispersed as it rose higher. It now poured its brilliant +beams across the field, the afterward famous "sun of Austerlitz." +The movement of the allies had the effect of partly withdrawing +their troops from the plateau of Pratzen. At a signal from the +emperor the strongly concentrated center of the French army moved +forward in a dense mass, directing their march towards the +plateau, which they made all haste to occupy. They had reached +the foot of the hill before the rising mist revealed them to the +enemy. + +The two emperors watched the movement without divining its +intent. "See how the French climb the height without staying to +reply to our fire," said Prince Czartoryski, who stood near them. + +They were soon to learn why their fire was disdained. The allied +force, pierced in its center by the French, was flung back in +disorder and on all sides broke into a disorderly retreat. The +slaughter was frightful. One division, cut off from the army, +threw down its arms and surrendered. Two columns rushed upon the +ice of a frozen lake. Upon this the fire of the French cannon was +turned, the ice splintered and gave way beneath their feet and +thousands of the despairing troops perished in the freezing +waters. Of the whole army only one corps left the field in order +of battle. More than 30,000 prisoners, including twenty generals, +remained in Napoleon's hands, and with them a hundred and twenty +pieces of cannon and forty flags. Thus ended the most famous of +Napoleon's battles. + +The victory of Austerlitz left Germany in Napoleon's hands, and +the remodeling of the map of Europe was one of the greatest that +has ever taken place at any one time. Kingdoms were formed and +placed under Napoleon's brothers or favorite generals. His +changes in the states of Germany were numerous and radical. Those +of south and west Germany were organized into the Confederation +of the Rhine, under his protection. Many of the small +principalities were suppressed and their territories added to the +larger states. As to the "Holy Roman Empire," a once powerful +organization which had long since sunk into a mere shadow, it +finally ceased to exist. The empire of France was extended by +these and other changes until is spread over Italy, the +Netherlands and the south and west of Germany. + +Changes so great as these could scarcely be made without exciting +bitter opposition. Prussia had been seriously affected by +Napoleon's map-making, and in the end its king, Frederick +William, became so exasperated that he broke off all +communication with France and began to prepare for war. + +THE CONQUEST OF PRUSSIA + +It is by no means impossible that Napoleon had been working for +this. It is certain that he was quick to take advantage of it. +While the Prussian king was slowly collecting his troops and war +material, the veterans of France were already on the march and +approaching the borders of Prussia. The hasty levies of +"Frederick William were no match for the war-hardened French, the +Russians failed to come to their aid, and on the 4th of October, +1806, the two armies met at Jena. + +The Prussians proved incapable of withstanding the impetuous +attack of the French and were soon broken and in panic and +flight. Nothing could stop them. Reinforcements coming up, 20,000 +in number, were thrown across their path, but in vain, being +swept away by the fugitives and pushed back by the triumphant +pursuers. + +At the same time another battle was in progress near Auerstadt +between Marshal Davoust and the forces of the Duke of Brunswick. +This, too, ended in victory for the French. The king had been +with the duke and was borne back by the flying host, the two +bodies of fugitives finally coalescing. In that one fatal day +Frederick William had lost his army and placed his kingdom in +jeopardy. "They can do nothing but gather up the debris," said +Napoleon. + +The occupation of Berlin, the Prussian capital, quickly followed, +and the war ended with new map-making which greatly reduced the +influence of Prussia as a European Power. + +THE INVASION OF POLAND + +Russia was still in arms, and occupied Poland. Thither the +victorious French now advanced, making Warsaw, the Polish +capital, the goal of their march. The Russians were beaten and +forced back in every battle, and the Poles, hoping to regain +their lost liberties, gladly rose in aid of the invader. But the +French army found itself exposed to serious privations. The +country was a frozen desert, incapable of supplying food for an +army. The wintry chill and the desolate character of the country +seriously interfered with Napoleon's plans, the troops being +obliged to make their way through thick and rain-soaked forests, +and march over desolate and marshy plains. The winter of the +north fought against them like a strong army and many of them +fell dead without a battle. Warlike movements became almost +impossible to the troops of the south, though the hardy +northerners, accustomed to the climate, continued their military +operations. + +EYLAU AND FRIEDLAND + +By the end of January the Russian army was evidently approaching +in force, and immediate action became necessary. The cold +increased. The mud was converted into ice. On January 30, 1807, +Napoleon left Warsaw and marched in search of the enemy. General +Benningsen retreated, avoiding battle, and on the 7th of February +entered the small town of Eylau, from which his troops were +pushed by the approaching French. He encamped outside the town, +the French in and about it; it was evident that a great battle +was at hand. + +The weather was cold. Snow lay thick upon the ground and still +fell in great flakes. A sheet of ice covering some small lakes +formed part of the country upon which the armies were encamped, +but was thick enough to bear their weight. It was a chill, +inhospitable country to which the demon of war had come. + +Before daybreak on the 8th Napoleon was in the streets of Eylau, +forming his line of battle for the coming engagement. Soon the +artillery of both armies opened, and a rain of cannon balls began +to decimate the opposing ranks. The Russian fire was concentrated +on the town, which was soon in flames. That of the French was +directed against a hill which the emperor deemed it important to +occupy. The two armies, nearly equal in numbers, - the French +having 75,000 to the Russian 70,000 - were but a short distance +apart, and the slaughter from the fierce cannonade was terrible. + +Nature, which had so far acted to check the advance of the French +in Poland, now threatened their defeat and destruction. A +snow-fall began, so thick and dense that the armies lost sight of +each other, the French columns losing their way in the gloom. +When the snow ceased, after a half-hour's fall, the French army +was in a critical position. It was in a wandering and +disorganized state, while the Russians were on the point of +executing a vigorous turning movement. + +Yet the genius of Napoleon turned the scale. He ordered a grand +charge of all the cavalry of his army, driving the Russians back, +occupying a hilly ground in their rear, and in the end handling +them so vigorously that a final retreat began. + +Thus ended the most indecisive of Napoleon's victories, one which +had almost been a defeat and which left both armies so exhausted +that months passed before either was in condition to resume the +war. It was the month of June before the armies were again put in +motion. Now the wintry desolation was replaced by a scene of +green woodland, shining lakes and attractive villages, the +conditions being far more favorable for warlike operations. + +On June 13th the armies again met, this time at the town of +Friedland, on the River Alle, in the vicinity of Konigsberg, +toward which the Russians were marching. Here Benningsen, the +Russian general, had incautiously concentrated his troops within +a bend of the river, a tactical mistake of which Napoleon +hastened to take advantage. + +General Ney fought his way into the town and took the bridges, +while the main force of the French marched upon the entrapped +enemy, who met with complete defeat, many being killed on the +field, many more drowned in the river. Konigsberg, the prize of +victory, was quickly occupied by the French, Prussia the ally of +Russia, thus losing all its area except the single town of Memel. +The result was disastrous to the Prussian king, who was forced to +yield more than half his kingdom. + +Louisa, the beautiful queen of Frederick William of Prussia, had +an interview with Napoleon and earnestly sought to induce him to +mitigate his harsh terms. In vain she brought to bear upon him +all her powers of persuasion and attractive charm of manner. He +continued cold and obdurate and she left Tilsit deeply mortified +and humiliated. + +If Napoleon had come near defeat in the campaign of 1807, he came +much nearer in that of 1809, in which his long career of victory +was for a time diversified by an example of defeat, from the +consequences of which only his indomitable energy saved him. And +this was at the hands of the Austrians, who had so often met with +defeat and humiliation at his hands. + +In 1808 the defeat of his armies in Spain by the people organized +into guerilla bands forced him to take command there in person. +He defeated the insurgents wherever met, took the city of +Saragossa and replaced his brother Joseph on the throne. Then the +outbreak of war in Austria called him away and he was forced to +leave Spain for later attention + +CAMPAIGN OF 1809 + +The declaration of war by Austria arose from indignation at the +arbitrary acts of the conqueror, this growing so intense that in +April 1809, a new declaration was made and new armies called into +the field. + +The French campaign was characterized by the usual rapidity. But +on this occasion the Archduke Charles, who led the Austrians, +proved equally rapid, and was in the field so quickly that the +widely-spread French army was for a time in imminent danger of +being cut in two by the alert enemy. + +Only a brief hesitation on the part of the Archduke saved the +French from this peril. They concentrated with the utmost haste, +forced the Austrians back, and captured a large number of +prisoners and cannon. In Italy, on the contrary, the Austrians, +were victorious, but the rapid advance of Napoleon towards Vienna +caused their recall and the campaign became a race for the +capital of Austria. In this Napoleon succeeded, the garrison +yielding the city to his troops. + +Meanwhile the Archdukes Charles and John, the latter in command +of the army from Italy, were marching hastily towards the +opposite side of the Danube. Napoleon, seeking to strike a blow +before a junction between the armies could be made, crossed the +river by the aid of bridges thrown from the island of Lobau and +occupied the villages of Aspern and Essling. + +This was done on May 20th, but during that night the strong +current of the river carried away the bridge, leaving the French +in a perilous situation. On the afternoon of the 21st the entire +Austrian army, 70,000 to 80,000 strong, attacked the French in +the two villages, who held their posts only with the greatest +difficulty. + +By dawn of the 21st more than 70,000 French had crossed, but at +this critical interval the bridge again gave way, broken by the +fireships and the stone-laden boats sent by the Austrians down +the swift current. The struggle went on all day, the bridge being +again built and again broken, and at night the French, cut off +from their supply of ammunition, were forced to retreat. +Napoleon, for the first time in his career, had met with defeat. +More than 40,000 dead and wounded lay on that fatal field, among +them the brilliant Marshal Lannes, one of Napoleon's ablest aids. + +VICTORY AT WAGRAM + +Napoleon, however, had no thought of yielding his hold upon +Vienna. He brought forward new troops with all haste, until by +July 1st he had an army of 150,000 men. The Austrian army had +also been augmented and now numbered 135,000 or 140,000 men. They +had fortified the positions of the recent battle, expecting a new +attack in that quarter. + +But of this Napoleon had no intention. He had selected the +heights from Neusiedl to Wagram, occupied by the Austrians, but +not fortified by them, as a more favorable point, and during the +night of July 4th he threw fresh bridges from Lobau to the main +land and set in motion the strong force occupying the island. +This moved against the heights of Wagram, occupying Aspern and +Essling in its advance. + +The battle of the next day was one of desperate fury. Finally the +height was gained, giving the French the key of the battlefield. +The Archduke Charles looked in vain for the army under his +brother John, which failed to appear, and, assailed at every +point, was obliged to order a retreat. But this was no rout. The +retreat was conducted slowly and in battle array. Both the +Russians and the Austrians were proving worthy antagonists of the +great Corsican. Further hostilities were checked by a truce, +preliminary to a treaty of peace, signed October 14, 1809. + +Ambition, unrestrained by caution, uncontrolled by moderation, +has its inevitable end. An empire built upon victory, trusting +solely to military genius, prepared for itself the elements of +its overthrow. This fact Napoleon was to learn. In the outset of +his career he opposed a new art of war to the obsolete one of his +enemies, and his path to empire was over the corpses of +slaughtered armies and the ruins of fallen kingdoms. But year by +year his foes learned his art, in war after war their resistance +grew more stringent, each successive victory was won with more +difficulty and at greater cost, and finally, at the crossing of +the Danube, the energy and genius of Napoleon met their equal, +and the standards of France, for the first time under Napoleon's +leadership, went back in defeat. It was the tocsin of fate. His +career of victory had culminated. From that day its decline +began. + +THE CAMPAIGN IN SPAIN + +The second check to Napoleon's triumphant career came from one of +the weaker nations of Europe, aided by the British under a +commander of renown. Napoleon, as already stated, after +overturning Spain had been called away by the Austrian war. This +ended by the treaty of peace, he filled Spain once more with his +veterans, increasing the strength of the army there to 300,000 +men, under his ablest generals, Soult, Massena, Ney, Marmont, +Macdonald and others. They marched through Spain from end to end, +yet, though they held all the salient points, the people refused +to submit, but from their mountain fastnesses kept up a petty and +annoying war. + +Massena invaded Portugal in 1811, but here he was faced by +General Wellington, leading a British army, and was forced to +retreat. Soult, who followed him, was equally unsuccessful, and +when Napoleon in 1812 depleted his army in Spain for the Russian +campaign, Wellington marched his army into Spain and, aided by +the Spanish patriots, took possession of Madrid, driving King +Joseph from his throne. + +THE INVASION OF RUSSIA + +Meanwhile Napoleon had entered upon the greatest and most +disastrous campaign in his history. Defied by Alexander I, Czar +of Russia, he had declared war upon that empire and sought its +conquest with the greatest army that ever marched under his +banners. On the banks of the Niemen, a river that flows between +Prussia and Poland, there gathered near the end of June 1812, an +immense army of more than 600,000 men, attended by an enormous +multitude of non-combatants, their purpose being the invasion of +the empire of Russia. Of this great army, made up of troops from +half the nations of Europe, there reappeared six months later on +that broad stream about 16,000 armed men, almost all that were +left of that stupendous host. The remainder had perished on the +desert soil or in the frozen rivers of Russia, few of them +surviving as prisoners in Russian hands. Such was the character +of the dread catastrophe that broke the power of the mighty +conqueror and delivered Europe from his autocratic grasp. + +We cannot give the details of this fatal campaign, and shall only +summarize its chief incidents. Barclay de Tolly, Alexander's +commander in chief, adopted a Fabian policy, that of persistently +avoiding battle, and keeping the French in pursuit of a fleeting +will-of-the-wisp while their army wasted away from hardship and +disease in the inhospitable Russian clime. + +His method was a wise one, desertion, illness, death of the +untrained recruits in rapid march under the hot midsummer sun, +did the work of many battles, and when Smolensk was reached after +two months of bootless marching, the "Grand Army" was bound to +have been reduced to half its numbers. + +Moscow, the old capital of the Empire, was Napoleon's goal. He +felt sure that the occupation of that city would bring the +Russians to bay and force them to accept terms of peace. He was +sadly mistaken. The Russians, weary of retreating, faced him in +one battle, that of Borodino. Here they fought stubbornly, but +with the usual result. They could not stand against the impetuous +dash of Napoleon's veterans and were forced to retreat, leaving +40,000 dead and wounded upon the field. But the French army had +lost more than 30,000, including an unusual number of generals, +two being killed and thirty-nine wounded. + +A FATAL RETREAT + +On the 15th of September, Moscow, the "Holy City" of Russia was +occupied, Napoleon taking up his quarters in the famous palace of +the Kremlin, from which he hoped to dictate terms of peace to the +obstinate Czar. What were his feelings on the next morning when +word was brought him that Moscow was on fire, and flames were +seen leaping into the air in all directions. + +The fire had been premeditated. From every quarter rose the +devouring flames. Even the Kremlin did not escape and Napoleon +was obliged to seek shelter outside the city, which continued to +burn for three days, when the wind sank and rain poured upon the +smoldering embers. + +The dismayed conqueror waited in vain. He wrote letters to the +Czar, suggesting peace. His letters were left unanswered. He hung +on despairingly until the 18th of October, when he reluctantly +gave the order to retreat. Too long he had waited, for the +terrible Russian winter was about to descend. + +That retreat was a frightful one. The army had been reduced to +103,000 men; the army followers had also greatly decreased in +numbers. But it was still a large host that set out upon its long +march over the frozen Russian plains. + +The Russian policy now changed. The retreating army was attacked +at every suitable point. The food supply rapidly failed. On again +reaching Smolensk the army was only 42,000 strong, though the +camp followers are said to have still numbered 60,000. + +On the 26th of November the ice-cold River Beresina was reached, +destined to be the most terrible point on the whole dreadful +march. Two bridges were thrown in all haste across the stream, +and most of the men under arms crossed, but 18,000 stragglers +fell into the hands of the enemy. How many were trodden to death +in the press or were crowded from the bridge into the icy river +cannot be told. It is said that when spring thawed the ice, +30,000 bodies were found and burned on the banks of the stream. A +mere fragment of the great army remained alive. Ney, who had been +the hero of the retreat, was the last man to cross that frightful +stream. + +On the 13th of December some 16,000 haggard and staggering men, +almost too weak to hold the arms to which they still despairingly +clung, recrossed the Niemen, which the "Grand Army" had passed in +such magnificent strength and with such abounding resources less +than six months before. It was the greatest and most astounding +disaster in the military history of the world. + +DRESDEN AND LEIPZIG + +The lion was at bay, but there was fight left in him still. He +hurried back to France, gathered another army, refused all offers +of peace on the terms suggested by his enemies, and concentrated +an army at Dresden. Here on August 26, 1813, his last great +victory was won. + +The final stand came at Leipzig, where, October 16-18, he waged a +three days' battle against all the powers of central and eastern +Europe. Then, his ammunition nearly exhausted, he was forced to +give the order to retreat. + +The struggle was soon at an end. France was quickly invaded, +Paris was obliged to surrender, and on April 7, 1814, the emperor +signed an act of abdication and was exiled to the small island of +Elba, in the Mediterranean, with an army of 400 men, chosen from +his famous Old Guard. But the Powers of Europe, despite their +long experience of Napoleon, did not yet recognize the ability +and audacity of the man with whom they had to deal. While the +Congress of Vienna, convened to restore the old constitution of +Europe, was deliberating and disputing, word came that their +dethroned enemy was again on the soil of France and Louis XVIII, +his successor, was in full flight. He had landed on March 1, +1815, and was marching back to Paris, the people and the army +rallying to his support. + +THE HUNDRED DAYS + +Then came the famous Hundred Days, in which Napoleon showed much +of his old ability, rapidly organizing a new army, with which in +June he marched into Belgium, where the British under Wellington +and the Prussians under Blucher had gathered to meet him. + +On the 16rh he defeated Blucher at Ligny. On the 18th he met +Wellington at Waterloo, and after a desperate struggle went down +in utter defeat. All day long the French and British had fought +without victory for either, but the arrival of Blucher with his +Prussians turned the scale. The French army broke and fled in +disastrous rout, three-fourths of its force being left on the +field, dead, wounded, or prisoners. It was the great soldier's +last fight. He was forced to surrender the throne, and was again +exiled, this time to the island of St. Helena, in the south +Atlantic. No such mistake as that of Elba was safe to make again. +Here ended the days of Napoleon Bonaparte, the greatest soldier +the world had ever known. His final hour of glory came in 1842, +when his remains were brought in pomp to Paris, there to find a +final resting place in the Hotel des Invalides. + +THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA + +This Congress of the rulers and statesmen of Europe, which opened +in September, 1814, and continued its work after the fall of +Napoleon at Waterloo, occupied itself with map-making on a +liberal scale. The empire which the conqueror had built up at the +expense of the neighboring countries, was quickly dismembered and +France reduced to its former limits, while all the surrounding +Powers took their shares of the spoils, Belgium and Holland being +combined into a single kingdom. + +As for the rights of the people, what had become of them? Had +they been swept away and the old wrongs of the people brought +back? Not quite. The frenzied enthusiasm for liberty and human +rights of the past twenty-five years could not go altogether for +nothing. The lingering relics of feudalism had vanished, not only +from France but from all Europe, and no monarch or congress could +bring them back again. In its place the principles of democracy +had been carried by the armies of France throughout Europe and +deeply planted in a hundred places, and their establishment as +actual conditions was the most important part of the political +development of the nineteenth century. + +THE HOLY ALLIANCE + +Map-making was not the whole work of the Congress of Vienna. An +association was made of the rulers of Russia, Austria and +Prussia, under the promising title of the "Holy Alliance." These +devout autocrats proposed to rule in accordance with the precepts +of the Bible, to govern their subjects like loving parents, and +to see that peace, justice and religion should flourish in their +dominions. + +Such was the theory, the real purpose was one of absolute +dominion, that of uniting their forces against democracy and +revolution wherever these should show themselves. It was not long +before there was work for them to do. The people began to move. +The attempt to re-establish absolute governments shook them out +of sluggish acceptance. Revolution lifted its head in spite of +the Holy Alliance, its first field being Spain. Revolt broke out +there in 1820 and was quickly followed by a similar revolt in +Naples. + +These revolutionary movements roused the members of the Alliance. +An Austrian army invaded Italy, a French one, under the influence +of the Alliance, was sent to Spain, and both the revolutions were +vigorously quelled. The only revolt that succeeded was one in +Greece against the Turkish power. There was no desire to sustain +the Turks, and a Russian army was finally sent to aid the Greeks, +whose freedom was attained in April, 1830. + +Such were the chief events that followed the fall of Napoleon. +Reaction was the order of the day. But it was a reaction that was +to be violently shaken in the period now reached, the +revolutionary year of 1830. + + +Chapter VII. PAN-SLAVISM VERSUS PAN-GERMANISM + +Russia's Part in the Servian Issue - Strength of the Russian Army +- The Distribution of the Slavs - Origin of Pan-Slavism - The +Czar's Proclamation - The Teutons of Europe - Intermingling of +Races - The Nations at War + +Pan-Slavism against Pan-Germanism was the issue which was +launched when the Emperor of all the Russias took up Servia's +quarrel with Austria-Hungary. Russia, if she wanted a ground for +war, could have found no better one. The popularity of her +aggressive big-brother attitude to all the Slavs was quickly +attested in St. Petersburg. It had been a long time since war had +appealed with the same favor to so large a part of the Czar's +people. Slavs there were in plenty to menace the allied German +Powers, even if there were not allied French arms, on Germany's +other flank, and Britain's naval supremacy to cope with. Slavs in +past times had spread over all of eastern Europe, from the Arctic +to the Adriatic and the Aegean Seas. Their continuity was long +ago broken into by an intrusion of Magyars. Finns, and +Roumanians, leaving a northern Slavic section composed of North +Russians, Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks, and a southern section +comprising the main body of the Balkan people. For over a +thousand years these Slavs have peopled Europe east of the Elbe +River. And for centuries they kept the hordes of Cossacks, Turks +and barbarians off Europe. Russia in those days was called "the +nation of the sword." And over a hundred years ago that sword was +drawn for Servia. After 400 years of vassalage to Turkey, the +Serbs rebelled in 1804, and then only Russian intervention saved +them from defeat. In later wars oppression of the Slavs was a +prominent issue. + +RUSSIA'S PART IN THE SERVIAN ISSUE + +What rendered the Russian menace so formidable at the opening of +the 1914 war was the unusual enthusiasm which was displayed. +Ordinarily, the huge population of Russia has been rather +apathetic toward the purposes of the Emperor. But in the case of +Austria's injustice to Servia the Czar, judging from the +demonstrations in St. Petersburg, could reasonably count upon +having behind him possibly 100,000,000 Slavs among his subjects. +Moscow and Odessa gave similar demonstrations of good feeling, +and it seemed as if, in the event of the Czar's assuming command +as generalissimo of all the forces, the wave of enthusiasm would +sweep over the whole empire. Who knows that is the strength of +the Russian bear, once he is roused to sullen fury? In the ten +years following the Russo-Japanese War Russia had greatly added +to her army and navy, and materially cut down the time required +for the mobilization of her forces by eliminating many of the +difficulties attendant upon transportation and equipment of +troops. Her quiet advances toward becoming a Power to be feared +by the most formidable European Nation had come to be recognized +even if in a vague way. + +In considering the potential strength of the armies which Russia, +in the course of a long war, might put in the field, it may be +pointed out that military service in that empire of more than +160,000,000 people is universal and compulsory. Service under the +flag begins at the age of twenty and lasts for twenty-three +years. Usually it is proportioned as follows: Three or four years +in the active army, fourteen or fifteen in the Zapas, or first +reserve, and five years in the Opolchenie, or second reserve. For +the Cossacks, those fighters who are a conspicuous element of +Russia's military strength, there is hardly a cessation in +discipline during their early manhood. Holding their lands by +military tenure, they are liable to service for life. Furnishing +their own equipment and horses - the Cossack is almost invariably +a cavalryman - they pass through three periods of four years +each, with diminishing duties, until they wind up in the reserve, +which is liable to be called into the field in time of war. + +STRENGTH OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY + +Russia's field army consists of three powerful divisions - the +army of European Russia, the army of Asia, already referred to, +and the army of the Caucasus. The European Russian field army +consists of twenty-seven army corps - each corps comprising, at +fighting strength, about 36,000 men - and some twenty-odd cavalry +divisions, of 4,000 horsemen each. With the field army of the +Caucasus and the first and second reserve divisions of the +Cossacks, the total would be brought to nearly 1,600,000 men. +With the Asiatic army, the grand total, according to the latest +figures, would give the Russian armies a fighting strength of +1,850,000 men, of whom it would be practicable to assemble, say, +1,200,000 in a single theater of war. With respect to the armies +which could be put in the field in time of urgent demand, there +are conflicting estimates. It seems certain that Russia's war +strength is more than 5,500,000 men, but, of course, the train +service and the artillery for such a force is lacking. Two and +three-quarter million men could probably be mustered at one time. + +In the event of a prolonged war, in which the tide of affairs +should put Russia strictly on the defensive, she would be less +easily invaded than any large country of Europe. The very extent +of her empire, protected by natural barriers at almost every side +save where she touches Northeast Europe, would present almost +insuperable difficulties to the invader. Napoleon paid dearly for +his fortitude in pushing his columns into Moscow. The only +conditions under which a repetition of such a feat is conceivable +were not likely to be found during a general European struggle. + +THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SLAVS + +To make matters worse for the Austrian or German invader, there +are conflicting relations between their own people and the +Russians. The Polish provinces, for instance, however unfriendly +toward Russia, as one of the dismemberers of the Polish kingdom, +are strongly bound in blood and speech to the Russian nation. The +Poles and Russians are brother Slavs, and are likely to remember +this in any conflict which approaches an issue between +Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism. The Poles of East Prussia have an +ingrained hatred of their German masters and have been embittered +by political oppression almost to the point of revolt. Those +along Austria's eastern border are little less bitter. + +The estimate is made that Europe contains in all about +140,000,000 Slavs, this being the most numerous race on the +continent, the Teutons ranking second. While the great bulk of +these are natives of Russia, they have penetrated in large +numbers to the west and south, and are to be found abundantly in +the Balkan region, in the Austrian realm, and in the region of +the disintegrated kingdom of Poland. + +According to recent authoritative statistics the race question in +Austria-Hungary is decidedly complicated and diversified. In the +kingdoms and provinces represented in the Reichsrath in Vienna +there are nearly 10,000,000 Germans and 18,500,000 non-Germans. +Of these nearly 17,500,000 are Slavs. Among these Slavs, the +Croats and Serbs number 780,000, chiefly in Dalmatia, while there +are in all 660,000 Orthodox and nearly 3,500,000 Greek Uniats. + +In Hungary, with its subject kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia, +there are 8,750,000 Magyars, 2,000,000 Germans, and 8,000,000 +other non-Magyars. Of these, 3,000,000 are Roumanians and well +over 5,000,000 Slavs. The Croats, or Roman Catholic Serbs, number +1,800,000, and their Orthodox brothers are 1,100,000 in number. +All told, Hungary has nearly 11,000,000 Roman Catholic subjects, +2,000,000 Greek Uniats, and 3,000,000 Orthodox. In this +connection it should be remembered that the Patriarchate of the +Orthodox Serb Church has been fixed at Karlowitz, under Hungarian +rule, for over two centuries. + +In Bosnia there are 434,000 Roman Catholic Croats, 825,000 +Orthodox Serbs, and over 600,000 Bosniaks, or Moslem Serbs. Thus +it will be seen that the Emperor Francis Joseph rules over more +than 24,000,000 Slavs and 3,225,000 Roumanians, of whom nearly +4,500,000 adhere to various Orthodox Churches and 5,400,000 are +Uniats. Of this Slav mass 5,000,000 Poles, mostly Roman +Catholics, are not particularly susceptible to Pan-Slav +propaganda, as that is largely Russian and Orthodox. + +Within the boundaries of Germany herself there are over 3,000,000 +Slavs, chiefly Poles, the Slavs of Polish descent in all being +estimated at 15,000,000. To these must be added the Bulgarians, +Serbs and Montenegrins of the Balkan region, constituting about +7,0000,000 more. + +ORIGIN OF PAN-SLAVISM + +The term Pan-Slavism has been given to the agitation carried on +by a great party in Russia, its purpose being the union of the +Slavic peoples of Europe under Russian rule, as an extensive +racial empire. This movement originated about 1830, when the +feeling of race relationship in Russia was stirred up by the +revolutionary movement in Poland. It gained renewed strength from +the Polish revolution of 1863, and still survives as the slogan +of an ardent party. The ideals of Pan-Slavism have made their way +into the Slavic populations of Bohemia, Silesia, Croatia and +Slavonia, where there is dread of the members of the race losing +their individuality under the aggressive addition of the +Austrian, German or Hungarian governments. In 1877-78 Russia +entered into war against Turkey as the champion of the Balkan +Slavs. A similar movement was that made in 1914, when the +independence of the Servian Slavs was threatened by Austria. The +immediate steps taken by Russia to mobilize her forces in +protection of the Serbs was followed as immediately by a +declaration of war on the part of the German emperor and the +quick plunging of practically the whole of Europe into a war. + +THE CZAR'S PROCLAMATION + +In this connection the proclamation made by the Russian Czar to +his people on August 3d, possesses much interest, as indicating +his Slavic sentiment. The text is as follows: + +"By the grace of God we, Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of all +the Russias, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland, etc, to +all our faithful subjects make known that Russia, related by +faith and blood to the Slav peoples and faithful to her +historical traditions, has never regarded their fate with +indifference. + +"But the fraternal sentiments of the Russian people for the Slavs +have been awakened with perfect unanimity and extraordinary force +in these last few days, when Austria-Hungary knowingly addressed +to Servia claims unacceptable to an independent state. + +"Having paid no attention to the pacific and conciliatory reply +of the Servian Government and having rejected the benevolent +intervention of Russia, Austria-Hungary made haste to proceed to +an armed attack and began to bombard Belgrade, an open place. + +"Forced by the situation thus created to take necessary measures +of precaution, we ordered the army and the navy put on a war +footing, at the same time using every endeavor to obtain a +peaceful solution. Pourparlers were begun amid friendly relations +with Germany and her ally, Austria, for the blood and the +property of our subjects were dear to us. + +"Contrary to our hopes in our good neighborly relations of long +date, and disregarding our assurances that the mobilization +measures taken were in pursuance of no object hostile to her, +Germany demanded their immediate cessation. Being rebuffed in +this demand, Germany suddenly declared war on Russia. + +"Today it is not only the protection of a country related to us +and unjustly attacked that must be accorded, but we must +safeguard the honor, the dignity and the integrity of Russia and +her position among the Great Powers. + +"We believe unshakably that all our faithful subjects will rise +with unanimity and devotion for the defense of Russian soil; that +internal discord will be forgotten in this threatening hour; that +the unity of the Emperor with his people will become still more +close and that Russia, rising like one man, will repulse the +insolent attack of the enemy. + +"With a profound faith in the justice of our work and with a +humble hope in omnipotent providence in prayer we call God's +blessing on holy Russia and her valiant troops. Nicholas." + +Later than this was an appeal made by the Czar to the Poles under +his rule, asking for their earnest support in the war arising +from the cause above stated, and promising them the boon which +the Polish people have long coveted: that of self-government and +a practical acknowledgment of their national existence. + +THE TEUTONS OF EUROPE + +While the Slavs form the great bulk of the inhabitants of eastern +Europe, the Teutons, or people of Teutonic race and language, are +widely spread in the west and north, including the +German-speaking people of Germany, Austria-Hungary and +Switzerland, the English-speaking people of the British Islands +(in a very far-away sense), the Scandinavian-speaking people of +Norway and Sweden, the Flemish-speaking people of Belgium, and +practically the whole people of Denmark and Holland. Yet, though +these are racially related there is no such feeling as a +Pan-Teutonic sentiment combining them into a racial unity. +Instead of community and fraternity, a very marked racial and +natural divergence exists between the several peoples named, +especially between the British and Germans. Pan-Germanism is not +Pan-Teutonism in any proper sense, being confined to the several +German countries of Europe, and especially to the combination of +states in the German Empire. It is the Teuton considered in this +minor sense that has set himself against the Slav, as a measure +of self-defense against the torrent of Slavism apparently seeking +an outlet in all directions. + +Prolific as we know the Anglo-Saxons to have once been and as the +Germans still appear to be, there are few instances in human +history of a natural growth of population like that of the Slavs +in recent years. They have grown to outnumber the Germans nearly +three to one, and may perhaps do so in the future in a still +greater proportion. + +This is a scarcely desirable state of affairs in view of the fact +that the Slavs as a whole are lower and more primitive in +character and condition than the Germans. The cultivated portion +of Slavic populations forms a very small proportion in number of +the whole, and stands far in advance of the abundant multitude of +peasants and artisans, a vast body of people who are ruled +chiefly by fear; fear of the State on one side, of the Church on +the other. + +INTERMINGLING OF RACES + +There has long been an embittered, remorseless, and often bloody +struggle for supremacy between the Teuton and the Slav, yet there +has been considerable intermingling of the races, many German +traders making their way into Russian towns, while multitudes of +Slavic laborers have penetrated into German communities. Eastern +Prussia has large populations of Slavs and its Polish subjects in +Posen have been persistently non-assimilable. But only within +recent times has there arisen a passion to "Russianize" all +foreign elements in the one nation and on the other hand to +"Germanize" all similar foreign elements in the other. +Austria-Hungary is the most remarkable combination of unrelated +peoples ever got together to make part of a state, and is +especially notable for its many separate groups of Slavs. +Bohemia, for instance, has a very large majority of Slavic +population, eager to be recognized as such, and there are Slavic +populations somewhat indiscriminately scattered throughout the +dual-monarchy, especially in Hungary. + +These Slavic populations, however, differ widely in religious +belief. While largely of the Greek confession of faith, a +considerable section of them are Roman Catholics, and many are +faithful Mohammedans. This difference in religion plays a major +part in their political relations, a greater one than any feeling +of nationality and racial unity, and aids greatly in adding to +the diversity of condition and sentiment among these mixed +populations. + +THE NATIONS AT WAR + +In the war which sprang so suddenly and startlingly into the +field of events in 1914 very little of this sentiment of race +animosity appeared. While the German element remained intact in +the union of Germany and Austria, there was a strange mingling of +races in the other side of the struggle, that of the Slavic +Russian, the Teutonic Britain, and the Celtic French. As for +Italy, the non-Germanic member of the Triple Alliance, it at +first wisely declared itself out of the war, as one in which it +was in no sense concerned and under no obligation to enter into +from the terms of its alliance. Later events tended to bring it +into sympathy with the non-Germanic side, as a result of enmity +to Austria. So the conflict became narrowed down to a struggle +between Pan-Germanism on the one hand and a variety of unrelated +racial elements on the other. It may be that Emperor William had +a secret purpose to unite, if possible, all German-speaking +peoples under his single sway and that Czar Nicholas had similar +views regarding a union of the Slavs, but as they did not take +the world into their confidence no one can say what plans and +ambitions lay hidden in their mental treasure chests. In this +connection it is certainly of interest that three of the leaders +in this five-fold war were near relatives, the Czar, the Kaiser +and the British King being cousins and all of Teutonic blood. +This is a result of the intermarriage of royal families in these +later days. + + +Chapter VIII. The Ambition of Louis Napoleon + +The Final Overthrow of Napoleonism + +The Coup-d'Etat of 1851 - From President to Emperor - The Empire +is Peace - War With Austria - The Austrians Advance - The Battle +of Magenta - Possession of Lombardy - French Victory at Solferino +- Treaty of Peace - Invasion of Mexico - End of Napoleon's Career + +The name of Napoleon is a name to conjure with in France. Two +generations after the fall of Napoleon the Great the people of +that country had practically forgotten the misery he had brought +them, and remembered only the glory with which he had crowned the +name of France. When, then, a man who has been designated as +Napoleon the Little offered himself for their suffrages, they +cast their votes almost unanimously in his favor. + +Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, to give this personage his full +name, was a son of Louis Bonaparte, once king of Holland, and +Hortense de Beauharnais, and had been recognized by Napoleon as, +after his father, the direct successor to the throne. This he +made strenuous efforts to obtain, hoping to dethrone Louis +Philippe and install himself in his place. In 1836, with a few +followers, he made an attempt to capture Strasbourg. His effort +failed and he was arrested and transported to the United States. +In 1839 he published a work entitled "Napoleonic Ideas," which +was an apology for the ambitious acts of the first Napoleon. + +The growing unpopularity of Louis Philippe tempted Louis Napoleon +to make a second attempt to invade France. He did it in a rash +way almost certain to end in failure. Followed by about fifty +men, and bringing with him a tame eagle, which was expected to +perch upon his banner as the harbinger of victory, he sailed from +England in August, 1840, and landed at Boulogne. This desperate +and foolish enterprise proved a complete failure. The soldiers +whom the would-be sovereign expected to join his standard +arrested him, and he was tried for treason by the House of Peers. +This time he was not dealt with so leniently as before, but was +sentenced to imprisonment for life and was confined in the Castle +of Ham. From this fortress he escaped in disguise in May, 1846, +and made his way to England. + +The revolution of 1848 gave the restless and ambitious claimant a +more promising opportunity. He returned to France, was elected to +the National Assembly, and on the adoption of the republican +constitution offered himself as a candidate for the presidency of +the new republic. And now the magic of the name of Napoleon told. +General Cavaignac, his chief competitor, was supported by the +solid men of the country, who distrusted his opponent; but the +people rose almost solidly in his support, and he was elected +president for four years by 5,562,834 votes, against 1,469,166 +for Cavaignac. + +The new President of France soon showed his ambition. He became +engaged in a contest with the Assembly and aroused the distrust +of the Republicans by his autocratic remarks. In 1849 he still +further offended the democratic party by sending an army to Rome, +which put an end to the republic in that city. He sought to make +his cabinet officers the pliant instruments of his will, and thus +caused De Tocqueville, the celebrated author, who was minister +for foreign affairs, to resign. "We were not the men to serve him +on those terms," said De Tocqueville, at a later time. + +The new-made president was feeling his way to imperial dignity. +He could not forget that his illustrious uncle had made himself +emperor, and his ambition instigated him to the same course. A +violent controversy arose between him and the Assembly, which +body had passed a law restricting universal suffrage, thus +reducing the popular support of the president. In June, 1850, it +increased his salary at his request, but granted the increase +only for one year - an act of distrust which proved a new source +of discord. + +THE "COUP D'ETAT" OF 1851 + +Louis Napoleon meanwhile was preparing for a daring act. He +secretly obtained the support of the army leaders and prepared +covertly for the boldest stroke of his life. On the 2d of +December 1851 - the anniversary of the establishment of the first +empire and of the battle of Austerlitz - he got rid of his +opponents by means of the memorable COUP D'ETAT, and seized the +supreme power of the state. + +The most influential members of the Assembly had been arrested +during the preceding night, and when the hour for the session of +the House came the men most strongly opposed to the President +were in prison. Most of them were afterwards exiled, some for +life, some for shorter terms. This act of outrage and alleged +violation of plighted faith by their ruler roused the socialists +and republicans to the defense of their threatened liberties, +insurrections broke out in Paris, Lyons, and other towns, street +barricades were built, and severe fighting took place. But +Napoleon had secured the army, and the revolt was suppressed with +blood and slaughter. Baudin, one of the deposed deputies, was +shot on the barricade in the Faubourg St. Antoine, while waving +in his hand the decree of the constitution. He was afterwards +honored as a martyr to the cause of republicanism in France. + +Napoleon had previously sought to gain the approval of the people +by liberal and charitable acts, and to win the good will of the +civic authorities by numerous progresses through the interior. He +now stood as a protector and promoter of national prosperity and +the rights of the people, and sought to lay upon the Assembly all +the defects of his administration. By these means, which aided to +awaken the Napoleonic fervor in the state, he was enabled safely +to submit his acts of violence and bloodshed to the approval of +the people. The new constitution offered by the president was put +to vote, and was adopted by the enormous majority of more than +seven million votes. By its terms Louis Napoleon was to be +president of France for ten years, with power equal to that of a +monarch, and the Parliament was to consist of two bodies, a +Senate and a Legislative House, which were given only nominal +power. + +FROM PRESIDENT TO EMPEROR + +This was as far as Napoleon dared to venture at that time. A year +later, on December 1, 1852, having meanwhile firmly cemented his +position in the state, he passed from president to emperor, again +by a vote of the people, of whom, according to the official +report, 7,824,189 cast their votes in his favor. That this report +told the truth, many denied, but it served the President's +purpose. + +Thus ended the second French republic, by an act of usurpation of +the strongest and yet most popular character. The partisans of +the new emperor were rewarded with the chief offices of the +state; the leading republicans languished in prison or in exile +for the crime of doing their duty to their constituents; and +Armand Marrast, the most zealous champion of the republic, died +of a broken heart from the overthrow of all his efforts and +aspirations. The honest soldier and earnest patriot, Cavaignac, +in a few years followed him to the grave. The cause of liberty in +France seemed lost. + +The crowning of a new emperor of the Napoleonic family in France +naturally filled Europe with apprehensions. But Napoleon III, as +he styled himself, was an older man than Napoleon I, and +seemingly less likely to be carried away by ambition. His +favorite motto, "The Empire is peace," aided to restore quietude, +and gradually the nations began to trust in his words: "France +wishes for peace; and when France is satisfied the world is +quiet." + +Warned by one of the errors of his uncle, he avoided seeking a +wife in the royal families of Europe, but allied himself with a +Spanish lady of noble rank, the young and beautiful Eugenie de +Montijo, dutchess of Teba. At the same time he proclaimed that, +"A sovereign raised to the throne by a new principle should +remain faithful to that principle, and in the face of Europe +frankly accept the position of a parvenu, which is an honorable +title when it is obtained by the public suffrage of a great +people. For seventy years all princes' daughters married to +rulers of France have been unfortunate; only one, Josephine, was +remembered with affection by the French people, and she was not +born of a royal house." + +The new emperor continued his efforts as president to win the +approval of the people by public works. He recognized the +necessity of aiding the working classes as far as possible, and +protecting them from poverty and wretchedness. During a dearth in +1853 a "baking fund" was organized in Paris, the city +contributing funds to enable bread to be sold at a low price. +Dams and embankments were built along the rivers to overcome the +effects of floods. New streets were opened, bridges built, +railways constructed, to increase internal traffic. Splendid +buildings were erected for municipal and government purposes. +Paris was given a new aspect by pulling down its narrow lanes, +and building wide streets and magnificent boulevards - the +latter, as was charged, for the purpose of depriving insurrection +of its lurking places. The great exhibition of arts and +industries in London was followed in 1854 by one in France, the +largest and finest seen up to that time. Trade and industry were +fostered by a reduction of tariff charges, joint stock companies +and credit associations were favored, and in many ways Napoleon +III worked wisely and well for the prosperity of France, the +growth of its industries, and the improvement of the condition of +its people. + +THE EMPIRE IS PEACE + +But the new emperor, while thus actively engaged in labors of +peace means lived up to the spirit of his motto, "The Empire is +peace." An empire founded upon the army needs to give employment +to that army. A monarchy sustained by the votes of a people +athirst for glory needs to do something to appease that thirst. A +throne filled by a Napoleon could not safely ignore the +"Napoleonic Ideas," and the first of these might be stated as +"The Empire is war." And the new emperor was by no means +satisfied to pose simply as the "nephew of his uncle." He +possessed a large share of the Napoleonic ambition, and hoped by +military glory to surround his throne with some of the luster of +that of Napoleon the First. + +Whatever his private views, it is certain that France under his +reign became the most aggressive nation of Europe, and the +overweening ambition and self-confidence of the new emperor led +him to the same end as his great uncle, that of disaster and +overthrow. He was evidently bent on playing a leading part in +European politics, showing the world that one worthy to bear the +name of Napoleon was on the throne. + +The very beginning of Louis Napoleon's career of ambition, as +president of the French Republic, was signalized by an act of +military force, in sending an army to Rome and putting an end to +the attempted Italian republic. These troops were kept there +until 1866, and the aspirations of the Italian patriots were held +in check until that year. Only when United Italy stood menacingly +at the gates of Rome were these foreign troops withdrawn. They +had retarded, perhaps, for a time the inevitable union of the +Italian states into a single kingdom; they certainly prevented +the establishment of a republic. + +In 1854 Napoleon allied himself with the British and the Turks +against Russia, and sent an army to the Crimea, which played an +effective part in the great struggle in that peninsula. The +troops of France had the honor of rendering Sebastopol untenable, +carrying by storm one of its two great fortresses and turning its +guns upon the city. + +WAR WITH AUSTRIA + +The next act of war-policy by the French emperor was against +Austria. As the career of conquest of Napoleon had begun with an +attack upon the Austrians in Italy, Napoleon III attempted a +similar enterprise, and with equal success. He was said to have +been cautiously preparing for hostilities with Austria, thus to +emulate his great uncle, but lacked a satisfactory excuse for +declaring war. This came in 1858 from an attempt at +assassination. Felice Orsini, a fanatical Italian patriot, +incensed at Napoleon from his failing to come to the aid of +Italy, launched three explosive bombs against his carriage. The +effect was fatal to many of the people in the street, though the +intended victim escaped. Orsini while in prison expressed +patriotic sentiments and a loud-voiced love for his country. +"Remember that the Italians shed their blood for Napoleon the +Great," he wrote to the emperor. "Liberate my country, and the +blessings of twenty-five millions of people will follow you to +posterity." + + +Louis Napoleon, it was alleged, had once been a member of a +secret political society of Italy; he had taken the oath of +initiation; his failure to come to the aid of that country when +in power constituted him a traitor to his oath and one doomed to +death; the act of Orsini was apparently the work of the society. +That Napoleon was deeply moved by the attempted assassination is +certain, and the result of his combined fear and ambition was +soon to be shown by a movement in favor of Italian independence. + +On New Year's Day, 1859, while receiving the diplomatic corps at +the Tuileries, Napoleon addressed the following significant words +to the Austrian ambassador: "I regret that our relations are not +so cordial as I could wish, but I beg you to report to the +Emperor that my personal sentiments towards him remain +unaltered." Such is the masked way in which diplomats announce an +intention of war. The meaning of the threatening words was soon +shown, when victor Emmanuel, shortly afterwards, announced at the +opening of the Chambers in Turin that Sardinia could no longer +remain indifferent to the cry for help which was rising from all +Italy. Ten years had passed since the defeat of the Sardinians by +an Austrian army on the plains of Lombardy, and the end for the +time of their hopes of a free and united Italy. During that time +they had cherished a hope of retribution, and the words of +Napoleon and Victor Emmanuel made it evident to them that an +alliance had been made with France and that the hour of vengeance +was at hand. + +Austria was ready for the contest. Her finances, indeed, were in +a serious state, but she had a large army in Lombardy. This was +increased, Lombardy was declared in a state of siege, and every +step was taken to guard against assault from Sardinia. Delay was +disadvantageous to Austria, as it would permit her enemies to +complete their preparations, and on April 23, 1859, an ultimatum +came from Vienna, demanding that Sardinia should put her army on +a peace footing or war would ensue. + +THE AUSTRIANS ADVANCE + +A refusal came from Turin. Immediately Field-marshal Gyulai +received orders to cross the Ticino. Thus, after ten years of +peace, the beautiful plains of Northern Italy were once more to +endure the ravages of war. This act of Austria was severely +criticized by the neutral Powers, which had been seeking to allay +the trouble. Napoleon took advantage of it, as an aid to his +purposes, and accused Austria of breaking the peace by invading +the territory of his ally, the king of Sardinia. + +The real fault committed by Austria, under the circumstances, was +not in precipitating war, which could not well be avoided in the +temper of her antagonists, but in putting, through court favor +and privileges of rank, an incapable leader at the head of the +army. Old Radetzky, the victor in the last war, was dead, but +there were other able leaders who were thrust aside in favor of +the Hungarian noble Franz Gyulai, a man without experience as +commander-in-chief of an army. + +By his uncertain and dilatory movements Gyulai gave the +Sardinians time to concentrate an army of 80,000 men around the +fortress of Alessandria, and lost all the advantage of being the +first in the field. In early May the French army reached Italy, +partly by way of the St. Bernard Pass, partly by sea; and +Garibaldi, with his mountaineers, took up a position that would +enable him to attack the right wing of the Austrians. + +Later in the month Napoleon himself appeared, his presence and +the name he bore inspiring the soldiers with new valor, while his +first order of the day, in which he recalled the glorious deeds +which their fathers had done on those plains under his great +uncle, roused them to the highest enthusiasm. While assuming the +title of commander-in-chief, he was wise enough to leave the +conduct of the war to his abler subordinates, MacMahon, Niel, and +others. + +The Austrian general, having lost the opportunity to attack, was +now put on the defensive, in which his incompetence was equally +manifested. Being quite ignorant of the position of the foe, he +sent Count Stadion, with 12,000 men, on a reconnaissance. An +encounter took place at Montebello on May 20th, in which, after a +sharp engagement, Stadion was forced to retreat. Gyulai directed +his attention to that quarter, leaving Napoleon to march +unmolested from Alessandria to the invasion of Lombardy. Gyulai +then, aroused by the danger of Milan, began his retreat across +the Ticino, which he had so uselessly crossed. + +The road to Milan crossed both the Ticino River and the Naviglio +Grande, a broad and deep canal, a few miles east of the river. +Some distance farther on lies the village of Magenta, the seat of +the first great battle of the war. Sixty years before, on those +Lombard plains, Napoleon the Great had first lost, and then, by a +happy chance, won the famous battle of Marengo. The Napoleon now +in command was a very different man from the mighty soldier of +the year 1800, and the French escaped a disastrous rout only +because the Austrians were led by a still worse general. Some one +has said that victory comes to the army that makes the fewest +blunders. Such seems to have been the case in the battle of +Magenta, where military genius was the one thing wanting. + +The French pushed on, crossed the river without finding a man to +dispute the passage - other than a much-surprised customs +official - and reached an undefended bridge across the canal. The +high road to Milan seemed deserted by the Austrians. But +Napoleon's troops were drawn out in a preposterous line, +straddling a river and a canal, both difficult to cross, and +without any defensive positions to hold against an attack in +force. He supposed that the Austrians were stretched out in a +similar long line. This was not the case. Gyulai had all the +advantages of position, and might have concentrated his army and +crushed the advanced corps of the French if he had known his +situation and his business. As it was, between ignorance on the +one hand and indecision on the other, the battle was fought with +about equal forces in the field on either side. + +The first contest took place at Buffalora, a village on the +canal, where the French encountered the Austrians in force. Here +a bloody struggle went on for hours, ending in the capture of the +place by the Grenadiers of the Guard, who held on to it +afterwards with stubborn courage. + +THE BATTLE OF MAGENTA + +General MacMahon, in command of the advance, had his orders to +march forward, whatever happened, to the church-tower of Magenta, +and, in strict obedience to orders, he pushed on, leaving the +grenadiers to hold their own as best they could at Bufflora, and +heedless of the fact that the reserve troops of the army had not +yet begun to cross the river. It was the 5th of June, and the day +was well advanced when MacMahon came in contact with the +Austrians at Magenta, and the great contest of the day began. + +It was a battle in which the commanders on both sides, with the +exception of MacMahon, showed lack of military skill and the +soldiers on both sides the staunchest courage. The Austrians +seemed devoid of plan or system, and their several divisions were +beaten in detail by the French. On the other hand, General Camou, +in command of the second division of MacMahon's corps, acted as +Desaix had done at the battle of Marengo, marched at the sound of +the distant cannon. But, unlike Desaix, he moved so deliberately +that it took him six hours to make less than five miles. He was a +tactician of the old school, imbued with the idea that every +march should be made in perfect order. + +At half-past four MacMahon, with his uniform in disorder and +followed by a few officers of his staff, dashed back to hurry up +this deliberate reserve. On the way thither he rode into a body +of Austrian sharpshooters. Fortune favored him. Not dreaming of +the presence of the French general, they saluted him as one of +their own commanders. On his way back he made a second narrow +escape from capture by the Uhlans. + +The drums now beat the charge, and a determined attack was made +by the French, the enemy's main column being taken between two +fires. Desperately resisting, it was forced back step by step +upon Magenta. Into the town the columns rolled, and the fight +became fierce around the church. High in the tower of this +edifice stood the Austrian general and his staff, watching the +fortunes of the fray; and from this point he caught sight of the +four regiments of Camou, advancing as regularly as if on parade. +They were not given the chance to fire a shot or receive a +scratch, eager as they were to take part in the fight. At sight +of them the Austrian general ordered a retreat and the battle was +at an end. The French owed their victory largely to General +Mellinet and his Grenadiers of the Guard, who held their own like +bull-dogs at Buffalora while Camou was advancing with the +deliberation of the old military rules. + +MacMahon and Mellinet and the French had won the day. Victor +Emmanuel and the Sardinians did not reach the ground until after +the battle was at an end. For his services on that day of glory +for France MacMahon was made Marshal of France and Duke of +Magenta. + +POSSESSION OF LOMBARDY + +The prize of the victory of Magenta was the possession of +Lombardy. Gyulai, unable to collect his scattered divisions, gave +orders for a general retreat. Milan was evacuated with +precipitate haste, and the garrisons were withdrawn from all the +towns, leaving them to be occupied by the French and Italians. On +the 8th of June Napoleon and Victor Emmanuel rode into Milan side +by side, amid the loud acclamations of the people, who looked +upon this victory as an assurance of Italian freedom and unity. +Meanwhile the Austrians retreated without interruption, not +halting until they arrived at the Mincio, where they were +protected by the famous Quadrilateral, consisting of the four +powerful fortresses or Peschiera, Mantua, Verona, and Leguano, +the mainstay of the Austrian power in Italy. + +The French and Italians slowly pursued the retreating Austrians, +and on the 23d of June bivouacked on both banks of the Chiese +River, about fifteen miles west of the Mincio. The Emperor +Francis Joseph had recalled the incapable Gyulai, and, in hopes +of inspiring his soldiers with new spirit, himself took command. +The two emperors, neither of them soldiers, were thus pitted +against each other, and Francis Joseph, eager to retrieve the +disaster at Magenta, resolved to quit his strong position of +defense in the quadrilateral and assume the offensive. + +FRENCH VICTORY AT SOLFERINO + +At two o'colck in the morning of the 24th the allied French and +Italian army resumed its march, Napoleon's orders for the day +being based upon the reports of his reconnoitering parties and +spies. These led him to believe that, although a strong +detachment of the enemy might be encountered west of the Mincio, +the main body of the Austrians was awaiting him on the eastern +side of the river. But the French intelligence department was +badly served. The Austrians had stolen a march upon Napoleon. +Undetected by the French scouts, they had recrossed the Mincio, +and by nightfall of the 23rd their leading columns were occupying +the ground on which the French were ordered to bivouac on the +evening of the 24th. The intention of the Austrian emperor, now +commanding his army in person, had been to push forward rapidly +and fall upon the allies before they had completed the passage of +the river Chiese. But this scheme, like that of Napoleon, was +based on defective information. The allies broke up from their +bivouacs many hours before the Austrians expected them to do so, +and when the two armies came in contact early in the morning of +the 24th of June the Austrians were quite as much taken by +surprise as the French. + +The Austrian army, superior in numbers to its opponents, was +posted in a half-circle between the Mincio and Chiese, with the +intention of pressing forward from these points upon a center. +But the line was extended too far, and the center was +comparatively weak and without reserves. Napoleon, who that +morning received complete intelligence of the position of the +Austrian army, accordingly directed his chief strength against +the enemy's center, which rested upon a height near the village +of Solferino. + +Here, on the 24th of June, after a murderous conflict, in which +the French commanders hurled continually renewed masses against +the decisive position, while on the other side the Austrian +reinforcements failed through lack of unity of plan and decision +of action, the heights were at length won by the French troops in +spite of heroic resistance on the part of the Austrian soldiers; +the Austrian line of battle being cut through, and the army thus +divided into two separate masses. A second attack which Napoleon +promptly directed against Cavriano had a similar result; for the +commands given by the Austrian generals were confused and had no +general and definite aim. + +The fate of the battle was already in a great measure decided, +when a tremendous storm broke forth that put an end to the combat +at most points, and gave the Austrians an opportunity to retire +in order. Only Benedek, who had twice beaten back the Sardinians +at various points, continued the struggle for some hours longer. +On the French side Marshal Niel had pre-eminently distinguished +himself by acuteness and bravery. It was a day of bloodshed, on +which two great powers had measured their strength against each +other for twelve hours. The Austrians had to lament the loss of +13,000 dead and wounded, and left 9,000 prisoners in the enemy's +hands; on the side of the French and Sardinians the number of +killed and wounded was even greater, for repeated attacks had +been made upon well-defended heights, but the number of prisoners +was not nearly so great. + +TREATY OF PEACE + +The victories in Italy filled the French people with the warmest +admiration for their emperor, they thinking, in their enthusiasm, +that a true successor of Napoleon the Great had come to bring +glory to their arms. Italy also was full of enthusiastic hope, +fancying that the freedom and unity of the Italians was at last +assured. Both nations were, therefore, bitterly disappointed in +learning that the war was at an end, and that a hasty peace had +been arranged between the emperors which left the hoped-for work +but half achieved. + +Napoleon estimated his position better than his people. Despite +his victories, his situation was one of danger and difficulty. +The army had suffered severely in its brief campaign, and the +Austrians were still in possession of the Quadrilateral, a square +of powerful fortresses which he might seek in vain to reduce. And +a threat of serious trouble had arisen in Germany. The victorious +career of a new Napoleon in Italy was alarming. It was not easy +to forget the past. The German powers, though they had declined +to come to the aid of Austria, were armed and ready, and at any +moment might begin a hostile movement upon the Rhine. + +Napoleon, wise enough to secure what he had won, without +hazarding its loss, arranged a meeting with the Austrian emperor, +whom he found quite as ready for peace. The terms of the truce +arranged between them were that Austria should abandon Lombardy +to the line of the Mincio, almost its eastern boundry, and that +Italy should form a confederacy under the presidency of the pope. +In the treaty subsequently made only the first of these +conditions was maintained, Lombardy passing to the king of +Sardinia. Hw received also the small states of Central Italy, +whose tyrants had fled, and ceded to Napoleon, as a reward for +his assistance, the realm of Savoy and the city and territory of +Nice. + +INVASION OF MEXICO + +Napoleon III had now reached the summit of his career. In +succeeding years the French were to learn that whatever his +ability Napoleon III was not a counterpart of the great Napoleon. +He gradually lost the prestige he had gained at Magenta and +Solferino. His first serious mistake was when he yielded to the +voice of ambition, and, taking advantage of the occupation of the +Americans in their civil war, sent an army to invade Mexico. + +The ostensible purpose of this invasion was to collect a debt +which the Mexicans had refused to pay, and Great Britain and +Spain were induced to take part in the expedition. But their +forces were withdrawn when they found that Napoleon had other +purposes in view, and his army was left to fight its battles +alone. After some sanguinary engagements, the Mexican army was +broken into a series of guerilla bands, incapable of facing his +well-drilled troops, and Napoleon proceeded to reorganize Mexico +into an empire, placing the Archduke Maximilian of Austria on the +throne. + +All went well while the people of the United States were fighting +for their national union, but when their war was over the +ambitious French emperor was soon taught that he had committed a +serious error. He was given plainly to understand that the French +troops could only be kept in Mexico at the cost of a war with the +United States, and he found it convenient to withdraw them early +in 1867. They had no sooner gone than the Mexicans were in arms +against Maximilian, whose rash acceptance of the advice of the +clerical party and determination to remain quickly led to his +capture and execution as a usurper. Thus ended in utter failure +the most daring effort to ignore the "Monroe Doctrine." + +END OF NAPOLEON'S CAREER + +The inaction of Napoleon during the wars which Prussia fought +with Denmark and Austria gave further blows to his prestige in +France, and the opposition to his policy of personal government +grew so strong that he felt himself obliged to submit his policy +to a vote of the people. He was sustained by a large majority, +and then loosened somewhat the reins of personal government, in +spite of the fact that the yielding of increased liberty to the +people would diminish his own control. Finally, finding himself +failing in health, confidence and reputation, he yielded to +advisers who convinced him that the only hope for his dynasty lay +in a successful war. As a result he undertook the war of 1870 +against Prussia. The story of this war will be given in a +subsequent chapter. All that need be said here is that it proved +the utter incompetence of Napoleon III in military matters, he +being completely deceived in the condition of the French army and +unwarrantably ignorant of that of the Germans. The conditions +were such that victory for France was impossible, France losing +its second empire and Napoleon his throne. He died two years +later, an exile in England, that place of shelter for the royal +refugees of France. + + +Chapter IX. GARIBALDI AND ITALIAN UNITY + +Power of Austria Broken + +The Carbonari - Mazzini and Garibaldi - Cavour, the Statesman - +The Invasion of Sicily - Occupation of Naples - Victor Emmanuel +Takes Command - Watchword of the Patriots - Garibaldi Marches +Against Rome - Battle of Ironclads - Final Act of Italian Unity + +From the time of the fall of the Roman Empire until late in the +nineteenth century, a period of some fourteen hundred years, +Italy remained disunited, divided up among a series of states, +small and large, hostile and peaceful, while its territory was +made the battle-field of the surrounding Powers, the helpless +prey of Germany, France and Spain. Even the strong hand of +Napoleon failed to bring it unity, and after his fall its +condition was worse than before, for Austria held most of the +north and exerted a controlling power over the remainder of the +peninsula, so that the fair form of liberty fled in dismay from +its shores. + +But the work of Napoleon had inspired the patriots of Italy with +a new sentiment, that of union. Before the Napoleonic era the +thought of a united Italy scarcely existed, and patriotism meant +adherence to Sardinia, Naples, or some other of the many kingdoms +and duchies. After that era union became the watchword of the +revolutionists, who felt that the only hope of giving Italy a +position of dignity and honor among the nations lay in making it +one country under one ruler. The history of the nineteenth +century in Italy is the record of the attempt to reach this end, +and its successful accomplishment. And on that record the names +of two men most prominently appear, Mazzini, the indefatigable +conspirator, and Garibaldi, the valorous fighter; to whose names +should be added that of the eminent statesman, Count Cavour, and +that of the man who shared their statecraft and labors, Victor +Emmanuel, the first king of united Italy. + +THE CARBONARI + +The basis of the revolutionary movements in Italy was the secret +political association known as the Carbonari, formed early in the +nineteenth century and including members of all classes in its +ranks. In 1814 this powerful society projected a revolution in +Naples, and in 1820 it was strong enough to invade Naples with an +army and force from the king an oath to observe the new +constitution which it had prepared. The revolution was put down +in the following year by the Austrians, acting as the agents of +the "Holy Alliance" - the compact of Austria, Prussia and Russia. + +An ordinance was passed condemning any one who should attend a +meeting of the Carbonari to capital punishment. But the society +continued to exist, despite this severe enactment, and was at the +basis of many of the outbreaks that took place in Italy from 1820 +onward. Mazzini, Garibaldi, and all the leading patriots were +members of this powerful organization, which was daring enough to +condemn Napoleon III to death, and almost to succeed in his +assassination, for his failure to live up to his obligations as +an alleged member of the society. + +MAZZINI AND GARIBALDI + +Giuseppe Mazzini, a native of Genoa, became a member of the +Carbonari in 1830. His activity in revolutionary movements caused +him soon after to be proscribed, and in 1831 he sought +Marseilles, where he organized a new political society called +"Young Italy," whose watchword was "God and the People," and +whose basic principle was the union of the several states and +kingdoms into one nation, as the only true foundation of Italian +liberty. This purpose he avowed in his writings and pursued +through exile and adversity with inflexible constancy, and it is +largely due to the work of this earnest patriot that Italy today +is a single kingdom instead of a medley of separate states. Only +in one particular did he fail. His persistent purpose was to +establish a republic, not a monarchy. + +While Mazzini was thus working with his pen, his compatriot, +Giuseppe Garibaldi, was working as earnestly with his sword. This +daring soldier, a native of Nice and reared to a life on the sea, +was banished as a revolutionist in 1834, and the succeeding +fourteen years of his life were largely spent in South America, +in whose wars he played a leading part. + +The revolution of 1848 opened Italy to these two patriots, and +they hastened to return; Garibaldi to offer his services to +Charles Albert of Sardinia, by whom, however, he was treated with +coldness and distrust. Mazzini, after founding the Roman republic +in 1849, called upon Garibaldi to come to its defense, and the +latter displayed the greatest heroism in the contest against the +Neapolitan and French invaders. He escaped from Rome on its +capture by the French, and, after many desperate conflicts and +adventures with the Austrians, was again driven into exile, and +in 1850 became a resident of New York. For some time he worked in +a manufactory of candles on Staten Island, and afterwards made +several voyages on the Pacific. + +The war in 1859 of Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel against the +Austrians in Lombardy opened a new and promising channel for the +devotion of Garibaldi to his native land. Being appointed +major-general and commissioned to raise a volunteer corps, he +organized the hardy body of mountaineers called the "Hunters of +the Alps," and with them performed prodigies or valor on the +plains of Lombardy, winning victories over the Austrians at +Varese, Como and other places. In his ranks was his +fellow-patriot Mazzini. + +The success of the French and Sardinians in Lombardy during this +war stirred Italy to its center. The grand duke of Tuscany fled +to Austria. The duchess or Parma sought refuge in Switzerland. +The duke of Modena found shelter in the Austrian camp. Everywhere +the brood of tyrants took to flight. Bologna threw off its +allegiance to the pope, and proclaimed the king of Sardinia +dictator. Several other towns in the States of the Church, did +the same. In the terms of the truce between Louis Napoleon and +Francis Joseph the rulers of these realms were to resume their +power if the people would permit. But the people would not +permit, and these minor states were all annexed to Sardinia, +which country was greatly expanded as a result of the war. + +CAVOUR THE STATESMAN + +It will not suffice to give all the credit for these +revolutionary movements to Mazzini, the organizer, Garibaldi, the +soldier, and the ambitious monarchs of France and Sardinia. More +important than king and emperor was the eminent statesman, Count +Cavour, prime minister of Sardinia from 1852. It is to this able +man that the honor of the unification of Italy most fully +belongs, though he did not live to see it. He sent a Sardinian +army to the assistance of France and England in the Crimea in +1855, and by this act gave his state a standing among the Powers +of Europe. He secured liberty of the press and favored toleration +in religion and freedom of trade. He rebelled against the +dominion of the papacy, and devoted his abilities to the +liberation and unity of Italy, undismayed by the angry +fulminations from the Vatican. The war of 1859 was his work, and +he had the satisfaction of seeing Sardinia increased by the +addition of Lombardy, Tuscany, Parma and Modena. A great step had +been taken in the work to which he had devoted his life. + +THE INVASION OF SICILY + +The next step in the great work was taken by Garibaldi, who now +struck at the powerful kingdom of Naples and Sicily in the south. +It seemed a difficult task. Francis II, the son and successor of +the infamous "King Bomba," had a well-organized army of 150,000 +men. But his father's tyranny had filled the land with secret +societies, and fortunately at this time the Swiss mercenaries +were recalled home, leaving to Francis only his native troops, +many of them disloyal at heart to his cause. This was the +critical interval which Mazzini and Garibaldi chose for their +work. + +At the beginning of April, 1860, the signal was given by separate +insurrections in Messina and Palermo. These were easily +suppressed by the troops in garrison; but though both cities were +declared in a state of siege, demonstrations took place by which +the revolutionary chiefs excited the public mind. On the 6th of +May, Garibaldi started with two steamers from Genoa with about a +thousand Italian volunteers, and on the 11th landed near Marsala, +on the west coast of Sicily. He proceeded to the mountains, and +near Salemi gathered round him the scattered bands of the free +corps. By the 14th his army had increased to 4,000 men. He now +issued a proclamation, in which he took upon himself the +dictatorship of Sicily, in the name of Victor Emmanuel, "king of +Italy." + +After waging various successful combats under the most difficult +circumstances, Garibaldi advanced upon the capital, announcing +his arrival by beacon-fires kindled at night. On the 27th he was +in front of the Porta Termina of Palermo, and at once gave the +signal for the attack. The people rose in mass, and assisted the +operations of the besiegers by barricade-fighting in the streets. +In a few hours half the town was in Garibaldi's hands. But now +General Lanza, whom the young king had dispatched with strong +reinforcements to Sicily, furiously bombarded the insurgent city, +so that Palermo was reduced almost to a heap of ruins. + +At this juncture, by the intervention of an English admiral, an +armistice was concluded, which led to the departure of the +Neapolitan troops and war vessels and the surrender of the town +to Garibaldi, who thus, with a band of 5,000 badly armed +followers, had gained a signal advantage over a regular army of +25,000 men. This event had tremendous consequences, for it showed +the utter hollowness of the Neapolitan government, while +Garibaldi's fame was everywhere spread abroad. The glowing fancy +of the Italians beheld in him the national hero before whom every +enemy would bite the dust. This idea seemed to extend even to the +Neapolitan court itself, where all was doubt, confusion and +dismay. The king hastily summoned a liberal ministry, and offered +to restore the constitution of 1848, but the general verdict was, +"too late," and his proclamation fell flat on a people who had no +trust in Bourbon faith. + +The arrival of Garibaldi in Naples was enough to set in blaze all +the combustible materials in that state. His appearance there was +not long delayed. Six weeks after the surrender of Palermo he +marched against Messina. On the 21st of July the fortress of +Melazzo was evacuated, and a week afterwards all Messina except +the citadel was given up. + +OCCUPATION OF NAPLES + +Europe was astounded at the remarkable success of Garibaldi's +handful of men. On the mainland his good fortune was still more +astonishing. He had hardly landed - which he did almost in the +face of the Neapolitan fleet - when Reggio was surrendered and +its garrison withdrew. His progress through the south of the +kingdom was like a triumphal procession. At the end of August he +was at Cosenza; on the 5th of September at Eboli, near Salerno. +No resistance appeared. His very name seemed to work like magic +on the population. The capital had been declared in a state of +siege, and on September 6th the king took to flight, retiring, +with the 4,000 men still faithful to him, behind the Volturno. +The next day Garibaldi with a few followers, entered Naples, +whose populace received him with frantic shouts of welcome. + +The remarkable achievements of Garibaldi filled all Italy with +overmastering excitement. He had declared that he would proclaim +the kingdom of Italy from the heart of its capital city, and +nothing less than this would content the people. The position of +the pope had become serious. He refused to grant the reforms +suggested by the French emperor, and threatened with +excommunication any one who should meddle with the domain of the +Church. Money was collected from faithful Catholics throughout +the world, a summons was issued calling for recruits to the holy +army of the pope, and the exiled French General Lamoriciere was +given the chief command of the troops, composed of men who had +flocked to Rome from many nations. It was hoped that the name of +the celebrated French leader would have a favorable influence on +the troops of the French garrison of Rome. + +The settlement of the perilous situation seemed to rest with +Louis Napoleon. If he had let Garibaldi have his way the latter +would, no doubt, have quickly ended the temporal sovereignty of +the pope and made Rome the capital of Italy. But Napoleon seems +to have arranged with Cavour to leave the king of Sardinia free +to take possession of Naples, Umbria and the other provinces +provided that Rome and the "patrimony of St. Peter" were left +intact. + +VICTOR EMMANUEL TAKES COMMAND + +At the beginning of September two Sardinian army corps, under +Fanti and Cialdini, marched to the borders of the states of the +Church. Lamoriciere advanced against Cialdini with his motley +troops, but was quickly defeated, and on the following day was +besieged in the fortress of Ancona. On the 29th he and the +garrison surrendered as prisoners of war. On the 9th of October +Victor Emmanuel arrived and took command. There was no longer a +papal army to oppose him, and the march southward proceeded +without a check. + +The object of the king in assuming the chief command was to +complete the conquest of the kingdom of Naples, in conjunction +with Garibaldi. For though Garibaldi had entered the capital in +triumph, the progress on the line of the Volturno had been slow; +and the expectation that the Neapolitan army would go over to the +invaders in a mass had not been realized. The great majority of +the troops remained faithful to the flag, so that Garibaldi, +although his irregular bands amounted to more than 25,000 men, +could not hope to drive away King Francis, or to take the +fortresses of Capua and Gaeta, without the help of Sardinia. +Against the diplomatic statesman Cavour, who fostered no +illusions, and saw the conditions of affairs in its true light, +the simple, honest Garibaldi cherished a deep aversion. He could +never forgive Cavour for having given up Nice, Garibaldi's native +town, to the French. On the other hand, he felt attracted toward +the king, who, in his opinion, seemed to be the man raised up by +Providence for the liberation of Italy. + +Accordingly, when Victor Emmanuel entered Sessa, at the head of +his army, Garibaldi was easily induced to place his dictatorial +power in the hands of the king, to whom he left the completion of +the work of the union of Italy. After greeting Victor Emmanuel +with the title of King of Italy, and giving the required +resignation of his power, with the words, "Sire, I obey," he +entered Naples, riding beside the king; and then, after +recommending his companions in arms to his majesty's special +favor, he retired to his home on the island of Caprera, refusing +to receive a reward, in any shape or form, for his services to +the state and its head. + +The progress of the Sardinian army compelled Francis to give up +the line of the Volturno, and he eventually took refuge, with his +best troops, in the fortress of Gaeta. On the maintenance of this +fortress hung the fate of the kingdom of Naples. Its defense is +the only bright point in the career of the feeble Francis, whose +courage was aroused by the heroic resolution of his young wife, +the Bavarian Princess Mary. For three months the defense +continued. But no European Power came to the aid of the king, +disease appeared with scarcity of food and of munitions of war, +and the garrison was at length forced to capitulate. The fall of +Gaeta was practically the completion of the great work of the +unification of Italy. Only Rome and Venice remained to be added +to the united kingdom. On February 18, 1861, Victor Emmanuel +assembled at Turin the deputies of all the states that +acknowledged his supremacy, and in their presence assumed the +title of King of Italy, which he was the first to bear. In four +months afterwards Count Cavour, to whom this great work was +largely due, died. He had lived long enough to see the purpose of +his life practically accomplished. + +WATCHWORD OF THE PATRIOTS + +Great as had been the change which two years had made, the +patriots of Italy were not satisfied. "Free from the Alps to the +Adriatic!" was their cry; "Rome and Venice!" became the watchword +of the revolutionists. Mazzini, who had sought to found a +republic, was far from content, and the agitation went on. +Garibaldi was drawn into it, and made bitter complaint of the +treatment his followers had received. In 1862, disheartened at +the inaction of the king, he determined to undertake against Rome +an expedition like that which he had led against Naples two years +before. + +In June he sailed from Genoa and landed at Palermo, where he was +quickly joined by an enthusiastic party of volunteers. They +supposed that the government secretly favored their design, but +the king had no idea of fighting against the French troops in +Rome and arousing international complications, and he +energetically warned all Italians against taking part in +revolutionary enterprises. + +GARIBALDI MARCHES AGAINST ROME + +But Garibaldi persisted in his design. When his way was barred by +the garrison of Messina he tuned aside to Catania, where he +embarked with 2,000 volunteers, declaring he would enter Rome as +a victor, or perish beneath its walls. He landed at Melito on the +24th of August, and threw himself at once, with his followers, +into the Calabrian mountains. But his enterprise was quickly and +disastrously ended. General Cialdini despatched a division of the +regular army, under Colonel Pallavicino, against the volunteer +bands. At Aspromonte, on the 28th of August, the two forces came +into collision. A chance shot was followed by several volleys +from the regulars. Garibaldi forbade his men to return the fire +of their fellow-subjects of the Italian kingdom. He was wounded, +and taken prisoner with his followers, a few of whom had been +slain in the short combat. A government steamer carried the +wounded chief to Varignano, where he was held in a sort of +honorable imprisonment, and was compelled to undergo a tedious +and painful operation for the healing of his wound. He had at +least the consolation that all Europe looked with sympathy and +interest upon the unfortunate hero; and a general sense of relief +was felt when, restored to health, he was set free, and allowed +to return to his rocky island of Caprera. + +Victor Emmanuel was seeking to accomplish his end by safer means. +The French garrison of Rome was the obstacle in his way, and this +was finally removed through a treaty with Louis Napoleon in +September, 1864, the emperor agreeing to withdraw his troops +during the succeeding two years, in which the pope was to raise +an army large enough to defend his dominions. Florence was to +replace Turin as the capital of Italy. This arrangement created +such disturbances in Turin that the king was forced to leave that +city hastily for his new capital. In December, 1866, the last of +the French troops departed from Rome, in spite of the efforts of +the pope to retain them. By their withdrawal Italy was freed from +the presence of foreign soldiers for the first time probably in a +thousand years. + +In 1866 came an event which reacted favorably for Italy, though +her part in it was the reverse of triumphant. This was the war +between Prussia and Austria. Italy was in alliance with Prussia, +and Victor Emmanuel hastened to lead an army across the Mincio to +the invasion of Venetia, the last Austrian province in Italy. +Garibaldi at the same time was to invade the Tyrol with his +volunteers. The enterprise ended in disaster. The Austrian +troops, under the Archduke Albert, encountered the Italians at +Custozza and gained a brilliant victory, despite the much greater +numbers of the Italians. + +Fortunately for Italy, the Austrians had been unsuccessful in the +north, and the emperor, with the hope of gaining the alliance of +France and breaking the compact between Italy and Prussia, +decided to cede Venetia to Louis Napoleon. His purpose failed. +All Napoleon did in response was to act as a peacemaker, while +the Italian king refused to recede from his alliance. Though the +Austrians were retreating from a country which no longer belonged +to them, the invasion of Venetia by the Italians continued, and +several conflicts with the Austrian army took place. + +BATTLE OF IRONCLADS + +But the most memorable event of this brief war occurred on the +sea - the greatest battle of ironclad ships in the period between +the American Civil War and the Japan-China contest. Both +countries concerned had fleets on the Adriatic. Italy was the +strongest in navel vessels, possessing ten ironclads and a +considerable number of wooden ships. Austria's ironclad fleet was +seven in number, plated with thin iron and with no very heavy +guns. In addition there was a number of wooden vessels and +gunboats. But in command of this fleet was an admiral in whose +blood was the iron which was lacking on his ships, Tegetthoff, +the Nelson of the Adriatic. Inferior as his ships were, his men +were thoroughly drilled in the use of the guns and the evolutions +of the ships, and when he sailed it was with the one thought of +victory. + +Persano, the Italian admiral, as if despising his adversary, +engaged in siege of the fortified island of Lissa, near the +Dalmatian coast, leaving the Austrians to do what they pleased. +What they pleased was to attack him with a fury such as has been +rarely seen. Early on July 20, 1866, when the Italians were +preparing for a combined assault of the island by land and sea, +their movement was checked by the signal displayed on a scouting +frigate: "Suspicious-looking ships are in sight." Soon afterwards +the Austrian fleet appeared, the ironclads leading, the wooden +ships in the rear. + +The battle that followed has had no parallel before or since. The +whole Austrian fleet was converted into rams. Tegetthoff gave one +final order to his captains: "Close with the enemy and ram +everything grey." Grey was the color of the Italian ships. The +Austrian were painted black, so as to prevent any danger of +error. + +Fire was opened at two miles distance, the balls being wasted in +the waters between the fleets. "Full steam ahead," signaled +Tegetthoff. On came the fleets, firing steadily, the balls now +beginning to tell. "Ironclads will ram and sink the enemy," +signaled Tegetthoff. It was the last order he gave until the +battle was won. + +Soon the two lines of ironclads closed amid thick clouds of +smoke. Tegetthoff, in his flagship, the Ferdinand Max, twice +rammed a grey ironclad without effect. Then, out of the smoke, +loomed up the tall masts of the Re d'Italia, Persano's flagship +in the beginning of the fray. Against this vessel the Ferdinand +Max rushed at full speed, and struck her fairly amidships. Her +sides of iron were crushed in by the powerful blow, her tall +masts toppled over, and down beneath the waves sank the great +ship with her crew of 600 men. The next minute another Italian +ship came rushing upon the Austrian, and was only avoided by a +quick turn of the helm. + +One other great disaster occurred to the Italians. The Palestro +was set on fire, and the pumps were put actively to work to drown +the magazine. The crew thought the work had been successfully +performed, and that they were getting the fire under control, +when there suddenly came a terrible burst of flame attended by a +roar that drowned all the din of the battle. It was the death +knell of 400 men, for the Palestro had blown up with all on +board. The great ironclad turret ship and ram of the Italian +fleet, the Affondatore, to which Admiral Persano had shifted his +flag, far the most powerful vessel in the Adriatic, kept outside +of the battle line, and was of little service in the fray. It was +apparently afraid to encounter Tegetthoff's terrible rams. The +battle ended with the Austrian fleet, wooden vessels and all, +passing practically unharmed through the Italian lines into the +harbor of Lissa, leaving death and destruction in their rear. +Tegetthoff was the one Austrian who came out of that war with +fame. Persano on his return home was put on trial for cowardice +and incompetence. He was convicted of the latter and dismissed +from the navy in disgrace. + +FINAL ACT OF ITALIAN UNITY + +But Italy, though defeated by land and sea, gained a valuable +prize from the war, for Napoleon ceded Venetia to the Italian +king, and soon afterwards Victor Emmanuel entered Venice in +triumph. Thus was completed the second act in the unification of +Italy. + +The national party, with Garibaldi at its head, still aimed at +the possession of Rome, as the historic capital of the peninsula. +In 1867 he made a second attempt to capture Rome, but the papal +army, strengthened with a new French auxiliary force, defeated +his badly armed volunteers, and he was taken prisoner and held +captive for a time, after which he was sent back to Caprera. This +led to the French army of occupation being returned to Civita +Vecchia, where it was kept for several years. + +The final act came as a consequence of the Franco-German war of +1870, which rendered necessary the withdrawal of the French +troops from Italy. The pope was requested to make a peaceful +abdication. As he refused this, the States of the Church were +occupied up to the walls of the capital, and a three-hours' +cannonade of the city sufficed to bring the long strife to an +end. Rome became the capital of Italy, and the whole peninsula, +for the first time since the fall of the ancient Roman empire, +was concentrated into a single nation, under one king. + + +Chapter X. THE EXPANSION OF GERMANY + +Beginnings of Modern World Power + +William I of Prussia - Bismarck's Early Career - The +Schleswig-Holstein Question - Conquest of the Duchies - +Bismarck's Wider Views - War Forced on Austria - The War in Italy +- Austria's Signal Defeat at Sadowa - The Treaty of Prague - +Germany after 1866 + +The effort made in 1848 to unify Germany had failed for two +reasons - first, because its promoters had not sufficiently clear +and precise ideas, and, secondly, because they lacked material +strength. Until 1859 reaction against novelties and their +advocates dominated in Germany and even Prussia as well as in +Austria. The Italian war, as was readily foreseen, and as wary +counselors had told Napoleon III, revived the agitation in favor +of unity beyond the Rhine. After September 16, 1859, it had its +center in the national circle of Frankfort and its manifesto in +the proclamation which was issued on September 4, 1860, a +proclamation whose terms, though in moderate form, clearly +announced the design of excluding Austria from Germany. It was +the object of those favoring unity, but with more decision than +in 1848, to place the group of German states under Prussia's +imperial direction. The accession of a new king, William I, who +was already in advance called William the Conqueror, was likely +to bring this project to a successful issue. The future German +emperor's predecessor, Frederick William IV, with the same +ambition as his brother, had too many prejudices and too much +confusion in his mind to be capable of realizing it. Becoming +insane towards the close of 1857, he had to leave the government +to William, who, officially regent after October 7, 1858, became +king on January 2, 1861. + +WILLIAM I OF PRUSSIA + +The new sovereign was almost sixty-four years old. The son of +Frederick William III and Queen Louisa, while yet a child he had +witnessed the disasters of his country and his home, and then as +a young man had had his first experience of arms towards the +close of the Napoleonic wars. Obliged to flee during the revolt +of 1848, he had afterwards, by his pro-English attitude at the +time of the Crimean war, won the sympathies of the Liberals, who +joyfully acclaimed his accession. To lower him to the rank of a +party leader was to judge him erroneously. William I was above +all a Prussian prince, serious, industrious, and penetrated with +a sense of his duties to the state, the first of which, according +to the men of his house, has ever been to aggrandize it; and he +was also imbued with the idea that the state was essentially +incarnate in him. + +"I am the first king," he said at his coronation, "to assume +power since the throne has been surrounded with modern +institutions, BUT I do not forget that the crown comes from God." + +He had none of the higher talents that mark great men, but he +possessed the two essential qualities of the head of a state - +firmness and judgment. He showed this by the way in which he +chose and supported those who built up his greatness, and this +merit is rarer than is generally supposed. A soldier above all, +he saw that Prussia's ambitions could be realized only with a +powerful army. + +Advised by Von Moltke, the army's chief of staff after 1858, and +Von Roon, the great administrator, who filled the office of +minister of war, he changed the organization of 1814, which had +become insufficient. Instead of brigades formed in war time, half +of men in active service and half of reserves, regiments were now +recruited by a three (instead of a two) years' service and +reinforced in case of need by the classes of reserves. The +Landwehr, divided into two classes (twenty-five to thirty-two +years and thirty-two to thirty-nine), was grouped separately. +This system gave seven hundred thousand trained soldiers, Prussia +having then seventeen million inhabitants. This was more than +either France or Austria had. The armament was also superior. +Frederick William I had already said that the first result to be +obtained in this direction was celerity in firing. This was +assured by the invention of the needle gun. + +BISMARCK'S EARLY CAREER + +Such a transformation entailed heavy expenses. The Prussian +Chamber, made up for the most part of Liberals, did not +appreciate its utility. Moreover, it was not in favor of +increasing the number of officers, because they were recruited +from the nobility. After having yielded with bad grace in 1860, +the deputies refused the grants in 1861 and 1862. It was at this +time that Bismarck was called to the ministry (September 24, +1862). Otto von Bismarck-Schonhausen, born April 1, 1815, +belonged by birth to that minor Prussian nobility, rough and +realistic, but faithful and disciplined, which has ever been one +of the Prussian state's sources of strength. After irregular +studies at the university of Gottingen, he had entered the +administration, but had not been able to stay in it, and had +lived on his rather moderate estates until 1847. The diet of that +year, to which he had been elected, brought him into prominence. +There he distinguished himself in the Junker (poor country +squires') party by his marked contempt for the Liberalism then in +vogue and his insolence to the Liberals. Frederick William IV +entrusted him with representing Prussia at Frankfort, where he +assumed the same attitude towards the Austrians (1851-59). + +He was afterward ambassador at St. Petersburg, and had just been +sent to Paris in the same capacity when he became prime minister. + +His character was a marked one. In it was evident a taste for +sarcastic raillery and a sort of frankness, apparently brutal, +but really more refined than cruel. His qualities were those of +all great politicians, embracing energy, decision and realism; +that is, talent for appreciating all things at their effective +value and for not letting himself be duped either by appearances, +by current theories, or by words. Very unfavorably received by +the parliament, he paid little heed to the furious opposition of +the deputies, causing to be promulgated by ordinance the budget +which they refused him, suppressing hostile newspapers, treating +his adversaries with studied insolence, and declaring to them +that, if the Chamber had its rights, the king also had his, and +that force must settle the matter in such a case. To get rid of +these barren struggles, he took advantage of the first incident +of foreign politics. The Schleswig-Holstein question furnished +him with the desired opportunity. + +THE SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION + +This was the first of the various important questions of +international policy in which Bismarck became concerned. The +united provinces of Schleswig-Holstein, lying on the northern +border of Denmark had long been notable as a source of continual +strife between Germany and Denmark. The majority of the +inhabitants of Schleswig were Danes, but those of Holstein were +very largely Germans, and the question of their true national +affiliation lay open from the time of their original union in +1386. It became insistent after the middle of the nineteenth +century. + +The Treaty of London in 1852 had maintained the union of Holstein +with Denmark, but did not put a definite end to the demands of +the Germans, who held that it was a constituent part of Germany. +The quarrel was renewed in 1855 over a common constitution given +by King Frederick VII to all his states. This was abolished in +1858, and afterwards the Danes sought to grant complete autonomy +to the duchies of Schleswig and Lauenburg, this movement being +with the purpose of making more complete the union of Schleswig +with their country. This step, taken in 1863, led to a protest +from the German diet. + +In all this there was food for an indefinite contest, for, on the +one hand, Schleswig did not form a part of the Confederation, +but, on the other, certain historical bonds attached it to +Holstein, and its population was mixed. The death of Frederick +VII (November 15, 1863), who was succeeded by a distant relative, +Christian IX, further complicated the quarrel. The duke of +Augustenburg claimed the three duchies, though he had previously +renounced them. The German diet, on its part, wanted the Danish +constitution abolished in Schleswig. + +The dream of the petty German states hostile to Prussia, and +especially of the Saxon minister, Von Beust, was to strengthen +their party by the creating of a new duchy. Bismarck admirably +outplayed everybody. He knew that the great Powers were at odds +with one another over Poland. He, on the contrary, could count on +Russia's friendship and the personal aid of Queen Victoria, whom +Prince Albert had completely won over to pro-German ideas. He +used England to make Christian IX consent to the occupation of +Holstein, which, he said, was in reality an acknowledgment of +that king's rights. At this stage, had the Danes yielded to the +necessities of the situation and withdrawn from Schleswig under +protest, the European Powers would probably have intervened and a +congress would have restored Schleswig to the Danish realm. +Bismarck prevented this by a cunning stratagem, making the +Copenhagen government believe that Great Britain had taken a step +hostile to that government. There was no truth in this, but it +succeeded in inducing Denmark to remain defiant. As a +consequence, on the 1st of February 1864, the combined forces of +Prussia and Austria crossed the Eider and invaded the province. + +It was a movement to regain to Germany a section held to be +non-Danish in population and retained by Denmark against the +traditions and will of its people. Austria, which did not wish to +appear less German than Prussia, though the matter did not +directly appeal to that country, joined in the movement, being +drawn into it by Bismarck's shrewd policy. + +It was not the original intention to go beyond the borders of the +duchies and invade Denmark, but when Christian IX tried to resist +the invasion this was done. The Danewerk and the Schlei were +forced, and the Danish army was defeated at Flensburg and driven +back into Dueppel, which was taken by assault. A conference of +the great Powers, opened at London (April 25th to June 25th), +brought about no result. Napoleon III did not refuse to act, but +he wanted as a condition that England would promise him something +more than its moral support, which it refused to do. Finally +Jutland was invaded and conquered, and Van Moltke was already +preparing for a landing in Fuenen when Christian IX gave up all +the duchies by the Vienna preliminaries (August 1st), confirmed +by treaty on October 30th following. + +CONQUEST OF THE DUCHIES + +The fate of the conquest remained to be decided upon. Bismarck +settled it, after a pretence of investigation, by concluding that +the rights of King Christian over the duchies were far superior +to those of the duke of Augstenburg, who had a hereditary claim, +and that as Prussia and Austria had won them from the king by +conquest, they had become the lawful owners. An agreement was +made in which Holstein was assigned to Austria and Schleswig to +Prussia, and for the time the question seemed settled. + +BISMARCK'S WIDER VIEWS + +This was far from being the case. Bismarck held views of far more +expanded scope. He wanted to exclude Austria from the German +confederation, and to do so desired war with that country as the +only practical means of gaining his ends. In 1865 he made the +significant remark that a single battle in Bohemia would decide +everything and that Prussia would win that battle. A remark like +this was indicative of the purpose entertained and the events +soon to follow. + +In such a war, however, it was important to secure the neutrality +of France. The alert Prussian statesman had already assured +himself of that of Russia. To gain France to his side he held an +interview with Napoleon III at Biarritz in October, 1865. The +cunning diplomat offered the emperor an alliance with a view to +the extension of Prussia and Italy, by means of which France +would take Belgium. Napoleon saw very clearly that the offer was +chimerical, but he believed that Prussia if fighting alone would +be rapidly crushed, and that the alliance of Italy would aid him +in protracting the war, thus enabling him to intervene as a +peacemaker and to impose a vast rearrangement of territory, the +most essential provision of which would be the exchange of +Venetia for Silesia. Whatever Napoleon's views, Bismarck saw that +he was safe from any interference on the part of France, and +returned with the fixed design of driving Austria to the wall. + +WAR FORCED ON AUSTRIA + +He found the desired pretext in the Holstein question and the far +more serious one of reforming the federal government. On January +24, 1866, he reproached the Austrian government with favoring in +Holstein the pretensions of the Duke of Augustenburg. The +grievance soon became envenomed by complaints and ulterior +measures. In April Bismarck denounced the so-called offensive +measures which Austria was taking in Bohemia and which, in short, +were only precautionary. Yet at the same time he himself was +signing with Italy a treaty, concluded for three months, by +virtue of which Victor Emmanuel was to declare war against +Austria as soon as Prussia itself had done so. + +Bismarck, now invited to lay the Austrian-Prussian dispute before +the diet, answered by asking that an assembly elected by +universal suffrage be called to discuss the question of federal +reform. And when Austria offered to disarm in Bohemia if Prussia +would do so on its part, Bismarck demanded, in addition, +disarmament in Venetia, a condition he knew to be unacceptable. +On May 7, 1866, he declared he would not accept the diet's +intervention in the duchies question, and on the 8th ordered the +mobilization of the Prussian army. + +Napoleon III at this juncture proposed the holding of a congress +for settling the duchies question and that of federal reform. +Thiers had warned him in vain, in an admirable speech delivered +on May 3d, that France had everything to lose by aiding in +bringing about the unity of Germany. The emperor obstinately +persisted, proposing to tear up those treaties of 1815 which, two +years before, he had childishly declared to be no longer in +existence. His proposition of a congress, however, failed through +the refusal of Austria and the petty states to take part in it. +He next signed with Austria a secret treaty by which the latter +promised to cede Venetia after its first victory and on condition +of being indemnified at Prussia's expense. By a strange +inconsistency the French emperor proposed at the same time to +make Prussia more homogeneous in the north. + +Bismarck acted in a far clearer manner than the French emperor. +On June 5th, General von Gablenz, the Austrian governor of +Holstein, convened the states of that country, Austria declaring +that the object of this measure was to enable the federal diet to +settle the question. A German force under General Manteuffel at +once invaded the duchy and, having far superior forces at his +disposal, took possession of it. On the 10th, Prussia asked the +different German States to accept a new constitution based on the +exclusion of Austria, the election of a parliament by universal +suffrage, the creation of a strong federal power and a common +army. The diet answered by voting the federal execution against +Prussia. Thereupon the Prussian envoy, Savigny, withdrew, +declaring that his sovereign ceased to recognize the +Confederation. + +Events proved how correctly Bismarck had judged in his confidence +in Prussia's military strength. The Prussian forces amounted to +330,000 men, who were to be aided in the south by 240,000 +Italians. Austria had 335,000 troops and its German allies +146,000. Generally the last named had little zeal. + +The Austrian government acted slowly, while its adversary +vigorously assumed the offensive. On June 16th, after an +unavailing notice, the Prussian troops invaded Saxony and +occupied it without resistance, the Saxon army withdrawing to +Bohemia. The same was the case in Hesse, whose grand duke was +taken prisoner, while his army joined the Bavarians. Still less +fortunate was the king of Hanover, who did not even save his +army, which also retreating towards the south, was surrounded and +obliged to capitulate at Langensalza (June 29th). + +In the south the Prussian General Vogel von Falkenstein, who had +but 57,000 men against over 100,000, took advantage of the fact +that his adversaries had separated into two masses, the one at +Frankfort, and the other at Meiningen, to beat them separately, +the Bavarians at Kissingen (July 10th) and the Prince of Hesse, +commanding the other army, at Aschaffenurg (July 14th). On the +16th the Prussians entered Frankfort, which they overwhelmed with +requisitions and contributions. General Manteuffel, Falkenstein's +successor, then drove the federal armies from the line of the +Tauber, where they had united, back to Wurzburg. On the 28th an +armistice was concluded. + +THE WAR IN ITALY + +The Italians had been less successful. Archduke Albert, who +commanded in Venetia, had only 70,000 men, but they were Croatian +Slavs, that is, Austria's best troops. Confronting him, Victor +Emmanuel commanded 124,000 men on the Chiese and Cialdini 80,000 +in the neighborhood of Ferrara. They proved unable to act +together. Cialdini let himself be kept in check by a mere handful +of troops, while the Austrian archduke attacked the Italian royal +army at Custozza. Serious errors in tactics and panic in an +Italian brigade, which fled before three platoons of lancers that +had the audacity to charge it, gave victory to the Austrians. +Cialdini had remained behind the Po. Garibaldi, who had +undertaken with 36,000 men, to conquer the Trent region, defended +by only 13,000 regulars and 4,000 militia under General von Kuhn, +found himself not only repulsed in every attack, but, had it not +been for the evacuation of Venetia, his adversary would have +pursued him on Italian territory. The important events which took +place at sea have been described in the preceding chapter. + +AUSTRIA'S SIGNAL DEFEAT OF SADOWA + +It was not on these events that the outcome of the war was to +depend, but on the victory or defeat of the chief Austrian army. +The forces of the two Powers on the Silesian and Saxon frontier +were almost equal; but the Austrian commander-in-chief, Benedek, +brave and brilliant as a division leader, proved unequal to his +present task. He dallied in Moravia until June 16th, while the +Prussians entered Bohemia in two separate masses, one on each +side of the Riesen Gebirge. Benedek wavered and blundered. He +sent only 60,000 men against 150,000 under Prince Frederick +Charles, and they suffered four defeats in as many days (June +26-29th). At the same time he had made the same mistake in regard +to the Prince Royal, who won in over half a dozen skirmishes. +During the following night, June 29-30th, the second Prussian +army reached the Elbe. + +Benedek's incapacity was now completely demonstrated. He +telegraphed to the emperor to make peace at any cost, and +retreated on Olmutz. Then he changed his mind and decided to +fight, seeking to throw the blame for his own errors on his +subordinates. The battle-field chosen by him was near the village +of Sadowa, and here his army, though sadly demoralized, fought +with much bravery. The Austrians, whom their general had notified +of the imminent battle only in the middle of the night, had +fortified the slopes and villages as best they could. At eight in +the morning Frederick Charles began the attack by crossing the +Bistritz. Benedek's center resisted, but the right and left wings +lost ground. At half past eleven the Prussians were losing ground +and seemed ready to retreat. At this critical moment the army of +the Prince Royal appeared, coming from the north. + +The second and sixth Austrian corps, obliged to confront the new +troops with a flank march under the fire of the Prussian +artillery, could not hold out long, and about three o'clock the +strongest Austrian position was lost. It was necessary at any +cost to regain it, but all efforts failed against their own +intrenchments, defended by the captors with desperate energy. At +half past four retreat became necessary. Half of the Austrian +army escaped without much difficulty; but the rest, three army +corps, driven towards the Elbe by the entire victorious army, +would have been annihilated but for the devotedness of the +cavalry and the artillerymen. These formed successive fire lines, +and continuing to shoot until the muzzles of their guns were +reached, saving the infantry from destruction through dint of +dying at their posts. Despite this diversion it was a frightful +rout, which cost the vanquished 40,000 men and 187 pieces of +artillery. The Prussians lost only 10,000 dead and wounded. + +THE TREATY OF PRAGUE + +The Austrians tried to fall back on Vienna, but only three corps +out of eight reached there, as the Prussian army by a rapid march +had forced the others to seek refuge at Presburg. On July 18th +the Prussian armies were concentrated on the Russbach. Archduke +Albert, recalled from Italy, had taken command of the troops +covering Vienna, but the internal condition of the empire, where +Hungary was in agitation, was too disquieting for it to be +possible, without aid, to continue the war. This aid Napoleon III +could and should have furnished. The French army had suffered +from the expedition to Mexico. Yet it would have been possible to +put a hundred thousand men on foot immediately, and later on, +Bismarck acknowledged that this would have sufficed to change the +result. But Napoleon III was ill and swayed between opposing +influences. Prince Napoleon, whom he heeded very much, was +decidedly in favor of Prussia. Accordingly, no step was taken but +an offer of mediation. Then he had the weakness, in spite of his +minister, Drouyn de Lhuys, to consent to the annexations which +Prussia wished to bring about in northern Germany. He asked, +however, that Austria lose only Venetia, but it was precisely +Bismarck's will that had, and not without difficulty, persuaded +King William that he must not, by territorial demands, compromise +the alliance which he afterwards realized. + +On July 26th the peace preliminaries of Nikolsburg were signed. +Austria paid a considerable indemnity, abandoned its former +position in Germany, acknowledged the extension of Prussian +authority to the line of the Main and the annexations which +Prussia would deem it to its purpose to make. The three Danish +duchies were likewise abandoned. It was stipulated only that the +inhabitants of northern Schleswig should be consulted as to their +wish to be restored or not to Denmark, which was never done. The +definitive treaty was signed on August 25th at Prague. As for +Italy, Francis Joseph had ceded Venetia to Napoleon III, who was +to transmit it to Victor Emmanuel, but the Italians protested +loudly against the idea of being satisfied with so little. They +wanted in addition at least the Trent country. "Have you, then," +Bismarck said to them, "lost another battle to claim a province +more?" On August 10th the preliminaries of peace were signed on +that side. The final treaty, that of Vienna, was concluded on +October 3, 1866. + +GERMANY AFTER 1866 + +Prussia, now master of Germany, annexed Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, +Nassau and the city of Frankfort, which increased its population +by four and a half millions. The rest of the northern states as +far as the Main were to form under its direction the +Confederation of Northern Germany (proclaimed July 1, 1867), with +a constitution exactly the same as that of the German empire of +today. As for the southern states, they remained independent, but +signed military agreements which connected them with Prussia. +Napoleon III tried in vain to obtain a compensation for that +enormous increase of power. To the first overtures which he made +to this end (he wanted the Palatinate) Bismarck answered with a +flat refusal and a threat of war. He added, however, that he +would consent to an enlargement of France from Belgium, a project +which he was afterwards careful to mention as coming from the +Paris cabinet. + +Bismarck had succeeded in humbling Austria and reducing its +importance among the great Powers of Europe, and had expanded +Prussia alike on the north and south and made it decisively the +ruling nation in Central Europe. As we have seen, it had +concluded military agreements with the states of southern +Germany. It held them also in another manner, namely, by means of +the Zollverein, signed anew on June 4, 1867. But it was as yet +far from having brought about a peaceful realization of unity. +The southern states, not merely the sovereigns only, but the +peoples as well, had always shown little taste for Prussian +leadership, and after 1866 this feeling was very visible. It was +for that reason that Bismarck had need of a war against France to +strengthen his position. Union against the foreigner was the +cement with which he hoped to complete political unity. Such a +war came near breaking out in 1867 in relation to Luxembourg. +Napoleon III keenly desired to have at least that country as +compensation for Prussia's aggrandizements, and the king of +Holland was disposed to cede his rights for a consideration. But +Bismarck, after having secretly approved of the bargain, +officially declared his opposition to it. Napoleon, hampered at +one and the same time by the Paris Exposition of that year and by +the bad condition of his army, was too happy to escape from +embarrassment, since it was evident that the Prussians were not +willing to evacuate the fortress of Luxembourg, by obtaining with +the aid of the other Powers that the little duchy be declared +neutral and the walls of its capital destroyed. + +In spite of this arrangement, it remained certain to everybody +that a conflict would break out in a short time between France +and Prussia. We have seen what reasons Bismarck had for the +methods pursued by him and those projected. Napoleon III's +government, justly censured by opinion for the weakness which it +had shown in 1866 and constantly losing its authority, was +destined to fall into the first trap its adversary would set for +it. What this trap was and the momentous events to which it led +will be described in the next chapter. + + +Chapter XI. THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR + +Birth of the German Empire and the French Republic + +Causes of Hostile Relations - Discontent in France - War with +Prussia Declared - Self-Deception of the French - First Meeting +of the Armies - The Stronghold of Metz - Mars-la-Tour and +Gravelotte - Napoleon III at Sedan - The Emperor a Captive; +France a Republic - Bismarck Refuses Intervention - Fall of the +Fortresses - Paris is Besieged - Defiant Spirit of the French - +The Struggle Continued - Operations Before Paris - Fighting in +the South - The War at an End + +In 1866 the war between the two great powers of Germany, in which +most of the smaller powers were concerned, led to more decided +measures, in the absorption by Prussia of the weaker states, the +formation of a North German League among the remaining states of +the north, and the offensive and defensive alliance with Prussia +of the south German states. By the treaty of peace with Austria, +that power was excluded from the German League, and Prussia +remained the dominant power in Germany. A constitution for the +League was adopted in 1867, providing for a Diet, or legislative +council of the League, elected by the direct votes of the people, +and an army, which was to be under the command of the Prussian +king and subject to the military laws of Prussia. Each state in +the League bound itself to supply a specified sum for the support +of the army. + +Here was a union with a backbone - an army and a budget - and +Bismarck had done more in the five years of his ministry in +forming a united Germany than his predecessors had done in fifty +years. But the idea of union and alliance between kindred states +was then widely in the air. Such a union had been practically +completed in Italy, and Hungary in 1867 regained her ancient +rights, which had been taken from her in 1849, being given a +separate government, with Francis Joseph, the emperor of Austria, + +as its king. It was natural that the common blood of the Germans +should lead them to a political confederation, and equally +natural that Prussia, which so overshadowed the smaller states in +strength, should be the leading element in the alliance. + +Yet, though Prussia had concluded military agreements with the +states of southern Germany and held them also by means of the +Zollverein, this was far from bringing about a peaceful +realization of unity. The southern states, not merely the +sovereigns only, but the peoples, have always had little taste +for Prussian leadership, and after 1866 this feeling was very +visible. For this reason Bismarck felt it important to instigate +a war against France. Union against the foreigner was to complete +political unity. This subject has been dealt with in the +preceding chapter, and we need here merely to repeat that warlike +sentiments were in the air in 1867, in regard to the desire of +Napoleon III to add to his empire the little duchy of Luxembourg +and Bismarck's opposition to this desire. France was not then in +a favorable condition for war, and the matter was finally settled +by declaring Luxembourg a neutral state and ordering the walls +around its capital to be destroyed. + +CAUSES OF HOSTILE RELATIONS + +In spite of this settlement, it remained certain to everybody +that a conflict would break out in a short time between France +and Prussia. We have seen what reasons Bismarck had for such a +war. Napoleon III's government, justly censured by opinion for +the weakness which it had shown in 1866, was eager to retrieve +the fault it had then committed. Yet the weakness of the +administration continued and prevented it from adopting the +indispensable military measures that it should have done. The +enemies of power were declaiming against standing armies, which +they declared useless. The government deputies were afraid to +dissatisfy their constituents by aggravating the burdens of the +service. Marshal Niel, minister of war, tried indeed to adopt +measures with a view to the seemingly inevitable conflict. He +caused to be elaborated a plan of campaign, a system of +transportation by railway, an arrangement for the chief places of +the east to be armed with rifled cannon. But the Chamber grudged +him the appropriations for the increase of the army, asking him +if "he wished to make France a vast barracks." "Take care," he +answered the opposition, "lest you make it a vast cemetery." +Accordingly, when the mobile national guard had been created, +made up of all the young men who had not been drawn by lot, +organization was given to it only on paper, and it was never +drilled. Leboeuf, who succeeded Niel in August, 1869, abandoned, +moreover, most of his predecessor's plans. He even neglected to +do anything towards carrying out on the eastern frontier any of +the works of defense already recommended as urgent by the +generals of the restoration. + +And thus time passed on until the eventful year 1870. By that +year Prussia had completed its work among the north German states +and was ready for the issue of hostilities, if this should be +necessary. On the other hand, Napoleon, who had found his +prestige in France from various causes decreasing, felt obliged +in 1870 to depart from his policy of personal rule and give that +country a constitutional government. This proposal was submitted +to a vote of the people and was sustained by an immense majority. +He also took occasion to state that "peace was never more assured +than at the present time." This assurance gave satisfaction to +the world, yet it was a false one, for war was probably at that +moment assured. + +DISCONTENT IN FRANCE + +There were alarming signs in France. The opposition to +Napoleonism was steadily gaining power. A bad harvest was +threatened - a serious source of discontent. The parliament was +discussing the reversal of the sentence of banishment against the +Orleans family. These indications of a change in public sentiment +appeared to call for some act that would aid in restoring the +popularity of the emperor. And of all the acts that could be +devised a national war seemed the most promising. If the Rhine +frontier, which every Frenchman regarded as the natural boundary +of the empire, could be regained by the arms of the nation, +discontent and opposition would vanish, the name of Napoleon +would win back its old prestige, and the reign of Bonapartism +would be firmly established. + +Acts speak louder than words, and the acts of Napoleon were not +in accord with his assurances of peace. Extensive military +preparations began, and the forces of the empire were +strengthened by land and sea, while great trust was placed in a +new weapon, of murderous powers, called the Mitrailleuse, the +predecessor of the machine gun, and capable of discharging +twenty-five balls at once. + +CAUSES OF HOSTILE RELATIONS + +On the other hand, there were abundant indications of discontent +in Germany, where a variety of parties inveighed against the +rapacious policy of Prussia, and where Bismarck had sown a deep +crop of hate. It was believed in France that the minor states +would not support Prussia in a war. In Austria the defeat of 1866 +rankled, and hostilities against Prussia on the part of France +seemed certain to win sympathy and support in that composite +empire. Colonel Stoffel, the French military envoy at Berlin, +declared that Prussia would be found abundantly prepared for a +struggle; but his warnings went unheeded in the French Cabinet, +and the warlike preparations continued. + +Napoleon did not have to go far for an excuse for the war upon +which he was resolved. One was prepared for him in that potent +source of trouble, the succession to the throne of Spain. In that +country there had for years been no end of trouble, revolts, +Carlist risings, wars and rumors of wars. The government of Queen +Isabella, with its endless intrigues, plots and alternation of +despotism and anarchy, and the pronounced immorality of the +queen, had become so distasteful to the people that finally, +after several years of revolts and armed risings, she was driven +from her throne by a revolution, and for a time Spain was without +a monarch and was ruled on the republican principles. + +But this arrangement did not prove satisfactory. The party in +opposition looked around for a king, and negotiations began with +a distant relative of the Prussian royal family, Leopold of +Hohenzollern. Prince Leopold accepted the offer, and informed the +king of Prussia of his decision. + +The news of this event caused great excitement in Paris, and the +Prussian government was advised of the painful feeling to which +the incident had given rise. The answer from Berlin that the +Prussian government had no concern in the matter, and that Prince +Leopold was free to act on his own account, did not allay the +excitement. The demand for war grew violent and clamorous, the +voices of the feeble opposition in the Chambers were drowned, and +the journalists and war partisans were confident of a short and +glorious campaign and a triumphant march to Berlin. + +The hostile feeling was reduced when King William of Prussia, +though he declined to prohibit Prince Leopold from accepting the +crown, expressed his concurrence with the decision of the prince +when he withdrew his acceptance of the dangerous offer. This +decision was regarded as sufficient, even in Paris; but it did +not seem to be so in the palace, where an excuse for a +declaration of war was ardently desired. The emperor's purpose +was enhanced by the influence of the empress, and it was finally +declared that the Prussian king had aggrieved France in +permitting the prince to become a candidate for the throne +without consulting the French Cabinet. + +WAR WITH PRUSSIA DECLARED + +Satisfaction for this shadowy source of offense was demanded, but +King William firmly refused to say any more on the subject and +declined to stand in the way of Prince Leopold if he should again +accept the offer of the Spanish throne. This refusal was declared +to be an offense to the honor and a threat to the safety of +France. The war party was so strongly in the ascendant that all +opposition was now looked upon as lack of patriotism, and on the +15th of July the Prime Minister Ollivier announced that the +reserves were to be called out and the necessary measures taken +to secure the honor and security of France. When the declaration +of war was hurled against Prussia the whole nation seemed in +harmony with it and public opinion appeared for once to have +become a unit throughout France. + +Rarely in the history of the world has so trivial a cause given +rise to such stupendous military and political events as took +place in France in a brief interval following this blind leap +into hostilities. Instead of a triumphant march to Berlin and the +dictation of peace from its palace, France was to find itself in +two months' time without an emperor or an army, and in a few +months more completely subdued and occupied by foreign troops, +while Paris had been made the scene of a terrible siege and a +frightful communistic riot, and a republic had succeeded the +empire. It was such a series of events as have seldom been +compressed within the short interval of half a year. + +In truth Napoleon and his advisers were blinded by their hopes to +the true state of affairs. The army on which they depended, and +which they assumed to be in a high state of efficiency and +discipline, was lacking in almost every requisite of an efficient +force. The first Napoleon had been his own minister of war. The +third Napoleon, when told by his war minister that "not a single +button was wanted on a single gaiter," took the words for the +fact, and hurled an army without supplies and organization +against the most thoroughly organized army the world had ever +known. That the French were as brave as the Germans goes without +saying; they fought desperately, but from the first confusion +reigned in their movements, while military science of the highest +kind dominated those of the Germans. + +Napoleon was equally mistaken as to the state of affairs in +Germany. The disunion upon which he counted vanished at the first +threat of war. All Germany felt itself threatened and joined +hands in defense. The declaration of war was received there with +as deep an enthusiasm as in France and excited a fervent +eagerness for the struggle. The new popular song, DIE WACHT AM +RHEIN ("The Watch on the Rhine"), spread rapidly from end to end +of the country, and indicated the resolution of the German people +to defend to the death the frontier stream of their country. + +SELF-DECEPTION OF THE FRENCH + +The French looked for a parade march to Berlin, even fixing the +day of their entrance into that city - August 15th, the emperor's +birthday. On the contrary, they failed to set their foot on +German territory, and soon found themselves engaged in a death +struggle with the invaders of their own land. In truth, while the +Prussian diplomacy was conducted by Bismarck, the ablest +statesman Prussia had ever known, the movements of the army were +directed by far the best tactician Europe then possessed, the +famous Von Moltke, to whose strategy the rapid success of the war +against Austria had been due. In the war with France Von Moltke, +though too old to lead the armies in person, was virtually +commander-in-chief, and arranged those masterly combinations +which overthrew all the power of France in so remarkably brief a +period. Under his directions, from the moment war was declared +everything worked with clock-like precision. It was said that Von +Moltke had only to touch a bell and all went forward. As it was, +the Crown Prince Frederick fell upon the French while still +unprepared, won the first battle, and steadily held the advantage +to the end, the French being beaten by the strategy that kept the +Germans in superior strength at all decisive points. + +But to return to the events of war. On July 23, 1870, the Emperor +Napoleon, after making his wife, Eugenie regent of France, set +out with his son at the head of the army, full of high hopes of +victory and triumph. By the end of July King William had also set +out from Berlin to join the armies that were then in rapid +motion, towards the frontier. + +The emperor made his way to Metz, where was stationed his main +army, about 200,000 strong, under Marshals Bazaine and Canrobert +and General Bourgaki. Further east, under Marshal MacMahon, the +hero of Magenta, was the southern army, of about 100,000 men. A +third army occupied the camp at Chalons, while a well-manned +fleet set sail for the Baltic, to blockade the harbors and assail +the coast of Germany. The German army was likewise in three +divisions, the first, of 61,000 men, under General Steinmetz; the +second, of 206,000 men, under Prince Frederick Charles; and the +third, of 180,000 men, under the crown prince and General +Blumenthal. The king, commander-in-chief of the whole, was in the +center, and with him the general staff under the guidance of the +alert von Moltke. Bismarck and the minister of war Von Roon were +also present, and so rapid was the movement of these great forces +that in two weeks after the order to march was given 300,000 +armed Germans stood in rank along the Rhine. + +FIRST MEETING OF THE ARMIES + +The two armies first came together on August 2d, near Saarbruck, +on the frontier line of the hostile kingdoms. It was the one +success of the French, for the Prussians, after a fight in which +both sides lost equally, retired in good order. This was +proclaimed by the French papers as a brilliant victory, and +filled the people with undue hopes of glory. It was the last +favorable report, for they were quickly overwhelmed with tidings +of defeat and disaster. + +Weissenburg, on the borders of Rhenish Bavaria, had been invested +by a division of MacMahon's army. On August 4th the right wing of +the army of the Crown Prince Frederick attacked and repulsed this +investing force after a hot engagement, in which its leader, +General Douay, was killed, and the loss on both sides was heavy. +Two days later occurred a battle which decided the fate of the +whole war, that of Worth-Reideshofen, where the army of the crown +prince met that of MacMahon, and after a desperate struggle, +which continued for fifteen hours, completely defeated him, with +very heavy losses on both sides. MacMahon retreated in haste +towards the army at Chalons, while the crown prince took +possession of Alsace, and prepared for the reduction of the +fortresses on the Rhine, from Strasburg to Belfort. On the same +day as that of the battle of Worth, General Steinmetz stormed the +heights of Spicheren, and, though at great loss of life, drove +Frossard from those heights and back upon Metz. + +The occupation of Alsace was followed by that of Lorraine, by the +Prussian army under King William, who took possession of Nancy +and the country surrounding on August 11th. These two provinces +had at one time belonged to Germany, and it was the aim of the +Prussians to retain them as the chief anticipated prize of the +war. Meanwhile the world looked on in amazement at the +extraordinary rapidity of the German success, which, in two weeks +after Napoleon left Paris, had brought his power to the verge of +overthrow. + +THE STRONGHOLD OF METZ + +Towards the Moselle River and the strongly fortified town of +Metz, 180 miles northeast of Paris, around which was concentrated +the main French force, all the divisions of the German army now +advanced, and on the 14th of August they gained a victory at +Colombey-Nouilly which drove their opponents back from the open +field towards the fortified city. + +It was Moltke's opinion that the French proposed to make their +stand before this impregnable fortress, and fight there +desperately for victory. But, finding less resistance than he +expected, he concluded, on the 15th, that Bazaine, in fear of +being cooped up within the fortress, meant to march towards +Verdun, there to join his forces with those of MacMahon and give +battle to the Germans in the plain. + +The astute tactician at once determined to make every effort to +prevent such a concentration of his opponents, and by the evening +of the 15th a cavalry division had crossed the Moselle and +reached the village of Mars-la-Tour, where it bivouacked for the +night. It had seen troops in motion towards Metz, hut did not +know whether these formed the rear-guard of the French army or +its vanguard in its march towards Verdun. + +In fact, Bazaine had not yet got away with his army. All the +roads from Metz were blocked with heavy baggage, and it was +impossible to move so large an army with expedition. The time +thus lost by Bazaine was diligently improved by Frederick +Charles, and on the morning of the 16th the Brandenburg army +corps, one of the best and bravest in the German army, had +followed the cavalry and come within sight of the Verdun road. It +was quickly perceived that a French force was before them, and +some preliminary skirmishing developed the enemy in such strength +as to convince the leader of the corps that he had in his front +the whole or the greater part of Bazaine's army, and that its +escape from Metz had not been achieved. + +They were desperate odds with which the brave Brandenburgers had +to contend, but they had been sent to hold the French until +reinforcements could arrive, and they were determined to resist +to the death. For nearly six hours they resisted, with +unsurpassed courage, the fierce onslaughts of the French, though +at a cost of life that perilously depleted the gallant corps. +Then, about four o'clock in the afternoon, Prince Frederick +Charles came up with reinforcements to their support and the +desperate contest became more even. + +MARS-LA-TOUR AND GRAVELOTTE + +Gradually fortune decided in favor of the Germans, and by the +time night had come they were practically victorious, the field +of Mars-la-Tour, after the day's struggle, remaining in their +hands. But they were utterly exhausted, their horses were worn +out, and most of their ammunition was spent, and though their +impetuous commander forced them to a new attack, it led to a +useless loss of life, for their powers of fighting were gone. +They had achieved a fearful loss, amounting to about 16,000 men +on each side. "The battle of Vionville (Mars-la-Tour) is without +a parallel in military history," said Emperor William, "seeing +that a single army corps, about 20,000 men strong, hung on to and +repulsed an enemy more than five times as numerous and well +equipped. Such was the glorious deed done by the Brandenburgers, +and the Hohenzollerns will never forget the debt they owe to +their devotion." + +Two days afterwards (August 16th) at Gravelotte, a village +somewhat nearer to Metz, the armies, somewhat recovered from the +terrible struggle of the 14th, met again, the whole German army +being now brought up, so that over 100,000 men faced the 140,000 +of the French. It was the great battle of the war. For four hours +the two armies stood fighting face to face, without any special +result, neither being able to drive back the other. The French +held their ground and died. The Prussians dashed upon them and +died. Only late in the evening was the right wing of the French +army broken, and the victory, which at five o'clock remained +uncertain, was decided in favor of the Germans. More than 40,000 +men lay dead and wounded upon the field, the terrible harvest of +those nine hours of conflict. That night Bazaine withdrew his +army behind the fortifications at Metz. His effort to join +MacMahon had ended in failure. + +It was the fixed purpose of the Prussians to detain him in that +stronghold, and thus render practically useless to France its +largest army. A siege was to be prosecuted, and an army of +150,000 men was extended around the town. The fortifications were +far too strong to be taken by assault, and all depended on a +close blockade. On August 31st Bazaine made an effort to break +through the German lines, but was repulsed. It became now a +question of how long the provisions of the French would hold out. + +NAPOLEON III AT SEDAN + +The French emperor, who had been with Bazaine, had left his army +before the battle of Mars-la-Tour, and was now with MacMahon at +Chalons. Here lay an army of 125,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry. +On it the Germans were advancing, in doubt as to what movement it +would make, whether back towards Paris or towards Metz for the +relief of Bazaine. They sought to place themselves in a position +to check either. The latter movement was determined on by the +French, but was carried out in a dubious and uncertain manner, +the time lost giving abundant opportunity to the Germans to learn +what was afoot and to prepare to prevent it. As soon as they were +aware of MacMahon's intention of proceeding to Metz they made +speedy preparations to prevent his relieving Bazaine. By the last +days of August the army of the crown prince had reached the right +bank of the Aisne, and the fourth division gained possession of +the line of the Meuse. On August 30th the French under General de +Failly were attacked by the Germans at Beaumont and put to flight +with heavy loss. It was evident that the hope of reaching Metz +was at an end, and MacMahon, abandoning the attempt, concentrated +his army around the frontier fortress of Sedan. + +This old town stands on the right bank of the Meuse, in an angle +of territory between Luxembourg and Belgium, and is surrounded by +meadows, gardens, ravines, ditches and cultivated fields; the +castle rising on a cliff-like eminence to the southwest of the +place. MacMahon had stopped here to give his weary men a rest, +not to fight, but von Moltke decided, on observing the situation, +that Sedan should be the grave-yard of the French army. "The trap +is now closed, and the mouse in it," he said, with a chuckle of +satisfaction. + +Such proved to be the case. On September 1st the Bavarians won +the village of Bazeille, after hours of bloody and desperate +struggle. During this severe fight Marshal MacMahon was so +seriously wounded that he was obliged to surrender the chief +command, first to Duerot, and then to General Wimpffen, a man of +recognized bravery and cold calculation. + +Fortune soon showed itself in favor of the Germans. To the +northwest of the town, the North German troops invested the exits +from St. Meuges and Fleigneux, and directed a fearful fire of +artillery against the French forces, which, before noon, were so +hemmed in the valley that only two insufficient outlets to the +south and north remained open. But General Wimpffen hesitated to +seize either of these routes, the open way to Illy was soon +closed by the Prussian guard corps, and a murderous fire was now +directed from all sides upon the French, so that, after a last +energetic struggle, they gave up all attempts to force a passage, +and in the afternoon beat a retreat towards Sedan. In this small +town the whole army of MacMahon was collected by evening, and +there prevailed in the streets and houses an unprecedented +disorder and confusion, which was still further increased when +the German troops from the surrounding heights began to shoot +down upon the fortress, and the town took fire in several places. + +SURRENDER OF NAPOLEON'S ARMY + +That an end might be put to the prevailing misery, Napoleon now +commanded General Wimpffen to capitulate. The flag of truce +already waved on the gates of Sedan when Colonel Bronsart +appeared, and in the name of the king of Prussia demanded the +surrender of the army and fortress. He soon returned to +headquarters, accompanied by the French General Reille, who +presented to the king a written message from Napoleon: "As I may +not die in the midst of my army, I lay my sword in the hands of +your majesty." King William accepted it with an expression of +sympathy for the hard fate of the emperor and of the French army +which had fought so bravely under his own eyes. The conclusion of +the treaty of capitulation was placed in the hands of Wimpffen, +who, accompanied by General Castelnau, set out for Donchery to +negotiate with Moltke and Bismarck. No attempts, however, availed +to move Moltke from his stipulation for the surrender of the +whole army at discretion; he granted a short respite, but if this +expired without surrender, the bombardment of the town was to +begin anew. + +At six o'clock in the morning the capitulation was signed and was +ratified by the king at his headquarters at Vendresse (2d +September). Thus the world beheld the incredible spectacle of an +army of 83,000 men surrendering themselves and their weapons to +the victor, and being carried off as prisoners of war to Germany. +Only the officers who gave their written word of honor to take no +further part in the present war with Germany were permitted to +retain their arms and personal property. Probably the assurance +of Napoleon, the he had sought death on the battle-field but had +not found it, was literally true; at any rate, the fate of the +unhappy man, bowed down as he was both by physical and mental +suffering, was so solemn and tragic that there was no room for +hypocrisy, and that he had exposed himself to personal danger was +admitted on all sides. Accompanied by Count Bismarck, he stopped +at a small and mean-looking laborer's inn on the road to +Donchery, where, sitting down on a stone seat before the door, +with Count Bismarck, he declared that he had not desired the war, +but had been driven to it through the force of public opinion; +and afterwards the two proceeded to the little castle of +Bellevue, near Frenois, to join King William and the crown +prince. A telegram to Queen Augusta thus describes the interview: +"What an impressive moment was the meeting with Napoleon! He was +cast down, but dignified in his bearing. I have granted him +Wilhelmshohe, near Cassel, as his residence. Our meeting took +place in a little castle before the western glacis of Sedan. + +THE EMPEROR A CAPTIVE; FRANCE A REPUBLIC + +The locking up of Bazaine in Metz and the capture of MacMahon's +army at Sedan were events fatal to France. The struggle continued +for months, but it was a fight against hope. The subsequent +events of the war consisted of a double siege, that of Metz and +that of Paris, with various minor sieges, and a desperate but +hopeless effort of France in the field. As for the empire of +Napoleon III, it was at an end. The tidings of the terrible +catastrophe at Sedan filled the people with a fury that soon +became revolutionary. While Jules Favre, the republican deputy, +was offering a motion in the Assembly that the emperor had +forfeited the crown, and that a provisional government should be +established, the people were thronging the streets of Paris with +cries of "Deposition! Republic!" On the 4th of September the +Assembly had its final meeting. Two of its prominent members, +Jules Favre and Gambetta, sustained the motion for deposition of +the emperor, and it was carried after a stormy session. They then +made their way to the senate-chamber, where, before a thronging +audience, they proclaimed a republic and named a government for +the national defense. At its head was General Trochu, military +commandant at Paris. Favre was made minister of foreign affairs; +Gambetta, minister of the interior; and other prominent members +of te Assembly filled the remaining cabinet posts. The +legislature was dissolved, the Palais de Bourbon was closed, and +the Empress Eugenie quitted the Tuileries and made her escape +with a few attendants to Belgium, whence she sought a refuge in +England. Prince Louis Napoleon made his way to Italy, and the +swarm of courtiers scattered in all directions; some faithful +followers of the deposed monarch seeking the castle of +Wilhelmshohe, where the unhappy Louis Napoleon occupied as a +prison the same beautiful palace and park in which his uncle +Jerome Bonaparte had once passed six years in a life of pleasure. +The second French Empire was at an end; the third French Republic +had begun - one that had to pass through many changes and escape +many dangers before it would be firmly established. + +"Not a foot's breadth of our country nor a stone of our +fortresses shall be surrendered," was Jules Favre's defiant +proclamation to the invaders, and the remainder of the soldiers +in the field were collected in Paris, and strengthened with all +available reinforcements. Every person capable of bearing arms +was enrolled in the national army, which soon numbered 400,000 +men. There was need of haste, for the victors at Sedan were +already marching upon the capital, inspired with high hopes from +their previous astonishing success. They knew that Paris was +strongly fortified, being encircled by powerful lines of defense, +but they trusted that hunger would soon bring its garrison to +terms. The same result was looked for at Metz, and at Strasbourg, +which was also besieged. + +Thus began at three main points and several minor ones a military +siege the difficulties, dangers, and hardships of which surpassed +even those of the winter campaign in the Crimea. Exposed at the +fore-posts to the enemy's balls, chained to arduous labor in the +trenches and redoubts, and suffering from the effects of bad +weather, and insufficient food and clothing, the German soldiers +were compelled to undergo great privations and sufferings before +the fortifications; while many fell in the frequent skirmishes +and sallies, many succumbed to typhus and epidemic disease. + +No less painful and distressing was the condition of the +besieged. While the garrison soldiers on guard were constantly +compelled to face death in nocturnal sallies, or led a pitiable +existence in damp huts, having inevitable surrender constantly +before their eyes, and disarmament and imprisonment as the reward +of all their struggles and exertions, the citizens in the towns, +the women and children, were in constant danger of being shivered +to atoms by the fearful shells, or of being buried under falling +walls and roofs; and the poorer part of the population saw with +dismay the gradual diminution of the necessaries of life, and +were often compelled to pacify their hunger with the flesh of +horses, and disgusting and unwholesome food. + +BISMARCK REFUSES INTERVENTION + +The republican government possessed only a usurped power, and +none but a freely elected national assembly could decide as to +the fate of the French nation. Such an assembly was therefore +summoned for the 16th of October. Three members of the government +- Cremieux, Fourichon, and Glais-Bizoin - were despatched before +the entire blockade of the city had been effected, to Tours, to +maintain communication with the provinces. An attempt was also +made at the same time to induce the great Powers which had not +taken part in the war to organize an intervention, as hitherto +only America, Switzerland and Spain had sent official +recognition. For this important and delicate mission the old +statesman and historian Thiers was selected, and, in spite of his +three-and-seventy years, immediately set out on the journey to +London, St. Petersburg, Vienna and Florence. Count Bismarck, +however, in the name of Prussia, refused any intervention in +internal affairs. In two despatches to the ambassadors of foreign +courts, the chancellor declared that the war, begun by the +Emperor Napoleon, had been approved by the representatives of the +nation, and that thus all France was answerable for the result. +Germany was obliged, therefore, to demand guarantees which should +secure her in future against attack, or, at any rate, render +attack more difficult. Thus a cession of territory on the part of +France was laid down as the basis of a treaty of peace. The +neutral powers were also led to the belief that if they fostered +in the French any hope of intervention, peace would only be +delayed. The mission of Thiers, therefore, yielded no useful +result, while the direct negotiation which Jules Favre conducted +with Bismarck proved equally unavailing. + +FALL OF THE FORTRESSES + +Soon the beleaguered fortresses began to fall. On the 23d of +September the ancient town of Toul, in Lorraine, was forced to +capitulate, after a fearful bombardment; and on the 27th +Strasbourg, in danger of the terrible results of a storming, +after the havoc of a dreadful artillery fire, hoisted the white +flag, and surrendered on the following day. The supposed +impregnable fortress of Metz held out little longer. Hunger did +what cannon were incapable of doing. The successive sallies made +by Bazaine proved unavailing, though, on October 7th his soldiers +fought with desperate energy, and for hours the air was full of +the roar of cannon and mitrailleuse and the rattle of musketry. +But the Germans withstood the attack unmoved, and the French were +forced to withdraw into the town. + +Bazaine then sought to negotiate with the German leaders at +Versailles, offering to take no part in the war for three months +if permitted to withdraw. But Bismarck and Moltke would listen to +no terms other than unconditional surrender, and these terms were +finally accepted, the besieged army having reached the brink of +starvation. It was with horror and despair that France learned on +the 30th of October, that the citadel of Metz, with its +fortifications and arms of defense, had been yielded to the +Germans, and its army of more than 150,000 men had surrendered as +prisoners of war. + +This hasty surrender at Metz, a still greater disaster to France +than that of Sedan, was not emulated at Paris, which for four +months held out against all the efforts of the Germans. On the +investment of the great city, King William removed his +headquarters to the historic palace of Versailles, setting up his +homely camp-bed in the same apartments from which Lois XIV had +once issued his despotic edicts and commands. Here Count Bismarck +conducted his diplomatic labors and Moltke issued his directions +for the siege, which, protracted from week to week and month to +month, gradually transformed the beautiful neighborhood, with its +prosperous villages, superb country houses, and enchanting parks +and gardens, into a scene of sadness and desolation. + +PARIS IS BESIEGED + +In spite of the vigorous efforts made by the commander-in-chief +Trochu, both by continuous firing from the forts and by repeated +sallies, to prevent Paris from being surrounded, and to force a +way through the trenches, his enterprises were rendered fruitless +by the watchfulness and strength of the Germans. The blockade was +completely accomplished; Paris was surrounded and cut off from +the outer world; even the underground telegraphs, through which +communication was for a time secretly maintained with the +provinces, were by degrees discovered and destroyed. But to the +great astonishment of Europe, which looked on with keenly pitched +excitement at the mighty struggle, the siege continued for months +without any special progress being observable from without or any +lessening of resistance from within. On account of the extension +of the forts, the Germans were compelled to remain at such a +distance that a bombardment of the town at first appeared +impossible; a storming of the outer works would, moreover, be +attended with such sacrifices that the humane temper of the king +revolted from such a proceeding. The guns of greater force and +carrying power which were needed from Germany, could only be +procured after long delay on account of the broken lines of +railway. Probably also there was some hesitation on the German +side to expose the beautiful city, regarded by so many as the +"metropolis of civilization," to the risk of a bombardment, in +which works of art, science, and a historical past would meet +destruction. Nevertheless, the declamations of the French at the +vandalism of the northern barbarians met with assent and sympathy +from most of the foreign Powers. + +Determination and courage falsified the calculations at +Versailles of a quick cessation of the resistance. The republic +offered a far more energetic and determined opposition to the +Prussian arms than the empire had done. The government of the +national defense still declaimed with stern reiteration: "Not a +foot's breadth of our country; not a stone of our fortresses!" +and positively rejected all proposals of treaty based on +territorial concessions. Faith in the invincibility of the +republic was rooted as an indisputable dogma in the hearts of the +French people. The victories and the commanding position of +France from 1792 to 1799 were regarded as so entirely the +necessary result of the Revolution, that a conviction prevailed +that the formation of a republic, with a national army for its +defense, would have an especial effect on the rest of Europe. +Therefore, instead of summoning a constituent Assembly, which, in +the opinion of Prussia and the other foreign Powers, would alone +be capable of offering security for a lasting peace, it was +decided to continue the revolutionary movements, and to follow +the same course which, in the years 1792 and 1793, had saved +France from the coalition of the European Powers. It was held +that a revolutionary dictatorship such as had once been exercised +by the Convention and the members of the Committee of Public +Safety, must again be revived, and a youthful and hot-blooded +leader was alone needed to stir up popular feeling and set it in +motion. + +To fill such a part no one was better adapted than the advocate +Gambetta, who emulated the career of the leaders of the +Revolution, and whose soul glowed with a passionate ardor of +patriotism. In order to create for himself a free sphere of +action, and to initiate some vigorous measure in place of the +well-rounded phrases and eloquent proclamations of his colleagues +Trochu and Jules Favre, he quitted the capital in an air-balloon +and entered into communication with the government delegation at +Tours, which through him soon obtained a fresh impetus. His next +most important task was the liberation of the capital from the +besieging German army, and the expulsion of the enemy from the +"sacred" soil of France. For this purpose he summoned, with the +authority of a minister of war, all persons capable of bearing +arms up to forty years of age to take active service, and +despatched them into the field; he imposed war-taxes, and +terrified the tardy and refractory with threats of punishment. +Every force was put in motion; all France was transformed into a +great camp. + +A popular war was now to take the place of a soldier's war, and +what the soldiers had failed to effect must be accomplished by +the people; France must be saved, and the world freed from +despotism. To promote this object, the whole of France, with the +exception of Paris, was divided into four general governments, +the headquarters of the different governors being Lille, Le Mans, +Bourges, and Besancon. Two armies, from the Loire and from the +Somme, were to march simultaneously towards Paris, and aided by +the sallies of Trochu and his troops, were to drive the enemy +from the country. Energetic attacks were now attempted from time +to time, in the hope that when the armies of relief arrived from +the provinces, it might be possible to effect a coalition; but +all these efforts were constantly repulsed after a hot struggle +by the besieging German troops. At the same time, during the +month of October, the territory between the Oise and the Lower +Seine was scoured by reconnoitering troops, under Prince +Albrecht, the southeast district was protected by a Wurtemberg +detachment through the successful battle near Nogent on the +Seine, while a division of the third army advanced towards the +south accompanied by two cavalry divisions. A more unfortunate +circumstance, however, for the Parisians was the cutting off of +all communication with the outer world, for the Germans had +destroyed the telegraphs. But even this obstacle was overcome by +the inventive genius of the French. By means of pigeon +letter-carriers and air-balloons, they were always able to +maintain a partial though one-sided and imperfect communication +with the provinces, and the aerostatic art was developed and +brought to perfection on this occasion in a manner which had +never before been considered possible. + +DEFIANT SPIRIT OF THE FRENCH + +The whole of France, and especially the capital, was already in a +state of intense excitement when the news of the capitulation of +Metz came to add fresh fuel to the flame. Outside the walls +Gambetta was using heroic efforts to increase his forces, +bringing Bedouin horsemen from Africa and inducing the stern old +revolutionist Garibaldi to come to his aid; and Thiers was +opening fresh negotiations for a truce. Inside the walls the Red +Republic raised the banners of insurrection and attempted to +drive the government of national defense from power. + +This effort of the dregs of revolution to inaugurate a reign of +terror failed, and the provisional government felt so elated with +its victory that it determined to continue at the head of affairs +and to oppose the calling of a chamber of national +representatives. The members proclaimed oblivion for what had +passed, broke off the negotiations for a truce begun by Thiers, +and demanded a vote of confidence. The indomitable spirit shown +by the French people did not, on the other hand, inspire the +Germans with a very lenient or conciliatory temper. Bismarck +declared in a despatch the reasons why the negotiations had +failed: "The incredible demand that we should surrender the +fruits of all our efforts during the last two months, and should +go back to the conditions which existed at the beginning of the +blockade of Paris, only affords fresh proof that in Paris +pretexts are sought for refusing the nation the right of +election." Thiers mournfully declared the failure of his +undertaking, but in Paris the popular voting resulted in a +ten-fold majority in favor of the government and the policy of +postponement. + +After the breaking off of the negotiations, the world anticipated +some energetic action towards the besieged city. The efforts of +the enemy were, however, principally directed to drawing the iron +girdle still tighter, enclosing the giant city more and more +closely, and cutting off every means of communication, so that at +last a surrender might be brought about by the stern necessity of +starvation. That this object would not be accomplished as +speedily as at Metz, that the city of pleasure, enjoyment, and +luxury would withstand a siege of four months, had never been +contemplated for a moment. It is true that, as time went on, all +fresh meat disappeared from the market, with the exception of +horse-flesh; that white bread, on which Parisians place such +value, was replaced by a baked compound of meal and bran; that +the stores of dried and salted food began to decline, until at +last rats, dogs, cats, and even animals from the zoological +gardens were prepared for consumption at restaurants. + +Yet, to the amazement of the world, all these miseries, +hardships, and sufferings were courageously borne, nocturnal +watch was kept, sallies were undertaken, and cold, hunger, and +wretchedness of all kinds were endured with an indomitable +steadfastness and heroism. The courage of the besieged Parisians +was also animated by the hope that the military forces in the +provinces would hasten to the aid of the hard-pressed capital, +and that therefore an energetic resistance would afford the rest +of France sufficient time for rallying all its forces, and at the +same time exhibit an elevating example. In the carrying out of +this plan, neither Trochu nor Gambetta was wanting in the +requisite energy and circumspection. The former organized sallies +from time to time, in order to reconnoiter and discover whether +the army of relief was on its way from the provinces; the latter +exerted all his powers to bring the Loire army up to the Seine. +But both erred in undervaluing the German war forces; they did +not believe that the hostile army would be able to keep Paris in +a state of blockade, and at the same time engage the armies on +the south and north, east and west. They had no conception of the +hidden, inexhaustible strength of the Prussian army organization +- of a nation in arms which could send forth constant +reinforcements of battalions and recruits, and fresh bodies of +disciplined troops to fill the gaps left in the ranks by the +wounded and fallen. There could be no doubt as to the termination +of this terrible war, or the final victory of German energy and +discipline. + +THE STRUGGLE CONTINUED + +Throughout the last months of the eventful year 1870, the +northern part of France, from the Jura to the Channel, from the +Belgian frontier to the Loire, presented the aspect of a wide +battlefield. Of the troops that had been set free by the +capitulation of Metz, a part remained behind in garrison, another +division marched northwards in order to invest the provinces of +Picardy and Normandy, to restore communication with the sea, and +to bar the road to Paris, and a third division joined the second +army whose commander-in-chief, Prince Frederick Charles, set up +his headquarters at Troyes. Different detachments were despatched +against the northern fortresses, and by degrees Soissons, Verdun, +Thionville, Ham, where Napoleon had once been a prisoner, +Pfalzburg and Montmedy, all fell into the hands of the Prussians, +thus opening to them a free road for the supplies of provisions. +The garrison troops were all carried off as prisoners to Germany; +the towns - most of them in a miserable condition - fell into the +enemy's hands; many houses were mere heaps of ruins and ashes, +and the larger part of the inhabitants were suffering severely +from poverty, hunger and disease. + +The greatest obstacles were encountered in the northern part of +Alsace and the mountainous districts of the Vosges and the Jura, +where irregular warfare, under Garibaldi and other leaders, +developed to a dangerous extent, while the fortress of Langres +afforded a safe retreat to the guerilla bands. Lyons and the +neighboring town of St. Etienne became hotbeds of excitement, +the red flag being raised and a despotism of terror and violence +established. Although many divergent elements made up this army +of the east, all were united in hatred of the Germans. + +Thus, during the cold days of November and December, when General +Von Treskow began the siege of the important fortress of Belfort, +there burst forth a war around Gray and Dijon marked by the +greatest hardships, perils and privations to the invaders. Here +the Germans had to contend with an enemy much superior in number, +and to defend themselves against continuous firing from houses, +cellars, woods and thickets, while the impoverished soil yielded +a miserable subsistence, and the broken railroads cut off freedom +of communication and of reinforcement. + +The whole of the Jura district, intersected by hilly roads as far +as the plateau of Langres, where, in the days of Caesar, the +Romans and Gauls were wont to measure their strength with each +other, formed during November and December the scene of action of +numerous encounters which, in conjunction with sallies from the +garrison at Belfort, inflicted severe injury on Werder's troops. +Dijon had repeatedly to be evacuated; and the nocturnal attack at +Chattillon, 20th November, by Garibaldians, when one hundred +seventy horses were lost, affording a striking proof of the +dangers to which the German army was exposed in this hostile +country; although the revolutionary excesses of the turbulent +population of the south diverted to a certain extent the +attention of the National Guard, who were compelled to turn their +weapons against an internal enemy. + +By means of the revolutionary dictatorship of Gambetta the whole +French nation was drawn into the struggle, the annihilation of +the enemy being represented as a national duty, and the war +assuming a steadily more violent character. The indefatigable +patriot continued his exertions to increase the army and unite +the whole south and west against the enemy, hoping to bring the +army of the Loire to such dimensions that it would be able to +expel the invaders from the soil of France. But these raw +recruits were poorly fitted to cope with the highly disciplined +Germans, and their early successes were soon followed by defeat +and discouragement, while the hopes entertained by the Paris +garrison of succor from the south vanished as news of the steady +progress of the Germans was received. + +OPERATIONS BEFORE PARIS + +During these events the war operations before Paris continued +uninterruptedly. Moltke had succeeded, in spite of the +difficulties of transport, in procuring an immense quantity of +ammunition, and the long-delayed bombardment of Paris was ready +to begin. Having stationed with all secrecy twelve batteries with +seventy-six guns around Mont Avron, on Christmas-day the firing +was directed with such success against the fortified eminences, +that even in the second night the French, after great losses, +evacuated the important position, the "key of Paris," which was +immediately taken possession of by the Saxons. Terror and dismay +spread through the distracted city when the eastern forts, Rosny, +Nogent and Noisy, were stormed amid a tremendous volley of +firing. Vainly did Trochu endeavor to rouse the failing courage +of the National Guard; vainly did he assert that the government +of the national defense would never consent to the humiliation of +a capitulation; his own authority had already waned; the +newspapers already accused him of incapacity and treachery, and +began to cast every aspersion on the men who had presumptuously +seized the government, and yet were not in a position to effect +the defense of the capital and the country. After the new year +the bombardment of the southern forts began, and the terror in +the city daily increased though the violence of the radical +journals kept in check any hint of surrender or negotiation. Yet +in spite of fog and snow storms the bombardment was +systematically continued, and with every day the destructive +effect of the terrible missiles grew more pronounced. + +Trochu was blamed for having undertaken only small sallies, which +could have no result. The commander-in-chief ventured no +opposition to the party of action. With the consent of the mayors +of the twenty ARRONDISSEMENTS of Paris a council of war was held. +The threatening famine, the firing of the enemy, and the +excitement prevailing among the adherents of the red republic +rendered a decisive step necessary. Consequently, on the 19th of +January, a great sally was decided on, and the entire armed +forces of the capital were summoned to arms. Early in the morning +a body of 100,000 men marched in the direction of Meudon, Sevres +and St. Cloud for the decisive conflict. The left wing was +commanded by General Vinoy, the right by Ducrot, while Trochu +from the watch-tower directed the entire struggle. With great +courage Vinoy dashed forward with his column of attack towards +the fifth army corps of General Kirchbach, and succeeded in +capturing the Montretout entrenchment, through the superior +number of his troops, and in holding it for a time. But when +Ducrot, delayed by the barricades in the streets, failed to come +to his assistance at the appointed time, the attack was driven +back after seven hours' fierce fighting by the besieging troops. +Having lost 7,000 dead and wounded, the French in the evening +beat a retreat, which almost resembled a flight. On the following +day Trochu demanded a truce, that the fallen National Guards, +whose bodies strewed the battlefield, might be interred. The +victors, too, had to render the last rites to many a brave +soldier. Thirty-nine officers and six hundred and sixteen +soldiers were given in the list of the slain. + +Entire confidence had been placed by the Parisians in the great +sally. When the defeat, therefore, became known in its full +significance, when the number of the fallen was found to be far +greater even than had been stated in the first accounts, a dull +despair took possession of the famished city, which next broke +forth into violent abuse against Trochu, "the traitor." +Capitulation now seemed imminent; but as the commander-in-chief +had declared that he would never countenance such a disgrace, he +resigned his post to Vinoy. Threatened by bombardment from +without, terrified within by the pale specter of famine, +paralyzed and distracted by the violent dissensions among the +people, and without prospect of effective aid from the provinces, +what remained to the proud capital but to desist from a conflict +the continuation of which only increased the unspeakable misery, +without the smallest hope of deliverance? Gradually, therefore, +there grew up a resolution to enter into negotiations with the +enemy; and it was the minister, Jules Favre, who had been +foremost with the cry of "no surrender" four months before, who +was now compelled to take the first step to deliver his country +from complete ruin. It was probably the bitterest hour in the +life of the brave man, who loved France and liberty with such a +sincere affection, when he was conducted through the German +outposts to his interview with Bismarck at Versailles. He brought +the proposal for a convention, on the strength of which the +garrison was to be permitted to retire with military honors to a +part of France not hitherto invested, on promising to abstain for +several months from taking part in the struggle. But such +conditions were positively refused at the Prussian headquarters, +and a surrender was demanded as at Sedan and Metz. Completely +defeated, the minister returned to Paris. At a second meeting on +the following day, it was agreed that from the 27th, at twelve +o'clock at night, the firing on both sides should be +discontinued. This was the preliminary to the conclusion of a +three weeks' truce, to await the summons of a National Assembly, +with which peace might be negotiated. + +FIGHTING IN THE SOUTH + +The war was at an end so far as Paris was concerned. But it +continued in the south, where frequent defeat failed to depress +Gambetta's indomitable energy, and where new troops constantly +replaced those put to rout. Garibaldi, at Dijon, succeeded in +doing what the French had not done during the war, in capturing a +Prussian banner. But the progress of the Germans soon rendered +his position untenable, and, finding his exertions unavailing, he +resigned his command and retired to his island of Caprera. Two +disasters completed the overthrow of France. Bourbaki's army, +85,000 strong, became shut in, with scanty food and ammunition, +among the snow-covered valleys of the Jura, and to save the +disgrace of capitulation it took refuge on the neutral soil of +Switzerland; and the strong fortress of Belfort, which had been +defended with the utmost courage against its besiegers, finally +yielded, with the stipulation that the brave garrison should +march out with the honors of war. Nothing now stood in the way of +an extension of the truce. On the suggestion of Jules Favre, the +National Assembly elected a commission of fifteen members, which +was to aid the chief of the executive and his ministers, Picard +and Favre, in the negotiations for peace. That cessions of +territory and indemnity of war expenses would have to be conceded +had long been acknowledged in principle; but protracted and +excited discussions took place as to the extent of the former and +the amount of the latter, while the demanded entry of the German +troops into Paris met with vehement opposition. But Count +Bismarck resolutely insisted on the cession of Alsace and German +Lorraine, including Metz and Diedenhofen. Only with difficulty +were the Germans persuaded to separate Belfort from the rest of +Loraine, and leave it still in the possession of the French. In +respect to the expenses of the war, the sum of five milliards of +francs ($1,000,000,000) was agreed upon, of which the first +milliard was to be paid in the year 1871, and the rest in a +stated period. The stipulated entry into Paris also - so bitter +to the French national pride - was only partially carried out; +the western side only of the city was to be traversed in the +march of the Prussian troops, and again evacuated in two days. On +the basis of these conditions, the preliminaries of the Peace of +Versailles were concluded on the 26th of February between the +Imperial Chancellor and Jules Favre. Intense excitement prevailed +when the terms of the treaty became known; they were dark days in +the annals of French history. But in spite of the opposition of +the extreme Republican party, led by Quinet and Victor Hugo, the +Assembly recognized by an overpowering majority the necessity for +the Peace, and the preliminaries were accepted by 546 to 107 +votes. Thus ended the mighty war between France and Germany - a +war which has had few equals in the history of the world. + +THE WAR AT AN END + +Had King William received no indemnity in cash or territory from +France, he must still have felt himself amply repaid for the cost +of the brief but sanguinary war, for it brought him a power and +prestige with which the astute diplomatist Bismarck had long been +seeking to invest his name. Political changes move slowly in +times of peace, rapidly in times of war. The whole of Germany, +with the exception of Austria, had sent troops to the conquest of +France, and every state, north and south alike, shared in the +pride and glory of the result. South and North Germany had +marched side by side to the battle-field, every difference of +race or creed forgotten, and the honor of the German fatherland +the sole watchword. The time seemed to have arrived to close the +breach between north and south, and obliterate the line of the +Main, which had divided the two sections. North Germany was +united under the leadership of Prussia, and the honor in which +all alike shared now brought South Germany into line for a +similar union. + +The first appeal in this direction came from Baden. Later in the +year plenipotentiaries sought Versailles from the kingdoms of +Bavaria and Wurtemberg and the grand duchies of Baden and Hesse, +their purpose being to arrange for and define the conditions of +union between the South and the North German states. For weeks, +this momentous question filled all Germany with excitement and +public opinion was in a state of high tension. The scheme of +union was by no means universally approved, there being a large +party in opposition, but the majority in its favor in Chambers +proved sufficient to enable Bismarck to carry out his plan. + + +Chapter XII. BISMARCK AND THE NEW GERMAN EMPIRE + +Building the Bulwarks of the Twentieth Century Nation + +Bismarck as a Statesman - Uniting the German States - William I +Crowned at Versailles - A Significant Decade - The Problem of +Church Power - Progress of Socialism - William II and the +Resignation of Bismarck - Old Age Insurance - Political and +Industrial Conditions in Germany + +Throughout the various events narrated in the two preceding +chapters the hand of Bismarck was everywhere visible. He had +proved himself a statesman of the highest powers, and these +powers were devoted without stint to the aggrandizement of +Prussia. As for the surrounding nations and their rights and +immunities, these did not count as against his policies. +Conscience did not trouble him. The slaughter of thousands of men +on the battle-field did not disturb his equanimity. He was +unalterably fixed in his purposes, unscrupulous in the means +employed, shrewd, keen and far-sighted in his measures, Europe +being to him but a great chess-board, on which his hand moved +kings, knights, and pawns with mechanical inflexibility. To him +the end justified the means, however lacking in justice or mercy +these means might prove. + +Denmark was despoiled to extend the territory of Prussia to the +north. Austria, Bismarck's unwary accomplice in this act of +spoliation, was robbed of its share of the spoils, and drawn into +a war in which it met with disastrous defeat, the prestige of +Prussia being vastly increased on the field of Sadowa. +Subsequently came the great struggle with France, fomented by his +wiles and ending in triumph for his policies So far all had gone +well for him, the final outcome of his schemes resulting in the +unification of the minor German states into one powerful empire. + +BISMARCK AS A STATESMAN + +It was in the formation of the modern German Empire that the +far-sighted plans of Bismarck culminated. King William was a +willing partner for this purpose, moving as he suggested and +doing as he wished. The states of Germany, aside from Austria, +had actively participated in the recent war, the steps towards +unification which had been taken during the few preceding years +having now reached the point in which a complete amalgamation +might be effected. + +The Holy Roman Empire, which had lasted throughout the medieval +period in some phase of strength and power, at times predominant, +at times little more than a title, had received its death-blow +from the hands of Napoleon and vanished from the historic stage. +It was Bismarck's design to restore the German Empire - not the +old, moth-eaten fiction of the past, but an entirely new one - +and give Prussia the position it had earned, that of the great +center of German racial unity. In this project Austria, long at +the head of the old empire, was to have no part, the imperial +dignity being conferred upon the venerable King William of +Prussia, a monarch whose birth dated back to the eighteenth +century, and who had lived throughout the Napoleonic wars. + +UNITING THE GERMAN STATES + +Near the close of 1870 Bismarck concluded treaties with the +ambassadors of the South German States, in which they agreed to +accept the constitution of the North German Union. These treaties +were ratified, after some opposition from members of the lower +house, by the legislatures of the four states involved. The next +step in the proceeding was a suggestion from the king of Bavaria +to the other princes that the imperial crown of Germany should be +offered to King William of Prussia. + +When the North German diet at Berlin had given its consent to the +new constitution, a congratulatory address was despatched to the +Prussian monarch at Versailles. It announced to the aged +hero-king the nation's wish that he should accept the new +dignity. He replied to the deputation in solemn audience that he +accepted the imperial dignity which the German nation and its +princes had offered him. On the 1st of January, 1871, the new +constitution was to come into operation. + +WILLIAM I CROWNED AT VERSAILLES + +The solemn assumption of the imperial office did not take place, +however, until the 18th of January, the day on which, one hundred +and seventy years before, the new emperor's ancestor, Frederick +I, had placed the Prussian crown on his head at Konigsberg, and +thus laid the basis of the growing greatness of his house. It was +an ever-memorable coincidence that, in the superb-mirrored hall +of the Versailles palace, where since the days of Richelieu so +many plans had been concocted for the humiliation of Germany, +King William should now proclaim himself German emperor. After +the reading of the imperial proclamation to the German people by +Count Bismarck, the Grand Duke led a cheer, in which the whole +assembly joined amid the singing of national hymns. Thus the +important event had taken place which again summoned the German +Empire to life, and made over the imperial crown with renewed +splendor to another royal house. Barbarossa's old legend, that +the dominion of the empire was, after long tribulation, to pass +from the Hohenstaufen to the Hohenzollern, was now fulfilled; the +dream long aspired after by German youth had now become a reality +and a living fact. + +The tidings of the conclusion of peace with France, whose +preliminaries were completed at Frankfort on the 10th of May, +1871, filled all Germany with joy, and peace festivals on the +most splendid scale extended from end to end of the new empire, +in all parts of which an earnest spirit of patriotism was shown, +while Germans from all regions of the world sent home expressions +of warm sympathy with the new national organization of their +fatherland. + +A SIGNIFICANT DECADE + +The decade just completed had been one of remarkable political +changes in Europe, unsurpassed in significance during any other +period of equal length. The temporal dominion of the pope had +vanished and all Italy had been united under the rule of a single +king. The empire of France had been overthrown and a republic +established in its place, while that country had sunk greatly in +prominence among the European states. Austria had been utterly +defeated in war, had lost its last hold on Italy and its position +of influence among the German states. And all the remaining +German lands had united into a great and powerful empire, +promising to gain such extraordinary military strength that the +surrounding nations looked on in doubt, full of vague fears of +trouble from this new and potent power introduced into their +midst. + +Bismarck, however, showed an earnest desire to maintain +international peace and good relations, seeking to win the +confidence of foreign governments, while at the same time +improving and increasing that military force which had been +proved to be so mighty an engine of war. + +In the constitution of the new empire two legislative bodies, +already possessed by the Confederation of North German States +were provided for - the BUNDESRATH or Federal Council, whose +members are annually appointed by the respective state +governments and the REICHSTAG or representative body. whose +members are elected by universal suffrage for a period of three +years, an annual session being required. Germany, therefore, in +its present organization, is practically a federal union of +states, each with its own powers of internal government, and with +a common legislature approximating to our Senate and House of +Representatives. But this did not make the German emperor a +parliamentary monarch. From the fact that the consent of both +assemblies was necessary to change the law, he governed as he +pleased and had no other ministerial representative than the high +chancellor of the empire, depending solely on the sovereign. +After 1870 he was in the empire what he had been previously in +Prussia, the essential representative of the country and the +supreme head of the military forces. + +The remaining incidents of Bismarck's remarkable career may be +briefly given. It consisted largely in a struggle with the +Catholic Church organization, which had attained to great power +in Germany, and was aggressive to an extent that roused the +vigorous opposition of the chancellor of the empire, who was not +willing to acknowledge any power in Germany other than that of +the emperor. + +King Frederick William IV, the predecessor of the reigning +monarch, had made active efforts to strengthen the Catholic +Church in Prussia, its clergy gaining greater privileges in that +Protestant state than they possessed in any of the Catholic +states. They had established everywhere in North Germany their +congregations and monasteries, and by their control of public +education seemed in a fair way eventually to make Catholicism +supreme in the empire. + +THE PROBLEM OF CHURCH POWER + +This state of affairs Bismark set himself energetically to +reform. The minister of religious affairs was forced to resign, +and his place was taken by Falk, an energetic statesman, who +introduced a new school law, bringing the whole educational +system under state control, and carefully regulating the power of +the clergy over religious and moral education. This law met with +such violent opposition that all the personal influence of +Bismarck and Falk was needed to carry it, and it gave such deep +offense to the pope that he refused to receive the German +ambassador. He declared the Falk law invalid, and the German +bishops united in a declaration against the chancellor. Bismarck +retorted by a law expelling the Jesuits from the empire. + +In 1873 the state of affairs became so embittered that the rights +and liberties of the citizens seemed to need protection against +a priesthood armed with extensive powers of discipline and +excommunication. In consequence Bismarck introduced, and by his +eloquence and influence carried, what were known as the May Laws. +These required the scientific education of the Catholic clergy, +the confirmation of clerical appointments by the state, and the +formation of a tribunal to consider and revise the conduct of the +bishops. + +These enactments precipitated a bitter contest between Church and +State, while the pope declared the May Laws null and void and +threatened with excommunication all priests who should submit to +them. The State retorted by withdrawing its financial support +from the Catholic church and abolishing those clauses of the +constitution under which the Church claimed independence of the +State. Pope Pius IX died in 1878, and on the election of Leo XIII +attempts were made to reconcile the existing differences. The +reconciliation was a victory for the Church, since the May Laws +ceased to be operative, the church revenues were restored and the +control of the clergy over education in considerable measure was +regained. New concessions were granted in 1886 and 1887, and +Bismarck felt himself beaten in his long conflict with his +clerical opponents, who had proved too strong and deeply +entrenched for him. + +PROGRESS OF SOCIALISM + +Economic questions became also prominent, the revenues of the +empire requiring some change in the system of free trade and the +adoption of protective duties, while the railroads were acquired +as public property by the various states of the empire. Meanwhile +the rapid growth of socialism excited apprehension, which was +added to when two attempts were made on the life of the emperor. +These were attributed to the socialists, and severe laws for the +suppression of socialism were enacted. Bismark also sought to cut +the ground from under the feet of the socialists by an endeavor +to improve the condition of the working classes. In 1881 laws +were passed compelling employers to insure their workmen in case +of sickness or accident, and in 1888 a system of compulsory +insurance against death and old age was introduced. None of these +measures, however, checked the growth of socialism, which very +actively continued. + +In 1882 a meeting was arranged by the chancellor between the +emperors of Germany, Russia, and Austria, which was looked upon +in Europe as a political alliance. In 1878 Russia drifted +somewhat apart from Germany, but in the following year an +alliance of defense and offense was concluded with Austria, and a +similar alliance at a later date with Italy. This, which +continued to 1914, was known as the Triple Alliance. In 1877 +Bismarck announced his intention to retire, being worn out with +the great labors of his position. To this the emperor, who felt +that his state rested on the shoulders of the "Iron Chancellor," +would not listen, though he gave him indefinite leave of absence. + +On March 9, 1888, Emperor William died. He was ninety years of +age, having been born in 1797. He was succeeded by his son +Frederick, then incurably ill from a cancerous affection of the +throat, which carried him to the grave after a reign of +ninety-nine days. His oldest son, William, succeeded on June 15, +1888, as William II. + +WILLIAM II AND THE RESIGNATION OF BISMARCK + +The liberal era which was looked for under Frederick was checked +by his untimely death, his son at once returning to the policy of +William I and Bismarck. He proved to be far more positive and +dictatorial in disposition than his grandfather, with decided and +vigorous views of his own, which soon brought him into conflict +with the equally positive chancellor. The result was a rupture +with Bismarck, and his resignation (a virtual dismissal) from the +premiership in 1890. The young emperor proposed to be his own +minister and subsequently devoted himself in a large measure to +the increase of the army and navy, a policy which brought him +into frequent conflicts with the Reichstag, whose rapidly growing +socialistic membership was in strong opposition to this +development of militarism. + +The old statesman, to whom Germany owed so much, was deeply +aggrieved by this lack of gratitude on the part of the +self-opinionated young emperor, in view of his great services to +the state. The wound rankled deeply, though a seeming +reconciliation took place. But the political career of the great +Bismarck was at an end, and he died on July 30, 1898. It is an +interesting coincidence that almost at the same time died the +distinguished but markedly different statesman of England, +William Edward Gladstone. Count Cavour, another great European +statesman of the latter half of the nineteenth century, had +completed his work and passed away nearly forty years before. + +The career of William II soon became one of much interest and +some alarm to the other nations of Europe. His eagerness for the +development of the army and navy, and the energy with which he +pushed forward its organization and sought to add to its +strength, seemed significant of warlike intentions, and there was +dread that this energetic young monarch might break the peace of +Europe, if only to prove the irresistible strength of the +military machine he had formed. But as years went on the +apprehensions to which his early career and expressions gave rise +were quieted, and the fear that he would plunge Europe into war +lessened. The army and navy appeared to some as rather a costly +plaything of the active young man than an engine of destruction, +while it tended in considerable measure to the preservation of +peace by rendering Germany a power dangerous to go to war with. + +The speeches with which the emperor began his reign showed an +exaggerated sense of the imperial dignity, though his later +career indicated far more judgment and good sense than the early +display of overweening self-importance promised, and the views of +William II eventually came to command far more respect than they +did at first. He showed himself a man of exuberant energy. +Despite a permanent weakness of his left arm and a serious +affection of the ear, he early became a skilful horseman and an +untiring hunter, as well as an enthusiastic yachtsman, and there +were few men in the empire more active and enterprising than the +Kaiser. + +OLD AGE INSURANCE + +A principal cause of the break between William and Bismarck was +the imperial interference with the laws for the suppression of +socialism. As already stated, the old chancellor had established +a system of compulsory old age insurance, through which workmen +and their employers - aided by the state - were obliged to +provide for the support of artisans after a certain age. The +system seems to have worked satisfactorily, but socialism of a +more radical kind grew in the empire far more rapidly than the +emperor approved of, and he vigorously, though unsuccessfully +endeavored to prevent its increase. Another of his favorite +measures, a religious education bill, he was obliged to withdraw +on account of the opposition it excited. On more than one +occasion he came into sharp conflict with the Reichstag +concerning increased taxation for the army and navy, and a strong +party against his autocratic methods sprang up, and forced him +more than once to recede from warmly-cherished measures. + +POLITICAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS IN GERMANY + +It may be of interest here to say something concerning the +organization of the German empire. The constitution of this +empire, as adopted April 16, 1871, proposes to "form an eternal +union for the protection of the realm and the care of the welfare +of the German people," and places the supreme direction of +military and political affairs in the King of Prussia, under the +title of Deutscher Kaiser (German emperor). The war-making powers +of the emperor, however, are restricted, since he is required to +obtain the consent of the Bundesrath (the Federal Council) before +he can declare war otherwise than for the defense of the realm. +His authority as emperor, in fact, is much less than that which +he exercises as King of Prussia, since the imperial legislature +is independent of him, he having no power of veto over the laws +passed by it. His actual military power, however, is practically +supreme, as demonstrated in the opening events of the war of +1914. + +The legislature, as stated, consists of two bodies, the +Bundesrath, representing the states of the union, whose members, +58 in number, are chosen for each session by the several state +governments; and the Reichstag, representing the people, whose +members, 397 in number, are elected by universal suffrage for +periods of five years. The German union, as constituted in 1914, +comprised four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven +principalities, three sovereign cities, and the Reichsland of +Alsace-Lorraine; twenty-six separate states in all. It included +all the German peoples of Europe with the exception of those in +Austria. + +The progress of Germany within the modern period has been very +great. The population of the states of the empire, 24,831,000 at +the end of the Napoleonic wars, had become, a century later, over +64,000,000, having added 40,000,000 to the roll of inhabitants. +The country, once divided into an unwieldy multitude of states, +often of minute proportions, has become consolidated into the +number above named, each of these possessing some degree of +importance. These, as combined into a federal union, or empire, +have an area of 208,830 square miles, of which Prussia holds the +lion's share, its area being 134,605 square miles. + +The presidency of the empire belongs to the king of Prussia and +is hereditary in his family. Besides the Imperial Parliament, +each state has its own special legislature and laws, but +railroads regarded as necessary for the defense of Germany or the +facilitating of general communications may come under a law of +the empire, even against the opposition of the members of the +confederation whose territory is traversed. The states have their +respective armies, but it is the emperor who disposes of them; he +appoints the heads of the contingents, approves the generals, and +has the right to establish fortresses over the whole territory of +the empire. + +The wealth of the German empire has grown in a far greater area +than its population, it having developed into the most active +manufacturing country in Europe. Agriculture has similarly +advanced, and one of its chief products, that of the sugar beet, +has enormously increased, beet-root sugar being among its chief +industrial yields. In addition, Germany has grown to be one of +the most active commercial nations of the earth. Thus it has +taken a place among the most active productive and commercial +countries, its wealth and importance being correspondingly +augmented. These particulars are of interest as showing the +standing of Germany at the outbreak of the war of 1914 and +indicating its degree of ability to bear the fearful strain of so +great a war. + + +Chapter XIII. GLADSTONE AS AN APOSTLE OF REFORM + +Great Britain Becomes a World Power + +Gladstone and Disraeli - Gladstone's Famous Budget - A Suffrage +Reform Bill - Disraeli's Reform Measure - Irish Church +Disestablishment - An Irish Land Bill - Desperate State of +Ireland - The Coercion Bill - War in Africa - Home Rule for +Ireland + +It is a fact of much interest, as showing the growth of the human +mind, that William Ewart Gladstone, the great advocate of English +Liberalism, made his first political speech in vigorous +opposition to the Reform Bill of 1831. He was then a student at +Oxford University, but this boyish address had such an effect +upon his hearers, that Bishop Wordsworth felt sure the speaker +would "one day rise to be Prime Minister of England." This +prophetic utterance may be mated with another one, by Archdeacon +Denison, who said: "I have just heard the best speech I ever +heard in my life, by Gladstone, against the Reform Bill. But, +mark my words, that man will one day be a Liberal, for he argued +against the Bill on liberal grounds." + +Both these far-seeing men hit the mark. Gladstone became Prime +Minister and the leader of the Liberal Party in England. Yet he +had been reared as a Conservative, and for many years he marched +under the banner of conservatism. His political career began in +the first Reform Parliament, in January, 1833. Two years +afterward he was made an under-secretary in Sir Robert Peel's +Cabinet. It was under the same premier that he first became a +full member of the cabinet, in 1845, as Secretary of State for +the Colonies. He was still a Tory in home politics, but had +become a Liberal in his commercial ideas, and was Peel's +right-hand man in carrying out his great commercial policy. + +The repeal of the Corn-Laws was the work for which his cabinet +had been formed, and Gladstone, as the leading free-trader in the +Tory ranks, was called to it. As for Cobden, the apostle of +free-trade, Gladstone admired him immensely. "I do not know," he +said in later years, "that there is in any period a man whose +public career and life were nobler or more admirable. Of course, +I except Washington. Washington, to my mind, is the purest figure +in history." As an advocate of free trade Gladstone first came +into connection with another noble figure, that of John Bright, +who was to remain associated with him during most of his career. +In 1857 he first took rank as one of the great moral forces of +modern times. In that year he visited Naples, where he saw the +barbarous treatment of political prisoners under the government +of the infamous King Bomba, and described them in letters whose +indignation was breathed in such tremendous tones that England +was stirred to its depths and all Europe awakened. These +thrilling epistles gave the cause of Italian freedom an impetus +that had much to do with its subsequent success, and gained for +Gladstone the warmest veneration of patriotic Italians. + +GLADSTONE AND DISRAELI + +In 1852 he first came into opposition with the man against whom +he was to be pitted during the remainder of his career, Benjamin +Disraeli, who had made himself a power in Parliament, and in that +year became Chancellor of the Exchequer in Lord Derby's Cabinet +and leader of the House of Commons. The revenue budget introduced +by him showed a sad lack of financial ability, and called forth +sharp criticisms, to which he replied in a speech made up of +scoffs, gibes and biting sarcasms, so daring and audacious in +character as almost to intimidate the House. As he sat down, Mr. +Gladstone rose and launched forth into an oration which became +historic. He gave voice to that indignation which lay suppressed +beneath the cowed feeling which for the moment the Chancellor of +the Exchequer's performance had left among his hearers. In a few +minutes the House was wildly cheering the intrepid champion who +had rushed into the breach, and when Mr. Gladstone concluded, +having torn to shreds the proposals of the budget, a majority +followed him into the division lobby, and Mr. Disraeli found his +government beaten by nineteen votes. Such was the first great +encounter between the two rivals. + +GLADSTONE'S FAMOUS BUDGET + +In the cabinet that followed, headed by Lord Aberdeen, Gladstone +succeeded Disraeli as Chancellor of the Exchequer, a position in +which he was to make a great mark. In April, 1853, he introduced +his first budget, a marvel of ingenious statesmanship, in its +highly successful effort to equalize taxation. It remitted +various taxes which had pressed hard upon the poor and restricted +business, and replaced them by applying the succession duty to +real estate, increasing the duty on spirits, and extending the +income tax. + +Taken altogether, and especially in its expedients to equalize +taxation, this first budget of Mr. Gladstone may be justly called +the greatest of the century. The speech in which it was +introduced and expounded created an extraordinary impression on +the House and the country. For the first time in Parliament +figures were made as interesting as a fairy tale; the dry bones +of statistics were invested with a new and potent life, and it +was shown how the yearly balancing of the national accounts might +be directed by and made to promote the profoundest and most +fruitful principles of statesmanship. With such lucidity and +picturesqueness was this financial oratory rolled forth that the +dullest intellect could follow with pleasure the complicated +scheme; and for five hours the House of commons sat as if it were +under the sway of a magician's wand. When Mr. Gladstone resumed +his seat, it was felt that the career of the coalition ministry +was assured by the genius that was discovered in its Chancellor +of the Exchequer. + +It was, indeed, to Gladstone's remarkable oratorical powers that +much of his success as a statesman was due. No man of his period +was his equal in swaying and convincing his hearers. His rich and +musical voice, his varied and animated gestures, his impressive +and vigorous delivery, great fluency, and wonderful precision of +statement, gave him a power over an audience which few men of the +century have enjoyed. His sentences, indeed, were long and +involved, growing more so as his years advanced, but their fine +choice of words, rich rhetoric, and eloquent delivery carried +away all that heard him, as did his deep earnestness and intense +conviction of the truth of his utterances. + +Meanwhile his Liberalism had been steadily growing reaching its +culmination in 1865, when the Tory University of Oxford, which he +had long represented, rejected him as its member, unable longer +to swallow his ultra views. The rejection was greeted by him as a +compliment. He at once offered himself as a candidate for South +Lancashire and in the opening of his speech at Manchester said: +"At last, my friends, I am come among you; to use an expression +which has become very famous and is not likely to be forgotten, +'I am come among you unmuzzled.'" + +Unmuzzled he indeed was, free at last to give the fullest +expression to his Liberal faith. In 1866 he became, for the first +time in his career, leader of the House of Commons - Lord +Russell, the Prime Minister, being in the House of Lords. Many of +his friends feared for him in this difficult position; but the +event proved that they had no occasion for alarm, he showing +himself one of the most successful leaders the House had ever +had. + +A SUFFRAGE REFORM BILL + +His first important duty in this position was to introduce the +new Suffrage Reform Bill, a measure to extend the franchise in +counties and boroughs that would have added about 400,000 voters +to the electorate. In the debate that followed, Gladstone and +Disraeli were again pitted against each other in a grand +oratorical contest. Disraeli taunted him with his youthful speech +at Oxford against the Reform Bill of 1831. Gladstone retorted by +scoring his opponent for clinging to a conservatism which he +gloried in having been strong enough to reject. He ended with +this stirring prediction: + +"You cannot fight against the future. Time is on our side. The +great social forces which move onwards in their might and +majesty, and which the tumult of our debates does not for a +moment impede or disturb, those great social forces are against +you; they are marshaled on our side; and the banner which we now +carry into this fight, though perhaps at some moment it may droop +over our sinking heads, yet it soon again will float in the eye +of Heaven, and it will be borne by the firm hands of the united +people of the three kingdoms, perhaps not to an easy, but to a +certain, and to a not far distant, victory." + +He was right in saying that it would not be a distant victory. +Disraeli and his party defeated the bill, but the people rose in +a vigorous demand for it, ten thousand of them marching past +Gladstone's house, singing odes in honor of "the People's +William." John Bright, an eloquent orator and strenuous advocate +of oral reform and political progress, joined Gladstone in his +campaign. Through the force of their eloquence the tide of public +opinion rose to such a height that the new Derby-Disraeli +ministry was obliged to bring in a bill similar in purpose to +that which it had overthrown. + +DISRAELI'S REFORM MEASURE + +This Tory bill proved satisfactory to Gladstone in its general +features. He had won a great victory in forcing its introduction. +But he proposed so many changes in its details - all of them +yielded in committee - that a satirical lord remarked that +nothing of the original bill remained but its opening word +"Whereas." As thus modified, it was more liberal than the measure +that had been defeated, and the people gave full credit for it to +Gladstone, whom they credited with giving them their right to +vote. + +The two potent political champions, Gladstone and Disraeli, soon +after attained the summit height of British political ambition. +In February, 1868, the failing health of Lord Derby forced him to +resign the ministry, and Disraeli succeeded him as Prime +Minister, thus the "Asian Mystery," as he had been entitled, +gained the highest office in the British government. He did not +hold this office long. His party was defeated on the question of +the disestablishment of the Irish church, and on December 4th of +the same year Gladstone took his place. Thus, after thirty-five +years of public life, Gladstone had attained the post in which he +was to spend most of his later life. + +Bishop Wilberforce, who met him in this hour of triumph, wrote +thus of him in his journal: "Gladstone as ever great, earnest and +honest; as unlike the tricky Disraeli as possible. He is so +delightfully true and the same; just as full of interest in every +good thing of every kind." + +The period which followed the election of 1868 - the period of +the Gladstone Administration of 1868-74 - has been called "the +Golden age of Liberalism." It was certainly a period of great +reforms. The first, the most heroic, and probably - taking all +the results into account - the most completely successful of +these, was the disestablishment of the Irish Church. + +IRISH CHURCH DISESTABLISHMENT + +Any interference with the prerogatives or absoluteness of an +established church institution is sure to arouse vigorous +opposition. The disestablishment Bill, introduced on the 1st of +March, 1869, was greeted in Ireland with the wildest protests +from those interested in the Establishment. One synod, with a +large assumption of inspired knowledge, denounced it as "highly +offensive to the Almighty God." A martial clergyman offered to +"kick the queen's crown into the Boyne," if she assented to any +such measure. Another proposed to fight with the Bible in one +hand the and sword in the other. + +These wild outbreaks of theological partisanship had no effect on +Gladstone, whose speech was one of the greatest marvels amongst +his oratorical achievements. His chief opponent declared that +though it lasted three hours, it did not contain a redundant +word. The scheme which it unfolded -- a scheme which withdrew the +temporal establishment of a Church in such a manner that the +church was benefited, not injured, and which lifted from the +backs of an oppressed people an intolerable burden - was a +triumph of creative genius. + +Disraeli's speech in opposition to this measure was referred bo +by the LONDON TIMES as flimsiness relieved by spangles." After a +debate in which Mr. Bright made one of his most famous speeches, +the bill was carried by a majority of 118. Before this strong +manifestation of the popular will the House of Lords, which +deeply disliked the bill, felt obliged to give way, and passed it +by a majority of seven. + +AN IRISH LAND BILL + +In 1870 Mr. Gladstone introduced his Irish Land Bill, a measure +of reform which Parliament had for years refused to grant. By it +the tenant was given the right to hold his farm as long as he +paid his rent, and received a claim upon the improvement made by +himself and his predecessors - a tenant-right which he could +sell. This bill was triumphantly carried; and another important +Liberal measure, Mr. Forster's Education bill, became law. + +Other liberal measures were passed, but the tide which had set so +long in this direction turned at last, the government was +defeated in 1873 on a bill for University Education, and in a +subsequent election the Liberal party met with defeat. Gladstone +at once resigned and was succeeded by Disraeli. Two years later +the latter was raised to the peerage by the Queen under the title +of the Earl of Beaconsfield. Gladstone was not in the field for +honors of this type. He much preferred to inherit the title of a +distinguished predecessor, that of "The Great Commoner." During +his recess from office he occupied himself in literary labors and +as a critical commentator upon the foreign policy of Disraeli, +which plunged the country into a Zulu war which Gladstone +denounced as "one of the most monstrous and indefensible in our +history," and an Afghan war which he described as a national +crime. + +These and other acts of Tory policy in time brought liberalism +again into the forefront, an election held in 1880 resulted in a +great Liberal victory, Disraeli (then Lord Beaconsfield) resigned +and Gladstone was once again called to the head of the ministry. +In the new administration the foreign policy, the meddling in the +concerns of the East, which had held precedence over domestic +affairs under the preceding administration, vanished from sight, +and the Irish question again became prominent. Ireland had now +gained an able leader, Charles Stewart Parnell, founder of the +Irish Land League, a trade union of Irish farmers, and its +affairs could no longer be consigned to the background. + +Gladstone, in assuming control of the new government, was quite +unaware of the task before him. When he had completed his work +with the Church and the Land bills ten years before, he fondly +fancied that the Irish question was definitely settled. The Home +Rule movement, which was started in 1870, seemed to him a wild +delusion which would die away of itself. In 1884 he said: "I +frankly admit that I had had much upon my hands connected with +the doings of the Beaconsfield Government in every quarter of the +world, and I did not know - no one knew - the severity of the +crisis that was already swelling upon the horizon, and that +shortly after rushed upon us like a flood." + +DESPERATE STATE OF IRELAND + +He was not long is discovering the gravity of the situation, of +which the House had been warned by Mr. Parnell. The famine had +brought its crop of misery, and, while the charitable were +seeking to relieve the distress, many of the landlords were +turning adrift their tenants for non-payment of rents. The Irish +party brought in a Bill for the Suspension of Evictions, which +the government replaced by a similar one for Compensation for +Disturbance. This was passed with a large majority by the +Commons, but was rejected by the Lords, and Ireland was left to +face its misery without relief. + +The state of Ireland at that moment was too critical to be dealt +with in this manner. The rejection of the Compensation for +Disturbance Bill was, to the peasantry whom it had been intended +to protect, a message of despair, and it was followed by the +usual symptom of despair in Ireland, an outbreak of agrarian +crime. On the one hand over 17,000 persons were evicted; on the +other there was a dreadful crop of murders and outrages. The Land +League sought to do what Parliament did not; but in doing so it +came in contact with the law. Moreover, the revolution - for +revolution it seemed to be - grew too formidable for its control; +the utmost it succeeded in doing was in some sense to ride +without directing the storm. The first decisive step of Mr. +Forster, the chief secretary for Ireland, was to strike a blow at +the Land League. In November he ordered the prosecution of Mr. +Parnell, Mr. Biggar, and several of the officials of the +organization, and before the year was out he announced his +intention of introducing a Coercion Bill. This step threw the +Irish members under Mr. Parnell and the Liberal Government into +relations of definitive antagonism. + +THE COERCION BILL + +Mr. Forster introduced his Coercion Bill on January 24, 1881. It +was a formidable measure, which enabled the chief secretary, by +signing a warrant, to arrest any man on suspicion of having +committed a given offense, and to imprison him without trial at +the pleasure of the government. It practically suspended the +liberties of Ireland. The Irish members exhausted every resource +of parliamentary action in resisting it, and their tactics +resulted in several scenes unprecedented in parliamentary +history. In order to pass the bill it was necessary to suspend +them in a body several times. Mr. Gladstone, with manifest pain, +found himself, as leader of the House, the agent by whom this +extreme resolve had to be executed. + +The Coercion Bill passed, Mr. Gladstone introduced his Land Bill +of 1881, which was the measure of conciliation intended to +balance the measure of repression. This was really a great and +sweeping reform, whose dominant feature was the introduction of +the novel and far-reaching principle of the state stepping in +between landlord and tenant and fixing the rents. The bill had +some defects, as a series of amending acts, which were +subsequently passed by both Liberal and Tory governments, proved; +but, apart from these, it was on the whole the greatest measure +of land reform ever passed for Ireland by the Imperial +Parliament. + +But Ireland was not yet satisfied. Parnell had no confidence in +the good intentions of the government, and took steps to test its +honesty, which so angered Mr. Forster that he arrested Mr. +Parnell and several other leaders and pronounced the Land League +an illegal body. Forster was well-meaning but mistaken. He +fancied that by locking up the ring-leaders he could bring quiet +to the country. On the contrary, affairs were soon far worse than +ever, crime and outrage spreading widely. In despair, Mr. Forster +released Parnell and resigned. All now seemed hopeful; coercion +had proved a failure; peace and quiet were looked for; when, four +days afterward, the whole country was horrified by a terrible +crime. The new Secretary for Ireland, Lord Cavendish, and the +under-secretary, Mr. Burke, were attacked and hacked to death +with knives in Phoenix Park. Everywhere panic and indignation +arose. A new Coercion Act was passed without delay. It was +vigorously put into effect, and a state of virtual war between +England and Ireland again came into existence. + +WARS IN AFRICA + +Meanwhile Great Britain had been brought back into the tide of +foreign affairs. Events were taking place abroad which must here +be dealt with briefly. The ambitious Briton, who loves to +carry the world on his shoulders, had made the control of the +Suez Canal an excuse for meddling with the government of Egypt. +The immediate results were a revolution that drove Ismail Pasha +from this throne, and a revolt of the people under an ambitious +leader named Arabi Pasha, who seized Alexandria and drove out the +British, many of whom were killed. + +Gladstone, who deprecated war, now found himself with a conflict +thrust upon his hands. The British fleet bombarded Alexandria, +and the British army occupied it after it had been half reduced +to ashes. Soon after General Wolseley defeated Arabi and his army +and the insurrection ended. A sequel to this affair was a +formidable outbreak in the Soudan, under El Mahdi, a Mohammedan +fanatic, who captured the city of Khartoum and killed the famous +General Gordon. Years passed before Upper Egypt was reconquered, +it being recovered only at the close of the century. Since then +Egypt has remained under British control. + +There were serious troubles also in South Africa. The British of +Cape Colony had pushed their way into the Boer settlement of the +Transvaal, claiming jurisdiction over it. The valiant Dutch +settlers broke into war, and dealt the invaders a signal defeat +at Majuba Hill. This was the opening step in a series of +occurrences which led to the later Boer war, in which the +British, with great loss, conquered the Boers, followed in later +years by a practical reconquest of the country by its Boer +inhabitants in peaceful ways. + +Such were the wars of the Gladstone administration, events of +which he did not approve, but into which he was irresistibly +drawn. At home the Irish question continued in the forefront. The +African wars having weakened the administration, a vigorous +assault was made on it by the Irish party in 1885, and it fell. +But its demise was a very brief one. After a short experience of +a Tory ministry under Lord Salisbury, Parnell's party rallied to +Gladstone's side, the new government was defeated, and on +February 1, 1886, Gladstone became Prime Minister for the third +time. + +HOME RULE FOR IRELAND + +During the brief interval his opinions had suffered a great +revolution. He no longer thought that Ireland had all it could +justly demand. He returned to power as an advocate of a most +radical measure, that of Home Rule for Ireland, a restoration of +that separate Parliament which it had lost in 1800. He also had a +scheme to buy out the Irish landlords and establish a peasant +proprietary by state aid. His new views were revolutionary in +character, but he did not hesitate - he never hesitated to do +what his conscience told him was right. On April 8, 1886, he +introduced to Parliament his Home Rule Bill. + +The scene that afternoon was one of the most remarkable in +Parliamentary history. Never before was such interest manifested +in a debate by either the public or the members of the House. In +order to secure their places, members arrived at St. Stephen's at +six o'clock in the morning, and spent the day on the premises; +and, a thing quite unprecedented, members who could not find +places on the benches filled up the floor of the House with rows +of chairs. The strangers', diplomats', peers', and ladies' +galleries were filled to overflowing. Men begged even to be +admitted to the ventilating passages beneath the floor of the +chamber that they might in some sense be witnesses of the +greatest feat in the lifetime of an illustrious old man of +eighty. Around Palace Yard an enormous crowd surged, waiting to +give the veteran a welcome as he drove up from Downing Street. + +Mr. Gladstone arrived in the House, pale and still panting from +the excitement of his reception in the streets. As he sat there +the entire Liberal party - with the exception of Lord Hartington, +Sir Henry James, Mr. Chamberlain and Sir George Trevelyan - and +the Nationalist members, by a spontaneous impulse, sprang to +their feet and cheered him again and again. The speech which he +delivered was in every way worthy of the occasion. It expounded, +with marvelous lucidity and a noble eloquence, a tremendous +scheme of constructive legislation - the re-establishment of a +legislature in Ireland, but one subordinate to the Imperial +Parliament, and hedged round with every safeguard which could +protect the unity of the Empire. It took three hours in delivery, +and was listened to throughout with the utmost attention on every +side of the House. At its close all parties united in a tribute +of admiration for the genius which had astonished them with such +an exhibition of its powers. + +Yet it is one thing to cheer an orator, another thing to vote for +a revolution. The bill was defeated - as it was almost sure to +be. Mr. Gladstone at once dissolved Parliament and appealed to +the country in a new election, with the result that he was +decisively defeated. His bold declaration that the contest was +one between the classes and the masses turned the aristocracy +against him, while he had again roused the bitter hatred of his +opponents. + +Gladstone, the "Grand Old Man," a title which he had nobly won, +returned to power in 1892, after a period of wholesale coercion +in Ireland. He was not to remain there long. He brought in a new +Home Rule Bill, supported it with much of his old vigor, and had +the intense satisfaction of having it passed, with a majority of +thirty-four. It was defeated in the House of Lords, and Home +Rule, still remains the prominent issue in Ireland, which it has +divided into two camps, Protestant Ulster being in revolt against +the Catholic provinces. + +With this great event the public career of the Grand Old Man came +to an end. The burden had grown too heavy for his reduced +strength. In March, 1894, to the consternation of his party, he +announced his intention of retiring from public life. The Queen +offered, as she had done once before, to raise him to the peerage +as an earl, but he declined the proffer. His own plain name was a +title higher than that of any earldom in the kingdom. + +On May 19, 1898, William Ewart Gladstone laid down the burden of +his life as he had already done that of labor. The noblest figure +in legislative life of the nineteenth century had passed away +from earth. + + +Chapter XIV. THE FRENCH REPUBLIC + +Struggles of a New Nation + +The Republic Organized - The Commune of Paris - Instability of +the Government - Thiers Proclaimed President - Punishment of the +Unsuccessful Generals - MacMahon a Royalist President - Bazaine's +Sentence and Escape - Grevy, Gambetta and Boulanger - The Panama +Canal Scandal - Despotism of the Army Leaders - The Dreyfus Case +- Church and State - The Moroccan Controversy + +It has been already told how the capitulation of the French army +at Sedan and the captivity of Louis Napoleon were followed in +Paris by the overthrow of the empire and the formation of a +republic, the third in the history of French political changes. A +provisional government was formed, the legislative assembly was +dissolved, and all the court paraphernalia of the imperial +establishment disappeared. The new government was called in Paris +the "Government of Lawyers," most of its members and officials +belonging to that profession. At its head was General Trochu, in +command of the army in Paris; among its chief members were Jules +Favre and Gambetta. While upright in its membership and honorable +in its purposes, it was an arbitrary body, formed by a coup +d'etat like that by which Napoleon had seized the reins of power, +and not destined for a long existence. + +THE REPUBLIC ORGANIZED + +The news of the fall of Metz and the surrender of Bazaine and his +army served as a fresh spark to the inflammable public feeling of +France. In Paris the Red Republic raised the banner of +insurrection against the government of the national defense and +endeavored to revive the spirit of the Commmune of 1793. The +insurgents marched to the senate-house, demanded the election of +a municipal council which should share power with the government, +and proceeded to imprison Trochu, Jules Favre, and their +associates. This, however, was but a temporary success of the +Commune, and the provisional government continued in existence +until the end of the war, when a national assembly was elected by +the people and the temporary government was set aside. Gambetta, +the dictator, "the organizer of defeats," as he was sarcastically +entitled, lost his power, and the aged statesman and historian, +Louis Thiers, was chosen as chief of the executive department of +the new government. + +The treaty of peace with Germany, including, as it did, the loss +of Alsace and Lorraine and the payment of an indemnity of +$1,000,000,000, roused once more the fierce passions of the +radicals and the masses of the great cities, who passionately +denounced the treaty as due to cowardice and treason. The +dethroned emperor added to the excitement by a manifesto, in +which he protested against his deposition by the assembly and +called for a fresh election. The final incitement to insurrection +came when the Assembly decided to hold its sessions at Versailles +instead of in Paris, whose unruly populace it feared. + +THE COMMUNE OF PARIS + +In a moment all the revolutionary elements of the great city were +in a blaze. The social democratic "Commune," elected from the +central committee of the National Guard, renounced obedience to +the government and the National Assembly, and broke into open +revolt. An attempt to repress the movement merely added to its +violence, and all the riotous populace of Paris sprang to arms. A +new war was about to be inaugurated in that city which had just +suffered so severely from the guns of the Germans, and around +which German troops were still encamped. + +The government had neglected to take possession of the cannon +Montmartre; and now, when the troops of the line, instead of +firing on the insurrectionists, went over in crowds to their +side, the supremacy over Paris fell into the hands of the wildest +demagogues. A fearful civil war commenced, and in the same forts +which the Germans had shortly before evacuated firing once more +resounded; the houses, gardens, and villages around Paris were +again surrendered to destruction; the creations of art, industry, +and civilization were endangered, and the abodes of wealth and +pleasure were transformed into dreary wildernesses. + +The wild outbreaks of fanaticism on the part of the Commune +recalled the scenes of the revolution of 1789, and in these +spring days of 1871 Paris added another leaf to its long history +of crime and violence. The insurgents, roused to fury by the +efforts of the government to suppress them, murdered two +generals, Lecomte and Thomas, and fired on the unarmed citizens +who, as the "friends of order," desired a reconciliation with the +authorities at Versailles. They formed a government of their own, +extorted loans from wealthy citizens, confiscated the property of +religious societies, and seized and held as hostages Archbishop +Darboy and many other distinguished clergymen and citizens. + +Meanwhile the investing French troops, led by Marshal MacMahon, +gradually fought their way through the defenses and into the +suburbs of the city, and the speedy surrender of the anarchists +in the capital became inevitable. This necessity excited their +passions to the most violent extent, and, with the wild fury of +savages, they set themselves to do all the damage they could to +the historical monuments of Paris. The noble Vendome column, the +symbol of the warlike renown of France, was torn down from its +pedestal and hurled prostrate into the street. The most historic +buildings in the city were set on fire, and either partially or +entirely destroyed. Among these were the Tuileries, a portion of +the Louvre, the Luxembourg, the Palais Royal, the Elysee, etc.; +while several of the imprisoned hostages, foremost among them +Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, and the universally respected +minister Daguerry, were shot by the infuriated mob. Such crimes +excited the Versailles troops to terrible vengeance, when they at +last succeeded in repressing the rebellion. They made their way +along a bloody course; human life was counted as nothing; the +streets were stained with blood and strewn with corpses, and the +Seine once more ran red between its banks. When at last the +Commune surrendered, the judicial courts at Versailles began +their work of retribution. The leaders and participators in the +rebellion who could not save themselves by flight were shot by +hundreds, confined in fortresses, or transported to the colonies. +For more than a year the imprisonments, trials, and executions +continued, military courts being established which excited the +world for months by their wholesale condemnations to exile and to +death. The carnival of anarchy was followed by one of pitiless +revenge. + +INSTABILITY OF THE GOVERNMENT + +The Republican government of France, which had been accepted in +an emergency, was far from carrying with it the support of the +whole of the Assembly or of the people, and the aged, but active +and keen-witted Thiers had to steer through a medley of opposing +interests and sentiments. His government was considered, alike by +the Monarchists and the Jacobins, as only provisional, and the +Bourbons and Napoleonists on the one hand and the advocates of +"liberty, equality and fraternity" on the other, intrigued for +its overthrow. But the German armies still remained on French +soil, pending the payment of the costs of the war; and the astute +chief of the executive power possessed moderation enough to +pacify the passions of the people, to restrain their hatred of +the Germans, which was so boldly exhibited in the streets and in +the courts of justice, and to quiet the clamor for a war of +revenge. + +The position of parties at home was confused and distracted, and +a disturbance of the existing order could only lead to anarchy +and civil war. Thiers was thus the indispensable man of the +moment, and so much was he himself impressed by the consciousness +of this fact, that many times, by the threat of resignation, he +brought the opposing elements in the Assembly to harmony and +compliance. + +This occurred even during the siege of Paris, when the forces of +the government were in conflict with the Commune. In the Assembly +there was shown an inclination to moderate or break through the +sharp centralization of the government, and to procure some +autonomy for the provinces and towns. When, therefore, a new +scheme was discussed, a large part of the Assembly demanded that +the mayors should not, as formerly, be appointed by the +government, but be elected by the town councils. Only with +difficulty was Thiers able to effect a compromise, on the +strength of which the government was permitted the right of +appointment for all towns numbering over twenty thousand. + +In the elections for the councils the moderate Republicans proved +triumphant. With a supple dexterity, Thiers knew how to steer +between the Democratic-Republican party and the Monarchists. When +Gambetta endeavored to establish a "league of Republican towns," +the attempt was forbidden as illegal; and when the decree of +banishment against the Bourbon and Orleans princes was set aside, +and the latter returned to France, Thiers knew how to postpone +the entrance of the Duc d'Aumale and Prince de Joinville, who had +been elected deputies, into the Assembly at least until the end +of the year. + +THIERS PROCLAIMED PRESIDENT + +The brilliant success of the national loan went far to strengthen +the position of Thiers. The high offers for a share in this loan, +which indicated the inexhaustible wealth of the nation and the +solid credit of France abroad, promised a rapid payment of the +war indemnity, the consequent evacuation of the country by the +German army of occupation, and a restoration of the disturbed +finances of the state. The foolish manifesto of the Count de +Chambord, who declared that he had only to return with the white +banner to be made sovereign of France, brought all practical men +to the side of Thiers, and he had, during the last days of +August, 1871, the triumph of being proclaimed "President of the +French Republic." + +The new president aimed, next to the liberation of the garrisoned +provinces from the German troops of occupation, at the +reorganization of the French army. Yet he could not bring himself +to the decision of enforcing in its entirety the principle of +general armed service, such as had raised Prussia from a state of +depression to one of military regeneration. Universal military +service in France was, it is true, adopted in name, and the army +was increased to an immense extent, but under such conditions and +limitations that the richer and more educated classes could +exempt themselves from service in the army; and thus the active +forces, as before, consisted of professional soldiers. And when +the minister for education, Jules Simon, introduced an +educational law based on liberal principles, he experienced on +the part of the clergy such violent opposition that the +government dropped the measure. + +In order to place the army in the condition which Thiers desired, +an increase in the military budget was necessary, and +consequently an enhancement of the general revenues of the state. +For this purpose a return to the tariff system, which had been +abolished under the empire, was proposed, but excited so great an +opposition in the Assembly that six months passed before it could +be carried. The new organization of the army, undertaken with a +view of placing France on a level in military strength with her +late conqueror, was now eagerly undertaken by the president. An +active army, with five year's service, was to be added to a +"territorial army," a kind of militia. And so great was the +demand on the portion of the nation capable of bearing arms that +the new French army exceeded in numbers that of any other nation. + +But all the statesmanship of Thiers could not overcome the +anarchy in the Assembly, where the forces for monarchy and +republicanism were bitterly opposed to each other. Gambetta, in +order to rouse public opinion in favor of democracy, made several +tours through the country, his extravagance of language giving +deep offense to the Monarchists, while the opposed sections of +the Assembly grew wider and more violent in their breach. + +PUNISHMENT OF THE UNSUCCESSFUL GENERALS + +Indisputable as were the valuable services which Thiers had +rendered to France, by the foundation of public order and +authority, the creation of a regular army, and the restoration of +a solid financial system, yet all these services met with no +recognition in the face of the party jealousy and political +passions prevailing among the people's representatives at +Versailles. More and more did the Royalist reaction gain ground, +and, aided by the priests and by various national discontents, +endeavor to bring about the destruction of its opponents. Against +the Radicals and Liberals, among whom even the Voltairean Thiers +was included, superstition and fanaticism were let loose, and +against the Bonapartists was directed the terrorism of +courts-martial. + +The French could not rest with the thought that their military +supremacy had been broken by the superiority of the Prusso-German +arms; their defeats could have proceeded only from the treachery +or incapacity of their leaders. To this national prejudice the +Government decided to bow, and to offer a sacrifice to the +popular passion. And thus the world beheld the lamentable +spectacle of the commanders who had surrendered the French +fortresses to the enemy being subjected to a trial by +court-martial under the presidency of Marshal Baraguay +d'Hilliers, and the majority of them, on account of their proved +incapacity or weakness, deprived of their military honors, at a +moment when all had cause to reproach themselves and endeavor to +raise up a new structure on the ruins of the past. Even Ulrich, +the once celebrated commander of Strasbourg, whose name had been +given to a street in Paris, was brought under the censure of the +court-martial. But the chief blow fell upon the +commander-in-chief of Metz, Marshal Bazaine, to whose "treachery" +the whole misfortune of France was attributed. For months he was +retained a prisoner at Versailles, while preparations were made +for the great court-martial spectacle, which, in the following +year, took place under the presidency of the Duc d'Aumale. + +MACMAHON A ROYALIST PRESIDENT + +The result of the party division in the Assembly was, in May +1873, a vote of censure on the ministry, which induced them to +resign. Their resignation was followed by an offer of resignation +on the part of Thiers, who experienced the unexpected slight of +having it accepted by the majority of the Assembly, the +monarchist MacMahon, Marshal of France and Duke of Magenta, being +elected President in his place. Thiers had just performed one of +his greatest services to France, by paying off the last +instalment of the war indemnity and relieving the soil of his +country of the hated German troops. + +The party now in power at once began to lay plans to carry out +their cherished purpose of placing a Legitimist king upon the +throne, this honor being offered to the Count de Chambord, +grandson of Charles X. He, an old man, unfitted for the thorny +seat offered him, and out of all accord with the spirit of the +times, put a sudden end to the hopes of his partisans by his +medieval conservatism. Their purpose was to establish a +constitutional government, under the tri-colored flag of +revolutionary France; but the old Bourbon gave them to understand +that he would not consent to reign under the Tricolor, but must +remain steadfast to the white banner of his ancestors; he had no +desire to be "the legitimate king of revolution." + +This letter shattered the plans of his supporters. No man with +idea like these would be tolerated on the French throne. There +was never to be in France a King Henry V. The Monarchists, in +disgust at the failure of their schemes, elected MacMahon +president of the republic for a term of seven years, and for the +time being the reign of republicanism in France was made secure. + +While MacMahon was thus being raised to the pinnacle of honor, +his former comrade Bazaine was imprisoned in another part of the +palace at Versailles, awaiting trial on the charge of treason for +the surrender of Metz. In the trial, in which the whole world +took a deep interest, the efforts of the prosecution were +directed to prove that the conquest of France was solely due to +the treachery of the Bonapartist marshal. Despite all that could +be said in his defense, he was found guilty by the court martial, +sentenced to degradation from his rank in the army, and to death. + +BAZAINE'S SENTENCE AND ESCAPE + +A letter which Prince Frederick Charles wrote in his favor only +added to the wrath of the people, who cried aloud for his +execution. But, as though the judges themselves felt a twinge of +conscience at the sentence, they at the same time signed a +petition for pardon to the president of the republic. MacMahon +thereupon commuted the punishment of death into a twenty years' +imprisonment, remitted the disgrace of the formalities of a +military degradation, without canceling its operation, and +appointed as the prisoner's place of confinement the fortress on +the island of St. Marguerite, opposite Cannes, known in +connection with the "iron mask." Bazaine's wealthy Mexican wife +obtained permission to reside near him, with her family and +servants, in a pavilion of the sea-fortress. This afforded her an +opportunity of bringing about the freedom of her husband in the +following year with the aid of her brother. After an adventurous +escape, by letting himself down with a rope to a Genoese vessel, +Bazaine fled to Holland, and then offered his services to the +republican government of Spain. + +In 1875 the constitution under which France is now governed was +adopted by the republicans. It provides for a legislature of two +chambers; one a chamber of deputies elected by the people, the +other a senate of 300 members, 75 of whom are elected by the +National Assembly and the others by electoral colleges in the +departments of France. The two chambers unite to elect a +president, who has a term of seven years. He is +commander-in-chief of the army, appoints all officers, receives +all ambassadors, executes the laws, and appoints the cabinet, +which is responsible to the Senate and House of Deputies - thus +resembling the cabinet of Great Britain instead of that of the +United States. + +This constitution was soon ignored by the arbitrary president, +who forced the resignation of a cabinet which he could not +control, and replaced it by another responsible to himself +instead of to the Assembly. His act of autocracy roused a violent +opposition. Gambetta moved that the representatives of the people +had no confidence in a cabinet which was not free in its actions +and not republican in its principles. The sudden death of Thiers, +whose last writing was a defense of the republic, stirred the +heart of the nation and added to the excitement, which soon +reached fever heat. In the election that followed the republicans +were in so great a majority over the conservatives that the +president was compelled either to resign or to govern according +to the constitution. He accepted the latter and appointed a +cabinet composed of republicans. But the acts of the legislature, +which passed laws to prevent arbitrary action by the executive +and to secularize education, so exasperated the old soldier that +he finally resigned from his high office. + +GREVY, GAMBETTA AND BOULANGER + +Jules Grevy was elected president in his place, and Gambetta was +made president of the House of Deputies. Subsequently he was +chosen presiding minister in a cabinet composed wholly of his own +creatures. His career in this high office was a brief one. The +chambers refused to support him in his arbitrary measures and he +resigned in disgust. Soon after the self-appointed dictator, who +had played so prominent a part in the war with Germany, died from +a wound whose origin remained a mystery. + +The constitution was revised in 1884, the republic now declared +permanent and final, and Grevy again elected president. General +Boulanger, the minister of war in the new government, succeeded +in making himself highly popular, many looking upon him as a +coming Napoleon, by whose genius the republic would be +overthrown. + +In 1887 Grevy resigned, in consequence of a scandal in high +circles, and was succeeded by Sadi-Carnot, grandson of a famous +general of the first republic. Under the new president two +striking events took place. General Boulanger managed to lift +himself into great prominence, and gain a powerful following in +France. Carried away by self-esteem, he defied his superiors, and +when tried and found guilty of the offense, was strong enough in +France to overthrow the ministry, to gain re-election to the +Chamber of Deputies, and to defeat a second ministry. + +But his reputation was declining. It received a serious blow +through a duel he fought with a lawyer, in which the soldier was +wounded and the lawyer escaped unhurt. The next cabinet was +hostile to his intrigues, and he fled to Brussels to escape +arrest. Tried by the Senate, sitting as a High Court of Justice, +he was found guilty of plotting against the state and sentenced +to imprisonment for life. His career soon after ended in suicide +and his party disappeared. + +THE PANAMA CANAL SCANDAL + +The second event spoken of was the Panama Canal affair. De +Lesseps, the maker of the Suez Canal, had undertaken to excavate +a similar one across the Isthmus of Panama, but the work was +managed with such wild extravagance that vast sums were spent and +the poor investors widely ruined, while the canal remained a +half-dug ditch. At a later date this affair became a great +scandal, dishonest bargains in connection with it were abundantly +unearthed, bribery was shown to have been common in high places, +and France was shaken to its center by the startling exposure. De +Lesseps, fortunately for him, escaped imprisonment by death, but +others of the leaders in the enterprise were condemned and +punished. + +In the succeeding years perils manifold threatened the existence +of the French Republic. A moral decline seemed to have sapped the +foundations of public virtue, and the new military organization +rose to a dangerous height of power, becoming a possible +instrument of ambition which overshadowed and portended evil to +the state. The spirit of anarchy, which had been so strikingly +displayed in the excesses of the Parisian Commune, was shown +later in various instances of death and destruction by the use of +dynamite bombs, exploded in Paris and elsewhere. But its most +striking example was in the murder of President Carnot, who was +stabbed by an anarchist in the streets of Lyons. This +assassination, and the disheartening exposures of dishonesty in +the Panama Canal case trials, stirred the moral sentiment of +France to its depths, and made many of the best citizens despair +of the permanency of the republic. + +DESPOTISM OF THE ARMY LEADERS + +But the most alarming threat came from the army, which had grown +in power and prominence until it fairly overtopped the state, +while its leaders felt competent to set at defiance the civil +authorities. This despotic army was an outgrowth of the +Franco-Prussian war. The terrible punishment which the French had +received in that war and in particular the loss of Alsace and +Lorraine, filled them with bitter hatred of Germany and a burning +desire for revenge. Yet it was evident that their military +organization was so imperfect as to leave them helpless before +the army of Germany, and the first thing to be done was to place +themselves on a level in military strength with their foe. To +this President Thiers had earnestly devoted himself, and the work +of army organization went on until all France was virtually +converted into a great camp, defended by powerful fortresses, and +the whole male population of the country were practically made +part of the army. + +The final result of this was the development of one of the most +complete and well-appointed military establishments in Europe. +The immediate cause of the reorganization of the army gradually +passed away. As time went on the intense feeling against Germany +softened and the danger of war decreased. But the army became +more and more dominant in France, and, as the century neared its +end, the autocratic position of its leaders was revealed by a +startling event, which was claimed to prove the moral decadence +of France and the controlling influence and dominating power of +the members of the General Staff. This was the celebrated Dreyfus +Case, the CAUSE CELEBRE of the period. At the time concerned it +excited the utmost interest, stirring France to its center, and +attracting the earnest attention of the world. It aroused +indignation as well as interest, and years passed before it lost +its hold on public attention. It can be dealt with here only with +great brevity. + +THE DREYFUS CASE + +Albert Dreyfus, an Alsatian Jew and a captain in the Fourteenth +Regiment of Artillery of the French army, detailed for service at +the Information Bureau of the Minister of War, was arrested +October 15, 1894, on charge of having sold military secrets to a +foreign power. The following letter was said to have been found +at the German embassy by a French detective, in what was declared +to be the handwriting of Dreyfus: + +"Having no news from you I do not know what to do. I send you in +the meantime the condition of the forts. I also hand you the +principal instructions as to firing. If you desire the rest I +shall have them copied. The document is precious. The +instructions have been given only to the officers of the General +Staff. I leave for the maneuvers." + +Previous to the arrest of Dreyfus, the editor of the LIBRE +PAROLE, had been carrying on a violent anti-Semitic agitation in +his paper. He now raved about the Jews in general, declared +Dreyfus guilty of selling army secrets to the Germans, and by his +crusade turned public opinion in Paris strongly against the +accused. + +As a result of this assault and the statement that the letter was +in the handwriting of the accused, he was tried before a military +court, which sat behind closed doors, kept parts of the +indictment from the knowledge of the prisoner and his lawyer, and +in other ways manifested a lack of fairness. + +As a result of this secret trial the accused was found guilty and +condemned to be degraded from his military rank, and by a special +act of the Chamber of Deputies was ordered to be imprisoned for +life in a penal settlement on Devil's Island, off the coast of +French Guiana, a tropical region, desolate and malarious in +character. The sentence was executed with the most cruel +harshness. During part of his detention Dreyfus was locked in a +hut, surrounded by an iron cage, on the island. This was done on +the plea of possible attempts at rescue. He was allowed to send +and receive only such letters as had been transcribed by one of +his guardians. + +He denied, and never ceased to deny, his guilt. The letters he +wrote to his counsel after the trial and after his disgrace are +most pathetic assertions of his innocence, and of the hope that +ultimately justice would be done him. His wife and family +continued to deny his guilt, and used every influence to get his +case reopened. + +The whole affair in time excited a strong suspicion that Dreyfus +had been used as a scapegoat for some one higher up and had been +unjustly condemned, the fact of his being a Jew being used to +excite prejudice against him. Many eminent literary men of France +advocated the revision of a sentence which did not appeal to the +sense of justice of the best element of France. + +It was declared that military secrets continued to leak out after +Dreyfus's arrest, and that the handwriting of the letter found +was closely similar to that of Count Ferdinand Esterhazy, an +officer in the French army, of noble Hungarian descent. This +matter was so ventilated that some action became necessary and +Esterhazy was tried secretly by court-martial, the trial ending +in acquittal. + +At this juncture, Emile Zola, the celebrated novelist, stepped +into the fray as a defender of Dreyfus, writing a notable letter +to President Favre, in which he accused the members of the +court-martial of acquitting Esterhazy under order of their +chiefs, who would not admit that a military court of France could +possibly make a mistake. + +This letter led to the arrest and trial of Zola and of the editor +who published it. Their trials were conducted in a secret manner +and they were found guilty and sentenced to a heavy fine and a +year's imprisonment. Zola escaped imprisonment by absenting +himself from France. + +By this time the interest of the whole world was enlisted in the +case, the action of the French courts was everywhere condemned, +and in the end it was deemed advisable to bring Dreyfus back to +France and accord him a new trial. This trial, which lasted from +August 7 to September 7, 1899, indicated that he had been +convicted on the most flimsy and uncertain evidence, largely +conjectural in character, while there was strong evidence in his +favor. Yet the judges of the court-martial seemed biased against +him, and by a vote of three judges to two, he was again found +guilty - "of treason, with extenuating circumstances," as if +treason could be extenuated. + +The whole affair was a transparent travesty upon justice, and the +method by which it was conducted threw into a strong light the +faulty character of the French method of trial. The result, +indeed, was so flagrantly unsatisfactory that no further +punishment was inflicted upon the accused, and in July, 1906, his +case was brought before the Court of Appeals, with the result +that he was acquitted and restored to his rank in the army. + +CHURCH AND STATE + +Later events of interest in French history had to do with the +status of the Catholic Church in France and with the relations of +France, Germany and Spain to Morocco, the latter more than once +threatening war. The union of Church and State in France, which +had only before been broken during the turbulent period of the +Revolution, was definitely abrogated by a law of December 19, +1905, proclaiming the separation of Church and State in that +country. By this, and a supplementary act in 1907, the Catholic +church was put on the same footing in the republic as the +Protestant and Jewish congregations. The use of church buildings, +which had been the property of the state since the Revolution, +was granted only under conditions which the Pope refused to +accept, and religious liberty made a radical advance in France. + +THE MOROCCO CONTROVERSY + +Meanwhile troubles had arisen on the borders of Algeria between +the French army of occupation and the unruly Moroccan tribes +beyond the boundary. The efforts of France to abate these +disturbances, which found support in the British government, +aroused opposition in Germany, which objected to the claim of +France to a predominant interest in Morocco. The affair went so +far that Emperor William II visited Tangier, had a conference +with the representatives of the Sultan, and was reported to have +agreed to enforce the integrity of Morocco. The friction that +resulted was allayed by a conference of the Powers held at +Algeciras, Spain, in 1905, and the trouble was temporarily +settled by a series of resolutions establishing a number of +reforms in Morocco, the privileged position of France along the +Moroccan-Algerian frontier being acknowledged. + +Disturbances continued, however, and the murder of a French +doctor by the tribesmen in March, 1907, led to the occupation of +a Moroccan town by French troops. Later in the year a more +serious affair took place at the port of Casablanca, which was +raided by insurgent tribesmen and European laborers and others +were massacred. A French force landed on August 7th and a +desperate fight took place, during which nearly every inhabitant +of the town was killed and wounded or had fled, the dead alone +numbering thousands. + +In 1911 matters in Morocco grew serious, there being severe +fighting by Spanish troops in the Spanish concession around +Alcazar, while tribal outbreaks against Fez, the Sultan's +capital, brought a French military expedition to that point. By +this, communication between the capital and the coast was +established, the French government undertaking to organize the +Sultan's army and carry out certain works of public improvement. + +These movements revived the suspicions of Germany and that +country took the decisive step of sending a war vessel to Agadir, +a southern port of Morocco, with the ostensible purpose of +protecting the persons and property of German subjects. This act +led to the suspicion in France that Germany meant more than she +said and that her real purpose was to gain a permanent hold on +Moroccan territory. There was heated talk of war, as there +usually is in such cases, but the affair was, in the end, +amicably adjusted. + +It became known that France wished to secure a free hand in +Morocco, outside of the coastal provinces held by Spain, and was +willing in return to concede to Germany a considerable amount of +territory in French Congo. The agreement finally reached, with +the assent of the other Powers, especially Spain, which had a +vital interest in the problem, was that France should be given a +protectorate over Morocco, and in return should cede to Germany a +region in French Congo, in equatorial Africa, of about 230,000 +square kilometers, containing a population of from 600,000 to +1,000,000, and adjoining the German district of Kamerun, France +retaining certain transit privileges in the region. + +Thus ended a source of dispute which had more than once +threatened war and would have so ended at this time but for the +vigorous support of France by Great Britain. It ended greatly to +the advantage of France, whose interests in Morocco far +outweighed any advantages likely to arise from her holdings in +central Africa. Behind all this lay the probability that her +influence in and hold upon Morocco would increase until +eventually it would develop into a virtual, perhaps an actual, +sovereignty over that country. + + +Chapter XV. RUSSIA IN THE FIELD OF WAR + +The Outcome of Slavic Ambition + +Siege of Sebastopol - Russia in Asia - The Russo-Japanese War - +Port Arthur Taken - The Russian Fleet Defeated + +Among the most interesting phases of nineteenth-century history +is that of the conflict between Russia and Turkey, a struggle for +dominion that came down from the preceding centuries, and still +seems only temporarily laid aside for final settlement in the +years to come. In the eighteenth century the Turks proved quite +able to hold their own against all the power of Russia and all +the armies of Catharine the great, and they entered the +nineteenth century with their ancient dominion largely intact. +But they were declining in strength while Russia was growing, and +long before 1900 the empire of the Sultan would have become the +prey of the Czar had not the other Powers of Europe come to the +rescue. The Czar Nicholas designated the Sultan as the "sick man" +of Europe, and such he and his empire had truly become. + +Of the various wars which Russia waged against Turkey, the first +of modern historical importance was that of 1854-55, known as the +"Crimean War" and made notable by the fact that Britain, France +and Sardinia joined the Turks in their struggle against the +Muscovite armies. + +The Western powers had long been fearful of letting +Constantinople fall into the hands of Russia. They had interfered +to prevent this after the victory of Russia in 1829, when +Adrianople was taken and Constantinople threatened. War broke out +again in 1853 and Russia seemed likely to triumph. This led +Britain and France to declare war in 1854. Armies were sent by +them to the Black Sea, and in September a strong force was landed +on the coast of the Crimean peninsula. + +SIEGE OF SEBASTOPOL + +Their purpose in this movement was the capture of the fortress of +Sebastopol and the destruction of the Russian fleet in its +harbor. But the Muscovite defense was vigorous and the stronghold +proved difficult to take. Battles took place on the banks of the +Alma and at Balaclava, in both of which the allies were +successful, the latter being made notable by the heroic British +"Charge of the Light Brigade," which has since been famous in +song and story. + +But the fortress held out during the succeeding winter and until +late in 1855, despite the vigor of the siege. After the middle of +August the assault became almost incessant, cannon balls dropping +like an unceasing storm of hail in forts and streets. On the 5th +of September began a terrific bombardment, continuing day and +night for three days, and sweeping down more than 5,000 Russians +on the ramparts. At length, as the hour of noon struck on +September 8th, the attack, of which this play of artillery was +the prelude, began, the French assailing the Malakoff, the +British the Redan, these being the most formidable of the +defensive works of the town. The French assault was successful +and Sebastopol became untenable. That night the Russians blew up +their remaining forts, sunk their ships of war, and marched out +of the town, leaving it as the prize of victory to the allies. + +This success put an end to the war. Britain, Sardinia, which had +joined the coalition, and Turkey were eager to continue it, but +Napoleon III had reasons of his own for withdrawing his troops, +and the other allies found it desirable to consent to a treaty of +peace. Russia was far from being conquered, but its finances were +in a deplorable state, and the Czar proved ready to make terms +with his enemies. + +This did not end Russia's efforts to win Constantinople. A new +war broke out in 1877, in which none of the Powers came to the +aid of the Turks, and their dominion in Europe would have been +brought to an end but for the jealousy or these Powers, which +forced the conquering Muscovites to withdraw from the hoped-for +prize. The events of this war are given in the following chapter, +as part of the history of the Balkan States. + +RUSSIA IN ASIA + +Russia, though so often checked in the effort to capture +Constantinople, and with it win an opening to the Mediterranean, +was long more successful in another field of ambition, that of +Asiatic conquest and the expansion of empire over the great +Eastern continent. Here it had gradually won a vast stretch of +territory, including the immense area of Siberia and the realms +of the Caucasus and Turkestan. The result of the Boxer outbreak +in China in 1900 increased the Russian dominion in Asia, giving +the empire a hold upon Manchuria, with control of the fine +seaport of Port Arthur. It began to appear as if this whole +region would become Russian territory, possibly including Korea +and Japan. + +THE RUSSO-JAPAN WAR + +The danger of this roused Japan to action. When it became evident +that the Russians had no intention to respect the rights of China +in Manchuria, and showed signs of an aggressive movement against +Korea, the island empire lost no time in making war. In February, +1904, Japan withdrew her minister from St. Petersburg and three +days later, without the formality of a declaration of war, +attacked the Russian fleets at Chemulpo and Port Arthur and +landed troops in Korea. + +The Japanese quickly proved themselves able warriors. On April +13th admiral Togo drove back the Russian fleet, its flagship, the +PETROPAVLOVSK, striking a mine and sinking with its crew and +admiral. On land the Russians were defeated at the battle of the +Yalu, Manchuria was invaded and Port Arthur invested and +bombarded. Battles followed in rapid succession, with victory for +the island warriors in every instance. General Oka won a fierce +battle on the heights of Nan-Shan and captured the Russian port +of Dalny. General Kuroki fought his way northward to Liao-yang, +where was fought one of the great battles of the war, lasting +seven days and ending in the retreat of the Russians. + +The next field of action was at Mukden, the Manchurian capital, +when the armies met in September, and remained face to face until +March of the following year. It was not until then that a +decisive action took place, the armies numbering nearly 500,000 +each. The struggle was long continued, but finally ended in a +second retreat of the Russians. There were no further engagements +of importance in this quarter, though the armies remained face to +face for months in a long line south of Harbin. + +PORT ARTHUR TAKEN + +Meanwhile Port Arthur had become closely invested. One by one the +hills surrounding the harbor were taken by the Japanese, after +stubborn resistance. Big siege guns were dragged up and began to +batter the town and the ships. On August 16th, General Stoessel, +commander at Port Arthur, having refused to surrender, a grand +assault was ordered by Nogi. It proved unsuccessful, while the +assailants lost 14,000 men. The bombardment continued, the +buildings and ships suffering severely. Finally tunnels were cut +through the solid rock and on December 20th the principal +stronghold in the east was carried by storm. Other forts were +soon taken and on January 2, 1905, the place was surrendered, the +Japanese obtaining 40,000 prisoners, 59 forts, about 550 guns, +and other munitions. The fleet captured consisted of four damaged +battleships, two damaged cruisers and a considerable number of +small craft. These ships had been effectually blockaded in the +harbor, lying practically inactive during the siege. + +THE RUSSIAN FLEET DEFEATED + +Russia, finding its naval force in the Pacific put out of +commission through the activity of the doughty Togo, had +meanwhile despatched another fleet from the Baltic, comprising +nearly forty vessels in all. These made their way through the +Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean and on May 27, 1905, entered the +Strait of Tsushuma, between Korea and Japan. Hitherto not a +hostile vessel had been seen. Togo had held his fleet in ambush, +while keeping scouts on the lookout for the coming Russians. + +Suddenly the Russians found themselves surrounded by a long line +of enemies, which had suddenly appeared in their front. The +attack was furious and irresistible; the defense weak and +ineffective. Night was at hand, but before it came five Russian +warships had gone to the bottom. A torpedo attack was made during +the night and the general engagement resumed next morning. When a +halt was called, Admiral Togo had sunk, disabled or captured +eight battleships, nine cruisers, three coast-defense ships, and +a large number of other craft, the great Russian fleet being +practically a total loss, while Togo had lost only three torpedo +boats and 650 men. The losses in men by the Russians was 4,000 +killed, and 7,200 prisoners taken. It was a naval victory which +for completeness has rarely been equalled in history. + +Russia, beaten on land and sea, was by this time ready to give up +the struggle, and readily accepted President Roosevelt's +suggestion to hold a peace convention in the United States. The +terms of the treaty were very favorable to Russia, all things +considered; but the power of Japan had been strained to the +utmost, and that Power felt little inclined to put obstacles in +the way. The island of Sakhalin was divided between them, both +armies evacuated Manchuria, leaving it to the Chinese, and Port +Arthur and Dalny were transferred to Japan. + +Yet though Japan received no indemnity and little in the way of +material acquisitions of any kind, she came out of the war with a +prestige that no one was likely to question, and has since ranked +among the great Powers of the world. And she has added +considerably to her territory by the annexation of Korea, in +which there was no one to question her right. + +Since the events here described Japan has entered the concert of +the nations by an alliance with Great Britain for mutual defense +in case of either Power being attacked in the East. And this +treaty bore fruit in 1914 when Japan, as an ally of Great +Britain, took part in the war between the great Powers of Europe +by attacking Kiaochou, a district and fortress held by Germany on +the northern coast of China. + +This was in accordance with the Japanese theory of "the Orient +for the Orientals" and its dislike of European aggression upon +the Asiatic coast. Japan went farther than this, taking +possession of all the islands held by Germany in the North +Pacific - afterwards handed over to Australia for administration +- those in the South Pacific being at the same time occupied by +expeditions from New Zealand and Australia. In this way the great +European war was to a minor extent transferred to the waters and +lands of the Far East. + + +Chapter XVI. GREAT BRITAIN AND HER COLONIES + +How England Became Mistress of the Seas + +Great Britain as a Colonizing Power - Colonies in the Pacific +Region - Colonization in Africa - British Colonies in Africa - +The Mahdi Rebellion in Egypt - Gordon at Khartoum - Suppression +of the Mahdi Revolt - Colonization in Asia - The British in India +- Colonies in America - Development of Canada - Progress in +Canada + +In the era preceding the nineteenth century Spain, France, and +Great Britain were the great colonizing Powers, the last named +being the latest in the field, but rapidly rising to become the +most important. + +The active Powers in colonization within the nineteenth century +were the great rivals of the preceding period, Great Britain and +France, though the former gained decidedly the start, and its +colonial empire today surpasses that of any other nation of +mankind. It is so enormous, in fact, as to dwarf the parent +kingdom, which is related to its colonial dominion, so far as +comparative size is concerned, as the small brain of the elephant +is related to its great body. + +Other Powers, not heard of as colonizers in the past, have since +come into this field, though too late to obtain any of the great +prizes. These are Germany and Italy, the latter having recently +added to its acquisitions by the conquest of Tripoli. But there +is a great Power still to name, which in its way stands as a +rival to Great Britain, the empire of Russia, whose acquisitions +in Asia have grown enormously in extent. These are not colonies +in the ordinary sense, but rather results of the expansion of an +empire through warlike aggression. Yet they are colonial in the +sense of absorbing the excess population of European Russia. The +great territory of Siberia was gained by Russia before the +nineteenth century, though within recent years the Russian +dominion in Asia has greatly increased, and has now become +enormous, extending from the Arctic Ocean to the borders of +Afghanistan, Persia and the Asiatic empire of Turkey. + +GREAT BRITAIN AS A COLONIZING POWER + +With this preliminary preview we may proceed to consider the +history of colonization within the recent period. And first we +must take up the results of the colonial enterprise of Great +Britain, as much the most important of the whole. In addition to +Hindustan, in which the dominion of Great Britain now extends to +Afghanistan and Thibet in the north, the British acquisitions in +Asia now include Burmah and the west-coast region of Indo-China, +with the Straits Settlements in the Malay peninsula, and the +island of Ceylon, acquired in 1802 from Holland. + +In the eastern seas Great Britain possesses another colony of +vast dimensions, the continental island of Australia, which, with +its area of nearly 3,000,000 square miles, is three-fourths the +size of Europe. The first British settlement was made here in +1788, at Port Jackson, the site of the present thriving city of +Sydney, and a part of the island was maintained as a penal +settlement, convicts being sent there up to 1868. It was the +discovery of gold in 1851 to which Australia owed its great +progress. The incitement of the yellow metal drew the +enterprising thither by thousands, until the population of the +colony is now more than 4,000,000, and is still growing at a +rapid rate. There are other valuable resources besides that of +gold. Of its cities, Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, with its +suburbs, has more than 500,000 population; Sydney, the capital of +New South Wales, 600,000, while there are other cities of rapid +growth. Australia is the one important British colony obtained +without a war. In its human beings, as in its animals generally, +it stood at a low level of development, and it was taken +possession of without a protest from the savage inhabitants. + +COLONIES IN THE PACIFIC REGION + +The same cannot be said of the inhabitants of New Zealand, an +important group of islands lying southeast of Australia, which +was acquired by Great Britain as a colony in 1840. The Maoris, as +the people of these islands call themselves, are of the bold and +sturdy Polynesian race, a brave, generous, and warlike people. A +series of wars with the natives began in 1843 and continued until +1869, since which time the colony has enjoyed peace. It can have +no more trouble with the Maoris, since there are said to be very +few left. They had vanished before the "white man's face." At +present this colony is one of the most advanced politically of +any region on the face of the earth, so far as attention to the +interests of the masses of the people is concerned, and its laws +and regulations are interesting experiments for the remainder of +the world. + +In addition to those great island dominions in the Pacific, Great +Britain possesses the Fiji Islands, the northern part of Borneo, +and a large section of the extensive island of Papua or New +Guinea, the remainder of which is held by Holland and Germany. In +addition there are various coaling stations on the islands and +coasts of Asia. In the Mediterranean its possessions are +Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprus, and in America the great dominion of +Canada, a considerable number of the islands of the West Indies, +and the districts of British Honduras and British Guiana. + +The history of colonization in two of the continents, Asia and +Africa, presents certain features of singularity. Though known +from the most ancient times, while America was quite unknown +until four centuries ago, the striking fact presents itself that +at an early date in the nineteenth century the continents of +North and South America had been largely explored from coast to +center, while the interior of Asia and Africa remained in great +part unknown. This fact in regard to Asia was due to the hostile +attitude of its people, which rendered it dangerous for any +European traveler to attempt to penetrate its interior. In the +case of Africa it was due to the inhospitality of nature, which +had placed the most serious obstacles in the way of those who +sought to enter it beyond the coast regions. This state of +affairs continued until the latter half of the century, within +which period there was a remarkable change in the aspect of +affairs, both continents being penetrated in all directions and +their walls of isolation completely broken down. + +COLONIZATION IN AFRICA + +Africa is not only now well known, but the exploration of its +interior has been followed by political changes of the most +revolutionary character. It presented a virgin field for +colonization, of which the land-hungry nations of Europe hastened +to avail themselves, dividing up the continent between them +until, by the end of the century, the partition of Africa was +practically complete. It is one of the most remarkable +circumstances in history that a well-known continent remained +thus so long unexplored to serve in our own days as a new field +for the outpouring of the nations. The occupation of Africa by +Europeans, indeed, began earlier. The Arabs had held the section +north of the Sahara for many centuries, Portugal claimed - but +scarcely occupied - large sections east and west, and the Dutch +had a thriving settlement in the south. But the exploration and +division of the bulk of the continent waited for the nineteenth +century, and the greater part of the work of partition took place +within the final quarter of that century. + +In this work of colonization Great Britain and France stand +foremost in energy and success. Today the British possessions and +protectorates in Africa embrace 2,132,840 square miles; or, if we +add Egypt and the Egyptian Soudan - practically British territory +- the area occupied or claimed amounts to 2,446,040 square miles. +The claims of France, including a large area of the Sahara +desert, are much larger, covering 4,000,000 square miles. Germany +lays claim to 930,000;; Italy, to 59l,000; Portugal, to 800,000; +Spain, to 86,600, the Congo Free State, to 800,000; and Turkey to +the 363,200 square miles of Egypt. The parts of Africa unoccupied +or unclaimed by Europeans are a portion of the Desert of Sahara, +which no one wants; Abyssinia, still independent; Morocco, a +French protectorate; and Liberia, a state over which rests the +shadow of protection of the United States. + +BRITISH COLONIES IN AFRICA + +Of the British colonial possessions in Africa the most important +is that in the far south, extending now from Cape Town to Lake +Tanganyika, and including an immense area replete with natural +resources and capable of sustaining a very large population. This +region, originally settled in the Cape Town region by the Dutch, +was acquired by the British as a result of an European war. +Subsequently the Boers - descendants of the Dutch settlers - made +their way north, beyond the British jurisdiction, and founded the +new colonies of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State. +The British of Cape Town at a later date followed them north, +settling Natal, defeating the Zulu blacks and acquiring new +territory, and eventually coming into hostile contact with the +Boers. + +Defeated at first by the latter, a war of conquest broke out in +1899, ending in 1902 with the overthrow of the Boer republics, +after a brave and vigorous resistance on their part. Under the +ambitious leadership of Cecil Rhodes and others, British dominion +in South Africa was extended northward over the protectorates of +Rhodesia and Basutoland, reaching, as stated, as far north as +Lake Tanganyika and embracing an area of about 1,300,000 square +miles. Other British colonial possessions in that continent +include the large province of British East Africa, covering +520,000 square miles, a large area in Somaliland and possessions +on the west coast of 150,000 square miles area. To these, in a +minor sense of possession, should be added Egypt, now extending +to British East Africa. + +We have mentioned the respective regions held by other European +nations in Africa, France surpassing Great Britain in colonial +area though not in population. Among the French African +possessions are included the great island of Madagascar, lying +off the east coast of the continent. Mention should be made here +of the extensive and promising Congo Free State, under the +suzerainty of Belgium. Covering eight hundred thousand square +miles, it comprises the populous and richly agricultural center +of Africa, its vast extension of navigable waters yielding +communication through its every part. + +The occupation of Africa, at least that part of it which became +British territory, was not consummated without hostile +activities. The most recent of these was the long war between the +Boer and British armies, the final success being a costly and not +very profitable triumph of the British arms. Of other hostile +relations may be mentioned the invasion of Abyssinia by a British +army in 1867, the suppression of the revolt of Arabi Pasha in +1879, and the series of events arising from the Mahdist outbreak +in 1880. + +THE MAHDI REBELLION IN EGYPT + +The latter events call for some mention; and need to be preceded +by a statement of how Britain became dominant in Egypt. That +country had broken loose in large measure from the rule of Turkey +during the reign of the able and ambitious Mehemet Ali, who was +made viceroy in 1840. In 1876 the independence of Egypt was much +increased, and its rulers were given the title of khedive, or +king. The powers of the khedives steadily increased, and in +1874-75 Ismail Pasha greatly extended the Egyptian territory, +annexing the Soudan as far as Darfur, and finally to the shores +of the lately discovered Victoria Nyanza. Egypt thus embraced the +valley of the Nile practically to its source, presenting an +aspect of immense length and great narrowness. + +Soon after, the finances of the country became so involved that +they were placed under European control, and the growth of +English and French influence led to the revolt of Arabi Pasha. +This was repressed by Great Britain, which bombarded Alexandria +and defeated the Egyptians, France taking no part. As a result +the co-ordinate influence of France ended, and Great Britain was +left as the practical ruler of Egypt, which position she still +maintains. + +In 1880 began an important series of events. A Mohammedan prophet +arose in the Soudan, claiming to be the Mahdi, a Messiah of the +Mussulmans. A large body of devoted believers soon gathered +around him, and he set up an independent sultanate in the desert, +defeating four Egyptian expeditions sent against him, and +capturing El Obeid, the chief city of Kordofan, which he made his +capital in 1883. + +The effort to subdue the outbreak proved a long and arduous one, +and was accomplished only after many years and much loss to the +British and Egyptian forces. No time was lost in sending an army +against the fanatical Arabs. This was led by an English officer +known as Hicks Pasha. He fell into a Mahdist ambush at El Obeid, +and after a desperate struggle, lasting three days, his force was +almost completely annihilated, Hicks being the last to die. Very +few of his men escaped to tell the tale of their defeat. + +Other expeditions of Egyptian troops sent against Osman Digna +("Osman the Ugly"), a lieutenant of the Mahdi, similarly met with +defeat, and the Mahdists invested and besieged the towns of +Sinkat and Tokar. + +To relieve these towns, Baker Pasha, a daring and able British +leader, was sent with a force of 3,650 men. Unfortunately, his +troops were mainly Egyptian, and the result of preceding +expeditions had inspired these with a more than wholesome fear of +the Mahdists. They met a party of the latter, only about 1,200 +strong, at a point south of Suakim, on the Red Sea. Instantly the +Egyptians broke into a panic of terror and were surrounded and +butchered in a frightful slaughter. + +"Inside the square," said an eye-witness, "the state of affairs +was almost indescribable. Cavalry, infantry, mules, camels, +falling baggage and dying men were crushed into a struggling, +surging mass. The Egyptians were shrieking madly, hardly +attempting to run away, but trying to shelter themselves one +behind another." "The conduct of the Egyptians was simply +disgraceful," said another officer. "Armed with rifle and +bayonet, they allowed themselves to be slaughtered, without an +effort at self-defense, by savages inferior to them in numbers +and armed only with spears and swords." + +Baker and his staff officers, seeing affairs were hopeless, +charged the enemy and cut their way through to the shore, but of +the total force two-thirds were left dead or wounded on the +field. Such was the "massacre" of El Teb, which was followed four +days afterwards by the capture of Sinkat and slaughter of its +garrison. + +To avenge this butchery, General Graham was sent from Cairo with +reinforcements of British troops. These advanced upon Osman and +defeated him in two engagements, the last a crushing one, in +which the British lost only 200 men, while the Arab loss, in +killed alone, numbered over 2,000. + +GORDON AT KHARTOUM + +These events took place in 1884 and in the same year General +Charles Gordon - the famous Chinese Gordon - ascended the Nile to +Khartoum, to relieve the Egyptian garrison of that city. He +failed in this, the Arabs of the Soudan flocking to the standard +of the Mahdi in such multitudes that Khartoum was cut off from +all communication with the north, leaving Gordon and the garrison +in a position of dire peril. + +It became necessary to send an expedition for their relief, this +being led by Lord Wolseley, the hero of the Zulu and Ashanti +wars. This advanced in two sections, a desert and a river column. +Two furious attacks were made by the Mahdists on the desert +troops, both being repulsed with heavy loss. On reaching the +river, they proceeded in steamers which Gordon had sent down the +Nile to meet them. But there was unavoidable delay, and when the +vicinity of Khartoum was reached, on January 28, 1885, it was +learned that the town had been taken and Gordon killed two days +before. All his men, 4,000 in number, were killed with him. + +SUPPRESSION OF THE MAHDI REVOLT + +After this misfortune the Arabs were left in possession for +nearly twelve years, no other expedition being sent until 1896, +while it was not until 1898 that the Anglo-Egyptian forces +reached the vicinity of Khartoum. They were commanded by General +Kitchener, one of the ablest of British soldiers. His men were +well drilled and very different in character from those led by +Baker Pasha. They met the Arabs at Omdurman, near Khartoum, and +gave them a crushing defeat, more than 10,000 of them falling, +while the British loss was only about 200. This ended the Arab +resistance and the Soudan was restored to Egypt, fourteen years +after it had been taken by the Mahdi. + +Brief mention of the holdings of other nations in Africa must +suffice. Germany has large areas in East Africa and Southwest +Africa, with smaller holdings elsewhere. The possessions of +France extend from Algeria and Tunis southward over the Sahara +and the Soudan, with holdings on the east and west coasts. +Portugal has large, feebly held districts in the south-central +coast region, and Italy holds small districts on the Red Sea and +Somaliland and the recently acquired Tripoli. Spain's holdings +are on the coast of Morocco and the Sahara. + +COLONIZATION IN ASIA + +The colonizing enterprise in Asia within recent years has been +confined to Great Britain, France and Russia, which nations have +gained large possessions in that great continent. Russia has made +its way during several centuries of conquest over Siberia and +Central Asia, until its immense possessions have encroached upon +Persia and Afghanistan in the south and China in the east. At +present, while the dominion of Russia in Europe comprises about +2,000,000 square miles, that in Asia is more than 6,500,000 +square miles, the total area of this colossal empire being more +than equal in area to the entire continent of North America. + +The possessions of other nations in Asia are, aside from small +holdings on the Chinese coast, in the south of that continent. +Holland has a group of rich islands in the Indian Ocean, Portugal +some small holdings, and France a large area in Indo-China, +gained by invasion and conquest. This includes Cambodia, +Cochin-China and Tonquin, won by hard fighting since 1862. + +Great Britain, in addition to the extensive peninsula of India, +with the neighboring rich island of Ceylon, has of late years +acquired the fertile plains of Burmah, now included in its Empire +of India, the whole covering an area of nearly 2,000,000 square +miles. Its other Asiatic possessions include Hong Kong, in China; +the Straits Settlements and other Malay states; Borneo and +Sarawak, ad Aden and Socotra, in Arabia. + +THE BRITISH IN INDIA + +The British control of India began with the founding of +commercial settlements early in the seventeenth century. Areas of +land were gradually acquired, and rivalry began later between +England and France for the control of Indian territory. The power +of the British East India Company in India was largely extended +by the military operations of the famous Lord Clive, and under +Warren Hastings, a later governor of ambitious character, +received new accessions. + +During the nineteenth century many accessions of territory were +made, the one threat to British dominion in the peninsula being +the great Sepoy rebellion, or Indian Mutiny, which needed all the +resources of the Company to overcome. The most important event +that succeeded was the taking over the powers of government, so +far exercised by the East India Company, and vesting them in the +Crown, which assumed full control of the now immense holdings of +the Company. Subsequently came the raising of India to the +dignity of an empire, and the adding to the title of Queen +Victoria the further title of Empress of India. Since that period +the establishment of British dominion in India has become almost +complete, extending to the Himalayas in the north, and over +Baluchistan in the west and Burmah in the east. As a result +India, Canada and Australia have become the great trio of +semi-continental British colonial possessions, India being far +the richest and most populous of them all. + +COLONIES IN AMERICA + +We have next to deal with the British colonial possessions in +America, including the great Dominion of Canada and Newfoundland, +and the minor holdings of British Guiana, British Honduras, and +the several islands of Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbadoes, the Bahamas +and the Bermudas. Of these Canada is the only one that calls for +notice here. + +Occupying the northern section of the western hemisphere lies +Great Britain's most extended colony, the vast Dominion of +Canada, which covers an immense area of the earth's surface, +surpassing that of the United States, and nearly equal to the +whole of Europe. Its population, however, is not in accordance +with its dimensions, though of late it is growing rapidly, being +now over 7,000,000. The bleak and inhospitable character of the +far northern section of its area is likely to debar that region +from ever having any other than a scanty nomad population, fur +animals being its principal useful product. It is, however, +always unsafe to predict. The recent discovery of gold in an +arctic country traversed by the Klondike river, brought miners by +the thousands to that wintry realm, and it would be very unwise +to declare that the remainder of the great northern region +contains no treasures for the craving hands of man. So far as the +fertile regions of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan are +concerned, the recent demonstration of their great availability +as wheat-producing territory has added immensely to our +conception of the national wealth of Canada, which promises to +become one of the great wheat-growing regions of the earth. + +First settled by the French in the seventeenth century, this +country came under British control in 1763, as a result of the +great struggle between the two active colonizing powers for +dominion in America. The outcome of this conquest is the fact +that Canada, like the other colonies of Great Britain, possesses +a large alien population, in this case of French origin. + +DEVELOPMENT OF CANADA + +At the opening of the nineteenth century the population of Canada +was small, and its resources were only slightly developed. Its +people did not reach the million mark until about 1840, though +after that date the tide of immigration flowed thither with +considerable strength and the population grew with some rapidity. +In 1791 the original province of Quebec had been divided into +Upper and Lower Canada, and racial and religious conditions of +the next fifty years led to severe political conflicts. As a +result an act of union took place, the provinces being reunited +in 1840. + +Upper Canada, at the opening of the eighteenth century, was only +slightly developed, the country being a vast forest, without +towns, without roads, and practically shut out from the remainder +of the world. The sparse population was made up largely of United +Empire Loyalists - refugees from the successful revolution in the +Thirteen Colonies. But it began to grow with the new century, +numbers crossed the Niagara River from the States to the fertile +lands beyond, immigrants crossed the waters from Great Britain +and France, Toronto was made the capital city, ad the population +of the province soon rose to 30,000 in number. Lower Canada, +however, with its old cities of Quebec and Montreal, and its +flourishing settlements along the St. Lawrence River, continued +the most populous section of the country, though its people were +almost exclusively of French origin. The strength of the British +population lay in the upper province. + +In time the union which existed between the two larger provinces +of Canada became unfitted to serve the purposes of the entire +colony. The maritime provinces began to discuss the question of +local federation, and it was finally proposed to unite all +British North America into one general union. This was done in +1867, the British Parliament passing an act which created the +"Dominion of Canada." The new confederation included Ontario +(Upper Canada), Quebec (Lower Canada), New Brunswick and Nova +Scotia. Four years later Manitoba and British Columbia were +included, and Prince Edward Island in 1874. Since then other +additions have been made. A parliament was formed consisting of a +Senate of life members appointed by the Crown and an Assembly +elected by the people. + +Some important questions which have arisen in Canada since the +dates above given had largely to do with its relations to the +United States and its people. One of the most troublesome of +these was that relating to the productive fisheries on the banks +of Newfoundland and the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. +For years the problem of the rights of American fishermen in +these regions excited controversy. Several partial settlements +have been made and in 1877 the sum of $5,000,000 was awarded to +Great Britain in payment for the privileges granted to the United +States. A treaty was signed in 1888 for the settlement of other +branches of this vexatious question. + +The discovery of gold on the Klondike River in 1896 developed +another problem, that of the true boundary between Alaska and +Canada. At first, under the belief that the gold region was in +Alaska, it brought a rush of American miners to that region. But +it was soon found that the mining region was in Canada and the +mining laws imposed by the Canadian authorities were bitterly +objected to by the American miners. The question of boundary has +since been definitely settled by an international tribunal of +British and American jurists and the present boundary line marked +out by a scientific commission. + +The industrial development of the Dominion within recent years +has been great. Agriculturally the development of the fertile +wheat fields of the middle west is of the most promising +character, while railway progress has been highly encouraging. +The building of the Canadian Pacific Railway was a remarkable +enterprise at the time of its construction. Recently Canada is +approaching a position of rivalry with the United States in this +particular, a new transcontinental line, the Grand Trunk Pacific, +having been completed in 1914, while the Canadian Northern is +rapidly progressing. + +PROGRESS IN CANADA + +Railways have spread like a network over the rich agricultural +territory along the southern border land of the Dominion, from +ocean to ocean, and are now pushing into the deep forest land and +rich mineral and agricultural regions of the interior and the +northwest, their total length in 1914 approaching 30,000 miles. + +These roads have been built largely under different forms of +government aid, such as land grants, cash subsidies, loans, the +issue of debentures, and the guarantee of interest on bonds. + +In manufacturing industry almost every branch of production is to +be found, the progressive enterprise of the people of the +dominion being great, and a large proportion of the goods they +need being made at home. The best evidence of the enterprise of +Canada in manufacture is shown by the fact that she exports many +thousand dollars worth of goods annually more than she buys - +England being her largest customer and the United States second +on the list. + +Not only is the outside world largely ignorant of the importance +of Canada, but many of her own people fail to realize the +greatness of the country they possess. Its area of more than +three and one-half millions of square miles - one sixteenth of +the entire land surface of the earth - is great enough to include +an immense variety of natural conditions and products. This area +constitutes forty per cent of the far extended British empire, +while its richness of soil and resources in forest and mineral +wealth are as yet almost untouched, and its promise of future +yield is immense. The dimensions of the dominion guarantee a +great variety of natural attractions. There are vast +grass-covered plains, thousands of square miles of untouched +forest lands, multitudes of lakes and rivers, great and small, +and mountains of the wildest and grandest character, whose +natural beauty equals that of the far-famed Alpine peaks. In +fact, the Canadian Pacific Railway is becoming a route of +pilgrimage for the lovers of the beautiful and sublime, its +mountain scenery being unrivaled upon the continent. + +In several conditions the people of Canada, while preserving the +general features of English society, are much more free and +untrammeled. The class system of Great Britain has gained little +footing in this new land, where early every farmer is the owner +of the soil which he tills, and the people have a feeling of +independence unknown to the agricultural population of European +countries. There has been great progress also in many social +questions. The liquor traffic is subject in some Provinces to the +local option restriction; religious liberty prevails; education +is practically free and unsectarian; the franchise is enjoyed by +all citizens; members of parliament are paid for their services; +and though the executive department of the government is under +the control of a governor-general appointed by the Crown, the +laws of Canada are made by its own statesmen, and a state of +practical independence prevails. Recognizing this, and respecting +the liberty-loving spirit of the people, Great Britain is chary +in interfering with any question of Canadian policy, or in any +sense attempting to limit the freedom of her great transatlantic +colony. + + +Chapter XVII. THE OPEN DOOR IN CHINA AND JAPAN + +Development of World Power in the East + +Warlike Invasions of China - Commodore Perry and His Treaty - +Japan's Rapid Progress - Origin of the China-Japan War - The +Position of Korea - Li Hung Chang and the Empress - How Japan +Began War - The Chinese and Japanese Fleets - The Battle of the +Yalu - Capture of Wei Hai Wei - Europe Invades China - The Boxer +Outbreak - Russian Designs on Manchuria - Japan Begins War on +Russia - The Armies Meet - China Becomes a Republic + +Asia, the greatest of the continents and the seat of the earliest +civilizations, yields us the most remarkable phenomenon in the +history of mankind. In remote ages, while Europe lay plunged in +the deepest barbarism, certain sections of Asia were marked by +surprising activity in thought and progress. In three +far-separated regions - China, India, and Babylonia - and in a +fourth on the borders of Asia - Egypt - civilization rose and +flourished for ages, while the savage and the barbarian roamed +over all other regions of the earth. A still more extraordinary +fact is, that during the more recent era, that of European +civilization, Asia rested in the most sluggish conservatism, +sleeping while Europe and America were actively moving, content +with its ancient knowledge while the people of the West were +pursuing new knowledge into its most secret lurking places. + +And this conservatism seemed an almost immovable one. For a +century England has been pouring new thought and new enterprise +into India, yet the Hindus cling stubbornly to their remotely +ancient beliefs and customs, though they show some signs of a +political awakening. For half a century Europe has been +hammering upon the gates of China, but not until recently did +this sleeping nation show any signs of waking to the fact that +the world was moving around it. As regards the other early +civilizations - Babylonia and Egypt - they long ago were utterly +swamped under the tide of Turkish barbarism and exist only in +their ruins. Persia, once a great and flourishing empire, +likewise sank under the flood of Arabian and Turkish invasion, +and today seems in danger of being swallowed up in the tide of +Russian and British ambition. Such was the Asia upon which the +nineteenth century dawned, and such it remains in some measure +today, though in parts of its vast area modern civilization has +gained a firm foothold. + +This is especially the case with the island empire of Japan, a +nation the people of which are closely allied in race to those of +China, yet who have displayed a greater progressiveness and a +marked readiness to avail themselves of the resources of modern +civilization. The development of Japan has taken place within a +brief period. Previous to that time it was as resistant to +western influences as China continued until a later date. They +were both closed nations, prohibiting the entrance of modern +ideas and peoples, proud of their own form of civilization and +their own institutions, and sternly resolved to keep out the +disturbing influences of the restless West. As a result, they +remained locked against the new civilization until after the +nineteenth century was well advanced, and China's disposition to +avail itself of the results of modern invention was not +manifested until the century was near its end. + +WARLIKE INVASION OF CHINA + +China, with its estimated population of 300,000,000, attained to +a considerable measure of civilization at a very remote period, +but until very recently made almost no progress during the +Christian era, being content to retain its old ideas, methods and +institutions, which its people looked upon as far superior to +those of the western nations. Great Britain gained a foothold in +China as early as the seventeenth century, but the persistent +attempt to flood the country with the opium of India, in +disregard of the laws of the land, so angered the emperor that he +had the opium of the British stores at Canton, worth $20,000,000, +seized and destroyed. This led to the "Opium War" of 1840, in +which China was defeated and was forced in consequence to accept +a much greater degree of intercourse with the world, five ports +being made free to the world's commerce and Hong Kong ceded to +Great Britain. In 1856 an arbitrary act of the Chines authorities +at Canton, in forcibly boarding a British vessel in the Canton +River, led to a new war, in which the French joined the British +and the allies gained fresh concessions from China. In 1859 the +war was renewed, and Peking was occupied by the British and +French forces in 1860, the emperor's summer palace being +destroyed. + +These wars had their effect in largely breaking down the Chinese +wall of seclusion and opening the empire more fully to foreign +trade and intercourse, and also in compelling the emperor to +receive foreign ambassadors at his court in Peking. In this the +United States was among the most successful of the nations, from +the fact that it had always maintained friendly relations with +China. In 1876 a short railroad was laid, and in 1877 a telegraph +line was established. During the remainder of the century the +telegraph service was widely extended, but the building of +railroads was strongly opposed by the government, and not until +the century had reached its end did the Chinese awaken to the +importance of this method of transportation. They did, however, +admit steam traffic to their rivers, and purchased some powerful +ironclad naval vessels in Europe. + +COMMODORE PERRY AND HIS TREATY + +The isolation of Japan was maintained longer than that of China, +trade with that country being of less importance, and foreign +nations knowing and caring less about it. The United States has +the credit of breaking down its long and stubborn seclusion and +setting in train the remarkably rapid development of the island +empire. In 1854 Commodore Perry appeared with an American fleet +in the bay of Yeddo, and, by a show of force and a determination +not to be rebuffed, he induced the authorities to make a treaty +of commercial intercourse with the United States. Other nations +quickly demanded similar privileges, and Japan's obstinate +resistance to foreign intercourse was at an end. + +The result of this was revolutionary in Japan. For centuries the +Shogun, or Tycoon, the principal military noble, had been +dominant in the empire, and the Mikado, the true emperor, +relegated to a position of obscurity. But the entrance of +foreigners disturbed conditions so greatly - by developing +parties for and against seclusion - that the Mikado was enabled +to regain his long-lost power, and in 1868 the ancient form of +government was restored, the nobles being relegated to their +original rank and their semi-feudal system overthrown. + +JAPAN'S RAPID PROGRESS + +The Japanese quickly began to show a striking activity in the +acceptance of the results of western civilization, alike in +regard to objects of commerce, inventions, and industries, and to +political organization. The latter advanced so rapidly that in +1889 the old despotic government was, by the voluntary act of the +emperor, set aside and a limited monarchy established, the +country being given a constitution and a legislature, with +universal suffrage for all men over twenty-five. This act is of +remarkable interest, it being doubtful if history records any +similar instance of a monarch decreasing his authority without +appeal or pressure from his people. It indicates a liberal spirit +that could hardly have been looked for in a nation that had so +recently opened its doors. It was, however, probably the result +of a previous compact with the nobles who aided the Mikado to +regain his throne. Today, Japan differs little from the nations +of Europe and America in its institutions and industries, and +from being among the most backward, has taken its place among the +most advanced nations of the world. + +The Japanese army has been organized upon the European system, +and armed with the most modern style of weapons, the German +method of drill and organization being adopted. Its navy consists +of about two hundred war vessels, built largely in British +dockyards and manned by sailors trained under British officers. A +number of powerful ships are in process of building. Railroads +have been widely extended; telegraphs run everywhere; education +is in an advancing stage of development, embracing an imperial +university at Tokio, and institutions in which foreign languages +and science are taught; and in a hundred ways Japan is +progressing at a rate which is one of the greatest marvels of the +twentieth century. This is particularly notable in view of the +longer adherence maintained by the neighboring empire of China to +its old customs, and the slowness with which it yielded to the +influx of new ideas. + +ORIGIN OF THE CHINA-JAPAN WAR + +As a result of this difference in progress between the two +nations we have to describe a remarkable event, one of the most +striking evidences that could be given of the practical advantage +of modern civilization. Near the end of the century war broke out +between China and Japan, and there was shown to the world the +singular circumstance of a nation of 40,000,000 people, armed +with modern implements of war, attacking a nation of 300,000,000 +- equally brave, but with its army organized on an ancient system +- and defeating it as quickly and completely as Germany defeated +France in the Franco-German War. This war, which represents a +completely new condition of affairs in the continent of Asia, is +of sufficient interest and importance to speak of at some length. + +Between China and Japan lay the kingdom of Korea, separated by +rivers from the former and by a strait of the ocean from the +latter, and claimed as a vassal state by both, yet preserving its +independence as a state against the pair. Japan invaded this +country at two different periods in the past, but failed to +conquer it. China has often invaded it, with the same result. +Thus it remained practically independent until near the end of +the nineteenth century, when the question of predominance in it +became a cause of war between the two rival empires. + +Korea long pursued the same policy as China and Japan, locking +its ports against foreigners so closely that it became known as +the Hermit Nation and the Forbidden Land. But it was forced to +give way, like its neighbors. The opening of Korea was due to +Japan. In 1876 the Japanese did to this secluded kingdom what +Commodore Perry had done to Japan twenty-two years before. They +sent a fleet to Seoul, the Korean capital, and by threat of war +forced the government to open to trade the port of Fusan. In 1880 +Chemulpo was made an open port. Later on the United States sent a +fleet there which obtained similar privileges. Soon afterwards +most of the nations of Europe were admitted to trade, and the +isolation of the Hermit Nation was at an end. Less than ten years +had sufficed to break down an isolation which had lasted for +centuries. In less than twenty years after - in the year 1899 - +an electric trolley railway was put in operation in the streets +of Seoul - a remarkable evidence of the great change in Korean +policy. + +THE POSITION OF KOREA + +Korea was no sooner opened to foreign intercourse than China and +Japan became rivals for influence in that country - a rivalry in +which Japan showed itself the more active. The Koreans became +divided into two factions, a progressive one that favored Japan, +and a conservative one that favored China. Japanese and Chinese +soldiers were landed upon its soil, and the Chinese aided their +party, which was in ascendency among the Koreans, to drive out +the Japanese troops. War was threatened, but it was a averted by +a treaty in 1885 under which both nations agreed to withdraw +their troops and to send no officers to drill the Korean +soldiers. + +The war, thus for the time averted, came nine years afterwards, +in consequence of an insurrection in Korea. The people of that +country were discontented. They were oppressed with taxes and by +tyranny, and in 1894 the followers of a new religious sect broke +out in open revolt. Their numbers rapidly increased until they +were 20,000 strong, and they defeated the government troops, +captured a provincial city, and put the capital itself in danger. +The Min (or Chinese) faction was then at the head of affairs in +the kingdom and called for aid from China, which responded by +sending some two thousand troops and a number of war vessels to +Korea. Japan, jealous of any such action on the part of China, +responded by surrounding Seoul with soldiers, several thousands +in number. + +Disputes followed. China claimed to be suzerain of Korea and +Japan denied it. Both parties refused to withdraw their troops, +and the Japanese, finding that the party in power was acting +against them, advanced on the capital, drove out the officials, +and took possession of the palace and the king. A new government, +made up of the party that favored Japan, was organized, and a +revolution was accomplished in a day. The new authorities +declared that the Chinese were intruders and requested the aid of +the Japanese to expel them. War was close at hand. + +LI HUNG CHANG AND THE EMPRESS + +China was at that time under the leadership of a statesman of +marked ability, the famous Li Hung Chang, who, from being made +viceroy of a province in 1870, had risen to be the prime minister +of the empire. At the head of the empire was a woman, the Dowager +Empress Tsu Tsi, who had usurped the power of the young emperor +and ruled the state. It was to these two people in power that the +war was due. The dowager empress, blindly ignorant of the power +of the Japanese, decided that these "insolent pigmies" deserved +to be chastised. Li, her right-hand man, was of the same opinion. +At the last moment, indeed, doubts began to assail his mind, into +which came a dim idea that the army and navy of China were not in +shape to meet the forces of Japan. But the empress was resolute. +Her sixtieth birthday was at hand and she proposed to celebrate +it magnificently; and what better decorations could she display +than the captured banners of these insolent islanders? So it was +decided to present a bold front, and, instead of the troops of +China being removed, reinforcements were sent to the force at +Asan. + +HOW JAPAN BEGAN WAR + +There followed a startling event. On July 25th three Japanese +men-of-war, cruising in the Yellow Sea, came in sight of a +transport loaded with Chinese troops and convoyed by two ships of +the Chinese navy. The Japanese admiral did not know of the +seizure of Seoul by the land forces, but he took it to be his +duty to prevent Chinese troops from reaching Korea, so he at once +attacked the warships of the enemy, with such effect that they +were quickly put to flight. Then he sent orders to the transport +that it should put about and follow his ships. + +This the Chinese generals refused to do. They trusted to the fact +that they were on a chartered British vessel and that the British +flag flew over their heads. The daring Japanese admiral troubled +his soul little about this foreign standard, but at once opened +fire on the transport, and with such effect that in half an hour +it went to the bottom, carrying with it one thousand men. Only +about one hundred and seventy escaped. + +On the same day that this terrible act took place on the waters +of the sea, the Japanese left Seoul en route for Asan. Reaching +there, they attacked the Chinese in their intrenchments and drove +them out. Three days afterwards, on August 1, 1894, both +countries issued declarations of war. + +Of the conflict that followed, the most interesting events were +those that took place on the waters, the land campaigns being an +unbroken series of successes for the well-organized and +amply-armed Japanese troops over the medieval army of China, +which went to war fan and umbrella in hand, with antiquated +weapons and obsolete organization. The principal battle was +fought at Ping Yang on September 15th, the Chinese losing 16,000 +killed, wounded and captured, while the Japanese loss was +trifling. In November the powerful fortress of Port Arthur was +attacked by army and fleet, and surrendered after a two days' +siege. Then the armies advanced until they were in the vicinity +of the Great Wall, with the soil and capital of China not far +before them. + +THE CHINESE AND JAPANESE FLEETS + +With this brief review of the land operations, we must return to +the movements of the fleets. Backward as the Chinese were on +land, they were not so on the sea. Li Hung Chang, a born +progressive, had vainly attempted to introduce railroads into +China, but he had been more successful in regard to ships, and +had purchased a navy more powerful than that of Japan. The +heaviest ships of Japan were cruisers, whose armor consisted of +deck and interior lining of steel. The Chinese possessed two +powerful battleships, with 14-inch iron armor and turrets +defended with 12-inch armor, each carrying four 12-inch guns. +Both navies had the advantage of European teaching in drill, +tactics, and seamanship. The Ting Yuen, the Chinese flagship, had +as virtual commander an experienced German officer named Von +Hanneken; the Chen Yuen, the other big ironclad, was handled by +Commander McGiffen, formerly of the United States navy. Thus +commanded, it was expected in Europe that the superior strength +of the Chinese ships would ensure them an easy victory over those +of Japan. The event showed that this was a decidedly mistaken +view. + +It was the superior speed and the large number of rapid-fire guns +of the Japanese vessels that saved them from defeat. The Chinese +guns were mainly heavy Krupps and Armstrongs. They had also some +machine guns, but only three quick-firers. The Japanese, on the +contrary, had few heavy armor-piercing guns, but were supplied +with a large number of quick-firing cannon, capable of pouring +out shells in an incessant stream. Admiral Ting and his European +officers expected to come at once to close quarters and quickly +destroy the thin-armored Japanese craft. But the shrewd Admiral +Ito, commander of the fleet of Japan, had no intention of being +thus dealt with. The speed of his craft enabled him to keep his +distance and to distract the aim of his foes, and he proposed to +make the best use of this advantage. Thus equipped, the two +fleets came together in the month of September, and an +epoch-making battle in the history of the ancient continent of +Asia was fought. + +THE BATTLE OF THE YALU + +On the afternoon of Sunday, September 16, 1894, Admiral Ting's +fleet, consisting of 11 warships, 4 gunboats, and 6 torpedo +boats, anchored off the mouth of the Yalu River. They were there +as escorts to some transports, which went up the river to +discharge their troops. Admiral Ito had been engaged in the same +work farther down the coast, and early on Monday morning came +steaming towards the Yalu in search of the enemy. Under him were +in all twelve ships, none of them with heavy armor, one of them +an armed transport. The swiftest ship in the fleet was the +YOSHINO, capable of making twenty-three knots, and armed with 44 +quick-firing Armstrongs, which would discharge nearly 4,000 +pounds weight of shells every minute. The heaviest guns were long +13-inch cannon, of which four ships possessed one each, protected +by 12-inch shields of steel. Finally, they had an important +advantage over the Chinese in being abundantly supplied with +ammunition. + +With this formidable fleet, Ito steamed slowly to the +north-westward. Early on Monday morning he was off the island of +Hai-yun-tao. At 7 A.M. the fleet began steaming north-eastward. +It was a fine autumn morning. The sun shone brightly, and there +was only just enough of a breeze to ripple the surface of the +water. The long line of warships cleaving their way through the +blue waters, all bright with white paint, the chrysanthemum of +Japan shining like a golden shield on every bow, and the same +emblem flying in red and white from every masthead, formed a +striking spectacle. Some miles away to port rose the rocky coast +and the blue hills of Manchuria; on the other side was the Korean +Gulf. + +Omitting details of the long and uninteresting fight which +followed it may be said that the most remarkable feature of the +battle of the Yalu was that it took place between two nations +which, had the war broken out forty years earlier, would have +done their fighting with fleets of wooden junks and weapons of +the past centuries. As an object lesson of the progress of China +and Japan in modern ideas it is of the greatest interest, though +results were drawn. + +CAPTURE OF WEI HAI WEI + +In January, 1895, the Japanese fleet advanced against the +strongly fortified stronghold of Wei Hai Wei, on the northern +coast of China. Here a force of 25,000 men was landed +successfully, and attacked the fort in the rear, quickly +capturing its landward defenses. The stronghold was thereupon +abandoned by its garrison and occupied by the Japanese. The +Chinese fleet lay in the harbor, and surrendered to the Japanese +after several ships had been sunk by torpedo boats. + +China was now in a perilous position. Its fleet was lost, its +coast strongholds of Port Arthur and Wei Hai Wei were held by the +enemy, and its capital was threatened from the latter place and +by the army north of the Great Wall. A continuation of the war +promised to bring about the complete conquest of the Chinese +empire, and Li Hung Chang, who had been degraded from his +official rank in consequence of the disasters to the army, was +now restored to all his honors and sent to Japan to sue for +peace. In the treaty obtained China was compelled to acknowledge +the independence of Korea, to cede to Japan the island of Formosa +and the Pescadores group, and that part of Manchuria occupied by +the Japanese army, including Port Arthur, also to pay an +indemnity of 300,000,000 taels and open seven new treaty ports. +This treaty was not fully carried out. The Russian, British, and +French ministers forced Japan, under threat of war, to give up +her claim to the Liao-tung peninsula and Port Arthur, which +stronghold was soon after obtained, under long lease, by the +Russians. + +EUROPE INVADES CHINA + +The story of China during the few remaining years of the century +may be briefly told. The evidence of its weakness yielded by the +war with Japan was quickly taken advantage of by the great Powers +of Europe, and China was in danger of going to pieces under their +attacks, which grew so decided and ominous that rumors of a +partition between these Powers of the most ancient and populous +empire of the world filled the air. + +In 1898 decided steps in this direction were taken. Russia leased +from China for ninety -nine years Port Arthur and Talien Wan, and +took practical possession of Manchuria, through which a railroad +was built connecting with the Trans-Siberian road, while Port +Arthur afforded her an ice-free harbor for her Pacific fleet. +Great Britain, jealous of this movement on the part of Russia, +forced from the unwilling hands of China the port of Wei Hai Wei, +and Germany demanded and obtained the cession of a port at Kiau +Chau, farther down the coast, in retribution for the murder of +some missionaries. France, not to be outdone by her neighbors, +gained concessions of territory in the south, adjoining her +Indo-China possessions, and Italy, last of all, came into the +Eastern market with a demand for a share of the nearly defunct +empire. + +The nations appeared to be settling on China in all directions +and to be ready to tear the antique commonwealth to pieces +between them. Within the empire itself revolutionary changes took +place, the dowager empress having first deprived the emperor of +all power and then enforced his abdication. + +Meanwhile one important result came from the war. Li Hung Chang +and the other progressive statesmen of the empire, who had long +been convinced that the only hope of China lay in its being +thrown open to Western science and art, found themselves able to +carry out their plans, the conservative opposition having +seriously broken down. The result of this was seen in a dozen +directions. Railroads, long almost completely forbidden, gained +free "right of way," and promised in the near future to traverse +the country far and wide. Steamers ploughed their way for a +thousand miles up the Yang-tse-Kiang; engineers became busy +exploiting the coal and iron mines of the Flowery Kingdom; great +factories, equipped with the best modern machinery, sprang up in +the foreign settlements; foreign books began to be translated and +read; and the empress even went so far as to receive foreign +ambassadors in public audience and on a footing of outward +equality in the "forbidden city" of Peking, long the sacredly +secluded center of an empire locked against the outer world. + +The increase of European interference in China, with indications +of a possible intention to dismember that ancient empire and +divide its fragments among the land-hungry nations of the West, +was viewed in China with dread and indignation, the feeling of +hostility extending to the work of the missionaries, who were +probably viewed by many as agents in the movement of invasion. + +THE BOXER OUTBREAK + +The hostile sentiment thus developed was indicated early in 1900 +by the outbreak of a Chinese secret society known by a name +signified in English by the word "boxers." These ultra-patriots +organized an anti-missionary crusade in several provinces of +North China in which many missionaries and native Christians were +killed. The movement extended from the missionary settlements to +include the whole foreign movement in China, and was evidently +encouraged by the dowager empress and her advisers. + +As a result the outbreak spread to Peking, where Baron von +Ketteler, the German minister, was killed, several of the +legation buildings were destroyed, and more than two hundred +refugees were besieged within the walls of the British legation. +The danger to which the ministries and their assistants and +families were exposed aroused Europe and America, and as the +Chinese government took no steps to allay the outbreak, a relief +expedition was organized, in which United States, British, +French, German, Russian and Japanese forces took part. + +The fleet of the allies bombarded and destroyed the Taku forts, +and heavy fighting took place at Tien-tsin, Pie-tsang and +Yang-tsun. The military expedition reached Peking and rescued the +besieged on August 14, 1906, the empress and her court fleeing +from the capital. A peace treaty was signed on September 7, 1907, +one of the conditions of which was that China should pay an +indemnity of $320,000,000 to the foreign Powers. The share of +this allotted to the United States was $24,440,000, but after a +portion of this had been paid the United States in 1908 remitted +$10,800,000, on the ground that this was in excess over its +actual expense. This act of generosity won the earnest gratitude +of China. + +This event, significant of the latent and active hostilities +between the East and the West, was followed by a much greater one +in 1904-05, when Japan had the hardihood to engage in war with +the great European empire of Russia and the unlooked-for ability +and good fortune to defeat its powerful antagonist. + +RUSSIAN DESIGNS ON MANCHURIA + +This contest, which takes its place among the great wars of +modern times, must be dealt with briefly here, as it belongs to +European history only in the minor sense of a European country +being engaged in it. It arose from the encroachments of Russia in +the Chinese province of Manchuria and fears on the part of Japan +that the scope of Russian designs might include the invasion and +conquest of that country. + +As already stated, Russia secured a lease of Port Arthur, at the +southern extremity of Manchuria, from China in 1896. Subsequently +the Siberian Railway was extended southward from Harbin to this +place, the harbor was deepened, and building operations were +begun at a new town named Dalny, which was to be made Asia's +greatest port. The line of the railway was strongly guarded with +Russian troops. + +These movements of Russia excited suspicion in Great Britain and +Japan, which countries so strongly opposed the military +occupation by Russia of Chinese territory that in 1901 Russia +agreed to withdraw her troops within the following year, to +restore the railway to China, and subsequently to give up all +occupation of Chinese territory. + +Of these agreements only the first was kept, and that only +temporarily. In 1903 Japan proposed an agreement with Russia to +the effect that both parties should respect the integrity of +China and Korea, while the interest of Japan in Korea and that of +Russia in Manchuria should be recognized. The refusal of Russia +to accept this proposition overcame the patience of Japan, whose +rulers saw clearly that Russia had no intention of withdrawing +from the country occupied or of hampering her future purposes +with agreements. In fact Japan's own independence seemed +threatened. + +JAPAN BEGINS WAR ON RUSSIA + +The result was in consonance with the Japanese character. In +February, 1904, Japan withdrew her minister from the capital of +Russia and three days later, without the formality of a +declaration of war, attacked the Russian fleets at Chemulpo and +Port Arthur. The result was the sinking of two Russian ships in +Chemulpo harbor, and the disabling of a number of vessels at Port +Arthur. + +Troops were landed at the same time. Seoul, the capital of Korea, +was occupied, and an army marched north to Ping-Yang. The first +land engagement took place on the Yalu on April 30th, the +Japanese forces under General Kuroki attacking and defeating the +Russians at that point, and making a rapid advance into +Manchuria. + +Meanwhile Admiral Togo had been busy at Port Arthur. On April +13th he sent boats in shore to plant mines. Makharov, the Russian +admiral, followed these boats out until he found Togo awaiting +him with a fleet too strong for him to attack. On his return his +flag-ship, the PETROPAVLOVSK, struck one of the mines and went +down with her crew of 750 and Makharov himself. The smaller ships +reached harbor in bad shape from their experience of Togo's big +guns. On August 10th, the Port Harbor fleet was again roughly +handled by the Japanese, and some days later a Vladivostock +squadron, steaming southward to reinforce the Port Arthur fleet, +was met and defeated. This ended the naval warfare for that +period, all the ships which Russia had on the Pacific being +destroyed or seriously injured. + +THE ARMIES MEET + +On land the Japanese made successful movements to the north and +south. An army under General Oku landed in the Liao-tung +peninsula early in May, cut the railway to Port Arthur, and +captured Kin-chau, nearly forty miles from that port. There +followed a terrible struggle on the heights of Nan-Shan, ending +in the repulse of the Russian garrison, with a loss of eighty +guns. This success gave the Japanese control of Dalny, which +formed for them a new base. General Nogi soon after landed with a +strong force and took command of the operation against Port +Arthur. + +The northern army met with similar success, General Kuroki +fighting his way to the vicinity of Liao-yang, where he soon had +the support of General Nozdu, who had landed an army in May. Oku, +marching north from the peninsula, also supported him, the three +generals forcing Kuropatkin, the Russian commander-in-chief, back +upon his base. Marshal Oyama, a veteran of former wars, was made +commander-in-chief of the Japanese armies. + +Liao-tung became the seat of one of the greatest battles of the +war, lasting seven days, the number of dead and wounded being +over 30,000. It ended in the retreat of Kuropatkin's army, which +fell back upon the line of defenses covering Mukden, the +Manchurian capital. Here he was again attacked by Kuroki, who +captured the key of the Russian position on the 1st of September, +and held it until reinforcements arrived. + +For a month the armies faced each other south of Mukden, the +resting spell ending in a general advance of the Russian army, +which had been largely reinforced. In the battle that followed +the Russians lost heavily, but failed to break the Japanese +lines, and after a fortnight of hard fighting both sides desisted +from active hostilities, holding their positions with little +change. + +PORT ARTHUR TAKEN + +Meanwhile Port Arthur had become closely invested. One by one the +hills surrounding the harbor were taken by the Japanese, after +stubborn resistance. Big siege guns were dragged up and began to +batter the town and the ships. On August 16th, General Stoessel, +commander at Fort Arthur, having refused to surrender, a grand +assault was ordered by Nogi. It proved unsuccessful, while the +assailants lost 14,000 men. The bombardment continued, the +buildings and ships suffering severely. Finally tunnels were cut +through the solid rock and on December 20th the principal +stronghold in the east was carried by storm. Other forts were +soon taken and on January 2, 1905, the port was surrendered, the +Japanese obtaining 40,000 prisoners, 59 forts, about 550 guns, +and other munitions. The fleet captured consisted of four damaged +battleships, two damaged cruisers and a considerable number of +smaller craft. + +We left the armies facing each other at Mukden in late September. +They remained there until February, 1905, without again coming +into contact, and no decisive action took place until March. +Kuropatkin's force had meanwhile been largely reinforced, through +the difficult aid of the one-tracked Siberian railway, and was +now divided into three armies or approximately 150,000 each. +Oyama had also received large reinforcements and now had 500,000 +men under his command. These consisted of the armies under +Kuroki, Nozdu and Oku, and the force of Nogi released by the +capture of Port Arthur. + +General Grippenburg had command of one of the Russian armies and +on January 25th took position on the left bank of the Hun River. +Here, in the month following, he lost 10,000 of his men, and then +threw up his post, declaring that his chief had not properly +supported him. On January 19th, a Japanese advance in force +began, attacking with energy and forcing Kuropatkin to withdraw +his center and left behind the line of the Hun. Here he fiercely +attacked Oku and Nogi, for the time checking their advance. But +Bilderling and Linievitch just then fell into difficulties and it +became necessary to retreat, leaving Mukden to the enemy. + +There were no further engagements of importance between the +armies, though they remained face to face for months in a long +line south of Harbin. Kuropatkin during this time was relieved +from command, Linievitch being appointed to succeed him. The +remaining conflict of the war was a naval one, of remarkable +character. + +RUSSIAN FLEET DEFEATED + +Russia, finding its Pacific fleet put out of commission, and +quite unable to face the doughty Togo, had despatched a second +fleet from the Baltic, comprising nearly forty vessels in all. +These made their way through the Suez Canal and Indian Ocean and +moved upward through the Chinese and Japanese Seas, finding +themselves on May 27, 1905, in the strait of Tsushuma, between +Korea and Japan. Hitherto not a hostile vessel had been seen. +Togo had held his fleet in ambush, while keeping scouts on the +lookout for the coming Russians. + +Suddenly the Russians found themselves surrounded by a long line +of enemies, which had suddenly appeared in their front. The +attack was furious and irresistible; the defense weak and +ineffective. Night was at hand, but before it came five Russian +warships had gone to the bottom. A torpedo attack was made during +the night and the general engagement resumed next morning. When a +halt was called, Admiral Togo had sunk, disabled or captured +eight battleships, nine cruisers, three coast-defense ships, and +a large number of other craft, the great Russian fleet being +practically a total loss, while Togo had lost only three torpedo +boats and 650 men. The losses in men by the Russians was 4,000 +killed, and 7,300 prisoners taken. Altogether it was a naval +victory which for completeness has rarely been equaled in +history. + +Russia, beaten on land and sea, was by this time ready to give up +the struggle, and readily accepted President Roosevelt's +suggestion to hold a peace convention in the United States. The +terms of the treaty were very favorable to Russia, all things +considered; but the power of Japan had been strained to the +utmost, and that Power felt little inclined to put obstacles in +the way. The island of Sakhalin was divided between them, both +armies evacuated Manchuria, leaving it to the Chinese, and Port +Arthur and Dalny were transferred to Japan. + +Yet though Japan received no indemnity and little in the way of +material acquisitions of any kind, she came out of the war with a +prestige that no one was likely to question, and has since ranked +among the great Powers of the world. And she has added +considerably to her territory by the annexation of Korea, in +which there was no one to question her right. + +CHINA BECOMES A REPUBLIC + +While Japan was manifesting this progress in the arts of war, +China was making as great a progress in the arts of peace. The +building of railroads, telegraphs, modern factories, and other +western innovations proceeded apace, modern literature and +systems of education were introduced, and the old competitive +examinations for office, in the Confucian literature and +philosophy, were replaced by examinations in modern science and +general knowledge. Yet most surprising of all was the great +political revolution which converted an autocratic empire which +had existed for four or five thousand years into a modern +constitutional republic of advanced type. This is the most +surprising political overturn that history anywhere presents. + +For many years a spirit of opposition to the Manchu rulers had +existed and had led more than once to rebellions of great scope. +The success of Japan in war was followed in China by a +revolutionary movement whose first demand was for a +constitutional government, this leading, on September 20, 1907, +to an imperial decree outlining a plan for a national assembly. +On July 22, 1908, another decree provided for provincial +assemblies to serve as a basis for a future parliament. Later the +government promised to introduce a parliamentary system within +nine years. + +The idea of such a government spread rapidly throughout the +country, and the demand arose for an immediate parliament. As the +government resisted this demand, the revolutionary sentiment +grew, and in October, 1911, a rebellious movement took place at +Wuchang which rapidly spread, the rebels declaring that the +Manchu dynasty must be overthrown. + +Soon the movement became so threatening that the emperor issued a +decree appealing to the mercy of the people, and abjectly +acknowledging that the government had done wrong in many +particulars. Yuan Shi-Kai, a prominent revolutionary statesman, +was made prime minister and a national assembly convened. It had +become too late, however, to check the movement, and at the end +of 1911 a new republic was announced at Nanking, under the +provisional presidency of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, a student of modern +institutions in Europe and America. The abdication of the emperor +quickly followed, in February 12, 1912, ending a Manchu dynasty +which had held the throne for 267 years. Yuan Shi-Kai was later +chosen as president. + +This is a very brief account of the radical revolution that took +place and we cannot go into the details of what succeeded. It +must suffice to say that the republic has since persisted, Yuan +Shi-Kai still serving as president. The republic has a parliament +of its own; a president and cabinet and all the official +furniture of a republican government. There is only needed an +education of the people into the principles of free government +"of the people, for the people, and by the people" to complete +the most remarkable political revolution the world has yet known. + + +Chapter XVIII. TURKEY AND THE BALKAN STATES + +Checking the Dominion of the Turk in Europe + +The Story of Servia - Turkey in Europe - The Bulgarian Horrors - +The Defense of Plevna - The Congress of Berlin - Hostile +Sentiments in the Balkans - Incitement to War - Fighting Begins - +The Advance on Adrianople - Servian and Greek Victories - The +Bulgarian Successes - Steps toward Peace - The War Resumed - +Siege of Scutari - Treaty of Peace - War between the Allies - The +Final Settlement + +In the southeast of Europe lies a group of minor kingdoms, of +little importance in size, but of great importance in the +progress of recent events. Their sudden uprising in 1912, their +conquest of nearly the whole existing remnant of Turkey in +Europe, and the subsequent struggle between them for the spoils +are specially important from the fact that Servia, one of this +group of states, was the ostensible - hardly the actual - cause +of the great European war of 1914. + +These, known as the Balkan States from their being traversed by +the Balkan range of mountains, comprise the kingdoms of Roumania, +Bulgaria, Servia, Montenegro, and the recent and highly +artificial kingdom of Albania. Greece is an outlying member of +the group. + +THE STORY OF SERVIA + +Of these varied states Servia is of especial interest from its +immediate relation to the European contest. Its ancient history, +also, possesses much of interest. Minor in extent at present, it +was once an extensive empire. Under its monarch, Stephen Dushan +(1336-56), it included the whole of Macedonia, Albania, Thessaly, +Bulgaria, and Northern Greece, leaving little of the Balkan +region beyond its borders. In 1389 its independence ended as a +result of the battle of Kossova, it becoming tributary to the +conquering empire of the Turks. In another half century it became +a province of Turkey in Europe, and so remained for nearly two +hundred years. + +Its succeeding history may be rapidly summarized. In 1718 Austria +won the greater part of it, with its capital, Belgrade, from +Turkey, but in 1739 it was regained by the Turks. Barbarous +treatment of the Christian population of Servia by its +half-civilized rulers led to a series of insurrections, ending in +1812 in its independence, by the terms of the Treaty of Bukarest. +The Turks won it back in 1813, but in 1815, under its leader, +Milosh, its complete independence was attained. + +After the fall of Plevna in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, +Servia joined its forces to those of Russia, and by the Treaty of +Berlin it obtained an accession of territory and full recognition +by the Powers of Europe of its independence. In 1885 a national +rising took place in Eastern Roumelia, a province of Turkey, +which led to the Turkish governor being expelled and union with +Bulgaria proclaimed. Servia demanded a share of this new +acquisition of territory and went to war with Bulgaria, but met +with a severe defeat. When, in 1908, Austria annexed the former +Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the people of Servia +were highly indignant, these provinces being largely inhabited by +people of the Servian race. The exasperation thus caused is of +importance, especially as augmented by the agency of Austria in +preventing Servia from obtaining a port on the Adriatic after the +Balkan war of 1912-13. The seething feeling of enmity thus +engendered had its final outcome in the assassination of the +Austrian Crown Prince Ferdinand in 1914, and the subsequent +invasion of Servia by the armies of Austria. + +We have here spoken of the stages by which Servia gradually won +its independence from Turkey and its recognition as a +full-fledged member of the European family of nations. There are +several others of the Balkan group which similarly won +independence from Turkey and to the story of which some passing +allusion is desirable. + +How Greece won its independence has been already told. Another of +the group, the diminutive mountain state of Montenegro, much the +smallest of them all, has the honor of being the only section of +that region of Europe that maintained its independence during the +long centuries of Turkish domination. Its mountainous character +enabled its hardy inhabitants to hold their own against the Turks +in a series of deadly struggles. In 1876-78 its ruler, Prince +Nicholas, joined in the war of Servia and Russia against Turkey, +the result being that 1,900 square miles was changed from a +principality into a kingdom, Prince Nicholas gaining the title of +King Nicholas. A second acquisition of territory succeeded the +Balkan War of 1913, the adjoining Turkish province of Novibazar +being divided between it and Servia. + +TURKEY IN EUROPE + +With this summary of the story of the Balkans we shall proceed to +give in more detail its recent history, comprising the wars of +1876-78 and of 1912-13. As for the relations between Turkey and +the Balkan peninsula, it is well known how the Asiatic conquerors +known as Turks, having subdued Asia Minor, invaded Europe in +1355, overran most of the Balkan country, and attacked and took +Constantinople in 1453. Servia, Bosnia, Albania, and Greece were +added to the Ottoman Empire, which subdued half of Hungary and +received its first check on land before the walls of Vienna in +1529, and on the ocean at the battle of Lepanto in 1571. Vienna +was again besieged by the Turks in 1683, and was then saved from +capture by Sobieski of Poland and Charles of Lorraine. + +This was the end of Turkish advance in Europe. Since that date it +has been gradually yielding to European assault, Russia beginning +its persistent attacks upon Turkey about the middle of the +eighteenth century. At that time Turkey occupied a considerable +section of Southern Russia, but by the end of the century much of +this had been regained. In 1812 Russia won that part of Moldavia +and Bessarabia which lies beyond the Pruth, in 1828 it gained the +principal mouth of the Danube, and in 1829 it crossed the Balkans +and took Adrianople. The independence of Greece was acknowledged +the same year. + +The next important event in the history of Turkey in Europe was +the Crimean War, the story of which has been told in an earlier +chapter. The chief results of it were a weakening of Russian +influence in Turkey, the abolition of the Russian protectorate +over Moldavia and Wallachia (united in 1861 as the principality +of Roumania), and the cession to Turkey of part of Bessarabia. + +Turkey also came out of the Crimean War weakened and shorn of +territory. But the Turkish idea of government remained unchanged, +and in twenty years' time Russia was fairly goaded into another +war. In 1875 Bosnia rebelled in consequence of the insufferable +oppression of the Turkish tax-collectors. The brave Bosnians +maintained themselves so sturdily in their mountain fastnesses +that the Turks almost despaired of subduing them, and the +Christian subjects of the Sultan in all quarters became so +stirred up that a general revolt was threatened. + +THE BULGARIAN HORRORS + +The Turks undertook to prevent this in their usual fashion. +Irregular troops were sent into Christian Bulgaria with orders to +kill all they met. It was an order to the Mohammedan taste. The +defenseless villages of Bulgaria were entered and their +inhabitants slaughtered in cold blood, till thousands of men, +women, and children had been slain. + +When tidings of these atrocities reached Europe the nations were +filled with horror. The Sultan made smooth excuses, and diplomacy +sought to settle the affair, but it became evident that a +massacre so terrible as this could not be condoned so easily. +Disraeli, then prime minister of Great Britain, sought to +minimize these reports so as to avert a great war in which +England might be plunged. But Gladstone, at that time in +retirement, arose, and by his pamphlet on the "Bulgarian Horrors" +aroused a fierce public sentiment in England. His denunciation +rang out like a trumpet-call. "Let the Turks now carry away their +abuses in the only possible manner - by carrying off themselves," +he wrote. "Their Zaptiehs and their Mudirs, their Bimbashis and +their Yuzbachis, shall, I hope, clear out from the province they +have desolated and profaned." + +He followed up this pamphlet by a series of speeches, delivered +to great meetings and to the House of Commons, with which for +four years he sought, as he expressed it, "night and day to +counterwork the purpose of Lord Beaconsfield." He succeeded; +England was prevented by his eloquence from actively resisting +Russia; and he excited the fury of the war party to such an +extent that at one time it was not safe for him to appear in the +streets of London. + +Hostilities were soon proclaimed. The Russians, of the same race +and religious sect as the Bulgarians, were excited beyond +control, and in April 1877, Alexander II declared war against +Turkey. The outrages of the Turks had been so flagrant that no +allies came to their aid, while the rottenness of their empire +was shown by the rapid advance of the Russian armies. They +crossed the Danube in June. In a month later, they had occupied +the principal passes of the Balkan mountains and were in position +to descend on the broad plain that led to Constantinople. But at +this point in their career they met with a serious check. Osman +Pasha, the single Turkish commander of ability that the war +developed, occupied the town of Plevna with such forces as he +could gather, fortified it as strongly as possible, and from its +walls defied the Russians. + +THE DEFENSE OF PLEVNA + +The invaders dared not advance and leave this stronghold in their +rear. For five months all the power of Russia and the skill of +its generals were held in check by this brave man and his +followers, until Europe and America alike looked on with +admiration at his remarkable defense, in view of which the cause +of the war was almost forgotten. The Russian general Kudener was +repulsed with the loss of 8,000 men. The daring Skobeleff strove +in vain to launch his troops over Osman's walls. At length +General Todleben undertook the siege, adopting the slow but safe +method of starving out the defenders. Osman Pasha now showed his +courage, as he had already shown his endurance. When hunger and +disease began to reduce the strength of his men, he resolved on a +final desperate effort. At the head of his brave garrison the +"Lion of Plevna" sallied from the city, and fought with desperate +courage to break through the circle of his foes. He was finally +driven back into the city and compelled to surrender. + +Osman had won glory, and his fall was the fall of the Turkish +cause. The Russians crossed the Balkans, capturing in the Schipka +Pass a Turkish army of 30,000 men. Adrianople was taken, and the +Turkish line of retreat cut off. The Russians marched to the +Bosporus, and the Sultan was compelled to sue for peace to save +his capital from falling into the hands of the Christians, as it +had fallen into those of the Turks four centuries before. + +Russia had won the game for which she had made so long a +struggle. The treaty of San Stefano practically decreed the +dissolution of the Turkish Empire. But at this juncture the other +nations of Europe took part. They were not content to see the +balance of power destroyed by Russia becoming master of +Constantinople, and England demanded that the treaty should be +revised by the European Powers in order to guard her own route to +India. Russia protested, but Beaconsfield threatened war, and the +Czar gave way. + +THE CONGRESS OF BERLIN + +The Congress of Berlin, to which the treaty was referred, settled +the question in the following manner: Montenegro, Roumania, and +Servia were declared independent, and Bulgaria became free, +except that it had to pay an annual tribute to the Sultan. The +part of old Bulgaria that lay south of the Balkan Mountains was +named Eastern Roumelia and given its own civil government, but +was left under the military control of Turkey. Bosnia and +Herzegovina were placed under the control of Austria. All that +Russia obtained for her victories were some provinces in Asia +Minor. Turkey was terribly shorn, and since then her power has +been further reduced, for Eastern Roumelia has broken loose from +her control and united itself again to Bulgaria. + +Another twenty years passed, and Turkey found itself at war +again. It was the old story, the oppression of the Christians. +This time the trouble began in Armenia, a part of Turkey in Asia, +where in 1895 and 1896 terrible massacres took place. Indignation +reigned in Europe, but fears of a general war kept the Powers +from using force, and the Sultan paid no heed to the reforms he +had promised to make. + +In 1896 the Christians (Greeks) of the island of Crete broke out +in revolt against the oppression and tyranny of Turkish rule. Of +all the Powers of Europe little Greece was the only one that came +to their aid, and the great nations, still inspired with the fear +of a general war, sent their fleets and threatened Greece with +blockade unless she would withdraw her troops. + +The result was one scarcely expected. Greece was persistent, and +gathered a threatening army on the frontier of Turkey, and war +broke out in 1897 between the two states. The Turks now, under an +able commander, showed much of their ancient valor and +intrepidity, crossing the frontier, defeating the Greeks in a +rapid series of engagements, and occupying Thessaly, while the +Greek army was driven back in a state of utter demoralization. At +this juncture, when Greece lay at the mercy of Turkey, as Turkey +had lain at that of Russia twenty years before, the Powers, which +had refused to aid Greece in her generous but hopeless effort, +stepped in to save her from ruin. Turkey was bidden to call a +halt, and the Sultan reluctantly stopped the march of his army. +He demanded the whole of Thessaly and a large indemnity in money. +The former the Powers refused to grant, and reduced the indemnity +to a sum within the power of Greece to pay. Thus the affair +ended, and such was the status of the Eastern Question until the +hatred of the Balkan States again leaped into flame in the +memorable Balkan War of 1912. + +HOSTILE SENTIMENTS OF THE BALKANS + +As may be seen from what has been said, the sentiment of +hostility between the Christian States of the Balkan region and +the Mohammedan empire of Turkey was not likely to be easily +allayed. The atrocities of persecution which the Christians had +suffered at the hands of the Turks were unforgotten and +unavenged, and to them was added an ambitious desire to widen +their dominions at the expense of Turkey, if possible to drive +Turkey completely out of Europe and extend their areas of control +to the Mediterranean and the Bosporus. These states consisted of +Servia, made an autonomous principality in 1830, an independent +principality in 1878, and a kingdom in 1882; Bulgaria, an +autonomous principality in 1878, an independent kingdom in 1908; +Roumania, an autonomous principality in 1802, an independent +principality in 1878, a kingdom in 1881; Montenegro, an +independent principality in 1878, a kingdom in 1910; Eastern +Roumelia, autonomous in 1878, annexed to Bulgaria in 1885. +Adjoining these on the south was Greece, an independent kingdom +since 1830. The former provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina had +been assigned to Austrian administrative control in 1878, and +annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908, an act which added to the +feeling of unrest in the Balkan States. + +The relations existing between the Balkan States and their +neighbors was one of dissatisfaction and hostility which might at +any time break into war, this being especially the case with +those which bordered directly upon Turkey - Servia, Bulgaria, +Montenegro and Greece. Roumania, being removed from contact, had +less occasion to entertain warlike sentiments. + +INCITEMENT TO WAR + +A fitting time for this indignation and hostile feeling to break +out into war came in 1912, as a result of the invasion and +conquest of Tripoli by Italy in 1911-12. This war, settled by a +protocol in favor of Italy on October 15, 1912, had caused +financial losses and political unrest in Turkey which offered a +promising opportunity for the states to carry into effect their +long-cherished design. They did not act as a unit, the smallest +of them, Montenegro,, declaring war on Turkey on October 8th, and +Greece, on October 17th. In regard to Servia and Bulgaria, Turkey +took the initiative, declaring war on them October 17, 1912. + +But acts of war did not wait for a formal declaration. On October +5th, King Peter of Servia thus explained to the National Assembly +of that state his reasons for mobilizing his troops: + +"I have applied with friendly counsels to Constantinople +regarding the misery which the Christian nationalities, including +ours, are suffering in Turkey, and it is to be regretted that all +this was of no avail. Instead of the expected reforms we were +surprised a few days ago by the mobilization of the Turkish army +near our frontiers. To this act, by which our safety was +endangered, Servia had only one reply. By my decree our army was +put into a mobile state. + +"Our position is clear. Our duty is to undertake measures +insuring our safety. It is our duty, in conformity with other +Christian Balkan states, to do everything in our power to insure +proper conditions for a real and permanent peace in the Balkans." + +The first raid into Turkish territory was made by the Bulgarian +bandit Sandansky, who in 1902 had kidnapped Miss Ellen M. Stone, +an American missionary, and held her for a ransom of $65,000 to +procure funds for his campaign. At the head of a band of 2,500 +Bulgarians he crossed the frontier and burned the Turkish +blockhouse at Oschumava, afterwards occupying a strategic +position above the Struma River. + +FIGHTING BEGINS + +The Montenegro army opened the war on October 9th, by attacking a +strong Turkish position opposite Podgoritza, Franz Peter, the +youngest son of King Nicholas, firing the first shot. Bulgaria, +without waiting to declare war, crossed the frontier on October +14th and made a sharp attack on the railway patrols between Sofia +and Uskut. Sharp fighting at the same time took place on the +Greek frontier, the Greeks capturing Malurica Pass, the chief +mountain pass leading from Greece to Turkey on the northern +frontier. As regards the reasons impelling Greece to take an +active part in the war, it must be remembered that the great +majority of Greeks still lived under the Turkish flag, while the +twelve islands in the Aegean Sea seized by Italy during its war +with Turkey were clamoring to be annexed to Greece instead of +being returned to Turkey by the treaty of peace between Italy and +Turkey. + +Such were the conditions and events existing at the opening of +the war. It developed with great rapidity, a number of important +battles being fought, in which the Turks were defeated. The +military strength of the combined states exceeded that of Turkey, +and within a month's time they made rapid advances, the goals +sought by them being Constantinople, Adrianople, Salonica and +Scutari. + +THE ADVANCE ON ADRIANOPLE + +The most important of the Balkan movements was that of the +Bulgarian army upon Adrianople, the second to Constantinople in +importance of Turkish cities. By October 20th the Bulgarian main +army had forced the Turks back upon the outward forts of this +stronghold, while the left wing threatened the important post of +Kirk-Kilisseh, in Thrace, about thirty miles northeast of +Adrianople. This place, regarded as "the Key to Adrianople," was +take on the 24th, after a three days' fight, the Turkish forces, +said to be 150,000 strong, retiring in disorder. + +The Bulgarians continued their advance, fighting over a wide +semicircular area before Adrianople, upon which city they +gradually closed, taking some of the outer forts and making their +bombardment felt within the city itself. + +SERVIAN AND GREEK VICTORIES + +While the Bulgarians were making such vigorous advances towards +the capital of the Turkish empire, their allies were winning +victories in other quarters. Novibazar, capital of the sanjak of +the same name, was taken by the Servians on October 23rd. +Prishtina and other towns and villages of Old Servia were also +taken, the victors being received by the citizens with open arms +of welcome and other demonstrations of joy. Tobacco and +refreshments were pressed upon the soldiers, while the people put +all their possessions at the disposal of the military +authorities. + +The Greeks were also successful, an army under the Crown Prince +capturing the town of Monastir, which was garrisoned by a Turkish +force estimated at 40,000. The Montenegrin forces were regarded +as of high importance as a means of widening the area of their +narrow kingdom. Other important towns or Old Servia were taken, +including Kumanova, captured on the 25th, Uskab, captured on the +26th, and Istib, 45 miles to the southwest, occupied without +opposition on the following day. This place, a very strong +natural position in the mountains, was known as the Adrianople of +Macedonia. + +THE BULGARIAN SUCCESSES + +While these movements were taking place in the west, the siege of +Adrianople was vigorously pushed. It was completely surrounded +by Bulgarian troops by the 29th, and its commander formally +summoned to surrender the city. The besiegers, however, had +great difficulties to overcome, the country around being +inundated by the rivers Maretza and Arda in consequence of heavy +rains. These floods at the same time impeded the movements of +the Turks. + +On October 31st, after another three-day fight, the Bulgarians +achieved the great success of the war, defeating a Turkish army +of 200,000 men. Only a fortnight had passed since Turkey +declared war. The first week of the campaign closed with the +dramatic fall of Kirk-Kilesseh, fully revealing for the first +time the disorganization, bad morale and inefficient commissariat +of the Turkish army. Ten days later that army was defeated and +routed, within fifty miles from Constantinople, forcing it to +retreat within the capital's line of defenses. + +Apparently Nazim Pasha had been completely outmaneuvered by +Savoff's generalship. The Bulgarian turning movement along the +Black Sea coast appears to have been a feint, which induced the +Turkish commander to throw his main army to the eastward, to such +effect that the Bulgarian force on this side had the greatest +difficulty in holding the Turks in check. + +In fact, the Bulgarians gave way, and thus enabled Nazim Pasha to +report to Constantinople some success in this direction. In the +meantime, however, General Savoff hurled his great strength +against the Turks' weakened left wing, which he crushed in at +Lule Burgas. The fighting along the whole front, which evidently +was of the most stubborn and determined character, was carried on +day and night without intermission, and both sides lost heavily. + +The final result was to force the Turks within the defensive +lines of Tchatalja, the only remaining fortified position +protecting Constantinople. These lines lie twenty-five miles to +the northwest of the capital. + +The seat of war between Bulgaria and Turkey, aside from the +continued siege of Adrianople, was by this success transferred to +the Tchatalja lines, along which the opposing armies lay +stretched during the week succeeding the Lule Burgas victory. +Here siege operations were vigorously prosecuted, but the Turks, +though weakened by an outbreak of cholera in their ranks, +succeeded in maintaining their position. + +STEPS TOWARD PEACE + +Elsewhere victory followed the banners of the allies. On +November 8th the important port of Salonica was taken by the +Greeks, and on the 18th the Servians captured Monastir, the +remaining Turkish stronghold in Macedonia. The fighting here was +desperate, lasting three days, the Turkish losses amounting to +about 20,000 men. In Albania the Montenegrin siege of Scutari +continued, though so far without success. + +Turkey had now enough of the war. On November 3d she had asked a +mediation of the Powers, but these replied that she must treat +directly with the Balkan nations. This caused delay until the +end of the month, the protocol of an armistice being approved by +the Turkish cabinet on November 30th, and signed by +representatives of Turkey, Bulgaria, Servia and Montenegro on +December 3d. Greece refused to sign, but at a later date agreed +to take part in a conference to meet in London on December 16th. + +This peace conference continued in session until January 6, 1913, +without reaching any conclusions, Turkey refusing to accept the +Balkan demands that she should yield practically the whole of her +territory in Europe. At the final session of the conference she +renounced her claim to the island of Crete, and promised to +rectify her Thracian frontier, but insisted upon the retention of +Adrianople. This place, the original capital of the Ottoman +Empire in Europe, and containing the splendid mosque of Sultan +Selim, was highly esteemed by the Mohammedans, who clung to it as +a sacred city. + +War seemed likely to be resumed, though the European Powers +strongly suggested to Turkey the advisability of yielding on this +point, and leaving the question of the fate of the Aegean Islands +to the Powers, which promised also to guard Mussulman interests +in Adrianople. Finally, on January 22d, the Porte consented to +this request of the Powers, a decision which was vigorously +resented by the warlike party known as Young Turks. + +Demonstrations at once broke out in Constantinople, leading to +the overthrow of the cabinet and the murder of Nazim Pasha, +former minister of war and commander-in-chief of the Turkish +army. He was succeeded by Enver Bey, the most spirited leader of +the Young Turks, who became chief of staff of the army. + +On January 30th the Balkan allies denounced their armistice and a +renewed war seemed imminent. On the same day the Ottoman +government offered a compromise, agreeing to divide Adrianople +between the contestants in such a way that they might retain the +mosques and the historic monuments. As for the Aegean Islands, +they would leave these to the disposition of the Powers. + +THE WAR RESUMED + +To this compromise the Balkan allies refused to agree and on +February 3d hostile operations were resumed. The investment of +Adrianople had remained intact during the interval, and on the +4th a vigorous bombardment took place, the Turkish response being +weak. Forty Servian seven-inch guns had been mounted, their +shells falling into the town, part of which again broke into +flames. At points the lines of besiegers and besieged were only +200 yards apart. An attempt was made also to capture the +peninsula of Gallipoli, which commands the Dardanelles, and thus +take the Turkish force in the rear. Fifty thousand Bulgarians +had been landed on this coast in November, and the Greek fleet in +the Gulf of Saros supported the attack. If successful, there +would be nothing to prevent this fleet from passing the straits, +defeating the inferior Turkish war vessels and attacking +Constantinople from the rear. Fighting in this region continued +for several days, the Turkish forces being driven back, but still +holding their forts. + +SIEGE OF SCUTARI + +In the west the most important operation at this period was that +of the Montenegrins, led by King Nicholas in person, against +Scutari, an Albanian stronghold which they were eager to possess. + +Servian artillery aided in the assault, and on February 8th the +important outwork on Muselim Hill was taken by an impulsive +bayonet charge. The city was not captured, however, until April +23d, when an entire day's ceaseless fighting ended in the +yielding of the garrison, the climax of a six-month siege. + +An energetic attack had been made by the Bulgarians and Serbs on +Adrianople on March 14th, ending in a repulse, and on the 22d +another vigorous assault was begun, continuing with terrific +fighting for four days. It ended in a surrender of the city on +the 26th. The siege had continued for 152 days. Before +yielding, the Turks blew up the arsenal and set fire to the city +at several points. At the same time Tchatalja, which had been +actively assailed, fell into the hands of the allies and +Constantinople lay open to assault. + +Meanwhile the Powers of Europe had again offered their good +services to mediate between the warring forces, and a conditional +mediation was agreed to by the Balkan allies. Movements towards +peace, however, proceeded slowly, the most interesting event of +the period being a demand by Austria, backed by Italy, that +Montenegro should give up the city of Scutari. Earnest protests +were made against this by King Nicholas, but the despatch of an +Austrian naval division on April 27th to occupy his ports and +march upon Cettinje, his capital, obliged him reluctantly to +yield and on May 5th Scutari was given up to Austria, to form +part of a projected Albanian kingdom. + +TREATY OF PEACE + +Peace between the warring nations was finally concluded on May +30, 1913, the treaty providing that Turkey should cede to her +allied foes all territory west of a line drawn from Enos on the +Aegean coast to Media on the coast of the Black Sea. This left +Adrianople in the hands of the Bulgarians and gave Turkey only a +narrow strip of territory west of Constantinople, the meager +remnant of her once great holdings upon the continent of Europe. +The victors desired to divide the conquered territory upon a plan +arranged between them before the war, but the purposes of Austria +and Italy were out of agreement with this design and the Powers +insisted in forming out of the districts assigned to Servia and +Greece a new principality to be named Albania, embracing the +region occupied by the unruly Albanian tribes. + +This plan gave intense dissatisfaction to the allies. It seemed +designed to cut off Servia from an opening upon the +Mediterranean, which that inland state ardently desired and +Austria strongly opposed. Montenegro was also deprived of the +warmly craved city of Scutari, which she had won after so +vigorous a strife. Bulgaria also was dissatisfied with this new +project and opposed the demands of Servia and Greece for +compensation in land for the loss of Albania or for their support +of the Bulgarian operations. + +WAR BETWEEN THE ALLIES + +Thus the result of this creation of a new and needless state out +of the conquered territory by the peace-making Powers roused +hostilities among the allies which speedily flung them into a new +war. Bulgaria refused to yield any of the territory held by it +to the Servians and Greeks, and Greece in consequence made a +secret league with Servia against Bulgaria. + +It was the old story of a fight over the division of the spoils. +It is doubtful which of the contestants began hostile operations, +but Bulgaria lost no time in marching upon Salonica, held by +Greece, and in attacking the Greek and Servian outposts in +Macedonia. The plans of General Savoff, who had led the +Bulgarians to victory in the late war and who commanded in this +new outbreak, in some way fell into the hands of the Greeks and +gave them an important advantage. They at once, in junction with +the Servians, attacked the Bulgarians and drove them back. From +the accounts of the war, probably exaggerated, this struggle was +accompanied by revolting barbarities upon the inhabitants of the +country invaded, each country accusing the other of shameful +indignities. + +What would have been the result of the war, if fought out between +the original contestants, it is impossible to say, for at this +juncture a new Balkan State, which had taken no part in the +Turkish war, came into the field. This was Roumania, lying north +of Bulgaria and removed from any contact with Turkey. It had had +a quarrel with Bulgaria, dating back to 1878, concerning certain +territory to which it laid claim. This was a strip of land on +the south side of the Danube near its mouth and containing +Silistria and some other cities. + +THE FINAL SETTLEMENT + +King Charles of Roumania now took the opportunity to demand this +territory, and when his demand was refused by Ferdinand of +Bulgaria he marched an army across the Danube and took the +Bulgarians, exhausted by their recent struggle, in the rear. No +battles were fought. The Roumanian army advanced until within +thirty miles of Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, and Ferdinand was +obliged to appeal for peace, and in the subsequent treaty yielded +to Roumania the tract desired, which served to round out the +frontier on the Black Sea. + +Another unexpected event took place. While her late foes were +struggling in a war of their own, Turkey quietly stepped into the +arena, and on July 20th retook possession, without opposition, of +Adrianople, Bulgaria's great prize in the late war. + +A peace conference was held at Bukarest, capital of Roumania, +beginning July 30th, and framing a treaty, signed on August 10th. + +This provided for the evacuation of Bulgaria by the invading +armies, and also for a division of the conquered territory. +Bulgaria gained the largest amount of territory, though less than +she had claimed. Greece retained the important seaport of +Salonica, the possession of which had been hotly disputed, and +gained the largest sea front. Montenegro, though deprived of the +much-coveted Scutari, was assigned part of northern Albania and +the Turkish sanjak of Novibazar, adjoining on the east, +considerably increasing her diminutive territory. + +Servia had most reason to be dissatisfied with the result, in +view of her craving for an opening to the sea. Cut off by +Albania on the west, it sought an opening on the south, demanding +the city of Kavala, on the Aegean Sea. But to this Greece +strongly objected, as that city, one of the great tobacco marts +of the world, was inhabited almost wholly by Greeks. Servia, +however, extended southward far over its old territory, gaining +Uskub, its old capital. And the Powers also agreed that it +should have commercial rights on the Mediterranean, thorough +railroad connection with Salonica. + +As regards Turkey's shrewd advantage of the opportunity to retake +Adrianople, it proved a successful move. The Russian press +strongly advocated that the Turks should be ejected, but the +jealousy of the Powers prevented any agreement as to who should +do this and in the end the Turks remained, with a considerable +widening of the tract of land before assigned to them. + +In these wars it is estimated that 358,000 persons died, and that +the cost of the two wars, to the several nations involved, +reached a total of $1,200,000,000. Its general result was almost +to complete the work of expelling the Turks from Europe, the +territory lost by them being divided up between the several +Balkan nations. + + +Chapter XIX. METHODS IN MODERN WARFARE + +Ancient and Modern Weapons - New Types of Weapons - The Ironclad +Warship - The Balloon in War - Tennyson's Foresight - Gunning for +Airships - The Submarine - Under-Water Warfare - The New Type of +Battleship - Mobilization - The Waste of War + +One hundred years ago the Battle of Waterloo had just been fought +and Napoleon's star had set never to rise again. For years he +had swept Europe with his armies, rending the nations into +fragments, and winning world-famous victories with weapons that +no one would look for today except in a military museum, weapons +antiquated beyond all possible utility on a modern field of +battle. + +ANCIENT AND MODERN WEAPONS + +Every fresh modern war has been fought with new weapons, and +during the past century there have been countless inventions for +the carrying on of warfare in a more destructive manner, +apparently on the philanthropic theory that war should be made so +terrible that it must quickly pass away. + +But it has happened that as soon as a particularly horrible +contrivance was invented and introduced into armies and navies, +other inventors immediately set themselves to offset and discount +its probable effect. Consequently war not only has not passed +away, but we have it with us in more frightful form that ever +before. Thus it is that each big war, after being heralded as +the world's last conflagration, has proved but the herald of +another war, bigger and more death-dealing still. + +Since the Civil War in the United States, in which probably more +new features in modes of fighting were introduced than in any +conflict that had preceded it, there have been immense +improvements in arms, in armament and in general efficiency of +both armies and navies. It was the Civil War that brought into +being the turreted MONITOR, one of the greatest contributions to +naval architecture the navies of the world had then known. While +the turrets on the modern battleship are very different in +design, in armor and in arrangement from those on the old +monitors, they are nothing more than an adaptation of the +original devices. + +The same is the case with the small arms and the field guns of +the modern armies, these having been greatly improved since the +period of the Civil war. The breech-loading and even the +magazine rifle are now in use in every army, while the smallest +field piece of today is almost as efficient as the most powerful +gun in use fifty years ago. + +The first attempt to use a torpedo boat dates back to the Civil +War. A primitive contrivance it was, but it showed a possibility +in naval warfare which speedily led to the general building of +torpedo boats, and to the invention of the highly efficient +Whitehead torpedo. + +THE IRONCLAD WARSHIP + +Another lesson in warfare was taught when the ironclad MERRIMAC +and MONITOR met and fought for mastery in Hampton Roads. The +ironclad vessel was not then a new idea in naval architecture, +but its efficiency as a fighting machine was then first +demonstrated. Iron for armor soon gave way to thick and tough +steel, while each improvement in armor led to a corresponding +improvement in guns and projectiles, until now a battle at sea +has grown to be a remarkably different affair from the great +ocean combats of Nelson's time. + +But development in the art of war has not ceased with the +improvement in older types of weapons. New devices, scarcely +thought of in former wars, have been introduced. These include +the use of the balloon and aeroplane as scouting devices, of the +bomb filled with explosives of frightful rending power, and of +the submarine naval shark, designed to attack the mighty +battleships from under water. + +THE BALLOON IN WAR + +Of recent years the balloon has been developed into the +dirigible, the flying machine that can be steered and directed. +Made effective by Count Zeppelin and others, its possibilities as +an aid in war were quickly perceived. Then came the notable +invention of the Wright Brothers, and after 1904 the aeroplane +quickly expanded into an effective aerial instrument, the +probably serviceableness of which in war was evident to all. +Here we are tempted to stop and quote the remarkable prediction +from Tennyson's "Locksley Hall," the truth of which is now being +so strikingly verified: + +"For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see, +Saw the vision of the world and all the wonder that would be; +Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails, +Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales; +Heard the heavens fill with shouting, and there rained a ghastly +dew +From the nations' airy navies grappling in the central blue; +Far along the world-wide whisper of the south-wind rushing warm, +With the standards of the peoples plunging through the thunder +storm; +Till the war drum throbbed no longer, and the battle flags were +furled +In the parliament of man, the federation of the world." + +GUNNING FOR AIRSHIPS + +The airship does not float safely in the cental blue, aside from +attacks by flying foes. Guns pointing upward have been devised +to attack the daring aviator from the ground and flying machines +can thus be swiftly brought down, like war eagles shot in the +sky. Several types of guns for this purpose are in use, some to +be employed on warships or fortifications, others, mounted on +automobile trucks, for use in the field. + +The Ehrhardt gun, a German weapon, which is designed to be +mounted on an auto-truck, weighs nearly 1700 pounds. The car +carries 140 rounds of ammunition and the whole equipment in +service condition weighs more than six tons. The gun has an +extreme range at 45 degrees elevation of 12,029 yards, or more +than six miles. The sights are telescopic, a moving object can +be followed with ease, and the gun is capable of being fired very +rapidly. The British are provided with the Vickers gun, which is +mainly intended for naval use, but the military arm is also +provided with anti-balloon guns, which have great range and can +throw a three-pound shell at any high angle. Some of these guns +use incendiary shells, intended to ignite the gas in dirigibles. +There is another type that explodes shrapnel. In addition to +these, rifle fire is apt to be effective, in case of airships +coming within its range. + +Jules Vedrines, a well-known French aviator, tells this story of +his experience while doing scout duty for the French army: + +"Those German gunners surely have tried their best to get me," he +wrote. "Each night when I come back to headquarters my machine +looks more and more like a sieve because of the numerous bullet +holes in the wings. + +"I have been keeping tab on the number of new bullet holes in my +machine each day, marking each with red chalk, so that I won't +include any of the old ones in the next day's count. My best +record so far for one day is thirty-seven holes. That shows how +close the enemy has come to hitting me. My duties as scout +require me to cover various distances each day. The best record +so far in one day is 600 miles." + +THE SUBMARINE + +The submarine is another type of war apparatus, one the utility +of which promises to be very great. It is of recent origin. At +the time of the Spanish-American War there were only five +submarines in all the navies of the world, and of this number +three were in the French navy, one in Italy and one in Portugal. +The United States was building its first one, and had not decided +what type to select. At the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War +Great Britain had nine of the American (Holland) type of +submarines and was building twenty more, while France had +accumulated thirty-six of various types and of various grades of +reported efficiency, while Germany had none. In 1914 there were +nearly four hundred vessels of this type in the world's navies, +France standing first with 173. + +It was believed that the moral effect of the submarine would be +almost as important as its physical effect in dealing with an +enemy's warship, and this idea has been justified. Some persons +maintained that fights of submarines with each other might take +place, each, like the Kilkenny cats, devouring the other. But +the fact is that when submerged the submarine is as blind as the +traditional bat. Its crew cannot see any object under water, and +is compelled to resort to the use of the periscope, which emerges +unostentatiously above the water, in order to see its own course. + +It is known that the periscope is the eye of the submarine, and +naturally attention has been paid to the best way of destroying +this vital part of such boats. Recently, grappling irons have +been devised for use from dirigibles, which are expected to drag +out the periscope as the dirigible flies above it. Careful plans +for torpedoing submarines also have been made, but their +effectiveness likewise remains to be demonstrated. + +Submarine builders have naturally held the view that the +submerged boat could not be seen. But it has been discovered +that from a certain height an observer may trace the course of a +submerged submarine with as great accuracy as if it were running +on the surface. It is found that the submerged boat can readily +be seen from the dirigible and the aeroplane. On the other hand +an anti-balloon gun has been devised which can be raised from the +submarine when it comes to the surface, and used against the +hostile airship. + +UNDER-WATER WARFARE + +The submarine is supposed to have its most important field of +operation against a fleet of battleships and cruisers besieging a +seaport city. These great war craft, covered above the water- +line with thick steel armor, are vulnerable below, and a torpedo +discharged from a torpedo boat or an explosive bomb attached to +the lower hull by a submarine may send the largest and mightiest +ship to the bottom, stung to death from below. + +With this idea in view torpedo boars, destroyers designed to +attack torpedo boats and submarines have been multiplied in +modern navies. We have just begun to appreciate the +effectiveness of this type of vessels. Their possibilities are +enormous and their latent power renders the bombardment from sea +of town or fort a far more perilous operation than of old. Fired +at by the great guns of the fort capable of effective work at +eight or ten miles distance, exposed to explosive bombs dropped +from soaring airships, made a target for the deadly weapon of the +torpedo boat, and in constant risk of being stung by the +submarine wasp, these great war ships, built at a cost of ten or +more millions and peopled by hundreds of mariners, are in +constant danger of being sent to the bottom with all on board a +contingency likely to shake the nerves of the steadiest Jack Tar +or admiral on board. + +A typical submarine has a length of about 150 feet and diameter +of 15 feet, with a speed of eleven knots on the surface and five +knots when submerged. Some of the more recent have a radius of +navigation of 4,500 miles without need of a new supply of stores +and fuel. On the surface they are propelled by gasoline engines, +but when submerged they use electric motors driven by storage +batteries. If the weather should grow too rough they can sink +below the waves. + +THE NEW TYPE OF BATTLESHIP + +While the peril of the big ship has thus been increased, the size +and fighting capacity of those ships have steadily grown and at +the same time their cost, which is becoming almost prohibitive. +Taking the British navy, the leader in this field, the size of +battleships was yearly augmented until in 1907 the famous +Dreadnought appeared, looked upon at the time as the last word in +naval architecture. This great ship was of 17,900 tons +displacement and 23,000 horse-power, its armor belt eleven inches +thick, its major armament composed of ten twelve-inch guns. +There are now twenty British battleships of larger size, some +much larger. + +On shore a similar increase may be seen in the size and +effectiveness of armies and the strength of fortifications. In +all the larger nations of Europe except Great Britain the whole +able-bodied male population are now obliged to spend several +years in the army, and to be ready at a moment's notice to drop +all the avocations of peace and march to the front, ready to risk +their lives in their country's service or at the command of the +autocrat under whom they live. + +MOBILIZATION + +Mobilization is a word with strenuous significance. When it is +put into effect every able-bodied man must report without delay +for service. His name is on the army lists; if he fails to +report he is branded as a deserter. In Germany, the order to +mobilize is issued by the Emperor and is immediately sent out by +all military and civil authorities, at home or abroad. Every +person knows at once what he is required to do. Skeleton +regiments are filled out and additional regiments formed. +Simultaneously there is a levy of horses. The order reaches into +every household; into the factories, the shipyards, the hotels, +the farms, river boats, everywhere. Almost instantly the male +individuals within the prescribed ages must at once report to the +barracks to come under military discipline. Infantry, cavalry +and artillery units double and triple at once. + +This is the first step in mobilization. The second is the +transportation and concentration of forces. The railways are +seized, the telegraph and telephone systems. Mail, military, +aerial and railway services are assigned. The commissary lines +are laid and transportation provided for. With marvelous +efficiency the full fighting strength, in front and rear, is made +ready and co-ordinated. + +The psychological effect of mobilization is tremendous. In every +household home-ties are broken. The fields are stripped of men. +Industry stops. Artillery rolls through the streets, bands play. +An atmosphere of apprehension settles down on the country. + +THE WASTE OF WAR + +And the waste of it all; the criminal, unbelievable waste! +Consider the vast loss of products that is due, not only to +actual war, but to unceasing and universal preparation for war. + +It has been stated on the highest authority that during the last +decade forty per cent of the total outlay of European states has +been absorbed by the armies and navies which, when war arises, +seek in every way to destroy as much as they can of the +remainder. Commenting on this state of affairs, Count Sergius +Witte, the ablest of Russian statesmen and financiers, said in +London not long ago: + +"Sketch a picture in your mind's eye of all that those sums, if +properly spent, could effect for the nations who now waste them +on heavy guns, rifles, dreadnaughts, fortresses and barracks. If +this money were laid out on improving the material lot of the +people, in housing them hygienically, in procuring for them +healthier air, medical aid and needful periodical rest, they +would live longer and work to better purpose, and enjoy some of +the happiness or contentment which at present is the prerogative +of the few. + +"Again, all the best brain work of the most eminent men is +focused on efforts to create new lethal weapons, or to make the +old ones more deadly. For one of the arts in which cultured +nations have made most progress is warfare. The noblest efforts +of the greatest thinkers are wasted on inventions to destroy +human life. + +"When I call to mind the gold and the work thus dissipated in +smoke and sound and compare that picture with this other +villagers with drawn, sallow faces, men and women and dimly +conscious children perishing slowly and painfully of hunger I +begin to ask myself whether human culture and the white man who +personifies it are not wending toward the abyss." + +In "War and Waste" Dr. David Starr Jordan quotes the table of +Richet to show the cost of a general European war. + +Per day the French statistician figures the war's cost thus: + +Feed of men ........................................ $12,600,000 +Feed of horses ...................................... 1,000,000 +Pay (European rates) ................................ 4,250,000 +Pay of workmen in arsenals and ports ................ 1,000.000 +Transportation (sixty miles, ten days) .............. 2,100,000 +Transportation of provisions ........................ 4,200,000 +Munitions +Infantry, ten cartridges a day ................. 4,200,000 +Artillery, ten shots per day ................... 1,200,000 +Marine, two shots per day ...................... 400,000 +Equipment ........................................... 4,200,000 +Ambulances, 500,000 wounded or ill ($1 per day) ..... 500,000 +Armature ............................................ 500,000 +Reduction of imports ................................ 5,000,000 +Help to the poor (20 cents per day to one in ten) ... 6,800,000 +Destruction of towns, etc ........................... 2,000,000 + +TOTAL PER DAY ................. $49,950,000 + + + +Chapter XX. CANADA'S PART IN THE WORLD WAR + +New Relations Toward the Empire - Military Preparations - The +Great camp at Valcartier - The Canadian Expeditionary Force - +Political Effect of Canada's Action on Future of the Dominion + +The sailing of the First Canadian Contingent on October 2, 1914, +for England, en route to the theater of war, marked a noteworthy +epoch in Canadian history. For the first time the Dominion took +her place, not as a British colony, but as a component part of +the British Empire. This position was established by the +voluntary offer of expeditionary troops to be raised, equipped, +and paid by Canada for the defense of the British empire. + +For many years a movement had been on foot to bring about this +attitude on the part of the Dominion by His Majesty's government. + +No such action was taken by the Dominion in the South African +War, though a Canadian regiment was raised for the guarding of +Halifax so that the regiment of British soldiers doing garrison +duty there might be released for service at the front, and all +other troops who left Canada went simply as volunteers to join +the British army, though raised by the Dominion government. + +When the situation in South Africa reached a critical stage and +there were fears of German interference on behalf of the Boers it +became clear that the British government strongly desired a +helping hand from Canada for political reasons. It seemed a good +time to show a solid front and a united Empire. Later, on +October 3d, there came a request for 500 men from the British +Colonial Secretary. No immediate action was taken on this, but +on October 13th, the government passed an Order-in-Council for +the raising of 1,000 volunteers and providing for their equipment +and transportation. But these men were really British +volunteers, not Canadian troops, as once at the front they became +British soldiers under British pay. This contingent was known as +a "Special Service Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment of +Infantry," and did not belong in any sense to the organized +troops of the Dominion, either regular or militia, although they +approached more nearly to that status than in any previous case +of assistance given by the Dominion to the Empire. + +In the Indian Mutiny in 1857 a regiment was raised in Canada by +the British government known as the 100th Prince of Wales Royal +Canadian Regiment" and in the Empire's other wars, such as the +Crimean and the Soudanese, there were always Canadian volunteers +in the British forces. + +MILITARY PREPARATIONS + +The declaration of war by Great Britain on Germany made on the +night of August 4, 1914, found the people of the Dominion not +wholly unprepared for the situation. For some time ways of +helping the mother country had been the chief topic both in +government circles and among the people at large. This is best +instanced by the following telegram sent by His Royal Highness, +the governor-General, to the Secretary of State for the colonies, +Rt. Hon. Lewis Harcourt. + +"Ottawa, August 1, 1914 + +In view of the impending danger of war involving the Empire my +advisers are anxiously considering the most effective means of +rendering every possible aid, and will welcome any suggestions +and advice which Imperial naval and military authorities may deem +it expedient to offer. They are confident that a considerable +force would be available for service abroad, as under section +sixty-nine of Canadian Militia Act the active militia can only be +placed on active service beyond Canada for the defense thereof. +It has been suggested that regiments might enlist as Imperial +troops for a stated period, Canadian Government undertaking to +pay all necessary financial provisions for their equipment, pay +and maintenance. This proposal has not yet been maturely +considered here and my advisers would be glad to have views of +Imperial Government thereon. Arthur" + +This offer from Canada preceded similar offers from Australia, +India, South Africa and Egypt. + +The response to this came in the following cable from His +Majesty. + +"London, August 4, 1914 + +Please communicate to your ministers following message from His +Majesty the king and publish: + +'I desire to express to my people of the Overseas Dominions with +what appreciation and pride I have received the messages from +their respective governments during the last few days. These +spontaneous assurances of their fullest support recalled to me +the generous self-sacrificing help given by them in the past to +the Mother country. I shall be strengthened in the discharge of +the great responsibilities which rest upon me by the confident +belief that in this time of trial my Empire will stand united, +calm, resolute, and trusting in God. George R.I. Harcourt" + +Mr. Harcourt also cabled advising that although there was not +immediately need for an expeditionary force it would be advisable +to take all legislative and other steps necessary to the +providing of such a force in case it should be required later. + +The declaration of the war by Great Britain was officially +recognized in Canada on August 5th, in a message from the +Governor-General, beginning: + +"Whereas a state of war now exists between this country and +Germany." + +On the following day came a call to the militia for active +service and Canada had gone on record as having accepted her +responsibilities as an integral part of the Empire. She was +sending troops to help England not as volunteers who were to +become British soldiers, but as Canadian soldiers, enlisted, +clothed, armed, equipped and paid by Canadian dollars. + +Shortly after this came another cablegram from Mr. Harcourt +gratefully accepting the offer of the expeditionary force and +requesting that it be sent forward as quickly as possible. This +cablegram was supplemented by another suggesting one army +division as a suitable composition for this expeditionary force. +The terms of enlistment were to be as follows: + +"(a) For a term of one year unless war lasts longer than one +year, in which case they will be retained until war is over. If +employed with hospitals, depots of mounted units, and as clerks, +et cetera, they may be retained after termination of hostilities +until services can be dispensed with, but such retention shall in +no case exceed six months. + +"(b) To be attached to any arm of service should it be required +of them." + +An army division of war strength consists of about 22,500 men +composing all branches of the service. + +While the call to arms found Canada prepared morally and +financially, it found the country sadly unprepared from the +standpoint of equipment. It was necessary to buy or make rifles, +uniforms, guns and equipment of every description to increase the +limited supply on hand to the necessary point. The quantity and +variety of supplies required by an army division seems +mountainous to the civilian. They ran the entire gamut from shoe +laces to motor trucks, and these had to be purchased at the high +prices caused by sudden demand wherever it was possible to obtain +them in quantities with the greatest speed. + +In this great work of mobilization Canada's fine railway +organizations played a great and necessary part. With their aid +and that of many prominent men in Canadian affairs the question +of the gathering of materials at selected points went ahead +rapidly. + +The matter of enlistments held equally important sway. An order +in council authorized an army of 22,218 officers and men and the +recruiting officers wasted no time in setting about their work. +All over the Dominion men had been drilling ever since the danger +of war became acute. The organized militia was hard at work. +Volunteers were being rapidly gathered and after a thorough +medical examination were put in charge of a drill sergeant. +There was no difficulty in getting men and the recruiting +officers from the first were overwhelmed with applications. +Canada was going to the aid of the mother country, not +unwillingly, not with hesitancy, not with parsimony, but with a +great rush of enthusiasm to save the Empire, Our Empire! + +THE GREAT CAMP AT VALCARTIER + +The problem of concentrating this huge body of men soon became a +real one. A great mobilization camp was needed. A place not too +far from the Atlantic, with ample railroad facilities, large and +roomy enough for the maneuvering of large bodies of men as well +as their housing in tents, must be found. A further +qualification was that this great camp should be located in a +position of strategic importance and one which could be defended +should the necessity arise. + +Such a place was found at Valcartier, a small village some +sixteen miles from the City of Quebec on the line of the Canadian +Northern Railway. + +When the war was declared the government did not own Valcartier +and few people had ever heard of it. Soon, however, the name +began to grow more familiar with the newspapers and in a day or +two the place became government property. For the purpose it +proved ideal. + +Great expanse of level country provided an ideal maneuvering +ground. The site of the camp itself was high enough for good +drainage and the Jacques Cartier River provided an abundance of +good water. + +But with the acquisition of the ground the work had just begun. +It was necessary to erect tents for the housing of 30,000 men. A +commissary for their subsistence must be provided. Stores and +storehouses had to be rushed to the spot and there was a huge +amount of work of a more or less permanent character in the shape +of water works with many miles of piping, shower baths, drinking +troughs, an electric light plant and the like. The engineers +were called upon immediately to lay out the camp and its many +auxiliary features. A rifle range, the largest in the world, was +immediately planned and put in operation for the training of the +soldiers, for few men unacquainted with military life are able to +handle modern high-powered military rifles with any degree of +success, although the average man, under capable instructors, +rapidly becomes proficient. Artillery ranges in the Laurentian +Hills were established for the training of the field artillery. +Here the big sixty-pounders, which throw a shell for nearly five +miles, first woke the echoes. + +A great bridge-building record was made by the men of the Royal +Canadian Engineers under the direction of Major W. Bethune +Lindsay of Winnipeg. The Jacques Cartier River separates the +main camp from the artillery practice grounds at the base of +Mounts Ileene and Irene. Across this 350 feet of waterway the +Royal Canadian Engineers built within four hours a barrel-pier +pontoon bridge capable of carrying heavy batteries. The Major +and his three hundred men worked with that well-ordered +efficiency which characterizes the efforts of the British bred. +The race for the record started with the Canadian Northern +Railway. The materials barrels, planking, etc. were +freighted on to the ground with remarkable dispatch. The casks +were made watertight, the timber was made ready, the twenty-foot +bank cut down to provide an easy grade for traffic, and the +actual test was on. + +There was never a hitch. One party of men lashed the barrels to +the heavy planks, and, as soon as that operation was complete, +another party lifted the pier and carried it down the bank. +Another squad of men conveyed it on to the water, where it was +taken in charge by still another party and floated out to the +front line. The pier was drawn quickly into position, and as +many men as could work with freedom soon had the flooring spiked +down. The actual bridging commenced at eight o'clock; the span +was complete at ten minutes after twelve. The extra ten minutes +were accounted for by the fact that on one or two occasions +passing bodies of other troops necessitated a temporary cessation +of carrying operations. + +Col. Burstall, Director of Artillery at the Camp, visited the +work during the morning and expressed his astonishment at the +progress effected. Ordinarily it is a good day's work to throw a +bridge of this class across a three-hundred foot stream. Col. G. +F. Maunsell, Director General of Engineering Service in Canada, +who is attached to headquarters at Ottawa, also paid close +attention to the task and was vastly pleased with the result. +Col. Morrison, Ottawa, of the Artillery Service, hurried a gun +across the bridge when completed, establishing its efficiency at +once. Without doubt the brother officers of Major Lindsay, in +all branches of the service, were extremely gratified at the +efficiency and despatch of the men making up the Royal Canadian +Engineers at the big camp. + +Of course, the railway problem of moving the thousand or more +troop trains which were rushing from all parts of Canada to +Valcartier was a huge one. In this they had to cope with the +great quantity of supplies and equipment which was daily +forwarded. At Valcartier it was necessary for the Canadian +Northern to form a loop for the rapid handling of these trains so +that a constant stream of trains was kept continually moving in +both directions without interruption. + +Great hardships and inconveniences resulted in many cases from +the lack of proper equipment. It was colder down in Quebec than +in many other parts of the Dominion and a great many men were +without sufficient blankets to keep them warm. Uniforms were +scarce and army shoes fit for the work of drills and maneuvers +even scarcer. Gradually, however, these deficiencies were +supplied, recruits began to show amazing progress in the art of +soldiering and little by little the great camp lost its motley +appearance and became an efficient military organization in which +rigid discipline and high efficiency prevailed. In six weeks +Valcartier's 30,000 were ready, ready for England and the final +polish which was to fit them for the test of battle. They could +even have been sent to the front. It seemed that this was not +yet necessary. + +THE CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE + +But it was decided that the time had come for this great body of +troops to leave. The original plan of sending a division of +22,500 men was supplemented by the dispatch of the remaining +7,500 as a reserve to prevent the delay in getting them to the +front should the necessity arise suddenly. Members of the +government spoke of a possible second or third contingent, as +experience had taught them that it would be as easy to raise +100,000 men as it had been to raise 30,000. At a given time the +evacuation of Valcartier began. Thirty-two transports lay in the +St. Lawrence prepared to take the division to England, and soon +the first contingent began to move toward the sea. The British +fleet had cleared the ocean of all but a few scattered German +cruisers, and these were amply guarded against by the warships +which acted as escorts. And so, on the second day of October +Canada's first great pledge of loyalty left the shores of the +Dominion to go to the defense of the Empire. + +On October 15th the transports reached Plymouth, England, and +were received with greatest enthusiasm. An English newspaper, +The Western Morning News, spoke of the arrival the next morning +in the following terms: + +"The arrival of the fleet of transports with the first contingent +of Canadian forces on board was an event of good augury for the +future of the war. These splendid men have come, some of them +nearly 6,000 miles, to testify to the unity of the Empire and +take their share of the burden which rests upon Britons the world +over of being the stoutest champions of justice and liberty. +Even if their numbers were smaller we should hail their arrival +as a symbol of the solidarity of the British race, but they come +a large number in themselves, yet only the earnest of many more +to come if they are needed to help in defeating the imposition of +German tyranny and militancy on the world. The cheers they +raised for the old country as they steamed into the harbor +yesterday, and the splendid vigor and spirit they displayed, +showed they have both the will and the power to give a good +account of themselves at the front and prove worthy comrades of +the dauntless band of heroes who, under Sir John French, have won +the unstinted admiration of our French and Russian and Belgian +allies and, indeed of the whole world." + +Then followed long weeks of hard training on Salisbury Plains. +At last they were considered fit for the front and the contingent +was transported to France. Of their conduct there, under the +baptism of fire, the following letter from General French at +Headquarters of the British Army, dated March 3d, to His Royal +Highness the Duke of Connaught, is an ample testimonial. + +"The Canadian troops having arrived at the front, I am anxious to +tell your Royal Highness that they have made the best impression +on all of us. + +"I made a careful inspection of the division a week after they +came to the country, and I was very much struck by the excellent +physique which was apparent throughout the ranks. The soldierly +bearing and the steadiness with which the men stood in the ranks +(on a bleak cold snowy day) was most remarkable. + +"After two or three weeks preliminary education in the trenches, +attached by unit to the Third corps, they have now taken their +own line on the right of that corps as a complete division +and I have the utmost confidence in their capability to do +valuable and efficient service. + +"The Princess Patricia's Regiment arrived with the 27th Division +a month earlier and since then they have performed splendid +service in the trenches. + +"When I inspected them (although in pouring rain), it seemed to +me I had never seen a more magnificent looking battalion Guards +or otherwise. + +"Two or three days ago they captured a German trench with great +dash and energy and excellent results. + +"I am writing these few lines because I know how deeply we are +all indebted to the untiring and devoted efforts your Royal +Highness has personally made to ensure the despatch in the most +efficient condition of this valuable contingent." + +The first contingent had evacuated Valcartier only a short time +when the second contingent began to move toward the great +mobilization camp, for a similar process of training to that +followed in the first case. + +When the second contingent sailed away from Canada to take its +place with the allies on the battlefields of Europe, it was +accompanied by a battery of the most complete and efficient +armored motor car rapid-fire machine guns ever devised. Indeed, +they are, so far as is known, the first motor car machine guns in +the ranks of the allies in any way comparing in point of up-to- +dateness and efficiency with those now being employed by the +German army. For up till recently Germany was the only power +which had given any attention to armored motor car machine guns. +The Germans had been experimenting for several years upon this +latest development in field weapons, and when the present war +broke out they had a type of armored motor car rapid-fire gun +that has enabled them to do a kind of work that would not be done +by any other sort of artillery. Great Britain, France and +Belgium began hurriedly experimenting, and hastily put together a +number of machine guns mounted on armored motor cars. These were +but tentative weapons, however, quickly designed to meet an +exigency for which the allies had not, like the Germans, already +prepared. It has remained for Canada to evolve a type of armored +motor car battery that is said to be the most perfect and +effective that has ever been constructed. + +This ultra-modern battery of forty guns was a part of Canada's +contribution to the Empire at war. Fifteen of the guns were made +possible by the patriotic generosity of Mr. J. C. Eaton, +Toronto's well known millionaire department store owner, and were +designated as the Eaton Battery. They were completed right in +Toronto, where both the experimenting and designing were carried +on, and the cars and guns put together, under the supervision of +Mr. W. K. McNaught, C.M.G., who undertook the task of directing +the work for the government. The corps of officers and men who +man the battery had a special course of training under Capt. W. +J. Morrison at Exhibition Camp. + +It is only necessary to recall to mind certain pictures that have +appeared recently of motor car machine guns in action to realize +with what deadly effectiveness these weapons may be employed in +present-day warfare. They combine all the terrific killing power +of the rapid-fire machine gun with the swift mobility and +tirelessness of the gasoline-driven motor car. Protected behind +almost impregnable steel armor plate, the driver may dash ahead +of the advancing lines and enable the gunner, almost completely +protected, to mow down the ranks of the enemy with a sweeping +stream of rifle bullets, played along a line of men much as one +would play a stream of water from a fire hose. The car may be in +motion all this time, or may stop only for an instant, so that +the enemy has no time to train its artillery upon it. It may +dash into what would be for infantry or cavalry or ordinary +gunners the jaws of death, distribute its deadly sting, and then +dash out again unscathed. Thus it may be of incalculable service +in the field. Or it may be used in a town where whole masses of +defenders may be driven back, and the streets completely cleared +by the rapid sweep of its bullets. + +The armored motor car guns which were constructed in Toronto are +built on a motor truck chassis. The wheels are made of pressed +steel, and have heavy tires of solid rubber. All the rest of the +car is effectively covered with Harveyized steel plates, which +were severely tested. This armorplate was rolled in Canada by +Canadian workmen, and was made from iron ore mined in Nova +Scotia. + +The distinctive fighting feature of the car is the revolving +turret of this armor-plate in which the offensive apparatus is +situated. This turret rises above the four-foot armored body at +about the center of the car. In it is the new model Maxim rapid- +fire gun, mounted very strongly on an apparatus of steel and +phosphor bronze, the invention of Canadian engineers. This gun +mount really carries the revolving turret which surrounds it, and +which revolves so easily on ball bearings that a mere touch of +the hand will move it. It can make a complete revolution, so +that the gun has a clear sweep. It can be locked by means of a +lever operated by the gunner. The gunner sits on a seat fastened +to the frame which supports the turret. The running machinery of +the car which comes below the floor, is, of course, protected by +a steel skirt, which extends around the car. The machine gun is +aimed through a loop-hole in the steel turret. It can fire from +300 to 600 rifle bullets a minute, and has an effective range of +a mile and a half. The bullets are held in a belt which runs +through the gun automatically. The armor-plate on the rear of +the car is loop-holed so that rifles can be used. Each of the +machine guns has two extra barrels, the reason for this being +that with the bullets passing through the barrel so rapidly it +naturally becomes very hot, and so must be changed frequently. + +Another feature of the car is that it is protected overhead as +well as around the sides and front, and rendered immune from +shrapnel fire, missiles from aeroplanes, and dropping bullets, by +the same kind of armor-plate that is used on the sides. Thus the +drivers and all the fighting men are completely protected by +armor-plate. + +Each car, in addition to its fighting equipment, carries picks, +shovels, wire rope, repair tools and provisions. Attached to the +battery are two workshop cars, with turning lathes and repair +machines driven by motor spare parts, etc. These stay behind the +firing line. Each car carries a complement of five men, +including the two men who drive and the gunner who operates the +machine gun. The extra two ride in the rear and may use rifles +through the loop-holes. But there is no real specialization, for +each man must be competent not only as a soldier but as a +chauffeur, machinist and gunner. If there is only one man left +in the car, he must be able to operate the machine gun, run the +car, and make repairs if necessary. And he must be a man who can +keep his head, observe intelligently, and plan for himself and +his regiment. Those in charge of the recruiting for the Eaton +Battery expressed themselves as well pleased with the type of men +secured. Many had seen service before; there were several expert +telegraphers, several expert signalers, and one an ex-lieutenant +in the British navy. + +POLITICAL EFFECT OF CANADA'S ACTION ON FUTURE OF DOMINION + +As had been outlined in the early portion of this chapter, the +World War produced a result in the Dominion long sought by the +British government. From the position of a British Colony +independent in all but name and free to send or withhold military +aid, Canada has voluntarily advanced step by step in the +direction of stronger unification of the British Empire. In each +of the wars fought by Great Britain the part to be taken by +Canadian soldiers has received more and more formal recognition +from the Dominion government, advancing from a mere permission to +volunteer, through various stages to the actual enlistment, +equipment and dispatch of a purely Canadian Contingent under +Canadian officers and Canadian pay to the support of the British +Empire. + +Though each step had been in this direction few thought that +Canada would ever take such action. It has been admitted that if +Canada herself was attacked Canadians would, of course, defend +themselves to the last. It was even admitted that aid might be +sent in case of an attack on the British Isles, as a part of the +Empire, but so far as to raise an army to take part in a campaign +in Europe seemed far beyond the range of imagination. + +Notwithstanding this, however, the Dominion has made the move +without hesitation and in so doing has established a precedent +which is apt to prove of huge importance in the future history of +the Dominion. + +Great Britain's enemies must consider not merely a war on Great +Britain but a war on the British Empire, for Canada as well as +Australia, India, South Africa and Egypt, having once sent aid +could not again refuse it and make their position tenable. The +Empire now presents a solid front to the world and her strength +is vastly increased hy the loyalty and devotion of the Overseas +Dominions. + +This military unity must also produce results in other directions +tending toward a closer union between the Dominion and the Mother +country. We venture to predict that the future will witness a +strengthening of the bonds of loyalty, of commercial and +educational ties without the least abatement of the complete +autonomy enjoyed by the great Dominion. + +End of the Project Gutenberg etext of A History of The Nations +and Empires Involved and a Study of the Events Culminating in The +Great Conflict + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of: +A History of The Nations and Empires Involved and a Study +of the Events Culminating in The Great Conflict by Marshall + diff --git a/old/3779.zip b/old/3779.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8ba69d2 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/3779.zip |