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diff --git a/3779-0.txt b/3779-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4978191 --- /dev/null +++ b/3779-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11040 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of The World War, by Logan Marshall + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: The World War + A History of the Nations and Empires Involved and a Study of the Events Culminating in the Great Conflict + +Author: Logan Marshall + +Release Date: February 1, 2003 [eBook #3779] +[Most recently updated: May 6, 2023] + +Language: English + +Produced by: Theresa Armao + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WORLD WAR *** + + + + +[Illustration] + +The World War + +A History of +The Nations and Empires Involved and +a Study of the Events Culminating in +The Great Conflict + +by Logan Marshall + + + + +PREFACE + + +When the people of the United States heard the news of the +assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of +Austria-Hungary, and his wife in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June 28, 1914, it +was with a feeling of great regret that another sorrow had been added +to the many already borne by the aged Emperor Francis Joseph. 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’état 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—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 + +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—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 +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 + +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 +territorial 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 nine 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 $1,700,000,000 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 +Great 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 £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 Great 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 + + +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 +of 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 + +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’état 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’état 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 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 + +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 waterline 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 EBOOK THE WORLD WAR *** + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the +United States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ +concept and trademark. 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