AFTER THE ARMISTICE
NAVAL DIPLOMACY PREVENTED CLASH IN FORMER AUSTRIAN TERRITORY
AND STABILIZED CONDITIONS IN DISTURBED AREAS--ANDREWS IN THE
ADRIATIC--BRISTOL AT CONSTANTINOPLE--MC CULLY'S CONFIDENTIAL
MISSION TO RUSSIA--MISSIONS OF ROOSEVELT AND BENSON--SHIPS AND MEN
SERVED AS ALMONERS TO THE STARVING.
Men in the fighting line were full of solemn thanksgiving the day the
armistice was signed. At home we built bonfires and rejoiced. In Paris
the celebration was a jubilee. It meant home to the Americans, with
eyes turned toward our shores, coming back to firesides with the sense
of a hard duty finished with honor.
Much has been heard since November 11, 1918, of regret that war was not
continued until Berlin was captured. There was no such feeling on the
front line on that glad day in November. The Allies could have gone on
to Berlin, but the victory would have been no greater, only costlier
in lives. Those who think that the troops should have been ordered "On
to Berlin," instead of accepting the victory through the terms of the
armistice, ought to recall the statement by Marshal Foch. When the
terms had been drawn up, one of the American Peace Commissioners asked
General Foch whether he would rather the Germans would reject or accept
the armistice that had been drawn up. The commander of the Allied
armies answered:
The only aim of war is to obtain results. If the Germans sign an
armistice on the general lines we have just determined we shall
have obtained the result we seek. Our aims being accomplished, no
one has the right to shed another drop of blood.
But the armistice did not end naval operations in Europe. It changed
them and lessened the number of ships and men required. The terms
of the armistice were to be carried out. The Second Division of the
American Expeditionary Forces, commanded by General Lejeune, now head
of the Marine Corps, composed of men of the Army and the Marine Corps,
was sent to Germany as part of the Army of Occupation.
The starving had to be fed, and the Americans alone had the food and
the organization. Everywhere in Europe there was the reaction from long
strain. Having put our hands to the plow, we could not turn back until
stable conditions were restored. And there were problems more difficult
than those confronted in war.
When I reached Paris in March, 1919, the conditions in the Adriatic had
reached an acute state. Vice-Admiral Niblack, the senior Allied officer
charged with carrying out the armistice agreements on the Adriatic,
came to Paris, and outlined to me the imminence of such clashes as
later occurred at Trau, and such coups as that of D'Annunzio at Fiume,
unless the authority of the Allied Council was promptly invoked. He
had recently succeeded Rear Admiral W. H. G. Bullard on the Adriatic
Mission. Before leaving Spalato, where he maintained headquarters,
Admiral Niblack, in concert with other Allied commanders, had
established a shore patrol, because of the fear of an outbreak. By the
terms of the armistice, an Allied Naval Mission was created, and the
Americans were given oversight over a stretch of ex-Austrian territory
about three hundred miles long on the Dalmatian coast, embracing the
ancient towns of Trau and Spalato. Admiral Niblack urged that the
duties and rights of the Italians and Jugo-Slavs be set forth and their
observance enforced.
It was a tense time. I had just returned from Rome as the guest of
the Italian Navy, where American and Italian admirals exchanged views
upon future naval problems and the future type of naval craft. In both
nations there was the earnest desire to strengthen and cement the
American and Italian friendship, jeopardized by the situation on the
Dalmatian coast. I had scarcely finished my interview with Admiral
Niblack, who felt the need of prompt action to prevent trouble in the
Adriatic, when I received a visit from Count V. Macchi Cellere, the
Italian Ambassador to the United States. He had felt the approaching
disagreement between Wilson and Orlando and had hurried to Paris to
make an earnest effort to avert it. A charming gentleman, who loved
his country passionately, he had a sincere attachment for the United
States, where he was highly esteemed. He sensed that, if President
Wilson did not approve Italy's claims on the Adriatic, the people
of his country would feel deep disappointment. He foresaw that the
sincere admiration of the Italians for President Wilson, as shown on
his visit to Rome, would be turned into resentment. He was deeply moved
in his appeal in advocacy of the position of his country, which he
pressed with great earnestness. He believed in his soul that if the
aspirations of the Jugo-Slavs were approved and they obtained important
bases on the Adriatic, such settlement would prove disastrous to his
country. Knowing my regard for Italy and his countrymen, and assured
of my personal friendship, he felt free to speak without reserve. I
never saw him after the break at Paris, but I knew his disappointment
was poignant. When he died, not long afterwards, at Washington, I
had the honor to send his body home on an American dreadnaught with
distinguished escort, a token of American regard for Italy and its
diplomatic representative.
When, during the command of Rear Admiral Philip Andrews, who served two
years in charge of our naval forces in the Adriatic, as well as the
American member of the Allied Armistice Commission, the shore patrol
was removed, the duty of preserving order fell on the Serbs. Their
central authority was light and order was not always preserved. Though
there was no real authority for it, the American naval force was the
real factor in maintaining order. Admiral Andrews came to be recognized
by common consent as the controlling influence in that zone in the
early days when authority was feeble. That country being ex-Austrian
territory, some one did at times have to exercise authority. Our naval
representative was looked upon to do this, and exercised it principally
by moral force and fair dealing. His leadership was recognized, even
demanded, by the Allies and by the Jugo-Slav government at Belgrade.
[Illustration: FROM MANILA TO THE ADRIATIC
The Olympia, once Dewey's flagship at Manila, was flagship of Rear
Admiral Philip Andrews (inset) in the Adriatic.]
[Illustration: THE SCORPION, ONLY AMERICAN NAVAL VESSEL INTERNED DURING
THE WAR
Interned by the Turks, she was later used as station ship at
Constantinople by Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol (inset), High
Commissioner at Constantinople.]
He promoted trade between the Italians and Jugo-Slavs, the first
transaction being made on his flagship, the historic _Olympia_. That
opened the door to better understanding. He was in direct touch with
the governments at Rome and Belgrade and was in a very real sense the
friendly mediator. His duties were mainly diplomatic, and he exercised
the good offices of his country so impartially and fairly as to secure
and maintain peace and business dealings. This was made possible, of
course, through earnest friendly intervention, whose disinterested
nature was soon recognized, and the judgment, ability, poise and
courtesy of Admiral Andrews. In proof of his impartiality and the
appreciation of both nations, he was decorated both at Belgrade and
Rome.
It was only the wise and prompt action of Captain David F. Boyd, of
our Navy, that saved the situation when Trau was captured by soldiers
from the Italian Zone, September 23, 1920. They crossed the armistice
line without Italian authority and surprised and captured the small
Serbian guard. This imitation of D'Annunzio's _coup_ was short-lived.
Captain Boyd, after agreement with the Italian admiral, put the
offending Italian army captain and soldiers in an Italian motor boat,
and turned them over to an Italian naval officer. The situation was so
acute that Captain Boyd's service called for this high commendation
from Vice Admiral Knapp: "The whole affair was most creditably handled
and the very prompt action of Captain Boyd, in my opinion, undoubtedly
prevented a very serious incident which might have resulted in open
warfare between Italians and Serbians." Admiral Andrews thought that,
but for the action in securing the withdrawal of the Italians so
promptly, "the Serbs would have killed them all, and a small war would
have been started."
War between the other Allies and Italians was narrowly averted at
Fiume at the time of the D'Annunzio _coup_. The French and British
had troops ashore, and there were Allied ships in the harbor, Admiral
Andrews having with him on his flagship Major General C. P. Summerall,
U. S. A. The question was whether the Allied troops would drive out
the D'Annunzio forces or withdraw. They were disinclined to withdraw.
Admiral Andrews urged withdrawal on the ground that, as it was the
Italian regulars who had let D'Annunzio's troops into the city, it
was the duty of Italy to get them out and not the duty of the Allies
to make war in order to expel them. This course opened the way for
continued Allied friendship after the passing of the storm.
Though he had no control on land, the American Admiral was looked to by
the people for guidance. They not only respected him but he won their
regard as he won the approval of the Allies and the plaudits of his
countrymen. The children flocked about him. They had not seen sugar
or sweets for four or five years. As he traveled about the country
from Spalato, Admiral Andrews always took with him plenty of cakes of
chocolate for the children. They welcomed the chocolate and as his car
would go from place to place, the happy children would call out: "Here
comes the Chocolate Admiral," in terms of gratitude and affection.
"At that time," wrote a navy officer, "President Wilson was venerated
by the Jugo-Slavs. They were always appealing to him through Admiral
Andrews. He was to them an idol, able and willing to redress all
wrongs, and all powerful. The only way President Wilson was known to
the children was as the owner of a chocolate factory, whose chocolate
was dispensed by the Admiral as his agent."
The duties assigned the Navy in the Near East were largely diplomatic,
though naval vessels carried on, and still carry on, the work of mercy
begun by the Navy in 1914 when the _Tennessee_ carried persecuted Jews
and others from Turkey to places of safety. Our ships were employed
in these waters, whenever occasion made it possible, in carrying food
and clothing to suffering peoples. Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol, in
command of the naval forces in Turkish waters during the early days of
transition, was appointed by the President of the United States, in
August, 1919, as High Commissioner at Constantinople. The unsettled
conditions and the fact that our country had recognized no government
in Turkey made the selection of a naval officer the best agency for
the protection of Americans and American interests, the hastening of
stability, and helpfulness to those in dire need.
As naval commander in these important waters, Admiral Bristol
maintained a system of communications, sometimes stationing vessels at
various points as radio traffic ships, and operated vessels on regular
schedules for relief work, for transporting army officers and members
of recognized philanthropic societies to ports where their duties
demanded their presence, or where stores were needed for the immediate
sustenance of the impoverished inhabitants. During the severe fighting
in southern Russia, he aided in evacuating Americans, non-combatants
and sick and wounded.
As High Commissioner, he performed the varied duties of an ambassador,
commercial representative and shipping expert at Constantinople, where
all roads meet and all nationalities struggle for trade and power. Like
other American naval officers on duty in Europe since the armistice,
he illustrated the best traditions of naval capacity by the wise
performance of the varied diplomatic duties entrusted to them. They did
this so well that Lord Palmerston's estimate of a British naval officer
was proved to be true of American officers. "When I have a hard job to
be done anywhere in the world, calling for a clear head and a steady
hand," said Palmerston. "I send a captain of the Navy."
Conditions in Russia were chaotic and deplorable. Rear Admiral
Newton A. McCully, who had first been naval attaché at Petrograd and
afterwards in command of Naval Forces in Northern Russian Waters,
was ordered to Southern Russia upon a confidential mission after the
armistice. This was done at the request of the State Department.
Admiral McCully speaks the Russian language like a native. He is
trusted and esteemed by Russians and he reciprocates their regard.
He was not accredited to any Russian government. His reports were
invaluable in keeping the American authorities and the Allies
acquainted with the rapidly changing conditions in that disturbed
region in a period when practically no other accurate information could
be obtained. In addition to that diplomatic duty, Admiral McCully
was instrumental in safeguarding the lives of Americans, and in
ameliorating the conditions of Russians and aiding in their evacuation.
Upon his return to America, he brought with him half a dozen Russian
children to whom he is giving a home and training--a beautiful evidence
of his friendship to the country and his distress at the plight of its
children.
The story of naval aid in north Russia, while not conspicuous, was a
blessing in chaotic days and afforded protection and assistance in
varied ways. The _Galveston_ and _Chester_ arrived in Archangel in
April, 1919, with Brigadier General W. P. Richardson and a detachment
of the 167th Railway Transportation troops to assist in the withdrawal
of American forces. The _Des Moines_, the _Yankton_, the _Sacramento_
and a number of eagle boats and sub-chasers came later, and in May
the _Des Moines_ managed to get through the ice at the cost of a
few hundred feet of copper sheathing. They did excellent service as
despatch boats, and brought provisions and comforts and doctors.
All American troops had been withdrawn from advanced positions, and
all the troops, except a very small detachment, were withdrawn from
Northern Russia in June. Then the withdrawal of naval ships began, the
last one, the _Des Moines_, leaving in August, taking out the last
of the Americans. Prior thereto, after our Ambassador, Hon. David R.
Francis, had, even in illness, exhausted every effort to serve Russia
and the world's peace, the _Olympia_ gave him passage to England
on his way home. This was only one of the many services of Dewey's
flagship in the war. Dewey and the _Olympia_ were the link between
the Spanish-American and the World War. Under Dewey's leadership the
plans for war with Germany were made before we entered the war. His old
flagship was the ship of service during the war, of diplomacy in Europe
after the war, particularly in the Adriatic, and was often the bearer
of food to starving peoples.
The duty of almoner by America after the armistice endeared our country
to all Europeans, particularly those in distress. The Navy not only
transported and distributed supplies but also took over the repair and
operation of the telegraph and telephone, the operation of wireless,
and made possible communication by trained radio men and other naval
personnel. "I do not see how we could have carried on the work without
the wonderful help of the Navy," said Mr. Herbert Hoover, who was
telling me in Paris in March, 1919, of the splendid service of navy men
in the countries devastated by war.
In December, 1920, Russian refugees began arriving at Cattaro in
the lower Adriatic. There was no one to give them immediate help but
the Americans. Admiral Andrews sent the _Olympia_ and wired to Paris
for doctors, money and nurses, and hurried them to the place by fast
destroyers. They fed and organized the first 8,000. There was no food
but ours. There were some soldiers, but most of the refugees were old
men and women and children. Many died coming from Constantinople.
Fortunately the American Red Cross was near, and it is safe to say that
but for the American Navy and the American Red Cross, there would have
been thousands of deaths from typhus alone and that disease would have
spread all over the Balkans and Central Europe.
In November, 1918, Assistant Secretary Franklin D. Roosevelt went to
Europe to expedite settlements with Allied governments and speed up
the return of American ships and men. During the war we had agreements
with them not reduced to writing, and these called for adjustment.
Mr. Roosevelt was accompanied by Assistant Attorney General Thomas
J. Spellacy and Commander J. M. Hancock, of the Supply Corps. All
negotiations were satisfactorily completed, demobilization hastened,
and excess material sold or salvaged. The most important of these
transactions was perfecting the sale to the French Government of the
high power radio station built in France by our Navy and named for
Lafayette.
In October, 1918, Admiral Benson, making his second official visit to
Europe during the war, sailed for France to attend sessions of the
Allied Naval Conference and to take part in the arrangements leading
up to the armistice and the fixing of naval terms in that instrument.
He remained until the following summer as the naval adviser to the
American Peace Mission. With a competent staff, he was enabled to give
information and advice to the President and the Peace Mission. Upon his
arrival, Benson took his place as the American naval representative on
the Allied Naval Council. Admiral Sims, who had served on the Council
in the absence of Benson, having completed his duties at London,
returned to the United States in the spring of 1919. He was succeeded
by Rear Admiral Harry S. Knapp, who was later promoted to Vice
Admiral. Upon his retirement, Admiral H. McL. P. Huse succeeded to the
assignment, and in 1920 Vice Admiral Niblack became the commander of
American forces in European waters.
In Paris in 1919 I held informal conferences with Admirals
Benson, Knapp, Niblack, Griffin, Taylor, Earle and Long, and with
representatives of Allied nations touching problems affecting the
future naval programs of the nations. At that time the world believed
that with the adoption of the peace treaty, naval and military policies
would be radically changed. It was confidently expected that the
countries would unite to reduce the burdens of armament which the war
had shown menaced world peace.
Admiral A. S. Halstead, who had succeeded Admiral Wilson at Brest,
supervised the naval duty of returning the soldiers, continuing on duty
until embarkation had been completed. Other officers in all parts of
Europe remained in connection with the shipping and the other tasks
which the Navy was called upon to perform.
The last gigantic task had to do with the greatest American
contribution to the war--the sweeping up of the mines planted in the
North Sea as the effective barrier against the egress of submarines.
This was a hazardous undertaking, involving the loss of men and ships,
but fewer lives were lost than any had dared to hope. By November,
1919, the 89 ships assigned to that drab and dangerous duty, with their
officers and men, were in home waters.
Thus the task of the Navy in the World War came to an end. The officers
and men serving overseas had forged friendships with their comrades
of the mist which will always gladden their lives. As they raised the
"homeward bound" pennant, they were cheered by the consciousness of a
great task well ended and by the thanks of grateful peoples for all
they had done.
Coming in sight of the Statue of Liberty, its steady rays lighting
their course, they found awaiting them the welcome reserved only for
those who love liberty more than life.