THE WAR IN 1914
GERMAN PLAN OF ATTACK.--As soon as the German leaders had determined
upon war, their military machine was set in motion. The plan was first
to attack France and crush her armies before the slow-moving Russians
could get a force together; and then, after the defeat of France, to
turn to the east and subdue Russia. The success of the plan was
dependent upon the swift overthrow of France; and this in turn hinged
upon the question as to whether German armies could invade France before
the French were ready. Speed was the essential thing, and in order to
gain speed Germany committed one of the greatest crimes in modern
history.
From the nearest point on the German boundary to Paris is only one
hundred and seventy miles. But no rapid invasion of France could be made
in this direction for two reasons: first, because of the very strong
forts which protected the French frontier; and second, on account of the
nature of the land, which presents to the east a series of five easily
defended ridges, each of which would have to be stormed by an invader. A
German attack directly across the French frontier could move but slowly
past these natural and military obstacles; and the French nation would
have ample time to mobilize its forces.
Consequently the German military leaders determined to attack France
from the northeast. Here a comparatively level plain stretched from
Germany through Belgium and France up to Paris itself. Many good roads
and railways traversed the land. Few natural barriers existed to aid the
defenders, and France, trusting to the neutrality of Belgium, had no
strong fortifications on her northeastern frontier. One obstacle to
German invasion existed; it was what the German Chancellor once[2]
called "a scrap of paper"--a promise to respect the neutrality of
Belgium, which Prussia, France, and England had agreed to by formal
treaties. Similar treaties guaranteed the neutrality of Luxemburg, a
small country east of Belgium. Upon these promises France had depended
for the protection of her northeastern border; for the German Empire had
accepted all the rights and all the duties of the treaties made by
Prussia. But now, under the plea of necessity which "knows no law," the
German rulers determined to break their promises, violate the neutrality
of Belgium and Luxemburg, and crush France before an aroused and alarmed
world could interfere.
BELGIUM BLOCKS THE GERMAN PLAN.--The invasion of Belgium had two
results which the Germans had not foreseen. In the first place, it
brought Great Britain immediately into the war to the aid of Belgium
and France. In the second place, the Belgian king and people refused to
be bought off with a promise of compensation; they made the high
decision to defend their country as long as possible against the
terrible German army-machine. Said the Belgian king: "A country which
defends itself commands the respect of all; that country cannot perish."
This action of Belgium disarranged the German army plans; instead of
reaching Paris according to schedule, the Germans were delayed in
Belgium for ten days. These ten days were full of horror and suffering
and defeat for the brave Belgians; but they are precious days in the
light of history. They gave time for the French to mobilize their armies
and bring them up to the northeast; and they enabled Great Britain to
send across the English Channel her first hundred thousand troops. In
this way Paris was saved from capture, and France from conquest; and
probably the whole world from German domination. The German plans for
world conquest met their first defeat at the hands of brave little
Belgium. The would-be conquerors had forgotten to include in their
time-table the elements of honor, patriotism, and self-sacrifice.
[Illustration: THE WESTERN FRONT 1914]
THE GERMAN ADVANCE.--Luxemburg was occupied without resistance, for
that little country had no army. On August 4, 1914, the German armies
attacked the Belgian fortress of Liege (lee-ĕzh´), and within
twenty-three days Belgium was overrun, its capital taken, and all the
important places except Antwerp captured. After the delay in Belgium,
the main German armies advanced into France. Here they were met (August
21-23) by French and British troops; but the defenders were not yet
strong enough to stop the German advance. For twelve days they fell back
toward Paris, fighting continually, until the invaders were within
twenty miles of the city. The French government and archives were
withdrawn from Paris to Bordeaux in the southwest, so imminent seemed
the capture of the capital. The battle line now extended for one hundred
and seventy-five miles eastward from near Paris to the fortress of
Verdun.
THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE.--In the meantime the French commander,
General Joffre (zhofr), had secretly been collecting another army with
which to attack the invaders on the flank from the west. At the right
moment he hurled this army upon the German flank, while the men on the
main battle line were commanded to "face about and accept death rather
than surrender." On September 6-10 took place the first great battle of
the Marne, during which the Germans, under these new attacks, were
compelled to retreat fifty miles from their most advanced position. The
French armies had rescued Paris in the nick of time. The French
government once more returned to its capital. "France had saved herself
and Europe."
THE RACE TO THE COAST.--On reaching the river Aisne (ân) the German
armies had time to entrench themselves and thus beat off the heavy
attacks of the French and British (September 12-17). The Allied armies
in turn began to entrench opposite the German positions. But both armies
turned toward the north in a race to reach the North Sea and outflank
the enemy. The Germans were particularly anxious to reach Calais
(ca-lĕ´) and cut the direct line of communication between England and
France. Antwerp surrendered to the Germans on October 9; Lille (leel) on
the 13th. In tremendous massed attacks the Germans sought in vain to
break through the British lines (Battle of Flanders, October 17 to
November 15). The German losses were upwards of 150,000 men. On the
coast the Belgians cut the dikes of the river Yser (ī´ser) and flooded
the neighboring lowlands, thus putting a stop to any further advance of
the enemy.
TRENCH WARFARE.--By this time the combatants had reached a temporary
deadlock. Both had adopted trench tactics, and for over three hundred
miles, from the sea to the Swiss border, two systems of entrenchments
paralleled one another. The trenches were protected in front by
intricate networks of barbed wire. Looked at from above, the trenches
seemed to be dug with little system. But they rigidly adhered to one
military maxim,--that fortifications must not continue in a straight
line, because such straight trenches are liable to be enfiladed from
either end. Hence the trenches curve and twist, with here and there
supporting trenches and supply trenches. Sometimes the trenches are
covered; sometimes dugouts and caves are constructed. Every turn or
corner is protected with machine-guns. In some portions of the line
these trenches faced one another for over four years with scarcely any
change in their relative locations.
GERMAN TREATMENT OF OCCUPIED TERRITORY.--Eastward of the German
trenches lay all of Belgium except a very small corner, and the richest
manufacturing districts of France, including eighty per cent of the
iron and steel industries, and fifty per cent of the coal. On the other
hand the Allies had occupied only a small section of German territory at
the southern end of the line, in Alsace.
German occupation of Belgium and northeastern France was accompanied by
horrible barbarities and systematic frightfulness, which were in
violation of the Hague Conventions as well as of other laws and usages
of civilized warfare. The aim at first was to terrorize the people and
reduce them to a condition of fear and of servility to the conquerors.
Men and women were executed without adequate evidence or trial; many
German soldiers were quartered in the homes; at the slightest sign of
resistance innocent persons were punished for the guilty; immense fines
and forced contributions were imposed upon the communities; furniture,
works of art, beautiful buildings, and historic structures were
ruthlessly pillaged and destroyed. In the second place, the Germans
began a systematic plundering of the occupied country, taking for
transportation to Germany anything they deemed useful or valuable.
Nearly every article made of metal, wool, rubber, or leather was seized.
Machinery from Belgian and French factories was taken to German
establishments. Households were compelled to surrender bathtubs, door
knobs and knockers, kitchen utensils, gas fixtures, bedclothes, etc.
Food, farm animals, and farm products were confiscated; and the
population was saved from actual starvation only by the energies of
Belgium's friends in France, England, and America. At a later time, a
third policy of the Germans was to drag Belgian and French young men and
women away from their families and relatives and compel them to work far
from their homes in factories, fields, and mines. Probably more than two
hundred thousand persons were forced into this industrial slavery.
Finally, where the Germans were forced to retire from the lands they had
occupied in northern France and in Belgium, they sought to reduce much
of the evacuated territory to a desert condition. Not only were bridges
and roads destroyed, but houses, factories, and churches were leveled to
the ground, and the foundation walls and cellars were obliterated. In
some parts of France even the fruit trees and grapevines, the product of
many years' growth and care, were systematically destroyed, and
everything which might make the land habitable disappeared.
THE WAR IN THE EAST.--As has already been explained, the German
military leaders had counted upon a rapid crushing of France by way of
Belgium before Russia should have time to complete her military
preparations for attacking eastern Germany. But during the time lost
through the unexpected resistance of Belgium huge Russian armies were
gathered together in Russian Poland for an invasion of Germany and
Austria-Hungary.
The western border of Russian Poland is less than two hundred miles from
Berlin. But Russia could not advance along this road without running
the risk of having the Germans from the north and the Austrians from the
south cut off her armies from their sources of supply in Russia. In
other words, Russia dared not advance on Berlin without first driving
the Germans out of East Prussia and the Austrians from Galicia. Hence
the plan of her campaign in 1914 was to invade these two provinces.
[Illustration: EASTERN FRONT Dec. 31, 1914]
BATTLE OF TANNENBERG.--Two Russian armies entered East Prussia in the
middle of August. At first they met with success. The nature of the
country, however, was against them, as there was a chain of almost
impassable lakes, marshes, and rivers stretching across their route. In
this difficult territory they were surprised by German reinforcements
which had been rushed to the east. In the battle of Tan´nenberg (August
26-31), the German troops under the command of General von Hindenburg
inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Russians, capturing 70,000 men and
large quantities of supplies. Hindenburg followed up his success, and
the Russians were completely expelled from East Prussia.
THE RUSSIANS OVERRUN GALICIA.--The second part of the Russian plan,
the invasion of Galicia, was more successful. In September the important
city of Lemberg was taken, and the fortress of Przemysl (pshem´ishl) was
besieged. By December almost the whole province was in Russian hands.
South of Galicia, separating it from Hungary, are the Carpathian
Mountains. Russian troops penetrated the passes of this mountain wall
and conducted a series of successful raids upon the plains of northern
Hungary.
THE RUSSIAN SITUATION AT THE CLOSE OF 1914.--At the end of the year
Russia, while she had achieved success in Galicia, had failed in East
Prussia. An advance toward Berlin was for the time out of the question.
Indeed the Germans had themselves taken the offensive and had entered
Russian Poland. In October an advance of German and Austrian troops
threatened Warsaw, the most important city in Poland. The Russians in
spite of strong efforts were unable to drive their enemies entirely out
of this region. On the whole, therefore, the Russian situation at the
end of 1914 was disappointing. Russia's accomplishment consisted of her
victories in Galicia, and, probably more important, the drawing of
German troops from the western front and the consequent weakening of
Germany's offensive in France and Belgium. Russia was no farther on the
road to Berlin than at the opening of the war.
SERBIAN RESISTANCE TO AUSTRIA.--An Austrian attempt to overwhelm
Serbia in the first weeks of the war met with disastrous failure. This
was due to two causes: (1) the brave resistance of the Serbian troops;
(2) the fact that the greater part of the Austrian forces had to be used
for defense against the Russian invaders of Galicia. Serbia after severe
fighting compelled the Austrians to retreat beyond their own boundaries.
Early in September the Serbians took the offensive and began an invasion
of Austria-Hungary. This venture failed, and before long Serbia was once
more resisting the enemy on her own soil. Belgrade fell into Austrian
hands on December 2. It did not long remain in the possession of the
conquerors. On the 14th, it was regained by the Serbians, and the
Austrian armies once more expelled. The little Balkan kingdom seemed to
be holding her own.
TURKEY ENTERS THE WAR.--In the years before the war, Germany had
carefully cultivated the friendship of the Turkish government. By means
of intrigue, she had practically made herself master of that country,
particularly in military matters. The Turkish army had been trained by
Germans, and many of its officers were Germans. Although at the opening
of the war Turkey declared herself neutral, she soon showed herself an
ally of the Central Powers. There is evidence to show that as early as
August 4 she had entered into a secret treaty with Germany. In October
Turkey startled the world by bombarding a Russian port on the Black Sea
and destroying French and Russian vessels at Odessa. These acts were
regarded by Russia as acts of war. A few days later France and Great
Britain declared war on Turkey.
[Illustration: GERMAN COLONIES and locations of early naval
engagements.]
Germany welcomed the entrance of Turkey into the war for two reasons. In
the first place she expected that the Mohammedans under English and
French rule, that is, those living in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and
India, would join the Turkish Sultan, the religious head of the
Mohammedan world, and engage in a "Holy War" against Great Britain and
France. In this hope she was doomed to disappointment. In the second
place Germany rejoiced at the arrival of a new enemy for Russia who
might keep the Russians occupied along their southern borders and so
weaken their efforts on other fronts.
GERMAN COLONIES IN THE PACIFIC.--During the first four months of the
war all of Germany's possessions in the Pacific were lost to her. On the
outbreak of the war, Australia and New Zealand promptly organized
expeditionary forces which attacked and captured the German colonies and
coaling stations situated south of the Equator. German Samoa, the first
to be taken, surrendered to the New Zealand expeditionary force August
29. The other German possessions in the South Pacific surrendered to the
Australians.
England's ally, Japan, having entered the war August 23, 1914, sent an
expeditionary force which captured and occupied the German islands in
the North Pacific. Kiaochow (kyou´chō´), Germany's only colony in China,
was captured by a combined Japanese and British force early in November.
The loss of these colonies so early in the war interfered seriously with
German plans for a war on Allied commerce by fast cruisers. In the
absence of German coaling stations, the only way such vessels could
obtain coal during a long raiding voyage, would be by the chance capture
of coal-laden vessels.
GERMAN COLONIES IN AFRICA.--During the last quarter century Germany
had succeeded in getting control of considerable territory in Africa.
There were few German colonists there. However, Germany hoped that the
Boers, who had recently fought a war with the British, and had been
defeated, would attempt to regain their independence. In this case there
was also the possibility of capturing Cape Colony and Rhodesia from the
British. Much to the surprise and disgust of Germany, the Boers promptly
showed their loyalty to Great Britain and aided in capturing the German
colonies.
The struggle for Germany's African colonies continued for more than
three years. Togo, a comparatively small colony, was captured by French
and British troops shortly after the outbreak of the war. Under the Boer
leaders, Generals Smuts and Botha, German Southwest Africa was conquered
by July of 1915. Kamerun in West Africa was freed from German forces in
1916. The final chapter in the fight for the German colonies was written
in December of 1917, when an army from British South Africa, in
coöperation with Belgian forces, completed the conquest of German East
Africa.
GERMANY'S FLEET.--When war was declared the German fleet, which had
cost the people of Germany a billion and a half of dollars, was
something less than two thirds the strength of the British fleet.
Germany's task was to destroy the British fleet or to weaken it to such
an extent that it could no longer protect the British trade in food and
munitions from over seas, nor assure the safe transport of troops from
Great Britain or her colonies to the various fronts.
THE WORK OF THE BRITISH NAVY.--The British navy had two pieces of work
to perform. In the first place its aim was to destroy or bottle up in
port the main German fleet so that it should not be able to interfere
with the British plans for the war. In the second place squadrons had to
be sent out to search for and destroy German squadrons or vessels that
were far from home ports at the outbreak of war or that were sent out to
raid British and neutral commerce.
COAST PROTECTION.--Both Great Britain and Germany protected their
coasts by laying fields of mines in the sea so placed that they would
float just under water and arranged to explode on contact with the hull
of a ship. Through these mine fields carefully hidden channels gave
access to the different ports. So long as ships stayed in port or
inside the fields of mines they were safe from attack.
THE BLOCKADE OF GERMAN PORTS.--In July, 1914, the British navy had a
grand review. When the review was over, the war clouds were so
threatening that the vessels were not dismissed to their stations. At
the beginning of the war Great Britain announced a blockade of German
ports and assigned to her main fleet the task of carrying out the
blockade.
THE BATTLE OF HELGOLAND BIGHT.--Hel´goland is a small island rising
steeply out of the North Sea; it has an area of one fifth of a square
mile. It was ceded to Germany by England about twenty years before the
war. Germany had fortified it and made it a sort of German Gibraltar to
protect her chief naval ports. The Bight of Helgoland is the passage
about eighteen miles wide between the island and the German coast. Here
a portion of the British fleet engaged in patrol or scout duty came in
contact with a part of the German fleet (August 28, 1914). The arrival
of four fast British battleships decided the contest. Germany lost three
cruisers and two destroyers, while every British vessel returned to
port, though some were badly battered.
GERMAN COMMERCE RAIDERS.--A few days before the outbreak of the war
the German fleet in China slipped out of port. The cruiser "Emden" was
detached for work in the Indian Ocean, and the rest of the squadron
raided over the Pacific. November 1, a British squadron met the German
ships near the coast of Chile. In a little over an hour two of the
British ships had been sunk and the remainder fled to the south.
Immediately on news of the defeat the British Admiralty sent a squadron
of seven powerful ships to find and destroy the German squadron. The
British vessels stopped at the Falkland Islands to coal. The next day
the German ships appeared. When they saw the strength of the British
squadron they vainly attempted to escape. In the battle that followed,
four German vessels were sunk. Of the two that escaped one was, a few
months later, interned in a United States port and about the same time
the other was destroyed.
The "Emden," after separating from the other warships, cruised in the
Indian Ocean for three months, and was the most destructive of the
German raiders. She was finally located by an Australian cruiser. After
a fight the German captain drove his vessel on the rocks to escape
sinking. A lieutenant and forty men who had landed to destroy a wireless
station, seized a schooner and escaped, landed on the coast of Arabia,
and finally made their way back to Germany.
NAVAL SITUATION AT THE CLOSE OF 1914.--As a result of the activities
of the Allied fleets, the German navy was shut up in port back of its
mine fields, German commerce raiders had, with a few exceptions, been
driven from the sea or destroyed, German merchant vessels were laid up
in neutral or German ports, and the Allies were free to carry on the
transport of troops, munitions, and other supplies with practically no
fear of interference from the enemy. "The British ships, whether
men-of-war or merchantmen, are upon the sea, the German in their ports."
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY.--1. Locate Metz, Cologne, Liege,
Namur, Lille, Verdun; the Meuse, the Marne, the Oise, the
Aisne; Lemberg, Warsaw, Königsberg. 2. Look at a large map of
Europe and by reference to the scale find out the following
distances: Metz to Paris; Cologne to Paris (via Liege);
Verdun to Berlin; Verdun to Strassburg; Liege to Paris;
Warsaw to Berlin. What is the length of the Belgian
coast-line; of the Dutch coast-line; of the Franco-German
frontier? 3. Collect pictures and charts illustrative of
trench warfare, and of devastated areas of Belgium and
France. 4. Explain fully the influence of geography upon the
campaigns of 1914. 5. Define neutrality; guarantee; treaty.
6. On an outline map of Europe indicate the countries
fighting against Germany at the close of 1914. Indicate those
fighting on the side of Germany at that time. Indicate the
date when each of these countries entered the war. Draw a
line showing the farthest German advance into France, and the
farthest Russian advance into Germany and Austria (map, page
124). 7. What might have been the consequences if the
Belgians had not resisted the German invasion? 8. Describe
the German effort to reach the French coast in 1914. What
would have been the probable consequences of its success? 9.
What was the purpose of the English blockade of Germany? How
did this blockade affect the rights of neutrals? Find out
what the United States government did in the matter.
REFERENCES.--_War Cyclopedia_ (C.P.I.); _Study of the Great
War_ (C.P.I.); McKinley, _Collected Materials for the Study
of the War; National School Service_, Vol. I, No. 3 (C.P.I.);
_New York Times History of the European War_.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] In an interview with the British ambassador, as reported by the
ambassador August 4, 1914.