After several days of severe fighting the British captured Neuve
Chapelle, on the 11th March, 1915. The German loss was estimated at
18,000.
[Illustration]
_THE MUNITION SHORTAGE_
_Fired at but unable to reply_
We have unfortunately found that the output is not only not equal to our
necessities, but does not fulfil our expectations.... I can only say
that the supply of war material at the present moment and for the next
two or three months is causing me very serious anxiety, and I wish all
those engaged in the manufacture and supply of these stores to realize
that it is absolutely essential not only that the arrears in the
deliveries of our munitions of war should be wiped off, but that the
output of every round of ammunition is of the utmost importance and has
a large influence on our operations in the field.
LORD KITCHENER.
_House of Commons, March 15, 1915._
[Illustration]
_SUBMARINE BAGS_
On March 18 a month had passed since the beginning of our sharp
procedure against our worst foe. We can in every way be satisfied with
the results achieved in the meantime! In spite of all steps taken before
and thereafter, the English have everywhere had important losses to show
at sea--some 200 ships lost since the beginning of the war, according to
the latest statements of the Allies.
In the innocent exalted island kingdom many a fellow is already
striking; why should not even the recruit strike, who is also beginning
to get a glimmer of the truth that there are no props in the ocean
waves?
The more opponents come before the bows of our ships and are sunk, the
better! Down with them to the bottom of the sea; that alone will help!
Let us hope that we shall soon receive more such cheerful news.
VICE-ADMIRAL KIRCHOFF.
_Hamburger Framdenblatt._
_March 19, 1915._
[Illustration]
"_I had such a delightful dream that the whole thing was not true_"
The strategic retreat of the French Army, the facility with which the
German armies were able to advance from August 25 to September 5, gave
our adversaries a feeling of absolute and final superiority, which
manifested itself at that time by all the statements gleaned and all the
documents seized.
At the moment of the battle of the Marne the first impression was one
of failure of comprehension and of stupor. A great number of German
soldiers, notably those who fell into our hands during the first days of
that battle, believed fully, as at the end of August, that the retreat
they were ordered to make was only a means of luring us into a trap.
German military opinion was suddenly converted when the soldiers saw
that this retreat continued, and that it was being carried out in
disorder, under conditions which left no doubt as to its cause and its
extent.
_French Government Official Report._
_March, 1915._
[Illustration]
_FOX TIRPITZ PREACHING TO THE GEESE_
"_You see, my little Dutch Geese, I am fighting for the freedom of the
Seas_"
On March 25, 1915, the Dutch vessel _Medea_, on the way from Valencia to
London, was sunk by a German submarine, U 28, near Beachy Head, after
the crew had had time to save themselves in the boats. The submarine
towed the two boats for a quarter of an hour and then left the occupants
to their fate.
The German Government considered that the Declaration of London gave it
the right to sink neutral prizes laden with contraband. The Dutch
Government held firmly to its standpoint that the destruction of a
neutral prize was in all circumstances an illegal act and that the
prescription of the Declaration of London allowing, by way of exception,
destruction of neutral prizes, could not be regarded as established
international law.
Its offer to submit the case to international arbitration was rejected
by the German Government.
_Times History of the War._
[Illustration]
"_IRON CROSSES_"
"_You laugh, Muller! but there are still people who like them, and
besides it gives me exercise_"
From the very beginning there was a wholesale distribution of Iron
Crosses. Before the war the possession of an Iron Cross was a rare
distinction and a cherished memory of the war of 1870. Iron Crosses soon
became as plentiful as blackberries. According to official statistics
there had up to the end of March, 1915, been distributed five Grand
Crosses, 6,488 Iron Crosses of the First Class, and 338,261 Iron Crosses
of the Second Class. During the whole of the war of 1870 only 1,304 Iron
Crosses of the First Class and 45,791 Iron Crosses of the Second Class
had been distributed.
_Times History of the War._
[Illustration]
_BETHMANN-HOLLWEG AND TRUTH_
"_Truth is on the path and nothing will stay her_"
A German has written this book. No Frenchman, no Russian, no Englishman.
A German who is unbribed and unbribable, not bought and not for sale.
A German who loves his Fatherland as much as any man; but just because
he loves it, he has written this book.
_Opening lines of "J'accuse"--a German to Germans--published in
Switzerland, April, 1915._
The book sets out to prove that the war had long been planned and
prepared by Germany and Austria, not only from the military but from the
political point of view.
That it had long been determined to represent this aggressive war to the
German people as a war of liberation, since it was known that only thus
could the needful enthusiasm be aroused.
That the object of this war is the establishment of German hegemony on
the Continent, and in due course the conquest of England's position as a
world power on the principle "_Ote-toi de la que je m'y mette_."
[Illustration]
_THE FALABA_
"_We have better luck with passenger boats than with war ships, for they
cannot shoot_"
On March 28, 1915, the British steamer _Falaba_ was torpedoed by a
German submarine. The torpedoes were fired while the crew and passengers
were entering the small boats. More than 100 persons, including Mr.
Thrasher, an American citizen, perished with the ship.
While some of the boats were still on their davits the submarine fired a
torpedo at short range. This action made it absolutely certain that
there must be great loss of life and it must have been committed
knowingly with the intention of producing that result.
BRITISH OFFICIAL PRESS BUREAU.
_April 8, 1915._
[Illustration]
_THE GAS FIEND_
At some time between 4 and 5 P.M. (22d April) the Germans started
operations by releasing gases with the result that a cloud of poisonous
vapor rolled swiftly before the wind from their trenches toward those of
the French west of Langemarck, held by a portion of the French Colonial
Division. Allowing sufficient time for the fumes to take full effect on
the troops facing them, the Germans charged forward over the practically
unresisting enemy in their immediate front, and, penetrating through the
gap thus created, pressed on silently and swiftly to the south and west.
BRITISH OFFICIAL EYEWITNESS.
_April 27, 1915._
"We shall not allow these wonderful weapons, which German intelligence
invented, to grow rusty."
_The Cologne Gazette._
Germany was a signatory to the declaration at the Hague Conference of
1899, and an article in that Declaration ran as follows: "The
contracting Powers agree to abstain from the use of projectiles the sole
object of which is the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases."
[Illustration]
_SLOW ASPHYXIATION_
These men were lying struggling for breath and blue in the face. On
examining the blood with the spectroscope and by other means, I
ascertained that the blueness was not due to the presence of any
abnormal pigment. There was nothing to account for the blueness
(cyanosis) and struggle for air but the one fact that they were
suffering from acute bronchitis, such as is caused by inhalation of an
irritant gas. Their statements were that when in the trenches they had
been overwhelmed by an irritant gas produced in front of the German
trenches and carried toward them by a gentle breeze.
_Official Investigation by_
DR. J. S. HALDANE, F.R.S.
[Illustration]
"_Hullo! Potsdam? Did you thank your dear old God for this new
success?_"
The Royal Highlanders of Montreal, 13th Battalion, and the 48th
Highlanders, 15th Battalion, were more especially affected by the
discharge. The Royal Highlanders, though considerably shaken, remained
immovable on their ground. The 48th Highlanders, who no doubt received a
more poisonous discharge, were for the moment dismayed, and, indeed,
their trench, according to the testimony of very hardened soldiers,
became intolerable.
The Battalion retired from the trench, but for a very short distance and
for a very short time. In a few moments they were again their own men.
They advanced on and reoccupied the trenches which they had momentarily
abandoned....
The sorely tried Battalion (the 13th) held on for a time in dug-outs,
and, under cover of darkness, retired again to a new line being formed
by reinforcements. The rearguard was under Lieut. Greenshields. But
Major McCuaig remained to see that the wounded were removed. It was
then, after having escaped a thousand deaths through the long battle of
the night, that he was shot down and made a prisoner.
SIR MAX AITKEN,
_in "Canada in Flanders."_
[Illustration]
"_THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI_"
[Illustration]
_ALL IS QUIET IN BELGIUM_
I asked General von Bissing if there was much need for this military
tribunal (The Feld Gericht). I shall not forget his reply.
"We have a few serious cases," he said. "Occasionally there is a little
sedition but for the most part it is only needle pricks. They are quiet
now. They know why," and, slowly shaking his head, von Bissing, who is
known as the sternest disciplinarian in the entire German Army, smiled.
_From an interview given by the_
GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF BELGIUM _to_
EDWARD LYALL FOX,
_New York Times, April, 1915._
[Illustration]
_Germany: "Gott strafe England! or I will do it myself"_