Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights Part 54

General Pers.h.i.+ng dropped quietly into the department and set up the first headquarters of the American expeditionary forces in a little office, hardly large enough to hold himself and his personal staff.

There, with the aid of the general staff, of Secretary Baker and of the chiefs of the War Department bureaus, the plans were worked out.

Announcement of the sending of the force under General Pers.h.i.+ng was made May 18. The press gave the news to the country and there were daily stories.

There came a day when General Pers.h.i.+ng no longer was in the department.

Officers of the general staff suddenly were missing from their desks. No word of this was reported. Then came word from England that Pers.h.i.+ng and his officers were there. All was carried through without publicity.

Other matters relating to the expedition were carried out without a word of publicity. The regiments that were to go with General Pers.h.i.+ng were all selected before he left and moving toward the seacoast from the border. Other regiments also were moving north, east and west to the points where they were to be expanded, and the movements of the troops who were to be first in France were obscured in all this hurrying of troop trains over the land.

Great s.h.i.+pments of war supplies began to a.s.semble at the embarkation ports. Liners suddenly were taken off their regular runs with no announcement. A great armada was made ready, supplied, equipped as transports, loaded with men and guns and sent to sea, and all with virtually no mention from the press.

The navy bore its full share in the achievement. From the time the troop s.h.i.+ps left their docks and headed toward sea, responsibility for the lives of their thousands of men rested upon the officers and crews of the fighting s.h.i.+ps that moved beside them or swept free the sea lanes before them. As they pushed on through the days and nights toward the danger zone, where German submarines lay in wait, every precaution that trained minds of the navy could devise was taken.

A BRILLIANT CLIMAX.

The brilliant climax to the achievement was made public when it was announced that not only had the last units of the expeditionary force been landed on July 3, but that the American navy had driven off two German submarines, probably sinking one of them, when the transport s.h.i.+ps and convoys had been attacked.

The last units of the American expeditionary force, comprising vessels loaded with supplies and horses, reached France amid the screeching of whistles and moaning of sirens. Their arrival, one week after the first troops landed, was greeted almost as warmly as the arrival of the troops themselves.

Many of the American soldiers crowded down to the wharf to greet the last s.h.i.+ps of the expedition and the American vessels in the harbor, which had made up previous contingents of the force, joined in the welcome. The late arrival of the supply s.h.i.+ps was due not only to later departure from America, but also to the fact that the vessels were slower than those which had come before. The delay caused little anxiety, although it worked temporary inconvenience to the troops, who had been waiting for materials with which to work.

Probably the happiest man in port was Rear Admiral Gleaves, commander of the convoy. From the bridge of his flags.h.i.+p he watched the successful conclusion of his plans with characteristic modesty and insisted upon bestowing the lion's share of credit for the crossing on the navigating officers of his command.

ADVANCE PLANS BRIEFLY SKETCHED.

Sketching briefly the advance plans whereby all units of the contingent had to keep a daily rendezvous with accompanying wars.h.i.+ps, he said, that, thanks to his navigating officers and despite overcast skies, which made astronomical observations impossible, each rendezvous had been minutely and accurately kept by each unit. The orders he issued at the outset, which comprised scores of details, were observed, the Admiral declared, with such exactness that the contingent units and convoying wars.h.i.+ps invariably met each other within half an hour of the appointed time.

A big contributing factor in the crossing, according to officers of both branches of the service, was the hearty co-operation between the army and navy. From the time of the departure until the landing there was not the slightest suggestion of friction, and co-ordination played its part distinctively in the success of the expedition.

The startling fact of the entire journey across the sea was that the Navy had won its first victory in driving off attacking submarines. The news of the fight was given out by the Navy Department and the Committee on Public Information, with the announcement of the final landing of the troops and the safe arrival of the supply s.h.i.+ps.

The announcement, sponsored by Secretary Daniels, of the Navy, shows beyond the shadow of doubt that the Berlin Admiralty had been "tipped off" that the American expeditionary force was on its way, and had carefully planned to send the transports to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Realizing that an attack might be expected in the war zone, and that every precaution would be taken to ward it off, the Germans moved far out from land, in the hope of catching the American gunners napping.

They were fooled. Uncle Sam's jackies were at the guns when the fleet of submarines stuck their periscopes above the waves and trained their torpedo tubes on the lines of transports.

WAVES COVERED WITH Sh.e.l.lS.

The torpedo boats and other craft opened up and covered the waves with sh.e.l.ls. The Germans soon lost at least one submarine and, having had enough of the fight, they disappeared. As the little destroyers dashed straight at the submarines and shot under water explosives in their wake as they submerged, the transports dashed through the night at top speed without having been scratched.

The extreme degree to which the Germans had prepared to destroy the American force is shown by the second part of the official announcement, which tells how another section of the transport fleet was waylaid under cover of darkness, but how the American gunners were too quick for the Germans.

The text of Secretary Daniels' announcement was:

"It is with the joy of a great relief that I announce to the people of the United States the safe arrival in France of every fighting man and every fighting s.h.i.+p. Now that the last vessel has reached port, it is safe to disclose the dangers that were encountered and to tell the complete story of peril and courage.

"The transports bearing our troops were twice attacked by German submarines on the way across. On both occasions the U-boats were beaten off with every appearance of loss. One was certainly sunk, and there is reason to believe that the accurate fire of our gunners sent others to the bottom.

"For purposes of convenience, the expedition was divided into contingents, each contingent including troops.h.i.+ps and a naval escort designed to keep off such German raiders as might be met.

"An ocean rendezvous had also been arranged with the American destroyers now operating in European waters in order that the pa.s.sage of the danger zone might be attended by every possible protection.

"The first attack took place at 10.30 on the night of June 22. What gives it peculiar and disturbing significance is that our s.h.i.+ps were set upon at a point well this side of the rendezvous, and in that part of the Atlantic presumably free from submarines. The attack was made in force, although the night made impossible any exact count of the U-boats gathered for what they deemed a slaughter.

HIGH SEAS CONVOY.

"The high seas convoy, circling with their searchlights, answered with heavy gunfire, and its accuracy stands proved by the fact that the torpedo discharge became increasingly scattered and inaccurate. It is not known how many torpedoes were launched, but five were counted as they sped by bow and stern.

"A second attack was launched a few days later against another contingent. The point of a.s.sault was beyond the rendezvous and our destroyers were sailing as a screen between the transports and all harm.

The results of the battle were in favor of American gunnery.

"Not alone did the destroyers hold the U-boats at a safe distance, but their speed also resulted in the sinking of one submarine at least.

Grenades were used in firing, a depth charge explosive timed to go off at a certain distance under water. In one instance, oil and wreckage covered the surface of the sea after a shot from a destroyer at a periscope, and the reports make claim of sinking.

"Protected by our high seas convoy, by our destroyers and by French war vessels, the contingent proceeded and joined the others in a French port.

"The whole nation will rejoice that so great a peril is pa.s.sed for the vanguard of the men who will fight our battles in France. No more thrilling Fourth of July celebration could have been arranged than this glad news that lifts the shadow of dread from the heart of America."

Upon receipt of the announcement, Secretary Baker wrote the following letter to Secretary Daniels, conveying the army's thanks to the navy:

"Word has just come to the War Department that the last s.h.i.+ps conveying General Pers.h.i.+ng's expeditionary force to France arrived safe today. As you know, the navy a.s.sumed the responsibility for the safety of these s.h.i.+ps on the sea and through the danger zone. The s.h.i.+ps themselves and their convoys were in the hands of the navy, and now that they have arrived, and carried, without the loss of a man, our soldiers who are the first to represent America in the battle for democracy, I beg leave to tender to you, to the Admiral and to the navy, the hearty thanks of the War Department and of the army. This splendid achievement is an auspicious beginning and it has been characterized throughout by the most cordial and effective co-operation between the two military services."

CHAPTER XXV.

A GERMAN CRISIS.

THE DOWNFALL OF BETHMANN-HOLLWEG--THE CROWN PRINCE IN THE LIME LIGHT--HOLLWEG'S UNIQUE CAREER--DR. GEORG MICHAELIS APPOINTED CHANCELLOR--THE KAISER AND HOW HE GETS HIS IMMENSE POWER.

The active partic.i.p.ation of the United States in the war, as distinctly marked by the sending of troops to France, aside from giving needed inspiration to the Allied forces, may be said to have had a decided effect in Germany. While the German subjects are loyal, there has developed in the country, as in every other country, a large element of Socialists and progressives.

Something of a climax was reached in the affairs of the Hohenzollern dynasty just when the United States troops were preparing to take their places on the battle line in France and when the first of the conscripted forces of the country were being summoned to the colors.

With a suddenness that startled the entire world, Dr. von Bethmann-Hollweg, the German Imperial Chancellor, resigned on July 14, thus ending his career as the spokesman of the Kaiser, which he had maintained for a surprisingly long period. At the same time Dr. Alfred Zimmermann, Foreign Minister, who was responsible for the correspondence which revealed the fact that Germany was trying to induce Mexico and j.a.pan to form an alliance against the United States, also quit his post.

The resignation of the Chancellor came quite unexpectedly, for von Hollweg, in the prolonged party discussion and heated debates of the main committee of the Reichstag which had been in progress, seemed to have triumphed over his opponents.

His opponents had been clamoring for his head, but he made concessions, and by the declaration that Germany was fighting defensively for her territorial possessions evolved a formula which for a time seemed satisfactory to both those who clamored for peace by agreement and those who demanded repudiation of the formula, "no annexation and no indemnities." In this position Dr. von Hollweg was backed by the Emperor.

The advent of the Crown Prince upon the scene--summoned by his imperial father to share the deliberations affecting the future of the dynasty--seems to have changed entirely the position with regard to the Imperial Chancellor. The Crown Prince at once took a leading part in the discussions with the party leaders, and his ancient hostility toward Dr.

von Bethmann-Hollweg, coupled with his notorious dislike for political reform, undoubtedly precipitated the Chancellor's resignation.