Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights Part 59

This was followed shortly by a report to the War Department that 17 Americans caught in the cross-fire by the Germans at Cambrai were missing or killed. The report of the sinking of the Alcedo, a patrol boat, with the loss of several officers, was also received, as was that of the sinking of the U.S. Destroyer "Chauncey" rammed in a collision, when two officers and eighteen men were lost.

One of the high spots of the war and one of the notable events in the history of the world, was the surrender of the City of Jerusalem to the British on Sat.u.r.day, December 8, 1917. Gen. Allenby entered the famed city and established his troops on the ancient Jerico Road.

The capture of Jerusalem by the British forces marked the end, with two brief interludes, of more than 1200 years' possession of the seat of the Christian religion by the Mohammedans. For 673 years the Holy City had been in disputed owners.h.i.+p of the Turks, the last Christian ruler of Jerusalem being the German Emperor, Frederick, whose short-lived domination lasted from 1229 to 1244.

THE FALL OF JERUSALEM.

Apart from its connection with the campaign being waged against Turkey by the British in Mesopotamia, the fall of Jerusalem marked the definite collapse of the long-protracted efforts of the Turks to capture the Suez Ca.n.a.l and invade Egypt. Almost the first move made by Turkey after her entrance into the war was a campaign against Egypt across the great desert of the Sinai Peninsula. In November, 1914, a Turkish army, variously estimated at from 75,000 to 250,000 men, marched on the Suez Ca.n.a.l and succeeded in reaching within striking distance of the great artificial waterway at several points. For several months bitter fighting took place, the ca.n.a.l being defended by an Anglo-Egyptian army aided by Australians and New Zealanders and French and British forces.

For the greater part of 1915 conflicting reports of the situation were received from the belligerents, but in December of that year definite information showed that the Turks had been driven back as far as El Arish, about eighty-five miles east of the ca.n.a.l. A lull occurred then which lasted for six months, and in June, 1916, the Turks again advanced as far at Katieh, about fifteen miles east of the ca.n.a.l. Here they were decisively defeated, losing more than 3000 prisoners and a great quant.i.ty of equipment.

Another period followed in which the situation was greatly confused through the vagueness and contradictory character of the official statements, but in December, 1916, the British stormed El Arish and a few days later severely defeated the Turks at Maghdabah, about sixty miles to the south on the same front. Two weeks later the invaders had been driven out of Egypt and the British forces crossed the border into Palestine. On March 7 they captured El Khulil, southeast of Gaza.

By November 22 the British had pushed within five miles of Jerusalem, on the northwest, and on December 7 General Allenby announced that he had taken Hebron. Jerusalem thus was virtually cut off on all sides but the east.

HISTORICAL INTEREST TO CHRISTIANS.

In sentimental and romantic aspect the capture of Jerusalem far exceeds even the fall of fable-crowned Bagdad. The modern City of Jerusalem contains about 60,000 inhabitants, and is the home of pestilence, filth and fevers, but in historic interest it naturally surpa.s.ses, to the Christian world, all other places in the world. Since the days when David wrested it from the hands of the Jebusites to make it the capital of the Jewish race Jerusalem has been the prize and prey of half the races of the world. It has pa.s.sed successively into the hands of the a.s.syrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Arabs, Turks, the Crusaders, finally to fall before the descendants of that Richard the Lion-hearted who strove in vain for its possession more than 700 years ago.

Early in January, 1918, evidence was forthcoming that Germany was preparing to make a final drive on the Western Front to break through and capture some English and French channel ports before America could be of any great a.s.sistance to the Allied forces. As a result Great Britain determined to call 500,000 more men to hold the Huns, and Premier Lloyd George issued a stirring appeal to Labor affected by the Manpower Bill, which provided for the increase taken largely from the labor forces.

The German intent to launch an offensive was indicated by the withdrawal of German lines north of Italy when important defensive positions were abandoned, and dummy soldiers were left in trench to conceal movement to the rear. Warnings of a great submarine offensive on American boatlines to France, to be joined with a big drive on land, were received by Secretary of War Baker, and on February 2, the American troops occupying a sector of the Lorraine front in France faced the first big bombardment in what was preliminary to the most bitter drive Germany had attempted in four years of warfare.

SINKING OF THE TUSCANIA.

True to their promise the German submarines started their portion of the offensive and sunk the U.S. troops.h.i.+p "Tuscania" a few days later off the coast of Ireland. The liner carried 2,179 U.S. troops of various divisions besides a crew of 200. The total number of persons lost was 113. The troops included engineers, members of the aero-squadron, and regulars.

The Tuscania was the first troops.h.i.+p to be sunk en route to France, though the Antilles was sunk in October, 1917. This boat, however, it must be noted, was returning from France. At this time 70 lives were lost. The comparatively small loss of life on the "Tuscania" was accepted as evidence of the efficient training and bravery of American troops under all conditions.

The Tuscania was torpedoed when entering what until that time were considered comparatively safe waters. The s.h.i.+ps were within sight of land, which was just distinguishable in the dusk of evening when the torpedo hit the Tuscania amids.h.i.+ps. This was at about 7 o'clock.

When the crash came the khaki-clad young heroes of the American army lined up as though on parade, and sang the "Star Spangled Banner" at the top of their voices as the Tuscania sank by inches under them. Across from them their British cousins of the crew came back with the echoing "G.o.d Save the King," which too cool-headed exponents of what occurred in a crisis of a sea disaster say accounts for the fact the Germans took only a toll of 113 lives out of the 2,397 souls on board the Cunarder when she met her fate.

AMERICAN COURAGE PRAISED.

If the singing man is a fighting man, he also is hopeful, and in the combination of fight and hope there came the baffling of the German attempt to reduce the American war forces by almost a full regiment.

Taking stock after the disaster, the officers of both the army and navy praised the courage of the Americans as the chief reason for the saving of more than 90 per cent of the men on board.

No submarine was seen until the torpedo struck the Tuscania fairly amids.h.i.+ps. A moment later another torpedo pa.s.sed astern of the vessel.

There was a terrific explosion, and it is believed most of the casualties were caused by this and by subsequent difficulties in lowering the boats.

The vessel immediately took a heavy list and the men were called to their lifeboat stations, but the list prevented the boats from being properly lowered, some of the upper-deck boats falling to the lower deck. Many of the men jumped into the water, and the difficulty in lowering the boats was responsible for many casualties.

The survivors of the Tuscania landed at points in Ireland were received with great honor in the various communities, and great tribute was paid to the surviving soldiers by the Mayor of Dublin.

The American troops on the Tuscania were part of the forces being hurried to France to hold the Germans in check, and at the time American troops were holding a sector with the French in Lorraine, northwest of Toul, while American artillery were supporting the French in Champagne.

The date set for the big German drive was announced as January 28, and the fact that Germany made an open proclamation of the fact that they proposed to wage offensive warfare was somewhat puzzling to the minds of those studying the situation. Making her position more impregnable, Germany halted her armies in Russia upon the acceptance of peace terms by the Russian delegation at Brest-Litovsk, which were concluded on March 1, 1918, and daily the activities of the German forces on the Western Front grew in intensity. On March 6, in antic.i.p.ation of the drive, it was for the first time publicly stated that 81,000 troops of American soldiers were holding an eight mile line on the Lorraine front, with three full divisions in the trenches. The gathering together of this force and other American troops in France drew Secretary of War Baker to the scene of activities. He was the first American Cabinet officer to cross the ocean after America entered the war.

SEIZURE OF ALL DUTCH VESSELS.

Holland having proved herself unwilling to come to a satisfactory agreement at this time on the British-American demand regarding the use of s.h.i.+ps, President Wilson ordered the seizure of all Dutch vessels within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States; the Allies ordered a similar seizure abroad. The President's proclamation authorized the navy to take over the vessels to be equipped and operated by the Navy Department and the s.h.i.+pping Board. A total of 77 s.h.i.+ps were added to the American Merchant Marine.

Holland's failure to act was on the propositions that the United States and the Allies should facilitate the importation into Holland of foodstuffs, and other commodities required to maintain her economic life, and that Holland should restore her Merchant Marine to a normal condition of activity.

On March 21 the greatest German offensive of the war actually began on a front 50 miles long, running west and southwest of Cambrai. The preliminary German bombardment covered a front from the River Serre below St. Quentin, and the River Scarpe east of Arras.

FIERCEST BATTLE IN WORLD'S HISTORY.

Field Marshal Haig's report from British headquarters in France described the German offensive as comprising an intense bombardment by the artillery and a powerful infantry attack on a front of more than fifty miles. Some of the British positions were penetrated, but the German losses were exceptionally heavy.

It was reported at the end of the first day that the fiercest battle of the world's history was in progress, and that 80,000 Germans were lost in battle; while Berlin reported the capture of 16,000 Allied prisoners and 200 guns.

The a.s.sociated Press correspondent reported that at least forty divisions of German soldiers were identified as actively partic.i.p.ating in the attack. No such concentration of artillery had been seen since the war began. The enemy had 1,000 guns in one small sector--one for every twelve yards. The Germans in many sections attacked in three waves of infantry, followed up by shock troops. As a result they suffered very heavy casualties.

The German ma.s.sed artillery was badly hammered by the British guns.

In the first stage of their offensive the Germans failed badly in the execution of their program, as was attested by captured doc.u.ments showing what they planned to do in the early hours of their offensive.

By March 24 the attacks of the Germans had been redoubled, and it was estimated that more than 1,000,000 Huns had been thrown into the struggle against the British forces on which the attack was concentrated.

The most notable feature of the attack from the spectacular viewpoint was the bombardment of Paris by monster German cannon, located in the forest of St. Gobain, west of Laon, and approximately 76 miles away from Paris.

BIG GUN ONE HUNDRED FEET LONG.

Though no official description of the big gun was ever given, it was stated by military authorities that it was approximately 100 feet in length, and that several were in use, and more being built by the Germans. At first the statement that a gun could shoot such a distance was doubted, but when 75 persons were killed in Paris and one of the sh.e.l.ls. .h.i.t a church doubt no longer existed. It also developed that the gun was originally an American invention, and that similar weapons were being built by the United States.

The use of the big gun was in the nature of a "side-issue" to bring terror to the French, and in line with the policy of frightfulness inst.i.tuted by the German militarists. Its use was continued daily.

Meantime the German hordes swept on marching in close formation into the very mouths of the rapid-fire guns and against the strongly fixed British lines.

For ten days the hostilities continued, without cessation, with fighting along a whole front such as had never been known before.

The Germans continued to hurl great forces of infantry into the conflict, depending largely on weight of numbers to overcome the increasing opposition offered by the heroically resisting British.

The battle on the historic ground about Longueval was perhaps the most spectacular of any along the front. It was a battle of machine gunners and infantry. The Germans were pursuing their tactics of working forward in ma.s.sed formation, and the British rapid-firers' squads and riflemen reaped a horrid harvest from their positions on the high ground.

Notwithstanding their terrible losses, the Germans kept coming on, filling in the places of those who had fallen and pressing their attack.

The British artillery in the meantime poured in a perfect rain of sh.e.l.ls on the enemy, carrying havoc into their ranks. In this section the Germans operated without the full support of their guns, because of their rapid advance.

ENEMY LOSES HEAVILY.

A fierce engagement was also waged about Le Verguier, which the Germans captured, but not until the British infantry holding the place had fought to the last man and inflicted extremely heavy losses on the enemy. The British again fell back, this time to a line through Hervilly, just east of Roisel and Vermand.