Everything made public was capable of documentary proof and the enemies of the United States soon learned that it was inadvisable to deny anything coming from this source. The revelation Feb. 28 of the attempt by the German foreign secretary, Dr. Alfred Zimmermann, to cause Mexico and Japan to make war on the United States helped materially to bring about the break in the relations between this country and Germany. Another revelation which aroused worldwide interest was the publication of the famous Luxburg cables from Buenos Aires to the Berlin foreign office advising that Argentine ships be sunk without trace ("spurlos versenkt") and speaking of the acting minister of foreign affairs in the republic as a "notorious ass and Anglophile." Because of plottings similar to those recounted, but chiefly because of the feeling of animosity aroused by Germany's continued violation of international law and the laws of humanity through her submarine campaign, the following nations in 1917 followed the example of the United States in formally declaring war on Germany: Cuba. Panama, Brazil. Greece, Siam, Liberia and China. In addition the following severed diplomatic relations with Germany: Bolivia. Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, Costa Rica, Peru and Uruguay. Thus at the end of the year nineteen countries with a combined population of nearly 1,300.000.000 were arrayed against Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria, with a population of a little more than 142,000,000. The Russian Revolution With regard to the upheaval in Russia the facts are briefly these: The duma was dissolved by the czar March 11, but on the fol lowing day it declared that the government had been overthrown and that a new demo. cratic government was in process of forma tion. In the town of Pskoff on March 15 Czar Nicholas was forced to abdicate and was imprisoned in his palace at Tsarskoe-Selo. Later he was sent to Tobolsk. The new gov ernment at first was in the hands of such well known men as Michael V. Rodzianko. Prince George E. Lyoff and Prof. Paul N. Milyoukov. It soon developed, however, that the more radical elements of the revolutionists were in control of the army and the working classes in the cities and that these were determined to quit the war and make peace according to their formula of "no annexations and no indemnities." stituent assembly was elected Nov. 24-26, but the bolsheviki, fearing that they could not control it, threatened forcibly to prevent its holding a session. Constantine Deposed. Constantine I., king of Greece, was deposed by the protecting powers-France. Great Britain and Russia-June 12 and his place on the throne was given to his second son, Prince Alexander. The provisional government led by Eleutherios Venizelos was merged with the new administration in Athens and war was formally declared on the Teutonic powers and their allies. Constantine, it was shown. had contemplated attacking the allies in Macedonia from the rear and it was apparent that his removal from authority came none too soon. Many Submarines Sunk. In their ruthless submarine warfare the Germans had less success than had been preThe sinkings of merchant dicted by them.. vessels were serious enough and for a time constituted a menace to the food and other importations of Britain, but after the United States entered the war and sent its fleet of destroyers and submarine chasers across the Atlantic for patrol work the danger gradually lessened. Many submarines were, sunk in the course of the year and their operations were gradually restricted until it was felt that there was no longer any danger that they would become a decisive factor in the war. Naturally the British were the heaviest losers in this species of warfare, but other nations suffered severely, especially seafaring Norway, which thus lost about one-third of her vessels and some 700 sailors murdered. Some of the actions of the German submarines and raiders were so atrocious as to arouse the resentment of the nation to the verge of war even in the face of tremendous odds. No naval battles of importance were fought in 1917. All the engagements were between destroyers and other light craft. Germany continued to send air raiders across to Britain to bombard the coast towns and interior cities, including London. No appreciable military losses were caused, but many innocent lives were taken. The announced purpose of the British to retaliate in kind was generally approved, it being felt that Germany must be given a dose of her own medicine. Events on the Fighting Fronts. On the fighting fronts in Europe. Asia and Africa the developments in the course of the year were numerous and important. Beginning with Africa, it may be noted that the last vestige of German authority on that cont nent was extinguished by the forces under Gen. Vandeventer, when on Dec. 1 they had cleared East Africa of the enemy, Germany at the present moment has not a single colony left in the world. Because the new government did not stick close enough to this formula, but preferred to keep faith with the allies by refusing to make a separate peace, it was compelled in May to give way to a new ministry, in which Alexander Kerensky, a socialist, was the ruling spirit. Recognizing the difficulties the Russian democracy had to deal with, the United States sent several important missions to Petrograd to give such assistance as might be deemed possible. One of a political naIn was headed by Former Senator Elihu Root; another was an engineering commission led by John F. Stevens and a third was a Red Cross mission led by Dr. Frank Billings of Chicago. ture On July 20 Kerensky became premier and in spite of increasing insubordination in the army continued in the saddle for some weeks. One of the incidents of his career as the head of the state was the proclamation on Sept. 14 of Russia as a republic. Kerensky. however, was not radical enough for the extremists and on Nov. 7 he was deposed by a counter-revolution led by Leon Trotzky and Nikolai Lenin. Later Lenin was made premier and Trotzky foreign minister and they promptly made overtures to Germany for an armistice. This was granted and peace negotions were under way in December. The country was in a state of anarchy, with Finland. the Ukraine. Siberia and other dis tricts proclaiming their independence and with the Cossacks fighting the bolsheviki, as the ruling extremists called themselves. A con Mesopotamia the British under Gen. Frederick Stanley Maude recaptured Kut-elAmara toward the end of February and on March 11 entered the city of Bagdad, which had been the goal of Gen. Townshend's ill fated expedition the previous year. They drove the Turks far beyond that city and joined hands with the Russians who had come down through Persia. Gen. Maude died Nov. 18. Capture of Jerusalem. British forces from Egypt carried on a successful campaign against the Turks and Germans in Palestine. In January they routed the enemy troops at Rafa and on March 26 inflicted a severe defeat on them in the vicinity of Gaza. Under the able leadership of Gen. E. H. Allenby the British pressed on toward the north. taking Beersheba Oct. 31. Gaza Nov. 7. Jaffa Nov. 17 and Jerusalem Dec. 11. On Christmas day it was announced that Bethlehem had also been taken by the British. This successful campaign in Palestine appealed strongly to the entire Christian world. Austrian Invasion of Italy. On the Italian front there were two swift changes in the course of the year. In May and again in August Gen. Cadorna inflicted severe defeats on the Austrians on the Carso and Bainsizza plateaus. Then in October heavy Austrian and German forces under the leadership of Field Marshal von Mackensen attacked the northern part of the Isonzo line and, aided by the treacherous weakening of certain Italian troops at Caporetto, drove Gen. Cadorna's forces first to the line of the Tagliamento and then to the line of the Piave. Here the Italians made a stand and were able to hold back the enemy in the face of the most furious attacks, especially in the mountainous region toward the northwest, where the Austrian forces made desperate efforts to force their way down to the plains and turn the left flank of the Italian line. The Italians lost heavily in men and materiel during the retreat, but the forces were reorganized and re-enforced by French and British infantry and artillery. On the east front the Russians made their last advance July 1 when in eastern Galicia they captured Brezezany, Halicz and other places with some 30,000 prisoners. After that the Russian armies refused to obey their commanders and it was an easy matter for the Germans to recover the lost ground and advance still farther. In the early part of September the Germans crossed the Dvina river and Riga soon fell into their hands, together with certain islands in the Baltic. Then came the truce and the peace negotiations. In Macedonia little was accomplished by the allies. Gen. Sarrail, the commander in chief, was recalled in December. missions. Some of them after completing their work in Washington made extended tours through the country. Great Britain sent Arthur James Balfour, its foreign minister, and Lord Cunliffe, governor of the Bank of England. France was represented by Rene Viviani, minister of justice, and Gen. Joffre. military adviser of the French government. Italy had as the head of its mission Prince Ferdinando di Savoja of Udine. Russia sent Boris A. Bakhmetieff, Belgium Baron Ludovic Moncheur, Roumania Count Vassile Stoica, Norway Dr. Fridtjof Nansen and Japan Baron Ishii. Some of the leaders of these missions gave addresses before the houses of congress and laid wreaths on the tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon. 1918. When the year 1918 opened the attention of the world was chiefly directed toward the negotiations in progress between Germany and the bolshevik extremists in Russia led by Lenin and Trotzky. NOKOLAI LENIN. Underwood & Underwood. LEON TROTZKY, The parleys were held at Brest-Litovsk, be1918, when the Russian delegation signed a peace treaty, the terms of which were essentially in violation of all they had contended for and virtually dispossessed Russia of some of her richest provinces. Fierce Struggles on West Front. Fierce and bloody fighting continued on the western front throughout the greater part of the year. The advantage in the main was with the British and the French, who maintained the initiative and delivered many tell-ginning Dec. 22, 1917, and ended March 3. ing blows. The Germans were not able to do much in the way of retaliation, though they won a measure of success against the British at the extreme northern end of the line in Belgium and on Nov. 30 at Cambrai. On the other hand the British won notable victories in the vicinity of Lens, Arras and along the Ypres-Menin road. One of the notable features of the fighting was the capture by Canadian troops of Vimy ridge in April. Gen. Sir Julian Byng won a brilliant victory by a surprise attack in the Cambrai sector Nov. 20-22. He took a considerable area of fortified territory and about 10,000 prisoners, but the effect of the triumph was offset to some extent by the successful counterattack made by the Germans a few days later. The French also carried out a number of successful offensives. On April 16 they took the German first and second lines on a twenty-five mile front in the Soissons-Reims sector and captured 20,000 Germans, together with about seventy-five heavy guns. On May 4 they captured Craonne and the adjacent territory. They fought successfully along the Chemin des Dames, on the Californie plateau, at Cerny and many other places. All the efforts of the German crown prince to advance in the Verdun sector proved costly failures. On Oct. 23 the French smashed through the German lines north of the Aisne to a depth of more than two miles. taking the strongholds of Allemant, Vaudesson, Malmaison fort and Chavignon. In the air the year was one of increased activity. Numberless raids were made on all the fronts and it became increasingly apparent that to be successful modern armies must be supplemented by large aerial forces. Foreign Missions to America. Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Russia, Japan, Roumania, Serbia and other countries sent some of their distinguished men to the United States on military and political The bolshevik leaders made a curious altempt to end the war without any formal peace pact, but they were quickly brought to their senses when the German army resumed operations and captured Dvinsk, Lutsk and other cities and even threatened Petrograd to such an extent that it was abandoned as the seat of government in favor of Moscow, where the central soviet. or executive body of the soldiers, peasants and workmen, have since had their headquarters. The bolsheviki were greatly chagrined at the outcome of the peace negotiations, but at a congress of soviets held in Moscow March 14-16 last the terms of the peace imposed by the Germans were finally ratified. President Wilson sent to this gathering a message of sympathy because of the check suffered by Russia in her struggle for Το freedom. this message the soviet returned a somewhat cool expression of appreciation. Since the peace treaty was signed Russia state, The has been in a most deplorable Ukraine, one of the richest grain districts of the former empire, was the first to break away, declaring its independence and entering into a separate peace treaty with the central powers. Finland became the scene of civil war between the "red guards" representing the Russian bolshevik government and the "white guards," organized by the Finlanders with the guards triumphed and a Finnish government help of Germany. In the end the white absolutely under the control of Germany was established in Helsingfors. The landed proprietors sent agents to Berlin and entered into a secret agreement by which the country was to be turned into a kingdom with a German prince on the throne, Germany's collapse in November put an end to this scheme as well as many others. Siberia Forsakes Bolsheviki. In the board, the work in the shipyards on the On Siberia also broke away from the bolsheviki and set up an independent government which is now seeking to establish its control with allied and other aid. Other provinces also declared their independence, In the meantime famine and pestilence have been raging in many localities, while anarchy has reigned virtually everywhere. The whole of the immense Russian army, obsessed with the idea of a peace without annexations or indemnities and the self-determination of the rights of peoples, melted away and left nothing to take its place except such small bodies of inefficient and undisciplined troops as the so-by the British, French and Italian shipyards. viets were able to maintain. This, of course, liberated millions of German and AustroHungarian soldiers for service on the Italian and French fronts where before this the strength of the opposing armies had been nearly equal. Roumania, it may be noted in this connection. kept up the fight against the central powers as long as she had support from Russia, but when the latter made peace it was no longer possible to continue the struggle. On May 6 she signed a treaty of peace by which she lost the province of the Dobrogea and also control over her fine oil fields which under a long time lease were to be exploited by a German concern. Her western frontiers were rectified" and she was obliged to submit to numerous economic restrictions. Thus Roumania, as well as Russia, was lost to the allies. It having become apparent even before the close of the third year of the war that Russia could no longer be counted upon for support, the allies began preparations to meet. especially on the western front, the attack of the German armies soon to be immensely strengthened by forces released from the eastern front. All eyes were turned to America. for France, England and Italy had reached or almost reached the limit of their man power. America to the Rescue. America responded quickly with men, money and materiel. The training of national army men, national guards and officers in the numerous cantonments was intensified and hurried and as fast as the men were brought into condition they were shipped to France. At first much of the the transports space on was devoted to supplies and materials for the camps and depots in France, but as the situation became critical owing to successful enemy offensives in Italy and France fewer supplies and more men were sent. The num ber of transports was largely increased, with the result that each month, with one exception. showed a decided improvement in the movement of troops. a The troop movement record, in view of the danger from submarines, was wonderful one and by November there were more than 2.000.000 American troops in France, England and Italy. This immense number of men was carried over without the loss of a single east bound American transport. The only disasters were those which occurred to the British transports Tuscania and Otranto, with the loss of several hundred American soldiers. While soldiers were being sent across the seas at a rapid rate the assembling and training of new men at home was continued with accelerated speed. There were new registra tions for the selective draft, the idea of the war department being to have more than 4.000.000 men in Europe by the summer of 1919. when it was thought Germany might finally be conquered. The number of warshins in commission was largely increased, especially in the matter of destroyers, submarine chasers and lighter craft. Next in importance to the increase of the army and the nawy was building of merchant vessels to offset the ravages of the submarine warfare. The shipping board was reorganized and galvanized into a high state of efficiency. Under the leadership of Charles M. Schwab, director-general of the Emergency Fleet corporation, and Edward N, Hurley, chairman of This with the increased tonnage put out to say nothing of the output of neutral coun- was with and heavy ordnance there Food Economy Aids Allies. With fairly good harvests in 1917, with the practice of economy in the consumption of wheat flour and meats in accordance with the recommendations of the food administration and with increased shipping facilities the United States was enabled not only to feed its own soldiers and sailors well, but to help out Britain, France and Italy to such an extent that they were relieved of the fear of starvation and want. The American record in this respect won many expressions of gratitude and admiration from the allies. Prices of food and clothing and commodities in general advanced, but so did wages, and there was no acute suffering on account of war conditions on this side of the Atlantic. The administration took many steps to relieve the situation, such as fixing the prices of certain important articles like wheat, regulating exports and imports, taking over the main railroad lines and settling labor controversies without the intervention of disastrous strikes. The taking over of the railroad lines was one of the most radical steps taken by the administration. It was done for the purpose of bringing to an end the congestion of freight, confusion in shipments and other serious evils ment and control. which could be obviated by unified manageThe express companies management. a strike were also brought under one In January a national war labor board was created for the purpose of furnishing an adequate and stable supply of labor to war industries, and in March a war industries board was appointed for the purpose, among others. of creating new facilities and improving present facilities for the production of military materiel and for making purchases for the allies. Coal Shortage. was divided into zones and the source of supply for each was designated. In times of peace the government spent less than $1,000,000,000 a year; in 1918 the outlay by midyear was at the rate of $50.000.000 a day. The actual outlay for the fiscal year ending June 30. 1918, was more than $12.600,000,000. The United States before the end of the war had loaned to the allies more than $8,000,000,000. Two more liberty loans were issued by the government in 1918-one for $3,000,000,000 and one for $6,000,000,- | 000. In both cases the amounts were largely oversubscribed. Belgium and Serbia and the return of the German colonies, that the German government as constituted could not be trusted and the United States would only negotiate with persons more truly representative of the German people. Pope Benedict made another appeal for peace at Easter, 1918, but without effect on the belligerents. President Wilson's other addresses were: Feb. 6, asking congress for more power in directing war operations: April 6, in Baltimore, on first anniversary of America's entrance into the war; May 18, in New York city, opening the Red Cross fund campaign: en July 4, to diplomats and foreign born at In most of these he reiterated in eloquent language the war aims of the United States. To meet the heavy expenditures of the government President Wilson in a speech deliv-Mount Vernon; and on Labor day, Sept. 2. ered before congress on May 27 asked for new tax legislation, and a committee of the house started framing a revenue law designed to bring in $8.000.000.000 through taxation. That was the figure suggested by Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo, who estimated that the expenditures during the present fiscal year will amount to $24,000,000,000. Besides buying war bonds the people of the United States in May contributed considerably more than $100,000,000 to the American Red Cross war fund. They also subscribed heavily to the Young Men's Christian association fund, to the Knights of Columbus, the Salvation Army and to numberless other organizations of a similar character. It was a year of generous giving. New Laws by Congress. Congress was engaged almost solely in war legislation. Here are a few of the measures enacted into law: Extending protection to the civil rights of members of the military and naval establishments; providing for the operation of transportation systems while under federal control; providing credits for industries and enterprises in the United States necessary to the prosecution of the war: authorizing the issue of additional bonds; to conserve the gold supply of the United States and to stabilize the price and encourage the production of silver: amending the espionage act; authorizing the president to provide housing for war needs: authorizing the president to consolidate executive bureaus and offices; providing for Vocational rehabilitation of disabled soldiers and sailors; making appropriations amounting to billions of dollars for the army and navy and other departments of the government. In the main these and other war measures were passed without division on party lines. In the course of the year President Wilson made a number of notable addresses, all attracting worldwide attention. The peace discussion in which he, David Lloyd George, Chancellor Count von Hertling, Count Czernin. Richard von Kuehlmann and others of lesser note engaged, drew from him a speech before Congress on Jan. 8, in which he demanded the nghting of the Alsace wrong, the liberation of Poland, the evacuation of all Belgian and Russian territory and a readjustment of the frontiers of Italy. These and other terms were laid down in brief and remarkably businesslike utterances, Chancellor von Hertling in reply rattled the German sword. but Count Czernin, the Austro-Hungarian foreign minister, replied in more conciliatory language, Four Basic Peace Principles. Nations declaring war in 1918 were: Guatemala against Germany, April 21: Nicaragua against Germany, May 7: Costa Rica against Germany and Austria-Hungary, May 24; Haiti against Germany, July 15: Honduras against Germany, July 19. Until March. 1918, the American troops in France saw little actual warfare, though a number of them were under fire while geting the finishing touches of their training in the front trenches. On Jan. 21 Americans took informal charge of a sector of the French front near Toul. Minor encounters occurred Jan. 30 and Feb. 4, the latter on a Lorraine sector which the Americans were holding, several casualties being suffered. Other similar affairs took place from time to time. On Feb. 26 five Americans were killed and 100 or more disabled by a gas attack. On March 1 in the Toul sector they repulsed a heavy German raid, killing many. On March 6 it was announced that the Americans were holding an eight mile front in France alone. Secretary of War Newton D. Baker arrived in France March 10 and inspected the Amer ican forces in France. He also visited England and Italy, conferring with the authorities there, and returned home April 16. The result of his trip and the beginning of the great German offensive March 21 was a tremendous increase in the military activities of the United States, particularly in rushing troops to Europe. German Offensive in March. On March 21 the Germans attacked along the British front from the Oise to the Scarpe. a distance of fifty miles, and drove Gen. Haig's troops back for twenty miles or more, capturing Chauny, Ham, Peronne, Bapaume, Nesle, Roye and many other places. The French were also driven back and lost Montdidier, Noyon and other towns. The Germans attempted by driving toward Amiens to separate the French and British armies, intending to roll up each in turn, but after some victories in Flanders and on the French front they were finally stopped. They had advanced some thirty-five miles and retaken the greater part of the ground abandoned in the Hindenburg retreat. The allies lost heavily in killed, wounded and prisoners, but the Germans, being the aggressors, lost still more men. This was especially true in the battle of Ypres on April 9 when they were defeated by the British and French. On March 28. in the height of the great battle, the allies came to an agreement to On Feb. 11 President Wilson again ad-place all their forces from the Arctic ocean dressed congress, and laid down four basic principles as essential to a just and lasting Peace. These were: The final settlement must be just; peoples and countries must not be bartered about by the powers like chattels; territorial settlements must be for the benefit of the peoples concerned, and all well defined national aspirations should be granted so far กศ might be consistent with future peace. These principles were indorsed by the allies. Lut not by the central powers. Previously to this the president had replied to Pope Benedict, who on Aug. 13, 1917, appealed to the belligerents to negotiate for peace on the basis of the restoration of to the Mediterranean under one supreme command. The man chosen was Gen. Foch, a leading French strategist.. On March 29 Gen. Pershing placed all of the American forces at Gen. Foch's disposal and the offer was ac cepted. On the following day the American troops not already at the front began their march to take part in the battle. Since then they have been brigaded with the French and British all the way from the North sea to Switzerland. On April 8 the Germans began a new offensive on the whole British front and won a number of victories in the La Bassee canal region and elsewhere, forcing the defenders Aimed to Split Allies' Lines. tc evacuate Armentieres and pushing them barbed wire complete to a depth of many back to the line of Wytschaete, Messines ridge kilometers. and Ploegsteert. They also attacked the French lines. By April 19 the Germans had taken Merris, Neuve Eglise, Bailleul, Wulver- "3. The German Plan-The Germans' concepghem, Wytschaete. Poelcapelle. Passchendaeletion was Napoleonic. They designed to break and Langemark and part of Messines ridge. Review of Great Battle. In an illuminating cable message on April 21. sent by Paul Scott Mowrer, staff correspondent of The Daily News with the French armies, he said: "Exactly a month ago to-day the world's greatest battle began. What has happened in this month? "The history of such vast and complicated events never can be written until long afterward. Not only are all the facts not yet collated, but many facts cannot yet be revealed because they would be useful to the enemy, who is much worried at present because he cannot discover whether the French army is still practically intact. Nevertheless. I will attempt in this dispatch to give a more detailed account of the month's developments than any other hitherto published. "This account is in no way based on official reports, to which, indeed, I have not had access, but merely upon personal observations and opinions and to some extent upon the collation of miscellaneous information which has already been published. "I shall not dweil upon the picturesque side of the battle; neither upon the myriad acts of individual heroism, nor upon the skill and devotion of the French and British armies as a whole. I shall confine myself to stating what I conceive to be the broad outlines of the battle. For clearness I shall number the headings from 1 to 9. German Preparations for Blow. "1. German Preparations - Having definitely settled the Russian situation, the German great general staff with the kaiser's consent decided in February to make a final effort to win a complete victory over the allies by vanquishing Britain and France before the United States could transport a decisive number of fighting men to Europe. The front to be attacked was chosen and the date set for March 21. The preliminary preparations had already been made. All that remained was to concentrate troops and materiel. "This concentration was effected with the greatest secrecy. The troop trains were unlighted and ran only by night. Subdivisions while on the way were kept under shelter and out of sight in the daytime. Two Hundred Divisions Gathered. "Little by little about 200 divisions were gathered in France. Half of them, being destined to take part in the coming battle. were assembled in reasonable proximity to the British front. Not only were the divisions all raised to full strength, newly equipped and re-enforced with various kinds of specialists. but every possible contingency was foreseen and materiel provided accordingly. The troops were excited to a high pitch of enthusiasm and the greatest confidence prevailed. Preparations by the Allies. "2. In the expectation of a big German offensive the allies took important measures. The British took over the section of the French front between St. Quentin and Chauny in order to free more French divisions for maneuvering purposes. The question of a unified command was agitated but resulted in a compromise, namely, the creation of the Versailles council, which was to hold all the allied general reserves at its disposition. These general reserves were estimated by the Germans at forty-five French divisions and fifteen British. The allied reserves were carefully distributed at strategic points. "I am not conversant with what took place behind the British lines, but behind the French there was a vast amount of labor, the digging of position behind position with trenches and the French and British armies apart at the point of junction, then crush the British army by turning its right while leaving a strong force defensively opposite the French left. The death blow to the British was to be given by a second attack in Flanders following the first one on the Somme. "The means whereby they were certain they would succeed were: (a) The vast secret concentration. (b) The surprise which would end everything before the allies' reserves could arrive. "The German railways radiate to many points on the front, whereas the allies' railways mostly run in semicircles parallel with the front. thus giving the enemy a decided advantage. Allies Expected Big Blow. "4. The Allies' Plan-The allies' plan was simply to allow the Germans to attack and sustain the blow successfully. They expected the Germans to attack in the region of St. Quentin, but there were also reasons to sup. pose that the Germans would attack in the Champagne. The allies were no less confident of their ability to sustain the shock than the Germans were confident of victory. Hit from Arras to Chauny. "5. First Phase of the Battle-The sector chosen for attack was the front of eighty kilometers (forty-eight miles) from Arras to Chauny, held entirely by the British. Against two armies three powerful German armies were concentrated. The British generals were Byng on the north and Gough on the south. The German generals from north to south were Von Below. Von Marwitz and Von Hutier. The British were outnumbered two to one, both in men and guns. "What happened? Gen. Byng's army held admirably, maintaining the positions on the left and retreating on the right only to keep in contact with Gen. Gough. The latter's army. which had to bear the brunt of the German blow, was broken in two. Retreat was imperative. Road to Paris Put in Danger. "The peculiarities of this retreat were: (a) Its rapidity. (b) Its direction. Instead of retreating elastically and keeping a loop formation around the German advance, the British retired first due west and then northwest toward Amiens. The entire Oise valley, which is on the direct road to Paris, was in dan ger. The Germans' original objective had been Amiens. Two days after the battle began their objective became Paris. "But the Germans had reckoned without the French. The French army began to check the danger in the Oise valley on March 23. The fighting literally was one against three. The general in command retired foot by foot and by March 26, having received re-enforcements, began to hold firmly along the line ChaunyNoyon. The Germans on March 31 made their last great attempt to break through the valley of the Oise. They were soundly repulsed. Paris ceased to be the German objective. Field Marshal von Hindenburg again turned his attention to Amiens. Connecting Link Is Formed. "Meanwhile another French army had begun intervention on March 27 on the left of the army that blocked the road to Paris, forming a connecting link between it and the remnant of Gen. Gough's army. On the first day the French along a twenty kilometer (twelve mile) front from Hangard to Tilloy fought literally one to ten, yet disputed every foot of the ground. By March 31 this French army, having received re-enforcements, was holding firm along the lines from the Somme to Montdidier, |