Chapter I: Front Matter

[Transcriber's Notes]

My father's part in WWI attracted me to this book. I recall him talking briefly about fighting the Bolsheviki in Archangel. "The machine gun bullets trimmed the leaves off the trees, as if it were fall." Like most veterans, he had little else to say.

This book mentions his campaign on page 736; "August 3, 1918.--President Wilson announces new policy regarding Russia and agrees to cooperate with Great Britain, France and Japan in sending forces to Murmansk, Archangel and Vladivostok."

My father's experience seems to be described in the following excerpt from the University of Michigan "The University Record", April 5, 1999. "Bentley showcases items from World War I 'Polar Bears'"; by Joanne Nesbit.

"During the summer of 1918, the U.S. Army's 85th Division, made up primarily of men from Michigan and Wisconsin, completed training at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Mich., and proceeded to England. The 5,000 troops of the division's 339th Infantry and support units realized that they were not being sent to France to join the great battles on the Western Front when they were issued Russian weapons and equipment and lectured on life in the Arctic regions.

"When they reached their destination in early September, 600 miles north of Moscow, the men of the 339th joined an international force commanded by the British that had been sent to northern Russia for purposes that were never made clear. The Americans were soon spread in small fighting units across hundreds of miles of the Russian forest fighting the Bolsheviks who had taken power in Petrograd and Moscow.

"The day of the Armistice (Nov. 11) when fighting ceased for other American armies, the allied soldiers were fighting the Bolsheviks said to be led by Trotsky himself. After three days, the allies finally were able to drive off the Bolsheviks. While this fight was a victory for the Americans, the battle led to the realization that the war was not over for these men. As the weeks and months passed and more battles were fought, the men began to wonder if they would ever get home.

"The men of the 339th generally were well equipped with winter clothing during the winter of 1918-19 while stationed near the Arctic Circle, where temperatures reached minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

"There was little daylight for months at a time. Knowing that the war was over for other American soldiers, the morale of the troops declined throughout the winter.

"Families and friends of the men began to clamor for their return. Politicians unwilling to support an undeclared war against the Russian government joined in their demand. A petition to Congress was circulated. Several of the British and French units mutinied and refused to continue fighting. In early April, the American troops learned that they would be withdrawn as soon as the harbor at Archangel was cleared of ice.

"It was not until June of 1919 that the men of the 339th sailed from Russia and adopted the polar bear as their regimental symbol. After a stop in New York, the troops went on to Detroit where they took part in a gala July 4 homecoming parade at Belle Isle."

The converted text for several chapters is copied from Project Gutenberg's eBook 16282, History of the World War, Vol. 3, prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Jennifer Zickerman, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team. This edition has minor differences, mostly additional passages and images.

When considering monetary values listed in the text, one United States dollar in 1918 is equivalent to about thirteen dollars in 2006. One United States dollar in 1918 is equivalent to about 5.6 French Francs in 1918; one Franc in 1918 is equivalent to about 2.3 dollars in 2006.

For additional insight into the pilots and air battles of the war read "The Red Knight of Germany; The Story of Baron von Richthofen, Germany's Great War Bird" by Floyd Gibbons. This book is copyright 1927 and will not be freely available online until 2022.

In the PDf and Doc versions, the following pages contain additional maps that may assist in understanding some of the references to locations in the text. The first shows Western France. The second map contains many of the locations of the European battles. They are adapted from Putnam's Handy Volume Atlas of the World, published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London, 1921.

The next two maps from the USMA, West Point, map collection, compare Europe before and after World War I.

Finally, a full map of the European theater has much detail. It should be scaled up to about 500% for detail viewing. It is derived from a larger map from Rand, McNally & Company's Indexed Atlas of the World, Copyright 1898.

This is a glossary of unfamiliar (to me) terms and places.

Boche
Disparaging term for a German.

camion
Truck or bus. [French]

charnel
Repository for the dead.

colliers
Coal miner

congerie
Accumulation, aggregation, collection, gathering

consanguinities
Relationship by blood or common ancestor. Close affinity.

deadweight
Displacement of a ship at any loaded condition minus the lightship
weight (weight of the ship with no fuel, passengers, cargo). It
includes the crew, passengers, cargo, fuel, water, and stores.

debouch
March from a confined area into the open; to emerge

Gross Tonnage
Volume of all ship's enclosed spaces (from keel to funnel) measured to
the outside of the hull framing (1 ton / 100 cu.ft.).

inst.
The current month: your letter of the 15th instant.

invest
Surround with troops or ships; besiege.

irredenta
Region culturally or historically related to one nation, but subject
to a foreign government.

Junker
Member of the Prussian landed aristocracy, formerly associated with
political reaction and militarism.

Kiao-chau
German protectorate from 1898 to 1915, on the Yellow Sea coast of
China. It was on 200 square miles of the Shantung Peninsula around the
city of Tsingtao, leased to Germany for one hundred years by the
imperial Chinese government. In 1898 Tsingtao was an obscure fishing
village of 83,000 inhabitants. When Germany withdrew in 1915, Tsingtao
was an important trading port with a population of 275,000.

kine
Plural of cow.

kultur
German culture and civilization as idealized by the exponents of
German imperialism during the Hohenzollern and Nazi regimes.

lighterage
Transportation of goods on a lighter (large flatbottom barge used to
deliver or unload goods to or from a cargo ship or transport goods
over short distances.)

lyddite
An explosive consisting chiefly of picric acid, a poisonous, explosive
yellow crystalline solid, C6H2(NO2)3OH.

mitrailleuse
Machine gun.

morganatic
Marriage between a person of royal birth and a partner of lower rank,
where no titles or estates of the royal partner are to be shared by
the partner of inferior rank nor by any of the offspring.

nugatory
Of little or no importance; trifling; invalid.

pastils
Small medicated or flavored tablet; tablet containing aromatic
substances burned to fumigate or deodorize the air; pastel paste or
crayon.

poilus
French soldier, especially in World War I.

pourparler
Discussion preliminary to negotiation.

prorogue
Discontinue a session of parliament; postpone; defer.

punctilio
Fine point of etiquette; precise observance of formalities.

rinderpest
Contagious viral disease, chiefly of cattle, causing ulceration of the
alimentary tract and diarrhea.

Sublime Porte
[French. Porte: a gate] Ottoman court; government of the Turkish
empire; from the gate of the sultan's palace.

Tsing-tao (Qing-dao)
City in eastern China on the Yellow Sea, north-northwest of Shanghai.
The city was leased in 1898 to the Germans, who established a famous
brewery.

Uhlans
Horse cavalry of the Polish, German, Austrian, and Russian armies.

ukase
Order or decree; an edict; proclamation of a czar having the force of
law in imperial Russia.

verbund
[German] Interconnection.

Wipers
British soldiers' pronunciation of "Ypres".

Zemstvos
An elective council for the administration of a provincial district in
czarist Russia.

[End Transcriber's notes]

General Foch, Commander-in-Chief of all Allied forces. General
Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American armies. Field Marshal
Haig, head of the British armies. General d'Esperey (French) to whom
Bulgaria surrendered. General Diaz, Commander-in-Chief of the Italian
armies. General Marshall (British), head of the Mesopotamian
expedition. General Allenby (British), who redeemed Palestine from the
Turks.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD WAR

An Authentic Narrative of The World's Greatest War

By FRANCIS A. MARCH, Ph.D. In Collaboration with RICHARD J. BEAMISH Special War Correspondent and Military Analyst

With an Introduction By GENERAL PEYTON C. MARCH Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Illustrated with Reproductions from the Official Photographs of the United States, British and French Governments

PUBLISHED FOR THE UNITED PUBLISHERS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO TORONTO 1919

COPYRIGHT, 1918

FRANCIS A. MARCH

This history is an original work and is fully protected by the copyright laws, including the right of translation. All persons are warned against reproducing the text in whole or in part without the permission of the publishers.

WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF. WASHINGTON,

NOVEMBER 14, 1918. With the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918, the World War has been practically brought to an end. The events of the past four years have been of such magnitude that the various steps, the numberless battles, and the growth of Allied power which led up to the final victory are not clearly defined even in the minds of many military men. A history of this great period which will state in an orderly fashion this series of events will be of the greatest value to the future students of the war, and to everyone of the present day who desires to refer in exact terms to matters which led up to the final conclusion.

The war will be discussed and re-discussed from every angle and the sooner such a compilation of facts is available, the more valuable it will be. I understand that this History of the World War intends to put at the disposal of all who are interested, such a compendium of facts of the past period of over four years; and that the system employed in safeguarding the accuracy of statements contained in it will produce a document of great historical value without entering upon any speculative conclusions as to cause and effect of the various phases of the war or attempting to project into an historical document individual opinions. With these ends in view, this History will be of the greatest value. Signature [Payton C. March] General, Chief of Staff. United States Army.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I. A WAR FOR INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM
A Conflict that was Inevitable--The Flower of Manhood on the Fields of
France--Germany's Defiance to the World--Heroic Belgium--Four
Autocratic Nations against Twenty-four Committed to the Principles of
Liberty--America's Titanic Effort--Four Million Men Under Arms, Two
Million Overseas--France the Martyr Nation--The British Empire's
Tremendous Share in the Victory--A River of Blood Watering the Desert
of Autocracy

CHAPTER II. THE WORLD SUDDENLY TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
The War Storm Breaks--Trade and Commerce Paralyzed--Homeward Rush of
Travelers--Harrowing Scenes as Ships Sail for America--Stock Markets
Closed--The Tide of Desolation Following in the Wake of War

CHAPTER III. WHY THE WORLD WENT TO WAR
The Balkan Ferment--Russia, the Dying Giant Among Autocracies--Turkey
the "Sick Man" of Europe--Scars Left by the Balkan War--Germany's
Determination to Seize a Place in the Sun.

CHAPTER IV. THE PLOTTER BEHIND THE SCENES
The Assassination at Sarajevo--The Slavic Ferment--Austria's
Domineering Note--The Plotters of Potsdam--The Mailed Fist of
Militarism Beneath the Velvet Glove of Diplomacy--Mobilization and
Declarations of War

CHAPTER V. THE GREAT WAR BEGINS
Germany Invades Belgium and Luxemburg--French Invade Alsace--England's
"Contemptible Little Army" Lands in France and Belgium--The Murderous
Gray-Green Tide--Heroic Retreat of the British from Mons--Belgium
Overrun--Northern France Invaded--Marshal Joffre Makes Ready to Strike

CHAPTER VI. THE TRAIL OF THE BEAST IN BELGIUM
Barbarities that Shocked Humanity--Planned as Part of the Teutonic
Policy of Schrecklichkeit--How the German and the Hun Became
Synonymous Terms--The Unmatchable Crimes of a War-Mad Army--A Record
of Infamy Written in Blood and Tears--Official Reports

CHAPTER VII. THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE
Joffre's Masterly Plan--The Enemy Trapped Between Verdun and
Paris--Gallieni's "Army in Taxicabs"--Foch, the "Savior of
Civilization," Appears--His Mighty Thrust Routs the Army of
Hausen--Joffre Salutes Foch as "First Strategist in Europe"--Battle
that Won the Baton of a Marshal

CHAPTER VIII. JAPAN IN THE WAR
Tsing Tau Seized by the Mikado--German "Gibraltar" of the Far East
Surrendered After Short Siege--Japan's Aid to the Allies in Money,
Ships, Men and Nurses--German Propaganda in the Far East Fails

CHAPTER IX. CAMPAIGN IN THE EAST
Invasion of East Prussia--Von Hindenburg and Masurian Lakes--Battle of
Tannenberg--Augustovo--Russians Capture Lemberg--The Offer to Poland

CHAPTER X. STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY ON THE SEA
The British Blockade--German Raiders and Their Fate--Story of the
Emden's Remarkable Voyage--Appearance of the Submarine--British Naval
Victory off Helgoland--U-9 Sinks Three British Cruisers

CHAPTER XI. THE SUBLIME PORTE
Turkish Intrigues--The Holy War--Mesopotamia and Transcaucasia--The
Suez Canal--Turkey the Catspaw of Germany

CHAPTER XII. RESCUE OF THE STARVING
Famine in Belgium--Belgium Relief Commission Organized in
London--Herbert C. Hoover--American Aid--The Great Cardinal's Famous
Challenge

CHAPTER XIII. BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES
German and British Squadrons Grapple off the Chilean Coast--Germany
Wins the First Round--England Comes Back with Terrific Force--Graphic
Picture of the Destruction of the German Squadron off Falkland
Islands--English Coast Towns Bombarded for the First Time in Many
Years.

CHAPTER XIV. NEW METHODS AND HORRORS OF WARFARE
Tanks--Poison Gas--Flame Projectors--Airplane Bombs--Trench
Mortars--Machine Guns--Modern Uses of Airplanes for Liaison and
Attacks on Infantry--Radio--Rifle and Hand Grenades--A War of
Intensive Artillery Preparation--A Debacle of Insanities, Terrible
Wounds and Horrible Deaths.

CHAPTER XV. GERMAN PLOTS AND PROPAGANDA IN AMERICA
Trailing the German Plotters--Destruction of Ships--Pressure on
Congress--Attacks in Canada--Zimmerman's Foolish Effort to Embroil
America with Mexico and Japan--Lies of the Propagandists After America
Entered the War--Dumba, Von Bernstorff, Van Papen and Boy-Ed, a quartet
of Unscrupulous Destructionists

CHAPTER XVI. SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
The Submarine Murderers at Work--Germany's Blackband Warning--No
Chance for Life--The Ship Unarmed and Without Munitions--The
President's Note--Germany's Lying Denials--Coroner's Inquest Charges
Kaiser with Wilful Murder--"Remember the Lusitania" One of America's
Big Reasons for Declaring War

CHAPTER XVII. NEUVE CHAPELLE AND WAR IN BLOOD-SOAKED TRENCHES
War Amid Barbed-Wire Entanglements and the Desolation of No Man's
Land--Subterranean Tactics Continuing Over Four Years--Attacks that
Cost Thousands of Lives for Every Foot of Gain

CHAPTER XVIII. STEADFAST SOUTH AFRICA
Botha and Smuts, Rocks of Loyalty Amid a Sea of Treachery--Civil War
that Ended with the Drowning of General Beyers and the Arrest of
General De Wet--Conquest of German Colonies--Trail of the Hun in the
Jungle

CHAPTER XIX. ITALY DECLARES WAR ON AUSTRIA
Her Great Decision--D'Annunzio, Poet and Patriot--Italia
Irredenta--German Indignation--The Campaigns on the Isonzo and in the
Tyrol

CHAPTER XX. GLORIOUS GALLIPOLI
A Titanic Enterprise--Its Objects--Disasters and Deeds of Deathless
Glory--The Heroic Anzacs--Bloody Dashes up Impregnable
Slopes--Silently they Stole Away--A Successful Failure

CHAPTER XXI. THE GREATEST NAVAL BATTLE IN HISTORY
The Battle of Jutland--Every Factor on Sea and in Sky Favorable to the
Germans--Low Visibility a Great Factor--A Modern Sea Battle--Light
Cruisers Screening Battleship Squadron--Germans Run Away when British
Fleet Marshals Its Full Strength--Death of Lord Kitchener

CHAPTER XXII. THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN
The Advance on Cracow--Van Hindenburg Strikes at Warsaw--German
Barbarism--The War in Galicia--The Fall of Przemysl--Russia's
Ammunition Fails--The Russian Retreat--The Fall of Warsaw--Czernowitz