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termined to secure the advantage of the initiative by striking through the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine and invading Germany across the Rhine. There was no doubt that the Germans would violate Belgium, but it was hoped that the resistance at the fortified triangleLiége, Namur, and Antwerp-would greatly delay the invasion of Northern France, and meanwhile it was hoped that a strong diversion could be created by the invasion of Germany below Metz. It would be worth much to make German soil, instead of French, the scene of war's devastations, and then, too, French patriotism cried out for the redemption of the provinces torn from France fortyfour years ago.

France struck an eager blow, but with forces not really sufficiently mobilized to give the effort the weight it required for so great a mission.

On Aug. 7 a brigade from the fortress at Belfort crossed the frontier and routed small German detachments which endeavored to defend Altkirch, an Alsatian town in the plain between the southern end of the Vosges Mountains and the Swiss frontier. An invasion of Germany made through this gap between the mountains would, after crossing Alsace, strike Southern Württemberg, with Bavaria beyond and the Austrian Tyrol below. Certainly it would have been a brilliant stroke of genius if France could have transferred to those South German kingdoms the war which has since wrecked Flanders, Artois, Picardy, and Champagne. But not only would that have required a great force for the attack, but another army would have been needful to guard the flank against the German strongholds at Strassburg and Neu Breisach. To be successful, the effort launched here should have had something like the weight in men and material with which Germany struck down from the north.

On Aug. 8 the French occupied without opposition the important town of Mulhouse and attacked with success a German force stationed in the woods beyond. By the 10th strong German reinforcements arrived, and the French fell back to Altkirch. Here faulty reports from

French air scouts produced the impression that a comparatively weak German force was defending the Rhine country below Metz. Consequently a general offensive was undertaken by the French Army in Alsace, under General Pau, and the army of Lorraine, commanded by General de Castelnau.

The plan was to attack along the whole line from Nancy to Belfort, and by Aug. 15 the French had captured most of the passes through the Vosges and were looking down on the plains of Alsace beyond. Attempted diversions by German columns from Metz were defeated by de Castelnau, and Pau pressed forward, capturing Dannemarie, Thann, Mulhouse, and Saarburg.

By Aug. 17 not only the entire range of the Vosges had been captured, but at Saarburg the French were astride the railway communications between Strassburg and Metz. This point and date marked the high tide of the French invasion, for by Aug. 20 an overpowering German Army fell upon their left from the direction of Metz. The French attempted to retreat, but a division on the left was overwhelmed and practically destroyed in the battle of Metz. By the 22d the French armies of Alsace and Lorraine had lost all the ground gained, and the pursuing Germans were threatening the whole French sector between Toul and Nancy. Their victorious advance was halted by de Castelnau's splendid defense of the field works which he erected on the wooded hills about Nancy.

From the 6th to the 9th of September the Bavarians were encouraged in desperate attacks by the presence of the Kaiser, but they were unable to gain ground in face of the deadly fire of the . French 75-millimeter guns, which made great practice at shore ranges. On Sept. 9 the Germans lost their positions in the Forest of Champenoux, and the French took Amance. Two days later they had St. Dié and the line of the Meurthe River. The fighting in this sector ended on Sept. 12, when de Castelnau's men reoccupied Lunéville, and since then the fortified eastern frontier of France has remained an impassable barrier to the German legions.

Eastern Theatre Theatre of War-Rise of He had used every ounce of his influence Hindenburg at Berlin to block the project of a land improvement company, who had proposed to drain the lakes and marshes.

One of the earliest surprises of the war was the prompt mobilization of the Russian Army, which all professional critics looked upon as a brave, slow army good for defense, but lacking in initiative. The notion was proved wrong by a very speedy mobilization and a quick and effective attack upon East Prussia designed to relieve the pressure upon Russia's allies in the west. Within the first week of August General Rennenkampf, a hero of the Manchurian war, crossed the Prussian frontier, cut the railway which skirts the Masurian Lakes, and drove back the whole line of Prussian outposts. General von François, the Prussian commander, made a stand at Gumbinnen, but after three or four days' fighting against greatly superior artillery and infantry he was com

An army of something like 150,000 men was given to von Hindenburg, and he brought this force together east of Thorn and 'Graudenz. Rennenkampf, after his series of early successes, swept on confidently to the investment of Kö

GENERAL VON HINDENBURG

pelled to retreat on Königsberg.

Meanwhile General Samsonov, another soldier who learned modern war by fighting Japanese, marched up from Mlawa through the region west of the Masurian Lakes. This army drove a strong German force headlong out of an intrenched position between Orlau and Frankenau and took many prisoners as the panicstricken Germans retreated on Königsberg. By the last week in August what was left of the German armies in East Prussia was shut up in Königsberg.

Then Germany called out of his retirement at Hanover a veteran of 1870, General von Hindenburg, who knew thoroughly the terrain of East Prussia. In the period of his active service he had commanded army corps at Königsberg and Allenstein, and had frequently commanded at manoeuvres in the Masurian Lake region. He loved the ground, and knew it as no one else in the world did.

nigsberg, a first-class fortress, with a garrison of 50,000 and 1,200 guns. Samsonov pushed on toward the north of the lake region, but was quite out of touch with Rennenkampf. He turned to pierce the lake region to his west via Allenstein, probably with the intention of striking in between Thorn and Danzig. He had about five army corps, of probably 200,000 men, and certainly outnumbered von Hindenburg's force.

On Wednesday,

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The

Aug. 26, von Hindenburg struck on a wide front, and Samsonov's march was abruptly halted. He discovered that a strong army was posted behind the lakes and marshes, which were commanded by the German batteries. strength of von Hindenburg's position consisted not only in a well-defended front, but in exceptionally good opportunities to develop quickly flank attacks both right and left.

The battle, one of the classics of strategy, lasted until the end of August, and gave the Germans one of the most complete victories of the entire war. Von Hindenburg, feinting first toward one flank, then toward the other, succeeded in rolling the Russian Army up in a confused and helpless mass, entangled in the marsh lands.

Von Hindenburg's complete mastery of the strategy of this great battle was evidenced as much by what he refrained

from doing as by what he did. Midway of the battle he had a great victory surely within his grasp, and could have driven a defeated enemy headlong back into Russia. He withstood the temptation, and carried the battle on for sevaral days while he continued to entangle Samsonov in a position whence there might be no escape. By Aug. 31 von Hindenburg had scored the only complete victory of the war. Samsonov and most of his corps and division commanders were killed. Perhaps 20 per cent. of the Russian force escaped via Ortelsberg. The Germans took nearly 90,000 prisoners and so much artillery and booty that they had hard work to handle it.

This tactical victory made von Hindenburg a national hero, for, with a smaller force, he had surrounded and destroyed the larger army. Von Hindenburg turned north against Rennenkampf, who instantly abandoned the attack on Königsberg, and retreated precipitately into Russia via Gumbinnen, where he fought a rearguard action.

Poland and Galicia

To the south early in August the Germans crossed the frontier and occupied without opposition several towns in Western Poland, and from the mining region began to ship coal back to Germany via Posen.

In Galicia Austria concentrated for an important campaign against Russian Poland. One army, whose base was at Przemysl, was for the attack toward the north, while the second army, with a base at Lemberg, faced east. These armies numbered over 300,000 men each.

The first army pushed north with no very serious opposition. A Russian army under General Ruzsky crossed the frontier, took Sokal, and advanced upon Lemberg. General Brusiloff, with another army, joined in the attack upon Lemberg. The fighting was general along a line between the Vistula and the Dniester. Austria's plan was to take advantage of the expected slowness of Russian

mobilization and strike without waiting to be struck. To their astonishment they soon met the armies of Ruzsky and Brusiloff, each with over a quarter of a million men. A third and smaller Russian army under General Ewerts was to engage the Austrians while the larger armies should envelop them.

By Aug. 27 Brusiloff took Tarnopol after a hard battle, and a few days later he captured Halicz and proceeded to invest Lemberg, which was in the hands of the Russians by Sept. 3. In the week's series of battles the Russians took 100,000 prisoners and great quantities of ordnance abandoned by the Austrian armies, whose retreat was a rout. From Lemberg the Russians pursued the demoralized Austrians into the Carpathian passes, taking many towns en route. To the north, Ivanov, who had succeeded Ewerts, attacked a mixed Austro-German army under General Dankl and the Archduke Joseph, and on Sept. 10 won a splendid victory. At Rava Russka, von Auffenberg, in command of Dankl's right, was crushed and his army dispersed. The utterly defeated remnants of the Austrian armies retreated to Cracow, Przemysl, and Jaroslav. The Austrians were expelled from Poland, and the Russians were going deep into Austria.

On the Serbian Front

When Austria declared war on July 28 a bombardment of the Serbian capital at Belgrade began, but the Dual Monarchy met unexpectedly stiff resistance when attempts were made to cross the Danube. A combined Serbian and Montenegrin force invaded Bosnia, and advanced toward Serajevo. On Aug. 17 a larger Austrian army was soundly beaten at Shabatz by a Serb force, and a few days later they suffered another reverse on the banks of the Jadar. Both defeats were costly, and the Serbs took many prisoners and much artillery. They showed a surprising ability to withstand whatever forces Austria dared divert from the Russian front.

[Continuation in May Issue]

By Lieutenant Charles C. Gill

United States Navy

This article, describing the concluding phases of the Battle of Jutland, is the fourth of a series contributed to CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE by Lieutenant Gill of the superdreadnought Oklahoma-with the sanction of the United States Naval Department-for the purpose of deducing the naval lessons furnished by the sea engagements of the European war.

D

IV. The Battle of Jutland-Continued

The Third Phase

The British Grand Fleet Joins in the Battle URING the first and second phases of the battle the Grand Fleet was closing at utmost fleet speed on a southeast by south course. Three battle cruisers, led by Rear Admiral Hood in the Invincible, together with screening light cruisers and destroyers, were in advance operating as a fast wing. At 5:45 an outpost light cruiser was engaged with a division of German light cruisers. At 6:10 Admiral Beatty's engaged squadron was sighted by the Invincible. At 6:21 Admiral Hood led his squadron into action, taking station in the van just ahead of the Lion and closing at 6:25 to a range of 8,000 yards. A few minutes later the Invincible was sunk by gun fire.

In the meanwhile the British battle fleet was coming into action, filling the previously mentioned gap opening up between Admiral Beatty and Rear Admiral Evan Thomas. At 5:55 advanced British armored cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers were engaged with German cruisers and destroyers. At 6:16 the armored cruisers Warrior, Black Prince, and Defence under Sir Robert Arbuthnot were drawn between the lines and disabled by close-range fire from the German battleships. At 6:14 Admiral Jellicoe formed the Grand Fleet in battle line, and during deployment at 6:17 the first battle squadron opened fire on a German battleship of the Kaiser class. At 6:30 the other battle squadrons engaged ships of the König class. The four battleships of the Elizabeth class, previously engaged during the second phase, formed astern of the main battle

fleet. At this time the Warspite of this fifth battle squadron had her helm jam with right rudder, causing her to turn toward the German line, where she was subjected to severe fire, but the trouble being soon corrected she was extricated from this predicament. Admiral Jellicoe reports:

Owing principally to the mist, but partly to the smoke, it was possible to see only a few ships at a time in the enemy's battle line. Toward the van only some four or five ships were ever visible at once. More could be seen from the rear squadron, but never more than eight to twelve. * The action be

tween the battle fleets lasted intermittently from 6:17 P. M. to 8:20 P. M., at ranges between 9,000 yards and 12,000 yards. During this time the British fleet made alterations of course from southeast by east to west (168 degrees) in the endeavor to close, but the enemy constantly turned away and opened the range under cover of destroyer attacks and smoke screens. The alterations of course had the effect of bringing the British fleet (which commenced the action in a position of advantage on the bow of the enemy) to a quarterly bearing from the enemy's battle line, but at the same time placed us between the enemy and his bases. During the somewhat brief periods that the ships of the High Seas Fleet were visible through the mist the heavy and effective fire kept up by the battleships and battle cruisers of the Grand Fleet caused me much satisfaction, and the enemy vessels seen to be constantly hit, some being observed to haul out of the line and at least one to sink. The enemy's return fire at this time was not effective and the damage caused to our ships was insignificant.

Series of Local Actions

were

From the reports it appears that the area of the battle was covered by mist and smoke of varying density, interspersed with sections wherein opposing ships could see each other at the battle range. This gave rise to a series of local actions during which all ships of the

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battle fleet became engaged, but at no time simultaneously. These detached actions were for the most part between few ships for brief periods. The aggregate fighting, however, seems to have been considerable, as may be gathered from the following synopsis of the principal incidents reported by Admiral Jellicoe and Vice Admiral Beatty:

At 6:17 the third battle squadron engaged German battleships, battle cruisers, and light cruisers at a range of 11,000 yards. The fourth battle squadron, in which was placed the Commander in Chief's flagship Iron Duke, engaged the battle squadron, consist

KIEL CANAL

ing of the König and Kaiser classes, as well as some of the German battle cruisers and light cruisers. The mist rendered range taking difficult, but the fire of the squadron was effective. The Iron Duke opened at 6:30 on a battleship of the König class at 12,000 yards range, hitting on the second salvo, and continuing to hit until the target ship turned away. The fire of other ships of the fourth squadron was principally directed at enemy battle cruisers and cruisers as they appeared out of the mist. The ships of the second battle squadron were in action with vessels of the Kaiser and König classes between 6:30 and 7:20, and fired also at a battle cruiser which had dropped back, apparently severely damaged. The first battle

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