Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 28, 1918)
TPE OMAHA SUNDAY -BEE: JULY 28, 19lX 7 A FOUR YEARS 0 GREAT ' WAR OF MA ows- V - hi. CHRONICLE OF THE EVENTS - FROM FIRST DRIVE OF HUNS : UP TO PRESENT CAMPAIGN Last Year of War Sees Occur ,'ences of Greater Importance to World Than During Earlier Periods. ' Events big with the fate of nations have marked, the fourth year of the war, which now comes to a close It has been a 12 months of alternate hope and concern for the powers of the entente alliance. It was on July 28, 1914, that Aus tria declared war on Serbia, begin ning the great struggle. During the past 12 months there have been oc currences that in some aspects have K f An frrtr imnnrt in h,v influence upon the worjd than those of the preceding period. Russia's collapse, the Italian defeat last au tumn, the stupendous drives of the Uermans against the allied armies, and the, wonderful defensive opera s tions that have again and again checked the enemy when success for him seemed near at hand have held the world breathless. But, transcend ing in significance any -event in the actual theaters of the war, America's full participation in the conflict, in volving the transportation overseas ot more than a million men to engage in ..it must remain for all time the great outstanding" feature of the tourtn year ot tne struggle, it is upon America that the entente is re lying for the men and resources to turn the- tide. x A year ago the number of Ameri . can troops going to Europe had not begun to assume large proportions. A few regulars and some national guardsmen had been sent to France, ifaut most of the big military training :amps were still being built and the men 'selected aSxtlte first contingent to be called to the colors wire still in citizens' clothes. Until the first day of August of 1917 the total num ber of American soldiers taken over seas was 26,967. Troop Movement Begins. Soon after that date the movement of troops was accelerated. 'Thou sands were aispatcnea across tne At lantic during the winter months, but it was not until the great German of fensive was started late in March of 1918 that the movement began to as sume really noteworthy proportions. lhe figures for the months from August 1, 1917, toVJuly 1, 1918, fol lows: V August, 18,323; September, 32,523; October, 38,259; November, 23,016; v December, 48,840;, January, 46,776; February 48,027; March, 83,811 April. 117,212; May, 244,345; June, 276,382. s On July 1, 1918, there were 14,644 American marines in France, bringing- the total number of American troops in that country and Italy up to 1,019,115. During V the recent fighting in France fit work of the American sol diers has compared favorably with that of other fighting men in the world. They have held sectors here and there, along the front. They are in, Alsace and northward in the Lor raine ector. The famous St. Mihiel sector is held by Americans, who ,are posted also on the-ine. along the heighlg of the.Meuse. East of Rheims they took part in the fighting during me last pnase ot the German offefti sive, while in the Chateau Thierry sector they held their line in a vital region against the utmost fury of the Teutonic onslaught.' North of Chateau Thierry, Americans helped to stop the drive of the Germans in the early days of June; and in the Soriwne sector, at Cantigny and tJri vesnes they have given proof of their soldierly qualities. 'Two Hun Offensives. ,The allies have been called upon y !o face two great offensives during - the past year The first of these came last October in Italy and the second., in France, began on March 21. The German drives in France, while separated by periods of from : a fewdays to several, weeks, have been considered as different phases of the same offensive. The abortive i. Austrian attack against Italy in Jilne Riso is looxea upon as merely an other attack against the western Jront and not as a distinct military' operation. But these offensives perhaps never would have been begun had it not teen for the collapse of Russia dur ing the past-nvinter. German and Austrian troops, released from the Russia front, were 'taken to France ; nd Italy to help swell the masses of men hurled against the allies in the western theater of operayms. As long as Russia remained in the -fight it held great numbers of TVntnni'c troops in the east, and its withdrawal! trom the war exercised a fundamental influence on the course of its develop ment. , . Situation a Year Ago. The year .opened with the fortunes fif war apparently favoring the en tente. The British had forced hark the. Germans tothe famous Hinrlpn. -.burg line. The French had establish- eu tnemseives nrmly along the Chemiu rfcs. Dames, north of the Aisne. The' echoesof Verdun were still ringing the knell of German hopes in that sector of the battle area. The Italians were holding their lines along the Isonzo. The rejuve nated Russian "regiment' of July 1" had carried the war far into the Aus trian defenses in Bukowina and Gali cia. . Through August and ' September. 1917, there came rumors that Russia was exhausted by the war, and quiet settled down along the lines from the gates of the Carpathians to the Bal-v tic. Stories were heard of tion of German and Russian troops, but assurances came from Petrograd that Russia would stand true' to its allies. , Fall Offensive in Italy., v .The German and Austrian high i Atittnr nrnn Vi a wrrA than Vi rtTT"n the Piave. almost within sieht of commands had no illusions as to fur ther Russian belligerency. .There came to the allies reports that the central empires were taking the pick of their force from the Russian front and concentrating them for a drive against some part of the line in the western theater, lhen came intima tions that the blow was aimed against itaiy. The storm broke at Canorpttn on October 26 and almost immediately the whole Italian line was thrown in to disorder. Pouring through the. passes, where in some instances-disaffected Italian troops held positions, the Germans and Austrians made progress which from the first was alarming. By "wise generalship, the Italian line was withdrawn from the Isonzo. It paused at the Tagliamento a"" men reurea iurtner until it rested ana men retired lurther until the domes of Venice. Here the Italian army reformed its- columns, consoli dated its positions by withdrawing" from the Rhaetian mountains to the Asiago plateau and assisted by the French reinforcements brought to that battlefront, stood at bay. Russian Collapse. Events in the meanwhile hid been moving swiftly in Russia. On No vember 1, while the offensive against Italy was under way. Alexander F. Kerensky, then the Russian premier, announced that Russia was worm out by the war aid that the allies must shoulder the burden thencforward. Seven days later Kerensky was de posed by the bolsheviki, The fall and flight of Kerensky was the signal for Germany aid Austria to enter into peace negotiations with Russia. ,On November 30 the bolsheviki an-' nounced that Russia was out of the war and proposed that all the allies join in negotiations for an armistice i Russian and German representatives met at iJrest-Litovsk on Decemebr 22, and terms of peace were ex changed. No progress was made with the negotiations, and the conference was broken up on January 11. In the meantime, a new republic had sprung from the side of Russia. It was Ukraine, a territory extending along the Roumanian and Galiria n frnnfipr from the Black sea nnrfh ward i Cholm. in ancient Poland With thic republic, the central ' emnires maHf peace late in January. ine tauure of the bolshevik au thorities to reach anv atrrppmpnt u,ith the Gerraans resulted in the renewal of hostilities on February 18, and the German armies moved forward nn niore. I ' T a. r . , ".' icsi-j,uovsK treaty. This brouerht about the peace negotiations, and at Brest- uovsk tne bolsheviki were o vpn tn understand that Germany would rec ognize the kingdom of Poland, the republic of Ukraine, the independence of Finland, and the seoarate envprn- mental status of Lithuania, Esthonia aim Livonia. iurKey, as an ally ot the central powers, was sriven a ereat area to the east of the Black sea, in cludingthe regions of Batum, Kars and Erivan. ' With the announcement of the final signing of the treaty between the bolsheviki and Germany, the allies gave up hope that Russia would rp- main in the conflict, and at once they ucKdn to -strengthen their lines against the comine of the ereat Ger man offensive by which Berlin and Vienna hoped to force the entente na tions to make peace. Roumania Capitulates. , With the greater nart of ker terri tory occupied by the Germans, Aus trians and Bulgarians, with her gov ernment driven from Rurharpst tn Jassy and with the Russian bolshe- viki openly hostile toward her, Rou mania found herself in a critical situa tion. Roumanian troops during Feb ruary and March advanced into Bes sarabia, a part of the new republic of uKraine, but they were hemmed in by the enemy forces and obliged to with draw. At last, on May 6, Roumania signed a treaty of peace with the cen tral powers. By this treaty' Roumania lost the province-of Dobrudja, on the south sine oi tne Danube, which she had re ceived after the Balkan war. , and agreed to a rectification of her west ern frontier. Economic concessions also were made under pressure from me i eutonic allies. Peace Tentatives. The Period hetwppn nprpmhpr 4 1917, and March 1. 1918. mav he rallpd the period of peace tentatives. It is true that before the end of the sum mer Tope Benedict made an appeal to the warring nations to enter into peace negotiations, the basis for pour parlers being the restoration of Bel gium and Serbia and the return to Germany of her lost colonies. This appeal, made on Angust 13, was an swered by President , Wilson on Au gust 29, when the president an Sisters ,... --Jr 'L '"' ' ' ' Mil ' Sisters representing 27 states of the union were entertained at a picnic at JCrug park by Omaha Knights of Columbus Thurs day. One hundred and seventy-five sisters were present nounced that the German government as constituted could not be believed and that the United States was ready to. enter into negotiations when the German people showed they desired peace, and when they spoke through any authority which would be repre sentative of the,rh. The German answer to the pope's appeal reached the Vatican on Sep tember 21. It expressed hope that further warfare could be averted through the good offices of the pope, out aeciinca to enter into any en gagement to meet what the allies had declared to be their minimum war aims. Enemy Offensives. Last winter it became known that the Germans were massing forces on the western front. Reports came that large units were being trained behind the lines and that new and more terrible engines of war than had been known before were to be used in German effort to break the allied lines, crush their irmies and force them to make peace. The nrive was well advertised, and even the place where it was to be launched was known with comparative cer tainty, On the morning of March 21 the uermans Cegan their attack from the vicinity of Arras, on the north, to La Fere, on the South, and centering their heaviest effort to crush the Brit ish forces, under General Gough, at ot. sjuenun. Staggering before the impact of the blow, the British army fell back rao- idly. For eight days the Germans poured through the old allied line in an effort to crush the British and drive a werge between them and the French, who were holding the lines to the south, then came a period of reaction and the Germans came to a stop. They had driven ahead for J5 miles, along a front extending more Uian 50 miles, before they were halted. Hardly had their legions been held lefore Amiens than a new offensive was begun in Flanders on April 2. It Swept the British back through Ar mentieres, but did not break their lines. The British, with the French, who were rushed up to the front, stopped the Germans after they had reached the hills southwest of Ypres. There, on April 9, the Germans suf fered a terrible defeat that halted their offensive in that quarter. Foch in Supreme Command. In the midst of the drive Jn the sector toward Amiens, the allied na tions took a vitally important step. They named General Ferdinand Foch. hero of the first battle oi the Marne, generalissimo of the allied forces on the western front, which includes all the line in Italy as well as in France. Even the Murman coast, in northern Russia, (has been held undefhis com mand. After a period of quiet, the Ger mans attacked once more, this time on the Aisne river, and in seven days they reached the Marne at Chateau Thierry, making a penetration o about 28 miles. At the Marne they were checcked and the impetus of the blow was broken. ' With hardly a day's pause for reor ganization of their forces, the Germans again attacked, choosing the sector between Montdidier and Noyon, on the southern side of the salient driven into the allied line during the March offensive, as' the stage of their on slaught. This offensive ran for five days-and was stopped north of Com piegne after losses which were de scribed as unprecedented had been inflicted upon the Germans. From June 14 until July 15 the Ger mans were engaged in shifting their forces and then they again struck. This time Mie line of attack was from Chateau Thierry' eastward, around to the north of Rheims and then down the Vesle river to Prunay and from that village eastward to Massiges. This attack at the close of the year developed into one of the most am bitious of the German strokes. Italians Stand Firm. On June 15,. the Austrians began a drive against Italy. It was a fail ure. The Austrians crossed the Piave, but on th west bank met with such stubborn resistance that progress was impossible. Slowly the Austrians were driven back toward "the river, and then the Piave, swollen by rains in the mountains, completed the over throw Austria's hopes. After suf fering terrible losses, the Austrians retreated to thp pastpm Knl- n( fli iave from the Montello n4tpan tn the Adriatic. Minor Operations. Among the year's operations of comparatively lesser importance were the British drives in Palestine and Mesopotamia; the Turkish advance Entertained by W rK SIKAT (55THe Contributed by T. E. Power to in the Caucasus; the French and Ital ian offensive in Albania; and the fighting in the German African col onies. Jerusalem was captured by the British on December 10. and shortly afterward the fall of Jericho was an nounced. Since the taking of Jericho the British forces in Palestine have not been active on the offensive. General Maude led the British troops into Bagdad on March 11, and shortly ofterward died from cholera. His forces pushed further up the Tigris until the intense heat of sum mer terminated operations. The Turks after the collaose of Russia, took advantage of the de moralized condition of the Russian iprces to advance through the Caucasus and obtain possession ot the regions subsequently ceded them by the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The trench and Italian drive in Albania began on July 6 and is still in progress. During the year British forces in Africa drove German forces before them in German East Africa and in German Southwset Africa and finally compelled them to disperse or sur render. This took from Germany the last of the vast colonial possesions held by her when the war began. Submarine Warfare. The past year has been marked by a gradual decline of submarine sink ings ""as compared with the number of ships being built by the entente allies. The operations of the British and American, destroyers have spread terror among thi "wasps of the sea," while a great mine field completed in May by the British navy converted virtually the whole North Sea into an area closed against U-boat activi ties. The harbors of Zeebrugge and Oi tend, from whfch German subma rines had been operated against en tente shipping, were either sealed en tirely or made virtually valueles as' submarine bases by daring naval and air raids by the British in May. U-Boats in American Waters. German submarines visited Ameri can waters in June and sank at least 10 ships, the field of the U-boat oper ations being from , the North New Jersey coast south to the Virginia Capes and easterly half way to the Bermudas. The only United Statestransport lost while carrying troops to Europe was the Tuscania. which was torpe doed off the onrth coast of Ireland on February 6 with a loss of 212 men. Hospital Ships Sunk. ' During the year 11 hospital ships have been sunk by submarines, the latest and most flagrant case of this violation of the Geneva conventoin being the destruction of the British steamer Llandovery Castle, carrying Canadian nurses, and doctors. This took place on June 27, only 24 of the 258 persons on board being rescued, The total shipping reported sunk since August 1,1917, is more than 4,250,000 tons. Against this destruction ttf shi nnint? nit omta uac umoinca tneir s hip-1 Knights of Columbus The photograph shows the 175 sisters in a group with Henry Dunn, former chief of police of Omaha, sittine in the foreground in the costume of Uncle Sam. " ' " ' ; "Practicaly Nothing " WKATMSS THE 9 ACH, -AMERICAN STRENGTH OVER HERE th National Security League'! Campaign of- French Proves For Omahan in France r r "Outside of the fact that there is one man in Uncle Sam's army who never felt better in his life, who is getting plenty to eat and a nice field of Ken tucky blue grass to sleep in, who lives in happy anticipation of a rough' house royal some time later on, there is little to write about," was the cheer ful forerunner in a letter from First Lt. William G. Utterback, with the 130th infantry, 33d division, American expeditionary forces in France. The letter was written to his father Lucien C. Utterback, general sales man for the Byrne & Hammer Dry Goods company, and was the first written by Lieutenant Utterback since his arrival in France. The remainder of the letter, in part, was as follows: "This h without doubt the most beautiful country I have ever seen, and the people are simply fine to us. I've been learning French rap idly and" can carry on quite a pro tracted conversation by using both shoulders, my head, both hands and onev foot. These people think the Americans are tres bon. "We have a sergeant who (joes out every night and buys up all the eggs he can find. The conversation between him and the lady of the house sounds like this: O "He-Woof-woof? "SheY"Wee, wee. And then they make cnange by adding on their fin gers, f" 0 "The lady of the housewas very much interested in the machine and the misiour tame along and we held a Tour-cornered conversation, the dictionary being the fourth party. I showed them the pictures of you all and they went wild over them. All pf you made a hit. but mother was Ihe prize winner. I'm af fraid I fell a "building capacity. The actual num ber of shipping launched and put into 'service has not been published. Offi cial announcements have been in the recent past, however, to the effect that more ships aYe being built than are being sunk. On July 4, 90 vessels were launched at American shipyards. Losses in Battle. Th'e year's fighting has" entailed great losses for most of the belliger ents. 'During the drive into Italy last October and November the Teutonic armies claimed the capture of more than 180,000 Italians. In the German offensives in France this year about 190,000 French, British, American and Portuguese were reported, to have been taken prisoners. , Added to these losses are the cas ualties in killed and wounded. No definite figures have been issued by Germany and Austria, but it has been reported on what annears to be cood authority that in , the fighting from PCTCALLY Patriotism through Edcuatlon. Difficult LT. W. Gy UTTERBACK. little in their estimation when I showed them pictures of Hannah andyPolly -and got the words ior best girf and wife mixed up. The madam has offered me a room i(t her house and it's a beauty. Three feather mat tresses and a canopy over the top, draped down from the ceiling. I never hppe to meet up with finer peo ple than they are. I've acted my prettiest and been as polite as I never was before, but I'm still a kilometer behind and gasping for breath." March 21 till June 14 the Germans lost more than 500,000 men. The French and British losses were con-1 siderably smaller, as the allies were fightmg from, entrenched positions. ' Financial Aspects. The United States has floated three great Liberty loans. The proceeds of these loans have aggregated $10,788, 541,900., The total war cost tT the United States, according to latest available figures, is $13,800,000,000. Since the nation entered the war it has extended credits to the allies ag gregating $6,091,590,000. The total cost of the war to Eng land up to December 15, 1917. was placed, at 6,242,000,000, while French votes of credit are somewhat smaller. At latest reports the total of the Ger man war loans approximated $31,000, 000,000. Internal Disorders. There have been numerous reports of disorders in countries engaged in the war. Riots and bloodshed have been reported from Germany and Austria many tiuiyes duringthe past spring and sumnwrjand there is little doubt that the Slavic races of Austria are' seething with discoptent. Jreland came to tne center of the stage in this connection early in May, wlien a pro-German plot was detected, dui nippep in tne Dud, with the ar rest of 78 leaders of the Sinn Fein. Recently disaffection was reported against, the British in South Africa, but it has apparently been stamped cut. One Monarch Died. During the year one ruler of a bel Iigerent country died. The death of the sultan of Turkey was announced in June, subsequent reports intimating lie naa Deen murdered. New Belligerents. Threevnew countries have declared war on Germany during the year. Thev are Costa Rica. Guatemala and Hayti. i The Argentine. Although near a break because of the machinations df vpn Luxburg, the German ambas sador at Buenos Av res, lias taken no step th that direction. - Mexico has remained. neutral -' 3ilipM; Vv A K. OF C EXTEND WAR WORK; ARE TO HAVE DRIVE SOON Huts Are Being Erected in France Wherever Sammies mic tiiudyeu, hi tnu f ..v land, Too. By J. RAY JOHNSON. The Knights of Columbus will havi 1,000 secretaries in Europe befor September 15, and 1,000 more befort -the end of the year. The order will raise and anenif $50,000,000 in the development of wai work here arid abroad in the next twelve months. Last year the Knights raised $U',UOO,000, and expended mora than $7,500,000, The order now has 200 buildinsra in American Irimms v camps, managed by 325 Knight of coiumous secretaries. Huts are be ing erected as rapidly as possible in France and wherever American nt- diers are engaged. Secretaries are being sent abroad as rapidly as ship ping space can be obtained. VVjUiam J. Mulligan, chairman of , the Knighfc of Columbus committee of war work activities, who has re- turned irom an inspection of the or der'. work alnno- tU ,i,cfr - - ------ ' -" vu II will 111. trance, made public these statements. started in U. S. . The knights activities by erecting a chain of serv ice buildings in New Mexico, Ariiona and Texas duing the mobilizaton of American troops on the Mexican bor der. The cost of Institiitinflr iJ taming th elaborate system of re- creation halls during the border trou- -ble was met entirely nut nf thm (,t,a. of the order, no outside appeal being , j ti , course tne recreational and other facilities, were open -to men - Of all creeds, without rtictinrtinn Mil testimony abounds from thousands or omcers ana men that the buildings and4heir eouioment were nut t mn. stant use. But even before the Mexican trou bleback during the Spanish-American war, the Knights of Columbus', commenced working as an agency off war relief by voting money to assist returning veterans of the war at ' Montauk Point. . Government Accepts. So that when the Knights' of Co lumbus volunteered, at the very be--, ginning of the present war, to enter the vast field of army relief work, the government, well aware of the ef fectiveness of the order's undertak ing at the Mexican border, promptly accepted the offer made by the su preme omcers of the organization. In his letter of acceptance, Chairman Raymond B. Fosdick of the War de- j partment's committee on training camp activities stated that the sec retary of war had expressed his agree ment with a resolution passed unani mously by the committee recommeiid-" ing the acceptance of the offer of1 the Knights of Columbus to co-op- erate in social work for the sdldiers.- The Knichts annainteri a rnrnmit. tee on war activities, an office was opened in Washington, and thesa preme board of directors of the order VOted a ner canita tav nf $2 nn carti ' member of the order, excepting those " uuu.I Iwl JUI lOUHMUU, X IIC Ul . rectors had previously decided to maintain the insurance in the order of . any member called to the service, who was insured on April 16, 1917. -Buildings were erected in camps simultaneously with thl pnnitrnrtinn of the camps, and as the increase of , . . a. a tne tund warranted, more buildings,' L were added. . Secretaries wir as signed by the score and zealous ' priests volunteeerd 1 to serve as Knights of Columbus chaplains in the great cantonments and encamp ments. Just as quickly as materials and labor could be secured and the necessary personnel enlisted, the K. of C. work was extended. ; , , ' Notable among the excellent work for the K. of C. war fund was the achievement nf Tohn MrCnrmarlr tVi celebrated tenor, who, in five concerts given for the benefit of the fund . raised $3&,uu. . .t Late last year a K. of Coverseas commissioner was apoitrted to go to Franre and thr fctati1iahit tha . work that was being so successfully conaucteo at nome. - , " French Assist. . " " The 7rench government, recogniz ing the valueyof the "Knights of Co lumbus war work and impressed by tne splendid welcome accorded the Knights by Cardinals Amette and Andrieu, the one archbishop of Paris ,and the other archbishop of Bordeaux, and the French hierarchy, clergy and people in general, have as- -sisted the Knights greatly by assign ing 150 English speaking soldier priests from the French army to work with the Knights of Columbus chaplains. , Surveys are now being made in France and Italy by Supreme Phy sician - E. W. Buckley' and Supreme ' Director James J.'McGraw of the Knights of Columbus, with a view to a further extension of the work. A survey is also under way in Great Britain where the needs of the thou sands of American soldiers in train ing there will be met as rapidly as ' conditions permft. . And while the Knights are devot ing special attention to their work abroad, the growth at home is pro-' ceeding rapidly. At this writing n fewer than 200 Knights of Cokbu buildings are in operation in. Amerv ican home- camps, with 350 ecre- -taries in charge and many ' Knights . of Columbus chaplains serving the" boys. The shows staged by the Knights ,f of Columbus are especially popular.' with the boys, nearly every star nrntninnt in tin. tnatrfaf wnrlfl . having appeared at a Knights of Co-' - lubus hall. The Knights provide the . , " latest film productions in their : ' buildings, and indoor and open air , ' boxing bouts and other athletic ' ' ' ', events are popular features f the ' - " Knights of Columbus camp activi- ' ! ties. $ . . . , .- - ' But marked attention is also given ,- V; to educational work, instruction in - " French and other subjects eing pro vided by the Knights when a fuf& . ' j cient number of meu evidence a t sire' for them, ;. ' ('. , - I JUL