World's War Events - Volume 3
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Title: World's War Events, Volume III Recorded by Statesmen,
Commanders, Historians and by Men Who Fought or Saw the Great
Campaigns
Author: Various
Editor: Francis J. Reynolds Allen L. Churchill
Release Date: August 12, 2005 [EBook #16513]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORLD'S
WAR EVENTS, VOLUME III ***
Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
[Illustration: IN FRONT IS GENERAL PETAIN ABOUT TO BE
MADE A MARSHAL. BEHIND HIM, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT,
ARE MARSHAL JOFFRE AND MARSHAL FOCH (FRENCH),
FIELD MARSHAL HAIG (BRITISH), GENERAL PERSHING
(AMERICAN), GENERAL GILLAIN (BELGIAN), GENERAL
ALBRICCI (ITALIAN), GENERAL HALLER (POLISH)]
WORLD'S WAR EVENTS
RECORDED BY STATESMEN -- COMMANDERS HISTORIANS
AND BY MEN WHO FOUGHT OR SAW THE GREAT
CAMPAIGNS
COMPILED AND EDITED BY
FRANCIS J. REYNOLDS
FORMER REFERENCE LIBRARIAN -- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
AND
ALLEN L. CHURCHILL
ASSOCIATE EDITOR "THE STORY OF THE GREAT WAR"
ASSOCIATE EDITOR "THE NEW INTERNATIONAL
ENCYCLOPEDIA"
VOLUME III
[Illustration]
PF COLLIER & SON COMPANY NEW YORK
Copyright 1919
BY P.F. COLLIER & SON COMPANY
WORLD'S WAR EVENTS
VOLUME III
BEGINNING WITH THE DEPARTURE OF THE FIRST
AMERICAN DESTROYERS FOR SERVICE ABROAD IN APRIL,
1917, AND CLOSING WITH THE TREATIES OF PEACE IN 1919
CONTENTS
ARTICLE PAGE
I. A DESTROYER IN ACTIVE SERVICE 7 An American Officer II.
EAST AFRICA 32 Jan Christiaan Smuts III. GREECE'S
ATONEMENT 54 _Lewis R. Freeman_
IV. THE ITALIANS AT BAY 69 _G. Ward Price_
V. BOTTLING UP ZEEBRUGGE AND OSTEND 101 Official
Narrative VI. WITH THE AMERICAN SUBMARINES 119 _Henry B.
Beston_
VII. WOUNDED HEROES OF FRANCE 138 _Abbé Felix Klein_
VIII. THE BATTLE OF PICARDY 153 _J.B.W. Gardiner_
IX. BULGARIA QUITS 170 Lothrop Stoddard X. THE FIGHTING
CZECHO-SLOVAKS 183 Maynard Owen Williams XI. SIX DAYS
ON THE AMERICAN FIRING LINE 200 _Corporal H.J. Burbach_
XII. AN AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD 210 Raoul Blanchard XIII.
NIGHT RAIDS FROM THE AIR 229 Mary Helen Fee XIV. THE
AMERICAN ARMY IN EUROPE 242 _General John J. Pershing_
XV. THE AMERICAN NAVY IN EUROPE 271 _Admiral H.T.
Mayo_
XVI. ARMISTICE TERMS SIGNED BY GERMANY 297
XVII. COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 306
XVIII. TREATY OF PEACE WITH GERMANY 318
XIX. TREATY OF PEACE WITH AUSTRIA 365
INDEX 375
A DESTROYER IN ACTIVE SERVICE
BY AN AMERICAN OFFICER
APRIL 7.
[Sidenote: War accepted with equanimity.]
[Sidenote: Life on a destroyer is simple.]
Well, I must confess that, even after war has been declared, the skies
haven't fallen and oysters taste just the same. I never would have
dreamed that so big a step would be accepted with so much equanimity.
It is due to two causes, I think. First, because we have trembled on the
verge so long and sort of dabbled our toes in the water, that our minds
have grown gradually accustomed to what under other circumstances
would be a violent shock. Second, because the individual units of the
Navy are so well prepared that there is little to do. We made a few
minor changes in the routine and slipped the war-heads on to the
torpedoes, and presto, we were ready for war. One beauty of a
destroyer is that, life on board being reduced to its simplest terms
anyhow, there is little to change. We may be ordered to "strip," that is,
go to our Navy yard and land all combustibles, paints, oils, surplus
woodwork, etc.; but we have not done so yet.
We were holding drill yesterday when the signal was made from the
flagship, "War is declared." I translated it to my crew, who received the
news with much gayety but hardly a trace of excitement.
APRIL 13.
[Sidenote: Anxiety to get into the big game.]
There is absolutely no news. We are standing by for what may betide,
with not the faintest idea of what it may be. Of course, we are drilling
all the time, and perfecting our readiness for action in every way, but
there is a total absence of that excitement and sense of something
impending that one usually associates with the beginning of war.
Indeed, I think that the only real anxiety is lest we may not get into the
big game at all. I do not think any of us are bloodthirsty or desirous of
either glory or advancement, but we have the wish to justify our
existence. With me it takes this form--by being in the service
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