August 24, 1924: Word from the Editor

This issue of The Clock is in honour of the men and women who took part in the Great War.  Inside this issue are reprints of historic articles from The Clock archives.  We hope you enjoy a look into the past with The Clock.

Sincerely, Justin Ginsburgh

Contents:
August 17, 1915 - What Started The War
August 3, 1914 - Austria-Hungary Declares War On Serbia
August 10, 1914 - The War Expands
August 10, 1914 - Why Great Britain Entered The War
November 12, 1916 - Battle Of Verdun Ends After 10 Months
April 12, 1916 - New Inventions In Warfare Make Dramatic Changes
December 19, 1916 - Wilson Tries To Make Peace
April 10, 1917 - The U.S. Declares War
January 15, 1918 - Wilson Reveals His Fourteen Points
July 5, 1919 - Treaty of Versailles Signed
But...
 

It is ordinarily thought that this war that has been ongoing for over a year, began with the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand.  However many other reasons have led to this war, some dating as far back as the late 1800's.  Nationalism, militarism, imperialism, and the system of alliances are four main factors that pressed the great powers towards this explosive war.  Throughout the 1800's many national groups were driven by nationalism to unite by forming governments controlled by their own people.  However, this desire to unite all people of a nation under one government has had devastating consequences in Europe, where one government often rules many nationalities.

Another reason for the start of the war was the practice of imperialism by many countries.  Imperialist countries narrowly avoided war many times as they struggled to divide Africa among themselves in the early 1900's.  Two of these countries, France and Germany, were on the brink of war several times when the argued about claims to Morocco.  Between 1905 and 1911 they settled each argument with a temporary compromise that left one of the two countries dissatisfied.

Although imperialism played an important role in starting the war, militarism was an even greater factor.  Militarism controlled the thinking of many European leaders before the war.  These leaders thought that only the use of force could solve problems among nations.  These leaders also thought that a militarily strong nation usually achieved what it wanted, and weaker nation usually lost out.  As international rivals, each nation in Europe made their armed forces stronger and larger.

During the late 1800's the system of alliances was a fourth factor that led to the start of the war.  Otto von Bismarck, the powerful German chancellor, was afraid that France would seek revenge for its defeat at the hands of Germany back in 1871.

He decided to keep France isolated and without allies.  He particularly wanted to keep France from developing an alliance with Russia.  Bismarck wanted to do this so that in the event of a war, Germany wouldn't have to defend both its east and west boundaries.

Thus in 1881 Bismarck set up the Three Emperors' League, a secret agreement among the emperors of Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary.  Bismarck considered Italy a weak link in the Alliance; nevertheless it isolated France.  France, meanwhile, had been trying to gain allies.  Their opportunity arose after William II, Germany's new leader, allowed the Reinsurance Treaty to crumble.

An economic disaster later hit Russia, and the Russian Tsar sought a loan.  The French quickly loaned Russia money, and then took several other steps to become friendly with Russia.  An alliance between France and Russia was finally formed in 1894.  Later in 1907, the Triple Entente was formed; an alliance between Russia, France, and Great Britain.  These new alliances became extremely dangerous, because if any rival powers fought, all six nations would be dragged into war.

Serbia: Last week on July 26, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to the Serbian Government.  In it Austria-Hungary made the following demands: (1) the Serbian Government would condemn all propaganda against Austria-Hungary and suppress publications and societies that opposed Austria-Hungary.  (2) Serbia would ban from its schools books and teachers who did not favour Austria-Hungary.  (3) Serbia would dismiss any officials who had promoted propaganda against Austria-Hungary.  (4) Austro-Hungarian judges would conduct the trial of those accused of the crime at Sarajevo.  (5) Serbia was required to accept all of these terms within 48 hours or Austria-Hungary would declare war.  The Serbian Government accepted all but the final two.  Nonetheless Austria-Hungary declared war after the deadline had elapsed.  The war has finally begun.

The war in Europe expanded greatly in the past week.  Germany continued to support Austria-Hungary, while Russia prepared to defend Serbia.  Germany then demanded that Russia cancel mobilisation or face war.  Russia ignored Germany, and Germany declared war on Russia on August 1.  Germany was also convinced that France was ready to side with Russia, so on August 3 Germany declared war on France.

France: After 10 months of heavy fighting, the German army finally evacuated Fort Vaux to end the Battle of Verdun.  This was the largest engagement of the World War, fought between German and French forces from last February until early this week.  On February 21 the Germans launched an attack on the French town and fortress of Verdun.  Verdun occupied a vital position on the heights above the Meuse River at the eastern end of the trench line in France.

The attack began with a German artillery bombardment, unprecedented in intensity, of the outlying forts.

The French fell back to prepared positions, and the German command, intensifying the onslaught, pushed forward, disregarding the enormous loss of life.  Fort Douaumont fell to the Germans on February 25.  That same day General Henri Philippe Pétain was placed in command of the French troops at Verdun.

With French reserves arriving continuously, Pétain's men met with increasing confidence the unceasing attacks by densely massed German formations.  A nearby city, Harcourt was lost to the Germans on March 22, and another nearby city, Malancourt a week later.  Despite these losses the initial German drive for Verdun had failed.

German attacks continued, however, with little intermission.  By April the French air force gained control of the skies over the battlefield, and this played an important role in the successful defence of the area.  In June a new German drive succeeded in capturing the forts of Vaux and Thiaumont.  Now, however, the pressure began to slacken appreciably.

To disperse the military strength of the Germans and thus relieve the strain on the French, the British had opened an attack on the Somme River, which necessitated the transfer of a considerable amount of German forces.  As the fighting became less intense, French troops prepared for a sudden and smashing blow north of Verdun.

On September 24 the French under General Charles Mangin advanced on a 4-mile front, recapturing the lost cities Douaumont and Thiaumont.  With this resumption of the French offensive, the last hope of the Germans to break the Allied line at Verdun was shattered.  The French attacks persisted throughout October, and Fort Vaux was evacuated by the Germans early this week.

The losses on both sides are very high, the French releasing an estimate this week set at nearly 350,000 casualties and the Germans at 330,000.  For now the battle itself looks indecisive, giving no strategic advantage to either side.

Innovations in warfare is making war even more deadly than ever before.  Industries are using mass production to produce more weapons than ever.  Many new powerful weapons are being invented during this World War.  One of the most important new weapons of the Great War is the machine gun.

The rapid-fire spray of bullets are hard to dodge, making it difficult to make territorial advances.  To protect themselves from the machine gun's rapid fire, soldiers are digging complex systems of trenches.  Other new weapons are tanks, airplanes, submarines, and poisonous gas.  This is totally changing war strategy because these weapons of mass destruction have to be defended against with new methods.  In addition, this war is the first European war to ever be fought by drafted civilians.

Trenches are being cut through battlefield fronts in Europe to protect troops from deadly artillery and machine-gun fire.

Firing trenches are backed by cover trenches, which provided a second line of defence in case enemies overran the firing trench.  Each is about 6 to 8 feet deep.  Off-duty troops live in dugouts in the support trenches.  Supplies, food, and fresh troops are moved to the front through a network of reserve and communications trenches.  Between the trenches of opposing forces lies no-man's-land.  Crossing no-man's-land often results in death, because it is strewn with barbed wire and open to the sights of enemy guns.

In November the German government informed the U.S. that the Central Powers were prepared to undertake peace negotiations.  When the U.S. informed the Allies, Great Britain rejected the German advances for two reasons: Germany had not laid down any specific terms for peace; and the military situation at the time was so favourable to the Central Powers that no acceptable terms could reasonably be expected from them.

The United States has now entered the Great War!  On April 6 Congress voted to enter the war on the side of the Allies.  President Wilson appeared before congress on April 2, and stated, "The world must be made safe for democracy."  He then asked Congress to declare war on Germany.  Congress responded with a declaration of war last Friday.

Many people may wonder why we have decided to enter the war.  The U.S. has many reasons to back up the decision to enter the war.

One of the most important reasons for the U.S.'s decision to enter the war was the interception of an important secret telegram known as the Zimmermann telegram.  It was sent last January by Alfred Zimmermann, the foreign minister of Germany, to the German ambassador in Mexico, which was a neutral country at the time.  It instructed the ambassador to draw Mexico into the war on Germany's side.

Germany promised in return parts of the South-western U.S. that it lost in 1848.  The British intercepted this telegram, deciphered it, and reported it to the U.S. When the news went public three months ago, it angered the president and Congress and brought us a step closer to war.

Another reason the U.S. has entered the war was the decision by Germany to resume unrestricted submarine warfare.  The Germans ceased using submarine warfare since Wilson ordered Germany to stop following the sinking of the Lusitania, a British passenger ship, in 1915.  But Germany has realised that the Allies have taken the upper hand and as an act of desperation started unrestricted submarine warfare again last February.  All ships that now enter the German "war zone" are taking a risk of being sunk by German U-boats.  These combined events led to Wilson's decision on Friday to declare war on Germany.

President Woodrow Wilson has devised his "fourteen points" to establish the basis for a just and lasting peace following the inevitable victory of the Allies in World War I.

The 14 proposals were contained in Wilson's address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress last week on January 8, 1918.  The idealism expressed in them has been widely acclaimed and gives Wilson a position of moral leadership among the Allied leaders.  Opposition to various points on the part of the European Allies, however, has been raised.

In summary, the 14 points are as follows:

(1) abolition of secret diplomacy by open covenants, openly arrived at;

(2) freedom of the seas in peace and war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or part by international action for enforcement of international covenants;

(3) removal of international trade barriers wherever possible and establishment of an equality of trade conditions among the nations consenting to the peace;

(4) reduction of armaments consistent with public safety;

(5) adjustment of colonial disputes consistent with the interests of both the controlling government and the colonial population;

(6) evacuation of Russian territory, with the proviso of self-determination;

(7) evacuation and restoration of Belgium;

(8) evacuation and restoration of French territory, including Alsace-Lorraine;

(9) readjustment of Italian frontiers along clearly recognizable lines of nationality;

(10) autonomy for the peoples of Austria-Hungary;

(11) evacuation and restoration of territory to Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania, granting of seaports to Serbia, and readjustment and international guarantee of the national ambitions of the Balkan nations;

(12) self-determination for non-Turkish peoples under Turkish control and internationalization of the Dardanelles;

(13) an independent Poland, with access to the sea; and

(14) creation of a general association of nations under specific covenants to give mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity.

Treaty of Versailles Signed
Reprint from July 5, 1919 issue of The Clock

The Treaty of Versailles was negotiated during the Paris Peace Conference held in Versailles beginning January 18, 1919.  Represented were the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy; the German Republic, which has replaced the imperial German government, was excluded from the conference.  Included in the first section of the treaty was the Covenant of the League of Nations, the world's first peacekeeping body, which has been given the responsibility for executing the terms of the various treaties negotiated after World War I.  The treaty was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles near Paris.

By the Treaty of Versailles, Germany is required to abolish compulsory military service; to reduce its army to 100,000; to demilitarize all the territory on the left bank of the Rhine River; to stop all importation, exportation, and nearly all production of war material; to limit its navy to 24 ships, with no submarines, the naval personnel not to exceed 15,000; and to abandon all military and naval aviation by October 1, 1919.  Germany also agreed to permit the trial of former emperor William II by an international court on the charge of "a supreme offence against international morality."

For damage incurred by the Allied powers during the war, Germany is going to be required to make extensive financial reparation.  In addition to money, payment will be made in the form of ships, trains, livestock, and valuable natural resources.

Under the treaty, Germany will lose about 27,500 sq miles of its territory.  To Poland were added large parts of the provinces of Posen and West Prussia.  Germany has also lost its entire colonial empire.

Paris Peace Conference

After defeating Germany in World War I, the victorious parties have found it difficult to agree on the price Germany should pay in war reparations.  Leaders from the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy met at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and drafted the Treaty of Versailles.  The treaty has mandated a number of restrictive and compensatory measures for Germany, including massive demilitarization and financial reparations.  Representatives at the conference included; British Prime Minister Lloyd George, Italian Foreign Minister Giorgio Sonnino, French Premier Georges Clemenceau, and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.