Beside many bodies were forty or fifty empty cartridge sh.e.l.ls, while fragments of clothing, caps and knapsacks were scattered about. This destruction was wrought by batteries a little more than three miles distant. Straggling clumps of wood intervened between the batteries and their mark, but the range had been determined by an officer on an elevation a mile from the gunners. He telephoned directions for the firing and through gla.s.ses watched the bursting sh.e.l.ls.
THE BATTLE AT CRECY
A graphic picture of the fight in Crecy wood was given by a correspondent who said: The French and English in overwhelming numbers had poured in from Lagny toward the River Marne to reinforce the flanking skirmishers. One of the smaller woods southeast of Crecy furnished cover for the enemy for a time, but led to their undoing. The Allies" patrols discovered them in the night as the Germans were moving about with lanterns.
Suddenly the invaders found their twinkling glow-worms the mark for a foe of whom they had been unaware. Without warning a midnight hail storm from Maxims screamed through the trees. The next morning scores of lanterns were picked up in the wood, with the gla.s.ses shattered. A dashing cavalry charge by the British finally cleared the tragic wood of the Germans.
BRITISH BLOW UP A BRIDGE
At Lagny one of the sights of the town was a shattered bridge, which was blown up by General French as soon as he got his army across it. At that time British infantry and artillery had poured through the town and over the bridge for several days. General French"s idea was to keep raiding detachments of German cavalry from incursions into the beautiful villas and gardens of the western suburbs.
Fifteen minutes after the bridge had been reduced to a twisted ma.s.s of steel and broken masonry a belated order came to save it, but the British engineers who had received the order to destroy it had done their work well.
The inhabitants were cleared out of all the neighboring houses, which were shaken by the terrific explosion when the charge was set off. Every window in the nearby houses was shattered.
The people of Lagny took the destruction of their beautiful bridge in good part. They were too grateful for their deliverance from the Germans to grumble about the wrecked bridge.
GERMAN LOSSES AT THE MARNE
There is no doubt that the German losses in the engagements at the Marne far exceeded those of the Allies and were most severe, in both men and material. The Germans made incredible efforts to cross the Marne. The French having destroyed all the bridges, the Germans tried to construct three bridges of boats. Sixteen times the bridges were on the point of completion, but each time they were reduced to matchwood by the French artillery.
"There is not the slightest doubt," said a reliable correspondent, "that but for the superb handling of the German right by General von Kluck, a large part of Emperor William"s forces would have been captured at the Marne. The allied cavalry did wonders, and three or four additional divisions of cavalry could have contributed towards a complete rout of the Germans."
The general direction of the German retirement was northeast, and it was continued for seventy miles, to a line drawn between Soissons, Rheims and Verdun.
A week after the battle the field around Meaux had been cleared of dead and wounded, and only little mounds with tiny crosses, flowers and tricolored flags recalled the terrible struggle.
The inhabitants of neighboring villages soon returned to their homes and resumed their ordinary occupations.
FALL OF MAUBEUGE
While the fighting at the Marne was in progress, German troops achieved some successes in other parts of the theater of war. Thus, the fortified French town of Maubeuge, on the Sambre river midway between Namur in Belgium and St. Quentin, France, fell to the Germans on September 7. The investment began on August 25. More than a thousand sh.e.l.ls fell in one night near the railway station and the Rue de France was partially destroyed. The loss of life, however, was comparatively slight.
At 11:50 o"clock on the morning of September 7 a white flag was hoisted on the church tower and trumpets sounded "cease firing," but the firing only ceased at 3:08 o"clock that afternoon. In the meantime the greater part of the garrison succeeded in evacuating the town. The German forces marched in at 7:08 o"clock that evening.
The retreat of the German forces from the Marne ended the second stage of the great war.
CHAPTER XII
THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN
_Slow Mobilization of Troops--Invasion of German and Austrian Territory--Cossacks Lead the Van--Early Successes in East Prussia--"On to Berlin"--Heavy Losses Inflicted on Austrians--German Troops Rushed to the Defense of the Eastern Territory_.
When at 7:30 o"clock on the evening of August 1, 1914, the German Amba.s.sador at St. Petersburg handed the declaration of war to the Russian foreign minister, the immediate reason was that Russia had refused to stop mobilizing her army, as requested by Germany on July 30.
The general mobilization of the Russian army and fleet was proclaimed on July 31 and martial law was proclaimed forthwith in Germany. The government of the Kaiser had given Russia twenty-four hours in which to reply to its ultimatum of the 30th. Russia paid no attention to the ultimatum, but M. Goremykin, president of the Council of the Russian Empire, issued a manifesto which read:
"Russia is determined not to allow Servia to be crushed and will fulfill its duty in regard to that small kingdom, which has already suffered so much at Austria"s hands."
Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia on August 6. From that time on the Russian army had two main objectives--first, the Austrian province of Galicia, and second the eastern frontier of Germany, across which lay the territory known as East Prussia. And while the early days of the great conflict saw a German host pouring into Belgium, animated by the battle-cry, "On to Paris!" the gathering legions of the Czar headed to the west and crossed the Prussian frontier with hoa.r.s.e, resounding shouts of "On to Berlin!"
MOBILIZATION WAS SLOW
The mobilization of the Russian army was slow compared with that of Germany, France and Austria, and some weeks elapsed after the declaration of war before Russia was prepared to attack Germany with the full force of which it was capable. The immense distances to be traversed by troops proceeding to the frontier and by the reserves to their respective depots caused delays that were unavoidable but were minimized by the eagerness of the Russian soldiery to get to the front.
In Russia, as in all the other great countries engaged in the conflict, with the probable exception of Austria, the war was popular and a wave of patriotic enthusiasm and martial ardor swept over the land, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, from St. Petersburg to Siberia.
In Russia military service is universal and begins at the age of 20, continuing for twenty-three years. There are three divisions of the Russian army--the European, Caucasian and Asiatic armies. Military service of the Russian consists of three years in the first line, fourteen years in the reserve (during which time he has to undergo two periods of training of six weeks each) and five years in the territorial reserve. The Cossacks, however, hold their land by military tenure and are liable to serve at any time in the army. They provide their own horses and accouterments. The total strength of the Russian army is about 5,500,000 men; the field force of the European army consists of 1,000,000 soldiers with about the same number in the second line. There were besides at the beginning of the war over 5,000,000 men unorganized but available for duty.
ARMY REORGANIZED RECENTLY
Since the disastrous war with j.a.pan the Russian army has been reorganized and it has profited largely by the harsh experience of the Manchurian campaign.
The physique of the Russian infantryman is second to none in Europe. The Russian "moujik" (peasant) is from childhood accustomed to cover long distances on foot, so that marches of from 30 to 40 miles are covered without fatigue by even the youngest recruits. They wear long boots, which are made of excellent soft leather, so that sore feet were quite the exception even in Manchuria, where very long marches were undergone by many of the units.
Each regiment of infantry contains four battalions commanded by a major or lieutenant-colonel. The battalion consists of four companies of men, commanded by a captain, so that each regiment on a war footing numbers upwards of 2,000 men.
The Russian cavalry is divided into two main categories. There are the heavy regiments of the Guard, which consist mainly of Lancer regiments, and there are also numberless Cossack or irregular cavalry regiments, which are recruited chiefly from the districts of the River Don and the highlands of the Caucasus.
The horses of the Russian horse and field artillery are distinctly poor and very inferior to those of the cavalry. The artillery is therefore somewhat slow in coming into action. But the horses, while weedy-looking, are very hardy and pull the guns up steep gradients.
The Russian gunners prefer to take up "indirect" rather than "direct"
positions. Batteries are also rather slow in changing positions and in moving up in support of their infantry units.
THE RUSSIAN COSSACKS
What the Uhlans are to the German army, the Cossacks of the Don and the Caucasus are to the Russians--scouts, advance guards and "covering"
cavalry. They are good all-round fighters, capable of long-continued effort and tireless in the saddle; they are also trained to fight in dismounted action.
As a soldier the Cossack is altogether unique; his ways are his own and his confidence in his officers and himself is perfect. His pa.s.sionate love of horses makes his work a pleasure. The Cossack seat on horseback is on a high pad-saddle, with the knee almost vertical and the heel well drawn back. Spurs are not worn, and another remarkable thing is that he has absolutely no guard to his sword. The Russian soldier scorns b.u.t.tons; he says, "They are a nuisance; they have to be cleaned, they wear away the cloth, they are heavy, and they attract the attention of the enemy."
The Cossack pony is a quaint little beast to look at, but the finest animal living for his work, and very remarkable for his wonderful powers of endurance. The Cossack and his mount have been likened to a clever nurse and a spoilt child--each understands and loves the other, but neither is completely under control. The Cossack does not want his horse to be a slave, and recognizes perfectly that horses, like children, have their whims and humors and must be coaxed and reasoned with, but rarely punished. The famous knout (whip) is carried by the Cossacks at the end of a strap across the left shoulder. Most of the men are bearded and in full dress, with the high fur cap stuck jauntily on the head of square cut hair, the Cossack presents a picturesque and martial figure. The appearance of these men is quite different from that of the clean-shaven regular infantryman of the Russian army.
RUSSIAN PLAN OF CAMPAIGN
"While the direct objective of the Russians was Berlin, there were many reasons why a bee-line course could not be followed. Germany had prepared an elaborate defense system to cover the direct approaches to Berlin, and the fortresses of Danzig, Graudenz, Thorn, and Posen were important points in this scheme. The nature of the country also adapts itself to these defensive works and would make progress slow for an attacker.
Moreover, as Austria and her forces mobilized before Russia, a diversion was created by the Austrian invasion of south Poland, in which the Germans also took the offensive. Under these circ.u.mstances the Russian plan of campaign resolved itself into three parts:--
(1) A northern movement from Kovno and Grodno on Insterburg and Konigsberg as a counter-attack.
(2) A central movement from Warsaw towards Posen with supporting movements north and south.
(3) A southern movement on Lublin in Poland to repulse the invaders combined with a movement from the east on Lemberg in order to turn the Austrian flank.
The first purpose of Russia was to clear Poland of enemies, as they threatened the Russian left flank. At the same time Russia took the offensive by an invasion of Prussia in the north. This latter movement led to a victory at Gumbinnen and the investment of Konigsberg. Later came victory at Lublin, rolling back the Austrians, and the capture of Lemberg, which signalized the Russian invasion of Austrian territory.