622 War Cyclopedia-Continued. those who are not called into the army or navy to play their part. Address Department of Labor, Wash Ington, D. С. Shells-A general name for explosive projectiles. Shrapnel travels to a given point, bursts, and releases bullets which pass on to spread destruction. A shell, on the other hand, bursts upon striking its object or upon the action of a time fuse. Destruction is effected by the broken bits of metal of which it is composed, and by the earth, stones, and other material which it throws up around it. A shell of the French "75's," it is said, will burst into more than 2,000 pieces, many of them very minute, yet possessing extreme projectile force. Shells are of various diameters and weights and are charged with varying quantities of explosive compounds. Many are charged with gas or injurious chemicals. On the western front there have been guns shooting shells which weigh from 400 to 2,000 pounds, with a carrying power of from six to twenty miles. It is computed that a new sixteen-inch American naval gun has enough projectile capacity with a charge of 900 pounds of powder to send a shell weighing 2,400 pounds a distance of twenty-seven and onethree miles horizontally and to a height in the trajectory of eight and one-third miles. The length of such a shell is about six feet. Signal Corps-Is directed by a chief signal officer. It has charge of the construction and operation of military cables, telegraphs, and telephones. Wireless machinery and meteorological apparatus have recently come within the sphere of authority of the corps, which has expanded to meet new needs. The balloon and airplane service has been attached to this department of our military administration. The signal corps and its enlisted force are the eyes and ears of the army. They keep a general in communication with his fighting units and enable him to direct a battle, at a distance of some miles from the front. Sinn Fein-An Irish revolutionary society aiming at both independence and the cultural development of the Irish race. It was equally opposed to the Nationalists and the Unionists, and numbered many men of letters and art. On Easter, 1916, it precipitated a revolt at Dublin, with which Germany tried to co-ope rate. The outbreak was suppressed. Many arrests by the British in the early summer of 1918 balted, it was alleged, a second Sinn Fein uprising. Slavs-A race inhabiting eastern and southeastern Europe, where they constitute the great majority of the population. They are not geographically united. The main stock comprises the Russians, Poler, Czechs, Slovaks, and Ruthenes or Little Russians. In the south, and separated from the northern branch by a solid barrier of Germans, Magyars, and Roumanians, live the Southern or Jugoslavs. These, divided Into Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, form one people. The Bulgars, usually included in the Southern Slava, were originally an Asiatic people, Slavicized. Russians, 100,000,000: Little Russians (Ukrainers), 30,000,000; Poles, 15,000,000; Czechs and Slovaks, 8,500,000; Slovenes, 1,250,000; Croats, 2,500,000; Serbs, 4,000,000; Bulgars, 4,500,000; total, 165,750,000. Slavonic Races or Languages in Modern Europe--They are the Russian Bulgarians (who are de scended from the Finns), Albanians, Serbians, Croatians, Slovenians, Bohemians, Saxons, and Prussians in so far as they are descended from the Lithuanians. By Saxons is meant particularly the present descendants of the ancient, not the modern Saxony. The ancient Saxony comprised the country in Northwest Germany, bordering on the North Sea, at the mouth of the Elbe, and extending from the Elbe, along the North Sea and the Holland frontier, to the Rhine, and down the cast bank of that river to the city of Cologne. Solomon Islands-A group in the Pacific, taken from Germany, September, 1914, by Australian troops. Staff-A general term used to distinguish the administrative from the fighting units in an army. It Includes not only the general staff (created in 1903 and-enlarged by the National Defense Act) but military men engaged in the inspector general's, the quartermaster general's, the judge advocate general's, the adJutant general's, the ordnance, the engineering, the signal corps, the medical, and like departments in the army. The headquarters staff is the body of men performing secretarial and administrative duties for a general at headquarters. In general, staff is used in distinction to line; one branch of the service organizes and supplies, the other fights. Swiss Military System-The Swiss army is a force of militia receiving periodical training upon the principle of universal obligatory military service for men from twenty to forty-eight years of age. Anyone disqualified must bear increased taxes until the age of forty years. The army is divided into three classes according to age: (1) The elite, being men of from twenty to thirty-two years; (2) the landwehr, or men between thirty-three and forty; and (3) a reserve of men from forty to forty-eight years of age. Recruiting schools for the first year of service continue sixty days, for sanitary, veterinary, and transportation troops; sixty-five days for infantry; seventy-five days for artillery and fortress troops, and ninety days for cavalry. After the first year, annual training courses for the elite last eleven days (with fourteen days, however, for artillery and fortress troops). In the landwehr all branches of the service, except cavalry, take a re peating course of eleven days each four years. The more promising recruits are given additional training in schools for non-commissioned officers, and if making a satisfactory record are still further trained for the commissioned grades. Officers serve in the ellte until thirty-eight years of age, in the landwehr until fortyfour years, and remain in the reserve until they are fifty-three years of age. Those who do not serve in the militia, through disqualification, bear increased taxes. Submarine Warfare, Stages of February 4, 1915, German Government proclaims war zone about the British Isles and intention to sink any enemy merchantmen in this zone without warning; May 1 (dated April 22), 1915, German embassy publishes in New York morning papers warning against taking passage on ships which United States Government had told the people they had a perfect right to take. The Lusitanta sailed at 12.20 noon May 1 and was sunk May 7. August 19, 1915, sinking of the Arabic, whereupon von Bernstorff gave an oral pledge for his government that hereafter German submarines would not sink "liners" without warning; February, 1916 (after more debatable sinkings) Germany makes proposals looking toward "assuming llability" for the Lusitania victims, but the whole case is soon complicated again by the "armed ship" issue. March 24, 1916, sinking of the Sussex, passenger vessel with Americans OD board. May 4, 1916, Germany, in response to the threat of the United States Government to break off diplomatic relations with her, gives her "Sussex pledge." January 31, 1917, Germany notities United States she will begin "unrestricted submarine war" on the following day: February 3, 1917, the President gives Count Bernstorff his passports and recalls Ambassador Gerard from Berlin; April 6, 1917, American declaration of a state of war. The American counts against German submarine warfare are (1) that, for the belligerent right of capture, it has substituted outright destruction; (2) that, from the procedure of capture, it has eliminated visit and search, and destruction is carried out with little or no warning to the victims; (3) that, for the duty of the captor to put those on board the captured vessel into a safe place before destroying it, it has substituted intrusting them to the waves in small boats many miles from land; and (4) being in itself a lawless practice It leaves any vessel, neutral or enemy, passenger or freight, at the mercy of any commander of a submarine The German defence of its submarine warfare is: (1) the novelty of the submarine; (2) England's extension of the blockade; (3) her own necessity. Submarine-Called by the Germans U boat, i. e., undersea boat, or submersible. This type of war vessel, while it may travel upon the surface, may also submerge itself and thus hide its movements from an enemy. While beneath the water, observations can be taken by means of a projecting perpendicular arm. called a periscope. The submarine can discharge torpedoes while it is thus hidden from view. Submarines are of various types, the outgrowth of American Inventive genius, that of John P. Holland and Simon Lake. They are combated by nets of steel sunk in channele, in which their noses are caught by fleets of destroyera ت War Cyclopedia-Continued. 623 trawlers, and specially constructed electric launches, by depth bombs, by low-flying airplanes supplied with bombing appliances, and by other means. Superdreadnought-Name given to some vessels of the dreadnought type. The displacement is 25,000 tons or more. The speed attained may be twenty-five knots or sea miles (a sea mile is 2,000 yards), and the main battery consists of guns of 13.5 inches calibre or better. Tanks-Heavy armored motor cars, propelled usually by "caterpillar drive" and used to break through enemy defenses, enfilade his trenches, or to cover attacks upon them. They were first used on September 15, 1916, by the British in their operations on the Somme, and were the decisive factor in Gen. Byng's advance toward Cambrai. They were of great advantage, also, in pushing back the Germans in the Foch drive. of 1918. Terrain-A word of French origin, meaning the ground, and the configuration thereof, where military operations are conducted. "Tommy"-Or "Tommy Atkins" is the word used to designate the British private soldier. Fron 1815 the specimen or model forms issued by the government in the official army regulations were often filled in with the name of Thomas Atkins, thus: "Description, service, etc., of Thomas Atkins, private, No. 6 troop," etc. From this practice originated the custom of referring to the private soldier as Thomas Atkins, shortened to Tommy Atkins, and then to Tommy. Torpedo-A development of great importance in naval warfare. It is associated with the names of Whitehead, an Englishman, and other inventors. The modern so-called automobile torpedo in general use Is of the shape of a cigar. It carries in its nose or head a charge of 250 pounds of guncotton, which is exploded by concussion when it strikes the object aimed at. Abaft the explosive chamber is an air chamber containing the compressed air which supplies the motor power. Behind this air chamber is a balance cham ber containing the steering apparatus for directing the rudders. Behind this again are the engines to revolve the shaft running to two screw propellers. Each torpedo contains 2,600 separate parts and is a small submarine in itself. A single torpedo costs from $5,000 to $7,000. Torpedo Boats-Small vessels whose main offensive armament is a torpedo shot through a tube. They rely upon high speed, small size and a few light guns for defense. Their displacement varies from fifty to 300 tons. They travel at a rate running from nineteen to twenty-nine knots. Treason- The Constitution (Article III., Section 3) reads: "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court." "Giving aid and comfort" to the enemies of the Unites States had been thus defined: "In general, any act clearly indicating a want of loyalty to the Government and sympathy with its enemies, and which by fair construction is directly in furtherance of their hostile designs." By "overt act" is meant an act, as distinguished from the mere intention to perform it. It includes not only "acts" in the colloquial sense, but also words, spoken or written. The penalty for treason is death, or imprisonment for at least five years and a fine of at least $10,000. Trench Mortar-A short gun with a vertical fire used to discharge bombs into an enemy intrenchment. The Germans were well supplied with this weapon of offense at the outbreak of the war and the Allies were bard pressed for trench artillery to cope with it. The German trench mortar discharges with a "dull boom" a sausage-shaped projectile, moving so slowly at first that the body of men whom it is designed to strike can often escape its force. Trench Warfare-The protection of troops demands stronger field intrenchments than have been necessary in previous wars; hence the so-called "trench warfare," which during the last four years has largely taken the place of former tactics. Digging trenches and throwing up breastworks for protection against the enemy's fire is, of course, not a new thing in warfare. A complicated network of trenches now protects the men on both sides. The spade has become one of the soldier's best weapons of defense. The chief Improvement in methods of defending intrenched troops is the increased use of machine guns, which must be put out of operation by artillery fire or by rifle fire directed against the gunners before infantry can advance directly against them. There has been also a great increase during the present war in the use of barbed wire in front of the trenches as a means of defense. Through the use of wire and machine guns it is now possible to defend the front line positions with smaller bodies of men than were considered necessary earlier in the war, thus considerably reducing the losses entailed. Triple Alliance-An agreement by Germany, Austria, and Italy, in 1882, for their mutual defense. The full and exact text of the treaties still remains secret. In 1914 Germany claimed to be bound by the treaties to protect Austria against attack by Russia. Italy, however, denied that Austria was attacked, insisted that Austria was the aggressor, that her designs in the Balkans would endanger Italy's own safety, and not only declined to fight in the triple alliance, but, later, entered the war against her old allies. Triple Entente-The name given to the diplomatic union of England, France, and Russia, formed to oppose the triple alliance of Germany, Austria, and Italy. Except in the case of Russia and France. there was no written treaty behind it. The first stage of the triple entente was the alliance in 1893 between Russia and France. In 1904 England concluded an entente (understanding) with France. In 1907 the chain was completed by an entente between England and Russia. Ukrainia, or the Ukraine-Its boundaries, population and area by the German agreement are found under "Ukrainian Peoples Republic." Much of the soil is black, suited to wheat, hence the old name, "Black Russia." There are rich iron and coal deposits. The word Ukraine is Polish, and means "frontier. The whole vast region of fertile plains was ceded to the Cossacks by Poland, in 1672, and was obtained by Russla in 1682, Poland keeping all on the west side of the River Dnieper. By the Polish partition of 1795 Russia got the rest of the Ukraine. Mazeppa was long ago the Ukraine hetman, or chief. The Podolia region was taken from Poland in 1793. Its capital. Kamanetz, has over 35,000 population. The Poltava region consists of plains, watered by the River Dnieper. The city of Poltava has over 53,000 population. The province of Volhynia, which lies on the northwest border of Galicia and on the eastern side of Poland, is agricultural. In the middle ages Volhynia was a principality, which, united with Lithuania, formed a part of the Polish kingdom. It reverted to Russia during the (1793-5) second and third partitions of Poland. The present capital, Zhitomir, on the Teterev River, contains over 65,000 people. The province of Kharkov, watered by the Donets River, is devoted to grain, wine, tobacco, and cattle. Its capital, the city of Kharkow, has 179,000 population. Ukrainian People's Republic-Proclaimed free and independent by its Central Rada (parliament) November 20, 1917, with a constitution dating from December 23, 1917, was formally recognized as such in a preliminary treaty of peace, signed at the conference at Brest-Litovsk, February 9, 1918. The parties to the treaty were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, on one hand, and the anti-Bolsheviki Central Rada of Ukrainia. Section two of that treaty said: "Between Austria-Hungary on the one hand and the Ukrainian People's Republic on the other hand, as far as these two powers border ono another. those frontiers will exist which existed before the outbreak of the present war between the Austro-Hungarlan monarchy and Russia. Further north the frontier of the republic beginning at Tarnegrad will in general follow the line of Bilgerey to Sroezeberzszyn, Krasnostau, Pugaszce, Radzyn, Meshiretsenel. Sarnaki, Seinik, Wysekelitowsk, Kamietslitowsk, Prushany, and Wydozowskyesee. This will be fixed in detail by 624 France's Tribute to First U. S. Soldiers Who Fell in Battle. WAR CYCLOPEDIA-Continued. a mixed commission according to ethnographical conditions and with a regard to the desires of the population. Should the Ukrainian People's Republic yet have common frontiers with another of the powers of the quadruple alliance, special agreements will be made thereon." Under the treaty with the Central Powers, Ukrainia thus was granted the territory of Kholm (Chelm), in Russian Poland. In Little Russia the Ukrainian Republic consisted, by the treaty, of the provinces of Kharkoff (21,041 square miles, population 3,452,000), Kieff (19,676 square miles, population 4,988,000), Podolia (16,224 square miles, population 4,127,600), Poltava (19,265 square miles, population 3,906,200), and Volhynia (27,699 square miles, population 4,241,800). Kholm (5,213 square miles, population 1,087,800) also was included in the treaty, but was claimed by Poland. In addition, the Ukrainians laid claim to the provinces of Chernigov (3,149,000 population, 20,232 square miles), Kherson (3,807,000 population, 27,337 square miles), Taurida (2,133,300 population, 23,312 square miles), and Yekaterinoslav (3,537,300 population. 24,477 square miles). This whole region, containing over 30,000.000 population, and more than 200,000 square miles, comprises "Little Russia," the "Southwestern Territory," and "New Russia," exclusive of the lands of the Don Cossacks. It is bounded on the west by Austria-Hungary, on the south by the Black and Azov Seas, on the east by the Don Cossacks, and on the north by Central Russia, and Lithuania. The Little Russians are 75 per cent. of the population. Odessa is the chief port. On April 29, 1918, at Kiev, the Congress of Ukrainian Peasants chose Gen. Skoropauski as het man, or ruler, in succession to the Central Rada. This was a step in the civil war between the Bolsheviki, and the antis, begun December 18, 1917. The Germans invaded Ukrainia, and on May 2, 1918, cstablished a military dictatorship there. In their independence proclamation of November 20, 1917, the Ukrainians had given the following guarantees: "All the liberties won by the Russian revolution are to be guaranteed, namely, freedom of the press, of speech, of religion, of assembly, of undon, of strikes, of inviolability of person and of habitation, the right and the possibility of using local dialects in dealing with all authorities." They had got from Kerensky, In July, 1917. a promise of independence provided they stayed in the Russian Provincial Republic. On May 9, 1918, a new government, pro-German, was formed, with Nicholas Ouste movitch as president. The Russian calendar gave way to the Gregorion, and Ukrainian was made the official language in courts, schools and government offices. Venice-This city, which was for many months a chief object of Austrian offensive, is the capital of the Italian province of Venice. The city is situated on 117 small islands in a shallow bay of the Adriatic, at the northwestern corner of that sea, nearly opposite the Hungarian port of Trieste, which is at the cast side of the head of the Adriatic. The city dates from the middle of the fifth century. At the close of the middle ages it was one of the great maritime powers of the world. It supplied goods to the Crusaders, and handled the trade between Asia and Europe; but began to decline after Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese, discovered the all-sea route to the Far East around the Cape of Good Hope. The Turks, by conquering Constantinople, alded in the decline of Venice. They got Cyprus in 1571, and Crete was lost in 1669. After the decline of its commercial supremacy Venice became the art centre of the worla, through the paintings of Titian, Tintoretto, Paul Veronese, and others. The Venetian Republic, which had existed for centuries, was ended in 1797 by Napoleon, who substituted a provisional democratic republic. Under the treaty of Campo Fornio, executed in 1797 the town of that name, sixty-six miles from Venice, all thet part of the city and province of Venice lying west of the River Adige reverted to Austria, as a duchy, the rest being annexed to what the French called the Cisalpine Republic. That republic, established by N.poleon in 1797, consisted of Lombardy, that part of Venice above named; Modina, the north part of the Papal states, and other Italian lands. The republic became the Italian republic in 1802, and in 1805 was incorporated into the kingdom of Italy. In the last named year Napoleon again got the upper hand of Austria, and it was by the treaty of Pressburg, signed at that place (once the capital of Hungary, on the Danube), that Venice passed to Italy. Austria got all of Venice, by military forec, in 1814, at the treaty of Paris. In 1848 Venice rebelled and became the republic of St. Mark, but in 1849 was reconquered by Austria, which held the city and province until 1866, when it was given to Italy. Verdun-The military key to the west front, which the German Crown Prince tried to take in 1916. It has been, since 1871, the most important of the French defenses on the eastern frontier between the Argonne and the Vosges. During the German advance of 1914 Verdun held out, although the Germans were able to push a deep salient to the south at St. Mihiel. In February, 1916, the armies of the German Crown Prince began assault upon Verdun, which lasted six months, and led to the capture of forts Douaumont and Vaux. Verdun was called "the grave" by German soldiers. A counter offensive by Gen. Nivelle in October, 1916, and August, 1917, enabled the French to reclaim ground they had lost in 1916. Zeppelin-A type of dirigible balloon, lifted by gas bags held in an aluminum framework, and propelled by gasoline engines; designed by the late Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, whose experiments with aircraft, about 1906, attracted wide attention. In war the Zeppelins are used for observation purposes, especially at sea; and for raids on enemy country. German aircraft, including Zeppelins, raided England thirty-four times between January 19, 1915, and October 1, 1917, killing outright 865 men, women, and children, and wounding over 2,500. FRANCE'S TRIBUTE TO FIRST U. S. SOLDIERS WHO FELL IN BATTLE, The following eulogy was a part of the ceremony at the burial, in northern France, of the first three American soldiers who lost their lives. The words were spoken by a French officer. He said: "In the name of the -th Division, in the name of the French Army, and in the name of France I bid farewell to Private Enright, Private Gresham, and Private Hay of the American Army. Of their own free will they had left a prosperous and happy country to come over here. They knew war was continuing in Europe: they knew that the forces fighting for honor, love of justice and civilization were still checked by the longprepared forces serving the powers of brutal domination, oppression and barbarity. They knew that efforts were still necessary. They wished to give us their generous hearts, and they have not forgotten old historical memories, while others forget more recent ones. They ignored nothing of the circumstances and nothing had been concealed from them-neither the length and hardships of war, nor the violence of battle, nor the dreadfulness of new weapons, nor the perfidy of the foe. Nothing stopped them. They accepted the hard and strenuous life; they crossed the ocean at great peril; they took their places on the front by our side, and they have fallen facing the foe in a hard and desperate hand-to-hand fight. Honor to them. Their families, friends and fellow-citizens will be proud when they learn of their deaths. "Men! These graves, the first to be dug in our national soil, and but a short distance from the enemy. are as a mark of the mighty land we and our Allies firmly cling to in the common task, confirming the will of the people and the army of the United States to fight with us to a finish, ready to sacrifice as long as is necessary until final victory for the most noble of causes, that of the liberty of nations, the weak as well as the mighty. Thus the deaths of these humble soldiers appear to us with extraordinary grandeur. We will, therefore, ask that the mortal remains of these young men be left here, left with us forever. We inscribe on the tombs, 'Here lie the first soldiers of the Republic of the United States to fall on the soil of France for liberty and justice. The passerby will stop and uncover his head. Travellers and men of heart will go out of their way to come here to pay their respective tributes. Private Enright, Private Gresham, Private Hayl In the name of France I thank you. God receive your souls. Farewell!" Wars of the Last Half Century. Wars of the Last half Century. 625 Seven Weeks' War, 1866-In a struggle by Prussia and Austria against Denmark, in April 186, the Dannerwerk fortifications in Schleswig were taken by the Prussians, and about the same time the Austrians gained a victory over the Danish Army in the Battle of Oversea. The Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were wrested from Denmark and given, in jointure, to Austria and Prussia. Prince Frederick of Augustenberg, as a descendant of the ducal family of Holstein, claimed the disputed territory in his own right. Prussia denied this claim. This dispute was the ostensible cause of the war between Austria and Prussia. King William of Prussia and Francis Joseph of Austria, by Treaty of Gastein, August 1, 1865, agreed that Schleswig should be put under the protectorate of Prussia and Holstein assigned to Austria. The Austrian Governor of Holstein continued to support and ure the claims of Prince Frederick. Bismarck asked for war, but in the Prussian Assembly was outroted, Le to one. Nevertheless, a Prussian army was hurried into Holstein. Bismarck offered Venice to Italy, and King Victor Emmanuel made alliance with Prussia. All the smaller German Kingdoms except Oldenberg, Mecklenberg, the Saxon states, and three free cities took sides with Austria. The Prussian Diet approved of the Austrian demand and declared war. On June 15, 1866, King William called upon Saxony, Hanover, Hesse-Cassel and Nassau to remain neutral, and gave them twelve hours to decide. In two days, Prussians seized Hanover, and in two more Hesse-Cassel was occupied by an army from the Rhine, and a third division was thrown into Dresden and Leipsic. On June 27, 1866, the Hanoverians were defeated, King George V. fleeing to Vienna. The three divisions of the Army of William were commanded by Crown Prince Frederick Wilitam; his Cousin, Prince Frederick Charles, and General Bittenfield. The Austrians were led by General Benedek. On June 27 and 29. 1866, Prince Frederick Charles defeated the Austrian advance in four engagements, but the battles were indecisive. Meanwhile the Crown Prince gained several victories over General Benedek (June 27-30). On July 6, 1866, the decisive battle was fought, known variously as Sadowa and Koniggratz. Austrian Army, 222,000; Prussian, 221,000. Austrian loss in killed, wounded and prisoners, 44,393; Prussian loss, 8,812. The Treaty of Prague was signed August 23, 1866. By its terms a North-German Union was formed. Hanover and Hesse-Cassel, Nassau, Schleswig-Holstein and Frankfort were incorporated with the new Germany. The four southern states of Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Wurtemberg and Bavaria were conceded their independence, but with a secret agreement that their armies were to be at the disposal of Prussia. Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1871-In September, 1868, by a revolution in Spain, Queen Isabella lost her throne. The Spanish Cortes elected Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, a relative of the King of Prussia. France, under Louis Napoleon, protested. Leopold declined. France demanded of Berlin (July 13, 1870), that no Prince of the House of Hohenzollern should be a candidate for the Spanish throne. This demand was turned down by King William. On July 19, 1870, France declared war on Prussia. The French armies then numbered 310,000. The Prussians, within eleven days, had over 600,000 soldiers in motion. Their army was under General Steinmetz and Crown Prince of Prussia and his cousin, Prince Frederick Charles. Count Von Moltke was Commander-in-Chief. King William went to the front in person, as did Louis Napoleon, Emperor of the French. The conflict began August 2, 1870, at Saarbruck, where a Frouch division under Gen. Frassard attacked a smaller body of Uhlans, and drove them back. Louis Napoleon sent a despatch to Eugenie announcing their son's 'baptism of fire." On August 4 the Crown Prince defeated Marshal MacMahon at Weissenburg: and again at Worth, August 6. About the same time Steinmetz was victor at Spicheren. On August 14. 1870. Steinmetz and Frederick Charles defeated Marshal Bazaine at Courcelles. At Mars-le-Tour a battle_was fought, with losses of about 17,000 on each side. The French claimed this as a victory, but Frederick Charles held his position. On August 18 a great battle was fought at Gravelotte-200,000 Germans against 180,000 French, and Marshal Bazalne was forced back to the fortifications of Metz. Marshal MacMahon, with an army of 125,000, hastened to the relief of Mez, but was intercepted by the Germans, who had the shorter line. On August 31, 1870, in the Battle of Beaumont, the French were defeated and forced to fall back to Sedan. MacMahon's army, then 112,000, was besieged by 200,000 Germans. On September 1, 1870, Sedan surrendered. Louis Napoleon was taken prisoner. The French Army, numbering 84,000, were prisoners of war. Empress Eugenic fled to England September 4, 1870, and on the same day, in Paris, a French Republic was proclaimed. A civic army of 70,000 was raised and command given to Gen. Trochu to defend Paris. On September 23 the Fortress of Toul capitulated. The German armies toward the close of war numbered 800,000. Paris was invested. Leon Gambetta escaped from that city in a balloon and raised an army of 150,000 volunteers, while the forces of Gen. Trochu were increased to 400,000. In the beginning of January, 1871, the army of Trochu was cut to pieces, with loss of 60,000. On January 17, 1871, Louis Adolphe Thiers was chosen Chief Exeive. On January 28 an armistice was arranged, and on February 26 a preliminary treaty of peace sigt st Versailles. The permanent treaty was signed at Frankfort, Me 10. By the document, Alsace anu Lorraine were ceded to Germany and an indemnity imposed of 5,000,000,000 of francs. It was estimated that the cost of the struggle to France, up to January, 1875, was 9,885,000,000 francs, including the indemnity to Prussia and interest. The bombardment of Strasburg was begun on August 14, 1870, and the place surrendered September 2S. Two German armies, 220,000 men, began the march on Paris on August 28, 1870; the siege commenced September 15. Versailles. a suburb, gave in September 19. Bombardment of Paris began on October 11. The city capitulated January 28, 1871. The German troops entered March 1. The attack on Metz began August 8, and the surrender occurred on September 28. Verdun was attacked first in August, 1870. and surrendered November 8. for the Modoc Indians to remove from their lands on the southern shore of Lake Klamoth, Oregon, to a new reservation. The Indians refused to obey. At a conference between them and six members of a United States Government Peace Commission on April 11, 1872, the Indians murdered Gen. Canby and Dr. Thomas, two of the members. The Modocs were then besteged by United States Regulars, and on June 1 Gen. Davis compelled Capt. Jack and his band to surrender. The Chiefs were tried by court martial and executed in October. Sioux Uprising, 1876-In 1867 the Sioux Indians had, by treaty, agreed to relinquish all the territory south of Nevbrara, west of the 104th meridian and north of the 45th parallel of lattitude, and to retire to a large reservation in Southwestern Dakota by January 1, 1876. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills led the whites to overrun the lands of the Sloux and they in tra broke over their limits. A large force, under Gens. Terry and Crook, was sent to drive them back into their reservation. On June 25, 1876, Gens. Reno and Custer were sent forward to discover the whereabouts of the Indians. Gen. Custer, without waiting for reinforcements, charged on an Indian village on the Little Big Horn River and his whole force was practically annihilated (262 killed and 52 wounded). Gen. Reno held out until reinforced by Gen. Gibbon. On November 24, 1876, the Sioux were defeated at a pass in the Big Horn Mountains, and on June 5, 1877, again routed by the division of Col. Miles. The remaining bands, under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, escaped to Canada. It was not until 1880 that Sitting Bull was induced to return to the reservation on the north bank of the Missouri River. Ashantee War, 1873-1874-By an arrangement between the English and the Dutch, in Africa, there was an exchange of forts, by which the King of Ashantee lost an annual stipend from the Dutch for occupancy by them of his lands. He demanded the English pay. They did not do so. The Ashantees decoyed four Europeans into their town and made them prisoners. In the Fall of 1873 Sir Garnet Wolseley was ! 626 Wars of the Last Half Century-Continued. despatched with a force; on January 20, 1874, he entered Ashantee land, and on February 4, 1874, reached Coomassie. Here the King of Ashantee renounced his claim of sovereignty and paid an indemnity of 50,000 ounces of gold. The town of Coomassie was burned to the ground. Serbian-Turkish War, 1876-Serbia declared war on Turkey in June, 1876, Montenegro alding Serbia. The Union of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia inspired King Milan with the idea that either union must be prevented or Serbia should have territorial compensation so that the balance of power might be maintained in the Balkan peninsula. The Serbian Army was defeated by Turkish forces under AbdulKermi Pasha, whose advance was stopped by the intervention of Czar Alexander II. of Russia, who insisted on an armistice. Serbia was beaten in a few months. Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878-On April 24, 1877, the Russian Czar declared war on Turkey. "to right the wrongs of Christians." The total Russian forces were about 200,000, and the Turkish about 120,000. At Plevna the Russians were repulsed twice, at the second battle losing 7,300 as against a Turkish loss of 2,000. At the third attempt Plevna was captured, Osman Pasha capitulating in November, 1877, surrendering an army of 40,000. The Russian casualties during the war were close to 20,000. The contest was ended by the Treaty of San Stefano, signed March 3, 1878. The terms of this treaty were modified: at the Berlin Conference in June and July, 1878. Afghanistan War of 1879-The British sent an Embassy to Cabul. Shere All, the Ameer of Cabul, forbade their entrance into his country. The British continued, accompanied by a military force, and took possession of Cabul and Candahar. Ali died was succeeded by his son, Yakoob Khan, who hastened to sign a new treaty (May 5, 1879), by which he came under a protectorate. Shortly afterward a revolt occurred, and the English representatives in Cabul were attacked by insurgents and murdered. A second English expedition entered Cabul on December 24, 1879, Yakoob Khan was deposed and Cabul garrisoned. Zulu War of 1879-A dispute between the Transvaal Republic and the Zulus over the ownership of a strip of African territory was referred to British Commissioners, who decided in favor of the Zulus, but the British Governor in South Africa, Sir Bartle Frere, did not execute the terms of settlement. Cetewayo, the Zulu King, raised an army, which the English Governor demanded be dispersed. British forces invaded the country and were defeated, January 22, 1879. A new British force, sent out under Lord Chelmsford, routed the Zulus, captured King Cetewayo and brought the war to an end before the middle of Autumn of 1879. It was in this war that the French Prince Imperial, son of Louis (Napoleon III.) and Eugenie, was killed. Egyptian War, 1882-A revolution having been accomplished by Arabi Pasha in Egypt, both sides appealed to the powers. On May 17, 1882, English and French fleets were ordered to Alexandria. The representatives of Great Britain demanded the dismissal of the New National Ministry and the exile of Arabi Pasha. The first of these demands was complied with, but the Egyptians declined to banish Arabi. Riots broke out in Alexandria. Sir Beauchamp Seymour sent an ultimatum to the Egyptian Nationaliste to cease repairing and manning the fortifications, and two days later bombarded Alexandria. An AngloIndian army of 30,000, under Sir Garnet Wolseley, fought the Battle of Tel-el-Keber, September 9, 1882. Arabi's forces were defeated, the Provisional Government overthrown, and Arabi was surrendered. Serbo-Bulgarian War, 1885-King Milan of Serbia declared war on Bulgaria, November 14, 1885. The Berlin Congress of 1878, by its revision of the Treaty of San Stefano, created two states in the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. Serbian forces were concentrated on the Bulgarian frontier October 1 to 12, owing to disputes as to boundaries. Hostilities ceased November 28, 1885, through the Intervention of Austria. The Bulgarian Army numbered 55,000; the Rumelian 35,000, plus a "bandit brigade," composed of Macedonians, Turks, Jews, etc., 3,000. China-Japanese War, 1894-1895-The cause was the Chinese claim of suzerainty over Korea, which Japan disputed. Japan issued an ultimatum to the Korean Government July 20, 1894. War was formally declared August 1. There had been fighting before that. The Battle of Pingyang was fought September 16, 1894. The Japanese killed or captured 7,000 Chinese. The naval battle of Yalu occurred September 16, 1894, The loss of this fight led to degradation of Prime Minister Li Hung Chang. Port Arthur was captured November 2, 1894. Two Japanese armies of 12,500 each were sent into Manchuria, and a third army of 22,000 went, under Marshal Oyama, to Peking. These armies opposed 60,000 Chinese. The Japanese captured Kaiphing in December, 1894. In January, 1895, 14,000 Chinese attacked the Japanese at Haitung, and were repulsed. Early in February, 1895, over 25,000 Japanese landed on Shantung Peninsula and seized Weiheiwal, Chinese troops, 9,000 in number, fleeing. On February 16, 1895, the Chinese deet surrendered. Admiral Ting, Commodore Liu and Gen. Ching, of the garrison, all three, committed suicide. On March 1 the Japanese captured Niuchwang, and on March 6 Kinyang. On March 9 they burned the City of Thienchuiangthal. A peace treaty was signed April 17, 1895, guaranteeing the independence of Korea; the south part of Fengtien to belong to Japan, as well as parts of the country between Yalu and Liao; and the Island of Formosa, of Pescadore group. Indemnity of 200,000,000 kuping taels was paid by China. Russia, Germany, and France objected to the ceding to Japan of the Liaotung Peninsula, and Japan accepted 30,000,000 taels instead. A treaty of peace was signed April 17, 1895. The Japanese lost 4,177 by death in action or by sickness and 56,862 wounded and disabled. Impossible to estimate Chinese losses. Cuban Insurrection, 1895-There were simultaneous uprisings in Santiago, Santa Clara and Matanzas on February 24, 1895. The Spanish Captain General, Calleja, had at that time a force of about 9,000, and 4,000 recruits were sent to reinforce him. Early in March, 1895, a force of 20,000 men was sent by Spain to Cuba to put down the insurrection. On March 25 Cuba declared its independence, with Dr. Tomas Estrado Palma, President; José Marti, Secretary, and Gen. Gomez, Commander-in-Chief. On May 18, Bartolome Masso was elected President. When the Spanish-American War was at its crisis in the midsummer of 1898 Gen. Garcia, in command of a Cuban patriot army, co-operated with Gen. Shafter in the campaign which ended with the capture of Santiago and the collapse of the Spanish rule. Greco-Turkish War of 1897-The Island of Crete rebelled against Turkey in February, 1897. The Greek Government sent an army, under Col. Vassas, to Crete's support. Turkey appealed to the powers and foreign fleets hore down on Crete and blockaded the island. Parts of Thessaly had been conceded to Greece by the Berlin Conference of 1878, but never given up to it by Turkey, which now advanced into Thessaly, a formal declaration of war being issued April 17, 1897. The principal battles were Pharsalia and Domokas (fought May 17, 1897), where the Turks, numbering 50,000, stormed fortified position of the Greeks and drove them out toward Lamia and Thermopyle. Sultan of Turkey that if the latter marched on Athens a Bulgarian army would be sent against him. The insurrection in Crete was quieted, the island returned to the Sultan, and the status quo between Turkey and Greece restored. The Russian Czar admonished the Philippine Insurrection, 1896, and Philippine War, 1899-1902-Toward the end of the summer of 1896 an insurrection against Spain, led by a Dr. Rizal, was suppressed and Rizal executed. The rebellion was revived under Emilio Aguinaldo. The Spanish-American War, resulting in the cession of the Philippines, ended temporarily the troubles In the Philippines. On February 4, 1899, Filipinos attacked the American forces near Manila. On the next day Admiral Dewey opened fire on them. The Americans lost 49 killed and 149 wounded. Warfare mainly of a guerilla nature followed, and April 8, 1899, an expedition set out from Manila, consisting of 1,500 troops under Gen. Lawton. On April 10 Santa Cruz was captured, the Americans losing one killed and nine wounded. The Filipinos lost 93 killed and many wounded. Spanish-American War, 1898-On February 15, 1898, the American battleship Maine, at anchor ! |