A Concise Chronicle Of Events Of The Great War - free ebook by R. P. P. Rowe

Read as playlist

A Concise Chronicle Of Events Of The Great War

R. P. P. Rowe

29 chapters

4 hour read

Read as playlist

Selected Chapters

29 chapters

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

I trust that this chronicle of the chief events of the war will prove a useful and an interesting record. It has been decided to omit maps, because their inclusion within bounds less than cumbersome would prove practically worthless. The number of towns, as opposed to villages, which were definitely connected with the war is surprisingly small, and their locality is known to nearly every one. The great majority of places which the war has brought into prominence are villages so small that they a

1 minute read

Read Chapter

1914

1914

June 28 (Sun.) Assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria, at Sarajevo. July 23 (Thur.) The Austrian ultimatum to Serbia (see Appendix I.). July 25 (Sat.) Serbia replies, yielding on all points except two (see Appendix II.). The Austrian Minister leaves Belgrade. July 26 (Sun.) The Admiralty countermands orders for the dispersal of the British Fleet. July 27 (Mon.) France and Italy accept England's proposal for an international conference. July 28 (Tues.) German

19 minute read

Read Chapter

1915

1915

Jan. 1 (Fri.) A new British decoration, the 'Military Cross,' is instituted. The Caucasus:—Ardahan is occupied by the Turks. H.M.S. Formidable (battleship) is torpedoed in the English Channel (600 lives lost). Jan. 2 (Sat.) The Caucasus:—The end of the Battle of Sarykamish (see Dec. 29, 1914): the Turks are routed. East Africa:—Jassin is occupied by the British (see Jan. 19). H.M.S. Fox and H.M.S. Goliath bombard Dar-es-Salaam (German East Africa). Jan. 3 (Sun.) The Caucasus:—Ardahan is reoccupi

27 minute read

Read Chapter

1916

1916

Jan. 1 (Sat.) The Russians gain successes on the Styr and the Strypa. The Cameroons:—The British capture Jaunde (the capital of the German colony). Jan. 2 (Sun.) The Russians approach Czernowitz. The British passenger steamer Glengyle is sunk by a submarine in the Mediterranean. Jan. 4 (Tues.) Lord Derby's report on the recruiting campaign in Great Britain is issued. Mesopotamia:—The Kut relieving force advances from Ali-el-Gharb. Jan. 5 (Wed.) The Military Service Bill that inaugurates conscrip

36 minute read

Read Chapter

1917

1917

Jan. 1 (Mon.) Sir Douglas Haig is gazetted a Field Marshal. East Africa:—The British storm a strong enemy position in the Mageta Valley and approach Kilambawe. The British transport Ivernia is sunk by a submarine in the Mediterranean. Jan. 2 (Tues.) The Roumanian Cabinet is reconstituted with M. Bratiano as Premier. Jan. 3 (Wed.) A Russian success in the Southern Bukovina (600 prisoners). Jan. 4 (Thur.) East Africa:—The British occupy the German camp on the Tshogowali River. Jan. 5 (Fri.) Rouman

13 minute read

Read Chapter

1918

1918

Jan. 1 (Tues.) Italy:—The Austrians are driven from Zenson, west of the Piave. Jan. 2 (Wed.) The German peace conditions are denounced by the Bolshevists as a policy of annexation. Jan. 4 (Fri.) The British hospital ship Rewa is sunk by a submarine in the Bristol Channel (three lives lost). Jan. 5 (Sat.) Mr. Lloyd George makes a declaration of 'War Aims' after consultation with Mr. Asquith, Lord Grey, and the leaders of the Labour Party. Jan. 8 (Tues.) President Wilson in an address to Congress

49 minute read

Read Chapter

1918

1918

Nov. 12 (Tues.) The Emperor Karl of Austria abdicates. The Allied fleets pass through the Dardanelles, British and Indian troops occupying the forts. Nov. 13 (Wed.) The Allied fleets reach Constantinople. Nov. 14 (Thur.) East Africa:—The last of the German forces surrender, in compliance with the terms of the Armistice, on the Chambezi River in Northern Rhodesia. Nov. 17 (Sun.) In accordance with the terms of the Armistice, the advance of the Allies on the Western Front begins. The Caspian:—Brit

1 minute read

Read Chapter

1919

1919

Jan. 18 (Sat.) The Peace Conference (the 'Conference of Paris') is opened by M. Poincaré, President of the French Republic, at the Quai d'Orsay; M. Clemenceau is unanimously elected Chairman. On the same date, forty-eight years earlier (Jan. 18, 1871), the German Empire was proclaimed in the Galerie des Glaces, Versailles. Feb. 11 (Wed.) Herr Ebert is elected first President of the German Republic. Feb. 12 (Thur.) Herr Scheidemann, the first German Prime Minister, forms a Cabinet. Mar. 25 (Tues.

2 minute read

Read Chapter

1920

1920

Jan. 10 (Sat.) The Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and the German Republic is formally ratified in the Clock Room in the French Foreign Office, Paris, the ceremony beginning at 4 P.M....

10 minute read

Read Chapter

AUSTRIA'S ULTIMATUM TO SERBIA

AUSTRIA'S ULTIMATUM TO SERBIA

The Austro-Hungarian Government addressed the following Note to the Serbian Government on the 23rd July 1914, through the medium of the Austro-Hungarian Minister at Belgrade: 'On the 31st March 1909 the Serbian Minister in Vienna, on the instructions of the Serbian Government, made the following declaration to the Imperial and Royal Government: '"Serbia recognises that the fait accompli regarding Bosnia has not affected her rights, and consequently she will conform to the decisions that the Powe

5 minute read

Read Chapter

SERBIA'S REPLY TO AUSTRIA

SERBIA'S REPLY TO AUSTRIA

The Royal Serbian Government have received the communication of the Imperial and Royal Government of the 10th instant, [5] and are convinced that their reply will remove any misunderstanding which may threaten to impair the good neighbourly relations between the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the Kingdom of Serbia. Conscious of the fact that the protests which were made both from the tribune of the national Skupshtina [6] and in the declarations and actions of the responsible representatives of t

7 minute read

Read Chapter

GERMANY'S DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST RUSSIA

GERMANY'S DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST RUSSIA

The Note presented by Count Pourtalès, German Ambassador at St. Petersburg, on the 1st August 1914, at 7.10 P.M. : 'The Imperial German Government have used every effort since the beginning of the crisis to bring about a peaceful settlement. In compliance with a wish expressed to him by His Majesty the Emperor of Russia, the German Emperor had undertaken, in concert with Great Britain, the part of mediator between the cabinets of Vienna and St. Petersburg; but Russia, without waiting for any res

1 minute read

Read Chapter

GERMANY'S DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST FRANCE

GERMANY'S DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST FRANCE

The following letter was handed by the German Ambassador to M. René Viviani, President of the Council, Minister for Foreign Affairs, during his farewell audience, August 3, 1914, at 6.45 P.M. M. le Président , The German administrative and military authorities have established a certain number of flagrantly hostile acts committed on German territory by French military aviators. Several of these have openly violated the neutrality of Belgium by flying over the territory of that country; one has a

1 minute read

Read Chapter

PRESIDENT WILSON'S FOURTEEN POINTS

PRESIDENT WILSON'S FOURTEEN POINTS

An excerpt from President Wilson's address to Congress on January 8, 1918: 'The programme of the world's peace, therefore, is our programme, and that programme, the only possible one as we see it, is this: '1. Open covenants of peace openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind, but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view. '2. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas outside territorial waters alike in peace and in wa

3 minute read

Read Chapter

THE ARMISTICE

THE ARMISTICE

(Signed September 29, 1918) MILITARY CONVENTION REGULATING THE CONDITIONS OF THE SUSPENSION OF HOSTILITIES BETWEEN THE ALLIED POWERS AND BULGARIA, WHICH CAME INTO FORCE AT 12.00 HOURS ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1918. 1. Immediate evacuation, in accordance with a scheme to be evolved, of all the occupied territories in Greece and Serbia. From this territory neither cattle, grain, nor supplies of any sort will be removed. No damage will be caused upon evacuation. The Bulgarian authorities will continue to a

28 minute read

Read Chapter

Part I

Part I

The Covenant of the League of Nations The Members of the League to be the signatories named in the annexe to the Covenant and other States to be subsequently admitted, the Members named in the annexe being the following: The United States of America. Belgium. Bolivia. The British Empire. Canada. Australia. South Africa. New Zealand. India. China. Cuba. Ecuador. France. Greece. Guatemala. Haiti. Hedjaz. Honduras. Italy. Japan. Siberia. Nicaragua. Panama. Peru. Poland. Portugal. Roumania. The Serb

2 minute read

Read Chapter

Parts II and III

Parts II and III

The Boundaries of Germany and Political Clauses for Europe The Western Boundary of Germany:—On the Belgian border Germany admits the full sovereignty of Belgium over the contested territory of Moresnet and over part of Prussian Moresnet. Germany also renounces all rights over Eupen and Malmedy. Luxemburg passes from the sphere of German influence. From Luxemburg southwards, the boundary of France is her boundary previous to the war of 1870, Lorraine and Alsace being thus restored to her. With re

2 minute read

Read Chapter

Part IV

Part IV

German Rights and Interests outside Germany In territory outside her European frontiers, as fixed by the Treaty, Germany renounces all previous rights and titles. She hands over her colonies, with all Government or State property therein, unconditionally to the Allied Powers. She undertakes to pay reparation for damage suffered by French nationals in the Cameroons through the acts of Germans between 1st January 1900 and 1st August 1914. Her possessions and rights in China she restores to China e

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Part V

Part V

Military, Naval, and Aerial Clauses 'In order to render possible the initiation of a general limitation of the armaments of all nations, Germany undertakes directly to observe the military, naval, and air clauses which follow.' The Military terms provide for the demobilisation of the German armies and the imposition of other military restrictions, within two months of the signing of the Treaty (as the first step towards international disarmament). All compulsory military service is to be abolish

5 minute read

Read Chapter

Part VI

Part VI

Prisoners of War and Graves The Allied and Associated Powers agree to repatriate German prisoners and interned civilians without delay after the coming in force of the present Treaty; the whole cost of repatriation to be borne by the German Government. The Allied Governments and the German Government will cause to be respected and maintained the graves of the soldiers and sailors buried in their respective territories....

19 minute read

Read Chapter

Part VII

Part VII

Penalties William II., of Hohenzollern, formerly German Emperor, to be tried by a special tribunal for a supreme offence against international morality and the sanctity of treaties. The tribunal to consist of five judges, one appointed by each of the following powers: the U.S.A., Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. The German Government recognises the right of the Allied Powers to bring before military tribunals persons accused of having committed acts in violation of the laws and customs o

24 minute read

Read Chapter

Part VIII

Part VIII

Reparation 'The Allied and Associated Governments affirm, and Germany accepts on behalf of herself and her Allies, the responsibility for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her Allies.' The Allied and Associated Governments recognise that the resources of Germany are insufficient to make complete reparation possible, but through the in

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Part IX

Part IX

Financial Clauses Any Power to which German territory is ceded will normally assume in respect thereof a fair portion of the German pre-war debt, the amount to be fixed in each case in accordance with certain stated principles by the Reparation Commission. But France shall have no liability for German debt in respect of Alsace-Lorraine. The value of German Government property in ceded territory will normally be credited to Germany on account of reparation; but no credit will be given for any Ger

42 minute read

Read Chapter

Part X

Part X

Economic Clauses These are designed to prevent Germany for a period of years from discriminating against the trade of Allied and Associated countries. They also provide for the settlement of pre-war debts, and other obligations and rules are drawn up for the fulfilment or non-fulfilment of pre-war contracts....

13 minute read

Read Chapter

Part XI

Part XI

Aerial Navigation The provisions under this heading give to aircraft of the Allied and Associated countries certain specified rights in German territory and privileges similar to those enjoyed by German aircraft....

9 minute read

Read Chapter

Part XII

Part XII

Ports, Waterways, and Railways Germany undertakes to grant complete freedom and equality of transport through her territories for persons and goods passing from or to the territories of any of the Allied and Associated countries, such goods in transit to be exempt from all customs and similar duties. Similarly she grants to the Allied and Associated Powers equal freedom of navigation in all her ports and waterways. Free zones in German ports are to be maintained and adequate facilities are to be

1 minute read

Read Chapter

Part XIII

Part XIII

Labour It is provided that an International Conference shall meet annually to propose Labour reforms for adoption by States composing the League of Nations. The Annual Conference will consist of four representatives from each State, two for the State and one each for employers and employed. The Conference has certain powers for the initiation of legislation to fulfil recommendations or draft conventions carried by a two-thirds majority of the delegates representing its Members....

20 minute read

Read Chapter

Part XIV

Part XIV

Guarantees These consist chiefly of the measures already outlined for the occupation by the Allied Powers during a period of years of the German territories west of the Rhine. If Germany fails to fulfil her obligations, such occupation may be prolonged or, if the territories or any part of them have been evacuated, renewed....

15 minute read

Read Chapter

Part XV

Part XV

Miscellaneous Provisions 'Germany undertakes to recognise the full force of the Treaties of Peace and Additional Conventions which may be concluded by the Allied and Associated Powers with the Powers who fought on the side of Germany, and to recognise whatever dispositions may be made concerning the territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and of the Ottoman Empire, and to recognise the new States within their frontiers as there laid down.' An agreement ab

1 minute read

Read Chapter