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 the State—protests which were cut short by the declarations made by the Serbian Government on the 18th[7]March 1909—have not been renewed on any occasion as regards the great neighbouring Monarchy, and that no attempt has been made since that time, either by the successive Royal Governments or by their organs, to change the political and legal state of affairs created in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Royal Government draw attention to the fact that in this connection the Imperial and Royal Government have made no representation except one concerning a school book, and that on that occasion the Imperial and Royal Government received an entirely satisfactory explanation. Serbia has several times given proofs of her pacific and moderate policy during the Balkan crisis, and it is thanks to Serbia and to the sacrifice that she has made in the exclusive interest of European peace that that peace has been preserved. The Royal Government cannot be held responsible for manifestations of a private character, such as articles in the Press and the peaceablework of societies—manifestations which take place in nearly all countries in the ordinary course of events, and which, as a general rule, escape official control. The Royal Government are all the less responsible, in view of the fact that at the time of the solution of a series of questions which arose between Serbia and Austria-Hungary they gave proof of a great readiness to oblige, and thus succeeded in settling the majority of these questions to the advantage of the two neighbouring countries.
For these reasons the Royal Government have been pained and surprised at the statements, according to which members of the Kingdom of Serbia are supposed to have participated in the preparations for the crime committed at Serajevo; the Royal Government expected to be invited to collaborate in an investigation of all that concerns this crime, and they were ready, in order to prove the entire correctness of their attitude, to take measures against any persons concerning whom representations were made to them. Falling in, therefore, with the desire of the Imperial and Royal Government, they are prepared to hand over for trial any Serbian subject, without regard to his situation or rank, of whose complicity in the crime of Serajevo proofs are forthcoming, and more especially they undertake to cause to be published on the first page of the 'Journal Officiel,' on the date of the 13th (26th) July, the following declaration:
'The Royal Government of Serbia condemn all propaganda which may be directed against Austria-Hungary, that is to say, all such tendencies as aim at ultimately detaching from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy territories which form part thereof, and they sincerely deplore the baneful consequences of these criminal movements. The Royal Government regret that, according to the communication from the Imperial and Royal Government, certain Serbian officers and officials should have taken part in the above-mentioned propaganda, and thuscompromised the good neighbourly relations to which the Royal Serbian Government was solemnly engaged by the declaration of the 31st March 1909,[8]which declaration disapproves and repudiates all idea or attempt at interference with the destiny of the inhabitants of any part whatsoever of Austria-Hungary, and they consider it their duty formally to warn the officers, officials, and entire population of the Kingdom that henceforth they will take the most rigorous steps against all such persons as are guilty of such acts, to prevent and to repress which they will use their utmost endeavour.'
This declaration will be brought to the knowledge of the Royal Army in an order of the day, in the name of His Majesty the King, by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Alexander, and will be published in the next official Army bulletin.
The Royal Government further undertake:
1. To introduce at the first regular convocation of the Skupshtina[9]a provision into the Press law providing for the most severe punishment of incitement to hatred or contempt of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and for taking action against any publication the general tendency of which is directed against the territorial integrity of Austro-Hungary. The Government engage at the approaching revision of the Constitution to cause an amendment to be introduced into Article 22 of the Constitution of such a nature that such publication may be confiscated, a proceeding at present impossible under the categorical terms of Article 22 of the Constitution.
2. The Government possess no proof, nor does the note of the Imperial and Royal Government furnish them with any, that the 'Narodna Odbrana' and other similar societies have committed up to the present any criminal act of this nature through the proceedings of any of their members. Nevertheless, the Royal Government will accept the demand of the Imperial and Royal Government, and will dissolve the 'NarodnaOdbrana' Society and every other society which may be directing its efforts against Austria-Hungary.
3. The Royal Serbian Government undertake to remove without delay from their public educational establishments in Serbia all that serves or could serve to foment propaganda against Austria-Hungary, whenever the Imperial and Royal Government furnish them with facts and proofs of this propaganda.
4. The Royal Government also agree to remove from military service all such persons as the judicial inquiry may have proved to be guilty of acts directed against the integrity of the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and they expect the Imperial and Royal Government to communicate to them at a later date the names and the acts of these officers and officials for the purpose of the proceedings which are to be taken against them.
5. The Royal Government must confess that they do not clearly grasp the meaning or the scope of the demand made by the Imperial and Royal Government that Serbia shall undertake to accept the collaboration of the organs of the Imperial and Royal Government upon their territory, but they declare that they will admit such collaboration as agrees with the principle of international law, with criminal procedure, and with good neighbourly relations.
6. It goes without saying that the Royal Government consider it their duty to open an inquiry against all such persons as are, or eventually may be, implicated in the plot of the 15th June, and who happen to be within the territory of the Kingdom. As regards the participation in this inquiry of Austro-Hungarian agents or authorities appointed for this purpose by the Imperial and Royal Government, the Royal Government cannot accept such an arrangement, as it would be a violation of the Constitution and of the law of criminal procedure; nevertheless, in concrete cases communications as to theresults of the investigation in question might be given to the Austro-Hungarian agents.
7. The Royal Government proceeded, on the very evening of the delivery of the note, to arrest Commandant Voislav Tankossitch. As regards Milan Ziganovitch, who is a subject of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and who up to the 15th[10]June was employed (on probation) by the directorate of railways, it has not yet been possible to arrest him.
The Austro-Hungarian Government are requested to be so good as to supply as soon as possible, in the customary form, the presumptive evidence of guilt, as well as the eventual proofs of guilt which have been collected up to the present, at the inquiry at Serajevo for the purposes of the later inquiry.
8. The Serbian Government will reinforce and extend the measures which have been taken for preventing the illicit traffic of arms and explosives across the frontier. It goes without saying that they will immediately order an inquiry and will severely punish the frontier officials on the Schabatz-Loznitza line who have failed in their duty and allowed the authors of the crime of Serajevo to pass.
9. The Royal Government will gladly give explanations of the remarks made by their officials, whether in Serbia or abroad, in interviews after the crime which according to the statement of the Imperial and Royal Government were hostile towards the Monarchy, as soon as the Imperial and Royal Government have communicated to them the passages in question in these remarks, and as soon as they have shown that the remarks were actually made by the said officials, although the Royal Government will itself take steps to collect evidence and proofs.
10. The Royal Government will inform the Imperial and Royal Government of the execution of the measures comprised under the above heads, in so far as this has not already beendone by the present note, as soon as each measure has been ordered and carried out.
If the Imperial and Royal Government are not satisfied with this reply, the Serbian Government, considering that it is not to the common interest to precipitate the solution of this question, are ready, as always, to accept a pacific understanding, either by referring this question to the decision of the International Tribunal of The Hague, or to the Great Powers which took part in the drawing up of the declaration made by the Serbian Government on the 18th (31st) March 1909.
Belgrade,July 12(25), 1914.
The Note presented by Count Pourtalès, German Ambassador at St. Petersburg, on the 1st August 1914, at 7.10P.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 result, proceeded to a general mobilisation of her forces both on land and sea. In consequence of this threatening step, which was not justified by any military proceedings on the part of Germany, the German Empire was faced by a grave and imminent danger. If the German Government had failed to guard against this peril, they would havecompromised the safety and the very existence of Germany. The German Government were, therefore, obliged to make representations to the Government of His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias and to insist upon a cessation of the aforesaid military acts. Russia having refused to comply with (not having considered it necessary to answer[11]) this demand, and having shown by this refusal (this attitude[11]) that her action was directed against Germany, I have the honour, on the instructions of my Government, to inform your Excellency as follows:
'His Majesty the Emperor, my august Sovereign, in the name of the German Empire, accepts the challenge, and considers himself at war with Russia.'
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 6.45P.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 Belgiumby flying over the territory of that country; one has attempted to destroy buildings near Wesel; others have been seen in the district of the Eifel; one has thrown bombs on the railway near Karlsruhe and Nuremberg.I am instructed, and I have the honour to inform your Excellency, that in the presence of these acts of aggression the German Empire considers itself in a state of war with France in consequence of the acts of this latter Power.At the same time I have the honour to bring to the knowledge of your Excellency that the German authorities will detain French mercantile vessels in German ports, but they will release them if, within forty-eight hours, they are assured of complete reciprocity.My diplomatic mission having thus come to an end it only remains for me to request your Excellency to be good enough to furnish me with my passports, and to take the steps you consider suitable to assure my return to Germany, with the staff of the Embassy, as well as with the staff of the Bavarian Legation and of the German Consulate-General in Paris.Be good enough, M. le Président, to receive the assurances of my deepest respect.(Signed)Schoen.
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 Belgiumby flying over the territory of that country; one has attempted to destroy buildings near Wesel; others have been seen in the district of the Eifel; one has thrown bombs on the railway near Karlsruhe and Nuremberg.
I am instructed, and I have the honour to inform your Excellency, that in the presence of these acts of aggression the German Empire considers itself in a state of war with France in consequence of the acts of this latter Power.
At the same time I have the honour to bring to the knowledge of your Excellency that the German authorities will detain French mercantile vessels in German ports, but they will release them if, within forty-eight hours, they are assured of complete reciprocity.
My diplomatic mission having thus come to an end it only remains for me to request your Excellency to be good enough to furnish me with my passports, and to take the steps you consider suitable to assure my return to Germany, with the staff of the Embassy, as well as with the staff of the Bavarian Legation and of the German Consulate-General in Paris.
Be good enough, M. le Président, to receive the assurances of my deepest respect.
(Signed)Schoen.
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 whichthere 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 war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the enforcement of international covenants.
'3. The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its maintenance.
'4. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety.
'5. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the Government whose title is to be determined.
'6. The evacuation of all Russian territory, and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia as will secure the best and freest co-operation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the independent determination of her own political development and national policy, and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society of free nations under institutions of her own choosing; and more than a welcome assistance also of every kind that she may need and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their goodwill, of their comprehension of her needs as distinguished from their own interests, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.
'7. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuatedand restored without any attempt to limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will serve as this will serve to restore confidence among the nations in the laws which they have themselves set and determined for the government of their relations with one another. Without this healing act the whole structure and validity of international law is for ever impaired.
'8. All French territory should be freed, and the invaded portions restored, and the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the world for nearly fifty years, should be righted in order that peace may once more be made secure in the interest of all.
'9. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along clearly recognisable lines of nationality.
'10. The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the first opportunity of autonomous development.
'11. Roumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated, occupied territories restored, Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea, and the relations of the several Balkan States to one another determined by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and nationality, and international guarantees of the political and economic independence and territorial integrity of the several Balkan States should be entered into.
'12. The Turkish portions of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees.
'13. An independent Polish State should be erected whichshould include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant.
'14. A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political and territorial independence for great and small States alike.'
(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.
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 administer those parts of Bulgaria actually in the occupation of the Allies.
2. Immediate demobilisation of the whole Bulgarian Army,except for a group of all arms which will be maintained in a fit condition for action, and will comprise three divisions, each of sixteen battalions, and four cavalry regiments, which will be employed as follows:
Two divisions for the defence of the eastern frontier of Bulgaria and the Dobrudja, and one division to guard the railways.
Two divisions for the defence of the eastern frontier of Bulgaria and the Dobrudja, and one division to guard the railways.
3. Depôts will be established at points to be indicated by the High Command of the Armée d'Orient, of arms, munitions, and military vehicles belonging to the demobilised units, which material will afterwards be put into store by the Bulgarian authorities under the supervision of the Allies. The horses will also be handed over to the Allies.
4. Return to Greece of the material of the IVth Greek Army Corps taken from the Greek Army on the occupation of Eastern Macedonia in so far as it has not been sent to Germany.
5. The Bulgarian troops which are now west of the longitude of Uskub, and belong to the XIth German Army, will lay down their arms and will be considered until further orders as prisoners of war. Officers will retain their arms.
6. The employment until the conclusion of peace of Bulgarian prisoners of war in the East without the reciprocal rights as regards prisoners of war belonging to the Allied forces. These latter will be handed over without delay to the Allied authorities and deported civilians will be absolutely free to return to their homes.
7. Germany and Austria-Hungary will be given a period of four weeks in which to withdraw their troops and military authorities from Bulgaria. Within the same period the diplomatic and consular representatives of the Central Powers and their nationals will quit the territory of the Bulgarian kingdom. The orders for the cessation of hostilities will be given by the signatories of this Convention.
(Signed October 30, 1918. Came into force October 31, 1918)
Conditions of an armistice agreed to and concluded between—
Vice-Admiral the Honourable Sir Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe, British Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Station, acting under authority from the British Government, in agreement with their Allies,andHis Excellency Raouff Bey, Turkish Minister of Marine,His Excellency Rechad Hikmet Bey, Turkish Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs,Lieutenant-Colonel Saadullah Bey, Turkish General Staff, acting under authority from the Turkish Government.
Vice-Admiral the Honourable Sir Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe, British Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Station, acting under authority from the British Government, in agreement with their Allies,
and
His Excellency Raouff Bey, Turkish Minister of Marine,
His Excellency Rechad Hikmet Bey, Turkish Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs,
Lieutenant-Colonel Saadullah Bey, Turkish General Staff, acting under authority from the Turkish Government.
1. Opening of Dardanelles and Bosporus and secure access to the Black Sea. Allied occupation of Dardanelles and Bosporus forts.
2. Positions of all minefields, torpedo-tubes, and other obstructions in Turkish waters to be indicated, and assistance given to sweep or remove them as may be required.
3. All available information as to mines in the Black Sea to be communicated.
4. All Allied prisoners of war and Armenian interned persons and prisoners to be collected in Constantinople and handed over unconditionally to the Allies.
5. Immediate demobilisation of the Turkish Army, except for such troops as are required for surveillance of frontiers and for the maintenance of internal order. Number of effectives and their disposition to be determined later by the Allies after consultation with the Turkish Government.
6. Surrender of all war vessels in Turkish waters, or in waters occupied by Turkey. These ships to be interned at such Turkish port or ports as may be directed, except such smallvessels as are required for police or similar purposes in Turkish territorial waters.
7. The Allies to have the right to occupy any strategic points in the event of any situation arising which threatens the security of the Allies.
8. Free use by Allied ships of all ports and anchorages now in Turkish occupation, and denial of their use by enemy ships. Similar conditions to apply to Turkish mercantile shipping in Turkish waters for purposes of trade and demobilisation of the army.
9. Use of all ship repair facilities at all Turkish ports and arsenals.
10. Allied occupation of the Taurus tunnel system.
11. Immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from North-west Persia to behind the pre-war frontier has already been ordered, and will be carried out. Part of Transcaucasia has already been ordered to be evacuated by Turkish troops, the remainder to be evacuated if required by the Allies after they have studied the situation there.
12. Wireless telegraph and cable stations to be controlled by the Allies, Turkish Government messages excepted.
13. Prohibition to destroy any naval, military, or commercial material.
14. Facilities to be given for the purchase of coal, oil-fuel, and naval material from Turkish sources after the requirements of the country have been met. None of the above material to be exported.
15. Allied Control Officers to be placed on all railways, including such portions of Transcaucasian railways now under Turkish control, which must be placed at the free and complete disposal of the Allied authorities, due consideration being given to the needs of the population. This clause to include Allied occupation of Batum. Turkey will raise no objection to the occupation of Baku by the Allies.
16. The surrender of all garrisons in Hejaz, Assir, Yemen, Syria, and Mesopotamia to the nearest Allied Commander, and the withdrawal of troops from Cilicia, except those necessary to maintain order, as will be determined under Clause 5.
17. Surrender of all Turkish officers in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica to the nearest Italian garrison. Turkey guarantees to stop supplies and communication with these officers if they do not obey the order to surrender.
18. Surrender of all ports occupied in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, including Misurata, to the nearest Allied garrison.
19. All Germans and Austrians, naval, military, and civilian, to be evacuated within one month from Turkish dominions. Those in remote districts as soon after as may be possible.
20. Compliance with such orders as may be conveyed for the disposal of the equipment, arms, and ammunition, including transport, of that portion of the Turkish Army which is demobilised under Clause 5.
21. An Allied representative to be attached to the Turkish Ministry of Supplies in order to safeguard Allied interests. This representative to be furnished with all information necessary for this purpose.
22. Turkish prisoners to be kept at the disposal of the Allied Powers. The release of Turkish civilian prisoners and prisoners over military age to be considered.
23. Obligation on the part of Turkey to cease all relations with the Central Powers.
24. In case of disorder in the six Armenian vilayets the Allies reserve to themselves the right to occupy any part of them.
25. Hostilities between the Allies and Turkey shall cease from noon, local time, on Thursday, October 31, 1918.
Signed in duplicate on board His Britannic Majesty's shipAgamemnon, at Port Mudros, Lemnos, October the 30th, 1918.
(Signed November 3, 1918. Came into force November 4, 1918)
1. The immediate cessation of hostilities by land, sea, and air.
2. Total demobilisation of the Austro-Hungarian Army and immediate withdrawal of all Austro-Hungarian forces operating on the front from the North Sea to Switzerland. Within Austro-Hungarian territory, limited as in Clause 3 below, there shall only be maintained as an organised military force a maximum of twenty divisions, reduced to pre-war peace effectives. Half the Divisional, Corps, and Army artillery and equipment shall be collected at points to be indicated by the Allies and United States of America for delivery to them, beginning with all such material as exists in the territories to be evacuated by the Austro-Hungarian forces.
3. Evacuation of all territories invaded by Austria-Hungary since the beginning of war. Withdrawal within such periods as shall be determined by the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces on each front of the Austro-Hungarian Armies behind a line fixed as follows:
From Piz Umbrail to the north of the Stelvio it will follow the crest of the Rhætian Alps up to the sources of the Adige and the Eisack, passing thence by Mounts Reschen and Brenner and the heights of Oetz and Ziller; the line thence turns south, crossing Mount Toblach, and meeting the present frontier of the Carnic Alps. It follows this frontier up to Mount Tarvis, and after Mount Tarvis the watershed of the Julian Alps by the Col of Predil, Mount Manhart, the Tricorno (Terglou), and the watershed of the Cols di Podbordo, Podlanischam, and Idria. From this line the point turns south-east towards the Schneeberg, excluding the whole basin of the Save and itstributaries; from the Schneeberg it goes down towards the coast in such a way as to include Castua, Mattuglie, and Volosca in the evacuated territories.
It will also follow the administrative limits of the present province of Dalmatia, including to the north Lisarica and Tribanj, and to the south territory limited by a line from the shore of Cape Planka to the summits of the watershed eastwards, so as to include in the evacuated area all the valleys and watercourses flowing towards Sebenico, such as the Cicola, Kerka, Butisnica, and their tributaries. It will also include all the islands in the north and west of Dalmatia. From Premuda, Selve, Ulbo, Scherda, Maon, Pago, and Puntadura in the north up to Meleda in the south, embracing Sant' Andrea, Busi, Lissa, Lesina, Tercola, Curzola, Cazza, and Lagosta, as well as the neighbouring rocks and islets and Pelagosa, only excepting the islands of Great and Small Zirona, Bua, Solta, and Brazza.
All territories thus evacuated will be occupied by the troops of the Allies and of the United States of America.
All military and railway equipment of all kinds (including coal), belonging to or within these territories, to be leftin situ, and surrendered to the Allies according to special orders given by the Commanders-in-Chief of the forces of the Associated Powers on the different fronts. No new destruction, pillage, or requisition to be done by enemy troops in the territories to be evacuated by them and occupied by the forces of the Associated Powers.
4. The Allies shall have the right of free movement over all road and rail and waterways in Austro-Hungarian territory, and of the use of the necessary Austrian and Hungarian means of transportation. The Armies of the Associated Powers shall occupy such strategic points in Austria-Hungary at such times as they may deem necessary to enable them to conduct military operations or to maintain order. They shall have theright of requisition on payment for the troops of the Associated Powers wherever they may be.
5. Complete evacuation of all German troops within fifteen days, not only from the Italian and Balkan fronts, but from all Austro-Hungarian territory. Internment of all German troops which have not left Austria-Hungary within that date.
6. The administration of the evacuated territories of Austria-Hungary will be entrusted to the local authorities under the control of the Allied and Associated Armies of Occupation.
7. The immediate repatriation without reciprocity of all Allied prisoners of war and interned subjects, and of civil populations evacuated from their homes, on conditions to be laid down by the Commanders-in-Chief of the forces of the Associated Powers on the various fronts.
8. Sick and wounded who cannot be removed from evacuated territory will be cared for by Austro-Hungarian personnel who will be left on the spot with the medical material required.
1. Immediate cessation of all hostilities at sea, and definite information to be given as to the location and movements of all Austro-Hungarian ships. Notification to be made to neutrals that freedom of navigation in all territorial waters is given to the Naval and Mercantile Marines of the Allied and Associated Powers, all questions of neutrality being waived.
2. Surrender to the Allies and United States of America of fifteen Austro-Hungarian submarines, completed between the years 1910 and 1918, and of all German submarines which are in or may hereafter enter Austro-Hungarian territorial waters. All other Austro-Hungarian submarines to be paid off and completely disarmed, and to remain under the supervision of the Allies and United States of America.
3. Surrender to the Allies and United States of America, with their complete armament and equipment, of three battleships, three light cruisers, nine destroyers, twelve torpedo boats, one minelayer, six Danube monitors, to be designated by the Allies and the United States of America. All other surface warships (including river craft) are to be concentrated in Austro-Hungarian naval bases to be designated by the Allies and the United States of America, and are to be paid off and completely disarmed and placed under the supervision of the Allies and United States of America.
4. Freedom of navigation to all warships and merchant ships of the Allied and Associated Powers to be given in the Adriatic and up the river Danube and its tributaries in the territorial waters and territory of Austria-Hungary. The Allies and Associated Powers shall have the right to sweep up all minefields and obstructions, and the positions of these are to be indicated. In order to ensure the freedom of navigation on the Danube, the Allies and the United States of America shall be empowered to occupy or to dismantle all fortifications or defence works.
5. The existing blockade conditions set up by the Allied and Associated Powers are to remain unchanged, and all Austro-Hungarian merchant ships found at sea are to remain liable to capture, save exceptions which may be made by a Commission nominated by the Allies and United States of America.
6. All naval aircraft are to be concentrated and immobilised in Austro-Hungarian bases to be designated by the Allies and United States of America.
7. Evacuation of all the Italian coasts and of all ports occupied by Austria-Hungary outside their national territory, and the abandonment of all floating craft, naval materials, equipment, and materials for inland navigation of all kinds.
8. Occupation by the Allies and the United States of Americaof the land and sea fortifications and the islands which form the defences and of the dockyards and arsenal at Pola.
9. All merchant vessels held by Austria-Hungary belonging to the Allies and Associated Powers to be returned.
10. No destruction of ships or of materials to be permitted before evacuation, surrender, or restoration.
11. All naval and mercantile marine prisoners of war of the Allied and Associated Powers in Austro-Hungarian hands to be returned without reciprocity.
(Signed November 11, 1918)
1. Cessation of hostilities by land and in the air six hours after the signing of the Armistice (viz. at 11A.M., November 11, 1918).
2. Immediate evacuation of the invaded countries—Belgium, France, Luxemburg, as well as Alsace-Lorraine—so ordered as to be completed within fifteen days from the signature of the Armistice.
German troops which have not left the above-mentioned territories within the period fixed will be made prisoners of war.
Occupation by the Allied and United States Forces jointly will keep pace with the evacuation in these areas.
All movements of evacuation and occupation will be regulated in accordance with a Note (Annexe 1) determined at the time of the signing of the Armistice.
3. Repatriation, beginning at once, to be completed within fifteen days, of all inhabitants of the countries above enumerated (including hostages, persons under trial, or condemned).
4. Surrender in good condition by the German Armies of the following equipment:
5000 guns (2500 heavy, 2500 field).25,000 machine guns.3000Minenwerfer.1700 aeroplanes (fighters, bombers—firstly D 7's—and night-bombing machines).
5000 guns (2500 heavy, 2500 field).25,000 machine guns.3000Minenwerfer.1700 aeroplanes (fighters, bombers—firstly D 7's—and night-bombing machines).
The above to be deliveredin situto the Allied and United States troops in accordance with the detailed conditions laid down in the Note (Annexe 1) determined at the time of the signing of the Armistice.
5. Evacuation by the German Armies of the districts on the left bank of the Rhine. These districts on the left bank of the Rhine shall be administered by the local authorities under the control of the Allied and United States Armies of Occupation.
The occupation of these territories by Allied and United States troops will be assured by garrisons holding the principal crossings of the Rhine (Mainz, Coblenz, Cologne), together with bridgeheads at these points of a thirty-kilometre [about nineteen miles] radius on the right bank, and by garrisons similarly holding the strategic points of the area.
A neutral zone shall be reserved on the right bank of the Rhine, between the river and a line drawn parallel to the bridgeheads and to the river and ten kilometres [six and a quarter miles] distant from them, between the Dutch frontier and the Swiss frontier.
The evacuation by the enemy of the Rhine districts (right and left bank) shall be so ordered as to be completed within a further period of sixteen days, in all thirty-one days after the signing of the Armistice.
All movements of evacuation and occupation will be regulated according to the Note (Annexe 1) determined at the time of the signing of the Armistice.
6. In all territories evacuated by the enemy, evacuation of the inhabitants shall be forbidden; no damage or harm shall be done to the persons or property of the inhabitants.
In the case of inhabitants no person shall be prosecuted for having taken part in any military measures previous to the signing of the Armistice.
No destruction of any kind to be committed.
Military establishments of all kinds shall be delivered intact, as well as military stores of food, munitions, and equipment, which shall not have been removed during the periods fixed for evacuation.
Stores of food of all kinds for the civil population, cattle, etc., shall be leftin situ.
No measures of a general or official character shall be taken which would have, as a consequence, the depreciation of industrial establishments or a reduction of their personnel.
7. Roads and means of communication of every kind, railroads, waterways, roads, bridges, telegraphs, telephones shall be in no manner impaired.
All civil and military personnel at present employed on them shall remain.
5000 locomotives and 150,000 wagons in good working order, with all necessary spare parts and fittings, shall be delivered to the Associated Powers within the period fixed in Annexe 2 (not exceeding thirty-one days in all).
5000 motor lorries are also to be delivered in good condition within thirty-six days.
The railways of Alsace-Lorraine shall be handed over within thirty-one days, together with all personnel and material belonging to the organisation of the system.
Further, working material in the territories on the left bank of the Rhine shall be leftin situ.
All stores of coal and material for upkeep of permanent way, signals and repair shops shall be leftin situand kept in anefficient state by Germany, so far as the means of communication on the left bank of the Rhine are concerned.
All lighters taken from the Allies shall be restored to them. The Note attached as Annexe 2 defines the details of these measures.
8. The German Command shall be responsible for revealing, within forty-eight hours of the signing of the Armistice, all mines or delay-action fuses disposed on territories evacuated by the German troops, and shall assist in their discovery and destruction.
The German Command shall also reveal all destructive measures that may have been taken (such as poisoning or pollution of wells, springs, etc.), under penalty of reprisals.
9. The right of requisition shall be exercised by the Allied and United States Armies in all occupied territories, save for the settlement of accounts with authorised persons.
The upkeep of the troops of occupation in the Rhine districts (excluding Alsace-Lorraine) shall be charged to the German Government.
10. The immediate repatriation, without reciprocity, according to detailed conditions which shall be fixed, of all Allied and United States prisoners of war, including those under trial and condemned. The Allied Powers and the United States of America shall be able to dispose of these prisoners as they think fit. This condition annuls all other conventions regarding prisoners of war, including that of July 1918, now being ratified. However, the return of German prisoners of war interned in Holland and Switzerland shall continue as heretofore. The return of German prisoners of war shall be settled at the conclusion of the peace preliminaries.
11. Sick and wounded, who cannot be removed from territory evacuated by the German forces, will be cared for by German personnel, who will be left on the spot with the material required.
12. All German troops at present in any territory which before the war formed part of Austria-Hungary, Roumania, or Turkey, shall withdraw within the frontiers of Germany as they existed on August 1, 1914, and all German troops at present in territories which before the war formed part of Russia must likewise return to within the frontiers of Germany as above defined, as soon as the Allies shall think the moment suitable, having regard to the internal situation of these territories.
13. Evacuation by German troops to begin at once, and all German instructors, prisoners, and civilians, as well as military agents now on the territory of Russia (frontier as defined on August 1, 1914) to be recalled.
14. German troops to cease at once all requisitions and seizures, and any other coercive measures with a view to obtaining supplies intended for Germany in Roumania and Russia (frontier as defined on August 1, 1914).
15. Annulment of the treaties of Bucharest and Brest-Litovsk and of the supplementary treaties.
16. The Allies shall have free access to the territories evacuated by the Germans on their Eastern frontier, either through Danzig or by the Vistula, in order to convey supplies to the populations of these territories or for the purpose of maintaining order.
17. Evacuation of all German forces operating in East Africa within a period specified by the Allies.
18. Repatriation, without reciprocity, within a maximum period of one month, in accordance with detailed conditions hereafter to be fixed, of all interned civilians, including hostagesand persons under trial and condemned, who may be subjects of other Allied or Associated States than those mentioned in Clause 3.
19. With the reservation that any future concessions and claims by the Allies and United States of America remain unaffected, the following financial conditions are imposed:
Reparation for damage done.
While the Armistice lasts, no public securities shall be removed by the enemy which can serve as a pledge to the Allies to cover reparation for war losses.
Immediate restitution of the cash deposit in the National Bank of Belgium and, in general, immediate return of all documents, specie, stock, shares, paper money, together with plant for the issue thereof, affecting public or private interests in the invaded countries.
Restitution of the Russian and Roumanian gold yielded to Germany or taken by that Power.
This gold to be delivered in trust to the Allies until peace is concluded.
20. Immediate cessation of all hostilities at sea, and definite information to be given as to the position and movements of all German ships.
Notification to be given to neutrals that freedom of navigation in all territorial waters is given to the Navies and Mercantile Marines of the Allied and Associated Powers, all questions of neutrality being waived.
21. All Naval and Mercantile Marine prisoners of war of the Allied and Associated Powers in German hands to be returned, without reciprocity.
22. To surrender at the ports specified by the Allies and theUnited States all submarines at present in existence (including all submarine cruisers and minelayers), with armament and equipment complete. Those that cannot put to sea shall be deprived of armament and equipment, and shall remain under the supervision of the Allies and the United States. Submarines ready to put to sea shall be prepared to leave German ports immediately on receipt of wireless order to sail to the port of surrender, the remainder to follow as early as possible. The conditions of this Article shall be completed within fourteen days of the signing of the Armistice.
23. The following German surface warships, which shall be designated by the Allies and the United States of America, shall forthwith be disarmed and thereafter interned in neutral ports, or, failing them, Allied ports, to be designated by the Allies and the United States of America, and placed under the surveillance of the Allies and the United States of America, only care and maintenance parties being left on board, namely:
6 battle cruisers.10 battleships.8 light cruisers, including two minelayers.50 destroyers of the most modern type.
6 battle cruisers.10 battleships.8 light cruisers, including two minelayers.50 destroyers of the most modern type.
All other surface warships (including river craft) are to be concentrated in German naval bases, to be designated by the Allies and the United States of America, completely disarmed and placed under the supervision of the Allies and the United States of America. All vessels of the Auxiliary Fleet are to be disarmed. All vessels specified for internment shall be ready to leave German ports seven days after the signing of the Armistice. Directions for the voyage shall be given by wireless.
Note.—A declaration has been signed by the Allied delegates and handed to the German delegates to the effect that, in the event of ships not being handed over owing to the mutinous state of the Fleet, the Allies reserve the right to occupy Heligolandas an advanced base to enable them to enforce the terms of the Armistice. The German delegates have on their part signed a declaration that they will recommend the Chancellor to accept this.
24. The Allies and the United States of America shall have the right to sweep up all minefields and destroy all obstructions laid by Germany outside German territorial waters, and the positions of these are to be indicated.
25. Freedom of access to and from the Baltic to be given to the Navies and Mercantile Marines of the Allied and Associated Powers. This is to be secured by the occupation of all German forts, fortifications, batteries, and defence works of all kinds in all the routes from the Cattegat into the Baltic, and by the sweeping up and destruction of all mines and obstructions within and without German territorial waters without any questions of neutrality being raised, and the positions of all such mines and obstructions are to be indicated by the Germans.
26. The existing blockade conditions set up by the Allied and Associated Powers are to remain unchanged, and all German merchant ships found at sea are to remain liable to capture. The Allies and United States contemplate the provisioning of Germany during the Armistice as shall be found necessary.
27. All aerial forces are to be concentrated and immobilised in German bases to be specified by the Allies and the United States of America.
28. In evacuating the Belgian coasts and ports, Germany shall abandon,in situand intact, the port material and material for inland waterways, also all merchant ships, tugs, and lighters, all naval aircraft and air materials and stores, all arms and armaments and all stores and apparatus of all kinds.
29. All Black Sea ports are to be evacuated by Germany; all Russian warships of all descriptions seized by Germany in the Black Sea are to be handed over to the Allies and the UnitedStates of America; all neutral merchant ships seized in the Black Sea are to be released; all warlike and other material of all kinds seized in those ports are to be returned, and German materials as specified in Clause 28 are to be abandoned.
30. All merchant ships at present in German hands belonging to the Allied and Associated Powers are to be restored to ports to be specified by the Allies and the United States of America without reciprocity.
31. No destruction of ships or of materials to be permitted before evacuation, surrender, or restoration.
32. The German Government shall formally notify the neutral Governments, and particularly the Governments of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Holland, that all restrictions placed in the trading of their vessels with the Allied and Associated countries, whether by the German Government or by private German interests, and whether in return for special concessions, such as the export of shipbuilding materials or not, are immediately cancelled.
33. No transfers of German merchant shipping of any description to any neutral flag are to take place after the signature of the Armistice.
34. The duration of the Armistice is to be thirty-six days, with option to extend. During this period, on failure of execution of any of the above clauses, the Armistice may be repudiated by one of the contracting parties on forty-eight hours' previous notice.
It is understood that failure to execute Articles 3 and 18 completely in the period specified is not to give reason for a repudiation of the Armistice, save where such failure is due to malice aforethought.
To ensure the execution of the present convention under the most favourable conditions, the principle of a permanentInternational Armistice Commission is recognised. This Commission will act under the supreme authority of the High Command, Military and Naval, of the Allied Armies.
The present Armistice was signed on the 11th day of November 1918, at five o'clockA.M.(French time).
(Signed)F. Foch. Erzberger.R. E. Wemyss. Oberndorff.Winterfeldt.Vanselow.
Annexe No. 1.
1. The evacuation of the invaded territories, Belgium, France, and Luxemburg, and also of Alsace-Lorraine, shall be carried out in three successive stages according to the following conditions:
First Stage.—Evacuation of the territories situated between the existing front and line No. 1 on the map to be completed within five days after the signing of the Armistice.Second Stage.—Evacuation of territories situated between line No. 1 and line No. 2, to be carried out within four further days (nine days in all after the signing of the Armistice).Third Stage.—Evacuation of the territories situated between line No. 2 and line No. 3 to be completed within six further days (fifteen days in all after the signing of the Armistice).
First Stage.—Evacuation of the territories situated between the existing front and line No. 1 on the map to be completed within five days after the signing of the Armistice.
Second Stage.—Evacuation of territories situated between line No. 1 and line No. 2, to be carried out within four further days (nine days in all after the signing of the Armistice).
Third Stage.—Evacuation of the territories situated between line No. 2 and line No. 3 to be completed within six further days (fifteen days in all after the signing of the Armistice).
Allied and United States troops shall enter these various territories on the expiration of the period allowed to the German troops for the evacuation of each.
In consequence the Allied troops will cross the present German front as from the sixth day following the signing of the Armistice,line No. 1 as from the tenth day, and line No. 2 as from the sixteenth day.
2.Evacuation of the Rhine District.—This evacuation will also be carried out in several successive stages:
(1) Evacuation of territories situated between lines 2 and 3 and line 4, to be completed within four further days (nineteen days in all after the signing of the Armistice).(2) Evacuation of territories situated between lines 4 and 5 to be completed within four further days (twenty-three days in all after the signing of the Armistice).(3) Evacuation of territories situated between lines 5 and 6 (line of the Rhine) to be completed within four further days (twenty-seven days in all after the signing of the Armistice).(4) Evacuation of the bridgeheads and of the neutral zone on the right bank of the Rhine to be completed within four further days (thirty-one days in all after the signing of the Armistice).
(1) Evacuation of territories situated between lines 2 and 3 and line 4, to be completed within four further days (nineteen days in all after the signing of the Armistice).
(2) Evacuation of territories situated between lines 4 and 5 to be completed within four further days (twenty-three days in all after the signing of the Armistice).
(3) Evacuation of territories situated between lines 5 and 6 (line of the Rhine) to be completed within four further days (twenty-seven days in all after the signing of the Armistice).
(4) Evacuation of the bridgeheads and of the neutral zone on the right bank of the Rhine to be completed within four further days (thirty-one days in all after the signing of the Armistice).
The Allied and United States Army of Occupation shall enter these various territories after the expiration of the period allowed to the German troops for the evacuation of each, consequently the Army will cross the line No. 3 twenty days after signing of the Armistice, it will cross line No. 4 as from the twenty-fourth day after the signing of the Armistice. Line No. 5 as from the twenty-eighth day. Line No. 6 (Rhine) the thirty-second day in order to occupy the bridgeheads.
3.Surrender by the German Army of War Material specified in the Armistice.—This war material shall be surrendered according to the following conditions: The first half before the tenth day, the second half before the twentieth day. This material will be handed over to each of the Allied and United States Armies by each tactical group of the German Armies in the proportions which may be fixed by the permanent Armistice Commission.
Annexe No. 2.
Conditions of communications regarding railways, waterways, roads, river and sea ports, and telegraphic and telephonic communications.
1. All communications as far as the Rhine, inclusive, or comprised, on the right bank of the river, within the bridgeheads occupied by the Allied Armies will be placed under the supreme authority of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, who will have the right to take any measure he may think necessary to assure their occupation and use. All documents relative to communications will be held ready for transmission to him.
2. All the material and all the civil and military personnel at present employed in the maintenance and working of all lines of communication are to be maintained in their entirety upon these lines in all territories evacuated by the German troops.
All supplementary material necessary for the upkeep of these lines of communication in the districts on the left bank of the Rhine will be supplied by the German Government throughout the duration of the Armistice.
3.Personnel.—The French and Belgian personnel belonging to the services of the lines of communication, whether interned or not, are to be returned to the French and Belgian Armies, during the fifteen days following the signing of the Armistice. The personnel belonging to the organisation of the Alsace-Lorraine railway system are to be maintained or reinstated in such a manner as to ensure the working of the system.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies will have the right to make all changes or substitutions that he may desire in the personnel of the lines of communication.
4.Material.(a)Rolling Stock.—The rolling stock handed over to the Allied Armies in the zone comprised between the present front line and line No. 3 (not including Alsace-Lorraine) will amount at least to 5000 locomotives and 150,000 wagons.This surrender will be carried out within the period fixed by Clause 7 of the Armistice, and under conditions, the details of which shall be settled by the permanent International Armistice Commission.
All this material is to be in good condition and in working order, with all the ordinary spare parts and fittings. It may be employed together with the regular personnel or with any other upon any part of the railway system of the Allied Armies.
The material necessary for the working of the Alsace-Lorraine railway system is to be maintained or replaced for the use of the French Army.
The material to be leftin situin the territories on the left bank of the Rhine, as well as that on the inner side of the bridgeheads elsewhere, should permit of the normal working of the railways in these districts.
(b)Permanent Way, Signals, and Workshops.—The material for signals, machine tools, and tool outfits taken from the workshops and depôts of the French and Belgian lines will be replaced under conditions the details of which are to be arranged by the permanent International Armistice Commission. The Allied Armies are to be supplied with railroad material, rails, incidental fittings, plant, bridge-building material, and timber necessary for the repair of the lines destroyed beyond the present front.
Fuel and Maintenance Material.—The German Government shall be responsible throughout the duration of the Armistice for the release of fuel and maintenance material to the depôts normally allotted to the railways in the territories on the left bank of the Rhine.
5.Telegraphic and Telephonic Communications.—All telegraphs, telephones, and fixed W/T stations are to be handed over to the Allied Armies, with all the civil and military personnel and all their material, including all stores on the left bank of the Rhine.
Supplementary stores necessary for the upkeep of the systemare to be supplied throughout the duration of the Armistice by the German Government according to requirement.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies will place this system under military supervision and will ensure its control, and will make all changes and substitutions in personnel which he may think necessary.
He will send back to the German Army all the military personnel who are not in his judgment necessary for the working and upkeep of the railway.
All plans of the German telegraphic and telephonic systems shall be handed over to the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies.