Necessary to co-operate with Ententes.
What this will involve is clear. It will involve the utmost practicable co-operation in counsel and action with the Governments now at war with Germany, and, as incident to that, the extension to those Governments of the most liberal financial credits, in order that our resources may so far as possible be added to theirs.
Resources must be organized.
It will involve the organization and mobilization of all the material resources of the country to supply the materials of war and serve the incidental needs of the nation in the most abundant and yet the most economical and efficient way possible.
It will involve the immediate full equipment of the navy in all respects, but particularly in supplying it with the best means of dealing with the enemy's submarines.
A great army must be raised.
It will involve the immediate addition to the armed forces of the United States, already provided for by law in case of war, of at least 500,000 men, who should, in my opinion, be chosen upon the principle of universal liability to service, and also the authorization of subsequent additional increments of equal force so soon as they may be needed and can be handled in training.
The Government will need adequate credits.
It will involve also, of course, the granting of adequate credits to the Government, sustained, I hope, so far as they can equitably be sustained by the present generation, by well-conceived taxation.
I say sustained so far as may be equitable by taxation, because it seems to me that itwould be most unwise to base the credits, which will now be necessary, entirely on money borrowed. It is our duty, I most respectfully urge, to protect our people, so far as we may, against the very serious hardships and evils which would be likely to arise out of the inflation which would be produced by vast loans.
Nations must obtain supplies from us.
In carrying out the measures by which these things are to be accomplished we should keep constantly in mind the wisdom of interfering as little as possible in our own preparation and in the equipment of our own military forces with the duty—for it will be a very practical duty—of supplying the nations already at war with Germany with the materials which they can obtain only from us or by our assistance. They are in the field, and we should help them in every way to be effective there.
Measure suggested to accomplish nation's ends.
I shall take the liberty of suggesting, through the several executive departments of the Government, for the consideration of your committees, measures for the accomplishment of the several objects I have mentioned. I hope that it will be your pleasure to deal with them as having been framed after very careful thought by the branch of the Government upon whom the responsibility of conducting the war and safeguarding the nation will most directly fall.
Concert of purpose and action among free peoples.
While we do these things, these deeply momentous things, let us be very clear, and make very clear to all the world, what our motives and our objects are. My own thought has not been driven from its habitual and normal course by the unhappy events of the last two months, and I do not believe that the thought of the nation has been altered or clouded by them. I have exactly the same things in mind now that I had in mind when I addressed the Senate on the 22d of January last; the same that I had in mind when I addressed theCongress on the 3d of February and on the 26th of February. Our object now, as then, is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power, and to set up among the really free and self-governed peoples of the world such a concert of purpose and of action as will henceforth insure the observance of those principles.
Standards of conduct for nations.
Neutrality is no longer feasible or desirable where the peace of the world is involved and the freedom of its peoples, and the menace to that peace and freedom lies in the existence of autocratic Governments, backed by organized force which is controlled wholly by their will, not by the will of their people. We have seen the last of neutrality in such circumstances. We are at the beginning of an age in which it will be insisted that the same standards of conduct and of responsibility for wrong done shall be observed among nations and their Governments that are observed among the individual citizens of civilized States.
A war determined upon by rulers.
We have no quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling toward them but one of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their Government acted in entering this war. It was not with their previous knowledge or approval. It was a war determined upon as wars used to be determined upon in the old, unhappy days, when peoples were nowhere consulted by their rulers and wars were provoked and waged in the interest of dynasties or of little groups of ambitious men who were accustomed to use their fellow-men as pawns and tools.
Such aggression impossible where people rule.
Self-governed nations do not fill their neighbor States with spies or set the course of intrigue to bring about some critical posture of affairs which will give them an opportunity to strike and make conquest. Such designs canbe successfully worked out only under cover and where no one has the right to ask questions. Cunningly contrived plans of deception or aggression, carried, it may be, from generation to generation, can be worked out and kept from the light only within the privacy of courts or behind the carefully guarded confidences of a narrow and privileged class. They are happily impossible where public opinion commands and insists upon full information concerning all of the nation's affairs.
Only a partnership of democratic nations can maintain peace.
A steadfast concert for peace can never be maintained except by a partnership of democratic nations. No autocratic Government could be trusted to keep faith within it or observe its covenants. It must be a league of honor, a partnership of opinion. Intrigue would eat its vitals away; the plottings of inner circles who could plan what they would and render account to no one would be a corruption seated at its very heart. Only free peoples can hold their purpose and their honor steady to a common end and prefer the interests of mankind to any narrow interest of their own.
What is happening in Russia.
Does not every American feel that assurance has been added to our hope for the future peace of the world by the wonderful and heartening things that have been happening within the last few weeks in Russia? Russia was known by those who knew her best to have been always in fact democratic at heart in all the vital habits of her thought, in all the intimate relationships of her people that spoke their natural instinct, their habitual attitude toward life. The autocracy that crowned the summit of her political structure, long as it had stood and terrible as was the reality of its power, was not in fact Russian in origin, character, or purpose; and now it has been shaken offand the great, generous Russian people have been added, in all their naive majesty and might, to the forces that are fighting for freedom in the world, for justice, and for peace. Here is a fit partner for a League of Honor.
Prussia has filled America with spies.
One of the things that have served to convince us that the Prussian autocracy was not and could never be our friend is that from the very outset of the present war it has filled our unsuspecting communities, and even our offices of government, with spies and set criminal intrigues everywhere afoot against our national unity of counsel, our peace within and without, our industries and our commerce. Indeed, it is now evident that its spies were here even before the war began; and it is unhappily not a matter of conjecture, but a fact proved in our courts of justice, that the intrigues which have more than once come perilously near to disturbing the peace and dislocating the industries of the country, have been carried on at the instigation, with the support, and even under the personal direction of official agents of the Imperial Government accredited to the Government of the United States.
The United States has been generous.
Even in checking these things and trying to extirpate them we have sought to put the most generous interpretation possible upon them because we knew that their source lay, not in any hostile feeling or purpose of the German people toward us, (who were, no doubt, as ignorant of them as we ourselves were,) but only in the selfish designs of a Government that did what it pleased and told its people nothing. But they have played their part in serving to convince us at last that that Government entertains no real friendship for us, and means to act against our peace and security at its convenience. That it means to stir up enemies against us at our very doors the interceptednote to the German Minister at Mexico City is eloquent evidence.
Why we accept the challenge.
We are accepting this challenge of hostile purpose because we know that in such a Government, following such methods, we can never have a friend; and that in the presence of its organized power, always lying in wait to accomplish we know not what purpose, there can be no assured security for the democratic Governments of the world. We are now about to accept the gage of battle with this natural foe to liberty and shall, if necessary, spend the whole force of the nation to check and nullify its pretensions and its power. We are glad, now that we see the facts with no veil of false pretense about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included; for the rights of nations, great and small, and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience.
America has no selfish ends to serve.
The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them.
America will observe principles of right.
Just because we fight without rancor and without selfish object, seeking nothing for ourselves but what we shall wish to share with all free peoples, we shall, I feel confident, conduct our operations as belligerents without passion and ourselves observe with proud punctilio the principles of right and of fair play we profess to be fighting for.
Germany only has actually made war on America.
I have said nothing of the Governments alliedwith the Imperial Government of Germany because they have not made war upon us or challenged us to defend our right and our honor. The Austro-Hungarian Government has, indeed, avowed its unqualified indorsement and acceptance of the reckless and lawless submarine warfare, adopted now without disguise by the Imperial German Government, and it has therefore not been possible for this Government to receive Count Tarnowski, the Ambassador recently accredited to this Government by the Imperial and Royal Government of Austria-Hungary; but that Government has not actually engaged in warfare against citizens of the United States on the seas, and I take the liberty, for the present at least, of postponing a discussion of our relations with the authorities at Vienna. We enter this war only where we are clearly forced into it because there are no other means of defending our rights.
America fights the irresponsible Government of Germany.
It will be all the easier for us to conduct ourselves as belligerents in a high spirit of right and fairness because we act without animus, not with enmity toward a people or with the desire to bring any injury or disadvantage upon them, but only in armed opposition to an irresponsible Government which has thrown aside all considerations of humanity and of right and is running amuck.
We are, let me say again, the sincere friends of the German people, and shall desire nothing so much as the early re-establishment of intimate relations of mutual advantage between us, however hard it may be for them for the time being to believe that this is spoken from our hearts. We have borne with their present Government through all these bitter months because of that friendship, exercising a patience and forbearance which would otherwise have been impossible.
Most Americans of German birth are loyal to the United States.
We shall happily still have an opportunity to prove that friendship in our daily attitude and actions toward the millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy who live among us and share our life, and we shall be proud to prove it toward all who are in fact loyal to their neighbors and to the Government in the hour of test. They are most of them as true and loyal Americans as if they had never known any other fealty or allegiance. They will be prompt to stand with us in rebuking and restraining the few who may be of a different mind and purpose. If there should be disloyalty, it will be dealt with with a firm hand of stern repression; but, if it lifts its head at all, it will lift it only here and there and without countenance except from a lawless and malignant few.
Trial and sacrifice ahead.
It is a distressing and oppressive duty, gentlemen of the Congress, which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great, peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance.
America will fight for democracy.
But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own Governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.
To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood andher might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured.
God helping her, she can do no other.
DECLARATION OF WAR
Germany has made war on the United States.
Whereas, The Imperial German Government has committed repeated acts of war against the Government and the people of the United States of America; therefore, be it
War is formally declared.
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government, which has thus been thrust upon the United States, is hereby formally declared; and
The President is given full authority.
That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United States and the resources of the Government to carry on war against the Imperial German Government; and to bring the conflict to a successful termination all the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States.
PROCLAMATION TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
BY PRESIDENT WILSON
Congress has declared war.
Whereas, The Congress of the United States, in the exercise of the constitutional authority vested in them, have resolved by joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives, bearing date this day, "that a state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government which has been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared";
Whereas, It is provided by Section 4,067 of the Revised Statutes as follows:
Proclamation regarding alien enemies.
"Whenever there is declared a war between the United States and any foreign nation or Government or any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or Government, and the President makes public proclamation of the event, all native citizens, denizens, or subjects of a hostile nation or Government being male of the age of 14 years and upward, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as alien enemies. The President is authorized in any such event by his proclamation thereof, or other public acts, to direct the conduct to be observed on the part of the United States toward the aliens who become so liable; the manner and degree of the restraint to which they shall be subject and in what cases and upon what security their residence shall be permitted, and to provide for the removal of those who, not being permitted to reside within the United States, refuse or neglect to depart therefrom; and to establish any such regulations which are found necessary in the premises and for the public safety."
Whereas, By Sections 4,068, 4,069, and 4,070 of the Revised Statutes, further provision is made relative to alien enemies;
All officers of the United States are warned to be vigilant.
Now, therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim, to all whom it may concern, that a state of war exists between the United States and the Imperial German Government, and I do specially direct all officers, civil or military, of the United States that they exercise vigilance and zeal in the discharge of the duties incident to such a state of war, and I do, moreover,earnestly appeal to all American citizens that they, in loyal devotion to their country, dedicated from its foundation to the principles of liberty and justice, uphold the laws of the land, and give undivided and willing support to those measures which may be adopted by the constitutional authorities in prosecuting the war to a successful issue and in obtaining a secure and just peace;
And, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the United States and the said sections of the Revised Statutes,
Conduct to be observed toward alien enemies.
I do hereby further proclaim and direct that the conduct to be observed on the part of the United States toward all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of Germany, being male of the age of 14 years and upward, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized, who for the purpose of this proclamation and under such sections of the Revised Statutes are termed alien enemies, shall be as follows:
Alien enemies must preserve the peace.
All alien enemies are enjoined to preserve the peace toward the United States and to refrain from crime against the public safety and from violating the laws of the United States and of the States and Territories thereof, and to refrain from actual hostility or giving information, aid, or comfort to the enemies of the United States and to comply strictly with the regulations which are hereby, or which may be from time to time promulgated by the President, and so long as they shall conduct themselves in accordance with law they shall be undisturbed in the peaceful pursuit of their lives and occupations, and be accorded the consideration due to all peaceful and law-abiding persons, except so far as restrictions may be necessary for their own protection and for the safety of the United States, and toward suchalien enemies as conduct themselves in accordance with law all citizens of the United States are enjoined to preserve the peace and to treat them with all such friendliness as may be compatible with loyalty and allegiance to the United States.
Penalties added to those prescribed by law.
And all alien enemies who fail to conduct themselves as so enjoined, in addition to all other penalties prescribed by law, shall be liable to restraint or to give security or to remove and depart from the United States, in the manner prescribed by Sections 4,069 and 4,070 of the Revised Statutes and as prescribed in the regulations duly promulgated by the President.
The necessary regulations.
And pursuant to the authority vested in me, I hereby declare and establish the following regulations, which I find necessary in the premises and for the public safety:
Cannot possess weapons.
1. An alien enemy shall not have in his possession at any time or place any firearms, weapons, or implements of war, or component parts thereof, ammunition, Maxim or other silencer, arms, or explosives or material used in the manufacture of explosives;
No signaling devices or cipher codes.
2. An alien enemy shall not have in his possession at any time or place, or use or operate, any aircraft or wireless apparatus, or any form of signaling device or any form of cipher code or any paper, document, or book written or printed in cipher or in which there may be invisible writing;
Property may be seized.
3. All property found in the possession of an alien enemy in violation of the foregoing regulations shall be subject to seizure by the United States;
Must not approach forts or munition works.
4. An alien enemy shall not approach or be found within one-half of a mile of any Federal or State fort, camp, arsenal, aircraft station, Government or naval vessel, navy yard, factory, or workshop for the manufacture of munitionsof war or of any products for the use of the army or navy;
Must not speak or write against the United States.
5. An alien enemy shall not write, print, or publish any attack or threat against the Government or Congress of the United States, or either branch thereof, or against the measures or policy of the United States, or against the persons or property of any person in the military, naval, or civil service of the United States, or of the States or Territories, or of the District of Columbia, or of the municipal governments therein;
Must not commit any hostile act.
6. An alien enemy shall not commit or abet any hostile acts against the United States or give information, aid, or comfort to its enemies;
Must not enter prohibited areas.
7. An alien enemy shall not reside in or continue to reside in, to remain in, or enter any locality which the President may from time to time designate by an Executive order as a prohibitive area, in which residence by an alien enemy shall be found by him to constitute a danger to the public peace and safety of the United States, except by permit from the President and except under such limitations or restrictions as the President may prescribe;
May be made to remove by executive order.
8. An alien enemy whom the President shall have reasonable cause to believe to be aiding or about to aid the enemy or to be at large to the danger of the public peace or safety of the United States, or to have violated or to be about to violate any of these regulations, shall remove to any location designated by the President by Executive order, and shall not remove therefrom without permit, or shall depart from the United States if so required by the President;
Cannot leave country without permission.
9. No alien enemy shall depart from the United States until he shall have received such permit as the President shall prescribe, or except under order of a court, Judge, or Justice,under Sections 4,069 and 4,070 of the Revised Statutes;
Entering United States regulated.
10. No alien enemy shall land in or enter the United States except under such restrictions and at such places as the President may prescribe;
May be obliged to register.
11. If necessary to prevent violation of the regulations, all alien enemies will be obliged to register;
Alien enemies who violate rules to be arrested.
12. An alien enemy whom there may be reasonable cause to believe to be aiding or about to aid the enemy, or who may be at large to the danger of the public peace or safety, or who violates or who attempts to violate or of whom there is reasonable grounds to believe that he is about to violate, any regulation to be promulgated by the President or any criminal law of the United States, or of the States or Territories thereof, will be subject to summary arrest by the United States Marshal, or his Deputy, or such other officers as the President shall designate, and to confinement in such penitentiary, prison, jail, military camp, or other place of detention as may be directed by the President.
This proclamation and the regulations herein contained shall extend and apply to all land and water, continental or insular, in any way within the jurisdiction of the United States.
Saloniki was one of the mysteries of the war. News from that city was brief and unsatisfying in the main. Great things, however, were done there, and none greater than those accomplished by the British. Some of these accomplishments are told in the pages that follow.
Reinforcements needed north of Saloniki.
Italy to send 300,000.
Since the conference at Rome the situation in Macedonia has been radically changed. The weakness of General Sarrail's position lay in the fact that neither England nor France felt free to send from the critical western front the large reinforcements of men which the situation north of Saloniki called for. Italy had the men, but was unwilling to send them and to incur the heavy additional expense of maintaining them in Macedonia. The conference at Rome, in which Premier Lloyd George was the dominant figure, overcame that reluctance, probably promising Italy parts of the Turkish Empire that had been earlier assigned tentatively to Greece and guaranteeing the cost of the new expedition. The result has been immediate and of the highest importance. Rome dispatches indicate that Italy has sent, or is sending, a force of not less than 300,000 men; that these troops, to avoid the danger of submarines, are being dispatched, not to Saloniki, but to Avlona, which is within forty miles of the Italian coast; and, finally, these Italian forces have not only built an excellent highway through the Albanian mountains but have already joined forces with General Sarrail's right wing at Monastir. All these facts indicate early activity in the Macedonian sector.
General G. F. Milne's report.
This glimpse of present conditions will serve to introduce the following report of General G. F. Milne, commanding the British SalonikiArmy in Macedonia, on last Summer's operations in that sector. His report, submitted to the British War Office early in December, 1916, covered the army's operations from May 9, 1916, to October 8, 1916. The official text of the report is here reproduced, with a few minor omissions:
Found army concentrated near Saloniki.
British forces responsible for front on east and northeast.
Construction of defenses.
"On May 9, 1916, the greater part of the army was concentrated within the fortified lines of Saloniki, extending from Stavros on the east to near the Galiko River on the west; a mixed force, consisting of a mounted brigade and a division, had been pushed forward to the north of Kukush in order to support the French Army which had advanced and was watching the right bank of the Struma River and the northern frontier of Greece. Further moves in this direction were contemplated, but, in order to keep the army concentrated, I entered into an agreement with General Sarrail by which the British forces should become responsible for that portion of the allied front which covered Saloniki from the east and northeast. By this arrangement a definite and independent area was allotted to the army under my command. On June 8, 1916, the troops commenced to occupy advanced positions along the right bank of the River Struma and its tributary, the River Butkova, from Lake Tachinos to Lozista village. By the end of July, on the demobilization of the Greek Army, this occupation had extended to the sea at Chai Aghizi. Along the whole front the construction of a line of resistance was begun; work on trenches, entanglements, bridgeheads, and supporting points was commenced; for administrative purposes the reconstruction of the Saloniki-Seres road was undertaken and the cutting of wagon tracks through the mountainous country was pushed forward.
British take over line near Doiran.
Capture of Horseshoe Hill.
"On July 20, 1916, in accordance with thepolicy laid down in my instructions, and in order to release French troops for employment elsewhere, I began to take over the line south and west of Lake Doiran, and commenced preparations for a joint offensive on this front. This move was completed by August 2, 1916, and on the 10th of that month an offensive was commenced against the Bulgarian defenses south of the line Doiran-Hill 535. The French captured Hills 227 and La Tortue, while the British occupied in succession those features of the main 535 ridge now known as Kidney Hill and Horseshoe Hill, and, pushing forward, established a series of advanced posts on the line Doldzeli-Reselli. The capture of Horseshoe Hill was successfully carried out on the night of August 17-18, 1916, by the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at the point of the bayonet in the face of stubborn opposition. The enemy's counterattacks were repulsed with heavy loss.
The Bulgarian advance.
British and French attack.
"On August 17, 1916, the Bulgarians, who, at the end of May, had entered Greek territory by the Struma Valley and moved down as far as Demir Hissar, continued their advance into Greek Macedonia. Columns of all arms advanced from seven different points, between Sarisaban, on the Mesta, and Demir Hissar. The four eastern columns converged on the country about Drama and Kavala, while the remainder moved southward on to the line of the Struma from Demir Hissar toward Orfano. On August 19, 1916, a mounted brigade with one battery carried out a strong reconnoissance, and found the enemy in some force on the line Prosenik-Barakli Djuma; on the following day, after being reinforced by a battalion, this brigade again advanced in conjunction with the French detachment. These attacking troops, after encountering the enemy in force on the line Kalendra-Prosenik-Haznatar,withdrew after dark to the right bank of the Struma. The French detachment was subsequently placed under the orders of the General Officer Commanding British troops on this front, and received instructions to cooperate in the defense of the river line.
Bridges over Angista River destroyed.
"On August 21, 1916, the railway bridge near Angista Station was demolished by a detachment from the Neohori garrison, and three days later two road bridges over the Angista River were destroyed. Both these operations were well carried out by yeomanry, engineers, and cyclists in the face of hostile opposition.
Bulgarians in Eastern Macedonia.
"The Bulgarians continued their advance into Eastern Macedonia unopposed by the Greek garrison, and it was estimated that by the end of August the enemy's forces, extending from Demir Hissar southward in the Seres sector of the Struma front, comprised the complete Seventh Bulgarian Division, with two or three regiments of the Eleventh Macedonian Division, which had moved eastward from their positions on the Beles Mountain to act as a reserve to the Seventh Division, and at the same time to occupy the defenses from Vetrina-Pujovo northward. Opposite the Lower Struma was a brigade of the Second Division, with a brigade of the Tenth Division, in occupation of the coast and the zone of country between Orfano and the Drama-Kavala road. This brigade of the Tenth Division was supported by another brigade in the Drama Kavala area. As a result of this advance and of a similar move in the west General Sarrail decided to intrust to the British Army the task of maintaining the greater portion of the right and center of the allied line.
Northumberland Fusiliers capture Nevolien.
"On September 10, 1916, detachments crossed the river above Lake Tachinos at five places between Bajraktar Mah and Dragos, while a sixth detachment crossed lower down at Neohori.The villages of Oraoman and Kato Gudeli were occupied, and Northumberland Fusiliers gallantly captured Nevolien, taking thirty prisoners and driving the enemy out of the village. The latter lost heavily during their retirement and in their subsequent counterattack. They also suffered severely from our artillery fire in attempting to follow our prearranged movements to regain the right bank of the river.
Rise in the Struma River hinders operations.
"On the 15th similar operations were undertaken, six small columns crossing the river between Lake Tachinos and Orljak bridge. The villages of Kato Gudeli, Dzami Mah, Agomah, and Komarjan were burned and twenty-seven prisoners were taken. The enemy's counterattacks completely broke down under the accurate fire of our guns on the right bank of the river. On the 23d a similar scheme was put into action, but a sudden rise of three feet in the Struma interfered with the bridging operations. Nevertheless, the enemy's trenches at Yenimah were captured, fourteen prisoners taken, and three other villages raided. Considerable help was given on each occasion by the French detachment under Colonel Bescoins, and much information was obtained which proved to be of considerable value during subsequent operations.
British attack Matzikovo salient.
Heavy artillery fire from the enemy.
British carry out bombing raids.
"On the Doiran-River Vardar front there remained as before the whole of the Bulgarian Ninth Division, less one regiment; a brigade of the Second Division and at least two-thirds of the German 101st Division, which had intrenched the salient north of Matzikovo on the usual German system. To assist the general offensive by the Allies I ordered this salient to be attacked at the same time as the allied operations in the Florina area commenced. With this object in view the whole of the enemy's intrenched position wassubjected to a heavy bombardment from Septem. 11 to 13, 1916, the southwest corner of the salient known as the Piton des Mitrailleuses being specially selected for destruction. The enemy's position was occupied during the night 13th-14th, after a skillfully planned and gallant assault, in which the King's Liverpool Regiment and Lancashire Fusiliers specially distinguished themselves. Over 200 Germans were killed in the work, chiefly by bombing, and seventy-one prisoners were brought in. During the 14th the enemy concentrated from three directions a very heavy artillery fire, and delivered several counterattacks, which were for the most part broken up under the fire of our guns. Some of the enemy, however, succeeded in forcing an entrance into the work, and severe fighting followed. As hostile reinforcements were increasing in numbers, and as the rocky nature of the ground rendered rapid consolidation difficult, the troops were withdrawn in the evening to their original line, the object of the attack having been accomplished. This withdrawal was conducted with little loss, thanks to the very effective fire of the artillery. During the bombardment and subsequent counterattack the enemy's losses must have been considerable. On the same front on the night of the 20th-21st, after bombarding the hostile positions on the Crête des Tentes, a strong detachment raided and bombed the trenches and dugouts, retiring quickly with little loss. A similar raid was carried out northeast of Doldzeli.
"In addition to these operations and raids, constant combats took place between patrols, many prisoners being captured, and several bombing raids were carried out by the Royal Flying Corps.
Operations on a more extensive scale.
Bridging the Struma River.
"In order further to assist the progress ofour allies toward Monastir by maintaining such a continuous offensive as would insure no transference of Bulgarian troops from the Struma front to the west, I now issued instructions for operations on a more extensive scale than those already reported. In accordance with these the General Officer Commanding on that front commenced operations by seizing and holding certain villages on the left bank of the river with a view to enlarging the bridgehead opposite Orljak, whence he would be in a position to threaten a further movement either on Seres or on Demir Hissar. The high ground on the right bank of the river enabled full use to be made of our superiority in artillery, which contributed greatly to the success of these operations. The river itself formed a potential danger, owing to the rapidity with which its waters rise after heavy rain in the mountains, but on the night of September 29, 1916, sufficient bridges had been constructed by the Royal Engineers for the passage of all arms. During the night of September 29-30 the attacking infantry crossed below Orljak bridge and formed up on the left bank.
Scotch troops take several villages.
"At dawn on the following morning the Gloucesters and the Cameron Highlanders advanced under cover of an artillery bombardment, and by 8 a.m. had seized the village of Karadjakoi Bala. Shortly after the occupation of the village the enemy opened a heavy and accurate artillery fire, but the remaining two battalions of the brigade, the Royal Scots and Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, though suffering severely from enfilade fire, pushed on against Karadjakoi Zir. By 5.30 p. m. that village also was occupied, in spite of the stubborn resistance of the enemy. Attempts to bring forward hostile reinforcements were frustrated during the day by our artillery,but during the night the Bulgarians launched several strong counterattacks, which were repulsed with heavy loss.
Capture of Yenikoi.
Enemy counterattacks.
British consolidate new line.
Enemy casualties heavy.
"During the following night determined counterattacks of the enemy were again repulsed, and by the evening of October 2, 1916, the position had been fully consolidated. Preparations were at once made to extend the position by the capture of Yenikoi, an important village on the main Seres road. This operation was successfully carried out by an infantry brigade, composed of the Royal Munster and Royal Dublin Fusiliers, on the morning of October 3, 1916, after bombardment by our artillery. By 7 a. m. the village was in our hands. During the day the enemy launched three heavy counterattacks. The first two were stopped by artillery fire, which caused severe loss. At 4 p. m. the village, the ground in the rear, and the bridges were subjected to an unexpectedly heavy bombardment from several heavy batteries which had hitherto not disclosed their positions. Following on the bombardment was the heaviest counterattack of the day, six or seven battalions advancing from the direction of Homondos, Kalendra, and Topalova with a view to enveloping our positions. This attack was carried forward with great determination, and some detachments succeeded in entering the northern portion of Yenikoi, where hard fighting continued all night, until fresh reinforcements succeeded in clearing out such enemy as survived. During the following day the consolidation of our new line was continued under artillery fire. On the 5th, after a bombardment, the village of Nevolien was occupied, the Bulgarian garrison retiring on the approach of our infantry. By the following evening the front extended from Komarjan on the right via Yenikoi to Elisan on the left. On the 7th a strong reconnoissanceby mounted troops located the enemy on the Demir Hissar-Seres railway, with advanced posts approximately on the line of the Belica stream and a strong garrison in Barakli Djuma. On October 8, 1916, our troops had reached the line Agomah-Homondos-Elisan-Ormanli, with the mounted troops on the line Kispeki-Kalendra. The enemy's casualties during these few days were heavy.
Assistance of the Royal Flying Corps.
"I consider that the success of these operations was due to the skill and decision with which they were conducted by Lieutenant General C. J. Briggs, C. B., and to the excellent cooperation of all arms, which was greatly assisted by the exceptional facilities for observation of artillery fire. The Royal Flying Corps, in spite of the difficulties which they had to overcome and the great strain on their resources, rendered valuable assistance. Armored motor cars were used with effect. * * *
"On the enforcement of martial law the management of the three lines of railway radiating from Saloniki had to be undertaken by the Allies; one line, the Junction-Saloniki-Constantinople, is now entirely administered by the British Army; this, together with the additional railway traffic involved by the arrival of the Serbian Army, as well as the Russian and Italian troops, has thrown a considerable strain on the railway directorate."
Russia, after three years of warfare against Austria and Germany, during which millions of her soldiers were killed and wounded, startled the world suddenly, in February, 1917, by casting out the Czar and establishing a provisional government, which purported to be a government by the people and not by the bureaucracy. The dramatic events of the first days of the revolution are described in the following chapter.