Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-06-23
Inside Story of Early Stages
of Present World Conflict Is
Told by Mccormick From
Russian Standpoint,
NECESSARY TO CHECK
AUSTRIAN AGGRESSION
Appearance of Emperor on
Balcony Of Palace Greeted
by Population of ST. Peters
burg With Wild Enthusiasm
By ROBERT II. MCCORMICK.

Copyright 1915: BY The Chicago Tribune)
Great Russian Headquarters, May
15.-On July II, 1914, while the en-
peror was reviewing the guards corps
az Tsarskoe Selo, the Australian ulti-
matum to Serbia was received.
Since the acceptance Of this ultima
tum by Serbia was tantamount to the
creation of an Austrian autonomy
over the little Slavic kingdom and a
continuation of the aggressions begun
by the treaty of Berlin of 1878 and
continued by the annexation of Bosnia
and Herzegovina thirty years later, the
emperor came to an instant decision
to protect the little country if the Rus
sian army was found TO be strong
enough to face the inevitable conse-
quenee, as it was not in 1908.
Consults Grand Duke.
He called in consultation the Grand
Duke Nicholas Nicholaievitch, the
chief Of staff, Nicholas Nicholaievitch
Yanouszkevitch, and the Minister of
War Soukhoumlinoff, to whom the re-
organization of the Russian army had
been confided after the war with
Japan.
These high authorities said that the
army was able to meet all tests The
emperor then ordered the mobliza-
ton of his forces and at the same time
made every endeayor TO reach a peace
sal solution OF Che international dis
agreement, even asking a personal in
terview with the kaiser.
The following evening, while the inn
perial party was at the opera In St
Petersburg, the German ultimatum,
commanding Russia to cease mobiliza-
tion was received.
Public opinion already at fever
heat over the instances of the last
few days, burst forth into monstrous
parades Of crowds crying out for war
in defense of Serbia.
Still the emperor refused to act, and
the next day called a meeting at the
palace, consisting of his ministers, the
entire duma, the generals of the
guards corps. the counsellors OF
state, and all the leading men of st.
Petersburg irrespective of official po-
sition. Before their deliDeration sol
emn mass was held in the imperial
chapel.
Big Crowd Awaits News.
An enormous and enthusiastic
crowd gathered in the immense plaza
before the palace, as large as the aver
age ball park, to await the result of
the deliberations,
At the end of the great conference
the czar appeared upon a balcony. He
said he was strongly opposed to war
with Germany, but that the German
ultimatum was entirely unsupport-
able War was forced upon him and
peace would never be declared while
single hostile soldier stood upon Rus
sian soil.
Upon the same day he appointed the
Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaievitch
commander in chief and General Yam
ousZkevitch chief of the staff of all the
Russian armies At midnight the inn
perial guards, 10000 strong, entrained
for the fortressSof Grodno, the key to
the line of communication between st.
Petersburg and Warsaw. On the fol-
lowing day the Germans crossed the
frontier at Thorn, as did the Austrians
near Lublin.
1t was known in every staff head
quarters the world over, it is part OF
the German Orange book, that Ger
many could mobilize faster than
France and many times faster than
Russia. Hence, to avoid being caught
in the process of mobilization-as the
French were caught on the Alsace
frontier-the grand duke mobilized
his armies well to the rear on the
Brest-Litovsk- Rowno railroad.
Plans Hastily Made.
The invasion of Belgium by the Ger
mans and of South Poland by the Aus
trians evincing the enemys plan,
Russian army advanced from Lublin to
Krasnik, and to relieve the French
allies caught in the process of MOBILE
zation by the German rush through
Belgium General Samsonoff was hur-
ried into East Prussia from the line of
the River Narew, and at the same
time General Renenkampf crossed the
frontier at Eydkuhnen and won the
flrst battle of the war at Gumbinnen.
Now began those intricate and in
terdependent moves which can be fol-
lowed only by careful reference to the
accompanying maps. The German
general staff, having severely defeated
the French in Alsace-Lorraine and the
English army on the Marine, and, as
they thought, outflanked the allies at
Paris on the full road to another Sc