The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1916-01-11
REVIEW Of THE GREAT WAR AND OTHER
NOTABLE EVENTS Of THE YEAR 1915
European Conflict Develops Into Struggle to the Death With Dead
lock Eastern and Western Fronts-Serbia Overrum by
Teutons and Bulgarans-THing Period for the
United States-Genera Carranza Rec
ognzed as President of Mexico

where they started out in the previous
September. Russia had suffered the
| greatest disaster in the war. A new
Germany military hero had been re-
| Vealed in the person of Mackensen,
who was now held with Hindenburg
| in popular esteem.
| In the last days of the month, Italy
| joined forces with the allies against
| Austria-Hungary.
Fall of Warsaw.
| The campaign in the West was
| strangely quiescent. The allies kept
to their trenches and the outside world
wondered. Up to June Is there was no
claim of progress by the allies. The
| Teutonic claim that it's side was still
engaged in successful warfare on all
| fronts was not disputed. The splendid
resistance interposed by the discred-
| tied Turks came as a surprise to the
world. Russia was unable to rally her
badly demoralized forces to make a
winning defense Of Lemberg. Once
that point had fallen, Warsaw became
the main objective. 1t was not until
August that German troops made
their triumphal entry into Warsaw,
capital of Russian Poland.
| September marked decided change
| in the Teutonic campaign il the East.
Wilma fell on September 9, but inme-
diately afterward the Russians won a
series of successes over the Austrians,
capturing 10000 prisoners. The escape
of the Russian armies from the net
planned by the German strategists
was complete. The great Teutonic
drive was brought to halt, and in De-
cember the Germans withdrew slight
Iy and intrenched for the winter.
The month of October marked de-
cided revival of military activity en-
all fronts. After long period Of COM
parative quiet in the West, a desper-
ate offensive movement was made by
the allies. The French drive in Cham
payne was one of the bloodiest at
tempts yet made to pierce the German
lines After three weeks Of incessant
gunfire, the French troops left their
trenches, September 25, and rushed
the whole of the first German line.
Nearly 10000 German prisoners were
captured, and upward of hundred
field guns, thus far the greatest single
capture by the French during the war.
| But the Germans were not compelled
to relinquish any great amount of ter
ritory. IL Artois the allies did not sue
coed in breaking through the German
lines, but secured some coveted posi-
tions at an appalling cost.
This brief period of allied success
was followed by an unexpected turn
of political affairs in the Balkans. For
a second time the Greek king showed
his lack of sympathy with the allies.
In the spring he had prevented Vent
zelos, his premier, an avcwed sup
porter Of the allies, from sending
troops to the Dardanelles. Now, when
the allies were depending upon the
Greeks to hold the Bulgarians in check,
Constantine declined again to act
Serbia Is cverrun.
Bulgaria announced her intention to
cast her lot with the central powers
and the latter opened campaign hav-
ing Turkish relief for it's apparent OBJ
jective On October 10 the Germans
crossed the Danube and proceeded to
advance southwark, every step contest
ed furiously by the outnumbered
Serbs. France, England and Italy de-
clared war on Bulgaria. All at once
the center of military activity was
transferred to the Balkans.
In November both the long-expected
allied offensive in the West and the
Teutonic drive in the East came prac-
| tically to an end. The allies failed 10
break the stubborn German lines and
only achieved possible moderate
success in Champagne and ArtCis at
tremendous cost. By the middle of the
month military operations in Russia
were practically at a standstill, the
| Germans having failed to accomplish
the object Of their campaign. AT that
time the big German drive tc the Gold
en- Horn began to mCnopolize the at
! tention of the public. The preliminary
invasion of Serbia by the Teutonic al
lies-now including Bulgaria-was be-
gun with notable promptness. In fact,
as early as October 81, the invading
armies net in the northeastern part of
the kingdom, by November I kragu-
yevatz, the chief Serbian arsenal, had
fallen, and by November the Bulga-
| rians were in Nish, Serbia's provi-
SIGNAL capital and railroad center. By
| November 10 it was announced that
the invading armies held four-fifths Of
Serbia, and toward the close Of the
month Germany declared semiof6cially
that the campaign was over. By the
middle Of December the Franco-British
forces had been driven out of Serbia.
They fell back to Saloniki, which, with
the consent of Greece, they prepared
to defend.
Since May a, when the Italian army
crossed the Austrian frontier, the fight
ing has been continuous, especially
along the Isonzo front. The strongly
fortified and stubbornly defended town
of Goritz was the Italian objective for
weeks. In October the Austrian aero
planes dropped bombs upon Venice,
destroying art specimens and damag.