The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-12-29
american Soldiers Turned the Tide Of
Battle That Forced Unconditional
Surrender Of Foe. Victory After
Victory Leads Up to the Signing Of
The Armistice. --All American Activ-
ity ID 1918 Turned TO Winning Of the
War. New Nations Rise in Europe.
Professional Sport in Allegiance. :
War and Disasters by Land and Sea
Swell the Death Toll for the Year.

noanced four additional peace princi-
pies, including self determination OF
! nations
/ Conditions in Russia continued to
he chaotic. The Bolsheviki declared
the war with Germany over, hut re-
fused to sign the peace treaty de-
nanded by Germany. The Germans
therAupon renewed hostilities against
Russia. capturing Reval, Russia n
naval base, and advancing on Petro-
grad. Lenine and Trotzky then an
/ nounced that Russia was forced to
accept the German peace terms, and
seTt message of surrender rs the
! German armies advanced swiftly. On
March 3 the Russian delegates at
Brest-Litovsk signed the peace treaty
( With Germany. providing for the ces-
sion of a vast area OF Russian terri
tory, the payment OF big indemnity,
and the disbandinr of the Russia n
army ari navy. On March Gan ALL
/, Russian Soviet congress Assem- pled t
/ Moscow. and two days later IL ratified
i the peace with the central powers.
! President Wilson Sent the Soviet con
+ gress a message of sympathy for the
/ Russian people.
/ All during the early part OF the
year, while the Germans were pre-
I ffAI i3sN i1I NIiS great oittnSIFt WHICH
they hoped. would crush tho allies tina
United States wa straining every ef-
| fort to pace in France an army tina.
would be able To aid the allied forces
: IN meeting the expected blow. Sew
! erai hundrad thousand American SOL
! diers had been transported To France
/ and were being given their fnaI traia-
! Ing behind the lines On March 10
! Secretary OF War Baker arrived in
! Ysrrr Ss.w* E..fa +s..x
I that would enable him TO acceie-ata
the war preparations both in France
and Mt home. 1t became apparent
ithat the war has developed into n
i race between Germany aud the United
| states. Germany hoping to be able 10
! strike the decisive blow before the
/ II ted States could muster sufficient
| strength TO he OF any practical aid TO
the allies
+ On March 81 tho long heraided Of
tensive OF the Germans WAS launched.
a terrific blow was delivered against
the British lines on front of moro
thar arty miles extending from the
River Gtse, near La Fere, To the
Sensee river. about Croiseile< The
british outnun hered i7ut lighting des
peratoly, were forced 10 fall back.
Wave after wave OF the finest Ger
man troops were hurled at the Brit
xarcssd As,eea miles. TIE -GT.tish
FIFTH army at the point wtlers It
sess,Stssss<. .het French tlfsasss waa rtsataa
and for time the allies fassea dis
asJAr. The Germans continued to
push southwark. ard at the end ~
fifteen days had advanced forty-seven
miles from la Fere and were within
sis mites IF -Astttesfs- Here thc adj
vance was halted, partly through The
I 80 ilst ~ a
partly through throwing many dtvis~
ions of French reserves into the battle
Z To support the hard-pr.sSea British.
In the meantime, on March -. the
allies. facing q catastrophe al last
agreed upon a unitieation of corl-
4 rtand, md General Foe.. the brilliant
French leader. was placed in supreme
command or all the allied armies.
f. small units or Americans had taken
part in tha terrific battle and their
valor, especially in the st. Quentin
sector. WAS hiahiy praised by the
French. On March 20 General Perish
ing fern ALLY placed all available
/ american troops ~ the disposal 'of
General ifoch
When the German drive finally was
halted. tust short of the objective at
which the German command WAS
aiming, II WAS estimated that the
Germans had lost 4oo.o men,
A few days after the launching Of
this drive Paris was bombarded by a
mystery" gur, which it was known
AZ ~ least siSty-twc miles away TIT,
March 90 Good Friday the long
range gun made direct hit on a
, Paris church arr seventy-five sfog-
sh pers were killed
April G, the first anniversary of
America = entrance into the war found
this country throwing every resource
Unto the struggle. President Wilson
n a sreech Mt Baltimore. opening the
third liberty loan drive, announced
that she policy of the United States
would be force. force to the utmost
until the enemy cried enough" At
the same time The real rush of Ameri-
can troops to France began.
On April 10 he Germans shifted
their attack and began the second
phase of their offensive---a drive
against the British In Flanders with
the Channel ports Az the objective.
Hero again the British were forced to
give ground, hut there was no break
ouch as occurred earlier on the
Somme fronl, The British and the
Portuguese were swept back along
the River Lys. General Haig. the
british commander in-chief called
/ upon his men for supreme effort. In
7 his famous statement IN which he de-
cared that we are fighting with our
lacks TO the wall" The Germans
took the Messines Ridge and threw
$4,000 men against the British be-
low Ypres But the Ypres defenses
held Arm. and IN the west the Ger
mans failed IN their effort to reach
/, HazehrSuck. The terrific drive spent
itseif. aud the Germans had failed to
threaten the channel ports seriously.
In the meantime, or April ~.
American troops had engaged In u
stiff battle With the Ge 'mtl, north
/ or 81. Mihiel, meeting on infantry
attack with the bayunet. On April
~ picked German storm troops att
tackled the Americans In the Toul
/ sector and were whipped In hand
/ to-hani engagement.
On April 20 the British navy exc
cuted one of the spectacular feats OF
] the war, blocking the channel OF Zee
bruEgc. A. German submarine base.
During the next month the Ger
mans continued their intermittent at
{ tAeks on both the Snmsne and Fiand-
evs fronts but made littic progress.
tln Aay al tAsys rsreMed the otgensive