Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-11-20
THE WAR: IT'S CAUSE
AND CHIEF INCIDENTS

lxAx xvVxDA i ~
and out of Germany's ovcrsca possessions
of |, ,O27 $40 square miles area orly Ger
man East Africa, with an area OF 3S4, $50
square miles, remained, and has been
fighting down 10 the end of the war.
1915-I9l6
The second year Oh the war, l9l5-l9l6
saw the Germans completing their occu-
patton of the Balkans down to the Sa-
loniki line held bv the Allies; there was
British defeat on the TigrIs, with the
surrender of Kut-ei-Amara, on Apri' 2S-
There were also the battle OF NerduD
which began on February 2l ahd cost
the Germans half a million casualties
the scafght off of Jutland on May 81,
which left the British Navy in control OF
the sea the battle of the Somme III France
July November l3, Which regaired
40 square miles of territory and secured
several strategic positions which tive
months later forced the great German
retreat Ge. cral Br,islloff's campaign on
the eastern {. ont, which iegained 1900
square miles of territory and captured
35S. 900 prisoners, from June 4, tn De-
ccmbcr, 1916.
l9l6-19l7.
On August ~, 1916. Rumania entered
the war on the side of Germanv's enemies
and bv the dawn of 1917 had been crushed
In March and April, 1917, took Ilace
tho German retreat to the HIndcnDurg
line which surrendered to France nearly
| 500 suu,rc miles of territory There
were British victories at the ridges OF
Niny and MessnCs respectively April
10 and June :, and the great attack of
the French from SolSsons to Rhcims.
which secured 10O. 600 prisoners. In
Nesopotarnia the British recovered Nut-
el-Anara and on March occupied Bag
dad: the Arab Kingdom Of licdSaz joined
the Allies.
But the most important events OF the
third year Of the war were political, how
cyer-the Russian revolution, March -,
and the entrance of the United states
INTO the war. April 6 The former was
brought about without any pruncdita-
ton bv the Cossacks refusing 20 tre on
the Pctrograd mob and the Duma taking
advantage Of the situation and establish
inc n mild Provisional Government, which
or,ancd tho country TO destructive Ger
man propaganda and the rise Of the anarch
known as Rolshcvsm The moral md
material grievances of the Vni,cd Statca
against Germany illuminated IN series
~ revelations showing the latter $ CrimIrai-
itv On January n she Proclaimed her
intensified t-boat campaign. rcpudiat'ng
Tho promise of Nav 4 1915 and on
Fchuarv 2S. camc the revelation 81 the
Zimmerman note 10 Mexico and Japan
, In "a the tame the United States d.
clared war this country had lost by the
Illegal operation Of I-boats y sFlTs
amounting to more than 0O,uH tons. f"-
eethcr with hundreds Of lives, most Of
which however, had met their death on
other neutral ships or on the passenger
ships Of Germany enemies
lQl7-1oIS.
Earlv in the fourth wear Of the war,
November 7. 1917, saw the collapse of the
Russian Provisional Government and the
dominance of the Bolshcylkl They
finally drove Russia from the war by the
hctrayal NJ BrcSt-lltovsk, which cut
| minated in the treaty of peace Of March
4 1918 Rumania was forced TO make
! peace on May d. Al bucharest
| Other events which occupied the clos
/ ing months of 1917 were equally dis
1 couraging for the Allies, whose morale,
4 however. was kept firm through the
rap,dly auqmcnting evidences II Amen
/ can aid. which would bc decisive Evcn
! here there was fear that this aid could
not be brought overseas, due 10 the IN
tcnsified action Of the U-boats whose
! toll Of merchant shipping tor 1911 had
(, been in the first quarter l6l9.3aS tons .
! in the second, 236q34, IN the third.
! .4a4 473. and in the fourth. l,212.S3
/ And as vet there were no sure grounds
/ ID believe IN the great welcomes winch
! came TO the Allies year hence
! On the western front the battle OF
Flanders. which hal been begun by the
/ British on July 81. ended with the 9th
i al the following November. There was
the ahortivc battle Of CambraI, November
/ 2O-Dccembcr 5 In October Petaln Sc
| cured the Chamin dies Danes on the Asnc
front Italy advanced over the BAN
sizza 10 within 50 miles OF Lalbach, be-
| tween August 20 and October ! only to be
defeated at Caporctto and driven back
| 10 the Pave, losing "a large part Of the
Regione OF Neneto.
/ The allied front in Macedonia CON
! tinued to remain inactive save for the
excursions of Greek troops, whose new
side of the Allies on July , The war
against the Turk however, showed en-
| couraging signs; IN Palestine General
AllcnbV captured Jer salem on December
%: in Mesopotamia General Marshall,
| who had succeeded to the command on
the death of Maudc on November Is,
extended his advance 10 the Euphrates,
and was still ascending the Tigris toward
| MOsul
1t was known before 1917 closed that
! Germany rele, sed from war with Rus
sia, was preparing great offensive.
The Austro-German reply to the Pope s
peace note Of Aug revealed merely a
readiness to talk peace on the besis OF
the militray statu quo President Wilson,