Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-11-22


heroic figure of the war, Marshal
Joffre of France. Communicating
every motor vehicle in Paris, he rush
ed to the front the entire force left to
defend the capital and in a mighty
battle along the Marne the Germans
were defeated. They had spread out
too much and permitted their right
flank to be turned and were driven
back to the northeast. Reaching lines
prepared with this possibility in view
they dug i'm and then began a period
Of trench warfare that lasted for three
years, in the course Of which there
were no remarkable gains of territory
by either side
Under the management of Lord
Kitchener Britain's millions were be-
ing enlisted and trained and trans
ported to the battle grounds. Not
only from the homeland did they
come, but from Canada, Australia,
New Zealand, India, South Africa and
all of the far-fung possessions of the
empire, with an ardor that settled for
all time the question of their loyalty
to that empire. Ireland alone held
back to considerable extent, hoping
to gain independence and making it.
self the Matching ground for many a
German plot. Kitchener's great work
practically accomplished, he went to
his death when a German submarine
sank the cruiser on which he was
going to Russia.
Germany's Submarine Warfare.
In the first months of the war the
British fleets, aided by the Japanese,
took away Germany's island colonies,
and then, having almost full mastery
of the seas, established a blockade of
Germany designed to starye her into
submission. The reply to this was
quick in coming. The Germans start
ed out their submarines at once, and
began building more and bigger I'M
dersea vessels. Disregarding the rec
ognized laws of warfare, they declared
unrestricted war on all vessels of
their enemies, and murderous career
that finally resulted in dragging the
United States into the conflict and
bringing defeat to themselves. The
first notable victim of this method of
| warfare was the Lusitania, more than
a thousand of whose passengers per-
ished. On this and many another YES
sci that was sent down by the sub
marines were American citizens, and
| there was a powerful demand on our
government to stop the practice or to
enter the war.
For nearly two years President VIII
| son held back, writing numerous notes
of protest to Berlin and receiving an
| equal number of false promises
Early in 1917 Berlin announced that
submarine warfare thereafter would
| be unrestricted-as it had been in
reality most of the time-and there
was nothing left the United States but
to declare a state of war with Ger
many This was done on April anG
from that fateful day the doom OF
! Germany's great conspiracy was set
tied.
Americas Wonderful Effort.
With amazing energy and speed
America went at the tremendous tasl
of making an army out of it's civilian
| population. There were many mis-
takes and many delays, but these arr
almost forgotten in the contemplation
the thing was accomplished. After {
long and heated debate, the selectiv,
draft system of raising an army wa
adopted, and young men by the hun
dred thousand were taken from thei
civilian pursuits, put in immens'
training camps and made into soldiers
To command them, thousands of OF
f1cers were trained in other camps. Il
the incredibly short time of one yea
nearly two million fighting men, a
efficient as the world has ever seen
had been transported across the AT
lantic, with all the vast supplies re
quired; and at home the industries o
the land had been reorganized for tn
business of war. Knowing well tn
arduousness of the task of winning tn
war, the government bent every ef
fort TO it and the draft age limits wer
extended to include all men betweel
the ages of eighteen and forty-si2
Many thousands of those thus drafte
were in training when the war cam
to close.
Americas arrival in France wa
most timely. Though the crown prime
had failed miserably in his attempt t
furce way to Paris by the Verdu
! IN 1OJR ho
up their plans to take the French car
ital, and in the spring of 1918, wit
re-enforcements released from tn
eastern front by the collapse of Rus
sia, they began powerful drive i
northern France. In the first stag
of this they reached the Somme, an
in the second they got to the Marn
again, only 55 miles from Paris.
Yankees to the Rescue.
The Yankees, who were gettin
their final training behind the line
had not yet seen very much action
but in this crisis their commando
: General Pershing, offered their imm,
: diate services to the British an
French. Brigaded with the allie
they went into battle with rush ths
inspired the tired Tommies an
Poilus, and the advance of the Hur
7 was checked. General Foch, France
master strategist, was made supren
commander Of the allies in the ives
and he at once began delivering tt
! series of terrific strokes that ultimat
ly forced the Germans back to the
own borders. Fighting with IL
French, the Americans had big pa
in clearing out the Marne salient
fighting with the British, they ga,
{, great help in the allied victories fu
5 ther north. Then the First America
t field army was organized, placed on IL
extreme west of the line and thel
wiped out the st. Aihiel salient ar
started on the operations that in le