River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1918-11-21

Marine was reached and crossed by
the invading hosts and the capital
seemed to be within the grasp of the
Huns. Then came forward the first
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 Marine 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 in" and then began a period
of trench Warfara 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 a considerable extent, hoping
to gain independence and making it
self the Matching ground for manya
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 blockade Of
Germany designed to starve 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 Will
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 6 and
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 task
of making an army out of it's civilian
population. There were many mis-
takes and many delays, but these are
almost forgotten in the contemplation
of the marvellous success with which
the thing was accomplished. After
long and heated debate, the selective
draft system Of raising an army was
adopted, and young men by the hum
dred thousand were taken from their
civilian pursuits, put in immense
training camps and made into soldiers.
To command them, thousands OF Of
ficers were trained in other camps. In
the incredibly short time Of one year
nearly two million fighting men, as
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 OF
the land had been reorganiZed for the
business of war. Knowing we'll the
righteousness Of the task of winning the
WAX, TIE SON0IuIuCI1C UCAI CNClJ
fort to it and the draft age limits were
extended to include all men between
the ages Of eighteen and forty-six.
Many thousands Of those thus drafted
were in training when the war came
to a close.
Americas arrival in France was
most timely. Though the crown prince
had failed miserablyi in his attempt to
force a way to Paris by the Verdul
route in 1916, the Germans never gave
up their plans to take the French cap
ital, and in the spring of 1913, with
re-enforcements released from the
eastern front by the collapse of Rus
STA, they began a powerful drive in
northern France. In the first stage
of this they reached. the Somme, and
in the second they got to the Marine
again, only So miles from Paris.
Yankees to the Rescue.