THE WORLD'S NAVIES.

Germany's Sea Strength—Great Britain's Immense War Fleet—Immense Fighting Craft—The United States' New Battle Cruisers—The Fastest and Biggest Ocean Fighting Ships—The Picturesque Marines: the Soldiers of the Sea.

Just as Germany at the outset of the war had the most efficient and, broadly speaking, the greatest army in the world, so England had the greatest navy in the world. As a matter of fact, Great Britain's domination of the seas was very largely responsible for the development of the super-submarine by Germany, and the putting into effect of the submarine warfare which proved so disastrous to the Allies. This for the reason that Germany, having sought for means to offset Great Britain's power and control of the seas, turned to the underseas craft.

Up to the accession of Emperor William II—the Kaiser—Germany's navy was little more than a joke. In 1848 the National Parliament voted six million thalers for the creation of a fleet, and some boats were constructed. But the attempts to weld Germany, then little more than a federation, into a nation having failed, the fleet was put up at auction, and actually sold in 1852. Prussia, a separate state, had started a fleet of her own and purchased the German boats.

This fleet, just before the American Civil War, consisted of four cruisers, carrying 28 cannon, and one cruiser having 17 cannon, besides which there were 21 "cannon boats," carrying two and three cannons each. The Prussian fleet merged into the North German Confederation in 1867, and in turn became part of the fleet of the new German Empire in 1871.

In the war with France the German fleet played no part. There were one or two clashes between French and German small boats, but that was all. Even the successful outcome of the war did not inspire Germany to build up a navy. Plans for the greater navy were first outlined about 1882, but for a period of seven years not a battleship was built, concentration being placed upon the torpedo boat. The idea of developing the torpedo boat fleet belong to the present Grand Admiral von Tirpitz, then a young officer. The fleet became the best in the world, but its usefulness was soon checked by the new inventions, searchlights, gatling guns, etc.

Germany's fleet legislation of 1898 for the first time looked ahead and established rules for future building. The Spanish-American and the Boer wars disquieted Germany, and about 1900 the fleet was doubled by legislation. In 1906 the campaign of submarines, torpedo boats and greater battleships began. Part of the program required that 12 torpedo boats be built each year. Additional legislation for the construction of cruisers and battleships was effected in 1908, and in 1912, until at the beginning of the war, Germany had 38 ships of the line, 14 armored cruisers, 38 protected cruisers, 224 torpedo boats and 30 submarines. There were no torpedo-boat destroyers, the small cruisers taking their places. The naval organization contained 73,000 officers and men. The largest boats are the dreadnoughts, which are divided into several classes. One of the last of these built by Germany was the Derfflinger, which had a displacement of 28,000 tons.

The personnel of the German navy prior to the war was 79,197 officers and men.

THE BRITISH NAVY.

Because of the fact that the territory of Great Britain is scattered over the face of the globe and that it is necessary to use the highways of the sea for reaching her various possessions, the navy of that country is undoubtedly the greatest collection of fighting ships ever gathered together under one flag.

In order to take care of her population of 1,625,000,000 she has gathered together a navy consisting of 60 modern battleships, 9 battle cruisers, 34 armored cruisers, 17 heavy protected cruisers, 70 light cruisers, 232 destroyers, 59 torpedo boats of the latest type, 75 submarines, together with 50 sea-going auxiliaries of the fleet, which are used as mother ships to destroyers, mine-layers, distilling ships, oil ships, repair and hospital ships, with 145,000 officers and men.

The first group, completed between 1895 and 1898, includes six battleships, all of 14,900 tons displacement, 12,000 horsepower and 2,000 tons coal capacity. The speed is 17.5 knots, the armor belt being from 10 to 14 inches at the big guns and with a mean armor belt of 9 inches. The armament consists of 4 12-inch guns, 12 6-inch rapid fire, 16 3-inch rapid fire, 12 3-pounder rapid fire, 2 light rapid fire and 2 machine guns. They have one torpedo tube above water and two under water.

MONSTERS OF THE SEA.

A later group of six was built in 1900 and 1902. These monsters of the sea are of 12,950 tons displacement, 13,500 horsepower and have 2,300 tons coal capacity. They have a speed of 18.25 knots, 6 inches of armor belt and from 8 to 12 inches protection for her big guns. The armament consists of 4 12-inch rapid fire guns, 12 6-inch rapid fire, 10 3-inch rapid fire and 2 light rapid fire and 2 machine guns. There are four torpedo tubes.

Gradually England developed larger and larger vessels from this point, increasing the displacement in each group from 16,350 tons in 1906 to 20,000 in 1911, and finally to 25,700, when the Queen Elizabeth and Warspite were completed in 1915. These boats—England's super-dreadnoughts—are of 58,000 horsepower (turbine), 4,000 tons oil capacity. They have a speed of 25 knots, 13.5 inches of armor belt and from 8 to 13.5 inches protection for the big guns. The armament consists of 8 15-inch, 16 6-inch and 12 3-inch rapid fire guns. They have five torpedo tubes. There were 150,609 officers and men in the navy when England entered the war.

THE FRENCH NAVY.

At the beginning of the war the French navy ranked fourth among the navies of the world. She had 18 battleships of the older types, and which ranged in date of launching from 1894 to 1909. There were building at that time eight ships of about 23,095 tons displacement. Although France had no battle cruisers, she had 19 armored cruisers. The heavier of these ships had a designed speed of 23 knots, and carried from 2100 to 2300 tons of coal. Their main batteries consisted of 2 7.6-inch rapid fire and 8 6.4-inch rapid fire guns.

Two protected cruisers, the D'Entrecasteaux and the Guichen, and 10 light cruisers of no fighting importance completed the list of French ships.

France was, however, strong, so far as numbers go, in destroyers, torpedo boats and submarines, there being 84 destroyers, with displacements of 276 to 804 tons and speeds of 28 and 31 knots. She possessed 135 torpedo boats and 78 submarines, but many of these were of small size. One hundred and one of her torpedo boats had displacements of about 95 tons, and 20 of the submarines had displacements of 67 tons.

Of the submarines, there were 33 which had a displacement of 390 tons, 2 of 410 tons, 6 of 550 tons, 2 of 785 tons and 7 of 830 tons. This displacement, which was surface, is usually 70 per cent of the submerged. The larger submarines carry from six to eight torpedo tubes. In the early part of 1916 the French Government had 12 submarines building, these latter having surface displacement of 520 tons and having Diesel motors of 2000 horsepower. The speed of these submarines is 17-1/2 knots on the surface and 8 knots submerged.

Attached to the French fleet are 16 auxiliaries, used as mine-layers, submarine destroyers and aeroplane mother ships, of from 300 to 7,898 tons.

There were 61,240 officers and men in the navy of France when war was declared.

THE RUSSIAN NAVY.

With the ending of the Russo-Japanese war the Russian navy was given an overhauling. There were but three of the old battleships of the Russian navy left after this fateful struggle, these being the Tri Sviatitelia, the Panteleimon and the Czarevitch. The Russian Government labored diligently to build up her navy, and is still doing her utmost to readjust that branch of her service.

With the outbreak of the great war she had six armored cruisers, none of which was in the Black Sea. These averaged in tonnage from 7,900 to 15,170 tons displacement. There were eight cruisers of from 3,100 to 6,700 tons, and of no fighting value whatever.

Russia had but 14 torpedo boats, all small and of little value. She had a fairly good fleet of destroyers and submarines, having 91 of the former and 55 submarines.

There were 36,000 officers and men in the service when hostilities opened.

THE AUSTRIAN NAVY.

When the war was declared Austria, Germany's supporter, had nine battleships ready. These were completed since 1905, as follows: In 1906 and 1907 there were finished three battleships which displaced 10,433 tons, had 14,000 horsepower and 1315 tons coal capacity. They had a speed of 19.25 knots, 6 to 8.25 inches of side armor and 9.5 inches protection for the big guns. The armament consisted of 4 9.4-inch, 12 7.6-inch rapid fire, 14 3-inch rapid fire and 16 smaller guns. They had two torpedo tubes.

In 1910 three other ships were added to the navy. These were slightly larger than those described just above, having a displacement of 14,268 tons, with engines of 20,000 horsepower. They had three torpedo tubes.

Three ships of 20,000 tons displacement were launched in 1912 and 1913. They had a speed of 20 knots and four torpedo tubes. Three other battleships had been built up until 1906, and these, together with 10 light cruisers, were in the Austrian navy at the breaking out of hostilities.

The torpedo boat destroyers, of which there were 18, must not be forgotten. Twelve of these were of 384 tons, capable of making 28-1/2 knots. These carried 4 12-pounders and 2 21-inch torpedo tubes. They were built for oil fuel.

There were six submarines in this navy, these being of moderate size, ranging from 216 to 235 tons displacement on the surface.

THE JAPANESE NAVY.

There were 9 first-class battleships in the Japanese navy at the beginning of the world war. Of battle cruisers there were 5, while of the older battleships 13 were ready for orders. Twelve first-class cruisers were ready for duty, and there were 9 second-class cruisers and 9 third-class cruisers. Of gunboats there were 5, 60 destroyers, 37 torpedo boats and 15 submarines. The personnel of the Japanese navy consisted of 47,000 officers and men.

THE ITALIAN NAVY.

Italy was ready for her part on the seas with 7 first-class battleships, 8 of the older type, 9 first-class cruisers, 5 second-class cruisers, 10 third-class cruisers, 5 gunboats, 46 destroyers, 75 torpedo boats and 20 submarines. There were 36,000 officers and men to handle these ships.

THE TURKISH NAVY.

When hostilities were declared Turkey had a navy consisting of 2 first-class battleships, 3 battleships of an older type, 2 first-class cruisers, 2 second-class cruisers, 4 third-class cruisers, 8 gunboats, 2 monitors, 10 destroyers and 8 torpedo boats. The officers and men in the Turkish navy numbered 30,000.

THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

The United States navy, which has made an enviable reputation for itself wherever and whenever the boats and men have been engaged, ranked third at the beginning of the war. While not of the heaviest type, the boats were of the most improved models, and maintained on a basis that justified the belief that they would stand up in the face of the severest opposition.

There were 12 modern battleships, 30 of an older type, 10 armored cruisers, 5 first-class cruisers, 4 second-class cruisers, 16 third-class cruisers, 30 gunboats, 9 monitors, 74 destroyers, 19 torpedo boats and 73 submarines, manned by 55,389 officers and men. The California, Idaho, Arizona, Mississippi and Pennsylvania are the latest battleships of the navy, and are of the super-dreadnought type. All of these battleships have a displacement of more than 31,000 tons, and have the most complete equipment that it is possible to command. The batteries consist of 4 13-inch and 14 6-inch guns, 4 6-pounders, together with 4 21-inch torpedo tubes. There is a variation in the batteries, but all have approximately the same kind of armament.

One of these huge vessels is about 625 feet long, and has a speed of from 21 to 23 knots. The Pennsylvania, one of the largest, is of 31,500 horsepower, and cost approximately $7,250,000. In addition to this, Congress had authorized the construction of what is designed to be the supreme type of fighting vessel. The plans for these vessels call for the construction of vessels approximately 875 feet long and nearly 90 feet wide. Some idea of what enormous vessels these must be may be gained when it is seen that the cruisers are 250 feet longer than the super-dreadnought.

The battle cruisers have six decks, extending from end to end, and are so extensive that they almost constitute a battlefront.

This comparison to a battlefront on land becomes interesting when consideration of it is further pursued. There are even railroads to fetch ammunition to the guns, though they run vertically instead of horizontally. The general headquarters is in the conning tower, to which all lines of "field communication" lead—telegraphs, telephones, etc.

The "observation posts," for directing and correcting the range and aim of artillery, are at the tops of the two wire "bird-cage" masts. This work is helped (as on land) by kite balloons and aeroplanes, which, as part of its fighting equipment, the battle cruiser carries. To blind the enemy ships, under suitable circumstances, the big guns create a "barrage" of water, by directing their fire at the sea in front of the hostile vessels, throwing over them a mass of spray.

AMPLE PROVISION FOR THE WOUNDED.

On board the battle cruiser is a fully equipped field hospital, supplemented by battle dressing stations near the guns, for the emergency treatment of the wounded. To the musicians of the ship's band is assigned the duty of carrying wounded men to the dressing stations and the hospital, the latter being on one of the lower decks, beneath the water level.

The battle cruiser, built long and narrow, has a great speed. The four monster propellers are driven by electricity, which is generated by engines fed with fuel oil. The speed attained is 35 knots an hour, which means the same speed as a train traveling at the rate of 40 miles an hour, since the sea mile, or knot, is longer than the land mile.

In order to obtain this enormous speed it was necessary for the designers of the battle cruisers to sacrifice armor protection. The armor on these ships is but an eight-inch belt. The real object of the battle cruiser is to use its superior speed and overwhelming gun power to overtake and destroy the enemy's ships of the second line, the auxiliaries and scouts.

Each of these vessels has a displacement of 34,800 tons—meaning, in plain language, that they weigh that much, hence displace that much water when launched. The biggest British battle cruiser, which is the largest battle cruiser afloat, is the British Tiger, which has a displacement of 28,500 tons, and is less in length by 150 feet than these mighty battle cruisers. The Tiger is much less formidably armed, carrying eight 13 1/2-inch guns. The largest German battle cruiser is the Derfflinger, of 26,200 tons, and armed with eight 12-inch rifles.

Our latest commissioned dreadnought, the Arizona, has engines of 31,400 horsepower. The engines of that monster passenger steamship, the ill-fated Lusitania, were of 70,000 horsepower. Those of the Tiger boast 120,000 horsepower. But each of our six battle cruisers has 180,000 horsepower to drive her through the water.

HUGE FIGHTING CRAFT.

These huge fighting craft are the most expensive ships ever built. Each of them cost about $20,000,000, the money outlay being something like $16,500,000, exclusive of armor and guns. And for each battle cruiser must be provided, in the way of personnel, 1,153 enlisted men, 64 marines and 58 officers.

While the American Navy had but 55,389 men when the war opened it was quickly increased, and under the Army bill, which provided for the reorganization and increasing of the land forces, the naval forces were also increased.

The bill increasing the authorized enlisted strength of the navy to 150,000 did not provide for any additional officers above the rank of lieutenant. The increase in the enlisted force amounts to 57,000, the authorized strength at the time of the law's passage being 93,000. Based on the increase, the allowance of officers would be 747 lieutenants and 954 lieutenants junior grade and ensigns.

The increase in the enlisted strength of the Marine Corps from 17,400 to 30,000, or by 12,600, also gives an additional allowance of 504 officers to the corps, which, under the bill, are distributed among the grades of major, captain, first lieutenant and second lieutenant.

The Marine Corps is one of the most picturesque military organizations in the world. There is, probably, no other such body of trained soldiery. While they are under the control of the Navy Department, they can be detached from that branch of the service and assigned for duty with any other branch of the military forces of the country.

POLICEMEN OF THE SEA.

They are the policemen of the sea; they are artillerymen, infantrymen, cavalry, engineers, and soldiers, first, last and all the time. They are the first troops in action, and there is no restriction as to the kind of military duty they are called upon to perform.

The Marines served on shore and on board vessels of the navy throughout the Revolutionary War, two battalions having been authorized by the Continental Congress November 10, 1775. The present organization really dates from July, 1798, when Congress passed an act approving the establishment of an organization to be known as the Marine Corps, consisting of 1 major, 4 captains, 16 first lieutenants, 12 second lieutenants, 48 sergeants, 48 corporals, 32 drums and fifes and 720 privates.

Every one of the 15,000 men who composed the more than a century old Marine Corps when the war broke out was ready and on his toes when the call for action came. There was nothing in the way of scientific preparedness that got by them. In the matter of trench helmets, for instance, when it was time for the American nation to come to the front in the great world war, the Marines had a helmet so much of an improvement on the one used by the Allies that there was no comparison.

Armored motorcars, likewise, of the most improved type, belonged to the Marine Corps when the call for action came. These cars are capable of making 45 miles an hour, and there were plenty of them for service in the Marine Corps. Some interesting equipment never used before the big war composed part of the quartermasters' stores in the Marine Corps.

It's a marvel what these chaps can do with a big naval gun—one of those big brutes which are bolted down to the deck of a warship. It doesn't look like a thing to be picked up and carted around the country. That's precisely what the heavy artillery companies do, however. It takes them but a few minutes to sling one of these five-inchers over the side of a ship, land it, and take it wherever it is needed. They do this with the aid of a single-spar derrick, some little narrow-gauge trucks and a portable narrow-gauge railroad.

TRANSPORTATION OF BIG GUN.

The method is to lay down the railroad—it can be done very swiftly by men carefully trained in the art of laying tracks over all kinds of ground—put the gun and its mount, with a specially prepared base of extremely heavy timbers, on the tracks, and trundle it to the place where it is needed to pour a rapid fire into the enemy.

Here a pit has been dug, in which is laid down the heavy timber base, riveted together with heavy steel bolts. Then it is well packed with dirt and stone, and the gun carriage made fast ingeniously. The single-stick derrick has been erected alongside, guyed out in four directions with heavy ropes, which are made fast to the ground by means of "dead men," and manipulated by very live gangs of husky marines. A chain block of powerful type is used to pick up the gun carriage and put it in place, and afterwards to swing the gun into its sockets on the carriage.

Later the breech locks and sights are added, and the big five-inch, 40-caliber naval gun is ready to go into action. These big and heavy guns, suitable for long range work with high explosive shells, can be taken a quarter of a mile or so from the ship which carried them, over rough ground, set up and put in operation in a few days' time.

But the heavy artillery base is only one of the Marines' work. They have big howitzers, of the more modern type, most of which are kept at Annapolis, where they can be loaded aboard ship in short order. Men and machines can be mobilized at the strategic points in a very short time.

EVERY MAN'S SERVICE.

The Marine service is unique in many respects. For one thing, it is every man's service. The proportion of officers who have risen from the ranks or who have been commissioned from civilian life is higher in the Marine Corps than in either the Army or the Navy. This, of course, makes for democracy in the corps. An enlisted man, who does not wait until he is too far up in the 20's to enlist, has a very fair chance of earning his commission. Another thing—and this is of prime importance to the ambitious fellow—promotion goes by merit. In the army and navy the young officer is promoted by seniority.

Things are a bit different in the Marine Corps. In this organization a man doesn't absolutely have to wait for his number to come around. If he distinguishes himself above his fellows, he may be promoted without much regard for age or length of service. He goes up as he is able to, by his active ability and his readiness to work hard and effectively for Uncle Sam. There are advocates, of course, of both systems. There are merits which both systems can justly claim. But it goes without saying that this possibility of promotion keeps everybody in the Marine Corps on the jump.

Even the enlisted men who are too old to get commissions have something to work for. Not very long since Congress authorized the appointment of "warrant officers" in the Marine Corps. The Navy had this grade for many years. It is new in the Marine Corps, and is an added incentive to hard work.

Another incentive—and perhaps the strongest one—that draws young fellows of the up-and-doing sort into the Marine Corps is that of active service. The Marines boast that they are always on the job; that no matter how peaceful the time, the Marines are sure to see "something stirring" right along. It is a saying—and a true one—in the Marine Corps that every marine who has served the ordinary enlistment in the corps since the Spanish-American war has smelt powder. Ever since the fuss with Spain the marines have been covering themselves with glory. In that little war of 1898 the Marines were the first to land in Cuba. They held Guantanamo for three months. In 1890 they saw service in the Philippines; the next year in China. In 1902 the Marines took part in the fighting against Aguinaldo, the wily Filipino leader. In 1903 they put down the rebellion in Panama, captured Colon and opened up the Panama railroad. In 1906 they helped quiet the uprising of that summer in Cuba. They were in Nicaragua in 1909. From 1911 to 1913 they did more duty in Cuba, with a whirl in Nicaragua again in 1912. They helped hold Vera Cruz for three months in 1914. Next year they went to Haiti, where they have been moderately busy from time to time since. Santo Domingo saw them in 1916.

AN UNAPPROACHABLE RECORD.

Neither the army nor the navy can claim anything to beat it—you couldn't tell a marine that the rival branches of the service can claim anything to equal it. And as for the modern implements of warfare—the European armies have no advantage over the marines for testing out new devices. They had armored cars, for instance, as far back as 1906; they began to use motor trucks for military purposes as early as 1909. Every marine expedition is equipped with its quota of armored trucks. They would as soon think of voyaging over the seas to put down an incipient revolution without their armored cars and motor trucks as they would of going to meet the enemy without their rifle.

There used to be an old joke about "Horse Marines." A sailorman on a horse is an incongruous thing—a sight to make you hold your sides. But the marines are not plain sailormen. They are "soldier and sailor, too," and as soldiers they have turned the joke on the old saw about "horse marines." There are "horse marines" these days, and mighty good cavalry they make.

The marine can ride with the best of the cavalrymen. And in the fracas in Domingo there were two cavalry companies of marines organized.

THE MANY-SIDED MARINE.

It takes a bit longer to make an efficient marine than to make an infantryman. This because the marine is a man of many specialties. He is, of course, in season and out of season, an international policeman. That's his job in time of peace. But when he fares abroad to fight his country's battles he may be called upon to do almost any kind of work. He may be an artilleryman; a signalman; an airman. He may be, and usually is, anything that his country needs at that particular time. And he is trained to meet the emergency.

The new recruit, in ordinary times, is sent for his first instruction to Port Royal, down in Georgia. There he has nothing to do but drill, drill, drill, until he can do the infantry evolutions in his sleep. He learns to drill, he learns to keep clean—the Marines are something of a dandy corps—and he learns to take care of himself no matter what happens. He is taught to be a soldier and a man. He learns to walk straight, shoot straight, think straight. And then he goes for a spell to sea—for after all, he needs sea legs as well as land legs.

But these two tricks of duty by no means end the marine's schooling. When he has become an efficient all-around man he may specialize. He may, if he chooses, go into the signal corps and learn the multitude of details connected with this ultramodern arm of the service. He learns to send messages by every possible means. He learns to operate a radio. And, it might be mentioned in passing, the Marine Corps is equipped with the very finest of radio apparatus. They have big trucks which carry the outfit and supply the power for either sending radio messages or operating huge electric searchlights. Or he may go into aviation.

boundaries

INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES BEFORE THE WAR.
This map shows the boundary lines between nations as they were at the beginning of the war, as also the coast lines of Europe. The latter are brought out in bold relief.

THE NATIONS AT WAR.

Unexpected Developments—How the War Flames Spread—A Score of Countries Involved—The Points of Contact—Picturesque and Rugged Bulgaria, Roumania, Servia, Greece, Italy and Historic Southeast Europe.

The real history of the greatest war of all times is the history of the entire world, touching every phase of existence in a manner that has never been approximated by any other conflict. The motives and ramifications are so great that it is almost impossible for the human mind to grasp the significance of many things of importance which, at a glance, seem to be but incidents.

The world looked on expectantly when the war started, because there was a general knowledge of the conditions existing in Europe and the undercurrent was felt by students of international affairs. But that Russia would revolt and the Czar abdicate, as he did in March, 1917, and the iron-ruled country would set up a government of its own—would join the circle of democracies—was not even hinted at. Neither was it intimated that Constantine I, King of Greece, would abdicate in favor of his son, Prince Alexander, as he did in the following June, under pressure, because of his sympathy for Germany.

Neither was there a suspicion that the fire started by the flash of a pistol and the bursting of a bomb in Bosnia would spread until sixteen countries were arrayed against Germany and Austria, supported by the Bulgarians and the Turks. And to these must be added the entrance into the conflict of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, possessions of Great Britain, and smaller possessions of other countries. The flames swept over the face of the earth in this fashion:

Starting with the movement of Austria against Servia, after the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, there lined up as a consequence of the alliances formed between the powers, the countries referred to in preceding chapters. The triple alliance was originally an agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, to strengthen their positions, and the Triple Entente consisted of agreements between France, England and Russia.

INVASION OF BELGIUM.

Briefly, the invasion of Belgium by Germany, and her ambitions in the southeast, where Russia had what amounted to protectorate relations, drew first France, England and Russia into the strife, and step by step there became involved nation after nation. The steps, marked by the declarations of war, were as follows: On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Servia, and on August 1 Germany made the declaration against Russia. Next Germany turned upon France, on the third day of August, and also on Belgium, whereupon, on the following day, Great Britain declared war on Germany; a day later Austria-Hungary issued the mandate against Russia, and two days later, or on August 8, Montenegro declared war on Austria. Austria accepted the challenge, and then Servia took up the cudgel against Germany. France made formal declaration of war on Austria-Hungary and by the end of August Montenegro had declared against Germany; Great Britain on Austria; Japan on Germany; Austria on Japan; Austria on Belgium. Later, or early in November, Russia declared herself against Turkey, as did France and Great Britain.

For six months the battle raged and the rest of the world regarded the result with grave concern until in May of 1915 Italy, having renounced her alliance with Germany and Austria, declared war first on Austria, then on Turkey. In the fall of 1915 Servia took up arms against Bulgaria, as did Great Britain, France, Italy and Russia. Then Germany declared against Portugal, whose government replied in kind; Austria followed Germany in the alignment and finally, in August, 1916, there were exchanges of sharp "courtesies"—the complete severance of all diplomatic relations and open warfare—between Roumania and Austria-Hungary; then between Bulgaria and Roumania, with the consequent alignment of the Central Powers. Italy had also made her declaration against Germany specific. So for nine months the war waged with terrible bitterness until on April 6, the United States, by the proclamation of President Wilson, was finally at war with Germany.

IN THE NATURE OF MERE FORMALITIES.

These steps were, in many instances, in the nature of formalities, for the relationships of some of the countries involved placed them in the position of practically being at war before formal announcement was made. The position then, was that Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey were supported by Bulgaria, who was anxious to get redress for having been cheated out of what she regarded as her rightful possessions in the settlement of the Balkan war question. Those aligned on the other side were England, France, Russia, Montenegro, Italy, Belgium (which had been making defensive warfare in keeping with her desire to be true to her neutral pledges); Servia, Roumania, Japan, Portugal, the United States, the little principality of Monaco, which is best known as the seat of Monte Carlo, the great gambling center of Europe, and San Marino, a similar "patch" on the map of Europe. Brazil, Guatemala, and the little Republic of Cuba also aligned themselves against Germany in support of the Allies, though there was no actual engagement of their forces. Thus there could be counted as at war against the Central Powers in June, 1917, sixteen countries.

Most interesting of all the countries involved were those belonging to the Balkan group and centering in southeastern Europe. The Balkan nations, Bulgaria, Servia, Montenegro, with Greece, paved the way for their entrance into the conflict when they formed an alliance, in 1912, for common protection, particularly for the enforcement of one of the provisions of the Berlin Treaty, guaranteeing local government to the Bulgar and Serbian colonies in Macedonia. Montenegro began war on Turkey in October, and Bulgaria, Servia and Greece joined and drove the Turks out of many of their strongholds.

map

OUTLINE MAP OF GERMANY AND THE STATES FORMING THE EMPIRE.
This drawing shows the location of the twenty-five States which were included within the boundaries of the German Empire at the beginning of the war.

"COMIC OPERA" SOLDIERS.

In a month of fighting the little countries, in the picturesque southeastern section, whose soldiers have been depicted as "comic opera" soldiers, had rent Turkey; Greece had captured the famous Macedonian city of Salonica, once known as Thessalonica, where was located the church in which was addressed St. Paul's Epistle to the Thessalonians; while the Servians had captured Monastir, one of the most important centers in Macedonia, and the Bulgarians had driven the Turks almost to the famed city of Constantinople. The Servian soldiers finally marched to the Adriatic sea, and Albania raised a flag of its own and asked Austria-Hungary and Italy to recognize its independence and grant it protection.

Within little more than two months Turkey had been deprived of the greater portion of her possessions in Europe and a treaty of peace was signed between the allied countries and the Turks. By this agreement Albania became in effect a suzerainty, protected by Austria. But the agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy—the Triple Entente—gave those countries a combined power which, when it came to fixing the terms of peace, left the small allied countries of victory at a disadvantage, and while Montenegro and Greece gained some territory, as did Servia, Bulgaria lost what she had gained in the war. Turkey lost 90 per cent of her Empire in Europe, which so aroused the country that the rising of the young Turks followed and the government was reorganized. The enforced terms of settlement, however, set the little countries at each other's throats.

The field of the Balkan battles is the very center of the world's history. Along the Adriatic, Ionian and Agean seas are lands and territories peopled with races that mark their ancestry back to the very darkest ages. The protected country of Albania, with its rocky surface, numbers among its peoples descendants of the Arnauts, whose very origin is a mystery. They were present before the days of Greece and Rome. The Ottoman Turks, the Bulgars from the plains of the Volga and the Ural Mountains, the Serbs, the Roumanians, Russians, Italians, the Slavs, Tartars.

A REGION OF MOUNTAINS.

Albania is a mountainous region along the Adriatic coast, peopled with descendants of the ancients who maintain their characteristics. They are said to be descendants of the Pelasgian races, which inhabited the territory before the Greeks builded their Athens.

The Albanians are wild, daring mountaineers, and though the people have, to all intents and purposes, been under Turkish rule for centuries, they have never recognized the sovereignty of the Sultan. It was originally part of the Turkish Empire in Europe, having been taken by Turkey, in 1467, and is a fertile, but wild country.

The same picturesque people that make up the population of Albania constitute the populace of the little country of Montenegro, which was once part of the Turkish possession. Montenegro contained about 3486 square miles of territory before its acquisitions in the Balkan wars. Aided by Russia, the country obtained its independence from Turkey in 1878, and in 1910 became a kingdom. Its present area is about 5650 square miles and the population 520,000. The capital is Cettinje.

Bulgaria was also once a part of the Turkish possessions, and under the Treaty of Berlin, in 1878, became a suzerainty. It is a famous pastoral country, inhabited by a people for years held under the Ottoman heel. They are racially Turanians, and kin of the Tartar and Huns, who came into their present fertile country from the vast plains of eastern Russia. They made their way thither more than a thousand years ago, and battling at the very gates of Constantinople, by their fierce crusades, secured the grants from the Byzantine Empire of the territory, which constitutes the Bulgaria of today. The population is nearly 5,000,000, and the country contains about 43,000 square miles.

WHY ITALY ENTERED THE WAR.

Italy's reasons for entering the war, aside from her demands for territory, in exchange for continuance of neutrality, have to do with matters of years gone by, when she began the struggle for her liberation from the Austrian domination. Italy desired, among other things, to acquire Trentino, Goritz, and other adjacent territory controlled by Austria, but Italian in every attribute. Trentino is a rocky region, and strategically valuable to the country possessing it, which was proved by the terrible struggle which the Italians were forced to make in their attacks against the Austrian forces.

The city of Trent is the capital of Trentino, famous in history, and the seat of the long church council in 1545-46. It was in turn controlled by Roman, Goth, Hun, Lombard and Holy Roman Empire. It is the site of many historic buildings, notably the cathedral of Trent, which is a fine example of Lombard architecture, and the church of Santa Maria Maggorie, where the famous Council of the Roman Catholic Church was held. There are old towers, and libraries rich in manuscripts.

Trentino is famous for its mountain passes, over which the Italians have been compelled to drag their heavy artillery and implements of war. The Alpini, the mountaineer soldiers of Italy, are among the most picturesque in the world. They have scaled the almost perpendicular faces of the Alps, climbing from crag to crag with their bodies roped together, dragging machine guns in pieces strapped to their shoulders. Tolmino, Trieste, Istria, Dalmatia, Avlona, the prime harbor of Albania (seized by Italy in the fall of 1916). These are little spots in the territory logically Italian, which Italy covets.

austria

OUTLINE MAP OF THE AUSTRIA-HUNGARY EMPIRE.
Drawn and engraved especially to show the Provinces comprising the Empire, and their locations as they were at the beginning of the war. This is a country of many nationalities and languages.

DIVIDED INTO SIXTEEN DEPARTMENTS.

Italy, since its consolidation into one kingdom in 1870, has been divided into sixteen departments comprising sixty-nine provinces. The country has a total area of 110,623 square miles, and a population of a little more than 35,000,000. The Roman Catholic Church is irrevocably linked to the history of Italy and Rome, its capital, marked the farthest advance of civilization in the ancient days. It possesses four distinct zones, ranging from the almost arctic cold of the mountain belts to an almost tropical heat in the southern lowlands. It is one of the picturesque countries of the world, a center of art, industry and travel.

Servia, which is separated from Austria-Hungary by the Danube, is of precisely the same character as the other rich, mountainous region. The country was subjugated by the Turks, who retained possession of it until 1717. Austria then wrested control from the Turks, and held it until 1791, when Turkey again dominated it. In 1805 the Servians revolted, and secured temporary independence, only to again come under the Ottoman rule. Again it secured freedom in 1815, and by the Treaty of Paris, independent existence was secured for it. Turkey became only a nominal authority. It became a kingdom in 1882, after having become absolutely independent with the Berlin Treaty.

The people are Slavonic, and kin to the Croats of ancient history. They are described as having come from Poland and Galicia, moving down the Danube, into what is the present kingdom. In the fourteenth century the Servian empire comprised the whole Balkan peninsula, from Greece to Poland, and from the Black Sea to the Adriatic. But Servia warred with Turkey, and her troops were defeated in the great battle at Kossovo, and the Ottoman power became supreme. The country has an area of about 34,000 square miles and a population of 4,600,000.

LITTLE BOSNIA'S FUTURE.

Bosnia, where was assassinated the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, of Austria, was a Turkish province, west of Servia, and under the treaty of Berlin was to be administered for an undefined period by the Austrian government. The little section contains about 16,000 square miles and has a population of about 1,750,000, largely of Slavonic origin. They are partly Mohammedans, partly Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics. In the middle ages Bosnia belonged to the Eastern Empire. Later it became a separate kingdom, dependent upon Hungary, only to be conquered by the Turks. It is the mountainous, rugged country of the Julian and Dinaric Alps, but has many fertile valleys, and is well watered by the river Save, and its numerous tributaries.

Greece, the modern kingdom, is one of the countries that for centuries were politically included within the limits of the Turkish Empire. In its present form it represents but a portion of that country, famous in history, as the Greece of the Ancients—that classic land which holds the most conspicuous place in the pages of ancient history—but still it is inclusive of the greatest names belonging to the glorious past. It is the country of Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes and Argos. It is separated from Turkey by a winding boundary, extending from the Gulf of Arta on the west to the Gulf of Salonica on the east.

The earliest settlers were the Pelasgi, who were in course of time replaced by the Hellenes. They, in turn, were succeeded by the Phoenicians, who swayed the country. Athens, Sparta, Thebes and Corinth came into existence and became the centers of political government, of the most progressive advancement in civilization. Civil discords brought on first the Peloponnesian War, about 434 B.C., and made them prey to the Macedonians. Successively invaded by Goths, Vandals and Normans the country came into the possession of the Turks in 1481, though for two centuries the power of the Turk was questioned by the Venetians. Revolt was had from the Ottoman yoke in 1821, and independence was secured by the interference of foreign powers after the defeat of the Turk at the Navarino, in 1827. Through the succeeding years it has been a protected monarchy.

ONE OF THE BALKAN GROUP.

Roumania, the largest of the Balkan group, lying between Russia on the north, and Bulgaria on the south, is the home of the Gacians, descendants of the warlike tribes who for years held their own against Greek and Roman. After the fall of Rome the province became a melting pot, through which the hordes of invaders, passing from Russia to Asia, were in a sense made one people. The Goths, the Huns, the Lombards, the Bulgars and the Magyars traversed the region, leaving many settlers. It became divided into two provinces, Moldavia and Wallachia, known as the Danubian provinces.

Both provinces were conquered by the Turks in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and under Peter the Great the Russians attempted the conquest of the provinces. In 1859 the two provinces were united under a prince whose independence both Turkey and Russia recognized, and in 1881 the country declared itself a kingdom. The province of Wallachia derives its name from the people who early settled there, the Wallachs. The Roumanians claim descent from Vlachi, a colony of Romans, who settled in Thrace, and, in the twelfth century, emigrated to the Danube. The name Roumania is derived from the word Roman, the country having originally been "the Land of the Roumani." Roumania has a population of about 7,600,000 and comprises 64,000 square miles.

Macedonia, famous country of Greece in the time of Philip, father of Alexander the Great, embraced the entire region from the Scardian Mountains to Thessaly, and from the Epirus and Illyria to the river Nestos, taking in what is now part of Salonica. It was reduced by the Persians and subsequently Alexander the Great made it the nucleus of a vast and powerful empire along with Greece. Ultimately it passed under Roman sway, until it was ceded, in 1913, to Greece.

AN OBJECT OF CONTENTION.

Alsace-Lorraine is worthy of note, as comprising one of the territories which for centuries have been the cause of conflict between Germany and France. It is pointed to as the physical evidence of the humiliation of France at the hands of the Germans, in 1870, and has for nearly one-half a century been a German imperial territory. The surrender of Alsace and part of Lorraine was made the principal condition of peace on the settlement of the war of 1870. Bismarck, it is said, might have been content with a language boundary, taking only that portion of the country in which lived those who spoke the German tongue.

For strategic purposes, however, Alsace and Lorraine, with the exception of one district, were taken. The strip of country was to be governed by the power of the German Emperor until the constitution of the German Empire was established. Many of the inhabitants opposed the Prussian domination, and a vote was taken on who would declare themselves Germans and remain in the territory, or French and leave. More than 40,000 left the country and went into France.

The German language was made compulsory in the schools, the courts and the legislative body. The French never forgot their loss, and revenge for that loss has been a subject of consideration in their foreign policy ever since the war of 1871. Alsace and Lorraine contain about 5600 square miles, and together have a population of about two million. About 85 per cent of the people speak German.

turkey

OUTLINE MAP OF TURKEY IN ASIA.
A country where civilization was first born and which is now undergoing a new birth of a new civilization. The location of the Garden of Eden was between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The drawing shows the country which is mentioned largely in Bible history.

PICTURESQUE TURKEY.

Turkey, one of the picturesque and ancient countries which is aligned with the Germans, is a Mohammedan state of the Ottoman Empire in southeastern Europe and western Asia, whose holdings in Europe have been steadily decreasing, especially during recent years. The immediate possessions of Turkey, or those directly under the Sultan's rule at the time this country became involved in the great world war, extended from Montenegro, Bosnia, Servia and eastern Roumelia on the north, to the Agean Sea and Greece on the south, and from the Black Sea to the Adriatic, the Straits of Otranto and the Ionic Sea. In September, 1911, the Italian government sent a long list of claims made by Italy against Turkey for economic and commercial discrimination against Italian commerce, and the person of Italian citizens all over the world. A reply was demanded within twenty-four hours, and failing to receive a reply considered satisfactory, Italy immediately sent warships to Tripoli, bombarded and captured the city. This meant that Turkey has lost one of her most important seaports, consequently weakening her position.

The immediate possessions of Turkey in Europe, at this time, had an area of 65,350 square miles, with a population of 6,200,000. In Asia Turkey had possessions of 693,610 square miles, with a population of 16,900,000, while in Africa about 398,000 square miles belonged to the Turkish Empire, on which lived 1,000,000 persons. This gave Turkey an area of about 1,157,860 square miles, with a population of 24,100,000. A number of islands in the Agean Sea belong to Turkey, and Egypt is also nominally part of the kingdom of the Sultan.

The population is a motley assortment of races, nationalities and creeds. About 38 per cent being Ottomans or Turks. The Slavic and Rouman races come next in importance, then the Arabs, the remaining population consisting of Moors, Druses, Kurds, Tartars, Albanians, Circassians, Syrians, Armenians, and Greeks, besides Jews and Gypsies.

crime

A DASTARDLY CRIME WHICH AUTOCRACY CANNOT DENY.
Aerial photograph by a British pilot showing four huts of a British hospital in France, in which were helpless men who were blown to bits. All plainly shown in the foreground.

tommy

A BRITISH TOMMY ON WAY TO TRENCHES.
This photograph shows a soldier crossing through a trench—which is camouflaged. The screen prevents his being seen.

attack

AN ATTACK BY AMERICANS.
Company H and Company K of the 336th Infantry, 82nd Division are advancing on enemy positions in France and driving them out while the 307th Engineers of the 82nd Division are clearing the way by blowing up wire entanglements.

generals

GENERAL BULLARD.

GENERAL LIGGETT.

GENERAL DICKMAN.

American Army Commanders who out-generaled the Germans. They were well supported by the fearless and determined fighters, the U.S.A. troops.

meeting

A RELIGIOUS MEETING ON THE FIELD.
American, British, French, Belgian and Portuguese troops are represented in this gathering of defenders of Liberty listening to a sermon on the western front.

holy land

THE HOLY LAND AND THE WAR.
Christmas Day at Bethlehem. Latin procession to the Church of Nativity.

fighting

FIGHTING IN PALESTINE EAST OF THE JORDAN.
Infantry were in the act of occupying an important hill when they were met with a strong counter-attack. The timely arrival of machine guns and support troops saves the situation.