America's War for Humanity Part 19

Blazoned on the front of the Town Hall suddenly appeared a great black-lettered doc.u.ment. It was a manly and inspiring proclamation by the burgomaster, similar to the splendid proclamation issued by M.

Adolphe Max, burgomaster of Brussels, just before the German entry.

He a.s.sured the inhabitants that he and all the town officials were remaining in their places, and that so long as life and liberty remained to him he would do all in his power to protect their honor and their interests. He reminded them that under the laws of war they had the right to refuse all information and help to the invaders; and called upon each citizen, or his wife, to refuse such information and help.

Finally, he urged the citizens to remain calm, and stay in their homes.

"Vive la Belgique! Vive Ghent!" The proclamation ended in great capitals with this patriotic cry.

DINANT AND TERMONDE FALL

But other cities and towns of Belgium were not as fortunate as Brussels and Ghent in escaping damage and destruction.

Dinant, a town of 8,000 inhabitants, fifteen miles south of Namur, and dating back to the sixth century, was partially destroyed by the Germans in their advance on September 3 and 4. Early reports stated that a number of the most prominent citizens had been executed, including Mr.

Humbert, owner of a large factory, who was slain in the presence of his wife and children.

The Germans alleged that citizens had fired on them from the heights about the city. They then drove all of the inhabitants out, shot some of the men as examples, took the gold from the branch of the National Bank and burned the business section. On September 4 the town of Termonde met a similar fate. This town, 16 miles from Ghent, was fired in several places before the Kaiser's troops pa.s.sed on. They also blew up a bridge over the River Escaut to the north, seeming to renounce for the moment their intrusion into the country of the Waes district. Afterward they directed an attack against the southwest front position of the Antwerp army and were repulsed with great losses.

Describing the burning of Termonde by the Germans, a Ghent correspondent said:

"By midday Sunday the blaze had a.s.sumed gigantic proportions and by Sunday evening not a house stood upright. This was verified at Zele, where there were thousands of refugees from Termonde. The Germans also pillaged Zele. The suburb of St. Giles also suffered from bombardment and fire."

A courier who knew Termonde as a flouris.h.i.+ng town with fine shops, an ancient town hall of singular beauty and a number of churches of historic interest, found the place on September 11 a smoldering ruin, except for the town hall and one church, on a stone of which he saw the inscription "1311." These two structures were left intact, without so much as a broken window.

Termonde was burned for much the same reason as Louvain. On September 4 a German force came back from the field after having been severely handled by the Belgians, and the German commander, it is said, exclaimed:

"It is our duty to burn them down!"

The inhabitants were given two hours' grace, and German soldiers filed through the town, breaking windows with their rifles. They were followed by other files of troops, who sprayed kerosene into the houses, others applied lighted fuses and the town was systematically destroyed.

BOMBARDMENT OF MALINES

On Thursday night, August 27, the German artillery bombarded the ancient Belgian town of Malines. During the bombardment many of the monuments in the town were hit by sh.e.l.ls and destroyed. When the artillery had ceased firing the inhabitants of Malines were advised to leave the town.

CHAPTER VIII BRITAIN RAISES AN ARMY

_Earl Kitchener Appointed Secretary for War--A New Volunteer Army--Expeditionary Force Landed in France--Marshal Sir John French in Command--Colonies Rally to Britain's Aid--The Canadian Contingent--Indian Troops Called For--Native Princes Offer Aid_.

After the declaration of war by Great Britain against Germany on August 4, the first important development in England was the appointment of Earl Kitchener of Khartoum as secretary of state for war. This portfolio had been previously held by the Rt. Hon. H.H. Asquith, premier and first lord of the treasury. Lord Kitchener being the idol of the British army and most highly esteemed by the nation generally for his powers of organization and administration, as well as for his military fame, the appointment increased the confidence of the British people in the Liberal Government and awakened their enthusiasm for war. Parliament unanimously pa.s.sed a vote of credit for $500,000,000 on August 6.

Lord Kitchener immediately realized the serious nature of the task confronting his country as an ally of France against the military power of Germany. His first step was to increase the regular army. The first call was for 100,000 additional men. This was soon increased to 500,000.

Within a month there were 439,000 voluntary enlistments and then a further call was made for 500,000 more, bringing the strength of the British army up to 1,854,000 men, a figure unprecedented for Great Britain.

The war fever grew apace in England. All cla.s.ses of society furnished their quota to the colors for service in Belgium and France. The period of enlistment was "for the war" and a wave of patriotic fervor swept over the British Isles and over all the colonies of Britain beyond the seas. Political differences were forgotten and the empire presented a united front, as never before. If Germany had counted on internal dissension keeping England out of the fray, the expectation proved unfounded. Englishmen, Irishmen and Scotsmen stood shoulder to shoulder.

The Irish Home Rule controversy was dropped by common consent. The men of Ulster and the Irish Nationalists struck hands and agreed to forget their differences in the presence of national danger.

Trade resumed normal conditions and the Bank of England rate, which earlier in the week had mounted to 10 per cent, was reduced on August to 5 per cent.

There were some panicky conditions and a disquieting collapse on the London Stock Exchange during the last days of feverish diplomacy, and it was due to the financial solidity of the British nation, no less than to its level-headedness and the promptness of government measures, that the declaration of war, instead of precipitating worse conditions, cleared the atmosphere.

BRITISH TROOPS LAND IN FRANCE

While the British army was being mobilized, the utmost secrecy was observed regarding all movements of troops. The newspapers refrained from publis.h.i.+ng even the little they knew and an expeditionary force, composed of the flower of the British army and numbering approximately 94,000 men of all arms of the service, was a.s.sembled, transported across the English Channel and landed at Boulogne and other French ports behind a veil of deepest mystery, so far as the British public and the world at large were concerned.

The old town of Plymouth, on the Channel, was the chief port of embarkation for the troops and the main concentration point in England, but troops embarked also at Dublin, Ireland; Liverpool; Eastbourne; Southampton, and other cities. Not a mention of the midnight sailings of transports carrying troops, horses, automobiles, artillery, hospital and commissary equipment and supplies was allowed to be printed in the newspapers, nor was it known how many troops were being sent across the Channel.

The landing in France was effected between the 10th and the 20th of August without the loss of a single man, and on the 23d, having joined forces with the French army under General Joffre, commander-in-chief, the British found themselves in touch with the German enemy at Mons in Belgium.

FIELD-MARSHAL FRENCH IN COMMAND

The expeditionary force was in supreme command of Field Marshal Sir John D. P. French, a veteran officer of high military repute, with Maj.-Gen.

Sir A. Murray as chief of staff. Other noted officers were Lieut.-Gen.

Sir Douglas Haig, commander of the First Corps; Lieut.-Gen. Sir James Grierson, commander of the Second Corps; Maj.-Gen. W. P. Pulteney, commander of the Third Corps, and Maj.-Gen. Edmund Allenby, in command of the Cavalry Division. The home army was left in command of Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton.

Hardly had the expedition landed in France when the death was reported of the commander of the Second Corps, Sir James Grierson, who succ.u.mbed to heart disease while on his way to the front, dropping dead on a train. He was given a notable military funeral in London. Gen. Sir H.

L. Smith-Dorrien was appointed to succeed him in command of the Second Corps.

The British troops were received in France with loud acclaim and Field Marshal French, on visiting Paris for a conference at the French war office before proceeding to the front, was greeted by a popular demonstration that showed how welcome British aid was to the French in their critical hour.

The British field force was composed of three army corps, each comprising two divisions, and there was also an extra cavalry division.

Each army corps consists of twenty-four infantry battalions of about one thousand men each on a war footing; six cavalry regiments, eight batteries of horse artillery of six guns each, eighteen batteries of field artillery, two howitzer batteries, and troops of engineers, signal corps, army service corps and other details.

Thus the first British field force landed in France aggregated about 94,000 men, including the extra Cavalry division. These were added to almost daily during the following weeks, until by September 20 the British had probably 200,000 men co-operating with the French army north and east of Paris.

COLONIES RALLY TO BRITAIN

At the prospect of war with Germany the dominions of the British Empire overseas eagerly offered their aid. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, all came forward with offers of men, money, s.h.i.+ps and supplies.

The Australian premier issued a statement to the people in which he said: "We owe it to those who have gone before to preserve the great fabric of British freedom and hand it on to our children. Our duty is quite clear. Remember we are Britons."

CANADA OFFERS MEN

A formal offer of military contingents was cabled to England by the Canadian government August 1. A meeting of the cabinet was presided over by Premier Borden. It was called to deal with the situation in which Canada found herself as the result of the European war.

The government unanimously decided to make England an offer of men.

Infantry, cavalry and artillery would be included in any force sent forward and it would number 20,000 men if transportation could be obtained for that number. It was estimated that within two weeks it would be possible to dispatch 10,000 efficient soldiers, and within three months this number could be increased to 50,000.

Many offers for foreign service arrived from the commandants of militia corps throughout the dominion. In all 40,000 Canadian troops were tendered to and accepted by the British Government in the early days of the war; also 20,000 men from Australia and 8,000 from New Zealand, a total of 68,000 men.

By the request of the Dominions in each case, the cost of the equipment, maintenance and pay of the forces was defrayed by the three governments--in itself a generous and patriotic additional offer. The Dominions at the same time declared their readiness to send additional contingents if required, as well as drafts from time to time to maintain their field forces at full strength.

TROOPs.h.i.+PS SAIL UNDER CONVOY

The first intimation that Canadian troops had been dispatched to the front from Valcartier Camp came on September 24, when the Hon. T. W.

Crothers, the Dominion minister of labor, announced in a speech before the Canadian Trades and Labor Congress, a.s.sembled in convention at St.

John, New Brunswick, that 32,000 Canadian volunteers "left for the front a day or two ago." It was understood that the troops had sailed from Quebec in twenty armed transports, convoyed by a fleet of British wars.h.i.+ps, which had been collected at convenient ports for the purpose.

There were two army divisions in the force that sailed, each comprising three brigades of infantry (12,000 men), 27 guns, 500 cavalry, and 2, staff, signallers, medical corps and supermimaries.