1918 The Last Act
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Food: of British soldier in the trenches, 13; shortage in Britain, 36; shortage in Germany and Austria, 38, 39, 273
Foreign Legion, 284
Fourteen Points, President Wilson’s, 248, 254, 255–8, 260
Framerville, 201
Frederick the Great, 289
Freikorps, birth of, 274–5
French, Field-Marshal Sir John (Earl of Ypres), 167
Friedensturm (Peace Offensive), 178, 179, 181
Fuel shortage, in Germany, 38
Gallipoli, 17, 33, 34, 175, 218
Gas. See Chemical warfare Gauche Wood, 80
Gavrelle, 59
Georgette plan, 110, 113, 118–20, 127, 128, 130, 134, 136–8, 140, 160 (and see Chemin-des-Dames, Battle of)
German Navy, 248; mutinies in, 249, 265
Germany: hardships in, 38, 39; differences of political and military leaders, 240–9; signs of revolution, 249–50; willing to discuss peace terms, 250–2; President Wilson’s reply to peace overtures, 254, 260–4; lack of confidence in High Command, 262–3; riots in, 263; clamour for Kaiser’s abdication, 264; conditions in, after the Armistice, 273–5; proclamation of Republic, 274; occupation of, 276–7
Geyer, Captain, The Attack in Trench Warfare, 43
Givenchy, 115, 117, 120, 125, 128, 130
Gough, General Sir Hubert, 60, 69, 98, 232, 252; qualities and reputation, 70–1; commands the Fifth Army, 71–72, 83, 88; relieved of command, 101–2, 111; Head of British Mission to Baltic States, 279
Gouraud, General, commander of French Fourth Army, 175, 190, 232, 233
‘Gouraud Manœuvre’, 183
Gouzeaucourt, 24, 60
Grand Assault, the; Foch’s conception, 231–4; the first blow, 246, 247
Graves, Robert, quoted 12
Guderian, General, 287
Haig, Field-Marshal Sir Douglas (first Earl), 6, 23, 33, 52, 62, 71, 114, 140, 165, 177; and the Supreme War Council, 55–6; and Lloyd George, 56, 57; opinion of Pershing, 68; and the Fifth Army’s retreat, 94, 98; at Doullens Conference, 98–102; and conscription, 111; at Beauvais Conference, 111, 112; and the Battle of the Lys, 123–5; his ‘backs to the wall’ Order, 125; and the Battle of Chemin-des-Dames, 137, 139; and Pétain’s deployments. 168; agrees to Pétain’s request for four divisions, 178; and the Second Battle of the Marne, 184–5; and Rawlinson, 193–5; differences with Foch over Battle of Amiens, 208–9; confident of victory, 222–3; and the objective for an American assault, 226, 231; unknown to his troops, 252; lack of intellectual power, 278–9; does not secure post-war employment, 279
Ham, 49, 91
Hamel, captured by Allies, 171–3
Hankey, Lord, 112
Happy Valley, Larkhill, 9
Harington, General Sir Charles, Chief of Staff, Second Army, 23, 122
Havrincourt, 233
Hazebrouck, 47, 110, 118, 121, 127, 196
Hector plan, 49
Helldorf, Captain von, 266
Hertling, Chancellor von, 241, 250
Hewart, Sir Gordon, 35
High Wood, 211
Hill 60, 129
Hindenburg, Field-Marshal von, 40, 85; Chief of General Staff, 135; seeks Armistice, 248–52
Hindenburg (or Siegfried) Line, 18, 24, 41, 44, 47, 69, 72, 109, 214, 219, 223, 233, 252; capture of defence document on, 201; German retreat to, 214–15, 244. See also Siegfried Position; Wotan Position
Hindenburg Industrial Scheme, 39, 45
Hinges, 120
Hintze, Herr von, German Foreign Secretary, 241, 245, 249–50, 251, 262
Hirondelle valley, 82, 87, 233
Hirson, 140
Hitler, Adolf, 43, 99, 293
Hoffmann, Lieut.-Colonel (later Major-General) Max, 40, 247; quoted 243
Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Prince, Austrian Ambassador, 245
Hoover, Herbert, 284
Horne, General Sir Henry (Lord); commands the First Army, 59; at Doullens Conference, 98; at the Lys, 114, 117, 120–1, 123
Houthulst Forest, 122, 236
Hubbard, Captain, 139–40
Humbert, General, commander of French Third Army, 161–2, 168, 208, 210, 215
Hungary, 39
Hutier, General von, commander of German Eighteenth Army, 45–6, 49, 89, 94, 102, 104, 106–7, 128, 160, 162–3, 168
Infantry. 3 passim: tank as support for, 5, 6; hatred of artillery, 15; and outflanking techniques, 213; poor quality of, in British Third Army, 211
Infiltration, German methods of, 43
Inflation, 36
Inter-Allied Supreme War Council. See Versailles Council
Joffre, Marshal, 65
Kaiser, the. See Wilhelm II
Karl I, Emperor, of Austria, 245 285
Kemmel, Mont. See Mont Kemmel
Keynes, J. M. (Lord), quoted 280–1
Kitchener’s New Army, 16
Kriemhilde Position, 214, 232, 235, 236, 253
Kuhl, General, Chief of Staff to Prince Rupprecht, 41, 47, 85, 105, 113, 130, 243
La Bassée, 110, 115
La Bassée canal, 115
la Fère, 45, 47, 49, 60, 81, 214, 221, 232
Lanrezac, General, 167
Laon, 137
Lassigny, 210
Latvia, the Friekorps in, 274
Law, A. Bonar, 56
Lawe, River, 117, 120, 125, 128
Lawrence, Major-General Sir Herbert, Haig’s Chief-of-Staff, 71, 83, 112
League of Nations, 275–6, 284
Le Câteau, 268
Leinster, torpedoing of, 260
Lenin, 2
Lens, 110, 117
Lessines, 269
Lestrem, 120
Le Verguier, 79
Liddell Hart, Captain B.H., 287; quoted 263
Liggett, General, 231
Ligney-en-Barrois, 227
Lille, 214
Lithuania, the Freikorps in, 274
Lloyd George, D. (first Earl), 65, 97, 141, 254, 255, 279; war policy, 31, 33; oratory, 32; and the generals, 33–4; desires one supreme Allied commander, 55–6, 57; at Beauvais Conference, 111, 112; and President Wilson’s idea of Freedom of the Seas, 257–8; and the German peace move, 260; returned to power, 275
Locre, 130
Loire, River, 141
London, reactions in, to Armistice, 271–2
Loos, 4, 18, 33, 159
Lorette Ridge, 59
Loucheur, M., Minister of Munitions, 100
Luce, River, 131, 197
Ludendorff, General Erich, 62, 161, 183, 213, 215, 234; his commanding position, 39, 40; plan for Spring Offensive, 40–1, 42–6, 47–51; his conduct of the Quentin offensive, 74, 78, 85, 87, 95, 103–10; and the Battle of the Lys, 118, 120–2, 127–31; as First Quartermaster-General, 135; his qualities and defects, 135–6; and the Battle of Chemin-des-Dames, 136–8, 148–50, 153–4; hopes to advance on Paris, 150, 160; calls off offensive at battle of Noyon, 163; and the problem of the Marne bulge, 168–9; plans for Second Battle of the Marne, 178–9; and the Marne Battle, 183–5, 188–91; and the Battle of Amiens, 204–7, 211; and the attack on the Siegfried Position, 221, 237; and signs of break-up in German Army, 205–6, 221–2; his nerve cracks, 239, 252; offers to resign, 240–1; at Spa Conferences, 241–2, 245–7, 249–50; disagreements with soldiers and politicians, 242–8; physical and mental collapse, and calls on Hindenburg, 248; seeks Armistice, 248; and planned withdrawal of German Army, 248–9; recovers nerve, and plans to save German Army, 261–2; dismissed by the Kaiser, 264; escapes to Sweden, 274; takes part in Munich Putsch, 288
Lys, Battle of the: German and Allied preparations, 111, 114–15; mustard gas barrages and artillery bombardment, 117; attack and counterattack, 117–19; the German advance, 119–20; the threat to Béthune, 120–2; Plumer shortens his line, 122; stagnation of German offensive, 122–3; Foch’s directive, 123–4; Haig’s ‘backs to the wall’ Order, 125; Foch’s and Haig’s disagreements, 124–7; resumption of German offensive, 127–30; Ludendorff halts the attack, 130–
1; the tank clash, and the fight for Villers-Bretonneux, 131–4; the results, 134
Lys, River, 52–3, 114, 115, 117–19, 233
Lys basin salient, 221; evacuated by the Germans, 245
MacArthur, Colonel Douglas, 64, 141, 191
Macdonell, A. G., 20
Macedonia, attack in, by Allied Army of the Orient, 246
Mackensen, Field-Marshal von, 285
Maginot Line, 284
Maistre, General, 136
Mametz, 211
Man-power: in Kitchener’s New Army, 16; in German front line, for Spring Offensive, 45; American, 63, 112, 141; British problems (April 1918), 113–14; German, and Allied (March–July 1918), 164–5
Manancourt, 50
Mangin, General, commander of French Tenth Army, 163, 175–7, 184, 185, 189, 191, 210, 215, 232, 233, 240
Manstein, Field-Marshal von, 286
Marcelcave, 200
Marcoing, 24, 80
Marne, River: reached by Germans in August 1914, 4; reached by Germans in Battle of Chemin-des-Dames, 149, 152
Marne, Second Battle of the: Allied dispositions, 174–8; Ludendorff’s plans, 178–9; the first attack, 179, 181–3; German advance halted, 183–4; Pétain’s modified plans, and the Foch–Haig meeting, 184–5; General Mangin’s offensive, 185–9; the Germans fall back, 189–91; Pétain imposes his plan, 191–2
Marne Salient, 176, 184, 190, 232, 234, 240
Mars plan, 47, 60, 106–9, 113
Martinpuich, 211
Marwitz, General von der, commander of German Second Army, 49, 80, 107, 131, 233
Matz, River, 163
Max, Prince, of Baden: appointed Chancellor, 250, 251; and the peace overture, 251, 261, 262, 265; influence over the Kaiser, 264; illness, 264
Merville, 121, 221
Messines, 6, 119, 236
Meteren, 122, 123
Metz, 214, 224–5, 227
Meuse, River, 231, 268
Meuse–Argonne offensive, of American First Army, 231, 235–9, 253, 259, 269–70
Mézières, 226, 227, 259
Michel Position, 214, 225, 227, 230
Milner, Lord, 97, 99
Missy ravine, 187
Mitry, General de, commander of French Ninth Army, 189–91
Moltke, General H. von, 150
Monash, General Sir John, commander of Australian Corps, 52, 171, 196, 218
Mons, 52
Mons Conference, 41
Mont des Cats, 118, 129
Mont des Rheims, 183
Mont Kemmel, 118, 119, 131, 165, 196, 221; captured by Germans in Battle of the Lys, 128–9 Mont Kemmel–Mont des Cats ridge, 121, 127
Mont St. Quentin, 215
Mont St. Quentin, Battle of, 215–17, 219
Montague, C. E., 20
Montdidier, 95, 109, 128, 160, 161; evacuated by Germans in Battle of Amiens, 207; captured by the French, 210
Montfaucon, 229, 232; captured by Americans, 236
Montreuil, 124
Moreuil, 109, 195
Moselle, River, 229
Motor transport, 164
Mouchy, 184
Mulhouse, 6
Munich Putsch, 288
Navies. See German Navy; Royal Navy
Neuve Chapelle, 33; captured by Allies, 221
Neuve Eglise, 119
New York, reactions in, to Armistice, 272–3
New York Times, quoted 170
Nieuport, 4
Nivelle, General, 283; his offensive, 4, 175, 283
Noyon, 160, 161; Battle of, 162–4
Oberndorff, Count, 265
Oise, River, 49, 60, 75, 78, 88, 136
Omignon valley, 79, 83, 91
Ostend, 4
Ourcq, River, 150
Outflanking techniques, British commanders learn value of, 213
Palestine, the Turks defeated in, 246
Paris, 166–7; reactions in, to the Armistice, 272
Paris–Chateâu Thierry road, 153
Passchendaele, 122; offensive of 1917, 31, 46, 224
Passchendaele Ridge, 4, 121; captured by British, 237, 247, 253
Patton, Captain, 68
Payer, Herr von, 245
Peace Conference, 280, 285
Péronne, 49, 80, 104, 194, 208; Australian assault towards, 215; capture of, 217, 219, 245
Pershing, General, 62, 63, 101, 157, 225; keeps American troops under his command, 64–6; his career, 66–8; relations with Haig and Pétain, 68; alleged remarks to Foch, 113; offers troops to Allies, and his intransigence, 140–1, 143; insists on formation of separate American Army, 224; differences with Foch over objective of American assault, 225–7; chooses assault ‘east of the Argonne’, 231; and the Meuse–Argonne offensive, 235, 236, 253; General of the Armies, and Chief-of-Staff, 279 Pétain, Marshal, 112, 139, 163, 169, 231, 232, 234, 270; private agreement with Haig, 56; French Commander-in-Chief, 61; his strategy, 61–2; and Pershing, 68; and the British Fifth Army’s retreat, 94, 95–7; at Doullens Conference, 100–1; and the Battle of the Lys, 124; and Chemin-des-Dames, 144, 150, 151; his elastic system of defence, 144, 162, 175, 176; and German occupation of the great salients, 161; confident of victory, 167; his Anglophobia, 167; his deployments after Chemin-des-Dames, 167–8; his Right of Appeal rescinded, 168; disparaged by Foch, 174; and General Gouraud, 175; and disobedience of his commanders, 175–6; plan for Second Battle of the Marne, 177, 183, 190; and the Second Marne battle, 184–5, 191–192; favours idea of American assault towards Mézières, 226–7; and the French Army after its disasters, 283
Pierrefeu, Jean de, quoted 146
Ploegsteert, 119, 143
Plumer, General Sir Herbert (later Field-Marsh Lord), 233, 236, 247, 252; commands the Second Army, 23, 59; at Doullens Conference, 97, 98; at the Lys, 114, 120–2, 130; Governor of Malta, and High Commissioner in Palestine, 279
Poelcappelle, 121, 122
Poincaré, Raymond, 98, 99
Polygon Wood, 122
Pope, Corporal Thomas, 173
Poperinghe, 130
Portugal, contribution to Allied war effort, 115
Pozières, 211
Pripet marshes, 285
Prisoners: at Warneton, 54–5; in St. Quentin offensive, 103, 109; in the Lys battle, 134; at Hamel, 173; in Second Battle of the Marne, 189; in Battle of Amiens, 205, 206; Germans taken August 8–September 9, 1918, 221; in St. Mihiel battle, 230; in attack on Hindenburg Line, 259
Profiteering, 36
Proyart, 201, 204
Pulkowsky, Captain, 47
Quadruple Alliance, begins to break up, 245
Quast, General von, 128
Quéant, 219, 220, 233
Quéant–Cambrai railway, 220
Quentin Ridge, 80
Rantzau, Count Ernst zu, 291
Rationing of food, 36
Rawlinson, General Sir Henry (Lord), 213, 218; British Representative on Versailles Council, 97, 102; commander of Fourth Army, 172; able, and disliked, 193–4; proposes an attack towards Péronne, 194–5, 197; at Battle of Amiens, 208, 210, 211; in attack on Siegfried Position, 219, 233, 234, 237; Commander-in-Chief, India, 279
Rebecq, 194
Redoubts, the ‘Blob’ system of, 70
Reitz, Lieut.-Colonel Deneys, 82–83, 87
Reserves, revolutionary German precept of, 44
Retz Forest, 185, 187
Rheims, 137, 189, 191; the threat to, 143, 149, 169, 176; Battle of (see Marne, Second Battle of the)
Rhine, beginning of Allied advance to, 199
Riga, 45–6
Robertson, General Oater Field-Marshal) Sir William: C.I.G.S., 33, 55; and Foch, 56; and the American Army, 65
Robertson, Lieutenant, 157
Roland scheme, 49, 62
Rommel, Field-Marshal Erwin, 286
Roosevelt, Theodore, 67; quoted 66
Roupy, 89
Royal Air Force, 164, 282; squadrons attached to Fourth Army, 197
Royal Navy, and the Blockade of Germany, 234–
5
Rumania, 39
Rundstedt, Field-Marshal G. von, 287
Rupprecht, Crown Prince, of Bavaria, 41, 104, 130, 178, 179, 188, 194, 240, 243
Russia, signs Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 44
Russian Revolution, 2
Sailly Laurette, 109
St. George 1 and 2 plans, 47–50, 59, 104, 109–10, 122
St. Michael plan, 49–50, 60, 80, 81, 84, 87, 104–5, 133, 137, 138 (and see St. Quentin offensive)
St. Mihiel battle, 229–32, 235
St. Mihiel Salient, 6, 59, 62, 214, 224, 225, 227, 231; eliminated by the Americans, 246
St. Omer, 125
St. Pol, 105
St. Quentin, 47, 50, 74, 114, 214
St. Quentin offensive: the plan, 49–50, 60; preliminary bombardment, 75–8; the German advance, 78–83; the British withdraw behind the Crozat Canal, 83–4, 85–93; disintegration of Gough’s Fifth Army, 93; the British abandon the Flesquières Salient, 93; French divisions move into Noyon area, 93, 94–97; exhaustion of German Army, 102–3; uncertainty in German High Command, 103–6; the Mars attack, and its failure, 106–7; Ludendorff decides on Amiens as objective, 107–9; the results, 109–10
St. Quentin Canal, 83, 91, 237, 238
Salisbury Plain, 9
Sassoon, Siegfried, quoted 14
Sauberzweig, General von, quoted 50–1
Scarpe, the, 219
Scheer, Admiral von, 265
Schlieffen Plan, 3
Schulenberg, Colonel (later General) von der, Chief-of-Staff to the Crown Prince, 41, 47, 105, 113, 153, 243, 244
Sedan, 259
Seeckt, General Hans von, 285–9
Selle, River, 259
Sensée River, 75, 78, 82, 221, 233
Sergy, 191
Siegfried Line. See Hindenburg Line
Siegfried Position, 214, 219, 220, 233, 234; Allied attack on, 219–24, 226, 231, 236, 237–9; turning of, 246, 253
Social Democrats, German, 249, 274
Soissons, 62, 137, 176, 207; captured by Germans in Battle of Chemin – des – Dames, 148–51; occupied by Allies in Second Marne battle, 191
Soissons–Château Thierry road, 185, 189
Somme, First Battle of the, 16, 31, 33
Somme, River, 60, 91, 104, 109, 197, 213; Australian assault across, 215, 217
Sonnino, Signor, 258
Spa Conferences, 241–2, 245–7, 249–51
Spanish influenza, 166, 273
Spartacus movement, 249, 274