Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 17.djvu/302

 EKGI^Ain) 286 ENaLANO

In the midst of the German drive against the at the Cocos Islands, and the Koenigaberg was British the Government at London, on 8 April, bottled up in the Rufigi River in German East 1918, passed a new Military Service Bill, imposing Africa and destroyed on 11 July, 1915. military service on every British subject between In January, 1915, the British squadron encoun- the ages of eighteen and fifty-five, withdrew im- tered the German squadron on its way to attack munity from ministers of religion, and extended a British port, svmk the ''Bliicher" and drove ofif the service to Ireland. In the meantime the the remainder in a damaged condition. In Feb- Americans had arrived in France and the allied ruary, 1915, the British fleet joined the French in advance began (August, 1918). The British a naval attack on the Dardanelles. Though they under General Rawlinson attacked the Germans on succeeded in silencing the forts they lost three the southern side of the salient. Bapaume was battleships by mine explosions and gunfire. The regained on 29 August, Peronne on 1 September, British themselves lost their cruiser the 'Tion," and farther north in Flanders the British army of and the destroyer the Meteor" was temporarily General Plummer launched an offensive against the disabled. On 4 February a proclamation issued salient between Arras and Ypres, and forced the by the German Admiralty declared all the waters Germans to yield Mount Kemmel. East of Arras surrounding Great Britain and Ireland as a war the British broke the line between Drocourt and zone after the eighteenth of the month, in which Qu^ant. In September St. Quentin was taken by every hostile ship would be destroyed by their General Haig. Cambrai was occupied by Generals submarines. In pursuance of their policy they Byng and Home on 9 October, Passachandaele destroyed many vessels and thousands of lives, in- Ridge was recovered, and Roulers, Menin, Courtrai, eluding the Cunard liner Lusitania," the largest Valenciennes, and Maubeuge fell into British shin in the Atlantic service, sunk on 7 May, 1915, hands. On 11 November, 1918, the last day of with a loss of 1153 lives. The submarine campaign, fighting, the British gained Mons, the scene of their however, failed to interrupt the commerce between defeat and retreat in August, 1914. the British Islands and the rest of the world, or

The British army, however, did not i)lay a merely to interfere materially with the transport of troops defensive role on the bloodnsoaked plains of France and supplies in the several theaters of war. British and Belgium. It fought in a dozen different places, submarines, on the other hand, succeeded in enter- in various parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. It ing the sea of Marmora and the Baltic and destroy- conquered all the German colonies overseas; with ing hostile vessels. In June, 1916, the British Russia out of the war the Britishers had to fight cruiser, the "Hampshire," with Field Marshal Earl the Turkish armv single-handed in Mesopotamia Kitchener on his way to Russia with his staff, was and Palestine. They helped rout the Bulgarians in sunk. In that year two British battleships and a Macedonia, they rushed to the help of Italy when the light cruiser were torpedoed. Foiled in the effec- Austrians broke the Italian front; they sent troops tive use of commerce raiders by the British Grand across northwestern Persia to occupy Baku so that Fleet, which dominated the North Sea and had its the Russians might not make it a base in their pos- base in the harbor of Scapa Flow, the German sible operations against India; in northern Russia authorities decided to risk their own high seas fleet British troops were landed to prevent Germany's in a naval battle off Jutland on 31 May, 1916. The seizure of Russia's one gateway to the Atlantic. British lost 113,000 tons, including the battle cruisers At Vladivostock, on the Pacific coast, British troops "Queen Mary," the "Indefatigable," and the "In- fought beside American, Japanese, and Czecho- vincible," and eight destroyers. The German losses Slovak contingents to preserve Siberia. England's were proportionally more. With the exception of protectorate in Egypt, declared in 1914, was recog- a few raids, the German fleet remained during the nized, but in 1922 Egyipt was declared a sovereign rest of the war at anchor in Kiel Canal, but the state. Ireland was oieclared a free state in the German submarine activity increased and did great same year. damage. With the idea of curbing this submarine

Naval Acnvnr.— With the entiy of Great Britain activit]^ by attacking the German submarine bases, into the World War, the command of the seas a British squadron bombarded Zeebrugge on 12 passed into the hands of the Allies. Earlv in the May, 1917, and a few months later another made war the British fleet achieved much. Although it an attack on the docks and harbor of Ostend. In could not altogether prevent the Germans from the same year the Germans made another imsuc- planting mines and torpedoes along the coasts of cessful raid on Dover, and a German submarine the North Sea and bombarding Russian ports in shelled Scarborough. After the signing of the armis- the Baltic, it compelled the German squadron to tice the first division of the German nigh fleet was lie idle at its moorings in Wilhelmshaven, Cux- delivered to an Allied fleet commanded oy Admiral haven, and Kiel. The first encounter of any mag- Beatty off the Firth of Forth; and the German nitude took place in the Bieht of Heliogoland on submarines, numbering 122, were surrendered to a 28 August, 1914, and resultea in the destruction of British squadron at &rwich. three German cruisers and two torpedo boats. The total loss of British merchant tonnage was Small German squadons made flying raids on Eng- stated by the admiralty to amount to 15,053^86 lish ports, bombarding Yarmouth (3 November, gross tons, valued at $3,000,000,000. According to 1914), Scarborough (16 December, 1914), Hartle- this official statement 2475 British ships were sunk pool, and Whitby, and killing a few inhabitants, with their crews and 3147 simk and their crews set On 3 November the British lost the "Mon- adrift, and 670 fishing boats destroyed. The total mouth" and the "Good Hope" off the harbor of loss in lives exceeded 15,000. The British losses Coronel in Chile, and took speedy revenge on the included 13 battleships, 3 battle cruisers, 64 de- German ships by dispatching another squadron un- stroyers, 10 torpedo boats, 50 submarines, and 27 der Admiral Sturdee, which destroyed four German small craft, a total tonnage of 550,000. A large ships. The sole survivor of the combat was the number of British fast vessels were utilized in the "Dresden," which was overtaken at Juan Fernandez transportation of American troops to France, and on 14 March, 1915, and sunk. The German cruisers in many cases these were escorted by British which remained at large were able to inflict con- cruisers and destrovers. The action of the British siderable damage on British and allied shipping, fleet was one of the most decisive factors in the The "Emden" was destroyed on 9 November, 1915, war, as the blockade had brought the Central