Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/512

LEFT WORLD WAR 442 WORLD WAR On November 11 the Italians came to a line of intrenchments which had been hastily dug along the W. bank of the Piave river. Here they made a stand, offering a resistance which the pursuing Austrians and Germans could not break. The latter therefore dug themselves in, along a line reaching from the foothills of the Alps to the Adriatic. Now began a long-drawH-out battle, the center of which was on the Asiago plain. Here, fortunately, the terrain was in favor of the Italians, who were able to dominate the plateau with their artillery, stationed among the near-by hills. Another factor in their favor was the system of lagoons which extended from the lower Piave to the sea, across which it was utterly impossible for the enemy to pass. In vain the Teutons endeavored to turn the Italian right by working their way around the N. limits of the Venetian Gulf. This region the Italians were able to flood and render impassable. Over this artificial sea flitted all kinds of light war craft ranging from armed motor boats carrying machine guns, to light gunboats. The result was a dead- lock, which neither side was able to break before the end of the year. The Balkan Ccnmtries. — The begin- ning of the year 1917 found Rumania badly beaten, taking refuge from the pursuing Germans behind the Russian lines. The Rumanian capital was estab- lished at Jassy, and at regular intervals the government of the little country is- sued announcements of its determination to continue fighting until the death, but as a matter of fact these could be only the ordinary empty diplomatic phrases, for when the Bolsheviki began peace negotiations with the Germans in De- cember, 1917, Rumania hastened to follow their example. In Macedonia the year began quite un- eventfully. The Allied troops under Sarrail had accomplished very little, ex- cept to take Monastir shortly before the close of the year, an event of political rather than military significance. This stalemate continued largely throughout the year 1917. In February it was esti- mated that the total forces of General Sarrail on the Macedonian front num- bered about 350,000. This military in- activity was largely caused by the situa- tion in Greece, where the Allies had to solve the problem created by the pro-Ger- man proclivities of King Constantine. This behavior on the part of the Greek monarch led from one disturbing situa- tion to another. Another such crisis had come about shortly before the beginning of the year 1917. The Allies had insisted on the dis- armament of the Greek army, which they believed on the point of attacking them in the rear. Rioting broke out in Athens and Allied troops were landed and considerable bloodshed followed. At the same time Venizelos and his adher- ents formally declared themselves in secession from the Greek monarchy, with headquarters in Saloniki. Finally the royal government made a sullen submission and agreed to intern the Greek army in the Peloponnesus, but the blockade of the Greek ports which the Allies had instituted was not lifted till March, 1917. King Constantine, nevertheless, re- mained a thorn in the side of the Allies. There could be no doubt that he would do all in his power to assist the Ger- mans, the moment the Allies betrayed a weak spot in Macedonia. On June 12, 1917, it was suddenly announced that King Constantine had abdicated in favor of his second eldest son. Prince Alexander. Naturally, this was only done because of an ultimatum which had been presented to Greece by the Allied governments. Plans for deal- ing with the situation in this radical manner had first been formulated at a conference held some time previously in Savoy, Italy, between Lloyd Gorge, Paul Painleve, the French War Minister, and the Italian representatives. M. Jonnart, a French senator, was sent to Athens as Allied plenipotentiary, to solve the prob- lem. He had forced the abdication of the king. King Constantine quietly embarked on a British warship and sailed for Italy, and Greece knew him no more for the rest of the war. He was accompanied by the Queen, Sophie, sister of the German kaiser, and his eldest son, Prince George, the former heir-apparent, who was also objectionable to the Allies. Soon after the new king, Alexander, an innocuous youth of twenty-four, in- vited Venizelos to Athens to form a pro- Ally government. The former premier arrived on June 25, 1917, and within forty-eight hours the members of his new Cabinet had taken the oath of office. On June 29 the Venizelos government announced that it had severed diplomatic relations with Germany, Austria-Hun- gary, Bulgaria and Turkey. At the end of the month the Allies showed their trust in the new government by with- drawing their officers in control of the Greek telegraphs and the censorship and by returning the Greek ships which had been seized. On Oct. 12, 1917, the German Em- peror, accompanied by Prince August