Bi-lateral negotiations consume the rest of the day. Von Bernstorff meets privately with King Albert to arrange for the withdrawal of all German troops, with the withdrawal to begin as soon as the cease-fire is signed.
Knox acts as a mediator between Von Bernstorff and Jean Jules Jusserand. Too much hatred, too many deaths, and too much destruction of French territory in Germany’s occupation of Northern France allows Jusserand to participate in a face to face meeting. Jusserand demands reparations as just compensation. Von Bernstorff replies that Germany too suffered millions of casualties, but are willing to honor the cease-fire and evacuate mineral rich portions of France.
Knox finally says to Jusserand: “Jules, the mood of the conference, and the jubilation spreading around the world is evidence that the world wants this agreement. Do you want to be the single Ambassador who thwarted their desires? The names of the signers of the agreement will soon be forgotten. They will forever remember the name of the one who stood in the way of peace.” With a heavy sigh, Jusserand agreed to the cease-fire and to sign the subsequent Armistice Agreement.
Chapter 31
On May 4, at the joint invitation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate, President Taft and Secretary of State Knox host the signing of the Armistice by all the delegates in the Capitol Building Rotunda in Washington DC. Celebrations begin with fireworks displays. Others quietly fill churches in celebratory prayer services. Amid all the celebration, nobody notices the early departure of the Italian and Japanese delegations.
Following the acquisitions of the German naval Base at Tsisingo, China, and the Marshall and Caroline Islands, Japan quietly incorporated the newly acquired territories into their overseas empire; and have no intention of returning them to Germany. With their growing Imperial Navy, now the fourth largest in the world, the Japanese feel secure in their position.
The Italians, following the signing ceremony, departed the conference very disgruntled. In 1915, the Allies promised them territory in Austria, and along the Dalmatian Coast. During the war, the Italian Army sustained over 700,000 casualties – all for nothing! Italy was not strong enough to stand alone. The hope existed that bi-lateral negotiations with Austria-Hungary would prove fruitful.
The Russian Provisional Government divided by disputes between the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks never sent an ambassador to the peace conference. Therefore, none of the conference provisions applied to Russia.
The Austro-Hungarians, exhausted by war request the Papal Nuncio visit Petrograd and offer to extend the cease-fire. However, not knowing an answer, the Russian border remains fortified.
The German Government also is interested in a cease-fire with Russia but is not interested in surrendering its Russian conquests. The Russian Revolution brought instability to the area. The new Russian government, currently dominated by socialists, has the Royal Family under house arrest. The German Government’s main concern is to prevent that revolution from spreading into Germany. Fortifications are erected all along the new borders.
May 5th dawned on the Western Front. For the first time since the start of the war quiet reigns. Some soldier begins to sing. The song is picked up on both sides, and soon singing replaces the sound of gunfire.
Then a strange sight appears. A wounded cavalry horse stumbles across no-mans-land, trips over a roll of barbed wire, falls, rises painfully and rears up trying to free itself. Then one English soldier stands up, spreads his open hands wide and slowly approaches the horse, trying to untangle the legs. The tightly wrapped wire cuts into the horse's legs.
The English soldier feels a tap on his shoulders; a German soldier hands over his wire cutters. Together they free the horse, which rises and trots away. The English soldier points to himself and says, Bill. The German points to himself and says, Willie. Both men laugh and embrace. In minutes, no-mans-land is full of soldiers from both sides, celebrating, sharing cigarettes, laughing together. The War is over.
In Belgium, the German Army marches east, back into Germany. Cautiously, several miles behind, with King Albert riding a white horse leading the way, the Belgian Army marches through villages, small towns and finally into Brussels. The populous is jubilant and cheering crowds welcome the Belgian soldiers home.
In Paris, the French Army marches in columns through the Arch of Triumph. Cheering crowds are celebrating. French territory is free of German soldiers for the first time in almost three years.
In London, Brigadier General Robert Pomeroy, in dress uniform leads three-thousand survivors from the original BEF past flag-waving crowds into Westminster Square, and up to a reviewing stand. General Pomeroy locates his wife and two children on the reviewing stand as he is brought up onto the platform. The family shares a warm embrace to the calls “Kiss her” from the soldiers. Pomeroy then walks to the front of the platform and is greeted by General Douglas Haig who awards him the Victoria Cross for his rear guard decisions at the 3rd Battle of Ypres.
During his prepared remarks, Pomeroy praises the BEF, for its bravery, initiative, and sacrifice. At the end of his remarks, he steps away from the podium and salutes his troops. As one, they snap to attention and return the salute. Then the cheers begin.
Royal Guards escort General Pomeroy and his family into a waiting limousine for the short trip to Buckingham Palace. There, in an age-old ceremony, Pomeroy kneels before King George V on a Knighting Pillow. King George V, using a ceremonial sword, taps the flat side first on the right shoulder, then on the left shoulder. Pomeroy then stands up and accepts the insignia of The Order of the British Empire from King George V.
Following a reception, the Pomeroys depart Buckingham Palace. The Pomeroy family’s chauffeured limousine drives them back to Pomeroy Manor. Two weeks later, a new oil painting, of General Pomeroy in his dress uniform wearing his Victoria Cross and the Order of the British Empire insignia adorns the gallery.
President Taft’s prestige as a world leader and peacemaker make him the odds-on-favorite for the Nobel Peace Prize. Of all the world powers, only the United States escaped unscarred by the conflict. Over twelve million soldiers died in battle, and a like number of civilians died as collateral damage from the battles and starvation. Belgian civilians suffered excessively.
President Taft’s policy of America First did not preclude humanitarian aid to the suffering European populations. Taft appointed a successful industrialist Herbert Hoover to lead American Food Aid to Europe. For two and one-half years, Hoover based himself in London. The American Relief Association distributed over two-million tons of food to Europe. This food aid saved an estimated 10,500,000 civilians from starvation. The Belgian city of Leuven named a central square Hooverplein in honor of him.
While the European powers decimated their civilians and military’s in unending conflict, the United States grew stronger. With the addition of the six South Dakota Class super Dreadnoughts, the United States Navy equaled the Royal Navy in size and surpassed it in quality, protection, and armaments.
Chapter 32
America First, the official policy of the Taft Administration based itself on the doctrine of peace through strength. The six South Dakota Class battleship’s radical redesign trunked the two funnels into one structure, which allowed four sixteen-inch gun turrets, with a total of twelve sixteen-inch guns. These gun turrets elevated to 46 degrees had a range of 26 miles. The battleships had a secondary battery of sixteen six-inch guns. Increased watertight compartments protected against torpedos, and improved survivability. The battleships speed increased to twenty-eight knots with the new electric turbine engines.
These improvements combined with the four Colorado Class Battleships, equipped with nine, sixteen-inch guns, created the most powerful fleet of warships in the world. The United States Navy could project unsurpassed sea power. The Panama Canal provided easy access to the Atlantic and Pacific fleets.
The USN previously experimented with aircraft carriers. The Navy converted the collier USS Jupit
er to a warship, by removing upper works and installing a flight deck.
USS Langley
Measuring 542 feet long and renamed USS Langley the aircraft carrier had one aircraft elevator leading to an open hangar deck, with a capacity of thirty-six aircraft. Armament consisted of four, five-inch single guns, located on the hanger deck two forward, two aft.
Experiments with flight operations led to the decision to convert two Lexington Class battlecruiser hulls to aircraft carriers. The United States Navy rejected the completion of the battlecruisers, as the battles of Dogger Bank and Jutland demonstrated their lack of survivability in combat with other Dreadnoughts. 1922 became the estimated target date for the completion of the aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Saratoga. The Lexington’s gunnery included four, superfiring twin gun turrets of eight-inch guns fore and aft of the control tower.
USS Lexington
The aircraft carriers were 887 feet in length, and 107 feet at the beam. The size allowed them to pass through the Panama Canal. The new electric turbine engines allowed these warships to have a speed of thirty-three knots.
$25,000,000 in funds for the conversion came from the sale of two Mississippi Class pre-Dreadnoughts: USS Idaho and USS Mississippi in 1914, and two Connecticut Class pre-Dreadnought battleships, USS Minnesota and USS New Hampshire in 1916 to Greece. These warships, obsolete in the United States Navy became prize warships in the Greek Navy. The Greek Navy renamed them Lemnos, KiIkis, Troas, and Smyrna.
The doctrine of peace through strength was an expensive proposition. The United States Navy decided to eliminate the older obsolete pre-Dreadnoughts, and also the obsolescent early design Dreadnoughts. Liberia, flush with diamonds purchased the Dreadnoughts USS South Carolina and USS Michigan for a total of $20,000,000. Liberian officers and crew took possession at Norfolk, VA. Following a two-week shakedown cruise off the Chesapeake Bay, the Liberians steamed for Monrovia.
The Baltic Sea and the North Sea were perfect locations for the remaining Connecticut Class Battleships. The Nordic Union desired to have self-defense forces. Denmark Purchased the USS Connecticut. Sweden-Norway purchased USS Vermont, USS Kansas, and USS Louisiana for $6,000,000 each. Danish and Swedish crews took possession at Norfolk and steamed home.
The United States Navy divested the country of six battleships they no longer needed. The warship sale returned $49,000,000 to the United States Treasury, which earmarked the money for future naval expansion. The navy de-commissioned the earlier pre-Dreadnoughts and used them as target ships or sold them for scrap.
The Constitutionalist Party won control of Mexico in June 1917. They passed laws expropriating businesses and resources owned by the United States and foreign interests. The United States continued the occupation of Chihuahua and Sonora resulted in anti-American riots in Vera Cruz and Mexico City. The rioters burned American owned or affiliated businesses and murdered over 50 United States citizens. Hundreds of United States citizens went into hiding or sought refuge in the United States Embassy in Mexico City or other Consulates.
General Pershing moved south with fifty-thousand troops towards Mexico City. The United States Navy task force led by the battleships USS Florida, USS Utah, and the aircraft carrier USS Langley landed five-thousand Marines at Vera Cruz. Advancing quickly to the besieged United States Consulate, the Marines suppressed the riots. Aircraft from the USS Langley scouted for concentrations of rioters or Mexican forces. Following brief resistance, the Mexican police and army soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered.
The warlord armies facing General Pershing’s army melted away. Within one week, Pershing’s army entered Mexico City and broke the siege at the United States Embassy. During a week-long street to street battle, Pershing’s soldiers killed or captured the rioters, police and Mexican soldiers. Large sections of Mexico City burned during the fighting.
The Constitutionalist President of Mexico, Venustiano Carranza and three-thousand soldiers retired to the fortress of Chapultepec. Pershing surrounded the fortress laying siege and beginning negotiations. Chapultepec would be a hard nut to crack, particularly with modern weapons and machine guns. Trench warfare in Europe grimly proved the cost of a frontal attack on an entrenched foe. Modern artillery could reduce Chapultepec to ruins. However, those ruins would also provide the Mexican defender's more ideal defensive positions.
With the leadership of the Mexican National Army under siege in Mexico City, Emiliano Zapata rampaged through southern Mexico. Zapata and General Pancho Villa united to oppose Carranza. Their army advanced east to conquer the Yucatan Peninsula and south to the Honduras border.
Ten-Thousand United States Army reinforcements landed at Vera Cruz, and with the Marines advanced towards Mexico City. With aircraft sweeping ahead, the army and cavalry regiments overwhelmed pockets of resistance from the Mexican National Army.
Following a siege of 30-days, President Carranza realized there was no chance that he could reassert control after the United States military left. The army of Zapata and General Villa controlled all of Mexico south of Mexico City. Zapata and Villa signed a peace accord with General Pershing recognizing Zapata’s control of the territory he occupied. The United States Army was firmly in control of the rest of Mexico. Carranza negotiated safe-passage for himself, his family, and top government officials to Vera Cruz. There they would board a Spanish vessel for exile in Spain.
October 1, 1917
Following the departure of Carranza and his followers, Pershing sat down with Zapata and Villa to negotiate peace. Pershing’s terms were harsh.
The United States would annex the Mexican states of Senora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas. These states bordered the American states of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Over one-hundred United States citizens died in border incursions by Mexican military forces.
Mexico would receive Fifty-million gold dollars in compensation.
American corporations would be allowed to resume their business interests in Mexico. However, they would be subject to Mexican taxation and would be subject to Mexican laws.
Full diplomatic relations would resume.
Mexico would accept protection by the United States.
Zapata and Villa protested the harshness of the terms. General Pershing reminded Zapata that he considered himself the President of the common people. If Zapata refused to sign the peace treaty, Pershing with his available military forces would attack all of Mexico. The United States Navy would close down all Mexican seaports. Mexico’s economy would never recover, and the common people would starve.
Reluctantly, Zapata and Villa signed the treaty, which would require ratification by the Mexican Congress and the United States Senate. With the ratification by both parties, the United States Army would retire behind the new borders.
Chapter 33
Vienna, Austria
The Austrian Prime Minister Count Heinrich von Clam-Martinic and his Hungarian counterpart Istvan Tesla greeted the Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pasic at von Clam-Martinic’s office in the Austrian Parliament Building. The war was over, and it was time to return sovereignty to Serbia. The withdrawal of Austro-Hungarian Army from Serbia proceeded at a steady pace. The Bulgarian Army already evacuated from most of Macedonia, excepting provinces previously held by Bulgaria before the 2nd Balkan war.
The three Prime Ministers gathered to develop a non-aggression and security pact. With full diplomatic relations restored, unresolved disagreements would go to mandatory arbitration. A strong feeling of distrust still existed. However, the terrible price of over 500,000 deaths in the war demanded the restoration of a semblance of trust. The first step, an intelligence liaison office, based at each nation's embassy would meet monthly to share intelligence on tips about known or suspected subversive activities against each country. Critical information to be passed on as soon as learned. The three Prime Ministers agreed that given the circumstances this was a good beginning.
Following the departure of the Serbian Prime
Minister, Count Heinrich von Clam-Martinic and Istvan Tesla accepted a carriage ride to Schonbrunn Palace for a scheduled meeting with Emperor Franz Joseph.
The Emperor, satisfied with the progress of talks with Serbia, moved on to a controversial topic. Specifically, the further division of the administration of the empire. He points to a map on the wall showing the nationalities comprising the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They all acknowledged the tensions the tensions war brought to the empire, and the divisions threatening to pull it apart.
The Emperor proposed nine separate kingdoms within the empire, all to be united by a common constitution. The two principal kingdoms Austria and Hungary would each have co-equal prime ministers, and alternating national parliamentary sessions. The other kingdoms would have deputy prime ministers. Each kingdom would elect its assembly called a Diet, which would send representatives to the national Parliaments meeting of Buda Pest and Vienna.
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