On October 29 an act which was regarded in Russia as equivalent to a declaration of war by Turkey was committed at Theodosia, the Crimean port, when that town was bombarded without notice by the cruiser Breslau, flying the Turkish flag, but commanded by a German officer and manned by a German crew.  The Breslau was a former German ship, and was said to have been purchased by the Turkish government, with the German battleship Goeben, when they sought refuge in the Dardanelles at the beginning of the war, from the French and British fleets in the Mediterranean.

FOURTH MONTH OF THE WAR

The month of November, the fourth month of the war, was marked by the heaviest losses to all the nations concerned, but made little change in the general situation.

Along the Aisne the battle begun early in September continued intermittently.  Both sides literally dug themselves in and along the battle line in many places, the hostile trenches were separated by only a few yards.  At the end of the month the burrowing had been succeeded by tunneling, and both sides prepared for a winter of spasmodic action.  It was a military deadlock, but a deadlock full of danger for the side that first developed a weak point in its far-flung front.

With the utmost fairness and impartiality it can be said that at the beginning of December both the allied armies and the German forces facing them from the Belgian coast east and south to the borders of Alsace-Lorraine were exhausted by the strenuous efforts of the campaign.  By December 5, the 130th day of the war, after a seven-weeks’ struggle by the Germans for the possession of the French and Belgian coast, there was a general cessation of offensive operations by both sides and the indications were that this condition was due to pure physical weariness of leaders and men.  The world had never before witnessed such strenuous military operations as those of the preceding three months and the temporary exhaustion of the armies therefore was not surprising.

In the last days of November, the city of Belgrade fell into the hands of the Austrians after a siege that had lasted, with continual bombardments, since the war began.  The city was finally taken by storm at the point of the bayonet in a furious charge which fairly overwhelmed the gallant defense of the Servians.

In this month it began to be generally realized that the war was likely to be of prolonged duration.  Strenuous preparations for the winter campaign were made on both sides and the recruiting for the new British army surpassed all previous records, the serious menace of the war being at last recognized.

The month of November was also marked by enormous contributions of cash and food stuffs by the people of the United States for the relief of the impoverished and suffering Belgians.  The people of Chicago alone contributed over $500,000 and this was but a sample of the manner in which Americans rose to the opportunity to alleviate the distress in Belgium.  “The United States has saved us from starvation,” said a Belgian official on December 1.