GERMAN COLONIES IN THE PACIFIC.—­During the first four months of the war all of Germany’s possessions in the Pacific were lost to her.  On the outbreak of the war, Australia and New Zealand promptly organized expeditionary forces which attacked and captured the German colonies and coaling stations situated south of the Equator.  German Samoa, the first to be taken, surrendered to the New Zealand expeditionary force August 29.  The other German possessions in the South Pacific surrendered to the Australians.

England’s ally, Japan, having entered the war August 23, 1914, sent an expeditionary force which captured and occupied the German islands in the North Pacific.  Kiaochow (kyou’ch[=o]’), Germany’s only colony in China, was captured by a combined Japanese and British force early in November.

The loss of these colonies so early in the war interfered seriously with German plans for a war on Allied commerce by fast cruisers.  In the absence of German coaling stations, the only way such vessels could obtain coal during a long raiding voyage, would be by the chance capture of coal-laden vessels.

GERMAN COLONIES IN AFRICA.—­During the last quarter century Germany had succeeded in getting control of considerable territory in Africa.  There were few German colonists there.  However, Germany hoped that the Boers, who had recently fought a war with the British, and had been defeated, would attempt to regain their independence.  In this case there was also the possibility of capturing Cape Colony and Rhodesia from the British.  Much to the surprise and disgust of Germany, the Boers promptly showed their loyalty to Great Britain and aided in capturing the German colonies.

The struggle for Germany’s African colonies continued for more than three years.  Togo, a comparatively small colony, was captured by French and British troops shortly after the outbreak of the war.  Under the Boer leaders, Generals Smuts and Botha, German Southwest Africa was conquered by July of 1915.  Kamerun in West Africa was freed from German forces in 1916.  The final chapter in the fight for the German colonies was written in December of 1917, when an army from British South Africa, in cooeperation with Belgian forces, completed the conquest of German East Africa.

GERMANY’S FLEET.—­When war was declared the German fleet, which had cost the people of Germany a billion and a half of dollars, was something less than two thirds the strength of the British fleet.  Germany’s task was to destroy the British fleet or to weaken it to such an extent that it could no longer protect the British trade in food and munitions from over seas, nor assure the safe transport of troops from Great Britain or her colonies to the various fronts.

THE WORK OF THE BRITISH NAVY.—­The British navy had two pieces of work to perform.  In the first place its aim was to destroy or bottle up in port the main German fleet so that it should not be able to interfere with the British plans for the war.  In the second place squadrons had to be sent out to search for and destroy German squadrons or vessels that were far from home ports at the outbreak of war or that were sent out to raid British and neutral commerce.