RAIDS ON COAST TOWNS.—­Several times in 1914 German vessels managed to escape through the cordon of Allied ships.  They proceeded to the east coast of England and bombarded defenseless fishing ports and watering places such as Yarmouth, Whitby, and Scarborough.  These raids had no military effect, but they resulted in the killing or wounding of hundreds of women, children, and old men.  They were undertaken for the purpose of terrorizing the civilian population of England in order to arouse a desire for peace.  In January, 1915, a German squadron attempting a similar raid was intercepted and defeated by British war ships.

ZEPPELINS.—­At the outset Germany had great faith in the usefulness of her immense dirigible balloons, or Zep’pelins, as they are commonly called.  In the attack on Belgium, they were used for observation, incidentally dropping a few bombs on Antwerp.  Early in 1915, Zeppelins made their appearance over England, bombing many of the smaller towns and villages, as well as London.  Such raids might have some effect on the war if they were directed toward munition plants, railway stations, or naval depots.  The Germans, however, generally contented themselves with attacks on defenseless residential towns and cities.  Up to October, 1917, there were thirty-four such raids, resulting in the death of nearly one thousand persons and the wounding of three times as many.  The result on the military situation was practically zero, except to increase the British determination to see the war through.

Later the protection afforded Great Britain by anti-aircraft guns and especially by airplanes, made it highly dangerous for Zeppelins to continue their raids.  Many of them were destroyed.  The later raids were made by squadrons of airplanes which had greater chances of escape.  German air raiders found it increasingly difficult to get past the defenses, and in 1918 the raids on England became infrequent.

ALLIED RETALIATION.—­For a long time the Allies refused to retaliate by bombing unfortified towns in Germany, but finally they decided to do so.  The immediate results were a protest from Germany that the Allies were violating international law, and a petition to the German authorities from the towns in western Germany, asking that air raids on places not in the military area should be stopped, so that the German cities should not be bombed in retaliation.  Nearly all such Allied air raids, however, were directed against railroads, munition factories, and other objects of military importance.

THE ALLIES ORGANIZE FOR A LONG WAR.—­When Lord Kitchener, the great British general, predicted that the war would last at least three years, hardly any one believed him.  It was thought that the cost of a modern war would be so great that nations would not be able to stand the strain for more than a few months.  When the Allies realized that Kitchener was right, they prepared for a long struggle.  The munition factories in all the countries were reorganized, and the output of war material was increased many fold, more being produced in a few days than had formerly been produced in a year.  Great Britain and France appointed ministers of munitions whose sole work was to see that the armies were supplied with guns, ammunition, and other fighting needs.