"Obeying the necessity of fulfilling my duty towards Greece, I am departing from my beloved country with the heir to the throne and am leaving my son Alexander my crown. I beg you to accept my decision with calm, as the slightest incident may lead to a great catastrophe."

The second proclamation was from the new king declaring he would follow in the steps of his illustrious father-a determination for which he was required to apologize and declare his willingness to respect the constitution. At the same time military measures were being taken by the Allies in Thessaly which are fully described in another chapter. On June 13, the exking and his family embarked at the Piræus on a British warship for his summer palace at Tatoi, and the next morning started from thence for Italy, whither one of his private secretaries had preceded him to look for a large villa suitable for the exiled royalties.

HE ALLIED EXPLANATION AND JUSTI.

TFICATION OF THE ACTION.

M. Jonnart, who had brought about his deposition, published a note to the Greek people explaining the stand taken by France, Great Britain, and Russia who "are here to checkmate the manœuvres of the hereditary enemies of the kingdom. They will put an end to the repeated violations of the Constitution, of treaties, and the deplorable intrigues which led up to the massacre of soldiers of the Allies." After outlining the overthrow of German influence in Athens the proclamation closes: "Hellenes, the hour of recon

are closely associated with those of the protecting powers, your ideals are the same as theirs, your hopes are identical.

"Today the blockade is raised. Any reprisal against Greeks, to whatever party they belong, will be pitilessly repressed. No breach of the peace will be tolerated. The liberty and prosperity of everyone will be safeguarded. This is a new era of peace and labor which is opening before you. Know that, respectful of the national sovereignty, the protecting powers have no intention of forcing upon the Greek people general mobilization. Long live Greece, united and free!"

VENIZELOS RETURNS TO ATHENS TO TAKE

UP HIS TASKS.

In the absence of Constantine, M. Venizelos started for Athens and on the 19th of June a committee of four was appointed, consisting of two representatives of the Athenian government and two of the Saloniki government to consider methods of reconstruction. In less than a week M. Venizelos was called upon to form a cabinet and set about the laborious task of building up again that which King Constantine had destroyed. In July Greece formally declared war against Bulgaria and the German Empire. When When "the vision and the fact, the poetry and prose of life find a rare union in a single soul, they provide a combination which in the long run is as irresistible as the forces of Nature." By his superhuman patience, no less than by his ardent patriotism, Venizelos, in spite of the Allies, had saved Greece from going down into the abyss of self-destruction.

AFTER the heavy activities which resulted in the conquest of Rumania, the fighting which occurred along the Russian fronts was of a purely local character for many months. During the fall of 1916 the AustroGermans had developed unexpected strength and the Russian government had deliberately utilized the Rumanians as a shock absorber. Therefore, the Russian armies had not suffered so severely as they might otherwise have done.

THE RUSSIAN MILITARY LEADERS LOYAL

As stated elsewhere in this volume, there could be no doubt as to the loyalty and the patriotism of the fighting generals at the front. Though they suppressed expression of their opinions in public, according to military ethics, there could be no doubt that they were in sympathy with those loyal Russians who were represented in the Duma by what was known as the "Progressive Bloc.'

When Rodzianko, President of the Duma, sent his telegrams to the army commanders along the front announcing that the Duma had defied the Government, on March 11, the army commanders were inclined to accept the situation hopefully, for with the

Duma in full control there was a new possibility of bringing the united effort of the whole people to bear in support of the military operations against the enemy. Protopopov's interference with the social organizations which were working behind the lines had turned the military commanders bitterly against him and, incidentally, the autocracy he represented. When the Provisional Government was finally established in Petrograd and recognized by the whole country, the General Staff accepted the situation with undoubted sincerity.

EUALITY AND MILITARY DISCIPLINE

SOMEWHAT CONTRADICTORY.

What the military commanders did not foresee, however, was the importance of the Socialists in the new situation or the extent of their influence among the rank and file of the Army. However desirable democratic principles may be in time of peace, they are ill adapted to warfare. Discipline is the first essential in a large fighting organization, and discipline is only possible where the command is centred in one head. Successful warfare can only be waged as men are willing to merge their individual identities into the supreme will of their commander.

This fact such leaders as Alexander

Kerensky and Plekhanov were intelligent enough to realize; and as they recognized the supreme necessity of defeating German Imperialism before establishing Socialism in Russia, they believed that the principles of equality should, for the time being, be suspended, so far as the Army was concerned at least. But their simple followers, who constituted a large part of the rank and file of the military forces, remembered only that their leaders had preached democracy, the brotherhood of man, equality and fraternity. Now that the ideas of these preachers of Socialism were triumphantly embodied in the new revolutionary government, they could not all understand why they should not immediately be applied everywhere. THE

HE SOLDIERS GIVEN REPRESENTATION
IN THE PETROGRAD SOVIET.

This powerful sentiment had to be met and placated. The soldiers were. given representation behind the lines in the Soviet, and through the Soviet they demanded the right of discussion. The members of a company in the front lines would meet to discuss the political situation. This gave the ultra-radicals, the pacifists, who did not believe in any further fighting, an opportunity to make themselves heard and to carry on agitation. Thus demoralization was spread. Then came the abolition of the death penalty, and when these ultra-radicals refused to fight during the desultory skirmishing which was all this time going on with the enemy, they could not be punished.

Thousands of others took advantage of the situation and deserted, openly returning to their homes. Next they demanded that the salute be abolished as incompatible with equality. That was granted. Again, in some sectors the sentiment in favor of "the brotherhood of man" led to fraternization with the enemy, though often this was done in the hope of being able to spread revolutionary propaganda among the Austrian and German troops, that it might lead to the overthrow of their autocracies. The German commanders encouraged such intercourse at first, for in this way they gained much

valuable information and were able to observe more closely the progress of the demoralization which was going on among the Russians.

THE

HE SOLDIERS DEMAND SOVIETS AT THE
FRONT.

Week by week, as the Soviet in Petrograd increased in power, the demands continued progressively. In some army organizations the soldiers insisted that every command from their superior officers was to be obeyed only after having the approval of a general meeting of the members of the company, or regiment. or regiment. That this would destroy both promptness and unity of action so essential in a fighting organization is plain enough. Finally it was even demanded that all the officers should resign and the vacancies be filled by election from the ranks. That was done later, under the Bolsheviki, but at this time, under the régime of the Provisional Government, it was firmly refused. Even the ultra-radicals in the Executive Committee of the Soviet realized the utter impossibility of carrying out such a principle, if the Army was to maintain its fighting efficiency.

Had the Germans attempted to take advantage of the situation by initiating a general offensive, it is probable that they would have defeated their own ends. The impending danger might have roused the patriotic spirit of the Russians to fighting heat again, as the war itself had brought together the radicals and the conservatives. But the Teutons were too wise to commit any such blunder. Time was their strongest ally, and they refrained from any aggressive operations, waiting for the disintegration of the Russian Army.

though given stronger representation in the Provisional Government. For the time being, the fatal tendency was checked and the commanders were again given a firm grip on their commands. Kerensky himself went to the front and exhorted the soldiers to adhere to the rigid discipline demanded for a continuance of the war against Germany.

Kerensky had at this time been made Minister of War. Realizing, perhaps, that the old tendencies must inevitably assert themselves again, he rushed the preparations for a strong offensive against the Germans in the

they were repulsed. The Russians, on the other hand, attempted very few offensive operations.

ΑΝ

ATTACK IS PLANNED FOR THE SUM-
MER.

In the early part of June the reports indicated a strengthening of the Russian fighting spirit. On the 20th of that month the All-Russian Soviet, representing the soldiers on all the fronts, as well as the workingmen throughout the country, passed a resolution in favor of an offensive against the enemy as soon as it could be undertaken. At this time German reports indicated greater activity of