THE GERMANS RENEW HOSTILITIES WITH RUSSIA

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon of the 18th, just two hours after the armistice had expired, German troops began pouring across the Dvina Bridge. The disorganized Russians fled before them, allowing the Germans to occupy Dvinsk unopposed. Up and down the whole eastern front the German lines began a simultaneous movement eastward, the immediate object being the occupation of the territory coveted by Germany, the moral pretext being that Germany desired to rescue the oppressed population from the anarchy of Bolsheviki rule. Farther south an advance was also made into Ukrainia, but there it was on the invitation of the Ukrainians themselves, according to the Germans.

The news of the German advance acted on the Petrograd authorities like an electric shock, awakening them from their delusions. There was something of panic in the haste with which the Council of People's Commissaries, the body corresponding to the Cabinet of other governments, assembled for conference the moment the news reached the capital. Throughout the whole night they remained in session, in hot argument over the question of capitulation or resistance.

On this vital issue the two leading figures of the Bolsheviki Government split; Lenine was in favor of unconditional surrender to the German demands, while Trotzky declared himself for continued resistance. Had he remained of this mind he might have changed the course of events, but before the question was put to vote, he swung over to Lenine, and the Council decided in favor of surrender, but only by one vote.

Early next morning the Council issued a proclamation, to the effect that "under the present circumstances the Council of the People's Commissaries regards itself as forced formally to declare its willingness to sign a peace upon the conditions which had been dictated by the delegations of the Quadruple Alliance at Brest-Litovsk." Later in the day Ensign Krylenko, the commander in chief, issued a general order to his armed forces in which they were enjoined to attempt to parley with all forces of armed Germans they might encounter and persuade them to desist from advancing farther into Russian territory, but in case these attempts failed, then a determined resistance should be made.

The decision of Petrograd to capitulate had been communicated to German headquarters by wireless. Late in the afternoon the German commander, General Hoffmann, replied to the effect that the message had been received, but since a wireless message could not bear signatures, without which no communication could be regarded as official, he requested the Petrograd authorities to forward the same message in written form, properly signed, to German headquarters at Dvinsk. A courier was immediately sent with an authentic copy of the Russian capitulation to Dvinsk.

The Germans, however, were in no hurry to respond. The German soldiers continued their eastward advance day by day, practically unopposed, gathering in some 10,000 prisoners and vast quantities of arms, heavy guns, ammunition and other war material. By February 21 German forces had arrived seventy miles northeast of Riga, and Esthonia was completely occupied.

By this time it began to dawn on the Bolsheviki leaders in Petrograd that the Germans meant to occupy all the territory they desired before they would reopen negotiations. On February 22, 1918, a proclamation was promulgated, in the following terms:

"We agreed to sign peace terms at the cost of enormous concessions in order to save the country from final exhaustion and the ruin of the revolution. Once more the German working class, in this threatening hour, has shown itself insufficiently determined to stay the strong criminal hand of its own militarism. We had no other choice than to accept the conditions of German imperialism until a revolution changes or cancels them. The German Government is not in a hurry to reply to us, evidently aiming to seize as many important positions in our territory as possible. The enemy has occupied Dvinsk, Werder, and Lutsk, and is continuing to strangle by hunger the most important centers of the revolution. Even now we are firmly convinced that the German working class will rise against the attempts of the ruling class to stifle the revolution, but we cannot predict with certainty when this will occur.... The Commissaries call on all loyal councils and army organizations to use all efforts to recreate the army. Perverted elements of hooligans, marauders and cowards should be expelled from the ranks, and, in the event of resistance, be wiped out of existence. The bourgeoisie, who under Kerensky and the Czar evaded the burden of war and profited from its misfortunes, must be made to fulfill their duties by the most decisive and merciless measures.... The German generals desire to establish their own order in Petrograd and Kiev. The republic is in the gravest danger. The duty of Russian workingmen and peasants is defense to the death of the republic against the masses of bourgeoisie and imperialists of Germany. German militarism wishes to smother the working classes and the Ukrainian masses, to give back the land to the landowners, factories and workshops to the bankers, and power to a monarchy."

Finally the Germans condescended to open negotiations with the Russians once more. On February 23, 1918, Foreign Secretary von KÜhlmann opened up communication with Petrograd, offering to arrange a new peace conference. The terms could not now, of course, be so generous as were those offered at Brest-Litovsk, the negotiations must be concluded within forty-eight hours and ratified within two weeks.

As outlined by Von KÜhlmann, the new conditions were: Livonia and Esthonia immediately to be cleared of Russian troops; this territory to be policed by the Germans until such a time as these countries should establish governments of their own. An immediate peace between northern Russia and the Ukrainians. Ukrainia and Finland to be evacuated by all Russian forces. A complete demobilization of the Russian armies, including the newly organized Red Guards. Russian warships in the Black Sea, the Baltic and the Arctic to be interned in Russian harbors, warships of the Entente Powers to undergo similar treatment. Merchant navigation of the Black Sea to be renewed. The Russo-German commercial treaty of 1914 to be enforced again. And all revolutionary propaganda among German soldiers and civilians to be stopped immediately and absolutely.

During the entire night of the day on which this communication was received the Council was in conference, adjourning now and then to allow party caucuses. At first there was a strong feeling in favor of resistance, especially among the members of the opposition. Premier Lenine's influence was thrown strongly in favor of peace and an unconditional acceptance of the terms which the enemy offered.

In the early morning of Sunday, the 24th, the Central Executive Committee decided to accept the German terms, by a vote of 112 against 84. The German Government was then informed that a Russian representative would leave immediately for Dvinsk, carrying with him the official acceptance of the German terms. A new peace delegation was elected to attend the coming conference, for both Trotzky and Joffe, who had been the leaders of the first commission, refused to serve again. Meanwhile a request had been made to the German military commander that another armistice be declared, to last until the conclusion of the peace negotiations. But this request the Germans flatly refused, and the German armies continued their advance eastward.

This policy on the part of the Germans, to continue military aggression to the last moment, finally roused a fighting spirit among the Bolsheviki organizations. Under the supervision of the Petrograd Soviet extensive preparations were made to renew armed resistance. Recruits to the Red Guard regiments were enlisted and armed with feverish haste and hurried out to the front, to take the place of the fleeing regulars, who were completely useless and demoralized. Fully 100,000 joined the Red Guard detachments, among them being many officers of the old army who, without sympathizing with Bolsheviki principles, joined them from pure patriotism.

The results of these exertions were soon made manifest on the fighting front, for now came reports indicating that the Germans were obliged to fight desperately to make any headway. On February 26, 1918, the Russians made so determined a resistance at and near Pskov that the Germans were temporarily driven back and halted for several days, until they could bring up their heavy ordnance.

On March 3, 1918, the Germans announced that they had ceased hostilities, the Russian delegation to Brest-Litovsk, where the second conference was held, having signed the peace treaty. They then reported the capture of 6,800 officers, 57,000 men, 2,400 cannon, 5,000 machine guns, 800 locomotives, and large quantities of other war material. The territory overrun was all that part of Russia lying west of a line drawn from Narva, on the Gulf of Finland, due south to Kiev, including Russian Poland, Lithuania, Esthonia, Livonia, and the outlying islands in the Gulf of Finland. By refusing to sign a treaty of peace at the first conference the Russians lost territories amounting to almost one-quarter of Russia in Europe, inhabited by about a third of the total population. By the new treaty the Russians lost Finland, Poland, Ukrainia, Lithuania, Esthonia, Livonia, Courland, and a portion of Transcaucasia, southeast of the Black Sea.