Late in February the great German offensive began at Verdun, an offensive which was to prove the most costly defeat of the German arms during the war. The Battle of Verdun continued for months and may be said to have been definitely lost by the Germans by the 1st of July. Meanwhile the Russian armies in the Caucasus and Armenia had beaten the Turks in many engagements, taking amongst other towns the fortress of Erzerum with great numbers of prisoners and military stores. The other Russian armies in the north, reorganized and thoroughly equipped with munitionment, began in June their magnificent advance all along their line from Riga to the Carpathians. The last month of the second year of the war witnessed the beginning of the "big push" in the west, the Russian advance in the east, the retreat of the Austrians in the Trentino, and the beginning of the Italians' successful thrust upon the Isonzo. It is with these major military operations of the year with which Raemaekers' cartoons on the following pages deal. He did not neglect to record, however, many of the minor happenings. The various and devious peace moves of the enemy did not escape his comment nor did the cold blooded murders of Nurse Cavell and Captain Fryatt. He has recorded also many examples of German Zeppelin Ruthlessness and German Piracy on the sea. Notable amongst the latter is the _Sussex_ crime and its subsequent diplomatic developments, which were to play such an important part in America's entry into the war. J. M. A. VOLUME TWO _THE ANNIVERSARY, AUGUST, 1915_ _Bernhardi_: "_Have we not surpassed your most sanguine expectations?_" * * * * * Total losses amongst all belligerents during first year of war: _Killed_ _Wounded_ _Missing and_ _Total_ _Prisoners_ 3,026,713 5,768,994 2,673,188 11,528,895 _Nineteenth Century and After._ [Illustration] _KING ALBERT'S ANSWER TO THE POPE_ "_With him who broke his word, devastated my country, burned my villages, destroyed my towns, desecrated my churches, and murdered my people, I will not make peace before he is expelled from my country and punished for his crimes._" * * * * * Today, on the sad anniversary of the terrible conflict, our heart gives forth the wish that the war will soon end. We raise again our voice to utter a fatherly cry for peace. May this cry, dominating the frightful noise of arms, reach the warring peoples and their chiefs and induce kindly and more serene intentions. _From the Papal Peace Appeal, August 1, 1916._ [Illustration] _A STABLE PEACE_ _The Kaiser_: "_And remember, if they do not accept it, I deny it altogether_" * * * * *