The Boy Allies with Marshal Foch; or, The Closing Days of the Great World WarHayes, Clair W. (Clair Wallace)
General
The Boy Allies with Marshal Foch; or, The Closing Days of the Great World War
Hayes, Clair W. (Clair Wallace)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile fiction
It was because the allied staff believed the Americans would be more
welcome than British or French troops that the Yankees were selected to
form the bulk of the army of occupation. The presence of an
Anglo-French force on German soil, it was realized, would arouse the
resentment of the Germans, and this the allies were anxious to avoid.
Already rioting had broken out in Berlin and other German cities. The
German emperor, following his abdication, had fled to Holland, where he
sought refuge under the laws of neutrality. There was some talk in
allied countries of demanding his surrender and bringing him to trial on
a charge of murder, but this was still being debated when the American
army of occupation was called home.
The bolsheviki movement, which had originated in Russia, had spread to
several of the German states and was particularly rampant in the
capital. In fact, there was hardly a town in the German empire, or in
the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, either, for that matter, that was not
struggling in the throes of riot and revolution.
Several times American troops had been called upon to assist the German
military authorities in preventing bloodshed in some of the border
towns. So far, there had been little loss of life, but things were to
change as the revolutionists gained power.
The German Crown Prince also had fled to Holland, where he remained
secure. The Empress, soon after the kaiser’s flight, also crossed the
frontier of The Netherlands and joined her husband.
In the meantime, at Versailles, a peace council of the allies had been
summoned. This council was to decide upon the amount of indemnity to be
paid by Germany, what was to be done with the enemy country and other
things that would go toward making a permanent peace. These matters, it
was realized, however, would take time. In order to facilitate matters,
President Wilson crossed the ocean to be present at the conferences.
His presence helped a lot.
Hal and Chester, walking through the streets of Frankfort on the Main
one night, were attracted by the sounds of confusion in the river
section.
"Another riot, I guess," said Hal. "We’d better steer clear of it. You
know orders are not to mix in unless we are molested."
"Right," Chester agreed. "Then we’ll head the other way and let ’em
fight it out."
Accordingly they turned to retrace their steps. But at that moment
Chester caught the sound of a cry in English.
"Help!" came the voice.
"Hear that, Hal?" he demanded.
"Yes; sounds like one of our own men in trouble."
"Then orders or no orders," said Chester, "we’ve got to help him out."
"Come on then," cried Hal.
The lads turned quickly and dashed toward the river.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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