The Story of the Great War, Volume 7: American Food and Ships; Palestine; Italy invaded; Great German Offensive; Americans in Picardy; Americans on the Marne; Foch's Counteroffensive.
History
The Story of the Great War, Volume 7: American Food and Ships; Palestine; Italy invaded; Great German Offensive; Americans in Picardy; Americans on the Marne; Foch's Counteroffensive.
World War, 1914-1918
"The enemy delegates again replied evasively that they did not possess
such powers. Our delegation then proposed that they ask their
governments for such authority. This proposal was accepted, but no reply
had been communicated to the Russian delegation up to 2 o'clock,
December 5, 1917.
"Our representatives submitted a project for an armistice on all fronts
elaborated by our military experts. The principal points of this project
were: first, an interdiction against sending forces on our fronts to the
fronts of our allies, and, second, the retirement of German detachments
from the islands around Moon Sound.
"The enemy delegation submitted a project for an armistice on the front
from the Baltic to the Black Sea. This project is now being examined by
our military experts. Negotiations will be continued to-morrow morning.
"The enemy delegation declared that our conditions for an armistice were
unacceptable, and expressed the opinion that such demands should be
addressed only to a conquered country."
On December 6, 1917, a slightly different version of the conference was
issued by the German Government, as follows:
"Yesterday the authorized representatives of the chief army
administrations of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria
concluded in writing with the authorized representatives of the Russian
chief army administration a suspension of hostilities for ten days for
the whole of the mutual fronts. The beginning is fixed for Friday noon.
The ten days' period will be utilized for bringing to a conclusion
negotiations for an armistice. For the purpose of reporting verbally
regarding the present results, a portion of the members of the Russian
deputation has returned home. The sittings of the commission continue."
On this same day, December 6, 1917, Trotzky sent to all the Allied
embassies in Petrograd a note intimating that the armistice negotiations
with the Central Powers and the initiative of the Russian delegation had
been suspended for seven days for the purpose of providing opportunity
for informing the peoples and the governments of the Entente nations of
the existence and the details of such negotiations and their tendency.
The note added that the armistice would be signed only on condition that
the Central Powers agreed not to transfer troops from the front affected
by the armistice to the other fronts where fighting was still in
progress, and that the German troops evacuated the islands around Moon
Sound. The note concluded with:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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