nitions.
It betokened a more intensive preparation for the prosecution of the
war by England and her Allies. It also pointed to the swelling tide of
supplies flowing from America.

France was to sustain the supreme affliction of the war at sea on
February 26, 1916. _La Provence_ was sunk that day. She had sailed
from Marseilles with 3,500 soldiers and a crew of 500 men, bound for
Saloniki. A torpedo sent her to the bottom, along with 3,300 of those
on board, representing the greatest tragedy of the sea in history. The
attack took place in the Mediterranean and the big liner plunged
beneath the waves in less than fifteen minutes after she had been
struck.

Few vessels enjoyed such fame as the _La Provence_. Built in 1905, she
broke the transatlantic record on her first trip across, defeating the
new _Deutschland_ of the Hamburg-American line in a spectacular dash
that brought her from Havre to New York hours ahead of the best
previous record. With a registry of 19,000 tons and engines generating
30,000 horsepower she was a ship of exceptional grace. Not until the
_Lusitania_ came into service did the _La Provence_ surrender her
distinction of being the fastest vessel afloat, and strangely enough
both she and the _Lusitania_ were to fall victims of German
submarines.

When the torpedo that cost so many lives exploded within the hull of
the _La Provence_, killing a good part of the engineroom crew, it was
seen that only a few of her large company could escape. Lifeboats,
rafts, and the makeshift straws to safety that could be seized upon in
emergency accommodated a bare 700 and odd men. The troops gathered on
the upper decks and sang the "Marseillaise" as the great hull settled
in the water. Officers embraced their men, some indulged in a last
whiff of tobacco, others prayed for the folks at home. Commandant
Vesco stood on the bridge and directed the launching of the few boats
that got away. Then, as the vessel came even with the waves, he tossed
his cap overboard and cried: "Adieu, my boys." As one man they
answered:

"Vive la France."

PART V--THE WAR ON THE EASTERN FRONT

CHAPTER XIX

SUMMARY OF FIRST YEAR'S OPERATIONS

After the last days of that fateful July, 1914, had passed, bringing
mobilization in Austria-Hungary, Serbia, and Russia, and the outbreak
of war between the former two countries, the dance of death was on. On
August 1, 1914, Germany ordered the general mobilization of its
armi