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Aviation History
1918
1918 - 1483.PDF
DECEMBER 26, 1918 THE YEAR IN REVIEW "HEN, a year ago, we penned our review of the events of 1917, we were still in the midst of the Great War, and peace within the twelvemonth seemed the remotest of remote possibilities. America, although in the war, had not begun to make her weight felt. Italy had not recovered from the disaster of Caporetto and was fighting hard to keep the Hun from overrunning the The Passing whole of the Venetian Plain. The 1918 collapse of Russia was complete, and she had long ceased to count as a factor. In the West the condition had passed to one of virtual stalemate, in which we were anticipating a final great offensive by the enemy—an offensive which we believed we could hold, but one the issues of which were nevertheless in doubt. Then, in March, the offensive broke, and for weeks we were steadily pressed back, incurring tremendous losses, and for months the fate of the war hung in the balance. Our Fifth Army completely dis- appeared in the first few days of the German on- slaught, and only by the devoted gallantry of our own men and their French comrades was the advance of the enemy towards Paris and the Channel ports finally stemmed. It is giving away no secret now to disclose that so near did we come to defeat that every preparation had been made to evacuate the Channel ports and remove the remnants of the British armies from north of the Somme to a more favourable theatre of war. The culmination of the German effort came in July, when the Crown Prince's armies attacked from Soissons to east of Rheims, and actually reached the Marne. Then, in the middle of that month, the Allied armies now under the supreme command of that consummate soldier, Marshal Foch, struck back, and immediately the whole complexion of the war was changed. From that time the Allied cause never looked back, and the victorious armies of the Entente went on from success to greater success. Meanwhile, in the more remote theatres of war the enemy had been faring no better. In Palestine and in Mesopotamia the Turks and their German allies suffered overwhelming defeat. Bulgaria, yielding to continuous pressure, asked for a separate peace, and ceased to count in the war. Next the Turk recognised the hopelessness of his task, and in turn signified that he would be glad to get out of the war on any terms the Allies would grant him. No sooner was the collapse of Turkey assured than Austria followed suit, leaving the arch-criminal Germany alone to face the civilised world in arms. Then, less than two months ago, to our joy and relief, the Hun, after several attempts to deal with the Entente as an undefeated equal, at last recognised the logic of events and came as a suppliant for peace. How badly he needed it the terms of the armistice, to which he agreed with avidity, are sufficient witness. The surrender of a third of his war material, the handing over of two thousand aeroplanes and the dismantling of all his airships, the surrender of a fleet sufficient to make a first-class naval Power of the smallest South American republic, and the occupation of the Rhine bridgeheads, sufficiently indicate the measure of his defeat. It is true that the condition at the moment is not one of peace, but merely of suspended hostilities, but by complying with the armistice terms imposed by the Allies Germany has com- pletely put it out of her power to resume the war, and we can thus say with the most perfect safety that THE WAR IS OVER. In the midst of our thankfulness, and particularly at this, the dawn of anew year, and, as we all devoutly hope, that of a new era of peace and goodwill, it is well that we should think most of those of our gallant fighting men, whether of the Navy, the Army or the Royal Air Force, who have by their devotion and singleness of purpose given us the victory and a happy issue out of the most stupendous peril with whicti this Empire has ever been confronted. To them is the honour and to them belongs the glory of our victory, and to them our hearts go out in thank- fulness. And in the fullest measure to those who have made the Great Sacrifice that we may live and carry on the great traditions of the British Empire •—those traditions which were great enough and compelling enough to lead our gallant dead to lay down their lives that they might continue. It is a heavy charge that they have laid upon us, to preserve those things for which they died, but we have no fear but that those they have left will be equal to the task that lies before. . • •<••-,• One of the closing events of 1917 was Jf . the issue of an Order in Council, Air°Force aPPtying the provisions of the Royal Air Force Act, and laying down the future constitution of the new Service. It was not, however, until April 1 that the Force actually came into official existence, with Lord Rothermere as the first Secretary of State for the Air. Prior to this—in February, to be exact— the first Air Force Estimates wrere laid before Parliament and passed. Being in a state of war, no figures were given, and thus to some extent the interest attaching to the event was very largely discounted. About the same time it was decided to form the Women's Royal Air Force, which has since grown so largely that it now has a total membership in excess of 23,000. In April Lord Rothermere, to the great regret of all who had been associated with him in the admini- stration of the Force, was compelled to resign from the post of Secretary of State, and was succeeded by Sir William Weir, who was shortly elevated to the peerage as Lord Weir. It was during the closing weeks of Lord Rothermere's term of office that the whole nation was set talking by the " affaire Tren- chard," which has now, happily, been almost for- gotten. This is neither the time nor the place to discuss the merits of an occurrence that is best buried in oblivion, and we have only referred to it in passing because it was one of the most important events in the early history of the R.A.F. The R.A.F. having been constituted as a separate Service, on a par with the Royal Navy and the Army, it was felt that it should have its own media of recognition of distinguished service against the enemy, and in May His Majesty announced that he had been pleased to create a new series of decora- tions for officers and men of the R.A.F. Thus there came into existence the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Distinguished Flying Medal, to be awarded to officers and men respectively for gallantry in the 1452
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