ristic cloak, as Prince Max of Baden, the
new Chancellor, insisted; and also that under cover of an armistice she
might not effect a withdrawal of her defeated armies, only to renew the
struggle under more favorable conditions on her own borders. He was
caught between the danger of German fraud and Allied exuberance.

There ensued a month of negotiations, during which the military victory of
the Allies was further assured, as described in the preceding pages. The
German Government was first asked by Wilson if it accepted the Fourteen
Points and the similar stipulations made by the President in subsequent
addresses. Replying in the affirmative, Prince Max then promised to
acquiesce in armistice terms that would leave the military situation
unchanged, and further agreed to order a cessation of unrestricted
submarine warfare and of the wanton destruction caused by the German
armies in their retreat. Finally he declared in answer to Wilson's demand,
that the request for an armistice and peace came from a government "which
is free from any arbitrary and irresponsible influence, and is supported
by the approval of an overwhelming majority of the German people." The
President then formally transmitted the correspondence to the Allies, and
Colonel House entered upon discussions to establish with them the
understanding that the basis of the peace negotiations would be the
Wilsonian programme. He was successful; and the Fourteen Points, with
reservation of the second, "Freedom of the seas," were accepted by the
Allied governments. The Allies, on the other hand, secured President
Wilson's approval of the principle that "compensation will be made by
Germany for all damage done to the civilian population of the Allies and
their property by the aggression of Germany by land, by sea, and from the
air." Upon this understanding the details of the armistice were left to
the military leaders. The terms as fixed reflected the military situation
on the fighting front and the political situation in Germany and placed
Germany entirely in the power of the victors without possibility of
renewing the war. The conditions laid down were so stringent that until
the last moment a refusal by the German delegates seemed imminent; but on
the 11th of November, just before the expiration of the time limit allowed
them, they accepted the inevitable.

It is a mistake to regard the armistice as forced upon the Allies by
President Wilson. Many persons abroad