east of the Jordan cooeperating with the British
armies. By the close of September more than 50,000 Turkish soldiers and
hundreds of guns had been captured. In October General Allenby's men
took the important cities of Damascus and Aleppo, and in Mesopotamia
also the British began a new advance. Turkey was already asking for an
armistice, and now accepted terms that were virtually a complete
surrender (October 31).

By this time Austria-Hungary was in the throes of dissolution;
independent republics were being set up by the Czechs, the Hungarians,
the Jugo-Slavs, and even the German Austrians. These revolutions were
hastened by the overwhelming victory of the Italians in the second
battle of the Piave. Their attack began October 24 on the mountain
front, but soon the Allied forces under General Diaz (dee'ahss) crossed
the river and cut through the lines of the fleeing Austrians. In the
capture of large numbers of prisoners and guns the Italians took full
vengeance for their defeat of the preceding year. So hopeless, indeed,
was the situation for the Austrians that they too accepted an armistice
that was practically a surrender (November 4).

GERMAN RETREAT IN THE WEST.--After the Germans had been driven back to
their old lines in France, there was danger that the contest might
settle down to the old form of trench warfare. But the intricate
defenses of the Hindenburg line, in some cases extending to a depth of
ten miles from the front trenches, did not prove strong enough to
withstand the American and Allied advance. Foch attacked the line from
each end and also in the center. In the north, by October 20, Belgian
and British troops had recaptured all the Belgian coast, with its
submarine bases; and the British had taken the important cities of Lens
and Lille, the former valuable on account of its coal mines. In the
center British and French troops broke through to the important points
of Cambrai, St. Quentin (s[)a]n-kahn-t[)a]n') and Laon (lahn), while farther
east the French and Americans began an advance along the Meuse River,
threatening to attack the German line in the rear.

By this time it seemed likely that a general retirement from Belgium and
France had been determined upon by the German leaders. Moreover, the
impending defeat of the German armies led to a new peace drive by the
German government. On October 6 President Wilson received a note from
the German Chancellor asking for an armistice, requesting that