Tuesday, October 27, 2015

October 27th, 1915

- As the Germans and Austro-Hungarians grind southwards towards Kragujevac, the mood is grim at Serbian army headquarters.  General Mišic of 1st Army proposes today a counterattack similar to that which secured victory along the Kolubara River in late 1914.  The Serbian army of 1915, however, is not that of 1914 - counting the Balkan wars, it has been in combat for almost four years, and the infantry are exhausted and reserves are non-existent.  General Putnik declines Mišić's suggestion, realizing that the best they can do is hold on while begging the British and French to advance from Salonika as quickly as possible.

- The Russian Black Seas Fleet undertakes another bombardment of the Bulgarian coast today, but unlike the prior operation on the 10th they are opposed by the German submarines UB-7 and UB-8 now based out of Varna.  As the Russian pre-dreadnoughts Panteleimon (formerly Potemkin, a decade away from silent film fame) and Rostislav bombard Varna from 21 000 yards, they are attacked by the two German submarines, and only rapid evasive action by Panteleimon allows it to avoid enemy torpedoes.

The Russian pre-dreadnought Panteleimon.

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