October 9th, 1915

- Though the German attack at Loos yesterday has forced yet another postponement of the British offensive, Foch is unwilling to delay the attack of the French 10th Army any further, and insists that it go ahead as planned.  Now, however, the weather intervenes: the preliminary artillery bombardment scheduled to begin today is delayed by heavy fog which prevents accurate fire on German positions.  The infantry assault is thus put off until the 11th.

- With German forces approaching from the west and the Austro-Hungarian troops into the city fighting house-to-house, General Mihailo Živkovic, commanding the Serbian defenders at Belgrade, concludes that the city can no longer be held.  Shortly after midnight, he orders his exhausted battalions to abandon the city, retreating south to a line running approximately from Mirijevo east of Belgrade to Zarkova south of the city.  During the day, the German 43rd Reserve Divisions pushes into the city from the west, capturing the Konak, the official residence of King Peter I of Serbia, while 44th Reserve Division covers its southern flank and occupies the summit of Banovo Mountain.  The Austro-Hungarian 59th Division, meanwhile, fights its way through the streets of Belgrade and by this evening have captured the Kalemegdan.  For the second time in the war, Belgrade has fallen to the enemy; this time, however, there will be no miraculous reversal of fortune as there was in December of last year.

Kalemegdan castle after its capture by the Austro-Hungarian 59th Division, October 9th, 1915.

East of Belgrade, the German X Reserve Corps goes onto the attack today after its crossing of the Danube on the 7th, and make gradual progress in hilly terrain.  An attack by IV Reserve Corps, meanwhile, is delayed by morning fog, and when artillery fires prior to the attack, rescheduled for 230pm, a number of shells fall short and strike German positions.  The Serbs, taking advantage of the confusion, launch a counterattack along the entire front of IV Reserve Corps, taking advantage of cornfields to advance unseen.  In heavy fighting, the Serbs are finally driven off with the aid of artillery fire from the north bank and Temesziget Island.  A German counterattack makes slow progress, the Serbian trenches hidden by the same corn that had masked their earlier advance, but by this evening have captured Petka.  11th Bavarian Division has suffered 750 men over the past two days, but the Serbs defenders have lost approximately a thousand, and they are far less able to replace their casualties than the Germans.  Twenty miles to the west, the German III Corps makes its crossing of the Danube today, the last of 11th Army's three corps to do so.  6th Division secures a bridgehead opposite Kevevára, and corps commander General Ewald von Lochow decides to redeploy his other division - 25th Reserve - to follow the route of 6th Division, given the difficulties its lead regiment - 168th - has encountered attempting to cross at Semendria Island.

- As General Sarrail has yet to arrive at Salonika, General Maurice Bailloud, who had formerly commanded the French contingent on Gallipoli, has been in charge.  The orders he has received from his government since the landing show the extent to which the Entente, having committed to aiding the Serbs, had not worked out how precisely this was to be done.  On October 7th, Bailloud received instructions not to cross the border into Serbia.  Yesterday, this order was countered by another message ordering him to advance thirty kilometres into Serbia.  Today, Bailloud is again instructed not to enter Serbian territory.  Not surprising, the net result has been no advance beyond Salonika for the forces that have arrived since the 5th.

October 7th, 1915

- Foch and d'Urbal meet today to discuss the resumption of the offensive in Artois.  Despite the withdrawal of III Corps Foch insists that 10th Army go on to the attack on October 10th alongside the planned British advance.  They agree that three corps in the centre of 10th Army will advance towards the crest of Vimy Ridge, still agonizingly out of reach, while IX Corps will assault Hill 70 in close coordination with the British to the north.

- With the most recent attack in the Champagne having failed to gain significant ground, and given Castlenau's reports that his armies would require time to prepare a further assault, Joffre reluctantly terminates the offensive late today.  The offensive that appeared to hold such promise after the first day on September 25th has thus ended in yet another failure.

- In the early morning hours the invasion of Serbia begins when lead units of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and German 11th Armies begin their crossing of the Save and Danube Rivers.  First into action is the German 208th Reserve Regiment, of 44th Reserve Division/XXII Reserve Corps, when it puts fifteen pontoons, each carrying ten soldiers, in the water at 330am.  Their objective is the cigar-shaped Big Zigeuner Island and the Serbian shore of the Save River west of Belgrade.  By dawn elements of four corps have swung into action, including all of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army: in addition to the German XXII Reserve Corps west of Belgrade, the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps crosses further west and the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps moves against Belgrade itself.  Of the German 11th Army, X Reserve Corps, easternmost of the army's three corps, crosses at Ram, the seizure of which is deemed a necessary precondition for the assault of the army's two other corps on October 9th.

The assaulting forces achieve mixed results over the course of the day's fighting.  Furthest west, infantry of the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps is able to cross at Progar and Boljevci almost unopposed, but the swampy ground on the southern shore hinders the movement of the Austro-Hungarian infantry and the Serbian II Drina Division is able to halt their advance short of the town of Obrenovac, their initial objective.  The German XXII Reserve Corps is able to capture the western end of Big Zigeuner Island and push a regiment across to the southern shore of the Save, where heavy German artillery fire prevents a Serbian counterattack against the bridgehead.  However, the limited number of pontoons, plus the inevitable losses to mines and enemy fire, slows the pace of the crossings, while 43rd Reserve Division is tasked with clearing both Big and Little Zigeuner Island.  East of Belgrade the German X Reserve Corps has the easiest day - Serbian resistance is negligible at Ram, and by 10am two regiments of 103rd Division have secured the Gorica Hills, overlooking the corps' crossing points.  By this afternoon most of 101st and 103rd Divisions is on the southern shore, and a Serbian counterattack is repulsed with heavy losses to the attackers.

The German and Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, Oct. 7th to 17th, 1915.

At Belgrade the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps has a difficult day; the Serbs have committed significant forces, including artillery to holding the city, and a light rain prevents spotter aircraft from observing friendly artillery fire.  After 4am pontoons carrying infantry from 74th, 84th, and 87th Regiments push towards the Belgrade shoreline, but are quickly illuminated by Serbian searchlights and come under heavy fire.  Only the latter regiment is able to get across largely intact while the commander of the former is awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa for extreme bravery in leading his soldiers in hand-to-hand fighting to gain a lodgement on the southern shore.  Over the course of the day's fighting two-thirds of the pontoons are sunk and by nightfall the surviving Austro-Hungarian infantry are clinging to the shoreline from the western edge of Belgrade to the confluence of the Save and Danube just below the old Ottoman fortress of Kalemegdan.

The German and Austro-Hungarian assault at Belgrade, Oct. 7th to 10th, 1915.

By nightfall the two German corps have achieved the most significant success, while the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps in particular is clinging to its bridgehead at Belgrade.  Nevertheless, the first day of the Serbian campaign is a success for Mackensen's two armies - the amphibious crossings were the most dangerous part of the initial invasion, and each has been successful to varying degrees.

- Over the past two days 12 000 French and 3 000 British have disembarked at Salonika, but they lack transportation and supply units.  Moreover, it is becoming apparent that cavalry will not be able to operate in the region, given the mountainous terrain and lack of fodder.  Further, in places the narrow roads are insufficient to allow movement of the standard French 75mm artillery guns, necessitating their replacement by smaller and lighter 65mm guns.

- Fourteen Italian reconnaissance aircraft drop twenty-seven bombs totaling 350 kilograms on the town of Castagnevizza today, the first 'mass' bombing raid undertaken by the Italian airforce.

October 6th, 1915

- For several days Foch has been pleading with the British, to no avail, to accelerate their preparations for a further attack near Loos, to be coordinated with a further French assault in Artois.  Now, however, his subordinate General d'Urbal of 10th Army has imposed another delay.  For several days, III Corps has been involved in heavy fighting, and believing it to be exhausted d'Urbal ordered its withdrawal from the front overnight. Doing so postpones the next attack, given that it will take time for III Corps' replacements to familiarize themselves with the German defences and position themselves for an assault.  D'Urbal only informs Foch of his order a few hours before it occurs, and Foch is furious, writing a letter of reprimand that the withdrawal of III Corps was 'absolutely contrary' to the directions d'Urbal had received from his superior.  The damage is done, however, and Foch postpones the next push in Artois yet again.

- After two days of preliminary bombardment, the infantry of the French 2nd and 4th Armies begin their assault at 520am.  Their objective is to rupture the German second line which has held up their advance since the afternoon of the 25th, and push forward three kilometres and driving the Germans north of the Py River.  Though the Germans have made great strides in improving the defences of the reserve trench line since late-September, they are still not as strong as those of the first line which the French pierced on September 25th.  On the other hand, the attacking infantry have had less time to study the German defences, meaning the French are advancing over unfamiliar terrain with little knowledge of the enemy positions they seek to storm.  In places the French are able to push forward: in 4th Army, two brigades from the French II Colonial Corps are able to drive forward a kilometres, seize numerous prisoners, and destroy a German artillery battery.  Reserves from the German 20th Division are quickly sent forward, however, and are able to retake the lost trenches.  In the French 2nd Army, a division of XVI Corps is able to advance five hundred meters and seize the height at Tahure.  Here the French are able to hold the captured ground, repulsing counterattacks by elements from 53rd Saxon Reserve and 50th Divisions.  Everywhere else, however, the French attacks get nowhere, and the small gains do nothing to unhinge the German defence.  Afterwards the commander of XIV Corps reports to Pétain that the German wire remains intact, and that it will take five or six days to make another assault, which includes four or five days to dig approach trenches to lessen the time his infantry are exposed before reaching the German line.  Pétain in turn reports to Castlenau that his corps are exhausted and only two are able to continue the attack at present.  While the commander of the Army Group of the Centre wants assaults to continue tomorrow, Castlenau yields to his subordinates' judgement and orders them to secure their positions and only attack where necessary to straighten the line.  Finally he reports to Joffre that 'the operation . . . has not succeeded.  It can be resumed only after a new preparation, more complete than that which was accomplished on October 4th and 5th.'

- Overnight the last reconnaissance trips are made by German and Austro-Hungarian soldiers to test the state of the Serbian defences on the southern banks of the Save and Danube Rivers and see if any new minefields had been laid.  This afternoon artillery from both the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and German 11th Armies open fire on the enemy.  With spotter aircraft aloft to mark the accuracy of the shelling, the heavy artillery fire slowly and deliberately, taking the time after each shot to ensure that it had struck the desired target.  Known Serbian artillery batteries and defensive positions are targeted, while Belgrade also suffers a heavy bombardment - its commander estimating fifteen thousand shells fall today and the naval guns sent by Russia and France are destroyed.  After dark, the Austro-Hungarian and German infantry move to the northern shore and prepare for the crossings.

- After his dismissal of Venizelos yesterday, King Constantine meets today with the British ambassador to Greece today.  The monarch is keen to impress on the Entente that the change of government does not imply a pro-German policy - he does not want to fight Germany, but neither wants to fight alongside Germany.  As such, Greece will not resist the Entente landing at Salonika, but at the same time the mobilization of the Greek army will continue.

- With the occupation of Kut-al-Amara by General Townshend's 6th Indian Division after yet another defeat of Ottoman forces in Mesopotamia, attention has turned to the next, and biggest, prize: Baghdad.  Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of India, writes to Austen Chamberlain, secretary of state for India, today recommending that Baghdad be captured, primarily on the prestige benefits that would ensue:

. . . from a political point of view, the capture of Baghdad would create an immense impression in the Middle East, especially in Persia, Afghanistan, and on our frontier, and would counteract the unfortunate impression created by the want of success in the Dardanelles.  It would also isolate the German parties in Persia, and frustrate the German plans of raising Afghanistan and the tribes, while the impression throughout Arabia would be striking.  The effect in India would undoubtedly be good.  These are considerations to which I attach great importance.

Launching 6th Indian Division further up the Tigris to capture Baghdad primarily for prestige and because other operations (i.e. the Dardanelles) have failed, of course, is not the best grounds on which to base such a crucial decision.  Indeed, Hardinge's letter reflects the mission creep that has been endemic to the Mesopotamian campaign: once a given point is seized, it is very easy to argue that the advance should continue to the next, both because of the apparent momentum and to protect the earlier point captured.  There is an assumption exhibited by the British leaders not on the scene that because past victories have been achieved easily, future conquests will be achieved with similar ease.  In fact, the further 6th Indian Division advances, the more tenuous its supply lines become, and there is a chronic lack of shipping and animal transport.  The result has been increasing cases of scurvy, given the lack of any fresh meat or vegetables, and 6th Indian Division paused after the First Battle of Kut-al-Amara in an attempt to stockpile enough supplies just to meet daily requirements.  Moreover, the further up the Tigris the division goes, the further wounded and (the far more numerous) ill have to travel to get back to Basra and medical care.  Though Townshend is aware of these issues, his superiors have no real comprehension of the situation on the ground, and thus are willing to advocate a continuation of the campaign.

June 25th, 1915

- In Artois the French undertake another attempt to seize the village of Souchez today, but they are repulsed by the German 12th Division after bitter fighting.  The attack at Souchez is effectively the last gasp of the battle, as Joffre formally halts the offensive today.  Since the start of the French spring offensive on May 9th, they have managed to advance three kilometres along an eight kilometre stretch of the line.  However, the French failed utterly to either sustain a breakthrough of the German line or seize Vimy Ridge; indeed, the high water mark of the offensive came in its first hours when advance elements of XXXIII Corps actually surmounted Vimy Ridge, only to be pushed back before reinforcements could arrive.  The French failure came despite plastering the German lines with over 2 million shells, while in comparison German artillery fired approximately 1.9 million shells.  As would be shown again and again on the Western Front, an increase in the volume of shells did not inherently lead to any better results on the battlefield.  Moreover, the French suffered just over 100 000 thousand casualties in Artois, and when the diversionary attacks undertaken elsewhere are taken into account, the total climbs to over 140 000.  The spring offensive in Artois was the largest such operation yet undertaken by the French army on the Western Front but, despite the brief glimmer of hope on the first day, it was no more successful than prior offensives since the aftermath of the Battle of Marne.

June 24th, 1915

- Since the first weeks of the war, Joffre has struggled with the necessities of coalition warfare, whereby he can implore and plead but cannot order his allies, especially the British.  He feels that if the British and Belgians fighting alongside the French are to make the required contribution to victory, they need to coordinate their actions with the French.  In Joffre's mind, given that the vast majority of the Western Front is held by the French, this coordination of necessity means the British and Belgians need to follow his own instructions.  Joffre expresses his desire for the conduct of the war to be 'centralized' in his headquarters in a letter to the minister of war today.  Doing so will also ensure that France's allies remain focused on the main theatre of the war, and avoid distractions elsewhere.  It is also, perhaps, not a coincidence that Joffre makes the proposal in the immediate aftermath of the first instance of substantial political criticism of his management of the war; recalcitrant allies make for a useful excuse for failure, and places responsibility for securing the necessary coordination on the politicians.

- As a result of the abatement of French attacks in Artois, 3rd Bavarian Division is able to retake today the shattered trenches of the 'Labyrinth' south of Neuville, which the French had won at great expense over the prior weeks.

- After the evident failure of yesterday's artillery bombardment, Cadorna decides to postpone the main infantry attacks along the Isonzo River to give the artillery more time to have a decisive effect.  After a full day of shelling, small reconnaissance parties are again sent forward to observe the extent of the damage, and as yesterday discover the enemy defences largely still intact.

- Tsar Nicholas II meets today with his army commanders today at Baranowicze to discuss the deteriorating situation in Galicia.  Not only has almost all the ground gained in Austria-Hungary been lost over the past six weeks, but there seems to be little prospect of being able to hold the Germans in the near future.  Between them, North-West and South-West Fronts are five hundred thousand men under strength, and the replacements that have arrived have practically no training whatsoever.  There is also the continued difficulties with supply, thousands of infantry having to fight without rifles.  The best the Russians can hope for now is to stall for time and wait for autumn rains to turn the roads into mud and bring movement, especially of heavy artillery, to a halt.  Moreover, the German advance in Galicia has left Russian-occupied central Poland as a large bulge in the front line, and the Russians are not blind to the threat of simultaneous German attacks from the north and south cutting off the armies in the salient and winning a crushing victory.  To prevent this, the Tsar and his generals agree that a gradual retreat from central Poland will be necessary.  However, the Russians cannot simply retreat at full speed, as it would allow the Germans to pursue quickly and invade White Russia.  Instead, the overall plan is for a gradual withdrawal through a series of prepared defensive lines, slowing the Germans and making them work for every mile gained, while important pre-war forts such as Osowiec and Novogeorgievsk will act as anchors as the Russians fall back.  Orders are not immediately issued for the retreat to begin, however; instead, it will depend on the situation and the extent of German pressure.

June 22nd, 1915

- The French Council of Ministers meets today in Paris amidst widespread shock and dismay at the failed offensive in Artois.  For the first time in the war, Joffre comes in for sustained criticism, not only for raising expectations for the operation and subsequently not delivering, but also because the French failure stands in stark contrast to the dramatic German victory in Galicia, where they have advanced a hundred kilometres.  No longer are French politicians willing to automatically defer to the 'wisdom' of the generals.

- As elsewhere on the Western Front, French forces have been undertaking diversionary attacks in Lorraine and Alsace, in support of the main offensive in Artois.  In one attack launched today, the Army Detachment of Lorraine advances two kilometres along an eight kilometre stretch of the line, while in Alsace an advance by 7th Army forces the Germans to abandon the west bank of the Fecht River and the high ground at Metzeral.  While successful, these attacks are of no greater strategic significance; indeed, over the past month the Germans have moved several brigades from this sector to reinforce 6th Army in Artois.  Further, the French have suffered heavier losses; 7th Army has lost 6500 in its attacks, while German casualties number just over 3500.

- Overnight Russian forces evacuated the heights west of Zolkiew and abandoned the town in their retreat to the east, with the German XLI Reserve Corps and the Austro-Hungarian VI Corps in close pursuit.  With the defensive line north of Lemberg turned, General Brusilov of 8th Army orders the evacuation of Lemberg this morning, and hours later Austro-Hungarian cavalry sweep through the city.  Its liberation is an important victory for the Dual Monarchy, and in honour of the triumph Conrad is promoted to full general.  However, yet again an Austro-Hungarian achievement has only been accomplished due to the actions of the German army; Mackensen for his part is promoted to Field Marshal.

With Lemberg lost, General Ivanov of South-West Front orders 3rd and 4th Armies to retreat northwards to a line Lublin-Cholm-Vladimir Volynsky, in order to cover the roads leading to Brest-Litovsk.  8th and 11th Armies, meanwhile, are to fall back to the east and northeast towards the pre-war border and prepare new defences.

The Eastern Front after the fall of Lemberg, June 22nd, 1915.

June 21st, 1915

- With French pressure slackening in Artois, Falkenhayn concludes that 6th Army has broken the enemy offensive.  Given that holding the line in Artois has required the deployment of all of OHL's reserves on the Western Front, Falkenhayn today orders that VIII Corps and three divisions prepare to withdraw from the front; after rest and reinforcement, they are to become the new OHL reserve in case the Entente attacks elsewhere on the Western Front.

- The 2nd Austro-Hungarian Army attacks the Russian defensive positions at Lemberg today, but are unable to make more than incremental gains.  To the north, the Beskid Corps and XLI Reserve Corps (the latter of the German 11th Army) attack the Russian line on the high ground west of Zolkiew, and after dark the Russians abandon their positions and retreat through Zolkiew to the east.

- After defeat in the 3rd Battle of Krithia, the British and French forces clinging to Cape Helles on Gallipoli have foresworn major operations, at least until furhter reinforcements arrive.  Nevertheless, the Entente commanders believe that pressure must be maintained on the Ottoman lines to prevent them from further fortifying their positions and keep enemy forces tied down.  To accomplish this, it has been decided to undertake small-scale assaults in which the infantry would seize a small chunk of the line, and then concentrated artillery fire would hold off Ottoman counterattacks.  The first operation is launched today by the French on the eastern end of the line, advancing along a 650-yard stretch of the front. It has been preceded by a massive artillery bombardment, over thirty thousand shells being expended over several days.  At 6am the French 176th and 6th Colonial Regiments attack, and the former is able to not only seize the strong Ottoman defensive position known as the Haricot redoubt but also hold it against determined counterattacks.  Though the French suffer 2500 casualties, the Ottomans have lost 6000 men, and thought there has been nothing like a breakthrough, the attack is a clear, if minor, success.

June 20th, 1915

- Another diversionary attack is launched today by the French army, this time against the northern flank of the St.-Mihiel salient, where repeated attacks by II and VI Corps manage to seize the first trench line held by the German 9th Division.  The French, however, are not the only ones capable of such secondary operations: today 9th Landwehr and 27th Württemberg Division attack on the western edge of the Argonne, and with the aid of flamethrowers seize a strech of the French line.

- With the German breakthrough of the Russian position at Horodysko and the subsequent advance to the Rawa Ruska-Lemberg road yesterday, General Brusilov of 8th Army realizes that the rest of the Russian line running south along the Wereszyca is now in danger of being outflanked from the north.  As a result, he issues orders this morning for 8th Army to fall back on Lemberg to the east, occupying the trenches protecting the city.  On the German side, General Mackensen directs the bulk of 11th Army to pivot to the north; while the advance eastward has lengthened the northern flank of 11th Army, it has also stretched the Russian 3rd Army opposite, and opened an opportunity to strike against the exposed flank of the Russian armies holding central Poland.  The Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army, meanwhile, was assigned responsibility for the recapture of Lemberg.

As the Russian corps south of Zotkiew pull back this morning, the southern wing of the German 11th Army and the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army spend today in pursuit, and by evening IV, XIX, and XVIII Corps of the latter had closed up to the Russian defences at Lemberg.  To the north, while the German Guard Corps holds its position along the Rawa Ruska-Lemberg road, advance elements of XXII Reserve Corps enter Rawa Ruska itself.

- At the beginning of the month, the Russian government had appointed a special commission to supervise the supply of the war, mainly to head off criticism of their management of the war.  Reflective of the administrative chaos endemic within the Russian government, today that commission is replaced by a new council that does essentially the same thing, and has the authority to compel private industry to accept government orders for munitions.  The primary purpose of this new council, however, remains to counter political criticism; hence the inclusion among its membership the president and four other members of the Duma.

June 18th, 1915

- In line with Joffre's instructions of yesterday, Foch orders d'Urbal of 10th Army to halt major attacks along the front in Artois, and concentrate solely on capturing the village of Souchez.

- In Galicia the German 11th Army spends the day preparing to assault the Russian line south of Rawa Ruska.  Mackensen's orders call for a breakthrough along a twenty kilometre length of the front west of Magierow, followed by a drive to the northeast towards the Lemberg-Rawa Ruska road.  This would disrupt the Russian defence of Lemberg, allowing the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army to seize the city.  The attack is to be launched tomorrow, and today German artillery bombards the Russian lines while the infantry work their way forward to establish jumping-off points as close as possible to the enemy trenches.

Meanwhile, on the southern flank of 11th Army, the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army continues to assault the Russian line along the Wereszyca River.  Though a number of attacks fail, elements of 33rd division are able to cross at Komarno and cover the construction of a military bridge over the river.  To the north, this afternoon a Russian counterattack led by 3rd Guard Division hits the junction between 11th Army and the 4th Austro-Hungarian Army to the west.  Here a new formation under General Hermann von Stein, commanding 8th Bavarian Reserve and 56th Divisions, had been created to maintain a link between the two armies.  With the assistance of the Austro-Hungarian XVII Corps, the Russian advance is checked after hand-to-hand fighting, and the area north of the village of Horyniec is secured by Stein's forces this evening.

- A joint meeting is held today by the cabinets of the Austrian and Hungarian portions of the Dual Monarchy to discuss the economic burdens of the war.  In the face of the demands of Conrad for vastly increased munitions production, Prime Minister Tisza of Hungary can only reply that while he is sympathetic, even military output at the current rate will cause growing financial difficulties, and he estimates that, economically, Austria-Hungary can continue the war with present levels of production for eight months.

- Given that Italian hopes for a rapid advance after entering the war have been dashed by both the realities of modern combat and the mountainous terrain, Cadorna and his subordinates are planning the first major deliberate Italian offensive along the Isonzo River, to be undertaken by 2nd and 3rd Army.  The preparations, however, are not concerned with minimizing casualties; indeed, the extent to which Italian generals actually care about the welfare of the soldiers under their command is illustrated today when the commander of 2nd Army issues a circular ordering that units must continue to fight and not be withdrawn from the front until they have suffered 75% casualties.

June 17th, 1915

- The Dardanelles Committee, the supreme decision-making body of the new coalition government, meets in London today, and in light of the continued deterioration of the Russian position on the Eastern Front decides to offer two further divisions to General Hamilton, hoping that success on Gallipoli will repair Entente prestige in the Balkans and bolster their Russian ally.

- French attacks continue in Artois this morning, but are no more successful than those of yesterday, and only along the road running from Aix-Noulette to Souchez are the French able to gain and hold any ground.  Joffre visits Foch's headquarters this morning, and in light of the high casualty total and the continued failure to break through the German line, the French commander-in-chief orders that future attacks be limited to those sectors where progress has already been made.

Though the French have suffered greatly, German formations committed to the battle have also suffered heavy casualties.  The battle has been a constant draw on German reserves, as divisions are rotated into the line, only to themselves need relief in a matter of weeks.  The headquarters of I Bavarian Reserve Corps reports today that its 58th Division is incapable of further fighting, while 16th Division, which is considered to be in an even weaker state, is pulled out and replaced by 11th Division.  Further reinforcements are also dispatched to Artois, including two brigades from Lorraine, a division from 4th Army, and thirteen heavy artillery batteries.

- This morning the German 11th Army continues its advance eastward in Galicia, and by afternoon has closed up to the new Russian defence line running south from Rawa-Ruska.  Concluding that the enemy position cannot be taken by a coup de main, the corps commanders of 11th Army each decide that the assault on the Russian line should only follow a preliminary artillery bombardment.  After yesterday's rapid advance, the field artillery spends today catching up with the infantry, and preparations are made to open fire tomorrow.  Further south, the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army closes up to the Russian line along the Wereszyca River, but are unable to force their way across today.

June 16th, 1915

- After several weeks of small-scale attacks, the French 10th Army undertakes a major assault today in Artois, moving against the German line from Liévin in the north through Souchez and Neuville almost to Arras in the south.  In addition to placing additional reserves at General d'Urbal's disposal, Joffre has insisted that the lessons learnt from the failures of prior operations be implemented.  Not only will these reserves be placed much closer to the front line than was the case on May 9th, but the preliminary artillery bombardment is to be more nuanced.  Realizing that simply pounding the German line for several days gave the Germans too much warning of an impending attack, for this assault the artillery is to target a sufficiently diverse range of German targets to avoid giving away the French plan.  Instead, the first German trench line is to be targeted by a massive bombardment the moment the French infantry leave their own trenches, so as to not only destroy the German defences but leave them insufficient time to respond.  For this bombardment, over a thousand artillery pieces have been assigned to 10th Army, and together they fire almost five hundred thousand shells prior to and during the attack, almost double the number fired prior to and on May 9th.

Despite the concentration of firepower, the preliminary bombardment is deemed to be insufficient this morning, and the infantry attack is postponed from 9am to 1215pm to allow for additional artillery fire.  When the French infantry go over the top, they run into a storm of German fire, and are limited to incremental gains: between Liévin and Angers XXI Corps seizes the first trench line formerly held by the German 7th Division, another trench is seized at Lorette Spur, XXXIII Corps reaches the edge of Souchez, and elements of XX, X, and XVII Corps fight their way into the mess of trenches and defensive positions in the Labyrinth.  The greatest French success is achieved by the Moroccan Division south of Souchez, which advances up to a kilometre along a front of four hundred metres.  Nowhere, however, had the French achieved anything like the breakthrough of May 9th, when elements of Pétain's XXXIII Corps had advanced six kilometres and reached the summit of Vimy Ridge.  Instead, today's attacks have failed to break through the German line at any point - indeed, German counterattacks this evening retake the trench lost earlier in the day between Liévin and Angers - and what little ground has been taken and held has been purchased at the cost of 19 000 casualties.  Today's assault has been a dismal failure.

Meanwhile, another attack intended to divert German attention from Artois had been launched on June 6th ten kilometres south of Noyon, and when it is halted today the French 6th Army has managed to advance only five hundred yards while suffering 7905 casualties.

- In Galicia the realization gradually dawns on the German and Austro-Hungarian commanders this morning that the Russians have retreated overnight, and a vigorous pursuit is ordered.  The German 11th Army advances rapidly eastward, with fighting limited to skirmishes with Russian rearguards.  To the south the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army is also able to advance now that the Russians have fallen back, and by this evening are approaching the lower Wereszyca River, on the east bank of which the Russians have entrenched.

June 13th, 1915

- While the main French offensive has been grinding forward in Artois, secondary attacks have been undertaken at other points along the Western Front to distract the Germans and draw reserves away from the main theatre.  On June 7th the French 2nd Army attacked thirty kilometres south of Souchez, and when the operation is called off today it has managed to advance nine hundred metres on a front of two kilometres, at a cost of 10 351 casualties.

- In Galicia the main offensive of the German 11th Army begins at 4am this morning when almost a thousand artillery pieces open fire on the Russian front between the town of Mosciska in the south to the Lubaczowka River in the north.  For ninety minutes, the Russian defenses come under a massive bombardment, after which 120 000 German infantry surge forward from their trenches and attack.  At several places the Russian line is pierced, and by midday they are falling back all along the line.  The greatest success is achieved in the centre by the Guard Corps and the newly-arrived XXII Reserve Corps in the centre, while on the left X Corps crosses the Lubaczowka and on the right XLI Reserve Corps pushes across the swamps of the Wisznia River valley.  While hard fighting occurs at certain points, overall 11th Army has secured all of its initial objectives by the end of the day.  The only discordant note comes unexpectedly from the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army to the south, whose attack in co-ordination with the Germans breaks against fortified Russian positions at Hadynie.  This delay, however, is of no great importance to the larger plan, which so far is unfolding as Mackensen had envisioned.

The Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive, June 12th to 21st, 1915.

- In Greek elections held today the supporters of Eleutherios Venizelos, who had been dismissed as Prime Minister in March, win an overall majority.  However, due to the ongoing severe illness of King Constantine I - since April he has had pneumonia and pleurisy, had an operation to remove two ribs, and suffered a blood infection - coupled with the rivalry between the monarch and Venizelos, the latter will have to wait to be reappointed Prime Minister.

June 11th, 1915

- Over the past six days the fighting at the village of Neuville has been constant, and the French infantry have managed to literally inch their way forward, advancing their line by five hundred metres on a three hundred metre stretch of the line.  Needless to say, French casualties have been horrendous.  The Germans too, however, have suffered: XIV Corps around Neuville has been completed exhausted, and has had to be replaced by IV Corps.  Crucially, the latter had been designated to undertake a counterattack on the French, which in consequence has been called off.  Futher reinforcements have come from 1st Army (5th Division) and the GHQ reserve (5th Prussian Division), the latter replaced the completely worn out 15th Division today.  Though the French have utterly failed to break through, they are not the only ones being ground down by the fighting.

- At the outbreak of the war, General Cadorna and the leadership of the Italian army had envisioned large-scale advances into Austro-Hungarian territory, insisting for example on Serbian co-operation in the Balkans and what the two armies should do when they link.  The reality of war has sharply narrowed Cadorna's vision, as he discovers that the Italian Front is not immune to the type of positional warfare that has typified the war on other fronts.  Indeed, the mountainous terrain along the frontier between Italy and Austria-Hungary renders offensive operations even more difficult.  Coupled to this has been the hesitancy and incompetence shown by Italian generals, and the result has been minimal gains.  On the key front along the Isonzo River, the Italians have secured two crossings, but these have been contained and elsewhere the Austro-Hungarian defences have proven too strong.  In a communication to his commanders today Cadorna admits that the war of maneouvre they anticipated has not come to pass.  Instead, successful operations will necessitate the concentration of men and artillery, and the use of 'the method suggested by the experience of combat in the other allied theatres of operations, avoiding improvised attacks which although they show the valour of our troops do not allow [us] to achieve results proportional to [our] losses.'

- Once the presence of German submarines off of Gallipoli was apparent, the Russians concluded that their appearance in the Black Sea could not be ruled out.  As such, raids by large warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which had been ongoing for several months to interrupt coastal trade, were suspended, but operations by fast destroyers continued.  Today the Russian destroyers Gnyevni and Derski are intercepted during one such raid by the German light cruiser Breslau.  In the ensuing gun battle Gnyevni is crippled, but Breslau breaks off the action without going in for the kill and returns to the Bosphorus.  This enables Derski to take the damaged Gnyevni in tow back to safety, and the incident does not deter the Russians from planning further such raids.

- Oblivious to the signifance of the fall of Garua in northern Kamerun (indeed, ignorant of the very fact of its fall, given the complete absence of adequate communications), the French and British have been concentrating their columns in southern Kamerun, aiming at Jaunde.  Even beyond the fact that these columns are directed at the wrong target, they are proving to be failures.  From Edea in the west two columns - the British to the north and the French to the south - have been struggling along a track through the jungle and swamp.  Despite numbering less than six hundred, the German defenders have made use of the difficult terrain to ambush and delay the Franco-British force, which has been further weakened by disease.  Having suffered 25% casualties since departing Wum Biagas on May 25th, the column has been able to advance at a rate of only 1.5 kilometres per day.  At this snail's pace they will not reach Jaundre before the rainy season renders movement impossible.  The commander of the column has requested permission to abandon the advance, which General Charles Dobell, the senior British commander in German Kamerun, approves today.  A failure to understand the strategic basis of the German defence of the colony is now coupled with operational defeat.

June 5th, 1915

- After three days of artillery bombardment French infantry attack the remnants of the village of Neuville in Artois.  In hard fighting they are able to seize the main road through the village, but heavy fire from Germans remaining in the cellars and rubble that have survived the shelling prevent consolidation of French control over Neuville.

- Just as the fall of Przemysl has been the occasion for debate between the German and Austro-Hungarian army leadership regarding future operations in Galicia, General Ivanov of South-West Front has also been reflecting on the state of his command.  Since the opening of the Gorlice-Tarnow offensive on May 2nd, the armies under his direction have suffered 412 000 casualties and are also short 300 000 rifles; many new recruits having to be sent to the front without weapons, with instructions to pick up the rifles of their fallen comrades.  Despite this, Ivanov sees some grounds for optimism.  He believes that the Germans have been using ammunition, especially artillery shells, at unsustainable rates, and that if the Russians can simply hold on the Germans will soon have to curtail operations due to munitions shortages.  On this basis he issues orders today for his armies to hold their present ground, while six corps are pulled out of the line to create reserves sufficient, it is hoped, to deal with future German offensives.

- In Washington today Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan has an emotional interview with President Woodrow Wilson.  The former objects not merely to the tone of the response to the sinking of the liner Lusitania, but more generally to what he perceives to be the harder line taken by the American government towards German unrestricted submarine warfare as opposed to the British naval blockade.  To Wilson, however, the issue is clear: the killing of civilians by sinking passenger ships without warning is reprehensible, and cannot be allowed to continue without objection.  While neither Wilson nor the American public have any appetite at present to enter the war, the president feels that it is a moral necessity to object as strongly as possible to the German conduct of the war at sea.  Bryan, himself no stranger to moralizing, understands that he cannot alter Wilson's view, and thus tenders his resignation.  The president accepts, and will appoint as Bryan's replacement Robert Lansing, currently an advisor at the State Department and a supporter of a harder line against Germany.  With the departure of Bryan, the cabinet has lost the strongest voice in favour of strict American neutrality in the ongoing war.

June 2nd, 1915

- General d'Urbal has decided that the next major French assault in Artois will be against the German defenders in the village of Neuville.  To prepare the way for the infantry, scheduled to attack in three days, the French 10th Army begins a massive artillery bombardment, aiming to flatten the village and render it the German position there untenable.

- Further Russian attacks against the German 11th Army today again fail to make any progress, and the surviving Russians fall back in disorder.  Aong the front held by the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, attempts by the Russians to cross the San River to the north of yesterday's advance are repulsed.  However, they are able to inflict another defeat on the Austro-Hungarian 8th Division and further expand the bridgehead won yesterday, forcing the entire Austro-Hungarian XIV Corps responsible for this stretch of the front to fall back to a new line running through Jezowe and east of Stany this evening.  This retreat also compels the German 47th Reserve Division on its left to pull back its right wing.  The commander of 4th Army also sends a request to General Mackensen of 11th Army for the transfer of an Austro-Hungarian cavalry division that had been operating under the direction of the latter.  While Mackensen agrees, he also takes the opportunity to criticize the conduct of the Austro-Hungarian XIV Corps, noting that its retreat potentially threatens the vital railway linking Jaroslau and Krakow, and while the Austro-Hungarians naturally defend their conduct of the fighting of the last couple of days, the contrast between the Russian failure against 11th Army and success against 4th Army is striking.

Meanwhile at Przemysl itself 11th Bavarian and 82 Reserve Divisions continue to advance against the northern line of fortifications, and by this evening most of the defences to the northwest of Przemysl itself, as well as the village of Zurawice, are in German hands.  Given the relentless German progress, coupled with the threat to the main line of communications posed by 11th Army's swing towards the Przemysl-Mosciska road, General Brusilov of 8th Army decides that the fortress can no longer be held, and its defenders are instructed to fall back to a new line at Medyka and Bucow.

June 1st, 1915

- Earlier this month the leadership of the German armed forces prevailed on the Kaiser to loosen his restrictions regarding the bombing of London; henceforth, it is permissible to target the city east of the Tower of London.  Overnight the first bombing raid on the British capital is undertaken by the zeppelin LZ-38, which drops several bombs and killing thirteen people.  No targets of any real strategic significance are hit, but the experience of being under fire is new to the city's inhabitants, and the raid also highlights the current inability of the Royal Flying Corps to stop such attacks.  Of fifteen aircraft scrambled to intercept the zeppelin, only one so much as makes a visual sighting, while anti-aircraft fire is negligible; LZ-38 is never in any real danger.

- In Artois elements of the German XIV Corps retakes the trenches north of the sugar factory west of Souchez, but the trenches on the factory's other flank remain in French hands.  To the south, the French 5th Division of III Corps attacks between Neuville and a confused network of trenches to the north of Roclincourt known as the Labyrinth.  In bitter fighting they are repulsed near Neuville, but are able to seize and hold the first trench line of the Labyrinth.

- Overnight the Russians launch counterattacks all along the front of the German 11th and the Austro-Hungarian 4th Armies in Galicia.  Those that fall on the Germans, and in particular X and Guard Corps, are particularly heavy, but fail to make any headway whatsoever.  To the north, however, the Russians have more success.  Attacking at 2am, elements of the Russian XIV Corps break through the southern wing of the Austro-Hungarian 8th Division, capturing the town of Rudnik and establishing a bridgehead three kilometres wide on the west bank of the San River.  In response the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army pulls five battalions from VIII Corps to the northwest and sends them to south in an effort to hold the line.

The advance of the Russian XIV Corps at Rudnik, June 1st, 1915.

- In the context of the ongoing disaster in Galicia the Russian government is increasingly sensitive to criticism of its management of the war effort, and one perceived shortfall of the government has been the supply (or lack thereof) of munitions.  To head off this line of attack, the government today appoints a special commission to supervise the supply of the army, implicitly diminishing the role of army headquarters in dictating the production of munitions.

- North of Qurna on the Tigris River elements of 6th Indian Division hit the main Ottoman defensive line at Bahran, only to encounter token resistance; most of the defenders have already broken and fled to the north.  General Nixon, arriving from Qurna, convinces a reluctant General Townshend to order a pursuit to take advantage of the success.  By necessity the advance will be led by the naval flotilla assembled for the operation, and several gunboats lead the way up the river.

- In Washington today President Wilson meets with his cabinet to discuss the reply of the German government, received on May 28th, to the first American note regarding Lusitania.  The German communication had avoided dealing with the American request to halt unrestricted submarine warfare; instead, it had stated that Lusitania was an armed merchant cruiser with guns on its deck, and had often flown the American flag illegally to avoid German attacks.  The Americans should investigate this situation, and until this was done Germany would postpone any decision on unrestricted submarine warfare.  Wilson sees the German statement as a diversion from the central issue of the impossibility of conducting unrestricted submarine warfare without risking the lives of neutral, especially American, lives, and he has come to the meeting with a draft for a second American note:

Whatever may be the facts regarding the Lusitania, the principal fact is that a great steamer, primarily and chiefly a conveyance for passengers and carrying more than a thousand souls who had no part or lot in the conduct of the war, was torpedoed and sunk without so much as a challenge or a warning and that men, women, and children were sent to their death in circumstances unparalleled in modern warfare. . . . The United States cannot admit that the proclamation of a war zone . . . may be made to operate as in any degree an abbreviation of the rights . . . of American citizens bound on lawful errands as passengers on ships of belligerent neutrality.'

Wilson is thus staking his position on the right of American citizens to travel as they see fit, without risk of death due to a war in which they are not involved.  As the cabinet discusses the note, the Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, is increasingly restless.  He feels that the American government is not being equally critical of the British, given that their blockade manifestly interferes with the ability of American citizens to trade as they saw fit.  Moreover, he felt that if American citizens chose to sail on the liners of belligerents, they assumed responsibility for the consequences.  Bryan's core argument is that the United States must treat Germany and Britain equally, and fears Wilson's note deviates from that position.  As the discussion continues, Bryan snaps and interjects: 'You people are not neutral.  You are taking sides.'  President Wilson responds coldly to the accusation: 'Mr. Bryan, you are not warranted in making such an assertion.  We all doubtless have our opinions in this matter but there are none of us who can justly be accused of being unfair.' His resolve unshaken, Wilson ensures the meeting endorses his note, even as the gulf between himself and his secretary of state grows.

May 31st, 1915

- Despite the order from the Kaiser on May 10th to avoid the targeting of neutral ships, steamers from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have been sunk by German submarines over the past few weeks.  Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg realizes that the navy has ignored the imperial instruction, and thus convenes a meeting with the kaiser and the military chiefs today to resolve the matter.  Here the chief of staff of the navy once again asserts that it is impossible to modify unrestricted submarine warfare, and again argued for its continuation.  The Kaiser, not wanting to appear weak before his military chiefs and the German public, now states that the prior order not to target neutral ships could only be published if it was endorsed personally by the chancellor, a qualification Bethmann-Hollweg accepts.

- This evening the French XXXIII Corps attack towards Souchez, and manages to seize the trenches on the northern and sourthern flanks of the sugar factory to the west of the village.

- After the fall of Pralowce yesterday at dusk, the Russians prepared an immediate counterattack.  A heavy artillery barrage opens at 3am, and waves of Russian infantry are able to overwhelm the Austro-Hungarian defenders by mid-morning.  On the northern flank of Przemysl, however, 11th Bavarian Division is able to occupy three important defensive positions after intensive bombardment by heavy mortars forced the Russian defenders to abandon their entrenchments and fall back.

Meanwhile, to the southeast of Przemysl the Austro-Hungarian 27th Division seizes the first Russian trench line on the heights at Gaj.  However, the Russians are able to fall back to prepared reserve positions, and in light of the strength of the enemy defences the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army postpones further attacks until June 2nd, to give time for the infantry to work their way closer to the Russian line.  Further to the southeast, Südarmee makes progress, capturing the city of Stryj and over nine thousand Russian prisoners.

The advance of Südarmee, May 31st to June 3rd, 1915.

- General Townshend's 6th Indian Division launches its attack on the Ottoman defensive positions north of Qurna at 5am this morning.  On the surface the Ottoman position is strong - seasonal floods has transformed much of the countryside into marsh, meaning the Indian infantry can only attack the enemy defences by front amphibious assaults.  However, in the event the attack is easier than Townshend expected, as the Ottoman defenders break under artillery fire from the British flotilla and surrender in large numbers.  By the end of the day, the landing force has seized their initial objectives and are advancing on the main Ottoman line around Bahran.

May 30th, 1915

- Early this morning a heavy artillery bombardment falls on the German line between Souchez and Roclincourt, the latter a village just north of Arras, which is followed at 5pm by an assault by several French divisions.  After heavy combat and hand-to-hand fighting, 1st Bavarian Reserve Division is able to fend off the French attacks.

- The German X Corps, holding the northern flank of 11th Army along the Lubaczowka River, comes under heavy Russian attack overnight and this morning, but are able to hold the line.  To the south, the Austro-Hungarian X Corps assaults the western face of the Przemysl defences at Pralkowce, and seize the position by sundown.

- Today General Cadorna, chief of staff of the Italian army, moves into the archbishop's palace at Udine, which he makes his permanent headquarters.  Here he receives reports from his commanders on the first operations of the war.  To this point, the Italian advance on Austria-Hungary has been marked mostly by hesitancy.  Along the northern front, a corps of 4th Army occupies the crest of Cortina d'Ampezzo yesterday after the enemy had evacuated it, but afterwards 4th Army commander Lieutenant-General Luigi Nava had halted the advance and asked his subordinates what they thought they could do without undue risk.  On the eastern front Lieutenant-General Luigi Zuccari, commanding 3rd Army, had refused Cadorna's orders to immediately occupy Monte Medea on the basis that his soldiers were not ready.  The Italian chief of staff had replied by firing Zuccari, as he did with Major-General Nicola Pirozzi, whose cavalry division had delayed in seizing bridges over the Isonzo River at Pieris, which allowed the Austro-Hungarians to destroy them.  In Cadorna's mind the dismissal of Zuccari and Pirozzi would, as he wrote his wife today, 'remove all hesitation and give everyone the necessary offensive spirit.'  He strongly believes that character and will are the most important qualities in a commander, and that those who show weakness must be made an example of and purged to encourage the others.  That other aspects of leadership are less important to Cadorna is evidenced in his appointment of Emanuele Filiberot, Duke of Aosta, as Zuccari's replacement; as the duke is ill, this effectively leaves 3rd Army without a commander.

May 29th, 1915

- In continued fighting in Artois a French attack along the road near the village of Souchez along the road leading to Aix-Noulette is repulsed by the German 85th Reserve Brigade.

- In January 1915 the Belgian administration in the Congo had drawn up plans for a two-pronged attack on the western frontier of German East Africa: an advance overland to seize Ruanda and Urundi, and the concentration of a flotilla to seize control of Lake Tanganyika.  Word of this threat has reached German Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck, who has ordered the transfer of forces to Bismarckburg, and today he appoints as the commander of of the west Kurt Wahle, a retired major-general who happened to be in the colony on the outbreak of war.  Lettow-Vorbeck, however, is not content merely to parry a Belgian thrust; instead, his instructions to Wahle state that his task is 'not border protection or the pushing back of the enemy, but a decisive success.'

May 27th, 1915

- In fierce hand-to-hand fighting, the French 70th Division seizes the cemetery at the village of Ablain, west of Souchez in Artois, and the connecting German trenches.

- Early in 1915 the French had decided to embark on a campaign of strategic bombing that aimed to impair German industrial production.  The first bomber group, GB1, was equipped with the reliable Voisin III aircraft, which was specially-equipped with bomb racks that carried 155mm artillery shells.  After training for several months, GB1 undertakes its first mission today.  Their target is the Badische Anilin Company of Ludwigshafen.  The raid is a moderate success, with all but one of the aircraft returning safely to base.  Unfortunately, it was the squadron commander's plane that crash-landed, and he will spend the rest of the war in a POW camp.

The French Voisin III bomber.

- Mackensen's orders for the ongoing German offensive in Galicia emphasize the importance of the advance of XXXXI Reserve Corps.  On the southern flank of 11th Army, the corps is to advance towards the Medyka-Mosciska road, the seizure of which would sever the main Russian communication and supply link to Przemsyl, while the objectives of the rest of the army are more limited.  The attacks of XXXXI Corps, however, encounter heavy Russian resistance; only in the afternoon is 81st Reserve Division able to capture the town of Stubno.

Meanwhile, as the German 11th Army has advanced eastward to and across the San River, its connection with the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army to the north has necessarily stretched, with the latter forced to hold a greater length of the line.  The result has been the commitment of most of 4th Army's reserves to the front line to maintain a cohesive front, leaving insufficient forces available in the event of a Russian counterattack.  Overnight, this is precisely what happens: the Russian III Caucasian Corps launches an attack east of Sieniawa.  The initial blow falls against the Austro-Hungarian 36th Infantry Regiment, which promptly disintegrates, and 10th Division falls back across the San River in disorder.  Because of a lack of Austro-Hungarian reserves, the Germans are forced to send 19th Division from the neighbouring 11th Army to the rescue.  Though the Russian attack soon bogs down and fails to cross the San, its initial success has succeeded in forcing the Germans to dispatch reinforcements that otherwise was to have contributed to Mackensen's ongoing offensive.

On the Russian side, General Ivanov of South-West Front has wavered over whether his armies should hold Przemysl, or retreat further to the east.  On three occasions since the 25th he has issued orders to abandon the fortress, only to countermand them within hours.  Today Russian army headquarters intervenes, instructing that Przemysl is to be held.  To facilitate this, the corps on the northern flank of Przemysl, formerly of 3rd Army, are transferred to 8th Army, so that one commander - General Brusilov - can direct all of the forces at and around the fortress.  In an effort to hold Przemysl, he begins shifting divisions from the southern flank of the fortress, where the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and 2nd Armies have been largely ineffective, to the northern flank to oppose the ongoing advance of the German 11th Army.

The Russian attack at Sieniawa, just north of the offensive of the German 11th Army, May 27th, 1915.

- The German submarine U21 claims a second victim off Gallipoli when it torpedoes the British pre-dreadnought Majestic at 640am this morning.  As it sinks it rolls over and comes to rest in shallow water near Sedd el Bahr.  Its keel remains visible above the surface, a stark reminder that the waters off the Dardanelles are now contested.

The British pre-dreadnought Majestic sinking off Gallipoli, May 27th, 1915.

- Today the Ottoman cabinet approves The Provisional Law Concerning the Measures to be Taken by the Military Authorities Against Those Who Oppose the Operations of the Government During Wartime, which provides the legal basis for the ongoing deportation and mass murder of the Armenian population.  It gives army and local officials sweeping power to take whatever means they deem necessary to deal with any real or perceived opposition to the persecution of the war, and in particular authorized the forced relocation of entires towns and villages 'in response to military needs, or in response to any signs of treachery and betrayal.'  The ongoing paranoia of the Young Turk leadership combined with the catalogue of battlefield defeats ensures that Ottoman officials see 'signs' of resistance everywhere - indeed, if the Ottomans are doing poorly someone must be to blame, and that group must be purged from Ottoman society.  This is to be the fate of the Armenian population in particular, and though massacres predated the law, the pace of extermination will accelerate afterward its proclamation.