December 22nd, 1914

- By today the British line between Cuinchy and Neuve Chapelle has been stabilized by the insertion of 1st Division of I Corps into the centre of the position around Givenchy, formerly held by the Indian Corps.  Most of the original lines held before the German attack of the 20th have been regained, though some stretches of the first trench have been so destroyed by artillery fire as to render them useless.  The moment of danger has passed, though the Indian Corps has suffered almost a thousand casualties over the past three days, as compared to only 250 for the Germans opposite.  The need for 1st Division to come to the 'rescue' of the Indian Corps also does little for the confidence of the BEF leadership in the latter's fighting qualities.

- In Galicia the Russians continue to press against the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army, and in many spots the latter is forced southward.  Further complicating matters, most of the reinforcements destined for the right wing of the army had been sucked into the fighting on the left wing in an attempt to stem the tide, making the execution of the planned advance on Przemysl by the army's right wing impossible.  In an attempt to make the best of a bad situation, Conrad approves a proposal by 3rd Army commander to attack with his left wing towards Tarnow.

The Russian advance in Galicia, December 22nd to 31st, 1914.

- In light of the failed invasions of Serbia, General Potiorek is forced into retirement today.

The Serbian Front at the end of December, 1914.

- What will become the Battle of Sarikamish begins today when Enver Pasha orders the Ottoman XI and X Corps of his 3rd Army to begin their advance into the Russian Caucasus.  Enver's objective is the town of Sarikamish, which sits at the head of the main railway supplying Russian forces in the Caucasus, but his plan bears the strong imprint of German thinking and the influence of 3rd Army's Chief of Staff Baron Bronsart von Schellendorff.  Of 3rd Army's three corps, XI Corps, reinforced by two divisions that had been originally bound for Syria and Iraq, was to frontally attack the two Russian corps southwest of Sarikamish in order to fix them in place.  This was no small task for XI Corps, given the two Russian corps number 54 000 men and the Ottoman unit would have been outnumbered by just one of the enemy corps.  The key maneouvre, however, is to be undertaken by IX and X Corps.  The former, sitting on XI Corps' left, is to advance along a mountain path known as the top yol towards Çatak, from which it can descend on Sarikamish from the northwest, outflanking the two Russian corps pinned by XI Corps.  Though the top yol is known to the Russians, they believe it was impractical to move large bodies of troops along it.  Enver, for his part, believes that not only is the path useable but its high altitude and exposed position would ensure that high winds kept it swept of snow, as compared to the valleys below.  Finally, X Corps, on the left of IX Corps, is to advance and occupy the town of Oltu, from which one portion of the corps can move to support IX Corps' move on Sarikamish, while another portion can continue northeastwards towards the town of Ardahan.  If successful, the plan promises the envelopment and annihilation of the two Russian corps southwest of Sarikamish and the opening of the way to Kars.

With its emphasis on outflanking the enemy position, it has the obvious imprint of the thinking of Schliffen and the German General Staff.  Further, Enver's plan involves precise timetabling of the advance of IX and X Corps (necessary given the lack of communications between the three corps of 3rd Army) which removes all possibility of improvisation and does not allow for any unit to fall behind schedule.  Finally, there is the emphasis on speed - the soldiers of IX Corps, for instance, are told to leave their coats and packs behind to quicken their advance.  This ignores the obvious reality of conducting operations in the Caucasus in December and January - temperatures are consistently below -30 degrees centigrade and the snow on the ground is measured in feet, not inches.  This ignorance of the human element, also a conspicuous reflection of pre-war German planning, is to be of decisive import in the days ahead.

Incidentally, Enver's decision to launch his invasion of the Russian Caucasus today is the first link in a chain of events that will lead to the collapse of the last Liberal government in Britain.  Just another example of how one cannot understand the First World War without understanding how it was a world war.

The planned advance of the Ottoman 3rd Army against Sarikamish.

- In German Kamerun the French column that occupied Nola in October today seize the village of Molundu.

- A force of Boer rebels numbering about a thousand, comprising those who managed to escape to German South-West Africa under Martiz and Kemp, cross the Orange River back into South Africa.  Though they have achieved surprise, the advance is plagued by disagreements between the two Boer leaders, Kemp refusing to serve under Maritz's leadership and wanting to return to the Transvaal.  Martiz for his part desires to avoid giving the impression of being a German puppet, and thus refuses German assistance.  The result is that when a South African force is encountered near Schuit Drift, they are driven off and retreat back over the Orange River.

December 15th, 1914

- At 3am this morning, the German battlecruiser Seydlitz, Admiral Hipper's flagship, sails from Wilhelmshaven, followed by four additional battlecruisers, four light cruisers, and eighteen destroyers.  As Hipper's force sails across the North Sea towards the British coast, the High Seas Fleet leaves port, and at eighty-five warships it is the most powerful German naval force to ever put to sea.  Ingenohl intends his fleet to arrive at Dogger Bank at daybreak, the same time Hipper's force is to conduct its bombardment of Scarborough and Hartlepool.

The Germans are not the only ones at sea today, however.  Just two and a half hours after Hipper's departure, Admiral Warrender's 2nd Battle Squadron, along with four light cruisers, sails from Scapa Flow.  A half hour later, Beatty's four battlecruisers and eight destroyers departs Cromarty, and at 11am the two forces meet of Moray Firth.  Their objective is a point about 100 miles southeast of Scarborough, which they expect to reach at 730am tomorrow.  They are not attempting to prevent Hipper's battlecruisers from bombarding the British coast; instead, they plan on catching the German force unawares as they return later in the morning.  By placing Beatty's and Warrender's force between Hipper and home, they hope to annihilate the Germans.  This means that Hipper will be able to bombard the British coast unimpeded, but to the Admiralty this is a fair price to pay for the opportunity to deal the Germans a crushing defeat in the North Sea.

- The retreat of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army is completed this morning when the last rear guard units cross over the Sava at 11am, after which the Serbs reoccupy their capital.

The liberation of Belgrade brings the third Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia to a close.  Yet again 5th and 6th Armies have suffered devastating losses since the beginning of operations in early November - total casualties are estimated at 225 000, which includes 40 000 prisoners.  The Serbian army has also suffered - approximately 170 000 casualties - leaving it incapable of exploiting its victory to invade Austro-Hungarian territory again, as it had done after the failure of the second invasion.

- In the Indian Ocean the weather continues to deteriorate into a heavy storm, and by daybreak the crews of Ayesha and Choising realize that they will not be able to bring the two ships alongside each other.  Instead, they change direction towards several small islands nearby, where they hope to be sheltered from the weather.

December 14th, 1914

- Planning continues for the two major offensive operations the French army will undertake in the next week - in Artois on the 17th, and in Champagne on the 20th.  Today General Foch meets with General Maud'huy to discuss the Artois offensive, to be undertaken by the latter's 10th Army.  Foch emphasizes to Maud'huy that the battle should be approached as if he were undertaking a siege, which means thorough and meticulous preparation combined with a methodical advance, ensuring that the infantry is supported by overwhelming firepower at every stage of the engagement.  Maud'huy thus slows the planned pace of the operation, spreading the attack over multiple phases to ensure each attack is strongly supported.  Despite the focus on preparation, the French units dedicated to the attack are not sufficiently equipped - 77th Division, which will be leading the main attack, requires over a hundred wire cutters to pierce the German barbed wire defences, but reports today that it has only fifteen.

- In addition to the two major attacks, Joffre is coordinating a number of diversionary attacks designed to distract the Germans from French preparations and force the enemy to commit their reserves elsewhere.  One of these secondary operations is begun this morning by units of the French XVI and XXI Corps and the British II Corps in the line south of Ypres.  The advancing infantry, however, are slowed by deep mud and intact barbed wire defences, and are unable to make any real progress.  Only a small number of British soldiers are able to reach the first German trench line on the western edge of the Petit Bois woods, but this does not pose a risk to the overall German position.

- For the past month and a half the German High Seas Fleet has sat in port, immobilized by the Kaiser's edict that his prized dreadnoughts are not to risk annihilation in a major battle with the British Grand Fleet.  The inaction is concerning to Admiral Ingenohl, commander of the High Seas Fleet, who worries about the morale of his sailors, while Admiral Hipper, commanding the Fleet's battlecruisers, is eager to undertake another attack on the British coast along the lines of that attempted against Yarmouth on November 3rd.  Meanwhile, the destruction of the German East Asiatic Squadron on the 8th spurs a desire to secure a victory to restore the public image of the German navy, while the Battle of the Falklands Islands also gave notice that several British battlecruisers are absent from the Grand Fleet.  Under these circumstances approval is given to another raid on the British coast - Hipper and his battlecruisers are to bombard Scarborough and Hartlepool.  To support the operation, Ingenohl and the High Seas Fleet will sail to the eastern edge of Dogger Bank in the middle of the North Sea, not to seek battle, but to provide support if Hipper fins himself overwhelmed.  There is also at least the chance that the Germans might stumble upon one part of the Grand Fleet divided from the rest, presenting the opportunity to even the odds in the North Sea.  The Germans are to sail tomorrow morning, with the bombardment scheduled to occur on the morning of the 16th.

As the High Seas Fleet prepares for its raid, wireless signals are sent back and forth among the German ships.  Unknown to them, these signals are being intercepted by the British, and though they are coded, the British have managed to break the German codes, thanks to the acquisition of several different German code books over the past few months.  In Room 40 at the Admiralty in London, the signals are deciphered, and at 7pm this evening the First Lord and First Sea Lord are informed that the Germans are coming.  Crucially, however, Room 40 has intercepted only a portion of the German signals - they inform the Admiralty leadership that the German battlecruisers are intending to raid the British coast, but they have no information that the entire High Seas Fleet will also put to sea.  Thus it appears to Churchill and Fisher that only Hipper's five battlecruisers will be undertaking the operation, and so they order Admiral Jellicoe to dispatch an appropriately-sized force to destroy it - the four battlecruisers of Admiral Beatty's Battlecruiser Squadron and the six dreadnoughts of Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender.  Together these warships would be more than sufficient to defeat the German battlecruisers, but if they stumble onto the High Seas Fleet, the Germans would have overwhelming numerical superiority.  Thus Churchill's and Fisher's response to the intelligence of Room 40 is to give the Germans precisely the opportunity they crave to destroy part of the Grand Fleet in isolation and level the playing field in the North Sea - depending, of course, on the Germans taking advantage of the opportunity.

- Since the Yarmouth raid of November 3rd, Admiral Hipper, commander of the battlecruisers of the German High Seas Fleet, has been eager to undertake another sortie against the British coast.  Admiral Ingenohl, meanwhile, as overall commander of the High Seas Fleet is increasingly concerned about the morale of his sailors, given they have spent almost the entire war in port due to the Kaiser's edict forbidding the fleet from seeking out a major naval battle with the British.

- The Russian armies between the two bends of the Vistula River begin today the eastward retreat ordered by Grand Duke Nicholas yesterday.

The front lines in Poland on December 14th (on the left) and December 31st
(on the right), illustrating the Russian retreat.

- In response to the message of General Frank regarding the state of his army, General Potiorek orders 5th Army to retreat north over the Sava and Danube Rivers and abandon Belgrade to the advancing Serbs.

- For two weeks the schooner Ayesha, with its German crew from the light cruiser Emden, has been at the rendezvous point in the Indian Ocean it had signaled to the German merchant ships in Padang.  During this time it has twice sighted English steamers, one of which the Germans suspected to be an armed auxiliary cruiser.  When the cruiser approached, the crew of Ayesha did all they could to appear to be lost and hapless.  First they asked the cruiser for their current position, and when the cruiser asked Ayesha for its name, the German response was to raise a jumble of signal flags that meant jibberish.  Convinced that Ayesha was crewed by harmless incompetents, the cruiser had departed, leaving the German schooner to continue its wait.

Today their patience is rewarded when the German merchant ship Choising appears out of thick fog.  The intention of First Officer Mücke and his men is to transfer to the merchant, but are prevented by the rough seas.  Instead Ayesha signals Choising to follow it in sailing south, hoping to find calmer weather.

December 13th, 1914

- Grand Duke Nicholas confers with Generals Ruszkii and Ivanov at Brest-Litovsk today regarding the strategic situation on the Eastern Front.  Since the evacuation of Lodz on the 6th the German 9th Army has been hammering at the lines of the 1st and 2nd Russian armies west of the lower Bzura River, while the Russian 8th and 4th Armies are falling back in the face of the Austro-Hungarian victory at Limanowa-Lapanow.  The Grand Duke orders his front commanders to pull back their armies in Poland - the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Armies of North-West Front are to retreat to the defensive positions already established along the lower Bzura and Rawka Rivers which protect Warsaw, while the 9th and 4th Armies of South-West Front are to withdraw to a line running north-south along the Nida River.  By shortening the line in central Poland, the Grand Duke seeks to free up units that can then be deployed on the flanks - to 10th Army facing East Prussia, and 8th Army in the Carpathians.

In Galicia south of the Vistula River, the Austro-Hungarians attempt a vigorous pursuit of the retreating Russians, but are largely frustated both by enemy rear-guard actions and the sheer exhaustion and depletion of the Austro-Hungarian infantry.

- The Austro-Hungarian 5th Army endures another day of battering south of Belgrade at the hands of the advancing Serbs.  General Potiorek signals General Liborius Frank, commander of 5th Army, that he should abandon Belgrade unless he was absolutely sure it could be held without serious damage to his army.  Frank replies that he can guarantee neither point - his army is down to forty thousand combatants and there are insufficient fortifications facing the enemy.

- Since the arrival of Goeben and Breslau at Constantinople in early August, an Entente squadron of French and British warships have patrolled the western exit of the Dardanelles, prepared to sink the two German warships should they attempt to break into the eastern Mediterranean.  Other than the brief (and unsuccessful) bombardment of the forts in early November designed to dissuade the Ottomans from entering the war, the squadron has seen no action.  There are, however, also a half-dozen submarines attached to the squadron, and today one - the British submarine B11 - attempts to enter the Dardanelles.

The British submarine B11 - the size of the sailors around the conning tower gives a good idea of how small early submarines were.

At 415am B11 submerges and enters the straits, making painfully slow progress against the current.  A number of Ottoman minefields are known to have been laid across the Dardanelles, and to combat this steel tubes have been attached to the hydroplanes and other sharp edges to prevent them from snagging the mine cables.  Over five hours later B11 clears the minefields, and rises to periscope depth in Sari Siglar Bay.  When the captain, Lieutenant-Commander Norman Holbrook, views the horizon, he is astonished to see the Ottoman pre-dreadnought Messudieh anchored less than a mile away.  At a range of eight hundred yards, one torpedo is fired at what is, for all intents and purposes, a sitting duck.  The torpedo runs true and strikes the Ottoman warship, which immediately begins to sink.

As shore batteries open up on it, B11 quickly submerges to make its escape.  However, the compass has fogged, leaving Holbrook to navigate the ship by instinct.  The current has also pushed them into the path of several shoals, and B11 bounces from one to another running at full speed to avoid getting stuck.  In the shallow water the conning tower is visible, signaled by the nearby splashes of fire from more shore batteries.  The Ottoman gunners fail to strike B11, and it manages to escape to open water.  The success is celebrated in Britain, and Holbrook becomes the first submariner to be awarded the Victoria Cross.

December 12th, 1914

- With the counterattacks of the 10th having failed, and Austro-Hungarian pressure continuing through the 11th, General Ivanov of South-West Front recognizes that the present Russian positions south of the Vistula are not sustainable, and issues for a withdrawal.  VIII Corps, at the threatened point of the line, is pulled back northwestwards across the Lasosina River, abandoning Neusandez to the forces of General Szurmay.  As the Russian forces just south of the Vistula hold their line, the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army orders his left and centre to hold while Roth's group pursues.  The Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army would also continue to advance northwards against the depleted Russian 8th Army.

The Battle of Limanowa-Lapanow is thus a notable, though not a decisive, Austro-Hungarian victory; they are pushing back the Russians, not breaking through their lines.  It also needs to be recalled that as early as the conference of November 29th Grand Duke Nicholas, General Ruszkii, and General Ivanov had agreed that South-West Front needed to pull back to avoid overstretching itself.  Considering Ivanov's subsequent change of mind, the battle might be said to have convinced him of what his colleagues had been unable to do - namely, retreat.  Instead, the most notable aspect of Limanowa-Lapanow is that it is a victory planned and directed by Austro-Hungarian generals from Conrad down, and achieved almost exclusively by Austro-Hungarian soldiers.  This is the last time in the war such a battle will occur.

- The positive news in the north is more than outweighed by the growing disaster in Serbia.  Today what is left of the Austro-Hungarian 6th army reaches Sabac on the Sava River, and cross over to safety on the north bank.  The Serbian 1st Army has not pursued the defeated enemy with any great vigour, concluding that they should not incur any unnecessary losses fighting 6th Army when it was clear that they were retreating as fast and as far as possible.

Meanwhile south of Belgrade the Serbian 2nd and 3rd Armies were advancing against the lines of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army.  During the day Serbian units manage to break through at several places, and this evening the commander of 5th Army orders a retreat towards a shorter defensive line closer to Belgrade.

The retreat of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army at Belgrade, December 12th to 14th, 1914.

The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian position in Serbia has come as a great shock to the government, it coming so quickly on the heels of the euphoria over the capture of Belgrade.  Today Baron Arthur Bolfras, the Emperor's Adjutant-General, writes to Potiorek that 'His Majesty is not pleased' - in the refined language of the Hapsburg court, as harsh a condemnation as possible.  Potiorek's response is to beg for another chance - with reinforcements, he argues, he will be able to launch a fourth invasion of Serbia in four weeks' time, which the Serbs cannot possibly resist this time.  Potiorek's plea for a fourth invasion is greeted with the healthy scepticism it deserves.

December 10th, 1914

- The Russians southeast of Krakow go on the counteroffensive today.  With reinforcements from X and XXI Corps, the Russian 3rd Army assaults the centre of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, and succeeds in pushing the enemy lines back several milometres.  However, efforts by the Russian VIII Corps to drive from Neusandez to Limanowa are unsuccessful, and with further reinforcements are reaching the line for his group General Roth believes that his force may yet be able to outflank the Russian 3rd Army.  Meanwhile the advance of General Szurmay's force towards Neusandez is led by 38th Honvéd Division, consisting of only eight understrength battalions.  They are halted seven kilometres short of Neusandez by elements of two Russian divisions and a brigade.

- Since the annihilation of the German East Asiatic Squadron two days ago the squadron commanded by Admiral Sturdee has been searching for Dresden, the lone surviving German warship.  This morning, however, as the squadron sails fifty miles east of Tierra del Fuego, thick fog makes the search impossible, and with his squadron's coal bunkers almost empty, Sturdee orders the search abandoned and the British set course to return to the Falklands Island.  Their quarry, meanwhile, has already rounded Cape Horn and entered the Pacific.

December 9th, 1914

- The French government returned to Paris today from Bordeaux, to which it had fled in the dark days before the Battle of the Marne.

- While there are no significant gains by either side in the fighting between the Russians and the Austro-Hungarians north of Limanowa, the lead elements of General Szurmay's group from the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army, marching northwest, come within twenty kilometres of Neusandez while Bartfeld, largely abandoned by the Russians, is occupied today.  The indecision over whether to prioritize Bartfeld or Neusandez has cost Szurmay's group about a day.  Conrad typically blames 3rd Army commander, though it was his own refusal to make a decision that created the delay.

- This afternoon General Potiorek admits to Vienna and Army High Command that 6th Army is beaten and must withdraw from Serbia, two of its corps sufficiently shattered as to require two to three weeks of rest to recover.  He still hopes, however, that 5th Army, which has not yet been the target of major Serbian assaults, may yet be able to hold Belgrade and a bridgehead south of the Danube and Sava.

- At 130pm this afternoon a formal surrender ceremony is held at Qurna, with 45 Ottoman officers and 989 Ottoman soldiers marching into captivity.  The newest conquest of Indian Expeditionary D is not much of a town - surrounded by marshes, its British garrison will find itself spending as much time building flood defenses as military defences.  As for the Ottomans, the defenders of Qurna that withdrew yesterday have retreated northwards along the Tigris to Amara, while the remnants of the 38th Division that had fled Basra are now at Nasiriya on the Euphrates.  The British now have firm control over the Shatt al-Arab region, which brings a close to the first phase of the war in Mesopotamia.

- In western German Kamerun, the French column that occupied Nola on October 29th today occupies Baturi.  The force has continued to advance over the past month, primarily because it needs to eat off the land and thus cannot stay in any one place for long.  However, the further it moves into German territory the more difficult communications become - there is no wireless or telegraph links, nor railways messengers can travel over.  Thus a message from Baturi will take over a month, making effective co-ordination of the different Entente columns moving against German Kamerun impossible.

December 8th, 1914

- Further attacks by the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army against the Russian 3rd Army fail to make any significant gains, while the situation on the southern flank of Roth's group around Limanowa worsens - in addition to the advance of the Russian VIII Corps, the Russian XIV Corps is a mere two days march away.  Conrad urges the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army to hasten his attacks, and the latter decides that, as he does not have sufficient force in position to both attack Bartfeld and advance towards Neusandez, the latter operation should take priority.  Two division and assorted battalions that had been assembled to attack Bartfeld are placed under the command of General Szurmay and ordered to move northwest against Neusandez.

- The Austro-Hungarian 6th Army today falls back across the Kolubara River, having been shattered in the fighting of the prior five days.  Many of its battalions are down to two hundred men, supply columns have been destroyed by Serbian units that have broken through, and some units have now completely run out of ammunition.  At Valjevo, the Austro-Hungarian 50th Division hastily retreats before scouting elements of the Serbian I Dunav Division, and the latter are able to temporarily enter the city.  The episode convinces General Potiorek that 6th Army is no longer combat effective, and will be unable to hold the line of the Kolubara.

- In Mesopotamia the Ottoman defenders of Qurna are disheartened by the British success in occupying the opposite river bank, and more than half the garrison retreats northwards in the early morning hours.  The remainder believe they have been outmaneouvred again when a small British force commandeers two sailboats and effects a river crossing just north of Qurna.  At 1140pm, a small steamer carrying three Ottoman officers approaches one of the British sloops and they offer to surrender Qurna if the garrison is allowed to march out.  The commander of the sloop refuses, and is soon able to badger the Ottomans into an unconditional surrender.

- For the past several weeks, the shattered remnants of C. F. Beyers' commando has been on the run since it was defeated on November 16th, and today it disintegrates when Beyers drowns attempting to cross the Vaal River.  Beyers' death removes a leading rebel figure from the scene, and eliminates the last major rebel commando within South Africa - the only significant forces now are those commanded by Maritz and Kemp just over the border with German South-West Africa.

- At 2am this morning the warships of the German East Asiatic Squadron first sight the Falklands Islands on the northern horizon, and at 530am Admiral Spee splits his force - Gneisenau and Nürnberg will sail into Port Stanley to send landing parties ashore and bombard the town while Scharnhorst, Dresden, and Leipzig remain just out of sight over the horizon, ready to assist.  The weather is perfect, with clear skies and only a slight breeze, making visibility ideal.  The German warships have no idea that they are sailing into mortal danger.

The approach of the German East Asiatic Squadron to the Falklands Islands.

At 7am Gneisenau and Nürnberg sight their first target, a radio mast on Hooker's Point.  The harbour at Port Stanley itself is masked by the line of hills on which the radio mast sits and which reaches out to Cape Pembroke, but the Germans can see the mastheads of a number of ships in Port Stanley and smoke rising as they get underway.  Gneisenau's gunnery officer, up in the spotting top of the foremast, reports that he sees tripod masts - ominous news, as tripod masts mean dreadnoughts.  Gneisenau's captain dismisses the report - there are obviously no dreadnoughts or battlecruisers in the South Atlantic, as they are all in the North Sea facing the High Seas Fleet.

At 920am, just as Gneisenau and Nürnberg are about to open fire on the wireless station, two explosions are sighted a thousand yards to port, followed shortly by two more eight hundred yards away.  The size of the detonations clearly indicate 12-inch shells, a stunning surprise to the Germans.  Such large-calibre gunnery means they are facing warships larger than cruisers, and deduce that a pre-dreadnought battleship must be at Port Stanley.  They are correct - the shells are coming from Canopus, beached in the harbour as a defensive battery, its fire directed by gunner observors on land such that it can fire without the ship actually seeing the enemy.  Thus the first shots of the Battle of the Falklands Islands are fired by the warship that was left behind prior to the Battle of Coronel.

The Battle of the Falklands Islands, December 8th, 1914.

Spee decides to abort the attack on Port Stanley, as 12-inch guns could wreck havoc on his squadron and there are more enemy warships that appear to be preparing to exit Port Stanley to engage the Germans.  However, Spee's squadron can also easily outrun a pre-dreadnought, so Gneisenau and Nürnberg are ordered to sail east to rejoin the rest of the German East Asiatic Squadron.

When Gneisenau and Nürnberg were first sighted by British observers ashore just after 730am, they caught Admiral Sturdee and his squadron completely by surprise.  There had been no indication or intelligence to suggest that the Falklands Islands themselves might be a target of the German East Asiatic Squadron.  The British warships are not prepared for action - only the armoured cruiser Kent is able to immediately steam out of the harbour, as the rest are in various stages of coaling or undergoing repairs.  Sturdee quickly issues orders for all warships to raise steam to prepare to sail as soon as possible - his initial fear is that if the Germans sail up to the harbour entrance they might be able to devastate his squadron while it is still at anchor and cannot maneouvre.  Spee's order to retreat alleviates that concern, however, and now Sturdee realizes his advantage. He knows his two battlecruisers can make 25 knots, while Spee's warships can only make 20 knots at most.  Sturdee knows that he will inevitably catch up to the Germans, and then the larger main armament of Invincible and Inflexible will surely guarantee the annihilation of the enemy.  Spee's only chance of escape is poor weather, but the day is exceptionally calm and there is no change of fog or rain in which the German squadron could hide.  By 1030am all of Sturdee's warships have sailed out of Port Stanley and round Cape Pembroke in pursuit of the enemy.

As the German East Asiatic Squadron sails eastwards at its top speed, it can see in the distance British warships in pursuit, and all eyes strain to identify the enemy.  They can see two larger warships that gradually but inexorably overtake the other enemy vessels and begin to close the gap between the two squadrons.  It soon becomes clear that their pursuers include two battlecruisers.  It is a bitter moment for the German East Asiatic Squadron - every sailor knows the overwhelming superiority battlecruisers have over their own ships, and that the day will likely end in their destruction.

The view from the maintop on Invincible as it overhauls the German warships, whose smoke is visible on the
horizon.

For several hours the British pursue the Germans, the battlecruisers drawing ever closer.  At 1255pm, the first shot of the battle is fired by Inflexible, targeting the light cruiser Leipzig.  Invincible soon joins in, and within fifteen minutes British salvos are straddling the German ship.  Spee decides that he must try to save at least part of his squadron.  He orders his three light cruisers to separate and attempt to escape, while Scharnhorst and Gneisenau will turn to fight the battlecruisers.  The latter maneouvre is undoubtedly doomed, but Spee hopes it will prove a sufficient distraction to allow the light cruisers to escape.  Sturdee had anticipated this, however, and the armoured cruisers Kent and Cornwall as well as Glasgow are sent after the German light cruisers while Inflexible and Invincible focus on the two enemy armoured cruisers.

Inflexible opens fire on Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

By 130pm the British battlecruisers and German armoured cruisers open fire on each other.  The Germans live up to their reputation as crack shots, their salvos consistently straddling the British, while British fire is widely inaccurate - in the first thirty minutes, of 210 rounds fired only four hit the target.  Still, the larger shells of the British guns mean each hit is significantly more damaging than several from the German guns.  For the next two hours damage accumulates on Scharnhorst and Gneisenau - the former has several main guns knocked out, and the latter has two boiler rooms flooded and its speed reduced to 16 knots.  Just before 4pm, its upper deck completely wrecked and three of four funnels shot away, Scharnhorst ceases fire.  Sturdee signals the German warship to surrender, but there was no reply.  Spee's last signal is instead to Gneisenau, conceding that he had been wrong to order the attack on the Falklands.  Scharnhorst's bow sinks ever deeper into the waves until it rolls onto its side and sinks at 417pm.  Of the eight hundred man crew, including Admiral Spee, there are no survivors.  For the next hour and a half, the already-battered Gneisenau endures what amounts to target practice by the British battlecruisers.  At 540 its captain orders the ship scuttled, and it sinks at 6pm.  Between two and three hundred survivors are in the water, and the battlecruisers begin rescue efforts, ultimately pulling 176 from the frigid waters.

Inflexible standing by to pick up survivors from Gneisenau.  The photograph is taken from Invincible.

The three German light cruisers hardly fare better.  As they sailed south in an attempt to escape, they are pursued by the light cruiser Glasgow and the armoured cruisers Kent and Cornwall.  After four months at sea the Germans are several knots below their design speed, which allows the British to slowly close the distance.  At 345pm the three light cruisers go their separate ways - Dresden to the southwest, Nürnberg to the east, and Leipzig to the south.  The pursuing British have to choose how to continue the pursuit, and with Dresden maintaining a fractionally greater speed than the other two light cruisers, the decision is made by the captain of Glasgow to let Dresden go to ensure the destruction of the other two.  While Dresden slips away, Nürnberg and Leipzig are chased down over the next several hours and, once the armoured cruisers are in range, battered into submission - the former sinking at 727pm, and the latter at 923pm.  Only seven survivors are saved from Nürnberg and eighteen from Leipzig.

Damage on the upper deck of Kent.

By nightfall the annihilation of the German East Asiatic Squadron is complete.  Only Dresden survives, fleeing the scene as rapidly as possible westward, its only hope to return to the Pacific.  Admiral Spee, as well as two of his sons who were serving aboard his warships, are lost.  British casualties are negligible - one on Glasgow, four on Kent when a gun position was hit - as the vast majority of German hits failed to penetrate the armour of the British warships.  The Germans had fought well, scoring a much higher hit rate than their counterparts, but it hardly mattered.  For the British, it is a matter of concern that only 5% of their shots, but it is overshadowed by the sheer scale of the victory - the Battle of the Falklands is as decisive victory for the British as the Battle of Coronel was for the Germans.  It does much to restore the luster of the Royal Navy after early setbacks, and is celebrated throughout Britain as a restatement of naval hegemony.  The victory is seen as a particular vindication for the First Sea Lord, Admiral Fisher.  It was his vision that brought the battlecruiser to life, and at the Falklands it fulfilled its strategic role perfectly - have the speed to catch anything it can sink.

December 4th, 1914

- The Canadian soldiers encamped on Salisbury Plain continue to endure miserable conditions.  There is heavy rainfall almost every day, while cold was a constant companion and frost frequently occurred each night.  Today the weather offers a particular insult - as soldiers line up to receive their pay, a sudden storms blows the treasury bills away.

- The Operations Bureau at French army headquarters submits another assessment to Joffre, this time emphasizing the importance of railways and lines of communication.  Unfortunately from their perspective, the territory Germany occupies has a dense railway network, both laterally and reaching back across the Rhine, allowing the Germans to both bring reinforcements to the front quickly and move reserves between different parts of the line.  The assessment emphasizes the importance of major offensive operations targeting important rail connections to negate this German advantage.

- Today the French 1st Bombardment Group undertakes its first mission, striking the railway station at the German city of Freiburg.

- As the Serbian counteroffensive continues today, it is aided by a break in the weather.  In contrast to the wet and muddy conditions of late November, today begins a warm spell that drys out the ground and eases their advance.  The Serbs continue to hammer the Austro-Hungarian 6th Army, which falls back in disarray.

- Only this afternoon does the Russian 3rd Army realize that its southern flank is in danger and move reserves to counter the Austro-Hungarian advance.  Thus when Roth's infantry divisions shift their line of advance to the north to envelop the Russian 3rd Army, they encounter significant resistance for the first time.  This convinces the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army that his forces should be concentrated to the north, while only a small cavalry force is needed to screen Neusandez to the east.

It is also today that General Ivanov at South-West Front headquarters realizes that the Austro-Hungarians are undertaking a major counteroffensive south of Krakow against 3rd Army.  Moreover, General Ruszkii of North-West Front is insisting Ivanov needs to send reinforcements northwards to aid the defence of Poland.  Under these pressures, Ivanov has ordered General Brusilov of 8th Army to redeploy VIII  and XXIV Corps towards Neusandez and Gorlice, while the rest of 8th Army is to shift over to the defensive.

- At 5am this morning the detachment of Indian Expeditionary Force D assigned to move on Qurna departs the British camp and sails up the Shatt al-Arab, escorted by two warships and two armed steamers.  As the warships silence two Ottoman artillery pieces the soldiers land on the west bank and begin their advance northwards.  Their movement is slowed by a lack of cavalry, meaning reconnaisance on the unknown terrain had to be undertaken by infantry.  Coming up to an Ottoman position, the Indian infantry first perceived great enemy defenses, only to discover they had been a mirage and the Ottoman soldiers were only weakly-entrenched.  The retreating Ottomans are able to cross over to Qurna on the east bank, and for several hours the Indian and Ottomans exchange fire across the river.  As the British officers have no accurate maps of the region the width of the Tigris (200-300 yards) at this point comes as something of a surprise to them, and the British commander quickly concludes that his small force is insufficient to force a crossing.  He orders his detachment to fall back southward to where they had landed in the morning, while reinforcements are dispatched from the main IEF D camp at Basra.

December 3rd, 1914

- Today Joffre receives a message from Grand Duke Nicholas, Commander in Chief of the Russian Army.  The latter complains that inadequate pressure by the French on the Western Front has allowed the Germans to transfer significant forces to the Eastern Front, and that if further redeployments occurred the Russian army would have to cease offensive operations and dig entrenchments similar to those in the West.

- In central Poland the Russian III Caucasian Corps begins to move northwards towards Belchatow, occupied today by Austro-Hungarian cavalry, in order to strike the southern flank of the advance of the right wing of the German 9th Army and the left wing of the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army.  Radio messages indicating the planned counterattack are intercepted, however, which allows the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army to plan an attack of its own to pre-empt the Russian operation.  As the front north of Krakow has settled into trench warfare, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army is able to order the redeployment of its 27th Division northwards to assist 4th Army.

- South of Krakow today the right wing of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, under the overall command of General Joseph Roth and consisting of XIV Corps and Nagy's cavalry divisions, push eastward today after defeating the Russians at Dobra yesterday, and capture Limanowa.  However, though the southern flank of the Russian 3rd Army has given way, its centre stymies further Austro-Hungarian attacks today.

The Battle of Limanowa-Lapanow, December 1914.

- When the Serbian counteroffensive is launched this morning, it strikes the Austro-Hungarian armies at a particularly opportune moment.  The occupation of Belgrade has stretched it to the northeast, leaving 6th Army with a longer front to cover.  Moreover, the Austro-Hungarian supply situation is dire, as both food and ammunition are scarce, and the infantry are tired from the constant advance of the past month.  The destruction of bridges and roads by the retreating Serbs has also held up heavy artillery, and thus most of the line cannot count on artillery fire for support.

Thus when the infantry of the Serbian 1st Army attack out of the morning mist at 7am, they are able to immediately shatter the lines.  By nightfall all three corps of the Austro-Hungarian 6th Army are on the retreat.  The response of General Potiorek is sluggish, as information is scarce and he believes only one corps of 6th Army has been seriously engaged.

The Serbian counteroffensive, December 3rd to 12th, 1914.

- Today the troop convoy from Australia and New Zealand arrives at Alexandria.  The soldiers begin to disembarck, and the first move by train to Cairo where their encampment is located.

Australian soldiers arriving at Alexandria, December 3rd, 1914.

- Having rounded Cape Horn, yesterday the German East Asiatic Squadron came across and seized an English sailing vessel with 2800 tons of coal, and this morning the squadron anchors off Picton Island.  Admiral Spee, cognizant of the uncertainty of access to coal in the Atlantic, decides to take the time to parcel out the seized coal among his five ships.

December 2nd, 1914

- Falkenhayn, Hindenburg, and Ludendorff meet at Breslau today with Conrad and other military officials from both countries, with the Kaiser also in attendance.  In discussing future operations on the Eastern Front, Falkenhayn informs Conrad that the Germans aim to push the Russians over the Vistula and San Rivers, with the principal role being played by the German 9th Army, for which reinforcements are still arriving.  The German Chief of Staff expects the Austro-Hungarians to pin down Russian forces opposite their lines to prevent them from redeploying northwards to meet the main German thrust.  Falkenhayn also states categorically that no further reinforcements will come from the Western Front.

This news is disappointing to Conrad, who hoped for more significant German redeployments to the East, specifically to aid the Austro-Hungarians.  While not arguing with the overall premise of German strategy, Conrad does inform his German counterparts that his armies are about to undertake their own offensive actions south of the Vistula River.

- Southeast of Krakow, three Austro-Hungarian cavalry divisions under General Julius Nagy begin their advance today.  Situated on the right of XIV Corps, they are to cover the southern flank of 4th Army as it advances to meet the Russian 3rd Army.  One division heads towards Neusandez, a key town through which the Russian 8th Army can most easily send reinforcements to the Russian 3rd Army once the main battle begins.

- In the early hours of this morning, elements of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army occupy Belgrade, encountering no opposition from the Serbian army.  The news of the capture of the Serbian capital is greeted with widespread celebrations in Vienna, and is applauded by its German ally.

There are storm clouds on the horizon, however.  For the past several days, soldiers of the Serbian 1st Army have been able to rest while being resupplied, and their morale has recovered from the November retreat.  Fresh shipments of artillery shells have also reached 1st Army's artillery batteries.  The commander of 1st Army orders a counterattack for tomorrow, and inspires General Putnik to instruct the entire Serbian army to go over onto the offensive.

- In South Africa, Christian De Wet's commando, one of the leading forces in the Boer Rebellion, has been decimated by desertion over the past few weeks since its defeat at Mushroom Valley, many being enticed by a promise of a government pardon.  Today its disintegration is completed when De Wet himself is captured by government soldiers.  At the same time, another of the rebel leaders, J. C. G. Kemp, and five hundred Boer rebels join forces with S. G. Maritz's force just inside the frontier of German South-West Africa, where the latter retreated after its defeat at Kakamas on October 24th.

November 30th, 1914

- To both sides on the Western Front, the trench system is both unprecedented and unexpected - neither side thought they would be fighting such a static war, and indeed expectations remain that trench warfare is but a phase which will soon pass.  In the meantime, as both sides try to find tactical solutions to the problem of attacking trenches, they first draw on their experience and pre-war training, which suggests that trench warfare is most similar to the conduct of sieges, the latter involving prolonged fighting before extensive defenses.  Thus in the initial months of trench warfare both sides attempt to apply the tactics for conducting sieges to operations on the Western Front.  For example, today Joffre issues a communication to all army commanders instructing them to dig their trenches to within 150 yards of the German lines.  This is precisely what the standard approach to siege warfare is, and Joffre hopes the order will have the same benefit - the closer the infantry are to the enemy when they attack, the less time it will take them to cross the killing zone between the lines and reach the enemy positions.  While the order reflects the fact that generals did look for ways to break the deadlock that did not involve the repetition of the same tactics over and over again, it also is indicative how these same generals were in many ways prisoners of their own experience and training, whereas the conditions of trench warfare required entirely new ways of thinking on the battlefield.

- A British fishing trawler in the North Sea makes a remarkable discovery when it hauls in its catch - a lead-lined chest in amongst the fish.  The chest is from a German minelaying destroyer which had been sunk off the Dutch coast on October 17th, and within the chest is a treasure worth more than gold to the British Admiralty.  It includes secret charts of the North Sea showing the operational grid the Germans use to plot the location of warships, and a codebook intended for communication with warships overseas.  These two finds, in combination with earlier breakthroughs, allow the British to decypher German wireless signals, a vital advantage to the war at sea.

- As the Russian 3rd Army continues to advance westwards towards Krakow, the Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff issues orders today for another offensive.  Despite the battering 4th Army has taken in recent weeks, Conrad orders it back on to the attack - the movement of the Russian 3rd Army has opened a gap between it and the Russian 8th Army in the Carpathians to the southeast, and his intention is that the southern wing of 4th Army will move into this gap and then pivot northward to hit the southern flank of the Russian 3rd Army.

- The Serbian army completes its evacuation of Belgrade today as elements of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army approach the city.  General Potiorek has ordered his other units to halt, both to recover from the recent fighting and to resupply.  The retreating Serbs had thoroughly destroyed transportation infrastructure as they retreated through November, and the Austro-Hungarians have outrun their supplies and are encountering all manner of shortages.

- Orders are issued for a detachment of Indian Expeditionary Force D, including two and a half infantry battalions, to embark on four river steamers, where they will be escorted by two warships and two armed steamers up the Shatt al-Arab.  Their orders are to land on the riverbank opposite of Qurna, clear that side of the river of the enemy, and then move on Qurna itself.

- Ayesha sets a course westward into the Indian Ocean and, satisfied that the schooner is leaving for good, the Dutch warship De Zeven Provincian halts its pursuit.  The German crew are sailing to a point in the eastern Indian Ocean where they hope to rendezvous with a German merchant ship.  While at Padang it was impermissible for any of the crew to meet with sailors from the German merchant ships alongside, First Officer Mücke happened to say several times quite loudly that his ship would be at this point in the Indian Ocean for several weeks.  His hope is that one of the German merchant ships, motivated by patriotism, will meet them there and allow Ayesha's crew to transfer to the steamer for the next stage of the journey back to Germany.

November 28th, 1914

- Nine days after the first attempt, the French 2nd Army launches a second attack on the German lines opposite, this time by two divisions of XIV Corps.  Unlike the last attack, this one does accomplish something - the gain of three hundred metres.

- The Russian 8th Army, under General Brusilov, continues to push into the Carpathian Mountains against the weakening resistance of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army.  The Russians have already seized the Lupkow-Beskid and Uzsok Passes, and early this morning Russian forces break through the Austro-Hungarian lines holding the Dulka Pass.  The fighting in the Carpathians has been ferocious, with bitter cold and heavy snows adding to the misery of both sides.  The Austro-Hungarians, though, have certainly received the worst of it, and if Brusilov's 8th Army can push all the way through the Carpathians they will be able to invade Hungary and march on Budapest, potentially knocking Austria-Hungary out of the war entirely.  It is a moment of crisis for Austria-Hungary, as its fate hangs in the balance.

- In Serbia, efforts by the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army to cross the Kolubara River where it meets the Sava River have encountered fierce Serbian resistance, and in one counterattack the Serbs inflicted 50% casualties on the enemy.  Nevertheless, given the retreat of his 1st Army General Putnik is concerned that his front line is overstretched, and orders his armies to pull back today.  This retreat will expose Belgrade to attack, and Putnik orders its evacuation.

- At 10am Vice-Admiral Sturdee's squadron departs Abrolhos Rocks for Port Stanley in the Falklands Islands.  They are spread out in a line with twelve miles between each ship so as to maximum the amount of ocean under observation.

- This morning Ayesha, crewed by Emden's landing party, crosses into Dutch territorial waters as it approaches Padang.  Now immune from enemy attack, First Officer Mücke orders the German war flag to be flown from the mast, announcing to all their identity.  Early this afternoon, the Dutch destroyer Lynx appoaches once more; this time Mücke orders the customary salute between warships to be given.  The entire German crew stands at attention on deck, while Mücke and his officers salute; the Dutch respond with the same salute.  Mücke then took one of Ayesha's boats and visited Lynx, meeting with its captain.  Here the German officer plays his hand to the full - he states unequivocally that Ayesha is a German ship of war, and thus is entitled to enter Padang's harbour for twenty-four hours for repairs and resupply.  The thought of the old schooner Ayesha as a ship of war must seem laughable to Lynx's captain; however, he is in no position to dispute the issue, lest he cause a diplomatic crisis.  He informs Mücke that there is nothing preventing Ayesha from anchoring at Padang, but that the civil authorities might intern his ship and crew.  Mücke replies that as a warship Ayesha can leave the port at any time, and adds in jest: 'I hope you and I will not get into a fight when I run out.'  The response of the Dutch captain is not recorded.

After Mücke's return, Ayesha, as it enters the anchorage, is met by a boat carrying the harbour master.  The latter is insistent that Ayesha drop anchor far away from other ships and docks, but Mücke can see that some of the merchants in the port are German and he has every intention of anchoring right beside them.  As Mücke and Padang's harbour master argue, coincidentally the topsails of the schooner refuse to come down, no matter what the crew attempts.  After much work they are finally furled, again coincidentally just as the ship comes up beside the docks and German merchants.  After this 'good fortune' Mücke sends his senior lieutenant ashore to report to the German consul, while the men of the German merchants throw everything from cigarettes to German newspapers to the men aboard Ayesha (by international law, non-combatants are not allowed on combatant warships while in a neutral port).

The Dutch authorities are eager to intern Ayesha, wishing to avoid angering the British or Japanese should Emden's landing party escape again.  Further, the harbour master is Belgian, and thus hardly inclined to give the Germans any benefit of the doubt.  The German consul at Padang had ordered supplies of all kind for Ayesha, but when some arrive at 7pm, they are accompanied by a Dutch neutrality officer, designated to ensure the laws of neutrality were upheld to the letter.  He argues that Mücke should allow himself and his ship to be interned, but the Germans are unanimous in rejecting this advice.  The neutrality officer then informs him that much of the ordered supplies cannot be transferred to Ayesha as they would enhance their fighting ability - this includes not only nautical charts but also clothing and soap.  The Germans are willing to go without in order to continue their voyage.  Finally the neutrality officer insists that nearby Japanese and English cruisers will undoubtedly catch them, and that they had already acquitted themselves honourably in executing their duty to Germany.  Again, Mücke and his crew refuse.  Given the apparent 'unreasonableness' of the Germans and with all arguments exhausted, the re-provisioned Ayesha weighs anchor at 8pm and departs Padang - after an eventful day, the voyage of Emden's landing party continues.

November 24th, 1914

- In the first months of the war the French government had imposed a number of what it had described as temporary moratoriums on a range of financial transactions in order to avoid panicked withdrawals of bank deposits and conserve funds for the war effort.  Today, however, the French government announces that the moratoriums will last for the duration of the war.  While the measures allow for a greater government influence over economic activity, they also deaden commerce and economic activity in the private sector, and measures such as the moratorium on the collection of rents result in the accumulation of large amounts of debts by some.

- East of Lodz the decisive moment arrives for the German XXV Reserve Corps and Guards Division as they attempt to escape encirclement, as the Russian Lovitch detachment of 1st Army stands between them and the rest of the German 9th Army.  The Lovitch detachment, however, is handled with about the same level of professionalism as the other Russian formations that had encircled the two German units.  One of the detachment's two divisions moves too far west and gets tangled up with the Russian defenders of Lodz, and by the time it gets itself sorted out the German Guards Division has broken through and rejoined 9th Army.  Meanwhile, the other Russian division has entrenched behind a railway embankment astride the line of retreat of XXV Reserve Corps, the latter of which consist of second-line soldiers exhausted from days of marching and fighting.  Naturally, the strong Russian defensive position promptly disintegrates, the divisional commander suffers a nervous breakdown, and only 1600 Russian soldiers escape capture as XXV Reserve Corps breaks through, bringing back with them 16 000 Russian prisoners.

The survival of Guards Division and especially of XXV Reserve Corps is a testimony to the prowess of the German army.  Most commanders in such situations would have simply surrendered, but General Reinhard von Scheffer-Boyadel remained awake for seventy-two hours directing the retreat, and the German infantry demonstrated its endurance and resolution.  On the Russian side, the episode serves to reinforce a sense of inherent inferiority vis-a-vis their German counterparts, which seeps into the mindset of Russian commanders, leaving them unwilling to stand against the enemy even when circumstances favour them.

- While the Russians feel themselves inferior to the Germans, they certainly don't harbour any such concerns about the Austro-Hungarians.  Today Conrad calls off the attempted offensive near Krakow by 4th and 1st Army.  Both have failed to make any significant gains, and by today indications are growing that the Russians, far from being about to break, are about to go over to the attack.  Both 4th and 1st Army are ordered to stand on the defensive, and at places along the front pull back to more defensible positions.  The Austro-Hungarians have lost tens of thousands of men for no gain whatsoever, and the only redeeming aspect of the defeat is that the Russians have suffered as well - the regiments of III Caucasian Corps are down to three to four hundred soldiers each.  The failure also means that alternate means will have to be found to save the deteriorating situation in the Carpathians, where the Russian 8th Army continues to push back the weakening Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army.

- After three days of heavy fighting between the Austro-Hungarian 6th Army and the Serbian 1st Army, the latter has been forced to retreat again today.  Potiorek does not order 6th Army to pursue the foe, as the fierce engagements of the past week have disorganized and fatigued his units and he has determined that they require rest.  He remains convinced that he has won a crushing victory - that with the Serbian 1st Army retreating he will be able to turn the flank of the Serbian armies to the north and envelop them.  Reflecting the optimism of his commanders, Emperor Franz Joseph today appoints General Stefan Sarkotic governor of Serbia.

November 19th, 1914

- Flanders sees the first serious snowfall of the year, adding to the misery of the soldiers dug in along the front line.  Though German shelling continues, Entente commanders notice a sharp decline in the frequency and intensity of German infantry assaults.

- Today the French XI Corps of 2nd Army, on the front near the Somme River, attacks the German line in an effort to pin enemy reserves to this sector and demonstrate the continued vitality of the French army.  The operation accomplishes absolutely nothing.

- Desperate fighting has continued along the front in Serbia since the 17th, as the Austro-Hungarians seek to break the Serbian defensive line.  They achieve their first success today, forcing the Serbian 1st Army backwards and taking high ground on the opposite bank of the Kolubara River.  General Potiorek's plan is for his 6th Army to occupy the Serbian forces while 5th Army drives on and enters Belgrade to the north.

- On November 8th the Prime Minister of Hungary published correspondence between himself and Romanian religious figures, in which he pledged a series of concessions to the Romanian population of the Hungarian portion of Austria-Hungary, including language rights and electoral reform.  These reforms were designed not only to mollify the Romanian population within Hungary, but also the Romanian government, whose neutrality the Hungarian Prime Minister was eager to maintain.  Given the multiethnic composition of the Empire, however, concessions to one group are eagerly highlighted by other groups - today the newspaper of the Slovak committee of the Social Democratic Party publishes a call for the same concessions to be extended to the Slovak population of Hungary.  This highlights the possible lethality of any effort to reform Austria-Hungary - concessions to one group lead other groups to demand the same, a vicious circle that has the potential to destroy the Empire itself.  And yet, in a war for survival in which each ethnic group is represented among the soldiers of the Habsburg army, is a policy of repression, not reform, any more viable?

- The German East Asiatic Squadron today sails into the Gulf of Penas on the Chilean coast three hundred miles north of the Straits of Magellan, and anchors in Bahía San Quintín.  Here they coal once again, while Admiral Spee names and congratulates three hundred of his officers and men who have been awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class by the Kaiser, ecstatic at their victory at Coronel (the medals themselves await the recipients in Germany).

November 17th, 1914

- At Ypres the German 4th Division launch a heavy infantry attack against the British 3rd Division today, but they are repulsed with heavy losses.  With this failure, and considering the deteriorating weather and exhaustion of his soldiers, Duke Albrecht, commander of the German 4th Army, concludes that further attacks would be futile and suspends offensive operations.  Instead he orders 4th Army to focus on the construction of trenches and defensive positions, and begin to rotate units out of the line to provide for rest.

- Today sees the first serious fighting near Krakow as a result of the Austro-Hungarian offensive.  The entirety of both 1st and 4th Armies are committed to the attack today, but make very little progress, the Russians having had sufficient time to construct defensive positions.  By the end of the day the conditions of trench warfare prevailed along the entire front of the two Austro-Hungarian armies.

- Yesterday the Austro-Hungarian 5th and 6th Armies reached the Kolubara River, and today assault the Serbian defensive positions on the east bank.  The two sides fight in appalling weather, with heavy rain and snowfall - visibility is reduced and significant numbers of soldiers dying of frostbite and exposure.

- In an effort to secure its support in the war, the British government offers Bulgaria the entirety of Macedonia, part of which currently belongs to Serbia.  Though the British pledge to compensate Serbia with territory elsewhere, Russia objects to forcing its Balkan ally to hand over territory.

- At 515am this morning the two brigades of Indian Expeditionary Force D begin an advance upriver from its base camp at Saihan, and by 830am encounter an Ottoman force of several thousand who seek to block their way.  The initial attack of the Indian brigades accomplishes little - a sudden rainstorm turns the battlefield into mud, and their artillery rather unhelpfully fires on mirages.  Fortunately for the British, the Ottomans opposite are in even worse shape.  Mesopotamia is an isolated backwater of the Ottoman Empire, starved of supplies and soldiers - most of the Ottoman infantry here are composed of Arab levies who desert at an alarmingly high rate.  When several British gunboats move up the Shatt al-Arab and begin to fire into the Ottoman positions, the Ottoman forces break and retreat, handing victory to IEF D.

November 15th, 1914

- Though German shelling continues there are no significant infantry actions today in Flanders.  The reorganization of the Entente line pursuent to the agreement on the 13th between Foch and French begins, and a reconstituted British IV Corps, consisting of 7th and 8th Divisions and again commanded by General Rawlinson, enters the line today between III and Indian Corps.  The German army, meanwhile, begins to lay the groundwork for a public explanation of its failure in Flanders, issuing a communique today stating that bad weather has impeded operations over the past few days.

- In Poland only today does General Ruzski of the Russian North-West Front realize that the advance of the German 9th Army is not only the main German offensive, as opposed to a diversion, but that it is poised to seize Lodz and drive into the rear of 2nd and 5th Armies.  He issues orders today for both armies to retreat eastwards and fall back on Lodz.  The battle is now a race between the German 9th Army and the Russian 2nd and 5th Armies to see which can reach Lodz first.

Meanwhile, Conrad is planning an offensive of his own.  In the retreat after the Battle of the Vistula River over the past several weeks, the Austro-Hungarian 1st and 4th Armies have fallen back upon the fortress of Krakow, the former just to the north and the latter just to the northeast.  Conrad orders call for 4th Army to lead with an attack on the Russian 9th Army opposite, to be followed almost immediately by 1st Army advancing into the Russian flank.  Should everything go according to plan, the Austro-Hungarian advance will form a southern pincer that will meet with the German 9th Army east of Lodz to isolate three entire Russian armies.  Like many of Conrad's plans, it ambitious and hopelessly unrealistic.

Further, for the past nine days the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army has been transferring from the front in Galicia to Prussian Silesia.  The ostensible reason for this redeployment, as Conrad told Hindenburg, was to aid the German 9th Army in its offensive.  In reality, Conrad did not want the Germans to undertake their offensive by themselves, as it would allow Hindenburg and Ludendorff to act without reference to Conrad; instead, if the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army aided the German 9th Army, Conrad could assert the right to have a say in the progress of the fighting.

The transfer of 2nd Army, however, has been painfully slow, a reflection both of poor Austro-Hungarian staff work and the lack of sufficient railways in Galicia.  Just 12 trains per day are bringing one of 2nd Army's two corps north, while the trains carrying the other have to detour through Budapest.  This stands in stark contrast to the rapid redeployment of the German 9th Army achieved earlier in November, and such logistics are yet another way in which the Austro-Hungarian army is significantly weaker than its ally.

Of crucial importance to the Battle of Lodz is that the slow arrival of the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army means that it has not come to grips with the Russian 5th Army, which is what allows the latter to disengage and retreat eastward relatively unhindered.  At the same time, the removal of 2nd Army from the Galician front means that Conrad's offensive at Krakow is under a time constraint - he needs to defeat the Russian 4th and 9th Armies before the Russian armies to the east can reach the Carpathians and seize the mountain passes through it, which would give the Russians access to central Hungary.

The line in northern Poland, November 15th, 1914.  Note the advance of the German 9th Army southeastwards between
Lodz and the Vistula, and the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army slowly coming into the line north of Army Group Woyrsch,
a small German formation designed to cover the gap between 9th Army and the Austro-Hungarians to the south.

- Socialist Benito Mussolini starts a campaign agitating for Italy's entry to the war on the side of the Entente through his newspaper Il Populo d'Italia.  His call for war is based on his belief that it is necessary to fulfill 'Italy's national destiny.'

- Austro-Hungarian forces reach the town of Valjevo in northwestern Serbia today, resulting in celebrations in Vienna.  The successful advance to date, in contrast to the two prior failures, lead General Potiorek to believe that the Serbian army has been thoroughly crushed and no longer posed a significant threat.

The reality is that while it has retreated and suffered losses, the Serbian army is far from finished.  As the withdrawal had been planned in advance, losses were lighter than if the Serbs had fought to the end to hold their advanced position.  Further, the defensive positions on the Kolubara River, which the Serbian army has now retreat to, had been under preparation for several months, and they constituted a formidable obstacle to a further Austro-Hungarian advance.

- Near the Shatt al-Arab several battalions of Indian Expeditionary Force D sortie from their camp at Sanniya and attack an Ottoman force of approximately two thousand that had approached to within four miles of the British camp.  Attacking early in the morning, the Ottoman force is dispersed, the British suffering sixty-two casualties while inflicting one hundred and sixty and taking twenty-five prisoners.  The battle, the first significant engagement with Ottoman forces in Mesopotamia, gives IEF D time to finish disembarking its reinforcements unmolested while also teaching valuable lessons on combat in a desert environment.

- The German East Asiatic Squadron departs Más Afuera today, heading south.  Admiral Spee has decided not to break up his squadron to raid Entente merchant shipping, feeling that to do so would waste valuable coal.  Instead, the five ships of the squadron will stay together as they sail down the Chilean coast.

November 8th, 1914

- The weather at Ypres today is cloudy with poor visibility, impairing the ability of artillery observers to accurately direct fire on enemy positions.  Despite this, the Germans keep up a steady, if somewhat less accurate, bombardment of the Entente lines.  The Germans also continue to launch infantry assaults to pin and wear down the British and French defenders, the most heaviest of which is launched by elements of the German 5th and 30th Divisions just north of the Menin Road which close up to but are unable to take the grounds of Veldhoek Chateau.

During the morning Field Marshal French and General Haig attend a conference at General Foch's headquarters at Cassel.  Foch is typically optimistic, but both French and Haig emphasize the danger of the German advance near the Comines Canal towards Ypres, which threatens to cut off the British I Corps.  Foch replies that orders have been issued to retake the ground lost over the past few days, but is unable to promise any additional units to support the British lines.  The French launch a number of attacks all along the line, but once again are repulsed by the Germans.  Meanwhile the BEF commander writes to Kitchener today that the pressure on his force can only be alleviated either by French reinforcements or, as he feels is more likely, the redeployment of German forces to the Eastern Front.  The latter reflects the thinking of Joffre as well, in that ongoing pressure from the Russians, as evidenced in the failed German offensive in Poland in October, will compel the Germans to move forces east.  While this is both a reasonable conclusion to draw and one that reflects the pressure that Falkenhayn is under at this time, it also means that the British and French view the primary means of salvation for their position at Ypres to be a decision by their enemies to abandon the attack, as opposed to any successful effort on their part.  It is a potentially dangerous assumption to make if the enemy will further attacks, which is, of course, precisely what the Germans will do.

Behind the German lines, preparations continue for the offensive operation now planned for November 10th.  Winckler's Guard Division and 4th Division are formed into a corps under the command of General Karl von Plettenberg, and his corps plus XV Corps are joined together to form an army group commanded by General Alexander von Linsingen.  Army Group Linsingen is to attack north of the Ypres-Comines Canal, the focal point of the offensive and where the breakthrough is to occur.  Army Group Fabeck is to remain on the ground secured in recent days to the west of the canal, and is to both attack itself and support Army Group Linsingen's attack on its northern flank.  The entirety of 4th and 6th Armies are to also make a maximum effort to assault the British and French lines.  Falkenhayn knows that everything must be poured into this attack for, as he informs the Kaiser today, the army is exhausted and will be unable to undertake another offensive in the near future.

- The German retreat from the Vistula River at the end of October uncovered the northern flank of the Austro-Hungarian armies that had advanced to the San River, and as such they have been falling back to the line they began from.  This has placed the fortress of Przemysl at risk, and today, for the second time in the war, it finds itself cut off and besieged by the Russians.

Over the past week, as the likelihood of Przemysl being isolated has become apparent, the Austro-Hungarians have prepared for a lengthy siege.  For six days trains arrived at Przemysl every fourteen minutes, delivering food and supplies sufficient for six months.  However, as with much of their war effort, the Austro-Hungarians have botched the resupply of Przemysl.  The food and supplies sent to the fortress assumed a garrison of 85 000, when in reality it has swollen to 130 000, and the calculations left out entirely the 30 000 civilians which ought to have been evacuated instead.  Moreover, as the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army retreated past Przemysl, it plundered the garrison's food stocks.  The upshot is that when Przemysl is encircled again today, it is actually in worse shape to withstand a siege than it had been when it had been relieved on October 9th.

- Austro-Hungarian forces attack the Serbian 2nd Army in the foothills of the Cer mountain range, advancing for once under considerable artillery support.  The Serbs fight desperately to hold their positions - as the Austro-Hungarians advance uphill, they resort to rolling down logs and boulders, throwing rocks, and firing flare pistols.  Under the weight of numbers, however, the Serbs are forced back as the weakened condition of the Serbian army begins to show.

At the same time, a conference is held between the Serbian government and its high command.  General Putnik emphasizes the deteriorating state of the army, and raises for the first time the question of a negotiated peace.  Prime Minister Pašić, however, urges continued resistance and threatens resignation if an overture for peace is made.  The resolution of the meeting is to continue resistance to the Austro-Hungarian invaders.

- The battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible arrive this afternoon at the British naval base at Plymouth.  Both warships are placed in dry docks to have their bottoms cleaned while machinery is repaired and coal, ammunition, and supplies are load not only for themselves, but for the warships they are to join in the South Atlantic.

- Having fled from the Pacific through the Straits of Magellan, Glasgow and Canopus arrive this morning at Port Stanley.  They spend the day coaling, assisted by seventy volunteers from among local fishermen and sheep farmers, and at 6pm depart for the River Plate to rendezvous with Defence.

November 7th, 1914

- The weather turns for the worse today on the Ypres battlefield, with falling temperatures and heavy mist.  A French counterattack by XVI Corps scheduled for 930am this morning to recapture Zwateleen does not occur until mid-afternoon, and makes no progress.  As a result, Foch fires the commander of XVI Corps, a move after Joffre's heart.  In the British lines Haig  is appalled to learn that a number of I Corps' battalions abandon their forward defences under shellfire, returning only at night, and during the day several dozen soldiers are found behind the lines moving as quickly as possible away from the battlefield.  Though morale in the BEF overall has held, given the constant combat over the past few weeks it is not surprising that for some the breaking point is almost at hand.

Meanwhile the Germans launch several infantry attacks along the line, but are everywhere repulsed.  From the Entente side the attacks appear senseless and uncoordinated, but they are a part of the larger offensive operation, in that attacks now serve to pin down Entente forces so they cannot be redeployed to meet the main attack in a few days.  Where the Germans do not attack they continue their artillery bombardment.  Also today two Guards brigades arrive today, having marched from Arras, and are to be formed into a division named for its commander, General Arnold von Winckler.

- The Austro-Hungarian 5th and 6th Armies secure bridgeheads across the Drina River.  Despite fierce resistance the Serbian 1st and 3rd Armies are forced to fall back.

- Sidney Sonnino, the new Italian Foreign Minister appointed to replace the deceased Antonio di San Giuliano, is favourable to the cause of the Entente, as he reveals today in a conversation with the British Ambassador.

- In Egypt war with the Ottoman Empire is announced today, but because of pre-emptive measures taken in recent weeks there are no widespread pro-Ottoman demonstrations nor any significant organized opposition among nationalists.  Further several hundred Egyptian officials with nationalist leanings have been arrested or exiled, and the parliament has been prorogued.  The British are determined to maintain their control over Egypt.

- At Tsingtao, the Japanese prepare for the final assault on the German defences.  Yesterday they had seized the trenches defending the forts on the three hills above the city, and today they are to capture the forts themselves.  A furious artillery bombardment opens this morning, but after counter-fire from their own batteries the Germans raise the white flag.  Given the Japanese success to date and ammunition shortages, there is no prospect of holding the final forts.  So methodical and effective has been the Japanese advance that a siege the Germans had expected would take six months has been completed in six weeks.  The other combatants would do well to study the Japanese method of conducting offensives in conditions of trench warfare - of course, that would require acknowledging the Japanese as their intellectual equals, which for racial reasons is obviously not in the cards.

November 6th, 1914

- At Ypres German attacks are concentrated along the front on both sides of the Ypres-Comines Canal on the southeastern face of the salient, while elsewhere there was the now-regular steady artillery bombardment.  Taking advantage of a thick morning fog, the Germans attack into the woods west of Hollebeke, pre-empting a French attack scheduled for later today.  In the confusion caused by the fog several French cavalry battalions panic, and the Germans are able to advance almost a mile, seizing the entire woods west of Hollebeke, allowing the Germans to advance to within three thousand yards of Ypres.  On the north side of the Canal, the Germans take the French by surprise and pierce the line in three places, allowing the Germans to seize the village of Zwarteleen a mile southeast of Zillebeke.  It takes a counterattack by the British 7th Cavalry Brigade to restore the line.  Though the Germans have not broken through, they have driven a wedge into the junction of the French and British lines, and Haig is now concerned that his I Corps is at risk of having its southern flank turned.

- The Admiralty issues a public statement today on the Battle of Coronel.  It emphasizes that the engagement appears to have been fought with the most bravery, but that without Canopus Craddock’s squadron would have been significantly outgunned.  It establishes what will be the Admiralty line on Coronel - depicting Craddock as epitomizing the bravery and courage of Royal Navy officers, while simultaneously implying that he alone bears responsibility for the defeat by deciding to accept battle without Canopus present.  This, not coincidentally, absolves the Admiralty leadership themselves of responsibility by denying the very significant role their confused signals to Craddock played in the weeks leading up to Coronel.

- General Oskar Potiorek issues orders today for another attempt at invading Serbia, the third of the war to date.  The continued existance of Serbia, to say nothing of the terrible defeats the Austro-Hungarians have suffered at their hands, have undermined the prestige of the Dual Monarchy, potentially decisive in the ongoing efforts to convince the other Balkan states to join the war on their side.  Potiorek's plan is similar to the first two invasions - 5th and 6th Armies will cross the Drina River in the northwest of Serbia, with the aim of advancing to initially Valjevo and ultimately Niš, dividing Serbia in two.

One advantage the Austro-Hungarians would have is that the condition of the Serbian army was deteriorating.  The soldiers were exhausted, food was in short supply, and munitions were even scarcer, such that most of the time the Serbian infantry was fighting with no artillery support at all.  While Britain and France were eager to aid the Serbian defence, the difficulties of sending supplies to a landlocked combatant prevented significant aid from getting through.  General Putnik's strategy was thus to place 'the Serbian national mud between the enemy's fighting line and his supplies.'  Even before the invasion, he has withdrawn his forces in the northwest of the country to the foothills of the Cer mountain range, so as to be out of range of Austro-Hungarian artillery fire.

The third Austro-Hungarian Invasion of Serbia, November to December 1914.

- The Ottoman frontier with Russia is guarded by 3rd Army, consisting of three corps - IX covers the northern portion of the border and XI the southern, with X in reserve further west.  Today elements of XI Corps assembling at Hasankale and Köprüköy launch a counterattack against the Russian column advancing on the former.  However, given the heavy snow and rain and the lack of reconnaissance, they were unable to turn the Russians back.

- From August the Admiralty has been expressing concern about the security of its oil supply from Persia, which reaches the Persian Gulf by pipeline at Abadan Island and where the major refinery is located.  Abadan Island is on the far western portion of Persia's coast, adjacent to the Ottomen Empire's outlet to the Persian Gulf at the Shatt al-Arab.  In the event of war with the Ottomans, Abadan Island would be an obvious target.  Moreover, concern had also been raised by the India Office regarding the importance of demonstrating British hegemony in the Gulf and not allowing an Ottoman challenge to undermine the authority of British rule over its Muslim subjects.  As such, Indian Expeditionary Force D had been formed, consisting of an infantry brigade, and was dispatched to the Gulf in October, arriving in Bahrein on the 23rd.  As war became increasingly likely, it planned to undertake a landing at the Ottoman fort of Fao on the Shatt al-Arab where it meets the Persian Gulf.

This morning the transports carrying IEF D are off Fao, escorted by the pre-dreadnought Ocean.  The small Ottoman garrison puts up a brief resistance, exchanging fire with Ocean for an hour before, being heavily outnumbered, they withdraw northwards from Fao.  By this afternoon landing parties have secured the village and fort at Fao, the first step in the Mesopotamian Campaign.

The opening moves of the Mesopotamian Campaign, 1914.

- The British landing at Fao is not the only Entente move of concern to Persia.  Today Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov states that Russia will continue to occupy Persian Azerbaijan, suggesting that the easiest route by which the Ottomans can invade the Russian Caucasus is through Azerbaijan, as opposed to the mountain passes on the Ottoman-Russian frontier.  The war thus makes Russian involvement in Persia even more essential in the view of Petrograd.

- The German East Asiatic Squadron returns to Más Afuera in the Pacific.  While Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Nürnberg had called at Valparaíso, Leipzig had stayed offshore, and had managed to seize a French merchant with 3600 tons of Cardiff coal.  The sailors start working on distributing the coal to each of the warships of the squadron.