October 31st, 1914

- Between Nieuport and Dixmude the waterlogged soldiers of the German III Reserve Corps make their way eastward back across the flooded fields and over the Yser River to dry land.  Due to the battered state of the Belgian army the Germans are able to undertake the retreat without significant losses, but there is no masking the bitter taste of the outcome of the Battle of the Yser.  At the moment when a breakthough appeared to be at hand, the Germans have victory snatched from their grasp, not by the enemy army, but by the sea, the one remorseless enemy they cannot overcome.  By letting in the sea, the Belgians have created an impenetrable barrier from Dixmude to the Channel.  This gives the Belgian army the opportunity to rest and recover, and indeed it can be said that the flooding saves the army from destruction and Belgium from complete occupation.  As a result, a tiny corner of Belgium will remain in Belgian hands for the duration of the war.  Of course, just as the Germans cannot advance across the flooding, the Belgians cannot counterattack either.  Knowing this allows the Germans to move forces south to reinforce the fighting elsewhere in Flanders.

- Just after midnight, General Foch arrives at BEF headquarters at St. Omer, asking to see Field Marshal French.  The heavy attacks of yesterday have plunged the BEF commander again into pessimism, giving Foch the impression of panic and telling him 'We are for it.'  Attempting to buoy French's spirits, Foch replies: 'We shall see.  In the meantime, hammer, hammer away, keep on hammering, and you will get there.'

Army Group Fabeck today resumes its attacks on the British line from Gheluvlet to Messines.  At the latter, the first advance comes before dawn, catching the British in the middle of relieving the companies holding the front line.  After initially overrunning two companies of Indian infantry after their British officers had been killed, nearby cavalry rallied to push the Germans back.  This, however, was only a prelude - a heavy artillery bombardment at 8am preceded an attack by twelve German battalions at 9am that outnumbered the defenders by more than six to one.  The Germans break into the village of Messines, and advance house to house, using artillery at point-blank range to demolish British positions.  Reinforcements from II Corps are fed into the battle, as well as the first Territorial battalion to see combat.  Counterattacks suffer heavy losses, but relieve some of the pressure on the British defenders in Messines at by nightfall they remain entrenched in the southern portion of the village.

To the north, the British 2nd Cavalry Division comes under attack from the German 3rd Bavarian Division and 6th Bavarian Reserve Division.  Though German artillery opened their bombardment at 6am, German infantry did not advance until just before 3pm, giving enough time for reserves to be deployed, and the Germans are repulsed.

The most serious situation of the day develops at Gheluvelt, where the line was held by I Corps' 1st Division.  The first attack by the German XXIV Reserve Corps is mostly repulsed, but small elements manage to reach an orchard from which the defenders are unable to eject them.  Under an increasingly intense artillery bombardment and fire from the orchard, part of the 2nd Battalion, Welch Regiment falls back, opening a gap in the line which the Germans find.  Within minutes the British position has collapsed, the 2nd Battalion, Welch Regiment suffering 530 casualties in being effectively annihilated.  British soldiers flee to the rear individually or in small groups, and attempts to rally them by officers fail.  A company of 1st Battalion, Gloucestershires is sent to plug the gap, but under German shellfire it is reduced from eighty soldiers to thirteen by the time they arrive in the line.

Further German attacks are launched north and south of the Menin Road at 10am, and despite enduring intense fire are able to push the British back.  By 1130am the Germans have taken Gheluvelt and broken the British line.  Further, the British command structure is dealt a severe blow at 115pm when the chateau at which the commanders and staff of 1st and 2nd Divisions are struck by artillery shells, killing or wounding almost everyone present.  As time has to be taken to find new commanders for both units, Haig at I Corps HQ informs Field Marshal French, General Foch, and General Dubois that 1st Division has been broken and issues orders for a last line of defence to be prepared to the rear.  One of I Corps' intelligence officers returned from the front and provided a vivid description of the situation:

You cannot imagine the scene.  The road was full of troops retreating, stragglers, wounded men, artillery and wagons, a terrible sight.  All the time there was the noise of a terrific bombardment.  It was impossible to get any clear idea of the situation.  Nobody knew anything except what was happening on his immediate front and that was always the same story.  The Germans were attacking in overwhelming strength and our men were being driven back . . .

A decisive moment of the battle is at hand - if the Germans can exploit the breakthrough, the entire British line could be outflanked and forced back, allowing the Germans to seize Ypres and secure victory.  At I Corps HQ Haig organizes the orderlies and mess servants to make a last stand.  When Sir John French arrives they discuss the breakthrough in what the BEF commander will later describe as the worst half-hour of his life.  French then motors to Foch's headquarters to plead for reinforcements, stating, according to Foch's recollection, that the only men he had left were the sentries at BEF HQ and that he would take them 'where the line is broken, and the last of the English will be killed fighting.'  Foch replied: 'We must stand firm first, we can die later.'  He promises an attack by IX Corps and lends a cavalry brigade and three battalions to the British.

Meanwhile, west of Gheluvelt all of 1st Division's reserves had been committed to the fighting, and only three companies of 2nd Battalion, Worcesters, consisting of seven officers and 350 men, remained as 2nd Division's reserve.  A brigade commander from 1st Division orders them to counterattack, and by 145pm they are moving on Gheluvelt Chateau, on the northeast side of the village.  They have dropped their packs and grabbed extra ammunition to be able to advance as quickly as possible.  The last mile is open ground, and the battalion loses a hundred men as they race across.  When they reach the Chateau, they find Bavarians from three regiments who, in the aftermath of seizing Gheluvelt, have relaxed in the afterglow of victory.  The Worcesters smash into them and the Germans are driven from the Chateau.  The shock of the counterattack leads other German units to abandon Gheluvelt, and with stragglers from other units the Worcesters are able to establish a thin defensive line.  For the loss of three officers and 189 men, the Worcesters had regained Gheluvelt and shattered German momentum.

Subsequent counterattacks on either flank by disparate and already-mauled British units are able to stem the German tide, though at the cost of over a thousand casualties.  By the slimmest of margins, I Corps is able to restore its line and hold the Germans.  Not for the first nor the last time the Germans manage to achieve a breakthrough, only to have it closed before it can be exploited.

- To the south of the main fighting at Ypres today the period of the heaviest fighting has come to an end, as the German 6th Army is no longer attempting to break through the British line between Armentières and La Bassée; daily skirmishes continue, however, mainly comprised of spoiling attacks by the Germans to keep the British opposite from redeploying northward.  Since coming into the line, the British III Corps has suffered 5779 casualties, while II Corps was down to 14 000 infantry after arriving in Flanders with 24 000.  The withdrawal of II Corps from the line is also completed today, with its place taken by all of the Indian Corps.

- When the First World War broke out, Portugal remained neutral, but declared its 'support' for the Entente.  This awkward position arose out of Portugal's longstanding alliance with Britain that stretched back to the Middle Ages, but which did not require Portugal to actually go to war.  Moreover, the British had such little regard for the Portuguese military that they saw no advantage to be gained by Portugal actually participating in the war.  Thus Portugal stands in 1914 as unfriendly but not openly hostile to Germany.

The place of Portugal in the war has ramifications in Africa, considering the non-insubstantial Portuguese colonial empire, and in particular both Angola and Mozambique are adjacent to German colonies (German South West Africa and German West Africa respectively).  In September Portugal had dispatched 1500 soldiers to each to buttress their garrison against potential German aggression.  These forces would also aid in maintaining Portuguese rule over their colonies - parts of Angola in particular were in a state of near-perpetual revolt by the indigenous population.

To their German neighbours, however, these reinforcements could be interpreted as a prelude to a Portuguese invasion.  Moreover, since the fall of Togoland in August direct communications with Germany had been severed,  Thus the governor of German South West Africa is uncertain whether or not Germany and Portugal are at war.  Tensions were heightened on October 19th when a German patrol (according to the Portuguese) or mission (according to the Germans) was arrested at a Portuguese border fort, and in the ensuing scuffle three Germans were killed.  The event appears to confirm suspicions that the Portuguese are an active combatant, and the German governor decides to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the ongoing Boer Rebellion temporarily halting South African operations to the south to deal with the Portuguese to the north.

Today a German detachment approaches the Portuguese post at Cuangar, whose garrison is oblivious to the events of October 19th.  Taken by surprise, the Portuguese defenders are overwhelmed and massacred by the Germans.

- The commanders of Indian Expeditionary Force B and C meet today in Mombada with Kenyan and other British officials to finalize their plan for the invasion of German East Africa.  It is decided that IEF B will land at Tanga on November 2nd, while IEF C will attack across the border in the interior on the 3rd.  Crucially, the naval commander of the force escorting IEF B insists that given the prior agreement to neutralize Tanga and Dar es Salaam, it is necessary to inform the Germans that the British have abrogated the agreement before IEF B can land.

- The British light cruiser Glasgow continues to sit off Coronel today.  Despite the volume of intercepted German wireless traffic, no German warships have appeared, so the captain of Glasgow receives permission from Admiral Craddock to enter Coronel, which it does at dusk.  The ship's intelligence officer goes ashore to collect mail and messages from the British consul, who warns of a large German ethnic community, which means the presence of Glasgow in Coronel may have already been reported to the German East Asiatic Squadron.  In fact, one of the squadron's supply ships was in harbour when Glasgow arrived, and had reported its presence to Admiral Spee at 7pm.  An increase in the volume of German wireless traffic convinces the captain of Glasgow that German warships are approaching, so he decides to sail by 9am tomorrow morning.  Further, Admiral Craddock is bringing the rest of his squadron to Coronel to rendezvous with Glasgow - all of the German signals have had the call sign of the light cruiser Leipzig, and Craddock believes that it is operating in isolation from the rest of the German East Asiatic Squadron, providing an opportunity to sink it in isolation.

That all of the German wireless traffic has had the call signal of Leipzig, of course, is a deliberate ruse by Admiral Spee to mask the presence of his entire squadron off the Chilean coast.  When he learns of Glasgow's presence in Coronel, he decides to trap the British warship when it departs Coronel tomorrow; by law a warship that spends more than twenty-four hours in a neutral port is to be interned.  Thus the commanders of both squadrons believe that they are moving to engage a single warship of the other.

October 28th, 1914

- This evening the Belgians make a second attempt at opening the locks, Hendrik Geeraert leading Belgian soldiers to lock gates just before the German lines.  This time they get the timing right, and the North Sea begins to flood the area between the Yser River and the railway embankment.  Meanwhile, the Germans launch attacks against the southern portion of the French line defending Dixmude, but are unable to make any progress against the fresh Senegalese units.

- As Army Group Fabeck begins to assemble for the planned offensive southeast of Ypres, both Fabeck and Falkenhayn decide that a preliminary operation is required to capture Gheluvelt, as continued British control of the village would allow them to pour fire on the northern flank of the main attack.  Thus the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division, I Cavalry Corps, and XXVII Reserve Corps are instructed to co-operate in attacking Gheluvelt tomorrow morning.  As the planning continues Falkenhayn orders 4th Army to cancel a scheduled attack nearby in order to be able to assist the push on Gheluvelt if necessary.  When 4th Army headquarters signals the change in orders to XXVII Reserve Corps in the clear, the message is intercepted by the British.

- For their part, the leadership of the BEF had been growing in confidence over the past few days.  There is a palpable sense that they have defeated the big German push - the attacks of the reserve corps - and that they are now going back over to the offensive.  True, the gains of the French IX Corps have been minimal, a further attack today not securing anything of consequence, while recent setbacks such as the loss of Neuve Chapelle are dismissed as local events of no significance.  There is also a belief that the Germans have shot their bolt, Sir John French writing Kitchener yesterday that the Germans were 'quite incapable of making any strong and sustained attack' - not the Field Marshal;s most insightful observation.  When aerial reconnaissance reports the roads behind the German front clogged with vehicles, the general conclusion is that most are refugees fleeing the fighting, as opposed to reinforcements approaching the front.

Thus the interception of the German 4th Army's signal regarding the planned attack against Gheluvelt tomorrow does not cause quite the alarm it perhaps should.  As the attack will fall on the junction of I Corps' 1st and 7th Division, plans are made to co-ordinate the artillery fire of those two divisions plus 2nd to the north, and they are authorized to exceed their daily quota of shell usage.  However, the attention of both French and Haig remains on the offensive to the north, and orders remain for 2nd Division to advance.  Moreover, the British reaction was slowed by poor communications - though I Corps HQ knows of the German attack by 3pm, it is not until midnight that the information reaches the headquarters of the relevant battalions.  This delay is not the product of poor staff work, but rather the realities of modern communications in 1914.  Almost all messages go either by telephone or messenger, and the lines of the former are frequently destroyed by shell fire, while the latter have to move in the open and in the range of enemy fire to get to front-line headquarters given that the rudimentary defences lack communication trenches.

- To the south, another counterattack is attempted against Neuve Chapelle.  After a short preliminary bombardment the British advance at 1130am.  The attack is a shambles - the soldiers are exhausted after several days of constant fighting and there are great difficulties coordinating the large number of small formations participating in the operation.  The only success is registered by two companies of the 47th Sikhs who advanced on the village single-handedly.  Astonishingly, they not only reach the ruins of Neuve Chapelle but in hand-to-hand combat force the German defenders back.  The inevitable counterattack, however, pushes the 47th Sikhs out, and only 68 men survive from the 289 who began the attack.

- The first three months of the war at sea have not evolved as many in the British government and among the public.  For a century the Royal Navy has been seen as the strongest naval power on earth, and that it was the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 that cemented this status.  For a decade there has been an intense naval rivalry with Germany, centred on the construction of dreadnoughts.  There was a general expectation that in the event of war, there would be another Trafalgar - a massive naval battle between both fleets after which the victor would rule the waves, and there being no doubt in Britain as to which side would triumph.

The war to date, however, have not delivered the expected victory.  Both the Grand Fleet and the High Seas Fleet have largely remained confined to port and their home waters - the former through fear of submarines and mines, and the latter as a result of numerical inferiority.  Further, while Admiral Jellicoe is undoubtedly correct that he does not need a naval victory at sea to secure the blockade, it does not make for particularly exciting war news from the navy, especially in contrast to the massive battles being waged across Europe, including by the BEF.

Moreover, the events that have occurred at sea have not been entirely in Britain's favour.  Against the victory at the Battle of the Heligoland Bight must be set the escape of Goeben and Breslau, the loss of the three armoured cruisers in one morning off the Dutch coast, and the continued activity of both the German East Asiatic Squadron in the Pacific and the light cruiser Emden in the Indian Ocean.  Often added to this list is the fall of Antwerp, where Churchill dispatched the naval brigades in what is now seen as a doomed attempt to save the city, and ended up having thousands taken prisoner or interned.

Criticism in the press of the navy's performance comes to be centred on the First Sea Lord, Louis of Battenberg.  He is the military head of the Royal Navy, and his appointed as First Sea Lord in 1911 was the culmination of a lifelong career at sea.  Born a German citizen to the ruling family of Hesse, he was and is related to most of the dynastic families of Europe, including Britain and Russia.  His friendship with the second son of Queen Victoria led to him to become a British citizen at the age of fourteen upon his entry to the Royal Navy.  There has never been any basis to doubt his loyalty to Britain - indeed, the Hohenzollern family of Kaiser Wilhelm II is one of the few that have a poor relationship with the Battenbergs, while his nephew, Prince Maurice of Battenberg, died at Ypres yesterday, fighting for the British.

However, in time of war, when Britain is involved in a life-or-death struggle with the Germans, it is not difficult for the conspiracy-minded to link the perceived poor performance of the Royal Navy with the German background of the First Sea Lord.  In the cheap press the wildest rumours have flown - one suggested that as a German spy he had deliberately allowed the Goeben and Breslau to escape to Constantinople.  Further, any admiral who has climbed the greasy pole of naval politics has left a trail of rivals, and in Battenberg's case they see a perfect opportunity to bring him down.  A whisper campaign against the First Sea Lord has traveled among London's clubs, and have reached the highest ears.

Churchill and the Prime Minister decide that a change in command is needed to quell the rumours and remove the distractions of Battenberg's ancestry.  The First Lord informs Battenberg that he must resign, and the latter does so with such great dignity, refusing to attack those who have defamed him, that there is a widespread sympathetic reaction among much of the British press.  Such are the whims of the British press.  Churchill, meanwhile, must find a new Sea Lord.

- On the same day the First Sea Lord resigns, another tragedy befalls the Royal Navy.  This morning the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet, commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender and consisting of eight of the Royal Navy's newest and most powerful dreadnoughts, is at sea off the north Irish coast for gunnery practice.  This squadron is one of those moved out of Scapa Flow on the 17th after the reported presence of a German submarine in the anchorage.  The move, ironically, has placed the warships directly in harm's way.  Six days earlier, the German liner Berlin, armed as a cruiser and carrying a large number of mines, had laid two hundred mines off the north Irish coast.  As of day, the Royal Navy has no idea the minefield exists, and Vice-Admiral Warrender inadvertently leads his dreadnoughts directly into it.

At 9am, there is a large explosion on the port side of the dreadnought Audacious.  Initially believing it to be caused by a torpedo, Warrender quickly sails away to protect the rest of his squadron.  Despite the damage for two hours the stricken warship is able to make 9 knots towards the harbour at Lough Swilly before the engine room was swamped and the warships comes to a halt.  At 130pm the British liner Olympic, sister ship of Titanic and on the last day of a voyage from New York to Liverpool, comes across the dreadnought.  Olympic's captain offers to take Audacious in tow, and for several hours crews struggle to secure lines between the two, but the weight of the latter causes the lines to repeatedly snap.  At 9pm, Audacious finally succumbs to its wounds, capsizing and sinking.

The crew of the British dreadnought Audacious takes to lifeboats as the warship flounders.

Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, is desperate to suppress news of the loss of Audacious.  He believes that his margin in dreadnoughts over the High Seas Fleet is now only seventeen to fifteen, and fears that if the Germans learn of the sinking, they will be tempted to take advantage of being one dreadnought closer to parity.  The problem is the presence of Olympic, full of civilians, many of them Americans and a few of whom managed to take pictures of the stricken dreadnought.  When Olympic reaches Lough Swilly, Jellicoe orders it isolated to prevent communication from ship to shore.  Ultimately the effort is unsuccessful - news leaks in the American press in November - but the Admiralty will not admit publicly to the loss of Audacious until after the war.

- For the past two months, the German light cruiser Emden has been terrorizing Entente shipping in the Indian Ocean.  In addition to its shelling of Madras, it has seized or sunk several dozen merchant ships, leading to a moratorium on any merchant sailing in the Bay of Bengal.  This morning Emden accomplishes its most audacious feat in the harbour of Penang, a port on the western coast of British Malaya.  In the pre-dawn hours, Emden, with all of its lights extinguished, slowly makes its way in the harbour unseen by anyone.  It finds there the Russian Yemtschuk at anchor.  Emden manoeuvres into position and fires a single torpedo, and there is no reaction from Yemtschuk until the torpedo strikes it amidships.  A few sailors are seen scurrying on deck, and a couple of guns attempt to return fire, but Emden is sufficiently unmolested to be able to turn 180 degrees and fire a second torpedo.  The detonation of the latter breaks the back of Yemtschuk, which promptly sinks.  Emden then makes its way out of the harbour - a French destroyer at anchor fires a few shots, but otherwise the German light cruiser gets away.  Later this morning, it encounters another French destroyer - Mousquet - returning to Penang after patrolling the Bay of Bengal, and in short order sinks it as well.  Emden then disappears once more into the Indian Ocean.

The loss of a light cruiser sitting in a supposedly-guarded port is a significant embarrassment to the Entente; the German ship, however, had the good fortune to be targeting a singularly ill-prepared foe.  At the moment the Germans attacked, Yemtschuk's captain was ashore at a Penang hotel with his 'lady friend'.  Moreover, there was no night watch on the light cruiser, as the crew was being 'entertained' by sixty prostitutes below deck.  Emden's attack brought a rather abrupt end to the night's 'entertainment.'  Perhaps not surprisingly, the captain and first officer will be court-martialled for negligence.  Meanwhile the legend of Emden grows.

October 26th, 1914

- Heavy German assaults on the Belgian left and centre of their line between Nieuport and Dixmude force the defenders back upon the railway embankment.  King Albert pleads for further reinforcements from his allies; with the heavy fighting at Dixmude and to the south, they have none to give.  The Belgian command staff begin to discuss a further withdrawal, and cavalry are posted on bridges to the rear to cover a potential retreat.  King Albert, however, knowing such a withdrawal might unhinge the entire Entente line in Flanders and lead to the destruction of the Belgian army, forbids any retreat.  The Belgians turn to the only other option available - the sea.  Much of the land between Nieuport and Dixmude is below sea level, and the waters are kept out by a series of locks and sluices.  If the locks can be opened at high tide, and closed at low tide, the land can be flooded, making further German assaults impossible.  The trouble is finding any civilians in the area who actually know where the lock cranks are and the order in which they should be opened and closed.  Fortuitously for the Belgians, an elderly lockkeeper named Hendrik Geeraert is found who knows how the lock system works.

- In Dixmude the bitter fighting has continued through this morning, when several battalions of Senegalese soldiers arrive to reinforce the defenders.  The commander of the German XXII Reserve Corps reluctantly orders 43rd Reserve Division back to its starting trenches.  Dixmude is now an utter ruin, and over the past two days of street fighting at least 161 civilians are deliberately killed by the attacking Germans.

- The focus of both Field Marshal French and General d'Urbal remains an attack to the northeast, along the lines attempted over the past few days.  The French IX Corps is to be reinforced by 31st Division today, and General Haig orders an infantry and artillery brigade from 1st Division to support the French.  Again, however, little progress is made.  Given his approaching reinforcements, General Pierre Dubois of IX Corps decides to widen the breadth of his attack to include Poelcappelle and Passchendaele.  This, however, disperses French strength instead of concentrating it.  Moreover, the arrival of 31st Division is delayed by masses of refugees on the road, and only arrives at St. Julien, its assembly point, at 5pm, too late to participate in the day's attack.  Some of the French formations are also badly managed - several wander in front of the British portion of the line, delaying the operations of both.  French infantry struggle to advance under German rifle and artillery fire - at the village of Zonnebeke, the air is filled with clouds of red dust from brick houses annihilated by the explosion of German shells.  At best IX Corps is able to advance between four and five hundred yards.  On their south the British 2nd Division of I Corps make no progress, their advance disrupted early in the afternoon when a false report of an imminent German counterattack arrives at Haig's headquarters.

- At Kruiseecke, the plight of 20th Brigade of 7th Division worsens.  The poorly-sited trenches have been under constant bombardment for thirty-six hours, with great numbers of British soldiers buried by collapsing trenches and sand blown into the air clogging rifles.  The nerves of the defenders are thus already frail when a major German attack by fifteen battalions at 9am.  After bitter fighting Germans begin to infiltrate the British line after 10am, which causes widespread chaos as some Germans shout out 'Retire! Retire!'  Belief that a general retreat has been ordered appears entirely plausible to many of the companies, given the heavy bombardment and enemy attack.  Individually and in small groups, British soldiers withdraw from their trenches and stream to the rear.  Three miles of the front held by 20th Brigade have been lost, and the Germans are able to advance several thousand yards, capturing Kruiseecke in particular and 'caving in' the point of the British salient southeast of Ypres.  7th Division calls on I Corps and the Cavalry Corps for reinforcements, and when General Haig arrives to the rear of 20th Brigade's position he is 'astounded at the terror-stricken men coming back.'  The reinforcements are able to create a new defensive line, and many soldiers of 20th Brigade who broke in the morning regain composure once they are out of the firing line.  Nevertheless, the brigade suffers over a thousand casualties today, and 7th Division as a whole has lost 162 officers and 4320 other ranks over the past nine days of fighting, the losses constituting 44% and 37% of the numbers they arrived in France with.

The salient around Ypres, October 26th to 29th, 1914.

- Along the front of the British II Corps, the German 14th Reserve Division of VII Corps launches a major assault today against the village of Neuve Chapelle.  The weakest point of the British line was held by 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, which after two days of constant artillery bombardment and fighting had been reduced to two officers and seventeen soldiers.  Many of this and neighbouring units had been repeatedly buried when trenches collapsed under shell fire.  When the attack is launched at 4pm, the line held by 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles collapses, and Germans stream through Neuve Chapelle.  The British battalions north and south of the village, however, are able to hold their trenches, and the reserve company of 1st Battalion, Wiltshires manages to plug the gap.  This evening a counterattack is launched by a number of whatever companies could be assembled at short notice, which makes their co-ordination difficult.  By the end of the day, the southern portion of Neuve Chapelle has been recaptured, but the old trench line and a number of houses remain in German hands.

- Over the past few days Conrad's plan for an offensive by the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army in Poland has fallen apart.  The Russian armies moving across the Vistula River have done so north-to-south, so that by the time Russians appear before 1st Army the bulk of the Russian forces are already west of the river.  Thus instead of fighting only a portion of the enemy, 1st Army finds itself outnumbered almost two to one and have suffered forty thousand casualties.  Today Conrad orders 1st Army to retreat to the southwest, joining the German 9th Army in retreat.  The one salvation for the German and Austro-Hungarian armies is that the poor weather and logistical difficulties within the Russian army prevent an aggressive pursuit.

- Today Talat Pasha, the Ottoman Minister of the Interior, orders the governor of the province of Van, located in eastern Anatolia, to remove the Christian Syriac population in Hakk[a]ri near the Persian border.  In Talat's opinion, this population is potentially subversive, and ought to be relocated to western Anatolia where, safely distant from the Empire's borders, they would pose no security risk after the outbreak of war.  Though the order is not implemented at present, it is an ominous portent of the attitude the Ottoman government will take towards ethnic minorities within the state and the measures to be undertaken against those deemed unreliable.

- The German East Asiatic Squadron arrives today at the island of Más Afuera, 450 miles west of Chile.  Though a possession of Chile, it is inhabited only by fishermen, so Admiral Spee ignores the island's supposed 'neutrality' and stops to coal.

- As the old armoured cruiser Good Hope steams up the Chilean coast to rendezvous with Glasgow, Monmouth, and Otranto, Admiral Craddock signals the Admiralty his intention to find and fight the German East Asiatic Squadron, while Canopus has been left behind to convoy colliers.

October 25th, 1914

- It is a day of relative quiet along the Belgian line from Nieuport to Dixmude, and the battered Belgians take advantage of the lull to evacuate over nine thousand wounded from the battle line.  The Belgian command staff believe, however, that the Germans will inevitably resume their assault, and that the present line between the Yser River and the Nieuport-Dixmude railway will not hold.  Preparations are thus undertaken for utilizing the railway embankment as a final defensive line, as in the flat terrain of the area its height of six feet is almost towering.

- After the continuous bombardment of Dixmude yesterday, the German 43rd Reserve Division begins its assault at 1am.  Over the next five hours, fifteen separate attacks are launched, and day of vicious street fighting ensues.  In the chaos of the ruins trenches are won and lost, machine guns reaching out from buildings to strike down swathes of attackers.  Dead and wounded alike are trampled underfoot.  This evening bayonets are fixed, and hand-to-hand fighting ensues.  A detachment of about fifty Germans manages to cross the Yser bridge, but are wiped out.

- By 8am the British 1st Division has withdrawn from the front line, replaced by French territorial units.  Over the past four days of fighting, the division has suffered fourteen hundred casualties.

- The French IX Corps attempt to resume their counteroffensive this afternoon, as as they advance the British 2nd Division, returned to the line on their right flank, is to follow.  IX Corps encounters heavy resistance, and the movement of 2nd Division is delayed four hours.  Through bitter fighting, the French and British units are able to push the line forward northeastwards, and one British battalion manages to reach the Passchendaele-Becelaere which marks the high point of the ridge between the two villages.

- To the south, 20th Brigade of IV Corps hold the 'corner' of the Ypres salient at Kruiseecke, and the German artillery bombardment they endure today is made more devastating by their weak defenses.  7th Division, to which 20th Brigade belongs, has dug their trenches on a forward slope, so the Germans can see them directly and pinpoint their artillery bombardment.  Moreover, they have attempted to cover their trenches with wooden planks and earth, but this is shown to be worse than leaving trenches open to the sky, as the detonation of high-explosive shells turns the wood planks into shrapnel-like splinters.  At night a German attack seizes a quarter-mile of 20th Brigade's front, and it is only with great difficulty that it is regained.  General Rawlinson tells Field Marshal French tonight that his IV Corps is 'only hanging on by our eyelids.'  The comment does not endear Rawlinson to his commanding officer - Sir John French's attention is still on the hoped-for advance to the northeast, and does not want to hear about setbacks elsewhere on the line.

- Overnight a German attack against 3rd Division of II Corps hits the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders particularly hard, and their trenches are lost.  On their flank the 15th Sikhs, one of the first Indian units to enter the line, hold their position under heavy artillery fire.  So fearless were the Sikhs that they walked about in the open as German shells fell around them - General Smith-Dorrien had to suggest to their commander that perhaps this was not the wisest of ideas.  Early this morning a counterattack retakes the lost trenches, and for the rest of the day the Germans are content to bombard II Corps' positions, though with sufficient intensity to force some enemy battalions to pull out of their trenches until nightfall.

October 24th, 1914

- The Entente crisis deepens today along the Yser.  By dawn the Germans have secured five kilometres of the river, and all of 6th Reserve Division is on the west bank.  Though the Germans continue to be unable to bring artillery or supplies across due to enemy bombardment, the Belgian defensive line on the river has been broken.  The Belgian divisions are being ground down, and there are no reserves to relieve them.  General d'Urbal authorizes the French 42nd Division at Nieuport to send a brigade to the Belgian centre to keep it from crumbling, which arrives this morning.  Nevertheless, the north and centre of the Belgian line along the Yser is withdrawn to the Noordvaart and Beverdyk, small streams running north-south between the river to the east and the Nieuport-Dixmude railway embankment to the west.  The German 4th Army also undertake a heavy bombardment of Dixmude, including by the massive siege guns used at Antwerp, clearing in preparation for a major attack on the town.

- The developments along the Yser mean that the planned by Foch and d'Urbal is reduced to an attack by the recently arrived IX Corps.  From 7am this morning the French 17th Division of IX Corps attacks the German lines between Langemarck and Zonnebeke northeast of Ypres, held by portions of the German XVII and XVIII Reserve Corps.  In the morning most progress is achieved near Langemarck where they are able to advance a thousand yards.  Early in the afternoon the German 51st Reserve Division counterattacks at Zonnebeke, but is driven off, and the village recaptured by this evening.

- On the left of the French 17th Division the British 1st Division of I Corps has a relatively uneventful day, only experiencing heavy bombardment in the evening.  The plan is to relieve 1st Division with two French territorial brigades, so that all of I Corps is out of the line and thus can be utilized in a British counteroffensive to the south.  The heavy shelling in the evening, however, delays the handover of the trench line.

On the right of the French 17th Division, the British 7th Division of IV Corps has a very trying day.  It sits holding the southeastern 'angle' of the Ypres salient, and comes under heavy attack throughout the day.  The most critical moments come at the tiny village of Rethel, which sits just in front of Polygon Wood.  This section of line was at the junction of two brigades, and was defended by the 2nd Battalion, Wiltshires and a company of 2nd Battalion Scots Guards.  A preliminary bombardment begins at 430am, and in the early morning light two regiments of the German 53rd Reserve Division advance.  The German artillery keeps firing as their infantry reaches Rethel which, though it places the infantry at risk of being hit by friendly fire, suppresses the British infantry - many are too busy hiding from enemy shells to fire on the German infantry advancing on their trenches.  The Wiltshires initially are able to hold up the German advance, but the artillery fire has largely destroyed the position of the company of the Scots Guards - when the Germans reach the latter's position, they are able to easily overrun them and capture the British trench.  This outflanks the Wiltshires, and the Germans are able to work their way down the trench, systematically wiping out the British defenders.  The Wiltshires collapse, and most of the survivors fall into German hands.

The Germans had managed to blast a hole in the British line - there was nothing directly west of Rethel to hold the Germans.  The commander of 7th Division had no further reserves at hand - they had been committed to hold against other German attacks today - so he calls on 2nd Division to the rear for any aid they can send.  He also orders all of the headquarter staff, orderlies, clerks, and other administrative individuals to rally for a last stand.

The position of 7th Division is saved by the simple fact that the commander of the German 244th Regiment, who had achieved the breakthrough, had no idea that he had accomplished any such thing.  He is content to remain at Rethel, and only tentatively sends part of his force into Polygon Wood after over two hours of relative inactivity.  It is at this point that two battalions dispatched from 2nd Division arrive, and in desperate hand-to-hand fighting with the bayonet, the Germans are ejected from the Wood.  Rethel remains in German hands, but the relief force is able to reconstitute the British line at the edge of Polygon Wood.  For only the briefest of moments, the opportunity for a breakthrough appeared, but in the confusion of the battlefield it vanished before the Germans even knew it was there.

To the south the Germans launch a series of attacks near Gheluvelt this afternoon, but are repulsed.  After a difficult day, 7th Division has held its line with the exception of the loss of Rethel.  But the victories have not been without cost.  In the fighting between the 22nd and today, 7th Division has lost just over 2800 men, or almost 40% of its total strength.

- To the south, nine battalions from the German XIII and XIX Corps advance on positions of the British III Corps at Le Quesne, while elements of the German VII Corps, eager to come to grip with the enemy after they escaped unnoticed the day before, launch a series of methodical attacks on II Corps.  In heavy fighting the British lines bend but do not break, and by midnight all ground lost in fighting earlier in the day has been recaptured.

- From the perspective of the German 4th Army, the capture of the ruins of Rethel hardly compensates for both failures elsewhere and the French advance between Langemarck and Zonnebeke.  The reserve corps have been thoroughly battered after several days of fighting, with casualties over 60% in some regiments.  It is clear that they are no longer in any shape to undertake offensive operations, so the decision is made to order them to entrench and go on to the defensive.  The situation to the north, however, is much more promising, with the expanding bridgehead across the Yser by III Reserve Corps.  A breakthrough here might still achieve victory by sweeping along the Channel coast.  Moreover, it is known that the French have reinforced the Belgian lines west of the Yser, which opens the possibility that they have no reserves left to support the defenders of Dixmude.  The major focus of 4th Army thus shifts from the Ypres salient to the line Nieuport-Dixmude.

- A shortage of artillery shells is becoming acute in the BEF.  Field Marshal French today telegrams Kitchener that while his guns have fired as many as seventy-six shells per day, only the equivalent of seven rounds per day were arriving from Britain, and there were only one hundred fifty shells per gun that had not already been issued to the artillery positions.  Kitchener advised that restrictions on ammunition expenditure be considered to avoid running out at a critical moment.

The lines around Ypres, October 24th and 25th, 1914.

- In South Africa Marwitz's force, which had sparked the Boer Rebellion, is defeated by government forces led by Coen Brits at Kakamas.  Marwitz briefly considers surrender, but the news of the general rebellion, in particular of De Wet in the Orange Free State and Beyers in the western Transvaal, encourages Marwitz to continue.

October 23rd, 1914

- In the pre-dawn hours, the Germans are able to push another two and a half battalions over the Yser River to the bridgehead captured twenty-four hours earlier, and during the day seize Tervaete, reducing the fire on the soldiers pinned on the west bank.  Heavy Belgian and French artillery fire, however, prevent the Germans from bringing up artillery of their own to support the bridgehead.  Elsewhere along the Yser, the Germans suffer under bombardment both from Entente guns and warships off shore, as they are finding that shifting sands and the high level of ground water makes it impossible to dig trenches of any depth.  Further, the French 42nd Division arrives today to reinforce the Belgians defending Nieuport.

- Generals Foch and d'Urbal have planned a French counter-offensive for today, with the orders having gone out late last night, in line with Foch's continuing interpretation of the battle as one of maneouvre in which an Entente advance can win a decisive victory.  The orders call for the French 42nd Division to advance along the coast, the French marines at Dixmude to move on Thourout, and the French IX Corps, still in the process of moving through Ypres to the front, to attack northeast from along the line Zonnebeke-Becelaere in the direction of Passchendaele and Roulers.  Foch also sent messages to the Belgian and British commanders, asking for their assistance in the operation.  The Belgians are only barely holding on, and are in no shape to attack anyone.  The message to the British reaches Sir John French and Douglas Haig only at 2 am, for an attack scheduled to begin at 9am.  Both object that British co-operation at such a late stage is a practical impossibility.  Furthermore, the advance of IX Corps would require it to pass through the lines of the British 2nd Division of I Corps, which would be a difficult operation even with sufficient planning.  In the event, the proposed attack comes to naught.  17th Division, lead element of IX Corps, is held up on the roads by streams of refugees, and do not reach the front until the afternoon.  General Dubois of IX Corps decides that given the circumstances it would be better to reinforce the British front instead of trying to pass through and attack today.  The attempt at an offensive is postponed until tomorrow.

- On the British line, 1st and 2nd Divisions of I Corps and 7th Division of IV Corps are heavily engaged again today.  At dawn, a force of five battalions of 1st Division, drawn from three brigades and the Corps' reserve, launch a counterattack against Kortekeer, the capture of which was the one success the Germans achieved yesterday.  The defenders appear to be taken by surprise, and by noon all of the ground lost has been regained.  Over five hundred prisoners are taken, and fifty-four Cameron Highlanders, made prisoner yesterday, are released.  The most stubborn resistance comes from a single German sniper in a windmill - the threat is not removed until the windmill is burnt to the ground with the sniper still in it.  A German counterattack at 5pm is easily driven off.

On 1st Division's right, a major effort is made starting at 8am by elements of the German XXIII Reserve Corps to seize Langemarck.  The British trench had been constructed only the night before, and the portions of two battalions holding them were significantly outnumbered.  Despite this, the German advance is greeted with murderous machine gun and rifle fire.  For several hours the Germans come on, only to be mowed down by the British.  By 1pm the Germans finally withdraw, only to be shelled heavily by British artillery as they depart the field.  1st Division casualties today are 1344; German losses were significantly higher.

At 530pm a major effort is mounted by XXVI Reserve Corps against 2nd Division.  Some Germans reach within twenty-five yards of the British trenches, but the German formations, denser than those of yesterday, are badly mauled, the fields in front of the British line soon covered with German dead.  This evening, it is decided that the French 17th Division will relieve the British 2nd Division, and the former has taken over the lines of the latter by 11pm, 2nd Division reforming between their old line and Ypres.

7th Division spends most of the day under a heavy German artillery bombardment, which only lifts when infantry attacks are sent in.  In a few places the Germans are able to penetrate between defensive positions, only to be driven back by the timely deployment of reserve battalions.

- In contrast to the situation to the north, the British II Corps has an uneventful day.  The German VII Corps opposite had not detected the withdrawal overnight of II Corps to a new defensive position, and so this morning shell the now abandoned trenches before German units advance.  Expecting a sharp fight, they discover instead deserted defenses.  The initial response of the German soldiers is, naturally enough, relief at not having to fight for the positions, but the mode is rapidly spoiled by British artillery.  As II Corps was withdrawing, its artillery was precisely registering the ranges to their old trenches, and so once the Germans took them the British pours very accurate artillery fire on them, inflicting significant casualties.  The day is wasted for the Germans, and VII Corps does not reach the new British defensive line by nightfall.

- Today Field Marshal French and General Smith-Dorrien meets with the commander of the Lahore Division of the Indian Corps, the latter having detrained at Hazebrouck on the 20th.  For now, the Indians will be held in reserve behind the lines of II and III Corps, to be used only in emergencies.

- To date the German offensive, and in particular the attacks of the reserve corps over the past two days, have failed to achieve their objectives.  It is true that local gains have been achieved - there is III Reserve Corps bridgehead on the Yser, the seizure of the high ground northeast of Ypres, and the forced retreat of the British II Corps.  However, a decisive breaking of the Entente line, the likes of which would justify the commitment of the four inexperienced reserve corps and the horrendous losses they have suffered, has not occurred.  Falkenhayn is not pleased with the results of the past few days, and warns the commanders of 4th and 6th Armies that their operations will be reviewed if greater success is not achieved soon.

The commanders of both armies - Duke Albrecht of 4th Army and Prince Rupprecht of 6th Army - owe their appointment to their place as hereditary rulers of German states.  Real power rested with their chiefs of staff, and they know that success in Flanders will reflect as much on them as their nominal superiors.  Both take Falkenhayn's warning to heart, and seek to recast their operations.  Major-General Kraft von Delmensingen of 6th Army concludes that the efforts of his army have been spread out to far, and it would be better to focus their strength on particular points.  Given the role of 4th Army, it is logical for 6th Army to concentrate the front they hold immediately south of their neighbour, and after discussions with the General Staff it is agreed that the focal point of 6th Army's future attacks will lay between La Bassée and the Ypres-Menin road.  Major-General Emil Ilse of 4th Army, meanwhile, is appalled by the losses suffered by the four reserve corps - the ranks of experienced officers in the corps, already thin, have been decimated over the past two days.  Moreover, he believes the key to the enemy line is Dixmude, the capture of which would outflank both the Belgians along the Yser River and the French and British lines around Ypres, and a major effort against the town is planned for tomorrow.

- The French defenders at Arras are rescued today by the timely arrival of six battalions of Senegalese soldiers, which allow them to hold off the Germans.  The Kaiser departs, once again disappointed.

- Today the large units of the Canadian Contingent finish disembarking at Plymouth, and make their way to a large encampment on Salisbury Plain where they will spend several months training.  Even as they begin, recruiting continues in Canada for a second contingent of volunteers.

October 22nd, 1914

- The battle intensifies between Ypres and the Channel.  In the pre-dawn hours, the German 26th Reserve Infantry Regiment of III Reserve Corps closes up to the Yser River just south of Schoore.  By using the bayonet to clear out Belgian outposts east of the river, the defenders on the west bank have not been alarmed.  Using the cover of night, engineers bridge the river at two places, and by dawn most of two battalions are on the west bank.  The Germans are able to resist Belgian counterattacks, but the small bridgehead comes under fierce and sustained artillery fire, preventing reinforcement during the day.  Only after nightfall can additional German soldiers get across the river.

- To the south, a monumental attack is launched by the Germans against the British I and IV Corps.  The British line around Ypres today forms a semi-circle, and it is against its northern and eastern portions that the attack falls.  The bulk of the German XVI Reserve Corps, assisted by a division of XXIII Reserve Corps, throws itself against the line held by the British 1st Division between Bixschoote and Langemarck, while to the southeast the British 2nd Division spends most of the day under a heavy artillery bombardment before the Germans attempt to rush the enemy trenches at dusk.  Further south, 7th Division of IV Corps is assaulted by the German XVII Reserve Corps south of Zonnebeke.

The trial of the four reserve corps consigned to the attack by Falkenhayn is now at hand.  They form up for the advance, officers, some on horseback, in front, with the soldiers in massed ranks.  The volunteers of the corps have had time only to learn the most basic parade-ground maneouvres, while those with prior military training have either forgotten the bulk of it or learnt it so long ago as to be practically useless.  There are only a sprinkling of officers and NCOs through the corps who have seen combat in this war, and thus the infantry advance in the mass formations of peacetime - they have not gained the knowledge learnt at great cost over the past few months of the realities of the modern battlefield.  The instructions for the formations are simple - advance and overwhelm the enemy.  As they march into battle, some of the units begin to sing 'Deutschland über Alles' or 'Die Wacht am Rhein.'  In part they do so as a recognition signal - so inexperienced are they that they fear firing on their own soldiers, so singing the two great German patriotic songs is an unmistakable signal of their identity.  The singing also, however, reflects the great patriotism amongst in particular the volunteers, those who rushed to enlist in August 1914.  These volunteers, many high school and university students, sometimes with their teachers alongside, represent the pinnacle of German war enthusiasm - they march into battle because they choose to, believing in the righteousness of their cause and the irresistibility of their advance.

Their singing reaches the British soldiers huddling in their meagre trenches opposite.  As the Germans advance, flags flying in near-perfect parade-ground formation, the British open fire.  The patriotism and enthusiasm of the German volunteers meets the fire of machine guns and rifles, and the result is never in doubt.  Huge swathes are cut through the German ranks - the British regulars, trained to fire fifteen aimed rifle shots a minute, fire between 500 and 600 times today.  Hundreds and hundreds of Germans are wounded and killed as they attempt to march to the British line.  Now the inexperience of the reserve corps manifests itself in another way - they do not know when enemy fire is too intense to continue.  Not knowing better, they continue to advance long after it becomes painfully obvious to those with battlefield experience that all further attacks will accomplish is pile the German bodies higher.  Even when the Germans pull back, they simply reform and advance again.  In some cases they get as close as fifty yards to the British trenches, a range at which no British regular could possibly miss.  Even some of the British officers cannot help but admire the courage of the Germans in continuing to attack.  But as the past few months have shown, courage against the machine gun can have only one outcome.

The German attacks accomplish nothing of strategic significance.  The small village of Kortekeer is taken on the front of the British 1st Division, but no breakthrough is achieved and the British are quick to plan a counterattack.  By nightfall the sound of singing has been replaced by the piteous moans of the wounded and dying.  British soldiers peering through the twilight sees the fields before them covered by fallen Germans.  Here and there a wounded German, sometimes variously with arms or legs missing, attempts to crawl to safety.  Many of the German formations have lost half or more of their strength.

From today's attacks, and ones by the reserve corps in subsequent days, a legend will grow in Germany - the Kindermord, or Massacre of the Innocents.  The proportion of the reserve corps composed of young volunteers is inflated, such that the attack is depicted as the ultimate expression of German patriotism.  Far from being seen as a defeat, the  Kindermord comes to be celebrated as the triumph of national will, of how no trial, however arduous, can extinguish the flame of German patriotism.  The anniversary of the Kindermord comes to be celebrated each year in wartime Germany as a symbol of the unshakeable will of the German people and faith in ultimate victory.  After the war, the Kindermord will be appropriated by the right, including the Nazis, for whom the Battle of Langemarck, as the Germans call it, becomes a key touchstone for the celebration of German militarism and the patriotism that was betrayed by the 'stab in the back.'

The reality of the Kindermord is more prosaic - the soldiers of the reserve corps die miserable deaths, often without even seeing the enemy or firing a shot.  For many, the rude introduction to the realities of modern warfare become the last few seconds of their lives.  They believed they were marching to victory; instead they advanced into oblivion.

The German assaults on the British lines around Ypres, October 22nd and 23rd, 1914.

- Along the line held by the British II Corps, an early morning German attack catches the 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment in the open digging trenches, and within a matter of minutes their numbers are reduced from 382 to 153.  The battalion falls back and the Germans advance until held by reserve British forces.  In light of the increasing pressure, and concerned about remaining in touch with French cavalry to his north, General Smith-Dorrien orders II Corps to withdraw tonight to a reserve trench line stretching from the La Bassée Canal to Fauquissart.  The retreat is completed overnight without interference from the Germans.

The southern portion of the line held by the British, October 1914.  The thick red line is indicative of the line to which
II Corps withdrew to overnight.

- This afternoon Germans launch a major attack on the village of St. Laurent, just east of Arras, under the eyes of the Kaiser, who has arrived to witness the fall of the city.  The French Alpine Division, reinforced by cavalry that had just arrived, fight a desparate battle, and heavy fighting continues into the evening as the two forces struggle over the ruins of the village.

- This morning the old pre-dreadnought Canopus arrives at Port Stanley in the Falklands.  Its captain confirms to Rear-Admiral Craddock that his ship is capable of only 12 knots, and further that it cannot leave port again until he had fixed the ship's condensers and cleaned its boilers.  Craddock sees Canopus as no value to his command, but still feels himself bound by the earlier Admiralty orders to attack the German East Asiatic Squadron.  In the back of his mind is the escape of the Goeben and Breslau in the Mediterranean in the first days of the war.  There, Admiral Troubridge had decided against engaging the German ships with his inferior squadron, and he had been widely criticized, with some calling into question his honour and courage.  Craddock will not allow this to happen to himself - to his friend Admiral Hedworth Meux he writes today that 'I will take care I do not suffer the fate of poor Troubridge.'  The only course of action consistent not only with Admiralty orders but also with the dictates of honour is that he sail with his squadron, without Canopus, to fight the German East Asiatic Squadron.  He does so knowing that there is little chance of success - to the governor of the Falklands he states that he will not see him again.  Thus this afternoon Craddock aboard Good Hope slips out of harbour sailing westward, to join Glasgow, Monmouth, and Otranto where they will seek out battle, while Canopus is ordered to follow when possible with three colliers.  Thus the reverberations of the escape of the Goeben and Breslau continue to echo.

- Enver Pasha today transmits the Ottoman war plan for hostilities against the Entente to Germany.  It was not a monumentally-detailed plan for mobilization and operations in the vein of one produced by the German General Staff.  Indeed, it is not readily apparent that Enver sought any professional advice in developing it.  Instead, the plan contains six 'options' for war, though not in any particular order.  First, the 'new' Turkish fleet would bombard the Black Sea ports of Russia.  Second would be the declaration of holy war against the Entente, inspiring their Muslim subjects to rebellion.  Third, the Ottomans would hold the line in the Caucasus, tying down Russian units.  Fourth would be an offensive against Egypt, possibly by XII Corps, seizing the Suez Canal as its first phase.  Fifth, if Bulgaria entered the war the Ottomans would join with them in attacking Serbia.  Finally, the possibility is raised of deploying Ottoman forces to the north Black Sea coast.

The importance of the document does not rest with its detailed plans for military operations, of which there are very few details given.  Instead, the Ottoman war plan is designed primarily as a political document to demonstrate to the Germans the value of Ottoman military support.  In particular, the invasion of Egypt, the option given the most detail in the plan, accomplishes something that the Germans themselves cannot - attack the British Empire directly.  Thus by emphasizing Ottoman military potential against Britain, they enhance their stature in the eyes of the German General Staff.  Pre-war dismissals by German officials of the military value of the Ottoman army give way to tantalizing and enticing possibilities of striking deadly blows against the British.

- In South Africa, the Boer dissidents decide to rise in rebellion against the government.  They do so in protest of the war, the invasion of German South-West Africa, and conscription.  They also draw support from landless Boers who fear the growing urbanization of the country will drive them into the cities and into the working-class, and those who feel the traditional Boer values of egalitarianism and republicanism are under threat.  However, the rebellion divides the Boer populace, and significant pillars of the community, including both the Dutch Reformed Church and J. B. M. Hertzog, leader of the National Party, giving the Boer Rebellion the character of a domestic dispute among Boers, as opposed to a unified Boer uprising against British occupation and colonization.

- In August the German ports of Dar es Salaam and Tanga in their East African colony were declared to be open cities, but today the British announce that they are voiding the agreements.  They have developed plans for a two-pronged offensive against the northern portion of the colony, both utilizing units of the Indian Army - Detachment B of the Indian Expeditionary Force is to land and seize Tanga, while Detachment C will advance overland to Moshi.  Once both towns are taken the British will control both ends of the railway that connects the two, placing them in position to advance on the central railway in the colony.  The same railway, however, gives the defending Germans the ability to rapidly shift forces between the two threatened points.

October 21st, 1914

- Awareness has finally dawned for Sir John French of the enormity of the threat facing his command.  His operations order for today, issued last night at 930pm, still included the instructions for the advance of I Corps, but the other formations of the BEF were instructed to assume defensive positions - the hope at the time was that I Corps, pushing to Thourout and beyond, would serve as the outflanking force while the rest of the BEF held the line and fixed the Germans opposite.  By morning, however, prisoner interrogations indicated the presence of four new reserve corps in Flanders, which meant both that the BEF was significantly outnumbered and that a major German offensive was unmistakably taking place.  For the BEF commander the situation begins to take on similarities with the retreat from Mons to the Marne, where he daily worried about the safety of his army.

It is with this mindset that Sir John French greets Joffre as the latter arrives at the former's HQ at St. Omer.  Joffre brings welcome news - the French IX Corps is being transferred to Flanders to join General d'Urbal's detachment - and the meeting goes well until Field Marshal French requests Joffre to make available the resources necessary to construct a great armed camp at Boulogne sufficient to hold the entire BEF.  French's desire is for a secure base to which he can retreat to if overwhelmed at the front, from which the BEF can be supported and/or evacuated by the Royal Navy.  Joffre is instantly reminded of the great difficulties he had in convincing his British counterpart to stay in the fight in the two weeks between Mons and the Marne, and does not want to give any effect to French's fears.  Though inwardly seething, he keeps his composure and states that while he is willing to guard against a German coup-de-main against Boulogne the resources and manpower are simply not available to do anything more.  Joffre assures French that he will not prioritize the portions of the front lines held by the armies of France for reinforcements, but that it was vital that they stand together and fight the Germans where they stood.  Departing with expressions of good intentions, Joffre's mood recovers during a subsequent meeting with King Albert and with the arrival of the first units of IX Corps.

- The front held by the BEF extends about thirty-five miles, and in addition to I through IV Corps and the Cavalry Corps, there are several French cavalry divisions holding the line.  Overall, on this stretch of the front there are seven and a third infantry divisions and five cavalry divisions of the British and French armies.  Opposing them are eleven German infantry and eight cavalry divisions.  The contrast is heightened by the prolonged fighting most of the BEF has already experienced, in contrast to the fresh divisions of the new reserve corps of the German 4th Army.  The length of the front line held is simply too long for it to be covered in anything like reasonable depth.  Along much of the front there is only a single shallow trench, entrenching tools being in very short supply, with perhaps a few strands of barbed wire.  In places there are gaps in the line, which are covered by artillery or crossfire from nearby positions.  The range of fire is also shorter than desired, as much of the buildings, trees, and other impediments have yet to be completely pulverised into dust by artillery bombardments.

For their part the Germans attack all along the line, seeking out weak points in the Entente line, as opposed to concentrating their forces and blasting their own holes in the enemy formations.  Throughout the battle the Germans consistently overrate the density and strength of the Entente, believing the lines they encounter are only advanced pickets when in reality they are the only defensive line at all.  The more experienced corps of 6th Army are also beginning to learn from the harsh lessons of the battlefield, advancing in small groups instead of a single wave.  The inexperienced formations of 4th Army, however, have no such experience to draw upon, much to their detriment.

- II and III Corps as well as the Cavalry Corps are hard-pressed today by German attacks.  Indeed, the latter is effectively fighting as infantry as well, defending trenches and only using their horses to shift from one position to another.  The Germans achieve no breakthroughs, but at several points British units are forced to withdraw to avoid envelopment.  A mistaken retreat order nearly opened a gap between the Cavalry Corps and IV Corps to the north, but the German cavalry opposite are slow to exploit and the British are able to close the gap.  Indeed, the lethargy of the German cavalry is sufficient to prompt a change of command this evening, General Hollen being replaced by General Marwitz.

IV Corps' 7th Division is also under severe pressure - their prior attempt to advance on Menin has left them in poor defensive positions, the Germans opposite them on a ridge at Passchendaele, allowing the latter to direct accurate artillery fire upon the British.  The Germans temporarily break through 7th Division's two brigades, but a company of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers is able to plug the gap.  To the north Haig attempts to execute French's orders to advance this morning, though the streams of refugees on the roads forces a delay of almost two hours.  Heavy losses are suffered by I Corps as it attempts to fight through hedgerows, and German artillery fire intensifies the further the British advance.  By the afternoon further progress is impossible, and I Corps has only advanced 1000 to 2000 yards to just beyond Zonnebeke.  The left flank of I Corps is nearly uncovered by the continued retreat of General de Mitry's French cavalry, the latter having yielded Houthulst Forest to the attack of the German XXIII Reserve Corps.  Fortunately for I Corps, the commander of the immediately adjacent French cavalry division refused the order until the British flank was secured.  De Mitry's cavalry retreat to the line of the Ypres Canal, also defended by two territorial divisions, running between Ypres and Dixmude.  The effect is to create a sharp angle in the British line from Bixschoote to Langemarck, in which elements of I Corps are facing almost north.  Beyond there the German III Reserve Corps spends the day pounding the Belgian positions along the Yser.

The attacks of the German 4th Army on the British lines, October 21st, 1914.

- Sixth Army also commences a heavy artillery bombardment not only of the French lines defending Arras, but also of the town itself, in preparation for a major attack scheduled for tomorrow.

- General Ivanov believes the Russian armies assembled in central Poland are finally ready to go onto the offensive, advancing west from the Vistula River.  Unfortunately for the Russians, the delays in organizing the armies has given the Germans the opportunity to retreat, which as per Ludendorff's orders began yesterday.  However, the fighting is not yet at an end, for the Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff has a plan of his own.  Conrad orders 1st Army to concentrate on the Itxanka River south of Ivangorod, and attack northwards into the Russians when they have only partially crossed the Vistula.

- In Britain, the Cabinet Committee on Munitions meets for the third time today, and their solution to the ongoing shortages of weapons and ammunition has been largely to increase the number of orders placed with armament firms.  This does little, however, to address the root causes of the shortages - i.e. many highly-skilled engineers and munitions workers have volunteered for the army, leaving armaments firms understaffed, and many firms either do not have the equipment to expand production or do not have the proper experience to produce the items desired by the government.  As such, the primary result of placing additional orders for munitions is to heighten the sense of panic over a lack munitions - the more orders there are, the more go unfulfilled, creating a cycle of crisis.

October 20th, 1914

- Today severe fighting occurs along the Western Front from the Channel to south of Arras.  In addition to the full weight of the German 4th Army now brought against the Entente lines, Rupprecht's 6th Army also goes over on to the offensive from Menin to Arras.  At the north end, 5th Reserve Division of III Reserve Corps attacks the Belgian line along the Yser, halfway between Nieuport and Dixmude, supported by the entirety of the corps artillery.  On its left XXII Reserve Corps assaults Dixmude, and though several outlying villages are captured the Belgians and French marines continue to hold on.  Further south XXIII Reserve Corps captures Staden after several hours of street fighting, and are able to advance to the eastern edge of Houthulst Forest, the French cavalry of General de Mitry unable to offer sustained resistance.

On the British side, General Haig's I Corps marches from Ypres to a line extending from Bixschoote, on the southern flank of de Mitry's cavalry, to two kilometres north-west of Zonnebeke.  I Corps experiences no fighting today, but General Byng's 3rd Cavalry Division covering its right is pushed back along with French territorial units, Poelcappelle being lost to the German XXVI Reserve Corps in the afternoon and 3rd Cavalry forced to retreat towards Langemarck.  General Rawlinson of IV Corps orders 7th Infantry Division to continue to push on towards Menin, but by early afternoon reconnaissance makes blindingly obvious that Germans are present in overwhelming numbers, and further advance is impossible.  Falling back to their trenches of the night before, 7th Division is assaulted at 2pm and 4pm by units of the German XXVII Reserve Corps, and though the Germans are able to advance within fifty yards, they are unable to break through.

South of IV Corps is General Allenby's Cavalry Corps, which by early morning was aware that the Germans were turning to attack.  Six German cavalry divisions advance northwest against the lines of the British, crossing the Lys River at several points, and the Cavalry Corps retires to a line stretching from near Zandvoorde through Ploegsteert Wood to Messines.  Though the retreat is conducted in good order, General Allenby is aware that his cavalry is significantly outnumbered, and as the horsemen spend the night furiously digging he signals for assistance.

Further south III Corps is assaulted continuously through the day, with infantry attacks interrupting heavy artillery bombardment.  They find themselves facing two German Corps - XIX and XIII, the latter having moved south from above Lille undetected by the British, where they were replaced by the German cavalry divisions attacking the British Cavalry Corps.  The most notable German success comes at Ennetières, where the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters are wiped out almost to a man when the village is captured and their position outflanked.

North of La Bassée a counterattack is launched on 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment at Le Pilly on Aubers Ridge.  The failure of the French to capture Fournes the previous day left the battalion isolated, and though they beat back waves of attacks throughout the morning, by mid-afternoon their ammunition is almost exhausted.  Major E. H. E. Daniell orders the remaining soldiers to fix bayonets, and counterattack in an attempt to break out and return to British lines.  The desperate gamble is a disaster, and the battalion is annihilated - of 578 soldiers who went into battle yesterday, only 30 survivors reach British lines this evening.

The assault of the German 4th and 6th armies, October 20th, 1914.

- In Egypt, the anomalous position of the country in relationship to Britain is of increasing concern to the British officials there.  Egypt technically is a province of the Ottoman Empire, and is 'ruled' by the Khedive, or viceroy, an hereditary position since the mid-19th century.  In practice, the Khedive's powers are largely nominal, and Egypt is ruled by the British through the office of Consul-General.  In peacetime this arrangement had largely suited the British, but the war, and in particular the potential Ottoman entry into the conflict, has significant ramifications.  The Ottoman government aspires to make Egypt more than just a nominal part of its empire, and there was widespread anti-British opinion among educated middle-class Egyptians, some looking to the Ottomans while others yearned for outright independence.  The Khedive himself has pro-Ottoman sympathies, and indeed is at present in Constantinople recovering from an assassination attempt.  British officials fear that if the Ottomans enter the war against Britain, as appears increasingly likely, there is a very real possibility of internal unrest.  Thus even before hostilities have commenced between Britain and the Ottomans, steps are being taken in Egypt to preempt any opposition to the war - today public meetings of more than five people are outlawed.

October 19th, 1914

- Today can be seen as marking an important watershed on the Western Front.  For the Entente, the arrival of I Corps in Flanders today means the entire BEF is now in the north, and a continual line, though thin in places, now exists from the Channel to Switzerland.  For the Germans, today sees the first serious fighting undertaken by the four reserve corps of 4th Army, sent by Falkenhayn to achieve the decisive victory that had eluded them to date.  Thus the Race to the Sea has come to an end, while the First Battle of Ypres begins.

For the past five weeks, both sides have thrown forces northward from the Aisne, trying to outflank the other.  Indeed, the popular name for this period of the war is something of a misnomer - they were not racing for the sea, but rather racing to outflank the other.  However, all such attempts failed, for a whole range of reasons - railways allowed for rapid redeployment of forces; trenches freed up units to move north, the machine gun allowed for even small forces to hold up larger enemy formations until reinforcements arrived, etc.  The result of the failure of either to outflank the other has been the extension of the front line roughly north from Noyon to the English Channel, a line which will become increasingly static as both sides dig in.

In a strategic sense as well, neither the Germans or the Entente can feel satisfied with the result of the Race to the Sea.  For the French, the northeastern portion of their country, which included almost 75% of prewar coal production and over 60% of prewar steel production, now lies in enemy hands, severely dislocating the French economy and only partially ameliorated by the aid of its allies.  The occupation of a significant portion of the country also propels Joffre and the French army to continue to emphasize the offensive, now deemed essential to liberating their countrymen.  The situation is even worse for Belgium - only a tiny western corner of the country remains free, and is about to become the scene of the first in a series of devastating battles.  For the Germans, despite the fact that they stand on enemy soil, the very continuation of the war itself reflects failure during the past five weeks.  The failure on the Marne has not been redeemed by success since, and the fear of having to fight a sustained war of attrition compels Falkenhayn to commit his reserves to the battle in Flanders, one last throw of the dice to end the war before Christmas.

The resulting front line after the Race to the Sea.

- As the First Battle of Ypres dawns, the Entente remain focused on the offensive.  Foch's plan is for an offensive between Ypres and Nieuport driving east, dividing the German III Reserve Corps on the coast from the German army to the south, and by advancing to Ghent turn the northern flank of the German army.  Though Foch was the commander of French forces in the north, he had no authority whatsoever over either the Belgians or the British - at best he could try to persuade.  Generally speaking, both King Albert of the Belgians and Sir John French of the BEF shared the strategic focus on the offensive, though the former knew his Belgians were in no shape to attack.  The British Field Marshal, for his part, issues orders to General Haig that I Corps, newly arrived at Hazebrouck, is to billet tonight near Ypres in preparation for an offensive via Thourout to capture Bruges in the days ahead.

Despite their intentions, however, it is the Germans who will determine the pace of the First Battle of Ypres - in light of the scale of the German forces advancing westward, Sir John French's orders to Haig today are little more than fantasy.  Over the course of the day, the four new reserve corps of 4th Army enter the fight.  South of III Reserve Corps arrives XXII Reserve Corps, and they co-ordinate a fierce attack on the French marines defending Dixmude, pushing the forward posts of the latter back into the town itself, which also comes under a sustained German bombardment.  Next in line comes XXIII Reserve Corps, which spends the day pushing westward advance elements of French territorial and cavalry units and closing up to Houthhulst Forest.  To its right XXVI Reserve Corps occupies Roulers at 5pm, after a day of desperate house-to-house fighting against the cavalry of General de Mitry.  Finally, southernmost is XXVII Reserve Corps, which encounters the British 3rd Cavalry Division.  The British are forced to retreat through Passchendaele to Poelcappelle and Zonnebeke (again names which had not yet earned their present reputation), which in turn pulls back the northern flank of the British 7th Division - though the latter had been ordered to capture Menin today, they find themselves at nightfall three miles behind where they started the day.

- Near La Bassée, a battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment secures the village of Le Pilly on Aubers Ridge, suffering two hundred casualties to do so.  The attack was launched in support of an unsuccessful French assault towards the town of Fournes.

- In Britain there has been a scramble to increase armaments production of all kinds, in response to Kitchener's plans for a massive expansion of the army.  As of today, the War Office has issued orders for 781 000 rifles, to be produced by July 1st, 1915.  The scale of the problem facing the British, however, can be seen in how the peacetime reserve of field guns was deemed sufficient to arm five divisions in addition to the BEF - in contrast, Kitchener's New Armies project to include at least fifty new divisions.  Such was the armaments shortage at home that some of the new volunteers begin their training with broomsticks instead of rifles.

October 18th, 1914

- Today the German III Reserve Corps launches an attack on the Belgian line between Dixmude and Nieuport.  The land here is low-lying pasture fields, much of which is below sea-level.  A railway connecting the two towns sits only six feet above sea level, and the roads of the region are even lower.  A series of locks at Nieuport drains the Yser River at low tide and keeps the sea out at high tide.

The German attack succeeds in capturing several advanced posts on the eastern side of the river, but fail to secure bridgeheads across the Yser itself.  The Belgian defense is aided by a British naval squadron just offshore, centered on two monitors that bombard the advancing Germans.

- In Flanders there are a number of scattered French units, haphazardly thrown into the fight to plug holes or exhausted after retreating, which include the French marines at Dixmude, several territorial divisions, and a number of cavalry divisions.  Today Joffre organizes these units into a single detachment under the command of General Victor d'Urbal, who will report to Foch.  Of these forces several cavalry divisions under General de Mitry advancing northeast of Ypres occupy Roulers.

Further south, Sir John French orders the British 7th Division of IV Corps to advance on Menin, in co-operation with de Mitry's move towards Roulers.  The division finds itself short of Menin at nightfall, General Rawlinson being concerned of marching beyond his flank support.  The British Cavalry Corps, in the front line between IV Corps to the north and III Corps to the south, is unable to make any progress against a determined German defense west of Comines, and III Corps itself, ordered to advance northeast down the valley of the Lys River, finds itself running to the main German line defending Lille and can make little headway.  Finally, II Corps seizes a bridge just under a mile east of Givenchy, but further progress is halted by German machine gun fire from brick-stacks to the north and a factory to the south that had so far avoided destruction from artillery fire.

- Overall, the deployment and advance of the BEF in Flanders has not achieved its objectives.  Though it has to date covered the northern flank of the French line reaching up from Arras, its attempt to turn the German flank has been painfully slow, and objectives such as La Bassée, to say nothing of Lille, remain out of reach.  Moreover, there is no awareness of the impending German offensive - though information from the Belgians suggests German reserves have been marching west from Brussels, it is generally believed that these are second-class troops who will simply take over portions of the German line.  Indeed, Sir John French's plan remains to continue the advance, and it is believed that the imminent arrival of I Corps, the last to leave the Aisne, will give the attack sufficient weight to push back the Germans, reach Lille, and outflank the enemy.  In reality, this evening the four new reserve corps belonging to 4th Army (XXII, XXIII, XXVI, and XXVII) reach the start line of the planned German attack, arranged north to south approximately ten to seventeen miles east of the Yser and Ypres Canal.  Falkenhayn's grand offensive to win the war in the west is about to begin, and the Entente forces opposite have no idea what is about to descend on them.

- Ludendorff, aware now that 9th Army will not be able to accomplish anything against the Russian numerical superiority in central Poland, issues orders today for 9th Army to retreat beginning on October 20th.  The Russian armies opposite along the Vistula are still not yet fully assembled, but to the south in Galicia the Russians go back onto the attack, recrossing the San River and threatening Przemysl with encirclement again.

- While British strategy regarding German Kamerun has focused on the coast and denying the Germans use of the port of Duala, French strategy has instead aimed at the interior.  The German colony is bordered by French Equatorial Africa to the east and south, and the French were particularly interested in recovering the territory ceded by them to the Germans in 1911 as part of the resolution of the Second Moroccan Crisis.  Thus the first French attacks sees one column advancing westward seize Carnot yesterday, and a second advancing north up the Sanga River takes Nola today.  The advances have been without opposition - in the prior three years the Germans had only begun to integrate the former French territories into their colony, and have left them largely undefended.  Further, though the two attacks were designed to be linked together as one offensive operation, the realities of communication in central Africa - where orders can take weeks to travel from one column to another - makes practical co-ordination impossible.

- At 5pm, the German East Asiatic Squadron, fully coaled and provisioned, departs Easter Island, sailing east to the Chilean coast.

- Yesterday the old pre-dreadnought Canopus left the River Plate, and today its captain signals Admiral Craddock at the Falklands that his ship can only do 12 knots and thus will be unlikely to arrive until the 22nd.  The news is of great concern to Craddock, as it means that adding Canopus to his squadron will slow its speed to 12 knots, which would be far too slow to catch the German East Asiatic Squadron.  Moreover, if they did fight the Germans would be able to use their superior speed to stay out of the range of Canopus' main guns.  The old battleship is thus for all intents and purposes useless to Craddock, he sends the following telegram to the Admiralty: 'I trust circumstances will enable me to force an action, but fear that strategically, owing to Canopus, the speed of my squadron cannot exceed twelve knots.'

In London the telegram is interpreted simply as Craddock informing them of his squadron's speed with Canopus attached, and thus send no reply.  Craddock, however, still feels himself bound by the orders of September 14th to attack the German East Asiatic Squadron.  He is thus faced with an impossible conundrum - keep Canopus and be unable to force battle with the Germans, or leave Canopus behind but be outgunned by the enemy.