November 23rd, 1915

- The head of the Directorate of Military Aviation at the War Office in London today authorizes the expansion of the Royal Flying Corps, which currently stands at thirty-one (fourteen in France) squadrons, to sixty, with squadron strength increasing from twelve to eighteen.  In France these squadrons are to be formed into brigades, with the ultimate aim of having one brigade tied to each army of the British Expeditionary Force.

- As the German 11th Army was overrunning Serbia, the Russian high command had struggled to do something to aid its ally, General Alexeiev being cognizant that having complained of French and British inaction during the Great Retreat of the summer, the Russian army could hardly do nothing when the situation was reversed.  Prompted by officials at the foreign ministry, he had deployed a new 7th Army on the Black Sea Coast, intended for amphibious operations against the Black Sea coast.  The Russian navy, however, had vetoed the project, and so today Alexeiev orders 7th Army redeployed to eastern Galicia and begin planning, with 9th Army, for an offensive against the Austro-Hungarian armies opposite.  In addition to 'doing something', there is a vague confidence at Stavka that the Austro-Hungarian army, having shown its inability repeatedly during the war, will collapse, and perhaps a victory here will convince the Romanians to join the war on the side of the Entente.

- Given the lack of reinforcements, General Sarrail feels that his position in southern Serbia is not tenable, given that the Bulgarians significantly outnumber his force.  Further, the ongoing collapse and retreat of the Serbian army negates the rationale behind his operations in the Vardar River valley.  As such, today he issues orders to the three French divisions in southern Serbia to withdraw south.

- Overnight elements of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Mountain Brigade launch an attack to regain the small stretch of the line that remains in Italian hands after their capture of it on the 20th.  Their assault, however, runs smack into an Italian advance of their own; the two attacking forces mutually repulse each other, both falling back to their starting positions.

- An Austro-Hungarian squadron of the light cruisers Helgoland and Saida plus escorting destroyers sortied towards the Straits of Otranto overnight, aiming to interrupt the Entente transport of supplies across the Adriatic Sea to the Serbs via northern Albania.  They intercept two Italian ships - the motor schooner Gallinara and the small steamer Palatino - carrying flour and sink both.

- The Russian dreadnought Imperatritsa Maria, escorted by the cruiser Pamiat Merkuriya and ten destroyers, bombards the Ottoman port of Zonguldak, the first occasion in which the new Russian warship fires its guns in anger.

The Russian dreadnought Imperatritsa Maria.

November 14th, 1915

- N-Abt, the intelligence department of OHL, produces a report today on the Entente armies on the Western Front.  They estimate that the current size of the French army, including the class of 1916, to be approximately three million, which was four hundred thousand less than the size of the army at the outbreak of war.  N-Abt further estimates that under normal conditions the French are losing seventy thousand men per month.  At this rate, they estimate that the French will be experiencing severe shortages by September 1916 and will be forced to call up younger classes earlier and earlier to meet shortfalls in manpower - for instance, they anticipate the Class of 1918 being called up in June 1916.

The strength of the British army, however, is more difficult for N-Abt to assess.  They estimate that the British currently deploys approximately forty-two divisions consisting of 1 057 000 men, including 270 000 regulars, 170 000 Territorials, 400 000 in the 'New Armies', 60 000 Indians, and 47 000 Canadians.  However, though it is understood that the British army will grow to about seventy divisions, N-Abt is not able to conclude when this would occur.

Overall, N-Abt's report demonstrates that the Entente are numerically superior to the Germans on the Western Front, and that manpower shortages in the French army will in time be compensated by the growth of the British army.  This assessment of the balance of strength on the Western Front will be at the forefront of Falkenhayn's thoughts as they turn to planning operations on the Western Front in 1916.

- Today the commander of the Italian 2nd Army, Lieutenant-General Pietro Frugoni, orders VI Corps to continue the offensive west of Görz.  Seeing the setback yesterday at Oslavija as emblematic of the exhaustion of his soldiers, Lieutenant-General Luigi Capello, commander of VI Corps, objects to the order, writing to Cadorna that in the miserable conditions his men are little more than walking clumps of mud, and that further attacks would be pointless.  Cadorna sides with Capello, and suspends operations at Görz.  To the south, however, the Italian 3rd army continues its attempt to capture Mt. San Michelle.  In the heaviest fighting of the 4th Battle of the Isonzo to date, attacks are launched from both flanks towards the summit, but by the end of the day all the Italians have gained is a small stretch of the first enemy trench southwest of St. Martino.  Here the Austro-Hungarians simply establish a new trench line two hundred yards east of their old position, and otherwise nothing changes.  However, repulsing the enemy assaults costs the Austro-Hungarian VII Corps over 1700 casualties today, and 5th Army sends forward three battalions from reserves.

- Meeting in Rome, the Italian cabinet discusses the evolving situation in the Balkans.  Their French allies have requested the deployment of an Italian contingent to Salonika, which Cadorna supports (on the basis that tying down enemy forces here keeps them from the Italian Front).  His political masters, however, have their eyes focused on Albania, both closer and seen by the government as within Italy's sphere of influence.  Cadorna's advice is ignored, and the formation of an expedition to deploy to Albania is agreed upon.

- The German battlecruiser Goeben is attacked by the Russian submarine Morzh off the Bosphorus while escorting transports.  The German warship only narrowly avoids Russian torpedoes, and the decision is made that despite the marked inferiority of the Ottoman navy, Goeben cannot be risked as a mere escort for steamers.

October 27th, 1915

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

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

The Russian pre-dreadnought Panteleimon.

October 18th, 1915

- The German III Corps has had a particularly difficult few days as a result of the Kossava, as in addition to the supply difficulties faced by the other German and Austro-Hungarian corps it is being drawn in two directions: 6th Division has been attempting to cross the Ralja River and advance southwards while 25th Division has been moving westward in an attempt to link up with the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army.  After difficult fighting, however, 6th Division is across the Ralja and today routs the Serbs out of a heavily defended position at Mala Krsna, and pursue the retreating enemy into the hills south of the river.

- On the Italian front the preliminary artillery bombardment for the 3rd Battle of the Isonzo begins precisely at 12pm.  Italian fire is concentrated on the frontline trenches of the Austro-Hungarian defenders opposite, but attention is also paid to known concentration of Austro-Hungarian reserves, communication trenches, and headquarters.  Only south of Görz on the Karst plateau, however, is notable damage done to the Austro-Hungarian positions.

- With the entry of Bulgaria into the war, German submarines in the Black Sea can now operate out of Bulgarian ports, located closer to the Russian coast than Ottoman bases, and today the first German submarine - UB-8 - arrives at Varna.

October 10th, 1915

- In reaction to the Bulgarian entry into the war, the Russian Black Seas Fleet bombards the Bulgarian ports of Varna and Evxinograd, encountering no opposition.

- In two days of heavy fighting the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps remains pinned on the southern shore of the Save River, and due to heavy losses 205th Landsturm Brigade has been relieved south of Boljevci by 21st Landsturm Mountain Brigade.  To the east, the German XXII Reserve Corps and the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps push out from Belgrade, the former taking the heights at Dedinje and the latter capturing the Vk. Vračar ridge.

Meanwhile General Nikola Zhekov, chief of the Bulgarian General Staff, informs Mackensen today that the offensive of his army, scheduled to begin tomorrow, will be delayed until the 14th.  There is also an entirely predictable spat between the German and Austro-Hungarian high commands today.  After Mackensen yesterday signalled that German and Austro-Hungarian forces had captured Belgrade, both had issued communiques crediting only their soldiers with the success.  Mackensen is quite annoyed at the conflicting stories published by the two high commands, and his operations staff can only explain that both sides had specific victories in the Belgrade fighting that they accomplished on their own - capturing the Konak by the Germans and the Kalemegdan by the Austro-Hungarians.

October 1st, 1915

- Overnight the portion of the British Guards Division still in the line digs a new trench east of Loos parallel to the Lens-La Bassée road, from which the planned renewal of the offensive is to be launched.  Having completed the trench, Guards Division is relieved by the French IX Corps this morning and joins 3rd Guards Brigade in reserve.  Haig intends to use the Guards Division to retake the ground lost at the Dump and Fosse 8 over the past several days of severe fighting, but feels this attack must occur before the main offensive is renewed; otherwise, German forces here will be able to fire into the northern flank of the advancing British infantry.  As the Guards will not be in position to attack before October 4th, Haig, with the support of Field Marshal French, insists that the Anglo-French offensive be postponed several more days.  Unable to compel the British to attack earlier, Foch has no choice but to delay the attack of the French 10th Army until October 6th.

- Given the clear intentions of Bulgaria to enter the war on the side of the Germans, the Russian ambassador presents an ultimatum to the Bulgarian government today, requiring the dismissal of German officers and a formal commitment to neutrality.

- The Russian Black Seas Fleet bombards the Ottoman ports of Kozlu, Zonguldak, and Eregli, an operation that sees the first sortie by the newly-completed dreadnought Imperatrista Maria II.  Armed with twelve 12-inch guns, protected by a 12-inch armor belt, and capable of 23 knots, it more than balances the presence of the German battlecruiser Goeben in the Black Sea, and allows the Russians to undertake more aggressive operations.

- At 4pm the lead elements of the Ottoman 35th Division, retreating after defeat at the First Battle of Kut-al-Amara on September 28th, reach the ruins of the ancient city of Ctesiphon, fifteen miles south of Baghdad.  It is here that Colonel Nur-ur-din intends to make the next stand against the British advance up the Tigris River, and 35th Division is ordered to begin construction of an elaborate trench system.

- After receiving approval from Kabul, the German mission to Afghanistan was permitted to depart Herat and today arrives at the capital after a journey taking over a year.  Here, too, however, the Germans are kept at arms' length - they are not permitted to enter Kabul and their movement is limited.  Afghanistan is been under the indirect control of Britain, after the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 assigned the country to the British sphere of influence.  The primary aim of Emir Habibullah is to lessen the influence of Britain in his country and restore a degree of independence, and it is through this lens that he views the German mission - they are seen as a potentially useful tool to win concessions from the British.  He has no interest in the Germans, or indeed the wider war, beyond the extent to which he can manipulate the situation to his own advantage.  This does not preclude throwing his lot in with the Germans, but it does require keeping them at arms length at present to avoid an excessive commitment.  Indeed, the British, having learned months before of the German mission, have already contacted Habibullah with assurances of friendship and protection.  The German mission thus finds themselves as just one piece in the Great Game for control of the Northwest Frontier of India, a game which began long before their arrival and will continue long after the present war has passed.

September 5th, 1915

- For weeks the French army have been preparing for their fall offensive in Champagne, digging both new trenches behind the front to conceal the attacking forces as well as new trenches into No Man's Land to minimize the time the infantry must spend exposed before reaching the German trenches.  In addition, substantial additional forces have been assembled behind French lines as well as the massive supplies and munitions necessary for the offensive; indeed, an entirely new rail line has been constructed solely to bring supplies up to the front as efficiently as possible.  Given the scale of the preparations, it has naturally been impossible to hide them from the Germans.  Aerial reconnaissance has clearly indicated the assembly of French reserves, and in the chalk earth of the region new trenches are visible over large distances.  There have even been several French deserters, who have arrived in German lines reporting of an offensive planned for September.  In light of these signs, General Karl von Einem, commander of the German 3rd Army opposite the French buildup in Champagne, reports to OHL today that 'it is no longer possible but rather probable that a carefully and long-planned attack is imminent.'  Forewarned, the Germans naturally improve their own defensive positions even as the French prepare to attack them.

- An Ottoman convoy of three steamers, sailing from the Black Sea port of Zonguldak to the Bosphorus and escorted by the armoured cruiser Hamidieh and two torpedo boats, is intercepted today by the Russian destroyers Buistri and Pronziteini, and the resulting debacle reemphasizes the hopeless state of the Ottoman navy.  Not only do the two destroyers outduel Hamidieh, but the latter's main guns break down and is forced to drop out of the action, after which the Russian destroyers force the three steamers to run aground.  Afterwards, German officers with the Ottoman navy concede that the steamers carrying coal on the convoy route to the Bosphorus would be better off without Ottoman 'escorts'.

Though the battle reinforces the superiority of the Russian Black Sea Fleet over the Ottomans, another element is added to the balance when the German submarine UB-7 begins its first patrol in the Black Sea today.  The first deployment of a German Uboat north of Constantinople, Russian operations will henceforth need to be cognizant of the potential threat from beneath the waves.

July 18th, 1915

- In central Poland the Russians fall back after the German breakthrough at Sienno yesterday, burning the bridges over the Vistula River at Solec and attempting to form a new defensive line along the Ilzanka River.  Before they can entrench, however, the German Landwehr under General Worysch is upon them, and by this evening have crossed the Ilzanka and seized the villages of Ciepielow and Kazanow.  In addition to disrupting the Russian positions west of the Vistula, the advance of Woyrsch's force benefits his eastern neighbour on the other side of the Vistula, the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army.  Their main attack towards Lublin has stalled in the face of staunch Russian resistance, but the retreat of the Russians to the west has uncovered their flank and forced them to fall back northwards as well.

Further east, the advance of the German 11th Army has prompted General Alexeiev of North-West Front to assign his reserves - the Guard and II Siberian Corps - to 3rd Army to halt the enemy offensive.  In particular, II Siberian Corps is deployed to the west of the Wieprz River, but are unable to halt the momentum of the German Guard and XXII Reserve Corps, which gains substantial ground again today and by nightfall have captured the villages of Czestoborowice and Olszanka.  Over the past two days of fighting, these two German corps have taken fifteen thousand prisoners while blasting a hole 32 kilometres wide and 12 kilometres deep in the Russian line.

- This morning the Italian 3rd Army opens the 2nd Battle of the Isonzo with heavy attacks on enemy lines south of Görz.  The Italians have at least learnt the value of coordinating their artillery fire, concentrating on the Austro-Hungarian positions on the Karst plateau before the infantry assaults begin at 11am.  However, the Italians are repulsed all along the line, and the only 'success' they are able to achieve today is to force two companies of 20th Honved Division to fall back two hundred yards.

The Italian offensive on the lower Isonzo River, part of the 2nd Battle of the Isonzo.

- On June 5th, an Italian squadron had shelled the railway between Ragusa and the Austro-Hungarian naval base of Cattaro on the Dalmatian coast.  Learning that repairs have been completed, the Italian navy undertakes a second bombardment raid, but the warships were spotted by an enemy airplane yesterday evening as they departed Brindisi, and the Austro-Hungarian submarine U4 has been sent to intercept.  The Italian squadron sails right past U4, and the latter torpedoes and sinks the armoured cruiser Garibaldi this morning.  The remaining Italian warships promptly depart the scene at high speed, their mission abandoned.  Despite the success, the head of the Austro-Hungarian navy is not pleased; not content with one sinking, he argues U4 had the time to torpedo several enemy warships, a criticism that the head of the submarine service does not take kindly to.

The Italian armoured cruiser Garibaldi, torpedoed and sunk of the Dalmation coast, July 18th, 1915.

- The German light cruiser Breslau stumbles into a minefield laid by the Russians off the Black Sea coast of Anatolia today.  Striking a mine, it is able to limp back to Constantinople, but repairs will take several months.

June 11th, 1915

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

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

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

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