October 29th, 1915

- Since the vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies on the 12th, Prime Minister René Viviani has been attempting to reconstruct his cabinet to shore up political support.  The tide has turned against Viviani, however, and many leading politicians refuse to join a government led by him.  Abandoning the attempt, he accepts the position of Vice-President of the Council of Ministers (analogous to a Deputy Prime Minister) in a new government led by Aristide Briand.  The minister of war, Alexandre Millerand, is also dismissed, replaced by General Joseph Gallieni, who had played an important part in the Entente victory at the Battle of the Marne.

- North of Kragujevać, the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps makes little headway today against stiff Serbian resistance, the latter supported by artillery fire.  Seeing the inability of his western neighbour to make progress, General Lochow of the German III Corps believes that the two forces face extensive fixed fortifications, and orders his own corps to advance cautiously.  To the west, the advance of the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps and the German XXII Reserve Corps is slowed primarily by poor weather, slowing in particular the movement of artillery.  The latter, after hard fighting yesterday, takes Gornji Milanovac today.  On the other side of Kragujevać, the German IV Reserve Corps successfully attacks across the Lepenica River, taking 750 Serbian prisoners.  Nevertheless, the corps is behind schedule - the attack had been originally scheduled for yesterday before swamped roads and high water had delayed the operation.  Also today, patrols from the German X Reserve Corps make contact with elements of the Bulgarian 1st Army, thus linking up the two fronts under Mackensen's overall direction.

The Serbian campaign, Oct. 29th, 1915.

- Though yesterday's attacks around Görz on the Isonzo River failed to achieve any major breakthrough, Cadorna orders further energetic attacks today.  After the exertions of the previous day, however, some of the Italian formations are simply incapable of similar assaults today - opposite Zagora, for instance, a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 1st Mountain Brigade throws back the Italian 3rd Division and takes two hundred prisoners, after which Italian activity in the sector noticeably declines.  Opposite Görz only 11th and 12th Divisions of VI Corps attack today, which allows the defenders to concentrate their artillery fire on a narrower length of the front.  Elements of the later again break into the Austro-Hungarian lines on the Podgora Heights, but in hand-to-hand combat lasting into the evening are unable to secure the position.

South of Görz, the Italian XIV Corps launches another effort to seize Mt. San Michele this morning.  Elements of 30th Division manage to fight their way to the northern summit, but a well-timed counterattack by 39th Honved Brigade drives them off the high ground.  To the south of Mt. San Michelle, 28th and 19th Divisions attempt to expand the ground seized yesterday; not only do they fail to do so, but after dark a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 17th Division regains the lost ground.

North of Tolmein, after a night of bitter fighting, Austro-Hungarian reserves retake the trenches lost yesterday on the inner wings of 3rd and 14th Mountain Brigades.  Further south, at noon the Italian VIII Corps attempts a crossing of the Isonzo River at Canale using boats and pontoons, but the engineers and their equipment make for obvious targets, and Austro-Hungarian artillery and machine-gun fire rapidly break up the attempt.

- In light of the presence of the German mission in Kabul, the government of British India informs the Emir of Afghanistan that they will increase their subsidy as a sign of their continued friendship and to dissuade any thoughts of siding with the Germans.  Emir Habibullah, however, continues to play the British and Germans off of each other, and decides to send no formal acknowledgement of the increased subsidy, lest the British conclude that his loyalty can be bought so cheaply.

October 16th, 1915

- In Serbia a further advance by the German 44th Reserve Division and the Austro-Hungarian 59th Division of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army secure today the northern face of the Avala Hills, the main Serbian defensive line south of Belgrade.

- The French government formally declares war on Bulgaria today.

October 12th, 1915

- After numerous delays, the next big push by the British 1st Army is scheduled to go in tomorrow afternoon, and this evening BEF commander Field Marshal Sir John French issues new objectives for 1st Army.  To this point, Haig's instructions have remained those issued on September 18th; namely, to reach the line of Haute Deule Canal, which south of Lille runs in a curve towards the front before angling to Douai to the southeast.  Now, however, French abandons the canal as the ultimate objective.  Instead, after the hoped-for success tomorrow in recapturing the Hohenzollern Redoubt and securing its northern flank, 1st Army will conduct subsidiary operations to secure ground from which another major offensive can be launched in the future.  This is a distinctive, and deliberate, reduction in the overall aim of the British offensive - though ground around the village of Loos has been gained, the broader aim of a breakthrough has not been achieved, and French is already looking towards preparations for the next major offensive.

- For several months, discontent with the French war effort has been percolating through political circles in Paris, and these concerns have been amplified in recent weeks with the failure of the autumn offensives in Artois and Champagne, coupled with the imminent entry of Bulgaria into the war.  Today Foreign Minister Théophile Delcassé, whose efforts to keep Bulgaria neutral have failed, resigns, which leads to a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies regarding the government of Prime Minister René Viviani.  Though the government wins the vote 372 to 9, the large number of abstentions indicate that Viviani's grip on power is slipping.

- The postponed attack of the German XXII Reserve Corps and the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps south of Belgrade goes in today, and the Germans, supported by a carefully planned and precise artillery bombardment, drive the Serbs back several kilometres and seize the Petlovo Hills.  The Austro-Hungarians, however, make significantly less progress, in part due to poor weather preventing support from monitors on the river.  Further east the advance of the German 11th Army continues: today 105th Division of IV Corps moves south of the Leštar Hills and 11th Bavarian Division reaches the outskirts of Požarevac.  On their left, the German X Reserve Corps seizes the Anatema Hills, which pushes the Serbs sufficiently behind the Danube River to allow the corps' heavy equipment to cross on pontoon bridges.  The most important development of the day, however, is beyond the control of the invading forces - the rain preventing river monitors from supporting the Austro-Hungarian attack is growing more intense.

- Today General Sarrail arrives at Salonika to take command of the Army of the Near East, where he receives instructions from the war minister to 'cover the lines of communication between Salonika and Serbia against the advance of Bulgarian forces.'  This means defending, first of all, the railway that connects Salonika and Skopje, running alongside the Vardar River.  Sarrail orders an infantry regiment and an artillery battalion to advance to the Strumica rail railway station a hundred kilometres north of Salonika and thirty kilometres into Serbian territory.  Here, the Bulgarian border is a dozen kilometres from the Salonika-Skopje railway (the village of Strumica itself is just inside Bulgaria), making a defence of the line here essential if the railway is to remain open to Entente forces.

September 23rd, 1915

- In Artois French aircraft bomb railways running between Lille, Valenciennes, Douai, and Cambrai in an effort to disrupt the movement of German supplies and reinforcements once the offensive begins in two days' time.

- The aviation subcommittee of the French Chamber of Deputies issues a scathing report condemning the state of French military aviation.  Describing the situation as 'grave,' the report highlights what its authors perceive to be the lack of close cooperation between the French army at the government's aviation directorate, and the inability of the latter to coordinate the expansion of the aviation industry and the deployment of labour.  Deputy Pierre Etienne Flandin in particular calls for massive production program of bombers and bomber escorts equipped with new, powerful engines to strike German industrial production.

- The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian 24th Division north of Lutsk yesterday evening forces the evacuation of Lutsk itself, which the Russians occupy this morning.  The remnants of the Austro-Hungarian XIV Corps pull back from the west bank of the Styr to the line Zaborol-Polonnaja Gorka, which permits the Russians to establish a bridgehead over the river.

The collapse and retreat of XIV Corps threatens the northern flank of the Austro-Hungarian forces to the south holding along the Ikwa River.  However, General Linsingen, commanding both the reinforcements moving south from the Army of the Bug as well as the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army itself, believes that the situation can be rescued not by a direct counterattack against the Russians at Lutsk, but rather by having the relief force, centred on the German XXIV Reserve Corps, drive southeast against the northern flank of the advancing Russian 8th Army, and the enemy to retreat to avoid envelopment.

The intervention of German forces under General Linsingen to rescue the faltering Austro-Hungarian 4th Army,
Sept. 23rd to 30th, 1915.

- Over the past two weeks German units assigned to the Serbian campaign have been arriving in Hungary; the German 105th Division, for example, completes its transfer to the Balkans today.  To preserve secrecy, the seventy trains needed to transport each division have been forbidden from moving south of Budapest in daylight.  After arrival near the Serbian frontier, the movement to staging areas is also conducted at night, German soldiers moving through unfamiliar terrain and surrounded by a civilian population that did not speak any German whatsoever if they got lost.

- In Paris the Council of Ministers convenes to debate the deployment of a French expedition to Greece to aid the Serbs, and the broader implications such an operation would have on grand strategy and the overall direction of the war effort.  Preserving Serbian independence, it is felt, is essential to the Entente war effort, in order to tie down significant enemy forces in the Balkans and prevent the opening of an overland route for German munitions and supplies to the Ottoman Empire.  However, a significant commitment of force to the Balkans potentially implies a lessening of emphasis on the Western Front, problematic due to the ongoing German occupation of French soil and the opposition of Joffre to any diminuation of forces under his command.

- Despite his pro-German sympathies, Greek King Constantine succumbs to his Prime Minister's arguments regarding the provision of 150 000 soldiers by the French and British instead of the Serbs, and agrees to issue a decree for mobilization.  Nevertheless, Constantine remains deeply uneasy about the course of events.

August 21st, 1915

- The finance ministers of France and Britain, meeting at Boulogne today, agree to float a joint loan in the United States, though it will formally be in Britain's name only.  It was also agreed that proceeds would be shared with Russia, though Russian involvement would be kept private as American investors would be very hesitant to take up a loan backed by a government with such a poor fiscal reputation.  It is hoped that American revulsion at the sinking of the passenger liners Lusitania and, two days ago, Arabic would enhance the willingness of American investors to back the Entente financially, and President Wilson has indicated privately that while he will not endorse the loan, he will not oppose it.

- The Russians opposite Prince Leopold's army group retreat during the night, and during the former's pursuit of the latter today elements of both the German 12th Army and General Woyrsch's command cut the railway linking Brest-Litovsk and Bialystok while cavalry seize the town of Kleszczeli.

August 17th, 1915

- The French government passes the Dalbiez Law today to regulate the industrial workforce.  While allowing for the conscription of unskilled labourers, it also exempts skilled workers from military service, limiting the ability of the army to draft as many soldiers at it desires.  It is a further recognition that in a war of material as well as manpower, some are more valuable in the factory instead of the trench.

- On the Eastern Front General Alexeiev of North-West Front, though responsible for the line from the Baltics to the Bug River south of Brest-Litovsk, his attention has been squarely focussed on the ongoing threat posed by Mackensen's offensive.  Concerned over the German threat in Courland, Stavka decides to split off the northern stretch of the line into a separate Northern Front, and in typical Russian fashion they appoint disgraced General Nicholas Ruzski, who had been dismissed as commander of North-West Front in April.  The appointment is a reflection of both the conservatism and unimaginativeness of the Russian army.

Meanwhile, for the past nine days the Germans have systematically reduced the Russian fortifications at Kovno, which had not been modernized prior to the war.  Further, though the garrison numbered ninety thousand, it was composed of poorly-trained territorial soldiers, and the fire from the defensive batteries was uncoordinated - on one occasion Russian artillery fired on a fort still held by their countrymen, thinking it had already fallen to the Germans.  General Vladimir Grigoriev, the seventy-year-old commander of Kovno, had no experience with modern warfare and was convinced of German superiority, and when the German XL Reserve Corps assaults the last forts today, Grigoriev panics and flees, abandoning the garrison to its fate.  In capturing Kovno the Germans seize over 1300 artillery pieces, 5300 heavy artillery shells, and 800 000 light artillery shells.

Further south, this morning the German XXV Reserve Corps of 9th Army crosses the Bug River northeast of Siedlec, while to the southeast the German X Reserve Corps of 11th Army reaches the Bug near Janow.  Between the two German corps the Austro-Hungarian XVII and VIII Corps of 4th Army have also reached the river.

- The Austro-Hungarian navy bombards the Italian garrison on the island of Pelagosa in the central Adriatic today.  Undertaken by the light cruisers Helgoland and Saida, accompanied by two destroyers, they blanket the island with shells, destroying among other installations the fresh-water cistern before withdrawing unhindered by the Italian navy, which had no warning of the sortie and was thus unable to respond before the Austro-Hungarians had departed.

July 22nd, 1915

- Since the beginning of the war, Joffre has dismissed 138 generals whom he feels have not performed up to his expectations, and today General Maurice Sarrail of 3rd Army becomes yet another 'casualty,' and is replaced by General Georges Humbert.  Over the past six weeks German forces opposite 3rd Army have been able to launch successful small-scale assaults in the Argonne, and Joffre has concluded that Sarrail has 'yielded the initiative to the enemy.'

- In receipt of Conrad's memorandum of yesterday, Falkenhayn replies today that he is in complete agreement regarding overtures to Russia regarding a separate peace, and has forwarded the memorandum to Bethmann-Hollweg.  Unlike Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the German chief of staff has long believed that a truly decisive victory over Russia is impossible, given the vast expanse of the country.  Instead, convincing Russia to exit the war is the most reasonable and realistic course of action, in order that German forces can be redeployed to the Western Front to battle Germany's most irreconcilable foes.

- In southern Poland, General Mackensen issues orders today for his 11th Army to hold in its present positions, to give time to resupply and recuperate, as well as reorganize formations that had become mixed together in the advance since the breakthrough at Krasnostaw.  However, Mackensen allows the Army of the Bug and the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army to continue their attacks, as their advance has been slower than 11th Army in the centre.

- On the Russian side, the advance of the German force under General Gallwitz to the Narew River, coupled with the seemingly unstoppable momentum of General Mackensen's army group, convinces General Alexeiev that the time has come to commence the evacuation of Russian Poland.  The Russian 12th, 1st, and 2nd Armies, covering the front north and west of Warsaw, are instructed to fall back, effectively pivoting on the fortress of Osowiec in the north until they reach a line running from Lomza to northeast of Ivangorod.  In southern Poland, 4th, 3rd, and 13th Armies will retreat north of Lublin and Cholm to a line stretching through Opalin and Kowel towards Ivangorod in the west.  This withdrawal, however, is to be gradual rather than precipitate, in order to slow the enemy advance without risking destruction.  Of the major forts in the area to be abandoned only Novogeorgievsk is to be held indefinitely.

June 22nd, 1915

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

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

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

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

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

June 10th, 1915

- In an effort to expand aircraft production, the French government orders that skilled workers from aircraft factories who had enlisted or been conscripted into the army after August 1st be allowed to return ti civilian life and reenter their prior occupation.  This is a recognition that while this is a war of mass armies, some men, given their skills, are more valuable out of uniform, given that the effectiveness of these mass armies are not only dependent on their size but also on the amount of material available for them to use.

- For several months Frederick Lugard, the British governor of Nigeria, has desired an attack against the fort at Garua in northwestern German Kamerun, especially after the German thrust of April to the Benue River undermined British prestige in northern Nigeria.  A combined Franco-British force of fourteen companies, accompanied by two heavy artillery pieces, has advanced to Garua, and by yesterday had closed to within a kilometre of the German positions.  The goal of the operation was not only to seize Garua but also cut off the garrison's line of retreat and force their surrender.  The first rounds fired by the artillery, however, panicked the askaris of the garrison, half of whom promptly fled by swimming down the Benue River towards Banyo.  Greatly weakened, the three hundred men remaining in Garua surrender the fort today before the British and French can launch an attack on the German line.

For the British and the French, the operation against Garua has been a subsidiary one, designed to restore British prestige and preempt further incursions into Nigeria.  They believe that the Germans are focusing their defensive efforts in the south of the colony, in the region surrounding Jaunde, which is where the British and French have directed their main attacks.  In fact, the Germans have based their defense of Kamerun on the broad northern uplands around Ngaundere, and Garua was the key to holding this territory.  Thus the Germans are greatly concerned about the fall of Garua, which calls into question their entire focus on the north, while the British and French have no idea of the significance of what they have actually managed to accomplish.

April 15th, 1915

- The German 4th Army had designated today as the earliest possible date at which the planned gas attack on the Ypres salient could be undertaken by XXVI Reserve Corps and 46th Reserve Division.  However, throughout the day the winds are totally calm, and the attack is postponed.

- At the start of the war the enormous pressure to increase artillery shell production led to a willingness to comprise quality in the name of quantity, by allowing automobile factories to bore out shell casings with a turning-lathe instead of an hydraulic press.  While the new method meant significantly more factories could be switched immediately to shell production, the new shells have a range of problems.  The fuses on some shells fail to fire properly; in January a German officer had calculated that 50% of French shells fired in a given day were duds.  In other cases, faulty shells exploded prematurely; whereas before the war one artillery piece burst for every 500 000 rounds, by this spring one gun bursts for every 3000 rounds.  Thus the issue of munitions production is not simply one of quantity - there is little point in increasing output if the resulting shells are defective.  In response to the defects in French artillery shells, the government today reimposes the pre-war standard regarding the use of forged steel.

- When the morning dawns at Shaiba in Mesopotamia, the Ottoman forces have disappeared completely, and such was their haste to retreat that they left behind their camps and everything from rifles to cooked food.  For his part, the Ottoman commander felt sufficiently disgraced by the defeat that he assembled his officers and promptly shot himself in front of them.  Indeed, the British victory at the Battle of Shaiba results in a growing disinclination among many Arabs to answer the Ottoman call to jihad; indeed, the retreating Ottoman forces are harried by Arabs for a hundred miles up the Euphrates River.  The British, however, are unable to immediately follow up their victory by pursuit, the cavalry unprepared to run down the beaten foe.  Indeed, the battle itself, for a time on the 14th, hung in the balance, as the British were held up by the Ottoman trench line.  Even the British admitted the Ottoman soldiers fought bravely and resolutely, and only a last-minute bayonet charge by the Dorsets had been enough to capture the trench and turn the tide.

February 9th, 1915

- A meeting of the War Council in London today includes discussion regarding Entente strategy on the Western Front, and communications from Joffre regarding the role he desires the British to play.  While desiring to cooperate and coordinate with their French ally, they are not inclined to, as Churchill remarks, give the French the 'last word' on the employment of the British Expeditionary Force.

- In Germany OHL submits a recommendation to the Prussian War Ministry today to establish a chief of field aviation (Feldflugchef) who would have authority over all aerial matters, including the coordination of airplane production.

- In East Prussia the full weight of the advancing German 10th Army falls upon two Russian cavalry divisions screening the northern flank of the Russian 10th Army.  The Russian divisions simply disintegrate, and the attack of the Germans continues unimpeded.

February 4th, 1915

- The French launch a counterattack against the line north of Massiges seized by the Germans yesterday.  Advancing at 440a, though the French are able to enter the German trenches, they are ultimately repelled in fierce hand-to-hand combat, with heavy losses on both sides.

- After several months of training in the miserable conditions of Salisbury Plain, 1st Canadian Division is preparing to depart for France.  Signalling the imminence of their departure, the soldiers are inspected today by King George V.

- Admiral Pohl, the current Chief of the Naval Staff, is appointed today as Admiral Ingenohl's replacement as commander of the High Seas Fleet, while Vice-Admiral Gustav Bachmann becomes the new Chief of the Naval Staff.  Just as his predecessor, he is bound by the Kaiser's limitations on the deployment of the fleet; indeed, in the aftermath of the Battle of Dogger Bank Wilhelm II has forbidden even Hipper's battlecruisers from putting to sea.  Pohl does, however, make use of the Kaiser's presence at the change of command ceremony to advance another goal.  Standing together in a launch as it moves among the dreadnoughts, Pohl hands the Kaiser an order for unrestricted submarine warfare to be signed.  Caught up in the moment and with his attention on his beloved warships, Wilhelm II signs his name without contemplating the significance of his action.  Pohl for his part has gotten what he desired - authorization for the commencement of unrestricted submarine warfare against Britain.

- In Galicia, after a heavy artillery bombardment the Russians break into the town of Mezölaborcz, which sits on one of the few railways in the Carpathians and thus is vital for Austro-Hungarian supply.  Despite this, Conrad is more concerned with issues of jurisdiction, insisting that Südarmee communicate through the Austro-Hungarian high command instead of going directly to OHL.

- As preparations continue to launch the naval attack on the Dardanelles, Britain and France are optimistic that Greece, emboldened by the Entente offensive, will join the war on their side.  Today the French government authorizes the dispatch of a division to northern Greece, to encourage not only the Greeks but also the Romanians to join the war by demonstrating their willingness to fight in the Balkans.

- East of the Suez Canal the commander of the Ottoman expedition to seize the Suez Canal concludes that, with the failure of yesterday's attack and no longer having the element of surprise, any further efforts would risk the annihilation of his force.  Thus in the early hours of the morning the Ottomans begin to retreat eastwards across the Sinai Peninsula towards Palestine.

The British forces on the west bank of the Canal decide not to pursue the retreating enemy.  First, they are initially concerned that the Ottomans may renew the attack.  Second, the sandstorm that had postponed the Ottoman attack from the 2nd to the 3rd had also grounded British aircraft, leaving them without aerial reconnaissance of the enemy columns.  Finally, the British formations were not prepared to enter the desert - none had the water for such an attempt.  As a result, the British permit the Ottomans to retire unmolested.

Burial parties tending to the Ottoman dead on the east bank of the Suez Canal.

February 2nd, 1915

- Financial representatives from Britain, France, and Russia meet today in Paris to discuss the financing of the war.  Britain objects to a French proposal to issue a joint allied loan of £800 million, fearing that British credit would be undermined by association with the weaker credit of its allies.  Instead, Britain (with £25 million) and France (625 million francs) agree to support Russia, while in exchange France and Russia agree to ship £6 million in gold to Britain if the reserves of the Bank of England falls by over £10 million in the next six months.

- The defeat at Dogger Bank just over a week ago has capped a frustrating first six months of the war for the German High Seas Fleet.  The British clearly dominate the North Sea, as evidenced by their attack on the Heligoland Bight in August, and the naval raids against the British coast only narrowly avoided catastrophe at the hands of intercepting British squadrons.  Such setbacks demand a scapegoat, and today he is found - Admiral Ingenohl is dismissed as commander of the High Seas Fleet.

- In the Carpathians the Austro-Hungarian effort to seize the heights north of the Uszok Pass have failed.  Given the utter exhaustion of the infantry in the bitter cold, efforts to attack the Russian positions frontally and outflank them have gotten nowhere.  Early his morning General Szurmay pulls his forces back towards the Uszok Pass, in order to give them a brief respite from the fighting.

January 30th, 1915

- Though the war has now passed the six-month mark, there are still some within financial circles who feel that hostilities will have to shortly cease as the combatants run out of the financial ability to pay for the war.  In France today the influential journal L'Économiste Français declares that the war will be over in seven months.

- As the centre of his army buckles under Russian pressure, the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army is forced to send the last of his reserves - 29th Division - into the line to prevent a Russian breakthrough.  With no further reserves at his disposal should the Russians continue to push forward, an urgent message goes out to the commander of the neighbouring 4th Army, requesting the immediate transfer of a division.

- With the defeat of Maritz's attack on Upington on the 24th, and concluding that the Boer Rebellion has failed, the rebel commando led by General Kemp surrenders to government forces in South Africa today, leaving the small commando under Martiz as the only rebel unit still in the field.

January 28th, 1915

- A meeting of the War Council in London is scheduled for 1130am.  Beforehand, Churchill receives a letter of resignation from Fisher over the latter's opposition to the proposed Dardanelles campaign.  Unwilling to lose the First Sea Lord, Churchill drags Fisher to a private meeting with Asquith at 10 Downing Street.  There the two rehash their positions, and Asquith, forced to choose, decides that the operation should go forward, and when Fisher receives the decision in silence, Churchill assumes the First Sea Lord has been won over.  The trio then go to the War Council meeting in the Cabinet Room.  Fisher, however, believes that Asquith resolved that the final decision will not be taken today.  When Asquith instead states that a decision needs to be made today, Fisher silents stands and makes for the door.  Lord Kitchener, well understanding what Fisher meant to do, leaps to his feet, gets to the door before Fisher, and steers him aside.  The Secretary of State for War argued to Fisher that he was the only one opposed to the mission, and as the Prime Minister had made his decision, it was the First Sea Lord's responsibility to the country to implement the choice.  Reluctantly, Fisher returns to the table, sitting in petulant silence as the discussion on the operation continues.

At 2pm the meeting is adjourned, at which point Churchill corners Fisher and proceeds to place, as he would later write, 'great and continuous pressure' on the First Sea Lord.   Churchill, with his overbearing personality and absolute conviction in the rightness of his beliefs, finally wears down Fisher, and the latter finally agrees to consent to the operation.  Elated, Churchill announces when the War Council reconvenes later in the afternoon that the entire Admiralty is behind the Dardanelles plan, and the meeting gives its final authorization for the attack to begin, though it will take several more weeks until the naval force is prepared to commence the operation.  Fisher, however, has only momentarily yielded under the pressure of his associates; in his heart he still believes the Dardanelles operation is foolhardy and risks significant losses.  It will only take for his fears to become reality for his opposition to resurface again.

- General de Langle of the French 4th Army issues details to his corps commanders today regarding his plan for the resumption of the offensive in the Champagne.  For this next phase of the battle, 4th Army is to utilize five corps in the line, of which two - XVII and I - will undertake the initial penetration of the German front at Perthes.  Once they have reached their objective, located about 1500 metres behind the line, they are to turn left and right in order to attack the German defenses from the flank and enlarge the breach.  Following the breach IV Corps, 4th Army's reserve is to advance deep into the enemy position.  Notably, the tactics de Langle outlines are for successive waves of infantry in order to achieve the initial breakthrough.

- In France while the shortage of artillery shells has been a focus of economic concern, there has also been criticism of the government regarding the provision of rifles.  Production has been minimal, while 850 000 have been lost in the first six months of the war, leaving a shortfall of almost 700 000.  Today the director of artillery meets with representatives of private industry regarding their manufacturing rifles for the army.  While the firms represented are willing to take on government contracts, many are unable to fulfill the terms of the agreement - the precision required to produce rifles was far greater than such firms were accustomed to, and mobilization has reduced the available pool of skilled labour.

- As the Russian counterattack in the Carpathians continues, the east wing of the Russian 8th Army is able to advance against the centre of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army.  Today, XVIII Corps of the latter is pushed back five miles by the Russians.

January 4th, 1915

- After closing on the outbreak of war in August, the London Stock Exchange reopens today.

- The ability of the French army to increase its stock of artillery shells is hampered by the necessity of supplying ammunition to its allies in order to enhance their fighting ability.  As the French minister of war reports today, at a time when Joffre is demanding the production of 60 000 rounds per day, France is exporting 12 000 per day to Russia, 3000 to Romania, 2000 to Serbia, and between 1000 and 2000 to Belgium.

- At the far southern end of the Western Front, the line runs just inside the German province of Alsace until it reaches the Swiss border.  Here the French have entrenched themselves on the eastern ridges of the Vosges Mountains, giving them observation of the upper Rhine River and allowing bombardment of the German-held plains to the east.  The Vosges are rocky and forested, preventing the construction of continuous trench lines.  Instead, each side entrenches on available high ground and emphasizes strong points.  Nevertheless, the stalemate to the north has replicated itself in the Vosges - indeed, advancing exposed up hillsides, where artillery shells create lethal airborne rock splinters, advances are particularly arduous.

The Western Front in the Vosges.

Winter in the Vosges, 1915.

For the past month, French infantry have been attacking at several points in order to push the line eastward and bring more of the German rear under artillery fire.  In order to bring a halt to the enemy attacks, Army Detachment Gaede, responsible for defending German Alsace, has been reinforced by six battalions and three batteries of artillery and ordered to seize Hartmannswillerkopf (known to the French as Vieil Armand), at 3136 feet one of the highest points in the Vosges and one from which the French have been able to direct artillery fire on the vital railway linking Mulhouse and Colmar.  Today three German regiments of light infantry, grenadiers, and dismounted light cavalry attack Hartmannswillerkopf, but are repulsed by the entrenched French defenders.

- For several months the vital Austro-Hungarian fortress of Przemysl has been besieged by the Russians, who are content to simply starve out the defenders.  Indeed, the food stocks, never high, are continuing to dwindle.  Today, the commander at Przemysl radios Conrad to inquire whether the garrison should attempt to break out around February 1st, or simply hold out until March 7th, the date on which it is expected food supplies (including the slaughter of horses) will run out.  Conrad views the fall of Przemysl not only as a military but also a political catastrophe, as its loss would further undermine the prestige of Austria-Hungary among neutral states, and thus views an early offensive in Galicia to relieve Przemysl to be of vital importance.

- At Sarikamish the shattered remnants of the Ottoman IX Corps, surrounded and attack from Bardiz to the rear, surrender today.  Enver Pasha, who had been with IX Corps, manages to escape through Russian lines to reach XI Corps, which is still attacking in a vain effort to recover the situation.

December 23rd, 1914

- The British government announces a further tightening of the blockade of Germany by declaring additional items to now be contraband and subject to seizure.  New to the list are all types of rubber, whether raw or wast, and all elements used in the production explosives.

- The French Parliament today votes to hand over even more powers to Joffre and the French Army.  Within the 'Zone of Armies' along and near the front, the power of the French Army is supreme and cannot be interfered with by civilians - politicians are even forbidden to visit the front line.

- In the Caucasus the Ottoman X Corps today seizes the town of Oltu, its first objective.  However, given low supplies and appalling weather conditions, the advance of X Corps and the neighbouring IX Corps are already behind schedule.

December 11th, 1914

- Two days ago the British ambassador in Paris had submitted to the French minister of war a memorandum proposing that the British Expeditionary Force be redeployed to the Entente far left on the Channel coast, so that the Royal Navy could co-operate with BEF operations towards Ostend and Zeebrugge.  As General Sir Henry Wilson notes in his diary today, the reaction of both Joffre and Foch is negative.  First, operations along the coast will do nothing to support the offensives Joffre is planning in Artois and Champagne.  Second, the French fear that the further away the BEF is from the French armies, the more difficult it will be to secure their co-operation in future operations.  Finally, the almost-unspoken fear is that by placing the BEF in Belgium by being on the coast, the British may be seeking an inordinate influence over postwar Belgium - Britain and France may be allies, but France wants to ensure a strong hand in shaping and influencing postwar Europe.

- By today General Roth's group consists of nine infantry and three cavalry divisions, though this was little more than paper strength - his infantry divisions average between two and three thousand, while 3rd Infantry Division can muster only nine hundred soldiers.  Despite this, the Russian VIII Corps opposing them is in hardly better shape, and heavy assaults by the Russians fail to dislodge the Austro-Hungarian defenders east of Limanowa.  For its part General Szurmay's group advances to within sight of Neusandez while parrying an attack on its  by the Russian 48th Division.  The latter formation belongs to XXIV Corps, the second formation sent by General Brusilov to aid his western neighbour.  The rest of the corps, however, is stalled to the east by the northern advance of the Austro-Hungarian III Corps towards the Gorlice-Roba road.  Finally, the weakening of Brusilov's 8th Army to send reinforcements westwards allows the Austro-Hungarian VII Corps to retake the Dukla Pass through the Carpathians.

December 9th, 1914

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

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

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

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

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

November 24th, 1914

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

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

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

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

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