November 2nd, 1915

- South of Plava, just after dark a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 18th Division retakes another portion of the ground at Zagora lost yesterday morning.  To the south, heavy Italian attacks once again are directed to the heights at Podgora just west of Görz, and after several attempts Italian infantry reach the first Austro-Hungarian trench line, rendered unrecognizable by artillery fire.  Into the evening, Italian and Austro-Hungarian infantry engage in desperate combat in the ruined landscape between what once was the first and second trench lines.  After dark, an Austro-Hungarian counterattack by two battalions rushed forward from the divisional reserve manages to regain much of the lost ground.  The 11th Italian Division, meanwhile, is able to push into Oslavija, seizing the enemy trenches anchored by the village church.  On 3rd Army's portion of the line, heavy artillery fire begins at 7am and continues into the late afternoon, after which infantry attacks break to the positions of the Austro-Hungarian 17th Division in three places south of St. Martino.  General Elder von Gelb, the divisional commander, assembles the last available reserves - the remnants of 33rd and 111st Landsturm Brigades - and prevent further Italian advances here.  On either flank, Italian assaults were unable to make any headway.

- Speaking in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Asquith praises the British advance in Mesopotamia by stating that 'I do not think that in the whole war there has been a series of operations more carefully contrived, more brilliantly conducted, and with a better prospect of final success.'  However true this may have been of the campaign to date, the reality is that it is about to go badly off the rails.

- Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, commander of German forces in the colony of German East Africa, receives a message from Berlin, originally dispatched in May, reporting revolution in Sudan.  Given the British commitment to Europe and the likelihood of defeat at Gallipoli, this information reinforces Lettow-Vorbeck's belief that the forces under his command are at least the equal of those in British East Africa to the north.  As such, planning begins for a major offensive aimed at Mombasa.  Lettow-Vorbeck's objective at this stage of the war is not simply survival, but victory, to crush enemy forces in British East Africa in a decisive battle.

August 3rd, 1915

- Joffre's staff at GQG submits a memorandum today on the probable future moves of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians, which suggests that the German concentration on the Eastern Front will shortly come to an end, and will be followed by a 'vast effort' on either the Balkan or Western Fronts.  France's response, the memorandum concludes that 'the simplest method is the attack.'  It is an argument reflective of Joffre's own views, who remains convinced that the French army must remain on the attack if the war is to be won.  The memorandum is also suggestive of the tendency of Joffre's staff to reinforce the inclinations of their commander-in-chief, instead of challenging them and offering alternatives.  Given Joffre's almost monomaniacal focus on the attack, this is not a healthy combination.

- Expanding on yesterday's orders to 2nd Army to evacuate the west bank of the Vistula River, General Alexeiev of North-West Front issues instructions for a broader withdrawal from the Polish salient, pulling his armies back to a line running roughly from Lomza south to a point southwest of Siedlec, then bending southeast to the Bug River between Cholm and Wlodawa.  This involves the retreat of the 12th, 1st, 2nd, and 4th Armies in central Poland, effectively 'flattening' the salient.  Again, however, this is not to be a rushed retreat, but rather 'gradual and orderly' - the concept is still to slow the pace of the German advance and make them fight for the terrain they do capture.  Thus east of the Narew River the German force under General Gallwitz find the Russians before them withdrawing to the east, and are able to occupy Ostrolenka today.

To the south, the Russian 3rd and 13th Armies opposite Mackensen's army group once again retreat to new defensive positions to the north this morning, as they implement Alexeiev's orders to slow the German advance but not risk the annihilation that would certainly ensue if they stood and endured the set-piece bombardments and assaults that have been the standard German tactic for the past few months.  The gradual retreat has had its desired effect - when the Germans reach a new Russian defensive position, they pause to gather artillery and prepare an assault, only to find the Russians gone when they are ready to strike.  Once they discover the latest Russian withdrawal the Germans quickly pursue, and by this afternoon come up against the next line of Russian defensives and prepare for a major assault tomorrow.

- As the German advance on the Eastern Front continues, Falkenhayn writes to Conrad today about the future direction of the campaign.  His aim is to drive the Russians behind the Bug River in the south and a line running from Brest-Litovsk to Grodno in the north.  Once this has been accomplished, Falkenhayn intends to withdraw significant forces from the Eastern Front, while leaving only enough strength to hold the territory gained.  Again this reflects Falkenhayn's limited perspective on the Eastern Front: Russia can never be crushed, and if it cannot be convinced to agree to a separate peace the aim should be to contain the Russians to allow redeployments to seek the decisive victories that are possible on other fronts.  Such views, of course, stand in stark contrast to those of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, who continue to believe that the Russian army can be annihilated, and seek the decisive envelopment campaign - Tannenberg on a massive scale - that can deliver victory.

- After the failure of a final set of Italian attacks along the Isonzo River today, Cadorna formally calls off the offensive today.  Over the two weeks of fighting, the 2nd Battle of the Isonzo has cost the Italians 42 000 losses while gaining no significant ground whatsoever.  Moreover, the Italian army has been ravaged by disease; 21 000 soldiers caught cholera or typhus, and 4300 died.  The only redeeming aspect of the battle was that the Austro-Hungarians suffered 47 000 casualties which, given the Italian numerical superiority on the Italian Front, means the Austro-Hungarians lost a significantly greater proportion of their forces than the Italians.

- The advance of the German armies on the Eastern Front over the past several months has had a significant impact on the attitude of neutral states in the Balkans: not only has Romania decided on neutrality for the time being, but the Bulgarian government of Minister President Vasil Radoslavov under King Ferdinand has shifted towards Germany, concluding that its primary foreign policy objective of annexing Macedonia can only be achieved through German aid.  To learn of the German position and discuss the potential terms of a Bulgarian entry into the war, Radoslavov had dispatched to Germany Lieutenant-Colonel Petur Ganchev, a former adjutant to Ferdinand and military attaché to Germany.  He brings with him Radoslavov's terms for Bulgaria's entry into the war: in addition to the territorial acquisitions, Germany is to extend a loan of two hundred million francs and guarantee support for Bulgaria against any potential intervention by Greece and Romania and assistance in defending Bulgaria's Black Sea coast from the Russian navy.

Today Ganchev arrives at Pless, headquarters of the German OHL, where he finds a receptive audience in Falkenhayn.  The German chief of staff has long intended to follow the offensive on the Eastern Front with an operation to conquer Serbia and open a land link with the Ottoman Empire, and a coordinated Bulgarian attack from the east would outflank the main Serbian line facing the Austro-Hungarian frontier to the north.  In response to Ganchev's proposal, Falkenhayn states that Bulgaria would need to deploy five divisions to participate in an offensive against Serbia within six weeks of agreeing to the terms of an alliance, and would need to exert diplomatic pressure on Romania to adopt a more pro-German stance.  Though there are differences between the two proposals, they are not substantive, and negotiations proceed accordingly.

- Having failed to take the British post at Saisi in northern Rhodesia on July 25th, and with ongoing difficulty with water supplies, retired major-general Wahle orders his small force to fall back across the frontier into German East Africa today.

July 25th, 1915

- Joffre approves Castlenau's proposed plan for the fall offensive in Champagne today, with one revision: the French commander-in-chief believes that only seven days' worth of artillery shells will be needed, as opposed to ten.

- In Courland the German Army of the Niemen pushes across the Dubissa River and occupies Poswol and Poniewiez as the Russian 5th Army falls back.

- In Mesopotamia the British follow up their victory east of Nasiriyeh yesterday with the capture of the town today, in an episode reminiscent of the capture of Amara on the Tigris two months earlier.  As the British infantry marched wearily along the river, a gunboat sailed ahead to Nasiriyeh itself, which has descended into chaos, with widespread looting by local Arabs.  The crew of the gunboat are greeted by white flags everywhere but the Ottoman barracks, whose garrison have yet to learn of the defeat of their compatriots yesterday.  The gunboat returns to the British expedition and, joined by a second gunboat, embark a hundred Gurkas and two machine guns.  This small force is landed at Nasiriyeh and take possession of the town, receiving the surrender of the remaining Ottoman soldiers.  Only later does the rest of the infantry, marching through a sandstorm, reach the town.

- Falkenhayn today approves a plan forwarded by the German military attaché in Teheran to fund and arm Persian tribes to augment the efforts of Wassmuss in the south of the country; with £100 000 and a ton of explosives, the attaché believes 50 000 tribesmen can be raised to drive Entente forces out of the country and move on India and Afghanistan.

- In northern Rhodesia the German detachment under the retired major-general Kurt Wahle returns to the British post of Saisi and launches a second attack, but as was the case in June the Rhodesian police and Belgian soldiers hold off the enemy.

German soldiers entrenching near Saisi, July 25th, 1915.

July 12th, 1915

- Having received feedback from his subordinates and staff, and with the Chantilly conference at an end, Joffre issues an order today sketching in broad terms the autumn offensive the French army will undertake.  In line with Castlenau's views, the primary attack will occur in Champagne by twenty-seven infantry divisions and two cavalry corps, which will attack along a front of forty-kilometres, far greater than prior operations.  A secondary attack will be undertaken in Artois by twelve infantry and two cavalry divisions, directed towards Vimy Ridge.  The objective is to 'rupture' the German line and squeeze off the Noyon salient by collapsing its flanks and forcing the Germans to retire eastward.

- After the successful assaults on both flanks of the front line on Cape Helles in late June, the British and French have decided to launch an attack in the centre using the same tactics of a concentrated artillery barrage coupled with modest objectives for the infantry.  The British 52nd Division, as well as the French on its right, attack this morning and gain the first two Ottoman trench lines, followed by intense counterattacks that see the British and French barely holding on to their gains.

- One of the few locations in southern Persia still under British influence is Bushire, and today German consul Wilhelm Wassmuss with several hundred tribal allies approaches the port city.  A British detachment advances to meet them, and in the resulting skirmish two British officers are killed.

- Since the fall the German light cruiser Königsberg has been blockaded in the Rufiji River in German East Africa, though the uncharted channels at the river estuary and the dense foliage has prevented the British from attacking it.  After attempts to bombard by air and by the old pre-dreadnought Goliath failed, the shallow-draught monitors Mersey and Severn had been dispatched from Britain.  Capable of sailing up the delta of the Rufiji, they are able to get within range of Königsberg today and in an exchange of fire sinks the German warship.  It is the last German warship still active outside of European waters, and marks the end of the surface threat to Entente shipping overseas.  In practice Königsberg had made little contribution to this campaign, its exploits paling in comparison to the far more successful Emden.  However, simply by existing in an inaccessible location it has tied down disproportionate British resources for months, and even after its sinking its contribution to the war effort is not at an end; its crew is able to salvage the main guns from the light cruiser and transform them into artillery pieces for the defence of the colony.

June 28th, 1915

- Overnight the Russian forces north of the German 11th Army pull back again, allowing the Germans an uncontested advance that sees them reach their objectives for the day by noon.  The rapid march to the northwest, however, serves to further draw 11th Army away from the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army on its southern flank, and the German 119th Division has to be sent into the line between the Beskid Corps and 11th Bavarian Division to avoid a dangerous gap opening.

- In the Balkans, the First World War is in many ways merely an extensive of conflicts between the various states and ethnic groups of the region stretching back decades.  Thus the focus of Serbia and its neighbouring ally Montenegro is not simply on defeating Austria-Hungary, but their attention is also directed towards the south.  The state of Albania had only come into existence in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, and has become a failed state 'governed' by various tribal groups.  Already both Italy and Greece have taken advantage of the distraction of the Great Powers to occupy portions of Albania, and both Serbia and Montenegro are loath to the let what they perceive to be their rightful share slip away.  As a result, even as Russia is begging Serbia to attack Austria-Hungary, both Serbia and Montenegro this month have sent forces to secure a portion of northern Albania, the latter occupying Scutari today.  The Balkan states have no intention of allowing the greatest conflict in the history of mankind to distract them from settling scores with their neighbours.

- After the minor French success on the 21st, today it is the turn of the British on Cape Helles to launch a small-scale attack with overwhelming artillery concentration.  Their objective are trenches along Gully Spur and the adjacent Gully Ravine, and by the time the main attack is launched at 11am just over 16 000 shells, constituting almost half the entire British supply on Cape Helles, have been fired at the Ottoman lines.  When the infantry goes in, 29th Indian Brigade is able to make progress up the coastal side of Gully Spur while 1st Dublin Fusiliers fights its way up a portion of Gully Ravine.  As with the French attack of a week prior, the British operation is a success, though not one of sufficient scope to be of great significance to the wider campaign on Gallipoli.  By nightfall, the Ottomans begin launching what will be a series of mass counterattacks to retake the lost positions.

- In German Kamerun the Anglo-French column that had attempted to advance on Jaunde from the west, only to retreat in the face of German pressure and casualties, returns to Ngwe today.  The two Nigerian battalions of the column have lost half their strength, and the sickness of many of the survivors combined with the scarcity of supplies, combined with the imminent rainy season, rules out any resumption of the offensive in the near future.  To the British and French, therefore, it appears that their effort to seize the heart of the German defense in Kamerun has failed.  In practice, of course, the attack was aimed in the wrong direction; Ngaundere to the north, not Jaunde in the south, has been the focal point for the Germans.

Ironically, today a British column moving southward after the capture of Garua earlier this month occupies Ngaundere; without intending to, and without being aware of it, the Entente have actually won a significant success.  The Germans have been counting on the food and resources of the northern plateau of Kamerun to sustain their forces, and now that they have been deprived of the region the only alternative is to focus on the south and the trade link with the neutral Spanish colony of Muni.

- In German East Africa the force assembled in May under the retired major-general Kurt Wahle has crossed over the southwest frontier of the colony to enter British Rhodesia, and today attacks the post of Saisi, east-south-east of the town of Abercorn.  The defenders, consisting of Rhodesian police and Belgian soldiers, hold off the Germans, and the latter fall back.

The frontier between German East Africa and British Rhodesia.

June 23rd, 1915

- Given the growing concerns in political circles regarding the management of the war effort, President Poincaré, Premier Viviani, and Minister of War Millerand attend a meeting today between Joffre and his army commanders.  When they criticize Joffre for failing to deliver the promised breakthrough in Artois, Joffre denies ever having made such a pledge in the first place, a statement that does not go over well with the politicians.  As the meeting progresses the government leaders observe that while there may be differences in the timing and location of future French offensives (Foch wants only a brief delay before attacking again, while Castlenau and Dubail argue for several months), all of the military chiefs accept the basic premise that France must continue offensive operations.  Standing on the defensive, it is suggested, would simply expose the French army to incessant German attacks, and it is a moral necessity to liberate the territories occupied by the enemy as quickly as possible.

- With the fall of Lemberg yesterday, General Mackensen issues orders for the next phase of the offensive.  With the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army on its left, the German 11th Army is to advance northwards in pursuit of the retreating Russians.  To allow time for adequate munitions and supplies to be stockpiled, the operation is scheduled to begin on the 26th.  Meanwhile, in an effort to lessen pressure on the Eastern Front, the Russian government today asks Serbia to undertake an invasion of Syrmia.

- The Italian army begins its first set-piece offensive operation today along the Isonzo River on the eastern edge of the Italian Front.  The Italian VII and X Corps of 3rd Army is to seize the plateau between Montafalcone and Sagrado, while II Corps of 2nd Army to the north is to seize Monte Kuk.  The plan, as devised by Cadorna, calls for a methodical artillery bombardment to precede the advance of the infantry, and accordingly the Italian artillery opens fire early this morning and fires throughout the day.  The Italian bombardment, however, suffers from several deficiencies.  First, there is a lack of medium and heavy artillery pieces, needed to destroy fixed defensive positions.  Second, the Italian army suffers from a distinct shortage of artillery shells, limiting the intensity of the bombardment.  Finally, the Italians have no concept of how to conduct a bombardment effectively; instead of concentrating their fire on particular positions, the Italians attempt to blanket the enemy areas with shells.  The result is that the artillery is nowhere near strong or effective enough to significantly disrupt the Austro-Hungarian defence.  This evening 3rd Army sends small parties forward to test the effectiveness of the bombardment, and discover that the enemy positions are completely intact.  The only ground the Italian army is able to seize today is that which is voluntarily abandoned by Austro-Hungarian advance guards as they pull back to their main defensive positions.  It is an inauspicious beginning entirely in line with how the war will progress for the Italians along the Isonzo River.

The Italian front along the Isonzo River, June 23rd, 1915.

- In German East Africa a British force crosses Lake Victoria and raids the village of Bukoba, on the western shore in the northwestern corner of the German colony.  As the village is undefended, the British are able to seize Bukoba and destroy its wireless station, the target of the raid.  The expedition was also undertaken to give the colonial force something constructive to do, given that the war to this point in eastern Africa has consisted of inaction interspersed with humiliating defeats.  Indeed, Bukoba becomes an outlet for the frustrations of the war to date, as looting and rape is both widespread and at least implicitly sanctioned.  As it turns out, by destroying the wireless station the British deny themselves the station's transmissions which had been regularly intercepted.  Overall, a thoroughly pointless 'victory'.

May 29th, 1915

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

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

April 13th, 1915

- Reports have reached Joffre of inadequate preparation prior to the ongoing attacks on the St.-Mihiel salient, and he complains sharply to General Dubail that thoroughness is essential.  Dubail responds tactfully to Joffre's concerns, but argues that the assaults should continue.

- For the past several days Falkenhayn and his staff officers have debated the merits of a major shift of forces from the Western to the Eastern Front, which would involve abandoning for the time being any thought of a major offensive in the west in favour of a similar operation in the east.  Several officers argue that the most important theatre of the war is the Western Front, and that precious German reserves should only be sent east in the direst of emergencies.  Falkenhayn is sympathetic to this line of thinking; indeed, he has long felt that, given the realities of space, a war-winning victory over the Russians is not possible.  On the other hand, the detailed planning to date for an offensive on the Western Front has raised concerns whether even with the new reserve divisions sufficient forces can be assembled to ensure a reasonable chance of success.  On the other hand, the army of Austria-Hungary is clearly in dire straits, and the most recent check of the Russian advance in the Carpathians was almost entirely due to the intervention of the German Beskid Corps.  Should the Russians break through the Carpathians, German's only neighbouring ally could be knocked out of the war entirely, with disastrous consequences.  This is to say nothing, of course, of how Austria-Hungary is to defend itself if it has to deploy forces from the Carpathians to the Alps in case of an Italian attack.

With the greatest of reluctance, Falkenhayn concludes that the situation on the Eastern Front requires further German intervention, and that the strategic reserve being assembled on the Western Front will instead have to be sent east to undertake a major offensive operation to relieve Russian pressure on the Austro-Hungarians.  Today Falkenhayn seeks and receives the Kaiser's approval for the redeployment eastwards.

- This morning the heaviest fighting at Shaiba is to the west of the British position, where a large body of Arab irregulars have established themselves on a small rise in the ground known as the North mound.  First a small cavalry force is sent to capture the heights, which is instead all but wiped out.  With this result in mind, the commander of 30th Brigade orders a more co-ordinated attack, with three battalions advancing with the support of British artillery fire.  By 11am the North mound is in British possession and, given that the Arab survivors are streaming westward, the opportunity presents itself for a cavalry pursuit.  However, the cavalrymen are presently watering their horses, and the Arabs escape.  For the next several hours the British battalions clear out several Ottoman trenches to the west of Shaiba before returning to British lines by 3pm.  Elsewhere, Ottoman forces launch a series of half-hearted attacks from the south, which are easily repulsed.

- The commander of German forces in Kamerun issues orders today to reduce the garrison at Garua to only one-and-a-half companies.  He fears that a British advance could trap a substantial force in Garua; instead, he intends to hold the region via mobile columns that can shift rapidly to counter any axis of British advance.

- As the blockade runner Rubens made its way towards German East Africa, the commander of the German light cruiser Königsberg decided that if Rubens made for the Rufiji delta, it would be inevitably intercepted by the British warships keeping Königsberg contained.  Instead he has ordered the blockade runner to make for Mansa Bay, knowing its cargo would also be invaluable to Lettow-Vorbeck's forces in holding the colony.  As Rubens enters Mansa Bay today, it is hotly pursued by the British cruiser Hyacinth.  Under enemy fire, Rubens runs aground, and after several shells strike its topside is ablaze.  The captain of Hyacinth is convinced the blockade runner is a total wreck, and breaks off.

The German blockade runner Rubens aground in Mansa Bay.

This proves to be a colossal error, as the fire aboard Rubens was deliberately set by the Germans to deceive the British.  Most of the ammunition and weapons remained intact below the waterline, and as soon as the wreck had cooled salvage operations began.  Over the next five weeks, 2000 tons of coal, 7000 rounds of naval shells, 1500 rifles, and 4.5 million rounds of ammunition, along with clothing and other equipment, are brought ashore.  These supplies are vital to the long-term defense of German East Africa, and their arrival a blow to the British.

The salvage operation to recover supplies and ammunition from the wreck of Rubens.

March 3rd, 1915

- At 7am elements of three regiments of the German XIV Corps attack French positions on the Lorette Spur north of Arras.  Advancing in the wake of the detonation of several mines, the German infantry push forward six hundred metres and occupy the French trench line, taking eight hundred prisoners.

- Despite agreeing to the deployment of the January reserves to the Eastern Front, Falkenhayn remains convinced that victory can only be achieved through a successful and decisive offensive on the Western Front.  To date, the issue for Falkenhayn has been finding the forces to undertake such an operation - the portion of the German army currently in the West is sufficient only to defend the current line, while Hindenburg and Ludendorff jealously guard their units on the Eastern Front.  However, on February 22nd Major-General Ernst von Wrisberg, director of the General War Department, had submitted a proposal to Falkenhayn that offered the prospect of creating a new reserve force that could be utilized in major offensives.  While sufficent new recruits have now been trained to form several new reserve corps, as had been done in October 1914 and January 1915, Wrisberg's proposal was to instead to assign approximately 2400 recruits to each existing division while simultaneously detaching one regiment from each division.  The detached regiments, meanwhile, would be combined into new reserve divisions.  Thus unlike prior occasions, these new reserve divisions would be comprised of experienced soldiers capable of undertaking complex operations.  Wrisberg expected that this reorganization would allow for the creation of twenty-four reserves, and Falkenhayn has eagerly embraced the proposal, seeing in it the means by which his desired offensive in the West could be undertaken.

Orders have already been issued for the formation of the first six of the new divisions, and today Falkenhayn orders the formation of a new 11th Army, which he intends to use as the core of his offensive on the Western Front.  Its commander will be General Fabeck, who brings to the position his experience in the fighting around Ypres in October and November, while as Chief of Staff Falkenhayn appoints Colonel Hans von Seeckt, an experienced and successful staff officer on the Western Front.

- Meanwhile, this evening Falkenhayn arrives at the headquarters of 3rd Army in the Champagne to discuss the ongoing French offensive.  He emphasizes the importance of not yielding an inch of ground, which corresponds with the opinion of General Einem, 3rd Army's commander.

- In northern Poland the German 8th Army has failed to make any progress in its siege of the Russian fortress at Osowiec.  The land around the fortress is marshy and criss-crossed with streams, slowing the movement and deployment of German heavy artillery, while Russian maneouvers outside Osowiec have kept the Germans off-guard.  Thus the Germans have been unable to bring their full firepower to bear on the Russian defences, in contrast to sieges at Liège and Antwerp earlier in the war.  Frustrated, and challenged by the strength of the Russian 12th Army to the west, 8th Army abandons the siege and withdraws to the northwest.

A siege gun deployed by the Germans at Osowiec.

- Over the past two days the Russian VII and XII Corps have undertaken fierce counterattacks against the left flank of 2nd Army and the right flank of 3rd Army opposite, but the Austro-Hungarian defenders have managed to hold their positions.  From Conrad at AOK comes renewed exortations, urging all armies to advance in Galicia and relieve Przemysl.  To the German command staff of Südarmee, given the heavy casualties and terrible weather, such pleas appear little more than delusional.

- Another attempt to sweep the Ottoman minefields in the Dardanelles fails tonight when the minesweepers yet again retreat under heavy fire.  Significantly, Admiral de Robeck, commanding the forward assault forces of the Entente fleet, concludes today that the straits cannot be forced until the shore batteries are silenced by the occupation of one shore or the other.

- After four weeks in Sanaa, the sailors of Emden's landing party have sufficiently recovered from their various ailments to allow for the column to depart today.  Their destination is once again Hodeida, from which they had left on January 27th; with a march overland ruled out by the climate, First Officer Mücke has resolved to attempt to continue their journey by sea.

- The detachment of Indian Expeditionary Force D sent to Ahwaz on February 11th is encamped across the Karun river from the town.  The scratch force has arrived too late to prevent hostile Arabs from cutting the vital oil pipeline to Abadan in several places, ostensibly the detachment's original mission.  Moreover, a large number of Ottoman soldiers and Arab irregulars have gathered to the north at Ghadir, and the commander of the detachment has decided to attack the enemy encampment at dawn.  His plan is to bring his artillery pieces within range of the enemy, at which point their high rate of fire would induce the Ottomans and Arabs to retreat or disperse.  When the shelling begins, however, the enemy came 'buzzing out like a disturbed wasps nest' and, instead of retreating, attacked the British column.  The latter was then forced to undertake a fighting retreat, only escaping destruction due to the unwillingness of the Arab cavalry to close up to the British lines and the steadfastness of the Dorsets infantry.

- The captain of the German light cruiser Königsberg receives a wireless signal, via the transmission tower at Windhoek in German South-West Africa, that he should communicate with the disguised merchant ship Rubens on April 1st.

March 1st, 1915

- Having failed to make any headway with Sir John French regarding the relief of the French corps in the Ypres salient, Joffre writes to the minister of war today, asking him to appeal directly to Kitchener.  As Joffre explains, if IX Corps is not relieved by the British, 10th Army will be unable to launch an offensive in Artois in conjunction with the BEF.

- It is only the third day of the renewed Austro-Hungarian offensive in the Carpathians, but already Conrad is faced with the spectre of almost complete failure.  After heavy fighting the left wing of 2nd Army is stalled along the road to Baligrod, and has failed to reach its initial objectives.  To the east, V Corps of 2nd Army is stalled along along the San River at Chmiel, while to the west X Corps of 3rd Army has been unable to seize the heights fiercely defended by the Russians.  To make matters worse, the Russians have widened the breach gained yesterday in the Austro-Hungarian lines northwest of Stanislau to eight kilometres, and threaten to unhinge the entire front held by General Pflanzer-Baltin's forces.  Finally, Südarmee has failed to make any substantial progress towards Wyszkow Pass in the face of the bitter winter conditions.  In reaction to the setbacks, Conrad considers throwing 4th Army into the attack, disregarding the strong Russian defensive positions it faces.

- At the Dardanelles the British begin to confront the problem of the Ottoman minefields within the straits.  Clearing the mines is essential to the success of the operation, but the British only have makeshift minesweepers available to them in the eastern Mediterranean.  The Admiralty has provided the expedition with twenty-one converted North Sea fishing trawlers, newly-equipped with minesweeping gear but still manned by their regular peacetime crews, now designated as naval reserve sailors.  Crucially, these crews had no experience whatsoever of working under fire, but that was precisely the situation they faced in the Dardanelles due to the difficulties of destroying in particular the mobile howitzer batteries by naval bombardment.

To deal with this problem, Admiral Carden decides to send in the minesweepers at night to hopefully avoid detection.  After dusk this evening seven trawlers, escorted by the light cruiser Amethyst and four destroyers, enter the straits and begin to work.  The Germans and Ottomans, however, had already considered the possibility of night operations, and had five large searchlight batteries along the shore.  When the minesweepers are a mile and a half from the first minefield, they are suddenly illuminated by four searchlights and quickly subjected to fire from ten gun batteries.  Though none are hit, the trawlers rapidly retreat, while their escorts discover that it is nearly impossible to hit enemy artillery while practically blinded by powerful searchlights at night.  After forty-five minutes, the five warships also retreat.

- The success of the British and French to date at the Dardanelles, and in particular the destruction of the forts protecting the entrance to the straits, is having the desired effect on the opinion of the neutral Balkan states:  today the pro-Entente Greek Prime Minister Eleutherios Venizelos offers three Greek divisions for an attack on the Gallipoli peninsula.

- For their part the Germans are concerned about the prospects of a successful defense of the Dardanelles by the Ottomans, and desire to disturb the complacency of the British and French warships anchoring as they undertake bombardments.  To this end, the Austrian naval attaché is asked today to request to his government to send at least one of their submarines to the Dardanelles as early as possible.

- The British formally announce a complete naval blockade of German East Africa.

February 18th, 1915

- Sir John French replies today to Joffre's letter of the 16th regarding British operations in the near future, and the BEF commander outlines his plan for an attack in early March just north of La Bassée, directed at the village of Neuve Chapelle and the Aubers Ridge just beyond.  French, however, has learned of Kitchener's decision to assign 29th Division to the Dardanelles operation.  Moreover, though Kitchener has pledged to sent another division to France instead, it is composed of Territorial reserves, whom French believes will need significant further training before they can be send into the line.  As such, French informs Joffre that the BEF will be unable to conduct a major attack in early March while simultaneously relieving the French IX and XX Corps at Ypres previously agreed to on January 21st.

- In light of the Kaiser's decision to postpone the commencement of unrestricted submarine warfare, revised instructions are issued to U-boats today, intended to allow the navy to maintain an effective naval blockade of Britain without inflaming neutral opinion.  U-boat captains are to draw a clear distinction between enemy and neutral ships prior to firing, but in making such distinctions more than the flag of the merchant is to be taken into account, including course, structure, and general behaviour of the vessel.  Further, hospital ships are to spared, as well as ships belonging to the American-funded Belgian Relief Commission.  Provided such precautions are taken, captains would not be held responsible if mistakes were made.  The instructions bear the imprint of headquarters staff who have never had to determine the identity of a vessel through binoculars or a periscope while avoiding the threat of enemy fire.  Expecting U-boat captains to make what essentially is a political decision whether to fire is to invite mistakes, which is precisely what will happen.

Even as the revised instructions go out to the submarine force, the German government gives a reply to the American note of the 10th objecting to unrestricted submarine warfare.  On the one hand, the German government insists that they have the right to attack enemy ships as they see fit.  On the other hand, they assure the American government that American ships will not be attacked, as long as they are recognizable as such.

- The southern advance of the German 10th Army today sees it pass between the Russian fortress at Grodno and the Augustow Forest.  Here 10th Army takes up position facing both west and east, covering the escape routes from the Augustow Forest.

Of the Russian 10th Army, while III and XXVI Corps have made their way east and out of the forest, neither was aware that XX Corps remained behind them, and thus provided no aid to its withdrawal.  Thus XX Corps finds itself today still in Augustow Forest, and that the German 10th Army has now cut the last avenues of escape.

- For the past few days, the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army has been attempting to recover the key town of Mezölaborcz, and today the 21st Landwehr Division gains some ground near the village of Szuko.  Otherwise, however, the strategic point remains in Russian hands.

- The French government decides today that the division assigned on the 4th to the Balkans is instead to be assigned to the Dardanelles operation.

- The merchant ship Rubens, disguised as a neutral Danish vessel to avoid interception by the British, slips out of Wilhelmshaven, beginning an unusual voyage.  Its destination is German East Africa, and its assignment is to bring supplies to the German forces defending the colony, and in particular a load of coal to enable the light cruiser Königsberg to sail for home.

January 19th, 1915

- Joffre today issues an order for 4th Army to commence planning for a resumption of its offensive in the Champagne.  However, the attack is to wait until dry weather, while General de Langle of 4th Army insists on fourteen days of preparation time.

- After a first attempt by Zeppelins to raid the English coast on January 13th was aborted due to heavy rain, a second attempt this evening by L 3 and L 4 is successful (L 6 was forced to turn back due to engine failure).  The former crossed the north Norfolk coast and made its way to the port of Great Yarmouth, where it dropped six 110-pound explosive bombs and seven incendiary bombs which do only minor damage while killing two civilians.  L 4, meanwhile, also crosses the coast in Norfolk, but its commander believes himself to be near the Humber estuary, almost eighty miles away.  This Zeppelin follows a meandering course over the English countryside, searching for a river that he is nowhere near to, periodically dropping bombs in response to being fired upon.  Notably, one of these bombs on the village of Sandringham, home of the royal home of the same name.  Believing his airship to be north of the Humber, the commander of L 4 drops seven explosive and six incendiary bombs on the town of King's Lynn, killing a woman and a boy.

Damaged property in King's Lynn after the bombing raid of L 4, January 19th, 1915.

- Though Admiral Fisher has acquiesced to the Dardanelles operation, he remains deeply concerned about the potential for naval losses in the effort to force the Straits.  Today he unburdens himself to Jellicoe in his typical forthright manner:

The Cabinet have decided on taking the Dardanelles solely with the navy using fifteen battleships and 32 other vessels, and keeping out there three battlecruisers and a flotilla of destroyers all urgently needed at the decisive theater at home.  There is only one way out and that is to resign.  But you say 'No!' which simply means I am a consenting party to what I absolutely disapprove.  I don't agree with one single step taken . . . The way the war is conducted both ashore and afloat is chaotic!  We have a new plan every week.

Fisher feels trapped by his obligations as First Sea Lord - the decision to attack the Dardanelles is ultimately one made by the politicians, and once agreed upon he is obligated to implement it, regardless of whatever personal misgivings he has.  Resignation is the only way out of the quandary and will remain in Fisher's mind in the months ahead.

- In German East Africa Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck has concentrated nine companies of Schütztruppen against the British garrison at Jasin, which had been occupied on December 25th.  After days of fighting, and outnumbered with no prospect of relief, the four Indian companies surrender today.  In the aftermath of the defeat at Tanga in November, it is yet another blow to British morale and prestige in eastern Africa.  However, it is also a Phyrric victory for Lettow-Vorbeck, as in the fighting he lost 15% of his overall strength, including twenty-three of 265 Europeans killed, and had used 200 000 rounds of ammunition.  Given the unlikelihood of reinforcement from Germany, losses of any kind need to be avoided, and considering that the British garrison at Jasin posed no threat to any position of importance in German East Africa, the offensive was misguided, and a reflection of how Lettow-Vorbeck's instincts, at least in this early phase of the war, were still in favour of frontal attacks as opposed to guerrilla warfare.

December 25th, 1914

- Along certain stretches of the Western Front remarkable scenes play out today.  In what will become famous as the 'Christmas Truce', soldiers on both sides cease firing and for a time congregate in No Man's Land.  These episodes are most common in Flanders, where British soldiers (as of yet less prone than the French to hate the Germans, as it was not their country that had been invaded and occupied) and Germans from Saxony and Bavaria (it being generally accepted that Prussians were more war-like).  On both sides, Christmas Eve had seen the arrival of all kinds of care packages and donations from the home front, and some trenches were decorated with whatever greenery or 'ornaments' one could find.  At night the sounds of singing often echoed across the trenches as one side, then another, would sing Christmas carols.  In the daylights hours signs appear over the trenches, often proclaiming in the language of the other side: 'You no shoot, we no shoot.'  Soldiers then climb out of the trenches, first cautiously, then eagerly, and move out into No Man's Land.  Often the first task undertaken was the burying of the dead, who had lain out of reach for weeks and months.  Once completed, the two sides would mingle, frequently trading cigarettes, tinned-meat, and other recent gifts from the home front, while attempting to converse.  In some places they even play an improvised game of soccer across the mud and ruin of No Man's Land.  Diary entries by soldiers today often speak of sympathy with those on the other side, sharing as they did the terrible conditions of life in the trenches.  These 'truces' often continued for much of the day, neither side being in any great rush to return to their lines.  When they do depart, it is often with an informal agreement not to immediately resume firing.

German and English soldiers in No Man's Land on Christmas Day, 1914.

The Christmas Truce is the most prominent example of the 'live and let live' attitude that is emerging along stretches of the front - outside of major battles, there is a desire among the common infantry to avoid unnecessary shelling and rifle fire whose only effect can be to prompt reprisals.  In other words, for some the attitude is 'if you don't make our lives any more miserable, we won't make yours any more miserable.'

- A half hour before dawn this morning, Commodore Tyrwhitt's force reaches its launch position in the Heligoland.  By 630am the seaplanes are in the water, and at 659 the signal is given to take off.  Two seaplanes suffer engine failure before takeoff, so seven in total lift into the air and head southeast towards Cuxhaven.  At sea the visibility is perfect, but as the aircraft pass over the coast they discover the landscape below covered by thick fog.  In good weather the Zeppelin hanger at Nordholz would have been visible a dozen miles away, but today the fog obscures it completely.  The seaplanes split up searching for the hanger, but none are able to find it - one drops its bombs on fish-drying sheds by mistake.  Only two seaplanes come close to inflicting harm on the Germans.  The first, passing over German warships in the Jade estuary, aims its three bombs at the light cruisers Stralsund and Graudenz; the closest falls 200 yards from the latter.  The second passes over German warships anchored in the Schilling roads, and though it suffers damage from anti-aircraft fire, its observer, Lieutenant Erskine Childers, is able to pinpoint the location of seven dreadnoughs and three battlecruisers below.

The German North Sea coast targeted by the British seaplanes.

Having failed to accomplish anything, the seaplanes head back out to sea.  Running low on fuel, only two reach the seaplane carriers.  A third lands beside a British destroyer which takes aboard its crew, and three more come down near British submarines positioned by Keyes near the coast for precisely this reason.  The crew of the seventh, meanwhile, is picked up by a Dutch trawler, and are able to convince the Dutch authorities that they are 'ship-wrecked mariners', not combatants, and are thus able to return to Britain.

The British seaplane carrier Empress, one of three to attack the German coast today.

As the British force recovered the seaplanes and aircrew, they came under sporadic attack by German Zeppelins and seaplanes.  Though there were some near misses, no British warship is damaged.  The German fleet, meanwhile, remains in port the entire time.  Convinced that only the entire Grand Fleet would dare approach this near the German coast, the High Seas Fleet stays in port fearing that it is a British trap to lure them out to destruction.  By the time they realize that Tyrwhitt's small force is by itself, they have already departed for home.  This is another blow to morale in the German navy - the British have been able to sail close enough to launch airplanes with impunity.

- In the Carpathians Russian attacks continue to batter the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army.  The latter are short on ammunition and lack sufficient infantry to cover the entire front.  When Russian units push through Jaslo between two of 3rd Army's corps, its commander accepts the inevitable and at 10pm cancels the proposed offensive of his eastern wing and informs his corps commanders that they are permitted to withdraw to the Carpathian watershed if hard-pressed by the enemy.

- Though Albania has existed for less than two years, it has already become a 'failed state'.  A recent rebellion has driven out the old monarch, the German Wilhelm of Wied, who had been appointed by the agreement of the Great Powers before the war.  A central government, for all intents and purposes, does not exist in Albania, and thus though it is formally neutral, it is entirely unable to defend its sovereignty.  Today Italy takes advantage of Albanian disorder to occupy the port of Valore, Albania's second largest city and close to the narrowest point in the Adriatic Sea before it empties into the Mediterranean.  The occupation of Valore gives Italy greater control over the Adriatic, which Italian nationalists view as an Italian lake.  Such an action would normally have provoked the ire of the other Great Powers, especially Austria-Hungary, but given not only the ongoing war but also the desire to secure Italian support, neither side in the Great War objects.  Thus Italy is not only using the war to secure territorial bribes to end its neutrality, but also as a cloak for unprovoked aggression against other states.

- Today the 'Ottoman' battlecruiser Goeben strikes a Russian mine at the entrance to the Bosporus after returning from a sortie in the Black Sea.  Though the warship is never in danger of sinking, it will be out of commission for some time.

- The elimination of the German East Asiatic Squadron removes the major impediment to British amphibious operations in the south Atlantic, and today a South African force lands at Walvis Bay on the coast of German South-West Africa.

- A small British detachment of four Indian companies occupies the coastal town of Jasin, located at the mouth of the Umba River and sitting on the border between British East Africa and German East Africa.  The occupation is not directly intended as a threat to the Germans - being sixty-four kilometres to the north, it is remote from Tanga, and the move is primarily designed to stabilize the frontier tribes in the Umba Valley inland.

November 3rd, 1914

- At Ypres General d'Urbal orders another French attack between Zonnebeke and Langemarck, to be undertaken by the 17th, 18th, and 31st Divisions.  Unfortunately for the French, the Germans opposite have been reinforced by units that formerly were along the Yser, but whose presence there is no longer required due to the flooding.  Not only is the French advance halted, but at Bixschoote they are actually forced backward, the village falling to German hands once more.

For the BEF there are no major enemy attacks today, though there is the usual sniping and shelling.  General Haig attempts to compose a corps reserve, but so thin is his line that only three hundred men can be found.  He also pulls some of his artillery back from the fighting, as there is no point in exposing them to shellfire when they lack sufficient ammunition to return fire.

On the German side Prince Rupprecht of 6th Army concludes that unless Army Group Fabeck is reinforced, no decisive success could be achieved at Ypres.  To this end, he transfers more heavy artillery to Army Group Fabeck and allots it all of the ammunition assigned to 6th Army as a whole.  He also issues orders for further reinforcements - 2nd and Bavarian Cavalry Divisions from 6th Army reserve are reassigned immediately to Army Group Fabeck, while several units elsewhere on the Western Front are instructed to redeploy to the Ypres battlefield.

- The Kaiser's edict that the High Seas Fleet is to remain on the defensive in the North Sea, issued in the aftermath of the Battle of the Heligoland Bight, does not extend to the battlecruisers, and thus an operation is ordered for four light cruisers to lay mines along the Norfolk coast, escorted by four battlecruisers under Admiral Franz von Hipper.  The warships departed yesterday afternoon, and by dawn are are off the port of Yarmouth.

Yarmouth on the Norfolk coast of Britain.

As the light cruiser Stralsund lays a line of mines, the German force stumbles upon the British minesweeping gunboat Halcyon, on patrol off Yarmouth.  The Germans immediately open fire, and indeed all four battlecruisers target Halcyon and the destroyer Lively that comes to her aid - this is the first time any have sighted an enemy ship in wartime, and are eager to get their shots in.  The problem is that with all of the shell splashes, it is impossible to tell which shells were fired from which ship, making accurate spotting impossible.  At 740am Hipper decides that he is wasting his time going after such small warships, and turns to disengage.  The battlecruisers fire a few shells in the direction of Yarmouth, but succeed only in rearranging sand on the beach.  The only achievement of the raid comes when a British submarine strikes one of the German mines and is lost.

The response of the Admiralty to the initial report from Halcyon is to do nothing - no one can believe that the battlecruisers of the High Seas Fleet would sail into danger just to lob a few shells onto an English beach.  The prevailing assumption is that it must be a diversion from another, more significant German operation.  Thus for several hours no warships are ordered to pursue the Germans as they wait for the other shoe to drop.  By the time they realize there is no other shoe, Hipper and his force have made their escape.  There is no small amount of public commentary on the apparent ability of the Germans to sail to the English coast and escape.  At the Admiralty it is decided to redeploy the Grand Fleet back to Scapa Flow - if it stays in its bases on the west coast of Scotland and the north coast of Ireland, it is simply too far away to respond to German action in the North Sea.

On the German side, the results were disappointing - when the Kaiser awards Hipper an Iron Cross for the operation, the latter declares, 'I won't wear it until I've done something.'  The apparent ability of the German force to escape without being intercepted, however, is encouraging should further such operations be undertaken in the future.

- At the Admiralty Fisher convenes a meeting of naval officials and private shipbuilders to launch an emergency shipbuilding effort.  Fisher's focus is on increasing the number of orders to the greatest amount possible, and in particular wants a significant expansion of the submarine force.  To the Director of Contracts he threatened 'to make his wife a widow and his house a dunghill if he brought paper work or red tape into the picture; he wanted submarines, not contracts . . . if he did not get them within eight months, he would commit hara-kiri.'  Commodore Roger Keyes, present at the meeting, laughs at Fisher's remark, at which point the latter turns on Keyes with a ferocious glare, saying 'If anyone thwarts me he had better commit hara-kiri too.'  Such are Fisher's management techniques.

- Ludendorff begins today to plan for the next phase of operations in Poland.  Falkenhayn believes that the chief of staff of Ober Ost is merely developing a local counter-attack, but such mundane operations are beneath Ludendorff, who only plans campaigns of sufficient breadth and audacity as suits his genius - at least, that's how Ludendorff sees it.  His plan is to shift the bulk of 9th Army from the Krakow area to between Posen and Thorn to the northwest of Russian Poland, and attack towards Lodz, taking in flank the anticipated Russian invasion of Germany.

- In an effort to dissuade the Ottomans from entering the war on the side of German, the British government decides on a display of naval power, to illustrate Ottoman vulnerability should they stand against the Entente.  Two British battlecruisers and two French battleships steam to the entrance to the Dardanelles and bombard the Ottoman fort protecting it, destroying its magazine.  The effort makes no difference, however, as the war party are now in control in Constantinople.

- At dawn Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Nürnberg of the German East Asiatic Squadron enter the harbour at Valparaíso, while Leipzig and Dresden remain at sea escorting colliers.  Admiral Spee and the men of his ship receive a rapturous welcome from the German community in the city, including from hundreds of German sailors on merchant ships who volunteer to join the squadron.  Spee, however, is aware that, despite the crushing victory two days ago, there are still obstacles before his squadron.  Both of his armoured cruisers used half of their ammo at Coronel, and there is no possibility of resupply short of returning home.  Moreover, there could be no doubt that the British would redouble their efforts to hunt down and destroy his squadron.

Meanwhile, today the telegram from the British consul at Valparaíso, reporting the presence of the German East Asiatic Squadron but not of the battle, arrives at the Admiralty.  Fisher urges reinforcements for Craddock's squadron, and a signal is sent to Craddock informing him that Defence was en route to join his warships.  It was the order Craddock had long waited to receive, but of course it was no use to him now.  As Churchill was later to write, 'we were already talking into the void.'

- Near Tanga the disorganized landing of Indian Expeditionary Force B continues this morning - the beach is a mass of confused and demoralized soldiers, battalions being hopelessly mixed up.  An attempt begins at 430am to advance on Tanga with the first units landed, but co-ordinated progress in the dense bush proves impossible, and they are back at the beachhead by 10am.

At the same time, inland Indian Expeditionary Force C attempts its advance on German positions at Longido just south of Mount Kilimanjaro.  After initial fighting checks IEF C short of its objective, it is forced to withdraw after its supply arrangements collapse and the soldiers are left without water.

The failure of IEF C allows Colonel Lettow-Vorbeck to deploy all but three of his companies of Schütztruppen to Tanga.  By this evening Lettow-Vorbeck has arrived himself at the port and undertakes a personal reconnaissance of the British beachhead by bicycle.  With seven companies now available, and a further two scheduled to arrive tomorrow, he decides to hold a line east of Tanga before the British while positioning his reserves on his right to take the enemy in their flank.

- For the past month, the Japanese force beseiging Tsingtao has been steadly advancing in the face of determined German resistance.  In conducting their offensive, they apply the lessons learned during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 - instead of throwing their men against the German defences, they have conducted a methodical artillery bombardment, digging trenches as close to the enemy lines as possible, and attacking at night.  The result is that the stout defences of Tsingtao are falling one by one.  After seizing Prince Heinrich Hill earlier in October, since the 31st the Japanese have been bombarding the inner defences and the port itself, and today an assault carries the Japanese forces into position to assault the inner line of trenches protecting the last German forts on three hills just northeast of Tsingtao itself.

The defenses of the German naval base at Tsingtao in China.  As of today the besieging Japanese are just before the
'Inner Line of Trenches' marked on the map.

- Today the 'Manifesto of French Universities' is published in the French press.  Endorsed by the faculty councils of all French public universities, the Manifesto is a line-by-line repudiation of the German appeal of October 4th, posing provocative questions including: Which nation had wanted war?  Which nation had violated Belgian neutrality?  Which nation had burned Louvain and bombarded Rheims cathedral?  It is another salvo in the dispute over the origins and conduct of the war, in which the academic and intellectual elite vie with the most strident nationalists in their condemnation of the enemy.

November 2nd, 1914

- At Ypres there is further hard fighting today as Army Group Fabeck continues to push into the Entente lines.  Its most notable success today is retaking the village of Wytschaete, which had been gained and lost the day before, while they also manage to nearly annihilate a British battalion near Gheluvelt.  Still, however, there is no breakthrough, and the ground gained is merely of tactical, not strategic, advantage.

The French, meanwhile, continue to take over more responsibility for the Entente line at Ypres.  By today, in addition to the northeastern portion of the Ypres salient, they hold five miles of the front to the southeast between I Corps to the north and the Cavalry Corps to the south.  Once again a series of French attacks are ordered by Foch for today, including to regain Messines, and once again they are unsuccessful, and indeed it was the French who were pushed out of Wytschaete today - generally, the German attacks were launched before the French, so the latter never got the opportunity to advance.

- At dawn the ships of the German East Asiatic Squadron find themselves alone, the surviving British warships having fled the scene and only the distant shore of Chile on the horizon.  Meanwhile, the British consul at Valparaíso learns today of the presence of the German squadron, though not of the naval battle, and sends a telegram to the Admiralty informing them of the enemy ships nearby.

- Indian Expeditionary Force B arrives off the port of Tanga in German East Africa this morning, and at 705am the captain of the light cruiser Fox lands in the town to inform the German district officer that the British no longer consider the prior agreement on neutralization regarding Tanga and Dar es Salaam to be in effect.  The hope is that the German official will surrender Tanga rather than face a British invasion.  Instead, the district officer gives no response, and after waiting for three and a half hours Fox signals the convoy carrying IEF B to begin landing.  The operation, however, is already a debacle - the pre-dreadnought Goliath, which was supposed to provide fire support, broke down in Mombasa and was left behind, while the captain of Fox refuses to sail into the harbour at Tanga for fear of mines.  Thus instead of landing at Tanga itself, IEF B is landed on an unfamiliar beach sufficiently far away from the town to be undefended.  The soldiers of IEF B, moreover, have been aboard their ships for almost a month, and as a result are in no shape to conduct a landing with any speed or discipline.  Thus the first battalions only begin landing at nightfall, and as the operation continues the landing area is a scene of confusion and delay.

When the British first arrived this morning, there was only a single company, composed mainly of ex-police officers, at Tanga for its defence.  The district officer, however, immediately informed Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, commander of the Schütztruppen, or colonial infantry, of German East Africa.  He is with the bulk of his Schütztruppen companies to the northwest at Moshi near Mount Kilimanjaro, expecting the main British attack to be overland.  The railway connecting Moshi and Tanga, however, makes the rapid redeployment of his forces possible, and three companies are immediately sent to reinforce Tanga.

The frontier between British Kenya in the north and German East Africa in the south, including the
port of Tanga and the town of Moshi.

- In light of the increasing likelihood of war with the Ottoman Empire, British officials in Egypt today declare martial law, so as to maintain public order once the conflict begins.

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.

August 15th, 1914

- Joffre issues Special Instruction No. 10 at 7pm this evening, regarding the operations of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Armies.  The first two are to concentrate on the forthcoming offensive through the Ardennes, while 5th Army is to have one corps facing northeast to support the advance.  The rest of 5th Army, however, is to advance northwards into the triangle between the Meuse and Sambre Rivers, south of Namur, to cover the northern flank of the French line against German forces moving through Belgium.  It is the first acknowledgement by Joffre that the German invasion of Belgium necessitates alterations to Plan XVII, and reflects both intelligence indications from Belgium and the pressure of General Lanrazac of 5th Army.  However, Joffre's focus remains on the offensives undertaken by 1st through 4th Armies - he still believes that few Germans will move west of the Meuse, and indeed welcomes the notion of a strong German right wing, as he believes it means the centre at the Ardennes will be weakened, where the main French attack will shortly commence.

- The advance of the French 1st and 2nd Armies continues into Lorraine.  The Germans continue to fall back as planned, which gives the impression to the French commanders that their tactics and strategy are working.  However, there are indications that not all is well.  When the Germans do stand and fight, the French infantry take terrible losses, while German artillery are causing additional casualties.  The 2nd Army commander reports that defended positions require extensive artillery bombardment - this contrasts with pre-war doctrine, which believes that superior French morale and elan can defeat any defending force.  However, the continued German retreat ensures that no reassessment of tactics occurs.

- Field Marshal Sir John French meets French President Raymond Poincarè in Paris today.  The British general, unable to speak more than a few words of French, informs the French President that the British Expeditionary Force will not be prepared for action until August 24th.  French is taking Kitchener's instructions to heart - wanting to ensure the preservation of his command, he does not wish to risk it in battle until it is fully prepared and unless it is necessary.  Poincarè is horrified - he fears the BEF will not be able to take the field in time.

- The Russian advance into East Prussia begins today when 1st Army crosses the border.  The Russians aim to make a virtue of the delayed advance of 2nd Army, which will not reach the German frontier until August 20th.  Advancing westwards north of the Masurian Lakes, the objective of 1st Army is to force the Germans to battle, and pin them on their front, after which 2nd Army, advancing northwards west of the Masurian Lakes, will attack the Germans on their flank and roll them up.  The plan has several significant flaws.  First, in their haste to attack Germany as quickly as possible to aid their French allies, the Russian armies are advancing without adequate supply.  Second, there is an almost complete lack of communication between the commanders of the two armies and front headquarters, ensuring that each army operates largely in the dark regarding the location and intentions of the other.  Finally, what communications do take place are transmitted in the clear, giving the Germans a vital insight into their enemy's intentions.

- Conrad has his last audience with Emperor Franz Joseph in Vienna today before his departure for the fortress of Przemysl in Galicia, where he will establish his headquarters.  The Emperor's final words were 'God willing, all will go well, but even if it all goes wrong, I'll see it through.'  Not exactly the most inspiring words on the eve of titanic battles that may decide the fate of Austria-Hungary.

- The entirety of Austro-Hungarian cavalry assigned to Galicia crosses over the Russian frontier in an effort to ascertain the dispositions of the Russian army.  In this task they fail completely.  When Russians were encountered, the cavalry dismounted to fight, eliminating their mobility, and in such fights failed to penetrate the Russian screens and thus missed the bulk of the Russian forces.  Moreover, the Austro-Hungarians wore a saddle best suited for the parade ground, but which on campaign rubbed the backs of their horses raw.  Half of the cavalry strength of the Austro-Hungarian army has vanished before the main fighting has even begun.

- The Austro-Hungarian 5th Army finally crosses the Drina River in strength, and advances southeast, where it runs into the Serbian 2nd and 3rd Armies.  The Serbs are entrenched in excellent defensive positions among the rough terrain; Austro-Hungarian soldiers, badly-supplied and poorly-equipped for mountain warfare, advance uphill in blistering heat and under constant fire from Serbian soldiers and guerrillas.  5th Army is unable to make any headway, held up on the Cer plateau, and takes heavy losses.

- Japan submits an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that it turn over its Chinese base at Tsingtao or face war.  The Germans are given seven days to respond.  Japan has been an ally of Britain since 1902, but the ultimatum makes no reference to the alliance.  Instead, the Japanese government has decided to join the war in pursuit of its own objectives, independent of the war in Europe.  Their primary goal is the seizure of Tsingtao, and secondly the conquest of further German colonies in the Pacific.  Japan has no intention whatsoever of getting involved in the fighting in Europe itself.  The British, for their part, appreciate that a Japanese entry into the war will ensure Entente naval supremacy in the Far East, but are wary of Japan's wider goals in China and the Pacific, where they may conflict with not only British interests but those of Australia and New Zealand.

- A small German detachment seizes today the village of Taveta, southeast of Mount Kilimanjaro just inside British East Africa, and an important assembly point for any British advance into German East Africa.