September 4th, 1914

- This morning, as 1st Army crosses the Marne River in strength, Kluck dispatches a lengthy telegram to OHL, informing Moltke for the first time that 1st Army, instead of following his General Directive of the 2nd and redeployed in echelon behind 2nd Army, has continued to advance, and is ahead of 2nd Army.  Kluck justifies his action by stating that obedience to Moltke's orders would eliminate any opportunity to envelop the flank of the French 5th Army.  Moreover, he believes that the BEF is out of the fight, posing no great danger, and that only second-rate French formations are at Paris, which can be held off by IV Reserve Corps, left behind for this reason.  Moltke does not reply to this admission of insubordination.

For its part 1st Army is no longer the force it was at the outbreak of the war.  In addition to suffering over twenty thousand casualties to this point, its supply position is precarious.  By today, its supply railhead at Chauny is 140 kilometres behind the army, and more than 60% of the trucks assigned to supply 1st Army have broken down.

- At 630am, XII Reserve Corps of 3rd Army comes under artillery fire in Rheims.  The source of the bombardment, however, is not the French, but rather artillery belonging to the 2nd Guard Division of 2nd Army.  About 170 shells are fired into the city before 2nd Guard Division realizes its error.  The episode is emblematic of the extent to which communications between the German armies on the right wing have completely broken down.

- Further aerial reconnaissance by flyers of the Paris garrison confirm that the German 1st Army continues to move southeast past the French capital.  At 910am Gallieni thus orders 6th Army, now reinforced to approximately 150 000 soldiers, to prepare to advance eastward, lead elements to begin moving this afternoon with the rest of the army following in the morning.

Meanwhile, Joffre has independently come to the same conclusion as Gallieni - the march of the Germans past Paris to the east creates the desired opportunity to counterattack the Germans and hit their flank.  Joffre agrees with Gallieni's order to 6th Army, but is still uncertain as to the timing of the attack.  The critical variable is when 5th Army will be able to halt its retreat, turn about, and attack.  Given its battered state and lengthy retreat, it is not immediately clear how early this can be done, so Joffre telegrams Franchet d'Espèrey asking if his army would be able to counterattack within the next several days.

As he waits for a reply, he takes the opinions of his staff, some of whom still prefer to retreat behind the Seine before counterattacking.  Taking leave of his staff, Joffre then steps outside and finds shade beneath a weeping ash tree in the playground of the school currently serving as his headquarters.  For most of the afternoon he sits here alone, weighing the choice before him.  He knows he has but one chance at a counteroffensive - if it fails, the French army would be broken and the war lost.  Is this the best opportunity?  Would patience and further retreat allow for an even greater chance of success?  His inclination is to attack, but the significance of the choice does not lend itself to a rapid decision.

Shortly after 630pm the reply from Franchet d'Espèrey arrives.  Despite only having been commander of 5th Army for less than 24 hours, he informs Joffre that his army will be able to attack as of the 6th.  He also states that he has met with General Wilson, Deputy Chief of Staff of the BEF, and the latter has agreed to BEF participation in the attack, provided its flanks are covered by 5th and 6th armies.  This is the information Joffre needed.  The decision made, Joffre instructs his staff to draft instructions for ending the retreat and going back over to the attack.  He originally selected September 7th as the day for the counteroffensive to begin, but compelling arguments delivered over the telephone by Gallieni convinced Joffre that 6th Army was best positioned to attack on the 6th, and thus the date for the general attack was moved up a day.  At 10pm Joffre issues General Instructions No. 6.  It orders the retreat of 3rd, 4th, and 5th armies, as well as Foch's army detachment (now renamed 9th Army), to halt and attack the Germans on September 6th.  Simultaneously, 6th Army would hit the German flank east of Paris, while the British were expected to co-operate by taking their position between 5th and 6th armies.

Meanwhile, this evening General Wilson returns to BEF headquarters to find that Chief of Staff General Archibald Murray has ordered a further night retreat of ten to fifteen miles, putting the BEF twenty-five miles from where Joffre believes it will be when the French counteroffensive is to begin.  When Sir John French arrived at BEF headquarters after a day reviewing the frontline commands, he decides that 'further study' is needed before committing the BEF to any particular action.  Wilson, a long-time advocate of Anglo-French co-operation, is heartbroken, and Captain Huguet, the French liaison officer attached to BEF headquarters, sends off an urgent telegram informing Joffre of the situation.  Just before midnight, the telegram arrives, and its news comes as a great shock.  Participation of the BEF is essential, and the orders sent out for the counteroffensive cannot now be adjusted.  Sir John French must be convinced of the necessity of joining in the attack, or all may yet be lost.

- After a week of preparation, Prince Rupprecht's 6th Army launches a major offensive against Nancy.  Though there is major fighting near Épinal and south of Nancy by divisions of 7th Army, the major objective of the attack is the Grand Couronné, a ridge northeast of Nancy, the capture of which would allow 6th Army to attack nearby French forts from the rear and unbalance the French defense of Nancy.  Opposing the Germans is the French 2nd Army under General Castelnau.  Beginning in the early hours of the morning, German forces advance under murderous French artillery fire raining down from the heights of the Grand Couronné.

The front at Nancy, September 4th to 7th, 1914.  Note the Grand Couronné north of Nancy.

- Late this evening Moltke issues another General Directive to the armies on the Western Front, ordering it delivered by automobile to ensure that each commanding general receives it.  It acknowledges that the French have transferred units from Lorraine to near Paris, and as such the original objective of driving the French armies to the Swiss frontier, as embodied in the Schlieffen Plan, was no longer practical.  Instead, 1st and 2nd armies are to hold their positions east of Paris, prepared to parry any French attacks from that direction.  On the other end of the front, 6th and 7th armies are to continue the offensive in Lorraine, to tie down as many French units as possible, while 4th and 5th armies west of Verdun are to push the French armies opposite southeast through the Argonne Forest.  Finally, 3rd Army would be available either to assist 4th and 5th armies to the east or 1st and 2nd armies to the west.  In concept this General Directive abandons all pretense of implementing the Schlieffen Plan.  Especially with respect to the new roles for 1st and 2nd armies, it is an admission that the German army lacks sufficient strength on the Western Front to achieve the decisive victory embodied in the Schlieffen Plan.

- In the aftermath of the annihilation of the Russian 2nd Army, 1st Army has formed a strong defensive line in East Prussia running north from the Masurian Lakes.  In addition, 10th Army is assembling to the southeast just inside the Russian border, to provide cover for 1st Army's southern flank.  Indeed, General Zhilinskii of North-West Front believes that his forces are capable of launching a further offensive, as he interprets continued actions by German reserve troops south of the Tannenberg battlefield as an indication that the German 8th Army will invade Poland.  As such, he hopes that a move westwards by 1st Army will be able to cut in behind the Germans.  General Rennenkampf, for his part, is more negative - he feels his army is in a dangerously exposed position, and in particular fears a sortie of strong German forces from the fortress of Königsberg to the northwest.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff, however, are not content to rest on the laurels earned at Tannenberg.  Instead, they are in the process of redeploying 8th Army, augmented by the arrival of II and Guard Reserve Corps from the Western Front, eastward to attack the Russian 1st Army.  Ludendorff's plan is to send his best units - François' I Corps and Mackensen's XVII Corps - to move south against the Russian left while the rest of 8th Army attacked the main defensive line of the Russian 1st Army.  The objective was to break through on the left and encircle the Russians, and thus repeating the decisive victory of Tannenberg.

- South of Lublin in Russian Poland, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army is finding itself under increasing pressure from the Russian 4th and 9th armies to its north, and is gradually being forced backwards.  Meanwhile, to the east, the Russian 5th Army, which Conrad had assumed had been effectively destroyed at the Battle of Zamość-Komarów, has halted its retreat and gone back over onto the attack, advancing to the southwest into a gap that has emerged between the Austro-Hungarian 1st and 4th armies after the latter turned southeast as part of Conrad's plan to envelop the Russian 3rd and 8th armies.  The balance of numbers is increasingly tilting against the Austro-Hungarians as more divisions of the slower-mobilizing Russian army arrive on the front, and Conrad is encountering the inherent difficulties of attempting to surround a numerically-superior enemy with exhausted soldiers.

September 3rd, 1914

- This morning, Lieutenant Watteau, a flyer attached to the Paris garrison, conducts a reconnaissance flight to the east of the city, which clearly shows the columns of the German 1st Army marching southeast, confirming that Kluck's army is not advancing on Paris, but rather passing to its east.  To Gallieni and his staff, this is the golden opportunity they had hardly dared dream off - now that 6th Army was at Paris, it was perfectly positioned to attack the German 1st Army in its flank.  At a staff meeting at 830pm, it is decided that if reconnaissance shows Kluck's army continued to bypass Paris, they would push for an immediate counteroffensive - foremost among Gallieni's concerns is that if Joffre continues the retreat of the French army to the Seine, Paris may be sacrificed.  To avoid this, Gallieni wants to attack with 6th Army as soon as possible.

- The German 1st Army reaches the Marne River this evening, right on the heels of the French 5th Army and the BEF, both of which had crossed the river this morning.  In the haste of their retreat, the French and British had failed to destroy a number of bridges, allowing the Germans to establish bridgeheads over the Marne.  In doing so, of course, 1st Army is disobeying Moltke's orders of yesterday.  General Kluck has sent three telegrams to OHL at Luxembourg informing him of his approach to and crossing of the Marne, but due to the constant communication difficulties none of the telegrams had actually gotten through to OHL.  As a result, Moltke is completely unaware that Kluck is disobeying his orders.

Moltke is not the only one suffering in ignorance - Kluck has directed the aircraft attached to his aircraft to focus south of his position, to observe the continuing retreat.  As he does not feel that there are any significant French forces at Paris, and because he has already left a corps to guard the Parisian flank, he does not direct any aircraft to the west.  He is thus largely ignorant of the arrival of the French 6th Army around the French capital.

- To the east of 1st Army, the 2nd and 3rd armies continued their advance.  As 2nd Army approached the Vesle River, General Bulow reported discovering the countryside littered with discarded weapons and uniforms, reinforcing his belief that he was facing a defeated foe.  Meanwhile, this afternoon General Hausen of 3rd Army orders XII Reserve Corps to capture the city of Rheims.  Attacking at night, the Germans catch the French garrison by surprise, and by midnight the city is in German hands.

- Joffre this afternoon visits the headquarters of 5th Army, where he dismisses General Lanrezac from command.  The French commander-in-chief has concluded that Lanrezac has lost his nerve, too fond of finding reasons not to attack.  Moreover, Joffre is tired of his constant suggestions and criticisms, notwithstanding the fact that Lanrezac's most important observation - the strength of the German right - was absolutely correct, and his conduct of the Battle of Charleroi, in preserving his army, may have very well saved France from destruction.  Accounts of the conversation between the two differ sharply - Joffre will say that Lanrezac was relieved to be dismissed, while Lanrezac would say he protested violently.  Regardless, the result was the same - Lanrezac is removed from his command, and will hold no other command for the duration of the war.  As his replacement Joffre appoints General Franchet d'Esperey, whose energetic and offensive spirit in leading I Corps appeals to the French commander-in-chief.

- The city of Lille has been occupied by the German army for just over a week.  However, in the continued German push to the south occupation forces simply cannot be spared to cover every point they have seized.  Today, the last German columns march through Lille on their way southward.  The 'captured' city finds itself free of Germans, and the immediate response is for several thousand young men to leave, seeking to enlist in the French army.

- Today, 33 304 men volunteer to join the British Army.  This is the highest one-day total in the war to date, and is a figure that will never be matched.  This peak in volunteers is a result of the war news from France over the past week, especially the British retreat of Mons.  It is notable that the biggest surge in recruitment comes not when the war begins, but when it appears the war might be lost.

- At the end of July the Russian government had temporarily closed state liquor shops, to ensure that the mobilization of the army went smoothly.  Today, the closure is extended until the end of the war - it is hoped that sobriety will enhance public health and improve industrial productivity.  In doing so, the Russian government deprives itself of a valuable source of tax revenue.  One can also imagine the impact it might have on the morale of the Russian people.

September 2nd, 1914

- After the skirmish at Néry yesterday, Kluck briefly abandons his southeastern advance to attempt to pursue the BEF.  Once again, however, the British escape, reaching the Marne River by nightfall.  The German 1st Army thus resumes its march to the southeast.  The temporary redirection of 1st Army, however, serves to confuse Kluck's intentions in the eyes of the French - does he still intend to change course back towards Paris?

- In the French capital, the government is advised by Joffre that it should abandon Paris as soon as possible.  Doing so might lessen the attraction of Paris to the advancing Germans, and guarantee that the government remains functioning if the capital is lost.  This evening, under the cloak of darkness, the entire French government boards a train bound for Bordeaux, where they will establish themselves.  President Poincarè writes that it is 'the saddest event of my life.'

With the departure of the government, full military and civil authority is vested in General Gallieni as Military Governor of the city.  He continues his vigourous work to ensure that Paris is defensible.  No thought is given to declaring Paris an open city - indeed, in the event of attack its famous bridges over the Seine are to be dynamited to deny them to the Germans, and even the Eiffel Tower is to be destroyed.

Also, Joffre places 6th Army under the command of Gallieni.  The army, retreating for several days from its initial assembly point at Amiens, arrives today at the defences of Paris.  Its units are exhausted from both the rapid retreat and constant skirmishes with the advancing Germans.  Still, Gallieni now has the army he deems essential to ensure the defence of Paris.  Joffre, however, has the Minister of War place Paris and its forces under his authority as Commander-in-Chief.

- Joffre also issues revisions to his General Instruction No. 4 of yesterday, which for the first time states the possibility of the Paris garrison joining in the hoped-for French counteroffensive by advancing east in the direction of Meaux.

- This evening Moltke issues a new General Order to the armies on the Western Front.  Moltke's attention is now on the centre of the line, where he believes a great victory was achieved yesterday against a French counteroffensive.  In Lorraine, 6th and 7th armies are to continue to attack, while to the west of Verdun the 4th and 5th armies are to maintain pressure on the French armies opposite, and 3rd Army is to attack Foch's army detachment coming into the line.  The key role is to be played by 2nd Army, driving southeast, forcing the French armies away from Paris and turning the flank of the French 5th Army.  Finally, 1st was to protect the western flank of 2nd Army by positioning itself in echelon behind its neighbour - in essence, 1st Army was to station itself to the northwest of 2nd Army, protecting it from any French counter-attacks as it advances southeast.  The General Order reflects Moltke's increasing focus on the centre of the line, not the right, and his desire to achieve a 'Cannae'.  Gone are the ambitions to envelop Paris central to the Schlieffen Plan, and 1st Army, which was to have the most important role in the Plan, is relegated to a secondary role.

When the General Order reaches General Kluck at 1st Army headquarters, he is astonished by the instructions.  He has no information about the larger war situation, only knowing that the British and French forces in front of him continue to retreat.  Moreover, at present 1st Army is ahead of 2nd Army - to implement Moltke's General Order would require 1st Army not just to halt but to actually retreat.  He believes that his army, not 2nd, is about to secure the destruction of the French 5th Army by turning its flank.  Kluck thus decides to ignore the General Order, and continue his advance.

The Western Front, Sept. 2nd, 1914

- The westward retreat of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army, broken after the Battle of Gnipa Lupa, continues - Lemberg, fourth-largest city of the Dual Monarchy, is given up without a fight as 3rd Army retreats 32 kilometres today.  Conrad, however, sees in this retreat an opportunity to envelop and destroy the Russian 3rd and 8th Armies.  More of 2nd Army has arrived from the Serbian front, deploying to the south of 3rd Army, and is ordered to attack north into the southern flank of the two advancing Russian armies.  Meanwhile, believing the Russian 5th Army was comprehensively defeated at the Battle of Zamość-Komarów, Conrad orders 4th Army to turn southeast and attack the northern flank of the two Russian armies.  It is an enormously ambitious plan, and one completely beyond the capabilities of the Austro-Hungarians - they were exhausted by lengthy marches and had already suffered heavy casualties.  But Conrad was never one to let such details get in the way of his ambitious schemes.

- The first of sixty thousand Japanese soldiers come ashore today at Lungkow, the first step in the campaign against the German naval base at Tsingtao on the Chinese coast.  Since the entrances to Tsingtao have been heavily mined by the Germans, the Japanese land in nearby Chinese territory, and begin a methodical advance towards the German base.  Though China has declared itself neutral in the war, the Japanese have no great respect for Chinese authority, and have no compunction about violating Chinese neutrality to further their war effort.

September 1st, 1914

- After deliberations with his staff yesterday, Joffre issues General Instructions No. 4.  It orders 3rd, 4th, and 5th armies to continue their retreat, if necessary to the line of the Seine and Aube Rivers.  Once the threat to 5th Army of envelopment has passed, the French will go back on to the offensive.  Further reinforcements are to be drawn from Lorraine, while 6th Army was to cover Paris.  Though the Instructions do not specify a date on which the French are to go back on the attack, Joffre comments to the War Minister that he expects to resume the offensive by September 8th.

- Shortly after midnight, Lord Kitchener decides that given Sir John French's continued insistence on retreat, his only option is to visit French directly.  At 2am he walks into Grey's bedroom to inform him he is going to France, and thirty minutes later he leaves Charing Cross by a special train for Dover, where a fast cruiser carries him across the Channel.  By morning, Kitchener is in Paris, and has summoned French and his staff to the British Embassy, where Premier Viviani will also be present.  The BEF commander is instantly offended when Kitchener arrives - the latter has worn his blue undress Field Marshal uniform, which Sir John French takes as an attempt to pull rank.  The conversation among the group becomes increasingly heated, at which point Kitchener pulls French into a private room.  The specifics of their conversation are unknown, but Kitchener repeats the key point in a letter later today to the BEF commander, a copy of which is also sent to Prime Minister Asquith  - the BEF is 'now engaged in the fighting line, and will remain conforming to the movements of the French Army.'  Sir John French has been told as bluntly as possible that retreat out of the Entente line is not to occur, and thus the BEF is to remain in the battle.  The meeting, of course, does nothing to improve Sir John French's dispostion.

- Even as Kitchener is informing the BEF commander of his responsibilities, the 1st Cavalry Brigade and L Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery, covering the rear of the BEF, come under attack by the German 4th Cavalry Division, belonging to Kluck's 1st Army, at the village of Néry.  During the fighting all but one gun of L Battery are destroyed, and the crew of No. 6 are constantly under enemy fire.  Despite continued losses, the soldiers manning No. 6 gun maintain fire for two and a half hours, providing cover for 5th Dragoon Guards to strike the Germans in their flank, forcing the Germans to retire.  Three soldiers (one posthumously) who manned No. 6 gun are awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest award for gallantry.  The action allows the BEF to once again escape destruction, enraging General Kluck.

Group photograph of L Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery, prior to embarkation for France.  Of the men pictured,
twenty-three were killed and thirty-one wounded at Néry today.

- The French 3rd and 4th Armies, together with Foch's army detachment, launches an attack today out of the Verdun fortified region against the German 5th Army, straddling the Meuse River.  Their objective is to turn from facing northeast to facing north, so to cover the right flank of Foch's army detachment as it comes into the line.  When the French attack is called off in the afternoon, Moltke believes the Germans have smashed a major counteroffensive, and the chimera of a Cannae appears once more to him.  He orders 3rd Army to move southeast across the Aisne River, followed by the left wing of 2nd Army.  His hope is to cut behind the French force attacking 5th Army, surrounding them and allowing for their destruction.

- As the French army retreats, the maintenance of morale is crucial.  Despite the exhausting marches, soldiers must continue to obey orders to avoid having the retreat turn into a rout.  To help ensure discipline is maintained, French officers are today given authorizations to conduct executions within 24 hours of those convicted of desertion - in a life and death struggle for the survival of France, providing the right 'incentives' to the army as a whole is more important than the fate of any individual soldier.

- On the Galician Front, STAVKA, Russian army headquarters, orders 3rd Army to adjust its advance to the northwest, to close the gap between it and 5th Army, and aid the latter.  General Brusilov's 8th Army, meanwhile, is to cover 3rd Army's southern flank and advance on Lemberg.

Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army has advanced to the outskirts of Lublin to the north after its victory in the Battle of Kraśnik.  However, the Russian 4th Army opposite is being reinforced by the arrival of the Russian 9th Army, and the Austro-Hungarians are able to make no further progress.

The situation on the Galician front, Sept. 1st, 1914

August 31st, 1914

- French cavalry this morning observe German infantry and cavalry of 1st Army advancing towards Compiègne, which is not in the direct line towards Paris.  It is the first indication of the 'inward turn' of Kluck's 1st Army.  Of greater concern to Joffre in the moment are reports this evening that German cavalry have crossed the Oise River south of Noyon, moving into the precise gap in the French line between 5th and 6th armies opened by the retreat of the BEF.  At Joffre's headquarters, he and his staff weigh their options.  Vanished are the grand offensive undertakings of Plan XVII - instead, the emphasis is on mere survival.  The question now is how much territory must be given up before the French armies are able to stand and fight the Germans.

- In London Lord Kitchener, British Secretary of State for War, receives an alarming report from Field Marshal French today.  In it the commander of the BEF states his intention to take his force out of the front line, retiring behind the Seine River and maintaining a considerable distance from German forces.  He states bluntly that he no longer believes the French army can triumph, and the preservation of the BEF as Britain's only field army is behind his decision to retreat out of harm's way.

Kitchener reads the report with astonishment and dismay.  French's proposed course of action would amount to desertion of their ally, and render null the entire basis for Britain's entry into the war in the first place.  Moreover, it would leave an immense gap between the French 5th and 6th armies, giving the Germans the chance to envelop and crush them.  A Cabinet meeting is summoned at which Kitchener bluntly states that the retirement of the BEF will lose the war.  He is authorized to inform Sir John French that he should conform to the plans of Joffre, and raised questions regarding the impact of the retreat of the BEF on the French line.

Late tonight, Kitchener is at the War Office, awaiting French's reply.  So anxious is the Secretary of State for War that he has the decoders pass the message word by word as it comes through.  French's telegram reiterates his previously-stated plans, and makes clear his disdain for his allies.  He understood that the retreat of the BEF would open a gap in the French line, but 'if the French go on with their present tactics which are practically to fall back right and left of me, usually without notice, and to abandon all idea of offensive operations . . . the consequences should be borne by them , , , I do not see why I should be called upon to run the risk of absolute disaster in order a second time to save them.'  Beyond the bald-faced lie regarding offensive operations, given that French had forbidden Haig from aiding Lanrezac's 5th Army at the Battle of Guise, it is clear that the BEF commander remains determined to retire from the battlefield.

- The last Russian units of 2nd Army surrender today, bringing the battle to a close.  Hindenburg decides to call the victory the Battle of Tannenberg, after a nearby village where Teutonic Knights had been defeated by Slavs in 1410.  Tannenberg is not only seen as redemption, but deliverance.  The spectre of Russian hordes sweeping over East Prussia has hung over Germany for a month, and now the threat has been annihilated.  It is the most lopsided victory either side will achieve in the war - the Germans capture 92 000 prisoners and 400 artillery pieces, while approximately 30 000 Russians are killed.  Two entire Russian corps, and most of a third, simply cease to exist.  The triumph make Hindenburg and Ludendorff overnight heroes in Germany, and the decisive victory on the Eastern Front stands in contrast to the continuing campaign in the West.

After its crushing victory at Tannenberg, OHL issues new orders for 8th Army - it is to concentrate on clearing East Prussia of the enemy; operations in Russian Poland will wait until this is completed.  As such, the new priority of 8th Army is to attack the Russian 1st Army, still in East Prussia.

- Along the Galician frontier the Russian 5th Army is able to escape its potential encirclement today.  The Austro-Hungarians do not prove as resolute as the German 8th Army in Poland - false reports of Russian reinforcements paralyze the two arms of the pincers, leaving a 32-kilometre gap through which the 5th Army retreats.  The Battle of Zamość-Komarów is undoubtedly an Austro-Hungarian victory, as the Russian 5th Army has suffered 40% losses and been forced back.  However, it is not a decisive victory in the style of Tannenberg - 5th Army remains in the field.

August 25th, 1914

- Joffre issues General Instruction No. 2 today, which outlines the French strategy in light of the defeat in the Battle of the Frontiers.  The forces on the French left, including the BEF, are to retreat to the line Amiens-Rheims-Verdun, a retreat of over one hundred kilometres.  The massive fortress complex around Verdun is to serve as a hinge, anchoring the centre of the French line, while the left moves counterclockwise like a door.  This means the BEF and the French 5th Army, as the units furthest on the French left, will have the farthest to retreat.  During the retreat, French forces are to fight a delaying action, using quick counterattacks with artillery to keep the Germans off-balance.  As this retreat is underway, additional French forces will be concentrated at Amiens, drawn from the existing French armies between Verdun and the Swiss border.  Once this force is assembled, it would attack the exposed German flank as it passes south and, in conjunction with the BEF and other French armies on the left, envelop and destroy the invading German armies.

- The German 4th Army penetrates Sedan today, and is counterattacked by the French 4th Army to prevent the Germans from crossing the Meuse Rivier.  After bitter fighting and bayonet assaults, the French withdraw at nightfall, and blow the bridges over the river.

- The French launch a major counterattack in Lorraine today, directed towards the German forces advancing between Toul and Epinal.  From the north, 2nd Army's attack is led by Foch's XX Corps, which has already covered itself in glory in earlier fighting, and today retakes three towns and advances ten miles.  From the south, 1st Army achieves similar gains.  Despite earlier victories, the German 6th and 7th armies have sustained heavy losses, and they are thrown back across the Mortagne River and away from the gap at Charmes.  The Germans have no intention of giving up the fight - a breakthrough here might allow the envelopment and destruction of the entire French army - but the wooded and hilly terrain is ideal for the defensive, and the French also benefit from extensive pre-war fortifications.  In essence, the advantages that lay with the Germans when the French invaded Lorraine are reversed now that it is the Germans invading French Lorraine.

- General Joseph-Simon Gallieni is appointed today Military Governor of Paris.  The French government has become suddenly aware that the German advance may threaten the capital itself, and discover that its defenses have been woefully neglected.  Gallieni promises to bring energy and action to the fortification of Paris, and also insists that Joffre assigned several corps to ensure the city can be held.  Joffre demures; he needs all the corps he can to execute his retreat and counter-attack operation, and can hardly afford to have any tied down defending the capital.

- The Belgian army makes a sudden sortie today, fighting the German corps detached from the German 1st Army to cover the city.  Elements of the German corps are thrown back in confusion to Louvain before the sortie is contained and the Belgians retreat to Antwerp.  The sortie, however, would indirectly have an even larger impact on Louvain itself.  This small university town, known as the 'Oxford of Belgium,' had been occupied peacefully by the Germans for almost a week, but in the confusion tonight after the Belgian sortie German soldiers moving through the city believe they have been fired upon by Belgian civilians.  More plausible is that panicked Germans fired on each other in the darkness.  Regardless, German soldiers begin the destruction of Louvain, burning buildings and shooting civilians, which continue for several days.

- General Samsonov of the Russian 2nd Army is informed today that two corps of the German 8th Army have retreated to the fortress of Königsberg, far to the north, convincing him that the only substantial enemy forces before him is the German corps since yesterday.  Samsonov is thus encouraged to continue to advance with his centre, and when the German XX Corps comes under pressure on its flank, withdraws to the north.  Samsonov interprets this as part of an ongoing German general retreat, and continues to orders his forces to pursue.

Unintentionally, Samsonov's advance exposes the flanks of 2nd Army to the Germans.  Most of the German I Corps arrive today on the western flank of XX Corps, though General François ignores an order by Ludendorff to attack, arguing that his artillery has not arrived and an advance would be suicidal.  Meanwhile, XVII and I Reserve Corps continue to march towards their position on the eastern flank of XX Corps.

- Since the Battle of Gumbinnen on the 20th, Moltke has remained concerned about the Russian invasion of Prussia.  Despite the replacement of Prittwitz with Hindenburg and Ludendorrf, it is not yet clear if their plans for operations against the Russian 2nd Army will be successful.  Under pressure from Junkers whose East Prussian estates lay in the path of the Russians, Moltke decides that reinforcements must be sent.  His initial impulse is to take corps from 6th and 7th Armies, engaged in Lorraine.  However, the continued fighting between Toul and Epinal suggests that the armies cannot spare any corps, and moreover the Bavarian corps of 6th Army may not fight with sufficient ardour to save East Prussia.  Instead, Moltke looks to the right wing.  The fall of Namur has freed the two corps that had been beseiging the city.  Instead of rejoining the advance of the right wing, orders are issued for their redeployment to East Prussia.

- Fighting since the 23rd, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army has turned both flanks of the Russian 4th Army, and the latter, having lost 6000 prisoners and twenty-eight guns, retreats northwards to the Kraśnik positions south of Lublin.  Victory in the Battle of Kraśnik encourages Conrad in his belief that a decisive victory can be won through his invasion of Russian Poland, and he urges the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, to the east of 1st Army, onwards.  The Russian 4th Army, meanwhile, urges 5th Army on its east to attack southwest to disrupt the enemy 1st Army.

- In the early hours of this morning, the German commander at Kamina in Togoland destroys the nine masts and switchboard of the Kamina wireless station, and at daylight surrenders to the British and Imperial forces.  The Germans are hopelessly outnumbered, but nevertheless surrender before absolutely necessary - for example, they still have over 300 000 rifle rounds.  Moreover, German resistance has not been as stiff as it could have been - most of the colony had been abandoned without a fight, and much of the infrastructure had not been destroyed to impede the speed of the British advance.  The approach of the German commander, instead, had been to concentrate on Kamina, the only vital point in the colony, and otherwise preserve the rest of the colony.  There was only ever one possible outcome to the invasion of Togoland, and instead of destroying the colony in what would have been an obviously futile effort to hold it, a token resistance is instead offered, to preserve the 'benefits' (i.e. infrastructure, etc.) that have accrued to the African population of Togoland under German rule.

- Following its declaration of war on Germany, Japan today declares war on Austria-Hungary.

August 24th, 1914

- As reports come in overnight of yesterday's fighting, the scope of the crisis becomes apparent to Joffre.  He realizes that his armies have not suffered a temporary check, but rather a comprehensive defeat.  While the armies in Lorraine remain gripped in combat with the Germans, to the northwest the French are in retreat - indeed, this phase of the fighting comes to be known as the 'Great Retreat'.  Most precipitous has been the retreat of 5th Army after the Battle of Charleroi, and Joffre belatedly comes to the realization that Lanrezac was right and that the major German push is coming through Belgium.  Plan XVII having failed, it is discarded, and Joffre must adapt to the changing strategic situation.  He recognizes that his armies in the north will have to withdraw for a period before the Germans can be halted again.  As he states in a message sent to the War Minister at 935am:

One must face facts . . . Our army corps . . . have not shown on the battlefield those offensive qualities for which we had hoped . . . We are therefore compelled to resort to the defensive, using our fortresses and great topographical obstacles to enable us to yield as little ground as possible.  Our object must be to last out, trying to wear the enemy down, and to resume the offensive when the time comes.

In addition to adapting to the changed circumstances, the reasons for the defeat must be understood.  For Joffre, unable to find fault in himself, believes that the blame must fall on others, who have failed to do their duty.  He begins a process of purging the French army of any officer deemed to have failed in some way or another.

There is also a growing realization that the tactics of the Battle of the Frontiers must be revised.  Reports from officers on the fighting emphasize the importance of preliminary artillery bombardment, and that infantry should never be sent forward on their own, as elan cannot survive concentrated rifle, machine-gun, and artillery bombardment.

The retreat of the French armies is no mere matter of walking - there are a constant series of rearguard actions, small sharp clashes that spring up as the French try to keep the pursuing Germans from overrunning them.  In particular, river crossings become vital - even a delay of a few hours forced on the Germans can be vital for the French to stay one step ahead.

Finally, In the space between the BEF and the sea, an ad-hoc force under General Albert d'Amade is formed, consisting of General André Sordet's Cavalry Corps, exhausted from its operations in Belgium, three territorial divisions, and the garrison of Lille, which was evacuated today and declared an open city.  This was little more than a token force, to watch over the far western flank and keep German cavalry away from the redeploying French armies.

- At midnight this morning, news reaches BEF headquarters that General Lanrezac has ordered the retreat of the French 5th Army.  This retreat necessitates the retreat of the BEF as well - to remain at Mons would guarantee its envelopment and destruction.  Thus, despite successfully holding off the Germans yesterday, orders go out in the first hours after midnight for both corps to retreat.  I Corps, which had not fought, receives its orders quickly and begins the march south.  There is a delay in getting the orders to II Corps, however, with the result that its retreat has not yet begun at daybreak.  They thus have to retreat under fire, and in the ensuing confusion one battalion never gets its orders, is surrounded, and almost entirely wiped out before a few hundred can escape southwards.  As they move south, II Corps is joined by 4th Division and 19th Brigade, newly-arrived from Britain.

The news also shatters what little remains of his confidence in his French allies generally, and Lanrezac personally.  He feels that the BEF was fighting, at Lanrezac's request, to defend his flank, and then Lanrezac never informed him of his intention to retreat, leaving the BEF in a dangerous, isolated position.  The last instructions from Kitchener, which he had interpreted as emphasizing the preservation of the BEF first and foremost, rise in his mind.  Believing that the French are both defeated and abandoning his own army, Field Marshal French begins to consider ways out of the fighting.

- Since the fall of Dinant yesterday to elements of the 3rd German Army, it has been the scene of violence and bloodshed, not of soldiers, but of the civilian population.  General Hausen, commander of 3rd Army, is convinced he has seen Belgian civilians firing on his soldiers, and his soldiers are eager to teach the Belgian population a lesson.  Most of those buildings remaining after the fighting in the town are torched, and between 640 and 676 civilians are executed, the youngest only three weeks of age.

- Prince Rupprecht's 6th Army, in concert with 7th Army, and reinforced with additional artillery, launches a major attack in Lorraine, the one portion of the front where the French armies are not in retreat.  Their objective is the Trouée de Charmes, a key valley between the French fortifications at Toul and Epinal.  Seizure of this objective will allow the Germans to envelop Toul and Nancy to the north.  In the course of the day's fighting German units cross the Mortagne, the last river barrier before the gap at Charmes.  Elsewhere, General Foch's XX Corps stands its ground before Nancy.  The result is that the German success towards Charmes has exposed their flank to a counterattack from the north.  Aerial reconnaissance undertaken today reveals the deployment of the German forces, allowing General Castlenau of the French 6th Army to prepare a counterattack.

- XX Corps, for the past several days the only corps of the German 8th Army facing the Russian 2nd Army, has been executing a fighting withdrawal in the face of superior forces.  Today, Hindenburg and Ludendorff order it to stand and fight, with the intention of fixing 2nd Army in place until the other corps of 8th Army can arrive to defeat it.  Notably, the orders demonstrate that Hindenburg and Ludendorff were not yet thinking of fighting an envelopment battle - if they had, their orders would have been for XX Corps to continue to withdraw, enticing the Russians to advance into a trap.

As such, a fierce fight develops between the German XX Corps and the Russian XV Corps.  The German corps is fighting on home ground - its peacetime headquarters is only a few miles away in the village of Allenstein, and at one point in the day's fighting the corps' chief of staff finds himself directing artillery fire onto his own house.  The Russian attack, meanwhile, suffers from a lack of co-ordination.  Despite outnumbering the Germans, the corps to either side of XV Corps do not attempt to turn the flanks of the German XX Corps, allowing it to fight a frontal battle today.

Meanwhile, the glacial advance of the Russian 1st Army towards Königsberg, combined with radio intercepts of Samsonov's orders for 2nd Army, confirm Ludendorff's belief that 8th Army can be sent in its 
entirety to fight the Russian 2nd Army.  Having rested on the 23rd, XVII and I Reserve Corps are ordered south, taking their place on the eastern flank of XX Corps.

- Finally yielding to the obvious, Potiorek admits defeat and orders the remaining Austro-Hungarian forces in Serbian territory to retreat behind the Drina and Sava rivers.  5th Army has suffered the most - of 80 000 who crossed the Drina, 600 officers and 23 000 men have been lost.  Potioriek's invasion of Serbia has been a complete debacle - delays allowed the Serbs to defeat 5th and 6th Armies separately, while 2nd Army was unable to make an impact prior to its departure for Galicia.  Thus Conrad's order at the end of July for 2nd Army to be deployed against Serbia has been a complete waste of time.  Moreover, because of its use at the now-abandoned Sabac bridgehead, IV Corps of 2nd Army only today begins its transfer to Galicia.  The limited use of 2nd Army by Potiorek has accomplished nothing other than a further delay in its redeployment to face the Russians.