September 4th, 1915

- Just three days after the German ambassador in Washington delivered the Arabic Pledge to not attack passenger ships without warning, the German submarine U24, which had sunk Lusitania in May, torpedoes and sinks the British liner Hesperian off the coast of Ireland without warning.  Though Americans were aboard, none were among the thirty-two passengers who drown.  Nevertheless, the American government sees the sinking as flagrantly defying the Arabic Pledge, and demand further assurances that similar attacks will no longer occur.

The British liner Hesperian, torpedoed and sunk today by the German submarine U24 off Ireland.

- After two revisions, General d'Urbal of 10th Army submits today a plan to Foch that is acceptable to the commander of the Army Group of the North.  Along the thirty-two kilometre stretch of the line held by 10th Army will be deployed six corps, four of which are to make the primary attack north of Arras, and two a supporting attack south of the city.

- On the Eastern Front the German 8th Army captures the fortress of Grodno, between Vilna and Bialystok.  Further south, Austro-Hungarian forces have been battering against the Russian defensives along the Sereth River to no avail; in just four days of marching and combat, the Austro-Hungarian IV, XIX, and V Corps have suffered eight thousand casualties.  Moreover, supply problems bedevil the Austro-Hungarian formations, who report being short of ammunition and food.  Finally, dysentery and stomach flu claim numerous victims in the terrible conditions.

August 28th, 1915

- Falkenhayn today issues new orders for the Eastern Front which emphasize that once ongoing operations have been completed - especially the offensive towards Vilna undertaken by Hindenburg's army group - German forces will halt and construct a long-term defensive position stretching roughly from the upper Bug River to the Baltic Sea in Courland.  In the centre this means that the army groups under Mackensen and Prince Leopold will halt roughly along the line Ratno-Szereszowo, as Falkenhayn sees no strategic purpose in pursuing the retreating Russians into the Pripat Marshes, which would only stretch German logistics even farther than they already are.  Falkenhayn also warns Hindenburg and Ludendorff that once German forces have taken up their new defensive positions, between ten and twelve divisions will be transferred for service on other fronts.  Though Russia has not been knocked out of the war, Falkenhayn believes, with some justification, that both the ability and willingness of the Russian army to undertake offensive operations has been shattered for the foreseeable future, and thus wishes to take advantage of the opportunity to strike against other foes.  Hindenburg and Ludendorff, not surprisingly, disagree, seeing in the weakened Russian foe an opportunity to strike the knockout blow that the German chief of staff believes impossible.

Given his conclusion, Falkenhayn has been issuing orders for the redeployment of some of the German forces on the Eastern Front.  In addition to dispatching forces to the Balkans for an offensive against Serbia, the German chief of staff wishes to send some divisions back to the Western Front, where they can act as reserves while they rest and receive replacements for losses suffered during the campaign in Russia.  Today, orders go out to the Guard Corps, which is detached from Mackensen's army group and instructed to march from Brest-Litovsk to Warsaw, where it will entrain for the west.

- To the south, overnight the Russian 8th Army pulls back from the Bug River eastwards.  Conrad emphasizes to the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army the importance of quickly seizing Lutsk, and elements of the army are across the Styr River north of the city by noon.

- Despite the recent arrival of U34 and U35 in the eastern Mediterranean, Admiral Souchon has pleaded with his superiors in Berlin to send more submarines, in light of the British landing at Sulva Bay earlier this month.  It is decided to dispatch two submarines, not only for the military impact they may have, but also to given the impression of German strength to the neutral states in the Balkans.  Yesterday U39 departed Germany for the Mediterranean, followed today by U33.

- After the capture of Amara in early June General Townshend of 6th Indian Division had become ill, and departed for India to convalesce,  His soldiers, meanwhile, had endured the summer heat of Mesopotamia, with a number also becoming sick.  The summer low of the Tigris also impaired the resupply of the division, and shortages of all kinds were being felt.  Today, however, Townshend returns to Amara and reassumes command of 6th Indian Division which its soldiers take, correctly, as a sign of a return to action., as accompanying him are orders from General Nixon to advance up the Tigris River and seize Kut.  Townshend himself has concerns over the advance: reinforcements are needed, and advancing another 120 miles up the Tigris will further extend the already tenuous supply line back to Basra.  Nevertheless, he has been reassured by the commander-in-chief of the Indian army that he will not be ordered to advance beyond Kut without additional reinforcements.

August 26th, 1915

- Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg convenes a conference at Pless today to discuss the diplomatic crisis that has ensued from the sinking of the passenger liner Arabic on the 19th.  He argues that there is no point arguing over whether the Americans ought to be outraged or not; the fact is they are, and that war is possible if decisive action is not taken.  His position that the Americans must be appeased by restricting submarine warfare is supported by Falkenhayn, who hopes that the United States can be kept out of the war.  Only the naval officers present insist that unrestricted submarine warfare must be allowed to continue, and that any concessions to the Americans would constitute pandering.  The navy is overruled, and Wilhelm II authorized Bethmann-Hollweg to conclude a diplomatic agreement with the Americans that defers to the latter's wishes regarding submarine warfare.  Admiral Bachmann, chief of the naval staff, asks to be relieved rather than execute a policy he disagrees with, and he is replaced by Admiral Hennig von Holtzendorff, a personal friend of the Chancellor and a skeptic of the ability of unrestricted submarine warfare to bring Britain to its knees.

- On the Eastern Front the German 12th Army finally manages to capture the Russian fortress of Osowiec today, which had repulsed prior assaults.  For several weeks it had served as a northern 'hinge' for the Russian retreat from Poland.  With the Russian armies to the south having pulled back behind the line of the fortress, Osowiec has served its purpose, and the Russians have withdrawn eastwards.

To the south, the fortress of Brest-Litovsk is also seized today; in the predawn hours advance elements of the German 11th Army pierce the inner fortifications and reach the Bug River, where they find the highway bridge in flames, set alight by the retreating Russians.  Despite their best efforts, however, vast quantities of food and supplies fall into German hands with the capture of Brest-Litovsk, including once again a significant stockpile of artillery shells that could have been put to much better use by the armies in the field.  The Russian forces on both flanks of the fortress also retreat, and 11th Army and the Army of the Bug make significant progress today, with the Guard, X Reserve, and XXII Reserve Corps reaching the line Rudka-Pruska northeast of Brest-Litovsk this evening.

German soldiers outside the burning citadel at Brest-Litovsk.

The Eastern Front after the fall of Brest-Litovsk, Aug. 26th, 1915.

- The second phase of Conrad's offensive opens today with the advance of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army southeast from the line Kowel-Vladimir-Volynski.  Though the pace of the advance is slowed by the vast swamps of the region, which require foot-bridges to cross, the Austro-Hungarians are able to make encouraging progress against light opposition from Russian cavalry.  General Ivanov of Southwest Front, however, had not been ignorant of the potential threat to his northern flank with the withdrawal of 13th Army to the northeast, and had instructed General Brusilov of 8th Army to stretch his northern wing back from the Bug River to cover Lutsk, and the latter had deployed four cavalry divisions to screen his exposed flank.  The Russians have also used the two months of relative quiet along this stretch of the front to reinforce their battered divisions, and their average combat strength has risen from four to seven thousand.  The new recruits, however, are dreadfully inexperienced, and many lack rifles.

- British and French officials confer at Duala today regarding the campaign in German Kamerun, and decide on a joint thrust to Jaunde after the end of the rainy season (October in the east and November in the west).

August 25th, 1915

- The German advance both north and south of Brest-Litovsk convinces General Alexeiev that the fortress is in imminent danger of envelopment.  Wanting to avoid a repetition of the debacle at Novogeorgievsk, he orders the abandonment of Brest-Litovsk today, and instructs the Russian armies in central Poland to withdraw to the line Grodno-Kobrin.  The Russian X, XIV, and III Caucasian Corps begin to pull back eastwards, and throughout the day massive explosions continuously rock the fortifications as the Russians attempt to destroy anything of military value.  German and Austro-Hungarian forces push into the ruins, though they continue to suffer casualties due to exploding mines.

August 24th, 1915

- For the past four days, the German 11th Army has attacked Russian positions on both sides of the Bug River northwest of Brest-Litovsk, but have been unable to make significant progress.  When a further assault is launched this morning, however, the enemy trenches are found to be abandoned.  Overnight the southern wing of the Russian 4th Army retreated to avoid being outflanked by the advance of Prince Leopold's army group to the north.  In response the left wing of 11th Army sets off in pursuit - 44th Reserve Division pushes to the village of Kolodno at the confluence of the Bug and Lesna River, the Guard Corps advances east through Niecholsty, and X Reserve Corps drives northeast to reach the next Russian defensive position on the line Kustyn-Barszczewo.

- After only occasional delays caused by the rearguard actions of Russian cavalry, German and Austro-Hungarian cavalry detachments under General Heydebreck occupy the city of Kowel this morning.  The German 5th and Austro-Hungarian 11th Honved Divisions turn north, pursuing the retreating Russian XXXI Corps.  This secures the northern flank for the next phase of Conrad's offensive, and the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army is assembling between Vladimir-Volynski and Kowel for an attack towards the town of Luck, aiming for the gap that has opened between the Russian 13th Army to the north and 8th Army, still along the upper Bug River, to the south.

August 23rd, 1915

- Having received instructions from Kitchener that the BEF is to attack not only in the location but also the manner desired by Joffre, Sir John French informs Haig that the latter's 1st Army is to mount a full-scale attack against the German line south of La Bassée Canal.

- Over the past four days the left and centre of the German 10th Army has pushed over halfway from Kovno to Vilna.  Along the entire Eastern Front, the only area where the Germans have not pushed significantly eastwards is the old battlefield at the forest of Augustow, where the line remains west of Grodno.

- After the decision in late July to send two ocean-going submarines to the Mediterranean, U34 and U35 had departed Heligoland on August 4th, and after a non-stop voyage both arrive at Cattaro today, which they shall use as a base for operations against Entente shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean.

August 22nd, 1915

- A centrepiece of Entente propaganda since the spring had been the German use of chlorine gas at the First Battle of Ypres, both as a violation of the rules of war and an affront to Western civilization, and had materially contributed to diminished reputation of Germany in neutral states in particular.  What was undeniable, however, had been the impact of the first use of gas on the Western Front, given the hole it 'blew' in the Entente line at Ypres and the ground subsequently captured.  Given the success the Entente powers have also been strongly tempted since April to make use of chemmical warfare themselves, and while some voices were raised in the British government opposing the use of chlorine gas on both a moral and a technical level (doubts were raised whether British industry could produce sufficient amounts of chlorine gas), the Cabinet had ultimately decided that they could not set aside a weapon that had the apparent potential to break the stalemate on the Western Front.  For several months special detachments of Royal Engineers had been training on the handling and use of chlorine gas, and today demonstrate their capabilities before General Haig and his corps commanders.  Suitably impressed, Haig adds the release of chlorine gas to his planning for the impending attack of his 1st Army south of La Bassée Canal.

- On the Eastern Front the German 8th Army seizes the Russian fortress at Ossoviets today, while a subsequent advance also captures the town of Tykocin on the Narew River.  To the south Prince Leopold's army group launches attacks to drive the Russian defenders opposite into the Bielowiese Forest further east, and though progress is made among the swamps a decisive success eludes the Germans.  On the other side of Brest-Litovsk, the German 1st and 22nd Divisions of the Army of the Bug have reached Oltusz and Radez respectively today, and their advance has forced the Russian II Caucasian Corps to pull back from the Bug River between Wlodawa and Slawatyzce, with 11th Bavarian Division crossing in pursuit.

- After several months convalescence, King Constantine I of Greece has sufficiently recovered to resume his political responsibilities, and today appoints Eleutherios Venizelos, who had emerged victorious in the June elections, Prime Minister.

August 21st, 1915

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

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

August 20th, 1915

- For several months Kitchener has resisted complying with the request of Joffre for a major British attack to accompany the fall French offensive, preferring the British contribution to be limited to a heavy artillery bombardment that would not waste large numbers of infantry in futile assaults.  A discussion of operations on the Western Front at the Dardanelles Committee today, however, shows that events have conspired to wear down the opposition of the Secretary of State for War.  On the Eastern Front, the recent fall of Warsaw seems to indicate that the Russians face a fresh series of disasters, and a strong effort by Britain and France is needed to prop up Russian morale.  Such a success is not to be found on Gallipoli, however, given the failure of the big push over the past two weeks.  The French themselves, Kitchener suggests to the committee, need to go on the attack to preserve morale, and that the hesitancy of the British to attack is leading the French 'to have grave doubts about us.'  The nightmare scenario of Russia and/or France seeking a separate peace is even raised.  In such circumstances, Kitchener, with the utmost reluctance, now states that the British Expeditionary Force needs to undertake a major attack along the French this fall, even though, as he replies to a colleague, 'the odds were against a great success.'  The circumstances of the war have forced the British hand; as he informs the committee, 'we must make war as we must, not as we should like.'  With such sentiments are thousands of British infantry condemned to die; indeed, it is an appropriate summary of how all sides view the ongoing struggle.

- On the Eastern Front only the German 12th Army is able to make significant progress today, seizing Nurec and Bielsk; the army groups of Prince Leopold and Mackensen are largely held up by strong Russian resistance.  Even where the Russians are pulling back, however, the pace of the German advance is slowing, as casualty lists grow and logistical difficulties multiply; since the beginning of the month, General Gallwitz's 12th Army has suffered 60 000 losses while supplies now have to be hauled 125 kilometres by cart from the nearest railheads.

- Though it had declared war on Austria-Hungary in May, it is only today that the Italian government formally declares war on the Ottoman Empire, and technically remains at peace with Germany.

- Having successfully evaded Russian patrols in eastern Persia, the German mission to Afghanistan reaches the border at Herat today.  The Germans enter the city in formal dress; the governor of the town is polite but unimpressed, and decides to hold the mission in the town while awaiting instructions from the emir of Afghanistan in Kabul.

August 19th, 1915

- Recently-promoted Brigadier-General Hugh Trenchard is appointed today to command the Royal Flying Corps on the Western Front.  Having learned to fly in 1912 at the age of thirty-nine and served as second in command of the Central Flying School before the war, Trenchard was a protege of Kitchener, the two being similar in temperament, for better and worse.  With the RFC subordinate to the War Office, Kitchener appreciated Trenchard's opinion that the primary role of the RFC was to support the BEF.  It is an important milestone in the rise of Trenchard, who will become the most important figure in the wartime and postwar RFC.

- Lieutenant Oswald Boelcke gets his first kill today in his new Eindecker fighter.  He and Immelmann, both members of Abteilung 62 based at Douai, regularly fly together, and violate protocol by flying over enemy lines in search of enemy aircraft, instead of waiting for them to cross the front.

- For the past several months, a series of communications have traveled back and forth between Berlin and Washington, attempting to resolve the dispute over unrestricted submarine warfare which had emerged after the sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania in May, and the two sides are approaching agreement on the basis of Bethmann-Hollweg's declaration of June 1st that neutral ships, and passenger ships of all countries, are to be spared.  However, diplomatic discussions and theoretical limitations on the limits to submarine warfare take little account of the practical reality of naval combat in the North Atlantic, and the difficulty U-boat commanders can have reconciling such instructions with the necessity to ensure the safety of their submarine.  Off Kinsale, Ireland today the captain of U-20 encounters precisely this dilemma, and his choice torpedoes the diplomatic efforts since May.  The German U-boat stops the British steamer Durnsley, permitting the crew to enter their lifeboats before detonating bombs in the vessel's hold.  All of this is perfectly 'legitimate' submarine warfare, even in the eyes of the American, but it is what happens next that this problematic.  Durnsley takes a long time to sink, and as it does so the large passenger steamer Arabic of the White Star line appears, bound for New York.  The captain of U-20 recalls that his submarine had been fired upon by a large steamer five days earlier, and decides that Arabic is not just a target but a potential threat.  Rather than remain on the surface, possibly exposing itself to fire from the steamer, the captain orders U-20 to submerge and attack, firing a torpedo that strikes and sinks Arabic.  Forty-four passengers drown, including three Americans.  News of the sinking outrages American public opinion; not only does it make it seem that German submariners are ignoring instructions issued by their own government, but that the German government had been duping the Americans into believing they were making concessions regarding unrestricted submarine warfare that they either never intended to follow through on or could not be enforced.  Either way, the diplomatic progress of the past few months sinks with Arabic.

The British passenger steamer Arabic, torpedoed and sunk today by the German submarine U-20 off Kinsale, Ireland.

- For the past eleven days German artillery, directed by General Beseler, has been systematically reducing the fortifications around Novogeorgievsk.  Their work has been aided by the poor state of the defences - one fort was blown up by a single shell.  The siege ends today with the surrender of the surviving Russian garrison, and while the Russian armies in the field suffer from munition shortages, over a million shells fall unused into German hands, and the fall of Novogeorgievsk provides yet another example of how fortified positions, on their own, are no match for the power and range of modern artillery.

Russian artillery captured by the Germans after the fall of Novogeorgievsk.

German infantry occupying the Russian fortress of Novogeorgievsk after its capture.

- On the Eastern Front, Ludendorff issues orders for the German 10th Army to push its left wing from Kovno towards Vilna, with the Army of the Niemen covering ths northern flank of the advance by pushing towards the Dvina River.  On the southern flank 8th and 12th Armies are instructed to push to the northeast, and the former seizes the town of Bocki today.  Meanwhile, Prince Leopold's army group runs up against a new Russian defensive line running from Tokary to Nurec, and is held up.  Stiff resistance is also encountered west of Brest-Litovsk  by Russian forces on both sides of the Bug River as they attempt to cover the withdrawal of soldiers and wagons still in front of the fortress, and the German 11th Army is able to make only marginal gains today.  Upriver from Brest-Litovsk, however, the German 1st Division on the southern wing of the Army of the Bug is able to break through the Russian defenders along the Bug at Wlodawa and drive eastward to Piszcza by this evening.

The Austro-Hungarian offensive towards Kowel opens today with the advance of the cavalry corps commanded by the German General Ernst von Heydebreck and consisting of the German 5th and the Austro-Hungarian 4th and 11th Honved Cavalry Divisions.  The ground opposite is lightly defended, as the Russian 13th Army has been pulled northwards to maintain contact with 3rd Army and cover the lines of communication with Brest-Litovsk.  The only substantial Russian force in the area is XXXI Corps near Kowel, and it too is in the process of retreating northwards, its rear threatened by the advance of the Army of the Bug.  Otherwise, only cavalry rear guards remain to impede the German and Austro-Hungarian advance, and given the paucity of defenders the cavalry is able to cover significant ground.

- As General Cadorna assesses the failure of the first two offensives along the Isonzo River, his ire is drawn to Italian aviation and the director-general of the air corps, Colonel Maurizio Moris.  A myriad of difficulties has prevented the air corps from adequately supporting Cadorna's attacks: it is short of manpower, poorly organized, and the few Farman aircraft that are available are limited by a low ceiling.  The result has been poor observation of targets, preventing adequate counter-battery fire, and Cadorna writes to the war minister today insisting that the problems had to be fixed, and that Moris ought to go.  While the performance of the air corps has certainly failed to live up to expectations, the same could be said for the entire Italian war effort, and one cannot help but wonder the extent to which Cadorna is attempting to pass on blame that ought to rest on his shoulders.

August 18th, 1915

- Overnight four German Zeppelin undertake a bombing raid on London.  Two turn back due to engine trouble, and the captain of L11 manages to confuse the village of Ashford with the British capital, dropping his forty-one bombs in farmers' fields.  L10, however, guided by the lights of towns and villages after making landfall on the Suffolk coast, is able to find London.  Even its navigation is imperfect, though, and drops its bombs on what its captain believes is the City but is actually the north-east suburbs of Leyton and Wanstead Flats.  Nevertheless, it is the first time a Zeppelin of the German navy bombs London, and the strike kills ten and damages the Leyton railway station.

- Wilhelm II and Falkenhayn meet with Archduke Friedrich and Conrad at the latter's headquarters at Teschen today, ostensibly to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Franz Joseph, but also to decide further operations on the Eastern Front.  Despite his continuing lack of faith in the fighting ability of the Austro-Hungarian army, Falkenhayn approves Conrad's suggestion of the latter's army conducting an offensive through Kowel.  It is also agreed that the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army will be transferred from the left flank of the German 11th Army in Poland to the southeast, to join the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army in Conrad's offensive.  This will leave 11th Army directly adjacent to the forces under General Worysch, and will help facilitate a clearer division of the Eastern Front between German and Austro-Hungarian sectors.

In central Poland Prince Leopold's army group push forward in pursuit of retreating Russian forces, while 12th Army on its northern flank aims for the railway between Brest-Litovsk and Bialystok.  To the south, Mackensen's army group opens its offensive against Brest-Litovsk itself.  The Army of the Bug has been assigned additional responsibility for the line from the Krzna River west of the fortress southeast to the Bug River, and its 119th Division, alongside XXII Reserve Corps of 11th Army to the north, is to confront the western face of Brest-Litovsk.  This adjustment of responsibility has allowed 11th Army to reinforce its left wing for a drive across the Bug River downstream from Brest-Litovsk to enable the fortress to be enveloped from the northeast.  Here the advance is to be led by X Reserve Corps, followed by the Guard Corps, 103rd Division, and the Guard Cavalry Division.  Today XXII Reserve Corps and 47th Reserve Division of X Reserve Corps, after hard fighting, push forward to the line Kijowiec-Lipnica-Tielesnica to the west of Brest-Litovsk, while elements of 105th Division of X Reserve Corps secures a bridgehead across the Bug River downstream from the Russian fortress.

The German advance towards Brest-Litovsk, August 18th to 26th, 1915.

- After the successful Austro-Hungarian bombardment of Pelagosa yesterday, the Italian navy orders the evacuation today of the island, believing that it cannot be held in the face of active enemy opposition.  Covered by a strong cruiser and destroyer force from Brindisi, the Italian withdrawal is accomplished without difficulty.  The evacuation, however, does nothing for the reputation of the Italian navy in the eyes of their allies, as Captain Richmond, the British liasion officer, writes in his diary today:

They have by this admitted that the Austrians have command of the sea in the Adriatic in spite of inferior naval force & without fighting an action!  They have surrendered to them.  They had better sell their Fleet & take up their organs & monkeys again, for, by Heaven, that seems more their profession than sea-fighting.

- Immediately after assuming command of the French Army of the Near East, General Sarrail sent the government a memorandum which outlined a wide range of possible operations, from landings at Salonika in the Balkans to operations along the Anatolian and Syrian coast.  The government forwarded the note to Joffre, who today offers his comments to the minister of war.  Not surprisingly, Joffre is scathing, arguing that Sarrail's operations are 'incomplete, unrealizable, and disastrous,' and that one of the landings in the Near East could only be supplied by 'Arabs and mules.'  Behind the harsh criticism is Joffre's continued opposition to any diversion of French strength from the Western Front.

- A revolution in 1906 had transformed the Persian government into a constitutional monarchy, and an effort by the shah to reverse the reforms ended in his deposition and exile in 1909.  His son, Ahmad, came to the throne as a minor, and was only crowned ruler in his own right in 1914 at the age of 17.  While the unrest weakened the control of the central government over the country, the elected assembly (the Majlis) has become a hotbed of liberal and nationalist sentiment, who see Britain and Russia (quite rightly) as the primary threats to Persian independence, and thus after the outbreak of war Persian liberals and nationalists have seen an alliance with Germany as the means by which the British and Russians can be ejected from the country.  Government instability is endemic, however, with cabinets constantly collapsing, and the Maljis is just one of the interests in the country to be taken into account in the formation of new cabinets.  The past month has seen yet another cabinet crisis, which is resolved today with the formation of a government by Mustaufi ul-Mamalik, whose reliance on support in the Majlis necessitates an approach to Germany.  He informs the German ambassador, Prince Heinrich XXXI Reuss, that his government desires an alliance, a guarantee of independence, gold to pay the police force, and munitions with which to fight.  Though Reuss recognizes the limited ability of the German government to provide material aid to the Persian government, he knows that if such an approach is rejected, a similar opportunity is not likely to arise again, and thus opens negotiations.

August 17th, 1915

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

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

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

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

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

August 16th, 1915

- In Poland the right wing of the German 8th Army has advanced past Tykocin, and is in position to threaten the Russian fortress of Ossoviets from the south, while the German 12th Army has pushed beyond Briansk.  To the south elements of the German 9th Army, part of Prince Leopold's army group, have reached the Bug River northeast of Siedlec, while the Army of the Bug now covers a hundred kilometres of its namesake from Koden southwards.  It is only between the two armies that the Russians hold ground west of the Bug, centred on the major Russian fortress at the city of Brest-Litovsk, situated on the river where its flow bends to the northwest after running northwards for several hundred kilometres.  It is into this stretch of the line that the German 11th Army is advancing - X Reserve Corps, its lead formation, is today due west of Brest-Litovsk, while the Guard Corps is approaching the southern edge of the fortifications - and today Mackensen is instructed that the next objective of the German offensive is the envelopment and seizure of Brest-Litovsk.

August 15th, 1915

- Having slowed the German advance yesterday, Russian forces in southern Poland pull back from their positions along the Slawatycze-Polubicze road, once again withdrawing before Mackensen can concentrate his artillery for an overwhelming blow.  The Germans energetically pursue, and the German X Reserve Corps advances the furthest, its 105th Division reaching the town of Biala late this evening.

- In northern Africa the Senussi have concentrated their efforts on the Italian garrison in Libya, and have driven the latter north to the Mediterranean coast.  The German liaison officer with the Senussi, Otto Mannesmann, is eager, however, to draw the Senussi into fighting the British in Egypt, and today attempts to manufacture an exchange of fire between a Senussi force and a British detachment today.  The Senussi, however, are reluctant to embrace the German vision of a global war and remain focused on ejecting the Italians from Libya.  The British, too, are not eager to engage the Senussi, recognizing that the latter do not presently pose a threat to their rule in Egypt, even if Italian entry into the war makes the Senussi at least their nominal foe.

August 14th, 1915

- In Poland the army group under Prince Leopold is approaching the line of advance of Mackensen's 11th Army attacking from the south, so the former reorientates 9th Army and Woyrsch's command towards the northeast to fall in line with the northern flank of Mackensen's forces.  Though Prince Leopold believes his forces ware facing only Russian rear guards, the latter remain capable of frustrating hopes for a rapid advance: Russian defenders hold the town of Miedzyrzecze against heavy attacks by the Austro-Hungarian 16th and 37th Honved Divisions (the latter on the far left of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army).  Similarly, the German 11th Army runs into a prepared Russian defensive line along the Slawatycze-Polubicze road, and is able to make only minor progress.

As the Russian salient in Poland is now almost completely flattened, Conrad's attention turns to future operations, and informs Falkenhayn today that he intends launch an offensive north of Vladimir-Volynsky in the direction of Kowel by forces drawn from 1st and 4th Armies.  His intention is to drive a wedge between the Russian North-West and South-West Fronts, and subsequently envelop the Russian 8th Army from the north while 2nd Army and Südarmee attack to the south.  The operation aims to clear the Russians from the last portion of Austro-Hungarian Galicia they still hold, and is a typically Conrad-style offensive, with its broad sweeping envelopments.  Quite understandably, Falkenhayn is skeptical of the ability of the Austro-Hungarian army to pull off such an ambitious operation 'without the aid of German troops in very difficult terrain.'  Still, Falkenhayn does not object to what is a secondary offensive, and notes 'even a partially successful operation would substantially boost the self-confidence and combat potential of our allies.'

- In British Kenya Governor Sir Charles Belfield has been ambivalent about the war, seeing the conflict as undermining the colonial administration - over half of his officials are now in the army - and distracting from civilian priorities.  However, the realization that German East Africa will not be easily subjugated has drawn the attention of the War Office, which has compelled the Colonial Office to accept the subordination of civilian administration to the military, and the latter instructs Belfield today that he is to cooperate with the army in eastern Africa.

August 13th, 1915

- President Poincaré, Premier Viviani, and Minister of War Millerand visit Joffre at the latter's headquarters, where they press Joffre to transfer four divisions to General Sarrail's new Army of the Near East.  The French commander-in-chief refuses, saying that nothing can be spared until the completion of the upcoming autumn offensive, and opposes making military decisions to please whom he refers to as 'a factious general.'

- In central Poland, while the German 9th Army crosses the Liwiec River, the units under Woyrsch's command is forced to launch a determined attack on the Russian positions to the east of Lukow, in order to dislodge the enemy and resume the advance.  Though the Russians are pushed back, they are able to retain cohesion and establish a new defensive position on the line Misie-Hadynow.  To the south, the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army finds itself now advancing almost due east as the Russian salient collapses, and like its German counterparts to the east finds itself being squeezed; today XIV Corps is pulled from the line.

- The German submarine UB14, patrolling the route between Alexandria and the Dardanelles, torpedoes the British transport Royal Edward, which sinks with the loss of nine hundred lives.

August 12th, 1915

- The success of the German 1st Division yesterday evening east of the Cholm-Wlodawa road convinces Alexeiev that the current defensive line in southern Poland is no longer tenable.  Moreover, the withdrawal from central Poland has progressed sufficiently that an envelopment of the retreating armies by Mackensen's offensive from the south is no longer likely.  Thus Alexeiev orders the Russian 3rd Army to fall back to the northeast, and by dawn it has evacuated its positions opposite the German 11th Army and the Army of the Bug.  Alexeiev also convinces Stavka that 13th Army will be unable to hold the line of the Bug River, and permission is given for it to pull back when necessary to cover the communications with the fortress at Brest-Litovsk.

Meanwhile at the front, having held up the advance of the German army group under Prince Leopold, the Russians evacuate the towns of Lukow and Siedlic in central Poland, pulling back to prepared defensive positions just to the east.  To the southeast, the German 11th Army and the Army of the Bug pursue the retreating Russians during the day.  As the Russian salient in Poland contracts, however, the front available for the advancing Germans grows progressively smaller, with the result that today the Austro-Hungarian VI and German XXII Reserve Corps of 11th Army are squeezed out of the line and instead fall in behind respectively the German X Reserve (on the left) and Guard Corps (on the right).  By nightfall lead elements of X Reserve Corps have captured the town of Ostrow, having advanced over a dozen kilometres during the day.

August 11th, 1915

- Joffre meets today with Generals Foch, Castlenau, and Dubail, who command the three French army groups that cover the Western Front, to discuss the forthcoming French offensive.  Foch advocates a careful and methodical approach to the attack; given that the enemy's second and third lines of defence lay beyond artillery range, a separate effort was needed to pierce each line, which in turn required due preparation and concentration of force.  Such an operation would thus consist of a separate effort for each enemy defensive position.  Castlenau and Dubail, however, entirely disagree; the former argues that since the defender could build new lines as quickly as the attacker could advance, the methodical approach would always face further lines to attack.  Instead, Castlenau calls for what is termed a 'continuous battle;' a surprise attack with a minimal artillery bombardment to forewarn the enemy could advance, he believed, ten to twelve kilometres in the first few days.  While this would not effect a breakthrough, this was not the explicit goal; instead, such a penetration, accompanied by constant pressure, would force nearby defenders to pull back, creating a wedge in the enemy line that could then be exploited by subsequent attacks.  Dubail concurs with Castlenau, arguing that the Germans do not have enough manpower to hold every kilometre of the second and third lines sufficiently, and that by attacking on a broad front the 'empty spaces' in the reserve lines could be found and exploited.  Foch is dismissive of his colleagues' suggestions, arguing that such gaps could be adequately covered by just a couple of machine guns.  Joffre, however, agrees with Castlenau and Dubail, as much for political as military reasons, as he explains to Foch:

If we adopt your system of methodical attack, which will require a month for the attack and a maximum expenditure of munitions, when will we be ready to attack?  Perhaps not in the coming year, perhaps not ever.  But it is necessary to act - for us and for our allies.  As our regulations say, 'Only inaction is shameful.'

- In Poland the pursuit by the army group under Prince Leopold continues, though Russian rearguard actions prevent the capture of the important railway junction at Lukow.  To the south, the German 11th Army launches its attack today against the Russian defensive line in southern Poland.  In bitter fighting, 2nd Guard Division manages to push forward towards the town of Orzechow, but is otherwise unable to break through.  To the east the Army of the Bug undertakes heavy assaults on either side of the Cholm-Wlodawa road in the direction of the latter; despite dogged Russian resistance, the German 1st Division is able to seize the main defensive position to the east of the road by midnight.

August 10th, 1915

- With the new moon overnight, five Zeppelins attempt the first bombing raid on Britain since the restrictions on striking the City were lifted last month.  While L9 dropped bombs on the town of Goole in Yorkshire, mistaking it for the city of Hull, killing sixteen, the four others had intended on striking London.  All, however, lose their way - L13 turns back due to engine trouble, L10 bombs the island of Sheppey, mistaking it for the docks of east London, and L11 drops his payload in the waters off Lowestoft, its captain thinking they were over Harwich.  The captain of L12 is similarly confused, dropping his bombs on Dover thinking he too was over Harwich.  Only three incendiaries fall on land, injuring three, while L12 is struck by antiaircraft fire from a British 3-inch gun.  Two cells of the Zeppelin are ruptured and vent their gas, and the resulting loss of buoyancy causes Z12 to fall into the Channel at 340am.  The crew is rescued by a German torpedo-boat, which drags the wreck to Zeebrugge, arriving at noon.  In the spirit of the night's debacle, three British aircraft attempt to bomb the wreckage of L12 to prevent its salvage, but all miss while one of their number is shot down.

The Zeppelins L10, L11, and L13, as seen from L12, en route to bomb London.

The Zeppelin L12 after crash-landing in the Channel early on the morning of Aug. 10th, 1915.  The collapsed cells at the rear of the
Zeppelin were those struck by antiaircraft fire over Dover.

- Field Marshal Sir John French informs Joffre today of his decision that while the BEF will attack south of La Bassée Canal as the latter desires, it is to take the form of an artillery bombardment as opposed to an infantry assault.  To Joffre such an operation would still be insufficient to provide any significant assistance to the French offensive in Artois, and he asks the minister of war to apply pressure to Kitchener in an effort to convince the latter to overrule the commander of the BEF.

- As part of the redeployment of forces for the French autumn offensive, the stretch of the front held by 2nd Army in Artois has been taken over in part by the BEF and in part by 6th Army, and it has been transferred to Champagne, where it will comprise the right wing of the assault.  General Pétain is also to command 2nd Army, but to mask the French concentration in Champagne he was initially named the assistant to General Castlenau of the Army Group of the Centre, and today is appointed to command what is to be referred to as Pétain Group.

- On the Eastern Front, General Alexeiev orders a further withdrawal of the armies under his command, instructing 12th, 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 3rd Armies to pull back to a line running from Ossoviets in the north to Ciechanowiec on the Bug River, and henceforth southwards along the Bug.  Once the Russian armies have reached this line, the salient in central Poland will have almost ceased to exist.  For the time being, however, 3rd Army is to hold its current line in southern Poland to cover the flank of the retreating armies.

Meanwhile, the Russian evacuation of central Poland continues to open opportunities for the rapid advance of German and Austro-Hungarian forces, and the army group under Prince Leopold and the left wing of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army make rapid progress today against minimal opposition.  Along the southern face of the salient, Mackensen had expected his 11th Army to launch its assault on the Russian line here today, but unexpected difficulties force him to postpone the advance until tomorrow; the Russians have flooded the valley of the Tysmienica River, necessitating the redeployment of divisions to pass on either side, and great difficulties have been encountered in bringing up sufficient artillery shells.  To the east, the Army of the Bug has ground its way forward, advancing several miles, but is unable to secure a breakthrough.

- Bulgarian Lieutenant-Colonel Petur Ganchev returns to Sofia today where he relays his discussions with Falkenhayn to Minister President Radoslavov.  It is clear to the latter that the Germany are prepared to meet Bulgaria's terms for entry to the war.  Moreover, the events of the past week - the fall of Warsaw and the failure of the British landing at Sulva Bay - provide further evidence that the Germans are winning the war, which appears to minimize the risk to Bulgaria of joining the war on the German side.  With Ferdinand's support, Radoslavov concludes that the time has come to move off the fence.

August 9th, 1915

- The first year of the war has seen several large fortress complexes destroyed by the power of modern heavy artillery, most prominently those at Liège and Antwerp in 1914 but also more recently the Russian capture of Przemysl.  From these episodes Joffre has taken the entirely reasonable lesson that pre-war fortifications cannot provide prolonged resistance in the face of a sustained enemy effort to seize them, and concludes that those pre-war forts that remain - most prominently the fortifications around Verdun - are no longer of vital importance.  Writing to his army group commanders today, Joffre states that forts like those at Verdun no longer have an independent role on the modern battlefield, and were only useful to the extent to which they could contribute to the trench lines established by the army in the field.  The logic of this downgrading of the importance of Verdun is that much of the considerable amount of fixed artillery in the forts around Verdun could better be employed as mobile artillery, able to be shifted to those parts of the front either under threat or where offensive operations are to be undertaken.  This reduction in the defensive capability of Verdun makes sense as long as it is just another stretch of the front line; if it ever becomes the target of a major offensive, however, Joffre's instructions could prove problematic.

- In southern Poland the left wing of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army makes rapid progress today, given that with the Russian retreat they face only cavalry patrols, and is able to reach the north bank of the Wieprz River by this evening.  The army's right wing, however, gets nowhere, given that here the Russians are holding their line as the withdrawal from central Poland continues.