September 1st, 1915

- Kitchener issues orders today for the Indian Corps in France to remain part of the British Expeditionary Force through the next winter.  Though concerns have been expressed in some quarters regarding the ability of the Indian soldier to cope with the cold and miserable conditions of a Flemish winter, Kitchener understands that the Indian Corps have shown themselves capable of operating under such conditions just as well as the British divisions they fight alongside. There were also worries about the losses suffered by the Indian Corps since its arrival in France in October 1914 could be adequately replaced, but since the summer a steady stream of recruits had replenished the Meerut and Lahore Divisions.  Of the three thousand replacements who arrived in July, General James Willcocks, the commander of the Indian Corps, wrote that they were 'very good . . . some of them quite exceptionally so, and I feel years younger now as I see these fine fellows joining the ranks.'

- Upon the instructions of Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, the German ambassador to the United States delivers a note containing what becomes known as the Arabic Pledge to Secretary of State Robert Lansing.  Based on the decision of the conference at Pless on August 26th in response to the sinking of Arabic, the Germans pledge that no passenger ship of any nationality will be attacked without warning, and that adequate provisions will be made for the survival of passengers and crew.

- Joffre remains under pressure from government ministers to dispatch several divisions from the Western Front to the Near East, and seizes on a staff study suggesting that the operations proposed by General Sarrail would require eight divisions.  He writes today that such a substantial reduction in French strength on the Western Front would have 'disastrous consequences.'  Moreover, he questions the entire premise of undertaking operations to relieve the British position on Gallipoli:

It is the British who have led us to the Dardanelles.  In reality halting the offensive will be a British defeat.  Tomorrow, if we send reinforcements and assume command, we will find ourselves, in case of failure, facing a French disaster.

- For several days the Austro-Hungarian 2nd and 7th Armies, as well as Südarmee, have launched assault after assault on the Russian lines along the Strypa River.  Though in places they have managed to win some ground, it has come at great cost - the Austro-Hungarian Corps, for instance, has lost over five thousand men in just two days of fighting.  Today the Russian 11th and 9th Armies pull back from their lines along the Strypa River, though this is not due to any defeat they have suffered but rather due to the threat of envelopment from the north due to the advance of the north wing of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army through Lutsk.  Brussilov's 8th Army, meanwhile, takes up its new defensive line today along the Putilowka, covering Rovno, and south to the hills west of Dubno.

July 2nd, 1915

- In Britain the Munitions of War Act comes into effect today, providing the legislative machinery for government control of armaments production by the new Ministry of Munitions under David Lloyd George.  Under the legislation any business involved in war production can be designated a 'controlled establishment', in which case a series of government restrictions would be imposed in the name of productivity.  Critically, these restrictions were primarily directed not at employers, but at employees: strikes are prohibited, arbitration made compulsory, and restrictions on the ability to change jobs.  In exchange, workers in 'controlled establishments' are given badges that effectively exempted them from military service.

- Though yesterday Foch expressed a desire to conduct another offensive by the French 10th Army against Vimy Ridge, General d'Urbal reports today that the infantry of 10th Army are exhausted after fifty days of near-constant combat, and are in no condition to undertake major operations.  Joffre is sympathetic to d'Urbal's concerns, and orders 10th Army to focus on establishing strong defensive positions only.

- Falkenhayn meets with Hindenburg and Ludendorff today at Posen in the presence of the kaiser to discuss future operations on the Eastern Front.  When the German chief of staff had originally committed 11th Army to the east in April, he had envisioned its deployment lasting until the liberation of Austro-Hungarian Galicia.  Once this had been accomplished, Falkenhayn reasoned, the threat to Austria-Hungary from Rusia would be removed, and 11th Army could return to the Western Front for operations there.  Though the purpose of the Gorlice-Tarnow offensive have been achieved, Falkenhayn has reconsidered his views.  He had been concerned with Entente superiority on the Western Front, but the 2nd Battle of Artois has demonstrated the ability of the German army in the west to successfully stand on the defensive even when substantially outnumbered.  Further, Falkenhayn has concluded that more damage can yet be inflicted on the Russian army.  Crucially, however, he does not foresee a decisive, war-winning victory as possible, given the space in Russia and the ability of the Russians to retreat from any grand envelopment.  Instead, Falkenhayn's desires to inflict further hammer blows on the Russian army in the vein of Gorlice-Tarnow to wear the Russians out and convince them to agree to a peace amenable to Germany.  This is a logical extension of the views expressed by Falkenhayn since the fall; namely, that Germany must reduce the number of its enemies through negotiation in order to concentrate on the others.

Thus at today's meeting Falkenhayn rejects Ludendorff's proposal for a major offensive to be undertaken in Courland by the Army of the Niemen, which the latter proposes can advance through Kovno and Vilna to join with Mackensen's 11th Army in encircling the entire Russian army in Poland.  Falkenhayn views such an operation as widely optimistic, and that such sweeping envelopments are simply not possible in the conditions of modern warfare, which in particular limit the ability of cavalry to exploit breakthroughs and surround opposing forces.  Instead, Falkenhayn proposes to stick to the Gorlice-Tarnow formula in which the Russian army would be worn out through a series of step-by-step offensives relying on the power of artillery.  Wilhelm II sides with Falkenhayn, and his more moderate plans are approved.  In the north, the army under General Gallwitz, stretching from the Vistula River towards the Masurian Lakes, will undertake the primary attack, advancing towards Warsaw.  Further, the forces under General Worysch in central Poland will pin the Russians opposite to prevent reserves being redeployed from this stretch of the line.  Finally, 11th Army will undertake a major offensive northwards between the Vistula and Bug Rivers, and to allow for it to concentrate on its advance as opposed to flank protection, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army is to be withdrawn from west of the Vistula in southwestern Poland and inserted into the line northeast of Lemberg between 11th Army to the north and the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army in the south.  To allow time for the redeployments to be completed and munitions stockpiled, the offensives are planned to begin July 13th.

The Eastern Front in early July, 1915.

- Meanwhile in southern Poland the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army wins several local successes, seizing several villages, but fails to secure a decisive breakthrough.

The 2nd Battle of Kraśnik, July 2nd to 10th, 1915.

- For the past two days the Italian 3rd Army has been concentrating its efforts against the Karst plateau southwest of Görz along the Isonzo River, but a series of infantry attacks have failed to secure any significant ground.

- The influence of German consul Wilhelm Wassmuss in southern Persia continues to grow, securing alliances with numerous tribes in the region that, as opposed to the central government, are the real power.  Through Wassmuss the interior of southern Persia is essentially under German control, and British influence has been confined to a few coastal enclaves - Wassmuss has even been able to erect a wireless station to communicate with Germany proper.  The growing German influence has attracted the attention of British officials in India, who fear losing control over the Northwest Frontier.  Today, the Indian viceroy tells British consuls in Persia to seek out tribal allies that can be used to directly confront German influence in the country.

- In German South-West Africa German forces holding the line east of Otavifontein defending Grootfontein fall back on Gaub today, given the appearance of South African forces before them and the retreat of the defenders at Otavi uncovering their western flank.

February 15th, 1915

- Admiral Pohl receives another telegram from the Kaiser today: 'H.M. the Emperor has commanded that the U-boat campaign to destroy commerce . . . is not to begin on February 18, but only when orders to do so are received from the All Highest.'  Once again Wilhelm II wavers when faced with an important military decision, much to the dismay of his admirals.

- In Britain, meanwhile, Churchill, speaking in the House of Commons, seeks to assure the public regarding the threatened German submarine campaign:

. . . losses will no doubt be incurred - of that I give full warning.  But we believe that no vital injury can be done if our traders put to sea regularly . . . If they take the precautions which are proper and legitimate, we expect the losses will be confided within manageable limits, even at the outset when the enemy must be expected to make his greatest effort to produce an impression.

 - The 1st Canadian Division completes disembarkation at St. Nazaire today, and the soldiers immediately entrain for the journey to Flanders.  Their billeting area is just east of Hazebrouck, and they are to be attached to III Corps, 2nd Army of the BEF.  Prior to taking over a section of the front line in several weeks time, the headquarters staff and regimental personnel will be attached to the British 4th and 6th Divisions to learn first-hand about the nature of trench warfare.

- In Singapore, the 5th Light Infantry battalion of the Indian army is the only remaining regular force defending the colony, as other units have been transferred to more active theaters.  The battalion, however, has long seethed with discontent, and today many of its soldiers rise in mutiny.  The unit is entirely Muslim, and fears of being sent to fight the Ottomans may have played a role in the decision to mutiny.  Conversely, other than a couple of exceptions Indian nationalism does not appear to have been a major motivating force.  Indeed, most important are causes specific to the unit itself - the commanding officer is incompetent and the officers mistrust each other, allowing other issues, such as poor rations and promotion prospects, to fester.

Initially, the mutineers, some three hundred in total, outnumber the 231 European soldiers on the island.  They also attempt to augment their ranks by freeing German prisoners of war, but the latter were more afraid of the Indians than anything and the few that did act preferred to escape rather than fight.  Rampaging in several large groups, thirty-four Britons and Asians are killed in several hours.  In response a landing party from the sloop Cadmus is put ashore and uses a machine gun to check the mutineers' advance on Singapore itself.

December 22nd, 1914

- By today the British line between Cuinchy and Neuve Chapelle has been stabilized by the insertion of 1st Division of I Corps into the centre of the position around Givenchy, formerly held by the Indian Corps.  Most of the original lines held before the German attack of the 20th have been regained, though some stretches of the first trench have been so destroyed by artillery fire as to render them useless.  The moment of danger has passed, though the Indian Corps has suffered almost a thousand casualties over the past three days, as compared to only 250 for the Germans opposite.  The need for 1st Division to come to the 'rescue' of the Indian Corps also does little for the confidence of the BEF leadership in the latter's fighting qualities.

- In Galicia the Russians continue to press against the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army, and in many spots the latter is forced southward.  Further complicating matters, most of the reinforcements destined for the right wing of the army had been sucked into the fighting on the left wing in an attempt to stem the tide, making the execution of the planned advance on Przemysl by the army's right wing impossible.  In an attempt to make the best of a bad situation, Conrad approves a proposal by 3rd Army commander to attack with his left wing towards Tarnow.

The Russian advance in Galicia, December 22nd to 31st, 1914.

- In light of the failed invasions of Serbia, General Potiorek is forced into retirement today.

The Serbian Front at the end of December, 1914.

- What will become the Battle of Sarikamish begins today when Enver Pasha orders the Ottoman XI and X Corps of his 3rd Army to begin their advance into the Russian Caucasus.  Enver's objective is the town of Sarikamish, which sits at the head of the main railway supplying Russian forces in the Caucasus, but his plan bears the strong imprint of German thinking and the influence of 3rd Army's Chief of Staff Baron Bronsart von Schellendorff.  Of 3rd Army's three corps, XI Corps, reinforced by two divisions that had been originally bound for Syria and Iraq, was to frontally attack the two Russian corps southwest of Sarikamish in order to fix them in place.  This was no small task for XI Corps, given the two Russian corps number 54 000 men and the Ottoman unit would have been outnumbered by just one of the enemy corps.  The key maneouvre, however, is to be undertaken by IX and X Corps.  The former, sitting on XI Corps' left, is to advance along a mountain path known as the top yol towards Çatak, from which it can descend on Sarikamish from the northwest, outflanking the two Russian corps pinned by XI Corps.  Though the top yol is known to the Russians, they believe it was impractical to move large bodies of troops along it.  Enver, for his part, believes that not only is the path useable but its high altitude and exposed position would ensure that high winds kept it swept of snow, as compared to the valleys below.  Finally, X Corps, on the left of IX Corps, is to advance and occupy the town of Oltu, from which one portion of the corps can move to support IX Corps' move on Sarikamish, while another portion can continue northeastwards towards the town of Ardahan.  If successful, the plan promises the envelopment and annihilation of the two Russian corps southwest of Sarikamish and the opening of the way to Kars.

With its emphasis on outflanking the enemy position, it has the obvious imprint of the thinking of Schliffen and the German General Staff.  Further, Enver's plan involves precise timetabling of the advance of IX and X Corps (necessary given the lack of communications between the three corps of 3rd Army) which removes all possibility of improvisation and does not allow for any unit to fall behind schedule.  Finally, there is the emphasis on speed - the soldiers of IX Corps, for instance, are told to leave their coats and packs behind to quicken their advance.  This ignores the obvious reality of conducting operations in the Caucasus in December and January - temperatures are consistently below -30 degrees centigrade and the snow on the ground is measured in feet, not inches.  This ignorance of the human element, also a conspicuous reflection of pre-war German planning, is to be of decisive import in the days ahead.

Incidentally, Enver's decision to launch his invasion of the Russian Caucasus today is the first link in a chain of events that will lead to the collapse of the last Liberal government in Britain.  Just another example of how one cannot understand the First World War without understanding how it was a world war.

The planned advance of the Ottoman 3rd Army against Sarikamish.

- In German Kamerun the French column that occupied Nola in October today seize the village of Molundu.

- A force of Boer rebels numbering about a thousand, comprising those who managed to escape to German South-West Africa under Martiz and Kemp, cross the Orange River back into South Africa.  Though they have achieved surprise, the advance is plagued by disagreements between the two Boer leaders, Kemp refusing to serve under Maritz's leadership and wanting to return to the Transvaal.  Martiz for his part desires to avoid giving the impression of being a German puppet, and thus refuses German assistance.  The result is that when a South African force is encountered near Schuit Drift, they are driven off and retreat back over the Orange River.

December 20th, 1914

- The second of the major French offensives opens today with the attack in Champagne by 4th Army.  Advancing against a twelve-kilometre front approximately forty kilometres east of Rheims, the operation is undertaken by four corps - from west to east, XII, XVII, I Colonial, and II.  Two primary assaults are to be undertaken by XII and XVII Corps, while supporting assaults will be launched by I Colonial Corps.  The hope at 4th Army headquarters is that by having two main attacks, each controlled by a separate corps command, will double the chances of success.  In support the French have over seven hundred artillery pieces of varying calibers, a number that would have been all but unthinkable before the war.  The operation in Champagne also mirrors the operation in Artois in dividing the attacks into phases, to allow for sufficient concentration of artillery fire.  The objective is to secure a breach in the German line, and to do so the plan is to constantly feed fresh soldiers into the battle in order to maintain the momentum of the attack.  This tactic, which comes to be known as 'continuous battle', seeks to break through the enemy line by maintaining constant pressure to wear the opponent down, as opposed to overwhelming the enemy with a massive concentration of infantry and artillery at a single point.

Today, in the first phase of the attacks, both XVII and I Colonial Corps attack precisely at 930am.  Despite the heavy artillery barrage, the advancing infantry find the enemy's barbed wire and trench lines largely intact, and are unable to secure anything more than small, local gains.

- Unlike most of the other small attacks by British and French forces in Flanders this month, the failed assault of the Indian Corps results in a swift and powerful German attack that aims to do more than simply recover lost ground.  At dawn, the front held by the Indian Corps comes under intensive artillery and mortar fire, and at 9am the portion of the line near Givenchy, held by the Sirhind Brigade of the Lahore Division, is targeted by ten explosive mines, each of 50kg of gunpower, planted by the German VII Corps opposite.  The trench lines are shattered; some Indians are buried alive, while the already-waterlogged ground is turned into waist-deep mud.  German infantry from two battalions of 57th Regiment then surge forward, and though the defending Gurkhas and Afridis fight desperately, they are forced backwards.  Givenchy is lost to the Germans, and the position of the Indian Corps is such that Sir John French orders General Haig to dispatch a brigade to reinforce the line at Givenchy.

There are also reports of Indian soldiers, primarily Baluchis, fleeing the battlefield in panic and discarding their rifles.  In practice the number of cases were few, often limited to those situation where all of both the British and Indian officers had been killed, but the reports appear to give sustenance to the belief of some that Indian soldiers are not capable of fighting in the cold winter of Flanders and in the conditions of modern industrialized warfare.

The front near Givency. 

- To revive his faltering offensive, the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army argues that his eastern wing should be reinforced, concentrating eight or nine infantry and five cavalry divisions here, with the objective being to outflank the entirety of the enemy's position in Galicia and reach Przemysl.  Conrad agrees, and orders the advance on Tarnow, which has not made any progress anyway, suspended.  Instead, 4th Army and the western wing of 3rd Army are to stand on the defensive until the forces destined for the eastern wing are assembled.

- While the Ottoman 3rd Army is about to launch Enver Pasha's invasion of the Russian Caucasus, the Ottoman 4th Army, based in Syria and Palestine, is planing an invasion of Egypt, and just as 3rd Army's operation is linked to the pan-Turkic vision of Enver, 4th Army's advance is to be associated with the call to jihad, hoping that it will inspire the Egyptian population to rise up in support of the Ottoman invasion.  Thus 4th Army is to be given the full trappings of a religious crusade - today a holy flag brought from Mecca is paraded through Jerusalem, after which it is to accompany 4th Army, along with a number of Islamic clerics.

November 14th, 1914

- Early this afternoon at Ypres an attack is made by the Guards' Regiments of Winckler's Division and 4th Division on the British lines opposite.  In several places German soldiers managed to reach British trenches, but any occupation of them was shortlived in the face of timely counterattacks.  Thus the second assault of Plettenberg's Corps never posed the same risk to the Entente line as the first three days earlier.  Elsewhere, the French lost a few hundred yards of no real consequence north of Ypres, while the French XVI Corps took nearly a thousand German prisoners in attacks near Wytschaete.

The frequency and intensity of German attacks at Ypres are clearly in decline, and they are also facing a shortage of artillery shells - Falkenhayn today concludes that there are enough shells for only four more days of fighting around the Ypres salient.

- Lord Roberts, one of the great military and imperial figures of pre-war Britain, dies at St. Omer this evening at 8pm.  Roberts had had a long and distinguished career, serving as Commander-in-Chief in India (1885-93), commander of British forces in the Boer War (1899-1900), and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army (1900-04).  After retirement he was president of the National Service League, which advocated for peacetime conscription in Britain.  Though he was unable to convince the governments of the day of conscription, he was consistent in warning of the German threat and the necessity of Britain committing a large army to the fight against Germany.  He lived long enough to see the war he long prophesized begin, and the first battles of the army he had once led.  He had arrived in France three days ago to visit the troops, but caught a cold which led to his passing.

- In Poland the German 9th Army is making excellent speed in its advance southeastward towards Lodz, as the first winter frost has frozen the mud which had slowed prior campaigns.  After the virtual destruction of the Russian V Siberian Corps, General Mackensen has deployed one corps along the Vistula to guard against the Russian 1st Army; given the sluggishness of Rennenkampf, this is more than sufficient.  The other four corps of 9th Army continue the push towards Lodz against little opposition.  General S. M. Scheidemann of the Russian 2nd Army, which is immediately west of Lodz, is the first Russian commander to realize the threat of the German offensive, and begins to reorientate his army from facing westward for the invasion of Germany to facing northward to confront the German 9th Army.  The rest of the Russian command leadership remains in the dark - Grand Duke Nicholas remains focused on the invasion of Germany, discounting any threat from the northwest to the line of advance westward.

- In Constantinople today the Sheikh-ul-Islam, the highest religious authority in Islam, proclaims a holy war, or jihad, in the presence of the Ottoman Sultan.  All Muslims throughout the world were called upon to fight Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, and Montenegro.  In particular, the Muslim inhabitants of the Asian and African colonies of the first three were called upon to rise up and make common cause with the Ottoman Empire.

This is a proclamation that threatens wholesale rebellions throughout the empires of Britain, France, and Russia, and the three Entente powers take the announcement very seriously.  The efficacy of the call for jihad is limited, however, by a number of factors.  First, it was not a call for all Muslims to rise up against all imperial powers - despite their recent occupation of Libya, there is no mention of Italy, a neutral that Germany and Austria-Hungary do not wish to offend.  Thus the jihad is to be limited, not universal.  Second, the call is clearly linked to the secular and imperial interests of the Ottoman Empire, and in particular Muslims in the Caucasus were not being asked to rise against Russia for freedom, but rather to trade Russian imperialism for Ottoman imperialism.  Finally, because the call for jihad is so clearly linked to the Ottoman Empire, its credibility is linked to the effectiveness of Ottoman arms on the battlefield.  Thus the Young Turks in the Ottoman government who have driven the empire to war need early victories to demonstrate to Muslims outside the empire that the Ottomans are worthy of its claimed position as the leader and protector of global Islam.

- The Muslim group that most enthusiastically embraces the call to jihad is the Senussi, a puritan sect of Islam with between 1.5 and 2.5 million adherents in the Sahara and equatorial Africa.  In 1912 the Ottoman province of Libya was conquered by Italy, and since that time the Senussi have led the resistance to the imposition of Italian rule, and by 1914 they have ten thousand under arms in eastern Cyrenaica near the Egyptian border.  Despite the proclamation of jihad not actually applying to the Senussi, given their presence in an Italian colony, their doctrine does not allow certain non-believers to be exempted from a call to jihad.  Thus the banner of holy war is raised by the Senussi in Fezzan in southern Libya, and the ongoing fight of the Senussi will become increasingly linked to the broader world war.

- Additional elements of the Indian 6th Division arrive at the British camp at Sanniya on the Shatt al-Arab this morning to reinforce Indian Expeditionary Force D.  They bring with them new orders from the Viceroy of India that if they have sufficent force, they are to advance and occupy the city of Basra.  The orders come from India, not London, as the expedition is being undertaken not only to protect British oil interests in Persia, but as a form of 'active defense' of the western frontier of India.

October 31st, 1914

- Between Nieuport and Dixmude the waterlogged soldiers of the German III Reserve Corps make their way eastward back across the flooded fields and over the Yser River to dry land.  Due to the battered state of the Belgian army the Germans are able to undertake the retreat without significant losses, but there is no masking the bitter taste of the outcome of the Battle of the Yser.  At the moment when a breakthough appeared to be at hand, the Germans have victory snatched from their grasp, not by the enemy army, but by the sea, the one remorseless enemy they cannot overcome.  By letting in the sea, the Belgians have created an impenetrable barrier from Dixmude to the Channel.  This gives the Belgian army the opportunity to rest and recover, and indeed it can be said that the flooding saves the army from destruction and Belgium from complete occupation.  As a result, a tiny corner of Belgium will remain in Belgian hands for the duration of the war.  Of course, just as the Germans cannot advance across the flooding, the Belgians cannot counterattack either.  Knowing this allows the Germans to move forces south to reinforce the fighting elsewhere in Flanders.

- Just after midnight, General Foch arrives at BEF headquarters at St. Omer, asking to see Field Marshal French.  The heavy attacks of yesterday have plunged the BEF commander again into pessimism, giving Foch the impression of panic and telling him 'We are for it.'  Attempting to buoy French's spirits, Foch replies: 'We shall see.  In the meantime, hammer, hammer away, keep on hammering, and you will get there.'

Army Group Fabeck today resumes its attacks on the British line from Gheluvlet to Messines.  At the latter, the first advance comes before dawn, catching the British in the middle of relieving the companies holding the front line.  After initially overrunning two companies of Indian infantry after their British officers had been killed, nearby cavalry rallied to push the Germans back.  This, however, was only a prelude - a heavy artillery bombardment at 8am preceded an attack by twelve German battalions at 9am that outnumbered the defenders by more than six to one.  The Germans break into the village of Messines, and advance house to house, using artillery at point-blank range to demolish British positions.  Reinforcements from II Corps are fed into the battle, as well as the first Territorial battalion to see combat.  Counterattacks suffer heavy losses, but relieve some of the pressure on the British defenders in Messines at by nightfall they remain entrenched in the southern portion of the village.

To the north, the British 2nd Cavalry Division comes under attack from the German 3rd Bavarian Division and 6th Bavarian Reserve Division.  Though German artillery opened their bombardment at 6am, German infantry did not advance until just before 3pm, giving enough time for reserves to be deployed, and the Germans are repulsed.

The most serious situation of the day develops at Gheluvelt, where the line was held by I Corps' 1st Division.  The first attack by the German XXIV Reserve Corps is mostly repulsed, but small elements manage to reach an orchard from which the defenders are unable to eject them.  Under an increasingly intense artillery bombardment and fire from the orchard, part of the 2nd Battalion, Welch Regiment falls back, opening a gap in the line which the Germans find.  Within minutes the British position has collapsed, the 2nd Battalion, Welch Regiment suffering 530 casualties in being effectively annihilated.  British soldiers flee to the rear individually or in small groups, and attempts to rally them by officers fail.  A company of 1st Battalion, Gloucestershires is sent to plug the gap, but under German shellfire it is reduced from eighty soldiers to thirteen by the time they arrive in the line.

Further German attacks are launched north and south of the Menin Road at 10am, and despite enduring intense fire are able to push the British back.  By 1130am the Germans have taken Gheluvelt and broken the British line.  Further, the British command structure is dealt a severe blow at 115pm when the chateau at which the commanders and staff of 1st and 2nd Divisions are struck by artillery shells, killing or wounding almost everyone present.  As time has to be taken to find new commanders for both units, Haig at I Corps HQ informs Field Marshal French, General Foch, and General Dubois that 1st Division has been broken and issues orders for a last line of defence to be prepared to the rear.  One of I Corps' intelligence officers returned from the front and provided a vivid description of the situation:

You cannot imagine the scene.  The road was full of troops retreating, stragglers, wounded men, artillery and wagons, a terrible sight.  All the time there was the noise of a terrific bombardment.  It was impossible to get any clear idea of the situation.  Nobody knew anything except what was happening on his immediate front and that was always the same story.  The Germans were attacking in overwhelming strength and our men were being driven back . . .

A decisive moment of the battle is at hand - if the Germans can exploit the breakthrough, the entire British line could be outflanked and forced back, allowing the Germans to seize Ypres and secure victory.  At I Corps HQ Haig organizes the orderlies and mess servants to make a last stand.  When Sir John French arrives they discuss the breakthrough in what the BEF commander will later describe as the worst half-hour of his life.  French then motors to Foch's headquarters to plead for reinforcements, stating, according to Foch's recollection, that the only men he had left were the sentries at BEF HQ and that he would take them 'where the line is broken, and the last of the English will be killed fighting.'  Foch replied: 'We must stand firm first, we can die later.'  He promises an attack by IX Corps and lends a cavalry brigade and three battalions to the British.

Meanwhile, west of Gheluvelt all of 1st Division's reserves had been committed to the fighting, and only three companies of 2nd Battalion, Worcesters, consisting of seven officers and 350 men, remained as 2nd Division's reserve.  A brigade commander from 1st Division orders them to counterattack, and by 145pm they are moving on Gheluvelt Chateau, on the northeast side of the village.  They have dropped their packs and grabbed extra ammunition to be able to advance as quickly as possible.  The last mile is open ground, and the battalion loses a hundred men as they race across.  When they reach the Chateau, they find Bavarians from three regiments who, in the aftermath of seizing Gheluvelt, have relaxed in the afterglow of victory.  The Worcesters smash into them and the Germans are driven from the Chateau.  The shock of the counterattack leads other German units to abandon Gheluvelt, and with stragglers from other units the Worcesters are able to establish a thin defensive line.  For the loss of three officers and 189 men, the Worcesters had regained Gheluvelt and shattered German momentum.

Subsequent counterattacks on either flank by disparate and already-mauled British units are able to stem the German tide, though at the cost of over a thousand casualties.  By the slimmest of margins, I Corps is able to restore its line and hold the Germans.  Not for the first nor the last time the Germans manage to achieve a breakthrough, only to have it closed before it can be exploited.

- To the south of the main fighting at Ypres today the period of the heaviest fighting has come to an end, as the German 6th Army is no longer attempting to break through the British line between Armentières and La Bassée; daily skirmishes continue, however, mainly comprised of spoiling attacks by the Germans to keep the British opposite from redeploying northward.  Since coming into the line, the British III Corps has suffered 5779 casualties, while II Corps was down to 14 000 infantry after arriving in Flanders with 24 000.  The withdrawal of II Corps from the line is also completed today, with its place taken by all of the Indian Corps.

- When the First World War broke out, Portugal remained neutral, but declared its 'support' for the Entente.  This awkward position arose out of Portugal's longstanding alliance with Britain that stretched back to the Middle Ages, but which did not require Portugal to actually go to war.  Moreover, the British had such little regard for the Portuguese military that they saw no advantage to be gained by Portugal actually participating in the war.  Thus Portugal stands in 1914 as unfriendly but not openly hostile to Germany.

The place of Portugal in the war has ramifications in Africa, considering the non-insubstantial Portuguese colonial empire, and in particular both Angola and Mozambique are adjacent to German colonies (German South West Africa and German West Africa respectively).  In September Portugal had dispatched 1500 soldiers to each to buttress their garrison against potential German aggression.  These forces would also aid in maintaining Portuguese rule over their colonies - parts of Angola in particular were in a state of near-perpetual revolt by the indigenous population.

To their German neighbours, however, these reinforcements could be interpreted as a prelude to a Portuguese invasion.  Moreover, since the fall of Togoland in August direct communications with Germany had been severed,  Thus the governor of German South West Africa is uncertain whether or not Germany and Portugal are at war.  Tensions were heightened on October 19th when a German patrol (according to the Portuguese) or mission (according to the Germans) was arrested at a Portuguese border fort, and in the ensuing scuffle three Germans were killed.  The event appears to confirm suspicions that the Portuguese are an active combatant, and the German governor decides to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the ongoing Boer Rebellion temporarily halting South African operations to the south to deal with the Portuguese to the north.

Today a German detachment approaches the Portuguese post at Cuangar, whose garrison is oblivious to the events of October 19th.  Taken by surprise, the Portuguese defenders are overwhelmed and massacred by the Germans.

- The commanders of Indian Expeditionary Force B and C meet today in Mombada with Kenyan and other British officials to finalize their plan for the invasion of German East Africa.  It is decided that IEF B will land at Tanga on November 2nd, while IEF C will attack across the border in the interior on the 3rd.  Crucially, the naval commander of the force escorting IEF B insists that given the prior agreement to neutralize Tanga and Dar es Salaam, it is necessary to inform the Germans that the British have abrogated the agreement before IEF B can land.

- The British light cruiser Glasgow continues to sit off Coronel today.  Despite the volume of intercepted German wireless traffic, no German warships have appeared, so the captain of Glasgow receives permission from Admiral Craddock to enter Coronel, which it does at dusk.  The ship's intelligence officer goes ashore to collect mail and messages from the British consul, who warns of a large German ethnic community, which means the presence of Glasgow in Coronel may have already been reported to the German East Asiatic Squadron.  In fact, one of the squadron's supply ships was in harbour when Glasgow arrived, and had reported its presence to Admiral Spee at 7pm.  An increase in the volume of German wireless traffic convinces the captain of Glasgow that German warships are approaching, so he decides to sail by 9am tomorrow morning.  Further, Admiral Craddock is bringing the rest of his squadron to Coronel to rendezvous with Glasgow - all of the German signals have had the call sign of the light cruiser Leipzig, and Craddock believes that it is operating in isolation from the rest of the German East Asiatic Squadron, providing an opportunity to sink it in isolation.

That all of the German wireless traffic has had the call signal of Leipzig, of course, is a deliberate ruse by Admiral Spee to mask the presence of his entire squadron off the Chilean coast.  When he learns of Glasgow's presence in Coronel, he decides to trap the British warship when it departs Coronel tomorrow; by law a warship that spends more than twenty-four hours in a neutral port is to be interned.  Thus the commanders of both squadrons believe that they are moving to engage a single warship of the other.

October 27th, 1914

- Along the Yser both sides spend the day bombarding each other, the Germans in particular concluding that Dixmude needs another period of intense artillery fire before the town can be seized.  Under the supervision of the elderly lockkeepr Geeraert, this evening the Belgians make a first attempt at opening the locks, but fail due to the low tide level.

- The offensive by the French IX Corps northeast of Ypres continues today, and despite the delayed arrival of 31st Division they again make no significant progress.  Their efforts to advance come under heavy enemy fire from German positions on the high ground at Poelcappelle and Passchendaele, and only the smallest of gains are recorded.  On their right the division and brigade of I Corps in the line are also unable to accomplish anything of note.

- Bitter fighting continues today over the battered remains of the village of Neuve Chapelle, as the British II Corps attempts to recover the lines lost yesterday to the German VII Corps.  General Smith-Dorrien assembles a heterogenous force, which includes Indian troops and French bicyclists and cavalrymen, assault the German defenders repeatedly, which include all twelve battalions of 14th Reserve Division and reinforcements from neighbouring corps.  At 130pm the British attack the northern part of the village, but as the attack falters the Germans launch their own at 230pm in the south of Neuve Chapelle, which pushes the British westward out of the village.  The commitment of the last reserves of II Corps manages to reconstitute the front line, but by this evening Smith-Dorrien is forced to accept the loss of Neuve Chapelle and orders the construction of a new line of trenches to the west.

Though II Corps has managed to hold on, it has been in near-constant combat since its arrival in Flanders, and Smith-Dorrien has repeatedly warned Sir John French that his men are at the end of their endurance.  The BEF commander, who does not have a high opinion of Smith-Dorrien's abilities, nevertheless agrees that II Corps should be withdrawn from the front and replaced by the Indian Corps, the latter having only lent small units as reserves to II and III Corps over the past few days of fighting.

- For the past two days, General Rawlinson's IV Corps has consisted only of 7th Division.  To address this anomalous situation, Field Marshal French decides today to disband IV Corps and reassign 7th Division to General Haig's I Corps.  In part a move to rationalize administration of the BEF, it is also in part a reflection of the belief that 7th Division has under-performed during the battle.  As for General Rawlinson, he and the former IV Corps staff is returned to England to prepare 8th Division for deployment to France.  This has the advantage of removing from Ypres a corps commander that the Field Marshal has had trouble with while ostensibly giving him what he had asked for - he argued on the 25th that IV Corps would not be effective until 8th Division arrived, so now he can expedite their deployment directly.

- General Falkenhayn arrives today at 6th Army headquarters to discuss the progress of operations with Prince Rupprecht.  The German Chief of the General Staff is not pleased with the results achieved over the past week - despite the concentration of forces neither 4th or 6th Army had been able to achieve a decisive success.  Indeed, over the past few days the French and British have been able to go over onto the offensive northeast of Ypres, and though they have not broken through a defensive battle cannot possibly give Falkenhayn the decisive victory he believes is essential to win the war.  In his view, both 4th and 6th Armies have failed, and there is no prospect of imminent success from their efforts.

Falkenhayn, however, is unwilling to give up the initiative and fully go over on to the defensive.  Instead, he seeks a new concentration of force to achieve a breakthrough and victory.  The plight of the new reserve corps of 4th Army since the 22nd have shown the importance of battlefield experience.  Moreover, an analysis of the defensive needs of the rest of the Western Front have raised several instances where, due to the redeployment of French forces to Flanders, German units could be redeployed as well.  As a result, XV Corps from the Aisne and II Bavarian Corps from Peronne are en route to Flanders, and to this force are added 26th Division of XIII Corps, in turn replaced by a reserve division from Metz, and the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division has also just arrived in Flanders (the latter including a certain Corporal Hitler).  These units are organized into a single formation under the command of General Max von Fabeck, formerly commander of XIII Corps, and is to be called Army Group Fabeck.

The new formation is to take its place on the front line south of Menin, in the area currently occupied by the cavalry corps of 6th Army.  Falkenhayn is emphatic that Army Group Fabeck does not belong to 6th Army, and the latter cannot issue or alter orders to the former.  Instead of simply adding reinforcements to the two armies, Army Group Fabeck is to be a single cohesive offensive unit, and the two adjacent armies are reduced to a supportin role while also dispatching artillery to support the Army Group.

Falkenhayn's plan is for 4th and 6th Armies to launch spoiling attacks on October 30th to force the French and British to commit their reserves.  At the same time, Army Group Fabeck is to attack south of Ypres, against the enemy line between Gheluvelt (just northwest of Kruiseecke) and Ploegsteert Wood (north of Armentières).  Its objective is Mont Kemmel, high ground south of Ypres.  Its seizure would break the enemy line and allow the Germans to outflank the enemy positions to the north and south.  Such a success offers to Falkenhayn the potential to drive the enemy from Flanders and occupy the Channel ports, and perhaps tip the military balance on the Western Front in Germany's favour.

- For two and a half months Admiral Wilhelm Souchon and his two warships have been at Constantinople, maintaining the fictin that the two have been transferred to Ottoman control.  There is never any doubt as to where Souchon's true loyalty lies however, and as the Ottoman government continues to prevaricate over whether to enter the war, he decides the time has come for action.  With the collaboration of Enver Pasha and the other pro-German and pro-war ministers, Souchon, in his position as commander of the Ottoman navy, takes Goeben and Breslau, along with an Ottoman cruiser and four Ottoman destroyers, into the Black Sea.  Ostensibly to undertake training, the real purpose of the mission is to provoke Ottoman entry into the war.

- Admiral Craddock's signal of yesterday arrives at the Admiralty in London today.  It is a time of turmoil within the upper echelons of the Royal Navy, as the resignation of the First Sea Lord is imminent.  Thus the news from Craddock, including crucially that Canopus is not with him, is not given the attention it deserves.  Meanwhile, Craddock's four ships rendezvous off the Chilean coast near the mouth of the Huasco River, where Craddock orders Glasgow, his fastest warship, to sail to Coronel to see if any further orders had been dispatched to him.

- The German East Asiatic Squadron, meanwhile, departs Más Afuera today for the Chilean coast.  Admiral Spee has received information from German agents in Chile of the passage of a British warship through the Straits of Magellan, and thus decides for now to keep his larger armoured cruisers out of sight of the shore, while sending all radio transmissions using Leipzig's call sign, to give the appearance that only one German warship was in the area, as opposed to all five.

October 23rd, 1914

- In the pre-dawn hours, the Germans are able to push another two and a half battalions over the Yser River to the bridgehead captured twenty-four hours earlier, and during the day seize Tervaete, reducing the fire on the soldiers pinned on the west bank.  Heavy Belgian and French artillery fire, however, prevent the Germans from bringing up artillery of their own to support the bridgehead.  Elsewhere along the Yser, the Germans suffer under bombardment both from Entente guns and warships off shore, as they are finding that shifting sands and the high level of ground water makes it impossible to dig trenches of any depth.  Further, the French 42nd Division arrives today to reinforce the Belgians defending Nieuport.

- Generals Foch and d'Urbal have planned a French counter-offensive for today, with the orders having gone out late last night, in line with Foch's continuing interpretation of the battle as one of maneouvre in which an Entente advance can win a decisive victory.  The orders call for the French 42nd Division to advance along the coast, the French marines at Dixmude to move on Thourout, and the French IX Corps, still in the process of moving through Ypres to the front, to attack northeast from along the line Zonnebeke-Becelaere in the direction of Passchendaele and Roulers.  Foch also sent messages to the Belgian and British commanders, asking for their assistance in the operation.  The Belgians are only barely holding on, and are in no shape to attack anyone.  The message to the British reaches Sir John French and Douglas Haig only at 2 am, for an attack scheduled to begin at 9am.  Both object that British co-operation at such a late stage is a practical impossibility.  Furthermore, the advance of IX Corps would require it to pass through the lines of the British 2nd Division of I Corps, which would be a difficult operation even with sufficient planning.  In the event, the proposed attack comes to naught.  17th Division, lead element of IX Corps, is held up on the roads by streams of refugees, and do not reach the front until the afternoon.  General Dubois of IX Corps decides that given the circumstances it would be better to reinforce the British front instead of trying to pass through and attack today.  The attempt at an offensive is postponed until tomorrow.

- On the British line, 1st and 2nd Divisions of I Corps and 7th Division of IV Corps are heavily engaged again today.  At dawn, a force of five battalions of 1st Division, drawn from three brigades and the Corps' reserve, launch a counterattack against Kortekeer, the capture of which was the one success the Germans achieved yesterday.  The defenders appear to be taken by surprise, and by noon all of the ground lost has been regained.  Over five hundred prisoners are taken, and fifty-four Cameron Highlanders, made prisoner yesterday, are released.  The most stubborn resistance comes from a single German sniper in a windmill - the threat is not removed until the windmill is burnt to the ground with the sniper still in it.  A German counterattack at 5pm is easily driven off.

On 1st Division's right, a major effort is made starting at 8am by elements of the German XXIII Reserve Corps to seize Langemarck.  The British trench had been constructed only the night before, and the portions of two battalions holding them were significantly outnumbered.  Despite this, the German advance is greeted with murderous machine gun and rifle fire.  For several hours the Germans come on, only to be mowed down by the British.  By 1pm the Germans finally withdraw, only to be shelled heavily by British artillery as they depart the field.  1st Division casualties today are 1344; German losses were significantly higher.

At 530pm a major effort is mounted by XXVI Reserve Corps against 2nd Division.  Some Germans reach within twenty-five yards of the British trenches, but the German formations, denser than those of yesterday, are badly mauled, the fields in front of the British line soon covered with German dead.  This evening, it is decided that the French 17th Division will relieve the British 2nd Division, and the former has taken over the lines of the latter by 11pm, 2nd Division reforming between their old line and Ypres.

7th Division spends most of the day under a heavy German artillery bombardment, which only lifts when infantry attacks are sent in.  In a few places the Germans are able to penetrate between defensive positions, only to be driven back by the timely deployment of reserve battalions.

- In contrast to the situation to the north, the British II Corps has an uneventful day.  The German VII Corps opposite had not detected the withdrawal overnight of II Corps to a new defensive position, and so this morning shell the now abandoned trenches before German units advance.  Expecting a sharp fight, they discover instead deserted defenses.  The initial response of the German soldiers is, naturally enough, relief at not having to fight for the positions, but the mode is rapidly spoiled by British artillery.  As II Corps was withdrawing, its artillery was precisely registering the ranges to their old trenches, and so once the Germans took them the British pours very accurate artillery fire on them, inflicting significant casualties.  The day is wasted for the Germans, and VII Corps does not reach the new British defensive line by nightfall.

- Today Field Marshal French and General Smith-Dorrien meets with the commander of the Lahore Division of the Indian Corps, the latter having detrained at Hazebrouck on the 20th.  For now, the Indians will be held in reserve behind the lines of II and III Corps, to be used only in emergencies.

- To date the German offensive, and in particular the attacks of the reserve corps over the past two days, have failed to achieve their objectives.  It is true that local gains have been achieved - there is III Reserve Corps bridgehead on the Yser, the seizure of the high ground northeast of Ypres, and the forced retreat of the British II Corps.  However, a decisive breaking of the Entente line, the likes of which would justify the commitment of the four inexperienced reserve corps and the horrendous losses they have suffered, has not occurred.  Falkenhayn is not pleased with the results of the past few days, and warns the commanders of 4th and 6th Armies that their operations will be reviewed if greater success is not achieved soon.

The commanders of both armies - Duke Albrecht of 4th Army and Prince Rupprecht of 6th Army - owe their appointment to their place as hereditary rulers of German states.  Real power rested with their chiefs of staff, and they know that success in Flanders will reflect as much on them as their nominal superiors.  Both take Falkenhayn's warning to heart, and seek to recast their operations.  Major-General Kraft von Delmensingen of 6th Army concludes that the efforts of his army have been spread out to far, and it would be better to focus their strength on particular points.  Given the role of 4th Army, it is logical for 6th Army to concentrate the front they hold immediately south of their neighbour, and after discussions with the General Staff it is agreed that the focal point of 6th Army's future attacks will lay between La Bassée and the Ypres-Menin road.  Major-General Emil Ilse of 4th Army, meanwhile, is appalled by the losses suffered by the four reserve corps - the ranks of experienced officers in the corps, already thin, have been decimated over the past two days.  Moreover, he believes the key to the enemy line is Dixmude, the capture of which would outflank both the Belgians along the Yser River and the French and British lines around Ypres, and a major effort against the town is planned for tomorrow.

- The French defenders at Arras are rescued today by the timely arrival of six battalions of Senegalese soldiers, which allow them to hold off the Germans.  The Kaiser departs, once again disappointed.

- Today the large units of the Canadian Contingent finish disembarking at Plymouth, and make their way to a large encampment on Salisbury Plain where they will spend several months training.  Even as they begin, recruiting continues in Canada for a second contingent of volunteers.

September 26th, 1914

- Though fighting continues south of Péronne, Rupprecht decides to use his II Bavarian Corps to outflank the French line from the north.  The Bavarians, having entrained at Metz on the 18th and marched from the railhead at Valenciennes, seize Bapaume today, but collide with the French XX Corps moving in the opposite direction, and heavy fighting ensues.

Falkenhayn has also ordered attacks to be undertaken along the Aisne River to pin the Entente armies there and prevent the further movement of units north.  Launched primarily by 7th Army, the attacks fail to make significant progress while suffering heavy casualties, especially in fighting with the British Expeditionary Force, and have no substantial impact on Joffre's redeployments.

- Winston Churchill today visits the headquarters of the British Expeditionary, and while there the First Lord of Admiralty discuss future operations with Sir John French.  Churchill assures the Field Marshal that should the BEF be redeployed to Flanders and Belgium, it would be supported by the Royal Navy via the Channel.  This assurance calms French's fears, and he now agrees that the BEF should be moved north.

- West of Verdun, the offensive of General Mudra's XVI Corps comes to a halt, having advanced approximately eight kilometres along a twenty kilometre stretch of the front over the past week.  The Germans have captured the main town of the region - Varennes-en-Argonne - and more importantly have seized the heights at Vauqois.  From this position artillery observers are able to keep watch on the Verdun to Paris railway line, and guns in the rear are now close enough to hit a portion of the tracks.  Once observers have pinpointed the coordinates, it becomes possible for German artillery to hit trains attempting to pass to Verdun.  This limits train movement to night, and only when the track has been repaired after prior bombardments.  This effectively severs the last rail line to Verdun - though it can be reached by road from Bar-le-Duc, it strains the supply situation at the most important French fortifications on the Western Front.

- The Lahore Division of Indian Expeditionary Force A arrive in Marseilles today, having sailed from India via the Arabian Sea and the Suez Canal.  IEF A also includes a second division - the Meerkut Division - and a cavalry brigade, which are scheduled to arrive in France in several weeks, their delay resulting from the presence of the German light cruisers Emden and Königsberg in the Indian Ocean.  Each division consists of three infantry brigades, which in turn contain one British and three Indian battalions.  These units are drawn from the peacetime Indian Army, and are being deployed to France to serve with the British Expeditionary Force.

Indian soldiers parade in Marseilles, September 26th, 1914.

- At Duala in German Kamerun, the small German garrison abandons the city and retreats inland.  They well understand that holding the port in the face of British naval power is impossible, but they do not intend to retreat far, in order to continue to pose a threat to the anticipated British occupation of Duala and force the British to continue to maintain a significant presence to hold it.

- Along the Orange River on the southern border of German South-West Africa, an advance guard of Force A has crossed the river at Sandfontein, consisting of three hundred men and two artillery pieces.  Though the South African government has learned that the main German force is not opposing the recent landing at Lüderitz but rather moving on the Orange River, but has not informed General Henry Lukin, commander of Force A.  Thus his advance guard is unsupported, and the Germans today sweep down and, having encircled the South Africans, capture the entire force after a brief firefight.

The defeat reflects the hasty improvisations necessary to put the three forces into the field at an early date, and the lack of adequate communications between them.  This is overshadowed, however, by Lukin's insistence that Force B ought to have advanced simultaneously, in order to divide the German defenders.  General Maritz of Force B insists that his force is still unready to move, being insufficiently trained.  Such disobedience does not reflect well on his loyalty to the South African government, despite the collapse on the 15th of the first acts of insubordination.  Defense Minister Smuts now faces the prospect of dealing with a recalcitrant general with a body of soldiers under his command.

- The German East Asiatic Squadron today arrives at the island of Nuku Hiva in the French Marquesas Islands.  With its lack of defenders and isolated position, Admiral Spee has his ships stop to coal and take on fresh provisions.