October 19th, 1915

- Today Conrad achieves one of the great objectives of the war, one that however has nothing to do with the battlefield; instead it is marriage to his longtime mistress, Gina von Reininghaus.  They first met in 1907, when Conrad had become hopelessly smitten with Gina, who was less than half his age.  That Gina was already married with six children was but a mere inconvenience to Conrad, and he urged her to divorce her husband even as the two became lovers.  Conrad believed that if were victorious in war, his prestige and prominence would sweep aside all obstacles to making Gina his wife.  The current war, of course, has seen an unending succession of debacles, exposing his abysmal strategic judgement and the incompetence of the Austro-Hungarian army - the only victories he has achieved have occurred either due to Italian ineptitude (Cadorna is one of the few who legitimately rivals the Austro-Hungarian chief of staff in stubborness and detachment from the realities of war) or through German leadership.  What he has been unable to accomplish through battlefield glory has been accomplished through legal trickery: having divorced her husband, she has converted to Protestantism through a sham adoption by a sympathetic general, allowing her to skirt the Catholic Church's restrictions on divorce and remarriage.  Today's union legitimizes a relationship that Conrad and Gina had carried on openly and become the subject of mockery in Viennese social circles.  Unfortunately for the suffering Austro-Hungarian army, marital bliss does not confer martial ability on Conrad.

- In Serbia, on the western flank of the German XXII Reserve Corps the advance of 26th Division brings it into contact with the Austro-Hungarian 53rd Division of XIX Corps, held short of Obrenovac since its initial crossing of the Save River.  The arriving Germans turn the flank of the Serbian defenders, who pull back and allow the trapped Austro-Hungarians to finally break out.  To the east, the German 105th Division of IV Reserve Corps breaks through Serbian positions in the hills east of Lucić, suffering heavy casualties to overcome the fierce enemy resistance.  Meanwhile, however, the Germans score a coup when 232rd Reserve Regiment of 107th Division captures a Serbian patrol and an engineer detachment with orders to destroy the railway bridge over the Mlava River to the south.  Intelligence gleaned from the prisoners allow the Germans to capture the bridge intact, which will aid further advances.  To the south, while the Bulgarian 1st Army continues to be held up in the mountain passes east of Niš, to the south the Bulgarian 2nd Army has made much more progress, and today reaches the Vardar River at Veleš and cuts the railway linking Niš and Salonika.

- Both Russia and Italy formally declare war on Bulgaria today.

- The Serbian government has been pressuring General Sarrail to move his forces north from Salonika and concentrate them at Niš, to oppose the Bulgarians attacking from the east.  Sarrail knows that such a movement is impossible with the forces at his disposal, but recognizes that a gesture (beyond the deployment at the Strumica rail station) is needed.  As a result, he orders an infantry regiment and artillery battery, newly arrived at Salonika and from the French 57th Division, to move north to Krivolak, on the Salonika-Skopje railway thirty kilometres north of the Strumica rail station and south of Veleš.

The French advance from Salonika, October 1915.

- The Italian preliminary artillery bombardment along the lower Isonzo River is joined today by Italian aircraft, which this morning strike the Austro-Hungarian airbase at Aisovizza and begin airstrikes on marching columns and railway stations.  These raids are largely unopposed, as the Austro-Hungarian aircraft on the Italian Front are primarily designed for reconnaissance, not aerial combat.

- The government of Japan adheres to the Pact of London today, which had originally been signed on September 5th, 1914 by Russia, France, and Britain and by which they had pledged not to sign a separate peace with Germany.  Japan's agreement to remain in the war until the end does not, however, signal an expansion of the Japanese contribution to the war effort of the Entente.  Instead, the Japanese government hopes that adhering to the pact will secure it a seat at the peace conference at the end of the war and allow Japanese negotiators to secure the permanent transfer of captured German colonies in Asia and the Pacific to Japan.

May 7th, 1915

- This morning the passenger liner Lusitania approaches the Irish coast en route to Liverpool, carrying 1265 passengers and 700 crew.  Built in 1907, on completion Lusitania and its two sister ships had been the largest and fastest ocean liners in the world; though in size they were surpassed by Titanic and Olympic, they remain the fastest, capable of speeds up to twenty-five knots.  The construction of Lusitania had been subsidized by the Admiralty to allow for a wartime transformation into an armed merchant cruiser, but though this option has been briefly considered it was decided to leave Lusitania in passenger service.  Indeed, by 1915 it is the only large liner still carrying passengers across the Atlantic.

The Cunard passenger liner Lusitania.

When Lusitania entered British waters it had entered an active warzone.  Indeed, on the day it had sailed from New York, the following advertisement had appeared in the American press:

Travelers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the war zone includes waters adjacent to the British Isles; that in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain or any of her allies are liable to destruction in those waters and that travelers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.

The notice had been published by German embassy officials in the United States, prompted by their belief that Lusitania was carrying munitions as well as passengers to Britain, which made the liner a legitimate target in light of the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.  With respect to Lusitania's current voyage, they are correct: among its cargo are 1248 cases of 3-inch artillery shells and 4927 boxes of rifle ammunition.  In attempting to dissuade passengers from embarking on Lusitania, the advertisement hopes to prevent American lives being lost should it be sunk, knowing full well the outrage that would likely ensue should American die at the hands of a German submarine.

That is, however, exactly what occurs.  U-20 is also off the south Irish coast today, and at 120pm sights  a plume of smoke on the horizon.  Submerging, its captain watches as a giant steamship comes into view, and sets a course that will intercept the liner ten miles from shore near Kinsale.  Aboard U-20 is a civilian merchant marine advisor to assist in the identification of potential targets.  Peering through the periscope, the advisor concludes that it is either Lusitania or Mauritania before them, and based on the the description of them in copies of Jane's Fighting Ships and Brassey's Naval Annual he has with him concludes that the ship is an armed merchant liner used for ferrying soldiers.  The captain of U-20 decides that this is a legitimate military target under unrestricted submarine warfare, and at 210pm fires a single torpedo from a range of 800 yards.  The torpedo runs true, striking Lusitania just aft of the bridge, and its detonation is shortly followed by another explosiion, the origins of which remain a mystery to this day.

The liner immediately begins to list to starboard, and within minutes it becomes impossible to lower lifeboats, those on the starboard side swinging away from the ship while those on the port side crash and break up against the hull.  After a mere eighteen minutes Lusitania sinks below the waves, and only six of its forty-eight lifeboats are afloat.  Hundreds struggle in the water, and for many rescue will not come in time.  First on the scene is the old armoured cruiser Juno, but just as it is about to commence rescue operations the Admiralty, recalling the fate of the 'live bait' squadron when they stopped to help a torpedoed warship, orders it to return to port.  It will be several more hours before fishing trawlers arrive to begin plucking the living and the dead out of the water.  In total 1201 passengers and crew perish in the sinking of Lusitania, a number which includes 94 children and 35 infants.  Indeed, among the first of the dead brought ashore are children and infants, and photographs of their bodies, circulated in newspapers ostensibly to allow relatives to identify them, provoke sharp outrage in Britain and elsewhere.  This is precisely the disaster that Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg had warned about just yesterday: mass casualties resulting from the sinking of a passenger ship.  Perhaps most crucially among the dead are 128 Americans, and the question now arises as to the response of President Woodrow Wilson.

- For the past four days artillery of the French 10th Army has been pounding the German line between Arras and Lens, in preparation for the offensive that was scheduled to begin today.  However, rain and poor visibility forces a postponement of the assault for two days, during which the artillery bombardment will continue.  The British also postpone their supporting attack to the north.

- As the Russian army had retreated through Courland over the past week, the navy had insisted that the naval port of Libau and its fortifications be held.  The army has disagreed, and in the ensuing confusion one set of defenders evacuated Libau, destroying its telegraph link, while another set moved in to defend the port.  Taking advantage of the mess, the German 3rd Cavalry Brigade, aided by several infantry battalions, is able to capture Libau today without meeting serious resistance.  The 1500-man Russian garrison surrenders, and the coastal guns 'protecting' the port turn out to be dummies.

- The German 11th Army continues its advance eastward, with 119th Division reaching Rymanow securing a crossing of the Wislok River at Besko.  On the Russian side, Grand Duke Nicholas meets with Generals Ivanov and Alexeyev in a railway car at Cholm.  A suggestion by Ivanov's chief of staff to pull 3rd Army back across the San River is rejected outright, and instead only minor withdrawals are to be permitted.  Two divisions - 13th Siberian and 63rd - are dispatched to reinforce 3rd Army, and XXI Corps is to go into reserve near Sanok, and just before midnight General Dimitriev issues orders for it to prepare a counterattack in the direction of Besko and Rymanow, in an effort to throw the German advance off-balance.

Meanwhile, south of Dukla most of the infantry of the Russian 48th Division, which has taken to the woods to avoid the enemy, are taken prisoner by the Austro-Hungarians, though smaller bands will remain for some time.

- This morning the British 42nd Division's 127th Brigade comes ashore, which General Hamilton orders to join a resumption of the offensive towards Krithia.  This attempt fails to make progress, but a second mass attack is ordered at 430pm.  This too gets nowhere; indeed, so heavy is the Ottoman fire that most infantry go to ground almost immediately after leaving their trenches, ironically ensuring that British casualties today, at eight hundred, are comparatively light.

- Today the Japanese ambassador presents a revised version of the Twenty-One Demands of January 18th, 1915, to the Chinese government.  The new demands are milder in tone than the original, and in particular group five, comprising the most aggressive points, has been dropped entirely.  In part this is due to diplomatic pressure from the British, who do not wish to see Japan expanding its influence too greatly in China, to the detriment of Britain and the other European powers.  However, the 'revised' Twenty-One Demands in practice embody the minimum deemed necessary by the Japanese cabinet, and by giving the appearance of comprising by reducing their original demands they make it more difficult for the Chinese to reject the rest.

January 18th, 1915

- Japan had entered the First World War on the side of the Entente not because it was threatened by Germany, but rather to secure its own limited objectives in East Asia and the Pacific.  Indeed, the amount of time and effort it would take the rest of the Entente to defeat Germany in Europe was of no particular concern to Japan, provided that Germany was defeated eventually.  Thus Japan's focus was always limited to its immediate backyard, and by the end of 1914 had secured its immediate territorial objectives through the seizure of Tsingtao and the German islands of the north Pacific.  With this accomplished, the focus of the Japanese government turned to China, still a neutral state but one in which Japan had long sought to secure economic and political hegemony.  China was seen as an essential source of raw materials and a market for exports, and a dominant Japanese interest was also viewed as crucial to the security of the nascent Japanese Empire.  The European colonial powers, however, had also long been interested in China, and concessions to Britain, France, and Russia threaten to crowd out Japan, while the 'Open Door' policy of the United States is equally unpalatable.  The ongoing war, however, has opened an opportunity to the Japanese government to expand its influence in China without meeting the opposition of Britain, France, and Russia, given their continued desire for Japanese assistance.

Thus today the Japanese ambassador presents to the Chinese government what will become known as the Twenty-One Demands, listing the concessions expected of the Chinese.  The Demands were organized into five groups:

1. Japan is to be given the right to settle the future of Tsingtao (in practice, this means Japan will be able to take the base for itself).
2. The Japanese lease of Kwantung is to be extended for ninety-nine years, consolidating Japan's hold on southern Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia.
3. Japan will be granted joint ownership of the Hanyehping iron and coal company, a key source of raw materials whose exploitation by Japan would have the additional benefit of retarding Chinese industrialization.
4. China will not give or lease any harbour opposite the Japanese colony of Taiwan.
5. Explicitly labelled as a series of 'wishes', not 'demands', the fifth group cover more general issues, such as China accepting Japanese military and political advisers and that Japanese citizens can own land in China, which would effectively give Japan indirect control over those parts of China over which it does not already have direct control.

August 25th, 1914

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

August 23rd, 1914

- The French 5th Army fights a desperate battle for survival, as crises mount by the hour.  The roads were choked with Belgian refugees, making rapid redeployment of units impossible.  At noon news arrived that the Belgians were evacuating Namur, which was to fall to the Germans later in the day.  The German 2nd Army launches a series of ferocious attacks which push elements of 5th Army southwards, while during the day the full force of the German 3rd Army is felt, as it seizes river crossings on the Meuse and directly threatens 5th Army's right flank.  Bits of news arriving by telegram of action elsewhere on the frontiers suggest the Germans are gaining all along the line, leaving him without any support.  He sees his worst nightmares coming true before his eyes - 5th Army trapped and annihilated between the two German armies, leaving France completely exposed to the German invasion of the north.  Lanrezac feels that the survival of 5th Army is essential to the survival of France itself.  At 930pm, Lanrezac informs Joffre that he has given the order to retreat.

As bad as the days events have been for 5th Army, they could have gone much worse.  General Bülow of the German 2nd Army had instructed General Hausen of 3rd Army to attack directly westwards across the Meuse, in support of his own push from the north.  Hausen complied with Bülow's order, instead of with a directive from OHL to move southwest towards Givet.  Had 3rd Army attempted OHL's manoeuvre instead, they would have been able to advance into the French 5th Army's rear, cutting its line of retreat and forcing its destruction.  By attacking frontally, Lanrezac's army is able to escape.

- When the commanders of the 3rd and 4th Armies report this morning on the devastating results of the prior day's fighting, Joffre at first cannot believe it.  So much has been invested in Plan XVII, in the notion that French infantry with sufficient elan can sweep all before them, that he can hardly comprehend that the attacks have failed.  Joffre orders both armies to resume the offensive.  As both armies struggle to resume the attack, German counter-attacks worsen the situation.  Just after noon, V Corps of 3rd Army is driven back eight miles, and to avoid envelopment the rest of 3rd Army retires the same distance.  To the north, the battered Colonial Corps of 4th Army withdraws from Neufchâteau at 5am, uncovering the flank of XII Corps which is also forced to retreat.  By the end of the day, all but two corps of 3rd and 4th armies have been driven back to the line from which they had started their offensive.

- The only decent news for the French comes from Lorraine where, despite its mauling, the French 2nd Army has managed to extricate itself and form a strong defensive line west of the Meurthe River, its northern flank anchored at Nancy and its southern linked to 1st Army.

- This evening, as the terrible news from along the front accumulates, Joffre struggles to understand the magnitude of what has transpired.  In a telegram to the War Minister, he suggests that he has been only 'momentarily checked' and that the offensive will be resumed.  The reality is that the French army has been defeated.  All of its pre-war planning and training, its emphasis on morale and infantry assaults, its unyielding faith in elan and the offensive, has been for nought.  In four days fighting, from Rupprecht's counterattack on the 20th to Lanrezac's order to retreat this evening, Plan XVII has disastrously miscarried.  Over those four days, the French army has suffered more than 140 000 casualties, and is now in retreat.

- As the French army endures a series of defeats, the British Expeditionary Force sees its first fighting of the campaign.  Acceding to Lanrezac's request, the BEF holds the line of the Mons Canal.  They are significantly outnumbered - the German 1st Army bearing down on them has four corps and three cavalry divisions, to the BEF's two corps.  Further, Smith-Dorrien's II Corps, on the left of the line, bears the brunt of the fighting, while Haig's I Corps on the right is not attacked at all.  Balancing the numbers are the quality of the British soldiers.  While the BEF is pitifully small compared to the armies of the Continental powers, it is also the only army composed of long-service regulars, instead of conscripts.  These are men who have made soldiering their profession - they train constantly, with a particular emphasis on rapid and accurate rifle fire.  Further, experience in the Boer War taught the British army the crucial importance of entrenchment and rifle accuracy.  Together this means the BEF is able to punch above its weight despite being heavily outnumbered.

The battle opens at 9am when German artillery begin firing on the British entrenchments south of the canal, followed shortly by infantry attacks.  Kluck's orders to maintain contact with 2nd Army to the east means he is unable to stretch his army westward to find and turn the BEF's flank.  As a result, 1st Army spends the day throwing itself at the British in frontal attacks.  Further, the attacks come in piecemail - 1st Army is still in marching formation, strung out along the Belgian road network, and is unable to concentrate when they stumble across the British.  Two corps of 1st Army never even engage the enemy today.  The German infantry who do enter the battle find themselves under intense rifle fire of such accuracy and frequency that some regiments report being halted by machine-gun fire instead.  By afternoon sections of the British line are being painfully forced back from the canal line, but the BEF is able to execute an orderly withdrawal to a second line of prepared entrenchments.  The Germans, for their part, are too exhausted to give chase.

German infantry advance towards Mons in the dense formations that made
them such easy targets for the British regulars, Aug. 23rd, 1914.

As evening falls, the soldiers of the BEF take satisfaction in having blunted a major German attack.  Though the British have suffered 1600 casualties, German casualties have been approximately 5000.  Further, a day has been lost for 1st Army, which has the furthest to travel.  Sir John French and his staff plan for a second day of fighting at Mons, continuing to cover the left flank of the French army.

- At 4am, the train carrying Ludendorff stops at Hanover station, where Hindenburg boards.  It is the first time the two men have met.  On the train Ludendorff explains the orders he has already issued, and Hindenburg approves, setting the pattern of the relationship between the two men.  Later today they arrive at 8th Army headquarters in East Prussia.  Meanwhile, I Corps completes its entrainment, an operation that has required precise coordination between five different railway stations.  The corps now begins its movement to the south to face the Russian 2nd Army.

- Russian operations in East Prussia reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the strategic situation.  Zhilinskii at North-West Front, as well as both Rennenkampf (1st Army) and Samsonov (2nd Army) believe that the Germans have been beaten, and are withdrawing behind the Vistula River.  Thus Zhilinskii's top priority is to hurry the advance of 2nd Army, so it can cut off the German 8th Army before it can extract itself from East Prussia.  To achieve this, one corps of 2nd Army is left in Poland to cover the western flank, and a second corps is detailed to the Masurian Lakes to cover the eastern flank.  This reduces the strength of 2nd Army to three corps as its advance continues.

Meanwhile, Rennenkampf is in no hurry to advance westwards.  Indeed, he fears that a rapid advance to allow 1st Army to catch up to the Germans would result in another German defeat that hastens their withdrawal from East Prussia before 2nd Army can close the trap.  Thus, though 1st Army begins to move today, its progress is extremely slow, and its cavalry is completely unable to discern that the German 8th Army is no longer in front of them - indeed, there is only a single German cavalry division left.  Moreover, Rennenkampf directs 1st Army northwestward towards the major German fortress of Königsberg in order to lay siege and potentially trap a portion of the German 8th Army he believes may have retreated there.  This movement draws 1st Army even further away from 2nd Army, leaving the latter increasingly exposed.

- The first major encounter on the Galician frontier begins today when the Russian 4th Army, advancing south, runs into the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army, moving north, in the Battle of Kraśnik.  In the pitched battle near the San River just inside Russian territory, it is the Austro-Hungarians who draw first blood.  Russian cavalry had completely failed to find the approaching enemy, and the corps of 4th Army were strung out and unable to provide mutual assistance.  One Russian corps is badly mauled, one of its divisions losing half its strength.  The Russians, however, do not view the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army as part of an invasion of Russian Poland, but rather the northern flank of the expected Austro-Hungarian concentration around Lemberg.  Pre-war expectations thus sow confusion among the Russian command structure.  In particular, there is no awareness that a second Austro-Hungarian army - 4th - is also advancing north on 1st Army's eastern flank.

- Their ultimatum having expired, Japan declares war on Germany. Japan feels no special attachment to the cause of the Entente - their war aims are limited to the Pacific, and indeed would have been equally pleased if Germany had acceded to Japanese demands peacefully.  As it is, Japan begins preparations for a campaign against Tsingtao.

August 15th, 1914

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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