November 28th, 1915

- Falkenhayn meets today with German industrialist Walther Rathenau, former head of the Kriegsrohstoffabteilung (War Materials Section), and the latter argues that the war can only be won through a decisive victory on the Western Front, where Germany's most important enemies are to be found.  Moreover, Rathenau believes that an offensive there can succeed, given what he sees as the deficient national character of the French.  In both sentiments Rathenau's views are in general accord with those of Falkenhayn - the German chief of staff is increasingly convinced that a major offensive should be undertaken on the Western Front in 1916, and that in targeting the French the superior morale and resolve of the German soldier, as compared to his French counterpart, will be of vital importance.

- With the Serbian campaign having been brought to a successful conclusion, Mackensen is once again the man of the hour.  Yesterday, Kaiser Wilhelm II telegrammed Mackensen with his congratulations and appointed him proprietary colonel of 129th (Third West Prussian) Infantry Regiment, an honour usually reserved for members of the royal family.  Today, Emperor Franz Joseph conveyed his deep personal gratitude to the German field marshal for his leadership.

- Today the Serbian government, having crossed northern Albania, reaches the city of Scutari, near the Adriatic coast.

- Along the Isonzo River Italian forces once again launch major attacks on Austro-Hungarian positions west of Görz and on either flank of Mt. San Michele, which achieve no more success than the attacks of prior days.  The constant assaults in terrible weather are wearing on the survivors; Austro-Hungarian defenders note an increased willingness of Italian infantry to surrender when counterattacked.  This only exasperates Cadorna's fear of the breakdown of discipline, and today he issues a circular to the Italian army listing four measures to be used at the first sign of cowardice or indiscipline by Italian infantry in battle, which culminate in firing artillery on 'recalcitrant' soldiers.  These measures are also not mere threats - when a number of soldiers from the Pistoia Brigade attempt to surrender in the face of a harsh Austro-Hungarian counterattack today, other Italian soldiers are ordered to shoot them.

November 24th, 1915

- Elements of the German IV Reserve Corps and the Bulgarian 9th Division capture the city of Priština today, and though they take a large number of prisoners, the Serbian army itself is already gone, moving towards Prizren en route to the Albanian coast. Moreover, Mackensen realizes that a large-scale pursuit was simply no longer possible.  The terrible conditions inhibited supply and had already forced some formations to go on half rations, while others found their way blocked by a combination of weather and terrain: the Austro-Hungarian 10th Mountain Brigade finds its way blocked by a 4921-foot mountain with the only track around completely iced over, and thirty men had already frozen to death.  Reluctantly, Mackensen declares an end to the Serbian campaign today.  Bulgarian forces in the area will follow the Serbs towards Prizren, but this effort is half-hearted.

The Germans under Mackensen and Seeckt have accomplished in less than two months what the Austro-Hungarians failed to do in three attempts last year under General Potiorek.  Serbia has been occupied at a cost of approximately 67 000 casualties, a mere pittance compared to the losses endured to gain a mile or two on the Western Front.  Moreover, a solid land link had been opened with the Ottoman Empire, allowing the movement of much-needed supplies in particular to the latter.  The only blemish to the effort has been the escape of the Serbian army itself.  Though barely a viable military force at this point, it still exists, and once the current trial of reaching the Adriatic Sea has past it may yet have the opportunity to recover and return to the fight.

- The Italian 3rd Army continues its efforts to capture Mt. San Michele today, and manages to seize a stretch of the enemy line on the northern slope, while to the south there is back and forth fighting near St. Martino that ultimately results in no ground gained by either side.

- Falkenhayn meets today with Enver Pasha in the Austro-Hungarian city of Orsova, where the Ottoman minister of war offers to provide forces to aid a German offensive either in France or Russia.  While Falkenhayn is impressed with Enver's generosity, he declines the suggestion, believing that the Ottoman army would not be suited to operations in the climate of northern and central Europe.  Falkenhayn's decision may also have been influenced by any Ottoman detachment needing to pass through Bulgaria to reach the Western or Eastern Fronts, a movement that would be problematic at best considering the longstanding enmity between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire - as recently as three years ago the two countries had been at war.

November 9th, 1915

- Though the seizure of Kraljevo on the 6th had raised hopes that the Serbian army could be enveloped, once more they have slipped the noose.  This time, blame can be apportioned between the Bulgarians and Austro-Hungarians - the Bulgarian 1st Army had advanced slowly west from Niš, allowing the Serbs before them to disengage and retreat to the southwest, while General Kövess had permitted most of his army two days of rest after the fall of Kraljevo.  The result is a blistering telegram from Mackensen to Kövess, asking how he had misunderstood the necessity for haste.

November 6th, 1915

- Falkenhayn and Conrad meet at Pless today to discuss the campaign in Serbia.  From the perspective of the German chief of Staff, the capture of Kragujevać and Niš, combined with the defeat of the Serbian army, accomplished the overall objective of the offensive of opening a land route to the Ottoman Empire.  As such, Falkenhayn wishes to wind down operations in the Balkans, shifting forces from this theatre to the Western Front.  Conrad, as usual, has a different opinion: he feels the Entente landing at Salonika needs to be eliminated, and also favours continuing operations to finish off the remnants of the Serbian army and deal with Montenegro.

After a full day of discussion, with the usual acrimony between the two chiefs of staff, it is agreed to continue the campaign for the time being, but that German forces would be withdraw as desired by Falkenhayn.  In particular, as the pursuit of the Serbs entered the mountains, the German chief of staff wants to withdraw those German divisions not suited to warfare in such conditions.  In practice this means a drawdown of Mackensen's forces to four or five divisions, including the German Alpine Corps, which reaches Kragujevać en route to the front.  Further, Serbia was to be occupied by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, with the Morava River separating the two zones of occupation.  Finally, the fate of Montenegro and Albania is deferred to a later date.

Mackensen, for his part, still hopes to trap the bulk of the Serbian army.  To accomplish this he issues orders today for Gallwitz's 11th Army to advance on Kruševac while the Bulgarian 1st Army pushes west from Niš.  The key role would be played by the Austro-Hungarian VIII and the German XXII Reserve Corps of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army, with the former crossing the West Morava River and marching to Brus, and the latter seizing Kraljevo at the confluence of the West Morava and Ibar Rivers.  If this succeeds, they will cut the line of retreat of the Serbian army falling back from the northeast.

The next phase of the offensive gets off to a good start when the German 43rd Reserve Division of XXII Reserve Corps assaults Kraljevo today.  Crucially, 202nd Reserve Regiment manages to capture the bridge over the West Morava River at the northern edge of Kraljevo before the Serbs can completely destroy it.  Using wooden planks, they are able to patch up the bridge, allowing 201st Reserve Regiment to cross and fight into the city itself.  When the railway station is captured, the municipal government surrenders the city.  Again, because of the disruption of the Serbian rail network, the Germans capture trains loaded with artillery pieces and munitions that had nowhere to go.  The seizure of the city also puts the German forces at the northern end of the Ibar River valley, a key retreat route for the Serbian army.

German soldiers marching through the Serbian town of Paracin, November 1915.

- Cadorna and the senior officers of the Italian army have long seen the civilian soldiers under their command as soft and poorly-equipped psychologically for the rigours of modern warfare.  Morale is indeed a problem within the Italian army, though this is primarily due to high casualties, supply shortages, organizational chaos, and obvious command incompetence.  Unrest is now beginning to manifest itself in actions - in Aosta a number of alpine troops riot attack a barracks, open two military prisons, and prevent trains from leaving for the front.

October 28th, 1915

- By this evening the Austro-Hungarian VIII and German III Corps are within fifteen miles of Kragujevać, while a break in the weather has allowed for renewed aerial reconnaissance that reveals to Mackensen and Seeckt the disposition of the Serbian forces opposing his armies.  They issue orders for the two corps approaching Kragujevać to not only seize the city but also pin down the Serbian defenders.  Simultaneously, the German XXII Reserve and Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps to the west would push south and seize the bridges over the West Morava River, while to the east the German IV Reserve and X Corps would advance south along the Morava River, where they would link up with the Bulgarian 1st Army advancing from the east.  The Bulgarian 2nd Army, meanwhile is to contain the Entente forces at Salonika and cover the southern exits from the Morava River valley.  If executed successfully, the operation will trap the majority of the Serbian 1st and 3rd Armies between the Morava and West Morava Rivers, leading to their destruction.

- After three days to replace losses and bring up supplies, Cadorna orders a resumption of the 3rd Battle of the Isonzo today.  As the initial plan to push forward north and south of Görz prior to an assault on the city itself has been a spectacular failure, for the second phase of the offensive Cadorna decides to forgo the flank attacks and instructs VI Corps of 2nd Army to move directly on Görz.  On either side, XIV Corps of 3rd Army (to the south) and II Corps (to the north) will capture Mt. San Michele and push east from Plava respectively.

Just north of Görz, the Italian 3rd Division launches repeated assaults against Austro-Hungarian trenches at Zagora, just south of Plava.  This position had been so devastated by artillery fire that the defenders had been instructed to fall back to the second trench line, but repeated counterattacks prevented 3rd Division from holding the old Austro-Hungarian trenches.  On the other side of Plava, 32nd Division had similarly failed to gain any ground.  Opposite Görz itself, Italian artillery unleash a heavy bombardment before the infantry goes forward early this morning.  Elements of the Italian 4th Division reach the first trench line at Oslavija, but is repulsed, while 11th Division cannot even reach the trenches opposite.  The Italian 12th Division, however, is able to take advantage of a degree of cover offered by the broken terrain they advance over, and are able to break into the Austro-Hungarian positions on the heights at Podgora this afternoon.  Several detachments of Italian infantry fight their way to the crest of the heights, from which they can see Görz in the distance.  To the sound of bugles, however, five Austro-Hungarian companies counterattack, and by evening have regained the high ground at Podgora.

The heights at Podgora, west of Görz.

To the south of Görz, Italian artillery spend the morning pounding enemy positions before XIV Corps launched a concentrated assault on Mt. San Michele this afternoon.  After hours of bitter fighting infantry from 28th and 19th Division (the latter from the adjacent X Corps) break into trenches just south of Mt. San Michele held by the Austro-Hungarian 17th Division.  Elsewhere, however, the Italian assaults break down under withering enemy artillery and machine-gun fire.

The northern wing of the Italian 2nd Army is also active today, attacking on both sides of Tolmein, and just north of Dolje Italian infantry manage to reach the enemy trench line where the inner wings of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and 14th Mountain Brigades meet.  Fierce hand-to-hand combat ensues into the night, with small groups of Austro-Hungarian soldiers rushing up from brigade and division reserves to plug the gap.

- As negotiations between the Persian government and the German ambassador continue, Prime Minister Mustaufi ul-Mamalik informs Ambassador Reuss that as Persia's most valuable provinces would likely be seized by the Russians and British if Persia entered the war on the side of Germany, his government will require a monthly subsidy of at least two million marks, plus a loan of a hundred million marks after the war and the reimbursement of all war costs.  Reuss feels that if Germany desires Persian support, they must agree to whatever terms the Persians request.

October 24th, 1915

- After a brief stop yesterday to confer with Conrad at Teschen, Falkenhayn arrives at Mackensen's headquarters at Temesvár at 945am.  After discussion it is decided that the German Alpine Corps will be assigned to the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army to relieve part of the German XXII Reserve Corps, the latter not being well equipped for mountain warfare.  Mackensen and Seeckt also brief the German chief of staff on current operations, and afterwards dine with the Kaiser and his entourage.

At the front, the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and German 11th Armies have advanced relatively unimpeded over the past two days; other than rearguard actions, Serbian forces only put up a sustained defensive effort south of Požarevac, which had covered the main road in the Morava River valley.  Revised orders from Mackensen orders the inner wings of the two armies to seize Kragujevać as quickly as possible, hoping to break the Serbian line into several pockets that could be enveloped.  The weather, however, continues to impede operations; on average, it takes German artillery two hours to move one mile.

The Serbian 1st and 3rd Armies, meanwhile, have taken up defensive positions on high ground running approximately from Larazec through Arangelovac and south of Palanka to Petrovac, hoping to block access to the Morava and Mlava River valleys.

- On the northern wing of the Italian 2nd Army, 8th Division and Alpine Group A launch repeated attacks on Austro-Hungarian positions north of Tolmein, advancing up slopes soon covered in the dead and dying.  In the late afternoon, Italian infantry finally manage to break into the enemy trenches, only to be driven from them by counterattacks by the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and 14th Mountain Brigades.

To the south, overnight the Italian 29th Division, after four earlier attempts failed, finally break into the first Austro-Hungarian trench line before Mt. San Michele just before dawn.  In an attempt to follow up this meagre success, the commander of the Italian 3rd Army commits his final reserve formation - 21st Division - to a general assault by XIV Corps designed to push past Mt. San Michele.  After an intensive artillery bombardment, eight regiments attack opposite Mt. San Michele just after 3pm, but all along the front the waves of infantry are repulsed with heavy losses.

October 13th, 1915

- At noon today British artillery commence a preliminary bombardment of a six-thousand-yard stretch of the German line north of Loos, the target of today's attack.  Most of the fire is concentrated on German trenches, machine-gun posts, and barbed wire, though 114 guns concentrate on German artillery positions identified by aerial reconnaissance over the past several days.  The lengthy preparation has also allowed the British to move up and deploy gas cylinders, which are opened at 150pm.  The wind carries the gas in the desired direction along the entire line except at the north, where the wind direction would have pushed the gas down the British trenches instead of across No Man's Land.  Ten minutes later at 2pm, whistles sound and four divisions of the British 1st Army go on to the attack.  To the north, 2nd Division of I Corps advances north of the Hohenzollern Redoubt against a trench known as Little Willie, while 46th Division of XI Corps, fresh after being redeployed from the Ypres salient, assaults the German redoubt itself.  IV Corp's other division - 12th - is to seize The Quarries to the south of the redoubt, while 1st Division of IV Corps moves against a stretch of the German line on the Lens-La Bassée road.

The British attack north of Loos, October 13th, 1915.

The gas, however, did not have a noticeable effect on the German defenders other than to warn them that an attack was imminent.  Moreover, the preliminary bombardment had not succeeded in knocking out the German artillery, which open fire on the British infantry in the open as they cross No Man's Land.  As a result, the British suffer heavy casualties before they even reach the German line.  On the northern flank, only one officer, a Lieutenant Abercrombie, and one soldier actually make it into the Little Willie trench, and when Abercrombie sends the other soldier back to ask for support, the latter is wounded and the message never arrives.  On his own, Abercrombie wages what amounts to his own private war against the Germans, putting a machine-gun post out of action with his grenades.  With no bombs remaining, Abercrombie manages to return to British lines unscathed, his success notable for its audacity but otherwise without significance on the larger battle.  To the south, 138th Brigade of 46th Division advances over ground partially sheltered from German view, and are able to break into the Hohenzollern Redoubt.  Efforts to secure Fosse Trench beyond, however, fail as the division's other brigade - 137th - fails to get into the Big Willie trench, leaving the forward elements of 138th Brigade exposed to flanking fire.  Further south, 35th Brigade of 12th Division gains a foothold in the southeast corner of The Quarries while elements of 37th Brigade seize 250 yards of Gun Trench, and both brigades are able to hold off German counterattacks.  On the other hand, the attack of 1st Division is an abysmal failure - artillery fire fails to break the German wire, and the attacking infantry, trying to work their way through the few gaps in the wire, come under withering fire and take heavy losses.

British artillery bombards the Hohenzollern  Redoubt as gas drifts towards the German lines, October 13th, 1915.

Overall the British attack has achieved certain tactical successes, capturing and holding toeholds in the German line from the Hohenzollern Redoubt to Gun Trench.  However, these positions remain precarious and further attacks will be needed simply to consolidate the British gain, to say nothing of driving beyond the German lines attacked today.  The four British divisions, meanwhile, have taken significant losses, and the commander of XI Corps decides that 46th Division suffered sufficient casualties as to necessitate its withdrawal from the line, and this evening he orders the Guard Division back to the front in its place.

- To the south near Vimy Ridge, the German Guard Corps, after a series of counterattacks, manages to retake the trenches at the Five Crossroads west of Givenchy today.  Meanwhile, meeting with Joffre today, Foch argues for a resumption of the attack, given that 'only a bound' can gain the crest of Vimy Ridge.  He argues that the attack of the 11th had broken down due to insufficient artillery support - the heavy artillery of 10th Army had fired 73 000 shells prior to the September 25th assault as compared to only 21 600 shells prior to the 11th.  Joffre, however, replies that he does not have the ammunition to give, and moreover that the most recent failure has shown that 10th Army does not have the ability to make another big push.  Joffre thus instructs Foch to halt further major assaults, only attacking to consolidate the gains won west of Vimy of Ridge over the past three weeks.

- Joffre's order to Foch effectively brings the French fall offensive to a close, given that the French commander-in-chief had halted operations in Champagne on the 7th.  The French have gained ground in both Champagne and Artois - up to four kilometres in the former and up to two kilometres in the latter.  However, the ground seized confers no great strategic advantage, and is a far cry from both Joffre's objectives and the possibilities that appeared to exist in the first days of the attack.  Especially in Champagne, the initial French attack broke through the main German defensive position, driving several kilometres in a matter of hours while inflicting heavy losses on the defenders.  The failure to follow up this success and push through the reserve German line after the 25th highlights once again that the true tactical difficulty on the Western Front is not the initial attack but the follow up; that poor communication, delays in reserve forces moving forward over broken ground, and difficulties in coordinating artillery fire in a fluid engagement all combine to impair subsequent assaults.  In both regions the French had fired almost 4.4 million light and over 800 000 thousand heavy artillery shells, but only on the first day, when they had been firing on German defences that were well-known and whose position had been precisely known, had the bombardment had a decisive effect.  In the following days, when the artillery was firing on unfamiliar, and in some cases unknown, German positions, the bombardment had been much less effective.  It points to the necessity of accurate knowledge of enemy defences and where artillery fire is needed during battle, but the delays in communicating by foot across the former No Man's Land renders this exceedingly difficult.  Overall, the small French gains in Champagne and Artois had come at the cost of just over 190 000 casualties, including 30 000 dead, 110 000 wounded, and 50 000 missing in action.

On the German side, 6th Army in Artois lost just over 50 000 while the casualties of 3rd and 5th Armies in Champagne numbered just over 80 000.  The battle had a notable impact on Falkenhayn; in the first days of the fighting, as the battle hung in the balance and French breakthrough appeared possible, he was acutely aware of how he had stripped the Western Front of reserves for his earlier campaign in Russia and the ongoing operation against Serbia.  When Lieutenant-Colonel Gerhard Tappen, OHL's operations officer, met Falkenhayn on the 27th, he found the German chief of staff 'very dejected'.  However, as the German armies have held on over the next three weeks, Falkenhayn draws different conclusions from the course of the fighting.  Despite Entente superiority in manpower and material, the achievement of operational surprise, and the reduction of German reserves, the British and French had been unable to break through the German lines.  It confirms Falkenhayn's emphasis on the importance of constructing multiple trench lines to contain enemy assaults.  More importantly, Falkenhayn concludes that if an attacking can not achieve a breakthough in such propitious circumstances, a breakthrough is not a realistic possibility given the conditions of the war on the Western Front.  This informs not only Falkenhayn's defensive outlook; instead of attempting to break through Entente lines in the future, another strategic objective will have to inform future German offensives.  Moreover, the failure of the French fall offensive serves to reinforce Falkenhayn's poor opinion of the French army, believing it to be approaching the end of its strength.  These two threads, comprising the key lessons Falkenhayn takes from the fall fighting in Champagne and Artois, will figure decisively in the course of the fighting in 1916.

- In Serbia the storm portented in yesterday's weather has engulfed the region.  It is a Kossava, an autumnal weather sytem that comes up from the southeast, bringing heavy rains and high winds.  Though the storm had been expected, its intensity takes the Germans by surprise.  On the Danube and Save Rivers waves reach six feet high and more, and parts of the islands on the rivers flood.  By the end of the day the raging torrents have destroyed or rendered unusable all of the bridges that German and Austro-Hungarian engineers built across the rivers since the offensive began.  This effectively cuts the German and Austro-Hungarian forces on the southern banks off from their supplies and heavy artillery on the northern bank.  Further, the heavy rains turn the dirt roads of the region into impassible mud.  The conditions makes a pause in the offensive to resupply and await better conditions an obvious option, and General Gallwitz of the German 11th Army argues for precisely this course of action.  Mackensen and Seeckt, however, speed is of the utmost priority to prevent the Entente forces recently landed at Salonika from moving north and reinforcing the Serbian army before it can be defeated in battle.  Moreover, despite the successes to date the bridgeheads of the two armies are still almost twenty miles apart, and creating a continuous front will put more pressure on the Serbs.

On the ground, the next objective of the German XXII Reserve Corps and the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army are the Avala Hills, but when they advance today they encounter well-developed defensive positions manned by the Serbian 1st Timok, 2nd Timok, and 1st Morava Divisions.  In the poor weather and advancing over difficult terrain, the attackers make minimal progress.  To the west, additional attacks by the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps failed to secure significant gains yesterday, and today Mackensen orders the corps to leave only enough soldiers to hold the bridgeheads and redeploy the rest east to cross the Save River at Big Zigeuner Island where it can take its intended position on the western wing of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army.  On the front of the German 3rd Army, despite Gallwitz's reservations, the German 107th Division attacks east of Požarevac, fighting its way through a Serbian defensive line at Kalidol, while X Reserve Corps seizes the high ground at Lipovac.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian government formally severs diplomatic relations with Serbia today, a prelude to the planned invasion of the country tomorrow.  General Zhekov, chief of the Bulgarian general staff, has deployed two armies - 1st and 2nd - along the country's western frontier with Serbia.  To the north, 1st Army, consisting of 6th, 8th, 9th, and 1st Divisions, is deployed east of its ultimate objective, the de facto Serbian capital at Niš.  To the south, 2nd Army, with 3rd and 7th Divisions, is push westwards into the Vardar River valley and sever the railway linking Niš and Salonika, thus preventing the rapid movement of Entente forces at the latter into Serbia.

October 11th, 1915

- Overnight the British 2nd Battalion of the Grenadier Guards assault a German trench south of the Hohenzollern Redoubt known as the Loop, and after successfully capturing the position repulse a determined German counterattack.  Subsequently the battalion endured heavy German shell fire, one of which killed the commander of 1/Grenadier Guards.  Command of the latter is temporarily assumed by Major Harold Alexander of 2nd Battalion, who will rise to the rank of Field Marshal in the next great war and retire with an earldom.

- At 2pm French artillery fire in Artois intensifies prior to the infantry advance scheduled for 415pm.  Poor visibility, however, prevents accurate targeting of German positions while providing ample warning of the impending attack - by 4pm, the German IV, Guard, and Bavarian I Corps opposite the French lines report that their trenches are about to be assaulted.  When the French infantry go over the top, the Germans opposite fire flares into the air, the signal to their artillery batteries in the rear to shell No Man's Land.  The soldiers of the French XXI, XXXIII, and XII Corps suffer heavy casualties, and only between Givenchy and a point known as the Five Crossroads south of Giesler Hill do the French gain any ground whatsoever, and even here there is no possibility of a breakthrough.  After four hours General d'Urbal orders the attacks to cease, though he intends to resume the offensive once his infantry has had a chance to rest and when the Germans are less vigilant.

- South of Belgrade a planned attack by the German XXII Reserve Corps and Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps is postponed due to delays in getting heavy artillery across the Save and Danube Rivers and into position to provide supporting fire.  In Belgrade itself, Mackensen and Seeckt make a public visit to General Kövess of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army to offer congratulations on the capture of the city.  The visit is typical of Mackensen's management of coalition warfare - he suppressese his annoyance at the dual communiques yesterday and makes a public show of amity with his Austro-Hungarian allies.  To the east, 168th Regiment captures the medieval Ottoman fortress at Semendria, while the rest of the German III Corps crosses the swollen Jezava River and fight their way into the nearby town of the same name as well as Lipe.

October 10th, 1915

- In reaction to the Bulgarian entry into the war, the Russian Black Seas Fleet bombards the Bulgarian ports of Varna and Evxinograd, encountering no opposition.

- In two days of heavy fighting the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps remains pinned on the southern shore of the Save River, and due to heavy losses 205th Landsturm Brigade has been relieved south of Boljevci by 21st Landsturm Mountain Brigade.  To the east, the German XXII Reserve Corps and the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps push out from Belgrade, the former taking the heights at Dedinje and the latter capturing the Vk. Vračar ridge.

Meanwhile General Nikola Zhekov, chief of the Bulgarian General Staff, informs Mackensen today that the offensive of his army, scheduled to begin tomorrow, will be delayed until the 14th.  There is also an entirely predictable spat between the German and Austro-Hungarian high commands today.  After Mackensen yesterday signalled that German and Austro-Hungarian forces had captured Belgrade, both had issued communiques crediting only their soldiers with the success.  Mackensen is quite annoyed at the conflicting stories published by the two high commands, and his operations staff can only explain that both sides had specific victories in the Belgrade fighting that they accomplished on their own - capturing the Konak by the Germans and the Kalemegdan by the Austro-Hungarians.

September 28th, 1915

- Near Loos the British 2nd Guards Brigade makes a second attempt to capture the ruined buildings at Puit 14 at 345pm today.  The brigade commander, Brigadier-General J. Ponsonby, had been extremely reluctant to undertake the attack, given that the first effort with greater artillery support had failed yesterday.  However, a message to Major General the Earl of Cavan, commander of the Guards Division, suggesting a postponement until tonight is not replied to by 345, and Ponsonby has no choice but to go through with the attack.  Predictably, the assault fails in the face of intense German machine-gun fire, and 2nd Guards Brigade suffers 250 casualties for no gain.  Elsewhere on the British front, 28th Division, which had formerly been the reserve of the British 2nd Army to the north, comes into the line today west of Haisnes, having been reassigned to 1st Army.  Its orders are to retake the Dump, a huge slag heap just west of Fosse 8 recaptured by the Germans yesterday.  When the attack goes in at 930am, the six battalions of 28th Division are repulsed, with two battalion commanders killed.

A German trench wrecked by British artillery fire near Loos, Sept. 28th, 1915.

Given the failure of the Guards Division yesterday and 28th Division this morning, Field Marshal French no longer has any reserves immediately available that he can commit to the battle, and he writes to Joffre requesting that the French 10th Army take over part of the British line south of Loos, to allow the British forces there to go into reserve.  If this cannot be done, Sir John French suggests that the British may have to abandon the offensive.  Though Joffre's focus is now on the ongoing battle in Champagne, he still believes that British attacks are important in forcing the Germans to keep some of their reserves in the north, and thus he instructs Foch to accede to the BEF commander's request.  Later today Foch meets with Sir John French and agrees that the French IX Corps of 10th Army will take over the stretch of the line currently held by the British 47th Division, southernmost of 1st Army's forces.

- Even before Foch and French meet, however, the French 10th Army achieves an unexpected success.  Whereas the attacks yesterday east of Souchez accomplished nothing, when the assault is renewed today by the right wing of XXXIII Corps and the left wing of III Corps, they are able to push through the first German trench line and advance towards Giesler Hill (also known as Hill 119) and Vimy Ridge.  In an attempt to follow up this success, General d'Urbal orders the three corps on the northern wing of his army to attack at 140pm.  The German 123rd Saxon Division and VI Corps are forced backwards, and elements of XXXIII Corps capture Giesler Hill while elements of III Corps reach Hill 140, the highest point on Vimy Ridge.  An immediate German counterattack by 123rd Saxon Division fails to recover most of the lost ground, and Rupprecht at 6th Army headquarters orders elements of 11th Division and 1st Guards Division to prepare for a counterattack.  Before this can occur, a report reaches 6th Army headquarters that the French had seized the village of Givenchy east of Giesler Hill and broken through the last German trench line.  When no further information reaches him tonight, Rupprecht has to assume the worst - his position north of Vimy Ridge has been broken.  At OHL Falkenhayn orders 2nd Army to send detachments equivalent to a division to 6th Army, and Rupprecht is also authorized to call on a brigade from 4th Army if necessary.  In reality, no such breakthrough at Givenchy has occurred; reports of the initial French capture of Giesler Hill have become misinterpreted and exaggerated as they passed up the chain of command.

- In Champagne, while the French 4th Army attacks again today, 2nd Army does not after the failed efforts of yesterday led Pétain to conclude that further assaults without adequate preparation would accomplish nothing.  This reticence, however reasonable, hardly endears Pétain to his superiors; later today Joffre himself arrives at Pétain's headquarters where he in no uncertain terms orders 2nd Army to resume the offensive.  Unable to disobey a direct order, Pétain afterwards issues a terse order to his corps' commanders to resume the attack tomorrow.

Meanwhile, drama of a different sort, echoing today's events in Artois, occurs to the west along the front of 4th Army.  During an attack today a brigade of 14th Division, VII Corps captures what is known as the Trench of Tantes, five hundred metres west of Ferme de Navarin.  However, beyond the Trench of Tantes is another German trench line, and when the French brigade attempts to advance further the infantry come under a hail of machine-gun and artillery fire, and are forced back.  However, the report to 14th Division headquarters is misinterpreted as indicating that the brigade has broken through the entire German second defensive line, and news of the 'breakthrough' races up the command structure.  At Castlenau's headquarters the report is received with joy, and the mood is further buoyed when subsequent messages report that the breach is seven hundred metres wide and that several brigades have passed through it.  The false report is another example of the chaos the modern battlefield can have on communications, but among Castlenau's staff there is no desire to critically evaluate news they have been desperately waiting for since the 25th.  Castlenau orders General de Langle of 4th Army to move all available forces forward to enlarge and pass through the breach, and the latter orders his cavalry to the front to exploit the apparent success.  Castlenau instructs Pétain, meanwhile, to do everything possible to support 4th Army's advance.  French forces are now surging towards a break in the German line that does not exist.

- Mackensen issues his formal orders for the Serbian campaign today.  He has two armies under his command: 11th German and 3rd Austro-Hungarian, with the former deployed east of Belgrade along the Danube and the latter opposite Belgrade itself and along the Save River to the west.  The commanders of both - General Max von Gallwitz of the former and General Hermann Kövess of the latter - have, like Mackensen, made their reputations on the Eastern Front; whereas Gallwitz commanded an army group and later 12th Army alongside Mackensen's advance, Kövess is one of the few Austro-Hungarian officers who has demonstrated any semblance of competence in the war, the capture of Ivangorod by forces under his command making him the man of the moment in Vienna.  Crucially, both Mackensen and his chief of staff, General Seeckt, view Kövess as competent, a rare enough German evaluation of any Austro-Hungarian commander.  Each army has three corps under its command, with the German III, IV Reserve, and X Reserve Corps assigned to the German 11th Army.  Because the debacle of the Herbstsau offensive forced Conrad to keep some of the Austro-Hungarian formations assigned to the Serbian campaign instead on the Eastern Front, the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army has only two Austro-Hungarian corps under its command - VIII and XIX - which number three divisions and several brigades.  To make up this shortfall, 3rd Army has also been assigned the German XXII Reserve Corps of three divisions under the command of General Eugen von Falkenhayn, older brother of the German chief of staff.  The mixed composition of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army is yet another reflection of the weakness of the Austro-Hungarian army and the necessity of the Germans to prop their ally up with German formations.

Mackensen's overall plan for the campaign is to take advantage of the specifics of the convention signed with Bulgaria on 6th, whereas the latter is to attack five days after the German and Austro-Hungarian attack.  The two armies under his direct command would execute a series of carefully staged crossings of the Danube and Save Rivers.  The Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army is to begin its artillery bombardment on October 5th and cross the Save just west of Belgrade on the 7th.  To the east, after artillery preparation on the 6th, the German X Reserve Corps is to cross on the 7th as well, with III and IV Reserve Corps crossing on the 8th.  The hope is that these assaults, in addition to securing the high ground south of the rivers, would draw the Serbian army north prior to the attack of the Bulgarian 1st Army from the east.  If the Bulgarians are able to successfully cut across the line of communications of the Serbian armies along the Save and Danube, the allied armies may be able to surround and destroy the Serbian army in the valley of the Morava River.

The deployment of the corps of the German 11th and Austro-Hungarian 3rd Armies for the Serbian Campaign.

- General Maurice Sarrail of the French Army of the Near East is informed today that his command will be deployed in the Balkans, not on the coast of Ottoman Anatolia, and he is requested to provide an assessment of operations in the region.

- At 2am this morning east of Kut-al-Amara, 16th and 17th Indian Brigades begin to cross from the south bank of the Tigris River to the north across a bridge of boats.  Before dawn the brigades reaches Suwada Marsh, where they divide into two columns: the first, commanded by Brigadier-General W. S. Delamain and consisting of one and a half battalions from 16th Indian Brigade, turns west to attack the three Ottoman redoubts north of Suwada Marsh, while the second, commanded by Brigadier-General F. A. Hoghton and comprising 17th Indian Brigade along with the remainder of 16th Indian Brigade, continues further north before it too turns west, its objective being to pass through the 300-yard-gap between the northernmost Ottoman redoubt and Ataba Marsh further north.  To the south, 18th Indian Brigade holds the line from Suwada Marsh to the Tigris opposite the primary Ottoman defences.  By redeploying 16th and 17th Indian Brigades overnight after demonstrating for the past two days on the south bank, General Townshend hopes to deceive the Ottoman defenders as to where the main attack will fall.  In this Townshend's plan has succeeded - as the two Indian brigades are moving north, Colonel Nur-ur-din, commander of the Ottoman defenders, is moving his reserves from the north bank to the south.

By 6am, however, the British plan has gone awry.  As the sun rises, Hoghton's column realizes that their march overnight has been misdirected - in the featureless terrain, inaccurate compass bearings, compiled from aerial reconnaissance, has led them astray.  Instead of passing between the northernmost Ottoman redoubt and the southern edge of Ataba Marsh, they are passing across the northern edge of Ataba Marsh.  Hoghton decides that it would take too much time to retrace the column's steps, and decides to keep going the long way around the Ottoman line.  This takes several hours longer than intended, during which Hoghton's column stumbles across a reserve Ottoman battalion, which is routed by a bayonet charge by 104th Wellington Rifles, which takes 112 prisoners.

It is 820am before Brigadier-General Delamain sees Hoghton's column on the horizon.  To this point Delamain has been postponing his attack, unaware of Hoghton's whereabouts, as the latter's detour has exhausted his column's telephone wire.  Though 6th Indian Division has two wireless sets, they are with Generals Townshend and Nixon, a less-than-ideal use since today both are actually in the same observation tower.  When Hoghton's column makes its belated appearance, it and Delamain's column attacks the three Ottoman redoubts, starting with the northernmost, and despite fierce Ottoman resistance and blowing sand hindering artillery fire, the three redoubts are cleared by 1245pm.

Having occupied the Ottoman positions between the Ataba and Suwada Marshes, the two British columns combine and move south towards the Tigris, aiming to envelope the main Ottoman defensive position between Suwada Marsh and the river.  The British soldiers, however, have been marching since 2am, and their water bottles have long since run dry.  Further, ammunition is running low and blowing dust makes for slow going.  At 330pm the two columns halt, but find themselves under fire from Ottoman guns near the Tigris.  A subsequent advance runs into another Ottoman battalion that had been rushed back across the Tigris, and though it is driven off the field via the bayonet, the exertion required exhausts the remaining strength of the two columns.

By nightfall, 6th Indian Division has been exhausted by the day's fighting, having decisively turned the northern flank of the Ottoman position.  However, the lines of communication of the Ottoman defenders remain open, and Colonel Nur-ur-din is able to order the 35th and 38th Divisions to retreat overnight.  The British have thus won an incomplete victory: though they have forced the Ottomans from the field, the Ottomans have escaped to fight another day.

The First Battle of Kut-al-Amara has cost the British 1233 casualties, including 94 dead, as compared to approximately 4000 Ottoman casualties, which count among their number just over a thousand prisoners.  Though the casualty ratio is very favourable to the British, geography negates much of this advantage: while the Ottomans can fall back towards Baghdad and reinforcements, British casualties have to travel all the way down the Tigris to the base hospital at Basra.

September 24th, 1915

- Overnight violent thunderstorms strike Flanders, and heavy rains turn the trench floors into mud, slowly the final movement of supplies up to the front for the British offensive scheduled for tomorrow.  At dawn visibility is reduced by low clouds and ground fog, preventing aerial bombing or reconnaissance, though artillery firing on pre-selected and pre-sighted targets.  The British bombardment of identified German artillery batteries is believed to be particularly successful, given that many of the positions targeted have ceased firing.  In practice, however, the Germans silenced their batteries voluntarily to give the impression that they have been knocked out.  They only await the main British attack before they resume firing.  Meanwhile, on the British side two field batteries per division are attached to their horses this evening, in expectation of immediately following the infantry as they advance tomorrow.

Meanwhile at the headquarters of the British 1st Army, Haig waits with his corps commanders Rawlinson and Gough for the latest weather updates, to see if conditions at dawn tomorrow will allow for the use of chlorine gas.  This afternoon Captain Gold reports that based on the morning's observations, there was a possibility only of a fair wind tomorrow morning.  As the hours passed and more recent observations could be added to his report, Gold become confident that the weather would cooperate for tomorrow - at 9pm he informed Haig that there was a favourable chance of a wind blowing west at ten miles per hour at ground level tomorrow morning.  With this assurance, Haig issues orders for chlorine gas to be used prior to the main infantry assault.

- In Artois the Entente artillery bombardment reaches a crescendo today, with the greatest volume directed against the German VI Corps in the Loos sector.  Further confirmation of the imminent enemy offensive comes via a French deserter, who is captured west of Vimy Ridge and reports that the French will attack at 5am tomorrow.

- In Champagne, French patrols enter No Man's Land to clear French wire, inspect and clear the remaining German wire, and observe the state of the enemy line.  Though they frequently come under fire from German defenders, it allows the French call down artillery fire on these surviving positions.  To this point most of the assault infantry have been kept several kilometres behind the front, to avoid casualties from German artillery fire, but after sundown they move up to their jumping-off points and prepare for the attack, scheduled for 915am tomorrow morning

- At Metz today, Falkenhayn receives reports during the day of continued heavy bombardments of the German 6th Army in Artois and the 3rd and 5th Armies in Champagne.  In response, the German chief of staff transfers several heavy artillery batteries to 3rd Army, and further agrees that 5th Division, scheduled to depart for the Balkans for the Serbian campaign, will instead be kept behind 3rd Army.  Nevertheless, Falkenhayn continues to have doubts that the Entente actually intend to launch an major offensive - in a telephone conversation with General Karl von Einem, commander of 3rd Army, that the French 'did not have the willpower' to attack.  Falkenhayn has allowed what he wants the French to do to cloud his judgement of what the French will actually do - his campaigns in the East and the Balkans are based on the premise that the forces left on the Western Front are sufficient to hold the line, and thus does not want to see an Entente offensive that could upset the delicate balance.

- On the northern flank of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, elements of the Austro-Hungarian 1st, 2nd, and 9th Cavalry Divisions clear Russian forces out of the Okonsk-Jablonka area as well as Borowicy and Kopyli on the Styr River, opening the path for the German XXIV Reserve Corps advancing rapidly from the north.

- At the request of Franz Joseph, Mackensen journeys to Vienna today to meet the aged Austro-Hungarian emperor, where he is awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephan and the two have a thirty-minute private audience after dinner.  Both Franz Joseph and his military retinue are won over by Mackensen's natural charm and character, as well as his reputation for success on the Eastern Front.  Mackensen is practically alone among his fellow German officers in being viewed positively by the Austro-Hungarian leadership (neither Falkenhayn nor Ludendorff can hide their oft-justified contempt), ensuring a degree of co-operation, even at times harmony, in the forthcoming Serbian campaign that is unimaginable had any other German general been in command.

- As the French Council of Ministers debates a French expedition to the Balkans to aid Serbia, Minister of War Alexandre Millerand sends a note to the French commander at Gallipoli, informing him that a division may be shortly ordered to cover the railway from the Greek port of Salonika to the de facto Serbian capital at Niš.  Meanwhile, Joffre advises the government that while he recognizes the desirability of propping up their Serbian allies, an expedition should be composed of four divisions - two French and two British - drawn from Gallipoli.  From his perspective, it is simply a case of redeploying the force already in the Near East from one theatre (the Dardanelles) to another (the Balkans).  This also has the advantage, from his perspective, of not requiring the withdrawal of forces from the Western Front to make up the expedition.

- The hesitant performance of the Italian navy to date has come in for criticism in the Italian press, and the unease claims a victim today as Vice-Admiral Leone Viale, the minister of marine, resigns today.  Ostensibly stepping aside for health reasons, having just undergone minor surgery, in practice he had quarrelled with Vice-Admiral Paolo Count Thaon di Revel and was increasingly left out of the loop regarding operational decisions.

- The British 6th Indian Division has completed its assembly at Sannaiyat on the Tigris River, and begins today the advance towards the Ottoman defensive line east of Kut-al-Amara.  Given the overall strength of the Ottoman position, General Townshend has decided on deception: the bulk of the division today moves slowly westward on the southern bank of the Euphrates River, giving the impression that it is here that the British intend to concentrate their attack.  On the north bank only 18th Brigade remains, which is deployed between the Tigris and Suwada Marsh.  North of Suwada Marsh sits another Ottoman defensive position, three redoubts supported by a trench system leading up to another marsh - Ataba - to the north.  This is the northernmost section of the Ottoman line, but reconnaissance has informed Townshend that Ataba Marsh is rapidly drying out, and that a gap of three hundred yards has emerged between the end of the Ottoman trenches and the start of the swamp.  It is this gap that has caught Townshend's attention and is to be the key point of the assault.  After the force on the southern bank makes a suitable demonstration of British intent to convince the Ottomans to keep significant strength here, this force is to cross over to the north bank at night and pass behind both 18th Brigade and Suwada Marsh where it will split into two forces: the first to assault the three Ottoman redoubts, and the second to pass through the gap to the north.  This force is intended to roll up the Ottoman line from the north, resulting in the capture of the Ottoman 35th Division deployed on the north bank.  It is a plan that would be inconceivable on the Western Front, but the conditions of the war in the Middle East - fewer soldiers and greater supply difficulties - means that flanks exist and can be turned.

The First Battle of Kut-al-Amara, September 24th to 29th, 1915.

September 16th, 1915

- Though he has been slow to react to the German flank attack through Sventsiany, General Alexeiev of West Front now recognizes the threat that the enemy offensive poses: if the Germans cannot be halted, they can envelop the northern wing of 10th Army and win yet another great victory.  To counter the threat, Alexeiev has ordered Russian withdrawals to the south of Vilna to free up forces to redeploy to counter the German attack and cover the gap between 10th and 5th Armies.  Though the retreats ordered by Alexeiv allow the German 8th and 12th Armies, as well as the army group under Prince Leopold, to gain further ground and reach Baranovitchi and Lida, it has freed six corps, which are formed into a new 2nd Army east of Sventsiany to link 10th and 5th Armies.

Ludendorff, meanwhile, works to feed more divisions into the gap north of Vilna, but the the infantry cannot advance at the same pace as the cavalry.  Further, Eichhorn's 10th Army has suffered fifty thousand casualties, mainly in frontal attacks on Vilna, over the past two weeks.

- On the Eastern Front, the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army is under increasing pressure from the Russian 8th Army, and its reserves are issued contradictory orders in rapid succession in efforts to counter the latest enemy advance.  The Austro-Hungarian 2nd Division, for instance, which had been ordered south to reinforce 2nd Army after the collapse of its V Corps on the 13th, is today directed to retrace its steps back north towards the threatened northern wing of 4th Army.  Exhausted, some of the infantry collapse by the roadside, and its arrival will be delayed by several days.  In the meantime, Russian forces on the lower Stubiel River attack the Austro-Hungarian 24th Division, and break through its left wing.  Without reserves available, a counterattack can not be organized in time, and the Russians are able to consolidate their gains, which threaten the southern flank of the Austro-Hungarian 62nd Division near Cuman.

To the south, General Ivanov of Southwest Front orders the 9th and 11th Armies to halt their advance against the Austro-Hungarian armies opposite.  Their attacks had been initially undertaken to take pressure off of the Russian 8th Army to the north, and with the latter now undertaking its own counteroffensive, their operations are no longer deemed necessary.

- After a week's leave, his first of the war, General Mackensen reports to OHL headquarters on the Eastern Front at Allenstein, East Prussia, where he formally receives his orders for the forthcoming Serbian campaign: 'to defeat the Serbian army wherever he finds it and to open and secure land communications between Hungary and Bulgaria as quickly as possible.'

- Lead elements of the British 6th Indian Division reach Sannaiyat on the Tigris River today, though the arrival of the remainder, and in particular the division's artillery, has been delayed by the low water level of the Tigris and a lack of overland transport.  For the first time in the Mesopotamian campaign, however, General Townshend has aircraft available to conduct reconnaissance of enemy positions, the first three Martinsyde aircraft having arrived at Basra on August 28th.  Their reports inform Townshend that the Ottomans have established a strong defensive position just east of Kut-al-Amara at al-Sinn, where trench systems are interspersed with impassable marshes.  Townshend decides to await the concentration of his division before ordering an assault.  Though invaluable, the reconnaissance missions of his aircraft are not without risk - today one is forced to land behind enemy lines, and the Australian pilot and the British observer are taken prisoner.

July 24th, 1915

- In Poland the German forces under General Gallwitz launch their offensive along the Narew River today, and seize the towns of Pultusk and Rozan.

To the south, while General Woyrsch's command had been instructed to cross the Vistula upriver from Ivangorod to attack the rear of the eastern wing of the Russian 4th Army.  However, the latter has been retreating northwards as a result of the success of the German 11th Army further east, and thus the intended crossing at Novo Alexandriya would no longer serve its intended purpose.  Conrad and Falkenhayn instead issue orders for Woyrsch's force to move north to cross the Vistula downriver from Ivangorod, leaving an Austro-Hungarian detachment to cover the fortress at Ivangorod itself.

For his part, Mackensen issues orders today for the next step in his offensive.  As has been his tactic to date, he issues instructions for several days of rest to bring up adequate munitions for another major artillery bombardment prior to the infantry going forward on the 29th.  On this occasion, the primary assault will be undertaken by XXII Reserve, X Reserve, and X Corps plus 119th Division and the Guard cavalry, concentrated west of the Wieprz River and directed towards Biskupice.

- On the Italian Front the focal point of the fighting is now on the southwest face of the Karst plateau, which sees continual attacks and counterattacks.  Yesterday the Italian VII Corps seized a stretch of the enemy line between Selz and Vermegliano, but this morning a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 61st Division retakes the lost ground.  The victory is short-lived; the fresh Italian 27th Division is brought up and launches a successful assault on the depleted 61st Division, which is forced back.  In the two days of fighting in this sector, the Austro-Hungarian VII Corps has suffered almost three thousand casualties.

- In Mesopotamia a second attack is launched by 12th Indian Division on the Ottoman defensive position east of Nasiriyeh on the Euphrates River.  As with the first attempt on the 14th, the Ottomans put up heavy defensive fire, but unlike the prior effort an entire brigade is sent towards the 'Thornycroft Point' position, and after a charge by the West Kents battalion the British are able to break into the Ottoman lines.  In order to cross the nearby Majinina canal, the steamer Sumana is run aground to provide cover for engineers to erect a temporary bridge, but they find the conditions impossible.  By a stroke of luck, however, Sumana has come to rest where it blocks the mouth of the canal, which blocks the flow of water and the level drops to the point where the British infantry can walk across the canal bottom.  Reaching the opposite bank, a bayonet charge by the Gurkhas drives the Ottomans from their positions and their defences collapse.  They are able to make their escape, however, as having discarded their equipment they can retreat faster than the British can pursue.

July 22nd, 1915

- Since the beginning of the war, Joffre has dismissed 138 generals whom he feels have not performed up to his expectations, and today General Maurice Sarrail of 3rd Army becomes yet another 'casualty,' and is replaced by General Georges Humbert.  Over the past six weeks German forces opposite 3rd Army have been able to launch successful small-scale assaults in the Argonne, and Joffre has concluded that Sarrail has 'yielded the initiative to the enemy.'

- In receipt of Conrad's memorandum of yesterday, Falkenhayn replies today that he is in complete agreement regarding overtures to Russia regarding a separate peace, and has forwarded the memorandum to Bethmann-Hollweg.  Unlike Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the German chief of staff has long believed that a truly decisive victory over Russia is impossible, given the vast expanse of the country.  Instead, convincing Russia to exit the war is the most reasonable and realistic course of action, in order that German forces can be redeployed to the Western Front to battle Germany's most irreconcilable foes.

- In southern Poland, General Mackensen issues orders today for his 11th Army to hold in its present positions, to give time to resupply and recuperate, as well as reorganize formations that had become mixed together in the advance since the breakthrough at Krasnostaw.  However, Mackensen allows the Army of the Bug and the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army to continue their attacks, as their advance has been slower than 11th Army in the centre.

- On the Russian side, the advance of the German force under General Gallwitz to the Narew River, coupled with the seemingly unstoppable momentum of General Mackensen's army group, convinces General Alexeiev that the time has come to commence the evacuation of Russian Poland.  The Russian 12th, 1st, and 2nd Armies, covering the front north and west of Warsaw, are instructed to fall back, effectively pivoting on the fortress of Osowiec in the north until they reach a line running from Lomza to northeast of Ivangorod.  In southern Poland, 4th, 3rd, and 13th Armies will retreat north of Lublin and Cholm to a line stretching through Opalin and Kowel towards Ivangorod in the west.  This withdrawal, however, is to be gradual rather than precipitate, in order to slow the enemy advance without risking destruction.  Of the major forts in the area to be abandoned only Novogeorgievsk is to be held indefinitely.

July 16th, 1915

- The main German offensive in southern Poland opens today under the direction of General Mackensen, who in addition to directly commanding the German 11th Army has operational control over the Army of the Bug and the Austro-Hungarian 4th and 1st Armies.  Once again it will be the Germans making the primary advance, spearheaded by 11th Army, driving north on both sides of the Wieprz River and breaking the Russian defensive line between the Vistula and the Bug Rivers.  To teh east, the Army of the Bug will attack towards Cholm, while to the west 4th Army has as its objective the high ground west of Lublin. Simultaneously, General Woyrsch's command will attack on the west bank of the Vistula towards the fortress of Ivangorod while the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army covers the eastern flank along the Bug River.  Overall, Mackensen's powerful force comprises 41 1/2 infantry and 5 cavalry divisions.

Opposite the German and Austro-Hungarians, the Russian defensive positions are held by 4th Army to the west straddling the Vistula, 3rd Army in the centre, and 13th Army to the east, with the Guard and II Siberian Corps, recently pulled from northwestern Poland, in reserve.  Overall the Russians number 33 1/2 infantry and 6 1/2 cavalry divisions, most of which are deployed between the Vistula and the Bug Rivers.  Here it is vital that the Russian forces hold, as losing control of the Ivangorod-Lublin-Cholm rail line in particular would inhibit the evacuation of Russian forces still west of the Vistula.

After a preliminary artillery bombardment made marginally less effective by morning haze preventing accurate targetting, the Guard and XXII Reserve Corps launch the primary assault west of the Wieprz River near Krasnostaw.  Here the entirely of the first Russian line is captured along with six thousand prisoners, and by nightfall the Germans have penetrated to the reserve Russian trenches.  East of the Wieprz, parts of the Austro-Hungarian VI Corps cross the swamps of the Wolica river and come up against the main Russian positions.  To the west, the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army attacks at 11am, but are largely held up in bitter fighting.

The German offensive in southern Poland, July 16th to 31st, 1915.

June 23rd, 1915

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

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

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

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

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

June 18th, 1915

- In line with Joffre's instructions of yesterday, Foch orders d'Urbal of 10th Army to halt major attacks along the front in Artois, and concentrate solely on capturing the village of Souchez.

- In Galicia the German 11th Army spends the day preparing to assault the Russian line south of Rawa Ruska.  Mackensen's orders call for a breakthrough along a twenty kilometre length of the front west of Magierow, followed by a drive to the northeast towards the Lemberg-Rawa Ruska road.  This would disrupt the Russian defence of Lemberg, allowing the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army to seize the city.  The attack is to be launched tomorrow, and today German artillery bombards the Russian lines while the infantry work their way forward to establish jumping-off points as close as possible to the enemy trenches.

Meanwhile, on the southern flank of 11th Army, the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army continues to assault the Russian line along the Wereszyca River.  Though a number of attacks fail, elements of 33rd division are able to cross at Komarno and cover the construction of a military bridge over the river.  To the north, this afternoon a Russian counterattack led by 3rd Guard Division hits the junction between 11th Army and the 4th Austro-Hungarian Army to the west.  Here a new formation under General Hermann von Stein, commanding 8th Bavarian Reserve and 56th Divisions, had been created to maintain a link between the two armies.  With the assistance of the Austro-Hungarian XVII Corps, the Russian advance is checked after hand-to-hand fighting, and the area north of the village of Horyniec is secured by Stein's forces this evening.

- A joint meeting is held today by the cabinets of the Austrian and Hungarian portions of the Dual Monarchy to discuss the economic burdens of the war.  In the face of the demands of Conrad for vastly increased munitions production, Prime Minister Tisza of Hungary can only reply that while he is sympathetic, even military output at the current rate will cause growing financial difficulties, and he estimates that, economically, Austria-Hungary can continue the war with present levels of production for eight months.

- Given that Italian hopes for a rapid advance after entering the war have been dashed by both the realities of modern combat and the mountainous terrain, Cadorna and his subordinates are planning the first major deliberate Italian offensive along the Isonzo River, to be undertaken by 2nd and 3rd Army.  The preparations, however, are not concerned with minimizing casualties; indeed, the extent to which Italian generals actually care about the welfare of the soldiers under their command is illustrated today when the commander of 2nd Army issues a circular ordering that units must continue to fight and not be withdrawn from the front until they have suffered 75% casualties.

June 2nd, 1915

- General d'Urbal has decided that the next major French assault in Artois will be against the German defenders in the village of Neuville.  To prepare the way for the infantry, scheduled to attack in three days, the French 10th Army begins a massive artillery bombardment, aiming to flatten the village and render it the German position there untenable.

- Further Russian attacks against the German 11th Army today again fail to make any progress, and the surviving Russians fall back in disorder.  Aong the front held by the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, attempts by the Russians to cross the San River to the north of yesterday's advance are repulsed.  However, they are able to inflict another defeat on the Austro-Hungarian 8th Division and further expand the bridgehead won yesterday, forcing the entire Austro-Hungarian XIV Corps responsible for this stretch of the front to fall back to a new line running through Jezowe and east of Stany this evening.  This retreat also compels the German 47th Reserve Division on its left to pull back its right wing.  The commander of 4th Army also sends a request to General Mackensen of 11th Army for the transfer of an Austro-Hungarian cavalry division that had been operating under the direction of the latter.  While Mackensen agrees, he also takes the opportunity to criticize the conduct of the Austro-Hungarian XIV Corps, noting that its retreat potentially threatens the vital railway linking Jaroslau and Krakow, and while the Austro-Hungarians naturally defend their conduct of the fighting of the last couple of days, the contrast between the Russian failure against 11th Army and success against 4th Army is striking.

Meanwhile at Przemysl itself 11th Bavarian and 82 Reserve Divisions continue to advance against the northern line of fortifications, and by this evening most of the defences to the northwest of Przemysl itself, as well as the village of Zurawice, are in German hands.  Given the relentless German progress, coupled with the threat to the main line of communications posed by 11th Army's swing towards the Przemysl-Mosciska road, General Brusilov of 8th Army decides that the fortress can no longer be held, and its defenders are instructed to fall back to a new line at Medyka and Bucow.

May 27th, 1915

- In fierce hand-to-hand fighting, the French 70th Division seizes the cemetery at the village of Ablain, west of Souchez in Artois, and the connecting German trenches.

- Early in 1915 the French had decided to embark on a campaign of strategic bombing that aimed to impair German industrial production.  The first bomber group, GB1, was equipped with the reliable Voisin III aircraft, which was specially-equipped with bomb racks that carried 155mm artillery shells.  After training for several months, GB1 undertakes its first mission today.  Their target is the Badische Anilin Company of Ludwigshafen.  The raid is a moderate success, with all but one of the aircraft returning safely to base.  Unfortunately, it was the squadron commander's plane that crash-landed, and he will spend the rest of the war in a POW camp.

The French Voisin III bomber.

- Mackensen's orders for the ongoing German offensive in Galicia emphasize the importance of the advance of XXXXI Reserve Corps.  On the southern flank of 11th Army, the corps is to advance towards the Medyka-Mosciska road, the seizure of which would sever the main Russian communication and supply link to Przemsyl, while the objectives of the rest of the army are more limited.  The attacks of XXXXI Corps, however, encounter heavy Russian resistance; only in the afternoon is 81st Reserve Division able to capture the town of Stubno.

Meanwhile, as the German 11th Army has advanced eastward to and across the San River, its connection with the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army to the north has necessarily stretched, with the latter forced to hold a greater length of the line.  The result has been the commitment of most of 4th Army's reserves to the front line to maintain a cohesive front, leaving insufficient forces available in the event of a Russian counterattack.  Overnight, this is precisely what happens: the Russian III Caucasian Corps launches an attack east of Sieniawa.  The initial blow falls against the Austro-Hungarian 36th Infantry Regiment, which promptly disintegrates, and 10th Division falls back across the San River in disorder.  Because of a lack of Austro-Hungarian reserves, the Germans are forced to send 19th Division from the neighbouring 11th Army to the rescue.  Though the Russian attack soon bogs down and fails to cross the San, its initial success has succeeded in forcing the Germans to dispatch reinforcements that otherwise was to have contributed to Mackensen's ongoing offensive.

On the Russian side, General Ivanov of South-West Front has wavered over whether his armies should hold Przemysl, or retreat further to the east.  On three occasions since the 25th he has issued orders to abandon the fortress, only to countermand them within hours.  Today Russian army headquarters intervenes, instructing that Przemysl is to be held.  To facilitate this, the corps on the northern flank of Przemysl, formerly of 3rd Army, are transferred to 8th Army, so that one commander - General Brusilov - can direct all of the forces at and around the fortress.  In an effort to hold Przemysl, he begins shifting divisions from the southern flank of the fortress, where the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and 2nd Armies have been largely ineffective, to the northern flank to oppose the ongoing advance of the German 11th Army.

The Russian attack at Sieniawa, just north of the offensive of the German 11th Army, May 27th, 1915.

- The German submarine U21 claims a second victim off Gallipoli when it torpedoes the British pre-dreadnought Majestic at 640am this morning.  As it sinks it rolls over and comes to rest in shallow water near Sedd el Bahr.  Its keel remains visible above the surface, a stark reminder that the waters off the Dardanelles are now contested.

The British pre-dreadnought Majestic sinking off Gallipoli, May 27th, 1915.

- Today the Ottoman cabinet approves The Provisional Law Concerning the Measures to be Taken by the Military Authorities Against Those Who Oppose the Operations of the Government During Wartime, which provides the legal basis for the ongoing deportation and mass murder of the Armenian population.  It gives army and local officials sweeping power to take whatever means they deem necessary to deal with any real or perceived opposition to the persecution of the war, and in particular authorized the forced relocation of entires towns and villages 'in response to military needs, or in response to any signs of treachery and betrayal.'  The ongoing paranoia of the Young Turk leadership combined with the catalogue of battlefield defeats ensures that Ottoman officials see 'signs' of resistance everywhere - indeed, if the Ottomans are doing poorly someone must be to blame, and that group must be purged from Ottoman society.  This is to be the fate of the Armenian population in particular, and though massacres predated the law, the pace of extermination will accelerate afterward its proclamation.

April 29th, 1915

- In Britain there has been a movement to reduce alcohol consumption among the working-class in the belief that drunkeness reduces productivety, and Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George has proposed doubling the duty on spirits and addition twelve shillings per barrel to the duty on beer.  These proposals, however, have an adverse effect on the political position of the minority Liberal government in the House of Commons.  It is no great surprise to see the Conservatives oppose the measure, given as they have always been the primary backer of the drink interest.  However, Irish Nationalist M.P.s also oppose raising the duty on one of the few industries in southern Ireland, while the Labour party resents the insult to the loyalty and productivity of the working-class.  In the face of united political opposition, the Liberals back down and today withdraw the proposed duty increases.

- Today the German 11th Army completes its deployment near Gorlice, with the German Guards, VI, XXXXI Reserve, and X Corps arranged north to south from Ciezkowice to Ropica Ruska.  To the north, the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army west of Tarnow deploys a further six infantry divisions and is to be under the operational command of General Mackensen.  Elaborate measures have been taken to maintain secrecy about the German deployment.  The trains carrying the corps eastward were routed through rail lines in northern Germany, to give the appearance they were destined for East Prussia.  Further, German formations took over their parts of the line only at night, to avoid Russian observation, and German staff officers surveying the front even wore Austro-Hungarian uniforms, lest the Russians notice and become suspicious.

The final attack orders are issued today by Mackensen to his corps commanders, with the attack scheduled to begin May 2nd.  While giving each corps freedom of action regarding particular targets, Mackensen stipulates the number of batteries each corps is to assign to the front, and emphasizes the importance of close infantry-artillery co-operation.  The artillery is to keep up with the pace of the infantry advance, and artillery observers are to be with the infantry to co-ordinate fire on enemy strongpoints.  Mackensen also issues a separate order for the artillery directly under army control, which is to be commanded by one officer only.  The army-level artillery was tasked with the preliminary bombardment the night before the attack, and is to prevent the arrival of Russian reserves and keep those at the front off-balance.  Further, the preliminary bombardment will briefly cease at two points overnight to allow pioneer patrols to make their way into No Man's Land to cut wire and observe the extent of the damage.  Once the initial infantry attack has been launched, continual pressure is to be maintained, the infantry advancing in deep columns protected by friendly artillery fire.  Crucially, if a unit finds itself ahead of their neighbours, instead of halting and waiting they are to keep advancing, keeping the Russians off balance.  These orders incorporate the lessons learned by Chief of Staff Seeckt and others on the Western Front over the past five months.

German soldiers arriving at a Carpathian railway station, April 1915.

- This evening Emden's landing party arrives at El Wegh after an uneventful overland journey from Sherm Munnaiburra.  Here they are able to bathe and wash clothing as they assemble the camels necessary for the next phase of their journey.