February 4th, 1915

- The French launch a counterattack against the line north of Massiges seized by the Germans yesterday.  Advancing at 440a, though the French are able to enter the German trenches, they are ultimately repelled in fierce hand-to-hand combat, with heavy losses on both sides.

- After several months of training in the miserable conditions of Salisbury Plain, 1st Canadian Division is preparing to depart for France.  Signalling the imminence of their departure, the soldiers are inspected today by King George V.

- Admiral Pohl, the current Chief of the Naval Staff, is appointed today as Admiral Ingenohl's replacement as commander of the High Seas Fleet, while Vice-Admiral Gustav Bachmann becomes the new Chief of the Naval Staff.  Just as his predecessor, he is bound by the Kaiser's limitations on the deployment of the fleet; indeed, in the aftermath of the Battle of Dogger Bank Wilhelm II has forbidden even Hipper's battlecruisers from putting to sea.  Pohl does, however, make use of the Kaiser's presence at the change of command ceremony to advance another goal.  Standing together in a launch as it moves among the dreadnoughts, Pohl hands the Kaiser an order for unrestricted submarine warfare to be signed.  Caught up in the moment and with his attention on his beloved warships, Wilhelm II signs his name without contemplating the significance of his action.  Pohl for his part has gotten what he desired - authorization for the commencement of unrestricted submarine warfare against Britain.

- In Galicia, after a heavy artillery bombardment the Russians break into the town of Mezölaborcz, which sits on one of the few railways in the Carpathians and thus is vital for Austro-Hungarian supply.  Despite this, Conrad is more concerned with issues of jurisdiction, insisting that Südarmee communicate through the Austro-Hungarian high command instead of going directly to OHL.

- As preparations continue to launch the naval attack on the Dardanelles, Britain and France are optimistic that Greece, emboldened by the Entente offensive, will join the war on their side.  Today the French government authorizes the dispatch of a division to northern Greece, to encourage not only the Greeks but also the Romanians to join the war by demonstrating their willingness to fight in the Balkans.

- East of the Suez Canal the commander of the Ottoman expedition to seize the Suez Canal concludes that, with the failure of yesterday's attack and no longer having the element of surprise, any further efforts would risk the annihilation of his force.  Thus in the early hours of the morning the Ottomans begin to retreat eastwards across the Sinai Peninsula towards Palestine.

The British forces on the west bank of the Canal decide not to pursue the retreating enemy.  First, they are initially concerned that the Ottomans may renew the attack.  Second, the sandstorm that had postponed the Ottoman attack from the 2nd to the 3rd had also grounded British aircraft, leaving them without aerial reconnaissance of the enemy columns.  Finally, the British formations were not prepared to enter the desert - none had the water for such an attempt.  As a result, the British permit the Ottomans to retire unmolested.

Burial parties tending to the Ottoman dead on the east bank of the Suez Canal.

February 3rd, 1915

- In Champagne the left wing of the German 15th Reserve Division and the right wing of the German 21st Reserve Division launches an attack north of Massiges, on the eastern end of the Champagne battlefield.  In addition to its immediate objectives, the Germans hope the attack will draw French reserves from elsewhere.  After a morning of artillery fire, a number of mines under the French line are detonated at noon, followed by the advance of the infantry.  By 1230pm the French position on Hill 191 north of Massiges is in German hands.  In response the French bring up a division and prepare a counterattack.

- In the Carpathians elements of Südarmee have managed to seize the village of Tucholka today, but the situation of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army to the west continues to deteriorate.  Not only is Szurmay's group falling back from the heights north of the Uszok Pass, but under Russian pressure a gap is opening between between III and VII Corps in the centre of 3rd Army's line.  To reinforce 3rd Army VIII Corps begins to depart from the Balkans today, with its 21st Landwehr Division heading for the Mezolaborcz area and 9th Division bound for the Uszok Pass.

- For the past several months, the Bulgarian government has undertaken negotiations with the Great Powers on both sides of the war regarding the territorial concessions they would be willing to make.  Bulgaria's primary aim is the recovery of the Macedonian territory lost to Serbia in the Second Balkan War, and Germany and Austria-Hungary are better-placed to offer such a bribe than Russia.  Still, the pretence of talks with the Entente have made the Germans and Austro-Hungarians eager to win the friendship of the Bulgarians, and negotiations conclude today for a three million pound loan to the Bulgarian government at a very low interest rate, an agreement that the Bulgarian finance minister refers to as 'extortion.'  In exchange, the Bulgarians only have to agree to remain neutral, which is hardly a concession at all considering that the humiliating failures of the Austro-Hungarian army to conquer Serbia in 1914 has left the Bulgarian government unwilling to countenance entry into the war at present. The successful Bulgarian diplomacy allows the government not only to pay for the deficits run up during the Balkan Wars but also to take its time to decide when and how to enter the war to Bulgaria's greatest advantage.

- The Ottoman attack on the Suez Canal is launched today.  While diversionary attacks are to be made to the north, the main effort to cross the Canal is to occur in the centre, between Tussum and Serapeum.  The operation was originally scheduled to have been undertaken yesterday, but a sandstorm has delayed the attempt until this morning.  The main attack consists of eight separate columns approaching the canal in darkness, each several hundred metres apart and carrying three pontoons.  As surprise is essential, there is to be no preliminary artillery bombardment nor rifle fire as the Ottomans make their crossing.

At 2am the Ottoman engineers on the east bank begin to maneouvre their pontoons into position.  At first surprise is achieved - three pontoon bridges manage to reach the west bank and it is not until 325am that the British post at Tullum realizes that an attack is under way.  From here, however, the operation falls apart.  The diversionary attacks have failed to draw the defenders elsewhere, and with daylight the Indian soldiers on the west bank are able to fire into the pontoon bridges, while the remainder are sunk at 745am by a torpedo boat.  With surprise now lost, the Ottomans begin to use their artillery, and score some hits on shipping in the Canal.  However, with much of the bridging equipment now destroyed, the Ottoman commander calls off the attack.

The Ottoman attack on the Suez Canal, February 3rd, 1915.

- Since the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the war, a significant effort has been made to appeal to Muslims to rise against the British, French, and Russian empires.  Today Enver Pasha casts his eyes south, past Egypt to the sultanate of Darfur, west of Sudan.  Though the sultanate is self-governing, it is also tied to the British colonial administration at Khartoum, as the sultan, Ali Dinar, is required to pay an annual tribute and acknowledge the suzerainty of the British.  Writing to Ali Dinar, Enver calls on the sultan to renounce British hegemony and unite with his fellow Muslims in the war against the Entente: 'Now is the moment to renew and organize the religion and Islamic unity of purpose . . . rise up and fight the infidels.'  Such rhetoric has an appeal to Ali Dinar, who increasingly resents British influence in his sultanate and yearns to assert his independence.  Enver's letter, however, is subject to the near-absolute lack of communication between Darfur and the outside world - it will be a year before the letter arrives, by which time the situation will have already changed.

- After a week's journey Emden's landing party arrives at the city of Sanaa.  The journey was uneventful, though initial progress had been slowed by the unfamiliarity of many of the sailors with riding the mounts provided to them by the Ottomans at Hodeida.  Again and again, the column would have to stop when one of the donkeys or mules bucked off its rider, often to the sound of laughter from the rest of the party.

January 27th, 1915

- Churchill responds to Fisher's memorandum of the 25th, arguing that while maintaining superiority in the North Sea is the most important mission of the Royal Navy, there is nothing that pre-dreadnoughts can contribute to, given how hopelessly outdated they would be in combat against dreadnoughts.  As such, rather than simply sitting in port, it is better to utilize the pre-dreadnoughts in operations elsewhere where there is no risk of confronting more modern warships, such as the bombardment of the Ottoman forts at the Dardanelles.

- The capture of Hartmannswillerkopf on the 22nd has prompted an immediate response; fearing its capture to be the opening phase to roll up the French line in Alsace from the south, a counterattack has been organized by 47th and 66th Divisions.  Attacking through heavy snow, the French suffer heavy casualties and are repulsed.

- The Ottoman VIII Corps continues its advance westward across the Sinai Peninsula towards the Suez Canal.  Though they have avoided marching during daylight hours, the British have been able to use aerial reconnaissance, primarily by French sea-planes, to monitor the Ottoman movement.  By today the intelligence department in Cairo has concluded, correctly, that the main enemy force is advancing across the centre of the Sinai.

- At 5pm Emden's landing party departs Hodeida for Sanaa after a ceremony given on their behalf by the Ottoman garrison.  During the two weeks spent in Hodeida a number of German sailors have come down with dysentry and malaria, despite taking quinine daily, and First Office Mücke looks forward to arriving at Sanaa, where, he has been informed, the climate is very similar to Europe's.

January 14th, 1915

- The German attack near Soissons concludes today with the seizure of the hills north of the city.  With the French pushed back to the outskirts of Soissons and to the north bank of the Aisne River, the Germans have accomplished their objectives.  Though the depth of the advance is nowhere more than two kilometres, it is considered a successful offensive, which is credited to meticulous preparations and a concentration of artillery fire, and the battle used as an example to the German army elsewhere on the Western Front on the conduct of medium-scale operations.  Overall, German losses over the past five days of fighting near Soissons have numbered about 5500.

- The Ottoman VIII Corps of 4th Army begins its advance into the Sinai peninsula, with its objective being the seizure of the Suez Canal.  Its line of march is across the centre of the peninsula held the promise of surprising the enemy and avoided either coastline where the Ottomans would be vulnerable to British seapower.  The three divisions of VIII Corps, however, must bring all of their supplies with them, as there is no railway across the Sinai.  Though the commander of 4th Army had wanted to further delay the advance to gather additional supplies, both Falkenhayn and Enver Pasha have pushed for an immediate advance, the former to gain a notable victory that will distract the British from the Western Front, and the latter to secure a triumph that will compensate and mask the failure at Sarikamish.  Thus VIII Corps is moving with inadequate ammunition, food, and water, and will need to seize the Canal quickly, as they will not be able to sustain prolonged operations.

December 20th, 1914

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

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

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

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

The front near Givency. 

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

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