September 4th, 1915

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

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

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

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

September 1st, 1915

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

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

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

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

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

August 26th, 1915

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

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

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

German soldiers outside the burning citadel at Brest-Litovsk.

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

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

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

August 21st, 1915

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

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

June 5th, 1915

- After three days of artillery bombardment French infantry attack the remnants of the village of Neuville in Artois.  In hard fighting they are able to seize the main road through the village, but heavy fire from Germans remaining in the cellars and rubble that have survived the shelling prevent consolidation of French control over Neuville.

- Just as the fall of Przemysl has been the occasion for debate between the German and Austro-Hungarian army leadership regarding future operations in Galicia, General Ivanov of South-West Front has also been reflecting on the state of his command.  Since the opening of the Gorlice-Tarnow offensive on May 2nd, the armies under his direction have suffered 412 000 casualties and are also short 300 000 rifles; many new recruits having to be sent to the front without weapons, with instructions to pick up the rifles of their fallen comrades.  Despite this, Ivanov sees some grounds for optimism.  He believes that the Germans have been using ammunition, especially artillery shells, at unsustainable rates, and that if the Russians can simply hold on the Germans will soon have to curtail operations due to munitions shortages.  On this basis he issues orders today for his armies to hold their present ground, while six corps are pulled out of the line to create reserves sufficient, it is hoped, to deal with future German offensives.

- In Washington today Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan has an emotional interview with President Woodrow Wilson.  The former objects not merely to the tone of the response to the sinking of the liner Lusitania, but more generally to what he perceives to be the harder line taken by the American government towards German unrestricted submarine warfare as opposed to the British naval blockade.  To Wilson, however, the issue is clear: the killing of civilians by sinking passenger ships without warning is reprehensible, and cannot be allowed to continue without objection.  While neither Wilson nor the American public have any appetite at present to enter the war, the president feels that it is a moral necessity to object as strongly as possible to the German conduct of the war at sea.  Bryan, himself no stranger to moralizing, understands that he cannot alter Wilson's view, and thus tenders his resignation.  The president accepts, and will appoint as Bryan's replacement Robert Lansing, currently an advisor at the State Department and a supporter of a harder line against Germany.  With the departure of Bryan, the cabinet has lost the strongest voice in favour of strict American neutrality in the ongoing war.

May 10th, 1915

- Almost since the outbreak of the war the German government has been fighting a losing battle over its image abroad among neutrals.  While Entente propaganda has undoubtedly made its mark, views on Germany have been inevitably tainted by the way in which it has conducted the war, as more recent incidents such as the use of gas at Ypres and the sinking of Lusitania join with such older episodes as the Rape of Belgium to cast Germany as the villain.  The German government has attempted to counter such impressions since the first weeks of the war, and today publishes a White Book on the German occupation of Belgium.  Its title - The Conduct of the War by the Belgian People in Violation of International Law - says all that needs to be said regarding its aim.  Its objectivity is questionable at best and much dubious 'evidence' is included, and does little to dissuade those who already believe in German perfidy from continuing to do so.  Moreover, the Germans are not the only ones who can publish reports . . .

- Even as the German government attempts to defend its conduct of the war, the latest outrage - the sinking of the passenger liner Lusitania - is provoking a violent reaction in Britain, especially in Liverpool and other west coast ports in which many of the dead resided.  For these civilians, the torpedoing of Lusitania is seen as culmination of a German campaign of deliberate barbarism that has included the Rape of Belgium, the bombardment of Scarborough and other towns, Zeppelin bombing raids, and the use of gas at Ypres.  For many the news of Lusitania's loss is the final straw, and over the past few days anti-German riots have broken out in several British cities, including most prominently Liverpool, the destination of the doomed liner.  Large crowds rampage through commercial districts, attacking any shop identified as being owned by Germans and looting its contents.  Local police struggle to maintain order, with hundreds arrested.  Today is the worst day of violence in Liverpool, and hardly a single commercial enterprise owned by a German remains unscathed at the end of the day.  While the violence builds on existing anti-German sentiments and indeed xenophobia, they also arise from the general sense among the British public that the German methods of waging war are a fundamental threat to Western civilization, and that the war is not only worth fighting but must be fought until absolute victory can be secured and 'Prussian militarism', as it is often referred to, is crushed forever.  Whether right or not, such views are genuinely held by much of the British public, and go some way to explaining the overwhelming support for the continuation of the war in the months and years ahead.

The aftermath of the Lusitania riots.

- A more measured reaction to the sinking of Lusitania is seen today in the United States when President Woodrow Wilson delivers a speech before fifteen thousand in Philadelphia.  After several days of deliberation, he has come to the conclusion that an immediate declaration of war is not the proper course of action.  More crucially, imbued with a moral sense of American righteousness, he proclaims to the assembled crowd that:

. . . the example of America must be a special example . . . the example, not merely of peace because it will not fight, but of peace because peace is the healing and elevating influence of the world and strife is not.  There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight.  There is such a thing as a nation being so right that it does not need to convince others by force that is is right.

Wilson's proclamation is greeted by prolonged cheering.  In Britain, perhaps not surprisingly, the president's words are not so welcome - Wilson's high-minded rhetoric appears completely divorced from the perceived reality of a struggle for civilization, and there is little inclination to take lessons in morality from someone whose country is resolutely on the sidelines.

- In Germany, reaction to the sinking of Lusitania has been mixed.  Much of the public, convinced that the liner was carrying munitions, celebrates its destruction, as does the naval leadership.  For the Chancellor and the Kaiser, the sinking is seen as a disaster.  Wilhelm II directly orders the naval chief of staff that

. . . for the immediate future, no neutral vessel shall be sunk.  This is necessary on political ground for which the chancellor is responsible.  It is better than an enemy ship be allowed to pass than that a neutral shall be destroyed.

Learning of the Kaiser's order, Bethmann-Hollweg informally conveys to Washington that German submarines have been instructed to avoid neutral vessels.  Unfortunately for the pair, the naval chief of staff is committed to unrestricted submarine warfare, and in an act of deliberate insubordination does not convey the Kaiser's order to the fleet.  For now the ostensible leaders of Germany are kept in the dark.

- In Artois today the French 10th Army attacks all along the German line, attempting to repeat the fleeting success of yesterday.  Overall the French attacks fail: an attempt to move further east on the Lorette spur was held, and repeated attacks by 70th Division at Carency were also repulsed.  However, a German counterattack by elements of 58th and 11th Divisions also fails, and the French XXXIII Corps is able to maintain control of the ground seized yesterday.  This salient also leaves German positions at Carency and Ablain just to the north almost isolated, and the commander of the German 28th Division, responsible for this section of line, is concerned that the villages may have to be abandoned.

Further north, in light of the complete failure of the attacks of yesterday, Sir John French calls off the British offensive towards Aubers Ridge early this morning.  General Haig, whose 1st Army had been responsible for the operation, is dismayed at the failure.  Writing in his diary, he concludes that the defeat 'showed that we are confronted by a carefully prepared position, which is held by a most determined enemy, with numerous machine guns.'  To overcome such defences, Haig believes that an 'accurate and so fairly long' preliminary bombardment will be necessary in future to ensure enemy strong points are destroyed before the infantry advance.  However understandable Haig's conclusions may be, he is learning the wrong lessons.

- Overnight the Russian counterattack in Galicia is launched, with 44th Division advancing towards Jacmierz into the gap between 11th Bavarian and 119th Divisions and 33rd Division to the south advancing towards Besko.  Though the Russians are able to initially gain some ground, the German commanders are more than equal to the task.  To the north, 11th Bavarian Division pushes back the southern flank of XXIV Russian Corps to the north, which creates space for the German 20th Division to come up from its reserve position and launch a attack co-ordinated with 119th Division on the Russian 44th Division, throwing the latter back.  To the south, the Austro-Hungarian X Corps secures the high ground near Odrzechowa, threatening the flank of the Russian 33rd Division.  By nightfall the Russians have been repulsed and are retreating eastward towards Sanok.

The counterattack by the Russian XXI Corps had been the last throw of the dice for 3rd Army, and its defeat means any hope of holding the Germans west of the San River has evaporated.  General Ivanov's chief of staff sends a despondent message to Stavka this evening, stating that the army is shattered and the situation is hopeless, and the only option is a pell-mell retreat eastwards: Przemysl will have to be surrendered, the Germans will soon invade the Ukraine, and Kiev should be fortified.  The chief of staff is promptly fired, but Stavka finally acknowledges reality and finally acquiesces today to General Dimitriev's repeated requests to retreat behind the San, 3rd Army is a mere shell of its former self.  Of the 200 000 men it had on May 2nd, only 40 000 remain to retreat eastwards today, and this despite 3rd Army having received 50 000 replacements in the meantime.  Further, the Germans have taken 140 000 prisoners, reflecting the shattered morale of the Russian infantry.  Some of its formations have simply ceased to exist: IX Corps has suffered 80% casualties, while III Caucasus Corps, which was sent into the battle on May 4th to restore the situation, has instead lost 75% of its strength in the six days since.

The strategic implications of the crushing defeat suffered by 3rd Army also continue to spread.  In order to maintain some semblance of coherent line on the Eastern Front, Stavka issues orders for the southern flank of 4th Army to pull back east almost to the confluence of the San and Vistula Rivers, while 8th Army in the Carpathians will have to retreat to the northeast and reorientate to face to the west instead of the south.

The German offensive at Gorlice-Tarnow, May 10th to 12th, 1915.

- Though the Treaty of London had been signed on April 26th, details remained to be finalized regarding the nature of Italian co-operation with the Entente, and at sea Italy is in particular eager to secure substantial naval support in the Adriatic.  Today in Paris a naval convention is signed between Britain, France, and Italy which calls for the creation of an allied fleet in the Adriatic under Italian command, to which the French would contribute twelve destroyers, a seaplane carrier, and a number of torpedo-boats and submarines, while the British pledged to dispatch four pre-dreadnoughts and four light cruisers.  The British reinforcements in particular, however, are to be drawn from the fleet off the Dardanelles, and will not be sent to the Adriatic until they have been replaced by similar warships from France.  This detail will be the source of friction between the allies once Italy formally enters the war.

- For Italian Prime Minister Salandra and Foreign Minister Sonnino, the driving force behind Italian intervention on the side of the Entente, the struggle now is to carry the rest of the Italian government with them into the war.  This is no easy task, as many politicians do not share their passionate desire for intervention.  Instead, a vague desire for neutrality is the most common sentiment, a position to which some within the Cabinet itself adhere to.  Moreover, King Victor Emmanuel is unreliable; just yesterday he proclaimed to Salandra his uncertainty as to the right course of action for Italy and the possiblity of abdicating in favour of his uncle the Duke of Aosta.  There is also the necessity of securing a majority in parliament for war, which is far from assured.  Finally and perhaps of most concern to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, there is an alternative political leader known to oppose intervention: Giovanni Giolitti, who has served as prime minister on no fewer than four occasions from 1892 to 1914.  The possibility exists that if Salandra and Sonnino cannot carry either the cabinet or parliament in support of intervention, Giolitti may form a government pledged, at minimum, to strict neutrality, if not a pro-German attitude.  Indeed, when German Ambassador Bülow browbeats the Austro-Hungarian ambassador today to agree to further concessions, he communicates the offer not to the goverment but to Giolitti; the Germans see Giolitti as the last chance to keep Italy out of the war.

For all of the difficulties that Salandra and Sonnino face, the forces opposed to intervention are not without their own problems.  Giolitti is 73 years old, and both his grip on and influence in Italian politics is not what it once was.  He also has little desire to form a government led by himself, fearing he would be branded as a lackey of Austria, and crucially communicates this belief to Victor Emmanuel in an interview this afternoon, which does much to calm the nerves of the king.  Salandra and Giolitti also meet this afternoon, and the former sufficiently dissembles to leave the latter with the impression that he is not wholeheartedly committed to war.  Still, it is possible that Giolitti may still instruct his supporters in parliament to vote against the war when it reconvenes on May 20th.  The next ten days will thus determine not only whether Italy enters the war, but indeed the future course of Italian politics overall.

- Today Admiral de Robeck cables the Admiralty a proposal for a renewed naval attack on the Dardanelles.  The suggestion originated in a meeting with Commodore Keyes, who remains a strong advocate of naval action, and is convinced that futher naval pressure can yet secure victory.  Robeck is more doubtful, and his message reflects his continued pessimism.  Even if a naval attack succeeds, 'the temper of the Turkish army in the peninsula indicates that the forcing of the Dardanelles and subsequent appearance of the fleet off Constantinople would not of itself prove decisive.  These are hardly fighting words, but Keyes hopes that even a tepid proposal will inspire Churchill to order another attempt.

- Near the mouth of the Bosporus the Russian Black Sea Fleet makes another appearance to bombard the forts, and this time the recently-repaired ex-German battlecruiser Goeben makes a brief appearance.  The Germans are dismayed to discover that the 12-inch guns of the outdated Russian pre-dreadnoughts can still fire farther than the 11-inch guns of Goeben.  After the battlecruiser takes two glancing blows it uses its superior speed to break off the battle and return to the Sea of Marmara.

May 3rd, 1915

- Yesterday evening the German XXVI Reserve Corps, having assembled sufficient gas cylinders, launched an attack between Pilkem and St. Julien northeast of Ypres.  However, the effectiveness of the gas was limited by gusting winds and the primitive gas masks now available to the British and French soldiers, and the attack was repulsed.  Nevertheless, the continued German pressure has convinced the British that the Ypres salient, now squeezed from the north by the German gains of the past two weeks, cannot be held on present lines.  The decision is made to evacuate the easternmost portion of the salient stretching from Fortuin east to Grafenstafel, south to the Polygon Wood, and west to almost Hooge.  The orders having gone out, the withdrawal begins tonight.

The line at Ypres prior to the British withdrawal.

- At 530am this morning just over a thousand French artillery pieces, including almost three hundred heavy guns, open fire on German positions in Artois between Lens and Arras.  This bombardment is the first phase of the next major French offensive on the Western Front.  Despite earlier failures in the 1st Battle of Champagne, 1st Battle of Artois, and the Battle of the Woevre, Joffre believes that the French army has learned important lessons regarding the conduct of operations in the conditions of trench warfare, and has now acquired the proper weaponry, such as heavy artillery, to mete out sufficient damage to ensure success.  The objective of the offensive is to break through the German lines and seize the high ground at Vimy Ridge, followed by a pursuit that would force the Germans to abandon Douai.  To accomplish this, the French 10th Army, under newly-appointed General d'Urbal, has been assigned six infantry and one cavalry corps.  Three of these corps - XXXIII, XX, and XVII - will undertake the primary advance towards Vimy Ridge, while XXI Corps will attack and seize the heights at Notre-Dame de Lorette.  D'Urbal had argued for a brief preliminary bombardment of four hours to preserve the element of surprise, but the lesson Joffre believes the failed offensives earlier in the year has shown is that a prolonged and thorough artillery bombardment is essential to achieve success.  The artillery is thus to fire for four days until the infantry attack goes in on the 7th.  Sir John French has also agreed that the BEF will launch an co-ordinated attack to the north to draw off German reserves and support the French offensive.

- Today the American tanker Gulflight, carrying a load of oil from Texas to Rouen, is torpedoed by a German submarine.  Though it does not sink, two panic-stricken crew members jump overboard and drown, and tonight the tanker's captain dies of a heart attack.  It is the first American ship attacked since the declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare.  It will not be the last - at the same time Gulflight is struck, the Cunard passenger liner Lusitania is two days out from New York, en route to Liverpool.

- In Courland the German 6th Cavalry Division reaches the town of Mitau in Courland.  Here the retreating Russians have halted and established strong defensive positions.  Unable to ouflank the enemy, here the German advance halts, and the front settles down along the Dubissa River.  However, in addition to the ground won, the German advance has achieved its larger strategic purpose - General Alexeyev of North-West Front has sent several divisions from elsewhere to Courland to contain the enemy advance.

The German advance in Courland towards Mitau, late April and early May, 1915.

- The German and Austro-Hungarian advance at Gorlice-Tarnow continues today, and by this evening the Germans have advanced eight miles.  Given the ongoing success, Mackensen sets new objectives further east, instructing his commanders to reach the Wisloka River.  At this point the primary impediments to the German advance are the management of the large number of prisoners taken and the difficulties hauling supplies over the ground destroyed by the artillery bombardment.

On the Russian side, both IX and X Corps of 3rd Army have been severely battered: over the two days of fighting the available strength of the latter has fallen from 34 000 to 5000, while to the north a second-line division of IX Corps has simply disintegrated.  A five-mile gap has opened between the two corps, and the Russian survivors are falling back in disorder.  The meagre reserves available nearby have been pushed into the battle to no effect, and two regiments force-marched into the gap simply disappear.  General Radko Dimitriev (interestingly, a Bulgarian), commander of the Russian 3rd Army, hopes to hold the heights at Biecz to use as the springboard for the intervention of the approaching III Caucasian Corps, and sends in half of 63rd Division to reinforce the Russian defences.  All this accomplishes is the destruction of the division, and by this evening the heights are in German hands.

German officers in the ruins of Gorlice, May 1915.

- In the Hungarian Parliament the opposition has brought forward a motion to grant the right to vote to all soldiers over the age of twenty, in an effort to encourage the rank-and-file of the Austro-Hungarian army and give them more of a stake in the fighting.  Prime Minister Tisza, however, rejects the proposal outright, seeing in it the first step to universal suffrage, which is entirely unacceptable.  Today Tisza is denounced in parliament by Mihály Károlyi, a leading figure of the Independence Party, who argues that the realities of modern war require a recognition of the sacrifices being asked by the men of Hungary.  It is just one example of the tin ear of the leadership of Austria-Hungary towards the importance of public morale in modern war.

- In Libya ongoing resistance to the imposition of Italian rule over the colony seized from the Ottoman Empire in 1912 has limited Italian control to coastal regions.  To prevent a complete collapse, Chief of Staff Cadorna orders today the dispatch of ten thousand soldiers to Libya.  The necessity comes at a very inopportune moment, given that the Italian army is supposedly preparing and concentrating for a war against Austria-Hungary.

- Overnight the ANZAC attack at Gallipoli has continued, and though isolated units are able to gain some ground, elsewhere the Ottomans stop the attack cold.  At 130am, despite having no indications that the operation was proceeding satisfactorily, the local commander commits two reserve battalions from the Naval Division, which only succeeds in raising the casualty total.  Soon the stream of wounded coming back down Monash Gully impairs efforts at any further advance.  A few men manage to scale the heights to the east, but are driven back after coming under friendly fire.  By mid-afternoon all of the ANZAC forces are back to their starting line of the night before, having accomplished nothing of any importance.

February 18th, 1915

- Sir John French replies today to Joffre's letter of the 16th regarding British operations in the near future, and the BEF commander outlines his plan for an attack in early March just north of La Bassée, directed at the village of Neuve Chapelle and the Aubers Ridge just beyond.  French, however, has learned of Kitchener's decision to assign 29th Division to the Dardanelles operation.  Moreover, though Kitchener has pledged to sent another division to France instead, it is composed of Territorial reserves, whom French believes will need significant further training before they can be send into the line.  As such, French informs Joffre that the BEF will be unable to conduct a major attack in early March while simultaneously relieving the French IX and XX Corps at Ypres previously agreed to on January 21st.

- In light of the Kaiser's decision to postpone the commencement of unrestricted submarine warfare, revised instructions are issued to U-boats today, intended to allow the navy to maintain an effective naval blockade of Britain without inflaming neutral opinion.  U-boat captains are to draw a clear distinction between enemy and neutral ships prior to firing, but in making such distinctions more than the flag of the merchant is to be taken into account, including course, structure, and general behaviour of the vessel.  Further, hospital ships are to spared, as well as ships belonging to the American-funded Belgian Relief Commission.  Provided such precautions are taken, captains would not be held responsible if mistakes were made.  The instructions bear the imprint of headquarters staff who have never had to determine the identity of a vessel through binoculars or a periscope while avoiding the threat of enemy fire.  Expecting U-boat captains to make what essentially is a political decision whether to fire is to invite mistakes, which is precisely what will happen.

Even as the revised instructions go out to the submarine force, the German government gives a reply to the American note of the 10th objecting to unrestricted submarine warfare.  On the one hand, the German government insists that they have the right to attack enemy ships as they see fit.  On the other hand, they assure the American government that American ships will not be attacked, as long as they are recognizable as such.

- The southern advance of the German 10th Army today sees it pass between the Russian fortress at Grodno and the Augustow Forest.  Here 10th Army takes up position facing both west and east, covering the escape routes from the Augustow Forest.

Of the Russian 10th Army, while III and XXVI Corps have made their way east and out of the forest, neither was aware that XX Corps remained behind them, and thus provided no aid to its withdrawal.  Thus XX Corps finds itself today still in Augustow Forest, and that the German 10th Army has now cut the last avenues of escape.

- For the past few days, the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army has been attempting to recover the key town of Mezölaborcz, and today the 21st Landwehr Division gains some ground near the village of Szuko.  Otherwise, however, the strategic point remains in Russian hands.

- The French government decides today that the division assigned on the 4th to the Balkans is instead to be assigned to the Dardanelles operation.

- The merchant ship Rubens, disguised as a neutral Danish vessel to avoid interception by the British, slips out of Wilhelmshaven, beginning an unusual voyage.  Its destination is German East Africa, and its assignment is to bring supplies to the German forces defending the colony, and in particular a load of coal to enable the light cruiser Königsberg to sail for home.

February 10th, 1915

- The United States issues a strong condemnation of the recent German proclamation that starting on the 18th a war zone would exist around the British Isles and that enemy merchant ships would be sunk without warning.  The position of the American government is that any harm befalling an American ship or American citizens, even if the latter were aboard a British vessel, would be 'an indefensible violation of neutral rights,' and pledged to hold the German government strictly to account for any such act.  In short, the United States will defend its rights to trade with Britain and expect Germany not to interfere.  The tone of the American note is stronger that Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg expected, and brings into sharp relief the tension between cutting British maritime trade and the attitude of neutral powers.

- The Russian 10th Army continues to be battered by the German offensive as it crosses the frontier between East Prussia and Russia itself.  General Rudolph Sievers, 10th Army commander, is struggling against against immense difficulties, only one of which are the Germans themselves.  The terrible blizzard bedevils his own infantry as much as the enemy, and makes redeployment and reinforcement almost impossible.  Meanwhile, most of 10th Army's supplies and ammunition are snowbound at railway depots in the rear, and communication links are tenuous at best.  Given the difficulties, Sievers has concentrated his attention on III Siberian Corps on the southern end of the line, which is putting up a stubborn defence that is at least slowing the advance of the German 8th Army opposite.  This concentration on the south, however, leaves the northern end of the line neglected, where the German 10th Army is having more success - today the German XXI Corps cuts the rail line from the front to the Russian fortress at Kovno to the north-east, and XXIX Reserve Corps surrounds and captures ten thousand Russian soldiers near Wirballen.

August 8th, 1914

- The economic impact of the outbreak of war has reached the neutral United States, as Europeans withdraw funds from American banks.  As a result, by today the gold reserves of the New York banks have declined by $43 million.

- Two British cruisers appear off Dar es Salaam in German East Africa, and proceed to bombard the harbour.  The governor, Heinrich Schnee, proclams Dar es Salaam an open city, knowing it cannot be defended.  The tiny German garrison destroys the wireless station and retreat inland.

- Mulhouse is captured by elements of the French VII Corps at 3pm, the French force having encountered no strong German resistance.  Thousands of Alsatians greet VII Corps with cheers of 'Vive la France!', while the news is met with joyous celebration in France.

- As Goeben and Breslau sail among the Greek islands, Admiral Souchon orders his collier to meet him at Denusa, a remote island on the far side of the Aegean.  Meanwhile, the British battlecruisers finally leave Malta and begin to sail eastwards after the German pair.  Admiral Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne, commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, still believes that the ultimate intention of the Germans is to double back and attack the conveys, so he is in no rush to catch up to Goeben and Breslau.  He has no idea that the Dardanelles is a possible destination for the ships.

- French General Joffre issues his General Instructions No. 1 today, outlining his plan for the campaign.  In line with Plan XVII, 1st and 2nd Armies will attack into Lorraine south of the Metz-Thionville fortified zone, while 3rd and 4th Armies will attack through the Ardennes north of Metz-Thionville.  The objective of the offensive is the destruction of the German armies.  The plan rests on the assumption that the German army is concentrated in Luxembourg and Metz-Thionville.  The German invasion of Belgium, meanwhile, is dismissed as a comparatively secondary operation.

- The French 1st Army seizes several passes in the Vosges, in order to protect its flank for its imminent offensive under General Instructions No. 1.

- Ludendorff returns from Liège to 2nd Army headquarters, reporting on the seizure of the town.  As the surrounding forts continue to resist, he argues that special siege artillery will be needed to ensure their destruction.  The Germans have two types of such guns - several Skoda 305 mortars are on loan from Austria-Hungary, and Krupp is frantically finishing construction of its Krupp 420 mortars at its factory in Essen.  These mortars are the largest land guns in history, and only they can fire shells of sufficient size (12-inch for the Skodas and 16.5 inch for the Krupps) to penetrate the thick concrete of the Belgian forts at Liège.