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.

September 21st, 1915

- At 7am British artillery begin their preliminary bombardment of the German lines that are to be assaulted on the 25th.  While heavy guns and howitzers concentrate on shelling fixed defences, lighter field artillery targets German wire.  Each battery of field artillery (of four to six guns) is assigned 150 shells per day, and is responsible for cutting 600 yards of German wire.  Despite the concentration of field artillery, it is still not enough to guarantee that suitable paths are cut through the wire - belts of wire are from ten yards to twenty yards deep, and some are situated under cover from direct observation, making it impossible to know before the infantry attack whether the wire has been successfully cut.  Further, even if all shells hit on target it would not be enough to clear all the wire, as a number of the shells are duds.  Finally, the wire belts before the German reserve trench line are beyond the reach of the field artillery, and though howitzers are assigned to the task the dust clouds kicked up by the bombardment make long-range observation of its effectiveness problematic.

- With French artillery continuing to heavily bombard German positions on both sides of Arras, the headquarters of the German 6th Army concludes this morning 'that a major French attempt at a breakthrough seemed to be imminent.'

Meanwhile, Falkenhayn and Wilhelm II depart OHL headquarters at Pless in Silesia for the Western Front, where they will visit the various army headquarters for inspections and assessments of their situation.  This visit is not, however, the result of growing signs of a major Entente offensive on the Western Front - indeed, Falkenhayn himself believes that the artillery bombardments are mere demonstrations, designed to draw German forces from the Eastern Front.  He has concluded that if the French in particular did not attack over the summer months to aid their Russian ally when the crisis on the Eastern Front was at its greatest, they were unlikely to attack now that operations in the east are winding down.

- In June 1913 Greece and Serbia had concluded a military convention whereby each would support the other if attacked by a third party, though only if Serbia deployed 150 000 men to Greece's Macedonian frontier, and it was the absence of these forces that provided justification for Greek neutrality in August 1914.  As the French government contemplates action in the Balkans to aid their Serbian allies, they hope that Greece may yet be convinced to enter the war on the side of the Entente.  However, if Serbia was unable to deploy 150 000 to its border with Greece at the outbreak of war, it can hardly be expected to do so now when it is about to face invasion from the north and east.  Today Greek Prime Minister Eleutherios Venizelos informs the French and British governments that King Constantine has concluded that the Serbs will not fulfill their obligations under the convention, and as a result the Greeks will remain neutral.  Venizelos, given his strong pro-Entente sentiments, does not leave matters there, and offers a very tempting alternative - if the French and British provide 150 000 soldiers instead, his government will consider the Serbian requirement completed, and that Greece will thus enter the war on the terms of the convention.

- According to the Bulgarian constitution the approval of parliament was required before war could be declared.  However, Prime Minister Radoslavov and King Ferdinand are reluctant to formally recall parliament lest the opposition succeed in defeating a vote for war.  Instead, Radoslavov convenes an informal meeting of parliamentary deputies in Sofia today, where he explains that the time is right for Bulgaria to recover the lands lost in 1913, and that this can only be done by allying with Germany and Austria-Hungary.  Despite some dissent, the deputies agree with Radoslavov's argument, and the path to war is clear.  Afterwards the Bulgarian government announces mobilization, and 800 000 men report for induction into the army.

September 18th, 1915

- Captain Heinrich Mathy, who had commanded the Zeppelin L13 in its raid on London on September 9th, is summoned to Berlin today to report directly to the chief of the Kaiser's Naval Cabinet.  The success has been widely celebrated in Germany as a great blow against the British, hitherto beyond reach, but it is entirely in character for the Kaiser to be primarily concerned with whether any damage had been done to Buckingham Place.  In his interview Mathy provides assurances that all bombs were aimed accurately and that no royal target was struck.

- In Artois, artillery of the French III Corps, facing stronger defences than the other corps of 10th Army, begins its preliminary bombardment today for the offensive to be launched in one week.

- The German 10th Army occupies Vilna today, the city having been vacated by the Russians.  Ludendorff still hopes to win a great victory by turning the Russian flank to the east, despite the arrival of Russian reinforcements putting the German cavalry under increasing pressure.  He thus objects to the orders from Falkenhayn yesterday to divert part of the Army of the Bug southeast to rescue the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army.  The German chief of staff, however, ignores Ludendorff's objection, remaining firm in his belief that Ludendorff's grander plans for an envelopment of the Russian 10th Army are impractical, and that a further Austro-Hungarian collapse could undermine the entire southern half of the Eastern Front.

July 20th, 1915

- Vice-Admiral Gustav Bachmann appeals directly to the Kaiser today to lift the remaining restrictions on bombing the City of London left in place by Bethmann-Hollweg.  The Chief of the German Naval Staff argues that limiting raids to the weekend is impractical, given how dependent Zeppelins are on good weather, and raises the French bombing of Karlsruhe as showing prior Entente attacks on civilians.  Under pressure the Kaiser relents, asking only that royal palaces be spared.  German Zeppelins now have free reign to attack London and other British targets as they see fit.

- Today the German force under General Gallwitz arrives at the Narew River north and northwest of Warsaw, only to encounter a strong Russian counterattack between Pultusk and Rozan.  Though the German line holds, it delays the crossing of the Narew for several days.  Meanwhile, on Gallwitz's southern flank a force of Landwehr and Landsturm is assembled to beiege the major Russian fortress of Novogeorgievsk, and command is given to General Beseler, famous for the rapid capture of Antwerp in October 1914.

- On the southern face of the Polish salient, the German 11th and Austro-Hungarian 4th Armies have reached the new Russian defensive line just south of the vital Lublin-Cholm railway, and launch energetic today.  Though the Russians lose ground in some sectors, and 4th Army in particular takes six thousand prisoners, neither the Germans nor the Austro-Hungarians are able to break through.

- The Italian 3rd Army today concentrates its offensive power on Monte San Michelle on the northern shoulder of the Karst plateau.  An intensive artillery bombardment blankets not only the main enemy defensive positions but also area to the east of San Michelle, preventing the Austro-Hungarian 93rd Division from reinforcing 17th Honved and 20th Honved Divisions on the mountain itself.  After several hours of heavy fighting, elements of the Italian XI Corps capture the heights at 530pm.  The local Austro-Hungarian commander immediately prepares a counteroffensive to launched in the pre-dawn hours of tomorrow.

Monte San Michelle on the Italian Front.

- In the months leading up to the entry of Italy into the war, Austria-Hungary had feared that Romania would join the ranks of their enemies as well.  Such concern was not without foundation: Romania and Italy had held diplomatic discussions prior to May 1915, and Russia had also applied great pressure on the Romanian government to enter the war.  However, the dramatic victories won by the Germans on the Eastern Front over the past two months has greatly dampened the enthusiasim of the Romanian government for war, and today Prime Minister Bratianu decides that Romania will remain neutral, at least in the foreseeable future.

- After sinking the French steamer Carthage on the 4th, the German submarine U21 spent two weeks evading Entente countermeasures, and after striking a mine limped back to Constantinople on the 16th.  As U21 will be out of action for two weeks, the German admiralty decides today to dispatch two more ocean-going submarines to the Mediterranean, drawn by the opportunity not only to strike at Entente warships off the Dardanelles but also against merchant shipping.

July 2nd, 1915

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

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

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

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

The Eastern Front in early July, 1915.

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

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

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

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

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

May 31st, 1915

- Despite the order from the Kaiser on May 10th to avoid the targeting of neutral ships, steamers from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have been sunk by German submarines over the past few weeks.  Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg realizes that the navy has ignored the imperial instruction, and thus convenes a meeting with the kaiser and the military chiefs today to resolve the matter.  Here the chief of staff of the navy once again asserts that it is impossible to modify unrestricted submarine warfare, and again argued for its continuation.  The Kaiser, not wanting to appear weak before his military chiefs and the German public, now states that the prior order not to target neutral ships could only be published if it was endorsed personally by the chancellor, a qualification Bethmann-Hollweg accepts.

- This evening the French XXXIII Corps attack towards Souchez, and manages to seize the trenches on the northern and sourthern flanks of the sugar factory to the west of the village.

- After the fall of Pralowce yesterday at dusk, the Russians prepared an immediate counterattack.  A heavy artillery barrage opens at 3am, and waves of Russian infantry are able to overwhelm the Austro-Hungarian defenders by mid-morning.  On the northern flank of Przemysl, however, 11th Bavarian Division is able to occupy three important defensive positions after intensive bombardment by heavy mortars forced the Russian defenders to abandon their entrenchments and fall back.

Meanwhile, to the southeast of Przemysl the Austro-Hungarian 27th Division seizes the first Russian trench line on the heights at Gaj.  However, the Russians are able to fall back to prepared reserve positions, and in light of the strength of the enemy defences the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army postpones further attacks until June 2nd, to give time for the infantry to work their way closer to the Russian line.  Further to the southeast, Südarmee makes progress, capturing the city of Stryj and over nine thousand Russian prisoners.

The advance of Südarmee, May 31st to June 3rd, 1915.

- General Townshend's 6th Indian Division launches its attack on the Ottoman defensive positions north of Qurna at 5am this morning.  On the surface the Ottoman position is strong - seasonal floods has transformed much of the countryside into marsh, meaning the Indian infantry can only attack the enemy defences by front amphibious assaults.  However, in the event the attack is easier than Townshend expected, as the Ottoman defenders break under artillery fire from the British flotilla and surrender in large numbers.  By the end of the day, the landing force has seized their initial objectives and are advancing on the main Ottoman line around Bahran.

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.

March 20th, 1915

- After giving his approval on the 11th for army Zeppelins to bombard London, the Kaiser has been typically plagued by second thoughts, and rescinded his order.  Deprived of their primary target, three Zeppelins instead bombard Paris today.

- The French 4th Army calls a halt today to major offensive operations, bringing an end to the 1st Battle of Champagne.  Over the past two months of fighting, 4th Army has suffered over 93 000 casualties, while advancing an average of one kilometre over a three kilometre stretch of the front.  On the other side, German casualties were only half those of the French.  Among the lessons the French take from the campaign, which Joffre deems to have been a success, is the vital importance of heavy artillery to smash the way through enemy defenses and the need for better offensive tactics.

- After painstaking preparations, today the Bavarian 8th Reserve Division recaptures the summit of Reichsackerkopf, west of Munster in the Vosges.

The front line in the Vosges, March 1915.

- With the last breakout attempt defeated and food stocks exhausted, the fate of the Przemsyl garrison has been sealed, and today Emperor Franz Joseph sends a validictory message to the fortress commander:

It saddens me greatly that the bold breakout attempt by the Przemysl garrison was shattered yesterday by the enemy's larger force.  Yet I gaze with a sad pride upon the incomparable self-sacrifice of the brave men whose efforts weren't crowned with success.  I wholeheartedly thank everyone who fought for their heroic deed.  I make the sign of the cross over every one of them who gave their lives on the field of honor.  Even in the distant future, history will record what Austria-Hungary's warriors achieved during the stubborn defense of Przemysl.  They were unflinching and brave until the end.

February 15th, 1915

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

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

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

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

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

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

February 14th, 1915

- Preparations for the imminent French attack in Champagne have not gone unnoticed by the Germans, and today a report arrives at the headquarters of the German 3rd Army from OHL warning that a significant French offensive will begin within days.

- In the Vosges elements of the 51st Landwehr Brigade have advanced to secure a line running from the mountain of Le Hilsenfirst in the north to the village of Sengern to the south, paving the way for the offensive west of Munster scheduled to begin in several days time.

- Aboard his flagship Admiral Pohl receives a telegram from the Kaiser: 'For urgent political reasons, send orders by wireless to U-boats already dispatched for the present not to attack ships flying a neutral flag, unless recognized with certainty to be enemies.'  Wilhelm II is having second thoughts as the significance of the order he signed so frivolously on February 4th becomes apparent.  For his part Pohl is upset by the note; central to the whole campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare is scaring neutral merchants away from Britain, which would be nullified if such a pledge as the Kaiser suggests is given.  In response Pohl sends a telegram to the Naval Staff outlining his views and insisting that they be placed before Wilhelm II.

- This morning elements of the German 8th Army enter the town of Lyck, a vital rail junction in East Prussia near the German-Russian frontier, while the infantry columns of the German 10th Army have reached the northern edge of the Augustow Forest at Suwalki.

Only today do the Russian commanders realize that it is 10th Army that is the target of the German offensive, and that three corps - from north to south, III, XX, and XXVI Corps - are in danger of encirclement.  With only two roads open to retreat, III Corps takes the northern one while XXVI takes the southern, leaving XX Corps to stand and fight to cover their withdrawal.

February 12th, 1915

- In Champagne the major offensive by the French 4th Army was scheduled to be launched today, but the region is in the midst of a major snowstorm, and given that the weather conditions prevent accurate targeting of artillery, General de Langle postpones the attack until the 16th.

- The Kaiser issues an Imperial Order today clarifying his instructions regarding the bombardment of England by Zeppelins.  Emphasizing his desire to see the air war prosecuted 'with the greatest energy,' he authorized the targeting of military bases, barracks, oil tanks, and the London docks.  On the other hand, attacks on the residential areas of London and royal palaces remained forbidden.  Both the army and the navy begin planning for their respective Zeppelins to raid on England.

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.

January 20th, 1915

- As the Zeppelins L 3 and L 4 return to their airbase of Fuhlsbüttel at 940am and 947am, the news of the first bombs dropped on Britain by airships is published in the German press to widespread acclaim.  The reaction in government circles is somewhat more guarded; Wilhelm II praises the conduct of the raid, but is disturbed by the apparent bombing of the royal palace at Sandringham, raising fears among the military leadership that the temperamental Kaiser may yet rescind permission to bomb Britain.  Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, meanwhile, is concerned at the impact on opinion in the neutral states, especially in the United States, over the apparent bombing of undefended cities for no great military gain.  In Britain, meanwhile, satisfaction with the negligible damage is mixed with concern at the inability to prevent such raids - while anti-aircraft guns have been deployed around London and a small number of military targets, the two German Zeppelins had attacked elsewhere and thus flew with relative impunity.

- On the Eastern Front General Ivanov of South-West Front believes the decision by Grand Duke Nicholas to focus on an invasion of East Prussia, as prompted by General Ruszkii, fails to take account of the apparent Russian superiority in Galicia.  Instead, as he informs his subordinates today, Ivanov intends to push into and through the Carpathian Mountains into the Hungary plain, possibly knocking Austria-Hungary out of the war entirely.  Regardless of the merit in Ivanov's plan, it means that once again North-West and South-West Front are working at cross-purposes, pursuing their own plans instead of coordinating their efforts.

- Over the past two days the Mecklenburg 14th Jäger Battalion and the 11th and 15th Ulan Regiments have attacked in the Vosges, working their way around the southern flank of Hartmannswillerkopf, isolating the French defenders on the summit.  In preparation for a final assault on the mountain, it is targeted by a heavy artillery bombardment.

January 10th, 1915

- Admiral Pohl, Chief of the Naval Staff, telegraphs Admiral Ingenohl of the High Seas Fleet to inform the latter of a conference held three days earlier with Wilhelm II.  While the Kaiser had reiterated his restrictions on the movement of the dreadnoughts of the High Seas Fleet, he did make one important concession - at Pohl's urging, Wilhelm approves the use of naval Zeppelins to bombard the docks of London and the English coast.  This action has long been urged by many in the German navy as a means to strike back at the hated English foe.  Even this authorization, however, is limited - Zeppelins are not permitted to bomb the centre of London, as the Kaiser fears the accidental deaths of his English regal cousins.  Planning now begins for the first Zeppelin raids on Britain.

- Germany and Austria-Hungary agree today to the Treaty of Posen, by which they divide up the occupied part of Russian Poland between them.  Reflecting the balance of power within the alliance, it is Germany that is assigned the more productive Polish lands.

- In the Caucasus the Russian II Turkestan Corps goes on the offensive against the Ottoman XI Corps opposite, sending 1500 soldiers through the mountains around the Ottoman left to outflank them.

January 9th, 1915

- A further attack by the French 4th Army near Perthes, launched at 4pm after a heavy artillery bombardment, are broken up by the German defenders.  Further to the east, French infantry are able to reach and enter a narrow strip of the first German trench line, and are able to hold on despite repeated enemy counterattacks.

- News of Ludendorff's appointment as Chief of Staff to Südarmee does not sit well with Hindenburg.  In a letter sent directly to the Kaiser today, the commander of German forces in the East urges the return of the 'irreplaceable' Ludendorff to his old post as his Chief of Staff.  Hindenburg knows full well that his victories in the East have been accomplished in large part through the planning of Ludendorff, and that their partnership is essential to the success of both.  He also insists that the four new reserve corps forming in Germany need to be sent to the Eastern Front, and in particular to East Prussia for an offensive (planned by Ludendorff) in the neighbourhood of the Masurian Lakes.  He concludes his letter with an assurance that he would be more than happy to retire, a none-too-subtle hint to Wilhelm II of the stakes involved in breaking up the partnership that has achieved Germany's most notable victory to date.

- At the start of the war, Count Berchtold, the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, had opposed ceding territory to Italy in exchange for it fulfilling its responsibilities as a member of the Triple Alliance.  The steady tide of Austro-Hungarian defeats since August, however, has led Berchtold to change his mind.  He fears that both Italy and Romania may take advantage of the Empire's apparent weakness by attacking it, a catastrophe that might spell the end of Austria-Hungary itself.  To avoid this, Berchtold is now willing to cede territory to Italy and Romania in exchange for their continued neutrality in the war, and today he advises Franz Joseph to surrender Trentino to Italy.

The alternative course of action - namely, to ensure Italian and Romanian neutrality by demonstrating Austro-Hungarian military strength through victory on the battlefield - is supported not only by Conrad, but others within the government, including Count Tisza, the Hungarian Prime Minister, who wishes to avoid seeing Hungarian lands used to bribe Romania.  Most vitally, Emperor Franz Joseph himself is loath to yield an inch of territory to the Italians, whom he sees as the Empire's natural enemy.

- Overnight, as Choising approached Hodeida, its German crew sighted a row of lights in the distance, and assuming them to be the lights of a dock, they direct the steamer towards them.  To their dismay, however, as they approached they realized that the lights were moving, and they were instead bearing down on a French armoured cruiser.  First Officer von Mücke orders its men to the ship's four boats, and they proceed to land on the Arabian coast by dawn.  Once ashore they can see Hodeida in the distance, but they have no idea if they are in friendly or enemy territory.  As they bring their weaponry and remaining supplies ashore, several Arabs observe them from a distance before disappearing.  In case Hodeida was occupied by the enemy, Mücke intends to march inland and hide in the desert by day, and return to Choising at night.  No sooner do they leave the beach then they find themselves confronted by over a hundred Arabs.  There is a linguistic impasse, neither side being able to understand the other.  Amidst the gesticulating and mangling of phrases, a breakthrough is finally achieved when Mücke points to the portrait of the Kaiser on a gold piece, which the Arabs recognize and begin shouting 'Aleman!'  It is finally deduced that Hodeida remains in Ottoman hands, and the Arab force escorts Emden's landing party into the town.

Mücke considers the next step of the journey home in consultation with the local Ottoman officials.  There is no railway, and he is assured that continuing by sea is impossible, given the prevalence of British and French ships in the south Red Sea, some of which are visible from Hodeida itself.  Instead, Mücke decides that his party will travel inland through the mountains to Sanaa and northwards from there.  It will take a fortnight to gather supplies and prepare for the journey; meanwhile, after dark Mücke uses a signal lamp to instruct Choising to make for Massowa in the neutral Italian colony of Eritrea.

January 2nd, 1915

- Early this morning a dispatch from the British attache at Russian army headquarters arrives at the Foreign Office, conveying Grand Duke Nicholas' request that the British undertake a diversionary operation to distract the Ottomans from the Caucasus.  Foreign Secretary Grey conveys the message to Lord Kitchener, who then discusses the possibilities with Churchill.  Kitchener is eager to assist the Russians to avoid their collapse and surrender, but is adamant that no forces can be spared from the Western Front.  Instead, Kitchener inquires whether the navy could make a demonstration against the Dardanelles, and the suggestion piques Churchill's interest.

- In Champagne five French regiments attack the centre of the German VIII Corps at 6pm, but fail to secure any ground.

- Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg has learned of Falkenhayn's intention to deploy the newly-raised four and a half reserve corps on the Western Front in order to undertake a major offensive.  The Chancellor, however, shares the views of Hindenburg and Ludendorff that these new formations should instead be assigned to the Eastern Front to secure a decisive victory that among other objects will influence neutrals like Italy and Romania.  Having already lost confidence in Falkenhayn as a result of the failure at Ypres, Bethmann-Hollweg recommends, in a meeting with the Kaiser, the removal of Falkenhayn and his replacement as Chief of Staff by Ludendorff.  Wilhelm II may be one of the few who still has confidence in Falkenhayn, but while he has no real influence over the operations of the German army, his is still the decisive voice regarding who will command it.  The Kaiser thus refuses the Chancellor's suggestion, and Falkenhayn remains Chief of Staff.

- The Ottoman offensive against Sarikamish has now completely fallen apart.  IX Corps is down to only a thousand men, and is under attack from the rear by Russian units at Bardiz.  Enver Pasha, who had been with IX Corps, slips away to join XI Corps, still fighting the main Russian force southwest of Sarikamish.  Meanwhile, the remnants of X Corps begin to pull back from north of Sarikamish before dawn this morning.

- In German Kamerun a British force advancing north from Duala occupies Dschang today, and destroy the fort located there.  From the British perspective, they have secured their immediate objectives in German Kamerun - they have seized the key port of Duala and cleared its hinterland of German forces that might have been able to undertake an effort to retake the town.

From the perspective of Colonel Karl Zimmerman, German commander in Kamerun, however, the situation is still manageable.  Though the west around Duala and the southeast have been lost to the British and French respectively, neither development is either a surprise - Duala could hardly have been held in the face of British naval power - nor decisive.  Zimmerman had planned to base the defence of Kamerun on the northern highlands, and as of yet no Entente forces have threatened this region.  Further, German units are still in contact with the Spanish colony at Muni, which means they can still use this neutral territory to import supplies.  Zimmerman now plans two operations to discourage the British from advancing further inland from Duala and the French from moving any further to the northwest.

November 1st, 1914

- Despite the ground gained yesterday east of Ypres, Army Group Fabeck failed to achieve the desired breakthrough.  General Fabeck decides that while the offensive will continue, its focus will shift slightly.  After failing to exploit the temporary breach in the British line at Gheluvelt yesterday, today's attacks will be launched between Messines and Wytschaete.

On the Entente side, the French plan three attacks, to be undertaken in large part to relieve the pressure on the British - the first from north of Wytschaete, the second from Zonnebeke, and the third a diversionary attack by the rest of IX Corps.  Each of these attacks fail to accomplish anything today, but they also speak to the growing importance of French forces in the Ypres salient.  The past two week have severely reduced the BEF's strength - of its eighty-four infantry battalions, nine have fewer than a hundred men, while another thirty-one have between one and two hundred.  In comparison, a full battalion would have just over a thousand men.  There are also very few reinforcements in Britain that can be sent immediately to the front - the only regular army units not yet in the fight are the battalions of 8th Division, assembling in Britain after being located around the Empire on the outbreak of war.

The main German attack begins at 1am by nine battalions of the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division.  At Wytschaete the British are outnumbered twelve to one, and by 245am the village is in German hands.  More importantly, as the battle continues German units begin to infiltrate between British positions on the ridge between Wytschaete and Messines, as the defenders here are too few to man an entire trench line at once.  Those British soldiers who remain on the ridge at dawn realize they are in danger of encirclement, and pull back.  By 735am the Germans are in possession of the middle part of the high ground.  This outflanks the British defenders still clinging to the village of Messines itself, and they are ordered to retreat at 9am.  The British fall back to the next line of high ground to the west,  while shelling their former trenches at Messines to impede the German occupation of them.  A British counterattack manages to re-enter Wytschaete later in the day, but otherwise the Entente line here has been pushed back.  On the other hand, the German victory is merely a tactical one, as though the British retreat they are not routed, and a new defensive line stands in the Germans' way.

- The Kaiser arrives near the front today, visiting several cavalry divisions near Courtrai and Lille.  The British intercept several messages regarding his journey, but misinterpret his itinerary to suggest that he will be much closer to the front.  British artillery prepare an appropriate welcome at the villages where they think the Kaiser will be during the day.

The fighting around Ypres, November 1st to 4th, 1914.

- Behind the front, Lord Kitchener is meeting President Poincarè, Joffre, and Foch at Dunkirk to discuss the course of the war.  Kitchener informs them that there are no substantial British reinforcements available until the spring of 1915, as he will not send untrained men into battle.  However, subsequently the size of the BEF will expand rapidly as the 'New Armies' of wartime volunteers come into the field.  Also, know of the sometimes-testy relationship between Joffre and Sir John French, Kitchener offers to replace the latter with General Sir Ian Hamilton.  Joffre declines, believing (ironically, given his own record) that changing the BEF's commander in the middle of a battle would not work out.  Unfortunately for Kitchener, this offer very quickly reaches the ears of Field Marshal French, which earns Kitchener the enduring emnity of the latter.

- By today the German 9th Army has fallen back to the line from which it had started its advance into Poland just over a month ago.  Despite Ludendorff's claims of success, and the generally confused nature of the fighting, the Battle of the Vistula River is a Russian victory - it can hardly be otherwise when the Germans were the attackers and they end the battle where they started.  Nevertheless, the past month have shown the continuing logistical and command problems plaguing the Russian army - the attempt to pursue the retreating Germans has completely broken down, and today it is formally called off.

As for Falkenhayn, his attention remains firmly fixed on the Western Front, and is willing to leave matters on the Eastern Front in the hands of Hindenburg and Ludendorff.  As such, Hindenburg is today appointed commander-in-chief of all German forces in the east, with Ludendorff as his chief of staff and the command to be known as Ober Ost.  General Mackensen is also promoted to take command of 9th Army.

- With the entry of the Ottoman Empire into the war almost inevitable after the events in the Black Sea, the Shah of Persia, its eastern neighbour, declares the neutrality of his state.  The statement, however, is more theoretical than practical.  Though Persia is nominally independent, both Britain and Russia have significant interests and influence within it.  The newest dreadnoughts burn oil, not coal, and with the oilfields of southern Persia being a key source for the Admiralty, the British government controls them through owning a majority share of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.  To the north, Russia already has five thousand soldiers garrisoning Persian Azerbaijan, seeing the endemic instability of the region as necessitating Russian control.  The Shah himself is only 17 years old, and lacks an effective army to maintain internal order.  Persian neutrality means little when major combatants sees their interests as necessitating intervention within its borders.

- At Coronel the British light cruiser Glasgow slips out of port at 915am, and meets the rest of Craddock's squadron just after 1pm.  The four ships then spread out in a line, sailing north in search of the supposedly-isolated Leipzig.  The German East Asiatic Squadron is doing much the same thing in pursuit of Glasgow, except moving south.  At 420pm Leipzig and Glasgow sight each other, drawing both squadrons together.

The approach of the German East Asiatic Squadron to Chile and the Battle of Coronel, November 1st, 1914.

Upon confirming the presence of the entire German East Asiatic Squadron, Craddock knows that his force is markedly inferior to the Germans.  He decides, however, to fight - first, his armed merchant liner Otranto was not fast enough to escape; and second, he felt bound by the Admiralty's orders to engage the enemy.  Craddock turns his squadron around so that both forces are sailing southwards, roughly parallel to each other.  With the sun setting to the west, Craddock hopes to force an action when the sun is blinding the eyes of the German gunners, giving the British a window of opportunity.  At 618pm Craddock aboard Good Hope signals the rest of his ships to follow him in closing with the Germans.

Spee, however, knows just as well as Craddock the impact the setting sun can have, and when the British ships turn to close the gap, he orders his ships to simply turn as well, maintaining the distance between the two squadrons.  Thus the sun sets without a single ship being fired, and now all of the advantages are with the Germans - the British are now silhouetted against the twilight sky.  At 650pm the Germans turn towards the British, and open fire at 704pm.

Craddock never had a chance.  Despite the rough seas, the excellent marksmanship of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, honed to near-perfection in peacetime gunnery exercises, is immediately obvious.  The third salvo of Scharnhorst strikes Good Hope, destroying one of its 9.2-inch guns, and henceforth the German armoured cruisers pour accurate and rapid fire on Good Hope and Monmouth.  The British attempt to fire back, but most of their 6-inch shells fall short and the single 9.2-inch gun remaining operational on Good Hope can hardly hope to win the battle by itself.  In less than an hour Good Hope is reduced to a flaming wreck, and having absorbed thirty-five hits from Scharnhorst, explodes and sinks at 750pm.  Monmouth survives only an hour more, sinking at 858pm.  As Spee's focus is naturally on the two largest opponents, both Glasgow and Otranto are able to make their escape in the night.

All aboard Good Hope and Monmouth, including Craddock, are lost.  On the German side, only Gneisenau was hit even once by shells that exploded, and it suffered no serious damage and only three sailors were slightly wounded.  Glasgow manages to warn Canopus sailing north with the squadron's colliers of the disaster, and the survivors escape southwards.  The German East Asiatic Squadron has won a notable and completely-lopsided victory at the Battle of Coronel, the first significant defeat of British warships at the hands of the enemy for a century.

The Battle of Coronel, November 1st, 1914.

- As in Canada, the outbreak of war saw thousands of volunteers come forward in Australia and New Zealand.  However, the continued presence of German cruisers in the Pacific and Indian Oceans required that the convoy carrying the volunteers be delayed until sufficient escorts could be assembled.  Today, protected by British, Australian, and Japanese warships, thirty-eight transports carrying almost 21 000 Australian and just under 8500 New Zealand soldiers departs Australia today.  Their destination is Egypt, where they will undergo training.

October 23rd, 1914

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

September 14th, 1914

- This morning French and British units on the north bank of the Aisne River advance against the German defence lines.  The latter has dug in along the crest of the plateau, rendering their trenches almost invisible until the French and British are almost upon them.  The French 6th Army fights its way up the heights before being checked by the Germans at the crest.  The greatest success of the day is achieved by the BEF's I Corps under General Haig, which secured a position on the plateau, though it was short of the Chemin des Dames road.  To its right the French 5th Army attacked in the direction of Craonne, but was largely unsuccessful.  Further east the French 9th and 4th armies were also coming up against the main German line of defence.

By the end of today's fighting, it has become clear to the French and British generals that the German retreat has ended, and that the enemy intends to hold its present positions.  Tonight, Joffre issues a new directive to his armies instructing them that methodical attacks will need to be undertaken to achieve further advances, and than any position gained will have to be fortified immediately against possible German counterattacks.

- This evening General Lyncker conveys to Moltke the Kaiser's order to report himself sick.  Despite his anxieties, Moltke wants to remain in command, but not only have most of his fellow officers lost confidence in him, but crucially so has the Kaiser.  Wilhelm's trust in Moltke never really recovered from the fatal interview of August 1st, and failure in the West has eroded whatever remained.  He had demonstrated indecision and hesitancy, and plagued by a chronic pessimism.  Indeed, it can be said that he cracked under the pressure of the culminating moment of his military career - he found himself paralyzed by the significance of each choice he had to make.  Of course, defeat at the Marne is not just Moltke's responsibility, but as the Chief of the General Staff he is ultimately responsible, and becomes the needed scapegoat for failure.

Moltke, though he is no longer in command, is not formally relieved of his post.  The German high command does not wish to admit that it has been defeated in the West, which a public dismissal of Moltke just days after the Marne would indicate.  Indeed, public pronouncements in Germany never admit that the Germans lost the Battle of the Marne - it is depicted as a mere redeployment preceding further offensive operations.  Thus the unwillingness of the German army to admit to itself that it was defeated on the Marne, and all the consequences that entails, is mirrored by the German public.

Moltke's replacement is Minister of War Erich von Falkenhayn.  Young at only fifty-three years of age, he owes his appointment in part due to his friendship with the Kaiser.  However, Falkenhayn is more than an imperial toady - he is a Prussian Junker who has commanded a Guards regiment, shown skill as Minister of War, and has a reputation for energy and decisiveness.  Moreover, since he does not give up the post of Minister of War and had already been at OHL, his ascension to command can be obscured.

- Considering the Russian defeats in East Prussia, scapegoats are necessary.  With General Samsonov dead, the next logical target is General Zhilinskii, who as commander of North-West Front was responsible for 1st and 2nd armies.  He is dismissed from his post today, replaced by General Ruzski, formerly of 3rd Army.  He brings to his new command the caution and hesitancy he showed in the recent battles in Galicia.

- The attack of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army, still struggling to cross the Drina River, has achieved at least one objective - responding to the attack, the Serbian 1st Army returns across the Save River this morning to support the Serbian defense.

- The British armed merchant liner Carmania arrives at 11am this morning at Trinidad Island, 600 miles off the Brazilian coast in the south Atlantic.  It had been ordered to investigate the island on the suspicion it is being used as a coaling base by German raiders.  Sure enough, it spots three German ships at the islands - two colliers busy transferring coal to the German armed merchant liner Cap Trafalgar.  The two colliers promptly flee the scene, while the first battle in history between ocean liners is fought.  Carmania significantly outguns Cap Trafalgar - the former has eight 4.7 inch guns to the latter's two 4-inch guns.  Within an hour the German ship has taken a ferocious beating, and sinks at 150pm.  Carmania, with significant damage itself, including five holes at the waterline, is unable to taken on survivors of Cap Trafalgar, but does not interfere when one of the German colliers returns to pick up the lifeboats.  Carmania for its part limps to Gibraltar for repairs.

- The German East Asiatic Squadron arrives at Samoa just before dawn this morning, but finds the harbour empty except for two American sailing ships.  Sending landing parties ashore to attempt to recapture the island would have been futile, so the squadron departs without firing a shot.  Radio intercepts indicate that the wireless station at Apia, outside the range of the squadron's guns, is broadcasting the presence of the German ships.  Admiral Spee thus decides on a simple ruse - though his ultimate destination is the west coast of South America, he sails northwest until out of sight of Samoa before turning eastward.  This deception works - the British believe that the German East Asiatic Squadron is returning to the west Pacific.

At the same time as the Germans are sailing away from Samoa, the British search for the enemy squadron is stepped up.  A signal is sent to a British squadron currently in the River Platte under the command of Rear Admiral Christopher Craddock.  The original mission for Craddock's squadron was to hunt the German light cruiser Dresden in the South Atlantic, but today his assignment changes.  The Admiralty informs Craddock that the German East Asiatic Squadron may be heading to the Straits of Magellan to pass into the South Atlantic.  Craddock is to leave sufficient ships to deal with Dresden while sailing with a force capable of sinking Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.  Reinforcements are also being sent - the slow pre-dreadnought Canopus and the modern armoured cruiser Defence.

- In the Indian Ocean, the German light cruiser Emden is terrorizing British trade, having sunk eight merchant ships near Calcutta.  In response, all merchants in the Bay of Bengal were ordered to remain in port - precisely the disruption of trade that Emben's captain had hoped for on detaching his ship from the rest of the German East Asiatic Squadron.

September 9th, 1914

- At 5am, Hentsch has a meeting with two of Bülow's staff officers, the General himself still asleep.  The conversation confirms the conclusions of the previous day - 2nd Army can hold only if 1st Army immediately disengages and linked up with the former's western flank; if not, 2nd Army will retreat behind the Marne River.  At 6am he departs 2nd Army headquarters for 1st Army.

At 9am, Bülow receives the latest aerial reconnaissance report, which states that numerous columns of enemy forces are north of the Petit Morin moving towards the Marne.  For Bülow, the time has come.  At 902am he signals a general retreat of 2nd Army.  This is the crucial moment, and the crucial decision.  Once 2nd Army has begun to retreat, the position of 1st Army is entirely untenable - it will have to retreat to avoid complete encirclement.  Bülow's choice, made entirely without any communication with either Moltke at OHL or Kluck at 1st Army, is the effective end of the German offensive in the West.

- Along the Ourcq River the battle between the German 1st Army and the French 6th Army reaches its climax.  General Kluck knows that time is running out to defeat the French before the advance of the BEF to the east cuts behind him.  At 9am reports are received from German cavalry divisions that British and French units were across the Marne.  In response, at 930am Kluck orders II Corps to turn to face southeast to confront the threat from the enemy.  Kluck, however, remains convinced that the battle against 6th Army can be still won.  He orders IX Corps, his northern-most unit, to attack with all its strength to turn the enemy's flank and force their retreat.  As Kluck states to a staff officer: 'Every man must be convinced that the enveloping attack must bring the decision.'  The attack of IX Corps shatters the French 61st Reserve Division and is poised to envelop the northern flank of the French 6th Army.  To the commander of IX Corps, victory and Paris appear imminent.  At that moment a visitor arrives at 1st Army headquarters - Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hentsch.

Hentsch arrives at 1130am after a journey of over five hours on roads clogged by refugees, wrecked vehicles, wounded soldiers, and German cavalry fleeing the supposedly imminent advance of the British and French.  His personal experience of the gap between 1st and 2nd armies can hardly have improved the Lieutenant-Colonel's disposition.  Hentsch meets with General Hermann von Kuhl, Kluck's Chief of Staff.  The commanding general himself is not present, and though he is only a few hundred yards away at his command post neither Kuhl nor Hentsch summon him.  The fate of 1st Army is thus decided by two staff officers.

Kuhl begins the meeting with an overview of the current situation, as it appears from 1st Army headquarters.  Despite heavy fighting with the French 6th Army, the arrival of IV and IX Corps had stabilized the situation, and that the latter was about to turn the northern flank of the French.  Further, he was not concerned by the threat posed by the BEF - after several battles with the British and pursuing them for two weeks, Kuhl was convinced that they were largely shattered and operated too slowly to make a decisive move (the latter opinion, at least, was not without reason).

Kuhl's presentation makes no sense to Hentsch, who with his larger perspective on the battle sees nothing but imminent disaster.  He emphasizes the stalemate in Lorraine, and the inability of 5th Army to break through west of Verdun.  2nd Army, meanwhile, has been defeated and is retreating north of the Marne.  1st Army is to retreat in the direction of Soissons to link up with 2nd Army, and the redeployment of part of 7th Army to Saint-Quentin would allow for a resumption of the offensive.  When Hentsch draws out 1st Army's line of retreat on a map, Kuhl objects - cannot Hentsch see that they are on the brink of victory?  Hentsch's response is that 2nd Army has been reduced to 'cinders', a description that will become notorious in after-the-fact arguments in Germany over the appropriateness of the retreat from the Marne.  Finally, Hentsch states that he has the full authority of Moltke to issue orders in his name.  Kuhl, having no direct line of communication with OHL at Luxembourg, and confronted with the vision of a broken 2nd Army, has no option but to agree.  At 130pm, Kluck, informed by Kuhl of the decision, issues orders to break off the attack on the French and withdraw towards Soissons.

- To the soldiers at the front, the order to retreat comes like a bolt from the blue.  They have been on the march for almost month, every day advancing deeper and deeper into France.  Where they have met the French or British, they have been victorious.  Even in the past few days, most units have held the French counterattack.  The order to retreat, then, appears to be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.  When General Oskar von Hutier, commander of the 1st Guards Division in 2nd Army, is informed of the retreat, his reply reflects the opinion of many: 'Have they all gone crazy?'

- At OHL, Moltke, remaining largely in the dark regarding the state of operations, is chronically pessimistic.  To his wife he writes: 'It goes badly.  The battles east of Paris will not end in our favour . . . . and we certainly will be made to pay for all that has been destroyed.'  When news comes in of Bülow's order to retreat, Moltke voices no opposition, though it means the end of the great German offensive into France.  Wilhelm II, present at OHL, is vehemently opposed to the retreat, and argues passionately with Moltke.  According to the staff officers present, Moltke's nerves have been shattered, just as they had been on August 1st.  Minister of War Falkenhayn notes in his diary today: 'Our General Staff has totally lost their heads.  Schlieffen's notes have come to an end and therewith Moltke's wit.'  The argument between the Kaiser and Moltke is immaterial anyway - even if they wanted to stop the retreat, they lack any means of communication to order Bülow and Kluck to stand and fight.

- By the middle of the afternoon, both the BEF and the French 5th Army have crossed the Marne, and by the evening it becomes clear to Joffre that the Germans on his left are in retreat.  He issues instructions for 5th and 6th armies, plus the BEF, to pursue the enemy and attempt an envelopment of the German 1st Army.  To the Minister of War in Bordeaux Joffre cables a reassuring note that, while unwilling to claim yet a decisive victory, assures the government that the situation is satisfactory and promising.

- The retreat of the German 1st and 2nd armies today brings an end to the Battle of the Marne, and indeed the first phase of the war on the Western Front.  Over two million soldiers have fought along the front line, and while estimates vary, it is believed that a quarter of a million Germans and a quarter of a million Frenchmen are casualties, a ratio of one in four combatants.  On a per-day basis, it is the bloodiest battle of the war on the Western Front.

The Battle of the Marne is one of the most decisive in human history, for two reasons.  First, the Germans had staked all on a rapid invasion and defeat of France before Russia could deploy its full weight against them.  For years the German army had been focused on this one mission - war games simulated various permutations of the advance, logistics officers poured over road maps of Belgium and northern France, the mobilization plan tweaked and retweaked down to the minute to ensure the Germans had every advantage of time.  By today, the 39th day since German mobilization, the French were to have been crushed.  Instead, it is the Germans who have been defeated.  The sense of shock and disbelief among the officers of the German army can hardly be understated - it had been taken as a fundamental article of faith that the German army was inherently superior to the French army, and many simply cannot conceive of a world in which that is not true.  Hence the almost immediate search for scapegoats, for an internal reason for their defeat.  Had Moltke botched the plan?  Had Hentsch exceeded his authority?  Was Bülow over-cautious?  Was Kluck's 'inward turn' the fundamental mistake?  What all these questions ignore is the basic truth that not only had the Germans lost, but the French had won.  In particular, Joseph Joffre had achieved a victory that almost looked impossible two weeks earlier in the aftermath of the disastrous Battle of the Frontiers.  His ability to recover from the failure of pre-war planning cannot be understated (and stands in sharp contrast to Moltke's reactions as his pre-war plans collapsed) - without his recognition of the changed circumstances after August 24th and his immediate redeployment of forces from his left to his right, France surely would have been lost.  Whatever else can be blamed on Joffre - and in the years to come there is much he can be blamed for - his service in the last week of August and the first week of September ensured the survival of the French republic.  Credit must also be given to the French soldier - undertaking a constant retreat under enemy fire for two weeks, and then to turn and defeat said enemy, is one of the great feats of modern arms.  Finally, there is the BEF.  For all that Sir John French can be justly criticized for his pessimism, and the British slowness in movement, and indeed simply the minuscule size of the BEF in comparison to the armies of France and Germany, at the crucial moment it found itself largely by coincidence at the most important point on the front, and in advancing played a role out of all proportion to its size.

The second reason the Battle of the Marne is decisive is precisely that it is not decisive.  The German army is defeated, but it is not destroyed.  1st and 2nd armies have suffered, but they are retreating in relatively good order, escaping the potential threat of encirclement.  All sides had expected the first couple of months to see one or two climactic battles, after which one army would be destroyed and that side compelled to surrender.  The climactic battles have occurred - the Battle of the Marne, as with the Battle of the Frontiers and indeed the battles in East Prussia and Galicia, have been among the largest in history - but the losing side has not been compelled to surrender.  Indeed, the German expectation at the end of September 9th is that a brief retreat will be followed by a resumption of the offensive.  The true legacy of the Marne is that it ensures that the war will not end in a quick victory by either side, but will continue.  The Marne was not the end, but rather the beginning, of the war, the likes of which had hardly been imagined before the great armies took the field a month ago.

- Elsewhere on the Western Front today, the German 4th Army, in an attempt to emulate the partial success of 3rd Army yesterday, launches a morning bayonet charge on French artillery positions belonging to the French 4th Army.  Its commander Duke Albrecht orders a lengthy artillery barrage to precede the attack, which gives the French ample warning.  When the Germans advanced, they encounter active and vigorous resistance, and fail to accomplish anything.  By 1030pm, the commander of the French 4th Army is able to inform Joffre that his position is secure.

- The Belgian army in the fortifications of Antwerp today sorties, in an effort to disrupt German lines of communication and force the Germans to keep additional forces in Belgium as opposed to on the front lines.

- Even as the great German offensive in the west is collapsing today, German Chancellor Theodor von Bethmann-Hollweg has drafted today a list of German aims.  Designed to indicate the lines on which German negotiators should proceed after a quick victory over France, the September Programme, as it comes to be known, is nothing if not ambitious.  Parts of Belgium, including Antwerp, were to be directly annexed to Germany, while the rest would become a client state.  France would cede the vital industrial region of Longwy-Briey, and possible some of its Channel ports, to Germany.  Luxembourg would also be annexed to Germany.  To the east Russia was to be weakened through granting self-determination to minorities like the Poles, who would in turn become client states of Germany (this was preferably than directly annexing Russian territory - the last thing the Germans wanted was more Poles in their country).  All of central Europe - Mitteleuropa - was to be united in a vast economic union, to operate for German benefit.  All of central Africa was to be acquired, taking colonies from Britain, France, Portugal, and Belgium to form Mittelafrika.  Coaling stations would also be acquired around the world to give the German navy a global reach.

These war aims are designed to secure permanent German hegemony in Europe and a secure place as a global power.  As such, they are entirely unacceptable to the Entente - British policy for centuries had been to keep the ports of the Low Countries out of hostile hands - and could only have been achieved through an absolute and crushing victory that would allow the Germans to impose its terms on its enemies.  The irony of the September Programme being drafted on the day the Germans begin their retreat from the Marne hardly needs stating.

- In East Prussia this morning General François' I Corps launches an attack on the far southern flank of the Russian 1st Army, where the latter is supported by elements of the newly-forming Russian 10th Army.  Once again, with the rest of 8th Army stymied by the Russians, it is I Corps that makes the decisive breakthrough - they shatter Russian units southeast of Lötzen and begin to drive against the flank of the Russian forces holding up Mackensen's XVII Corps at Lötzen.  As a result of the breakthrough I Corps takes thirty thousand prisoners and captures sixty artillery pieces.  The commander of the Russian 10th Army refuses to send reinforcements, as he does not want his army to be exhausted through piecemeal contributions to the front.  With the southern flank shattered, disaster now threatens to overtake the Russian 1st Army just as it had overtaken the Russian 2nd Army. However, General Rennenkampf of 1st Army, whatever his other faults, is not as foolish as to continue to advance in the centre while his flanks are turned - this evening he orders the Russian 1st Army to retreat.

- The right flank of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army is defeated today by the Russian 4th Army, while two corps belonging to the Russian 5th Army have advanced to threaten the Austro-Hungarian line of retreat.  Faced with the prospect of imminent encirclement and destruction, the commander of 1st Army orders a retreat behind the San River.

To the south, the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army has achieved some tactical successes against the Russian 8th Army.  Though the Russians are able to withdraw in good order and establish new defensive lines, the local victories convince Conrad that his grand scheme to envelop the two Russian armies in the south is still viable, despite the tide of news from elsewhere on the battlefield.

- The German East Asiatic Squadron departs Christmas Island today, sailing southwest for Samoa.