July 7th, 1915

- The first major conference of the Entente powers is held today at Chantilly, the headquarters of General Joffre, as representatives of Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Serbia, and Belgium meet to discuss strategy.  Given that the Entente powers are arranged almost in a circle around their main antagonists - Germany and Austria-Hungary - the focal point of discussion is the coordination of multiple simultaneous offensives, utilizing their numerical superiority to force their enemies to fight on all fronts.  In such a scenario, the Germans and Austro-Hungarians would not be able to defend everywhere in sufficient depth, and eventually one of the fronts would collapse.  Joffre particularly emphasizes operations on what he calls the 'larger' fronts - Western, Eastern, and Italian/Balkan - and that only attacks here can have a decisive effect.  Missing from Joffre's formulation are operations against the Ottoman Empire, implying the British would be more useful if they abandoned the Gallipoli campaign and refocused all of their strength on the Western Front.  Though details are avoided, the Entente countries (minus Russia, given the deteriorating situation on the Eastern Front) agree to launch major operations this fall.

A corollary of the co-ordination of offensives is that it is not necessary for any particular offensive to actually work; even if an attack fails to gain any ground, it will have contributed to the overall victory of the Entente if, by simply pinning enemy reserves and inflicting casualties, it contributes to the success of an offensive elsewhere.  This is a potent rationalization of failure, and is is particularly well-suited to the Italian Front, given the Italian army has shown no ability to win a battle on its own anyway; at least this will give the appearance of 'purpose' behind the throwing away of thousands of lives along the Isonzo River.

- General Castlenau, commander of the Army Group of the Centre, replies to Joffre's inquiry regarding future offensives by identifying two sectors he believes that such an operation can be undertaken.  The first is a ten-kilometre stretch of the line about twenty kilometres west of Reims, near the Chemin des Dames and the Aisne River, while the second, centred on Perthes in Champagne, lay in 4th Army's sector.  Both regions have already been the setting for major battles in the war: in the former the Battle of the Aisne River in September 1914, and in the latter the 1st Battle of Champagne over the winter.

- Having failed to break through at any point, the Italian offensive along the Isonso River is called off today, bringing the 1st Battle of the Isonzo to an end.  Overall, the Italians have suffered 15 000 casualties, which pale in comparison to future battles on the Isonzo, but already the pattern of attack, failure, and attack again is being set; Cadorna is already preparing for his next offensive in the sector.  Austro-Hungarian losses, meanwhile, number almost 10 000, but confidence has grown that the meagre forces defending the Isonzo may actually be able to hold off the Italians.

- Shortly after the Italian entry into the war, they had deployed a squadron of four Pisa-class armoured cruisers to Venice to support hit-and-run operations against the Adriatic coast, and also to ameliorate concern from the army over a lack of naval support for the advance across the Isonzo River (such that it was).  The British and French liaison officers to the Italian fleet see the move as pointless, as the armoured cruisers would lack the speed to catch their most likely opponent, the Austro-Hungarian Novara-class light cruisers, and otherwise are too far to support the main Italian fleet at Taranto.  Today Amalfi, one of the Pisa-class armoured cruisers, puts to sea to support a sweep by Italian destroyers while escorted by only two torpedo-boats itself, and is torpedoed and sunk by UB14.  Of note, the identity of the submarine is a matter of some uncertainty.  It was a German boat, commanded by a German and with a German crew, and after shipment overland it had been assembled at the main Austro-Hungarian naval base of Pola and was en route to the Aegean to combat.  The potential issue, of course, is that Germany and Italy are not at war, so a German submarine theoretically has no business attacking an Italian armoured cruiser.  This technicality is evaded by the presence of an Austro-Hungarian naval officer on UB14 as a pilot, thereby allowing the Austro-Hungarians to claim that the submarine was under their 'direction' while in the Adriatic.

- For several months the Ottoman authorities have been pursuing a campaign of genocide against the Armenian population, the victims being either murdered outright or expelled from their homes and force-marched to the deserts of Syria.  The Ottoman government has presented this as an operation based on military necessity, in that the Armenian population in eastern Anatolia is fundamentally disloyal and needs to be removed from regions near the front lines in the Caucasus.  This invented justification is notably the excuse conveyed to their German allies, and German officials in the Ottoman Empire initially accepted that the deportations were necessary limited.  Over the past several weeks, however, the true intentions of the Ottoman leadership have become clear to Hans Wangenheim, German ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, who writes to Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg today that deportations are occurring 'even in those parts of the country . . . not threatened by any enemy invasion' and that 'the government is indeed pursuing its purpose of eradicating the Armenian race from the Turkish[sic] Empire.'

July 6th, 1915

- Before the Entente conference at Chantilly scheduled for tomorrow, British and French political and military leaders meet at Calais today to discuss strategy.  Joffre calls for another major offensive on the Western Front, and advances two lines of thinking beyond the necessity of liberating occupied French territory.  First, the Entente needs to attack on the Western Front while the German defence has been relatively weakened due to troop transfers to the east.  If they wait instead, it would give the Germans, victorious in the east, the opportunity to shift forces back to the west and themselves go on the offensive.  Second, an attack is necessary to prevent even greater disasters on the Eastern Front should the Germans be able to send further reinforcements east.  Joffre calls on the British to send as many divisions as possible to France and participate in the forthcoming offensive.

Lord Kitchener, however, has his reservations.  He doubts whether a truly decisive victory is possible on the Western Front, as evidenced in his support of the Dardanelles operation.  Further, Kitchener is extremely hesitant to send the 'New Armies', composed of the hundreds of thousands of men who have volunteered since the outbreak of the war, into combat until they are fully trained and equipped.  These are the divisions that Joffre speaks of, and Kitchener is very reluctant to let him have them; the meeting concludes without a firm British commitment.

- In southern Poland the Austro-Hungarian VIII, X, and XVII Corps of 4th Army secure further small gains today.  Given that the fighting of the past week has exhausted the ammunition supply, however, 4th Army headquarters issues orders this evening to suspend offensive operations for two days.  The Austro-Hungarians envision that once the supply issue has been addressed, they will be able to resume the offensive on the 9th.

The Russians, however, have other plans, as the counterattack of yesterday was only the prelude to a much larger operation.  The Russian 3rd Army has concentrated the fresh troops of XXV and VI Siberian Corps on either side of the Bystrzyca River on the front line northeast of Kraśnik opposite the centre of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, and the attack is to begin in the predawn hours of tomorrow.

- North of the upper Isonzo three Alpini battalions of the Italian army attempt to advance near Mt. Krn, but are repulsed.  To the south, however, VI and X Corps make only half-hearted efforts to renew the attacks of yesterday.

- Having successfully passed the barrage at Akaika on June 29th, the Indian expedition up the Euphrates River reaches Suk-es-Shuyukh today, which they seize as a base of operations for the advance towards Nasiryeh.

July 5th, 1915

- General Alexeiev of North-West Front meets with Grand Duke Nicholas, the Russian chief of staff, today at Siedlec to discuss the situation on the Eastern Front.  Both recognize the very real danger that a continued German thrust northwards between the Vistula and Bug Rivers poses to the Russian position in central Poland.  Alexeiev requests, and is given, permission to withdraw the armies still west of the Vistula to the east at his discretion.  He intends, however, to hold off retreating until it is necessary, in order to slow any potential German advance and make them fight for any territory they are able to capture.

- In southern Poland the Russian 3rd Grenadier and Ural Cossack Divisions launch a counterattack early this morning against the lines of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army near Urzedow.  Though X Corps is initially forced back, reinforcements are sent to the threatened sector, and the Russian advance is contained.  The apparent failure of the Russian attack today, combined with a further advance of the right wing of 4th Army, convinces its commander that the Russians opposite remain a beaten force, and orders are issued to continue the pursuit tomorrow.

- Today the Italian army introduces a new cipher for encoding radio transmissions.  Intended to enhance signal security, it has the opposite effect: even before it is introduced the code had already been acquired by Austro-Hungarian intelligence and broken, meaning the Austro-Hungarians can read Italian signals as soon as the cipher is implemented.

- Meanwhile, at the front today sees the crescendo of the Italian offensive along the Isonzo River, as VI Corps launches what is intended to be an overwhelming attack between Mt. Sabotino and Lucinico towards the city of Görz.  Despite being outnumbered six to one, the Austro-Hungarian defenders hold, in no small part due to the disorganization of the Italian assaults, and the latter suffer several thousand casualties.  To the south the Italian X Corps, reinforced be half of 22nd Division from XI Corps, advances against the Karst plateau, though after heavy fighting the attack is defeated.  Though the Austro-Hungarians have held, they have suffered significant losses as well, most battalions on the Karst plateau have now lost over half their strength.  General Borevic of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army rushes reinforcements to the front to reinforce the hard-pressed defenders.

- For the past week Ottoman forces at Cape Helles have been counterattacking the British positions seized on Gully Spur on June 28th.  Despite thousands of casualties, the Ottomans have been unsuccessful, and today the assaults are called off.  The operation is an undoubted British victory, but one barren of strategic consequence; advancing the front line several hundred yards is insufficient to give the Entente control of Gallipoli and allow the fleet to pass through the Dardanelles.

July 4th, 1915

- Mackensen's orders to the Austro-Hungarin 4th Army to halt do not reach its headquarters until early this morning, too late to stop the day's operations.  In the course of the day the centre and right of the army are able to advance northwards up to fifteen kilometres, a notable success that encourages the commander of 4th Army to order a further advance tomorrow.  However, the infantry have been in constant combat since June 29th, and General Alexeiev of North-West Front is concentrating reserves near Lublin for a counterattack.

- This morning the lead elements of the Austro-Hungarian 46th Landwehr Division of 1st Army arrive northeast of Lemberg, though delays on the railways are slowing down the transport of the rest of the army.  As a result, Falkenhayn proposes to Conrad today that a new army be formed on the right of the German 11th Army to ensure its eastern flank remains covered.  General Linsingen is appointed to lead the Army of the Bug, and is replaced as Südarmee commander by General Felix Bothmer.  Under Linsingen will be the German XLI Reserve Corps, the Beskid Corps, and the German 1st, 107th, 11th Bavarian, and 5th Cavalry Divisions.

- Yesterday the German submarine U-21, after resupplying at Constantinople, sortied through the Dardanelles on its second mission against Entente shipping.  It did not have to wait long to find suitable prey: for several days the large French steamer Carthage has been off the south-west tip of Gallipoli, used to resupply French forces on the peninsula.  It makes a very inviting target, and upon sighting the steamer U21 promptly puts a torpedo into Carthage, which rapidly sinks.  Its loss is of little surprise to British naval officers off the Dardanelles; Commodore Keyes suggests afterwards that given its location and size its sinking was only a matter of time, and the French would have been better off using smaller but faster and more agile craft for resupply purposes.

July 3rd, 1915

- This afternoon the centre of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army launches a major attack in southern Poland, with IX and XIV Corps (the latter brought up from reserve) seizing a 14km stretch of the Russian trecnch line.  To the west 24th Division of X Corps seizes and holds Kraśnik.  Greater Russian resistance is encountered by the left and right wings of 4th Army, limiting gains to the centre.  To the east reports reach Mackensen of Russian reserves assembling along the eastern flank of the German 11th Army.  Given ongoing concern over the exposure of this flank, Mackensen issues orders to 11th Army as well as 4th Army to halt further attacks until the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army arrives northeast of Lemberg to hold the flank.

- In German South-West Africa the colonial governor Theodor Seitz and the military commander Colonel Victor Franke meet today to discuss the defence of the colony.  The remaining German forces have been pushed into the northeast of the colony and are increasingly under-supplied, the South African advance will shortly push the Germans off of the last remaining rail line under German control.  Moreover, the rapid defeat at Otavi on the 1st shows that morale among the askaris has collapsed.  Seitz insists that resistance should continue to maintain a German claim to the colony, and suggested the defenders scatter into the jungle.  Franke, however, is more realistic.  He understands that further resistance will result in additional casualties without materially effecting the outcome of the campaign, and that the fate of South-West Africa will ultimately hinge on the war in Europe: if Germany wins, the colony may be restored, whereas if Germany loses, holding out longer will make no difference.  Franke is able to impose his views on his civilian counterpart, and a message is sent to Louis Botha today asks for terms.

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.

July 1st, 1915

- Foch responds today to Joffre's inquiry regarding the next major offensive operation to be undertaken by the French army, and the commander of Army Group North calls for another operation in Artois aimed at Vimy Ridge, the seizure of which Foch believes would force the Germans to evacuate the Noyon salient.  In contrast, he argues that no comparable success in Champagne could force a similar German withdrawal.  To support another offensive directed at Vimy Ridge, Foch suggests major attacks by the French 2nd Army south of Arras and by the British to the north.

- In southern Poland the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army closes up to the lines of the Russian 3rd Army along the Wyznica and Por River by this evening.   Efforts of VIII and X Corps to cross the former are thwarted by heavy Russian fire from the northern bank, while three companies of X Corps that had occupied Kraśnik during the day were forced to withdraw by nightfall under pressure from larger Russian forces.  Despite the Russian resistance encountered today, the commander of 4th Army believes the Russians opposite are still retreating, and orders the entire army to attack tomorrow.

- In German South-West Africa two South African mounted brigades, numbering about 3500 men, approach Otavi today.  Opposite them are about a thousand German soldiers, but because of fears of a South African enveloping maneouver they have been deployed in depth, leaving the hills protecting Otavi and Otavifontein only thinly held.  Botha pushes his South Africans forward on the left, and the thin German line is quickly forced back.  By early afternoon the Germans are withdrawing to the northeast towards Gaub, and the speed at which the German defensive position collapsed is reflected in German casualties numbering only thirty-one.  If the Germans had held the line at Otavi for just two days, the South Africans would have been forced to retreat due to a lack of water.  Instead, the ease of the South African success suggests that morale among the German Schutztruppe has collapsed.