- Field Marshal Sir John French learns that Joffre has called off the French offensives in Artois and Champagne, which invalidates the strategic premise of the British offensive at Loos. This, in conjunction with the failure of the attack of the 13th to secure significant gains, compels the commander of the BEF to call off the offensive in Flanders. Henceforth, the British 1st Army will limit itself strictly to those operations essential to seize ground to protect itself from German counterattacks against the ground captured on the 13th.
Since September 25th the British 1st Army has suffered approximately 50 000 casualties, including almost 16 000 dead, while pushing forward between 800 and 2500 yards on a 6000 yard stretch of the German line north and south of the village of Loos. As with the French in Champagne, most of this ground was seized in the first hours of the attack on the morning of the 25th, and again in common with the French the British proved unable to sustain the initial momentum and subsequent attacks proved increasingly futile. In the case of Loos, the failures from the afternoon of the 25th onward have been ascribed by Haig and his supporters as primarily the responsibility of Field Marshal's French's mishandling of the reserves, a dispute that continues to fester in the upper ranks of the British army. The battle has also proven to be a bitter introduction to the divisions of Kitchener's 'New Armies' to combat on the Western Front, the attack of 21st and 24th Divisions, though driven home with great courage, was an abysmal failure, gaining no ground at the cost of several thousand casualties. They will not be the only divisions of the 'New Armies' to have such a deadly debut on the Western Front.
- With Bulgaria's entry into the war on the side of Germany with its invasion of Serbia, Great Britain and Montenegro formally declare war on Bulgaria today.
- Today Austen Chamberlain, Secretary of State for India, informs Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of India, that the Cabinet is discussing the withdrawal of the two divisions of Indian Expeditionary Force A from France and dispatching them to Mesopotamia. This redeployment has two purposes: (1) to facilitate the capture of Baghdad; and (2) to secure the region if an Entente withdrawal from the Dardanelles allows the Ottomans to redeploy divisions there to Mesopotamia.
Showing posts with label 'New Armies'. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 'New Armies'. Show all posts
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
September 26th, 1915
- At 1am, the German counterattack around Loos is undertaken by the reserve forces of 6th Army, newly-arrived at the front. Though 8th Infantry Division, attacking from the direction of Lens, is unable to gain any significant ground, 26th Brigade attacking from the northeast has more success; their advance happens to be directed at a weak point in the new British line where reinforcements are in the process of arriving, and they manage to push the British back five hundred yards and recapture the Quarries northwest of Hulluch. The Germans also score a coup when they capture the commander of the British 27th Brigade.
Meanwhile, the British 21st and 24th Divisions continue to struggle across the broken terrain of the old No Man's Land towards the new front line. Due to the communication delays endemic to the modern battlefield, Haig's order of 827pm for the two divisions to take up position between Hulluch and Hill 70 does not even arrive at the headquarters of the latter until 2am this morning, and the former receives the directive even later. By the time they reach the new position and sort out the confusion caused by the march, it is already dawn. Haig has assumed that the two divisions would reach the line Hulluch-Hill 70 much earlier overnight and would have had time to rest before they attack this morning. In reality, the men are already exhausted without a shot having been fired in anger.
Haig's plan for the second day of the British offensive is to attack what is perceived to be the weakest point of the German line, that stretching from Hill 70 to just north of Hulluch, where the British had secured the greatest gains yesterday. On the northern end, I Corps is instructed to capture the village of St Elie, while IV Corps is ordered to seize Hulluch as well as recapture the high ground of Hill 70. In between these two points, 21st and 24th Divisions of XI Corps are to drive over the second German trench line, advancing three miles to the Haute Deule Canal. The most important advance is thus of the 'fresh' 21st and 24th Divisions. Both formations are part of Kitchener's 'New Armies', composed of men who volunteered for military service in the first months of the war. This is not the first time divisions of the 'New Armies' will enter combat - two of the six divisions that had attacked yesterday were from the 'New Armies'. However, those formations had been given substantial time to prepare an attack against defences that had been subject to a four-day bombardment. Today's attack by 21st and 24th Divisions, however, are to be undertaken by already-exhausted formations against German defences that will have been bombarded for only a couple of hours. Such circumstances are hardly ideal, but Haig believes the Germans remain weak, and regardless the two divisions are the only reserves immediately at hand: if the offensive is to be continued, they need to be committed to the attack.
The orders for the preliminary attack on Hill 70 only reach the involved battalions at 7am, leaving little time for preparations for the attack scheduled for 9am. More seriously, the artillery bombardment is hindered by a lack of ammunition: batteries that had moved forward to Loos overnight cannot be resupplied over roads that are clogged with the debris of battle and under constant German artillery fire, and thus can contribute only the shells they brought with them. Confusion over where exactly the front line was, combined with the delay in communication orders, also means that a few of the British shells fall short among their own infantry. When the infantry attack Hill 70 at 9am, a morning mist that had impeded the artillery bombardment lifts just in time for the German machine gunners to take a terrible toll on the advancing infantry. Some manage to get into the redoubt on the top of Hill 70, but in bitter close-quarters fighting are unable to push the Germans back, and the survivors soon retreat westwards. Attempts by the British to attack again are futile - four senior officers, starting with the Lieutenant-Colonel commanding 10/Green Howards, climb out of the trenches to encourage the infantry to advance once more. Each of the four is killed in turn, and the soldiers prefer to take what cover is possible from the growing tide of German fire.
Despite the failure to take Hill 70, the commander of XI Corps orders the main attack by 21st and 24th Divisions to go ahead as planned. Here too the preliminary bombardment is ineffective - in the chaoes of the battlefield the artillery of the two divisions had struggled to get forward, and when the morning mist clears at 9am they find that they have positioned themselves in full view of the German lines. The result is that the Germans pour artillery fire of their own on the British guns, and the latter are understandibly unable to provide much of a preliminary bombardment of their own. At exactly 11am the infantry of the two divisions leave the trenches hastily-constructed early this morning and begin to cross the thousand yards that separate them from the second German trench line. This position is not nearly as elaborate as the old first German line - it lacks the usual support or communication trenches - but otherwise the Germans are in a favourable position. Though the counterattack overnight largely failed, 8th Division is now available to aid 117th Division in repelling the British attack. Artillery of both divisions, supported by fire from Hill 70, tear great holes in the ranks of the advancing infantry, and German machine guns sweep back and forth, felling hundreds at a time. Despite the horrendous losses and the horrific baptism of fire, the British infantry continue to advance eastward. The German trench is protected by great belts of barbed wire, which the preliminary bombardment has done nothing to disperse. The survivors who reach the barbed wire can find no way through, and while their search for a way forward losses continue to mount. Officers capable of coordinating attacks fall - five of the eight battalion commanders of 24th Division that went over the top are killed or wounded - and communications to the rear were nonexistant. No formal order is given for the divisions to retire - there hardly remains anyone alive to even give such an order - but slowly the survivors begin to pull back from the German wire and return to the trenches from which they had departed. The German defenders are impressed by the determination and bravery of the British infantry in making it as far as they did in the face of murderous fire, and so great has been the slaughter that out of compassion for a thoroughly beaten foe the German machine guns fall silent as the British withdraw. German medics even move into No Man's Land to minister to those British wounded not yet beyond aid, and allow them to return to their lines unmolested. The Germans refer to the battle as der Leichenfel von Loos - the Field of Corpses of Loos. Of the 15 000 men of 21st and 24th Divisions, over 8000 have been killed or wounded in just four hours of fighting - for all intents and purposes, the two divisions have been destroyed.
When the first news of the attack reach Lieutenant General R. C. B. Haking of XI Corps, he simply cannot believe that it has been such an abject and thorough failure. Neither can Haig, present at Haking's headquarters, and a staff officer is sent forward to ascertain the actual state of affairs. When he returns shortly after 4pm, the report he provides extinguishes hope that any success has been accomplished by the attack. The most significant reserve force available to Haig has thus failed to maintain the momentum of yesterday. The only other reserve that remains is the Guards Division, which remained under Field Marshal French's control when 21st and 24th Divisions had been ordered forward on the 25th. Now orders go out to the Guards to advance to the new British line from which the two 'New Army' divisions had attacked this morning. They are to prevent a German counterattack against the shattered divisions from retaking the ground gained yesterday while also placing them in position to resume the offensive. Again, orders are delayed and movement across the battlefield is painfully slow: it is not until 6pm that the Guards reach the old British front line trench from which the offensive had begun yesterday, and only reach the new front line after dusk, where they being to relieve the shattered remnants of 21st and 24th Divisions.
- To the south of the British 1st Army, the two northernmost corps of the French 10th Army attack at 110pm this afternoon after an artillery bombardment this morning, and though they are able to capture the pulverized ruins of Souchez, they are unable to advance further. The attacks south of Arras yesterday, however, are not renewed, General d'Urbal having concluded, with Foch's agreement, that the offensive should only be continued where there was reasonable prospects of success, which existed only where 10th Army had gained ground the prior day. Future operations of 10th Army are further limited as a result of a meeting of Joffre and Foch south of Amiens at 3pm, where the former remarkably instructs the latter to 'stop the attacks of 10th Army but avoid giving the British the impression that we are leaving them to attack alone, or the Germans that our offensive is slackening off.' Believing that the operation in Champagne has the greatest chance of succeeding, Joffre wants to concentrate all resources there and draw down the commitment to Artois. The meeting is also a telling reflection of Joffre's opinion of his British ally.
For their part, while Foch and d'Urbal narrow the scope of 10th Army's activities, they do not completely abandon offensive operations, if only to show the British that they are doing something. There is a momentary surge of optimism late today when a message reaches 10th Army headquarters that XII Corps has broken through near Neuville. The report, however, is mistaken, and such misinformation is another consequence of the chaos and interruption of communication on the modern battlefield - in such conditions, reports from subordinate formations of minor advances can become exaggerated and reflect instead the hopes of recipients. Before the report can be corrected, orders are issued to two corps in the centre of 10th Army to attack, and though the orders are cancelled before they can be carried out, the corps are left sufficiently disordered to be unable to participate in other operations tomorrow.
- In Champagne, Falkenhayn believes that the German 5th Army under Crown Prince Wilhelm reacted better to the French offensive than 3rd Army, and that the command staff of the latter largely lost control of the battle and had made no attempt to inform itself of the state of VIII Reserve Corps. The German chief of staff thus decides to place 3rd Army under the direction of Crown Prince Wilhelm, so that the efforts of the two armies could be better coordinated. When news of the change in the command structure is telephoned to 3rd Army headquarters, the chief of staff of 3rd Army objects to serving under 5th Army's chief of staff, who by rank is his junior. Falkenhayn's reply is to fire 3rd Army's chief of staff and replace him with Colonel Fritz von Lossberg, deputy chief of the Operations Section at OHL. Arriving at 3rd Army headquarters at 330pm, he receives a call from General Fleck of VIII Reserve Corps, asking whether the withdrawal he proposed yesterday is to be carried out. Keeping in mind his instructions from Falkenhayn to hold the line, Lossberg instead replies that 'VIII Reserve Corps must stand and die in its current position.' A later tour of VIII Reserve Corps' line convinces Lossberg that it can hold on with reinforcements now arriving at the front, though he also orders the construction of a new reserve line several kilometres to the north. He also instructs that the primary responsibility for halting French attacks is to fall on the artillery, which is to cut down the attacking infantry before they reached the German line. This reflects not only the superiority of artillery on the modern battlefield but also acknowledges the heavy losses VIII Reserve Corps has already suffered.
On the French side, after their gains yesterday the inner wings of 2nd and 4th Armies resume their attacks this morning, focusing on the reserve defensive line of the battered VIII Reserve Corps north of Souain and Perthes. Though this position is not nearly as fortified as the primary line the French overran yesterday morning, the one advantage it does have is that it is on the reverse slope of the Py Valley, which prevents French observation. As a result, artillery bombardment early this morning is less effective, and most of the belts of barbed wire remain in place. The French XIV Corps of 2nd Army attacks twice this morning, but is halted both times just north of Tahure. Another attempt is made this afternoon, and in bitter fighting a brigade manages to work its way through the second line of trenches. By this time, however, reinforcements ordered to the front yesterday by Falkenhayn are reaching the scene, and elements of the newly-arrived German 56th Division drives the French brigade back. To the west, the French VI Corps, ordered into the line yesterday, attacks at 230pm, but barbed wire belts up to sixty meters deep prevent the infantry from reaching the German trenches. Some success is achieved further to the west, where the French VII Corps, which had not gained ground yesterday, pushes through the first German trench line and reaches the second line, bringing it level with II Colonial Corps. Though its efforts to fight through the reserve line are also frustrated, its advance raises hopes that another push tomorrow will finally break the German lines.
- Given Falkenhayn's instructions of yesterday and the inability of the German 10th Army to advance further past Vilna, Ludendorff acknowledges the inevitable and calls his September, or Sventsiany, offensive to an end. Instead the armies of OberOst are instructed to establish a permanent line of trenches on which they will stand for the foreseeable future.
Ludendorff's decision to call off the offensive of the German 10th Army effectively brings an end to German operations on the Eastern Front, which had originated in the attack of Mackensen's 11th Army at Gorlice-Tarnow at the beginning of May. In the months since, the Russian army has been forced to evacuate Poland while the Russian pressure on Austria-Hungary has been relieved. Though the Russian army escaped the massive envelopment envisioned by Ludendorff, they have still suffered crushing losses: since the spring, the Russian army has lost over two million men, including a million prisoners of war. Of almost equal significance, the fighting since May has reinforced the belief among Russian generals that the German soldier is inherently superior to his Russian counterpart, which has left them extremely reluctant to undertake offensive operations against the Germans. Thus, despite the fact that the Russians still have a marked numerical superiority over the Germans - the former has seventy-five divisions arrayed against the forty-five divisions under Ludendorff - Falkenhayn has accomplished his objective of destroying the offensive capability of the Russian army, a victory as psychological as material. This is the necessary prerequisite for offensive operations planned by Falkenhayn in other theatres - even if the Russians have not been knocked out of the war, they have been sufficiently damaged to allow for a significant redeployment of German divisions elsewhere. It is also a vindication of Falkenhayn's operational approach of eschewing grand envelopments in favour of concentrating firepower to crush the enemy line and grinding the enemy down.
- This morning the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army discovers the Russians on the opposite bank of the Styr River have retreated overnight, but their own pursuit is delayed by a lack of bridges and boats, and it is not until evening that significant elements of the army have crossed to the east bank. As a result, though Lutsk is recaptured, 4th Army has completely lost touch with the withdrawing Russian 8th Army. Meanwhile, to the north the German XXIV Reserve Corps, the core of a group under General Friedrich Gerok sent from the Army of the Bug, crosses the Styr River at Kolki.
- With the imminent Anglo-French expedition to Salonika, Italian Prime Minister Sydney Sonnino asks his military advisors whether Italian forces can be commited to the operation. Given that Italian governments have traditionally seen the southwestern Balkans as properly within their sphere of influence, an Entente deployment to the region without Italian participation may be detrimental to Italy's long-term interests. Lieutenant-General Vittorio Zupelli, the war minister, argues that nothing can be spared from the Italian Front and that supplies to support such an expedition do not exist and are beyond the capability of Italian industry to produce. Lieutenant-General Luigi Cadorna, the Italian chief of staff, takes the opposite view, believing that Austro-Hungarian forces tied down fighting in the Balkans means fewer defenders along the Isonzo River. Though he is planning a major offensive for October, Cadorna states that afterwards he will be able to spare 20 000 men for the Balkans.
- West of Kut-al-Amara the British 6th Indian Division approaches the Ottoman defences, with 16th and 17th Brigades on the south bank and only 18th Brigade on the north bank. Opposing them are two Ottoman divisions, one on either bank, with further battalions in reserve. The British force, however, outnumbers the Ottomans almost two to one, at eleven thousand men to six thousand. The two British brigades on the south bank establish a very conspicuous deception camp, and successfully convince the Ottomans that the main British attack will come south of the Tigris River, Ottoman artillery firing shells into the 'camp'. The British had also hoped to encourage Ottoman guns north of the Tigris to fire, since it is here that the main British effort will actually be made and it is desirable to know the location of enemy guns so they can be knocked out when the main attack goes in on the 28th. However, the British deception has been too effective; thinking there are no valuable targets north of the Tigris, the Ottoman artillery here remains silent. The British here resort to any number of ruses to get the Ottomans to fire, including one captain who walks out into the open and, in full view of the Ottomans, sits on the desert ground and proceeds to read The Times. Even the captain, though, was not tempting enough for the Ottoman gunners.
Meanwhile, the British 21st and 24th Divisions continue to struggle across the broken terrain of the old No Man's Land towards the new front line. Due to the communication delays endemic to the modern battlefield, Haig's order of 827pm for the two divisions to take up position between Hulluch and Hill 70 does not even arrive at the headquarters of the latter until 2am this morning, and the former receives the directive even later. By the time they reach the new position and sort out the confusion caused by the march, it is already dawn. Haig has assumed that the two divisions would reach the line Hulluch-Hill 70 much earlier overnight and would have had time to rest before they attack this morning. In reality, the men are already exhausted without a shot having been fired in anger.
Haig's plan for the second day of the British offensive is to attack what is perceived to be the weakest point of the German line, that stretching from Hill 70 to just north of Hulluch, where the British had secured the greatest gains yesterday. On the northern end, I Corps is instructed to capture the village of St Elie, while IV Corps is ordered to seize Hulluch as well as recapture the high ground of Hill 70. In between these two points, 21st and 24th Divisions of XI Corps are to drive over the second German trench line, advancing three miles to the Haute Deule Canal. The most important advance is thus of the 'fresh' 21st and 24th Divisions. Both formations are part of Kitchener's 'New Armies', composed of men who volunteered for military service in the first months of the war. This is not the first time divisions of the 'New Armies' will enter combat - two of the six divisions that had attacked yesterday were from the 'New Armies'. However, those formations had been given substantial time to prepare an attack against defences that had been subject to a four-day bombardment. Today's attack by 21st and 24th Divisions, however, are to be undertaken by already-exhausted formations against German defences that will have been bombarded for only a couple of hours. Such circumstances are hardly ideal, but Haig believes the Germans remain weak, and regardless the two divisions are the only reserves immediately at hand: if the offensive is to be continued, they need to be committed to the attack.
The orders for the preliminary attack on Hill 70 only reach the involved battalions at 7am, leaving little time for preparations for the attack scheduled for 9am. More seriously, the artillery bombardment is hindered by a lack of ammunition: batteries that had moved forward to Loos overnight cannot be resupplied over roads that are clogged with the debris of battle and under constant German artillery fire, and thus can contribute only the shells they brought with them. Confusion over where exactly the front line was, combined with the delay in communication orders, also means that a few of the British shells fall short among their own infantry. When the infantry attack Hill 70 at 9am, a morning mist that had impeded the artillery bombardment lifts just in time for the German machine gunners to take a terrible toll on the advancing infantry. Some manage to get into the redoubt on the top of Hill 70, but in bitter close-quarters fighting are unable to push the Germans back, and the survivors soon retreat westwards. Attempts by the British to attack again are futile - four senior officers, starting with the Lieutenant-Colonel commanding 10/Green Howards, climb out of the trenches to encourage the infantry to advance once more. Each of the four is killed in turn, and the soldiers prefer to take what cover is possible from the growing tide of German fire.
Despite the failure to take Hill 70, the commander of XI Corps orders the main attack by 21st and 24th Divisions to go ahead as planned. Here too the preliminary bombardment is ineffective - in the chaoes of the battlefield the artillery of the two divisions had struggled to get forward, and when the morning mist clears at 9am they find that they have positioned themselves in full view of the German lines. The result is that the Germans pour artillery fire of their own on the British guns, and the latter are understandibly unable to provide much of a preliminary bombardment of their own. At exactly 11am the infantry of the two divisions leave the trenches hastily-constructed early this morning and begin to cross the thousand yards that separate them from the second German trench line. This position is not nearly as elaborate as the old first German line - it lacks the usual support or communication trenches - but otherwise the Germans are in a favourable position. Though the counterattack overnight largely failed, 8th Division is now available to aid 117th Division in repelling the British attack. Artillery of both divisions, supported by fire from Hill 70, tear great holes in the ranks of the advancing infantry, and German machine guns sweep back and forth, felling hundreds at a time. Despite the horrendous losses and the horrific baptism of fire, the British infantry continue to advance eastward. The German trench is protected by great belts of barbed wire, which the preliminary bombardment has done nothing to disperse. The survivors who reach the barbed wire can find no way through, and while their search for a way forward losses continue to mount. Officers capable of coordinating attacks fall - five of the eight battalion commanders of 24th Division that went over the top are killed or wounded - and communications to the rear were nonexistant. No formal order is given for the divisions to retire - there hardly remains anyone alive to even give such an order - but slowly the survivors begin to pull back from the German wire and return to the trenches from which they had departed. The German defenders are impressed by the determination and bravery of the British infantry in making it as far as they did in the face of murderous fire, and so great has been the slaughter that out of compassion for a thoroughly beaten foe the German machine guns fall silent as the British withdraw. German medics even move into No Man's Land to minister to those British wounded not yet beyond aid, and allow them to return to their lines unmolested. The Germans refer to the battle as der Leichenfel von Loos - the Field of Corpses of Loos. Of the 15 000 men of 21st and 24th Divisions, over 8000 have been killed or wounded in just four hours of fighting - for all intents and purposes, the two divisions have been destroyed.
When the first news of the attack reach Lieutenant General R. C. B. Haking of XI Corps, he simply cannot believe that it has been such an abject and thorough failure. Neither can Haig, present at Haking's headquarters, and a staff officer is sent forward to ascertain the actual state of affairs. When he returns shortly after 4pm, the report he provides extinguishes hope that any success has been accomplished by the attack. The most significant reserve force available to Haig has thus failed to maintain the momentum of yesterday. The only other reserve that remains is the Guards Division, which remained under Field Marshal French's control when 21st and 24th Divisions had been ordered forward on the 25th. Now orders go out to the Guards to advance to the new British line from which the two 'New Army' divisions had attacked this morning. They are to prevent a German counterattack against the shattered divisions from retaking the ground gained yesterday while also placing them in position to resume the offensive. Again, orders are delayed and movement across the battlefield is painfully slow: it is not until 6pm that the Guards reach the old British front line trench from which the offensive had begun yesterday, and only reach the new front line after dusk, where they being to relieve the shattered remnants of 21st and 24th Divisions.
- To the south of the British 1st Army, the two northernmost corps of the French 10th Army attack at 110pm this afternoon after an artillery bombardment this morning, and though they are able to capture the pulverized ruins of Souchez, they are unable to advance further. The attacks south of Arras yesterday, however, are not renewed, General d'Urbal having concluded, with Foch's agreement, that the offensive should only be continued where there was reasonable prospects of success, which existed only where 10th Army had gained ground the prior day. Future operations of 10th Army are further limited as a result of a meeting of Joffre and Foch south of Amiens at 3pm, where the former remarkably instructs the latter to 'stop the attacks of 10th Army but avoid giving the British the impression that we are leaving them to attack alone, or the Germans that our offensive is slackening off.' Believing that the operation in Champagne has the greatest chance of succeeding, Joffre wants to concentrate all resources there and draw down the commitment to Artois. The meeting is also a telling reflection of Joffre's opinion of his British ally.
For their part, while Foch and d'Urbal narrow the scope of 10th Army's activities, they do not completely abandon offensive operations, if only to show the British that they are doing something. There is a momentary surge of optimism late today when a message reaches 10th Army headquarters that XII Corps has broken through near Neuville. The report, however, is mistaken, and such misinformation is another consequence of the chaos and interruption of communication on the modern battlefield - in such conditions, reports from subordinate formations of minor advances can become exaggerated and reflect instead the hopes of recipients. Before the report can be corrected, orders are issued to two corps in the centre of 10th Army to attack, and though the orders are cancelled before they can be carried out, the corps are left sufficiently disordered to be unable to participate in other operations tomorrow.
- In Champagne, Falkenhayn believes that the German 5th Army under Crown Prince Wilhelm reacted better to the French offensive than 3rd Army, and that the command staff of the latter largely lost control of the battle and had made no attempt to inform itself of the state of VIII Reserve Corps. The German chief of staff thus decides to place 3rd Army under the direction of Crown Prince Wilhelm, so that the efforts of the two armies could be better coordinated. When news of the change in the command structure is telephoned to 3rd Army headquarters, the chief of staff of 3rd Army objects to serving under 5th Army's chief of staff, who by rank is his junior. Falkenhayn's reply is to fire 3rd Army's chief of staff and replace him with Colonel Fritz von Lossberg, deputy chief of the Operations Section at OHL. Arriving at 3rd Army headquarters at 330pm, he receives a call from General Fleck of VIII Reserve Corps, asking whether the withdrawal he proposed yesterday is to be carried out. Keeping in mind his instructions from Falkenhayn to hold the line, Lossberg instead replies that 'VIII Reserve Corps must stand and die in its current position.' A later tour of VIII Reserve Corps' line convinces Lossberg that it can hold on with reinforcements now arriving at the front, though he also orders the construction of a new reserve line several kilometres to the north. He also instructs that the primary responsibility for halting French attacks is to fall on the artillery, which is to cut down the attacking infantry before they reached the German line. This reflects not only the superiority of artillery on the modern battlefield but also acknowledges the heavy losses VIII Reserve Corps has already suffered.
On the French side, after their gains yesterday the inner wings of 2nd and 4th Armies resume their attacks this morning, focusing on the reserve defensive line of the battered VIII Reserve Corps north of Souain and Perthes. Though this position is not nearly as fortified as the primary line the French overran yesterday morning, the one advantage it does have is that it is on the reverse slope of the Py Valley, which prevents French observation. As a result, artillery bombardment early this morning is less effective, and most of the belts of barbed wire remain in place. The French XIV Corps of 2nd Army attacks twice this morning, but is halted both times just north of Tahure. Another attempt is made this afternoon, and in bitter fighting a brigade manages to work its way through the second line of trenches. By this time, however, reinforcements ordered to the front yesterday by Falkenhayn are reaching the scene, and elements of the newly-arrived German 56th Division drives the French brigade back. To the west, the French VI Corps, ordered into the line yesterday, attacks at 230pm, but barbed wire belts up to sixty meters deep prevent the infantry from reaching the German trenches. Some success is achieved further to the west, where the French VII Corps, which had not gained ground yesterday, pushes through the first German trench line and reaches the second line, bringing it level with II Colonial Corps. Though its efforts to fight through the reserve line are also frustrated, its advance raises hopes that another push tomorrow will finally break the German lines.
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| French artillery firing during the 2nd Battle of Champagne, Sept. 26th, 1915. |
- Given Falkenhayn's instructions of yesterday and the inability of the German 10th Army to advance further past Vilna, Ludendorff acknowledges the inevitable and calls his September, or Sventsiany, offensive to an end. Instead the armies of OberOst are instructed to establish a permanent line of trenches on which they will stand for the foreseeable future.
Ludendorff's decision to call off the offensive of the German 10th Army effectively brings an end to German operations on the Eastern Front, which had originated in the attack of Mackensen's 11th Army at Gorlice-Tarnow at the beginning of May. In the months since, the Russian army has been forced to evacuate Poland while the Russian pressure on Austria-Hungary has been relieved. Though the Russian army escaped the massive envelopment envisioned by Ludendorff, they have still suffered crushing losses: since the spring, the Russian army has lost over two million men, including a million prisoners of war. Of almost equal significance, the fighting since May has reinforced the belief among Russian generals that the German soldier is inherently superior to his Russian counterpart, which has left them extremely reluctant to undertake offensive operations against the Germans. Thus, despite the fact that the Russians still have a marked numerical superiority over the Germans - the former has seventy-five divisions arrayed against the forty-five divisions under Ludendorff - Falkenhayn has accomplished his objective of destroying the offensive capability of the Russian army, a victory as psychological as material. This is the necessary prerequisite for offensive operations planned by Falkenhayn in other theatres - even if the Russians have not been knocked out of the war, they have been sufficiently damaged to allow for a significant redeployment of German divisions elsewhere. It is also a vindication of Falkenhayn's operational approach of eschewing grand envelopments in favour of concentrating firepower to crush the enemy line and grinding the enemy down.
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| The Eastern Front at the end of the German offensives of 1915. |
- This morning the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army discovers the Russians on the opposite bank of the Styr River have retreated overnight, but their own pursuit is delayed by a lack of bridges and boats, and it is not until evening that significant elements of the army have crossed to the east bank. As a result, though Lutsk is recaptured, 4th Army has completely lost touch with the withdrawing Russian 8th Army. Meanwhile, to the north the German XXIV Reserve Corps, the core of a group under General Friedrich Gerok sent from the Army of the Bug, crosses the Styr River at Kolki.
- With the imminent Anglo-French expedition to Salonika, Italian Prime Minister Sydney Sonnino asks his military advisors whether Italian forces can be commited to the operation. Given that Italian governments have traditionally seen the southwestern Balkans as properly within their sphere of influence, an Entente deployment to the region without Italian participation may be detrimental to Italy's long-term interests. Lieutenant-General Vittorio Zupelli, the war minister, argues that nothing can be spared from the Italian Front and that supplies to support such an expedition do not exist and are beyond the capability of Italian industry to produce. Lieutenant-General Luigi Cadorna, the Italian chief of staff, takes the opposite view, believing that Austro-Hungarian forces tied down fighting in the Balkans means fewer defenders along the Isonzo River. Though he is planning a major offensive for October, Cadorna states that afterwards he will be able to spare 20 000 men for the Balkans.
- West of Kut-al-Amara the British 6th Indian Division approaches the Ottoman defences, with 16th and 17th Brigades on the south bank and only 18th Brigade on the north bank. Opposing them are two Ottoman divisions, one on either bank, with further battalions in reserve. The British force, however, outnumbers the Ottomans almost two to one, at eleven thousand men to six thousand. The two British brigades on the south bank establish a very conspicuous deception camp, and successfully convince the Ottomans that the main British attack will come south of the Tigris River, Ottoman artillery firing shells into the 'camp'. The British had also hoped to encourage Ottoman guns north of the Tigris to fire, since it is here that the main British effort will actually be made and it is desirable to know the location of enemy guns so they can be knocked out when the main attack goes in on the 28th. However, the British deception has been too effective; thinking there are no valuable targets north of the Tigris, the Ottoman artillery here remains silent. The British here resort to any number of ruses to get the Ottomans to fire, including one captain who walks out into the open and, in full view of the Ottomans, sits on the desert ground and proceeds to read The Times. Even the captain, though, was not tempting enough for the Ottoman gunners.
Friday, September 25, 2015
September 25th, 1915
- At 3am General Haig and his chief of staff meet once more with Captain Gold, and the latter informs the commander of 1st Army that the wind would be most favourable at dawn. Haig then issues orders for the chlorine gas cylinders to be opened right at dawn at 550am, with the infantry assault beginning at 630am.
The first British use of gas, however, is not without difficulties. At 440am, a German shell strikes one of the cylinders in the sector of 3rd London Regiment of the Indian Corps, and some of the infantry are impacted by the gas before enough dirt can be shoveled onto the burst cylinder. Elsewhere shifts in the wind affect the direction of the gas clouds. In some sectors the gas settles into No Man's Land, and in a few places actually blows back on the British infantry; on the northern flank of I Corps, a gas cloud blows back on two platoons and the battalion machine gun section of 1/9th Highlanders of 2nd Division before they had their gas masks in place, and within a minute only sixteen of eighty men remain capable of action. Though two reserve platoons are called up to take their place, given that the Germans opposite are now fully awake the British attack here is abandoned. The employment of gas is of greater help on the front of IV Corps, the southern wing of 1st Army. In some places the gas clouds at least mix with smoke to obscure the advance of British infantry (equipped with effective gas masks) until they are almost on top of the first German trench line. In front of 15th Division (opposite the village of Loos) and 47th Division to the south, the gas works as intended, the clouds slowly rolling over the German trenches, with the attacking infantry following immediately behind.
North of La Bassée Canal, the diversionary attacks of 8th Division at III Corps and the Meerut Division of the Indian Corps capture several stretches of the first German trench line. However, those elements that push forward successfully find themselves under attack on their flanks from those portions of the first German trench lines that remain in enemy hands, and by nightfall the Germans have recaptured their lost positions. British casualties here are heavy - the Meerut Division alone loses four thousand men - but the attacks at least serve to pin the German forces opposite and prevent them from moving south against the main British attack.
South of La Bassée Canal, 2nd Division, attacking over broken terrain of brick heaps and shell craters, gets nowhere while suffering heavy casualties. On its right 9th (Scottish) Division has more success: while its 28th Brigade to the north never reaches the first German trench line, 26th Brigade on the right, covered effectively by smoke and gas, breaks into and clears a German strongpoint known as the Hohenzollern Redoubt, passes through the second trench line, and reaches its objectives for the first day, all in the first hour. 26th Brigade, however, has suffered terrible losses for its success; of eight hundred men who attacked at 630am, only one hundred remain in action an hour later. On 9th (Scottish) Division's right, 7th Division also achieves notable success: by 730am both of its brigades have pushed through both the first and support German trench lines, and by 930 have captured an old chalk mining area known as the Quarries in addition to capturing a German battery of eight artillery guns. As of 11am they have reached the second German line opposite the villages of St. Elie and Hulluch, but as with the Scots to the north, the two attacking brigades of 7th Division have paid a high price to secure their gains.
Most of General Rawlinson's IV Corps also achieves significant gains in the first hours of the offensive. On the corps' northern wing, though 1st Brigade of 1st Division is initially held up at the German wire, 2nd Brigade passes through the German lines and by late morning is also approaching the village of Hulluch. In the corps' centre, 15th (Scottish) Division advances the furthest this morning: by 705am most of the first German line has been captured, and shortly thereafter British infantry pass through the ruined village of Loos itself, where the British artillery has been particularly thorough in wrecking the German communication trenches. By 800am men of 44th Brigade reach Hill 70, the 'tallest' feature on the Loos battlefield and soon sweep over the crest, capturing the partially-completed redoubt the Germans were still in the process of constructing on the summit. On the corps' southern wing, 47th Division pushes forward and has captured all of its objectives for the day by 9am.
Despite the failure of the use of chlorine gas to have a decisive effect, by late morning the bulk of the British 1st Army has pushed through the first German trench line and has reached the second trench line, in some cases advancing over three thousand yards. On the German side, 117th Division of IV Corps, responsible for the stretch of the front from south of Haines to south of Hill 70, has suffered the worst, with fifteen companies destroyed and twenty-two guns lost. It no longer has the strength to garrison the entire length of the second trench line it has been pushed into, and has lost touch with 7th Division on its southern flank. When reports of the crisis reach the headquarters of the German 6th Army, Rupprecht immediately orders his entire army reserve - 8th Division, 26th Brigade, and three battalions drawn from II Bavarian Corps - to reinforce the battered IV Corps. It will be late afternoon at the earliest before these forces can reach the battlefield, however; further British attacks in the hours ahead will have to be held by the battered remnants of 117th Division.
On either side of Arras, the assault infantry of the French 10th Army are in their forward trenches by 430am, and the artillery bombardment reaches its crescendo at 9am. However, Foch's plan does not have them attack until 1225pm, the delay hopefully giving time for the British attack to the north to draw German attention and reserves. Shortly before noon, however, rain begins to fall, and the resulting mud makes movement difficult. It is too late to abandon the attack, however, given that the coordination of the overall Entente offensive depends on each main assault occurring on schedule. Thus the French infantry go over the top at the scheduled hour. Unlike the British, the French do not mass-release chlorine gas; instead, French artillery fires gas and smoke shells on rear areas and specified targets.
Overall, the assault of the French 10th Army has mixed results. The attack of the French 43rd Division, located on the northern wing of 10th Army adjacent to the British, is repulsed by the German 7th Division opposite. To the south, however, the weather works to the advantage of the French 13th and 70th Divisions northwest of Souchez - the trenches of the German 123rd Saxon Division of VI Corps have become waterlogged, and when the French infantry emerge from the smoke they overrun the German defenders and are able to push forward two kilometres to the base of Giesler Hill. Further south, at Neuville St. Vaast, French infantry push through the German lines at several points, with some reaching the forward slope of Vimy Ridge itself. On the other hand, the southern wing of 10th Army is unable to make any progress opposite and south of Arras against the German 1st Bavarian Corps.
For the Germans opposite the French 10th Army, the multiple enemy advances between Souchez and Neuville St. Vaast pose the greatest danger, where VI Corps struggles to hold the line. However, the ability of either General Kurt von Pritzelwitz of VI Corps or Crown Prince Rupprecht of 6th Army to direct the defence of the threatened sectors has been impaired by the destruction of telephone lines by artillery fire and aerial bombardment, leaving the German commanders in the dark about the specific circumstances at the front. Moreover, Rupprecht has already had to dispatch all of his army's reserves to contain the British assault at Loos, and thus has nothing left to send VI Corps; the forces already in the line will have to fight and contain the French on their own.
In the Champagne, at 9am the French artillery shift their fire to concentrate on the first German trench line, and add gas and smoke shells into the mix to reduce the visibility of the enemy defenders. Fifteen minutes later, infantry from eighteen divisions go over the top, and the heaviest attack is undertaken on the inner wings of the French 4th and 2nd Armies, with II Colonial Corps of the former on the left and XIV Corps of the latter on the right. Here the French artillery bombardment has been particularly effective - many of the German defensive positions have been completely destroyed, while many of the German survivors are too stunned to offer serious resistance. So thick is the smoke and gas clouds laid down by the artillery that in some cases the French infantry reach the German trenches before the German soldiers can even emerge from their dugouts, and the latter are captured or killed before they are ready to even fight back. The French bombardment has also cut most of the German telephone lines, cutting off communications and preventing frontline commanders from calling for reserves or counterartillery fire. The result is that XIV and II Colonial Corps simply roll over the first trench line of the German VIII Reserve Corps. By noon, both French corps have advanced three to four kilometres and are assaulting the final German reserve line just south of Somme Py. The advancing French also turn east and west, and begin to roll up the flanks of the German forces on either side of the breakthrough. In response, the German divisions on either side of VIII Reserve Corps, though more successful in repelling the French attacks, have to pull back several kilometres to avoid having their inner flanks turned. Several German artillery batteries are overrun and captured by the French, and each of VIII Reserve Corps' three divisions suffer five thousand casualties.
One of the defining characteristics of the Western Front in the First World War is the length of time it takes information and orders to pass up and down the chain of command. In an era before portable wireless radio, reports are either relayed by telephone or send by messenger; the former are extremely vulnerable to artillery fire, while the latter, making their way from newly-won or heavily attacked positions, must navigate both enemy fire and the broken terrain of the battlefield. Delays in communication will be central to the outcome of the fall offensive of the Entente, but one of its first manifestations is seen on the German side. Continuing his inspection tour of the army headquarters on the Western Front, this morning Falkenhayn arrives at Montmédy, and even though British and French forces have been attacking (and advancing) for several hours, now significantly out-of-date reports from 3rd and 6th Army headquarters are sanguine, indicating nothing more than the continuation of artillery bombardments that have been ongoing now for several days. Believing that nothing in particular is amiss, Falkenhayn issues no new instructions and departs shortly thereafter for Stenay, headquarters of 5th Army. While enroute, 3rd Army headquarters finally learns of the plight of VIII Corps, and sends an urgent plea for reinforcements to its neighbour 5th Army, saying that the 'enemy has broken through in the area of Souain-Somme Py. Having also been attacked this morning, 5th Army is in no position to send aid, and its commander, Crown Prince Wilhelm, refuses. With Falkenhayn having recently arrived at 5th Army headquarters, the request by 3rd Army is submitted directly to the German chief of staff. Almost simultaneously, at 1230pm 6th Army headquarters in Artois sends an equally urgent message to Falkenhayn: 'Aided by gas the enemy has broken into the positions of IV Corps at Haisnes and Loos . . . The entire Army Reserve and the 8th Division had to be put at the disposal of IV Corps. Further reinforcements for the army are urgently required.' A telephone conversation with 3rd Army commander General Einem and his chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Ritter von Höhn, further brings home to Falkenhayn the perilous state of affairs, and the German chief of staff feels compelled to remind the badly-shaken Einem and Höhn that the Kaiser expects 'every man to do his duty.'
In an instant, Falkenhayn's understanding of the situation was transformed. Not only were the British and French undertaking significant operations, but they appeared to be on the verge of achieving breakthroughs in both Artois and Champagne - Falkenhayn's strategy of standing on the defensive in the west to permit offensives in the east and the Balkans now appears to hover on the brink of disaster. It was essential now to rapidly move all available reserves to 3rd and 6th Armies to allow them to hold their present lines. Falkenhayn immediately orders 192nd Brigade transferred from 7th Army's reserve to 6th Army and 56th Division from Lorraine to 3rd Army. Shortly after 1pm he departs Stenay for Mézières, OHL's headquarters on the Western Front, to better coordinate the response to the Entente offensive. Here he instructs the Guard and X Corps, currently in Belgium resting and recovering after lengthy service on the Eastern Front, to move to reinforce 6th Army and 3rd Army respectively. It would take hours for these reinforcements to arrive, however, and in the meantime 6th and 3rd Armies will have to hang on with what they have in hand. Falkenhayn's entire strategy for 1915 hangs in the balance.
Meanwhile in Flanders the focus of British commanders this afternoon is pushing up reinforcements to continue the advance. In each division, two brigades had led the attack this morning, while the third brigade was held in reserve, and the struggle now is to get these brigades forward to exploit the gains already won. Now the British experience the difficulties in communicating on the modern battlefield. At 910am, the commander of 1st Division, whose 1st Brigade has advanced almost to the village of Hulluch, issues orders for a two-battalion detachment under Lieutenant-Colonel E. W. B. Green (imaginatively named Green Force). Several messengers are dispatched from 1st Division headquarters with the instructions, but several are struck by German artillery fire or get lost in a landscape where almost every identifying feature has literally been blown away. As a result, the order to advance does not reach Lt-Col Green until 1055am, even though the latter's headquarters was only 2500 yards from the former. It then takes another hour for the order to pass down through battalion and company commanders, so it is not until after midday that Green Force actually begins to move forward. Similarly, to the north 27th Brigade, the reserve of 9th Division, is ordered forward towards Haisnes. Prior to the battle, two communication trenches had been assigned to 27th Brigade to facilitate their movement to the front, but as the infantry attempt to pass through them they find the trenches blocked with wounded coming back to medical stations. When they attempt to move around the blockages they find themselves under German artillery fire, so the brigade has suffered significant casualties before even reaching the front. By the time they approach Haisnes, the German line has been reinforced, and the exhausted infantry instead concentrate on improving the defences of the ground seized. The experience of 21st Brigade, the reserve of 7th Division, is similar - ordered forward to push through the German line north of Hulluch, as they approach the front line just west of St Elie German shrapnel shells cut great swathes through their ranks, and to the survivors who reach the front line it is clear no further advance is possible without more extensive artillery support.
With the delays and difficulties encountered by the divisional reserves, it will take the commitment of further reserve forces to maintain the momentum of the British attack. However, neither I or IV Corps has any reserve, nor does 1st Army. Instead, XI Corps, consisting of 21st and 24th Divisions, the Guards Division, and the Cavalry Corps were under the direct command of Field Marshal French. The commander of the British Expeditionary Force has never been enthusiastic about the offensive at Loos, and it is possible that he retained direct control over these forces to prevent their commitment to a losing cause - the BEF still numbers only thirty-seven divisions, six of which are Territorial divisions with little experience and six of which are 'New Army' divisions with none at all, and given that Britain does not yet have conscription, the destruction of the six divisions of the BEF reserve would have been a serious setback. The practical implication, however, is that after the success of the morning attack, another layer of command is added to the communication delays intrinsic to the First World War battlefield, and will become a major point of contention among the senior leadership of the BEF after the battle.
When the infantry attacked at dawn this morning, the lead columns of 21st and 24th Divisions were about four and a half miles behind the British front line, but the infantry are exhausted after marching all night from their prior concentration areas to the west. At 7am, Haig sends a staff officer by car to French's headquarters, informing the latter that the attack is progressing satisfactorily and requesting the release of XI Corps. Though it ought to have taken only forty-five minutes to cover the ground between the two locations by car, at 845am no response has been received and Haig dispatches another officer. This message reaches French, who in turn at 930am orders the commander of XI Corps to begin moving his two divisions to the front. It is another hour before the order reaches the divisional headquarters, and another forty-five minutes before the lead elements actually begin to move - by this time, the British advance means that they are now seven miles behind the current front line. The exhausted infantry do their best to push forward, but the few roads are already clogged with military traffic and their progress is painstakingly slow. Impatient, at 235pm Haig orders the commander of XI Corps to detach one brigade from each division and prioritize getting those forces to the front as quickly as possible, hoping they can launch an attack today towards the Haute Deule Canal, several kilometres past Hulluch. It is not until 6pm that the first infantry of 62nd Brigade of 21st Division actually arrive at the front, and Haig realizes that it will be impossible to to attack this evening. Instead, just after 8pm he orders XI Corps to take up position between Hulluch and Hill 70, in anticipation of an advance by the full corps early tomorrow morning.
On the German side, the hours of the afternoon pass without the expected resumption of the British advance. Though fierce fighting continues, there is no concerted push against the reserve German trenches. As the first reinforcements arrive later in the day, IV Corps uses them to reestablish a continuous front. To the north, elements of 2nd Guard Division, transferred from VII Corps, reestablish contact with the northern flank of 117th Division between Auchy and Haisnes, while to the south, elements of 7th and 123rd Saxon Divisions, sent from VI Corps, advance to Hill 70 and make contact with the southern wing of 117th Division. Though the Germans have suffered heavily, by evening they have recreated a cohesive front line, without gaps that could be exploited by the British. Limited counterattacks have also been undertaken, and though little ground is retaken they have the virtue of at least keeping the British forces off guard, and help convince the lead British brigades that, after the morning battles, they need to wait for reserves before the advance can be resumed. On the southern wing of the British gains, however, the infantry of 44th Brigade that captured the summit of Hill 70 and pushed down the eastern slope come under increasingly heavy German fire from the ruins of workers' cottages to the east. Moreover, their very success means they are now confronted with German defenses that had not been given the same attention from British artillery as the first German trench line. Taking losses, the men of 44th Brigade pull back from the eastern slope of Hill 70, and, given that the summit is now being swept by enemy machine gun fire, they retreat to the western slope and entrench.
As the situation stabilizes through the afternoon, the commander of the German IV Corps decides that the primary reserves dispatched from 6th Army headquarters - 8th Division and 26th Brigade - should be used to counterattack the salient around Loos carved out by the British. Initially hoping to attack this evening, delays are experienced in getting the reserves to the front: 26th Brigade is attempting to deploy into trenches still contested by British infantry, while the soldiers of 8th Division have to move through the maze of ruined houses in the town of Lens. Postponed several times, the counterattack is finally scheduled to go in at midnight.
The first day of the Battle of Loos has seen several British divisions advance several thousand yards, sweeping over the first German trench positions, seizing the village of Loos itself, and pushing up to the German reserve lines. Having achieved this notable success, the pace of the advance faltered, as the forces of the initial attack have suffered losses and reserves have been delayed in getting to the front. Nevertheless, Haig believes that the planned attack of 21st and 24th Divisions at dawn tomorrow will complete the breaking of the German lines.
After its progress in the morning, the situation of the French 10th Army deteriorates in the afternoon. Three regiments of the German 123rd Division, supported by the southern flank of the German 7th Division, attack after dark the French infantry that had pushed to Giesler Hill, and the exhausted French yield some of the ground won earlier today. Opposite Neuville St. Vaast, further French assaults are unable to break through the reserve German trench lines, and though the Germans are unable to recover the forward trench lost this morning, they are able to reestablish a solid defensive line.
In Champagne, the German VIII Reserve Corps fights desperately throughout the afternoon to hold on to its reserve trench line. To stem the French tide, the corps commander orders his recruiting depot (consisting of new recruits from the home front and returning wounded veterans) into the line at Somme Py. In addition, most of 5th Division, located in 3rd Army's rear area and whose orders to transfer to the Balkans had been cancelled just yesterday, is fed into the battle over the afternoon and evening. On the French side, the experience in the aftermath of initial success is similar to that of the British in Flanders: the lead infantry are exhausted and have taken significant losses. Further, in the chaos of battle battalions have been hopelessly mixed up and lines of command confused, while the very extent of the French advance has caused its own problems, as isolated groups of German infantry, bypassed by the initial attack, now emerge to fight in ground the French believe they have already captured. The result is that bitter fighting through the afternoon is not nearly as successful at that of the morning, and the Germans are just barely able to hang on. Nevertheless, General Friedrich Fleck, commanding VIII Reserve Corps, and General Einem of 3rd Army believe the crisis is far from having past, and as the breakdown of communications prevents accurate news from reaching headquartesr to the rear, in the vacuum of news pessimism reigns. Indeed Fleck, believing his command is on the verge of disintegration, requests permission this evening to withdraw from the reserve defensive position northwards past Somme Py and out of the trenches. This retreat, if implemented, would give the French precisely the breakthrough in Champagne they are so desperate to achieve.
On the French side, as reports filter back to the headquarters of the French 2nd and 4th Armies of the successful advance of II Colonial and XIV Corps, General Castlenau of the Army Group of the Centre at 415pm orders the two divisions of VI Corps to enter the line and follow up the attack of and expand the ground seized by II Colonial Corps. Again, however, it takes time for orders to make their way down the chain of command, and for the infantry to make their way across the shattered landscape, and it is midnight before VI Corps is in the front line. Optimism remains high, however, that further attacks tomorrow will shatter the weakened Germans and push on to the north.
- South of Vilna, the withdrawal of Russian forces to counter the German offensive at and north of the city has allowed the German 12th Army to reach the Berezina River east of Lida while the army group under Prince Leopold has arrived at the Szczara River. To the east of Vilna itself, the German 10th Army has ground its way towards Smorgon, but against increasing resistance has been unable to advance further.
To Falkenhayn, Ludendorff's September offensive at Vilna and Sventsiany has achieved exactly what the German chief of staff expected - namely, a minor advance of no great strategic consequence. Considering both the impending invasion of Serbia and the Entente offensive on the Western Front, Falkenhayn believes it is both necessary and desirable to end operations on the Eastern Front. Though the great German victories achieved since the attack at Gorlice-Tarnow in May have not convinced the Tsar to agree to a negotiated peace, they have sharply reduced the strength of the Russian army and it will likely be many months until the Russians are again capable of major offensive actions. As such, Falkenhayn today issues orders for German forces on the Eastern Front to hold their present positions and construct a strong defensive line that can be held with a reduced commitment of forces. At the northern end of the line, the armies under OberOst are to entrench on a line running from west of Riga through Mitau and west of Dvinsk to Lake Narotch and the mouth of the Bierieza River. From here, the army group under Prince Leopold and the Army of the Bug will hold on a line running from the Bierieza River through Baranowicze to Pinsk.
- Russian cavalry and aircraft have reported the movement of the German XXIV Reserve Corps and other formations southeastward toward the northern flank of the Russian 8th Army. Though General Brusilov wishes to stand on the Styr while redeploying the Russian XXX Corps towards Kolki to block the German advance. His superior, the more cautious General Ivanov, disagrees and, seeking to avoid a potential envelopment, orders Brusilov's 8th Army to retreat eastward towards the Putilowka and Kormin Rivers.
- As plans are finalized for the Serbian campaign, preliminary operations are deemed necessary to seize several large islands in the Danube River east of Belgrade - in German or Austro-Hungarian hands, the islands shorten the distance needed by the main crossings, and can serve as platforms to position light artillery closer to the front. The most substantial island is Temesziget, over twelve miles long and up to three miles wide, and its capture has been assigned to 11th Bavarian Division of IV Reserve Corps. Overnight elements of the division crossed to the north shore of the island, and the small Serbian detachments are quickly overwhelmed.
- After several days of debate, the French Council of Ministers decides to go to the aid of the Serbs, and authorizes the dispatch of an expedition to the Balkans. A telegraph is sent to the Greek government informing it that the Entente will provide the 150 000 troops required by Greek Prime Minister Venizelos to activate the convention with Serbia and bring Greece into the war. The British government also agrees to commit forces to the Balkans, though with considerably more disagreement: while David Lloyd George is in favour of contributing to the expedition, Lord Kitchener argues that redeploying forces from Gallipoli to the Balkans is 'jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.' In order to maintain the aura of neutrality, Prime Minister Venizelos requests twenty-four hours notice of the landing of the first Entente forces in Greece, so his government can lodge a diplomatic (though meaningless) protest. The Entente plan is to land at the port city of Salonika in northern Greece, using it as a base of operations for forces moving north to Serbia's aid.
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| The divisions of the British I and IV Corps prior to the attack at Loos, Sept. 25th, 1915. |
The first British use of gas, however, is not without difficulties. At 440am, a German shell strikes one of the cylinders in the sector of 3rd London Regiment of the Indian Corps, and some of the infantry are impacted by the gas before enough dirt can be shoveled onto the burst cylinder. Elsewhere shifts in the wind affect the direction of the gas clouds. In some sectors the gas settles into No Man's Land, and in a few places actually blows back on the British infantry; on the northern flank of I Corps, a gas cloud blows back on two platoons and the battalion machine gun section of 1/9th Highlanders of 2nd Division before they had their gas masks in place, and within a minute only sixteen of eighty men remain capable of action. Though two reserve platoons are called up to take their place, given that the Germans opposite are now fully awake the British attack here is abandoned. The employment of gas is of greater help on the front of IV Corps, the southern wing of 1st Army. In some places the gas clouds at least mix with smoke to obscure the advance of British infantry (equipped with effective gas masks) until they are almost on top of the first German trench line. In front of 15th Division (opposite the village of Loos) and 47th Division to the south, the gas works as intended, the clouds slowly rolling over the German trenches, with the attacking infantry following immediately behind.
North of La Bassée Canal, the diversionary attacks of 8th Division at III Corps and the Meerut Division of the Indian Corps capture several stretches of the first German trench line. However, those elements that push forward successfully find themselves under attack on their flanks from those portions of the first German trench lines that remain in enemy hands, and by nightfall the Germans have recaptured their lost positions. British casualties here are heavy - the Meerut Division alone loses four thousand men - but the attacks at least serve to pin the German forces opposite and prevent them from moving south against the main British attack.
Most of General Rawlinson's IV Corps also achieves significant gains in the first hours of the offensive. On the corps' northern wing, though 1st Brigade of 1st Division is initially held up at the German wire, 2nd Brigade passes through the German lines and by late morning is also approaching the village of Hulluch. In the corps' centre, 15th (Scottish) Division advances the furthest this morning: by 705am most of the first German line has been captured, and shortly thereafter British infantry pass through the ruined village of Loos itself, where the British artillery has been particularly thorough in wrecking the German communication trenches. By 800am men of 44th Brigade reach Hill 70, the 'tallest' feature on the Loos battlefield and soon sweep over the crest, capturing the partially-completed redoubt the Germans were still in the process of constructing on the summit. On the corps' southern wing, 47th Division pushes forward and has captured all of its objectives for the day by 9am.
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| Infantry of the British 47th Division advance into the clouds of chlorine gas released just prior to their attack, Sept. 25th, 1915. The photograph is taken from the forward British trenches looking towards the German lines. |
Despite the failure of the use of chlorine gas to have a decisive effect, by late morning the bulk of the British 1st Army has pushed through the first German trench line and has reached the second trench line, in some cases advancing over three thousand yards. On the German side, 117th Division of IV Corps, responsible for the stretch of the front from south of Haines to south of Hill 70, has suffered the worst, with fifteen companies destroyed and twenty-two guns lost. It no longer has the strength to garrison the entire length of the second trench line it has been pushed into, and has lost touch with 7th Division on its southern flank. When reports of the crisis reach the headquarters of the German 6th Army, Rupprecht immediately orders his entire army reserve - 8th Division, 26th Brigade, and three battalions drawn from II Bavarian Corps - to reinforce the battered IV Corps. It will be late afternoon at the earliest before these forces can reach the battlefield, however; further British attacks in the hours ahead will have to be held by the battered remnants of 117th Division.
On either side of Arras, the assault infantry of the French 10th Army are in their forward trenches by 430am, and the artillery bombardment reaches its crescendo at 9am. However, Foch's plan does not have them attack until 1225pm, the delay hopefully giving time for the British attack to the north to draw German attention and reserves. Shortly before noon, however, rain begins to fall, and the resulting mud makes movement difficult. It is too late to abandon the attack, however, given that the coordination of the overall Entente offensive depends on each main assault occurring on schedule. Thus the French infantry go over the top at the scheduled hour. Unlike the British, the French do not mass-release chlorine gas; instead, French artillery fires gas and smoke shells on rear areas and specified targets.
Overall, the assault of the French 10th Army has mixed results. The attack of the French 43rd Division, located on the northern wing of 10th Army adjacent to the British, is repulsed by the German 7th Division opposite. To the south, however, the weather works to the advantage of the French 13th and 70th Divisions northwest of Souchez - the trenches of the German 123rd Saxon Division of VI Corps have become waterlogged, and when the French infantry emerge from the smoke they overrun the German defenders and are able to push forward two kilometres to the base of Giesler Hill. Further south, at Neuville St. Vaast, French infantry push through the German lines at several points, with some reaching the forward slope of Vimy Ridge itself. On the other hand, the southern wing of 10th Army is unable to make any progress opposite and south of Arras against the German 1st Bavarian Corps.
For the Germans opposite the French 10th Army, the multiple enemy advances between Souchez and Neuville St. Vaast pose the greatest danger, where VI Corps struggles to hold the line. However, the ability of either General Kurt von Pritzelwitz of VI Corps or Crown Prince Rupprecht of 6th Army to direct the defence of the threatened sectors has been impaired by the destruction of telephone lines by artillery fire and aerial bombardment, leaving the German commanders in the dark about the specific circumstances at the front. Moreover, Rupprecht has already had to dispatch all of his army's reserves to contain the British assault at Loos, and thus has nothing left to send VI Corps; the forces already in the line will have to fight and contain the French on their own.
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| The ground seized by the French 10th Army north of Arras, Sept. 25th, 1915. |
In the Champagne, at 9am the French artillery shift their fire to concentrate on the first German trench line, and add gas and smoke shells into the mix to reduce the visibility of the enemy defenders. Fifteen minutes later, infantry from eighteen divisions go over the top, and the heaviest attack is undertaken on the inner wings of the French 4th and 2nd Armies, with II Colonial Corps of the former on the left and XIV Corps of the latter on the right. Here the French artillery bombardment has been particularly effective - many of the German defensive positions have been completely destroyed, while many of the German survivors are too stunned to offer serious resistance. So thick is the smoke and gas clouds laid down by the artillery that in some cases the French infantry reach the German trenches before the German soldiers can even emerge from their dugouts, and the latter are captured or killed before they are ready to even fight back. The French bombardment has also cut most of the German telephone lines, cutting off communications and preventing frontline commanders from calling for reserves or counterartillery fire. The result is that XIV and II Colonial Corps simply roll over the first trench line of the German VIII Reserve Corps. By noon, both French corps have advanced three to four kilometres and are assaulting the final German reserve line just south of Somme Py. The advancing French also turn east and west, and begin to roll up the flanks of the German forces on either side of the breakthrough. In response, the German divisions on either side of VIII Reserve Corps, though more successful in repelling the French attacks, have to pull back several kilometres to avoid having their inner flanks turned. Several German artillery batteries are overrun and captured by the French, and each of VIII Reserve Corps' three divisions suffer five thousand casualties.
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| The gains of the French offensive in Champagne, Sept. 1915. |
One of the defining characteristics of the Western Front in the First World War is the length of time it takes information and orders to pass up and down the chain of command. In an era before portable wireless radio, reports are either relayed by telephone or send by messenger; the former are extremely vulnerable to artillery fire, while the latter, making their way from newly-won or heavily attacked positions, must navigate both enemy fire and the broken terrain of the battlefield. Delays in communication will be central to the outcome of the fall offensive of the Entente, but one of its first manifestations is seen on the German side. Continuing his inspection tour of the army headquarters on the Western Front, this morning Falkenhayn arrives at Montmédy, and even though British and French forces have been attacking (and advancing) for several hours, now significantly out-of-date reports from 3rd and 6th Army headquarters are sanguine, indicating nothing more than the continuation of artillery bombardments that have been ongoing now for several days. Believing that nothing in particular is amiss, Falkenhayn issues no new instructions and departs shortly thereafter for Stenay, headquarters of 5th Army. While enroute, 3rd Army headquarters finally learns of the plight of VIII Corps, and sends an urgent plea for reinforcements to its neighbour 5th Army, saying that the 'enemy has broken through in the area of Souain-Somme Py. Having also been attacked this morning, 5th Army is in no position to send aid, and its commander, Crown Prince Wilhelm, refuses. With Falkenhayn having recently arrived at 5th Army headquarters, the request by 3rd Army is submitted directly to the German chief of staff. Almost simultaneously, at 1230pm 6th Army headquarters in Artois sends an equally urgent message to Falkenhayn: 'Aided by gas the enemy has broken into the positions of IV Corps at Haisnes and Loos . . . The entire Army Reserve and the 8th Division had to be put at the disposal of IV Corps. Further reinforcements for the army are urgently required.' A telephone conversation with 3rd Army commander General Einem and his chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Ritter von Höhn, further brings home to Falkenhayn the perilous state of affairs, and the German chief of staff feels compelled to remind the badly-shaken Einem and Höhn that the Kaiser expects 'every man to do his duty.'
In an instant, Falkenhayn's understanding of the situation was transformed. Not only were the British and French undertaking significant operations, but they appeared to be on the verge of achieving breakthroughs in both Artois and Champagne - Falkenhayn's strategy of standing on the defensive in the west to permit offensives in the east and the Balkans now appears to hover on the brink of disaster. It was essential now to rapidly move all available reserves to 3rd and 6th Armies to allow them to hold their present lines. Falkenhayn immediately orders 192nd Brigade transferred from 7th Army's reserve to 6th Army and 56th Division from Lorraine to 3rd Army. Shortly after 1pm he departs Stenay for Mézières, OHL's headquarters on the Western Front, to better coordinate the response to the Entente offensive. Here he instructs the Guard and X Corps, currently in Belgium resting and recovering after lengthy service on the Eastern Front, to move to reinforce 6th Army and 3rd Army respectively. It would take hours for these reinforcements to arrive, however, and in the meantime 6th and 3rd Armies will have to hang on with what they have in hand. Falkenhayn's entire strategy for 1915 hangs in the balance.
Meanwhile in Flanders the focus of British commanders this afternoon is pushing up reinforcements to continue the advance. In each division, two brigades had led the attack this morning, while the third brigade was held in reserve, and the struggle now is to get these brigades forward to exploit the gains already won. Now the British experience the difficulties in communicating on the modern battlefield. At 910am, the commander of 1st Division, whose 1st Brigade has advanced almost to the village of Hulluch, issues orders for a two-battalion detachment under Lieutenant-Colonel E. W. B. Green (imaginatively named Green Force). Several messengers are dispatched from 1st Division headquarters with the instructions, but several are struck by German artillery fire or get lost in a landscape where almost every identifying feature has literally been blown away. As a result, the order to advance does not reach Lt-Col Green until 1055am, even though the latter's headquarters was only 2500 yards from the former. It then takes another hour for the order to pass down through battalion and company commanders, so it is not until after midday that Green Force actually begins to move forward. Similarly, to the north 27th Brigade, the reserve of 9th Division, is ordered forward towards Haisnes. Prior to the battle, two communication trenches had been assigned to 27th Brigade to facilitate their movement to the front, but as the infantry attempt to pass through them they find the trenches blocked with wounded coming back to medical stations. When they attempt to move around the blockages they find themselves under German artillery fire, so the brigade has suffered significant casualties before even reaching the front. By the time they approach Haisnes, the German line has been reinforced, and the exhausted infantry instead concentrate on improving the defences of the ground seized. The experience of 21st Brigade, the reserve of 7th Division, is similar - ordered forward to push through the German line north of Hulluch, as they approach the front line just west of St Elie German shrapnel shells cut great swathes through their ranks, and to the survivors who reach the front line it is clear no further advance is possible without more extensive artillery support.
With the delays and difficulties encountered by the divisional reserves, it will take the commitment of further reserve forces to maintain the momentum of the British attack. However, neither I or IV Corps has any reserve, nor does 1st Army. Instead, XI Corps, consisting of 21st and 24th Divisions, the Guards Division, and the Cavalry Corps were under the direct command of Field Marshal French. The commander of the British Expeditionary Force has never been enthusiastic about the offensive at Loos, and it is possible that he retained direct control over these forces to prevent their commitment to a losing cause - the BEF still numbers only thirty-seven divisions, six of which are Territorial divisions with little experience and six of which are 'New Army' divisions with none at all, and given that Britain does not yet have conscription, the destruction of the six divisions of the BEF reserve would have been a serious setback. The practical implication, however, is that after the success of the morning attack, another layer of command is added to the communication delays intrinsic to the First World War battlefield, and will become a major point of contention among the senior leadership of the BEF after the battle.
When the infantry attacked at dawn this morning, the lead columns of 21st and 24th Divisions were about four and a half miles behind the British front line, but the infantry are exhausted after marching all night from their prior concentration areas to the west. At 7am, Haig sends a staff officer by car to French's headquarters, informing the latter that the attack is progressing satisfactorily and requesting the release of XI Corps. Though it ought to have taken only forty-five minutes to cover the ground between the two locations by car, at 845am no response has been received and Haig dispatches another officer. This message reaches French, who in turn at 930am orders the commander of XI Corps to begin moving his two divisions to the front. It is another hour before the order reaches the divisional headquarters, and another forty-five minutes before the lead elements actually begin to move - by this time, the British advance means that they are now seven miles behind the current front line. The exhausted infantry do their best to push forward, but the few roads are already clogged with military traffic and their progress is painstakingly slow. Impatient, at 235pm Haig orders the commander of XI Corps to detach one brigade from each division and prioritize getting those forces to the front as quickly as possible, hoping they can launch an attack today towards the Haute Deule Canal, several kilometres past Hulluch. It is not until 6pm that the first infantry of 62nd Brigade of 21st Division actually arrive at the front, and Haig realizes that it will be impossible to to attack this evening. Instead, just after 8pm he orders XI Corps to take up position between Hulluch and Hill 70, in anticipation of an advance by the full corps early tomorrow morning.
On the German side, the hours of the afternoon pass without the expected resumption of the British advance. Though fierce fighting continues, there is no concerted push against the reserve German trenches. As the first reinforcements arrive later in the day, IV Corps uses them to reestablish a continuous front. To the north, elements of 2nd Guard Division, transferred from VII Corps, reestablish contact with the northern flank of 117th Division between Auchy and Haisnes, while to the south, elements of 7th and 123rd Saxon Divisions, sent from VI Corps, advance to Hill 70 and make contact with the southern wing of 117th Division. Though the Germans have suffered heavily, by evening they have recreated a cohesive front line, without gaps that could be exploited by the British. Limited counterattacks have also been undertaken, and though little ground is retaken they have the virtue of at least keeping the British forces off guard, and help convince the lead British brigades that, after the morning battles, they need to wait for reserves before the advance can be resumed. On the southern wing of the British gains, however, the infantry of 44th Brigade that captured the summit of Hill 70 and pushed down the eastern slope come under increasingly heavy German fire from the ruins of workers' cottages to the east. Moreover, their very success means they are now confronted with German defenses that had not been given the same attention from British artillery as the first German trench line. Taking losses, the men of 44th Brigade pull back from the eastern slope of Hill 70, and, given that the summit is now being swept by enemy machine gun fire, they retreat to the western slope and entrench.
As the situation stabilizes through the afternoon, the commander of the German IV Corps decides that the primary reserves dispatched from 6th Army headquarters - 8th Division and 26th Brigade - should be used to counterattack the salient around Loos carved out by the British. Initially hoping to attack this evening, delays are experienced in getting the reserves to the front: 26th Brigade is attempting to deploy into trenches still contested by British infantry, while the soldiers of 8th Division have to move through the maze of ruined houses in the town of Lens. Postponed several times, the counterattack is finally scheduled to go in at midnight.
The first day of the Battle of Loos has seen several British divisions advance several thousand yards, sweeping over the first German trench positions, seizing the village of Loos itself, and pushing up to the German reserve lines. Having achieved this notable success, the pace of the advance faltered, as the forces of the initial attack have suffered losses and reserves have been delayed in getting to the front. Nevertheless, Haig believes that the planned attack of 21st and 24th Divisions at dawn tomorrow will complete the breaking of the German lines.
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| The gains of the British 1st Army at Loos, Sept. 25th, 1915. |
After its progress in the morning, the situation of the French 10th Army deteriorates in the afternoon. Three regiments of the German 123rd Division, supported by the southern flank of the German 7th Division, attack after dark the French infantry that had pushed to Giesler Hill, and the exhausted French yield some of the ground won earlier today. Opposite Neuville St. Vaast, further French assaults are unable to break through the reserve German trench lines, and though the Germans are unable to recover the forward trench lost this morning, they are able to reestablish a solid defensive line.
In Champagne, the German VIII Reserve Corps fights desperately throughout the afternoon to hold on to its reserve trench line. To stem the French tide, the corps commander orders his recruiting depot (consisting of new recruits from the home front and returning wounded veterans) into the line at Somme Py. In addition, most of 5th Division, located in 3rd Army's rear area and whose orders to transfer to the Balkans had been cancelled just yesterday, is fed into the battle over the afternoon and evening. On the French side, the experience in the aftermath of initial success is similar to that of the British in Flanders: the lead infantry are exhausted and have taken significant losses. Further, in the chaos of battle battalions have been hopelessly mixed up and lines of command confused, while the very extent of the French advance has caused its own problems, as isolated groups of German infantry, bypassed by the initial attack, now emerge to fight in ground the French believe they have already captured. The result is that bitter fighting through the afternoon is not nearly as successful at that of the morning, and the Germans are just barely able to hang on. Nevertheless, General Friedrich Fleck, commanding VIII Reserve Corps, and General Einem of 3rd Army believe the crisis is far from having past, and as the breakdown of communications prevents accurate news from reaching headquartesr to the rear, in the vacuum of news pessimism reigns. Indeed Fleck, believing his command is on the verge of disintegration, requests permission this evening to withdraw from the reserve defensive position northwards past Somme Py and out of the trenches. This retreat, if implemented, would give the French precisely the breakthrough in Champagne they are so desperate to achieve.
On the French side, as reports filter back to the headquarters of the French 2nd and 4th Armies of the successful advance of II Colonial and XIV Corps, General Castlenau of the Army Group of the Centre at 415pm orders the two divisions of VI Corps to enter the line and follow up the attack of and expand the ground seized by II Colonial Corps. Again, however, it takes time for orders to make their way down the chain of command, and for the infantry to make their way across the shattered landscape, and it is midnight before VI Corps is in the front line. Optimism remains high, however, that further attacks tomorrow will shatter the weakened Germans and push on to the north.
- South of Vilna, the withdrawal of Russian forces to counter the German offensive at and north of the city has allowed the German 12th Army to reach the Berezina River east of Lida while the army group under Prince Leopold has arrived at the Szczara River. To the east of Vilna itself, the German 10th Army has ground its way towards Smorgon, but against increasing resistance has been unable to advance further.
To Falkenhayn, Ludendorff's September offensive at Vilna and Sventsiany has achieved exactly what the German chief of staff expected - namely, a minor advance of no great strategic consequence. Considering both the impending invasion of Serbia and the Entente offensive on the Western Front, Falkenhayn believes it is both necessary and desirable to end operations on the Eastern Front. Though the great German victories achieved since the attack at Gorlice-Tarnow in May have not convinced the Tsar to agree to a negotiated peace, they have sharply reduced the strength of the Russian army and it will likely be many months until the Russians are again capable of major offensive actions. As such, Falkenhayn today issues orders for German forces on the Eastern Front to hold their present positions and construct a strong defensive line that can be held with a reduced commitment of forces. At the northern end of the line, the armies under OberOst are to entrench on a line running from west of Riga through Mitau and west of Dvinsk to Lake Narotch and the mouth of the Bierieza River. From here, the army group under Prince Leopold and the Army of the Bug will hold on a line running from the Bierieza River through Baranowicze to Pinsk.
- Russian cavalry and aircraft have reported the movement of the German XXIV Reserve Corps and other formations southeastward toward the northern flank of the Russian 8th Army. Though General Brusilov wishes to stand on the Styr while redeploying the Russian XXX Corps towards Kolki to block the German advance. His superior, the more cautious General Ivanov, disagrees and, seeking to avoid a potential envelopment, orders Brusilov's 8th Army to retreat eastward towards the Putilowka and Kormin Rivers.
- As plans are finalized for the Serbian campaign, preliminary operations are deemed necessary to seize several large islands in the Danube River east of Belgrade - in German or Austro-Hungarian hands, the islands shorten the distance needed by the main crossings, and can serve as platforms to position light artillery closer to the front. The most substantial island is Temesziget, over twelve miles long and up to three miles wide, and its capture has been assigned to 11th Bavarian Division of IV Reserve Corps. Overnight elements of the division crossed to the north shore of the island, and the small Serbian detachments are quickly overwhelmed.
- After several days of debate, the French Council of Ministers decides to go to the aid of the Serbs, and authorizes the dispatch of an expedition to the Balkans. A telegraph is sent to the Greek government informing it that the Entente will provide the 150 000 troops required by Greek Prime Minister Venizelos to activate the convention with Serbia and bring Greece into the war. The British government also agrees to commit forces to the Balkans, though with considerably more disagreement: while David Lloyd George is in favour of contributing to the expedition, Lord Kitchener argues that redeploying forces from Gallipoli to the Balkans is 'jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.' In order to maintain the aura of neutrality, Prime Minister Venizelos requests twenty-four hours notice of the landing of the first Entente forces in Greece, so his government can lodge a diplomatic (though meaningless) protest. The Entente plan is to land at the port city of Salonika in northern Greece, using it as a base of operations for forces moving north to Serbia's aid.
Monday, July 06, 2015
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.
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.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
October 19th, 1914
- Today can be seen as marking an important watershed on the Western Front. For the Entente, the arrival of I Corps in Flanders today means the entire BEF is now in the north, and a continual line, though thin in places, now exists from the Channel to Switzerland. For the Germans, today sees the first serious fighting undertaken by the four reserve corps of 4th Army, sent by Falkenhayn to achieve the decisive victory that had eluded them to date. Thus the Race to the Sea has come to an end, while the First Battle of Ypres begins.
For the past five weeks, both sides have thrown forces northward from the Aisne, trying to outflank the other. Indeed, the popular name for this period of the war is something of a misnomer - they were not racing for the sea, but rather racing to outflank the other. However, all such attempts failed, for a whole range of reasons - railways allowed for rapid redeployment of forces; trenches freed up units to move north, the machine gun allowed for even small forces to hold up larger enemy formations until reinforcements arrived, etc. The result of the failure of either to outflank the other has been the extension of the front line roughly north from Noyon to the English Channel, a line which will become increasingly static as both sides dig in.
In a strategic sense as well, neither the Germans or the Entente can feel satisfied with the result of the Race to the Sea. For the French, the northeastern portion of their country, which included almost 75% of prewar coal production and over 60% of prewar steel production, now lies in enemy hands, severely dislocating the French economy and only partially ameliorated by the aid of its allies. The occupation of a significant portion of the country also propels Joffre and the French army to continue to emphasize the offensive, now deemed essential to liberating their countrymen. The situation is even worse for Belgium - only a tiny western corner of the country remains free, and is about to become the scene of the first in a series of devastating battles. For the Germans, despite the fact that they stand on enemy soil, the very continuation of the war itself reflects failure during the past five weeks. The failure on the Marne has not been redeemed by success since, and the fear of having to fight a sustained war of attrition compels Falkenhayn to commit his reserves to the battle in Flanders, one last throw of the dice to end the war before Christmas.
- As the First Battle of Ypres dawns, the Entente remain focused on the offensive. Foch's plan is for an offensive between Ypres and Nieuport driving east, dividing the German III Reserve Corps on the coast from the German army to the south, and by advancing to Ghent turn the northern flank of the German army. Though Foch was the commander of French forces in the north, he had no authority whatsoever over either the Belgians or the British - at best he could try to persuade. Generally speaking, both King Albert of the Belgians and Sir John French of the BEF shared the strategic focus on the offensive, though the former knew his Belgians were in no shape to attack. The British Field Marshal, for his part, issues orders to General Haig that I Corps, newly arrived at Hazebrouck, is to billet tonight near Ypres in preparation for an offensive via Thourout to capture Bruges in the days ahead.For the past five weeks, both sides have thrown forces northward from the Aisne, trying to outflank the other. Indeed, the popular name for this period of the war is something of a misnomer - they were not racing for the sea, but rather racing to outflank the other. However, all such attempts failed, for a whole range of reasons - railways allowed for rapid redeployment of forces; trenches freed up units to move north, the machine gun allowed for even small forces to hold up larger enemy formations until reinforcements arrived, etc. The result of the failure of either to outflank the other has been the extension of the front line roughly north from Noyon to the English Channel, a line which will become increasingly static as both sides dig in.
In a strategic sense as well, neither the Germans or the Entente can feel satisfied with the result of the Race to the Sea. For the French, the northeastern portion of their country, which included almost 75% of prewar coal production and over 60% of prewar steel production, now lies in enemy hands, severely dislocating the French economy and only partially ameliorated by the aid of its allies. The occupation of a significant portion of the country also propels Joffre and the French army to continue to emphasize the offensive, now deemed essential to liberating their countrymen. The situation is even worse for Belgium - only a tiny western corner of the country remains free, and is about to become the scene of the first in a series of devastating battles. For the Germans, despite the fact that they stand on enemy soil, the very continuation of the war itself reflects failure during the past five weeks. The failure on the Marne has not been redeemed by success since, and the fear of having to fight a sustained war of attrition compels Falkenhayn to commit his reserves to the battle in Flanders, one last throw of the dice to end the war before Christmas.
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| The resulting front line after the Race to the Sea. |
Despite their intentions, however, it is the Germans who will determine the pace of the First Battle of Ypres - in light of the scale of the German forces advancing westward, Sir John French's orders to Haig today are little more than fantasy. Over the course of the day, the four new reserve corps of 4th Army enter the fight. South of III Reserve Corps arrives XXII Reserve Corps, and they co-ordinate a fierce attack on the French marines defending Dixmude, pushing the forward posts of the latter back into the town itself, which also comes under a sustained German bombardment. Next in line comes XXIII Reserve Corps, which spends the day pushing westward advance elements of French territorial and cavalry units and closing up to Houthhulst Forest. To its right XXVI Reserve Corps occupies Roulers at 5pm, after a day of desperate house-to-house fighting against the cavalry of General de Mitry. Finally, southernmost is XXVII Reserve Corps, which encounters the British 3rd Cavalry Division. The British are forced to retreat through Passchendaele to Poelcappelle and Zonnebeke (again names which had not yet earned their present reputation), which in turn pulls back the northern flank of the British 7th Division - though the latter had been ordered to capture Menin today, they find themselves at nightfall three miles behind where they started the day.
- Near La Bassée, a battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment secures the village of Le Pilly on Aubers Ridge, suffering two hundred casualties to do so. The attack was launched in support of an unsuccessful French assault towards the town of Fournes.
- In Britain there has been a scramble to increase armaments production of all kinds, in response to Kitchener's plans for a massive expansion of the army. As of today, the War Office has issued orders for 781 000 rifles, to be produced by July 1st, 1915. The scale of the problem facing the British, however, can be seen in how the peacetime reserve of field guns was deemed sufficient to arm five divisions in addition to the BEF - in contrast, Kitchener's New Armies project to include at least fifty new divisions. Such was the armaments shortage at home that some of the new volunteers begin their training with broomsticks instead of rifles.
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