August 3rd, 1915

- Joffre's staff at GQG submits a memorandum today on the probable future moves of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians, which suggests that the German concentration on the Eastern Front will shortly come to an end, and will be followed by a 'vast effort' on either the Balkan or Western Fronts.  France's response, the memorandum concludes that 'the simplest method is the attack.'  It is an argument reflective of Joffre's own views, who remains convinced that the French army must remain on the attack if the war is to be won.  The memorandum is also suggestive of the tendency of Joffre's staff to reinforce the inclinations of their commander-in-chief, instead of challenging them and offering alternatives.  Given Joffre's almost monomaniacal focus on the attack, this is not a healthy combination.

- Expanding on yesterday's orders to 2nd Army to evacuate the west bank of the Vistula River, General Alexeiev of North-West Front issues instructions for a broader withdrawal from the Polish salient, pulling his armies back to a line running roughly from Lomza south to a point southwest of Siedlec, then bending southeast to the Bug River between Cholm and Wlodawa.  This involves the retreat of the 12th, 1st, 2nd, and 4th Armies in central Poland, effectively 'flattening' the salient.  Again, however, this is not to be a rushed retreat, but rather 'gradual and orderly' - the concept is still to slow the pace of the German advance and make them fight for the terrain they do capture.  Thus east of the Narew River the German force under General Gallwitz find the Russians before them withdrawing to the east, and are able to occupy Ostrolenka today.

To the south, the Russian 3rd and 13th Armies opposite Mackensen's army group once again retreat to new defensive positions to the north this morning, as they implement Alexeiev's orders to slow the German advance but not risk the annihilation that would certainly ensue if they stood and endured the set-piece bombardments and assaults that have been the standard German tactic for the past few months.  The gradual retreat has had its desired effect - when the Germans reach a new Russian defensive position, they pause to gather artillery and prepare an assault, only to find the Russians gone when they are ready to strike.  Once they discover the latest Russian withdrawal the Germans quickly pursue, and by this afternoon come up against the next line of Russian defensives and prepare for a major assault tomorrow.

- As the German advance on the Eastern Front continues, Falkenhayn writes to Conrad today about the future direction of the campaign.  His aim is to drive the Russians behind the Bug River in the south and a line running from Brest-Litovsk to Grodno in the north.  Once this has been accomplished, Falkenhayn intends to withdraw significant forces from the Eastern Front, while leaving only enough strength to hold the territory gained.  Again this reflects Falkenhayn's limited perspective on the Eastern Front: Russia can never be crushed, and if it cannot be convinced to agree to a separate peace the aim should be to contain the Russians to allow redeployments to seek the decisive victories that are possible on other fronts.  Such views, of course, stand in stark contrast to those of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, who continue to believe that the Russian army can be annihilated, and seek the decisive envelopment campaign - Tannenberg on a massive scale - that can deliver victory.

- After the failure of a final set of Italian attacks along the Isonzo River today, Cadorna formally calls off the offensive today.  Over the two weeks of fighting, the 2nd Battle of the Isonzo has cost the Italians 42 000 losses while gaining no significant ground whatsoever.  Moreover, the Italian army has been ravaged by disease; 21 000 soldiers caught cholera or typhus, and 4300 died.  The only redeeming aspect of the battle was that the Austro-Hungarians suffered 47 000 casualties which, given the Italian numerical superiority on the Italian Front, means the Austro-Hungarians lost a significantly greater proportion of their forces than the Italians.

- The advance of the German armies on the Eastern Front over the past several months has had a significant impact on the attitude of neutral states in the Balkans: not only has Romania decided on neutrality for the time being, but the Bulgarian government of Minister President Vasil Radoslavov under King Ferdinand has shifted towards Germany, concluding that its primary foreign policy objective of annexing Macedonia can only be achieved through German aid.  To learn of the German position and discuss the potential terms of a Bulgarian entry into the war, Radoslavov had dispatched to Germany Lieutenant-Colonel Petur Ganchev, a former adjutant to Ferdinand and military attaché to Germany.  He brings with him Radoslavov's terms for Bulgaria's entry into the war: in addition to the territorial acquisitions, Germany is to extend a loan of two hundred million francs and guarantee support for Bulgaria against any potential intervention by Greece and Romania and assistance in defending Bulgaria's Black Sea coast from the Russian navy.

Today Ganchev arrives at Pless, headquarters of the German OHL, where he finds a receptive audience in Falkenhayn.  The German chief of staff has long intended to follow the offensive on the Eastern Front with an operation to conquer Serbia and open a land link with the Ottoman Empire, and a coordinated Bulgarian attack from the east would outflank the main Serbian line facing the Austro-Hungarian frontier to the north.  In response to Ganchev's proposal, Falkenhayn states that Bulgaria would need to deploy five divisions to participate in an offensive against Serbia within six weeks of agreeing to the terms of an alliance, and would need to exert diplomatic pressure on Romania to adopt a more pro-German stance.  Though there are differences between the two proposals, they are not substantive, and negotiations proceed accordingly.

- Having failed to take the British post at Saisi in northern Rhodesia on July 25th, and with ongoing difficulty with water supplies, retired major-general Wahle orders his small force to fall back across the frontier into German East Africa today.

August 2nd, 1915

- General Alexeiev of North-West Front orders the Russian 2nd Army, holding the 'point' of the remaining Russian salient in Poland, to evacuate the west bank of the Vistula River opposite Warsaw.  To the south, the left wing of the German 11th Army pushes through the Russian defences at Puchaczow and advance towards Leczna, while to the west the left wing of the Army of the Bug also makes progress.

- Having failed to break through the Austro-Hungarian lines along the Isonzo River and seize Görz as planned, Cadorna is looking to assign blame, and naturally finds it elsewhere.  As he writes to Prime Minister Salandra, he has not been given the artillery ammunition he was promised, which has fatally compromised his offensive.  Moreover, the inactivity of the Serbs has allowed the Austro-Hungarians to reinforce the Italian Front, while the collapse of the Russian army on the Eastern Front may result in further enemy redeployments to the Isonzo.  If the enemy is sufficiently reinforced while the Italian army remains, in his eyes, undersupplied, Cadorna fears that the Italians may have to go over to the defensive, and in such a case the public should be forewarned 'so that the inevitable repercussions do not hit an unprepared public.'  The subtext, of course, is that the 'forewarned' public will know that any reverses are not his fault.  While his performance on the battlefield leaves much to be desired, he is at least skilled in playing the political game; this letter to Salandra implies that should Cadorna not receive the support he deems necessary, blame will fall on politicians, not generals, making it a political crisis that Salandra as Prime Minister would have to manage.

August 1st, 1915

- After the Morane fighter of Frenchman Roland Garros crash-landed behind German lines on April 18th, aircraft designer Anthony Fokker had examined its pioneering firing mechanism, in which the bullets of its forward-firing machine gun were deflected away from the propeller.  Fokker adapted and improved Garros' device through the addition of a mechanical interrupter gear, which stopped a machine gun from firing at the precise moment that the propeller blade was directly in front of the muzzle.  The device was added to his newly-designed monoplane E-plane, or Eindecker, which in itself was a major advancement in aerial technology, being much lighter and more maneouvrable than earlier aircraft.  Initial reaction to the Eindecker was mixed: mechanical difficulties with the interrupter gear still occasionally shot off the propellor, and several German pilots, used to flying more stable aircraft, accidentally crashed, leading to suggestions that the Eindecker should be grounded.  Moreover, production of the aircraft was slow - by mid-July, only eleven were at the front.

Despite the difficulties, skilled pilots capable of flying the Eindecker realize its potential to revolutionize aerial combat by allowing them to fly and aim their machine gun simultaneously.  One of the first is Second Lieutenant Max Immelmann, who today achieves his first kill flying the Eindecker when he downs an unarmed British reconnaissance craft after firing five hundred rounds over ten minutes.  The rise of the Eindecker and talented pilots able to press the aircraft's advantages herald a new era in the skies over the Western Front.  No longer is air-to-air combat limited to pilots or observers firing pistols and either unmounted or side-mounted machine guns; instead, the first recognizable fighter has appeared, dedicated solely to shooting down enemy aircraft.  Moreover, the Entente has nothing remotely comparable to the Eindecker, and its appearance is a very rude shock to British and French pilots who now must confront what they refer to as the 'Fokker scourge'.

Lieutenant Immelmann in the cockpit of his Eindecker fighter.  Note the machine gun mounted directly behind the propeller.

- The Russian fortress at Ivangorod, on the east bank of the Vistula River, also include strong fortifications on the west bank, which have been covered for the past few days by Austro-Hungarian forces under General Kövess.  Having brought up several heavy artillery batteries, the Austro-Hungarian 35th Division launches the first attack on the forward Russian position at Slowiki Nowe after a four-hour preliminary bombardment.  In bitter fighting the Austro-Hungarian infantry manage to break through, forcing the Russians to withdraw to the second ring of fortifications.

To the east, Mackensen's planned attack on the Russian positions opposite 11th Army is foiled when the Russian pull back to the north during the night, retiring to prepared defensive positions south of Wlodawa-Ostrow.  The German 11th Army and the Army of the Bug set off in pursuit, with 4th Division of the latter seizing the city of Cholm at 10am.  By this evening the advancing Germans are encountering increasing resistance by nightfall.  On the left flank the Russians hold their positions in front of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, and the latter is unable to make significant progress.

- Over the past few days Italian forces along the Isonzo south of Görz have undertaken local attacks under cover of darkness, but have been unable to secure additional ground.  They have succeeded, however, in inflicting casualties on the defenders - the Austro-Hungarian VII Corps has lost four thousand men during the past few days, mainly from the artillery bombardments that preceded the Italian attacks.

- Captain Herbert Richmond is the British liaison officer to the Italian fleet, and is among those disenchanted with the lack of Italian naval activity in the war to date.  His written reports to his superior Rear-Admiral Cecil Thursby, commander of the British battleship squadron attached to the Italian fleet, are so scathing in their criticism that the latter feels they cannot be sent on to London.  In private Richmond is even more dismissive of the Italians, as he writes in his diary today: 'These folk deserve to lose, for by heaven they do nothing towards trying to win.  What the deuce is the use of a superior Fleet if you don't use it.'  The Italians have certainly earned their reputation for hesitancy, but it is also worth comparing the situation in the Adriatic to that in the North Sea; there the superior navy is the Grand Fleet, whose commander well understands that there can be value in 'doing nothing.'

July 27th, 1915

- As part of the French fall offensive in Champagne and Artois, Joffre and Foch expect the British to undertaking a supporting attack south of La Bassée in the direction of Lens.  An assault here, they hope, will draw off German reserves from the French assault north of Arras, and that if the British seize the high ground near Lens as the French seize Vimy Ridge, the Germans will be compelled to Douai.  The British, however, are extremely reluctant to follow the French script.  General Haig, whose 1st Army would be responsible for undertaking the operation, has strongly recommended against an assault south of La Bassée, believing the broken terrain of the sector advantageous to an already well-entrenched German defence, and that digging approach trenches in the chalky soil would eliminate the element of surprise.  Sir John French shares Haig's concerns, and if the BEF is to be committed to the attack he prefers an operation norther of La Bassée.  The commander of the BEF meets with Foch today and explains the British concerns, but the latter is unconvinced.  While sympathetic to the difficulties of an assault south of La Bassée, Foch argues that an attack to the north would be too far distant to either draw off German reserves or contribute to the French offensive.

- After the heavy losses of the past few days, the commander of the Italian 3rd Army now expects an Austro-Hungarian counterattack, and Cadorna reassigns several divisions to 3rd Army to shore up the front.  The Italians, however, need not have worried: the Austro-Hungarians have also suffered greatly, having lost 29 000 men since the start of the Italian offensive on the 18th.  Given how thinly they were stretched along the Isonzo to begin with, any major counterattack is little more than wishful thinking.

- After much discussion, the Italian government today decides against authorizing a naval operation to seize the island of Lagosta off the Dalmatian coast.  They fear the impact on public opinion if warships are lost in the effort, given the sinking of Amalfi and Garibaldi already in the war.  The decision, however, leaves the garrison of Pelagosa in the air, as its occupation had only ever been intended to complement the seize of Lagosta.

- With the capture of Nasiriyeh on the 25th, the British have occupied the entirety of the Basra department, and hold defensive positions upriver from the city on both the Tigris and Euphrates.  The British have thus achieved their objectives of securing a strong grip on Basra and its environs, which had been the aim of the operations of the past few months.  However, the very success, and the ease by which it has been accomplished, only encourages further advances.  All of the standard tropes of mission creep come into play: the belief that further operations will be as easy as prior operations, that occupying B to protect A now requires the occupation of C to protect B, that further operations are only a slight expansion of the original mandate, that nebulous benefits of prestige and influence will accrue once the additional operation is successful.  Such thoughts are rampant among officials in the Indian government, who see in Mesopotamia a natural sphere for British (and Indian) imperial expansion, and come to focus on the town of Kut-al-Amara, upriver from Amara on the Tigris River.  The Indian viceroy writes to the Secretary of State for India today that 'the occupation of Kut-al-Amarah is considered by us to be a strategic necessity,' justifying the view by asserting that it is a mere four miles beyond the border of the Basra department, that it commands the lower reaches of both the Tigris and Euphrates, given the proximity of the two rivers at Kut-Al-Amara, and that occupying the town would 'facilitate the reinforcement of our position on either river and also enable us to control the powerful Bani Lam tribe and effectively safeguard the oil fields against aggression from the Tigris.'  In what was doubtless a calculated appeal to the concerns of his civilian master, the Viceroy also suggests that once Kut-al-Amara is occupied, 'we could probably reduce materially our garrisons at Nasiriyeh and Amara and thus economize our troops.'  On the tide of such sentiments does mission creep advance, and the British find themselves adrift towards disaster.

July 26th, 1915

- By today the Germans have pushed eight divisions across the Narew River and Gallwitz is preparing to drive on Warsaw.  General Alexeiev of North-West Front, however, has concentrated significant forces here to counter precisely such a move, in order to buy time for an orderly retreat from western Poland.  Reinforced by several corps, the Russian 1st Army launches a counterattack along a sixty mile stretch of the front, and although they are not able to drive the Germans back across the Narew, the latter find themselves fighting to hold their ground instead of continuing their advance.

- Conrad discusses negotiations with Russia today with Foreign Minister Burián, but the latter is doubtful that a negotiated peace can be achieved with the Russians, even given the latter's serious defeats on the Eastern Front, and suggests that the key stumbling block would be the fate of the Ukraine.

- For the past two days the Italian 3rd Army has concentrated on seizing Monte San Michele, already won and lost once in the current offensive.  This morning a massive assault by parts of the 28th, 30th, and 31st Divisions is launched, but the preliminary artillery bombardment has failed to cut the enemy barbed-wire line, which entangles the advancing infantry and a bloodbath ensues.  Compounding the Italian difficulties, the brigadier commanding the assault is killed along with many of the staff officers, resulting in confusion among the attackers.  The Austro-Hungarian defenders, however, have already suffered significant casualties over the course of the Italian offensive, and the few available reserves have already been committed to the battle.  By late morning, sheer numerical superiority begins to tell, and the Italians capture the heights at Monte San Michele at 10am.  Their victory, however, is short-lived: Colonel Prince Felix Schwarzenberg rallies remnants of 12th Mountain Brigade and launches a counterattack that retakes the lost ground at noon.  The Austro-Hungarian infantry fires on the Italians retreating in the open, causing further casualties.  Just under three thousand Italian soldiers are lost today in the back-and-forth over Monte San Michele.

July 24th, 1915

- In Poland the German forces under General Gallwitz launch their offensive along the Narew River today, and seize the towns of Pultusk and Rozan.

To the south, while General Woyrsch's command had been instructed to cross the Vistula upriver from Ivangorod to attack the rear of the eastern wing of the Russian 4th Army.  However, the latter has been retreating northwards as a result of the success of the German 11th Army further east, and thus the intended crossing at Novo Alexandriya would no longer serve its intended purpose.  Conrad and Falkenhayn instead issue orders for Woyrsch's force to move north to cross the Vistula downriver from Ivangorod, leaving an Austro-Hungarian detachment to cover the fortress at Ivangorod itself.

For his part, Mackensen issues orders today for the next step in his offensive.  As has been his tactic to date, he issues instructions for several days of rest to bring up adequate munitions for another major artillery bombardment prior to the infantry going forward on the 29th.  On this occasion, the primary assault will be undertaken by XXII Reserve, X Reserve, and X Corps plus 119th Division and the Guard cavalry, concentrated west of the Wieprz River and directed towards Biskupice.

- On the Italian Front the focal point of the fighting is now on the southwest face of the Karst plateau, which sees continual attacks and counterattacks.  Yesterday the Italian VII Corps seized a stretch of the enemy line between Selz and Vermegliano, but this morning a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 61st Division retakes the lost ground.  The victory is short-lived; the fresh Italian 27th Division is brought up and launches a successful assault on the depleted 61st Division, which is forced back.  In the two days of fighting in this sector, the Austro-Hungarian VII Corps has suffered almost three thousand casualties.

- In Mesopotamia a second attack is launched by 12th Indian Division on the Ottoman defensive position east of Nasiriyeh on the Euphrates River.  As with the first attempt on the 14th, the Ottomans put up heavy defensive fire, but unlike the prior effort an entire brigade is sent towards the 'Thornycroft Point' position, and after a charge by the West Kents battalion the British are able to break into the Ottoman lines.  In order to cross the nearby Majinina canal, the steamer Sumana is run aground to provide cover for engineers to erect a temporary bridge, but they find the conditions impossible.  By a stroke of luck, however, Sumana has come to rest where it blocks the mouth of the canal, which blocks the flow of water and the level drops to the point where the British infantry can walk across the canal bottom.  Reaching the opposite bank, a bayonet charge by the Gurkhas drives the Ottomans from their positions and their defences collapse.  They are able to make their escape, however, as having discarded their equipment they can retreat faster than the British can pursue.

July 23rd, 1915

- For the past ten days the German Army of the Niemen has been advancing in Courland.  Despite the relatively small size of the German force (as compared with the armies advancing under Gallwitz and Mackensen to the south), the Army of the Niemen has been able to take advantage of both the low troop density and Russian disorganization to make significant progress, and today they seize the town of Szawle and defeat a Russian force nearby.

- Along the Isonzo the fighting around Monte San Michelle dies down today, both sides being exhausted after five days of constant combat.  Instead the Italians shift the focus of their attacks southwards, attempting to break through the Austro-Hungarian lines between the villages of Selz and Vermegliano.

July 21st, 1915

- General Castlenau of the French Army Group of the Centre sends to Joffre his outline for the fall offensive in Champagne.  He proposes to have 2nd and 4th Armies undertake the main attack, with 5th Army (on the left) and 3rd Army (on the right) in supporting roles.  To ensure a 'particularly effective' artillery bombardment, Castlenau states that the operation will require ten days supply of munitions.  For the attack itself he envisions two phases: first, to rupture the German front and push the remnants back to a depth of twelve miles, which would provide reserve forces, in the second phase, sufficient room to maneouver to 'inflict a severe defeat on a significant part of the opposing forces on the Franco-Belgian front.'

- In southern Poland the German and Austro-Hungarian offensive continues.  West of the Vistula, Landwehr under the command of General Woyrsch punches a two kilometre hole in the Russian line at Zwolen this morning and push northward towards the Russian fortifications at Ivangorod, while 4th Landwehr Cavalry Brigade is sent east towards the bridges across the Vistula at Novo Alexandriya.  Further east attacks of the Austro-Hungarian 4th and German 11th Armies achieve only local successes, while the Army of the Bug occupies Hrubieszow on the right flank of the main advance.

- As their forces continue their offensives in Poland, the military leadership of Germany and Austria-Hungary give due consideration to the ultimate purpose of their actions on the Eastern Front.  Today Conrad sends a memorandum to Falkenhayn, copied to the the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, urging that the military victories accomplished since May should be exploited to achieve a separate peace with Russia; in Conrad's phrase, a 'golden bridge' should be constructed that would allow the Russians to accept a reasonable peace.  Conrad's motive in forwarding the recommendation is partly revealed by a private letter written to General Artur von Bolfras today in which he writes that after peace with Russia, they 'could successfully deal with Italy.'  For the Austro-Hungarian chief of staff, the fight against Russia remains simply a means to an end, a necessary evil that must be finished before he can turn the full strength of the Austro-Hungarian army (such that it is) against the enemy who betrayed (in his eyes) the Dual Monarchy in August 1914.

- At 2am this morning Austro-Hungarian artillery launch a heavy bombardment on the Italian forces on the summit of Monte San Michelle, less than twelve hours after the latter captured the heights, and without time to adequately entrench the Italians suffer significant casualties.  Two hours later, fifteen Austro-Hungarian battalions launch a counterattack to retake San Michelle, and after several hours of hand-to-hand fighting the Italians fall back, yielding the only significant gain of the offensive on the Isonzo River launched on the 18th.  Even in the mountainous terrain of the Italian Front it is possible to gain ground, but it is even more difficult to hold against immediate counterattacks; it is harder to dig trenches in rock than dirt.

July 20th, 1915

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

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

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

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

Monte San Michelle on the Italian Front.

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

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

July 19th, 1915

- On the outbreak of the war, 19-year-old Georges Guynemer, given his love of flight, attempted to enlist in the French air force.  Rejected three times, he is finally accepted as a mechanic at Pau airfield in November.  He convinces his superiors to allow him to enrol in pilot training, where he earns a reputation for recklessness for insisting on flying the more advanced Parasol, usually reserved for experienced pilots, during his training.  Assigned to MS3, he makes a poor initial impression by crash-landing his first aircraft, and his CO threatens to ship him out if he hasn't demonstrated he can make the grade.  Fortunately not only for Guynemer but also the French air force, he soon shows his skill - flying his two-seat Morane aircraft today, he and his gunner Private Charles Guerder intercept and shoot down a German Aviatik aircraft near Soissons, Guynemer's first kill.  When the German crashes behind French lines, Guynemer lands beside it and promptly breaks his propellor.  Success, however, allows such mistakes to be overlooked; Guynemer and Guerder are awarded the Military Medal, and today's kill will be just the first of many for Guynemer.

- Grand Duke Nicholas, chief of staff of the Russian army, visits the headquarters of General Alexeiev of North-West Front today and, given the continued setbacks, gives the latter the authority to order a retreat eastward from the Vistula and to abandon Warsaw, if the situation warrants.  In southern Poland, 3rd Army disengages overnight from the Germans opposite and retreat to a prepared defensive line just south of the vital Lublin-Cholm railway.  The Germans undertake an energetic pursuit, and by nightfall have come up against the new Russian positions.  To the west, on the other side of the Vistula River, the German forces under General Woyrsch continue their advance, reaching the line Przylek-Zwolen-Podgora and taking five thousand prisoners by evening.

- Along the Isonzo River Italian infantry attacks expand to include actions against the Austro-Hungarian bridgehead on the west bank of the river at Görz.  Despite heavy fighting, however, all of these assaults are thrown back, and after the first two days of the offensive nothing of any significance has been gained.  In holding off the Italians, however, the Austro-Hungarians have suffered heavy casualties - VII Corps on the Karst plateau has already lost 5500 men, and 20th Honved Division in particular is down to one-third strength.  To reinforce VII Corps, 93rd Division is transferred from reserve to reinforce the front.

- In the Italian colony of Libya, the garrison continues to be under pressure from the uprising of the Senussi of the interior.  Lacking sufficient numbers to hold the entire colony, the Italians have been abandoning posts to the south, and today retire from Ghadames in western Libya on the border with French Tunis.  Most of the colony is essentially under the control of the Senussi, with the Italians only able to cling to the coast.

July 18th, 1915

- In central Poland the Russians fall back after the German breakthrough at Sienno yesterday, burning the bridges over the Vistula River at Solec and attempting to form a new defensive line along the Ilzanka River.  Before they can entrench, however, the German Landwehr under General Worysch is upon them, and by this evening have crossed the Ilzanka and seized the villages of Ciepielow and Kazanow.  In addition to disrupting the Russian positions west of the Vistula, the advance of Woyrsch's force benefits his eastern neighbour on the other side of the Vistula, the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army.  Their main attack towards Lublin has stalled in the face of staunch Russian resistance, but the retreat of the Russians to the west has uncovered their flank and forced them to fall back northwards as well.

Further east, the advance of the German 11th Army has prompted General Alexeiev of North-West Front to assign his reserves - the Guard and II Siberian Corps - to 3rd Army to halt the enemy offensive.  In particular, II Siberian Corps is deployed to the west of the Wieprz River, but are unable to halt the momentum of the German Guard and XXII Reserve Corps, which gains substantial ground again today and by nightfall have captured the villages of Czestoborowice and Olszanka.  Over the past two days of fighting, these two German corps have taken fifteen thousand prisoners while blasting a hole 32 kilometres wide and 12 kilometres deep in the Russian line.

- This morning the Italian 3rd Army opens the 2nd Battle of the Isonzo with heavy attacks on enemy lines south of Görz.  The Italians have at least learnt the value of coordinating their artillery fire, concentrating on the Austro-Hungarian positions on the Karst plateau before the infantry assaults begin at 11am.  However, the Italians are repulsed all along the line, and the only 'success' they are able to achieve today is to force two companies of 20th Honved Division to fall back two hundred yards.

The Italian offensive on the lower Isonzo River, part of the 2nd Battle of the Isonzo.

- On June 5th, an Italian squadron had shelled the railway between Ragusa and the Austro-Hungarian naval base of Cattaro on the Dalmatian coast.  Learning that repairs have been completed, the Italian navy undertakes a second bombardment raid, but the warships were spotted by an enemy airplane yesterday evening as they departed Brindisi, and the Austro-Hungarian submarine U4 has been sent to intercept.  The Italian squadron sails right past U4, and the latter torpedoes and sinks the armoured cruiser Garibaldi this morning.  The remaining Italian warships promptly depart the scene at high speed, their mission abandoned.  Despite the success, the head of the Austro-Hungarian navy is not pleased; not content with one sinking, he argues U4 had the time to torpedo several enemy warships, a criticism that the head of the submarine service does not take kindly to.

The Italian armoured cruiser Garibaldi, torpedoed and sunk of the Dalmation coast, July 18th, 1915.

- The German light cruiser Breslau stumbles into a minefield laid by the Russians off the Black Sea coast of Anatolia today.  Striking a mine, it is able to limp back to Constantinople, but repairs will take several months.

July 15th, 1915

- The last component of Mackensen's offensive in southern Poland has been the redeployment of the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army from west of the Vistula River to the right of the Army of the Bug, straddling the pre-war frontier between Austria-Hungary and Russia.  Tasked with covering the eastern flank of the German advance northward, most of 1st Army's formations have reached the front along the Bug River, though several divisions are still in transit.  The delays are symptomatic of the inferior quality of Austro-Hungarian logistics in comparison with their German allies, and the German offensive cannot wait for the last stragglers to arrive - the Army of the Bug, accompanied by the German 81st Reserve Division of 1st Army, launch their preliminary attacks today, seizing ground near the villages of Werbkowice and Zaborce.

- Though the first offensive against the Austro-Hungarian positions along the Isonzo River was suspended barely a week ago, Cadorna issues orders today for a second major operation, scheduled to begin on the 18th.  The primary effort will be undertaken by the Italian 3rd Army, whose first attacks will be launched against Mounts S. Michelle (by XI Corps) and dei sei Busi (by VII Corps), the capture of which would then allow for the seizure of the Görz bridgehead on the west bank of the Isonzo.  Further north, 2nd Army is to launch diversionary assaults on the enemy lines, to prevent reinforcements, and in particular artillery, from being transferred south to oppose 3rd Army.