May 10th, 1915

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

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

The aftermath of the Lusitania riots.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May 9th, 1915

- German attacks on the eastern face of the Ypres salient continues today, and under heavy pressure the British centre is forced backwards.  Several battalions suffer grievous losses, with 1st Suffolks reduced to a mere seven men.  Though the Germans do not break through, they do manage to secure Frezenberg ridge.

The Ypres salient after the German gains near Frezenberg, May 9th, 1915.

- The weather having cleared, the postponed offensive by the French 10th Army is launched today.  At 6am French artillery targets the enemy's wire and the first two trench lines, and at several points stop briefly to lure the Germans out, expecting an attack, only to resume the bombardment.  The artillery also benefits from the first use of aerial wireless, whereby observers in aircraft above are able to radio artillery batteries regarding the targeting and effectiveness of their salvos.  At 10am the French infantry go over the top.  On the northern wing of the attack, XXXIII Corps is able to advance only a few hundred metres on the eastern spur of Notre-Dame de Lorette, while on the southern wing XVII and X Corps encounter intact German defences and make no progress.  In the centre of the line, however, it is a much different story.  Here XXXIII Corps, commanded by General Pétain, undertakes the main attack, aiming towards Vimy Ridge.  On his left Pétain uses 70th Division to secure the corps' flank while sending 77th Division in his centre and the Moroccan Division on his right to drive eastward into the defensive position of the German 5th Bavarian Division.  It is here that the French offensive finds success; the Bavarians are pushed back out of their trenches, and within an hour elements of 77th and the Moroccan Divisions have advanced four miles and reached the summit of Vimy Ridge.  It is an astonishing achievement, and for a moment the prospect of decisive victory appears possible.

As in prior battles, however, the prospect is fleeting.  Having occupied the heights of Vimy Ridge, it was necessary to hold it.  The French and Moroccan infantry that had accomplished this success were exhausted and had lost most of their officers, leaving them ill-prepared to defend their gains.  Pétain immediately orders his reserves forward to hold Vimy Ridge, but when the order goes out the reserves are eight miles behind the front lines, positioned there to keep them out of range of German artillery.  It takes hours for them to make their way to the front and then move across the shattered ground of the morning battlefield.  Meanwhile, the Germans are able to move reserves much quicker to the front.  As soon as the attack had begun Crown Prince Rupprecht, commander of the German 6th Army tasked with holding the line between Lens and Arras, had requested and received two divisions from OHL as reinforcements, and 115th Division in particular was rushed to the front.  By midday the first German reserves were arriving on the battlefield, and soon the French infantry on Vimy Ridge find themselves under heavy pressure.  Supported by intense machine-gun and artillery fire, strong German counterattacks in the early afternoon drive the French off Vimy Ridge.  Here the ability of the defence to move reserves to a threatened point faster than the attacker could move reserves to reinforce success once again proves decisive, and the initial French success is nullified.  Nevertheless, Pétain's XXXIII Corps has managed to advance two kilometres, taken several thousand prisoners, and capture a number of German artillery pieces.  This notable success, even if not the complete victory that appeared possible in the morning, still stands in contrast to the failure on either flank, and adds to the reputation of Pétain as an effective military commander.  The accomplishment here, however, also convinces General d'Urbal of 10th Army that further attacks will make further progress, and so the operation will continue.

The French attack in Artois showing the gains of XXXIII Corps, May 9th, 1915.

- To the north of the French offensive the British launch their own attack.  Undertaken by General Haig's 1st Army, it consists of attacks north and south of the ruined village of Neuve Chapelle, and aims to seize Aubers Ridge to the east, the original objective of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March.  It is hoped that not only will the attack draw off German reserves, but that seizing the high ground at Aubers, when combined with the anticipated French capture of Vimy Ridge, will force the Germans to pull their entire line in Artois back.  Haig attempts to duplicate the tactics of the March battle in the hope of achieving similar success: once again there will be a short artillery bombardment followed by a rapid infantry assault in an effort to surprise and overwhelm the Germans.  However, the Germans had learned lessons from the March battle as well, and were not to be taken by surprise a second time.  Further, the attack was along a broader stretch of the front than at Neuve Chapelle without an equal rise in the number of artillery pieces, which meant that each part of the German line being attacked received a lower amount of shells than the prior bombardment.  The result was that when the British IV and Indian Corps attack this morning, it is a complete failure.  The infantry find the German barbed wire intact, and as they attempt to navigate through it come under murderous machine-gun fire, and fall by the thousands.  Only to the north of Neuve Chapelle, near Fromelles, do British infantry manage to reach the German trench line, and after vicious hand-to-hand fighting the German 6th Bavarian Reserve Division is able to throw the British back.  Nowhere does the British 1st Army achieve any lasting success; indeed, the greatest indictment of the British effort can be seen in the decision of the German 6th Army to begin moving reserves opposite the British south to face the French even as the Battle of Aubers Ridge is ongoing.

As Sir John French, commander of the BEF, receives news from the front of the failure at Aubers Ridge, he inwardly seethes.  He has long looked upon the Dardanelles operation as a dangerous diversion of manpower and munitions from the vital Western Front, the only place where a war-winning victory can be accomplished, and is particularly incensed at what he sees as an inadequate supply of artillery shells.  As reports come in of British infantry being slaughtered on German barbed wire that was supposed to have been cut by the preliminary bombardment, French concludes that if the BEF had been given a greater allotment of shells the battle would have been a success.  French also blames the government in general and Lord Kitchener in particular for a perceived lack of support for the BEF on the Western Front and the failure to supply it with a sufficient amount of munitions.  At BEF headquarters today there is present Colonel Charles à Court Repington, the famed military correspondent of The Times and the press empire of Lord Northcliffe.  Field Marshal French informs Repington in no uncertain terms just why the attack has failed and who is responsible.  A fuse is lit.

The Battle of Aubers Ridge, May 9th, 1915.

- Another day in Galicia brings further German successes.  On the northern wing of 11th Army the Wislok River is crossed by the German Guard Corps, which also seizes the heights just beyond.  On their right VI Corps pushes east from Krosno for several miles, isolating the Russian garrison in Kombornia.  After a brief fight the latter surrenders, and three thousand Russians march into captivity.  The southern wing of 11th Army is equally successful: 11th Bavarian Division is also across the Wislok while 119th Division consolidates its control of the town of Besko.  However, the advance of the former has drawn it to the northeast, pulling away from the latter to the south.  It is also here where General Dimitriev has ordered the Russian XXI Corps to launch its delayed counterattack, on which he knows the fate of 3rd Army depends: if the German advance cannot be unhinged here, a dire situation will only worsen.

- One of the reasons for the continued optimism at Russiam army headquarters (Stavka) despite the steady accumulation of disasters in west Galicia has been the planned offensive of the Russian 9th Army in east Galicia, which aims to cross the Dniester River, recapture Czernowitz, and occupy the Bukovina.  In addition to the seizure of territory, it is hoped that the operation will force Austria-Hungary to shift reserves to the east and also encourage Romania to enter the war on the side of the Entente.  The Russians have assembled 120 000 soldiers in the region for the attack, outnumbering the 80 000 men of the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army (formerly Army Group Pflanzer-Baltin) opposite.  The latter also has to contend with ongoing supply problems, as everything has to be transported along a single narrow-gauge railway snaking its way through the Carpathians.

At 4am today the Russian offensive begins when XXXIII Corps attacks across the Dniester at a bend in the river at Kopaczynce.  The defenders are quickly overwhelmed, and the Russians are able to secure a bridgehead and hold off Austro-Hungarian counterattacks by 8th Cavalry Division and half of 42nd Honved Division.  Further west, the Russian 71st Infantry and 2nd Rifle Division strike the Austro-Hungarian 15th Division, and make significant progress towards Obertyn.  General Pflanzer-Baltin scraps together spare companies to send to the threatened points, and these reserves are able to retake some of the lost ground north of Obertyn this evening.  Nevertheless, the Russians remain in control of the high ground north of Chocimierz as well as their bridgehead over the Dniester.

The Battle of the Dniester, May 9th to 12th, 1915.

- Given its diplomatic weakness, the Chinese government signals today its willingness to accept the revised version of the Twenty-One Demands submitted by the Japanese government on the 7th.

May 7th, 1915

- This morning the passenger liner Lusitania approaches the Irish coast en route to Liverpool, carrying 1265 passengers and 700 crew.  Built in 1907, on completion Lusitania and its two sister ships had been the largest and fastest ocean liners in the world; though in size they were surpassed by Titanic and Olympic, they remain the fastest, capable of speeds up to twenty-five knots.  The construction of Lusitania had been subsidized by the Admiralty to allow for a wartime transformation into an armed merchant cruiser, but though this option has been briefly considered it was decided to leave Lusitania in passenger service.  Indeed, by 1915 it is the only large liner still carrying passengers across the Atlantic.

The Cunard passenger liner Lusitania.

When Lusitania entered British waters it had entered an active warzone.  Indeed, on the day it had sailed from New York, the following advertisement had appeared in the American press:

Travelers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the war zone includes waters adjacent to the British Isles; that in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain or any of her allies are liable to destruction in those waters and that travelers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.

The notice had been published by German embassy officials in the United States, prompted by their belief that Lusitania was carrying munitions as well as passengers to Britain, which made the liner a legitimate target in light of the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.  With respect to Lusitania's current voyage, they are correct: among its cargo are 1248 cases of 3-inch artillery shells and 4927 boxes of rifle ammunition.  In attempting to dissuade passengers from embarking on Lusitania, the advertisement hopes to prevent American lives being lost should it be sunk, knowing full well the outrage that would likely ensue should American die at the hands of a German submarine.

That is, however, exactly what occurs.  U-20 is also off the south Irish coast today, and at 120pm sights  a plume of smoke on the horizon.  Submerging, its captain watches as a giant steamship comes into view, and sets a course that will intercept the liner ten miles from shore near Kinsale.  Aboard U-20 is a civilian merchant marine advisor to assist in the identification of potential targets.  Peering through the periscope, the advisor concludes that it is either Lusitania or Mauritania before them, and based on the the description of them in copies of Jane's Fighting Ships and Brassey's Naval Annual he has with him concludes that the ship is an armed merchant liner used for ferrying soldiers.  The captain of U-20 decides that this is a legitimate military target under unrestricted submarine warfare, and at 210pm fires a single torpedo from a range of 800 yards.  The torpedo runs true, striking Lusitania just aft of the bridge, and its detonation is shortly followed by another explosiion, the origins of which remain a mystery to this day.

The liner immediately begins to list to starboard, and within minutes it becomes impossible to lower lifeboats, those on the starboard side swinging away from the ship while those on the port side crash and break up against the hull.  After a mere eighteen minutes Lusitania sinks below the waves, and only six of its forty-eight lifeboats are afloat.  Hundreds struggle in the water, and for many rescue will not come in time.  First on the scene is the old armoured cruiser Juno, but just as it is about to commence rescue operations the Admiralty, recalling the fate of the 'live bait' squadron when they stopped to help a torpedoed warship, orders it to return to port.  It will be several more hours before fishing trawlers arrive to begin plucking the living and the dead out of the water.  In total 1201 passengers and crew perish in the sinking of Lusitania, a number which includes 94 children and 35 infants.  Indeed, among the first of the dead brought ashore are children and infants, and photographs of their bodies, circulated in newspapers ostensibly to allow relatives to identify them, provoke sharp outrage in Britain and elsewhere.  This is precisely the disaster that Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg had warned about just yesterday: mass casualties resulting from the sinking of a passenger ship.  Perhaps most crucially among the dead are 128 Americans, and the question now arises as to the response of President Woodrow Wilson.

- For the past four days artillery of the French 10th Army has been pounding the German line between Arras and Lens, in preparation for the offensive that was scheduled to begin today.  However, rain and poor visibility forces a postponement of the assault for two days, during which the artillery bombardment will continue.  The British also postpone their supporting attack to the north.

- As the Russian army had retreated through Courland over the past week, the navy had insisted that the naval port of Libau and its fortifications be held.  The army has disagreed, and in the ensuing confusion one set of defenders evacuated Libau, destroying its telegraph link, while another set moved in to defend the port.  Taking advantage of the mess, the German 3rd Cavalry Brigade, aided by several infantry battalions, is able to capture Libau today without meeting serious resistance.  The 1500-man Russian garrison surrenders, and the coastal guns 'protecting' the port turn out to be dummies.

- The German 11th Army continues its advance eastward, with 119th Division reaching Rymanow securing a crossing of the Wislok River at Besko.  On the Russian side, Grand Duke Nicholas meets with Generals Ivanov and Alexeyev in a railway car at Cholm.  A suggestion by Ivanov's chief of staff to pull 3rd Army back across the San River is rejected outright, and instead only minor withdrawals are to be permitted.  Two divisions - 13th Siberian and 63rd - are dispatched to reinforce 3rd Army, and XXI Corps is to go into reserve near Sanok, and just before midnight General Dimitriev issues orders for it to prepare a counterattack in the direction of Besko and Rymanow, in an effort to throw the German advance off-balance.

Meanwhile, south of Dukla most of the infantry of the Russian 48th Division, which has taken to the woods to avoid the enemy, are taken prisoner by the Austro-Hungarians, though smaller bands will remain for some time.

- This morning the British 42nd Division's 127th Brigade comes ashore, which General Hamilton orders to join a resumption of the offensive towards Krithia.  This attempt fails to make progress, but a second mass attack is ordered at 430pm.  This too gets nowhere; indeed, so heavy is the Ottoman fire that most infantry go to ground almost immediately after leaving their trenches, ironically ensuring that British casualties today, at eight hundred, are comparatively light.

- Today the Japanese ambassador presents a revised version of the Twenty-One Demands of January 18th, 1915, to the Chinese government.  The new demands are milder in tone than the original, and in particular group five, comprising the most aggressive points, has been dropped entirely.  In part this is due to diplomatic pressure from the British, who do not wish to see Japan expanding its influence too greatly in China, to the detriment of Britain and the other European powers.  However, the 'revised' Twenty-One Demands in practice embody the minimum deemed necessary by the Japanese cabinet, and by giving the appearance of comprising by reducing their original demands they make it more difficult for the Chinese to reject the rest.

May 3rd, 1915

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

The line at Ypres prior to the British withdrawal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

German officers in the ruins of Gorlice, May 1915.

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

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

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