January 16th, 1915

- Conrad continues to press Falkenhayn for the deployment of the four new reserve corps on the Eastern Front, sending a telegram today arguing that these formations are urgently required to avoid further setbacks.

- In the Caucasus the Ottoman XI Corps, its flank turned by elements of the Russian II Turkestan Corps, begins today to withdraw westward, crossing the frontier back into the Ottoman Empire.  Its retreat marks the effective end of the Battle of Sarikamish.  Though it has suffered heavy casualties over the past three weeks, at least it still has some semblance of fighting capability.  To the north X Corps has been retreating for the past two weeks, and consists of only three thousand survivors.  IX Corps, finally, has ceased to exist.

The Battle of Sarikamish has been a crushing Ottoman defeat, and while the Russians played a role, ultimately the Ottoman offensive was broken by the terrain and the weather.  Trudging through waist-deep snow along mountain ranges, the Ottman 3rd Army had suffered 25 000 casualties before they even began their attack at Sarikamish.  The bitter cold claimed thousands of lives each night, and on occasion entire encampments would freeze to death, nothing remaining but ice-cold corpses in tent after tent.  After the battle the Russians would find 30 000 frozen Ottoman soldiers around Sarikamish alone.  In such conditions, even the slightest wound was fatal - it is estimated that 20 000 lightly-wounded Ottomans froze to death before medical attention could reach them.  Precise casualty figures for the Ottomans simply don't exist - thousands vanished forever in the remote mountains and valleys of the Caucasus.  Estimates for total Ottoman losses range from 75 000 to 90 000.  In comparison, the remaining effective strength of the Ottoman 3rd Army was less than 15 000 after the battle.

Frozen Ottoman soldiers outside Sarikamish, January 1915.

The Russian victory at Sarikamish has been absolute, and has secured the Russian frontier in the Caucasus.  The battle's importance, however, is far more wide-reaching.  At the start of the Ottoman offensive, Enver Pasha had broadcast that it was the beginning of a great pan-Turkic movement that would liberate all Turkic peoples from the Russian yoke.  Raising the stakes meant for Enver raising the consequences of defeat.  Many Turkic people within the Russian Caucasus had adopted a wait-and-see approach, instead of rising in rebellion, when the Ottomans invaded, and in the aftermath of Sarikamish conclude that loyalty to Russia is their only viable option.  The Russian victory thus not only safeguards the frontier with the Ottoman Empire, but also reduces the need to garrison the interior of the Caucasus, freeing up soldiers to be redeployed elsewhere on the Eastern Front.

Even more than the discrediting of Enver's pan-Turkic appeal is the impact of Sarikamish on the Ottoman effort to unify all Muslims behind their leadership in a jihad against the Entente.  The end of the battle comes just two months after the summons to holy war, and the defeat is interpreted as a sign not only of continued Ottoman decline, but of their inability to transform words into action.  Muslims throughout the British, French, and Russian empires conclude that, given the apparently dim prospects of Ottoman victory, answering the summons to jihad would simply be inviting their own destruction at the hands of their colonial masters.  Sarikamish is thus vital in limiting the potential of Muslim insurrection in the colonial world, and frustrating the German aim of using their Ottoman allies to set aflame the empires of their enemies.  As such, the Battle of Sarikamish is one of the most important and decisive of the entire war.

January 10th, 1915

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

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

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

January 4th, 1915

- After closing on the outbreak of war in August, the London Stock Exchange reopens today.

- The ability of the French army to increase its stock of artillery shells is hampered by the necessity of supplying ammunition to its allies in order to enhance their fighting ability.  As the French minister of war reports today, at a time when Joffre is demanding the production of 60 000 rounds per day, France is exporting 12 000 per day to Russia, 3000 to Romania, 2000 to Serbia, and between 1000 and 2000 to Belgium.

- At the far southern end of the Western Front, the line runs just inside the German province of Alsace until it reaches the Swiss border.  Here the French have entrenched themselves on the eastern ridges of the Vosges Mountains, giving them observation of the upper Rhine River and allowing bombardment of the German-held plains to the east.  The Vosges are rocky and forested, preventing the construction of continuous trench lines.  Instead, each side entrenches on available high ground and emphasizes strong points.  Nevertheless, the stalemate to the north has replicated itself in the Vosges - indeed, advancing exposed up hillsides, where artillery shells create lethal airborne rock splinters, advances are particularly arduous.

The Western Front in the Vosges.

Winter in the Vosges, 1915.

For the past month, French infantry have been attacking at several points in order to push the line eastward and bring more of the German rear under artillery fire.  In order to bring a halt to the enemy attacks, Army Detachment Gaede, responsible for defending German Alsace, has been reinforced by six battalions and three batteries of artillery and ordered to seize Hartmannswillerkopf (known to the French as Vieil Armand), at 3136 feet one of the highest points in the Vosges and one from which the French have been able to direct artillery fire on the vital railway linking Mulhouse and Colmar.  Today three German regiments of light infantry, grenadiers, and dismounted light cavalry attack Hartmannswillerkopf, but are repulsed by the entrenched French defenders.

- For several months the vital Austro-Hungarian fortress of Przemysl has been besieged by the Russians, who are content to simply starve out the defenders.  Indeed, the food stocks, never high, are continuing to dwindle.  Today, the commander at Przemysl radios Conrad to inquire whether the garrison should attempt to break out around February 1st, or simply hold out until March 7th, the date on which it is expected food supplies (including the slaughter of horses) will run out.  Conrad views the fall of Przemysl not only as a military but also a political catastrophe, as its loss would further undermine the prestige of Austria-Hungary among neutral states, and thus views an early offensive in Galicia to relieve Przemysl to be of vital importance.

- At Sarikamish the shattered remnants of the Ottoman IX Corps, surrounded and attack from Bardiz to the rear, surrender today.  Enver Pasha, who had been with IX Corps, manages to escape through Russian lines to reach XI Corps, which is still attacking in a vain effort to recover the situation.

January 2nd, 1915

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

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

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

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

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

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

December 31st, 1914

- In Champagne the French II Corps recaptures most of the ground lost to the German counterattack of yesterday, but the Germans launch another four attacks along the front held by 4th Army.  With the German counterattacks threatening to turn the French offensive into a series of small back-and-forth battles, the commander of 4th Army orders an emphasis on the use of artillery to maintain pressure on the enemy.

- At Sarikamish the Ottoman attack has faltered due to the heavy casualties incurred not only by fighting the Russians but also the terrible weather.  Today Enver Pasha orders IX Corps to maintain its present lines, understanding that further exertions are now beyond the exhausted infantry.

December 27th, 1914

- After several days of attacks in Artois General Pétain's XXXIII Corps manages to capture seven hundred yards of German trenches today, but most of the gains are lost to subsequent enemy counterattacks. Meamwhile in Champagne Joffre moves IV Corps into the vicinity of 4th Army, which allows the commander of the latter to commit all of I Corps to the fight.  Thus when 4th Army resumes the attack today, the French are able to feed more troops into the battle to maintain the pressure on the German lines.

Elsewhere the secondary attacks ordered by Joffre to distract the Germans also continue to have negligible effects: today XI Corps of 2nd Army advances against the German line opposite without the benefit of a preliminary artillery bombardment, with the results one would expect.

In addition to the ongoing offensives in Artois and Champagne, Joffre continues to deal with a range of other issues, reflecting his attention to detain and tight control over all aspects of the French army.  Today a message goes out to all army commanders emphasizing the 'necessity' of organizing the 'first line of trenches in a manner to make them absolutely inviolable in order to reduce personnel placed in the trenches' and to 'permit the forming in the rear of important reserves required for future operations.'  The emphasis on finding additional reserves also demonstrates his continued commitment to the offensive, regardless of the outcome of the current operations.

- In Germany four new corps (XXXVIII to XXXXI Reserve Corps) and one new division (8th Bavarian Division) have been formed, and although consisting largely of inexperienced wartime volunteers and under-equipped as compared to pre-war formations, their deployment will allow for the execution of a major offensive.  The crucial issue now is whether these new units will be sent to the Western or the Eastern Front, in an attempt to secure a major victory.  In the draft of a letter to Hindenburg that he ultimately does not send, Falkenhayn reveals that he believes they should be sent West, along with one or two corps transferred from the East, and that an offensive should be launched by the end of January.  Here Falkenhayn once again demonstrates his belief that the primary enemies of Germany are on the Western Front, while a decisive victory cannot be achieved over Russia.  Though he is Chief of Staff of the German army, his opinion is hardly the last word in the matter.

- During the Cuxhaven Raid of Christmas Day, the Grand Fleet had been a hundred miles north of Heligoland Bight, hoping the operation might tempt the High Seas Fleet to sortie, but given the lack of reaction Jellicoe had ordered the fleet home.  In the predawn hours of this morning, the Grand Fleet is struggling through heavy seas as it approaches Scapa Flow when the dreadnought Monarch suddenly spots a patrol trawler dead ahead.  It turns sharply to miss the trawler, but steers directly into the path of Conqueror, another dreadnought, and the latter's bow drives into the stern of Monarch.  Both ships suffer significant damage, and although neither is in danger of sinking, they are both in need of time in drydock for repairs.

The temporary loss of two of the Grand Fleet's most powerful dreadnoughts leaves the British with just eighteen dreadnoughts, as compared to seventeen in the High Seas Fleet.  It is the moment of parity the Germans have dreamt of but, riding at anchor day after day, the Germans have no idea that the opportunity to engage the British on practically level terms even exists.

- General Ivanov of South-West Front decides today to call off the pursuit of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army, except for advance guards designed to keep the enemy off-balance.  The Russians have prevented the Austro-Hungarians from exploiting their victory at Limanowa-Lapanow, and will be able to hold a line well west of the San River.  Advancing through the winter weather has taken its toll on the Russians, though, and Ivanov has concluded that the time has come to rest and recuperate.  4th Army will hold the line of the Dunajec River to Gorlice, and 8th Army from Gorlice eastwards roughly on the north face of the Carpathian Mountains.

- With the arrival of 17th Division today, Enver Pasha orders IX Corps to attack Sarikamish, even though X Corps has not yet arrived, and despite IX Corps having lost 15 000 of its starting 25 000 men over the past five days to the weather.  Moreover, since December 25th the Russian garrison of Sarikamish has grown from two battalions of infantry to ten, and though the Ottomans press their attacks with great courage and tenacity, they are unable to break through the Russian lines and occupy the town.

The Battle of Sarikamish, December 27th, 1914.

December 26th, 1914

- The British Expeditionary Force implements a reorganization today with the creation of 1st and 2nd Armies, under the command of Generals Haig and Smith-Dorrien respectively.  1st Army includes I, IV, and the Indian Corps, while 2nd Army includes II and III Corps, plus the newly-arrived 27th Division, consisting of regular battalions recalled from overseas.  The BEF's cavalry, consisting now of the Cavalry Corps under General Allenby and the Indian Cavalry Corps, are under the direct control of Field Marshal French, who remains the overall commander of the BEF.

- Many senior commanders on the Western Front are dismayed by yesterday's Christmas Truce, as they fear that soldiers who are friendly with the enemy will be less willing to kill them in battle.  In order to avoid recurrences artillery barrages are ordered by both sides, not only keeping the infantry from fraternizing in No Man's Land but also emphasizing that the soldiers in the other trench are the enemy.

- The Ottoman 29th Division reaches the outskirts of Sarikamish this morning, its march being delayed from Bardiz owing to inaccurate maps.  The previous night had been particularly cold, and by today the division has lost half of its men to frostbite and exposure without having yet attacked the Russian lines.  Given the weakness of 29th Division, Enver decides to delay the assault on Sarikamish until tomorrow, when 17th Division and X Corps should arrive.

The Battle of Sarikamish, December 26th, 1914.

December 24th, 1914

- Three days after the first attempt to bombard England from the air, at 1045am a single German Friedrichshafen FF 29 seaplane appears over Dover, flying at fifty miles per hour.  At the limit of its fifty-mile range, it carries only four 2kg bombs, which it drops near Dover Castle.  Instead of striking the landmark, they fall nearby and destroy the vegetable garden of local auctioneer Tommy Terson, who suffers minor injuries.  For the first time enemy bombs have exploded on English soil.

A German Friedrichshafen FF 29 seaplane.

- At 5am this morning, Commodore Tyrwhitt's force, consisting of three seaplane carriers, three light cruisers, and eight destroyers, sails from Harwich, bound for Heligoland Bight.  To maintain the secrecy of the raid, no preliminary warning was given to the warships before they sailed, and some have left behind stewards who had gone ashore to purchase turkeys and geese for Christmas Day.

- For the past six days the German 9th Army has been assaulting the Russian line west of Warsaw between Sochaczew on the Bzura River and Bolimov on the Rawka River, in an effort to break through to Poland's largest city.  Wave after wave of German infantry have crossed the two rivers, often in frigid water up to their chests, to assault Russian lines on the far bank.  Though in a few cases certain section of the Russian trench line were seized, at no time were the Germans able to pierce the enemy front.  9th Army has suffered over 100 000 casualties in failing to break through, and at one point a tributary of the Rawka River stopped flowing, blocked by a dam of German dead.  It now being obvious that Warsaw will not be in German hands for Christmas, Ludendorff calls off the attacks.

- In the Caucasus the occupation of Bardiz today by the Ottoman 29th Division of IX Corps masks growing problems with Enver's offensive.  Moving through heavy snow and in frigid conditions, thousands are already being lost to the elements; 17th Division of IX Corps reports that as much as 40% of its soldiers have fallen behind, some undoubtedly disappearing into the drifts of snow.  X Corps to the north, meanwhile is exhausted, but two of its divisions are pushed northwards towards Ardahan before Enver orders it to redirect itself westwards to cover IX Corps left flank.  29th Division, meanwhile, is given no rest - Enver instructs it to march immediately on Sarikamish, not only to complete the envelopment of the Russian forces facing XI Corps but because the Ottoman units need to seize Russian supplies if they are not to run out of food and starve.

On the Russian side, I Caucasian and II Turkestan Corps are in the line facing XI Corps when Enver begins his offensive, the former to the south of the latter.  The first response of General Bergmann, commander of I Caucasian Corps, had been to order his force to advance westward in an attempt to threaten the rear of the Ottoman IX and X Corps.  General Nikolai Yudenich, Chief of Staff of the Russian Caucasus Army, is better able to understand the threat the Ottoman advance poses to Sarikamish, and orders I Caucasian Corps to instead withdraw today while moving reinforcements to concentrate at the threatened town.

The Battle of Sarikamish, December 24th, 1914.

December 23rd, 1914

- The British government announces a further tightening of the blockade of Germany by declaring additional items to now be contraband and subject to seizure.  New to the list are all types of rubber, whether raw or wast, and all elements used in the production explosives.

- The French Parliament today votes to hand over even more powers to Joffre and the French Army.  Within the 'Zone of Armies' along and near the front, the power of the French Army is supreme and cannot be interfered with by civilians - politicians are even forbidden to visit the front line.

- In the Caucasus the Ottoman X Corps today seizes the town of Oltu, its first objective.  However, given low supplies and appalling weather conditions, the advance of X Corps and the neighbouring IX Corps are already behind schedule.

December 22nd, 1914

- By today the British line between Cuinchy and Neuve Chapelle has been stabilized by the insertion of 1st Division of I Corps into the centre of the position around Givenchy, formerly held by the Indian Corps.  Most of the original lines held before the German attack of the 20th have been regained, though some stretches of the first trench have been so destroyed by artillery fire as to render them useless.  The moment of danger has passed, though the Indian Corps has suffered almost a thousand casualties over the past three days, as compared to only 250 for the Germans opposite.  The need for 1st Division to come to the 'rescue' of the Indian Corps also does little for the confidence of the BEF leadership in the latter's fighting qualities.

- In Galicia the Russians continue to press against the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army, and in many spots the latter is forced southward.  Further complicating matters, most of the reinforcements destined for the right wing of the army had been sucked into the fighting on the left wing in an attempt to stem the tide, making the execution of the planned advance on Przemysl by the army's right wing impossible.  In an attempt to make the best of a bad situation, Conrad approves a proposal by 3rd Army commander to attack with his left wing towards Tarnow.

The Russian advance in Galicia, December 22nd to 31st, 1914.

- In light of the failed invasions of Serbia, General Potiorek is forced into retirement today.

The Serbian Front at the end of December, 1914.

- What will become the Battle of Sarikamish begins today when Enver Pasha orders the Ottoman XI and X Corps of his 3rd Army to begin their advance into the Russian Caucasus.  Enver's objective is the town of Sarikamish, which sits at the head of the main railway supplying Russian forces in the Caucasus, but his plan bears the strong imprint of German thinking and the influence of 3rd Army's Chief of Staff Baron Bronsart von Schellendorff.  Of 3rd Army's three corps, XI Corps, reinforced by two divisions that had been originally bound for Syria and Iraq, was to frontally attack the two Russian corps southwest of Sarikamish in order to fix them in place.  This was no small task for XI Corps, given the two Russian corps number 54 000 men and the Ottoman unit would have been outnumbered by just one of the enemy corps.  The key maneouvre, however, is to be undertaken by IX and X Corps.  The former, sitting on XI Corps' left, is to advance along a mountain path known as the top yol towards Çatak, from which it can descend on Sarikamish from the northwest, outflanking the two Russian corps pinned by XI Corps.  Though the top yol is known to the Russians, they believe it was impractical to move large bodies of troops along it.  Enver, for his part, believes that not only is the path useable but its high altitude and exposed position would ensure that high winds kept it swept of snow, as compared to the valleys below.  Finally, X Corps, on the left of IX Corps, is to advance and occupy the town of Oltu, from which one portion of the corps can move to support IX Corps' move on Sarikamish, while another portion can continue northeastwards towards the town of Ardahan.  If successful, the plan promises the envelopment and annihilation of the two Russian corps southwest of Sarikamish and the opening of the way to Kars.

With its emphasis on outflanking the enemy position, it has the obvious imprint of the thinking of Schliffen and the German General Staff.  Further, Enver's plan involves precise timetabling of the advance of IX and X Corps (necessary given the lack of communications between the three corps of 3rd Army) which removes all possibility of improvisation and does not allow for any unit to fall behind schedule.  Finally, there is the emphasis on speed - the soldiers of IX Corps, for instance, are told to leave their coats and packs behind to quicken their advance.  This ignores the obvious reality of conducting operations in the Caucasus in December and January - temperatures are consistently below -30 degrees centigrade and the snow on the ground is measured in feet, not inches.  This ignorance of the human element, also a conspicuous reflection of pre-war German planning, is to be of decisive import in the days ahead.

Incidentally, Enver's decision to launch his invasion of the Russian Caucasus today is the first link in a chain of events that will lead to the collapse of the last Liberal government in Britain.  Just another example of how one cannot understand the First World War without understanding how it was a world war.

The planned advance of the Ottoman 3rd Army against Sarikamish.

- In German Kamerun the French column that occupied Nola in October today seize the village of Molundu.

- A force of Boer rebels numbering about a thousand, comprising those who managed to escape to German South-West Africa under Martiz and Kemp, cross the Orange River back into South Africa.  Though they have achieved surprise, the advance is plagued by disagreements between the two Boer leaders, Kemp refusing to serve under Maritz's leadership and wanting to return to the Transvaal.  Martiz for his part desires to avoid giving the impression of being a German puppet, and thus refuses German assistance.  The result is that when a South African force is encountered near Schuit Drift, they are driven off and retreat back over the Orange River.