- Joffre issues General Instruction No. 2 today, which outlines the French strategy in light of the defeat in the Battle of the Frontiers. The forces on the French left, including the BEF, are to retreat to the line Amiens-Rheims-Verdun, a retreat of over one hundred kilometres. The massive fortress complex around Verdun is to serve as a hinge, anchoring the centre of the French line, while the left moves counterclockwise like a door. This means the BEF and the French 5th Army, as the units furthest on the French left, will have the farthest to retreat. During the retreat, French forces are to fight a delaying action, using quick counterattacks with artillery to keep the Germans off-balance. As this retreat is underway, additional French forces will be concentrated at Amiens, drawn from the existing French armies between Verdun and the Swiss border. Once this force is assembled, it would attack the exposed German flank as it passes south and, in conjunction with the BEF and other French armies on the left, envelop and destroy the invading German armies.
- The German 4th Army penetrates Sedan today, and is counterattacked by the French 4th Army to prevent the Germans from crossing the Meuse Rivier. After bitter fighting and bayonet assaults, the French withdraw at nightfall, and blow the bridges over the river.
- The French launch a major counterattack in Lorraine today, directed towards the German forces advancing between Toul and Epinal. From the north, 2nd Army's attack is led by Foch's XX Corps, which has already covered itself in glory in earlier fighting, and today retakes three towns and advances ten miles. From the south, 1st Army achieves similar gains. Despite earlier victories, the German 6th and 7th armies have sustained heavy losses, and they are thrown back across the Mortagne River and away from the gap at Charmes. The Germans have no intention of giving up the fight - a breakthrough here might allow the envelopment and destruction of the entire French army - but the wooded and hilly terrain is ideal for the defensive, and the French also benefit from extensive pre-war fortifications. In essence, the advantages that lay with the Germans when the French invaded Lorraine are reversed now that it is the Germans invading French Lorraine.
- General Joseph-Simon Gallieni is appointed today Military Governor of Paris. The French government has become suddenly aware that the German advance may threaten the capital itself, and discover that its defenses have been woefully neglected. Gallieni promises to bring energy and action to the fortification of Paris, and also insists that Joffre assigned several corps to ensure the city can be held. Joffre demures; he needs all the corps he can to execute his retreat and counter-attack operation, and can hardly afford to have any tied down defending the capital.
- The Belgian army makes a sudden sortie today, fighting the German corps detached from the German 1st Army to cover the city. Elements of the German corps are thrown back in confusion to Louvain before the sortie is contained and the Belgians retreat to Antwerp. The sortie, however, would indirectly have an even larger impact on Louvain itself. This small university town, known as the 'Oxford of Belgium,' had been occupied peacefully by the Germans for almost a week, but in the confusion tonight after the Belgian sortie German soldiers moving through the city believe they have been fired upon by Belgian civilians. More plausible is that panicked Germans fired on each other in the darkness. Regardless, German soldiers begin the destruction of Louvain, burning buildings and shooting civilians, which continue for several days.
- General Samsonov of the Russian 2nd Army is informed today that two corps of the German 8th Army have retreated to the fortress of Königsberg, far to the north, convincing him that the only substantial enemy forces before him is the German corps since yesterday. Samsonov is thus encouraged to continue to advance with his centre, and when the German XX Corps comes under pressure on its flank, withdraws to the north. Samsonov interprets this as part of an ongoing German general retreat, and continues to orders his forces to pursue.
Unintentionally, Samsonov's advance exposes the flanks of 2nd Army to the Germans. Most of the German I Corps arrive today on the western flank of XX Corps, though General François ignores an order by Ludendorff to attack, arguing that his artillery has not arrived and an advance would be suicidal. Meanwhile, XVII and I Reserve Corps continue to march towards their position on the eastern flank of XX Corps.
- Since the Battle of Gumbinnen on the 20th, Moltke has remained concerned about the Russian invasion of Prussia. Despite the replacement of Prittwitz with Hindenburg and Ludendorrf, it is not yet clear if their plans for operations against the Russian 2nd Army will be successful. Under pressure from Junkers whose East Prussian estates lay in the path of the Russians, Moltke decides that reinforcements must be sent. His initial impulse is to take corps from 6th and 7th Armies, engaged in Lorraine. However, the continued fighting between Toul and Epinal suggests that the armies cannot spare any corps, and moreover the Bavarian corps of 6th Army may not fight with sufficient ardour to save East Prussia. Instead, Moltke looks to the right wing. The fall of Namur has freed the two corps that had been beseiging the city. Instead of rejoining the advance of the right wing, orders are issued for their redeployment to East Prussia.
- Fighting since the 23rd, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army has turned both flanks of the Russian 4th Army, and the latter, having lost 6000 prisoners and twenty-eight guns, retreats northwards to the Kraśnik positions south of Lublin. Victory in the Battle of Kraśnik encourages Conrad in his belief that a decisive victory can be won through his invasion of Russian Poland, and he urges the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, to the east of 1st Army, onwards. The Russian 4th Army, meanwhile, urges 5th Army on its east to attack southwest to disrupt the enemy 1st Army.
- In the early hours of this morning, the German commander at Kamina in Togoland destroys the nine masts and switchboard of the Kamina wireless station, and at daylight surrenders to the British and Imperial forces. The Germans are hopelessly outnumbered, but nevertheless surrender before absolutely necessary - for example, they still have over 300 000 rifle rounds. Moreover, German resistance has not been as stiff as it could have been - most of the colony had been abandoned without a fight, and much of the infrastructure had not been destroyed to impede the speed of the British advance. The approach of the German commander, instead, had been to concentrate on Kamina, the only vital point in the colony, and otherwise preserve the rest of the colony. There was only ever one possible outcome to the invasion of Togoland, and instead of destroying the colony in what would have been an obviously futile effort to hold it, a token resistance is instead offered, to preserve the 'benefits' (i.e. infrastructure, etc.) that have accrued to the African population of Togoland under German rule.
- Following its declaration of war on Germany, Japan today declares war on Austria-Hungary.
Showing posts with label Togoland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Togoland. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
August 22nd, 1914
- Almost since the start of the war, General Charles Lanrezac has been warning Joffre that the Germans are making a major push through Belgium. Other than minor adjustments, Joffre has dismissed Lanrezac's fears. Today, Lanrezac and his 5th Army discover just how right he was.
Belatedly recognizing the importance of the German bridgeheads over the Sambre River, Lanrezac orders a major counterattack by two of his corps. The attack is a dismal failure. Advancing against German infantry that spent the night digging in, the French soldiers are mowed down by machine-gun and rifle fire. By the afternoon, German counterattacks were forcing the two corps back, and by nightfall 5th Army has been completely driven from the Sambre. To make matters worse, 5th Army had lost contact with 4th Army on its right, while three French cavalry divisions on his left had broken and retreated. Lanrezac was now faced with the possibility of both his flanks being turned. Finally, losses had been terrible - some French regiments had lost almost 50% of their strength, while the Germans had seized the initiative. Lanrezac now found himself fighting precisely the desperate defensive battle that he had long feared he would have to.
- To the west of the French 5th Army, the British Expeditionary Force has continued to march northwards. During the day, British cavalry ahead of the main columns encounter for the first time German cavalry, and the realization of imminent battle dawns. Late in the evening, a request arrives from a beleaguered Lanranzac requesting the BEF to attack the flank of the German force attacking him from the north. This is not practical, but Field Marshal Sir John French agrees to hold the line of the Mons Canal for twenty-four hours. By midnight the BEF is entrenching on the south side of the canal, expecting battle in the morning. Despite aerial reconnaissance indicating otherwise, the British believe that there are only one or two German corps before them, giving the BEF superiority and a sense of confidence.
If they had known what was advancing towards them, the BEF might not have had such confidence. The German 1st Army, the most powerful of the armies arrayed against France, and the one with the most vital role in the Schlieffen Plan, was bearing down upon them. The one saving grace for the BEF was that the Germans had absolutely no idea where the British were. German cavalry had utterly failed to find anything - one German regiment, when just three miles north of Mons and the BEF, was told by a cavalry commander there were no enemy forces within eighty miles. OHL, for its part, was not even sure the BEF was on the Continent at all. Rumours abounded of where the BEF might have landed, from Antwerp to Calais to ports further afield. Thus the first encounters with British cavalry on the 22nd come as a complete surprise to General von Kluck of the German 1st Army. His first instinct is to move southwestward, in an effort to move around the western flank of whatever force had appeared before him. Bülow, who has been given a supervisory role over the two armies adjacent to his own, instead orders Kluck to cover his own westward flank as he continues the fight. 1st Army thus moves south on the 22nd, which will carry it directly to Mons. The most important army in the Schlieffen Plan was about to fight its first major battle.
- After yesterday's scattered encounters, the French 3rd and 4th armies today find themselves in pitched battles with the German 4th and 5th armies in the Ardennes. Along the entire front the French infantry throw themselves at the German defenders, with terrible results. IV and V Corps of 3rd Army attack entrenched positions in a heavy fog that prevents artillery fire, and are repulsed, with one division in each corps fleeing under German artillery fire. VI Corps, the last belonging to 3rd Army, does better, but by the end of the day is yielding ground to the enemy. 4th Army to the north is faring no better. Its rightmost corps - II - encounters heavy German resistance and makes no forward progress. On its left the Colonial Corps suffers the worst of any French unit involved in the day's battles. Composed of long-service regulars who had served in colonial wars in Africa and Asia, the corps' experience proves its undoing. Able to advance under heavy fire without breaking, as was frequently the case with conscripts, the Colonial Corps is able to advance farther than its adjacent units, and finds itself in a mass of Germans. Battalion after battalion launch bayonet attacks, broken up by concentrated machine-gun fire. By the end of the day, the Colonial Corps has lost 11 000 of its strength of 15 000, the highest casualties of any French unit fighting in the Battle of the Frontiers, and twelve kilometre gaps existed on either side. To the north the remaining corps of 4th Army are suffering varying fates. Of crucial importance was the plight of XVII Corps, whose 33rd Division had been attacked in its rear, lost all its artillery, and fled the battlefield, forcing the rest of the corps to pull back.
Though the Germans have suffered heavily as well, the fighting is disastrous for the French. The main attack of Plan XVII had been launched, and failed to dislodge the German defenders. Prospects for the next day's fighting were dim, but Joffre remained supremely confident. He informs the War Minister this evening that the French armies are well-positioned to strike at the Germans, and all that remains is for the officers to execute their orders. This foreshadows Joffre's future explanations for the failures of August 1914 - it was due to the weakness of subordinates, not any mistakes either on his part or in Plan XVII.
- The French disasters continue to the south in Lorraine. After the crushing defeat inflicted on 2nd Army on the 20th, it again comes under devastating attack by the German 6th Army. At midmorning, 2nd Army's right is crushed and forced into a precipitate retreat. Again 2nd Army's link to 1st Army in the south is severed, and again 1st Army has to retire to reestablish the front line. 2nd Army is now pulling back to the fortifications around Nancy, hoping to use them to anchor a defensive line.
The attack by the German 6th Army of today is the product of another deviation from the Schlieffen Plan. Under pressure from Prince Rupprecht, Moltke has agreed to expand 6th Army's counterattack into a full offensive. After the relatively quick fall of Liège, it is hoped that the French forts around Nancy and Epinal will prove equally susceptible to attack. Beyond that, the possibility of enveloping the entire French army via breakthroughs on the left as well as the right has proven too seductive to Moltke. 6th and 7th armies are thus committed to an invasion of France itself, instead of leaving their forces available for redeployment to the right. One of the most important decisions Moltke would make, placing in a day of victories the seeds of defeat.
- The Russian 2nd Army under General Alexander Samsonov today completes its crossing of the Russo-German frontier, but it is already in trouble. Its concentration zone during mobilization was fifty kilometres from the border, which means that the exhausted Russian columns have been marching ten to twelve hours each day for a week. Further, the supply situation was collapsing - there were no railways reaching to the border along the route of 2nd Army, and it was already being forced to live off the land. Finally, the communication situation is disastrous. 2nd Army's corps lacked sufficient telephone wire to connect themselves to their own divisions, while Samsonov was effectively disconnected from his superior, General I. G. Zhilinskii of North-West Front - telegrams from the latter could only reach the former by car from Warsaw, rendering null Zhilinskii's ability to co-ordinate the actions of the two armies invading East Prussia.
- The summons from OHL reaches Ludendorff at Namur at 9am, and within fifteen minutes he departs for Coblenz, where he arrives at 6pm. He is briefed on the situation in East Prussia, and meets with Moltke and the Kaiser. His first orders are to confirm Hoffman's plan of transferring I Corps by rail to face the Russian 2nd Army, while XVII and I Reserve Corps are to rest tomorrow, to allow them to be better capable of joining the rest of 8th Army in battle. At 9pm, Ludendorff departs Colbenz on a special train for East Prussia. Meanwhile, OHL has also decided on the new commander for 8th Army - General Paul von Hindenburg. A veteran of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, he had retired in 1911, but on August 3rd had informed Moltke of his willingness to take a field command if one was available. OHL decides that Hindenburg is the ideal man for the job - from a long line of Prussian Junkers, Hindenburg's career had demonstrated a solidity and imperturbability that would match perfectly with Ludendorff's imagination and excitedness. It was Ludendorff who could develop brilliant operations, while Hindenburg would ensure their execution through moments of crisis that might rattle Ludondorff. Moltke and the Kaiser approve of Hindenburg's appointment, and he receives a telegram at his home in Hanover at 3pm informing him of his appointment. He is instructed to board Ludendorff's train as it passes through Hanover the next morning as it travels east.
- As the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Russian Poland begins, the Russian army is preparing its own invasion of Galicia. Four armies are deployed against Austria-Hungary - 4th, 5th, 3rd, and 8th (the latter commanded by General Alexei Brusilov) - stretching from the northwest to the southeast. The pre-war plans, assuming that the Austro-Hungarians deploy their forces close to the border, calls for 3rd and 8th armies to advance westward and engage the enemy in a defensive battle near Lemberg (modern Lvov). Once the Austro-Hungarian army is fixed by this attack, 4th and 5th armies are to attack south behind the enemy forces and rout them. The pre-war plans are nullified almost the instant war is declared. Grand Duke Nicholas, appointed commander of the Russian army, responds to pleas from France by ordering the advance of 4th Army prematurely. Conversely, the advance of 3rd Army westward is painstakingly slow - its commander believes that the Austro-Hungarians have deployed near the border, when in fact they have deployed far to the rear. It is only on the 21st that 3rd Army has crossed the border, and progress remains glacial. Thus the pre-war plan is being in practice reversed - it is the attack south of 4th and 5th armies that will hit the enemy first, a situation complicated by the Austro-Hungarian deployment in the rear and Conrad's decision to invade Russian Poland. Thus the first Russian invasion of Galicia is heading directly towards the Austro-Hungarian invasion heading in the opposite direction.
- The advance of the Gold Coast Regiment northwards from Lome to Kamina in German Togoland encounters German resistance along the Chra River. Entrenched on the northern bank, the Germans pour fire on the advancing Imperial troops, who suffer 17% casualties. Despite the victory, the outnumbered Germans withdraw northwards this evening.
Belatedly recognizing the importance of the German bridgeheads over the Sambre River, Lanrezac orders a major counterattack by two of his corps. The attack is a dismal failure. Advancing against German infantry that spent the night digging in, the French soldiers are mowed down by machine-gun and rifle fire. By the afternoon, German counterattacks were forcing the two corps back, and by nightfall 5th Army has been completely driven from the Sambre. To make matters worse, 5th Army had lost contact with 4th Army on its right, while three French cavalry divisions on his left had broken and retreated. Lanrezac was now faced with the possibility of both his flanks being turned. Finally, losses had been terrible - some French regiments had lost almost 50% of their strength, while the Germans had seized the initiative. Lanrezac now found himself fighting precisely the desperate defensive battle that he had long feared he would have to.
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| The Battles of Charleroi and Mons, Aug. 21st to 24th, 1914 |
- To the west of the French 5th Army, the British Expeditionary Force has continued to march northwards. During the day, British cavalry ahead of the main columns encounter for the first time German cavalry, and the realization of imminent battle dawns. Late in the evening, a request arrives from a beleaguered Lanranzac requesting the BEF to attack the flank of the German force attacking him from the north. This is not practical, but Field Marshal Sir John French agrees to hold the line of the Mons Canal for twenty-four hours. By midnight the BEF is entrenching on the south side of the canal, expecting battle in the morning. Despite aerial reconnaissance indicating otherwise, the British believe that there are only one or two German corps before them, giving the BEF superiority and a sense of confidence.
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| British soldiers of the 18th Hussars with Belgian civilians, Aug. 22nd, 1914 |
If they had known what was advancing towards them, the BEF might not have had such confidence. The German 1st Army, the most powerful of the armies arrayed against France, and the one with the most vital role in the Schlieffen Plan, was bearing down upon them. The one saving grace for the BEF was that the Germans had absolutely no idea where the British were. German cavalry had utterly failed to find anything - one German regiment, when just three miles north of Mons and the BEF, was told by a cavalry commander there were no enemy forces within eighty miles. OHL, for its part, was not even sure the BEF was on the Continent at all. Rumours abounded of where the BEF might have landed, from Antwerp to Calais to ports further afield. Thus the first encounters with British cavalry on the 22nd come as a complete surprise to General von Kluck of the German 1st Army. His first instinct is to move southwestward, in an effort to move around the western flank of whatever force had appeared before him. Bülow, who has been given a supervisory role over the two armies adjacent to his own, instead orders Kluck to cover his own westward flank as he continues the fight. 1st Army thus moves south on the 22nd, which will carry it directly to Mons. The most important army in the Schlieffen Plan was about to fight its first major battle.
- After yesterday's scattered encounters, the French 3rd and 4th armies today find themselves in pitched battles with the German 4th and 5th armies in the Ardennes. Along the entire front the French infantry throw themselves at the German defenders, with terrible results. IV and V Corps of 3rd Army attack entrenched positions in a heavy fog that prevents artillery fire, and are repulsed, with one division in each corps fleeing under German artillery fire. VI Corps, the last belonging to 3rd Army, does better, but by the end of the day is yielding ground to the enemy. 4th Army to the north is faring no better. Its rightmost corps - II - encounters heavy German resistance and makes no forward progress. On its left the Colonial Corps suffers the worst of any French unit involved in the day's battles. Composed of long-service regulars who had served in colonial wars in Africa and Asia, the corps' experience proves its undoing. Able to advance under heavy fire without breaking, as was frequently the case with conscripts, the Colonial Corps is able to advance farther than its adjacent units, and finds itself in a mass of Germans. Battalion after battalion launch bayonet attacks, broken up by concentrated machine-gun fire. By the end of the day, the Colonial Corps has lost 11 000 of its strength of 15 000, the highest casualties of any French unit fighting in the Battle of the Frontiers, and twelve kilometre gaps existed on either side. To the north the remaining corps of 4th Army are suffering varying fates. Of crucial importance was the plight of XVII Corps, whose 33rd Division had been attacked in its rear, lost all its artillery, and fled the battlefield, forcing the rest of the corps to pull back.
Though the Germans have suffered heavily as well, the fighting is disastrous for the French. The main attack of Plan XVII had been launched, and failed to dislodge the German defenders. Prospects for the next day's fighting were dim, but Joffre remained supremely confident. He informs the War Minister this evening that the French armies are well-positioned to strike at the Germans, and all that remains is for the officers to execute their orders. This foreshadows Joffre's future explanations for the failures of August 1914 - it was due to the weakness of subordinates, not any mistakes either on his part or in Plan XVII.
- The French disasters continue to the south in Lorraine. After the crushing defeat inflicted on 2nd Army on the 20th, it again comes under devastating attack by the German 6th Army. At midmorning, 2nd Army's right is crushed and forced into a precipitate retreat. Again 2nd Army's link to 1st Army in the south is severed, and again 1st Army has to retire to reestablish the front line. 2nd Army is now pulling back to the fortifications around Nancy, hoping to use them to anchor a defensive line.
The attack by the German 6th Army of today is the product of another deviation from the Schlieffen Plan. Under pressure from Prince Rupprecht, Moltke has agreed to expand 6th Army's counterattack into a full offensive. After the relatively quick fall of Liège, it is hoped that the French forts around Nancy and Epinal will prove equally susceptible to attack. Beyond that, the possibility of enveloping the entire French army via breakthroughs on the left as well as the right has proven too seductive to Moltke. 6th and 7th armies are thus committed to an invasion of France itself, instead of leaving their forces available for redeployment to the right. One of the most important decisions Moltke would make, placing in a day of victories the seeds of defeat.
- The Russian 2nd Army under General Alexander Samsonov today completes its crossing of the Russo-German frontier, but it is already in trouble. Its concentration zone during mobilization was fifty kilometres from the border, which means that the exhausted Russian columns have been marching ten to twelve hours each day for a week. Further, the supply situation was collapsing - there were no railways reaching to the border along the route of 2nd Army, and it was already being forced to live off the land. Finally, the communication situation is disastrous. 2nd Army's corps lacked sufficient telephone wire to connect themselves to their own divisions, while Samsonov was effectively disconnected from his superior, General I. G. Zhilinskii of North-West Front - telegrams from the latter could only reach the former by car from Warsaw, rendering null Zhilinskii's ability to co-ordinate the actions of the two armies invading East Prussia.
- The summons from OHL reaches Ludendorff at Namur at 9am, and within fifteen minutes he departs for Coblenz, where he arrives at 6pm. He is briefed on the situation in East Prussia, and meets with Moltke and the Kaiser. His first orders are to confirm Hoffman's plan of transferring I Corps by rail to face the Russian 2nd Army, while XVII and I Reserve Corps are to rest tomorrow, to allow them to be better capable of joining the rest of 8th Army in battle. At 9pm, Ludendorff departs Colbenz on a special train for East Prussia. Meanwhile, OHL has also decided on the new commander for 8th Army - General Paul von Hindenburg. A veteran of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, he had retired in 1911, but on August 3rd had informed Moltke of his willingness to take a field command if one was available. OHL decides that Hindenburg is the ideal man for the job - from a long line of Prussian Junkers, Hindenburg's career had demonstrated a solidity and imperturbability that would match perfectly with Ludendorff's imagination and excitedness. It was Ludendorff who could develop brilliant operations, while Hindenburg would ensure their execution through moments of crisis that might rattle Ludondorff. Moltke and the Kaiser approve of Hindenburg's appointment, and he receives a telegram at his home in Hanover at 3pm informing him of his appointment. He is instructed to board Ludendorff's train as it passes through Hanover the next morning as it travels east.
- As the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Russian Poland begins, the Russian army is preparing its own invasion of Galicia. Four armies are deployed against Austria-Hungary - 4th, 5th, 3rd, and 8th (the latter commanded by General Alexei Brusilov) - stretching from the northwest to the southeast. The pre-war plans, assuming that the Austro-Hungarians deploy their forces close to the border, calls for 3rd and 8th armies to advance westward and engage the enemy in a defensive battle near Lemberg (modern Lvov). Once the Austro-Hungarian army is fixed by this attack, 4th and 5th armies are to attack south behind the enemy forces and rout them. The pre-war plans are nullified almost the instant war is declared. Grand Duke Nicholas, appointed commander of the Russian army, responds to pleas from France by ordering the advance of 4th Army prematurely. Conversely, the advance of 3rd Army westward is painstakingly slow - its commander believes that the Austro-Hungarians have deployed near the border, when in fact they have deployed far to the rear. It is only on the 21st that 3rd Army has crossed the border, and progress remains glacial. Thus the pre-war plan is being in practice reversed - it is the attack south of 4th and 5th armies that will hit the enemy first, a situation complicated by the Austro-Hungarian deployment in the rear and Conrad's decision to invade Russian Poland. Thus the first Russian invasion of Galicia is heading directly towards the Austro-Hungarian invasion heading in the opposite direction.
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| Initial plans of Austro-Hungarian and Russian armies in Galicia, Aug. 1914. |
- The advance of the Gold Coast Regiment northwards from Lome to Kamina in German Togoland encounters German resistance along the Chra River. Entrenched on the northern bank, the Germans pour fire on the advancing Imperial troops, who suffer 17% casualties. Despite the victory, the outnumbered Germans withdraw northwards this evening.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
August 12th, 1914
- Great Britain and France today declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- The assembly of the German East Asiatic Squadron is completed at Ponape, an island in the Carolines and part of the German New Guinea colony in the Pacific. Commanded by Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee, the squadron consists of two armoured cruisers - Scharnhorst and Gneisenau - and three modern light cruisers - Emden, Nürnberg, and Leipzig. Of these ships all but Leipzig is present, it being on station off the Pacific coast of South America.
- German cavalry has penetrated Belgium towards Louvain, but is held up at the bridge at Haelen by Belgian cavalry. Fighting as dismounted infantry, the Belgians pour murderous fire into the Germans, until by evening the Germans are forced to withdraw. The Battle of Haelen, while not of any strategic significance, is a great morale booster for the Belgians.
- The first Krupp 420 mortar is set up at Liège this afternoon, and at 630pm fires its first shell at Fort Pontisse, while several Skoda 305 mortars begin to bombard other Belgian forts near Liège. The aiming of the mortars is assisted by observers in church towers and balloons, and after each shot corrections are sent to the mortars. The effect is that the shells are 'walked' toward their target, each shell landing closer and closer until the target itself is hit. The effect is terrifying for the Belgian garrisons of the forts, hearing the whistle of the incoming shell in flight, watching its detonation point move closer and closer, knowing that inevitably the massive explosions will be on the fort itself, and that there is nothing they can do about it. Some of the defenders are driven mad at their helplessness and the inevitably of successful bombardment, foreshadowing the psychological impacts of the massive bombardments to come on the Western Front.
- Field Marshall Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, receives instructions from Secretary of War Lord Kitchener on the coming campaign in France. Though Kitchener writes that French is to co-operate with the French, the commander is to 'distinctly understand that your command is an entirely independent one and that you will in no case come in any sense under the orders of any Allied general.' Kitchener's concern is the preservation of the BEF, so it may form the core of the massively-expanded army he intends to raise. The practical impact of the instructions, though, is to impress on French that he is to place self-preservation first, regardless of the military situation or the danger France is in, and to make him unresponsive to pleas for co-operation from the generals of France.
- The Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia begins today, but the operation is plagued by disputes between General Oskar Potiorek, its commander, and Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff Conrad von Hötzendorff. As a result of Conrad's vacillations during mobilization, 2nd Army will only be available to Potiorek until August 18th, when it is to begin transfer to the Galician front against Russia. As such, Conrad instructs Potiorek that 2nd Army, deployed to the north of Serbia along the Sava River, can only support the operations of Potiorek's other armies, and may not cross into Serbia in strength. Potiorek, naturally, is opposed to such a limitation on his forces - indeed, subtracting 2nd Army leaves Potiorek's remaining forces outnumbered by the Serbian army (290 000 vs. 350 000). It is on Potiorek's other two armies that the main burden of the offensive will fall. They are 5th and 6th army, arranged north to south along the Drina River on the western border with Serbia. Potiorek's plan is for the 5th Army to begin the assault, fixing the Serbian army on its front, after which it will be attacked on its flank by the 6th Army. Conrad, meanwhile, believes that 5th Army's attack will be the main advance, envisioning it sweeping into central Serbia and driving the enemy army from the field.
Both conceptions of the coming operation are faulty. First, the limitations on the actions of 2nd Army ensure that 5th Army's left flank will be uncovered as it advances. Second, the mobilization of 6th Army has been delayed - it will be almost another week before it is in place along the Drina, which means that 5th Army's right flank will also be exposed. It creates an opportunity for the Serbs to attack 5th Army in isolation and defeat it before turning to 6th Army.
The actions of 5th Army today hardly inspire confidence in the outcome of the offensive - the crossing of the Drina is delayed by a lack of bridging equipment, which has not yet arrived for the army. Most of the army spends the day mulling around the river's edge, while those efforts to cross the river by boat meet accurate and sustained Serbian fire.
- The tiny German colony of Togoland in western Africa comes under attack today by British and Imperial forces. Two companies of the Gold Coast Regiment, under the temporary command of Captain F. C. Bryant, seizes Lome, the colony's only port. Lome had been largely abandoned by the small German garrison, which has retreated northward towards Kamina, home of Germany's single most important overseas wireless station, linking the home country with the rest of the German colonies in Africa as well as shipping in the South Atlantic. Lome having fallen, the British commence an advance northwards towards Kamina. It is during this action that the first shot is fired by a British soldier during the First World War, by Regimental Sergeant-Major Alhaji Grunshi of the West African Frontier Force. It is a useful reminder that for all of the attention paid to the clash of armies in France and Belgium, this war is also a global and Imperial conflict for Britain, in line with prior British wars of the 18th and 19th centuries.
- The assembly of the German East Asiatic Squadron is completed at Ponape, an island in the Carolines and part of the German New Guinea colony in the Pacific. Commanded by Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee, the squadron consists of two armoured cruisers - Scharnhorst and Gneisenau - and three modern light cruisers - Emden, Nürnberg, and Leipzig. Of these ships all but Leipzig is present, it being on station off the Pacific coast of South America.
- German cavalry has penetrated Belgium towards Louvain, but is held up at the bridge at Haelen by Belgian cavalry. Fighting as dismounted infantry, the Belgians pour murderous fire into the Germans, until by evening the Germans are forced to withdraw. The Battle of Haelen, while not of any strategic significance, is a great morale booster for the Belgians.
- The first Krupp 420 mortar is set up at Liège this afternoon, and at 630pm fires its first shell at Fort Pontisse, while several Skoda 305 mortars begin to bombard other Belgian forts near Liège. The aiming of the mortars is assisted by observers in church towers and balloons, and after each shot corrections are sent to the mortars. The effect is that the shells are 'walked' toward their target, each shell landing closer and closer until the target itself is hit. The effect is terrifying for the Belgian garrisons of the forts, hearing the whistle of the incoming shell in flight, watching its detonation point move closer and closer, knowing that inevitably the massive explosions will be on the fort itself, and that there is nothing they can do about it. Some of the defenders are driven mad at their helplessness and the inevitably of successful bombardment, foreshadowing the psychological impacts of the massive bombardments to come on the Western Front.
- Field Marshall Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, receives instructions from Secretary of War Lord Kitchener on the coming campaign in France. Though Kitchener writes that French is to co-operate with the French, the commander is to 'distinctly understand that your command is an entirely independent one and that you will in no case come in any sense under the orders of any Allied general.' Kitchener's concern is the preservation of the BEF, so it may form the core of the massively-expanded army he intends to raise. The practical impact of the instructions, though, is to impress on French that he is to place self-preservation first, regardless of the military situation or the danger France is in, and to make him unresponsive to pleas for co-operation from the generals of France.
- The Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia begins today, but the operation is plagued by disputes between General Oskar Potiorek, its commander, and Austro-Hungarian Chief of Staff Conrad von Hötzendorff. As a result of Conrad's vacillations during mobilization, 2nd Army will only be available to Potiorek until August 18th, when it is to begin transfer to the Galician front against Russia. As such, Conrad instructs Potiorek that 2nd Army, deployed to the north of Serbia along the Sava River, can only support the operations of Potiorek's other armies, and may not cross into Serbia in strength. Potiorek, naturally, is opposed to such a limitation on his forces - indeed, subtracting 2nd Army leaves Potiorek's remaining forces outnumbered by the Serbian army (290 000 vs. 350 000). It is on Potiorek's other two armies that the main burden of the offensive will fall. They are 5th and 6th army, arranged north to south along the Drina River on the western border with Serbia. Potiorek's plan is for the 5th Army to begin the assault, fixing the Serbian army on its front, after which it will be attacked on its flank by the 6th Army. Conrad, meanwhile, believes that 5th Army's attack will be the main advance, envisioning it sweeping into central Serbia and driving the enemy army from the field.
Both conceptions of the coming operation are faulty. First, the limitations on the actions of 2nd Army ensure that 5th Army's left flank will be uncovered as it advances. Second, the mobilization of 6th Army has been delayed - it will be almost another week before it is in place along the Drina, which means that 5th Army's right flank will also be exposed. It creates an opportunity for the Serbs to attack 5th Army in isolation and defeat it before turning to 6th Army.
The actions of 5th Army today hardly inspire confidence in the outcome of the offensive - the crossing of the Drina is delayed by a lack of bridging equipment, which has not yet arrived for the army. Most of the army spends the day mulling around the river's edge, while those efforts to cross the river by boat meet accurate and sustained Serbian fire.
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| The first Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, August 1914. |
- The tiny German colony of Togoland in western Africa comes under attack today by British and Imperial forces. Two companies of the Gold Coast Regiment, under the temporary command of Captain F. C. Bryant, seizes Lome, the colony's only port. Lome had been largely abandoned by the small German garrison, which has retreated northward towards Kamina, home of Germany's single most important overseas wireless station, linking the home country with the rest of the German colonies in Africa as well as shipping in the South Atlantic. Lome having fallen, the British commence an advance northwards towards Kamina. It is during this action that the first shot is fired by a British soldier during the First World War, by Regimental Sergeant-Major Alhaji Grunshi of the West African Frontier Force. It is a useful reminder that for all of the attention paid to the clash of armies in France and Belgium, this war is also a global and Imperial conflict for Britain, in line with prior British wars of the 18th and 19th centuries.
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| The German colony of Togoland, August 1914. |
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