October 28th, 1915

- By this evening the Austro-Hungarian VIII and German III Corps are within fifteen miles of Kragujevać, while a break in the weather has allowed for renewed aerial reconnaissance that reveals to Mackensen and Seeckt the disposition of the Serbian forces opposing his armies.  They issue orders for the two corps approaching Kragujevać to not only seize the city but also pin down the Serbian defenders.  Simultaneously, the German XXII Reserve and Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps to the west would push south and seize the bridges over the West Morava River, while to the east the German IV Reserve and X Corps would advance south along the Morava River, where they would link up with the Bulgarian 1st Army advancing from the east.  The Bulgarian 2nd Army, meanwhile is to contain the Entente forces at Salonika and cover the southern exits from the Morava River valley.  If executed successfully, the operation will trap the majority of the Serbian 1st and 3rd Armies between the Morava and West Morava Rivers, leading to their destruction.

- After three days to replace losses and bring up supplies, Cadorna orders a resumption of the 3rd Battle of the Isonzo today.  As the initial plan to push forward north and south of Görz prior to an assault on the city itself has been a spectacular failure, for the second phase of the offensive Cadorna decides to forgo the flank attacks and instructs VI Corps of 2nd Army to move directly on Görz.  On either side, XIV Corps of 3rd Army (to the south) and II Corps (to the north) will capture Mt. San Michele and push east from Plava respectively.

Just north of Görz, the Italian 3rd Division launches repeated assaults against Austro-Hungarian trenches at Zagora, just south of Plava.  This position had been so devastated by artillery fire that the defenders had been instructed to fall back to the second trench line, but repeated counterattacks prevented 3rd Division from holding the old Austro-Hungarian trenches.  On the other side of Plava, 32nd Division had similarly failed to gain any ground.  Opposite Görz itself, Italian artillery unleash a heavy bombardment before the infantry goes forward early this morning.  Elements of the Italian 4th Division reach the first trench line at Oslavija, but is repulsed, while 11th Division cannot even reach the trenches opposite.  The Italian 12th Division, however, is able to take advantage of a degree of cover offered by the broken terrain they advance over, and are able to break into the Austro-Hungarian positions on the heights at Podgora this afternoon.  Several detachments of Italian infantry fight their way to the crest of the heights, from which they can see Görz in the distance.  To the sound of bugles, however, five Austro-Hungarian companies counterattack, and by evening have regained the high ground at Podgora.

The heights at Podgora, west of Görz.

To the south of Görz, Italian artillery spend the morning pounding enemy positions before XIV Corps launched a concentrated assault on Mt. San Michele this afternoon.  After hours of bitter fighting infantry from 28th and 19th Division (the latter from the adjacent X Corps) break into trenches just south of Mt. San Michele held by the Austro-Hungarian 17th Division.  Elsewhere, however, the Italian assaults break down under withering enemy artillery and machine-gun fire.

The northern wing of the Italian 2nd Army is also active today, attacking on both sides of Tolmein, and just north of Dolje Italian infantry manage to reach the enemy trench line where the inner wings of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and 14th Mountain Brigades meet.  Fierce hand-to-hand combat ensues into the night, with small groups of Austro-Hungarian soldiers rushing up from brigade and division reserves to plug the gap.

- As negotiations between the Persian government and the German ambassador continue, Prime Minister Mustaufi ul-Mamalik informs Ambassador Reuss that as Persia's most valuable provinces would likely be seized by the Russians and British if Persia entered the war on the side of Germany, his government will require a monthly subsidy of at least two million marks, plus a loan of a hundred million marks after the war and the reimbursement of all war costs.  Reuss feels that if Germany desires Persian support, they must agree to whatever terms the Persians request.

October 27th, 1915

- As the Germans and Austro-Hungarians grind southwards towards Kragujevac, the mood is grim at Serbian army headquarters.  General Mišic of 1st Army proposes today a counterattack similar to that which secured victory along the Kolubara River in late 1914.  The Serbian army of 1915, however, is not that of 1914 - counting the Balkan wars, it has been in combat for almost four years, and the infantry are exhausted and reserves are non-existent.  General Putnik declines Mišić's suggestion, realizing that the best they can do is hold on while begging the British and French to advance from Salonika as quickly as possible.

- The Russian Black Seas Fleet undertakes another bombardment of the Bulgarian coast today, but unlike the prior operation on the 10th they are opposed by the German submarines UB-7 and UB-8 now based out of Varna.  As the Russian pre-dreadnoughts Panteleimon (formerly Potemkin, a decade away from silent film fame) and Rostislav bombard Varna from 21 000 yards, they are attacked by the two German submarines, and only rapid evasive action by Panteleimon allows it to avoid enemy torpedoes.

The Russian pre-dreadnought Panteleimon.

October 26th, 1915

- At 1005 am Lieutenant Max Immelmann shoots down a British B.e.2c two-seat reconnaissance biplane, his fifth of the war, making him Germany's first ace of the war.

Lieutenant Max Immelmann after his fifth victory, Oct. 26th, 1915.

- After hard fighting, the German XXII Reserve Corps, with the assistance of a heavy artillery bombardment, has secured the Serbian defensive positions at Arangelovac.  With the way open to the high ground at Rudnik, Mackensen orders the corps, supported by the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps, push on towards Kraljevo, hoping to block one potential Serbian retreat route to the west.  Meanwhile, the Bulgarian 2nd Army seizes the Kačanik Gorge north of Skopje which, with the earlier occupation of Veleš along with Skopje itself, isolates Salonika from Serbia.

- Lord Kitchener remains skeptical of the Salonika expedition, and feels that, with the fall of Skopje, the opportunity to effectively aid the Serbs may have passed.  However, under continued pressure from the French, he agrees today to permit the British 10th Division, currently at Salonika, to cross the Greco-Serbian border to aid the French in the Vardar River valley.

- The German mission to Afghanistan has its first audience with Emir Habibullah today, where the latter expresses sympathy for the Germans but is unwilling to commit himself or his country to any particular course of action.  The stalling of the emir leads some in the German mission to wonder if they will be able to accomplish their objectives.

October 25th, 1915

- The growing numbers of German Eindecker fighters over the Western Front are inflicting heavy casualties on the Royal Flying Corps, and with no comparable aircraft to fight back with, pilot morale is on the decline.  To remedy the situation, Brigadier-General Trenchard, commander of the RFC in France, advises the War Office that training programmes for new pilots need to concentrate on aerial combat, so that replacements are prepared for the struggle in the skies over the Western Front.

- After four days of heavy attacks north and south of Görz, the Italian 2nd and 3rd Armies have gained negligible ground; only several small stretches of the first enemy trench line have been captured, and in each case the Austro-Hungarian defenders have simply fallen back to the second trench line.  At no point have the Italians even threatened to achieve a significant victory or breakthrough, and what little has been gained has been won at the cost of 67 000 casualties.  The Italian 3rd Army in particular has suffered heavily and its infantry is exhausted after constant, fruitless combat, and thus Cadorna today orders a pause of several days to the offensive to allow replacements and supplies to reach the front.

Though they have generally held their line, the Austro-Hungarians have also suffered significant losses, and 5th Army, responsible for defending the Isonzo River line, has exhausted almost all of its reserves, with only several battalions of Landsturm immediately at hand.  The break in the Italian offensive thus gives a much-needed opportunity to bring up further reserves and replacements.

October 24th, 1915

- After a brief stop yesterday to confer with Conrad at Teschen, Falkenhayn arrives at Mackensen's headquarters at Temesvár at 945am.  After discussion it is decided that the German Alpine Corps will be assigned to the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army to relieve part of the German XXII Reserve Corps, the latter not being well equipped for mountain warfare.  Mackensen and Seeckt also brief the German chief of staff on current operations, and afterwards dine with the Kaiser and his entourage.

At the front, the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and German 11th Armies have advanced relatively unimpeded over the past two days; other than rearguard actions, Serbian forces only put up a sustained defensive effort south of Požarevac, which had covered the main road in the Morava River valley.  Revised orders from Mackensen orders the inner wings of the two armies to seize Kragujevać as quickly as possible, hoping to break the Serbian line into several pockets that could be enveloped.  The weather, however, continues to impede operations; on average, it takes German artillery two hours to move one mile.

The Serbian 1st and 3rd Armies, meanwhile, have taken up defensive positions on high ground running approximately from Larazec through Arangelovac and south of Palanka to Petrovac, hoping to block access to the Morava and Mlava River valleys.

- On the northern wing of the Italian 2nd Army, 8th Division and Alpine Group A launch repeated attacks on Austro-Hungarian positions north of Tolmein, advancing up slopes soon covered in the dead and dying.  In the late afternoon, Italian infantry finally manage to break into the enemy trenches, only to be driven from them by counterattacks by the Austro-Hungarian 3rd and 14th Mountain Brigades.

To the south, overnight the Italian 29th Division, after four earlier attempts failed, finally break into the first Austro-Hungarian trench line before Mt. San Michele just before dawn.  In an attempt to follow up this meagre success, the commander of the Italian 3rd Army commits his final reserve formation - 21st Division - to a general assault by XIV Corps designed to push past Mt. San Michele.  After an intensive artillery bombardment, eight regiments attack opposite Mt. San Michele just after 3pm, but all along the front the waves of infantry are repulsed with heavy losses.

October 23rd, 1915

- Reinforced with divisions drawn from reserve, today the Italian XIV and X Corps of 3rd Army, the northern wing and centre of the army respectively, launch repeated heavy attacks on the Austro-Hungarian line between Mt. San Michelle and Mt. dei sei Busi.  Again and again, Italian infantry rush forward, often uphill, into heavy enemy fire, and when they manage to reach the first trenches they are met by bayonets and grenades.  Despite losses, numerical inferiority, and exhaustion, the Austro-Hungarian defenders, some of whom consist of Landsturm reserves barely accustomed to the intensity of modern combat, are able to hold repulse every Italian attack.

- The British transport Marquette, carrying troops from Egypt to Salonika, is torpedoed and sunk today by the German submarine U35 in the Gulf of Salonika, though most of the soldiers are rescued.

The German submarine U35.

- Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of India, informs Austen Chamberlain, secretary of state of India, today that his military advisors believe that 6th Indian Division, on the Tigris River near Kut-al-Amara, has sufficient strength both to advance to Baghdad and occupy it, and hold the city until the two divisions of Indian Expeditionary Force A arrive in Mesopotamia to reinforce it.  Chamberlain replies later today with authorization to launch 6th Indian Division towards Baghdad, a momentous decision that in time will have dire consequences.

October 22nd, 1915

- Joffre sends a memorandum to his army group commanders today, assessing the strategic situation on the Western Front in the aftermath of the fall offensives in Champagne and Artois.  The French commander-in-chief casts the most favourable light on the recent operations, arguing that the French and British have achieved 'important tactical results', inflicted heavy losses on the Germans, and gained an 'undeniable moral superiority' over the enemy.  Only a lack of artillery had prevented the much-desired breakthrough and decisive victory.  In a more realistic appraisal, he recognizes the exhaustion of the French army, and states that the primary focus in the month ahead will be on resting the infantry and reconstituting units whose ranks have been decimated in the recent fighting.  However, local operations will be necessary to keep the Germans believing major offensives may be imminent, and thus keep them from redeploying units on the Western Front to other theatres.  Other than troops necessary for these minor attacks, the number of soldiers in the front line is to be reduced as low as possible, perhaps for the entire winter.  For the first time since the aftermath of the First Battle of Ypres in November 1914, Joffre is not planning an imminent major offensive designed to break the deadlock on the Western Front.

- Mackensen and Seeckt issue orders today for the next phase of the invasion of Serbia.  The German 11th Army is to advance south on both sides of the Morava River towards Kragujevać, establishing contact with the Bulgarian 1st Army.  The Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army would also push south towards Kraljevo, with the ultimate aim of preventing Serbian forces from retreating to the west.  To the south, elements of the Bulgarian 2nd Army seize Skopje today.

The advance of the German 11th and Austro-Hungarian 3rd Armies, Oct. 22nd to 29th, 1915.

Civilians gather around a Serbian soldier to hear news prior to the evacuation of Skopje, Oct. 22nd, 1915.

- North of Görz the Italian II Corps of 2nd Army launches heavy assaults near Plava, the third of which breaks into the Austro-Hungarian trenches at Zagora.  However, 4th Battalion of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Regiment counterattacks before the Italians can consolidate their gains, and retake the lost ground.  The rest of the day here consists of artillery duels, the Italians striking the enemy trenches and the Austro-Hungarians hitting the assembly areas for Italian infantry.

To the south of Görz the Italian 3rd Army continues its attacks, succeeding only in capturing and holding the first enemy trench line west of St. Martino just before noon.  Everywhere else the Austro-Hungarian VII and III Corps hold, and indeed an attack this morning retakes the ground lost yesterday at Heights #121 by 10am.  However, given the heavy enemy pressure most of the available Austro-Hungarian reserves are committed to the fight during the course of the day.