- General Paul Leblois, commander of the French 57th Division, submits a pessimistic report to General Sarrail regarding the prospects of the offensive he has ordered in southern Serbia. Leblois argues that there are insufficient forces to hold the confluence of the Tcherna and Vardar Rivers while his division pushes across the Tcherna to the southwest. He fears that without significant reinforcements, his lines of communications will be vulnerable. Moreover, he describes the region as without roads or water, making resupply difficult.
- This morning Austro-Hungarian survivors on the heights at Podgora slowly but surely push back the Italian infantry who had seized the summit of Heights #184 yesterday, and by noon the Italians continued to hold only a small stretch of trench on the western slope. To the south, Italian attacks at Mt. San Michele and St. Martino are repulsed in heavy fighting.
This evening Cadorna calls a halt to the 3rd Battle of the Isonzo, citing exhaustion, the need to replace losses, and poor weather. In the course of the fighting, no ground of any consequence has been gained - for example, though the Italians have been able to push their lines forward towards the Podgora heights, the high ground remains firmly in the control of the Austro-Hungarians. The broader objectives of the offensive, including the city of Görz, remain as beyond the reac of the Italians as they had been at the start of the offensive. Accomplishing these meagre gains has cost the Italian army 67 000 casualties, constituting 23% of the attacking, and some of the regiments involved in the heaviest fighting have lost over half their strength in the two weeks of the operation. The Austro-Hungarians, however, have suffered heavily as well - total losses have numbered 42 000, which includes 23 000 casualties for VII Corps, responsible for the line from north of Mt. San Michele to Mt. dei sei Busi.
Though the 3rd Battle of the Isonzo is at an end, Cadorna is far from finished. Indeed, in the order this evening cancelling the offensive the Italian chief of staff called on his armies to be prepared to immediately go onto the offensive. With Austro-Hungarian armies committed to the Russian front and engaged on the Serbian front, he feels that they have little to no reserves available to meet another thrust along the Isonzo. Further, the Italian parliament is scheduled to resume sitting on December 1st, and both Cadorna and the government are eager to have some tangible success to lay before them to head off criticism of the management of the war. It is to be a short respite indeed for both the Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers along the Isonzo.
- The German submarine U38 torpedoes and sinks the French transport Calvados off the coast of Algeria today. The steamer was carrying a battalion of Senegalese soldiers from Oran to Marseilles, and as the ship sank panic broke out among the troops, exacerbated by the white officers taking two lifeboats and rowing as quickly as possible to the Algerian coast, abandoning the Africans to their fate. The loss of life is very heavy, and the French suspend naval traffic between Algeria and southern France for thirty-six hours.
Another German submarine - U35 - arrives at the Senussi-controlled port of Bardia in Italian Libya, just across the border from British Egypt, where it delivers ten Ottoman officers, 120 soldiers, and munitions to support the Senussi uprising against the Italians. With Entente naval supremacy in the Mediterranean, transport by submarine is the only way for Germany and its allies to provide aid to the Senussi in North Africa. Such voyages, however, mean overcrowded submarines that are hardly spacious to begin with; Capital Waldemar Kophamel is happy to offload his cargo and depart Bardia.
Wednesday, November 04, 2015
Tuesday, November 03, 2015
November 3rd, 1915
- At the outbreak of the First World War, the British Royal Flying Corps had been a small unit whose pilots were drawn from the upper classes. To date applications to join the RFC have outpaced positions, allowing it to be selective in who it admits, with the result that the RFC have continued to draw from the same social classes as before the war. There is a strong and ingrained belief among the pilots of the RFC that 'gentlemen' officers, graduates of prestigious public schools and Oxbridge, make the pilots. Given this makeup, it is not surprising that British pilots at this stage of the war approach it as a sport and a grand adventure in the skies, one that stands in sharp contrast to the masses in the mud below. Character and background count for more than skill, and thus when the The Aeroplane magazine suggests today that pilots should enter the RFC as noncommissioned officers and be promoted on the basis of merit, the notion is rejected out of hand. To the current pilots of the RFC, its social exclusivity is not accidental but rather a deliberate approach to recruitment designed to ensure that future pilots meet the 'proper' standards - social as much as anything else - to be an officer of the RFC.
- Prime Minister Aristide Briand addresses the Chamber of Deputies today for the first time since the appointment of his government on the 29th, during which he pledges not to abandon Serbia. This promise, however, is particularly ill-timed, given that at this very moment the Serbian army is itself abandoning Serbia, falling back to the southwest while the French Army of the Near East has been unable to either break through the Bulgarian 2nd Army to relieve the Serbs or distract the enemy to allow the Serbs time to rest and regroup.
- At Salonika, the third French division - 122nd - began landing on the 1st, and with its first brigade now available for servicee General Sarrail now feels that he has sufficient forces to go on the attack. North of Krivolak, Bulgarian forces have crossed the Vardar River and are advancing southwest with the Tcherna River on their left. Sarrail orders the French 57th Division along with the first brigade of 122nd Division to cross the Tcherna and hit the Bulgarians in their flank. To the southeast, however, Bulgarian forces launch heavy attacks on French forces at the Strumica rail station.
- Along the Isonzo River the Italian II Corps launches eight separate attacks at Plava from noon until dark. The Austro-Hungarian defenders suffer heavy losses - the four most heavily engaged battalions have lost up to 40% of their strenght - but several reserve battalions are brought forward to hold the line. As a result, the Italians are unable to break through.
At Görz, the Austro-Hungarian 37th Landsturm Brigade, the last available reserve, counterattacks the Italian 11th Division at Oslavija this evening and drives the enemy back out of the village, regaining the trenches lost yesterday and capturing several hundred prisoners. A further series of assaults are launched by the Italians against the heights at Podgora, and after several attempts elements of 12th Division gain the summit of Heights 184. By this point, fighting here had devolved into small-unit fighting, with hardly any higher commanders able to influence the course of events, and infantry fought over shell holes filled with up to a metre of mud into the night.
South of Görz, the Austro-Hungarian 39th Brigade on the northern slope of Mt. San Michele is relieved overnight by three battalions from 6th Division. During the transfer, however, one of the battalions became separated from its guides, and unfamiliar with the ground stumbled past the position it was to occupy and walked right into the Italian line. Taking fire from three sides, the battalion takes severe losses before extricating itself. As a result, the Austro-Hungarians are forced to evacuate a small stretch of their own line due to the soldiers who would have guarded having been killed on the Italian line. Still, the Austro-Hungarians are able to form a new defensive line a mere fifty yards to the rear, and Italian attacks against this new position today fail to make any progress. A general Italian assault by VII Corps north and south of St. Martino also fails completely.
- Prime Minister Aristide Briand addresses the Chamber of Deputies today for the first time since the appointment of his government on the 29th, during which he pledges not to abandon Serbia. This promise, however, is particularly ill-timed, given that at this very moment the Serbian army is itself abandoning Serbia, falling back to the southwest while the French Army of the Near East has been unable to either break through the Bulgarian 2nd Army to relieve the Serbs or distract the enemy to allow the Serbs time to rest and regroup.
- At Salonika, the third French division - 122nd - began landing on the 1st, and with its first brigade now available for servicee General Sarrail now feels that he has sufficient forces to go on the attack. North of Krivolak, Bulgarian forces have crossed the Vardar River and are advancing southwest with the Tcherna River on their left. Sarrail orders the French 57th Division along with the first brigade of 122nd Division to cross the Tcherna and hit the Bulgarians in their flank. To the southeast, however, Bulgarian forces launch heavy attacks on French forces at the Strumica rail station.
- Along the Isonzo River the Italian II Corps launches eight separate attacks at Plava from noon until dark. The Austro-Hungarian defenders suffer heavy losses - the four most heavily engaged battalions have lost up to 40% of their strenght - but several reserve battalions are brought forward to hold the line. As a result, the Italians are unable to break through.
At Görz, the Austro-Hungarian 37th Landsturm Brigade, the last available reserve, counterattacks the Italian 11th Division at Oslavija this evening and drives the enemy back out of the village, regaining the trenches lost yesterday and capturing several hundred prisoners. A further series of assaults are launched by the Italians against the heights at Podgora, and after several attempts elements of 12th Division gain the summit of Heights 184. By this point, fighting here had devolved into small-unit fighting, with hardly any higher commanders able to influence the course of events, and infantry fought over shell holes filled with up to a metre of mud into the night.
South of Görz, the Austro-Hungarian 39th Brigade on the northern slope of Mt. San Michele is relieved overnight by three battalions from 6th Division. During the transfer, however, one of the battalions became separated from its guides, and unfamiliar with the ground stumbled past the position it was to occupy and walked right into the Italian line. Taking fire from three sides, the battalion takes severe losses before extricating itself. As a result, the Austro-Hungarians are forced to evacuate a small stretch of their own line due to the soldiers who would have guarded having been killed on the Italian line. Still, the Austro-Hungarians are able to form a new defensive line a mere fifty yards to the rear, and Italian attacks against this new position today fail to make any progress. A general Italian assault by VII Corps north and south of St. Martino also fails completely.
Monday, November 02, 2015
November 2nd, 1915
- South of Plava, just after dark a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 18th Division retakes another portion of the ground at Zagora lost yesterday morning. To the south, heavy Italian attacks once again are directed to the heights at Podgora just west of Görz, and after several attempts Italian infantry reach the first Austro-Hungarian trench line, rendered unrecognizable by artillery fire. Into the evening, Italian and Austro-Hungarian infantry engage in desperate combat in the ruined landscape between what once was the first and second trench lines. After dark, an Austro-Hungarian counterattack by two battalions rushed forward from the divisional reserve manages to regain much of the lost ground. The 11th Italian Division, meanwhile, is able to push into Oslavija, seizing the enemy trenches anchored by the village church. On 3rd Army's portion of the line, heavy artillery fire begins at 7am and continues into the late afternoon, after which infantry attacks break to the positions of the Austro-Hungarian 17th Division in three places south of St. Martino. General Elder von Gelb, the divisional commander, assembles the last available reserves - the remnants of 33rd and 111st Landsturm Brigades - and prevent further Italian advances here. On either flank, Italian assaults were unable to make any headway.
- Speaking in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Asquith praises the British advance in Mesopotamia by stating that 'I do not think that in the whole war there has been a series of operations more carefully contrived, more brilliantly conducted, and with a better prospect of final success.' However true this may have been of the campaign to date, the reality is that it is about to go badly off the rails.
- Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, commander of German forces in the colony of German East Africa, receives a message from Berlin, originally dispatched in May, reporting revolution in Sudan. Given the British commitment to Europe and the likelihood of defeat at Gallipoli, this information reinforces Lettow-Vorbeck's belief that the forces under his command are at least the equal of those in British East Africa to the north. As such, planning begins for a major offensive aimed at Mombasa. Lettow-Vorbeck's objective at this stage of the war is not simply survival, but victory, to crush enemy forces in British East Africa in a decisive battle.
- Speaking in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Asquith praises the British advance in Mesopotamia by stating that 'I do not think that in the whole war there has been a series of operations more carefully contrived, more brilliantly conducted, and with a better prospect of final success.' However true this may have been of the campaign to date, the reality is that it is about to go badly off the rails.
- Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, commander of German forces in the colony of German East Africa, receives a message from Berlin, originally dispatched in May, reporting revolution in Sudan. Given the British commitment to Europe and the likelihood of defeat at Gallipoli, this information reinforces Lettow-Vorbeck's belief that the forces under his command are at least the equal of those in British East Africa to the north. As such, planning begins for a major offensive aimed at Mombasa. Lettow-Vorbeck's objective at this stage of the war is not simply survival, but victory, to crush enemy forces in British East Africa in a decisive battle.
Sunday, November 01, 2015
November 1st, 1915
- At Kragujevać Serbian forces, after destroying the arsenal, have withdrawn south of the city, and a municipal delegation arrives today at the headquarters of General Lochow of the German III Corps, offering the surrender of the city. Kragujevać is subsequently occupied by the German 168th Regiment of 25th Reserve Division, supported by elements of the Austro-Hungarian 57th Division. Because the railway connection had been severed, the Serbians were forced to leave behind large amounts of war material, as well as 2100 wounded soldiers.
The victory, however, is at best partial, as Mackensen's two armies have failed to envelop the Serbian 1st and 3rd Armies before them. The failure of the German III and Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps to pin the Serbs north of the city allowed them to withdraw to the south, while the western flank of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army has been slowed by poor weather - while the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps today reaches the West Morava River at Čačak, while the German XXII Reserve Corps has yet to reach the Čačak-Kragujevać road. Instead of the army's western flank pushing ahead of the corps opposite Kragujevać, they are still in line with them. Mackensen and Seeckt, however, still hoping to destroy the Serbian armies in the field, orders their increasingly exhausted forces forward - the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army is to push south to Kraljevo while the German 11th Army is to capture the confluence of the Morava and West Morava Rivers.
- The chief of the Greek General Staff, General Victor Dousmanis, and the assistant chief, Colonel Ioannis Metaxas, are staunchly monarchist, and side with King Constantine's policy of neutrality as opposed to the dismissed Venizelos' pro-Entente stance. Given the substantial Entente presence at Salonika, the possibility exists that circumstances may draw Greece into the war on the side of Germany - for example, if the French forces in southern Serbia cross back into Greece, the latter, as a neutral, by international law ought to disarm them, but the Greek General Staff is under no illusions what would follow such an act. With Constantine's blessing, the pair, while emphasizing that continued neutrality is their preferred policy, approach the German military attaché in Athens regarding the extent and nature of German support in the event of war. Metaxas is particularly concerned about naval support - with its long coastline and many islands it is particularly vulnerable to British seapower, while sea transport, especially of food from southern Greece to northern, is essential to Greek survival. Metaxas inquires of the German military attaché whether German submarines would be able to protect coastal trade and limit Entente access to the Aegean Sea. He also requests, in the event of war, artillery batteries and munitions for coastal defence.
- After a two-day lull, the Isonzo front from Plava in the north to Mt. dei sei Busi in the south is again the scene of heavy fighting as Italian infantry again fling themselves against the Austro-Hungarian defences. At Zagora the Italians launch a attack at dawn without a preliminary bombardment and under cover of rain and fog which catches the Austro-Hungarians by surprise; the Italians take the enemy position and capture many prisoners. This evening two Austro-Hungarian battalions counterattack, forcing the Italians to abandon part of the thoroughly-ruined village.
Opposite Görz itself, after a heavy bombardment Italian infantry advance at 7am. A brigade of 10th Division attempts to seize the summit of Mt. Sabotino, but is repulsed by the Austro-Hungarian 60th Brigade. To the south, the inner wings of 11th and 12th Divisions make initial headway on the Podgora and Hill 184, but the rapid deployment of Austro-Hungarian reserves allows for most of the lost trenches to be regained this evening.
To the south, the Italian 3rd Army has received 22nd Division from reserves, and heavy attacks are launched from north of Mt. San Michelle to Mt. dei sei Busi. South of St. Martino, regiments from 28th and 19th Divisions break into the Austro-Hungarian trenches, but counterattacks force them to relinquish most of the ground gained. Elsewhere, the attacks of 3rd Army accomplish nothing.
The victory, however, is at best partial, as Mackensen's two armies have failed to envelop the Serbian 1st and 3rd Armies before them. The failure of the German III and Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps to pin the Serbs north of the city allowed them to withdraw to the south, while the western flank of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army has been slowed by poor weather - while the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps today reaches the West Morava River at Čačak, while the German XXII Reserve Corps has yet to reach the Čačak-Kragujevać road. Instead of the army's western flank pushing ahead of the corps opposite Kragujevać, they are still in line with them. Mackensen and Seeckt, however, still hoping to destroy the Serbian armies in the field, orders their increasingly exhausted forces forward - the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army is to push south to Kraljevo while the German 11th Army is to capture the confluence of the Morava and West Morava Rivers.
- The chief of the Greek General Staff, General Victor Dousmanis, and the assistant chief, Colonel Ioannis Metaxas, are staunchly monarchist, and side with King Constantine's policy of neutrality as opposed to the dismissed Venizelos' pro-Entente stance. Given the substantial Entente presence at Salonika, the possibility exists that circumstances may draw Greece into the war on the side of Germany - for example, if the French forces in southern Serbia cross back into Greece, the latter, as a neutral, by international law ought to disarm them, but the Greek General Staff is under no illusions what would follow such an act. With Constantine's blessing, the pair, while emphasizing that continued neutrality is their preferred policy, approach the German military attaché in Athens regarding the extent and nature of German support in the event of war. Metaxas is particularly concerned about naval support - with its long coastline and many islands it is particularly vulnerable to British seapower, while sea transport, especially of food from southern Greece to northern, is essential to Greek survival. Metaxas inquires of the German military attaché whether German submarines would be able to protect coastal trade and limit Entente access to the Aegean Sea. He also requests, in the event of war, artillery batteries and munitions for coastal defence.
- After a two-day lull, the Isonzo front from Plava in the north to Mt. dei sei Busi in the south is again the scene of heavy fighting as Italian infantry again fling themselves against the Austro-Hungarian defences. At Zagora the Italians launch a attack at dawn without a preliminary bombardment and under cover of rain and fog which catches the Austro-Hungarians by surprise; the Italians take the enemy position and capture many prisoners. This evening two Austro-Hungarian battalions counterattack, forcing the Italians to abandon part of the thoroughly-ruined village.
Opposite Görz itself, after a heavy bombardment Italian infantry advance at 7am. A brigade of 10th Division attempts to seize the summit of Mt. Sabotino, but is repulsed by the Austro-Hungarian 60th Brigade. To the south, the inner wings of 11th and 12th Divisions make initial headway on the Podgora and Hill 184, but the rapid deployment of Austro-Hungarian reserves allows for most of the lost trenches to be regained this evening.
To the south, the Italian 3rd Army has received 22nd Division from reserves, and heavy attacks are launched from north of Mt. San Michelle to Mt. dei sei Busi. South of St. Martino, regiments from 28th and 19th Divisions break into the Austro-Hungarian trenches, but counterattacks force them to relinquish most of the ground gained. Elsewhere, the attacks of 3rd Army accomplish nothing.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
October 31st, 1915
- It has become clear to General Putnik that the Austro-Hungarians and Germans intend to isolate and destroy his armies in central Serbia, and that significant aid from the British and French at Salonika cannot hope to arrive in time. His top priority is the preservation of the Serbian army as a fighting force, an objective that takes precedence even over holding Serbian territory. The strategic goals of the Serbian government have been reduced to stark simplicity: survival. Even if it was necessary to go into exile, an independent Serbian government and army needed to exist to keep alive the notion of a sovereign Serbian state. Putnik thus reluctantly orders his armies to abandon central Serbia - 1st Army is to withdraw through Kraljevo and 3rd Army through Paracin to Grebac, while 2nd Army would attempt to hold its position to cover 3rd Army before itself retreating. Overall, the Serbian army is to fall back to Kosovo in the southwest of the country, which also holds open the possibility of a further retreat west and southwest into Albania. The retreat, however, will have to occur in terrible weather conditions and over rough and mountainous terrain - for all of their losses over the past month, their suffering is only beginning.
- Along the Isonzo River the Italian 2nd and 3rd Armies launch only small-scale attacks for the second day while keeping up a steady artillery bombardment. The Austro-Hungarians, though they have largely held their positions, have suffered heavy losses - several brigades report casualties of over a thousand in the past week of fighting, and overall losses exceed thirty-five thousand. The lull in the fighting (and the Austro-Hungarians recognize that it is merely a lull) allows for the relief of the most heavily-engaged formations; overnight 43rd Regiment of 20th Honved Brigade, which had held the summit of Mt. San Michele for nine days, is relieved and sent to a reserve camp to recover. For his part Cadorna hardly intends to abandon the offensive, as he still has several divisions in reserve to throw into the attack, and today he issues orders for a resumption of operations tomorrow.
- Along the Isonzo River the Italian 2nd and 3rd Armies launch only small-scale attacks for the second day while keeping up a steady artillery bombardment. The Austro-Hungarians, though they have largely held their positions, have suffered heavy losses - several brigades report casualties of over a thousand in the past week of fighting, and overall losses exceed thirty-five thousand. The lull in the fighting (and the Austro-Hungarians recognize that it is merely a lull) allows for the relief of the most heavily-engaged formations; overnight 43rd Regiment of 20th Honved Brigade, which had held the summit of Mt. San Michele for nine days, is relieved and sent to a reserve camp to recover. For his part Cadorna hardly intends to abandon the offensive, as he still has several divisions in reserve to throw into the attack, and today he issues orders for a resumption of operations tomorrow.
Friday, October 30, 2015
October 30th, 1915
- Reconnaissance by elements of the German III Corps this morning discover that the formidable Serbian fortifications General Lochow had feared yesterday are nothing more than hastily dug trenches. Realizing the mistake, both the German III and the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps are ordered forward, where they find the Serbian line manned only by rear guard formations which quickly fall back. The main Serbian forces retreated southward overnights, and though the two corps have gained ground they have failed in their primary objective of pinning the Serbian defenders at Kragujevać north of the city.
- Due to the heavy losses sustained over the past two days at Görz, Cadorna realizes that large-scale operations cannot be undertaken for the third straight day; instead, small assaults are ordered on particular points while elsewhere artillery is left to do their work. Again the Podgora Heights just west of Görz are the scene of heavy fighting on the same pattern as before: several Italian battalions break into the Austro-Hungarian lines, but are unable to withstand enemy counterattacks. To the south, an Italian attack captures a small stretch of the enemy trench line at Peteano, and manage to hold the ground in the face of several Austro-Hungarian counterattacks.
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| The German and Austro-Hungarian advance in Serbia, Oct. 30th to Nov. 22nd, 1915. |
- Due to the heavy losses sustained over the past two days at Görz, Cadorna realizes that large-scale operations cannot be undertaken for the third straight day; instead, small assaults are ordered on particular points while elsewhere artillery is left to do their work. Again the Podgora Heights just west of Görz are the scene of heavy fighting on the same pattern as before: several Italian battalions break into the Austro-Hungarian lines, but are unable to withstand enemy counterattacks. To the south, an Italian attack captures a small stretch of the enemy trench line at Peteano, and manage to hold the ground in the face of several Austro-Hungarian counterattacks.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
October 29th, 1915
- Since the vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies on the 12th, Prime Minister René Viviani has been attempting to reconstruct his cabinet to shore up political support. The tide has turned against Viviani, however, and many leading politicians refuse to join a government led by him. Abandoning the attempt, he accepts the position of Vice-President of the Council of Ministers (analogous to a Deputy Prime Minister) in a new government led by Aristide Briand. The minister of war, Alexandre Millerand, is also dismissed, replaced by General Joseph Gallieni, who had played an important part in the Entente victory at the Battle of the Marne.
- North of Kragujevać, the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps makes little headway today against stiff Serbian resistance, the latter supported by artillery fire. Seeing the inability of his western neighbour to make progress, General Lochow of the German III Corps believes that the two forces face extensive fixed fortifications, and orders his own corps to advance cautiously. To the west, the advance of the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps and the German XXII Reserve Corps is slowed primarily by poor weather, slowing in particular the movement of artillery. The latter, after hard fighting yesterday, takes Gornji Milanovac today. On the other side of Kragujevać, the German IV Reserve Corps successfully attacks across the Lepenica River, taking 750 Serbian prisoners. Nevertheless, the corps is behind schedule - the attack had been originally scheduled for yesterday before swamped roads and high water had delayed the operation. Also today, patrols from the German X Reserve Corps make contact with elements of the Bulgarian 1st Army, thus linking up the two fronts under Mackensen's overall direction.
- Though yesterday's attacks around Görz on the Isonzo River failed to achieve any major breakthrough, Cadorna orders further energetic attacks today. After the exertions of the previous day, however, some of the Italian formations are simply incapable of similar assaults today - opposite Zagora, for instance, a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 1st Mountain Brigade throws back the Italian 3rd Division and takes two hundred prisoners, after which Italian activity in the sector noticeably declines. Opposite Görz only 11th and 12th Divisions of VI Corps attack today, which allows the defenders to concentrate their artillery fire on a narrower length of the front. Elements of the later again break into the Austro-Hungarian lines on the Podgora Heights, but in hand-to-hand combat lasting into the evening are unable to secure the position.
South of Görz, the Italian XIV Corps launches another effort to seize Mt. San Michele this morning. Elements of 30th Division manage to fight their way to the northern summit, but a well-timed counterattack by 39th Honved Brigade drives them off the high ground. To the south of Mt. San Michelle, 28th and 19th Divisions attempt to expand the ground seized yesterday; not only do they fail to do so, but after dark a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 17th Division regains the lost ground.
North of Tolmein, after a night of bitter fighting, Austro-Hungarian reserves retake the trenches lost yesterday on the inner wings of 3rd and 14th Mountain Brigades. Further south, at noon the Italian VIII Corps attempts a crossing of the Isonzo River at Canale using boats and pontoons, but the engineers and their equipment make for obvious targets, and Austro-Hungarian artillery and machine-gun fire rapidly break up the attempt.
- In light of the presence of the German mission in Kabul, the government of British India informs the Emir of Afghanistan that they will increase their subsidy as a sign of their continued friendship and to dissuade any thoughts of siding with the Germans. Emir Habibullah, however, continues to play the British and Germans off of each other, and decides to send no formal acknowledgement of the increased subsidy, lest the British conclude that his loyalty can be bought so cheaply.
- North of Kragujevać, the Austro-Hungarian VIII Corps makes little headway today against stiff Serbian resistance, the latter supported by artillery fire. Seeing the inability of his western neighbour to make progress, General Lochow of the German III Corps believes that the two forces face extensive fixed fortifications, and orders his own corps to advance cautiously. To the west, the advance of the Austro-Hungarian XIX Corps and the German XXII Reserve Corps is slowed primarily by poor weather, slowing in particular the movement of artillery. The latter, after hard fighting yesterday, takes Gornji Milanovac today. On the other side of Kragujevać, the German IV Reserve Corps successfully attacks across the Lepenica River, taking 750 Serbian prisoners. Nevertheless, the corps is behind schedule - the attack had been originally scheduled for yesterday before swamped roads and high water had delayed the operation. Also today, patrols from the German X Reserve Corps make contact with elements of the Bulgarian 1st Army, thus linking up the two fronts under Mackensen's overall direction.
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| The Serbian campaign, Oct. 29th, 1915. |
- Though yesterday's attacks around Görz on the Isonzo River failed to achieve any major breakthrough, Cadorna orders further energetic attacks today. After the exertions of the previous day, however, some of the Italian formations are simply incapable of similar assaults today - opposite Zagora, for instance, a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 1st Mountain Brigade throws back the Italian 3rd Division and takes two hundred prisoners, after which Italian activity in the sector noticeably declines. Opposite Görz only 11th and 12th Divisions of VI Corps attack today, which allows the defenders to concentrate their artillery fire on a narrower length of the front. Elements of the later again break into the Austro-Hungarian lines on the Podgora Heights, but in hand-to-hand combat lasting into the evening are unable to secure the position.
South of Görz, the Italian XIV Corps launches another effort to seize Mt. San Michele this morning. Elements of 30th Division manage to fight their way to the northern summit, but a well-timed counterattack by 39th Honved Brigade drives them off the high ground. To the south of Mt. San Michelle, 28th and 19th Divisions attempt to expand the ground seized yesterday; not only do they fail to do so, but after dark a counterattack by the Austro-Hungarian 17th Division regains the lost ground.
North of Tolmein, after a night of bitter fighting, Austro-Hungarian reserves retake the trenches lost yesterday on the inner wings of 3rd and 14th Mountain Brigades. Further south, at noon the Italian VIII Corps attempts a crossing of the Isonzo River at Canale using boats and pontoons, but the engineers and their equipment make for obvious targets, and Austro-Hungarian artillery and machine-gun fire rapidly break up the attempt.
- In light of the presence of the German mission in Kabul, the government of British India informs the Emir of Afghanistan that they will increase their subsidy as a sign of their continued friendship and to dissuade any thoughts of siding with the Germans. Emir Habibullah, however, continues to play the British and Germans off of each other, and decides to send no formal acknowledgement of the increased subsidy, lest the British conclude that his loyalty can be bought so cheaply.
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