November 11th, 1915

- Writing to Falkenhayn today, Mackensen argues that while the original objectives of the Serbian operation have been accomplished, the campaign remains incomplete as long as the Serbian army has not been destroyed.  This can be best accomplished, in his view, by a vigorous pursuit by the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army down the Ibar River valley towards Kosovo while the German 11th and Bulgarian 1st Armies advance towards Priština.  Here, it is hoped, the Serbian army can be brought to a final battle, made all the more decisive given the historical and cultural significance of the region to Serbian nationalism and identity.  Mackensen's hopes are bouyed by intelligence reports today that the Serbian army has lost over half its strength since the beginning of October.

The front lines in Serbia, November 11th, 1915.

- On the Italian Front the second day of the latest Italian offensive along the Isonzo River hardly differs from the first.  Opposite Görz, the southern wing of the Italian 2nd Army advances between Oslavija and the heights at Podgora, but by the end of the day have only heavy losses to show for their attacks.  To the south, the Italian 3rd Army attempts a repeat of the prior day's operations, with a three-hour artillery bombardment preceding infantry assaults at noon.  However, a similar effort leads to similar results: most of the attacks break down before even reaching the Austro-Hungarian positions, and in those few cases where the infantry manage to enter the first trench line - mainly near Peteano - counterattacks are able to drive them back out.

- The British 6th Indian Division begins its advance towards Baghdad today, over two weeks since General Townshend was ordered to capture the city and more than a month since the victory at the First Battle of Kut-al-Amara.  The significant delay has been the result of severe supply shortages resulting from the difficulties in bringing sufficient food, fodder, and munitions forward along the Tigris River from the main base at Basra far to the southeast.  Even today 6th Indian Division is hardly well-supplied, as soldiers continue to suffer from a range of illnesses related to poor food.

November 10th, 1915

- As battered as the Serbian army is, it still has not lost all fighting spirit.  Today the Timok 1st, Sumidija 2nd, and Morava 2nd Divisions of the Serbian 2nd Army launch a counterattack against the Bulgarian 1st Division, forcing it back toward Leskovac.  This gives 2nd Army breathing room to resume its retreat.

- Though Cadorna had suspended the offensive of the Italian 2nd and 3rd Armies along the Isonzo River on the 4th, over the past five days Italian artillery has kept up a steady rate of fire on Austro-Hungarian lines, and there have been a number of small-scale attacks against specific points.  Though these actions were designed to give the enemy no rest and no chance to rebuild defences and bring up replacements, they also clearly signaled to Austria-Hungary that further operations were forthcoming, an impression enhanced both by intelligence reports indicating trains were bringing Italian replacements and supplies to the Isonzo front, and by the noise of wagons and motor vehicles behind the Italian line.  Thus the opening attacks of the 4th Battle of the Isonzo today comes as no surprise to the defenders opposite.

Given the onset of winter on the upper Isonzo, Cadorna's plan for this offensive is to attack along a somewhat shorter stretch of the front, with the focus of operations being at and just south of Görz.  The southern wing of the Italian 2nd Army, and specifically VI Corps, is to be against Oslavija just to the northwest of Görz, and it is hoped that seizing this position will outflank the Podgora heights from the north and allow for its capture.  To the south, from 3rd Army XI Corps would advance towards Mt. San Michele with three divisions while XIII Corps would attack between Heights #197 and Kote #111 in the direction of St. Martino.  To both the north and south, diversionary assaults would be undertaken to pin the enemy forces opposite.

After a rainstorm early this morning delayed the start of the offensive, the Italian artillery bombardment on 2nd Army's front reaches a crescendo after 9am that lasts for four hours.  The Italians attempt to maximize the effectiveness of their barrage by concentrating their fire on the specific positions that are about to be assaulted.  Around 1pm the Italian infantry leap forward from their trenches and begin their attacks.  North of Oslavija they reach the enemy barbed wire, and manage to bring up an artillery piece to within fifty meters to blast their way forward.  However, Austro-Hungarian artillery on Mt. Santo behind the front line are able thoroughly pulverize the attacks, who shortly thereafter fall back to their starting trenches.  At Oslavija itself a similar pattern plays out: the Italians cross No Man's Land, only to come under murderous artillery and machine-gun fire, and subsequently fall back.

On 3rd Army's front, three hours of intensive artillery fire preceeds attacks at 11am by six divisions along the front stretching from Mt. San Michele to Mt. dei sei Busi.  Only south of St. Martino are the Italians able to reach the first trench line, and counterattacks later in the day force the attackers to relinquish even these paltry gains.  At 5pm a heavy storm erupts and brings the day's fighting to an end.

The 4th Battle of the Isonzo, Nov. 10th to Dec. 2nd, 1915.

- The Russian demonstration from Kazvin on the 7th highlighted to the German ambassador at Teheran the precariousness of his position and the Persian government if it can be convinced to side with Germany.  With a sense that time is running out, Ambassador Reuss, without reference to Berlin, offers a twenty-year defensive treaty in an effort to win the commitment of the Persians before the Russians can intervene.  He also suggests that the Persian government should abandon Teheran, given its proximity to Russian forces to the north, and relocate to Isfahan to the south.

November 9th, 1915

- Though the seizure of Kraljevo on the 6th had raised hopes that the Serbian army could be enveloped, once more they have slipped the noose.  This time, blame can be apportioned between the Bulgarians and Austro-Hungarians - the Bulgarian 1st Army had advanced slowly west from Niš, allowing the Serbs before them to disengage and retreat to the southwest, while General Kövess had permitted most of his army two days of rest after the fall of Kraljevo.  The result is a blistering telegram from Mackensen to Kövess, asking how he had misunderstood the necessity for haste.

November 8th, 1915

- As the German 11th Army had converged on Kruševac, its front had narrowed considerably, while the few roads in the region limited the amount of men and material that could be moved forward.  Moreover, with the mountains approaching it was time, as per the discussions at Pless on the 6th, to take out of the line those German formations not equipped for mountain warfare.  As a result, from the German 11th Army the German III Corps, along with 25th Reserve and Bavarian 11th Divisions and the headquarters of IV Reserve Corps, are ordered north out of Serbia today.  Further, the German 26th Division in the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army receives similar orders, though this formation is to be replaced by the German Alpine Corps.

- After discussion between senior German army and navy officials in Berlin, the German naval attaché in Athens presents the German reply to the questions posed last week by General Dousmanis and Colonel Metaxas of the Greek General Staff.  While German submarines already doing what they could to interrupt Entente supply lines to their forces at Salonika, there was nothing more they could realistically accomplish - the number available in the Mediterranean were insufficient to close off the Aegean Sea entirely, and using them defensively to protect the Greek coast would greatly limit their effectiveness by keeping them in port.  Moreover, there was no particular need for Greek port facilities, given that German submarines had the range to operate from Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman bases.  Indeed, the best assistance the Greeks could offer at sea would be intelligence regarding Entente ship movements.  On land, the Germans noted that only limited munitions or artillery pieces could be provided, given that there were already commitments to the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria that remained to be fulfilled.  Overall, Greek entry into the war on Germany's side would provide few benefits and greater drawbacks; indeed, at this stage of the war Greek neutrality was more useful from the German perspective than actual intervention.  If nothing else, the German reply offers nothing on which either King Constantine or the Greek General Staff can justify going to war against the Entente.

November 7th, 1915

- Elements of the German IV Reserve and X Reserve Corps seize the Serbian city of Kruševac.  Over the past two days, the Germans have captured six to seven thousand prisoners, as well as fifty locomotives and 1100 loaded railcars immobilized by the collapse of the Serbian rail network.

- Three days after sinking the French transport Calvados, the German submarine U38 strikes again today, and ignites a diplomatic firestorm.  Off Bizerte it intercepts the Italian passenger liner Ancona en route from Messina to New York.  Initially the liner attempts to escape, but shelling from U38 brings it to a halt.  The captain of U38 gives the crew and passengers of Ancona forty-five minutes to abandon ship, but when he sees smokes on the horizon he decides that Ancona may have summoned a warship to its rescue, and orders a torpedo fired into the liner.  Quickly sinking, over two hundred passengers are lost, several of whom are Americans.

The Italian passenger liner Ancona.

The loss of American life by itself is contentious, given the crises provoked by the sinking of Lusitania and Arabic in earlier this year.  Further complicating matters is that U38 flew the Austro-Hungarian while surfaced, standard practice for German submarines when attacking Italian-flagged ships, given that Germany and Italy are not at war.  This means, of course, that diplomatic protests by the Americans over the sinking of Ancona are directed at Austria-Hungary, not Germany, and the navies of the two allies have to ensure they have their stories straight to appease the Americans.

- As the Persian government of Mustaufi ul-Mamalik negotiates with the German ambassador for an alliance, Russian forces in northern Persia continue to cement their grip on the region.  Since the spring, a Russian detachment has been garrisoned at Kazvin, less than ninety miles northwest of Teheran, and in an effort to dissuade the Persian government from anti-Entente activity demonstrates towards the Persian capital today, sending the message that they could occupy Tehran if they desired to.

November 6th, 1915

- Falkenhayn and Conrad meet at Pless today to discuss the campaign in Serbia.  From the perspective of the German chief of Staff, the capture of Kragujevać and Niš, combined with the defeat of the Serbian army, accomplished the overall objective of the offensive of opening a land route to the Ottoman Empire.  As such, Falkenhayn wishes to wind down operations in the Balkans, shifting forces from this theatre to the Western Front.  Conrad, as usual, has a different opinion: he feels the Entente landing at Salonika needs to be eliminated, and also favours continuing operations to finish off the remnants of the Serbian army and deal with Montenegro.

After a full day of discussion, with the usual acrimony between the two chiefs of staff, it is agreed to continue the campaign for the time being, but that German forces would be withdraw as desired by Falkenhayn.  In particular, as the pursuit of the Serbs entered the mountains, the German chief of staff wants to withdraw those German divisions not suited to warfare in such conditions.  In practice this means a drawdown of Mackensen's forces to four or five divisions, including the German Alpine Corps, which reaches Kragujevać en route to the front.  Further, Serbia was to be occupied by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, with the Morava River separating the two zones of occupation.  Finally, the fate of Montenegro and Albania is deferred to a later date.

Mackensen, for his part, still hopes to trap the bulk of the Serbian army.  To accomplish this he issues orders today for Gallwitz's 11th Army to advance on Kruševac while the Bulgarian 1st Army pushes west from Niš.  The key role would be played by the Austro-Hungarian VIII and the German XXII Reserve Corps of the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army, with the former crossing the West Morava River and marching to Brus, and the latter seizing Kraljevo at the confluence of the West Morava and Ibar Rivers.  If this succeeds, they will cut the line of retreat of the Serbian army falling back from the northeast.

The next phase of the offensive gets off to a good start when the German 43rd Reserve Division of XXII Reserve Corps assaults Kraljevo today.  Crucially, 202nd Reserve Regiment manages to capture the bridge over the West Morava River at the northern edge of Kraljevo before the Serbs can completely destroy it.  Using wooden planks, they are able to patch up the bridge, allowing 201st Reserve Regiment to cross and fight into the city itself.  When the railway station is captured, the municipal government surrenders the city.  Again, because of the disruption of the Serbian rail network, the Germans capture trains loaded with artillery pieces and munitions that had nowhere to go.  The seizure of the city also puts the German forces at the northern end of the Ibar River valley, a key retreat route for the Serbian army.

German soldiers marching through the Serbian town of Paracin, November 1915.

- Cadorna and the senior officers of the Italian army have long seen the civilian soldiers under their command as soft and poorly-equipped psychologically for the rigours of modern warfare.  Morale is indeed a problem within the Italian army, though this is primarily due to high casualties, supply shortages, organizational chaos, and obvious command incompetence.  Unrest is now beginning to manifest itself in actions - in Aosta a number of alpine troops riot attack a barracks, open two military prisons, and prevent trains from leaving for the front.

November 5th, 1915

- As the Serbs pull back to the southwest, Bulgarian forces occupy the de facto Serbian capital of Niš today.

- At Salonika the second British division committed to the expedition beings to unload.

- In Greece the government of Alexandros Zaimas, appointed by Constantine a month ago when the monarch split with the pro-Entente former Prime Minister Eleutherios Venizelos, has been unable to securing a working majority in the Greek parliament, dominated as it is with supporters of Venizelos.  As a result, Zaimas' government tenders its resignation today, and while a new government of 'national unity' (though excluding Venizelos' supporters) under Stephanos Skouloudis is appointed, Constantine also dissolves parliament for new elections.

- On October 30th, the French submarine Turquoise, the first to operate in the Sea of Marmara, had run aground and captured intact.  Admiral Souchon had been shocked by the state of Turquoise, and writes to his wife today 'how the French commander could come into the Marmara in the defective boat is incomprehensible.'  However, aboard the French submarine the Germans had discovered papers that referred to a planned rendezvous today with the British submarine E20.  This allowed the German submarine UB14 to set a trap, and when E20 arrives for the supposed rendezvous it is instead torpedoed and sunk.

The French submarine Turquoise.

- Having left Bardia after delivering its cargo to the Senussi, the German submarine U35 comes across and sinks the British armed steamer Tara, and subsequently tows the lifeboat full of survivors back to Bardia as prisoners for the Senussi.