The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

[lordroel]

Day 104 of the Great War, November 8th 1914

Naval operations: London

Back on August 26th SMS MAGDEBURG was grounded and and destroyed in the Baltic Sea. Among the items captured were two copies of the Signalbuch der Kaiserlichen Marine, the German Naval Code Book. The Russians later passed one of them to the British. On October 17th the sinking German destroyer S-119 jettisoned her codebooks, which were recovered by a British trawler. All of this reached the Admiralty by the first of November, who began preparing a new decoding division. At its head was Sir Alfred Ewing, and it operated autonymously. One of the few department heads in on the secret was the Director Intelligence Division, Captain William Hall. On November 8 the new department set up shop in the Admiralty building, and took its informal name from its new location - Room 40.

Naval operations: HMS INVINCIBLE and INFLEXIBLE arrive at Devonport

HMS INVINCIBLE and INFLEXIBLE arrive at Devonport, where they are joined by Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee. They will have to stay there for a few days to make some minor repairs and stock up on coal, ammunition and enough food for a three-month cruise. The Devonport yard commander, Rear Admiral Godfrey Mundy, signals the Admiralty that the ships will be ready to sail at midnight on November 13th. Fisher is said to have exclaimed "Friday the 13th. What a day to choose!"

Churchill writes a letter to the overall Commander at Devonport, Admiral Sir George Egerton: "Ships are to sail on Wednesday 11th. They are needed for war service and arrangements must be made to conform. If necessary, dockyard men should be sent away in the ships to return as opportunity may offer. You are held responsible for the speedy dispatch of these ships in a thoroughly efficient condition." Egerton takes a train to London to protest in person to Fisher. Fisher replies that as far as he cares the workmen can be thrown overboard if the repairs aren't finished by the time the ships sail.

Naval operations: Indian Ocean

SS EXFORD finally reaches her rendezvous with EMDEN and BURESK. KptLt. Gropius explains that his navigation was thrown off due to a discrepancy between his chronometer and EMDEN'S. Captain von Müller had planned to attack the radio station at Cocos at dawn on the 8th, but now he is forced to postpone it for twenty-four hours. Gropius is returned to EMDEN and Lauterbach put in charge of EXFORD. Leutnants Fikentscher and Schall are also brought back to EMDEN; as leading signal officers they will be needed in the operation at Cocos.

EMDEN, BURESK and EXFORD now turn to the southwest. At 1600 hours EXFORD is sent away with orders to loiter off Socotra Island, near the Red Sea. Von Müller briefs his officers on the next day's operations. KptLt. von Mücke is to lead the shore party, with orders to destroy the wireless station and it's generators, then tear up the cable so it can't be too easily repaired. Then the raiding party is organized. Under von Mücke are Lts. Gryssling and Schmidt, leading a squad of thirty sailors, fifteen technicians and two signalmen.

At 1900 BURESK is dispatched to wait thirty miles north of Cocos for instructions. EMDEN then steams slowly toward the target, timing her arrival for dawn on the 9th.

Meanwhile the ANZAC convoy is some 150 miles away, heading for Cocos.

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

- The weather at Ypres today is cloudy with poor visibility, impairing the ability of artillery observers to accurately direct fire on enemy positions. Despite this, the Germans keep up a steady, if somewhat less accurate, bombardment of the Entente lines. The Germans also continue to launch infantry assaults to pin and wear down the British and French defenders, the most heaviest of which is launched by elements of the German 5th and 30th Divisions just north of the Menin Road which close up to but are unable to take the grounds of Veldhoek Chateau.

During the morning Field Marshal French and General Haig attend a conference at General Foch's headquarters at Cassel. Foch is typically optimistic, but both French and Haig emphasize the danger of the German advance near the Comines Canal towards Ypres, which threatens to cut off the British I Corps. Foch replies that orders have been issued to retake the ground lost over the past few days, but is unable to promise any additional units to support the British lines. The French launch a number of attacks all along the line, but once again are repulsed by the Germans. Meanwhile the BEF commander writes to Kitchener today that the pressure on his force can only be alleviated either by French reinforcements or, as he feels is more likely, the redeployment of German forces to the Eastern Front. The latter reflects the thinking of Joffre as well, in that ongoing pressure from the Russians, as evidenced in the failed German offensive in Poland in October, will compel the Germans to move forces east. While this is both a reasonable conclusion to draw and one that reflects the pressure that Falkenhayn is under at this time, it also means that the British and French view the primary means of salvation for their position at Ypres to be a decision by their enemies to abandon the attack, as opposed to any successful effort on their part. It is a potentially dangerous assumption to make if the enemy will further attacks, which is, of course, precisely what the Germans will do.

Behind the German lines, preparations continue for the offensive operation now planned for November 10th. Winckler's Guard Division and 4th Division are formed into a corps under the command of General Karl von Plettenberg, and his corps plus XV Corps are joined together to form an army group commanded by General Alexander von Linsingen. Army Group Linsingen is to attack north of the Ypres-Comines Canal, the focal point of the offensive and where the breakthrough is to occur. Army Group Fabeck is to remain on the ground secured in recent days to the west of the canal, and is to both attack itself and support Army Group Linsingen's attack on its northern flank. The entirety of 4th and 6th Armies are to also make a maximum effort to assault the British and French lines. Falkenhayn knows that everything must be poured into this attack for, as he informs the Kaiser today, the army is exhausted and will be unable to undertake another offensive in the near future.

Eastern Front: fortress of Przemysl finds itself cut off and besieged by the Russians for second time

- The German retreat from the Vistula River at the end of October uncovered the northern flank of the Austro-Hungarian armies that had advanced to the San River, and as such they have been falling back to the line they began from. This has placed the fortress of Przemysl at risk, and today, for the second time in the war, it finds itself cut off and besieged by the Russians.

Over the past week, as the likelihood of Przemysl being isolated has become apparent, the Austro-Hungarians have prepared for a lengthy siege. For six days trains arrived at Przemysl every fourteen minutes, delivering food and supplies sufficient for six months. However, as with much of their war effort, the Austro-Hungarians have botched the resupply of Przemysl. The food and supplies sent to the fortress assumed a garrison of 85 000, when in reality it has swollen to 130 000, and the calculations left out entirely the 30 000 civilians which ought to have been evacuated instead. Moreover, as the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army retreated past Przemysl, it plundered the garrison's food stocks. The upshot is that when Przemysl is encircled again today, it is actually in worse shape to withstand a siege than it had been when it had been relieved on October 9th.

Serbian campaign: Austro-Hungarian forces attack the Serbian 2nd Army in the foothills of the Cer mountain range

Austro-Hungarian forces attack the Serbian 2nd Army in the foothills of the Cer mountain range, advancing for once under considerable artillery support. The Serbs fight desperately to hold their positions - as the Austro-Hungarians advance uphill, they resort to rolling down logs and boulders, throwing rocks, and firing flare pistols. Under the weight of numbers, however, the Serbs are forced back as the weakened condition of the Serbian army begins to show.

At the same time, a conference is held between the Serbian government and its high command. General Putnik emphasizes the deteriorating state of the army, and raises for the first time the question of a negotiated peace. Prime Minister Pašić, however, urges continued resistance and threatens resignation if an overture for peace is made. The resolution of the meeting is to continue resistance to the Austro-Hungarian invaders.

[lordroel]

Day 105 of the Great War, November 9th 1914

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

- The French 11th Division arrives today south of Ypres, and assists an attack by the French XVI Corps against the enemy lines near the Comines Canal. This time the French are able to make minor progress, pushing the Germans ever-so-slightly back from Ypres. Elsewhere the Germans keep up a regular bombardment on the British and French lines, but few infantry attacks are undertaken. Writing to Lord Kitchener, Field Marshal French states that Joffre has told him that he believes the Germans have already begun to withdraw corps to ship to the Eastern Front, but that Germans might launch two or three more sharp attacks to cover the redeployment. Once again the BEF commander is precient in a manner not altogether anticipated by himself.

On the German side Plettenberg's Corps comes into the line in preparation for the attack by Army Group Linsingen, along with 4th and 6th Armies, scheduled to begin for 7am tomorrow.

- After having their plans interrupted by the October Battle of the Vistula River, the Russians once again are aiming to invade Germany. Under the authority of General Ruzski's North-West Front, 2nd and 5th Armies are to advance from central Poland and invade Germany in the general direction of Breslau. The southern flank of the advance is to be covered by 4th Army, while the northern flank is held by General Rennenkampf's 1st Army. However, despite being responsible for the invasion of Germany General Ruzski remains concerned about East Prussia, and the potential for a German sortie eastwards or southwards. He has 10th Army covering the east, and insists that the focus for 1st Army should be covering southern Poland. The latter thus has only a single corps - V Siberian - on the southern bank of the Vistula River to maintain contact with 2nd Army as it begins its advance. Due to typical problems with supply, the invasion is scheduled to begin November 14th.

Planning for the operation has rested on the assumption that the German 9th Army remains in the area of Krakow, and the Russians have completely missed the ongoing redeployment of 9th Army to Thorn; today Stavka informs North-West Front that at least five to six German corps remain north of Krakow just inside the Russian border. Thus the Russians are unaware that 9th Army will shortly be to the northwest of their invasion route, not the southwest.

Devonport, Britain: Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee hoists raises his command flag aboard HMS INVINCIBLE, and personally takes charge of the preparations for the voyage to South America.

Naval operations: German East Africa

The preparations aboard SS NEWBRIDGE are complete, and plans are made to take the collier upriver, where she will be sunk to block the channel and prevent SMS KONINGSBERG from using that route to escape. She will be accompanied by the armed steamship DUPLEX, a steam picket boat and two steam cutters.

Naval operations: Indian Ocean

During the night the radio crew of SMS EMDEN picked up several wireless messages between the station at Cocos and a British warship, call sign 'NC'. They assumed from the strength of the signals that the ship was at least two hundred miles away.

In fact the new mystery ship was HMS MINOTAUR, a new armoured cruiser and leader of the ANZAC Convoy's escort. She had the other ships on strict radio silence, so anyone listening would assume she was travelling alone. She was also a lot closer than von Müller had guessed.

At 0600 hours, with her false fourth funnel in place, SMS EMDEN enters the harbor at Direction Island, the largest of the Cocos/Keeling group. Earlier EMDEN'S officers had discussed just shelling the wireless station and being done with it, but Captain von Müller said he wished to cause as little loss of life as possible, so the station would be wrecked by hand. The steam pinnace and two cutters are lowered and manned, with Kptlt. von Mücke is commanding the party from the pinnace, which tows the two cutters behind, with Lts. Gryssling and Schmidt each in charge of one. Each cutter has two machine guns. The three boats reach the shore shortly before 0700.

Photo: EMDEN'S landing party going ashore on Direction Island; the three-masted AYESHA is visible in the background



The weather is perfect, and von Müller sends a message to BURESK to come to the island so EMDEN can recoal. The cruiser's boilers are shut down. The crew of the wireless station intercept the message, and ask what ship is sending the signal. EMDEN doesn't answer, so the Australian wireless crew send out a distress call: "Foreign ship in harbor!" At this point von Mücke and party break into the wireless station and take the crew prisoner. They then proceed to wreck everything in sight with axes. Next is the big wireless aerial mast, which is toppled with dynamite. What none of the Germans know is that while the Australians were sending an open signal about "foreign ships" they were also sending a coded message through the cable: "SOS! EMDEN is here!"

HMS MINOTAUR is trying to raise the station, but by this time the mast is down and the crew made prisoners. Vice-Admiral Herbert King-Hall sends a signal via lamp to Captain Mortimer Silver aboard HMAS MELBOURNE, advising him that EMDEN is at Cocos. It is Silver's job to decide which escort to send. Captain Kanji Kato of IJNS IBUKI insists that his battlecruiser is the logical choice for the task, carrying four 12" and eight 8" guns, but Silver decides that HMAS SYDNEY is four knots faster than IBUKI and he wants her big guns to help protect the convoy. SYDNEY leaves the convoy at 0700 and heads for Cocos at 25 knots. At this rate it will take her two hours to get to Direction Island.

Von Mücke's last task is to destroy the trans-Malaysian wireless cable. The buried portion is easy enough to find, but it is important to make sure it can't be repaired easily, so a part of it must be raised from the water and cut, and the broken ends dragged to water deep enough that it can't be seen from the surface. The Germans find the underwater cable easily, but run into trouble trying to snag it with grappling hooks and drag it to the surface by hand. Finally they manage to raise the cable from the mud, and several men jump into the water to maneuver it by hand. Two cables are raised to the boat and cut apart in this manner, but they are unable to find the third. A small storehouse contain spare parts is blown up.

At 0900 the smoke of a ship is spotted approaching from the north. At first this is thought to be Buresk. Leutnant Guerard goes to EMDEN'S crow's nest and confirms this to be so. At 0915 a message is sent to von Mücke to hurry his work and come back aboard EMDEN. Von Mücke had planned to also blow up the small schooner in the harbor, but this will have to be left undone. At this point Guerard reports that the approaching ship has the tall masts of an English warship. Almost at the same time the ship raises the White Ensign. Von Müller calls his ship to Action Stations, and the task of building steam in the boilers is begun. Normally this could take a couple of hours, but the boilers are still warm and at 0930 EMDEN weighs anchor and gets underway.

During the fifteen minutes it takes to get steam up, von Müller sounds the ship's siren to recall the landing party. Von Mücke has his crew aboard the boats and the steam pinnace is towing its companions seaward when he sees EMDEN'S flag drop to half-mast, the signal that she is weighing anchor. Then he watches the cruiser start building up speed. Not knowing what is going on, von Mücke at first assumes that Emden is going out to meet Buresk. Von Mücke continues to follow, but finally gives up when he realizes that EMDEN is now making at least 16 knots, and his boats can only make about 4 knots.

At 0940 SYDNEY'S Captain, John Glossop, executes a 90-degree turn to starboard, bringing the ships onto a parallel course, at a range of ten thousand yards. Von Müller immediately orders Lt. Gaede to open fire. EMDEN'S second or third salvo (reports vary) strikes SYDNEY, and a lucky shell takes out her rangefinder. This leaves SYDNEY shooting wide, and EMDEN continues to score hits. At 0950 SYDNEY suffers a hit on one of her guns, and burning shell casings threaten to start a fire which could blow up the ship. Fast-thinking members of the gun crew fill a large tub with water and toss the red-hot casings in with their bare hands. By 1000 SYDNEY finally starts to score hits, one of which destroys EMDEN'S wireless room, and another wrecks the forward gun.

Art: end of SMS EMDEN at the hands of HMAS SYDNEY



Von Müller orders a turn to starboard in an attempt to close the range. Glossop uses his superior speed to maintain his distance. EMDEN'S steering gear fails at this point. The backup hand-steering mechanism is also out of order, and the ship must be steered by its engines. After reporting this to the bridge, KptLt. Gropius goes aft to help with the gun there. He and most of the gun crew are blown overboard by the explosion of a 6" shell from Sydney. Orders to both engine rooms and gun crews must now be given by voice tube, so if the orders are received at all it is a least a minute before they are carried out. The forward funnel takes a hit, and since the support cables had been detached for coaling it immediately falls over. The resulting smoke covers the ship, and the loss of draft to the boilers reduces the ship's speed to twenty knots. The officers who had been in charge of range-finding go aft to help with the guns, and are soon killed.

At 1020 a shell penetrates the torpedo room which is below the waterline. Lt. Prinz Franz Joseph von Hohenzollern leads the repair team, and by 1025 the torpedoes are again ready to fire. At 1045 the mast is carried overboard, taking with it Lt. Guerard and Signalman Metzing. At 1100 the torpedo room takes another hit, and with water and gas both flooding into the room Lt. Hohenzollern leads his men in an evacuation. He then makes his way to the forward magazine, where he finds Lt. Geerdes wounded and Kptlt. Gaede dying.

With all of his guns out of action and power rapidly failing von Müller directs that the ship be grounded on the reefs of North Keeling. At 1115 this is accomplished. At 1120 Sydney ceases fire and sets off to find BURESK. Von Müller gives permission for anyone so desiring to jump overboard and swim to shore. The surviving officers set about flooding the boilers and wrecking the remaing guns, destroying the ship's books and tending to the wounded. Hohenzollern leads a team of men to the aft section, trying to find survivors. They end up climbing over piles of spilled coal and finding routes around red-hot compartments. Finally all of the wounded are taken forward to be treated as best as possible. It is then seen that several of the men who did leap overboard have been smashed on the reefs. Among these are the ship's chief surgeon, Dr. Schwabe.

At 1150 Sydney overtakes Buresk. Kptlt. Klopper knows he can't escape, so the process of scuttling the ship is begun. Signal books are destroyed. Valves are opened. At 1300 the collier is ordered to stop. A prize crew orders them to follow, but it is too late. BURESK is already sinking.

With no boats left on the wreck, an attempt is made to float a line to the men who did make it ashore, with no success. Then the two best swimmers aboard try to get a line ashore, but are forced by the reefs to turn back. Time is spent using pistols and clubs to kill the seagulls which keep trying to attack the most severely wounded.

Around 1600 hours Sydney returns to the wreck. She flies a flag meant to order EMDEN to surrender. A signalman aboard EMDEN uses flags to say "No signal book aboard", meaning they can't read Sydney's messages. Sydney twice signals "Do you surrender?" Upon receiving no reply, the British cruiser opens fire on the wreckage of EMDEN. Von Müller quickly gives permission for anyone who wishes to jump overboard. Someone then realizes that in their haste to beach the ship they have forgotten to lower the ship's flag. This is quickly done, and a white flag raised. Upon seeing this Sydney ceases fire. Then one of BURESK'S boats is sent to tell von Müller that the British will return with help the next day.

When the shore party realized their ship was going into battle, they returned to the beach. Von Mücke rounds up the enemy signalmen and disarmed them. They then set to work digging ditches and constructing shore defenses. The officers also keep an eye on the battle raging in the distance. While watching the proceedings at sea von Mücke decides he can put up no more than a token defense if the Australian cruiser should decide to come to the island later. He decides to see if the schooner in the bay might be of any use. Going alone in the steam pinnace he finds the schooner in fairly good condition, manned only by her captain, J. Partridge, one sailor and Edmund and Roscoe Clunies-Ross, sons of the island's owner. From them he learns that the craft is called AYESHA, after Mohammed's favorite wife. As they are taken ashore Partridge tells von Mücke "I wish you a safe journey, but her hull is rotten."

When von Mücke returns to shore to gather his men the English and Australians try to tell him that the schooner is old and rotten, and not to trust her at sea. They also warn of the British and Japanese warships waiting to capture them. Then they seem to have a change of heart and start helping the Germans stock the little ship with supplies.

As AYESHA is preparing to get underway von Mücke climbs the mast. He can see EMDEN and Sydney still firing in the distance. Then he has the steam pinnace tow the schooner out of the bay. Once clear of the reefs the steam launch is set free, engine still running. It makes its own way into the darkness and is gone.

Map: The voyage of the German light cruiser EMDEN

[lordroel]

Day 106 of the Great War, November 10th 1914

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

- This morning General Plettenberg requests that the attack to be launched by Winckler's Division and 4th Division be delayed by one day - heavy mist over the past twenty-four hours has prevented necessary to plan the operation. General Linsingen agrees, and the advance of his Army Group is postponed until tomorrow morning.

The delay, however, does not apply to the German 4th Army to the north, and thus today heavy assaults fall on the Entente line from Langemarck northwards. The most substantial is undertaken by elements of 4th Ersatz Division and 43rd Reserve Division against Dixmude, which had been bitterly fought over in late October. A heavy German artillery bombardment begins at dawn, and by 740am German infantry are advancing. There follows a long day of hand-to-hand fighting in which the Belgian and French defenders are slowly but relentlessly forced back. At 330pm German units enter the town itself, and its defenders withdraw westward over the Yser Canal, the Belgians dynamiting the bridges before the Germans can seize them. The loss of Dixmude is a setback, but not the disaster that its capture would have been in late October, given the flooding of the Yser to the north. Moreover, the Belgians and French are able to establish a new defensive position on the west bank of the Yser Canal, and no German breakthrough is achieved.

The Germans achieve other small gains on the front of 4th Army - they occupied a crossroads northwest of Bixschoote, the village of Kortekeer Cabaret, and some trenches west of Langemarck. However, these attacks have nowhere achieved a decisive breakthrough - everywhere the Entente forces have been able to retreat to new lines of defences - but they have achieved one other indirect objective. As the attacks develop over the day, General Foch concludes, not entirely unreasonably, that this is the major German push in Flanders designed to cover the redeployment of units to the Eastern Front. Moreover, the intelligence available today appears to bear this out - the units assigned to 4th Army for today's attacks have all been correctly identified, but the presence of Plettenberg's corps on the Menin road has been missed. Thus, under the impression that the attacks north of Ypres are the main offensive, the remaining reserves of the French XVI and IX Corps, plus the French 6th Cavalry Division near Zillebeke, are ordered northwards by Foch, reducing the reserves available south of Langemarck. Further, the British experience only the normal amount of German shelling, and thus have no idea of the storm that is about to break over them tomorrow.

Map: The Western Front in northern France and Belgium, November 10th, 1914.



Eastern Front: assembly of General Mackensen's 9th Army is completed

The assembly of General Mackensen's 9th Army is completed today, with six corps now concentrated between Thorn and Posen. The rapid redeployment of 9th Army has once again demonstrated the strength of German logistics - eight hundred trains were used over the past week in the operation.

Map: The redeployment of the German 9th Army, November 3rd to 10th, 1914. Also note the position of the Russian armies opposite.



Naval operations: German East Africa

Shortly before dawn the little convoy prepares to enter the Simba Uranga entrance to the Rufiji river. The collier SS NEWBRIDGE has had her bridge armored, but the only other protection from potential German gunfire is a pile of sandbags around her fantail. Her escort is the small armed steamer SS Duplex, which carries two 3-pounder cannon, the steam pinnace from the old battleship HMS Goliath, carrying two 14-inch torpedoes, and the steam cutters from the three cruisers. These last also have steel plates and sandbags to protect their crews as best as possible.

At 0500 the ship and the boats move out. At 0520 the sun starts to rise, and German shore emplacements open up with their 4-pounder guns. Fire is returned by the two 3-pounders on Duplex. Machine guns start shooting at the three cutters. At the river's mouth HMS Chatham tries to lend support with her 6-inch guns.

At 0540 Newbridge reaches her designated position. Commander Raymond Fitzmaurice gives the order to drop anchor. The current swings the big ship across the channel and the stern anchor is let go. Several of the anchor crews are wounded by the rifle and machine gun fire from the shore, but none are killed. The crew below open the seacocks. One of the cutters comes alongside to take off the crew. The detonator and wire attached to the explosive charges inside the ship are taken into the boat as well. Once they are well away the charges are detonated and NEWBRIDGE settles by the bow. The ship is also carrying a load of gravel to ensure a solid bottoming. Soon the hull is completely underwater and only the superstructure, funnel and masts are showing.

Duplex and the cutters set off back down the river at high speed. Fire from the shore continues until they are in sight of Chatham and the cruiser's 6-inch shells begin finding targets. At this point they are only 13,000 yards from SS Somali, and Drury-Lowe directs his fire at the collier. Soon KONINGSBERG'S supply ship is a burning wreck. The fire will continue to burn for two days. Convinced that KONINGSBERG is no longer a threat, the Admiralty soon orders Dartmouth and Weymouth to other duties.

Naval operations: Indian Ocean

Overnight the men of SMS EMDEN have hardly slept. New fires have broken out and had to be dealt with. At dawn an international distress signal is hoisted in the belief that HMS Sydney will not return for them, and they must hope for a passing ship to help them. Several of the wounded have died during the night. The crew spend the rest of the morning trying to communicate with the islands.

At 1300 SYDNEY appears with her boats ready for lowering. First the severely wounded are taken off, then the lightly wounded, next the enlisted, the officers, and finally the captain himself departs. Von Müller has insisted that no special favors be accorded him, but Glossop sends his personal gig anyway. This sign of respect von Müller cannot refuse. The whole process takes four hours. Soon all are aboard Sydney and the British cruiser returns to the harbor for the night.

Out at sea von Mücke and his party begin to take stock of their new vessel. Thirty meters in length, rated at 97 tons, AYESHA'S foremast can carry two square sails, while the main and mizzen are rigged fore-and-aft only. She was made to carry her captain and five sailors, but now she is crowded with fifty men. The cabin can hold six; the rest have to sleep in the cargo hold. Fortunately the little ship is carrying no cargo. The men make the best of their situation and cut up a spare sail to start making hammocks. Below decks there are two small cabins which are used to store what food they have. In the fantail is another small chartroom. It becomes the habitation of the petty officers. The deckhouse has three cabins. Von Mücke takes one and his two lieutenants occupy the other. The smallest becomes their mess deck, wine storage, navigation room and office for the officer on watch.

The biggest problem is the tiny galley. It has nowhere near the facility to cook for fifty men. Their solution is to create a makeshift fire pit in the middle of the galley and cook over that. Cooking has to be done with salt water, as they have barely enough fresh water to drink as it is. There are four small tanks, but the original occupants had only ever needed one, so the other three are quite stagnant. Since it often rains in that part of the world, the crew are not overly worried.

[lordroel]

Day 107 of the Great War, November 11th 1914

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

- The pre-dawn hours at Ypres give no hint of the impending German attack, while the first rays of light reveal a think grey fog covering the battlefield. However, at 630am the German artillery opened fire - they had been stockpiling shells for today, and the resulting bombardment was the most intensive of the war to date. At 9am the fire reaches its crescendo, which clearly indicates to the British defenders that an infantry attack is imminent. Along much of the British line, many of the defenders had withdrawn from the front line to support positions to avoid the worst of the bombardment, as the primitive state of the trenches offered no real protection from such intensive artillery fire. It was only when the bombardment shifted to the support positions that the British infantry would rush back forward to repel the German attack.

In theory the German attack was to extend from Zonnebeke to Messines, and include the forces of Army Groups Fabeck and Linsingen, as well as 54th Reserve Division of XXVII Reserve Corps to the north of Plettenberg's Corps of Army Group Linsingen. In practice, the intensity of the infantry attacks were related to the amount of time they had already spent in the line at Ypres. Opposite Messines 26th Division and 11th Landswehr Brigade of Army Group Fabeck never even left their trenches - the German history excuses this by noting the intensity of British artillery fire. On the other end of the line, 54th Reserve Division made no attempt to advance either, which had, as will be seen, a significant impact on the operations of its neighbour to the south.

South of the Comines Canal, five German divisions assault the line held by most of four French divisions, but despite heavy fighting are able to make no progress whatsoever. North of the Canal, the French line is pushed back to Hill 60 at noon by 30th Division. The retreat threatened the rear of the British I Corps and French IX Corps, but a counterattack by a regiment of cavalry advancing on foot manages to re-establish the line by 630pm. East of the French position six British battalions grouped under Lord Cavan defended against twelve German battalions, primarily of 39th Division. Twice the Germans managed to close up to the British line, and twice counterattacks drove them off, and the line held.

Map: The Battle of Ypres, November 10th and 11th, 1914.



As Winckler's Division and 4th Division of Plettenberg's Corps had arrived in the line less than forty-eight hours ago, they launch their attacks with resolution and determination. The advance of 4th Division meets very heavy British fire, and the ranks of the attackers are swept away by rifle, machine-gun, and artillery fire. The German line breaks, and subsequent efforts to reform and advance again are repeatedly halted by British fire, and a final effort at 4pm makes no headway.

Thus the burden of the offensive falls on the four Guards regiments of Winckler's Division - north to south, 3rd Guard, 1st Guard, 2nd Grenadier Guards, and 4th Grenadier Guards Regiments. They advance along the Menin Road, the first three to the north and the last just to the south. The British line is held by various battalions and companies thrown together in the fighting of the past several weeks under 1st Division, I Corps. In the thick mist the Guards advance jogging in neat rows, officers at the front with swords unsheathed. 4th Guards almost reaches the British position, but at the last momemt a British artillery observer, following his broken telephone line back to his battery, orders shrapnel fire, which cuts through the German ranks and forces 4th Guards to retire. 2nd Guards, however, manages to squeeze through a gap in the British line, as they reach the British trench almost simultaneously with the British infantry returning from support positions after the German artillery bombardment. The British retreat into the woods west of the village of Veldhoek. A German Fusilier battalion pursues them into the trees, but as it now has no support on either flank, it comes under attack from three sides and is annhilated. A further counterattack recovers the reserve trenches, though 2nd Guards is able to hold the original British front line.

The most serious situation occurs to north. When 1st and 3rd Guards attack at 9am, they are able to reach the British trench line before it can be fully manned, and within ten minutes they have overrun the three British battalions opposing them and have opened a thousand-yard gap in the British line. As 3rd Guard pushes forward, however, it comes under heavy fire from Polygon Wood on its northern flank, which was supposed to have been cleared by the attack of 54th Reserve Division. The failure of the latter means that 3rd Guard finds itself pulled northward as it attempts to dislodge the British. Having suffered heavy losses, 1st Guard pushes forward into Nonnebosschen (Nun's Wood), as much as to escape the fire of the British in Polygon Wood as to outflank it.

The German Guards have broken through the British line and are in position to threaten the position of I Corps and indeed the entire Entente position in the Ypres salient. At the moment 1st Guards enters Nonnebosschen, the only British between them and Ypres are several artillery batteries and a divisional headquarters. As news of the breakthrough spreads, Haig orders what little reserves he has forward. In the rear headquarters staff and cooks are handed weapons and move into makeshift defensive positions in the expectation of the Germans sweeping forward. The commander of 2nd Division sends forward 2nd Battalion, Oxford and Bucks, his last reserve, and it is ordered to recover Nonnebosschen. Just after 2pm its four companies sprint forward and crash into the woods.

Just under a thousand survivors of 1st Guards were in Nonnebosschen when the British counterattacked. Once again, the Germans had been unaware of what they had actually accomplished - almost every officer and NCO had been killed, infantry milling about Nonneboschen in confusion, and German prisoners taken from 1st Guards are aghast when they learn how close they had been shattering the entire line. Instead, the counterattack of 2nd Battalion, Oxford and Bucks finds 1st Guards surprised and leaderless, and the latter immediately break and retreat out of Nonnebosschen. Further, 3rd Guards has broken on the British line in Polygon Wood - in the dense mist the defenders see a bank of grey in the distance, and expect a further German attack, only to find when the mist clears that it is hundreds of German corpses cut down by their fire. By late afternoon the British have recovered the support line east of Nonnebosschen, though similar to the situation just to the south the Germans hold the original British trench line. The most serious breach of the day has been closed, and the German attacks have failed.

Map: The attack of the German Guards regiments, November 11th, 1914. The thick red line is the front at nightfall; Nonneboschen, captured and lost by 1st Guards during the day, is to the west (left) of the inverted 'U'.



Eastern Front: The German 9th Army begins its advance southeast from the line Thorn-Poznan towards Lodz

The German 9th Army begins its advance southeast from the line Thorn-Poznan towards Lodz. Advancing to the south of the Vistula River, three of 9th Army's corps collide with the V Siberian Corps of the Russian 1st Army. Outnumbered five to one in artillery, the latter is shattered, with two-thirds of its men becoming prisoners. The remnants of V Siberian Corps retreats along the Vistula, and the German 9th Army advances through a thirty kilometre gap it has blasted between the river and the Russian 2nd Army. The Russian command structure, meanwhile, has no idea what has happened - General Ruzski of North-West Front, believing V Siberian Corps to be a second-rate formation anyway, ascribes its defeat to a mere two German divisions, and still believes 9th Army to be to the southwest, not northwest, of the main advance of 2nd and 5th Armies.

Map: The Battle of Lodz, November 11th to 16th, 1914.



Caucasus Campaign: Ottoman 3rd Army launches a second counterattack against the Russian I Turkestan Corps

In the Caucasus the Ottoman 3rd Army launches a second counterattack against the Russian I Turkestan Corps. This operation is better-directed than the earlier advance of the 6th, and Russian artillery is unable to elevate sufficiently to hit Ottoman positions higher in the mountains. By the end of the day the Russians have been driven back from Köprüköy to a line Horsan-Sanamer, still inside Ottoman territory.

Middle Eastern theatre: Ottoman force attacks the main British encampment at Sanniya

On the Shatt al-Arab an Ottoman force of about three hundred attacks the main British encampment at Sanniya. The enemy advance is easily held, and a counterattack inflicts eighty casualties on the Ottomans for ten British and Indian killed or wounded. Despite the victory, the British commander decides to hold his current position until reinforcements can arrive from India.

Naval operations: Atlantic Ocean

GLASGOW today arrives at the River Plate, where it is met by the armoured cruiser DEFENCE, and together the two sail for Abrolhos Rocks, off the Brazilian coast, where British warships in the South Atlantic are to rendezvous. The pre-dreadnought CANOPUS is not with them, however - it broke down again after leaving the Falkland Islands, and the First Sea Lord ordered it to return to Port Stanley and run itself aground in shallow water at the eastern end of the harbour, so that it could serve as a stationary gun platform to protect the Falklands.

Photo: Canopus grounded at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, November 1914



Meanwhile, at 4pm the battlecruisers INVINCIBLE and INFLEXIBLE depart Plymouth for the South Atlantic. Initially the head of the dockyard wanted to hold the ships until the 13th for further maintenance work, but Admiral Fisher was having none of that, ordering them prepared to sail today. Work continued right up to departure, and INFLEXIBLE takes with it several dozen workmen whose tasks have not yet been completed. The two battlecruisers are commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Doveton Sturdee, formerly Chief of Staff of the Admiralty. He has also been appointed Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic and Pacific, with orders to find and sink the German East Asiatic Squadron above all else.

Naval operations: German East Africa

Things are at a standstill for the men of SMS KONINGSBERG and those aboard HMS CHATHAM. With the northernmost channel successfully blocked there is only one escape route left open for the German cruiser. This won't do a lot of good since their only supply of coal was burned up the previous day. For both sides the biggest enemy will become boredom. Kapitan Looff makes plans to create a parade ground ashore where his men can be kept busy. Captain Drury-Lowe can at least take his ship out on maneuvers.

Drury-Lowe has a new idea on how to deal with his enemy, and wires London to enquire whether there might be a monitor or two available for his use. These ships were designed for shore bombardment, carrying high-elevation guns which can easily reach KONINGSBERG'S position. Upon being told that it might be possible the English captain then starts looking around for a way to direct the guns at such a distance, where the enemy cannot be seen at all.

Naval operations: Indian Ocean

HMAS SYDNEY returns to North Keeling Island to pick up the men who had made it ashore from EMDEN two days earlier. They are exhausted, hungry and thirsty. Once aboard Sydney they are fed and given medical treatment, then the cruiser returns to Direction Island for the night.

[lordroel]

Day 108 of the Great War, November 12th 1914

Naval operations: German East Africa

Captain Drury-Lowe has decided that the only way to spot for the monitors (if they ever arrive) will be from the air. There are no naval aircraft in the region, but there is a civilian airman in Durban who owns a Curtiss flying boat. Local Admiralty officials offer to purchast the plane and give its owner, Dennis Cutler, a commission in the Royal Navy if he will maintain and fly it for them. Cutler agrees, and begins repair work to prepare his plane for its new task.

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

- Though the German breakthroughs of yesterday have been contained, there is still great concern among British commanders early this morning. The German Guards regiments still hold the old British trench line between Polygon Wood and the Menin Road, and an attempt in the pre-dawn hours to launch a counterattack is abandoned after Brigadier-General Charles Fitzclarence of 1st Brigade is killed reconnoitring the enemy position. General Haig informs Field Marshal French that his position is extremely precarious, I Corps current manpower being more than 80% below peacetime establishment. The BEF commander is able to send 1st Cavalry Division to assist, given the lack of German effort yesterday in the area around Messines.

Though the British situation is dire, it is if anything worse on the German side. The attacking units of yesterday suffered appalling losses - 1st Guard Regiment, for example, suffered in excess of eight hundred casualties alone. The fresh divisions of Plettenberg's Corps, having launched the most determined assaults, have suffered the greatest losses. The attacking power of Army Group Linsingen has been irretrievably broken - Winckler's Division spends today entrenching as opposed to resuming yesterday's attacks. The British lines are not attacked today, and though on the northeast portion of the Ypres salient a surprise attack by the Germans on the French IX Corps forces the latter back six hundred yards, there is never any real risk of a German breakthrough here.

- Joffre issues instructions today to his army commanders, emphasizing the importance of constructing strong trench lines and defenses. This was not, however, an acceptance by Joffre that the French army was to go over to the defensive; instead, stronger defenses meant fewer soldiers were needed to man the trenches, which freed up units to be placed in reserve to counter a German attack, or for use in future offensive operations. Again, the emphasis on trench construction is meant to facilitate, not impede, a return to a war of movement.

Empire of Russia: British support the Russian claim to the straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles

- Throughout the 19th-century, a cornerstone of Russian foreign policy was the acquisition of Constantinople and the straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, so as to have year-round access to the world's oceans, which Russia did not have from its Baltic or Pacific ports. Equally, the British in the 19th-century consistently opposed the Russian claim on the basis that it would disrupt the balance of power, and thus Britain spent much of the last century propping up the Ottoman Empire. Naturally, with the Ottomans now included among their enemies, the British feel no great desire to prolong their existence. More important now is keeping the Russians onside, and the promise of the Straits is surely extra motivation to continue in the war. Besides, there are plenty of other parts of the Ottoman Empire that the British have their eyes on, so a concession here can be balanced by an acquisition there. Thus today the British government informs the Russians that they support the claim of the latter to the Straits in any postwar settlement.

South Africa: Maritz rebellion

In South Africa Christian de Wet has raised a commando of about 3500 in the Orange Free State, but more have flocked to the Government. Prime Minister Botha leads one commando of several that attempt to surround de Wet's force in Mushroom Valley. Due to a miscommunication between the Government units the rebel commando is able to escape, but leaves behind a number of dead and wounded as well as 250 prisoners. De Wet is determined to continue the rebellion - his son Danie had been killed in a skirmish with government soldiers on the 9th. However, Botha today issues a promise of a pardon to any rebel who surrenders by the 21st, which begins to thin the ranks of the rebels.

Naval operations: Indian Ocean

Two more of EMDEN'S wounded die. The surviving crew are somewhat amazed to learn that SYDNEY'S shore party had landed without opposition on the evening of the 9th, and that their own party had gotten away in the schooner AYESHA. Nothing has been heard of them since that night.

[lordroel]

Day 109 of the Great War, November 13th 1914

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

- At Ypres the Germans launch several attacks today. In the morning an attack by elements of XXVI and XXVII Reserve Corps assault the French 18th Division of IX Corps, and though they are able to gain a portion of the French trench they are halted. After a heavy bombardment during the morning the German 4th Division advances against a portion of the British line south of the Menin Road, but are repulsed with heavy losses.

Meanwhile an agreement is reached today between General Foch and Field Marshal French to reorganize the units on the front line at Ypres. The fighting of the last month has resulted in French units being interspersed among British units, and the desire is to consolidate the BEF so that it holds just one stretch of the front line. To do so the northernmost units of the BEF are to move southwards towards the line already held by Indian Corps, while the French take over most of the Ypres salient. For his part General Joffre approves of such a reorganization as he believes that the German offensive in Flanders has run its course.

The strength of the BEF is also reinforced today with the arrival of 8th Division from England, it being composed of Regular Army battalions that had been in India and elsewhere in the Empire on the outbreak of war.

Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden issue a joint protest against the blockade policy of Britain

Denmark, Norway, and Sweden today issue a joint protest against the blockade policy of Britain, and in particular the recent declaration of the North Sea as a war zone. They assert that this has impacted their overseas trade, and violates their rights as neutrals. The protest demonstrates how Britain's blockade of Germany, and the means by which they enforce it, inevitably impacts neutral states. The Foreign Office is concerned not only to avoid pushing the neutrals into a more pro-Germany stance, but also to ensure that the substantial British trade with these neutrals can continue unimpeded. To this end, the Foreign Office is continuing negotiations with the Scandinavian neutrals to find means by which neutral trade can continue but Germany remains blockaded.

Naval operations: Pacific Ocean

Graf Spee sends SMS DRESDEN and LEIPZIG from Más Afuera to Valparaiso to dispel rumors that those to ships had been sunk at Coronel. Unfortunately this also tells the British that Spee's squadron is still off the coast of Chile.

Naval operations: German East Africa

SS KINFAUNS CASTLE arrives at Durban to transport newly-minted Lieutenant Dennis Cutler and his Curtiss flying boat to Niororo.

Photo: INFAUNS CASTLE in 1899



Naval operations: Indian Ocean

HMAS SYDNEY is still anchored in the bay at Direction Island. Early in the morning yet another severely wounded German crewman dies. Captain Glossop sends a message ordering the armed merchant cruiser HMS EMPRESS OF RUSSIA to come to the Cocos to transport the prisoners to Colombo.

Aboard the schooner AYESHA worries about stagnant water are alleviated by an approaching storm. The bad water has already been dumped out and the tanks cleaned. A spare sail is spread out over the main hatch to catch the rainwater. A hole is cut in the middle to guide the rain into the hatch, and underneath a man is stationed with a clean gasoline can, of which the schooner has several to collect the water. When the can is full it is passed along to the water tanks. Also the crew attach molding strips around the deckhouse roof, with two gutters to carry the water there to still more waiting cans. The fifty men aboard now have an adequate supply of drinking water. To flavor this are a few bottles of lime juice kept in stock by the former captain.

The fresh water is needed for drinking, and the type of soap they have will not disolve in salt water. Someone comes up with the idea of stopping up the scuppers with rags so the water is trapped on the deck. The rolling of the vessel leaves the water running back and forth on the deck, and the men use this for a rolling bath, and there's the rain to shower in.

One thing the men of AYESHA do not suffer from is boredom. The sails are old and rotten, and those who know how are put to work mending them and teaching those who don't. It turns out that several of the men have sailed before and some of them are experienced fishermen. The former captain had not lied; the hull is indeed old and rotten. There is nothing they can do about this except hope it holds out. The ship is constantly leaking, and the pump is worn out. A couple of engineers take it apart and replace the faulty rubber seals with oil-soaked rags. This does the trick and the pump is soon doing its job again.

During the storm one of EMDEN'S cutters, which they are towing behind, crashes into AYESHA'S stern, breaking out a plank. Von Mücke decides to cut the cutter loose rather than risk a repeat of this incident. Sometime later the other cutter will free itself and disappear in the night, leaving them with the two jolly-boats, enough to hold five of them.

[lordroel]

Day 110 of the Great War, November 14th 1914

Naval operations: Indian Ocean

HMS EMPRESS OF RUSSIA arrives to take the men of SMS EMDEN to Colombo. Being a former passenger liner she is well suited to act as a hospital ship. EMPRESS and HMAS SYDNEY depart Direction Island for the last time.

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

- Early this afternoon at Ypres an attack is made by the Guards' Regiments of Winckler's Division and 4th Division on the British lines opposite. In several places German soldiers managed to reach British trenches, but any occupation of them was shortlived in the face of timely counterattacks. Thus the second assault of Plettenberg's Corps never posed the same risk to the Entente line as the first three days earlier. Elsewhere, the French lost a few hundred yards of no real consequence north of Ypres, while the French XVI Corps took nearly a thousand German prisoners in attacks near Wytschaete.

The frequency and intensity of German attacks at Ypres are clearly in decline, and they are also facing a shortage of artillery shells - Falkenhayn today concludes that there are enough shells for only four more days of fighting around the Ypres salient.

Eastern Front: German 9th Army makes excellent speed in its advance southeastward towards Lodz

- In Poland the German 9th Army is making excellent speed in its advance southeastward towards Lodz, as the first winter frost has frozen the mud which had slowed prior campaigns. After the virtual destruction of the Russian V Siberian Corps, General Mackensen has deployed one corps along the Vistula to guard against the Russian 1st Army; given the sluggishness of Rennenkampf, this is more than sufficient. The other four corps of 9th Army continue the push towards Lodz against little opposition. General S. M. Scheidemann of the Russian 2nd Army, which is immediately west of Lodz, is the first Russian commander to realize the threat of the German offensive, and begins to reorientate his army from facing westward for the invasion of Germany to facing northward to confront the German 9th Army. The rest of the Russian command leadership remains in the dark - Grand Duke Nicholas remains focused on the invasion of Germany, discounting any threat from the northwest to the line of advance westward.

Ottoman Empire: The Turkish Sultan declares Holy War

- In Constantinople today the Sheikh-ul-Islam, the highest religious authority in Islam, proclaims a holy war, or jihad, in the presence of the Ottoman Sultan. All Muslims throughout the world were called upon to fight Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, and Montenegro. In particular, the Muslim inhabitants of the Asian and African colonies of the first three were called upon to rise up and make common cause with the Ottoman Empire.

This is a proclamation that threatens wholesale rebellions throughout the empires of Britain, France, and Russia, and the three Entente powers take the announcement very seriously. The efficacy of the call for jihad is limited, however, by a number of factors. First, it was not a call for all Muslims to rise up against all imperial powers - despite their recent occupation of Libya, there is no mention of Italy, a neutral that Germany and Austria-Hungary do not wish to offend. Thus the jihad is to be limited, not universal. Second, the call is clearly linked to the secular and imperial interests of the Ottoman Empire, and in particular Muslims in the Caucasus were not being asked to rise against Russia for freedom, but rather to trade Russian imperialism for Ottoman imperialism. Finally, because the call for jihad is so clearly linked to the Ottoman Empire, its credibility is linked to the effectiveness of Ottoman arms on the battlefield. Thus the Young Turks in the Ottoman government who have driven the empire to war need early victories to demonstrate to Muslims outside the empire that the Ottomans are worthy of its claimed position as the leader and protector of global Islam.

- The Muslim group that most enthusiastically embraces the call to jihad is the Senussi, a puritan sect of Islam with between 1.5 and 2.5 million adherents in the Sahara and equatorial Africa. In 1912 the Ottoman province of Libya was conquered by Italy, and since that time the Senussi have led the resistance to the imposition of Italian rule, and by 1914 they have ten thousand under arms in eastern Cyrenaica near the Egyptian border. Despite the proclamation of jihad not actually applying to the Senussi, given their presence in an Italian colony, their doctrine does not allow certain non-believers to be exempted from a call to jihad. Thus the banner of holy war is raised by the Senussi in Fezzan in southern Libya, and the ongoing fight of the Senussi will become increasingly linked to the broader world war.

- Additional elements of the Indian 6th Division arrive at the British camp at Sanniya on the Shatt al-Arab this morning to reinforce Indian Expeditionary Force D. They bring with them new orders from the Viceroy of India that if they have sufficient force, they are to advance and occupy the city of Basra. The orders come from India, not London, as the expedition is being undertaken not only to protect British oil interests in Persia, but as a form of 'active defense' of the western frontier of India.

[lordroel]

Day 111 of the Great War, November 15th 1914

Naval operations: Pacific Ocean

Graf Spee and his squadron - the armored cruisers SMS SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU, the light cruiser NURNBERG and the colliers SS BADEN and SANTA ISABEL - depart Más Afuera for Cape Horn. The squadron is limited by the colliers to a maximum of eight knots. Believing the smaller SS TITANIA to be unable to round the horn safely, Spee has her scuttled. The armed merchant cruiser SMS PRINZ EITEL FRIEDERICH is left behind to send random messages, hoping to fool the Allies as to their location.

Western Front: no significant infantry actions in Flanders

Though German shelling continues there are no significant infantry actions today in Flanders. The reorganization of the Entente line pursuent to the agreement on the 13th between Foch and French begins, and a reconstituted British IV Corps, consisting of 7th and 8th Divisions and again commanded by General Rawlinson, enters the line today between III and Indian Corps. The German army, meanwhile, begins to lay the groundwork for a public explanation of its failure in Flanders, issuing a communique today stating that bad weather has impeded operations over the past few days.

Eastern Front: Battle of Lódź

In Poland only today does General Ruzski of the Russian North-West Front realize that the advance of the German 9th Army is not only the main German offensive, as opposed to a diversion, but that it is poised to seize Lodz and drive into the rear of 2nd and 5th Armies. He issues orders today for both armies to retreat eastwards and fall back on Lodz. The battle is now a race between the German 9th Army and the Russian 2nd and 5th Armies to see which can reach Lodz first.

Meanwhile, Conrad is planning an offensive of his own. In the retreat after the Battle of the Vistula River over the past several weeks, the Austro-Hungarian 1st and 4th Armies have fallen back upon the fortress of Krakow, the former just to the north and the latter just to the northeast. Conrad orders call for 4th Army to lead with an attack on the Russian 9th Army opposite, to be followed almost immediately by 1st Army advancing into the Russian flank. Should everything go according to plan, the Austro-Hungarian advance will form a southern pincer that will meet with the German 9th Army east of Lodz to isolate three entire Russian armies. Like many of Conrad's plans, it ambitious and hopelessly unrealistic.

Further, for the past nine days the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army has been transferring from the front in Galicia to Prussian Silesia. The ostensible reason for this redeployment, as Conrad told Hindenburg, was to aid the German 9th Army in its offensive. In reality, Conrad did not want the Germans to undertake their offensive by themselves, as it would allow Hindenburg and Ludendorff to act without reference to Conrad; instead, if the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army aided the German 9th Army, Conrad could assert the right to have a say in the progress of the fighting.

The transfer of 2nd Army, however, has been painfully slow, a reflection both of poor Austro-Hungarian staff work and the lack of sufficient railways in Galicia. Just 12 trains per day are bringing one of 2nd Army's two corps north, while the trains carrying the other have to detour through Budapest. This stands in stark contrast to the rapid redeployment of the German 9th Army achieved earlier in November, and such logistics are yet another way in which the Austro-Hungarian army is significantly weaker than its ally.

Photo: German troops resting by the camp fire during operations on the Eastern Front



Of crucial importance to the Battle of Lodz is that the slow arrival of the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army means that it has not come to grips with the Russian 5th Army, which is what allows the latter to disengage and retreat eastward relatively unhindered. At the same time, the removal of 2nd Army from the Galician front means that Conrad's offensive at Krakow is under a time constraint - he needs to defeat the Russian 4th and 9th Armies before the Russian armies to the east can reach the Carpathians and seize the mountain passes through it, which would give the Russians access to central Hungary.

Map: The line in northern Poland, November 15th, 1914. Note the advance of the German 9th Army southeastwards between Lodz and the Vistula, and the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army slowly coming into the line north of Army Group Woyrsch,a small German formation designed to cover the gap between 9th Army and the Austro-Hungarians to the south.



Serbian Campaign: Austro-Hungarian forces reach the town of Valjevo in northwestern Serbia

Austro-Hungarian forces reach the town of Valjevo in northwestern Serbia today, resulting in celebrations in Vienna. The successful advance to date, in contrast to the two prior failures, lead General Potiorek to believe that the Serbian army has been thoroughly crushed and no longer posed a significant threat.

The reality is that while it has retreated and suffered losses, the Serbian army is far from finished. As the withdrawal had been planned in advance, losses were lighter than if the Serbs had fought to the end to hold their advanced position. Further, the defensive positions on the Kolubara River, which the Serbian army has now retreat to, had been under preparation for several months, and they constituted a formidable obstacle to a further Austro-Hungarian advance.

Middle Eastern theatre: several battalions of Indian Expeditionary Force D sortie from their camp at Sanniya

Near the Shatt al-Arab several battalions of Indian Expeditionary Force D sortie from their camp at Sanniya and attack an Ottoman force of approximately two thousand that had approached to within four miles of the British camp. Attacking early in the morning, the Ottoman force is dispersed, the British suffering sixty-two casualties while inflicting one hundred and sixty and taking twenty-five prisoners. The battle, the first significant engagement with Ottoman forces in Mesopotamia, gives IEF D time to finish disembarking its reinforcements unmolested while also teaching valuable lessons on combat in a desert environment.

Naval operations:German East Africa

SS KINFAUNS CASTLE arrives at Niororo with Lt. Cutler and his Curtiss flying boat. It will take Cutler several days to make repairs, and Midshipman Arthur Noel Gallehawk is assigned to be his assistant.

Naval operations:German Indian Ocean

Around 1000 hours HMAS SYDNEY and HMS EMPRESS OF RUSSIA steam into the harbor at Colombo. Around noon The unwounded men of SMS EMDEN are transferred to the armed merchant cruiser. The first officer of EMPRESS reads aloud an order from the King of England that the German officers are to keep their ceremonial swords. The honor is accepted gratefully and no one points out that said swords are lying in the wreck at North Keeling Island. They are then informed that they will travel to England aboard EMPRESS OF RUSSIA. Later in the day this changes. EMPRESS will be remaining in Colombo, and the men of EMDEN are moved to Australian troop transports which are bound for Britain anyway. The wounded are taken to a hospital ashore.

Captain von Müller, Leutnant Fikentscher, Lt. Hohenzollern and Doctor Luther are taken aboard SS ORVIETO along with thirty of their men. The remaining officers and men are placed in two other transports. The only officer to remain in Colombo is Oberleutnant sur See Geerdes. Each officer has his own cabin on the upper deck, and are allowed excercise periods. Still, they are always accompanied by armed guards.

[lordroel]

Day 112 of the Great War, November 16th 1914

Naval operations: Pacific Ocean

SMS DRESDEN and LEIPZIG start on their way to meet the rest of Spee's squadron. They encounter the freighter SS NORTH WALES and scuttle her.

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

- There is no significant combat today at Ypres, outside of the usual shelling of each others' lines. This allows the British and French to continue to redeploy their units - the French IX Corps stretches south to cover the trenches to the Menin Road, permitting the British 1st Division to move into reserve.

Eastern Front: Battle of Łódź

Near Krakow the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army is scheduled to begin its attack at 6am this morning. However, the nighttime march to its starting line is hopelessly confused, with numerous traffic jams inhibiting progress. It is not until early afternoon that 4th Army is actually in position to attack the Russian 9th Army opposite, which has had time to dig a defensive position that stymies the attacks of 4th Army. Meanwhile, X Corps of 1st Army had been ordered to advance in the afternoon, on the assumption that 4th Army struck the Russians in the morning. Again, the divisions are significantly delayed, and by nightfall have not yet reached Russian positions. Thus ends the first day of Conrad's grand 'pincer movement'.

Map: The line near Krakow at the start of the Austro-Hungarian offensive, November 16th, 1914.



South Africa: Maritz rebellion

In South Africa a rebel commando commanded by C. F. Beyers is attacked by superior Government forces near Bultfontein and is defeated. Beyers and the remnants of his unit flee eastwards. The rebels have not been able to attract enough support among the Boer populace, given that the leading figures in the South African government - men such as Botha and Smuts - are Boers themselves who were active leaders in the Boer War, and thus could draw on considerable personal loyalty in raising government units to combat the rebels.

[lordroel]

Day 113 of the Great War, November 17th 1914

Naval operations: Atlantic Ocean

HMS INVINCIBLE and INFLEXIBLE stop at St. Vincent in the Cape Verde Islands. For six days Admiral Sturdee has been steaming at a comfortable 15 knots, in order to conserve coal and keep his stokers rested. Sturdee has also been broadcasting his position daily on an open channel, and German agents are tracking his every move. He doesn't start coding his messages until he finds out that his ships' call signs are being broadcast from West African stations, and that one of them carried the news that an officer aboard INVINCIBLE had just become a father. After this Sturdee signals his ships that "The utmost harm may be done by the indiscrete use of wireless. The key is never to be pressed unless absolutely necessary."

Naval operations: Indian Ocean

SS ORVIETO departs Colombo for Aden, with HMS HAMPSHIRE as escort.

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

At Ypres the German 4th Division launch a heavy infantry attack against the British 3rd Division today, but they are repulsed with heavy losses. With this failure, and considering the deteriorating weather and exhaustion of his soldiers, Duke Albrecht, commander of the German 4th Army, concludes that further attacks would be futile and suspends offensive operations. Instead he orders 4th Army to focus on the construction of trenches and defensive positions, and begin to rotate units out of the line to provide for rest.

Eastern Front: Battle of Łódź

Today sees the first serious fighting near Krakow as a result of the Austro-Hungarian offensive. The entirety of both 1st and 4th Armies are committed to the attack today, but make very little progress, the Russians having had sufficient time to construct defensive positions. By the end of the day the conditions of trench warfare prevailed along the entire front of the two Austro-Hungarian armies.

Serbian Campaign: Austro-Hungarian 5th and 6th Armies reached the Kolubara River

Yesterday the Austro-Hungarian 5th and 6th Armies reached the Kolubara River, and today assault the Serbian defensive positions on the east bank. The two sides fight in appalling weather, with heavy rain and snowfall - visibility is reduced and significant numbers of soldiers dying of frostbite and exposure.

British government offers Bulgaria the entirety of Macedonia

In an effort to secure its support in the war, the British government offers Bulgaria the entirety of Macedonia, part of which currently belongs to Serbia. Though the British pledge to compensate Serbia with territory elsewhere, Russia objects to forcing its Balkan ally to hand over territory.

Middle Eastern theatre: two brigades of Indian Expeditionary Force D begin an advance upriver from its base camp at Saihan

At 515am this morning the two brigades of Indian Expeditionary Force D begin an advance upriver from its base camp at Saihan, and by 830am encounter an Ottoman force of several thousand who seek to block their way. The initial attack of the Indian brigades accomplishes little - a sudden rainstorm turns the battlefield into mud, and their artillery rather unhelpfully fires on mirages. Fortunately for the British, the Ottomans opposite are in even worse shape. Mesopotamia is an isolated backwater of the Ottoman Empire, starved of supplies and soldiers - most of the Ottoman infantry here are composed of Arab levies who desert at an alarmingly high rate. When several British gunboats move up the Shatt al-Arab and begin to fire into the Ottoman positions, the Ottoman forces break and retreat, handing victory to IEF D.

[stevep]

Nov 17, 2019 7:02:38 GMT lordroel said:

Day 113 of the Great War, November 17th 1914


British government offers Bulgaria the entirety of Macedonia

In an effort to secure its support in the war, the British government offers Bulgaria the entirety of Macedonia, part of which currently belongs to Serbia. Though the British pledge to compensate Serbia with territory elsewhere, Russia objects to forcing its Balkan ally to hand over territory.

  Now that's an interesting what if.  Bulgaria on the EP side would have been a big game changer as it would have secured Serbia's eastern flank and posed a threat to Constantinople.  Either on its own or in cooperation with Russia say.  [Although given the presence of Goeben getting Russian forces to Bulgaria could be difficult]  Quite possibly forcing the Ottomans out of the war and re-opening the straits].  If the Russians had agreed to this and substantial compensation was agreed for Serbia I think it could have shortened the war and avoided a lot of the post-war problems considerably.

[lordroel]

Day 114 of the Great War, November 18th 1914

Western Front: Battle of Ypres

- The decision of Duke Albrecht yesterday to suspend offensive operations at Ypres is approved today by Falkenhayn. For several weeks he has been increasingly aware of the growing fatigue within the German army, and clearly even the more limited objectives set in early November, such as Mount Kemmel, could not be seized under present circumstances. Instead, the German army on the Western Front is to go over on to the defensive - the hope for a rapid and decisive victory over the French is finally abandoned.

As the pre-war strategy has failed to deliver the promised victory in wartime, Falkenhayn and the German General Staff is left searching for alternatives. Given the results in the west, a shift to the east appears logical, especially as by standing on the defensive reduces the amount of units needed on the Western Front. Falkenhayn thus informs Hindenburg today that several corps will be shifted from the west to the east, including III Reserve Corps, XIII Corps, II Corps, and XXIV Reserve Corps, the former three coming from Flanders.

There is, however, a crucial difference between Falkenhayn and Hindenburg over what these reinforcements are to accomplish. Hindenburg and Ludendorff believe that a decisive victory over the Russians is possible, one that will allow Germany to impose its peace terms on Russia. Falkenhayn is less optimistic - taking his cue from the campaigns of Napoleon, he feels that the most that can be accomplished in the east are local victories. This, however, is not problematic for Falkenhayn, as he has come to believe that Germany can no longer win a total victory over all of its enemies. Instead, enough damage should be done to Russia to convince it to agree to a compromise peace based on no annexations, which will allow Germany to focus all of its military might against France and Britain. If Russia cannot be convinced to sign a separate peace, Germany will inevitably be ground down by a war of attrition against enemies it can not hope to match in numbers.

Falkenhayn's views on a compromise peace, expressed today in a letter to Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, falls on deaf ears. The Chancellor still believes that an absolute victory can be achieved in the east, and in this he has the agreement of Hindenburg and Ludendorff. The prestige of the latter two grows as victories on the Eastern Front (however embellished by Ludendorff) are contrasted with failures, for which Falkenhayn is blamed, on the Western Front. Falkenhayn's advice regarding the future direction of the war are rejected, though because of the personal support of the Kaiser there is no question at this time of replacing Falkenhayn. Instead, the German Chief of the General Staff is left to continue to develop plans to achieve a total victory he no longer feels is within Germany's grasp.

Eastern Front: Russians Regroup at Lodz, Fighting Begins for the City

Photo: Russian soldiers are entrenched in the Lodz outskirts.



The German 9th Army arrives today just north of Lodz, but discover the city well-defended. In something of a miracle, considering the Russian army's well-earned reputation for sluggishness, both 2nd and 5th Army have managed to retreat to the city before the Germans could arrive to seize it. For 5th Army in particular it is a significant achievement, accomplished by non-stop marching over the past three days. The result is that the four corps of the German 9th Army at Lodz find themselves facing seven Russian corps, and, as the latter is the supply centre for 2nd and 5th Army, for once it is the Russians who are better-supplied. Ludendorff, however, orders Mackensen to continue the offensive - he has misinterpreted the Russian move back to Lodz as yet another panicked retreat, not an orderly redeployment. It is a case of Ludendorff seeing what he wants to sees in the information arriving from the front. Thus the Germans, despite being outnumbered, attack into the Russian lines.

Naval operations: Battle of Cape Sarych

Yesterday a Russian squadron consisting of the pre-dreadnought battleships EVSTAFIY (the flagship), IOAN ZLATOUST, PANTELEIMON, TRI SVIATITELYA Tri, ROSTISLAV, three cruisers, and 13 destroyers under Vice Admiral Andrei Eberhardt bombarded the Turkish Black Sea port of Trebizond. On hearing of the attack Admiral Souchon decided to sortie with his 'Turkish' warships YAVUZ SULTAN SELIM (ex GOEBEN) and MIDILLI (ex BRESLAU) and in an effort to catch a portion of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. In thick fog the two squadrons stumble into each other twenty miles off Cape Sarych on the Crimean coast just after midday. Because of the poor visibility, YAVUZ does not sight the Russian squadron until it is already within range of the main guns of the latter's pre-dreadnoughts. This nullifies the advantage YAVUZ would normally have over pre-dreadnoughts - i.e. that its main armament can fire longer distances.

Plan of the Sarych cap battle (Бой у мыса Сарыч) in 1914- Italian version



The Russian flagship EVSTAFIY hits YAVUZ with its first salvo, killing twelve Germans and one Turk. Though YAVUZ in turn is able to land five hits on EVSTAFIY, killing thirty-four, Admiral Souchon quickly realizes that the short range - about seven thousand yards - means his ships are heavily outgunned, and he decides to use his superior speed to break off the engagement. The battle lasts only fourteen minutes, and most of the warships present never fire a shot. From this battle the Russians draw the conclusion that all of its large warships must operate together to avoid defeat in detail at the hands of YAVUZ, while for Souchon the engagement reinforces the isolation of his battlecruiser - as a light cruiser, MIDILLI is of little aid in a large naval battle, and the other warships of the Ottoman navy are of no value whatsoever (had they been present at Cape Sarych they would have lacked the speed to escape).

Photo: Damage to EVSTAFIY from the battle



Naval operations: Indian Ocean

Aboard the three-masted schooner AYESHA the men have settled into a routine. Every morning at 0600 hours they are awakened, or rather one of them is. There are so many crowded into the little ship's hold that it is only required to wake the man nearest the door. His rowsing will disturb the next man, and so on until they are all up. If there was rain during the night the men line up to wash using the water collected in the two jolly-boats. They have no toothbrushes, and only one comb among the entire company. There is one rusty razor for anyone who wishes to shave.

After cleaning themselves they turn to cleaning the ship. Some haul up seawater in buckets to scrub the deck while others go aloft to find new rents in the old sails and sew them up as needed. Meanwhile the cook prepares the only food available for breakfast - rice, coffee and tea. With nothing else to do all day von Mücke has the men experienced in sailing to teach their skills to the ones who have never sailed. This primarily involves the stokers, and they are taught to steer the ship, climb the rigging and follow the compass. The only chart aboard is used to show everyone where the ship is each day.

Lunch is again rice. There are some accomplished fisherman on board, but the only bait they have is rice, and nothing is ever caught. After that the men take turns playing with the handful of card decks, conversing or just taking a nap to while away the time. Supper is the same. The evenings are devoted to singing. There is no set time for sleep; they just drop off when they feel like it. The night watch consists of the helmsman and one lookout on the bow. It is up to them to make sure they are relieved at the proper time.

[lordroel]

Day 115 of the Great War, November 19th 1914

Western Front: first snowfall in Flanders

- Flanders sees the first serious snowfall of the year, adding to the misery of the soldiers dug in along the front line. Though German shelling continues, Entente commanders notice a sharp decline in the frequency and intensity of German infantry assaults.

- Today the French XI Corps of 2nd Army, on the front near the Somme River, attacks the German line in an effort to pin enemy reserves to this sector and demonstrate the continued vitality of the French army. The operation accomplishes absolutely nothing.

Serbian Campaign: Austro-Hungarians seek to break the Serbian defensive line

Desperate fighting has continued along the front in Serbia since the 17th, as the Austro-Hungarians seek to break the Serbian defensive line. They achieve their first success today, forcing the Serbian 1st Army backwards and taking high ground on the opposite bank of the Kolubara River. General Potiorek's plan is for his 6th Army to occupy the Serbian forces while 5th Army drives on and enters Belgrade to the north.

Naval operations: Britain

The Monitors HMS HUMBER, MERSEY and SEVERN are moved from the Medway to the Wash, over concerns that the Germans might invade there. The ships were built for the Brazilian government in 1913-14. With the outbreak of war they were taken into the Royal Navy. These flat-bottomed vessels each carry one 6" gun forward, a 4.7" aft and 12-pounders on each side. Their shallow draft and very low freeboard make them difficult to handle in a wind, and are intended for use on the rivers.

Naval operations: Pacific Ocean

The German East Asiatic Squadron today sails into the Gulf of Penas on the Chilean coast three hundred miles north of the Straits of Magellan, and anchors in Bahía San Quintín. Here they coal once again, while Admiral Spee names and congratulates three hundred of his officers and men who have been awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class by the Kaiser, ecstatic at their victory at Coronel (the medals themselves await the recipients in Germany).

Naval operations: German East Africa

The Curtiss flying boat is ready, and Lt. Cutler makes his first reconnaisance of SMS KONINGSBERG. The takeoff is made from a sheltered bay on Niororo Island. Cutler only has about 50 minutes of fuel, so a single pass is all he will get. At 4,000 feet he flies up the Rufiji River. The sky turns out to be too cloudy and Cutler doesn't find KONINGSBERG. On the way back he gets lost in the clouds and lands in the bay at Okusa Island. Aboard HMS CHATHAM the worry grows as Cutler's hour of flight time passes. After three more hours the cruiser's men are convinced that Cutler has been shot down or has crashed somewhere in the jungle. A few hours later the plane is discovered at Okusa. Cutler has been waiting all this time, thinking he was at Niororo.

The plane has developed a radiator leak which cannot be repaired, plus some hull damage in the landing. At this point someone recalls seeing a Ford automobile at Mombasa, with a radiator of similar size. HMS FOX is sent to make the 1,000-mile round trip to fetch it.

[Zyobot]

@lordroel
That’s an awful lot of stuff you post on a routine basis, I must say. Especially since you seem to do the same in other day-by-day historical threads as well.

[lordroel]

Nov 19, 2019 4:11:32 GMT Zyobot said:

@lordroel
That’s an awful lot of stuff you post on a routine basis, I must say. Especially since you seem to do the same in other day-by-day historical threads as well.

Well fact is i use already written days, there are plenty of them, i just merge them add additional information to it to create these updates.