The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 401 of the Great War, September 1st 1915

Western Front: Kitchener issues orders today for the Indian Corps in France

Kitchener issues orders today for the Indian Corps in France to remain part of the British Expeditionary Force through the next winter. Though concerns have been expressed in some quarters regarding the ability of the Indian soldier to cope with the cold and miserable conditions of a Flemish winter, Kitchener understands that the Indian Corps have shown themselves capable of operating under such conditions just as well as the British divisions they fight alongside. There were also worries about the losses suffered by the Indian Corps since its arrival in France in October 1914 could be adequately replaced, but since the summer a steady stream of recruits had replenished the Meerut and Lahore Divisions. Of the three thousand replacements who arrived in July, General James Willcocks, the commander of the Indian Corps, wrote that they were 'very good . . . some of them quite exceptionally so, and I feel years younger now as I see these fine fellows joining the ranks.'

Germany: German ambassador to the United States delivers a note containing what becomes known as the Arabic Pledge to Secretary of State Robert Lansing

Upon the instructions of Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, the German ambassador to the United States delivers a note containing what becomes known as the Arabic Pledge to Secretary of State Robert Lansing. Based on the decision of the conference at Pless on August 26th in response to the sinking of Arabic, the Germans pledge that no passenger ship of any nationality will be attacked without warning, and that adequate provisions will be made for the survival of passengers and crew.

France: Joffre remains under pressure from government ministers to dispatch several divisions from the Western Front to the Near East

Joffre remains under pressure from government ministers to dispatch several divisions from the Western Front to the Near East, and seizes on a staff study suggesting that the operations proposed by General Sarrail would require eight divisions. He writes today that such a substantial reduction in French strength on the Western Front would have 'disastrous consequences.' Moreover, he questions the entire premise of undertaking operations to relieve the British position on Gallipoli:

It is the British who have led us to the Dardanelles. In reality halting the offensive will be a British defeat. Tomorrow, if we send reinforcements and assume command, we will find ourselves, in case of failure, facing a French disaster.

Eastern Front: Austro-Hungarian 2nd and 7th Armies, as well as Südarmee, have launched assault after assault on the Russian lines along the Strypa River

For several days the Austro-Hungarian 2nd and 7th Armies, as well as Südarmee, have launched assault after assault on the Russian lines along the Strypa River. Though in places they have managed to win some ground, it has come at great cost - the Austro-Hungarian Corps, for instance, has lost over five thousand men in just two days of fighting. Today the Russian 11th and 9th Armies pull back from their lines along the Strypa River, though this is not due to any defeat they have suffered but rather due to the threat of envelopment from the north due to the advance of the north wing of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army through Lutsk. Brussilov's 8th Army, meanwhile, takes up its new defensive line today along the Putilowka, covering Rovno, and south to the hills west of Dubno.

Naval operations: North of Scotland, east of the Shetland Islands

Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, begins his third war patrol with the sinking of British freighter SS WHITEFIELD, 2,422 tons, bound from Archangelsk to Clyde and then NICE with a load of wheat. His score is now 8 ships and 12,607 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Three ships, His Majesty's Trawlers MALTA, 138 tons, and NADINE, 150 tons; and SS SAVONA, 1,180 tons, carrying a cargo of esparto grass and lead from Oran to Leith; all are lost to a minefield laid in the Thames Estuary by UC-7, commanded by Franz Wäger. Wäger's score is now 3 ships and 1,588 tons.

Day 403 of the Great War, September 3rd 1915

YouTube (The Western Front Awakens - The Tsar Takes Over)



Ottoman Empire: the Ottoman government agrees today to cede to Bulgaria northern Thrace and the Maritsa valley should the Bulgarians enter the war

Under pressure from Germany and Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman government agrees today to cede to Bulgaria northern Thrace and the Maritsa valley should the Bulgarians enter the war. The Bulgarian desire to acquire part of Ottoman Thrace was their only territorial claim against the Central Powers, and with the concession the Bulgarians will now achieve all of their expansionist aims by joining the Central Powers and attacking Serbia.

Aerial operations: German army airship SL11 get destroyed

Overnight the German army airship SL11 undertook a bombing raid of London, and though it did not reach the centre of the city, it dropped a series of bombs on Edmonton, Ponders End, and Enfield after midnight. As it turned for home it was illuminated by a searchlight over the village of Cuffley in Hertfordshire shortly after 2am, which drew the attention of 2nd Lieutenant Leefe Robinson of 39 (Home Defence Squadron), flying a night patrol in a BE2c. His aircraft was equipped with new incendiary bullets, and he emptied two drums making passes at the airship. This having no effect, he closes to within fifty feet and matches speed with SL11, and concentrates the fire of a third drum underneath aft. As he finishes the drum the rear of the airship bursts into flame, and dives out of the way to avoid the stricken dirigible, which crashes near Cuffley, killing all aboard.

Photo: The wreck of the German airship SL11, shot down near Cuffley, Hertfordshire early this morning by 2nd Lieutenant Leefe Robinson



It is the first time that a German airship has been brought down over Britain, and demonstrates the ability of incendiary bullets to ignite an airship's hydrogen gas. Robinson's victory is a sensation, and tens of thousands of Londoners descent on Cuffley after daylight to see the ruins of SL11, including the charred bodies of its crew. When Robinson himself motors over from his airfield to inspect his kill, he is mobbed by well-wishers, and given several 'prizes' from the airship, including an Iron Cross found among the debris and a gold watch believed to have belonged to SL11's captain. For his accomplishment he is also awarded the Victoria Cross.

British propaganda postcard entitled "The End of the 'Baby-Killer'"



Naval operations: North Sea

British freighter SS CHURSTON, 2,470 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardiff to an unregistered destination, becomes the fourth victim of the minefield laid by UC-7. Franz Wäger's score is now 4,058 tons.

Day 405 of the Great War, September 5th 1915

Western Front: preparing for their fall offensive in Champagne

For weeks the French army have been preparing for their fall offensive in Champagne, digging both new trenches behind the front to conceal the attacking forces as well as new trenches into No Man's Land to minimize the time the infantry must spend exposed before reaching the German trenches. In addition, substantial additional forces have been assembled behind French lines as well as the massive supplies and munitions necessary for the offensive; indeed, an entirely new rail line has been constructed solely to bring supplies up to the front as efficiently as possible. Given the scale of the preparations, it has naturally been impossible to hide them from the Germans. Aerial reconnaissance has clearly indicated the assembly of French reserves, and in the chalk earth of the region new trenches are visible over large distances. There have even been several French deserters, who have arrived in German lines reporting of an offensive planned for September. In light of these signs, General Karl von Einem, commander of the German 3rd Army opposite the French buildup in Champagne, reports to OHL today that 'it is no longer possible but rather probable that a carefully and long-planned attack is imminent.' Forewarned, the Germans naturally improve their own defensive positions even as the French prepare to attack them.

Naval operations: Black Sea

An Ottoman convoy of three steamers, sailing from the Black Sea port of Zonguldak to the Bosphorus and escorted by the armoured cruiser HAMDIDIEH and two torpedo boats, is intercepted today by the Russian destroyers BUISTRI and PRONZITEINI, and the resulting debacle reemphasizes the hopeless state of the Ottoman navy. Not only do the two destroyers outduel HAMDIDIEH, but the latter's main guns break down and is forced to drop out of the action, after which the Russian destroyers force the three steamers to run aground. Afterwards, German officers with the Ottoman navy concede that the steamers carrying coal on the convoy route to the Bosphorus would be better off without Ottoman 'escorts'.

Though the battle reinforces the superiority of the Russian Black Sea Fleet over the Ottomans, another element is added to the balance when the German submarine UB-7 begins its first patrol in the Black Sea today. The first deployment of a German U boat north of Constantinople, Russian operations will henceforth need to be cognizant of the potential threat from beneath the waves.

Naval operations: South Celtic Sea, off the English Channel

Walther Schwieger, commanding U-20, sinks three more ships - British freighters DICTATOR, 4,116 tons, bound from Pernambuco to Liverpool with a general cargo; DUORO, 1,604 tons, carrying a general cargo from Oporto to Liverpool; and Russian freighter SS RHEA, 1,145 tons, heading from Valencia to Glasgow with a load of fruit. Schwieger's score is now 21 ships and 94,116 tons.

Day 407 of the Great War, September 7th 1915

Eastern Front: Russians build on their successful counterattack west of Trembowla

Overnight the Russians build on their successful counterattack west of Trembowla, as parts of the Russian XXII Corps, passing through the lines seized yesterday from the Austro-Hungarian 55th Division to fall on the flank of a brigade commanded by Colonel Edler von Bolzano at dawn. Caught preparing to attack, the Austro-Hungarian 81st and 88th Regiments are routed and flee through Nastasow, leaving numerous prisoners in the hands of the Russians. Both 55th Division and 131st Brigade on its right flank are forced back almost to the Strypa River. The Russian XI Corps further expands the breakthrough this evening by forcing back the Austro-Hungarian 36th Division on the southern shoulder of the advance.

Balkan campaign: orders begin to go out for the deployment of the forces that will participate in the operation

With the signing yesterday of the convention between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria regarding the invasion of Serbia, orders begin to go out for the deployment of the forces that will participate in the operation. On the German side, besides 101st Division which is already in the Balkans, 11th Bavarian and 105th Division, as well as X Corps are to come from the Eastern Front. As for the Austro-Hungarians, two corps - VI and XVII - are to come from the Eastern Front while two divisions - 57th and 59th - are to be redeployed from the Italian Front.

Naval operations: North Sea

Werner Fürbringer, in UB-2, scuttles fishing smacks CONSTANCE, 57 tons, and EMMANUEL, 44 tons, bringing his score to 9 vessels and 655 tons.

Hans Valentiner, in UB-16, scuttles fishing smacks EMBLEM, 50 tons, and VICTORIOUS, 43 tons. His score is now 9 ships and 9,853 tons.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Walther Schwieger, commanding U-20, attacks French freighter SS BORDEAUX, 4,604 tons, carrying 4,200 tons of barley from Saffi to Bordeaux, with his deck gun, then sinks her with a torpedo. Also sunk is British freighter SS CARONI, 2,652 tons, bound from London to Bordeaux with a cargo of stores. Schwieger's score is now 24 ships and 107,287 tons.

Day 409 of the Great War, September 9th 1915

Eastern Front: Ludendorff launches his offensive today, consisting of an attack against Vilna itself and an attempt to outflank the city from the north

- Having concentrated twenty-eight infantry and five cavalry divisions along the 110 kilometres of the front opposite Vilna held by General Max Eichorn's 10th Army, Ludendorff launches his offensive today, consisting of an attack against Vilna itself and an attempt to outflank the city from the north. The former runs into strong Russian defensive positions and gets nowhere, but the latter, undertaken by three infantry and three cavalry divisions, is far more successful, as the Russian line is weakest north of Vilna. The Russian 10th Army, formerly responsible for the defence of Grodno, has been drawn into the fighting at and south of Vilna. Its northern neighbour - 5th Army - has been focused on holding Riga and the lower Dvina River, leaving its southern flank weakened. The German attack north of Vilna is directed right into the gap between the two Russian armies, which is only covered by a scratch force of six hundred Latvian cavalry under the oldest cavalry commander in the Russian army (considering the average age of a Russian general, this is no small accomplishment). This force is scattered, and the Germans push forward. The initial reaction on the Russian side is that the frontal attack on Vilna is the main German advance, and that the action to the north is of no great importance: reports of the German force as dismissed as exaggerations and that any German success here is only the result of incompetence by officers on the ground - true enough, but it is a significant underestimation of the threat of the German advance.

Map: The advance of the German 10th Army against Vilna, in what will become known as the Sventsiany Offensive



- Though the northern wing of the Russian 8th Army repulsed the Austro-Hungarian attack along the Putilowka River yesterday, its southern wing had been pulled back in response to the enemy advance at Podkamien on the 6th. As a result, to maintain a cohesive defensive line the northern wing pulls back from the Putilowka a short distance to the Stubien, the next river on the way to Rovno. To the south, the Russian withdrawal allows the Austro-Hungarians to occupy Dubno today as they pull up to the new Russian line along the Ilka River. The Russian 8th Army, however, remains intact and capable of offering stiff resistance to further Austro-Hungarian advances.

Map: The withdrawal of the Russian 8th Army to the Subiel River, Sept. 9th, 1915



To the south, where it is the Russians who are now attacking, the same cannot be said for the Austro-Hungarians. The latter's 2nd Army attempts a counterattack north of the breakthrough in the direction of Zbaraz north of Tarnopol, in an attempt to turn the flank of the advancing Russians. Poor weather, however, hindered the Austro-Hungarian attack, and it is repulsed. Instead, the Russians continue to advance, with XI Corps of 9th Army advancing southwest from the line Laskowce-Ziniacz on the southern face of the breakthrough. The Austro-Hungarian 36th and 15th Divisions of XIII Corps are forced back through Kossow this morning, and by noon have lost touch with 131st Brigade to the northwest. After further attacks this afternoon the battered XIII Corps, which has lost 17 000 men (more than half its strength) already this month, is ordered by the commander of 7th Army to fall back further, to Buczacz on the Strypa River and the line Joazlowiec-Koszylowce to the southeast, which expands the length of the Russian breakthrough.

Map: The expansion of the Russian breakthrough at Trembowla, Sept. 9th to 12th, 1915



Aerial operations: German Navy sends 4 Zeppelins to raid Britian

After the success of the German army Zeppelins in attacking London on the night of September 7th-8th, the German navy sends four of its Zeppelins against Britain overnight. L11 and L14 are forced to turn back due to engine trouble, while L9 narrowly misses the benzol works at Skinningrove on the Yorkshire coast. L13 makes landfall on the Norfolk coast, and by the time it approaches Cambridge the lights of London are already visible on the horizon, guiding the Zeppelin to its target. The captain of L13 remains patient as his Zeppelin crosses over London, and waits until it reaches the heart of the British capital where it does considerable damage - most notably, several bombs strikes the textile warehouses north of St. Paul's Cathedral, leaving Wood Street, Silver Street, Addle Street, and Aldermanbury ablaze and destroying many valuable buildings. Four bombs are also dropped on Liverpool Street Station, and though only a few feet of track are destroyed, two of them score direct hits on nearby motor-buses, which raises the night's deathtoll to twenty-two. It is a great success for L13, and indeed, by monetary loss, it will be the single most destructive raid of the war against the British capital.

Photo: Bomb damage outside Liverpool Street Station in London, Sept. 9th, 1915



Naval operations: North Sea

British tanker SS BALAKANI, 3,696 tons, hauling oil from Port Arthur to London, is sunk by a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1. Werner's score is now 6 ships and 7,331 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks British freighter SS CORNUBIA, 1,736 tons, carrying a cargo of beans from Alexandria to Clyde; and French freighters L'AUDE, 2,232 tons, captured and sunk with the deck gun while travelling in ballast from Maseill to Oran; and VILLE DE MOSTAGANEM, also travelling from Marseille to Oran with a load of empty barrels. His score is now 25 ships and 45,126 tons.

Day 411 of the Great War, September 11th 1915

Eastern Front: elements of the German Guard Corps begin entraining for the journey to Belgium

- Having arrived at Warsaw after a two-week march from Brest-Litovsk, elements of the German Guard Corps begin entraining for the journey to Belgium.

- North of Vilna German cavalry, pushing into the gap between the Russian 10th and 5th Armies, approaches the town of Sventsiany today.

- While V and XIX Corps of the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army have spent several days in fruitless and costly assaults on Russian positions west of Zbaraz, to the south the Russians continue to expand their breakthrough at Trembowla, this morning driving through Dolzanka and forcing the Austro-Hungarian 19th Division to fall back in disorder. The latter drive threatens to turn the southern flank of 2nd Army, and its commander orders V and XIX Corps to go over to the defensive to give time for the exhausted infantry to recover and to allow for the redeployment of forces southward to stem the tide of the Russian advance.

mesopotamian campaign: General Townshend orders a further advance to Sannaiyat

Having concentrated his forces at Ali-al-Gharbi on the Tigris river, General Townshend orders a further advance to Sannaiyat, downriver from Kut-al-Amara.

Naval operations: North Sea

Reinhold Lepsius, commanding U-6, sinks Norwegean bark SV WANSBECK, 462 tons, bound from Porsgrund to Leith with a cargo of pit props; and capturs freighter SS RANDULF HANSEN, 1,287 tons, carrying pit props from Fredrikstad to London, as a a prize. His score is now 17 ships and 11,615 tons.