Monthly Archives: August 2014

RETREAT CONTINUES ON THE WESTERN FRONT

French Plan Counter-Strike at River Marne; Parisians Flee City. Managing the Troubled French-British Alliance. Special to The Great War Project (31 August) The Germans on the Eastern Front are now clearing the battlefield after their enormous victory at Tannenberg in East Prussia. In addition to the more than 90,000 Russian prisoners taken, and more than 30,000…

A DELIVERANCE FOR THE GERMANS

Tannenberg Days 4 and 5; Russians Surrounded, Devastated On Western Front, Endless Suffering in Retreat Special for The Great War Project (29-30 August) The British retreat from Mons and the French retreat from other lost battles continue into six days of exhausting, scalding marches. One French officer describes the endless suffering of the march in…

TANNENBERG DAY 3; CORPSES SCATTERED FOR MILES

First cases of shell-shock; Threat of invasion of Britain eases Special to The Great War Project (28 August) On the Western Front, the British retreat from Mons sparks an unexpected outcome. According to historian Martin Gilbert the official British medical history of the war notes that “during 1914 several men were evacuated from France to…

A DISORDERED AND BEWILDERED RUSSIAN ARMY

Tannenberg Day 2 Special to The Great War Project (27 August) The battle that has emerged on the Eastern Front not far from the medieval German village of Tannenberg in East Prussia (now in northern Poland) is a vivid example of what kind of war this is turning out to be. Communications and intelligence –…

ON THE EASTERN FRONT, A KILLING CAULDRON

The Battle of Tannenberg Special to The Great War Project (26 August) Today on the Eastern Front, combat between the German and Russian armies explodes near the village of Tannenberg in German East Prussia. In this very violent war, it is the largest, most violent battle so far between the Russians and the Germans. Initially…

CLASHES INTENSIFY ON THE EASTERN FRONT

In the West, retreat continues; The truth emerges. Special to The Great War Project (25 August) The retreat from Mons continues, and the conditions are terrible. One eye-witness, cited by historian Martin Gilbert, describes the British withdrawal south into France this way: “The men stumbling along more like ghosts than living soldiers,” “unconscious of everything…

THE GREAT RETREAT

Is it defeat? Yes, Mr. President Special to The Great War Project (24 August) On the Western Front, the British and the French are in retreat. The British are pulling back from Mons in Belgium in the face of superior German force. Elsewhere on the frontline in the West at the last Belgian fortress still…

THE BATTLE OF MONS

Ferocious Fighting at a Belgian Canal; An Angel on the Battlefield Special to The Great War Project (23 August) The battle rages at the Mons-Conde canal in Belgium. The British against the Germans. In mist and rain. The British forces there hold off a far superior force of German troops – with rifle fire. Not…

The War Illustrated

Painting from The War Illustrated of a battle in 1914 Belgium

“The Story Of The Great European War Told By Camera, Pen And Pencil” was the subtitle of The War Illustrated, a magazine published in London publication by William Berry (later owner of The Daily Telegraph). The first issue date was August 22, 1914, eighteen days after the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. The magazine…

A TRULY HORRIBLE DAY, THE FIRST OF MANY

The French lose 27,000 on a single day. The British get in it. Special to The Great War Project (22 August) Finally today a century ago, the British join the fight. It’s been more than three weeks since the British Expeditionary Force set out from Britain to confront the German army in Belgium. Finally today,…