Monthly Archives: October 2014

THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS

Thousands of Germany’s Student Soldiers Die; Corporal Hitler Under Fire Special to The Great War Project (30-31 October) The British and Germans square off at the Belgian village of Gueluvelt. It’s part of a much larger German offensive, designed to drive the British back from Ypres. One German regiment is hit by big losses, but…

EXTRA! EXTRA! TURKEY ATTACKS RUSSIA.

War Widens Dramatically; Ypres Crisis Deepens. Special to The Great War Project (26-29 October) The fierce struggle on the Western Front to control Ypres continues with no clear victor in these days at the end of October a century ago. The fighting brings a series of terrible tragedies. The troops Britain transports from India mount…

A GHASTLY SPECTACLE FROM EAST TO WEST

Units in Disorder; Troops From India Join the Fight. Special to The Great War Project (24-25 October) On the Western Front the savage fight for the Ypres Salient is a battle for a small parcel of land no more than eight miles wide, jutting out to the east from the Belgian city of Ypres itself. To…

HOW ARE WE MEANT TO ATTACK?

Tales of Woeful Incompetence; Confusing Idiocy with Courage. Special to The Great War Project (22-23 October) Fighting continues at the Belgian city of Ypres – savage fighting. Observes historian Martin Gilbert, “the line of trenches was beginning to acquire a fatal, static logic of its own.” Historian Max Hastings reports the British troops have to…

A GERMAN WAR DIARY

Fierce Fighting in the Ypres Salient; Corpses, Corpses, and More Corpses. Special to The Great War Project (20-21 October) Fighting intensifies on the “Ypres salient.” The trench lines dug by both sides around the Belgian city of Ypres, create an extension or salient, and ignites some of the fiercest fighting so far in the war.…

THE WAR FOR WARSAW

Germans Misread Russian Forces, Losing War in the East. In West, British Retake Ypres. Special to The Great War Project (18-19 October) On this dreary exhausting day one hundred years ago, there is much action on both the Western and the Eastern Fronts, at key strategic locations, Ypres in Belgian and Warsaw in Poland. In…

GERMANS, ALLIES SQUARE OFF AT YPRES.

A Sea of Mud. Belgian Walled City Protects Supply Lines for Allies. Special to The Great War Project (16-17 October) On the Western Front the ancient walled Belgian city of Ypres and the river that runs through the city, the Yser, is “the last strip of Belgian territory not occupied by the Germans,” reports historian…

IN EAST, RUSSIAN DRIVE TO FINISH OFF AUSTRIANS

Expanses are Vast; Fighting is Chaotic Special to The Great War project (14-15 October) While by mid-October 1914 the Western Front was hardening into a stalemate of trenches, barbed wire, and artillery shelling, the Eastern Front looked quite different. “In the immense expanses of the east,” writes historian Max Hastings, “a war of movement continued.…

INTRIGUE AND CONSPIRACY IN TURKEY

Ottomans Back Germany in Exchange for German Gold. Moves Threaten Spread of War to Middle East and Beyond. Special to The Great War Project (12-13 October) Intrigue continues to swirl in Constantinople about which side in the war will win the allegiance of the Ottoman Empire. Germany is working intensely and covertly to bring the…

ANTWERP SURRENDERS

Germans Seize Belgian City Deemed “Virtually Impregnable.” A Threat to Kill Belgian Hostages. Special to The Great War Project. (10-11 October) On the Western Front, after days of ceaseless fire from German super artillery guns, the Belgians capitulate at Antwerp, their port city near the English Channel. The King of the Belgians is reported to…