1914 The Western Front.—The first act of war was committed on August 2, when German officers and men invaded the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg and de manded passage for the German army. Beyond making a formal protest the little state could do nothing, and before the day closed the Germans were in full pos session of all roads and railways. At other points on the frontier the Germans crossed the line to the French fortress at Longwy, and from the direction of Strassburg drove across the Vosges, while from Mulhouse in the far south cavalry crossed the French frontier and attacked the customs guards. The Ger man official mobilization began officially gade made a dash into Alsace. This was accomplished almost without opposition, but on August 10, when the Germans had been re-enforced the French were forced to withdraw. On August 4, a state of war with Germany was officially declared by Great Britain; the army having mo bilized the previous day. On August 6 the House of Commons sanctioned an in crease of the army by 500,000 men. The expeditionary forces consisting of lour divisions and a division of cavalry began embarkation on August 7 and within ten days were safely landed at various French ports. The German advance in Belgium had been arrested by the north ern forts and the brave defense offered by Belgian troops in the field, but by August 17 all the forts were silenced and on August 20 Brussels was peacefully occupied by the invaders. Meanwhile a French offensive in Alsace and Lorraine met with some success, but on August 21 the French were defeated with heavy losses near Saarburg and were compelled to abandon the northern passes of the on August 1 and by August 4 a German striking force of three divisions under General von Emmich had been concen trated on the line from Malmedy to Aix la-Chapelle. War was declared by Ger many on Belgium August 4, but already Belgium had hurried on her mobilization assembling troops around Liege. Bel gium's total available army strength was only about 265,000 men, which, excluding the fortress garrisons, left her about 134,000 men for the field. For the de fense of Liege an army of about 20,000 men under General Leman had been con centrated to oppose the German advance. Belgians and Germans first clashed in the afternoon of August 4. An artil lery duel continued through the night. The southeastern forts were silenced and the Germans entered Liege on August 7. The northern forts still held out, and General Leman withdrew his troops to the north. On August 7 a French bri Vosges. In Belgium the Germans began to bombard the forts of Namur on August 21. The city surrendered on August 23, and the last fort fell two days later. Four French armies had by this time been driven back on French soil, but by August 30 were in condition to fight again. On August 23 the British force, about 80,000, were in position behind a canal; Mons in the center, joining Lan rezac's French armies north of Sambre. The Allies had seven army corps and the Germans thirteen. The French defeat at Charleroi on August 22 by overwhelming numbers placed the British army in peril and immediate retreat was imperative, yet two days passed before a start was made. For five days following the British marched day and night, fighting a hand battle at Le Cateau and many minor engagements, and finally reaching the Oise river, depleted in numbers but still an army. The French armies in their retreat, having more troops, were better able to fight off attacks made by the enemy and suffered less in the retreat and by August 30 were again in good fighting condition. On the line of the Somme, the Oise, and the Aisne from Amiens to Verdun, the French were ready for battle. The British, however, had not yet recovered from their dis astrous retreat and therefore Joffre's armies continued to fall back to the south of Paris until September 4. Von Kluck, the German commander, believing Germans while another French army from the north threatened to flank the German positions. Von Kluck appreciat ing his peril, and leaving only a cavalry regiment to hold the British, counter attacked, and September 8-9 drove Man oury back and so endangered the north ern flank of the French army that it seemed Manoury would be forced to re tire on Paris. On the night of Septem ber 9 the Paris garrison stood to arms, and Manoury's troops awaited daybreak, expecting a crushing defeat, but by that he had to deal with beaten forces, but still formidable, had one objective; to smash the French before attempting an attack on Paris. He marched south east to attack the French flank. In the Battle of the Gurcq which began Septem ber 5, Manoury's army first encountered Germans among the hills of Monthyon and Penchard and on the following day in the valley of the Ourcq defeated the morning the Germans had begun their retreat to the Aisne. Manoury's attack in the Ourcq battle had dislocated Von Kluck's army, and forced von Billow to the east to draw back to keep in line with Von Kluck, heavily hammered by the French who pursued. To the east Foch held the French center, and there the Germans struck with force driving the French south so far, especially on the eastern flank, that a wide gap was created in the whole French line. D'Es pery's corps east of the gap, his 10th division freed by Von Billow's with drawal, left his division to Foch, who launched a terrific attack on the Prus sian Guard, holding position between the Marshes of St. Gond and La Fere Cham penoise. The Germans were routed, losing most of their artillery; the Saxon regiments were smashed, and the whole army of Hausen scattered. News of this disaster started Von Kiuck in rapid re treat to the Aisne, compelled Von Billow to abandon the attempt to hold the north bank of the Marne, and forced all the German armies to retire. September 9 was the decisive day for the armies of Von Kluck, Billow, and Hansen. It is estimated that about 2,225,000 men were Marne possible. This struggle, which the Germans lost, became known as the second battle of Nancy and saved the eastern barrier of France. The Germans
after the Marne retreat dug themselves in behind the Aisne and by September 18 had assumed the offensive, driving back French and British to the north of the river. To the east the German line now swept around Rheims and through the Argonne. In the third week of Septem ber Foch was held up at Rheims by Bil low who captured several forts and bom barded Rheims. West and east of the Argonne the German advance was checked. Forts south of Verdun were attacked, and St. Mihiel captured by the Germans. The bombardment of the Cathedral of Rheims proved a costly mis take; it roused the French people to engaged in the fighting between Verdun and Paris, and that the losses in killed and wounded were between 300,000 and 350,000. The Battle of the Marne broke the German offensive and wrecked their plan which was to annihilate the French armies in the first six weeks of the war.
During the first week of September, and before the battle of the Marne had been decided eight German corps at tempted to cut their way through the French barrier forts between Toul and Epinal which would bring them to the flank and rear of all the French armies engaged from Verdun to Paris, but the army of General de Castelnau repulsed all attacks and made the victory of the fresh determination to crush the in. waders and added to the growing num ber of Germany's enemies among neutral nations. The Germans continued to make gains and their lines of trenches by the third week in September stretched from the Vosges to the Oise. The French flanking operations west of this river were defeated and the Germans recap tured Peronne, Roye, and Lassigny.
Late in September there was only a gap of forty miles between the French lines from Lille southward and the Channel. The Germans now had two definite aims, to capture Antwerp and the Belgian army, occupy the Channel ports and regain the initiative. Ant werp was bombarded on September 29 and surrendered October 8, the Belgian army escaping. Ostend fell on October 15 and the Germans now held most of the Belgian coast. Late in October between La Bassee and the sea British, French, and Belgians fought for six weeks and held up the German advance between the Lys and the mouth of the Yser. At the battle of Ypres the British lost 50,000 men, the French 70,000, and the Belgians 20,000, but the Allies won the fight. The battle of the Yser, not less destructive, was won by the Belgians and French. When the struggle ended the Germans had gained some strips of shell-torn ter ritory, but the main line of the Allies stood and the German attempt to gain Dunkirk and Calais had been frustrated. Germany now occupied most of the in dustrial regions of France and all but a small strip of Belgium. She had failed to destroy France, the British army was growing, a quick victory could no longer be counted on and meanwhile the Rus sians were invading the Carpathians.
From the day that a state of war was declared to exist between Britain and Germany, the British Fleet under John Jellicoe disappeared to find a safe retreat among the Orkneys, there to wait its chance to strike. At the outbreak of the war two German warships, the "Goeben" and "Breslau" were off the Algerian coast. They succeeded in evading their pursuers and gained Constantinople, where they passed into the possession of the Turkish Government. The first naval engagement between German and British ships was fought in Helgoland Bight, August 28, resulting in the destruction of three German light cruisers and sev eral destroyers with no British loss.
The Eastern Front.—Austria declared war on Serbia on July 28, on which date Belgrade was bombarded. An Austrian attempt to cross the Danube on August 6 was repulsed with heavy losses. An Montenegro's only seaport, was bombarded by the Austrian fleet on the following day. Serbian and Montenegrin forces invaded Bosnia on August 12. The most serious fighting was at Shabatz, which the Austrians won on August 16. They were driven out the next two days and by August 23 the Serbians had cleared the enemy from their country. December 2 the Austrians captured Bel grade after four months' effort, but were forced to retire December 14.
On the Russian front a Russian army invaded East Prussia in the first week of August, and August 16-20 won an important victory at Gumbinnen, and occupied Tilsit. Ruzsky's Second Army meanwhile defeated the Austrians at So kal and on August 23 joined Brussilov's Third Army and advanced on Lemberg and the Second Austrian Army. The Battle of Lemberg lasted eight days and resulted in the collapse of the Austrians. In the subsequent fighting the Austrians were forced to retreat over the Car pathian passes, leaving in Russian hands 250,000 prisoners. The result was the loss of all Galicia to the San, the invest ing of Przemysl and a Cossack invasion of the Carpathians and the Hungarian plain. Hindenburg's prompt action saved the armies of the Central Powers from retreat and rout. By August 14 the Hindenburg armies had reached the outskirts of Warsaw and the attack on the city began. The arrival of eight Russian army corps led to a week's struggle and forced Hindenburg to re treat on October 21. The Russians had invested Przemysl and were moving on Cracow. Hindenburg was now forced to make an effort to save the Austrians in Galicia. Leaving a force of Austrians to deal with the Russians on the front from Cracow to Kalisz, he turned the Russian flank and moved his armies be tween the Russians and Warsaw. The Russian position was desperate, for their northern flank had been turned and they were attacked in front by more Germans and Austrians advancing north from Cracow who threatened their southern flank. But the Russians, gathering troops from Warsaw, East Prussia and fortress garrisons, struck the enemy's northern flank and the Germans with difficulty fought their way out. A Ger man attempt to capture Warsaw failed in January.