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Quick Jump Table

Westerners are not only known as history ignoramuses, but double dumbass history ignoramuses when it comes to World War I (WWI). Since I'm the one-and-only Historyscoper (tm), let me quickly bring you up to speed before you dive into my Master Historyscope.

World War I is the greatest event of modern history, sweeping away the Old Order in Europe and creating a New World Order. Too bad, in many ways it's still being fought today. Spoiler: 15 million killed for nothing, wasting huge wealth and changing the sociopolitical scene in Europe forever, mostly toward the bad, unless you're an American, since the U.S. started becoming the Big Kid on the Block. How how how? Where should one begin? How about with Number Nine?

Germany's founding battle? The original Dortmund Pocket and the genesis of the myth of German superiority? In 9 C.E. Germanic (Cherusci) chief Arminius (Hermann) (OG "army man") (-17 to 21), who served in the Roman army from 1-6 C.E., obtained Roman citizenship and a knowledge of Roman military tactics, becoming an equitae ("sir"), and returned home in 7 C.E. to find his people being oppressed by haughty Roman gov. (legate) Publius Quinctilius Varus (b. -46) gets pissed-off and organizes a revolt, throwing Varus off-guard by letting him think that Germania is already a Roman province and he is their gov., feeding him with lawsuits to settle to prove his wisdom, then playing him for a suckah and leading Gorgeous W. Bush, er, Varus and his three legions (20K men) (10% of the entire Roman army) into a trap, where his unarmored warriors outthink, outwit, outlast, and massacre them in the 3-day Battle of Teutoburg (Teutoburger) Forest (Wald) in modern-day Kalkriese near Cologne in modern-day North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany, N of Colonia Agrippina and Mainz; the battle is not fought in the forest but out in the open, with the Romans trapped between the hills and bogs; the Germans commit atrocities against the loser Romans incl. nailing their heads to trees, cutting the throats of officers on pagan altars, and cutting out tongues and sewing up the mouths; the big V temporarily unites chieftains from modern-day Holland to Poland against Rome; Varus' head is sent back as a present; according to Tacitus, Varus attributes the valor of the Germans to their copious use of beer; the news causes panic in Italy, and Augustus goes apeshit, wandering around his palace for months crying "Varus, give me back my legions", and begins to decline into an old fart, ordering the Rhine River to become the permanent border between the Romans and the Germans, while Tiberius is transferred to the Rhine frontier to try to plug the dyke; all hopes of a new N frontier for the Roman empire are abandoned, and the Romans go permanently on the defensive, creating a permanent division between N and S Europe, allowing the Germans to develop a strong nat. consciousness and breed hordes of Roman killers on their own timetable to exploit the fatal mistake of lack of noive that ultimately dooms the supposedly merciless Romans, who fall in 476 C.E.; this fatal decision outlasted the Roman Empire, forever splitting Europe into the German-speaking north and the Latin-speaking south, which was a big reason for the Protestant Reformation, and even carried over into America; people still can't overcome it today?

Lucy and Ricky ditch run-down New York for bright sunny L.A.? On May 11, 330 C.E. after using the spoils from pagan temples in Greece and Asia to pay for it, the new improved city of Byzantium commanding the strategic Bosporus Straits, renamed New Rome is formally dedicated by Roman Emperor Constantine I (the Great) (Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus) (271-337) as a new Rome 800 mi. E of the old Rome; it becomes known as Constantinople (Constantine's town), becoming the foundation of the busy-bee Byzantine Empire, which lasts 1123 years (until 1453); the city's longtime crescent symbol, of Diana, goddess of the hunt (Hecate, goddess of the crossroads?) is kept, with the star symbol added representing the Virgin Mary added; the myth that Constantine I Da Great was divinely appointed by God to found the city causes it to develop a mythical aura which is later used to scare off invaders, and it is usually referred to as Great City (megalopolis), Queen City (basileuousa), or simply The City (polis); located at the crossroads of the trade routes between Europe and Asia at the hub of the great eastern trade centers of Ephesus, Antioch and Alexandria, it is within striking distance of the Danube and the eastern front, and close to the Balkans where the finest soldiers come from, plus it's at the entrance to the Bosphorus on a point of land jutting out from Europe separating the Sea of Marmora on the W from the long natural Golden Horn harbor on the east, which is a natural defense point; after finally being conquered by the Muslims in 1453, it is later (1930) renamed Istanbul (Gr. "eis ten polin" = "into the city"); Constantine I imports a mob of the "Roman people" (proletariat) to give the city a Roman flavor, and founds a new Roman govt. in Constantinople complete with a Roman-style Senate (although both are limited to governing the city) and two annual consuls, and lures leading Roman citizens to move in by offering them exact reproductions of their homes and palaces; to attract the hoi poloi he begins offering free circuses and 80K loaves of bread a day, which backfires as Constantinople becomes a Greek rather than Latin city by the 6th cent.; he issues the new gold solidus coin, which reestablishes monetary stability and remains the standard coinage of the Eastern Empire until 1070; there are 72 coins per lb. of gold, compared to 60 in Diocletia's aureus; intending New Rome to be the Christian capital of the world, binding people of all nationalities with a common religion, Constantine I orders the building of the finest churches ever, incl. the Church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia), Church of the Holy Apostles (Imperial Polyandreion), and the Church of the Holy Peace (Hagia Irene or Eirene); he gives the bishop of Byzantium the title of patriarch; a few large pagan temples are closed, and the others are looted for gold; he allegedly prohibits the making of sacrifices to "false gods", and makes Latin the official language of the city; he loots Greece and Asia Minor for art treasures and places them about the city, turning it into a giant museum, incl. 400 statues in front of the Hagia Sophia; he orders libraries built and filled with Greek mss. (not that anybody reads them if they're by pagans?); the churches in the East lose their independence and come under state control; the armies of the empire are restationed so as to protect the new capital and the E borders, leaving the West and its old capital poorly defended, which dooms it in the coming cent.; meanwhile the new idea of the emperor as God's vicar on Earth complete with divine attributes was born, becoming the #1 theme of European politics until the 12th cent.

In 632 C.E. Arab madass warlord prophet Muhammad (570-632) dies after creating a new monotheistic religion crossing Judaism, Christianity, and uniquely Arab Allah (Moon god?) worship and ethnically cleansing the Arabian Peninsula, after which his followers launched a takeover attempt of the whole world, starting with Persia, Syria, Egypt, and the Holy Land, which they conquered by 642. The Muslim conquest of Europe sputtered in 732 when they were thrown out of France by Christian hero Charles Martel the Hammer (686-741), grandfather of Charlemagne (742-814). The Great Jihad is still theoretically on today since Allah's commands are set in stone, it's just that the great majority of modern Muslims are pikers who are satisfied with holding past gains. Too bad, Muhammad's infallible Quran combined with his personal example gave divine authority to the most retro social-moral system of the Middle Ages, incl. polygamy, slavery, male supremacy, and subjection of believers in other religions, maybe he was right and a man's testimony is worth that of two women, like it takes two women co-stars to substitute for a male star, like Geena Davis and Susan Surandon in "Thelma and Louise", I now pronounce you husband and wives, Brad Pitt may kiss the brides. In conquering the Zoroastrian Persians, Alexandrian Egyptians, and Byzantine cities, the Muslims captured a number of ancient Greek mss. on Science and Technology, and translated them into Arabic, launching Muslim Science, check out the one-sided Islam history ignoramus Ben Kingsley vids and get back with me about the whopping total of two Muslim Nobel Prize winners for Science out of a pop. 1.x billion, compared to only two Jews, one cripple, and one black. Actually, a total of three Nobels for intellectual (non-political) categories, one for every 450M Muslims alive today, compared to 169 for Jews, one for every 89K, that's a ratio of 5K. Christians fall in the middle. What happened? For Christians, it was the rise of the Roman Catholic Church and its suppression of all free thought that caused it to hold back the rise of Science and stink itself up because all works of ancient pagans, incl. Greek and Roman scientists were considered works of the Devil and banned, like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Ironically, the Church even suppressed other Christians, particularly those who wanted the Bible alone to be their authority, not Church synods (they later split off permanently as the Protestants starting in 1517). The Muslims, on the other hand, went on for centuries without Science like them, but finally created an elite cadre in Spain (Al-Andalus) and another in Mesopotamia at the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma) in Baghdad (830) funded by the caliphs, who translated and studied the captured wisdom of da ancient infidels, the land that time forgot, enjoy the scenery just don't upset the natives, and actually advanced Science a bit, about to the modern pre-calculus high school level, no, the 5th grader level, starting with Abu Yusuf Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (801-73) (AKA Alkindus) in Baghdad, who supervised the translation project and introduced Indian numerals to the Islamic world, which made their way to the Christian world and were called Arabic numerals. He stole them from Hindu mathematician Bhaskara I (600-80), who in 629 wrote a verse commentary to the "Aryabhatiya" (499), first using the decimal number system and making it known to Indian scholars. The 499 work was written by Hindu superbrain Aryabhata (476-550), who advanced the theory that the Earth rotates on its axis, gave the correct explanation for eclipses of the Sun and Moon, the value of pi as 3.1416, and solved the quadratic equation with the first known use of algebra, with the soundbyte "The Moon consists of water, the Sun of fire, the Earth of earth, and the Earth's shadow of darkness. The Moon obscures the Sun and the great shadow of the Earth obscures the Moon." Now that the scholars had their Kindles, they ramped things up between their quintuple daily prayer breaks, with Muhammad al-Khwarizmi (780-850) developing algebra (Arabic for restoration), Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Razi (865-925) ("the Islamic Hippocrates") et al. developing medicine and alchemy (Arabic for art of transformation) (the start of chemistry), Alhazen (Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham) (965-1038) of Egypt (who tried to lay low from the caliphs by feigning madness) founding modern optics, and Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (980-1037) of Persia becoming their best all-around raghead brain man. Too bad, it's pretty hard to engage in a laborious lab research project when you have to stop and pray 1-2-3-4-5 times a day to the non-existent Blaalah while Islamic police hold scimitars over your necks, and since religious dictators control society, any and every advance you make is immediately subjected to scrupulous examination for potential heresy, which they call Bid'ah ("innovation"), plus why aren't you out there with everybody else, Abdul, killing infidels for Allah, what are you, a draft evader? Actually, the general Muslim pop. always hated and feared Muslim scientists, as they do now, and they could only do it under the protection of a powerful ruler. As De Lacy O'Leary (1872-1957) put it: "Islam generally had its own wise men, men learned in jurisprudence, tradition, and Qur'an. These were universally respected with ungrudging esteem, such as was never rendered to the scientists who were only tolerated because they were under state protection. It very much tempers our estimate of Arabic learning to remember that scientific and philosophical scholarship was confined to one privileged coterie." Until the West began taking over in the Renaissance, both the Islamic and Christian worlds accepted Ptolemy's 2nd cent. C.E. Almagest ("Great Compilation") that claimed that the Earth is the center of the Universe and everything else revolves around it, let's make a muscle, make a difference, and flex for MDA, they were neck-in-neck in astronomical stupidity while claiming to have pipelines to God. Speaking of Islam killing not incubating Science, around 1100 Persian Sunni Sufi mystic theologian Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (1058-1111) started a reaction against ancient Greek and Roman learning, launching the theory of Occasionalism, to the effect that all cause and effect is determined not by scientific laws but by Allah and his angels, with the soundbyte: "A clumsy and stupid person must be kept away from the seashore, not the proficient swimmer, and a child must be prevented from handling a snake, not the skilled snake-charmer", along with the soundbyte: "The gates of ijtihad (rational debate) in Islam are now closed", meaning that perfection had been reached in both social and spiritual philosophy, hence the conservatives rule and the rationalists are out, causing an Islamic theocracy to be built up which regarded the very concept of scientific laws as an affront to Allah and an infringement of his freedom to act, after which Islam became kaput as an engine of science, and only kept a few engineers around to build butt bombs. Hence, Islam had its chance to prove to the world that it was the leader in science and technology who would turn Earth into a paradise, and blew it bigtime, forever proving it to be the opposite, watch that pothole it might contain an IED, which to be fair puts it on a par with the horrible mean Roman Catholic Church, let's rack 'em up, it seems like the Devil takes over all big organizations after enough time, which is why the little guy has to know who's at the top, God or the Devil, and bypass the organization as necessary to get to the real dude. Not that it's all the Muslims' fault. The House of Wisdom was destroyed by the Mongols of Hulagu Khan in 1258, after which the waters of the Tigris River ran black for 6 mo. from all the ink from the ruined books. In 1420 brain man and future Persian Mongol Timurid sultan (1447-9) Ulugh Beg (1393-1449) (grandson of Tamerlane) founded the Samarkand Observatory, which had instruments to measure precise star positions, becoming the last great Muslim observatory, compiling books of trigonometric tables of sine and tangent values accurate to 8 decimal places; despite science being all-but dead in the Muslim World, thanks to the headlock of the Church, Muslim science remained far ahead of Christendom until about 1600, and I think by now we know that no Bible-thumping religion can claim credit, only scientists who braved the Bible-thumpers, which became easier to do in Christendom because Jeezy never said kill infidels like Muhammad did. In summary, as Pakistani nuclear physicist Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy (1950-) recently put it, for the last 700 years Islam and Science have "parted ways", and even today Muslims tend to go into engineering rather than science since it strains their belief system less.

After the Germanic Goths smothered the Western Roman Empire in 476 C.E., Europe descended into the Dark Ages, where the illiterate Goths had all the swords and spears, and the few literate toga-wearing Latins were liable to wink out during the next Gothic civil war, call it the original Planet of the Apes. The sudden invasions of the Muslims contracted Europe even more, and left it without Egyptian papyrus, causing whatever ancient wisdom they still had to decay to dust. After invading Spain in 711 and taking it over, the Muslims were poised to finish Europe off in 732 after they crossed the Pyrenees, until a hero arose, Charles Martel the Hammer, who threw them back with such a convincing victory that they never again came back, saving future France, Britain, and Germany for Christianity. Actually, Gaul, Britannia, and Germania, were all run by Germans, some pagan, some Christian, but of two warring stripes, Aryan and Athanasian, but there was a period when a new Roman Empire run by Christian Germans was possible.

About 800 C.E. after the exodus of the Germanic Goths, Vandals, Burgundians, Franks, and Lombards, depopulated Germany is filled by the mixed Slavic Wends, who move W from the Baltic states, making the Elbe River the boundary between the Slavic and Western worlds, with German assimilation taking place W of the Oder River; the remaining German tribes incl. the Saxons (NC Germany), East Franks (Lower Rhine), Thuringians (between the Saxons and East Franks), and Bavarians (formerly the Marcomanni) (along the Middle Danube, E Jura, and N Alps) are united by Charlemagne only until his death, after which they return to tribal rivalries.

The Lion Trinity is born in Rome? On Dec. 23, 800 after being sent back to Rome by Charlemagne and kept in protective custody, Pope Leo III clears himself of Roman accusations of moral turpitude and is reinstated; on Dec. 25, 800 (Christmas Day) Frankish king (since 768) Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus) (Karl der Grosse) (Charles the Great) (742-814) is crowned emperor of Rome by surprise as he is kneeling in prayer in the 4th cent. Church of St. Peter in Rome before St. Peter's tomb, and triple-threat Leo III pops up from the shadows and places a crown on his head, hailing him as Caesar and Augustus, with the rehearsed clergy and people shouting "Charles Augustus, crowned great and peace-loving emperor of the Romans, life and victory", causing Charlemagne to allegedly utter the soundbyte that he would never have entered the church that day if he had known the pope's intentions (he wanted to be crowned emperor in France sans the pope so he wouldn't owe him?); the term "Holy Empire" is used in 1157, and "Holy Roman Empire" in 1254; after trying to mollify the outraged Byzantines for stealing their imperial title by satisfying himself with "emperor, king of the Franks and Lombards", Charlemagne tries to erase the lost years since 476 C.E. and refound the Western Roman Empire (ends 1806), while his master the pope tries to make himself the supreme bishop of Christendom, reserving the title of Pope (Papa), and introducing azymes (unleavened bread) into the Eucharist; too bad, Leo III becomes the only pope in history to bow before an earthly king, but he later backtracks and asserts the right of popes to crown all emperors, who must bow before them, and later artists redraw the scene to make it PC; too bad, after stirring up the Norse Vikings, the resurrected Western Empire lasts less than 30 years after Charlemagne's 814 death (until 843).

On Feb. 2, 962 after being invited to Rome by grateful Pope (since 955) John XII (937-64) to end the feudal anarchy of Rome and revive the dead (since 924) Holy Roman Empire (ends 1806) (which is only called the Roman Empire until 1157) as its new Charlemagne, Pope John XII crowns German king (since 936) Otto (Otho) I (the Great) (912-973) as Roman emperor of the West, and crowns his wife (St.) Adelaide (931-99) as empress, shifting the old Roman-Frankish alliance to Roman-German; too bad, the resurrected Roman Empire Pt. III gets off on the wrong foot when this pagan-inside Saxon lets it go to his head and considers himself higher than the pope, ordering all future bishops of Rome to swear fealty to him while claiming the right to approve papal elections, starting a perennial fight which takes until 1122 (Concordat of Worms) to work the bugs out of, even worse, an eternal struggle for supremacy between pope and emperor, which the pope usually wins at the expense of making the emperors and nationalists bitter, leading to the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s.

About 1000 C.E. the House of Wettin is founded, acquiring Wettin Castle in Wettin on the Saale River in Saxony-Anhalt, becoming the ancestor of many Euro dynasties incl. the dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, British Prince Albert, and Edward VII of Britain; in 1917 the British royal family changes its name to Windsor.

One good thing came from the Vikings and Millennium Fever: Shakespeare. How? The Normans, who started out as Norwegian Vikings, then settled in the bad side of France in 911 after agreeing to become Christians, which they ended up calling Normandy (Duchy of the Northmen), finally invaded and took over England from the Anglo-Saxon Germans (who ruled it since the fall of Rome) in 1066 under mean Norman warlord William I the Conqueror (1027-87), who used the coincidence that Halley's Comet appeared just as the big Millennium Fever date of 6/6/1066 came around, freaking out the superstitious Saxon pop. into believing that God was sending them a skywriting message that they will lose their island to some kind of Antichrist, and saw his chance, sending recruiters all over Europe promising mercenaries spoils for joining his cause of stealing the British Isle, which turned out to be a cakewalk. No wonder the Anglo-Saxons were whimps, they got into Christian liberalism and even streaking, like Lady Godiva (1020-80), easy off, good food deserves a good oven, spread a little love today, spread a little something to remember, love stinks yah yah. The haughty Normans kicked the Anglo-Saxons down, calling them dogs, and tried to force them to speak French, after all they learned it, but the Anglo-Saxons resisted, speaking it only to their Norman lords while continuing to speak German in their huts, until several generations went by, garbling up the hut talk and ending up with the mixture called English, hence voila, Shakespeare.

On June 7, 1002 (St.) Henry II the Saint (973-1024) becomes king of Germany, building Bamberg Cathedral in 1004-12 as an outpost against the pesky Slavs, beginning the anti-Slav prejudice of the "pure Aryan" Germans that culminates in the Nazi atrocities of WWII?

You're still the one one, two two? On Sept. 23, 1122 HRE (1106-25) Henry V (1081-1125) and Pope (since 1119) Calixtus II (1064-1124) sign the Concordat of Worms, forfeiting any right to invest bishops with spiritual authority (ring and crozier), ending the Investiture Dispute (begun 1075), but retaining controlling influence in the election of German bishops, who retain political power, settling the long-standing (since 962) ultimate male investiture power struggle between the Roman Catholic Church and the HRE, and becoming Pope Calixtus II's big claim to fame; Henry IV is restored to the Church; from now on being HRE backfires on German kings as they neglect their German duties for their imperial ambitions, keeping Germany from centralizing and letting it slide into a multiplicity of one-horse-town states; too bad, the church vs. state investiture controversy coopts the German intelligentsia, who neglect the study of philosophy, law, lit. etc., causing them to fall behind W Europe until the 14th cent.

On July 15, 1240 after a Swedish army under Jarl Magnusson (Birger Jarl) (1210-66) lands at the confluence of the Izhora and Neva Rivers at the request of Pope Gregory IX to punish the Eastern Orthodox Russians for helping the Finns avoid conversion to Roman Catholicism, 19-y.-o. grand prince (since 1236) (St.) Alexander Nevsky (Nevski) (1220-63) of Novgorod surprise-attacks and defeats their larger army at the Battle of the Neva River (near modern-day St. Petersburg); Alexander gains the name Nevsky (of the Neva) and Khrabry (valiant). On Apr. 5, 1242 with the pesky Mongols gone and the popeless Roman clergy getting ideas about kicking some heretic Russian Orthodox butt and forcing them to accept the True Faith, the Roman Catholic Church-backed Livonian Knights (Brothers of the Sword) coming from Riga in the SW, led by Magister Hermann (brother of Albert of Buxhoeveden) get a shock at the Battle of Lake Peipus (Battle of the Ice) when Alexander Nevsky's foot soldiers swarm and defeat well-armored knights (a first in Middle Age history, setting the precedent for Russian generals using their troops like cannon fodder against the Germans?), killing only a few before they give up and flee (later inflated into hundreds by Russian chroniclers), checking the E expansion of the hated German Huns and their Roman Catholic priests for the next cent.; portrayed from the Russian side in Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 film Alexander Nevsky.

Ser-bi-a, and so are we, bye bye blackbird? On June 15, 1389 (June 28 New Style) (St. Vitus' Day) the Battle of Kosovo Field (Field of the Blackbirds) (First Battle of Kosovo) sees 27K-40K Muslim Turks under sultan (since 1359) Murad I (b. 1326) defeat 12K-30K Orthodox Christian Serbs under Prince Lazar allied with a Bosnian force of 5K-10 under Vuk Brankovic (1345-97), and another 5K-10K under his son Vlatko Vukovic Kosaca, Grand Duke of Hum (-1392) , both sent by Bosnian king Tvrtko I, along with a continent of Knights Hospitallers led by Croatian knight John of Palisna from Vrana, incl. several thousand cavalry, becoming the first Ottoman V against a major European allied army, establishing Turkish rule S of the Danube until 1913; Lazar is captured in battle and killed; on June 16 Murad I is killed in his tent, allegedly by a Serb posing as a deserter, although it's more probable that he dies in battle, becoming the only Ottoman sultan to die in battle; Murad I is succeeded by his partly-Greek son Beyazid (Beyezid) (Bajazet) I (Yildirim) (the Thunderbolt) (1347-1403) as Ottoman sultan #4 (until 1403), beginning the conquest of W and C Anatolia (Saruhan, Aydin, Menteshe, Hamideli, Germiyan, E Karaman) (1389-90); Prince Lazar's son Stefan Lazarevic (1374-1427) becomes ruler of Ottoman vassal Serbia, with his mother princess Milica ("gracious") Hrebeljanovic (-1405) as regent; his sister Princess Olivera Despina (1372-1444) marries sultan Bayezid I; Stefan goes on to modernize Serbia, introducing modern battle tactics, knight tournaments, and firearms; some Serbs hold out in the mountainous Montenegro (It. "black mountain") (Serb. "Crna Gora") region of the province of Zeta between Yugoslavia and Albania, named after 5,771-ft. Mt. Lovcen ("black mountain"), which becomes an independent principality (until 1910); the Germiyan Turkoman principality in W Anatolia (founded 1283) is annexed by the Ottomans (1389-90), along with the Aydin principality in W Anatolia (founded 1308) and the Saruhan principality in W Anatolia (founded 1313); Murad I begins the large-scale practice of Devshirme (Devsirme), the levying of Christian children for conversion to Islam and work in the Janissaries, palace, and admin.; from henceforth all Turkish sultans are sons of concubines - if not bitches?

A momentous battle for Eastern Europe? On July 15, 1410 a huge Slavic Polish army under king Wladislaw II Jagiello (1351-1434), along with partially-pagan Slavic Lithuanians under grand duke Vytautus (Witowt) the Great (1350-1430), aided by some Tartars defeats and massacres the German Roman Catholic Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Tannenberg (Zalgiris) (Grunwald) and bankrupts them, with the survivors escaping to Marienburg Fortress and holding on; Eastern Europe is saved from Germanization - and Hollywood casting agents are left to sort it out later?

In 1411 the electorate of Brandenburg, ruled by princes of the houses of Wittelsbach and Luxembourg since 1323 comes up for grabs, and the Palatinate branch of the House of Wittelsbach (founded 1119) begins fracturing into numerous branches, incl. Birkenfeld, Neuberg, Neumarkt, Sulzbach, and Zweibrucken; meanwhile German king (since 1411) Sigismund I of Luxembourg (1368-1437) becomes prince-elector of Brandenburg (until 1415). In 1415 Sigismund I goes to Perpignan to try to induce Pope Benedict XIII to renounce his claims, and after being paid a king's ransom in gold to become one of the seven electors of the HRE, places the electorate of Brandenburg (capital Berlin) under the rule of Burgrave Frederick VI of Nuremberg, who becomes Frederick I (1371-1440), first prince-elector of Brandenburg (son of Burgrave Frederick V of Nuremberg), becoming the first member of the House of Hohenzollern (not to be confused with the kaput stuffy Hohenstaufens of 1138-1268) to rule the Margraviate of Brandenburg (until 1918); Frederick I begins the task of quelling the turbulent nobles and centralizing the govt., while extending the boundaries; too bad, the ambition of the New Kid on the Block Hohenzollerns puts them on a collision course with the Hapsburgs, which results in a final V in 1871 at the expense of the elimination of Prussia as an independent state.

1452 AEIOU? The first Emperor Ahnuld? On Mar. 19, 1452 37-y.-o. German Hapsburg King Frederick III, archduke of Austria, duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, and king of Rome is finally crowned HRE Frederick (Friedrich) III (1415-93) by Pope Nicholas V three days after marrying 18-y.-o. infanta Eleanor (Leonor) of Portugal (1434-67) (whose large dowry pays off his debts and cements his grate wealth and powah), becoming the last HRE crowned in Rome by the pope; his motto is the anagram AEIOU ("Austria Est Imperare Orbi Universo") (Austria is the Ruler of the World) (It is Austria's Destiny to Rule the World), which he has inscribed on all his possessions (and his 22-inch biceps?); too bad, 40 years later Columbus discovers the New World, and the Austrians don't get any, causing W Europe to pass them by, their big biceps shrinking to toothpicks like a shrunken balloon, and by the 20th cent. they are down to a cute little tourist trap with the Von Trapp Singers and Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do? No wonder their #1 guy of the 20th cent. Ahnuld emigrates to the U.S. to become a Hollywood star and marry into the Kennedy clan?

To make a long you know what short, after the West refused pleas for help, and Ottoman Sultan (1451-81) Mehmed (Mehmet) (Mohammed) II (the Conqueror) (1432-81) reneged on his oath on the Quran to the Byzantine embassy on his accession in 1451 that he would respect their territorial integrity, only to siege the city in Apr. 1453 using sappers and giant cannon, the Ottomans took Constantinople on May 28-29, 1453 (Mon.-Tues.), massacring, raping, plundering and enslaving the Christian pop., sticking the head of last Byzantine emperor (since 1448) Constantine XI Palaeologus (1404-53) on a pike, and turning the Church of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, after which they had an open back door into Eastern Europe. Constantinople was renamed Istanbul, meaning in the city or downtown (Gr. "eis ten polin" = "into the city"), the city that connects Europe with Asia, which went from the capital of the Roman Empire to the capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1123 years thanks to Mad Mahomet the Prophet of the people that Jehovah said were wild asses. They did tolerate the Greek Orthodox Church, as long as they accepted 9th class citizenship. The entire Ottoman push was offensive and unprovoked, Islam and fun go hand in hand, Allahland, where a kid can be a devil.

On Nov. 11, 1485 the Treaty (Partition) of Leipzig causes the possessions of the House of Wettin ruling family of Saxony to be redistributed, with one part (Meissen) becoming a duchy with capital at Dresden under Duke Albert III "the Bold" of Saxony (1443-1500), who founds the Albertine branch of the Wettin family, ruling ducal Saxony, and the rest remaining an electorate under his older brother Elector Ernest of Saxony (1441-86), with capital at Wittenberg, who founds the Ernestine branch of the Wettin family; Ernst also receives an area around Wittenberg incl. S Thuringia, the Vogtland, and parts of Pleissnerland; the partition prevents the formation of a C German power, allowing Brandenburg-Prussia to rise.

With Catholic indulgences, crime does pay? The papal quest for filthy lucre finally reaps public reaction, creating the Protestant schism? On Oct. 31, 1517 (Wed.) (Halloween) German Roman Catholic Augustinian friar Martin Luther (1483-1546), after becoming sick of the indulgences peddled by Dominican friar Johann Teufel, er, Johann Tetzel (1465-1519) et al., and convinced that 1517 marks the end of the Babylonian Captivity of the Congregation, nails his Ninety-Five (95) Theses (in Latin) to the door of the Wittenberg Palast (Palace) (Castle) Church (known for housing 5K+ holy relics, which he detests), arguing against indulgences and other Roman Catholic Church abuses, claiming that the pope is the Antichrist, "and his seat is that of Satan himself", "the papacy is a general chase, by command of the Roman pontiff, for the purpose of running down and destroying souls", and that "The treasures of indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the wealth of men", igniting the already-smoldering Protestant Reformation (he could have picked a more PC date than Halloween?); his offer of a public debate is declined, but his theses are soon translated from Latin to German and pub., causing the German middle and merchant classes, who are already chafing at Italian efforts at domination to rise to his support in reaction to the fugging Fuggers (successor to the Medicis) and other papal bankers who are draining Germany of gold for Rome with this holy racket (the Fuggers are behind the loans made by Albert of Brandenburg to the pope); the big revelation to Luther that gave him strength was from the Bible, incl. the Seven Trumpets in Rev. Ch. 8, and Rev. 13:5, where it says that the Antichrist will rule the world for 42 mo., which he turns into 1260 years instead of days, setting year 1 in 539 C.E., and claiming that Christ will therefore return in the year 1799, thus it's time to get started whipping things up? - the wildlife experience, more than a museum?

In 1543 Martin Luther (1483-1546) pub. On the Jews and Their Lies, which calls for their Nazi-like persecution incl. pogroms 400 years before the little-miss-sunshine Nazis, causing their persecution and expulsion from Prague, Worms, Vienna, Genoa, and the papal states over the next 130 years; "A base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision, and law must be counted as filth"; "Full of the Devil's feces... which they wallow in like swine" (synagogues); "Incorrigible whore and an evil slut".

Fast forward to proudly Protestant Elizabeth England and its culture god William Shakespeare (1564-1616). In Nov. 1623 the First Folio (Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, pub. According to the True Originall Copies), ed. by Ben Jonson is pub. in London; it contains 36 plays; "an office to the dead, to procure his orphans' guardians", "to keep the memory of so worthy a friend and fellow alive as was our Shakespeare"; dedicated to Jonson's patron William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (1580-1630) (chancellor of Oxford U.) and his brother Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke (1584-1650); the title page engraving of WS by Martin Droeshout (1601-51) was drawn from instructions only, since he never saw his subject, and was 15 when Shakespeare died; the "monstrous" drawing of Big S is oddly assymetrical, with a funny line behind his ear down to his chin, as if he has a mask on, giving conspiracy theorists plenty to munch on; "The play's the thing... look not on his picture but his book"; "He was not of an age, but for all time!"; "Soul of the Age! The applause, delight, the wonder of our stage!" (Ben Jonson); by the 21st cent. only 40 copies survive; on Oct. 8, 2001 one sold at a New York City Christie's Auction for $6,166,000; on July 13, 2006 Sotheby's auctioned one for $5.2M.

On Feb. 25, 1713 Hohenzollern Prussian king #1 (since 1701) Frederick I of Prussia (b. 1657) dies after having drained the country of resources, and his son Frederick William (Friedrich Wilhelm) I (1688-1740) becomes king #2 of Prussia and elector of Brandenburg (until May 31, 1740), soon showing himself a heaven-spelled-backwards royal tightwad who likes tall soldiers for his military parades as he builds up the size of the army from 38K to 83.5K, making Prussia the 3rd biggest military power after Russia and France, introducing pigtails to the army. On May 31, 1740 Hohenzollern Prussian king (since 1713) Frederick William I (b. 1688) dies, and his son Friedrich (Frederick) II (the Great) (1712-86) becomes king #3 of Prussia (until Aug. 17, 1786), becoming a student of Macchiavelli, creating a strong army, and trying to duplicate Versailles at Potsdam (Sans Souci Park, New Palace, Orangery, Marble Palace, etc.), attracting Voltaire, La Mettrie, Euler, and other intellectuals; a Francophile who prefers French to German, creating the Pour le Merite (Mérite) (AKA the Blue Max) as the highest German award for bravery; he is an avid flutist and composer, and one of the first art patrons to recognize the virtues of the pianoforte; a dead spider in his drink saves him from poisoning?; he makes his troops wear dark green uniforms of coarse cloth and put buttons on the top side of military sleeves to keep them from wiping their faces and soiling them; he orders soldiers to shave their faces and heads so that the enemy can't grab their hair and cut off their heads; the goose-step (Stechstritt) (Ger. "piercing step") is adopted.

In 1759 German dramatist-critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-81) founded the critical journal Briefe, die Neueste Literatur Betreffend with Moses Mendelssohn and Christoph Friedrich Nicolai, which pub. essays promoting Shakespeare as a model for German dramatists in preference to Frenchies such as Corneille, Racine, and Voltaire, causing German literati to cast off French influence. In 1762-6 German poet Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1813) translated 17 Shakespeare plays into German in 8 vols., becoming the first look the Krauts got at the Anglo-Saxon god, I guess they didn't buy it else there might not have been WWI and WWII. Also in 1797 German Romantic poet August Wilhelm von Schlegel (1767-1845) began translating Shakespeare into German, which is like translating silk purses into sows' ears. No surprise, in 1831 German dramatist Christian Dietrich Grabbe (1801-36) pub. Comedy, Satire, Irony and Deeper Meaning, dissing Germany's fascination with Shakespeare, and that was pretty much all she wrote for English culture stopping Hitler.

In 1768 after the Seven Years' War causes France to withdraw as Europe's #1 military power, the Fifth Russo-Turkish War begins (ends 1774), with Russia under tsar (1762-96) Catherine II the Great (1729-96) working to take S Ukraine, N Caucasus, and the Crimea from the crumbling Ottoman Empire; a Russian army pushes SW from the Dnieper River into the Balkans, scoring Vs and calling on Christians to join them against the Muslim Ottomans; meanwhile another Russian force captures the Crimea; too bad, the Christians refuse to respond to the call. On July 21, 1774 the Fifth Russo-Turkish War (begun 1768) ends with a Russian V and the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji (Kucuk Kaynarca), giving Russian trading ships freedom to navigate in Turkish Black Sea waters, and control of the Crimean seaports of Azov and Kerch; the Crimean Khanate becomes independent under Russian suzerainty; Russia receives full possession of Azov and land S to the Kuban River, along with the territory between the Dnieper and S Bug Rivers, making the Dnieper River the Russian border; Turkey renounces claims to Kabarda in the N Caucasus; Russia becomes the official protector of Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire; Turkey is forced to pay 4.5M rubles reparations, and promise lenient treatment of Moldavia and Wallachia, which is placed under Russian protection despite Turkish suzerainty since the year 1411; Turkey is forced to cede NW Moldavia (Bukovina) to the Hapsburgs; instead of bringing peace, the Russkies use the treaty for excuses to go to war to take more territory from the sick Ottoman Empire, expanding S and E until it bumps up against the Western powers.

It took 1300 years after the fall of Rome for the West to finally get its act together with the American Revolution in 1775-83, a new beginning for humanity that reached back to the ancient Greeks and made use of all the wisdom since, becoming the greatest breakthrough in human liberty ever seen, making the U.S. Da (don't say Great White) Hope of Da Non-Allah-Submitting World ever since. No Mel, it wasn't a Jewish plot, or if so, they must have made up with the ancient pagan Greeks who liked to exercise naked with their uncircumcised dongs swinging like your Celt ancestors, how'd you get so rich? Some of the great Founding Fathers included George Washington (1732-99), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), James Madison (1751-1836), John Adams (1735-1826), Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Benjamin Franklin (1706-90), and Thomas Paine (1737-1809). They all based their philosophy on English big brain John Locke (1632-1704), ("Father of Liberalism"), French big brain Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron Montesquieu (1689-1755), and Scottish big brains David Hume (1711-76) and Adam Smith (1723-90), but went way beyond them. Where did the U.S. Founding Fathers get their great ideas? Answer: they were historyscopers. Back then they didn't have the Internet like TLW, so access to historical materials was limited to the wealthy, and only those with great gobs of leisure time could absorb it all, so there these white English dudes were, hanging out in the libraries and studies in their mansions while their slaves supported them. No wonder they had an ambivalent attitude toward slavery, knowing that it was wrong but also not wanting to have to get a day job, but hedging their bets by laying the groundwork for racial equality on paper, while playing it safe and leaving the matter to posterity. Benjamin Franklin was an exception, a self-made man, so no surprise that he finally made peace with his conscience and denounced slavery just before he croaked of ripe old age. Tom Paine was a radical Freethinker who saw the French Revolution firsthand, and was always living off the income from his sensational writings, incl. The Age of Reason (1794-1807) (an American bestseller that argues for the existence of one God, but dissects the Bible as full of errors and contradictions, and slams the Bible god Jehovah as not the real God, but a tribal god of the Hebrews, little more than a bloodthirsty idol, not worthy of belief, too bad that Jefferson didn't loan him his Quran so he could tear it apart too), so of course he was the most vehement in denouncing slavery, knowing that they'd consider all his ideas kooky but cool enough to read in the loo. They were all ahead of their time, and the rest of the world is still catching up to their sound ideas, the world's main chance. Yes, there are still Deists around, and they do sometimes tear into the Quran, go Deists. So sorry, Pres. Obama,there wasn't a Muslim among them, but there were a lot of Freemasons among them, and they even laid out the U.S. capital city Washington, D.C. in a Masonic configuration. There were also Jews among them. In Germany on May 1, 1776 (May Day) the mysterious Bavarian Order of the Illuminati was founded by Johann Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830), allegedly secretly funded and masterminded by German Jewish banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812), the father of international banking (a Spinoza disciple), with a general plan of destroying the Christian order in Europe by infiltrating and turning nation against nation until it all turns to crap, then stirring the crap to create a New World Order (NWO), and which somehow was allegedly behind the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Revolutions of 1848, the U.S. Civil War, the Russian Revolution, World Wars I and II, the League of Nations and U.N., and which is supposedly on its game to this day and will be there if/when there's an Armageddon, stay tuned to Armageddon Idol starring Simon Scowl. Alexander Hamilton was allegedly a secret Rothschild agent, which is why he pushed the creation of the First U.S. National Bank on Feb. 25, 1791, which became the mission of U.S. pres. #7 (1829-37) Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) to free the U.S. from, which he did, only to have it come back bigtime on Dec. 23, 1913 with the Federal Reserve, Illuminati shark music here.

As white Americans fight to create a new homeland for their "race" on stolen Amerindian land, a German scientist lays the theoretical basis for the original sin of white supremacy so that white will always be right theoretically no matter how the facts look? In 1776 German biologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840) pub. De Generis Humani Varietate Nativa Liber (On the Natural Varieties of Humanity), which lays the foundation for the science of anthropology; taking it as given that only God can create them, he defines the four "races" of mankind as Caucasian, Mongolian, American Indian, and Ethiopian (African); in 1795 he adds Malayan; of course the punch line is that white is right and black is bad - and for the in-between colors, welcome to Progressive.com, Manwich, Manwich, we adore thee?

In Dec. 1782 the Russians under Adm. Potemkin easily conquer and annex the Crimea, causing many Tatars to flee to Ottoman territory. Too bad, the French Rev. of 1789 freaks Catherine II out, causing her to drop plans for conquering the Balkans and partitioning them with Austria.

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	John Adams (1735-1826)	Mar. 4, 1797	Mar. 4, 1801
Britain	George III (1738-1820)	Oct. 25, 1760	Jan. 29, 1820
France	Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821)	May 18, 1804	Apr. 6, 1814
Spain	Charles IV (1748-1819)	Dec. 14, 1788	Mar. 19, 1808
Austria	HRE Francis II (1768-1835)	Mar. 1, 1792	Aug. 6, 1806
Russia	Tsar Paul I (1754-1801)	Nov. 17, 1796	Mar. 12, 1801
Prussia	Friedrich Wilhelm III (1770-1840)	Nov. 16, 1797	June 7, 1840
Papacy	Pope Pius VII (1740-1823)	Mar. 14, 1800	July 20, 1823
Turkey	Sultan Selim III (1761-1808)	Apr. 7, 1789	July 29, 1808

Fast forward to Napoleon. Yes, the prick had his faults, but he was a stone's throw from uniting Europe into a world superpower until he made the disastrous mistake of invading Mother Russia and getting a taste of the worst Russian winter in years, wasting his army. After that, he got one last chance, and blew it in the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, leaving Europe under the control of a network of reactionary autocratic govts.

On Feb. 9, 1801 after having the Hohenlinden knocked out of them, the Austrians sign the Treaty (Peace) of Luneville (Lunéville) (pr. lu-nay-VEEL) with Napoleon, and HRE Francis II again cedes the left bank of the Rhine to France (which is nice, since that's where the original Germanic Franks started out?), and concedes the breakup of the Holy Roman Empire, with all cessions made under Campo Formio reaffirmed; the Batavian, Helvetian, Cisalpine and Ligurian Repubs. are recognized, and the Louisiana territory is ceded by Spain to France; the grand duchy of Tuscany becomes the duchy of Etruria, given to the son of the duke of Parma; with Austria out of the war, Britain and France begin peace negotiations.

At long last, a victory for oppressed Christians against the Muslim Ottoman Empire? On Feb. 14, 1804 the Massacre of the Serbian Knights (Seca Knezova) (Knezes) in the C square of Valjevo, Serbia by the Janissary dahias triggers the First Serbian Uprising against 4 cents. of Ottoman rule, led by Grand Leader (Veliki Vozd) Karadorde (Djordje) "Black George" Petrovic (1768-1817), which is brutally crushed by Oct. 7, 1813. On Aug. 12-15, 1806 6K-8K ensconced Serbs defeat an Ottoman army of 50K-80K from Bosnia in the Battle of Misar, then in Dec. defeat another Ottoman army from the SE in the Battle of Deligrad, then siege Belgrade in Dec. (until 1807); meanwhile they organize their own parliament. On Apr. 24, 1815 after Karadorde Petrovic and most of the Serbian leaders escape to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, the Second Serbian Uprising against the Turks (ends July 26, 1817) begins as the Serbian nat. council in Takovo proclaims a revolt under Milos Obrenovich (1780-1860), who utters the soundbyte: "Here I am; here you are; war against the Turks!"; the Serbs go on to conquer the Pashaluk of Belgrade (Sanjak of Smederevo). On July 26, 1817 the Ottoman sultan recognizes the new independent principality of Serbia, with capital at Belgrade, and the Second Serbian Uprising (begun 1815) ends with a V and partial autonomy for the Serbs, although they must pay a yearly infidel jizya tax to the sultan, who keeps a garrison in Belgrade until 1867; on Nov. 6 Obrenovic is elected prince #1 of Serbia (until June 25, 1839); the Balkans began breaking out of Muslim rule; too bad, Serbs are mainly Orthodox Catholic, leading to a split with the Roman Catholic Austrians, compounded by the German-Slav thang.

On Aug. 11, 1804 HRE Francis II proclaims himself Austrian emperor Francis I (Franz) (1768-1835) in anticipation of giving up his title of HRE, and the Austrian Empire begins (ends 1867).

On June 12, 1806 most of the German states secede and form the Confederation of the Rhine (ends 1813), placing all of Germany except Austria, Prussia, Brunswick, and Hesse under French protection, with Hesse-Darmstadt becoming a grand duchy (until 1918) under landgrave Louis X, who becomes Duke Louis I; the garrisoning of French troops on German soil finally causes Frederick William III of Prussia to declare war, and Prussia, Britain, Russia, and Sweden to form the Fourth Coalition against France; elector Frederick Augustus IIII of Saxony later joins. On July 12 the tiny country of Liechtenstein in C Europe on a Washington, D.C.-sized patch of land on the upper Rhine River (E side) between Austria and Switzerland becomes a sovereign state - one good side effect of the HRE breakup? What are you doing, getting out? My eyes, my beautiful eyes? On Aug. 6 (Wed.) after either Napoleon I orders it abolished, or Francis II believes the rumors that Nappy wants to take over the HRE title, HRE (since 1792) Francis II declares the Holy Roman Empire and the Third Reich (Reich 1 founded in 800, Reich 2 in 962) dissolved, and abdicates as HRE, declaring himself the emperor of Austria alone.

On June 21, 1808 ex-Janissary Pasha Mustafa Alemdar (Bayrakdar) (1765-1808) of Rustchuk (Ruscuk) (Rousse) (Russe) (in Bulgaria on the Danube River 120 mi. from the Black Sea) arrives in Constantinople with an army of 15K to take on 40K Albanian and Bosnian rebels, after which sultan (since 1789) Selim III (b. 1761) is strangled in his seraglio while playing his flute by his chief black eunuch on orders of his nephew Mustafa IV (b. 1779), and thrown into the inner courtyard of the palace to show the rebels, who raise him to the throne, only to be killed along with the rebels by Alemdar; meanwhile after escaping assassination by being hidden by his mother in the furnace of a bath, leaving him the sole remaining member of the royal line of Osman, Selim III's younger brother Mahmud (Mahmut) II (1785-1839) is crowned Ottoman sultan #30 (until July 1, 1839), with Bayrakdar as grand vizier, who then makes the mistake of trying to continue the reforms, and on Nov. 15 1K Janissaries attack him in his house in the Porte, causing him to blow up his powder magazine in the cellar and commit suicide, taking 400 Janissaries with him; the Russian blockade of Constantinople is unbroken; Mustafa IV doesn't attempt any reforms for a good long time, needing to get rid of the pesky Janissaries first (1826), but goes on to attempt to modernize Turkey with Euro-style culture in 1839, setting the example by dressing in Euro military dress.

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	James Madison (1751-1836)	Mar. 4, 1809	Mar. 4, 1817
Britain	George III (1738-1820)	Oct. 25, 1760	Jan. 29, 1820
France	Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821)	May 18, 1804	Apr. 6, 1814
Austria	Emperor Francis I (1768-1835)	Aug. 6, 1806	Mar. 2, 1835
Russia	Tsar Alexander I (1777-1825)	Mar. 12, 1801	Dec. 1, 1825
Prussia	Friedrich Wilhelm III (1770-1840)	Nov. 16, 1797	June 7, 1840
Papacy	Pope Pius VII (1740-1823)	Mar. 14, 1800	July 20, 1823
Turkey	Sultan Mahmud II (1785-1839)	1808	July 1, 1839

On Sept. 15, 1814 the Congress of Vienna of the winning powers opens (ends June 9, 1815), with the four major allied powers calling the shots, Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich (1773-1859) (chmn.) for Austria, Prince Karl August von Hardenberg (1750-1822) and Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (1767-1835) for Prussia, Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (1769-1822) and Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) for Britain, and tsar (1801-25) Alexander I (1777-1825) and his advisers for Russia; Cardinal Ercole Consalvi (1757-1824) represents the papacy; Talleyrand tries to gain admission but fails until the issue of Poland and Saxony leads to the brink of war; most of the negotiations are conducted during nightly parties, becoming known as "diplomacy through entertainment"; German Roman Catholic priest Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner (1768-1823), who started out as a Romantic poet then converted in 1811 is ordained as a priest, and stations himself in Vienna, giving fanatical sermons to crowded congregations, using the example of the lavish parties as proof they are sinners.

I return my flower, a changed bee? Let's get Chef Pierre on the road? It's playtime, let's see your best Karate Krunch? On Mar. 20-June 28, 1815 the Hundred Days culminates in Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821) meeting British gen. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) for the last time at Waterloo, which Wellington later claims "was won on the playing fields of Eton"; on Feb. 26 after getting pissed-off at the Bourbon restoration and the machinations of the Congress of Vienna, and seeing his chance with Anglo-Dutch troops under Wellington and Prussian troops under Blucher scattered around the Low Countries, Napoleon eludes British patrol ships and escapes Elba, then lands on Mar. 1 in Cannes, where troops sent to capture him fall prey to his charisma and and rally around him, causing Louis XVIII to flee to Ghent; on Mar. 13 the allies issue a ban against Nappy, but that doesn't stop him from entering Paris and establishing a govt., with the Duc de Cambaceres as pres. of the House of Peers and minister of justice, then organizing an army to reconquer Belgium and Holland, causing Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia to form the Seventh (Final) Coalition against him on Mar. 25, supplying 180K men each and getting all European nations except Sweden to join, resulting in a 1M-man army; Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours takes the cue and returns to the U.S. with his sons; Nathan Mayer Rothschild funds the Brits, while Jacob Rothschild funds the French, allowing them to play both sides and end up owning a large amount of the British Empire, after which they force their five C European banks to be used instead of transferring precious metals from country to country?

On Mar. 20-29, 1815 the Congress of Vienna (begun 1814) agrees to the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland, and a constitutional convention meets in Switzerland to draw up a new federal pact.

On May 5, 1815 after Austrian Prince Metternich opens the diet of the German Confederation (ends 1866) in Frankfurt, Grand Duke Karl August of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach grants the first German constitution, effective June 8, creating a 38-state confederation from 360 HRE states under the presidency of the emperor of Austria; an edict limits land ownership to those able to furnish a team of animals to work it, forcing many peasants into poverty and cottage industries; the Free City of Frankfurt ie established, with a constitution that restores the old restrictions on the Jews except the requirement to live in the ghetto.

The orchestra is on their feet? The last half of the year is a big gig for the European diplomats, who carve up France's carcass for their royal absolutist masters? On June 9, 1815 the Congress of Vienna (begun 1814) closes with the Treaty of Vienna; the result is the concept of the balance of power to preserve internat. equilibrium of the winning powers, with periodic congresses meeting to maintain peace (prevent revolts); France reverts to its 1790 boundaries, but is allowed to keep Avignon, which it took from the papacy; Russia keeps Finland, and the greater part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, which is dissolved, and Poland (Cracow) is repartitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria, with a kingdom of Poland created under a king and the Russian tsar, with the right to have unspellable Polish as the official language plus their own army (ends 1846); Austria emerges as the dominant power on the continent (ends 1866), receiving new territories in Italy and the Illyrian Provinces; Prussia receives part of the duchy of Warsaw, Danzig, Swedish Pomernia and Rugen, plus new parts of Westphalia and Neuchatel and more than half of Saxony, which becomes a province; on Aug. 24, 1815 the Fundamental Law of the Kingdom of the United Netherlands is passed, uniting Belgium and Holland in an uneasy religious-unfriendly alliance in order to create a strong buffer state against France (ends 1830); Luxembourg (founded 963), the 350-year toy of Burgundy, Spain, Austria and France is made a Grand Duchy and given to the Netherlands; Switzerland becomes independent of France, and on Nov. 20 the Swiss Federal Pact is ratified, creating a confederation of 22 contiguous autonomous cantons with a Diet with restricted powers which requires the vote of two-thirds of the cantons to ratify any act; Norway and Sweden are joined in another bad marriage under one ruler; the dynasties in Spain, Sardinia and the Papal States (incl. Bologna) which had been taken over by the Napoleon clan are restored; the Valtellina passes to the new Lombard-Venetian Kingdom held by Austria (until 1848); Piedmont is returned to the kingdom of Sardinia, which is given Genoa and Liguria, making it the #1 independent state in the Italian peninsula; the new Germanic Confederation is formed (until 1848, then 1850-66), consisting of 38 member states (Austria, Liechtenstein, Hamburg et al.) as the replacement for the Holy Roman Empire (ends 1866), with a Diet at Frankfurt-am-Main consisting of two assemblies of diplomats presided over by Austrian reps.; the Ionian Islands of Greece are taken from France and placed under British suzerainty (until 1863); East Friesland is added to Hanover (an electorate since 1692), which is proclaimed a kingdom (until 1886), and restored to the English crown (ends 1837); England gains the nice naval hops of Malta and Helgoland, the Cape of Good Hope, and scattered island possessions taken from the Netherlands and France; Switzerland promises to not allow their famous and feared mercenaries to fight anywhere but at home and the Vatican; brie is declared the king of cheeses; the war to end all wars is over, but the real war is on hotter than ever between the liberal forces seeking to end absolutism in a hedonistic world that delights in pleasure and sin, and the absolutist forces seeking to hold onto their gains and the religious piety of the masses while themselves delighting in, er, pleasure and sin, with round one being conservative top dog Austria vs. liberal-hope challenger Prussia, whose liberal pop. has the problem of the Junkers (large landholders); after a cent. of strife it takes WWI to finally undo the old order completely? Into each life some rain must fall? On June 15-16 Napoleon suddenly crosses the Belgian frontier and attacks Charleroi, taking it from the Prussians; on June 16 he severely defeats Field Marshal Blucher at the Battle of Ligny (Nappy's last V), forcing him to fall back, while he personally rallies his scattered troops; meanwhile French marshal Michel Ney attacks the British under the Prince of Orange at the June 16 Battle of Quatre Bras and is defeated, while French troops under marshal Jean-Baptiste Droute, Count d'Erlon (1765-1844) are given conflicting orders and march back and forth between Ligny and Quatre Bras without engaging; Napoleon orders cavalry cmdr. marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy, 2nd Marquis de Grouchy (1766-1847) to follow and attack Blucher and his Prussians, who are expected to retreat S to Namur, but his orders are delayed for 12 hours, and Grouchy doesn't follow them, blindsiding grouchy Nappy, who joins Ney on June 17 and follows the retreating British on the road to Brussels, having a perfect life until they make a stand at the crossroads of Mt. St. Jean in front of the village of (what's love? that's right?) Waterloo; the last major battle involving all the great powers of Europe until 1914; alas, if only there had not been a bad rainstorm on the 17th, and he had not been suffering from painful hemorrhoids keeping him inside his tent high on opium, Nappy might have taken the unready Brits, but c'est la vie?; on June 18 (Sun.) (midday) (6, 6+6+6, 1815 = 6+6+6 + 1+5=6?) the watershed Battle of Waterloo in Belgium between Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington's 32K troops begins with a French frontal attack on Wellington's troops at the Battle of La Haye Sainte (named after a farmhouse at the E end of the battlefield that is named after Jesus Christ's crown of thorns) whose "thin red line" repels the French cavalry charge three, count 'em, three times, giving Blucher's troops (who had not fallen back to Namur, but turned N along a series of farm roads to Wavre, eluding grouchy Grouchy) under new cmdr. August Wilhelm Antonius Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau (1760-1831) (who took charge after aging Field Marshal Blucher became disabled at Ligny) to surprise know-it-all-Nappy (the original Wrath of Khan vs. Kirk and Spock?), and come into view, though they are slowed by the muddy conditions, and take until 4:30 p.m. to reach the French at Planchenoit, on Nappy's right flank, getting him into a vise; at 7 p.m. the decision hour arrives, and Nappy the Gambler risks his Old (Imperial) Guard, who fight to the last man in vain, until finally the Frogs are routed; the French propose a truce, which is laughed off, and Gneisenau pursues the Frogs to the gates of Paris, capturing Napoleon's carriage, and beating Wellington; on July 7 Paris is retaken, and Louis XVIII returns to his throney throne throne, backed by large sums of money raised by Jacques Laffitte (1767-1844), who becomes gov. of the Bank of France and pres. of the chamber of commerce, supplying 2M francs from his own pocket to cover the pay of the imperial troops after the Battle of Waterloo (Napoleon I himself deposited 5M francs in gold with him before leaving France for the last time); the British Army begin wearing bearskin hats after the Battle of Waterloo to mock Napoleon's Imperial Guard. His last days as a Playboy Playmate coming up in minutes, or, Shrek the Third is about to debut? On June 22 (4 days after the Big D at Waterloo) after going with his brother Joseph Bonaparte to Rochefort, planning to sail separately for N. Am., and Joseph offering to give up his own hired vessel for him, whereupon he graciously lets him escape instead, Napoleon surrenders to British Vice-adm. Sir Henry Hotham (1777-1833) (ham jokes here?), then on July 15 formally surrenders aboard the HMS Bellerophon (Capt. Frederick Lewis Maitland) off Rochefort, and abdicates again in favor of his son Napoleon II (1811-32), who never rules; Napoleon is unanimously ordered by the allies to be exiled to St. Helena Island in the butthole of the Atlantic off the W African coast, where he arrives in the Bellerophon in Oct., and remains until his death on May 5, 1821; the Brits set up a garrison on Ascension Island to the NW, calling it stone frigate HMS Ascension, classified as "sloop of war of the smaller class"; French marshal Michel Ney (b. 1769)is executed for treason on Dec. 7; Gen. Grouchy, who lives in Chateau de la Villette NW of Paris is exiled to Philadelphia, Penn.; Blucher retires to private life and receives a special Iron Cross from pleased-as-punch Frederick William III; the name Arthur (as in Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington) suddenly becomes fashionable for baby boys; the Waterloo Teeth collected from the dead soldiers (most from young boys) for making dentures are so excellent that they are in great demand; Nappy's uncle Cardinal Joseph Fesch is exiled to Rome, bequeathing many art objects to Lyons; Nappy's brother Joseph-Napoleon Bonaparte (1768-1844) flees to Bordentown, N.J. (until 1841), settling down in Point Breeze, N.J. under the title of Comte de Survilliers and going into agriculture - yep, that's me? In June with British help, Ferdinand the Infanta of Spain, AKA Ferdinand IV of Naples and Ferdinand II of Sicily restores the Bourbon Dynasty in Sicily, abolishing the constitution of 1812. On Aug. 23 HMS Northumberland, carrying Napoleon en route to St. Helena Island anchors at Funchal in Madeira, and British consul Henry Veitch (1782-1857) (great-grandfather of writer Noel Coward) goofs by addressing him as "Your Majesty" instead of "General", causing the foreign secy. to sack him and order him to return to England; after the locals demand his return, he is reinstated by Lord Palmerston, and finally booted out for the final time in Dec. 1835 after stinking himself up with licentious behavior and trying to become gov. On Sept. 26 the Category 3 (135 mph) Holy (Grand) Alliance is formed by Alexander I of Russia, Francis I of Austria, and Frederick William III of Prussia, declaring that all Euro countries are to be governed by Christian (really conservative reactionary) principles; it is ultimately accepted by all European rulers except the British prince regent, the pope, and (obviously?) the Ottoman sultan - and that makes it classy for the kids? On Oct. 13 Napoleon's brother-in-law Joachim Murat (b. 1767) is executed in Calabria, S Italy. On Nov. 20 the Second Treaty of Paris contracts France to its 1790 boundaries (the 1789 boundaries plus Venaissin and Avignon), and forces France to pay 700M francs and support 17 allied fortresses on its N and E frontiers for five years; Saarbrucken passes from France to Prussia - no more Peach Elbas? On Nov. 20 the Quadruple Alliance between Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia implements Prince Metternich's Congress System, whereby each member agrees to supply 60K men upon the attempted violation of the Treaty of Paris, and establishes the principle of govt. by conference; it is signed for a 20-year term, then renewed for another 20 years in 1834.

In 1816 Chatellerault (Châtellerault) in NE Poitou Province in WC France, long known for its cutlery and swordmaking industry becomes a center for govt. arms manufacture; on July 14, 1819 the Manufacture d'armes de Chatellerault (Châtellerault) (MAC) is established by royal decree, becoming one of four main state-owned arms manufacturers, supplying the French army and navy with most of their small arms until 1968; in 1886 it becomes producing the Lebel Model 1886 rifle, which becomes the main French infantry weapon used in WWI; in 1891 it produces 500K Mosin-Nagant rifles for the Russian govt.

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	James Monroe (1758-1831)	Mar. 4, 1817	Mar. 4, 1825
Britain	George III (1738-1820)	Oct. 25, 1760	Jan. 29, 1820
France	Louis XVIII (1755-1824)	June 4, 1814	Sept. 16, 1824
Austria	Emperor Francis I (1768-1835)	Aug. 6, 1806	Mar. 2, 1835
Russia	Tsar Alexander I (1777-1825)	Mar. 12, 1801	Dec. 1, 1825
Prussia	Frederick William III (1770-1840)	Nov. 16, 1797	June 7, 1840
Papacy	Pope Pius VII (1740-1823)	Mar. 14, 1800	July 20, 1823
Turkey	Sultan Mahmud II (1785-1839)	1808	July 1, 1839

Did you ever hear of Alexander the Great? On Mar. 6, 1821 after groaning under Ottoman oppression since the fall of Constantinople in 1453, an uprising in Jassy, Wallachia sparks the successful Greek War of Independence (Rev.) (Reign of Terror) against the Ottoman Empire (ends July 21, 1832) after the secret Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends) (founded 1814) declares independence on Mar. 17 and proclaims a liberal repub. constitution; brothers Alexander Ypsilanti (Ypsilantis) (1792-1828) and Demetrius (Demetrios) Ypsilanti (Ypsilantis) (1793-1832) lead a small force of gay Greeks; Britain suspects "a fixed intention to make Constantinople a seat of her power", and begins negotiations to keep Russia out of it, and even though Alexander Ypsilanti is aide-de-camp to Tsar Alexander I and head of the Philike Hetaeria, the tsar refuses to aid them, and the revolt is crushed in a few mo. (300 Greeks vs. 30K Turks?); meanwhile on Mar. 22 another uprising in Morea (Peloponnesus) begins in Patras in W Greece, led by Archbishop Germanos of Patra (1771-1826); until 1824 the Greeks, led by Top Guns Bozo, Loco, Maverick, and Sidewinder, er, Marco Bozzaris (1788-1823) (subject of a cool poem by Am. poet Fitz-Greene Halleck (1790-1867)), Teodoros Kolokotronis (1770-1843), Prince Alexandros Mavrokordatos (1791-1865), and Andreas Vokos Miaoulis (1768-1835) fight without foreign support for their F-14 Tomcats, although a handful of Euro wannabe Alexander the Greats volunteer, incl. fat, club-footed British poet George Gordon Byron (Noel), 6th Baron Byron (OE "cow barn") (1788-1824) and his four pet geese, who gamely rush in to aid the cause of the oppressed Greeks, gaining the sympathy of the British public; one of Byron's numerous yo-yo diets is soda biscuits and vinegar?

The Ottomans are in a miserably long tailspin? On Apr. 23, 1826 after a 2-year siege Ottoman troops capture Missolonghi, Greece; Ottoman sultan (since 1808) Mahmud II (b. 1785) has his bodyguard the Janissaries massacred, and the institution (founded 1330) abolished; Russian Tsar Nicholas I issues an ultimatum forcing the Ottomans to recognize the independence of Moldavia, Wallachia, and Serbia, and declares war on Persia.

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)	Mar. 4, 1829	Mar. 4, 1837
Britain	George IV (1762-1830)	Jan. 29, 1820	June 26, 1830
France	Charles X (1757-1836)	Sept. 16, 1824	Aug. 2, 1830
Austria	Emperor Francis I (1768-1835)	Aug. 6, 1806	Mar. 2, 1835
Russia	Tsar Nicholas I (1796-1855)	Dec. 1, 1824	Feb. 18, 1855
Prussia	Frederick William III (1770-1840)	Nov. 16, 1797	June 7, 1840
Papacy	Pope Pius VIII (1761-1830)	Mar. 31, 1829	Nov. 30, 1830
Turkey	Sultan Mahmud II (1785-1839)	1808	July 1, 1839

Ahhh, me-time? On Aug. 25, 1830 after French tenor Adolphe Nourrit (1802-39) sings the leading role in Daniel Auber's 1828 grand opera La Muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of Portici) (AKA Masianello) at the Theatre de La Monnaie in Brussels, which incl. the new Marseillaise-like anthem Amour Sacre de la Patrie (Sacred Love of the Fatherland), a riot begins, launching the Belgian Rev. of 1830 (ends Aug. 12, 1831) against the Dutch, with workers rioting and attacking the homes of govt. officials, escalating into civil war; on Sept. 23 (a.m.) 6K Dutch troops under Prince Frederick march into Brussels and are surprised by a fusillade of fire; on Sept. 26 after they fail to retake Brussels in bloody street fighting, the liberal bourgeoisie establish a provisional govt. under Charles Latour Rogier (1800-85); on Oct. 4 Roman Catholic Belgium declares independence from Protestant Netherlands, rejecting the artificial union forced on them by the 1815 Congress of Vienna, pissing-off the Dutch, who on Oct. 27 bombard Antwerp, causing British PM Wellington, one of the statesmen responsible for the union to call the London Conference of reps. from Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia, which arranges an armistice; on Nov. 10 the Belgian nat. congress proclaims a constitutional monarchy and deposes William I, and on Dec. 20 the London Conference recognizes Belgian independence, with the independent duchy of Brabant divided into the Dutch province of Northern Brabant (mainly Flemings) and the Belgian province of Antwerp and Brabant; the nat. congress asks the duke of Nemours (son of Louis-Philippe) to be their first king, but it doesn't work out, and they end up asking Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg; meanwhile, seeing a new buffer between the Huns of C Europe and the good guys, new British foreign minister Lord Palmerston sides with France against Russia, Austria, and Prussia on Belgium's side at the London Conference, and war looms; the borders of the province of Liege (Liège) are a copy of the entire country's borders?

In 1830 Ottoman sultan (1808-39) Mahmud II proclaims Serbia an autonomous vassal state, with Prince (since Nov. 6, 1817) Milos Obrenovic I as hereditary supreme chief; a metropolitanate of Belgrade is established, independent of the patriarch of Constantinople; it takes until 1878 to achieve full independence.

In 1831 Macedonian-born Albanian-speaking viceroy (since 1805) Mehmet (Mohammed) (Muhammad) Ali (1769-1849) demands the Ottoman Empire give him control of Arab Greater Syria (Syria Vilayet and Alepoo Vilayet) as a reward for his assistance against Greece in Crete, which is refused, resulting in the First Egyptian-Ottoman (Turco-Egyptian) (Syrian) War (ends 1833).

In 1832 Syria (under Ottoman rule since 1516) is conquered from the Turks by the Egyptians, extending Egyptian power to the Persian Gulf; meanwhile Mamluk rule of Iraq (since 1747) is ended with the overthrow of the Mamluk ruler, and it comes under direct Turkish rule. In May after Anglo-French diplomatic pressure to make the sultan order the Russians to withdraw from Istanbul, along with guarantees against further Egyptian invasion, the Convention (Peace Treaty) of Kutahya (Kütahya) is signed, ending the Egyptian-Ottoman War (begun 1831), ceding the Ottoman provinces of Syria and Adana to Egypt, with Ibraham Pasha as gov.-gen.; too bad, the settlement satisfies neither party, leading to a new war in 1839.

On July 8, 1833 in return for the Russian military aid against Mehmet Ali, the 8-year Treaty of Hunkar Iskelesi (Unkiar Skelessi) ("Sultan's Pier") is signed by the Ottoman Empire and Russian Empire, making the Ottoman Empire a protectorate of Russia, with a secret article signed by the sultan promising to close the Dardanelles to foreign warships upon Russian request; the treaty pisses-off the other Euro powers, waking Britain up to "the importance of the Ottoman Empire's geographical, political, and economic position in Europe", causing them to protest, claiming violation of the Anglo-Ottoman Treaty of 1809, with the soundbyte: "If the stipulations of that treaty should hereafter lead to the armed interference of Russia in the internal affairs of Turkey, the British government will hold itself at liberty to act upon such an occasion, in any manner which the circumstances of the moment may appear to require", causing Britain to adopt of policy of preserving, protecting, strengthening, and reforming the Ottoman Empire, increasing trade and strengthening the British fleet in the Levant, and sending military-naval missions to the sultan to make up for former neglect; France issues a similar statement, but doesn't actively intervene. On Sept. 18 after a summit meeting by Emperor Francis I of Austria, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, and the Crown Prince of Prussia, Austrian chancellor Prince Clemens von Metternich and Russian foreign minister Count Karl Robert von Nesselrode sign the Munchengratz (Münchengrätz) Convention, soon joined by Prussia, pledging a "principle of union" to oppose further expansion by Mehmet Ali and to maintain Ottoman integrity on the theory that a sovereign threatened with revolt can call upon them for help; Metternich tries in vain to get Britain and France to join.

In 1835 after Serbian prince Milos Obrenovic I's autocratic rule causes a Serbian revolt, a Serbian constitution is proclaimed, pissing-off the Hapsburgs, Ottomans, and Russians, causing it to be withdrawn.

On June 13, 1839 unpopular Serbian prince (since Nov. 6, 1817) Milos Obrenovic I abdicates in favor of his sickly eldest son Milos Obrenovic II (b. 1819), who spends all 26 days of his rule in a coma, dying on July 8, and his younger brother Michael (Mihailo) III Obrenovic (1823-68) becomes prince of Serbia (until Sept. 14, 1842).

Attention please, this is a public auction notice? On Apr. 19, 1839 the Treaty of London between Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia on one side, and the Netherlands on the other is signed to settle the dispute between the Dutch and their former Belgian subjects; W Luxembourg is given to Belgium, while E Luxembourg continues in union with the Netherlands, as a grand duchy and member of the German Confederation; in Article 7 Britain pledges to save the chicken, er, guard the neutrality of Belgium in the event of its invasion, beginning the Long Fuse Leading to WWI - Article 7, not Article 9, isn't it always number 9?

On June 24, 1839 the Egyptians under Hafiz Pasha are badly defeated at the Battle of Nizip (Nezib) (Nessib) in S Syria (Lebanon) by Mehmet Ali, and on July 1 Ottoman sultan (since 1808) Mahmud II (b. 1785) dies of TB, and his Euro-educated French-speaking son Abdul Mecid (Mejid) I (1823-70) becomes Ottoman sultan #31 (until June 25, 1861), after which the entire Turkish fleet under Adm. Ahmed Fevzi Pasha sails to Alexandria and surrenders to Mehmet Ali on the pretext that the new sultan's advisers are owned by Russia, leading to the Second Egyptian-Ottoman (Turko-Egyptian) (Syrian) War (ends 1841), with a British-Austrian expeditionary force occupying Beirut and Acre and forcing Mehmet Ali to submit off Alexandria; on Nov. 3 under British pressure the sultan issues the Noble Rescript (Noble Edict of the Rose Chamber), declaring an end to corruption and arbitrary rule (e.g. instant death at will), and inaugurating the Tanzimat ("reorganization") Era of the Ottoman Empire (ends 1876), trying to continue his daddy's Westernization and modernization program while encouraging Ottomanism and discouraging nationalism, which, as Westerners also find out, can't be stopped; reforms start with abolition of public slave markets in the 1840s, outlawing of the turban in favor of the fev, and eventually incl. secularism and decriminalization of homosexuality, which only pisses-off the hardcore Muslims more, leading to a reactionary movement that resists all reforms.

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	Martin Van Buren (1782-1862)	Mar. 4, 1837	Mar. 4, 1841
Britain	Queen Victoria (1819-1901)	June 20, 1837	Jan. 22, 1901
Austria	Emperor Ferdinand I (1793-1875)	Mar. 2, 1835	Dec. 2, 1848
Russia	Tsar Nicholas I (1796-1855)	Dec. 1, 1824	Feb. 18, 1855
Prussia	Friedrich Wilhelm III (1770-1840)	Nov. 16, 1797	June 7, 1840
Papacy	Gregory XVI (1765-1846)	Feb. 2, 1831	June 9, 1846
Turkey	Sultan Abdul Mecid I (1823-61)	July 1, 1839	June 25, 1861

On July 15, 1840 the 1840 London Convention for the Pacification of the Levant London Straits Convention (Protocol des Droits) is signed by the U.K., Austria, Prussia, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire in return for the latter closing the Dardanelle Straits to all warships in peacetime, and the Black Sea to Russian warships, offering Mehmet Ali permanent control over Egypt and Acre under Ottoman suzerainty if he withdraws his forces from Syria, Hijaz (Arabia), the Holy Land, Crete, and Adana within 10 days and returns the defecting Ottoman fleet in Alexandria; too bad, after obtaining naval backing by France led by Adm. Julian Pierre Anne Laland,, Mehmet Ali declines, leading to the Oriental Crisis of 1840, during which British and Austrian forces attack Syria and Alexandria in Sept., shelling Sidon and Beirut on Sept. 11, followed by Acre on Nov. 3, capturing it in Nov.; meanwhile in Oct. France chickens-out and switches sides, and on Nov. 27 faced with revolts in occupied territories and a gen. deterioration of his military he finally accepts the terms, signing the Convention of Alexandria, negotiated by British Adm. Charles Napier, abandoning all claims to Syria and returning the Ottoman fleet, whle claiming Egyptian status as a unprecedented privileged hereditary Ottoman province with a standing army of 18K men and rule over Sudan, which Egyptian nationalists later use as a legal basis for fighting British occupation; meanwhile Britain occupies Aden in S Yemen to stop Egyptian advances; it takes a cent., but in 1937 England makes Aden a British crown colony; Britain emerges as an active player in the Middle East as the Ottoman Empire's ally for the next 37 years, with the right to enter the Straits in times of war, while Russian relations with the Ottomans begin to deteriorate.

On Sept. 14, 1842 Serbian prince (since July 8, 1839) Michael (Mihailo) Obrenovic III is deposed by a revolt led by Serbian #2 strongman Toma Vucic-Perisic (1787-1859), known for the soundbyte: "I'm not afraid of anyone, I'm just afraid of the Constitution", and Aleksandar Karadordevic (1806-85) becomes prince of Serbia (until Dec. 23, 1858), going on to found a regular army along with a cannon foundry, improve the school system, and establish a nat. library and museum.

In 1844 Serbian interior minister (since 1843) Ilija Garasanin (1812-74) pub. The Nacertanije, a proposed constitution for independent Greater Serbia, declaring that its sojuz (union) should expand to encompass all South Slavs regardless of religion incl. Bulgarians, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Bosnians, Hungarians, and Croats, inspiring the Black Hand and leading to WWI?; “Austria means to use her power to endanger the small and weak Serbia"; "The Serbian state, which has already taken off favorably, but which needs to expand and become stronger, has its strong base and foundation in the Serbian kingdom of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and in the rich and glorious Serbian history. Now that Turkish strength has been in a manner of speaking, broken down and destroyed, that same spirit ought to reawaken and assert its rights anew."

In 1848 after crop failures and recessions leave many of the poor on the verge of starvation, the European Revs. of 1848 (Springtime of Nations) (Springtime of the Peoples) (Year of Rev.) sees liberal revs. spring up simultaneously across Europe; only the Euro states of Britain, Russia, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, and the Ottoman Empire are spared; too bad, most of them are quickly quashed, with tens of thousands tortured and killed, although the social changes later prove profound; "Society was cut in two: those who had nothing united in common envy, and those who had anything united in common terror" (Alexis de Tocqueville); Russia suffers from a major cholera epidemic, unusually dry weather causing fires and a bad harvest. At the start of the year, revolution-ripe Ugly Betty Italy is still divided into the Kingdom of Sardinia (incl. Piedmont, Genoa, Nice, Savoy), the Austrian provinces of Lombardy and Venetia, the duchies of Parma and Modena, the Hapsburg grand duchy of Tuscany, the Papal States (incl. Romagna, Ancona, Rome), and the Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies. On Jan. 12 Europe's first rev. of the Year of Revolution occurs in Sicily on the birthday of despotic King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies after the brief unity and enlightened rule of Napoleon whets their appetite for nat. union and constitutional govt., triggering an Italian Rev. aiming at ending papal rule and instituting a dem. form of govt., spreading to Venice and Milan (Cinque Giornate); the rebels first take Palermo, then all of Sicily, triggering an uprising in Naples; Ferdinand yields on Jan. 27, accepting a French-style constitution, asking for England and France to mediate when they balk at the wording; too bad, on Apr. the Sicilians declare his deposition, and declare a provisional govt., electing the duke of Genoa (son of the king of Sardinia) as king of Sicily in June, which he declines; Mistah Big Stuff Ferdinand regroups, gains the support of reactionaries, then captures Messina in Sept., his excessive bombing earning him the title "King Bomba"; on Oct. 8 the French and British impose a 6-mo. armistice - the boys in the hood are always hard? On Jan. 14 French authorities ban a liberal banquet (rally), causing it to be reset for Feb. 22. On Jan. 20 Christian VIII (b. 1786) dies, and his son Frederick VII (1808-63) becomes king of Denmark, as concern over the stability of the Danish Helstat grows, and declares himself in favor of a new liberal constitution, declaring himself a constitutional monarch on Mar. 22; he offers Holstein and Lauenberg their own constitution and the right to join the Germanic Confederation, but at the urging of the Eiderdanes he declares Schleswig an inseparable part of Denmark, having the same constitution but its own Diet, which pisses-off the Germans in the area, who on Mar. 24 revolt and set up a provisional govt. for Schleswig-Holstein. Eureka, greedy gringos go for the gold in somebody else's territory, haha, their territory? On Jan. 24 (Wed.) a gold nugget is discovered by Sutter's partner James Wilson Marshall (1810-85) in the tailrace of Sutter's Mill (Sawmill) in Coloma on the Trinity River in the foothills of the Sierras in N Calif. 30 mi. from Sutter's Fort on the South Fork of the American River. The original quit to live, or the original cigar-puffing Ahnuld? In Jan. the Tobacco War erupts when Italians protest Austrian control of the tobacco monopoly, and the citizens of Milan stop using tobacco, causing Bohemian-born Austrian marshal Johann Josef Wenzel Radetzky von Radetz (1766-1858) to order his soldiers to smoke large cigars in the streets - that'll fix 'em: secondhand smoke? In Jan. Charles Albert expands the Piedmont army. In Jan. after trying to stop the British from messing with him in vain, Andries Pretorius picks up and moves farther N past the Vaal River (trans-Vaal, get it?), settling in the Magaliesberg Mts., then declares a "war of freedom", and raids back S, capturing Bloemfontein on July 20, but is defeated on Aug. 29 at the Battle of Boomplaats (Boomplaas) by the Brits under Lt. Gen. Sir Harry Smith (Henry George Wakelyn Smith) (1787-1860), and skedaddles back N, after which the Brits put a £2K reward on his head (until 1852). On Feb. 1 London Tribune reporter (managing ed. Richard Henry Dana - a coincidence? did he mention his California days?) Karl Marx (1818-83) and Friedrich Engels (1820-95) pub. The Manifesto of the Communist Party in London as a broadside for the coming revolutions, containing the immortal soundbyte: "When, in the course of development, class distinctions have disappeared, and all production has been concentrated in the hands of a vast association of the whole nation, the public power will lose its political character. Political power, properly so called, is merely the organized power of one class for oppressing another. If the proletariat during its contest with the bourgeoisie is compelled, by the force of circumstances, to organize itself as a class, if, by means of a revolution, it makes itself the ruling class, and, as such, sweeps away by force the old conditions of production, then it will, along with these conditions, have swept away the conditions for the existence of class antagonisms and of classes generally, and will thereby have abolished its own supremacy as a class"; when the little revvies all fizzle the document is repub. as The Communist Manifesto 20 years later, and those who think that socialism can be implemented bloodlessly are labelled as "utopian socialists"; of course the new Communist movement is militantly atheistic and anti-clerical. On Feb. 2 the first Chinese immigrants to San Francisco arrive in the Eagle one week after the Calif. Gold Rush starts, adding to the seven already there. On Feb. 8 a student revolt in Padua, Italy draws citizens on their side, holding up in the univ. and Caffe Pedrocchi. An ocean away from Europe's troubles, the white American mojo is rising, or, L.A. woman? On Feb. 13 Charles Albert yields to liberal demands and promises to create a civic guard and a two-chamber parliament, and lowers the price of salt. On Feb. 14 Pres. Polk becomes the first U.S. pres. to be photographed while in office, by Mathew Brady. The French Revolution of 1848 is all about the workers? On Feb. 22 the French govt. stops a liberal banquet in Paris at the last minute after a public procession, causing students and workers to protest and erect barricades, beginning the February Rev., which controls Paris by Feb. 24, displaying a red flag which comes to represent the left wing of the Second Repub.; on Feb. 23 after being deserted by both sides, former football hero (only the strong survive) Louis-Philippe replaces conservative PM Francois Guizot with Count Louis-Mathieu Mole (Molé) (1781-1855) to appease the middle class, then on Feb. 24 replaces him with former PM (1836-40) Louis Adolphe Thiers, who is unable to gather support and resigns, causing Louis-Philippe to abdicate in favor of his grandson the Comte de Paris, then flee Paris with his family to England, where he spends the last two years of his life in Clarement as the Comte de Neuilly, trying to count sheep; the comte's mother Helene Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwering (1814-58) appears before the chamber of deputies, and rioters enter calling for a republic, which is formed with Romantic poet Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (1790-1869) leading the right wing, and Socialist historian Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc (1811-82) leading the left wing; on Feb. 24 renowned physicist-astronomer Francois Jean Dominique Arago (1786-1853) leaves his job as dir. of the Paris Observatory to join the French provisional govt., and becomes ministry of marine and colonies, improving rations and abolishing flogging, then ministry of war on Apr. 5, abolishing black slavery in French colonies; on Feb. 25 the new govt. recognizes workers' rights, and on Feb. 26 it sets up nat. workshops to provide work relief (2 francs a day if you work, 1.5 if you don't, 2 days a week), which are flooded with the unemployed; on Feb. 27 after an abortive coup the govt. passes up the red flag for the 1789 French Rev. tricolor as the nat. flag, with the motto "liberty, equality, fraternity"; on Feb. 28 the Luxembourg Commission is created to develop a permanent plan for labor, and on Mar. 2 sweat labor is abolished, and work days reduced to 10 hours in Paris and 11 in the provinces; on May 10 Francois Arago becomes PM #25 of France (pres. of the executive power commission); on June 24 the entire commission resigns, and it all thuds to a halt. In Feb. Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany grants a liberal constitution. On Mar. 1 the French rev. spawns the copycat March Rev. in Baden, Germany, followed by others in Vienna on Mar. 12, Parma, Italy on Mar. 13, Hungary on Mar. 15, Venice, Italy on Mar. 22, and Naples, Italy on May 15 - business is beautiful? On Feb. 29 a financial panic begins in Pressburg, Hungary among merchants after news of the French rev. reaches them, followed by a bank run on Mar. 5 in Buda; on Mar. 3 Hungarian lawyer Lajos Kossuth (1802-94), who had spent from 1837-42 in prison on trumped-up political charges, making him a hero gives a speech in the Diet calling for a repub. constitution; on Mar. 15 the 1849 Hungarian Rev. (ends 1850) begins with a march of peasants and students in the city of Pest (E side of Danube) that spreads to the nearby town of Buda (W side of Danube), calling for the Twelve Points, followed by anti-Jewish riots; the rev. govt. of Count Lajos Batthyany (Batthyány) (1807-49) is proclaimed on Mar. 30; imperial troops invade from Croatia on Sept. 11, triggering a year-long Hungarian war of independence; Kossuth is proclaimed pres. of the Committee for the Nat. Defense of Hungary, and recruits a peasant army, creating a red-white-blue (pan-Slavic colors) tricolor Croatian Flag; the Croatians are halted on Sept. 28; Austrian Field Marshal (military gov. of Bavaria) Prince Alfred I (Alfred Candidus Ferdinand) of Windisch-Graetz (Windisch-Grätz) (1787-1862) attacks the revolutionists in mid-Dec., then halts for the winter; horse and babe-loving Count Julius (Gyula) Andrassy Sr. (1823-90) begins his rise in Hungary. On Mar. 4 king (since 1831) Charles Albert (1798-1849) of Sardinia-Piedmont grants the Statuto, a conservative constitution. On Mar. 6 Frederick William IV appeases revolutionaries with a promise to call the Prussian Landtag, and on Mar. 8 relaxes press censorship; on Mar. 10 street demonstrations begin in Berlin, with barricades erected so fast that surprised Frederick William IV goes out on his palace balcony to talk to them, and has to remove his hat as a sign of respect before they listen; army troops are called out to disperse them, but when they hold their own he promises them a new constitution, which Prussian minister Bismarck forever thinks sucks eggplant? On Mar. 11 a meeting in Prague draws up the Twelve Articles of St. Wenceslas demanding Czech-German equality in govt. services and education; on Mar. 13 students march to the Landhaus in Vienna to present a petition, are blocked, spread throughout the streets, and then fired on by the authorities, starting rioting; on Mar. 13 useless old fart yesterday's news Klemens von Metternich resigns as state chancellor (since 1809); on Mar. 15 Austrian emperor (since 1835) Ferdinand I (1793-1875) summons the Diet, which on Apr. 25 promulgates a new constitution excluding workers and women, which fails to satisfy the revolutionists; on May 9 a new elector law gives the lower middle class and peasants the vote but still excludes workers and women, causing the Storm Petition (Sturmpetition) to be presented by revolutionists to the Hofburg, and the emperor and his family to flee Vienna for Innsbruck; on May 26 the govt. retrenches, sending the army to fight the rebel-controlled Nat. Guard, and barricades to go up throughout Vienna as a committee of safety begins controlling the city. On Apr. 27 after an uprising in the Grand Duchy of Posen against the Prussians begins, Polish nationalist poet Juliusz Slowacki (1809-49) addresses the nat. assembly, uttering the soundbyte: "I tell you that a new age has dawned, the age of holy anarchy"; too bad, the revolt is crushed by May 9, and he is arrested and exiled to Paris, where he soon croaks. On June 2-12 the First Pan-Slav Congress in Prague, composed of Czechs led by Bohemian historian Frantisek Palacky (Palácky) (1798-1876) ("Father of Bohemia") calls for Slavic solidarity; on June 12 Princess Windisch-Graetz, wife of Prince Alfred Windisch-Graetz is accidentally killed in a student demonstration, causing him to call in reinforcements and begin repressive measures, bombarding Prague on June 17 and crushing the Czech rev. movement; on Aug. 23 the Battle of the Prater sees demonstrating mineworkers in Vienna crushed by the govt.; on Oct. 6 a last demonstration is held, backed by the Nat. Guard, causing the emperor (since 1835) Ferdinand I to leave Vienna again and the army to be called in, which captures Vienna on Oct. 11; on Dec. 2 Ferdinand I abdicates in favor of his nephew, who becomes Hapsburg emperor Francis Joseph (Franz Josef) I (1830-1916) (until Nov. 21, 1916) (motto "Viribus Unitis" or "Mit Vereinten Kraften", meaning "With united forces"), going on to reign over his heterogeneous empire 68 duck pluckin' years and become the longest-reigning monarch in Euro history after Louis XIV of France (1643-1715) (72 years 110 days) and ? (??-??) (?? years), speaking fluent German, Hungarian, and Czech, plus a little Italian and French, and nearly always appearing in military uniform, later telling Pres. Theodore Roosevelt that he's the last remaining monarch of the Old School; a new govt. is established by Prince Felix Ludwig von Schwarzenberg (1800-52) (nephew of the prince of Schwarzenberg who was a big Austrian Field Marshal during the Napoleonic Wars), who is appointed pres. of Austria in Nov. and goes on to restore the Hapsburg Empire before his premature death in 1852 throws a monkey wrench in it - the French Rev., the Rev. of 1848, and WWI are linked by this one Austrian dude, Arnold Schwarzenegger's real grandfather? On Mar. 18-22 the massive repub. demonstration known as the Five Days of Milan in Lombardy is opposed by the Austrian govt. and the liberals, and Marshal Radzetsky's troops in Milan are kept out of the demonstration until the govt. palace is attacked, but the barricades hold him; on Mar. 18 a liberal-radical govt. is established in Milan with Carlo Cattaneo (1801-69) as head, but the radicals are soon ousted and rural demonstrators are kept outside the city walls; meanwhile the Piedmontese intervene, and on Mar. 22 Sardinia-Piedmont (incl. Nice and Savoy) declare war on Austria, beginning the Austrian-Piedmontese War (ends 1848), sending troops to Milan on Mar. 26; Pope Pius IX waffles, refusing to release troops to attack a Roman Catholic nation, then on Aug. 29 publishing an ambiguous statement supporting all Catholics and declaring neutrality of the Papal States. On Mar. 20 in Bavaria the liberals force king (since 1825) Ludwig I to abdicate in favor of his son Maximilian II (1811-64), who on Mar. 28 becomes king of Bavaria (until Mar. 10, 1864). On Mar. 22 news of the Vienna rising causes the Repub. of San Marco (Venice) (ends Aug. 27, 1849) to be declared after Daniele Manin (1804-57) and his supporters seize Venice's navy yard, but fail to secure the Austrian fleet, which is filled with sympathetic sailors. On Mar. 23 student-led revolutionaries cause Austrian marshal Josef Radetzsky von Radetz and his forces to evacuate Milan, and the revolutionists declare a provisional govt. In Mar. Baden, Wurrtemberg and Saxony incl. liberal ministers in their govts. to appease the revolutionaries, and the S German govts. meet in Heidelberg and decide to call a meeting of the liberal leaders to plan the unification of Germany; on Mar. 31 the Frankfurt am Main Parliament (which incl. poet Johann Ludwig Uhland) rejects the radical program in favor of the liberal, calling for the election of a nat. assembly and male suffrage for every "independent" male over age 30, which is later interpreted so as to excluding working men; 60-y.-o. old fart gymnastics man Friedrich Ludwig Jahn is also elected to the Frankfurt parliament - the first Gov. Ahnuld? In Mar.-Apr. railroad and waterway workers in Germany begin violent protests, destroying the Taunus Railroad on Apr. 5.; meanwhile other German workers rise, organizing strikes and demanding higher wager; peasants, esp. in the south also rise against the manors. On Apr. 8 a provisional govt. is formed in Lombardy. On Apr. 10 the monster Kennington Common Procession of Chartists presents a petition to Parliament, which is found to have not 5M but only 2M signatures, many of them forged, and the resulting ridicule finally kills Chartism, and all popular agitation for parliamentary reform in England along with it for many years. On Apr. 23 French elections give moderate (Lamartine) Repubs. a V (500 seats), with Louis Blanc's left wingers winning less than 100, the Legitimists (Bourbon royalists) 100, and the Orleanists 200. On Apr. 30 Sardinia defeats the Austrians at the Battle of Pastrengo, and again on May 30 at the Battle of Goito. In Apr. military-school grad. Franz Sigel (1824-1902) leads the "Sigel-Zug", a 4K-man volunteer rev. militia in a siege of Freiburg, only to be annihilated on Apr. 23 by prof. Prussian and Wurttemberg troops; after becoming CIC of the Baden military next year, he ends up fleeing to Switzerland, England and the U.S., becoming an Am. Civil War Union gen. On May 3-9 the May Uprising in Dresden lures Richard Wagner into taking part, and when it is quashed he is forced to flee to Zurich - play that funky music, white boy? On May 15 workers in Paris riot over the harsh conditions of the nat. workshops, attempting to overthrow the newly elected Constituent Assembly; artisans also participate, changing the urban social protest base?; Louis Auguste Blanqui, who was pardoned early in the year from a life sentence for an 1839 insurrection receives a 10-year sentence (until 1859), using the time to study up on Socialism, originating the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat, which later is the soap for doing all the Russian dirty Lenin? On May 15 a new uprising in Naples led by radicals mad at Ferdinand for not revising the constitution is put down, and the radicals driven out of Naples; the Nat. Guard is dissolved. On May 18 the Frankfurt Parliament (Nat. Assembly) convenes in the Paulskirche (until May 31, 1849), becoming the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany (39 member states), with mainly middle-class reps. On May 22 the Prussian nat. assembly convenes with a strong leftist element, drafting a new constitution, countering the govt.'s proposed new Belgian-style constitution drafted by Rudolf Camphausen. In May the Blaj Assembly demands that Romania become an autonomous entity of the Austrian empire, with Transylvanian orthodox bishop Andrei Saguna (1809-73) unsuccessfully trying to effect a compromise. On May 29 Charles Albert intervenes in the Austrian-Piedmontese War in an attempt to unite Piedmont and Lombardy. On May 29 a referendum approves a union of Piedmont and Venice. On June 11 the Wallachian Rev., led by Nicolae Balcescu (1819-52) takes over Bucharest for two days until it is quashed by the Ottomans; on Sept. 13 Balcescu is arrested, and ends up in exile. On June 22-26 the June Days Rebellion starts when workers erect barricades in Paris, and are ruthlessly crushed by Gen. Louis Eugene Cavaignac (1805-57); the govt. backlash ends up in labor legislation reversed, and new restrictions on civil liberties; Louis Blanc flees to England (until 1870). On June 28 Archduke John of Austria is appointed provisional executive head of Germany, but never sets up a govt. because of the Schleswig rising, which causes Prussian troops to be sent at the request of the Frankfurt Parliament. On July 20-Sept. 20 the Frankfurt German Workers' (Labor) Congress drafts the Industrial Code, demanding a return to the traditional guild systems and a corporatist state. On July 24 Austrian marshal Josef Radetzsky defeats the Piedmontese army at the Battle of Custozza, and on Aug. 9 an armistice with Piedmont is signed at Vigevano; on Aug. 7 Radetzky enters Milan promising leniency, and signs the Armistice of Salasco on Aug. 9 with Piedmont, which gives up Lombardy; the Austrian fleet blockades Venice, and forces the Sardinian troops to leave. Millennium Fever Cushion gives even women courage to step out? On July 19-20 the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention in N.Y., organized by wealthy married feminists Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) and Lucretia Mott (1793-1880 (a Quaker) meets at the Wesleyan Chapel, becoming the world's first women's rights convention, attended by over 100, incl. 32 male lechers, er, sympathizers, with the aim of enfranchisement of women; Stanton is the principal author of its Declaration of Sentiments and Resolves, patterned after the U.S. Declaration of Independence, with the soundbytes "All men and women were created equal" and "The right is ours, have it we must, get it we will"; the public reaction is to ridicule the "shrieking sisterhood" and accuse them of being drunken sluts or whores, with Horace Greeley and William Lloyd Garrison being among the few supporters; suffragist speakers are later attacked by gangs of street bullies; the convention is also attended by sisters Sarah Moore Grimke (Grimké) (1792-1873), Angelina Grimke (Grimké) (1805-79), Quakers James Mott (1788-1868) (hubby of Lucretia), and Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818-94); spinster teacher Susan Brownell Anthony (1820-1906) (back when that doesn't mean lezzie teacher?) doesn't attend, and doesn't meet Stanton until Mar. 1851 - there's a reason we call it merry maids? A duck, a hen, a cuckoo and a nightingale, with more birds to come, robins and larks? In July the Young Ireland Movement starts an unsuccessful rising in famine-depleted Ireland; this time the rebels come from the middle class, and the leader is lawyer-journalist John Mitchel (1815-75), ed. of The Nation and The United Irishman, who is railroaded to 14 years in Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) for "felony treason" for his writings, is given a "ticket of leave" in Bothwell (46 mi. from Hobart Town), where he begins his Jail Journal: Five Years in British Prisons, escaping to the U.S. in 1853, returning to Ireland in 1874 and getting elected as MP for Tipperary, then refused to take his seat because he is a convicted escaped felon; novelist Charles Joseph Kickham (1828-82) lucks out this time, but gets 14 years in 1865, and is pardoned in 1869, sticking to lit. work afterward. On Aug. 16-18 the Junker Parliament of 300-400 Junkers in Berlin repudiates the attempted abolition of manorial rights in the name of protection of property, which actually is popular in the countryside? On Aug. 26 the Armistice of Malmo (Malmö) is signed by Denmark and Prussia, and Prussian troops evacuate Schleswig, pissing off German nationalists, causing the Sept. Crisis of 1848 in Germany as the Frankfurt nat. assembly rejects the armistice then flip-flops and accepts it by a narrow margin on Sept. 16 after 10K meet in Worringen on Sept. 10 and call for a "Red Repub.", followed by an armed uprising in Frankfurt am Main against the assembly on Sept. 18, which is quashed by Prussian and Austrian troops, only to see a "German Repub." proclaimed on Sept. 21 in Lorrach by Gustav Struve (1805-70), rescinding all debts owed to the aristocracy, state and Church, which is also put down by govt. troops. In Aug. uprisings in Tuscany and Bologna are put down by liberal govts. next year Bologna is taken by Austria (until 1859). On Sept. 12 the new 1848 Swiss Federal Constitution replaces the Pact of 1815, organizing Switzerland as a federal union modelled on the U.S., with a council of state (Standerat) and a nat. council (Nationalrat) elected by universal male suffrage; the 7-member federal council (Bundesrat) is elected by the two chambers, with a pres. that has weak powers. On Oct. 11 the Netherlands adopts a liberal constitution. On Nov. 4 the French nat. assembly drafts a new constitution with a strong pres. and single chamber, both elected by universal direct male suffrage; the new motto is "liberty, equality, fraternity, plus family, work, property and public order"; the right to work is replaced by the right to fraternal assistance. On Nov. 10 Prussian troops under Gen. von Wrangel return to Berlin, and a state of siege is declared in Prussia after Frederick William appoints Count Frederick William Brandenburg as PM and orders the moving of the Prussian Assembly to Brandenburg; on Dec. 5 the assembly is dissolved and a new constitution is proclaimed, creating three unequal classes of voters based on wealth, with the divine right of kings affirmed. On Nov. 15 conservative papal minister of the interior (former French ambassador to Rome) Pellegrino Rossi (Luigi Edoardo Pellegrino, Count Rossi) (b. 1787) is assassinated on the steps of the assembly, causing demonstrations in Rome on Nov. 16, backed by the army and nat. guard, causing Pope Pius IX to agree to a radical govt. and the election of a nat. assembly; the new govt. abolishes the flour tax and begins public make-work programs; on Nov. 24 the pope flees Rome for Gaeta in Naples. Don't them Frogs ever learn not to trust Napoleons to lead them? On Dec. 10 Prince Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (1808-73), nephew of Napoleon I is elected pres. (until May, 1852) of the new French Second Repub. with a landslide V of 5,327,345 votes to 1,879,298 for his opponent Cavaignac; on Dec. 20 he is sworn in, and appoints an Orleanist ministry despite a Republican nat. assembly. Serfdom is abolished in Austria. The French declare Berber-filled Algeria an integral part of France (ends 1962). The Treason Felony Act of 1848 is passed in Britain, making it a crime to "compass, imagine, invent, devise", or intend to "move or stir" any foreigner to "invade the United Kingdom or any other country belonging to the Queen".

Yet another Treaty of Paris (last 1815)? On Mar. 30, 1856 the Treaty (Peace) of Paris ends the Crimean War (begun Oct. 1853) at the instigation of the French, despite the British public's desire to continue; Turkey and Russia mutually restore the war conquests; the independence of Turkey is guaranteed; Turkey guarantees protection of its Christian subjects; the Black Sea is neutralized (closed to warships and coastal fortifications); navigation of the Danube River is placed under control of an internat. commission; Moldavia, Wallachia, and Serbia are given internal autonomy under Turkish suzerainty; S Bessarabia is restored to Moldavia; Turin envoy Count Camillo Benso di Cavour pleads the cause of Italian unity, souring the good relations that had existed between Napoleon III and the pope; says one French diplomat, "There is nothing to show which is the conqueror and which the conquered"; one good thing, Russia, which loses its dominance in SE Europe, along with 600K lives, finally wakes up and decides to modernize, incl. freeing the serfs. On Apr. 16 the Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law abolishes nation-sponsored privateers, establishing maritime law among the major powers of Europe incl. the criteria for a legal blockade, becoming the first multilateral attempt to codify in peacetime rules which are applicable in the event of war; the signatories are bound only when at war with each other, leaving them free to use privateers when at war with other states; 55 nations ratify it incl. the U.K., France, U.S., Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire.

In 1853-5 French historian Joseph Arthur, Count de Gobineau (1816-82) pub. An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races (Essai sur l'inégalité des races humaines), explaining how the Aryan Master Race (his, of course) created all culture, and how miscegenation (racemixing) ruined India, Egypt, Persia, Spain, and even has crept into France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, everywhere, becoming the seminal doctrine of 19th cent. scientific racism, making a monkey, er, disciple of Richard Wagner - let's face it, Lexington Steele is unstoppable?

On Dec. 23, 1858 after refusing to support the victorious Western allies in the Crimean War, Serbian prince (since 1842) Aleksandar Karadordevic is overthrown by the winners and flees into exile, and Milos Obrenovic I returns as prince of Serbia (until Sept. 26, 1860).

On Jan. 24, 1859 Wallachia votes to unite with Moldavia, with Moldavian-born Col. Alexander John Cuza (Alexandru Ioan Cuza) (1820-73) as prince (until Feb. 5, 1862); poet-journalist Dimitrie Bolintineanu (1819-72), who fled in 1849 after writing pro-rev. articles in his journal Poporul Suveran returns and is appointed minister of public instruction. On Feb. 5, 1862 the permanent union of Wallachia and Moldavia is declared under the name Romania (Roumania), with capital at Bucharest; Prince Alexander John Cuza becomes domnitor (ruling prince) of Romania (until Feb. 22, 1866).

The Book That Shook the World? Big year for Bible skeptics, secularists, atheistic scientists, anybody against the ancien regime, as Jehovah, the Source of Life Breathed Into Mud is challenged by Godless Evolution, Mud Coming to Life by Itself After It Bubbles Long Enough? The biggest V for the Devil since Eden? The new 95 Theses, but Darwin is smart enough not to publish it on Halloween? On Nov. 24, 1859 (Thur.) English naturalist Charles Robert Darwin (1809-82) pub. On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection, Or, The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life; the 1st ed. sells out in 1 day; the 1872 6th ed. shortens the title to "The Origin of Species"; the decider, which causes evolutionary "survival of the fittest" theory to triumph among the intelligentsia; English Anglican minister and Cambridge U. prof. of modern history Charles Kingsley (1819-75), who received an advance copy on Nov. 18 writes that he had "long since, from watching the crossing of domesticated animals and plants, learnt to disbelieve the dogma of the permanence of the species", which Darwin adds to the next ed. of his book in a modified form: "He had gradually learned to see that it is just as noble a conception of the Deity to believe that He created a few original forms capable of self-development into other and needful forms, as to believe that He required a fresh act of creation to supply the voids caused by the action of His laws"; Darwin pub. it after spending eight years dissecting barnacles in his basement, then inexplicably switching to the Galapagos finch?; catches on first in Germany among atheists?; "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down"; Louis Agassiz of the U.S. opposes Darwin, preferring a theory of "Epochs of Creation", based on the absence of missing links between layers of well-formed fossil ecosystems; the phrase "I'll be a monkey's uncle" is coined by Darwin skeptics; "There is a grandeur in this view of life that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved"; what was that about "my theory would absolutely break down" if anything is found that can't be explained by "numerous, successive, slight modifications"?; in practice Darwinism becomes a religion which denies that there is intelligent design in Nature, and therefore tries to deconstruct any evidence of it they find as they go along, yet clings to the notion of common descent, almost as if there was some original, er, accident, and ends up turning into a narrow naturalistic dogma by the end of the 20th cent., taking over U.S. and other Western educational systems with a chilling priesthood? In 1860 after failing to fit it into his Theory of Evolution, Darwin writes the immortal soundbyte: "The sight of a feather in a peacock's tail makes me sick." On Feb. 1, 1871 he writes a Letter to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, with the soundbyte: "It is often said that all the conditions for the first production of a living organism are now present, which could ever have been present. But if (and oh! what a big if!) we could conceive in some warm little pond, with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, light, heat, electricity, &c., present, that a protein compound was chemically formed ready to undergo still more complex changes, at the present day such matter would be instantly absorbed, which would not have been the case before living creatures were found." In 1871 he pub. The Descent of Man; "The Simidae then branched off into two great stems, the New World and the Old World monkeys; and from the latter at a remote period, Man, the wonder and glory of the universe, proceeded"; "We civilized men... do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of everyone to the last moment... Thus the weak members of civilized societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. It is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man himself, hardly anyone is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed"; "This is the book that contains the foundation in natural history for our view" (Marx to Engels); this book is later used by Eugenicists to justify euthanasia of misfits.

On Apr. 12, 1861 - May 9, 1865 the horrific U.S. Civil War sees the invention of the first modern weapon when N.C.-born agricultural equipment maker Richard Jordan Gatling (1818-1903) patents the 10-barrel hand-cranked hundreds-of-rounds-per-min. Gatling Gun (the first practical machine gun) just in time for use on some Johnny Rebs; it is first used by the Union Army in 1864, but luckily never sees extensive use.

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	James Buchanan (1791-1868)	Mar. 4, 1857	Mar. 4, 1861
Britain	Queen Victoria (1819-1901)	June 20, 1837	Jan. 22, 1901
France	Napoleon III (1808-73)	1851	Sept. 2, 1870
Austria	Emperor Franz Josef I (1830-1916)	Dec. 2, 1848	Nov. 21, 1916
Russia	Tsar Alexander II (1818-81)	Feb. 18, 1855	Mar. 13, 1881
Prussia	Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1795-1861)	June 7, 1840	Jan. 2, 1861
Papacy	Pius IX (1792-1878)	June 16, 1846	Feb. 7, 1878
Turkey	Sultan Abdul Mecid I (1823-61)	July 1, 1839	June 25, 1861

On June 25, 1861 sultan (since 1839) Abdul Mecid I (b. 1823) dies of phthisis, and is succeeded by his brother (another Europhile who is a good composer) Abdul Aziz (Abdulazia) Oglu Mahmud I (1830-76) as Ottoman sultan #32 (until May 30, 1876), continuing the Tanzimat Westernization program, giving official recognition to the union of Moldavia and Wallachia on Dec. 2; too bad, he squanders money like water until the bottom drops out?

In Mar. 1862 after Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck (1815-98) is sent to Paris to serve as Prussian ambassador, the Prussian Landtag insists on an itemization of the budget so they can see that extra funds aren't going to the military, causing the king to dissolve it, resulting in another election in May in which the Progressive Party wins 133 seats; on Sept. 23 the new Landtag deletes from the budget money which has already gone towards military reorg.; after the king tries to resign but can't get his son to take the throne, Bismarck is called in for advice, and on Sept. 30 is made PM and minister of foreign affairs for Prussia, and begins relying on Article 99 of the constitution to let his idol, er, king fund the govt. using existing tax systems with or without the approval of the Loose Cannon Landtag, while devoting his career to the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership and making Germany #1 in Europe (and himself the greatest European diplomat of the cent.).

In 1865 the Young Ottomans secret society is founded in Turkey by a group of pro-Western intellectuals who want to modernize the Ottoman Empire and adopt a constitutional govt. while clinging to Islam - a self-defeating effort?

On Feb. 22, 1866 after failing to create an alliance of prosperous peasants and turning the landowners against him, the "monstrous coalition" of conservatives and liberals incl. Liberal Party (wealthy conservative?) opposition leader Ioan Bratianu forces Alexander John Cuza to abdicate and flee the country, and on Apr. 20 Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen succeeds as Carol I (1839-1914) of Romania (until Oct. 10, 1914), a domnitor (ruling prince) until Mar. 15, 1881; on June 13 a new joint constitution is adopted; prohibited from marrying a Romanian, in 1869 Carol I marries lit. giant (the Nora Roberts of the 19th cent.?) Elisabeth (Elizabeth) of Wied (1843-1916), prospective bride of Edward VII of England, who becomes known by her lit. name Carmen Sylva. On Mar. 15, 1881 Romania proclaims itself a kingdom, with Carol I as king #1 (until Oct. 10, 1914), and Ioan Bratianu of the authoritarian conservative Liberal Party continuing as PM (until 1888); the Latin script is adopted, and Cyrillic script scrapped; fear of Russia drives Carol I into Austria's arms?

See why everyone is talking about Veronica Bismars and Needle Dick? On Apr. 8, 1866 Prussian PM Otto von Bismarck allies Prussia with Italy, then on June 9 sends Prussian troops from Schlesweg into Holstein to drive Austria out and annex it, starting the Seven Weeks' War (Austro-Prussian War) (Prussian-German War) (German Civil War) between Prussia and Italy against Austria when Austria chickens out and withdraws its forces from Holstein without a battle, Bismarck waits for it to make a mistake, and on June 14 the Diet of Frankfurt passes a Bavarian motion to mobilize all non-Prussian and non-Austrian forces, causing Bismarck to declare the Federal Act violated and start a war with the South German states, quickly winning, then along with Italy declaring war on Austria; on June 24 the Italians under Gen. Enrico Calidini are defeated at the Battle of Custozza; Austria, thinking it can kick Prussia's butt easily, makes a secret treaty with France to sit it out; on June 27 the Prussians defeat Hanover at the Battle of (Bad) Langensalza; too bad, the Prussians under Gen. Helmuth von Moltke surprise the Austrians with secret veapons, viz. the use of railroads for rapid troop deployment, the use of breech-loading Needle Guns which can fire 4x as fast as the Austrian muzzle-loaders, and pre-measured mobile bridges in case the Austrians destroy the real ones, and on July 3 they win a decisive V at the 450K-man Battle of Koniggratz (Sadowa) (Sadova) (Hradec Kralove) (in NW Czech. near modern-day Hradec Kralove) despite massed steel-rifled cannon barrage fire, ending the effectiveness of cavalry regiments and presaging the fun to come in WWI; "The needle gun is king" (London Times); on July 20 the Austrians destroy the Italian fleet at the naval Battle of Lissa and push the Austrians out of the old Venetian Repub., which is annexed to the kingdom of Italy; on July 26 the Peace of Nicolsburg (Nikolsburg) in Bavaria disbands the German Confederation, and creates the North German Confederation (1867-71), with South German states having the right to form a South German Confederation; Prussia is united by annexing the middle states formed between the east and west by the 1814 Congress of Vienna, incl. the town of Fulda, favorite of German bishops for assemblies; on Aug. 23 the Peace (Treaty) of Prague gives Prussia the provinces of Schleswig, Holstein, Hanover (until 1945), the electorate of Hesse-Cassel, the duchy of Nassau, and the free city of Frankfurt-am-Main (the latter three combined into the hilly, thickly forested, mineral-rich province of Hesse-Nassau), making it the largest German state (two-thirds of the land area and pop.), passing Austria and becoming the #1 power on the Euro Continent; on Oct. 12 the Treaty of Vienna ends the war between Austria and Italy; sad Saxony pays a heavy cash indemnity to Prussia and is forced to join the North German Confederation (ends 1871), consisting of 21 small states (Anhalt, Hamburg, Oldenburg, Waldeck etc.) ruled by Prussia, with the Prussian king as head, and the independent states appointing deputies for the Bundesrat (upper house), with the Reichstag (lower house) (which cannot propose new laws) elected by all adult males, and on Apr. 16, 1867 a new 1867 North German Federation Constitution, which arch-conservative Bismarck later says is granted to keep the liberals quiet; Austria and the small liberal Roman Catholic states of Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden, and Hesse-Darmstadt opt out of the confederation, which is conservative and Protestant-dominated; Liechtenstein becomes an independent principality; Transylvania is reunited with Hungary; Sardinia wins Venetia in NE Italy for allying with Prussia; Bismarck now plots to sandbag the independent German states into the confederation by triggering a war with France which drives them into his needle guns, er, arms, and Napoleon III plays into his hands when he welcomes a war with Germany to restore his popularity?

On Dec. 31, 1866 at the instigation of composer Richard Wagner, Chlodwig Carl Viktor of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst (Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Ratibor and Corvey) (1819-1901) becomes PM of Bavaria (until Mar. 7, 1870), arguing for closer ties with Prussia, getting Bismarck to use the Welfen-Funds from the House of Hanover to pay off Ludwig II's large debts, then reorganizing the Bavarian army on the Prussian model, creating a military union of the S states, and helping found the customs parliament (Zollparlament), becoming vice-pres. on Apr. 28, 1868; too bad, his opposition to the ultramontane position incl. papal infallibility causes an opposition to form that eventually forces him to resign.

RU hungary for some strange Aus? On Feb. 7, 1867 Austria (fearing Bismarck's Germany) and Hungary (fearing the Russians) forget their quarrels and agree to live in sin under the Ausgleich (Compromise) of 1867, uniting under a dual monarchy with Austrian emperor Franz (Francis) (Ferenc) Joseph (Jozsef) I (1830-1916) as king (until Nov. 21, 1916), who is crowned at Budapest on June 8; the double kingdom of Austria-Hungary (ends Oct. 31, 1918) is born, with two independent parliaments and sets of ministers, the Hungarian Magyars given a dem. parliament and the wealthy German Austrians a non-dem. parliament; Count Gyula (Julius) Andrassy Sr. (1823-90) becomes PM #1 of Hungary (until 1871); on Feb. 7 Dresden-born Count Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust (1809-86) becomes pres.-PM of Austria until Dec. 30, when he is succeeded by Prince Karl Wilhelm Philipp von Auersperg (1814-90) (until 1868); a 3rd parliament with reps from both sides considers problems incl. foreign affairs, import-export taxes, and military matters; meanwhile the Slavs trapped in the kingdom are treated as second class, causing them to foment a rebellion; writer Maurus (Mor) Jokai (1825-1904), who fought in the 1849 rev. and was under suspicion by Austrian authorities until 1863, when he founded the govt. periodical Hon becomes a member of the Hungarian parliament until 1897, when Franz Josef appoints him a lifetime member of the upper house.

On June 10, 1868 Serbian prince (since Sept. 26, 1860) Michael III Obrenovic (b. 1823) is assassinated, taking his big plans to unite the Balkans under his rule with Russian backing with him, and his cousin Milan IV Obrenovic (1854-1901) becomes prince of Serbia; on Mar. 6, 1882 he proclaims a new kingdom of Serbia and changes his title to Milan I (until Mar. 6, 1889).

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822-85)	Mar. 4, 1869	Mar. 4, 1877
Britain	Queen Victoria (1819-1901)	June 20, 1837	Jan. 22, 1901
France	Napoleon III (1808-73)	1851	Sept. 2, 1870
Austria	Emperor Franz Josef I (1830-1916)	Dec. 2, 1848	Nov. 21, 1916
Russia	Tsar Alexander II (1818-81)	Feb. 18, 1855	Mar. 13, 1881
Prussia	Wilhelm I (1798-1888)	Jan. 2, 1861	Mar. 9, 1888
Papacy	Pius IX (1792-1878)	June 16, 1846	Feb. 7, 1878
Turkey	Sultan Abdul Aziz I (1830-76)	June 25, 1861	May 30, 1876

Tweedly-Dee, Tweedly-Dum, Get Ready, Cuz Here I Cum? On July 13, 1870 the Ems Telegram (Dispatch) is sent by Corsican-born French diplomat Vincent, Count Benedetti (1817-1900) to the king of Prussia at Ems, demanding him to order German prince Leopold of Hohenzollern to withdraw his candidacy for the Spanish throne and never renew it; seeing his chance, Prussian chancellor Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck (1815-98) leaks it (after modifying it to be more provocative), with the implication that the Frog has insulted the king, which is taken by the French as proof that the king has insulted their minister, causing diplomatic relations to become kaput; on July 19 (Tues.) after Bismarck dares them to make the first move, France declares war on Prussia, beginning the Franco-Prussian (Franco-German) War (ends May 10, 1871), the last 19th cent. war between the Euro powers, in which the Prussians followed by the French first use dynamite; Prussia then eagerly invades France, with regiments from Bavaria, Saxony, and Wurttemberg, the Prussian armies led by Field Marshal Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke (1800-91); in Paris U.S. minister (1869-77) Elihu Benjamin Washburne (1816-87) protects the delegations of the German states with the U.S. flag; meanwhile on Aug. 4 the prancing Prussians defeat the French at the Battle of Weissenburg, the Battle of Spicheren Heights near Saarbrucken on Aug. 5-6, and the (Second) Battle of Worth (Wörth) on Aug. 6, separating the N and S flanks of the French army, after which the incompetence and defeatism of marshal (since 1864) Francois Achille Bazaine (1811-88) seals their fate starting on Aug. 14 with the Battle of Colombey-Nouilly, where the Prussians attack the French rearguard as they try to withdraw from Metz, followed on Aug. 16 by the Battle of Mars-La-Tour (Vionville) in NE France, the one chance the French had of gaining a V, when their entire 120K-man French army is stumbled upon by two lousy Prussian corps (66K men) and held for a whole day, allowing the rest of the Germans to close in and cut off their withdrawal route from Metz; on Aug. 18 the Battle of Gravelotte (Gravellot-St. Privat) in Lorraine 7 mi. W of Metz between Metz and the French-German frontier, the largest battle of the war sees 113K retreating French under Insane Bazaine cornered by 188K Germans under Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, then win a tactical V at the cost of 12K casualties (vs. 20K for the Germans), but instead of counterattacking and breaking out of the hole they're in after all that bloodshed, they turn tail and retreat back to Metz, where they give up after a 2-mo. siege, proving to be the strategic D and achilles heel of the whole francois bazaine war; on Aug. 30 the Battle of Beaumont sees a 120K-man French army under Napoleon III and his Field Marshal Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, 1st Duke of Magenta (1808-93) caught and defeated by 200K Germans while en route to relieve Metz, causing them to retreat to the once formidable Sedan Fortress, only to be encircled then defeated on Sept. 1-2 at the Battle of Sedan, surrendering 85K French troops and 39 gens. plus Napoleon III himself, who is deposed by the legislature at the urging of Jules Favre, with only Normandy remaining loyal; on Sept. 2 an armed force of rev. workers led by Louis Auguste Blanqui (1805-81) (who spent 1839-48, 1848-59, and 1861-5 in prison for rev. activities) topples the French Second Repub., and on Sept. 4 the French Third (3rd) Repub. (ends 1940) is proclaimed from the Hotel de Ville by Leon Gambetta (1838-82), who becomes pres. #1, with Jules Favre as vice-pres. and minister of foreign affairs, conducting peace negotiations with Germany; too bad, Bismarck refuses to recognize it, and the Huns, er, Prussians begin the Siege of Paris on Sept. 19 (ends Jan. 28, 1871), destroying the Tuilieries (royal palace) by cannon fire; in Sept. Gambetta escapes from Paris in a balloon built and piloted by Gaston Tissandier (1843-99), and establishes HQ in Tours, attempting to reorg. the French army and becoming dictator of France for 5 mo.; on Oct. 30 revolutionaries break into the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) in Paris and capture the govt. of national defense, making demands for a communard govt. until soldiers entering through a secret underground tunnel (built in 1807) rescue them; in early Nov. Verdun on the Meuse River, the strongest fortified town in E France falls after a 6-week siege; on Nov. 27 the Germans defeat the French at the Battle of Amiens (Third Battle of Picardy) (pr. AM-ee-yuh), and the citadel surrenders on Nov. 30; Orleans is occupied by the Krauts, er, foreign invaders from Oct. 11-Nov. 9, then from Dec. 5 to the end of the war; Metz (sieged Aug. 19-Oct. 29) and Strasbourg (sieged Aug. 15-Sept. 28) surrender, and Gambetta calls marshal (since 1864) Francois Achille Bazaine a traitor for surrendering Metz, pissing him off enough to resign, and in 1873 he is convicted of capitulation and sentenced to death, commuted to 20 years in Ile St.-Marguerite, but he escapes to Genoa in 1873, then spends the rest of his wound-racked life in Madrid; during the siege of Paris the Pigeon Post of Paris gets mail into the city; U.S. Civil War nurse Clara Barton (1821-1912) works with the new Internat. Red Cross Society to help wounded soldiers; in Nov. aeronaut Wilfrid de Fonvielle (1824-1914) escapes Paris in a balloon and lands in London, giving a series of lectures on how great the Third Repub. is; scientist Louis Pasteur (b. 1822) tries to volunteer for military service but the authorities tell him he can best serve them in the lab?

The original Everybody Hates Chris, the most important year in history to anti-Catholics? On Sept. 20, 1870 after France withdraws its troops from Rome to fight the Prussians, and Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-82) ignores Italian public opinion in favor of the Prussians and joins the new Third Repub. of France to reuinite Italy, uttering the soundbyte "Yesterday I said to you, war to the death to Bonaparte; today I say to you, rescue the French Republic by every means", the Bersaglieri Corps breaches the Aurelian Wall at Porta Pia and captures Rome sans Garibaldi's assistance, ending centuries of papal rule, and making it their capital city; Rome ceases to be governed by the popes, becoming the new capital of a united Italy, and the Papal States are kaput; Italia Irredenta (Unredeemed Italy), a few small districts on the other side of the Adriatic on the N (Trieste, Pola, Fiume, Gorz) remains outside the new kingdom of Italy; Fiume is detached from Croatia and given autonomy within the Hungarian kingdom; meanwhile, Pope Pius IX has himself declared the beneficiary of official Papal Infallibility in matters of faith and morals in Vatican I (First Vatican Council) (Dec. 8, 1869-Oct. 20, 1870), and declares himself a prisoner of the new Italian govt.; when the govt. announces plans to make free mandatory public education available to all, the pope writes the king urging him to oppose it, describing it as a "plague" aimed at "totally destroying Catholic schools" - all they need is a few statues, crucifixes, and holy relics, and the pissed-off Church now tells its faithful to emigrate to the U.S. and take it over?

In 1870 French Abbe Henri Torne-Chavigny (1826-80) pub. Lettres du Grand Prophete, interpretations of Nostradamus' quatrains predicting the restoration of the Bourbon line to the French throne, and claiming that in the next big war France will be invaded via Switzerland (based on Quatrain 80 in Century IV); French war minister Andre Maginot later believes him and orders the building of the Maginot Line?

Nobody remembers you when you're strange? The Might Makes Right Non-Democratic German Empire puts its restless leg syndrome to rest? On Jan. 18, 1871 (Wed.) (Kaiser Day?) after the S German states (incl. Strassburg or Strasbourg) consent to join the German Confederation, the German Empire AKA the German Second Reich (First Reich in 800-1806) of 25 German states (incl. the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt) is founded (ends Nov. 9, 1918), becoming the most powerful nation in Europe; Prussian king Wilhelm (William) I (1797-1888) is proclaimed German Kaiser (caesar, tsar, emperor) (not "emperor of the Germans", because that would have been a claim to Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg also) in Versailles, France; the Hohenzollern family, which has ruled Brandenburg since 1415 and Prussia since 1701 now rules Germany too (until 1918); the black-red-gold flag is replaced with a black-white-red flag (until 1919), with black-white representing dominant Prussia, and red the other German states; Wroclaw, Poland becomes Breslau, Germany (until 1945); British PM Benjamin Disraeli gives a speech in the House of Commons, with the soundbyte: "The balance of power has been completely destroyed, and the country which suffers the most from this and feels the effect of this change most strongly, is England"; deputy PM Robert Peel utters the soundbyte that Germany has been united under a "despotism". On Jan. 18 crowds gather outside the Hotel de Ville in Paris, HQ of the Paris Commune to protest rumors of a French surrender to the kraut-eating sausage-stuffing Prussians, and after soldiers shoot into the crowd, Commune extremists set fire to the building, destroying it and destroying virtually all public records from the French Rev. period; the building is later rebuilt with the same exterior but all-new improved interior. In Jan. Paris surrenders, and France signs an armistice, agreeing to a new election to please Bismarck; the French Nat. Assembly, consisting of 200 repubs. and 400 royalists meets in Bordeaux, and the Paris rev. repubs. refuse to recognize it; German calary Lt. (later gen.) Friedrich von Bernhardi (1849-1930) gets to be the first German to ride through the Arc de Triomphe as the Germans enter Paris, becoming a celeb; a preliminary peace is followed on May 10 by the Treaty (Peace) of Frankfurt, signed by Otto von Bismarck at the Swan Hotel in Frankfurt-am-Main (to which guns are fired in celebration in German-occupied Metz), by which France cedes Alsace-Lorraine (between the Metz and Vosges Rivers) (German Lorraine) (which Germany controls until 1919, and again in 1940-4), and pays an indemnity of 5B francs, which becomes the basis of an imperial military reserve fund of $30M in gold stored in the citadel Spandau Prison 9 mi. WNW of Berlin (built in 1876); the kingdom of Saxony is absorbed into the new German Empire; grumbling over the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, Leon Gambetta utters the soundbyte "Think of it always, speak of it never"; the statue of Strasbourg in the Place de la Concorde is draped in crape and mourning garlands; the Franco-Prussian War (begun 1870) ends with 299K dead and wounded; Jules Favre is criticized for yielding too much territory, and resigns as foreign minister, but stays in the chamber of deputies until being elected to the senate in 1876-80; Berlin (founded in the 13th cent.) (modern pop. 3.5M) becomes the capital of Germany (until 1945, and again in 1990), and the German Empire is now the most powerful state in jackboot Europe; the war results in masses of opium and morphine addicts; the glory of the Bonaparte family is almost kaput; Johannes Brahms composes Triumphlied (Song of Triumph), Op. 55 to celebrate the German V.

On July 9, 1875 the Herzegovina Revolt (Uprising) (ends Aug. 4, 1877) sees Christian peasants revolt against Muslim rule, spreading to Bosnia, and marked by massacres by both sides, with the rebels drawing men and arms from Serbia, Montenegro, and Hungary, causing intervention of the Euro powers (Austria, Russia, Germany); on Dec. 20 Russia and Austria demand that the Ottomans reduce taxes, provide religious freedom for Christians, and help peasants purchase land, with Euro oversight; after the sultan accepts but the rebels reject the plan, the Ottomans come down on them hard, causing thousands of Christians to flee, pissing-off the Euro powers more; Disraeli supports the three powers but balks at putting pressure on Turkey for fear of Russia gaining control of the Suez Canal. In Oct. the Ottoman govt. declares bankruptcy, with a total nat. debt of 242M Turkish pounds and over half of expenditures going toward debt service.

In 1875 British PM (1874-80) Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81) (a converted Jew) gets a secret £4M loan from Lord Rothschild to buy 176,602 Suez Canal shares (nearly half of the total) from Egyptian khedive Ismael, forestalling French attempts to obtain them; the public acclaims this move as a master stroke of imperial policy; opposition leader William Gladstone laments the purchase as a mistake involving Britain in the murky affairs of the Middle East - is there a secret conspiracy among Jews to get Britain to take over the Middle East so that it can hand them Palestine?

On May 30, 1876 after he waffles in the face of massacres of Muslim peasants in Bosnia and Bulgaria, sultan (since June 25, 1861) Abdul Aziz I is deposed by war minister Huseyin Avni Pasha (1820-), backed by Turkish liberal statesman Midhat Pasha (1822-83), causing him to commit suicide on June 4; on May 30 he is succeeded as Ottoman sultan #33 by his Francophile nephew Murad V (1840-1904), who is deposed on Aug. 31 because of nervousness and mental incapacity after he proves unable to cope with the outbreak of war, the mobilization of his army, and the flood of Muslim refugees from the Balkans; on Aug. 31 he is succeeded by his despotic brother Abdul Hamid (Abdulhamid) II (the Damned) (the Great Assassin) (the Red Sultan) (1842-1918) as Ottoman sultan #34 (until Apr. 27, 1909), who initially promises the Young Ottomans to support a constitutional govt., and lets Midhat Pasha secure the promulgation of the first-ever 1876 Ottoman Constitution on Dec. 23, providing for a bicameral parliament and civil liberties, but reserves most powers to himself.

On Apr. 20, 1876 the anti-Ottoman April Bulgarian Uprising begins in Orthodox Christian Bulgaria, which is suppressed by mid-May with massacres of Christians, which the Ottomans try unsuccessfully to coverup, rocking world opinion and causing religious sister Russia to threaten intervention, while Disraeli refuses to do anything to aid Russia, maintaining his support for the Ottomans as a bulwark against them, causing his rival Gladstone to begin using the issue to get back in power (1880). On June 30 Serbia declares war on Turkey, followed by Montenegro on July 2, beginning the Serbo-Turkish War (ends Mar. 3, 1878); after the Turks inflict a severe D on the Serbs, Russia threatens to intervene on Oct. 31, halting them in their tracks.

On Mar. 1, 1877 Serbia signs a peace treaty with the Turks, providing for a return to prewar status. On Apr. 24 after failing to win European support at the Istanbul Internat. Conference, Russia, backed by Romania declares war on Turkey, beginning the 1877-8 Russo-Turkish War (ends Mar. 3, 1878), and enters Romania, then crosses the Danube River; on May 21 the Romanian govt. declares independence from Turkey, and Bismarck decides not to intervene. Nonfiction: Fred W. Rose, Serio-Comic War Map for the Year 1877; cartoon map shows Russia as a gigantic octopus; first in a series (1899, 1900).

The Balk Balk Balkans start pull pull pulling the entire civilized world down the toilet of world war by destabilizing the comfy old Ottoman Empire? On Jan. 5-9, 1878 the Fourth Battle of Shipka Pass is a crushing V for the Russkies over the Turks, who appeal for an armistice, while Russian troops take Adrianople and close in on Constantinople, defeating the Turks again on Jan. 17 at the Battle of Plovdiv (Philippopolis); too bad, just as they are closing in, on Jan. 31 a British fleet arrives at the sultan's request in Constantinople amid "jingoist war fever" in Britain, and on Mar. 3 the Russo-Turkish War (begun Apr. 24, 1877) ends with the Peace Treaty of San Stefano (Stephano), which enlarges Bulgaria and gives it autonomy and a territory stretching from the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea under nominal Turkish control, but really puts it under the Russian sphere of influence (incl. a large part of Macedonia), makes Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia independent (until 1918), and secures admin. reforms for Bosnia and Herzegovina under Russian-Austrian supervision; stick-it-with-a-fork Turkey is left with only a small strip of territory in Europe, plus a huge indemnity to pay, alarming Britain at Russia's ambitions and causing it to demand that any treaty between Russia and Turkey which alters the treaties of 1856 and 1871 should be with their consent; when Russia refuses, Britain increases armaments and prepares for war, causing Russia to back down and enter the Congress of Berlin (June 13-July 13) to revise the Treaty of San Stefano; on June 4 the Turks cede Cyprus to Britain in return for guarantees of the integrity of Turkey's Asiatic dominions; as they debate how to carve up the Balkans, Bismarck utters the soundbyte that no one had asked the locals involved their opinion; on July 13 the Treaty of Berlin reduces Bulgaria in size and cuts it up into three parts, an autonomous principality N of the Balkans, the semi-autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia S of the Balkans, and Macedonia, which is restored to Turkey; Bosnia and Herzegovina are placed under the admin. control of Austria alone, while remaining nominally parts of Turkey; the Three Emperors' League is disbanded; Britain recommends that Turkey give Greece a more northerly border, and it refuses, pissing-off the Greeks and causing them to declare war; the Ottoman Empire loses 210K sq. km territory (40%) and 5.5M pop. (20%); back home "Dizzy" Disraeli scores a diplomatic triumph, "peace with honour", even though the independent Balkan states fume at the return of Christian-Slav-filled Macedonia to the Muslim Turks, and the Orthodox Serbs in Bosnia and Herzogovina never get along with the Roman Catholic Austrians; Sultan Abdul Hamid II, looking for a way comes up with pan-Islamism to rally the faithful behind him, and assumes the title of caliph - is there an international Jewish Zionist conspiracy running Britain by controlling the press and finances and using it to weaken the Ottomans and permit Jewish resettlement of Israel, while the dumb Muslims who ain't that dumb begin to unite against them, causing the Jews to work to keep them at each other's throats to neutralize them?

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-93)	Mar. 4, 1877	Mar. 4, 1881
United Kingdom	Queen Victoria (1819-1901)	June 20, 1837	Jan. 22, 1901
United Kingdom	Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81)	Feb. 20, 1874	Apr. 21, 1880
Russia	Tsar Alexander II (1818-81)	Feb. 18, 1855	Mar. 13, 1881
China	Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908)	Aug. 22, 1861	Nov. 15, 1908
Canada	Sir John Alexander Macdonald (1815-91)	Oct. 17, 1878	June 6, 1891
Germany	Kaiser Wilhelm I (1797-1888)	Jan. 18, 1871	Mar. 9, 1888
Italy	Umberto I (1844-1900)	Jan. 9, 1878	July 29, 1900
Spain	Alfonso XII (1857-85)	Dec. 28, 1874	Nov. 25, 1885
Japan	Emperor Meiji (1852-1912)	Feb. 3, 1867	July 30, 1912
Mexico	Porfirio Diaz (1830-1915)	Nov. 29, 1876	May 25, 1911
Papacy	Leo XIII (1810-1903)	Feb. 20, 1878	July 20, 1903
Turkey	Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918)	Aug. 31, 1861	Apr. 27, 1909

On May 20, 1882 a 5-year Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy is signed in response to tensions with France (and later Russia), providing for aid by the other two if one of them is attacked by any other two great powers, or, for Germany and Italy, by France alone; Italy tells Britain that its actions are not to be regarded as directed against it; it is renewed until 1914.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil? In 1884 although European penetration of Africa has been limited until 1880, the Belgians and the British start a race for colonialization; the 14-nation Berlin (Congo) (West African) Conference this year and next marks the climax of white European land-grabbing in Africa, and results in the Treaty of Berlin next year; no single European power is permitted to claim the whole continent, and all claims have to be based on military occupation; Germany and France compete against Britain, with Kaiser Wilhelm I uttering the soundbyte that Germany is being "squeezed in the heart of Europe by colonizing neighbors", wanting to get some in Africa to compensate; by 1900 European states claim 90% of Africa - they can claim, but can they tame?

On Sept. 15, 1884 British #1 newspaperman William Thomas Stead (1849-1912) pub. an article in the Pall Mall Gazette titled What is the Truth About the Navy?, warning of the growing German naval threat, causing Parliament to appropriate funds to modernize their navy; Stead gives the first known journalistic interview to British Gen. Chinese Gordon; next year he begins a crusade against child prostitution with a series of articles titled "The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon", arranging to have 13-y.-o. Eliza Armstrong "purchased" in order to create a news event; even though his sensational story causes passage of the U.S. Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, he ends up getting 3 mo. in priz since he didn't get permission from the girl's daddy; meanwhile he envisages an Anglo-Saxon reunification in the form of an imperial federation between the U.S. and U.K. In 1902 he pub. The Americanization of the World: The Trend of the Twentieth Century, which claims the inevitability of world domination by the U.S., hoping that it will rule the world in partnership with Britain; he later goes down with the Titanic.

I Have a Dream in reverse, or, Fill 'er up? In 1885 the Treaty of Berlin is signed, becoming the first to use the term "spheres of influence", meaning white Euro powers claiming to own black African areas (and their people?); Germany annexes Tanganyika and lets Britain have Zanzibar in exchange for Heligoland in the North Sea, and asserts rights to German East Africa, German Southwest Africa, Cameroon and Togoland, sending explorer Gustav Nachtigal (b. 1834) as special commissioner to annex them (he dies on the return voyage on Apr. 20); Germany relinquishes its claims to Madagascar in favor of France, and Britain pledges not to interfere, dooming its independence, freaking Queen Ranavalona III out, and causing her to send trinket-style gifts (silk clothes, ivory pin, woven basket) to U.S. Pres. Grover Cleveland next year in vain hopes of help (send the Marines for more?); Britain claims a protectorate in Nigeria and Bechuanaland S of the Molopo River, also Zanzibar and British East Africa; after they draw their lines in the sand and start playing step over the line, the West African Wars begin (end 1903); Belgium declares the Congo Free State (Belgian Congo), inhabited by Negrito peoples (Pygmies) open to trade and settlement, but personally owned by Belgian king (since 1865) Leopold II (1835-1909), who benefits from treaties made with native chiefs by U.S. correspondent Henry Morton Stanley when he navigated the Congo River in 1877, and now begins to rule it with an iron hand, murdering and multilating 10M?; borders of the Portuguese colony of Angola are fixed, permitting development of the interior; Spain receives Rio Muni on the W coast of Africa, creating Spanish Guinea (modern Equatorial Guinea); the peace terms of England with the Boers are modified to delete all references to British suzerainty.

On June 20, 1887 her popularity ascendant for the rest of her reign, Queen Victoria celebrates her Golden Jubilee (50th anniv. as queen) at a "family dinner" at Buckingham Palace attended by 50 Euro kings and princes after a breakfast under the trees at Frogmore where her dear Prince Albert was canned; Prince Wilhelm (II) attends the Golden Jubilee celebration of his grandmother Queen Victoria, escorted by the new torpedo boats developed by up-and-coming naval Lt. Cmdr. Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (1849-1930), later calling his time with torpedo boats (1876-88) as "the eleven best years of my life"; Abdul Karim (1863-1909), an Indian Muslim servant brought over to mark the jubilee becomes her close friend and is promoted to the unique title of "Queen's Munshi", and later her Indian secy., teaching her the Kama Sutra, er, Urdu; their relationship might have been sexual like with John Brown?; Francis Millen of the U.S.-based Clan na Gael movement (founded 1867) plots to assassinate Queen Victoria at her Golden Jubilee ceremony at Westminster Abbey, but the police uncover the plot and he flees to the U.S., where he dies.

On Mar. 9, 1888 Kaiser Wilhelm I (b. 1797) dies after a 27-year reign (since 1861), and his too-long-waiting son Friedrich (Frederick) "Fritz" III (b. 1831) (husband of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Vicky) is crowned kaiser #2, but goes into a 90-day coma due to throat cancer and croaks on June 15, unable to talk to the end of his 99-day reign, ending a great chance for a liberal democratic pro-British German Kaiser; instead, his 29-y.-o. worst nightmare son Wilhelm (William) II (1859-1941) (who has a withered right arm from a traumatic breech birth, causing him to always pose it at a dignified angle in photo opps) succeeds him as German (Prussian) Kaiser (until 1918), going on to experiment with global expansionism no matter whom it hurts?

On Mar. 6, 1889 after adopting a new more liberal constitution on Jan. 3, Serbian king (since Mar. 6, 1882) Milan I Obrenovich (b. 1854) suddenly abdicates and moves to Paris, and his teenie son Alexander I Obrenovic (Obrenovich) (1876-1903) becomes the last Obrenovic king of Serbia (until June 11, 1903), with regents appointed until he reaches age 18.

On May 31, 1889 after looking over their shoulder, the British Parliament passes the Naval Defence Act of 1889, adopting the "two-power standard", that the Royal Navy should maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the fleets of the two next strongest naval powers France and Russia combined, causing it to begin strengthening its fleet with £21.5M for 10 new battleships over the next 5 years, along with 38 new cruisers, 18 new torpedo boats, and four new fast gunboats; too bad, it starts an arms race, with the French and Russians building a combined 12 new battleships in 1893-4, compared to 10 for Britain. In 1894 Britain passes the Spencer Program, providing £31M more funding for naval shipbuilding, keeping the naval arms race with France and Russia going and causing the U.S. and Germany to join.

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901)	Mar. 4, 1889	Mar. 4, 1893
United Kingdom	Queen Victoria (1819-1901)	June 20, 1837	Jan. 22, 1901
United Kingdom	Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquis of Salisbury (1830-1903)	July 25, 1886	Aug. 11, 1892
Russia	Tsar Alexander III (1845-94)	Mar. 13, 1881	Nov. 1, 1894
China	Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908)	Aug. 22, 1861	Nov. 15, 1908
Canada	Sir John Alexander Macdonald (1815-91)	Oct. 17, 1878	June 6, 1891
France	Marie Francois Sadi Carnot (1837-94)	Dec. 3, 1887	June 25, 1894
Germany	Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941)	June 15, 1888	Nov. 9, 1918
Italy	Umberto I (1844-1900)	Jan. 9, 1878	July 29, 1900
Spain	Alfonso XIII (1886-1941)	May 17, 1886	Apr. 14, 1931
Japan	Emperor Meiji (1852-1912)	Feb. 3, 1867	July 30, 1912
Mexico	Porfirio Diaz (1830-1915)	Nov. 29, 1876	May 25, 1911
Papacy	Leo XIII (1810-1903)	Feb. 20, 1878	July 20, 1903
Turkey	Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918)	Aug. 31, 1861	Apr. 27, 1909

On Mar. 18, 1890 Kaiser Wilhelm II (probably from jealousy?) forces chancellor (since 1871) Otto von Bismarck (1815-98) to resign, and on Mar. 20 replaces him with Count Georg Leo von Caprivi (1831-99) (until Oct. 26, 1894), making a choice of someone who's ignorant of foreign affairs to take over foreign policy himself, with Friedrich August Karl Ferdinand Julius von Holstein (1837-1909) becoming head of the German Foreign Office (until 1906); Bismarck goes into retirement in Friedrichsruh (20 mi. SE of Hamburg) with the title of duke of Lauenberg, issuing the soundbyte: "The Kaiser is like a balloon: if you don't keep hold of the string, you never know where he'll be off to"; Punch mag. pub. the famous cartoon Dropping the Pilot by Sir John Tenniel, which Germans eagerly adopt, titling it "Der Lotse Geht von Bord" (The Pilot Leaves the Ship); after the Kaiser visits England in the summer, the Russians and French start getting the idea that Germany is starting to form an entente against them with Britain, lubing the wheels leading to WWI? On June 14 the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty is signed, ceding the Danish North Sea island of Heligoland (Helgoland) (under British occupation since 1807) to Germany as of July 1 by Britain's Lord Salisbury in exchange for a much larger strip of African territory, Zanzibar; Germany renounces all claims to Uganda, Zanzibar, and Pemba, causing outcries in Germany, while Sir Henry Stanley the African explorer-journalist of Britain gloats that Germany would have "given a suit for an old trouser's button"; Heligoland becomes part of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein, and is heavily fortified with guns and U-boat pens; the Imperial British East Africa Co. (IBEAC) is chartered to develop the Uganda area (until 1895); the whole thing causes Russia and France to believe that Germany is getting in bed with Britain against them, and must have gotten something under the sheets? - just move forward and let me do the mouse work? In Aug. Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Alexander III meet in Narva in NE Estonia on the Gulf of Finland; Germany lets its 1887 Reinsurance Treaty with Russia lapse, and the Three Emperors' League dies, causing France and Russia to actively seek an entente to counterbalance the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, as well as a possible 4-way alliance with Britain, despite lack of common interests except mutual fear and hatred of the pesky Huns, er, Germans - Satan, how're ya feeling about setting things up for WWI?

In 1890 the Socialist Armenian Rev. Federation (ARF) (Dashnaktsutyun) is formed by Christian Orthodox Armenians in E Anatolia (Turkey) to fight for Armenian independence, causing the Ottoman govt. under "Bloody" Sultan Hamid II to employ irregular forces of ham-handed Muslim Russian Cossack clone Hamidiye Kurdish tribesmen (the sultan's personal cavalry) to keep them down - get out the kurbash?

In 1890 West Point, N.Y.-born U.S. Navy Capt. Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) pub. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, about how British sea power made it #1, and how the U.S. can do it too, making a fan of Theodore Roosevelt, becoming the most influential book on naval strategy, adopted by most major navies, leading to the WWI naval arms race.

On Feb. 23, 1891 after returning from exile in Bulgaria after the abdication of King Milan Obrenovic IV on Mar. 6, 1889, pro-Russian Socialist Nikola P. Pasic (Pashitch) (Pachitch) (1845-1926) becomes PM of Serbia (until Aug. 22, 1892), going on to dominate Serbian politics for the next four decades as PM in 1904-5, 1906-8, 1909-11, 1912-18, 1921-4, and 1924-6.

In 1891 Gen. Alfred Graf von Schlieffen (1833-1913) becomes German chief of staff (until 1905), spending his last 12 years perfecting the Schlieffen Plan for a quick invasion of France via Belgium and Holland, which is used in WWI after his successor Gen. von Moltke takes Holland out, and used again in WWII after Hitler puts Holland back in.

On Aug. 18, 1892 France and Russia take the next step against their mutual fear of Germany and sign a military convention, which takes over a year to ratify in secret, freaking Germany with the threat of being surrounded, causing it to increase ties with Austria-Hungary.

In summer 1894 an Armenian uprising begins in Sasun in E Anatolia (S Armenia), which is brutally put down by Kurdish Hamidiye troops in the Hamidian (Hamidiyean) Massacre (1894-6), causing an outcry in Europe; Sultan Abdul Hamid II officially denies any massacres, which continue until 1896, killing 200K and causing 100K to emigrate to the U.S. and the Caucasus.

On Oct. 29, 1894 aging former liberal PM of Bavaria (1866-70) Prince Chlodwig Carl Viktor of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst (Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Ratibor and Corvey) (1819-1901) becomes chancellor and PM of Prussia (until Oct. 17, 1900), going on to remain in the background and leave affairs to his secys.

In 1895 the industrial output of the U.S. catches up to the U.K. - the devil has a brand-new toy? Meanwhile the Great Rapprochement begins between the U.S. and Britain (ends 1915), where the U.S. turns from Anglophobia to Anglophilia, insuring its alignment with Britain during WWI and WWII?

On Aug. 24, 1895 the London Saturday Review pub. an article containing the soundbyte (p. 34): "We English have always waged war against our competitors in trade and transport. Our main competitor today is no longer France, but Germany... In a war against Germany we would be in a position to win a lot and to lose nothing"; on Feb. 1, 1896 another article contains the soundbyte: "If tomorrow every German were eliminated, there would be no British business nor any English enterprise which would not profit. If every Englishman were to vanish tomorrow, the Germans would reap gains... One of the two must quit the field. Get ready for the fight with Germany, for Germaniam esse delendam"; on Sept. 11, 1897 another article contains the soundbyte: "Everywhere where the English flag has followed the Bible, and trade the flag... the German trader fights the English... States have waged wars for years over a town or rights to a throne; and should we not wage war when an annual trade of five billion is at stake?"

Is that any way to treat the people who brought you Noah's Ark? On Sept. 30, 1895 Armenians stage a demonstration in Constantinople, and on Oct. 1 the first Armenian Massacres begin in Constantinople, causing the Euro powers to put pressure on Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II, who on Oct. 17 promises reforms of the minor (to him) Armenian situation; meanwhile the massacres continue all over Anatolia.

On Aug. 26, 1896 Armenians of the Dashnak Party seize the Ottoman Bank in Constantinople (Istanbul), setting off large-scale massacres of Armenians there while pleas for European intervention go unheeded.

On Feb. 2, 1897 the Greek Cretan Committee and the Ethnike Hetaeria crank up the Cretan Revolt by attacking Turkish posts in Macedonia, starting the Greco-Turkish War (Thirty Days' War) of 1897, AKA Black 97, and get Crete to proclaim union with Greece on Feb. 6, which causes the Greek govt. on Feb. 10 to send troop ships; on Mar. 2 the Euro powers promise autonomy to Crete while demanding withdrawal of Greek troops on pain of "measures of constraint"; when Greece calls their bluff, a blockade of Crete is begun on Mar. 18; too bad, on Apr. 17 Turkey declares war on Greece, which it is unprepared for; Serbia and Bulgaria are prevented from joining Turkey by threats from Russia, which demands that the Turks cease hostilities; on May 10 after a series of defeats by the Turks, the Greek army degenerates into a panic-stricken mob, and Greece appeals to the powers for help and withdraws the troops; after Turkey is defeated in Thessaly, an armistice is arranged on May 19, and on Sept. 18 the Peace of Constantinople is signed, establishing autonomy for Crete under European control with only symbolic Ottoman presence, which causes thousands of Muslims to flee from Crete and Greece to W Anatolia, which gets more and more funky and diverse; humbled Greece is forced to pay a large indemnity to Turkey, adding to its foreign debt and foreign control of its finances - at least the Turks can kick Armenian butt to feel better?

On June 22, 1897 fat, wrinkled, triple-chinned, white-haired, ever-mourning super-popular Queen Victoria celebrates her Diamond Jubilee (60th year as queen), featuring an overflow of imperialistic sentiment and a 245-carat Jubilee Diamond, and a 6-mi. progress to St. Paul's Cathedral, where a special stand is erected for survivors of the Charge of the Light Brigade; French chef Georges Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935) creates flaming Cherries Jubilee (with warmed kirsch) to mark the event; Victoria does not invite Kaiser Wilhelm II (who was invited to the 1887 Golden Jubilee), telling her PM that he is "a hot-headed, conceited, and wrong-headed young man"; she snubs him again on her 80th birthday party in 1899.

On Aug. 29-31, 1897 the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland is led by Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) and Max Simon Nordau (1849-1923), formulating a Zionist platform and org., and adopting Hatikvah as its anthem; Red Cross founder Henri Dunant is a prize guest; they go on to revive the Hebrew language; Herzl goes on to meet with the pope, kaiser, sultan (4x), and other leaders to garner support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, becoming the first Zionist efforts to establish a Jewish state in Israel; the refusal of Sultan Abdulhamid II to give land to Jews for settlement leads to the abolition of the sultanate and caliphate?; Zionist leader Litman Rosenthal has a conversation with Herzel, in which he utters his Great War Prophecy: "The great European war must come. With my watch in hand do I await this terrible moment. After the great European war is ended the Peace Conference will assemble. We must be ready for that time. We will assuredly be called to this great conference of the nations and we must prove to them the urgent importance of a Zionist solution to the Jewish Question."

On Apr. 10, 1898 despite Prussia never having had a major navy, after naval secy. of state (1897-1916) Adm. Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (1849-1930) takes Mahan's advice and pushes for a Riskflotte (Risk Fleet) that the British Royal Navy can't defeat without unacceptable losses, the German Reichstag passes the First Fleet Act to implement the Tirpitz Plan, declaring a full-blown naval arms race with Britain; more Fleet Acts in 1900, 1908, and 1912.

On Aug. 24, 1898 Russian Tsar Nicholas II invites 26 nations to a peace conference at The Hague for next year, and they agree to attend, although with mutual mistrust and dislike.

In 1898 Polish financier (Jewish convert to Calvinism) Jan Gotlib (Bogumil) Bloch (1836-1902) pub. Is War Now Impossible? in Paris, which claims that warfare in the modern Maxim gun world has become obsolete in Europe because it would turn into no-win trench warfare, distributing copies at the First Hague Peace Conference in 1899; too bad, he doesn't foresee massive artillery bombardment and tanks; he also meets with Theodor Herzl and telegraphs a recommendation memo to the tsar, then lobbies the Russian govt. to lift its ban on the sale of shares of the Zionist Jewish Colonial Trust (later the Israeli Nat. Bank).

Millennium Fever causes the Tsar to attempt to head-off Christ? On May 18-July 29, 1899 the First Internat. Hague Peace Conference defines the laws of war, prohibiting for five years gas warfare, dum-dum bullets, projectiles dropped from balloons, and mistreatment of POWs, and establishing next year the permanent voluntary Internat. Court of Justice (Hague Tribunal), proposed by Einstein-lookalike Dutch Jewish jurist Tobias Michel Carel Asser (1838-1913), becoming the ancestor of the 1945 U.N. Internat. Court of Justice; the Hague Convention on Chemical Warfare is signed by the Japanese Yamato emperor; disarmament and compulsory arbitration are tabled; former U.S. pres. Benjamin Harrison and his cradle-robber wife Mary Harrison attend.

In Oct. 1898 Kaiser Wilhelm II visits Palestine and Syria, incl. Damascus, Constantinople, strengthening Ottoman-German ties and launching the Pan-Arab movement, resulting in Germany becoming their #1 weapons supplier, investing heavily in the Baghdad Railway (1899) and other capital projects; on Oct. 28 after the Kaiser rides under festive arches erected by dignitaries of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, Austrian-Hungarian Zionist founder Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) briefly meets with him outside the walls of Jerusalem as he rides by on a white stallion with a gold helmet, and after Herzl waits with his safari hat in hand for an official recognition of his plan for resettling Jews in Israel, the Kaiser utters the soundbyte "The land needs water, very much wasser."

In 1899 the German-financed Baghdad Railway from Berlin is begun (finished 1940), featuring a ferry in Constantinople taking cars from the Sirkeci Station on the Euro shore of the Bosphorus to the Haydar Pasha Station on the Asian shore; plans are made to extend it through Turkey to Gaza, Aqaba, and Basra, with the Baghdad branch continuing to the Persian oilfields, threatening British and Russian oil interests; the railway board incl. 11 German and 8 French dirs., and British traders are free to use the railway, which doesn't stop the British from freaking out at German trade extending 2K mi. sans their game of a gigantic naval power.

Did I mention that anti-Semitism was festering bigtime in Europe throughout the 19th century, especially in Germany? In 1899 British-born Germanophile Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855-1927) pub. The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century (Die Grundlagen des Neunzehnten Jahrhunderts), which became a big hit with the pan-Germanic "Aryan" movement, claiming that the "noble" Aryan race (Germans, Celts, Slavs, Greeks, Latins) (all descended from the Proto-Indo-Europeans) have always ruled Euro civilization, and of course the Nordic or Teutonic peoples are at the top of the Aryan heap, with the soundbyte "Physically and mentally the Aryans are pre-eminent among all peoples; for that reason they are by right... the lords of the world. Do we not see the homo syriacus develop just as well and as happily in the position of slave as of master? Do the Chinese not show us another example of the same nature?" According to him, the Germanic takedown of the Roman Empire was good because the Romans were infected with pesky hooked-nose "homo judaeica" (Jews), who were "infusing Near Eastern poison into the European body politic". "All historically great races and nations have been produced by mixing, but wherever the difference of type is too great to be bridged over, then we have mongrels." Sounds good, until he claimed that since Jesus is God, he must have really not been Jewish, but Aryan. After selling 100K copies by the start of WWII, Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded him a medal in 1916 and gave him German citizenship, after which Hitler lapped it up and guess what happened. Funny that Hitler's British appeaser was named you know what. In 1917 he pub. Das Eine Und Das Eindere Deutschland; the "Dagger-Blow Legend" (Dolchstosslegend), that anti-imperialists in Germany caused it to lose WWI to keep the Kaiser from becoming "impossible". Meanwhile the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion were forged by the tsarist regime in Russia in 1903 to blame its troubles on the tiny minority of Jews, and spread throughout the world, taking root in Europe, the U.S., and the Islamic world after the first Arabic trans. appeared in 1925, becoming a bestseller after the 1948 establishment of the State of Israel (until ?); the real author is Paris-based Okhrana agent Matvei (Mathieu) Vasilyevich Golovinski (1865-1920)? It's probably still a bestseller today on the Internet, although it's a total work of fiction, as if real Jews would write it all down in Russian not Hebrew and leave it where their worst enemies could get it, then not later claim copyright when they saw all the millions being printed, when not dodging horrible pogroms that is. The nice part about it is that every time the Jews overcome some obstacle to have a good future, the Protocols are dragged out and cited to prove it was all part of their insidious age-old plan to take over the world sans numbers or army, just pure brains, despite being an inferior race, while if something bad happens to the Jews, the Protocols are dragged out and cited to prove that the good guys are beating them, call it a new self-fulfilling edition of St. Mazel Tov's Revelation. Okay, since Charlemagne the Jews were into banking and interest, after they were forced into it by Christendom as fit only for lowlife scum like them, not for good Christians, who reserved real jobs in govt. and military service for themselves. Prominent old Jewish banking families incl. the Rothschild ("red shield") Family, the Pereire (Péreire) Family, the Warburg Family, and the Oppenheim Family, who between them are alleged to help Jews control the world through the international banking system, which after WWII they have made so convoluted and interdependent that they can starve any country that gets pesky at will, except Muslim ones of course, they are into Islamic banking that has a different set of rules.

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	William McKinley (1843-1901)	Mar. 4, 1897	Sept. 14, 1901
United Kingdom	Queen Victoria (1819-1901)	June 20, 1837	Jan. 22, 1901
United Kingdom	Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquis of Salisbury (1830-1903)	June 25, 1895	July 11, 1902
Russia	Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918)	Nov. 1, 1894	Mar. 1, 1917
China	Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908)	Aug. 22, 1861	Nov. 15, 1908
Canada	Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1841-1919)	July 11, 1896	Oct. 6, 1911
France	Emile Loubet (1838-1929)	Feb. 18, 1899	Feb. 18, 1906
Germany	Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941)	June 15, 1888	Nov. 9, 1918
Serbia	Alexander I (1876-1903)	Mar. 6, 1889	June 11, 1903
Italy	Umberto I (1844-1900)	Jan. 9, 1878	July 29, 1900
Spain	Alfonso XIII (1886-1941)	May 17, 1886	Apr. 14, 1931
Japan	Emperor Meiji (1852-1912)	Nov. 3, 1867	July 29, 1912
Mexico	Porfirio Diaz (1830-1915)	Nov. 29, 1876	May 25, 1911
Papacy	Leo XIII (1810-1903)	Feb. 20, 1878	July 20, 1903
Turkey	Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918)	Aug. 31, 1861	Apr. 13, 1909

In Feb. 1900 Russia and Austria propose a reform program for Macedonia, calling for a Muslim-Christian police force with proportional rep. and foreign officers, and reorg. of the financial system; after it proves inadequate, on Aug. 19 (Feast of the Transfiguration) the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottomans is ruthlessly crushed; on Oct. 2 the Murzsteg Program is approved by the powers, adding Austrian and Russian inspectors and a foreign general, plus further admin. and judicial reforms - Alexander the Great would roll over in his tomb?

On June 2, 1900 the German Reichstag passes the Second Fleet Act (1898, 1900, 1908, 1912) as part of the Tirpitz Plan, with the goal of matching the Royal Navy by building 36 battleships, 2 flagships, 11 large cruisers, and 34 small cruisers by 1917.

The Hanoverian Dynasty in Britain is embarrassed by its Boers, while the Manchu Dynasty in China is embarrassed by its Boxers? On June 13, 1900 the Boxer Rebellion (Uprising) (Yihetuan Movement), led by the Kung Fu-fighting I-ho Chu'an (Society of Righteous Harmonious Fists) (Righteous Harmony Band) begins in earnest, killing foreign devils (whites) and Christian Chinese indiscriminately, culiminating with the June 20 assassination of a German minister, which causes 200 foreigners to hole-up in the British Legation, beginning the Siege of the Peking (Beijing) Legations, causing Russia, Japan, Britain, France, and the U.S. to assemble a relief force at Taku, and Russia to station 100K troops in Manchuria; on July 9 the Taiyuan Massacre sees the gov. of Shanxi order the execution of 45 Christian missionaries; when Euro troops arrive and find the charred bones of missionaries they get pissed-off and start to destroy the city, until a missionary begs them to spare it; on July 3 the U.S. secy. of state uses this incident to reaffirm the Open Door Policy via another circular letter, resulting in the Oct. 16 Anglo-German Yangtze Agreement, signed by British foreign minister (June 29, 1895-Nov. 12, 1900) Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830-1903) and German ambassador to London (1885-1901) Paul von Hatzfeld zu Trachenberg (1831-1901); on Aug. 14 the sieged legation is relieved and the city occupied by the relief force until a peace treaty is signed on Sept. 7, requiring the Chinese to pay 450M Haikwan taels ($740M in gold) over 40 years, convert ad valorem into specific duties, fortify and guard the foreign legation district of Peking, and other humiliations; Russia keeps occupying Manchuria after the rebellion ends; German col. (later gen.) Erich von Falkenhayn (1861-1922) becomes known for ruthlessness during the internat. expedition to crush the Boxer Rebellion, causing Kaiser Wilhelm II to utter the soundbyte "Just as the Huns a thousand years ago under the leadership of Attila gained a reputation by virtue of which they live in the historical tradition, so may the name of Germany become known in such a manner in China that no Chinese will ever dare again look askance at a German", which is later used by Germany's enemies to call them Huns.

On July 29, 1900 Italian king (since 1878) Humbert (Umberto) I (b. 1844) is assassinated in a restaurant in Monza (9 mi. NNE of Milan) by anarchist Gaetano Bresci (1869-1901), and his only son Victor Emmanuel III (1869-1947) becomes the 3rd and last king of Italy (until May 6, 1946); one of history's strange coincidences sees Humberto I have dinner in a restaurant where the owner's name is Umberto and looks like his clone and has the same birthday, and guess what, he is shot dead right before him, and he gets it while asking about it - woo woo woo?

On Aug. 25, 1900 opium-addicted German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (b. 1844) dies of syphilis (brain cancer?) in Weimar, Saxony after having given up religion and theology school in 1865 with the soundbyte "Hence the ways of men part: if you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then believe; if you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire", and reached the pinnacle of philosophy with his ideas of the Death of God, the Antichrist, the Superman (Ubermensch) and the Will to Power, and Eternal Recurrence, followed in 1889 by a complete mental collapse and dementia; his thinking mirrors the collapse of Christian faith in Europe in the latter 19th cent., setting it up for some big power play, but too bad jerk-off, er, men are not supermen and war is Hell?

On Oct. 16, 1900 chancellor-PM (since Oct. 29, 1894) Prince Hohenloe resigns, and foreign affairs secy. (since 1897) Count (prince in 1905) Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin von Bulow (Bülow) (1849-1929) becomes chancellor and PM of Germany (until July 13, 1909), immediately giving a masterly defense of imperialism in China in the Reichstag, going on to cover for Kaiser Wilhelm II's many blunders - by giving him a bulow job? Speaking of low hos and blows? Meanwhile gay bud Count Vladimir Nikolayevich Lamsdorf (1845-1907) becomes Russian foreign minister (until 1906), working to tame Russia's ambitions in E Asia while keeping equidistant from Germany and England, considering Russia as "a rich bride which none wanted to see fall into the arms of another". Meanwhile Kaiser Wilhelm II proclaims his intention to build up the German navy so that "the German Empire may also be in a position to win the place it has not yet attained"; meanwhile after two decades of modernization, the U.S. Navy rises from 12th to 3rd ranking among world navies.

In the early 1900s the Social Gospel movement becomes prominent among U.S. and Canadian Protestants, with the goal of creating the Kingdom of God on Earth; too bad, the shock of WWI causes it to disintegrate.

On Jan. 22, 1901 Queen (since June 20, 1837) Victoria (b. 1819) dies on the Isle of Wight after a record 63 years 7 mo. as British monarch (longest female reign in history until ?), ending the Victorian Age, and next Aug. 9 her Francophile eldest son Albert Edward (uncle of Kaiser Wilhelm II) is crowned Edward VII (1841-1910) (the 56th English monarch), not only king of Britain but caesar of India (Kaisar-i-Hind) (imperial durbar on Jan. 1, 1903) (until May 6, 1910), launching the Edwardian Era (Period), which sees the titanic, er, advent of steam turbine propulsion. and the rise of Socialism; his son George becomes prince of Wales; the ruling family changes from Hanover to Saxe-Coburg; being too rotund, he leaves the bottom button of his waistcoat undone, starting a fashion; ending the Queen's no-smoking years, he enters a drawing room in Buckingham Palace with a lit cigar and announces "Gentlemen, you may smoke", beginning a rush to lay a trip down memory lane with great cigar quotes, incl. "A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a Smoke" (Rudyard Kipling, Departmental Ditties, 1886), and "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" (Sigmund Freud); Edward VII's dog is wire fox terrier Caesar (1898-1914), who attends his 1910 funeral, walking at the head of the procession ahead of nine kings and other heads of state; Princess Beatrice (1857-1944) destroys two-thirds of her mom Queen Victoria's diaries, esp. anything related to John Brown, whom she detests, taking until 1931 to finish.

On May 13, 1901 3 mo. after becoming an MP (Feb. 19), 26-y.-o. Winston Churchill (1874-1965) delivers a Speech on Army Reform, with the soundbyte: "I have frequently been astonished to hear with what composure and how gibly members, and even ministers, talk of a European war", pointing out that while past wars were fought "by small regular armies of professional soldiers", future wars will see "mighty populations impelled on each other", ending "in the ruin of the vanquished and the scarcely less fatal commercial dislocation and exhaustion of the conquerors", adding that democracy will be "more vindictive" than aristocratic govts. ever were, with the soundbyte: "The wars of peoples will be more terrible than those of kings." In July-Aug. after the 1900 announcement by Germany of its intention to build a strong battle fleet helps deteriorate Anglo-German relations, Britain and Japan begin negotiations in London for an alliance, marking the end of Britain's vaunted "splendid isolation".

On Sept. 6, 1901 the secret Black Hand (Unification or Death) military society is founded by elements of the Serbian army, with the goal of unification of all territories with a majority Serb (S Slavic) pop. not yet ruled by Serbia or Montenegro.

On Sept. 14, 1901 New York City-born former North Dakota cowboy ("the Rough Rider") ("Hero of San Juan Hill") ("the Cyclone Assemblyman") ("the Lion") ("Old Four Eyes") ("Theodore the Meddler") ("the Big Stick") Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (1858-1919) (a Progressive Repub. into conservation of the wilderness) (a J.P. Morgan man, compared to McKinley, who was a John D. Rockefeller man) (the Morgans are allied with Britain and France, while the Rockefellers back Germany, helping lead to WWI?) becomes the 26th U.S. pres. (until Mar. 4, 1909) in the 34th U.S. Pres. Inauguration at the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo, N.Y. following the death of Pres. William McKinley earlier that day, going on to become the first modern pres., using the media to build an image and advance his agenda, the first imperial president, the youngest U.S. pres. at 42 years, 10 mo., 18 days, and the first in the 20th cent. to become pres. after being vice-pres. less than a year (Truman, Ford); first U.S. pres. to fly in an airplane, own an automobile, and dive in a submarine; he is sworn-in sans Bible, and attends in borrowed formal wear; his pet horse is named Bleistein; First Lady is Teddy's 2nd wife Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt (1861-1948), who becomes the first to employ a full-time secy., leading to the creation of an official staff, while her formal dinners and ceremonial processesions elevate the position of First Lady; Abraham Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln witnesses McKinley's shooting, and was also present for the deaths of Garfield and his daddy, making him the "presidential angel of death" (Sarah Vowell); on Oct. 29 Czolgosz is electrocuted despite evidence of mental illness; on ? Booker T. (Taliaferro) Washington (1856-1915) visits Pres. Roosevelt, becoming the first African-Am. to dine with a U.S. pres. at the White House, pissing-off the white establishment; on Oct. 12 Teddy officially names the White House and West Wing.

On Nov. 27, 1901 the U.S. Army War College is founded in Washington Barracks (modern-day Ft. Lesley J. McNair) in Washington, D.C. by U.S. war secy. Elihu Root and Pres. Theodore Roosevelt; on Feb. 21, 1903 Roosevelt attends the Masonic cornerstone laying ceremony in Roosevelt Hall; pres. #1 is in July 1902 Maj. Gen. Samuel Baldwin Marks Young (1840-1924) becomes pres. #1 until 1903, when he becomes U.S. Army chief of staff #1 (until 1904); classes open in 1904; in 1916 after Montgomery M. Macomb becomes pres. Pres. Woodrow Wilson accuses his staff and students of preparing for offensive war, threatening the U.S. neutrality stance; it closes during WWII and reopens in 1950 in Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., moving in 1951 to Carlisle, Penn.; alumni incl. Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gen. Omar Bradley, Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, Gen. Matthew Ridgway, Gen. Alexander Haig, and Gen. Tommy Franks.

In Dec. 1902 the Committee of Imperial Defence holds its first meeting in London, consisting of the PM, lord pres., first lord of the admiralty, war secy., army CIC, first sea lord, and the heads of naval and military intel. In Dec. the Venezuela Blockade (ends 1903) is imposed by Britain, Germany, and Italy for failure to pay loans; on Dec. 19 Argentine foreign minister Luis Maria Drago (1859-1921) communicates his opinion vis a vis the Venezuelan Boundary Dispute (begun 1895) that a creditor nation doesn't have the right to use force to collect a debt from another sovereign state, known as the Drago Doctrine.

In Feb. 1903 Russia and Austria propose a reform program for Macedonia, calling for a Muslim-Christian police force with proportional rep. and foreign officers, and reorg. of the financial system; after it proves inadequate, on Aug. 19 (Feast of the Transfiguration) the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottomans is ruthlessly crushed; on Oct. 2 the Murzsteg Program is approved by the powers, adding Austrian and Russian inspectors and a foreign general, plus further admin. and judicial reforms - Alexander the Great would roll over in his tomb?

On June 11, 1903 (a.m.) unpopular king (since 1889) Alexander I Obrenovich (b. 1876) and his wife Queen Draga (b. 1861) are assassinated by the military (Black Hand?), and Peter Karageorgevich, son of prince Alexander Karageorgevich becomes king Peter I Karadordevic (Karageorgevich) "the Liberator" (1844-1921) (until Aug. 16, 1921), Serbia's first constitutional monarch; only Russia (her greatest ally) and Austria (her greatest enemy) send reps to the coronation, with other countries considering Serbia to be a rogue state.

On June 12, 1903 after splitting with the Armenian Rev. Federation (ARF), the Russian govt. passes an edict bringing all Armenian Church property under govt. control, causing the ARF to send militiamen to guard churches and conduct mass demonstrations. In Feb. 1905 the Armenian-Tatar Massacres begin in Baku when a Tatar (Azeri) schoolboy and shopkeeper are murdered by Armenians, triggering four days of fighting that kills 126 Tatars and 218 Armenians, causing the Armenians to blame the Russians; on May 11 Russian gov.-gen. (since 1904) Mikhail Nakashidze is assassinated by Dashnak (ARF) revolutionary Drastamat "Dro" Kanayan (1884-1956), and the Armenian Rev. Federation (ARF) begins regular massacres of Azerbaijanis, whipping-up and consolidating the Muslims of the Caucasus; by 1907 128 Armenian and 158 Azerbaijani villages are pillaged or destroyed, with 3K-10K killed, mostly Azerbaijanis.

Here kitty kitty kitty? 12 sec. 120 feet? On Dec. 17, 1903 (10:35 a.m.) the Wright Brothers from Dayton, Ohio, incl. Wilbur Wright (1867-1912) and Orville Wright (1871-1948) make the first powered human flight of 120 ft. in 12 (13?) sec. on 90-ft. Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk, N.C. on the Outer Banks (chosen for sand dunes and high winds) in Wright Flyer I, which is made of muslin, wood, and steel, and weighs 605 lb.; the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet is 195.7 ft.; prior to this they achieved a 59-ft. flight in Bird of Prey; Orville won the 50-cent coin toss with heads and got to do the flying, after which they take turns; the pilot must crawl between the wings and fly in a prone position while the other opens the throttle of their homemade 12 hp. engine, and they make four flights at low altitudes, taking until 1905 to master controlled flight; later the same day Wilbur ups the record to 59 sec., covering 852 ft.; they had been coming to Kitty Hawk every year since 1900 testing their gliders; in 1910 the Airplane Waltz is created as a novelty; meanwhile earlier in the year rivals Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906) and Charles Manly (1876-1927) fail in two trials with their piloted plane, and run out of funding; later it is discovered that the plane worked, and was given inadequate room for takeoff - how could they sleep after that?

Meanwhile in 1903 after mystic priest Sergius (Sergei) Alexandrovich Nilus (1862-1929) presents it to the tsar, who declares it a fabrication and banishes him from the court, the Black Hundreds newspaper Znamya, owned by far-right anti-Semite Pavel Alekandrovich Krushevan (1860-1909) pub. the anon. Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, detailing an alleged Zionist meeting in Basle in 1897 where plans are made by Jews and Freemasons to subvert and destroy Christendom and rule Da World; in 1905 mystical philosopher Vladimir Soloviov repub. it as an appendix to his book, and it finally catches on as proved by 600 Okhrana-inspired Jewish pogroms throughout Russia that kill thousands in an effort to divert worker and peasant discontent away from the shaky govt. by blaming it all on a worldwide Jewish conspiracy to take over the world; the Protocols are a total fabrication, but become a worldwide bestseller with anti-Semites until ?, and a favorite of Adolf Hitler; in 1921 the London Times claims them to be authentic before recanting; the first Arabic trans. appears in 1951; meanwhile in 1903 the Sixth Zionist Congress declines an offer for Jewish settlement in E Africa, causing Israel Zangwill and his English followers to walk out. In 1921 American automobile king Henry Ford (1863-1947) crowed loudly about the Protocols, sponsoring the printing of 500K copies and saying "they fit in with what is going on... They are sixteen years old and have fitted the world situation up to this time. They fit now." It's probably still a bestseller today on the Internet, although it's a total work of fiction, as if real Jews would write it all down in Russian not Hebrew and leave it where their worst enemies could get it, then not later claim copyright when they saw all the millions being printed, when not dodging horrible pogroms that is. The nice part about it is that every time the Jews overcome some obstacle to have a good future, the Protocols are dragged out and cited to prove it was all part of their insidious age-old plan to take over the world sans numbers or army, just pure brains, despite being an inferior race, while if something bad happens to the Jews, the Protocols are dragged out and cited to prove that the good guys are beating them, call it a new self-fulfilling edition of St. Mazel Tov's Revelation. Worse for anti-Semites, the Protocols declare that the future king of da world will be of "the dynastic roots of King David", and that "the King of the Jews will be the real Pope, "the patriarch of an international church", that "Certain members of the seed of David will prepare the Kings and their heirs... Only the King and the three who stood sponsor for him will know what's coming", and end with the statement: "Signed by the representatives of Sion of the 33rd Degree" of Freemasonry, who aren't practicing Jews but use the bloodline of King David as a punchline for their king of the Jews, Jesus. In other words, it was written by anti-Semitic Christians with their heads stuck up their butts. Okay, a lot of wealthy internat. banker Jews were into Freemasonry and any and all movements to create a One World Govt. that they thought they could control via money, and some might have financed them if not attended their orgies. But is it their fault? Since Charlemagne the Jews were into banking and interest, after they were forced into it by Christendom as fit only for lowlife scum like them, not for good Christians, who reserved real jobs in govt. and military service for themselves. Prominent old Jewish banking families incl. the Rothschild ("red shield") Family, the Pereire (Péreire) Family, the Warburg Family, and the Oppenheim Family, who between them are alleged to help Jews control the world through the international banking system, which after WWII they have made so convoluted and interdependent that they can starve any country that gets pesky at will, except Muslim ones of course, they are into Islamic banking that has a different set of rules. Maybe not, ask George Soros (Gyorgy Schwartz) (1930-).

On Oct. 21 (night), 1904 the Dogger Bank Episode (Incident) (North Sea Incident) (Russian Outrage) (Incident of Hull) begins when the Russian fleet under Adm. Zinovy Petrovich "Mad Dog" Rozhestvensky (Rodjestvensky) (1848-1909) sails through the North Sea en route to the Far East, and fires on British trawlers, claiming they are Japanese destroyers; after the intervention of France, the dispute is settled by an internat. commission on Feb. 25, 1905. On Oct. 27-Nov. 23 after Britain protests the coaling of the Russian fleet by German cos., Germany and Russia hold negotiations for an alliance; on Oct. 30 a draft treaty provides for mutual aid in case of attack by another Euro power, but the plan falls through when Russia insists on consulting France before signing; on Dec. 12 they settle on an agreement to aid each other in the event of complications arising from the coaling of the fleet. On Nov. 1 German navy minister (June 6, 1897-Mar. 15, 1916) Adm. Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (1849-1930) demands that foreign policy be subordinated to his naval buildup.

On Dec. 10, 1904 Anti-Austrian Serbian nationalist Nikola P. Pasic (Pashitch) (Pachitch) (1845-1926) becomes PM of Serbia (until May 28, 1905), breaking with Austria and openly aligning with Russia, going on to stay in power most of the time until his death.

In Dec. 1904 Prussian Gen. Josias von Heeringen (1850-1926), head of the army dept. in the war ministry pub. a report that insists that Germany put "preparedness for war... above all other considerations".

In 1904 British Vice-Adm. (since 1901) Charles Cooper Penrose-Fitzgerald (1841-1921) pub. an article in the Deutsche Review stating that Britain would be better off with a naval war with Germany now when their navy is bigger, whipping-up German support for naval expansion.

The Czarist regime in Russia starts to topple when the Japanese kick their butts and it kicks its own citizens' butts? On Jan. 2, 1905 (9:00 p.m.) a letter from Russian Gen. Baron Anatoly Mikhaylovich Stessel (Stoessel) (1848-1915) formally surrendering Port Arthur (sieged since Aug. 1, 1904) by Japanese Gen. Count Nogi Maresuke (Kiten, Count Nogi) (1849-1912), and on Jan. 22 (Jan. 9 Old Style) (Sun.) a rev. breaks out in Russia for the first time in St. Petersburg, becoming known as Bloody (Red) Sunday after thousands of peaceful demonstrating Russian workers led by Russian Orthodox priest Father Georgi Apollonovich Gapon (1870-1906) are fired on by imperial army troops as they approach the Winter Palace, killing 70 and wounding 240, starting a bloody spiral that can only end with the tsar's head on a platter?; on Mar. 3 the tsar announces a consultative assembly, an edict of religious toleration, permission to use the Polish language in Polish schools, relief for Jews, and part-cancellation of redemption payments; this doesn't stop his pigs from arresting Polish writer Stefan Zeromski (1864-1925), who ends up in exile in France and Austrian Galicia until 1918.

On Mar. 31, 1905 the First Moroccan (Tangier) Crisis (ends May 1906) begins after French foreign minister (since 1898) Theophile Delcasse (Théophile Delcassé) (1852-1923) excludes Germany from the Moroccan negotiations, causing Count Bernhard von Bulow and foreign advisor (1890-1906) Friedrich August von Holstein (1837-1909) to decide to make mineral-rich Morocco into a test of the Anglo-French Entente, and German Kaiser Wilhelm II makes his inflammatory Tangier Speech concerning his rivalry with France over Morocco, leading to the fall of Delcasse after the French cabinet rejects his hasty proposal to form an Anglo-French front against Germany without Russia's backing and with only hazy correspondence with the Brits on May 17 and May 25; on Apr. 6 von Bulow falls ill in the Reichstag, causing Lord Fitzmaurice of Britain to compare him to Lord Chatham (a compliment); on June 5 Opportunist Maurice Rouvier (1842-1911) disses Delcasse for imprudence over Morocco, and after a heated discussion Delcasse resigns, and Rouvier succeeds him, attempting to avoid a rupture with Germany; on June 6 (no coincidence) Bulow recovers, and is raised to prince (to become equal to Bismarck) on the occasion of the marriage of the crown prince, while the world is rocked by Germany's humiliation of the French; on July 8 after the U.S. agrees to back them, Rouvier meets with Germany, securing an agreement accepting the internat. conference proposed by the sultan of Morocco on the assurance that Germany will recognize the special nature of the interest of France in maintaining order on the frontier of its Algerian empire; after lengthy discussions a new convention results on Sept. 28 which contains the program of the proposed conference, and in Dec. Rouvier makes a statement of the whole proceedings in the chamber, receiving the assent of all parties, setting a new conference for next Jan., giving the French some time to get their soggy ducks in a row.

On July 24, 1905 after mutual yacht visits, the secret mutual defense accord Bjorko (Björkö) Treaty (Treaty of Koivisto) is signed by the kaiser and the tsar, resurrecting the Oct. 1904 alliance but confined to Europe, and to take effect only after Russian-Japanese peace; it is scuttled in Oct. when Russian statesmen Sergei Witte and Count Vladimir Lamsdorf return from Portsmouth, learn about, it, and argue that it's invalid unless France signs it, pissing-off Kaiser Wilhelm II, who utters the soundbyte: "We joined hands and signed before God, who heard our vows!... What is signed is signed, and God is our testator!"; if Nicholas II hadn't listened to Witte and Lamsdorf "the whole history of Europe and the world could have been different" (Annika Mombauer and Wilhelm Deist).

On Dec. 5, 1905 after a landslide, Scottish-born Liberal Sir Henry "CB" Campbell-Bannerman (1836-1908) becomes British PM (until Apr. 3, 1908), becoming the last election in which the Liberals gain a majority in the Commons (until ?); on Dec. 10 the title of Prime Minister (PM) is officially recognized in Britain by Edward VII, replacing the title of first minister (first lord of the treasury); he becomes known as "Britain's first and only radical Prime Minister", appointing Liberal MP (1885-1911) Richard Burdon Sanderson Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane of Cloan (1856-1928) (friend of Herbert Henry Asquith, and uncle of biologist J.B.S. Haldane) as war secy., who begins preparing the British army for a possible Euro war by establishing the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), the Imperial Gen. Staff (1908), the Officer Training Corps (1908), and the Special Reserve (1907); on Dec. 10 Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth (1849-1909) (husband of Lady Fanny Spencer-Churchill, Winston Churchill's aunt) is appointed First Lord of the Admiralty (until Apr. 12, 1908); too bad, in early 1908 he is called on the carpet for private correspondence with Kaiser Wilhelm II on the British naval program and has to go. On Dec. 10 Liberal Sir Edward Grey (1862-1933) becomes British foreign secy. (until Dec. 10, 1916), becoming the longest holder of that office until ?; on Dec. 13 he tells Russian ambassador Count Alexander Benckendorff that he supports the idea of an agreement in order to maintain a balance of power, and conducts secret negotiations with the French for ditto.

On Jan. 10, 1906 Britain and France begin Military and Naval Conversations (end 1912), which had been unofficially initiated the previous Dec. by foreign secy. (Dec. 10, 1905-Dec. 10, 1916) Sir Edward Grey (1862-1933); Britain refuses to promise support to France in case of German attack, but leaves the door open, admitting to a "moral obligation"; the conversations are kept from the British Cabinet as a whole until 1911. On Jan. 16-Apr. 7 after German chancellor Bernhard von Bulow ignores the advice of foreign adviser Friedrich von Holstein to break the French-British entente for fear of war with Britain, causing von Holstein to resign, leaving Germany isolated, the secret Algeciras Conference on Morocco results in the Act of Algeciras, reaffirming the independence and integrity of Morocco while internationalizing it economically, giving France and Spain police control of it while limiting France's privileges; British Liberal PM Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman authorizes staff talks (without commitments) with France, worsening relations with Germany, which is sided with only by Austria. On Jan. 17 Britain and France begin holding secret talks planning for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to be sent to France if war breaks out with Germany.

This one swallowed a coin collection, this one was shot in the face, or, Jackie Fisher who are you dreadnought? The first 20th cent. Peacekeepers? On Feb. 10, 1906 the revolutionary 17.9K-ton 21-knot HMS Dreadnought, the first modern all big-gun battleship is launched, designed by British First Sea Lord (Oct. 21, 1904-Jan. 25, 1910) Fleet Adm. John Arbuthnot "Jackie" "Jacky" Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher (1841-1920) ("the second Lord Horatio Nelson") (motto: "Fear God and dread nought"), featuring 11-in. armor and 10 12-in. guns; by May the Germans decide to build six of their own dreadnoughts, voting to widen and deepen the Kiel Canal to allow their passage from landlocked Germany to the North Sea.

In Apr. 1906 in order to counter a planned German railway terminus in Aqaba on the Red Sea, Britain issues an ultimatum forcing Turkey to cede the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, with the E border set between Aqaba and Rafah, allowing the British to rush guns from Egypt to the Bay of Taba to bombard it if necessary.

In Apr. 1906 after pesky Serbia tries to get around the Hapsburgs, importing French munitions in 1904 and establishing a customs union with Bulgaria in 1905, the Pig War begins, with Austria closing its borders to Serbian pork; it ends in Mar. 1908 after Serbia gains help from Russia, France, and Germany, and pressures Bosnia-Herzegovina into giving them a trade outlet on the Adriatic Sea, with the countries becoming openly hostile, and war between Austria and Russia averted only after a 1909 German ultimatum demanding cessation of Russian aid to Serbia, helping lead to WWI.

In Oct. 1906 part-Jewish (not really, just suspected during his lifetime) Count Alois Lexa Aehrenthal (1854-1912) becomes Austrian-Hungarian foreign minister (until 1912), going on to engineer the 1908 annexation of Bosnia-Herzogovina, which blocks Serbia from the Adriatic and ends up dragging Europe into WWI - so it's a Jewish conspiracy after all?

On Jan. 1, 1907 new British foreign ministry official Sir Eyre Alexander Barby Wichart Crowe (1864-1925) pub. Memorandum on the Present State of British Relations with France and Germany, which concludes that Germany has replaced France as its main (only?) opponent, and warns that the British Empire is doomed if Germany achieves naval supremacy; "Second only to the ideal of independence, nations have always cherished the right of free intercourse and trade, in the world’s markets, and in proportion as England champions the principle of the largest measure of general freedom of commerce, she undoubtedly strengthens her hold on the interested friendship of other nations, at least to the extent of making them feel less apprehensive of naval supremacy in the hands of a free trade England than they would in the face of a predominant protectionist Power. This is an aspect of the free trade question which is apt to be overlooked. It has been well said that every country, if it had the option, would, of course, prefer itself to hold the power of supremacy at sea, but that, this choice being excluded, it would rather see England hold that power than any other State"; "Either Germany is definitely aiming at a general political hegemony and maritime ascendency, threatening the independence of her neighbours and ultimately the existence of England; Or Germany, free from any such clear-cut ambition, and thinking for the present merely of using her legitimate position and influence as one of the leading Powers in the council of nations, is seeking to promote her foreign commerce, spread the benefits of German culture, extend the scope of her national energies, and create fresh German interests all over the world wherever and whenever a peaceful opportunity offers, leaving it to an uncertain future to decide whether the occurrence of great changes in the world may not some day assign to Germany a larger share of direct political action over regions not now a part of her dominions, without that violation of the established rights of other countries which would be involved in any such action under existing political conditions. In either case Germany would clearly be wise to build as powerful a navy as she can afford"; Sir Thomas Sanderson issues the following soundbyte: "It has sometimes seemed to me that to a foreigner reading our press the British Empire must appear in the light of some huge giant sprawling over the globe, with gouty fingers and toes stretching in every direction, which cannot be approached without eliciting a scream."

No soup for you? On Jan. 7, 1907 Mozaffar al-Din Shah (b. 1853) dies after his dissolute dictatorial rule sparks the Persian Constitutional Rev. (ends 1911) and forces him to approve a constitution with parliament (Majli), and on Jan. 8 his son Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar (1872-1925) becomes Qajar shah #6 of Persia (until July 16, 1909), going on to dissolve the Majli and rule as a dictator while enjoying as many European hos as he can buy and letting Russia achieve ascendancy over Persia; on Aug. 29 Russia recognizes Britain's sphere of influence in SE Persia and the Persian Gulf; on Aug. 31 the Triple Entente aligns Russia with Britain and France against the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary), isolating them diplomatically, pissing-off Queen Victoria's grandson Kaiser Wilhelm II, who resents how her other grandson George V and son Edward VII have got away with becoming king-emperors, ruling India via sea power; Britain recognizes the Russian sphere of influence in N Persia and a neutral sphere in the center; Russia agrees that Afghanistan is outside its sphere of influence and that it will deal with the emir only through Britain, while Britain promises not to interfere with its domestic affairs or change the country's status; both countries recognize the suzerainty of China over Tibet and promise to respect its territorial integrity. In July 15 Germany, Austria, and Italy renew the Triple Alliance for six more years despite doubts about Italy's loyalty. On July 30 Russia and Japan sign an agreement similar to the one between France and Japan.

On June 15-Oct. 18, 1907 the Second Hague Peace Conference (first in 1899) of 46 nations meets, and fails to reduce armaments because of British-German rivalry, although on Oct. 18 the Hague Convention outlaws dum-dum (expanding) bullets, suffocating gases, and missiles thrown from balloons; the U.S. refuses to participate; in WWI poison gas produces 100K deaths and 900K injuries?

On Dec. 16, 1907 Pres. Roosevelt dispatches the Great White Fleet, 16 white-painted battleships (flagship Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kearsarge, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin) on a global voyage from Hampton Roads, Va., in order to impress the Japanese and show that the U.S. intends to range freely in the Pacific; it sails through the Strait of Magellan to Japan, Australia, and New Zealand before returning through the Suez Canal, stopping in many ports and arriving back on Feb. 22, 1909 after sailing 46K mi. - don't ask what the oil bill was?

In 1907 the Harden-Eulenburg Affair exposes the homosexuality of Prince Philip of Eulenberg-Hertefeld, Count Bernhard von er, Bulow and other cabinet members, discrediting them and causing the Kaiser to end up relying more on his military leaders, setting Germany up for WWI?

In 1907-10 the Augusta Victoria Sanatorium on the Mount of Lives, er, Olives in Jerusalem, named after Kaiser Wilhelm II's wife is built, joining the 1888 Church of the Ascension, becoming the center of the German Protestant community in Ottoman Palestine; in spring 1914 the home of wealthy English atty. Sir John Gray Hill is purchased by Zionists for a Zionist univ., making for a 3-way contest - don't say war?

On Feb. 16, 1908 Kaiser Wilhelm II, in his official capacity as Adm. of the Fleet writes a letter to British First Lord of the Admiralty (since Dec. 10, 1905) Lord Tweedmouth, claiming that "the German Naval Bill is not aimed at England, and is not a challenge to British Supremacy of the Sea, which will remain unchallenged to generations to come", causing Edward VII to call his direct intervention in British politics "a new departure"; his personal correspondence with his nephew Kaiser Wilhelm II soon gets Tweedmouth booted. That's what I'm talking about baby? On Apr. 3 PM (since Dec. 1905) Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (b. 1836) resigns from ill health two weeks before his Apr. 22 death, and on Apr. 5 fellow Liberal (chancellor of the exchequer) (whom "C.B." calls "the sledge-hammer" for his debating skills and memory) Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928) becomes PM of Britain (until Dec. 5, 1916); he soon shows what Liberal means in this day by snubbing 250K-300K people shouting "Votes for women!" at the Women's Sunday march in Hyde Park on June 21; David Lloyd George (1863-1945) becomes chancellor of the exchequer (until May 25, 1915); on Apr. 12 Big Mouth Lord Tweedmouth is replaced as First Lord of the Admiralty by Reginald McKenna (1863-1943) (until 1911). On Apr. 21 the Baltic and North Sea Conventions, the first involving Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, the 2nd involving Britain, Germany, Denmark, France, Netherlands, and Sweden provide for maintaining the status quo and consultation in case of a threat. On July 2 Edward VII of England and Russian Tsar Nicholas II meet at Reval (Tallinn) in Estonia, and agree on a program of pacification for Macedonia.

The sultan's ass is grass and who's got the scythe? In July 1908 Staff Capt. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) leads the Young Turk Revolt at Resina, Macedonia, and on July 24 forces Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the liberal constitution of 1876 that he had suspended; the Ottoman Parliament meets with a large Young Turk majority, and a period of Anglophilia begins, becoming a setback for German influence.

On Aug. 12-13, 1908 after PM Asquith states that if Germany pursued an aggressive ship-building policy, Britain would have to follow suit, and Edward VII visits his cousin Wilhelm II in Kronberg, the British Hardinge Mission, sees foreign office under-secy. Sir Charles Hardinge (1858-1944) ask the kaiser if he would stop building new battleships or at least build less, to which the kaiser denies that his navy is directed against Britain, but that "we shall fight, for it is a question of national honor and dignity", becoming the last serious attempt to end the naval arms race until 1912; when Hardinge tells the Germans that Britain intends to introduce a bill for a 4-year shipbuilding program, the kaiser replies that it won't be regarded with animosity and won't provoke countermeasures; Britain doubles its shipbuilding rate next year.

On Sept. 16, 1908 the secret Buchlau Conference between Austria and Russia ends in informal agreements by (duped?) Russian foreign minister (Apr. 1906 - Nov. 1910) Count Alexander Petrovich Izvolsky (1856-1919) not to oppose Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Austrian-Hungarian foreign minister (since Oct. 1906) Count Alois Lexa Aehrenthal (1854-1912) not to oppose opening of the Bosphorus Strait to Russian warships and to withdraw troops from Sandzak to keep Serbia quiet, with an internat. conference to be held later to rubber-stamp it; Bulgaria will be allowed to declare independence from Turkey. On Sept. 25 the Casablanca Affair results when three German deserters are taken by force from the French Foreign Legion by a German consular official, causing Franco-German tensions; on Nov. 10 they agree to submit the matter to an arbitration board, which announces a decision on May 22, 1909. Pan-Slav agitation to break out of the Ottoman grip revs up the 20th cent. with a looming world war? On Oct. 5 Prince Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha declares Bulgaria independent of the Ottomans (who swallowed them up in 1396), and takes the title of Tsar Ferdinand I (1861-1948) of Bulgaria (until Oct. 3, 1918), dreaming that same old Christian Constantinople dream - the original big burger? On Oct. 6 the Bosnian (First Balkan) (Annexation) Crisis (ends Mar. 31) begins after the news leaks out on Oct. 3, and in defiance of the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, Austria-Hungary uses power given to it at the Berlin Conference to announce the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it had administered for 30 years as nominally Turkish provinces, in return for giving up the military occupation of Sandzak, giving it control of 300+ mi. of Adriatic coastline and blocking Serbian access to the sea, causing Serbia and Montenegro, who had both wanted them for themselves to go nonlinear and begin military preparations while trying to form an alliance with Turkey and Greece against Austria; in Nov. the Serbian army mobilizes; meanwhile the Russian people also go nonlinear, not knowing of the secret Buchlau Conference bargain of Sept. 16, and PM (1906-11) Peter (Pyotr) Arkadyevich Stolypin (1862-1911) orders foreign minister Alexander Izvolsky to flip-flop, repudiate the agreement with Austria, and back Serbia, causing Kaiser Wilhelm II to announce that Germany will stand behind her ally A-H "in shining armor", causing the tsar to back down, even though France and Britain support him and demand an internat. conference, after which Serbia declares that the annexation is none of its business and demobilizes; Britain announces that it will only consider opening the Bosphorus Strait to all warships, not to Russian warships alone; Izvolsky's career is kaput, although he stays at his post for three more years; the big V gains Aehrenthal the title of count, but proves a pyrrhic victory as it pisses-off Russia and Serbia, and turns the rest of Europe against Austrian diplomacy, helping lead to WWI. On Oct. 8 in reaction to Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the secret underground Narodna Odbrana (People's Defense) society is founded by Serbian nationalists, spreading through the Balkans. On Oct. 28 the Daily Telegraph Affair sees Kaiser Wilhelm II cause a furor in Britain when he reveals in an interview that public opinion in Germany is anti-British, even though he adds the cover story that Germany's naval expansion is directed at Japan not Britain; PM Count Bernhard von Bulow covers for him yet again, taking the blame and tendering his resignation, which is refused, then gives a speech on Nov. 10 in the Reichstag telling the emperor to shut the f- up, er, show strict reserve in the future. On Nov. 30 U.S. secy. of state Elihu Root and Japanese ambassador Kogoro Takahira sign the Root-Takahira Agreement, agreeing to mutual respect for each other's territorial possessions in the Pacific, upholding the Open Door Policy in China, and supporting by peaceful means the independence and integrity of China; U.S. fears of eventual war with Japan are relieved - it never had a chance to takahira root? On Dec. 4 the 10-power Internat. Naval Conference in London agrees to rules of naval war regarding blockades, contraband, convoys, etc., promulgating the Declaration of London next Feb. 26; it is never ratified.

In 1908 the Anglo-Persian Oil Co. (later British Petroleum or BP) is founded, becoming known for ripping off the Persian people to reap profits for Britain, with Winston Churchill uttering the soundbyte that it's "a prize from fairyland beyond our wildest dreams." London-born Johann Heinrich, Count von Bernstorff (1862-1939) is appointed German ambassador to the U.S. (and Mexico), where he tries to strengthen relations with the U.S. until WWI causes ties to be severed. Pres. Roosevelt's secy. of state Elihu Root negotiates treaties with 24 nations providing for referral of controversies to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague.

On Jan. 16, 1909 Russian foreign minister Alexander Izvolsky warns that the tensions in the Balkans will result in war, with the soundbyte: "Perhaps this conflict will not break out for five or ten years, but it is inevitable." On Jan. 21 German army chief of staff (1906-14) Gen. Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke the Younger (1848-1916) begins corresponding with Austrian army chief of staff (1906-18) Gen. Baron Franz Xaver Joseph Conrad von Hoetzendorf (Hötzendorf) (1852-1925), changing their coalition from defensive to offensive, with Austria largely controlling events; in June 1911 after he pisses-off foreign minister Count Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal with his calls for preventative war against Italy during the Bosnian crisis, von Hoetzendorf is dismissed by the emperor under the pretext of an affair with his future wife Virginia Reininghaus, but after von Aherenthal resigns and dies next year, he is reappointed in Dec. 1912. In Jan. retired German chief of staff Gen. Alfred Graf von Schlieffen (1833-1913) pub. an article warning about Germany becoming encircled by Britain, France, and Russia, with the soundbyte: "An endeavor is afoot to bring all these powers together for a concentrated attack on the Central Powers. At the given moment, the drawbridges are to be let down, the doors are to be opened, and the million-strong armies let loose, ravaging and destroying across the Vosges, the Meuse, the Niemen, the Bug, and even the Isonzo and the Tyrolean Alps. The danger seems gigantic"; Kaiser Wilhelm II reads it and comments "Bravo".

On Feb. 26, 1909 the Declaration of London Concerning the Laws of Naval War, an internat. code of rules governing the practice of naval war incl. blockades and contraband is adopted by the Internat. Naval Conference in London; it is signed by Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, Netherlands, Spain, the U.S., and U.K.; the U.S. Senate ratifies it, but the British House of Lords rejects it; no other states ratify it.

On Apr. 13, 1909 the Young Turks force the abdication of Ottoman sultan (since 1861) Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918) on charges of squandering the wealth of the empire and massacring Armenians in Adana; on Apr. 27 he is succeeded by his brother (son of Abdul Mecid I, who was confined for 30 years in the palace harems, which didn't stop him from becoming a praised poet) Mohammed Rechad Effendi (whose portrait bears a striking resemblance to actor Jose Ferrer (1909-92)?), who becomes Ottoman sultan #35 Mehmed V Reshad (1844-1918) (until July 3, 1918).

Duh, war is a profitable industry too for international bankers? In 1909 future British MP (1929-31) Sir Ralph Norman Angell (Lane) (1872-1967) pub. The Great Illusion (pub. as the pamphlet "Europe's Optical Illusion" this year, followed by a book next year), a bestseller that goes through 10 English language printings by 1913, and is trans. into the major Euro languages, arguing that another major internat. war is impossible because war has become so terrible, economies so economically interdependent, and govts. so rational, calling for an end to the arms race, claiming that the industrial nations are "losing the psychological impulse to war, just as we have lost the psychological impulse to kill our neighours on account of religious differences"; "War has no longer the justification that it makes for the survival of the fittest; it involves the survival of the less fit. The idea that the struggle between nations is a part of the evolutionary law of man's advance involves a profound misreading of the biological analogy"; "How can modern life, with its overpowering proportion of industrial activities and its infinitesimal proportion of military, keep alive the instincts associated with war as against those developed by peace?"; even the Prussian Junker "becomes less of an energumen as he becomes more of a scientist"; Barbara Tuchman in "The Guns of August" points out that the Brits are reading this on the eve of WWI while the Germans are reading Friedrich von Bernhardi's 1912 "Germany and the Next War", which argues that war is part of the Darwinian Struggle for Existence, and is "a biological necessity"; in 1933 Angell pub. a rev. ed. of his book, claiming that economics won't prevent a world war but that it's a futile way for a nation to enrich itself, winning the 1933 Nobel Peace Prize.

Country	Leader	From	To
United States of America	William Howard Taft (1857-1930)	Mar. 4, 1909	Mar. 4, 1913
United Kingdom	Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928)	Apr. 5, 1908	Dec. 5, 1916
United Kingdom	Edward VII (1841-1910)	Jan. 22, 1901	May 6, 1910
Canada	Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1841-1919)	July 11, 1896	Oct. 5, 1911
France	Aristide Briand (1862-1932)	July 24, 1909	Mar. 2, 1911
Germany	Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941)	June 15, 1888	Nov. 9, 1918
Austria	Emperor Franz Josef I (1830-1916)	Dec. 2, 1848	Nov. 21, 1916
Italy	Victor Emmanuel III (1869-1947)	July 29, 1900	May 9, 1946
Spain	Alfonso XIII (1886-1941)	May 17, 1886	Apr. 14, 1931
Belgium	Albert I (1875-1934)	Dec. 23, 1909	Feb. 17, 1934
Japan	Emperor Meiji (1852-1912)	Feb. 3, 1867	July 30, 1912
Mexico	Porfirio Diaz (1830-1915)	Nov. 29, 1876	May 25, 1911
Russia	Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918)	Nov. 1, 1894	Mar. 1, 1917
Serbia	Peter I (1844-1921)	June 11, 1903	Aug. 16, 1921
Romania	Carol I (1839-1914)	1866	Oct. 10, 1914
Bulgaria	Tsar Ferdinand I (1861-1948)	Oct. 5, 1900	Oct. 3, 1918
Turkey	Sultan Mehmed V (1844-1918)	Apr. 27, 1909	July 3, 1918
China	Emperor Puyi (1906-67)	Dec. 2, 1908	1912
Papacy	Pope Pius X (1835-1914)	Aug. 4, 1903	Aug. 20, 1914

1910 inaugurated the decade that saw the end of the Great Dream of Progress, of humanity climbing straight up to a Paradise Peace Age. Instead, the rise of big science and technology gave the bad guys enough power to screw up and ultimately destroy the world, and big bucks made mere people expendable. Sometimes it was just plain bad luck and incompetence, oops, there goes umpteen hundred, thousand, hundred thousand, million. The Sinking of RMS Titanic on Apr. 14/15, 1912 became symbolic of the entire decade, and maybe of humanity itself, stay tuned, the world's still here but I forgot my binoculars.

In 1910 the 1910 Russian Armaments Deal ("Arms Deal of the Cent.") sees the British, Germans, and Americans vie to build them a new navy, with baksheesh flowing in St. Petersburg like champagne; British "Ace of Spies" Lt. Sidney George Reilly (Sigmund Georgevich Rosenblum) (1874-1925) steers a German co. to win so he can send all the plans of the new battleships to London?

On May 6, 1910 king (since 1901) Edward VII (b. 1841) dies in Buckingham Palace after the date is allegedly forecast by U.S.-born astrologer Evangeline Smith Adams (1859-1933) (who unsuccessfully tries to get astrology legalized in Britain), and on May 6 his 2nd son (illiterate?) George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert) (1865-1936) (whose portrait bears a striking resemblance to Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat, which he might be able to read if he has help?) is crowned king of Great Britain (Britain's 57th monarch) (until Jan. 20, 1936), continuing the rule of the House of Saxe-Coburg, and living an austere lifestyle, always going to bed at 11:10 p.m.; Victoria Mary "May" of Teck (1867-1953) from Wurttemberg, Germany is his consort; Edward VII's funeral on May 20 is later seen as symbolic by Barbara Tuchman (1912-89), who writes "The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history's clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again" - just say no to dough?

On Aug. 28, 1910 the postage-stamp-sized (pop. 500K) former principality (since 1851) of Montenegro is proclaimed a kingdom under king Nicholas I (1841-1921) (until Nov. 26, 1918), who is made a field marshal in the Russian army, the first foreigner since the Duke of Wellington; the 50K-man armed forces have no cavalry, uniforms, or medical personnel, while the 700 officers wear tsarist Russian army uniforms and have no training academy.

In 1910 after declining the post of British ambassador to the U.S., newly-created Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (1858-1944), an admirer of Mohandas Gandhi is appointed as viceroy of India (until 1916), presiding over the move of the capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1912, and going on to deploy nearly all British troops in India as well as many native Indian troops outside India in WWI.

In 1910 a garrison and proving ground are established in Zossen, Germany in Brandenburg 20 mi. S of Berlin, which in WWI houses several POW camps incl. the Crescent (Halfmoon) Camp (Halbmondslager) (Wunsdorf) for Muslim POWs of the Triple Entente, site of the first mosque (wooden) in Germany (July 13, 1915), and Weinberg Camp for Indian POWs; a total of 15K POWs are held there incl. Russian and French (almost no Brits, who are held at Doberitz), all well-fed to facilitate conversion attempts.

In 1910 Cologne, Germany-born Gustav Otto (1883-1926), son of internal combustion engine inventor Nikolaus August Otto founds Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik (originally Aeroplanbau Otto-Alberti) in Puchheim to manufacture powered aircraft made of wood, wire, and canvas, moving to Munich in 1911 before being taken over by the Bavarian govt. and reorganized as the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG on Mar. 7, 1916; German WWII ace Ernst Udet graduates from their flight school.

On June 22, 1911 George V is crowned at Westminster Abbey; mining engineer John Hays Hammond (1855-1936), who worked for Cecil Rhodes, was captured and sentenced to death by the Boers in 1896 then released is the U.S. special rep. at the coronation; in Dec. King George V and Queen Mary are crowned at a durbar (big hoedown) in Delhi as the emperor and empress of India, the king's crown containing 6,170 diamonds, plus more bling for him and his babe. On June 27 Joseph Marie Auguste Caillaux (1863-1944) becomes PM #75 of France (until Jan. 21, 1912), favoring a policy of conciliation with Germany because of mistrust of the British who rule half the world, but not wanting Germany to build a larger navy lest they get any big ideas about having an overseas empire like perfidious Albion; on June 27 minister of colonies (since Mar. 2) Adolphe Marie Messimy (1869-1935) becomes French war minister (until Jan. 14, 1912).

On July 1, 1911 the Second Moroccan (Agadir) Crisis between France and Germany begins when the German gunboat Panther arrives in Agadir (Berber "fortified granary") 120 mi. SW of Marrakech and issues a dispatch claiming that German firms in the country requested protection, then starts a press campaign to grant Germany formal concessions there; David Lloyd George delivers a speech warning Germany that Britain now supports France, threatening hostilities, causing Germany to back down to avert a likely war; on Nov. 4 a convention is signed granting Germany territorial rights in the Congo while keeping Morocco in French hands; meanwhile on Aug. 9 German Social Dem. leader August Bebel tells the Reichstag that a European war will lead to revolution, causing laughter, with one MP shouting "After every war things are better" - Europe has Bette Davis eyes for war? On July 28 Gen. Joseph Jacques Cesaire (Césaire) "Papa" Joffre (1852-1931) becomes chief of staff of the French Army, becoming known for regrouping the retreating Allied armies to win the First Battle of the Marne in Sept. 1914. On Sept. 30 famed Italian explorer and mountain climber Prince Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco, Prince of Savoy-Aosta, Duke of the Abruzzi (1873-1933) commands the first squadron that bombards Preveza in Tripoli on the Ambracian Gulf in NW Greece (S of the ancient ruins of Nikopolis), becoming the first action of the Turkish-Italian War (ends 1912), and the first offensive use of aircraft in war; Italy annexes Tripoli and Cyrenaica and decisively wins the war; a small Jewish community is formed in Preveza after Solomon Danon arrives from Paris this year.

On Oct. 10, 1911 the 1911 Xinhai (Hsin-hai) (Chinese) Rev. (Rev. of the Young Chinese) against the Manchu Dynasty begins when the rev. HQ of the Wuchang org. is discovered plotting against the central railway admin. of Sheng Xuanhuai (1844-1916), and spreads rapidly and bloodily through the W and S; in early Oct. Dr. Sun Yat-sen (Zhongshan) (1866-1925) visits the U.S. to raise money from Chinese immigrants; on Oct. 10 he checks into Denver, Colo.'s Brown Palace Hotel, Rm. 321 (later the Coronet Room), raising $500; he returns to China the next day after reading newspaper headlines saying "Chinese Revolt is Menace to Manchu Dynasty" (Rocky Mt. News), and "Foreigners Throughout Empire in Deadly Peril" (Denver Post); ever after Chinese tourists stop by to see his signature in the guest register; the provinces begin seceding from the Qing Dynasty and join the rev., incl. Jiangsu on Nov. 3, Sichuan on Nov. 22, and Shandong on Dec. 12; on Oct. 14 former Korean resident Yuan Shikai (Shih-K'ai) (1859-1916) is recalled to military command by the Manchu court, and on Nov. 8 is elected PM of the provisional nat. assembly; on Dec. 4 he signs a truce with rebel gen. Li Yuanhong (1864-1928), and sends Tang Shaoyi (1862-1938) as his rep. to negotiations in Shanghai; on Dec. 30 Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, back from the U.S. and Europe is elected provisional pres. of the new Repub. of China (1912-49) by delegates from 16 provinces meeting in Nanking (Nanjing); the Manchu (Great Qing) Dynasty in China (in power since 1644) abdicates; Sun Yat-Sen appoints Gen. Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) as his military adviser, with "Dragon Lady" Madame Chiang Kai-shek (Mayling Soong) (1897-2003) waiting in the wings; the calendar is reformed, pigtails are abolished, and (a little late, after 4.5B women's feet are ruined?) foot binding (the golden lotus) is finally outlawed; polygamy begins to decline as marriages for love become common - come all you young maidens and listen to me, never place your affections on a green willow tree?

From fear to confidence, from hesitation to passion? On Oct. 25, 1911 Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) succeeds Reginald McKenna as First Lord of the British Admiralty (until May 1915), just in time for a naval race with Germany, emphasizing modernization, replacing coal power with oil power, and advocating the use of aircraft in combat.

In 1911 Britain promises France six army divs. in the event of war with Germany. In 1911 Turkey establishes gun control, leaving Armenians unable to defend themselves against ethnic cleansing.

On Jan. 12, 1912 French PM (since June 27) Joseph Caillaux and his cabinet are forced to resign after it was revealed that he had secretly negotiated with Germany during the Second Moroccan Crisis without the knowledge of Pres. (1906-13) Armand Fallieres. On Feb. 16 Bavarian Col. Gen. Baron Paul Otto Felix Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein (1850-1929) becomes German war minister (until Dec. 7, 1916). On Oct. 18 Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bulgaria join in an alliance against the Ottoman Empire, beginning the First Balkan War (ends May 30, 1913), resulting in Turkey asking the Allied Powers for intervention; on Dec. 3 an armistice ending the First Balkan War is signed, and a peace conference is held in London on Dec. 16; Serbia gains Turkish territory in Europe, becoming a hit with the Russkies, but pissing-off the Germans; Montenegro doubles its territory; the Dalmatian dog breed is named from the way Croatians in Dalmatia use them during the war as coach dogs. On Oct. 26 (Nov. 8 Old Style) (feast day of patron saint Demetrios) Salonica (Saloniki) (Thessalonica) (Thessaloniki) in Macedonia (held since 1430) is liberated from the Ottomans by Greece. On Dec. 8, 1912 Kaiser Wilhelm II tells a meeting of military chiefs: "Austria has to act vigorously against the foreign Slavs [Serbs], because she would otherwise lose her power over the Serbs in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. If Russia were to support the Serbs, war would be inevitable for us"; he adds that in a war the German fleet "would have to face war against Britain"; chief of staff (since 1906) Gen. Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke the Younger (1848-1916) tells the meeting: "The popularity of a war against Russia, as outlined by the Kaiser, should be better prepared", and naval chief of staff Adm. von Muller tells chancellor (1909-17) (not of Jewish descent) Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (Bethmann-Hollweg) (1856-1921): "The people must not be in the position of asking themselves only at the outbreak of a great European war, what are the interests that Germany would be fighting for. The people ought rather to be accustomed to the idea of such a war beforehand." On Dec. 14 after Count Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal dies on Feb. 17 and he is reappointed in early Dec., Austrian chief of staff Baron Franz Xaver Joseph Conrad von Hoetzendorf (Hötzendorf) (1852-1925) writes a letter to Austrian heir apparent Archduke Franz Ferdinand, with the soundbyte: "The unification of the South Slav race is one of the most powerful national movements which can neither be ignored nor kept down. The question can only be whether that unification will take place within the boundaries of the monarchy, that is, at the expense of Serbia's independence, or under Serbia's leadership at the expense of the monarchy", adding that if Serbia leads Slav unification, the Austrian empire will lose almost its entire 300-mi. Adriatic coastline, and "relegate the monarchy to the status of a small power."

On Mar. 15, 1912 despite not studying at Staff College and having no staff experience, Gen. Sir John Denton Pinkstone French (1852-1925) becomes chief of the British imperial gen. staff, drawing up the list of key officers for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on Nov. 8; next June 3 he is unexpectedly promoted to field marshal.

In 1912 retired German cavalry officer (commanding gen. of the German Seventh Army Corps) Fredrich Adolf Julius von Bernhardi (1849-1930) pub. On Today's War (Vom Heutigen Kriege) (2 vols.); vol. 2 is titled Germany and the Next War (Deutschland und der Nachste Krieg); it becomes a big bestseller, using the Second Moroccan Crisis to frantically push all-out no-negotiation war for Germany as its Darwinian biological imperative, with the slogan "world power or decline"; by the start of WWI it's up to ed. #9; contains the immortal soundbyte: "War is a biological necessity... the natural law, upon which all the laws of Nature rest, the law of the struggle for existence"; Barbara Tuchman in "The Guns of August" points out that the Germans are reading this on the eve of WWI, while the British are reading Norman Angell's 1909 "The Great Illusion", which argues just the opposite.

You cannot lose what you never had? In 1912 Germany passes their 4th naval law in 12 years, adding 15K officers and men to the German navy, causing Winston Churchill to call for a mutual pause in naval expansion, arguing that a large fleet is a "necessity" for Britain but a "luxury" for Germany, making them more determined; meanwhile in 1912 Germany increases its standing army to 544K men, and in spring 1913 they up it to 661K, and in Oct. 1913 German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg announces the increases with the soundbyte: "One thing remains beyond doubt, if it should ever come to a European conflagration which sets Slaventum against Germanentum, it is then for us a disadvantage that the position in the balance of forces which was hitherto occupied by European Turkey is now filled in part by Slav states"; meanwhile in 1912 up-and-coming Col. Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937) drafts the mobilization plans for the German Army Bill, which the Reichstag passes next spring, preparing for a possible offensive war. In 1912 Austria passes an Islam Bill permitting Muslims to practice their religion; amended in 2015.

In 1912 U.S. rear adm. Bradley Allen Fiske (1854-1942) patents the idea of aerial torpedo bombing from aircraft.

In 1912 native soldiers in the Indian Army are given the right to receive the Victoria Cross.

In June 1912 the Sopwith Aviation Co. is founded in Brooklands, England by Sir Thomas "Tommy" Octave Murdoch Sopwith (1888-1989), moving to Kingston upon Thames in Dec. after making their first military sale, going on to manufacture 18K aircraft with 5K employees during WWI incl. the Sopwith Bat Boat, Dolphin, Pup, Salamander, Snipe, and 5,747 Sopwith Camels, moving in early 1918 to Ham; the 230 hp single-seat biplane Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe (first flight Oct. 1917) is the best fighter of WWI, being introduced a few weeks before the war's end then becoming the RAF std. single-seat fighter after the war, with 497 built by 1926; too bad, the Excess War Profits Duty causes his firm to go bankrupt, and in 1920 he founds Hawker Aircraft (H.G. Hawker Engineering) with test pilot Harry George Hawker (1889-1921), going on to manufacture the Hart and Demon.

By 1913 Britain, France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary have doubled their military spending levels back in 1890; Russia has only increased theirs 19%.

On Feb. 10, 1913 German chief of staff Gen. Helmuth von Moltke tells Austrian chief of staff Gen. Conrad von Hoetzendorf that "A European war is bound to come sooner or later, in which the issue will be one of a struggle between Germandom and Slavdom", and that "To prepare themselves for that contingency is the duty of all states which are the champions of Germanic ideals and culture"; von Moltke adds that such a war "necessitates the readiness of the people to make sacrifices, and popular enthusiasm"; Hoetzendorf goes on to formally request permission to attack Serbia 25x this year - this show is about what's gotta be said?

On Feb. 18, 1913 PM (since 1912) Raymond (Raimond) Poincare (Poincaré) (1860-1934) is elected pres. #10 of France (until Feb. 18, 1920), deciding to pursue a hardline anti-German policy, soon visiting England and restoring ties with Russia; on Mar. 22 Jean Louis Barthou (1862-1934) becomes PM #78 of France (until Dec. 9); France increases its army by extending the required military service from two to three years.

On Mar. 4, 1913 Va.-born "Schoolmaster in Politics" (Ph.D. in govt. - only pres. with a Ph.D. until ?) Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) becomes the 28th U.S. pres. (until Mar. 4, 1921) in the 37th U.S. Pres. Inauguration (only pres. to share a surname with a British PM?); Ind. gov. #27 (since 1909) Thomas Riley Marshall (1854-1925) becomes the 28th U.S. vice-pres. (until Mar. 4, 1921); the Dem. Party controls both Congress and the White House for the first time in 20 years; Wilson's First Inaugural Address (first to be delivered to both houses of Congress in person) promises an end to tariffs, and offers a vision of a progressive nat. govt. that breaks up concentrated financial power (the New Freedom), causing the progressive Repubs. to back his Dem. Congress in a raft of new legislation; he repudiates Taft's dollar diplomacy in China; he discontinues the tradition of inaugural balls this year and again in 1917; First Lady is Ellen Louise Axson Wilson (1860-1914) (dies Aug. 6, 1914); Taft, saying "I'm glad to be going" returns to Yale U. to teach law; on Mar. 5 Pres. Wilson appoints atty. (vice-chancellor of N.J. from 1904) Lindley Miller Garrison (1864-1932) as U.S. war secy. #46 (until Feb. 10, 1916); on Mar. 6 he appoints Calif. conservationist atty. Franklin Knight Lane (1864-1921) as U.S. interior secy. #26 (until Mar. 1, 1920) (a payoff for passing the U.S. Paul Raker Act this year, creating the Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite Nat. Park against opposition by the Sierra Club to provide greedy San Francisco with a water supply?), William Gibbs McAdoo (1863-1941) (pres. of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Co., which built the first underwater railway tunnels between Manhattan and N.J. in 1908) as treasury secy. #46 (until Dec. 15, 1918), David Franklin Houston (1866-1940) as U.S. agriculture secy. #5 (until Feb. 2, 1920), publisher Walter Hines Page (1855-1918) (partner of Frank N. Doubleday) as U.S. ambassador to Britain (until 1918), "Old South" novelist Thomas Nelson Page (1853-1922) as U.S. ambassador to Italy (until 1919), and German-born Jewish atty. Henry Morgenthau Sr. (1856-1946) as U.S. ambassador to Turkey (until 1916), who goes on to unsuccessfully lobby the sultan to stop the Armenian Genocide; after his cousin Theodore Roosevelt's splitting of the Repubs. paves the way for him, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is given Theodore's old job of asst. secy. of the Navy (until 1920); during the Great War Wilson grazes sheep on the White House Lawn.

On May 30, 1913 after the Bulgarians take Adrianople, causing Turkey to sign an armistice with them, the Treaty of London between Turkey and the Balkan states ends the First Balkan War (begun Oct. 18, 1912), but Bulgaria still wants to control Macedonia, and on June 16 it attacks Serbia and Greece, starting the Second Balkan War, causing Russia to declare war on Bulgaria, and Enver Pasha to gain renown by seizing Adrianople from Bulgaria on July 22; on Aug. 10 the Bulgarians sign the Treaty of Bucharest, agreeing to a Bulgarian-Turkish frontier in Thrace, giving Bulgaria an outlet on the Aegean Sea with access to the Mediterranean; Romania obtains the 3K-sq.-mi. Southern Drobuja region, making it the largest Balkan power; Greece (whose king is married to the Kaiser's sister) annexes the coastal region of Thrace from Turkey, denying Serbia access to the Aegean Sea; on Aug. 13 Italian PM (since Mar. 30, 1911) Giovanni Giolitti (1842-1928) receives a telegram from Austria-Hungary, informing him of their intention of invading Serbia and hoping for support from Italy and Germany; in Oct. German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg and German chief of staff Gen. Helmuth von Moltke warn Austria not to make war with Serbia over the issue; on Oct. 16 the 100th anniv. of Napoleon's defeat in Leipzig by Prussia, Austria, Russia, and Sweden in the Battle of the Nations is presided over by Kaiser Wilhelm II, who tells Austrian chief of staff Conrad von Hoetzendorf that he supports an Austrian military action to force Serbia out of Albania, with the soundbyte: "I am with you there... Within a few days you must be in Belgrade. I was always a partisan of peace, but this has its limits. I have read much about war and know what it means, but finally a situation arises in which a great power can no longer just look on, but must draw the sword"; on Oct. 18 the Austrian govt. sends Serbia the Albanian Ultimatum (causing the Kaiser to send a congratulatory telegram to Austrian emperor Franz Josef and his heir apparent nephew Franz Ferdinand), giving it eight days to evacuate, causing the Serbs to back down and comply on Oct. 26 after Russia sits it out, causing Leipzig-born British diplomat Sir Eyre Alexander Barby Wisbart Crowe (1864-1925) to utter the soundbyte "Austria has broken loose from the concert of powers in order to seek a solution single-handed of a question hitherto treated as concerning all powers", followed on Oct. 27 by German acting foreign minister Alfred Zimmerman (1864-1940) telling British Berlin ambassador Sir Edward Goschen that "He had been surprised that the emperor of Austria endorses a policy which, under certain circumstances, might lead to serious consequences, but he had done so, and that made it clearer still that restraining advice at Vienna on the part of Germany was out of the question"; on Oct. 31 Sir Eyre Crowe comments that the German approval of Austria's ultimatum "confirms the impression that Germany, pretending to us that she altogether disapproved and regretted the Austrian attitude, has throughout encouraged her ally"; on Nov. 11 another peace treaty is signed by Turkey and Greece, with Turkey under Austrian pressure agreeing to the creation of an independent Albania to cut Serbia off from the Adriatic Sea.

On June 10, 1913 Count Istvan Tisza de Borosjeno et Szeged (1861-1918) becomes PM of Hungary again (until June 15, 1917) (first time 1903-5), becoming a major behind-the-scenes player in the diplomatic action leading to the Great War.

In June 1913 German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg tells a friend: "It is high time that the great nations calmed down again and occupied themselves with peaceful pursuits, or there will be an explosion which no one desires and which will be to the detriment of all"; meanwhile Winston Churchill privately tells German London naval attache Capt. E. von Muller (Müller) that he still desires a pause in naval expansion by both Britain and Germany; too bad, British-hating Muller tells German Grand Adm. (promoted in 1911 but never given the baton, insignia, or patent) Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (1849-1930) that Churchill just wants to keep Germany from naval superiority, prejudicing the Kaiser against the idea of a pause, causing German foreign secy. (1913-16) Gottlieb von Jagow (1863-1935) in June 1914 to complain to the German London ambassador: "This everlasting baiting and calumniation of English policy is extraordinarily disturbing, especially since it is always used in high places [the Kaiser] in argument against me"; he later blames the war on the "damned system of alliances".

On Oct. 28, 1913 the Zabern (Saverne) Affair (ends 1914) in Alsace-Lorraine endangers Franco-German relations after Prussian 2nd lt. Gunter Freiherr von Forstner (1893-1915) insults the local Alsatian pop. with the soundbyte "If you are attacked, use your weapon; if you stab a Wackes ("square head") (Alsatian) then I'll give you 10 marks", after which the newspapers sensationalize it and on Nov. 28 an angry mob at the military barracks causes the Prussians to strike back, arresting a bunch of them, incl. leading politicians and judges; on Dec. 2 Forstner hits a heckling shoemaker with his saber and is given 43 days by a military court, which is reversed on appeal; on Dec. 4 the Reichstag returns its first vote of no-confidence in the govt. in history (293-4-53), triggering rallies in 17 German cities on Dec. 7 protesting the despotic rule of the Prussians and bringing up all the old sayings ("Prussia was hatched from a cannon ball" - Napoleon) ("War is the national industry of Prussia" - Mirabeau), which Kaiser Wilhelm II responds to by moving the Saverne units on Dec. 5, ordering a govt. whitewash, and issuing a new regulation prohibiting military force against civilians next Mar. 19 (abolished by the Nazis in 1936), after which the affair cools down, although the Wackes never trust the Prussians again?; in 1915 Forstner goes down in history a 2nd time when he claims to sight a 60-ft. Plesiosaur from his U-boat U-28 while sinking British ship SS Iberian.

On Nov. 5, 1913 after Prince Luitpold dies in 1912 and his son Prince Ludwig becomes insane king Otto I's regent, causing cries that it's time to get glad, the constitution is changed, permitting conservative Roman Catholic "Rerum Novarum" thumping Wittelsbach Ludwig III (1845-1921) (father of Crown Prince Rupprecht) to become the last king of Bavaria (until Nov. 13, 1918). On Dec. 2 High Mass is celebrated in Vienna to celebrate the 65th anniv. of the succession of Austrian emperor Franz Josef, the longest-reigning European monarch so far. On Dec. 9 Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue (1861-1937) becomes French PM #79 (until June 9, 1914).

In 1913 the Moro Rebellion in the Philippines (begun 1899) ends after U.S. Gen. John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (1860-1948) allegedly executes and buries Islamic rebels with pig parts, making them fear they won't achieve paradise and scaring them out of starting another rebellion for 50 years; in 1911 after .38 cal. bullets don't stop fanatical Moro warriors, the U.S. Army begins using .45 cal. semiautomatic guns.

In 1913 French army CIC (since 1911) Gen. Joseph Jacques Cesaire (Césaire) Joffre (1852-1931) and his chief of staff Gen. Henri Mathias Berthelot (1861-1931), guided by Gen. Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) draw up Plan 17 (XVII), a defense plan in case of German invasion, which totally ignores a possible advance through Belgium, and counts on the Russians sending 800K men (on the 18th day) and the British 150K. Nonfiction: Anon., The Division of Germany - Our Goal for Tomorrow (Paris); shows a map with Germany replaced by a reduced Thuringia, with Denmark, France, and Austria gobbling up the rest, pissing-off Germans and giving them an excuse for all-out war?

1914 Chinese Year: Tiger - coincidence? Pop. of Jews in Russia: 4M; 640K serve in the army in WWI. 8M Americans have parents or grandparents of German descent; 4M are of Irish descent. 1914 is the year that Satan and his evil angels are kicked out of heaven by Michael (Jesus) and his good angels down to Earth, where they know their time is short and pull out the stops, beginning an all-out effort to stir up world strife, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses, who claim that the Week of Years of Years (7 x 360 = 2520) since the fall of Babylon in 607 B.C.E. is up, i.e., 2520 - 607 + 1 = 1914; too bad, secular historians claim that Babylon fell in 587 B.C.E., which would make the big year 1934 instead; not that that wouldn't also make sense, since Hitler took power in 1933, and they'd only be off by one? Total world railway mileage: 696,274. At the start of the war the French franc is valued at 5.18 to the U.S. dollar and 25.22 to the English pound, and maintains its value to the end of the war; prices are about the same as they were in 1815. The vultures circle the skies in the Balk Balk Balkans? The network of European alliances leading to WWI: Roman Catholic Austria-Hungary is allied to Germany, Italy via the Triple Alliance of 1883, and separately with Romania, backed by King Carol; Greek Orthodox Russia is allied to Roman Catholic France, and is the patron of Greek Orthodox Serbia; Protestant Britain has the Triple Entente with Roman Catholic France and Greek Orthodox Russia, but no alliances; Hungary-hating nephew and heir apparent of Austria-Hungary Archduke Franz Ferdinand wants to create a "Peoples' Parliament" for Hungary that would give non-Hungarian minorities incl. the Slovaks and Croats more power, and to lop off the S Slav provinces of Hungary and unite them with predominantly Slav Bosnia and Herzegovina, and make it the 3rd monarchy in a triad, which makes him popular with the Bosnian bourgeoisie but alienates the ultranationalist Irredentist (don't pull that tooth?) Slavs of S Bosnia, who want instead to unite with the kingdom of Serbia to create a Greater Serbia; meanwhile the Kaiser and tsar are cousins by marriage, and call each other "Willie" and "Nicky", the Kaiser and George V of Britain are both grandsons of Queen Victoria, and all three are cousins - baby, you gotta be cruel to be kind? On Jan. 1 the New York Times carries stories about the merger of two British colonies, one Muslim, one Christian to create Nigeria, an article on the 1910 Mexican Rev., an article on a march by suffragists from Manhattan to Albany demanding the vote for women, and a notice that the North German Lloyd shipping line has cut its rates to encourage trans-Atlantic passenger traffic. On Jan. 12 24-y.-o. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) (b. Apr. 20, 1889) is summoned to present himself for Austrian military service, and is rejected on Feb. 5 as unfit, but on Aug. 3 (the day Germany declares war on France) he petitions Ludwig III of Bavaria for permission to join the army, is approved on Aug. 4, enrolls in the 1st Company of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry on Aug. 6, and is sent to the Front on Oct. 21, adopting the toothbrush mustache after the Prussian style won't fit under a gas mask. On Jan. 15 Siberian-born Viktor Nikolayevich Pepelyayev (1885-1920) gives a speech urging education for Siberians in their native language, for which he ends up in jail for two weeks, after which he joins the White Russian movement and rises to PM in the Siberian govt. of gen. Alexander Kolchak, remaining his last faithful minister before the crash of 1920. On Jan. 19 the Austrian gov. of Galicia reports to Vienna: "Recently the agitation of the Russophile party... has become more lively... The continuing Russification of Galicia, aided by Orthodoxy, requires greater attention on the part of administrative officers if they are to be able to combat it." Early in the year Kaiser Wilhelm II sends Gen. Otto Liman von Sanders (1855-1929) to reorganize the army, supported by money and equipment, pissing-off the Russians. Early in the year Britain begins negotiating a dominant share of the Persian oilfields, beating the Germans and their railway; in June a joint British-German co. obtains exclusive rights for oil exploration in Mesopotamia; meanwhile Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) suggests secret negotiations with German adm. Alfred von Tirpitz to end "the unwholesome concentration of fleets in home waters", but he is overruled by foreign secy. (since Dec. 10, 1905) Sir Edward Grey (1862-1933), who claims that if the news leaks "the wildest reports will be circulated and we shall be involved in constant explanations to ambassadors at the Foreign Office, and in denials in the press of the things that will be attributed to us." On Mar. 7 German Prince Wilhelm of Wied becomes King (Prince) Vidi I (Skanderbeg II) (1876-1945) of Albania, sparking the Muslim-led Albanian Peasant Revolt, which demands return to suzerainty of the Ottoman sultan; on May 23 Dutch gendarmes and N Mirdita Catholics fail to capture Shijak, and are captured by the rebels, who attack Durres, causing Wied to flee to an Italian ship anchored in the bay; on June 15 Durres cmdr., Dutch Col. Lodewijk Willem Johan Karel Thomson (b. 1869) is KIA by the rebels, who capture Berat on July 12, and Vlore on Aug. 21 without a fight; on July 29 the Great Powers establish an internat. police force for Albania, replacing the Dutch officers with ones from Austria-Hungary and Germany. The original O.J. Simpson Murder Trial? On Mar. 16 the Calmette-Caillaux Affair in France sees Madame Henriette Caillaux (1874-1943) (2nd wife of French PM Joseph Caillaux) shoot 6x and kill Gaston Calmette (b. 1858), ed. of Le Figaro (brother of scientist Leon Charles Albert Calmette) for pub. explicit love letters she had written to her hubby while he was still married to his first wife, which had been stolen by the first wife to get even; on July 28 after a sensational trial featuring a deposition from the pres. of France, she is acquitted after her atty. Pat Schroeder, er, Geraldine Ferraro, er, Hillary Clinton, er, Fernand Gustave Gaston Labori (1860-1917) (Alfred Dreyfus' defense atty.) convinces the jury that women shouldn't be able to control their passions, but her hubby is forced to resign as finance minister, going on to lead a French peace party during the Great War, promoting a compromise peace with Germany at the expense of Britain; too bad, the rise of Clemenceau to power leads to his arrest and trial for treason in 1918 and a 3-year sentence - if his wife wasn't such a good shot he might have prevented the Great War? In Mar. the British Parliament debates the Third Home Rule Bill for Ireland, which proves unpopular in Protestant Ulster after "Home Rule within Home Rule" is rejected, sparking the Curragh Mutiny near Dublin on Mar. 20, giving the English govt. the excuse to amend the bill to exclude the six counties of Northern Ireland from home rule for six years, after which the bill is passed on Sept. 18, becoming the first attempt at devolved govt. in the U.K.; too bad, the outbreak of WWI causes it to be formally postponed for a min. of 12 mo.; meanwhile the Irish Volunteers are established to enforce home rule, while the Ulster Covenanters form the Ulster Volunteers to oppose it. On May 12 the British Cabinet notes with approval that "the large contemplated increase in the Baltic Fleet of Russia must necessarily ease our position vis-a-vis Germany in home waters." On May 12 German chief of staff (1906-14) Gen. Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke the Younger (1848-1916) meets with Austrian chief of staff (1906-17) Franz Xaver Joseph Conrad von Hoetzendorf (Hötzendorf) (1852-1925), telling him that a delay in going to war with Russia "meant a lessening of our chances - we could not compete with Russia in masses"; on May 20 he meets with German foreign secy. (1913-16) Gottlieb von Jagow (1863-1935) in Berlin, telling him that he fears that Russia will crank up its war machine to the max in 2-3 years, making it mandatory that Germany "wage preventative war in order to beat the enemy while we still have some chance of winning", hence von Jagow must "orientate our policy at the early provocation of war." On May 12 the sultan of the Malayan state of Johore signs an agreement with the British agreeing to be guided by the advice of a British gen. advisor, giving British total control of British Malaya, consisting of the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Penang, Province Wellesly, the Dindings, and Malacca), the Federated Malay States (Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang), and the Unfederated Malay States (Johore, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Trengganu). On May 29 U.S. pres. emissary Col. Edward Mandell House (1858-1938) writes from Berlin, with the news that Germany is bad-to-the-bone eager for war, with the soundbyte "It only needs a spark to set the whole thing off"; "There is too much hatred, too many jealousies. Whenever England consents, France and Russia will close in on Germany and Austria. England does not want Germany wholly crushed, for she would then have to reckon alone with her ancient enemy, Russia; but if Germany insists upon an ever-increasing navy, then England will have no choice." In May Czech Austrian parliament deputy Karel Kramar (1860-1937) sends to a friend in Russia his idea for a "Slav confederation ruled from St. Petersburg" that could be created after Russia defeats Austria. Early June brings one of the nicest summers for Euros to be alive in history, esp. for the young and high class, with the advantages of modern technology but the ease of the old slow pace? In early June German chancellor Theobold von Bethmann-Hollweg tells Bavarian Berlin minister Count Hugo von Lerchenfeld that many in Germany believe that a war will lead Germany "in a conservative direction", but that he believes that it will do the opposite, because "a world war with its incalculable consequences would strengthen the tremendous power of social democracy, because they preached peace, and would topple many a throne." On June 11 a spectacular dinner and ball is held at Caen Wood House in N London, with an orchestra brought from Vienna, hosted by Russian Grand Duke Michael, 2nd cousin of Tsar Nicholas II and great-great-grandson of Catherine II the Great, with guests incl. George V and Queen Mary. On June 12-13 Kaiser Wilhelm II spends the weekend with Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Koponischt near Prague, while Tsar Nicholas II visits the Romanian royal family in Constanta; Franz Ferdinand asks Wilhelm II if he will support Austria in destroying the Serbian "hornets' nest" that is stirring up anti-Austrian feeling in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Kaiser tells him that Austria should act before the situation worsens since Russia isn't yet ready for war. On June 13 Socialist public instruction minister Rene Viviani (1863-1925) becomes PM #81 of France (until Oct. 29, 1915). On June 22-28 Kiel Week on the Elbe is attended by Kaiser Wilhelm II to celebrate the widening of the Kiel Canal, alllowing German ships easy access to the North Sea, which alarms the Brits, who whip-up anti-German sentiment back home, causing repeated calls for military conscription, which the Liberal govt. resists; on June 26 the Kaiser, who is a British Adm. of the Fleet wears his British uniform aboard British battleship King George V, telling British Berlin embassy counsellor Sir Horace Rumbold that his top hat and morning coat are out of place on a ship, and that "If I see that again I will smash it in - one doesn't wear tall hats on board ships"; on June 27 the British squadron cmdr. gives a cordial evening reception for the German officers; on June 28 the Elbe Regatta in Kiel Bay sees the Kaiser race in his yacht Meteor; too bad, after receiving a telegram that his nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand and wife have been assassinated in Sarjevo, the race is cancelled along with Kiel Week, and the Kaiser returns to his palace in Potsdam after uttering the soundbyte "A higher power has restablished the order which I, alas, could not preserve", referring to his dislike of the archuke's marriage outside the inbred European royalty circle, and his sympathy for a third South Slav state on a par with Hungary, which the assassins ironically don't know about?; although the archduke was forced to swear exactly 14 years earlier that his children from this marriage would be barred from the throne, Franz Josef fears that he would renege, and is satisfied with new heir (#5), his great-nephew Archduke Charles, commenting "For me it is a great relief from worry." The Never on a Sunday Shot Heard Round the World Original Domino Theory? More like a butterfly wing swishing once too many and causing a hurricane leading to a worldwide tsunami? The Fatal Triangle of the Balkans, the Baltic, and the Black Sea leads to world war after a lone gunman knocks off the Hapsburg heir, toppling the shaky repressive Hapsburg Empire at the same time, launching the Short 20th Cent. (1914-89), which sets records for human misery? On June 28 (June 15 Old Style) (Sun.) (St. Vitus Day AKA Vidovdan) (the Serbian nat. holiday, anniv. of the 1389 Battle of the Blackbirds in Kosovo Field that saw the Christian Serbs humiliatingly defeated by the Muslim Ottomans) after waiting seemingly forever in vain for his old fart uncle Austrian-Hungarian emperor (since Dec. 2, 1848) Franz Josef (Francis Joseph) I (1830-1916) to die, and shooting 200K neatly-numbered game animals in the meantime and mounting 5K in his palace hallway. and observing two days of maneuvers by two Austrian army corps (which Serbs fear will spearhead a future attack on Serbia), and ignoring a message from the Serbian foreign minister for Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Austrian finance minister in Vienna that the visit is unwise, handlebar-mustachioed Archduke Franz (Francis) Ferdinand (b. 1863), heir (since 1889) to the Hapsburg throne of Austria-Hungary and his morganatic wife (since 1900) Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (1868-1914) drive in their open Graf und Stift automobile along the Appel Quay beside the Miliaca River in the flag-draped (low security forces) Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, when a bomb is thrown onto their car by one of six Bosnian Serb conspirators in the crowd, but bounces off the side, hitting the next car and wounding two officers of the archduke's staff, and they visit the Burgomaster and Bosnia-Herzegovina gov.-gen. (May 10, 1911-Dec. 22, 1914) Gen. Oskar Potiorek (1853-1933) at the town hall, telling him "So, you welcome your guests here with bombs?", causing him to comment that Bosnians don't make two assassination attempts in the same day, causing the couple to decide to take off again to visit the wounded officers in the hospital, this time with high security alert; too bad, while driving to the hospital on Francis-Joseph (Franz-Josef) St., driver Leopold Lojka (Loyka) (1885-1926) (AKA Franz Urban) stops to go into reverse after discovering he took a wrong turn and they are back on the narrow Latin Bridge on Appel Quay, and at 11:15 a.m. from the crowd lucky consumptive 19-y.-o. Black Hand-trained (bad shot) Bosnian-born Serb nationalist (Austrian subject) Gavrilo Princip (1894-1918) (whose portrait bears a striking resemblance to Hollywood actor Bobcat Goldthwait (1962-)?), who with secret Serb military backing wants to create a Greater Serbia by breaking off Austria-Hungary's S Slav provinces in Bosnia assassinates the archduke and his wife with two shots from a 6-shot Browning FN Model 1910 .380 pistol (serial #19074) (rediscovered in 2004) that had been given to him by the chief of the intel section of the Serbian gen. staff in Belgrade before he was smuggled across the Austrian border into Bosnia in May, and is immediately arrested, causing 200 Serbs to be rounded up; the Hasbeen Pair die en route to the hospital, with the archduke's last words being "It's nothing", and the news is dispatched at 12:30 p.m., and by the next day Europe is buzzing with talk of Serbian intrigue, along with anti-Serb riots in Berlin and Vienna, even though Serbia itself is later vindicated (just a small cadre of military officers involved), and the archduke's own family ignores his funeral; on June 28 (p.m.) after learning of the assassination, Emperor Franz Joseph utters the soundbyte: "the All-Powerful cannot be defied"; at 2:30 p.m. Kaiser Wilhelm II receives the news while racing his yacht at Kiel; in the eve. a mob demolishes the Cafe Fahrig in Munich after its band refuses to play the patriotic song "Die Wacht am Rhein"; at night Austrian chief of the gen. staff Gen. Conrad von Hoetzendorff writes to his mistress that a war "will be a hopeless struggle, but nevertheless it must be because such an ancient monarchy and such an ancient army cannot perish ingloriously" (I've got my spine I've got my orange crush?); at night Liberal Austrian Jewish Reichsrat rep. (1907-18) Joseph (Josef) Redlich (1869-1936) writes the soundbyte in his diary: "It must now be clear to everyone that peaceful coexistence is impossible to achieve between [Austria] and a Balkan nationalism roused to a fanatical lust for murder"; instead of blowing over, this fractal moment in human history leads directly to the outbreak of World War I (ends Nov. 11, 1918) (#1 of ?). On June 29 anti-Serb riots erupt in Vienna, Brunn, Sarajevo, and throughout Bosnia; the Bosnian parliament condemns the assassination, only to be permanently dissolved by Austria-Hungary; Serbian PM Nikola Pasic denounces the Black Hand, and orders all public meeting places closed; meanwhile Belgrade wires its condolences to Vienna, and the secy. of the Austrian legation in Belgrade implicates the Serbs in the assassination. On June 29 Hungarian PM Count Istvan Tisza tells Austrian foreign minister Count Leopold von Berchtold that war would be a fatal mistake, and he agrees, resisting a call for mobilization by Austrian chief of the gen. staff Gen. Conrad von Hoetzendorff and deciding to wait until French leaders end their trip to Russia on July 23; on June 30 Berchtold flops and calls for a "final and fundamental reckoning" with Serbia, trying in vain for several days to launch a quick strike. On June 29 George V of Britain decrees seven days of mourning for Archduke You Know Who, while Tsar Nicholas II orders 12. On June 30 Kaiser Wilhelm II writes the soundbyte: "The Serbs must be disposed of, and that right soon", responding to a remark by his ambassador in Vienna that Serbia requires "only a mild punishment", adding "I hope not." On June 30 Russian ambassador to Vienna Count Nikolai Nikolayeich Schebeko predicts that "at least in the immediate future the course of Austro-Hungarian policy will be more restrained and calm", noting that the Vienna Stock Exchange hasn't been affected. On June 30 the British naval squadron leaves Kiel, with the British adm. signalling to the German Fleet: "Friends in past, and friends for ever"; on June 30 British Foreign Office head Sir Arthur Nicolson writes to the British ambassador in St. Petersburg: "The tragedy which has just taken place in Sarajevo will not, I trust, lead to further complications." On June 30 (night) Serbian newspapers false report mass murders of Serbs in Bosnia, causing a press war with Austria through July. On July 1 Austrian battleship Viribus Unitis arrives in Trieste with the bodies of the archduke and his wife. On July 1 Austrian chief of staff Baron Franz Xaver Joseph Conrad von Hoetzendorf (Hötzendorf) (1852-1925) writes that Hungarian PM Count Istvan Tisza "was against war with Serbia; he was anxious, fearing that Russia might strike at us and Germany leave us in the lurch"; Austria remains unsure of Germany's attitude; meanwhile after secretly being put up to it by German Vienna ambassador (1907-16) Count Heinrich Leonard von Tschirschky under Bogendorff (Bögendorff) (1858-1916) (whose reports to Berlin urge caution), German newspapers urge Austria to get tough with Serbia (until July 4); on July 2 Tschirschky assures Count Berchtold and Emperor Franz Joseph of German support, with the emperor replying, "I see a very dark future." On July 2 as bands of Austrian-flag-waving Croats and Muslims attack Serb properties in Bosnia, martial law is declared. On July 2 Gavrilo Princip and two accomplices make full confessions, implicating Serbia. On July 2 (eve.) the bodies of the archduke and duchess arrive in Vienna, lying in state in Hofburg Palace until after a requiem mass on July 4, after which they are moved to the chapel in the archduke's castle in Artstetten; the kaiser skips the "third class funeral" for fear of assassination. On July 3 the kaiser comments on the cautious June 30 report from Vienna ambassador Count Tschirschky: "The Serbs must be disposed of, and that right soon!"; on July 4 (p.m.) the German Foreign Office receives the material and begins to adopt a hard line toward Serbia. On July 3 Berlin announces the planned extension of the Berlin-Baghdad Railway S to Basra, providing Germany an outlet on the Persian Gulf plus overland access to the Indian Ocean. On July 4 German London ambassador (1912-14) Karl Max, 6th Prince Lichnowsky (1860-1928) returns from Berlin, and tells British secy. of state for war Lord Haldane that he is "very worried" about "the general feeling in Berlin... that Serbia could not be allowed to go on intriguing and agitating against Austria, and that Germany must support Austria in any action she proposed to take"; in 1916 he pub. a pamphlet blaming German diplomacy for starting the war. On July 4 Austrian foreign ministry chief Count Hoyos leaves Vienna for Berlin with Austrian plans to crush Serbia, seeking full German suppor for a war against Serbia in the event of Russian aggression; meanwhile German ambassador Count Tschirschky tells an Austrian official that Germany will support Austria-Hungary "through thick and thin", adding "The earlier Austria attacks the better. It would have been better to attack yesterday than today, and better to attack today than tomorrow." Is war catching, like a cold? Play the tragic piano music now? On July 5 (noon) the July Crisis begins when Austrian foreign minister (1912-15) Count Leopold Anton Johann Sigismund Josef Korsinus Ferdinand von Berchtold (1863-1942) thinks he's too old and deaf to handle it, and sends emissary Count Ludwig Alexander Georg von Hoyos (1876-1937) to review the documents with him first, and Kaiser Wilhelm II tells aging Austrian ambassador in Berlin (since Oct. 24, 1892) Count Laszlo Szogyeny (Szogyeny-Marich de Magyar-Szogyen et Szolgaegyhaza) (1841-1916) in Potsdam that Russia is "in no way prepared for war", and that Austria would regret it if "we did not make use of the present moment, which is all in our favor", adding that Germany would support Austria in a war with Russia, later that day telling German chancellor Theobold von Bethmann-Hollweg and Prussian war minister Gen. Erich von Falkenhayn that not only are Russia and France not ready for war, but "he did not believe that there was any prospect of great warlike developments" because "the tsar would not side with the Archduke's murderers", hence "there was no need to make special dispositions", giving Austria-Hungary a blank check to attack Serbia? On July 6 Kaiser Wilhelm II returns to Kiel and departs in his royal yacht Hohenzollern for his annual 3-week summer cruise in Norway. On July 7 the 8-member Austrian-Hungarian cabinet discusses the kaiser's offer of German backing, causing chmn. Count Berchtold to propose an immediate attack on Serbia sans declaration of war; on July 8 Hungarian PM Count Istvan Tisza writes to the kaiser that an Austrian attack on Serbia "would, in human possibility, provoke the world war", bringing Russia and Romania in, which he calls a "very unfavorable" prospect; meanwhile on July 7 Theobald Bethmann-Hollweg utters the soundbyte: "The future lies with Russia, she grows and grows, and lies on us like a nightmare", telling Prince Lichnowsky on July 8 that "not only the extremists" in Berlin, "but even level-headed politicians are worried at the increases in Russian strength, and the imminence of Russian attack." 007 Bond, James Bond? On July 7 German ambassador to the U.S. (since 1908) Count Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff (1862-1939) is recalled to Germany, but returns on Aug. 2 after being recruited to do intel work to assist the German war effort, complete with a large slush fund, forging passports for German-Ams. who want to return home to fight. On July 9 British foreign secy. (since Dec. 10, 1905) Sir Edward Grey (1862-1933) tells German London ambassador Prince Lichnowsky that Britain has been "endeavoring to persuade the Russian government even at the present juncture to adopt a calm view and a conciliatory attitude towards Austria, should the Vienna Cabinet feel obliged in consequence of the Sarajevo murder to take up a stern attitude towards Serbia", but warns that Austria takes the risk of "arousing Slav feeling", making it impossible for Russia to "remain passive"; meanwhile despite being told by his subordinate Robert Gilbert Vansittart (1881-1957) (later head of the foreign office, opposed to appeasement) that "The unwisdom of a blindly anti-Serbian policy is not at all appreciated in Austria, and that is the real point in a rather threatening situation", Grey's principal advisor Sir Arthur Nicolson (1849-1928) writes the British ambassador in Vienna: "I have my doubts as to whether Austria will take any action of a serious character and I expect the storm will blow over." On July 11 Kaiser Wilhelm II meets with chief of staff (since 1906) Gen. Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke the Younger (1848-1916) (not a count, and not a field marshal, a step below at col.-gen.), nephew of famous Prussian War Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (1800-91) (but without any battlefield experience, known for liking Goethe, Maeterlinck, and the writings of the Christian Scientists), and admiralty chief Grand Adm. Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (1849-1930) in the rose gardens of Konopic in Bohemia, followed by Moltke and chief of the gen. staff Gen. Baron Franz Xaver Joseph Conrad von Hoetzendorf (Hötzendorf) (1852-1925) meeting in Karlsbad to discuss the Schlieffen Plan to conquer France in six weeks through invasion via Belgium with 1.5M men in seven armies, along with another plan to support Austria-Hungary against the Serbians and Russians and get the Romanians to join in the quick glorious fun; on July 25 German ambassador to Britain (1912-14) Karl Max, 6th Prince Lichnowsky (1860-1928) becomes the only German diplomat to raise objections to Germany's attempt to provoke an Austro-Serbian war, pointing out that Britain would intervene, and begging the German govt. to accept an offer of British mediation; after several cables are ignored, a final one on July 29 contains the soundbyte "If war breaks out it will be the greatest catastrophe the world has ever seen", but by the time time it arrives the Austrians are already bombing Belgrade; on Aug. 4 after Britain declares war, Lichnowsky returns to Germany, being saluted by a British military guard of honor, after which in 1916 he privately circulates the Lichnowsky Memorandum (My Mission to London, 1912-1914) (its pub. in the U.S. in 1917 causing him to be expelled from the Prussian House of Lords), lamenting the alliance with Austria-Hungary for dragging Germany into crises in the Balkans and Russia, and forecasting an Allied V, with the soundbytes: "This is a return to the days of the Holy Roman Empire and the mistakes of the Hohenstaufens and Habsburgs"; "The world will belong to the Anglo-Saxons, Russians and Japanese, and the Germans will remain alone with Austria and Hungary. German rule will be that of thought and commerce, not that of the bureaucrat and soldiers. Germany made its appearance too late, and its last chance of making good the past, that of founding a colonial empire, was annihilated by the World War." On July 13 a secret Austrian report from Sarajevo reaches Vienna, stating that there was no evidence to implicate the Serbian govt. in the assassination, which doesn't stop Count Berchtold from talking emperor Franz Josef into attacking Serbia because no other nation will side with them, and he agrees to an ultimatum. On July 14 Hungarian PM Count Istvan Tisza is won over by Conrad von Hoetzendorf, and when he asks Emperor Franz Josef "If the answer [to Count Hoyos] shows that Germany stands on our side, do we then go to war with Serbia?", he replies, "Dann ja"; the Austrian council of ministers decides to deliver an ultimatum in one week. On July 16 bestselling English Socialist pacifist Norman Angell gives a talk in London on the danger of a "grand military bonfire", uttering the soundbyte: "The younger generation are, I believe, increasingly determined not to be the victims of that supreme futility." On July 16 German ambassador Prince Lichnowsky utters the soundbyte that it was the fault of Austria for sending Franz Ferdinand into an "alley of bomb-throwers" in Sarajevo. On July 17 German deputy chief of staff Gen. Waldersee writes to foreign secy. Gottlieb von Jagow from Berlin that "I shall remain here ready to jump; we are all prepared at the General Staff." On July 18 the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps is created by the U.S. Congress, with 44 officers, 224 men, and 23 aircraft; by Apr. 6, 1917 it has 1,218 men and 280 aircraft. On July 18 Gottlieb von Jagow writes to Prince Lichnowsky in London: "The more resolute Austria shows herself and the more energetically we support her, the sooner will Russia stop her outcry. To be sure, they will make a great to-do in St. Petersburg, but when all is said and done, Russia is at present not ready for war." On July 19 the Austrian council of ministers in Vienna finalizes their ultimatum, blaming Serbia for the assassination and making 15 demands, incl. Serbian condemnation of anti-Austrian propaganda, a joint commission to investigate the assassination, a Serbian army order condemning Serbian military involvement, a firm promise of no further Serbian intrigue in Bosnia, punishment of anti-Austrian propagandists, and Austrian official involvement in the legal process of punishing those connected with the plot; Serbia is expected to reject the terms, giving Austria an excuse to invade; on July 21 Emperor Franz Josef agrees to the ultimatum after deciding that some groups inside Serbia had been involved in the plot, and for fear of Serbian expansion; Gen. Conrad von Hoetzendorf is hottest for war, hoping to make territorial gains on the Bosnian border. On July 22 Russian foreign minister Sergei (Sergius) Dmitrievich Sazonov (1860-1927) warns Austria against taking drastic action, but declines to threaten military action. On July 23 British chancellor of the exchequer (1908-15) David Lloyd George (1863-1945) delivers a speech to the House of Commons, with the soundbyte that "civilization" would have no difficulty in regulating disputes between nations by means "of some sane and well-ordered arbitrament", saying that British relations with Germany are the best in years, and the next budget will show a reduction in armaments. On July 23 (6 p.m.) after the Kaiser gives the green light while on his Norwegian cruise, Serbia is presented by Austria-Hungary with the July (Serbian) Ultimatum (signed by Count Berchtold), timed so that French pres. Raymond Poincare and PM Rene Viviani are unavailable for consultation by Russia because they have just embarked from Kronstadt after a state visit there, giving Serbia 48 hours to respond; on July 24 Sir Edward Grey calls it "the most formidable document that was ever addressed by one state to another"; on ? Winston Churchill calls the ultimatum "the most insolent document of its kind ever devised"; on July 24 Russia announces that it "cannot remain indifferent", and secretly mobilizes 13 army corps; Serbia surprises them by virtually accepting the terms on July 25 at 5:45 p.m., asking to refer the demand to participate in the judicial process to the Internat. Tribunal at The Hague; too bad, Austria wants war like mad to get even for killing the emperor's dear little nephew, and when Serbia makes the mistake of ordering mobilization at 3 p.m. on July 25 before delivering their reply, they jump on them, using the old excuse that "mobilization means war", and Austrian ambassador (since Nov. 13, 1913) Gen. Wladimir Rudolf Karl Freiheirr Giesl von Gieslingen (1860-1936) leaves Belgrade at 6:15 p.m. without reading the Serbian reply, after which Emperor Franz Josef orders mobilization against Serbia at 9:23 p.m. the same day, to begin on July 28; on July 26 Austrian chief of staff Conrad von Hoetzendorf tells Count Berchtold that full-scale invasion of Serbia will take several weeks; it takes Austria 16 days to complete mobilization, but the Germans mobilize much faster, so the war actually ends up beginning in the West; meanwhile the Serbian govt. withdraws S to Nis, and Serbian army chief of staff Gen. Putnik is detained in Budapest while returning from a Bohemian spa, causing real gentleman Emperor Franz Josef to order him to be given a special train to Serbia with an apology. On July 25 the first German warship sails through the widened Kiel Canal to the North Sea, causing Britain to see danger signals. On July 25-26 the Russians secretly begin mobilization, while British leaders enjoy a weekend vacation on purpose, because Sir Edward Grey is secretly in league with Russia, pretending with Germany to be an honest broker while trying to buy them time to mobilize? On July 26 (4:00 p.m.) (Sun.) the German High Seas Fleet is ordered home from the Norwegian coast to Spithead by Prince Louis of Battenberg, and the fleet mobilized, encouraging Russian and French hardliners. On July 27 Sir Edward Grey proposes that the ambassadors of Germany, France, and Italy meet with him in London, and Germany counters with a proposal for direct talks between Austria and Russia, which the latter rejects; the British foreign office spreads a rumor that German preparations for war are more advanced than those of France or Russia in order to juke the public into a war mentality? On July 27 Kaiser Wilhelm II tells a friend, "We are not at war yet, and if I can, I shall prevent it." On July 27 Liberal British MP (pres. of the Board of Trade) John Elliot Burns (1858-1943) tells the British Cabinet that war must be averted "by all means in our power", writing in his diary "Why four great powers should fight over Serbia no fellow can understand", after which David Lloyd George tells the press that "there could be no question of our taking part in any war in the first instance. I know of no minister who would be in favor of it"; the anti-war faction, led by colonial secy. Lewis Harcourt consists of 11 of the 19 ministers, who constitute a "Peace party which if necessary shall break up the Cabinet in the interest of our abstention; the cabinet decides that the British First and Second Fleets undergoing exercises in Portland in home waters be ordered not to disperse; after the war starts, he resigns; meanwhile the British War Office instructs Home Defence Army cmdr. Gen. Sir Horace Lockwood "Smith Doreen" "Smithereens" Smith-Dorrien (1858-1930) to guard "all vulnerable points" in S Britain, and Winston Churchill orders special armed guards assigned to ammo and oil depots, and tells naval commanders: "European political agitation makes war between Triple Alliance and Triple Entente powers by no means impossible. This is not the warning telegram, but be prepared to shadow possible hostile men-of-war"; meanwhile, British foreign secy. Sir Edward Grey tries in vain to mediate, proposing on July 27 that the Austrian-Serbian dispute be submitted to a conference of reps from Germany, Britain, France, and Italy, which is rejected by Germany as "not practicable", after which Russia opens talks with Austria, until the latter under suspected German influence breaks them off. On July 28 (a.m.?) the Austrian ambassador to Germany informs Count Berchtold of German pressure to occupy Belgrade even before completing mobilization, with the soundbyte: "We are urgently advised to act at once and present the world a fait accompli"; on July 28 (11:00 a.m.) Kaiser Wilhelm reads for the first time the full text of the Austrian ultimatum and Serbian capitulation, and writes in the margin: "A great moral victory for Vienna, but with it every reason for war is removed and Giesl ought to remain quietly in Belgrade. On the strength of this I should never have ordered mobilization... I am convinced that on the whole the wishes of the Danube monarchy have been acceded to. The few reservations that Serbia makes in regard to individual points, can in my opinion be well cleared up by negotiations. But it contains the announcement orbi et urbi of a capitulation of the most humiliating kind, and with it every reason for war is removed", suggesting that "as a visible satisfaction d'honneur for Austria, the Austrian army should temporarily occupy Belgrade as a pledge" to begin negotiations; Winston Churchill, backed by Sir Edward Grey orders the fleet to war stations before receiving news of a Balkan war, despite Grey issuing a message to other countries to refrain from all military steps until his mediation has been tried; too bad, on July 28 (noon) Austria declares war on Serbia, launching the Serbian Campaign (ends Nov. 3, 1918), sending forces led by guess-who-rode-in-the-car Gen. Oskar Potiorek toward the Serbian frontiers on the Save and Danube Rivers; on July 28 (eve.) German chancellor Theobald Bethmann-Hollweg sends a telegram to Vienna pressuring Berchtold to negotiate, notifying Britain and Russia, telling the British ambassador "A war between the Great Powers must be avoided", but Berchtold doesn't respond, causing him to send three more telegrams on July 29 (eve.)? On July 28 after the Ottomans talk the Germans into it, the basic terms of a secret Ottoman-German alliance are agreed to, with Kaiser Wilhelm II giving an order to his skeptical negotiators: "A refusal or a snub would result in Turkey's going over to Russo-Gallia, and our influence would be gone forever... Under no circumstances whatsoever can we afford to turn them away"; the Ottomans weren't forced into WWI in a last-ditch attempt to save it from being dismantled, but eagerly plunged into it as a unique opportunity to take advantage of the destruction of Russia to expand and unify its territories? Russia gets into the act to help its fellow Orthodox Christian Serbs against the horrible Roman Catholic Huns, and WWI reaches critical mass? On July 29 (1:00 a.m.) the Willy-Nicky Telegrams begin when Tsar Nicholas II sends a telegram to his 3rd cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II: "An ignoble war has been declared to a weak country. The indignation in Russia shared fully by me is enormous. I foresee that very soon I shall be overwhelmed by the pressure forced upon me and be forced to take extreme measures which will lead to war. To try and avoid such a calamity as a European war, I beg you in the name of our old friendship to do what you can to stop your allies from going too far" (signed "Nicky); it crosses with one from the Kaiser: "I am exerting my utmost influence to induce the Austrians to deal straightly to arrive at a satisfactory understanding with you" (signed "Willie"); encouraged, the tsar cancels gen. mobilization, and proposes that the Austrian-Serbian problem be handed over to the Internat. Court at The Hague, causing the Kaiser to beg him to "remain a spectator of the Austro-Serbian conflict, without involving Europe in the most horrible war she ever witnessed", offering to help promote a Russian-Austrian understanding, causing the tsar to attempt to cancel the partial mobilization, and when that proves impossible, he telegraphs the Kaiser after midnight: "We need your strong pressure on Austria to come to an understanding with us." On July 29 (a.m.) an Austrian Danube flotilla bombards Belgrade from the N, beginning the actual hostilities, and the same morning Tsar Nicholas II orders partial mobilization on the Austrian frontier of 6M men (to defend people he doesn't love?). On July 29 (a.m.) Winston Churchill proposes to the British Cabinet that the European sovereigns "be brought together for the sake of peace", while the cabinet authorizes the sending of a warning telegram across the British Empire despite military operations dir. Sir Henry Wilson writing the soundbyte in his diary: "I don't know why we are doing it, because there is nothing moving in Germany "too bad, their war machines can't be stopped, and the German fleet begins mobilization, while the British Fleet is sent to war stations in the North Sea. On July 29 the Kaiser's brother Prince Henry, who broke off his yachting trip at the Cowes Regatta and visited his cousin George V at Buckingham Palace a few days earlier, reports that he said to him "We shall try all we can to keep out of this and shall remain neutral"; when Adm. Alfred von Tirpitz expresses his doubts, the Kaiser replies "I have the word of a king, and that is good enough for me." On July 29 German chief of staff Gen. Helmuth von Moltke reports: "It appears that Russia and France are moving hand in hand as regards their preparations." On July 29 the German ambassador to London Prince Lichnowsky sends a telegram to Berlin warning that the British believe that a world war is inevitable unless the Austrians negotiate over Serbia, and begs Sir Edward Grey to try to prevent a Russian mobilization on Germany's borders, calling the consequences "beyond conception"; Grey promises to try, but lies, meeting with Lichnowsky in the evening and stroking him to give Russia more time? On July 29 Sir Edward Grey tells the French London ambassador: "If Germany became involved and France became involved, we had not made up our minds what we should do; it was a case that we should have to consider", causing Russian foreign minister Sergei Sazonov to tell him that if Britain doesn't make it clear that it will stand firmly with France and Russia, rivers of blood would flow and Britain would be dragged in anyway; Germany sends a secret message to Britain offering to take no territory from France except its colonies if it remains neutral, which Sir Edward Grey rejects; Grey later claims to be stymied by "a veiled coalition" (Churchill), where he can't threaten Germany with British attack were it to attack France, even though ahem, he knows it will, while goofing up and failing to explicitly communicate to Germany that failure to both respect and protect the neutrality of Belgium will bring a British declaration of war against Germany; too bad, by the time he does, the Germans are already poised to invade, allowing Gen. Helmuth von Moltke to convince the Kaiser that it's too late to stop the plan?; Grey writes four telegrams that are never sent but are later pub. as official documents to cover his tracks? On July 29 the first transcontinental telephone call is completed by AT&T between Alexander Graham Bell in New York City and Dr. Thomas Watson in San Francisco, Calif. - rings, hello? On July 30 (noon) the Lokal Anzeiger of Berlin issues an extra ed. announcing a decree for gen. mobilization of the German army, which is immediately suppressed by the authorities after they're sure the Russians get the message. On July 30 Kaiser Wilhelm II sends a telegram to Tsar Nicholas II: "I have gone to the utmost limits of the possible in my efforts to save peace... Even now, you can still save the peace of Europe by stopping your military measures." On July 30 (4:00 p.m.) the tsar orders gen. mobilization, surprising the Austrians by its speed and messing up all their plans to kick Serbian butt, causing the Austrian Second Army on the Save River W of Belgrade to be split in two, with half sent to Galicia to meet the Russians, leaving the other half for the Serb bad boys; the tsar pledges that he will not order any attack as long as negotiations are in progress, which Germany ignores, making WWI their fault? On July 31 (a.m.) German chancellor Theobald Bethmann-Hollweg telegraphs Count Berchtold of Austria, urging Austria not to mobilize against Russia; meanwhile German chief of staff Gen. Helmuth von Moltke advises Gen. Conrad von Hoetzendorf in Vienna to mobilize immediately, causing Berchtold to utter the soundbyte "Who rules in Berlin: Moltke or Bethmann?", after which Austria orders gen. mobilization, and at 4:00 p.m. Germany issues an ultimatum to Russia to demobilize within 12 hours, which it disregards (Russia's last tsar had the last chance in his hands to stop WWI but feared war less than showing weakness?); Germany also issues an ultimatum to France demanding a definite statement whether it will remain neutral in the event of a Russo-German war, and, in the event of a oui, demanding that it hand over the fortresses of Toul and Verdun E of Paris as a pledge (knowing that France will never agree?), which it rejects, mobilizing 3M men via 4,278 trains; meanwhile the tsar sends a telegram to Kaiser Wilhelm II: "It is technically impossible to stop our military preparations which were obligatory owing to Austria's mobilization. We are far from wishing for war. As long as the negotiations with Austria on Serbia's account are taking place my troops shall not make any provocative action. I give you my solemn word for this"; meanwhile Sir Edward Grey attempts to mediate in the dispute between Serbia and Austria with a "stop in Belgrade" message, which is laughed off by the Germans, and on July 31 he sends a note to Paris and Berlin asking them to repect the neutrality of Belgium, which France agrees to, while Germany won't answer. On July 31 Winston Churchill writes to his wife Clementine: "There is still hope, although the clouds are blacker and blacker. Germany is realising I think how great are the forces against her and is trying tardily to restrain her idiot ally. We are working to soothe Russia... Everybody is preparing swiftly for war... Germany has sent a proposal to us to be neutral if she promises not to take French territory nor to invade Holland [but] she must take French colonies and she cannot promise not to invade Belgium…Grey [the British Foreign Secretary] has replied that these proposals are impossible and disgraceful. Everything points therefore to a collision on these issues... Prices of foods are rising to panic levels." On July 31 Kaiser Wilhelm II utters the soundbyte: "For I no longer have any doubt that England, Russia and France have agreed among themselves - knowing that our treaty obligations compel us to support Austria-Hungary - to use the Austro-Serb conflict as a pretext for waging a war of annihilation against us... Our dilemma over keeping faith with the old and honorable Emperor has been exploited to create a situation which gives England the excuse she has been seeking to annihilate us with a spurious appearance of justice on the pretext that she is helping France and maintaining the well-known Balance of Power in Europe, i.e. playing off all European States for her own benefit against us." On July 31 German Jewish assimilationist industrialist Walther Rathenau (1867-1922) pub. an article in the Berliner Tageblatt protesting the blind loyalty of Germany towards Austria: "Without the protection of this loyalty, Austria could not have ventured on the step she has taken", adding that the mere issue of Austrian official participation in the Serbian plot investigation "is no reason for an international war"; although he vigorously supports the war after it starts, the article is used after the war to accuse him of treason. On July 31 while calling for pan-European working class unity to stop war and mobilization, French pro-German pacifist Socialist leader (ed. of "L'Humanite") Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Leon Jaures (Léon Jaurès) (b. 1859) is assassinated in a Paris cafe by young aesthete French nationalist (member of the League of Young Friends of Alsace-Lorraine) Raoul Villain (1885-1936), and the French checks and balances are now kaput? On July 31 in Berlin, French ambassador Jules-Martin Cambon (1845-1935) and Belgian ambassador Baron Napoleon-Eugene Beyens (1855-1934) appeal to U.S. ambassador James W. Gerard, who writes to Theobald Bethmann-Hollweg: "Is there nothing that my country can do?"; there is no reply; Beyens ends up having to take receipt of the declaration of war by the Germans. Darling Danke Schoen? Diplomacy breaks down in one day, and the Guns of August begin? On Aug. 1 (Sat.) (12:30 a.m.) Germany learns that Russia won't suspend its mobilization; at 2:00 a.m. Germany telegraphs an evasive response to a British request for a pledge to respect Belgian neutrality, while at 1:12 a.m. France pledges to respect it; at 2:00 a.m. Russian ambassador in Paris (since 1910) Count Alexander Petrovich Izvolsky (Iswolsky) (1856-1919) wakes French Pres. Raymond Poincare to ask him how France would respond to a German attack on Russia, later remarking "C'est ma guerre" (This is my war"; at 3:45 a.m. Count Berchtold sends a veiled rejection to British requests for mediation; at 3:30 a.m. George V sends a personal telegram to "My dear Nicky" urging a peaceful solution, with the soundbyte: "I cannot help thinking that some misunderstanding has produced this deadlock. I am most anxious not to miss any possibility of avoiding the terrible calamity which at present threatens the whole world", asking him "to leave still open grounds for negotiation and peace"; at 7:30 a.m. German ambassador to Russia (since 1907) Count Jacob Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim Graf von Pourtales (Pourtalès) (1853-1928) warns Nicholas II that the German mobilization will almost certainly mean war; at 8:00 a.m. fearing a secret German mobilization, French Gen. Joseph Joffre orders a gen. mobilization by 4:00 p.m.; in the morning Gen. von Moltke convinces Nicholas II that Germany will declare war on Russia, but the noon German ultimatum deadline passes without incident; before noon the British cabinet meets, and is sharply split, deciding not to send troops to France after the neutrality faction threatens to bring down the govt.; at 11:00 a.m. the French foreign office prepares dispatches saying "The attitude of Germany proves that she wishes for war, and she wishes it for France"; at 11:14 a.m. Prince Lichnowsky mistakenly wires Berlin that Britain is offering to guarantee French neutrality; at noon French PM Rene Viviani responds to an inquiry from German ambassador (since 1910) Wilhelm Eduard Freiherr von Schoen (Schön) (1851-1933) that "France will have regard to her own interests" (danke shoen but shove it?); at noon German ambassador to Belgium Klaus von Below-Saleski assures Belgian ambassador Count Alfred de Bassompierre that "Belgium has nothing to fear from Germany", while in his safe is a secret ultimatum to be delivered to the Belgian govt. when word comes from Berlin?; at 1:00 p.m. Germany telegraphs its declaration of war to Count Pourtales in St. Petersburg; at 2:00 p.m. the tsar assures the kaiser that Russian mobilization need not lead to war, and asks Germany to pledge ditto; meanwhile the French cabinet decides to order mobilization by 4:00 p.m. if there is no improvement in the crisis; in the afternoon excited crowds mill about in Berlin waiting for the good news of warry war war; "the afternoon passed in almost insufferable anxiety"; in mid-afternoon chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg addresses the German federal council, with the soundbyte: "If the iron dice roll, may God help us", after which it unanimously approves war with Russia; in the afternoon Liberal MP (since 1908) Arthur Augustus William Harry Ponsonby (1871-1946) draws up a resolution of British neutrality, with strong support, but Sir Edward Grey rejects it, warning the German ambassador at 3:30 p.m. that a German invasion of Belgium will likely bring Britain into the war, causing Prince Lichnowsky to lose all hope of British neutrality; at 3:35 p.m. France orders mobilization, effective at noon on Aug. 2, with French PM Rene Viviani issuing the soundbyte: "At this hour there are no longer parties. There is only eternal France, pacific and resolute France"; in the late afternoon Lord Earl Grey tells French ambassador Paul Cambon not to expect help from Britain, causing Cambon to mutter "They're going to abandon us"; at 4:00 p.m. the kaiser meets with Chancellor Theobald Bethmann von Hollweg and Gen. Erich von Falkenhayn, and agrees to sign mobilization orders; at 5:01 p.m. Germany orders a gen. mobilization starting Aug. 2, causing the crowds in Berlin to sing the nat. hymn while officers drive around waving swords and handkerchiefs; at 5:00 p.m. Germany and France order mobilization almost simultaneously, although the French troops are kept at a discreet distance from the frontier; shortly after 5:00 p.m. the Kaiser receives a telegram from Prince Lichnowsky in London mistakenly telling him that Britain might be willing to remain neutral and to guarantee French neutrality as long as Germany doesn't attack France, pleasing the kaiser, but Gen. Helmuth von Moltke tells him that the attack on France is already in gear and mobilization can't be redirected towards Russia, and suffers a small stroke, his spirit broken; this doesn't stop the kaiser from ordering a halt, only to change his mind at 11:00 p.m. after deciding that the guarantees of neutrality are unreliable; at 6:00 p.m. Sergei Sazonov meets with British ambassador to Russia (1910-18) Sir George William Buchanan (1854-1924) and French ambassador Maurice Paleologue (Paléologue) (1859-1944) to discuss a response to George V's plea for peace; at 7:00 p.m. Germany accepts the erroneous offer; too late at ?, the tsar appeals to the kaiser to stop the war, seeking assurance that German mobilization doesn't definitely mean war, with the soundbyte: "Our long proved friendship must succeed, with God's help, in avoiding bloodshed", with the kaiser replying: "I yesterday pointed out to your government the way by which alone war may be avoided... I have... been obliged to mobilize my army. Immediate affirmative clear and unmistakable answer from your government is the only way to avoid endless misery. Until I have received this answer alas, I am unable to discuss the subject of your telegram. As a matter of fact I must request you to immediately order your troops on no account to commit the slightest act of trespassing over our frontiers"; at 7:10 p.m. Germany declares war on Russia, making public its suppressed mobilization order, and the big boys are all in it now; the German declaration of war is delivered to Sergei Sazonov in St. Petersburg by German ambassador Count Pourtales; Sazonov tells him "This is a criminal act of yours", to which Pourtales replies "We are defending our honor", getting the riposte "Your honor was not involved. You could have prevented the war by one word - you didn't want to", causing Pourtales to break down in tears; Sir Edward Grey telegraphs to the British ambassador in Berlin: "It might be possible to secure peace"; too bad, it arrives after the German declaration of war is delivered; a crowd in the Odeonsplatz in Munich celebrates the coming of war, and a photo by Heinrich Hoffmann shows Wowed Adolf Hitler in the crowd; too bad, it is first pub. on Mar. 12, 1932 in the Nazi Illustrierte Beobachter one day before the pres. election, and was faked by the Nazis to portray him as a patriot and man of the people?; another crowd in Paris shouts "A Berlin" (To Berlin), while soldiers marching to the railway stations are festooned with flowers and showered with kisses from women; Count Ignatiev, head of the Russian military mission in Paris telegraphs St. Petersburg that the French war ministry is "seriously suggesting that Russia invade Germany and advance on Berlin", causing Russian Gen. Golovin to comment that it "was equivalent to asking Russia to commit suicide, in the full sense of the word"; Russia changes the German name of St. Petersburg to the Russian equivalent Petrograd (changed to Leningrad in 1924, and back to St. Petersburg in 1991); Germany views itself as on a religious "messianic vision", while Russia see itself as "the" Christian state, with both viewing their enemy as controlled by Satan? The Germans take first blood in the West? On Aug. 1 (Sat.) (7:00 p.m.) the Germans, who had been keeping six brigades ready on the Belgian frontier for years in case they had to seize the Belgian fortress of Liege (which blocks the gap between the Limburg Appendix of Holland and the Ardennes Forest) break their treaty and send a division from Trier to enter little Luxembourg to seize the railways needed for the invasion of brave little bulging Belgium, causing the duchess to meet the advance guard and make formal protests in vain; after seizing the railway station at Troisvierges (Three Virgins) (last station in Luxembourg before passing into Belgium on its way to Gouvy), they are withdrawn a half hour later by order of the kaiser, who suffers from the brief illusion that Britain will ensure French neutrality, tearing up the railroad tracks and destroying telegraph cables; in the evening Russian diplomats report possible Austrian peace feelers, too late, Albert I of Belgium personally appeals to the kaiser, declaring that it will uphold its neutrality, and Franz Josef I assures Germany that Austria will primarily focus on Russia, although Austrian forces continue to deploy against Serbia; at 8:00 p.m. the German navy is mobilized, and British ships at Hamburg are seized; at 8:00 p.m. Winston Churchill orders the British Royal Navy to mobilize after approval by Herbert Henry Asquith but without cabinet approval; at 10:45 p.m. George V's personal plea for peace is belatedly delivered to "Nicky"; at 11:00 p.m. George V's denial of British or French neutrality arrives in Berlin, pissing-off the kaiser, who orders the German advance on Luxembourg and Belgium to resume, reoccupying Troisvierges at midnight; at 11:30 p.m. frightened Russian ambassador Alexander Izvolsky informs French pres. Raymond Poincare of Germany's declaration of war on Russia; Austrian army chief of staff Conrad von Hoetzendorf asks Italian army chief of staff Gen. Luigi Cadorna (1850-1928) when Italian forces will arrive in Galicia, and on Aug. 2 he reports that it will take a month to mobilize the Italian army, after which on Aug. 3 his request for mobilization is denied; the British navy seizes new paid-for (£4M) Turkish battleships Sultan Osman I and Reshadieh in the Tyne River shipyards, renaming them HMS Agincourt and HMS Erin, and keeping the money, pissing-off the Turkish govt. after Winston Churchill announces it on Aug. 3, becoming a reason to join the Central Powers. On Aug. 1 Switzerland and Netherlands mobilize; Denmark and Norway declare neutrality. The Guns of August are how big? On Aug. 1 at the start of WWI the belligerents together have 335 infantry divs. (5M-5.5M men), 50 cavalry divs. (500K men), and 500K men in their navies; Russia has the biggest army, with 114 infantry divs. (7M troops, with another 21M available for callup); France has 62 divs. (4M troops, incl. 2.5M in the home army and 1.5M in the territorial army); Britain has only six divs. available in its expeditionary force (the Old Contemptibles) to send to France, along with a regular army of 156K, a territorial army of 250K, and 500K native troops in the Indian Army (rising to 1.3M by the end of the war incl. 400K Muslims, all volunteers), along with volunteer soldiers in overseas dominions; Germany has 50 divs. (2M troops, with 1.5M more soon mobilized, giving 87 divs., of which 20 are sent to France and six to Russia at the war's start); the Germans are way better equipped and trained than anybody else, thanks to Prussian king Frederick II the Great; Austria-Hungary has 49 divs. (1M troops, with 2M more soon mobilized); Turkey has 20 divs. (750K troops); Bulgaria has 12 divs. (500K troops); Italy has 1.2M trained troops, 800K partly-trained troops, and 1M available for callup; Belgium has 120K troops at the start, later increased to 250K; Serbia has 350K troops to face the Austrians; the British Royal Navy has 24 battleships, the German navy 17, the French navy 6, and the Italian navy 3; the British Mediterranean Fleet is concentrated at Malta, while the German warships Goeben and Breslau (AKA the Mittelmeerdivision) rendezvous at Taranto, Italy; 20 German U-boats in two flotillas assemble off Heligoland in the North Sea, while the German High Seas Fleet concentrates in Jade Bay near Wilhelmshaven; the Law of Siege divides Germany into 24 army corps districts. On Aug. 1-4 the Swiss parliament grants its executive unlimited powers in the wake of massive mobilization, proclaims neutrality, and notifies Germany that attempts to invade will be met with armed force - you don't want to mess with us rugged Swiss mountain fighters, do ya? In early Aug. the U.S. asks the belligerent powers to abide by the 1856 Paris Maritime Declaration, which was never ratified but is important to the U.S. because of its privateers; the Central Powers agree on the condition that the Entente do ditto, and Britain agrees, after adding certain modifications that effectively negate the declaration incl. adding a large number of previously "free" items to the "conditional" contraband list, and changing the status of key raw materials incl. food to "absolute" contraband, allegedly because they could be used by the German army, even if en route to neutral ports; the real intent is to "starve the whole population — men, women, and children, old and young, wounded and sound — into submission" (Winston Churchill); Britain assumes practically complete control over all neutral trade (in violation of internat. laws?); the U.S. State Dept. prepares a strong protest, which is never sent, with Col. Edward M. House and British ambassador to the U.S. (1912-18) Sir Cecil Arthur Spring-Rice (1859-1918) instead politely requesting reconsideration, which the Brits nix. On Aug. 2 (2:30 a.m.) at a meeting of ministers, German war minister Gen. Erich von Falkenhayn utters the soundbyte: "The war is here and the question of a declaration of war on France is a matter of indifference"; navy minister Adm. Alfred von Tirpitz is shocked to learn that the Schlieffen Plan is the army's only option. On Aug. 2 (4:00 a.m.) the last "Nicky" telegram from the kaiser ("Willy") is received, with a belated peace offer. On Aug. 2 (3:00 a.m.) the French cabinet affirms that after completing mobilization France will declare war against Germany. On Aug. 2 (a.m.) Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg argues against declarations of war on France and Belgium with military leaders, pissing-off Gen. von Moltke, who denounces him to Da Kaiser. The first German action on the Eastern Front? On Aug. 2 (a.m.) German cruisers bombard Libau, Latvia near the East Prussian frontier; 11+ German patrols invade France near Belfort. The first action on the Western Front? On Aug. 2 (6:00 a.m.) German troops cross the Luxembourg frontier then cross the Moselle River at Remich and Wasserbillig, heading S to Luxembourg City; on Aug. 2 (a.m.) French ambassador Paul Cambon asks Britain to intervene on behalf of Luxembourg; by night the Germans led by Col. (later maj. gen.) Richard Karl von Tessmar (1853-1928) occupy Luxembourg City, capital of Luxembourg; on Aug. 30 Gen. Helmuth von Moltke establishes his HQ there. On Aug. 2 (7 a.m.) the Belgians answer the Germans, refusing their demands; on Aug. 2 (a.m.) Albert I appeals to George V of England for diplomatic intervention to safeguard Belgian integrity, while the Belgian govt. in Brussels informs Britain that it doesn't need foreign aid to repel the Germans and doesn't intend to appeal to other nations to affirm its neutrality; on Aug. 2 (a.m.) Belgian ambassador Napoleon-Eugene Beyens telegraphs Berlin, with the message: "Pessimistic rumors concerning us. I believe Belgian Army should be ready immediately for all eventualities"; meanwhile German ambassador Klaus von Below-Saleski tells the Belgian press: "Your neighbor’s roof may catch fire, but your own house will be safe." On Aug. 2 (a.m.) a German patrol crosses the French frontier (first time since 1871) at Cirey-sur-Vezouze, causing immediate dispatch of French troops toward it, with plans to defend the line from Luxembourg S to Switzerland along the Alsace-Lorraine border; at 9:59 a.m. French Cpl. Jules Andre Peugeot (b. 1893) is shot in Joncherey on the French border with German Alsace-Lorraine, dying at 10:37 a.m., becoming the first French soldier KIA in WWI. On Aug. 2 (11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.) after House of Lords opposition leader Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne (1845-1927) and House of Commons opposition leader Andrew Bonar Law (1858-1923) offer Herbert Asquith unconditional Conservative Party support for British intervention, and Liberal atty. gen. (Oct. 19, 1913-May 25, 1915) Sir John Allsebrook Simon (1873-1954) threatens to resign if Britain enters the war but is talked out of it by Asquith, the British Cabinet meets, and Asquith and Edward Grey force the neutralist faction to affirm support for British intervention if Germany attacks the N French coast or invades Belgium, making intervention unstoppable?; at 3:00 p.m. Grey informs French ambassador Paul Cambon that Britain will intervene against a German naval attack on the N French coast, but that troops can't be sent immediately. On Aug. 2 (2:00 p.m.) the French govt. gives Gen. Joseph Joffree full freedom of action, and he orders French forces to move to the German border - different faces everywhere? On Aug. 2 (3:00 p.m.) a solemn mass is held in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, in which Nicholas II vows to fight "so long as one of the enemy is on the soil of the Fatherland", causing the attendees to break into cheers along with the crowds outside; at 3:15 p.m. Nicholas II responds to George V's peace telegram, appealing for British intervention against Germany, supported by British ambassador Sir George William Buchanan. On Aug. 2 (4:00 p.m.) an antiwar demonstration is held in the rain in Trafalgar Square in London, led by Socialist Labour MP (1892-95, 1900-15) James Keir Hardie (1856-1915); too bad, the invasion of "Gallant Little Belgium" turns public opinion against Germany - step on the brakes, speed up the pace, take it to the maximum? On Aug. 2 France declares a state of siege (ratified Aug. 5) incl. martial law and military control of railways; French naval minister (Mar. 20-June 9, June 13-) Armand (Elzear) Gauthier (Armand Gauthier de l'Aude) (1850-1926) suffers a mental collapse, and resigns on Aug. 3. On Aug. 2 Canada offers to send troops to aid Britain. On Aug. 2 the Norwegian navy mobilizes. On Aug. 2 Bulgaria submits a draft alliance to Austria and Germany. On Aug. 2 Greece declares neutrality, pissing-off the kaiser, who wants an alliance. On Aug. 2 the Germans begin sieging Ft. Longwy, "the iron gate to Paris" 90 mi. NW of Nancy in Lorraine 19 mi. SW of the Luxembourg border, starting with small skirmishes, turning into relentless shelling on Aug. 21 (5:00 a.m.) (ends Aug. 26); on Aug. 10 a German demand to surrender is rejected by the cmdr. Lt. Col. Natalis Constant Darche (1856-1947). On Aug. 2 one day after Germany declares war on hated Orthodox Christian Russia, the Muslim Ottoman Empire agrees to enter the war on the side of the nominally non-Orthodox Christian Central Powers with the signing of the secret Ottoman-German Alliance in Constantinople by PM (Grand Vizier) Said Halim and war minister Enver Pasha; it is never signed by army CIC Sultan Mehmed V; German ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1912-Oct. 25, 1915) Baron Hans von Wangenheim (1859-1915) signs for Germany; the Russians hinted at an alliance, but only on condition of a protectorate on Ottoman lands; the Ottomans first asked Britain for an alliance, but were refused?; Djemal Pasha won't sign because he wants an alliance with France, but the rest nix him because France has been an ally of Russia against the Ottomans since 1828; since a majority of the cabinet favors neutrality their entry into the war is delayed until the Ottoman navy jumps the gun and bombards Russian ports on Oct. 29. On Aug. 2 Gen. Helmuth von Moltke is named German army CIC, and sends a memo to the German Foreign Office urging them to secure British neutrality by pledging postwar "moderation" in ruling a defeated France, to force Scandinavia, Turkey, Italy, Japan, and Iran to enter the war on Germany's side, and to forment revolt in India, Egypt, and South Africa. On Aug. 2 riots in Munich, Germany attack the French and Russian legations. On Aug. 2 a truce between German unions and employers is declared for the duration of the war. On Aug. 2 Britain orders full naval mobilization, with orders to catch two German warships en route to Turkey through the Mediterranean, the SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau, which arrive at the entrance to the Dardanelles on Aug. 10 (9:00 p.m.), which the Ottomans closed on Aug. 5, after which at the request of German Lt. Col. Freidrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein (1870-1948) they are allowed to enter by Turkish war minister Enver Pasha, with orders to fire upon British warships trying to follow them; the Ottoman govt. allows them into Constantinople, pissing-off Russia, and to maintain the illusion of neutrality buys them and changes their names to Javus Sultan Selim and Midilli, with German Rear Adm. Wilhelm Anton Souchon (1864-1946) flying the Turkish flag and becoming Ottoman navy CIC (until Sept. 1917) under the name Yavuz Sultan Selim; on Aug. 15 Turkey cancels its maritime agreement with Britain, causing the Royal Navy mission under Adm. Sir Arthur Henry Limpus (1863-1931) to limp out by Sept. 15; on Aug. 16 their bloodless arrival in Constantinople after eluding the British fleet is a giant propaganda V, contributing to the Ottoman entry in the war on the side of the Central Powers, with Winston Churchill uttering the soundbyte that the ships brought "more slaughter, more misery, and more ruin than has ever before been borne within the compass of a ship"; Britain gives France secret assurance that it will assist French ships in the North Sea and English Channel. Germany brands itself as the aggressor by beating up on Belgium? On Aug. 2 (7:00 p.m.) German ambassador Klaus von Below-Saleski hands Belgian foreign minister M. Davignon a 12-hour ultimatum to permit free passage of its troops, falsely claiming that France intends to violate Belgian neutrality, and on Aug. 3 (a.m.) they refuse and mobilize, with the soundbyte: "Were the Belgian government to accept the propositions conveyed to it, it would be sacrificing the nation's honour and betraying its engagements to Europe"; Albert I assumes direct control of the Belgian Army, declining a French offer of military aid, and ordering the demolition of the Meuse bridges and tunnels near Liege and the rail links from Luxembourg, with Belgian chief of staff Lt. Gen. Chevalier Albert de Selliers de Moranville (1884-1990) unsuccessfully attempting to block it; the work is done by Aug. 6. On Aug. 2 after mobilizing 500K men, Serbia begins invading Bosnia, seizing frontier towns on Aug. 2-4. On Aug. 3 after Theophile Delcasse is reinstated as French minister of affairs in the new Ministry of Nat. Defense and goes to work, the 1882 Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy dies when Italy's cabinet, led by PM (since Mar. 21) Antonio Salandra (1853-1931) (until June 18, 1916) (jockeying to join the Triple Entente) declares Italian neutrality, claiming that Austria's action against Serbia was offensive and was taken without consulting it under the terms of the Triple Alliance; Italy also begins demanding compensation to counterbalance the Austrian gains in the Balkans; Delcasse is forced to resign again over his mistakes regarding the Balkans. On Aug. 3 (7:00 a.m.) Belgium notifies German minister Klaus von Below-Saleski that it rejects the German demands and will resist with force. On Aug. 3 (8:00 a.m.) Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London opens a special display on the European crisis to a packed house. On Aug. 3 (8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.) the French and British ministers in Brussels send the first reports of Germany's ultimatum to Belgium. On Aug. 3 (a.m.) the British Cabinet holds a meeting at which four pacifists resign or state their intent, authorizing Churchill's mobilization of the navy; meanwhile enthusiastic crowds line the streets of London. On Aug. 3 German troops occupy Bendzin (Bedzin), Kalish (Kalisz), and Chenstokhov (Czestochowa); Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (1856-1929) (grandson of Tsar Nicholas I and first cousin once removed of Tsar Nicholas II) becomes Russian CIC (until Aug. 21, 1915), in charge of the largest army so far in history, even though he has never commanded an army before, proving a dud even though popular with the troops; after he gets in a catfight with Rasputin, the latter prophesies that Russia will be defeated unless the even less qualified emperor becomes CIC, so guess what? On Aug. 3 chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg tells the Prussian Cabinet in Berlin that Britain's entry into the war is now inevitable, to which Adm. Alfred von Tirpitz cries nuts, er, "All is then lost." On Aug. 3 Australia offers its navy plus 20K troops to fight for Britain. On Aug. 3 the Romanian crown council rejects Carol I's demand to ally with Germany, deciding on neutrality. On Aug. 3 SS San Wilfrido owned by the Eagle Oil Transport Co. in Britain strikes a mine and sinks off Cuxhaven in the North Sea, becoming the first merchant ship sunk in WWI. On Aug. 3 Sir Edward Grey officially expresses "sincere regret" over the seizure of the two Turkish battleships, but offers no compensation, causing the Ottomans to mobilize, with Enver Pasha as CIC, while declaring armed neutrality. On Aug. 3 (3:00 p.m.) Sir Edward Grey delivers a speech to a packed House of Commons, justifying his cabinet's hawkish policy, causing opposition to melt. I meant what I said and I said what I meant? On Aug. 3 (4:00 p.m.) the British Army is officially ordered to mobilize; at dusk British foreign secy. (Dec. 10, 1905-Dec. 10, 1916) Sir Edward Grey (1862-1933) utters the immortal soundbyte: "The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our time." On Aug. 3 (6:15 p.m.) Germany declares war on France, with cool German ambassador Wilhelm Schoen handing the papers to cool French PM Rene Viviani, and a few hours later France declares war on Germany. On Aug. 3 (eve.) Albert I receives the kaiser's reply to his personal appeal of Aug. 1, which says that Germany is making its demands "only with the most friendly intentions toward Belgium", to which Albert I replies "What does he take me for?"; Albert I assumes direct command of the army, and declines a French offer of military aid. On Aug. 3 (11 p.m.) Sir Edward Grey sends the German govt. a British Ultimatum on Belgium, which German-born British ambassador to Germany (1908-14) Sir William Edward Goschen (1847-1920) delivers personally, demanding that Belgian neutrality be respected and giving them 24 hours to reply, which Germany foreign secy. Gottlieb von Jagow (1843-1935) answers in the negative in person with the observation that German troops are already across the frontier and that Germany had to do it to prevent France from attacking it through Belgium first, even though France has already promised to respect Belgian neutrality and if it breaks its word Britain would likely turn against it; Goschen then demands to speak to German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, who lectures him for 20 min. and tells him to ignore the 1839 Treaty of London between Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia (pledging to maintain Belgian neutrality) as a mere "scrap of paper" and stay out of the war, causing Goschen to retreat with his tail between his legs. On Aug. 4 (6:00 a.m.) Germany declares war on Belgium; at 8:00 a.m. German troops invade Belgium, reaching the Meuse River on both sides of Liege by 8:00 a.m., then crossing at Vise by mid-afternoon; the German Fourth Army enters the S tip of Belgium from Luxembourg; at 9:00 a.m. the Belgian Parliament votes unanimously to resist the German invasion, to wild popular acclaim; meanwhile unaware of the invasion, Sir Edward Grey demands immediate assurance that Germany won't force its demands on Belgium; at 12:00 p.m. Albert I calls on Britain and France for aid; at 12:00 p.m. speaking from the throne, Kaiser Wilhelm II tells the Reichstag: "We draw the sword with a clean conscience and with clean hands"; at 2:00 p.m. Sir Edward Grey sends an ultimatum to the British embassy in Berlin demanding immediate withdrawal and giving them until midnight to halt the invasion; at 3:00 p.m. German chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg tells the cheering Reichstag that "Necessity knows no law", causing them to approve war funding; too bad, the Belgian army is concentrated behind the Gete River, too far away to support the forts of Liege; in the afternoon German troops enter the Belgian town of Arlon, while German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg tells the Reichstag that military necessity compels Germany to commit a wrong against Belgium for which reparations will later be made. On Aug. 4 (6:00 a.m.) German cruisers Goeben and Breslau AKA the Mittelmeerdivision shell Bone and Philippeville in Algeria as British warships lamely attempt to shadow them. On Aug. 4 (8:30 a.m.) the British Home Fleet leaves Scapa Flow to sweep for German raiders. On Aug. 4 (3:00 p.m.) French PM Rene Viviani addresses a cheering Parliament, telling them: "We are without reproach - we are without fear", causing them to approve war funding as French troops march through Paris amid cheering crowds. On Aug. 4 (eve.) French ambassador Paul Cambon urgently requests Sir Edward Grey to send troops; meanwhile Grey informs Austrian ambassador Count Albert von Mensdorff that Britain is still maintaining relations with Austria. On Aug. 4 as millions of soldiers are on the move throughout Europe, the first meeting of the World Alliance for Promoting Internat. Friendship Through the Churches is held in Konstanz in S Germany, with churchmen from Britain, France, and Germany attending, hoping to stop the war; too bad, within hours they give up and hurry home; the org. is disbanded in 1947. On Aug. 4 as France urgently calls for Britain to send troops, while British army reserves and territorial units are mobilized, and Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850-1916) is offered to head the War Ministry as secy. of state for war, calling off a trip to Egypt, five French armies begin an offensive in the region between Mezieres and the Belfort Gap (between the Vosges and Jura Mts. near the Franco-Swiss-German border of Alsace-Lorraine), hoping for a breakthrough on either side of Metz; in the evening Belgian King Albert I gives permission for both French and British forces to cross the Belgian frontier to assist the Belgian army in repelling the German invaders. On Aug. 4 the Germans occupy Trieux near Briey in Lorraine. On Aug. 4 German Gen. von Moltke rejects a proposal by the German navy to intercept British forces as they cross the English Channel, preferring to "settle" on land, with the soundbyte: "The more English, the better." On Aug. 4 U.S. Pres. Wilson issues a Proclamation of Neutrality - when in doubt do a George Washington? On Aug. 4 Romania, Switzerland, and Brazil declare neutrality, while Sweden mobilizes. On Aug. 4 Sir Edward Grey tells the British Parliament that there is still no British "commitment" to send troops to Europe; meanwhile after the German admirals tell German chief of staff von Moltke that they are ready to stop any British troop crossing to France or Belgium, he waves them off, with the soundbyte: "This is not necessary, and it will even be of advantage if the Armies of the West can settle with the 160,000 English at the same time as the French and Belgians." On Aug. 4 after he refuses to make a graceful exit until war begins, aging Count Laszlo Szogyeny is replaced by Prince Gottfried (Maximilian Maria) von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst (Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingfürst, Ratibor und Corvey) (1867-1932) as Austrian ambassador in Berlin (until Nov. 11, 1918). On Aug. 4 (11:00 p.m.) via British PM Herbert Asquith Britain declares war on Germany, causing a crowd to gather in Trafalgar Square in London until 12 midnight, when the news is officially announced, causing a great cheer; shortly after 11:00 p.m. a mob attacks and stones the British embassy in Berlin; the official telegram to Berlin is sent at 11:20 p.m.; despite receiving a month's wages in advance, the three German embassy servants refuse to help Berlin ambassasor Horace Rumbold and his staff with their trunks, taking off their uniforms and spitting and trampling on them, after which next morning an emissary of the Kaiser apologizes for it all, explaining how deeply Germans "felt the action of England in ranging herself against Germany and forgetting how we had fought shoulder to shoulder at Waterloo", adding that the Kaiser is divesting himself of his titles of British field marshal and admiral of the fleet; Sir Edward Grey immediately flip-flops and begins spewing existential fear of Germany, with the soundbyte: "The issue for us is that, if Germany wins, she will dominate France; the independence of Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and perhaps of Norway and Sweden, will be a mere shadow; their separate existence as nations will be a fiction; all their harbours will be at Germany's disposal; she will dominate the whole of Western Europe, and this will make our position quite impossible. We could not exist as a first class State under such circumstances"; Fleet Adm. Sir John Arbuthnot "Jackie" "Jacky" Fisher (1841-1920) (#2 British navy man after Adm. Horatio Nelson) becomes British first sea lord; Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French (1852-1925) becomes CIC of the British armies on the Western Front; Adm. Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe (1859-1935) becomes cmdr. of the British Grand Fleet (until Nov. 29, 1916); "The only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon" (Winston Churchill); the British are divided in naval strategy by the Blue Water School of Jackie Fisher, which is against invasions and scoffs at the army, the Ultramarine School, which wants only to destroy the enemy's fleet, and the Blue Funk (Bolt from the Blue) School of naval strategist Sir Julian Stafford Corbett (1854-1922), which wants only to keep sea routes open. The Huns are at the gates again in Belgium and France? On Aug. 4 (night) the little Belgian village of Vise (Visé) is burned and its inhabitants shot because of an alleged shot fired on the German invaders by franc-tireurs (free-shooters or snipers), which the Germans claim are civilians, while the Belgians claim they're soldiers or civil guardsmen (gendarmes); Auguste Bouko (b. 1863) and Jean-Pierre Thill (b. 1883) become the first Belgians KIA in WWI; the Fifth Hague Convention of 1907 forbids Germany from moving troops across neutral Belgium, and states that resistance to the movements can't be regarded as a hostile act; after the house of Gen. Erich Ludendorff is fired on, the Belgium town of Herve (Hervé) is burned, with all but 19 of 500 (300?) houses destroyed, incl. the church, town hall, and 1830 flag of honor, and 40 civilians killed; "The beginning of the end of an age of comfort, confidence, and gentle and seemly behaviour in Europe" (H.G. Wells); on Aug. 5 British ambassador Baron von Stumm tells U.S. ambassador Hugh Gibson in Brussels: "Oh, the poor fools! Why don't they get out of the way of the steamroller? We don't want to hurt them, but if they stand in our way they will be ground into the dirt", after which the Belgian govt. forbids local resistance to keep them from reprisals. On Aug. 4 (night) the Germans begin the Battle of Liege (Liège) (ends Aug. 16), sieging the 12 forts garrisoned by 35K troops, with German Prussian gen. Albert Theodor Otto von Emmich (1848-1915) starting on Aug. 5 (early a.m.) by demanding them to surrender, which Belgian gen. Gerard Mathieu Leman (1851-1920) says nuts, er, refuses; Leman used 18K workers since Jan. to improve the fortifications, pooh-poohing those who said it compromises Belgium's neutrality with the reply that if war breaks out, he will be thanked, and if it doesn't, "they could take away his general's stars"; on Aug. 5-6 the German offense collapses with heavy losses until on Aug. 6 Maj. Gen. Erich Ludendorff takes charge of a 1.5K-man infantry brigade upon the death of a gen., reverses the retreat, then on Aug. 7 (a.m.) enters the part of Liege E of the Meuse River personally with his brigade and forces the central fort to surrender, causing the Belgians to withdraw to the W bank; on Aug. 7 a siege train carrying heavy artillery incl. the Big Bertha (42 cm shells) arrives, turning the tide in the Germans' favor; on Aug. 8 (4:00 p.m.) the NE fort of Fort de Barchon surrenders after intense shelling, and Germany prematurely announces that the entire Liege complex has been captured; although the surrounding forts fight on until Aug. 15, the Germans force Belgian troops back to Brussels and Antwerp; the 2-week siege gives the French and British time to prepare; Ludendorff wins a Pour le Merite. On Aug. 5 (6:00 a.m.) Gen. Joseph Joffre arrives at Gen. HQ in Vitry-le-Francois, Champagne at the W end of the Marne-Rhine Canal; Gen. Charles Lanrezac requests permission to extend the Fifth Army left flank to counter German forces in Belgium. On Aug. 5 Montenegro declares war on Austria-Hungary; Nicholas I of Montenegro officially allies with Russia and Serbia against the Central Powers, but unofficially his fears that Allied victory would bring territorial reduction and the end of his dynasty lead him to intrigue with Austria; meanwhile Serb nationalists, who want union with Serbia disavow knowledge of his actions - send in Cinnamon and Rollin Hand? On Aug. 5 after the kaiser divests himself of his honorary British titles of field marshal and adm., Germany reinstitutes the Iron Cross medal. On Aug. 5 a German minelaying vessel is caught off the mouth of the Thames River by British cruiser HMS Amphion and sunk, becoming "the first time that the British and Germans had ever met in conflict under their own national flags upon land or water" (H.G. Wells). On Aug. 5 (4:00 p.m.) the British War Council meets, with Lord Kitchener predicting a long war requiring millions of troops, withholding two of six divs. intended for the BEF, and proposing that it concentrate further back at Amiens, rejecting a proposal by Gen. Sir John Denton Pinkstone French (1852-1925) to send it to Antwerp. On Aug. 5 (night) Germany cavalry reaches Tongres and Namur, and clashes with Belgian cavalry in Plaineveaux S of Liege. On Aug. 5 the German Solinger Tageblatt pub. an article calling for a "holy war", with the soundbyte: "Germany can and is not allowed to lose... If she loses so, too, does the world lose its light, its home of justice; the same day the Berliner Tageblatt pub. the soundbyte: "And even if a catastrophe were to befall us such as no one dares to imagine, the moral victory of this week could never be eradicated." On Aug. 6 (early a.m.) Gen. Ludendorff leads a brigade that penetrates the ring of forts at Liege, reaching Liege city in the morning after fierce fighting at Herstal on the Meuse River; after a German assassination attempt fails, Gen. Leman withdraws the Belgian Third Div. from Liege city, which is bombed by a zeppelin (first aerial attack) that gets damaged and crashes near Bonn; German artillery shell it all night; meanwhile three French cavalry divs. under Gen. Jean-Francois Andre (André) Sordet (1852-1923) enter Belgium, and Albert I vetoes a proposed counteroffensive and rejects advice from Gen. Joseph Joffre to retreat to Namur to link with French forces; on Aug. 7 (a.m.) the Germans occupy Liege city, and Ludendorff personally seizes the citadel, causing France to award the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor to Liege later that day. On Aug. 6 always-happy-to-please Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. On Aug. 6 Serbia declares war on Germany. On Aug. 6 a small force of Polish riflemen and cavalrymen (carrying their saddles on their heads in hopes of capturing a horse) from Galicia cross the Russian frontier towards Kielce, but are chased back by a Russian patrol. On Aug. 6 British light cruiser HMS Amphion strikes a German mine and sinks, killing all 150 aboard, incl. 18 German POWs captured from the minelayer Konigin Luise that laid the mine, becoming the first British casualties of WWI. On Aug. 6 the Austrian govt. donates money to the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine, encouraging separatists; they later do ditto to Armenian and Georgian separatists. On Aug. 6 a British White Paper containing diplomatic correspondence from July 22-Aug. 4 is given to the British House of Commons to inform them of recent events and apply for supplies; the German White Paper presented to the Reichstag on Aug. 4 is far less complete, omitting negotiations with the British govt.; the British White Paper is pub., becoming a bestseller (1M copies). On Aug. 6 (eve.) after the British Cabinet balks at sending troops to Europe for fear of a homeland attack, Lord Kitchener shocks the War Council by suggesting that the war might be a long one, after which they agree to send four of their six prof. army divs. to Europe starting on Aug. 9; on Aug. 7 Lord Kitchener calls for 100K volunteers, causing a rush, with 1.5K a day signing up; a request by Irish nationalist leader John Edward Redmond (1856-1918) to form an Irish army to send to Europe is denied by Lord Kitchener, causing BEF gen. Hubert Gough to later write "Kitchener's refusal added a bloody page to Irish history"; this doesn't stop 160K Irishmen from volunteering for the British army, of which 49K are killed; meanwhile anti-war sentiment in Britain is dissolving, with Manchester Guardian ed. (1872-1929) Charles Prestwich Scott (1846-1932) flip-flopping on Aug. 7, with the soundbyte: "I am strongly of opinion that the war ought not to have taken place and that we ought not to have become parties to it, but once in it, the whole future of our nation is at stake and we have no choice but to do the utmost we can to secure success." By Oct. 6 550 German troop trains are crossing the Rhine River daily. On Aug. 7 (5:00 a.m.) the Battle of Mulhouse (Mülhausen) begins, becoming the first attack on Germany by France in WWI, with the French VII Corps crossing the frontier and seizing the town of Altkirch with a bayonet charge, intending to recapture Alsace with a flank attack on the Germans, only to be stopped by overwary Alsace-born Gen. Louis Bonneau, waiting until Aug. 6 to take Mulhouse after the Germans leave, which doesn't stop wild celebrations in France; on Aug. 8 (3:00 p.m.) Bonneau leads a 2-hour victory parade in Mulhouse, issuing the proclamation: "Children of Alsace, after 44 years of painful waiting, French soldiers once more tread the soil of your noble land. They are the first laborers in a great work of revenge"; too bad, on Aug. 9 (a.m.) reserves of the German Seventh Army under Gen. Josias von Heeringen (1850-1926) (who all along wanted France to waste themselves in Alsace so that the main German invasion of France could succeed) arrive from Strasbourg and launch a counterattack in Cernay, causing chicken Bonneau to begin a slow withdrawal towards Belfort on Aug. 10 (7:00 a.m.), pissing-off Gen. Joseph Joffre, who on Aug. 11 relieves him of command of French VII Corps, adds four more divs. to the Army of Alsace, and replaces him as French army CIC with Gen. Paul Marie Cesar Gerald Pau (1848-1932), who plans an attack to liberate Lorraine; too bad, they prove too slow, and the German success at Liege causes the French to prepare for a German sweep through Belgium instead. On Aug. 7 after warning that a massive German offensive over the Meuse River by six corps is imminent, pissing-off Gen. Joseph Joffre, who accuses him of defeatism, Maubeuge fortress cmdr. Gen. Joseph Anthelme Fournier (1854-1928) is sacked, and replaced by Gen. George-Raymond Desaleux (1851-1937), known for developing the boat-tailed Shell D in 1898 propelled by Poudre B for the Langlois field gun. On Aug. 7 advance parties of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) secretly land in France to prepare for the arrival of the main force. On Aug. 7 the Germans execute 27 civilians and destroy 10 homes in Herstal. On Aug. 7 the British govt. begins placing "Your King and Country Need You!" posters on hundreds of public platforms. On Aug. 7 after returning from Cambridge U., gung-ho Austrian Jewish philosopher Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (1889-1951) joins the Austrian army despite a double hernia, ending up in a military workshop in Galicia then outsmarting his superiors to work closer to the front line in a combat position. On Aug. 8 Britain wastes no time in passing the Defence of the Realm Act, giving the govt. wide-ranging powers, allowing it to institute censorship, imprison people without trial, commandeer economic resources for the war effort, and other authoritarian measures; "No person shall by word of mouth or in writing spread reports likely to cause disaffection or alarm among any of His Majesty's forces or among the civilian population"; trivial activities are prohibited incl. flying kites, starting bonfires, buying binoculars, feeding bread to wild animals, or discussing military matters; alcoholic beverages are watered down and served on restricted hours of noon-3 p.m. and 6:30-9:30 p.m., but not on public transports; the afternoon gap in pub opening hours is not lifted until 1988. On Aug. 8 King Albert I of Belgium warns French foreign minister Philippe Berthelot (1866-1934) that the main German blow is coming through Flanders, forcing the Belgian army to withdraw to Antwerp via the Dyle River; he is ignored; meanwhile French Fifth Army chief of staff Alexis Roger Hely (Hély) d'Oissel (1859-1937) visits Gen. Joseph Joffre to voice his concerns of a German offensive through Belgium, and is ignored; meanwhile Joffre issues Order No. 1, ordering his right wing to attack into Lorraine, followed by his center and left driving toward Thionville. On Aug. 8 the British begin hostilities in German East Africa, bombarding the coastal towns of Bagamoyo and Dar-es-Salaam. On Aug. 8 the Austrian police arrest suspected Russian spy Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin (1870-1924) in Neumarkt (Nowy Targ) in Galicia, S Poland 40 mi. from the Russian border, where he has been living in exile for years; after Austrian Social Dem. leader Victor Adler (1852-1918) intervenes, assuring them that he will conduct an agitprop campaign against the tsarist regime and Allies, he is released and allowed to travel to neutral Switzerland. On Aug. 8 German Jewish industrialist Walter Rathenau visits Berlin to volunteer his services, and is appointed head of the new War Raw Materials Dept., meeting hostility from anti-Semitic army cmdrs. On Aug. 9 Montenegro declares war on Germany. On Aug. 9 U.S. diplomats refuse to forward a German peace feeler to Belgium. On Aug. 9 French Gen. Joseph Joffre urges the French Fifth Army to advance over the Semois River into the Ardennes, but its cmdr. Gen. Charles Lanrezac (1852-1925) objects, fearing a German advance through Belgium. On Aug. 9 German sub U-15 is rammed by British light cruiser HMS Birmingham and sinks, becoming the first U-boat (Unterseeboot) of 199 (out of 300) sunk by the enemy during the war, 40 by mines. On Aug. 9-10 the Germans counterattack at Cernay, threatening Mulhouse. On Aug. 9-14 the French army concentrates its forces toward the frontier. On Aug. 9-26 the Togoland Campaign sees the German colony of Togoland surrender to an Anglo-French force; it is divided between the two countries by Dec. 27, 1916. On Aug. 10 Kaiser Wilhelm II meets with U.S. ambassador James Watson Gerard (1867-1951), who hands him a secret telegram addressed to Pres. Wilson, containing the soundbyte that Belgian neutrality "had to be violated by Germany on strategical grounds"; he tries to cheer him up by saying that German troops will soon enter Paris, to which Gerard replies: "The British change the whole situation. An obstinate nation, they will keep up the war. It cannot end soon." On Aug. 10 French minister Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue (1861-1937) uses false stories of Autrian troop movements toward France to break relations with Austria. On Aug. 10 the French defeat a German brigade at Mangiennes in Lorraine, France. On Aug. 10 German soldier ? Uhlan is found on the main road, causing the Germans to round up and shoot 11 male villagers in Linsmeau, Belgium and burn eight homes. On Aug. 10 French Gen. HQ confirms that the main German offensive won't come through Belgium, and Gen. Joseph Joffre forms the Army of Alsace under Gen. Paul Pau on the French far right flank. On Aug. 10 the first British Expeditionary Force train reaches Southampton, England. On Aug. 10-12 after a herculean effort at the Krupp Works at Essen, two super-heavy siege mortars are transported to Liege. On Aug. 11 the French retreat from the Haute Alsace (plains) to the Franco-German border. On Aug. 11 the Germans attempt an invasion of Belgium with six divs., clashing with the Belgians at Tirlemont, St. Trond (Sint-Truiden), and Diest, causing the French to form defensive positions on a line from Montmedy NW along the Meuse River to Mezieres, then N to Dinant, then W to Charleroi; the British line up to the left N of Mons; the French Second Army lines up along the Alsace-Lorraine border, with its right wing in upper Alsace near Mulhouse and its left wing near Nancy; Belgian King Albert I rejects a personal request from French Pres. Raymond Poincare to link Belgian forces with the French, preferring to defend Antwerp; British Gen. Sir John French is informed that the Germans will be using reserves as well as regulars in combat, while British Gen. Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928) informs George V that he has "grave doubts" about the his superior French's competence. On Aug. 11 (p.m.) Fort d'Evegnee E of Liege falls. On Aug. 11 (p.m.) French Fifth Army cmdr. Gen. Charles Lanrezac requests permission to reinforce the Givet-Dinant area on the Meuse River to protect his left; on Aug. 12 Gen. Joseph Joffre permits him to extend his forces to the Sambre River with his left corps in Dinant (which repels German probes), but refuses him to shift to the W. On Aug. 11 the Vandervelde Telegram is sent to the Russian Duma by new Belgian Socialist state minister (chmn. of the Internat. Socialist Bureau) Emile Vandervelde (1866-1938) (who was called into St. Petersburg in June to reconcile Socialist factions, causing him to be highly respected), urging the Socialist deputies to support the war, and it is pub. in the press and copies distributed in factories, pissing-off Vladimir Lenin in Switzerland, who smuggles in his anti-war Theses of the War. On Aug. 11 Estonian-born liberal Protestant theologian-historian Prof. Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930) (head of the royal library) gives a speech in Berlin's town hall warning of the threat to Western civilization from "the civilization of the Horde that is gathered and kept together by despots, the Mongolian Muscovite civilization. This civilization could not endure the light of the eighteenth century, still less the light of the nineteenth century, and now in the twentieth century it breaks loose and threatens us. This unorganized Asiatic mass, like the desert with its sands, wants to gather up our fields of grain." On Aug. 12 (a.m.) British Lt. Col. Charles a (à) Court Repington (1858-1925) pub. an article in the London Times giving a complete detailed map of the German deployment incl. their drive through Belgium. On Aug. 12 the Battle of the Silver Helmets (Haelen) sees 4K German cavalry and 2K infantry led by Gen. Johannes Georg von der Marwitz (1856-1929) lose to 2.4K Belgian cavalry and 450 bicycle riflemen led by Gen. Leon Alphonse Ernest Bruno De Witte (1857-1933), with 150 Germans KIA, 600 wounded, and 200-300 taken POW vs. 160 Belgians KIA and 320 wounded; after repeated charges by cavalry armed with sabers are shot down, the Germans ditch cavalry permanently. On Aug. 12 German cavalry probe the main Belgian line on the Gete River. On Aug. 12 the French occupy Saales in Alsace. On Aug. 12 the German First Army under Gen. Alexander Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck (1846-1934) advances from its assembly areas in Julich and Krefeld. On Aug. 12 Britain establishes a Naval Blockade of Germany to prevent cargo ships from reaching German North Sea ports, and France establishes another blockade to cutoff trade to Austria's Adriatic ports; the blockade throws Germany into starvation mode, causing 141 deaths a day in 1915 (88,232), 331 in 1916 (121,114), 712 in 1917 (259K), and 802 in 1918 (293,760), for a total of 762,106. On Aug. 12 after declaring that small contingents of Austrian troops stationed on the Franco-German frontier are a "direct menace to France", Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary; Austrian London ambassador Count Albert von Mensdorff (1861-1945), a cousin and close friend of George V is provided with a British destroyer to ferry him and 200 Austrians across the English Channel, pissing-off the English pop.; meanwhile on Aug. 12 Austria begins a discussion with Polish patriots in regard to annexing the Russian provinces of Poland incl. Warsaw, and on Aug. 16 Austria permits Polish leader Josef (Jozef) Pilsudski (1867-1935) to set up a Supreme Nat. Committee in Cracow on Austrian soil, after which he organizes a 10K-man Polish Legion and leads it against Russia, hoping to one day march arm-in-arm with the Austrians into Warsaw; too bad, the Russians and Allies form Polish brigades, and by the end of the war 2M Poles serve on both sides, losing 450K killed. On Aug. 12 German senior Lt. Reinhold Jahnow is KIA in an air crash in Malmedy, N France; French Sgt. Andre Bridou crashes while returning to base; English 2nd Lt. Robin Reginald Skene (b. 1891) and his mechanic Raymond Keith Barlow are KIA in their 2-seater plane in a crash in Netheravon near Dover en route to France, all becoming the first British, French, and German airmen lost in WWI. On Aug. 12 (midnight) all Euro powers except Italy are at war with each other; Italy holds out until May 23, 1915. On Aug. 12-13 180K Austrians under Bosnian gov. Gen. Oskar Potiorek (1853-1933) (the same genius who had botched security during Franz Ferdinand's Sarajevo visit) invade Serbia, crossing the Drina River going E to punish Serbia for the dead archduke, capturing the town of Sabac on the Serbian side of the Sava River, then advancing along the Jadar Valley, committing atrocities in Sabac and Lesnica before meeting up with 180K Serbians under Field Marshal (voivode) Radomir Putnik (1847-1917), who defy their would-be badass papa and win the Battle of the Jadar River (Mt. Cer) on Aug. 16-19, becoming the first V for the Entente, throwing the Austrians back over the Sava River into Austria, which the Austrian govt. attempts to coverup by claiming that they are being withdrawn to fight Russia because the Serbian invasion is a "punitive expedition" only, despite 6K Austrians killed, 30K wounded, and 4K taken POW vs. 3K Serbians killed and 15K wounded; the Serbs gain a foothold on the Sava River, invading Bosnia until they are thrown back on Oct. 25, with atrocities on both sides until the archduke matter fades into the bloody mud - no avenging knight on a white steed? On Aug. 12-21 after the Germans alter the Schlieffen Plan and the German navy looks the other way so that Gen. von Moltke can kick their butts along with the French, the 120K-man British Expeditionary Force (BEF) under Gen. Sir John Denton Pinkstone French (1852-1925) (known for accurate hi-speed rifle fire), protected by 19 battleships lands in Havre, France, and moves to join the French advancing into Belgium, all without the German high command realizing it?; British I Corps is commanded by Gen. Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928); British II Corps is commanded by Lt. Gen. Sir James Moncrieff Grierson (1859-1914), former chief of staff for Gen. Sir John French; meanwhile on Aug. 12 (3:00-6:00 p.m.) the British War Council meets, with Lord Kitchener (using the Repington article pub. that morning in the Times?) predicting a major German drive through Belgium, but on PM Herbert Henry Asquith's orders sending the BEF to Maubeuge as planned instead of to a more strategic location in Amiens; Kitchener orders Gen. John French not to consider himself under the command of the French army; meanwhile Queen Wilhelmina works vigorously to keep the Netherlands neutral. On Aug. 13 the German advance from Alsace is halted at Belfort. On Aug. 13 the Germans occupy Lagarde, France. On Aug. 13 Fort de Pontisse at Liege surrenders, followed by Fort de Chaudfontaine and Fort d'Embourg. On Aug. 13 British naval cmdr. Edmund L. Rhoades sails his 1-gun gunboat HMS Gwendolen across Lake Nyasa in C Africa from the British port of Nkata Bay to the German port of Sphinxhaven (Liuli) 30 mi. away, and captures German gunboat Hermann von Wissman while beached for repairs, whose cmdr. Capt. Berndt (his close friend) didn't know there was a war on; the London Times carries the headline "Naval Victory on Lake Nyasa". On Aug. 13 after being seen by a spotter plane, French Fifth Army troops are pinned-down by heavy German artillery fire near Dinant; on Aug. 15 as heavy fighting rages between French troops and German cavalry, French platoon cmdr. ("the Great Asparagus") Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle (1890-1970) is wounded in the knee while trying to capture a bridge, after which his sgt. falls on top of him dead, and after dragging himself back he ends up in a hospital in Paris. On Aug. 13 German cavalry erroneously reports that the BEF is landing in Belgian ports, confusing German HQ. On Aug. 13 French war minister (since June 13) Adolphe Marie Messimy (1869-1935) orders work on the defenses of Paris to be completed within three weeks; after Plan 17 fizzles, he is blamed and forced to resign on Aug. 26. On Aug. 13 Daily Mail correspondent George Curnock observes the Irish Connaught Rangers Regiment singing the 1912 song It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary by John "Jack" Judge (1872-1938) as they march through Boulogne, reporting it on Aug. 18, causing it to spread across the British army; in Nov. well-known tenor John McCormack makes a recording which makes it an internat. hit. On Aug. 14 (09:45 a.m.) Fort de Fleron (Fléron) followed by Fort de Liers surrender to the Germans, becoming the last forts located E and N of Liege to surrender. On Aug. 14 Gen. Sir John French and his British HQ staff arrive in France; the BEF begins marching E from Amiens amid cheering by French citizens. On Aug. 14 Gen. Joseph Simon Gallieni (1849-1916) and Gen. Charles Lanrezac (1852-1925) visit French Gen. HQ, and fail to convince Gen. Joseph Joffre that the Germans are planning a massive offensive through Belgium; on Aug. 15 (9:00 a.m.) Joffre folds and allows Lanrezac to face the French Fifth Army northwards just in case; at 3:30 p.m. he issues Order No. 10, ordering Lanrezac to move into the Sambre-Meuse angle, but orders the French Fourth Army under Gen. Fernand Louis Armand Marie de Langle de Cary (1849-1927) to attack into the Ardennes Forest. The Germans are led by a bull and a chicken? On Aug. 14 after the German First Army under Gen. Alexander Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck (1846-1935) crosses the Rhine and takes Aachen to avoid violating Belgian neutrality, then wheels SW below Brussels in an attempt to make a line from Amiens through La Fere, Rethel, and Thionville to keep the Belgian army away from Antwerp, causing Belgian civilians to retreat in farm wagons hillbilly style with grandma perched on top, the French on Aug. 16 bring everything they've got and cross into Alsace-Lorraine under their pre-war Plan 17 (XVII), losing at St. Marie aux Mines in Alsace, but capturing the border towns of Thann, Gebwieler, and Altkirch, along with the summit of 3.3K-ft. Mount Donon, and colliding with Germany (which begins a controlled retreat to sucker the French in) at the Battle of the Frontiers (ends Aug. 25) in Alsace-Lorraine (which the French claim was "wrenched" from France in the 1870 war), with two French armies, the French First Army under Gen. Auguste Yvon Edmond Dubail (1851-1934), and the French Second Army under Gen. Noel Marie Joseph Edouard, Vicomte de Curieres (Curiè) de Castelnau (1851-1944) ("the Fighting Friar") on the right moving E towards fortified Metz; meanwhile the French Third, Fourth, and Fifth Armies move towards Maubeuge; on Aug. 14-25 the Battle of Lorraine, a French offensive through Lorraine and Alsace, part of the Battle of the Frontiers under Plan 17 sees 590K men of the French I and II Armies get stopped and pushed back to their starting point by 345K men of the German VI and VII Armies under Crown Prince Rupprecht (Rupert) of Bavaria (1869-1955); too bad, the French military philosophy of Attaque a Outrance (Attack to Excess) allows the Germans to withdraw to a line outside Mulhouse where they can blast them on Aug. 19 with artillery and machine guns, causing a retreat that takes 10 days to halt, and the offensive bogs down in shell holes and dead Frogs. On Aug. 14 the Germans penetrate within 50 mi. of Warsaw, driving the Russians before them. On Aug. 15 (7:30 a.m.) Fort de Boncelles and Fort de Lantin (12:30 p.m.) in Liege surrender to the Germans; at 5:40 p.m. Fort de Loncin is blown up, and Gen. Gerard Mathieu Leman (1851-1920) is captured unconscious in the ruins, then held as a POW throughout the war, becoming a hero. On Aug. 15 the British Royal Flying Corps flies across the English Channel to France, becoming the world's first organized air force to fly to a war overseas. On Aug. 15 the Germans cross the Meuse River in strength below Huy, causing Belgian forces to evacuate; more Germans occupy Neufchateau in the Ardennes Forest; meanwhile French Gen. HQ issues Order No. 6, ordering the French left to prepare to advance into the Ardennes Forest by Aug. 15. On Aug. 15 the French occupy Guebwiller 12 mi. NW of Mulhouse at the foot of the Vosges Mts. in Alsace. On Aug. 15 English Red Cross nurse in Brussels, Belgium Edith Louisa Cavell (1865-1915) pub. a letter in the London Times seeking subscriptions from the public to help her hospital staffed with English nurses treat wounded soldiers. On Aug. 16 the German high command incl. the Kaiser and Gen. von Moltke take a special train to their new HQ in Koblenz (Coblenz) at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle Rivers. On Aug. 16 (5:30 a.m.) the Germans capture the citadel at Fort de Huy near Liege; on Aug. 16 (07:30 a.m.) Fort de Hollogne surrenders to the Germans, followed at 09:30 a.m. by Fort de Flemalle, becoming the last of 12 French forts at Liege to fall to the Germans, after which on Aug. 18 the right wing of the German First Army penetrates 10 mi. into Belgium, and Gen. von Kluck's German First Army reaches the E bank of the Gette River and attempts to cutoff the Belgian army from Antwerp, causing Albert I on Aug. 19 to order a retreat to Antwerp, away from British-French forces; the Belgian army HQ falls back from Louvain to Malines; on Aug. 18 the Belgians fight fierce rearguard actions at Grimde and Hautem-St.-Marguerite; on Aug. 18-19 the Belgians make a stand at the Battle of Tirlemont (Tienen) (Thienen) (Gette) in Flanders, losing 1,630 killed or wounded before breaking on Aug. 19; meanwhile French forces under overrated Gen. Charles Lanrezac (1852-1925) head for the Sambre River, hoping to cross and relieve Namur; Lanrezac ends up in command of the extreme left of the French line (Fifth Army) on the right of the British Expeditionary Force while being plagued with a poor relationship with British CIC Sir John French. On Aug. 16 the French occupy Schirmeck in N Alsace at the S foot of Mount Donon 35 mi. WSW of Strasbourg. On Aug. 17 (7:00 a.m.) overweight British II Corps cmdr. Gen. James Grierson (b. 1859) dies suddenly on a train near Amiens, and is replaced by as cmdr. of II Corps by Gen. Sir. Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien (1858-1930) against Sir John French's express wishes (because the French don't like him, preferring Sir Herbert Plumer), but overruled by Lord Kitchener, who thinks he can stand up to the Frogs; at 10:00 a.m. Gen. Sir John French has a falling out with Gen. Charles Lanrezac at French Fifth Army HQ in Rethel, making them into enemies. On Aug. 17 the French XX corps under Gen. Ferdinand Foch occupies Chateau Salins in Lorraine; meanwhile German high command begins detecting French troop movements from Lorraine to the French left wing. On Aug. 17 as German cavalry arrive in Jodoigne, Albert I orders the Belgian govt. to evacuate from Brussels to Antwerp; meanwhile at 4:30 p.m. the German First and Second Armies receive orders to advance through Belgium, with Gen. von Bulow put in command of the Second Army, pissing-off Gen. von Kluck; the German Third Army also begins to advance. On Aug. 17 after deciding that German superiority can handle a 16K-to-63K troop deficit, Gen. Hermann von Francois (1856-1933), cmdr. of the German I corps disobeys orders to force the Russians under Gen. Alexander Vassilievich Samsonov (1859-1914) into the Battle of Stalluponen, taking 3K Russian POWs before retreating to a stronger position; seeing his chance, Russian Gen. Paul von Rennenkampf (1854-1918) leads hastily-assembled Russian forces into East Prussia, which which has been denuded of troops to fight in France, aiming to take the capital Konigsberg, and on Aug. 20 defeats the Germans under Gen. Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen (1849-1945) (who boasts of his descent from a Highland chieftain named Mackenzie, then when WWI starts changes it to the village of Mackenhausen) at the Battle of Gumbinnen 60 mi. E of Konigsberg on the Gulf of Danzig, taking 6K POWs; too bad, he is too slow and cautious, allowing the Germans to keep him separated from the other Russian army led by Gen. Samsonov, which is challenged on a 35-mi. front by the German I Corps led by Gen. Francois; meanwhile German East Prussia CIC Gen. Maximilian "Max" von Prittwitz und Gaffron (1848-1917) turns chicken and tells Gen. Francois that he wants to withdraw to the Vistula River, and might not even be able to hold it because the water is so low, causing his non-chicken senior staff officer Col. Max Hoffmann (1869-1927) to suggest that they move to a point where they can strike either of the two Russian armies and start an offensive, after which Prittwitz wilts, and on Aug. 22 retired 67-y.-o. Gen. Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (1847-1934) (Prittwitz's brother-in-law) is called to replace him, with Liege victor Erich Friedrich Wilhelm von Ludendorff (1865-1937) (a proud descendant of Martin Luther, who believes it's more important to annihilate enemy forces than seize territory) ordered to return from France to be his chief of staff, diverting him to fight the unwanted 2-front war. On Aug. 18 (8:00 a.m.) Gen. Joseph Joffre orders the French Third, Fourth, and Fifth Armies to prepare for the main offensive against the German center; too bad, Gen. Charles Lanrezac ignores the order and marches the Fifth Army N towards the Sambre River; meanwhile the German Fifth Army reaches the E edge of the Ardennes Forest, and Joffre orders French reserve forces on the extreme left to form a screen between Maubeuge and Dunkirk. On Aug. 18 the French advance rapidly in Lorraine, with Gen. Castelnau's Second Army taking Dieuze, and Gen. Dubail's First Army taking Sarrebourg, meeting increasing resistance as it nears the crest of the Vosges Mts. on Aug. 19; meanwhile in the afternoon after arguing with high command about it for two days, Crown Prince Rupprecht takes it in his own hands and orders a German counteroffensive in Lorraine after dropping plans to trap the French right wing. On Aug. 18 35 Russian infantry divs. under Gen. Alexei Brusilov break into Austrian Galicia, overwhelming the Germans. On Aug. 18 Pres. Wilson issues an Appeal to His Countrymen for Neutrality "in thought as well as in action" - sounds like a Puritan minister talking about masturbation? On Aug. 18 Entente ambassadors to Istanbul personally assure the Ottoman grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire's continued survival if it stays out of the war; the British foreign secy. does ditto; on Aug. 23 the three powers put it in writing; the secret alliance with Germany isn't mentioned. On Aug. 19 the German First Army under Gen. von Kluck crosses the Gette River, finding that the Belgian army has escaped, and occupy Louvain; meanwhile Lord Kitchener warns Gen. Sir John French that a massive German offensive through Belgium seems to be developing. On Aug. 19 the Germans siege #2 Belgian fortress Namur (9 forts garrisoned with 27K men) at the junction of the Meuse and Sambre Rivers with five divs., pushing the Belgians back into Antwerp on Aug. 20. On Aug. 19 advance units of the French Fifth Army reach the Sambre River. On Aug. 19 the German Fifth Army under Crown Prince Rupprecht and German Fourth Army under Gen. Albrecht begin slow advancing into the Ardennes Forest. On Aug. 19 the French First and Second Armies under Gen. Paul Pau retake Mulhouse, taking 3K German POWs; the Second Army XX Corps advances to within sight of Morhange; other French forces approaching Mulhouse in Alsace are stopped at Zillisheim and Flaxlanden, losing 600 KIA, reaching within 10 mi. of the Rhine River before being thrown back; Gen. Louis Victor Plessier (b. 1856) becomes the first French gen. to be KIA in WWI; Gen. Joseph Joffre orders the formation of the Army of Lorraine under retired Gen. Michel Joseph Maunoury (1847-1923), between the Second and Third Armies. On Aug. 19 the Germans airshoot 150 hostages in Aerschot, Belgium 20 mi. SE of Antwerp and 20 mi. NE of Brussels, becoming their first mass execution of civilians. On Aug. 19 Kaiser Wilhelm II issues an order of the day ordering the German First Army to destroy "General French's contemptibly little army", and after it gets twisted to "contemptible army", the BEF goes with it and begins calling itself the Old Contemptibles; after the war, Frederick Maurice of the British War Office admits to making it up for propaganda purposes. On Aug. 19 two manifestos are pub. in Petrograd, one promising a reborn Poland "free in religion, language, and self-government" after the war, the other calling on minority peoples in Austria-Hungary to rise and declare nat. independence; on Aug. 20 Tsar Nicholas II tells Czech leader Karel Kramar that he supports a "free and independent crown of Sir Wenceslas shining in the radiance of the crown of the Romanovs"; meanwhile on Aug. 20 the London Times falsely reports a Czech rev. breaking out in Prague, claiming that the Moldau River "ran red with Czech blood", and that Czech leader Thomas Masaryk had been executed in Hradcany Castle. On Aug. 19 new Inst. of Physics dir. in Berlin Albert Einstein (1879-1955) writes to a friend: "Europe, in her insanity, has started something almost unbelievable. In such times one realises to what a sad species of animal one belongs. I quietly pursue my peaceful studies and contemplations and feel only pity and disgust." On Aug. 20 the Germans execute more Belgian villagers in Andenne near Namur; on Aug. 22 German Gen. von Bulow has a printed announcement posted on the walls of Liege: "The population of Andenne, after manifesting peaceful intentions towards our troops, attacked them in the most treacherous manner. With my authorization the general who commanded these troops has reduced the town to ashes and shot 110 persons" - I don't break the law, I make the law? A good time for Eggs Benedict in the Vatican? The WWI pope is Jack Church? On Aug. 20 Pope (since 1903) Pius X (b. 1935) dies, and on Sept. 3 cardinal (since May 25) Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa (a man with diplomatic experience) is elected Pope (#258) Benedict XV (1854-1922), going on to steer a policy of Church neutrality in "the suicide of Europe" and establish a Vatican bureau for POWs to contact their families while making many unsuccessful attempts to negotiate peace, which piss off the gung-ho Catholics, starting with his call for a Christmas 1914 truce, which is ignored; meanwhile Belgian cardinal Desire Felicien Francois Joseph (Désiré-Félicien-François-Joseph) Mercier (1851-1926), who attended Pius X's funeral returns to Belgium, finding that his Mechelen Cathedral was destroyed and 13 of his priests were killed by the Germans along with several civilians, causing him to prepare the Christmas pastoral Patriotism and Endurance, which is distributed by hand under the Germans' schnouts, causing him to be placed under house arrest and become the focus of Belgian resistance, with Benedict XV sending him a letter in 1916 saying "You saved the Church." On Aug. 20 after the Belgians evacuate to Antwerp to save Brussels from destruction, German forces occupy Brussels (first Euro capital to be occupied by a conquering army since Paris in 1870), marching through the streets in a military parade thinking they will soon be in Paris; many think they already are?; the Germans offer British nurse Edith Cavell and her staff safe conduct to Holland, but they decline. On Aug. 20 the Germans under Bavarian crown prince Rupprecht (Rupert) (1869-1955) of Bavaria (descendant of Louis XIV of France and William I the Conqueror of England) attack the French Second Army, along with the Twentieth Army Corps under Gen. Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) (who was labelled a "clerical" after the Dreyfus case and kept back in promotions) at the Battle of Morhange-Sarrebourg (20 mi. SE of Metz) and drive them back after a slaughter, evacuating along clogged roads to Nancy, where they make a stand and throw the Germans back with 48 75mm artillery guns at Dombasle 8 mi. SE of Nancy to Le Leomont (Léomont) 3 mi. to the E, also driving them out of Luneville (Lunéville), where they had committed atrocities, and done ditto at Gerbeviller (Gerbéviller) 10 mi. S, also burning Vitrimont, hardening French fighting spirit; now that hopes for a quick V in Alsace-Lorraine are dashed, Gen. Paul Pau is removed as CIC of the French army, and the Army of Alsace is broken up and sent N to join the French 6th Army in time for the First Battle of the Marne. On Aug. 21 the Germans murder seven surrendered French soldiers in Sarrebourg (NE of Luneville); after the war ends a German court tries the German soldiers involved. On Aug. 21 the Germans capture the Belgian village of Bleid W of Longwy, Luxembourg after 23-y.-o. platoon cmdr. Lt. Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel (1891-1944) kills or wounds half of a group of 15-20 French soldiers drinking coffee by a farm bldg., joins his men to capture half the village, then stages a 2nd attack to capture the rest. On Aug. 21 British Pvt. John Parr (b. 1898) is killed in Obourg, Belgium while scouting on his bicycle, becoming the first British soldier KIA in WWI. On Aug. 21 French Petrograd ambassador Maurice Paleologue (Paléologue) (1859-1944) tells Paris: "The Grand Duke is determined to advance with full speed on Berlin and Vienna, more especially Berlin, passing between the fortresses of Thorn, Posen, and Breslau." On Aug. 21 the French Foreign Legion opens recruiting, enlisting 32K non-Frenchmen in the next 7 mo. incl. 5K Italians, 3K Russians, 1,467 Swiss, 1,369 Czechs, 1K Germans (to fight fellow Germans), and 100+ Americans. On Aug. 21-25 the Battle of Neufchateau sees five French battalions stage a bayonet attack on nine German battalions, losing three battalion cmdrs. in a single machine gun burst. On Aug. 22 (a.m.) two German armies under Gen. von Kluck and Gen. von Bulow are positioned in a band across C Belgium, reaching 100+ mi. beyond the German frontier halfway to the North Sea ports of Ostend and Dunkirk; opposing them are 27K Belgians defending Namur, 300K French troops S of Charleroi, and 36K British troops in Mons, who meet von Kluck driving S toward the French border; too bad, French intel underestimates the size of the German forces by half at 15 corps, when there are actually 28 (five complete armies). On Aug. 22 the Battle of the Ardennes starts as a French offensive and ends on Aug. 23 as a V for the German Fourth Army under gen. (later Field Marshal) Duke Albrecht of Wurttemberg (1865-1939) after the French under new CIC Joseph Joffre make a mistake in estimating their strength and concentration even after they attack first in Lorraine, allowing the Germans to advance to the Marne River by Sept. On Aug. 22 using their Big Berthas, the Germans quickly capture the Belgian fortress of Namur, startling the Allies with how quick it falls (Aug. 17); no more forts stand between the Germans and the Allies, causing the fate of the war to hang on the next six days (until Aug. 28); the German right wing is commanded by Gen. von Kluck, the center by Gens. von Bulow and von Hausen, and the left wing by the Duke of Wurttemburg, while the German Fifth Army under Crown Prince Rupprecht is advancing from Luxembourg, causing the French to reel backward, with the French troops along the Mezieres-Dinant-Charleroi line falling back toward Rethel and Hirson, and those between Mezieres and Longwy retreating toward Chalons through the Argonne Forest under attack by Rupprecht's army, leaving the British in front of Mons naked facing the German First Army under von Kluck and outnumbered 3-to-1. On Aug. 22 after being angered by the vigor of the French forces in the area, the Germans round up 384 men aged 13-84 and execute them in front of a church in Tamines; on Aug. 23 after capturing the town and claiming to be shot at by snipers while repairing the bridge, they execute 612 men, women, and children (incl. a 3-week-old baby in its mother's arms) in Dinant. On Aug. 22 (7:00 a.m.) British II Corps under new cmdr. Gen. Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien makes the first British contact of the war with the Germans at the Battle of Mons (SW of Brussels) when the British decide to make a stand behind the Mons-Conde (Mons-Condé) Canal, and 3 mi. to the NE outside Casteau Royal Irish Dragoon Guards Drummer (later Cpl.) E. Thomas spots some Germans and fires his rifle (first shot by a British soldier in WWI), and his commanding officer Capt. Charles Hornby draws his sword and charges, scaring them off; at 10:00 a.m. British airmen 2nd Lt. Vincent Waterfall and Lt. Charles George Gordon Bayly are shot down over Enghien by German artillery while reconnoitering; at 11:15 a.m. the British Fifth Army opens fire on advancing German troops with their 13 pounders, which fall short, after which the German 77mm guns with far more range blast them, driving them back; meanwhile more Germans attack French troops E of the British line, taking Rossignol after killing 1,982; French Gen. Paul Leblois (1857-1930) keeps his colonial div. out of action at Jamoigne, claiming no orders, for which Gen. Joseph Joffre later removes him; the French Fifth Corps panics and flees near Virton, falling back to Tellancourt, leaving two adjacent French corps open to flank attacks; Gen. Foch's only son Germain Foch (b. 1889) and son-in-law Capt. Paul Becourt (Bécourt) are KIA near Yprecourt; on Aug. 23 (Sun.) (a.m.) Maj. William Henry Abell of the Middlesex Regiment becomes the first British officer KIA in the war at Obourg (NE of Mons) on the S bank of the Mons Canal; after the local pop. is caught in the middle while en route to church, the Brits defending the Mons Canal luck-out when bullheaded German Second Army cmdr. Gen. Karl von Bulow (1846-1921) orders clucking Gen. Alexander von Kluck to attack them head-on instead of outflanking them and heading for Paris, and superior British musketry tears their closely-packed formations to ribbons, killing thousands, making the Germans mistakenly believe the British have a "machine gun army"; some Brits report seeing the Angel of Mons floating over the battlefield and coming to their aid; too bad, German determination wins, and after the French under Gen. Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (1866-1925) score a V and force the Germans out of Onhaye (across the Meuse River 1.5 mi. W of Dinant), but the French Fifth Army under Gen. Charles Lanrezac begins retreating after hearing of the imminent fall of Namur, the Brits, after losing 1.6K killed or wounded, fearing being cut off begin the Allied Great Retreat along with them to the Marne River on Aug. 24 (ends Sept. 28), even though some Brits think they are winning, and the first four days it takes to retreat 64 mi. ("the men stumbling along more like ghosts than living soldiers") slows the Germans down, giving the French time to prepare to save Paris, with Gen. Joseph Joffre on Aug. 27 hastily forming a French Sixth Army under Gen. Foch on the left to outflank the German Fifth Army; meanwhile on Aug. 24 a German unit takes a British trench only to be killed by its own artillery. On Aug. 23 (Sun.) Tsar Nicholas II leads a solemn service in the Uspensky Cathedral to pray for victory. On Aug. 23 hoping to seize their extensive Pacific possessions, Japan declares war on Germany, and begins landing forces under Gen. Mituomi Kamio (1856-1927) in Shantung for an attack on the Germans starting Sept. 2 in the Siege of Tsingtao in conjunction with a British detachment, bombarding it Oct. 31; Germany rounds up all Japanese visitors and puts them in Ruhleben Camp, while others flee to Switzerland; when Sir Edward Grey tries to restrict Japan's area of activity, Winston Churchill tells him "You may easily give mortal offence, which will not be forgotten, we are not safe yet, by a long chalk. The storm is yet to burst"; although Japan never sends troops to Europe, its ships find use accompanying British troop convoys as far as Marseille, and occupy German islands incl. the Carolines, Marianas, Marshall Islands, and Palau. On the blind bloody Eastern Front? On Aug. 23-25 the Battle of Krasnik begins after a lot of blind maneuvering by the Austrian First, Second, Third, and Fourth Armies under Gen. Conrad von Hoetzendorf (Hötzendorf) (1852-1925), who cross the Austrian border into Russian Poland on a 175-mi. front between the Vistula and Dnieper Rivers S of Lublin in Galicia (200 mi. SE of Warsaw), matched by more blind maneuvering by the Russian Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Armies under Gen. Nikolai Yudovich Ivanov (1851-1919), and the Austrian First Army under Gen. Viktor von Dankl von Krasnik (1854-1941) bumbles into the Russian Fourth Army under Gen. Alexei Evert (1857-1918) near Krasnik 30 mi. SW of Lublin in Galicia, and they fight for three days (until Aug. 25), after which the Russians give up and head for Lublin, leaving 6K POWs; on Aug. 26 the Austrian Fourth Army under Gen. Moritz Ritter von Auffenberg von Komarow (1852-1928) (former imperial war minister in 1911) meets the Russian Fifth Army under Gen. Wenzel von Plehve (1850-1916) in the Battle of Kamarow (Zamosc-Kamarov), which lasts a week (until Sept. 2), enveloping the Russians, but is interrupted when news of a defeat on Aug. 25 of the Austrian Third Army under Gen. Rudolf Nikolaus Ritter von Brudermann (1851-1941) on the Austrian right wing by the Russian Eighth Army of Russian cavalry Gen. Alexei Alekseyevich Brusilov (1853-1926) and Russian Third Army of Gen. Nikolai Vladimorivich Ruzsky (1854-1918) at the Battle of Zlotchow causes the Austrians to stop their mopping-up and come to their aid; on Aug. 28 the Russians score another V at the Battle of Lemberg after Grand Duke Nicholas countermands Gen. Nikolai Ivanov's orders for a halt and orders an attack instead, and the two Russian armies fall on the Austrians on Sept. 1, beating off an Austrian counterattack on Sept. 2, and breaking the Austrian lines on Sept. 10, taking Lemberg on Sept. 13, causing the Austrians to abandon E Galicia; the Austrians now brashly plan an attack which turns out to backfire? Back to the Western Front? On Aug. 24 the Germans make a brief sortie toward Brussels as they drive the British army into the Mormal Forest, with fatigue forcing them to fight a rear guard action on Aug. 26 at the Battle of Le Cateau (Câteau) 30 mi. SSW of Mons, with Gen. Smith-Dorrien making the decision to fight rather than flee, causing his chief of staff to faint; too bad, the Brits finally learn about superior German machine guns and artillery, being forced to retreat after abandoning 38 artillery pieces, and the French armies are soundly defeated, returning to France to regroup; on Sept. 28 a British lance-cpl. pub. a letter in the London Times with the soundbyte about Le Cateau: "The Germans don't like cold steel. They were falling on their knees and praying, but our blood boiled at the way they were treating civilians, and we had no mercy." On Aug. 24 the London Times pub. the full text of the German White Paper on the War, which "brings the history of the German negotiations down to noon, August 2." On Aug. 24 (night) after Albert I of Belgium holes up in Antwerp with his remaining 65K troops, protected by another 80K garrison troops manning a ring of 48 inner and outer forts, then tries a sortie during the night, the Siege of Antwerp (ends Oct. 10) begins as German Zeppelin LZ-25 drops the first nine aerial bombs ("the H-bomb of its day" - Raymond Laurence Rimell) of the war on Antwerp, killing or injuring 26 incl. killing six in their beds in one house, and damaging the royal palace while the Belgian royal family are present, pissing-off Belgians, who launch a counterattack from Antwerp towards Louvain, after which German forces there panic when a runaway horse causes troops to open fire, making them blame snipers, after which the Germans burn bldgs. and execute civilians for five days, burning 20% of the houses and making the big mistake of burning the Church of St. Pierre, which is used for Allied propaganda, with a French postcard showing Jesus spurning the Kaiser; meanwhile the Germans invade France, detaching two corps to continue the siege to keep them from moving; after the Belgians try another sortie on Sept. 9, the Germans end up detaching four divs. and going in for the kill. On Aug. 24-Sept. 7 the Siege of Maubeuge in France is a German V after a massive artillery bombardment along with air and ground attacks. On Aug. 25 the Germans retake Mulhouse, gaining Gen. Josias von Heeringen a Pour le Merite next Aug. 28. On Aug. 26 (07:00 p.m.) after losing over half the 4K-man garrison, and losing all communications except homing pigeons, Lt. Col. Darche surrenders Ft. Longwy to German Fifth Army cmdr. Crown Prince Wilhelm (1882-1951) ("Conqueror of Longwy"), who presents him with his sword in appreciation of his courage, and offers to give him safe passage to Paris if he promises to quit fighting Germany, and when he refuses, says "Well then, your captivity will not last long. In 14 days the war will be over. On September 8 we'll be in Paris"; the iron gate is swung wide open to allow 3M German troops to march through. On Aug. 26 the Germans under Col. Richard Karl von Tessmar (1853-1928) execute 121 inhabitants of hapless Arlon, Belgium. On Aug. 26 the Battle of Le Cateau sees five German divs. under Gen. Von Kluck attack the 2-div. BEF on the Cambrai-Le Cateau-Landrecies line, and drive them back to St. Quentin, where French help finally arrives, allowing them to delay the Germans while inflicting heavy losses, keeping them from driving between Paris and the French right wing; on Aug. 26 British lt.-col. John Ford Elkington (1866-1944) holes-up with his exhausted men in St. Quentin, and obeys the mayor's request to sign a document surrendering his men if the Germans arrive, and after they rejoin the main force Elkington is court-martialed and dismissed, joining the French Foreign Legion to try to regain his honor; on Aug. 26 the Battle of Le Grand Fayt sees concealed German troops ambush retreating British troops under Lt. Col. A.W. Ambercrombie in the village of Le Grand Fayt, killing 280 and 6 officers. On Aug. 26-30 the Battle of Gnila Lipa sees the Russian Third and Eighth Armies under Gen. Nikolai Ivanov invade Galicia and defeat the Austro-Hungarian Second and Third Armies under Gen. Rudolf von Brudermann and Gen. Eduard Freiherr von Bohm-Ermolli. On Aug. 27 a French counterattack at Richaumont is stopped by the Kaiser's 2nd son Prince Eitel Friedrich (Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich Christian Karl) (1883-1942), who beats on a drum to turn the fleeing German troops around; meanwhile a bigger counterattack against the German Second Army by the troops of Gen. Lanrezac forces the German First Army to turn around from its drive toward Paris to help them. On Aug. 27 German cavalry occupies Lille in French Flanders near the Belgian border (until Sept. 5). On Aug. 27 the Battle of Etreux (Étreux) sees the 6-to-1-outnumbered 2nd Royal Munster Fusiliers hold off the German X Reserve Corps in an orchard near the village of Etreux, losing 600 casualties before the remaining 244 surrender, giving the BEF time to escape, earning congratulations from the Krauts. The opening clash between Germany and Russia is so lopsided for the Huns that it later gives Herr Hitler ideas? On Aug. 27-30 the Battle of Tannenberg in the Masurian Lakes near Tannenberg and Frogenau 70 mi. SSE of Konigsberg sees the German army under Gen. Hindenburg and Gen. Ludendorff make use of the railways to quickly outflank and crush the Russian Second Army under Gen. Rennenkampf and the Russian First Army under Gen. Samsonov, who retreats right into a wooded area held by the Germans, who capture 30K wounded and 95K unwounded POWs, 500 guns, and thousands of horses, freeing East Prussia, raising German morale and making a god of Hindenburg; Samsonov is found in a pile of Russian corpses after having committed suicide; 30K Russian soldiers are KIA, and a total of 15 Russian army corps and 8 cavalry divs. (150K men) are kaput; 60 trains are needed to ship the booty back to Germany; it should have been called the Battle of Frogenau but Col. Max Hoffmann proposes Tannenberg since it was the scene of an epic battle in 1410 in which the Teutonic Knights, which incl. a Hindenburg were massacred by a giant army of Slavs, making it seem like payback; while the battle is still in doubt, Ludendorff cracks and suggests to Hindenburg that he order Gen. Francois to end his encirclement of Samsonov's army and come to their aid, and on the morning of Jan. 28 Hindenburg cracks, but is disobeyed by Gen. Francois, who defeats Samsonov on Jan. 30 and becomes the real hero of Tannenberg, but what Kraut wants to made a god of somebody named Francois?; the real hero is Col. (later Gen.) Max Hoffmann, who stood up to chicken Gen. Nitwit, er, Prittwitz, and thought up the divide and conquer trick?; too bad, Gen. von Moltke receives false news of a German defeat, and on Aug. 25 orders sends six corps from the 2nd and 3rd Armies to the Russian front too late to recall them when he learns of the V, becoming one of the fatal decisions of the war? On Aug. 28 the naval First Battle of Helgoland (Heligoland) Bight S and E of Helgoland Island (first naval battle of WWI) sees British and German naval units duke it out early in a morning fog, with the Germans securing tactical superiority with six light cruisers by 11 a.m. after losing a destroyer, causing the Brits to call Rear Adm. (since 1910, the youngest in the British navy) Sir David Beatty to bring in four heavy battle cruisers from 50 mi. to the NW, destroying German cruiser SMS Mainz before he arrives at 12:30 p.m., then SMS Coln (Cöln) and SMS Ariadne afterward; the Germans then escape, with four vessels (incl. three cruisers) destroyed and three damaged, and 1.2K casualties incl. 700 killed vs. four vessels damaged and only 75 casualties for the stiff-upper-lippers, which helps the Allies blockade the German coast and insure they can't invade Britain; the British rescue 200 German sailors from a sunk cruiser. On Aug. 29 the French Fifth Army under Gen. Charles Lanrezac turns around and attacks Gen. Bulow's Second Army in the flank in the First Battle of Guise (Guise-St. Quentin), then cleverly disengages and slips away, causing Bulow to halt for two days while waiting for aid from Gen. von Kluck, who on Aug. 30 gives up his advance to the W of Paris for him; by Aug. 30 the French and British fall back S across the Aisne River to the Marne River (which joins the Seine N of Paris). On Aug. 30 Paris is bombed by German pilot Lt. Ferdinand von Hiddessen in his 2-seater Taube airplane, dropping the first leaflets, which read "You can do nothing but surrender"; on Aug. 31 Sir John French tells London that his BEF troops are "shattered" and need "rest and refit", asking to withdraw behind Paris, abandoning the French armies, causing French gen. Joffre to appeal directly to French PM Rene Viviani, who gets the British War Council to send Lord Kitchener to talk with him on Sept. 1, after which he changes his mind, with the soundbyte "French's troops are now in the fighting line, where he will remain conforming to the movements of the French army". On Aug. 29/30 after the British govt. sends a message to New Zealand on Aug. 7, causing it to send the 1,370-man Samoa Expeditionary Force on Aug. 15, the German colony of Samoa is occupied. On Aug. 30 the London Times pub. a dispatch from correspondent Arthur Moore, who writes from Amiens about the "terrible defeat" at Mons, incl. "the broken bits of many regiments", and British soldiers "battered with marching", shocking the British public, who were awaiting news of glorious victories, causing Winston Churchill to write to the newspaper's owner on Sept. 5, with the soundbyte: "I never saw such panic-stricken stuff written by any war correspondent before, and this served up on the authority of The Times can be made, and has been made, a weapon against us in every doubtful State", drafting an anon. communique at the PM's request smoothing it over, with the soundbyte: "There is no doubt that our men have established a personal ascendancy over the Germans, and they are conscious of the fact that with anything like even numbers the result would not be doubtful", dovetailing with censor F.E. Smith's rewrite of the last paragraph to incl. the soundbyte: "The British Expeditionary Force has won indeed imperishable glory, but it needs men, men, and yet more men." On Aug. 30 the British govt. doubles its Aug. 18 order for shrapnel shells to 324K. On Aug. 31 French colonial troops attack E of Gerbeviller (Gerbéviller), and are wiped-out by German machine guns; nearby a French regiment overruns the German position, only to be bombarded by their own artillery until they fall back to the starting point, losing 6.5K of 14.5K in a few days. In Aug. the first aerial combat takes place as Allied and German pilots and observers begin taking shots at each other with rifles and pistols, with negligible results. In Aug. British Vice-Adm. Charles Cooper Penrose-Fitzgerald (1841-1921) founds the Order of the White Feather with help from famous novelist Mrs. Humphrey Ward to shame men into joining the British Army, signing up prominent feminists and suffragettes incl. Emmeline Pankhurst to hand out feathers and lobby for a universal draft, becoming too successful, causing the govt. to have to issue King and Country Badges for public servants, and the Silver War Badge for discharged vets to keep them from being harassed. In the last week of Aug. the first victims of Shell Shock occur among British troops retreating from Mons. In late Aug. the city of Ostend in W Flanders on the North Sea 77 mi. WNW of Brussels is occupied for a week by 3K men of the British Royal Marine Brigade in a diversionary action, spreading rumors that they are actually anywhere from 80K to 1M Russians brought in via Scotland. On Sept. 1 after six days of continuous retreat, the exhausted deserting French Fifth Army of Gen. Lanrezac falls back S to Craonne 40 mi. of Paris after their 2nd line of French defenses is taken by the Germans, causing the retreat to pivot on Verdun, while the French hold the Verdun-Toul fortifications and Nancy; Lanrezac is removed from command; the L Battery Royal Horse Artillery of the First British Cavalry Brigade bravely defends Nery (Néry) on the extreme right of the German line from the German Fourth Cavalry Div., scattering it, earning KIA Capt. Edward Kinder Bradbury (b. 1881) and two others the Victoria Cross, becoming a source of British pride. On Sept. 1 (11 p.m.) a German officer en route from von Kluck's HQ makes a wrong turn into a French patrol and is killed, and a map showing the position of von Kluck's forces is found in his haversack, showing that he is not planning on going S to take on the French Sixth Army under Gen. Manoury and Paris, but SE to take on the BEF, who reach the Marne River on Sept. 2 with recovered spirits; on Sept. 2 a Germany cavalry patrol captures London correspondent Arthur Moore, and after being released in a few days he joins the British army, serving in Gallipoli and Salonica. On Sept. 1-2 the Russians finally break the Austrians and take Lemberg 200 mi. SE of Warsaw. On Sept. 2 the Germans under Gen. von Kluck take the ancient town of Senlis in Oise on the Nonette River 25 mi. NNE of Paris, staggering the French by systematic destruction along with looting guided by antiquarians; after a provocation, the Germans execute Senlis mayor Eugene Odent and six citizens, reminding the local pop. of the execution of four hostages by Armagnacs there in 1418. On Sept. 2 as a German airplane drops bombs over Paris along with leaflets announcing the defeat of France and Russia, and thousands of Belgian refugees began pouring in from the N, while 1M of 3M Parisians begin fleeing S and W, the French govt. evacuates Paris, moving to Bordeaux (until Dec.), where it becomes difficult for them to control the army cmdrs., who border on insubordination at times; French political parties agree to unite in a "union sacree" until the Krauts are defeated. On Sept. 2 German Field Marshal Baron William Leopold Colmar von der Goltz (1843-1916), new German gov. of Brussels (until Nov.) issues a proclamation: "It is the stern necessity of war that the punishment for hostile acts fall not only on the guilty but on the innocent as well"; he goes on to ruthlessly crack down on resistance fighters, incl. shooting hostages to punish sabotage, which in Sept. 1941 is cited by Adolf Hitler as a positive example, with the soundbyte "The old Reich knew already how to act with firmness in the occupied areas. That's how attempts at sabotage to the railways in Belgium were punished by Count von der Goltz. He had all the villages burnt within a radius of several kilometres, after having had all the mayors shot, the men imprisoned and the women and children evacuated." On Sept. 2-11 after the Austrian First Army under Gen. Viktor Dankl and Austrian Fourth Army under Gen. Moritz von Auffenberg allow too wide a gap to form, the Battle of Rava Ruska (Rawa) in Galicia, part of the Battle of Lemberg sees the Russian Third Army under Gen. Nikolai Ruzsky defeat the Austrian Third Army and Austrian Fourth Army, with 34K Russian vs. 120K Austrian casualties, retreating with large loss of men and equipment; Auffenberg takes the blame although Gen. Count Conrad von Hoetzendorf ordered the Fourth Army in. On Sept. 3 49-y.-o. composer ("the French Bruckner") Lucien Denis Gabriel Alberic Magnard (b. 1865) barricades himself in his house in Baron, Oise 25 mi. from Paris, killing a German soldier, causing the Germans to burn his house down and kill him while looting the village, making him a nat. hero; meanwhile more German cavalry patrols reach Ft. Ecouen 8 mi. NNE from Paris; more Germans capture and loot Ermenonville, resting place of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau; others reach the Seine River NW of Paris, blowing up a bridge at Pontoise, while Paris military gov. Gen. Joseph Simon Gallieni (1849-1916) announces that Paris will defend itself against the German invaders; meanwhile the exposed left wing of the retreating Allied army comes under the protection of the guns of Paris, defeating von Kluck's attempt at outflanking and enveloping them, allowing French gen. Joffre to make his stand on the Marne River along a 180-mi. line from Paris to Verdun. On Sept. 3 British pilot squadron cmdr. Lt. I.H.W.S. Dalrymple-Clark (-1916) carries out the first British bombing raid of the war near the French-Belgian border, dropping one bomb on a group of 40 Germans. On Sept. 3 (p.m.) after his criticism pisses-off his superiors, Gen. Charles Lanrezac is replaced as cmdr. of the French Fifth Army by Gen. Louis Felix Marie Francois Franchet d'Esperey (Louis Félix Marie François Franchet d'Espèrey) (1856-1942). On Sept. 3 Vidi I flees, continuing to reign officially until the Albanian Repub. is declared on Jan. 31, 1925; on Sept. 10 the rebels siege and capture Durres and hoist the Ottoman flag; on Sept. 17 after being accused of fomenting the revolt and being exiled to Italy on May 20, then being invited back by the Albanian senate, rich Muslim landowner and Ottoman cmdr. Essad Pasha Toptani (1863-1920) signs a secret Serbian-Albanian alliance treaty in Nis, Serbia with Serbian PM (Sept. 12, 1912-Dec. 1, 1918) Nikola P. Pasic (Pashitch) (Pachitch) (1845-1926); on Oct. 5 Essad Pasha becomes PM #3 of Albania (until Feb. 23, 1916), using Serbian and Italian backing to recruit a military force in Diber and recapture Durres and the interior; on Oct. 15 the Great Powers establish an internat. commission of control for Albania. On Sept. 4 after the Germans fall into a trap leaving them E of Paris and S of the Marne River, Gen. von Kluck begins to realize the danger from the Sixth French Army before Paris, and Gen. von Moltke orders him and Gen. von Bulow to turn SW to meet them, causing a gap to open between the German First and Second Armies; meanwhile during the night the Allies S of the Marne River double-back 12 mi. towards the Seine River, court-martialing five men for straggling and looting; British casualties over the last two weeks total 1.5K. On Sept. 4 British PM (since 1908) Herbert Henry Asquith gives the speech A Call to Arms at the Guildhall in London, with the soundbyte that Britain "would not sheathe the sword until Belgium's wrongs were righted." On Sept. 5 the Pact of London is signed by France, Britain, and Russia, pledging not to make peace separately, and that they will stick to the same peace terms - that means pepperoni guy, mushroom guy, and sausage guy can each get their pizza for five bucks? On Sept. 5 (a.m.) after regrouping along the Seine River, both sides trying to outflank each other, the French army stages a surprise counterattack at the First Battle (Miracle) of the Marne (ends Sept. 12), splitting the (mainly drunk?) German forces and driving the German right wing W of Verdun back to the Aisne River; a total of 1.275M German, 1M French, and 125K British troops take part in ferocious fighting; the battle orders of French Gen. Joseph Joffre begin: "At the moment when the battle upon which hangs the fate of France is about to begin, all must remember that the time for looking back is past; every effort must be concentrated on attacking and throwing the enemy back"; phases of the battle incl. the Battle of the Ourcq River (Sept. 5-8), Battle of the Two Morins (Petit-Morin) (Sept. 6-9), Battle of the Marshes of Saint-Gond (Sept. 5-10), Battle of Vitry, and Battle of Revigny. On Sept. 5 German sub U-21 under Capt. Otto Hersing (1885-1960) sinks British cruiser HMS Pathfinder in the North Sea off St. Abbs Head, Berwickshire, Scotland, killing 259, becoming the first British warship sunk with a torpedo. On Sept. 5 5K Moroccan troops led by 103 French officers are relieved by a battalion of French soldiers, who immediately lose their capt., causing Lt. Charles-Henri de la Corniellere (Cornillière) (b. 1880) to take command, leading the men forward; after he is shot, the troops shout "The lieutenant is killed", causing him to rise to his knees and shout "Yes, the lieutenant has been killed, but keep on firm" before dying, spurring the men on, making him a legend; the Moroccans lose 4K men and 46 officers in the next 12 days. On Sept. 5 the British govt. debuts its Lord Kitchener Wants You recruiting poster on the cover of London Opinion, with the mustachioed dude pointing his gloved finger out of the page, and the caption "Your Country Needs YOU", drawn by Alfred Leete, with the words "God Save the King" later added, becoming the best known poster of the war; too bad, it doesn't reverse the decline in recruiting. On Sept. 5 Jewish Russian volunteer Leo Osnas is awarded the Cross of St. George by Tsar Nicholas II for bravery on the Eastern Front, becoming the first cross awarded, causing the Russian govt. to proclaim full citizenship rights for Jews, which they renege on. On Sept. 5 the Chicago Herald carries the front page headline To the Children of America, carrying an appeal by novelist Lilian Bell to Am. children to send money and toys to send to underprivileged European children on the Christmas Ship; on Nov. 14 the U.S. Navy ship USS Jason under Lt. Cmdr. C.E. Courteney departs Brooklyn, N.Y. with 50 railroad cars (10K crates) full of 7M items incl. foodstuffs, plus $42K in cash. On Sept. 6 the French reserve force in Paris, commanded by Gen. Michel Joseph Maunoury (1847-1923) checks Gen. von Kluck's drive toward the city, advancing E and attacking the German right flank on the Ourcq River, causing a whole German div. to be detached from the Marne battle to counter, which the French counter with a div. of Zouaves from Tunis rushed from Paris in 2K+ taxis by Gen. Gallieni. On Sept. 6 the Austrians and Russians go at it again at the Battle of Rawa (Rava) (Rava Ruska) (Rava Russka), on the Wereszyca River, and along the entire front by Sept. 10, and Grand Duke Nicholas tries a surprise flanking maneuver to utilize his superior numbers, but stupidly sends wireless messages in the clear, tipping them off and causing them to fall back to the San River, then, after intercepting more clear messages that the Russians are on his N, he withdraws clear back to the Dunajec (Dohnst) River (140 mi. W of Lemberg) by Oct. 3; the Austrians have not only been driven out of E Poland by the "inferior" (less white) Russkies, but are demoralized, causing the Germans to have to begin giving them military aid - my doctor says I have a going problem, or was that a growing problem? On Sept. 7 the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes (ends Sept. 14) sees the German Eighth Army under Gen. Paul von Hindenburg push the Russian First Army under Paul von Rennenkampf back across the entire front, ejecting it from East Prussia with heavy casualties in disarray, until the Russian Tenth Army arrives on the German left flank to stiffen the positions. By Sept. 7 only 300-400 of 2.5K mi. of destroyed railway track in Belgium and N France has been restored by 16K German railway workers, and on Aug. 25 the distance from the railhead to the front line of the Second Army is 25 mi., growing to 95 mi. on Sept. 2 and 100+ mi. on Sept. 4, compounded by clogged roads, a steep section (4 engines required) between Liege and Ans, and only two 1-track lines S of Charleroi; meanwhile the French use their railways to advantage. On Sept. 7 a British force from Nigeria invades Cameroon, and takes Douala on Sept. 26. On Sept. 7 the British army turns N and begins chasing the Germans, losing 2nd lt. Harold Alexander Boyd, who just arrived from England a few hours earlier, depressing his comrades. On Sept. 7 a counterattack by the Prussian Guard is driven off by the artillery of Gen. Foch's French Ninth Army, causing the German official history to utter the soundbyte: "September 7 was the worst day in the war so far for the troops." On Sept. 7 Kaiser Wilhelm II visits the battle zone, but his driver retreats after hearing artillery fire; meanwhile German Adm. Alfred von Tirpitz writes home, with the soundbyte "It is now certain that England is bringing over great numbers of troops from Asia." On Sept. 8 (7:07 a.m.) British Pvt. Thomas James Highgate (b. 1895) is executed for desertion after he was founding hiding in a barn in Tournan on the estate of Baron Edouard de Rothschild just S of the Marne River in civilian clothes, and made the mistake of confessing to an English gamekeeper who was a vet; on Nov. 8, 2006 he is posth. pardoned along with 305 others. On Sept. 8 a surprise German infantry attack on the village of Fere-Champenoise (Fère-Champenoise) (scene of a battle between France, Russia, and Prussia on Mar. 25, 1814) drives four French divs. back 6 mi., leaving Gen. Foch's HQ at Pleurs almost on the front line, after which he counterattacks, driving them back and learning that it was all a diversion to help the German right wing retreat; at sunset a French cavalry squadron nearly captures German Gen. von Kluck at his HQ at La Ferte-Milon (Ferté-Milon), with his entire staff taking up arms to form a firing line to repel them; in the night the French Fifth Army under new cmdr Gen. Louis Franchet d'Esperey captures Marchaise-en-Brie, causing von Bulow to abandon Montmirail and set up on a line facing Paris from Margny S to Le Thoult, opening a gap for the French to move toward the Marne River, cutting von Bulow off and causing him to retreat behind the Marne River. On Sept. 9 after a German attack is aborted upon news that four British divs. are moving through the gap between the German armies, the Battle of the Marne ends as the Allies drive the Germans back across the Marne River, followed on Sept. 13 by the Aisne River, a total of 60 mi., ending German hopes for a quick end to the war, becoming the closest that German troops get to Paris until June 1940; French Gen. Joseph Joffre becomes a nat. hero; meanwhile on Sept. 9 retreating German troops leave 20 wounded soldiers at Varreddes on the N bank of the Marne River, taking 20 elderly villagers as hostage, killing seven on the march; a German officer is killed by a shell in a house in Sompuis S of the Marne River while beating 70-y.-o. villager M. Jacquemin, who dies two days later; while recapturing Sompuis, a German shell kills two French brigade cmdrs., Col. Barbade and Col. Hamon. On Sept. 9 the Ottoman govt. abolishes the Capitulations. On Sept. 9 German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg issues the September Memorandum, laying out Germany's war aims incl. extensive annexations, revealing a plan to achieve German hegemony in Europe, making it hard for Germany to later look like the good guys?; the "general aim of the war" is "security for the German Reich in west and east for all imaginable time". For this purpose France must be so weakened as to make her revival as a great power impossible for all time. Russia must be thrust back as far as possible from Germany's eastern frontier and her domination over the non-Russian vassal peoples broken. On Sept. 10 French Gen. Joseph Joffre orders the pursuit of the Germans N of the Marne River, with the soundbyte "Victory is now in the legs of the infantry." On Sept. 11 an Australian force lands on the Bismarck Archipelago in the German Solomons, capturing Herbertshohe; on Sept. 21 German forces in New Guinea surrender. On Sept. 12 the Belgians launch a counterattack to ease pressure on the French and British; on Sept. 12 four Belgian divs. from Antwerp reach Weerde 18 mi. S of Antwerp and 12 mi. N of German-held Brussels, only to be thrown back on Sept. 13 with high losses. On Sept. 12 after claiming that two German cavalrymen had been killed by citizens, the Germans destroy the village of Bouilly 13km W of Reims. Isn't that company, battalion, regiment, platoon? On Sept. 12 Britain announces that 478,893 men have enlisted as volunteers since the start of the war for "Kitchener's Army", many serving in Pals Battalions, incl. the Stockbrokers' Battalion, the Bristol Citizens' Battalion, the Liverpool Pals, the Tramways Battalion, the Football Battalion, and the City's Boys' Battalion, causing British Gen. Henry Wilson to call them a "ridiculous and preposterous army" and "the laughing stock of every soldier in Europe", claiming they will never match the professionalism of German troops - the Yanks heard the same thing in 1776? On Sept. 13 French and British gens. meet at the HQ of French gen. Joseph Joffre, and decide that it will only take a few weeks to push the Germans back across their border, leading to peace by Christmas; Joffre sends a telegram to the war minister with the soundbyte: "The completeness of our victory becomes more and more apparent. Everywhere the enemy is in retreat. The Germans are abandoning prisoners, wounded, and material in all directions... All our armies, exhilarated by success, are carrying out out a pursuit which is without parallel in its extension." By the end of Sept. the Great War turns into a Great Bore? On Sept. 13 (eve.) the First Battle of the Aisne, an offensive against the right wing of the German First army under Gen. Alexander von Kluck begins, leading to a stalemate on Sept. 28; trench warfare begins. On Sept. 13 French-held Ft. Troyon 10 mi. S of Verdun falls after a 5-day artillery bombardment of 10K shells, after which the French high command decides to withdraw from Verdun, but cmdr. Gen. Maurice Paul Emmanuel Sarrail (1856-1929) (who rose to command mainly because of his openly Socialist views?) ignores their order and stays put. On Sept. 13 German military attache Franz von Papen meets in Washington, D.C. with Irish-born Protestant former British diplomat Sir Roger Casement (1864-1916), who suggests that they set up an Irish Brigade to fight alongside the Germans, who can claim they are fighting for Ireland the same way Britain does Belgium; Casement later sails to Germany under a false name, and on Nov. 20 gets the German govt. to issue a declaration that "Should the fortunes of this great war, that was not of Germany's seeking, ever bring in its course German troops to the shores of Ireland, they would land there, not as an army of invaders to pillage and destroy, but as the forces of a government that is inspired by goodwill towards a country and a people for whom Germany desires only national prosperity and national freedom"; too bad, despite visiting an Irish POW camp in Limburg (2K soldiers) on Dec. 3, 4, and 6 accompanied by German Prince Emich von Leiningen (1896-1918), he only talks 55 men into enlisting, of whom only 10 are considered reliable enough for a landing in Ireland; on Dec. 27 Casement signs a secret treaty with German state secy. Gottlieb von Jagow promising to assist the Irish Brigade with German troops when they land, but it never happens. On Sept. 14 after his D at the Battle of the Marne and the huge casualties cause him to wilt (that Christian Science stuff didn't help?), Gen. von Moltke is removed, and Gen. Erich von Falkenhayn (1861-1922) is named CIC of the German army (until Aug. 19, 1916), with bitter von Moltke writing Kaiser Wilhelm II that he "does not possess the inner forces of spirit and soul to draft and carry through operations of great scope." On Sept. 15 the Maritz (Boer) (Five Shilling) Rebellion of South African Boer War veterans against the South African govt. begins, ending on Feb. 4 with South African occupation of German South West Africa, and the leaders imprisoned. On Sept. 16 British Pvt. George Ward (b. 1894) feigns a wound to go AWOL, and after reporting back on Sept. 22 is court-martialed and shot on the banks of the Aisne River; the same day Cpl. N. Prior is reduced to pvt. and given two years hard labor for the same offense; during the war 300+ British soldiers are executed for cowardice and desertion, and the records aren't opened until 1988, with the British govt. rejecting a plea for posth. pardons in 1993. On Sept. 19 a British force lands in Luderitz Bay in German SW Africa, and the Union of South Africa decides to assist. On Sept. 19 German incendiary artillery shells set fire to Rheims Cathedral in France, pissing-off Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918), causing German museums to exclude his work. On Sept. 19 British chancellor of the exchequer David Lloyd George gives the speech a International Honour at Queen's Hall in London, with the soundbyte: "A great flood of luxury and of sloth which had submerged the land is receding and a new Britain is appearing. We can see for the first time the fundamental things that matter in life, and that have been obscured from our vision by the tropical growth of prosperity"; meanwhile on Sept. 19 French Gen. Joseph Joffre complains to war minister Alexandre Millerand that his army needs 50K rounds of ammo a day to continue the advance, and on Sept. 21 Millerand replies that he might be able to supply 30K rounds a day in three weeks, causing austerity measures to be taken. On Sept. 19-Oct. 11 the Battle of Flirey in France is a German V over the French, cutting most of the roads and railways to Verdun. On Sept. 20 Winston Churchill writes to a friend: "Here the feeling is absolutely united; and running breast high for a prolonged and relentless struggle. There will I think be no difficulty in putting a million men in the field in the spring of 1915... Doom has fallen upon Prussian military arrogance. Time and determination are all that is needed." On Sept. 20 the Indianapolis Star pub. an article by German evolutionary biologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) containing the soundbyte: "There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War'... will become the First World War in the full sense of the word" - why does he say first? On Sept. 21 British art historian Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) pub. the poem For the Fallen in the London Times, which becomes famous for the soundbyte (later used in British Nov. 11 Sunday memorial services): "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,/ Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. / At the going down of the sun and in the morning/ We will remember them." On Sept. 22 the Action of Sept. 22, 1914 sees German sub U-9 under Capt. Otto Eduard Weddigen (1882-1915) sink the Livebait Squadron of aging British cruisers manned by inexperienced reservists, incl. HMS Aboukir, HMS Hogue, and HMS Cressy off the Dutch coast at Broad Fourteens, killing 1,459 out of 2,296, the death toll increased because the Cressy's boats are off rescuing survivors of the first two when it is hit, becoming the worst British naval disaster of the war; on Sept. 29 the British Admiralty orders the North Sea to be mined "without stinting, and if necessary on a Napoleonic scale." On Sept. 22 after sinking or capturing a dozen British merchant ships, German cruiser SMS Emden bombards the Burma Oil Co. depot in Madras, India, burning 50K tons of naval fuel oil; Prince Joseph of Hohenzollern, a relative of the kaiser remarks that if the wind had been easterly it would have burned the city too. On Sept. 22 the British stage their first air raid on Germany, attacking the Zeppelin sheds in Cologne and Dusseldorf. On Sept. 23 Serbian troops attack Sarajevo, and are driven off by Austrian troops. On Sept. 24 the Russians attack the passes of the Carpathians leading into N Hungary. On Sept. 24 after it is left behind Russian lines, the Siege of Przemysl (pr. "SHEH-mih-shuhl") on the San River in Eastern Galicia by six Russian divs. begins, becoming the longest of WWI, getting suspended on Oct. 11-Nov. 9 due to an Austrian offensive, then succeeding on Mar. 22 after 133 days, becoming a crushing defeat for Austria-Hungary despite being defended by 127K troops and 18K civilians as starvation and disease rule; 110K Austrian troops surrender, causing fears of a major offensive into Hungary, which never happens; Austria-Hungary never recovers from its losses, causing reliance on the Germans in the Eastern Front and Balkans. On Sept. 25-29 the First Battle of Albert sees the French Tenth Army after assembling in Amiens and failing to strecth their own line northward head E and attack the German lines, ending in a push. On Sept. 26 the U.S. protests British confiscation of U.S. cargoes headed to Germany, with Pres. Wilson telling Britain that its naval blockade of Germany will have "evil effects" on U.S. public opinion; on Oct. 15 the U.S. declares that it will not prohibit shipments of gold or the extension of credit to war belligerents, and drops its protests against the British upon payment for confiscated cargoes. On Sept. 26 the Germans siege the French fortress of Camp des Romains at St. Mihiel between Verdun and Toul, capturing it after artillery, grenade, and smoke attacks along with 300 men and five officers, whom they salute for their bravery. On Sept. 26 the Germans begin bombarding the forts defending Antwerp, causing the British to rush heavy artillery and troops to its defense, requesting the French to do ditto; on Sept. 30 British PM Herbert Asquith writes to a friend: "The Belgians are rather out of 'morale'... They are sending their archives and treasure over here, and talk of moving the seat of government to Ostend. Kitchener has given them some good advice, namely not to mind the bombardment of their forts, but to entrench themselves with barbed wire etc. in the intervening spaces, and challenge the Germans to come on." On Sept. 28 the German First and Sixth Armies meet at Neufchateau, completely surrounding the French and British armies. By Sept. the Turks mobilize a force of 36 army divs. In Sept. Gen. Stefan Ljubicic becomes cmdr. of the Polish Eleventh Corps (until Mar. 1915), advancing with the gen. counteroffensive in Austrian Galicia on Oct. 6 to relieve the Russian siege of Przemysl, and when that doesn't work he makes a stand at the Dunajec River on Nov. 11, and when that doesn't work he makes another stand at the Raba River on Nov. 22 (last river E of Cracow); meanwhile as the Germans advance into Russian Poland, the pop. rises against the Jews, accusing them of being pro-German despite 250K Jews serving in the Russian army, driving hundreds of thousands from their homes in Lodz, Piotrkow, Bialystok, and Grodnow, fleeing deep inside Russia - goodbye Jews? On Oct. 1 the British Cabinet decides to divert a whole div. on its way to Sir John French in N France to Antwerp; on Oct. 2 the Germans penetrate two of the 48 forts protecting Antwerp, causing London to send Winston Churchill overnight to view the situation, who reports on Oct. 4 that Belgian resistance is weakening and the troops are "weary and disheartened" because the Germans flooded the ground to prevent trenches from being dug; on Oct. 4-5 the Brits send 8K mainly green troops of the Royal Naval Div. (incl. poet Rupert Brooke) (formed by Churchill at the start of the war) on London buses from Ostend that still have peacetime routes and destinations marked on them; on Oct. 5 22K prof. British troops are sent by sea to Ostend, causing the pop. of Antwerp to cry "Vive Tommy Atkins" and "Vive les Anglais" in the streets, and they arrive on Oct. 6, too late to stop the Belgian govt. from relocating from Amsterdam to Ostend after news that the French relief force has halted at Ghent; on Oct. 7 (eve.) the Germans begin shelling the city itself, the first shell falling near the cathedral, continuing on Oct. 8, the 17 in. Austrian guns allowing the Germans to destroy the city from 5-6 mi. away while the British 6 in. guns can't touch them, causing many Belgian troops to flee their forts and have to be forced back at bayonet point; on Oct. 10 (a.m.) after Belgian King Albert I (husband of a Bavarian duke) fires the last shot, Belgian gen. Victor Deguise (1855-1922) formally surrenders Amsterdam to the Germans, and they stage a 5-hour 60K-man triumphal entry parade headed by cmdr. Col. Gen. Hans Hartwig von Beseler (1850-1921) and military gov. Adm. Ludwig von Schroeder (1854-1933), featuring the German navy men, "the Bavarians in dark blue, the Saxons in light blue, and the Austrians in uniforms of a beautiful silver grey"; 57 British soldiers are KIA during the siege, 936 are taken POW and sent to Germany, and 1.6K retreat to Holland, where they are interned for the duration of the war; on Oct. 5 Field Marshal Baron von der Goltz issues a proclamation: "In future, villages in the vicinity of places where railway and telegraph lines are destroyed will be punished without pity, whether they are guilty or not of the acts in question. With this in view hostages have been taken in all villages near the railway lines which are threatened by such attacks. Upon the first attempt to destroy lines of railway, telegraph or telephone, they will be immediately shot." On Oct. 1-4 the First Battle of Arras sees the French Tenth Army under Gen. Louis Ernest de Maud'huy (1857-1921) outflank the Germans to prevent them from reaching the English Channel, withdrawing towards Arras and holding it as the Germans capture Lens in Pas-de-Calais on Oct. 4 and move N towards Flanders. Ypres Crypres, How about them Pypres? On Oct. 3 after the British use the prolonged siege of Antwerp to move from NE Paris to Flanders and the Channel ports, the Germans begin the Race to the Sea, trying to push through to the Channel ports, failing by Nov. 10; on Oct. 3 German forces racing to the sea reach Ypres (pr. EEP) in Belgium; on Oct. 18 the Allies recapture it, but the Germans make a stand at Menin (Menen) 12 mi. away, entrenching in the 10 mi. N-S by 5 mi. E-W Ypres Salient between Menin and Roulers, beginning the First Battle of Ypres (ends Nov. 11). On Oct. 3 the first Canadian contingent of 33K troops and 7K horses leaves the St. Lawrence River for Plymouth, England, becoming the largest armed force to cross the Atlantic as a unit so far. On Oct. 4 the Manifesto of the Ninety-Three (To the Civilized World) is issued by 93 German intellectuals incl. Wilhelm Roentgen and Max Reinhardt, countering reports of German atrocities in the Rape of Belgium with the soundbyte: "We shall wage this fight to the very end as a civilized nation, a nation that holds the legacy of Goethe, Beethoven, and Kant no less sacred than hearth and home", galvanizing German support for the war in schools and univs. while pissing-off foreign intellectuals incl. German Lutheran theologian Adolf von Harnack's student Karl Barth, causing him to ditch German liberal theology, and causing Germany's critics to began lambasting German "Kultur" as tantamount to the Huns; next year German pacifist physician Georg Friedrich Nicolai (Lewinstein) (1874-1964) pub. Manifesto to Europeans, calling for European intellectuals to unite Europe after the war, with the soundbytes: "Never before has any war so completely disrupted cultural cooperation. It has done so at the very time when progress in technology and communications clearly suggest that we recognize the need for international relations which will necessarily move in the direction of a universal, worldwide civilization"; "The first step in this direction would be for all those who truly cherish the culture of Europe to join forces, all those whom Goethe once prophetically called 'good Europeans'. We must not abandon hope that their voice speaking in unison may even today rise above the clash of arms, particularly if they are joined by those who already enjoy renown and authority"; signed by fellow U. of Berlin faculty Otto Buek, Wilhelm Julius Forster, and Albert Einstein, becoming his first foray into politics; on Nov. 25 Kaiser Wilhelm II writes a letter to British-born white supremacist Houston Stewart Chamberlain in Berlin, with the soundbyte: "It is my unspeakable conviction that the country to which God gave Luther, Goethe, Bach, Wagner, Moltke, Bismarck, and my grandfather will yet be called upon to fulfill great tasks for the benefit of mankind." On Oct. 4 German Adm. Alfred von Tirpitz writes to his wife, with the soundbyte: "We are exterminating each other on the continent for England to reap the benefit. Moreover, Perfidious Albion succeeds in holding us up before the world as the guilty party." On Oct. 5 two French aviators shoot down a German plane, killing its 2-man crew, becoming the first air combat over France. On Oct. 8 German Zeppelin LZ-25 is bombed in its shed in Dusseldorf by British pilot Lt. (later air vice marshal) Reginald Leonard George Marix (1889-1966), becoming the first of 16 destroyed in the war. On Oct. 10 (Sept. 27 Old Style) king (since 1866) Carol I (b. 1839) dies childless, and his Roman Catholic nephew Ferdinand I (1865-1927) succeeds as king #2 of Romania (until July 20, 1927), disregarding his daddy's paranoid Russian-fearing wishes to side with the Austrians and Germans and making the country officially neutral (until 1916); meanwhile on Sept. 26 German Gen. Max Hoffmann utters the soundbyte: "It looks bad for the Austrians. They have saved money over their army for twenty years, and now they are paying for it." On Oct. 10 after the troops in Lille, France trick the Germans since Oct. 4 into thinking they have a ton of artillery when they only have a single cannon, and the German Fourth Army is ordered to "cut off the fortresses of Dunkirk and Calais", a German cavalry detachment enters while French cavalry are holding a discussion with the mayor, and a few hours later a German artillery shell falls on the city while a German airplane bombs it, killing a boy and a horse; on Oct. 11-13 the Germans drop 5K shells on the city and destroy 800 bldgs., and it surrenders on Oct. 13, after which tired German troops lay down on the pavement to sleep; after finding out how they were tricked, the pissed-off Germans burn down an entire section of the town, for a total of 2.2K bldgs.; the Germans continue to occupy it until Oct. 17, 1918. On Oct. 10 leading Italian atheist Socialist Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (1883-1945) pub. an article in a Socialist newspaper calling for Italy to drop its neutrality and join the Entente, hoping that war will cause the fall of the monarchy and a Socialist rev., causing the French govt. to begin financing his newspaper Popolo d'Italia, which debuts on Nov. 15 (until July 24, 1943); in May 1915 the Russian govt. almost gives Mussolini funds but backs out, but the British finally give him funds to combat anti-war sentiment in Italy; he later utters the soundbyte: "Neutrals never dominate events. They always sink. Blood alone moves the wheels of history"; meanwhile on ? after meeting her in 1907, Mussolini marries Milan French-style beauty salon operator Ida Irene Dalser (1880-1937), who next year bears his first child Benito Alpino Mussolini (Dalser) (1915-42); too bad, after the war starts and he leaves to enlist and gets wounded and ends up in a church hospital, he marries Rachele Gide (Guidi) (1890-1979) next Dec. 17 in Treviglio, and snubs Ida and her son for life, getting them thrown into insane asylums and covering up his relationships with them. On Oct. 10-Nov. 2 the Battle of La Bassee (Bassée) in N France sees the Germans drive the British back, capturing La Bassee and Neuve Chapelle; on Oct. 15 the British recapture Givenchy-en-Gohelle, after which the Germans gain reinforcements and regain the initiative until the arrival of the Lahore Div. of the British I Indian Corps, allowing them to hold their position. On Oct. 13 the Germans occupy Meteren in Belgium, and 26-y.-o. lt. Bernard Law "Monty" Montgomery (1887-1976) is shot in the chest and knee, and has to wait four hours for a stretcher, causing his grave to be dug before he recovers. On Oct. 13 the Russians send the British a naval code book captured from German cruiser SMS Magdeburg in the Gulf of Finland, allowing the British to decode German naval messages. On Oct. 14 British troops drive the Germans out of Bailleul in Belgium after they impose a war tax on the farmers, execute 14 Frenchmen of military age, and open the lunatic asylum up, letting hundreds of inmates wander about the countryside, causing several to die. On Oct. 14-15 the Belgian govt. flees to exile in Le Havre, and establishes the Comite National de Secours et d'Alimentation (Nat. Committee for Relief and Food) (until 1920) to feed starving Belgians refused supplies by Germans; although officially neutral it ends up becoming a resistance org. On Oct. 15 the Germans occupy the North Sea port of Ostend 50 mi. W of Amsterdam (a British seaplane base from Aug. 13-22, and the seat of the Belgian govt. on Oct. 7-12), turning it into a major U-boat base. On Oct. 15 German sub U-9 aims a torpedo at HMS Theseus and misses, sinking British cruiser HMS Hawke in the North Sea, killing 524 of 594 aboard. On Oct. 16 Marquis Antonio di San Giuliano is sacked, and former PM (1906, 1909-10) Baron Sidney Constantino Sonnino (1847-1922) becomes Italian minister of foreign affairs, stepping up the claims against the Triple Alliance. On Oct. 16-31 the Battle of the Yser River between Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide along a 22 mi. stretch of the Yser River and Yperlee Canal in Belgium sees a 65K-man Belgian force (6 divs.) plus 1 French div. grind 12 divs. of Germans to a halt after several retreats, leaving them with control of 95% of Belgian territory and leaving the Belgians control of a sliver, with 40K Belgian and 15K French vs. 76,250 German casualties, making a hero of King Albert, becoming their biggest nat. claim to fame for the next cent. On Oct. 17 German torpedo boat S-90 sinks Japanese cruiser Takachiho 10 nmi. SE of Jiaozhou Bay, killing 271 of 274, becoming Japanese's largest loss of WWI. On Oct. 17 in the face of vastly superior numbers, the Germans retreat from S Poland, fleeing as much as 60 mi. a day, leaving the German industrial heartland of Silesia threatened, causing Gen. Ludendorff to redeploy the German Ninth Army from a position facing NE from Posen to Cracow to a position facing SE from Posen to Thorn, threatening the Russian city of Lodz and causing the Russians to turn to defend it; on Oct. 21 Polish troops working for Austria fight their first battle against the Russians; meanwhile on Oct. 25 after a rumor that Paris has fallen to the Germans sweeps through the Austrian and German armies and is dispelled, German soldier-philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein writes the soundbyte: "It makes me feel today more than ever the terribly sad position of our race, the German race, because it seems to me as good as certain that we cannot get the upper hand against England. The English, the best race in the world cannot lose. We, however, can and shall lose, if not this year then next. The thought that our race is going to be beaten depresses me terribly, because I am completely German." On Oct. 18 British troops retake the French town of Armentieres (Armentières); Winston Churchill's 1st cousin Capt. Norman Jerome Beauchamp Leslie (b. 1886) is KIA on Oct. 19 in Denain, causing him to utter the soundbyte: "The British army has in a few weeks of war revived before the whole world the glories of Agincourt and Blenheim and Waterloo, and in this Norman has played his part." On Oct. 18 German U-boats attempt a raid on Scapa Flow, a sea basin in the Orkneys, causing the British Grand Fleet to be withdrawn from that base and anchor for a time on the W coast of Scotland; German sub U-27 sinks British sub E-3, becoming the first sub to sink another. On Oct. 19 Columbus, Ga.-born Eugene Jacques (James) Bullard (8195-1961) enlists with the 1st Foreign Regiment of the French Foreign Legion, starting out as a machine-gunner on the Somme River front in Picardy, then Artois and Champagne, getting seriously wounded at the Battle of Verdun in Mar. 1916, after which on Oct. 2, 1916 he volunteers for the French Air Service as a gunner, becoming the first African-Am. military pilot and getting promoted to cpl. on June 28, 1917, assigned to Escadrille N.93, whose insignia is a flying duck, flying with his poet monkey Jimmy; too bad, when the U.S. enters the war, the U.S. Army Air Service refuses to accept him, and after he strikes a French officer in a fight he is transferred to the 170th Battalion in Jan. 1918 for the rest of the war, after which he owns the L'Escadrille Nightclub in Paris in the early 1920s, becoming known as "Le Grand Duc" and making friends with Louis Armstrong, Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes et al.; after the May 1940 German invasion of France, he joins the 51st Infantry, and is wounded in Orleans, returning to the U.S. in July via Spain, after which he ends up working as an elevator operator at Rockefeller Center in New York City, dying in poverty. On Oct. 20 after reaching Edinburgh from Berlin, then travelling to Rosyth and Liverpool while reporting on British naval dispositions via telegram to Sweden (incl. the rumor that Russian soldiers were en route through Scotland to France) German spy navy lt. Karl (Carl) Hans Lody (b. 1877) AKA Charles A. Inglis is arrested en route to the British naval base at Queenstown, and executed by firing squad in the Tower of London on Nov. 6 (first German spy executed in Britain in WWI), earning the respect of the British for doing his duty, however amateurishly. On Oct. 22 Turkish war minister Enver Pasha presents Germany with its war plans. On Oct. 22-23 1.5K Germans are killed in hand-to-hand fighting in the Ypres Salient near Langemarck, and 700 German POWs are taken at Kortekeer Cabaret, with 50 British POWs liberated; on Oct. 25 a batallion of the British Wiltshire Regiment is almost annihilated at Reutel N of the Menin Road; on Oct. 25 (night) the Indian Corps goes into action for the first time on the Western Front between Wytschaete and Messines, driving a German attack back and winning Sepoy Usman Khan an Indian Distinguished Service Medal; on Oct. 26 they stage their first attack, losing Capt. P.C. Hampe-Vincent and nine men; by Oct. 30 four more British officers, four Indian officers, and 200+ Indian soldiers are KIA; on Oct. 26 British troops holding the village of Kruiseecke S of the Menin Road are shelled by their own artillery. On Oct. 23 after the British India Office sends the Sixth Indian (Poona) Div., a reinforced brigade of 4.5K British and Indian troops from Bombay to the Shatt-al-Arab to "encourage the Arabs to rally to us" and to protect the Anglo-Persian oilfields at Abadan, they arrive on Abadan Island, reaching Fao at the head of the Persian Gulf on Nov. 6, waiting until Turkey declares war to bombard the landing place, then battling a Turkish force from Basra on Nov. 11, capturing it on Nov. 21, and reaching Qurna at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers on Nov. 21, taking it on Dec. 8 after losing five British and 60 Indian troops, killing 300 Turkish soldiers and capturing 1K+ Turkish POWs, causing the Brits to call Turks "catch-em-alive-o's"; the Brits now have a secure front line in Mesopotamia; too bad, they go beyond orders to engage in a defensive war, with a "forward defense". On Oct. 26 after mistaking it for a troop ship, German sub U-17 under Capt. Johannes Feldkirchener sinks French steamship SS Admiral Ganteaume in the English Channel, killing 40 of 2K Belgian refugees, becoming the first merchant ship torpedoed without warning in WWI. On Oct. 27 (8:50 a.m.) brand-new 23K-ton British battleship HMS Audacious strikes a mine off the coast of Ulster and sinks, and the British Cabinet decides to keep it secret; too bad, on Nov. 14 the Philadelphia Public Ledger in Penn. pub. a photo of the ship sinking taken by a passenger on the HMS Olympic - poetic justice for all them audacious things they did to the Irish over the centuries? On Oct. 27 the Germans break through the British lines at Neuve Chapelle, firing shrapnel containing irritant dianisidine chlorsulphonate, after which on Oct. 28 the Indian Corps counterattacks, taking the village, only to see the Germans reattack and take it back, killing 221 of 289, earning Subadar Malla Singh the first Military Cross of the war for an Indian officer; by Oct. 4 25 British officers and 500 Indian troops are killed and 1,455 wounded. On Oct. 28 (renegade?) Turkish-flagged German cruisers Goeben and Breslau under German Adm. Wilhelm Anton Souchon (1864-1946) sail from Constantinople into the Black Sea, and on Oct. 29 bombard the Russian ports of Odessa, Nikolayev, Sebastopol, Feodosia, and Novorossisk, burning 50 oil storage tanks and granaries, laying mines, and sinking a Russian minelayer, signalling the official entry of the Ottomans into the war as one of the Central Powers, with Adm. Souchon uttering the soundbyte: "I have thrown the Turks into the powder keg." On Oct. 29 (5:30 a.m.) a German offensive begins in the Ypres Salient, with an intercepted wireless message tipping the Brits off on Oct. 27 but proving of no use since British artillery is down to nine rounds per gun per day; the main German objective is Gheluvelt in Flanders, with Gen. von Fabeck issuing the order on Oct. 30: "The breakthrough will be of decisive importance. We must and therefore will conquer, settle for ever the centuries-long struggle, end the war, and strike the decisive blow against our most detested enemy. We will finish the British, Indians, Canadians, Moroccans, and other trash, feeble adversaries, who surrender in great numbers if they are attacked vigorously"; on Oct. 29 the new Bavarian List Regiment loses 349 men outside Gheluvelt, and lucky plucker Adolf Hitler is promoted to lance-cpl.; on Oct. 31 the Battle of Gheluvelt sees the Germans take the village, but the Brits take it back; on Nov. 1 the Germans drive the Allies back to the Zillebeke Wood, killing 130 of 400 Irish Guardsmen on the right flank of the British line, causing French troops to take their place on Nov. 2; on Nov. 5 the Germans make a last attempt to break through, attacking along the Wytschaete Ridge S of Ypres, but run out of artillery shells; on Nov. 5 Adolf Hitler distinguishes himself, and on Dec. 2 is awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd Class after his List Regiment loses 700 of 3.6K men in 10 days. On Oct. 29 the Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia. On Oct. 30 the Italians occupy Saseno (Sazan) Island on the Albanian coast, followed by Valona (Vlore) (Vlorë) on Dec. 26, and demand that the Austrians cede them. On Oct. 31 Hooge Chateau in France, HQ of Maj. Gen. Sir Carmichael Charles Monro (1860-1929) is destroyed by a German shell, wounding Monro and killing several staff officers. On Oct. 31-Nov. 7 the Siege of Tsingtao sees the German surrender it to the British and Japanese, and the rest of the German holdings in the Pacific begin falling like a house of cards, incl. the Marianas, Carolines, Marshall Islands, New Britain (Neu Pommern) (capital Rabaul), German New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, and Solomons. In Oct. the Assyrian (Syriac) Genocide begins after the Ottomans begin deporting and massacring Assyrians and Armenians in Van, killing 275K by 1920. In Oct. English poet-soldier Julian Grenfell (1888-1915) writes a letter with the soundbyte "I adore war. It is like a big picnic but without the objectivelessness of a picnic. I have never been more well or more happy"; its pub. causes thousands of British youths to join the Army, only to see him KIA next May. On Nov. 1 the Battle of Coronel sees a German squadron on the China Station under Vice Adm. Maximilian Reichsgraf (Graf) von Spee (1861-1914), incl. SMS Gneisenau and SMS Scharnhorst catch an inferior British force under vice-adm. Sir Christopher George Francis Maurice "Kit" Cradock (b. 1862) off Coronel on the coast of Chile, sinking the flagship HMS Good Hope and the cruiser HMS Monmouth, killing all 1.5K aboard incl. Cradock, horrifying British public opinion and giving the Huns something to crow about, becoming the first major British naval defeat since Lake Champlain in 1814; British light cruiser HMS Glasgow escapes - Sir Christopher Cradock sleeps with the crabs? On Nov. 1 Shiite Muslim Persia declares neutrality. On Nov. 1 the British attack a Turkish minelayer in Smyrna. On Nov. 2 after discovering a German ship unloading mines off the English coast, to counter German mining past the 3-mi. line in violation of the 1907 Second Hague Convention, which results in many neutral ships being sunk without warning, the British declare the whole of the North Sea a "military area" that they can mine at will, with neutral ships required to check into British ports and be searched before being escorted through the minefields, bringing a protest by Norway and Sweden, who ask the U.S. to join them, but refuses, even though it blocks them from commerce with Germany; only five U.S. ships are sunk and four killed during the war for refusing to comply with the British blockade, which violates the 1856 Paris Maritime Declaration? On Nov. 2-16 the Bergmann Offensive (Koprukoy Operation), the first battle in the WWI Caucasus Campaign sees the 100K-man I Caucasian Army Corps under Gen. Georgy Bergmann (Berhmann) cross the Turkish border headed toward Koprukoy, only to be defeated by the 118K-man Ottoman Third Army after taking 40K casualties vs. 14K for the Turks, encouraging Enver Pasha to plan an attack on Sankamis. On Nov. 3 Montenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire. On Nov. 3 Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire, becoming the 12th Russo-Turkish War (first in 1568); Russian troops cross Turkey's E border; on Nov. 3 a British cruiser bombards the Turkish Red Sea port of Aqaba, then sends a shore party to blow up the post office; on Nov. 3 British and French warships bombard Turkish forts in the Dardanelles, blowing up the powder magazine at Sedd-ul-Bahr on the N shore; on Nov. 4 Tewfik Pasha asks Sir Edward Grey for his passports; on Nov. 5 Britain and France declare war on the Ottoman Empire, and the Christian (don't say Crusader?) Triple Entente Allies (Britain, France, Russia) are now at war with the Muslim Sunni Ottoman Empire, with British PM Asquith uttering the soundbyte: "It is the Ottoman government and not we who have rung the death knell of Ottoman dominion not only in Europe but in Asia", his wife later writing in her diary: "I loathe the Turk, and really hope that he will be wiped out of Europe. Germany blackmailed Turkey till it went over, but except for threatening Egypt I doubt if it will bother us much"; on Nov. 11 Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V officially declares jihad (holy war) against the Allies, becoming the last genuine jihad proclamation (until ?), since the caliphate ends in 1926; within a few mo. jihadist genocide of millions of Christians begins; too bad, Muslim solidarity isn't so strong, and the proclamation doesn't keep the Arabs from joining the infidel British against the Ottomans in 1916; Winston Churchill writes to Sir Edward Grey that 50K Russian troops should be brought from Archangel or Vladivostok to attack the Turks on the Gallipoli Peninsula, which will bring "the end of the Turkish menace"; meanwhile in Nov. Prussian cavalry gen. Moritz Ferdinand von Bissing (1844-1917) ("the only German general who could strut sitting down") replaces Baron Colmar von der Goltz as German gov. of Belgium at Le Havre (until Apr. 1917); von der Goltz becomes aide-de-camp to whimpy Mehmed V, and is appointed cmdr. of the Fifth Turkish Army in Oct. 1915 by Enver Pasha, even though he doesn't like the Kraut; meanwhile Mata Hari sets her sights on kissing and seducing von Bissing; the Turks conscript 3M men, over half of whom end up deserting, and the economy suffers a 2500% inflation by 1918; the Germans send a small number of troops to pump up Turkish defenses in the Dardanelles; Greece refuses Allied pressure to attack Gallipoli because pro-Entente PM Eleutherios Venizelos is countered by pro-German king Constantine I, whose wife Sophie is Kaiser Wilhelm II's sister; meanwhile Anglicized Indian Shiite Ismaili Muslim imam #48 (since 1885) Aga Khan III (1877-1957) works to win his 20M followers to the Allied side. On Nov. 3 the Battle of Kilimanjaro in East Africa is V for the Germans under Maj. Georg Kraut over the Brits under Brig. Gen. J.M. Stewart, with 109 German vs. 312 British casualties. On Nov. 3-5 the Battle of Tanga (Battle of the Bees) in German East Africa (modern-day Tanzania) at the seaport of Tanga (terminus of the Usumbara Railway from Mt. Kilimanjaro) sees the Germans under Col. Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870-1964) defeat a greatly superior (8K to 1K) but bumbling British-Indian landing force under Maj. Gen. Arthur Edward Aitken (1861-1924), aided by locals pissed-off at the white-man-speaks-with-forked-tongue tactics of the Brits, causing them to join the Germans, and also aided by swarms of mean bees in the jungle, taking the steam out of the British in East Africa for a year; after suffering 360 KIA and 487 wounded (vs. 61 Germans KIA and 81 wounded), the retreating Indian troops leave behind their weapons and 600K rounds of ammo, and von Lettow-Vorbeck becomes a big hero, "the Lion of Africa", and is promoted to gen., while the British D is covered up back home for months; the Germans in East Africa never number more than 3K, aided by 11K Africans, and hold in check a force of 300K British, Belgian, and Portuguese troops, and don't surrender until 14 days after the Nov. 11, 1918 armistice; von Lettow-Vorbeck becomes the only German cmdr. to successfully invade imperial British soil during WWI. On Nov. 6 the Fao Landing in Mesopotamia (Iraq) is followed on Nov. 8 the Battle of Fao Fortress, which is a V for the British over the Ottomans, who capture the fort. On Nov. 9 in return for joining the war the Allies offer Bulgaria the Enos-Midia Line in E Thrace, plus the 1912 uncontested zone of Macedonia currently in Serbian possession, but the Bulgarians hold out for most of Macedonia, the Kavalla-Drama-Series region of W Thrace, and the part of the Dobrudja lost to Romania in 1913, causing negotiations to fall through. On Nov. 9 the Battle of Cocos (Keeling) Islands sees Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney sink the German raider SMS Emden, killing 134, becoming the first wartime action fought by an Australian warship; German Capt. Karl von Muller is praised by the British press for fair treatment of crews and passengers of captured and sunk ships (23 Allied merchant ships, a Russian cruiser, and a French destroyer), with the London Times saying "If all the Germans had fought as well as the Captain of the Emden, the German people would not today be reviled by the world." On Nov. 11 after stockpiling of shells for a week permits the heaviest artillery bombardment of the war so far, the Prussian Guard tries to take Ypres, but is thrown back after breaking through the British front line; an all-student battalion of the Third Guards Field Artillery Regiment overruns French machine guns before being almost annihilated, with future Stalin spy Richard "Ramsay" Sorge (1895-1944) (German father, Russian mother) being one of the lucky survivors, getting wounded in the leg, then getting both legs broken in Apr. 1916 and turning Communist in the military hospital in Konigsberg despite receiving the Iron Cross, 2nd Class; after Irish-born British brig.-gen. Charles FitzClarence (b. 1865) is KIA scouting the Polygon Wood on Nov. 12, receiving a posth. Victoria Cross, the First Battle of Ypres (begun Oct. 18) ends with 5K British and 5K Germans killed, and no net movement, stopping the German race to the Channel and preventing them from reaching Calais at the cost of half of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) of 100K; in 1921 British Field Marshal John French is created 1st earl of Ypres. On Nov. 11-Dec. 6 the Battle of Lodz sees 225K German troops under Karl Litzmann (1850-1936) heading for Warsaw surround Lodz by Nov. 18, which is defended by 400K Russians, who are still carrying on their offensive into Silesia, whose senior gen. orders a retreat, only to be countermanded by Russian CIC Grand Duke Nicholas, losing ground then breaking out on Nov. 25, with 160K German and 120K Russian casualties, the approaching winter paralyzing both armies, call it a push; for his V Gen. Hindenburg is made a field marshal; Litzmann earns the nickname "Lion of Brzeziny"; Russian Gen. Rennenkampf is replaced by Gen. Litvinov. On Nov. 12 Bolshevik-backed workers strike in Petrograd; meanwhile tsarist police discover Bolshevik cells in several army units, esp. in railway battalions. On Nov. 16 the New Fatherland League is founded by U. of Berlin profs. Georg Friedrich Nicolai, Albert Einstein et al., "for the prompt achievement of a just peace without annexations"; next July 27 it supports a declaration by 91 German intellectuals opposing all territorial annexations and pushing a compromise peace; too bad, after they distribute a collection of quotes from British pacifists incl. Bertrand Russell and George Bernard Shaw, the German govt. shuts them down. On Nov. 16-Dec. 15 the Battle of Kolubara on the right bank of the Kolubara River in W Serbia sees a poorly equipped 250K-man Serbian army under Gen. Zivojin Misic (1855-1921) decisively defeat a well-equipped 450K-man Austro-Hungarian army under I-was-in-the-car Gen. Oskar Potiorek, with 225K Austrian casualties and 76.5K Austrians taken POW vs. 133K Serb casualties. On Nov. 21 three British aircraft carry out the first long-distance bombing raid of the war, flying from Belfort, France to bomb the German Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance with a total of 12 bombs; a British pilot is forced to make a forced landing, and is attacked and badly injured by German civilians before being rescued by German soldiers; on Nov. 23 the first French bombing group is formed. On Nov. 23 (night) in Festubert in the Ypres Salient, Germans attack Indian troops, who recapture their trenches on Nov. 24 after taking 100+ German POWs, becoming one of the first WWI trench battles; Indian cpl. Darwan Singh Nedi is awarded the Victoria Cross; meanwhile on Nov. 24 in a nearby sector, British Jewish lt. Frank Alexander De Pass (b. 1887) destroys a British sap (feeler trench) and rescues a wounded soldier from No Man's Land through 200 yards of German machine gun fire, then on Nov. 25 is KIA by a German sniper as he tries to recapture the sap, receiving a posth. Victoria Cross. On Nov. 25 French artillery shell the village of Arnaville 10 mi. S of Metz on the Moselle River; meanwhile the Germans attack the village of Sampigny to the W, destroying the Le Clos home of Pres. Raymond Poincare. On Nov. 26 after Russian troops cross into Austrian Silesia and Hungary, occupying Bartfeld in N Hungary, causing fears of a Hungarian revolt, Austrian gen. Conrad von Hoetzendorf proposes martial law in Silesia, Moravia, and Bohemia, but is turned down by Emperor Franz Josef, who is still multiculti. On Nov. 26 British battleship HMS Bulwark explodes at Sheerness while ammunition is being loaded, killing 793 of 815. On Nov. 28 Russian troops reach within 8 mi. of Cracow, capital of Austrian Poland, beginning the Battle of Limanowa on Dec. 1-13 25 mi. SE of Cracow after the Polish army under Gen. Stefan Ljubicic stops a Russian breakthrough to the SW between the village of Limanowa and Cracow; the Austrian Third Army drives the Russians from the Carpathian Mts., eventually retaking the strategic Dukla Pass; the Austrian Fourth Army defeats the Russians and drives them back E, saving the Austrian war effort. In Nov. the British test the Turkish defenses at Gallipoli for a possible assault next year; somehow (from the Greeks?) the Turks find out the British plans, and are ready for them next April. On Dec. 1 the Russian govt. orders the mobilization of students, allowing the Bolsheviks to infiltrate the army and begin spreading anti-war propaganda. On Dec. 1 the first German aircraft are fitted with radio transmitters to report enemy troop and artillery locations. On Dec. 2 the Austrians finally capture Belgrade, Serbia, wreaking vengeance on the univ. for its pan-Serbian propaganda, only to lose the city to a Serbian counterattack on Dec. 15, the Serbs taking 40K Austrian POWs and capturing 133 heavy guns, finding 10K Serbian POWs and 1K horses left behind; too bad, the Austrians commit atrocities in Sabac, Leknica, and other villages in Serbia during their occupation, furnishing material for Am. Socialist war correspondent John Silas "Jack" Reed (1887-1920), who pub. a book in 1915 - so it's time to stop WWI, except for all that money being made? On Dec. 3 Britain promises Japan that it can occupy all German territory N of the equator, pissing-off Australia. On Dec. 6 Romania rejects Allied requests to guarantee Greece against Bulgarian attack or make concessions in the Dobrudja Black Sea Coast at the mouth of the Danube River. On Dec. 6 a French airplane drops a metal arrow that mortally wounds German Gen. Johann Streck (b. 1850)? On Dec. 8 Pres. Wilson gives his Second Annual Message to Congress. On Dec. 8 the Battle of the Falkland Islands begins after the British send sturdy vice-adm. Sir Frederick Doveton Sturdee (1859-1925) with battle cruisers HMS Invincible and HMS Inflexible to get even with the Germans for the Good Hope and Monmouth, and they catch them trying to destroy the naval docks of Port Stanley while taking on coal before raiding the Falkland Islands, surprising them and causing them to try to flee to a distance where they can blast them with their superior 12-in. guns, sinking the SMS Scharnhorst, SMS Gneisenau, SMS Leipzig, and SMS Nurnberg (Nürnberg), killing 2.1K Germans vs. only 10 British; only the SMS Dresden escapes, becoming the last remaining German sea cruiser before being sunk on Mar. 14, 1915, after which German commerce raiding on the high seas comes to an end except for U-boats. On Dec. 10 British Gen. Smith-Dorrien comments on the thick mud on the Western Front: "In that part of the world there appeared to be no stones or gravel, and rain converted the soil into a liquid mud of the consistency of thick porriage, without the valuable sustaining quality of that excellent Scots mixture. To walk off the roads meant sinking in at once." On Dec. 12 French philosopher Henri-Louis Bergson (1859-1941) delivers a pres. address to the Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, saying that the German Huns are at the gates, this time equipped with modern weapons, and that Germany's ideology is "a translation into intellectual terms of her brutality, her appetites, and her vices"; next year it is repub. and comes a big hit. On Dec. 15 the last exhausted Austrian soldiers retreat across the Danube River from Serbia, having failed to make their point, losing 227K of 450K troops vs. Serbian losses of 170K; Gen. Potiorek is relieved of command and replaced by handsome and popular Archduke Eugen (1863-1954), last Hapsburg grandmaster of the Teutonic Order (1894-1923); the Austrians are so mentally beaten that the Germans begin to say, "Allies? Why, we're shackled to a corpse." On Dec. 16 four German battle cruisers shell Scarborough, Whitby, and Hartlepool on the E coast of England, killing 40 civilians and wounding several hundred, becoming the first civilians killed by enemy action in Britain since 1690, shocking British public opinion and causing the Germans to be called the "baby killers of Scarborough". On Dec. 16 the Indian Corps under Gen. Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928), attempts to penetrate the German trenches at Givenchy, France S of Neuve Chapelle, losing 54 men, with an adjacent group of Highlanders being captured after their rifles become clogged with mud; on Dec. 18 they try again, and the Germans under Bavarian Crown Prince Rupprecht (Rupert) (1869-1955) try to trick them by pretending to surrender while more men wait behind them with machine guns, but they don't fall for it, and win; meanwhile a nearby battalion of Scots Guards attacks the German trenches and loses half of their men killed or wounded, with a story spread of how a wounded British soldier is shot in the thighs and murdered as he tries to crawl back to his trench; on Dec. 19 a German soldier writes in his diary (later found by the French): "The sight of the trenches and the fury, not to say bestiality, of our men in beating to death the wounded English affected me so much that, for the rest of the day I was fit for nothing"; on Dec. 20 a German counterattack regains the lost trenches; by Dec. 22 the lines are back where they started, with 4K British and 2K German casualties; during the retreat the Germans explode a mine under an Indian trench, wiping out E Co. under Capt. Yates. On Dec. 17 Young Cluck, er, Turk Enver Pasha begins an ill-advised Napoleon-like invasion of the Caucasus, losing 25K of 95K troops to freezing and desertion on their way to the Russian main base at Kars in E Asia Minor. On Dec. 18-19 after he tries to ally Egypt with Turkey and the Central Powers, the British dethrone Egyptian khedive Abbas Hilmi II, and enthrone his Anglophile uncle (associate of Lord Horatio Kitchener) Hussein (Husayn) Kamil (Kamel) (Kemal) (1853-1917) as sultan (until Oct. 9, 1917), then declare Egypt a British protectorate, officially detaching it from the Ottoman Empire; Abbas II goes into exile in Switzerland; Hussein Rushdi Pasha (1863-1928) becomes PM of Egypt (until 1919). On Dec. 18-19 the kings of the three Scandinavian states of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden meet at the Malmo Conference, and confirm their neutrality. On Dec. 20 the First Battle of Champagne (ends Mar. 17) starts with skirmishes, spreading from Nieuport to Verdun, becoming the first major allied attack since the Race to the Sea. On Dec. 21 the first German air raid on Britain takes place; on Dec. 24 Taswell St. in Dover, England is bombed, becoming Britain's first aerial bombing of the war - was a creature stirring? On Dec. 22 British gen. Sir John French orders his troops to instantly fire on any German white flag on the Western Front, claiming they have been systematically abusing it, causing the British Admiralty to order ditto for a white flag hoisted by a German ship unless it's already "obviously helpless". On Dec. 22-Jan. 17 while driving the Russians in the mountain passes of E Turkey back across the 1878 frontier, the frozen Turks suffer a calamitous defeat at the Battle of Sarikamish (halfway between Kars and Erzerum in Armenia W of the Caucasus Mts. and NW of Lake Van) by the Russians under Gen. Nikolai Yudenich (1862-1933) (staff officer to the viceroy of Caucasia at the start of the war, who later joins the White Russians), turning the tide in the Caucasus, but Enver Pasha doesn't acknowledge it until mid-Jan., by which time his army is reduced from the original 95K to 18K, with up to 30K dead, causing him to Code Orange (beat it); meanwhile Russian troops from Siberia meant for the Caucasus Front are diverted to defend Warsaw; the Germans send Gen. Otto Liman von Sanders (1855-1929) to reorganize the Turkish army, supported by money and equipment; when Enver Pasha finds out that Ottoman Armenians have defected to the Russian army he uses it as an excuse to disarm all Armenians in the Turkish army, put them into menial manual jobs, and finally massacre them; the German-Turkish plan to launch a pan-Islamic movement to weaken Britain's hold on India is kaput; meanwhile on Dec. 30 Tsar Nicholas II visits the Caucasus Front, telling the head of the Armenian Church that "a most brilliant future" awaits them, causing Turkey to see red, regarding their Armenian minority as a potential fifth column. The war could indeed have ended by Christmas, but Satan trumps Christ? On Dec. 24 (eve.) the Germans, British, French, and Belgians along the 475-mi. Western Front (English Channel to Swiss Alps) take time out to celebrate together in No Man's Land in the surrealistic no-white-flags-needed 1914 Christmas Truce, which starts after the Germans begin singing "Silent Night", causing the English and French to put down their guns and chime in, share food and photos, play soccer, and agree to continue the truce long enough to bury their dead on Dec. 25; later soldiers on both sides are reprimanded and punished for fraternizing with the enemy - blood is thicker than kidney pie and braunschweiger? On Dec. 25 new French battleship Jean Bart (launched Sept. 23, 1911) is sunk in the Straits of Otranto by an Austrian sub. On Dec. 25 nine British seaplanes attack the German Zeppelin sheds at Cuxhaven in frozen fog, destroying none, but the noise makes a German cruiser try to move out of its moorings and strike another cruiser, damaging them both; a German seaplane drops two bombs on the village of Cliffe near Gravesend in Kent, with no casualties. On Dec. 25 the French Foreign Legion in Alsace led by lt.-col. Giuseppe Garibaldi (grandson of the Italian hero) attacks German positions, losing his cousin Capt. Bruno Garibaldi. On Dec. 25 Cardinal Mercier, Roman Catholic archbishop of Malines, Belgium delivers his 1914 Christmas Message, with the soundbyte: "The religion of Christ makes patriotism a law; there is no perfect Christian who is not a perfect patriot." On Dec. 25 the first Russian POWs from the Battle of Tannenberg die in the Wittenberg POW Camp 30 mi. SW of Berlin. On Dec. 25-Jan. 18 the Battle of Ardahan sees the Ottomans under German Maj. (later lt. col.) August Stange capture Ardahan in NE Turkey near the Georgian border and cut the link to the Sankamis-Kars line. On Dec. 26-29 100+ anti-war Christians meet at Trinity Hall in Cambridge U., concluding "Firstly, that Britain was bound in honour to help France; secondly, that war was unchristian"; Presbyterian Rev. Richard Roberts is forced out of his pulpit in N London for his pacifist views; meanwhile on Dec. 26 Irish poet Katharine Tynan (1861-1931) expresses the pro-war Christian majority view with a poem in the Spectator, which becomes a favorite of London Bishop A. Winnington-Ingram: "Lest heaven be thronged with grey-beards hoary,/ God, who made boys for His delight,/ Stoops in a day of grief and glory/ And calls them in, in from the night." On Dec. 26-30 French troops attack Steinbach W of Mulhouse in Alsace on the S extremity of the Western Front, with 600 French and 700 Germans KIA before the French are driven back. In Dec. the I (First) Anzac Corps, made up of Australian and Kiwi (New Zealand) divs. begin arriving in Egypt, bound for the Western Front, with Indian army dept. secy. William Riddell "Birdy" Birdwood (1865-1951) promoted to lt. gen. and put in charge, arriving on Dec. 21; he becomes known for palling around with the common soldiers sans rank insignia, like Henry V at Agincourt, becoming known as Birdy, going on to become British army CIC in India in 1925-30, and get created 1st Baron Birdwood of Anzac and Totnes on Jan. 1, 1938. In Dec. U.S. ambassador (Ohio gov. #42 in 1904-6) Myron Timothy Herrick (1854-1929), who maintains his HQ in Paris even after the French govt. flees to Bordeaux is relieved, returning to the U.S. to work on war relief. In Dec. new Turkish military cmdr. of Palestine Gen. Djemal Pasha (1872-1922) rounds up 500 Russian immigrant Jews and deports them from Jaffa to Egypt; in Beirut he hangs several leaders of the Arab nationalist movement; in Jerusalem he disbands a Jewish militia set up by the local Otomanization Committee to fight the Allies, ordering the execution of anyone carrying Zionist documents, and expelling Zionists David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973) and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi (1884-1963), who are put on a ship in Jaffa with a note banning them from the Ottoman Empire forever, after which they travel to the U.S. and switch sides to the Allies, forming a new Jewish Legion under Col. John Henry Patterson. America tries Fascism, but chokes on its Jewish members? In Dec. the Nat. Security League is founded by U.S. Gen. Leonard Wood (1860-1927), U.S. Rep. (R-Mass.) Augustus Peabody Gardner (1865-1918) and Jewish atty. Solomon Stanwood Menken (1870-1954), with pres. #1 Joseph Hodges Choate Jr. (1876-1968), forming a 47-member nat. committee incl. Jewish mining magnate Daniel Guggenheim (1856-1930) and banker John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913); it goes on to become a quasi-fascist org. working to promote "Americanism" by making English the official language of the U.S., discouraging teaching of "foreign" languages, and advocating high defense spending and universal conscription (excluding convicts, johns, sexual deviants, and religious or political dissenters), and pushing for U.S. entry into the Great War; too bad, it goes overboard by whipping up anti-German and anti-Communist hysteria, forming the first political action committee in the U.S. in 1918, which spends $100K to defeat its opponents, causing the U.S. House to strike back and form a committee which finds it guilty of violating the 1910 U.S. Corrupt Practices Act; it becomes kaput in 1942, although many of its proposals are incorporated into the U.S. govt. Canadian Liberal leader Sir Wilfrid Laurier joins the Conservatives in aiding Britiain during WWI, saying that Canada is not bound to fight in every "British war", although the govt. is legally bound to recognize a state of war with their enemies, but that Canada is "but one mind and one heart" in supporting Britain this time, although he opposes a military draft and refuses to enter a coalition govt. Andrew Fisher becomes PM of Australia again (#10) (until 1915). Dr. William Crawford Gorgas (1854-1920) is appointed surgeon gen. in the U.S. Army with rank of brig. gen., rising to maj. gen. in 1916 and retiring from the army in 1918, going on to become dir. of yellow fever research at the Rockefeller Foundation - none of that vomito negro, now? Canadian physician Sir William Osler (1849-1919) ("most influential physician in history") is put in charge of gen. medical preparedness of British forces in WWI (until 1915). Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), a rare Englishwoman who enjoys a higher education goes to Persia and becomes an ambassador without portfolio, working to give the Arabs self-govt. and playing a major role in the creation of Iraq, although being a you know what she never gets due credit? Canadian-born novelist Sir Gilbert Parker (1862-1932), Conservative British MP from Gravesend since 1900 is put in charge of British publicity in the U.S. (until 1916), then made a member of the privy council. New Zealand occupies Western Samoa, and is granted a League of Nations mandate. Australia captures Bougainville Island in the Solomons near New Guinea from the Germans. The Bank of England is authorized to issue money in excess of the statutory limit; the govts. of Europe begin stealing gold from commercial banks, while their central banks inflate the currency to pay for the war. Henry Mayers Hyndman (1842-1921), founder of the British Socialist Party quits after becoming an ardent nationalist and they become opposed to British entry into WWI, and in 1916 founds the Nat. Socialist Party (unfortunate name), which doesn't go very far. British-born Canadian industrialist Arthur Blaikie Purvis (1890-1941) is sent to the U.S. to buy all available stocks of acetone to help make explosives; when he doesn't get enough, efforts are launched to make it synthetically. Sphagnum moss begins to be used by British field surgeons to pack wounds, easing the shortage of cotton. The war causes soldiers to begin ditching pocket watches for wristwatches, causing them to become popular after the war.

1915 Chinese Year: Rabbit - as in rabbit hole? At the start of the year the French have lost 300K dead and 600K wounded, captured, or missing, more deaths than the Brits sustain in WWII. A war-caused famine in Syria and Lebanon this year and next kills 100K. Speaking of rabbits, tetanus epidemics plague the rat-infested trenches, and there is a typhus epidemic among the Austrian and Serbian armies, causing British women volunteers to travel to Serbia with 100+ tons of medical supplies. Between this year and 1926 a sleeping sickness (encephalitis lethargica) epidemic hits Europe, spreading to New York City by 1917 (until 1928); in summer 1969 80 survivors housed in the Beth Abraham Hospital in New York City, all frozen in a trancelike state are awakened by English Jewish neurologist Oliver Wolf Sacks (1933-2015) using L-dopa, starting with patient Leonard Lowe, only to find that the effects fade or disappear, incl. the smile and the playful quality. Speaking of sleeping in trenches, at the start of the year the Western Front has become fixed, changing into a war of position (trench warfare); the Germans control all but the tip of Belgium, and about 10% (21K sq. km) of France, incl. many of the coal and iron mines and industrial areas; in the next three years the front line never varies by more than 10 mi., starting in the E in Verdun (Fr.), then W through Rheims (Fr.) and Soissons (Fr.), then N through Noyon (Ger.), Montdidier (Fr.), Peronne (Ger.), Albert (Fr.), Bapaume (Ger.), Arras (Fr.), Lens, La Bassee (Ger.), Armentieres, Ypres (Brit.), Passchendaele, Dixmude (Ger.), then through Nieuport (Brit.) and Ostend (Ger.) on the North Sea coast; in 1915-17 Britain sells Russia 1K airplanes and airplane engines, 250 heavy artillery, 27K machine guns, 1M rifles, 8M grenades, 64K tons of iron and steel, 200K tons of explosives, and 2.5B rounds of ammo - internat. Jewish banker jokes here? If it's stalemate on the land, let's mix it up on the sea? The year begins with a small naval battle which causes a shakeup of the command structure on both sides? In early Jan. the British Grand Fleet under Adm. Sir John Jellicoe has 20 (18?) dreadnoughts vs. 13 (17?) for the German High Seas Fleet under adm. Friedrich von Ingenohl (1857-1933), and four battle cruisers (based in Rosyth), HMS Indomitable (1907) (12 in.), HMS Lion (1910) (13.5 in. guns), Tiger (13.5 in.), HMS Princess Royal (1911) (13.5 in.), and HMS New Zealand (1911) (12 in.) against four for the Germans (based in Wilhelmshaven), the SMS Von der Tann (1909) (11 in.) (under repair), SMS Blucher (1909) (8 in.), SMS Moltke (1911) (11 in.), SMS Derfflinger (1912) (12 in.), and SMS Seydlitz (1913) (11 in.). On Jan. 1 German sub U-24 sinks British battleship HMS Formidable in the English Channel off Lyme Regis, Dorset, killing all 547 aboard. On Jan. 1 the Battle (Massacre) of Broken Hill in N.S.W., Australia sees two Muslims from N India (Pakistan) ambush a train, killing four and injuring seven, becoming the first jihadist attack in Australia. On Jan. 2 a telegram from the British ambassador in Petrograd reaches London with a plea from Grand Duke Nicholas to make a "demonstration" against the Turks to induce them to withdraw from the Caucasus. On Jan. 2 the Brits propose a plan to attack the Turkish forts of the Dardanelles using the Anzac Corps in Egypt after David Lloyd George on Jan. 1 urges "bringing Germany down by knocking the props from under her"; on Jan. 5 Lord Kitchener informs the British War Council of the plan, which they approve, with secy. (since Nov.) Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey (1877-1963) uttering the soundbyte that a V in the Dardanelles "would give us the Danube as a line of communication for an army penetrating into the heart of Austria, and bring our sea power to bear in the middle of Europe." In early Jan. Winston Churchill writes a Letter on the Tank to British PM Herbert Asquith, proposing that steam tractors be fitted with small armored shelters and used to cross trenches at night; J.A. Corry of Leeds demonstrates a complete working model of a tank to the British authorities, who reject it, but Churchill proves his worth by getting it manufactured in 1915-16. On Jan. 7 Bolsheviks distribute leaflets in Petrograd calling for the proletariat incl. soldiers to quit paying monthly rents; meanwhile wealthy Bolshevik Alexander Lvovich Parvus (Helphand) (Israel Lazarevich Gelfand) (1867-1924) tells the German ambassador to Turkey in Constantinople: "The interests of the German government are identical with those of the Russian revolutionaries", and by Apr. they start handing money to Swiss exile Vladimir Lenin via an Estonian intermediary to pump-up the anti-war propaganda in hopes of undermining the tsarist regime. On Jan. 13 Count Istvan (Stephen) Burian von Rajecz (1851-1922) becomes foreign minister of Austria-Hungary (until 1918), replacing Baron Leopold von Berchtold, and on Jan. 16 he receives German Count Betho von Wedel, agreeing on Mar. 9 to cede Trentino to Italy, but only after the war ends, which Italy refuses, demanding the immediate cession of the South Tyrol, the Gorizia and Gradisca districts, and the Curzolari Islands off the Dalmatian coast, the establishment of the Trieste area as a free state, and full sovereigny over Saseno Island and Valona on the Albanian coast; it takes until May 10 for the Germans to talk the Austrians into all of it, but by then it's too late to keep the Italians from joining the Allies as they begin secret negotiations in Feb. On Jan. 13 U-31 leaves Wilhelmshaven and disappears, then drifts ashore 6 mo. later on the E coast of Britain, its crew found dead of poisonous gases. On Jan. 14 South African troops under Gen. Louis Botha cross the Orange River into German Southwest Africa and take Swakopmund from the Germans, followed in Mar. by Riet, Treckkopje on Apr. 26, and Windhoek on May 12, forcing the 3.5K German and colonial troops to capitulate on July 9 at Otawi; meanwhile thousands of Boers revolt against Botha's support of the British declaration of war against Germany (until 1916). On Jan. 15 the Russians win the Battle of Sarikamish (begun Dec. 22) after 23K Turkish and 60K Russian casualties, ending the Turkish threat in the Caucasus, and causing the telegram to be withdrawn. On Jan. 15 after visiting German POWs near Warsaw, war correspondent Stanley Washburn comments in the London Times: "The more one sees of the Germans, and these are far below the average in type, the more one begins to feel that there is a long, long road ahead of the Allies before these determined people are broken." On Jan. 18 the Japanese issue their Twenty-One Demands on China, demanding the German spheres of influence in China along with special economic rights for Japanese nationals living in China, resulting in two treaties on May 25 - and if we think of more we'll letchya know? On Jan. 18-19 the Battle of Jassin (Jassini) (Yasin) in German East Africa sees 200+ Germans under Gen. Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck along with 1,350 Askaris defeat 1.1K Brits under Capt. Hanson. On Jan. 19 the Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf (ends Dec. 22) in the Vosges Mts. of Alsace sees bitter fighting to control the peak, only to result in a push after 30K are KIA on both sides, mainly French; a monument is later erected. On Jan. 19 German Zeppelins stage their first bombing raid on Britain, dropping bombs on four English communities in East Anglia, killing two in Great Yarmouth and two in King's Lynn, for a total of 20. On Jan. 21 German sub U-7 under Capt. Koenig is torpedoed and sunk by mistake by U-22 under Capt. Hoppe, killing all but one aboard. On Jan. 21 pro-Turkish prof. Ernst Jaeckh (Jäckh) (1875-1959) tells Kaiser Wilhelm II that he hopes that Prussian officers in Turkey will soon be looking out across the Suez Canal, terrifying him at the thought of a long war, with the soundbyte: "You must be mad. My troops are not there for that purpose." On Jan. 23 the Germans and Austrians begin their Carpathian Offensive (ends Apr.). On Jan. 23 British pilots Richard Bell Davies (1886-1966) and Richard Edmund Charles Peirse (1892-1970) drop 16 bombs from low alt. on German subs lying alongside the Mole at Zeebrugge, earning them a Distinguished Service Order; in Oct. 1940-Jan. 1942 Peirse becomes CIC of the British Bomber Command. On Jan. 23 (eve.) the Chilembwe Uprising in Nyasaland against British colonial rule begins, led by Am.-educated black millenarian Christian minister Rev. John Chilembwe (1871-1915), causing the white authorities to crush them, capturing Mbombwe on Jan. 26, killing Chilembwe on Feb. 3, executing 40 rebels and imprisoning 300; after Malawi declares independence in 1961, the revolt becomes a nat. symbol. On Jan. 24 the Battle of Dogger Bank sees the German High Fleet try a sneak-attack, but thanks to a captured codebook the Brits are ready for them, sinking the flagship SMS Seydlitz, killing 192, and the Germans flee back home under close pursuit; after disabling the SMS Blucher (Blücher), which sinks, killing 782, a still photo later being engraved on British souvenir silver cigarette cases, the Brits make a mistake when Adm. David Beatty's ship Lion is disabled and its flags can't be read, causing them to keep pounding the dead ship and letting the other three German ships escape; the debacle causes Ingenohl to be replaced on Feb. 2 as German High Seas Fleet cmdr. by Adm. Hugo von Pohl (1855-1916) (until 1916), who proves a worse disaster, going yellow, afraid to engage the larger British Grand Fleet, causing a revolt by junior officers to simmer; meanwhile he institutes U-boat warfare, with a U-boat sinking its first British merchant ship without warning on Jan. 30, followed on Feb. 1 by another at the mouth of the Mersey River. On Jan. 24-29 King Constantine of Greece overrules pro-Allies PM Eleutherios Venizelos and refuses an Allied offer of the Turkish city of Smyrna and its hinterland in return for ceding the Kavalla region to Bulgaria and joining a Balkan bloc in support of Serbia. On Jan. 25 Romania refuses to join Greece in support of Serbia. On Jan. 26-Feb. 4 the First Suez Offensive sees 5K Turkish troops under German Gen. Freidrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein (1870-1948) march 130 mi. across the Sinai Peninsula, then on Feb. 3-4 stage a failed attack on the British-protected Suez Canal, losing 200 KIA and 700 POWs after 60 men cross to the W side over three pontoon bridges and are driven back by Indian troops supported by British warships and an armored train, ending Turkish hopes of landing 20K troops in Egypt and starting an anti-British uprising after capturing Ismailia. On Jan. 27 (dawn) British artillery on the Western Front celebrate Kaiser Wilhelm II's birthday by firing 21 rounds at German trenches, causing the Germans to signal each miss with a flag until a shell hits the signaller. On Jan. 28 the U.S. Coast Guard is established by Congress by merging the Revenue Cutter Service (founded 1790), the U.S. Life Saving Service, and the U.S. Lighthouse Service. On Jan. 29 German lt. Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel (1891-1944) leads his platoon in an assault on four French blockhouses, and after they fail to follow he crawls back and threatens to shoot them until they comply and capture the blockhouses until a French counterattack forces them to withdraw, earning Rommel the Iron Cross, First Class, after which his regiment has the saying "Where Rommel is, there is the front." On Jan. 30 a German attack in the Argonne captures 700 French POWs. On Jan. 31 the Battle of Bolimow on the Rawka River W of Warsaw in Poland is a V for the Germans, who use 18K xylyl bromide poison gas shells (first large-scale use of poison gas by the Germans), causing 1K+ Russian casualties, but backfiring when it blows back on their own lines, allowing the Russians to counterattack with 11 divs., only to be repelled by German artillery, suffering 40K casualties; freezing temps hamper the gas; on June 8 the Germans drive the Russians back 4 mi. on the Bzura River. On Feb. 4 after German chancellor Theobold von Bethmann-Hollweg agrees to the navy's request on Feb. 1 as an answer to Britain's "hunger blockade" of Germany by mining the sea last Nov., the German govt. publicly announces their U-Boat Naval Blockade (unrestricted submarine warfare), effective Feb. 18, with the soundbyte: "All the waters surrounding Great Britain and Ireland, including the whole of the English Channel, are hereby declared a war zone... It is impossible to avoid attacks being made on neutral vessels mistaken for those of the enemy"; on Feb. 9 the U.S. warns Germany that it will be held responsible for the loss of U.S. ships and lives, and promises to take "any steps it might be necessary to take" to safeguard them, without being specific. On Feb. 4-22 the Second (Winter) Battle of Masuria sees the Germans advance and take the Baltic port of Memel in Lithuania on Feb. 17. On Feb. 9 the Germans begin an offensive against the Russians from the Masurian Lakes S towards Warsaw, enveloping the Russian Tenth Army near Grodno, and taking 90K POWs, finally occupying the city on Sept. 3; many Russian troops have no rifles; the Russians quickly form the Twelfth Army under turncoat German Gen. Wenzel von Plehve (1850-1916), and strike back between the Narev River and the East Prussian frontier, causing the German advance to halt. On Feb. 10 the Germans counterattack in Champagne, France, taking 500 French POWs. On Feb. 10 after 11 days the Germans capture the fortress of Kovno, capturing 10K Russian POWs, followed on Feb. 14 by 5K more at Lyck, followed on Feb. 21 by 70K more at Augustow. By mid-Feb. the British lay 17 mi. of "indicator nets" across the Straits of Drover, consisting of wire nets with buoys or glass balls that catch on to German subs and give away their presence. On Feb. 15 the Russians take the fortress of Erzurum from the reeling Turks; meanwhile the Armenians in E Anatolia ally with the Russians, fighting against Muslim Turks and Kurds, causing Enver Pasha to begin deporting the Armenian pop. in May to prevent an uprising, which is at first approved of by German gen. Baron Colmar von der Goltz, until he realizes that it will later backfire in world opinion, causing him to recommend a stop in Dec., which is only implemented in Mesopotamia. On Feb. 15 after the Ghadar Mutiny in India is encouraged by the Germans, the 1915 Singapore Sepoy Mutiny (ends Feb. 22) sees the 850-man 5th Native Light Infantry mutiny, killing 47 incl. 39 Brits, after which the British shoot 37 ringleaders; in India a police spy is used to uncover and hang 18 Sikh ringleaders. On Feb. 15 state-of-the-art German battleship SMS Bayern is launched, entering service in July 1916, too late to see the Battle of Jutland. On Feb. 15 the Frobenius Expedition, led by archeologist Leo Frobenius under the guise of the Fourth German Inner-Africa Research Expedition lands in Eritrea, with the goal of drawing Ethiopia into the Great War to threaten the Suez Canal, but the Italians arrest them and deport them back to Berlin, which doesn't stop the Germans from sending a 2nd mission in June led by Salomon Hall, which is also arrested, but their documents reach the German envoy Frederick Wilhelm von Syburg in Oct.; too bad, on Sept. 27, 1916 after converting to Islam, Ethopian prince (since Apr. 10, 191) Lij Iyasu is deposed, ending the scheme. On Feb. 17 the Austrians under Field Marshal Klaudius (Claudius) Freiherr Czibulka von Buchland (1862-1931) take Prut in the Carpathians along with 60K Russian POWs, followed by Stanislau in SE Galicia on Feb. 20, but the Russians take it back on Mar. 2. On Feb. 17 British mining engineer Lt. Col. Sir John "Empire Jack" "Hellfire Jack" Norton-Griffiths (1871-1930) begins enlisting volunteers for the new Royal Engineers Tunnelling Cos., who dig and blow-up tunnels beneath enemy trenches in the Western Front. On Feb. 17 the land war being stalemated, the Allies launch the Gallipoli Campaign (Offensive) (ends Jan. 9, 1916) in the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Dardanelles Strait, "the soft underbelly of Europe" (Churchill), with the goals of capturing Istanbul and securing a sea route to Russia, with the British Navy bombarding the two outer Dardanelles forts Sedd-ul-Bahr (Sedd el Bahr) (Turk. "key of the sea") and Kum Kale, repeating it on Feb. 25 and destroying them both, which doesn't stop the Turks from siting artillery and machine guns there. On Feb. 20 the Germans make good their war zone notice and sink Norwegian ship Bjaerke in Nakskov Fjord without warning; Britain announces a blockade of German ports starting on Mar. 11. On Feb. 21 after annexing the 12th cent. town of Zabrze in Poland about 100 mi. SE of Wroclaw, German Kaiser Wilhelm II renames it Hindenburg in honor of you know who (until 1945). On Feb. 22 the Germans capture Przasnysz, taking 10K Russian POWs, after which the Russians retake the town on Feb. 25, taking 5.4K German POWs. The advent of trench warfare calls for bigger blasters? On Feb. 26-28 the Germans first use a Flamethrower (Flame Projector) in the village of Douaumont, France near Verdun, becoming the first of 653 flamethrower attacks in the war. On Mar. 1 French troops are issued their first grenades - to throw at the dudes with the flamethrowers? By Mar. 1 the British force in Qurna threatening Baghdad consists of two divs. and a cavalry brigade commanded by Gen. Sir. J.E. Nixon; Maj. Gen. Sir George Frederick "Bloody Orange" Gorringe (1868-1945) leads a column up the Karun River, driving the Turks out of Ahwaz on Mar. 3. On Mar. 4-Apr. 10 the secret Constantinople Agreement between Triple Entente members Britain, France, and Russia promises Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Bosphorus Straits to Russia in the event of a complete victory, with Constantinople to be a free port; too bad, it is never carried out. On Mar. 6 Eleutherios Venizelos falls from power after the king refuses to adopt his policy of aiding the Allies in the Dardanelles, and on Mar. 9 right-wing People's Party leader Demetrios (Dimitrios) Gounaris (1866-1922) becomes PM (until Aug. 23), on Apr. 12 rejecting a 2nd Allied offer of the Smyrna region on the excuse that the Allies could not guarantee Greek territory against Bulgaria. On Mar. 10 the Battle of Neuve Chapelle starts with a 35-min. 342-gun British artillery barrage in in an attempt to capture the village of Aubers 1 mi. E, firing more shells than in the entire Boer War, capturing Neuve Chapelle after four hours; too bad, a 400-yard stretch of the N sector didn't have any guns assigned to it, causing 1K British and Indian troops storming it to be massacred; on Mar. 11 a foul-up causes British troops to attack 5 min. after the artillery stops, causing another massacre; on Mar. 13 the attack succeeds after 7K British and 4.2K Indian casualties and 10K German casualties and 1.2K POWs taken. On Mar. 10 newly-promoted Capt. Charles de Gaulle is wounded in the hand, and after it turns septic spends 2 mo. in the hospital. On Mar. 14 German light cruiser SMS Dresden (launched Oct. 5, 1907), cornered in the Juan Fernandez archipelago of Chile is scuttled by its crew off the coaling station of Robinson Crusoe Island (Mas a Tierra) (Aguas Buenas). On Mar. 16 the USS Pennsylvania is launched from Newport News Ship Yard, Va.; on June 19 the USS Arizona is launched from the New York Naval Ship Yard; their 14-in. guns are no match for the German 15-inchers. On Mar. 17 the First Battle of Champagne (begun Dec. 20) ends at almost the initial lines, with 90K French, 90K German, and 3K German casualties. On Mar. 18 the Allies begin the final attack on Gallipoli with six British and four French battleships; too bad, minesweepers fail to clear a line of 20 mines parallel to the shore laid by Turkish steamer Nousret on Mar. 18, sinking British battleships HMS Irresistible and HMS Ocean, killing 47, and French battleship Bouvet, killing 620; the British almost defeat the Turks during the night, but screw up via poor communications?; on Mar. 19 bad weather sets in, and the army is called to finish the job under Gen. Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton (1853-1947); on Mar. 20 the British forget about 1854 and 1878 and secretly promise Russia Constantinople, the Bosphorus Strait, more than half of Turkey, and the shores of the Dardanelles incl. the Gallipoli Peninsula, and on Mar. 29 the Russian Black Sea Fleet of five battleships, two cruisers, and 10 destroyers attacks the forts on the Bosphorus Strait, losing two destroyers to the Goeben before withdrawing; meanwhile on Mar. 25 British colonial secy. (1910-15) Lewis (Reginald) Vernon "Loulou" Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (1863-1922) sends a memo to the British War Council titled The Spoils, proposing that after the expected easy defeat of Turkey, Britain annex Mesopotamia as "an outlet for Indian emigration", and offer Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth (the "Holy Places") to the U.S. as a mandate, while Lord Kitchener suggests British annexation of Aleppo and Alexandretta, making Haifa a British port and oil pipeline terminal linking to Mosul, the British Admiralty suggests annexing the entire Euphrates River Valley from Urfa and Baghdad to Basra to block Russian expansion, British secular Jewish diplomat Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel (1870-1963) kibbutzes for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, British Conservative MP Col. Sir Mark Sykes (1879-1919) proposes giving Palestine incl. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Jaffa to a "special Russian admin.", and first lord of the admiralty (since Oct. 24, 1911) Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874-1965) suggests giving Palestine to Belgium, and urges another naval attack to make an army landing unnecessary; Sykes and his group at Lord Kitchener's War office resurrect the names Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Mesopotamia, and design the Arab Revolt Flag with its green-red-black-white colors; on Mar. 26 Gen. Liman von Sanders arrives to take command of the Turkish Fifth Army, while Bulgaria and Romania buckle to German pressure and allow German weapons to pass through to Turkey, the British protesting in vain; German aircraft are stationed at Chanak to provide the Turks with aerial reconnaissance, until on Apr. 18 a British plane drops six 100 lb. bombs on the hanger, destroying them; meanwhile Greek, Armenian, and Jewish night workers from Chanak are enlisted along with 500 German officers and soldiers to build defenses for the Gallipoli Peninsula from Cape Helles to Bulair. On Mar. 19 after fleeing from Palestine to Egypt, Zionist leader Ze'ev Jabotinsky (Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky) (1880-1940) et al. form the 500-man all-Jewish Zion Mule Corps, commanded by British lt-col. John Henry Patterson (1867-1947), with five British and eight Jewish officers incl. senior Jewish officer Capt. Joseph Trumpeldor (1880-1920), who serve with distinction in the Gallipoli Campaign. On Mar. 20 the Russians under Gen. Brusilov take 2.4K Austrian POWs near Smolnik. A damp chemise'll make you sneezle? On Mar. 22 (Easter Sun.) in blizzard conditions the Russians under Gen. Brusilov capture the fortess of Przemsyl N of the Carpathians in Galicia (between the Black and Baltic Seas) after 133 days (Sept. 24), taking 120K Austrians POW incl. nine gens., and capturing 700 artillery pieces, recovering the ground lost in the mountains from the Austrians; the senior Austrian cmdr. escapes by airplane; the Austrian high command appeals to Germany for help against the Russkies, and they send a special German mountain corps, who arrive too late, and by Easter the Russians are in control of the 70-mi. Carpathian Crest from the Dukla Pass to the Uszok Pass, threatening the Hungarian plain. . On Mar. 22 a surprise attack at Okna by Russian Circassian cavalry causes Croatian sgt. Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980) to be lanced in the back and taken POW. On Mar. 25 the Russians under Gen. Brusilov retake Lupkow Pass, capturing 8.2K Austrian POWs. On Mar. 25 U.S. sub F-4 explodes and sinks off Honolulu, Hawaii, killing 21, becoming the U.S. Navy's first underwater disaster. On Mar. 25 all Islamic courts in the Ottoman Empire are placed under the jurisdiction of the ministry of justice, endowed (vakif) property is placed in the hands of the finance ministry, and supervision of religious schools is transferred to the ministry of education. On Mar. 25 Albert Einstein writes to French pacifist Romain Rolland: "When posterity recounts the achievements of Europe, shall we let men say that three centuries of painstaking cultural effort carried us no farther than from religious fanaticism to the insanity of nationalism? In both camps today even scholars behave as though eight months ago they suddenly lost their heads." On Mar. 28 the Thrasher Incident sees British West African steamship SS Falaba sunk by German sub U-28 under Capt. Georg-Gunther Freiherr von Forstner (1882-1940) in St. George's Channel en route from Liverpool to Sierre Leone, killing 104 of 242 aboard incl. Mass. mining engineer Leon Chester Thrasher (b. 1884) (first U.S. citizen killed in the war), becoming the first Allied passenger ship sunk by the Germans, later known as the "Mini-Lusitania". On Mar. 28 a German sub atttacks British Great Eastern Railway steamer SS Brussels, and British Capt. Charles Algernon Fryatt (1872-1916) saves it by turning and attempting to ram it, earning a gold watch from the Admiralty; too bad, he is captured and executed in Bruges by the Germans on July 27, 1916, bringing together his fellow POWs at Ruhleben and causing an internat. outcry since he is a civilian noncombatant. On Mar. 31 the Germans sink 29 ships, more than the total in the war so far, killing 161 Brits; in Mar. despite the German blockade the total movement of British ships equals 6K in and out, with losses of only 21. In Mar. French Gen. Michel Joseph Maunoury is severely wounded at Soissons, and spends the rest of the war as military gov. of Paris. In Mar. the German advance in Lithuania stirs up anti-Semitism, with widespread looting of Jewish homes and shops, and Russian Cossacks driving them from their homes through the snow, causing 500K Jews to leave Lithuania and Courland; Russian chief of staff (Aug. 1914-Sept. 1915) Gen. Nikolai Nikolaevich Yanushkevich (1868-1918) whips up anti-Semitism from the top. This is our thanks for Noah's Ark? In Mar. the world powerless to help, the "Young Turk" Ottoman govt. begins the Armenian Genocide against the minority Christian Armenians, and on Apr. 8 tens of thousands of Armenian men are rounded up and shot for allegedly cooperating with the Russian invasion force, while hundreds of thousands of women, children, and old men are deported S to Cilicia and Syria; on Apr. 15 the Armenians appeal to German ambassador Baron Hans von Wangenheim in Constantinople for German protection, and are rejected by Berlin; by Apr. 19 50K+ Armenians in Van Province are murdered; on Apr. 20 the Armenian city of Van is surrounded by Turkish forces, with 1.3K armed Armenians defending 30K civilians until the Russians arrive on May 19 to save them, while the Turks are busy deporting tens of thousands of Armenians from Erzerum S into N Mesopotamia; on Apr. 24 the Armenians declare a day of mourning, and Armenian Church head (since 1911) Catholicos Kevork V (-1930) appeals in vain to Pres. Wilson to intervene, while Turkey arrests 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople, beginning brutal deportations of the intelligentsia from E Anatolia, allegedly to prevent insurrections behind the Eastern Front; on Apr. 28 German vice-consul of Erzerum Ludwig Maximilian "Max" Erwin von Scheubner-Richter (1884-1923) receives instructions from Berlin to avoid "massacres" while not leading the Turks to think that "we want to exercise a right of protection over the Armenians or interfere with the authorities", tying his hands; meanwhile after expressing his wishes that they avoid anything that "might look like Christian massacres", the Turkish Foreign Ministry tells von Wangenheim that the Turkish garrison in Van Province are poorly trained conscripts, hence "excesses" are inevitable; in May-June newspapers in neutral nations incl. the U.S., Denmark, and Switzerland pub. reports on the genocide; on July 4 von Wangenheim pub. a memorandum justifying the genocide as "dictated by military considerations and constituting a legitimate means of defense", but cautioning against "the dangers created by these rigorous measures and notably by the mass expatriations which include the guilty and the innocent indiscriminately, especially when these measures are accompanied by acts of violence such as massacre and pillage"; the persecution progresses into death marches and rapes and massacres of the entire Armenian pop., and lasts until 1923, killing 1M-1.5M out of 2.5M by 1916, with 200K forcibly converted to Islam, wiping out most (500K?) of what is left of the ancient Christian Assyrian Syriac Church; large numbers of refugees flee E into the Caucasus and S into Syria (Deir Zohr Desert) and Lebanon (which is 79% Christian in 1911 vs. 25% in 2011), settling permanently; the Ottoman govt. officially denies the genocide, claiming that it's just a "tragedy" in a "civil war" where Armenians also allegedly killed millions of Turks, and doesn't officially acknowledge it until ? - and the Turkish govt. will kill you if you mention the word genocide? On Apr. 1 a Socialist anti-war protest is held in Berlin, led by Polish-born Jew Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919), who is imprisoned. On Apr. 1 French aviator Roland Garros (1888-1918) becomes the first pilot to shoot down an aircraft using a deflector gear, which allows shooting through the propeller; after more Vs against German aircraft on Apr. 15 and Apr. 18, he is shot down and the Germans capture his plane, after which the Dutch Fokker Co. clones then improves the deflector gear into the synchronization (interrupter) gear, mounting them on the new Fokker E.I. in Aug., beginning the Fokker Scourge (Scare) as they shoot down nearly every enemy aircraft they encounter and generate the first German aces, starting with Max Immelmann (1890-1916) (15 Vs), "the Eagle of Lille", inventor of the Immelmann Turn; next year the French counter with the Nieuport 11 Bebe (Bébé), in which the gun is mounted on the top wing clear of the prop, and the British with the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b and Airco DH.2 (Feb. 1916), which mount the engine backwards with the prop in back, causing them to be called "pushers", ending the Fokker Scourge by spring 1917. On Apr. 5-May 5 the First Battle of Woevre on the Woevre Plain separating the Metz ridges from the line of heights along the Meuse River sees French attempts to reduce the St. Mihiel Salient fizzle. On Apr. 8 Italy offers to join the Central Powers if Austria cedes the Trentino, Dalmatian Islands, Gorizia and Gradisca on the Isonzo River, and recognize Italian primacy in Albania; on Apr. 15 Austria rejects the offer, causing the Italians to turn to the Allies, asking for even more, and they agree to negotiate. On Apr. 8 French soldier and "The War of the Buttons" anti-war novelist Louis Pergaud (b. 1882) is accidentally killed near Marcheville-en-Woevre by friendly artillery fire after he falls into barbed wire on German lines and is put in a German field hospital; a disaffected French Foreign Legion is abandoned and the men returned to their own armies. On Apr. 10 the indicator nets become so effective that the German admiralty forbids U-boats from passing S through the Dover Straits to attack British transports, instead making them sail around the N coast of Scotland despite the greater expense. On Apr. 12 the Turks stage failed attacks on Qurna and Basra; meanwhile on Apr. 12-14 the Battle of Shaiba SW of Basra sees a British and Indian force of 6K rout 18K Turks, leading the Brits to the conclusion that the Turks at Gallipoli will be pushovers; at Shaiba Indian officer Jemadar Sudhan Singh is cut off, unhorsed, and set on fire with oil, receiving a posth. Indian Order of Merit. The dumbest week of the war? On Apr. 22 (5:00 p.m.) after switching from explosives to chemical weapons, German Jewish chemist Fritz Haber (1868-1934) (known for the Haber Process for producing ammonia) helps the Germans first use poison chlorine gas as a weapon against two divs. of French Algerian and Canadian troops in the Ypres Salient in Flanders, Belgium at the Battle of Gravenstafel, part of the Second Battle of Ypres (ends May 25), releasing 168 tons of chlorine from 4K cylinders in 5 min. over a 4-mi. front, opening a 800-yard gap in the line that allows the Germans to capture 2K POWs and 51 guns; 15K are gassed, and 5K are killed; on Apr. 23 a 2nd German gas attack near Langemarck overruns the Canadian line, earning lance-cpl. Frederick Fisher (b. 1894) (who is KIA) a Victoria Cross for covering the retreat (first Canadian); on Apr. 24 a British-Indian counterattack is stopped by the Germans, earning Canadian sgt.-maj. Frederick William Hall (b. 1885) (who is KIA) a Victoria Cross for rescuing wounded men; on Apr. 24-May 5 the Battle of St. Julien in the NE sector of the Ypres Salient at the junction of the British and French sectors sees the 18K-man Canadian 1st Div. use urine-soaked handerkchiefs to fight the gas, which causes heavy casualties, but results in the first V for a former colonial force over a Euro power on Euro soil; on Apr. 25 after Gen. Smith-Dorrien tries to get Gen. Sir John French to call it off in vain, 15K British-Indian troops attack the German lines wearing yellow flags to guide their artillery, which end up being used by the Germans to aim at them, and the Germans release more gas, causing a diversionary group of French colonial troops from Senegal to revolt, shoot their officers after hearing they had orders to shoot them if they retreat, and mob the supply dumps and medical stations, looting and raping nurses until a British cavalry brigade stops them; too bad, the Germans don't have the protective gear to advance into their own gas clouds, and within a few days the Allies are issued a makeshift mask made of linen which they moisten with their own urine; Canadian Capt. Francis Alexander Caron Scrimger (1880-1937) earns a Victoria Cross for protecting the wounded on Apr. 25; on Apr. 26 Lord Kitchener is given permission by the British Cabinet to use gas on the Germans; within 6 wks. Allied troops receive effective protective gear, and initial outrage turns into a feverish race to develop their own little bottles of horror; meanwhile on May 2 after Haber is given the rank of capt. by the happy Kaiser, his beautiful brainy chemist wife (since 1901) Clara Immerwahr (b. 1870) freaks at the thought of his work and commits suicide with his service revolver in their garden, dying in her son's arms, which doesn't stop him from leaving immediately to help gas Russians on the Eastern Front; go figure, he never 'gets' it, and goes on to develop Zyklon B cyanide-based insecticide in the 1920s, while sucking up to the Nazis in vain - and guess what, I can't bear it? Erin go bragh? On Apr. 25 (Anzac Day) (3:30 a.m.) the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) accompanied by British and French troops land on Gallipoli Peninsula in the Dardanelle Straits with the goal of capturing Constantinople, starting the losing Battle of Gallipoli (Canakkale) AKA the Gallipoli or Dardanelles Campaign (ends Jan. 9, 1916), with one group landing before dawn at Z Beach in Anzac Cove beneath the precipitous heights of Chunuk Bair in the N, missing the intended landing place Gaba Tepe 1 mi. S opposite Maidos, being stopped two-thirds of the way up the slope by the Turks; the other group lands at S, V, W, X, and Y Beaches at Cape Helles at the S tip, meeting heavy Turkish fire, causing many to drown under the weight of their equipment, losing half their men at V Beach, and 254 killed and 283 wounded of 950 at W Beach; the Lancashire Fusiliers (of 1811 Spanish Peninsula War fame) are awarded six Victoria Crosses, spawning the phrase "Six VCs before breakfast", causing W Beach to be known as Lancashire Landing; Kiwi swimming champ Bernard Cyril Freyberg (1889-1963) is made to swim ashore in the Gulf of Saros and light flares in a lame attempt to distract the Turks from the real landings in Gallipoli, receiving serious wounds, and in WWII is appointed cmdr. of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, becoming known for his policy of resisting any orders from the stankin' British if he believes they run contrary to New Zealand nat. interest; in the 1920s Anzac Day becomes a nat. holiday in Australia; by Apr. 26 (night) after 20K casualties the Allies land 30K troops; on Apr. 27 the Turks retreat in front of the hill of Achi Baba, and hold their lines after stopping a British attack on the village of Krithia by 14K men, who lose 3K casualties, and repelling 14K troops from Cape Helles on Apr. 28; on Apr. 29 Capt. Hugh Quinn (1888-1915) leads a detachment of 226 Queenslanders from the 15th Battalion, which is stopped at the head of the Monash Valley at Quinn's Post, which holds on for 8 mo. after Quinn is promoted to maj. on May 1 and KIA on May 29; on Apr. 30 British battleship HMS Lord Nelson bombards the whole length of the Dardenelles, setting Chanak on fire, doing ditto 1 mo. later; on May 6 a British sub sinks Turkish troop transport Guj Djemal in the Sea of Marmara, killing all 6K troops aboard. On Apr. 26 after Italy buys a future British success at Gallipoli and promises to enter the war in Mayh, the secret Treaty (Pact) of London between the Triple Entente of Britain, France, and Russia, and the Kingdom Italy brings Italy into the Entente with the promise of large swaths of Austria-Hungary and funding from Britain after Benito Mussolini breaks with the Socialist Party and supports PM Antonio Salandra against Giovanni Giolitti, and Russian foreign minister (1910-16) Sergei (Sergius) Dmitrievich Sazonov (1860-1927) drops objections to the Italians getting N Dalmatia and numerous islands on the Dalmatian coast even though his Serbian buddies want it, granting them the Dodecanese Islands (Rhodes, Cos, Karpathos et al.) and a "sphere of influence" in the Anatolian province of Adalya; Italy is also promised the Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste, Gorizia and Gradisca, the Istrian Peninsula, territory in North Africa, and Valona and Saseno Island from Albania; Pope Benedict XV is excluded from peace negotiations to keep him from introducing the Roman Question (the status of Rome after it was occupied by Italian troops in 1870, ending papal temporal power). On Apr. 27 (night) French cruiser Leon Gambetta (launched in 1901) is sunk by Austrian sub U-5 in the Straits of Otranto, killing 684 of 821 aboard, causing the decision to be made to use only French and British destroyers ("tin can sailors") for the Otranto Blockade (Barrage), which allows Austrian subs free reign off the Greek island of Corfu, and on May 6 an Austrian light cruiser is seen in the Ionian Sea 125 mi. from the straits, alarming the Allies. On Apr. 28 after landing at Helles, the First Battle of Krithia 4 mi. from the tip of the Gelibolu Peninsula is a dud due to poor generalship by Lt. Gen. Sir Aylmer Gould "Hunter-Bunter" Hunter-Weston (1864-1940) (a "rank amateur" - Sir Douglas Haig), with 3K British vs. 2,378 Turkish casualties. On Apr. 28 the Internat. Congress of Women at The Hague is attended by 1.2K delegates from 12 countries; the British govt. stops 25 British women from attending by suspending the ferry service from Britain to Holland. In Apr. British gen. Sir Douglas Haig utters the soundbyte: "The machine gun is a much overrated weapon and two per battalion is more than sufficient." On May 1 the 5K-ton U.S. Gulf Refining Co. tanker Gulflight is torpedoed and sunk without warning off Sicily by German sub U-30, killing its master and two other Americans, becoming the first U.S. ship sunk in the war; the Germans later apologize. On May 1 the Germans use gas attacks to drive the British back to the outskirts of Ypres, with 1K+ British soldiers dying at a field hospital at Essex Farm near Boezinge, where Canadian doctor lt.-col. John Alexander McCrae (1872-1918) works, writing the poem In Flanders Fields on May 3 after presiding over the funeral of fellow soldier Alexis Helmer; on Jan. 28, 1918 he dies of pneumonia in Boulogne-sur-Mer. On May 1 the Germans and Austrians led by Gen. Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen (1849-1945) launch the major (originally considered minor?) Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive in W Galicia to drive the Russians out of the Carpathian Mts., starting with a 610-gun bombardment (largest on the Eastern Front so far) incl. gas shells, lasting 4 hours and firing 700K shells, making a breakthrough on May 2 between Gorlice and Tarnow W of Lemberg on a 28-mi. front, taking Gorlice on May 2 and Tarnow on May 7, capturing 30K Russian POWs within a week, and routing the Russians, who suffer 100K+ casualties by May 16; on July 1 Lemberg is retaken, followed on July 13 by Lublin, then Warsaw on Aug. 5, and Brest-Litovsk on Aug. 26; the advance ends in Sept., with the retreating Russians sustaining 1.5M casualties and losing 300K POWs, along with 3K guns; the front is now a straight line running N from the E end of the Carpathians to Riga on the Baltic; Mackensen receives a promotion to field marshal; "The military history of no former times can produce a second example of such a feat of arms" (German Gen. Francois); too bad, Berlin rejects the advice of Austrian foreign minister (Dec. 23, 1916-Apr. 14, 1918) Count Ottokar Czernin (1872-1932) to seek peace with Russia immediately on a policy of renunciation of all Austrian and German conquests, and instead it listens to a petition by the six most powerful German industrial concerns who want complete destruction of Russia and territorial annexations incl. Lebensraum in Russia, hegemony over Belgium, and chunks of France. On May 1 (10:15 p.m.) the Battle of Eski Hissarlik in Gallipoli near Achi Baba Hill sees the Ottomans under Gen. Liman von Sanders unsuccessfully attempt to push the Allied troops back into the sea. On May 3 the Italian govt. privately denounces the Triple Alliance, and the cat is out of the bag; on May 4 Austro-Hungarian CIC Archduke Frederick learns that the Triple Alliance is kaput, even though Italy has not publicly denounced it; on May 10 Italy concludes a naval convention with Britain and France. On May 3 the Romanians ask the Russians for Transylvania, part of Bukovina and the Banat in return for joining the war on their side; in July the Russians accept, but Romania stalls until the Allies have 500K men in the Balkans and the Russians another 200K in Bessarabia, which takes until Nov. On May 6-8 the Second Battle of Krithia sees 25K British and French troops supported by 105 heavy guns attempt to capture Krithia and Achi Baba in Gallipoli, advancing only 600 yards and suffering 6.3K casualties vs. 1,147 for the Turks, ending Allied hopes of a quick V; the Turks are commanded by German maj.-gen. Erich Paul Weber (1860-1933), who supervised the mining of the Dardanelles last Dec. Titanic II, or Lose Titania? On May 7 (1:30 p.m.) despite German warnings inserted in major New York newspapers on its sailing date of May 1 by the Germany embassy in Washington, D.C., the Cunard liner RMS Lusitania (call letters MSU) (secretly carrying small arms and munitions for Britain) leaves New York City en route to Liverpool 2.5 hours late; after Capt. William Thomas Turner (1856-1933) ignores guidelines to zigzag his course, stay in midchannel, and operate at full speed, ignoring six warnings of German subs in the area, it is torpedoed and sunk in 18 min. by German sub U-20, captained by Walther Schwieger (1885-1917) 12 mi. off Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,198 of 1,924 passengers, incl. 128 sacred cow Americans, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr. (b, 1877), writer-publisher Elbert Green Hubbard (b. 1856), novelist Justus Miles Forman (b. 1875) (who got a phone call from a mysterious man with a thick German accent warning him not to board) et al., causing feelings against Germany in the U.S. to rise; non-swimming Vanderbilt gives his life jacket to a woman with a baby; New York City theatrical mgr. Charles Frohman (b. 1860) goes down with the Lusitania after declining a lifeboat and uttering the Peter Pan soundbyte "Why fear death, it is the greatest adventure in life", and his partner Alf Hayman (1865-1921), younger brother of Raphael "Al" Hayman (1847-1917) takes over his production co.; Jerome Kern oversleeps and misses getting on the boat; Capt. Turner is washed off the bridge and survives. On May 7 the Allies give Serbia a conditional guarantee of the eventual acquisition of Bosnia and Herzegovina and "wide access to the Adriatic" in return for giving part of Macedonia to Bulgaria to bring it into the war, then on May 29 makes the offer to Bulgaria, which stalls as the Central Powers lure them with promises of their own about Serbian and Greek territory. On May 8-13 the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge in the Ypres Salient starts with a German attack that causes a 2-mi. gap until they are stopped by the British 10th Brigade. On May 9 the Ninth (Scottish) Div. becomes the first of Lord Kitchener's Army to leave for France; within two weeks they are followed by the Twelfth (Eastern) Div. On May 9 the Second Battle of Artois (ends June 18) sees the French advance E in Artois to try to cut the German supply lines between Artois and Rheims to threaten the salient between Amiens and Rheims that menaces French communication lines to Paris; it ends in a push. On May 9 the Battle of Aubers Ridge sees the British attack opposite Fromelles and La Bassee (La Bassée), trying to capture the Aubers Ridge; too bad, the 40-min. artillery bombardment suffers from too few shells and many duds and weak charges, causing the attacking British and Indian troops to be mowed down by German machine gun fire, after what's left of them are caught in another 40-min. British artillery bombardment; "They are lying out in No Man's Land, and most of them will never stand again" (Brig-Gen. Oxley); the few survivors of the double barrage then run towards the British trenches accompanied by German POWs, causing British troops to mistake them for an enemy counterattack and fire on them; Brig.-Gen. Arthur Willoughby George Lowry-Cole (b. 1860) is KIA on the parapet trying to get the retreating men to stop; later the kilted pipers of the First Black Watch lead another British attack, which is mowed down by German machine guns, which doesn't stop Gen. Haig from ordering a bayonet attack at dusk, causing his cmdrs. to revolt; on May 10 (dawn) he finally relents after they tell him they don't have enough artillery shells for a new offensive; total losses at Aubers Ridge are 458 officers and 11,161 men; on May 13 the Germans begin a heavy artillery bombardment in the Ypres Salient, hitting British soldier-poet Julian Henry Francis Grenfell (b. 1888) in the head with a shell splinter, after which he dies on May 26 with his parents and sister at his bedside, leaving the popular poem Into Battle; "The thundering line of battle stands,/ And in the air death moans and sings;/ But Day shall clasp him with strong hands,/ And Night shall fold him in soft wings." On May 10 the London Times pub. a Torture of a Canadian Officer, claiming that at the Battle of Ypres in Apr. German troops had crucified a Canadian soldier on a barn door with bayonets like Christ, causing increasing whoppers to circulate, all false? On May 11 an armistice is called in Gallipoli to bury the dead. On May 12 South African troops occupy Windhoek, capital of German South-West Africa. On May 13 (1:00 a.m.) after Gurkha troops capture Cape Tekke on May 12, British battleship HMS Goliath is sunk in the Dardanelles by Turkish destroyer Muavanet-i Milliye (Turk. "National Support"), commanded by German lt. Rudolph Firle, killing 570 of 700+ aboard, causing all plans to assault the Narrows to be scrapped. On May 13 saying "There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight; there is such a thing as a nation that is so right it doesn't need to convince others by force", Pres. Wilson sends a conciliatory note to Germany (under the signature of secy. of state William Jennings Bryan), demanding reparations, but mentioning the possibility of war with the U.S. if it doesn't stop unrestricted U-boat warfare, with the soundbyte "No warning that an unlawful and inhumane act will be committed" will be accepted as a legitimate excuse, after which the Germans apologize, which doesn't stop anti-German riots throughout the British Empire; when Germany delays responding on reparations, on June 8 pacifist secy. of state Williams Jennings Bryan resigns rather than sign a 2nd note, and on June 24 Robert Lansing (1864-1928) (Bryan's asst., who ran a coverup that the Lusitania was carrying weapons for the British, which was too much for honest Bill?) becomes U.S. secy. of state #42 (until Feb. 13, 1920) - where do I sign, boss? On May 14 after British gen. Sir John French leaks info. about the artillery shell shortage at Aubers Ridge, war correspondent Lt. Col. Charles a (à) Court Repington (1858-1925) (Boer War vet, who was forced to resign in 1900 for an affair with a senior official in Egypt, turning journalist) begins pub. a series of articles in the London Times on it, incl. how by May 1 only 2M of 6M requested shells had been delivered to the army, causing Liberal British PM Herbert Henry Asquith to bow to Conservative pressure on May 19 and form a coalition govt. along with a Ministry of Munitions, removing Winston Churchill as first lord of the British Admiralty and replacing him on May 25 with former Conservative PM (1902-5) Arthur James Balfour (1848-1930) (until Dec. 10, 1916); it was actually all French's fault, since he had specified artillery shells to be 75% shrapnel and only 25% high explosives? On May 15-25 the Battle of Festubert sees a British offensive in the Artois region of France in their first attempt at attrition, attempting to advance 1K yards like at Aubers Ridge, with 5K German vs. 16.6K British losses. On May 16-June 23 the Battle of Konary in the Sandomierz Uplands near Klimontow, Poland sees the Russian 4th Army begin a counteroffensive against a wing of the Austrian 25th Infantry Div., who repels them with heavy losses on both sides, after the Polish 1st Brigade is brought in by the Russians in vain. On May 19 17K Anzac troops beat back an assault by 40K Turks at Gallipoli, which is now in a Western Front-style stalemate. On May 22 Britain's worst train disaster (until ?) takes place at Quintinshill, Scotland near Gretna Green (S of Dumfries) when a troop train carrying 214 soldiers en route to Gallipoli smashes into a stationary train, which is then smashed into by an express train, killing 227 - saves their coffins the return expenses from Turkey? On May 23 after weighing offers from both sides, Italy declares war on Austria but not Germany (until Aug. 27, 1916), although Germany severs diplomatic relations on May 24; the main goals are South Tyrol and the Isonzo River; Italy starts out with 875K troops in 36 infantry divs. facing 100K Austrian troops; 11 more Italian divs. are organized by June; the CIC of the army is Victor Emmanuel II, and the chief of the gen. staff is artillery man Gen. Luigi Cadorna (1850-1928); the War in the Dolomites begins along the 370km Austrian-Italian border, which becomes known as the "lonely war" and the "front among rocks and ice" (Gunther Langes); the Allies don't trust Italy's navy, causing the British to waste resources to reinforce it. On May 24 the Anzac troops at Gallipoli agree to a 10-hour truce to allow the Turks to bury 3K dead; meanwhile a British sub sinks a Turkish torpedo gunboat off Seraglio Point, and on May 26 it sinks a Turkish troop ship. On May 24 on the initiative of Russia, France and Britain issue a Denunciation of the Turkish Genocide of Armenians, calling it "against humanity and civilization" and warning "all members" of the Turkish govt. that they will be held personally responsible, causing the Turkish govt. on June 4 to reply that they are only defending themselves against a "revolutionary movement" that is "organized and directed" by the Entente. On May 24-25 the Battle of Bellewaarde sees the Germans launch a gas attack that causes a British retreat, deepening the Ypres Salient to 3.1 mi; on May 25 the Second Battle of Ypres (begun Apr. 21) fizzles with the Ypres Salient compressed and the line moved close enough for Ypres to be bombarded with artillery, destroying it. On May 25 the Germans take 21K Russian POWs E of the San River, pushing the Russians back toward Przemysl, followed by another 153K POWs and 300 guns after retaking Stryi in East Galicia, pushing the Russians back toward Przemysl. On May 25 German sub U-21 under Capt. Otto Hersing (first to reach the area from the Baltic Sea) sinks British battleship HMS Triumph off Gaba Tepe at Gallipoli, killing 100+, causing the soldiers on land to stop fighting and stand up craning their necks until it sinks, then resume fighting; on May 27 U-21 sinks British battleship HMS Majestic, causing the six remaining British battleships to leave the area, causing jubilation among the Turks who had been groaning under daily shelling by 14 in. and 15 in. guns. On May 25 disgraced Winston Churchill resigns as first lord of the admiralty (since Oct. 24, 1911). On May 30 the Turkish Council of Ministers Decree contains 15 articles providing for deportations and resettlements of Armenians; it is followed by a series of regulations codifying the Armenian genocide. The May ed. of Harper's Bazaar features a female model with bare "underarms" (armpits); by 1917 U.S. women, aided by ads from Wilkinson Sword Co. are buying razor blades and shaving their pits. In June-Aug. the Western Front is unusually quiet as the Allies prepare for a "great offensive" for autumn. On June 1 1M+ French conscripts are diverted to munitions factories to alleviate the shortage; Britain begins employing female munitions workers, becoming the main female job during the war, leading to calls for women's rights. On June 3 San Marino declares war on Austria-Hungary. On June 3 freed by the Western Front stalemate, the Germans retake Przemsyl, and drive the whole Russian line back using massed artillery; according to a British observer, "The whole army is now a harmless mob." On June 3 David Lloyd George declares it the duty of every British citizen to place his life and labor at the disposal of the state; on June 4 Winston Churchill chimes in that "The whole nation must be organized, must be socialized if you like the word, and mobilized." The British stage a sideshow in Mesopotamia? The original Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark expedition, or the original George W. Bush loser U.S. Iraq War? On June 3 after moving N up the Tigris River from Qurna, the 100-man British 6th Indian Div. under Maj. Gen. Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend (1861-1924) capture Amara on the Tigris River, the 2K Turks thinking they are part of a larger force, and eager to surrender to escape the wrath of the 20K Arabs in the town. On June 4 the Second Battle of Achi Baba in Gallipoli sees 30K British and French troops attempt to take the hill, getting fooled by a dummy trench and wasting artillery on it, only to discover the real trench beyond; after capturing it, they are shelled by both sides until they pull back, losing most of the officers; meanwhile on June 4 the Third Battle of Krithia sees the Lancashire Fusiliers almost succeed until German col. Hans Kannengiesser becomes afraid to reinforce the Turkish line for fear of a mass retreat to Constantinople, and British donkey gen. Sir Aylmer Hunter-Weston sends his reserves to Achi Baba instead; on June 6 the Turks counterattack and are repulsed, and the battle ends with a total of 4.5K British, 2K French, and 9K Turkish casualties (3K KIA). On June 6 an attack across the English Channel by two German Zeppelins is foiled by fog, and as they return British flight sub-lt. Reginald Alexander John "Rex" Warneford (b. 1891) drops bombs, destroying one, killing 9 of 10, with coxswain Alfred Muhler (Mühler) surviving an 8K-ft. gondola fall; too bad, it crashes into the Convent of St. Elisabeth, killing two nuns, a child, and a man trying to save it; meanwhile Warneford crash-lands behind German lines, and after repairing it in 35 min. takes off as a group of German cavalry approach, shouting "Give my regards to the Kaiser", becoming a celeb, receiving a Victoria Cross along with a personal telegram from the king; too bad, on June 17 Warneford is killed after his plane carrying Am. journalist Henry Needham malfunctions and crashes near Paris. On June 6 the Sun of New York pub. the article Horrors Worse Than Kishineff Charged Against Russia To-day, claiming that Russia is conspiring to crush its 6M Jews to cover-up defeats of czarist troops, torturing and massacring them in hundreds of towns. On June 13 Polish nationalist cavalry working for Austria defeat the Russians at the Battle of Rokitna. On June 15 Col. Francois Cartier, head of French military cryptography informs British Intelligence of a spy ring of seven German agents in British ports, and they are all arrested, forcing German intel to rely on neutrals. On June 17-25 15K Armenians are massacred by the Turks at Bitlis. On June 18 French troops attack German trenches in Artois, giving up after 18K casualties; meanwhile a German attack on the Meuse-Argonne frontier causes 16K French casualties incl. French novelist Jules Leroux (b. 1880). On June 19 Belgian military occupation gov. Baron Moritz von Bissing gives a speech explaining how Germany intends to keep control of Belgium permanently; "For years to come we must maintain the existing state of dictatorship. Belgium must be seized and held, as it now is, and as it must be in the future." On June 20-22 the Battle of Lemberg sees German and Austrian troops retake the fortress of Lemberg in East Galicia, and prepare to cross into the Russian province of Volhynia as Gen. Mackensen breaks through the Russian lines in the Lviv area again. On June 21 Rawa (Rava Ruska) (Rava Russka) in Galicia is recaptured from Russia by the Central Powers. On June 21-23 the amphibious Battle of Bukoba is the first V for the Entente in German East Africa, destroying the wireless station. On June 23-July 7 the First Battle of the Isonzo River on the Italian Front is fought along a 60-mi. front, with 15K Italian vs. 10K Austrian casualties, becoming the first of 11 battles on that front that take two years, with the Italian advance never more than 10-12 mi., followed by a 12th and final battle; on July 18-Aug. 3 the Second Battle of the Isonzo River is even bloodier, with 42K Italian vs. 47K Austrian casualties. On June 27 the Austrian-Hungarian army reenters Lviv; Russian war minister Gen. Vladimir Sucker, er, Vladimir Alexandrovich Sukhomlinov (1848-1926) is fired as a patsy for all the defeats as the Great Russian Retreat from Galicia and Poland begins (ends Sept.); next Mar. Sukhomlinov is arrested along with some of his associates for treason and espionage for Germany, and ends up in Siberia, is released on May 1, 1918, then emigrates to Germany. On June 27 a 2nd British-Indian force (1st on the Tigris River) under gen. George Frederick Gorringe (1868-1945) takes Nasiriya (Nasiriyeh) on the Euphrates River in 115F heat filled with mean mosquitoes and accurate steady Turkish artillery fire, after which both British forces advance toward Baghdad, while the Turks retreat to Kut to block them; too bad, the Brits suffer from heat, lack of medical supplies, and fresh vegetables, and slow down. On June 28 after a new Turkish regiment arrives on June 18, the Turks attack the Anzac forces at Chunuk Bair, and are wiped out, causing cmdr. Mustafa Kemal (1881-1938) to offer his resignation, but is refused by Gen. Liman von Sanders since he's a legend to his men for calmly lighting a cigarette as a line of shells approached him then turned away; meanwhile on June 28 the Battle of Gully Ravine sees 20K British forces attack 13K Turkish forces at Cape Helles, getting 1K yards closer to Krithia, capturing a trench filled with unburied Royal Dublin Fusiliers killed on Apr. 27, and finally winning a V on July 5, with 3.8K British vs. 6K Turkish casualties. On June 28 British Lt. Col. W.P. Drury, Plymouth Garrison officer in Devon, England pub. the 4-page Report on the Dartmoor Floating (or Balloon) Light, about a mysterious UFO. On June 29 French Gen. Henri-Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Petain (Pétain) (1856-1951) utters the soundbyte that the war of attrition on the Western Front will go "to the side which possesses the last man". On June 29 the British govt. introduces the Nat. Registration Bill, beginning compulsory military service, even though Lord Kitchen's volunteer army reaches 2M men; French troops reach 5M. In June the M15 Adrian Steel Helmet is introduced for the French army, with 180K produced in July, and 55K in Aug., causing Britain to er, follow suit. In June Bethlehem Steel of Penn. smuggles 10 new submarines across the Canadian border for assembling in Montreal before being shipped to the Allies, skirting U.S. neutrality laws. In June Denmark adopts a new 1915 Denmark Constitution granting universal suffrage but making it more difficult to form stable govts., causing a rapid succession of ministries. In June the Bussa (Boussa) Rebellion against British rule in Nigeria kills half of the members of the native admin. until British troops suppress it; meanwhile in June the Adubu (Egba) War (Uprising) in Nigeria against British taxation sees 30K Egba fighters destroy railways and telegraph lines S of Abeokuta, killing a white Euro trading agent and a high-ranking Egba chief; British troops crush the uprising, ending Abeokuta's independence by Aug. 1918 and introducing forced labor and direct taxation. On July 1 the Battle of Otavi is a decisive V for South African forces over the Germans in German Southwest Africa; on July 9 after an escape attempt into Angola is blocked, German cmdr. Maj. Gen. Erich Victor Carl August Franke (1865-1936) surrenders German Southwest Africa to South African PM Gen. Louis Botha along with 5K troops; on July 25 South Africa annexes it. On July 2-25 the Battle of Erzinjan in E Anatolia is a Russian V, becoming their greatest penetration into Ottoman territory. On July 6 British PM Herbert Henry Asquith meets with French war minister Alexandre Millerand in Calais to plan the big fall offensive; on July 17 new munitions minister David Lloyd George utters the soundbyte that "a victory which tarries means a victory whose footprints are footprints of blood." On July 7-23 Turkish troops rampage through the predominantly Armenian town of Trebizond on the Black Sea, massacring its 17K Armenian pop., leaving only 100 survivors; meanwhile thousands of Armenians are muss, er, massacred in the villages around Mus on the upper Euphrates River. On July 12-13 the Third (Final) Battle of Achi Baba gains only 350 yards before it is called off, causing operations to turn N to Anaz Cove and Suvla Bay. On July 14 Ottoman-appointed Hashemite Sharif (Sherif) (1908-17) Hussein (Husayn) bin Ali (1854-1931) of no-infidels-allowed Mecca writes British high commissioner in Cairo (1915-17) Lt. Col. Sir Arthur Henry McMahon (1862-1949), requesting acknowledgement of "the independence of the Arab countries" within 30 days, warning that they "reserve to themselves complete freedom of action" incl. siding with their fellow Muslims the Turks; despite the prospect of stopping all the madass Arab attacks on their troops in the Ottoman Empire, British Sudan gov.-gen. Sir Francis Reginald Wingate, 1st Baronet (1861-1953) declines, with the soundbyte: "I should personally recommend the insertion of a pious aspiration on the subject of the Sherif's idea of an Arab Union. Something might be added to ensure his remaining definitely on our side until our success at the Dardanelles enables us to give more authoritative expression to our views"; on July 15 British minister Sir Edward Grey tells Canadian PM Robert Borden that the war "must result in the overthrow of all existing forms of government"; on Oct. 11 Lt. Muhammed Sharif al-Faruqi (1891-1920), an Arab officer in the Turkish army who deserted at Gallipoli, and as an alleged descendant of Prophet Muhammad wishes to be taken to Mecca to see Sherif Hussein bin Ali is interrogated in Cairo by Arab Bureau Col. (later brig.-gen.) Gilbert Falkingham Clayton (1875-1929), telling him about the secret Young Arab Society devoted to ending Turkish rule of the Arab countries, and how they want to help the British with revolts in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Palestine to achieve Arab independence, falsely claiming that the Turks and Germans offer ditto in return for fighting on their side, with the prospect of the Bulgarians arriving in Gallipoli causing the British govt. to cave on Oct. 23, with McMahon writing to Sherif Hussein bin Ali in Mecca that Britain agrees "to recognise and support the independence of the Arabs within the territories included in the limits and boundaries proposed", incl. Mesopotamia and all of Syria except "portions lying west of the districts of Damascus, Hama, Homs and Aleppo", with Palestine left open to further negotiation. On July 15 the Austrians are repulsed at Rifugio Garibaldi, which becomes the Italian hub in the Dolomite Mts. On July 15 German sub U-28 under Capt. Georg-Gunther Freiherr von Forstner sinks British steamer Iberian in the North Atlantic, and reports encountering a 60-ft.-long "aquatic crocodile". On July 17 Bulgaria signs a secret treaty with the Germans and Austrians to persuade the Turks to cede a 600 sq. mi. strip along the Maritza River in Thrace, going on to press for the Serbian and Greece provinces of Macedonia and the coastal region of Silistria in Romania. On July 18 Krasnystaw (Krasnostav) (Krasnowtaw) in Poland 352 mi. SE of Lublin is captured by the Germans, who take 15K Russian POWs. On July 20 after pressure from German naval chief of staff Adm. Gustav Bachmann (1860-1943), Kaiser Wilhelm II reverses an earlier order not to bomb residential areas in London, excepting only bldgs. of "historic interest". On July 25 the Italians capture Cappuccio Wood S of Mt. San Michele, only to lose it to a German counterattack. On July 25 as the Germans approach, the Russians evacuate factories in Warsaw; on Aug. 5 the Germans occupy it (until Nov. 1918), becoming the first time since 1815 that Russia loses control of it; the Germans now plan to invade Finland, under Russian control since 1808, and on Aug. 8 the Kaiser authorizes the formation of a 2K-man Finnish battalion under the Russians' noses, smuggling recruits to Germany, causing hundreds of Finns accused of aiding them to be imprisoned in Petrograd, which doesn't stop the battalion from being ready by next May. On July 27 U.S. Berlin ambassador James Watson Gerard (1867-1951) tells Washington, D.C. that the Germans are "picking out the revolutionists and liberals from the many Russian prisoners of war, furnishing them with money and false passports and papers, and sending them back to Russia to stir up a revolution"; on July 30 after a secret report is circulated that Bolshevik anti-war propaganda is being hidden in gifts sent to the troops from home, On July 27 U.S. Berlin ambassador James Watson Gerard (1867-1951) tells Washington, D.C. that the Germans are "picking out the revolutionists and liberals from the many Russian prisoners of war, furnishing them with money and false passports and papers, and sending them back to Russia to stir up a revolution"; on July 30 after a secret report is circulated that Bolshevik anti-war propaganda is being hidden in gifts sent to the troops from home, war minister Gen. ? Poplivanov warns the ministry that "Demoralisation, surrender, and desertion are assuming huge proportions." On July 30 (03:15 a.m.) the Battle of Hooge Crater begins over a crater created by the British on July 19, which the British Seventh Battalion tries to seize while the Germans pummel them with their Moaning Minnie heavy mortar shell (minenwerfer), causing many to get shell-shock; on July 30 the Germans use flamethrowers. In July British troops in the Dardanelles twice refuse to advance; meanwhile a French sub is lost to Turkish nets in the Narrows. In July the Battle of Kara Killisse on the Caucasus front is a Russian V over the Ottomans. On Aug. 5 English nurse Edith Louisa Cavell (b. 1865) of the Berkendael Medical Inst. in Brussels (which became a Red Cross hospital at the outbreak of the war) is arrested by the Germans for sheltering 200 English, French, and Belgian soldiers in her house and helping them escape; she freely confesses, and despite a public outcry and appeals by the U.S. and Spanish ministers in Brussels, on Oct. 12 the Krauts execute her via firing squad after she asks for pins to tie her long skirt tightly around her ankles for modesty (aim for the red cross?), causing more public outcry; after Baron ? von der Lancken tells U.S. ambassador Hugh Gibson in Belgium that "even the emperor himself couldn't intervene" once sentence is passed, the Kaiser hears about it and gets pissed-off; the New York Tribune later pub. a false story that she fainted on the way to the execution post and was shot on the ground by a German officer, with the caption "Gott mit uns" (God with us). On Aug. 6-15 50K green British-Indian and Anzac troops land at Suvla Bay in N Gallipoli, with diversionary battles at Anzac Cove N of Gaba Tepe and Lone Pine (Aug. 6-10), losing 1.7K casualties vs. 4K Turkish casualties, and earning seven Victoria Crosses; the Battle of Krithia Vineyard (Aug. 6-13) sees another diversionary attack at Krithia beaten back, causing British Brig. Gen. H.E. Street to order a series of futile and bloody attacks until Aug. 13, with total casualties of 3,480 British vs. 7,510 Turkish; the virtually unopposed advance at Suvla Bay throws British cmdrs. off balance, causing the troops to stay on the beach, with many men going for a swim; on Aug. 6 (night) 16K Anzac troops advance N from Anzac Cove to Suvla Bay to seize the summit of Koja Chemin Tepe, taking it briefly on Aug. 9 until British ships mistakenly shell them; on Aug. 9 Kiwi troops holding Chunuk Bair are attacked by the Turks under Col. Mustafa Kemal, who force them off on Aug. 10, earning Kemal a promotion to gen.; on Aug. 9 Allied troops at Suvla Bay capture Scimitar Hill in the Chunuk Bair Mts. before being driven back by the Turks, "like a crowd streaming away from a football match", with Pvt. Hugh Walter McWhirter becoming the first Newfoundlander to be KIA in the war on Sept. 22; by Aug. 19 2K Allied troops are KIA and 22K are wounded, shipped to hospitals in Egypt and Malta, filling them up by Aug. 13; on Aug. 13 a new attack reaches Anfarta Ridge, where it stalls through lack of fighting spirit of the men until a Turkish counterattack drives them back, causing Lord Kitchener on Aug. 16 to sack gens. Stopford, Hammersley, and Lindley, and force Gen. Mahon to resign. On Aug. 8 the Bulgarian govt. secures a 400M franc loan from Germany and Austria. On Aug. 8-18 after a 1,360-gun bombardment that fires 853K shells, the Germans capture the fortress city of Kovno (Kaunas) in Lithuania, manned by 90K soldiers, capturing the main Russian supply of millions of cans of meat, which they use for themselves; after leaving the bridge over the Niemen River inact, along with the railway tunnel between Ostend and Petrograd, Russian cmdr. Gen. Vladimir Grigoriev is court-martialed and sentenced to eight years of hard labor. On Aug. 10 after the Russians fall back E of Warsaw, leaving it garrisoned by 90K men, Novo-Georgievsk Fort at the confluence of the Vistula and Bug Rivers is encircled by 80K non-front-line German troops, allowing the main army to pursue the Russians; on Aug. 20 the fort surrenders along with all 90K defenders and 30 gens. On Aug. 12 a British Short Type 184 floatplane piloted by Flight Cmdr. (later air vice marshal) Charles Humphrey Kingsman Edmonds (1891-1954) takes off from HMS Ben-my-Chree (Manx "woman of my heart") and sinks a Turkish merchantman in the Sea of Marmara with a 14 in. diam. 810 lb. torpedo, becoming the first ship sunk by an aerial torpedo; on Aug. 17 another ship supplying Turkish forces in Gallipoli is sunk by Edmonds; the observer on the plane is Erskine Childers. On Aug. 13 (Sat.) (a.m.) German sub UB-14 sinks 11K-ton Allied troop transport HMT Royal Edward (launched in 1907 as RMS Cairo) near Italian-held Kos Island in the Dodecanese, killing 935 (864?) of 1.6K. On Aug. 15 another British assault at Suvla Bay is thrown back by the Turks. On Aug. 18 the Germans capture Wlodawa on the Bug River from the Russians. On Aug. 18 the Russian Ds cause Lord Kitchener to visit the First Army HQ in France and tell British Gen. Haig: "We must act with all our energy, and do our utmost to help the French, even though, by doing so, we suffered very heavy losses indeed"; on Aug. 21 a conference in Margate sees Canadian PM Robert Borden ask when the munitions supply will be ample enough for a major offensive, with Bonar Law saying 5 mo. but Winston Churchill saying 10 mo., which doesn't stop the plans set for Sept. at Loos. On Aug. 19 German sub U-24 sinks the British liner (passenger-freight ship) Arabic 50 mi. off Kinsale, Ireland, killing 44 incl. three Americans, after which German sub U-27 attacks cargo steamer Nicosian carrying mules from New Orleans to England, and British armored merchant ship HMS Baralong, flying a U.S. flag, and wrongly believing that this is the U-boat that sunk the Arabic approaches it then raises the British flag and fires at it, causing 12 of the U-boat crew to jump overboard, and the British Marines onboard to open fire, killing six, the remaining six reaching the engine room of the Nicosian, where the Marines hunt and kill them then throw their bodies in the water, causing a protest by the German ambassador in Washington, D.C., and private comments by U.S. secy. of state Robert Lansing that the murders are "shocking"; this doesn't stop the U.S. from again demanding that the German govt. repudiate their "sink on sight" policy, and this time, despite the efforts of Adm. Alfred von Tirpitz the German Kaiser caves in, agreeing on Sept. 1 not to sink passenger liners or unarmed merchant ships without warning; privately the Kaiser was only concerned that Germany didn't have enough ships to make its policy work?; after the Arabic incident all British passenger ships are armed; on Nov. 22 the U.S. rejects a German offer of £1K for every American lost on the Lusitania. On Aug. 20 the German Reichstag votes to give the govt. all the money it needs for war, with only deputy Karl Liebknecht (1871-1919) objecting, demanding immediate peace talks. On Aug. 21 Italy declares war on Turkey. On Aug. 21 the Washington Post carries a story that the General Staff is planning to send 1M U.S. soldiers overseas; the Baltimore Sun echoes the story on Aug. 24, and the War College Div. issues a denial. On Aug. 21 the Battle of Scimitar Hill sees the largest single-day attack by the Allies at Gallipoli, with three divs. (14.3K men) attempting to remove the Ottoman threat from the exposed Suvla landing along with an attack on Hill 60, ending in the Turks bloodily beating them back, with 5.3K British and 2.6K Turkish casualties; Brig.-Gen. Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford (b. 1864) is KIA after uttering the soundbyte: "Don't bother ducking, the men don't like it and it doesn't do any good", and Pvt. Frederick William Owen "Fred" Potts (1892-1943) receives the Victoria Cross; British Gen. Sir Julian Hedworth George "Bungo" Byng (1862-1935) becomes new cmdr. at Suvla Bay, finding that the entire British force suffers from chronic disabling diarrhea, later telling Sir Ian Hamilton that there aren't enough high-explosive artillery shells to mount another offensive, which Hamilton laughs off; on Aug. 29 a single Turkish shell kills 113 British mules. On Aug. 22 Eleutherios Venizelos returns to power in Greece. On Aug. 26-Sept. 19 the Sventiany Offensive by the German 10th Army against the Russian 10th Army is stopped by the newly-formed Russian 2nd Army, which seals the breach. In Aug. the Ottomans recapture Van. In Aug. the Germans capture Brest-Litovsk, Bialystok, and Lusk, taking 7K Russian POWs; meanwhile Russia calls up 2M more men. In Aug. the Germans get lucky and sink 42 British ships, double the number in Mar., plus seven more via mines (148K gross tons total). In Aug. the Germans have 727K Russian and 330K Western Front POWs; Austria has 699K Russian POWs; a typhus outbreak in Wittenberg Camp gets so bad that the Germans abandon their 15K POWs and surround the perimeter fence with machine guns and dogs until neutral critics cause them to return. In Aug. Britain buys 32K of German binoculars (a monopoly) through a Swiss front for the Western Front. On Sept. 4 armed British passenger liner RMS Hesperian is sunk by German sub U-20 under Capt. Walther Schweiger, killing 32; it is carrying a corpse recovered from the wreck of the Lusitania, which it also sunk. On Sept. 5-8 the Zimmerwald Internat. Socialist Conference in Switzerland calls for immediate peace and class war in Europe; delegates incl. Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin, who pushes his "revolutionary defeatism" policy of using the war to foster Communist revolutions. On Sept. 6 the British House of Lords denounces Turkish atrocities against Armenians. On Sept. 6 U.S. ambassador Henry Morgenthau sends a telegram to Washington, D.C., with the message: "Destruction of the Armenian race is progressing rapidly", proposing a relief fund, which causes civic leaders to form a committee, which is incorporated by Congress on Aug. 6, 1919 as the Near East Relief. On Sept. 6 German (Prussian) minister Georg Michaelis (1857-1936) and Bulgarian liberal PM (1913-8) Vasil Radoslavov (1854-1929) sign the secret 5-year German-Bulgarian Friendship and Alliance Treaty in Pless, pledging German military support of Bulgarian independence and territorial integrity in return for Bulgarian military support in case Germany is attacked by any country bordering it, also pledging the overthrow of Serbia, allying Bulgaria with the Central Powers. On Sept. 7 a German Zeppelin attacks London, starting a large fire that kills six men, six women, and six children, and injures 30; on Sept. 8 another Zeppelin bombs Holborn and Bloomsbury, hitting two motor buses and killing 21, causing a protest march on Sept. 9 that incl. the Lord Mayor, after which the French send anti-aircraft guns that are positioned around London. On Sept. 8 Russian Tsar Nicholas II takes over the supreme command of the reeling Russian army, and sends ex-CIC Grand Duke Nicholas as viceroy to Caucasia. On Sept. 15 Albert Einstein writes French pacifist Romain Rolland in Vevey, Switzerland, with the soundbytes: "The victories over Russia have revived German arrogance and appetite. 'Greedy' seems the word that best characterizes the Germans"; "The German government was more moderate than the people. It wanted to evacuate Belgium but could not do so because the officers threatened to revolt. The big banks, industries, and corporations are all-powerful, and expect to be repaid for the sacrifices they have made"; the Kaiser "is decent, weak and in despair over a war which he never wanted and into which he was forced because he was so very easy to manipulate." On Sept. 15 the Third Battle of Artois begins (ends Nov. 4), followed on Sept. 25 by the Second Battle of Champagne (ends Nov. 6), the the great offensive planned all summer by the French and British to act as a pincer movement to force the Germans out of N France and relieve the Russians, with the French attacking in Champagne along a 2-mi. dent in the 15-mi. German line, taking 1.8K German POWs and capturing the German stronghold of La Courtine 10 mi. NW of Valmy, the Champagne offensive becoming a bubbly success with 25K German POWs captured along with 150 heavy guns; meanwhile the Battle of Loos in Flanders (ends Oct. 14) sees 10K British troops (first mass engagement of New Army units) attack along a 6.5-mi. front, using poison gas for the first time, 150 tons of chlorine in 5,243 cylinders, killing 600 Germans; one battalion has some men dribble a soccer ball in the lead across No Man's Land; after the gas cloud doesn't blow into the German trenches and the 15th Highland Div. refuses to run through it, bagpiper Daniel Logan Laidlaw (1875-1950) rallies them by leading them while playing "Scotland the Brave", getting wounded and receiving the Victoria Cross; too bad, on Sept. 26 as the British cross the Lens-La Bassee Road at Hulluch and Bois Hugo, the Germans mow them down by the hundreds with machine guns, and the offensive fails, leaving the lines about where they were a year earlier, with 385 British officers and 7,861 men KIA, and many new cases of shell-shock; the Germans call it the Field of Corpses of Loos (Der Leichenfeld der Loos), and give the stragglers a pass back to their trenches; Rudyard Kipling's only son 2nd lt. John "Jack" Kipling (b. 1897) is KIA, causing him to pub. the poem My Boy Jack this year; Rupert Grayson (1899-1991) is wounded in the hand by the same shell splinter, becoming Kipling's surrogate son. On Sept. 18 the Germans capture Vilna (Vilnyus) (Vilnius) (capital of Lithuania) (50 mi. SE of Kovno) from the Russians, who have held it since 1795, capturing 22K Russian POWs - big twist alert? On Sept. 19 a German U-boat sinks British troop transport Ramazan in the Aegean Sea, killing 311 Indian troops. On Sept. 21 the Bulgarians begin to mobilize, causing the Serbs to appeal to Greece under their 1913 treaty, and Venizelos agrees on the condition that the Allies furnish the 150K troops required under the treaty, which Britain and France agree to on Sept. 24; on Sept. 28 the king of Greece denies the Allies' request to land at Saloniki, despite secret consent given to Venizelos. On Sept. 24 500 reservists attack police at a railway station in Petrograd to protest the suspension of the Duma; other protests take place in Rostov-on-Don and Astrakhan; on Sept. 29 2.5K convalescing Russian soldiers in Orsha riot. On Sept. 25-Oct. 15 the Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt near Auchy-les-Mines in France sees the Brits capture and lose the redoubt, then counterattack on Oct. 13, losing 3,643 casualties in minutes. The old man had too much wine? On Sept. 26-28 after an arduous journey up the slow winding Tigris River, the British 6th Indian Div. plus a cavalry brigade under gen. Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend reach Kut al Amara and defeat a Turkish force, then after Townshend's boss (CIC of British forces in Mesopotamia since Apr.) Lt. Gen. Sir John Nixon (1857-1921) insists that they not wait for reinforcements but continue on to Baghdad, they leave Kut on Nov. 1 and push on to Aziziya 50 mi. from Baghdad, halting for reinforcements and hoping for a V against the Turks to pay them back for Gallipoli; too bad, the Turks know how they're going to come at them. On Sept. 27 Austrian saboteurs sink Italian battleship Benedetto Brin in Brindisi, killing 456. On Sept. 28 the Battle of Navarin Farm W of La Courtine and Massiges and E of Reims sees 300 of 500 French Legionnaires killed or wounded, incl. former British officer John Elkington, who receives the Croix de Guerre from the French army, causing George V to get his British commission and rank restored; on Sept. 29 Hill 140 of Vimy Ridge (10 mi. N of Arras, N of the Scarpe River) is captured by the French, who are then driven back by German counterattacks to Neuville-St. Vaast 2 mi. away; the villages of Hurlus, Perthes-les-Hurlus, Le Mesnil-les-Hurlus, Tahure, and Ripont near La Courtine and Massiges, and Moronvilliers and Nauroy near Navarin Farm are wiped off the map; the Notre Dame de Lorette (Ablain-St.-Nazare) Cemetery NW of Arras near Vimy Ridge becomes France's largest cemetery, housing 40K soldiers. On Sept. 28 the Battle of Es Sinn sees the Indian Expeditionary Force D of the 6th (Poona) Div. under Gen. Charles Vere Ferres Townshend defeat Ottoman forces under Col. Nureddin Pasha, gaining control of the lower Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, with 94 Brits KIA and 1,139 injured vs. 5.3K Ottoman casualties and 13 artillery pieces captured. In Sept. the Germans sink 100K gross tons of British shipping, the drop being caused by the need to watch out for neutrals; for the rest of the year the Germans concentrate their efforts in the Mediterranean, sinking 70 British ships plus 100K tons of French and Italian shipping. In Sept. after bond drive led by J.P. Morgan and James Jerome Hill, the first $500M U.S. loan to the English and French is floated, allowing them to buy weapons from the U.S. and turn the U.S. economy around from a depression to a boom by next year. On Oct. 1 the German high command moves its HQ to Kovno with dreams of a German Baltic state dancing in their heads; Gen. Ernst von Eisenhart-Rothe (1862-1947) is appointed intendant-gen., overseeing six admin. areas in Lithuania and Kurland to be Germanized. Raindrops keep falling on my head? On Oct. 3-5 13K British and French troops land at Salonica (Saloniki) (Thessalonica) (Thessaloniki) to stage for Serbia's defense, causing Constantine I (whose wife is the Kaiser's sister) to refuse to support pro-Entente Eleutherios Venizelos, who resigns on Oct. 5 hours before the troops land, and is replaced as PM on Oct. 6 by Alexander Zaimis (1855-1936) (until Nov.), who cancels the Greek promise to support Serbia, leaving the British troops with no choice but to stop at the Greek-Bulgarian frontier and turn back, retreating under Bulgarian fire and digging in, creating a heavily-wired "entrenched camp" just N of the city; meanwhile on Oct. 5 a massive artillery bombardment by 170 heavy guns and 420 heavy mortars prepares the Austrian-German invasion of Serbia to avenge the murder of Franz Ferdinand; on Oct. 6-7 massed Austro-German-Bulgarian forces under German Field Marshal Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen (1849-1945), Hindenburg's chief of staff on the Eastern Front attack Serbia, moving up the Morava River Valley (highway to C Europe) and taking Belgrade on Oct. 9 after a typhus epidemic causes the Serbs to evacuate, followed by Semendria (Smederevo) on Oct. 11; on Oct. 9 Austria invades Serbia's ally Montenegro; on Oct. 11 Bulgaria invades Serbia, hoping to annex the S Serb region of Macedonia; on Oct. 14 the first French troops reach the Greek-Serbian frontier, while 18K French troops land at Salonica. On Oct. 13 (night) the Germans carry out their heaviest air raid yet in Britain, dropping 189 bombs on London and the Home Counties, killing 71 civilians. On Oct. 13-19 the Battle (Actions) of Hohenzollern Redoubt near Auchy-les-Milnes, France sees 20-y.-o. poet Capt. Charles Hamilton Sorley (b. 1895) KIA, leaving the immortal lines: "On marching men, on/ To the gates of death with song./ Sow your gladness for earth's reaping,/ So you may be glad through sleeping,/ Strew your gladness on earth's bed,/ So be merry, so be dead." On Oct. 14 Bulgaria and Serbia declare war on each other, then on Oct. 15-16 Britain, Montenegro, and France declare war on Bulgaria, and on Oct. 19 Russia and Italy declare war on Bulgaria; on Oct. 16 the Allies offer the enosis (political union) of Cyprus to Greece to entice it to join, but they reject it on Oct. 20; the Bulgarians field an army of 300K men. On Oct. 14-15 the Ovche Pole Offensive sees the the Bulgarian 2nd Army under Gen. Georgi Stoyanov Todorov (1858-1934) defeat the Serbian army at Kumanovo and reaching Veles and the Vardar, seizing the Vardar River Valley. On Oct. 14-Nov. 9 the Morava Offensive sees the 196K-man Bulgarian 1st Army under Lt. Gen. Kliment Boyadzhiev (1861-1933) seize Pirot, Nis, and the Morava River Valley, forcing the 90K-man Serbian 2nd Army under Gen. Stepan Stepa Stepanovic (1856-1929) back towards Kosovo, causing the Franco-British force in Salonica (Thessaloniki) under French Gen. Maurice Paul Emmanuel Sarrail (1856-1929) to advance N to support them, only to discover on Oct. 19 that the railway line N of Krivolak has been cut, causing more French forces to be dispatched on Oct. 20; on Nov. 3-23 the Battle of Krivolak (Krivolashkoto) in Serbia (modern-day Macedonia) sees the Bulgarian 2nd Army defeat the French Armee d'Orient under Gen. Maurice Sarrail, cutting the railway between Skopje and Salonica and separating the defending Serbian forces from their only source of outside supply. On Oct. 18-Nov. 3 the Third Battle of the Isonzo River by 19 Italian divs. and 1,250 heavy guns vs. 11 Austrian divs. and 604 heavy guns fails to capture Mt. Sabotino and Mt. San Michele, with 67.1K Italian vs. 40.4K Austrian casualties (11K Italians vs. 9K Austrians KIA), leading to the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo River on Nov. 10-Dec. 2, with 49.5K Italian vs. 32.1K Austrian casualties (7.5K Italians vs. 4K Italians KIA); the total result is three dents in the Austrian front; Benito Mussolini mans a trench on Mt. Nero (6K ft. alt)., contracting paratyphoid fever and naming his new son Vittorio Alessandro after an English naval capt. and Victor Emmanuel II. On Oct. 19 to render gas masks ineffective, the Germans first use a mixture of chlorine and phosgene gas (10x more toxic than chlorine) along a 10-mi. front in Champagne, killing 815 French soldiers and making 4K+ seriously ill. On Oct. 21 the Bulgarians begin a string of Vs, starting with Skopje in Macedonia, forcing the British and French to remain on Greek territory; the French under Gen. Maurice Sarrail fight their first action against Bulgaria at the railway station in Strumica 20 mi. from the Bulgarian border, repelling them and opening the new Salonica Front (#12 after the Western, Eastern, Gallipoli, Mesopotamian, Caucasian, Serbian, Italian-Austrian, East African, Central African, Egyptian, and Persian); on Oct. 24 after the French travel N from Negotin and arrive at the Vardar River en route to Veles, then discover that a bridge marked on their map had been destroyed in the First Balkan War, the Bulgarians drive a wedge between them and the Serbs; on Oct. 27 the Germans capture Knjazevac, taking 1.4K Serbian POWs; on Nov. 5 the Bulgarians capture Nis, allowing the Germans to take control of the Serbian section of the Berlin-Baghdad Railway; on Nov. 23 after heavy fighting plagued by lack of artillery shells, the 300K remaining Serbian troops and civilian refugees evacuate Kragujevac and begin a 3-week 100-mi. flight over the mountains to the Albanian coast, suffering attacks by Albanian tribesmen, with the king drawn on a stretcher by four bullocks; in Dec. the frozen, starving remnant of 260K along with 24K Austrian POWs and 10K horses are rescued by an Allied fleet and brought to the Greek island of Corfu in 1,159 voyages by 45 Italian, 25 French, and 11 British steamers, becoming the largest sea evacuation until Dunkirk in 1940; 20K Serbian civilian refugees are killed, incl. 15K of the 30K boys, who lose hundreds more by Austrian air attacks in San Giovanni di Medua while waiting for the ships before eventually being sent to England and France; by Dec. the Brits wish to leave, but the French insist on staying and building up forces. On Oct. 22 Austrian gen. Conrad von Hoetzendorf sends a memorandum to Emperor Franz Josef, hoping for a quick defeat of Serbia to allow a peace with Russia, leaving the Old Order in Europe intact - talk about clueless? On Oct. 22 Kaiser Wilhelm II meets with U.S. ambassador James W. Gerard, getting pissed-off at U.S. financial aid to Britain and France, and mentioning that a "number of submarines" built in the U.S. had been escorted to Britain by U.S. Navy ships, with the soundbyte: "America had better look out after this war. I shall stand no nonsense from America after the war"; he apologizes for sinking the Lusitania, saying that he would "not have permitted" it to be torpedoed if he had known about it, and that "no gentleman would kill so many women and children" - he can't see me cry in the dark? On Oct. 23 (Sat.) a German U-boat sinks British troop ship HMS Marquette in the Mediterranean, killing 140. On Oct. 23 German troop ship SMS Prinz Adalbert is sunk by British sub E-8 50 mi. W of Liban in the Baltic Sea, killing 672 of 675 aboard, becoming the most deadly German naval disaster of the Great War in the Baltic. On Oct. 25 Baron Hans von Wangenheim (b. 1859) dies, and Count Paul Wolff Metternich zur Gracht (1853-1934) (German ambassador to London in 1901-12) becomes German ambassador in Constantinople; too bad, he objects to the Armenian genocide too strongly, causing Enver Pasha and Mehmed Talat Pasha to sign a memorandum next Aug. demanding his recall, and he is recalled next Sept.; on July 10, 1916 Metternich writes a report to German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, with the soundbyte: "In a realisation of their plan to resolve the Armenian Question by destroying the Armenian race, the Turkish Government is not stopped neither by our representatives, nor by the public opinion of the West"; next Sept. he is replaced as German ambassador to Constantinople by Richard von Kuhlmann (Kühlmann) (1873-1948), known for running the News Bureau that spreads German propaganda in the Ottoman Empire incl. postcards of ruined Belgian churches to whip up their jihadist sentiments; on Aug. 6, 1917 he becomes German foreign affairs secy. (until July 9, 1918), negotiating the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the Peace of Bucharest. On Oct. 27 London-born Labour Party leader William Morris "Billy" Hughes (1862-1952) becomes PM #11 of Australia (until 1923), going on to visit England next summer and return a big British patriot advocating military conscription, which causes his popularity to tank; no wonder he ends up switching parties 5x in his 51-year career in parliament? On Oct. 27 Rene Viviani resigns, and on Oct. 29 Aristide Briand (1862-1932) becomes PM #82 of France again (until Mar. 20, 1917) (1909-11, 1913). On Oct. 28 new British Gallipoli cmdr. Gen. Sir Carmichael Charles Monro (1860-1929) receives a telegram from Magua, er, Lord Kitchener asking if he wants to stay or withdraw, and on Oct. 31 after Suvla Bay cmdr. Gen Julian Byng concurs and Gen. Birdbrain, er, Sir William Riddell "Birdy' Birdwood (1865-1951) objects for fear of a Muslim uprising in India, he replies, recommending withdrawal, but London waffles, leaving them struggling in the mud, wind, and rain, suffering from illness and lack of ammo, evacuating 300 sick a day; Winston Churchill utters the soundbyte about Monro: "He came, he saw, he capitulated." On Oct. 30 the Italians under Gen. Giuseppe "Peppino" Garibaldi II (1879-1950, grandson of Giuseppe Garibaldi finally score a V at Panettone in the Dolomite Mts., capturing the 4,660-ft. pass of Col di Lana on Nov. 8, only to be driven back on Nov. 9; the corridor from Bolzano to Cortina later becomes the home of several famous ski resorts, causing a coverup of the bloody battles? In Oct. the Battle of the Rufiji Delta in German East Africa sees a group of British warships chase and finally sink the German light cruiser SMS Konigsberg on July 11. In Oct. Russian finance minister (1914-18) Pyotr Lvovich Bark (1869-1937) travels to France by sea from Archangel via Britain, begging French Pres. Raymond Poincare for £100M more to prevent a Russian collapse on top of the £1M borrowed in week #2 of the war and £50M to date, and after blackmailing him with the prospect of the Austrian and German armies being free to head to the Western Front, he caves in, causing Archangel to be flooded with military supplies, helped by £757M loaned by Britain and £37M by the U.S. by next year; Britain sends them 27K machine guns, 1M rifles, 8M grenades, 2.5B bullets, 300 airplanes, and 650 airplane engines; too bad, the railway line to Petrograd only has 170 cars, causing a railway to be built in Murmansk with 30K Russian and 5K Finnish laborers, who soon quit because of frigid conditions, causing 15K German and Austrian POWs and 10K Chinese workers to be brought in to finish it in 1.5 years; after the war Bark emigrates to England and becomes dir. of the Anglo-Internat. Bank in London, getting knighted by George V in 1935. In Oct. British subs finally sink their first German merchantman in the Baltic, causing Baltic fleet cmdr. Grand Adm. Prince Henry of Prussia to comment that he would "regard the destruction of a British submarine as being at least as valuable as that of a Russian armored cruiser"; other British subs lurk in the North Sea, sneaking up to the mouths of the Jade, Weser, and Elbe Rivers - and causing Adm. von Pohl perhaps to have health problems? On Nov. 4 the Germans, with reinforcements from the Russian Front drive the French out of a 900-yard section of their front line trenches N of Massiges, taking 25 POWs after killing most of the rest, after which the French counterattack with grenades and drive them back. On Nov. 5 Alexander Zaimis resigns, and Stephanos Skouloudis (1838-1928) becomes PM of Greece (until 1916); the Greek govt. declares benevolent neutrality on Nov. 8, agreeing not to interfere with the forces at Saloniki in return for a guarantee of eventual restoration of Greek territory on Nov. 24. On Nov. 5 German sub U-35 (Capt. Waldemar Kophamel) sinks British armed steamer HMS Tara in the Bay of Sollum in Egypt, chasing the other British ships away then bombarding land forces nearby; on Nov. 18 Capt. Lothar von Arnauld de la Periere (Perière) (1886-1941) takes over U-35, sinking 189 merchant ships (446.7K gross tons) in 15 missions while obeying prize rules incl. allowing crews to board lifeboats with directions to the nearest port, becoming the most successful sub cmdr. in history, rising to vice-adm. in WWII. On Nov. 7 Italian ocean liner Ancona carrying Italian immigrants en route from Naples to New York City is sunk by German sub U-38 (Capt. Max Valentiner) off Sardinia, killing 208 of 315 passengers incl. 25 Americans; it had just sunk ocean liner France en route from Salonika to Marseille; the U.S. protests again, but stays neutral. On Nov. 11 after Winston Churchill lobbies in vain for a renewed land and sea campaign, Lord Kitchener makes a surprise visit to Gallipoli, where new cmdr. (since Nov. 4) Gen. Birdwood wants to make another assault on the Turks, but is overruled and evacuation ordered; the same day the cabinet's war council is reduced to five members sans Churchill, who resigns from the cabinet and navy and goes to the Western Front as a lt.-col. in the army in charge of a battalion, serving 6 mo. at Ploegsteert, once speculating that if a shell hit him it would be a "good ending to a chequered life, a final gift - unvalued - to an ungrateful country - an impoverishment of the war-making power of Britain which no one would ever know or measure or mourn"; the beaten Anzac-Anglo-French Gallipoli forces (50% casualties) begin pouring back into Egypt. On Nov. 14 the Senussi Campaign (ends Feb. 1917) sees Muslim Senussi tribesmen from Libya allied with the Turks attack the British-Egyptian border post at Sollum, which is evacuated on Nov. 23; on Nov. 16 300 tribesmen occupy Zura Monastery in Sidi Barrani, using the desert as a hiding place after British troops arrive; fresh troops of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under Gen. Sir Archibald Murray are sent to help hold Egypt against a possible (imaginary) Turkish invasion; "In some respects this was the most successful strategical move made by our enemies in the whole war, for these odd thousand rather verminous Arabs tied up on the Western Frontier for over a year some 30K troops badly required elsewhere and caused us to expend on desert railways, desert cars, transport etc. sufficient to add 2d to the income tax for the lifetime of the present generation" (Capt. Jarvis) - nothing like good ole jihad? On Nov. 17 after 700 U.S. Marines under Capt. Smegma, er, Smedley Darlington Butler (1881-1940) are sent to crush an insurrection in Haiti by the Cacos, they capture Ft. Riviere (Rivière), for which Butler wins a 2nd Medal of Honor and is given command of Camp Pontanezen in Brest, France during WWI, which becomes a major debarkation camp for U.S. troops - when the bus door opened he was overcome with the smell of mary wanna and mushrooms? On Nov. 19 British pilot Gilbert Formby Smylie (1895-?) crash-lands after bombing a railway junction at Ferrijik on the Gulf of Enos in Turkey, and is rescued by fellow pilot Richard Bell Davies (Bell-Davies) (1886-1966) before being captured by Turkish soldiers; Davies is awarded the Victoria Cross. On Nov. 19 British PM Herbert Henry Asquith's son Pvt. Raymond Asquith (1878-1916) writes a letter to a friend from the Western Front about "the vast number of rats which gnaw the dead bodies and then run on one's face making obscene noises and gestures", adding: "Lately a certain number of cats have taken to nesting in the corpses, but I think the rats will get them in the end; though like all wars it will doubtless be a war of attrition"; he is KIA on Sept. 15, 1916. On Nov. 22-25 after leaving Aziziya on Nov. 11, the British-Indian force meets the dug-in Turks at the Battle of Ctesiphon 22 mi. from Baghdad, which ends in a push, with the Brits losing 4.6K of their force of 8.5K, and no reinforcements in sight, while the Turks lose 6.2K-9.5K with reinforcements available from Baghdad, with the Muslim-vs.-infidel angle causing the Turks to finally get tough, stand their ground, and counterattack; on Nov. 25 the remaining British and Indian troops begin retreating to Kut, reaching it on Dec. 3, after which the 25K defenders are sieged by 80K Turks on Dec. 5, leaving them "bottled with the cork in", after which three British attempts to relieve them from Basra fail by next Apr. 22 after 147 days at a cost of 23K casualties, incl. 4.3K next Jan. 6-8 at the Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad, partly caused by Gen. Townshend's reports inaccurately minimizing his supplies and causing them to rush; wounded Brits being evacuated by river S to Basra are sniped at by madass Arabs, killing many; meanwhile German Field Marshal Baron Colmar von der Goltz is sent with 30K Turkish reinforcements, causing fears of another trapped British army like at Khartoum in 1884. On Nov. 27 British hospital ship HMHS Anglia is sunk off Dover by a German mine, killing 139. On Nov. 27 a severe thunderstorm at Gallipoli turns the trenches into moats, drowning 100+; on Nov. 28-29 a severe blizzard kills 100+ more, and causes 12K to be treated for frostbite, esp. Indians and Australians; the storm kills the zillions of flies gorging on corpses; on Dec. 2 back in London, Lord Kitchener waffles on the evacuation, exploring how four British divs. at Salonica might be sent in, but drops it when the lack of landing piers, roads, and quarters is explained by Gen. Byng. On Nov. 27 the No-Conscription Fellowship in Britain is founded by pacifists (mainly Quakers) Richard Clifford Allen (1889-1939) (pres.) and Archibald Fenner Brockway (1888-1988) to declare opposition to military service from a "belief in the sanctity of human life". On Nov. 28 after marching 24 mi. in three days in 14 deg. F weather through the Pripet Marshes, 900 Cossacks capture a German div. HQ, capturing 80 staff incl. the div. gen., who later shoots himself. On Nov. 29 Sheikh Mubarak "the Great" of Kuwait dies, and is succeeded by Jabir II (1860-1917). On Dec. 2 after the Germans capture Dvinsk and the Austrians capture Brody and Czernowitz, finishing the occupation of Russian Poland, the Germans begin talks with U.S. diplomat Frank Billings Kellogg (1856-1937) about feeding the captive pop. The Ford Peace Ship of Fools is not a better idea? On Dec. 2 rich pacifist automaker Henry Ford (1863-1947) sails from Hoboken, N.J. on the Scandinavian liner Oscar II AKA the Ford Peace Ship, leading a party of other well-known pacifists to Europe in an attempt to end the war, Ford telling reporters: "We're going to try to get the boys out of the trenches and back to their homes by Christmas"; on Dec. 18 the ship reaches Oslo; after having to face up to reality and being treated like nuisances, Ford soon returns home, and the rest of the pacifists are treated ditto until they return to the U.S. empty-handed. On Dec. 2 the Austrians take Plevlje (Pljevlja) in N Montenegro, followed on Dec. 6 by the Ipek (Pec) (Peja) in NW Kosovo, then storm Mt. Lovcen, the main stronghold of Montenegro. On Dec. 4 the Calais Conference sees British PM Herbert Henry Asquith call for Allied forces to withdraw from Salonica in light of the Serbian collapse, which is seconded by the French; too bad, on Dec. 6 French CIC Gen. Joseph "Papa" Joffre holds the internat. Chantilly Conference, of the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, Italy), where the Russians, Italians, and Serbs get them to keep the Salonica Front open, with Tsar Nicholas II sending a personal telegram to Asquith, and they agree to launch offensives with the greatest possible strength ASAP to prevent the enemy from transferring reserves to soften the blows; on Dec. 19 British Western Front CIC Field Marshal Sir John French resigns over criticism of the cost of his advances in France, and on Dec. 29 British (Scottish) Gen. Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928), one of his two corps cmdrs. replaces him, settling with Gen. Joseph Joffre on a joint Anglo-French offensive next summer N and S of the Somme River on a 40-to-60-mi. front, aiming to repeat the "brilliant tactical results" of the Champagne and Artois Offensives of 1915, and hoping that Germany is running out of reserves; French returns to England, is made a viscount, and becomes CIC of the U.K. (until 1918). On Dec. 6-12 the Battle of Kosturino in Serbia sees the Bulgarian 2nd Army under Gen. Georgi Todorov defeat the 10th (Irish) Div. under Gen. Sir Bryan Thomas Mahon (1862-1930), forcing them to retreat to Salonica. On Dec. 8 after the British Cabinet decides on Dec. 7 to evacuate Suvla Bay and Anzac Cove, and British adm. Sir Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss (1864-1933) (pr. like Weems) unsuccessfully argues for another naval attack to open the Straits, he begins the evacuation of troops from Gallipoli, while Capt. C.R. Attlee commands a perimeter rearguard around the evacuation beach; by Dec. 20 83,048 troops, 4,695 horses and mules, 1,718 vehicles, and 186 heavy guns are evacuated, leaving only the troops at Cape Helles. On Dec. 10 the millionth Ford Model T rolls out of the River Rouge Plant in Detroit, Mich. - people are getting cheaper than cars? On Dec. 13-27 a Russian offensive in Galicia using 1K guns each with 1K shells ends with failure to break the Austrian line, and 6K Russian POWs taken. On Dec. 14 Sir Henry McMahon writes Sherif Hussein of Mecca to decline his latest request to not exclude Aleppo and Beirut from an independent Arab state, claiming that it has to be taken up with the French, and advising him to "spare no effort to attach all the Arab people to our united cause and urge them to afford no assistance to our enemies", adding that "the permanence and strength of our agreement" depends on his success. On Dec. 19 the Germans release pure phosgene gas against the British lines in the Ypres Salient, gassing 1K and killing 120, with some gas being blown along the German trenches on the Wytschaete Ridge because of a curve in the line. On Dec. 20 David Lloyd George delivers a speech in the British House of Commons, with the soundbyte: "Too late in moving here, too late in arriving there, too late in coming to this decision, too late in starting with enterprises, too late in preparing. In this war the footsteps of the Allied forces have been dogged by the mocking specter of 'Too Late', and unless we quicken our movements damnation will fall on the sacred cause for which so much gallant blood has flowed" - both sides claim that God is on their side, when only Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies is winning? On Dec. 20 former German chancellor Prince Bernhard von Bulow arrives in Rome, agreeing to press Italy's claim to the Trentino with Austria, and sending Count Betho von Wedel to Vienna next Jan. 16. On Dec. 24-25 another Christmas Truce is prevented by orders to maintain a slow gunfire on enemy trenches. On Dec. 25 German Gen. Erich von Falkenhayn writes the Kaiser of his plan to attack Verdun and its ring of forts next year, with the soundbyte: "If we succeeded in opening the eyes of her people to the fact that in a military sense they have nothing more to hope for, that breaking point would be reached, and England's best sword knocked out of her hand", adding that if they defend Verdun to the last man, "the forces of France will bleed to death", causing historian Sir Alistair Allan Horne (1925-) to later write: "Never through the ages had any great commander or strategist proposed to vanquish an enemy by gradually bleeding him to death. The macabreness, the unpleasantness of its very imagery could only have emerged from, and was symptomatic of, that Great War, where, in their callousness, leaders could regard human lives as mere corpuscles." On Dec. 26 the Germans in Denmark give Russian Jewish Bolshevik Alexander Lvovich Parvus (Helphand) (Israel Lazarevich Gelfand) (1867-1924) 1M rubles to spread anti-war propaganda. On Dec. 27 the British Cabinet decides to evacuate Cape Helles and abandon Gallipoli. On Dec. 29 the French nat. assembly passes a law giving the land on which 2K British war cemeteries are sited as "the free gift of the French people for a perpetual resting place of those who are laid there". On Dec. 30 an accident causes an explosion aboard British cruiser HMS Natal near Cromarty Firth in the North Sea, killing 304. On Dec. 30 a German U-boat sinks Peninsular and Oriental steamship SS Persia in the E Mediterranean, killing 343 of 519 aboard incl. the U.S. counsul in Aden en route to his post, and another U.S. citizen. In Dec. the Battle for Lake Tanganyika in E Africa begins (ends Feb. 1916), seeing the British secure naval control from the Germans. In Dec. the I Indian Corps (Lahore and Meerut Divs.) is moved from the Western Front to Mesopotamia; the III Indian Corps is formed (called the Tigris Corps until next Nov.), incl. the Lahore, Poona, and Meerut Divs. In Dec. 1915 German engineer Hugo Junkers (1859-1935) builds the first all-metal fighter airplane, the Junkers J 1 AKA the Blechesel (Sheet Metal or Tin Donkey); its first flight is on Jan. 18; despite sheet steel construction, its sleek monocoque design gives it low drag, allowing it to reach speeds of 100 mph with a 120 hp Mercedes D II inline 6-cyl. engine; Junkers Aircraft (Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke AG) (JFM), founded by Junkers in Dessau, Germany in 1895 to manufacture radiators and boilers goes on to produce planes for the Luftwaffe in WWII even after the Nazis remove him in 1934. The monarchy is restored in China, but it vanishes by next year. The Anglo-French Commission, headed by Rufus Daniel Isaacs, Lord Reading (1860-1935) arranges for a U.S. loan of $500M to the Allies. Anthony Comstock is appointed by Pres. Wilson to be the U.S. rep. to the Internat. Purity Congress - becoming his last hurrah as U.S. soldiers in gay Paris get more smut and sex than he can imagine in his worst nightmare? Jane Addams (1860-1935) founds the Women's Internat. League for Peace and Freedom, and becomes chmn. of the Internat. Congress of Women, opposing U.S. involvement in WWI. The bronze horses in the front of the Cathedral of St. Mark's are taken down and hidden in a secret place for the duration of the war. The Australian Steel Industry is born. The largest railroad station in Europe opens in Leipzig, Germany. The Muslim Burial Grounds in Woking Cemetery in England are created to house Indian Muslim soldiers who died at the Indian Army Hospital in Brighton Pavilion; in the 1960s the bodies are moved to Brookwood Military Cemetery in London. Inventions: In Oct. the Italian 3-engine 4-crew twin-boom biplane Caproni Ca.1 heavy bomber, built by Giovanni Battista "Gianni" Caproni, 1st Count of Taliedo (1886-1957) makes its first flight, going on to increase the engines from 260 hp to 300 hp, delivering 166 aircraft to the Italian army between Aug. 1915-Dec. 1916; after the war some are rebuilt as 6-passenger Ca.56 airliners. After hearing how so many war deaths are caused by head wounds, Am. inventor John Leopold Brodie of Buffalo, N.Y. patents the steel Brodie Helmet, AKA the Shrapnel Helmet and Tin Hat, which is adopted by Britain, where it becomes known as the Tommy Helmet, and the U.S., where it becomes known as the Doughboy Helmet (M1917); the Germans call it the Salatschussel (Salad Bowl). The portable Stokes Mortar is invented by British inventor Sir Frederick Wilfred Scott Stokes (1860-1927), and extensively used by British troops in WWI and WWII, causing Stokes to be knighted in 1917; he receives a £1 royalty per mortar round. French Gen. Jean Anatole Dumezil (Dumézil) (1857-1929) invents a Trench Mortar that is adopted by the Allied armies. The Tsar (Lebedenko) Tank (Netopyr) tricycle tank is developed in Russia; too bad, during a test in Aug. 1915 it gets stuck, and is abandoned 37 mi. from Moscow until it is scrapped in 1923. Arsenic-based vomiting-sneeze gas Adamsite (DM) (diphenylaminechlorarsine) is synthesized by German chemist Heinrich Otto Wieland (1877-1957); in 1918 Am. chemist Roger Adams (1889-1971) duplicates it, and both sides stockpile it, but it is allegedly never used on the battlefield. and both sides stockpile it, but it is allegedly never used on the battlefield. Nonfiction: Ralph Pulitzer (1879-1939), Over the Front in an Aeroplane and Scenes Inside the French and Flemish Trenches; son of the late Joseph Pulitzer; his experience as a guest of the French War Office; "No other civilian has been allowed to ascend in a French army aeroplane at all, and as for visiting the front in one, it has apparently been undreamed of." Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), America and the World War (Jan. 1); about American Neutrality; how those of German descent in the U.S. are "in honour bound to regard all international matters solely from the standpoint of the interest of the United States, and of the demands of a lofty international morality", pointing out that Dante reserved "a special place of infamy in the Inferno" for "those base angels who dared side neither with evil nor with good", claiming that the only lasting peace is the "peace of righteousness"; if the Euro nations get peace with Am. assistance "It will be because they have fought as long as they will or can. It will not be because they regard us as having set a spiritual example to them by sitting idle, uttering cheap platitudes, and picking up their trade, while they have poured out their blood like water in support of the ideals in which, with all their hearts and souls, they believe." Music: George Asaf (George Henry Powell) (1880-1951) and Felix Powell (1878-1942), Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile; becomes a popular British WWI song; George becomes a conscientious objector in 1916; Felix becomes a smiling staff sgt.; Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,/ And smile, smile, smile,/ While you've a lucifer to light your fag,/ Smile, boys, that's the style." Ivor Novello (1893-1951) and Lena Guilbert Ford (1870-1918), Keep the Home-Fires Burning ('Till the Boys Come Home) (Oct. 8); popular war song; recorded in 1915 by James F. Harrison, in 1916 by Stanley Kirkby, and in 1917 by John McCormack; on Mar. 7, 1918 Ford (b. 1870) and her 31-y.-o. son Walter become the first U.S. citizens to be killed in a German air raid after their home is hit; Ford's mother is injured. Al Piantadosi (1882-1955) and Alfred Bryan (1871-1958), I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier; bestseller (650K copies); helps "make the pacifist movement a hard, quantifiable political reality to be reckoned with" (Mark W. van Wienen).

1916 Chinese Year: Dragon - eats good? This year the once-in-a-cent. WWI Climate Anomaly begins, which brings relentless rain in Europe all the way to Gallipoli, causing many troops to be lost in a "liquid grave". By the start of this year the belligerent nations have gone into the war whole hog, calling on all their manpower up to middle age, adapting their industries to war production, and floating loans that mortgage their future in the hopes of winning the war to end all wars; Britain has 2,675,149 men under arms, all volunteers; Canada has 150K, all ditto; "The world bloodily-minded,/ The Church dead or polluted,/ The blind leading the blinded,/ And the deaf dragging the muted." (Israel Zangwill). British shipping losses this year total 1.5M tons. On Jan. 1 Canadian PM Sir Robert Borden calls for 500K new volunteers for the war effort out of 8M pop. On Jan. 1 the British Royal Army Medical Corps performs its first successful blood transfusion using pre-stored cooled blood. On Jan. 4 Austrian gen. Conrad von Hoetzendorf writes the soundbyte to Hungarian PM (1913-17) Count Istvan Tisza: "England cannot be defeated; peace must be made in not too short a space, or we shall be fatally weakened, if not destroyed." On Jan. 5 British PM Herbert Henry Asquith introduces the first Conscription Bill to the House of Commons. On Jan. 6-7 the Battle of Mojkovac is a V for Montenegro over Austria-Hungary. On Jan. 6-8 the Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad on the banks of the Tigris River sees the Anglo-Indian Tigris Corps break through the Ottoman 6th Army to relieve Kut, losing 4,262 casualties out of 13,330 troops vs. 1.2K casualties out of 9K Ottoman troops. On Jan. 7 the Arab Bureau is founded in Cairo, becoming the center of the British intel network in the Middle East. On Jan. 8 45K Austrian, 3K Italian, and 5K Bosnian Muslim troops under Austrian Gen. Hermann Koevess von Koevesshaza (Kövess von Kövessháza) (1854-1924) (last Austrian CIC) attack Serbia's ally and neighbor Montenegro starting with a 500-gun artillery barrage, driving the Montenegrin army from 4,850-ft. Mount Lovcen ("the Gibraltar of the Adriatic") by Jan. 10, forcing them back to the mountain capital of Cetinje, which falls on Jan. 11, causing King Nicholas I to flee to Italy; on Jan. 17 the 36K-man army of Montenegro surrenders, allowing a push S into Albania against a weak Italian force, halting on the Vojusa River near the S frontier, strengthening the hold of the Axis, er, Central Powers on the Adriatic coast. On Jan. 11 the French occupy Corfu to use it as a refuge for Serbian and Montenegran troops, which are landed on Jan. 15 despite the Greek govt. refusing consent. On Jan. 9 after an 11-day evacuation the last of 35,268 British troops evacuate Cape Helles on the Gallipoli Peninsula, leaving booby traps for the Turks; 3,689 horses and mules are evacuated after 508 mules are shot and 1,590 vehicles abandoned, ending the Gallipoli Campaign (begun Feb. 17, 1915); total casualties incl. 66K Turks vs. 28K Brits, 7,595 Australians, 2,431 Kiwis, and 10K French killed; 36K Turkish troops relocate to Mesopotamia to take on the British; the Gallipoli Campaign goes on to define the Australian nat. identity of endurance, bravery, and mateship despite being the country's worst military defeat (until ?). On Jan. 11 10K Russian workers strike at the Russian naval base of Nikolayev (Nikolaev) on the Black Sea, and the strike spreads to Petrograd within two weeks, involving 45K dock workers. On Jan. 13 the Battle of Wadi sees the British-Indian relief force fighting N to Kut meet fierce Turkish resistance, losing 200 killed and 1.4K wounded; on Jan. 21 the Battle of Hanna sees 2.7K British casualties after the 46 guns of the British are inadequate to dislodge the Turkish defenders; future British PM Capt. Clement Attlee is wounded by friendly fire, and Sir Edward Grey's cousin Robert Palmer is KIA; after the British are granted a 6-hour truce to bury their dead, a mob of Arabs rush out and rob the wounded and dead, stuffing sand in the mouths of anybody crying for help and strangling them, causing Turkish troops to come to their aid; meanwhile on Jan. 21 (night) the British and Turkish trenches at Kut overflow with freezing water; on Jan. 24 British lt. gen. Sir Fenton John Aylmer (1862-1935) expresses his doubts about the reliability of the Indian troops. On Jan. 15 the direct Berlin-Constantinople railway through the captured Serbian city of Nis formally reopens; on Jan. 18 Kaiser Wilhelm II visits Nis and makes King Ferdinand of Bulgaria a German Field Marshal. On Jan. 24 the Germans sack yellow Hugo von Pohl (who mopes himself to death on Feb. 23?), and appoint more aggressive Adm. Reinhardt Scheer (1866-1928) as the new High Seas Fleet CIC (until 1918), with Vice-Adm. Franz Ritter von Hipper (1863-1932) as cmdr. of the battle cruiser squadrons; Pohl's chief of staff Adm. Capt. Magnus Otto Bridges von Levetzow (1871-1939), who led the revolt against him becomes chief ops. officer, and his accomplice Adm. Adolf von Trotha (1868-1940) becomes chief of staff; Scheer goes for U-boats even more than Pohl as the way to knock Britain out of the war, but gets reckless with them, giving the U.S. its sheer excuse to quit playing the levitating hippie and plight its troth and enter the war; despite orders to not engage Britain's navy on the high sea, Scheer plans the sheer defeat of the British navy in the North Sea as the clincher. On Jan. 24 the U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously in Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad to uphold the 1913 Revenue Act and the income tax. On Jan. 27 the Military Service Act of 1916 is passed by the British Parliament, conscripting British raw meat for the first time in history; they purposely exclude Ireland - didn't I see that in "Braveheart"? On Jan. 27 (Kaiser Wilhelm II's birthday) a U.S. flag is draped in black and placed on the statue of Frederick II the Great in Berlin, with a silk banner with letters of gold reading "Wilson and his press are not America"; a cartoon is pub. showing Pres. Wilson releasing the dove of peace with one hand while pouring out munitions to the Allies with the other. On Jan. 27-Feb. 3 Pres. Wilson launches a nationwide whistle-stop campaign to generate support for Preparedness and the Continental Army, starting in New York City and ending in St. Louis, Mo. On Jan. 28 the Germans attack French lines S of the Somme River, capturing the village of Frise; on Jan. 29 (a.m.) the Germans attack the British line near Carnoy, and are driven off by the Liverpool Pals of Kitchener's Army. On Jan. 29 the first British tank trials begin, funded by Winston Churchill's Admiralty after the War Office turns it down, and after they are successful, on Feb. 12 the War Office orders 100 tanks for the Western Front in France, followed in Apr. by 50 more; meanwhile after resigning in disgrace as first lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill joins the British army, reporting for duty in N France in Jan., rising within a few weeks to lt.-col. in command of the 6th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, arriving on a black charger leading a gun carriage carrying a full-sized bathtub and a boiler to heat the water, telling the officers: "Gentlemen, I am your new commanding officer. Those who support me, I shall look after. Those who go against me, I will break", displaying ultra-cool nerves under fire in 36 forays into No Man's Land, even when an artillery shell misses him by feet; his wife sends him three bottles of brandy plus cigars every 10 days; after 6 mo. he leaves the Front and returns to Westminster to resume his ego-filled political career, getting a frosty reception. On Jan. 31 (9:00 p.m.) the Great Zeppelin Raid sees nine German Zeppelins drop 389 bombs on the English Midlands; one of them crashes into the North Sea while returning, killing all 16 aboard; by June 1 Zeppelins kill 550 British civilians. In Jan. German-Ams. freaked at U.S. cos. supplying the Brits sabotage three DuPont explosives plants, the Bethlehem Projectile Plant near Phila., the Union Metallic Cartridge Co. in Conn., and the ? chemical plant in Mich.; two British ships explode at sea after leaving the U.S., and another is found with undetonated bombs in its hold; livestock bound for Europe are injected with anthrax. In Jan. the German language is declared the only official language, and police pummel people speaking Czech on the streets of Prague. On Feb. 1 British cargo ship Franz Fischer is sunk by a German airplane 2 mi. off the Kentish Knock, killing 13, becoming the first merchant ship sunk by aerial bombs. On Feb. 5-Apr. 15 the Battle of Trebizond (Trebizond Campaign) sees a brilliant series of Russian naval and land operations capture Trabzon. On Feb. 8 German sub U-21 under Capt. Otto Hersing sinks French cruiser Amiral Charner off Beirut with a torpedo in 4 min., killing 374 of 375. On Feb. 9 the French invading from the S and E push the Germans out of British Cameroons into Spanish territory. On Feb. 10 a rumor that a German Zeppelin appeared over Scarborough on the E coast of England causes a panic, causing the govt. to form 10 home defense squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps. On Feb. 12 the Battle of Salaita Hill (near Mt. Kilimanjaro), the first large-scale engagement of the East African Campaign involving British, Indian, Rhodesian, and South African troops under Gen. Jan. Smuts sees the Germans defeat them, causing them to retreat to Serengeti after suffering 172 casualties incl. 138 South African, after which German East Africa CIC Gen. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck redeploys almost half of his troops in the Kilimanjaro area; after the 6th South African Infantry Regiment starts calling the 130th Baluchis "coolies", and the latter stand firm while the former flee, a machine gun abandoned by the white troops is sent back with a note reading: "With the compliments of the 130th Baluchis. May we request that you no longer refer to our people as 'coolies'." On Feb. 14 the British and French issue the Le Havre Declaration, stating that there can be no peace with Germany until Belgian independence is restored and reparations paid, and guaranteeing the integrity of the Belgian Congo; on Apr. 29 it is signed by France, Britain, Italy, Japan, and Russia. On Feb. 16 after losing 4K men to frostbite and seeing many Arab troops desert the Turks, the Russians under Gen. Nikolai Yudenich (1862-1933) capture the Armenian city of Erzerum on the Caucasus Front, taking 5K Turkish POWs, chasing them W and taking 5K more. The original Verdun and Dumber? On Feb. 21 (7 a.m.) the absurd Battle of Verdun (Hell of Verdun) (ends Dec. 18) in E France on the Meuse River begins after German crown prince Rupprecht (Rupert) (1869-1955) of Bavaria approves the insane plan of Prussian-born German CIC (since 1914) Gen. Erich von Falkenhayn (1861-1922) of a sustained push by 1M men on the city of Verdun and its fortresses of Ft. Douaumont, Ft. Vaux, Ft. Vacherauville, Ft. Thiaumont, Ft. Souville, and Ft. Tavannes (defended by 500K French troops) to end the year-long stalemate, and at dawn the Germans begin an unprecedented 9-hour 850-gun bombardment of the advanced French positions on an 8-mi. front from Malancourt on the left bank of the Meuse River to Abancourt on the right bank, followed by a 140K-man infantry advance starting at 4 p.m., capturing Haumont Wood and attacking the French positions at Herbebois and N of Ornes; the first British shell, from a Krupp 15-in. naval gun 20 mi. away hits the cathedral; after the Germans use gas shells, the French counter on Feb. 22 with phosgene shells, while the Germans use 96 flamethrowers, advancing 2 mi. and capturing 3K French POWs by Feb. 23; on Feb. 23 the Germans take the village of Samoneux after premature rumors cause the French to shell their own defenders, after which POW Lt. Col. ? Bernard is taken before Kaiser Wilhelm II (who watches the fun through a periscope), and tells him "You will never enter Verdun"; on Feb. 24 the Germans advance another 1 mi., taking 10K French POWs; a French North African div. turns and runs, and are machine gunned by their own troops; on Feb. 25 the Germans capture Ft. Douaumont, and the Kaiser personally awards the Pour le Merite to two officers; too bad, just as the French are about to pull out and find another line of defense, at midnight marshal Henri-Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Petain (Pétain) (1856-1951) is given command, and on Feb. 26 he issues the immortal order "They shall not pass" (Ils ne passeront pas); after the initial shock, the French fall back to prepared positions while the Krauts push forward in a come-back-get-back you're-relieving-your-bruder-dadadadada "blood mill" battle of attrition, which ends up costing 250K dead and 1M wounded on both sides, causing von Falkenhayn to become known as the "Blood-Miller of Verdun"; in the first five weeks a German soldier is killed at the rate of one every 45 sec., and a French soldier even faster; the French open and defend La Voie Sacree (Sacrée) (the Sacred Way), a supply road from Bar-le-Duc, using it to bring in 190K reinforcements and 23K tons of ammo on Feb. 27, after which the spring thaw turns the area into mud, slowing the Germans down, while the Voie Sacree brings in 6K trucks a day carrying 90K men and 50K tons of supplies a week, with a French colored, er, colonial force maintaining the road; the Germans use 168 reconnaisance aircraft; "Ultimately on this one sector of the Western Front the Germans suffered a third of a million casualties in occupying a cratered wasteland half the size of metropolitan Berlin" (the Kaiser's biographer Alan Palmer). On Feb. 22 the House-Grey Memorandum, negotiated by Col. Edward Mandell House of the U.S. and Sir Edward Grey of Britain states that the U.S. pres. is ready to propose a peace conference when Britain and France request it, insisting on the restoration of Belgium and Serbia, the independence of Poland, the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, the transfer of the Italian-speaking parts of Austria to Italy, and Constantinople to Russia, with Germany permitted to retain some colonies, and that if their proposal is accepted by the Allies but rejected by Germany, the U.S. will "probably" enter the war on the Allied side; in the summer the Germans offer Britain a peace settlement, and the Zionist leaders approach the British War Cabinet and tell them that they can still win by definitely dragging the U.S. in via their Jewish connections, but have to give them Palestine in return? On Feb. 24 the Albanian provisional govt. under Essad Pasha Toptani leaves Durazzo under Italian protection for Naples, setting up a provisional govt.; the Austrians occupy it on Feb. 29; mountain warfare continues until the end of the war. On Feb. 26 French troop transport SS La Provence en route to the Salonica Front is sunk by a German sub off Cerigo, killing 930 of 1,940. In Feb. Gen. Louis Botha defeats the last pro-German rebels, keeping South Africa in the Allied war effort throughout the war. In Feb. the British take and lose Vimy Ridge in France, then recapture it in May, only to lose it on May 21 to the Germans again; despite hell filling with the kills, the Allies insist on taking it, considering it the key to German occupation of Lens and Douai, along with the open country all the way to Lille and the Low Countries. On Mar. 2 the French repel a German assault on Ft. Vaux; Capt. Charles de Gaulle is captured after being wounded by a bayonet in the thigh, spending the rest of the war in POW camps, teaching French to Russian officer Mikhail Tukhachevsky, who escapes and becomes a Soviet marshal in 1935; on Mar. 4 German expressionist painter Franz Marc (b. 1880) is KIA by a shell at Verdun after writing on Mar. 3: "For days I have seen nothing but the most terrible things that can be painted from a human mind." On Mar. 3 (night) after a bayonet charge in a blizzard, the Russians capture Bitlis, taking 1K Turkish POWs. On Mar. 6 the German fleet carries out a sortie on Britain without encountering the British fleet - Jutland 11 weeks ahead? On Mar. 6-7 the Battle of Mort-Homme on the left bank of the Meuse River begins with a German artillery bombardment in a snowstorm rivalling that on Verdun on Feb. 21, with French shells failing to explode in the mud; on Mar. 7 the Germans capture the Bois de Corbeaux, then lose it on Mar. 8 after French Lt.-Col. Camille Joseph Leon Macker leads a bayonet countercharge "brandishing his cane and calmly smoking a cigar", becoming a legend, only to be KIA the same day, allowing the Germans to take it back, and it changes hands for the next mo. By Mar. 7 the Germans capture 1.2K French POWs. On Mar. 8 the Battle of Dujaila sees the British relief force of 18.9K infantry and 1,268 cavalry try to break through to Kut 2 mi. away in vain through a Turkish force of 8.5K infantry and 1.5K cavalry, losing 3.5K casualties vs. 1.3K Turkish casualties, causing Gen. Sir Fenton Aylmer to be sacked. On Mar. 9 W. Va.-born Dem. Cleveland, Ohio mayor (since 1911) Newton Diehl Baker Jr. (1871-1937) becomes U.S. war secy. (until 1921), getting the fun job of dealing out the tons of news of dead boys in coffins to their parents while they're baking? On Mar. 9 Germany and Portugal declare war on each other; on Mar. 15 Austria-Hungary declares war on Portugal; the first Portuguese troops land in France next Jan., and pres. Bernardino Machado personally visits them - now they're in trouble? On Mar. 9-15 the Fifth Battle of the Isonzo River is ended after five days by snow and rain, after which Austrian gas shells force the Italians back to their original positions. On Mar. 11-12 the Battle of Latema Nek in the Latema-Reata Hills of British East Africa is a British V over the Germans, who retreat to Lake Kahe; on Mar. 18 the Battle of Lake Kahe is another British V, causing the Germans to retreat further into the interior sans several heavy artillery pieces. Do the chain gang love? On Mar. 18-Apr. 30 at the urging of the French to divert German forces from the Western Front the Russians launch an attack on the Eastern Front in the Battle of Naroch Lake, which is thrown back by the Germans with 110K Russian casualties (incl. 12K from frostbite) vs. 20K for the Germans, which doesn't stop Russian Gen. Brusilov from planning a new major offensive to coincide with the British Somme Offensive in June after deciding that the Germans are stretched too thin at Verdun. On Mar. 20 the Germans attack the W extremity of the Verdun Salient between Malincourt and Avocourt; on Mar. 22 Haucourt falls to the Germans, followed on Mar. 29 by Malancourt, but the overall German drive to Verdun stalls despite unceasing fighting; too bad, on Mar. 20 after French deserters give them details of French wire gaps, the Germans surround and capture the entire French brigade of 2,825 at Avocourt incl. 25 machine guns, finding a box of Croix de Guerre medals; when the Germans try to do ditto on Mar. 22, the French machine gun them from three sides, causing them 2.4K casualties. On Mar. 22 the British have their success with their new Depth Charge off the SW coast of Ireland, destroying a German U-boat. On Mar. 23 a U.S. appeal to the Allies sent in Jan. to not arm merchant ships or passenger liners is rejected by Britain and France. On Mar. 23 after mistaking it for a troop ship, French Folkestone-Dieppe ferry Sussex is sunk by a German U-boat, killing 53 incl. Spanish composer Enrique Granados (b. 1916) and three Americans, causing Pres. Wilson to send a threatening note to Germany, after which they respond on May 4 with the Sussex Pledge, suspending their intensified U-boat campaign and agreeing to limit U-boat warfare to avert a diplomatic break with the U.S.; on May 1 after U.S. ambassador James W. Gerard protests to the Kaiser, he counters with the British blockade of Germany and U.S. complicity with it, with the soundbyte that he would "blow up Windsor Castle and the whole royal family of England" rather than let his family starve; meanwhile on Mar. 28 the Reichstag votes for immediate unrestricted submarine warfare, and on Mar. 30 German sub U-33 sinks Russian hospital ship Portugal, killing 115, claiming it was mistaken for a troop ship - that really sussex? In Mar. the British lose 26 ships (99K tons) to German U-boats. On Apr. 1 after 81,607 German and 89K casualties at Verdun, Kaiser Wilhelm II utters the soundbyte: "The decision of the War of 1870 took place in Paris. This war will end at Verdun." Gabrielle Alina Eugenia Maria Petit (b. 1893), a distributor of the underground newspaper Libre Belgique is executed by firing squad in Schaerbeek after confessing to smuggling Belgian army recruits across the lines; a statue of her is later erected in Brussels. On Apr. 1 (night) German Zeppelins bomb Sunderland, England, followed on Apr. 2 by Leith and Edinburgh, with five raids on East London this month. On Apr. 2 (2:20 p.m.) (Sun.) an accident at a munitions factory in Faversham, Kent, England in Kent kills 115 workers, all men and boys. On Apr. 5 after seeking French support for an independent Lebanon, Marionite Christian Yusuf (Joseph) al-Hani is hanged in Beirut along with 60 followers by Syrian gov. Jamal Pasha "the Bloodthirsty"; on May 6 he hangs 21 Arabs advocating an autonomous Syria, along with 14 in Beirut, and seven in Damascus, incl. Ottoman senator Abd al-Hamid al-Zahrawi, who has to be hanged twice; in May he hangs Gaza mufti Ahmed Arif al-Husseini and his son Mustafa after they are caught trying to join the Arab revolt in the Hejaz; despite the Arab revolt ramping up, the Allies refuse to deploy any of their 250K troops in Salonica, causing Georges Clemenceau to call them "the gardeners of Salonica". On Apr. 9 another German attempt to capture Mort-Homme fails with 2.2K casualties, with Gen. Petain uttering the soundbyte: "Take courage, we'll get them" (Courage! On les aura). On Apr. 10 the Russian Orthodox Easter sees truces on the Austrian Front, with 100+ Russians crossing lines taken POW, causing Gen. Brusilov to issue a non-fraternization order on Apr. 18. On Apr. 14 9,715-ft. Punta Serauta in the Dolomite Mts. is retaken by the Italians under Giuseppe's grandson Capt. Menotti Garibaldi. On Apr. 15 125K Serbian troops from Corfu begin landing in Salonica, joining the 42K-man French-British Army of the Orient. On Apr. 16 after sieging it since Feb. 5, the Russians capture the Black Sea port of Trebizond (Trabzon). On Apr. 20 the Lafayette Escadrille (Squadron) is formed in France by seven (later 180) Americans to fight the Germans, going on to shoot down 200+ German aircraft at the loss of 51 pilots incl. four of the founders; the pilots incl. sgt. Victor S. Chapman (b. 1890) (son of writer John Jay Chapman) (first U.S. pilot to be KIA on June 24, with a basket of oranges in his cockpit) become big celebs, enjoying hot baths and hot French women. Here's my chicken breast, are my veggies ready to go? The Irish take advantage of the war to revolt, with skimpy German help? On Apr. 21 after signing a treaty with Germany for an independent Ireland and being promised weapons, causing the German merchant ship SMS Aud (really the SMS Libau/Castro) to be sent on Apr. 2 carrying 20K rifles and 1M rounds of ammo, only to be intercepted by the British sloop Bluebell and scuttle herself, Irish nationalist ex-English diplomat Sir Roger Casement (1864-1916) lands in Ireland in German U-boat U-19 at Tralee Bay in County Kerry, is arrested as a spy by the Brits on Apr. 25 and taken to England; after British law is twisted by the addition of a comma, allowing acts of treason not on British soil to be prosecuted, he is sentenced to death on June 29 and deprived of his 1911 knighthood on June 30, and despite a publicized appeal supported by Arthur Conan Doyle, George Bernard Shaw et. al he is hanged on Aug. 3 at Pentonville Prison in London after converting to Roman Catholicism - doctor feelgood? On Apr. 22 Chinese steamer SS Hsin Yu capsizes S of the Chu Sen Islands off China, killing 1K. On Apr. 24 (Easter Mon.) the Second International in Kienthal, Switzerland (founded July 14, 1889 in Paris) denounces the war as a capitalist conspiracy, causing Vladimir Lenin to have trouble convincing them that it is to be welcomed as a necessary prelude to capitalism's fall. On Apr. 24 (Easter Mon.) after seeing their long-awaited (since 1167?) chance, Easter Rising (Week) in Dublin sees 1.6K over-optimistic Sinn Fein nationalists attempt to oust the British Empire from Ireland, marching from Liberty Hall in Dublin to the center of town then seizing several key sites and declaring an independent Irish repub. from the steps of the Gen. Post Office on O'Connell St., describing the Germans as "gallant allies"; too bad, on Apr. 22 leader Eoin MacNeill (1867-1945) cancels mobilization orders, else 5K would have shown up; the rising lasts until Apr. 29, when British forces under gen. Sir John Maxwell (1859-1929) quash it, and the nationalists surrender after 64 are killed along with 220 civilians and 134 troops and policemen; British gunboat HMS Helga destroys Liberty Hall from the sea; on May 12 15 leaders are tried and executed incl. poet Patrick Henry Pearse (b. 1879) (leader of the Irish Repub. Brotherhood), James Connolly (b. 1868) (head of the Irish Citizen Army), and repub. organizer Sean MacDermott (b. 1883); British Capt. J.C. Bowen-Colthurst orders Irish pacifist Francis Sheehy Skeffington (b. 1878) (a close friend of James Joyce) arrested for trying to stop looting, then court-martialed and executed on Apr. 26, causing outrage that forces Joyce to flee for Canada and launch his literary career to "beat the English with their own language" (Carmel McCaffrey); Skeffington later becomes a main char. in Joyce's "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man"; playwright Sean O'Casey (1880-1964) takes part in the rising; math prof. Eamon de Valera (1882-1975) is saved from execution because of his U.S. citizenship, spending the war in English jails; Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) writes the pro-Repub. Easter 1916, but waits until 1920 to pub. it; British secy. for Ireland (since 1907) Augustine Birrell resigns. On Apr. 24-25 the Lowestoft Raid sees the German fleet again plays chicken with the British fleet, bombarding East Anglian towns Yarmouth and Lowestoft. On Apr. 27 the (early a.m.) Gas Attack at Hulluch 1 mi. of Loos, France starts with a gas attack by the Germans, who repeat it on Apr. 29, only to have it blow back over the German lines, resulting in 1,260 gas casualties; after the German mixture of chlorine and phosgene penetrates the British PH gas helmets, they accelerate production of the Small Box Respirator (M2 Gas Mask). On Apr. 27 British war secy. Field Marshal Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener (1850-1916) asks for U.S. military participation in Europe. On Apr. 27 three British officers incl. Capt. T.E. Lawrence "of Arabia" offer the Turks £2M in gold for the release of the starving besieged forces at Kut, along with a promise that none of them would fight the Turks again, and are turned down, with the reply "Your gallant troops will be our most sincere and precious guests"; on Apr. 29 after being driven from Ctesiphon to Kut and surrounded and starved, despite a Russian relief force from Persia approaching 100 mi. E of Baghdad, the 13K-man British army under Gen. Sir Charles Townshend surrenders to the Turks after losing 29K Indian troops, becoming the biggest Turkish V since Gallipoli, and the largest British surrender (until ?); on Apr. 30 2.5K badly wounded and sick men are exchanged for an equal number of Turkish POWs, and on May 6 the rest are death-marched to the N, reaching Baghdad on May 18 after 160 die of privation; in Tikrit they are stoned; by the time they reach Anatolia 1,750 of 2.5K British and 2.5K of 9.3K Indian soldiers die; on May 3 the Russian relief force reaches the Mesopotamian border, capturing the town of Khanikin before stopping; the wounded Indian soldiers are shipped back to Bombay in non-hospital troop ships, causing Times of India ed. (1907-24) Sir Herbert Stanley Reed (1872-1969) to pub. an editorial about the "dreadful stream of broken men"; Gen. Townshend is housed on Prinkipo Island off Constantinople for the duration of the war. On Apr. 30 the Germans launch their 3rd gas attack in four days against British lines on the Western Front, with a 9 mph wind blowing the cloud 11K yards, turning vegetation yellow and killing tons of rats along with 89 soldiers, injuring 500+ - the original in-home pest control service? In Apr. the Brits lose 43 ships (140K tons) to the Germans, the worst month since Aug. 1915; the loses then drop, with 64K tons in May, 37K in June, 22K in July, 43K in Aug. In Apr. Britain employs 200K women munition workers. On Apr. ? German Social Dem. leader Karl Liebknecht (1871-1919) interrupts the chancellor in the Reichstag to declare that Germany is not free and that the German people hadn't wished for war. On May 6 (Martyr's Day) Turkish gov. of Syria Jamal Pasha hangs 11 Arab leaders, incl. Abd al-Karim al-Khalil, who tried to organize an anti-Turkish revolt on the Mediterranean coast between Beirut and Sidon, which would cut Turkish lines of communication with Gaza, Sinai, and Suez, allowing an Allied landing, although the Brits are still waffling with the Arab independence movement. On May 7-10 the Battle of Kondoa Irangi in German East Africa is another British V; too bad, due to exhaustion and lack of horses the British advance salls, allowing the Germans to raid and shell them for 2 mo. On May 8 a mutitions magazine explodes in Ft. Douaumont, killing 350 German soldiers. On May 12 the Germans deport 25K men and women from France to work as farm laborers in Germany to free men to join the German army; on May 15 the German gov.-gen. of Belgium orders all unemployed adults to work in Germany. On May 15 the Austrians launch a massive 400-gun Trentino Front Offensive (Stafexpedition), capturing 30K Italian POWs by May 31 and gaining 12 mi. incl. 4K-ft. Mt. Pasubio. On May 17 the British Parliament passes the Summertime (Daylight Saving Time) Bill (don't say Savings?), causing clocks to be advanced 1 hour on May 21 (Sun.), after which many other countries follow suit; too bad, its inventor William Willett (b. 1856) died of influenza in 1915. On May 19 the Germans first use a liquid gas shell in the bombardment of Chattancourt, France. The Allies psych-out and pick apart the defunct Ottoman Empire, creating corrupt Western-backed kleptocratic tyrannies in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria that cause endless grudges and contribute to the rise of al-Qaida? On May 19 (May 9?) (May 16?) (May 17?) (May 23?) Sir Mark Sykes (1879-1919) of Britain and Francois Marie Denis Georges-Picot (1870-1951) of France conclude the secret Sykes-Picot (Asia Minor) Agreement in Paris, partitioning the postwar Middle East and recognizing an independent confederation of Arab states in place of the defunct Ottoman Empire; France receives Cilicia, Lebanon, coastal Syria, and a sphere of influence stretching E to Mosul; Britain receives Baghdad, Basra, Haifa, and Acre (giving them control of the bay that will serve as the terminal for oil pipelines from Mesopotamia), and a sphere of influence between the new pasted-together state of Iraq and Palestine, which is to be placed under the triple protection of Britain, France, and Russia; the remainder goes to one or more new Arab states, who later grumble that they were supposed to receive Palestine. On May 23 two cos. of the French 124th Regiment take Ft. Douaumont until the Germans counterattack with grenades, annihilating them, after which the 3rd Battalion coming to their aid is hit by artillery fire from 2.2K guns, taking 500 casualties. On May 25 the Chicago Tribune pub. an interview with Henry Ford in which he utters the soundbyte: "History is more or less bunk." On May 26-June 10 after an armored car detachment led by the Duke of Westminster leaves Alexandria, Egypt to rescue 92 British POWs from the patrol boat HMS Tara (formerly Irish mail boat TSS Hibernia), and rescues them on Mar. 17, Free French troops hold the fortress of Fortress of Bir Hakeim in Libya against German assault. Hands Across the Water, Hands Across the Sea, Da Sea Will Be Da Key? The Brits and Germans play Sink My Battleship? The Vikings turn over in their graves in Jellicoe's Jutland? On May 31 (night) the 250-vessel, 25-admiral 11-to-15-in.-gun Battle of Jutland (Schlacht vor dem Skagerrak) (Skagerrakschlacht) between the Grand Fleet of British Adm. Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe (1859-1935) (flagship SMS Iron Duke) and the weaker Grand Seas Fleet of German Adm. Reinhardt Scheer (1866-1928) (flagship SMS Friedrich der Grosse) (Frederick the Great) begins at lat. 55.48N, long. 5.24E between Britain, Norway, and Denmark in the North Sea, becoming "The culminating manifestation of naval force in the history of the world" (Winston Churchill) (the greatest naval battle ever, the last in which air forces don't count?) after the 42-ship battle cruiser bait fleet (flagship HMS Lutzow, with 13-in. armor) of German Adm. Franz Ritter von Hipper (1863-1932) is discovered off the S Norwegian coast breaking radio silence, and the British, seeking to avenge Dogger Bank bring out everything they've got, incl. nine battle cruisers, 34 light cruisers, 80 destroyers, and 28 dreadnoughts (incl. four superdreadnoughts), against the Germans' five battle cruisers, 11 light cruisers, 63 destroyers, and 24 dreadnoughts; on June 1 (2:00 p.m.) as Hipper tries to lure the advance force of British Adm. Sir David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (1871-1936) (flagship HMS Lion) towards Scheer's main force, Beatty gives orders to Vice Adm. Sir Hugh "Old Voice" Evan-Thomas (1862-1928) in HMS Barham to turn and cut him off, but for some reason it takes 8 min. and Hipper escapes; at 3:48 p.m. Hipper starts firing at 16.5K yards (10 mi.), and the devilish fun begins, with the Germans lured in from their preferred long distance battle range to only 5 mi.; at 4:00 p.m. SMS Von der Tann sinks HMS Indefatigable, killing 1,017; at 4:23 p.m. Derfflinger sinks Queen Mary, killing 1,266; at about 5:00 p.m. Hipper's flagship SMS Lutzow is crippled, SMS Defence is sunk, and SMS Warrior severely damaged (sinks the next day); at 6:15 p.m. Jellicoe orders his main force to turn to port, away from the enemy, supposedly to avoid torpedoes, and armchair admirals later second-guess him for it, as it loses the British chance of surprise; the Brits are now deployed N of the Germans, with 96 British ships blocking the way home of 59 German ships; at 6:30 p.m. SMS Derfflinger sinks Adm. Hood's HMS Invincible, killing 2K, with only six survivors; at 6:35 p.m. Scheer does a "turn away together" (very tricky simultaneous turn down the line), running for it in the evening mist; just as the Brits chicken out for fear of mines and let them go, Scheer turns E and reappears within range, and the Brits open up with guns blazing, and HMS St. Vincent fires 20 salvos, causing Scheer to make a simul-turn again at 7:17 p.m., exposing his rear battle cruisers, and causing SMS Derfflinger, SMS Seydlitz, and SMS Von der Tann to be hit, but Jellicoe chickens out again, turns away, and the Germans slip the noose again; Beatty then sends a signal to Jellicoe: "Submit that the van of the battleships follows me. We can then cut off the enemy's fleet", but Jellicoe takes 15 min. to give supporting orders, and again the Germans avoid a trap; at 11:30 p.m. the Germans again meet with the rear of the British fleet, and several ships collide, and German cruiser SMS Black Prince is sunk, along with the SMS Pommern, and Jellicoe blows his last chance to pursue them, saying it was "undesirable for the battle fleet to close the Horn Reef"; on June 2 at 2:30 a.m. Jellicoe breaks off and turns N, and the battle ends with the Brits losing 3 battle cruisers, 3 light cruisers, and 8 destroyers, and the Germans losing 1 battleship, 1 battle cruiser, 4 light cruisers, and 5 destroyers, with 6,784 British and 3,039 German casualties; (6,097 Brits vs. 2,551 Germans KIA); despite the Kaiser's comment that "The spell of Trafalgar is broken", the Germans don't come out to play again for the rest of the war; on Nov. 29 British First Battle Cruiser Squadron (home waters) cmdr. vice-adm. Sir David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (1871-1936) (12 years younger and a wealthy fox hunter) replaces Sir John Jellicoe as CIC of the Grand Fleet after Winston Churchill claims to recognize genius in him and fears that Jellicoe could "lose the war in an afternoon" by losing the British superiority in dreadnought battleships; Jellicoe is kicked upstairs to first sea lord, an admin. post; afterwards the public gets in the act, debating whether Jellicoe's method of forming the line ahead was sufficiently aggressive, whether it was in the spirit of Nelson, etc. - pass the rubber duckie? In May the Germans on the Verdun front attack Le Mort Homme, and capture Hill 304 (Cote 304), key to the whole French defense system W of the Meuse River, and hold it despite desperate French attacks - we're all gonna act professionally? On June 1 the Germans launch a massive Ypres Salient Offensive, advancing 700 yards on a 3K-yard front, killing a British gen. and capturing another; by June 4 the British retake some of the captured ground; on June 2 the Germans take Mont Sorel, 2.5 mi. ESE of Ypres; the Canadian Corps recovers it on June 13. On June 1 the Germans on the Verdun front drive for Ft. Vaux, starting with the village of Damloup under the cliff, which the Germans are pinned down in for four days until the fort is surrounded and battered and finally surrenders on June 7 after a French carrier pigeon who takes out their last message "We are still holding out... relief is imperative... this is my last pigeon" delivers it then drops dead, and later is awarded the French Legion of Honor, becoming the only pigeon decorated during the war; on June 8 French cmdr. Maj. Sylvain Eugene Raynal (1867-1939) is captured along with 600 POWs, and treated as a hero by the German grand prince; as the Germans move W, 20 French soldiers are buried alive in a trench, and their bayonet tips are discovered sticking out of the ground after the war, causing it to be turned into a French nat. monument. On June 2-14 the Battle of Mount Sorrel (Hill 62) in the Ypres Salient between three divs. of the British 2nd Army and three divs. of the German 4th Army starts with the Germans capturing the heights then being driven out, resulting in a push. On June 4 after the Austrian V on the Italian Front causes them to move it up from July to help the Italians, the Brusilov Offensive, led by top Russian WWI gen. Alexei Alekseyevich Brusilov (1853-1926) (the only offensive of the war named after a cmdr.?) on the Eastern Front against Austrian-Hungarian and German troops led by Austrian Gen. Karl Freiherr von Pflanzer Baltin (1859-1925) (ends Sept. 20), aimed at the railway center of Kovel over a 300-mi. front; it is initally a big success as the surprised Austrians are overwhelmed by a 1,938-gun barrage along a 200-mi. front from the Pripet Marshes to the Bukovina, falling back and leaving many POWs; on June 4-6 the Russians take Lutsk, capturing 26K POWs on June 4 and 90K POWs by June 9, when Gen. Pflanzer-Baltin orders a retreat; on June 12 Brusilov announces the capture of a total of 190K Austrian soldiers, 2,992 officers, 216 heavy guns, 645 machine guns, and 196 howitzers, one-third of the total Austrian force; on June 17 the Russians occupy Czernowitz (Chernivtsi) in E Austria-Hungary; on June 11-30 the Battles of the Styrpa take place; on June 13 the Germans crush an attack at Baranovichi at the N end of the front, causing them to try it again on July 2-9 and do even worse; not phased, the Motherland-loving Russians regroup and attack at Kovel on July 28, and again on Aug. 7-17, overrunning the Bukovina, advancing 25-125 km. from Pinsk S to Czernowitz, and capturing 500K POWs and 500 guns; the offensive ends in late Sept. with the arrival of 15 German divs. from the Western Front, and the Russians failing to take Kovel or Lemberg, but the A-H army is shaken up and demoralized, causing a shakeup in command, with German Gen. Ludendorff taking over from the Austrian cmdr. then being promoted to chief of the gen. staff on Aug. 29, making Ludendorff his first quartermaster gen., and handing command of the Eastern Front to capable German gen. Max Hoffmann (1869-1927) (who thinks that he should have received the credit for the Vs at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes); too bad for the Russkies that within a year they lose most of their gains? On June 5 British secy. of state Field Marshal Lord Kitchener leaves on the cruiser HMS Hampshire en route to Russia to see the emperor, which encounters a gale and sails W of the Orkneys, then strikes a mine laid by German U-boats on May 28 (before Jutland), and sinks; Kitchener is killed; Winston Churchill praises "the comfort his character and personality gave to his countrymen in their hours of hardest trial", although at the end his power and prestige were tanking?; he really survives and is taken to Russia? Prophet Muhammad is alive and well in Arabia? On June 5 the Sunni Muslim Arabs, led by Sharif (Sherif) Hussein (Husayn) bin Ali (1854-1931), Ottoman-appointed (Sunni) emir of Mecca and guardian of Islam's holiest places (of the Banu Hashim clan allegedly tracing back to Muhammad) begin the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire (ends 1918), attacking in the Hijaz with a force of 50K that only has 10K rifles, being easily driven off by the Turks; on June 7 Hussein declares the independence of the Hijaz; on June 10 the Siege of Medina begins (ends Jan. 10, 1919); on June 11 British cruisers Fox and Hardinge shell the Turks N of Jeddah, while three British airplanes bomb the port; on June 10 the Arabs siege Mecca (ends July 4), followed on June 16 by Jeddah; on June 5 half a dozen British Intelligence Service (in Cairo) officers incl. Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935) (Lawrence of Arabia) land secretly in Jeddah, and Lawrence becomes Faisal's British liaison officer because as an Oxford undergrad he made a walking tour of Carchemish, Syria in 1910-14 and joined a British Museum archeological dig in Iraq; he calls the Arab Revolt "a sideshow of a sideshow"; in correspondence between July 1915 and Mar. 1916 with British high commissioner in Egypt Sir Arthur Henry McMahon (1862-1949), the Brits agree to recognize Faisal as the ruler of all Arab lands in the Fertile Crescent and Arabia, with British-imposed limitations; in 1917 Lawrence is commissioned a maj. on the staff of Scottish-born Gen. Sir Francis Reginald Wingate, 1st Baronet (1861-1953), gov.-gen. of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. On June 5 British philosopher Bertrand Russell is tried at the Mansion House in London for pub. a leaflet supporting conscientious objection to military service, and is fined £100. On June 22 French airplanes bomb Karlsruhe, causing 200+ civilian casualties incl. 120 at a circus, pissing-off the Germans. On June 22 (eve.) the Germans introduce Green Cross phosgene gas at Verdun, following it with an attack by 30K troops, capturing Ft. Thiaumont 2 mi. N of Verdun, along with Fleury at great cost, wiping out a 5K-man French div.; the German attackers incl. Lt. Friedrich Paulus, who surrenders Stalingrad in WWII; too bad, the Germans run out of Green Cross and don't take Ft. Souville, the next-to-last fort between them and Verdun, and have to transfer forces to the Somme, slowing them down, and the French soon retake Ft. Thiaumont. Somme Sunny Day? The quintessential Great War Futile Battle is the somme total of white European progress, where only the weapons win and humans become their veggies to slice, dice and fry? On June 24 after impossible dreams of a big breakthrough allowing the cavalry to ride to victory, the Allies (Entente) bombard the Germans with 1,732,873 shells from 1.5K guns over a 12-mi. front, believing so much in their artillery that one British officer remarks, "You will be able to go over the top with a walking stick... Not even a rat will have survived"; too bad, the Germans are too well dug-in, and many shells are duds; on July 1 (7:30 a.m.) (132nd day of the Battle of Verdun) after a 48-hour rain delay, and after shooting another 250K shells in one hour at the Schneiders (which is heard as far away as Hempstead Heath, N London), and 10 mines are exploded under the German trenches at 7:28 a.m., the British-French infantry (despite sending small test forces that report that the Huns are ready for some fun) launches the Somme of All Fears Battle of the Somme (ends Nov. 18), with a first wave of 100K out of 500K Allied lemming troops advancing on a 25-mi. front over No Man's Land overburdened with 60 lbs. of equipment into the 100 intact emplacements of alert, well-fed Germans with cool helmets, uniforms, Maltese crosses, and machine guns protected by barbed wire, who spin up their Wagner records for Apocalypse Now as the promising young white British Shakespeares and Newtons, and the promising young white French Voltaires and Descartes take 57,470 casualties and 19,240 (incl. 1K+ officers) dead, losing only 500 POWs, becoming the worst day in the history of British warfare until ?; "They went down in their hundreds; we didn't have to aim, we just fired into them"; (there goes Marlowe, there goes Laplace, there goes Hume, Adam Smith, Sir William Wallace?); "In front of our divisional sector lie the British in companies, in battalions mowed down in rows and swept away. From No Man's Land, the space between the positions, comes one great groan" (German sgt.); British Lt. Barnard White dies on the first day, and his body is later found and buried, but his grave site is completely obliterated by subsequent fighting; poet Alan Seeger and author J.R.R. Tolkien fight in the battle; British Capt. Edward Harold Brittain (1895-1918), brother of Vera Brittain is awarded a Military Cross; on July 1 the British capture Mametz (where a German machine gun at the base of a crucifix at Mansel Copse kills 159 men of the Devonshire Regiment), Montauban, and the Leipzig Redoubt; on July 1 a French attack further S aimed at Peronne fails after capturing 80 German guns and taking 3K German POWs; Spoiler: the Love Fest Over Somme Archjerk Whatisname ends up costing both sides a total of 1M+ casualties (I wouldn't want to be a nurse?); on July 2 the Germans fail to recapture Montauban; on July 4 the British fail to capture Ovillers and La Boiselle; on July 4 the French break through the German lines on a 6-mi. front, taking 4K German POWs; on July 4 a failed French Foreign Legion attack by 2.5K men on Belloy-en-Santerre costs 844 casualties incl. 25 officers, incl. Am. poet Alan Seeger (b. 1888), who leaves the poem I Have a Rendezvous with Death, which becomes a favorite of Pres. John F. Kennedy; on July 6 the British capture La Boiselle; on July 7 the British take and lose Contalmaison, then take it again on July 10: on July 7 they are driven out of Mametz Wood, and take it on July 12; on July 8 the British capture and lose Trones (Trônes) Wood, and take it again on July 14; by July 10 the Germans have been pushed back 1-2 mi.; by July 12 7K German POWs have been taken, plus 2K more on July 14 with the capture of Longueval; (hurray, we're not giving up?) on July 14-17 a temporary partial V at the Battle of Bazentin Ridge keeps British spirits up enough to keep going with the senseless slaughter, and German losses are quickly made up by two infantry divs. from Verdun along with 60 heavy guns; after a flood, the British open their first special centers for shell-shock victims; Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig becomes known as "the Butcher of the Somme" - Beelzebub and Hell are doing swell? On June 28 (night) the Austrians fire cyanide gas shells at the Trentino Front, injuring 6K+ sleeping Italians; on June 29 the gas blows back, killing 1K+ Austrian troops, allowing the Italians to retake their trenches along with 416 Austrian POWs. On June 28-30 after food riots in 30+ cities, 55K German workers strike; after urging soldiers not to fight, Karl Liebknecht is expelled from the Reichstag and sentenced to two years hard labor, which 2 mo. later is increased to four years. On June 29 the Battle of Kolomea (Kolomyia) (Kolomyya) is a V for the Russians, who take 10K Austrian POWs. On June 30 (3:00 a.m.) the Battle of the Boar's Head, a British attack to divert German attention from the Battle of the Somme begins; the Royal Sussex Regiment (founded 1881) under Maj. Gen. Gerald James "Bluebell" "Spit and Polish" (1861-1931) is decimated, losing 17 officers and 349 men KIA (incl. 12 sets of brothers, three from one family) plus 1K men wounded or taken POW, becoming known as "the Day Sussex Died"; the corps cmdr. considers it a success; Nelson Victor Carter (b. 1887) is awarded the Victoria Cross. On July 1 British officer in Egypt Sir Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs (1881-1955) writes the soundbyte: "Port Said is swamped by Armenian refugees, dumped upon us from Cilicia by French battleships. They are fighting the Turks very bravely. If the massacres of Urfa and Adana were not enough, let the present horrors suffice to erase from our political vocabulary the false and foolish legend of the 'First Gentleman in Europe'." On July 1 West Point grad. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (1890-1969), who does not see action in WWI because he is stationed at Ft. Sam Houston, Tex. marries Mamie Geneva Doud (1896-1979) in Denver, Colo.; they have 2 sons (Doud Dwight, John Sheldon) and no daughters. On July 1-13 the Second Battle of Albert sees the British capture Fricourt 20 mi. NE of Amiens on July 1-2, followed by La Boisselle on July 3-7, Mametz Wood on July 3-12, Ovillers on July 3-17, Contalmaison on July 7-11, and Trones Wood on July 8-14. On July 4-6 the Battle of Kostiuchnowka in the Volhynia region of Ukraine sees 5.5K-7.3K Polish troops face 13K Russian troops, and retreat after a vicious battle, buying time for Austro-Hungarian troops to retreat gracefully. On July 7 British landing forces return after two years and easily take Tanga in East Africa from the Germans, followed by on Aug. 16 by Bagamoyo, and Gen. Jan Smuts begins pushing his force of Afrikaners and Portuguese. On July 8 after taking 30K German POWs in one week, the Russians reach Delatyn 32 mi. from the Jablonitsa Pass, gateway to Hungary. On July 10 (night) depleted German forces try to take Ft. Souville 2 mi. from Verdun, using Green Cross gas and flamethrowers that wipe out an entire battalion, with 1.3K French casualties incl. 33 officers, and 2.4K French taken POW; on July 11 30 German soldiers reach the fort's outer wall and raise their flag until the remaining 60 French defenders under lt. Kleber Dupuy oust them, taking 10 German POWs, ending the German threat to Verdun. On July 14 Mwanza on the S shore of Lake Victoria in Tanzania (founded 1890) is captured from the Germans by a British force under Gen. Crewe operating from Tabora, junction of the main railroad from Far-es-Salaam to Kigoma. On July 14-Sept. 15 the Battle of Delville Wood starts as a British offensive, becoming the first major engagement for the 3K-man South African 1st Infantry Brigade, who suffer 80% casualties from artillery and hand-to-hand combat to obtain a V. On July 16 Allied troops stage a failed attack at Pozieres (Pozières); on July 22 Anzac troops attack again, and again on July 23, with a final V on Aug. 7. On July 19-20 after a day-long artillery barrage on July 18, Anzac troops from Gallipoli stage their first offensive action at the Battle of Fromelles to prevent Germans from moving in reinforcements, going on even when intel reports they aren't moving any, proceeding across a low wet No Man's Land protected by German-held Sugar Loaf in front of Aubers Ridge; the offensive fails after 1,708 Australians KIA and 4K wounded, along with 400 British KIA vs. German casualties of 1.5K; 400 Austrians are taken POW and marched through Lille. On July 20 a German airplane crashes behind British lines at the Somme Front, causing British troops to break into a cheer. On July 21 the 85th anniv. of Belgian independence is clamped down on by Brussels-Brabant gov. Lt. Gen. ? Hurt, which doesn't stop the pop. from wearing green ribbons or showing support for anti-occupation Cardinal Mercier, archbishop of Malines (Mechelen), causing him to fine Brussels 1M marks. On July 23 British forces attack Guillemont on the Somme Front, and are repulsed, attacking again on July 30 and losing 500 of the 2.5K-man Liverpool Pals Battalion; on Aug. 8 the British attack and are repulsed again; they finally take it on Sept. 6. On July 30 the munitions plant on Black Tom Island, N.J. is destroyed by a series of explosions, leveling all the bldgs. within 1 mi. and incinerating barges; the Brooklyn Bridge shakes from the shockwaves, water mains under Times Square burst, and tubes under the Hudson River roll with the blast, which is felt as far away as Md.; exploding bullets cause fireman to lie on their stomachs on the decks of fireboats; total loss is $22M; German sabotage is suspected, and U.S. attys. John Jay McCloy (1895-1989), Amos Jenkins Peaslee II (1887-1969), and Harold Martin begin a long, hard investigation, presenting their claims after the war's end to the Mixed Claims Commission (1922-39), which prevents German property confiscated by the U.S. during the war from being returned until all claims for wartime damages are settled; despite the principals stonewalling, in 1939 the Black Tom Case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Germans finally lose. On July 30 after taking 40K Austrian POWs in two weeks, the Russians take the East Galician border town of Brody, causing Gen. Hidenburg and Gen. Ludendorff to take over the Austrian Front, assigning Gen. Felix Graf von Bothmer (1852-1937) to East Galicia, with Gen. Johannes Friedrich "Hans" von Seeckt (1866-1936) becoming Gen. Pflanzer-Baltin's chief of staff; German and Turkish troops mix with Austrian battalions, the Turks being a humiliation to them according to German Gen. Max Hoffmann. In July despite Allied objections, the Greeks hand over Ft. Rupel (on the Struma River in C Macedonia) to Bulgaria. In July the Battle of Taif (Ta'if) sees Ottoman-held Saif fall to the Arabs supported by British-supplied artillery. In early Aug. 5K Russian and 11K Italian troops arrive at the Salonica Front. On Aug. 2 future British PM Harold Macmillan writes his mother that the weather on the Somme is sunny and gorgeous, "not the weather for killing people." On Aug. 3-5 the Battle of Romani 23 mi. E of the Suez Canal is a V for the Egyptian Expeditionary Force over the Ottomans and Germans, securing the canal, becoming the first British V over the Ottomans - there was a whole lot of screaming and shaking going on? On Aug. 6-17 the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo River (Gorizia) drives the Austrians back 3-4 mi. along a 15-mi. front, capturing Gorizia (Goritzia) (Gorica) (Gorz) at the foot of the Julian Alps in NE Italy bordering Slovenia on Aug. 9, establishing a bridgehead across the Isonzo (Soca) River while taking 50K Austrian POWs vs. 20K Italians KIA and 30K wounded, making a hero out of Col. Pietro Badoglio (1871-1956), who is promoted to maj.-gen.; on Aug. 6 the Battle of Doberdo on the W edge of the Kras Plateau near Doberdo (Doberdò) del Lago 18 mi. NW of Trieste and 7 mi. SW of Gorizia is a Pyrrhic Italian V, as they are stopped NW of Duino after losing 5K KIA, 8K wounded, and 560 missing out of 50K, vs. 3.5K Austrians KIA, 4.6K wounded, and 1.2K missing out of 20K; the Italians conquer the main transport road from Duino to Gorizia, allowing them to advance from the S. On Aug. 6 Turkish forces under Brig.-Gen. Mustafa Kemal retake Bitlis and Mus in E Anatolia, ending the threat of a Russian-backed Greater Armenia. On Aug. 7 Portugal joins the Allies. On Aug. 8 the Russians capture Stanislau (Stanislawow) in East Galicia, taking 7K Austrian and 3.5K German POWs, but failing to threaten German-occupied Poland, Western Galicia, or Hungary. On Aug. 8 (night) the Germans attack the British lines in the Ypres Salient, and British Pvt. John Bennett (b. 1896) flees when he hears the gas gong, getting court-martialed and executed. On Aug. 9-18 the First Battle of Doiran (Dojran) sees three French and one British divs. (45K men, 400 guns) launch an offensive against Bulgarian positions at Lake Doiran in Macedonia, which are repulsed with 3.2K Allied vs. 851 Bulgarian casualties. On Aug. 14 King George V of England observes a practice trench attack by Australian troops at the 5th Australian School near Sally. On Aug. 17 18K Bulgarians attack the Allied line near Florina ("where Greece begins") in N Greece at a point being held by Serb forces, capturing Florina on Aug. 18 then being stopped by Serb reinforcement brought in on British trucks; meanwhile British ship HMS Picton shells Bulgarian positions near Kavalla, and British aircraft bomb railway bridges near Drama. On Aug. 18 (Aug. 5 Old Style) after being promised Transylvania to the Theiss River, S Dobrudja (Bukovina up to the Pruth River), and the Banat agricultural region of the Danube River basin in W Romania (part of Hungary since 1779), Romania signs the secret Treaty of Bucharest with Britain and France. On Aug. 18 after licking their wounds, the German fleet returns to raid Sunderland, but again they break radio silence and the Brits are ready for them, and Adm. Scheer retreats without a fight, although German subs sink two British light cruisers; the result is that both fleets call off future confrontations, the Germans preferring their U-boats. On Aug. 18 the Germans stage a counterattack at Leuze ("Lousy") Wood on the Somme Front, getting mowed down by machine gun fire. On Aug. 18 Reginald Clifford Allen (1889-1939), pres. of the No-Conscription Fellowship is court-martialed at Warley Army Barracks in Essex, England, and sentenced to 3 mo. hard labor, after which he is released, rearrested, and resentenced for longer periods. On Aug. 22 two divs. of Turkish troops confront the Russian army of Gen. Brusilov along a 12-mi. front, and are pushed back. On Aug. 24 the Bulgarians capture Kavala, Grece 30 mi. E of the British front on the Struma River, capturing a Greek corps. On Aug. 24 the Battle of Mlali in German East Africa is a British V. On Aug. 27 Italy declares war on Germany, to take effect on Aug. 28 - after their Roman orgies? On Aug. 27 Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, and Romanian troops cross the Austro-Hungarian border into Transylvania; on Aug. 28 Romania declares war on Germany, entering the war with 500K men in 23 divs., with German-descent King (since 1914) Ferdinand I uttering the soundbyte: "I have conquered the Hohenzollern who was in me, I fear no one"; on Aug. 27 the Battle of Transylvania (ends Nov. 26) sees the Roman army attempt to seize the disputed province of Transylvania from Austria, only to be counterattacked on Sept. 18, retreating back to the Carpathians by Nov. 26. On Aug. 28 Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, savior of East Prussia is promoted to chief of staff of the German Army, replacing Gen. Falkenhayn; Hindenburg's deputy Gen. Ludendorff is given the new title of first quartermaster-gen.; within two weeks a Supreme War Command is created to give them command of all the armies of the Central Powers; on Aug. 31 Germany suspends U-boat assaults, but after they lobby the Kaiser it resumes them on Oct. 15 under search-and-destroy rules. On Sept. 1 Bulgaria declares war on Romania, and its troops join the Germans under Gen. Falkenhayn to attack Romania across the Danube River from the S, creating a 2-pronged attack with Austria; on Sept. 2-6 the Battle of Turtucaia (Tutracaia) (Tutrakan) sees a motley force of Bulgarians, Germans, and Turks drive back the Romanians in the Dobrudja while sieging the fortress of Turtucaia (Tutracaia) (Tutrakan), which surrenders its 25K-man 115-gun garrison on Sept. 26, crushing Romanian morale; the Bulgarians bomb Bucharest, causing the Romanians to call for a new Somme offensive to relieve the pressure; meanwhile the Romanians make easy gains in Transylvania against Austrian troops, causing the Germans to rush in the German Ninth and Austrian First Armies. On Sept. 2/3 (midnight) the biggest German Zeppelin attack yet on England by 10 ships sees Lt. William Leefe Robinson (1895-1918) shoot down the first Zeppelin over England (a Schutte Lanz dirigible over Cuffley, Hertfordshire) using new incendiary bullets, causing a spectacular crash that brings people cheering out into the streets in London, after which George V personally awards him a Victoria Cross at Windsor Castle in front of a huge crowd, becoming the first awarded for action on British soil; 10K from King's Cross, London visit the crash site in the first 48 hours, and the 16 dead crewmen are given a military funeral at Potters Bar Cemetery by the Grenadier Guards even though the raid dropped 376 bombs and killed four civilians; East Londonders begin taking the tubes each evening to seek refuge in the safer West End; Robinson is captured by the Germans on Apr. 5, 1917, and spends the rest of the war in captivity despite several escape attempts, becoming known as the "English Richthofen". On Sept. 3-5 the British launch an offensive on the Somme Front, capturing Guillemont, but failing to take High Wood and the Schwaben Redoubt; on Sept. 3 the French take Clery and Omiecourt; on Sept. 4 they take Bouchavesnes; on Sept. 5 the British capture Leuze Wood, while on Sept. 9 the 16th (Irish) Div. captures Ginchy. On Sept. 4 Gen. Jan Smuts takes Dar-es-Salaam, followed by Lindi in SE Tanzania on Sept. 16, and Tabora in W Tanzania on Sept. 19, causing the Germans to fall back to the SE corner of their colony and lick their wounds for a year; in 2 mo. Smuts loses 33.5K pack animals. On Sept. 4 the 1km-long Tavannes Railway Tunnel at Verdun blows up when a fire breaks out in the ammo dump, killing 500+ French soldiers. On Sept. 12 French Gen. Maurice Sarrail begins the first Allied offensive on the Salonica Front, with British, Russian, Italian, and Serb troops assisting; after recovering a few hundred yards of Serbian territory, it is driven back. On Sept. 7-11 the Battle of Kisaki in German East Africa is a German V over the South Africans under Gen. Jan Smuts. On Sept. 14-17 the Seventh Battle of the Isonzo River sees the Italians capture several mountain peaks incl. 7,723-ft. Mt. Cardinal. Are you used to Hell yet, try this? On Sept. 15 Winston Churchill's pet project the Tank (Russian Water Closet) (Char-Schneider) is first used by the Brits in the Somme, with 49 tanks advancing on a wide front, 10 being hit by German artillery fire, nine breaking down with mechanical difficulties, and five failing to advance; the rest advance 2K+ yards, taking High Wood, Martinpuich, and Flers-Courcelette (Sept. 22), the technical leap finally causing British Gen. Haig to order 1K more, while it causes a little panic among the Germans, causing Gen. Hindenburg while visiting Cambrai on Sept. 16 to order the construction of the Siegfried Line in N France 5-30 mi. behind the Western Front, which the Allies call the Hindenburg Line - would the tank's use in July have won the war for the Allies immediately? On Sept. 16 German Jewish industrialist Walther Rathenau writes an open letter to Gen. Hindenburg supporting his new Hindenburg Industrial Program that involves forcing 700K Belgians to work in Germany, causing New York City Cardinal John Farley to compare it to the ancient Medes and Persians; based on a decision by Gen. Ludendorff to double German production, 1.2M German soldiers are taken from the front line for it this mo., followed by 1.7M next July, leading to food shortages, throwing Germany into near starvation by the end of 1918. On Sept. 17 after returning from the Russian Front, German pilot Baron Manfred Albrecht von Richthofen (1892-1918) shoots down his first plane on the Western Front in Cambrai, France, piloted by British 2nd Lt. Lionel Bertram Frank Morris (b. 1897) and his observer Lt. T. Rees, launching his brilliant career that earns him the nickname "the Red Baron", with 80 kills. On Sept. 17 French and Russian troops recapture Florina from the Bulgarians. On Sept. 17 two British airplanes attacking the Turkish base at El Arish are shot down by German aircraft; the Germans withdraw 60 mi. E to Beersheba to concentrate on Romania. On Sept. 17-19 the First Battle of Cobadin (Rasova-Cobadin-Tuzla Line) is a V for the Russo-Romanian Army of the Dobrogea over the Bulgarian 3rd Army, forcing them into a defensive stance. On Sept. 18 Serbian troops capture twin-peaked 7,769-ft. Mt. Kajmakcalan (Kaimaki) inside the Serbian border, and are thrown off, but recapture it on Oct. 1. On Sept. 25-28 the Battle of Morval (part of the Battle of the Somme) sees the British Fourth Army and the French Sixth Army capture Morval, Combles, Lesboeufs, and Gueudecourt with 5K Allied vs. mucho German losses. On Sept. 26 13 British tanks capture Thievpal; two more tanks take Combles; yet more take Gueudecourt (Guéudecourt), with the Brits capturing 500 German POWs after only five casualties. On Sept. 26 the army of Gen. Falkenhayn crosses 11,555-ft. Roter-Turm (Turnu Rosu) Pass N from Wallachia into Transylvania; on Sept. 30 they defeat the Romanians at the Battle of Hermannstadt (Sibiu), taking 3K Romanian POWs, followed on Oct. 8 by the Battle of Kronstadt (Brasov), driving them back. On Sept. 26 British Pvt. Harry Farr (b. 1891), who had been treated for shell-shock and released runs from his trench, and is executed for cowardice on Oct. 18, causing his granddaughter Janet Booth to lobby Parliament unsuccessfully in 1993 to give him a posth. pardon. On Sept. 29-Oct. 5 the Flamanda Offensive (Maneuver) across the Danube by the Romanian 2nd Army backfires, becoming a German-Bulgarian V, with 3K Romanian casualties. In Sept. the renewed German reliance on U-boats pays off, with 105K tons of British, 45K of Allied, and 76K tons of neutral shipping sunk, incl. 43K Norwegian; in Oct. the Brits lose a record 176K tons, the Allies 74K, and neutrals a record 102K, and British losses stay at 176K for Nov. and Dec. Greek Love jokes here? In Sept. the Greek govt. offers to enter the war on the side of the Allies, but before they can answer Eleutherios Venizelos sets up a provisional govt. of nat. defense on Oct. 9 in Salonica (Salonika) and declares war on Germany and Bulgaria, gathering a volunteer force of 60K, causing forces loyal to the king to rout them from Athens and declare neutrality; the Allies reply that the Greeks can't join them unless they declare war on Bulgaria; on Oct. 10 the French announce their demand that the Greek fleet surrender, leading to the Noemvriana (November Events), an armed confrontation in Athens between the royalist Greek govt. and the Allies over the issue of Greece's neutrality; on Nov. 30 French and British troops land at Piraeus, and are beaten off with heavy losses; on Dec. 6 the British occupy Syra Island, followed within 2 mo. by the Cyclades Islands, and the Entente imposes a blockade on Greece, causing all Greek troops in Thessaly to be withdrawn to the Peloponnesus. On Oct. 1 the Germans reach Petrosani, driving the Romans back; on Oct. 8 they reach Kronstadt, driving the Romanians back through the Transylvanian Alps to the Romanian border through the Torzburg Pass to Rucar 6 mi. inside Romania on Oct. 13. On Oct. 1 Kaiser Wilhelm III congratulates his U-boat service for sinking 1M tons of Allied shipping. On Oct. 1 the Battle of Ancre Heights at the Somme Front (ends Nov. 18) sees the British break out of their initial (July) positions, gaining 1K yards in three weeks; on Oct. 2 the Germans recapture Le Sars, only to be regained by the Allies on Oct. 7; on Oct. 8 at Regina Trench Canadian soldier James Cleland "Jimmy" Richardson (b. 1895) of the 16th Canadian Scottish Battalion plays the bagpipes under German fire to inspire fellow soldiers to advance against a strong wire, and on the next day he carries a wounded man to the rear, forgets his pipes, returns, and gets killed, receiving the Victoria Cross; the bagpipes are lost at the time, but found in 1917 by British Army Chaplain Maj. Edward Yeld Bate, then brought back to Scotland, where they are not identified until 2002; on Oct. 11 Helen Venetia Vincent, Viscountess D'Abernon (1866-1954) becomes the first woman visitor to the Western Front, writing the soundbyte: "The scene had a Lucifer, Prince of Darkness kind of splendour, but uppermost in my mind was a sense of the wickedness and waste of life, the lack of any definite objective commensurate with all this destruction, desolation and human suffering"; on Oct. 12 the British experiment with a creeping barrage at Gueudecourt (Guéudecourt), with soldiers from Newfoundland supposed to advance behind the curtain of shells, only to lose one in 10 who move forward too quickly or are hit by short shells; on Oct. 21 the British capture 1K German POWs. Dark October in Britain? On Oct. 1/2 (night) the Germans begin a Zeppelin offensive in England, with seven Zeppelins dropping 200+ bombs; 2nd Lt. W.J. Tempest shoots down Schutte-Lanz Germany Navy dirigible L-31, captained by famed German ace Heinrich Mathy (b. 1883) at Potters Bar, killing all 19 crew, hurting Zeppelin crew morale, causing airship raids on England to trail off. On Oct. 1-Nov. 5 the Battle of Le Transloy, the final offensive by the British Fourth Army in the Battle of the Somme is a push in the mud. On Oct. 4 German sub UB-47 sinks Cunard liner RMS Franconia 195 mi. E of Malta in the Mediterranean, killing 12; at 5:30 p.m. German sub U-35 (Capt. Arnauld de la Periere) sinks French troop transport Gallia off Sardinia, killing 600. Dark October in Britain? On Oct. 7 Adolf Hitler is wounded and taken to an army hospital in Beelitz; next Sept. he receives the Cross of Military Merit, 3rd class. On Oct. 8 the first German U-boat attack on the U.S. E seaboard is staged by U-53, which sinks five merchant ships (three British, one Dutch, and one Norwegian) off Nantucket Island in Mass. On Oct. 10-12 the Eighth Battle of the Isonzo River sees the Italians capture 5K Austrian POWs and regain the N slopes of Mt. Pasubio in the Trentino. On Oct. 14 a major Allied offensive against the Bulgarians fails without even a single line of trenches captured. On Oct. 19 the German army of Gen. Mackensen breaks through the Romanian lines on the Dobrudja, and on Oct. 22 captures the port city of Constanta, capturing large quantities of grain and oil. On Oct. 19-25 the Second Battle of Cobadin in Romania is a decisive V for the Central Powers, who occupy the strategic port of Constanta and capture the railway to Cernavoda. On Oct. 21 Austrian PM (since Nov. 3, 1911) Count Karl von Sturgkh (Stürgkh) (b. 1859), who began ruling autocratically when the war began is assassinated by Social Dem. politician Friedrich Wolfgang Adler (1879-1960). On Oct. 24 the French under artillery officer Gen. Robert Georges Nivelle (1856-1924) begin a surprise attack in the Verdun Front along a 4-mi. line, recapturing Ft. Douaumont and taking 6K German POWs, then Ft. Thiaumont on ?, driving the Germans back and capturing sore point Ft. Vaux on Nov. 3 after 23M shells are fired by both sides in 5 mo.; French death toll: 650K (960,459 incl. the Battle of the Somme) (5 killed per sec.). On Oct. 26 Pres. Wilson addresses the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, with the soundbytes: "Have you heard who started the present war? If you have, I wish you would publish it, because nobody else has", and "I believe that the business of neutrality is over. The nature of modern war leaves no state untouched." On Oct. 28 a nat. referendum in Australia defeats military conscription by a narrow margin, causing a rift in the Labour Party, and PM William M. Hughes to be ejected along with several colleagues. On Oct. 28 a German U-boat sinks British liner Marina without warning off Fastnet Rock, killing 18 incl. six Americans. On Oct. 28 a German U-boat sinks U.S. steamer Lanao off Portugal. On Oct. 31 Charles Taze Russell (b. 1852) dies, and his org. the Watch Tower Society is taken over by self-proclaimed Mo. "Judge" Joseph Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942), who goes on to mount his "millions living now will never die" campaign, claiming that Armageddon will come in 1925, causing his followers to sell their homes and live in their cars travelling around to spread the urgent message while trying to avoid either marrying or having children; meanwhile the few who only wanted to study the Bible and think for themselves and not be dictated what to believe splinter off into the Bible Students org., which by the end of the cent. only has 10K members vs. 6M for the Jehovah's Witnesses. On Oct. 31-Nov. 4 the Ninth Battle of the Isonzo River sees the Italians capture 9K Austrian POWs before calling it off because of deep mud, with 39K Italian and 33K Austrian casualties. In Oct. Russia is rocked by 177 political strikes by 200K workers, causing the Russian army to run out of reserve troops (only enough for 5 mo.). In Oct. Austrian writer Karl Kraus (1874-1936) circulates his satirical anti-war pamphlet Die Fackel (The Torch) in Austria, becoming a hit with the troops. In Oct. Ludwig Wittgenstein donates his entire 3-year income as an Austrian soldier (1M crowns) for the purchase of a 12-in. howitzer. In Oct. Russian cavalryman Georgi (Georgy) Konstantinovich Zhukov (1896-1974), winner of the St. George's Cross for capturing a German officer on the Romanian Front is blown from his horse by a shell, impairing his hearing for life. On Nov. 1 the British and French announce that since the start of the Battle of the Somme on July 1 they took 72,901 German POWs, and captured 303 big guns, 215 mortars, and 1K machine guns; total German dead: 164,055; total Allied dead: 146,404 incl. 95,675 British and 50,729 French. On Nov. 5 in an attempt to turn the war around with Polish recruits, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Emperor Franz Josef of Austria issue the Act of Nov. 5, promising the future creation of a Polish state sans details; the Germans proclaim the Kingdom of Poland (ends 1918) in German-occupied Polish Russia, with capital in Warsaw, with Gen. Ludendorff envisioning a Grand Duchy of Poland with the Polish army under German officers; too bad, Josef Pilsudski doesn't buy it, with the soundbyte "No army without a government to direct it", pulling his 10K-man Polish Brigade from Gen. Ludendorff's command; the attempt further backfires when it torpedoes Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg's secret peace talks in Stockholm between German industrialist Hugo Stinnes and Duma vice-pres. A.D. Protopopov, delighting Vladimir Lenin. That pesky number 23, or, Spell my name again? On Nov. 7 after the Dems. outmaneuver the Repubs. with the slogan "He kept us out of war", and the Repubs. split between Charles Evans Hughes (who won't criticize Wilson for fear of seeming pro-war) and Theodore Roosevelt (who clamors for the U.S. to fight Germany), and Wilson's secy. of war (since 1913) Lindley Miller Garrison resigns after Wilson opposes his plan for strengthening the army, the 1916 U.S. Pres. Election starts out with Hughes appearing to have swept most eastern and some midwestern states by bedtime, coming within 12 electoral votes of a V; too bad, during his campaign visit to Calif., Hughes snubbed Calif. gov. #23 (1911-17) Hiram Warren Johnson (1866-1945), 1912 Progressive Party co-founder and candidate for vice-pres. and current Repub. candidate for U.S. Senate, causing many Calif. progressives to split their tickets, voting for Johnson for sen. and Wilson for pres., resulting in Wilson carrying Calif. by 3.8K out of 1M votes cast, along with the West and the Solid South, winning reelection; Wilson receives 9.1M popular votes (49.4%) and 277 electoral votes (30 states) to 8.5M popular and 254 electoral votes (18 states) for Hughes; the Dems. retain control of both houses of Congress; Repub. "bright star in the big sky" pacifist Jeannette Pickering Rankin (1880-1973) of Montana becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Reps. (until 1919); Hiram Warren Johnson is elected to the U.S. Senate from Calif. (until 1945), going on to become a leader of the isolationists, uttering the immortal soundbyte "The first casualty when war comes is truth"; after his reelection, Pres. Wilson fires Roman Catholic Irish-Am. White House secy. (chief of staff) (1913-21) Joseph Patrick "Joe" Tumulty (1870-1954) to placate anti-Roman Catholic sentiment by his advisor Col. Edward M. House and his 2nd wife Edith, whose remarriage he opposed on religious grounds, but his former student David Lawrence (1888-1973) intervenes and gets him reinstated; Lawrence goes on to become ed. of U.S. News & World Report; too bad, after Tumulty backs Roman Catholic U.S. pres. candidate James M. Cox, Edith finally gets Wilson to break with him, after which he gets even by pub. a tell-all memoir "Woodrow Wilson As I Knew Him" in 1921. On Nov. 10 a Serbian-French offensive on the Salonica Front in freezing rain pushes the Bulgarians back across the Serbian border, taking 1K German POWs incl. many new recruits; on Nov. 19 (four years after the Serbs captured the town from the Turks in the First Balkan War) after beating the Bulgarians and Germans back 25 mi. at the cost of 50K casualties vs. 60K for the Central Powers, French, Serbian, and Russian cavalry enter Monastir (Bitola) (Bitolj) on the Dragur River at the foot of Mt. Pelister in Macedonia (S Yugoslavia) (known for its large Jewish pop. since the 1492 Spanish expulsion), causing French Gen. Maurice Sarrail to call it the first French V since the Battle of the Marne; Capt. Murat, a descendant of Napoleon's marshal who entered Moscow in 1812 leads the first cavalry div. into town after the last German artillery battery leaves; too bad, from Nov. 22-Sept. 25, 1918 Bulgarian and German troops shell Monastir almost daily, destroying the city and causing the 6K Jews to head for Salonica, Athens et al. On Nov. 13 the Battle of the Ancre, the final large British attack of the Battle of the Somme begins; the British stage a massive attack in thick fog on Beaumont Hamel, Beaucourt, and St. Pierre Divion on the Ancre River, taking 5K German POWs and capturing Beaucourt on Nov. 14, during which Scottish novelist Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) (b. 1870) is KIA by a German sniper; swimming Kiwi lt.-col. Bernard Cyril Freyberg (1889-1963) of the British 29th Div. becomes a hero, receiving a Victoria Cross; on Nov. 17 (night) the first snow falls on the Somme battlefield; on Nov. 18 (night) the Allies advance 1K yards along the Ancre River in the snow, ending the Battle of Ancre (begun Nov. 13), the Battle of Ancre Heights (begun Oct. 1) and the Battle of the Somme (begun July 1); the British line moves a total of 6 mi. forward, 3 mi. short of the first day's objective of Bapaume; the Western Front is left with 56 British, 106 French, six Belgian, and one Russian div. (169 divs. total) vs. 127 German divs.; the British Expeditionary Force reaches 1,591,745 by the end of the year incl. 125,517 Anzac troops and 104,538 Canadians. On Nov. 19 newly reelected Pres. Wilson does his sums and sends a note to all the warring powers asking them to find a way to end their conflict - a good time to slip Emperor Franz Josef a mickey? On Nov. 19 the Germans capture 3,937-ft. Mt. Lesculiu in Romania, earning honors for up-and-coming Lt. Erwin Rommel. The empire that hit an iceberg? On Nov. 21 (9:00 p.m.) Austrian emperor (since Dec. 2, 1848) Franz Josef I of Austria (b. 1830) dies after a 68-year reign (3rd longest in Euro history), and is succeeded by his religious Roman Catholic grandnephew archduke "Blessed" Charles (Carl) (Karoly) I (1887-1922), who becomes the last monarch of Austria-Hungary and the last ruler of the house of Iceberg, er, Hapsburg (until Nov. 11, 1918); he raises Czech nat. hopes by commuting the death sentences of nationalist leaders Karel Kramar and Alois Raisin, then releasing Kramar, and proposing a federal system giving autonomy to the Czechs; on Dec. 20 Count Heinrich Karl Clam-Martinic (1863-1932) becomes minister-pres. of Austria (until June 23, 1917). On Nov. 21 British liner (hospital ship) HMHS Britannic is sunk by a German U-boat in the Aegean Sea near Kea island, killing 12, incl. some in a lifeboat cut in half by the ship's propeller; a stewardess from the Satanic, er, Titanic is rescued. On Nov. 23 the Germans under Gen. Mackensen cross the Danube River near Zimnicea over a pontoon bridge built by the Austrians, causing the Romanian govt. to begin evacuating Bucharest on Nov. 25 for Jassy in N Romania; on Nov. 28 the Prunaru Cavalry Charge sees 5K cavalry charge the Germans, who fire on them with dozens of maching guns, causing 4,866 casualties. On Nov. 23 Baron Manfred von Richthofen shoots down British air ace (7 Vs) Maj. Lanoe George Hawker (b. 1890) (Victoria Cross winner) over Bapaume, France, becoming the Red Baron's 11th kill. On Nov. 26 (a.m.) German sub U-52 sinks French battleship Suffren off Lisbon, killing all 648 aboard. On Nov. 26 the Germans and Austrians under Gen. Erich von Falkenhayn (former chief of the gen. staff) crash through the Vulkan Pass and into the S foothills at Targu-Jiu at the entrance to the Romanian plain, putting the Romanians to flight; Mackensen's forces cross the Danube River above Sistova, and both armies converge on Bucharest. On Nov. 27 seven Zeppelins drop 200+ bombs over England; two are shot down. On Nov. 28 the Germans stage their first airplane raid on London at Kensington, wounding six civilians - hot sausages, free? On Nov. 30 riots in Antwerp over the systematic deportation of 120K men and boys by the Germans kills 200. In Nov. Adm. Sir John Jellicoe gives up sea duty in his Iron Duke and takes a desk job as first sea lord (until Dec. 24, 1917), and Battle of Jutland veteran Adm. Sir David Beatty succeeds him as cmdr. of the British Grand Fleet. On Dec. 1 British pvts. (former Salford Goods Yard railway clerks) Albert Ingham and Alfred Longshaw are executed for desertion after they are caught in civilian clothes aboard a Swedish ship in Dieppe; the govt. tries to cover it up, claiming they died of war wounds. On Dec. 5 British PM (since Apr. 5, 1908) Herbert Henry Asquith resigns, and is succeeded on Dec. 6 by fellow Liberal David Lloyd George (1863-1945) (until 1922) (first Welsh PM) (the only person in the govt. with "any aptitude for war or knowledge of it" - Winston Churchill), who outmaneuvered him into thinking that the British losses on the Somme were due to the ineptness of British Gen. Douglas Haig and wanting him dismissed; later, when Haig's friends come through for him, George hatches a plan with English-speaking French Gen. (an artilleryman and hero of Verdun) Robert Georges Nivelle (1856-1924) (who replaces Joseph Joffre as CIC of the French Army on Dec. 13) to place him under his command; Joffre is actually promoted to marshal of France by Pres. Raymond Poincare and keeps the official title of CIC to make him a figurehead while Nivelle is in de facto command. On Dec. 5 as the Central Powers prepare to bag Bucharest and add it to their string of conquered capitals incl. Brussels, Warsaw, Belgrade, and Cetinje, British MP Col. Sir John Norton-Griffiths (1871-1930) sabotages the Romanian oilfields at Plesti, destroying 800K tons of oil. On Dec. 6 after the Russians fail to give the Romanians much support, Bucharest falls to the Germans and Austrians, followed by the oilfields of Ploesti on Dec. 6; Kaiser Wilhelm II celebrates the fall of Bucharest with champagne; bad weather causes the Eastern Front to grind to a halt with the Romanians on the lower Sereth River in Moldavia and the Russians in N Dobrudja; having suffered 310K losses (half taken POW), the Romanians establish a temporary capital at Jassy. On Dec. 7 German war minister (since Feb. 16, 1912) Otto Kress von Kressenstein resigns. On Dec. 10 after becoming Viscount Grey of Fallodon in July, pro-Asquith British foreign secy. (since Dec. 10, 1905) Sir Edward Grey resigns, and is succeeded by wealthy Conservative former PM (1902-5) Arthur James Balfour (1848-1930) (until Oct. 23, 1919). The 3rd Christmas of the Great War, and they're still hot to trot? On Dec. 12 German chancellor Theobald Bethmann-Hollweg gives a speech in the Reichstag, offering to negotiate with the Entente in a neutral country, but without any specific terms mentioned; on Dec. 20 Pres. Wilson issues a peace note requesting a statement of objectives from the warring nations, causing Lloyd George on Dec. 21 to give a speech with the soundbyte: "We shall put our trust rather in an unbroken army than in a broken faith", and Gen. Ludendorff on Dec. 22 to urge unrestricted submarine warfare; on Dec. 26 Germany, Austria, and Turkey reply favorably to Wilson, again without mentioning specific terms, but Britain resents the implication that their war aims are no more moral than Germany's, causing the Allies to reject Bethmann-Hollweg's suggestion for negotiations on Dec. 30 as "empty and insincere". On Dec. 12 the Salandra cabinet in Italy resigns, and is succeeded by a new ministry headed by veteran right-center deputy Paolo Boselli (1838-1932), who becomes Italian PM (until Oct. 29, 1917). On Dec. 15-19 the Allies win the Battle of Verdun at a cost of 700K casualties over a 6 sq. mi. area (350K for each side), regaining their Feb. starting position and capturing 11K German POWs and 115 heavy guns, making it the 2nd greatest battle of WWI after the Battle of the Marne, and the longest and costliest battle so far in history - the Devil's greatest trick is convincing people he doesn't exist? Thank you, you know you can trust me? On Dec. 20 French Gen. Nivelle and British Gen. Haig meet and agree in principle on Neville's dandy new idea of the Creeping Barrage as a technological breakthrough to overcome all German opposition, win the greatest battle in history and drive the Krauts back over the Rhine with more stab wounds than Caesar; British Maj. (later field marshal) Alan Francis "Colonel Shrapnel" "Brookie" Brooke (1883-1963) helps develop the tactics; meanwhile, speaking of Caesar, the secret plot to put Haig under Nivelle's command rolls on. On Dec. 21 the Nat. Service Dept. is set up by the British govt. to coordinate the calling up of more men to active military service, headed by future PM (1937-40) Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940). On Dec. 22 the rotary engine biplane 110 hp single-seat fighter Sopwith F.1 (Camel) AKA the Big Pup, with twin synchronized 7.7mm Vickers machine guns and a camel-hump-like metal fairing over the gun breeches, designed by Herbert Smith (1889-1977) makes its first flight, piloted by Harry Hawker at Brooklands, England, becoming the #1 Allied fighter plane, shooting down 1,294 enemy aircraft during WWI; it enters service next June with the No. 4 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service near Dunkirk, and scores it first kill on July 4. On Dec. 23 Gen. Falkenhayn's army takes 10K Romanian POWs. On Dec. 23 the Battle (Affair) of Magdhaba in the Sinai Peninsula sees the Anzac Mounted Div. attack the entrenched Ottoman army garrison S and E of Bir Lafhan 18-25 mi. from the Mediterranean coast, scoring a V and securing the town of El Arish 20 mi. from the Palestine border. On Dec. 23-29 (Jan. 5-11, 1917 Old Style) the 1916 Christmas Battles near Jelgava, Latvia sees the 40K-man Russian army under Gen. Nikolai Vladimirovich Ruzsky (1854-1918) and Bulgarian Gen. Radko Dimitriev (1859-1918) stage an offensive against the 25K-man German 8th Army under Gen. Friedrich von Scholtz (1851-1927) in a swampy area near Lake Babite, with the Siberian VI Rifle Corps incl. two Latvian brigades leading the charge, only to result in a swampy push, with 13K Russian casualties incl. 8K Latvians (2K KIA). On Dec. 25 Tsar Nicholas II rejects Pres. Wilson's note in an order of the day to his armed forces. On Dec. 26 after being replaced as army CIC by Robert Nivelle on Dec. 13, Joseph Joffre becomes the Third Repub.'s first marshal of France as a golden parachute, and appointed head of the French military mission reforming the failed Romanian army; in June 1917 he becomes head of the French military mission to the U.S., followed in 1918 by head of the Supreme War Council. On Dec. 27 German sub UB-47 sinks French battleship Gaulois off Cape Maleas on the Aegean Sea. On Dec. 27 Togoland is divided into British and French admin. zones. On Dec. 29/30 (16/17 Old Style) (night) "Mad Monk" Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin (b. 1869) is murdered by Prince Felix Yusupov (1886-1967) and other young aristocrats at a dinner party in St. Petersburg in Yusupov Palace on the Moika Canal; he turns out to be quite hard to kill, as Yusupov starts out by poisoning him with cyanide, clubbing and raping him, firing five shots incl. a bullet into his head, finally causing him to fall, then having an accomplice castrate him with a dagger, flinging his severed holier-than-thou penis (13 in. fully erect) across the room, where it is turned over by a servant to his relative, a White Russian maid who is Rasputin's lover, and she flees to Paris with it, keeping it in a polished 18 in. by 6 in. wooden box on a velvet cloth; Rasputin is finally thrown into the Neva River, where he is found the next day, showing evidence that he was still alive when he drowned or froze. In Dec. the Russian Duma accuses Tsar Nicholas II of treason for all the military disasters, but he refuses to yield to any liberal demands. In Dec. the Kirov (Murmansk-Petrograd) Railway in Russia opens. Radical Party leader Hipolito Irigoyen (Yirigoyen) (1850-1933) (known as the Mole for his beady eyes) is elected pres. of Argentina (until 1922), refusing Pres. Wilson's 1917 call to Latin Am. countries to enter the war on the side of the U.S. A secret Anglo-French Pact puts Syria in the French zone of influence. Belgian troops occupy Rwanda. Àfter Russian colonists are given the best agricultural land, the native Turkic people of Kyrgyzstan (Kirghizia) in the Tien Shan Mts. stage a disastrous revolt. The Ottoman Empire reforms marriage laws, permitting women to seek divorce if their husbands commit adultery or take an additional wife without the first wife's consent. George Smith Patton Jr. (1885-1945) becomes an acting aide to U.S. Gen. John J. Pershing. Tsar Nicholas II sends two expeditions to Mount Ararat in Turkey to photograph Noah's Ark - now that we're here, we can do something useful? German sub UB-50 cmdr. Capt. Heinrich Kukat (1888-1918) is given a gift of two young camels by Muslim Senussi tribesmen, transporting them in the mine room of his sub to the Austrian port of Pola, where they become popular exhibits at the zoo. Science: After boatanist isaac Bayley Balfour and military surgeon Charles Walker Cathcart discover its wound-healing properties, the Canadian Red Cross Society in Ontario sends 1M spaghnum moss dressings to Europe, growing to 1M/mo. by 1918. British psychiatrist Maj. Sir Frederick Walker Mott (1853-1926) pub. The Effects of High Explosives Upon the Central Nervous System in The Lancet, followed in 1919 by War Neuroses and Shell Shock, first proposing the theory of "shell shock". Inventions: The first British model tank HMS Centipede (AKA Mother) is named like a ship to confuse spies, and is first used in battle this year. The tunnel-shaped corrugated iron Nissen Hut, built on a cement foundation is invented by Canadian-Am. mining engineer Col. Peter Norman Nissen (1871-1930), and first used on the Western Front. Peter Cooper Hewitt and Elmer Ambrose Sperry develop the unmanned Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane (flying bomb). Arthur Constantin Krebs of France designs the 25-ft.-long 23-ton 7 mph Saint-Chamond Tank for charring Schneiders, with a 90 hp 4-cylinder engine, 11-19mm armor, a 75mm gun and four 7.92mm Hotchkiss M1914 machine guns, and a crew of eight; instead of a turret it has a large overhanging front compartment for the 75mm gun; too bad, after being put into action on May 5, most of them get stuck in trenches, and it is discontinued after 377 are produced, only to find out that it works well in an open field situation. Paul Langevin (1872-1946) of France constructs an underwater ultrasonic "pinger" for submarine detection. The first Mechanical Home Refrigerator goes on the U.S. market for $900; blood for transfusion is refrigerated. Nonfiction: John Masefield (1878-1967), Gallipoli.

1917 Chinese Year: Snake - if I scream what's up beside you? Speaking of snakes, the Bolshevik Party in Russia zooms from 45K members in Mar. to 240K in July. British merchant shipping losses this year: 4M tons. The Germans basically starve all this unlovely year, losing 250K; 10K die of starvation in Constantinople. Total U.S. soldiers KIA in 1917-18: 48,909; total dying of influenza: 62K. At the start of the year 11 Euro nations are at war incl. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Serbia, Portugal, Belgium, and Romania; non-Euro nations at war incl. Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, West Indies. Men in arms: Russia: 9M (after 1M are killed, 2M are missing or POWs, 500K are in hospital, 1.5M are on extended leave or excused from service, and 1M have deserted), Germany: 7M, Austria: 5M (after 800K are killed and 1M badly wounded); the British Expeditionary Force in France starts the year at 56 divs., growing to 65 by Mar.; 10K women serve in France in Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps; the Royal Flying Corps has 50 squadrons in the field by Apr. On Jan. 1 (10:12 a.m.) German U-boat UB-47 sinks British troop transport (en route to Egypt) SS Invernia (known for the world's largest ship funnel, 60 ft. high) 58 mi. SE of Cape Matapan in S Greece, killing 121. On Jan. 1 British Gen. Sir Douglas Haig is promoted to field marshal, with George V sending him a handwritten note saying "I hope you will look upon this as a New Year's gift from myself and the country" - hate this, you muthafucka? On Jan. 2 Kaiser Wilhelm II tells his aides that when the war is over, "The coast of Flanders must be ours." On Jan. 3-4 the Battle of Behobeho sees the Brits led by Capt. Frederick Courteney Selous (b. 1851) (famous big game hunter) advance from Dar es Salaam into the interior up the Rufiji River, running into a German force, which kills Selous, who is such a hero with the Germans that German East Africa CIC Gen. Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck sends a condolence letter; Sir H. Rider Haggard later bases his Allan Quatermain char. on him. On Jan. 4 Pres. Wilson utters the soundbyte: "There will be no war. It would be a crime against civilization for us to go in." On Jan. 6 Pres. Wilson learns that the Kaiser's Dec. peace proposal has strings incl. permanent occupation of Liege, Namur, and other forts in Belgium, control of railways and ports, and German military occupation with Belgians remaining disarmed, causing U.S. ambassador James W. Gerard to tell German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg: "I do not see that you have left much for the Belgians excepting that King Albert will have the right to reside in Brussels with an honor guard", to which he replies: "We cannot allow Belgium to be an outpost of Great Britain." On Jan. 8 the the German high command meets at the Pless Conference, after Adm. von Holtzendorf and Gen. Hindenburg gang-up on chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg, the Kaiser decides to launch unrestricted U-boat warfare against Allied and neutral ships, risking war with the U.S. in the belief that they will force England to make peace before full U.S. mobilization, causing Bethmann-Hollweg to resign; meanwhile they withhold announcement until Jan. 31 while toying with peace overtures. On Jan. 9 the British defeat the Turks in the border town Battle of Rafah (Rafa), taking 1.6K POWs, giving them control of the Sinai Peninsula. Hang in there we'll take care of you? On Jan. 10 the Allies formally answer Wilson's peace note with a statement of war objectives incl. the restoration of Belgium, Serbia, and Montenegro, evacuation of French, Russian, and Romanian terrority with reparations, the reorg. of Europe based on nationalities, restoration of all territory taken from the Allies, the liberation of Italians, Slavs, Romanians, and Czechs from foreign rule, the freeing of subject nationalities under Turkish rule, and the expulsion of Turks from Europe. On Jan. 11 the Kingsland Explosion at a munitions factory in Kingsland (later Lyndhurst, N.J.) is blamed on German saboteurs; in 1931 they are cleared. On Jan. 12 the Allies issue the Rome Declaration, promising to seek nat. liberation for all subject peoples in the Hapsburg lands incl. the Poles, Czechs, Slovenes, Slovaks, Croats, Serbs, and Romanians, causing foreign minister Count Ottokar Czernin (1872-1932) to tell the Austrian council of ministers that they need to look for a compromise peace fast; Romanian POWs in S Russia sign an oath to fight against their former Hapsburg masters. On Jan. 16 German foreign minister (Nov. 22, 1916-Aug. 6, 1917) Dr. Arthur Zimmermann (1864-1940) sends the coded Zimmermann Note (Telegram), to German minister Heinrich von Eckardt in Mexico City to work for an alliance with Mexico and Japan directed against the U.S. "just in case" the U.S. enters the war, promising them "generous financial support" to help them "reconquer" Tex., Ariz., and N.M., promising to "make war together, make peace together"; too bad, the British are listening, but can't decode it because they switched to a new encryption code, but luckily Eckardt can't read it either, so he asks for it to be resent in the old code on Jan. 19, allowing the Brits to decode it on Feb. 19 and send it to the U.S. On Jan. 19 the Silvertown Explosion at a munitions factory in West Ham, Essex, England kills 73 and injures 400. On Jan. 22 Pres. Wilson delivers his Peace Without Victory State of the Union Speech to the U.S. Senate, with the fact that the Allies aren't in such a great military position causing him to utter the soundbyte: "Victory would mean peace forced upon the loser, a victor's terms imposed upon the vanquished. It would be accepted in humiliation, under duress, at an intolerable sacrifice, and would leave a sting, a resentment, a bitter memory upon which terms of peace would rest, not permanently, but only as upon quicksand. Only a peace between equals can last, only a peace the very principle of which is equality and a common participation in a common benefit. The right state of mind, the right feeling between nations, is as necessary for a lasting peace as is the just settlement of vexed questions of territory or of racial and national allegiance"; Wilson also calls for a "united Poland", with access to the Baltic Sea, and Tsar Nicholas II soon gives this idea his support. On Jan. 23 German Washington ambassador Count Bernsdorff asks Berlin to send $50K to help him influence members of Congress to stay out of the war. On Jan. 29 at Pres. Wilson's request German ambassador (in Washington) Count Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff (1862-1939) (the one to whom the Zimmermann Telegram was relayed to/from Mexico and Germany) gives him a confidential list of German aims, incl. the restitution of the part of Alsace now occupied by German forces, acquisition of strategic-economic buffer zones with Poland and Russia, return of colonies and Lebensraum, restoration of occupied France, resumption of commerce, freedom of the seas, and reparations - he said it not me? On Jan. 31 the Germans announce unrestricted U-boat warfare beginning Feb. 1, pissing-off self-appointed Great White Mediator Rainn, er, Woodrow Wilson, and causing him to terminate all peace talks; the Germans have 90-100 U-boats based at Ostend, Zeebrugge, and German ports; they send a few first-class aircraft to Macedonia, Palestine, and Mesopotamia, where they easily beat the poor French and British planes until they are recalled in May; the British go on to capture the port of Jaffa. In Jan. the Germans sink 51 British, 63 other Allied, and 66 neutral ships, carrying 300K tons of cargo, one-third British. In Jan. after being drafted into the Turkish army, Romanian-born Palestinian Zionist Jew Alexander Aaronsohn (1888-1948) offers his services to the British as a spy, helping the British army with his knowledge of desert wells and springs between Gaza and Beersheba. On Feb. 3 the 50K-man Portuguese Expeditionary Force arrives in France. On Feb. 3 German sub U-53 sinks U.S. cargo ship SS Housatonic (formerly the German passenger ship SS Georgia) off the Scilly Islands; its entire crew is rescued by a British ship, but it loses its cargo of grain. On Feb. 3 Pres. Wilson severs U.S. relations with Germany, and sends an appeal to everybody to follow suit, causing Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru to do ditto, followed by China on Mar. 14; Wilson decides not to declare war until the Huns, er, Germans commit an overt act; German ambassador to the U.S. Count von Bernstorff is reassigned to Turkey (until 1918). On Feb. 4 the Kaiser orders the withdrawal of troops on the Western Front to the new Hindenburg (Siegfried) Line, reducing the length of their defense line by 25 mi. and releasing 13 divs. for service in reserve; for funners they lay waste to the buffer zone, bringing a protest by Bavarian Field Marshal crown prince Rupprecht. On Feb. 4 the Germans create the Council of Flanders to keep a promise of admin. separation of the Flemish and Walloon provinces, ceasing deportations. On Feb. 13 Mata Hari is arrested in Paris for spying. On Feb. 13-21 the Raid on Nekhl in the Sinai Peninsula pushes the last Ottoman troops back to Palestine. On Feb. 14 a secret agreement is signed by France and Russia to give France a free hand in defining its frontier with Germany incl. giving it Alsace-Lorraine, the coal district of the Saar River Valley, and political separation of German regions W of the Rhine River to create a buffer zone against future German invasions; in return France allows Russia a free hand in defining its frontier with Germany and Austria-Hungary, and signs another agrement on Mar. 11. On Feb. 15 Italian troop ship (en route to Salonica) Minas is sunk by German sub U-39, kiling 870 of 1K. On Feb. 17 German sub U-65 sinks French liner SS Athos in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 543 Chinese laborers headed for the Western Front; by the end of the war 100K Chinese work for France 70 hours a week for 7-14 francs, with Scotland Yard fingerprinting them so the pesky devils can't impersonate each other; 1,612 end up buried in 20+ British cemeteries in N France. On Feb. 17 Australian PM William M. Hughes forms the Nationalist Party of Australia consisting of Labour and Liberal opposition leaders, and his new nat. war govt. receives a mandate in May 5 elections. On Feb. 17 British anti-sub ship HMS Farnborough sinks German sub U-83, which only has two survivors out of 37, winning British Capt. (later vice-adm.) Gordon Campbell (1886-1953) a Victoria Cross. On Feb. 22 Sgt. Benito Mussolini is wounded by an accidental mortar bomb explosion on the Isonzo sector of the Italian Front, which killed four others in his trench, after which he spends 6 mo. in the hospital, having 44 fragments and shell splinters removed and being visited by the king. On Feb. 23 10 mo. after the Turks captured it and began death-marching 12K British and Indian troops to Turkey, the Second Battle of Kut sees 50K British and Indian troops under Gen. Frederick Stanley Maude recapture Kut in Mesopotamia from 17K Turkish troops, taking 1,730 Turkish POWs. On Feb. 24 Britain announces the intercepted decoded Zimmermann Note, causing a sensation; at first the Brits are suspected of making it up to trick the U.S. into war with Germany, until German foreign minister Zimmermann puts his foot in his mouth by confirming it in a speech on Mar. 3; on Feb. 26 Pres. Wilson requests authority from Congress to arm U.S. merchant ships; the telegram is pub. in the U.S. on Mar. 1; on Mar. 4 the "little group of willful men" led by Wisc. Sen. (1901-6) "Fighting Bob" Robert Marion La Follette Sr. (1855-1925) successfully filibusters the bill, but Wilson announces the arming of merchant ships by executive order on Mar. 12. On Feb. 25 (10:20 p.m.) German sub U-50 sinks Cunard liner RMS Laconia 6 mi. WNW of Fastnet Rock, killing 12 incl. six crew, and six passengers incl. two Americans; making a star of Chicago Tribune reporter Floyd Phillips Gibbons (1887-1939), a passenger who delivers a blow-by-blow. On Feb. 25 German destroyers raid the English Channel, but have no luck, so they plan to do it again. I've been fighting insurance companies all my life and they don't frighten me? On Feb. 26 an Anglo-French conference is held in Calais, France supposedly to discuss a transportation crisis, but actually to put British Gen. Haig under Nivelle's orders under a plan devised under the table with him by Lloyd George, which becomes known as the Calais Agreement; Haig signs it under protest, "Signed by me as a correct statement but not as approving the arrangement"; another conference in London reduces Nivelle's power a little, limiting him to communications with the British army through Haig, formalized in the Mar. 13 London Agreement, but it all turns out to have been a big boo-boo as on Mar. 14 French war minister Gen. Lyautey is shouted down in the Chamber and resigns, and on Mar. 17 the Briand govt. falls, making Nivelle a lame duck - oh yeah, a .45 slug in the back? In Feb. secret negotiations between Austrian Emperor Charles I and the British and French govts. through Austrian foreign minister Count Ottokar Czernin and the emperor's brother-in-law Prince Sixtus of Bourbon (in the Belgian army) begin in Switzerland, bounce to Venice and back to Paris (Mar. 24), when the emperor promises to support French claims to Alsace-Lorraine, help restore Belgium and Serbia (with access to the Adriatic), and grant reparations; on May 6-8 Sixtus visits Vienna again over the matter of returning Trentino and Trieste to Italy, but the Austrians won't budge and by June the negotiations fall through. In Feb. the British Gen. Staff pub. the pamphlet SS 143: Instructions for the Training of Platoons for Offensive Action, espousing the doctrine of using the platoon as a self-contained tactical unit to implement fire and movement tactics, making use of the hand grenade, rifle grenade, and machine gun on enemy strong points. Halfway to Hazard, or Poison with the Spin Doctors, or, Say yes, come on, say yes, or, I just can't wait to get next to you? The first of two Russian revolutions rustles Russia up? On Mar. 3 after 2M Russian soldiers are killed in the Great War, allowing Bolshevik propagandists to have a field day, the February Rev. (Old Style Julian calendar) begins as workers at the Putilov Munition Works in Petrograd go on strike, spawning daily bread riots which wave the red flag; on Mar. 7 60K Bolshevik troops under Mikhail Tukhachevsky attack the island Kronstadt naval base outside Petrograd; on Mar. 8 (Feb. 23 Old Style) (Sun.) (Internat. Women's Day) the Women's March in Petrograd demands "bread and peace", joining with 90K factory workers already on strike; on Mar. 10 a gen. strike by 500K begins, and on Mar. 12 Georgian-born Irakly Tsereteli (1882-1959) announces the new Petrograd Soviet of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies, which challenges both the tsar and the Duma; on Mar. 11 the Duma refuses to yield to the tsar's orders to dissolve, and by night fires break out in Petrograd while soldiers of the elite 17K-man Volinsky Regiment murder some of their officers; on Mar. 12 Tsar Nicholas II leaves his military HQ near the front at Mogilev 450 mi. away to return to Moscow; meanwhile on Mar. 12 (11 a.m.) demonstrators set fire to the law courts on Lityeiny Prospect, and attack and burn police stations, while the remainder of the Volynsky Regiment refuses to fire on them, instead lashing commanding officer Capt. A.F. Lashkevich to death and firing at soldiers loyal to the tsar, becoming the first Russian military unit to mutiny and join the revolutionaries, setting prisoners free. On Mar. 4 U.S. pres. #28 Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated for a 2nd term in the 38th U.S. Pres. Inauguration; Thomas R. Marshall continues as the 28th vice-pres.; the first time that women officially participate in the inaugural parade; Wilson utters the soundbyte "We stand fast on armed neutrality"; pacifist Jeannette Pickering Rankin (1880-1973) (R-Mont.), known for the soundbyte "The peace problem is a woman's problem" becomes the first woman member of Congress (until Mar. 3, 1919, then Jan. 3, 1941-Jan. 3, 1943), going on to cast one of 50 votes against U.S. entry in WWI, the sole vote against U.S. entry into WWII, and oppose the Vietnam War. On Mar. 8 after the trouble with the little group of willful men, the U.S. Senate votes to limit filibusters by adopting the Cloture Rule. On Mar. 9 the Special Transcaucasian Committee is established by the Russian Duma to fill the vacuum caused by the collapse of the Russian Caucasus Front, causing the Bolsheviks to establish their own govt. based in Tiflis, backed by Russian Armenians. On Mar. 11 after taking Ctesiphon without a fight then marching 100+ mi. in 15 days while 9.5K Turkish troops evacuate, 45K British and Indian troops under Lt. Gen. Sir Frederick Stanley Maude (1864-1917) capture Baghdad, followed on Mar. 17 by Baquba 33 mi. NNE of Baghdad (which next fall becomes the site of a Persian refugee camp where Assyrian Christians are persecuted), moving 80 mi. N to Samarra by the end of Apr.; too bad, after taking over Persia, the British stink themselves up by presiding over the 1917-1919 Persian Famine, which kills 8M-10M, intentionally encouraging it then attempting a coverup? - too bad they didn't keep it? On Mar. 12 the Germans sink U.S. steamship Algonquin sans warning W of Bishops near the Scilly Islands of Britain, and follow it with three more in the next four days. On Mar. 13 the capt. of Russian cruiser Aurora docked in Petrograd is murdered by revolutionary sailors; on Mar. 13 the joint German-Austrian high command agrees to provide railway facilities for Vladimir Lenin and his party of 32 Bolsheviks to return to Russia from Switzerland, and he agrees on Mar. 31; on Mar. 13 sailors kill 40 officers and sgts. and arrest 100+ officers at Kronstadt; on Mar. 14 the revolt in Petrograd and Moscow succeeds, and a provisional govt. is formed by the Duma (pres. M.V. Rodzianko) in the Tauride Palace in Petrograd, led by PM Prince Georgy Lvov (1861-1925), granting amnesty to political prisoners in Siberia but continuing the war; on Mar. 14 (Mar. 1 Old Style) the rival Petrograd Soviet (Russ. "council"), also meeting in the Tauride Palace issues Order No. 1, ordering the army to democratize, with soldiers electing their own officers (insuring anarchy?), and all weapons to be controlled by elected committees, with off-duty saluting of officers abolished; it sends political commissars to all military units to persuade soldiers to quit fighting; on Mar. 14 the tsar's train is stopped at Pskov by the revolutionaries; on Mar. 15 (2:30 p.m.) after Russian gen. Mikhail Vasiliyevich Alekseyev (1857-1918) at Mogilev gets all army cmdrs. to telegram him asking him to abdicate to keep Russia in the war, and Russian gen. Nikolai Vladimirovich Ruzsky (1854-1918) (cmdr. of the Northern Front) at Pskov personally talks him into it (claiming to regret it later before he is executed), and his cousin Grand Duke Nicholas also recommends it, tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) (whose portrait bears a striking resemblance to Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat?) ups and abdicates in favor of his younger brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich Romanov (1878-1918), ending the Romanov Dynasty (begun 1613), after which the provisional govt. promises civil liberties and a constituent assembly. On Mar. 16 Vladimir Lenin in Zurich receives his first news of the Russian Rev. On Mar. 16 German subs sink the SS Vigilancia, followed on Mar. 17 by the SS City of Memphis, and on Mar.18 by the SS Illinois, all sans warning; Wilson's cabinet votes unanimously for war on Mar. 20 - three strikes and you're out? On Mar. 17 German destroyers under Cmdr. Tillessen raid the English Channel, sinking two British destroyers. On Mar. 17 the Kronstadt Rebellion ends with the Bolsheviks entering the city after losing 10K KIA; on Mar. 19 they gain control after another 500-1.4K KIA; on Mar. 18 the Bolsheviks celebrate the 50th anniv. of the Paris Commune. On Mar. 17 the Russian provisional govt. recognizes Finland as an independent state within the proposed Russian federation. On Mar. 17 one day after he resigns, Russian navy CIC adm. Adrian Ivanovich Nepenin (b. 1871) is murdered in Helsinki by a sailor. On Mar. 19 German sub U-64 sinks French battleship Danton (first with turbine engines) off Sardinia, killing 296. On Mar. 20 former PM Alexandre Felix Joseph Ribot (1842-1923) succeeds Aristide Briand as French PM (until Sept. 17). On Mar. 20 abdicated tsar whatisname returns to army HQ at Mogilev, telling troops that they should be loyal to the provisional govt. and its decision to continue fighting the war. On Mar. 21 a German sub sinks U.S. tanker SS Healdton en route from Philly to Rotterdam in a special safety zone in Dutch waters, killing 20, causing Pres. Wilson to call Congress to meet on Apr. 2. On Mar. 22 after Grand Duke Michael refuses the crown unless a constituent assembly is heard, and the latter is delayed until fall, the revolutionaries throw the baby out with the bathwater and arrest Russian Tsar Nicholas II at army HQ, then imprison him in Tsarskoe Selo Palace; meanwhile on Mar. 22 the U.S. becomes the first to recognize the provisonal govt., followed by the English, French, and Italians; meanwhile on Mar. 25 Joseph Stalin and Lev Kamenev return from exile, and Stalin takes over Pravda without asking anyone, causing Lenin in exile to write him about it; on Mar. 27 the Petrograd Soviet calls for the Russian people to demand an end to the war; the Soviets split with the provisional govt., calling for peace on Apr. 9 after it called for continued fighting on Mar. 31; the Soviet issue "Order No. 1", ordering the army to democratize, and soldiers to elect their own officers, insuring anarchy. On Mar. 26 the First Battle of Gaza is a D for the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) for the 2-1 outnumbered Turks under German Gen. Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein; on Apr. 17-19 the Second Battle of Gaza is another D, causing French and Italian reinforcements to be called in, and Gen. Sir Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby (1861-1936), "the Bloody Bull" to replace Gen. Sir Archibald Murray as CIC of British forces in the Middle East (Egyptian Expeditionary Force) on June 29, with instructions to take Jerusalem by Christmas (not Hanukkah?); the 2nd attack sees the Brits use gas on the Palestine Front for the first time, along with eight tanks, which break down in desert conditions, the Turks capturing three of them. On Mar. 30 the Russian provisional govt. recognizes the independence of Poland. In Mar. anti-Russian Islamist Said Shamil, grandson of Imam Shamil (d. 1871) founds the Islamic Mountainous Repub. of the Northern Caucasus (ends June 1920) in Terek and Dagestan Oblasts, with capital at Vladikavkaz, followed by Nazaran and Temir-Khan-Shura. In Mar. Socialist mathematician Paul Painleve (Painlevé) (1863-1933), minister of public instruction and inventions since 1915 becomes war minister and PM of France concurrently (until Nov.). In Mar. Canadian pilot William Avery "Billy" Bishop (1894-1956) shoots down his first of 72 German aircraft on the Western Front. In Mar. the Bulgarians use poison gas for the first time on the Salonica Front. In Mar. the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5, an improvement on the Sopwith Camel, with a Hispano-Suiza engine is introduced to the Western Front, helping to regain Allied air superiority by July; 5, 205 are built; too bad, they're too late to stop Bloody April, the British air support operations during the Battle of Arras which, although successful see the Royal Flying Corps suffer far more losses than the German Luftstreitkrafte. In Mar. the Angel of Peace allegedly first appears to three shepherd children Lucia Santos, Jacinta Marto, and Francisco Marto at the Cova da Iria in Fatima (Fátima), Portugal, followed by the Virgin Mary next May 13, who tells them three secrets, incl. a vision of Hell, and the Virgin's request for the consecration of Russia to prevent it from spreading its errors throughout the world; the last of which was supposed to be revealed in 1960 but is sealed by the Vatican (until ?); on Oct. 13, 1930 Bishop Jose de Silva declares the miracle "worthy of belief", legitimizing the Cult of Our Lady of Fatima; on May 13, 1946 Pope Pius XII grants a canonical coronation to the venerated image in the Chapel of the Apparitions of Fatima; on Nov. 11, 1954 he raises the Sanctuary of Fatima to the status of minor basilica - he's really a she? On Apr. 1 the British Fourth Army captures Savy Wood 4 mi. W of St. Quentin; poet Wilfred Edward Salter Owen (1893-1918) is blown into the air and gets shell-shocked. On Apr. 1 a German U-boat sinks armed U.S. steamer Aztec near Brest, killing 28. "Hell is Too Good for the Huns" and "Fifty million Frenchmen can't be wrong" read the placards as the U.S. plays Superman, the Lone Ranger, and Custer all at the same time? On Apr. 2 Pres. Wilson asks the U.S. Senate to declare war on Germany, with the soundbyte "The world must be made safe for democracy"; on Apr. 4 by 82-6 the U.S. Senate votes for war, followed on Apr. 6 by the House by 373-50, and the U.S. declares war on Germany, which U.S. ambassador to Britain Walter Hines Page (1855-1918) considers the climax of his career (which consisted of publicly pretending to be neutral while working behind the scenes like Hell to get the U.S. into war?); as the U.S. enters the war, the Germans have sunk 1,030 merchant ships, and Britain is 6 weeks from starvation; if the U.S. had stayed out, both sides were exhausted enough to arrange a peace, but the U.S. entry tipped the war against Germany, leading to the unjust Versailles Treaty, spawning Hitler? On Apr. 2 British forces from Baquba link up with Russian troops from Persia at Kizil Rabat. On Apr. 2-3 thinking that the Germans are withdrawing, the British 2nd Div. under Maj. Gen. Sir John Gellibrand (1872-1945) stages an unauthorized attack in Noreuil near Bullecourt in Pas-de-Calais, France that fizzles under machine gun fire; Danish-born Australian Pvt. Jorgen (Jørgen) Christian Jensen (1891-1922) is awarded the Victoria Cross. On Apr. 3 the Germans take 10K Russian POWs at the Eastern Front. On Apr. 3 Albert Einstein writes the soundbyte: "I am convinced that we are dealing with a kind of epidemic of the mind. I cannot otherwise comprehend how men who are thoroughly decent in their personal conduct can adopt such utterly antithetical views on general affairs. It can be compared with developments at the time of the martyrs, the Crusades and the witch burnings." On Apr. 5 the British govt. adheres to the principle of an independent and united Poland. On Apr. 7 Cuban pres. Mario Garcia Menocal declares war on Germany in a bid to gain U.S. support, and the sugar industry prospers from the war with large shipments to the U.S., which collapse after the war ends. On Apr. 7 the U.S. bans all amateur and commercial use of radio, shutting down or taking over most private radio stations. On Apr. 8 German sub U-55 (Capt. Wilhelm Werner) sinks British steamer SS Torrington 150 mi. SW of the Scilly Islands, destroying a lifeboat with 14 in it, then submerging while 20 passeners cling to its hull, drowning them all. On Apr. 8 Vladimir Lenin and 32 Bolshevik colleagues begin their journey by special sealed train from Zurich to Russia via Germany and Sweden followed by a boat across the Gulf of Bothnia; Austrian emperor Charles I warns Kaiser Wilhelm II that while a Bolshevik rev. would help take Russia out of the war, they could be next, pointing to defunct monarchies in Belgium, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro, and Albania. On Apr. 9 (Easter Mon.) (5:30 a.m.) after a 5-day air war to clear the skies for British recon planes, losing 75 British aircraft and 19 pilots, and a 5-min. hurricane bombardment followed by a quiet period, the Second Battle of Arras (ends May 16) in France begins in a heavy snowstorm, with the British attacking the Hindenburg Line, making use of the snow cover and taking 5.6K POWs, overrunning the first trench in 45 min. and the 2nd in 2 hours, taking part of the stronger 3rd line by nightfall; the creeping barrage proves effective, along with counter-battery fire, which neutralizes 80% of the German heavy guns; 30K members of the Canadian Corps take 4K POWs; on Apr. 9 (5:30 a.m.) the Battle of Vimy Ridge (5 mi. NE of Arras on the W edge of the Douai Plains), first battle in which all four divs. of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fight together begins with a 5-min. artillery barrage, detonating mines laid under No Man's Land and the German trench line at the 30-sec. point, after which the Allies storm it under artillery cover and secure the entire front line system in 40 min., then capture the ridge from the Commandant's House to Hill 145 by noon, with a final V by tea time, breaking through on a 6-mi. front N of Arras facing Douai in W France N of the Somme River; British poet Philip Edward Thomas (b. 1878) is KIA in Pas-de-Calais; British Brig. Gen. Sir Henry Sinclair Horne (1861-1929), cmdr. of the British First Army since Sept. 1916 (the only artillery officer to be given command of a British field army) becomes a big hero; the U.S. Stars and Stripes go into action for the first time in WWI at Vimy Ridge, carried by lucky Canadian Royal Field Artillery Gunner William H. Clancy of Tex., who is serving in a British infantry regiment (it would be a Clancy?); on Apr. 9-14 the First Battle of the Scarpe; on Apr. 10-11 the First Battle of Bullecourt; on Apr. 10 Gen. Allenby orders a cavalry attack that gets hung up on barbed wire and machine guns; on Apr. 11 the Brits capture Monchy-le-Preux; on Apr. 13 after suffering 485 casualties, 10 men of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment hold Monchy-le-Preux for five hours against a German counterattack until reinforcements arrive; on Apr. 15 British Gen. Haig orders the offensive stopped after making a 4-mi. dent along 10 mi. of the German front line; the Canadians gain 4.5K yards along Vimy Ridge and take 4K German POWs after losing 3,598 KIA and 7K wounded; on Apr. 23-24 the Second Battle of the Scarpe; on May 3-4 the Third Battle of the Scarpe sees the Canadians capture the village of Fresnoy 1K yards E of Alreux after losing 1,269 KIA, giving the Allies a commanding view of German trenches in the Hindenburg Line and Oppy-Mericourt Line; May 3 is the blackest day of the war?; on May 3-17 the Second Battle of Bullecourt sees a British-Australian attempt on the fortified village of Bullecourt repulsed by the Germans on May 15 after 7,482 Australian casualties. after which the Germans evacuate the ruins; total British losses are 38.3K KIA incl. 12.5K Canadians, 131 aircraft, and 316 pilots - I want to be a machine? On Apr. 10 a munitions plant explosion in Eddystone, Penn. kills 133, raising suspicions of German espionage. On Apr. 12 Austrian and Bulgarian diplomats in Switzerland fish for peace terms, but the U.S. entry into the war chills it. On Apr. 13 Pres. Wilson founds the U.S. Committee on Public Information (Creel Committee) (until Aug. 21, 1919), headed by Colo. journalist George Creel (1876-1953), using newfangled propaganda methods of Edward Louis Bernays (1891-1995) et al. to influence and manipulate public opinion in favor of the war, churning out 1.4K products, most calling the Germans "Huns" and portraying them as monsters. On Apr. 15 a German U-boat sinks British troop ship Arcadian in the Aegean Sea, killing 279. On Apr. 15 the Germans launch an unsuccessful counterattack against the Australians at Lagnicourt-Marcel, France near Noreuil. On Apr. 16 the Nivelle Offensive (Second Battle of the Aisne River) (ends May 9) begins on the Aine River using 20 French divs. along a 25-mi. front; on Apr. 17 the first French Renault FT tanks ("Char Schneiders") are used; on Apr. 17 17 French soldiers desert their trench before an attack is scheduled to begin, and after a 4-mi. penetration, Gen. Mangin calls off the battle; too bad, the offensive is a total failure, with the French only advancing 600 yards with 100K casualties, far short of their goal of 6 mi. and 15K casualties. On Apr. 16 (Apr. 3 Old Style) with German help, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin (1870-1924) returns from exile in Switzerland to Petrograd (St. Petersburg), along with Grigory Evseevich Zinoviev (1883-1936) and 31 other Bolshevik leaders, disembarking at the Finland(sky) Station on the E side of town N of the Neva River, and giving a speech with the soundbyte: "The hour is not far when, at the summons of Karl Liebknecht, the German pe