Daily events, November, 1914

[1886lebel]

Battle of the Yser continued for the 151ème Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne

1 November: The 151 is once again in line on the Dixumde Road and carries out an attack in the Bischoote [Bikschote] sector. The 3rd Battalion seizes the village, but hit with a strong enemy counter-attack it is forced to retreat under a heavy artillery fire. The battalion is ordered to launch another attack and this time seizes and holds the area.

10 November: After a violent artillery preparation with heavy shells, the Germans overwhelm the regiment's advanced-posts and breaks through the lines between the 2nd and 3rd Battalions. The situation becomes catastrophic. The 3rd Battalion is annihilated in place and the 2nd Battalion is overwhelmed. At night, what remains of the 151 is sent to the rear: the regiment has suffered more than 1,000 casualties, many from the class of 1914.

19 November: Commandant Moisson is replaced from his temporary command by Colonel Dillemane.

[chris]

November 1, 1914, 95 years ago....Serbia - Start of third Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, following two previous failed attempts....Pacific - Battle of Coronel in the Pacific: British cruisers Monmouth and Good Hope are sunk with no survivors following an engagement with Admiral Graf von Spee's Far Eastern Squadron off the coast of Chile.

November 2, 1914, 95 years ago....China - Austrian cruiser Kaisern Elizabeth is scuttled at Tsingtao....East Africa - British land at Tanga in German East Africa.

November 3, 1914, 95 years ago....Campaigns in Poland - Utilizing the rail for superior strategic mobility, von Makensen's 9th Army is transported to new positions between Posen and Thorn to set up a new offensive against the rear of the Russian armies to the south. The Austro-Hungarian armies thin their numbers in Galicia to support the German 9th Army's left flank.

November 4, 1914, 95 years ago....Campaigns in Galicia - Austrian army is defeated at Jaroslau in Galicia, retreating almost to Cracow, with the advancing Russian 3rd Army in pursuit. The advancing Russian 8th Army wins control of the approaches to the Carpathian passes.

November 5, 1914, 95 years ago....East Africa - British campaign at Tanga in German east Africa ends disastrously, as the British and colonial troops suffer a humiliating defeat with over 800 casualties.

November 7, 1914, 95 years ago....China - Having endured nights of shrapnel bombardments and running low on ammunition, Meyer-Waldeck and his German garrison of less than 5,000 men ask for surrender terms at Tsingtao.

November 9th, 1914, 95 years ago....War at Sea - The German light cruiser Emden, dispatched to the Indian Ocean as a commerce raider, is sunk after an engagement with the Austrailian cruiser, Sydney, off the Cocos Islands. Another German raider, the light cruiser Karlsruhe, operating off the Brazilian coast is destroyed by an accidental explosion.

November 11, 1914, 95 years ago....Race to the Sea - German forces launch their last great attack at Ypres....Campaigns in Poland - Second German-Austrian advance is launched into Poland, driving a wedge between the Russian 1st and 2nd Armies....Caucasus and Armenia - Russian offensive against Koprukoy is repulsed by Turkish forces.

November 14, 1914, 95 years ago....South Pacific - Australian forces occupy former German colony of Naru, an island located north of the Bismarck Archipelago....Campaigns in Poland - The Russian army is poised to advance into Silesia.

November 15, 1914, 95 years ago....Campaigns in Poland - German 9th Army defeats Russian II Corps at Kutno, forcing the Russians to retreat to the east.

November 16, 1914, 95 years ago....Campaigns in Poland - Russian high command calls off the advance into Silesia; Russian 5th Army is sent north to help the Russian 2nd Army check the advancing German 9th Army.

November 18, 1914, 95 years ago....Campaigns in Poland - Start of the Battle of Lodz. Fierce fighting all around the city halts the German advance, as the Russian 2nd Army manages to hold the German right flank....Black Sea - The German battlecruiser Goeben and lightcruiser Breslau engage the Russian squadron on the Black Sea, resulting in heavy damage inflicted upon the Goeben.

November 19, 1914, 95 years ago....Campaigns in Poland - Battle of Lodz: Russian 5th Army arrives at Lodz, engaging the German 9th Army, which is threatening to encircle the Russian 2nd army. The German advance is halted, as Von Mackensen's right flank is forced back by the Russian 5th Army.

November 22, 1914, 95 years ago....Race to the Sea - End of the First Battle of Ypres, costing over 250,000 French, British and German casualties. Kaiser Wilhelm II reluctantly accepts the fact that there will be no breakthrough along the Belgian coast and the small corner of Belgium being held by the Allies....Persia - British colonial Indian troops occupy Basra to protect the oil pipeline from Persia.

November 24, 1914, 95 years ago....Campaigns in Poland - Following a bitter battle east of Lodz, German XXV Reserve Corps fights its way out of peril, escaping northwestward, with 16,000 prisoners.

November 26 - 29, 1914, 95 years ago....Pacific - Admiral Graf von Spee's squadron meet fierce storms off the coast of Chile.