[Jabberwalker]

One hundred years ago today, at the height of the First Battle of the Marne, the German army was counter-attacking at the center (30 miles from Paris) and there was great concern that they would break through. The Military governor of Paris needed to move his garrison troops to the front, to contain a possible breech so he commandeered 700 Renault Paris taxicabs to move his troops to the front. This action, over the next few days moved 5-6000 troops to the front ... not much of an effect on a great WWI battlefield but it had (and still has) great symbolic value to the French. It is up there in their mythology with the Trojan Horse and the Spartans at Thermopolye.

Anyway, the Taxicabs of the Marne ... they have monuments carved to them and esteemed locations in French War museums, between the Spad fighter plane and the excellent French field guns.

[martin14]

The Battle of the Marne is over, the Germans have been pushed back from being 30 miles from Paris to about 75 miles from Paris.

British Government issue orders for the raising of the second New Army of six divisions.

There are now 32,000 men in Valcartier.


Camp Orders of 1 September gave the composition of sixteen
provisional battalions in four provisional brigades.
There were further reshufflings during the month, and the organization which
finally emerged differed widely from the divisional allotments of 10 August.

The 1st(Provisional) Infantry Brigade, comprising
the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions, all from Ontario,
was commanded by Lt.-Col. M. S. Mercer.

The 2nd Brigade, from the west (5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Battalions), was commanded by Lt.-Col. A. W. Currie.

The 3rd Brigade, commanded by Colonel R. E. W. Turner, who had served with the Royal
Canadian Dragoons in the South African War, was composed of the 14th Battalion from
Montreal and the Maritimes and three Highland battalions from across Canada
(the 13th, 15th and 16th).

The 4th Brigade, Lt.-Col. J. E. Cohoe, consisted of three Prairie battalions
(9th, 10th and 11th) and one (the 12th) from the Maritimes.


Plus Artillery, Cavalry, Engineers, Medical services, etc, etc.

[martin14]

Sept. 14

General von Moltke resigns as Chief of the General Staff of the German Field Armies, and is succeeded by General von Falkenhayn

martin14 martin14:

the Germans have been pushed back from being 30 miles from Paris to about 75 miles from Paris.

Battle of the Aisne 1914 ends. Both sides have dug in, the first signs of trench warfare.


From 12th September 1914 the German Army began to “dig in” on the high ground of the Chemin des Dames ridge on the north bank of the river Aisne. The Germans dug defensive trenches with the intention of securing the position and preventing any further possibility of withdrawal. This battlefield area witnessed the beginnings of entrenched positions and the change from a mobile war to a static deadlock between the opposing forces. From this date the entrenchments would gradually spread along the whole length of the Western Front, would become deeper and more impregnable and would characterize the siege warfare fighting of the Western Front for the following three and a half years.





Sept. 17
Battle of Drina has ended.

40,000 casualities for both sides, and not much ground gained.

After the defeat of their first invasion, the Austrians mounted another attack on Serbia, crossing the River Drina on 7 September. The Serbs rushed their army back from a brief invasion of Austrian Bosnia, but despite ten days of fierce fighting were unable to push the Austrians out of their bridgeheads, and withdrew to form another line of defence before Belgrade, which fell to the Austrians on 2 December.


In 1964, the Yugoslavs made a movie to commemorate the Battle of Cer and Drina.



Read the analysis here: http://serbianna.com/analysis/archives/2293



You can watch it here, remember it is 1964 Yugoslavia.

In Serb but with English subtitles.








Tommorrow, Sept. 18
General von Hindenburg appointed Commander-in-Chief of German Armies in Eastern Theatre

[martin14]

The “Race to the Sea”: Outflanking the Enemy

22 September to end November, 1914

Battlefield locations (south to north):

Somme
Artois
French Flanders
Ypres
Yser
Belgian Coast

Over the next few weeks from late September to the end of November 1914 the Allied and German Armies attempted to outflank one another, responding to each other manoeuvring their armies to make a stand or cover their exposed northern flank. Operationally it was not an intentional race to reach the French or Belgian coast before the other. However, the fight to capture the unoccupied ground on each other's northern flank, the German attempt to capture more French ground and reach Paris, against the French determination to hold up their enemy's advance resulted in the movement of the armies in a north-westerly direction towards the coast. Battles took place as the armies sidestepped one another towards the French-Belgian coast and the Channel ports of Calais, Dunkirk, Ostend and Zeebrugge. This period of fighting has become known as “The Race to the Sea”.

Battles in the autumn of 1914 during this period of mobile fighting were:

the First Battle of Picardy (22nd - 26th September 1914)
the First Battle of Albert (22nd - 25th September 1914)
the First Battle of Artois, (27th September - 10th October 1914)
the Battle of La Bassée (10th October - 2nd November 1914)
the First Battle of Arras (1st October - 4th October 1914)
the First Battle of Messines (12th October - 2nd November 1914)
the Battle of Armentières (13th October - 2nd November 1914)
the Battle of the Yser (16th October - 10th November)
the First Battle of Ypres (19th October - 22nd November 1914)
the Battle of Langemarck (21st October - 24th October 1914)
the Battle of Gheluvelt (29th October - 31st October 1914)
the Battle of Nonneboschen (11th November - 22nd November 1914)





H.M.S. "Aboukir", "Hogue" and "Cressy" sunk by German submarine "U.-9."

German light cruiser "Emden" bombards Madras

First British air raid on Germany (Düsseldorf and Cologne airship sheds attacked)

First use of wireless telegraphy from aeroplane to artillery

[martin14]

Oct 3.

The Race to the Sea has now reached Arras.
Ypres occupied by German cavalry.
First units of British Royal Marines arrive at Antwerp, including Winston Churchill.

The Royal Marine Brigade was there and at Churchill's urgings the 1st and 2nd Naval Brigades were also committed. Antwerp fell on 10 October with the loss of 2500 men. At the time he was attacked for squandering resources. It is more likely that his actions prolonged the resistance by a week (Belgium had proposed surrendering Antwerp on 3 October) and that this time saved Calais and Dunkirk.


Retreat of Austro-Hungarian forces in Galicia .
Minelaying in the open sea (between the Goodwins and Ostend) commenced by British.


And,

the First Canadian Contingent is leaving Canada for the UK.

Loaded in Quebec City.

Warships

H. M. Ship

Charybdis
Diana
Eclipse
Glory
Magnificent
Princess
Talbot


Transports , by column X, Y, Z

Megantic ........ Caribbean ...... Scotian
Ruthenia ........ Athenia ........ Arcadian
Bermudian ...... Royal Edward ... Zeeland
Alaunia ........ Franconia ...... Corinthian
Ivernia ........ Canada ........ Virginian
Scandinavian ... Monmouth ....... Andania
Sicilian ....... Manitou ........ Saxonia
Montezuma ...... Tyrolia ........ Grampian
Lapland ........ Tunisian ....... Lakonia
Cassandra ...... Laurentic ..... Montreal
Florizel ........ Royal George
(joined off Cape Race)



1,547 officers
29,070 men
7,679 horses
70 guns
110 motor vehicles
705 horsed vehicles
82 bicycles




As each ship was loaded, she went out into the river and anchored. There the Master was given his sealed orders. The first directed him to proceed down the river. The second, which was to be opened after the pilot had been dropped at Father Point, instructed him to proceed to an anchorage in Gaspé Bay.


At 2.30 pm on Saturday, Oct. 3, HMS Charybdis made the following signal to the troop ships: "Have cables hove short. All ships in column Z will raise anchor at 3 pm, and proceed, keeping column formation, steaming at 9 knots following leading cruiser Eclipse". Promptly at 3 pm, the Eclipse led column Z out of the anchorage, followed by Diana with column Y, and in due corse astern of her came Charybdis leading column X. HMS Talbot brought up the rear of the long column which had a total length of 21 1/2 miles. The last ship did not pass the entrance until 6 pm.

The weather was perfect. It had been a fine fall day, and as the land disappeared astern in a setting sun, ahead rose a full moon. It must have been a wonderful sight, and it certainly moved one young soldier in the 16 Battalion (the Canadian Scottish that was to be), as he saw Canada disappear from sight aster, to write that "I'm proud of being a Canadian." His words on going off to fight for King and Country might well be taken to heart by his fellow countrymen today.



As the convoy passed Cape Race on Oct 5, the Florizel, with the Newfoundland Contingent, joined the convoy.


The trip was uneventful, thanks to the French.

As the convoy reached the longitude of the Fastnet, there occurred an event which upset all the plans. On Oct. 12, the French had sighted a submarine off Cap Gris Nez and had established a patrol from Cherbourg to the Owers Light Vessel east of Portsmouth; in spite of this a submarine was sighted and attacked by one of the torpedo boats of the Portsmouth Extended Defence at 4.30 pm on Oct 13, at the east end of the Isle of Wight.

The submarines sighted on Oct. 12 and 13 in the approaches to Southampton had, in fact, been dispatched from Germany with the special mission of attacking the convoy. The German Admiralty on Oct. 8, learnt from their New York agents that 24 transports, escorted by eight warships had left Quebec on Oct. 2, a report which, so far, was very nearly accurate. Boulogne was assumed to be the destination of the force, the date of arrival to be Oct. 10 and 12 and, as the troops were thought to be sufficiently trained to take the field at once, the military authorities wished to have this convoy attacked. Accordingly, U 8 and U 20 were dispatched on Oct. 10 to operate off Boulogne against it. It was U 8 that was seen off Cape Gris Nez and U 20 was met off Culver Cliff, but neither submarine seems to have come so far west as Plymouth, and thus the convoy escaped a very real danger.







As the army set sail for Europe, it was the first time that such a large contingent of troops had ever crossed the Atlantic.

http://www.gwpda.org/naval/1cdncvy.htm

[Jabberwalker]

The first is a famous (Group of Seven) Arthur Lismer painting of the "Olympic" (sister of Titanic) in Halifax, replete with "dazzle" paint scheme.

The second painting is of that 1914 convoy carrying the 1st Canadian Division to Britain.

[martin14]

New Zealand Expeditionary Force leaves New Zealand for France.
First units of Australian Imperial Force embark for France.


Belgian coast-line reached by German forces.
Zeebrugge and Ostend occupied by German forces.

First units of Canadian and Newfoundland Expeditionary Forces land in England.
U boat threats force them to land at Plymouth and Devonport.

They will move to Salisbury Plain, not far from Stonehenge.


Few units began their War Diaries with the sailing but a few did:

1st Brigade, sailing on the Saxonia, disembarked on October 17, and proceeded to West Down North Camp.
1st Canadian Divisional Signal Company arrived on the Andania and proceeded to West Down South Camp.
19th Alberta Dragoons sailed on the Arcadia, arriving at Plymouth on October 15.
Lord Strathcona's Horse sailed on the Bermudian, with their horses on the Monmouth.
1st Canadian Divisional Cyclist Company arrived on the Rothenia and headed to West Down South Camp.
1st Canadian Divisional Artillery arrived on the Franconia and headed to West Down North Camp.
2nd Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery arrived on the Ivernia on Octobert 14 but did not disembark until October 20-they boarded ship in Quebec on September 21. They headed to West Down North Camp.
3rd Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery arrived on the Grampian also disembarking on the October 20, and headed to West Down North Camp.
1st Canadian Infantry Brigade arrived on the Tunisian and moored alongside the Ruthenia. They unloaded on October 19, and headed to Bustard Camp.
3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade arrived on the Alannia (HQ staff, 13th Bn., ½ 14th Bn.), the Megantic (15th Bn.), the Andania (16th Bn. And ½ 14th Bn.) and the Montreal carried the horses. They headed to West Down South Camp.
2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion arrived on the Cassandra on October 14, and moored beside the Scotian. From the 15th to the 24th of the month they carried on "Physical Training, and Sports in conjunction with the 12th Bn." They did not disembark until October 25 when they headed to Bustard Camp.
3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion arrived on the Tunisian, disembarked on October 19, and headed to Bustard Camp.
4th Canadian Infantry Battalion arrived on the Tyrolia and did not disembark until October 23, heading to Bustard Camp.
7th Canadian Infantry Battalion arrived on the Virginian and disembarked on Octobert 17 on route to West Down South Camp.
13th Canadian Infantry Battalion (5th Royal Highlanders of Canada) sailed on the Alaunian and disembarked, like many of the Battalions, in two parts, "one of 682 all ranks, and another of 472 all ranks". They were headed to West Down South Camp.
14th Canadian Infantry Battalion arrived on the Alaunian and on October 16, headed to West Down South,. They reported the next day that "Pte Hartley, batman to major P.R. Hansen, found dead on road near camp."

[Hyack]

Pretty well the same map but maybe with a bit more detail....



And yet another....

[Hyack]

Salisbury Plain in the news:

....note the dates

[BartSimpson]

I had no idea that Canada had occupied part of England during WW1, well done!

[Hyack]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

I had no idea that Canada had occupied part of England during WW1, well done!

Yep, and the debate goes on which bunch had the highest social disease and birth rates attributed to them, either the Canucks in WWI or the "Bloody Yanks" in WWII.....

[BartSimpson]

Funny thing is the number of US veterans I used to know who had British war brides!

[Batsy2]

Hyack Hyack:

Yep, and the debate goes on which bunch had the highest social disease and birth rates attributed to them, either the Canucks in WWI or the "Bloody Yanks" in WWII.....

Our men were out there fighting, up to their necks in muck and bullets, whilst yours were shagging.

[Unsound]

Batsy2 Batsy2:

Hyack Hyack:

Yep, and the debate goes on which bunch had the highest social disease and birth rates attributed to them, either the Canucks in WWI or the "Bloody Yanks" in WWII.....

Our men were out there fighting, up to their necks in muck and bullets, whilst yours were shagging.

I suspect it was the women of England who arranged things that way. After the first kiss from a man with good teeth, there was no going back for them

[Batsy2]

Unsound Unsound:

I suspect it was the women of England who arranged things that way. After the first kiss from a man with good teeth, there was no going back for them

It's nothing to be proud of. There was a war on.