Diary WWI

Diary for Sunday, June 11, 1916: Eastern Front Brusilov Offensive – Galicia: Südarmee’s Battle of the Strypa (until June 30). By now General Tersztyanszki replaces sacked Archduke Joseph Ferdinand in […]

Diary for Saturday, June 10, 1916: Southern Fronts Trentino: Eritrea veteran and volunteer General Prestinari killed in command of a militia brigade. Greece: French occupy Thasos island, northern Aegean, as

Diary for Friday, June 9, 1916: Eastern Front Brusilov offensive – Bukovina: Lechitski transfers 2 divisions to south bank of Dniester, fierce struggle for Hill 458 (until June 10) before

Diary for Thursday, June 8, 1916: Southern Fronts Italian Front: Austrian Intelligence find Italian First Army cipher key changed, correctly predict attack on river Isonzo. Trentino: 2 Austrian divisions withdraw

Diary for Wednesday, June 7, 1916: Western Front Verdun – FALL OF FORT VAUX for 2,678 German casualties to 50th Division after heroic 5-day defence by Major Raynal’s 600 men.

Diary for Tuesday, June 6, 1916: Eastern Front Brusilov offensive – Galicia: Shcherbachev’s Seventh Army attacks, widens frontage and taking Buczacz on June 8; by June 10 has made 30-mile

Diary for Monday, June 5, 1916: Sea War Atlantic: Russia-bound cruiser HMS Hampshire sunk by mine from U75 (Beitzen) northwest of Scapa Flow. Careless minesweeping, stormy seas and inexplicable failure

Diary for Sunday, June 4, 1916: Eastern Front BRUSILOV OFFENSIVE (until October 17) begins on 200-mile front with 1,938-gun shelling at 0400 hours. Russian Eleventh and Ninth Armies take 26,000

Diary for Saturday, June 3, 1916: Western Front Verdun: ­Unsuccessful German outflanking move at Fort Vaux. Ypres: Canadian counter-attack recovers lost trenches from previous day. Somme: British repulse German attack

Diary for Friday, June 2, 1916: Sea War North Sea: Grand Fleet again ready for action after the battle of Jutland, German High Seas Fleet repairs take longer (because hit

Diary for Thursday, June 1, 1916: Sea War North Sea: German old battleship Pommern sunk in last battle of Jutland torpedo attack, another, battleship Ostfriesland, mined at 0720 hours and

Diary for Wednesday, May 31, 1916: Sea War North Sea – BATTLE OF JUTLAND (until June 1, German Battle of the Skaggerak): Scheer orders northward sweep to raid Allied shipping

Diary for Tuesday, May 30, 1916: Sea War North Sea: Royal Navy’s Room 40 gives early warning of German Fleet sortie and that 16 U-boats on sea. Main body of

Diary for Monday, May 29, 1916: Western Front Verdun: German attacks on Hill 304 (unsuccessful) and northwest of Cumieres (trenches carried). Eastern Front Kaiser and Falkenhayn visit Hindenburg and Ludendorff

Diary for Sunday, May 28, 1916: Western Front Verdun: German Alpenkorps (from Champagne) again in action. Flanders: Haig warns Second Army (Plumer) to hasten preparations for offensive as it might

Diary for Saturday, May 27, 1916: Southern Fronts Salonika: Bulgar division and German troops occupy by Greeks evacuated Fort Rupel and 3 villages south of frontier thus blocking Struma valley.

Diary for Friday, May 26, 1916: Southern Fronts Italian Front: Archduke Eugene shifts main thrust east onto Asiago Plateau so as to reach Brenta valley towards Bassano and Venetian plains.

Diary for Thursday, May 25, 1916: Southern Fronts Italian Front: Austrian III Corps occupies Corno di Campo Verde (6,815 ft) and captures Portule line east of Val d’Assa. Western Front

Diary for Wednesday, May 24, 1916: Western Front Verdun – Fighting on whole front: Germans regain Fort Douaumont and Caillette woods with 100 PoWs. Mangin temporarily disgraced. French recapture part

Diary for Tuesday, May 23, 1916: Western Front Artois, Vimy: BEF IV Corps counter-attack with 2 brigades ruined by German counter-barrage; British losses 2,500 to 1,344 German. Verdun: German counter­-attack