War Diary of World War One for Wednesday, September 2, 1914
Western Front
France: Germans reach river Marne and occupy Laon. Moltke orders Kluck to echelon his troops behind Bülow’s. Both Kluck and Bülow disobey and continue divergent advances which French Fifth Army patrol captures maps of. Gallieni, the Military Governor of Paris, detects this vital development next day. Foch gains touch with Fifth Army. First German occupation of Lille (until September 6).
LorraineÂ: Castelnau sends 3 divisions to the west on Joffre’s orders, following a cavalry division and a chasseur brigade on previous day.
Eastern Front
Poland: Austrian Fourth Army with 13 divisions and 558 guns checked before Lublin by Russian Fourth and Ninth Armies with 14 divisions and 900 guns.
GaliciaÂ: Routed Austrians, evacuate Lemberg with loss of 130,000 men.
Sea War
Pacific: First of 23,980 Japanese troops (18th Division plus other units) and 154 guns (Lt-General Kamio) land 150 miles (ca. 241 km) northeast of Tsingtao on Shantung Peninsula at Lungkow Bay inside Chinese territory.
Home Fronts
France: Government leaves Paris for Bordeaux at Joffre’s request.
Germany: First captured French and Russian guns paraded in Berlin. Catholic Center Party leader Erzberger’s memorandum to Government: ‘Germany to control Europe for all time’
Britain: Masterman (Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster) confers with literary figures and six newspaper editors to discuss propaganda organization; set up Wellington House, London. Kipling’s first war poem ‘For All We Have and Are’ published in The Times.
