LAND AND WATER 
December 12, 1914. 
In front of Poescle we took on the right bank of the 
canal the Ferryman's house, the possession of which had been 
keenly disputed for a month. 
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6th. 
Our heavy artillery destroyed a c uall German fort near 
the Ferryman's house. , „,- i i r* 
The enemy vainly endeavoured to retake Wicdendreft. 
On the remainder of the front there was nothing noteworthy 
to report. 
MONDAY, DECEMBER 7th. 
In Belgium the Germans bombarded Oost-Duukirke, west 
of Nieuport. , , v i t 
Between B^tlnino and Lens we completed the capture of 
tlie village of Vermelles. 
Our troops made appreciable progress 
Rouvroye-Parvillers-Le Quesnoy-en-Santerre. 
in the region 
SYNOPSIS. 
AncrsT 3ed -Sir Edward Grey sta-ted British policy and revealed 
Rc™a^v"^azi^ offer, in th« event of our neglecting our obligations 
to'C/ce Mobflisatioa of the Army. . Ultiniatum to Germany. 
aJmla and French Ambassadors left Pans and Berhn. 
TuGU^ 4th -Germany rejected England's uUimaftinn. Engbsh 
Govtn^eiit look over oontrof of railways. War declared botwee^ 
^i^ciT's™"-^ Kitchener appointed Secretary of State for 
War H M S. Amphion struck a mine and foundered. 
August frTH.-Ilouse of Commons, in five minutes, passed a vote of 
credit for £100,000,000, and sanctioned an mcreaeo of the Army By 
600,000 men. State control of food prices. r „„ inn nno 
August &rM.-Lord Kitchener issued a circular asking for 100,000 
"""^ August »ru.— The enemy's submarine, U15, was sunk by H.M.S. 
August lOrH.— France declared war on Austria^Hungary. Germana 
advanced on Namur. The new Press Bureau established by tho 
Government for the issue of official war news. ... 
August 11th.— England declared war against Austria. 
August 15th,— The Tsar addressed a Proclamation to tlie i-olisn 
populations of Russia, Germany, and Austria promising to restore lo 
Poland complete autonomy and guarantees for religious liberty and 
the use of the PoUsh language. j j-„ ii,„ 
August 16th.— Japanese ultimatum to Germany demanding tne 
withdrawal of her vessels of war from the Far East. 
August 17th.— The British Expeditionary Force safely landed in 
The Belgian Government transferred from Brussels to Antwerp. 
August 18tb.— General Sir H. Smith-Dorrien appointed to com- 
mand of an Army Corps of the British Expeditionary Force, in suc- 
cession to the late General Grierson. 
August 20i'n.— The Servians gained a decisive victory over the 
Austrians near Sliahatz. 
August 21st. — ^Tiie German forces entered Brussels. 
August 22nd. — Sei-via announces that their army had won a great 
victory on the Drina. The Austrian losses were very heavy. 
August 23aD.— Japan declared war on Germany. The Russian 
army gained an important victory near Gumbennen against a force of 
160,(JOO Germans. 
August 24th. — It was announced that Namur had fallen. 
The British forces were engaged all day on Sunday and after dark 
in the neighbourhood of Mons, and held their ground. Luneville was 
occupied by the Germans. 
August 27th. — ^Mr. Churchill announced in the House that the 
Gorman armed merchantman Kaiser Wilhelm dcr Grosse had been sunk 
by H.M.S. Highflyer on the West Africa Coast. 
August 28th. — A concerted operation was attempted against the 
Germans in the Heligoland Bight. 
Xhe First Light Cruiser Squadron sank the Mainz. The First 
Battle Cruiser ^uadron sank one cruiser, Koln class, and another 
cruiser disappeared in the mist, heavily on fire, and in a sinking 
condition. 
Two German destroyers were sunk and many damaged. Tho total 
British casualties amounted to sixty-nine killed and wounded. 
Lord Kitchener announced that " The Government have decided 
that our Army in France shall be increased by two divisions and & 
cavalry divjsion, besides other troops from India." 
Septembeu 1st. — The Russians met with a check in East Prussia, 
but were successful in minor engagements in Galicia. 
Sbptbmber 2nb. — Continuous fighting was in progress along almost 
the whole line of ba/btle. Tho British Cavalry engaged, with distinc- 
tion, the Cavalry of the enemy, pushed them back, and captured ten 
guns. The French Army gained ground in the Lorraine region. The 
Bussian Army completely routed four Austrian Army Corps near 
Lemherg, capturing ISO guns. 
September 3rd. — Tho French Government moved to Bordeau.x. 
SfePTEMBER 4th. — The Russian Army under General Ruzsky, cap- 
tured Lemberg and the Army of General Bruesiloff took Halicz. 
SewEMngR 5th. — The formal alliance of England, France, and 
Russia was signed in London by the representatives of the tlrree 
Governments concerned, binding each nation to conclude peace, or 
discuss terms of peace, only in conjunction with its Allies. 
Sfptem3er 6th. — It was announced th.it tho scout-cruiser Path- 
finder foundered on Saturday afternoon after running upon a mine. 
September 7th. — General Joffre's plans were being steadily carried 
out. The Allied forces acted on the defensive and were successful in 
checking and forcing back in a north-easterly direction the German 
forces opposed to them. 
September 8th.— -The Allies gained ground on the left wing along 
the line of the Ouroq and the Petit Morin river. Here the British 
troops drove the enemy back ten miles. Further to the right, from 
Vitry-le-Francois to Scrmaise-les-Bains the enemy was pressed back 
in the direction of Rheims. 
September Oth.— Tho English Array crossed the Mame, and tho 
enemy retired about twenty-five miles. 
September IIth. — Our 1st Army Corps captured twelve Maxim 
guns and some prisoners, and our 2nd Army Corps took 350 prisonen 
and a battery. 
September 13th. — Gn the left wing the enemy continued his retreat- 
ing movement. Tho Belgian Army puslied forward a vigorous offensive 
to the south of Lierre. 
Septeiibbr 14th. — All day tlie enemy stubbornly disputed the 
passage of the Aisne by our troops, but nearly aU the crossings were 
secured by sunset. On our right and left tho Frendi troops were con- 
fronted with a sim.ilar task, in which they were successful. 
September 15th.— The Allied troops occupied Rheims. Six hundred 
prisoners and twelve guns were captured by the Corps on the right 
of the Britisli. 
September 16th.— Submarine E0, Lieutenant-Commander MJax 
Kennedy Horlon, returned safely after having torpedoed the German 
cruiser IJcla six miles south of Heligoland. 
September 19tij. — ^The Russian Anny seized the fortified positioms 
of Sieniawa and Sambor. 
September 20tii. — Rheims Cathedral was bombarded, and nothing 
is left but the four bare walls. 
The British auxiliary cruiser Carmania, Captain Noel Grant, Royal 
Navy, sank tho Cap TrajaUjar off the east coast of South America. 
The action lasted one hour and forty-five minutes, when the German 
ship capsized and sunlt, her survivors being rescued by an empty 
collier. 
September 22nd.— E.M. ships Ahouhir, Ilogue, and Cressy were 
sunk by submarines in the North Sea. Tho Aboukir was torpedoed, 
and whilst the Hague and the Cressy had closed and were standing 
by to save Uie crew they were also toipcdoed. 
September 23rd. — British aeroplanes of the Naval wing delivered 
an attack on the Zeppelin sheds at Diisseldorf and Flight-ldeutenant 
Collet dropped three bombs on a Zeppelin shed. 
September 27th. — ^Between the Oise and the Somme and to the 
north of the Somme, the battle continued along a very extensive front 
with perceptible progress on our part. By the evening our troops 
regained the ground they had lost. Between the Argonne and the 
Mouse there was notliing new to report. 
September 28th. — At certain points, notably between the Aisne 
and the Argonne, the enemy made further violent attacks, which were 
repulsed. 
September 2Sh"H. — There was practically no change in the situation. 
The Allied left had some very heavy fighting, but they well held their 
own. 
October 1st. — The arrival of the Indian Expeditionary Force at 
Marseilles was announced. 
October 2nd. — His Majesty's Government authorised a mine- 
laying policy in certain areas. 
October 5th. — In Russia the German army, which was operating 
between the front of East Prussia and the Niemen, was beaten all 
along the line and retreated, abandoning a considerable quantity of 
material. 
October 9th. — The British naval airmen carried out another suc- 
cessful raid on the Zeppelin sheds at Dusseldorf. 
October 10th. — Death of King Carol of Roumania. 
Octobee 11th. — The Russian cruiser Pallada was sunk in the Baltic 
by a German submarine. 
October 14th. — The Belgian Government removed from Ostcnd to 
Havre. 
October 15th. — H.M.S. Yarmouth (Ca/ptaan Henry L. Cochrane) 
sank the German liner Markomania off Sumatra, and captured tho 
Greek steamer Pontcporos. 
October 16th.— H.M.S. Hawhe (Captain Hugh P. E. Williams, 
R.N.) was attacked and sunk by submarines. 
October 17ih. — The new light cruiser Undaunted (Captain Cecil H. 
Fox), accompanied by the destroyers Lance (Commander W. de M. 
Egcrton), Lennox (Lieut.-Commander C. R. Dane), Legion (Lieut. C. F. 
AlLwp), and Loyal (Lieut.-Commander F. Burgos Watson), sunk four 
German destroyers off the Dutcli coast. 
October 22nd. — Tho forward movement of the Russian armies 
continued. An important success in the neighbourhood of Warsaw 
tlirew the enemy back more than ten miles. 
October 25th. — A Geiinan submarine was rammed and sunk by 
the destroyer Badger (Commander Charles Freniantle, R.N.) oft tho 
Dutch coast. 
October 29™. — Admiral H.S.H. Prince Louis of Battenberg re- 
signed his position as First Sea Lord of the Admiralty. 
October 51st. — ^H.M.S. Hermes was sunk by a torpedo fired by a 
German submarine in the Straiia of Dover. 
November 2nd. — Tho Admiralty declared the whole of the North 
Sea a military are."!. 
November Ath. — It was reported that the Scharnhcrsf, Gneifcvan. 
Leipzig, Dresden, and Niirnbcrg concentrated near Valparaiso, and 
that an engagement was fought on November 1st. The Monmouth was 
sunk and the Good Hope very severely damaged. The Glasgow and 
the Otranto escaped. 
November 5th. — The German cruiser YorcTc stnick the mines block- 
ing the entrance to Jahde Bay and sank. 
November 7Tn. — The fall of Tsingt-au was announced. 
November 10th. — The Emden was driven ashore and bumt at 
Keeling Cocos Island by H.M.A.S. Sydney (Captain John C. T. 
Glossop, R.N.). The Konigsberg was imprisoned in tho Rufigi Island 
by H.M.S. Chatham. 
November 11th. — H.M.S. Niger (Lieut.-Commo.nder Arthur V. 
Muir, R.N.) was torpedoed by a submarine in the Downs, and 
foundered. 
November 14th.— Field-Marshal Lord Robert* died at the Head- 
quarters of the British Army in France. 
November I^h. — The burial of Field-Marshal Earl Roberts took 
place in St. Paul's Cathedral. 
November 23nD. — Tho German submarine Ul8 was rammed by a 
British destroyer, the Garry, off the coast of Scotland. 
NoVfeMBER 25th.— Betv.'cen Langemarck and Zonncbccke we gained 
ground. 
Near La B.isse the Indian troops recaptured some trenches out of 
which they had been driven the day before. 
November 26Tn. — H.M.S. Bulwark blew up in Shcemess Harbour. 
November 29t!I. — In Belgium our infantry captured various points 
d'appui to the north and south of Ypres. 
Tlie King left tlie British Isles for France to visit the General 
Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force.. 
,14* 
