So, on September 1, 1914, the 1st German Army, 40 kilometers short. to Paris, turns to the east and pursues the British to the river Marne (60—80 km. east of the capital). Bridges not blown up by the British seem to instill in German soldiers faith in never-passing fortune. Throwing away the thought that a significant part of the forces had been deployed on the Eastern Front, the German forces were organizing a pursuit. The French themselves are preparing to withdraw beyond the Seine River. But the commandant of Gallieni, who is responsible for the defense of Paris, having received air reconnaissance data, under personal responsibility, convinces the French commander-in-chief to launch a counterattack. The battle erupted on September 6 at the tributaries of the Marne. A day later, the standoff culminates. At some time it seems that the French are suffering a crushing defeat. Reinforcements from the colonies can be transferred to the front line thanks to the dedication of the French taxi drivers. More than 600 of the Renault AG-1 taxis mentioned in this picture make 2 flights each, bringing the soldiers almost to the battlefield.
.Deprived of reserves, the German field marshal withdraws troops from a vast area of the front. It also does not remain unnoticed by the allies. The French and the British are wedged into the gap between the German armies. Both sides are extremely exhausted. In the end, the German units depart 60 kilometers, on September 12 they occupy the defenses along the banks of the rivers Ain and Vel. Front stabilized. Perhaps for the first time in the history of wars, troops create solid lines of defense for hundreds of kilometers. The irretrievable losses of France are 80,000, Great Britain – 2,000, Germany – 75,000. The photograph shows French troops in the vicinity of the Marne River, September 1914.
In order to help its defeated Austro-Hungarian allies, Germany is organizing an offensive against the then Russian Poland. From September 28, 1914, the German armies inflict a number of powerful blows on the Russian corps and, in spite of their own high losses, reach the outskirts of Warsaw. Here the allies get stuck in positional battles and miss the counteroffensive of the Russian armies. Organized waste sometimes turns into a total escape. By November 8, Austro-Hungarian and German troops occupy the line of defense preceding the offensive. Allies lose 35,000 people, 23,000 prisoners, Russia – 32,000. In the photo – Russian troops force the Vistula
Famous photograph of the First World War, the British military among the forest, destroyed by German artillery. Flanders, autumn 1914. The battle on Marne organically flows into “Running to the Sea” – a chain of battles in Flanders (western Belgium), which aim to outflank the enemy. By November 15, the front is buried in the North Sea and stabilized. Over 700 km. parties to the conflict equip rows of trenches, barbed wire, dugouts and long-term gun emplacements
Somehow it happened that, despite all the efforts, Germany is not a great maritime power. However, newcomers are lucky. Perhaps that is why, on November 1, 1914, the battle at the Chilean port of Coronel is in favor of the Open Sea Fleet. Two armored, three light German cruisers are engaged in raiding. Their main goal is to prevent the admission of Chilean nitrate to British weapons factories. The forces of the English seem to be commensurate; two armored and two light cruisers. The undoubted courage of the British admiral Cradock prevails over his prudence. The squadron is sent to intercept the Germans are not sufficiently prepared, not in full force. Grand Fleet attacks in the evening, when its ships are illuminated by the setting sun, and the Germanic gray-painted cruisers hide the dark background of the coast. The Scharnhorst and the same type Gneisenau, whose commanders, in contrast to most British reservists, received excellent training, achieve hits of 210 mm and 150 mm. airborne guns. Two armored cruisers are sailing to the bottom. It is still in the custom of time to rescue teams of sunken enemy ships, but this is not the case. In icy, 9—10 degrees Celsius water, 1654 British sailors die. Sanitary losses of the German fleet – two wounded. On the photo is the German armored cruiser Scharnhorst.
…At the opposite theater of military operations, before the commandant of Qingdao decides on the surrender of the fortress, the Japanese spend tens of thousands of large-caliber shells on this fort. When trying to break through the German destroyer torpedoes the Japanese cruiser. However, on November 7, 1914, after the depletion of ammunition stocks, Qingdao capitulated. The human irretrievable loss of Germany is 300 people against 1200 in Japan. However, the Europeans for the second time, after the Russian Empire, are defeated by the ambitious East Asian tiger. Europe and the United States are on their guard. Photography – the Japanese visiting the German citadel. In the foreground are carts containing charges for large-caliber guns.
Since July 28, the Austro-Hungarian units have advanced some distance in Serbia, but already on August 19 they have suffered a crushing defeat. The second, more powerful wave of the Austrian offensive, November 30, 1914, overwhelms Belgrade. Ammunition and foodstuffs from France and Russia allow the capital to be liberated by December 15, 1914. The front stabilizes at the frontier of the Sava and Drina rivers. In total, by this time the Austro-Hungarian Empire was losing 28,000 people killed, 46,000 prisoners, Serbia – 22,000 permanently, 19,000 prisoners. In the photo – the Serbian soldiers in the trenches. Neighborhood Kolubar, November 16, 1914
So, after the Turkish fleet fired on the Russian cities of Sevastopol, Odessa, Feodosiya and Novorossiysk, on November 11—12, 1914, Russia declared war on Turkey. Three days later the same declare England and France. On December 22, 1914, after an unsuccessful offensive a month earlier, a defensive operation of the Russian Caucasian Army starts at the Sarykamysh point of the Karr region. Due to the frosts, lack of uniforms and food, the Turkish army suffers significant non-combat losses. In a series of battles, the Russian army captures the initiative and goes over to the counter offensive. Already on January 4, 1915, the Headquarters received reports on the complete defeat of the Turkish corps. Total Ottomans lose 28,000 dead and 25—30,000 prisoners. Irrecoverable losses of the Russian Empire – 15,000 people. A side effect is that the Turks launch the mechanism of the mass genocide of Armenians. The blame for the defeat of the army, its commanders need to shift to someone. The guilt of ethnic Armenians lies only in the fact that they are loyally greeted by Russian troops. The photograph shows the Russian units in the trenches near Sarykamysh. It is still a combat-ready, disciplined and general rush army
A German squadron of familiar to us armored “Scharnhorst”, “Gneisenau” and three light cruisers, two transport and one hospital ship sent to the Falkland Islands to strike at the British base of Stanley. The main idea is to deprive the enemy, so necessary for the voracious ship’s