#fourth isonzo

Separate peace | 30 Nov 1915

Separate peace With General von Falkenhayn cautiously optimistic that the Russian Empire might be persuaded to sign a separate peace at some point in the next 12 months, the Entente governments have been moving to prevent that. An Anglo-Franco-Russian agreement to not negotiate individually had been signed in the opening days of September, and over the course of the last month, the Japanese* and…

Shaitan | Fourth Isonzo | 29 Nov 1915

Retreat from Ctesiphon General Townshend is determined to preserve his regatta, and so sends out his cavalry to clear the local Arab snipers from around the beached Shaitan so that the other ships can have the best go possible at saving her. The efforts to pull the ship clear only result in her getting further stuck and then terminally holed. Townshend, well aware of the need to keep moving to…

#OTD in #WW1 A British ship runs aground in #Iraq; the storm on #Gallipoli100 continues, now with added snow.

Retreat from Ctesiphon It’s a Good News/Bad News day for General Townshend, on the retreat from Ctesiphon. The good news is that his blokes have arrived safely at Aziziya, and his aerial reconaissance indicates that pursuit is far enough away for him to take a little time to re-organise everyone before setting out again towards Kut-al-Amara, where he intends to turn and take on his enemy. The…

#OTD in #WW1 As London dithers, a major hurricane blows in at #Gallipoli100, instantly flooding miles of trenches.

Hurricane on Gallipoli There’s still just enough bullshit and uncertainty washing around about Gallipoli for nobody important to have taken a firm decision yet about evacuating the peninsula. Some draft plans are proceeding in a leisurely fashion, without much urgency, while the politicians argue vociferously about whys and wherefores. Meanwhile, the MEF’s quartermaster staff have quietly resumed…

#OTD in #WW1 Quick look at the #Senussi Campaign, Battle of #Ctesiphon ends, British Empire retreating from Baghdad.

Senussi Campaign Let’s begin today by looking at something I’ve been shoving onto the back burner for the last little while for lack of space. The Senussi Campaign isn’t exactly the best-known part of the First World War, and for once this is not entirely unjustified. It genuinely doesn’t have much impact on the wider war, and it’s probably better-served and more understandable if it’s viewed as…

#OTD in ##WW1 Fog of war descends over the Battle of #Ctesiphon; Sir John French fights to save his job.

Fog of war at the Battle of Ctesiphon Today at the Battle of Ctesiphon provides an excellent example of how critical it is to remember that no commander in any war has perfect information about what the enemy is doing. Decisions are usually taken on glimpses, interpretations, and educated guesses. What appear to be the most staggering blunders to an observer enjoying a detached, all-sides…

#OTD in #WW1 The Duke of Aosta orders slaughter on the #Isonzo continued, the defence of Serbia is collapsing fast.

Fourth Isonzo The Duke of Aosta, commanding Italian troops on the Carso, has been only too happy to accept General Cadorna’s recent invitation to carry on Fourth Isonzo on his own initiative. The weather has warmed slightly; some of the recent snow around Mount San Michele has become easier to clear from the routes up to the trenches. The Italian 3rd Army’s goal remains the same; surround the…

#OTD in #WW1 Gorizia shelled by Italians, Kitchener threatens the King of Greece, von Falkenhayn plans a Western Front battle

Fourth Isonzo As I mentioned a few days ago, the good news is that General Cadorna is now going to alter some of his methods. The bad news is that he seems rather to be washing his hands of the battle. Instead, he’s inviting individual commanders to launch operations against the Carso and Gorizia on their own initiative. Any thought of a breakthrough anywhere has now drowned in the mud. Cadorna’s…