November 16

The Allies take formal possession of Tsingtao after a siege which had begun at the end of October. It is the first Anglo-Japanese operation of the war.

The Siege of Tsingtao (from a Japanese lithograph)

A vote of credit for £225.000,000 for war purposes is passed in the House of Commons. British war expenditure is stated to be almost £1,000,000 per day.

14,500 "alien enemies" are stated to be interned in Great Britain.

In the 26th Brigade RFA, Colonel Hinton takes over from Colonel Coghill

November 7

The Siege of Tsingtao ends with the surrender of the German garrison.

German troops during the Siege of Tsingtao

October 7

The Belgian Government moves to Ostend, and the evacuation of Antwerp begins.

The British submarine E9 returns safely after sinking a German destroyer off the River Ems.

HMS E9

Japanese forces occupy Yap Island in the Pacific, used by the Germans as a naval communication centre.

September 23

Men of the South Wales Borderers are landed at Laoshan Bay, China, to assist the Japanese siege of Tsingtao, held by the Germans.

British troops arriving at Laoshan Bay

The 26th Brigade RFA remains in position. At 4.30am 118 moves 300 years  west of its previous location, and at 6.30am both batteries open fire on Labouelle and Source in suport of a French attack on La Creute and Hurtebise Fme.

August 27

During the continuing retreat of the BEF, the 26th Brigade, RFA sees further action at Fesmy. At 7am, "1 Section 118 in action ... N of Fesmy supporting Munster Fusiliers. Remainder of Brigade at Le Pont Cambresis."

You can read more on The Stand of the Munsters at Etreux (fromMrs Rickard's book on The Story of the Munsters (1918); whilst this link includes a useful map of the action.

The RFA in action

The Brigade's War Diary also records that at 1.30am, "Remainder of 1st Brigade and 26th Brigade RFA retired through Etreux", and at 2.30am, "2 Sections 118 supporting Black Watch on high ground N of Etreux, E & W of Fesmy-Etreux Road."

At 4pm, "117 in action W of Etreux-Guise road, covering retirement of Black Watch and 118th. 116 in readiness on Etreux-Guise road. The section 118 with Munsters ... bivouacked at La Tonquaise."

The Japanese Navy begins its blockade of the German port of Tsingtao, on the coast of China, thus beginning the Siege of Tsingtao.

August 26 - Le Cateau

British dead at Le Cateau

The Allied retreat continues. At the Battle of Cateau - a successful rearguard action - the engagement allows the BEF to continue their withdrawal.

Edward Croft, with the RFA, marches from Dompierre to Fesmy.

German Togoland surrenders to the British.

Austria-Hungary declares war on Japan.

SMS Magdeburg

The German cruiser SMS Magdeburg runs aground off the Estonian coast and is captured by the Russians.

They recover three intact German code books, one of which is passed to the British.

This code book is used by the Admiralty's Room 40 to identify movements of German warships.



The German transatlantic liner, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, now acting as an auxiliary cruiser, is sunk by HMS Highflyer.


Punch publishes another Bernard Partridge cartoon. Clearly influenced by recent events in Louvain and Antwerp (depicted in the background), the theme is now much more sinister. Here the Kaiser is depicted as being wholly evil. Punch is using these cartoons for propaganda purposes, to maintain civilian morale.

THE TRIUMPH OF "CULTURE"

August 23 - Mons

Mons was the first major action of the BEF in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British Army attempted to hold the line of the Mons–Condé Canal against the advancing German 1st Army. Although the British fought well and inflicted disproportionate casualties on the numerically superior Germans, they were eventually forced to retreat due both to the greater strength of the Germans and the sudden retreat of the French Fifth Army, which exposed the British right flank.

The Battle of Mons

During the battle, the first Victoria Crosses are awarded to Lieutenant Maurice Dease (the first psthumous award) and Private Sidney Godley.

Edward Croft,with the RFA, moves from Cartignies (in France) to Grand-Reng (in Belgium).

British artillery on the march

 
The Belgian town of Namur is evacuated by the Allies. French forces withdraw from Lorraine.

Japan declares war on Germany.

On the Eastern Front, the Battle of Tannenberg begins between Russia and Germany.