#bernard adams

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Brusilov Offensive | Sunny Subaltern | 6 May 1916

Brusilov Offensive | Sunny Subaltern | 6 May 1916

Brusilov Offensive The scale and design of the Brusilov Offensive is such that it only needs one relatively small success, quickly reinforced, to put the enemy in a whole world of hurt. Yesterday we had the small success; one Austro-Hungarian division in front of Lutsk was rudely thrown out of its trenches. This is not the Western Front. The scale of the front is such that the German system on…

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Lord Kitchener | Brusilov Offensive | 5 Jun 1916

Lord Kitchener | Brusilov Offensive | 5 Jun 1916

Brusilov Offensive The Entente’s summer offensive is finally underway. We’ve been building up to this for at least six months. There have been a couple of probing infantry attacks yesterday, but this is the start of the big Russian push. The Brusilov Offensive has called for just 24 hours of artillery preparations before tthe men go over the top en masse. Four Russian armies are attacking four…

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Smuts | Stewart | Fischer | 15 Mar 1916

#OTD in #WW1 Gen #Smuts is very annoyed and starts sacking people; a BEF officer goes patrolling in No Man's Land

Africa General Smuts is deeply, deeply unhappy that Colonel von Lettow-Vorbeck is sitting pretty at Kahe rather than walking into a gentleman’s captivity. When the Commander-in-Chief is unhappy he often spreads it around with a shovel, and Smuts more so than most. He begins with the obvious step of sacking General Malleson. Amusingly enough, General Tighe has already recommended Malleson for…

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Verdun gathers steam | 22 Feb 1916

#OTD in #WW1 #Verdun day 2; general who lost #Erzurum is sacked; German diversionary attack on the #Somme

Battle of Verdun The MSPaint map at daybreak: How it started Today the Germans push hard. The artillery’s continued firing at new targets all through the night. The French have no chance to regroup. Communications are breaking down, but General de Langle knows enough of the situation to issue General Herr with a simple order. “Hold, hold, no matter what the cost.” To him at least, it’s obvious…

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Demonstrations for Verdun | 9 Feb 1916

#OTD in #WW1 The Germans start a series of deceptions and supporting attacks for the imminent Battle of #Verdun

Demonstrations and deceptions The Germans now initiate their main programme of deception to support the imminent Battle of Verdun. They’ve been very precisely designed to simulate, as far as possible, the first day at Verdun. In particular, there will be almost no preliminary bombardment before the main attack in three days’ time. As in the deception attacks, a day of mostly intermittent…

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Smuts | Deserters at Verdun | 30 Jan 1916

#OTD in #WW1 #Smuts takes command in East Africa; a stream of German deserters is coming across at #Verdun

Battle of Verdun The worst-kept secret on the Western Front continues to be terribly kept. There’s a steady stream of deserters coming across No Man’s Land into the French trenches at night. None of them can, as yet, give any concrete details about anything. However, they’re all talking about leave being suspended, more artillery (and more heavy artillery) being brought in, unofficial warnings…

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Sykes-Picot | Hasankale | 17 Jan 1916

#OTD in #WW1 Diplomats #SykesPicot work on the fine details; the Ottomans make a rearguard stand at Hasankale

Sykes-Picot Agreement I’ll take “Things which are extremely relevant to geopolitics in 2016”, please. Today the British and French foreign ministries have just finished the rough draft of what they think should be done with the Middle East after the end of the war. The Ottoman Empire is creaking badly, an early-modern empire struggling to survive in the face of an industrial Europe based on…

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Erzurum Offensive | The end of Gallipoli | 9 Jan 1916

#OTD in #WW1 The final end of the ill-fated #Gallipoli campaign; the Russians launch an offensive in the Caucasus

Erzurum Offensive We open today in the Caucasus. You may recall that General Yudenich, the Russian commander, has been planning an audacious attack on eastern Anatolia. He’s taken Enver Pasha’s battle-plan for the Battle of Sarikamis, reasoned that it’s a good idea if only it were done properly, and decided to use it in reverse against the Ottomans. By advancing over the Cakir Baba and then the…

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