October 4th-10thGermany begins producing Light Machine Guns
Germany starts a propaganda campaign.
Greece begins selling war bonds.
France begins a propaganda campaign.
Austria begins buying goods from Germany and Italy.
Montenegro takes a loan of 10,000,000.00 Francs at 5% interest with a deadline of 20 years from Switzerland.
Montenegro goes into Full mobilisation.
Austria-Hungary takes a loan of 15,000,000.00 Francs at 7% interest with a deadline of 25 years from Switzerland.
Switzerland downgrades to Partial Mobilisation.
Russian Offensive! -Ongoing
"Russian Infantry awaiting the order to invade." - Poland, 1914In Eastern Europe, the front has been completely quiet since the start of the war. No side dared move troops from key positions, and the anticipated Austrian-Invasion of Serbia never came. It seems as though their is no war in the East.
Until now, starting off the week with a massive push into the Central powers eastern borders. Hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of Russians march forward into the frontier territories of Prussia, Galicia, and Hungary. With absolutely no resistance or Central military might in the area, the Russians make quick and easy gains in the East. In East Prussia, the Russian 5th and 8th corps march staunchly toward the undefended city of Konigsberg, the birthplace of Prussia. The surrounding area is put under Russian occupation, and the Russians continue their victorious march.
In Poland, Russian troops have also made gains towards German Silesia, conquering many border towns and securing key positions for a major assault. Further south, the Russians also make great gains, taking frontier land in Galicia and Austrian-Hungary.
Austro-German opposition has yet to be seen.
Battles of Provence - October 4th-7th
In French Provence, the situation has changed in favor of the French! The advancing Italians finally met stiff French resistance this week, with a large corps of French troops holding the line. The defending French had time to settle in and prepare for a staunch defense, and a staunch defense they indeed put up.
The Italians attacked fiercely and in good order. Wave upon wave of men charged headlong at the stationary French, and wave upon wave of men were cut down by the literal wall of bullets emanating from the French soldiers dug in. The thick French lines held again and again as the furious Italians pushed and charged at the French position. Alas, it was all in vain.
The effectiveness of the machine gun was simply too much for the Italians, for on the 7th the Italians finally held position and ceased attacks on the French defensive positions. Finally, the French have claimed a victory for their country.
And quite a victory it was, with the French taking 43 thousand casualties, while the invading Italians took a whopping 80 thousand casualties.
Despite the increasingly savage amount of casualties on both sides, neither side appears to be giving up. Nay, more and more men rush to the fronts in a wave of nationalistic patriotism across both Italy and France. The Italians, for now however, have been stopped!
Battle of the Marne - October 4th-8th
In Northern France, the might German offensive, unstoppable and unbeatable, has finally been given a staggering blow. The French, with fervor and a fire in their veins to defend Paris to the last, took to the defense one more, this time around the major river Marne.
The brave Germans, advancing steadily as ordered, were suddenly met with a wall of fire and bullets, with artillery shells shaking the Earth violently as they detonated around them. The French had arrived once more! Building a much more stable defense than before, the French, learning from their mistakes, kept themselves much more stagnant in this battle. Defensive lines of men and machine guns kept the Germans at bay, who despite the numbers and artillery advantage, simply could not find a way to push forward on the French!
Thousands of men were cut down in neat formations, as both French and German infantry sallied out to make battle on the fields in formation. The killing power of both sides weaponry, however, made movement difficult, although not impossible. Great German charges did push the French back in some instances, but the attackers were often too bloodied to defend against the almost immediate counter attack. It was a bloody, gory, messy, noisy, and confusing slaughter.
By the battle's end, a staggering 108 thousand German soldiers were left dying on the fields of France. Another 59 thousand French men were reported as casualties.
The French defense at the Marne proved to be all too significant, and a wave of celebration has spread throughout the ranks and peoples of France. However, this celebration may be short lived. With a monstrous German army at their doorstep, and the Italians pushing into Southern France, the situation may still prove to be in France's misfortune. It is all in the hands of the Germans; their actions may be the key to the fate of France.
2nd Battle of Alsace-Lorraine - October 5th-Ongoing
Despite the previous embarrasing defeat, the French are adamant that they will not let the Franco-Prussian war repeat itself this time. and they appear to be eager to prove their point.
On October 5th, a huge French army was spotted barrelling down on the German positions at Alsace Lorraine. The idle German troops took up arms and took to the defense.
Unlike the previous French offensive disasters, the attacks in Alsace Lorraine went a lot smoother than anticipated! Waves upon waves of Frenchmen battered the German positions, losing hundreds and thousands of men as the German machine guns kept firing and firing. The bloodshed must have been devilishly awful, for a second, third, and even fourth French attack battered the slowly shrinking German defenses. Alas, despite the time taken to fortify and defend the area, the French numbers proved too great for the cornered Germans. Overcome with losses and in search of desperately needed reinforcements, the Germans pulled back from the battlefield, taking with them a large number of Frenchmen who were too eager for a fight. Many soldiers, cavalry and infantry alike, were cut down and obliterated by the storm of artillery shells on that battlefield.
Indeed, the battle could've gone a lot smoother had it not been for one eager German cavalry commander. The German light cavalry, eager to get in the fight and save their retreating comrades pressed forward with horse, sabre, and a mighty war cry that would've killed many from fright alone.
Alas, machine guns do not become afraid. The brave German cavalrymen were cut down, along with their beautiful war horses. Man and animal lay together on that field, killed in cold blood by the machinations and automatons of man.
The French advance has halted for now, however the way into Alsace-Lorraine, and maybe even Germany itself lays open for a major French breakthrough.
The French took the field victoriously, taking a significant amount of casualties, roughly 60 thousand. Meanwhile, the retreating Germans, despite their gallant defense, took an absurd 108 thousand casualties from this battle. With German and French reinforcements arriving soon in the area, it seems that there may be more battles for Alsace Lorraine in the future. Only time will tell.
Republic of France and Kingdom of Belgium agree to a white peace.
Belgium begins to fortify.
Battle of Montenegro-October 13th-Ongoing
While the far Eastern Front was mostly quiet, the small nation of Montenegro was suddenly and deliberately attacked by a large mass of Austo-Hungarian forces. The tiny nation's military, though small and new, proved their valor in combat in what is possibly the biggest upset for the Austro-Hungarian Empire in history.
A large Austrian force pushed hard at the borders of Montenegro, but were repulsed in minor skirmishes. Then, on October 11th, the order for a General Advance was distributed throughout the Austrian army and the big push into Montenegro had begun.
The Austrian Army, seemingly already victorious, reveled in the fact that they had vastly superior numbers than the puny Montenegro army. They advanced and assaulted, ignoring the many many signs that something fishy was going on.
The Austrian forces had begun their assault on Montenegro, with heavy artillery roaring and pounding the mountain sides that protected the positions of the enemy, However, a decision from higher up was made to leave all artillery and machine guns for the later part of the assault. The guns were left behind as the main masses of infantry advanced up the hills and mountains in good order.
the Austrian soldiers, huddled together in thick formation, proved to be absolutely no match for the army of Montenegro. Unlike the Austrians, Montenegro made full use of every advantage given to them by God: the mountains, the artillery, the guns and their experienced all proved vital to the brilliant defense that, some would claim, saved the nation of Montenegro this week.
The proud Austrians, adamant that victory was at hand, continued pushing and assaulting Montenegro positions, hoping to finally overrun the enemy by weight of manpower. This, however, proved to be futile. The Montenegro troops were arrayed in a system of well entrenched fortifications in the ground. Trenches, if you will. The trenches proved invaluable to the defense, as the Austrians could not find a way to break through these thick systems of trenches. Indeed, the experience of this tiny Balkan nation had payed off, for the Austrians were pushed back and finally repelled from the mountainsides! The day was for Montenegro!
By the battle's end, 100 thousand Austrian troops lay dead or dying. A sizable amount of Montenegran troops, roughly 30 thousand, were taken in as casualties. The damage to Austrian pride, along with already sinking morale, was done.
Battle of Belgian Water - October 12th-13th
The French, blockading the coast of Belgium following their breaking of neutrality, had just pulled their navy away from the Belgian coast. The recent agreement with Belgium called for no more naval action, and the French retreated their ships back to France to await further orders.
Unfortunately for the French, a great German war fleet had fallen upon them quickly, starting a major naval engagement that would last 2 days. The French navy fought long and hard, pounding away with their large guns while smaller ships skirmished and encircled the mighty German fleet.
The Germans, eager to test their naval strength, pushed and prodded for a weakness in the French formations, where they exploited the difference in range in some of their ships' guns. The heavier German ships pounded away at the smaller French fleet, crippling and disabling many guns and systems of the French ships. Despite this, the French put up a good fight, launching shell after shell towards the heavy German ships. While most simply fell short into the ocean, many French shots met their mark. Both French and German men screamed for their mothers as fire consumed their bodies, shot ripping many men simply to pieces.
By the battle's end, the Germans emerged clearly victorious. The Germans sustained minor losses on all of their ships with only 1 sunk, while the French sustained moderate damage to their fleet. They had also lost 2 cruisers.
With this surprise German naval victory over the French, it becomes apparent to all of Europe who the new rising superpower is. With a fleet able to surpass the power of the French, the only nation who could possibly stand in Germany's way is the United Kingdom. Whether the British accept the challenge, only time will tell.
