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World War I As It Happened (1914)

@warhappened.bsky.social
803 followers 4 following 708 posts

I post stories, big and small, from the Great War, currently covering 1914. The project originally started at Twitter, x.com/WarHappened

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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Amongst its many other worries, the French Army is struggling to keep back curious war tourists, who scrounge through recently abandoned battlefields, looking for souvenirs; sometimes even disturbing the remains of fallen soldiers.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
As both sides keep on trying to outflank the adversary in northern France, bloody, but ultimately inconclusive, battles ensue; the Germans have been halted outside of Arras, but the French are unable to make a decisive counterstroke.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Tsarist Russia has a long history of anti-Jewish violence, and many Jews fled Galicia as the Austrian army retreated. Those who remain are now suffering under sporadic pogroms and forced expulsion.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Terrible violence has erupted in Russian-occupied Lemberg, where Cossacks are terrorising the local Jewish population; at least 40 Jews have been killed, ostensibly in revenge for a purported robbery in the Jewish quarter.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Repeated Russian attempts to break the defenders of Przemyśl have ended in costly failure: Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed, wounded, or captured, but the Austrian garrison remains defiant.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Indian coastal town of Madras has come under attack; hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil are burning up, courtesy of the German East Asia Squadron and its cruiser SMS Emden.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
As Papeete burns to ruin, the cruisers sail away. They are led by Maximilian von Spee, commander of the German East Asia Squadron, who is determined to inflict as much damage as possible on French and British holdings in the Far East.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The war has reached faraway Tahiti, where two German cruisers have shelled Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. When the local French garrison refused the demand to hand over its coal supply to the Germans, the bombardment of the French colony began.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"Our machine guns did excellent work; the English fell in heaps…During the first two days of the battle I had only one piece of bread and no water... War is terrible. We are all hoping that a decisive battle will end the war." The British attack failed to break through.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A German officer on the Aisne writes to his parents: "Two days ago... we were attacked by an immensely superior English force, one brigade and two battalions, and were turned out of our positions. The fellows took five guns from us. It was a tremendous hand-to-hand fight."
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
A scene in Ostend: A wounded German cavalry officer, taken prisoner, is hastily brought in for medical care by the Belgian Red Cross. A stretcher is waiting for him, on which he'll be transported to a medical ship.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
As both sides use the available forces they have to try and outflank the other, most of the forces on the Western Front, British, French and German alike, have been ordered to dig in for the time being.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
French Moroccans on their way to the front; both sides are once again on the move in France, hoping to outflank the other to the north of the Aisne.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The garrison in Przemyśl consists of soldiers from a myriad of the Empire's numerous ethnicities: Army orders are printed out in at least 15 different languages to ensure every soldier understands the new orders.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
As the battered Austrian armies in Galicia retreat towards the Carpathian Mountains, a major garrison is left behind in the fortress city of Przemyśl; Over 120.000 soldiers will soon be surrounded by advancing Russian forces.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
To not signal to the world that the German war effort has not gone as planned, Moltke's retirement is kept secret for now; the official story, once it is to be acknowledged, is that Moltke is stepping down due to health issues.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Chief of the German General Staff, Helmuth von Moltke, has been forced to step down; convinced the battle for France has broken the spirit of the beset commander, Kaiser Wilhelm has appointed Erich von Falkenhayn (pictured) as Moltke's successor.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The unprecedented severity of the last month's fighting has nearly depleted French and British artillery munition stocks: Despite receiving 20,000 new shells every day, the French Army is desperately short.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The Germans are digging in on the high ground at Chemin des Dames, where they have good vantage points on their enemies: Initial French and British attacks to dislodge them have been repulsed, with heavy losses for the attackers.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
British and French forces have reached the River Aisne; the Germans are waiting on the high banks across the river, having destroyed many of the bridges after crossing.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
The Anglo-French pursuit of the Germans is hampered not only by fatigue, but by the weather: The famously warm summer of 1914 appears to be over, as torrents of rains and heavy gales ground the reconnaissance fliers, and turn roads and fields into quagmires.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
As the exhausted Germans retire north towards the Aisne River, the equally exhausted French and British follow, kept on their toes by German rearguard forces: The Germans are retreating in good order, in spite of their desperate fatigue.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Joffre, feeling confident that the Germans are well and truly spent, happily reports to War Minister Alexandre Millerand: "La bataille de la Marne s’achève en victoire incontestable."
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Moltke, having finally made a personal visit to a number of his armies in the west, finally deduces that a broad retreat is in order: All armies on the left and centre are ordered to pull back towards Reims and St. Quentin.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Attacking at night and with fixed bayonets, thousands of soldiers belonging to the German 5th Army storm French positions around Sainte-Menehould, only to be cut down in droves by expertly directed artillery: The famous "soixante-quinzes" of the French Army are wreaking havoc.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Crown Prince Wilhelm, leading the German 5th Army, has made one final attempt at a breakthrough near Verdun, despite already suffering enormous losses to French artillery. Moltke, at first dismissing the idea, gave the go-ahead once Wilhelm threatened to go to his dad.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
War Minister Erich von Falkenhayn is also sensing that Moltke and his entourage are not up to the task: "Our General Staff has totally lost their heads, Schlieffen’s notes have come to an end and therewith also Moltke’s wit."
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
More and more German leaders are starting to doubt that Moltke can continue his leadership of the German Army; Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria is shocked to see him in the state of "a sick, broken man. His tall frame was stooped and he looked incredibly debilitated."
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The staff officers of the 1st Army are initially loath to break off the fighting outside of Paris, but Hentsch overrules them; acting as the official representative of Moltke, he orders the 1st Army to retreat.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The German 2nd Army, under intense pressure from French forces led by Franchet d'Espèrey ("Desperate Frankie"), has started a withdrawal from the Marne area; the 1st Army must now follow, lest it be completely isolated.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Richard Hentsch, after a gruelling journey through the countryside (where he was fired upon by German infantry who mistook his staff car for a French patrol), has finally reached the headquarters of the 1st Army.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Assuming the imminent collapse of France, the civilian leadership in Berlin has started to compose a memorandum outlining the post-war gains for the German Empire: Major territorial exchanges are being suggested, at the cost of France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Russia.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Richard Hentsch's cautious optimism evaporates once he reaches the 2nd Army's headquarters: von Bülow's forces are exhausted and overstretched; the gap between the 1st and 2nd Armies keeps widening; British and French forces now threaten both armies' flanks.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Many of the French soldiers currently partaking in the desperate fighting against the 3rd Army are colonial subjects, brought in from French North Africa. Britain has sent for reinforcements from the British Raj (India), but these are not expected for another few weeks.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Opposite the German 3rd Army is the newly formed French 9th, led by Ferdinand Foch, who encapsulates the offensive spirit that is much lauded by Joffre; he shouts at an orderly: "Tell Eydoux that, more than ever, I maintain my order. Offensive! Offensive! Offensive!"
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Richard Hentsch's visits to the first German armies on his itinerary give him some cautious optimism over the general situation: the 5th, 4th and 3rd Armies are all showing some progress against the French, albeit not without encountering fierce resistance.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
German communication between the field armies and the headquarters in Luxembourg is patchy at best; Moltke has not received any message from the 1st or 2nd Armies for two days; known to be moody at the best of times, he is teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Moltke, unwilling to leave his headquarters in Luxembourg, but anxious to get a clearer picture of the fighting in France, has sent one of his intelligence officers, Richard Hentsch, on a tour to the German army headquarters.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
But the Germans have artillery as well, as this supply column for the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) knows all too well: At least one man (holding his hands to his head) has been badly wounded by enemy shrapnel; a horse, wounded or shocked, stands in the distance.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The British push into the gap between the 1st and 2nd Army continues, but not without resistance: On the approaches to Signy-Signets, the enemy is encountered, and the horse-drawn artillery is readied for battle. Men of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) look on in the foreground.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Following heavy fighting throughout the night, the right wing of the German 2nd Army is pulling back, just as the 1st Army continues its shift towards the west: A major gap between the armies, only plugged by screening cavalry, is now being prodded by the slowly advancing BEF.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
George Bertrand, a French officer partaking in the fighting near Verdun, watch as a German regiment is cut down in the open: "...it is a pleasure to see enemies fall, sink to the ground, making gestures of suffering, sounding a death rattle, dying. It truly warms the heart."
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Heavy fighting is now occurring all along the western front, with both sides taking heavy losses: One German battalion of the 74th Reserve Infantry Regiment (2nd Army) ends up surrounded by French attackers; the French mow down close to 500 men before they accept their surrender.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Songwriters and jokesters amongst the British soldiers are quite happy that the general leading the closest German forces (Kluck) has a name that rhymes well with a favourite curse word of theirs. They make good use of this happy coincidence.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The British Army is once again on the march; the troops are eager to strike back at the Germans finally, but the advance is slow, far too slow in the eyes of the French. General Franchet d’Espèrey ("Desperate Frankie" to the British) repeatedly urges them to step up the pace.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Kluck, realising his flank is under threat from the French 6th Army attacking from Paris, has decided to shift his army around, not only to face the threat head-on but also to counterattack. Doing so increases the gap between the German 1st and 2nd Armies further.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Following a day of furious combat near the Ourcq River (a tributary of the Marne), both the French 6th Army and the German 1st settle into defensive positions; German soldiers can now see the glow of the massive searchlights deployed in Paris to look for zeppelins.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Kluck and his staff of the First Army are quick to realise the potential threat to their flank towards Paris, but others are not too worried: The Kaiser's court chaplain has been tasked with composing a suitable "entry text" for Paris; he is asked to keep it on the shorter side.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Following an initial precursory assault last night that was bloodily beaten back, French and British forces are now fully committed to the counterattack: The great retreat from the frontiers is over; now begins the battle to save France, near the banks of the Marne.
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
One British officer notes: "I would never have believed that men could be so tired and so hungry and yet live." But the Germans are equally tired; the German Third Army has taken a day of rest today, quite regardless of the continuing advance of the flanking armies.
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