Earlier this month, Dennis Cross published his Centennial Countdown blog posting for August 2014
He says in his email introduction:
It’s August 1914. A crisis that might have led to a third Balkan War has instead exploded into a continent-wide, and then a world-wide, conflict. By the end of the month Russia, France and Great Britain are at war with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Because those nations rule much of the globe, the war extends beyond Europe to Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and colonial troops are on their way to assist their mother countries in the battles raging on the continent. Germany invades Belgium, Russia invades East Prussia, and Great Britain sends an army across the Channel to join the French and Belgians. Two German warships escape the British in the Mediterranean. Japan joins the war, and the German East Asia Squadron flees across the Pacific. British ships attack the German High Seas Fleet in the North Sea. Austrian ships bombarding the coast of Montenegro are attacked by British and French naval forces from Malta. The Austro-Hungarian Army gets its nose bloodied in its first attack on Serbia. The United States declares its neutrality and begins a two and a half year struggle to define what that means. Pope Pius X dies of heart disease in the Vatican and Mrs. Wilson succumbs to Bright’s Disease in the White House. The President appoints Attorney General McReynolds to the United States Supreme Court, where he will gain a reputation for being racist, sexist, anti-Semitic and reactionary. The Panama Canal is officially opened to commercial traffic.“
Here’s the link to his blog posting.
Posted by: CN Editor