On November 30th 2014, Dennis Cross published the latest instalment to his Centennial Countdown blog. Here is his email summary of the posting:
“As the fourth month of the Great War draws to a close, it looks like the Kaiser’s promise that his troops would be home before the leaves fell was overoptimistic. Vigorous attacks and horrific casualties on both the Eastern and Western Fronts have resulted in little if any gain for either side. General Paul von Hindenburg is the new commander in chief of the German army in the East, with General Erich Ludendorff as his deputy. A German attack in Poland heads off a planned Russian offensive, but is turned back by the Russians at Lodz. On the Western Front, armies dig in on both sides as fighting rages around the Belgian town of Ypres. The British Admiralty declares the North Sea a war zone. In the Pacific, the German East Asia Squadron inflicts a devastating defeat on a Royal Navy squadron off the coast of Chile. In the Indian Ocean, the Emden is attacked and sunk by an Australian cruiser. Revolutionists compete for supremacy in Mexico as the United States’ occupation of Veracruz comes to an end. In mid-term elections in the United States, the Democratic Party loses seats but retains control of both houses of Congress. Harvard and Army score big wins on the gridiron. West Point’s senior class will become known as “the class the stars fell on” because of the number of them who become generals, including Five-Star Generals Eisenhower and Bradley (future Four-Star General James van Fleet is Army’s starting right halfback).”
The full blog post can be read here.
Posted by: Ellen Tranter, Centenary News