That little article on the right! :har:

"Area drunkard declares war on Ireland - Ale-house peers fall in as allies"

July 25, 1500 hours: Serbia starts to mobilize its army.

1800: Serbia replies to Austria agreeing to nine of the ten points in the ultimatum. On the point of Austrian involvement in Serbian internal affairs, Serbia asks for a decision from an international tribunal.

1830: Baron Giesl, the Austrian ambassador to Serbia, leaves Belgrade.

[edit] Jamie, I have to thank you for those BBC day-by-day links. They are free to download and very helpful. I'm also thoroughly enjoying the old BBC documentary The Great War. It is every bit as good as their later The World At War, on WWII.

@Sailor Steve: Since you have a hobby that's about WW1 Aircraft and aviation there this gem of a documentary series regarding the subject if you haven't seen it already.

4 years of Thunder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Qrx7pO65Y
(the other parts can be found in the playlist)

Ah, good, I'm glad that you can download it in the States, it's hard to tell sometimes with the Beeb. :yeah:

The western front in the first world war and now – interactive gallery showing then and now shot of sites in France and Belgium.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddes...ow-interactive

:rotfl2:

Thanks. Not only have I seen it, but I have a copy. :sunny:

"If there is ever another war in Europe, it will come out of some damned silly thing in the Balkans" - Attributed to way too many people.

I have read a lot of stuff in the recent years, about WW1 and its beginnings, but the best books were "Die U-Boote des Kaisers" concentrating on politics not U-boats despite the title, Niall Ferguson's "The pity of war" and Christopher Clark's "The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914".

Have also Barbara Tuchmann and Fritz Fischer, but i must say despite the latter's reputation, his argumentation and conclusions are biased and wrong – probably to blame on the immediate post WW2 war reeducation and the will to condemn certain events .. sympathetic and understandable, and good for the coalescence of the european peoples, but still very wrong.
Then there are the sources of the belgian-german embassies letter exchanges, a real eye opener.

We have had numerous exchanges on history websites, also in 'The aerodrome' forum (my hobby being WW1 planes and airships), and the more you know and read, more and more pieces fall into the right place and form a good mosaique.

Thanks aktungbby, interesting paintings !

@ Sailor Steve, just read WW! aviation is also a hobby of yours ?

Greetings,
Catfish

26th July 1914

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ral_Putnik.jpg

The leader of the Serbian Army, Field Marshall Radomir Putnik rushed back with one of his daughters to Serbia from his summer holiday in Austria-Hungary by train to Belgrade.
When passing Budapest, however, a number of officers entered his carriage and placed him under arrest. His release was eventually secured by Emperor Franz-Joseph in a chivalrous gesture.
Unfortunately for Franz-Joseph, Putnik would go on to direct the defence of Serbia against Austria-Hungary, driving the Austrians back out of Serbia by December 1914.

Yes, I've been a fan and student of aviation since I was ten or so, so for the last fifty years at least. I really got into collecting books on aviation and naval history through my wargaming activities. And yes, currently World War 1 is the focus of my studies and modelbuilding.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=192145
(The real fun starts on page 6)

Oh, and yes, I am also an avid reader of the Aerodrome. I've been thinking of starting a thread there about early German two-seater rigging, but haven't gotten to it yet.

@ Oberon: Thanks for filling in events of the 26th. Not one of my books mentions anything of interest for that date.

The 26th was also the date when the failed British attempt to prevent war was mulled, Britain tried to get the four major powers not involved in the current crisis (France, Italy, Germany and Britain) to a conference to try and enforce some solution on the situation.

Wouldn't have 'cut much ice' with Elsie Prescott of Putnam Valley, New York, who received $1000 ($23,834 today) in damages after she was scalded by hot coffee.

Today marks the date when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia starting the Great War.

http://bna.opblog.brightsolid.com/wp...ria-serbia.jpg
Aberdeen Journal – Wednesday 29 July 1914