31st August
Western Front
In August alone, the French Army has suffered over 200,000 casualities, including 10% of its officers
The British Marines evacuate Ostend
The bypassed French garrison of Givet surrenders after being bombarded by German heavy artillery
Kitchener receives a report from Sir John French that the BEF will retreat behind the Seine, effectively taking it out of the war - the “perturbed” Cabinet and Kitchener order him to cooperate with Joffre - John French angrily refuses
Kluck’s 1st Army begins to turn southeast, away from Paris, abandoning attempts to outflank the Allied left; the Schlieffen Plan is crumbling - the German turn is detected by British aerial reconnaissance; the first uncertain reports reach Joffre
Kluck takes Compiègne and crosses the Oise River
French 5th Army learns that the gap between it and the BEF is being penetrated by a German Cavalry Corps that crossed the Oise at Bailly and is moving eastward to cut off the French retreat over the Aisne - Lanrezac orders 5th Army to retreat south over the Aisne in forced marches - after a rapid advance, the German cavalry halts just before severing the main French road to the south
Foch forms a defensive line on the Retourne, north of Reims. French Army holds the line Aisne-La Vesle-Reims-Verdun.
Battle of the Grande Couronne of Nancy (31st-11th Sept.)
Joffre’s deputies argue for continuing the retreat beyond the Seine before counterattacking
A German aircraft drops leaflets on Paris announcing that the German Army will arrive in three days
Eastern Front
East Prussia: Samsonov commits suicide during Russian rout; Rennenkampf forced to begin a retreat to the frontier.
Galicia: Austrian line broken near Halicz.
Tsar Nicholas II ordered St. Petersburg be officially renamed Petrograd to confirm its Russian identity.
During August, German Airship Z IV flew a number of valuable reconnaissance missions over Mlava, Gumbinnen, Insterburg, and Tilsit. The Germans used reconnaissance by their aircraft and airships in East Prussia to good advantage, while the Russian commanders largely ignored the reports of their airmen.
At the beginning of September 1914, the disposition of German forces on the Russian Front consisted of seven Corps, two Landwehr Divisions, two Cavalry Divisions, one Cavalry Brigade, and reserves at Koenigsberg and Posen. German Armeeflugparks (air parks) were located at Posen and Graudenz.
In early September, the Germans had seven Feldfliegerabteilung (FFA) (flying sections) serving on the Northwest Front, while the Austro-Hungarians had seven Fliegerkompagnie (Fliks) on the Southwest Front.
The Russians had nine KAO's (Corps flying detachments) on the Northwest Front, plus another five on the Southwest Front. There were also Fortress AO's (flying detachments) at Kovno, Grodno, Osovets, Novogeorgievsk and Brest Litovsk.
http://www.carto1418.fr/target/19140831.html
Ship Losses:
Floriston ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean and was beached at Point Riche, Newfoundland.
Strathroy ( United Kingdom): World War I: The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) north north east of Cape São Roque, Brazil by SMS Karlsruhe ( Kaiserliche Marine).
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc. in the month - 46 ships of 67,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses)