100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

27th August

British fall back from St. Quentin.

Battle of Malines ends.

Namur: Last of the forts reduced.

British Marines landed at Ostend, accompanied by R.N.A.S. unit.

First Battle of Lemberg (Galicia) begins.

Lille occupied by German cavalry.

Mezieres occupied by German forces.

Russians capture Halicz and Tarnopol.

Joffre meets with Sir John French, BEF commander, to discuss the situation. The atmosphere is described as tense and uneasy. Language barrier complicates the meeting. French cannot understand English, Field Marshal French hardly any French.

French Prime Minister Viviani reforms the cabinet after three weeks of war.

First attack on Mora (Cameroons).

Ship Losses:

Barley Rig ( United Kingdom): The drifter struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of five of her nine crew. The survivors were rescued by the trawler St. Clair ( United Kingdom).
HMT Crathie ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) off the mouth of the River Tyne.
Ena ( Norway): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) off Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued by a Royal Navy torpedo boat.
Gaea ( Denmark): The three-masted schooner struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of three of her six crew.
Gottfried ( Norway): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) off Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
HMT Thomas W. Irvin ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank with the loss of three of her twelve crew.

27th August.
Churchill and Kitchener both want some ammunition.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-28941528

[Sailor Steve]

August 27:

SMS Karlsruhe arrives at São João to find Stadt Schleswig waiting. She only has 800 tons of coal, so Köhler transfers that to Patagonia and sends Stadt Schleswig to São Luís with the crew of Bowes Castle aboard. Knowing that the British sailors will give away his position Köhler immediately sets course for Fernando de Noronha.

SMS Emden arrives at Tanah Jampeia, and yet again the expected collier is not there. What is there is HNLMS Marten Harpertszoon Tromp, a coast defense ship the equivalent of a small protected cruiser, still much larger than Emden, carrying a pair of 24cm (9.4") and four 15cm (5.9"), all larger than Emden's battery of ten 10cm (4.1") guns. Tromp also carries 15cm armor on the belt and 20cm on her turrets. The crew of Emden are preparing for action when they see the other ship is flying the Dutch flag. The battle flags are quickly lowered and Emden enters the bay peacefully, with Tromp following. A collier is in the bay, but hopes are dashed when she turns out to also be Dutch.

Captain von Müller goes aboard Tromp and returns with the news that a German collier had indeed been in the harbor but had been sent away, as the creation of a German coaling point would be a violation of Dutch neutrality. Emden and Markomannia leave the harbor and head north, with Tromp escorting them to the three-mile limit. As soon as the Dutch ship is out of sight the Germans turn southward toward the Lombock Straits. Since there is a good chance of the cruiser being sighted in the narrow straits, Captain von Müller orders the rigging of a false fourth funnel, which will hopefully make the ship bear a resemblence to the British Yarmouth when seen from a distance. The fake is made of wood and sailcloth and raised forward of the real funnels. According to radio reports intercepted later the funnel apparantly did its job.

[Bilge_Rat]

August 27:

"The Masquarader", written, directed and starring Charlie Chaplin and featuring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle is released.

[Sailor Steve]

Brilliant! And what a relief from the goings-on of wartime.

[TarJak]

28th August 1914

This document was started: http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG0001003/

[Sailor Steve]

August 28:

Across the northeastern front the French and British are on the run, in what would later be called "The Great Retreat." The retreat is, however, not a rout. All across northern France desperate rearguard actions are being fought against the seemingly unstoppable Germans, and the Allies are only giving their ground slowly.

American consular secretary Hugh Gibson visits Louvain, and seeing the destruction of about one-fifth of the town, as well as the fire-damaged church, speaks to a German officer. "We shall wipe it out, not one stone will stand upon another! Not one, I tell you. We will teach them to respect Germany. For generations people will come here to see what we have done!"

With the retreat, Allied air bases are also being moved almost daily. At one of them, Lieutenant Louis Strange comes up with the idea of making his own homemade bombs from petrol, or gasoline. He and his observer take up their Farman and drop these on German troops near St. Quentin. "This action sent us home very well pleased with ourselves."


On August 23 Commodore Roger Keyes, commander of British submarine forces, proposed a plan to attack German torpedo boat patrols off Jutland, in the area the British called Heligoland Bight. After being turned down by the Admiralty staff, Keyes took the plan straight to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. Churchill called a meeting, consisting of First Sea Lord Prince Louis of Battenburg, Second Sea Lord Admiral Sir Frederick Hamilton, Chief of the Admiralty Staff Vice Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee and Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt, commander of the Harwich Force, who would lead the attack.

The British main force was made up of two destroyer flotillas, comprising 31 destroyers and their two light cruiser leaders. These would be covered by six old armoured cruisers and five modern battlecruisers, who had with them four destroyers detached from the First Flotilla. Also along were eight submarines.

One person who was not informed until the last minute was the Commander-In-Chief of the Grand Fleet, Admiral John Jellicoe, since the Grand Fleet itself would not be involved. When Jellicoe was told of the plan, he immediately dispatched the First Light Cruiser Squadron, six ships, to help with the operation, but without telling anyone else.

German forces that day involved five light cruisers and nine destroyers on the spot, patrolling the outer area while a number of minesweepers did their job closer to shore. There were two more destroyer groups and six more light cruisers waiting in reserve.

At 0526 the British submarine E-9 spotted the German torpedo boat G-194 and fired a torpedo. It missed, and G-194 attempted to ram E-9. At 0650 G-194 was sighted by four destroyers of the First Flotilla. G-194 signaled for help as she ran from the British, and Rear Admiral Franz Hipper, thinking they had only four destroyers to deal with, sent the light cruisers Stettin and Frauenlob to help. At about this time the 10 ships of the German 5th Destroyer Flotilla showed up to help G-194 hunt submarines. When they saw that they were facing a light cruiser and several destroyers they tried to retreat.

The chase turned into a running battle, with the Germans desperately trying to escape. Nearby shore batteries were unable to help due to the morning fog. Soon the fight overtook the line of minesweepers, who also ran for their lives. At 0757 the two German light cruisers arrived on the scene, and Tyrwhitt had to let the smaller ships escape while he turned to deal with this new foe.

The destroyer Fearless almost immediately hit Stettin, destroying one of the cruiser's 4" guns. Stettin turned away and the destroyer did not give chase. (It should be remembered that the German light cruisers were armed with roughly the same size guns as the British destroyers, only more of them, while the British light cruisers also carried a 6" gun fore and aft.)

Tyrwhitt's flagship Arethusa was getting the worst of her fight with Frauenlob, having two of her 4" guns knocked out almost immediately, as well as the loss of her wireless and flooding in the engine room. Frauenlob was also hit several times, but suffered no critical damage. At 0830 Arethusa turned away, and Frauenlob did not give chase.

Meanwhile a group of British destroyers sank the German V-187. The British submarine E-4 fired a torpedo at Stettin and missed. Commodore Keyes, on board Lurcher, sighted two British cruisers, but in the fog he thought they were German and signalled the Battlecruisers. At 0930 a British submarine fired two torpedoes at the British cruiser Southampton. Fortunately they missed.

The Germans had sent three more cruisers, Ariadne, Cöln, and Strassburg, and these now arrived on the scene. At 1130 Mainz was attacked by Tyrwhitt's cruisers, and after a 20-minute action was sunk. Cöln and Strassburg attacked the British cruisers, but broke off when five of Beatty's battlecruisers, Invincible, Lion, New Zealand, Princess Royal and Queen Mary hove into sight. At this point the Germans beat a hasty retreat. Cöln was caught by the big guns and severely damaged, to be sunk later when the battlecruisers returned. Ariadne was spotted and sunk. Strassburg only escaped because her four-funnel configuration was similar to British cruisers, causing confusion for her attackers. Later three German battlecruisers came out, but by then the battle was long over.

The end result was a loss of four ships and 712 killed, 1,242 wounded and 336 taken prisoner for the Germans, with only severe damage, 35 killed and 40 wounded for the British. Technically a British victory, but marred by confusion and misleading signals. Neither side was happy with the result.



SMS Karlsruhe arrives at Fernando de Noronha and meets the suppy ships Asuncion, Rio Negro and Crefeld. There Captain Köhler finds he's had another lucky escape: less than two days earlier HMS Glasgow had been searching that area for the German raider. Köhler orders the other three ships to Rocas and Karlsruhe and Patagonia head southward.

[Jimbuna]

28th August

Western Front

Joffre orders the creation of a new force under Foch (which will later be designated the 9th Army) between the French 4th and 5th Armies

German forces take Montmédy, southwest of Sedan

The French fortress of Longwy, near Luxembourg, surrenders

Hard fighting north of Peronne, on the northernmost flank of the armies

British II Corps reaches the Somme, having retreated 35 miles from Le Cateau in a day and a half

British on line Noyon-Chauny-La Fere: British cavalry successful near latter.

In a rare old-fashioned cavalry charge, the British 12th Lancers ride down and spear German Uhlans at Cerizy

Haig’s proposal to coordinate an attack between his I Corps and the French 5th Army is refused by Sir John French, to the disgust of Lanrezac

The BEF abandons its forward base at Amiens

Violent meeting between Joffre and Lanrezac at Marle [830.AM]: Joffre gives direct orders for 5th Army to attack westward

The retreating French 5th Army reaches the upper Oise

Kluck begins to consider wheeling inward to catch 5th Army in the flank

Hausen’s German 3rd Army is advancing toward Rethel on the Aisne to Aug.29 - intense fighting at Signy-l’Abbaye

German forces take Fort Manonvillier, at Avricourt east of Nancy

The French 2nd Army renews its attacks in Lorraine

The French Belfort garrison advances slowly into southern Alsace

Refusing to divert troops for the defense of the capital, Joffre’s deputy Belin scoffs “What does Paris matter!”

Gallieni is given direct authority over Paris and decrees a ‘state of defense,’ intensifying work on the fortifications

Eastern Front

Russians beat Austrians at Lutzow (Galicia).

On the Northwest Front, the Germans halted the Russian 1st Army advance on Koenigsberg. The left wing of the Russian 2nd Army had fallen back 21 km without informing General Samsonov. In a disastrous defeat, the 2nd Army lost over 92,000 prisoners with over 30,000 killed, wounded or drowned at the Battle of Tannenberg. The Germans captured over 500 guns and 400,000 artillery shells. Germans losses were put at between 10-15,000 men.

German Zeppelin Z V, flying in heavy rain during a bombing raid on Mlava, was shot down by Russian ground fire, the entire crew was captured, while Z.V commander Hauptman Ernst Gruener was killed.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Battle of Bight of Helgoland: the German cruisers "Mainz", "Koln", and "Ariadne" sunk.

Ship Losses:

SMS Ariadne: Battle of Heligoland Bight: The Gazelle-class light cruiser was shelled and sunk in the Heligoland Bight by HMS Lion, HMS Queen Mary and HMS Princess Royal (all Royal Navy)
SMS Cöln : Battle of Heligoland Bight: The Kolberg-class light cruiser was shelled and sunk in the Heligoland Bight by HMS Lion, HMS Queen Mary and HMS Princess Royal (all Royal Navy) with the loss of 484 of her 485 crew.
SMS Mainz: Battle of Heligoland Bight: The Kolberg-class light cruiser was shelled and sunk in the Heligoland Bight by HMS Lion, HMS Queen Mary and HMS Princess Royal (all Royal Navy) with the loss of 89 of her 437 crew.
SMS V187: Battle of Heligoland Bight: The V180-class destroyer was shelled and sunk in the Heligoland Bight by Royal Navy warships.

[TarJak]

29 August 1914

In Australia’s first coalition operation, a New Zealand Expeditionary Force of 1400 troops landed at Apia, Western Samoa, covered by the guns of HMAS AUSTRALIA, and the cruisers HMAS MELBOuRNE, HMS PSYCHE, HMS PYRAMUS, HMS PHILOMEL and the French MONTCALM. With no troops to defend the islands, the German Administrator surrendered on 30 August. The wireless station and harbour facilities were thereafter denied to Von Spee’s squadron.


http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/in...nex-samoa-1914

The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser published this story about the capture of a Russian Volunteer Fleet Steamer by SMS Emden: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspap...829-1.2.8.aspx

Meanwhile in the Indian Ocean, SMS EMDEN steamed sixty or seventy miles off the coast of Sumatra. Nothing unusual had happened for days and the crew spent most of their time in work detail. Upkeep was difficult in the tropics and though everything was done to keep the EMDEN neat and trim, she slowly deteriorated from the wear and tear of repeated coaling operations. Paint for touch ups had run out and much of the pain on the superstructure had started to turn a shabby rust colour. The First officer was still not pleased with the fourth "funnel" that had been fitted to disguise EMDEN as a British cruiser. He suggested to the skipper that a better one be built and once it was in place an untrained eye could mistake the EMDEN for a British cruiser such as the YARMOUTH. The MARKOMANNIA was ordered to come alongside EMDEN and assist with the alignment of the false funnel. With a boiler installed below, it would even provide a convincing puff of "smoke" when needed.

Despite there still being plenty of fresh water on board, fresh food was now becoming scarce and the cooks resorted to serving up corned beef in various disguises. Most troubling however was the shortage of soap. Soapsuds were used first to wash the crew, then the laundry and finally the ship. The Chinese laundrymen held to a tiny ration, turned out uniforms in an unsightly grey colour like that of the wooden decks.

Arras evacuated by the French forces.

First Battle of Guise begins. Following the fall of Charleroi and the British withdrawal from Mons, the French Fifth Army was also retreating south to the Oise river. The French made a counter-attack at the Battle of Guise (29th August 1914) in the area of St. Quentin and Guise to hold a line there north of the Oise river on 29th August. The position at Guise was, however, precarious and the order was given to withdraw. The French Fifth Army continued its retreat south across the river Oise, destroying the bridges behind it.

By the end of August the French and the German Armies had sustained some 300,000 casualties, including wounded or killed, on both sides. The German advance had successfully penetrated the French border in several places and was pressing on with its advance following on the heels of the French and British forces withdrawing in a south-easterly direction.

The Women’s Defense Relief Corps is formed in Britain. Though women’s rights organizations in Britain had initially opposed the country’s entrance into the First World War, they reversed their position soon enough, recognizing the potential of the war effort to gain advancement for British women on the home front. As early as August 6, 1914, just one day after Britain declared war on Germany, an article published in the women’s suffrage newspaper Common Cause stated that: "In the midst of this time of terrible anxiety and grief, it is some little comfort to think that our large organization, which has been completely built up during past years to promote women’s suffrage, can be used to help our country through the period of strain and sorrow."

In addition to the two nursing organizations that existed in 1914—the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) and the Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs)—several new women’s organizations sprung into being over the course of the war. Created with the support of the British secretary of state for war, Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, the Women’s Defense Relief Corps came into being in late August 1914. The corps was made up of two divisions: a civil section, the goal of which was to substitute women for men in factories and other places of employment in order to free those men for military service; and a "semi-military" or "good citizen" section, where women were actively recruited for the armed forces. This latter group was trained in drilling, marching and the use of arms; its members were exhorted to protect not only themselves but their loved ones on the home front in case of possible invasion by the enemy.

Sedan taken by German forces.

German airship "Z.-5" brought down by gunfire at Mlawa (Poland).

Found this clear map that gives an overview of the Western Front from 1914-18:

[Jimbuna]

British retire to line Compiegne-Soissons.

Germans occupy La Fere, Rethel, Amiens.

Joffre meets with Sir John French at Compiègne, but is unable to persuade him to halt the BEF’s retreat.

John French orders the main British base to be moved from Le Havre to St Nazaire.

The surrounded French fortress at Maubeuge is subjected to bombardment by German heavy artillery.

Distant gunfire can be heard in Paris.

Gallieni’s authority is extended to a twenty mile radius around the capital.

Cameroons: British reverse at Garua.

Samoa: German portion occupied by New Zealand troops.

Journalist J. Luckman for the NY Tribune and London Standard makes a claim that modern bullets cause “little pain” due to their small size.

First elements of the Canadian expeditionary force set sail towards Europe.

East Prussia: Battle of Tannenberg ends in the rout of Samsonov's Second Army.

On the Southwest Front, Ruzskiy's Russian 3rd Army defeated the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army at Lutzow on the Zlota Lipa River, and continued their advance on Lemberg.

On the Southwest Front, Russian forces repulsed an Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army counter-offensive on the Gnila Lipa River in Galicia. The Austro-Hungarians lost 20,000 prisoners, with many killed in action. The Russian 8th Army captured Halicz, on the Dniester River.

Tsar Nicholas II approved a decision to establish the All-Russian Union of Towns and Cities, limiting its existence to the duration of the war.

Samoa: German portion occupied by New Zealand troops.

Ship Losses:

Dargai ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship ran aground on the English Bank, in the Atlantic Ocean off Montevideo, Uruguay and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.

[TarJak]

Just found this that fits into 27th August: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-2...74?section=ww1

[Jimbuna]

30th August

Western Front

Lanrezac’s increasingly exposed French 5th Army belatedly receives orders to resume its retreat

Bülow asks Kluck to wheel inward - Kluck decides to disregard the BEF and turn the German 1st Army southeast away from Paris in order to roll up and destroy the retreating 5th Army

Charles Mangin is given command of a division in the French 5th Army

Large gaps have opened between the German right and center

Sir John French informs Joffre that the BEF won’t be able to fight for another ten days, although the British troops are in relatively good shape

British III Corps is formed under Pulteney

The Germans occupy Laon, Noyon and La Fère

Foch formally takes command of the detachment (which later becomes the 9th Army) forming in the gap between the French 4th and 5th Armies - Foch’s force crosses the Aisne

Joffre sacks Ruffey and installs Sarrail as commander of French 3rd Army

Moltke fails to end the German Lorraine offensive, though he knows that it’s stalled and that the French are transferring troops north

The French 2nd Army attacks around Luneville, to Aug.31

Joffre and Gallieni advise the divided French government to leave the capital as soon as possible

The first bombing of Paris by a German aircraft kills two civilians - the first black-out is enforced in the city

The French government suppresses German atrocity stories.

German Zeppelin LZ 20 is forced down due to ground fire; crew is captured.



Eastern Front

In East Prussia, Francois's German Corps took Neidenburg. The Russians began retreating to Ortelsburg. The Germans completed their rout of Samsonov's forces at Tannenberg. Samsonov's flanks had collapsed, his center had been surrounded, and his 2nd Army was almost completely destroyed at the Battle of Tannenberg, with the XIII, XV and XVIII Corps being literally wiped out. The badly mauled I and VI Corps managed to retreat south through Mlava and Mychinets. Over 70,000 Russians were killed, another 100,000 were made prisoner. General Samsonov committed suicide with his revolver in the woods. The Russian 1st Army was forced to retreat to the frontier. Russia's hope for a quick victory in East Prussia was dashed. It would not be a short war as many had hoped.

The first Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia was soundly defeated with heavy losses. Not to be denied, Austria-Hungary immediately began plans for a second invasion. A tenuous supply route existed through Serbia to Russia that enabled some limited military goods to flow both ways along the Danube River.

On the Southwest Front, the Austro-Hungarian 1st Army had penetrated 100 kilometers into Southern Poland. In Galicia, the Russian 8th Army broke through Austro-Hungarian lines near Halicz (Galich).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Cameroons: British occupy Nsanakong.

Political, etc.

Intended to encourage enlistment, the ‘Amiens dispatch’ appears in the London Times, describing the BEF as “grievously injured” and retreating - the first open intimation of the gravity of the situation, stunning the British public rebuttal, anonymously written by Churchill, is printed by the government.

1,300 women march down Fifth Avenue in New York City in protest against war.

Ship Losses:

Rion ( United Kingdom): The tanker was run in to by Serrana ( United Kingdom) and seriously damaged in the English Channel 9 nautical miles (17 km) south south west of Newhaven, East Sussex. She was consequently beached 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) west of Newhaven.

[TarJak]

30 August

VADM Sir George Patey, RN, in HMAS AUSTRALIA, arrived of Samoa, and the official surrender of German Samoa took place. The squadron comprised AUSTRALIA, HMA Ships MELBOURNE, and PSYCHE , and HM Ships PYRAMUS and PHILOMEL.


RAN and RN officers arrive on Samoa carrying the demand for surrender.



The raising of the Union flag at Government Building in Apia.

On board SMS EMDEN, as was usual for a Sunday, church services were held on deck. Later that evening, heavy radoi traffic between allied warships was picked up. The vessel transmitting the most, was passing on orders for others to follow and signed off QMD. Muller assumed that it was the British armoured cruiser HAMPSHIRE. War bulletings from the Siamese station at Singora and the Dutch coastal station could be heard almost nightly. Some of the news from neutral Siam was cause for joy. Due to rapid advances by the Germans, the French government had to relocate to Bordeaux. The army was making progress. When would the EMDEN get their chance?

[Sailor Steve]

The first bombing of Paris by a German aircraft kills two civilians - the first black-out is enforced in the city

This mission was performed by Leutnant Ferdinand von Hiddessen, flying a Rumpler Taube. He dropped four small hand-held bombs weighing 5 pounds each, and a case full of leaflets. The papers read "The German Army stands before the gates of Paris. You can do nothing but surrender." Von Hiddessen would later be shot down and taken prisoner, but would survive the war and live until 1971.

Taube


A later painting of the event




As is common everywhere, the calling up of young men to war in Austria was not always popular:
"These simple, starving, bewildered lads and men, who have had nothing but misery all their lives, are being driven to their deaths, or crippled, and nobody gives a tuppeny damn about it afterwards. The streets are filling with pitiful women, who are already pale and ill, but still have the strength of soul not to let their menfolk see how it affects them. Today, in my street, there was a woman who fell on her husband's neck like one demented, because he was having to leave, carrying his few worldly goods in a piece of sacking. Yet the recruits are docile, and grateful for a friendly look"
-Oskar Kokoschka, painter, in a letter to a friend. Quoted from The First World War, by Martin Gilbert, p.46

Later that evening, heavy radoi traffic between allied warships was picked up. The vessel transmitting the most, was passing on orders for others to follow and signed off QMD. Muller assumed that it was the British armoured cruiser HAMPSHIRE.

The first such message had been intercepted on the night of August 13. There was some debate about the identity of the sender. The officers of Emden at first thought it was HMS Minotaur. Only later did they decide it was likely Hampshire, and they still weren't sure until they had been taken prisoner and had it confirmed by their captors.

[Jimbuna]

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)