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CAILLAUX AND MALVY ARRESTED!

The Ministry of Justice has announced that Sunday afternoon it had arrested on charges of treason both Joseph Caillaux, a former prime minister, and Louis Malvy, the former Minister of Interior. The government has not yet released details pertaining to these very serious charges. The arrests of these prominent politicians have stunned the nation. Coming on the heels of the controversial execution of the Irish demagogue, Eamon de Valera, these arrests are seen as another sign that Prime Minister Clemenceau has little tolerance for any form of dissent."

---Le Figaro Monday May 24, 1915

------10 Downing St. 0905 hrs

The War Committee was again in session. "What is the latest news from the Admiralty, Sir Edward?" Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law demanded from Carson at the start.

"We now have some good intelligence, prime minister, that the German fleet left Cork and is now on its way to rendezvous with Admiral von Spee's squadron west of Galway this afternoon."

"And are the Sea Lords still adverse to another fleet action at this time?"

Carson frowned deeply and shook his head, "Intractably so, prime minister, much to my disgust and dismay."

Bonar Law shook his head as well, "Is this all about Warspite?"

"Mostly but not completely, prime minister. Admiral Bayly would prefer to wait for Temeraire to rejoin the Grand Fleet as well. The Admiralty also hopes that our submarines may be able to weaken the German battle fleet in the next few days."

"I cannot begin to express my dissatisfaction with this policy, but I am not the fool that Sir Winston was to impose my personal whimsy on the Admiralty."

"Neither am I, prime minister."

"What do they think von Ingenohl will do after rendezvousing with von Spee?"

"The admirals are in complete agreement that after the rendezvous, he will return immediately to Cork to unload the so called American Volunteer Brigade and coal his warships. They are not in agreement about what he is likely to do after that. Some feel the most likely course of action is for him to return to Germany with the liners von Spee escorted from the United States which hold considerable quantities of contraband. Others are not so sure feeling that he may remain in Ireland for a week or even more supporting commerce raiding in the Western Approaches and only then return to Germany. Another sortie into the Channel to pick up more supplies and reinforcements at Boulogne and Calais is possible as well."

"Hmm and when they do return home will they stay put while most of their capital ships are being repaired?"

Carson paused before replying, "You had dinner with the king again last night, prime minister. Are you asking me if there is any justification to his fears that the Germans will invade England next?"

"Yes, yes, that is quite obviously my foremost concern."

Again Carson paused before answering, "Admiral Wilson is starting to share His Majesty's concerns about an invasion of England, prime minister. However all the other admirals I have consulted regard it as only a remote possibility but not one that can be completely ignored."

"So there is a real threat after all? Does that mean that we were we rash to send another division to Ireland?"

Carson shook his head emphatically, "No, not at all, I am completely convinced that we were fully justified in sending the 13^th Division to Ireland."

Bonar Law turned to Kitchener, "And what about you, field marshal? Do you concur with the First Lord on this matter?"

"Yes I do, prime minister. There can be no talk of sacrificing Ireland to save England. We simply must turn things around in Ireland. For that reason not only was committing the 13^th Division amply justified but so too is the use of the U.V.F. to crush the Papist traitors once and for all."

"Before we move on to that topic, field marshal, this committee would like to know just what is happening in Ireland. As a start has Limerick finally succumbed to General Wilson's attack?"

Even though this question had been anticipated a stern frown manifested itself on Kitchener's face, "No it has not, prime minister."

"Well has our army at least broken into the city?"

"Not yet, prime minister, at least according to the last dispatch from General Hamilton. However our attacks continue apace and General Wilson remains confident that the German marines are on their last legs."

"We have all heard that before, Lord Kitchener. Many, many times before. For that matter so has Parliament," Bonar Law stated with barely concealed sarcasm.

Kitchener gave the prime minister an icy stare but made no immediate response. Lloyd-George spoke next, "Has General Hamilton managed at least to halt the attempt by the Germans to lift the siege, field marshal?"

Kitchener's expression became slightly less dour as he turned towards Lloyd-George, "That is correct, Chancellor. In fact General Hamilton speaks of a promising counterattack currently underway against the very weak 6^th Bavarian Division. If it succeeds we might be able rupture the enemy center completely."

"That is encouraging, but what about up north? Has there been any progress made at Athlone, Sligo or County Tyrone?" asked Lloyd-George.

"A large band of rebels was turned away from Omagh yesterday, chancellor. That should give Ulster a breathing space whilst we ready the U.V.F."

Bonar Law turned to Carson, "Well, Sir Edward, have you finalized the plan for partially mobilizing the U.V.F. we discussed Friday?"

"Yes, I have, prime minister, even though it turned out to be more complicated than I had anticipated. I have with me the original and four copies of the plan," replied Carson who then opened a briefcase and extracted from it five documents each of 13 pages. He quickly distributed the documents to the other members of the War Committee.

After scanning the first page, Grey cleared his throat and said, "There is a lot here, First Lord. Wouldn't it be best if we postponed our discussion until tomorrow so we can digest this plan properly?"

"No, no, no!" replied Bonar Law, "The details in this plan are proof of Sir Edward's thoroughness but there is no good reason for us to debate the details. Correct me if I am wrong, Lord Kitchener but there are no signs as yet that the rebels are disbanding?"

"That is correct, prime minister. Turning the righteous fury of the Orangemen on them will surely persuade those lucky enough to survive to disband."

"Precisely. So now let us review this plan that Sir Edward worked so diligently to prepare despite all his other pressing duties. Everyone take a few minutes to read it over and then we can discuss it and take a vote."

The plan Carson had produced combined procedural details such as which battalions of the U.V.F. would be mobilized with how many men and who would lead them with some discussion of what the legal status of this armed paramilitary organization would be and how it would interact with both the British Army and the Royal Irish Constabulary. There was even a good sized paragraph about demobilizing when it was no longer needed. Lloyd-George was not particularly interested in the list of battalions and skipped over most of that information. He was disappointed that there wasn't some process spelled out for excluding workers in key war related industries from the mobilization process. This was something he had suggested to Carson late Friday. Lloyd-George also noticed that the prime minister went through his copy very quickly and guessed that Carson had very likely provided him with a preliminary draft sometime yesterday.

Lloyd-George finished reading a minute before Kitchener and noticed the prime minister was already tapping his fingers impatiently. Grey continued to read intensely causing Bonar Law to complain, "You don't need to memorize it, Sir Edward."

Grey looked up. It was obvious which 'Sir Edward' the prime minister was addressing. "I am not memorizing it per se prime minister, but some of the legal nuances of this plan require serious reflection. I believe we need to have the attorney general counsel us on several issues it raises before we can go forward."

The prime minister snorted and shook his head, but it was Carson who spoke, "The attorney general helped me write the sections you are referring to, Sir Edward. You have my assurance that there is nothing here that troubles him in the slightest."

"Satisfied?" asked Bonar Law arching his right eyebrow.

"Uh, only partially, prime minister," Grey replied, "I would really appreciate an opportunity to question Smith in person before reaching a conclusion. There may be significant revisions that may need to be made to some of the paragraphs."

"We don't have time for that!" roared Bonar Law as he slammed right fist on his desk, "As we speak there is a dangerously strong rebel force in County Tyrone and the rebels continue to control Sligo and Athlone. If we approve this plan now, repeat now, the First Lord has assured me that we can have 20,000 Ulster Volunteers ready for action early tomorrow morning. They are urgently needed"

"Has the situation in Ireland deteriorated so much that waiting until this evening could spell disaster?"countered the Foreign Secretary. Immediately after saying it he wondered with some regret if he was being too blunt. Kitchener, Carson and the prime minister glared daggers at him. He turned to his fellow Liberal hoping for some understanding.

There was a strange look on the face of the Welsh Wizard, sympathetic but also calculating, as he said, "It would, I think, be productive to make a distinction between the basic idea of this plan, which is to mobilize 20,000 Ulster Volunteers in the next 24 hours, and all the ancillary details. I too have some concerns about the latter which I would like very much to discuss with the attorney general, though in my case I think a simple telephone call should suffice. So what I propose is that we plan on reconvening this evening say around 7 to iron out the nitty-gritty. That would give us plenty of time to consult with Smith. However in the meantime we go ahead and grant the First Lord's plan tentative approval so he can set the process in motion. This way very little time will be lost."

Grey's sigh was audible. While he did have reservations about certain details, in fact he remained deeply opposed to the whole ideas and was using the details as a pretext to delay the new policy. He realized that Lloyd-George had very likely surmised this and so the chancellor must be deliberately boxing him into a very awkward situation..

Bonar Law sighed as well. His facial expression was deeply ambivalent. "We are all so terribly busy right now that scheduling another meeting today borders on being an act of intolerable cruelty. However I will concede that the chancellor makes a decent point. What is important is that the partial mobilization of the U.V.F. commence as soon as this meeting is over. If there are a few issues with some of the details---though I don't see any myself---then by all means talk with Smith today and then we can consider some minor alterations tonight perhaps over supper. But for the time being can we at least agree on the heart of the matter so the First Lord can go ahead and start the mobilization process?"

At this four heads turned to stare at Grey. There was an uneasy silence for nearly a minute. "I am not sure what to say, prime minister," the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs admitted candidly, "I still have some strong reservations about using the U.V.F. at all and some of what you and the chancellor are calling minor details may have some bearing on the prudency on the whole enterprise."

Grey feared this would provoke the prime minister's wrath but to his relief he replied in a surprisingly calm voice, "A week ago I myself had very strong reservations about using the U.V.F. However I was at that time firmly convinced that the destruction of the main rebel body at Dublin would be the end of the rebellion. That guess has not been confirmed by the facts of the last few days. General Hamilton has his hands full with the Germans and Austrians. He has too little to spare to deal with the rebels which is why they have been able to run hog wild in Connaught and even threaten Ulster. I still do not like using the U.V.F. but I see no alternative. This government is hanging by a thread right now. Desperate measures are required. Surely you must be able to see that."

Grey was mildly surprised by the prime minister's candor in acknowledging the precarious political situation. It was that most of all which was putting his feet to the fire in regards to Ireland at this moment. He looked at Lloyd-George once again for some sign of support but instead he saw that the chancellor was in full agreement with the prime minister. Grey remained silent for nearly a minute. He was starting to sweat.

"Well what is going to be, lad?" asked an impatient Bonar Law.

Part of Grey wanted to stand on principle, but he was aware as the rest of them that things were not going well in Ireland and if they did not improve soon it could seriously impact the outcome of the war. The point about desperate measures being required was not lost on him. He squirmed in his seat finding it uncomfortable to meet any of the eight eyes staring at him. He felt like a lone holdout juror at the end of a lengthy criminal trial.

"I have previously mentioned that we should have someone record minutes of these minutes of these meetings," he finally said.

Bonar Law's face first showed surprise which then gave way to irritation, "Yes, you have. When it was just three of us we felt it wasn't necessary, but now there are five perhaps it might be useful. However I will point out that you are still evading the key question before us right now. Do we approve the limited use of the U.V.F. against the Catholic rebels in Ireland?"

Grey nodded slightly, "Yes, it might seem like I am evading the question. The reason I wish for formal minutes this session is I would like my vote to be recorded as an abstention. If the rest of you feel that this drastic step is urgently needed, I do not want my reservations to disrupt the decision making process of this government. However I still insist on an evening session to review and possibly revise elements of the First Lord's plan."

Bonar Law rolled his eyes and snorted then shook his head. "You are posturing, Sir Edward," said Kitchener pointing his finger at the Foreign Secretary.

Lloyd-George on the other smiled beatifically and said, "Now, now. Sir Edward is acting in good conscience and we should commend him for it. As for minutes I would be more than happy to compose a set for this session and the one this evening. There is no need to bring in an outsider to fill that role. If there are no objections I shall record four votes and one abstention on the motion to start a partial mobilization of the U.V.F. effective immediately." At that extracted a small notepad and a pen from inside his jacket and soon commenced scribbling.

"Well then that's over and done with. Now then what is the next urgent piece of business we need to discuss?" asked the prime minister.

"The Admiralty wants us to formally declare a 200 nautical mile zone around Ireland where we reserve the right to inspect all neutral shipping. Any neutral suspected of transporting supplies to either the Germans or the Irish rebels will be seized."

"This is contrary to the provisions of the Treaty of the Hague!" protested Grey.

"More importantly, might I ask why is it needed?" asked Bonar Law.

"We have good intelligence, prime minister, that in the last few days the Germans have purchased supplies and are now shipping them in neutral flagged vessels with instructions to go to Cork. These supplies fall into two categories. The first category is items such as coal which we believe are to be used by the Germans in Ireland. The second category is contraband such as copper which we believe are being sent to Ireland which is to serve as a depot. From there the Germans intend to transfer the contraband to their own hulls and then use their battle fleet to escort it home in a large convoy."

"Yet another reason why it is important for us to win in Ireland as quickly as possible!" Lord Kitchener commented.

"I am wondering though why this new proclamation is necessary?" asked Lloyd-George, "If we know that certain neutral flagged ships are heading for Ireland with cargoes we do not want to get there, then why don't we stop and seize only those vessels?"

"A good question, chancellor," replied Carson, "The answer is in two parts. First is that we have no right to stop much less seize neutral vessels on the high seas unless we declare a war zone, such as we have done in the North Sea and the English Channel. Yes, there are problems with the Hague Treaty, which I am sure Sir Edward will inform us anon. However there are those who say that even our current blockade of the Central Powers already violates the Hague, which is one reason why we do not publicly label it as such. So you see we are already impure by the high standards of Caesar's wife."

"A fitting analogy, First Lord. So by declaring a war zone around Ireland we provide the Royal Navy full justification to intercept these vessels," spoke the prime minister, "But what is your second reason?"

"Our intelligence apparatus is very good, prime minister, but it is by no means perfect. As an example, we did not know about a Spanish vessel bringing riding horses to Cork until nearly a day after she left la Coruna. This made it impossible for the Royal Navy to intercept her until she was close enough to Ireland that the presence of the German fleet at Cork made it too dangerous to do so. We believe it to be likely that there are some neutral merchantmen employed by the Huns that we have not discovered. For that reason it is desirable for us to inspect any and all neutral merchantmen within the proposed 200 mile zone."

"We are having trouble with Spain right now. Intercepting that freighter far from Ireland would have seriously aggravated an already tense situation," Grey remarked.

"The Spanish are of little importance. They are a weak nation wallowing in fading memories of past grandeur," said Bonar Law.

"That may well be true, prime minister," said Lloyd-George, "but it is also an inconvertible fact that we are very dependent on them for iron ore while they are much less dependent on us for coal than say Italy is. In this war dominated by material it would be unwise to provoke the Spanish."

"Just as it is unwise for us to further provoke the United States which I am guessing accounts for more than half of the neutral vessels the Germans are using," added Grey.

Bonar Law shook his head wearily then declared, "We cannot sit back and let the Germans get away with this!"

"Hear, hear!" said Kitchener.

"Prime Minister, for the sake of king and country I very reluctantly stood aside concerning the U.V.F. but to have this latest proposal from the Admiralty sprung upon us out of nowhere is simply intolerable," replied Sir Edward Grey huffily, "If you want to put this to vote today then I can tell you right now that I will vote against it plain and simple. Give me time to study it proper then I might be open to persuasion."

The prime minister opened his mouth to respond but before he did Lloyd-George jumped in, "These neutral cargo ships must be at least a week away from arriving at Ireland. Therefore there is no compelling reason why this measure needs to be decided today. If given time to study it I think I can be persuaded as to its necessity but I will not vote for it today."

Bonar Law and Carson exchanged glances then the latter said, "The Sea Lords have themselves debated the proposed policy and---"

"---The Sea Lords are not experts on diplomacy and foreign relations!" interrupted Grey.

Carson permitted himself to show only a trace of the irritation he now felt "I understand that, Sir Edward, but if you would let me finish what I was going to say before I was interrupted, it is that while they would like the proclamation as soon as possible they readily concede that it has diplomatic ratifications and if need be can wait until the end of the month. As you have done me a favor in regards to mobilizing the U.V.F. let me return the favor by concurring with you that a decision on this matter can wait a day or two."

------Dessie (Abyssinia) 0920 hrs

The Battle of Dessie had turned into an awkward chase. The British expeditionary force along with Zauditu's followers had retreated all night along the road leading back to Gondar with an Indian battalion being used as a rearguard. The Abyssinian army had pursued and engaged in a series of small engagements with the Indians. Casualties from this night fighting were running about 3 to 2 in the Indians' favor. In the daylight this ratio improved to about 5 to 2. This ratio of exchange was high enough to discourage Iyasu's forces from pressing their pursuit as hard as possible but not high enough to tempt General Lee to turn around and attack.

------Madrid 0930

King Alphonso had arrived at the Cortes to deliver an address, "Esteemed gentlemen of the Cortes, we have come here to address you on a topic of mounting concern. While Spain has wisely avoided becoming entangled in the great war currently raging in Europe we are not blissfully oblivious to what is going on. One aspect that has gripped our attention is the current attempt by the valiant Irish population to throw off the yoke of British oppression with the help of the Germans. This should sound familiar to those of you who are well versed in our nation's glorious past as we too once undertook the very same mission of mercy.

The Irish people sent us a remarkable man to plead their cause to us. His name was Eamon de Valera, a strangely Spanish sounding name for an Irishman. Apparently his father was Spanish. His brave speeches were an inspiration to many of our people. He turned the hearts of many. So much so that so that representatives of the British government put ever increasing pressure on us to turn senor de Valera over to them. We are not going to go into specifics but we will say that this pressure included some thinly veiled threats of a dire nature."

The king paused to let his last remark sink in. It was in fact something of a half-truth. What threats there were had been mostly the usual vague hints that it was terribly unwise to displease the world's mightiest empire. The king was not bothered by this distortion. It shocked the Spanish legislators as he hoped it would. Many gestured and cried out in outrage.

The monarch continued, "Our dear countrymen, we must now confess to making a mistake. Believing that we were acting in the best interest of our nation we struck a deal in secret with the British diplomats. We released senor de Valera to the custody of the French with the understanding that they in turn will turn him over to the British. We did it this way because the German navy is currently in Ireland and makes sea traffic between Britain and our nation precarious. However we made it a condition of our releasing senor de Valera that the British promise not to execute him."

The king again paused. This last statement had an even more tenuous relationship to the truth. In negotiating with the British diplomats, incl. the ambassador, Alphonso had repeatedly advocated sparing de Valera's life but all he could secure from them was a promise to "seriously consider" clemency and that if de Valera was executed it would come after a proper trial in England like Connolly had, not one of the military courts the British Army had instituted in Ireland. They did promise that this trial would not happen for at least a month giving both nations time to cool off. After the French decapitated de Valera they claimed to be completely surprised as well.

The king continued, "We have made several mistakes these last few days which we shall now correct. It is now time to make our displeasure known. To that end we have consulted with the prime minister and the cabinet and have concluded that the best cause of action is to implement an immediate trade embargo against the British Empire including Canada and Australia. We are not at this time extending this embargo to include France despite our outrage at Prime Minister Clemenceau's abrupt and unjust execution of senor de Valera."

The king again paused and looked at his audience. What he was not going to mention was that wartime exports to Britain had been very lucrative for Spain so what he was proposing would hurt Spain as well as Britain. However it would hurt Spain far less than entering the war which Alphonso was trying to avoid at all costs despite the steadily mounting pressure from the Right. He was still not sure this halfway measure would work. It was therefore with some trepidation that he moved on to the next topic. "As we have said previously the British have made threats against us. While we believe these threats to be hollow we cannot be completely sure. To this end the cabinet has suggested a partial mobilization as a necessary precaution. This step has been considered previously in order to bring our war in Morocco to a speedy victory but was postponed for both political and financial reasons. Doing so now will serve two purposes and we therefore call upon this great body to put aside the usual posturing and approve the necessary emergency measures as quickly as possible. Again we must reiterate that our intent is not to go to war against the British much less the French, but we must be prepared if either of them feels the need to bring the war to us."

There was a spirited round of applause, yet the king could see some obvious disappointment etced on some faces. While some of the Socialists had fallen in love with Connolly and de Valera there was still a larger faction that continued to favor the Entente despite their blemishes and saw this whole affair as devious German manipulation. On the Right there were those who thought the time had come to join the Central Powers and besiege Gibraltar and rightly feared that Alphonso's ploy was an inadequate halfway measure lacking in national honor. He fully expected them to continue to pressure him into entering the war. Oh, there was another person present that even though he studiously avoided looking at during this speech, he was sure was positively livid right now esp. as he had not told her in advance what he planned to say. The king was certain that he would have a very unpleasant time once he returned to the palace.

------Bandon (Cork) 0945 hrs

Even with the arrival at Cork of the fine riding horses bought in Spain, the 7^th Cavalry Division was still seriously very short on horses. Some elements of the division did have their complement of suitable mounts by now though. One of them was the 9^th Hussar Regiment which had been aboard the ill fated Kronprinzessin Cecilie and was the first to land near Kinsale. While the rest of the division was still unready General von François ordered the division's commander, General Fritz von Unger, to send the 9^th Hussars Regiment to attack the remnants of the 16^th (Irish) Division that were spread out between Bandon and Clonakilty. This constituted the smaller of the two pockets of enemy resistance that remained in County Cork with the other being the force of enemy infantry and yeomanry operating out of the Bere Peninsula. General von François wanted to eliminate both of these potential threats. He had hoped that the South Cork Battalion would be able to deal with the remnants of the 16^th Division but their commandant was being very cautious. A series of skirmishes with the enemy did not go well for his battalion and he did not feel that he could prevail without assistance.

So while the South Cork Battalion attacked the British remnants at Clonakilty from the west the 9^th Hussar Regiment struck at Bandon. There the cavalrymen dismounted to fight an understrength company of the 7^th Battalion Leinster Regiment. Their first attack was driven off with the assistance of a single Vickers machinegun. The Hussars then hurriedly remounted and attacked the enemy from two different directions not covered by the machinegun, dismounting at the last minute. Even without the support of their machinegun the Leinsters put up a stiff fight. They sent a messenger to their battalion commander at Timoleague urgently requesting reinforcements but he had his hands full dealing with an attack from the west by the I.R.A. South Battalion. It took several hours and cost the Hussars more than 100 casualties before they finally eliminated that one company. Meanwhile the attack of the South Cork Battalion had ended up being a costly failure for the rebels.

------Powerscourt Estate (Wicklow) 1010 hrs

Rommel had withdrawn the 5^th Dublin Battalion, 3^rd Kerry Battalion and Bray Company back to the small fort he had made of the Powerscourt Estate. The remainder the 9^th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles had pursued the rebels through Enniskerry. These now launched into a direct assault on the mansion and came under a storm of fire incl. 2 machineguns. The British colonel commanding the battalion ordered a withdrawal after taking more than 50 casualties in this assault. There was a respite as the each side considered their next move.

The O'Rahilly poked his head inside the ornate study which Rommel was using as his office. "I have been interrogating the prisoners as you requested, sir. They are for the most part a closed lip bunch so far but I have established a few facts. They are all from the 9^th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, part of the 36^th (Ulster) Division, which in turn is part of Lord Kitchener's so called New Army. They are Protestants from Belfast, all former members of the Ulster Volunteer Force."

"This is somewhat useful information in the long run, captain. Is there anything more relevant to our current situation?"

The O'Rahilly did not make an immediate reply. Rommel could see something was troubling him. :Well, what is it, spit it out, captain!" he ordered.

"Well, sir, you see there were three of the prisoners who were very self-righteous AngloIrish Prots and did their best to provoke us. All three of them claimed that the Countess had been executed at dawn Saturday."

The study was very quiet for nearly a minute with Rommel as still as a statue. The O'Rahilly thought he saw a single small tear roll down his left cheek. Finally the major said in a voice tinged with both anger and sadness, "You saved me the trouble of trying to find a newspaper today."

------southwest of Limerick 1035 hrs

For several days now had been a gap in the British cordon around Limerick which no longer extended all the way to the Shannon. With his division being backed up against Limerick Gen. Egerton, the commander of the Lowland Division worried about the possibility of a sortie out of Limerick attacking his rear. General Wilson had partially allayed his fears by informing him that the Germans at Limerick had their hands full with the attack of the West Riding Division coming at them from the north and that only a weak rear guard was warranted. Egerton therefore committed only half of the 1/5^th Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers with only a single machinegun plus the divisional cyclist company to guarding a little more than 2 kilometers.

After eliminating the 31^st Brigade's remaining presence from the trench system in front of Limerick, Major White had briefly entertained the fantasy of using the Limerick City Battalion to attack the British artillery to the east but after Sergeant Donahue had returned from the West Limerick Battalion she convinced him to attack the rear guard of the Lowland Division instead. The West Limerick Battalion now commenced at diversionary attack on the left company of the 1/5^th Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers. As that was going on White moved the 3 companies of Limerick City Company he had available through the trenches he had just captured to attack the right flank of the half battalion. This succeeded in rolling up the half battalion. Eventually the cyclists arrived to complicate the situation, but the two rebel battalions still retained the initiative.

Meanwhile the 5^th Kerry Battalion had been left to guard the trenches and prisoner that had been taken. Captain Schultz visited the local battalion of German Marines hoping to persuade him to move his battalion forward along with the machinegun company.

The Marine oberstleutnant was much to Schultz's surprise deeply upset and berated him, "You Irish battalions had no authorization to make that attack. None! Nothing whatsoever! I am in charge in this sector. You should all be taken out and shot for what you've done!"

Schultz was dumbfounded. Again he brought excellent news yet nevertheless found himself in big trouble. He had blindly assumed that Major White's attack had been approved through the proper channels. Now he had learned that it had not. "I was merely obeying Major White's orders, Oberst," he protested in his own defense.

"Major White is not in your chain of command! He had no authority to launch this attack and you should have known that."

"Uh, but I, uh, assumed he was carrying out proper orders through the chain of command. How was I to know he was acting on his own?"

The oberst continued to scowl for nearly a minute. Finally his features softened, "You said you captured a portion of the British trenches. How big a slice did you take?"

"Most of their trench system, oberst. Maybe all of it."

"All of it?"

"Yes, oberst. We have also captured some enemy supplies, including a handsome amount of food," said Schultz patting his own belly appreciatively, "There is some left! We would be more than happy to share it with your men."

"Hmm Yes I think we should occupy these trenches immediately. It would be foolish for us not to."

-----OHL Valenciennes 1045 hrs

General von Falkenhayn was in a good mood as he had received an hour ago a report from General von Fabeck that the morning gas attack had gone well and Sixth Army was making progress in the critical bottleneck region. He therefore decided to meet with General Krafft von Dellmensingen who had come here from OKW. If nothing else this meting would distract him from reports that yesterday First Army had employed a controversial new tactical doctrine that had been frequently advocated at OHL but which he continued to oppose.

"It is good to see you again, general," von Falkenhayn greeted his visitor, "I hope you had a pleasant trip."

"Yes, I did, Your Excellency. I must confess that I find myself growing fond of travel by motorcar," replied von Dellmensingen.

"And how is Feldmarschal von Moltke? We have heard someworrisome reports about his health."

"The generalfeldmarschal's health has improved the last few days, Your Excellency, though I am not going to pretend that he is completely recovered. He is being buoyed by some favorable developments in Operation Unicorn."

"Oh? I had heard that the big sea battle we had hoped would win the war did not turn out so well. It was at best a draw and from some perspectives a small defeat."

"Uh, that is unfortunately quite true, Your Excellency. Admiral Tirpitz remains very unhappy for that reason. However the rendezvous of the Atlantic Squadron with the High Seas Fleet should be taking place this afternoon providing Admiral von Ingenohl with additional strength which bodes well should the Royal Navy challenge us again in the next few days."

General von Falkenhayn waved his left hand and shrugged slightly, "Possible but not probable. I still believe that the war will be won here in France even if OKW has trouble seeing it."

General von Dellmensingen did not seem offended by the last comment, and answered, "I will admit that it may seem that we do not understand the importance of the Western Front, Your Excellency, but let me reassure that we do. In fact it is one of the main reasons why I am here. There is an aspect of warfare where our army has been sadly deficient in my opinion. There is one way to alleviate that deficiency quickly. If we can do that it will increase your tactical and strategic options."

------near Sixmilebridge (Clare) 1100 hrs

General Wilson was blaming everyone but himself for his lack of success at Limerick but most of all he liked to blame General Baldock the commander of the West Riding Division, whom he felt was not aggressive enough in his attacks. When Wilson learned of the unsuccessful night attack in the Broadford Gap, he became upset and sent a motorcyclist to Baldock emphatically ordering him to make a maximum effort near Sixmilebridge before noon. General Baldock now reluctantly complied with these orders. Because the flow of supplies had been reduced his artillery brigades had only a meager amount of shells. They now fired off three quarters of what they had left. The artillery of the German Naval Division was likewise short on ammunition. They did not duel with their British counterparts and on General Jacobsen's orders continued to remain silent when 4 British battalions made their assault because the general felt that machineguns and rifle would be sufficient to repel the attack due to the improved entrenchments in this key sector of the frontline. This was a good assessment on his part. The attackers struggled mightily with the wire barriers and possessed only a handful of jam tin bombs. They suffered over 800 casualties and failed to gain any ground.

------Parliament 1125 hrs

In both Commons and Lords criticism of the current government's handling of the war steadily intensified during the morning. The Irish campaign was the primary focus of most speakers but a few also mentioned the disasters in Mesopotamia. Occasionally an MP would try to defend Bonar Law by mentioning the recent naval victory in the Celtic Sea but it was clear from the reaction of the listeners that they were not as impressed by that battle as they had been last week. Many were now confused and upset that the Grand Fleet had not followed up on their victory. The fact that food prices were rising and petrol was in short supply was being viewed with increasing alarm. Likewise the few who tried to laud the government for crushing the rebels at Dublin were soon reminded that it had taken a week to overwhelm weakly armed and poorly trained rebels. The fact that the government had repeatedly predicted the liberation of Limerick was roundly treated with mocking sarcasm.

Ironically the only speech that ended up working for the prime minister came from Sir John Redmond, who rashly launched into tirade against the government's policy of treating all the Irish rebels as traitors. This provoked considerable criticism from ardent Unionists who made it abundantly clear that they supported the prime minister's tough stand even though they were disappointed with other aspects of the Irish campaign. Walter Long was one of those who took this position. On the other hand Balfour remained conspicuously silent during these debates.

------HQ British 11^th (Northern) Division 1150 hrs

The news reaching divisional HQ all morning was deeply worrisome to General Hammersley, its commander. First he learned that the remnants of the Welsh Division had been ejected from the Slieve Felim Mountains. Hammersley realized this meant that it would soon make it easier for the Austro-Hungarian Division to attack his left flank. He was thankful that General Wilson understood this problem and placed the 31^st Brigade along with their supporting artillery under his temporary command to protect his left flank from the Austrians. However he soon became worried about the ability of the 31^st Brigade to both guard his flank and contain the German Naval Division inside Limerick. These worries increased once he learned how badly understrength the 31^st Brigade had become during cumulative losses it had suffered during the siege of Limerick. These worries were redoubled when the general learned that the 31^st Brigade had been driven back for a while by the Austrians.

Meanwhile there was the news arriving from VI Army Corps HQ that there was going to be a sharp reduction in the flow supplies incl. ammunition for at least a day. Then there was the unsuccessful attack on Ballyneety which Hammersley saw as proof that the 6^th Bavarian Division was not as weak as Wilson and Hamilton kept telling him it was. The final straw was the news that reached his HQ a few minutes earlier the weak elements of the 31^st Brigade that were trying to hold the perimeter at Limerick were being overpowered by an enemy attack. This meant that the rear of his division, incl. his artillery, supply dumps and even his headquarters, was now open to attack by the Naval Division. The same applied to the 31^st Brigade causing Hammersley to worry that being hit from front and rear simultaneously that brigade could collapse completely resulting in his division being boxed in on 3 sides. On the verge of a nervous breakdown he ordered the 11^th (Northern) Division to move 5 miles to the ENE to reinforce the 31^st Brigade. He sent a messenger to the Lowland Division on his right that he would be moving and would soon be breaking contact. He waited a few minutes before sending a messenger to notify General Wilson which was not specific about how much his division was shifting to the left while emphasizing what he perceived as the weaknesses of the 31^st Brigade.

------east of Toluca (Mexico) 1200 hrs GMT

When General Gonzales' army arrived at the town of Toluca to the west of Mexico City, General Obregon did not immediately entrench his own army as that would give away his own intentions too quickly. Instead he discretely set up a series of strongpoints on the western approaches to Mexico City. However when his spies provided him with unambiguous intelligence that Gonzales was preparing to attack in the morning he ordered his men to dig furiously though out the night as well as erecting barriers of barbed wire.

After a relatively brief bombardment Gonzales' cavalry and infantry attacked but were unable to dislodge General Obregon's troops from their trenches, and suffered heavy losses from artillery, machineguns and rifle fire esp. the cavalry which had not dismounted. Gonzales then fought an artillery duel with Obregon for a few minutes and pondered his next move. He later sent out patrols which skirmished with Obregon's men.

------Isle of Inishmore (Galway) 1205 hrs

Motorboats launched from the 2^nd Torpedoboat Half Flotilla carrying well armed seamen cautiously approached the Isle of Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands which lay at the mouth of Galway Bay. The sea state was very choppy now and with breakers coming clear across the Atlantic pounding on razors of limestone. The sailors in the motorboats had more than the waves and the rocks to worry about. There was a fair possibility that the British may have erected some ad hoc fortification on the Aran Islands with Inishmore the most likely place. The torpedoboats had not come under fire so far nor could they see any signs of a modern fort on any of the islands. This was only partially reassuring to the senior naval officers and this landing party was sent to scout Inishmore.

Doing their damned best to avoid the rocks under the steep limestone cliffs the boats sought out the small cove where lay the village of Kilmurvey which had a small beach. Upon entering the cove the sailors looked around nervously. The dangers of nature were now less but there some other dangers. To their relief they were able to land their boats without being fired upon. The sailors stormed ashore and promptly seized the nearby hamlet which consisted mostly of a few bread and breakfasts. After that a half dozen of the sailors proceeded up the nearby cliffs to the historic Dun Aengus Fort built a least a millennium ago. The Germans were not interested in archeology but that this location remained an excellent spot for an observation post. Most of the rest continued on to Kilronan the largest village on the Aran Islands. On the way there they encountered 4 constables. These were eliminated in a short sharp firefight which killed 2 of the sailors and lightly wounded a third. This was the only resistance the Germans encountered. After a while 11 men came forward claiming to be Irish Volunteers and promised to assist the Germans if provided with arms which the sailors eventually did.

------HQ British Second Army Toeufles (Picardy) 1215 hrs

Sir John French was on the telephone with General Plumer, the commander of Second Army. "Despite a counterattack by the 1^st Division, the Germans continue to hold on to Morlay, sir," reported Plumer, "though they have prevented the enemy from reaching the bay."

"They do not have to reach the sea to cut First Army's supply line," replied French, "Even when the weather is good Haig can get only a quarter of what he needs through la Crotoy. So it is absolutely imperative that we reopen the supply route. Haig does not feel that he can get Meerut Division to do the job so he has ordered 29^th Division to move through the Indians to mount the necessary counterattack this afternoon. While he is doing that, what can you do to provide more pressure in the bottleneck region?"

"I have talked with General Munro, sir, and he has ordered the 43^rd Division to reinforce 1^st Division with 2 battalions. Unfortunately the 43^rd Division is unable to render more assistance because it was also caught in the German gas cloud suffering serious casualties---"

"---these blasted gas helmets we were sent don't seem to worth much!"

"I am investigating that, sir. For the time being I think we would be ill advised to discard the gas helmets."

French waited a few seconds before responding, "You are probably right but I am still not happy. I want a preliminary report on the results of your investigation before midnight. Understood?"

Plumer sighed. He doubted the staff officers he had assigned that task could reach a sound conclusion so quickly. It is hard to conduct interviews with officers and men in the front line with howitzer shells bursting all around you. "Understood, field marshal. Uh, as I was saying the 43^rd Division is also under heavy attack, apparently by the Prussian Guards---"

"---the Prussian Guards! I thought we inflicted such heavy losses on those bastards that they would be too weak to conduct effective attacks."

"There is some intelligence they have been replenished with sizable number of replacement troops in the last week or so."

"Sounds like the once elite unit has been watered down with second rate replacements into something very ordinary. In that case why in blazes are they causing us so much trouble today?"

"Well there was the gas cloud, sir."

"Oh, yes, I must have forgotten the gas cloud," said French with sarcasm that was obvious over the telephone line, "Enough with your excuses! What are you doing to help General Munro?"

"I am shifting 3 batteries of heavy artillery from the Abbeville area to I Army Corps, sir."

"Only 3 batteries? Why not send every RGA battery you have?"

"Because I believe that the enemy still has not given up on trying to take Abbeville, sir."

"Bah! It should be painfully clear now that Abbeville is a secondary objective if not a complete diversion---one that you fooled you completely. Their primary objective remains the destruction of First Army. If we do not open up the line of communication once again, success is within their grasp."

"I am well aware of that, sir. Hopefully the attack of the 29^th Division in conjunction with the counterattacks Munro has underway will do it but if it does not I am working on plans to move the 42^nd Division into the bottleneck to be used in a dawn attack tomorrow morning."

"Good! That is precisely the type of decisive action we need if we are to prevail in this war. Except you need to move all of your heavy artillery. Consider that an order."

------Barna (Galway) 1355 hrs

After sending their landing parties ashore on Inishmore, the large torpedo boats of the 2^nd Torpedoboat Half Flotilla continued into Galway Bay through the North Sound. There they searched for sign of enemy artillery. They detected none. They were also looking for submarines. One of the torpedo boats had a rack with 3 depth charges. So far they detected no submarines or any other enemy warship.

Behind them steamed the two troopships which anchored 5 km southwest of Barna. The small cruisers of 4^th Scouting Group were currently deployed off the Connemara. They had launched a pair of steam pinnaces which had rendezvoused with the George Washington and then steamed to the west. Each of these pinnaces now towed a string of 3 longboats from the George Washington carrying half of a company of the 1^st Battalion 183^rd Infantry Regiment. Unlike the first wave of Operation Unicorn where any unit that might be landing on a beach received considerable training in this task, this band of Saxons only received some very hurried training in the last 24 hours.

The Aran Islands serve as an effective breakwater for Galway Bay so the seas were considerably milder than it had been off Inishmore but it was still a fairly rough trip. When the pinnaces got close to the shore they released the longboats which then rowed to the pebbly beach at the village of Barna, a seaside suburb of Galway. Fortunately for them there was no enemy opposition as most of the Saxon infantry were seasick in varying degrees. As they recovered their commanding officer started with their first objective which was to secure this coastal suburb of Galway. He had with him 2 Irish Volunteers familiar with Galway. He had also been provided a small signal section for communicating with the George Washington. The clouds were too thick for the heliograph to be used effectively but signal lamp was effective and it reported that Barna had been taken without any resistance and that they had not yet made contact with rebel forces. After that the company commander sent a platoon east to try to capture the excellent sandy beach at Silverstrand and search for signs of either rebel forces or an approaching enemy attack. They found neither but they did talk with a few civilians who told the Irish Volunteer with them that there was a sizable rebel force fighting inside Galway city.

------from Friarstown to Ballyneety (Limerick) 1400 hrs

Under pressure from General von François, General von Gyssling finally resumed his attack having absorbed the Bavarian Feldersatz companies into his rifle battalions. He ordered a 15 minute bombardment which did not provoke a response from the batteries of the 11^th (Northern) Division which were in the process of being hauled away as part of the repositioning ordered by General Hammersley. The infantry assault that followed consisted of 4 battalions of the 6^th Bavarian Infantry Division emerging north of Ballyneety while to the west Oberst Hell committed the Reserve Bavarian Jaeger Battalion and the 3^rd Battalion 4^th Foot Guards to taking the hamlet of Friarstown. The first attack ran into 2 battalions of the 33^rd Brigade that Hammersley had ordered to stay behind as a rear guard while he was moving the rest of his division. General von Gyssling did not want the battalions which had just received replacement soldiers throwing away lives and so he sent orders emphasizing caution and the need to minimize loses. The end result was that even without any artillery support the two British battalions managed to hold the Bavarians to a very small gain, though it did let the Germans move their minenwerfers forward. It also meant that the 2 British battalions were effectively pinned and could not easily disengage to join the rest of their division.

Things progressed differently to the west. There the 7^th Battalion Cameronians from the Lowland Division had relieved the 7^th Battalion South Staffordshire of the 11^th Division near Friarstown minutes before the German bombardment started. The 7^th South Staffordshire did not tarry in the area but hurried to the northeast to catch up with the rest of their division. At this time General Egerton was still unclear as to how much of the front line the Lowland Division needed to take over from 11^th Division as Hammersley, whose nerves was starting to fray, was deliberately avoiding specifying just how much he felt his division needed to move to either Wilson or Egerton.

It was General von Gyssling's intention that Brigade Hell do the heavy lifting in the current attack The 7^th Battalion Cameronians had suffered heavy cumulative losses in the Battle of Dublin and the subsequent unsuccessful attempt to rescue the 10^th (Irish) Division at the Battle of Mallow. The German shelling, esp. the 15cm howitzers, now caused some more. The Cameronians fought bravely but they were defending more than a mile of the front they had just taken over against Prussian Guards and Bavarian Jaegers without artillery support.

------southwest of Nish (Serbia) 1410 hrs

The Ottoman III Corps had continued its advance overpowering weak Serbian stoplines until it had reached the banks of the South Morava River. The Serbs had retreated across the river, which while still moderately swollen from the spring rains could be forded with much risk in several spots. However it was soon evident that the Serbs knew those spots all too well and had them covered. Esat Pasha decided it would be easier to cross the river by night possibly with the aid of a short pontoon bridge. He had outrun his supply train a little. A small pause would give the caravans from Prishtina time to catch up.

------Gorey (Wexford) 1425 hrs

The 8^th Battalion Devonshire continued to press its attack against Count Tisza's Hussar Regiment and the Wexford Battalion and there had been heavy fighting near Gorey all morning. The 2 companies of the 4^th Dublin Battalion which Pearse had committed as the reinforcements demanded by the count now arrived from Wicklow town after a hard march. In addition to providing additional firepower their arrival helped boost the still shaky morale of Wexford Battalion. The days fighting wore down to a standstill. The 8^th Devonshire had not seen action before coming to Ireland and their commander was finding himself surprised at how fast his men were expending ammunition and was therefore beginning to worry that the amount he had would last all the way to Arklow which remained his chief objective.

------Silverstrand Beach (Galway) 1445 hrs

Von der Tann had been detached from the rest of 1^st Scouting Group. She was positioned in North Sound were she had launched a pair of steam pinnaces which had rendezvoused with the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria. Each of these pinnaces towed 3 longboats carrying one half of a rifle company belonging to the 1^st battalion 184^th Infantry Regiment. The procedure was similar to the landing at Barna. As the longboats approached the beach the soldiers became worried because they could see soldiers waiting for them on the beach until they could see that the uniforms were feldgrau. These were from the platoon that had been sent from Barna to secure this important beach. They had arrived only a few minutes earlier without encountering any resistance.

Once the company from the 184^th Infantry Regiment were ashore and at least partially over their seasickness they marched east towards Galway. Before they got there they encountered a platoon of the Athlone Cyclist Company that had been sent reconnoitering west of Galway. One of the Irish cyclists who spoke passable German explained to the Germans the situation in Galway to the best of their knowledge. Meanwhile they sent a messenger pedaling furiously back to Galway with news that German soldiers had landed

------Limerick city 1455 hrs

"I have been told that you were the one responsible for this morning's attack. Is that true?" General Jacobsen asked Major White, who was standing at attention and sweating profusely. The general had left his headquarters and moved to a stout stone building in the southwest corner of the city where he summoned White to meet with him. He almost had the major placed under arrest.

"Yes, general that is true, Your Excellency. It was I who ordered the attack."

"And it was not only your own battalion which you ordered to attack but the 5^th Kerry and West Limerick battalions as well."

"Uh, Your Excellency, I did indeed order the 5^th Kerry Battalion to attack. As for the West Limerick Battalion I did not order them per se. Major von Thoma exercised his own initiative in assisting us after our initial victory."

"I see. You outrank Captain Schultz and I know for a fact that he is easily intimidated. Neither is true about Major von Thoma."

"That is all correct, Your Excellency."

"What you did with your own battalion is an extreme use of initiative but you had absolutely no authority over 5^th Kerry Battalion."

"I understand that, Your Excellency."

"Yet nevertheless you went ahead and did it anyway!"

"Yes, I did, Your Excellency. I take full responsibility for my actions."

The general stared hard into White's eyes. After a few seconds he sighed, "When this is over we will have another talk about chain of command and other topics I would think the son of a Field Marshal would understand better. However there is no denying that your improvisation, for want of a better term, has turned out very well. However I understand that your attack to the southwest has been stopped. Is that true?"

"Yes, Your Excellency we succeeded in ejecting from crude entrenchments what we later determined from captured prisoners to be the rearguard of the Lowland Division. The enemy was only able to halt our attack by throwing first their divisional cyclist company and then some Royal Engineers at us while turning one of their batteries on us. Since then I have been able to get 10 of my best snipers into buildings in the Limerick suburbs from which they are harassing the enemy esp. their artillery."

The general snorted. He tapped his right cheek for a few seconds in thought. Finally he asked, "Do you have any suggestions, White?"

The major took a deep breath, "The enemy forces between us and the enemy artillery are not entrenched. If we can get some artillery support I believe we can overpower them."

The general snorted again and shook his head, "You Irish really are something, you know?"

White opened his mouth to reply but decided what he was about to say might be construed as impertinent and closed it. "You were about to say something" asked Jacobsen.

"Uh, no, sir."

"My batteries have very little ammunition left, major. Just before noon the enemy attacked at Sixmilebridge once again and I ordered my batteries to hold fire because of the scarcity of shells. Now you ask me to provide you with artillery support."

"With all due respect, Your Excellency, if my plan works your batteries will have many more shells tomorrow morning."

The general nodded but said, "And nothing if your plan fails."

"That is correct, Your Excellency, but I believe it's worth the risk."

The general was silent for more than a minute. Finally he said, "I think I may be losing my mind. Must have something to do with a prolonged lack of sunshine. I am going to provide you with some artillery support. However I am also going to reinforce you with a battalion of the 2^nd Naval Regiment I rotated out of the trenches near Sixmilebridge and have been holding in reserve inside Limerick. It has an effective strength of only just over 300 men."

"Thank you, Your Excellency. You won't be sorry."

"We'll see. Oh, and before I forget there is one question I keep meaning to ask you. There is a female I.R.A. sergeant by the name of Donahue who was supposed to report to the Limerick support company this morning but is missing. You haven't stumbled into her by any chance?."

"Uh, she happens to be back at my HQ right now, Your Excellency."

"Why am I not surprised?"

------HQ British VI Army Corps Nenagh (Tipperary) 1505 hrs

General Henry Wilson, the commander of the VI Army Corps was in a decidedly mixed mood. When he learned that the War Committee had approved the use of 20,000 of the U.V.F. to crush the Irish rebellion he was ecstatic. However nearly everything else this day made him angry and confused. For much of the day he had lacked telegraph and telephone connections with any of his divisions. Just before noon a telegraph line had been established with the Welsh Division and only a few minutes ago telegraph communications had been reestablished with the 11^th (Northern) Division. General Hammersley had informed that he was moving his division but had not seen fit to tell his superior how far he was moving. Now that the telegraph was working the first thing that General Wilson demanded to know was how much of the front line the Lowland Division would need to take over. To this Hammersley disingenuously answered that it was only 1 ½ miles. This was only correct if the 2 battalions of 33^rd Brigade which he had originally intended as a rear guard were included as still being part of his front.

------Galway city 1525 hrs

The orders that had worked their way from General von François to the commandant of the South Mayo Battalion were for them to arrive at Galway city no later than noon. The South Mayo Battalion had marched as hard as they could and except for their cyclist platoon, which had been sent ahead to make contact with the Roscommon Battalion, were only now starting to reach Galway with more than 100 stragglers strung out miles behind to the north. The South Mayo Battalion joined in the battle against the coast guard forces guarding the harbor. They also made contact with the Germans of the 184^th Infantry Regiment which were advancing on Galway.

------OKW Berlin 1535 hrs

Until the U.40 arrived in Cork with the new codebooks OKW found itself in the awkward position of repeatedly telling Admiral von Ingenohl that they did not require details of his operations. The frustrating result of this was that they had only the very haziest knowledge of what was going on in Ireland at this time. Generalfeldmarschal von Moltke tried not to let it bother him too much. He thought he was feeling a little bit better the last two days but he would not go so far as to say that he was feeling well. He wondered how much longer he could continue functioning in his current position. Operation Unicorn had been conceived as the master stroke that would bring the war to a quick and decisive victory. However the disappointing results of the Battle of the Celtic Sea had dampened that optimism and it once again looked like it would be a long war. He wondered if he would be around to see the end of it. He also thought about his dear old friend, Colmar Freiherr von Der Goltz who was helping their Ottoman allies win impressive victories in Mesopotamia. He hoped the Baron was taking good care of himself as his constitution had become rather frail in recent years.

"Your Excellency, I have Feldmarschal Conrad on the line. He wishes to talk to you. Shall I put him through?"

What does that insufferable egotist want now? von Moltke thought to himself while grinding his teeth. "Yes, put him through."

"This is General von Moltke speaking. What can I do for you, general?"

"Good afternoon, Helmuth. I do not know if you know this already but my Third Army captured the main Serbian arsenal at Kragujevac this morning."

Hmm is Conrad calling merely to crow about his accomplishments? Annoying as that is it could be worse "Why yes Kronprinz Rupprecht sent us a telegram with all the pertinent details. It is starting to look like the Serbian campaign is back on track despite some setbacks. It is wonderful what our two nations can accomplish when they work together, yes?"

"Yes, well put. In fact that is the reason for my telephone call. In addition to crushing the criminal Serbs my army has undertaken an intense offensive against the Russians in Galicia. I am not sure how much you know about this."

I know quite a lot in fact. General von Linsingen still has some empathy for his predecessor, von François, and keeps us up to date about the operations of Center Army and to a lesser degree the neighboring Austrian armies. "We know the basic facts. Center Army and Second Army appear to be grinding down the Russians and making steady progress."

"Yes, it is a huge success but it struck me this afternoon that there is a way that we could expand on its success but I need some timely German assistance to make that happen."

Oh so this is about something more than mere boasting. Oh lucky me! In fact from what von Linsingen has told us Conrad is actually disappointed about the pace of the advance. He had expected to have broken the Russians completely and resumed open warfare by now "I think I should remind you that the Heer is very overstretched at this moment."

"Uh, yes, I keep hearing that. However it strikes that the Serbian campaign is now at the point where General von Falkenhayn will be tempted to remove as much as an entire corps from your Tenth Army."

"If he is he has not seen fit to tell us." One reason Dellmensingen is at OHL today is to see if there is anything to this speculation. "But assuming for the sake of argument your theory is correct then I take it that you believe you want this corps for some mission?"

"You read my mind, Helmuth. As you are very probably aware the Russians began an offensive in the Bukovina using their Eighth and Ninth Armies. We believe that its main objective was to spark revolt amongst the Romanian element in Transylvania and encourage Romania to join the Entente. I could spend at least an hour outlining all the reasons why this strategy is wrong."

"Please don't. I will take your word on it. You are after all the world's greatest strategist." I do hope my sarcasm was not too obvious. "So get on with what you'd like to do with this corps that may or may not become available soon."

"The Russian Eighth Army is being stretched right now. Its left wing is on the offensive in the Bukovina and must strive to maintain contact with the right flank of the advancing Ninth Army. However the right wing of Eighth Army is currently under intense pressure from my Second Army. What I propose is to put your corps under my Seventh Army and use it to attack the boundary between the Russian Eighth and Ninth Armies which we now believe to be vulnerable. Russian Ninth Army is currently overextended and experiencing supply problems. If we can create a gap between it and Eighth Army it will collapse."

The same old over optimism He never learns Still there may be something to this idea and if we are ever going to try Dellmensingen's bold idea we will need Conrad's cooperation "This sounds very interesting but I am not to going to reach a conclusion over the telephone. Telegraph me a working summary of your plan and then send the whole thing when it is finalized and we will take it from there."

------Friarstown (Limerick) 1540 hrs

The 7^th Battalion Cameronians had been ejected from Friarstown by Brigade Hell once the German pioneers brought 17cm minenwerfers into action against them, demolishing their only strongpoint. What was left of that battalion retreated to the northwest; their withdrawal covered by short burst of artillery fire from a battery of 15 pounders. This created a gap of more than a mile between the Lowland Division and the rearguard of the 11^th (Northern) Division north of Ballyneety. Upon learning of this Oberst Hell immediately ordered all of the Bavarian Jaeger Regiment, not just the Bavarian Reserve Jaeger Battalion to pursue the Scots. Earlier in the day he had incorporated the 2^nd Kerry Battalion into the 1^st Kerry Battalion. The combined battalion was now the strongest battalion in his brigade at least as measured by the number of able bodied soldiers. Hell now put the 1^st Kerry Battalion under the command of the Foot Guards battalion and sent them to attack the rear guard from the 11^th (Northern) Division from the flank and rear.

------SMS Blücher approx 53°N 11°W 1550 hrs

The 3 cruisers of 2^nd Scouting Group were no longer as spread out as they had been previously. Their primary mission this day was scouting not commerce raiding. They were now only 20 nm ahead of the main body of the Atlantic Squadron, which was much closer than they had been for most of their Atlantic crossing. The ocean had been eerily empty all day until now. From the bridge of his flagship Admiral Maas could now see the old small cruisers of 5^th Scouting Group. When they had learned that Operation Unicorn had been faltering for a while this caused some doubt about whether or not the second wave would be sent at all. Both Admiral von Spee and himself had become worried about whether or not this rendezvous with the High Seas Fleet off the coast of Ireland would happen. Maas was glad that it had but he now wondered would come next. It was quite possible that his flagship would be returned to 1^st Scouting Group. He wondered if that was the best cause of action as she had demonstrated some desirable quantities as a commerce raider but in 1^st Scouting Group she would merely be the little sister of the more powerful battlecruisers.

------Moscow 1555 hrs

Tensions had been running high in Moscow ever since the fall of Kovno had been announced. During the afternoon the workers at the Giubner printing factory went on strike demanding the firing of all Alsatian workers. Due to the influence of the French Embassy all natives of Alsace-Lorraine had been declared French subjects by the Russian government and had been exempted from deportation. Now the entire workforce of 1,500 gathered outside the factory waving flags and portraits of the tsar. They alternated between singing patriotic hymns and shouting "Down with Germans!" They then marched to the nearby Prokhorov munitions factory where sabotage had been suspected due to a recent explosion and an outbreak of cholera. The Guibner employees tried to get the Prokhorov workers to join their procession but the police barred them from entering. Eventually the frustrated crowd dispersed.

------Morlay (Picardy) 1600 hrs

When General Haig, the commander of First Amy, learned of the fall of Morlay which effectively severed his line of communication, he had the 4^th and 29^th Divisions in reserve. This was due to the fact that both divisions were very weak due to very heavy casualties. Of these two the 4^th Division was in the worse shape. With the Meerut Division still in disarray from the German gas attack, Haig ordered the commander of the 29^th Division, General Hunter-Weston whom he regarded as having an admirable aggressive spirit to move through Meerut Division in the afternoon and counterattack at Morlay.

Hunter-Weston was supposed to coordinate his attack in detail with I Army Corps which commanded the 1^st Division. Hunter-Weston waited until just before his attack to contact I Army Corps and General Munro the Corps commander found these last minute communiqués vague and confusing. The result was that 29^th Division began its attack only a few minutes after 1^st Division HQ was notified. In a rush to launch his attack Hunter-Weston did not wait for the 2 batteries of siege howitzers that Haig had put at his disposal to become ready. His bombardment now commenced with only is divisional artillery brigades. His 18 pounders fired only shrapnel shells. A quarter of what his howitzers fired off were HE.

The German 42^nd Infantry Division had in the last half hour made another unsuccessful attempt to continue its advance and reach the coast. Most of its men were either in captured British trenches or the larger shell holes. This close to the sea meant that the water table was high. The trenches flooded easily. For that reason the Germans in this segment augmented their trenches with breastworks rising above it. General Munro had started to emulate this with I Army Corps. The Germans of the 42^nd Infantry Division were adequately protected from the British shelling and their own supporting artillery which included batteries armed with 15cm howitzers and 21cm Morser returned the fire of the British guns. Hunter-Weston then hurled 5 battalions, all of which were less than half strength into the assault. The German 42^nd Infantry Division did not have wire barriers erected in front of Morlay yet but they did have machine guns in place. The ranks of the attackers were thinned by the German artillery. Those that survived discovered to their dismay that while there was no wire at the point of attack they were in fact outnumbered by the defenders.

------Russian Black Sea Fleet ~30 nm northeast of Varna 1630 hrs

The Black Sea Fleet with all 5 of its operational battleships, Evstafi, Ioann Zlatoust, Panteleimon, Rostislav and Tri Sviatitelia, accompanied by 2 cruisers, 10 destroyers, 2 seaplane carriers and an assortment of minesweeping vessels had departed Sevastopol on an important mission last night. The Almaz and Imperator Nikolai I now commenced launching a total of 8 seaplanes. One of these headed due east, another SSW and the rest southwest towards Varna. When they arrived at Varna they dropped small bombs by hand on the port facilities causing a tiny amount of damage. There was no antiaircraft fire except for some ineffectual rifle fire. After expending their ordnance they then flew over St. Constantine and Helena to the north of Varna before flying back to their carriers.

------HQ Lowland Division southwest of Limerick 1645 hrs

The day was not going well for General Egerton, the commander of the Lowland Division. His division which had already been badly weakened had come under attack from the southwest, due west, northeast and now the southeast. His men had been shelled by German warships in the Shannon. He had not received any supplies since yesterday morning. The 11^th (Northern) Division on is left had abruptly notified him that he must take over more of the front line and been maddeningly vague as to how much. His telephone connection with VI Army Corps had been cut during the night. He still lacked telephone communications but his telegraph had finally been restored less than an hour earlier.

Since then Egerton had sent several telegrams to General Wilson, his superior, trying to explain the difficulties he was having and asking permission to withdraw his entire division 2 miles to the east. He realized that this would permit the German 111st Infantry Division to link up with their Naval Division, effectively lifting the siege of Limerick but he saw his division as being in grave danger if he failed to do so. His only response from General Wilson was a short telegram contemptuously telling that because the attack from the northwest out of Limerick was composed only of rebels it was not worth worrying about.

Another telegram now finally arrived from VI Army Corps.

YOUR REQUEST TO WITHDRAW TO THE EAST IS HEREBY DENIED REPEAT YOUR REQUEST TO WITHDRAW TO THE EAST IS HEREBY DENIED STOP YOU MUST KEEP THE ENEMY TO YOUR SOUTH FROM LINKING WITH THOSE INSIDE LIMERICK REPEAT YOU MUST KEEP THE ENEMY TO YOUR SOUTH FROM LINKING WITH THOSE INSIDE LIMERICK STOP HAVE ORDERED HAMMERSLEY TO TAKE BACK THAT SECTION OF THE LINE HE ABANDONED EARLIER TODAY REPEAT HAVE ORDERED HAMMERSLEY TO TAKE BACK THAT SECTION OF THE LINE HE ABANDONED EARLIER TODAY STOP

British politics is going to remain contorted the next few days and Clemenceau has opened Pandora's Box

Yes Jack White definitely was an interesting character

Duriing the Napoleonic wars the British feared a French invasion of Ireland and thought the 3 likeliest landing places were Galway Bay, Bantry Bay and the Shannon.

Thanks for finding those errors. I will wait until CJvR andor Borys have a chance before making edits.

Tom