title: General-purpose machine gun

text: The general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) originated with the MG 34, designed in 1934 by Heinrich Vollmer of Mauser on the commission of Nazi Germany to circumvent the restrictions on machine guns imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. It was introduced into the Wehrmacht as an entirely new concept in automatic firepower, dubbed the "Einheitsmaschinengewehr", meaning "universal machine gun" in German. In itself the MG 34 was an excellent weapon for its time: an air-cooled, recoil-operated machine gun that could run through belts of 7.92×57mm Mauser ammunition at a rate of 850 rounds per minute, with lethality at ranges of more than 1,000 meters. The main feature of the MG 34 is that simply by changing its mount, sights and feed mechanism, the operator could radically transform its function: on its standard bipod it was a light machine gun ideal for infantry assaults; on a tripod it could serve as a sustained-fire medium machine gun; mounting on aircraft or vehicles turned it into an air defence weapon, and it also served as the coaxial machine gun on numerous German tanks.


title: General-purpose machine gun

text: During World War II, the MG 34 was superseded by a new GPMG, the MG 42, although it remained in combat use. The MG 42 was more efficient to manufacture, and more robust, as well as having an extremely high cyclic rate of fire of 1,200 to 1,500 rounds per minute. One of the "Einheits Maschinengewehr" GPMG roles was to provide low level anti-aircraft coverage. A high cyclic rate of fire is advantageous for use against targets typically exposed to fire for a limited time span, like aircraft or targets minimizing their exposure by quickly moving from cover to cover. It was nicknamed "Hitler's buzzsaw" by Allied troops, and alongside the MG 34 it inflicted heavy casualties on Allied soldiers on all European and North African fronts of World War II. Following the war the victorious Allied nations took an interest in the MG 34 and MG 42, influencing many post-war general-purpose machine guns, many still in use today. They lent design elements to the Belgian FN MAG and the American M60, while spawning the Zastava M53, Swiss M51, and Austrian MG 74. The MG 42's qualities of firepower and usability meant that it became the foundation of an entire series of postwar machine guns, including the MG 1 and MG 3 - the latter, , is still in production.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: The Pergamon Museum (; ) is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1910 to 1930 by order of German Emperor Wilhelm II according to plans by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann in Stripped Classicism style. As part of the Museum Island complex, the Pergamon Museum was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 because of its architecture and testimony to the evolution of museums as architectural and social phenomena.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: Currently, the Pergamon Museum is home to the including the famous Pergamon Altar, the and the . Parts of the building are closed for renovation until 2025.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: By the time the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum on Museum Island (today the Bodemuseum) had opened in 1904, it was clear that the edifice was not large enough to host all of the art and archaeological treasures being excavated under German supervision. Excavations were underway in the areas of ancient Babylon, Uruk, Assur, Miletus, Priene and ancient Egypt, and objects from these sites could not be properly displayed within the existing German museum system. Wilhelm von Bode, director of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, initiated plans to build a new museum nearby to accommodate ancient architecture, German post-antiquity art, and Middle Eastern and Islamic art.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: Alfred Messel began a design for the large three-wing building in 1906. After his death in 1909 his friend Ludwig Hoffman took charge of the project and construction began in 1910, continuing during the First World War (1918) and the great inflation of the 1920s. The completed building was opened in 1930.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: The Pergamon Museum was severely damaged during the air attacks on Berlin at the end of the Second World War. Many of the display objects had been stored in safe places, and some of the large exhibits were walled in for protection. In 1945, the Red Army collected all of the loose museum items, either as war booty or to rescue them from looting and fires then raging in Berlin. Not until 1958 were most of the objects returned to East Germany. Significant parts of the collection remain in Russia. Some are currently stored in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. The return of these items has been arranged in a treaty between Germany and Russia but, as of June 2003, is blocked by Russian restitution laws.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: The collection goes back to the prince-electors, or "Kurfürsten", of Brandenburg, who collected objects from antiquity; the collection began with an acquisition to the collection by a Roman archaeologist in 1698. It first became accessible (in part) to the public in 1830, when the Altes Museum was opened. The collection expanded greatly with the excavations in Olympia, Samos, Pergamon, Miletus, Priene, Magnesia, Cyprus and Didyma.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: The collection contains sculpture from the archaic to Hellenistic ages as well as artwork from Greek and Roman antiquity: architecture, sculptures, inscriptions, mosaics, bronzes, jewelry and pottery.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: The main exhibits are the Pergamon Altar from the 2nd century BC, with a 113 meters (371 ft) long sculptural frieze depicting the struggle of the gods and the giants, and the Gate of Miletus from Roman antiquity.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: As Germany was divided following the Second World War, so was the collection. The Pergamon Museum was reopened in 1959 in East Berlin, while what remained in West Berlin was displayed in Schloss Charlottenburg.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: The "Islamic Department" was part of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum which opened in 1904. In the newly built Pergamon Museum, the museum moved into the upper floor of the south wing and was opened there in 1932.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: The Middle East Museum exhibition displays objects found by German archeologists and others from the areas of Assyrian, Sumerian and Babylonian culture. Additionally there are historical buildings, reliefs and lesser cultural objects and jewelry.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: The main display is the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way of Babylon together with the throne room facade of Nebuchadnezzar II.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: The comprehensive plan for Museum Island includes an expansion of the Pergamon Museum, with connections to the Neues Museum, Bodemuseum, Alte Nationalgalerie and a new visitor centre, the James Simon Gallery.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: An architectural competition in 2000 was won by Oswald Mathias Ungers from Cologne. The Pergamon Museum will be redeveloped according to his plan, which controversially proposes large alterations to buildings unchanged since 1930. The current entrance building in the Court of Honor will be replaced with a fourth wing, and an underground walk ("Archäologische Promenade", archeologic walk) will connect four of the five museums.


title: Pergamon Museum

text: Since the end of September 2014 the museum is partially closed for renovation. The hall containing Pergamon Altar will remain closed to the general public. Initially the reopening was scheduled for 2019. In November 2016, it was revealed that the estimated project costs would almost double to 477 million euros. Two pump houses built in the ground during the initial construction between 1910 and 1930 had been discovered causing rising costs and delays. At least 60 million euros of the increased costs are directly due to the fact that construction costs had risen since the original estimate 10 years ago. Also it was announced that a temporary exhibition space will be built opposite Museum Island, a short distance from Pergamon Museum. It will house a panorama of the ancient city by the Berlin-based artist Yadegar Asisi, a 3D reconstruction of the famous Pergamon altar by the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research and parts of the altar including the Telephos Frieze. The temporary building is scheduled to open in the spring of 2018. The Pergamon altar hall is not expected to reopen until at least 2025.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: Big Brother is a 2020 Indian Malayalam-language action film written, directed, and co-produced by Siddique. It was jointly produced by S Talkies, Shaman International, and Vaishaka Cinema, in association with Carnival Movie Network. The film stars Mohanlal in the title role, along with Arbaaz Khan, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Sarjano Khalid, Anoop Menon, Honey Rose, Mirnaa Menon, Chetan Hansraj, Gaadha, Siddique, and Tini Tom in supporting cast. "Big Brother" marks Khan's debut appearance in Malayalam cinema. The songs and background score for the film was composed by Deepak Dev.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: The film began principal photography in July 2019 and was completed in December. It was shot extensively in Bangalore, and the remaining in Mysore, Mangalore, Ernakulam, and Coimbatore. "Big Brother" was released worldwide on 16 January 2020 and received mostly negative reviews from critics. The film bombed at the box office.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: Sachidanandan is released from prison, where he receives a letter from his brother, who tells that a surprise awaits him. While travelling, Sachi remembers his past. Sachi's father was about to remarry and Sachi was excited about getting a new mother. He noticed that the mother had a son which was going to be his step-brother named Vishnu. He tries to befriend Vishnu, but he rejects him but later on starts accepting him. His step-mother is also going to have a new baby. Once after returning from a function Sachi, witnesses his step-mother being harassed by her ex-husband and tries to take away Vishnu. Sachi kills the man while saving his brother and mother. He goes to a juvenile home for his crime, where he befriends Khan, Ghani and Pareekkar. Once, he witnesses Khan and Ghani getting beaten up by a ruthless cop, Sachi kills the officer while trying to save his friends and hence goes to a central prison as he is an adult. He is sentenced for two life term sentences. In the prison, he discovers his night vision.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: As he exits the prison, he is well-received by his younger brother Manu, who was born after he went to prison. He was also received by his prison friends Pareekkar, Khan and Ghani. They invite Sachi to join them to work with Edwin Moses, who is a mysterious drug lord. Sachi warns them and decides to lead a peaceful life with his family. The surprise awaiting him was that his brother Dr. Vishnu is soon to marry his colleague Vandhana and that the marriage was postponed so that Sachi can witness the marriage as Vishnu was adamant. The marriage takes place, and as Vandhana seeks Sachi's blessings, she realizes that he was the one who saved her from a gang and in the process of saving her, Sachi's back was scratched by a aruva. The next day, Vandhana forces Sachi to tell the truth about him. When the cops learnt that Sachi could see in the dark, he and many other prisoners were sent for commando operations. They were often sent unarmed to face armed opponents. Sachi's prison term was extended as every time he went for the operation, the report written was that he used to escape from prison.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: Many prisoners never returned. Their bodies were found in random places. A police officer named Vedanandham IPS approaches Sachi, and explains that the drug syndicate has returned stronger as ever, and it is controlled by a person named Edwin Moses, whose identity is unknown to anyone. Vedanandham tells Sachi that innocent people are used for the drug business without their knowledge. Sachi rejects it, saying that he wants to live peacefully with his family. Sachi and his family faces many troubles from Edwin Moses and his partner Shetty. Later, Shetty explains to Sachi that Edwin is doing all this for a drug container worth crores which is in Shetty's control. Sachi finds his friends is in alliance with Edwin Moses, but reveals that they had nothing to do with it unless a gangster named Muthan died. Edwin had been pestering them for the container. It was revealed that Sachi had the container. He had stolen it from Muthan earlier. Edwin's men attack Sachi and his friends. Sachi and his friends defeats them. Vedantham arrives there and kills Edwin's men, Khan and Pareekkar, while Ghani survives. Sachi calls Edwin Moses from Pareekkar's phone, where it is revealed that Edwin Moses was none other than Vedantham. Enraged, Sachi destroys the container in front of Vedhantham and kills him. After this, Sachi repairs the old car as he reunites with his family.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: In May 2018, Siddique revealed in an interview to "The New Indian Express" that his next Malayalam film is with Mohanlal and it will be released in April 2019. Later, media outlets reported that the film has been titled "Big Brother". Soon, Siddique revealed that it is a big budget film with action and humour, and it would begin production in November that year. Denying the reports of Nayanthara and Innocent being cast in the film, he said "we are yet to confirm the cast as I have only a basic thread in my mind and am yet to start scripting". "Big Brother" was officially announced by Mohanlal through his social media on 9 October 2018 by sharing a title poster.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: It was said to be jointly produced by Siddique's and Jenso Jose's S Talkies, Philipose K. Joseph's and Manu Maliackal's Shaman International, and Vaishak Rajan's Vaishaka Cynyma. "Big Brother" was initially planned with a budget of 28 crore, but it went up to ₹32 crore while in production and the corporate company Carnival Movie Network joined the project to invest the additional money. S Talkies and Carnival Movie Network also distributes the film. A pooja ceremony for the film was held on 24 April 2019, followed by a recording session by music director Deepak Dev. Siddique was completing the final draft of screenplay in May 2019.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: More cast were revealed in May 2019, including Arbaaz Khan, Anoop Menon, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Sarjano Khalid, Chemban Vinod Jose, Siddique, Janardanan, and Tini Tom in pivotal roles. "Big Brother" marks the Malayalam film debut of Bollywood actor Khan. He plays Vedandam IPS, an encounter specialist. Mohanlal plays Sachithanandan, and Menon and Khalid portrays his younger brothers. Menon plays doctor Vishnu, according to him, Vishnu is the "nicest character" he has played so far. Regina Cassandra and Satna Titus were in talks to play the female lead roles that month. The former for the role of Arya Shetty, the daughter of a wealthy businessman and Sachithanandan's romantic interest, and the latter as the pair of Khalid's character. Titus was confirmed in that month along with another debutante Shilpa Ajayan as the pair of Menon's character. Cassandra opted out from the film due to scheduling conflicts. She was replaced by newcomer Mirnaa Menon, whose casting took place only few days before filming. Gaadha plays one of the three female lead roles in the film, it is her first Malayalam appearance and second film after "Nimir".


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: Principal photography began on 11 July 2019 in Ernakulam. Filming was initially scheduled to begin on 20 June 2019 with Mohanlal joining on 1 July after finishing his work in "". The film was mostly shot at Bangalore with a few scenes at Kochi. Mohanlal was filming scenes in Kochi in September. In October, filming took place near the HMT factory in Bangalore. The team were also shooting in Mysore in that month. Lalitha Mahal palace was a filming location. The film was to be shot at the streets of Mysore but heavy downpour caused delay and filming was restricted to indoor sequences. Final schedule of filming resumed in mid-November. Final schedule took place in places such as Ernakulam and Coimbatore. Mirnaa had 100 days shoot. Filming was completed in December 2019, taking longer than expected. The budget also hiked to ₹32 crore. The stunts were choreographed by Supreme Sundar and Stunt Silva, and the songs were choreographed by Brinda, Dinesh Kumar, and Prasanna Sujit.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: The film features a background score and three original songs composed by Deepak Dev, with lyrics by Rafeeq Ahamed and Santhosh Varma. The audio launch function of the film was held at Darbar Hall Ground, Ernakulam on 26 December 2019. The soundtrack album was released by the label Millennium Audios on 21 December 2019.


title: Big Brother (2020 film)

text: The film was dubbed in Hindi and released on YouTube in May 2021, which received more than 15 million views in nine days.


title: Namib

text: The Namib ( ; ) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as Moçâmedes Desert, while its southern portion approaches the neighboring Kalahari Desert. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to inland to the foot of the Great Escarpment. Annual precipitation ranges from in the most arid regions to at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55–80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world and contains some of the world's driest regions, with only western South America's Atacama Desert to challenge it for age and aridity benchmarks.


title: Namib

text: The desert geology consists of sand seas near the coast, while gravel plains and scattered mountain outcrops occur further inland. The sand dunes, some of which are high and span long, are the second-largest in the world after the Badain Jaran Desert dunes in China. Temperatures along the coast are stable and generally range between annually, while temperatures further inland are variable—summer daytime temperatures can exceed while nights can be freezing. Fogs that originate offshore from the collision of the cold Benguela Current and warm air from the Hadley Cell create a fog belt that frequently envelops parts of the desert. Coastal regions can experience more than 180 days of thick fog a year. While this has proved a major hazard to ships—more than a thousand wrecks litter the Skeleton Coast—it is a vital source of moisture for desert life.


title: Namib

text: The Namib is almost completely uninhabited by humans except for several small settlements and indigenous pastoral groups, including the Ovahimba and Obatjimba Herero in the north, and the Topnaar Nama in the central region. Owing to its antiquity, the Namib may be home to more endemic species than any other desert in the world. Most of the desert wildlife is arthropods and other small animals that live on little water, although larger animals inhabit the northern regions. Near the coast, the cold ocean water is rich in fishery resources and supports populations of brown fur seals and shorebirds, which serve as prey for the Skeleton Coast's lions. Further inland, the Namib-Naukluft National Park, the largest game park in Africa, supports populations of African bush elephants, mountain zebras, and other large mammals. Although the outer Namib is largely barren of vegetation, lichens and succulents are found in coastal areas, while grasses, shrubs, and ephemeral plants thrive near the escarpment. Several types of trees are also able to survive the extremely arid climate.


title: Namib

text: The Namib Desert is one of the 500 distinct physiographic provinces of the South African Platform physiographic division. It occupies an area of around , stretching from the Uniab River (north) to the town of Lüderitz (south) and from the Atlantic Ocean (west) to the Namib Escarpment (east). It is about long from north to south and its east–west width varies from . To the north, the desert leads into the Kaokoveld; the dividing line between these two regions is roughly at the latitude of the city of Walvis Bay, and it consists in a narrow strip of land (about 50 km wide) that is the driest place in Southern Africa. To the south, the Namib borders on the South African Karoo semi-desert.


title: Namib

text: Southern Namib (between Lüderitz and the Kuiseb River) comprises a vast dune sea with some of the tallest and most spectacular dunes of the world, ranging in color from pink to vivid orange. In the Sossusvlei area, several dunes exceed in height. The complexity and regularity of dune patterns in its dune sea have attracted the attention of geologists for decades, but it remains poorly understood.


title: Namib

text: The source of the unconsolidated sand (the most recent sand sea) has been shown to be dominantly from the Orange River, which drains into the Atlantic south of the Namib Sand Sea, with minor contributions in the east from the (now ephemeral) rivers that drain into the sand sea. For this reason the Namib Sand Sea has been referred to as the "wind displaced delta of the Orange River."


title: Namib

text: Moving north from Sossusvlei, the sand gradually gives way to a rocky desert that extends all the way from Sossusvlei to the Swakop river. This area is traversed by the Tropic of Capricorn and is mostly flat, although some scenic canyons and elevations are found in some areas, for example in the Moon Valley system. While most of the soil is rocky, sand dunes are still occasionally found in this region; for example, sand dunes occupy much of the coastline between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.


title: Namib

text: Several rivers and streams run through the Namib, although all of the rivers south of the Cunene River and north of the Orange River are ephemeral and rarely or never reach the ocean. These rivers arise in the interior mountains of Namibia and flow after summer rain storms.


title: Namib

text: The Namib's aridity is caused by the descent of dry air of the Hadley Cell, cooled by the cold Benguela current along the coast. It has less than of rain annually and is almost completely barren. Besides rain being scarce, it is also unpredictable. The western Namib gets less rain (5 mm) than the eastern Namib (85 mm). This is due to several factors. Winds coming from the Indian Ocean lose part of their humidity when passing the Drakensberg mountains, and are essentially dry when they reach the Namib Escarpment at the eastern end of the desert. Winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean, on the other hand, are pressed down by hot air from the east; their humidity thus forms clouds and fog. Morning fogs coming from the ocean and pushing inwards into the desert are a regular phenomenon along the coast, and much of the life cycle of animals and plants in the Namib relies on these fogs as the main source of water.


title: Namib

text: The dry climate of the Namib reflects the almost complete lack of bodies of water on the surface. Most rivers flow underground and/or are dry for most of the year. Even when they are not, they usually drain into endorheic basins, without reaching the sea. The Swakop and the Omaruru are the only rivers that occasionally drain into the ocean.


title: Namib

text: All along the coast, but mostly in the northernmost part of it, interaction between the water-laden air coming from the sea via southerly winds, some of the strongest of any coastal desert, and the dry air of the desert causes immense fogs and strong currents. It causes sailors to lose their way; this is testified by the remnants of a number of shipwrecks that can be found along the Skeleton Coast, in northern Namib. Some of these wrecked ships can be found as much as inland, as the desert slowly moves westwards into the sea, reclaiming land over a period of many years.


title: Namib

text: Benguela's El Niño (similar to the Pacific event in its environmental change in the seas) spreads from the Kunene estuary southward to, on occasion, south of Luderitz. Warm waters with depth and associated water flows from the northwest were first fully catalogued by Sea Fisheries researchers, Cape Town (L V Shannon "et al."). The research noted the positive effect of Benguela's El Niño on the rainfall of the interior. Rainfall records also show positive values variously across the Namib, Desert Research Station, Gobabeb for instance. This event recurs approximately mid-decade (1974, 1986, 1994, 1995 and 2006 are recent examples).


title: Namib

text: A number of unusual species of plants and animals are found in this desert, many of which are endemic and highly adapted to the specific climate of the area. One of the most well-known endemic plants of the Namib is the bizarre "Welwitschia mirabilis"; a shrub-like plant, it grows two long strap-shaped leaves continuously throughout its lifetime. These leaves may be several meters long, gnarled and twisted from the desert winds. The taproot of the plant develops into a flat, concave disc in age. "Welwitschia" is notable for its survival in the extremely arid conditions in the Namib, mostly deriving moisture from the coastal sea fogs. An area where "Welwitschias" are a common sight is found in the surroundings of the Moon Valley, including the eponymous Welwitschia Plains.


title: Namib

text: The Namib fauna mostly comprises arthropods and other small animals that can live on little water, but a few species of bigger animals are also found, including antelopes (such as gemsboks and springboks), ostriches, and in some areas even desert elephants. All these species have developed techniques to survive in the Namib environment. A number of endemic darkling beetles species — such as the Namib Desert beetle — have bumpy elytrons with a pattern of hydrophilic bumps and hydrophobic troughs. These cause humidity from the morning fogs to condense into droplets, which roll down the beetle's back to its mouth; they are collectively known as "fog beetles". Another beetle, the "Lepidochora discoidalis", builds "water-capturing" webs. Black-backed jackals lick humidity from stones. Gemsboks (also known as the South African oryx) can raise the temperature of their bodies to 40 °C in the hottest hours of the day. The desert is also home to meerkats and several species of lizards.


title: Namib

text: Before the 20th century, some San roamed the Namib, gathering edible plants on the shore, hunting in the interior, and drinking the juice of the tsamma melon for water. Today, some Herero still herd their livestock in the Kaokoveld in the Namib and take them from waterhole to waterhole. A few Nama Khoikhoi still graze their livestock on the banks of the Kuiseb River in the desert. Most of the native people have left, however, leaving the vast majority of the desert uninhabited.


title: Namib

text: The steppes in the southern half of the desert are mostly made up of ranches run by Europeans, who raise Karakul sheep with local help and send the pelts of the lambs to Europe for use in fur coats. Most of the rest of the desert is set aside for conservation. A vast portion of the desert, called the Sperrgebiet, was access-restricted due to the presence of diamonds, which are mined in the area at the mouth of the Orange River. Although the desert is largely unpopulated and inaccessible, there are year-round settlements at Sesriem, close to the famous Sossusvlei area, and other small outposts in other locations. Moçâmedes in Angola, and Lüderitz, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund in Namibia, bordering on the desert, are the main settlements in the area.


title: Namib

text: In 2019 the Namibian-German artist Max Siedentopf created an installation in the Namib consisting of a ring of large white blocks atop of which sit six speakers attached to a solar-powered MP3 player configured to continuously play the 1982 song "Africa" by the American band Toto. The exact location of the installation has not been disclosed.


title: Namib

text: The Namib-Naukluft National Park, that extends over a large part of the Namib Desert, is the largest game reserve in Africa and one of the largest of the world. While most of the park is hardly accessible, several well-known visitor attractions are found in the desert. The prominent attraction is the famous Sossusvlei area, where high orange sand dunes surround vivid white salt pans, creating a fascinating landscape.


title: Namib

text: Access to the park is either by gravel roads or dust roads (except for 60 km of concrete road from the Sesriem gate to Sossusvlei) or by light aircraft from Windhoek (the capital of Namibia, about northeast of the centre of the desert), or Swakopmund and Walvis Bay at the north end of the desert.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: La Familia Michoacana, (English: "The Michoacán Family") La Familia (English: "The Family"), or LFM is a Mexican drug cartel and organized crime syndicate based in the Mexican state of Michoacán. They are known to produce large amounts of methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories in Michoacan. Formerly allied to the Gulf Cartel—as part of Los Zetas—it split off in 2006. The cartel was founded by Carlos Rosales Mendoza, a close associate of Osiel Cárdenas. The second leader, Nazario Moreno González, known as "El Más Loco" (English: "The Craziest One"), preached his organization's divine right to eliminate enemies. He carried a "bible" of his own sayings and insisted that his army of traffickers and hitmen avoid using the narcotics they produce and sell. Nazario Moreno's partners were José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, Servando Gómez Martínez and Enrique Plancarte Solís, each of whom has a bounty of $2 million for his capture, and were contesting the control of the organization.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: In July 2009 and November 2010, La Familia Michoacana offered to retreat and even disband their cartel, "with the condition that both the Federal Government, and State and Federal Police commit to safeguarding the security of the state of Michoacán." However, President Felipe Calderón's government refused to strike a deal with the cartel and rejected their calls for dialogue. According to federal and state sources, La Familia Michoacana has been increasingly involved in Michoacán's politics, impelling their favorite candidates, financing their campaigns, and forcing other parties to renounce their candidacies. As of 2011, La Familia Michoacana still exists, mostly active in Estado de Mexico, despite the killing of its founder and leader Nazario Moreno González. Several leaders split off after his death to form the Knights Templar.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: Mexican analysts believe that La Familia formed in the 1980s with the stated purpose of bringing order to Michoacán, emphasizing help and protection for the poor. In its initial incarnation, La Familia formed as a group of vigilantes, spurred to power to counter interloping kidnappers and drug dealers, who were their stated enemies. Since then, La Familia has capitalized on its reputation, building its myth, power and reach to transition into a criminal gang itself.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: La Familia came to the foreground in the 1990s as the Gulf Cartel's paramilitary group, designed to seize control of the illegal drug trade in Michoacán state from rival drug cartels. While it initially trained with Los Zetas, in 2006 the group splintered off into an independent drug trafficking operation. La Familia has a strong rivalry with both Los Zetas and the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, but strong ties with the Sinaloa Cartel of Joaquin Guzman. La Familia Michoacana was one of the strongest and fastest growing cartels in Mexico.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: After the death of Nazario Moreno González, José de Jesús Méndez Vargas ("El Chango Méndez") took control of the cartel. However, his authority was disputed by the cartel co-founders Enrique Plancarte Solís and Servando Gómez Martínez ("La Tuta"), who formed an offshoot of La Familia calling itself Caballeros Templarios (Knights Templar). Méndez Vargas was captured on June 21, 2011, by Mexican police in the state of Aguascalientes. The Mexican Federal Police declared that the cartel has been disbanded. However, the organization continued to exercise its power and influence throughout Michoacán and Guerrero states.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: In 2017, former La Familia leader Arnoldo Rueda-Medina, who was arrested in Mexico in 2009, was extradited to the United States and sentenced to 45 years in prison in 2018 after being convicted on drug trafficking charges.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: La Familia cartel is sometimes described as quasi-religious since its leaders, Moreno González and Méndez Vargas, refer to their assassinations and beheadings as "divine justice." The cartel may have direct or indirect ties with devotees of the New Jerusalem religious movement, which is noted for its concern for justice issues. La Familia's boss and spiritual leader Nazario Moreno González, (a.k.a.: "El Más Loco" or "The Craziest One") published his own 'bible,' and a copy seized by Mexican federal agents reveals an ideology that mixes evangelical-style self-help with insurgent peasant slogans. Moreno González, who was killed on December 9, 2010, seems to have based most of his doctrine on a work by Christian writer John Eldredge, using his own understanding of the idea in Eldredge's message that every man must have "a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue and an adventure to live." The Mexican justice department stated in a report that Gonzalez Moreno has made Eldredge's book "Salvaje de Corazón" ("Wild at Heart") required reading for La Familia gang members and has paid rural teachers and National Development Education (CONAFE) to circulate Eldredge's writings throughout the Michoacán countryside. La Familia cartel emphasizes religion and family values during recruitment and has placed banners in areas of operations claiming that it does not tolerate substance abuse or exploitation of women and children. According to Mexico Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna, it recruits members from drug rehabilitation clinics by helping addicts recover and then forcing them into service for the drug cartel or be killed. Advancement within the organization depends as much on regular attendance at prayer meetings as on target practice. The cartel gives loans to farmers, businesses, schools and churches, and it advertises its benevolence in local newspapers in order to gain social support.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: On July 16, 2009, Servando Gómez Martínez ("La Tuta"), the cartel operations chief, contacted a local radio station and stated: "La Familia was created to look after the interests of our people and our family. We are a necessary evil." When asked what La Familia really wanted, Gómez replied, "The only thing we want is peace and tranquility." President Felipe Calderón's government refuses to strike a deal with the cartel and rejected their calls for dialogue.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: On April 20, 2009, about 400 Federal Police agents raided a christening party for a baby born to a cartel member. Among the 44 detained was Rafael Cedeño Hernández ("El Cede"), the gang's second in command and in charge of indoctrinating the new recruits in the cartel's religious values, morals and ethics.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: In February 2010, the major cartels aligned in two factions. One was made up of the Juárez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel, Los Zetas, and the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. The other faction was made up of the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, and La Familia Michoacana. La Familia Michoacana became a rival of its splinter group Knights Templar. Mexican Attorney General (PGR) reported that La Familia Cartel was "exterminated" by 2011.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: La Familia has been known to be unusually violent. Its members use murder and torture to quash rivals, while building a social base in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It once was the fastest-growing cartel in the country's drug war and is a religious cult-like group that celebrates family values. In one incident in Uruapan in 2006, the cartel members tossed five severed heads onto the dance floor of the "Sol y Sombra" night club along with a message that read: ""The Family doesn't kill for money. It doesn't kill women. It doesn't kill innocent people, only those who deserve to die. Know that this is divine justice.""


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: Like other cartels, La Familia used the port city of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán to import narcotics from Peru and Colombia. They also produced large amounts of methamphetamine along the highlands of the Sierra Madre. The cartel has moved from smuggling and selling drugs and turned itself into a much more ambitious criminal organization which acts as a parallel state in much of Michoacán. It extorts "taxes" from businesses, pays for community projects, controls petty crime, and settles some local disputes. Despite its short history, it has emerged as Mexico's largest supplier of methamphetamines to the United States, with supply channels running deep into the Midwestern United States, and has increasingly become involved in the distribution of cocaine, marijuana, and other narcotics. Michael Braun, former DEA chief of operations, states that it operates "superlabs" in Mexico capable of producing up to 100 pounds of meth in eight hours. However, according to DEA officials, it claims to oppose the sale of drugs to Mexicans. It also sells unlicensed DVDs, smuggles people to the United States, and runs a debt-collecting service by kidnapping defaulters. Because oftentimes they use fake and sometimes original uniforms of several police agencies, most of their kidnap victims are stopped under false pretenses of routine inspections or report of stolen vehicles, and then taken hostage.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: La Familia has also bought some local politicians. 20 municipal officials have been murdered in Michoacán, including two mayors. Having established its authority, it then names local police chiefs. In May 2009, the Mexican Federal Police detained 10 Michoacán mayors and 20 other local officials suspected of being associated with the cartel.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: On July 11, 2009, a cartel lieutenant—Arnoldo Rueda Medina—was arrested. La Familia members attacked the Federal Police station in Morelia to try to free Rueda shortly after his arrest. During the attacks, two soldiers and three federal policemen were killed. When that failed, cartel members attacked Federal Police installations in at least a half-dozen Michoacán cities in retribution.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: Three days later, on July 14, 2009, the cartel tortured and murdered twelve Mexican Federal Police agents and dumped their bodies along the side of a mountain highway along with a written message: ""So that you come for another. We will be waiting for you here."" The federal agents were investigating crime in Michoacán state; President Calderón, responded to the violence by dispatching additional 1,000 Federal Police officers to the area. The infusion, which more than tripled the number of Federal Police officers patrolling Michoacán, angered Michoacán Governor Leonel Godoy Rangel, who called it 'an occupation' and said he had not been consulted. Days later, 10 municipal police officers were arrested in connection with the slayings of the 12 federal agents.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: The governor's half-brother Julio César Godoy Toscano, who was elected July 5, 2009 to the lower house of Congress, was accused of being a top-ranking member of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel and of providing political protection for the cartel. Based on these charges, on December 14, 2010, Godoy Toscano was impeached from the lower house of Congress and therefore lost his parliamentary immunity; he fled and remains a fugitive.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: President Calderón stated that the country's drug cartels had grown so powerful that they now posed a threat to the future of Mexican democracy. His strategy of direct confrontation and law enforcement is not popular with some segments of Mexican society, where battling violent drug gangs has brought out several human rights charges against the Mexican military.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: On October 22, 2009, U.S. federal authorities announced the results of a four-year investigation into the operations of La Familia Michoacana in the United States dubbed "Project Coronado". It was the largest U.S. raid ever against Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S. In 19 different states, 303 individuals were taken into custody in a coordinated effort by local, state, and federal law enforcement over a two-day period. Seized during the arresting phase was over of cocaine, of methamphetamine, of marijuana, 144 weapons, 109 vehicles, two clandestine drug laboratories, and $3.4 million in U.S. currency.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: Since the start of "Project Coronado," the investigation has led to the arrest of more than 1,186 people and the seizure of approximately $33 million. Overall, almost of cocaine, of methamphetamine, of heroin, of marijuana, 389 weapons, 269 vehicles, and the two drug labs were seized.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: Multi-agency investigations such as Project Coronado were the key to disrupting the operations of complex criminal organizations like La Familia. The investigative efforts in Project Coronado were coordinated by the multi-agency Special Operations Division, comprising agents and analysts from the DEA, FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshals Service and ATF, as well as attorneys from the Criminal Division's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section. More than 300 federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies contributed investigative and prosecutorial resources to Project Coronado through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: In July 2011, the United States Department of Justice announced that a 20-month-long operation known as "Project Delirium" had resulted in more than 221 arrests of La Familia cartel members in the United States, along with significant seizures of cash, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Outside of the United States, the operation resulted in the arrest of more than 1,900 members. Cartel members were arrested across the United States, and face charges in Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, D.C. This announcement came just a month after Mexican authorities announced the capture of cartel leader José de Jesús Méndez Vargas.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: It has been known that La Familia has certain connections with the Flores Camargo cartel, a small drug trafficking group that operates in Atlanta. Flores Camargo moves large quantities of high grade marijuana and cocaine through the I-75 corridor for distribution in Detroit, supplying the city and its outskirts and suburbs. The local authorities haven't been able to dismantle this trafficking group because of its experience. They have made several arrests but have never been able to locate Flores Camargo's heads. It is known that two cousins originally from the Mexican state of Guanajuato run it, but no photos or names have been obtained by authorities. This shows how trafficking groups are becoming more cunning in hiding from federal authorities. The federal authorities have known that the group smuggles high grade marijuana and cocaine from Guanajuato, traveling up to the border and passing under secret tunnels. DEA agents have received tips saying the groups move up to 2 tons of high grade marijuana to a central hub in Atlanta, then up through I75 to Detroit where it is repackaged into small quantities and spread throughout the city. The money is never tracked because no bank accounts are used. This group is known to have military style weapons obtained from their cartel connections in the United States and Mexico. They show off their luxury life on social networks but the authorities don't have any evidence to arrest the two cousins or other known associates.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: The alleged death of Nazario Moreno González on December 9, 2010, led to a split among cartel leaders José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, Enrique Plancarte Solís, and Servando Gómez Martínez. This led the former leaders of La Familia Michoacana, Plancarte and Gomez, to form the Knights Templar cartel, while Jesús Méndez kept the leadership of the formerly disbanded La Familia Michoacana.


title: La Familia Michoacana

text: By May 2020, all 39 non-Jalisco New Generation cartels operating in Guerrero were splinter cartels. In June 2020, it was reported that the Cartel del Abuelo and Los Viagras, as well as to a lesser extent the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, were the active cartels in Michoacán. Criminal activity in the State of Mexico was also now only contested by Los Rojos, dissidents from the Beltrán Leyva Organization, splinter groups from La Familia Michoacana and criminal gangs from Mexico City.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the First Battle of the Aisne a Franco-British counter-offensive. The term describes reciprocal attempts by the Franco-British and German armies to envelop the northern flank of the opposing army through the provinces of Picardy, Artois and Flanders, rather than an attempt to advance northwards to the sea. The "race" ended on the North Sea coast of Belgium around 19 October, when the last open area from Diksmuide to the North Sea was occupied by Belgian troops who had retreated after the Siege of Antwerp (28 September – 10 October). The outflanking attempts had resulted in a number of encounter battles but neither side was able to gain a decisive victory.


title: Race to the Sea

text: After the opposing forces had reached the North Sea, both tried to conduct offensives leading to the mutually costly and indecisive Battle of the Yser from 16 October to 2 November and the First Battle of Ypres from 19 October to 22 November. After mid-November, local operations were carried out by both sides and preparations were made to take the offensive in the spring of 1915. Erich von Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff ( OHL) since 14 September, concluded that a decisive victory could not be achieved on the Western Front and that it was equally unlikely in the east. Falkenhayn abandoned (strategy of annihilation) and attempted to create the conditions for peace with one of Germany's enemies, by (strategy of exhaustion), to enable Germany to concentrate its resources decisively to defeat the remaining opponents.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Over the winter lull, the French army established the theoretical basis of offensive trench warfare, originating many of the methods which became standard for the rest of the war. Infiltration tactics, in which dispersed formations of infantry were followed by (trench cleaners), to capture by-passed strong points were promulgated. Artillery observation from aircraft and creeping barrages, were first used systematically in the Second Battle of Artois from 9 May to 18 June 1915. Falkenhayn issued memoranda on 1915, to govern defensive battle on the Western Front, in which the existing front line was to be fortified and to be held indefinitely with small numbers of troops, to enable more divisions to be sent to the Eastern Front. New defences were to be built behind the front line to contain a breakthrough until the position was restored by counter-attacks. The began the huge task of building field fortifications, which were not complete until the autumn of 1915.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Under Plan XVII the French peacetime army was to form five field armies, with groups of Reserve divisions attached and a group of reserve divisions was to assemble on each flank, The armies were to concentrate opposite the German frontier around Épinal, Nancy and Verdun–Charleville-Mezières, with an army in reserve around Sainte-Menehould and Commercy. Since 1871 railway building had given the French General Staff sixteen lines to the German frontier against thirteen available to the German army and the French could wait until German intentions were clear. The French deployment was intended to be ready for a German offensive in Lorraine or through Belgium. It was anticipated that the Germans would use reserve troops but also expected that a large German army would be mobilised on the border with Russia, leaving the western army with sufficient troops only to advance through Belgium south of the Meuse and the Sambre rivers. French intelligence had obtained a map exercise of the German general staff of 1905, in which German troops had gone no further north than Namur and assumed that plans to besiege Belgian forts were a defensive measure against the Belgian army.


title: Race to the Sea

text: A German attack from south-eastern Belgium towards Mézières and a possible offensive from Lorraine towards Verdun, Nancy and St. Dié was anticipated; the plan was an evolution from Plan XVI and made more provision for the possibility of a German offensive through Belgium. The First, Second and Third Armies were to concentrate between Épinal and Verdun opposite Alsace and Lorraine, the Fifth Army was to assemble from Montmédy to Sedan and Mézières and the Fourth Army was to be held back west of Verdun, ready to move east to attack the southern flank of a German invasion through Belgium or southwards against the northern flank of an attack through Lorraine. No formal provision was made for combined operations with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) but joint arrangements had been made and in 1911 during the Second Moroccan Crisis the French had been told that six divisions could be expected to operate around Maubeuge.


title: Race to the Sea

text: German strategy had given priority to offensive operations against France and a defensive posture against Russia since 1891. German planning was determined by numerical inferiority, the speed of mobilisation and concentration and the effect of the vast increase of the power of modern weapons. Frontal attacks were expected to be costly and protracted, leading to limited success, particularly after the French and Russians modernised their fortifications on the frontiers with Germany. Alfred von Schlieffen, Chief of the Imperial German General Staff, (OHL) from devised plans to evade the French frontier fortifications with an offensive on the flank, which would have a local numerical superiority and obtain rapidly a decisive victory. By 1906 such a manoeuvre was intended to pass through neutral Belgium and threaten Paris from the north. Helmuth von Moltke the Younger succeeded Schlieffen in 1906 and was less certain that the French would conform to German assumptions. Moltke adapted the deployment and concentration plan, to accommodate an attack in the centre or an enveloping attack from both flanks as variants to the plan, by adding divisions to the left flank opposite the French frontier, from the expected to be mobilised in the (western army). The main German force would still advance through Belgium and attack southwards into France, the French armies would be enveloped on the left and pressed back over the Meuse, Aisne, Somme, Oise, Marne and Seine, unable to withdraw into central France. Either the French would be annihilated or the manoeuvre from the north would create conditions for victory in the centre or in Lorraine on the common border.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The Battle of the Frontiers is a general name for all of the operations of the French armies until the Battle of the Marne. A series of encounter battles began between the German, French and Belgian armies, on the German-French frontier and in southern Belgium on 4 August 1914. The Battle of Mulhouse (Battle of Alsace ) was the first French offensive against Germany. The French captured Mulhouse until forced out by a German counter-attack on 11 August and fell back toward Belfort. The main French offensive, the Battle of Lorraine , began with the Battles of Morhange and Sarrebourg () advances by the First Army on Sarrebourg and the Second Army towards Morhange. Château-Salins near Morhange was captured on 17 August and Sarrebourg the next day. The German 6th Army and 7th Army counter-attacked on 20 August and the Second Army was forced back from Morhange and the First Army was repulsed at Sarrebourg. The German armies crossed the border and advanced on Nancy but were stopped to the east of the city.


title: Race to the Sea

text: To the south the French retook Mulhouse on 19 August and then withdrew. On 24 August at the Battle of the Mortagne a limited German offensive in the Vosges, the Germans managed a small advance, before a French counter-attack retook the ground. By 20 August a German counter-offensive in Lorraine had begun and the German 4th Army and 5th Army advanced through the Ardennes on 19 August towards Neufchâteau. An offensive by French Third and Fourth Armies through the Ardennes began on 20 August, in support of the French invasion of Lorraine. The opposing armies met in thick fog and the French mistook the German troops for screening forces. On 22 August the Battle of the Ardennes began with French attacks, which were costly to both sides and forced the French into a disorderly retreat late on 23 August. The Third Army recoiled towards Verdun, pursued by the 5th Army and the Fourth Army retreated to Sedan and Stenay. Mulhouse was recaptured again by German forces and the Battle of the Meuse caused a temporary halt of the German advance.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Liège was occupied by the Germans on 7 August, the first units of the BEF landed in France and French troops crossed the German frontier. On 12 August the Battle of Haelen was fought by German and Belgian cavalry and infantry and was a Belgian defensive success. The BEF completed its move of four divisions and a cavalry division to France on 16 August, as the last Belgian fort of the Fortified Position of Liège surrendered. The Belgian government withdrew from Brussels on 18 August and the German army attacked the Belgian field army at the Battle of the Gete. Next day the Belgian army began to retire towards Antwerp, which left the route to Namur open; Longwy and Namur were besieged on 20 August. Further west the Fifth Army had concentrated on the Sambre by 20 August, facing north either side of Charleroi and east towards the Belgian Fortified Position of Namur. On the left, the Cavalry Corps (General André Sordet) linked with the BEF at Mons.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The Fifth Army was confronted by the German 3rd Army and 2nd Army from the east and the north. Before the Fifth Army could attack over the Sambre the 2nd Army attacked at the Battle of Charleroi and at Namur on 21 August. The 3rd Army crossed the Meuse and attacked the French right flank and on 23 August, the Fifth Army began a retirement southwards to avoid encirclement. After the Battle of St. Quentin, the French withdrawal continued. On 22 August the BEF advanced and on 23 August fought the Battle of Mons, a delaying action against the German 1st Army, to protect the left flank of the French Fifth Army. The BEF was forced to retreat when the 1st Army began to overrun the British defences on the right flank and the Fifth Army retired from the area south of the Sambre, exposing the British right flank to envelopment. Namur capitulated on 25 August and a Belgian sortie from Antwerp led to the Battle of Malines


title: Race to the Sea

text: After the French defeat during the Battle of Lorraine, the French Second Army retreated to the Grand Couronné heights near Nancy and dug in, on an arc from Pont-à-Mousson to Champenoux, Lunéville and Dombasle-sur-Meurthe by 3 September. The Battle of Grand Couronné (4–13 September) began next day, when the German 7th and 6th Armies attacked simultaneously at St. Dié and Nancy, as the Second Army sent reinforcements to the Third Army. Costly fighting continued until 12 September but the French were able to withdraw more than four corps to reinforce the armies on the left flank. On 13 September, Pont-à-Mousson and Lunéville were recaptured by the French and the advance continued close to the Seille river, where the front stabilised. The battles kept a large number of German troops in Lorraine, as the Great Retreat further west culminated on the Marne.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The French Fifth Army fell back about from the Sambre during the Battle of Charleroi (22 August) and began a greater withdrawal from the area south of the Sambre on 23 August. The BEF fought the Battle of Mons on 24 August, by when the French First and Second armies had been pushed back by attacks of the German 7th and 6th armies between St. Dié and Nancy, the Third Army held positions east of Verdun against attacks by the 5th Army, the Fourth Army held positions from the junction with the Third Army south of Montmédy, westwards to Sedan, Mezières and Fumay, facing the 4th Army and the Fifth Army was between Fumay and Maubeuge, with the 3rd Army advancing up the Meuse valley from Dinant and Givet into a gap between the Fourth and Fifth Armies and the 2nd Army pressed forward into the angle between the Meuse and Sambre directly against the Fifth Army. On the far west flank of the French, the BEF prolonged the line from Maubeuge to Valenciennes against the 1st Army and Army Detachment von Beseler masked the Belgian Army at Antwerp.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 26 August, German forces captured Valenciennes and conducted the Siege of Maubeuge Leuven (Louvain) was sacked by German troops and the Battle of Le Cateau was fought by the BEF and the 1st Army. Longwy was surrendered by its garrison and next day, British Royal Marines and a party of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) landed at Ostend; Lille and Mezières were occupied by German troops. Arras was occupied on 27 August and a French counter-offensive began at the Battle of St. Quentin (also known as the Battle of Guise On 29 August the Fifth Army counter-attacked the 2nd Army south of the Oise, from Vervins to Mont Dorigny and west of the river from Mont Dorigny to Moy towards St. Quentin on the Somme, while the British held the line of the Oise west of La Fère. Laon, La Fère and Roye were captured by German troops on 30 August and Amiens the next day. On 1 September Craonne and Soissons were captured and on 5 September the BEF ended its retreat from Mons, German troops reached Claye, from Paris, Reims was captured, German forces withdrew from Lille and the First Battle of the Marne (Battle of the Ourcq) began, marking the end of the Great Retreat of the western flank of the Franco-British armies.


title: Race to the Sea

text: By 4 September the First and Second Armies had slowed the advance of the 7th and 6th armies west of St. Dié and east of Nancy, from where the Second Army had withdrawn its left flank, to face north between Nancy and Toul. A gap between the left of the Second Army and the right of the Third Army at Verdun, which faced north-west, on a line towards Revigny against the 5th Army advance, west of the Meuse between Varennes and St. Ménéhould. The Fourth Army had withdrawn to Sermaize, west to the Marne at Vitry-le-François and then across the river to Sompons, against the 4th Army, which had advanced from Rethel, to Suippes and the west of Châlons. The new Ninth Army held a line from Mailly against the 3rd Army, which had advanced from Mézières, over the Vesle and the Marne west of Châlons. The 2nd Army had advanced from Marle on the Serre, across the Aisne and the Vesle, between Reims and Fismes to Montmort, north of the junction of the Ninth and Fifth Armies at Sézanne. The Fifth Army and the BEF had withdrawn south of the Oise, Serre, Aisne and Ourq, pursued by the 2nd Army on a line from Guise to Laon, Vailly and Dormans and by the 1st Army from Montdidier, towards Compiègne and then south-east towards Montmirail. The new French Sixth Army, linked with the left of the BEF, west of the Marne at Meaux, to Pontoise north of Paris. French garrisons were besieged at Strasbourg, Metz, Thionville, Longwy, Montmédy and Maubeuge. The Belgian army was invested at Antwerp in the National Redoubt and at Liège, fortress troops continued the defence of the forts.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia on 28 July and on 1 August military operations began on the Polish border. Libau was bombarded by a German cruiser on 2 August and on 5 August Montenegro declared war on Austria-Hungary. On 6 August, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia and Serbia declared war on Germany; war began between Montenegro and Germany on 8 August. The Battle of Stallupönen (17 August) caused a minor check to the Russian invasion of East Prussia and on 12 August, Britain and France declared war on Austria-Hungary, as Austrian forces crossed the Save and seized Shabatz. Next day, Austrian forces crossed the Drina and began the first invasion of Serbia. The Battle of Cer (Battle of the Jadar, began and the Battle of Gumbinnen in East Prussia took place from


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 21 August, Austro-Hungarian forces withdrew from Serbia. The Battle of Tannenberg began in East Prussia and in the Battle of Galicia the First Battle of Kraśnik was fought in Poland from Shabatz was retaken by Serbian forces and the last Austrian troops retired across the Drina, ending the First Austrian Invasion of Serbia. The First Battle of Lemberg began in Galicia and the Battle of Komarów and the Battle of Gnila Lipa began in Poland. A naval action took place off Åland and a German cruiser ran aground and was intercepted by a Russian squadron.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 3 September, Lemberg was captured by the Russian army and the Battle of Rawa (Battle of Tarnavka began in Galicia. The First Battle of the Masurian Lakes began and on 8 September, the Austro-Hungarian army commenced the Second Invasion of Serbia, leading to the Battle of Drina The Second Battle of Lemberg began and on 11 September, Austrian forces in Galicia retreated. The Battle of the Masurian Lakes ended on 15 September and Czernowitz in Bukovina was taken by the Russian army. On 17 September, Serbian forces in Syrmia were withdrawn and Semlin evacuated, as the Battle of the Drina ended. Next day General Paul von Hindenburg was appointed (, Commander-in-Chief of German Armies in the Eastern Theatre).


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 21 September, Jaroslaw in Galicia was taken by the Russian army. On 24 September, Przemyśl was isolated by Russian forces, beginning the First Siege as Russian forces conducted the First Invasion of North Hungary Military operations began on the Niemen but German attacks were suspended on 29 September. The retreat of Austro-Hungarian forces in Galicia ended and Maramaros-Sziget was captured by the Russian army; an Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive began on 4 October and Maramaros-Sziget was retaken. On 9 October, the First German Offensive against Warsaw began with the battles of Warsaw and Ivangorod As the situation on the eastern front deteriorated in September, the new German high command under General Falkenhayn attempted to retrieve the situation in France and inflict a decisive defeat.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 2 August 1914, the Belgian government refused the passage of German troops through Belgium to France and on the night of the Belgian General Staff ordered the Third Division to Liège to obstruct a German advance. Covered by the Third Division, the Liège fortress garrison, a screen of the Cavalry Division and detachments from Liège and Namur, the rest of the Belgian field army closed up to the river Gete by 4 August, covering central and western Belgium and the communications towards Antwerp. The German invasion began on 4 August, when an advanced force of six German brigades from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armies, crossed the German-Belgian border. Belgian resistance and German fear of , led the Germans to implement a policy of (frightfulness) against Belgian civilians soon after the invasion, in which massacres, executions, hostage taking and the burning of towns and villages took place and became known as the Rape of Belgium.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 5 August, the advanced German forces tried to capture Liège and the forts of the Fortified Position of Liège by . The city fell on 6 August but the forts were not captured and on 12 August, five German super-heavy howitzers and four batteries of Austrian howitzers, began systematically to bombard the Belgian defences, until the last fort fell on 16 August. On 18 August, the Germans began to advance along the Meuse River towards Namur and the Belgian field army began a withdrawal from its positions along the Gete, to the National Redoubt at Antwerp. On 20 August, the German 1st Army took Brussels unopposed and the Belgian field army reached Antwerp, with little interference from German advanced parties, except for an engagement between the 1st Division and the German IX Corps near Tienen, in which the Belgians had


title: Race to the Sea

text: While the BEF and the French armies conducted the Great Retreat into France small detachments of the Belgian, French and British armies conducted operations in Belgium against German cavalry and . On 27 August, a squadron of the RNAS had flown to Ostend, for air reconnaissance sorties between Bruges, Ghent and Ypres. British marines landed at Dunkirk on the night of and on 28 September occupied Lille. The rest of the brigade occupied Cassel on 30 September and scouted the country in motor cars. An RNAS Armoured Car Section was created, by fitting vehicles with bullet-proof steel. On 2 October, the Marine Brigade was moved to Antwerp, followed by the rest of the Naval Division on 6 October, having landed at Dunkirk on the night of From the 7th Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division landed at Zeebrugge. Naval forces collected at Dover were formed into a separate unit, which became the Dover Patrol, to operate in the Channel and off the French-Belgian coast.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Antwerp was invested to the south and east by German forces after 20 August, while the main German armies chased the French and British over the border southwards to the Marne. Belgian forces in Antwerp tried to assist the French and British with sorties on and On 28 September German heavy and super-heavy artillery began to bombard Belgian fortifications around Antwerp. On 1 October, the Germans attacked forts Sint-Katelijne-Waver and Walem and the Bosbeek and Dorpveld redoubts, held by the 5th Reserve and Marine divisions. By Fort Walem was severely damaged and Fort Lier was hit by shells but Fort Koningshooikt, the Tallabert and Bosbeek redoubts were mostly intact; the intervening ground between Fort Sint-Katelijne-Waver and Dorpveld redoubt had been captured. Despite reinforcement by the Royal Naval Division from 2 October, the Germans penetrated the outer ring of forts. When the German advance began to compress a corridor from the west of the city along the Dutch border to the coast, the Belgian field army withdrew from Antwerp westwards towards the coast. On 9 October, the remaining garrison surrendered and the Germans occupied the city. Some British and Belgian troops escaped to the Netherlands, where they were interned for the duration of the war. The Belgian withdrawal was protected by a French Marine brigade, Belgian cavalry and the British 7th Division around Ghent. On 15 October, the Belgian army occupied a defensive line along the Yser river in west Flanders, from Diksmuide to the coast.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Joffre used the railways which had transported French troops to the German frontier to move troops back from Lorraine and Alsace to form a new Sixth Army under General Michel-Joseph Maunoury with nine divisions and two cavalry divisions. By 10 September twenty divisions and three cavalry divisions had been moved west from the German border to the French centre and left and the balance of force between the German and the Third, Fourth, Ninth, Fifth armies, the BEF and Sixth Army had changed to Late on 4 September, Joffre ordered the Sixth Army to attack eastwards over the Ourcq towards Château Thierry as the BEF advanced towards Montmirail and the Fifth Army attacked northwards, with its right flank protected by the Ninth Army along the St. Gond marshes. The French First, Second, Third and Fourth armies to the east, were to resist the attacks of the German between Verdun and Toul and repulse an enveloping attack on the defences south of Nancy from the north. The 6th and 7th armies were reinforced by heavy artillery from Metz and attacked again on 4 September along the Moselle.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 5 September, the Sixth Army advanced eastwards from Paris and met the German IV Reserve Corps, which had moved into the area that morning and stopped the French advance short of high ground north of Meaux. Overnight, the IV Reserve Corps withdrew to a better position east and French air reconnaissance observed German forces moving north to face the Sixth Army. General Alexander von Kluck the 1st Army commander, ordered the II Corps to move back to the north bank of the Marne, which began a redeployment of all four 1st Army corps to the north bank by 8 September. The swift move to the north bank prevented the Sixth Army from crossing the Ourcq but created a gap between the 1st and 2nd armies. The BEF advanced from crossed the Petit Morin, captured bridges over the Marne and established a bridgehead deep. The Fifth Army also advanced into the gap and by 8 September, had crossed the Petit Morin, which forced Bülow to withdraw the right flank of the 2nd Army. Next day the Fifth Army recrossed the Marne and the German 1st and 2nd armies began to retire as the French Ninth, Fourth and Third Armies fought defensive battles against the 3rd Army which then had to retreat with the 1st and 2nd armies on 9 September.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Further east, the Third Army was forced back to the west of Verdun as German attacks were made on the Meuse Heights to the south-east but managed to maintain contact with Verdun and the Fourth Army to the west. German attacks against the Second Army south of Verdun from 5 September, almost forced the French to retreat but on 8 September, the crisis eased. By 10 September, the German armies west of Verdun were retreating towards the Aisne and the Franco-British were following-up, collecting stragglers and equipment. On 12 September, Joffre ordered an outflanking move to the west and an attack northwards by the Third Army, to cut off the German retreat. The pursuit was too slow and by 14 September, the German armies had dug in north of the Aisne and the Allies met trench lines, rather than rearguards. Frontal attacks by the Ninth, Fifth and Sixth armies were repulsed from which led Joffre to begin the transfer of the Second Army west to the left flank of the Sixth Army, the first phase of the operations to outflank the German armies, which from 17 September to moved the opposing armies through Picardy and Flanders, to the North Sea coast.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 10 September, the French armies and the BEF advanced to exploit the victory of the Marne and the armies on the left flank advanced, opposed only by rearguards. On Joffre ordered outflanking manoeuvres but the advance was too slow to catch the Germans, who on 14 September, began to dig in on high ground on the north bank of the Aisne, which reduced the French advance from to a few local gains. French troops had begun to move westwards on 2 September, over undamaged railways which could move a corps to the left flank in from On 17 September, the French Sixth Army attacked from Soissons to Noyon, with the XIII and IV corps, supported by the 61st and 62nd divisions of the 6th Group of Reserve Divisions, after which the fighting moved north to Lassigny and the French dug in around Nampcel.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The French Second Army arrived from the eastern flank and took over command of the left-hand corps of the Sixth Army, as indications appeared that German troops were also being moved from the eastern flank. The German IX Reserve Corps arrived from Belgium by 15 September and next day attacked with the 1st Army to the south-west with the IV Corps and the 4th and 7th cavalry divisions, against the attempted French envelopment. The attack was cancelled and the corps withdrew behind the right flank of the 1st Army. The 2nd and 9th cavalry divisions were sent next day but the French attack reached Carlepont and Noyon, before being contained on 18 September. In the Battle of Flirey, the German armies attacked from Verdun west to Reims and the Aisne on 20 September, cut the main railway from Verdun to Paris and created the St Mihiel salient. The main German effort remained on the western flank, which the French discovered by intercepting wireless messages. By 28 September, the Aisne front had stabilised and the BEF began to withdraw on the night of with the first troops arriving in the Abbeville area on


title: Race to the Sea

text: After the defeat on the Marne, Moltke ordered a retirement to the Aisne by the 1st and 2nd armies on the German right wing and a withdrawal to Reims and a line eastwards past the north of Verdun, by the 3rd, 4th and 5th armies. The 6th and 7th armies were ordered to end their attacks and dig in. The withdrawal was intended to make time for the 7th Army to be transferred from Alsace, to the right wing near the Oise but Franco-British attacks led to the 7th Army being sent to fill the gap between the 1st and 2nd armies instead. Moltke was replaced by Falkenhayn on 14 September, by when the 1st Army had reached the Aisne, with its right flank on the Oise and the 7th Army had assembled on the Aisne, between the 1st and 2nd armies. Further east the 3rd, 4th and 5th armies had dug in from Prosnes to Verdun, secure from frontal attacks. The 1st Army was still vulnerable on its northern flank, to attacks by French troops transferred from the south, which could be moved faster over undamaged railways, than German troops using lines damaged during the Great Retreat. General Wilhelm Groener, head of the Railway Department of the OHL, suggested three alternatives, a frontal attack from the new positions, a defence of the line of the Aisne while reserves were transferred to the right flank or to continue the withdrawal and comprehensively regroup the German armies, ready to conduct an offensive on the right flank.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 15 September, Falkenhayn wanted to continue the withdrawal and ordered the 1st Army to fall back and dig in from Artems to La Fère and Nouvion-et-Catillon, to protect the right flank from a French offensive, while the 6th Army moved from Lorraine to the western flank, ready for a general offensive to begin progressively on 18 September from the 5th Army in the east, pinning French troops down westwards, until the 6th Army enveloped the French, beyond the right of the 1st Army. The plan was cancelled soon afterwards, when (Colonel) Gerhard Tappen (OHL Operations Branch), reported from a tour of inspection at the front that the French were too exhausted to begin an offensive, that a final push would be decisive and that more withdrawals would compromise the morale of the German troops, after the defeat on the Marne. From Falkenhayn ordered the 1st, 2nd and 7th armies, temporarily under the command of General Karl von Bülow, to attack southwards and the to attack with the intention of weakening the French and preventing troops from being moved westwards. The 6th Army began to move to the western flank on 17 September, ready for a decisive battle () but French attacks on 18 September, led Falkenhayn to order the 6th Army to operate defensively to secure the German flank.


title: Race to the Sea

text: French attempts to advance after the German retirement to the Aisne were frustrated after 14 September, when German troops were discovered to have stopped their retirement and dug in on the north bank of the Aisne. Joffre ordered attacks on the German 1st and 2nd armies but attempts by the Fifth, Ninth and Sixth armies to advance from had little success. The Deuxième Bureau (French Military Intelligence) also reported German troop movements from east to west, which led Joffre to continue the transfer of French troops from the east, which had begun on 2 September with the IV Corps and continued on 9 September with the XX Corps, 11 September with the XIII Corps and the XIV Corps on 18 September. The depletion of the French forces in the east, took place just before the Battle of Flirey, a German attack on 20 September against the Third Army on either side of Verdun, the Fifth Army north of Reims and the Sixth Army along the Aisne, which ended with the creation of the St. Mihiel Salient. Joffre maintained the French emphasis on the western flank, after receiving intercepted wireless messages, showing that the Germans were moving an army to the western flank and continued to assemble the Second Army to the north of the Sixth Army. On 24 September the Second Army was attacked and found difficulty in holding ground, rather than advancing round the German flank as intended.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The French Sixth Army began to advance along the Oise, west of Compiègne on 17 September. French reconnaissance aircraft were grounded during bad weather and cavalry were exhausted, which deprived the French commanders of information. As news reached Joffre that two German corps were moving south from Antwerp, the Sixth Army was forced to end its advance and dig in around Nampcel and Roye. The IV and XIII corps were transferred to the Second Army, along with the 1st, 5th, 8th and 10th Cavalry divisions of the Cavalry Corps (General Louis Conneau), the XIV and XX Corps were withdrawn from the First and the original Second Army to assemble south of Amiens, with a screen of the 81st, 82nd, 84th and 88th Territorial divisions, to protect French communications. The French advanced on 22 September, on a line from Lassigny northwards to Roye and Chaulnes around the German flank but met the German II Corps, which had arrived on the night of on the right flank of the IX Reserve Corps.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Despite the four divisions of the II Cavalry Corps (General Georg von der Marwitz), the Germans were pushed back to a line from Ribécourt to Lassigny and Roye, which menaced German communications through Ham and St. Quentin. On 24 September, the French were attacked by the XVIII Corps as it arrived from Reims, which forced back the French IV Corps at Roye on the right flank. To the north, the French reached Péronne and formed a bridgehead on the east bank of the Somme, only for the German XIV Reserve Corps to reach Bapaume to the north on 26 September. The offensive capacity of the Second Army was exhausted and defensive positions were occupied, while Joffre sent four more corps to reinforce. Over the next week, the northern flank of the Second Army moved further north and on 29 September, a (General Louis de Maud'huy) was formed, to control the northern corps of the Second Army as they assembled near Arras.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 21 September, Falkenhayn decided to concentrate the 6th Army near Amiens, to attack westwards to the coast and then envelop the French northern flank south of the Somme. The offensive by the French Second Army, forced Falkenhayn to divert the XXI and I Bavarian Corps as soon as they arrived, to extend the front northwards from Chaulnes to Péronne on 24 September and drive the French back over the Somme. On 26 September, the French Second Army dug in on a line from Lassigny to Roye and Bray-sur-Somme; German cavalry moved north to enable the II Bavarian Corps to occupy the ground north of the Somme. On 27 September, the German II Cavalry Corps drove back the 61st and 62nd Reserve divisions (General Joseph Brugère, who had replaced General Albert d'Amade), to clear the front for the XIV Reserve Corps and link with the right flank of the II Bavarian Corps. The French began to assemble at Arras and Maud'huy found that instead of making another attempt to get round the German flank, the "subdivision" was menaced by a German offensive.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The German II Bavarian and XIV Reserve corps pushed back a French Territorial division from Bapaume and advanced towards Bray-sur-Somme and Albert. From the French XXI and X Corps north of the Somme, with support on the right flank by the 81st, 82nd, 84th and 88th Territorial divisions and the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 10th Cavalry divisions of the French II Cavalry Corps, defended the approaches to Albert. On 28 September, the French were able to stop the German advance on a line from Maricourt to Fricourt and Thiepval. The German II Cavalry Corps was stopped near Arras by the French cavalry. On 29 September, Joffre added X Corps, north of Amiens, to the French II Cavalry Corps south-east of Arras and a provisional corps (General Victor d'Urbal), which had a Reserve division in Arras and one in Lens, to a new Tenth Army.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 1 October, the French at Arras were pushed back from Guémappe, Wancourt and Monchy-le-Preux, until the arrival of X Corps. By 1 October, two more French corps, three infantry and two cavalry divisions had been sent northwards to Amiens, Arras, Lens and Lille, which increased the Second Army to eight corps, along a front of . Joffre ordered Castelnau to operate defensively, while Maud'huy and the advanced on Arras. On 28 September, Falkenhayn had ordered the 6th Army to conduct an offensive by the IV, Guard and I Bavarian corps near Arras and more offensives further north. Rupprecht intended to halt the French west of Arras and envelop them around the north side of the city. On 1 October, the French attacked to the south-east, expecting only by a cavalry screen.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The Germans attacked from Arras to Douai on 1 October, forestalling the French. On 3 October, Rupprecht reinforced the 6th Army north of Arras and ordered the IV Cavalry Corps from Valenciennes to Lille. From German attacks on Arras and the vicinity were costly failures. On 4 October, German troops entered Lens, Souchez, Neuville-Saint-Vaast and gained a footing on the Lorette Spur. German attacks were made from the north of Arras to reach the Scarpe but were eventually repulsed by X Corps. By 4 October, German troops had also reached Givenchy-en-Gohelle and on the right flank of the French further south, the Territorial divisions were separated from X Corps, prompting Castelnau and Maud'huy to recommend a retreat. Joffre made Maud'huy's independent as the Tenth Army and told Castelnau to keep the Second Army in position, because the increasing number of troops arriving further north would divert German pressure.


title: Race to the Sea

text: By 6 October, the Second Army front from the Oise to the Somme and the Tenth Army front from Thiepval to Arras and Souchez had been stabilised. A German cavalry attack to the north of the 6th Army, pushed back the French Territorial divisions from Lens to Lille and on 5 October, Marwitz ordered the cavalry to advance westwards to Abbeville on the Channel coast and cut the railways leading south. At the end of 6 October, Falkenhayn terminated attempts by the 2nd Army to break through in Picardy. To the north, the I and II Cavalry corps attacked between Lens and Lille and were quickly forced back behind the Lorette Spur. Next day, the cavalry was attacked by the first troops of the French XXI Corps to arrive as they advanced eastwards from Béthune.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The German 6th Army took Lille before a British force could secure the town and the 4th Army attacked the exposed British flank at Ypres. On 9 October, the German XIV Corps arrived opposite the French and the German 1st and 2nd Cavalry corps tried a flanking move between La Bassée and Armentières but the French cavalry stopped the Germans north of La Bassée Canal. The German 4th Cavalry Corps passed through Ypres on 7 October and was forced back to Bailleul by French Territorial troops. From the British II Corps arrived by rail at Abbeville and advanced on Béthune. By the end of 11 October, II Corps held a line from Béthune to Hinges and Chocques, with flanking units on the right, south of Béthune and on the left to the west. On 12 October, II Corps attacked to reach Givenchy and Pont du Hem, north of La Bassée Canal. The German I and II Cavalry corps and attached tried to delay the advance but the British repulsed a counter-attack near Givenchy.


title: Race to the Sea

text: From II Corps attacked eastwards up La Bassée Canal and managed short advances on the flanks, with help from French cavalry but lost From the corps attacks pivoted on the right and the left flank advanced to Aubers against German opposition at every ditch and bridge. A foothold was established on Aubers Ridge on 17 October and French cavalry captured Fromelles. On 18 October, the German XIII Corps arrived, reinforced the VII Corps and gradually forced the British II Corps to a halt. On 19 October, parties of British infantry and French cavalry captured the village of Le Pilly, which later was recaptured by the Germans. The fresh German 13th and 14th divisions arrived and counter-attacked the II Corps front. By 21 October, II Corps was ordered to dig in from the canal near Givenchy, to Violaines, Illies, Herlies and Riez, while offensive operations continued to the north. The Lahore Division of the Indian Corps arrived and the British repulsed German attacks until early November, when both sides concentrated their resources on the First Battle of Ypres and the battle at La Bassée ended.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The III Corps reached St. Omer and Hazebrouck from then advanced eastwards towards Lille. The British cavalry advanced and found the Germans dug in on Mont des Cats and at Flêtre on the road from Cassel to Bailleul. The 3rd Cavalry Brigade attacked Mont des Cats and occupied Mt. Noir, north of Bailleul. On 14 October, the cavalry advanced north-eastwards, occupied Dranoutre and Kemmel against slight opposition, then reached a line from Dranoutre to Wytschaete (Wijtschate), linking with the 3rd Cavalry Division of IV Corps, which had been operating in Belgium since early October.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 15 October, Estaires was captured by French cavalry but the Germans prevented an advance beyond Comines, west of Menin (Menen), where German troops had arrived during the night. A foothold was gained at Warneton and German outposts west of the Ypres–Comines canal were pushed back to the far side. By 16 October, the Cavalry Corps and the 3rd Cavalry Division held the Lys river from Armentières to Comines and the Comines canal to Ypres. The BEF was ordered to make a general advance on 16 October, as the German forces were falling back. The cavalry were ordered to cross the Lys between Armentières and Menin as the III Corps advanced north-east to gain touch with the 7th Division near Ypres.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Fog grounded Royal Flying Corps (RFC) reconnaissance aircraft and made artillery observation impossible. The Lys was wide and deep and flanked by water meadows. The banks were cut by boggy streams and dykes, which kept the cavalry on the roads; German outposts were pushed back but dismounted cavalry attacks could not dislodge the German defenders and the cavalry in Warneton town were withdrawn during the night. The attack was resumed on 18 October, when the cavalry attacked from Deûlémont to Tenbrielen but made no progress against a strong and well-organised German defence, ending the day opposite Deûlémont in the south to the railway at Tenbrielen to the north. From the Cavalry Corps had The encounter battle ended and subsequent operations in the Battle of Messines took place after the end of the "Race to the Sea".


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 11 October, the British III Corps comprising the 4th and 6th divisions, arrived by rail at St. Omer and Hazebrouck and then advanced behind the left flank of II Corps, towards Bailleul and Armentières. II Corps was to advance around the north of Lille and III Corps was to reach a line from Armentières to Wytschaete, with the Cavalry Corps (Lieutenant-General Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby) on the left as far as Ypres. French troops were to relieve the II Corps at Béthune to move north and link with the right of III Corps but this did not occur. On the northern flank of III Corps, in front of the Cavalry Corps was a line of hills from Mont des Cats to Mt. Kemmel, about above sea level, with spurs running south across the British line of advance, occupied by the German IV Cavalry Corps with three divisions. On 12 October, the British cavalry advanced and captured the Mont des Cats.


title: Race to the Sea

text: On 13 October, III Corps found German troops dug in along the Meterenbecque. A corps attack from La Couronne to Fontaine Houck began at in wet and misty weather and by evening had captured Outtersteene and Méteren, at a cost of On the right, French cavalry attempted to support the attack but without howitzers, could not advance in level terrain, dotted with cottages used as improvised strong points. The German defenders slipped away from defences in front of houses, hedges and walls, well sighted to keep the soldiers invisible, dug earth having been scattered rather than used for a parapet, which would have been visible. III Corps was to attack the next German line of defence before German reinforcements could reach the scene. Rain and mist made air reconnaissance impossible on 14 October but patrols found that the Germans had fallen back beyond Bailleul and crossed the Lys.


title: Race to the Sea

text: Allied forces completed a continuous line to the North Sea when British cavalry and infantry reached a line from Steenwerck–Dranoutre, after a slow advance against German rearguards, in poor visibility and close country. III Corps closed up to the river at Sailly, Bac St. Maur, Erquinghem and Pont de Nieppe, linking with the cavalry at Romarin. On 16 October, the British secured the Lys crossings and late in the afternoon, German attacks began at Diksmuide and next day the III Corps occupied Armentières. On 18 October, the III Corps was ordered to join an offensive by the BEF and the French army, by attacking down the Lys valley. Part of Pérenchies ridge was captured but much stronger German defences were encountered and the infantry were ordered to dig in. On the night of the III Corps held a line from Radinghem to Pont Rouge, west of Lille. The encounter battle ended and subsequent operations in the Battle of Armentières took place after the end of the "Race to the Sea" during the First Battle of Ypres November).


title: Race to the Sea

text: From the belligerents had made unsuccessful reciprocal attempts to turn the northern flank of their opponent. A German offensive began by 21 October but the 4th and 6th armies were only able to take small amounts of ground at great cost to both sides, at the Battle of the Yser and further south at Ypres. Falkenhayn then attempted to achieve a limited goal of capturing Ypres and Mount Kemmel, in the First Battle of Ypres By 8 November, Falkenhayn concluded that the attempt to advance along the coast had failed and that taking Ypres was impossible. The French and Germans had not been able to assemble forces near the northern flank fast enough to obtain a decisive advantage. Where the opposing forces had attempted to advance, they had quickly been stopped and forced to improvise field defences, against which attacks were costly failures. By the end of the First Battle of Ypres both sides were exhausted, short of ammunition and suffering from collapses in morale and refusals of orders by some infantry units.


title: Race to the Sea

text: In October 1914, French and British artillery commanders met to discuss means for supporting infantry attacks, the British practice being to keep the artillery silent until targets were identified and the French firing a (preliminary bombardment) which ceased as the infantry began the assault. A moving barrage of fire was proposed as a combination of both methods and became a standard practice later in the war as guns and ammunition were accumulated in sufficient quantity. Falkenhayn issued memoranda on 7 and 25 January 1915, defining a theory of defensive warfare to be used on the Western Front, intended to enable ground to be held with the fewest possible troops. By economising on manpower in the west, a larger number of divisions could be sent to the Eastern Front.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The front line was to be fortified to enable its defence with small numbers of troops indefinitely and captured ground was to be recovered by counter-attacks. A second trench was to be dug behind the front line, to shelter the trench garrison and to have easy access to the front line, through covered communication trenches. Should counter-attacks fail to recover the front trench, a rearward line was to be connected to the remaining parts of the front line, limiting the loss of ground to a bend () in the line, rather than a breakthrough. The building of the new defences took until the autumn of 1915 and confronted Franco-British offensives with an evolving system of field fortifications, which was able to absorb the increasing power and sophistication of breakthrough attempts.


title: Race to the Sea

text: During the mobile operations of 1914, armies operating in hostile territory had relied on wireless communication to a far greater extent than anticipated, having expected to use telegraph, telephones and dispatch riders. None of the armies had established cryptographic systems sufficient to prevent eavesdropping and all of the armies sent messages containing vital information in plain language. From September–November, the British and French intercepted messages, which showed the disorganisation of the German command in mid-September and the gap between the 1st and 2nd armies on the eve of the Battle of the Marne. Similar plain language messages and the reading of crudely coded German messages, gave warnings to the British of the times, places and strengths of eight attacks by four German corps or more, during the Race to the Sea and the battles in Flanders.


title: Race to the Sea

text: By the end of the battles at Ypres, German army casualties in the west were including The French army casualty total from was which, with losses of from gave a total of by the end of the year. In 2001, Strachan recorded German casualties at Ypres, casualties since the beginning of the war, at Ypres) and that percent of the Belgian army had become casualties.


title: Race to the Sea

text: During the Allied retreat from Antwerp, the British IV Corps moved north of Ypres on 14 October, where I Corps arrived on 19 October, with cavalry covering a gap to the south of the town. The Battle of the Yser was fought, along a stretch of the Yser river and Yperlee Canal in Belgium. Falkenhayn created a new 4th Army to capture Dunkirk and Calais to inflict an "annihilating blow". The retreat of the Belgians to the Yser ended the "Race to the Sea", with the Belgians holding a front southwards from the coast and Belgian, French and British troops holding another beyond, the BEF holding and the Tenth Army holding another on the extreme right flank of the northern front.


title: Race to the Sea

text: German attacks began on 18 October and on 22 October, German troops gained a foothold over the river at Tervaete. The French 42nd Division at Nieuwpoort was sent as reinforcements on 23 October, when the Belgians were pushed back between Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort. German heavy artillery was countered on the coast by Allied ships under British command, which forced Germans to attack further inland. On 24 October, fifteen German attacks crossed the Yser for and the French sent the rest of the 42nd Division. By 26 October, the Belgian Commander General Félix Wielemans, had decided to retreat but French objections and orders from the King Albert led to a withdrawal being cancelled. Next day sluice gates on the coast at Nieuwpoort were opened and flooded the area between the Yser and the railway embankment. On 30 October, a German attack crossed the embankment at Ramscapelle but was repulsed on the following evening; the inundations reduced the fighting to local operations.


title: Race to the Sea

text: The First Battle of Ypres (part of the First Battle of Flanders) began on 19 October, with attacks by the German 6th and 4th armies, as the BEF attacked towards Menin and Roeselare (Roulers). On 21 October, the 4th Army was repulsed in mutually costly fighting and from the Germans attacked on the Yser with the 4th Army and with the 6th Army to the south. French attacks by a new Eighth Army were made towards Roeselare and Torhout (Thourout), which diverted German troops from British and Belgian positions. A new German attack was planned where the 4th and 6th armies would pin down Allied troops and with six new divisions and more than guns, attacked north-west between Messines and Gheluvelt, against the British I Corps. The Germans took ground on the Menin road on 29 October and drove back the British cavalry next day, to a line from Ypres. Three French battalions were sent south and on 31 October, a British battalion counter-attacked and drove back the German troops from the Gheluvelt crossroads.