Operation Unicorn Volume XXII

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

Operation Unicorn

by Tom B

Volume XXII

OKW 1055 hrs Wednesday March 10, 1915

Feldmarschal von Moltke hung up the telephone. He surprised General von François with a grin, "Conrad has agreed to Operation Whisper. Oh, as usual he’s added some convoluted conditions. Nothing that we can’t work out I think. The current Russian offensive has been stronger than he expected. Ludendorff refuses to help him because of the situation in East Prussia."

"Very good, feldmarschal, very good, indeed. Did he by any chance mention what is happening with Center Army/"

"Only in passing. The Russians are still advancing towards Przemysl. Showing some concern about your old unit, eh, Hermann?"

"I will admit to that. The VI Corps was a competent outfit with a capable commander. The Russians must have a heavy margin of superiority to be enjoyng their current success there. This is bad news for Linsingen and Arz but it further confirms my hypothesis that the entire Russian Army is concentrated on the wings—the Bukovina, Masuria and now Przemysl.. This is good news—very good news-- for our project."

"I suppose it is. I still have my doubts the Austrians can accomplish their objectives, but you’ve talked me into this. When should we inform Mackensen of his new authority and our plans?"

"That is a thorny question. I would like to wait until Sunday. Hoffman is supposed to arrive here Saturday morning. I would prefer to consult with him before we contact Mackensen. Hoffman should know many details of the Eastern Front that are not available to us. One of the benefits to pretending his reassignment is temporary is that expecting his eventual return Ludendorff will make sure every scrape of information is forwarded to us."

"Is it wise to trust Hoffman? If he passes this information on to Ludendorff our little conspiracy is likely to unravel."

"There is a reason I codenamed this operation, Whisper, Helmuth," answered François with a wolfish grin, "Falkenhayn and Ludendorff will eventually find out but if it is at the last minute they will be unable to stop us. If either of them were to learn now it would almost certainly ruin our plans. We should make sure Hoffman understands certain facts—such as his reassignment being actually permanent and that if he betrays us he would also incur the enmity of Admiral Tirpitz."

"Hmm. It might not be a bad idea if I can get the Grand Admiral to give Hoffman a few minutes of his time. I will see if he is available."

"If that it possible, it should add greatly to his motivation. Getting back to your talk with Conrad it sounded like he is approving our other suggestion as well. Am I correct, Feldmarschal?"

"Yes, he has agreed to the formation of this new division. He will now hold back 9 newly trained battalions he was preparing to send to the front at Prague—6 Czech and 3 predominantly Slovak. It is primarily because the Czechs have proven so unreliable that he is willing to do so in the midst of the current crisis. Are you really that confident a few German staff officers and senior unteroffiziers can make a decisive difference with such poor quality soldiers?"

François nodded enthusiastically, "I certainly do. The Czechs are in general a well educated largely urban populace but their Austrian and Magyar instructors treat them like they were the most ignorant of peasants. The men I have selected will treat them with firmness but also with the equally Prussian respect for intelligence and initiative. I believe it can make a huge difference."

"Hmm. Quite frankly Herman I will believe it when I see it. But it’s worth a try. I was flabbergasted that Conrad would agree to this. On reflection I see two factors contributing to his decision. One is the shortage of rifles we’ve heard rumors about. One of Conrad’s conditions was we be responsible for providing these men with rifles. The other thing that may have been decisive was a report was submitted yesterday on the effectiveness of the supplemental training program you started at Przemysl. Erzherzog Karl had been chosen to learn the commission and his report was extremely favorable. It is causing a considerable stir in Vienna."

"Hmm, I would imagine so. Arz did mention that the crown prince had paid him a visit."

"Oh? You have had recent communication with Arz?"

"Yes, I asked that he promptly prepare a report on what he has learned about how best to quickly train men to become effective soldiers. I have just received a preliminary report from him and he promises a final report in another week. This will be very useful for Unicorn, but also for this new division at Prague as well."

"So how soon will our men be leaving for Prague?"

"I can have the initial team of 15 men ready to leave first thing in the morning. Others will soon follow. Did Conrad mention the other aspect of the plan—the artillery and the 3 battalions from the Przemysl training center."

"Only briefly. In the interim the artillery will have at most 2 guns per battery to train on. As far as getting 3 of battalions being trained at Przemysl, well let’s just say they are going to be very occupied the next few days."

"What? Are you saying Arz committed them to battle? All of them?"

"That is what Conrad said. Of course, he could be mistaken. It has happened before."

"Hmm. It certainly has. But assuming that he is right this time it appears my training program is being put to the ultimate test."

"Yes, it does. If the men perform badly, you should expect Conrad to use it as justification to disregard the Erzherzog’s report and abort this little experiment of yours at Prague."

"Understood. But on the other hand if they perform reasonably well, he might see fit to agree to permit a German be in charge of Division Prague’s artillery."

Moltke snorted, "Tsk, tsk, Herman, you should read the Arabian Nights. Jinn only grant a limited number of wishes. Which reminds me—another wish you were granted was being allowed some of the gold from Kronprinzessin Cecilie to buy those Madsen automatic rifles, which so intrigue you. How are things coming along?"

François ambivalently shrugged and nodded, "Uh, it is promising, feldmarschal though I will not deny that there are some problems. I am using nearly half the initial shipment to arm one rifle company in each of the regiments in 77^th Reserve Division. We are calling these the musketen companies. In fluid situations it will allow the regiment to bring automatic firepower to the vanguard much more rapidly than the current machinegun companies can with the ponderous Maxims. The men began training last on the weapons and this concept should get a good test in Operation Whisper. If it works I think we can use the next shipment for Unicorn."

------Istanbul 1420 hrs

"It am convinced that Tsar Ferdinand is stalling," Enver Pasha commented to his German adviser, Generalfeldmarschal Baron Colmar von der Goltz, "He’s delayed signing the treaty. He suddenly claims that he requires further clarification of certain points, but I suspect the real reason is that he is worried over the recent Russian successes after your emissaries told him the Russians were barely able to hold their positions. Furthermore the British expedition to Albania had not been withdrawn as expected, but appears to have received reinforcements. This is also contributing to his hesitancy."

"I regard that as an accurate appraisal, Pasha. So, does this mean you have given further thought to my latest suggestion?" replied der Goltz. Moltke had communicated with him that this was the proper strategy for the Ottomans to commit at least 6 divisions at this time. The Baron was a good friend of Moltke and did his best to persuade the reluctant Pasha. However the Baron realized that 6 divisions was asking too much and instead requested only a single corps of 3 divisions.

"Yes, I have, Baron. Do you really think a commitment of only 3 of my divisions to this Balkan operation will be enough to dispel Ferdinand’s doubts?"

"I think so, but it would be foolish to say I was absolutely certain. The Tsar has respect for the prowess of your forces."

Enver sighed, "Caucasia remains my highest priority. Baku beckons to me. But having rail transport to Germany would undeniably provide benefits. And just as obviously having another ally is very desirable.. For these reasons, I will demonstrate our fidelity to our allies and make this commitment."

------north of Ortelsburg 1510 hrs

The local weather had warmed during the morning with snow beginning just before noon. It picked up intensity and was now coming down heavy with a wind close to a gale. In white out conditions a squadron of the 10^th Dragoons Regiment—the organic cavalry component of the German 37^th Infantry Division—stumbled into some Russian cavalry. In this weather the Russian cavalry posed a serious threat to the German artillery. There was no time to dismount and so the German horsemen attacked with lance and saber. Though they were called Dragoons, German cavalry had become very homogenized before the war and so the dragoons were adequately trained in the use of those traditional weapons. Their enemy was proficient as well.

For a few chaotic minutes horses charged and twisted. The lance was soon abandoned and the battle became one of slashing swords. The snowstorm turned it into a symphony of chaos. Both sides were soon reinforced but then it ended almost as abruptly as it started with two forces breaking apart. On the snow covered ground there lay a mix of dead and dying horses and men.

Nearby the German draught horses struggled to move their artillery through the mounting snow. The Russians were experiencing the same problem as well but the infantry of the Guard and IV Siberian Corps advanced faster than the German XX Army Corps could retreat. On the other hand Russian XV Corps--a hurriedly created replacement for the XV Corps destroyed at Tannenberg—on their right flank was brought to a virtual standstill.

The German infantry of XX Army Corps meanwhile battled fatigue and the elements to inch their artillery, machine gun sleds and supply wagons towards the trench line being prepared for them south of Bischofsburg by an independent pioneer battalion and a half dozen companies of Landsturm. When they reached that line their retreat would stop.

------White House 1605 hrs (GMT)

President Wilson was meeting with Secretary of War Lindley Garrison, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, Attorney General Tom Gregory and Col Ed House. The topic was Haiti.

"I still can’t believe Mr. Hearst omitted all mention of the Germans and tried to make it seem we were forestalling a Japanese invasion! Are you sure we can’t take any legal action, Tom?" he asked the Attorney General.

"Reporting the news selectively is not against the law, Mr. President He never said that this administration was concerned about the Japanese. He merely made one of his presumptuous remarks about the American people being concerned."

Wilson pounded his desk in frustration, "Well then let’s start by discussing what we intend to do with General Sam."

"It might be best if General Sam were to meet with an unfortunate accident," suggested Gregory.

Bryan erupted at that remark, "I object most strenuously, Mr. President to that vile suggestion. It is completely contrary to Christian morality."

"I meant it as a joke, William," replied Gregory even though it wasn’t.

"You would like to know William, that the Marines in Haiti have discovered plans the good General had to round up and kill his political opponents. We believe he was only a few days away from carrying out those plans when we landed."

"Well, in that case we should give the man a fair and honest trial," countered Bryan.

"Trying a foreign head of state for a crime he never got around to carrying out. It would be a circus. Under whose laws? Who will be the presiding judge—"argued Gregory.

"—well then it’s a shame bad Judge Isaac Parker is dead," quipped Daniels, referring to the notorious hanging judge.

"There is not going to be a trial! I do want that wretched monkey deported though," decided Wilson.

"Hmm. The Venezuelan ambassador has let it be known that his government was willing to accept him," volunteered Bryan.

"What? Turn Sam over to that scoundrel, Gomez? Not on your life! I don’t trust him."

"Brazil, perhaps?" volunteered Daniels

"I do not trust that German foreign minister of theirs. And I would have some serious problems with sending him to Mexico. Listen, the British and French both owe us favors. I know this won’t make them happy but we should try to get one of them to take the damn coon."

------HQ 1^st Canadian Division Hercegovina 2010 hrs

General Birdwood met with General Alderson, the division commander. "The bloody weather has become something of a problem, now hasn’t it?" was his opening topic.

"It certainly has, sir. The rain we had all day long melted the snow and now the pathetic roads are a masses of mud. It is so bad it’s hard to march much less move artillery and supply wagons."

"Agreed. Though of course, it is hampering the enemy as well. You easily drove off the Austrian attack on our flank today."

"That we did, sir. I’m right proud of my boys. They did well today. From some prisoners we took, it appears it was the 47^th Division. We are trying to pursue but it appears they are trying to lure us back into the mountains. If they reach the foothills I am not eager to pursue further."

Birdwood sighed "I will trust your judgment. We have learned the hard way that fighting in the mountains is not easy, esp. when your opponent is not much more familiar with the terrain."

"I appreciate that, sir. What is the latest news has on the next wave of reinforcements? Is it merely that French Corps?"

"Uh, I’ve been informed that apparently this Corps Expeditionnaire d’Orient is essentially a glorified division. Still I can make good use of another division. And what is jolly good news is that the 29^th Indian Brigade will be coming with them. I plan to put them under Godley’s command when they get here."

"That is splendid news, sir. When are the reinforcements due to arrive?"

"They are hoping to reach Durazzo by noon on Sunday."

------south of Bischofsburg 1405 hrs Thursday March 11, 1915

The temperature rose enough in the morning to melt some of the snow producing copious mud. Already tired draught horses struggled to pull guns and supply wagons.

"Hurrah, Hurrah!" A regiment of Russian Guards charged through a field of mud covered with half melted snow. Hoping to pounce on the Germans as they were beginning to dig before they could position their barbed wire, artillery and machine guns, they attacked without any artillery support. The Russian Guards were right about the artillery. Finding the German entrenchments further developed than expected with some machineguns and a strand of barbed wire, their attack quickly faltered.

------ESE of Przemysl 1755 hrs

The commander of the AustroHungarian VI Corps, Feldmarschalleutnant Artur Arz von Straussenberg visited the trench occupied by one of the Landsturm he had summoned from Przemysl. It had fended off a determined Russian assault a few hours ago without having any machineguns. The men in this battalion—a mixture of Magyars and Poles had by all accounts fought very well. From what he had been hearing most of the summoned battalions had done well—the conspicuous exception being a predominantly Ruthene battalion which surrendered very quickly.

VI Corps had halted the Russian advance this day. German 5.9" howitzers enfilading the right flank of the Russian salient this morning had helped. So had the mud resulting from a sudden thaw. But the men of the Landsturm battalions trained at Przemysl were also a factor. He looked at the faces of the men in the trenches. He saw confidence and determination. Arz felt vindicated. He dared not feel complacent as it was highly likely that the Russians would continue their attacks—if not during the night then at dawn.

------Dublin 2105 hrs

Joe Plunkett’s sister Philomena—everyone called her Mimi—frequently functioned as courier for the IRB. This afternoon she returned from New York carrying a coded message from John Devoy hidden in her underwear. She notified Tom Clarke by telephone and he told he her to go to St. Enda’s where they would be joined by Pearse.

Padraig Pearse waited anxiously as Clarke decoded the message. He hoped desperately it was news from Mimi’s brother that a German arms shipment was imminent. This would make an Easter Rising possible and tomorrow James Connolly would be appeased. Pearse was encouraged that Clarke’s expression brightened as he decoded.

"I’m done," announced Clarke and he handed a piece of paper to Pearse.

PLUNKETT SENT MESSAGE THROUGH BERNSTORFF HE REPORTS EXTREMELY FAVORABLE DEVELOPMENTS IN GETTING HELP FROM GERMANY BUT PROVIDED NO DETAILS HE INSISTS YOU TAKE NO ACTION UNTIL AFTER HE RETURNS AT THE END OF THE MARCH

"On the one hand this looks to be very good news, but there is no way the Military Council is going to commit itself to an Easter Rising," said Plunkett.

Pearse felt deep ambivalence. On the one hand it now looked like there a good chance of rising that might succeed. On the other it was not going to be as soon as he would like. And then there was the problem of Connolly.

"We could show him this message. That might change his mind," suggested Pearse with little conviction.

Clarke shook his head, "It won’t do any good, Patrick. You know that as well as I do. The damn fool will ruin everything—if we let him. We need to seriously consider some other options and we don’t have much time."

------German Eighth Army HQ 2215 hrs

General Otto von Below studied the reports and studiously compared them to the tactical map. The weather had made airplanes useless on Wednesday and they had only been able to resume their patrols in the afternoon. Below was facing two Russian armies. His main worry concerning the Russian Tenth Army on his left flank was that it would now decide to attack after he had withdrawn 3 infantry divisions. Tomorrow he would send 3 cavalry divisions—including the newly arrived Guard Cavalry Division to make an elaborate demonstration on the open right flank of Russian Tenth Army. He hoped this charade would hypnotize them.

General von Below’s fear with regard to his other opponent the Russian Twelfth Army was that it would not attack, but instead pull back to Ortelsburg and entrench. The XL Reserve Corps had deployed in trenches to the east of XX Army Corps The Guard and 3^rd Reserve Divisions were ready on the flanks, soon to be augmented with the 3^rd Guard and 1^st Infantry Divisions as well as the 8^th Landwehr Division had detrained at Allenstein before dark.

------Jijiga, Abyssinia 2310 hrs

Ras Mikael’s motorcar had broken down during the trip from Addis Ababa. He had hoped to arrive in the morning but now he was very late for his appointed meeting with a very important guest, a Somali Mullah named Mohammed bin Abdullah. The British called him the Mad Mullah and had been fighting his dervishes on and off since 1899. The British sent several military expeditions against him and the one in 1904 destroyed most of the dervish army but failed to capture the Mad Mullah, who managed to secure sanctuary in the Italian colony with the backing of Osman Mahoud, the Sultan of the Mijjertein. In March of 1905 Mohammed bin Abdullah concluded an agreement with the Italian government which gave him effective control of a portion of Italian Somaliland in exchange for peace with both the British and Italians. But in 1907 the Mad Mullah returned to British Somaliland and was raiding and looting throughout the interior. By 1914 he had denied Britain control of much of the interior and they were preparing another sizable expedition against him when the Great War erupted.

Ras Mikael knew that the gaining support of this man was important towards keeping the British off balance in their own colony while the Abyssinians captured the French one. It was for this reason he was here in Jijiga and not with the main invasion force assaulting Dikhill. He was not looking forward to dealing with this fanatic. For one thing he knew his own nominal conversion to Christianity would not sit well with this man who had declared himself to be the Mahdi in 1905.

The Mullah’s eyes blazed like a furnace as he intoned, "God is Great."

"God is Great, Mohammed bin Abdullah," replied Ras Mikael, "I beg your pardon for keeping you waiting. These mechanical vehicles the Europeans have sold us are not very reliable."

"I am not offended by your tardiness, Ras Mikael. God is Merciful. I have heard that your son has finally taken firm control of your country. Is that true?"

"That is correct. He has rightfully assumed the role Menelik chose for him."

"And having done so, will he now reveal that he is a Muslim?"

"That day is coming. There are things that need to be done first."

"Things more important than God? Nothing is more important than God!" roared the mullah.

Mikael decided it was best not to argue. He was glad Iyasu was not here. His son might reconsider his conversion if he was. Mikael remained silent and waited for the mullah to continue.

"No answer? Unbelievers have no answer to God. You came here to talk other topics. You say you wish to aid me in my struggle against the British infidels. That is God’s will. We can reach an agreement but certain things need to be understood. The most important is that I am to rule the British territory when the war is over. All of it! Abyssinia will not get a single grain of sand."

"You have my word on that, Mohammed bin Abdullah. What we desire is the port of Djibouti and to a lesser degree, the absorption of the remaining Afars, most of whom are already part of our country. Our forces will enter the British colony merely to prevent them using it as a base against us."

"Why has Iyasu chosen this moment to act? Did you choose it for him?"

"It was His Majesty’s personal decision. The British recently lost a great sea battle. Now it is their enemy the Germans who control the seas. This was what swayed him."

The mullah looked surprised. Apparently he had not learned of Utsire He scratched his beard then spoke, "I have heard of their Great War in Europe, but not of this setback to their vaunted naval power. They were preparing to move against me when the war started. God be praised but that it should go on forever! Now tell me the truth—do the Ottomans have their hand in your situation."

Mikael weighed his words carefully. He strongly suspected that the Mullah regarded the Islam of the Ottomans as too permissive. "They have promised us assistance."

"As I suspected. It must be made clear to them that they are not to do anything to undermine my dominion! Somalia is not to become their protectorate when the war is over. Only if they accept that without reservation will I dirty myself with them."

Why is he making this so difficult? It should be obvious that both Iyasu and the Ottomans can greatly help his cause. He has never fully recovered from his 1904 defeats. There are a considerable number of Somalis who prefer the British to his self-righteous sanctimony. wondered a sighing Mikael, who then answered, "I will get their assurances."

"In writing! Otherwise their word means less than a camel’s fart!"

------Russian Twelfth Army HQ Ortelsburg 0520 hrs Friday March 12, 1915

General von Plehve, the Russian commander had reviewed his planned attack. It was to be a classic double envelopment. His supply lines were still clogged. He concentrated on getting ammunition delivered to the Guard Corps. At dawn they would bombard the German lines and attack. This would pin the German XX Army Corps. Meanwhile the IV Siberian Corps would swing around the right flank of the German line. It would advance to Bortelsdorf so as to swing around Lake Dedley which the Germans were using to anchor their flank. There was a large formation of German troops reported by Russian air patrols approaching the area from the west, so a cavalry division was dispatched to guard the flank of IV Siberian Corps.

XV Corps would march on Sensburg to envelop the right German left flank. It had not progressed as rapidly as it should over the last two days and so it would not be closing the encirclement until late in the afternoon. Unlike IV Siberian Corps the air patrols had reported no threats to it own flank.

Ruzski, the commander of Northwestern Front, had informed Plehve it would take the Germans at least a week to deploy substantial reinforcements by rail. Given his experience with the many wartime problems of the Russian railways Plehve regarded this as a reasonable estimate. His offensive had begun Saturday so he felt he had one more day to complete the destruction of XX Army Corps. He also expected the Russian Tenth Army would also be exerting pressure on the Germans by now, though he had received no word from neither their commander, General Sievers, nor from Northwestern Front confirming this hypothesis.

------south of Bischofsburg 0815 hrs

The men of the German 41^st Infantry Division in their trenches were relieved when the Russian artillery bombardment finally lifted. The Guard Corps was an elite unit and the artillerists were very good. Russian infantry were now heading rapidly towards them. The German artillery was already registered on the avenues of approach. A few guns had been knocked out by the Russian barrage. Shells from the rest tore into the Russian infantry. Those that survived the shells soon experienced machinegun fire. The Germans had laid down a second strand of barbed wire before dawn.

------west of Bortlesdorf 1150 hrs

The German Guard Reserve Division swept aside the Russian cavalry defending the left flank of IV Siberian Corps. The cavalrymen did manage to give the Siberian infantry a proper warning they swung around to deal with the threat to their flank.

------southeast of Sensburg 1535 hrs

The German 3^rd Reserve Division was very familiar with the local terrain. It hid itself from airplanes in the northwest corner of Johannisburg Forest. As the Russian XV Corps marched towards Sensburg it attacked their exposed right flank. Most of the Russian infantry were marginally trained replacement troops. A third of the soldiers in the infantry battalions lacked a rifle. The Germans captured 3,500 prisoners and 8 guns before nightfall.

------Russian Twelfth Army HQ Ortelsburg 0520 hrs Friday March 12, 1915

XV Corps would march through Sensburg to envelop the right German left flank. It had not progressed as rapidly as it should over the last two days and so it would not be closing the encirclement until late in the afternoon. Unlike IV Siberian Corps the air patrols had reported no threats to it own flank.

At the beginning of this offensive General Ruzski, the commander of Northwestern Front, had informed Plehve it would take the Germans at least a week to deploy substantial reinforcements by rail. Given his experience with the many wartime problems of the Russian railways Plehve regarded this as a reasonable estimate—though he knew that German railroads were more efficient. His offensive had begun Saturday so he felt he had one more day to complete the destruction of XX Army Corps. He also expected the Russian Tenth Army would also be exerting pressure on the Germans by now, though he had received no word from neither their commander, General Sievers, nor from Northwestern Front confirming this hypothesis.

------south of Bischofsburg 0815 hrs

------west of Bortlesdorf 1150 hrs

------southeast of Sensburg 1535 hrs

------Viceregal Lodge Dublin 2015 hrs

The Under Secretary for Ireland, Nathan, had asked to meet with the Lord Lieutenant, Curzon on short notice. All we would say over the telephone was that it was very important. Birrell’s wife had finally died Wednesday and there was a general consensus that they would wait until the Chief Secretary was done mourning before making any policy changes.

Unless there was an emergency.

The Viceroy did not like the sound of this. Nathan arrived along with Chamberlain, the head of the Royal Irish Constabulary and General Friend, the commander of Irish Home Forces. Curzon adjourned with his visitors to the study. Chamberlain began by saying, "Two of our informants have warned us that Connolly is planning to lead the Citizen’s Army in an armed rising."

------HQ German Eighth Army HQ Bischofsburg 2040 hrs

"General von Scholz believes he’s identified a weak spot in the Russian Guard Corps’ line and requests permission to attack after midnight," reported General von Bockmann the chief of staff.

"Hmm. Tempting but premature. I think our schwerpunkt for tomorrow should be to follow up on today’s success against the enemy right flank. The afternoon air patrols report a gap between the Russian XV Corps and their Guard Corps. I do not want to wait for 2^nd Infantry Division to detrain late tomorrow to exploit this opportunity.. Therefore I am ordering 80^th Reserve Division to march into that gap immediately. It will be temporarily removed from XL Reserve Corps coming under the command of I Army Corps. I do not want any administrative formalities to delay their deployment."

"Jawohl, Herr General."

------HQ Austro-Hungarian VI Corps 2105 hrs

General von Linsingen, the commander of Center Army was visiting. "It looks like your boys have held them, Artur" he said with some satisfaction to Feldmarschalleutnant Arz von Straussenberg.

."Yes, general it looks like the Russian attack is spent. How did the German counterattack go?"

Linsingen frowned, "Third Division made some progress against their flank. We took some prisoners. Our casualties were uh, acceptable."

Arz knew Linsingen long enough to know from his tone and body language that while the general was not outright lying, he was unhappy with the results and shading them. The advance was probably short and the haul of prisoners small. Casualties were not catastrophic but more than anticipated. "That is excellent news, general. It will make them difficult to shuffle their forces for a fresh attack."

"Yes, that is correct. Uh, if I don’t look overjoyed right now it is because I am irked the receipt of some very ill timed cables this morning. In the midst of this major enemy offensive there was some inquiries coming from both General Conrad and OKW about how soon they can remove some of our units."

"Oh, dear not one of our divisions I hope. We need them all right now."

"Uh, none of our infantry divisions but Conrad and OKW want both of the cavalry divisions. Now granted the utility of cavalry of late has not usually been much but they did provide you with quick reinforcements the other day."

"That is most true. How soon do they want them?"

"They are talking about Monday or Tuesday."

"God in Heaven! Did either General Conrad or OKW give any indication where they are going or why?"

"No they did not. My best guess is either the Bukovia or Hercegovina to counter the British colonials. But this is pure speculation. It’s far from certain they are both going to the same place. The German division could be going to assist in the defense of East Prussia against the latest Russian invasion there."

"Is it only the cavalry divisions they want? None of our artillery?"

"No artillery but OKW said that within 2 weeks they require the Jaeger battalion as well as 3 of those Landsturm battalions you’ve trained. You will be contacted soon to identify which of them is the best."

"Hmm. This is more than a little bit strange if you ask me, general. While I am satisfied with the training program I had not realized those battalions had become so precious."

------HQ Russian Twelfth Army 2135 hrs

None of the reports were good. Guard Corps had attacked twice in the morning and again in the afternoon without any success. Plehve had not seen any casualty estimates. He had a hunch that he would not like them when he did. He had ordered the commander of the Guard Corps, General Bezobrazov to exercise caution in making his pinning attacks. The problem was that Bezobrazov was a pompous senescent general, but a favorite of the Tsar. Originally he commanded a division in the Guard Corps and come into conflict with the Corps commander, the fairly competent General Olokhov, who relieved him of command. When Olokhov was reassigned the Tsar personally appointed Bezobrazov as his replacement. No, Plehve did not think he would like the Guard Corps’ casualty numbers one bit.

The situation on Plehve’s left flank was confused. The IV Siberian Corps had turned around and was vigorously engaging the German forces to the west---which may only be a single division. But the Siberians had not been given an inadequate amount of shells and there was a report of additional German forces approaching from the west. At best they could hold off their attackers, but the envelopment of the German XX Corps was no longer feasible.

Worst of all was the situation in XV Corps on his right flank. There the green troops armed with an insufficient number of rifles and led by an inadequate quantity of mostly inferior quality officers appeared to be in a state of disarray. Because it had not advanced as far as planned and so there was an ominous gap between them and the Guards. There was real danger they could disintegrate completely if the German formation observed detraining at Scensburg by his air patrols now hit XV Corps’ left flank as well

And there was the logistical problem as well. An inadequate amount of supplies were reaching his divisions, esp. those in the front line. A historical analogy had been bothering Plehve all day. "I am not Santa Anna!" he declared to his staff. This generated some very strange looks. "Our enemy has been able to assemble reinforcements faster than Northwestern Front anticipated. This is the major cause of today’s failures. We need to regroup. The dangerous gap between XV and Guard Corps must be closed. I am hereby ordering XV, and IV Siberian Corps to retreat immediately 8 kilometers in the direction and then entrench to the utmost. The Guard Corps is to retreat as well establishing an entrenched line of defense in contact with both its neighboring corps."

-------HQ Russian Guard Corps.2305 hrs

A motorcyclist arrived with the orders from General Plehve. The commander of the Guard Corps, General Vladimir Bezobrazov had for nearly a week hungered for the destruction of the German XX Army Corps. Now the Germans had stopped running he was sure he could complete their annihilation. All he needed was one more day. He reddened with rage as he read his orders. "Retreat! The sacred honor of the Guard Corps does not permit retreat. I will not disgrace by Tsar by ordering the Guard to retreat!"

------Rathmines section of Dublin 0915 hrs Saturday March 13, 1915

"So Pearse and Clarke never came?" Michael Mallin, the Citizen’s Army’s chief of staff asked James Connolly.

"I didn’t think they would. They are a bunch of talkers that will never do anything. You and me will be doing the dying, and when it’s all over Patrick Pearse will make a very fine speech about us. Dawdling bunch of do nothing self-righteous cowards!"

Mallin gulped. He had been in the British Army and served in India. The notion of dying had occurred to him before but this time it seemed so close he could taste it. "But once we start the rising, then they will have to join us."

"I wish I could say I was certain of that Michael, me boy. But the honest truth is that I simply dunna know one way or the other. But we are going to try. That we are, my darlin’"

"So when is our rising going to happen? Wednesday morning?"

"No we will launch it Tuesday. Rumors are likely to be floating around about a rising on St. Patrick’s Day. If we launch it a day early we stand a good chance to take people by surprise."

"That is very sensible, sir. Might I ask are your plans concerning the Countess?"

"Who, we plan to get married in the fall."

Mallin’s mouth dropped for a minute then he saw a devilish grin on Connolly’s break out on Connolly’s face and they both had a merry laugh. "In all seriousness, I am not going to try to keep her out of it if that’s what you’re driving at. I plan to tell her when she gets back tomorrow. I hope to involve her as much as possible. What we are going to do this week is going to knock the Earth off its damn axis, I tell. Not only will the Irish gain their independence but the working man is going to free himself from the exploitation of the rich and as an added bonus women are show the world what they are really capable of."

The Countess had been very forthright in advocating women participating in the Irish Volunteers and not just as nurses and switchboard operators, but as armed combatants. This generated considerable controversy within the Irish Volunteers. Connolly after some initial reservation had come to support her position, though he still did not feel comfortable with the notion.

------OKW 1245 hrs

"How do you like OKW so far, Oberst?" General von François asked Oberst Hoffman while they were having lunch together, "I hope your conversation with Grand Admiral von Tirpitz was fructifying."

"You could say that, general" Hoffman replied with a wince, "He did provide me with a brief written outline of this Operation Whisper, you and the Feldmarschal concocted."

"Oh, and what is your reaction to what we are trying to accomplish?""

"I am frightened by what I see, but somehow I know there’s much more to come."

"Yes, there is. We need your help in working out the details. I understand that the Grand Admiral made it clear that your reassignment will likely be permanent and that you are not to communicate anything whatsoever about Operation Whisper to either Ober Ost or OHL until either the feldmarschal or myself expressly authorize it. Did he make that clear?"

Hoffman grimaced again, "Abundantly clear!. Do you realize, general, that you have achieved the dubious honor of being the one man, General von Ludendorff hates more than any other? There should be a medal for that—something like they have at those Olympic Games."

François made a wolfish grin and nodded, "Alas, I’m afraid your revelation comes as no great surprise—though I hoped that might be one or two names higher on what I imagine is very long list. As far as Whisper is your concern that this headquarter is exceeding its authority."

"In large part, yes. I was repeatedly told OKW did not have any operational authority."

"That is a widely held oversimplification. But the charter establishing this office makes two exceptions. One of them concerns coordination with allies."

"So that is the fig leaf you are hiding Operation Whisper behind? Make it all sound like Conrad’s idea. Very clever. You said two exceptions—what is the other?"

"Joint Army-Navy projects are the other exception explicitly in the charter. That provision does not apply to Operation Whisper."

"Hmm. Joint Army-Navy operations.. I hope that does not include an invasion of England. Ludendorff feels that is what Feldmarschal Moltke and Admiral Tirpitz are secretly planning. He believes such an invasion would be an unmitigated disaster. On this I am in total agreement with him. Can you please reassure me that OKW is not planning to invade England, general?"

"Oh, we did a quick formal study of the possibility. It was called Operation Dante and the conclusions we drew were overwhelmingly negative. However there is," the general paused and tapped his lips pensively, "Hmm—uh let’s leave that topic for another day. Today we will concentrate on Operation Whisper. Let me explain one very important concept behind it. Our intelligence has been that the Russian Army is divided between two commands called Northwestern Front and Southwestern Front. We have good reason to believe that these two commands cooperate very poorly."

------southwest of Sensburg (East Prussia) 1405 hr

A gun crew fired their Pulitov 3" field cannon. It was supposed to be a modern long recoil weapon, but the long barrel which gave it a good range also sometimes caused it jump back anyway. It did so now. Cursing in Russian the gunners began to reposition the weapon. The battery commander came over and told them, "Don’t bother."

The gun crew looked at him. He pointed to the German infantry breaking through their own men. "The ‘cattle’ are giving away," he said sarcastically referring to the infantry,". These guns are worth than an entire regiment of second line infantry. I am not going to risk the guns. This battery is retreating now. Let’s pray that the mud doesn’t slow us down too much."

------HQ Russian Twelfth Army 2135 hrs

General Plehve wished he could summarily execute General Bezobrazov. The gap that opened up between Guard Corps and XV Corps had allowed the Germans to make a devastating attack against the exposed left flank of the latter. Only the quick intervention of a cavalry division followed by elements of XIII Corps had allowed XV to at least extricate most—but not all-- of its artillery. The temperature had again risen above freezing during the day with an afternoon shower melting more snow and causing more mud.

Bezobrazov was now finally withdrawing to the south after being threatened with being relieved of command—or was it he that realized his flank was now exposed as well. Plehve had notified Ruszki at Northwestern Front who told him to hold off on relieving Bezobrazov because he was a favorite of the Tsar. The Germans were pursuing Guard Corps.

The situation was not as awful on the left flank. The details were complicated but as far as he could tell IV Siberian Corps was making a reasonably orderly fighting withdraw despite the mud and a shortage of artillery shells. So the situation on the right flank was far more serious. Until it was stabilized the enemy had the initiative and his Twelfth Army was forced to backpedal.

------Obock (French Somaliland) 0215 hrs (GMT) Sunday March 14, 1915

This port north of the Gulf of Tadjoura had been the original French anchorage in the area. For a while that brought a noisy colonial prosperity to the area. Later the French gained rights to Djibouti and in 1892 shifted their administrative capital there. Since then French interest in Obock waned and the town shriveled from neglect. It was still of some tertiary importance and the French only maintained a small garrison of 75 men. Late Friday morning the commander of the garrison received news that there had been an Abyssinian incursion near Dikhill on Thursday. Dikhill was a long way off and he did not think there was any immediate threat. He tightened security a small notch and sent a dozen men out on patrol.

The faintest sliver of a crescent moon timidly squeaked its arrival at the horizon. The sky was partly cloudy. It was now a few minutes before twilight. Suddenly there was the thundering sound of a large number of horses approaching at a gallop. Too late the sentries sounded the alarm, rousing the soldiers from the barracks. More the a thousand Oromo horsemen led by 60 local Afars stormed into the compound, yelling "Ebalgume! Ebalgume!" Some of the Oromo carried carbines but even those that were preferred to remain mounted to slash and stab. Here and there some of the French soldiers got off a few rifle shots. But the men who rushed out of the barracks in the darkness were soon cut down and trampled. A French telegraph operator discovered to his dismay that the wires had been severed. With the first rays of the day promising a glorious sunrise some of the Oromo quickly dismounted and rushed the barracks. A dozen were brought down by rifle fire but the defenders were overwhelmed in a few minutes. Some of the French soldiers tried to surrender. Half of these were killed anyway but then the Oromo leaders exercised some restraint and they were spared.

A frothing horse suddenly collapsed from exhaustion. Its rider broke his right arm in the fall. The Oromo had ridden their mounts very hard to get here so quickly. In the mountains they had made contact with friendly Afars, which provided them with fresh water and fodder. But the Afars on short notice had managed to bring only enough for less than half the Oromo horses. The rest waited in the mountains waiting for additional provisions to arrive... Meanwhile some of the Afars accompanied the Oromo as guides which helped them to thread their way through the narrow mountain path and then find their objective of Obock in the dark.

Before long more horses would collapse and most that did would die during the day. But the garrison had be taken by coup de main before it could either fortify or receive reinforcements. The Oromo had captured some rifles, a modest stockpile of ammunition and enough supplies to tide them over for a few days. Soon after the sun rose 5 more riders approached from the west. One was an Afar guide and 3 were an Oromo escort. The 5 rider was an Ottoman agent. He gingerly dismounted from a very fine piebald Arabian. He had always thought himself to be an excellent rider but the last two days he found himself worn out and lagging behind the Oromo.

The day was already hot but a merciful breeze came in from the sea. The Ottoman groaned and stretched. He looked at the once magnificent horse that had carried. It frothed and its breathing was labored. Feeling his own sores he felt no pity and spit at the animal which merely stared at him without comprehension. Walking stiffly and uncomfortably he approached the commander of the Oromo cavalry force and asked, "It appears you have quelled all resistance here. Am I correct?"

"That is correct. I have sent some men to secure the port."

"You have done well. Let us hope your infantry advancing on Djibouti is doing just as well. You have captured a few fresh horses here. Send one of your men along with an Afar to notify your superiors."

"I will do so in two hours. My men need rest almost as much as my horses. When will you contact your countrymen?"

"Tonight."

------HMS Vegeance Durazzo Bay 1410 hrs

"Look admiral, another Austrian airplane."

Admiral Limpus gave the plane a quick look with his binoculars. This was the third time he escorted a convoy to Albania. This time most of the troops were French—the Corps Expeditionnaire D’Orient though there was also the 29^th Indian Brigade. They also brought ammunition. It was now believed that the Albanian Expedition after a mediocre start was now paying dividends, contributing to the successful Russian offensives underway. "Hmm. This one is not a seaplane either." mused the Admiral.

The enemy’s reaction seemed different this. No mines were discovered off Durazzo. Periscopes had been sighted but not as many as the last two trips and there were no successful U-Boat attacks. On the other hand there were more planes. Not just seaplanes but land aircraft as well. Were they going to attempt to bomb either the warships or the transports? So far they had not attempted a bombing run. They mere scouted but did so continuously.

As before the British squadron of predreadnoughts remained close to the transports acting as bait while the French 1ere Armee Navale was further back hoping to get an opportunity to pounce on the Austrian Fleet. Limpus thought if the Austrians were going to take the bait they would have done so during the first two trips. By now he expected they should have had an inkling of what the Entente stratagem was. Maybe it wasn’t the battle fleet they were planning to use. Perhaps it was a night time torpedo attack they were hoping vigorous air reconnaissance would make more effective. Their own seaplanes had spotted a sizable increase of short range torpedo craft at Cattaro. It was almost a new moon. A night torpedo would make sense. Limpus would see to it that his screen--the 5^th Destroyer Flotilla was particularly alert. Because they were making so many trips the flotilla only had 3 destroyers back at Malta scrubbing their boilers. The French had a similar problem.

-------Lucan (suburb of Dublin) 1505 hrs

Padraig Pearse, Tom Clarke, Eamonn Kent and Sean McDermott waited anxiously. The IRB Military Council had decided to kidnap James Connolly and try to persuade him into subordinating his Citizen’s Army to the IRB. If he was not convinced in a few days they were prepared to execute him. That was a possibility that disturbed all of them but especially Pearse. It pained him greatly that the first blood shed in the revolution would be that of a brave but misguided patriot like James Connolly.

The Military Council had dispatched two men armed with pistols to abduct Connolly. That was nearly two hours ago. Now they were all worried that the men couldn’t find him.

Kent kept looking out through the blinds. "It’s them. Damn it, Connolly’s not with them."

The gunmen parked their vehicle and approached the cottage. Kent quickly ushered them in, "What the hell happened? Were you unable to find him?"

"Oh, we have a good idea where Mr. Connolly is right now," answered one of the gunmen.

"Then why isn’t he with you?" asked Kent.

"Heaven’s sake, man! You dunna kill the poor fellow?" asked an alarmed Pearse.

"Now, now, don’t go jumpin’ to conclusions, eh? Connolly is the Castle right now. The RIC arrested him and took him away before we arrived. Heard there was a wee bit of a scuffle as Mr. Connolly resisted arrest."

------SMS Prinz Eugen Tajer (Adriatic sea) 1830 hrs (GMT)

Three nights earlier Admiral Anton Haus had moved his battle fleet from Pola to a secure anchorage at Tajer .He had moved his flag from the Viribus Unitus to the Prinz Eugen. In the early months of the war Viribus Unitus had been barely able to make 18 knots even though its designed speed was 20.3 knots. Extensive work had been dome on its engines—even some German engineers had assisted. It still was making a little under 19 knots. The other 2 ships were making around 19.5 knots

The Prinz Eugen, Tegethoff and Virbus Unitus were now heading SSE at 16 knots. They were accompanied by the 3 Radetzsky class semidreadnoughts, the 3 Erzherzog Karl predreadnoughts, 4 light cruisers and a screen of 19 torpedo boats of varying sizes. Admiral Haus’ stomach churned endlessly. He cursed Conrad over and over.

------Dublin 2030 hrs

The Countess Markievicz stepped off the train from Sligo. Her trip back to her home in Sligo had been thoroughly enjoyable. In addition to the poetry recital, she had been able to spend some time with Yeats.

Soon after she got off the train she noticed one man pointing her out to another. The two of them trotted over to her.

"Are you the Countess Constance Markiewicz?" asked the older of two.

"Yes, I am. And who might I ask—"

"We are constables. Come with us, please."

"Why? Am I under arrest?"

"Yes, Countess that you are."

------Obock 2100 hrs (GMT)

Assisted by two Oromo cavalrymen the Ottoman had set up two small rockets. One of the Oromo held a lantern. The Ottoman looked at his watched and gazed out to the ocean. "It is time," he declared.

He lit the fuse of the rocket and watched as it soared out to sea. It burst in the air with a simple but bright yellowish green display. He still felt sore from his hard ride but this gave him some measure of satisfaction. "I will launch the next one in precisely two hours," he announced to the Oromo. Two more rockets had also been brought along. They would be launched at the same time tomorrow night.

------New York City 2205 hrs (GMT)

Sitting in his chair Cornelius St. James took another gulp of rye whiskey and found himself remembering San Juan Hill. He had been part of the 10^th Cavalry Regiment, which part of the American forces which took the crest of San Juan Hill. He could now remember each sight and sound. He could remember the roar of gunfire, the smell of smoke and the blood of dying men. He could also remember other things like coming down with Yellow Fever afterwards. It was wrongly believed at the time that blacks were immune to Yellow Fever because it was a tropical disease. He remembered men whose projectile vomit was dark red. Most of them who got that sick died. He learned later that they had been vomiting their life blood. When he had seen it happen he was appalled but now it struck him as a wonderfully apt metaphor for what he wanted to do now.

He wanted to vomit life itself.

Cornelius had recovered in a military hospital. He eventually rejoined the regiment as was stationed out in the American West. During this time Cornelius became something of an autodidact. He loved books. Cornelius was originally shy around women but as he grew older he became more confident. In 1910 he married Jasmine, a woman of color 9 years younger than himself. A year later he left the Army. He had saved up some money and made a few good investments. They moved to New York, where things initially went well for them. After working some odd jobs Cornelius was hired a history teacher in a private high school for affluent black children. It did not pay much but he enjoyed it immensely. After a while he began to have problems with his wife. She always wanted more than he could afford to buy. She also began to ridicule Cornelius for being strange. Cornelius had learned Spanish during the war. He had been impressed by the Mauser rifles and Krupp cannons used by the Spanish, and developed an interest in the Germans. He learned a little bit of German on his own while in the Army and after he left he developed it further. Hearst published a German language newspaper in New York and Cornelius would try to get copies of it and read it. Cornelius did have some very unusual interests. For one thing he believed in reincarnation and yet had not completely abandoned Christianity. He struggled to reconcile Christianity and reincarnation. He read some works by Theosophists but found them too obscure and Oriental.

Jasmine had finally gotten pregnant early in 1914. When the Great War started, Cornelius was fascinated. He was sympathetic to the Central Powers and argued endlessly with his neighbors and his friends from the 10^th Cavalry Regiment. His wife ridiculed his views and criticized him for not paying her enough attention during her pregnancy. She gave birth to a son in November. Cornelius named the boy Ferdinand after the slain archduke. It was a name his wife detested. Ferdinand was noticeably lighter in complexion than either his father or mother. Some of his friends had spread rumors that Jasmine was seeing someone else. Cornelius tried not to believe them. When Spee arrived in New York, Jasmine had wanted to flee the city, while Cornelius went to see the German cruisers and cheered.

At the beginning of February Ferdinand came down with a raging fever and died. Soon afterwards Jasmine told him that he may not have been the father of the child. He slapped her hard. She slapped him back. He then punched her hard in the solar plexus and she fell to her knees. She left his life the next morning.

Since her departure he found himself adrift. As a way of trying desperately to compensate for the void in his life, his interest in the war and German culture waxed. He also began to drink more. The German victory at Utsire cheered him up for about a week, but then the effect dissipated. He lost his enthusiasm for arguing with his friends. Reading stories about the war no longer fascinated. In particular stories about how useless cavalry had become irritated and depressed him. He quite his job. His interest in reincarnation and the occult waxed. He tried to read Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine which he got from the library but found it incomprehensible. All he wanted to know was if reincarnation meant starting over was easy. In the last two days he read a novel in German. It was Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther.

When he finished it he realized he did not want to live any longer. He loaded his Colt service revolver with a single bullet. He gave the chambers a good spin. He raised the weapon bring the muzzle to his temple. He hesitated for a few seconds. He looked swung his head and gazed at his dwelling like a traveler leaving a hotel making sure he was leaving nothing behind. Except it was life itself, that Cornelius was leaving. He did not see anything important. He pulled the trigger.

Click.

He took the revolver and gave it another spin. Again he raised the weapon.

There was a loud knocking on his door. "Cornel, Cornel!" It was Rufus’ voice.

"Cornel, you ain’t goin’ to believe this."

"Believe what, Rufus?"

"Abyssinia has joined the Central Powers."

On to Volume XXIII

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