The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915 — Inside the Classic

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Authors: Various Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2005 First Publication Year: 1915

Key Word: World War, 1914-1918 Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 125,149

Reading time 545 min

Text sections 13

For The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915 — Inside the Classic, the stored edition analysis reports 125,149 words, 9 hr 5 min estimated reading time, and 13 detected text sections.

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Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “World War, 1914-1918,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #16363

This issue of The New York Times Current History compiles primary-source dispatches, firsthand accounts, and official reports from the first months of World War I, including Sir John French's detailed battle reports and a Belgian volunteer's harrowing trench narrative.

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his was done before dark. In the meantime, about 5 P.M., I received a most unexpected message from Gen. Joffre by telegraph, telling me that at least three German corps, viz., a reserve corps, the Fourth Corps and the Ninth Corps, were moving on my position in front, and that the Second Corps was engaged in a turning movement from the direction of Tournay. He also informed me that the two reserve French divisions and the Fifth French Army on my right were retiring, the Germans having on the previous day gained possession of the passages of the Sambre between Charleroi and Namur.

3. In view of the possibility of my being driven from the Mons position, I had previously [Transcriber: original 'previouly'] ordered a position in rear to be reconnoitred. This position rested on the fortress of Maubeuge on the right and extended west to Jenlain, southeast of Valenciennes, on the left. The position was reported difficult to hold, because standing crops and buildings made the siting of trenches very difficult and limited the field of fire in many important localities. It nevertheless afforded a few good artillery positions.

When the news of the retirement of the French and the heavy German threatening on my front reached me, I endeavored to confirm it by aeroplane [Transcriber: original 'areoplane'] reconnoissance; and as a result of this I determined to effect a retirement to the Maubeuge position at daybreak on the 24th.

A certain amount of fighting continued along the whole line throughout the night and at daybreak on the 24th the Second Division from the neighborhood of Harmignies made a powerful demonstration as if to retake Binche. This was supported by the artillery of both the First and Second Divisions, while the First Division took up a supporting position in the neighborhood of Peissant. Under cover of this demonstration the Second Corps retired on the line Dour-Quarouble-Frameries. The Third Division on the right of the corps suffered considerable loss in this operation from the enemy, who had retaken Mons.

The Second Corps halted on this line, where they partially intrenched themselves, enabling Sir Douglas Haig with the First Corps gradually to withdraw to the new position; and he effected this without much further loss, reaching the line Bavai-Maubeuge about 7 P.M. Toward midday the enemy appeared to be directing his principal effort against our left.

I had previously ordered Gen. Allenby with the cavalry to act vigorously in advance of my left front and endeavor to take the pressure off.

About 7:30 A.M. Gen. Allenby received a message from Sir Charles Fergusson, commanding the Fifth Division, saying that he was very hard pressed and in urgent need of support. On receipt of this message Gen. Allenby drew in the cavalry and endeavored to bring direct support to the Fifth Division.

During the course of this operation Gen. De Lisle, of the Second Cavalry Brigade, thought he saw a good opportunity to paralyze the further advance of the enemy's infantry by making a mounted attack on his flank. He formed up and advanced for this purpose, but was held up by wire about 500 yards from his objective, and the Ninth Lancers and the Eighteenth Hussars suffered severely in the retirement of the brigade.

The Nineteenth Infantry Brigade, which had been guarding the line of communications, was brought up by rail to Valenciennes on the 22d and 23d. On the morning of the 24th they were moved out to a position south of Quarouble to support the left flank of the Second Corps.

With the assistance of the cavalry Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien was enabled to effect his retreat to a new position; although, having two corps of the enemy on his front and one threatening his flank, he suffered great losses in doing so.

At nightfall the position was occupied by the Second Corps to the west of Bavai, the First Corps to the right. The right was protected by the fortress of Maubeuge, the left by the Nineteenth Brigade in position between Jenlain and Bry, and the cavalry on the outer flank.

4. The French were still retiring, and I had no support except such as was afforded by the Fortress of Maubeuge; and the determined attempts of the enemy to get round my left flank assured me that it was his intention to hem me against that place and surround me. I felt that not a moment must be lost in retiring to another position.

I had every reason to believe that the enemy's forces were somewhat exhausted and I knew that they had suffered heavy losses. I hoped, therefore, that his pursuit would not be too vigorous to prevent me effecting my object.

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This issue of The New York Times Current History presents a compilation of primary-source documents from the early months of World War I, dated January 23, 1915. The volume includes official dispatches, such as Field Marshal Sir John French's detailed reports to Lord Kitchener, which describe troop movements, engagements, and strategic decisions from the British commander's perspective. Alongside these high-level accounts, the issue features firsthand narratives from soldiers and correspondents, offering a ground-level view of the conflict. The catalog subject "World War, 1914-1918" accurately frames the content, but the excerpts reveal a specific focus on the Western Front, particularly the battles of Mons and the Yser, and the logistical and human realities of war.

Official Dispatches and Command Perspective

The opening section reproduces Sir John French's first report from the front, dated September 7, 1914. The language is formal and procedural, emphasizing logistics: "The transport of the troops from England both by sea and by rail was effected in the best order and without a check." French describes the concentration of forces and the line taken up "along the line of the canal from Condé on the west, through Mons and Binche on the east." The dispatch details the assignment of corps and cavalry brigades, and notes that "advanced squadrons did some excellent work." This official tone contrasts sharply with the later personal accounts, highlighting the range of voices in the volume. The catalog subject alone does not capture this deliberate juxtaposition of command-level reporting with frontline testimony.

Trench Warfare Through a Soldier's Eyes

A correspondent for The London Daily News provides a stark account from a Belgian volunteer. The narrative describes fifteen days and nights in Antwerp trenches, a 45-kilometer march, and then nearly 200 kilometers to the Nieuport and Dixmude line. The volunteer recounts: "We got into the trenches. They lay longways behind a raised artificial bank on our side of the river. ... They were full of water. I was firing for six hours myself thigh deep in muddy water." The account includes the loss of officers, the chaos of crossfire, and the exhaustion of repeated engagements. The volunteer states, "I never have been hit once in thirty-four fights." This excerpt provides a visceral, personal perspective that the catalog subject "World War, 1914-1918" only broadly implies, grounding the conflict in specific, harrowing details.

Hospital Trains and the Machinery of War

Interspersed with battle reports are observations of the war's infrastructure. One passage describes passing "all-steel cars—each fitted with two tiers of berths, eight to a side, sixteen to a car. Every berth is taken." A car is fitted as an operating room, and the surgeon sits at a desk "receiving reports from the orderlies." The narrator notes passing six such hospital trains in a day, all full of wounded. A striking moment occurs when "we simultaneously pass the wounded going one way and cheering fresh troops going the other." This detail underscores the relentless cycle of war, a theme not explicit in the catalog subject but vividly present in the text. The excerpts show that the volume documents not only battles but also the systems supporting the armies.

Readers should approach this issue as a curated archive of contemporary documents, each with its own perspective and purpose. The official dispatches and personal narratives are presented without editorial commentary, allowing direct comparison. The excerpts suggest that the volume captures both the strategic and the visceral, the organized and the chaotic. For those studying the early Western Front, this collection offers raw material that complements later historical analyses.

Reading Sir John French’s dispatches, I recalled my grandfather’s silence about the Somme—how official reports never carry the smell of wet wool. That gap between record and memory resurfaced years later in Defenders of Democracy — A Closer Reading, where the fervor of 1914 feels haunted by what letters home couldn’t say. Both books leave me holding the same quiet ache.