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August
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Night of 5-6 August: German troops carry out a night attack on Liege, but fail to make any progress until the following morning.
HMS Amethyst, leader of the Harwich Force and Destroyer Command, leads the first raid into the Heligoland Bight.
British 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, lead by the cruiser HMS Amphion, sinks the German minelayer Königin Luise. On the following day the Amphion hits one of her mines, becoming the first Royal Navy warship to be lost during the First World War.
The five Duncan class battleships (HMS Albermarle, HMS Cornwallis, HMS Duncan, HMS Exmouth and HMS Russell), have been allocated to the Channel Fleet, but on 6 August they are offered to Jellicoe for service with the Grand Fleet. They are accepted by Jellicoe and form part of the 3rd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet, remaining in the north until 2 November 1914.
News that war has been declared reaches Admiral Milne in the Mediterranean. His main task is to protect French troop convoys coming from North Africa. Indefatigable is sent to patrol a line between Sardinia and the African Coast. This helps the German battlecruiser Goeben in her succesful attempts to reach Turkey.