25 August 1914

August

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Western Front

Battle of Lorraine:

Germans begin a series of counterattacks in Lorraine. The French hold their positions and are even able pull troops out of the fighting to reinforce their left wing before the battle of the Marne.

Battle of the Grande Couronne of Nancy

Germans begin an offensive from Lorraine, aiming towards Nancy. The first German attack is defeated by a French counter-attack.

Siege of Mauberge

The rapid advance of German troops to the north of the Sambre force the French to retreat from the river. General Fournier, commander of the fortress of Mauberge is ordered to defend it in the hope that the Germans will stop to capture the fort. Fournier has 30,000 of his own men and 10,000 stragglers to defend fourteen forts. Most of the German armies in the area ignore Mauberge, but the 34,000 men of VII Reserve Corps are left to besiege it.

Belgium

Louvain before the German destruction of 1914
Louvain before the
German destruction
of 1914

German troops burn down the library of Louvain University, destroying at least 230,000 books, 750 Medieval manuscripts and 1,000 books printed before 1501. The sack of Louvain and similar war crimes in Belgium help feed Allied propoganda, which is later weakened by invented crimes.

Eastern Front

Battles of Lemberg

Three corps of the Austrian Third Army advanve to the River Zlotas Lipa where they run into the Russian Third and Eighth Armies. This marks the start of a series of battles that force the Austrians to retreat back to the Carpathians.

Battle of Krasnik

Third and final day of an encounter battle between the Austrian First Army and Russian Fourth Army at the far western end of the front line between the Austrians and Russians. On the first two days of the battle the Russian right had been forced back. On the third day the Russian left was also forced back. The Russians still didn't realise that they had run into the main Austrian offensive, and on the following day they launched a disasterous counterattack, the battle of Komarow.

War at Sea

HMS Empress, a former cross-channel steamer, is commissioned as a seaplane carrier.


How to cite this article: Rickard, J (28 December 2007), 25 August 1914, http://www.historyofwar.org/firstworldwar/daybyday/1914_08_25.html

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