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August
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Great War events that took place on 12 August.
1914 (Wednesday)
| Western Front | Belgium: Germans seize Huy (Meuse), but are checked at Haelen and Dinant. | |
| Southern Front | Bosnia: Serbians and Montenegrins vainly attack Vishegrad. | |
| Political | ▶ Great Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary. | ▶ Turkey: Reported purchase of the German cruisers Goeben and Breslau. |
1915 (Thursday)
| Home Front | Zeppelin air raid on East Suffolk and Essex begins. | ||
| Eastern Front | ▶ Russians evacuate Sokolov, Syedlets, Lukow (east of Warsaw); material evacuated from Riga. | ▶ Austro-German armies in touch west of Brest-Litovsk and form unbroken line. Germans driven back beyond Aa, south-west of Mitau. | ▶ Russians capture Kovarsk and Toviamy (west-south-west of Dvinsk). |
| Southern Front | ▶ Italians leaving Turkey. | ▶ Serbians retaliate for Austrian bombardment of Belgrade by bombarding Semlin and Panchevo. | |
| Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres | Russian left wing re-occupies Alashgerd (Armenia). | ||
| Naval and Overseas Operations | ▶ Naval engagement between German and Russian fleets near Oesel (Riga). | ▶ French cruiser shells and destroys German munition factory at Jaffa. | |
| Political | ▶ 10,000,000 francs in gold deposited in one week in Banque de France. | ▶ USA reply to Austria affirms export of munitions of war not against laws of neutrality. | ▶ King Albert made Colonel-in-Chief of 5th Dragoon Guards. |
Sources: Various material contemporary with the war have been used to compile The Great War On This Day and its associated Index.
Text has been transcribed from two out-of-copyright sources: Chronology of the War (1918-1920), and History of the Great War – Principle Events 1914-1918 (1922). Spelling of place names are original to British use at the time. Some typos have been altered or corrected for consistency. Duplicate or identical events between these sources have been amalgamated; as a result the date and wording may differ to the original texts.
Images come from scans or photographs of original sources, Wikimedia Commons, and the Imperial War Museum's online collections under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence. Attribution is given separately to the latter and do not come under the general licence of this site.
Advisory note: The information in these sources may not accurately represent up-to-date histories, present-day spelling of place names, or geographical boundaries. In some instances the language used may appear sexist or derogatory to the modern reader, and in rare cases, images may depict distressing scenes.
For further details and a full list of sources, click here.
Images come from scans or photographs of original sources, Wikimedia Commons, and the Imperial War Museum's online collections under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence. Attribution is given separately to the latter and do not come under the general licence of this site.
Advisory note: The information in these sources may not accurately represent up-to-date histories, present-day spelling of place names, or geographical boundaries. In some instances the language used may appear sexist or derogatory to the modern reader, and in rare cases, images may depict distressing scenes.
For further details and a full list of sources, click here.