23 August

Great War events that took place on 23 August.

1914 (Sunday)

Western Front	▶ Namur falls.	▶ Battle of Mons begins:^[a] general German attack on the French from Charleroi to Dinant.	▶ French begin to fall back from Sambre and Meuse; also in northern Alsace.
Eastern Front	▶ East Prussia: Germans evacuate Insterburg; at the Battle of Frankenau, Germans driven back.	▶ Galicia: Russians take Brody and Tarnopol.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	Tsing-tau blockaded and bombarded by the Japanese.
Political	▶ Japan declares war on Germany.	▶ Germany: General Hindenburg receives command in East Prussia.

Notes

↑ The Battle of Mons: The British Force, consisting of the 1st and 2nd Corps (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th Divisions) and Cavalry Division (four Brigades) holding a front of over twenty miles along the line. Blinche-Mons-Pommeroeul, violently attacked by von Kluck's Army of at least four Corps besides cavalry. The Force was isolated through the 5th French Army (Lanrezac) on the right falling back during the afternoon, and its left flank was being threatened by the German 2nd Corps from the north-west. Consequently, after heavy losses and been inflicted on the enemy, a retirement was ordered for the next day and was successfully carried out by alternate Corps, the Germans being kept off by severe rearguard actions.

Sources: Various material contemporary with the war have been used to compile The Great War On This Day and its associated Compendium.

On This Day pages are styled as timelines and have 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). The spelling of place-names is a particularly convoluted subject. Some names were spelt differently depending on source, others have changed over time for various political or geographical reasons. In general, spelling of place names are original to British use at the time of, and shortly after, the war. Some typos have been altered or corrected for consistency. Similar events between these sources have been amalgamated; as a result the date and wording may differ to their original texts.

Compendium entries form the central hub of (a) An index-like collection of places, people, ships, battles, political events, etc., and (b) Words and phrases of the Armed Forces of Great Britain during the Great War. The majority of these have been transcribed from Chronology of the War (1918-1920) and Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases (1925) respectively, the later which is reflected in the language used and some may seem derogatory by today's standards.

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 does not come under the general licence of this site. Please be aware that some images, although very few, may depict distressing scenes.

Advisory note: The information in these sources may not accurately represent updated histories, present-day spellings, or geographical borders. It is also written from a British perspective, and words such as "enemy" are used extensively. For further details and a full list of sources, click here.

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[1] The Battle of Mons: The British Force, consisting of the 1st and 2nd Corps (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th Divisions) and Cavalry Division (four Brigades) holding a front of over twenty miles along the line. Blinche-Mons-Pommeroeul, violently attacked by von Kluck's Army of at least four Corps besides cavalry. The Force was isolated through the 5th French Army (Lanrezac) on the right falling back during the afternoon, and its left flank was being threatened by the German 2nd Corps from the north-west. Consequently, after heavy losses and been inflicted on the enemy, a retirement was ordered for the next day and was successfully carried out by alternate Corps, the Germans being kept off by severe rearguard actions.

[a]