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Great War events that took place on 26 August.
1914 (Wednesday)
| Western Front | ▶ Battle of Le Cateau:[a] British forced to retreat: Louvain destroyed by the Germans. | ▶ End of French attempt to recover Alsace-Lorraine: French fall back in St. Dié region. | |
| Eastern Front | ▶ East Prussia: Soldau retaken by the Germans. | ▶ Samsonov's communications cut: beginning of the Russian debacle known as Battle of Tannenberg (25 miles south-west of Allenstein). | ▶ Galicia: Beginning of operations against Lemberg. |
| Southern Front | Novi Bazar evacuated by the Austrians. | ||
| Naval and Overseas Operations | Togoland conquered by the Allies: town of Atakpame occupied. |
Notes
- ↑ Battle of Le Cateau – The close pursuit by von Kluck's 1st Army caused the British 2nd Corps (3rd and 5th Divisions) to halt in its retirement from Mons and give battle on the hight ground west of Le Cateau. Strengthened by most of the 4th Division on its left and the 19th Brigade on its right, the 2nd Corps (Sir H. Smith-Dorrien) withstood terrific artillery fire from violent attacks by the enemy till about 3 p.m., when, its right being penetrated and rolled up, it continued the retirement on St. Quentin in good spirits, the Germans being too exhausted by their losses to pursue in force. Sordet's French Cavalry Corps came up during the battle and assisted on the left.
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.