The Guns of August

As the war begins, Germany makes overtures to Turkey. Russia is Turkey’s enemy, and England has written it off as “the sick man of Europe” (161). Germany enters an alliance with Turkey to cut off Russia’s access to the Mediterranean, and thus cut off its supplies, but as events progress, Turkey does nothing to help Germany. Meanwhile, the French and British fleets attempt to establish dominance in the Mediterranean so the French can transport 80,000 troops from North Africa to France. Rear Admiral Wilhelm Anton Souchon, in charge of the two ships that comprise the German fleet, and Sir George Milne, in charge of the British fleet, hunt for each other as the war looms closer.

They also move themselves into attack positions, though the war has not yet been declared and orders from governments are slow in coming. On August 4, running up a Russian flag, Souchon opens fire on Phillipeville in Algeria. The Breslau, a second German ship, opens fire on the Algerian city of Bone. Afterward, Souchon, following orders from Germany, heads to Constantinople. The British ships follow but cannot catch up, though they are unable to fire anyway, as war has not been declared. The next morning, though now free to fire, they cannot find the Germans.