16th August 1914 On this day:  Liege fort forced to capitulate  German Siege Howitzer arrives at Liege On the Move   At about 3pm the 9th Lancers began to disembark at Boulogne from the SS Welshman and the SS. Armenian, the narrow gangway of the Armenian was hardly suited to horses and the process was slow and tedious. After a period of waiting on the quay, they set off on the three mile march to the camp at Pont de Bricques cheered along by excited locals who festooned them with flowers. Arriving at the camp to find there were no shackles in the horse lines dampened the mood and it was late night before they could finally retire for the night. https://www.facebook.com/Mons2Marne2014 12th Lancers entrain for France   The 12th Lancers completed their mobilization at Norwich and entrained for Southampton en-route to France. Queen's Bays arrive France   The Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) disembarked at Le Harve from the SS Minneapolis, having spent the night anchored in the bay. The horses were stabled in a large store at the docks until noon, then the regiment moved to a large cotton store near the railway. The men spent most of the morning conversing with French soldiers who were guarding the docks. Lieutenant A. J. R. Lamb recorded in his diary:- "Sailed into Le Harve docks and began disembarking about 5:30 a.m., All the horses of the regiment were put into a large store shed, and stood there from about 6:30 a.m. till noon. A party of French soldiers are guarding the docks, and it does not take our men long to become on speaking terms with them. They seem to quite interest each other in spite of not being at all acquainted with each other’s languages. Left these docks about noon and then moved on to a huge store shed near the railway (the biggest thing of its kind I have ever seen), where the horses were fastened up in lines." http://www.qdg.org.uk/diaries.php?dy=43 59 Field Company RE proceed to France   59 Field Company RE left their base at Curragh and arrived at Dublin docks, 4pm were aboard H.T. Bellerophon, which left Dublin 8.15pm for Le Havre. On the Move   The 1st Royal Fusiliers sailed at 2am from Cork aboard the Empress of Ireland. They sailed round the Irish Coast by Waterford then crossed to Holyhead arriving at 5pm where they entrained for an unknown destination. www.creasey.name 26th Heavy Battery proceed to France   26th Heavy Battery RGA land in France  On the Move Battle of Antivari 1914   The Battle of Antivari was a naval engagement between the French, British and Austro-Hungarian navies at the start of World War I. The Austrian light cruiser SMS Zenta and the destroyer SMS Ulan were bombarding the town of Antivari, today known as Bar, when on 16 August 1914 they were cut off by a large Franco-British force that had sortied into the Adriatic. It was an attempt to bring the Austro-Hungarians into a fleet action. The two Austrian vessels at Antivari were cut off and forced to fight an engagement in order to attempt to free themselves. Although Zenta was destroyed, Ulan escaped and the Austrian fleet did not come out of port to meet the Allied fleet. After blockading the Adriatic for a while the French were forced to withdraw due to lack of supplies. Background When war broke out between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Montenegro, the Austro-Hungarians began a blockade of the Montenegrin coast as well as several bombardments of the various towns and cities there. The French Navy had decided to try to force the Austro-Hungarian Navy into a decisive fleet action by making a sortie into the Adriatic and bait the Austrians into engaging them. The Allied force consisted of three dreadnought battleships, 10 pre-dreadnought battleships, four armoured cruisers, one protected cruiser and more than 20 destroyers. Battle The Allied Fleet managed to cut off Zenta and Ulan from escaping back to the main Austro-Hungarian fleet. Hopelessly outnumbered, the commander of Zenta decided to attempt to fight his way out and cover Ulan's escape. Zenta also had serious disadvantage as the range of her 120 mm cannons was too short, so they were not able to reach the enemy ships. The French battleships significantly outranged Zenta and so were able to score large numbers of hits without taking any damage themselves. Eventually, Zenta was sunk with 173 men killed and over 50 wounded, but allowing enough time for Ulan to make good her escape. Aftermath Despite Zenta being cut off, the main body of the Austro-Hungarian fleet did not sortie out to do battle as the French had hoped. The French fleet did not have the logistical support to remain in the Adriatic for very long and so were forced to return to Malta periodically to resupply. Order of Battle French Navy Courbet, dreadnought battleship, flagship Jean Bart, dreadnought battleship 1st Battle squadron Voltaire, pre-dreadnought battleship Vergniaud, pre-dreadnought battleship Diderot, pre-dreadnought battleship Danton, pre-dreadnought battleship Condorcet, pre-dreadnought battleship Vérité, pre-dreadnought battleship Justice, pre-dreadnought battleship Démocratie, pre-dreadnought battleship Patrie, pre-dreadnought battleship République, pre-dreadnought battleship Victor Hugo, armoured cruiser Jules Ferry, armoured cruiser Jurien de la Gravière, protected cruiser 5 destroyer squadrons Royal Navy HMS Warrior, armoured cruiser HMS Defence, armoured cruiser 3 destroyer divisions Austro-Hungarian Navy SMS Zenta, light cruiser, flagship SMS Ulan, destroyer John Doran  Move to billets 26th Heavy Brigade proceed to France   26th Heavy Brigade RGA arrived in France on the 16th of August 1914 Warwickshire Territorials on the March   The Warwickshire Brigade broke camp in Leighton Buzzard and set out on a staged route march to Essex  On the Move  On the March  Movement Orders  On the Move  In Billets  On the Move  On the Move  Move  On the Move  On the Move  On the March  On the Move  Aircraft Lost  On the Move  At Dock  Billets Organised  Disembarkation in Le Havre  Boulogne to Taisnieres.  On the Move Can you add to this factual information? Do you know the whereabouts of a unit on a particular day? Do you have a copy of an official war diary entry? Details of an an incident? The loss of a ship? A letter, postcard, photo or any other interesting snipts? If your information relates only to an individual, eg. enlistment, award of a medal or death, please use this form: Add a story.

Killed, Wounded, Missing, Prisoner and Patient Reports published this day. This section is under construction.

Want to know more about 16th of August 1914? There are:31 items tagged 16th of August 1914 available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.

Remembering those who died this day, 16th of August 1914. Sgt. George Crosby Smith. 5th Mountain Bty Royal Garrison Artillery Read their Story. Add a name to this list.

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