West of Rhein

August 12th 1914

General Joffre sent me to find the damned Brits. The German strike into Belgium had thrown them back and we lost communications with them. But I found them and there is good news; they have retreated in good order. The Germans did not follow; they must fear our 5th Army.

I confess, I do not understand his plan; the German 3rd Army was mauled by the 5th, yet he retreats them and leaves Sedan open for taking? I wonder if he is planning to entrap them... I do know he is under a lot of pressure from Paris to attack the Germans. Despite their pressure, he resists - our armies are not as ready as the Germans for this fight. But they will be.

The Russians haasv..

Stupid driver, he seems to play a game where he tries to hit every pothole on the way back. As I was saying, our Russian allies seem to have confidence. They claim to have caught the German 8th army in an open position. I don't know what to make of this; it sounds too good to be believed. Despite this, they plan to mass their forces against Austro-Hungarian forces. They have started a propaganda war, sowing dissension and distrust in the Austro-Hungarian ranks by emphasising the brotherhood of the Slavs and denouncing the Germanic oppression. I wonder how successful they will be...

In the mean time, xxx--- Damn that driver, told him to watch where he goes. I wonder if he fears a storm? Thunder has been following us for awhile now. All the weather forecasts I saw agreed we have few weeks of good weather, important if we are to attack.

In any case, w

Recovered diary of a French Staff Officer, name withheld. The diary has been found with the pieces of a staff car; a direct artillery hit seems to have cut the car in half.