100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

13th April 1917

Western Front

South of Bapume-Cambrai road, British capture village and wood of Gouzeaucourt.

North of Scarpe, British capture Vimy, Givenchy-en-Gohelle, Angres and two other villages.

Battle of Vimy Ridge ends, as Canadian troops capture their objectives. Allied forces suffered 3,589 dead and 7,004 wounded.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British drive Turks from Seraijik (on Deli-Abbas-Mosul road).

Political, etc.

German government announces it will not intern American citizens currently residing in Germany.

Russian Provisional Government receives representatives of British Labour and French Socialists.

All-Russian Conference of workmen and soldiers' delegates at Petrograd.

Bolivia severs diplomatic relations with Germany.

Ship Losses:

Argyll (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 110 nautical miles (200 km) west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (49°23′N 9°07′W) by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 22 of her crew.
Bandon (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 44 (Kurt Tebbenjohanns) and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) south west of Mine Head, Cornwall (51°57′N 7°35′W) with the loss of 28 of her crew.
Bokn (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea 95 nautical miles (176 km) off the Hellisøy Lighthouse, Hordaland (60°04′N 0°45′E) by SM U-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Frixos (Russia) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) east of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom (60°04′N 0°45′E) by SM U-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Gama (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea (60°24′N 1°15′E) by SM U-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Gambetta (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Bay of Biscay off the Île d'Yeu, Finistère by SM UC-26 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Giuseppe Accame (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) west of Cape Spartel, Morocco by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Glenlora (Norway) The barque was sunk in the North Sea (60°36′N 1°53′E) by SM U-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Kariba (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 260 nautical miles (480 km) west nort west of Ouessant, Finistère, France (48°30′N 11°28′W) by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of thirteen of her crew.
Maria (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the English Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) south west of Portland Bill, Dorset by SM UB-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMML 534 (Royal Navy) The motor launch was lost in the Mediterranean Sea on this date.
Odysseus (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) west of Cape Spartel by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMT Pitstruan (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 76 (Wilhelm Barten) and sank in the North Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) south east of the Noss Head Lighthouse, Shetland Islands with the loss of eleven of her crew.
Stork (United Kingdom) The trawler was scuttled in the North Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) east of St Abb's Head, Berwickshire by SM UC-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Strathcona (Canada) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 145 nautical miles (269 km) west north west of North Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom (59°35′N 5°49′W) by SM U-78 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nine crew. Three survivors were taken as prisoners of war.
Stromboli (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km) west of Cape Spartel by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Zara (United Kingdom )The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 90 nautical miles (170 km) off the Hellisøy Lighthouse (60°08′N 1°52′E) by SM U-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 27 lives.

[Sailor Steve]

April 13, 1917

Felixstowe, England:
The Royal Naval Air Service, increasing their efforts to end U-boat patrols in the Channel, begin what are called "Spider-Web Patrols". Four Curtiss "Large America" flying boats fly together to the Noord Hinder lightship, off the Dutch coast. From there they fly a pattern resembling a pie cut into eight pieces. The legs are only thirty miles long, but the group can cover 4,000 square miles in five hours' flying time. One novel idea which will carry over to the next war is the control system at Felixstowe. As sightings are reported they are noted on a chart at the home base, and a single flying boat is dispatched to that position to follow and hopefully attack the submarine. The Spider-Web system will prove responsible for one-quarter of all U-boat sightings in 1917.

Air War:
0845 Russian pilots Juri Vladimirovich Gilsher, Donat Makeenok, in Nieuport 21s, and Vasili Yanchnko in a Morane 'H', shoot down Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 67.03. Victory number 1 for Gilsher, number 2 for Makeenok and number 5 for Yanchenko.

0854 Jasta 11 attacks a formation of RE.8s. First to score is Sebastian Festner, shooting down A3199 for victory number 9. 2nd Lts A. Watson and E.R. Law are both wounded and taken prisoner.

0855 German pilot Lothar von Richthofen, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down RE.8 A3126 for victory number 4. Cpt George Bailey Hodgson and Lt Charles Herbert Morris are listed as Missing.

0856 German ace Hans Klein, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down an unidentified RE.8 for victory number 6.

0856 Lothar von Richthofen scores his second victory just one minute after the first, shooting down RE.8 A4191 for number 5. 2nd Lt Herbert George MacMillan Horne and Lt William Joseph Chalk are listed as Missing.


0856 German ace Kurt Wolff, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down RE.8 A3225 for victory number 10. Lts Arthur Horace Tanfield and Andrew Ormerod are both listed as Missing.

0858 German ace Manfred von Richthofen, in Albatros D.III 2253/17, shoots down RE.8 A3190 for victory number 41. Cpt James Maitland Stewart and Lt Maurice Herbert Wood are listed as Missing.

All six RE.8s are shot down in just four minutes. The were supposed to be escorted, but as often happened in the days before aircraft carried radios, the two flights missed each other and the Germans had no opposition.

0900 The Russian trio bring down a second Hansa C.I, 67.04. Victory number 2 for Juri Gilsher, number 3 for Donat Makeenok, number 6 for Vasili Yanchenko.

0900 Albatroses from Jasta 5 come across a flight of FE.2ds from 57 Squadron. Kurt Schneider shoots down two of them for victories number 4 and 5.

0905 German ace Heinrich Gontermann shoots down the third FE.2 for victory number 9. Cpt L.S. Platt and 2nd Lt T. Margerison are both killed.

1130 English RFC pilot Herbert Edward Oscar Ellis, in Nieuport 17 B1519, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 1.

1235 Kurt Wolff scores his second victory of the day, shooting down FE.2b A827 for victory number 11. Lt Charles Eric Robertson and 2nd Lt Horace Denoon Duncan crash unhurt on their own side of the lines, but their plane is destroyed.

1245 Manfred von Richthofen scores his second of the day, shooting down FE.2b A832 for number 42. Sgt James Allen Cunniffe and AM2 W.J. Batten are both wounded but crash on their own side of the lines.

1400 German ace Albert Dossenbach, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down SPAD VII 1057 for victory number 12. MdL Marcel Nogues is captured. He will escape within a few weeks and be back with Escadrille N.12 by July.

1630 Kurt Wolff gains his third victory of the day when he shoots down Nieuport 23 A6768 for number 12. 2nd Lt Basil Scott-Foxwell crashes unharmed on his own side of the lines.

1700 German pilot Heinrich Bongartz, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down a Salmson-Moineau bomber for victory number 2. SLt Paul Féquant, Lt André Locquin and Sol Maurice Hutreau are all killed.

1830 English pilot John Aspinall and Canadian observer Medley Parlee, in FE.2b 4983, shoot down an Albatros D.III. Victory number 5 for Aspinall, number 4 for Parlee.

1830 German pilot Eduard von Dostler, flying an Albatros D.III, claims a French balloon. Though it is certain he got his kill, for some reason it was listed as Unconfirmed.

1830 German ace Karl Schäfer, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down an FE.2b for victory number 17.

1852 Kurt Wolff scores his fourth victory of the day, shooting down Martinsyde G.102 A1564 for victory number 13. 2nd Lt Michael Topham is killed.

1910 Hans Klein makes his second kill of the day, shooting down an FE.2d for number 7,

1930 Sebastian Festner claims his secon victory of the day when he shoots down FE.2b A784 for victory number 10. Sgt J. Dempsey and Lt W.H. Green are both taken prisoner.

1930 English ace James Leith, in FE.2d A872 with Lt G.M.A. Hampden, shoots down an Albatros D.III for victory number 7. Also involved is FE.2b 7003, Sgt W.J. Burkenshaw and 2nd Lt J.B. Weir, totals unknown.

1930 Canadian pilot Reginald Malcolm and English observer Leonard Emsden, in FE.2d A6385, shoot down an Albatros D.III. Victory number 3 for Malcolm, number 5 for Emsden.

1935 German ace Edmund Nathanael, flying an Albatros D.III, shoots down a British observation balloon for victory number 9.

1935 Manfred von Richthofen scores his third kill of the day, shooting down FE.2b 4997 for victory number 43. 2nd Lt Allan Harold Bates and Sgt William Alfred Barnes are both killed.

1940 Heinrich Gontermann gets his second of the day when he shoots down a French observation balloon. MdL Colonna de Giovellina parachutes safely.

Austro-Hungarian pilot Paul Habitschlek and Croatian observer Roman Schmidt, in a Hansa-Brandenburg C.I, shoot down a Nieport scout. Victory number 1 for Schmidt, unknown for Habitschlek.

Frenh pilot Louis Proper Gros and observer Gaston Kissel, in an Henri Farman, shoot down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 1.

A pair of Bristol F.2as shoot down two Albatros D.IIIs.
Alam Wilkinson, numbers 17 & 18 and Lawrence Allen, numbers 5 & 6.
Lt J.W. Warren, unknown, and Hugh Griffith, numbers 4 & 5.
This is Griffith's last victory. He survives the war, becomes a banker in Quebec and lives until 1974.



North of Scotland:
Otto Dröscher, commanding U-78, sinks Canadian freighter SS Strathcona, 1,881 tons, bound from Tyne for Marseille with a load of coal. His score is now 15 ships and 21,772 tons.



Ireland:
British freighter SS Bandon, 1,456 tons, carrying a general cargo from Liverpool to Cork hits a mine laid by Kurt Tebbenjohanns in UC-44 off Mine Head. His score is now 15 ships and 13,356 tons.



Celtic Sea:
Walter Roehr, in U-84, sinks British freighter SS Argyll, 3,547 tons, en route from Port Kelah to Middlesbrough with a load of iron ore. His score is now 15 ships and 36,857 tons.
Roehr also torpedoes British freighter SS Lime Branch, 5,379 tons, carrying a load of nitrate plus general cargo from Callao to London. The damaged ship makes port safely.

Gerhard Schulz, in UC-27, sinks British freighter SS Kariba, 3,697 tons, heading from Java and Dakar to Falmouth with a load of sugar. He now has 4 ships and 4,263 tons.



English Channel:
Wilhelm Amberger, in UB-38, Scuttles British schooner Maria, 175 tons, travelling from Glasgow to Cherbourg with a load of coal. His score is now 13 vessels and 13,555 tons.

Matthias von Schmettow, in UC-26, sinks French sailboat Gambetta, 39 tons, raising his score to 72 vessels and 108,371 tons.



North Sea:
Franz Günert, in U-30, sinks 5 ships between Norway and the Shetland Islands:
Norwegian coaster SS Bokn, 336 tons, en route from Bergen to Ardrossan with a load of fish oil.
Russian freighter SS Frixos, 2,471 tons, travelling from Port Romanoff to the United Kingdom; torpedoed.
Norwegian coaster SS Gama, 107 tons, carrying mail from Bergen to Lerwick.
Norwegian barque Glenlora, 805 tons, travelling in ballast from Stubbekøbing to Savannah, Georgia, United States.
British freighter SS Zara, 1,331 tons, underway from London to Trondheim with a general cargo.
Grünert's score is now 13 ships and 12,103 tons.

Kurt Bernis, in UC-41, scuttles British trawler Stork, 152 tons east of St Abb's Head, Scotland. His score is now 4 vessels and 2,906 tons.
Bernis also shells and the scuttles Breadalbane, 112 tons, but the trawler refuses to sink and makes port safely.

His Majesty's Trawler Pitstruan, 206 tons, hits a mine laid by Wilhelm Barten in UC-76 off the Noss Head lighthouse, at the very northern tip of Scotland. His score is now 13 vessels and 3,263 tons.



Straigt of Gibraltar:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, has moved through the straigt and out of the Mediterranean. Off Cap Spartel, Morocco, near Tangier, he sinks three ships:
Italian freighter SS Giuseppe Accame, 3,224 tons, en route from Buenos Aires to Genoa with a load of maize and general cargo.
Greek freighter SS Odysseus, 3,463 tons, carrying a load of wheat from New Orleans to Marseille.
Italian freighter SS Stromboli, 5,466 tons, travelling from Norfolk to Genoa.
Von Arnauld's score is now 162 ships and 336,610 tons.



Durban, South Africa:
As HMFM Trent finishes recieving 1,067 tons of 'Natal coal'. One man is listed as Absent With Out Leave and another shows up drunk and refuses duty. Warrants are read for two men previously refusing duty to be taken ashore to await trial. It is interesting to note that the ship's log mentions the type of coal being taken aboard. Welsh coal is considered the finest in the world, so they note if they have to use "inferior" coal, which is not only not as efficient but also burns much dirtier, creating much more smoke.

[Jimbuna]

14th April 1917

Western Front

German attacks near Hurtebise Farm (between Troyon and Craonne) and at Courcy (north of Reims) repulsed.

Battle of Moronvillers (east of Reims) begins.

French capture heights of the massif and 3,500 prisoners.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British on night 17-18 April force passage of Shatt-el-Adhaim (left tributary of Tigris below Samarra).

Second advance against Gaza begins.

Political, etc.

U.S. House of Representatives approve to raise a $7 billion (about $133 billion today) war loan without a single dissenting vote.

Ship Losses:

Andromach (United Kingdom) The trawler was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Shetland Islands by SM U-78 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her captain was taken as a prisoner of war. The other eleven crew took to the lifeboat but were not found.
Cinque Ottobre (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia by SM UC-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Fjeldli (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea 76 nautical miles (141 km) west by north of the Marstein Lighthouse, Hordaland (60°02′N 2°10′E) by SM U-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Gange (French Navy) The troopship struck a mine laid by UC 37 (Otto Launburg) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea 33 nautical miles (61 km) north east of Cape Serrat, Algeria (37°24′N 9°50′E) by SM UC-37 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of one life.
Hermione (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 33 (Martin Schelle) and was damaged in the Irish Sea off the Coningbeg Lightship ( United Kingdom). She was beached in Dunmore Bay where she was declared a constructive total loss. Subsequently scrapped in situ.
HMT Orcades (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Grimsby with the loss of six of her crew.
Patagonier (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 135 nautical miles (250 km)) west of Gibraltar (36°00′N 9°00′W) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Progresso (Italy) The tug was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia by SM UC-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Spray (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km) north east of the mouth of the River Tyne by SM UC-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Tom (Spain) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 12 nautical miles (22 km) off Hourtin, Gironde, France (45°05′N 1°30′W) by SM UC-26 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Tres Macs (Portugal) The auxiliary sailing vessel was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea (36°39′N 7°22′W) by SM U-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Venus (Norway) The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 50 (Rudolf Seuffer) and sank in the North Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, United Kingdom with the loss of fourteen of her crew.
HMS Veronica (Royal Navy) The Acacia-class sloop was damaged in the Mediterranean Sea 45 nautical miles (83 km) north west of Alexandria, Egypt (31°43′N 29°17′E) by SM UB-42 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

April 14, 1917

Air War:
0600 French pilot Henri Languedoc, flying a Nieuport, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 5.

0820 Malayan RNAS pilot Thomas Gerard, in Sopwith Triplane N5440, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.

0905 English RNAS pilot Edward Duncan Crundall, in Sopwith Triplane N5464, shoots down two Albatros two-seaters for victories 1 and 2.

0910 English RNAS pilot Charles Booker, in Sopwith Triplane N5464, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 3.

0915 Another fight for Jasta 11 begisn, this one against Nieports of 60 Squadron RFC.
First, German ace Sebastian Festner, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down Nieuport 17 B1523 for victory number 11. Lt L.C. Chapman is wounded, and will die two days later. (some sources have this as 0923).

0915 German ace Manfred von Richthofen, flying Albatros D.III 2253/17, shoots down Nieuport 17 A6796 for victory number 44. Lt William Oswald Russell is taken prisoner.

Above Harlex, one of our observer planes was attacked by several Nieuports. I hurried to the place of action, attacked one of the planes and forced it to land one kilometre south of Bois Bernard.
-Manfred von Richthofen

0920 German ace Lothar von Richthofen, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down Nieuport 23 A6772 for victory number 6. Cpt Alan Binnie is wounded and taken prisoner.

0920 German ace Kurt Wolff, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down Nieuport 17 B1511 for victory number 14. 2nd Lt John Herbert Cock is listed as Missing.

0923 German ace Sebastian Festner, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down Nieuport 17 B1523 for victory number 11. 2nd Lt L.C. Chapman is wounded and taken prisoner. He will die from his wounds two days later.

0930 German pilot Hermann Frommherz, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down BE.2c 2562 for victory number 2. Lt W. Harle is wounded and taken prisoner. 2nd Lt W.B. Cramb is killed.

0934 German pilot Kurt-Bertram von Döring, flying an Albatros D.II, shoots down an unidentified Nieuport for victory number 1. No details.

0950 Welsh RFC pilot Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams, in Nieuport 23 A6721, shoots down an Albatros D.III for victory number 1.

1030 French ace Georges Guynemer, in a SPAD VII, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 36. Uffz Karl Abelmann and Ltn Heinrich are both killed.

1130 German pilot Joseph Veltjens, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down a SPAD VII for victory number 1.

1140 German ace Hartmuth Baldamus, in an Albatros D.II, and French pilot Cpl Simon, in Nieuport 17 2539 collide, killing both of them. Both are credited with a victory, so Baldamus' final score is 18 and Simon's is 1. Simon's body is never recovered and his is listed as Missing.

1140 German pilot Fritz Pütter, probably in an Albatros D.II, though Jasta 9 was still flying some eindeckers at this time, shoots down an observation balloon for victory number 1.

1200 German ace Rudolf Berthold, flying an Albatros D.II, shoots down a SPAD VII for victory number 12.

1200 English RFC pilot William Ernest Reed, in SPAD VII A6753, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 1.

1610 Scottish RFC pilot Ian Patrick Robert Napier, in Nieuport 23 A6778, shoots down an Albatros D.III for victory number 1. Sharing this kill is a Lt de Burgh, in N.23 A6781.

1705 German ace Karl Schäfer, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down FE.2b 4877 for victory number 18. No details on crew.

1720 Karl Schäfer scores his second kill of the day, downing a BE.2.

1823 Lothar von Richthofen gains his second victory of the day, shooting down SPAD VII A6683 for number 7. Lt John Watson Baker is wounded and crash-lands at Le Hameau airfield.

1829 Kurt Wolff gets his second kill of the day, downing SPAD VII A6746 for number 14. Lt Edward Walter Capper is listed as Missing.

1930 Canadian RFC pilot Reginald Malcolm, in FE.2d 6383 with 2nd Lt J.B. Weir as observer, shares a kill with Sgt W.J. Burkenshaw and Sgt J.H. Brown in FE.3b 7003, shooting down an Albatros D.III. Victory number 4 for Malcolm.

German pilot Hans von Adam, in an Albatros D.III, destroys a French observation balloon for victory number 2. The observer, SLt M.L. Sapin, is wounded and dies later.

French pilot Gustave Victorin Daladier, flying a Nieuport, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 1.

German pilot Eduard von Dostler, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down a Nieuport for victory number 5.

German ace Heinrich Gontermann, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down a BE.2e for victory number 11. No details.

French Letord crew Didier Le Cour-Grandmaison, Achille Rousseaux and Marie Vitalis shoot down a Roland C.II. Victory number 5 for Grandmaison, number 7 for Rousseaux and Vitalis.

French ace Armand Pinsard, in a SPAD VII, shoots down a two-seater for victory number 8.



Ireland:
British freighter SS Hermione, 4,011 tons, bound from Buenos Aires for Liverpool with a load of horses and general cargo, hits a mine laid off the Coningbeg lightship by Martin Schelle in UC-33. The damaged ship is beached in Dunmore Bay, but written off as a total loss. Schelle's score is now 5 ships and 6,384 tons.



North Sea:
Franz Günert, in U-30, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Fjeldli, 954 tons, en route from Hernösand to London with a load of wood; between Norway and the Shetland Islands. His score is now 14 ships and 13,057 tons.

Otto Dröscher, in U-78, stops and scuttles British trawler Andromache, 313 tons, west of the Shetland Islands. His score is now 16 vessels and 22,085 tons.

Otto von Schrader, in UC-31, torpedoes British freighter SS Spray, 1,072 tons, travelling in ballast from Aberdeen to Sunderland. His score is now 28 ships and 19,659 tons.

Norwegian freighter SS Venus, 725 tons en route from Blyth to Drammen, hits a mine laid off Berwick-Upon-Tweed by Rudolf Seuffer in UC-50. His score is now 9 ships and 10,792 tons.



Bay of Biscay:
Matthias von Schmettown in UC-26, sinks Spanish freighter SS Tom, 2,413 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Bilbao to Cardiff. His score is now 73 ships and 110,784 tons.



Golfo de Cadiz:
Hans Walther, in U-52, uses his deck gun to sink Portuguese auxiliary motor sailer Tres Macs, 163 tons, carrying gasoline on an unlisted course; between Gibraltar and Cape St Vincent. His score is now 28 ships and 63,967 tons.



Far west of Gibraltar:
Leading U-boat ace Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks British freighter SS Patagonier, 3,832 tons, travelling in ballast from Gibraltar to Jamaica. His score is now 163 ships and 340,442 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Fritz Wernicke, in UB-42, torpedoes British sloop HMS Veronica, 1,200 tons, 45 miles northwest of Alexandria. The damaged ship makes safe port.

Franz Becker, in UC-20, sinks two Italian sailing vessels off Tunisia:
Cinque Ottobre, 39 tons.
Progresso, 31 tons.
Becker's score is now 8 vessels and 16,220 tons.

French troopships Gange, 6,886 tons, en route from Marseilles to Bizerta, then to Australia, hits a mine laid of Cape Serrat by Otto Launburg in UC-37. Launburg's score is now 18 ships and 41,825 tons.

[Jimbuna]

15th April 1917

Western Front

British repulse German attack on Bapume-Cambrai road; severe fighting at Lagnicourt.

British capture Villeret (north-west of St. Quentin).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks driven back to Jebel Hamrin (tableland from Tigris to Persian hills).

Naval

British troopship HMS Arcadian is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine SM UC-74, with loss of 277 lives.


Another British troopship SS Cameronia is sunk by the German submarine U-33, with around 200 deaths.


Political, etc.

Appeal of President Wilson to American citizens re: war.

Austrian feelers for separate peace with Russian apparent.

German bread rations are reduced by one-fourth, but 250 grams of meat will be added per week.

Venizelist regime in Greek islands in force.

Riots occur in Buenos Aires, Argentina as a mob attack the German Legation and Consulate, as well as German newspapers.

Mexican government announces it will maintain strict neutrality in the ongoing world war.

Russian government accuses Germany of using Russian socialists and other radicals to cause disturbances inside the country.

Ship Losses:

Alert (United Kingdom) The coaster struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Dover, Kent.
Alessio Cocco (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia by SM UC-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMS Arcadian (Royal Navy) The troopship was torpedoed and sunk in the Sea of Crete 26 nautical miles (48 km) northeast of Milos, Greece (36°50′N 24°50′E) by SM UC-74 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 277 lives.
Astræa (Denmark) The barquentine was set afire and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom (49°00′N 10°30′W) by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seven crew.
Brothertoft (United Kingdom) The trawler was sunk in the North Sea (approximately 55°50′N 1°30′E) by SM UC-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Cameronia (United Kingdom) The troopship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 150 nautical miles (280 km) east of Malta (35°50′N 17°32′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 140-210 of the 2,650-plus people on board. Survivors were rescued by HMS Nemesis and HMS Rifleman (both Royal Navy).
Dalmatian (United Kingdom) The trawler was scuttled in the North Sea by SM UC-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her nine crew took to the lifeboats but did not survive.
Fram (Denmark) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the North Sea (56°35′N 2°45′W) by SM U-93 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Gretaston (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (43°08′N 11°32′W) by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all 29 crew.
Heikina (Netherlands) The sailing vessel was sunk in the North Sea by SM UC-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew took to the lifeboats but did not survive.
Mashobra (United Kingdom) The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 140 nautical miles (260 km) south west of Cape Matapan, Greece (35°34′N 20°40′E) by SM U-28 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy) with the loss of eight lives. Her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
Møhlenpris (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the English Channel 15 nautical miles (28 km) south west of Beachy Head, East Sussex, United Kingdom (50°38′N 0°15′W) by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Panaghi Drakatos (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 26 nautical miles (48 km) off Cape Santa Maria, Portugal by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Paris (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 100 nautical miles (190 km) west of Greipengen by SM U-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
USS Pike (United States Navy) The Plunger-class submarine sank at Cavite Naval Base, Philippines. She was raised two days later, repaired and returned to service.
Sutterton (United Kingdom) The trawler was scuttled in the North Sea 65 nautical miles (120 km) east south east of St Abb's Head, Berwickshire (55°45′N 0°15′W) by SM UC-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Tusnastabb (Norway) The coaster struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Cap Gris Nez, Pas-de-Calais, France (50°54′N 1°34′E). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

April 15, 1917

Air War:
1040 French ace Albert Duellin, flying a SPAD VII, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft: for victory number13.
Duellin files a second claim this day, but it is Unconfirmed, as are several others including two by Georges Guynemer.

German pilot Julius Buckler. in an Altbros D.III, shoots down SPAD VII 116 for victory number 4. Sgt Achille Papiel is taken prisoner.

German ace Albert Dossenbach, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down a Nieuport 23 for victory number 13. SLt Robert Seneschal is wounded.

Albert Dossenbach scores his second kill of the day, shooting down SPAD VII 1234 for victory 14. Adj Denis Epitalon is taken prisoner.

Italiam pilot Gastone Novelli files his first claim, but it is unconfirmed.



Celtic Sea:
Wilhelm Werner, commanding U-55, sets fire to Danish schooner Astræa, 260 tons, bound from Martinique for Le Havre with a load of rum; near the Scilly Isles. His score is now 32 ships and 51,462 tons.



English Channel:
British lighthouse tender Alert hits a mine near the Ruytingen buoy, in the Strait of Dover. No German ship is credited with laying the minefield, so the source is unknown.

Hans Howaldt, in UB-40, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Möhlenpris, 638 tons, carrying a load of coal from Llanelly to Bulogne, off Beachy Head. His score is now 22 ships and 8,617 tons.



North Sea:
Franz Grünert, in U-30, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Paris, 1,634 tons, en route from Fredrikstad to Garston with a load of lumber and wood pulp; 100 miles west of Greipengen. His score is now 15 ships and 14,691 tons.

Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim goes on his first patrol in more than a year, in U-93, abd sinks Danish schooner Fram, 105 tons, hauling a load of coal from Hull to Aarhus, with his deck gun. His score is now 6 vessels and 12,399 tons.

Otto von Schrader, in UC-31, sinks British trawler Brothertoft, 155 tons, bringing his total to 29 vessels and 19,814 tons.

Kurt Tebbenjohanns. in UC-44, scuttles three vessels:
British trawler Dalmatian, 186 tons; crew lost in lifeboats.
Dutch sailing vessel Heikina, 157 tons, carrying salt cake from London to Christiania; crew lost in lifeboats, vessel listed as Missing.
British trawler Sutterton, 160 tons.
Tebbenjohanns' score is now 18 vessels and 13,869 tons.



Barents Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Arctic Prince, 194 tons, hits a mine laid off the Rybachy Peninsula, near Murmansk, by Curt Bietzen in U-75. The damages vessel manages to make port safely.



Spain:
Gerhard Schulz, in UC-27, topedoes British freighter SS Gretaston, 3,395 tons, en route from Huelva to Garston with a load of copper ore. Twenty-nine lives lost. His score is now 5 ships and 7,659 tons.



Far west of Gibraltar:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks Greek freighter SS Panaghi Drakatos, 2,734 tons, underway from Huelva to New York with an unlisted cargo. Location is given as near Cape Santa Maria, Portugal, but this would mean that U-35 moved more than 100 miles to get there from the previous day's sinking, and the same back for tomorrow's. More likely this is a mistake. His score is now 164 ships and 343,176 tons.



Golfo de Cadiz:
Hans Walther, in U-52, fires a round across the bow a Spanish freighter SS Cabo Blanco, 2,163 tons, near Cabo de Santa Maria, Portugal. Shell splinters damage the ship's hull, but she runs away from the submarine.



Aegean Sea:
Wilhelm Marschall, in UC-74, sinks British troop ship HMS Arcadian, 8,939 tons, transporting troops from Salonika to Alexandria, off Milos Island, with the loss of 277 lives. His score is now 3 ships and 12,885 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Gustav Seiß has started a new patrol in a new boat, having transfered from U-73 to U-33. His first sinking is a big one - British troop ship HMS Cameronia, 10,963 tons, sunk 150 miles east of Malta. His score is now 17 ships and 122,201 tons.

Leo Prásil, in Austrian U-29, sinks British passenger ship SS Mashobra, 8,173 tons, carrying a general cargo from Calcutta to London, 140 miles off Cape Matapan. His score is now 2 ships and 11,659 tons.



Franz Becker, in UC-20, sinks Italian sailboat Alessio Cocco, 29 tons, bring his total to 9 vessels and 16,249 tons.



Durban, South Africa:
The crew of monitor HMS Severn are transferred aboard HMFM Trent in preparation for towing.

[Jimbuna]

16th April 1917

Western Front

Second Battle of the Aisne (between Soissons and Reims). French take first German positions between Soissons and Craonne, and second positions to south of Juvincourt, and advance line to Aisne Canal between Loivre and Courcy.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British advance towards Istabulat (12 miles south-east of Samarra).

Naval

French liner Sontay is sunk by the German submarine SM U-33. The crew survives after boarding lifeboats.


British submarine C16 collides with the destroyer Melampus and sinks, resulting in the deaths of all crew members.


Political, etc.

Strike in Berlin and Leipzig due to defective food distribution.

President Wilson warns both citizens and alien residents against acts of treason and states that prosecution will be vigorous.

Ship Losses:

Amanda (Sweden) The brig was scuttled in the North Sea[210] (56°27′N 3°00′E) by SM UC-51 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Anne (Denmark) The three-masted schooner was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland (51°45′N 17°20′W) by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS C16 (Royal Navy) The C-class submarine was rammed and sunk at Harwich, Essex by HMS Melampus ( Royal Navy) with the loss of all sixteen crew. She was subsequently salvaged, repaired and returned to service.
Cairndhu (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) west of Beachy Head, East Sussex by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eleven of her crew.
Crios (Greece) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Espichel, Portugal (38°20′N 9°12′W) by SM U-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Eduard (United Kingdom) The three-masted schooner was scuttled in the English Channel 12 nautical miles (22 km) south west of Beachy Head (50°34′N 0°05′E) by SM UC-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Endymion (Russia) The sailing vessel was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 250 nautical miles (460 km) west of Galway, United Kingdom (52°30′N 16°20′W) by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Lord Chancellor (United Kingdom) The trawler was scuttled in the North Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km) north east of the Longstone Lighthouse, Northumberland by SM UC-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Marden (United Kingdom) The coaster was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 6 nautical miles (11 km) north west of Cap Gris Nez, Pas-de-Calais, France by SM UB-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Polycarp (Norway) The sailing vessel was sunk in the North Sea (56°23′N 2°52′E) by SM UC-51 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Queen Mary (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 180 nautical miles (330 km) north west by north of the Fastnet Rock (51°48′N 14°52′W) by SM U-60 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nine crew.
Rochester Castle (United Kingdom) The ketch was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) west south west of Cap Gris Nez by SM UB-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Rosetta (Egypt) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Gaza by SM UB-42 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Sagres (Portugal) The cargo shp struck a mine laid by UC 37 (Otto Launburg) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Cap Blanc, Tunisia.
Smeul (Romanian Naval Forces) The torpedo boat capsized and sank during a trip from Sulina to Constanța.
Sontay (France) The passenger ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 100 nautical miles (190 km) south east of Malta (35°02′N 16°28′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Towergate (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 250 nautical miles (460 km) north west by west of the Fastnet Rock (52°10′N 16°16′W) by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Victoria (United Kingdom) The three-masted schooner was scuttled in the English Channel 30 nautical miles (56 km) south west of Beachy Head by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

April 16, 1917

Air War:
0600 French ace Henri Languedoc, flying a Nieuport, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 6.

0830 Irish RFC observer Giles Blennerhasset, riding in FE.2b A5461 flown by 2nd Lt S.J. Young, shoots down an Albatros D.II for victory number 5.

0915 Russian pilot Vladimir Strizhevsky, in a SPAD VII, claims a Hansa-Brandenburg C.I, but it is Unconfirmed.

1030 The Albatros D.IIIs of Jasta 11 are out and about again, mixing it up with 60 Squadron RFC:

Lothar von Richthofen shoots down Nieuport 17 B1501 for victory number 8. 2nd Lt David Norman Robertson is listed as Missing.

Sebastian Festner brings down Nieuport 17 B1507, killing Lt T. Lingwall. Victory 12.

Kurt Wolff downs Nieuport 17 B1509 for victory number 16. Lt John MacCreary Elliot is listed as Missing.

1430 French pilot Henri Thomassin, flying a Nieuport 24, is attacking a German two-seater when the two accidentally collide. Thomassin is slightly wounded and his plane recieves minor damage but is otherwise fine. The German plane goes down behind French lines. OfStv Kern is taken prisoner. Ltn Walter Uterman is killed. This may be Thomassin's only victory.

1430 French pilot Henri Thomassin, in a Nieuport 24, accidentally collides with a German two-seater while attacking it. Thomassin is lighly injured, but the German plane comes down. OfStv Kern is taken prisoner and Ltn Walter Uterman is killed. Victory number 1.

1640 German pilot Julius Buckler, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down a Nieuport for victory number 5. No details.

1650 German ace Heinrich Gontermann, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down a British observation balloon for victory number 12,

1700 Heinrich Gontermann destroys a second British balloon for victory 13.

1730 German ace Manfred von Richthofen, flying Albatros D.III 2253/17, shoots down BE.2e 3156 for victory number 45. Lt Alphonso Pascoe is wounded and sent home to recover. 2nd Lt Frederick Seymour Andrews is wounded and dies on April 29.

Russian pilot Donat Makeenok, in a Nieuport 21, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 4.

German pilot Enrsnt Wiehle, flying a two-seater with a Gftr May as observer, shoots down a SPAD for victory number 1.



North Atlantic Ocean, 250 miles west of Ireland:
Hellmuth Jürst, commanding U-43, sinks three ships:
Danish schooner Anne, 240 tons, bound from Savannah for Odense with a load of Oilcake.
Russian sailing ship Endymion, 1,345 tons, travelling in ballast from Birkenhead to Mobile.
British freighter SS Towergate, 3,697 tons, carrying cotton, lard and beef from Galveston to Liverpool.
Jürst's score is now 26 ships and 58,797 tons.



180 miles west of Ireland:
karlgeorg Schuster, in U-60, sinks British freighter SS Queen Mary, 5,658 tons, heading from New York to Le Havre with a general cargo. His score is now 13 ships and 34,854 tons.



English Channel:
Harald von Keyserlingk, in UB-36, uses his deck gun to sink two small ships near Cape Gris Nez:
British coaster SS Marden, 297 tons, travelling in ballast from Tréport to Newcastle; deck gun.
British ketch Rochester Castle, 102 tons, en route from Dieppe to London.
Keyserlingk's score is now 5 vessels and 705 tons.

Hans Howaldt, in UB-40, sinks two ships off Beachy Head:
British freighter SS Cairndhu, 4,109 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to Gibraltar.
British schooner Victoria, 165 tons, heading from Greenwich to Cherbourg with a load of coal tar and pitch; scuttled.
Howaldt's score is now 24 ships and 12,891 tons.

Werner Fürbringer, in UC-70, scuttles British schooner Eduard, 476 tons, travelling in ballast from London to Port Talbot. His score is now 75 ships and 58,915 tons.



North Sea:
Kurt Bernis, in UC-41, scuttles British fishing vessel Lord Chancellor, 135 tons, off Longstone, bringing his score to 5 vessels and 3,041 tons.

Wilhelm Schröder, in UC-51, stops and scuttles to sailing vessels:
Swedish brig Amanda, 232 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Fredrikshald to West Hartlepool.
Norwegian vessel Polycarp, 509 tons, hauling a load of coal from West Hartlepool to Christiania.
These are Schröder's first sinkings, and his opening score is 2 vessels and 741 tons.



Portugal:
Hans Walther, in U-52, stops and scuttles Greek freighter SS Crios, 4,116 tons, en route from Savona to Cardiff with a load of iron ore. His score is now 29 ships and 68,073 tons.



Ionian Sea:
Robert von Fernland, in Austrian U-27, sinks Greek freighter SS Zinovia, 2,976 tons, heading from Barry to Taranto with a load of coal; off Cape Rizzuto. His score is now 2 ships and 6,732 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Gustav Seiß, in U-33, sinks French passenger liner SS Sontay, 7,247 tons, carrying passengers from Salonika to Marseilles; southeast of Malta. His score is now 18 ships and 129,342 tons.

Fritz Wernicke, in UB-42, sinks Egyptian sailing vessel Rosetta, 86 tons, off Gaza. His score is now 5 vessels and 3,980 tons.

Portuguese freighter SS Sagres, 2,986 tons, carrying troops and war supplies from Marseille to Salonika, hits a mine laid by Otto Launburg in UC-37 off Cap Blanc (Ras al-Abyad), Tunisia, the northernmost point of Africa. Launburg's score is now 19 ships and 44,751 tons.

[Jimbuna]

17th April 1917

Western Front

German attacks near Hurtebise Farm (between Troyon and Craonne) and at Courcy (north of Reims) repulsed.

Battle of Moronvillers (east of Reims) begins.

French capture heights of the massif and 3,500 prisoners.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British on night 17-18 April force passage of Shatt-el-Adhaim (left tributary of Tigris below Samarra).

Second advance against Gaza begins.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British hospital ships "Donegal" and "Lanfranc" torpedoed in Channel.

Political, etc.

Measures of Senate (U.S.A.) to suppress export of food-stuffs, etc., to Germany.

Lenin delivers the April Theses, calling on the soviets to take power and denounces the Provisional Government.

The Times & Daily Mail publish (false) stories that a “German Corpse Factory” processes fat from German war dead for industrial use.

New York City revokes all night licenses for hotels and restaurants for the duration of the war. Dancing and Drinking must stop at 1 AM.

Ship Losses:

Aburi (United Kingdom) The Elder Dempster 3,730 grt cargo liner was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 125 nautical miles (232 km) north west of Tory Island, County Donegal (56°15′N 11°30′W) by SM U-61 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 25 crew.
Atalanta (Sweden) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea with the loss of all but one crew – 16 dead.[230] The u-boat was SM U-86 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Bretagne (Denmark) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 8 to 9 nautical miles (15 to 17 km) off Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom (57°43′N 1°42′W) by SM UC-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Brisbane River (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 140 nautical miles (260 km) west of Gibraltar (35°30′N 8°10′W) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived, but her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
Cairnhill (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 160 nautical miles (300 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock (52°09′N 13°16′W) by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived, but her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
Charles Goodanew (United Kingdom )The coaster was sunk in the North Sea 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km) north north east of Rattray Head (57°39′N 1°45′W) by SM UC-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of thirteen of her crew.
Corfu (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 160 nautical miles (300 km) west of Gibraltar (35°14′N 8°25′W) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.
Costante (Italy )The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Algeria (36°53′N 4°15′E) by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Dantzic (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the Irish Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) south by west of St. Ann's Head, Pembrokeshire by SM UC-47 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Donegal (United Kingdom) The hospital ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 19 nautical miles (35 km) south of the Dean Lightship ( United Kingdom) (50°26′N 1°00′W) by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 40 lives.
Fernmoor (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 150 nautical miles (280 km) west of Gibraltar (35°30′N 8°18′W) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Kish (United Kingdom The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 160 nautical miles (300 km) north west by west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of six crew.
HMHS Lanfranc (Royal Navy) The hospital ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 42 nautical miles (78 km) north of Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France (50°11′N 0°12′E) by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 40 lives.
Robert (Denmark) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 14 nautical miles (26 km) east of Fair Isle, United Kingdom by SM UC-76 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eight crew.
U.S.A. (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was scuttled in the North Sea 16 nautical miles (30 km) east north east of the Longstone Lighthouse, Northumberland (55°54′N 1°06′W) by SM UC-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
William Shephard (United Kingdom) The three-masted schooner was scuttled in the Irish Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) south by west of St. Ann's Head by SM UC-47 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

April 17, 1917

Air War:
Hungarian pilot Stefan Fejes, flying Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 20.09 with an unnamed observer, shoots down a Nieuport for victory number 1.

Austrian ace Adolf Heyrowski and observer Josef Pürer, in Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 29.64, shoot down an Italian Nieuport. Victory number 8 for Heyrowski, number 4 for Pürer. Wikipedia says this kill and Fejes' were a shared victory. Other sources don't say one way or the other.

Austrian ace Raoul Stojsavljevic, in Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 68.11 with an unnamed observer, shoots down a Farman for victory number 6.

Russian pilots Vladimir Strizhevsky, in a Nieuprt 17, and Grgoriy Suk, in Nieuport 11 1109, share the downing of an Austro-Hungarian two-seater. Victory number 3 for Strizhevsky, number 2 for Suk.



North Atlantic Ocean, 150 miles west of Ireland:
Wilhelm Werner, commanding U-55, sinks British freighter SS Cairnhill, 4,981 tons, bound from New York for Le Havre with a general cargo. His score is now 33 ships and 56,443 tons.

Hans Nieland, in U-67, torpedoes British freighter SS Kish, 4,928 tons, carrying a load of nitrate from Iquique to Newport, Wales. Kish is escorted by Azalea class sloop HMS Zinnia, but Zinnia has been dispatched to help SS Cairnhill, which is under attack by U-55. As soon as the escort is out of sight U-67 attacks Kish. Zinnia turns back, but too late. Both ships are sunk, and both u-boats escape.
Nieland's score is now 18 ships and 25,965 tons.



North of Ireland:
Victor Dieckmann, in U-61, torpedoes Britsh freighter SS Aburi, 3,730 tons, en route from Liverpool to West Africa with a general cargo, 125 miles northwest of Tory Island. His score is now 17 ships and 25,238 tons.



Isle Of Lewis:
British freighter SS Gisella, 2,502 tons, hits a mine laid off the east coast of Lewis by Alfred von Glasenapp in U-80. The damaged ship makes safe port.



Wales:
Paul Hundius, in UC-47, scuttles two British schooners off St. Ann's Head:
Dantzic, 108 tons, carrying coal tar and pitch from Lancaster to Saint Brieuc.
William Shepherd, 143 tons, sailing from Glasgow to Saint Valery with a load of coal.
Hundius' score is now 34 vessels and 35,241 tons.



English Channel:
Hans Howaldt, in UB-40, sinks British hospital ship HMS Lanfranc, 6,287 tons, travelling from Le Havre to Southhampton. His score is now 25 ships and 19,178 tons.



Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks British passenger ship SS Donegal, 1,885 tons en route from Le Havre to Southampton; 40 lives lost. His score is now 60 ships and 84,392 tons.

Herbert Pustkuchen, in UC-66, torpedoes British freighter SS Clan Sutherland, 2,820 tons, carrying a general cargo from Cochin to London; off Start Point. The damaged ship makes safe port.

British freighter SS Nirvana, 6,021 tons, hauling government stores from Le Havre to Southampton, hits a mine laid by Werner Fürbringer in UC-70. The damaged ship makes safe port.



North Sea:
Kurt Bernis, in UC-41, scuttles British fishing vessel U.S.A., 182 tons, off Longstone, bringing his score to 6 vessels and 3,223 tons.

Hubert Aust, in UC-45, sinks two ships off Rattray Head, Scotland:
Danish freighter SS Bretagne, 1,110 tons, transporting coal from Newcastle to Copenhagen.
British freighter SS Charles Goodanew, 791 tons, en route from Aberdeen to Scapa Flow with Admiralty suppies; mine.
Aust's score is now 6 ships and 4,634 tons.

Wilhelm Schröder, in UC-51, attacks Swedish freighter SS Atalanta, 1,091 tons, carrying Iron and general cargo from Göteborg to hull, with his deck gun. The damaged ship manages to escape and proceed on her way.
This is Schröder's last attack. After a brief U-boat career involving one patrol and two vessels sunk for 741 tons, he will spend the rest of the war in other positions in the navy, mustering out on March 27, 1919. His further life seems to be a mystery.

Wilhelm Barten, in UC-76, torpedoes Danish freighter Robert, 1,445 tons, en route from Göteborg to Hull with a general cargo. His score is now 14 ships and 4,708 tons.
British passenger ship SS Winifredian, 10,422 tons, travelling in ballast from Hull to Boston, hits a mine laid by Barten off Noss Head, but the ship is only damaged and makes safe port.



Atlantic Ocean, between Portugal and Morocco:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks 3 British freighter approximately 150 miles west of Gibraltar:
SS Brisbane River, 4,989 tons, travelling in ballast from Malta to Baltimore.
SS Corfu, 3,695 tons, carrying scrap iron and steel billets from Philadelphia to Genoa.
SS Fernmoor, 3,098 tons, en route from Baltimore to Genoa with a load of iron and steel.
Von Arnauld's score is now 167 ships and 354,958 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Kurt Hartwig, in U-32, sinks Italian freighter SS Costante, 3,479 tons, off the Algerian coast. His score is now 39 ships and 55,554 tons.



Durban, South Africa:
The crew of HMS Severn spend the day preparing hawsers for towing their ship.

[Jimbuna]

18th April 1917

Western Front

French advance continued east and north-east of Soissons. French capture five villages; on Aisne capture Conde bridgehead and Vailly, repulse enemy near Juvincourt, and consolidate positions in Moronvillers massif.

British capture Villers-Guislain (12 miles south of Cambrai).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British defeat Turks on right bank of Tigris, taking 1,200 prisoners.

Aviation

Edmond Genet, American volunteer in the French Foreign Legion, becomes the 1st American flier to be KIA after the U.S. declaration of war.


Political, etc.

Sir Archibald Murray, commander of the British forces in Palestine, voices support for a Jewish state.

British Food Order restricting pastry and cake making.

US orders that all alien residents of enemy nations must move at least half a mile away from military facilities by June 1st or face arrest.

German government grants concessions to strikers.

German General Moritz von Bissing, the former Governor-General of Belgium, dies due to chronic lung ailment.


Ship Losses:

Bergensgut (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) east of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom by SM UC-76 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of ten of her crew.
Castilian (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 110 nautical miles (200 km) north west by north of Tory Island, County Donegal (56°20′N 10°45′W) by SM U-61 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of ten crew.
Cragoswald (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) west by south of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine). with the loss of two of her crew.
Heim (Norway) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 71 (Hans Valentiner) and sank in the English Channel 10 nautical miles (19 km) north of Pointe d'Ailly, Seine-Maritime, France with the loss of two of her crew. by SM UC-71 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
John S. Boyle (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was scuttled in the North Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) east by south of St Abb's Head, Berwickshire (56°16′N 1°33′W) by SM UC-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Louisiana (Denmark) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km)) north north east of Buchan Ness, (57°47′N 1°22′W) by SM UC-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Marcel (Belgium) The tug was scuttled in the North Sea 8 nautical miles (15 km) north east of the Noord Hinder Lightship ( Netherlands) by SM UB-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Rameses (United Kingdom) The trawler was scuttled in the North Sea 45 nautical miles (83 km) east of St Abb's Head (56°14′N 1°29′W) by SM UC-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Rhydwen (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 170 nautical miles (310 km) north west by west of the Fastnet Rock (51°40′N 14°00′W) by SM U-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of six crew.
Rinaldo (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 18 nautical miles (33 km) west by north of Cape Cherchell, Algeria (36°35′N 1°48′E) by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Rowena (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 95 nautical miles (176 km) west by south of the Bishop Rock (49°03′N 8°25′W) by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Scalpa (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 150 nautical miles (280 km) north west by west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Sculptor (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 120 nautical miles (220 km) north west by west of the Fastnet Rock (51°56′N 12°50′W) by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Surcouf (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the English Channel off Île Vierge, Finistère by SM UC-26 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Thomas (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) off Cape St. Vincent, Portugal by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Trekieve (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) west of Gibraltar (35°00′N 9°45′W) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.
Troldfos (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles (93 km) west north west of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom by SM U-93 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
West Lothian (Norway) The four-masted barque was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles (93 km) west of the Shetland Islands (60°55′N 3°30′W) by SM U-93 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Witham (United Kingdom) The trawler was shelled and sunk in the North Sea 125 nautical miles (232 km) east by south of St Abb's Head (55°56′N 1°36′E) by SM UC-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

April 18, 1917

North Atlantic Ocean, 150 miles west of Ireland:
Hans Rose, in U-53, sinks two British merchants:
SS Scalpa, 1,010 tons, bound from Marseille and Valencia for Liverpool with a load of oranges and onions.
SS Sculptor, 3,846 tons, en route from New Orleans to Liverpool with a general cargo.
Rose's score is now 30 ships and 71,462 tons.

Hans Nieland, in U-67, sinks British freighter SS Rhydwen, 4,799 tons, travelling from Glaveston to Cardiff with a load of wheat. His score is now 19 ships and 30,764.



North of Ireland:
Victor Dieckmann, in U-61, sinks British freighter SS Castilian, 1,923 tons, carrying a general cargo from Liverpool to Genoa. His score is now 18 ships and 27,161 tons.



Celtic Sea:
Walter Roehr, in U-84, sinks two British ships southwest of Bishop Rock:
SS Cragoswald, 3,235 tons, hauling a load of maize from Buenos Aires to London.
SS Rowena, 3,017 tons, heading from Alexandria to Hull with a general cargo.
Roehr's score is now 17 ships and 43,109 tons.

Matthias von Schmettow, in UC-26, sinks French sailing vessel Surcouf, 195 tons, in transit from Swansea to Lorient; off Ile Vierge, Brittany. His score is now 74 ships and 110,979 tons.



Norwegian Sea:
Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim, in U-93, sinks two ships between the Shetland and Faroe Islands:
Norwegian freighter SS Troldfos, 1,459 tons, taking agricultural equipment from New York to Christiania.
Norwegian barque West Lothian, 1,887 tons, bringing maize and oilcake from Buenos Aires to Christiania.
Von Spiegel's score is now 8 ships and 54,808 tons.



English Channel:
Norwegian freighter SS Heim, 1,669 tons, en route from Hull to Rouen with a load of coal, hits a mine laid off Dieppe by Hans Valentiner in UC-71. His score is now 44 vessels and 36,554 tons.



North Sea:
Friedrich Crüsemann, in U-86, sinks British freighter SS Atalanta, 1,091 tons, 200 miles off the English coast. His score is now 6 ships and 26,657 tons. Atalanta was attacked the previous day by Wilhelm Schröder in UC-51, but escaped.

Kurt Bernis, in UC-41, scuttles two British fishing vessels off St. Abb's Head:
John S. Boyle, 143 tons
Rameses, 155 tons.
Bernis' score is now 8 vessels and 3,521 tons.

Hubert Aust, in UC-45, torpedoes Danish freighter SS Louisiana, 3,015 tons, carrying wood pulp and general cargo from North Shields and Tyne to Boston. His score is now 8 ships and 7,649 tons.

Rudolf Seuffer, in UC-50, scuttles British trawler Witham, 144 tons, off St. Abb's Head, bringing his score to 10 vessels and 11,260 tons.

Wilhelm Barten, in UC-76, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Bergensgut, 2,029 tons, carrying a general cargo from Göteborg to Rouen; off Peterhead, Scotland. His score is now 15 ships and 6,737 tons.



Atlantic Ocean, 100 miles west of Gibraltar:
Leading u-boat ace Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks British freighter SS Trekieve, 3,087 tons, en route from Cardiff to Gibraltar with a government cargo. His score is now 168 ships and 358,045 tons.

Hans Niemer, in UB-23, scuttles Belgian tug Marcel, 24 tons, off the Noord Hinter lightship, bringing his score to 4 vessels and 5,610 tons.



Portugal:
Gerhard Schulz, in UC-27, scuttles British schooner Thomas, 132 tons, carrying a load of salt from Cadiz to Rose Blanche, off Cabo de São Vicente (Cape St. Vincent). His score is now 6 vessels and 7,791 tons



Ionian Sea:
Kurt Hartwig, in U-32, sinks Italian freighter SS Porto di Rodi, 2,480 tons, carrying a general cargo from Alexandria to Genoa. His score is now 40 ships and 59,875 tons.



Durban, South Africa:
HMS Severn is moved alongside HMFM Trent. While Severn's crew prepare their ship for towing, Trent's crew receive meat for the German East Africa Stations - 29,621 pounds (14.8 tons) worth. The prisoner who had refused work earlier is handed over to HMS Himalaya.

[Jimbuna]

19th April 1917

Western Front

French capture Fort of Conde (east of Soissons, on Aisne) and three villages, and capture Le Teton (in Moronvillers massif) and village of Auberive.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Second Battle of Gaza. Heavy fighting and much ground gained, but, owing to severe losses, attack not pushed through.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Admital Kolchak (Commander of Black Sea fleet) appointed Commander in Chief of Baltic Fleet.

Political, etc.

Senor G. Prieto (Marquis of Alhucemas) succeeds Count Romanones as Spanish Premier.

U.S.A. announces food policy: provision for Allies before neutrals; and seizes German liner docks in New York.

Pastry restrictions in France.

A poster of “Wake Up America Day” to mobilize Americans for war.


Ship Losses:

Avocet (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) west north west of the Fastnet Rock (51°19′N 12°30′W) by SM U-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Bethlehem (United Kingdom) The auxiliary sailing vessel struck a mine laid by UC 55 (Karl Neureuther) and sank in the North Sea with the loss of a crew member.
Cilurnum (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south west of Penmarc'h, Finistère, France (47°45′N 4°30′W) by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Ellida (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) east north east of Whitby, Yorkshire, United Kingdom by SM UB-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Elswick Manor (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 180 nautical miles (330 km) west of Ouessant, Finistère, France (47°36′N 9°32′W) by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Gold Coast (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 14 nautical miles (26 km) south of Mine Head, Cornwall (51°46′N 7°28′W) by SM UC-47 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Howth Head (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 158 nautical miles (293 km) north west of the Fastnet Rock (52°20′N 13°38′W) by SM U-60 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.
Jewel (United Kingdom) The brig was scuttled in St. George's Channel 20 nautical miles (37 km) south east of the Coningbeg Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UC-47 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Lobelia (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by U 78 (Otto Dröscher) and sank off Fanad Point, Lough Swilly (55°16′N 7°45′W) with the loss of eleven crew.
Poltava (United Kingdom) The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 44(Kurt Tebbenjohanns) and sank in the North Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) east north east of the Souter Point Lighthouse, South Shields, County Durham (54°59′00″N 1°16′30″W). Her crew survived.
SMS Seeadler (Kaiserliche Marine) The hulk exploded and sank at Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony.
Senator Dantziger (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 15 nautical miles (28 km) south by east of Newhaven, East Sussex by SM UC-26 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Senhora da Conceicao (Portugal) The sailing vessel was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cape Finisterre, Spain (43°38′N 10°00′W) by SM U-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Sowwell (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 170 nautical miles (310 km) west of Gibraltar by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 21 crew.
HMT Star of Freedom (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 47 (Paul Hundius) and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off Trevose Head, Cornwall (50°35′N 5°25′W with the loss of ten of her crew.
Tempus (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 130 nautical miles (240 km) north west by west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

[Sailor Steve]

April 19, 1917

Air War:
1450 French ace René Dorme, flying SPAD VII S392, shoots down a German "Scout" for victory number 19. The only reported German loss this day is Ltn Paul Hermann of Jasta 31.

French ace Paul Tarascon, in a SPAD VII, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 10.

German pilot Richard Wenzl, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down a SPAD VII for victory number 1.



North Atlantic Ocean, far west of Ireland:
Gerhard Berger, commanding U-50, sinks British freighter SS Avocet, 1,219 tons, bound from Lisbon for Liverpool with a general cargo. His score is now 17 ships and 60,693 tons.

Hans Rose, in U-53, sinks British freighter SS Tempus, 2,981 tons, en route from Cahthagena to Garston with an unspecified cargo. His score is now 31 and 74,443 tons.

Karlgeorg Schuster, in U-60, sinks British freighter SS Howth Head, 4,440 tons, travelling from New Orleans and Norfolk to Dublin with an unspecified cargoo. His score is now 14 ships and 39,299 tons.



Ireland:
His Majesty's Trawler Lobelia, 184 tons, hits a mine laid off Fanad Point, at the north end of Ireland, by Otto Dröscher in U-78. His score is now 23 vessels and 22,269 tons.

Paul Hundius, in UC-47, sinks two British vessels south of Mine Head:
Freighter SS Gold Coast, 4,255 tons, en route from West Africa to Liverpool with a general cargo.
Brigantine Jewel, 195 tons, carrying a load of timber from Waterford to Cardiff; scuttled.
UC-47 also attacks schooner Old Head with the deck gun, but the damaged sailing vessel escapes.
North of Cornwall, British minesweeping trawler HMT Star of Freedom hits a mine laid by Hundius off Trevose Head.
Hundius' score is now 37 vessels and 39,960 tons.



Celtic Sea:
Walter Roehr, in U-84, sinks British freighter SS Elswich Manor, 3,943 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to Naples. his score is now 18 ships and 47,052 tons. Elswick Manor had survived a previous attack on February 8, 1916, having hit a mine in the North Sea laid by Franz Wäger in UC-7.



English Channel:
Hans Howaldt, in UB-40, torpedoes British tanker RFA Limeleaf, 7,339 tons, transporting fuel oil from Port Arthur to Sheerness. The damaged ship manges to make port safely.

British tanker SS Lumina, 5,856 tons, travelling in ballast from Thames Haven to Cardiff, hits a mine laid off the Elbow Buoy by Werner von Zerboni di Sposetti in UC-6. The damaged ship makes port safely.

Matthias von Schmettow, in UC-26, uses his deck gun to sink British schooner Senator Dantzsiger, 164 tons, carrying a load of retort carbon from Dublin to Dieppe. His score is now 75 ships and 111,143 tons.



River Thames:
British auxiliary motor sailing vessel Bethlehem, 379 tons, travelling in ballast from Calais to Grimsby, hits a mine laid near the South Holm buoy by Karl Neureuther in UC-55. This is his first sinking.



North Sea:
Günther Krause, in UB-41, begins his u-boat career with the sinking of Norwegian freighter SS Ellida, 1,124 tons, travelling in ballast from Caen to Tyne; off Whitby.

British freighter SS Poltava, 945 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to an unnamed destination, hits a mine laid by Kurt Tebbenjohanns in UC-44; off South Shields. His score is now 19 ships and 14,814 tons.



France:
Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks British freighter SS Cilurnum, 3,126 tons, en route with a load of coal from Cardiff to La Pallice; off Pointe de Penmarch, Brittany. His score is now 61 ships and 87,518 tons.



Spain, Atlantic coast:
Hans Walther, in U-52, scuttles Portuguese schooner Senhora da Conceicao, 206 tons, en route from an unnamed port to Funchal with a load of sulphur; off Cape Finisterre. His score is now 30 ships and 68,279 tons.



Atlantic Ocean, 170 miles west of Gibraltar:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks British freighter SS Sowwell, 3,781 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Sagunto to Glasgow. His score is now 169 ships and 361,826 tons.



Durban, South Africa:
HMFM Trent takes aboard 10 officers and 77 soldiers for transfer to Zanzibar. Two more men desert. Seven of Severn's stokers are assigned work duty in Trent's boiler room.
1425 Trent casts off from the quay, assisted by a tug and a harbor pilot. HMS Severn is rigged to Trent with towing hawsers for the journey back to Zanzibar.
1513 The two ships clear the breakwater, enter seas described as "confused" and one of the towing hawsers is immediately swept away.
1520 With both ships stopped the tow lines are reconnected.
1810 Two of Trent's stokers refuse duty.
2300 Fighting a stong head wind and rough seas, towing is described as "heavy".

[Jimbuna]

20th April 1917

Western Front

French occupy Sancy (north-east of Soissons).

British capture Gonnelieu (eight miles south-west of Cambrai).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Allied troops are defeated in their attempt to take Gaza, suffering 6,444 casualties. Ottomans suffer around 2000 casualties.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Germans shell Calais and Dover, no casualties; British destroyers "Swift" and "Broke" successfully engage six German destroyers.

Political, etc.

British government states all doctors must report for military service due to the need to establish hospitals near the frontlines.

Senhor D'Almeida resigns Premiership in Portugal.

Flour Mills' Order (British) extending powers of Food Controller.

Field Marshal Hindenburg urges Germans to keep working in the munitions factories to help supply his armies despite reductions in food.

New York Yacht Club drops Kaiser Wilhelm and Prince Henry of Prussia as honorary members.

General elections are held in Japan. The Rikken Seiyūkai under Hara Takashi wins the most seats with 165 out of 381.

Ship Losses:

Annapolis (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 74 nautical miles (137 km) north west of Eagle Island, County Mayo (55°45′N 11°45′W) by SM U-61 and SM U-69 (both Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
August (Russia) The barque was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 300 nautical miles (560 km) west of Ireland (50°25′N 16°40′W) by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Ballochbuie (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 7 nautical miles (13 km) east of the Isle of May, Fife by SM UC-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.
Caithness (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 130 nautical miles (240 km) north west by north of Cape Ortegal, Spain (45°48′N 11°07′W) by SM U-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 47 crew.
Erith (United Kingdom) The trawler was scuttled in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) south of Girdleness, Aberdeenshire by SM UC-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Emma (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 200 nautical miles (370 km) south west by south of the Fastnet Rock (49°55′N 14°40′W) by SM U-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.
Georgios (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 11 nautical miles (20 km) south east of La Vieille, Finistère, France (47°56′N 4°27′W) by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Grecian (United Kingdom) The trawler was scuttled in the North Sea 22 nautical miles (41 km) north east by east of the Longstone Lighthouse, Northumberland by SM UC-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Loch Eye (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 33 (Martin Schelle) and sank in the Irish Sea 1.25 nautical miles (2.32 km) south west of Hook Point, County Waterford (52°08′N 6°59′W with the loss of seven of her crew.
Lowdale (United Kingdom) The collier was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 90 nautical miles (170 km) west by north of Gibraltar by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Malakand (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 145 nautical miles (269 km) west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (49°20′N 10°00′W) by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Nentmoor (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 140 nautical miles (260 km) west of Gibraltar (32°25′N 8°02′W) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS Nepaulin (Royal Navy) The auxiliary minesweeper struck a mine laid by UB 12 (Ernst Steindorff) and sank in the North Sea off the Dyck Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of nineteen of her crew.
HMT Othonna (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 41 (Kurt Bernis) and sank in the North Sea (56°17′N 2°27′W) with the loss of nine of her crew.
Portloe (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 160 nautical miles (300 km) west north west of the Fastnet Rock (51°13′N 14°10′W) by SM U-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 24 crew.
Ringholm (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off St. Abb's Head, Berwickshire, United Kingdom by SM UC-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Ruthin Castle (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 50 (Rudolf Seuffer) and sank in the North Sea off Skinningrove, Yorkshire (54°37′N 0°53′W) with the loss of nine of her crew.
San Hilario (United Kingdom) The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 270 nautical miles (500 km) west by north of the Fastnet Rock (50°55′N 16°28′W) by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Torr Head (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 160 nautical miles (300 km) north west by north of the Fastnet Rock (52°10′N 14°00′W) by SM U-60 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.