100 Years Ago Today

[Sailor Steve]

January 29:

London: British Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George suggests sending British and French troops to Salonika, Greece, the purpose being to persuade Balkan countries to declare war on Austria-Hungary. The plan ends when Greece rejects the proposal.



Argonne Forest, Belgium: Leutnant Erwin Rommel and his platoon capture four French blockhouses. Rommel crawls through the French barbed wire and signals his men to follow him. None of them move. Rommel shouts at them some more. Still no one moves. Rommel crawls back to his platoon and tells his second-in-command "Obey my orders instantly or I shoot you." The whole company then follows him through the wire. They capture the blockhouses and fight off a French counter-attack but then are forced to retreat by a French flanking movement. Rommel is awarded the Iron Cross, First Class for his leadership and bravery. It later becomes a common saying his regiment, "Where Rommel is, there is the front."



Cape Horn: HMS Bristol and Carnarvon move from Fox Bay to Sholl Bay. HMS Glasgow is coaling and provisioning at Port Stanley.



Yemen: On the night of the 29th/30th - their third night's journey - the men of Emden reach the foot of the Al-Surat mountains. From here they witness a return of the vegetation. They have to cross some fairly rugged terrain, but the air is cooler and they can again travel comfortably during the day.

[Jimbuna]

30th January 1915

Western Front

French lose ground and 700 prisoners in Western Argonne.

Eastern Front

German offensive near Lipno (north-west Poland) driven back.

Russian forces pushes forward in both East Prussia in the north and Hungary in the south; fighting covers 1500 miles.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians defeat Turks at Sufian, and drive them from Tabriz.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British Admiralty warn British merchant vessels to fly neutral or no ensigns in vicinity of British Isles.

Three British steamships torpedoed by U.20 in English Channel, the first merchant ships sunk without warning, apparently as a deliberate policy.

Political etc.

Price of food soars in Great Britain; Union of South Africa stops the export of grains.

Emperor Wilhelm returns to Berlin for a short stay after a tour of the Western front.

Ship Losses:

Ikaria ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) north west of Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Oriole ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 20 nautical miles (37 km) north west of Cap d'Antifer, Seine Maritime by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all 21 crew.
Tokomaru ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 7 nautical miles (13 km) north west of the Le Havre Lightship ( France) by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine). All 58 crew were rescued by the trawler Semper ( France) and six French Navy torpedo boats.
Perth ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship sprang a leak in the North Sea and was beached on the Hert Sands off Tynemouth, Northumberland.

[Sailor Steve]

January 30:

Liverpool Bay: Otto Hersing in U-21 had made the first U-boat kill in history when he sank the cruiser HMS Pathfinder back in September. Now he adds to his score when he stops and scuttles three British merchants - SS Ben Cruachan, 3,092 tons, bound from Scapa Flow to Liverpool was boarded and scuttled, followed by the little 456-ton coal carrier Kilcoan and finally the tiny freighter Linda Blanche, only 369 tons. Hersing's score now stands at 6,857 tons.*

English Channel: Walther Schwieger in U-20 takes the opposite course, torpedoing three merchants without warning. First is SS Ikaria, 4,335 tons, heading from Buenos Aires to Le Havre with a general cargo. Next is Oriole, 1,489 tons, from London to Le Havre, also with a mixed cargo, and finally Tokomaru, 6,084 tons, bound from New Zealand to Le Havre and then London, with a cargo of refrigerated meat and dairy products. This is the first known instance of unrestricted submarine warfare against merchant shipping.



Cape Horn: HMS Bristol proceeds alone from Sholl Bay up the Chilean coastline and back, poking into all the bays and inlets for several miles, returning to Sholl Bay before nightfall. HMS Carnarvon remains in Sholl Bay.

Falkland Islands: HMS Glasgow departs Port Stanley to resume her patrols.



Yemen: Hellmuth von Mücke and his men begin their perilous climb into the mountains. They cross dry riverbeds and very stony ground, finally reaching a level where lush vegetation is growing. As they go von Mücke notes that most of the dwelling places are castles of one sort or another, mostly built on the tops of mountain peaks or at the very edge of high cliffs. He expresses the feeling of having been transported back to the middle ages. At their next resting place they are greeted warmly by the locals and are invited to spend the night at a caravansary - sort of a medieval "truck stop".

* At least one source claims these sinkings took place on the 23rd. Edwyn Gray, U-Boat.net and Wrecksite.eu all agree on the 30th.

[Jimbuna]

31st January 1915

Eastern Front

Determined German attacks in region of Bolimov gain a little ground. German forces attempts the first large-scale use of poison gas by firing 18,000 xlyl bromide shells. However, cold weather renders the chemicals ineffective and Russian troops suffer few casualties. The battle ends inconclusively.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian troops continue their advance against the Ottomans and captures the commanding general and staff of the 30th Division.

Political etc.

Kaiser Wilhelm: “We will stay on hostile territory until the enemy is vanquished or has collapsed.”

Czar reveals he proposed arbitration at The Hague three days before Germany declared war.


MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 24 ships of 49,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses)

[Sailor Steve]

January 31:

Cape Horn: Under pressure from Berlin to return to Germany Fritz Lüdecke informs his superiors that SMS Dresden will try to break out into the Pacific on February 3rd. "Intend to carry on commerce warfare in East Indies if sufficient coal is procurable."

HMS Bristol departs Sholl Bay for Punta Arenas.

HMS Carnarvon departs Sholl Bay for the Atlantic. On the way she meets HMS Glasgow, which is heading westward through the Strait of Magellan.

HMS Newcastle is still patrolling the coast of Chile.



Yemen: Hellmuth von Mücke and his group reach the village of Manakah, at 2,300 meters or 7,500 feet above sea level the highest point of their trip. There they are greeted by the entire Turkish army contingent and several hundred civilians. They are well accommodated and stay for two nights.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

January 31:
Cape Horn: Under pressure from Berlin to return to Germany Fritz Lüdecke informs his superiors that SMS Emden will try to break out into the Pacific on February 3rd. "Intend to carry on commerce warfare in East Indies if sufficient coal is procurable."

SMS Emden....oh really?

[Jimbuna]

1st February 1915

Western Front

German attack west of La Bassee repulsed by French and British.

French progress near Perthes.

Eastern Front

Continued fighting near Bolimov, Russians regaining ground.

Russian advance in Carpathians from Dukla Pass to the Upper San.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks (estimated at 12,000) advance towards Suez Canal.

Naval and Overseas Operations

North Sea
E.11, submarine, E-class, 667/807t, Harwich-based 8th Flotilla. February - Ran ashore on Scroby Sands, Great Yarmouth, got off.

North Atlantic
Two armed merchant cruisers of 10th CS on Northern Patrol damaged in the winter gales, dates not known, possibly February.

Caribbean, 5,824/1890, hired 19/11/14, 8-4.7in/2-6pdr, normally on line B, north of Shetlands, proving unsuitable, old and slow. Rolled in heavy weather up to 50º with gunwhale submerged, reported dynamo disabled and funnel shifted.

Teutonic, 9,984/1889, hired 5/9/14, on patrol in heavy seas possibly N of Shetlands. Six-inch shell unshipped from ready-use rack, exploded against bulwarks; no one injured, damage repaired by crew.

Political, etc.

Bread and flour rations introduced in Germany.

British Admiralty issue orders forbidding neutral fishing vessels to use British ports.

Finance Ministers from Britain, Russia, and France meet in Paris to consider a joint loan of $3 billion ($70 billion today).

Major General Sir Luke O’Connor, the first soldier to ever receive the Victoria Cross, has passed away.


Photographs required in British passports for the first time.

Ship Losses:

Ethel V. Boynton ( United States): The barque was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

SMS Emden....oh really?

I'm old. Sue me.

Fixed, thanks.

[Sailor Steve]

February 1:

"Another little merchant ship has just been sunk by the Germans, just at the mouth of the Mersey, which gives us all a horrid feeling. The Germans are so angry at not getting ahead that they leave nothing undone."
- John Gardner Coolidge, American diplomat in Paris, Diary, February 1 1915



Berlin: German Chancellor Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann-Hollweg agrees to a request by the leaders of the Imperial Navy allowing U-boats to attack merchant ships without warning. This includes neutral ships in British territorial waters.



Airwar: Sometime in February Captain Louis Strange will be posted to No. 6 Squadron. His greatest regret is that he no longer has his Avro 504 with the machine gun mounted for his observer. He is again flying the BE.2c, and while ultimately other enterprising aviators will make it work, Strange has no success with putting a gun on that plane. While at No. 6 Strange becomes friends with Lanoe Hawker. Strange comes up with ideas and Hawker builds them. These will include the 30-degree gun mount Hawker used to get his first kills and the overwing Lewis mount Strange will conceive for the Martinsyde Scout.



Cape Horn: HMS Bristol puts into Port Bower (Punta Arenas), paid the monthly port fees for the squadron, and departs into the Atlantic bound for the Falklands. HMS Glasgow also puts into Punta Arenas, arriving from the east, and stays the night. HMS Carnarvon is also underway for the Falklands.



Yemen: Hellmuth von Mücke spends the day in Manakah visiting a variety of Turkish dignitaries and officials.

[Jimbuna]

2nd February 1915

Western Front

Germany launches a heavy artillery barrage across the entire Western Front, with the heaviest bombardment in Belgium.

Eastern Front

German forces begin another attack towards Warsaw to draw away Russian attacks in East Prussia.

Russians storm Skempe (north-west of Poland).

Continued desperate fighting on Ravka near Bolimov.

Southern Front

Austrians repulsed by Montenegrins in Herzegovina.

Naval

The only Imperial Russian Navy seaplane carrier to see service in the Baltic Sea during World War I, Orlitza, is commissioned.


Political, etc.

“The Syren and Shipping Gazette” offers a £500 (£34,960 today) prize for the first British merchantman to destroy a U-boat.

Kaiser Wilhelm: “So shall we not refrain from torpedoing English merchant ships simply because the lives of a few are thereby endangered.”

12,000 special constables are appointed in Berlin to guard bakeries as the government takes control of all grain supplies.

German agent Werner Horn bombs the Vanceboro international bridge, which lies on the border between Maine and New Brunswick. The bomb causes minor damage, and Werner Horn surrenders to U.S. authorities.


Ship Losses:

Laura ( United Kingdom}): The schooner ran aground at Battery Point, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued by rocket apparatus.

[Sailor Steve]

February 2:

Airwar: FB.5 no. 1621 is the first Vickers Gunbus to arrive in France.



Pacific Ocean: HMS Newcastle puts into Callao, Peru.

Cape Horn: HMS Glasgow puts into Sholl bay.

Atlantic Ocean: HMS Carnarvon arrives at Port William, Falkland Islands.



Yemen: On the morning of the sixth day of their journey Hellmuth von Mücke and company depart Manakah for Sana'a. This portion of the trip involves a descent onto a wide open valley, following an improved highway "that compared favorably with any in Europe." Among the sights are large groups of baboons, which the Germans try to shoot but never quite get close enough. Von Mücke also notes that his men are becoming adept in their horsemanship and are now able to maintain a decent formation while riding at a trot.

[Jimbuna]

3rd February 1915

Western Front

German attacks in Champagne repulsed.

Eastern Front

Russians recover Gumin, near Bolimov, and other ground in the sector. They withdraw from the Tucholka and Beskid Passes, but advance near the Uzsok Pass.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turkish attempts to cross Suez Canal at Tussum, Serapeum, and El Kantara, repulsed by Indian troops and Egyptian artillery, 600 prisoners.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Suez Canal - Turkish attack on Suez Canal repulsed with the support of British and French warships, battleships Swiftsure, Ocean, old light cruisers, Minerva, Proserpine, sloop Clio, armed merchant cruiser Himalaya, torpedo boat No.043, Royal Indian Marine armed troopships Dufferin, Hardinge took part; Royal Navy Battle Honour - SUEZ CANAL 1915, to 4th.

Kemp and 500 rebels surrender at Upington.

America Secretly Sends Aid To Japanese Warship - Japanese cruiser Asama.
http://100yearsagotoday.wordpress.co...anese-warship/


Political etc.

Three Men Executed For The Assassination Of Archduke Ferdinand Of Austria.

German Government announce that submarine blockade of Great Britain will begin on 18th February.

Switzerland warns Italy that the country will fight if Italy prevents the passage of food.

First conference between Japan and China over the 21 Demands fails with each side walking out.

Agreement concluded between Great Britain and Belgium concerning delimitation of Uganda-Congo boundary.

Bulgarian Government negotiate loan of £3,000,000 in Germany.

Ship Losses:

HMS Clan McNaughton ( Royal Navy): The armed merchant cruiser foundered in the Atlantic Ocean north of Ireland with the loss of all 281 crew.
Ferdinando Viareggio ( Italy): The brigantine came ashore on Pointe Chiappa, near Portovecchio and was wrecked with the loss of two of her seven crew.

[Sailor Steve]

February 3:

Pacific Ocean: HMS Newcastle departs Callao, and travels to Cocos Island (not the one in the Indian Ocean, but an island of the same name near Peru).

Cape Horn: Despite Fritz Lüdecke's message to Berlin three days earlier SMS Dresden remains anchored at Weinachts Bay.

HMS Glasgow transfers from Sholl Bay to Port Famine (Puerto del Hambre).

Atlantic Ocean: HMS Bristol arrives at Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.



Yemen: Hellmuth von Mücke and his men come within sight of Sana'a. As they near the many villages surrounding the capital of Yemen they are joined by that city's Turkish officers. Late in the day, as they near the city gates, they are greeted by a band playing 'Deutschland Über Alles'. The Germans reply by singing 'Die Wacht Am Rhein'. The people of Sana'a go out of their way to make the men of the Emden feel welcome.

[Jimbuna]

4th February 1915

Western Front

British casualties on Western Front to this date approximately 104,000.

Eastern Front

Continued heavy fighting on Bzura-Ravka front; Russians cross Bzura and take positions near Dachova.

Russians falling back in Bukovina.

The Winter Battle in Masuria (East Prussia) begins.

Naval and Overseas Operations

U-boat Warfare - Denied a swift victory on land, Germany decided to start unrestricted submarine warfare without warning against merchant shipping from the 18th. Admiralty hired drifter Tarlair equipped with first anti-submarine hydrophone.

German attack on Kakamas (north-west Cape Colony) repulsed.

Aviation

After a training accident, Lieutenant W. F. Sharpe becomes the first Canadian military airman killed.
http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/rememb...detail/4041148


Political, etc.

Romania places orders in Italy for a large quantity ammunition as the country continues to prepare for war.

Ship Losses:

Fleetly ( Barbados): The schooner was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean (42°46′N 51°53′W). All seven crew were rescued by Mechanicien ( United States).
I'll Away ( United Kingdom): The schooner was abandoned in the Bristol Channel of Swansea, Glamorgan. Her crew were rescued by the Mumbles Lifeboat. I '​ll Away was later salvaged.
Margaret K. Schwartz ( United Kingdom): The schooner was driven ashore at St. Mary's, Newfoundland and was wrecked.

[Sailor Steve]

February 4:

The Admiralty, London: First Sea Lord Jacky Fisher continues his tirades against the victor of the Falklands, telling his Chief-Of-Staff "If the Dresden gets into the Bay of Bengal by means of colliers arranged with Berlin, we shall owe a lot to Sturdee."

Sturdee himself arrives in Britain aboard SS India.



Berlin: Germany publically announces their decision to begin unrestricted submarine warfare by declaring an Area Of War to exist around Great Britain and Ireland. "Even though the German naval forces have instructions to avoid violence to neutral ships in so far as they are recognizable, in view of the contingencies of naval warfare the torpedoing of neutral ships cannot always be avoided."

Germany claims that this is in retaliation for the British "hunger blockade" as typified by the mining of the North Sea. They also blame the United States for having "generally acquiesced" to the actions taken by Britain.



Cape Horn: HMS Glasgow departs Port Famine and returns to Sholl Bay.