100 Years Ago Today

[Sailor Steve]

February 25:

Pacific Ocean: Still at San Bartolome, HMS Newcastle recoals from SS Boyne, after which Newcastle departs San Bartolome for Esquimalt.


Cape Horn: At Puerto Tamar HMS Bristol recoals from SS Cairn Ross, then proceeds to investigate the area around Capo Quod.

HMS Glasgow once again patrols the area around Punta Arenas, near the western entrance to the Strait of Magellan.



Atlantic Ocean: HMS Carnarvon is still laid up off the Abrolhos Rocks. While divers continue with their efforts to seal the ships bottom, various anchors are hauled out by boat in an attempt to keep the ship from moving. This is only partially successful. A passing Brazilian collier, SS Amiral Broccoas, kindly stops when signaled so Carnarvon can send a launch to investigate her cargo.



Indian Ocean: HMS Goliath departs Simonstown, South Africa for the Rufiji River delta, with Admiral Herbert Goodenough King-Hall aboard. King-Hall will be taking command of the Königsberg operation.

[Jimbuna]

26th February 1915

Western Front

French take two lines of German trenches north of Mesnil.

Liquid fire first used by the Germans on the Western front when the German 3rd Guard Pioneer Regiment used them in a successful small-scale attack against French trenches near Verdun.


Eastern Front

Russians report German retirement near Przasnysz.

Naval

Dardanelles Campaign
Battleships Albion, Triumph and Majestic entered the Straits at 0800 to complete the destruction of the entrance forts and to attack the defences further inside, Albion along the European or north shore, Majestic along the Asiatic or south. Both soon came under fire which they returned, but as the day progressed the fixed shore guns were joined by concealed and mobile howitzer and field gun batteries and only by constantly shifting their positions could the two battleships avoid serious damage, that is until Majestic was hit. They were recalled at 1600:

Majestic, battleship, Majestic-class, c16,000t, 4-12in/12-6in/18-12pdr/5-18in tt, 7th BS Channel Fleet 8/14, later to Mediterranean, now with howitzer mounted on each of her turrets. Holed below waterline and leaking.

Before then, at 1430, Royal Marine covering and Royal Navy demolition parties were landed near the entrance forts to complete their destruction, men from Irresistible on the European side, and from Vengeance on the Asiatic side covered by battleship Cornwallis, light cruiser Dublin and destroyers Racoon and Basilisk. The missions were successfully carried out with some casualties; Lt-Cdr Eric Gascoigne Robinson who led the Vengeance demolition party was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry under fire. He later took part in the successful destruction of stranded submarine E.15.

Aviation

The second German attempt to bomb the United Kingdom fails when strong headwinds force the German Navy Zeppelin L-8, sent out to attack alone, to give up her attempt and land an Imperial German Army camp in German-occupied Belgium.

Political etc.

British War Office decides to allow small groups of war correspondents to see the frontlines, beginning March 1st.

Premier Asquith declares Britain will continue to fight even if France and Russia were to fall.

The Welsh Guards regiment is created.

[Sailor Steve]

February 26:

Cape Horn: HMS Bristol and Glasgow are taking separate routes to Isthmus Bay. Also arriving at Isthmus bay is armoured cruiser HMS Kent.



Atlantic Ocean: HMS Carnarvon's situation is growing worse. All four boiler rooms are now taking water, and pumping operations are keeping the ship from flooding more, but not making progress.



German East Africa: The surviving seaplane, S920, conducts taxi tests and makes a brief flight. The extreme heat is making difficult any kind of real flying.

[Jimbuna]

27th February 1915

Western Front

French take part of Beaujesour, near Perthes (Champagne).

Eastern Front

Russians retake Przasnysz. 5,400 prisoners reported.

Russians report capture of 4,000 prisoners near Dolina (southern Galicia).

Southern Front

Dardanelles operations hindered by bad weather.

Naval and Overseas Operations

"Dacia" intercepted in Channel by French and taken into Brest.

Admiralty proclaim blockade of German East Africa.

Hugo von Pohl is appointed Commander of the German High Seas Fleet:


Political etc.

French soldiers are warned that they may face court-martial on their return if they surrender too easily.

Registrar General warns English women not to marry Hindus or Muslim soldiers, as the marriage might not be recognized in the colonies.

Field Marshal von Hindenburg is awarded the Pour le Mérite, the highest order of merit in Prussia.

A U.S. Navy attaché at the German Embassy is accused of heading a spy network that covers the U.S. and Canada.

Ship Losses:

Conway Castle ( United Kingdom): The sailing vessel was scuttled in the Pacific Ocean 560 nautical miles (1,040 km) south west by west of Valparaiso, Chile by SMS Dresden ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Pet ( United Kingdom): The schooner was abandoned in the North Sea. She was driven ashore at Spurn Point, Yorkshire and was a total loss.
William and Alice ( United Kingdom): The schooner was driven ashore at Spurn Point and was a total loss. Her crew were rescued.

[Sailor Steve]

February 27:

Pacific Ocean: SMS Dresden captures and scuttles British barque Conway Castle, 1,694 tons.



Cape Horn: HMS Kent is patrolling the area around Isthmus Bay, where HMS Glasgow is coaling from SS Cairn Ross. HMS Bristol moves from Isthmus Bay to Cape Bower in Fortescue Bay.



Atlantic Ocean: HMS Carnarvon is still unable to move from the Abrolhos Rocks. Divers are now working on fitting a collision mat to prevent the hull bumping against the bottom. All four boiler rooms are still continuously pumping out water, and the ship is still listing about one degree.

[Jimbuna]

28th February 1915

Western Front

French make progress near Perthes.

Germans bombard Soissons and Reims Cathedral.

Eastern Front

Russian forces launch an offensive against the Germans in northern Poland, with both sides supported by massed armored cars and motor vans.

Political etc.

Passengers traveling between U.K & Netherlands are required to sign declarations freeing the ship company of responsibility if they are sunk.

German Supreme Court rules that property owned by foreigners of belligerent nations cannot be seized, as the war is not against individuals.

Russia imposes a war tax of 6-10% on incomes of individuals exempt from military service and under 43 years old.

Anatole de Baudot, French architect known for pioneering reinforced-concrete construction, has passed away.


Dario Resta, a British national, wins the 1915 United States Grand Prix in San Francisco.


MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 25 ships of 60,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses).

[Sailor Steve]

February 28:

Cape Horn: Confusion: According to her log HMS Kent moves from Isthmus Bay to Sholl Bay, meets Bristol and Glasgow, recoals from SS Cairn Ross., departs to patrol the area around Fairway Island.

According to the logs of Bristol and Glasgow, they spend the day at Fortescue Bay and don't meet Kent until the next day.



South Africa: HMS Goliath arrives at Port Natal, Durban, recoals from SS Cilicia.



German East Africa: SS Kinfauns Castle puts Sopwith S920 into the water. The seaplane taxis for a while then reports back to the ship with engine problems. At 1457 the plane takes off and rises to an altitude of 150 feet, then lands near the beach at Niororo Island. At 1500 a launch carries mechanics to the beach. At 1540 the seaplane takes off again, flies around for ten minutes at about 100 feet, and lands. At 1618 S920 takes off for a third time, stays aloft for four minutes, then lands badly, damaging her floats. A boat is sent to consult with the pilot. At 1641 Kinfauns Castle gets underway and moves alongside the crippled aircraft. At 1745 S920 is hoisted aboard and the ship is underway.

[Jimbuna]

1st March 1915

Western Front

French establish a new line two kilometres in front of old positions between Perthes and Beausejour.

Eastern Front

Niemen River front: Collapse of German offensive; signs of a general retreat.

Heavy fighting near Grodno and Osovyets.

Russian troops, aided by Cossack cavalry, defeat Germany forces east of Przasnysz, Poland.

Austrian attacks repulsed in the Carpathians.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Heavy winds causes a momentary halt of the Allied bombardment of the Dardanelles forts.

Ottoman Empire begins heavily reinforcing the Asiatic side of the Dardanelles as an Allied landing becomes likely.

Dardanelles Campaign
Battleships Albion and Ocean, Canopus-class, 14,300t, 4-12in/12-6in, Triumph, Swiftsure-class, 11,985t, 4-10in/14-7.5in, and Majestic, Majestic-class, c16,060t, 4-12in/12-6in, taking part in the second attack within the Dardanelles after more delays due to the weather. Albion and Triumph to engage Fort Dardanos, Ocean and Majestic to search for mobile guns. All ships engaged by concealed guns, continually hit sometimes by 4in howitzers but not seriously; 1 officer and 4 men in Albion injured by splinters.

That night the trawlers started sweeping towards Kephez Point, escorted by destroyers Basilisk, Grasshopper, Racoon and Mosquito supported by light cruiser Amethyst. Just short of the first line of mines at 2300 they were illuminated by searchlights, subjected to heavy fire by the minefield protection guns, and forced to withdraw under cover of the supporting ships.

Political, etc.

Lloyd George expresses that he sees no hope of aid from the U.S., and the Allies will have to defeat Germany on their own.

Britain and France formally announces that it will impose a strict naval blockade against Germany for the duration of the war.

Premier announces presumed "enemy destination" ships will be detained if necessary.

Theodore Roosevelt establishes a reserve force to shore up U.S. defense and promises to take charge of the cavalry division in case of war.

Ship Losses:

Princess May ( United Kingdom): The ketch was run down and sunk in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk by Gunnar ( Norway). Her crew survived.
Sapphire ( United Kingdom): The trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Filey, Yorkshire with the loss of a crew member.

[Sailor Steve]

March 1:

Air War: Sometime in late February or early March Louis Strange devises his own bomb racks for his BE.2c. The racks will be installed on several planes of Number 6 Squadron.



Sheerness, Britain: Sometime around this date the captains of HMS Humber, Mersey and Severn are told that dockyard workers will be boarding within the week to prepare the three monitors for an ocean voyage, a trip for which they were not designed.



Cape Horn: HMS Kent continues to patrol the area between Isthmus Bay and Sholl Bay. HMS Bristol patrols the Barbara Channel, near Fortescue Bay. Bristol and Kent meet briefly. HMS Glasgow spends the day anchored at Sholl bay, and also has a brief meeting with Kent.



Atlantic Ocean: The crew of HMS Carnarvon have finished making the collision mat to protect the ship's bottom. It takes most of the day to get it overboard and in place. The ship is still listing 1/2 degree, and all for boiler rooms are still being pumped free of water.



South Africa: HMS Goliath departs Port Natal and sets course for Mafia Island.



German East Africa: SS Kinfauns Castle steams from Niororo Island to the mouth of the Lindi River (171) miles. Along the way she stops two suspect dhows and takes them both in tow.



Yemen: Again von Mücke fails to give an exact date, but it is around this time that his men are well enough to begin the ride back to Al Hudaydah. Von Mücke takes a few men with him and rides ahead. He will reach the coastal town a day-and-a-half before the rest of his men.

[Jimbuna]

2nd March 1915

Western Front

German counter-attacks repulsed near Perthes.

Eastern Front

Niemen River front: Continued Russian offensive, prisoners reported to number over 10,000.

Continued heavy fighting near Grodno and Osovyets.

Russians bombard Czernowitz.

Austrian attacks repulsed at Lupkow Pass.

Southern Front

Naval bombardment of the Dardanelles inner forts resumes; more than 100,000 Ottoman Turks are now posted at Gallipoli.
Battleships Canopus, Canopus-class, 14,300t, 4-12in/12-6in, Cornwallis, Duncan-class, c15,000t, 4-12in/12-6in and Swiftsure, Swiftsure-class, 11,800, 4-10in/14-7.5in, taking part in third attack within the Straits. Opened fire on Fort Dardanos at 1420 which did not reply until 1615 but immediately straddled the ships. Canopus hit on quarter-deck wrecking wardroom, another shell carried away main topmast, and a third went through after funnel and wrecked two boats, all ships received minor damage; one man slightly wounded. Weather remained bad making aerial reconnaissance impossible, and again that night the minesweeping trawlers were driven back. However further landings were made by beach and demolition parties around Cape Helles and Kum Kale on the 3rd and 4th.

Political, etc.

Anglo-French Note to Germany declares policy of reprisals in retaliation for submarine blockade; neutrals protest.

Report shows U.S. trade has dropped by $10 million ($231 million today) since January due to the German submarine campaign.

President Wilson states all Powers in Europe have to obey rules of warfare even though methods of warfare have changed.

South African Government issues White Book on the rebellion.

Austria declares a Metal Week, steel being excepted.

[Sailor Steve]

March 2:

Cape Horn: HMS Kent patrols from Sholl Bay to Fortescue Bay, meeting Bristol there.



Atlantic Ocean: HMS Carnarvon's divers are busy fitting the collision mat to the ship. C and D boiler rooms are secured and made ready. A and B are still taking water, and still being pumped out. Various anchors are weighed and the ship moved to deeper water.



German East Africa: SS Kinfauns Castle returns to Mafia Island, capturing a third dhow along the way, and finally ending up back at Niororo Island.

[Jimbuna]

3rd March 1915

Western Front

French repulse attacks by German Guards north-east of Mesnil (Champagne).

Germans again bombard Reims.

Eastern Front

Russians retake Stanislau and village of Krasna; over 6,000 prisoners.

Austrian attacks repulsed in the Carpathians.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Ahwaz (Persian Gulf): Turks located in strength at Ghadir, west of Ahwaz; heavy Turkish attack forces retirement, but is repulsed.

Aviation

Italian dirigible M-1 achieves the altitude record for a war dirigible, reaching 10,763 feet (3253 meters).


Naval and Overseas Operations

Three more Ottoman forts on the Dardanelles are silenced, allowing the Allied fleet to advance 2 more miles.

Vice-Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee's despatches on Falkland Isles battle published.

Admiral Sir David Beatty's despatches on Dogger Bank (24 January) engagement published.

Political, etc.

South Africa: Debate on the Rebellion in the Union Parliament.

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (predecessor of NASA) is founded by the U.S. government for aeronautical research.

U.S. passes a law that forbids the supply of coal and food to war vessels of belligerent nations.

President Wilson cancels plans of attending the Panama Canal’s formal opening, as Congress refuses to appropriate the expenses.

Czar Nicholas sets up a committee to investigate generals who led the failed invasions of East Prussia; court-martials are hinted at.

Ship Losses:

Cornish Coast ( United Kingdom): The coaster collided with the interned Jeanette Woermann ( Germany) and sank in the River Mersey at Liverpool, Lancashire with the loss of six of her fourteen crew. The survivors were rescued by a tug.
HMT Rondo ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was wrecked off the Shetland Islands. Her crew survived.
Tiflis ( Belgium): The tug suffered an onboard explosion and fire at Alicante, Spain with the loss of five of her ten crew. Although declared a constructive total loss, She was sold in April 1915, repaired and returned to service.

[Sailor Steve]

February 3:

Air War: Louis Strange and other members of No. 6 Squadron test Strange's bomb racks. Several BE.2s are sent without observers to bomb various railway stations and bridges in support of the battle of Neuve Chapelle, the first use of tactical bombing as part of an integrated battle plan. Strange's target is the station at Courtrai. Crossing the lines at 5,000 feet he has trouble finding his target in the fog and mist below. He sights the river Lys and follows it to his destination, then dives to 500 feet for his attack. He comes out of the clouds a mile short of Courtrai, and follows the tracks to his target. Upon reaching the station he drops even lower. On the station platform he sees a sentry and throws a hand-grenade at him. Strange drops his three bombs between two trains from an altitude of 50 feet in the midst of rifle fire from all sides. Climbing to avoid telegraph wires his plane is rocked by a large explosion. "It was huge sport..."

It is later confirmed that the two trains were crowded with German troops, with around 75 casualties reported. Rail traffic through the station is stopped for three days. Strange will be awarded the Military Cross for this feat.

Austrian Pilot Adolf Heyrowsky scores his second kill, with an unnamed observer again shooting down a balloon.



Pacific Ocean: HMS Newcastle arrives at Esquimalt, British Columbia. Her part in the hunt for Dresden is over.



Cape Horn: HMS Kent moves from Sholl Bay to Fortescue bay and back. HMS Bristol patrols the Barbara Channel. HMS Glasgow patrols the Cockburn Channel to Broderip Bay.



Atlantic Ocean: HMS Carnarvon makes her final preparations for moving. The divers and their sailing pinnace are returned to HMS Vindictive.

[Jimbuna]

4th March 1915

Eastern Front

Prisoners taken by Russians round Stanislau increased to 19,000.

Continued fierce Austrian attacks in the Carpathians.

Southern Front

Dardanelles: Bombardment of the inner forts continued.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Submarine U8 sunk by destroyers in the Channel; crew taken prisoner. First case of "indicator" nets aiding in the destruction of a German submarine ("U.-8" in Straits of Dover) sunk by destroyers Ghurka and Maori.

Dardanelles Campaign
Landings by beach and demolition parties around Kum Kale resulted in a number of Royal Navy and Royal Marine casualties, including two ratings killed from battleship Lord Nelson, one from battleship Ocean, and 23 Marines from the Plymouth Battalion of the Royal Naval Division. Others died of wounds.

Political, etc.

Admiralty decides enemy submarine prisoners cannot be afforded "honourable treatment".

American Consul in Berlin warns that a famine in Germany is near due to the Allied blockade and other war-related causes.

Ship Losses:

Risøy ( Norway): The cargo ship collided with Warsaw ( United Kingdom) in the North Sea off the Nore Lighthship ( United Kingdom) and sank. Her crew were rescued.
SM U-8 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Type U 5 submarine became trapped in nets in the English Channel off Seaford, East Sussex (50°41′N 0°06′E) and was scuttled.


U-8 (third row, second from the right), Kiel Harbour, February 1914

[Sailor Steve]

March 4:

English Channel: Having returned to Ostend for fuel and torpedoes after the successes of February 23rd/24th, Alfred Stoß and U-8 return to the hunt. The destroyer HMS Viking spots U-8 on the surface through a heavy mist and opens fire. Viking's captain is Commander Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, who was second in command on Robert Scott's famous Antarctic expedition. Stoß takes his boat down unharmed and fires a torpedo at Viking, which misses. U-8 slips away submerged, but leaves behind a trail of swirling pools of water which Viking follows. Meanwhile the drifter (trawler converted to a minesweeper) Roburn observes the buoys supporting the anti-submarine nets moving against the tide, and signals the destroyers patrolling the area. HMS Cossack intercepts the signal and informs his superiors at Dover. At 1315 Dover receives a report from Viking and dispatches several more destroyers to assist. At 1417 HMS Kangaroo sights a lone buoy moving by itself to the east. At 1551 Viking explodes her anti-submarine sweep with no results. At 1610 HMS Gurkha sights a periscope and rigs out her sweep. At 1640 HMS Maori also sees a periscope. At 1700 Gurkha's sweep makes contact and the explosive charge is fired, causing enough damage that U-8 is forced to surface and the two destroyers open fire. The crew of the U-boat rush to the conning tower and hold up their hands as a sign of surrender. Stoß and his men sink their boat and all 29 abandon ship safely to be made prisoners-of-war.

The crews of the drifters are awarded £500 to split between them for their contribution to the action.



Atlantic Ocean: With A & B boiler rooms still out of action and the collier SS Brampton following. HMS Carnarvon gets underway for Rio de Janiero. She has been grounded for two weeks.

Admiral Archibald Peile Stoddart, commanding his squadron from HMS Vindictive since February 23, the day after Carnarvon's grounding, receives a message from the Admiralty of a coded message from Berlin ordering the collier SS Gotha to meet SMS Dresden 300 miles west of Coronel on March 5th. Stoddart immediately orders HMS Kent to investigate.



Cape Horn: SS Galileo, a small merchant chartered by the British to help in the hunt for Dresden, puts into Weihnachts Bay. They have finally acted on the rumors of her presence there, but far too late.

At 1450 hours HMS Kent sets off to the rendezvous point to look for the collier Gotha.