100 Years Ago Today

[Sailor Steve]

March 2, 1916:

Air War:
1130 French ace Jean Navarre, in a Nieuport 11, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 6.

German ace Max Immelmann, flying a Fokker E.IV, shoots down Morane 'BB' 5137 for kill number 9. Observer Lt Herbert Frederick Birchwood is killed during the fight. Pilot Lt Charles Walter Palmer suffers a serious wound to his foot, which has to be amputated. Gangrene sets in and Palmer dies on March 29th.



North Sea:
Russian collier SS Meri, 1,124 tons, flying the Latvian flag and carrying a load of coal under sealed orders, is wrecked off Flamborough Head.



Portugal:
Russian sailing ship SV Elgar, 1,270 tons, carrying a load of coal from Clyde to Lisbon, is wrecked outside Lisbon harbor.



Atlantic Ocean:
American five-masted schooner SV Margaret Haskell, 2,214 tons, travelling from Pensacola to Genoa with a load of timber and resin, is abandoned mid-ocean.

[Jimbuna]

3rd March 1916

Western Front

Near Verdun, German troops capture the village of Douaumont near the fort. Around a 1000 French soldiers and several artillery are captured.

British regain "International Trench" (Flanders).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British troops recapture towns in Western Egypt. 33,000 rounds of ammo, a machine gun, 50 camels, & “large quantity” of dates are captured.

Naval

HMS Viking falsely reported to be totally destroyed. She was the only destroyer ever to have six funnels.



Light cruiser HMS "Cambrian" is launched at Pembroke Dock.


Political etc.

Britain bans the importation of canned, bottled, dried & preserved fruits, except currants, unless shipped from British dependencies.

Portugal seizes four German ships at Madeira.

A deputy in the parliament of Baden, Germany criticizes German air raids against “peaceful citizens” in Britain and France.

U.S. Senate tables resolution warning Americans against sailing in belligerent ships.

Italian Chamber discusses German intrigue in Italy.

Ship Losses:

HMT Boy Harold (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Brindisi, Italy with the loss of seven of her crew.
Lyderhorn (Norway) The cargo ship collided with Leander ( Norway) in the North Sea west of Bergen, Hordaland and sank.

[Sailor Steve]

March 3, 1916:

Adriatic Sea:
His Majesty's Drifter Boy Harold, 74 tons, hits a mine laid by Eberhard Fröhner in UC-12 off Brindisi, Italy. Fröhner's score is now 4 ships and 3,205 tons.



United States:
Steamship SS Swatara is towing three schooner-barges from Boston, Massachussetts to Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when two of them break loose in heavy seas. SV Ashland, 838 tons, and SV Kohinoor, 825 tons, were both wrecked off Scituate, Massachussettes. Ashland's captain and four crew were rescued by members of the Scituate Coast Guard Station. The captain and four crew of Kohinoor were lost. The master of the Swatara was tried for negligence and had his license suspended for six months.

The wrecks were discovered by a local diver in 2013.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/2...NEWS/308049844

[Jimbuna]

4th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Second phase begins: Germans repulsed at Poivre Hill.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians land at Atina (east of Trebizond).

Naval and Overseas Operations

"Moewe" reaches Germany.

Political etc.

French government publicly reveals that General Pétain is the man leading the defense of Verdun.

Giuseppe Marcora, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, praises French soldiers for their heroic defense at the Battle of Verdun.

Portugal seizes German shipping at Lourenco Marques.

Attempted assassination of Enver Pasha.

1,800 Irishmen meet in New York City, demanding the freeing of Ireland and opposing any U.S. conflict with Germany.

Minneapolis Chief of Police denies at a speech that the city is experiencing a crime wave. Afterwards, he finds that his car was broken into.

50 are killed & 150 injured due to an explosion caused by a soldier dropping a case of grenades in a fort near St.-Denis, a suburb of Paris.

Ship Losses:

HMT Flicker (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Dover, Kent with the loss of fourteen of her crew. by SM UC-5 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Teutonian (United Kingdom) The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 36 nautical miles (67 km) south west by west of the Fastnet Rock (50°55′N 10°20′W) by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Franz Marc, German expressionist painter and printmaker, is killed in action at Verdun. His “Blue Horse I”

[Sailor Steve]

March 4, 1916:

Celtic Sea:
Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim, commanding U-32, sinks British tanker SS Teutonian, 4,824 tons, bound from Sabine Pass, Texas, USA for Avonmouth, Bristol, with a load of refined oil. Von Spiegel's score is now 3 ships and 8,186 tons.



English Channel:
His Majesty's Trawler Flicker, 192 tons, hits a mine laid by Matthias Graf von Schmettow in UC-6 off Dover, bringing von Schmettow's score to 28 ships and 35,319 tons.



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Egero, 1,373 tons, carrying coal from South Shields to Rouen, is lost after a collision with an unknown ship.



Skagerrak:
Norwegian barque SV Vanadis, 521 tons, travelling from Fowey, Wales to Drammen, Norway with a load of china clay, is abandoned.



German East Africa:
Monitor HMS Severn spots a party of Askaris in Muadrini Bay and fires nine 3pdr rounds at the group, dispersing them.



Canada:
Canadian schooner SV Reform, 58 tons, on a trip out of Ship Harbour, Nova Scotia, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, runs aground off Halifax Harbour.



United States:
American schooner SV Juno, 85 tons, on a fishing trip out of Gloucester, Massachussetts, runs aground at Cranberry Island, Maine.



Caribbean Sea:
American schooner SV William B. Herrick, 475 tons, carrying a load of lumber from Pensacola, Florida to Puerto Rico, is abandoned.

[Jimbuna]

5th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans repulsed east of Vacherauville.

German forces shell bridges and railway stations of Verdun in order to disrupt communications and supplies.

Duc de Rohan at Verdun: “The deep snow before and about Douaumont no longer is white. It is red from the massacre…”

Aviation

Zeppelin raid on east and north-east counties. (18 killed, 52 injured.)



Political etc.

Dr. Karl Liebknecht, Socialist leader in the Prussian Diet, criticizes Berlin police’s conduct towards peace demonstrations.

Ship Losses:

Príncipe de Asturias (Spain) The ocean liner ran aground off Ilhabela, São Paulo, Brazil and sank with the loss of 445 of the 588 people on board.

Rothesay (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 30 nautical miles (56 km) off the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (49°31′N 7°22′W) by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

March 5, 1916:

Scotland:
His Majesty's Trawler Fly II, 240 tons, is lost after a collision off the Butt of Lewis.



Celtic Sea:
Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim, commanding U-32, captures British freighter SS Rothesay, 2,007 tons, bound from Seville to Troon with a load of iron ore, then sinks her with a torpedo, off the Isles of Scilly. Von Spiegel's score is now 4 ships and 10,193 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
French freighter SS Berthe, 2,468 tons, carrying a load of patent fuel from Brest to Bizerta, put in at Gibraltar. After her departure on March 5th she was no seen again.



Atlantic Ocean:
American schooner SV Cora A., 327 tons, carrying a load of coal from New York to Bermuda, is abandoned.

Brazil:
Spanish liner SS Príncipe de Asturias, 8,371 tons, while approaching Santos in a fog, runs aground at São Sebastião. Of the 588 crew and passengers aboard, at least 445 are lost.

[Jimbuna]

6th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans capture Forges.

German launches a heavy artillery bombardment against French troops at Verdun, centered on the hills of Mort Homme (Dead Man).

German troops also launch attacks at Champagne and Argonne, armed with flamethrowers, and make slight gains.

Australian siege brigade at Verdun.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

El Hassana (Sinai) bombed.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German fleet reported to be cruising in North Sea.

Following a bombardment by the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Russian troops land at Atina (Pazar) in Turkey.

Chinese rebels defeated in Szechuan.

Political etc.

British government states it will blacklist neutral ships that provide coal to German coaling stations or ships.

Women's National Land Service Corps inaugurated.

Ship Losses:

Cora A. (United States) The schooner was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean (approximately 36°N 57°W).
Springflower (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 18 nautical miles (33 km) east of Lowestoft, Suffolk by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine UB 16 (Hans Valentiner).
Trois Frères (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 50 nautical miles (93 km) west north west of Penmarc'h, Finistère by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Young Harry (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 35 nautical miles (65 km) east of Lowestoft by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine UB 16 (Hans Valentiner).

[Sailor Steve]

March 6, 1916:

North Sea:
Hans Valentiner, commanding UB-16, stops and scuttles British fishing smacks Springflower, 59 tons, and Young Harry, 43 tons, east of Lowestoft, bringing his score to 15 vessels and 10,159 tons.



Bay of Biscay:
Having moved south, Edgar von Spiegle von und zu Peckelsheim, in U-32, sinks French schooner SV Trois Freres, 107 tons, bound from Blaye to Swansea, off Penmarch, France.



French fishing boat Marie Desirée, 29 tons, hits a mine off Les Sables d'Olonne.



Canada:
Canadian schooner SV Lauretta Francis, 95 tons, runs aground off Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia.



United States:
Danish barque SV Claudia, carrying a load of pitch pine from Jacksonville to Fleetwood, is abandoned in the Atlantic.

[Jimbuna]

7th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans capture Hills 360 and 265, and Fresnes (south-east of Verdun).

Eastern Front

German artillery active south-west of Dahlen Island (River Dvina).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian troops, supported by the Black Sea Fleet, capture the city of Rize, thirty miles from Trebizond.

Naval and Overseas Operations

General Smuts advances on Kilimanjaro (German East Africa).

Political etc.

Signs in London urge thriftiness: “Don’t be ashamed to wear old clothes in wartime! Don’t keep more servants than absolutely necessary!”

Mr. Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia, arrives in England.

President Wilson secures victory in Congress on submarine question. U.S. House votes down a resolution that would have warned Americans off armed belligerent ships.

Mr. Balfour introduces Naval Estimates. First Lord of the Admiralty Balfour declares that the Royal Navy has increased its tonnage by 1 million since the beginning of the war.

In Munich German automobile company BMW (Die Bayerischen Motoren Werke) is founded.

Ship Losses:

HMS E5 (Royal Navy) The E-class submarine struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Juist, Lower Saxony, Germany.
HMS Coquette (Royal Navy) The D-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the North Sea (51°45′N 1°30′E) with the loss of 22 of her crew.
HM Torpedo Boat 11 (Royal Navy) The torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea (51°48′N 1°34′E with the loss of 23 of her crew.
Ville de Havre (France) The four-masted barque was sunk in the Bay of Biscay off Brest, Finistère by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

[Sailor Steve]

March 7, 1916:

Celtic Sea:
Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Pechelsheim, commanding U-32, sinks French barque SV Ville Du Havre, 3,109 tons, travellng in ballast from Ipswich to Buenos Aires. Von Spiegel finishes his second war patrol with 6 ships and 13,409 tons.



North Sea:
British destroyer HMS Coquette, 335 tons, and Torpedo Boat HM TB.11 (ex-Mayfly), 263 tons, both hit mines laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10 while patrolling Black Deep, the northernmost deep-draft entrance to the Thames Estuary. Nitzsche's score is now 8 ships and 12,206 tons.

British submarine HMS E5 goes missing and is not heard from again. A submarine was sighted and attacked at 0810 that morning off Juist Island, near the mouth of the Ems River, by German battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz and her escorting destroyers. Later in the day light cruiser SMS Regensburg also sights a submarine near a minefield. Niether sighting is conclusive, and E5's fate remains uncertain.



Norwegian Sea:
Italian freighter SS Evelyn, 1,232 tons. carrying a load of pig iron and timber from Narvik to Cherbourg, springs a leak and sinks 60 miles south of the Faroe Islands.



United States:
American schooner SV Edward Stewart, 353 tons, bound from New York to St. John, New Brunswick with a load of coal, runs aground at Little Cranberry Island, Maine.

[Jimbuna]

8th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French regain ground in Corbeaux wood, north-east of Mort Homme.

At Verdun, Lieutenant-Colonel Macker leads a bayonet charge against German positions and retakes Bois des Corbeaux.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Failure of attack on Dujailah Redoubt and Es-Sinn.

Russians occupy Sennah (Persia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

General Aylmer launches the Battle of Dujaila to relieve the besieged British forces at Kut, but fails and suffers 3500 casualties.

Second White Paper on the "Baralong" case.

Russian torpedo boats raid Turkish towns between Trebizond and the recently captured city of Rize.

Political etc.

U.S. Bureau of Navigation releases a report stating 400,000 people crossed the Atlantic Ocean last year despite the threat of U-boats.

German Mark to the U.S. Dollar drops to a record low. 1 Mark is worth 18 cents, compared to a prewar value of 24 cents.

Russian government states there are only 16 Armenians left in Erzerum, Turkey, compared to a prewar population of 20,000.

Ship Losses:

HMT Enterprise II (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Brindisi, Italy with the loss of eight of her crew.
Harmatris (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel off Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

March 8, 1916:

1916/3/8: Idflieg places order for 12 Halberstadt D.Is. These will be Germany's first biplane fighters.

Air War:
German Pilot Hans Berr, flying a Fokker E.II, shoots down a Nieuport for victory number 1. It is only speculation, but according to the Osprey book Nieuport 11 Bébé vs Fokker Eindekker - Western Front 1916 this coincides with the wounding of Pierre Navarre, Jean Navarre's twin brother.

French pilot Pierre Henri Edmond Dufaur de Gavardie, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 1.

French Pilot Lucien Joseph Jailler, in a Nieuport 10 or 11, shoots down a DFW two-seater for victory number 1.



English Channel:
Otto Steinbrinck, commanding UB-18, torpedoes British freighter SS Harmatris, 6,387 tons, bound from St. John, New Brunswick for Boulogne with a load of oats and hay. Steinbrinck's score is now 29 ships and 20,807 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
His Majesty's Drifter Enterprise II, 84 tons, hits a mine laid off Brindisi by Eberhard Fröhner in UC-12, bringing Fröhner'score to 5 ships and 3,289 tons.



Italian coaster SS Toscana, 177 tons, carrying a load of oil from Oneglia to Genoa, is wrecked off Pegli.

[Jimbuna]

9th March 1916

Western Front

At Verdun, German heavy artillery, armed with gas shells, bombard Fort Vaux. However, the following German assault is repelled.

Eastern Front

German attacks repulsed on Dvina and at Cebrow (Galicia).

Southern Front

Italian general Cadorna launches the 5th Battle of Isonzo with the aim of capturing Gorizia from Austria-Hungary.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks driven beyond River Kalopotamus (east of Trebizond).

Germans reported to be leaving Ispahan (Persia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

British occupy Taveta (German East Africa).

Russian torpedo boat sunk by submarine in Black Sea.

Political etc.

German Empire declares war on the Portuguese Republic after Portugal interned German and Austro-Hungarian ships.

Ship Losses:

Ellen (Sweden) The schooner ran aground on the Ross Sands, Northumberland, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued by the Lindisfarne Lifeboat.
HMS Fauvette (Royal Navy) The armed boarding steamer struck two mines and sank in the North Sea off North Foreland, Kent with the loss of fourteen of her crew. The wreck was dispersed post-war.

Louisiane (France) The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) off Cap de la Hève, Seine-Maritime by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

Silius (Norway) The barque was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel off Le Havre, Seine-Maritime by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

March 9, 1916:

English Channel:
Otto Steinbrinck, commanding UB-18, torpedoes French passenger/cargo ship Louisiane, 5,109 tons, bound from New Orleans and Newport News for Le Havre with a load of cotton; and Silius, 1,559 tons, carrying a load of barley from New York to Le Havre. His score is now 31 ships and 27,475 tons.



North Sea:
British armed boarding steamer Fauvette, 2,644 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 9 ships and 20,547 tons.



Black Sea:
Russian destroyer Lieutenant Pushkin, 427 tons, is sunk by a mine near the port of Varna, Bulgaria.



Mediterranean Sea:
Italian barque SV Fiora, 876 tons, en route from Pensacola to Genoa with a load of pitch pine, is wrecked on the east coast of Cape Figalo, Algeria.