100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

2nd February 1916

Naval and Overseas Operations

Zeppelin "L.19" lost in North Sea. (Admitted by Germany).

German zeppelin L19 crashes in the North Sea due to engine trouble. The crew are found by a British fishing vessel, but they refuse to help.



Political etc.

British government offers £1000 for the next pilot that brings down a Zeppelin after the bombing raid two days ago.

The British Mark I tank prototype is demonstrated in front of Cabinet members and senior members of the military at Hatfield Park.


President Wilson and his wife breaks Iowa’s anti-tipping law by tipping a waiter and a messenger boy. Police will not fine them.

J.P. Morgan sails out of New York harbor to Europe in order to help finance the Allied powers for the war.

Ivan Goremykin resigns as Prime Minister of Russia due to his declining health.


Ship Losses:

Daijin Maru ( Japan): The passenger ship collided with Li-Nan ( China) in the East China Sea 80 nautical miles (150 km) off Swatow, China and sank with the loss of 160 of the 181 people on board.
Franz Fischer ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was bombed and sunk in the North Sea by a German Zeppelin with the loss of ten of her thirteen crew.
Jean Bart II ( French Navy): The patrol vessel was torpedoed and sunk in the Adriatic Sea off Dürres, Albania (41°08′N 19°20′E) by SM U-4 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy) with the loss of eighteen of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

February 2, 1916:

Air War:
German pilots Ernst von Althaus, in a Fokker E.III, and Rudolf Berthold, flying Fokker E.III 411/15, share a victory over Voisin 3 V1321, Althaus' 2nd and Berthold's 1st. Pilot Caporal Jaquin landed safely, observer Soldat Segaud KIA.



Bay of Biscay:
French trawler Lamantin, 106 tons, sets out from Bourdeax and is not heard from again.

British liner SS Orissa, 5,317 tons, travelling from Lisbon to La Pallice with a cargo of copper and tin and carrying 230 passengers, runs aground in the fog. The ship is freed the next day and continues on its way.



Adriatic Sea:
Rudolf Singule, commanding Austrian submarine U-4, torpedoes French auxiliary patrol boat Jean Bart II, 475 tons, off Durazzo. Singule now has 5 ships and 7,719 tons.



China:
Japanese freighter Daijin Maru, 1,576 tons, bound from Swatow (modern Shantou) to Hong Kong, sinks following a collision off Che'lang point.

[Sailor Steve]

February 3, 1916:

Western Front:
Germans shell Loos.



Eastern Front:
Russian forces resume attack in Bukovina.



Political:
Australian war loan totals nearly £21,000,000.

Romanian cereal crop is reported to be sold to an Austro-German syndicate.



Air War:
1110 French pilot Georges Guynemer, in a Nieuport 10, shoots down an LVG two-seater for kill number 5.
1140 Guynemer brings down a second LVG for victory number 6.



English Channel:
British schooner SV Elgarette, 237 tons, travelling in ballast from London to Jamaica, is wrecked off Dover.

British barquentine SV Geraldine founders off Herm, east of Guernsey.

[Sailor Steve]

February 4, 1916:

"Just a short line to let you know I am crossing to Dunkirk to-morrow, weather permitting. I am flying a R.A.F. B.E. across and returning the same day in a Nieuport, if available, otherwise in a destroyer. Am quite looking forward to the trip. Have already crossed the Channel three times by air and about twelve by water. Beacoup de love."
- Letter from Harold Rosher to his mother, February 4, 1916



Southern Front:
Austrians occupy Kroja, 25 miles north of Durazzo.



Air War:
German pilot Theodor Croneiss, flying a Fokker E.III in Turkey, shoots down either a Farman two-seater or a BE.2c (records are unclear) for kill number 3.



English Channel:
French schooner SV Marie, 256 tons, carrying salt and wine from Lisbon to St Malo, is wrecked off the Jardin Lighthouse.

His Majesty's Trawler De la Pole is wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, Kent, with the loss of one of her twelve crew. Survivors are rescued by the Deal Lifeboat.

Norwegian barque SV Souvenir, 505 tons, carrying a load of chalk from London to Lisbon, is wrecked off the Isle of Wight. A coastguard lifeboat rescues all but the captain and one crew member.



North Sea:
Danish freighter SS Nordjylland, en route from Malmö to Grimsby with a general cargo, runs aground off Halmstad.



United States:
American schooner SV Number Twelve, 809 tons, travelling from Norfold, Virginia to Boston, Massachussets, sinks following a collision off Point Judith, Rhode Island.



Brazil:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and sinks Belgian freighter SS Luxembourg, 4,322 tons, bound from Newport, England to La Plata, Argentina with 5,900 tons of Welsh coal. Luxembourg's captain and crew of 32 will be held until February 23, then sent to Tenerife. Möwe's score is now 13 ships and 54,546 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

February 5, 1916:

"Had a most interesting day yesterday. Started off across Channel for Dunkirk soon after 8.0 a.m. in a R.A.F. B.E. - engine running badly at first, but picked up. A most priceless morning with a slight following wind - 5,000 feet at Calais, and made Dunkirk in about 3/4 hour from there. All the lads in great form, but Petre and Peberdy in Paris, and Mulock in hospital with a chill. Baillie going strong, also Beard, Haskins, Graham, Peal, etc., etc. Breakfast and then a good look round. The Baby Nieuports are priceless. I flew one and went up the coast to La Panne and Furnes. When I got back I drove out to Caudekirk to the new aerodrome, and then back for lunch.

At 2.0 p.m. I started home in a Nieuport and made Folkestone in just over the hour - rather a strong head wind. At Folkestone I spent 1-1/2 hours trying to restart my engine, but with no success, so telephoned for a car - tea at the Grand and back here in time for dinner. Have been to Folkestone this afternoon with Ince and his brother and Husky.

Heaps of love.

P.S. Flew back at 2,000 feet."

-Harold Rosher, letter to his father from the Hotel Burlington, Dover, February 5th, 1916



Air War:
1035 English pilot Jack Cunningham, flying recently-arrived DH.2 5016, shoots down an Albatross two-seater for kill number 3. It is the first victory for the new pusher aircraft.

1040 English pilot Frederick Powell, in his prototype FE.8 7457, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 4. Powell also claims an Albatros and an Aviatik, but both are unconfirmed.

1120 English pilot William Victor Strugnell, in a Morane 'N' 5068, shoots down an LVG two-seater for his first victory.

1130 French ace Georges Guynemer, flying Nieuport 10 N320, shoots down an LVG two-seater for kill number 7.

German pilot Rudolf Berthold, in a Fokker Eindeckeer, ahoots down a BE.2c 4091 for victory number 2. 2nd Lts. L.J. Pearson and E.H. Alexander both taken prisoner.



Black Sea:
Greek freighter SS Theoskepasti, 2,461 tons, is sunk by a mine off Sulina, Romania.



Atlantic Ocean:
American schooner SV Bruce-Hawkins, 546 tons, bound from Mobile, Alabama to Huelva, Spain with a load of yellow pine, is abandoned 100 miles north of Bermuda.

[Sailor Steve]

February 6, 1916:

Germany admits full responsibility for Lusitania incident and recognizes America's right to claim indemnity. The story will not be made public until February 9th.

Noted Nicaraguan poet Ruben Dario, founder of the Modernismo movement, dies, aged 49.



Western Front:
German bombardment of Loos continues.

Allies bombard Lille.

French aircraft bomb German gas reservoirs at Navarin.



Adriatic Sea:
British cruiser and French torpedo boat drive four Austrian destroyers to Cattaro, cover Serbian retirement to Corfu.



North Sea:
British coaster SS Balgownie, 1,061 tons, bound from London to Leith with a general cargo, strikes a mine laid by Georg Haag and UC-7. Haag's score is now 5 ships and 5,729 tons.



Atlantic Ocean:
Japanese freighter Kenkon Maru No. 11, 3,522 tons, travelling from Marseille to Granton, is abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean.



Brazil:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and scuttles British freighter SS Flamenco, 4,629 tons, carrying a load of coal to Valparaiso, Chile. Möwe now has 14 ships and 59,175 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

February 7, 1916:

Eastern Front:
Heavy artillery duel around Riga.



Air War:
No. 24 Squadron takes its DH.2s to France, led by Lanoe Hawker.

English pilot Frederick Powell, in his FE.8 7457, claims another Aviatik two-seater, but it is again listed as "Unconfirmed".



Irish Sea:
British sailing ship SV Enterprise, 133 tons, sailing from Liverpool to Silloth, runs aground and is wrecked near Whitehaven.



Ligurian Sea:
Italian barque SV St. Joseph, 1,007 tons, bound from Philadelphia to Savona, Italy with a load of coal, stops at Nice, France. On February 7th she departs Nice and is not heard from again.



Atlantic Ocean:
French fishing boat Dupleix, 58 tons, is working off the coast of Brittany when the crew apparently bring a mine aboard in their net. the explosion destroys the small craft, killing all the crew.



Danish schooner SV Vigilant is abandoned off the Outer Hebrides. The crew are rescued. Vigilant will later be recovered and towed to Stornoway.

[Sailor Steve]

February 8, 1916:

British Government requests naval assistance from Japan. The request is for patrols to stop German auxiliary cruisers laying mines in shipping lanes.



Eastern Front:
Heavy artillery duel around Riga.



English Channel:
British freighter SS Argo, 1,720 tons, bound from Bulogne to Dunkerque with a load of pitwood, hits a mine laid by Erwin Waßner and UC-3. Waßner's score is now 14 ships and 17,525 tons.



North Sea:
British freighter SS Elswick Manor, 3,943 tons, carrying a load of barley from Baltimore to Hull, hits a mine laid by Franz Wäger in UC-7. The damaged ship is beached and later refloated. Since the current commander of U-7 is Georg Haag this is either a mistake in the records or an older minefield laid by Wäger the previous year.



Mediterranean Sea:
Otto Hersing, in U-21, torpedoes French Armored Cruiser Amiral Charner, 4,750 tons, 15 miles west of Beirut, Lebanon. A single torpedo between the bridge and fore funnel sinks the warship in just four minutes. Only 1 survivor. Hersing's score is now 11 ships and 51,053 tons.



United States:
American steam schooner SS Excelsior, 526 tons, sinks in San Francisco Bay after being rammed by passenger ship SS Harvard.

American schooner SV St Nicholas, 825 tons, travelling from Savannah to New York, founders off Frying Pan Shoals, near Wilmington, North Carolina.



Brazil:
German raider SMS Möwe captures British freighter SS Westburn, 3,320 tons, carrying 3,878 tons of prime Welsh coal from Liverpool to Buenos Aires. The ship will be retained until her coal is used by Möwe, and scuttled on February 23rd. Möwe's score is now 15 ships and 62,495 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

February 9, 1916:

"Many thanks for the letter. Am still going strong. Flew four different types of machines to-day, two of them new ones, one a Shorthorn Maurice, and the other a Blériot. The Blériot is the first monoplane I have flown other than a parasol.

You have heard me mention Graham (with Ince he brought down the German seaplane). Well, he has just had an awful bad crash at Dunkirk. Penley also has crashed badly twice out there, and is now back on sick leave. Ford too is home on sick leave with his head cut open, as the result of a bad crash, and his passenger is not expected to live. If one goes on flying long enough, one is bound to get huffed in the end.

By the way, Commander Lambe has shipped another stripe. He is now Wing Captain and acting Captain.

Yesterday I flew to Chingford in a B.E.2c with Blanche as a passenger. It was awfully cold. It took 2-1/2 hours going, via Ashford, Redhill, Brooklands and Hendon. Blanch took the B.E. back, and I took a new Bristol Scout and did the return journey direct (east of London) in an hour. Saw the Pemberto-Billing quadruplane at Chingford."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his mother from the Hotel Burlington, Dover, February 9, 1916



Sopwith's new single-seat scout is given clearance for testing, flown by Sopwith test pilot Harry Hawker. The little aeroplane will bear several official names over the next two years, but mostly it will be known by an unofficial name - the 'Pup'.



Western Front:
French regain part of trenches lost at Frise, and repulse Germans at Vimy ridge.

Air raid on Margate and Brodstairs. Three injured.

German reserves estimated at over two million.



Eastern Front:
Severe fighting in Volhynia and Galicia.



Southern Front:
Bulgaro-Germans reported to be fortifying Monastir.

Germans reported at Gevgeli.

Serbian Government set up at Corfu.



Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters:
Major General W. Peyton succeeds Major General A. Wallace in command of western force, Egypt.



Political:
News papers inform public of agreement between USA and Germany over Lusitania incident.

Extension of restrictions on lighting and on sale of sugar.

Greek neutrality re-affirmed.



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Vaarli, 1,311 tons, travelling in ballast from Rotterdam to Sunderland, sinks after hitting a mine.



Mediterranean Sea:
Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, torpedoes British freighter SS Springwell, 5,593 tons, bound from Middlsbrough to Calcutta with a general cargo. Valentiner's score is now 71 ships and 155,089 tons.



Central Africa: British gunboats Fifi and Mimi attack and sink German gunboat SMS Hedwig von Wissman on Lake Tanganyika.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedwig...ann_(steamship)

This event will become the basis for the ending of C.S. Forester's novel The African Queen.



South Atlantic:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and scuttles British freighter SS Horace, 3,335 tons, carrying a general cargo from Buenos Aires to Liverpool. Möwe now has 16 ships and 65,815 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

February 10, 1916:

German Government sends note to United States Government stating that defensively armed merchantmen will be treated as belligerents starting March 1st.

US Secretary of War Lindley Miller Garrison resigns over differences between his and President Wilson's war policies. Garrison is replaced by Newton D. Baker.

There are several websites saying that the first Military Service Act, instituting conscription of British subjects, went into effect on this day, and one, which I followed (since deleted) which claims it was yesterday. The Military Service act was passed into law by Parliament on January 27th, and took effect on March 2, 1916. It is possible that the 10th was the date it was made public. In any event posters started going up sometime during this period, encouraging patriotic Britons not to wait, but enlist immediately.







Western Front:
Germans are repulsed south of Frise.



Southern Front:
Remnant of Serbian Army - 75,000 men - concentrated at Corfu.



Air War:
French pilot Albert Louis Duellin, flying a Maurice Farman MF.11 with a "Captain Colcomb" as observer, brings down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 1.



North Sea:
German destroyers attack a British group conducting minesweeping operations near the Dogger Bank. All the ships involved in the operation manage to escape except for sloop HMS Arabis, 1,250 tons, which manages to drive off three attackers single-handed. A second attack results in Arabis being torpedoed with the loss of 56 of her 79 crew.

Norwegian freighter SS Correct, 1,036 tons, bound from Goole to Dunkerque with a load of coal, is sunk in a collision with British armed merchant cruiser HMS Moldavia.



Scotland:
British freighter SS Belford, 2,076 tons, travelling in ballast from Barry to New York, is wrecked at Smaull, Islay.



Atlantic Ocean:
Norwegian barque SV Hatholmen, 1,220 tons, carrying a load of coal from Birkenhead to Georgia, is abandoned in mid-Atlantic.

[Sailor Steve]

February 11, 1916:

"Had hopes of seeing you for a few minutes to-day. Had the weather been fine, Husky and I were motoring to Town in the morning with Capt Lambe in a Rolls, and both bringing machines back in the afternoon from Chingford. As it is, of course, the weather is impossible.

I was underway first, in under three minutes, the other day when the Germans were reported over Ramsgate. I was over the North Foreland in quarter of an hour at 6,000 feet. Was just turning, when I sighted a seaplane miles below me, so cut off my petrol, and did a spiral vol plané towards it. At 4,000 feet I ran into mist and lost him temporarily, but picked him up again and chased him up the mouth of the Thames almost as far as Herne Bay. Then he turned and shot under me, and I'm blessed if it wasn't a Schneider Cup, one of our own from Westgate! I did not hear that bombs had been dropped until I saw it in the papers the following morning. I thought the scare was about our own seaplane.

Visited the Blimps this afternoon at Capel. They are really most interesting."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father from Hotel Burlington, Dover, February 11, 1916



Germany:
Kaiser Wilhelm II formally allows u-boats to attack armed merchants. Attacks on passenger liners are forbidden.



Western Front:
French success near Mesnil (Champagne).

A German offensive at Verdun is postponed for ten days due to rain and snow.



Eastern Front:
Russian repulsed south of Dvinsk.



Southern Front:
French reinforcements reach Slokika - right bank of Vardar occupied.

Italian detachment reaches Corfu.



Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:
Hostile Arabs occupy Baharia Oasis 200 miles southwest of Cairo.



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Alabama, 891 tons, travelling in ballast from Le Havre to Newcastle, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1. Von Werner's score is now 15 ships and 15,479 tons.



Light cruiser HMS Arethusa, 3,520 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 6 ships and 9249 tons.





British barquentine SV Fanny, 193 tons, departs Glasgow for Brest with a load of coal and is not heard from again.



Irish Sea:
British freighter SS Nettleton, 2,413 tons, travelling in ballast from Glasgow to Cardiff, is wrecked seven miles north of Bude, Cornwall.



Bay of Biscay:
French fishing boat Angélus, 37 tons, disappears with all seven of her crew, off Ile d'Oleron, near La Rochelle, France. Believed to be victim of a mine laid by SMS Möwe.



Mediterranean Sea:
British freighter SS Glenroy, 2,755 tons, travelling in ballast from Malta to Bougie (modern Béjaïa), is driven ashore in a gale at Les Falaises, in the gulf of Bougie. A shore party led by Mr Thomas, manager of the Grand Fillear Ore Mines, manage to descend the 150-foot cliffs and use ropes to rescue the crew.

[Sailor Steve]

February 12, 1916:

Western Front:
German offensive west of Soissons and temporary success at Pilkem, norh of Ypres.



Eastern Front:
Russian attack on Erzerum begins.



North Sea:
Belgian freighter SS Aduatiek, 2,221 tons, bound from Newcastle to Savona with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Friedrich Moecke in UC-4. British freighter SS Cedarwood, 654 tons, carrying a load of pig iron from Middlesbrough to Fécamp, also runs on a mine laid by UC-4.



English Channel:
British freighter SS Leicester, 1,001 tons, carrying a general cargo from Portsmouth to Cromarty, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6 just south of Folkestone. Von Schmettow's score is now 22 ships and 18,265 tons.



United States:
American schooner SV Emily I. White, 296 tons, carrying a load of coal from Norfolk, Virginia to Charleston, South Carolina, is wrecked at Bull's Bay, South Carolina.

[Sailor Steve]

February 13, 1916:

"Many thanks for note received this morning. As far as I can see, there is no chance of my going out to the other side yet awhile. Husky goes on the 25th and Anreae a little later. Two good crashes to-day. First Blanche on a new Avro - engine failure and landed down wind in a ploughed field. The second was better still. A man hit the one and only tree within miles, in getting off on a B.E. He left half a lower plane in the tree and carried a branch or so on with him for some little distance before crashing to earth.

I hear Graham is no better. He fractured the base of his skull and also has internal injuries.

Love to all"
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, February 13, 1916



It is reported that 2,000 German periodicals have ceased publication owing to a shortage of paper.



Western Front:

German attack west of Soissons repulsed.

Heavy fighting around Frise. French lose ground.

German artillery bombards Hooge.



Eastern Front:
Russians take Garbonovka.

Severe fighting in Galicia



Southern Front:
Entente Governments notify Greece of forthcoming transfer of Montenegrin Army to Corfu.

Bulgarians take Elbasan, Albania.



Asiatic and Egyptian Fronts:
Russians capture fort at Erzerum.

Russians occupy Khanys, Armenia.

Russians occupy Daulatabad, Persia.



Air War:
English observer Frank Billinge, riding with pilot Lt. J.T. Kirton in FE.2b 6336, shoots down an AGO two-seater for victory number 1.



North Sea:
British freighter SS Tergestea, 4,308 tons, bound from Tyne to London with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Friedrich Moecke in UC-4. Moecke's score is now 3 ships and 7,183 tons.

British trawler Scimitar is listed as lost on this date. Details are lacking.



Baltic Sea:
Swedish coaster SS Herman, 344 tons, carrying a load of coal from Stettin, Germany (modern Szczecin, Poland) to Malmö, Sweden, runs aground off Kap Arkona. The ship is refloated, but then sinks in deeper water.

[Sailor Steve]

February 14, 1916:

Britain and France announce that there will be no peace with Germany unless Belgian neutrality is restored and indemnification is paid for destroyed lands in Belgium.



Britain:
In January William Gurden Rigden, William Fownes Rigden and Stanley Fownes Rigden, partners in the Fownes Brothers Glove Company, were charged with "Trading with the Enemy". The Defendants had a branch in New York and another company in Germany and were accused of importing goods from Germany to the United States. on February 14th the Defendants pleaded Guilty. W.G. Rigden was fined £500. W.F. Rigden was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment and S.F. Rigden to four months.



Western Front:
Germans take 600 yards of British front trench between Ypres-Comines railway and the Canal.



Eastern Front:
Continued Russian success around Dvinsk.



Southern Front:
Austrian airmen bomb Milan, Treviglio, Bergamo and Monza.



Asian Front:
Russians take another fort at Erzerum, Turkey.



Air War:
German pilot Leopold Anslinger, flying a Fokker E.III on the Eastern Front, shoots down a Russian "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.



United States:
American schooner SV N.H. Burrow, 240 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newport News, Virginia to Newhaven, Connecticut, runs aground on Hog Island, Virginia in a snowstorm. The crew manage to anchor the schooner in deeper water where she begins to leak. A Coast Guard lifeboat rescues the six freezing crewman and the small ship is left to sink the following day.

[Sailor Steve]

February 15, 1916:

At an early Allied conference speeches are made by Prime Minister Asquith, Lord Kitchener and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov.

In the United States, ex-senator Elihu Root gives a speech to the Republican Convention in New York, condemning President Wilson's conduct of U.S. policy thus far. This is considered the opening of the 1916 American Presidential election campaign.
http://ww1blog.osborneink.com/?p=12245



Western Front:
French regain ground at Tahure (Champagne).



Eastern Front:
Russians repulse German attacks around Dvinsk.



Asian Theater:
Agreement concluded between British Government and chieftains of the Bakhtiari (Persia) for co-operation in protection of Persian oilfields.



North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Bandoeng, 5,851 tons, bound from Batavia to Rotterdam, is damaged by a mine laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5.

British freighter SS Wilston, 2,611 tons, hits a mine 20 miles from Wick, Scotland. Some sources say the mine was laid by SMS Möwe.



Celtic Sea:
British freighter SS Ashby, 1,947 tons, travelling in ballast from Nantes to Cardiff, is wrecked off the Ile d'Oessant, west of Brest, France. Captain Green and one crewman perished, 18 others saved.



Skagerrak:
Norwegian ketch SV Grethe, 66 tons, en route from Odda, Norway to Höganäs, Sweden with a load of scrap, goes missing. She and her four crewman are not heard from again.



United States:
British freighter SS Suevier, 4,662 tons, carrying a general cargo from New York to Le Havre, is abandoned after exploding chlorine gas cylinders set the ship on fire.