100 Years Ago Today

[Sailor Steve]

Two days ago, plus one hundred years, Prince Louis of Battenburg was let go as First Sea Lord. One day ago he was replaced by John Arbuthnot 'Jacky' Fisher. Battenberg had been a good leader during peacetime, but when war came he ran into trouble. First and foremost was that he was German. He had a strong German accent and had steadfastly refused to change his family name. He still owned his properties in Germany. His sister Irene was married to the Kaiser's brother, Heinrich, who was Commander of Germany's Baltic Fleet. There were high-ranking officers who called him 'The Hun'. Comments by such men fostered letter-writing campaigns calling for his removal from office. This despite the fact that he was born in Austria, and had been a British citizen since 1868, when he joined the Royal Navy at age fourteen.

"Blood is said to be thicker than water, and we doubt whether all the water in the North Sea could obliterate the blood-ties beween the Battenbergs and the Hohenzollerns when it comes to a question of a life and death struggle between Germany and ourselves."
- John Bull, October 24, 1914

Despite the fact that it was Battenberg who kept the fleet mobilized and therefore safer that it might have been, he was blamed for pretty much every failure, including the sinking of Audacious.

On the 29th Battenberg wrote to Churchill "I beg of you to release me. I am on the verge breaking down & I cannot use my brain for anything."

Fisher, on the other hand, was an inveterate fighter. He welcomed criticism and was more than happy to return it in kind. He had a long and distinguished career in the Navy, starting in 1854. At every stage of his career he had been responsible for reforms and improvements in the way the Royal Navy did things. He had been First Sea Lord before, from 1904 to 1910, during which time he was the man behind HMS Dreadnought and the modern fleet. Now he has been recalled by Churchill to take up that post again, against the wishes of many, including King George V himself. It was Fisher who had taught Churchill the ins and outs of naval strategy and the First Lord of the Admiralty told Prime Minister Asquith he would resign if he did not get Fisher, and in the end he won.

October 30:

John Fisher reports for duty as First Sea Lord. His first act is to override the earlier decision to keep HMS Defence in the Atlantic, and he sends a message dispatching that ship to aid Cradock in his search for Spee.



Pacific Ocean: HMS Good Hope and Monmouth depart Chiloé Island to rendezvous with Glasgow and Otranto. Just one hour later Canopus arrives at the Island. Then a very odd thing happens. When captain Grant asks Junior Engineering Officer Lt. Sydney Start about the state of the engines, Start is puzzled. There is nothing wrong with the engines. When Grant asks for Senior Engineer Cmdr. William Denbow, Start replies that Denbow has been in his cabin the entire voyage, and could not possibly know the state of the engines. Start further informs his captain that the engines are in good shape and can make the same 17 knots they made when the ship was new. Denbow is sent back to England with a doctor and finally invalided from the navy.

Grant doesn't inform Cradock of this because he believes the Admiral wouldn't slow down for him anyway.

Meanwhile SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich, Göttingen and Nürnberg have left Valparaiso. The armed merchant cruiser goes its own way, looking for British shipping to sink, while the other two hurry to catch up with the rest of Spee's squadron.



German East Africa: Sometime during the previous week Captain Drury-Lowe of HMS Chatham has come across an old copy of the Handbuch der Ostküste Afrikas, which mentions the village of Salale as being on the Rufiji river. There isn't a precise location, but Drury-Lowe now knows roughly where SMS Königsberg is hiding. On the morning of the 30th he anchors Chatham four miles off the mouth of the river, knowing that there are German agents watching who will report his position to Captain Looff.



Indian Ocean: At 0630 SMS Emden comes across the English freighter SS Newburn, 3,000 tons, bound from England to Singapore with a cargo of salt. Upon investigation it turns out that the company which owns the salt is German. Leutnant Lauterbach relays the information to Captain von Müller. When the reply is given Lauterbach tells Newburn's Master, J.R. Matthews, that his ship is free to go if they will take the French sailors to Khota Raja, on Malaya, which is know to have a good hospital and is only a few hours away. Matthews is more than happy to agree, and the Frenchmen are transferred to the freighter, and precise instructions are given by Doctor Schwabe for the care of the wounded. The last to go is the Lieutenant whose leg had been amputated. The Emden's crew were later saddened to hear that this officer had died in the hospital at Khota Raja. At 0900 Emden stops again to bury the French sailor who had died the night before.

[Jimbuna]

31st October 1914

Western Front

Yser: French recover Ramscapelle.

Ypres: Crisis of the great battle. Germans take Gheluvelt and break the British line. The Worcesters save the situation and recover Gheluvelt.

Eastern Front

Bukovina: Russians re-occupy Czernowitz.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Lord Kitchener sends to Sherif of Mecca conditional guarantee of Arabian independence.

Final phase of the Siege of Tsingtao begins, as Japanese artillery begin bombarding German forts.


Naval and Overseas Operations

H.M.S. "Hermes" (cruiser) sunk in Straits of Dover.
Dover Straits

HERMES, sometimes classed as seaplane carrier, 2nd class or light cruiser, Highflyer-class, 5,650t, 1898, 11‑6in/9‑12pdr/2‑18in tt, 20kts, 450 crew, converted at Chatham in 1913 to depot ship for Naval Wing of Royal Flying Corps, subsequently Royal Naval Air Service with launching platform forward & stowage platform aft for 3 seaplanes, although only 2 carried, commissioned 5/13, after trials and manoeuvres, paid off 12/13. Equipment reinstalled 8/14, recommissioned as RNAS transport and supply ship 31/8, serving with Nore Command, Capt Charles Lambe. Arrived at Dunkirk from Portsmouth the previous evening to unload seaplanes, departed morning of 31st, but at 0930 ordered to return because of submarine alarm. Ten minutes later, destroyer Liberty reported Hermes had been torpedoed twice by U.27 (Bernd Wegener), sank two hours later near Outer Ruytingen Bank, 8 miles WNW of Calais (wi - in 51N, 01.20E); 1 officer and 20 ratings lost (Cn/ge - 22 lost; He/ke - 44 casualties, 400 survivors). Short Folder seaplane No.82 sank with her, but others were taken off by ferry Invicta.


German light cruiser "Konigsberg" located in Rufiji River.


First units of Indian Expeditionary Force "B" arrive at Mombasa.

General Stewart succeeded in command of British forces in East Africa by General Aitken.

Political, etc.

British Government issue orders for hostilities to commence against Turkey.

Former President Roosevelt warns that the U.S. is unprepared to face an invasion by a European power.

Italy: Resignation of Salandra Cabinet.

Occupation of Saseno (Albania).

Ship Losses:

HMS Hermes ( Royal Navy): The Highflyer-class cruiser was torpedoed and sunk in the Straits of Dover (56°06′18″N 1°50′18″E) by U-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 22 of her 450 crew.
TORGRIM, (Sweden): The steamer stranded and wrecked at Rattary Head, Scottish east coast.


This Italian cartoon from the Numero in Turin shows Germany and Austria seated next to a smaller figure. The name on the middle chair used to be Italy but it has been crossed out and replaced with Turkey. It refers to the fact that originally Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance between Austria, Germany and Italy and should, pursuant to its treaty obligations, have fought on the side of the Germans. Instead, Italy (the weaker of the three parties) remained neutral and eventually entered the war on the side of the Allies. The cartoon comments on the fact that the Germans and Austrians have found a replacement in Turkey, also a weaker power that they can manipulate.

[Sailor Steve]

October 31:

"There is nothing left for me to do but go up and be killed with I Corps."
- Sir John French, on seeing hundreds of British wounded withdrawing from Gheluvelt

"You must not talk of dying, but of winning."
- General Ferdinand Foch, in reply



English Channel: Bernd Wegener of U-27 scores his second kill, sinking the old cruiser HMS Hermes, which had recently been converted to a seaplane tender. Wegener now has the third-highest u-boat score after Weddigen and Berkheim, with 6,325 tons.



Pacific Ocean: HMS Otranto rejoins Cradock's squadron. HMS Glasgow is at Coronel, and signals that German supply ships have been seen in the area. She has also intercepted signals between SMS Leipzig and one of Spee's colliers. Cradock orders Glasgow south to meet him off Arauco Bay the following day.



German East Africa: During the night Captain Drury-Lowe moves HMS Chatham south to the Kiomboni peninsula. In a bold move he sends two cutters ashore to raid Kiomboni village. They capture the village chief and two other men, and take them back to Chatham for questioning. The chief, Ali bin Turemi, tells his captors he saw a three-funneled warship pass by at the beginning of September. The second native tells much the same story, including an account of having seen six ships anchored at Salale just three days earlier. When shown a photograph of SMS Königsberg all three men agree that one of the ships at Salale looks just like the ship in the picture. Drury-Lowe moves Chatham as close to land as he dares in the receding tide. Five miles up the river his lookouts can see mast-tops in among the trees. Königsberg has been found.

Drury-Lowe sends a signal to Dartmouth and Weymouth to join him. He then attempts to wreck Captain Looff's communications by shelling the German wireless station on Mafia island.

One interesting point is that the three natives told their British captors that they did not want to be returned to shore, as the Germans beat them and made them dig trenches and build fortifications. Ali bin Turemi will become a scout for the British.



Indian Ocean: At 0430 lookouts aboard SMS Emden spot a ship in the darkness. To their relief it turns out to be their captured collier, SS Buresk. They were worried Buresk might have been recaptured, leaving them without coal, or worse, that there might be an enemy warship lying in wait for them.

[Jimbuna]

1st November 1914

Western Front

Battle of Ypres continued with great violence: Germans capture Messines, Hollebeke and Wytschaete.

Khudadad Khan becomes the first Muslim soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
Finding himself among the few surviving members of a force sent to repel a German advance at Ypres, a soldier manned a single machine gun to prevent the enemy making the breakthrough it needed.
Continuing to fire until he was the last man remaining, his actions helped to ensure that two vital ports used to supply British troops with food and ammunition from England, remained in Allied hands.


Eastern Front

Poland: German retreat continued.

Austria invades Serbia. This is the third attempt to conquer the Serbs in retaliation for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This attempt fails like the two before it, at the hands of highly motivated Serbs fighting on their home ground. The Austrians withdraw in mid-December, after suffering over 220,000 casualties from the three failed invasions.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Martial law proclaimed in Egypt.

Tsing-tau: The "Bismarck" forts silenced. H.M.S. "Triumph" assisting the Japanese.


Naval and Overseas Operations

U-boat Warfare - Chief of German Naval Staff proposed a submarine blockade of Britain, rejected by German Chancellor; small German UC-type coastal minelaying submarines ordered for delivery in sections by rail; first one launched April 1915.

Venus, old light cruiser, Eclipse-class, 5,600t, Ireland-based 11th CS. November - Lost foremast in gale, presumably British Isles waters.

Battle of Coronel (Pacific): H.M.S.s "Monmouth" and "Good Hope" lost in fight with von Spee's German squadron.

Aware that Adm von Spee's East Asiatic Cruiser Squadron was heading across the Pacific for South American waters, the Admiralty ordered Adm Cradock who had been working his way down the east coast of South America searching for German raiders and merchantmen, to concentrate a strong-enough squadron off the southern coast of Chile. His main force, two old armoured cruisers Good Hope (Flag) and Monmouth, newly-commissioned with large numbers of reservists, were no match for the worked-up 8.2in-armed Scharnhorst and Gneisenau with their crack gunnery, neither were light cruiser Glasgow and armed merchant cruiser Otranto for German light cruisers Leipzig, Dresden, later joined by Nurnberg. Old 12in-gunned battleship Canopus was some 300 miles behind convoying British colliers. The four British ships were now heading in a northerly direction, 15 miles apart but only searching for the expected Leipzig, Glasgow nearest the Chilean coast some 50 miles W of Coronel. Smoke was sighted at 1620, Glasgow confirmed it was not one German light cruiser but two armoured cruisers, and shortly fell back on Good Hope, Cradock tried to force the action while the setting sun was behind him blinding the Germans, but they declined. Instead von Spee waited for the sun to set leaving the British ships silhouetted and his own ships lost in the dusk before opening fire around 1900, strong winds and heavy seas meant the British lower casemate guns could not be worked. In a short time both Good Hope and Monmouth had been overwhelmed and sunk, and Glasgow damaged but along with Otranto managed to escape. Two days later Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Nurnberg entered Valparaiso for 24 hours, and on 8 December, the whole squadron appeared off the Falklands Islands.

GOOD HOPE, large or 1st class armoured cruiser, Drake-class, 14,150t, 1901, 2-9.2in/16-6in/12-12pdr/2-18in tt, 23kts, c900 crew, Pennant No.P.16, joined 6th CS Grand Fleet 8/14, to South Atlantic, Capt Philip Franklin, flagship Rear-Adm Sir Christopher Cradock. Engaged by Scharnhorst - 8-8.2in guns versus 2-9.2in, third salvo put forward 9.2in out of action followed by serious hits to the forepart, upper bridge and foretop, repeatedly hit amidships setting her on fire, after turret hit twice, large explosion between mainmast and after funnel at 1950, flames reaching 200ft, ship left silent and dead in the water. Von Spee lost contact around 2000 and ordered his light cruisers to search for the two large British ship that were presumably damaged and finish them with torpedoes, Good Hope was not found but went down around this time, her end not seen in the darkness and the driving rain; 926 lives lost - 52 officers, 871 ratings and 3 canteen staff, no survivors.

MONMOUTH, large or 1st class armoured cruiser, Monmouth or County-class, 9,800t, 1901, 14‑6in/9‑12pdr/2-18in tt, 23 kts, c678 crew, Pennant No.D.28, joined 5th CS West Africa station 8/14, then South America station, sent to Pernambuco to join flagship Good Hope, Capt Frank Brandt. Engaged by Gneisenau which stayed out of range of Monmouth's 6in guns, foremost 6in turret blown off and forecastle on fire, hit by between 30 and 40 shells, many amidships, after part on fire and tried to break away to the west, found by 2100 by light cruiser Nurnberg which had just reached the area of battle, Monmouth flooded, down by the bows and listing so far to port the port guns could not bear. Nurnberg stayed on that side and opened fire, then stopped to allow Monmouth to strike, she did not and the German re-opened fire, Monmouth capsized around 2120; 734 lives lost - 42 officers and 692 ratings, no survivors except 4 men previously landed on Albrohos Rocks as lookouts who escaped the action, the seas were too rough for Nurnberg to lower boats.

Glasgow, light cruiser, Bristol-class, 5,300t, 2-6in/10-4in, South America station, Capt John Luce. Initially engaged by Leipzig, then by Dresden, hit total of five times, about 1919 by unexploded 4.1in shell from Leipzig on conning tower support, then badly damaged by a 4.1in shell port aft on the waterline. Glasgow found the mortally damaged Monmouth but had to leave her around 2020 to locate and warn Canopus; no lives lost. However, Glasgow did lose about 50 parrots, pets of the crew that were released prior to the battle but refused to leave the ship, only ten survived.


Political, etc.

Turkey: British Ambassador (Sir Louis du Pan Mallet) leaves Constantinople.


Ship Losses:

Frederica ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and set afire at Novorossisk, Russia by Hamidiye ( Ottoman Navy). She was consequently scuttled.
HMS Good Hope ( Royal Navy): Battle of Coronel: The Drake-class cruiser was shelled and sunk in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile by SMS Scharnhorst ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all 900 crew.
HMS Monmouth ( Royal Navy): Battle of Coronel: The Monmouth-class cruiser was shelled and sunk in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile by SMS Gneisenau and SMS Nürnberg (both Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all 678 crew.
KINAHADA (Turkey): Steamer, sunk by Royal Navy destroyers HMS Wolverine and HMS Scorpion in the Gulf of Izmir.
Beyrut (Turkey): Survey vessel, sunk by Royal Navy destroyers HMS Wolverine and HMS Scorpion in the Gulf of Izmir.
The crew of both ships are given time to abandon before the vessels are sunk by gunfire.


In this Italian cartoon, German soldiers are shown fixing up a devastated Belgian city and re-paving the shell-pocked roads with skulls of their Belgian victims. Alleged German atrocities against the civilian population of Belgium were fertile ground for Allied war propaganda. On the other hand, German war propaganda blamed Belgium and Britain for the war.

[Sailor Steve]

November 1:

Pacific Ocean: Shortly after noon HMS Glasgow rejoins Cradock's squadron. The Admiral has his ships spread out in line abreast, twenty miles apart. There was little confidence aboard the British ships. Good Hope was armed with two 9.2" guns, the only guns in the squadron capable of hurting Spee's big ships. The rest of her battery and all of Monmouth's were 6" guns, more than capable of dealing with the light cruisers but useless against the 15cm (5.9") armor of the modern armored cruisers. Of Monmouth and her sisters Jacky Fisher had once said "Sir William White designed the 'County' class but forgot the guns. With their wretched pea-shooters they can neither fight nor run." Further, have of those 6" guns were mounted close to the waterline, where they were useless in any but the calmest seas.

HMS Otranto was an ocean liner that had been armed with eight 4.7" guns, ideal for capturing other merchants but hardly a true warship. Finally there was the light cruiser Glasgow, the only modern ship in the squadron. With two 6" and ten 4" guns she could handle either of Spee's light cruisers, but not both.

SMS Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, on the other hand, were new, modern armored cruisers carrying eight 21cm (8.2") guns each, and a backup battery of six 15cm (5.9") guns, both faster than either of Cradock's big ships.

At 1630 Cradock's squadron is still in their spread-out formation when lookouts aboard Glasgow see smoke to the east. Captain Luce turns his ship to starboard and increases her speed, signalling the rest of the squadron. Good Hope is nearly forty miles away when she receives the signal. When the mystery ship is close enough to be recognized as SMS Leipzig, more smoke columns are spotted behind her. Soon they are seen to be large, four-funneled cruisers. Luce turns his ship around and signals "Enemy armoured cruisers in sight." All three ships hurry to form up with Good Hope.

The same thing is happening on the other side. Leipzig's lookouts had spotted Glasgow, then the rest of Cradock's squadron. Captain Haun had signalled Spee that the enemy were in sight. Both sides had thought they were about to trap a single light cruiser, and now both admirals know that the battle they had been anticipating was actually here.

Spee has his ships close up in line astern, with Scharnhorst in the lead with Gneisenau, Leipzig and Dresden following. Cradock changes course to east-by-southeast and form up with Good Hope in the lead, followed by Monmouth, Glasgow and Otranto. At 1745 the two groups are about 34,000 yards (17 miles) apart, and Spee alters his course to west-by-southwest, so they are now converging on an almost-parallel course, allowing them to close but still keep their broadsides open. Both groups are heading into a rough swell, making it difficult to keep the guns on target.

At this point Cradock could still have broken off and retreated to join up with Canopus, about 300 miles behind, and Spee would not have had the speed to catch him in that time. Possible, but not something Cradock would have ever done. He had been awarded not only by his King but also by the Kaiser for his bravery in the Boxer Rebellion. It had been said of him that "Cradock was constitutionally incapable of refusing or ever postponing action, if there was the slightest chance of success."

Cradock's plan was to keep the sun at his back, so as it was setting it would blind the German gunnery officers while highlighting their ships for his own gunners. Spee was aware of this, and he knew that once the sun was down the British ships would be outlined in the glow of the sunset while his own ships would now be in darkness. Using his superior speed Spee held the range at 15,000 yards. At 1804, with the sun still up, Cradock turned his ships 45 degrees to port to close with Spee. The German admiral immediately made the same turn, maintaining his distance.

At 1818 Cradock signalled Canopus "I am going to attack the enemy." Captain Grant sent back the message that he was still 250 miles away.

At 1830 Spee returned to his earlier course, allowing Cradock to close. At 1934 Spee gave the order to open fire. According to Luce aboard Glasgow the range was 12,000 yards. Spee reported that he opened fire at 11,260 yards At that range Cradock had only his two 9.2" guns. Spee had twelve 21cm guns available on the broadside. At 1939 the first hits were observed aboard Good Hope. Luce notes that the Germans got the range quickly and it was only a matter of minutes before both British armored cruisers were on fire forward.

At 1953 at a range of 6,500 yards, Spee notes seeing that Monmouth's forward turret is gone and there is a fire in its place. When the range is down to 5,300 yards Spee assumes the British are going to launch torpedoes, and orders a turn away.

At 1950 Luce sees a huge explosion aboard Good Hope. At 2023 The German ships are close enough for Spee to see this same fire. At 2026 it has become too dark for accurate firing and Spee orders his ships to cease. At 2030 Spee orders his light cruisers to find and sink the enemy ships with torpedoes. Glasgow is on the run and escapes sight of the enemy at 2050. Nürnberg is unable to find Good Hope, but Monmouth is finished off with gunfire at 2158. Aboard Glasgow Luce observes "about 75 flashes". He gives the time as 2120.

In their actual reports Spee's and Luce's times are off by an hour. This is probably because they approached the scene from different time zones.
http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Graf_von_Spee's_Report

Meanwhile SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich encounters SS Colusa, but the freighter escapes.





Atlantic Ocean: SMS Karlsruhe coals one last time from SS Farn, and the now-empty collier is sent to find a neutral port. There are still SS Rio Negro and Hoffnung (ex-Indrani) to draw supplies from. Inspired by Emden's exploits Captain Köhler has decided to try his hand at harbor-raiding in the West Indies, starting with Barados and then Martinique.



German East Africa: Captain Drury-Lowe takes HMS Chatham back to the mouth of the estuary where he had seen Königsberg's masts. When high tide comes he moves the ship as close to shore as possible. The rangefinders give the range to the masts as 14,500 yards. Drury-Lowe opens fire with his 6" guns, knowing that this is right at their extreme range. When the shells fall short Drury-Lowe orders tanks flooded to give Chatham a five-degree list. He is still short. Captain Looff raises Königsberg's anchors and moves her two miles further upstream.



Indian Ocean: Aboard SMS Emden the usual Sunday services take place. Afterward Captain von Müller calls all hands aft. In an impromptu ceremony he hands out promotions to about forty of his men, and apologizes that he could not promote everybody. Then there is a celebration held over the anniversary: It is three months to the day since they departed on this voyage. It is estimated that the engines have made ten million revolutions, they have travelled thirty thousand nautical miles and consumed about six thousand tons of coal.



Australia: The first ANZAC convoy finally departs Albany. Seventeen troop ships are escorted by the light cruisers HMAS Melbourne and Sydney, and armoured cruiser HMS Minotaur.

[Jimbuna]

2nd November 1914

Western Front

Battles of Messines and Armentières end.

Battle of La Bassée ends.

Germans withdraw from nearly the whole of the left bank of the Yser, and concentrate for attack on Ypres.

British lines pierced at Neuve Chapelle, which the Germans re-occupy.

Eastern Front

East Prussia re-entered by Russian forces.

Battle of Chyrow ends.

Caucasus Front

Russian troops in the Caucasus launch an offensive into the Erzurum Vilayet, Ottoman Empire.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Austrian cruiser "Kaiserin Elizabeth" sunk in Tsingtau harbour. Her guns were removed to provide a shore battery and then she was scuttled at Tsingtao.


North Sea proclaimed by the British Admiralty to be wholly a military area from 5 November.

First units of Indian Expeditionary Force "F" leave India for Egypt.

British force begins attack on Tanga (German East Africa).

Political, etc.

Turkey: Russian and French Ambassadors leave Constantinople.

Great Britain publishes an account of Turkish provocations.

The Russian Empire declares war on the Ottoman Empire.

Government of India announce immunity of the Mussulman Holy Places during hostilities with Turkey.

"State of War" commences between Serbia and Turkey.

Ship Losses:

SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth ( Austro-Hungarian Navy): The Kaiser Franz Joseph I-class cruiser was scuttled at Tsingtao, China.
Van Dyck ( United Kingdom): The refrigerated cargo liner was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean (approximately 1°S 4°W) by SMS Karlsruhe ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were taken as prisoners of war.

[Sailor Steve]

November 2:

Eugene Gilbert and a captain de Vergnette, in a Morane 'L' 2-seat parasol, bring down a German 'Taube'

Pacific Ocean: Spee's squadron puts into Valpariaso. SMS Dresden and Leipzig are sent west to search for the surviving British ships. HMS Glasgow and Otranto are on their way south to Cape Horn.



Indian Ocean: SMS Emden arrives at the Poggy Islands, off the coast of Sumatra. At 0900 hours Emden starts to recoal from SS Buresk. During this process they suffer the only serious accident of the entire voyage. A hoist breaks loose and several sacks of coal are spilled. One of them lands on Torpedo Obermatrosse Possehl, breaking his left thigh. Ship's surgeon Doctor Luther sets and splints the leg immediately. The officers quickly conclude that the hoist was set properly and the accident was nobody's fault.

At noon Emden is approached by a small boat. On board is a Dutch army captain, and his only purpose is to make sure the Germans are outside the three-mile limit. Emden's officers assure him this is so, and invite him aboard for a glass of whiskey and soda. The only news they get from him is that Portugal has declared war on Germany. At 15:00 he departs, and at 17:00 the coaling is done and Emden sets course for the Sunda Straights.

[Jimbuna]

3rd November 1914

Western Front

Allies occupy positions on the Yser, abandoned by the Germans.

Fighting on the Aisne (Vailly, Chavonne, etc.).

Eastern Front

Poland: Russians defeat Austro-Germans at Kyeltsi, which they recover.

Southern Front

Dardanelles Forts bombarded by British and French fleets.

Cattaro bombarded by Montenegrins.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Armenia: Bayazid occupied by Russians.

Arabia: Akaba on Red Sea bombarded and occupied by British.

Naval and Overseas Operations


The German squadron leaving Valparaiso on 3 November 1914 after the battle, SMS Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the lead, and SMS Nürnberg following.
In the middle distance are the Chilean cruisers Esmeralda, O'Higgins and Blanco Encalada, and old Chilean battleship Capitán Prat.

First Bombardment of British Coast - Raid on Gorleston

German 1st Scouting Group of battlecruisers (Adm Hipper) raided Gorleston/Great Yarmouth apparently with the main aim of covering the laying a minefield off Yarmouth. Although an attack was anticipated in the southern North Sea area, the only ships that encountered the Germans were minesweeping gunboat Halcyon and patrol destroyers Lively and Leopard, all of which came under fire from heavy guns around the same time that Yarmouth was shelled. Three submarines headed out of Gorleston for the sound of the guns but one was mined, more destroyers of the Yarmouth Patrol came out too late to take part, and Harwich force failed to intercept:

Halcyon, minesweeper, ex-Dryad-class torpedo gunboat, 1,070t, originally 2-4.7in/3-18in tt, Lowestoft-based, sweeping off Smith’s Knoll, about 20 miles NE of Yarmouth. Sighted large warships about 4 miles S of Cross Sands LV, steamed towards them and made challenge, fired at by 11in and other guns and turned away, made report at 0700, escaped with minimum damage by frequent course changes and under cover of smokescreen laid by Lively; one rating DOW (Rn/Cn/D/dk/dk/dx/nb/nh/ty)

Lively, B-class, 435t and Leopard, C-class, 400t, both destroyers armed with 1-12pdr/5-6pdr/2-18in tt, patrol or local defence flotillas, probably Yarmouth Patrol, Lively 2 miles SW of Halcyon, Leopard astern of Lively near Scroby Buoy. Spotting Halcyon's plight, Lively laid a smokescreen between her and the enemy, all three ships came under heavy fire and were chased by the Germans until fearful of possible British minefields they turned east.

D.5, submarine, D class, 495/620t, 1911, 1‑12pdr/3‑18in tt with 6 torpedoes (Cn - contrary to other sources, only D.4 was fitted with a gun), 14/9kts, 25 crew, Pennant No.I.75, Harwich-based 8th Flotilla, Lt-Cdr Godfrey Herbert, moored off Gorleston with D.3 and E.10, all under orders, D.5 for Terschelling. Put to sea at 0815 to intercept the German warships (H/C - 3 October), at 1030, mined aft off Great Yarmouth (He - about two miles SE of South Cross lightship; dx - 2 miles S of South Cross Sand buoy), and sank in less than a minute. As this was away from the scene of German minelaying, it was probably a drifting British mine; 1 officer and 20 ratings lost, 5 survived including the bridge party, CO and three crew picked up by local fishing drifter Faithful and a fifth by drifter Homeland. Crew of Faithful awarded £75 for saving life in dangerous waters.

Light cruiser Kolberg laid a line of mines 5 miles long in Smith's Knoll passage, probably as the German force left the area, but the laying was spotted by a Lowestoft fisherman and reported by 1100. As they returned to base, armoured cruiser Yorck was mined and sunk in a defensive field in Jade Bay. A number of British vessels were lost in the Yarmouth minefield, including three fishing vessels the same day.

British submarine D.5 sunk by a mine in fight with cruisers.
Sister-ship D1


Dardanelles - In advance of a declaration of war, an Anglo-French Squadron bombarded the Turkish outer forts, British battlecruisers Indefatigable, Indomitable and French battleships Suffren, Vérité took part.

Grand Fleet ordered back to Scapa Flow.

Northern frontier of German East Africa first crossed by British troops.

Political, etc.

Kaiser Wilhelm appoints Erich von Falkenhayn as the new Chief of the German General Staff, replacing Helmuth von Moltke who is sacked due to the failure of the Schlieffen Plan.
Erich von Falkenhayn


Serbia breaks off relations with Turkey.

Bulgaria declares intention to remain neutral.

Kingdom of Montenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire.

Baron Sonnino appointed Italian Foreign Minister.


Ship Losses:

Copious ( United Kingdom): The drifter struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk with the loss of nine of her ten crew.
HMS D5 ( Royal Navy): The D-class submarine struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth with the loss of twenty of her 25 crew.
Fraternal ( United Kingdom): The drifter struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth with the loss of six of her ten crew.
HMT Ivanhoe ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler ran aground and was wrecked off Leith, Lothian.
Will and Maggie ( United Kingdom): The trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 17 nautical miles (31 km) north east by north of Lowestoft, Suffolk with the loss of three of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

November 3:

London: The Admiralty receives a message sent from the British consul at Valparaiso on the 1st, saying that Graf Spee's squadron has been sighted. A message is immediately sent to Admiral Cradock: "Defence has been ordered to join your flag with all dispatch. Glasgow should keep in touch with the enemy. You should keep in touch with Glasgow, concentrating the rest of your squadron including Canopus. It is important you should effect your junction with Defence at the earliest possible moment subject to keeping touch with the enemy."

Later Churchill would comment "We were already talking to the void."



Atlantic Ocean: SMS Karlsruhe crosses the equator on her way north to raid Barbados.



German East Africa: HMS Dartmouth and Weymouth join Chatham at the Rufiji estruary where Königsberg has been sighted. Weymouth's coal bunkers are nearly empty, so Captain Drury-Lowe sends her as far up-river as she can go, which turns out to be about two miles. Her guns still cannot reach Königsberg.



Indian Ocean: SMS Emden reach the Sunda Straights and begins patrolling. Cruising up the entire area and back again produces no contacts. While disappointed the crew realize that the reason is their own "fault". They are having no success now because their previous successes have driven British shipping from the Indian ocean. There are no new targets because they are all hiding in their harbors, afraid to come out. They do intercept a wireless message saying that SS Newburn has reached Khota Raja and the surviving French sailors from Mousquet are safe.

The first ANZAC convoy out of Albany is joined by a group that had departed Wellington on October 18th - 10 more ships accompanied by the Japanese battlecruiser Ibuki.

[Jimbuna]

4th November 1914

Western Front

Lombartzyde recovered by the Allies.

Battle of Ypres continues.

Eastern Front

Galicia: Austrians defeated at Jaroslau; loss of 19,000 prisoners and 40 guns in twelve days.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Armenia: Russian advance from Caucasus; Diadin occupied.

Russian forces cross frontier of Turkey-in-Asia and seize Azap.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German cruiser "Karlsruhe" sunk in the Atlantic by internal explosion.
As Karlsruhe steamed to Barbados on the night of 4 November, a spontaneous internal explosion destroyed the ship. The hull was split in half; the bow section quickly sank and took with it Köhler and most of the crew. The stern remained afloat long enough for 140 of the ship's crew to escape onto the attending colliers. Commander Studt, the senior surviving officer, took charge and placed all of his men aboard the liner Rio Negro. He scuttled the second collier and steamed north for Iceland. The ship used the cover of a major storm to slip through the British blockade of the North Sea, and put in at Ålesund, Norway. Rio Negro then returned to Germany by early December. The Admiralstab, unaware of the loss of Karlsruhe, coincidentally radioed the ship to order her to return to Germany. Germany kept the loss of the ship a secret, and the British continued searching for her until they learned of her fate in March 1915. Köhler's widow christened the cruiser Karlsruhe, the third to bear the name, at her launching in August 1927.


Belgian Coast Operations - Bombardment of Lombartzyde near Nieuport by old gunboats Bustard and Excellent.

Admiralty blockships - Admiralty accounts refer to 49 merchantmen bought during the war for use as blockships for a total sum of £424,249. Dittmarr lists 41, nine of which were not expended for this purpose. An additional one is listed in Colledge, three more in “Wreck Index”, four have been located at Gallipoli, two ex-dummy battleships were expended as blockships and a possible one more gives a total of 43 merchant ships. Apart from ex-battleship Hood (following), six old cruisers were expended during the Zeebrugge/Ostend raids.

English Channel

HOOD, Admiralty blockship, ex-turret battleship, 14,150t, 1891, 380ft, removed from effective list 1911, fitted with first experimental anti-torpedo bulges 1913, on sale list 8/14. Scuttled in South Ship Channel, Portland Harbour, Dorset to fill gap in the defences (wi - in 50.34.08N, 02.25.12W). Wreck lies upside down in around 50ft, with keel only a few feet below the water at low tide.

East Africa: British reverse at Tanga.

Political, etc.

Moratorium in Great Britain ends.

Persia refuses to join Turkey in war against the Entente.

Women’s suffrage amendment fails to pass in Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Ship Losses:

HMS Hood ( Royal Navy): The Royal Sovereign-class battleship was sunk as a blockship in Portland Harbour, Dorset.
SMS Karlsruhe ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Karlsruhe-class cruiser suffered an internal explosion and sank in the Atlantic Ocean (11°07′N 55°25′W with the loss of 133 of her 373 crew. Survivors were rescued by Rio Negro ( Kaiserliche Marine).


Kaiser: "My poor bird, what has happened to your tail feathers?"
German Eagle: "Can you bear the truth, Sire?"
Kaiser: "If it's not for publication."
German Eagle: "It's like this, then. You told me the British lion was contemptible. Well—he wasn't!"

[Sailor Steve]

November 4:

London: The report from the British consul at Valparaiso on the battle at Coronel finally reaches the Admiralty. The sources were all German so the report is met with scepticism. There is no mention of Canopus, and Cradock certainly would not have gone into battle without his battleship. So far the news is limited at best. Nothing has been heard from any of the British ships. Within a few hours Churchill and Fisher are already planning what to do next. First of all "Urgent" telegrams are sent to Admiral Archibald Stoddart, commanding the Fifth Cruiser Squadron off the east coast of South America, tasked with finding SMS Karlsruhe. "Carnarvon, Cornwall should join Defence off Montevideo. Canopus, Glasgow, Otranto have been ordered, if possible, to join you there. Kent from Sierra Leone has also been ordered to join your flag via Abrolhos. Enemy will most likely come on to the Rio trade route. Reinforcements will meet you shortly from England."

A second message was sent to the Governor of the Falkland Islands: "German cruiser raid may take place. All Admiralty colliers should be concealed in unfrequented harbours. Be ready to destroy supplies useful to enemy and hide codes effectively on ships being sighted."

The third "Urgent" telegram is to Admiral John Jellicoe, Commander-In-Chief of the Grand Fleet: "Order Invincible and Inflexible to fill up with coal and proceed to Brerehaven with all dispatch. They are urgently needed for foreign service. Admiral and flag captain Invincible to transfer to New Zealand." Jellicoe and Admiral David Beatty, commander of the Battlecruiser Squadron, both protest that they need those ships to maintain superiority over the German High Seas Fleet. Churchill sends a personal message to Jellicoe explaining why he needs the ships, and as Churchill wrote later, "Sir John Jellicoe rose to the occasion and parted with his two battle cruisers without a word."



Atlantic Ocean: Captain Erich Köhler of SMS Karlesruhe gives his officers the details of his plan to raid Barbados. His plan is to enter Bridgetown Harbour and do whatever destruction comes to hand, then proceed to Fort de France at Martinique. The French cruiser Condé was earlier reported to be at Bridgetown, so there is a chance of a good score. They expect to arrive at their target at dawn the next day.

At 1830 hours Köhler and the watch officer, Lt. Althaus, are on the bridge. Most of the crew have just finished their dinner and are listening to the ship's band play on the forecastle. Without warning a thunderous explosion rips through the forward part of the ship. In the after sections the immediate assumption is that the ship has been torpedoed. As the smoke clears it can be seen that the entire forward part of the ship, including the bridge, is gone. Köhler, Althaus, and somewhere between 244 and 259 of her crew are killed instantly or go down with the wreckage. First officer Kapitänleutnant Ferdinand Studt is in the after section when the explosion happens. With that part of the ship taking water and listing to port, Studt organizes the remaining crew to get the lifeboats overboard and gives the order to abandon ship. There is no fire yet, but oil is leaking into the sea, and that is the first danger.

Rio Negro and Hoffnung (ex-Indrani) are already approaching the stricken cruiser. In a few minutes 18 officers, including Studt, and 112 petty officers and men are taken aboard the two supply ships. At 1857 what is left of SMS Karlsruhe disappears beneath the waves.

Studt takes command of Rio Negro and transfers all of Karlsruhe's surviving crew to that ship. He orders them to remove anything with the name "Karlsruhe" - shoulder patches and cap ribbons - from their uniforms, and tells them that if another ship is encountered they are to stay out of sight below decks. All the coal from Hoffnung is transferred to Rio Negro. All the captured merchant seamen are also taken aboard Rio Negro, as Studt cannot allow them to enter a neutral port to tell their story if his plan is to work. Once this is done he sends Hoffnung away with an all-German prize crew, with orders to sink the ship and take her lifeboats to a neutral port, and at all costs to keep their mouths shut.

Studt's plan will work, and work well. Rio Negro will slip through the Allied blockade by way of Iceland and then the Norwegian coast, finally sailing into Hamburg in early December. Allied forces will continue searching for the long-lost ship until March 1915, four months, until finally some of the wreckage washes up on the shore of St. Vincent, almost 500 miles from the scene of the accident.

It will never be possible to determine precisely what happened to Karlsruhe. Theories run from a torpedo (but there were no submarines of any type in the area) to a mine (unlikely) to the most likely guess of a spontaneous magazine explosion. It would happen more than once during the war. Batches of powder were not always mixed properly, and if unused could easily deteriorate. Still, it's all guesses.



German East Africa: Captain Drury-Lowe sends a message SS Newbridge to join him at the mouth of the Rufiji River. The flat-bottomed collier is ideal for what he has in mind.



Indian Ocean: Aboard SMS Emden Captain von Müller comes up with a new plan. This time he will attack the Australian wireless station at the Cocos/Keeling Islands.

[Jimbuna]

5th November 1914

Western Front

Germans repulsed at Le Quesnoy-en-Santerre (Roye).

Eastern Front

Poland: Germans in retreat move their headquarters back to Chenstokhov.

Southern Front

Montenegro: Invasion by Albanians checked.

Naval and Overseas Operations

North Sea

MARY, Admiralty trawler, 256/1906, J Marr & Son, Fleetwood-reg FD84, hired 8/14 as minesweeper, Admiralty No.361, Skipper William Stephen Greenaway RNR, sweeping Yarmouth field laid near Smith’s Knoll Buoy by German Kolberg with trawlers Columbia and Driver. (He – 3rd; all other sources, including casualties – 5th). Mined just after 1000, after part destroyed, fore part settled and sank with two minutes (wi - in 52.35N, 01.54E); Skipper and 7 ratings lost, 6 survivors rescued by Columbia and Driver.

Attack on Tanga ends, British force repulsed.

Political, etc.

Great Britain declares war on Turkey and annexes Cyprus.

Kaiser removed from Navy List.

Italy: Salandra Cabinet reconstructed.

Two Japanese aviators, scheduled for an exhibition flight over Honolulu, are stopped by U.S. officials who fear they are spying on German ships.

Belgian Government reject Papal mediation.

Ship Losses:

HMT Mary ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Cromer, Norfolk with the loss of eight of her fourteen crew. Survivors were rescued by HMT Columbia and HMT Driversunk (both Royal Navy).
DRAMMEN (Norway): The steamer was a small cargo vessel which sank west of Steilene on the west side of Nesoddlandet in Akershus county after a collision with the French steamship UNION III with a cargo of beer, wine and other goods.

[Sailor Steve]

November 5:

"It was the happiest day of my life. True, most of my comrades who had earned it just as much were dead."
- Adolf Hitler, letter to his landlord after being awarded the Iron Cross Second Class for his part in the fighting at Wytschaete



The world's third aerial shootdown, and the first for Germany, comes when a Rumpler B.I flown by Richard Flashar with a gun manned by an observer known only as 'Demuth' claim to shoot down a "Parasol". The claim is accepted though the victims are not verified. One possible candidate is a plane flown by Adjutant Rodeau and Soldat Vernier of Escadrille V21, both killed. The 'V' suggests a Voisin, which is a biplane, but they could have been a Morane 'L' parasol. The loss was listed as being brought down by anti-aircraft fire, but it could have been Flashar and Demuth, and the French might never have known.

Richard Flashar will fly consistently throughout the war, and rise to command a squadron twice, but will only score one more victory during the war.



Britain: The battlecruisers HMS Invincible and Inflexible depart Invergordon for Devonport, where they will meet their new, and as yet unnamed, Admiral.



Indian Ocean: SMS Emden ends her patrol of the Sunda Straights and sets course for a pre-planned rendezvous with the collier SS Exford.

[Jimbuna]

6th November 1914

Western Front

Ypres: Fierce German attacks repelled: heavy fighting round Klein-Zillebeke.

Eastern Front

Galicia: Line of the San once more in Russian hands: Austrians in retreat towards Cracow.

Keupri-Keui (Armenia) taken by Russian forces.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Tsing-tau: Central fort stormed and 200 prisoners taken.
Japanese troops launch a final assault against German troops in Tsingtao, China.


The Khedivate of Egypt comes to an end as Britain deposes Abbas II of Egypt, who was seen as pro-Ottoman.


In the Persian Gulf, a major British offensive begins as the 6th Indian Division invades Mesopotamia. The objective is to protect the oil pipeline from Persia. Two weeks later they capture the city of Basra.


Naval and Overseas Operations

British submarine "B.-11" proceeds two miles up the Dardanelles. First warship to enter Straits.


Belgian Coast Operations - Bombardment of Westend and Lombartzyde by monitor Humber and old gunboat Bustard

Mesopotamian Campaign - British/Indian forces started to land in Mesopotamia from the Persian Gulf supported by old battleship Ocean (Capt Hayes-Sadler), sloops Odin, Espiegle, and including Government yacht Lewis Pelly, launch-tugs Garmsir, Sirdar-I-Naphti, Mashona, Miner, all manned, armed and commissioned by HMS Ocean. Royal Navy Battle Honour - MESOPOTAMIA 1914-17.
Odin, sloop, Epiegle-class, 1,070t, 6-4in/4-3pdr, Capt Hayes-Sadler in command and crewed by Espiegle, with convoy carrying Anglo-Indian expeditionary force, entered Shatt-el-Arab and came under Turkish fire. Odin in 40-minute duel silenced a 4-gun battery at Fort Fao or Al Faw guarding the Shatt-el-Arab entrance, hit twice and later fired on by riflemen from trenches. Espiegle hit entrenchments further upstream opposite Abadan.

Political, etc.

Turkey severs diplomatic relations with Belgium.

French Government issue declaration modifying list of contraband.

Great Britain: The spy Lody shot at the Tower.

Lody was the first spy to be executed at the Tower.

Below is the text of a letter written by Carl Hans Lody on the eve of his execution to the Grenadier Guards, thanking them for their professionalism in looking after him. Lody also allegedly shook the hand of each of the men in the firing squad before his execution.

London Tower, November 5th 1914

To the Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion G Guards, London

Sir

I feel it my duty as a German officer to express my sincere thanks and
appreciation to the guards and sentries being and having been my guardians.
Although they never neglected their duty they have shown always the utmost
courtesy and consideration towards me.

If it is within the frame of reglements I wish this may be made known to them.

I am, Sir, with profound respect
Carl Hans Lody
Senior Lieutenant Imperial German Naval Reserves II

Emperor Wilhelm and Prince Henry of Prussia are both removed as honorary admirals of the Royal Navy.

Ship Losses:

SMS T25 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The S7-class torpedo boat collided with SMS T72 ( Kaiserliche Marine) and sank in the North Sea.
S 13 ( Kaiserliche Marine): German large torpedoboat sunk by accident in the North Sea after a torpedo explosion.

[Sailor Steve]

November 6:

One of Jacky Fishers first orders as First Sea Lord was the removal of the Chief-Of-Staff, Vice Admiral Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee. Sturdee was one of the old Beresford men, and had been one of the players at the inquest that led to Fisher's resignation in 1910. Sturdee had become Beresford's Chief-Of-Staff and owed a large part of his advancement to Beresford's influence at Court and in the Admiralty, so there was no way Fisher was going to have him remain part of his own staff. For his own part, Sturdee actually had King George on his side, and the King wanted Sturdee to be the new First Sea Lord. Sturdee refused to resign, and Churchill wasn't willing to actually fire him, which left them at an impasse.

Churchill finally hit on what to him was the perfect solution: Send Sturdee to be the new commander of the South Atlantic Squadron! Fisher agreed immediately. He had described his subordinate as "...a pedantic ass, which Sturdee is, has been, and always will be!", and had the hope that Sturdee would make a mess of things and lose his squadron of not his life, and be forced to live with that shame. The general feeling in the Admiralty was that Sturdee had mishandled the situation with Spee, and what had happend to Cradock was Sturdee's fault, so it was proper that he should be given the task of making it right.



German East Africa: SS Newbridge joins Captain Drury-Lowe's squadron at the mouth of the Simba Uranga channel in the mouth of the Rufiji River, and work is started converting the ship to her new purpose. Armor plate is added to the bridge and sandbags are piled around the fantail area. The German cruiser won't be able to see her as she makes her way upriver, but she will certainly come under rifle and machine-gun fire on the trip.