100 Years Ago Today

[Sailor Steve]

January 13, 1918

Air War:

0920 Irish RFC pilot George McElroy, flying SE.5a B598, shoots down a Rumpler two-seater for victory number 2.

1107 German ace Heinrich Kroll, in a Pfalz D.III, shoots down an SE.5a for victory number 16.

1130 Canadian RFC pilot John Victor Sorsoleil, in SE.5a B5463, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 1.

1158 German ace Josef Mai, in an Albatros D.V, shoots down Bristol F.2b B1110 for victory number 6.

1230 German ace Fritz Rumey, in an Albatros D.V, shoots down Bristol F.2b A7174 for victory number 7. 2nd Lt H.V. Biddington is taken prisoner; 2nd Lt J.H. Corbet is killed.

1240 German pilot Max Kraus, flying with Jasta 27, shoots down a SPAD for victory number 4.

1250 German pilot Günther Schuster, with Jasta 29, shoots down Sopwith Camel B5602 for victory number 3. 2nd Lt F.B. Wilmott is taken prisoner.

1328 German pilot Hans Schlömer, in an Albatros D.V, scores victory number 2. Schlömer claims a Bristol F.2b but this may have been Armstrong-Whitworth FK.8 B5826, Lt F.H. Hall wounded and Lt A.S. Balfour killed.

1425 English RFC pilot Thomas Colvill-Jones and observer Henry George Crowe, in Bristol F.2b B1122, shoot down a German two-seater. Victory number 3 for Colvill-Jones, number 1 for Crowe.

1637 German pilot Werner Steinhäuser, with Jasta 11, destroys a British observation balloon for victory number 2.

German 4-victory pilot Eberhard Stapenhorst, in Fokker Dr.I 144/17 is brought down by anti-aircraft fire during a balloon attack and taken prisoner.

[Jimbuna]

14th January 1918

Western Front

British bomb successfully, by day, Karlsruhe, Thionville and Metz area.

French repulse attacks on Chaume Wood and make successful raid in Lorraine.

British raid north of Lens.

Eastern Front

Von Kuhlmann warns Russians that German terms have now reached extreme limit.

Attempted assassination of Lenin at Petrograd.

Southern Front

Italians advance east of Brenta Valley in Asolone District and to lesser extent in Piave Delta.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Tafile, south-east of Dead Sea, captured by Hejaz troops.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Yarmouth bombarded by enemy destroyers; six killed, six injured.

Political, etc.

House of Commons reassembles. Sir A. Geddes introduces Man-power Bill.

Allies sign wheat convention with Argentine.

Former French Premier Joseph Caillaux is put under arrest on charges of treason.

Ship Losses:

Alster (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) east south east of Noss Head, Shetland Islands by SM UB-62 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Arthur Capel (France) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 14 nautical miles (26 km) north west of Barfleur, Manche (49°52′N 0°47′W) by SM UB-80 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Babin Chevaye (France) The barque was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 30 nautical miles (56 km) west south west of Penmarc'h, Finistère (47°36′N 5°07′W) by SM U-93 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Centauro (Greece) The cargo ship ran aground at Estepona, Andalusia, Spain and was wrecked.
HMS G8 (Royal Navy) The G-class submarine was lost in the North Sea on this date.
Miranda (United Kingdom) The trawler was wrecked in Pelwick Bay.
SM UB-63 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UB III submarine departed for a patrol in the North Sea and Irish Sea. No further trace, lost with all 33 crew.

[Sailor Steve]

January 14, 1918

Air War:

1030 German ace Fritz Pütter, flying with Jasta 9, destroys a French observation balloon for victory number 8.

1100 Italian ace Silvio Scaroni, in an Hanriot HD.I, shoots down an Aviatik (Berg) D.I for victory number 10. Fw Karl Cislaghi is taken prisoner.

1155 English RFC pilot George Cox, over the Italian Front in Sopwith Camel B2411, shoots down a two-seater for victory number 2.

1500 Australian RFC pilot Cedric Ernest Howell, in Sopwith Camel B4609, shoots down an Albatros D.III for victory number 1. There may be no connection, but Ltn Theodor Wrege is shot down and killed this day.

1535 German pilot Josef Schwendemann, with Jasta 41, shoots down a French-flown Sopwith 1½ Strutter for victory number 2. Sgt Louis Silberman and Sgt Liauzu are both listed as Missing.

1540 German pilot Hermann Reisch, flying with Jasta 41, shoots down a French-flown Sopwith 1½ Strutter for victory number 1. Brig Victor Piel and MdL Ruse are both listed as Missing.

Italian pilots Attilio Imolesi and Antonio Reali, both in Nieuport 27s, share a victory over a two-seater. Number 6 for Imolesi, number 1 for Reali.

Italian pilot Cosimo Rennella, in a Nieuport 17, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 3.

[Jimbuna]

15th January 1918

Western Front

Results of Cambrai enquiry published.

Eastern Front

Bolsheviks issue 24 hours' ultimatum to Romania. Corps Diplomatique secure release of Ambassador. Arrest of King of Romania ordered by Bolsheviks.

Southern Front

Austrian counter-attacks on new Italian positions are repulsed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Considerable air and patrol activity in Palestine.

Amman (Hejaz railway) bombed.

Naval

Construction begins on the HMS Hermes, the first ship designed as an aircraft carrier, at Walker, Tyneside, England.


Political, etc.

Draft of compulsory rationing scheme issued to Control Committees.

U.S.A.: War labour administrator appointed.

Strikes in Austria.

Ship Losses:

Bonanova (Spain) The coaster was damaged in the Mediterranean 8 nautical miles (15 km) off Cape Farrara (43°11′N 4°37′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was towed into Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France where she was declared a constructive total loss.
HMT Ethnee (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
HMML 278 (Royal Navy) The motor launch was lost on this date.
Spital (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 28 nautical miles (52 km) south west by west of St Anthony Head, Cornwall by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine.
War Song (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 12 nautical miles (22 km) west of the Île de Sein, Finistère, France (48°02′N 5°10′W) by SM U-93 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of sixteen of her crew.
Westpolder (Netherlands) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by
U 79 (Karl Thouret) and sank in the North Sea west of Scheveningen, South Holland (52°11′N 3°57′E).[77] Six of her eighteen crew were killed.

[Sailor Steve]

January 15, 1918

Air War:

Italian pilot Cosimo Rennella, flying a Nieuport 17, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 4.

[Jimbuna]

16th January 1918

Western Front

Successful French raid south-east Verdun.

British again bomb Metz.

Eastern Front

Settlement in principle arrives at between Central Powers and Ukraine.

Southern Front

Austrians attack on Italian positions at Cape Sile (lower Piave) repulsed with heavy loss.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Hospital ship "Rewa": Spanish Commissioner guarantees all conditions were observed.

Political, etc.

U.S.A. publishes documents referring to Caillaux case.

Prussian Finance Minister Hergt declares sufficient American troops cannot reach Europe.

Committee of Enquiry into expenditure of Government Departments announced.

Romania ignores Soviet Russia's ultimatum from yesterday, heightening tensions between Romania and Russia soldiers still stationed in the country.

Ship Losses:

HMT John E. Lewis (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 11 (Ferdinand Schwartz) and sank in the North Sea off the Cork Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°54′N 1°24′E) with the loss of two of her crew.
Genevieve (France) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 12 nautical miles (22 km) north west of St Ives, Cornwall, United Kingdom (50°23′N 5°20′W) by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

January 16, 1918

Air War:

German pilot Uffz Eggebrecht, flying for Jasta 25, destroys an observation balloon for his only victory. further details, including his first name, are unknown.

[Jimbuna]

17th January 1918

Naval and Overseas Operations

War Office announces progress in East Africa.

Political, etc.

At Brest-Litovsk, Central Powers reject Soviet Russia’s proposal that armies of the Central Powers leave occupied areas before official peace is concluded.

U.S. government orders all factories east of the Mississippi River and in Minnesota and Louisiana to close for five days, starting on the 18th, as a measure to combat coal shortages.

Ship Losses:

Kingsdyke (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 20 nautical miles (37 km) north east by east of Cape Barfleur, Manche, France by SM UB-80 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of sixteen of her crew.
Windsor Hall (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean 45 nautical miles (83 km) north west of Alexandria, Egypt by SM UB-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the kloss of 27 crew. Her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.

[Sailor Steve]

January 17, 1918

Air War:

0920 Canadian RFC pilot Austin Lloyd Fleming and Scottish ace observer Frederick Knowles, flying Bristol F.2b A7192. sjppt dpwm a Ger,am twp-seater. Victory number 1 for Fleming, number 6 for Knowles.

[Jimbuna]

18th January 1918

Western Front

German raids near Neuve Chapelle and Lens repulsed.

Eastern Front

Bolsheviks send further two hours' ultimatum to Romania demanding passage of troops.

Germany refuses undertaking to withdraw troops from Russia.

Constituent Assembly meets in Petrograd and denounces Bolsheviks.

Southern Front

Italian patrols active on Asiago plateau.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British advance at Dura, 12 miles north of Jerusalem.

Arabs capture important Turkish convoy east of Medina.

British bomb Samaria.

Naval

HMS Cavendish (later HMS Vindictive), Royal Navy cruiser converted into an aircraft carrier, is launched. The ship later in the year after completion:


Political, etc.

Mr. Lloyd George again addresses Man-power Conference.

Australia: Mr. Hughes' Government defeats "No confidence" vote.

Hungary: Serious strikes in Budapest.

All passenger railroad traffic in Germany is reduced by 60 percent in order to free up capacity for the transport of soldiers and war-related materials.

Factories in the U.S., with the exception of those engaged in war work, will be shut down for 5 days, starting today, on order by the government to conserve coal supplies.

Ship Losses:

HMS Blackcock (Royal Navy) The Admiralty tug ran aground near Tsip Navalock, Russia and was abandoned. She was later crushed by ice and sank.
HMT Gambri (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 71 (Ernst Steindorff) and sank in the English Channel 0.75 nautical miles (1,390 m) off the Royal Sovereign Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of 21 of her crew.
Maria P. (United Kingdom) The barquentine was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean 75 nautical miles (139 km) west of Cape Mannu, Sardinia, Italy (39°52′N 6°36′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Ville de Bordeaux (French Navy) The troopship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Caccia, Sardinia (40°29′N 6°49′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eight lives.
SM UB-66 (Kaiserliche Marine) German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy was sunk by HMS Campanula (38°30′N 24°25′E) on 18 January 1918, 30 crew members died in the event.

[Sailor Steve]

January 18, 1918

British tug Blackcock sails from Vardo for Murmansk with passengers. At 0745 on the 18th she runs aground. Passengers and some crew walk to Tsip Navalock. Dog-sled party rescues remaining crew. All survive.

Air War:

0920 English RFC pilot Reginald Maxwell, flying Sopwith Camel B6403, shoots down an Albatros D.V for victory number 5.

1020 German pilot Otto von Breiten-Landenburg, with Jasta 6, shoots down a "Sopwith" (actual type unknown) for victory number 5.

1025 German ace Erich Löwenhardt, in a Pfalz D.III, shoots down a Bristol F.2b for victory number 10.

1120 German pilot Karl Gallwitz, with Jasta 2, shoots down Sopwith Camel B4629 for victory number 5. 2nd Lt A.E. Wylie is killed.

1125 German pilot Ulrich Neckel, with Jasta 12, shoots down an Armstrong-Whitworth FK.8 for victory number 4. 2nd Lts W.K. Fenn-Smith and N.L. Cornforth are both killed.

1130 Two RFC Bristol F.2b crews share a victory over a German two-seater:
A7196, Lt D.B. Aitken and Lt A.J. Barbe.
A7198, Austin Lloyd Fleming, Canada, victory number 2, Frederick Knowles, Scotland, victory number 7.

[Jimbuna]

19th January 1918

Western Front

Raids and counter raids in Cambrai sector.

Political, etc.

In Britain, it is announced that compulsory rationing will go into effect on February 25th.

The democratically-elected Russian Constituent Assembly declares the founding of the Russian Democratic Federative Republic. However, the Assembly is soon dissolved by the Soviet government, making the declaration moot.

Ship Losses:

HMS H10 (Royal Navy) The H-class submarine was lost in the North Sea.
Trocas (United Kingdom) The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) north east of the Skyro Lighthouse, Greece by SM UC-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 24 of her crew.
SM UB-22 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UB II submarine struck a mine and sank in the Heligoland Bight (54°27′N 6°35′E) with the loss of all 22 crew.

[Sailor Steve]

January 19, 1918

Air War:

1000 German pilot Hans Joachim von Hippel, flying with Jasta 5, shoots down Sopwith Camel B6523 for victory number 2. Lt F.M. Ohrt is taken prisoner. This is von Hippel's last confirmed aerial victory, though he will have two more unconfirmed. He will survive the war and keep flying, piloting Ju.52s in World War 2, and live until 1975.

1020 Canadian RFC pilot George Howsam, in Sopwith Camel B5598, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 2.

1025 English RFC pilot John Lightfoot Trollope, in Sopwith Camel B6210, shoots down a DFW C.V for victory number 1.

1110 French pilot Jean Dubois de Gennes, in a SPAD, shoots down a German fighter (unnamed) for victory number 2.

1115 English RFC pilot Gwilym Lewis, in SE.5a C9534, shoots down an Albatros D.V for victory number 4.

1120 English RFC observer Tom Cecil Noel, riding in a Bristol F.2b with Cpt N.V. Harrison as pilot, shoots down an Albatros D.V for victory number 1.

1145 German pilot Ltn Koch (no first name given), with Jasta 12, shoots down Sopwith Camel B6208 for victory number 1. Lt C.N. Madely is killed.

1205 Canadian RFC pilot William Harrison, in SE.5a B22, shoots down a DFW C.V for victory number 2.

1205 Irish RFC pilot George McElroy, in SE.5a B598, shoots down a DFW C.V for victory number 3.

1235 German ace Bruno Loerzer, in Albatros D.V 2299/17, shoots down Bristol F.2b A7193 for victory number 22. 2nd Lt B. Starfield and Lt A Hutchinson are both killed.

1445 German ace Karl Gallwitz, in an Albatros D.III, shoots down Sopwith Camel B2468 for victory number 7. 2nd Lt E.T. Baker is killed.

1420 German pilot Otto Hohmuth, flying an Albatros D.V, destroys a French observation balloon for victory number 4.

1425 French ace René Fonck, in a SPAD, shoots down a German fighter for victory number 20.

1430 German pilot Max Krauss (4 victories) is killed over Blankaart See in combat with two-seater.

1435 René Fonck scores his second victory of the day, shooting down another "Scout" for number 21.

1610 German ace Fritz Pütter, with Jasta 9 (probably an Albatros D.III), shoots down a Nieuport for victory number 9. Adj H. Variot is killed.

English RFC pilot Thomas Colvill-Jones, flying a Bristol F.2b with 2nd Lt L.H. Phelps as observer, shoots down an Albatros D.V for victory number 4.

French pilot Pierre Marinovitch, in a Nieuport 24, shoots down an Albatros D.V for victory number 5.

American pilot David Endicott Putnam, flying a SPAD XIII for the French Air Service, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 1.

French pilot François de Rochechouart de Mortemart, in a SPAD, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 1.

[Jimbuna]

20th January 1918

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Samaria again bombed.

Troops of King of Hejaz active.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Naval action at entrance to Dardanelles: German cruiser "Breslau" and British monitor "Raglan" sunk and "Goeben" damaged.


H.M.S. "Mechanician" torpedoed in English Channel.

Two German destroyers mined in North Sea.

Political, etc.

General strike in Austria-Hungary wanes, as people return to work. However, demonstrations continue in Bohemia and Moravia, fueled by rising Czech nationalism.

Ship Losses:

SMS A73 (Kaiserliche Marine) The A-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Jutland, Denmark with the loss of 40 of her 57 crew.
SMS A77 (Kaiserliche Marine) The A-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Jutland with the loss of all 33 crew.
Faustina B. (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean east of Sardinia by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Hirondelle (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the English Channel north of Le Tréport, Seine-Maritime by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMS M28 (Royal Navy) The M15-class monitor was shelled and sunk by Midilli and Yavûz Sultân Selîm (both Ottoman Navy) with the loss of eleven of her 69 crew.
HMS Mechanician (Royal Navy) The escort ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) west of St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight by SM UB-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of thirteen of her crew.
Midilli (Ottoman Navy) The Magdeburg-class cruiser struck five mines and sank in the Ionian Sea with the loss of 330 of her 492 crew.
HMS Raglan (Royal Navy) The Abercrombie-class monitor was shelled and sunk by Midilli and Yavûz Sultân Selîm (both Ottoman Navy) with the loss of 127 of her 198 crew.
SMS S16 (Kaiserliche Marine) The V1-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of 80 of her crew.
Yavûz Sultân Selîm (Ottoman Navy) The Moltke-class battlecruiser struck three mines in the Aegean Sea and was beached at Nagara Point, in the Dardanelles. She was later repaired and returned to service.

[Sailor Steve]

January 20, 1918

Air War:

1510 German pilot Hans Joachim Rolfes, flying with Jasta 45, shoots down a French Nieuport for victory number 2. American Cpl Harry F. Johnson is wounded.

German pilot Emil Meinecke, with FA 6 over Turkey, shoots down a Sopwith Baby for victory number 4.