100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

21st October 1915

Western Front

British soldiers beat back a German attack near Hulluch, France with the help of heavy artillery bombardment.

Eastern Front

Germans capture Dvina bank ten miles east of Riga.

Fighting at Baranovichi (northern Polesia).

Southern Front

Germans advance west of the Morava; Bulgars take Kumanovo; French take Robrovo.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Official British losses due to U-boats is now 183 merchant vessels and 175 fishing boats.

Allied squadrons bombard Dedeagach (Aegean), Varna and Burgas (Black Sea).

Political etc.

The King goes to France.

The first trans-Atlantic wireless transmission is achieved between Arlington, Virginia and Paris.

Serbian official: “The situation grows more and more serious. The arrival of Allied troops is awaited anxiously.”

Ship Losses:

Cape Antibes ( United Kingdom): The collier struck a mine and sank in the White Sea with the loss of six of her crew.
Monitoria ( United Kingdom): The collier struck a mine and sank in the North Sea (51°47′N 1°31′E). Her crew survived.
Roi Leopold ( Belgium): The cargo ship was wrecked on the Macau Bank off Gironde, France. She was raised c.1921, repaired and returned to service.

[Sailor Steve]

October 21, 1915:

North Sea:
British freighter SS Monitoria, 1,904 tons, bound from Humber to London with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by UC-6 under Matthias von Schmettow. His score is now 13 ships and 11,438 tons.

Norwegian barque SV Cissie, 1,848 tons, en route from Hull to Port Arthur, Texas, is lost after a collision with SS Northwestern Miller, 13 miles southeast of the Nab lightvessel. Seven of her crew are lost.

UC-9, under Paul Schürmann, is destroyed by one of her own mines while laying a field off Long Sand, in the Thames Estuary. All 14 crew were lost. The Chief Engineer's body washed ahore on November 12.
(October 20 is also given by some sources)



White Sea:
British freighter SS Antibes, 2,549 tons, heading from Barry to Arkhangelsk, is sunk by a mine laid by SMS Meteor on the night of June 7-8.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

21st October 1915

The King goes to France.

FOR KING FOR COUNTRY: He got close to the fighting; viewing the battle in person from German trenches. The First World War took a toll on George's health: he was seriously injured on 28 October 1915 on one such visit; his horse rolled, breaking his pelvis, a serious injury which plagued him for the remainder of his life until 1936.

[Jimbuna]

22nd October 1915

Eastern Front

Germans advance west Chartorysk and capture Kolki.

Southern Front

Austrians take Shabats (north-west Serbia), and Bulgars Uskub (south Serbia); former cross Drina (Herzegovina).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Russian landing party beats off Germans near Domesnes (G. of Riga) and captures stores.

Political etc.

King George of Britain makes a plea asking for more recruits. “More and yet more wanted to keep my armies in the field.”

King Albert of Belgium writes to the Pope that he will never lay down his sword while his country is “in slavery.”

The 500th anniversary of the establishment of House of Hohenzollern’s rule over Brandenburg is celebrated.

Ship Losses:

Cissie ( Norway): The barque collided with another vessel in the English Channel off the Isle of Wight and sank with the loss of seven of her 22 crew.
HMT Lord Denman ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost in the Arctic Sea on this date.
HMT Scott ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Thames Estuary off the Tongue Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of three of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

October 22, 1915:

North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Scott, 288 tons, is sunk by a mine laid by UC-1, under Egon von Werner, bringing his score to 7 ships and 7,619 tons.

British tug Grappler, 690 tons, is damaged by a mine laid by UC-5 under Herbert Pustkuchen, while salvaging equipment from trawler Erin II, sunk three days earlier by a mine also laid by UC-5.

[Jimbuna]

23rd October 1915

Eastern Front

Germans storm Illukst; hard fighting near Postavi (south of Dvinsk) and on Oginski Canal (Polesia).

Southern Front

Heavy fighting Carso front.

Von Gallwitz crosses at Orsova.

Serbs beaten at Uskub and Kladovo.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British submarine sinks "Prinz Adalbert" (cruiser) near Libau (Baltic).


Germans seize Swedish steamer "Capella".

Sinking of the S.S. Marquette
In August 1914 the Marquette made her last Antwerp to Boston and Philadelphia voyage and in October 1914 briefly resumed London to New York sailings for the Atlantic Transport Line. By this time her home port of Antwerp had fallen into German hands. Her third and final voyage on the London to New York route started on December 30, 1914, and she then served as a British military transport. The Marquette was part of a convoy that sailed on October 19, 1915, from Alexandria escorted by the French Destroyer Tirailleur. She was under command of Captain John Bell Findlay, and on a routine mission to Salonika, Greece carrying 22 officers and 588 other ranks of the 29th Division Ammunition Column, Royal Field Artillery, 8 officers, 9 NCO's and 77 other ranks of the New Zealand Medical Corps, 36 nurses from No.1 New Zealand Stationary Hospital, and a crew of 95. In addition to the military and medical equipment on board her cargo included ammunition, horses, and mules. Shortly after her escort left the convoy just 35 miles from the safety of the anti-submarine nets at Salonika she encountered U:35. Steaming at a leisurely 9 knots she was struck without warning by a torpedo at 9:15 a.m. She sank 13 minutes after the torpedo struck with the loss of 167 lives. Particularly tragic was the loss of the medical personnel, who could easily have sailed in comparative safety on the hospital ship Grantilly Castle which sailed empty in the same convoy bound for the same destination. As a result of this incident medical units were prohibited from traveling in military transports. A lengthy account of the loss of the Marquette is posted on the South Canterbury NewZealandGenWeb Project website: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nz.../marquette.htm

Political, etc.

German government takes control over prices and distribution of food, previously controlled by states.

United States officials decides not to protest the German execution of British nurse Edith Cavell, stating Germany had the legal right.

Russian General Paul von Rennenkampf is forced into retirement due to failures in East Prussia last year.

Margaret Vale, actress and niece of President Wilson, representing Alaska in a suffrage parade.


Ship Losses:

Ilaro ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the English Channel 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) east of Dungeness, Kent with the loss of a crew member.
Marquette ( United Kingdom): The troopship was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea 36 nautical miles (67 km) south of Salonica, Greece by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 167 lives.
SMS Prinz Adalbert ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Prinz Adalbert-class armored cruiser was torpedoed and sunk in the Baltic Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) off Liepāja, Latvia by HMS E8 ( Royal Navy) with the loss of 672 of her 675 crew.

[Sailor Steve]

October 23, 1915:

Air War:
German pilot Hans-Joachim Buddecke, flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down BE.2c 2047. His victims, both KIA, are Captain Cecil Hoffming Marks and 2nd Lt. William George Lawrence, the younger brother of T.E. Lawrence, the future "Lawrence of Arabia".



North Sea:
British freighter SS Ilaro, 2,799 tons, bound from Forcados to Hull with a cargo of palm kernels and maize, is sunk by a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen and UC-5. Pustkuchen's score is now 12 ships and 15,939 tons.



Baltic Sea:
British submarine HMS E-8 torpedoes German armord cruiser SMS Prinz Adalbert, 8,943 long tons, 20 miles west of Liepāja (Libau). One of the ship's magazines is detonated, sinking the ship instantly with the loss of 672 of her crew. There are only 3 survivors. Prinz Adalbert had just been repaired after surviving a torpedo attack by E-9 on July 19.



Aegean Sea:
Waldemar Kophamel, commanding U-35, sinks British troopship Marquette, 7,057 tons, transporting troops and equipment from Alexandria to Salonica. His score is now 24 ships and 48,285 tons.

[mapuc]

Prinz Adalbert had its home port in Sonderburg(Sønderborg) A town in which I lived from I was 4 and until I was 11

Among those 675 who was KIA, 15 of them from Sonderburg or nearby towns

Markus

[Sailor Steve]

It's always good to be in touch with your own history, even when it was a sad event.

[Jimbuna]

24th October 1915

Western Front

French capture "La Courtine", important German work (Champagne).

Eastern Front

Germans repulsed on Lower Aa (Riga).

Southern Front

Fierce fighting east of Knyajevats; Bulgars take Prahovo and Negotin (Danube).

Italian troops, in their 3rd offensive, make limited gains northwest of Lake Garda, in the Dolomites, and hills west of Gorizia.

Aeroplanes bomb Venice.

Political etc.

The number of British volunteers yesterday was 300% higher than any other Saturday since the war’s start.

Sir Henry McMahon promises Husayn bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, Arab independence if they revolt against the Ottomans.

Russian government authorizes the Minister of Finance to secure a $2.75 billion loan ($64.8 billion today).

Ship Losses:

HMT Charity ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Isabel Monks ( United Kingdom): The coaster collided with Ydun ( Norway) in the Atlantic Ocean 17 nautical miles (31 km) off the Tuskar Rock, Ireland. Both vessels sank, their crews survived.
Rumina ( Norway): The cargo ship was captured in the Baltic Sea by U-17. She was ordered into Libau, East Prussia, Germany but struck a mine en route and sank with the loss of six lives.

Sir Ernest Shakleton’s ship, the Endurance, is forced against a large ice floe, causing water to pour in.

[Sailor Steve]

October 24, 1915:

St. George's Channel, between the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea:
British coaster SS Isabel Monks, 495 tons, bound from Garston to Waterford with a load of coal, and Norwegian freighter SS Ydun, 1,265 tons, carrying a cargo of timber from Parrsborough to Glasgow, collide of the Tuskar Rock, Ireland. Both ships are lost.



North Sea:
His Majesty's Drifter Charity, 102 tons, goes missing with all hands while en route from Yarmouth to Poole.



Baltic Sea:
Hans Walther, commanding U-17, captures Swedish freighter SS Rumina, 1,418 tons, bound from Hörnefors to London with a load of wood pulp, as a prize and orders her to Libau. On the way there the freighter hits a mine and sinks, taking six of her crew with her.

This is U-17's last sinking. She will serve the rest of the war as a training submarine. Hans Walther's next command will be U-52.

[Jimbuna]

25th October 1915

Western Front

French troops launch an attack at the Bazancourt-Challerange railroad, in order to straighten their lines in Champagne.

Eastern Front

Furious fighting near Illukst, Uxkull, Lake district and Chartorysk.

Southern Front

Italian Trentino offensice successful.

Serbs fighting Bulgars north of Pirot.

Serbs recapture Veles.

Bulgars retire on Ishtip.

Naval and Overseas Operations

French success at Sende (Cameroons).

James Martin, 14-years-old, dies in Gallipoli due to enteritis. He is the youngest Australian soldier to die in WWI.


Political etc.

Hans Freiherr von Wangenheim, German ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, dies while in office.


Ship Losses:

Selma ( Norway): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) east north east of North Foreland, Kent, United Kingdom with the loss of nineteen of her crew.
HMS Velox ( Royal Navy): The Viper-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off the Nab Lightship ( United Kingdom) (50°41′N 1°20′W) with the loss of four of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

October 25, 1915:

English Channel
HMS Velox, 380 tons, is sunk by a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen in UC-5. Velox was the third experimental turbine-powered destroyer built for the Royal Navy and the first to see active service. Pustkuchen's score is now 13 ships and 16,319 tons.



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Selma, 1,654 tons, bound from Middlsbrough to Nantes with a load of pig iron and steel plates, is sunk by a mine laid by Erwin Waßner and UC-3. Waßner's score is now 3 ships and 3,930 tons.



South Atlantic Ocean:
Norwegian barque SV Trafalgar, 1,501 tons, carrying a load of coal from Liverpool to South Georgia, catches fire and is abandoned off the coast of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

[Jimbuna]

26th October 1915

Western Front

Fight for "La Courtine" continues; enemy attack fails.

Eastern Front

Germans advance at Illukst.

Southern Front

Germans and Bulgars join at Lyubishevats (Danube).

Serbs retire from Knyajevats.

Enemy on wide front 25-40 miles south of Belgrade.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Persian Cossacks sent to help British and Russian Consuls at Kengavar (Kermanshah).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Monitor HMS TERROR laid down.

Political etc.

German occupation forces in Liege, Belgium condemn 34 people to death on charges of espionage and treason.

King George meets with French President Poincare and Minister of War Millerand at Paris.

Greek government is in crisis and split between pro-German and pro-Allied camps in the face of an imminent Bulgarian victory against Serbia.

Mr. Fisher appointed Australian High Commissioner in London.

National Registration ordered in New Zealand. Government orders all males between 16 and 60 to register under the National Registration Act by November 9th.

New York police arrest several persons in connection to an alleged German plot to blow up ships in New York harbour.

[Sailor Steve]

October 26, 1915:

Air War:
1005 hours German pilot Max Immelmann, flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down Vickers FB-5 'Gun Gus' 5462 for kill number 5. Cpt Charles Curtis Darley and 2nd Lt R.J. Slade are both wounded and taken prisoner.

???? (unknow time) French pilot Jean Navarre, flying a Morane 'N', shoots down and LVG two-seater for kill number 3.



Atlantic Ocean:
Canadian schooner Lornina, 104 tons, goes missing while en route from Esquimaux Point, Newfoundland to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a cargo of codfish.



Peruvian freighter SS Pachitea, 4,767 tons, bound from Callao to Valparaiso with a load of sugar and wine, runs aground and is wrecked on Lomas Rock, Chile.



Dardanelles:
British freighter SS Milo, 1,057 tons, is sunk as a blockship to protect the North Beach landing site from bad weather.