100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

22nd December 1916

Eastern Front

Romania: Enemy concentrating at Ramnicu, Sarat; hard fighting; Russian retreat to Danube completed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British positions south of Kut consolidated; second air raid on Baghela; also on Beersheba.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British ships again shell mouth of Struma (Gulf of Orfano).

British submarine HMS E30 hits a mine in the North Sea and sinks with the death of all 30 crew.


Aviation



Political, etc.

French Chamber of Deputies approve new taxes on theatre and vaudeville tickets to cover the costs of war.

King George V makes a speech proroguing Parliament, stating the war will go on until victory.


Ship Losses:

Amedée (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the English Channel 35 nautical miles (65 km) north of the Triagoz Lighthouse, Finistère by SM UC-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Avanti (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay off the north coast of Spain by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all hands.
Dansborg (Denmark) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel (49°40′N 3°48′W) by SM UC-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS E30 (Royal Navy) The E-class submarine struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Orford Ness, Suffolk with the loss of all 30 crew.
Hroptatyr (Denmark) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) west north west of Guernsey, Channel Islands (49°37′N 3°00′W) by SM UC-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

December 22, 1916

Air War:
1030 English pilot William Hastings Farrow and Lt F.C. Brooks, in Armstrong-Whitworth FK.3 5528, shoot down a German two-seater for victory 1.



English Channel:
Wilhelm Kiel, commanding UC-18, sinks three Allied ships:
French schooner Amadée, 130 tons, bound from Binic for Cardiff; scuttled.
Danish freighter SS Dansborg, 2,242 tons, carrying a load of coal from Sunderland to Lisbon.
Danish freighter SS Hroptatyr, 1,300 tons, en route from Tyne to Oran with a load of coal.
Kiel's score is now 26 ships and 23,418 tons.

British freighter SS Araby, 3,303 tons, is wrecked at Boulogne and breaks in two.



North Sea:
Norwegian tug Smart, 27 tons, is towing barge Trancit XXIII, with a load of paper, from Bergen to Sævareid. Caught in a storm, Smart's engine breaks down and both vessels are forced ashore at Sandholmane.



Bay of Biscay:
Otto Wünsche, in U-70, attacks two ships off the north Spanish coast:
Italian freighter SS Avanti, either 1,673 or 1,723 tons, travelling from Villaricos to Tyne with a load of iron ore, sunk with all hands and listed as missing.
Norwegian freighter SS Thyra, 749 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardiff to Oporto; captured. Thyra will be kept until December 29th, when an attempt is made to scuttle her. The ship survives, however, and is towed to port.
Wünsche now has 32 ships and 42,230 tons.



Canada:
Canadian schooner Sam Slick, 88 tons, en route from Parrsboro, Nova Scotia to Digby, NS, runs aground near Bay View, outside of Digby.

[Jimbuna]

23rd December 1916

Western Front

Hostile activity in Champagne.

Eastern Front

Fierce struggle for Moldavian frontier positions.

Russians from Dobruja retire to Bessarabia, leaving some troops at Macin (Braila).

Southern Front

Bad weather last fortnight on Italian front.

Two successful British attacks along Doiran front (Macedonia).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British capture Magdhaba (Sinai), destroying practically whole Turkish force of 3,000. Further success to the south at Mitla Pass and Abu Aweigila.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Hostile naval night-raid in Straits of Otranto. No material damage.

Political, etc.

Count Czernin succeeds Baron Burian as Foreign Minister (Austria).

Austria-Hungary bans luxury imports, such as fruits, champagne, chocolate, silk, furs, toys, jewelry, perfumes, & musical instruments.

French government admits that the nation is facing a severe coal shortage due to the war and difficulties in transportation.

President Wilson offers to abandon America’s isolationist policy if it is done to bring peace in Europe.

Ship Losses:

Frigga (Sweden) The cargo ship, en route from Rauma, Finland to Stockholm, struck a mine and sunk in the Baltic Sea off the Valkyakari lightship. One crew member was killed in the explosion.
Marques di Urquijo (Spain) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 50 nautical miles (93 km) north of Bilbao, Biscay (44°12′N 3°31′W) by SM U-46 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Thistleban (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by U 73 (Gustav Sieß) and was damaged in the Mediterranean Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) north north west of Alexandria, Egypt. She was beached but was declared a total loss.
William Middleton (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was damaged in the Bristol Channel 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) north north west of Lundy Island, Devon by SM UC-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached, but was later repaired and returned to service.

Cover of the “Scientific American” showing “an observatory car suspended from a zeppelin airship.”

[Sailor Steve]

December 23, 1916

Bristol Channel:
Friedrich Moecke, commanding UC-46, stops British freighter SS William Middleton, 2,543 tons, travelling in ballast from Boulogne to Dublin. Scutttling charges are laid and detonated, but the damaged ship is beached and later salvaged.



North Sea:
Norwegian schooner Stanley, 309 tons bound from Hartlepool for Sandefjord with a load of coal and coke, springs a leak and is abandoned.



Gulf of Bothnia:
Swedish coaster SS Frigga, 386 tons, en route from Rauma to Stockholm, hits a mine laid by an unknown source.
Wrecksite.eu lists U-27, but Uboat.net has no ship of that name attributed to U-27, nor to any boat in December 1916.



Bay of Biscay:
Alfred Saalwächter, in U-46, sinks Spanish freighter SS Marques de Urquijo, 2,170 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Bilbao to Middlesbrough. His score is now 6 ships and 12,385 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Otto Hersing, in U-21, torpedoes British freighter SS Benalder, 3,044 tons, travelling from Manil to Marseilles with a general cargo. The damaged ship reaches Alexandria safely.

British freighter SS Thistleban, 4,117 tons, en route from Karachi to Hull with a load of rapeseed, linseed and peas, hits a mine laid off Alexandria by Gustav Seiß in U-73. His score is now 13 ships and 94,541 tons.



United States:
Canadian schooner Alcaea, 99 tons, travelling from Liverpool, Nova Scotia to Elizabeth Port, Massachussetts, runs aground off Yarmouth, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.



Atlantic Ocean:
American Great Lakes freighter SS Portland, 2,286 tons, travelling in ballast from Le Havre to New York, is abandoned in a storm.

[Jimbuna]

24th December 1916

Eastern Front

Battle continues near Ramnicu Sarat.

Southern Front

Lively British raids on Doiran front.

Political, etc.

General Hubert Lyautey is officially named the new French Minister of War.


Ship Losses:

HMT Abelard (Royal Navy) The naval trawler sank at Plymouth, Devon, possibly through striking a mine. Salvage efforts were abandoned on 11 January 1917.
Bargany (United Kingdom) The coaster was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) north of Ouessant, Finistère, France (48°52′N 5°19′W) by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Harry W. Adams (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 46 nautical miles (85 km) north west by west of Cape Villano, Spain by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

December 24, 1916

Air War:
Royal Flying Corps 54 Squadron takes the first RFC Sopwith Pups to France. The Pup has been operating with the Royal Naval Air Service since October.

1120 French ace Alfred Heurtaux, flying a SPAD VII, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 14.

1530 German pilot Ernst Udet, in Fokker D.III 1017/16, shoots down a Caudron G.IV for victory number 3.

In an earlier D.III, 368/16, Udet experimented with a tinplate fake rear gunner.


1640 German pilot George Strasser, in Albatros D.II 1712/16, shoots down a Caudron for victory number 1.



Bristol Channel:
British tanker SS Paul Paix, 4,196 tons, travelling in ballast from Dunkirk to Swansea, hits a mine laid off Mumbles Head by Friedrich Moecke in UC-46. The damaged ship manages to make it safely to port.



English Channel:
Ralph Wenninger, commanding UC-17, sinks British freighter SS Bargany, 872 tons, bound from Cardiff for Lorient with a load of coal, north of Ushant. His score is now 33 ships and 14,238 tons.

His Majesty's Trawler Abelard, 187 tons, is wrecked off Plymouth.



Bay of Biscay:
Otto Wünsche, in U-70, stops British schooner Harry W. Adams, carrying a load of codfish from Burin, Newfoundland to Corunna. After the crew abandon ship Wünsche sinks it with his deck gun. This takes place off Cape Vilano, Spain, and Wünsche's score is now 33 ships and 42,357 tons.



Gulf of Cadiz:
American schooner Fannie Palmer, 2,233 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newport News, Virginia to Cartagena, Spain, founders west of Gibraltar.

[Jimbuna]

25th December 1916

Western Front

British take over more French line.

Eastern Front

Severe fighting west of Lower Sereth; Macin bridgehead attacked.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Armenian front: fighting round Van.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Combined offensive (in East Africa) by Generals Northey and van Deventer begins, pushing enemy east and south.

Political, etc.

King's Christmas message.

Kaiser Wilhelm prays: “God bless the third war Christmas of all those away in the field and of those at home in our dear fatherland!”

Tsar replies to German Peace overtures.

Premiers of self-governing Colonies and Indian representatives invited to War Conference.

Coalition Government formed in Romania, including M. Take Jonescu.

Ship Losses:

Boavista (Denmark) The barque was wrecked at Boa Vista, Cape Verde Islands with the loss of a crew member.
Courlis (France) The schooner was sunk in the English Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) north east of the Île Vierge Lighthouse, Finistère by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Hiram (Russia) The barquentine was driven ashore on Nevis and was wrecked.
Marie Pierre (France) The schooner was set afire and sunk in the Bay of Biscay (44°42′N 3°10′W) by SM U-46 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

December 25, 1916

Air War:
German pilot Otto Brauneck, flying an Albatros C.III with an Oberleutnant Geissler as observer, claims an "Enemy Aircraft", but it is unconfirmed.



English Channel:
Ralph Wenninger, commanding UC-17, stops and scuttles French schooner Courlis, 181 tons, bound from Lisbon for Palmol with a load of salt and wine. Wenninger's score is now 34 ships and 14,419 tons.



Gulf of Bothnia:
German freighter SS Cremon, 1,074 tons, travelling from Söderhamn to Germany, runs aground at Lövgrund, Sweden.



Bay of Biscay:
Alfred Saalwächter, in U-46, sinks French schooner Marie Pierre, 166 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Bayonne to Swansea. The crew are transferred to captured trawler Goulfar and Marie Pierre is set afire off the north Spanish coast. Saalwächter's score is now 7 ships and 12,551 tons.



Pacific Ocean:
British freighter SS Maitai, 3,393 tons, en route from San Francisco to Wellington, is wrecked at Raratonga.



Canada:
Canadian schooner Palmette, 98 tons, travelling from Clarks Harbour, Nova Scotia to Gloucester, Massachusetts, runs aground at Clarks Harbour.



United States:
American schooner Daniel McLoud, 253 tons, carrying a load of coal from New York to Boothbay, Maine, runs aground at the north end of Nantucket, Massachussetts.

American schooner Ravola, 123 tons, travelling from New York to Annapolis, Maryland with a load of coal, runs aground at the south end of Nantucket.



Caribbean Sea:
Russian schooner Hiram, 288 tons, travelling from Demarara, British Guiana to Liverpool, runs aground at Nevis.



Cape Verde Islands:
Danish barque Atlanta, 1,101 tons, travelling from Aalborg, Denmark to Santos, Brazil with a load of 1,450 tons of cement, runs aground at Boa Vista Island.

[Jimbuna]

26th December 1916

Western Front

General Joffre created a Marshal of France.

Eastern Front

Heavy shelling of Russian positions in Galicia.

Severe fighting along whole Romanian front.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Mesopotamia: Weather broken; operations much hindered.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Naval aeroplanes bomb Turkish camps at Galata (Dardanelles).

Naval air-raid on Zeebrugge.

Political, etc.

Germany's reply to President Wilson's Note of 20 December handed to U.S.A. at Berlin.

Austria-Hungary delivers similar reply.

Charles I of Austria prepares for his formal coronation. Princess Zita, his wife, will wear a gown worth $10,000.

Governor General von Beseler orders the creation of the Polish State Credit Bank.

German school children also contribute to the war effort by subscribing $475,000 to the new German war loan.

Ship Losses:

Agnes (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the Irish Sea 15 nautical miles (28 km) south west by west of St. Ann's Head, Pembrokeshire by SM UC-46 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Johan (Denmark) The barque was scuttled in the English Channel 22 nautical miles (41 km) north north west of the Casquets, Channel Islands by SM U-79 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Neptune (Belgium) The trawler was sunk in the Irish Sea off the Smalls Lighthouse by SM UC-46 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Saint Louis (France) The schooner struck a mine laid by UC 46 (Friedrich Moecke) and sank in the Irish Sea 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km) south of Mumbles Head, Glamorgan, United Kingdom (51°31′N 3°59′W) with the loss of three of her crew.
Spinaway (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 42 nautical miles (78 km) north west of Cape Villano, Spain (43°06′N 10°03′W) by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

"The Curse Of The World" (Western Mail cartoon).

[Sailor Steve]

December 26, 1916

Air War:
0945 French ace Georges Guynemer, flying a SPAD VII, shoots down a Halberstadt two-seater for victory number 24

0945 French ace Alfred Heurtaux, in a SPAD VII, shoots down an Aviatik two-seater for victory number 15.

0950 Canadian RFC observer James Robert Smith, riding as observer in FE.2b A5458 with pilot 2nd Lt W.F. MacDonald, shoots down an Albatros D.II for victory number 1.

0950 English RFC pilot Edmund Leonard Zink, flying an FE.2b with a Lt Mahew as observer, shoots down an Albatros D.II for victory number 1.

1000 English RNAS pilot Robert John Orton Compston, in Nieuport Scout 8750 (sources are unclear on the model), shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 1.

1055 German ace Renatus Theiller, flying an Albatros D.II, downs an FE.2b for victory number 7.

1115 German pilot Erich König, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down a BE.2c for victory number 3.

1120 German pilot Dieter Collin, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down a BE.12 for victory number 2.

1210 German pilot Hans Bethge, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down a BE.2d for victory number 3.

1210 German pilot Paul Bona, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down a BE.12 for victory number 1.

1230 English pilot Selden Long, flying DH.2 A305, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 5. Aiding him is 2nd Lt F.B. Sedgewick.

1355 German ace Hans Karl Müller, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down a BE.2c for victory number 9. During this fight Müller recieves a severe stomach wound, ending his combat flying career. After the war he will immigrate to Mexico and run a flying school there until 1931. He will then move to San Antonio, Texas where he will die in 1977.

1515 German ace Erwin Böhme, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down a BE.2c for victory number 8. On a bombing mission with no observer, William Henry Hubbard manages to land on his own side of the lines.

German pilot Alfred Ulmer, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down Nieuport 12 A3924 for vicrtory number 3.



Bristol Channel:
Friedrich Moecke, commanding UC-46, scuttles Belgian naval trawler Neptune, 199 tons.
Brtitish schooner Agnes, 99 tons, carrying a load of oats from Waterford to Gloucester, hits a mine laid by Moecke off Ann's head.
French schooner Saint Louis, 184 tons, bound from Swansea for Bordeaux with a load of coal, hits a mine laid off Mumbles Head by Moecke.
His score is now 7 ships and 9,369 tons.



English Channel:
Heinrich Jeß, in U-79, scuttles Danish barque Johan, 828 tons, en route from Montego Bay, Jamaaica to Le Havre with a load of logwood, near the western end of the Channel. His score is now 2 ships and 5,786 tons.



Spain:
Otto Wünsche, in U-70, scuttles British schooner Spin-Away, 95 tons, travelling from Burgeo, Newfoundland to Figueira, Portugal with a load of codfish. His score is now 34 ships and 42,452 tons.

[Jimbuna]

27th December 1916

Western Front

Big French air-raids on German industrial works (Rhineland, etc.).

Eastern Front

Falkenhayn takes Ramnicu Sarat.

In the Dobruja, the Bulgars seize position east of Macin.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Naval seaplanes destroy Chikaldir Bridge (Baghdad Railway), Gulf of Alexandretta.

French battleship "Gaulois" torpedoed in Mediterranean.


Political, etc.

Britain contracts to buy all the exportable supply of New Zealand meat until three months until the end of the war.

Germany reassures Switzerland that it will continue to respect Swiss neutrality.

King Alfonso of Spain persuades Germany to send home some Belgian civilians who were deported as forced labour.

Germany limits the sale of "deluxe" shoes to two pairs per person per year, and only if old pairs are turned in.

Three Scandinavian Governments agree to present Note to Belligerents in support of peace efforts.

Franco-British Agreement re: temporary administration of Togoland.

Ship Losses:

Aislaby (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Bay of Biscay 10 nautical miles (19 km) off Estaca Point, Galicia, Spain by SM U-46 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived, but her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
Copsewood (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 34 nautical miles (63 km) south south west of The Lizard, Cornwall (49°19′N 5°49′W) by SM U-79 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Gaulois (French Navy) The Charlemagne-class battleship was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea off Cape Maleas, Greece (36°15′N 23°42′E) by SM UB-47 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her 668 crew.
Goulfar (Germany) The depôt ship was scuttled on this day. Formerly a French trawler, she was captured on 24 December in the Bay of Biscay north of Spain (43°54′N 7°34′W) by SM U-46 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Ida (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles (93 km) south of the Wolf Rock, Cornwall (48°56′N 5°50′W) by SM U-79 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Maud (France) The schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal (42°07′N 10°32′W) by SM UC-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Editorial Cartoon: The 'Peace on Earth' spirit ─ Chicago Tribune

[Sailor Steve]

December 27, 1916

Air War:
1115 English ace John Quested, flying FE.2b 7666 with Lt H.J. Dicksee as observer, shoots down an Albatros D.I for victory number 7. German 9-kill ace Gustav Leffers is killed.

1120 Austrian pilot Augustin Novak, flying Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 27.01 with Alexander Souhrada as observer, shoots down a Farman two-seater for victory number 1.

1145 French ace Georges Guynemer, in a SPAD VII, shoots down an Albatros (single or two-seat unknown) for victory number 25.

1220 German pilot Wilhelm Cymera, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down FE.2b 7666 for victory number 1. English ace John Quested manages to land his plane safely behind his own lines. Due to the time difference in the logs, this is actually 1120 British time, or five minutes after Quested and Dicksee shot down Gustav Leffers.

1225 English Ace Selden Long, in DH.2 7930, shoots down an Albatros D.II for victory number 6.

1355 French ace Alfred Heurtaux, in a SPAD VII, shoots down a Rumpler two-seater for victory number 16.

1515 Augustin Novak flies a second mission with August Kosutic as bomber. They are attacked by two Farmans and shoot them both down. Novak now has 3 victories and Kosutic 2.

1625 German ace Manfred von Richthofen, flying Albatros D.II 491/16, claims a plane shot down for victory number 15, but there is some confusion over this claim. According to Richthofen:

At 1615, five planes of our staffel attacked enemy squadron south of Arras. The enemy approached our lines, but was thrown back. After some fighting I managed to attack a very courageously flown Vickers two-seater. After 300 shots, enemy plane began dropping, uncontrolled. I pursued the plane up to 1,000 metres above the ground. Enemy plane crashed to ground on enemy side, one kilometre behind trenches near Ficheaux.

The problem is that the only FE.2 confirmed to have been downed was that of Quested and Dicksee, and they were definitely brought down by Cymera. An interesting connection is the log of James McCudden, flying a DH.2:

Going east of Arras I saw five HA (Hostile Aircraft). Lt Jennings attacked an HA and another HA was approaching from behind. I fired about 15 shots and drove him off. He turned and came towards me firing. I opened fire at 100 yards and after about eight shots my gun stopped, due to cross feed. As the hostile machine was engaging me at close range, I turned on my back and dived vertically, in a slow spin and in this way regained our lines. At 800 feet over Basseaux the HA left me. I quickly rectified the stoppage and followed the HA across the trenches at 2,000 feet. Owing to his superior speed and climb he out distanced me and rejoined his patrol at about 5,000 feet. The hostile patrol then withdrew.

Captain Harold James Payn was part of the British patrol and reported having seen McCudden going down, apparently out of control. Payn thought McCudden was dead, and was surprised when he returned unharmed. Richthofen's "kill" was confirmed by some German AA gunners who may have mistaken another fight involving some BE.2s with Richthofen's fight with the DH.2s, both of which are pushers. Richthofen had also suffered a disappointment when he reached the magic number '8' for the Pour le Merite right after the Powers That Be had raised the requirement to 16 victories. Whatever the reason, it seems that his number 15 was not actually a "kill" at all.
Under the Guns of the Red Baron, Norman Franks, Hal Giblin and Nigel McCrery

1810 French aircrew Jean Loste, Lt P. Barbeau and Louis Martin, in a three-seat Caudron, shoot down an "Enemy Aircraft". Victory number 6 for Loste, 3 for Barbeau and 5 for Martin.

French pilot Jan Derode, in a Nieuport, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.

German pilot Rudolf von Eschwege, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down Farman F31131 for victory number 2. Von Eschwege is the only German pilot flying on the Macedonian (Greek) front, and will become known as "The Eagle of the Aegean".

French pilots Marcel Hauss and Adj Balin, in Nieuports, team up to brong down an inidentified fighter. Victory number 1 for both.

Russian pilot Ivan Loiko, in a Nieuport 11, shoots down a Hansa-Brandenburg C.I for victory number 2.



English Channel:
Heinrich Jeß, commanding U-79, sinks two ships at the west end of the Channel:
British freighter SS Copsewood, 599 tons, bound from Bordeaux for Middlesbrough with a load of pit props.
Norwegian freighter SS Ida, 1,300 tons, carrying a load of fruit from Valencia to Liverpool.
Jeß's score is now 4 ships and 7,785 tons.



Bay of Biscay:
Alfred Saalwächter, in U-46, sinks two Allied ships off El Ferrol, Spain:
British freighter SS Aislaby, 2,692 tons, travelling in ballast from Lisbon to Bilbao.
French trawler Goulfar, 259 tons. Goulfar had been captured on the 24th and used as a prison boat.
Saalwächter ends his first patrol with 9 ships and 15,502 tons.



Portugal:
Robert Springer begins his career in UC-34 with the sinking of French schooner Maud, 176 tons, bound from La Pallice for Lisbon.



Mediterranean Sea:
Wolfgang Steinbauer, in UB-47, torpedoes French battleship Gaulois, 11,100 tons, bringing his score to 13 ships and 54,410 tons.

[Jimbuna]

28th December 1916

Western Front

Heavy enemy attack on Mort Homme front (Verdun).

Eastern Front

Enemy pursues northwards from Ramnicu Sarat and advances to south-east.

British armoured cars engaged.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Armenia: Turks driven south of Van.

Political, etc.

President Wilson celebrates his 60th birthday today.

Ship Losses:

Oronsay (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 48 nautical miles (89 km) south east of Malta by SM UC-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived, but her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
Pitho (United Kingdom) The brigantine was scuttled in the English Channel 30 nautical miles (56 km) south east of Start Point, Devon by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Seedonis (Russia) The three-masted schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Lisbon, Portugal (38°02′N 10°26′W) by SM UC-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Union (Norway) The sailing vessel was sunk in the English Channel by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
317 (French Navy) The torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Calais with the loss of nine of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

December 28, 1916

In Tondem, Germany, two Zeppelins are destroyed by nature. L-24 is being walked into the shed when a gust of wind pushes the airship into the side of the shed and catches fire. The other Zeppelin in the shed, L-17, is also destroyed.



Air War:
Austrian aircrew of Adolf Heyrowski and Josef Pürer, in Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 29.63, shoot down a Voisin pusher. Victory number 7 for Heyrouski, number 2 for Pürer.



English Channel:
Heinrich Küstner, commanding UB-39, torpedoes French passenger ship SS Rouen, off the Casquets. The damaged ship is towed into Dieppe with 5 casualties.

British freighter SS Suffolk, 7,573 tons, carrying a load of government stores from London to Devonport, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-16 off the Oeers lightship. The damaged ship makes it safely to port.

Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, stops and scuttles two ships off Start Point:
British schooner Pitho, 150 tons, travelling from Cardiff to Cherbourg with a load of coal.
Norwegian sailing vessel Union, 563 tons, carrying a load of logwood from Aquin, Haiti to Le Havre.
Wenninger's score is now 36 ships and 15,132 tons.



Strait of Dover:
French torpedo boat Torpilleur 317 hits a mine laid off Calais by Oskar Steckelberg in UC-1. This is his first sinking.



North Sea:
Hans Howaldt, in UB-40, takes Dutch coaster SS Oldambt, 470 tons, bound from Rotterdam for London, as a prize off Hoofden. His score is now 7 ships and 4,444 tons.

British freighter SS Blonde, 613 tons, en route from North Shields to London with a load of coal, runs aground at Flamborough Head. All 17 crew are rescued.

British freighter SS Laxton, 1,017 tons, sinks following a collision off Spurn Point.



Greenland Sea:
Norwegian trawler Isrypen, 75 tons, runs aground off Svalbard.



Norwegian Sea:
Norwegian trawler Gerd, 73 tons, springs a leak and sinks off Titran, Norway.



Portugal:
Robert Sprenger, in UC-34, sinks Russian schooner Seedonis, 284 tons, en route from Garston to Seville. His score is now 2 ships and 460 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Heino von Heimburg, in UC-22, sinks British freighter SS Oronsay, 3,761 tons, bound from Calcutta for Dundee with a load of jute and manganese ore. His score is now 12 ships and 29,082 tons.



South Africa:
British freighter SS Obell, 1,797 tons, carrying a load of graphite, beans, and raffa from Madagascar to London, is wrecked off the mouth of the Banshee River.

[Jimbuna]

29th December 1916

Western Front

At Verdun, Germany troops attack French positions on a two-mile front at Le’Homme Morte and gain some ground.

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting continues on Moldavian frontier; some enemy progress in the Oitoz valley.

Enemy advance north and east from Ramnicu Sarat continued.

Political, etc.

General Haig declares that the “great victory” at the Somme proves the Allies will be able to defeat the Germans in the war.

Some members of the British Labour Party urge a 25% levy on capital and to break up large estates to raise money for the war.

French and British ministers, in Conference for last three days, arrive at complete agreement.

Germany warns its citizens that food shortages will continue next year even if the war ends.

Norway, Sweden, and Denmark express support for the U.S. proposal to mediate a peace in Europe.

Ship Losses:

Alondra (United Kingdom) The passenger-cargo ship was wrecked on Kedge Rock off Baltimore, County Cork, Ireland, with the loss of 16 crew members. Twenty-three survivors were saved by a Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat and the crews of Royal Navy trawlers lifting men up cliffs from the wreck.
Lonada (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Werner von Zerboni di Sposetti) and sank in the North Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) north by east of the Shipwash Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of six of her crew.
Tuskar (Russia) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) east of Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS Ludlow (Royal Navy) The Racecourse-class minesweeper struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Werner von Zerboni di Sposetti) and sank in the North Sea off the Shipwash Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°51′N 1°20′E) with the loss of six of her crew.