100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

25th May 1915

Western Front

Close of the Battle of Festubert.

2nd Battle of Ypres comes to an end with some German gains east of Ypres.

Eastern Front

Austro-Germans take bridgehead of Zagrody on the San.

Southern Front

Italians capture Monte Altinino (Trentino).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Miandob (Persia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

First U-boat attacks on ships off Gallipoli by U.21 (Lt-Cdr Otto Hersing):

Vengeance, battleship, Canopus-class, zigzagging up from Mudros to meet sister-ship Canopus and relieve her as gunfire support ship off Anzac Cove, submarines were expected in the area and a periscope was spotted at 0730 off the Dardanelles entrance, it was also seen heading north and at one point passed between battleships Swiftsure and Agamemnon, then disappeared, sea calm and visibility good. Due east of Cape Kephalo, Imbros island at 1000, Vengeance spotted a torpedo coming towards her from shorewards, swung clear and continued on to Gaba Tepe. Alarms and sightings continued during the morning.

TRIUMPH, battleship, Swiftsure-class, 11,985t, building as Chilean Libertad, launched 1903, purchased by Admiralty before completion, 4-10in/14-7.5in/14-14pdr/2-18in tt, 20kts, c700 crew, China Station 8/14, later to Mediterranean, Capt Maurice Fitzmaurice, providing gunfire support for Anzac beachhead, under way off Gaba Tepe with nets down, light guns manned and watertight doors closed, destroyer Chelmer patrolling round her at 15kts. Periscope sighted at 1225 on Triumph's starboard beam, Chelmer dashed for it, Triumph started firing but a a minute later a torpedo fired by U.21 (J - U.51) passed through the nets and hit her, almost immediately took on 10° list and continued to heel over. Chelmer came under her stern walk to take off a large number of men, capsized 10min after being hit, floated bottom-up for 30min then sank bow first just NW of Gaba Tepe off Ari Burnu/Anzac Cove. The scene was apparently so dramatic and unexpected, ANZAC and Turkish troops reportedly stopped fighting and stood to watch her end; 3 officers and 52 ratings lost (Rn/Cn/He/ke - 3 officers, 70 men lost, over 500 survivors). With the U-boat threat, continuous battleship support was no longer possible, a severe blow to the Australian and New Zealand troops.

H.M.S. "Triumph" torpedoed off Gallipoli by U-21.


American S.S. "Nebraskan" torpedoed.

Despite the British and Russian blockade against Germany, more than a 100 ships have managed to slip through.

Australian and Indian troop reinforcing Anzac Beach at Gallipoli.


Political, etc.

Prime Minister Asquith forms a new wartime coalition government by bringing in Conservatives.

Formation of Coalition Ministry; Nationalists approve refusal of Mr. John Redmond to take office.

Greece invites German and Austrian doctors into the country after King Constantine falls deathly ill.

Treaty between China and Japan.

Ship Losses:

Hernodia ( Sweden): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the Sea of Åland off Söderarm.
Rijndam ( Netherlands): The ocean liner collided with Joseph J. Cuneo ( Norway) in the Atlantic Ocean 10 nautical miles (19 km) south of the Nantucket Shoals], United States. Two hundred and thirty passengers were rescued by USS Louisiana, USS Michigan, USS South Carolina and USS Texas (all United States Navy). Rijndam was subsequently repaired and returned to service.
HMS Triumph ( Royal Navy): Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign: The Swiftsure-class battleship was torpedoed and sunk in the Dardanelles by SM U-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 78 of her 803 crew. Survivors were rescued by HMS Chelmer ( Royal Navy).

[Sailor Steve]

May 25:

Air War: Three Nieuport 10s are recorded as being in service with No. 1 Squadron RNAS.



Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Ireland: Claus Hansen, commanding U-41, torpedoes the American freighter SS Nebraskan, 4,409 tons, travelling in ballast from Liverpool to the Delaware Breakwater. The damaged ship survives the attack.



Agean Sea: Otto Hersing, in U-21, is now operating against British forces supporting the Gallipoli campagn. On this day he sinks HMS Triumph, 11,985 tons. His score is now 7 ships and 20,926 tons.



Italian Somaliland: At 0300 hours the monitors' convoy runs into a heavy fog bank. By noon the fog has lifted, and Captain Fullerton discovers that the tugs T.A. Jollife and Revenger have disappeared. T.A. Jollife had been steaming independently, and had orders to proceed to Mombassa if separated from the convoy. Revenger, on the other hand, was helping tow HMS Severn. At 0600 hours Revenger had gotten sideways to Severn, slipped her tow line and started looking for Trent. Everyone is on the lookout for the missing tug, and at sunset Trent starts using her searchlights. At 2000 hours two green lights are sighted in the far distance. At 0915 three red lights, taken as a distress signal, are seen in the same quarter. Trent, still towing Mersey, slowly alters course to investigate. At 2200 Trent comes upon Revenger, which has two men injured while slipping the tow line in the fog earlier. The two injured men are taken aboard Trent. The convoy then returns to its original course.



German East Africa: HMS Hyacinth has returned to Zanzibar.

[Jimbuna]

26th May 1915

Eastern Front

Austro-Germans gain successes in severe fighting round Przemsyl.

Aviation

Maiden flight of larger non-rigid C-class Coastal airship at RNAS Station, Kingsnorth, Kent, designed for extended anti-submarine patrols.

Zeppelin raid on Southend.


Political, etc.

Unionist party meeting at Carlton Club decides in favour of the Coalition.

Ship Losses:

Betty ( Denmark): The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 132 nautical miles (244 km) east of the Longstone Lighthouse by SM U-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her 22 crew were rescued by Waldemarand ( Sweden).
Morwenna ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 72 nautical miles (133 km) south east by east of the Fastnet Rock (50°27′N 8°44′W) by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member. Survivors were rescued by the trawler Jacqueline ( Belgium).
M. Roosval ( Sweden): The barque was sunk in the North Sea east of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom (56°53′N 2°30′E) by SM U-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew. Survivors were rescued by the trawler Tres Fratres ( Netherlands).

[Sailor Steve]

May 26:

Air War: The first French strategic bombing raid is carried out by 18 Voisin III aircraft, led Major Louis de Goÿs de Mézeyrac, against Ludwigshafen. De Goÿs himself is the squadron's only loss when he suffers an engine failure and is captured.



North Sea: Leo Hillebrand, commanding U-16, sinks the Swedish barque M. Roosval, 309 tons, bound from Oskarshamn to Sunderland with a cargo of boards. Later he torpedoes the Danish freighter Betty, 2,109 tons, carrying a load of coal from Blyth to Copenhagen.



Celtic Sea: U-16's former commander, Claus Hansen, now in U-41, sinks British freighter SS Morwenna, travelling in ballast from Cardiff to Sydney, Nova Scotia. Hansen's score is now 11 ships and 10,599 tons.



Italian Somaliland: Since the previous day an unexpected current has carried the monitors' convoy 25 mile out to sea. At noon Kendal Castle signals Trent that HMS Severn has developed a list. One of Severn's officers goes aboard to investigate, and finds two feet of water in the mess deck. Apparently some rivets have worked loose on the port side, allowing water in. Sailors are sent from Trent in relays to bail water out of Severn. This operation goes on all day and throughout that night.

[Jimbuna]

27th May 1915

Western Front

French take Les Quatre Bouquetaux (near Souchez).

Severe fighting in Bois-le-Pretre.

Eastern Front

Russians take Sieniawa (north-west of Jaroslau) and Kindowary (Shavli district).

Southern Front

Italians occupy Grado and Ala (Trentino).

Aviation

French airplanes bomb factories at Ludwigshafen, Germany in one of the first strategic bombardments in history. 203 bombs of a new type weighing 100 kg (220 pounds) are used.


Naval and Overseas Operations

H.M.S. "Majestic" torpedoed off Gallipoli.





HMS Princess Irene explodes in the Medway Estuary due to a faulty primer on a mine. 352 people are killed.



Political, etc.

Admiral Sir H. Jackson appointed First Sea Lord.


Portugal: President Arriaga resigns.

King Victor Emmanuel of Italy heads to the frontlines as Italy begins advancing into Austria-Hungary.


Ship Losses:

Cadeby ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 20 nautical miles (37 km) south west by south of the Wolf Rock, Ireland (49°40′N 6°10′W) by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS Majestic ( Royal Navy): Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign: The Majestic-class battleship was torpedoed and sunk by SM U-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine) in the Dardanelles and sank with the loss of 49 of her 672 crew.
HMS Princess Irene ( Royal Navy): The minelayer, a converted ocean liner, exploded and sank in the River Medway off Sheerness, Kent with the loss of 350 lives.
HMT Rolulu ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was wrecked on the Obb Rock, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides.

[Sailor Steve]

May 27:

Celtic Sea: Claus Hansen, commanding U-41, captures SS Cadeby, 1,130 tons, traveling from Oporto to Hull with a load of pitwood. After the crew have abandoned ship, Cadeby is sunk by gunfire. Hansen's score is now 12 ships and 12,729 tons.



Aegean Sea: Otto Hersing, in U-21, scores his second major warship in three days, sinking the pre-dreadnough battleship HMS Majestic, 14,900 tons. He then heads for home with a total of 8 ships and 36,826 tons.



Italian Somaliland: After bailing water from HMS Severn all night, at 0800 sailors start caulking the leaks with lead wire and oakum, all while being towed at 5 knots. The convoy then accelerates to their previous pace.

[Jimbuna]

28th May 1915

Western Front

French advance in the "Labyrinth" (north of Arras).

The Frot-Laffly Landship currently being tested by France.


Eastern Front

Russians take Bubie (Baltic Provinces).

Austro-German advance on Przemsyl continues.

Southern Front

New Zealand troops capture No.3 Post at Gallipoli and prepare for a Ottoman counterattack.


Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Vastan (on Lake Van).

Naval

English Channel
Admiralty collier (and two steamships) captured and sunk by U.41 (Claus Hansen):

SPENNYMOOR, Admiralty collier, 2,733/1915, Moor Line, Newcastle-reg, sailing Sunderland for Cardiff with pit timber, on maiden voyage. (L - 27th) - Sunk by torpedo 50 miles SW¼W of Start Point (L - 50 miles SW by W of); 5 lives lost including master.

American victims of Lusitania come home.


Political, etc.

Prime Minister Asquith explains that all Liberalist aims have been suspended until after the war and will work with Conservatives.

200 butcher shops in Glasgow are forced to close today due to a shortage of cattle.

Dr. Bethmann-Hollweg denounces Italy in the Reichstag; Statement re: vodka.

Austro-Hungarian government arrests General Moritz von Auffenberg as a “serious political criminal:”


The first elected President of Portugal Manuel de Arriaga announces he will resign.


Ship Losses:

Ethiope ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (49°39′N 4°16′W) by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine).[30][70] Her 32 crew were rescued by Wiltshire ( United Kingdom) and another vessel.
Mars ( Russia): The sailing ship was sunk in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) east of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom by SM U-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Spennymoor ( United Kingdom): The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles (93 km) south west of Start Point by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of five crew.
Tullochmoor ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 52 nautical miles (96 km) north of Ouessant, Finistère, France (49°19′N 5°21′W) by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

May 28:

German Foreign Minister Gottlieb von Jagow sends an official response to President Wilson's May 13th letter about the sinking of RMS Lusitania.
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/...anresponse.htm



English Channel: Clause Hansen, commanding U-41, sinks three merchant ships: SS Ethiope, 3,794 tons, bound from Hull to Calabar with a general cargo, SS Spennymoor, 2,733 tons, traveling from Sunderland with an unnamed cargo, and SS Tullochmoor, 3,250 tons, carrying an unnamed cargo from Genoa to Tyne. His score is now 15 ships sunk for a total of 22,776 tons.



North Sea: Leo Hillebrand, in U-16, sinks the Russian sailing ship Mars, 251 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Halmstad to Ayr. Hillebrand now has 3 ships and 2,669 tons.



Italian Somaliland: The monitors' convoy crosses the equator, and logs a record daily run of 149 miles.



German East Africa: At 0854 hours HMS Laconia launches Short 122 on a reconnaissance flight. The plane returns at 1025.

[Jimbuna]

29th May 1915

Western Front

French take Ablain (Souchez).

Eastern Front

Russian counter-offensive forces Austrians to retreat in east Galicia.

Southern Front

Dardanelles: Turkish success at Gaba Tepe.

Ottoman Empire go on the defensive in the Caucasus and begins moving troops from Syria to reinforce Gallipoli.


Italians occupy Valona.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Germany advises neutral ships to have proper lighting during nighttime so that they are not mistakenly targeted by submarines.

Anglo-French take Njok (Cameroons).

Admiral Albert W. Grant is put in charge of all U.S. submarines of the Atlantic fleet to reorganize the force.


Political, etc.

Dr. Braga elected President of Portugal.


Ottoman Minister of the Interior states the Empire will not declare war against Italy, but will do so if Italy aids Allies in Gallipoli.

President Poincare of France promises the National Anti-Alcoholic League that he will abstain from alcohol during and after the war.

Ship Losses:

Condor ( United Kingdom): The trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) north east of Scarborough, Yorkshire with the loss of all nine of her crew.
Cysne ( Portugal): The coaster was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles (93 km) north west of Ouessant, Finistère, France by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Dixiana ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) north of Ouessant by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Glenlee ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 67 nautical miles (124 km) south south west of the Wolf Rock, Cornwall by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Merion ( United Kingdom): The ocean liner was torpedoed and damaged in the Mediterranean Sea by UB-8 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She sank on 31 May.
SMS T47 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The S43-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the Baltic Sea.
SMS T51 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The S43-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the Baltic Sea.

[Sailor Steve]

May 29:

"I went out to the War the other afternoon to see one of our anti-aircraft guns. We fired into the German trenches, and about two minutes later they replied with zest. Four or five shells whizzed over and burst about 30 yards behind us in a field. i picked up some fragments almost too hot to hold. We were within 1000 yards of the Huns and could see their and our own trenches rippingly through the glasses.

Have given up chasing Taubes. One can never get them. We have commandeered an old bathing hut for our office at the aerodrome, and have rigged up an awing outside, and bought deck chairs. You should see us all lying back in the sun with field glasses glued to our eyes, watching the various aeroplanes, with shrapnel bursting all around them. Our shooting is awfully bad on the whole.

Our villa is first-rate and oh! the gramophone has arrived safe and sound. Willing hands helped to unpack it, and we got it going in record time. It is immensely appreciated."
-Lt. Harold Rosher, letter to his mother, May 29, 1915

Celtic Sea: Clause Hansen, commanding U-41, finishes his second war patrol by sinking three more ships - Portuguese steamer SS Cysne, 623 tons, inbound from Oporto to Newport with an unspecified cargo, and British merchants SS Dixiana, 3,329 tons, traveling from Savanna to Le Havre with a load of cotton and pig iron, plus mixed goods, and SS Glenlee, 4,140 tons, carrying a load of coal from Barry to Aden. Hansen then heads for home.



Adriatic Sea, off the east coast of Italy: Egon Lerch, in Austro-Hungarian submarine U-12, sinks the Greek merchant SS Virginia, 1,065 tons, traveling in ballast from an unnamed port to Trieste. This his his only sinking - he has previously taken a series of small sailboats of unspecified tonnage as prizes, for an unspecified total, and putting the French battleship Jean Bart out of action for many months.



British Somaliland: the monitors' convoy has their fastest day yet - 153 miles. Wireless communication is established with the squadron at Rufiji, and Admiral King-Hall informs Captain Fullerton that the tug T.A. Joliffe has arrived safely. On the other hand HMS Severn has started to list again and now Mersey is down by the bow. In the afternoon the convoy is caught in a series of rain squalls, making it impossible to take land sightings.



German East Africa: HMS Laconia reports heavy rain during the afternoon, inhibiting patrols.

[Jimbuna]

30th May 1915

Western Front

Germans attack at Hooge.

French success near Souchez.

Heavy fighting occurs on the Yser Canal, resulting in slight Allied gains. French forces advance a quarter of a mile.

Eastern Front

Austro-Germans attack forts of Przemsyl.

Russian success on the San.

Southern Front

Dardanelles: British repulsed at Quinn's Post.

New Zealand troops are forced to retreat from No.3 Post in Gallipoli after a series of Ottoman counterattacks.

Italians make progress in Trentino.

Italian air raid on Pola.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Aegean Sea
MERION, Admiralty-owned dummy capital ship No 14, battlecruiser “Tiger”, ex-transatlantic liner, 11,621/1902, International Navigation, Liverpool-reg, conversion ordered 21/10/14, hired 1/12/14, converted at Harland & Wolff, Belfast with wood & canvas superstructure and guns, heavily ballasted to approximate proportions of a battlecruiser, armed with 1-3pdr, ready early 1915, based in Aegean from February 1915, heading for Mudros. (un – 29th) - Torpedoed by UB.8 (Ernst von Voight), sank off Mudros, island of Lemnos (D/dx - off Strati Is, S of Lemnos); 2 RNR officers and 2 MMR ratings killed. Note - C/D list her as purchased 30/5/15, the date of her loss; md - Lt von Voight reported attacking a large three funnelled ship at dusk, hit her with one torpedo abreast the forward funnel, but did not see her sink, nor did he identify her as a possible “battlecruiser”. Presumably torpedoed on the 29th, sank on the 30th.

Severe fighting in Cameroons.

British take Sphinxhaven (on Lake Nyassa, German East Africa).

Ship Losses:

Søborg ( Denmark): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) north east of the mouth of the River Tyne (55°49′N 0°22′E) by SM U-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Les Annales cover showcases a drawing of the new Italian soldiers.

[Sailor Steve]

May 30:

Air War: The first Eindekker is shipped to Lt. Otto Parschau for testing. Parschau is serving with Feld-Flieger Abteilun 62 as an instructor teaching new pilots the intricacies of wing-warping. The aircraft is equipped with a Parabellum LMG 14 and carries Parschau's name on the side, as well as the designation A.16/15.





North Sea: Leo Hillebrand, commanding U-16, torpedoes the Danish freighter SS Søborg, 2,108 tons, traveling in ballast from Copenhagen to Newcastle. This ends his second war patrol with 4 ships and 4,777 tons.



Aegean Sea, near the Dardanelles: Ernst von Voigt, in UB-8, Torpedoes HMS Merion, 19,380 tons, a former passenger liner mocked up to represent the battlecruiser HMS Tiger.

[Jimbuna]

31st May 1915

Western Front

Fighting at Hooge.

French take Souchez refinery and advance in the "Labyrinth" (north of Arras).

Zeppelin raid on London.



Eastern Front

Austro-Germans capture Stryj and the three northern fronts of Przemsyl.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British defeat Turks at Kurna (Tigris).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Germans capitulate to Anglo-French at Monso (Cameroons).

Italians attack Pola.

Political, etc.

British government prosecutes the London “Times” under the Defense of the Realm Act for reporting on military conditions in France.

Dissatisfaction in U.S.A. at German Note on the "Lusitania".

Riots in Ceylon.

Crowd of 30,000 people demonstrate in Bucharest, Romania in support of Italy’s entry into the war.

Ship Losses:

Montrosa ( Finland): The barque sank in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire, United Kingdom following an explosion. She probably struck a naval mine. Her fourteen crew were rescued by Brunia ( Sweden).

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 71 ships of 121,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses).

9 things you (probably) didn’t know about London’s first zeppelin raid in 1915
http://www.historyextra.com/article/...irst-world-war

[Sailor Steve]

May 31:

Aegean Sea: It was noted yesterday that Ernst von Voigt, in UB-8, Torpedoed HMS Merion, a passenger liner converted to look like HMS Tiger. Merion didn't sink until the 31st, which gives us an opportunity to look at how well the ruse of remaking passenger ships to look like capital ships worked.

SS Merion as built.


What von Voigt fired his torpedoes at.




British East Africa: In the midst of overcast skies and rain squalls, dead reckoning places the monitors' convoy roughly 28 miles off the African mainland, east of Mombasa. Captain Fullerton decides that since they are close enough to not be in danger of running out of coal it is time for the tugs to start doing their job again. HMS Mersey is taken in tow by Sarah Joliffe and Revenger, and Severn by Blackcock. This operation takes three hours while the convoy drifts several miles northward.

An Examination Officer comes out from Mombasa in a steam launch and demands to inspect the convoy. Captain Fullerton urges him to leave the word "monitor" out of his report, and the Officer tells him that Severn and Mersey have already been reported by a passing Norwegian freighter, and everybody knows they are coming.*



German East Africa: HMS Laconia launches Short 121 on another reconnaisance flight, which lasted from 1000 to 1100 hours.

There is no log for HMS Laurentic during this period, but several ships note her departure. It is known that during this period (late May-early June) the armed merchant cruiser was dispatched to pick up four landplanes and their crews. This may have been her departure date, but it is uncertain.

*I mistakenly had this dated a day early. Today is the correct date for these events.

[Jimbuna]

1st June 1915

Western Front

Continued fighting in the "Labyrinth" (north of Arras).

French capture trenches at Souchez.

Eastern Front

Unsuccessful German gas attack west of Warsaw.

Austrian and German troops close in on Przemysl and capture three outlying forts.

Southern Front

Austrian aircraft bomb Bari and Brindisi.

Italians hold slopes of Monte Nero (across Isonzo), and advance in Adige Valley.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turkish retreat on the Tigris, pursued by naval flotilla.

Aviation

The United States Department of the Navy awards its first contract for an airship – the DN-1-Class Blimp – to the Connecticut Aircraft Company.
DN-1 approaching its floating hangar at Pensacola.


First flight of the Airco DH.2


Naval

Dover Straits
Mohawk, destroyer, F-class, 864t, 6th DF Dover Patrol, on patrol off North Foreland near NW end of net area. Saw mines close to her, could not get clear because of strong east-going tide, damaged in first UC-boat-laid field (UC.11 (Walter Gottfried Schmidt) in south entrance to Downs) in the Channel area, towed into Dover with upper deck almost level with the water; 5 ratings lost.

Political, etc.

Lord Kitchener made a K.G.

San Marino, the small republic inside Italian territory, debates on whether it should remain neutral or join the Allies.

The Tehcir Law, which authorizes the deportation of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, is officially enacted.

Berlin bans restaurants from serving table d’hôte meals; also advises them to serve more vegetables instead of meat to conserve food.

Parliamentary elections are held in Greece. Eleftherios Venizelos and his Liberal Party wins a landslide victory.


Ship Losses:

HMS Mohawk ( Royal Navy): The Tribal-class destroyer struck a mine and was damaged in the English Channel with the loss of five of her crew.
SMS Pommern ( Kaiserliche Marine): Battle of Jutland: The Deutschland-class battleship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off Jutland by HMS Onslaught ( Royal Navy) with the loss of all 839 crew.
Saidieh ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Thames Estuary by SM UB-6 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eight of her 54 crew.
Victoria ( United Kingdom): The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the Isles of Scilly (50°36′N 6°20′W) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of six crew.

A French aviator helps load bombs on to his biplane, 1 June 1915.