100 Years Ago Today

[Sailor Steve]

August 14:

Norwegian Sea: Otto Wünsche, commanding U-25, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Albis, 1,381 tons, bound from Archangelsk to Immingham with a load of pit props. His score is now 19 ships and 11,663 tons.



North Sea: Karl Groß, in UB-4, stops and scuttles British fishing smack Bona Fide, 69 tons. This is his last sinking, and his final score is 4 ships and 10,942 tons.

Wilhelm Smiths, in UB-5, scuttles fishing smack White City, 45 tons. His score is now 5 ships and 996 tons.



German East Africa: The crew of HMS Severn are again busy installing armour plating.

[Jimbuna]

15th August 1915

Western Front

Violent bombardment on Yser front.

Eastern Front

1,730 Russians taken prisoners outside Kovna. Losice, Biala, and Mazyrecze (west of Brest) captured; enemy crosses Bug east of Droghiczyn.

Russian line broken at Bransk (on Nurzec), 5,000 prisoners taken.

Southern Front

Venice bombarded by seaplane.

Naval

Russian minelayer Ladoga is sunk after hitting a German mine in the Baltic.
http://i.imgur.com/539Mqit.jpg

HM Armed Smack Inverlyon, a converted fishing boat, lures and sinks the German submarine UB-4.
http://i.imgur.com/g51pfJj.jpg

Political, etc.

Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Stopford is dismissed for the failure of the Suvla Bay Landing. He slept through the initial landings.

It is national registry day in the UK. Everyone between 15 and 65 must register their age, occupation, marital status, & nationality.

Cholera in Hungary.

Japan suspends all German trademarks, patents, and other industrial design privileges for the duration of the war.

Ship Losses:

Ladoga ( Imperial Russian Navy): The minelayer struck a mine and sank in the Baltic Sea off Örö, Sweden with the loss of five of her crew.
Marie ( Denmark) The three-masted schooner was sunk in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) off Kinnaird Head, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom by SM U-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Sverige ( Sweden): The cargo ship was beached at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She broke in two and was a total loss.
SMS T46 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The S43-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the Gulf of Riga.
SM UB-4 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Type UB I submarine was shelled and sunk in the North Sea off Lowestoft, Suffolk, United Kingdom (52°43′N 2°18′E) by HM Armed Smack Inverlyon ( Royal Navy) with the loss of all fourteen crew.

http://i.imgur.com/zkpHCoH.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cVqbXPP.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

August 15:

North Sea: Hans Walther, commanding U-17, sinks Danish schooner Marie, 158 tons, bound from Falkenberg to Granton with a load of wood. He also captures Swedish freighter SS Götaland, 3,538 tons, as a prize, but the ship is later released. Walther's score is now 8 ships and 12,219 tons.



Karl Groß, in UB-4, spies another group of fishing smacks. Groß approaches one of them and commands the crew to abandon ship. The intended victim is His Majesty's Armed Smack Inverlyon. Her commander, RN gunner Ernest Jehan, waits until the u-boat is only 30 yards away, then raises the White Ensign and opens fire with his 3-pdr gun. The bridge crew, including Groß, are killed. Another group of shots sends the u-boat to the bottom, taking the rest of her 15-man crew with her.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Martin_Jehan



German East Africa: Work continues preparing HMS Severn for another raid.

[Jimbuna]

16th August 1915

Eastern Front

Russian army withdrawn to Brest-Osovyets-Kovna line.

Byelostok (Grodno) partially evacuated.

Kovna bombarded; breach made in defences.

Austrians cross Krzna (Brest).

Germans repulsed fro Mitau (Riga).

Southern Front

Montenegrin success on border against Austrians.

Admiral de Robeck's despatch of 1 July 1915 on Dardanelles landing 25-26 April 1915 received.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians enter Van (Armenia).

Russian communique announces defeat of Turks and occupation of Kep (Euphrates); Turks driven back near Olti (Transcaucasia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

U.24 shelled Harrington area of Whitehaven, Cumberland and damaged benzol and naphtha works, which were out of action for four days.

German fleet attacks at entrance of Gulf of Riga.

North Sea
JAPAN, Admiralty trawler, 205/1904, H L Taylor, Grimsby-reg GY28, hired 1915 (D - 8/14; He - 1914) as minesweeper, Admiralty No.42, Lt Richard Harcourt RNR i/c, Skipper Arthur Barber RNR, believed Harwich-based, sailed from Lowestoft or Harwich, sweeping with HMT Touchstone for UC-laid mines, both vessels clearing sweeps at 1915. Winch boat Japan heaved in sweep wire and saw it was fouled by a mine (laid by UC.6, Matthias Graf von Schmettow) only 30yd away, by the time the winch-man’s warning had been heard and acted on, the mine was only 3-4yd distant, insufficient headway was kept on using the trawler’s engines, mine blew up port-side between bridge and foremast, sinking her within 30sec off S end of Shipwash shoal, off Harwich (wi - three entries - in 51.53.28N, 01.34.29E, in 51.57N, 01.36.45E and in 51.52.40N, 01.37E); five ratings killed (He – 4 killed), two of the bodies were picked up by HMT Lord Roberts and Touchstone and landed at HMS Ganges, survivors rescued from the water within 15min.

Eastern Mediterranean
B.6, (Lt C MacArthur) and B.11 (Lt N Holbrook), submarines, B-class, 287/316t, 2-18in tt, Mudros-based, from Alexandria with ABS Heroic for patrol off the Libyan/Egyptian border, information received that Turkish arms would be smuggled to Senussi tribesmen by German U-boats. Lt Holbrook attempted to land in a small boat under a flag of truce near Sollum, became suspicious and pulled back to B.11, shore group opened fire and riddled casings and bridge screens of both submarines with bullets; Lt Holbrook hit in the face by a ricochet, on B.6, ERA killed and fell overboard, CERA badly wounded, Coxswain slightly.

Gallipoli Campaign
LUNDY, Admiralty trawler, 188/1908, Hull Steam Fishing & Ice Co, Hull-reg H993, hired 5/15, 1‑3pdr, Admiralty No.1791, patrol vessel, Skipper Henry Charles Taylor RNR, in Suvla Bay, alongside SS Kalyan, taking on ammunition. Anchorage came under fire and master of the Kalyan decided to move position, slowly, with Lundy still secured. As more shells landed, one of them nearby, Kalyan increased speed and turned slightly, Lundy failed to hear the shouted warnings, her stern was dragged under the stern of the larger ship, the hull holed by the propeller, and she flooded and sank; one ratings lost (He - the engineer dying 'of shock' in the process); crew got away in their boat(s).

Political, etc.

Manifesto on National Service signed by notable men of all parties in England.

Venizelist candidate elected President of Chamber; Greek Government resigns.

Ship Losses:

Linnea ( Imperial Russian Navy): The auxiliary minesweeper struck a mine and sank in the Baltic Sea off Worms Island.
HMT Japan ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the Shipwash Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of five of her crew.
HMT Lundy ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler collided with another vessel and sank in the Dardaneles.
Romulus ( Norway): The coaster was sunk in the North Sea 100 nautical miles (190 km) west south west of Lindesnes, Vest-Agder (56°30′N 3°50′E) by SM U-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine).[80] Her crew were rescued by Else ( Denmark).
Serbino ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Baltic Sea off the Worms Lighthouse by SM U-9 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Tello ( Norway): The cargo ship was captured and scuttled in the North Sea (57°00′N 5°03′E) by Götaland Germany), which had a prize crew on board from SM U-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

http://i.imgur.com/R3lAzyZ.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

August 16:

North Sea: Hans Walther, commanding U-17, sinks Norwegian freighter Romulus, 819 tons, bound from Halmstad to West hartlepool with a load of pit props. The prize crew aboard SS Götaland, on their way to List, stop and sink Norwegian freighter SS Tello, travelling from Göteborg to Sunderland with pit props and sleepers (props to support wooden flooring). This brings his score to 10 ships and 14,256 tons.



Baltic Sea: Johannes Spieß, in U-9, torpedoes British freighter SS Serbino, 2,205 tons, carrying a load of machinery and steel from Riga to Petrograd. His score is now 12 ships and 8,635 tons.



German East Africa: The crew of HMS Severn continue re-installing armour plating on the monitor.

[Jimbuna]

17th August 1915

Western Front

French gain footing on ridge in Vosges (Sondernach crest).

Night attack on Sondernach by Germans.

Eastern Front

Novo-Georgievsk furiously attacked and outlying forts captured.

Austrians approach Brest-Litovsk.

Russians driven across Bug at Konstantinov.

Fall of Kovna.

Enemy approaches Byelostok-Byelsk railway and cuts Kholm-Brest-Litovsk railway.

Southern Front

Italian advance on Bacher valley (Dolomites), Vrsik crest, Sta Maria and Sta Lucia hills (Julian).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

1,200 Bunerwal rebels attack camp at Rustam (Peshawar); one officer killed.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Austrians attack Pelagosa Island (Centre Adriatic).

North Sea
Princess Margaret, auxiliary minelayer, 5,934/1914, and Mentor, destroyer, M-class, 1,055t, 3-4in/2-1pdr/4-12in tt, 10th DF, Cdr E Inman. Princess Margaret escorted by two divisions of 10th DF, supported by Harwich LCS and four 4th DF destroyers, sailed to lay field off Amrun Bank, 25 miles N of Heligoland, heading S from Horns Reef LV, very dark night, sea calm, heavily overcast. Ran into division of German 2nd TBF, attacked with torpedoes, Princess Margaret missed but Mentor's bows blown away under water, steamed back to Harwich; no casualties listed. Operation called off.

St George's Channel/Atlantic off SW England
Three Admiralty colliers, all presumably chartered (and six, probably seven more vessels) captured by U.38 (Max Valentiner) and all sunk (except one which escaped):

KIRKBY, 3,034/1891, Sir R Ropner & Co, West Hartlepool-reg, Mr W Hewison, Barry for Manchester with coal. Torpedoed by U.38, 23 miles W by S of Bardsey Isle (L/wi - 20 miles WSW of, in 52.30N, 05.10W).

THE QUEEN, coastal collier, 557/1897, John Hay & Sons, Glasgow-reg, Mr D Macalister, Ayr for Devonport with coal. Sunk by gunfire, 40 miles NNE of The Smalls LH, E of Milford Haven (wi - in 52.15N, 05.05W).

GLENBY, 2,196/1900, Sir R Ropner & Co, West Hartlepool-reg, Mr W Crighton, Cardiff for Archangel with coal. Sunk by gunfire, 30 miles N of The Smalls (L - 30 miles W of; wi - in 52.13N, 05.45W); two crew lost.

Aviation

Zeppelin raid on east coast.
http://i.imgur.com/jOVLIJ4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Zf3oOcs.jpg

Political, etc.

Germany has lost 43,872 officers since the war began, including those wounded and taken prisoner. The total includes 123 generals.

Germans claim two million prisoners to date: 330,000 British, French and Belgian; rest Russian.

German Crown Prince predicts that if Verdun is taken, then the war will be over by December.

League for the Liberation of the Ukraine sends a telegram to the German Kaiser congratulating him for the recent victories.

Proposals of Entente examined by Serbian cabinet.

Italian war loan totals 4 millions.

Ship Losses:

Bonny ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in St. George's Channel 16 nautical miles (30 km) south by east of the Tuskar Rock, Ireland by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
George Baker ( United Kingdom): The drifter was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 45 nautical miles (83 km) north of the Bishop Rock by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Glenby ( United Kingdom): The collier was shelled and sunk in St. George's Channel 30 nautical miles (56 km) north of the Smalls Lighthouse by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.
Isidoro ( Spain): The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 17 nautical miles (31 km) east sout east of the Tuskar Rock by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Kirkby ( United Kingdom): The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 23 nautical miles (43 km) west by south of Bardsey Island, Pembrokeshire by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Maggie ( United Kingdom): The coaster was shelled and sunk in the Irish Sea 8 nautical miles (15 km) east of the South Arklow Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Mineral ( Norway): The coaster was shelled and sunk in the North Sea off Marstenen, Nordland by SM U-25 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Paros ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) west of Bardsey Island by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Repeat ( United Kingdom): The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Irish Sea 18 nautical miles (33 km) west by south of Bardsey Island by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
The Queen ( United Kingdom): The passenger ship was shelled and sunk in St. George's Channel 40 nautical miles (74 km) north east of the Smalls Lighthouse by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Thornfield ( United Kingdom): The coaster was shelled and sunk in St. George's Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) north north east of the Smalls Lighthouse by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SMS V99 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The B97-class destroyer was shelled and damaged in the Gulf of Riga by Novik ( Imperial Russian Navy). She then struck two mines and sank whilst attempting to escape.

[Sailor Steve]

August 17:

Celtic Sea: In St. George's Channel, the pass between Ireland and Wales, Max Valentiner in U-38 has a field day. His victims are British freighters SS Bonny, 2,702 tons, travelling in ballast from Marseille to Liverpool; Glenby, 2,196 tons, bound from Cardiff to Archangelsk with a load of coal; Kirkby, 3,034 tons, carrying coal from Barry to an unlisted destination; Maggie, 269 tons, travelling in ballast from Youghal to Fleetwood; Paros, 3,596 tons, from Karachi to Manchester with a load of wheat; The Queen, 557 tons, carrying coal from Ayr to Devonport; and Thornfield, 488 tons, from London to Peel, on the Isle of Man, with a cargo of wooden huts. Also sunk is Spanish freighter SS Isidoro, 2,044 tons, inbound from Bilbao to Glasgow with a load of iron ore; drifter George Baker, 91 tons; and trawler Repeat, 107 tons. The day's work nets 10 ships for 15,084 tons. Valentiner's score is now 38 ships and 29,788 tons.



North Sea: Otto Wünsche, commanding U-25, uses his deck gun to sink Norwegian freighter SS Mineral, 649 tons, bound from Narvik to Newcastle with a load of pig iron and reels. His score is now 20 ships and 12,282 tons.



German East Africa: Converted minesweepers Charon, Rattler and Salamander patrol the area off Dar-Es-Salaam, on the coast just south of Zanzibar, supported by HMS Challenger. At 1215 Challenger opens fire on a German merchant in the bay, at a range of 8,800 yards. The cruiser fires for twenty minutes, ceasing at 1235. Damage to the target is not recorded by the British.

The crew of HMS Severn re-mount a 4.7" gun that had previously been removed, while others continue rigging armour plate and mattresses for splinter protection.

[Jimbuna]

18th August 1915

Western Front

French capture position on Ablain-Angres road (Vimy), and trench on Schratmannele crest (Vosges).

Eastern Front

Russian retreat continue as Kovno (Kaunas) is captured by German troops. Germany claims they have captured 400 artillery guns.

Southern Front

Italian progress towards Tolmino and in Upper Rienz (Julian).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Russian naval success in Gulf of Riga. German Fleet retires losing two cruisers (including "Moltke") and eight torpedo boats. Russian gunboat "Sivuch" sunk.
Moltke
http://i.imgur.com/NXOfUqc.jpg

Kattegat
E.13 (below, stranded - Navy Photos/Antoine), submarine, E-class, 667/807t, 22/9/14, 1-12pdr/5-18in tt with 10 torpedoes, 15kts/9kts, c30 crew, Pennant No.I.93, served at Harwich, Lt-Cdr Geoffrey Layton. Ordered with E.8 to join E.1 and E.9 in the Baltic, sailed Harwich 14th, now approaching the Sound separating Denmark from Sweden late on the 18th, and E.13 dived. (C - 3 September) - Compass failed shortly before 2300, surfaced and ran hard aground on the SE of Saltholm island between Copenhagen and Malmo in neutral waters, tried all night to get clear and at 0500 on the 19th, Danish torpedo boat Narhvalen arrived to inform the captain that there was a 24 hour limit for getting off, no assistance could be given and a guardship would anchor nearby.

http://i.imgur.com/NbA08Jl.jpg

German destroyer came up but left when two more Danish TB's arrived, by this time it was accepted that E.13 could not be refloated and the crew were waiting to be taken off. About 0900 (or 0930) two German destroyers approached from the south flying the signal "abandon ship immediately", the leading G.132 fired one or two torpedoes which hit the bottom and failed to damage E.13, then both opened fire with machine guns, crew jumped into the water and swam for the shore or the Danish vessels but the Germans apparently fired on them until torpedo boat Soulven interposed herself, destroyers left and surviving men picked up by the Danes; 15 ratings lost by gunfire or drowning, 23 survivors landed in Copenhagen that evening and interned, Lt-Cdr Layton and 1st Lt Paul Eddis later withdrew their parole and escaped back home. The wrecked boat was interned (Cn - 18th; J - 3 September), sold to Danish shipbreakers Petersen & Albeck December 1921 (J - 1919), BU at Copenhagen. E.8 safely reached Revel (Tallinn).

Orkneys
POONAH, Admiralty trawler, 171/1903, Hull Steam Fishing & Ice, Hull-reg H737, hired 11/14 as minesweeper, 1‑3pdr, Admiralty No.550. In collision with minesweeping trawler HMT Northward (204grt), foundered off Stromness, Orkneys (hw - in Suvla Bay); no lives lost.

North Sea
Lilac, fleet sweeping sloop, Acacia-class, 1,200t, 2-12pdr/2-3pdr, recently joined Grand Fleet minesweeping flotilla, Lt-Cdr Leslie Fisher, sweeping Meteor-laid field in Cromarty Firth, bad weather with heavy sea running. (sc - 8th) - Stem hit mine, bows blown off nearly as far as bridge, remains hung down from keel, now drew nearly 30-40ft of water, towed by sister-ship Hollyhock into Peterhead, received new bow and rejoined flotilla some months later; 16 ratings lost.

Aegean Sea
Barry, fleet messenger and store carrier, ex-excursion paddle steamer, 398/1907, hired 29/6/15 (C - as minesweeper), Pendant No.Y4.28, based at Mudros, serving as supply ship off Dardanelles, carrying supplies to Suvla Bay. In collision with hired screw minesweeper Whitby Abbey (do - ABS) in Mudros Bay, island of Lemnos, stern badly damaged and had to unload cargo, repaired by repair ship Reliance. Believed returned to duties in September carrying men, ammunition, mail and supplies to Anzac Cove and Suvla Bay, often under shellfire but never hit.

Political, etc.

London police seizes “The Labor Leader” and “The Socialist Review” newspapers for reporting on labor problems due to the war.

Austro-Hungarian Minister of the Interior announces there the cholera epidemic is spreading. 670 new cases are reported in Galicia.

Tsar Nicholas II converts the Winter Palace at Petrograd to a hospital, with 1000 beds.
http://i.imgur.com/3fdOVCk.jpg

Ship Losses:

Ben Vrachie ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 55 nautical miles (102 km) north west by north of the Isles of Scilly by SM U-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS E13 ( Royal Navy): The E-class submarine ran aground on Saltholm, Denmark. She was subsequently attacked by SMS G 132 and another torpedo boat (both Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of fifteen of her 30 crew. The survivors were rescued by Royal Danish Navy torpedo boats. HMS E13 was later refloated but was declared beyond repair. She was scrapped in 1922.
Gladiator ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 68 nautical miles (126 km) north by west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM U-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Magda ( Norway): The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 8 nautical miles (15 km) off Trevose Head, Cornwall, United Kingdom (50°39′N 5°09′W) by SM U-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her 16 crew survived.
HMT Poonah ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler collided with another vessel and sank in Suvla Bay.
Sverresborg ( Norway): The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 8 nautical miles (15 km) off Trevose Head (50°50′N 5°10′W) by SM U-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Sir John French with Major the Hon. J. Dawnay, Major Watt, and Sirdar Bahadur Khwaja Mahomed [Blendecques, France].
http://i.imgur.com/t49af8x.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

August 18:

Celtic Sea: Bernd Wegener, commanding U-27, begins his fourth war patrol by sinking British freighters Ben Vrackie, 3,908 tons, bound from Cardiff to Malta with a cargo of coal and stores; and SS Gladiator, 3,359 tons, heading from Liverpool and Cardiff with a general cargo; and Norwegian freighters SS Magda, 1,063 tons, carrying a load of coal from Port Talbot to Nantes; and Sverresborg, 1,144 tons, heading from Barry to Le Havre with a cargo of coal. Wegener's score is now 11 ships and 35,727 tons.



German East Africa: At 1750 hours 3 officers and 31 men board HMS Severn from HMS Challenger.

[Jimbuna]

19th August 1915

Western Front

Germans retake trenches on Ablain-Angres road.

Eastern Front

Fall of Novo Georgievsk. Russians driven back between Augustovo and Osovyets (Northern Centre). Germans progress beyond Niemen east of Tykocin.

Mackensen reaches Piszcza and gains ground towards Brest-Litovsk.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks prevent Italians leaving Smyrna.

Southern Front

The Battle of Chunuk Bair at Gallipoli ends in a British defeat with 6000 casualties after Ottoman troops permanently recapture the ridge.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Crew of the British submarine HMS E13 are interned by Danish government after it ran aground yesterday.

In spite of German assurances that large passenger liners would not be attacked, British liner Arabic was sunk without warning with the loss of 2 or 3 US citizens. Strong US protests led to German claim she was zig-zagging and as a single-funnelled vessel, not easily identified as a liner. Germany shortly extended assurances to small passenger ships.
http://i.imgur.com/TUNx8vf.jpg

German force landing at Pernau (Riga) destroyed by Russians. In support of the German infantry offensive in Poland, cruisers from the High Seas Fleet have been trying to bottle up Russian ships in the gulf at Riga. The battleships Posen and Nassau along with three cruisers- Seydlitz, Moltke, and Von der Tann- enter the gulf.

Atlantic off SW England
Possibly three Admiralty-hired colliers sunk by gunfire of U.38 (Max Valentiner):

RESTORMEL, (wi - Admiralty-requisitioned collier, released for this one voyage and cargo), 2,118/1901, New Restormel SS Co, Cardiff-reg, 19 crew, Seville for Clyde with 3,300t iron ore. U.38 surfaced close by, fired two shells and ordered her to stop, crew tried to abandon ship but master headed away at full-speed. Firing continued and ship finally hove-to, crew abandoned ship and a torpedo was fired hitting her in No.2 hold. Restormel was still afloat after the sinking of the nearby Baron Erskine, the U-boat returned, fired four shells into the engine-room and she sank at 0900, 28 miles NNW of Bishop Rock, Scillies (wi - in 50.15N, 06.52W); armed yacht Rovenska arrived, forced the submarine to withdraw, the survivors were then rescued and landed at Penzance.

BARON ERSKINE, 5,585/1911, Hogarth Shipping Co, Ardrossan-reg, 114 crew, on Admiralty charter for this voyage, Avonmouth for New Orleans in ballast. After U.38 had shelled Restormel, the U-boat headed for the expectant Baron Erskine and fired a warning shot, she headed at full speed for Land’s End sending SOS, continued to be chased and shelled. At 0840 shrapnel brought down the radio aerial, she stopped and after the crew had taken to the boats, torpedo hit port side in the engine-room. Six more shells were fired into the hull, she went down at 0920, 25 miles NNW of Bishop Rock (wi - in 50.12N, 06.50W); ship’s boats headed for St Ives, picked up by Rovenska and landed at Penzance.

SAMARA (wi - Admiralty requisitioned collier No.563), 3,172/1906, MacLay & McIntyre, Glasgow-reg, sailing Colombo via Port Said for Bristol with sugar. Shelled by U.38, ship abandoned, sank 35 miles W of Bishop Rock (L - 30 miles W of; wi - 35 miles NW of, in 49.45N, 07.20W); survivors picked up by HMT Dewsland, landed at Penzance that day at 1730.

Norwegian mail steamer "Haakon VII" stopped by Germans and mails seized. Norwegian Government protests.

"The Baralong Incident"

Admiralty collier (and a second British vessel) sunk by U.27 (Bernd Wegener). An attack on a third vessel led to U.27 being sunk by HMS Baralong:

BEN VRACKIE, Admiralty collier, 3,908/1905, Watson Brothers Shipping Co, Glasgow-reg, sailing Cardiff for Malta with coal and stores. (te/un - 18th) - Captured by U.27, sunk by gunfire 55 miles NW by N of Scillies (L - in 50.24N, 07.55W; te/un - 50.30N, 07.30W).

Nicosian, cargo steamship, 6,369/1912, Leyland Line, Liverpool, sailing New Orleans for Liverpool, carrying mules. (L - 20th) - stopped at 1500 by U.27 (Wegener), 73 miles S by W of Old Head of Kinsale (L - in 50.22N, 08.12W; dx - 50.43N, 07.22W; ge - c100 miles S of Queenstown), Q-ship Baralong was nearby, sighted Nicosian and received signals she had been captured by one or two U-boats. Baralong, headed as if to pick up Nicosian's crew from their boats, the U-boat passed behind the stopped ship to intercept the new arrival and when she appeared again, Baralong had the White Ensign hoisted and opened a heavy fire from 600yds which soon sank U.27. As Baralong picked up Nicosian's crew, Germans were seen swimming for the stopped ship and fearing they would board and scuttle her, opened fire on them in the water. Four Germans managed to reach her and disappeared below. With guns and ammunition onboard, Baralong sent her small Royal Marine contingent across to hunt them down, no doubt on a "shoot-on-sight" basis, before they could do any damage. All four were killed. Nicosian's crew returned and brought her into Bristol holed by U-boat shells. On the bases of reports by some of the American muleteers carried by Nicosian, the Germans described the incident as an atrocity and demanded the crew of Baralong be tried for murder and punished. Britain agreed to an impartial tribunal as long as the enquiry included the sinkings of liner Arabic, firing on the boats of collier Ruel and the attack on E.13 in neutral waters. The Germans dropped their demands although still threatened reprisals.

Aviation

Adriatic
Albert Medal 1st Class, later George Cross - CPO Michael Sullivan Keogh, HMS Ark Royal, aircraft taking off from Imbros airfield, crashed and caught fire, attempted to rescue the fatally injured pilot.

Flying a Fokker M.5K/MG bearing IdFlieg serial number E.3/15, fitted with a gun synchronizer and Parabellum MG 14 machine gun, Leutnant Oswald Boelcke shoots down his first aircraft.
http://i.imgur.com/UKectue.jpg

Political, etc.

Reichstag opened; speech by Chancellor.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister resigns.

British forces total 3,825,000, including Colonial troops.

Russian government calls up the class of 1916 for military service. No exemptions because of family connections or study abroad are allowed.

Ship Losses:

Arabic ( United Kingdom): The ocean liner was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the Old Head of Kinsale, County Donegal by SM U-24 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 47 lives.
Baron Erskine ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 25 nautical miles (46 km) north north west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (50°12′N 6°50′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Ben Vrackie ( United Kingdom): The collier was lost on this date.
Bras ( Norway): The cargo ship was captured, shelled and sunk in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) off the Egerø Lighthouse by SM U-25 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Dunsley ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 48 nautical miles (89 km) south by west of the Old Head of Kinsale, County Cork (50°55′N 8°18′W) by SM U-24 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.
New York City ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 44 nautical miles (81 km) south south east of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-24 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Pena Castillo ( Spain): The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 33 nautical miles (61 km) north of the Wolf Rock, Cornwall United Kingdom (50°30′N 5°49′W) by SM U-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 23 crew.
Restormel ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 28 nautical miles (52 km) north north west of the Bishop Rock (50°15′N 6°52′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SMS S31 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The S31-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the Gulf of Riga.
Samara ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 35 nautical miles (65 km) west of the Bishop Rock (49°45′N 7°20′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
St. Olaf ( United Kingdom): The schooner was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 58 nautical miles (107 km) off Galley Head, County Cork (50°33′N 8°29′W) by SM U-24 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SM U-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine): Baralong Incident: The Type U-27 submarine was shelled and sunk in the Western Approaches 50°43′N 7°22′W by HMS Baralong ( Royal Navy) with the loss of all 37 crew.

[Sailor Steve]

August 19:

Air War: Oswald Boelke, flying Fokker M5K/mg E.3/15, shoots down an enemy described as a "Bristol biplane". Whether the other plane is armed is unknown. It is Boelke's second kill, and his first in an eindecker.



Celtic Sea: Rudolf Schneider, commanding U-24, sinks British liner Arabic, 15,801 tons, bound from Liverpool to New York with passengers, mail and general cargo; and freighters Dunsley, 4,930 tons carrying a general cargo from Liverpool to Boston; New York City, 2,970 tons, travelling from Swansea to New York with a general cargo; and schooner St. Olaf, travelling in ballast from Llanelly to Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. His score is now 22 ships and 75,146 tons.

Bernd Wegener, in U-27, sinks Spanish freighter SS Pena Castillo, 1,718 tons, heading from Santander to Glasgow with a cargo of iron ore, bringing his score to 12 ships and 37,445 tons. Wegener then attacks SS Nicosian. While U-27 is firing on the British freighter with his deck gun, another freighter approaches, flying the American flag. The new ship signals her intent to pick up survivors from Nicosian. As the range closes the new ship changes flags, hoisting the Royal Navy's white ensign. Q-ship HMS Baralong opens fire on U-27, riddling the u-boat with 12-pounder (3") shells and machine gun fire. The surviving German crew swim for Nicosian, and Baralong's machine guns open up on them. Some make it aboard Nicosian. A boarding party of Royal Marines from Baralong board the freighter, hunt down the Germans and execute them.

Max Valentiner, in U-38, captures and sink's British freighter SS Baron Erskine, 5,585 tons, travelling in ballast from Avonmouth to New Orleans; Restormel, 2,118 tons, bound from Sevilla to Clyde with iron ore; and Samara, 3,172 tons, en route from Colombo to Bristol with a load of sugar. His score is now 41 ships 40,663 tons.



North Sea: Otto Wünsche, in U-25, captures Norwegian freighter SS Bras, 1,863 tons, carrying pit props from Göteborg to Blyth, and sinks her with his deck gun. His score is now 21 ships and 14,145 tons. This is Wünsche's last operation in U-25. In September he will take command of U-70.



German East Africa: At 0008 hours HMS Challenger gets underway, escorting a group of vessels including two whalers, two tugs, three minesweepers and the monitor HMS Severn.

0640 hours HMS Severn transfers her "guests" to the whalers Fly and Pickle. The officers and men constitute a special group led by Commander Richard O.B. Bridgeman. Their assignment is to either capture or destroy the German freighter SS Markgraf, currently at Tanga harbor awaiting conversion to an armed raider. Also they are to capture the liner Präsident, which had months earlier had her engines disabled by the crew of HMS Chatham.

0710 Severn and the whalers enter Tanga harbor. Challenger remains outside the bay due to her deep draft, while Charon, Rattler and Salamander sweep the area for mines.

0720 Severn opens fire on a German mine lighter. The Germans open fire on the monitor and whalers.

0730 Pickle comes under fire from guns placed around a building. When the ships return fire the guns fall silent and a red-cross flag is raised, signifying a hospital.

0737 Pickle sights Markgraf. She has been run aground by the Germans, ensuring she not be taken as a prize and towed away. The ship is protected by several guns ashore. It is suspected that one of them is a 10cm (4.1") gun from Königsberg.

0740 Under heavy fire Pickle grapples and ties up alongside Markgraf. The fire grows so hot that Commander Bridgeman decides the two whalers will be sunk by the time scuttling charges can be placed. Pickle unties from Markgraf and she and Fly run away from the German freighter. Pickle has been hit twice, but neither she nor Fly has a single casualty.

0745 Severn opens fire on Markgraf.

0753 Markgraf has several holes below the waterline, exposed due to the grounding. The ship also has several fires aboard.

0815 Severn ceases fire. The monitor has been hit three times, with one man seriously wounded.

0820 On the way out of the harbor, Severn again opens fire on the lighter, which explodes. It is later discovered that the lighter had laid mines across the bay in case of attack by the British, but that they had been removed back to the little vessel only the previous day, the 18th.

0905 Severn proceeds southward, firing on a signal station ashore.

1120 Severn stops and transfers a wounded midshipman to tug Sarah Joliffe.

1340 Sarah Joliffe arrives at Zanzibar with the wounded man.

1530 Sarah Joliffe returns with the fleet surgeon.

1615 Sarah Joliffe takes Severn under tow.

1952 Severn anchors at Zanzibar.

The operation has been successful. Neither Markgraf nor Präsident will be of any use to their owners for the rest of the war.

(notes for this operation come from various ship's logs and the book Severn's Saga, by E. Keble Chatterton, Hurst & Blackett, LTD, London, 1938)

[Jimbuna]

20th August 1915

Eastern Front

Russians evacuate Byelostok; enemy occupies Byelsk (north of Brest).

Fortress of Novogeorgievsk surrenders to Germany. 90,000 Russians are taken prisoner and 1600 cannons are captured.
http://i.imgur.com/z9eHRNn.jpg

Southern Front

Topkaneh (Arsenal at Constantinople) bombed by Russian aviators.

Aviation

The first sustained aerial bombing offensive is made by Italian Caproni Ca.2s against Austria-Hungary.
http://i.imgur.com/cWhi89n.jpg

Naval and Overseas Operations

Naval battle of Riga continues.

German Fleet penetrates Gulf.

Political, etc.

Sinking of the SS Arabic, which caused 3 American deaths, causes widespread uproar in the US. Officials describe it as “unfriendly act.”

Italy declares war on Turkey.

Russia considers moving the capital back to Moscow to put the center of government at the country’s center.

Second reading of War Loan Bill in Reichstag. 1,000,000,000 marks voted.

Swiss government sends 450 tons of wheat to Luxemburg due to the shortage of foodstuffs there.

Ship Losses:

Bittern ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay off Ouessant, Finistère, France 48°53′N 6°18′W by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Carterswell ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 65 nautical miles (120 km) north west of Ouessant by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Daghestan ( Belgium): The tanker was captured, shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay off Ouessant (48°35′N 6°25′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Martha Edwards ( United Kingdom): The three-masted schooner was shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 62 nautical miles (115 km) north north west of Ouessant by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Silver Wings ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship ran aground on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada and was abandoned.
Sivutch ( Imperial Russian Navy): The gunboat was sunk in the Gulf of Riga in a battle with a Kaiserliche Marine cruiser and gunboat.

Carlos Finlay, Spanish-Cuban physician known for his research of yellow fever & Nobel prize nominee, has passed away.
http://i.imgur.com/C2Yk8AL.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

August 20:

Celtic Sea, off the south English Channel: Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, sinks four more ships: British freighters Bittern, 1,797 tons, carrying a load of coal and cargo from Clyde to Livorno; Carterswell, 4,308 tons, bound from Galveston via Newport News to Le Havre with a load of wheat; Belgian tanker Daghestan, 2,817 tons, scuttled while en route from Philadelphia to Rouen; and British schooner Martha Edmonds, 182 tons, carrying silversand (a fine white sand used for gardening and paving) from Rouen to Seville. His score is now 45 ships and 49,767 tons.



German East Africa: The crew of HMS Severn are busy once again removing armour plates, patching holes, replacing damaged gear and cleaning their ship.

[Jimbuna]

21st August 1915

Southern Front

Second British Suvla attack (Gallipoli) on Anafarta fails.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German Fleet retires from Riga, disembarkation having failed.

21st - First authenticated case of German submarine firing on a ship's crew in open boats (British S.S. "Ruel").

UC.5 is the first minelayer to penetrate the English Channel.

Political, etc.

British Government declares cotton absolute contraband.

Due to the failures of the Russian Army, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich is relieved of command of the army.
http://i.imgur.com/OwOxqFl.jpg

Tsar Nicholas II takes personal command of the Russian army.
http://i.imgur.com/uvCqx8Z.jpg

Ship Losses:

Cober ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 45 nautical miles (83 km) south south west of the Isles of Scilly (49°10′N 6°30′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Ruel ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 45 nautical miles (83 km) south west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (49°25′N 7°10′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
William Dawson ( United Kingdom): The coaster struck a mine and sank in the English Channel 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) off Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France with the loss of five of her crew.
Windsor ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 70 nautical miles (130 km) south west of the Wolf Rock, Cornwall by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Death of Gerald Robert O'Sullivan, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1915 at Gallipoli, Turkey.
http://i.imgur.com/jmkVUwd.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/p46BFuK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/oeV1Cjt.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XM7L4SY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rNMtF6M.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

August 21:

Argentina: Wilhelm Canaris arrives in Buenos Aires. When SMS Dresden was attacked by HMS Kent and Glasgow on March 14th and forced to scuttle, her crew escaped to Juan Fernandez Island. From there they were taken by the Chilean Navy to Quiriquina Island, where they were interned for the rest of the war. Among the refugees was Dresden's intelligence officer, in command of the prisoners. On August 5th Canaris escaped from the island in a boat and made his way to the German embassy in Santiago. There he was given a false passport and some travelling expenses. He then set out on horseback under the name "Reed Rosas". Crossing the Andes Mountains into Argentina Canaris arrives in Buenos Aires on August 21st.



Celtic Sea: Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, sinks three more British ships. Freighters Cober, 3,060 tons, bound from Cardiff to Buenos Aires with an unspecified cargo, is captured and then sunk by torpedo. SS Ruel, 4,029 tons, returning in ballast from Malta to Barry, is captured and sunk with the deck gun. SS Windsor, 6,055 tons, travelling from Barry to Livorno with a load of coal, is also sunk. Valentiner also attacks the British tanker San Melito, 10,160 tons, heading from London to Mexico. He shells the ship with his deck gun, but she manages to escape. His score is now 48 ships and 62,911 tons.

[Jimbuna]

22nd August 1915

Western Front

French occupy Schratzmannele crest (Vosges).

Eastern Front

Russians fall back from the Bobr and Niemen; fall of Osovyets.

German and Austro-Hungarian troops approach Brest-Litovsk on three sides. Aerial bombardments are carried out.

Kaiser Wilhelm tours the fort of Novogeorgievsk after its fall to German troops. Fires still rage in the nearby town.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German destroyer sunk by two French torpedo boat destroyers near Ostend.

Political, etc.

Henry Watterson, American journalist, criticizes Wilson’s inactivity towards Germany, stating “God Hates a Coward.”

Former President Roosevelt makes a speech advocating that time for action against Germany has come.

Eleftherios Venizelos accepts the post of Premier of Greece after a conference with the King.
http://i.imgur.com/a2cyOMg.jpg

Belgian government denies German allegations that Belgian civilians have targeted German troops.

Ship Losses:

Diomed ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 57 nautical miles (106 km) west north west of the Isles of Scilly (50°21′N 6°40′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Orion ( Brazil): The passenger ship ran aground at Macucos and was wrecked. All on board were rescued.
Palmgrove ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) west by north of the Isles of Scilly (49°25′N 7°40′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

http://i.imgur.com/by1bjyj.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/AAe7ZDU.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

August 22:

Celtic Sea: Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, sinks British freighters Diomed, 4,672 tons, bound from Liverpool to Shanghai with a general cargo; and Palmgrove, 3,100 tons, captured and sunk with the deck gun while en route from Clyde to Porto Vecchio with a load of coal. Valentiner's score is now 50 ships and 70,683 tons.

[Jimbuna]

23rd August 1915

Western Front

Week of air raids begin.

French bomb Tergnier and Noyon.

British bomb Lens, Henin Lietard and Loos and German camps in Belgium.

Eastern Front

Stubborn fighting round Kleszczeli (south of Byelsk); Russians hold their own.

Southern Front

Italians attack bridgehead at Tolmino (Julian).

Naval and Overseas Operations

British fleet of 30 ships including H.M. monitors Prince Rupert, John Moore and Lord Clive (12-inch gun) bombarded Zeebrugge, Belgium, targeting German U-boat bases in the area.

North Sea
MIURA, Admiralty trawler, 257/1911, Neale & West, Cardiff-reg CF36, hired 1914 (D - 2/15; He - 1915) as auxiliary patrol vessel, 1-3pdr or 6pdr, Admiralty No.979, Lt Leslie Kersey RNR. On patrol off Great Yarmouth, explosion on starboard quarter at 1245, heeled over, righted, then slowly settled by the stern, sank off Yarmouth, Norfolk (wi - in 52.36.16N, 01.54.20E). Not known if she had been mined or torpedoed although survivors gave evidence that a U-boat was involved. Most sources list her as mined, Hepper as torpedoed. In either case, the submarine involved was UB.2 (Werner Fürbringer); 11 ratings lost.

Belgian Coast
Albyn, ex-Albion, paddle minesweeper, 363/1893, hired 26/5/15, 1-6pdr AA, one of the first six hired paddlers to arrive at Dover 14/7/15 as the Dover Paddlers, Lt A Daniels RNR i/c, night before swept ahead of monitors for Zeebrugge shoot, now daylight on 23rd, returning to Dover. (do - 22nd) - Attacked by German seaplane, a reported seven bombs dropped in two groups, avoided by helm and engine changes. During many subsequent operations, the paddle minesweepers with their broad beam often became the focus of German air attacks; it was reported on 10 June 1916 that "The paddle sweepers at Dunkirk... (had their routine work) enlivened on most days by attacks from hostile aircraft."

Atlantic off SW Ireland
One, possibly two Admiralty-chartered vessels stopped by U.38 (Max Valentiner) and sunk with bombs off Fastnet Rock, off Co Cork.

SILVIA, Admiralty chartered red-ensign oiler, 5,268/1913, Oil Tank SS Co, Liverpool-reg, 41 crew, Mr J Prouse, Halifax (NS) for Queenstown with 6,600t fumace fuel oil. U.38 sighted two miles away on starboard beam at 1100, started shelling, tanker stopped and abandoned, U-boat closed, boarded and placed charges in engine room, pulled off a short distance and opened fire after they had exploded, Silvia sank at 1215, 47 miles W of (L/wi - 40 miles W of, in 51.07N, 10.46W), ship's confidential papers thrown overboard by Master in weighted bag; survivors picked up by armed trawler at 1900, landed at Berehaven.

TRAFALGAR, 4,572/1911, Glasgow-reg, Glasgow Shipowners, 31 crew, Mr W Peter (wi - on Admiralty charter), Mejillones for Clyde with nitrates. Sunk 54 miles SW by W of (L - 54 miles SW of; wi - in 50.39N, 10.27W).

Political, etc.

President Wilson states he will recall the US ambassador of Germany if the sinking of the ocean liner Arabic was unjustified.

Germany apologizes to Denmark for firing on a British submarine that was grounded in Danish waters.

Greek Cabinet formed.

Serbia concedes to Italian demands in Albania, paving way for Allied intervention in the Balkan theater.

Prime Minister Okuma of Japan promises greater munitions aid to Russia in order to fight off the German advance.

Ship Losses:

SMS A15 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The A1-class torpedo boat was shelled and sunk in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium by Branlebas and Oriflamme (both French Navy).
Boy Bert ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km) off Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Commander Boyle ( United Kingdom): The trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) north by west of Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire with the loss of three of her crew.
Integrity ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 24 nautical miles (44 km) east south east of Cromer, Norfolk by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Miura ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk (52°36′N 1°54′E) by SM UB-2 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eleven crew.
Silvia ( United Kingdom): The tanker was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 47 nautical miles (87 km) west of the Fastnet Rock (51°50′N 10°46′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Trafalgar ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 54 nautical miles (100 km) south west by west of the Fastnet Rock (50°53′N 10°48′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

August 23:

Celtic Sea: Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, sinks British tanker Silvia, 5,268 tons, carrying oil from Halifax to Queenstown; and freighter Trafalgar, 4,572 tons, bound from Mejillones to Glasgow with a load of nitrate. He finishes his third war patrol with a total of 53 ship and 80,852 tons, overtaking Rudolf Schneider as the highest-scoring u-boat ace.*



North Sea: Werner Fürbinger, in UB-2, torpedoes HMT Miura, 257 tons, bringing his score to 7 vessels and 554 tons.

Hans Nieland, in UB-12, stops and scuttles fishing smacks Boy Bert, 57 tons, and Integrity, 52 tons. His score is now 8 vessels and 388 tons.



*These numbers do not match the numbers posted yesterday. This is because last night I discovered I had not counted one of the ships sunk long ago, forcing me to recheck the entire list.

[Jimbuna]

24th August 1915

Western Front

French air raid into south Baden (Lorrach).

Eastern Front

German forces advance to artillery range of Brest-Litovsk.

Southern Front

Austrians, reinforced, resume offensive along Italian front.

Naval despatch on Gallipoli published.

Political, etc.

Allies estimate Germany has 3.2 million soldiers on two fronts: 1.8 million in the West and 1.4 million in the East.

Ship Losses:

Sinsen (Norway): The steamer (1,925tons) and cargo unknown was taken as a prize in the North Sea, position (58° 46'N, 1° 21'W) by U 24 (Rudolf Schneider) (Kaiserliche Marine) but later released.

Leon Mathilde (Belgium): The Sailing Vessel was taken as a prize off Ostende by UB 17 (Ralph Wenninger) (Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

August 24:

Air War: Lanoe Hawker is awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on July 25th.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/Hawker_zps0ozvfqud.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/Hawker_zps0ozvfqud.jpg.html)



North Sea: Rudolf Schneider, commanding U-24, takes Norwegian freighter SS Sinsen, 1,925 tons, bound from Archangelsk to Bayonne with a load of wheat, as a prize. The ship is later released.

Ralph Wenninger, in UB-17, takes Belgian sailing vessel Leon Mathilde as a prize, details, including displacement, are unknown, making it difficult to record Wenninger's tonnage score.

[Jimbuna]

25th August 1915

Western Front

British line extended: French positions taken over.

French bomb Dillingen iron works; air raids in Woevre, Argonne and Artois.

Eastern Front

Storming and fall of Brest-Litovsk.

Southern Front

Brescia bombed by Austrians.

Account published of operations in Gallipoli since 6 August.

Fighting at Cattaro between Austrians and Montenegrins.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Coast of Asia Minor and Syria declared in state of blockade.

Horrible Armenian massacres reported.

Political etc.

U.S. Department of Justice arrests Gutav Kopsch on charges of spying for Germany. He had photographs and maps of Fort Monroe, VA.

Russia consider abolishing the Pale of Settlement, which would allow Jews to settle freely in the Russian Empire.

Foreign Minister of Japan expresses hope that Japan would see closer relations with Britain, France, and Russia after the War.

German message to the US over the sinking of the Arabic, which cost 3 American lives.
http://i.imgur.com/2VIDEe1.png

Ship Losses:

Disa ( Sweden): The coaster struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 5 to 6 nautical miles (9.3 to 11.1 km) north by east of the Shipwash Lightship ( United Kingdom) (52°09′N 1°39′E). Her crew survived.
Petshora ( Russia): The cargo ship was sunk in the Gulf of Finland by SM U-26 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Young Frank ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 38 nautical miles (70 km) north by east of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

August 25:

North Sea: Hans Nieland, commanding UB-12, scuttles fishing smack Young Frank, 49 tons, bringing his score to 9 vessels and 437 tons.



Gulf of Finland: Egewulf von Berckheim, in U-26, sinks Russian freighter SS Petshora, 1,982 tons. Ship's destination and cargo unknown. Von Berckheim's score is now 4 ships and 14,206 tons.

[Jimbuna]

26th August 1915

Western Front

French bomb poison gas factory Dornach.

Eastern Front

Germans occupy fort of Olita on Niemen and advance south-east and north-east of Brest-Litovsk.

Southern Front

Italian progress in Val Sugana (Trentino).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Rustam (north-west India) column defeats Brunerwals at Surkhabi.

Aviation

62 French planes bomb Saar-louis, and another squadron of 60 British, Belgian, and French planes bomb German positions in Flanders.

http://i.imgur.com/znZcxgt.jpg

Naval and Overseas Operations

North Sea
JASPER, Admiralty-owned trawler, 221/1912, previously Kingston Steam Trawling, purchased by Admiralty pre-war, 1-6pdr, Admiralty No.164, commissioned as minesweeper, Lt William St Clair Fleming RNR. Taking part in sweeping field laid by German auxiliary minelayer Meteor in Moray Firth, mined at 0935 and sank quickly (He - 58.13N, 02.22W; wi - in 58N, 03W); 8 ratings killed (He – 7 died; wi - 11).

Political, etc.

French Navy declares it had started the blockade of Ottoman Asia Minor and Syria from the island of Samos to the Egyptian frontier.

Letter published from Sir Edward Grey in answer to German Chancellor's speech.

French Chamber of Deputies votes 539 to 1 in support of Premier Viviani and Minister of War Millerand.

Lord Selborne addresses agricultural representatives.

Ship Losses:

HMT Jasper ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Sahina Noria ( Italy): The sailing vessel was sunk in the Aegean Sea off Orak, Rabbit Islands, Turkey by SM UC-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

August 26:

"I am being kept very busy out here. Last night there was a comic raid on the Forest of Houthulst. It is six or seven miles behind the lines near Dixmude, and the Huns use it as a rest camp - boucoup de stores and ammunition there too. The French idea is to set it on fire with incindiary bombs. Over forty machines took part, including self - perfect weather conditions - no clouds but very hazy, so when one got high up one was almost invisible. I got to just over 11,000 feet, but even then had one or two shots near me. Below me the air was simply a mass of bursting shrapnel. French artillery also opened fire on the place. There must have been beaucoup de noise in the forest. Most amusing - a really soft job as some one remarked."
Harold Rosher, letter to his mother, August 26, 1915

"What do you think of the 40 warships bombarding Zeebrugge? We were all due out there, of course, some spotting, and fighters to protect the spotters. As luck would have it, the weather was dud - clouds at 1,500 feet - with the result that no one got there except a solitary fighter, and he was rewarded by a scrap with a German seaplane. I got just past Ostend, but gave it up as engine was running none too well.

By the way, Bigsworth this morning dropped a 60 lb. bomb bang on top of a German submarine and completely did it in - Jolly good work."
Harold Rosher, letter to his father, August 26, 1915

(Note: there is no German record of a U-boat being lost this day, to aerial bombing or any other cause)



Air War: Max Immelmann of Germany scores his second victory. The victim's type is unknown, but described as a bomber.



Aegean Sea: Johannes Kirchner, commanding UC-13, sinks Italian sailing vessel Sahina Noria, 37 tons, near Orak, Turkey.

[Jimbuna]

27th August 1915

Western Front

British line extended: French positions taken over.

French bomb Dillingen iron works; air raids in Woevre, Argonne and Artois.

Eastern Front

Storming and fall of Brest-Litovsk.

Southern Front

Brescia bombed by Austrians.

Account published of operations in Gallipoli since 6 August.

Anzac forces again attempt to take Hill 60 at Gallipoli, but only make limited gains due to strong Ottoman defenses.

Fighting at Cattaro between Austrians and Montenegrins.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Coast of Asia Minor and Syria declared in state of blockade.

Horrible Armenian massacres reported.

Political etc.

US Department of Commerce releases findings that the US has become the world leading exporter for the first time in history.

French President Poincare, War Minister Millerand, & General Joffre issue a joint telegram expressing confidence in Russia despite defeats.

Russian Minister of War announces it will raise another 2 million men and that the fate of the war will not be decided this year.

Hans Hartwig von Beseler is made the military-governor of German-occupied Poland.
http://i.imgur.com/8kUShg5.jpg

Political cartoon about Theodore Roosevelt’s belligerent attitude, titled “White House or Bust”
http://i.imgur.com/WntV8w5.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

August 27:

Air War: Austro-Hungarian observer Otto Jindra, riding in Albatros B.I 22.06 with an unnamed pilot, shoots down a Morane parasol for his third kill.

[Jimbuna]

28th August 1915

Western Front

Air-raid on Compiegne.

Southern Front

Italians carry and hold Monte Cista (Val Sugana, Trentino).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Bunerwals again defeated, Malandri Pass (north-west India).

Aviation

Six German aircraft raid Paris, who are challenged by French planes. One German plane is shot down while attempting to return.

Naval

North Sea
DANE, Admiralty trawler, 265/1913, 'D' Line Steam Fishing, Grimsby-reg GY947, hired 4/15 as auxiliary patrol vessel, Admiralty No.1446, believed Harwich-based, Lt Parker RNR. Mined at 0750, laid by UC.6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow), sank about 1 mile NW of North Aldeburgh Napes buoy, off Suffolk (wi - 2½m ESE of Thorpe Ness, in 52.10.08N, 01.41.06E); 4 ratings lost and 1 more DOW (wi - 8 killed).

Irish Sea
DOLORES, naval motor boat, ex-high speed pleasure motor boat, 12grt, hired 1914, serving with Motor Boat Reserve as HM Motor Boat No.55 (number also used by motor boat Arabian), armed with rifles/small arms, manned by RNVR crew, Sub‑Lt Harold Bishop Mylchreest RNR in command. Caught fire, burnt to the waterline and sank alongside the quay in Douglas Harbour, Isle of Man (wi - in 54.08.45N, 04.28.05W); no lives lost.

Political, etc.

President Roosevelt criticizes Wilson, stating no American lives were lost in war while he was in office.

Kaiser Wilhelm confers with his minister over the unrestricted submarine campaign due to increasing US pressure.

Official casualty lists of Prussia show 1,740,836 names. This does not include casualties from other German states or the Navy.

Ship Losses:

HMT Dane ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Aldeburgh, Suffolk with the loss of five of her crew.
HMY Dolores ( Royal Navy): The naval yacht was destroyed by fire at Douglas, Isle of Man.

John Davis Long, former Massachusetts Governor and Navy Secretary during the Spanish-American War, has passed away.
http://i.imgur.com/8D3DWe0.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

August 28:

North Sea: His Majesty's Trawler Dane, 265 tons, strikes a mine laid by Matthias Graf von Schmettow in UC-6. This is the fourth vessel lost to this minefield, giving von Schmettow a score of 1,567 tons.

[Jimbuna]

29th August 1915

Western Front

Violent artillery duel in Argonne.

Eastern Front

Enemy nears Grodno and Vilna. Lipsk (Grodno) stormed, Sidra section evacuated.

Germans attack bridgehead of Dvina at Friedrichstadt.

German and Austro-Hungarian offensive breaks Russian forces north of Kovno (Kaunas) in their push towards Vilnius.

Southern Front

The Battle of Hill 60, the last major assault of the Gallipoli Campaign, ends in Anzac failure, with 1100 casualties.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Swat natives repulsed at Sandaki (north-west India).

Naval

North Sea
C.29, submarine, C-class, c290/320t, 1909, 2‑18in tt with 4 torpedoes, 13/7½kts, 16 crew, Pennant No.I.59, Rosyth-based 7th Flotilla, Lt William Schofield, on anti-U-boat patrol with decoy trawler Ariadne, submerged, in tow and in telephone contact with Ariadne. Underwater explosion and tow rope went slack, mined off the Humber near Outer Dowsing LV (bw - 53.59N, 01.25E), accidentally towed into British minefield laid in January; 2 officers and 15 ratings lost (He – all 16 crew lost), no survivors.

USS F-4, the 1st commissioned US submarine to be lost at sea, is raised from the ocean bottom.
http://i.imgur.com/GOSn4Vo.jpg

Ship Losses:

HMS C29 ( Royal Navy): The C-class submarine struck a mine and sank in the Humber Estuary with the loss of all sixteen crew.
Sir William Stephenson ( United Kingdom): The passenger ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the Cockle Lightship with the loss of two lives.

Political etc.

Bishop Flavianus Michael Malke is arrested by Ottoman authorities and is killed for refusing to convert to Islam.
http://i.imgur.com/CLMTouc.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

August 29:

"As things stand at present I understand I am not going out to the Dardanelles. I must say I am awfully disappointed, as I was always rather keen to go out there, but I may possibly have a better job. For all I know it may be to rejoin Babington.

Went out to Furnes yesterday afternoon to collect more of my gear. While out there, a German machine came over and dropped six bombs on us. One went right into our tent and three fell within forty yards of me. No one was hit. We all ran like stags."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, August 29, 1915



North Sea: SS Sir William Stephenson, 1,540 tons, bound from Tyne to London with a general cargo, becomes the latests victim of the minefield laid by UC-6. Matthias von Schmettow's score is now 5 ships and 3,107 tons.



Adriatic Sea: Georg von Trapp, commanding Austrian U-5, takes Greek freighter SS Cefalonia, 1,034 tons, as a prize off Durrazzo (Durrës), Albania. The ship was heading from Saloniki to San Giovanni de Medua with a load of grain. Von Trapp's score is now 3 ships and 13,665 tons.

[Aktungbby]

Bishop Flavianus Michael Malke is arrested by Ottoman authorities and is killed for refusing to convert to Islam.

The 32 year old bishop, his own mother and parishioners having been killed in previous massacres (1895) by the Islamic authority, bravely refused to desert his followers during the Assyrian Genocide' In the summer of 1915, during the height of the Assyrian Genocide,(also ongoing with the Armenian Genocide) in the rural region Tur Abdin, Malke at the time, returned to Gazarta upon hearing news of an impending massacre against the Christians there and refused to flee despite being advised so by local Muslim leaders. Unlike the Armenians, there were no orders to deport Assyrians. The attacks against them were not of standardized nature and incorporated various methods of massacre; in some cities, all Assyrian men were slain and the others were forced to flee. These massacres were often carried out upon the initiatives of local politicians and Kurdish tribes, and Assyrian collaboration with Russians prompted some of them. Exposure, disease and starvation during the flight of Assyrians increased the death toll, and women were subjected to widespread sexual abuse in some areas. The death toll stands at 300,000!! Bishop Malke was arrested by Ottoman authorities on 28 August 1915, alongside the Chaldean (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaldean_Catholic_Church) bishop of the city, Philippe-Jacques Abraham (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe-Jacques_Abraham). According to Muslim eyewitnesses they were given choice between death or conversion to Islam the next day, upon their refusal, Jacques Abraham was immediately shot dead, Bishop Malke was beaten until he became unconscious and was afterwards beheaded. Abraham's corpse was dragged through the city. When it comes to 'one-day' justice...the Islamic Ottomans didn't 'talk turkey'....literally:/\\!! and deny it ever took place...to this day.
In 2010 the Syriac Catholic Patriarch launched a request for the beatification (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatification) of Bishop Malke. He was declared Servant of God (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_of_God) by the Holy See (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See), which is the first step towards sainthood. On Sunday, 30 September 2012, a report was submitted to Rome (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome) by the Syriac Catholic Patriarch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Syriac_Catholic_Patriarchs_of_Antioch) for Bishop Malke's beatification.
On 8 August 2015 his beatification was approved after Pope Francis determined that Bishop Malke was killed in hatred of his faith. Cardinal Angelo Amato (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelo_Amato), Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_for_the_Causes_of_Saints), on behalf of the pope - presided over the beatification in Lebanon on 29 August 2015. [wiki]

[Jimbuna]

30th August 1915

Eastern Front

Russian victory on Strypa (southern Galicia), taking 4,000 prisoners and 30 guns.

Southern Front

Italians eject Austrians from Monte Maronia (Julian).

French aeroplanes bomb Akbachi Sliman and Chanak (Gallipoli).

Naval

British training ship Cornwall is hit by a tug in the Thames, resulting in the deaths of an officer and 16 boys.
http://i.imgur.com/haZxNPT.jpg

Berlin: The government orders U-boats not to sink merchant ships or passenger liners without first giving warning and providing time for the crews and passengers to disembark. No neutral ships to be sunk unless taking cargo to Britain.
A surfaced U-boat sunk with its deck gun a merchantmen after the crew has previously left the ship in lifeboats.
http://i.imgur.com/pTyIA7Q.jpg

Political, etc.

British authorities capture German baron Otto von Gumppenberg, who they claim incited Arab revolts in Italian Libya and British Egypt.

German Ambassador's account of his last interview with Sir Edward Grey republished from German press.

Britain agrees to relax its rules on its blockade of Germany. US Cargo worth millions have been held up in Rotterdam due to the blockade.

Letter from Mr. Balfour gives total deaths from Zeppelin raids as 89 - all civilians.

Tsar Nicholas of Russia agrees to expand the cabinet by 10 members, in an effort make the government more representative.

British Foreign Minister (Sir E. Grey) informs M. Supilo that, provided Serbia agreed, the Allies could guarantee the eventual freedom and self-determination of Bosnia, Herzegovina, South Dalmatia, Slavonia, and Croatia.

Ship Losses:

Bretwalda ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struc a mine and was damaged in the North Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) east of the Longsand Lightship ( United Kingdom). She was beached but was later refloated, repaired and returned to service.
Honiton ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and was damaged in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) east of the Longsand Lightship. She was beached at Shoeburyness, Essex but was declared a total loss.
Zemlya ( Russia): The coaster was sunk in the Baltic Sea off Worms Island (59°02′N 23°02′E) by SM U-26 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

August 30:

Air activity over France:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/August%2030%201915_zpssnje87gl.gif (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/August%2030%201915_zpssnje87gl.gif.html)



Baltic Sea: Near the Straight of Hari Kurk, Egewold von Berckheim, in U-26, sinks the Russian freighter SS Zemlya. This is von Bercheim's last sinking, and his final score is 5 ships and 15,075 tons. U-26 was not heard from again. Nothing was left but speculation for 99 years, until the wreck of U-26 was discovered in May 2014.
http://badewanne.fi/a-hundred-year-old-world-war-i-mystery-solved-sm-u-26-has-been-found/



German East Africa: At 1248 HMS Severn sends a landing party to Simaya Island, looking for signs of German activity. The island is deserted.

[Jimbuna]

31st August 1915

Western Front

Germans claim successes in the Vosges.

Eastern Front

Russians beat Germans near Lutsk (Upper Styr River). 7,000 prisoners.

Russian counterattacks in Galicia reverse recent German gains. Russia claims they have captured 3000 men, 30 cannons, and 34 machine guns.

Southern Front

Serbian troops at Durazzo.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Rustam column again drives Bunerwals back.

Aviation

Adolphe Pégoud, French aviator & 1st fighter ace in history, is shot down and killed by his prewar German student.
http://i.imgur.com/RNxshHq.jpg

Political, etc.

Dispute in South Wales Coalfield officially ended.

Analysts estimate that British insurance companies have paid £5.5 million due to losses caused by the war.

Ship Losses:

Edith ( United States): The cargo ship foundered in the Pacific Ocean 47 nautical miles (87 km) east of Cape St. Elias, Alaska. Her crew were rescued by Mariposa ( United States).

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc. in the month - 122 ships of 196,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses).

[Sailor Steve]

August 31:

Air War:

Welsh pilot Lionel Rees and Scots observer James Hargreaves, in FB.5 1649, shoot down an LVG C.I for their second victory.

German pilot Walter Kandulski and observer Julius Bielitz are attacked by a Morane-Saulnier 'N'. Bielitz successfully defends the aircraft, forcing the Morane down. Adolphe Pègoud, the world's first ace, has died in combat.

Idflieg reports 22 Fokker eindeckers at the front:
17 E.I
2 E.II
3 E.III

[Jimbuna]

1st September 1915

Western Front

Despite the use of poison gas, two German attacks on French lines at Vosges are repulsed. Artillery bombardment on both sides continue.

Eastern Front

Germans storm Grodno.

Austrians enter Brody.

Russians concentrate round Vilna.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Island of Ruad (between Latakia and Tripoli, Syria) occupied by French.

Naval

Auxiliary Patrol - First 6 Elco-built ML's reached Portsmouth, overhauled and carried out trials, ML's 1, 2, 3 commissioned at Portsmouth on 14 October

North Sea
Two Admiralty trawlers, both Grimsby-reg and Harwich-based (and one steamship), mined and sunk in field laid by UC.7 (Franz Wäger) the day before off the Shipwash, off Orford Ness:

NADINE, Admiralty trawler, 150/1898, Orient Steam Fishing, GY138, hired 11/14 as auxiliary patrol vessel, Pennant No.693, tender to HMS Ganges, shore training establishment at Shotley, Suffollk, Skipper Percy Michael Saunders RNR. Sank off North Shipwash Buoy (wi - 52.01.18N, 01.37.35E); Skipper and 8 ratings lost (He – 3 survivors).

MALTA, Admiralty trawler, 138/1897, W Grant, GY325, hired 11/14 as auxiliary patrol vessel, Pennant No.700, had operated with submarine C.33 as trawler-submarine decoy, Skipper Frank McPherson RNR. Sank 2 cables NW of North Shipwash Buoy (wi - in 52.01.18N, 01.37.35E); 7 ratings lost.

Political etc.

President Wilson urges Senators and Representatives to ruthlessly cut pork barrel projects in order to increase the defense budget.

Serbia replies to communication of Entente Powers, re: settlement of Balkan question.

German acceptance of American demands re: submarine warfare communicated by Count Bernstorff. German Ambassador Bernstorff’s statement defuses tensions between the US and Germany, but public opinion in the US remains negative.

Germany promises the United States that civilian liners will not be attacked.
http://i.imgur.com/1oZK0O5.png

Kaiser Wilhelm congratulates Hindenburg on the 1 year anniversary of Tannenberg, “a feat of arms unparalleled in history.”

Ship Losses:

HMT Malta ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Thames Estuary with the loss of seven of her crew.
HMT Nadine ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Thames Estuary with the loss of nine of her crew.
Savona ( United Kingdom}): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 0.5 nautical miles (930 m) off the Shipwash Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of three of her crew.
Whitefield ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 95 nautical miles (176 km) north by west of Cape Wrath, Sutherland (59°45′N 6°00′W) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Ottoman shell hitting stores of Australian troops at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli.
http://i.imgur.com/wGJIesS.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 1:

Air War:

Austro-Hungarian team of Gottried von Banfield and Heribert von Ravelsberg, in a Lohner flying boat, file two more claims this day, a Curtiss flying boat and an Italian of unnamed make. Both are listed as unconfirmed and their score remains at 1.



North of Scotland, east of the Shetland Islands: Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, begins his third war patrol with the sinking of British freighter SS Whitefield, 2,422 tons, bound from Archangelsk to Clyde and then Nice with a load of wheat. His score is now 8 ships and 12,607 tons.



North Sea: Three ships, His Majesty's Trawlers Malta, 138 tons, and Nadine, 150 tons; and SS Savona, 1,180 tons, carrying a cargo of esparto grass and lead from Oran to Leith; all are lost to a minefield laid in the Thames Estuary by UC-7, commanded by Franz Wäger. Wäger's score is now 3 ships and 1,588 tons.

[Jimbuna]

2nd September 1915

Western Front

Artillery duels continue between Germany and France across the front. At Linge, Germany fires an estimated 40,000 shells in 2 days.

Eastern Front

Fall of Grodno; Boehm-Ermolli advances east of Brody; Russians retreat to the Sereth; fierce fighting near Vilna.

Southern Front

Unsuccessful assault by Italians on bridgehead of Tolmino.

British submarines sink four Turkish transports off Akbachi Sliman and Nagara (Gallipoli).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

German intrigues in Persia; Mr T.G. Graham, British Counsul-General at Ispahan, attacked and wounded.

Final scattering of Bunerwals on N.W. Frontier (India).

Naval and Overseas Operations

HMT Southland, a troop transport, is torpedoed by the German submarine UB-14 near Lemnos, resulting in 40 deaths.
http://i.imgur.com/ou8ZTgQ.jpg

William T. Lewis a British sailing ship of 2,166 tons enroute from Everett - Sheerness with a cargo of timber, was stopped at location 50° 55'N, 11° 47'W by U 39 (Walter Forstmann). All attempts to sink her by gunnery were unsuccesful. She was damaged again by U 20 two days later whilst being towed and still did not sink.
http://i.imgur.com/TsOZEmR.jpg

Political etc.

Germany offers the US to let The Hague settle claims over the sinking of the Lusitania and Arabic.

General Polivanov appointed Prime Minister in Russia.

Switzerland and Sweden agree to work together to bring other neutral nations closer together through diplomatic exchange.

American press publishes peace terms now being propagated by Germany.

Scandinavian groups of Inter-parliamentary Union meet at Copenhagen.

Ship Losses:

Marie ( Norway): The coaster caught fire and sank in the Bay of Biscay. Her sixteen crew were rescued by Marcella ( Greece).
Roumanie ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) west of St. Kilda, Inverness-shire by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

September 2:

"Many alterations are taking place here and we are being sadly split up. Andreae and I are very soon going to Dover to join a mythical "C" group. At present Andreae and I are its sole components - even a Squadron Commander is not yet appointed. I am to be 1st Lieut., good for me, but fear they may yet put in a Flight Commander. In all probablility we shall be in England over two months. Shall know a heap more in a few days."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, September 2, 1915
(sorry it's a day late)



North Atlantic: Off the northwest coast of Scotland Walther Schwieger, commanding U-20, opens his fifth war patrol with the sinking of British freighter SS Roumanie, 2,599 tons, bound from Archangelsk to Clyde with a load of wood. Schwieger's score is now 16 ships and 74,456 tons.

Northwest of Ireland Heino von Heimburg, in UB-14, damages passenger liner SS Southland, 11,899 tons, heading from Alexandria to Mudros.

Southwest of Ireland Walter Forstmann, in U-39, starts his fourth war patrol with a deck-gun attack on British sailing ship SV William T. Lewis, 2,166 tons, carrying a load of timber from Everett to Sheerness. The full-rigged ship is only damaged.



German East Africa: While patrolling the coastline, HMS Severn records that the beach at Kilwa Kivinje appears to be entrenched.

[BossMark]

September 3 1916


The German Somme front is broken by an Allied offensive.


Battle of Guillemont, 3–6 September

The Battle of Guillemont was an attack on the village which was captured by the Fourth Army on the first day. Guillemont was on the right flank of the British sector, near the boundary with the French Sixth Army. German defences ringed the British salient at Delville Wood to the north and had observation over the French Sixth Army area to the south towards the Somme river. The German defence in the area was based on the second line and numerous fortified villages and farms north from Maurepas at Combles, Guillemont, Falfemont Farm, Delville Wood and High Wood, which were mutually supporting. The battle for Guillemont was considered by some observers to be the supreme effort of the German army during the battle. Numerous meetings were held by Joffre, Haig, Foch, Rawlinson and Fayolle to co-ordinate joint attacks by the four armies, all of which broke down. A pause in Anglo-French attacks at the end of August, coincided with the largest counter-attack by the German army in the Battle of the Somme

[Jimbuna]

3rd September 1915

Eastern Front

Germans force Russians at Friedrichstadt to east bank of Dvina; Russians re-enter Grodno and hold line between Dniester and Pripet marshes.

Austrians reach right bank of Sereth.

Grand Duke Nicholas appointed Viceroy of Caucasus.

General von Beseler appointed Governor General of Russian Poland.

Naval and Overseas Operations

North Sea
CHURSTON, Admiralty collier, 2,470/1914, Wilton SS Co, Dartmouth-reg, Mr W Martin, from Cardiff with 2,310t Welsh coal. Mined at 0850, laid by UC.7 (Franz Wäger), tugs attempted to take her in tow but weather too bad, finally sank at 1300, 2½m S of Orford Ness (W/te - in 52.01N, 01.38E); four crew lost, survivors picked up by naval patrol vessel.

British mounted infantry cause severe loss to enemy near Maktan (German East Africa).

Political etc.

French Ministry of the Interior takes steps to provide jobs in the public sector for crippled war veterans.

Allies continue to negotiate with Bulgaria to ensure its neutrality, but Bulgaria demands all of Macedonia.

Field Marshal von Hindenburg takes a break to go deer hunting at Schippenbeil, East Prussia.

Romania forbids export of cereals.

Aviation

September 3rd- 4th, 1915 (overnight)] Four Imperial German Navy airships attempt to bomb England. One of them, L 10, is struck by lightning and crashes in flames in the North Sea near Neuwerk, Germany, with the loss of her entire 20-man crew.
http://i.imgur.com/b5cdaVa.jpg

Ship Losses:

Churston ( United Kingdom): The collier struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) south of Orfordness, Suffolk (52°01′N 1°38′E) with the loss of four of her crew.
Frode ( Denmark): The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) west of Shannon, County Clare, United Kingdom (50°12′N 12°06′W) by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.

A 32-year-old Benito Mussolini leaves Italy for the front.
http://i.imgur.com/fVAAmOl.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 3:

North Atlantic: Off the west coast of Ireland Walther Schweiger, commanding U-20, sinks Danish freighter SS Frode, 1,875 tons, bound from Buenos Aires to Malmö with a cargo of maize. His score is now 17 ships and 76,331 tons.



North Sea: British freighter SS Churston, 2,470 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardiff to an unregistered destination, becomes the fourth victim of the minefield laid by UC-7. Franz Wäger's score is now 4,058 tons.

[Jimbuna]

4th September 1915

Western Front

Artillery actions round Arras, and north of Chalons.

Eastern Front

Enemy offensive on Dubno-Kovna road developing; Russians retire slowly in centre.

Southern Front

Successful Italian actions in Trentino and in Plezzo basin (Julian).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Allan liner "Hesperian" torpedoed off Irish coast, west of Queenstown; sinks later with loss of 32 lives.

U-boat Warfare - SS Natal Transport was the first recorded British merchant ship lost in the Mediterranean to a U-boat

North Sea
Dahlia, fleet sweeping sloop, Acacia-class, 1,200t, 2-12pdr/2-3pdr, Grand Fleet minesweeping flotilla, Lt G Parsons, sweeping Meteor-laid field in Cromarty Firth. (Rn - 2nd) - Mined and very badly damaged, bows blown off but ship saved and repaired; 3 ratings killed, one missing and one died of wounds, Lt Parsons severely injured.

Atlantic off SW Ireland
Mimosa, Admiralty chartered red-ensign oiler (and a British steamship) captured off Fastnet Rock and sunk by U.33 (Konrad Gansser), then on passage for the Dardanelles:

CYMBELINE, 4,505/1902, Bear Creek Oil & Shipping Co (C T Bowring & Co), Liverpool-reg, Port Arthur for Dartmouth with oil. Sunk by torpedo by U.33 (Konrad Gansser), 96 miles W by S of (H/te/un - also 29 miles W by S of; un – in 51.16N, 12.04W); six crew lost.

Dardanelles
E.7, submarine, E-class, 655/796t, 1913, 1-12pdr/4-18in tt with 8 torpedoes, 15/9kts, 30 crew, Pennant No.I.87, fitted with 6pdr in 1915, Lt-Cdr Archibald Cochrane, attempting to break through Dardanelles defences to Sea of Marmara to relieve E.11 and partner E.7, set out from Kephalo Bay at 0200 on 4th. Reached Nagara Point at 0700, starboard propeller fouled anti-submarine net, struggled for 12 hours to get free, blowing and flooding tanks and manouevring, which only alerted the defences. Lt Heino von Hemburg, commander of UB.14 (ke - U.14) was rowed out to the approximate position, reportedly by the boat's cook, with one or more small mines which were lowered and detonated near the trapped submarine. According to Hepper, the first mine exploded at 1030 shaking the boat, and a second at 1840 which broke lights and other equipment. Lt Cochrane accepted E.7 would be destroyed, burnt the confidential papers, prepared for scuttling, came to the surface and blew her up (C/Cn - on 5th); no lives lost, all 38 crew saved, taken to Constantinople as POW's.

Ship Losses:

Cymbeline ( United Kingdom): The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 29 nautical miles (54 km) west by south of the Fastnet Rock (51°16′N 12°04′W) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of six crew.
HMS E7 ( Royal Navy): The E-class submarine was caught in an anti-submarine net in the Dardanelles and was scuttled.
Glimt ( Norway): The sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 90 nautical miles (170 km) west by south of the Fastnet Rock (51°37′N 12°05′W) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Hesperian ( United Kingdom): The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 85 nautical miles (157 km) south west by south of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 32 lives.
Mimosa ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 137 nautical miles (254 km) south west by south of the Fastnet Rock (49°26′N 12°00′W) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Natal Transport ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) west of Gavdos, Greece by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Storesand ( Norway): The barque was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the Fastnet Rock by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

September 4:

Celtic Sea: Walther Schweiger, commanding U-20, torpedoes British passenger liner SS Hesperian, 10,920 tons, bound from Liverpool to Montreal with a general cargo plus passengers. The ship survives the attack temporarily, but sinks two days later while under tow, giving Schweiger a score of 18 ships and 87,251 tons.

Konrad Gansser, in U-33, sinks British tanker Cymbeline, 4,505 tons, heading from Port Arthur to Dartmouth with a load of oil; Freighter Mimosa, 3,466 tons, carrying oil in drums from New York to Belfast and Liverpool; and Norwegian freighters Glimt, 955 tons, travelling in ballast from Ellesmere to Gaspé; and sailing ship Storesand, bound from Iquique to Liverpool with a load of nitrate. His score is now 12 ships and 23,172 tons.



Mediterranean Sea: Claus Rücker, in U-34, has moved from the Atlantic to warmer waters, and starts his third war patrol with the sinking of British freighter SS Natal Transport, 4,107 tons, bound from Bombay to Liverpool with a general cargo, off the coast of Crete. His score is now 9 ships and 23,187 tons.



German East Africa: At 0945 hours HMS Severn is patrolling off the mouth of the Simba Uranga when a boat is seen crossing the mouth of the river and men landng and entering a hut where they shouldn't be. General Quarters is sounded. Severn fires five shrapnel rounds at the hut, then departs.

[Jimbuna]

5th September 1915

Western Front

Heavy bombardments continue along Belgium and French fronts, especially in Arras region.

This completes 13th day of incessant artillery duel on Western Front.

French aircraft bomb barracks at Dieuze and Morchingen.

Eastern Front

Tsar takes supreme command, with General Alexeiev as Chief of Staff, General Russki succeeding latter as General Officer Commander-in-Chief Northern Army; fighting on Styr and Sereth.

German advance towards Riga slows due to stretched supply lines, stiffening Russian resistance, and the coming winter months.

Southern Front

Night attack at Dardanelles by Turks repulsed by Australians.

Sesis Pass, one of the few passes in the Carnic Alps held by the Austro-Hungarians, is captured by the Italians.

Asiatic and Egyptians Theatres

Defeat of Mohmands on Indian frontier by General Campbell at Hafiz Khor (Gundao Valley).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Mine explosions on Uganda railway. Trains derailed, no casualties.

Political etc.

White House asks Congress to decrease funding for pork barrel projects by $50 million, and instead allocate funds to defense.

Zimmerwald Conference, an international conference of socialists (attended by Lenin and Trotsky), begins.

Ship Losses:

Dictator ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 135 nautical miles (250 km) south by west of the Fastnet Rock (49°09′N 8°58′W) by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Douro ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 79 nautical miles (146 km) south west by west of the Bishop's Rock (48°55′N 7°48′W) by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Rhea ( Russia): The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of the Fastnet Rock (48°24′N 7°24′W by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine).[19] Nineteen crew were rescued by Velasquez ( Spain).

http://i.imgur.com/xIlNC6R.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kD16Ejt.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 5:

South Celtic Sea, off the English Channel: Walther Schwieger, commanding U-20, sinks three more ships - British freighters Dictator, 4,116 tons, bound from Pernambuco to Liverpool with a general cargo; Duoro, 1,604 tons, carrying a general cargo from Oporto to Liverpool; and Russian freighter SS Rhea, 1,145 tons, heading from Valencia to Glasgow with a load of fruit. Schwieger's score is now 21 ships and 94,116 tons.

[Jimbuna]

6th September 1915

Western Front

French squadron of 40 aeroplanes bombs Saarbrucken.

Eastern Front

Russians pressed back in centre by Germans and over east Galician border by Austrians; heavy fighting near Brody.

Southern Front

Austrians active on Italian fronts.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Reports received of appalling condition of Armenians in Asia Minor; Germany and Austria refuse to interfere.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Turkish destroyer "Yar Hissar" sunk by submarine in Sea of Marmora.

Renwed activity in German East Africa.

Fighting on Rhodesian frontier near Saisa, between Germans and Belgians.

Russian destroyers in Black Sea damage Turkish cruiser "Hamidiya" and sink four coal transports.

Political etc.

A German shell sent by mail from the front explodes at the headquarters of the parcel post in London, resulting in two injuries.

German Crown Prince congratulates Enver Pasha, the Ottoman War Minister, for successfully defending against the Allied attacks at Gallipoli.

Turco-Bulgarian frontier convention signed at Dimotika. Bulgaria signs treaties with Germany and the Ottoman Empire, aligning the country with the Central Powers.

"Archibald" documents discovered in U.S.A., compromising Austrian Ambassador, Dr. Dumba.

Ship Losses:

Guatemala ( France): The cargo ship was torpedoed, shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 50 nautical miles (93 km) south west of Belle Île, Morbihan (46°50′N 4°02′W by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine).[21] Some of her crew were rescued by Iceland ( United Kingdom), the rest made land in their lifeboat.
John Hardie ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 98 nautical miles (181 km) west by south of Cape Finisterre, Spain (42°10′N 11°15′W) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

Little Willie, the prototype military tank developed by William Foster & Co. of Lincoln, is first tested by the British Army.
http://i.imgur.com/LFNOlsa.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 6:

Bay of Biscay: Walther Schwieger, commanding U-20, has moved south. Southwest of Belle-Île-en-Mer he torpedoes French freighter SS Guatamala, 5,913 tons, bound from St. Nazaire to Philadelphia. His score is now 22 ships and 100,029 tons - the first submarine captain to break the one hundred thousand mark.



Atlantic Ocean: Off the coast of Spain Konrad Gansser, in U-33, ends his third war patrol with the capture of SS John Hardie, 4,372 tons, carrying a load of sugar from Java to Glasgow, and sinks her with his deck gun. His score is nnow 13 ships and 27,544 tons.

[Jimbuna]

7th September 1915

Eastern Front

Austrians enter Dubno; successful Russian-counter-offensive on Sereth at Tarnpol and Trembovia.

Southern Front

Serbians drive enemy from works on Danube and Drina fronts.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians repulse Turks at River Arkhave and annhilate Turkish corps at Olti (Armenia).

Aviation

French aeroplane squadron bombs Freiburg, Lens, Saarburg, etc.;

Zeppelin raid on east coast of England, 50 casualties, 7 killed.
http://i.imgur.com/jqzxQVB.jpg

Naval and Overseas Operations

Belgian Coast
Attentive, scout cruiser, Adventure-class, 2,670t, c9-4in/2-14in tt, 6th DF leader, Capt Johnson, in support of Dover Patrol bombardment force preparing to carry out Ostend shoot, forced to wait for haze to clear. Bombed by aircraft, Attentive hit on deck, one 4in gun disabled; two men killed and seven wounded.

Belgian coast (Westeinde and Ostend) bombarded by British and French fleets.

Account of British war crimes against German submarines (Baralong Incident) is published in newspapers.

Political etc.

Ex-President Roosevelt praises Canadian patriotism, lauding the fact that English and French speaking Canadians are fighting together.

Gold shipment worth $64.4 million arrives in New York from London to extend British credit in the U.S.

Exchange of cordial messages between Tsar and President Poincare.

Italy declares cotton absolute contraband of war.

Unrest among railway workers in South Wales.

Ship Losses:

Bordeaux ( France): The cargo ship was torpedoed, shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 12 nautical miles (22 km) south west of the La Coubre Lighthouse by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Caroni ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 15 nautical miles (28 km) south west of the Chassiron Lighthouse, Charente-Maritime, France by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Constance ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 44 nautical miles (81 km) east south east of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-2 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by the trawler Vorano ( United Kingdom).
Emanuel ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 44 nautical miles (81 km) south east of Lowestoft by SM UB-2 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by the trawler Vorano ( United Kingdom).
Emblem ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 44 nautical miles (81 km) east south east of Lowestoft by SM UB-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Victorious ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 44 nautical miles (81 km) off Lowestoft by SM UB-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by the trawler Vorano ( United Kingdom).

[Sailor Steve]

September 7:

Air War:
British ace Lanoe Hawker, back iin Bristol Scout C 1611, scores his seventh and final victory, shooting down an unidentified German aircraft.

French observer Omer Paul Demeuldre, riding in a Maurice Farman MF.11 with a "Sgt. Teulon" as pilot, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for his first kill.



North Sea:
Werner Fürbringer, in UB-2, scuttles fishing smacks Constance, 57 tons, and Emmanuel, 44 tons, bringing his score to 9 vessels and 655 tons.

Hans Valentiner, in UB-16, scuttles fishing smacks Emblem, 50 tons, and Victorious, 43 tons. His score is now 9 ships and 9,853 tons.



Bay of Biscay:
Walther Schwieger, commanding U-20, attacks French freighter SS Bordeaux, 4,604 tons, carrying 4,200 tons of barley from Saffi to Bordeaux, with his deck gun, then sinks her with a torpedo. Also sunk is British freighter SS Caroni, 2,652 tons, bound from London to Bordeaux with a cargo of stores. Schwieger's score is now 24 ships and 107,287 tons.

[Jimbuna]

8th September 1915

Western Front

Renewed German offensive in Argonne.

Eastern Front

Great Russian victory at Tarnopol and Trembovia (Sereth), 8,000 prisoners.

Battle of Vilna proceeding.

Southern Front

Italians assume offensive in Cadore (Dolom.), but are repulsed at Doberdo (Carso).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Situation at Ispahan reported threatening.

Aviation

Allies bomb Ostend, Nesle, Metz, etc.; Zeppelin raid east counties and London, 20 killed, 86 wounded.
http://i.imgur.com/jtllE5X.jpg

Naval and Overseas Operations

French auxiliary cruiser "Indien" torpedoed off Rhodes.

Dover Straits
Leven, destroyer, C-class, 420t, Dover Patrol, dark night. In collision with transport carrying 2,000 troops, bow flattened, found drifting broadside in heavy swell in the direction of Boulogne by destroyer Viking, taken in tow stern-first into Dover assisted by destroyer Tartar and tug Lady Crundall.

Political etc.

Secret Socialist Meeting at Berne; French socialists refused participation.

British Admiralty Air Department re-organised.

Ship Losses:

SMS G12 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The V1-class destroyer collided with SMS V1 ( Kaiserliche Marine and was sunk in the North Sea by the detonation of one of her torpedoes.
Indien ( French Navy): The auxiliary patrol boat was sunk in the Aegean Sea off Rhodes, Greece by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
King Albert ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a submerged object and sank 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) north west of Ceuta, Spain.
Monarch ( United Kingdom): The cable layer struck a mine and sank in the English Channel 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) south of Folkestone, Kent with the loss of three of her crew.
Mora ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 68 nautical miles (126 km) west by south of Belle Île, Morbihan, France (46°50′N 4°40′W) by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

http://i.imgur.com/vDCR27W.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QoOOZMG.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jX6uDS1.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 8:

Air War:
German pilot Emil Thuy, flying a two-seater with an unnamed observer, is credited with shooting down an unidentified "Enemy Aircraft" for his first kill.



North Sea: British cable ship Monarch is sunk by a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen and UC-5. Pustkuchen's score is now 7 ships and 8,942 tons.




Bay of Biscay:
Walther Schwieger, commanding U-20, sinks British freighter SS Mora, 3,047 tons, en route from Santander to Newport with a load of ore. Schwieger ends his fifth war patrol with 25 ships and 110,334 tons.



Aegean Sea:
Claus Rücker, in U-34, ends his third war patrol with the sinking of French auxiliary patrol boat Indien, 800 tons, riding at anchor outside the harbor at Rhodes. His score is now 10 ships and 23,987 tons.

[Jimbuna]

9th September 1915

Western Front

Heavy indecisive fighting in the Vosges.

German forces attack the French salient around Verdun, capturing 300 to 500 meters of ground and 2000 prisoners.

Eastern Front

Russians hold their own in north; return to their former positions on the Sereth (S.), 5,000 more prisoners; give way slowly in the centre.

Russia continues its counterattack in Galicia and captures Dubno. Russia claims that they have captured 17,000 men since September 3rd.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Wounding and death of British Vice-Consul at Shiraz (Persia).

Aviation

http://i.imgur.com/5u9kxZa.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jqgAe8A.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/D7XssH3.jpg

Naval and Overseas Operations

North Sea
BALAKANI, Admiralty chartered red-ensign oiler, 3,696/1899, Petroleum SS Co, London-reg, Mr F White, Port Arthur for London with oil fuel. Mined, laid by UC.1 (Egon von Werner), sank ½m SW of South Longsand Buoy, off Clacton (L/te - 51.31.15N, 01.20E; wi - ½m SW by S of, in 51.31.11N, 01.20.57E); six crew lost.

Montfalcone Dockyard shelled by Italians.

Van Rensburg and forty-two rebels sentenced at Pretoria.

Political etc.

Turco-Bulgarian Convention confirmed.

United States Government demand recall of Dr. Dumba.
http://i.imgur.com/auuoR0C.png

Mr. Lloyd George stirs up Labour at Trade Unions Congress.

Ship Losses

Balakani ( United Kingdom): The tanker struck a mine and sank in the English Channel (51°31′N 1°22′E) with the loss of six of her crew.
Cornubia ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 75 nautical miles (139 km) south east by south of Cartagena, Murcia, Spain (36°46′N 0°15′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Devonian ( United Kingdom): The trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) north east of the Spurn Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of nine of her crew.
L'Aude ( France): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 45 nautical miles (83 km) north north west of Oran, Algeria (36°23′N 0°59′W) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Ville de Mostaganem ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 70 nautical miles (130 km) north east of Mostaganem, Algeria by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

September 9:

"Very little news except that we had the monitors bombarding Ostend the day before yesterday. It was a fine sight from the air. A Frenchman was badly hit in the leg going out there, but went on, dropped his bombs and got back. He is not expected to live. Another Frenchman broke his leg this morning in an accident. Four new subs (sub-lieutenants) have turned up here and I am to go home as soon as they can fly the fast machines - it should be within 10 days. I ought to have gone home by rights about two weeks ago. Am flying over when I eventually do come. The last two machines that went over both crashed at Folkestone - shall probably do the same."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, September 9, 1915



Air War:
German pilot Oswald Boelke, flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down a Morane 'L' two-seater for his third kill.



North Sea: British tanker SS Balakani, 3,696 tons, hauling oil from Port Arthur to London, is sunk by a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1. Werner's score is now 6 ships and 7,331 tons.



Mediterranean Sea: Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks British freighter SS Cornubia, 1,736 tons, carrying a cargo of beans from Alexandria to Clyde; and French freighters L'Aude, 2,232 tons, captured and sunk with the deck gun while travelling in ballast from Maseill to Oran; and Ville de Mostaganem, also travelling from Marseille to Oran with a load of empty barrels. His score is now 25 ships and 45,126 tons.

[Jimbuna]

10th September 1915

Western Front

Steenstraate and Ramscapelle heavily shelled by Germans.

Eastern Front

Enemy attacks north of Vilna, serious fighting in centre.

Russian success continued in southern Galicia.

Southern Front

Greek officers summoned to Athens.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Disquieting news from Persia; gendarmerie disaffected and German intrigue rife.

Naval and Overseas Operations

North Sea
Fearless, scout cruiser, Active-class, 4,000t, 1st DF leader, Harwich Force, sailing with battlecruiser force supporting minelaying operation in the Heligoland Bight on the night of 10th/11th. Collided with unidentified destroyer during mining,
Fearless sustained "considerable damage"; but apparently no deaths. Kindell confirms that Fearless was in collision with destroyer Hydra, also 1st DF and that the the cruiser lost two men killed with two more dying of injuries, and Hydra, one man killed.

Skirmish south of Songwe River (border of German East Africa).

Politics etc.

Lloyd George states Britain is not doing its best and requires more in the labor force, calling for 200,000 more arms makers.

Ship Losses:

Boy Ernie ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 58 nautical miles (107 km) east of Cromer, Norfolk by SM UB-2 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Nimrod ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 45 nautical miles (83 km) east by south of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Presto ( Norway): The sailing ship was sunk in the North Sea 55 nautical miles (102 km) off Lindesnes, Vest-Agder (56°48'N 6°18'E) by SM U-6 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Wallsend ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship collided with another ship and sank in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) off the Gull Lightship'' ( United Kingdom).

[Sailor Steve]

September 10:

North Sea:
Reinhold Lepsius, commanding U-6, sinks Norwegian sailing vessel Presto, 206 tons, bound from Moss to Tyne with a load of pit props. His score is now 15 ships and 9,866 tons.

Werner Fürbringer, in UB-2, sinks fishing smack Boy Ernie, 57 tons. He ends his third war patrol with 10 fishing vessels and 702 tons.

Hans Valentiner, in UB-16, ends his third war patrol with the sinking of fishing smack Nimrod, 51 tons. He now has 10 vessels and 9,904 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

September 11, 1915:

Western Front: Zeppelin night raid on English east coast. No casualties.



Eastern Front: Russians take offensive on Dvina. German general von Bothmer orders counter-attack and Russian forces pull back.



United States: The Pennsylvania Railroad begins electric commuter rail service between Paoli and Philadelphia.



North Sea: Reinhold Lepsius, commanding U-6, sinks Norwegean bark SV Wansbeck, 462 tons, bound from Porsgrund to Leith with a cargo of pit props; and capturs freighter SS Randulf Hansen, 1,287 tons, carrying pit props from Fredrikstad to London, as a a prize. His score is now 17 ships and 11,615 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

September 12, 1915:

Western Front:
Heavy bombardments at points along the French front.



Eastern Front:
Vilna-Dvinsk railway cut near Svyentsyani.

Russians pressed back east of Grodno.



Southern Front:
Active fighting along Italian fronts.



Air War:

1011: Belgian Pilot Jan Olieslagers, flying a single-seat Nieuport 10 with gun mounted to the upper wing, shoots down an Aviatik two-seater for his first kill.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/Jan%20Olieslagers%20with%20Nieuport%2010_zps9mcrg7 x6.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/Jan%20Olieslagers%20with%20Nieuport%2010_zps9mcrg7 x6.jpg.html)

Jan Olieslagers with Nieuport 10 'Le Demon'.

French pilot Joseph Vuillemin, flying a Caudron with a "Lt. Dumas" as observer, is credited with bringing down an unidentified Enemy Aircraft for his first kill.



North Sea:

Reinhold Lepsius, commanding U-6, sinks Norwegean motor vessel MV Bien, 120 tons, bound from Arendal to Methill with a cargo of pit props. His score is now 18 ships and 11,735 tons. Bien was a three-masted sailing ship with a motor installed in 1910.

British freighter SS Ashmore, 2,519 tons, carrying a load of maize from Rosario to Rotterdam, is sunk by a mine laid by Erwin Weisbach and UC-3. Weisbach's score is now 5 ships and 4,170 tons.


Several websites have the following listing:

"Naval and Overseas Operations:
Belgian Relief ship "Pomona" sunk."

This seems to be in error, as according to a newspaper account from two days later Pomona was herself not sunk (and not a relief ship) but claimed to witness the sinking of a British steamer showing Belgian Relief markings.
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2249&dat=19150914&id=9GknAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HAQGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1371,2124698&hl=en

[Aktungbby]

United States: The Pennsylvania Railroad begins electric commuter rail service between Paoli and Philadelphia.




My late folks, and currently a brother, live in and around Paoli and we all still ride that train into Philly from time to time: Now reffered to as the Keystone Corridor https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Paoli_Thorndale.PA_SEPTA_Line.jpg/275px-Paoli_Thorndale.PA_SEPTA_Line.jpg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paoli_Thorndale.PA_SEPTA_Line.jpg)https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/SEPTA_Amtrak_Main_Line.jpg/220px-SEPTA_Amtrak_Main_Line.jpg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SEPTA_Amtrak_Main_Line.jpg)Living along the famed "Main Line" in the general Philadelphia area, of which the Paoli line also runs, is a very upscale rating with great social cachet to this day.:up: "...an area of about 200 square miles (520 km2). The upper- and upper middle-class enclave has historically been one of the bastions of "old money" in the Northeast..." realtors still refer to it as a selling point in their for-sale property listings.

[Sailor Steve]

September 13, 1915:

"Am back in England at last and am expecting to get two weeks' leave in a day or so. I got here at medday yesterday, having flown over from Dunkirk on a Nieuport. Drove out to Margate yesterday afternoon with Spenser Grey. Shall probably go out again on the 1st December."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father from the Hotel Burlington, Dover, September 13th, 1915



Western Front:

Numerous French air raids in the South.

Sir Percy Scott placed in command of aerial defences of London.

Two Zeppelin raids on Kentish and Essex coasts; 7 persons injured.



Eastern Front:

Desperate fighting from the Dvina to the Vilia, and vigorous German offensive towards Dvinsk (battle of Meiszagola).

Romania orders partial mobilization.



Southern Front:

Bulgarians and Macedonians called to the colours.

Political, etc.

Relations of Romania with Central Powers critical.

Further revelations by New York World of German intrigues.



Air War:
0740 English pilot Eustace Osborne Grenfell, in a single-seat Morane 'L' parasol, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for his first kill.



North Sea:

Reinhold Lepsius, commanding U-6, sinks Norwegean motor vessel MV Norte, 216 tons, bound from Drammen to London with a cargo of staves. His score is now 19 ships and 11,951 6ons.

French Schooner Josephine Mary collides with another ship and sinks while travelling fromBriton Ferry, Glamorgan to La Rochelle.

[Sailor Steve]

September 14, 1915:

"Just a line to let you know my probable movements. Though I am due for two weeks' leave, it seems improbable that I shall get it just yet awhile, but shall not be returning to Dunkirk until December 1st, when I shall remain out there for two months.

I have just taken over the 1st Lieutenant's job on this station, and this is keeping me busy no end. I am the senior officer, bar the C.O., in fact second in command, and am responsible for everything going on at the station, i.e. all executive work etc. It is, of course, all new to me, and I find myself at sea every now and again. It is, however, a great opportunity. You should see me take parades (divisions, we call them), swish!

Please send me on, as soon as possible, my new monkey jacket and new pair of trousers, also new hat. My present uniform is most disreputable, covered in oil, etc., and must be scrapped at the earliest opportunity."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, September 14th 1915



Western Front:
Flanders: 2nd Canadian Division moves to France from Folkestone.



Eastern Front:
Continued pressure by German forces on northern sector; Russians successful in Rovno and Tarnopol (Galicia) districts.



Southern Front:
Various small successes on either side of Italian front.



Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:
Persian Government begins to deal with dangerous situation in Ispahan.



Naval and Overseas Operations:
Small British success at Maktau (East Africa).



Political, etc.:
Extensive contraband trade in Holland revealed.

Entente Powers hand last note to Bulgaria, offering part of Macedonia.

British Parliament reassembles after summer recess, begins discussing financing and recruitment for the war.



His Majesty's Trawler City of Dundee is lost in a collision with Dutch freighter Patroclus, with the loss of one warrant officer and six ratings. Her commander, Lt. Albert Coles, barely survives being entangled in the signal halyards.



German East Africa:
HMS Severn and whaler Echo have spent the last several days investigating signal fires near the mouth of the Simba Uranga river.

0405 HMS Severn and whaler Echo depart Tirene Bay.

0430 General Quarters sounded.

0515 Severn and Echo enter mouth of Simba Uranga.

0520 Echo, following 1,000 yards behind Severn, is fired upon by a German cannon. Lt. C.J. Charleton, commanding Echo, returns fire with Echo's 3pdr and machine guns.

0525 Captain Fullerton signals Echo to retire out of the river.

0530 Echo comes under fire while departing the river mouth. The small vessel is hit by nine shells. Two of them burst in the engine room. Despite a cracked cylinder Echo maintains headway. Another hit severs steam pipes and three more hit the bridge. Despite all this there are no severe casualties. A recovered shell fragment reveals that one of the guns used by the Germans is a 3pdr from patrol boat Adjutant, captured by the Germans the previous February 6th.

0531 Severn passes the wreck of SS Newbridge, sunk as blockship last November. Severn's foremast catches and breaks a telephone wire running from Newbridge to the shore.

0545 Severn sights boat rowing toward Salale. Full speed ordered.

0555 Boat captured with one European and four natives. The European is a Spanish petty officer working for the Germans, S.E. Diaz y Rodriguez. He and his native party were on their way to Salale to puchase provisions for the German coast-watchers.

0610 Severn sights and opens fire on steamer Wami. Wami escapes up Fissini Creek.

0615 Severn stops off Salale. Motor launch sent up Fissini Creek. Severn opens fire and destroys several iron storage sheds at Salale.

0700 Motor launch returns. Severn starts down river.

0755 Severn comes under fire at mouth of Simba Uranga. The monitor is hit several times by 3pdr shells.

0805 Severn ceases fire. Rodriguez would later comment on the oddity of being captive on a British warship, fired upon by his German friends using a captured British gun.

0825 Captain Fullerton sends fleet surgeon to Echo.

0845 Surgeon returns, reports one man slightly wounded.

1255 Severn and Echo arrive back at Tirene Bay, Mafia Island.

[Sailor Steve]

September 15, 1915:

Western Front:

Lord Kitchener states eleven new Army divisions sent to France; 17 miles more French front taken over.



Eastern Front:

Fighting west and south of Dvinsk.

Germans aim at dividing Russian Vilna and Dvinsk groups; Germans under von Mackensen advance on Pinsk; driven back across Strypa in the south.



Southern Front:

Removal of Turkish heavy artillery from fortresses to Gallipoli.



Political, etc.

Agitation in Bulgaria against Germanophile policy.

Lord Kitchener anxious about falling off of recruiting.

Mr. Asquith makes speech on Vote of Credit.
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1915/sep/15/review-of-present-situation#S5CV0074P0_19150915_HOC_58



North Sea: Lookouts aboard British submarine HMS E-16 sight smoke in the distance. Approaching, the smoke is seen to be coming from the paraffin engines of a German U-boat. E-16 fires two torpedoes at U-6. According to the German watch officer, Oberleutnant zur See Beyer, he managed to dodge the first torpedo but was unable to escape the second. The five men of the watch crew survived, but the other 24, including her commander, Oberleutnant z.S. Reinhold Lepsius, went down with their ship.



Black Sea: Wilhelm Werner, commanding UB-7, torpedoes SS Patagonia, 6,011 tons, travelling in Ballast from Odessa to Nicolaieff. Patagonia was a British freighter acting as a Russian naval transport at the time of her loss.

[Sailor Steve]

September 16, 1915:

Eastern Front:

Despite the situation at Vilna-Dvinsk becoming critical, the Russians manage to hold out.

Pinsk occupied by Germans.



Political, etc.

Taff Vale Railway dispute ended.

Prorogation of Russian Duma till 14 November.



Firth of Forth, Scotland: HMS Warspite runs aground, suffering minor damage. She will be out of action for two months.



North Sea: British freighter SS Africa, 1,038 tons, bound from London to Boulogne with a general cargo, runs afoul of a mine laid by UC-6 under Matthias von Schmettow. Two crew members are lost. The ship survives the explosion and is beached, but upon investigation is listed as a total write-off. Von Schmettow now has 6 ships and 4,145 tons.


Baltic Sea: Russian auxiliary minesweeper Linnea is sunk by a mine laid by UC-4, commanded by Karl Vesper. Vesper's score is now 2 ships and 6,875 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

September 17, 1915:

Eastern Front:

Vilna and Dvinsk dangerously threatened; Russians retire between Vilia and Pripet Rivers, but check enemy about Rovno.

Von Mackensen reports the capture of 2,500 Russian soldiers south of Pinsk.



Mediterranean Sea, about 20 miles south of Crete: Waldemar Kophamel, commanding U-35, sinks French freighter SS Ravitailleur with his deck gun, then tows the ship's lifeboats to shore. Ravitailleur, 2,815 tons, was bound from Malta to Cyprus with a cargo of coal. Kophamel's score is now 20 ships and 32,226 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

September 18, 1915:

Air War:
No. 3 Squadron receives the first Morane 'N's delivered to the RFC.



Western Front:
Lively actions along French front.
Belgian coast bombarded by French artillery and British fleet.



Eastern Front:
Fall of Vilna; Russians retreat towards Minsk; Germans retire in Rovno region.



Southern Front:
Slight Italian successes along their whole front.



Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:
Swedish gendarmerie in Persia disbanded.



Due to U.S protests over American deaths, Germany announces an end to the North Atlantic U-Boat campaign. Boats operating in the area around Britain will be reassigned to the Mediterranean.



North Sea: British navy trawler HMT Lydian, 244 tons, hits a mine laid by UC-6, under Matthias Graf von Schmettow. His score is now 7 ships and 4,389 tons.

Briish tanker San Zeferino, 6,430 tons, bound from Puerto Mexico to Sheerness with a load of fuel oil, also hits a mine in this same field, but safely makes port.
(U-boat.net. At least one other site claims that San Zeferino was torpedoed and sunk, and later raised and returned to service, but no details are given as to where or what U-boat was responsible.)

[Sailor Steve]

September 19, 1915:

German Foreign Minister Gottlieb von Jagow issues a statement that German U-boats will not attack passenger liners without prior warning.


Air War:
At 0600 English pilot Frederick James Powell and observer "AM1 Shaw", in a Vickers FB.5 "Gun Bus", claim an LVG two-seater. The claim is later denied, but ten minutes later they attack an AGO reconnaisance plane, which is credited as Powell's 1st kill.

At 0700 Charles Gordon Bell, in a Bristol Scout, claims an LVG for his 1st victory.

Also German pilot Hans-Joachim Buddecke, in a Fokker E.I, brings down a BE.2c for his 1st kill.



Eastern Front:
Germans reach Smorgon and Molodechna (between Vilna and Minsk).
Fine Russian stand on Upper Vilna.



Southern Front:
Artillery engagement near Orsova and Tekia (Danube).



Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:
Turks fortifying Mesina, deporting Armenians and recruiting at Adana (S. Asia Minor) in view of coming Egyptian campaign.



North Sea, 3 miles southwest of Folkestone: Swedish freighter SS Tord, 1,313 tons, bound from Kudisvall to Le Havre with a load of wood, hits a mine laid by UC-5 under Herbert Pustkuchen. Tord is only damaged, not sunk.



Mediterranean Sea, 55 miles southwest of Carigotto Island (between Greece and Crete: Waldemar Kophamel, commanding U-35, sinks British freighter SS Ramazan, 3,477 tons, carrying military stores, with his deck gun. Kophamel's score is now 21 ships and 35,702 tons.
(Some more confusion: One source (http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritishBVLSMN1507.htm) says Ramazan was carrying Indian troops, 312 of whom were lost. Others (http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?140437 and http://www.uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/5008.html) don't mention any troops and say only one person was lost.

[Sailor Steve]

September 20, 1915:

Western Front:
Allied artillery barrages begin in anticipation of attack on Loos.



Eastern Front
Heavy fighting in Northern sector and near Riga.



Southern Front
Sir Ian Hamilton's despatch of 28 August covering operations in Gallipoli 5 May to 30 June, published.
Artillery engagements on Drina and Danube fronts.
Heavy fighting, Plezzo and Carso fronts.
Serbian positions re-attacked at Orsovo and Tekia.



Political, etc.
Compulsory Service League formed in N.S. Wales.
Bulgaro-Turkish Convention for "maintenance of armed neutrality" by former.
Stimulating open letter from Mr. Lloyd George concerning the possibility of conscription.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11869504/Daily-Telegraph-September-20-1915.html



North Sea:
Leo Hillebrand begins his second war patrol in U-16 with the sinking of Danish Freighter SS Thorvaldsen, 1,220 tons, bound from Malmö to West Hartlepool with a load of pit props. His score is now 5 ships and 5,597 tons.

British freighter SS Horden, 1,434 tons, travelling in ballast from London to Hartlepool, strikes a mine laid by UC-6 (Matthias von Schmettow). Von Schmettow's score is now 8 ships and 5,823 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Waldemar Kophamel, in U-35, sinks British freighter SS Linkmoor, 4,308 tons, carrying a load of coal from Lemnos to Malta. His score is now 22 ships and 40,008 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

September 21, 1915:

Air War:
1000 German pilot Max Immelmann, flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down a BE.2c for kill #3.

1100 Welsh pilot Lionel Rees and Scottish observer James Hargreaves, in a Vickers FB.5, bring down an AGO two-seater for kill #3.



Western Front:
French success on Aisne-Marne Canal and at Hartmannsweilerkopf (Vosges).



Eastern Front:
Tough fighting in northern sector round Dvinsk, etc.; Russians re-occupying Smorgon.

Austrians driven back in Rovno region.



Southern Front:
Bulgarian Government order partial mobilisation.
Greek Premier Eleftherios Venizelos asks for guarantee of 150,000 British and French troops as condition for Greek intervention.



Political, etc.
Budget introduced by Mr. McKenna.
Opening of Dutch Chambers; determination to preserve neutrality.
Viscount Ishii succeeds Marquis Okuma as Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs.

[Jimbuna]

22nd September 1915

Western Front

Fierce fighting Neuville sector (Arras) and Forest of Apremont (Vosges).

Eastern Front

Successful Russian operations along whole line except in centre.

Southern Front

Australian casualties at Dardanelles to date, 19,183, including 4,604 killed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Extensive preparations in Syria for renewed Turkish attack on Egypt reported.

Aviation

Stuttgart bombed. French aeroplanes conduct a large raid dropping 100 bombs on the royal palace, the railway station, and other targets.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Dutch liner "Koningin Emma" mined; towed up Thames. 250 passengers saved.

Germany announces that a new mine field will be established in the Sound, the strait between the Danish island of Zealand and Sweden.

Political etc.

Von Papen, German military attaché at the US embassy, is ordered to leave due to his espionage activities.
http://i.imgur.com/BLdjrJV.jpg

Germany concludes the subscription period for its new war loan. 12 billion marks ($3 billion) is raised.

Bulgaria orders all of its subjects of military age currently in foreign countries to return immediately.

The Greek King summons the Prime Minister and the general staff for an emergency meeting after Bulgaria ordered general mobilization.

Ship Losses:

Koningin Emma ( Netherlands): The passenger ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) west of the Shipwash Lightship ( United Kingdom).

[Sailor Steve]

September 22, 1915:

Air War:
1730 Lionel Rees and James Hargreaves, in their Vickers FB.5, shoot down an Albatros two seater for kill #4.




North Sea:
Dutch passenger ship SS Koningin Emma, 9,181 tons, bound from Batavia to Amsterdam with passengers and a general cargo, is sunk by a mine laid by UC-7 under Franz Wäger. His score is now 5 ships and 13,329 tons.

[Jimbuna]

23rd September 1915

Western Front

Numerous artillery engagements along whole line; successful French air-raids.

Eastern Front

Russians recapture Vileika (Minsk).

Germans driven back across Oginski Canal (Pinsk).

Russians take Lutsk and capture nearly 12,000 prisoners.

Russian troops hold their line against German attacks on the Dvinsk line. Russian defenders of Vilna successfully escape encirclement.

Southern Front

General mobilisation of Hellenic forces as "measure of elementary prudence" in view of Bulgaria's attitude.

Bulgaria issues decree of mobilisation; Premier repeats declaration of "armed neutrality".

Italian troops capture Monte Costone from Austro-Hungarian forces after months of fighting.

Naval

North Sea

Christopher, destroyer, K-class, 1,300t, 4th DF Grand Fleet. In collision with armed boarding vessel King Orry 1,877grt in fog, Christopher damaged.

Political etc.

Conciliatory German Note to U.S.A. in the "William P. Frye" case.

Russia ends its embargo on the United States after securing guarantees that goods will not be re-exported to the Central Powers.

U.S. refuse safe conduct to Dr. Dumba unless officially recalled.

Meeting of South African Party at Johannesburg, organised attack on General Smuts.

Ship Losses:

Anglo-Colombian ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 79 nautical miles (146 km) south east of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Chancellor ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 86 nautical miles (159 km) south by east of the Fastnet Rock (50°08′N 8°17′W) by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Groningen ( United Kingdom): The coaster struck a mine and sank in the Thames Estuary with the loss of a crew member.
Hesione ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 86 nautical miles (159 km) south by east of the Fastnet Rock (50°15′N 8°30′W) by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Saint Pierre I ( French Navy): The naval trawler was sunk in the North Sea off the Dyck Lightship (51°02′N 2°06′E) by SM UB-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seventeen of her eighteen crew.

[Sailor Steve]

September 23, 1915:

Celtic Sea: Claus Hansen begins his fourth war patrol in U-41 with the sinking of three British freighters. SS Anglo-Colombian, 4,792 tons, carrying horses from Quebec to Avonmouth, is captured and sunk with the deck gun. Next is SS Chancellor, 4,586 tons, bound from Liverpool to New Orleans with a general cargo; and SS Hesione, 3,363 tons, carrying a general cargo from Clyde and Liverpool to Buenos Aires. Hansen's score is now 29 ships and 50,009 tons.



North Sea: Ralph Wenninger, in UB-17, torpedoes French armed trawler Saint Pierre I, 303 tons, bringing his score to 6 ships and 465 tons.

British freighter SS Groningen, 988 tons, bound from Harlingen to London with a general cargo, hits a mine laid by UC-6, under Matthias von Schmettow. His score is now 9 ships and 6,811 tons.

Dutch freighter SS Eemdyk, 6,180 tons, sinks after hitting two mines.



Canada: Swedish freighter SS Norbotten, 8,011 tons, sends a message reporting her position as 100 miles west of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The ship and her 42 crew are never heard from again.

[Jimbuna]

24th September 1915

Eastern Front

Varying encounters all along Russian front.

Russian troops go on the attack in Galicia and Volhynia, recapturing the city of Lutsk.

Southern Front

Austrian aeroplanes bomb Pozharevats; enemy attempts to cross the Drina frustrated.

Bulgarian Premier states mobilisation not directed against Serbia.

Naval

Henry Ford, as part of the President’s Advisory board of naval defense, inspects the US submarines K-5 and E-2 to design a new submarine.

U.41 sunk by Q-ship steamer Baralong in Atlantic, 90 miles W of Ushant, Baralong was not damaged in the action, her second success in five weeks.

Belgian Coast
GREAT HEART (may be spelt Greatheart or Great Hart), Admiralty drifter, 78/1911, Inverness-reg INS233, hired 6/15 as net drifter, Admiralty No.1395, Dover Patrol, Skipper William Davidson RNR. Sailed with other drifters to screen monitors that were due to carry out a bombardment of Ostend and Zeebrugge - apparently streaming her buoyed nets as protection against submarine attack. Just off Dover, sunk by explosion (He - about 2 miles off harbour entrance; wi - in 51N, 01.20E), cause unknown at the time, and probably considered due to one of her own net mines. Now confirmed mined, laid by UC.6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow), two days earlier; Skipper and 7 ratings lost. Admiralty yacht Sanda was lost next day as part of the bombardment force.

Political etc.

French and British Governments inform Greek Government that they are prepared to send troops requested.

French Chamber of Deputies debates raising the soldiers’ pay from 1 cent a day to 5 cents.

Liquor Control Regulations applied to the area of "Greater London".

MM. Take Jonescu and Filipescu demand mobilisation of Romanian Army.

Carl Rehorst, architectural adviser to the Germany government in Belgium, advocates restoring Belgian monuments that were damaged in battle.

National Registration Bill passed in New Zealand.

Ship Losses:

HMT Great Heart ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off the South Goodwin Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of eight of her crew.
Urbino ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 67 nautical miles (124 km) south west by west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Type U 31 submarine was shelled and sunk in the Western Approaches (49°10′N 7°23′W) by HMS Wyandra ( Royal Navy) with the loss of 35 of her 37 crew.

[Sailor Steve]

September 24, 1915:

Celtic Sea: Claus Hansen, commanding U-41, stops British freighter SS Urbino, 6,651 tons, bound from New York to Hull with a general cargo. Urbino is boarded by crewmwmbers from U-41. The boarding party discover war supplies on board, and Urbino's crew are allowed to abandon ship. U-41 pulls away and Urbino is sunk with the u-boat's deck gun. While this is going on U-41 is approached by a merchant flying the American flag. When close enough Q-ship HMS Baralong, still flying the American flag, opens fire on the u-boat. Thirty-five of U-41's crew died in the attack, including her captain. One of the two survivors, Oberleutnant zur See Iwan Crompton, later claimed that Baralong ran down his lifeboat, a claim denied by the crew of Baralong. Hansen's final score is 30 ships and 56,660 tons.

This became known as the "Second Baralong Incident", as the Q-ship had sunk U-27 in similar circumstances just one month earlier. in October 1915, Baralong was renamed HMS Wyandra.



North Sea: His Majesty's Drifter Great Heart hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow and UC-6. Von Schmettow's score is now 10 ships and 6,889 tons.

[Jimbuna]

25th September 1915

Western Front

Great Allied offensive begins (Battle of Loos and in Champagne). The British fleet co-operating on Belgian coast. British attack south of La Bassee Canal, five miles of enemy trenches captured, including Hohenzollern Redoubt stormed with partial success.

French attack north of Arras gains footing.

In Champagne French assault between Suippe and Aisne, driving enemy from front positions. Other positions won include ground at Souchez.

Eastern Front

Germans attacking Dvinsk from the south are driven back with severe losses.

Varying fortunes on rest of front.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Russian Fleet bombards enemy positions on Gulf of Riga; enemy batteries silenced.

Belgian Coast
SANDA, ex-St Serf, Admiralty yacht, 300/1906, hired 26/1/15 as auxiliary patrol vessel, 2-6pdr, Pennant No.073, Dover Patrol, Lt-Cdr Henry Gartside-Tipping RN Rtd, aged over 70 in August 1914, volunteered for war service, “the oldest naval officer serving at sea”. Sailed in company with monitor bombardment force including Prince Eugene and General Crauford evening of 24th for Zeebrugge shoot, to start on 25th at 0700 in support of attack by British Army. Sanda was screening net drifters, shore batteries started replying at 0900. Hit near the deckhouse and sunk, probably by 8in shell from German batteries at Blankenberghe around 0915; 4 officers including the captain, 5 ratings and 4 MN lost (Rn - 12 officers and men lost; ap - 4 officers, 11 men killed or missing), survivors rescued by drifter Fearless.

Political etc.

General Sir J. Wolfe Murray, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Great Britain, resigns

Turco-Bulgarian Agreement signed.

Sir Edward Grey meets with diplomats from Greece, Romania, and Serbia to discuss the deteriorating Balkan situation.

US Vice President Marshall advocates teaching every schoolboy how to shoot in order to strengthen national defense.

US Treasury Department rules that foreign citizens living in the U.S. must also pay income tax.

Ship Losses:

HMY Sanda ( Royal Navy): The naval yacht was shelled and sunk in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium.

http://i.imgur.com/Ti3UqSX.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hIjWBzq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JuZEDle.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TaQytLJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/74U949Q.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 25, 1915:

Air War:
German Pilot Oswald Boelke, flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down a French two seater, either Farman or Voisin, for kill #4.



Amherst Island, Canada: 3-massted schooner City of Sheboygan, 258 tons, is lost in a storm on Lake Ontario, along with five of her crew.

[Jimbuna]

26th September 1915

Western Front

Stubborn British defence against counter-attacks round Loos; French progress in Champagne, taking 16,000 prisoners. British bag 2,600 prisoners, nine guns, etc.

Eastern Front

Fighting round Dvinsk continues; Germans driven back south of Pinsk.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Reported expulsion of all Greeks from Smyrna.

Political etc.

Lieut.-General Sir A. J. Murray appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Great Britain.

Austria-Hungary orders the 18-year-old Landsturm (militia) class to join the army on October 15.

Bulgaria assures the Entente that its mobilization is not directed towards Greece or Romania, but omits to mention Serbia.

Romania desires understanding with Bulgaria.

Ship Losses:

Ellen Benzon ( Denmark): The schooner was sunk in the North Sea (56°51′N 3°53′E) by SM U-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Vigilant ( United Kingdom): The pilot boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of fourteen of her crew.

Keir Hardie, Scottish politician known as one of the founders of the Labour Party, has passed away.
http://i.imgur.com/7uRJ0w1.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 26, 1915:

North Sea:
Leo Hillebrand, commanding U-16, sinks Danish schooner Ellen Benzon, 143 tons, bound from Helsingborg to Sunderland with a load of sleepers. His score is now 6 ships and 6,140 tons.

British pilot boat Vigilant, 69 tons, hits a mine laid by Franz Wäger and UC-7. Wäger's score is now 6 vessels and 13,308 tons.



Canada:
SS Essington foundered and was lost while en route from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Saint John, New Brunswick.

Danish schooner Söstrene, travelling in ballast from Rimouski, Quebec to Lisbon, ran aground in the St. Lawrence River and was lost.

[Jimbuna]

27th September 1915

Western Front

Brilliant attack by Guards on Hill 70 (Loos); severe fighting continue there and in Champagne; German offensive in Argonne (Fille Morte, etc.) driven back.

John Kipling, only son of British author Rudyard Kipling, is killed in action at Loos.
http://i.imgur.com/NxcDvsv.jpg

Major General Sir Thompson Capper, veteran of the 2nd Boer War, is killed after being shot by a sniper.
http://i.imgur.com/Nbm4A0Z.jpg

Eastern Front

German attacks at Eckau (Riga), Dvinsk and on Vilia and Niemen repulsed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Reports received describing exterminating massacre of Armenians at instigation of Talaat Bey, abetted by Germans (e.g. Baron Oppenheim).

Naval

The US battleships Wisconsin, Ohio, and the Missouri will be placed in the reserve fleet as there are not enough trained men.

Italian battleship "Benedetto Brin" (below - Photo Ships) destroyed by internal explosion in harbour at Brindisi.
http://i.imgur.com/aRXe8My.jpg

off N Scotland
CARIBBEAN, Admiralty accommodation ship, ex-passenger ship, 5,820/1890, Royal Mail Steam Packet Co, London-reg, hired 19/11/14 as armed merchant cruiser, accommodation ship 6/15, now fitted out as receiving ship for dockyard workmen, Cdr Henry Bethune in command, sailed from Liverpool on passage for Scapa Flow in “extremely heavy weather”. Shipped a lot of water and got into difficulties off Cape Wrath, sent out SOS in the afternoon of the 26th, light cruiser Birkenhead and tugs came out from Scapa and tried to tow her to safety, foundered around 0730 on the 27th (He - in 58.14N 05.42W); most of crew taken off early hours of 27th, but 15 lives lost - 6 ratings, 7 MN and 2 canteen staff.

Political etc.

Austro-Hungary agrees to recall ambassador Dumba, due to U.S. claims that he was instigating strikes in armament factories.

After a 2 week discussion, the Anglo-French financial mission and American bankers come to an agreement for a loan to the Allies.

Greek Premier (M. Venizelos) obtains secret consent of King Constantine to proposed Entente expedition to Salonika.

Ship Losses:

Benedetto Brin ( Regia Marina): The Regina Margherita-class battleship was sunk at Brindisi, Apulia due to sabotage by Austro-Hungarian forces with the loss of 387 of her 841 crew.
HMS Caribbean ( Royal Navy): The accommodation ship foundered in the Atlantic Ocean 35 nautical miles (65 km) off Cape Wrath, Sutherland with the loss of fifteen of her crew. Survivors were rescued by HMS Birkenhead ( Royal Navy) and a number of trawlers.
Lochranza ( United Kingdom): The schooner was driven ashore and wrecked at Nairn.
Nigretia ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and was damaged in the English Channel off the South Goodwin Lightship ( United Kingdom). She was beached but was later refloated.

http://i.imgur.com/LIe0ZiN.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 27, 1915:

Air War:
German pilot Lt. Ludwig Preussner and observer Oblt. Karl Kettenbeil, flying an Albatros C.I, put in the first claim for the Turkish Air Force. It is unconfirmed.



Atlantic Ocean:
British liner SS Caribbean, 5,800 tons, in use as a troop ship, founders in a storm off Cape Wrath, Scotland. Taken in tow by cruiser HMS Birkenhead, the liner finally sinks with the loss of 23 lives.

Norwegian sailing ship SV Forth, 1,813 tons, heading in ballast from Birkenhead to Port Arthur, Texas, develops a serious leak and is abandoned by her crew.

Nowegian barque SV Queen, 847 tons, sailing from Gartson to Halifax with a load of salt, founders and is abandoned.



North Sea:
British freighter SS Nigretia, 3,187 tons, bound from Hull to Rouen with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by UC-6 under Matthias von Schmettow. The ship settles in shallow water, and is later refloated.



White Sea:
British schooner SV Vincent, 1,904 tons, hits a mine off Cape Orloff, Russia. Four wounded, all hands survived.



Pictou, Nova Scotia:
Canadian schooner John Millard, 69 tons, is accidentally rammed and sunk.



Bass Straight, between Australia and Tasmania:
Australian schooner SV Curlew, carrying a load of ironbark from Nambucca, New South Wales to Melbourne, runs aground, and is abandoned.

[Jimbuna]

28th September 1915

Western Front

Severe fighting round and north of Loos; ground recaptured north of Hill 70.

British capture altogether 3,000 men and 21 guns.

British troops are forced to retreat to their starting positions in the Battle of Loos after suffering 20,000 casualties.

French continue to gain ground east of Souchez and progress in Champagne.

Eastern Front

Russians abandon Lutsk.

Enemy presses Russians back in Pripet district, north and south, but loses heavily in marshes.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British victory at Kut-el-Amara (Tigris). British lose under 500; Turkish prisoners, 1,650.

Enemy bolts towards Baghdad.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Central Mediterranean
H. C. HENRY, Admiralty chartered red-ensign oiler, 4,219/1909, Steamer "H C Henry" Co, Vancouver (BC)-reg, sailing London/Alexandria for Mudros with tar oil. Captured by U.39 (Walter Forstmann), sunk by gunfire 59 miles S½E of Cape Matapan, Greece (L - 30 miles SW of Cerigotto Is.

Mesopotamian Campaign
Comet, armed paddle launch-tug, 144t. Only a boom which included a dhow and two iron barges at the centre appeared to prevent the final capture of Kut. Comet (Lt-Cdr Cookson, on the books of sloop Clio), Shaitan and Sumana steamed up under heavy rifle and machine gun fire, Comet went ahead to ram the dhow, failed to break through, gunfire also failed, Lt-Cdr Cookson jumped onto the dhow with an axe to try to cut the wire hawsers securing her, was riddled with bullets from close-range and killed, no other lives lost. The gunboats sank the dhow with gunfire and all retired. Early next day, the Turks had gone, the boom was dismantled and Kut occupied. Lt-Cdr Edgar Christopher Cookson DSO was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
http://i.imgur.com/NpYppgP.jpg

Funeral of the victims of the USS F-4 disaster, the first US Navy submersible to be sunk.
http://i.imgur.com/n3SdTIo.jpg

Political etc.

Allied victory in Champagne confirms Greece in her antagonistic attitude towards Central Powers.

Dr. Dumba recalled unconditionally from U.S.A.

Sir Edward Grey warns Bulgaria that the Allies are prepared to land troops in the Balkans if it goes to war.

Trades Union and Labour bodies debate Compulsory service.

President Wilson to veterans: “The United States were founded not to provide free homes but to assert human rights.”

$500 million loan ($11.8 billion today) by US bankers to Britain and France is officially announced.

Ship Losses:

H. C. Henry ( Canada): The tanker was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 59 nautical miles (109 km) south of Cape Matapan, Greece (35°36′N 22°42′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

http://i.imgur.com/HPgHTxV.png

[Sailor Steve]

September 28, 1915:

North Sea:
British barkentine Leading Chief, 260 tons, runs aground while en route from London to Shields with a load of burnt ore.



Mediterranean Sea, South of Greece:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, captures Canadian tanker H.C. Henry, 4,219 tons, bound from London via Alexandria to Mudros with a load of tar oil. After the crew is allowed to abandon ship, the tanker is sunk by torpedo and deck gun. Forstmann's score is now 26 ships and 49,345 tons.



New Orleans, Louisiana, USA:
Portuguese barque Santos Amaral, 878 tons, is wrecked by The New Orleans Hurricane.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1915_New_Orleans_hurricane

[Jimbuna]

29th September 1915

Western Front

French capture Vimy crest; progress towards Tahure (Champagne); total French captures 23,000 prisoners and 79 guns.

Heavy fighting Hohenzollern Redoubt and Hulloch.

British lose ground near Hooge (Ypres).

German troops counterattack against the French in the 2nd Battle of Champagne and recover lost ground.

Eastern Front

Severe fighting south-east of Dvinsk and on Strypa (Galicia); Russians driven back in Pripet region.

German and Austro-Hungarian troops step up their artillery bombardment in the Eastern Front in a bid to advance further before the winter.

Political etc.

Lord Kitchener meets with leaders of several labor organizations to discuss conscription. Many British unions oppose the measure.

The Netherlands makes a protest to Germany, stating German Zeppelin raids to Britain are flying over Dutch territory.

Moscow orders people to not gather in crowds, after recent riots and clashes with police resulted in 5 deaths.

"Unionist Federation" party formed in Romania under M. Filipescu.

Ship Losses:

Actie ( Norway): The barque was sunk in the North Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) south west of Lindesnes, Vest-Agder by SM U-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Flora ( Norway): The sailing vessel was stopped and scuttled in the North Sea 35 nautical miles (65 km) west north west of Lindesnes by SM U-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Grange ( United Kingdom): The Thames barge came ashore 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) west of Margate Pier, Kent and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued by the Margate Lifeboat.
Haydn ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 80 nautical miles (150 km) south by east of Gavdos, Greece (33°24′N 24°40′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Leading Chief (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Guernsey): The barquentine was wrecked on the Little Sunk Sand, in the North Sea off the coast of Essex. Her six crew were rescued by the Clacton Lifeboat.

http://i.imgur.com/cJvOGTs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dgC3uAr.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 29, 1915:

"I have just heard a nasty rumour that I am returning to Dunkirk on October 15th. We are getting 40 subs (sub-lieutenants) down here in a few days. That means tons more work for me."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, September 29, 1915



North Sea:
Leo Hillebrand, commanding U-16, scuttles Norwegian barque Actie, 562 tons, heading from Kragerø to Leith, and schooner Flora, 184 tons, bound from Tansberg to Leith, both carrying pit props. His score is now 7 ships and 6,886 tons.



French destroyer Branlebas is sunk by a mine.



Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, in U-39, scuttles British freighter SS Haydn, 3,923 tons, carrying a load of barley from Karachi to Glasgow. His score is now 27 ships and 53,268 tons.



German East Africa:
SS Präsident, earlier wrecked by the crew of HMS Severn, is pumped full of concrete and turned into a jetty, which still exists today.



Malacca Strait, between Sumatra and Malaysia:
British tanker SS Kanakuk, carrying a load of benzine from Balik Papan to Europe, catches fire and sinks.

[Jimbuna]

30th September 1915

Western Front

French gain more ground in Champagne; fighting round Loos continues.

Eastern Front

German advance comes to a standstill nearly all along line, though Russians still retiring slowly round Lutsk and in Southern Pripet marshes region.

Russians still hold Dvinsk strongly.

Southern Front

Anglo-Indian troops advance northwards in Iraq after their recent victories. British cavalry reach 90 miles from Baghdad.

Italian offensive continues amid ice and snow.

Aviation

Serbian Army private Radoje Ljutovac became the first soldier in history to shoot down an enemy aircraft with ground-to-air fire.

Naval

US Navy opens a bidding competition for the construction of 18 new submersibles.

Mesopotamian Campaign
Shaitan and Sumana, launches, both armed with 3pdrs, with Comet continued to chase the retreating Turks north from Kut up the increasingly shoaling River Tigris. By the 30th Shaitan was fast aground near Kut and Sumana had broken both rudders by grounding, only Comet remained in action.

Political etc.

Britain promises safe conduct for Dr. Dumba, the Austro-Hungarian ambassador to the US, who had been recalled back home.

Labour Meeting resolves that Voluntary System with special recruiting campaign sufficient.

King George sends congratulatory message to Sir John French.

Labour Council, Sydney, Australia, opposes compulsory service unless wealth conscripted.

Ship Loses:

Albion ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack struck a mine and sank in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) south by west of Berry Head, Devon with the loss of three of her crew.
Branlebas ( French Navy): The Branlebas-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the North Sea between Dunquerke, Nord and Nieuport, West Flanders Belgium.
Cirene ( Italy): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 85 nautical miles (157 km) south of Koufonisi, Crete, Greece (34°20′N 26°19′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Florida ( Norway): The barge was stopped and sunk in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) off Lindesnes, Vest Agder by SM U-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Millan Carrabco ( Spain): The coaster foundered in the Bay of Biscay off Luarca, Asturias with the loss of all hands.
Tobia ( Italy): The sailing vessel was scuttled in the Ionian Sea off Ithaka, Greece (37°58′N 19°22′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 72 ships of 151,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses).

http://i.imgur.com/QqRABPz.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

September 30, 1915:

Air War:
Lionel Rees and James Hargreaves, in their Vickers FB.5, shoot down an Albatros C-type two-seater for kill #5. Rees will go on with other gunners. Hargreaves will be paired with other pilots but this is his last victory.

German pilot Kurt Arthur Benno Student, in a Fokker E.I, scores his first victory, shooting down a Morane of unknown configuration.



English Channel:
Norwegian freighter SS Elizabeth, 578 tons, headed from Leith to Rouen with a load of coal, catches fire and sinks.



North Sea:
Leo Hillebrand, commanding U-16, sinks Norwegian barge Florida, 558 tons, bound from Kristiania to Hull with a load of pit props. Florida is a former barque, cut down to make a lighter, or barge, and is being towed by whaler Whangaroo. Hillebrand allows Whangaroo to take Florida's crew and sail away. Hillebrand's score is now 8 ships and 7,444 tons.



Ionian Sea, between Italy and Greece:
Konrad Gansser, in U-33, captures and scuttles Italian sailing ship Tobia, heading from Civitavecchia to Patras with a load of olive oil. Gansser's score is now 14 ships and 27,729 tons.



Mediterranean Sea, south of Crete:
Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks Italian freighter SS Cirene, 3,236 tons, headed from Italy to Rhodes in ballast. Forstmann's score is now 28 ships and 56,504 tons.

[Jimbuna]

1st October 1915

Western Front

Minor actions, Souchez and Lorraine.

Despite tough German resistance at Champagne, French officers claim “the offensive has only begun.”

Eastern Front

German attacks on Dvinsk and Smorgon; Linsingen gains ground 25 miles east of Lutsk.

Russian counterattack northwest of Minsk succeeds in stopping the German advance towards the key city.

Southern Front

Unsuccessful Italian attacks on Tolmino; Concentration of Austro-German forces along Serbian frontier.

Aviation

Beginning of period in which the Germans obtained mastery in the air on the Western front (due to the Fokker machine).

Richthofen the future Red Baron is still not a pilot. By chance he meets legendar German flier Oswald Boelcke on a train. Boelcke tells Richthofen his secret "Well, it is quite simple. I fly close to my man, aim well, and then of course he falls down."

Naval and Overseas Operations

British monitors bombard Lombaertzyde and Middelkerke.

Political etc.

Finance ministers of Britain and Russia agree to “a joint course of action between the two allied governments” to raise funds.

Ship Losses:

Elizabeth ( Norway): The coaster suffered an on board explosion and fire and sank in the English Channel off Cap la Heve, Seine-Maritime, France.
Lackawanna ( United States): The cargo ship ran aground in Lake Michigan and was severely damaged.
Pine Brance ( Norway): The cargo ship collided with Fame ( Norway at Archangelsk, Russia and was a total loss.
Providencia ( France): The troopship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km) south of Cape Matapan, Greece (35°33′N 20°56′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her 40 crew were rescued by Mossoul ( France).

For his conduct at the Battle of Hooge, Lt. Rupert Price Hallowes of Port Talbot is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
http://i.imgur.com/2nfwM1Q.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

October 1, 1915:

North Sea:
Leo Hillebrand, commanding U-16, takes Swedish freighter SS Pallas, 838 tons, as a prize. The ship is later released back to her owners.

U-16 will serve until the end of the war, but this is the boat's last victory. Hillebrand will take command of U-46, but it will be a year before he is back in action.

Norwegian freighter SS Castor, 1,313 tons, bound from Stavanger to Hamburg with a general cargo, hits a British mine and sinks. The crew are rescued by German torpedo boat V-28.



Black Sea:
Turkish freighter SS Nediat, 1,523 tons, heading from Kozlu to Istanbul with a load of coal, is sunk by Russian naval gunfire.



Mediterranean Sea, south of Greece:
Konrad Gansser, in U-33, sinks French liner SS Provincia, 3,523 tons, en route from Mudros to Toulon. His score is now 15 ships and 31,252 tons.

[Jimbuna]

2nd October 1915

Western Front

British fleet and Belgian artillery bombard Westeinde.

Aviation

German and Austro-Hungarian airplanes bomb the headquarters of the Serbian General Staff.

Around a dozen French aviators arrive in England to aid British fliers combat Zeppelin raids.

Political etc.

Balkans: "Situation one of utmost gravity" (Sir Edward Grey).

Agreement between Bulgaria and Central Powers to enter war on 15th.

Russian Foreign Minister warns Bulgaria that if it “persist in their present traitorous course they must answer to Russia.”

Italy imports 800,000 pairs of army boots from the US. American leather exports have increased 110% due to the war.

Newest German casualty lists reveal 1,196,148 Prussian men have been killed, wounded, or missing since the war’s start.

French manufacturers use absinthe, which is currently banned in France, to manufacture gun-cotton.

Greek Premier (M. Venizelos) asks British and French Governments to land troops at Salonika as soon as possible.

French General Albert d’Amade (pictured) arrives at Tsar Nicholas’s headquarters, heading a special military mission.
http://i.imgur.com/53Uz5sa.jpg

Ship Losses:

HMT Alexandra (or Alexandra II, ( Royal Navy) : The naval tug was lost on this date.
Arabian ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 15 nautical miles (28 km) west of Cerigo, Greece (36°04′N 22°53′E by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Sailor Prince ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 56 nautical miles (104 km) south east by south of Cape Sidero, Crete, Greece (34°36′N 27°04′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.
Sainte Marguerite ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) south west of Cerigo by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).[9] Her crew were rescued by Mossoul ( France).

Lord Ninian Chrichton-Stuart, a British Member of Parliament, is killed in action at the Battle of Loos.
http://i.imgur.com/khlQtbC.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

October 2, 1915:

Air War: FE.2b 5201, built by Boulton & Paul, is the first 'Fee' to enter service, replacing the earlier FE.2a.



Mediterranean Sea, south of Greece: Konrad Gansser, in U-33, sinks British freighter SS Arabian, 2,744 tons, bound from London to Piraeus with a general cargo; and French freighter Sainte Marguerite, 3,908 tons, route and cargo unknown. His score is now 17 ships and 37,904 tons.

Southeast of Crete: Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks British freighter SS Sailor Prince, 3,144 tons, carrying a load of locust beans from Cyprus to Leith. This brings his score to 29 ships and 59,648 tons.

[Aktungbby]

Lord Ninian Chrichton-Stuart, a British Member of Parliament, is killed in action at the Battle of Loos.
http://i.imgur.com/khlQtbC.jpg
LT. COL. Crichton-Stuart, The Welch 6th Battalion, the second son of the Marquess of Bute, was one of 22 MPs to die during the war. Another 24 members of the House of Lords were killed. The 6th Battalion suffered heavy losses during the war, with only 30 survivors from the 842 men who set out. But there were still veterans' reunions in Swansea until the late 1960s. The colonel's death still hurts 100 years later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZSaYNlpDTk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZSaYNlpDTk)

[Sailor Steve]

October 3, 1915:

Western Front: Germans capture part of Hohenzollern Redoubt at Loos.

French bomb Metz.



Eastern Front: Desperate fighting in Lake region south of Dvinsk.

Russian offensive at Postavi-Smorgon collapses.



Southern Front: Germans checked on Serbian frontier.

Bulgarian forces concentrated.

Allied troops arive at Salonika. Greek government protests.



Naval and Overseas Operations: Zeebrugge bombarded from sea.


Scapa Flow: British freighter SS Budrie, 2,252 tons, is sunk as a blockship in Hoy Sound, near the west entrance to Scapa Flow.



Baltic Sea: Lt. Cmdr. Francis Cromie, commanding British submarine E-19 damages German freighter SS Svionia with deck gun. The merchant is beached and not salvaged until 1920.



Bay of Biscay: British freighter SS Highland Warrior, 7,485 tons, bound from London to La Coruña and Buenos Aires with a general cargo, is wrecked off Cabo Prior, Spain.



Mediterranean Sea, south of Greece: Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks French freighter SS Antonie, 2,698 tons, bringing his score to 18 ships and 40,602 tons.



Japan: Japanese battleship Iki, 9,594 tons, is sunk as a target by battlecruiser Hiei. Iki was formerly the Russian battleship Imperator Nikolai I, surrendered to the Japanese after the battle of Tsushima in 1905.

[Jimbuna]

Eastern Front

Russians take offensive between Drisviati Lake and Smorgon (north-east of Vilna).

Southern Front

Artillery action along Belgrade-Save front.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Two Russian squadrons off Varna.

Allied troops land in Thessaloniki, Greece, near the Bulgarian border, as Bulgaria prepares to join the Central powers.

Political etc.

Wilson meets with the Navy Secretary to discuss a $240 million ($5.6 billion today) naval appropriation bill, the priciest in history.

Protests in Greek Chamber against Allies landing at Salonika.

Ship Losses:

Craigston ( United Kingdom): The collier was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 35 nautical miles (65 km) west of Ovo Island, Greece (36°07′N 22°30′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Yunnan ( France): The passenger ship was torpedoed and damaged in the Mediterranean Sea 21 nautical miles (39 km) south of Cape Matapan Greece by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member. She was beached. Survivors were rescued by Mossoul ( France). Yunnan was salvaged in 1919, repaired and returned to service as Ionopolis under the Greek flag.

[Sailor Steve]

October 4, 1915:

Wilhelm Canaris arrives in Germany. He had escaped to Juan Fernandez Island when SMS Dresden was forced to scuttle by HMS Kent and Glasgaow on March 14th, escaped internment on Quiriquina Island on August 5th, crossed the Andes Mountains to Argentina, arriving in Buenos Aires on August 21st. He has now crossed the Atlantic safely to arrive in Berlin.



North Sea: British freighter SS Enfield, 2,124 tons, travelling from Newcastle to St. Nazair with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen and UC-6. The ship is only damaged and makes it to a safe harbour.



Mediterranean Sea, south of Greece: Conrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks British freighter SS Craigston, 2,617 tons, bound from Cardiff to Miros with a load of coal; and French passenger ship SS Yunnan, 6,474 tons. The captain of Yunnan manages to beach his ship, and it is salvaged, but not until 1919, after the war. Gansser's score is now 20 ships and 49,693 tons.

[Jimbuna]

5th October 1915

Western Front

British attack north of Loos and French attack in Champagne indecisive.

Heavy artillery exchanges resume across the Western front as the Allied offensives largely stagnate.

Eastern Front

Riga front active; lively actions near Smorgon.

Southern Front

Italians progress towards Rovereto (Trent.).

Allied troops land Salonika.

Bulgarians moving under German orders.

Political etc.

Dr. Dumba sails.

M. Venizelos resigns.

Lord Derby, Director of Recruiting.

Entente Ministers at Sofia demand passports.

Germany agrees to pay an indemnity for American lives lost in the SS Arabic sinking.
http://i.imgur.com/TydLaJr.png

French Commander-in-Chief Joffre having lunch with King of Italy during his recent visit there.
http://i.imgur.com/b8EOP00.png

Ship Losses:

Alose ( French Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of twelve of her crew.
Burrsfield ( United Kingdom): The collier was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 70 nautical miles (130 km) wast of Cape Matapan, Greece (35°57′N 21°00′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four crew.
Novocastrian ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km) south east by east of Lowestoft, Suffolk. Her crew survived.
X 130 ( Royal Navy): The barge, under tow of Burrswood ( United Kingdom), was shelled and sunk 70 nautical miles (130 km) west of Cape Matapan (35°57′N 21°00′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

http://i.imgur.com/msD5pg0.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

October 5, 1915:

North Sea:
French naval trawler Alose, 214 tons, is sunk by a mine laid by UC-6, under Matthias von Schmettow. His score is now 11 ships and 7,103 tons.

British freighter SS Novocastrian, 1,151 tons, heading from London to Newcastle with a general cargo, is sunk by a mine laid by UC-7, commanded by Franz Wäger. His score is now 7 ships and 14,459 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks British freighter SS Burrsfield, 4,037 tons, bound from Malta to Gallipoli with stores, and X-130, 160 tons, a barge towed by Burrsfield. His score is now 22 ships and 53,890 tons.



United States:
Sailing schooner Schuylkill, 825 tons, founders off Winter Quarter Shoal, Virginia.

[Jimbuna]

6th October 1915

Western Front

French troops capture Tahure in Champagne, putting them within 1.5 miles of a German-controlled railroad, a key supply line.

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting Dvina front and in Lakes district; Romanians fortifying Giurgevo (Ruschuk).

Southern Front

Austrians attack Belgrade forts.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Reports of valuable Belgian co-operation in Cameroons, beginning on Sanga in October 1914.

Political etc.

Diplomats of Russia, France, Britain, Italy, and Serbia in Sofia begin preparations to leave Bulgaria.

Armenian massacres discussed, House of Lords; 80,000 reported killed since May, with connivance.

President Wilson formally announces his engagement with Edith Bolling Galt.
http://i.imgur.com/m1MJYLs.jpg

The horse of King Victor Emmanuel of Italy is killed by shrapnel while he was visiting the frontlines.

King Constantine of Greece says the country must remain neutral at all costs and will not protect Serbia against Bulgaria.

Ship Losses:

HMS Brighton Queen ( Royal Navy): The auxiliary minesweeper struck a mine and sank in the English Channel 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) west of Nieuwpoort, West Flanders, Belgium with the loss of eight of her crew.
Dimitrios Dandiolos ( Greece): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea east of Malta (35°43′N 18°24′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Forth ( Norway): The cargo ship foundered in the Atlantic Ocean. Her crew were rescued by General Laurie ( United States).
Novocastrian ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship foundered. Her crew survived.
Scawby ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 220 nautical miles (410 km) east of Malta by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Silverash ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 184 nautical miles (341 km) east of Malta by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Texelstroom ( Netherlands): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) west of the Shipwash Lightship ( United Kingdom). Her crew survived.

http://i.imgur.com/N4P6Qdr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4gbjeeY.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

October 6, 1915:

North Sea:
British paddle steamer and auxiliary minesweeper Brighton Queen is sunk by a mine laid by UC-5, under Herbert Pustkuchen. His score is now 8 ships and 9,475 tons.

Dutch freighter SS Texelstroom, 1,601 tons, travelling from Swansea to Amsterdam with a mixed cargo of coffee, coal, tinplant and motor tires, is sunk by a mine laid off Harwich by UC-7. Franz Wäger's score is now 8 ships and 16,060 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, in U-33, sinks Greek freighter SS Dimitrios Dandiolos, 2,508 tons, bound from Alexandria to London; and British freighters Scawby, 3,658 tons, carrying a load of coal from Mudros to Malta; and Silverash, 3,753 tons, heading from Malta to Mudros. His score is now 25 ships and 63,809 tons.

[Jimbuna]

7th October 1915

Western Front

Vigorous fighting in Champagne and Argonne, indecisive.

Eastern Front

German troops pierce Russian lines at Dvinsk (Daugavpils) over a front of three miles.

Southern Front

Austro-Germans across Drina, Save and Danube; total estimated 400,000.

20,000 Allied troops at Salonika.

Naval and Overseas Operations

French transport sunk by Austrian submarine; two Russian destroyers sink 19 Turkish supply ships, coast of Anatolia.

Political, etc.

British Labour Leaders appeal for volunteers for Army.

US General John F. O’Ryan orders commissioned officers to refrain from alcoholic liquors as an example to their men.

6000 Armenian refugees from the Ottoman Empire arrive by boat to Port Said, British-occupied Egypt.

Japan threatens China with force unless it gives Japan jurisdiction over Koreans residing in the province of Jilin.

Ship Losses:

Amiral Hamelin ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 170 nautical miles (310 km) west of Cape Matapan, Greece (35°37′N 19°08′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 71 lives.
Halizones ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 122 nautical miles (226 km) south east by east of Cape Martello, Crete, Greece by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Katja ( Russia): The coaster was sunk in the Black Sea 15 nautical miles (28 km) north west of Sevastopol by SM UB-14 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
SMS T43 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The S7-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of three of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

October 7, 1915:

Air War:
French pilot Georges Guynemer makes his first flight in a Nieuport 10.



Black Sea:
Heino von Heimburg, Commanding UB-14, sinks Russian freighter SS Katja, 474 tons, bringing his score to 3 ships and 21,709 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, in U-33, sinks French freighter SS Amiral Hamelin, 5,051 tons, bound from Marseille to Salonica with a load of military stores. His score is now 26 ships and 68,860 tons.



Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks British freighter SS Halizones, 5,093 tons, heading from Bombay to Liverpool with a general cargo. His score is now 30 ships and 64,741 tons.

[Jimbuna]

8th October 1915

Western Front

Important German attack near Loss repulsed. Huge enemy losses.

Eastern Front

Russians capture 1,000 prisoners, Novo Alexinatz (Galician border, east of Lemberg).

Austro-Hungarian and German troops cross the Danube and enter Belgrade. Serbian troops prepare to withdraw.

Southern Front

Austrians enter Belgrade; Serbs evacuate it after checking advanced guard.

Sir Ian Hamilton's despatch on Suvla Bay.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British force attacks 9,000 Mohmands (Indian frontier), scoring heavily.

Aviation

Seven American volunteer aviators fighting in France are awarded military honors for their part in the Battle of Champagne.

Political etc.

London newspapers criticize British “diplomatic failure” in the Balkans. “The Globe” declares Sir Grey’s work as “ghastly.”

King Constantine of Greece deplores Greek emigration to the U.S. “There is plenty of room here for the population to spread out…”

U.S. Embassy in Constantinople receive $100,000 ($2.4 million today) to aid Armenians in the country.

Coopers working in French oil companies go on strike to protest the exportation of oil to Switzerland (which then goes to Germany).

Ship Losses:

Apscheron ( Imperial Russian Navy): The transport ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Black Sea 24 nmi (44 km) south of Cape Chersones by SM UB-14 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Thorpwood ( United Kingdom): The collier was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 122 nautical miles (226 km) south of Cape Martello, Crete, Greece (33°12′N 25°28′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

October 8, 1915:

Black Sea:
Heino von Heimburg, commanding UB-14, torpedoes Russian Freighter SS Apscheron, 1,864 tons. His score is now 4 ships and 23,573 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks British freighter SS Thorpwood, 3,184 tons, outbound from Malta with a load of coal. His score is now 31 ships and 67,925 tons.

[Jimbuna]

9th October 1915

Western Front

Severe fighting near Loos, held by French and British.

Eastern Front

Russians pressed back north-west of Dvinsk and south-west of Pinsk; heavy losses in Volhynia.

Southern Front

Austrians attack Montenegrin frontier; occupy Belgrade; Gallwitz crosses below Semendria.

Austrian attack on Isonzo front repulsed.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British capture Wumbiagas (Cameroons).

Political etc.

Earl of Selborne, president of the Board of Agriculture, criticizes British censorship as “mischievous stupidity.”

Bulgarian Cabinet reconstructed.

U.S.A. naval programme issued.

Pope Benedict negotiates a pledge from all belligerent nations to not force prisoners of war to work on Sundays.

Ship Losses:

HMS Apollo ( Royal Navy): The collier was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 63 nautical miles (117 km) south of Gavdos, Greece (33°44′N 24°40′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Arabia ( Germany): The cargo ship ran aground at Ystad, Sweden.

[Sailor Steve]

October 9, 1915:

Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, sinks British freighter SS Apollo, 3,774 tons, bound from Cardiff to Port Said with a load of coal. His score is now 32 ships and 71,699 tons.

[Jimbuna]

10th October 1915

Eastern Front

Scattered fighting along most of the line, except Dvinsk.

Southern Front

Enemy cross Danube in force at Semendria; many civilians killed at Belgrade.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British submarine sinks "Lulea" German metal steamer.

Political etc.

Popular discontent in Bulgaria at Germanophil policy.

Bulgaria claims that the majority of the inhabitants in Serbian-controlled Macedonia are ethnic Bulgarians.

Greek Government reject Serbian claim for help under Serbo-Greek Treaty of 1912.

Ship Losses:

Newcastle ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Herbert Pustkuchen) and sank in the English Channel 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south west of Folkestone, Kent. Her crew survived.
Wrestler ( United Kingdom): The tug was lost on this date.

[Sailor Steve]

October 10, 1915:

I have few exact dates, so the adventure of Julius Lauterbach had to wait for his return to Germany. When SMS Emden captured collier SS Exford, Lauterbach, as senior prize officer, was put in command and ordered to depart the area to await a rendezvous. After Emden was destroyed by HMAS Sydney on November 9, 1914, Sydney took off to capture Exford. It was this departure which allowed Helmuth von Mucke to take the schooner Ayesha and escape the area.

When Sydney found Exford and ordered her to heave to, Lauterback fixed the ship's compass to give a false direction. Some time later Exford ran aground and sank. Lauterbach, along with most of Emden's crew, was imprisoned at Singapore. Lauterbach was renowned as a ladies' man, and had a "friend" in Singapore who arranged for a boat to take him away.

Some sources suggest that Lauterbach had a hand in the Singapore Mutiny, but he himself denied that allegation. He certainly made good use of it, though, and escaped the prison where he was held. He managed to procure Swedish, Dutch and Belgian passports and a number of disguises, and travelled from Singapore to Manila via Cebu and Padang. He then spent two months in Manila, and spent some of that time sending postcards to British friends, including the commandant of the prison in Singapore from which he had escaped.

From Singapore Lauterbach boarded a Japanese collier and made his way to Tintsin and then Shanghai. While there another lady friend warned him of an attempt on his life. When the attempt was made Lauterbach escaped by leaping into the river. Lauterbach then managed to steal the passport of a U.S. navy petty officer W. Johnson. He then boarded a ship for Japan. In Yokohama he was questioned by a Japanese investigator, but managed to convince the man he was American.

He then travelled to Honolulu and San Francisco, where he found he was a celebrity. The British had a 1,000-pound reward for him, and the Japanese were offering 250,000 yen.

Lauterbach's next move was to catch a train to New York, where he took a job as a stoker on a Danish freighter bound for Oslo. Off the Orkney Islands the ship was stopped by a Royal Navy vessel. Lauterbach convinced them he was a Dane, and the ship continued on its way. From Oslo he travelled to Copenhagen.

On October 10, 1915, eleven months after the loss of Emden, Julius Lauterbch arrived in Germany.



Air War:
German pilot Max Immelmann, flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down Be.2c 2033 for kill #4.

German pilot Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp, flying an AEG G.II, is credited with victory #1, a Morane. Since the AEG is a three-seat bomber the shooting was one by one or both gunners, neither of whom is named in this record.

German observer Robert Ritter von Greim, riding in an undesignated two-seater with an unnamed pilot, shoots down a Voisin for kill #1.



North Sea:
British freighter SS Newcastle, bound from Mauritius to London with a general cargo, hits a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen and UC-5. Pustkuchen's score is now 9 ships and 12,878 tons.

[Jimbuna]

11th October 1915

Eastern Front

Desperate fighting near Dvinsk; Ivanov captures 2,000 Austrians on Strypa (Galicia).

Southern Front

Bulgars attack Serbs from Byelogradchik; Belgrade partly destroyed.

Austria-Hungary and Germany continue to push south from Belgrade and drive off Serbian troops from the hills south of the capital.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turkish offensive at Ichkau (Transcaucasia) repulsed.

Naval and Overseas Operations

French Admiral Boué de Lapeyrère, commander of the Allied Mediterranean forces, resigns.
http://i.imgur.com/mnQQGiB.jpg

Political etc.

Since October 1st, Britain has lost (killed, wounded, captured, or missing) 981 officers and 20,351 men.

Lord Derby produces recruiting scheme.

Ship Losses:

Germania ( Germany): The cargo ship ran aground off the coast of Sweden and was subsequently sunk by an on board explosion.
Seileren ( Norway): The four-masted barque collided with another vessel in the Irish Sea off Torr Head, County Antrim, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued.
Thorpwood ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship foundered. Her crew were rescued.

[Sailor Steve]

October 11, 1915:

Air War:
0900 English pilot William Douglas Stock Sanday and observer 2nd Lt Ellison, in a BE.2c, shoot down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 1. Two other BE.2s are involved, crewed by a Cpt Barrat and Lt Cleaver, and Lts Clark and Stammers.

German pilot Otto Parschau, friend of Anthony Fokker and the man who taught Oswald Boelke and Max Immelmann to fly wing-warpers, flying a Fokker E.II, shoots down a Farman two-seater for kill number 1.

Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp's gunners shoot down a Farman from their AEG bomber, earning the pilot official kill number 2.

[Jimbuna]

12th October 1915

Eastern Front

Fighting Dvinsk region continues.

Southern Front

Bulgars driven off by Serbs south of Zayechar (Bulgar-Serb border).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians repel Turks in Van Pass and at Arkhava (Coast).

Political etc.

Greece refuses Serbia's appeal. Greek Prime Minister Venizelos: “The national soul says it is to the interest of Greece that Bulgaria should be crushed.”

Edith Cavell, British nurse who helped 200 soldiers escape German-occupied Belgium, is executed by Germany. The execution causes an uproar in Britain and increases Allied sympathy in the U.S.
http://i.imgur.com/EA3EiKT.jpg

King Ferdinand of Bulgaria on joining the Central Powers: “But what else can I do? Germany will be victorious…”

Kaiser Wilhelm visits the headquarters of von Mackensen, who is leading the German attack on Serbia.

Ship Losses:

Combe ( United Kingdom): The ammunition carrier was lost in the Arctic Sea on this date.
HMT Frons Olivae ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of eleven of her crew.
HMT Restore ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was shelled and sunk in the Otranto Channel (40°20′N 18°42′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.

http://i.imgur.com/6Z6fWUT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/aETk1Ue.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/3JtbxNs.jpg

[Jimbuna]

13th October 1915

Western Front

Successful British attack south-west of Hulluch.

British soldiers make a final attack in the Battle of Loos, but are repulsed due to high casualties and a lack of ammunition.

Eastern Front

Russians hold their own at L. Drisviati (Dvinsk), but driven back across Strypa.

Southern Front

Serbs tenaciously hold country south of Belgrade; Sarrail arrives at Salonika.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Renewed Armenian atrocities reported by U.S. Ambassador at Constantinople.

Aviation

Zeppelin raid on London.
http://i.imgur.com/FF9LOzz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/lMWjmfK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/5Qd2cSs.jpg

Naval and Overseas Operations

Action near Broen (Denmark) between British submarine and German force. 1 T.B.D. sunk.

Political etc.

Great Britain severs diplomatic relations with Bulgaria.

Bristol rector Reverend Ernest Houghton founds the “League for the Marrying of Broken Heroes” to encourage women to marry wounded veterans.

Charles Hamilton Sorley, British poet, is killed in action at the Battle of Loos.
http://i.imgur.com/oZT8rYr.jpg

Sorley’s last poem: “When you see millions of the mouthless dead; Across your dreams in pale battalions go.”

When you see millions of the mouthless dead
Across your dreams in pale battalions go,
Say not soft things as other men have said,
That you'll remember. For you need not so.
Give them not praise. For, deaf, how should they know
It is not curses heaped on each gashed head?
Nor tears. Their blind eyes see not your tears flow.
Nor honour. It is easy to be dead.
Say only this, “They are dead.” Then add thereto,
“Yet many a better one has died before.”
Then, scanning all the o'ercrowded mass, should you
Perceive one face that you loved heretofore,
It is a spook. None wears the face you knew.
Great death has made all his for evermore.

[Aktungbby]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Treusch_von_Buttlar-Brandenfels.jpg (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Treusch_von_Buttlar-Brandenfels.jpg) Horst Freiherr Treusch von Buttlar-Brandenfels & LZ 11; served ably in both world wars. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/LZ11_Viktoria_Luise.jpghttps://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Treusch_von_Buttlar-Brandenfels_(Luftschiffer (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Treusch_von_Buttlar-Brandenfels_(Luftschiffer))

[Jimbuna]

14th October 1915

Western Front

Battle of Loos ends in a Germany victory. Britain suffers 59,247 casualties, compared to about 26,000 German casualties.

Eastern Front

Violent fighting at Illukst (Dvina); enemy checked on Strypa.

Bulgaria launches a major offensive into Serbia with its 1st and 2nd Armies, with a total of almost 300,000 soldiers.

Southern Front

Austro-Germans storm Pozharevats; Bulgars attack on Nishava river.

Naval and Overseas Operations

E.19 sinks German T.B.D. near Faxo.

Political etc.

Viscount Milner makes a speech to the House of Lords, suggesting a withdrawal from Gallipoli.

Part of the $500 million loan from U.S. bankers to Britain and France becomes publically available for sale.

Britain, France, Russia, & Italy promise to send troops to aid Serbia. But aside from Britain & France, there are no concrete plans for aid.

U.S.A. Army increase approved.

Martial Law is declared in The Hague for workers at arms factories. They will have to obtain permits if they want to go to other districts.

Bulgaria declares war on Serbia.

President Wilson places the cornerstone for the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater.
http://i.imgur.com/hr1ZW4h.jpg

Ship Losses:

Salerno ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) south of the Longsand Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°45′N 1°42′E). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

October 14, 1915:

North Sea:
British freighter SS Salerno, 2,071 tons, bound from Hull to Marseille and then Italy with a general cargo, runs on a mine laid by UC-3 and her new commander, Erwin Waßner

[Jimbuna]

15th October 1915

Western Front

Lively fighting along French front.

German offensive at the Vosges, accompanied by flamethrowers, succeeds in capturing the peak of Hartmannswillerkopf from the French.

Southern Front

Bulgarians bombard Valandova; occupy Vranya.

The Serbian capital is evacuated to Mitrovitza after the fall of Belgrade.

Italians occupy Pregasina (north of Lake Garda).

Dardanelles

British casualty list from Dardanelles up to October 9th is released, revealing 18,957 deaths. Australasian casualties number 29,121.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Germans evacuate Kermanshah (Persia).

Aviation

Wilbur Wright died in 1912, and on October 15, 1915, Orville Wright sold the plane company the brothers had built. In 1916 it merged with the Glenn L. Martin Company to form the Wright-Martin Company.

Political etc.

State of war between Great Britain and Bulgaria from 10 p.m.

In terms of the Army, the regular U.S. Army will be increased to 129,000 men, with a reserve force of 400,000 men.

Sarah Lund, who lost her husband and father on the Lusitania, sues Cunard Line for illegally carrying explosives in the area of submarines.

Montenegro declares "state of war" with Bulgaria.

Ship Losses:

SMS S100 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The S90-class torpedo boat collided with Preussen ( Germany) and sank in the Baltic Sea.

[Jimbuna]

16th October 1915

Western Front

French attack at Champagne near Auberive ends in failure. More than 600 prisoners and 3 machine guns are captured by the Germans.

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting along Russian front, specially near Mitau (Riga).

Southern Front

Austro-Germans storm Vranovo (Pozharevats), and Bulgars forts east of Zayechar.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Termination of British occupation of Bushire (by agreement with Persia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

British submarine sinks five German transports in Baltic.

Blockade declared of Bulgarian (Aegean) Coast.

Political etc.

British Government offer Cyprus to Greece if she will support Serbia.

Lord Kitchener calls for more British volunteers: “We must have more men at once.”

State of war between France and Bulgaria from 6 a.m.

General Sir Ian Hamilton, commander of the Dardanelles expedition, is recalled for his failures.
http://i.imgur.com/fEcbtTr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/aHgxJia.jpg

Ship Losses:

Volscian ( United Kingdom): The coaster struck a mine and was damaged in the English Channel 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) west by south of Folkestone, Kent. She was beached but was later refloated.

[Sailor Steve]

October 16, 1915:

Air War:
German pilot Oswald Boelke, flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down Voisin B.I #V839, flown by Sgt. R. Cadet and Cpl. G. Frepillon. This is victory #5, making Boelke Germany's first ace.



North Sea:
British freighter SS Volscian, 570 tons, travelling in ballast from Dieppe to Grimsby, hits a mine laid by Erwin Waßner and UC-3. The ship is only damaged, and returns to service sometime later.

[Jimbuna]

17th October 1915

Western Front

In the face of heavy artillery fire and counterattacks, French forces slowly advance on both sides of Hill 140, near Vimy Ridge.

Eastern Front

Enemy active about Jakobstadt (Riga); Russians successful on middle Styr (S. Polesia).

Southern Front

Bulgars force Timok Valley and take Egri Palanka; Franco-Serbs defeat Bulgars at Strumitsa (sout-west Bulgaria).

Prince Alexander of Serbia narrowly escapes capture from the advancing Austro-Hungarian army. Several of his staff officers are captured.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Zeebrugge bombarded from the sea.

General Sir William Birdwood takes over temporary command of Mediterranean Expeditionary Force from Sir Ian Hamilton.

Political etc.

Brigadier General Sir Eric Swayne: “Great Britain needs 3,000,000 more men by spring” to ensure victory.

U.S. Rear Admiral Austin M. Knight threatens to move the fleet base from Newport, RI if the city does not improve its moral character.

Russia declares a “state of war” in Moscow and the Moscow district due to continued labor unrest.

Ship Losses:

HMT Javelin ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) south of the Longsand Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of a crew member.

[Sailor Steve]

October 17, 1915:

North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Javelin, 205 tons, is sunk by a mine laid by UC-3 under Erwin Waßner, bringing his score to 2 ships and 2,276 tons.

[Jimbuna]

18th October 1915

Eastern Front

Germans advance on the Dvina; Russians capture Chartorysk (Styr).

Southern Front

Austro-Germans and Bulgarians advancing in force (from north and east respectively).

General Torcum announces a plan to create an Armenian army made up of expatriates to fight against the Ottoman Empire.

Italy launches an offensive against Austria-Hungary on the Soča River, starting the Third Battle of the Isonzo.

Political etc.

Sir Edward Carson, Attorney General, resigns from the Cabinet due to his disapproval of actions in the Balkans and the Dardanelles.

General Sir Charles Monro is appointed the new commander of the Dardanelles expedition.
http://i.imgur.com/gKe1QOI.jpg

U.S. Navy awards contracts to make 22 warships, the largest number of contracts for new construction ever awarded by the navy.

Ship Losses:

Aleppo ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and was damaged in the North Sea. She was beached but was later refloated.
Algardi ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship ran aground on the Longsand, in the Thames Estuary, and was abandoned by her crew. She was refloated on 22 October.
Pernambuco ( Germany): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Baltic Sea off Oxelösund, Södermanland County, Sweden by a Royal Navy submarine.
Salerno ( Norway): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea. Her crew survived.
Scilla ( Italy): The cargo ship was sunk in the Aegean Sea off the Sporades, Greece by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

October 18, 1915:

Air War:
German pilot Karl Odebrett, flying on the Russian Front, brings down a plane variously described as either a Farman or Voisin. It is not even known whether Odebrett was himself in a two-seater or an eindecker, but he was awarded his first official victory.



North Sea:
British freighter SS Aleppo, 3,870 tons, bound from Alexandria to Hull with a general cargo (mostly grain), hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow and UC-6. The ship is beached and later returned to service. Norwegian freighter SS Salerno, 2,431 tons, carrying general cargo, mail and passengers from Tyne to Santos, also hits a mine laid by UC-6 and sinks. Von Schmettow's score is now 12 ships and 9,534 tons.



Aegean Sea:
Waldemar Kophamel, commanding U-35, begins his sixth war patrol with the sinking of Italian freighter SS Scilla, 1,220 tons, route not listed, general cargo. Kophamel's score is now 23 ships and 41,228 tons.

[Jimbuna]

19th October 1915

Western Front

Repulse of Germans near Hulluch.

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting round Mitau; Russians successful on Styr.

Southern Front

Italian offensive in Trentino continues.

Bulgarian troops succeeds in cutting the critical Nish-Salonica railway in Serbia.

Political etc.

Italy declares war against Bulgaria.

British Prime Minister Asquith takes sick leave due to gastro-intestinal catarrh.

Britain prohibits the export of any cotton products except to Spain, Portugal, and allied countries.

President Wilson and his fiancée Edith Bolling Galt at Princeton today.
http://i.imgur.com/9ZyFIxA.jpg

Ship Losses:

HMT Erin II ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off the Nab Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of seven of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

October 19, 1915:

English Channel:
His Majesty's Trawler Erin II, 181 tons. is sunk by a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen in UC-5. Pustkuchen's score is now 10 ships and 13,059 tons.

[Jimbuna]

20th October 1915

Western Front

German gas attack east of Reims heavily repulsed.

Eastern Front

Ivanov takes 7,500 prisoners near Tarnopol.

Southern Front

Serbians holding Orsovo region bravely, but pushed back towards Shabats (in north-west).

Kingdom of Serbia again moves its capital from Nish to Prizren, as the Central Powers continue to advance.

Sir C. Monro Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean.

Political etc.

Greek Government reject British offer of Cyprus.

Ship Losses:

HMT Star Of Buchan ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off the Nab Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of seven of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

October 20, 1915:

Celtic Sea
French barque SV Amiral Courbet, 2,223 tons, bound from Cork, Ireland to Albany, Australia, runs aground at Beaulna Cove, Fennings Bay, Cork, Ireland. The stranded ship is abandoned by her crew with no casualties.



English Channel:
His Majesty's Drifter Star of Buchan, 81 tons. is sunk by a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen in UC-5, bringing his score to 11 ships and 13,140 tons.



Sea of Marmara:
British submarine H-1 torpedoes and sinks Turkish freighter SS Hanefiye, 515 tons, while the cargo ship is anchored in the Sarkoy Roads transferring stores to lighters.

[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]

21st October 1915

The King goes to France.


FOR KING FOR COUNTRY:http://deriv.nls.uk/dcn3/7440/74408180.3.jpg He got close to the fighting; viewing the battle in person from German trenches.http://deriv.nls.uk/dcn3/7440/74408527.3.jpg 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).
http://i.imgur.com/Q5xyc9e.jpg

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/~nzlscant/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.
http://i.imgur.com/GUYfImm.png

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.
http://i.imgur.com/zYE11ZL.jpg

[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.
http://i.imgur.com/77wxL4b.jpg

Political etc.

Hans Freiherr von Wangenheim, German ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, dies while in office.
http://i.imgur.com/YpuTvgn.jpg

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.

[Jimbuna]

27th October 1915

Western Front

King George, after visit to French Armies, issues Order of the Day to them.

Germans repulsed in Champagne.

Eastern Front

Indecisive fighting on most of front; Russians driven back from the Styr.

German troops pierce the Russian lines along a mile and a quarter front south of Dvinsk.

Southern Front

Bulgars capture Zayechar, Knyajevats and heights north-west of Pirot.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British submarine sinks four more German steamers in Baltic.

Russians bombard Varna.

Political etc.

Kaiser Wilhelm meets with American ambassador Gerard, the first time in 8 months the Kaiser met with a neutral country’s diplomat.

M. Pashich (Serbian Prime Minister) wires urgently for help.

Australian Cabinet changes.

South African elections (99 Botha-ists).

Ship Losses:

HMT Bonar Law ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.

William Hughes becomes the 7th Prime Minister of Australia.
http://i.imgur.com/3jIBAHi.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

October 27, 1915:

North Sea: His Majesty's Trawler Bonar Law, 285 tons, employed as a minesweeper, is lost in a collision with freighter SS Dwina, off the coast of Deal, Kent, at the mouth of the English Channel. No lives are lost.


http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/bonar_law_fv_h437_zpst8bcg4r3.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/bonar_law_fv_h437_zpst8bcg4r3.jpg.html)

[Jimbuna]

28th October 1915

Western Front

French troops blow up mines at two locations under German trenches north of Arras, allowing them to advance.

King George thrown with horse whilst inspecting, and somewhat seriously injured.

Eastern Front

Enemy concentrating heavily near Riga; fierce fighting on Dvina river.

Southern Front

General Italian attack along coastal front, especially against Gorizia.

Bulgars take Pirot and threaten railway communications.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British cruiser HMS Argyll runs aground on Bell Rock near Dundee. The crew is saved, but the ship is lost.
http://i.imgur.com/9MslfUC.jpg

H.M.S. "Hythe" sunk of Gallipoli.


Political etc.

M. Briand succeeds M. Viviani as French Prime Minister.
M. Briand
http://i.imgur.com/jBXGjOi.jpg
M. Viviani
http://i.imgur.com/l7HFiUG.jpg

Lt.-Gen. Sir B. Mahon to command on Salonika front.
http://i.imgur.com/M0rbBz5.jpg

Romanian Minister for Foreign Affairs states the country will not intervene in the war to help Serbia.

Ship Losses:

HMS Argyll ( Royal Navy): The Devonshire-class cruiser ran aground on Inchcape, Forfarshire and was wrecked.
HMS Hythe ( Royal Navy): The auxiliary minesweeper was run into and sunk by HMS Sarnia ( Royal Navy) in the Dardanelles with the loss of 154 lives.

Sir Ernest Shakleton orders his crew to abandon the Endurance, stuck in the Weddell Sea in Antarctica.
http://i.imgur.com/nPOx0t7.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

October 28, 1915:

North Sea:
British armoured cruiser HMS Argyll, 10,850 tons, runs aground on Bell Rock, off Dundee, Scotland. The crew are rescued by destroyers. The ship had just had a refit at Devonport and was underway to join her squadron. Later everything, including her guns, will be taken off and the wreck blown up.

Norwegian barque SV Teutonia, 647 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Sandefjord to Leith, is wrecked off Findon Ness. Five of her eleven crew are lost.

British fishing vessel Roman, 16 tons, founders and is lost while on a fishing trip out of Grimsby.



Skagerrak:
Norwgian sailing ketch Lina, 70 tons, bound from Alborg, Denmark to Porsgrund, Norway with a load of cement, goes missing with her three crew. The vessel is never heard from again.



Aegean Sea:
British auxiliary minesweeper HMS Hythe, 509 tons, is sunk in a collision with armed boarding steamer SS Sarnia. Two officers, a warrant officer, 9 crewmembers and 143 soldiers are lost.

[Jimbuna]

29th October 1915

Eastern Front

Russia claims it has captured 80,000 German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners in the month of September.

Southern Front

Bulgarian troops recapture the strategic city of Veles from Serbian and French forces.

French take Strumitsa Station.

Political etc.

Text published of agreement (5 September 1914) of Allies not to conclude separate peace.

[Sailor Steve]

October 29, 1915:

North Sea:
Norwegian Barque Erik Gjessen, 187 tons, bound from Haugesund to Aberdeen in ballast, is wrecked of Newburgh, Scotland.

French sailing ship Hoche, 2,211 tons, is being towed from Ipswich to Leith when the weather worsens, The tow cable parts and Hoche founders and is lost.



Alaska, United States:
Motor Fishing Vessel Shark, 19 tons, is destroyed by fire at the small port of Seldovia, south of Anchorage. The two crewmembers aboard at the time escape unharmed.

[Jimbuna]

30th October 1915

Western Front

Germans retake Butte de Tahure (Champagne).

Eastern Front

Russian success near Tarnopol (Galicia); claim 8,000 prisoners; Germans claim 3,000.

Southern Front

Enemy takes Kraguyevats.

British support French at Gevgeli. Latter repulse Bulgars at Krivolak (Vardar River).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Nigerian and Gold Coast troops under Colonel Mayer successful in Cameroons.

Political etc.

The Allied Powers give a joint declaration that they will fight to the end and will not conclude separate peace with the Central Powers.

French Commander in Chief General Joffre meets with Field Marshal Kitchener to discuss closer cooperation between France and the UK.

German occupation forces in Belgium execute 9 people on charges of spying and sentence 10 others to penal servitude.

Pope Benedict appeals to Austria-Hungary to spare Venice from air attacks.

Count W. Metternich appointed German Ambassador at Constantinople.
http://i.imgur.com/ZJR15JL.jpg

Ship Losses:

Turquoise ( French Navy): The Émeraude-class submarine was sunk in the Dardanelles off Nagara Point, Turkey. She was refloated by Ottoman forces on 3 November and taken into the Ottoman Navy as Mustadieh Ombashi.

[Sailor Steve]

October 30, 1915:

Air War:
German ace Oswald Boelke, Flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down Voisin B.I for kill number 6. French Lts. Pierre Marie Dulin and Marie Louis Leclerc are both killed in the crash.



Gulf of Bothnia:
German freighter SS Claus Horn, 2,690 tons, carrying iron ore from Oxelösund to Stettin, runs aground on Blanchan Reef, at the Oscarshamn Skerries.



Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
Canadian freighter SS Leona, 700 tons, bound from Howe Sound to Tacoma, Washington with a load of copper ore, founders in the Strait of Georgia.

[Jimbuna]

31st October 1915

Western Front

Steel helmets being introduced on British front.

After a night battle, German troops succeed in capturing the hills near Tahure in Champagne.

Southern Front

British take part in action Gevgeli Doiran front (Macedonia).

Political etc.

Japan warns China against monarchical movement.

King Ferdinand of Romania declares he will let Parliament and the government decide whether or not to enter the war.

Dutch government publishes an “Orange Book” detailing infractions committed by both Germany and the Allied powers in the war.

Ship Losses:

HMY Aries ( Royal Navy): The naval yacht struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Leathercote Point, Kent (51°00′N 1°24′E) with the loss of 22 of her crew.
Eidsiva ( Norway): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off South Foreland, Kent. Her crew survived.
HMT John G. Watson ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.
HMS Louis ( Royal Navy): Dardanelles Campaign: The Laforey-class destroyer was shelled and sunk in Suvla Bay by Turkish coastal artillery.
HMT Othello II ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Lethercote Point with the loss of nine of her crew.
Toward ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off South Foreland. Her crew survived.

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 41 ships of 84,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses).

http://i.imgur.com/usmo4py.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

October 31, 1915:

Air War:
Welsh ace Lionel Rees, now with "F/S Raymond" manning the gun of his Vickers FB.5, brings down an Albatros two-seater for kill number 6.

Idflieg reports 58 German fighters at the front.
Fokker:
23 E.I
8 E.II
23 E.III
1 E.IV

Pfalz:
2 E.I
1 E.III



Scotland:
His Majesty's Trawler John G. Watson,196 tons, acting as a minesweeper, founders after a collision in Stornoway bay, Isle of Lewis.

American tanker SS Llama, 3,189 tons, is wrecked on Skea Skerries reef, in Westray Firth.



English Channel:
His Majesty's Yacht Airies, 258 tons; Norwegian freighter Eidsiva, 1,092 tons, carrying a load of coal from Shields to Rouen; HM Trawler Othello II, 206 tons; and British freighter SS Toward, 1,218 tons, bound from London to Belfast with a general cargo, all run onto a minefield laid by Matthias von Schmettow and UC-6. His score is now 17 ships and 14,222 tons.



North Sea:
Dutch steel trawler FV Gerard (YM-167), 199 tons, runs aground off Ameland, part of the island chain off the Netherlands coast.



White Sea, Russia:
Russian schooner SV Sorkholm, 205 tons, en route from Arkhangelsk to Pert with a load of wood, is wrecked on Modyugski Island.



Gallipoli:
British 'L' class destroyer HMS Louis is wrecked in Suvia Bay, then destroyed by Turkish coastal guns.



Washington State, United States:
American passenger ferry MV Alert, 14 tons, founders off Cape Alava, south of the Juan de Fuca Strait. All six aboard reach the shore safely.



German East Africa:
British monitor HMS Severn probes the mouth of the Msala River, and fires 5 6" shrapnel shells at a German lookout platform.

[Jimbuna]

1st November 1915

Western Front

Sir John French's Despatch published, covering period 25 September to 8 October 1915.

Eastern Front

Battle of Dvinsk ends.

Food scarcity in Petrograd owing to lack of system.

Southern Front

Italian successes near Gorizia and Zagora (Jul.).

Babuna Pass (between Uskub and Prilep) held by 5,000 Serbians for more than a week against six divisions.

Austro-German brutality.

The city of Kragujevac, Serbia, the site of an important arsenal, is captured by German and Austro-Hungarian troops.

Aviation

The Royal Naval Air Service adopted the same roundel as used by the Royal Flying Corps and discontinued the use of the Union Jack on fuselage sides.

Naval and Overseas Operations

S.S. "Hocking", flying U.S. flag, but under German management, seized and taken to Halifax.

Political etc.

Return of the King from France after his accident.

Justice Sir Henry Bargrave Deane rules that divorce cases against soldiers at the front must wait until they return to Britain.

Agricultural Relief Committee visits France.

BEF Commander Sir John French’s 9th Despatch, detailing action during the summer and Battle of Loos, is published.
http://www.1914-1918.net/french_ninth_despatch.html

Ship Losses:

Edith May ( United Kingdom): The schooner was abandoned off the coast of Ireland. Her crew were rescued by the Ballygarry Lifeboat.
Glynn ( United Kingdom): The schooner was driven ashore in South Bay, Wexford. Her crew survived.
Maria Reed ( United Kingdom): The schooner was abandoned off the coast of Ireland. Her crew were rescued by the Ballygeary Lifeboat.
Marsden ( United Kingdom): The tug was lost in the Mediterranean Sea on this date.
Sea View ( United Kingdom): The schooner was driven ashore in South Bay, Wexford. Her crew survived.
HM Torpedo Boat 96 ( Royal Navy): The torpedo boat collided with the troopship Tringa ( Royal Fleet Auxiliary) off Gibraltar and sank with the loss of eleven of her eighteen crew.

[Sailor Steve]

November 1, 1915:

Mediterranean Sea:
British torpedo boat TB-96, on patrol east of Gibraltar, collides with merchant SS Tringa at 0115 hours. Her commander, Chief Gunner John Summer, one other officer and nine ratings are lost. Seven survivors.



Namibia, West Africa:
British freighter SS British Prince, 5,936 tons, bound from Cape Town to Luderitz Bay carrying passengers, mail and general cargo, runs aground on Possession Island. With her keel broken the ship is considered a total loss.

[Jimbuna]

2nd November 1915

Western Front

General Maunoury succeeds General Gallieni as Military Governor of Paris.

Eastern Front

German troops continue its attack on Riga, while Russian troops counterattack across the front to divert German troops away the city.

German Press cheerful about prospect of Russian dissensions yielding profit to Central Powers.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British and Russian Ministers at Teheran assured by Persian Foreign Office that report of agreement with Germany without foundation.

Political etc.

Bank of England sends £919,000 of gold to the United States in order to pay for increased imports.

Sir Edward Carson, Leader of the Opposition, criticizes Asquith and his Cabinet, signaling a break in the political truce in Britain.

Prime Minister Asquith makes a speech in front of the House of Commons on the course of the war, admitting failure in the Dardanelles.

German ambassador von Berstorff expresses confidence that the U.S. and Germany have settled their differences over the Lusitania.

China declines Japan's advice on subject of monarchical movement.

[Sailor Steve]

November 2, 1915:

English Channel:
British schooner SV Dairymaid, 138 tons, bound from Teignemouth, Cornwall for Runcorn, near Liverpool with a load of china clay, is listed as missing. Her fate has never been determined.

[Jimbuna]

3rd November 1915

Western Front

German attack in Champagne; French trenches penetrated, Hill 199.

Eastern Front

Russian victory in Galicia (Siemikowice on Strypa), 5,000 prisoners; successful actions also in region of Dvinsk.

Southern Front

Serbian armies defending Kraguyevatz is able to escape encirclement, but continue to give up territory.

Serbian Government leave Nish.

3rd Battle of the Isonzo ends in an Austro-Hungarian victory. The Italian offensive has been stopped with heavy casualties on both sides.

Aviation

Royal Naval Air Service Flight Sub-Lieutenant Fowler makes the first British take-off of an aircraft with a conventional, wheeled undercarriage from a ship when he flies a Bristol Scout from HMS "Vindex".
http://i.imgur.com/P6KJUEh.jpg

Political etc.

Port and Transit Executive Committee formed in Great Britain.

First meeting of newly-constituted War Committee of British Cabinet to replace the Dardanelles Committee.

Declaration of policy by M. Briand: closer co-operation with Allies.

New French Prime Minister Briand: “We have the will to vanquish. We shall vanquish in the end.”

France, Britain, Russia, and Japan pressure China to postpone a vote to reestablish the monarchy until after the war.

Ship Losses:

Friargate ( United Kingdom): The coaster struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) east of Aldeburgh, Suffolk with the loss of two of her crew.
Woodfield ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) east south east of Ceuta, Spain (35°42′N 4°28′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eight of her crew.
Woolwich ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 104 nautical miles (193 km) south of Cape Sidero, Greece (33°35′N 26°30′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Yakusuni Maru ( Japan): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Alboran, Morocco (35°46′N 3°42′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

November 3, 1915:

North Sea:
British freighter SS Fairgate, 264 tons, carrying a cargo of loam from London to Middlesbrough, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow and UC-6, bringing his score to 18 ships and 14,486 tons.

British iron trawler FV Dominican, 134 tons, goes missing while on a fishing trip out of Grimsby. No trace has ever been found.



Mediterannean Sea:
Waldemar Kophamel, commanding U-35, sinks British freighter SS Woolwich, 2,936 tons, bound from Port Sudan to Plymouth with a load of phosphates and zinc. Kophamel's score is now 25 ships and 51,221 tons.

Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks British freighter SS Woodfield, 3,584 tons, travelling in ballast from an unlisted port to Salonica; and Japanese freighter Yasukuni Maru, 5,118 tons, carrying petroleum products and railway materiel from Newport News to Salonica, both north of Morocco just inside the Strait of Gibraltar. Valentiner's score is now 55 ships and 89,284 tons.



United States:
American fishing schooner FV Ella M. Doughty sets out for a fishing voyage from Gloucester, Massachussetts, to the Bay Islands, Newfoundland, Canada, and is never heard from again. Assumed to have foundered in a gale sometime in early December, she is officially listed as missing on December 28, her captain and crew of 5 lost.
http://www.downtosea.com/1901-1925/emdoghty.htm

American freighter SS Santa Clara, 1,588 tons, en route from Portland, Oregon for San Francisco, is runs aground at Coos Bay, Oregon.
Wrecksite.eu, from which the information came, lists the wreck as November 3, but the official account says November 2.
http://www.wholeshebang.com/WreckofSantaClara.htm

[Jimbuna]

4th November 1915

Western Front

Fierce fighting in Champagne.

Southern Front

Turkish attacks at Anzac repulsed.

Serbians check Bulgarians at Izvor (Macedonia).

Bulgarian troops advance to six miles from the strategic city of Nis, Serbia. King Peter urges his troops to fight on.

Naval

German submarine SM UC-8 runs aground near Terschelling, Netherlands, and is interned by the Dutch.
http://i.imgur.com/w9bRmLW.jpg

Political etc.

Lord Lansdowne announces in House of Lords that Government would spare no pains to prevent General Election during the War.

Greek Cabinet defeated after speech by M. Venizelos. M. Skouloudis appointed Premier.

Ship Losses:

Dahra ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Arzew, Algeria (36°22′N 0°25′W) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Ionio ( Italy): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Ivi, Algeria (36°28′N 0°04′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Le Calvados ( France): The troopship was torpedoed, shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 22 nautical miles (41 km) north west of Cape Ivi, Algeria by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 740 lives. Lady Plymouth ( United Kingdom rescued 55 survivors.
SM UC-8 ( Kaiserliche Marine). The Type UC I submarine ran aground on Terschelling, Friesland, Netherlands (52°23′N 5°05′E). She was subsequently interned and taken into Dutch Navy service as HNLMS M-1.

Former President Roosevelt and Edith Roosevelt with their grandson, taken today.
http://i.imgur.com/mfvCu0R.jpg

Brigadier General George Miller Sternberg, former U.S. Surgeon General and pioneer in bacteriology, has passed away.
http://i.imgur.com/EIDWLN1.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

November 4, 1915:

North Sea:
British trawler Jersey, 139 tons, leaves Hull for a fishing expedition and is not heard from again.



Mediterranean Sea:
Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, sinks French freighters SS Dahra, 2,127 tons, following an unknown route with a cargo of grain; and SS Le Calvados, 1,658 tons, bound from Marseille to Oran carrying troops and war materiel; Italian freighter SS Ionio, 1,816 tons, carrying a general cargo; and damages British freighter SS Mercian, 6,305 tons; all in the area north of Oran, Algeria. His score is now 58 ships and 94,885 tons.



Madagascar, Indian Ocean:
British sail-and-steam freighter SS Yves de Kerguelen, 218 tons, sailing from Natal to Majunga (Mahajanga) with a load of steel rails, is lost on a reef on the Madagascar coast.

[Jimbuna]

5th November 1915

Western Front

Fighting continued north of Massiges (Champagne).

3rd Battle of Artois ends in a Germany victory. Over 100,000 French and British troops were casualties in the failed offensive.

Eastern Front

Germans repulsed with heavy losses at Platonovka, south of Lake Sventen (Dvinsk).

Southern Front

Fall of Nish, after three days' fighting. Germans get thereby Danube and Ottoman railway route.

Main German-Bulgarian forces join at Krivivir, 35 miles north of Nish.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Mr. de Wet in election campaign in South Africa and Generals Botha and Smuts declare identification of Union with British cause.

Political etc.

President Wilson states there needs to be a “reckoning” with American immigrants with foreign sympathies.

First meeting of the Society for Promoting Mutual Friendly Relations between Russian and America takes place in Petrograd.

Russian government orders all shops, except those devoted to sale of food, to close at 7 pm to conserve fuel and electricity.

Italian cabinet becomes divided over the issue of whether or not to send an expeditionary force to the Balkans.

M. Zaimis, Greek Prime Minister, resigns.

Ship Losses:

Abbas (Egypt Egyptian Coast Guard): The ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Sollum by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Buresk ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) north by west of Cape Bengut, Algeria by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Dagã ( Imperial Russian Navy): The auxiliary minesweeper was torpedoed and sunk in the Baltic Sea off Osmussaar, Estonia (59°18′N 23°22′E) by SM U-9 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
King William ( United Kingdom): The trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 125 nautical miles (232 km) east by north of the Spurn Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of two of her crew.
SMS S129 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The S90-class torpedo boat ran aground and sank in the North Sea near the island of Scharhörn with no casualties.
Sidi Ferruch ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 42 nautical miles (78 km) off Algiers, Algeria by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMS Tara ( Royal Navy): The armed boarding steamer was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Sollum by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of twelve lives.

[Sailor Steve]

November 5, 1915:

British pilot Louis Strange is promoted to major, on the same day he marries Marjorie Beath. They have been a couple since October 1913, when he took her for her first aeroplane ride in a Bleriot monoplane. Strange's best man is longtime friend and Britain's first ace Lanoe Hawker.



Baltic Sea:
Johannes Spieß, commanding U-9, torpedoes Russian auxiliary minesweeper Dagö. His score is now 13 ships and 9,715 tons. This is U-9's last sinking. Spieß will go on to command U-19.



Mediterranean Sea:
British freighter SS Astrea, 2,124 tons, bound from Newport to Taranto with a load of coal, is abandoned.



Waldemar Kophamel, commanding U-35, sinks British armed boarding steamer HMS Tara, 1,862 tons, and Egyptian coast guard vessel Abbas, 298 tons. Kophamel puts the survivors into lifeboats with some on the deck of the u-boat, and tows them to the port of Suliman, where they are made prisoner by Libyan officials. Later they will be handed over to the local Senoussi tribe.

Kophamel attacks another Egyptian coast-guard boat, Nour-el-Bahr, but she is only damaged. His score is now 27 ships and 53,381 tons.



Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks British freighter SS Buresk, 3,673 tons, traveling in ballast from Malta to Barry, and French freighter SS Sidi Ferruch, 2,797 tons cargo and route unlisted. Valentiver becomes the second u-boat captain to pass the hundred thousand mark with 60 ships and 101,355 tons.

[Jimbuna]

6th November 1915

Southern Front

German munition convoys arrive Ruschuk for Bulgaria and Turkey.

Bulgarian troops capture the strategic city of Nis, Serbia. Over half of Serbia is in the hands of the Central Powers.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Ex-Khedive, Abbas-Hilmi sends resignation to Sultan of Turkey. His intrigues in Italy unsuccessful.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Success at Banyo mountain (Cameroons) by General Cunliffe.

Political etc.

Suspension of Globe for publishing misleading statements about Lord Kitchener, etc. Latter is visiting near Eastern Theatre to report on situation.

King of Greece accepts the resignation of Prime Minister Zaimis, who lost a vote of confidence due to his support of neutrality.

Hubert Loutsch becomes the new Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg under German occupation.

Former Secretary of State Bryan criticizes President Wilson, stating his policies threatens the safety of the nation.

Ship Losses:

Abdul Moneim ( Egyptian Navy): The torpedo boat was shelled and sunk at Sallum by a German submarine.
Alastair ( United Kingdom): The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 3 (Erwin Waßnerand) and sank in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) east of Southwold, Suffolk with the loss of seven of her crew.
Birgit ( Finland): The coaster was sunk in the Baltic Sea 6 nautical miles (11 km) west of the Vestra Bank Lightship (flag unknown) (60°51′N 17°47′E) by SM U-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Caria ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 120 nautical miles (220 km) south by east of Cape Martello, Crete, Greece (33°14′N 25°47′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Clan Macalister ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 120 nautical miles (220 km) south by east of Cape Martello (33°10′N 22°50′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS E20 ( Royal Navy): The E-class submarine was torpedoed and sunk in the Sea of Marmara by SM UB-14 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 21 of her 30 crew.
Elisa Francesca ( Italy): The brigantine was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Algeria (37°22′N 6°33′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Glenmoor ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) north east of the Cap de Fer, Algeria (37°06′N 7°12′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Lumina ( United Kingdom): The tanker was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 120 nautical miles (220 km) east by south of Cape Martello (33°04′N 25°56′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Prince Abbas ( Egyptian Navy): The torpedo boat was shelled and sunk at Sallum by a German submarine.
Ticino ( Italy): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 12 nautical miles (22 km) off the Cap de Fer (37°17′N 7°12′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Yser ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) north north west of the Cap de Fer (37°00′N 7°15′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

The United States Navy armored cruiser USS "North Carolina" becomes the first warship to launch an aircraft by catapult, launching a Curtiss AB-2 flying boat piloted by Lieutenant Commander Henry Mustin over her stern.
http://i.imgur.com/QTOAtgW.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

November 6, 1915:

North Sea:
British freighter SS Alastair, 366 tons, bound from London to Tyne, with a cargo of burnt ore, hits a mine laid by UC-3 under the command of Erwin Waßner. His score is now 4 ships and 4,296 tons.

British trawler FV Dovey, 160 tons, is sunk by a mine with the loss of nine of her crew.

British trawler FV Cassiopeia, 152 tons, on a fishing trip from Grimsby, goes missing.



Gulf of Bothnia:
Fritz Stuhr, in U-10, sinks Finnish freighter SS Birgit, 226 tons, carrying a general cargo from from Stockholm to Matyluotu. His score is now 7 ships and 1,651 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Waldemar Kophamel, in U-35, sinks British freighters SS Caria, 3,032 tons, travelling in ballast from Liverpool to Alexandria; Clan MacAlister, 4,835 tons, bound from Liverpool to Calcutta with a general cargo; and tanker Lumina, 6,218 tons, carrying fuel oil from Tarakan to Malta. His score is now 30 ships and 57,466 tons.

Max Valentiner, Commanding U-38, sinks Italian sailing brigantine Elisa Francesca, 208 tons; British freighter Glenmoor, 3,075 tons, bound from Bombay to Tees carrying manganese ore; Ticino, 1,470 tons, route and cargo unlisted; and French freighter Yser, 3,545 tons, hauling a general cargo from Cardiff to Bizerta. His score is now 64 ships and 109,595 tons

French freighter SS Emile, 966 tons, goes missing.



Sea of Marmara:
Heino von Heimburg, in UB-14, sinks British submarine E-20, 725 tons, bringing his score to 5 ships and 24,298 tons.

[Jimbuna]

7th November 1915

Eastern Front

General Alexeiev's estimate of German and Austro-Hungarian forces in field.

Russians progress near Riga.

Russian casualties over two millions to end September.

Southern Front

Austro-Germans reach Krushevats and force Morava River at Kralyevo.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German cruiser "Undine" sunk by British submarine off southern Coast Sweden.
http://i.imgur.com/lMdVuh5.png

Italian liner "Ancona" shelled and sunk by German submarine under Austrian flag; 25 Americans on board, many lives lost. (Other sources claim 8th).
The Italian liner ANCONA left Naples for New York at 11.45 p.m. on Saturday, November 6th, 1915, under command of Capt. Massardo. The liner called at Messina on Sunday and embarked 130 more passengers, leaving again at 5 p.m. with a total of 446 on board of whom 163 were crew. On Monday, November 8th, when the Ancona was off Cap Carbonara she was sighted by a submarine flying the Austrian flag which gave chase and fired about 100 rounds at the liner. Later, at about 1 p.m., the liner was torpedoed. The boats were then hurriedly launched, but as the Ancona was still steaming slowly they capsized as soon as they reached the water. The death-roll was very heavy. One hundred and ninety-four persons, of whom 11 were American citizens, lost their lives and the U.S. government at once demanded satisfaction from Austria. After some delay the Austrians admitted that their submarine commander exceeded his instructions, but stated in extenuation of his action that he believed the ANCONA to have been a transport. The shelling was admitted, but it was contended that only 16 rounds, and not 100 as stated by the Italians, were fired. The loss of life owing to the capsizing of the boats was due, not to any Austrian action, but to a foolhardy attempt to launch them whilst the liner was under way. Several of the Ancona's boats were picked up by the French cruiser PLATON, which put out from Bizerta in the hope of rendering assistance. A new light on the whole incident came later when it was dis­covered that the torpedoing was the work of the U-38, a German submarine flying the Austrian flag and commanded by Lt.Cdr. Max Valentiner, an exceptionally able, but very callous officer. At the time of the sinking Italy was not at war with Germany. (Italia Steamship Co.; 1908; Workman, Clark & Co.; 8,210 tons; 482,3 x 58,3 x 26,2; 1,221 n.h.p. ; 15 knots; triple­expansion engines.)

Political etc.

Earl Kitchener, Secretary for War, meets with French Premier Briand, Minister of War Gallieni, and General Joffre in Paris.

Ship Losses:

SMS A3 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The A1-class torpedo boat foundered in the Baltic Sea with the loss of all hands.
Bearnais ( France): The tanker, a schooner, was severely damaged by fire at Bordeaux, Gironde. She was later repaired and returned to service as a cargo ship.
France IV ( France): The passenger ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 85 nautical miles (157 km) south west of Cape Teulada, Sardinia, Italy (38°08′N 9°54′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Moorina ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 105 nautical miles (194 km) south of Cape Martello Cape Martello, Crete, Greece (33°10′N 25°10′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Princess Victoria ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler collided with another vessel and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off Ouessant, Finistère, France.
SMS Undine ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Gazelle-class cruiser was torpedoed and sunk in the Baltic Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of Scania, Sweden by HMS E19 ( Royal Navy).
Ancona ( Italy): The ocean liner was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Tunisia (38°14′N 10°08′E) by SM U-38 (Austria-Hungary Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of over 200 lives.

[Sailor Steve]

November 7, 1915:

Air War:
German Ace Max Immelman scores kill number 6 in a Fokker E.I, shooting down BE.2c 1715. Pilot Cpt. Theodore Dawson Adams and observer Lt. Owen Vincent le Bas are both killed in the crash.



Atlantic Ocean:
His Majasty's Trawler Princess Victoria is sunk in a collision off Ushant (Oessant).



North Sea:
British freighter SS Eppleton, 947 tons, carrying coal from Tyne to Boulogne, is wrecked on the Haisborough Sands, off Norwich.

Danish barque SV Alexandros, 446 tons, runs aground on the northwest coast of Denmark.



Mediterranean Sea:
Waldemar Kophamel, commanding U-35, sinks British freighter SS Moorina, 4,994 tons, bound from Bombay to Marseille with an unlisted cargo. His score is now 31 ships and 62,460 tons.

Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks French passenger steamer SS France IV, 4,025 tons, en route from Mudros to Marseille. His score is now 65 ships and 113,620 tons, making him the high-scoring u-boat ace.



Pacific Ocean:
British freighter SS Nord, 1,843 tons, carrying Kerosene from Melbourne to Hobbart, strikes a rock and sinks off Cabo Pilar, at the western entrance to the Strait of Magellan.

[Jimbuna]

8th November 1915

Eastern Front

Germans on defensive on Russian front.

German fortified positions in region of Kolki (Chartorysk) occupied.

Southern Front

Italians carry Col di Lana (Ventian Alps) by assault.

Skirmishes in Strumitsa region.

The city of Krusevac, Serbia, one of the last strongholds remaining in the country, falls to German and Austro-Hungarian troops.

French take number of Bulgar prisoners.

Political etc.

Drastic criticism in House of Lords of Government's measures, especially the Press Censorship.

Professor Sprague of Harvard warns that if Germany wins the war, the U.S. will go bankrupt as the Allies would not be able to pay debts.

Ship Losses:

Den of Crombie ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 112 nautical miles (207 km) south west of (33°10′N 24°50′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Sir Richard Awdry ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Gavdos, Greece (31°25′N 25°38′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Wacousta ( Norway): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Gavdos (33°46′N 24°43′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

November 8, 1915:

North Sea:
British trawler FV Yarmouth (GY334), 161 tons, goes missing while on a fishing trip out of Grimsby.

Dutch trawler FV Hibernia 191 tons, also goes missing. Neither vessel is ever heard from again.


Mediterranean Sea:
Waldemar Kophamel, commanding U-35, sinks British freighters SS Den of Crombie, 4,949 tons, bound from Bangkok to Lisbon and Oporto with a general cargo; Sir Richard Awdry, carrying rice from Saigon to Marseille; and Norwegian freighter SS Wacousta, headed from Pictou, Nova Scotia to Vladivostok with a load of railway materials. His score is now 34 ships and 73,164 tons.

Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks Italian passenger liner SS Ancona, 8,210 tons, en route from Naples and Messina to New York with 283 passengers and 163 crew. 194 passengers and crew lose their lives, including either 9 or 11 Americans (reports vary). As U-38 is flying the Austrian flag at the time of the attack, this will lead to U.S. demands for Austrian reparations. The Italians claim that U-38 fired 100 rounds of ammunition at the liner; the Austrians say the number of shells was only 16. Many of the deaths were due to premature launching of the lifeboats while the ship was still underway, causing them to capsize immediately.

Valentiner's score is now 66 ships and 121,830 tons.



United States:
American sailing barge Senson No. 3, 41 tons, founders at Nome, Alaska. No one is on board at the time.

[Jimbuna]

9th November 1915

Eastern Front

Russian success on the Styr (north of Kolki), 3,500 prisoners.

Southern Front

Bulgarians take Leskovats (on line to Salonika).

Naval and Overseas Operations

French battleship Masséna is scuttled to form a breakwater at Gallipoli.
http://i.imgur.com/fwfCoOu.jpg

The SS Californian, known for its association with the Titanic disaster, is sunk by a German submarine.
http://i.imgur.com/ar3p1Dh.jpg

Political etc.

PM Asquith: “Be the journey long or short, we shall not falter nor pause until we have secured…final emancipation from a reign of force.”

MP Herbert Samuel proposes a law where the British government will insure the homes of the poor from air raids.

White Star Line, following Cunard Steamship, announces they will not permit British men of military age to emigrate.

German Federal Council votes to confiscate all oils and fats and will be only sold through a government commission.

U.S.A. announces that all non-contraband shipments consigned to Germany will be deemed immune.

Ship Losses:

Californian ( United Kingdom): The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 61 nautical miles (113 km) south west of Cape Matapan, Greece (36°26′N 22°40′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Firenze ( Italy): The passenger ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 37 nautical miles (69 km) off Syracuse, Sicily (36°40′N 16°04′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Irene ( United Kingdom): The yacht, used as a lighthouse tender, struck a mine laid by UC 1 (Egon von Wernerand) and sank in the Thames Estuary 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) east south east of the Tongue Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of 21 of her crew.
Jesus Marie ( France): The fishing vessel was torpedoed and sunk in the north Sea off Dunquerque, Pas-de-Calais by SM UB-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all six crew.
Skraastad ( Norway): The cargo ship departed Port Talbot, Glamorgan, United Kingdom for Bordeaux, Gironde France. No further trace, presumed foundered with the loss of all hands.

[Sailor Steve]

November 9, 1915:

North Sea:
British lighthouse tender Irene, 543 tons, hits a mine laid by Econ von Werner and UC-1, with 21 casualties. Von Werner's score is now 8 ships and 8,162 tons.

British destroyer HMS Matchless, 1,010 tons, is damaged by a mine.

Russian schooner SV Polar, 200 tons, travelling from Arkhangelsk to Yarmouth, is lost and drifts ashore at Portmahomack, Scotland.

Swedish freighter SS Skandia, 4,336 tons, is lost after colliding with Norwegian SS Freikoll.

Norwegian freighter SS Skraastad, 1,390 tons, departs Port Talbot for Bordeaux with a load of coal and is not heard from again. Her crew of 18 are all lost.



English Channel:
Ralph Wenninger, in UB-17, mistakes French fishing vessel Jesus Marie, 74 tons, for a destroyer in the darkness and torpedoes the small craft. The crew of 6 are all lost. Wenninger's score is now 7 vessels and 539 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Waldemar Kophamel, commanding U-35, finishes his seventh war patrol with the sinking of British freighter SS Californian, 6,223 tons, travelling in ballast from Salonica to Marseille. His score is now 34 ships and 75,866 tons.
This is Kophamel's last patrol in U-35. He will become Flotilla Commander at Pula, Croatia, for two years before taking command of a u-boat again.

Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks Italian freighter SS Firenze, 3,960 tons, bound from Genoa to Port Said with a general cargo. His score is now 67 ships and 125,790 tons.



South Atlantic Ocean:
British freighter Indian Monarch, 4,383 tons, underway from New York to New Zealand, is abandoned after a fire starts in her boiler room.



United States:
Motor fishing boat Clare of Juneau, 5 tons, travelling from Dolomi, Alaska to Ketchikan with a load of canned fish, is forced ashore in a gale and wrecked. The crew of 2 survive.

[Jimbuna]

10th November 1915

Eastern Front

German lines broken west of Chartorysk; 2,050 prisoners.

Southern Front

Turkish reports of artillery duels in the Dardanelles.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian advance on Teheran.

Persian gendarmerie, under foreign officers, revolts and imprisons British subjects.

German intrigues in Persia.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Great fire at American munition works, Bethlehem Steel Co., German incendiaries suspected. Many guns destroyed.

Political etc.

Mr. Asquith announces strengthening of General Staff by more intercommunication with Allies.

Lord Peel warns the House of Lords that Britain must control its military budget. Daily war expenditures are over £4 million a day.

France, Britain, and Russia give Greece a loan worth $8 million in order to keep the country close to the Allies.

Ship Losses:

Bosnia ( Italy): The cargo liner was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea south west of Crete, Greece (33°32′N 23°10′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
France ( France): The ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea or possibly by a submarine. Her 73 crew were rescued by a tug.

[Sailor Steve]

November 10, 1915:

Atlantic Ocean:
French freighter SS Boileau goes missing while carrying a load of coal from Swansea to St. Nazaire.

Italian freighter SS Inisiativa, heading from Swansea to Civita Veccia with a load of coal, goes missing.

Swedish freighter SS Karin, 1,136 tons, goes missing while transporting coal from Barry to Barcelona.



Baltic Sea:
German naval tanker SS Bürgermeister Petersen, 2,893 tons, is sunk by a mine off the Hel (or Hela) Peninsula at Gdynia, Poland.



Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, commanding U-34, sinks Italian freighter SS Bosnia, 2,561 tons. This brings his score to 11 ships and 26,548 tons.



Gallipoli Peninsula:
Freighter SS Saghalien, 4050 tons, is scuttled alongside French battleship Massena as part of a breakwater.



Canada:
Barbados-registered schooner Empress, 355 tons, catches fire and is lost off the Barrington Passage while en route from Nova Scotia to New York.

[Jimbuna]

11th November 1915

Eastern Front

German retreat near Riga.

Russian victory at Kemmern near Gulf of Riga, co-operation of fleet.

Southern Front

Serbians re-conquer greater part of Kachanik Gorge.

French victory over Bulgarians after three days' fighting from Gradsko to Veles.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Transport "Mercian" attacked by submarine U 38; 103 casualties.
Link to article: http://www.lincsmag.com/Lincolnshire_MemoryLane/003_Mercian_Mystery_Blooded_At_Sea.html

Political etc.

Greek Chamber dissolved; new elections to be held.

Lord Derby warns unmarried men of compulsion if fail to enlist voluntarily before 30 November.

Ship Losses:

Rhineland ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 3 (Erwin Waßner) and sank in the North Sea 6.5 nautical miles (12.0 km) south east of Southwold, Suffolk with the loss of twenty of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

November 11, 1915:

Air War:
German pilot Hans-Joachim Buddecke, flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down BE.2c 1725 for kill number 3. Lt. W.A. Harvey is wounded and taken prisoner. There is no observer.



North Sea:
British freighter SS Rhineland, 1,501 tons, bound from Tees to Nantes with a load of steel bars, runs on a mine laid by Erwin Waßner in UC-3. His score is now 5 ships and 5,797 tons.

British trawler FV Greenock, 165 tons, founders off Spurn Point at the mouth of the Humber River.



Celtic Sea:
British fishing ketch SV Girl Gladys, 37 tons, founders in St. George's Channel on the night of November 11/12, and is lost with all hands.



Atlantic Ocean:
British freighter SS Avetoro, 1,255 tons, departs from Barry, Wales, for Las Palmas, Canary Islands, with a load of coal. The ship is not heard from again.

Swedish barque SV Dagmar, 2,143 tons, goes missing. She had departed from Glasgow for Göteborg on November 5th. Her last message was to the signal station at Tail-Of-The-Bank on the 11th.

[Jimbuna]

12th November 1915

Western Front

French mining successes in Argonne.

Eastern Front

Meeting between Kaiser and Hindenburg. Hindenburg threatens to resign if Kaiser insists on capture of Riga and Dvinsk.

Southern Front

Germans control railway from Belgrade to Constantinople.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British force under Townshend advances to within seven miles of Ctesiphon.

Shah of Persia receives Allied Ministers and declares himself friendly.

Political etc.

Winston Churchill announces he will resign from the government and join the Army at the front.

German Chancellor claims the British blockade will not be able to starve Germany.

German government begins regulating the sale of coffee, tea, cocoa,
buckwheat, millet, marmalade, honey, vegetables, fruits, & sauerkraut.

Both former Presidents Taft and Roosevelt advocate expanding the U.S. Navy to be 2nd in the world, at least matching Germany’s.

Ship Losses:

Carthese ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was driven ashore in a gale at Goodwick, Pembrokeshire.
Dinorwic ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was driven ashore in a gale at Goodwick. She was later refloated.
Emerald Ray ( United Kingdom): The schooner was wrecked in a gale at Kingstown, County Dublin.
Echo ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was driven ashorein a gale at Goodwick.
Holme Wood ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was driven ashore in a gale at Goodwick.
Industry ( United Kingdom): The schooner was wrecked in a gale at Kingstown.
Inveresk ( United Kingdom): The barque was wrecked in a gale at Kingstown.
Moorside ( United Kingdom): The coaster struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France with the loss of eight of her crew.
Nigel ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Boulogne with the loss of five of her crew.
HMY Resource II ( Royal Navy): The naval yacht was lost on this date.
Thora ( United Kingdom): The ketch was wrecked in a gale at Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. Her crew were rescued by the Fishguard Lifeboat.
Tryfilia ( Greece): The cargo ship was wrecked at Wexford, Ireland. Her twenty crew were rescued.

http://i.imgur.com/wg2JSK6.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4jKMy7r.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

November 12, 1915:

Irish Sea:
Norwegian barque SV Sigrid, 596 tons, is wrecked by a storm in Ramsey Bay, Isle of Man.



English Channel:
British freighter SS Moorside, 311 tons, bound from Leith to Boulogne, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6. SS Nigel, 1,400 tons, carrying government supplies from Newhaven to Boulogne, also his a mine laid by UC-6. Von Schmettow's score is now 20 ships and 16,197 tons.



Atlantic Ocean:
Brazilian schooner SV Storeng, 298 tons, travelling from Rio De Janeiro to Malmo, is abandoned in the North Atlantic.



United States:
American motor passenger ferry, MV Susitna, 11 tons, is stranded at Kalgin Island, Alaska. All three people aboard are rescued.

[Jimbuna]

13th November 1915

Southern Front

Very successful attack on Turkish trenches by 52nd Division at Gallipoli.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Publication by Foreign Office of attacks on British officers, etc., in Persia.

Political etc.

Mr. Winston Churchill's speech re: Antwerp and Dardanelles expeditions. Rejoins his regiment.

Swiss military estimates that the total deaths in the war so far has exceeded 5 million.

Bulgarian markets are opened to supply German and Austria-Hungary with grain and fodder.

Ship Losses:

HMT Silvery Wave ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.
St. Malo ( France): The cargo ship capsized and sank in the English Channel off Guernsey, Channel Islands with the loss of eleven of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

November 13, 1915:

St. George's Channel, between Ireland and Wales:
British sailing freighter SV Calburga, 1,406 tons, bound from Halifax to Liverpool with a load of timber, loses her masts in a storm and is wrecked at Strumble Head, near Fishguard, Wales.

Norwegian barque SV Formosa, 1,649 tons, carrying timber from Pictou, Nova Scotia to Mersey, runs aground near Ramsey Island The ship is salvaged and moved to Hazelbeach, but is then lost to a fire.

Greek freighter SS Trifylia, 1,336 tons, travelling from Aye to Rouen with a load of coal, is wrecked off Killoughter, County Wicklow, Ireland.



Baltic Sea:
German freighter SS Uranus, 926 tons, carrying coal and machinery from Hamburg to Stockholm, is wrecked off Hasslö Island.



North Sea:
Norwegian whaler Nimrod, 77 tons, is abandoned by her crew while travelling from Hull to Kristiania.

British barque SV Ruby, 197 tons, carrying burnt ore from London to Tyne, is wrecked off Hartlepool.

British barquentine SV Tweed, 165 tons, departed Tyne for Dunkirk with a load of fireclay on November 8th. Last seen on November 11th while anchored at Corton Roads. Listed as missing on November 13th.



English Channel:
Norwegian freighter SS Oksfjord, 2,094 tons, travelling in ballast from Bordeaux to England, is wrecked off Belle Ile.

French freighter SS St. Malo, 1,243 tons, is wrecked off the Isle of Guernsey.



Bay of Biscay:
Spanish freighter SS Bernabe, 2,227 tons, runs aground and is wrecked at Roitre des Bassets, France.



Atlantic Ocean:
Norwegian freighter SS Origin, 1,662 tons, en route from Philadelphia to Copenhagen, goes missing with her 22 crew.



South China Sea:
Japanese freighter Taro Maru, 3,165 tons, headed from Hongay, Vietnam to Japan with a load of coal, is wrecked in the Hainan Strait.



United States:
American schooner SV Frank Leaming, 206 tons, founders and sinks while under tow in Long Island Sound, New York.

[Jimbuna]

14th November 1915

Western Front

Violent German attacks in "Labyrinth" (Artois) repelled by French. Enemy losses very severe.

Eastern Front

German retreat south-west from Riga and the Shlok and Kemmern regions.

Southern Front

Austrian aircraft bomb Verona; 30 killed, 49 injured.

Serbs evacuate Babuna position east of Prilep.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks and Germans defeated by Russians in Persia.

Turkish Ambassador and Austro-German Ministers leave.

Political etc.

Russian government announces plans to open around 5000 new banks at post offices.

Prince Albert, 2nd son of King George, again falls sick, this time due to gastric disorder, and will take leave and rest in London.

German Kaiser thanks Krupp Steel Company for gifting over a million Marks to families of soldiers who died on the battlefield.

Ship Losses:

Treneglos ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 70 nautical miles (130 km) south west of Gavdos, Greece (34°30′N 22°42′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.

[Sailor Steve]

November 14, 1915:

"Am postponing my leave until still later, as it is rather important for me to stay here at the moment. Good things so very rarely come off though. I shall be most bitterly disappointed, however, if another two months does not see me on Active Service again."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, November 14th, 1915



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Ardour, 1,355 tons, en route from West Hartlepool to Halmstad with a load of coal, is wrecked off Tylö.



Baltic Sea:
Swedish schooner SV Lydia, 213 tons, carrying a load of fireproof bricks from Rønne, on the Island of Bornholm to Mäntyluoto, Finland, is wrecked off Torngrundskbak.



Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, Commanding U-34, torpedoes British freighter SS Treneglos, 3,886 tons, bound from Port Louis, Mauritius for Britain with a load of sugar. Rücker's score is now 12 ships and 30,434 tons.

[Jimbuna]

15th November 1915

Political etc.

Winston Churchill makes a speech in the House of Commons on the eve of his departure and defends his record in the Cabinet.

Ship Losses:

Masséna ( French Navy): The Pre-Dreadnought battleship was scuttled at Cape Helles, Turkey.
Orange Prince ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 85 nautical miles (157 km) south west by west of Gavdos, Greece (33°56′N 22°46′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.
Wandra ( Australia): The cargo ship was wrecked in Jervis Bay, New South Wales.

[Sailor Steve]

November 15, 1915:

English Channel:
French brigantine SV Egalité, carrying a load of coal from Swansea to Brest, goes missing.



North Sea:
British fishing vessel King William, 162 tons, hits a mine and is lost.



Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, Commanding U-34, sinks British freighter SS Orange Prince, 3,583 tons, bound from Alexandria to Mudros with a general cargo. His score is now 13 ships and 34,017 tons.



United States:
Former Great Lakes freighter, now unpowered barge SS Philip D. Armour, 1,990 tons, breaks loose from tug Henry E. Gillen while under tow with a load of coal from Ashtabula to Welland and strikes a reef on Lake Erie. After the crew abandons her the ship slips off the reef and sinks.

[Jimbuna]

16th November 1915

Southern Front

Bulgarian troops capture the strategic Babuna Pass in southern Serbia (present-day Macedonia).

Bulgars take Prilep.

Serious Serbian position.

Monastir evacuated.

Bulgars fall back from Cherna river after defeat by French.

Political etc.

Winston Churchill makes a speech in the House of Commons on the eve of his departure and defends his record in the Cabinet. "We are passing through a bad time, & it will probably be worse before it is better, but it will be better, if we only endure."

Kartar Singh Sarabha, a Sikh revolutionary, is executed by the British government for planning a revolt in India.

United States makes a formal declaration that it will be neutral in the fight between Bulgaria and the Allies.

The last buffalo in the state of Kansas is sold by Frank Rockefeller to a butcher to be killed on Christmas.

Ship Losses:

Oksfjord ( Norway): The barque was driven ashore on Île Houat, Morbihan, France with the loss of six of her crew.
HMT Xerxes ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler collided with another vessel and sank in the North Sea off Girdle Ness, Aberdeenshire with the loss of a crew member.

[Sailor Steve]

November 16, 1915:

Air War:
German pilot Hermann Wilhelm Göring, flying an Albatros C.I with a Lt Bernert as observer, shoots down a Farman two-seater for his first victory.



North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Xerxes, 243 tons, is lost off Aberdeen following a collision.



Lake Superior, Michigan, United States:
Great Lakes Ship SS Alfred P. Wright, 2,207 tons, catches fire while sheltering at the south end of the Sturgeon River Portage Canal. The crew escape, but the ship is a total loss.

[Jimbuna]

17th November 1915

Western Front

French Army Committee of Senate insist on use of asphyxiating gas.

Naval and Overseas Operations

HMHS Anglia, a British hospital ship, strikes a mine and sinks in the English Channel. 85 people are killed.
http://i.imgur.com/IoqXgXO.jpg

Political etc.

Anglo-French War Council meets in Paris to discuss the deteriorating situation in the Balkans.

Canadian government announces plans to raise $50 million through a domestic loan.

Russian Council of Ministers decides to suspend all remaining commercial and industrial enterprises in Russia belonging to enemy subjects.

Ship Losses:

HMHS Anglia ( United Kingdom): The hospital ship struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Herbert Pustkuchen) in the English Channel 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) off Folkestone, Kent (51°02′N 1°19′E) and sank with the loss of 134 lives.
Lusitania ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Herbert Pustkuchen) and sank in the English Channel 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) east of Folkestone. Her crew survived.
Ulriken ( Norway): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km) east of the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of four of her crew.

http://i.imgur.com/HJR9XYl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/hENwwD1.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

November 17, 1915:

Irish Sea:
British coaster E, 558 tons, sinks after a collision in the Crosby Channel, near the mouth of the Mersey River at Liverpool.



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Ulriken, 2,379 tons, bound from New York to Rotterdam with a cargo of wheat, runs on a mine laid by UC-3 under Irwin Waßner. His score is now 6 ships and 8,176 tons.

British Hospital ship Anglia, 1,862 tons, and freighter Lusitania, 1,834 tons, carrying a general cargo from London to Cadiz, both run into a minefield laid by Herbert Pustkuchen in UC-5. His score is now 15 ships and 20,015 tons.



Baltic Sea:
German freighter SS Luleä, 2,239 tons, carrying a cargo of ore from Oxelosund to Lübeck, is wrecked off Kalmar Sound, Oland, Sweden.



Atlantic Ocean:
Canadian barquentine SV Lake Simcoe, 317 tons, departs Naples for St. John's, and is not heard from again. Whether the port of departure was Naples Italy or Naples Florida does not seem to be listed anywhere.

[Jimbuna]

18th November 1915

Western Front

Canadians raid enemy trenches south-west of Messines.

Southern Front

Austro-German advance parallel to Kosovo plateau.

Serbian army divided within two fronts - Mitrovitsa-Prishtina and Prilep-Monastir.

Bulgarian troops capture the city of Monastir (today Bitola) from Serbian troops. Four-fifths of Serbia is now occupied.

Political etc.

Winston Churchill leaves London for France to rejoin the Army. “Across there, there’s quite a lot of work to do.”

Churchill: “I’m simply joining my regiment as any other officer does, and there’s nothing more in it than that.”

M. Cochin, French envoy, received by King Constantine.

United States Navy opens bids for two new battleships, Nos. 43 and 44, costing $15 million each ($353 million today).

British Embassy in the U.S. warns that Germany is erecting a secret radio station near Portland, Maine.

Ship Losses:

Enosis ( United Kingdom): The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 150 nautical miles (280 km) east south east of Malta by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

[Sailor Steve]

November 18, 1915:

North Sea:
Trawler Edward B. Cargill, 182 tons, hits a mine and sinks off Spurn Point.

Norwegian freighter SS San Miguel, 1,659 tons, travelling from Marseille to Stavanger, is lost after hitting a drifting mine.



Atlantic Ocean:
American schooner SV Fairfield, 478 tons, carrying guano from Charleston to Port De France, runs aground at Barbuda and is lost.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, begins his fifth war patrol with the sinking of British freighter SS Enosis, 3,409 tons, bound from Barry to Malta with a load of coal. Gansser's score is now 27 ships and 72,269 tons.

[Jimbuna]

19th November 1915

Southern Front

"Pacific Blockade" of Greece proclaimed by the Allies.

Naval and Overseas Operations

More British submarines enter the Baltic.

Political etc.

Lord Derby, the Director-General of Recruitment, warns that conscription will be implemented if bachelors do not enlist.

Earl Kitchener confers with Allied commanders in Thessalonica, Greece and then travels to Athens to meet with King Constantine.

London issues order curtailing the sale of liquor to 5 and a half hours on weekdays and 5 hours on Sundays.

German lies about India contradicted by India Office.

German proclamations being sent to India through Shanghai, urging Moslems to Holy War.

Ship Losses:

HMT Falmouth III ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel of Dover, Kent with the loss of seven of her crew.
Hallamshire ( United Kingdom): The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) south west by south of Cerigotto, Greece (35°38′N 23°01′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
San Miguel ( Norway): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea. Her 25 crew were rescued by the trawler Viceroy ( United Kingdom).
Senju Maru ( Japan): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea south of Malta (35°26′N 16°23′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all hands.

[Sailor Steve]

November 19, 1915:

Air War:
"The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to Squadron-Commander Richard Bell Davies, D.S.O., R.N., and of the Distinguished Service Cross to Flight Sub-Lieutenant Gilbert Formby Smylie, R.N., in recognition of their behaviour in the following circumstances:—
On the 19th November these two officers carried out an air attack on Ferrijik Junction. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie's machine was received by very heavy fire and brought down. The pilot planed down over the station, releasing all his bombs except one, which failed to drop, simultaneously at the station from a very low altitude. Thence he continued his descent into the marsh. On alighting he saw the one unexploded bomb, and set fire to his machine, knowing that the bomb would ensure its destruction. He then proceeded towards Turkish territory. At this moment he perceived Squadron-Commander Davies descending, and fearing that he would come down near the burning machine and thus risk destruction from the bomb, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie ran back and from a short distance exploded the bomb by means of a pistol bullet. Squadron-Commander Davies descended at a safe distance from the burning machine, took up Sub-Lieutenant Smylie, in spite of the near approach of a party of the enemy, and returned to the aerodrome, a feat of airmanship that can seldom have been equalled for skill and gallantry."

This was the first air combat rescue in history. Davies was flying a single-seat Nieuport 10. Smylie had to crawl under the instrument panel and around the controls into the seatless front cockpit, which had a panel over it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bell_Davies




English Channel:
His Majesty's Trawler Falmouth III hits a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen in UC-5, bringing his score to 16 ships and 20,213 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks Japanese freighter Senju Maru, 4,340 tons, bound from Philadelphia to Vladivostok with a cargo of railway supplies. The cause of the sinking is not immediately known to the Allies and the ship is listed as missing with all hands. Gansser's score is now 28 ships and 76,609 tons.

Claus Rücker, in U-34, sinks British freighter SS Hallamshire, 4,420 tons, carrying a cargo of coal from Cardiff to Milos. His score is now 14 ships and 38,437 tons.



Canada:
Canadian Schooner James U. Thomas, 80 tons, runs aground off Whitehead Harbour, Nova Scotia.



United States:
American schooner F.A. Allen, 462 tons, is wrecked in the Delaware River while sailing from Philadelphia to Calais, Maine.

Canadian Schooner H.S.M., 139 tons, carrying a load of lumber from Liverpool, Nova Scotia to Boston, is wrecked at Galloupes' Point, Massachussetts.

[Jimbuna]

20th November 1915

Southern Front

Italian troops bombard and attack Austro-Hungarian lines near Gorizia. Hand-to-hand fighting occurs with limited Italian gains.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Germans in strong force in East Africa.

Political etc.

Greek King and Government give Lord Kitchener assurances that Greece would never attack Allied troops.

Russia agrees not to send troops to Tehran, Persia in return for improved security and anti-German measures in the country.

German media denies that the Allied blockade is causing food scarcity in the country, calling such claims “clumsy inventions.”

Ship Losses:

Merganser ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) west north west of Gozo, Malta (36°30′N 13°00′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

November 20, 1915:

Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks British freighter SS Merganser, 1,905 tons, bound from Clyde to Alexandria with a cargo of coal. Gansser now has 29 ships and 78,514 tons.



United States:
American motor vessel Edith G., 5 tons, anchors near the Lynn Canal at Cape St. Elias, Alaska after suffering engine problems. A heavy sea causes the small vessel to drag her anchor and become stranded. The two crew members are rescued.




I somehow missed the first air combat rescue, which took place on the 19th. My previous entry has been amended to show this action.

[Jimbuna]

21st November 1915

Eastern Front

Great shortage of arms, munitions and uniforms in Russia.

Southern Front

German troops capture the city of Novi Pazar,Serbia, less than 25 miles away from the Montenegrin border.

Serbians driven from last positions in Old Serbia.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Prince Firman Firma, Minister of Interior, takes measures to put end to German activities in Persia.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Tibati (Cameroons) occupied by Allies.

Political etc.

Britain and France threatens a commercial blockade of Greece in order to pressure the country to accede to Allied demands.

German government creates a new department to deal with questions pertaining to economic conditions during wartime.

French government institutes a fine of 5000 Francs for cases of illegal increase in price or speculation of food supplies.

French wounded at the Ris-Orangis Military Hospital go on a hunger strike to protest a new official decision forbidding war souvenirs.

The Endurance, Sir Shackleton’s ship for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, sinks under the ice.
http://i.imgur.com/m49G7ZW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KJ78NL9.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

November 21, 1915:

Pacific Ocean:
Chilean barque Phönizia, 690 tons, carrying a load of lumber from Calbuco to Los Vilos, founders and sinks eight miles south of Puerto Oscuro, Chile.



Weddell Sea, Antarctica:
The remains of British exploration ship SS Endurance sink beneath the ice in Vahsel Bay. Originally built as a combined sail-and-steam cruise ship specially designed for carrying tourists to hunt polar bears, and named Polaris, she has a total hull thickness of more than four feet. The Norwegian builders eventually sold the ship to Ernest Shackleton for exploring the polar areas. The ship has been stuck in the ice since January 19th.

[Jimbuna]

22nd November 1915

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Battle of Ctesiphon (25 miles south of Baghdad). Turks beaten, not routed. 1,300 prisoners; British casualties one-third of force.

Revolt of Persian Gendarmerie organised by German minister.

Naval and Overseas Operations

General Sir H. Smith-Dorrien appointed Commander-in-Chief of British forces in East Africa [Did not take over command owing to illness.]
http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/article/general-sir-horace-smith-dorrien-the-hero-of-le-cateau/

Germany offers to pay $575,000 for American lives lost on the Lusitania, which amounts to $5000 per person.

Political etc.

Suspension of the London newspaper “The Globe” ends after it prints a story retracting a story of Kitchener’s resignation.

Britain denies German accusations that it is using hospital ships other than for its intended purposes.

Large crowds in Toronto, Canada greet the return of 150 wounded soldiers, many who were part of the first Canadian contingent.

German government warns Greece that unless they disarm Serbian and Allied troops crossing the border, it will not respect Greek neutrality.

Ottoman Empire executes 11 people in Beirut on charges of conspiring to launch an Arab revolt.

Ship Losses:

Ukraina ( Russia): The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea by SM UC-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

November 22, 1915:

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Sara, 1,033 tons, carrying pit props from Göteborg to Sunderland, runs aground on Hendon Rock in the fog and is wrecked. The crew are all rescued by a tug.



Black Sea:
Johannes Kirchner, commanding UC-13, sinks Russian sailing vessel Ukraina, 150 tons, with his 3.7cm machine gun. Kirchner also attacks freighter SS Rostov, 1,280 tons, but the much larger steel ship is only damaged. His score is now 2 vessels and 187 tons.



United States:
American schooner SV Shenandoah, 3,154 tons, carrying a load of coal, founders off Fire Island, New York.

[Jimbuna]

23rd November 1915

Eastern Front

Russians successful in struggle for Tsarzemunde (Riga front).

Russian troops capture the first line of German trenches west of Dvinsk (Daugavpils) and halt German offensives southwest of the city.

Southern Front

Fall of Mitrovitsa and Prishtina (keys of plain of Kosovo). Germans claim 17,000 prisoners and 35 guns. Serbians driven west from Kosovo Plateau.

French capture Brusnik and protect Krivolak from Bulgar bombardment.

Austrians evacuate Mori and Rovereto (Trentino) and ask for German help on Isonzo.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Operations about Yaunde (Cameroons) by English and French contingents. Enemy losses heavy.

Political etc.

Lord Kitchener tells Greek officials that Britain will have 4 million soldiers under arms by next March and that Germany will be defeated.

General Joffre urges British troops to quit the Dardanelles and focus on reinforcing Serbia.

Ship Losses:

Marusja Raja ( Russia): The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea off Sotschi by SM UC-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Unione ( Italy): The sailing vessel was sunk in the Adriatic Sea (41°46′N 19°32′E) by SM U-16 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

November 23, 1915:

Black Sea:
Johannes Kirchner, commanding UC-16, sinks Russian sailing vessel Marusja Rafa, 200 tons, with his 3.7 cm machine gun. His final score is 3 ships and 387 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, in U-33, attacks French freighter SS Tafna, 1,444 tons, with his deck gun. The damaged ship escapes.



Greek barque SV Calliroi, 538 tons, bound from Algiers to Marseille with a load of charcoal, runs aground and is wrecked at Cap Djinet, 30 miles east of Algiers.



Adriatic Sea:
Orest Ritter von Zopa, commanding Austrian submarine U-16, sinks Italian sailing vessel Unione, 25 tons.

[Jimbuna]

24th November 1915

Eastern Front

Russians turn German left flank by capture of Yanopol, north of Illukst (Dvina); Germans abandon salient.

Southern Front

Serbian Government moved to Skutari (Albania).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Marshal von der Goltz takes command Mesopotamia.

Political etc.

Permanent organisation of Allied countries for supply of munitions announced by M. Thomas.

France summons 400,000 conscripts of the class of 1917, ages 18 to 19, to report for training.

Chancellor of the Exchequer McKenna: “Long before British money runs short, the supply of German men will be exhausted.”

The Hamburg America Line, a shipping company, admits it spent $1.5 million to aid German raiding ships.

Greece agrees that it will not disarm any Allied soldiers that crosses its borders in their retreat from Serbia.

Ship Losses:

Daldorch ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was driven ashore at Southport, Lancashire. She was refloated on 1 December.
Liguria ( Italy): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea south of Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France (42°00′N 3°59′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew took to the lifeboats but were not seen again.
HMT Ruby ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was wrecked in Grandes Bay, Crete, Greece.

[Sailor Steve]

November 24, 1915:

North Sea:
Swedish freighter SS Sven, 696 tons, carrying a load of pig iron from Middlesbrough to Malmö, is listed as missing.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, captures and sinks Italian freighter SS Liguria, 3,199 tons, bound from Norfolk, Virginia to Portoferraio, on the island of Elba with a cargo of coal. Gansser's score is now 30 ships and 83,618 tons.



His Majesty's Trawler Ruby is wrecked at Gandes Bay, Crete.



Canada:
Chilean barque SV Carelmapu, 1,447 tons, sailing in ballast from Caleta Buena to Puget Sound, is forced ashore in a storm in Schooner Cove on Vancouver Island. Lifeboats capsize in the storm and only the captain and three sailors are saved. Despite rescue attempts by the captain and crew of SS Princess Maquinna, twenty of the crew are lost.

[Jimbuna]

25th November 1915

Southern Front

Salonika to be base of Allied operations.

Reply of Greek Government concurred in Allied Note.

British aircraft bomb Constantinople-Dedeagach railway.

Turkish activity in Gallipoli.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British retirement from Ctesiphon to Kut via Azizia.

Political etc.

London trade unionists protest tighter liquor laws: “No beer before dinner, no work before dinner!”

New recruiting campaign in Australia. Mr. Hughes, the Premier, announces voluntary enlistment will be adhered to; very successful results.

Hellen Keller urges President Wilson to broker a peace in Europe. “I beseech you to help stop this war.”

Einstein's theory of general relativity is formulated.

Ship Losses:

Algerien ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 27 nautical miles (50 km) north north west of San Pietro Island, Italy (39°22′N 7°54′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
http://i.imgur.com/Jvyr21B.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

November 25, 1915:

Air War:
Austrian pilot Mathias Bernath, flying Fokker A.III 03.51 (formerly German E.I 64/15), shoots down a Russian-flown Maurice Farman MF.11 for his first victory. This is shared with an Albatros B.I, but no record is given of the crew.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks French freighter SS Algerien, 1,703 tons, bound from Marseille to Tunis with a general cargo. One lifeboat lands safely, eight of its occupants surviving and one not. The other 29 crew members are lost. Gansser's score is now 32 ships and 85,321 tons.

[Jimbuna]

26th November 1915

Western Front

Raid of 23 aeroplanes on German camp near Albert.

Eastern Front

German troops begin retreating from Mitau (Jelgava), which had served as their forward base in their drive towards Riga.

Southern Front

British aircraft bombard the railway line between Constantinople and Dedeagac (Alexandroupoli).

Serbians refuse German Peace Offers; condition being that they allow Germans free passage.

Serbian troops retreat from the Kosovo plain. Austro-Hungarian troops also cross the Montenegrin border.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians defeat Turks and Kurds and occupy Karaj and Yengi Iman, 40 miles from Teheran.

Political etc.

Mr Stanton, Independent Labour candidate, stands as protest against pacifist and anti-recruiting policy of late Keir Hardie, and wins seat by 4,206.

Wilson administration proposes increased income taxes to meet deficits due to the enlarged military spending.

France issues a new loan to cover military expenditure. General Joffre urges troops to write home to promote subscriptions to the loan.

Ship Losses:

Tringa ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) east of the Galite Islands, Tunisia (38°07′N 9°28′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.

[Sailor Steve]

November 26, 1915:

English Channel:
French freighter SS Socotra, 6,009 tons, bound from Brisbane to London with a general cargo, runs aground off Le Touquet, France.

Black Sea, White Sea, North Sea?:
British freighter SS Shipcote, 4,151 tons, carrying a load of grain from Arkhangelsk to Le Havre, departs the former port and is not heard from again.

Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks British freighter SS Tringa, 2,154 tons, travelling in ballast from Malta to Gibraltar. His score is now 33 ships and 87,475 tons.

Canada:
Canadian schooner Dlyndon, 99 tons, travelling from Guysborough, Nova Scotia to New York, runs aground off Liverpool, N.S.

[Jimbuna]

27th November 1915

Western Front

German attack north of "Labyrinth" (Artois) repulsed.

Southern Front

Large supplies munitions arrives Ruschuk.

40,000 Austro-Germans expected.

Germany announces that central Serbia has been secured and over 11,000 Serbians have been taken prisoner.

Romanian precautionary mines laid in Danube.

Aided by opened supply lines to Germany, Ottoman forces capture a length of Allied trenches in Gallipoli.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Grand Sheikh of the Senussi maintains friendly attitude towards Egyptian Government.

Political etc.

Romania refuses German and Austro-Hungarian requests to use the Danube to transport ships to the Black Sea.

Karl Schultz, a German deserter who arrived to the U.S. as a stowaway, will be interned at Ellis Island, sparing him from Germany & Allies.

Lord Kitchener travels to Rome and consults with Premier Salandra to discuss the situation in the Balkans.

Ship Losses:

Kingsway ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) east south east of Cape Bon, Tunisia (37°00′N 11°22′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of five of her crew.
Klar ( United Kingdom): The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 1 (Egon von Wernerand) sank in the North Sea off North Foreland, Kent.
Omara ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) north of Cape Bon (37°08′N 10°55′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Tanis ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) north of Zembra, Tunisia (37°11′N 10°49′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

A bomb-proof bunker near Avricourt, taken or published today.
http://i.imgur.com/jdYWrd7.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

November 27, 1915:

North Sea:
British freighter SS Klar, 518 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to Rouen, runs onto a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1, bringing his score to 9 ships and 8,680 tons.

Norwegian motor freighter MV Hvitveis, 693 tons, bound from Goole to Rouen with a load of coal, sinks just off the Humber River after colliding with SS Ulla.



Mediterranean Sea
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks British freighters SS Kingsway, 3,647 tons, travelling in ballast from Malta to Huleva, and Tanis, 3,655 tons, carrying a general cargo from Liverpool to Alexandria; and French coaster SS Omara, 435 tons, all off the coast of Tunis. His score is now 36 ships and 95,212 tons.

[Jimbuna]

28th November 1915

Eastern Front

German 82nd Divisional Staff surprised and taken prisoner near Pinsk; two generals captured.

Southern Front

Bulgarian and Austro-Germans advancing on Monastir.

Successful Italian attacks on the Carso and slopes to the north-west.

Lord Kitchener visits Greece, south-east and Italian fronts.

Germany announces that the Serbian campaign has been completed and that all major Serbian units have been routed.

Aviation

Colonel Maitland of the Royal Naval Air Service successfully parachutes from 10,000 feet in the air, a world record.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German submarine and aeroplane destroyed by British seaplanes off Belgium.

Political etc.

London institutes a “no drinks between meals” policy. Alcohol can only be served between 1:00-2:30 and between 6:30-9:30.

Canadian government commandeers wheat supplies in order to control prices and feed Allied troops.

V.K. Wellington Koo, 27-years-old, is appointed the new Chinese ambassador to the United States.
http://i.imgur.com/0NaOHg0.jpg

Ship Losses:

HM Gunboat Shaitan ( Royal Navy): The auxiliary river gunboat was lost on this date.
HMT William Morrison ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea (51°53′N 1°31′E) with the loss of three of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

November 28, 1915:

Air War:
0950 English pilot Jack Armand Cunningham, flying Vickers FB.5 2343 with "AM1 Smith" as gunner, brings down an LVG two-seater for kill number 1.

English pilot Duncan William Grinnel-Milne and observer "Cpt Strong", in a BE.2c, manage to shoot down an Albatros two-seater. It is Grinnel-Milne's first victory.



North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler William Morrison, 212 tons, hits a mine laid by Franz Wäger in UC-7. Wäger's score is now 9 ships and 16,272 tons.



Baltic Sea:
Russian minelaying submarine Akula is lost off Ventspils due to the explosion of one of her own mines. The sub was listed as "Missing" for 99 years until the discovery of the wreck in the summer of 2014.



Bay of Biscay:
British freighter SS Star of New Zealand, 4,417 tons, carrying a cargo of frozen meat from Montevideo to Le Havre, runs aground near Brest, France.



United States:
American schooner SV Alexander Gibson, 1,997 tons, bound from Sewall's Point, Virginia to Boston, Massachussetts with a load of coal, runs aground on Five Fathom Bank, New Jersey.

[Jimbuna]

29th November 1915

Eastern Front

Successful Russian action at Illuskt (Dvina).

Bulgaria begins moving troops from the Ottoman border to the Romanian border as the Allies try to negotiate Romania’s entry into the war.

Southern Front

Bulgars claim 17,000 prisoners at Prizrend.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British troops under Townshend retreat down the Tigris as Ottoman troops continue their pursuit.

Naval

German submarine SM UC-13 runs aground east of the Bosporus. The submarine is scuttled and the crew is rescued by the Ottomans.

Political etc.

Canadian output munitions largely increased.

A Radium Sanatorium is opened in New York City, which will use radiation to combat cancer.

Poland is in a state of famine, with hundreds of thousands suffering from lack of food. Polish industry has been paralyzed as well.

Kaiser Wilhelm visits Vienna to meet Emperor Franz Joseph, their first meeting since the beginning of the war.

Ship Losses:

Dotterel ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the English Channel 4.75 nautical miles (8.80 km) north by east of Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France with the loss of five of her crew.
HMS Duchess of Hamilton ( Royal Navy): The auxiliary minesweeper struck a mine in the Thames Estuary (51°47′N 1°40′E) and sank with the loss of nine of her crew.
Maliniche ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km) east of Malta (35°35′N 15°22′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SM UC-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Type UC I submarine ran aground in the Black Sea (41°00′N 30°08′E) and was scuttled.
Zarifis ( Greece): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranea Sea 100 nautical miles (190 km) east of Malta (35°15′N 16°33′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

November 29, 1915:

North Sea:
British passenger ferry turned auxiliary minesweeper Duchess of Hamilton, 533 tons, runs on a mine laid by Erwin Waßner in UC-3. Waßner's score is now 7 ships and 8,709 tons.



British freighter SS Dotterel, 1,596 tons, hits a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen in UC-5, bringing his score to 17 ships and 21,809 tons.



British trawler FV Fitzroy, 132 tons, goes missing while on a fishing voyage.



Black Sea:
UC-13, commanded by Johannes Kirchner, runs aground in a storm near the Melen River. The crew scuttles the boat and is rescued by Turkish ships. Kirchner will later command UC-23.



Mediterranian Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks British freighter SS Malinche, 1,868 tons, bound from Piraeus to New York with a general cargo; and Greek freighter SS Zarifis, 2,904 tons, carrying a cargo of fruit from Alexandria to Hull. His score is now 38 ships and 99,984 tons.



Italian freighter SS Trentino, 1,383 tons, travelling from Oran, Algeria to St. Louis du Rhône, France with a cargo of wheat, is wrecked off Saint Pol, Spain.



Brazil:
Swedish sailing ship SV Emma, carrying a load of cement from Aalborg to Santos, is wrecked off the coast of Brazil.

[Jimbuna]

30th November 1915

Western Front

Artillery activity along whole front.

Southern Front

Italians progress towards Gorizia.

German troops capture the city of Prizren from the Serbians. It was the last remaining major city in Serbian hands.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Rearguard actions on Tigris; Turks strongly reinforced.

British casualties during retreat of 80 miles, 4,567 men and two gunboats.

Political etc.

King Nicholas appeals for help to Diplomatic Corps.

French Chamber of Deputies sees a fierce debate on conscription, with Socialists opposing the conscription of 18 and 19 year olds.

The Reichstag opens today for a new session. Secretary of the Imperial Treasury urges members to tax war profits to cover expenditure.

Ship Losses:

Colenso ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 95 nautical miles (176 km) east south east of Malta (35°34′N 16°33′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Langton Hall ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 112 nautical miles (207 km) east south east of Malta by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Middleton ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 75 nautical miles (139 km) south west by west of Gavdos, Greece by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four crew.

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 63 ships of 152,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses).

[Sailor Steve]

November 30, 1915:

Air War:
Turkish pilot Oberleutnant Ali Riza and observer Leutnant Ibrahmim Orhan, in an Albatros C.I, shoot down a Farman two-seater, scoring the first confirmed kill for the Turkish Air Force.



North Sea:
Norwegian schooner SV Leon, 302 tons, carrying a load of coal from Granton to Porsgrund, is abandoned in a storm.

Swedish freighter SS Skane, 1,667 tons, travelling from Stockholm to Calais with a load of timber, runs onto Whitby Rock on the North Yorkshire coast in good weather. On December 1 a tug will free the ship, but she will have to be beached as she is holed and sinking. Tugs will take off the remaining crew and a salvage crew put aboard, but they will have to be taken off when a storm comes.



Irish Sea:
British sailing ship SV Chile, 2054 tons, en route from the River Clyde to Halifax, is forced ashore in a storm near Burrow Head. The crew all reach shore safely.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks British freighters SS Colenso, 3,861 tons, bound from Hull to Bombay with a general cargo; and Langton Hall, 4,437 tons, heading from Calcutta to New York with a general cargo. His score is now 40 ships and 108,282 tons.

Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks British freighter SS Middleton, 2,506 tons, carrying a cargo of sandbags from Mudros to Alexandria. Forstmann's score is now 34 ships and 74,302 tons.

[Jimbuna]

1st December 1915

Southern Front

Following Germany, Bulgaria also announces that it has concluded major combat operations in Serbia.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German naval control over Swedish boats exposed.

Political etc.

To oppose the British Raj, the Provisional Government of India is founded in Kabul by Indian exiles supported by the Central Powers.

"Transito" Syndicate formed, to expedite goods via Sweden to Russia.

Germany bans the export of snowshoes due to military reasons. Restriction on phonographs, watches, and other items are lifted.

Order in Council in Britain requires all persons, British or alien, to have passports when traveling out of the country.

Ship Losses:

Clan Maclean ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 100 nautical miles (190 km) east south east of Malta (35°39′N 16°43′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of twelve crew.
HMS Comet ( Royal Navy): The gunboat was lost on this date.
HM Gunboat Firefly ( Royal Navy): The Fly-class gunboat was lost on this date.

http://i.imgur.com/KnH5V45.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 1, 1915:

Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, sinks British freighters SS Clan Macleod, 4,796 tons, bound from Chittalgong to London with a general cargo; and Umeta, 5,312 tons, travelling in ballast from Port Said to Marseille. This brings his score to 42 ships and 118,390 tons.

[Jimbuna]

2nd December 1915

Eastern Front

Enemy driven back left bank Styr river (Galicia).

Southern Front

Invasion of north-western Montenegro reported by German H.Q.

Political etc.

Socialists in the German Reichstag query Chancellor under what conditions will Germany enter peace negotiations with the Allies.

Frank A. Vanderlip warns American businesses that they should not grow dependent on demand produced by the war in Europe.

Greek monarchy submits its position on neutrality, stating it is focused on keeping gains it made during the Balkan Wars.

Prince Takahito, fourth son of Japan’s Emperor Yoshihito is born (he celebrates his 100th birthday today).
http://i.imgur.com/cudqJDu.jpg

Ship Losses:

Commodore ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 160 nautical miles (300 km) east south east of Malta by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

[Sailor Steve]

December 2, 1915:

British Isles:
British barque SV Elizabeth founders off Green Cove.



North Sea:
British trawler FV Jackdaw, 150 tons, runs aground and sinks off Burra Ness, Yell Island, the Shetlands. The same trawler had previously foundered in the Mersey River in 1895, but was salvaged and returned to service.

Swedish freighter SS Norvik, 1,633 tons, is sunk by a mine while carrying a load of coal from Grimsby to Stockholm.

British ketch SV Swansea, 52 tons, is lost off Newcastle Harbour.



Sea of Aland:
Swedish freighter SS Brynhild, 1,179 tons, bound from Stockholm to Raumo, Finland, is wrecked in a storm off Grisslehamn.



Mediterranean Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, finishes his fifth war patrol with the sinking of British freighter SS Commodore, 5,858 tons, travelling in ballast from Salonica to Marseille. His score is now 43 ships and 124,248 tons.



German East Africa:
British monitor HMS Severn, while patrolling off Kilwa Kivinje, spots an object floating in the water. The crew are called to General Quarters as the object is approached. At 0925 a boat is lowered to pick up the object, which turns out to be a toy catamaran.

[Jimbuna]

3rd December 1915

Western Front

General Joffre appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French Armies, except those in North Africa.

Eastern Front

Austrian offensive repulsed at several points in Galicia.

Southern Front

Defeat of Serbians by Bulgars on the White Drin river: much booty taken.

Greece allows Serbian troops to retreat across its borders without disarming them.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British troops under General Townshend retreat to the town of Kut, Iraq with Ottoman troops in pursuit.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British submarine sinks Turkish T.B.D., Sea of Marmora, two officers and 40 men saved.

Political etc.

British casualties in all theatres of war given by Prime Minister.

Recall of Captains Boy-Ed and von Papen requested by U.S.A.

Swedish shipping grievances against England.

Italian Foreign Minister Baron Sonnino states Italy will continue to fight until Serbia is able to win back its freedom.

Ship Losses:

Dante ( Italy): The coaster was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Sollum, Egypt (32°20′N 26°19′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Etoile Polaire ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off the South Goodwin Lightship ( United Kingdom).
Yar Hissar ( Ottoman Navy): The Durandal-class destroyer was torpedoed and sunk in the Gulf of Ismid by HMS E11 ( Royal Navy) with the loss of 42 of her 85 crew. HMS E11 rescued 42 survivors.
Zuaia ( Italy): The tanker was destroyed by fire at Popvile.
Helmsmuir (Great Britain): The cargo ship carrying a cargo of sugar from Mauritius was sunk by U 39 (Walter Forstmann), 66 miles SxE of Gavdo Island. Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

December 3, 1915:

Air War:
German pilot Ernst Freiherr von Althaus, flying a Fokker E.I, shoots down a BE.2c for victory number 1.



North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Etoile Polaire, 278 tons, runs onto a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1, bringing his score to 10 ships and 8,958 tons.



Baltic Sea:
Swedish brigantine SV Nancy, travelling from Oscarshamn to Aarhus with a load of wood, sinks after a collision with another ship off Borgholm, in the Kalmar Strait.



Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, sinks Italian freighter SS Dante, 889 tons, bound from Port Said to Genoa with an unlisted cargo; British freighter SS Helmsmuir, 4,111 tons, carrying a load of sugar from Maritius to an unnamed destination. His score is now 36 ships and 79,302 tons.



Sea of Marmara:
Martin Dunbar-Naismith, commanding British submarine E-11, has penetrated Turkish defenses in the Hellespont and is patrolling inside the enemy-held Sea of Marmara. On December 3rd, 1915, he torpedoes Turkish destroyer Yarhisar, commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Ahmet Hulusi. The destroyer, originally built in France, breaks in two and sinks with the loss of 42 of her crew.
(Sources vary as to the spelling of the name, some having it as Yarhisar and some as Yar Hissar.)



Canada:
French schooner SV Elisabeth, carrying a load of salt from Lisbon to Gaspé, runs aground at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

[Jimbuna]

4th December 1915

Western Front

Severe weather conditions on the Western Front hamper military operations, with only intermittent artillery exchanges taking place.

Southern Front

British land fresh forces at Salonika and quantities of war material.

Naval

Ottoman forces use two captured British gunboats against the retreating British troops in Iraq.

Political etc.

War Conference at Calais, Lord Kitchener present.

Canada announces it will increase its domestic war loan from $50 million to $100 million due to high numbers of subscribers.

Mr. Ford's peace expedition starts from U.S.A. in the "Oscar II".

Italian Chamber of Deputies voted confidence in the present government despite failures to breakthrough against Austria-Hungary.

Ship Losses:

Re Umberto ( Italy): The passenger ship struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Cape Linguetta, Albania.
Intrepido ( Regia Marina): The Indomito-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Vlorë, Albania.
http://i.imgur.com/I3DNmdd.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 4, 1915:

Baltic Sea:
British submarine E-19 torpedoes German freighter SS Freisenberg 1,553 tons, northwest of Cap Arkona.



Adriatic Sea:
Italian destroyer Intrepido, 680 tons, and freighter Re Umberto, 2,952 tons, both are sunk by mines laid by Cäsar Bauer in UC-14.



Canada:
Canadian schooner SV Original, 97 tons, on a fishing trip out of Luneneburg, Nova Scotia, runs aground off Ingonish, Cape Breton Island.



Atlantic Ocean:
American schooner SV Grace Seymour, 493 tons, carrying barrels of oil from New York to Rouen, is abandoned in a storm 180 miles west of Ireland.

[Jimbuna]

5th December 1915

Eastern Front

Russian front at Dvinsk bombarded.

Germans report collapse Russian attack near Lake Babit, west of Riga.

Southern Front

Monastir evacuated by General Vassich.

Bulgar attack on French bridgehead at Demir Kapu (Vardar river) repulsed.

German and Bulgarian troops capture more than 100 cannons and 200 automobiles from the retreating Serbians near Prizren.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Siege of Kut begins; four Turk divisions, under Nur-ed-Din, surround town.

Naval and Overseas Operations

French submarine "Fresnel" sunk by Austrian mineship off Albania.

U.S. ship "Petrolite" attacked by U 39 (Walter Forstmann), lightly damaged by 1 shell hit, one crewman injured.
http://i.imgur.com/KNhoJGw.jpg

Chinese cruiser Chao-Ho is captured by rebels in Shanghai. An hour long battle takes place before being recaptured.
http://i.imgur.com/Ryb81d8.jpg

Political etc.

Paris Prefect of Police warns about collecting battlefield “trophies,” as unknown curiosities could be explosives.

Greek Premier Skouloudis meets with King Constantine on the eve of tomorrow’s general election as the political situation grows worse.

10,000 Mohammedans in India protest against demanding political concessions in hour of Empire's danger.

Henry Ford launches a peace mission to Europe on the Oscar II, known as the “Peace Ship” or the “Ship of Fools”.
http://i.imgur.com/cipv1U8.jpg

Ship Losses:

Fresnel ( French Navy): The Pluviose-class submarine ran aground in the Adriatic Sea off Shëngjin, Albania. She subsequently was sunk by SMS Warsdiner ( Austro-Hungarian Navy) Her 28 crew were taken as prisoners of war.
Pietro Lofaro ( Italy): The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Sollum, Egypt (32°52′N 26°53′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

December 5, 1915:

Air War:
1500 German pilot Gustav Leffers, flying Fokker E.III 84.15, shoots down BE.2c 2049. British pilot Arthur Howe Browne is killed during the fight, and observer William Henry Cox dies in the crash.

French pilot Georges Guynemer, flying a single-seat Nieuport 10, shoots down an Aviatik two-seater for kill number 2.

French pilot Charles Nungesser, also in an N.10, shoots down an Albatros two-seater, also his second victory.



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Inger Johanne, 1,609 tons, bound from Newcastle to Rochefort with a load of coal, is wrecked off the South Scorby Bank.



Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, sinks Italian barquentine SV Pietro Lofaro, 517 tons, bringing his score to 37 ships and 79,819 tons.

He also attacks American tanker SS Petrolite, 3,710 tons, with his deck gun. Realizing his mistake the ceases fire after one shell hits the neutral ship. This will lead to American protests the following June against Austria-Hungary, either assuming an Austrian attack or because U-39 was flying the Austrian flag.


Martin Naismith, commanding British submarine E-11, sinks Turkish paddle-wheel steamer SS Rehber off the Island of Yumertalik. Four crew are lost.


Adriatic Sea:
French submarine Fresnel (Q-65) runs aground in the mouth of the Bojana river in Montenegro and is destroyed by gunfire from Austrian destroyer Waraskiner.



United States:
American schooner SV Linah C. Kaminski, sailing out of Newport News, Virginia sinks after a collision off Hatteras Island, North Carolina.

[Jimbuna]

6th December 1915

Western Front

First Meeting of Allied War Council in Paris.

Southern Front

British force, Strumitsa, bombarded by the Bulgarians; infantry attack repulsed.

Essad Pasha declares himself pro-Ally.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Capture of Captain Stanley Wilson by Austrian submarine when carrying despatches in Greek steamer.

Durazzo bombarded by Austrian squadron.

Romania seizes all Danube shipping and closes the river to all foreign commerce.

Political etc.

France states it will not sue for peace until Alsace and Lorraine return, Belgium and Serbia are freed, and German militarism is crushed.

2nd Chantilly Conference takes place as French, British, Italian, and Russia military representatives meet to coordinate strategy.

Theodore Roosevelt advocate universal military service and a standing army of 250,000 to maintain U.S. security.

Greek legislative election takes place. Due to the Liberal Party boycott, the Nationalist Party gains the majority of seats.

Prime Minister Dato of Spain announces his resignation due to disagreements over the military budget.

Ship Losses:

L. G. Goulandris ( Greece): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 150 nautical miles (280 km) north west of Alexandria, Egypt (32°15′N 27°25′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

December 6, 1915:

Air War:
German pilot Hans-Joachim Buddecke claims a Farman, but it is listed as "unconfirmed".



Bristol Channel:
British fishing smack Annie, 24 tons, is lost off Oxwich Point, Wales.



North Sea:
Dutch schooner SV Geziena, 102 tons, carrying pit props to West Hartlepool, is wrecked off Roker.

Norwegian barque SV Marco Polo, 1,619 tons, tavelling from Sweden to Australia with a load of timber, is wrecked off Papa Stronsay in the Orkney Islands.

British trawler Philworth, 148 tons, is wrecked near Peterhead on the northeast coast of Scotland, with the loss of 6 of her 10 crew.



Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, captures and sinks Greek freighter SS L.G. Goulandris, 2,123 tons, bound from Alexandria to Hull with an unspecified cargo. His score is now 38 ships and 81,942 tons.



United States:
American schooner SV William L. Elkins, 229 tons, heading from St. John, New Brunswick to New York with a load of salt fish, is wrecked off Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

[Jimbuna]

7th December 1915

Western Front

Yser inundations compel Germans to abandon advanced trenches.

Southern Front

French evacuate Krivolak and retire to strong position in Demir Kapu Pass, 20 miles northern Greek frontier.

Ipek taken by Austrians.

British pressed back to valley of Vardar from Lake Doiran; 1,300 casualties.

Austria-Hungary sinks 6 steamers in the Adriatic that were carrying supplies to the beleaguered Serbian army.

Mesopotamian Front

Siege of Kut begins as Ottoman troops begin surrounding 31,000 British soldiers under Townshend in Iraq.

Aviation

30 Allied aircraft bomb the railway between Constantinople to Adrianople, but cause limited damage.

Naval

Austria-Hungary sinks 6 steamers in the Adriatic that were carrying supplies to the beleaguered Serbian army.

Japan sends its warships to Shanghai due to unrest caused by Chinese rebels.

Political etc.

Resolution passed in favour of re-nomination and election of President Wilson.

Photo from the 1915 State of the Union Address.
http://i.imgur.com/PrTxHyH.jpg
During the speech, President Wilson advocates a stronger defense policy and to stamp out men disloyal to the United States.

Ship Losses:

Fiore Albania (Albania): the 62 ton sailing vessel was taken as a prize off the Albanian coast ( 41° 45'N, 19° 31'E) by k.u.k. U16 (Orest Ritter von Zopa).
Veria ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 24 nautical miles (44 km) north west by north of Alexandria, Egypt (31°30′N 29°28′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

http://i.imgur.com/HCRQ3nr.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 7, 1915:

Air War:
English pilot Eustace Grenfell, flying a Morane-Saulnier 'N', shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 2.



North Sea:
British trawler Viceroy, 217 tons, goes missing while on a fishing trip.



Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, captures and sinks British freighter SS Veria, 3,229 tons, travelling in ballast from Patras to Alexandria. His score is now 39 ships and 85,171 tons.



Adriatic Sea:
Orest von Zopa, in Austrian U-16, captures Albanian sailing craft Fiore Albania, 62 tons, as a prize. He now has 2 ships and 87 tons.



Gulf of Mexico:
American barquentine SV J.B. Rabel, 389 tons, sailing from Gulfport, Mississippi to Mobile, Alabama, is wrecked at Plitbois Island, Mississippi.

American schooner SV John W. Dana, 478 tons, carrying a load of asphalt from Trinidad to Gulfport, Mississippi, is wrecked on Chandeleur Island, Louisiana.

[Jimbuna]

8th December 1915

Southern Front

Evacuation of Gallipoli begins.

French and British troops fall back towards Greek frontier.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Heavy Turkish bombardment Kut, attacks repulsed, heavy losses enemy, lasting till 11th.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Publication Admiralty despatch re: destruction German cruiser "Konigsberg" last July, German East Africa.

HMS Chester, Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, is launched.
http://i.imgur.com/5cBR4VG.jpg

Political etc.

Marriages in England and Wales during the quarter reached 21.8 per thousand people, a record, as bachelors attempt to escape conscription.

Jacob H. Gallinger, Republican floor leader, promises President Wilson that he will support a bi-partisan defense bill.

Kaiser Wilhelm and Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg meet at army headquarters to discuss the Chancellor’s speech tomorrow.

Ship Losses:

Ignis ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sank in the North Sea 5.5 nautical miles (10.2 km) north east of Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

December 8, 1915:

Air War:
1035 French pilot Georges Guynemer, flying a Nieuport 10, shoots down an LVG two-searter for kill number 3.



North Sea:
British freighter SS Ignis, 2,042 tons, bound from Tyne to London with a cargo of coal gas, runs on a mine laid by Georg Haag, new commander of UC-7.

Swedish freighter SS Rosmer, 666 tons, travelling in ballast from Stavanger to Thamshaven, is wrecked at Hindoen, north of Bergen.

[Jimbuna]

9th December 1915

Western Front

Fighting in Champagne, initiative with Allies.

General Castelnau appointed Chief of Staff and Commander French front.

Eastern Front

Artillery activity on Riga front, gas attack by Germans.

Southern Front

Retreat of Allies from Vardar. British lose eight miles of ground, 1,500 casualties. British troops are forced to retreat from the line protecting Strumica (modern day Macednoia) by Bulgarian troops.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Sultan Bulak Pass (Persia); Turco-German mercenaries routed.

Persian rebels and mercenaries defeated by Russians in Hamadan.

Political etc.

Herr Scheidemann declares in Reichstag Socialists refuse to discuss cession Alsace Lorraine.

German Chancellor: “The war can be terminated only by a peace which will give the certitude that war will not return.”

France conducts experiments with a tank prototype at Souain.
http://i.imgur.com/EIjM2ns.jpg

Ship Losses:

Klara ( Sweden): The schooner suffered a damaged rudder in the North Sea and was abandoned at 56°23′N 3°34′E). Her crew were rescued by Vesta ( Denmark).
Orteric ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 140 nautical miles (260 km) south by east of Gavdos, Greece (32°02′N 25°03′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.
Papagello (Albania Albania): The sailing vessel was sunk in the Adriatic Sea (41°40′N 19°25′E) by SM U-4 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy)
Gjovadje (Albania): Taken as a prize off the Albanian coast at location
41° 40'N, 19° 25'E by k.u.k. U4 (Rudolf Singule).
Busiris ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 190 nautical miles (350 km) west north west of Alexandria, Egypt (32°50′N 26°20′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
http://i.imgur.com/Oxp5vMd.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 9, 1915:

Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, sinks British freighters SS Busiris, 2,705 tons, bound from Alexandria to Liverpool with a general cargo; and Orteric, 6,535 tons, carrying a load of nitrate from Antofagasta to Alexandria. This brings his score to 41 ships and 94,411 tons.



Adriatic Sea:
Rudolf Singule, in Austrian U-4, sinks Albanian sailboat SV Papagallo, 10 tons, and takes Albanian vessel Gjovadje, tonnage unknown, as a prize. His score is now 3 ships and 7,244 tons.



Canada:
British freighter SS Saint Kilda, 3,947 tons, carrying a load of coal from Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia to St. John's, Newfoundland, is wrecked on Little Miquelon Island.



Atlantic Ocean:
Russian barque SV Asia, 1,016 tons, sets out from Pensacola, Florida, USA, for Britain and is not heard from again.

[Jimbuna]

10th December 1915

Western Front

Germany activity Ypres salient; 3,000 shells on British position, little damage.

Southern Front

Italians carry strong position above Bezzecca basin (Carn.).

Austrian aeroplanes bombard Ancona.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Half million bushels Canadian wheat for Allies burnt at Erie (Penn.).

Naval action in Black Sea; Russians sink two Turkish gun-boats.

Political etc.

Sir Edward Grey and Lord Kitchener visit Paris to discuss the continued occupation of Thessalonica, Greece.

War Council Allies, Paris, decides hold Salonika.

Germany recalls diplomats Boy-Ed and von Papen from the United States due to charges that they were involved in espionage.

Norwegian Parliament announces they will again not award the Nobel Peace Prize this year due to the war.

Ship Losses:

Ingstad ( Norway): The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sank in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) east of Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Her crew survived.
Nereus ( Norway): The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 3 (Erwin Waßner) and sank in the North Sea with the loss of a crew member.
Porto Said ( Italy): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km) north east of Derna, Libya (32°38′N 23°35′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
http://i.imgur.com/awfeXpW.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 10, 1915:

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Nereus, 742 tons, bound from Blythe to Cowes with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Eriwn Waßner in UC-3. His score is now 8 ships and 9,451 tons.

Norwegian freighter SS Ingstad, 780 tons, carrying a cargo of coal from Sunderland to Rouen, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7, bringing his score to 2 ships and 2,822 tons.

Norwegian barque SV Gaa Paa, 659 tons, travelling from Liverpool to Kristiania, runs aground off Stornoway.

British trawler FV Naval Prince, 130 tons, runs aground at Blyth.



Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, sinks Italian freighter SS Porto Said, 5,301 tons. Cargo and route unlisted. His score is now 42 ships and 99,712 tons.



Canada:
British freighter SS Frankier, 2,443 tons, en route from Portland, Maine, USA to Dunston, Tyne & Wear, UK, runs aground off Canso, Nova Scotia.

[Jimbuna]

11th December 1915

Western Front

Belgian powder factory blown up near Havre, many lives lost.

Southern Front

Publication of Gallipoli casualties up to 11 December.

Bulgarians attack Anglo-French front at Furka (Macedonia) and lose 8,000 men.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

300 hostile Arabs encountered by reconnoitring force near Mersa Matruh (W. Eg.) and driven west with many casualties.

Russians occupy Hamadan (Persia); rebel strength 8,000 irregulars, 13,000 gendarmes, with rifles and machine guns.

Political etc.

A Belgian arms factory near Havre explodes, resulting in over 1000 deaths and injuries.

Due to food shortages in Germany, German-Americans send condensed milk, rice, and lard through first-class mail.

Allied War Council in Paris agrees that they will continue to occupy Thessalonica, Greece in order to launch a future Balkan offensive.

Great rush of recruits, last two days under the age group system.

China’s National Assembly “elects” Yuan Shikai as Emperor of China.
http://i.imgur.com/5uh3rKD.jpg

Ship Losses:

Pinegrove ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 3 (Erwin Waßner) and sank in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) west of Cap Gris Nez, Pas-de-Calais, France with the loss of two of her crew.
Rosmed ( Sweden): The cargo ship struck a rock and sank in the Norwegian Sea off Hindoen, Norway.
St. Kilda ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship came ashore on Little Miquelon, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and was wrecked.

[Sailor Steve]

December 11, 1915:

English Channel:
British freighter SS Pinegrove, 2,847 tons, travelling in ballast from Dunkerque to London, hits a mine laid by Irwin Waßner in UC-3. This brings his score to 9 ships and 12,298 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Italian freighter SS Giuseppina Ilardi, 1,552 tons, runs aground near Homs, Syria.



German East Africa:
Protected cruiser HMS Challenger and Monitor HMS Mersey are on patrol. The two ships, accompanied by whalers Charon and Childers, enter Moa Bay. From 0742 to 0845 the two warships fire on a house near the bay.

At Tyrene Bay on Mafia Island the crews of HMS Severn and the support vessels cheer Admiral King-Hall aboard HMS Hyacinth as he departs the African Station for a new post.



Atlantic Ocean:
Schooner SV Lavengro, 269 tons, en route from Fogo Island, Newfoundland to Naples, Florida, is wrecked off Seldom at Fogo Island.

American schooner SV Dora, 745 tons, founders off Fenwick Island, Delaware.

American schooner SV Baker Palmer, 2,240 tons, carrying a load of coal from Norfolk, Virginia to Buenow Aires, founders in mid-ocean northwest of Bermuda.

[Jimbuna]

12th December 1915

Western Front

British raid near Neuve Chapelle.

Eastern Front

German troops on the Eastern Front retreat to the Bug River after they failed to take control of the Lida-Baranovichi-Rovno railway.

Southern Front

Paris official report: Successful retreat in Macedonia.

Agreement to withdraw Greek Division east of Salonika. Allied troops destroy bridges and railways as they retreat from Serbia to Thessalonica, Greece.

Aviation

The Junkers J1, the first all-metal aircraft, performs its first flight at Döberitz, Germany.
http://i.imgur.com/DS2kf8j.jpg

Political etc.

Lord Derby's recruiting campaign closed.

Theodore Roosevelt writes to the Boy Scouts, urging the organization to provide military training.

U.S. demands an apology from Austria-Hungary for the Ancona sinking, which resulted in the deaths of 200 people, including US citizens.

Yuan Shikai declares himself Emperor of China and establishes the Empire of China.
http://i.imgur.com/iJA9lYw.jpg

Ship Losses:

Cross Sand Lightship ( United Kingdom): The lightship was struck by Marga ( United Kingdom and sank in the North Sea off the coast of Norfolk.
Réchid Pesha ( Ottoman Navy): The transport ship was sunk in the Sea of Marmara off Sylivra by a French Navy submarine.
SMS V107 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The V105-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the Baltic Sea off Liepāja, Latvia with the loss of a crew member.

[Sailor Steve]

December 12, 1915:

Brooklands, UK:
Sopwith's new biplane, called the Land Clerget Tractor, is approved for flight. The aircraft will be described as "Structurally complete" on December 16th, so the first flight may not have taken place until then. Once accepted the RFC will call it the 'Sopwith Two-Seat Scout', the RNAS will use the number desigation 'Type 9400' and the French, who will build far more than the British, call it the 'Sopwith 1A.2'. Because of the W-shaped cabane, the outer part of which extends almost to the center of the wing, the plane will be remembered to history by the informal nickname given to it by the men who flew it - "1-1/2 Strutter".



Döberitz, Germany:
Leutnant Theodor Mallinckrodt conducts the first taxi tests and "flight" of the Junkers J.1, the first practical all-metal monoplane. The flight is only a short hop, reaching a height of three meters before a gust of wind forces a ground loop that damages the port wing.



Canada:
Norwegian sailing ship SV Kwango, 1,885 tons, bound from Rimouski, Quebec to Buenos Aires with a load of wood, is wrecked near Brion Island, in the middle of St. Lawrence Bay.

[Jimbuna]

13th December 1915

Western Front

Trench fighting near the Somme. French in Champagne and the British near Givenchy make slight gains after exploding mines beneath German trenches.

French batteries destroy at St. Mihiel the only German bridge spared by the flooded Meuse.

Anti-aircraft control in Great Britain transferred to War Office.

Southern Front

Allied troops withdraw across Greek frontier.

Greek troops are sent to reinforce its border in case Bulgarian troops cross into Greece to pursue Allied forces.

Salonika to be fortified.

80,000 enemy troops between Monastir and Greek frontier.

Greek Government informed their ships at Malta now free to proceeed.

Bulgarians enter Doiran and Gevgeli.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British force under Colonel Gordon defeats 1,200 Senussites at Wadi Shaifa, near Mersa Matruh.

Political etc.

All American and Canadian securities to be loaned or sold to the State.

Senator William E. Borah criticizes U.S. foreign policy, stating it cannot afford “to play the merchant with human miseries.”

German Marks and Austro-Hungarian Krone falls to new lows in the U.S. market due to the course of the war.

Ship Losses:

Lanao ( United States): The coaster was driven ashore on Marinduque Island, Philippines and was wrecked.
Lavengro ( Denmark): The schooner was wrecked at St. John's, Newfoundland.

http://i.imgur.com/jTNDDf1.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/SdKG4wg.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 13, 1915:

North Sea:
British brigantine SV Jean Anderson, 183 tons, bound from Hull to London with a load of coal, is wrecked on West Shingle Shoal.



Canada:
Canadian freighter SS Senlac, 615 tons, is destroyed by a fire while anchored off Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia.

[Jimbuna]

14th December 1915

Naval and Overseas Operations

General Sir Hugh Smith-Dorrien to command in East Africa.

Political etc.

“Alien enemies” interned in England currently numbers 45,749. There are also 21,205 prisoners of war.

Casualty lists published in Germany reveals 2,244,248 Prussian casualties since the war’s start (does not include other German states).

Germany prevents American diplomats traveling between London and Berlin from carrying merchandise.

M. Schroeder, pro-Ally editor of the "Telegraaf" (Amsterdam) acquitted of charge of "imperilling Holland's neutrality".

Russian orders 3 million pairs of boots for soldiers, worth $14.1 million, from the United States.

Karl Helfferich, German Treasury Secretary, states the “economic situation now favors Berlin” and that the British Empire is tottering.

Greek government commandeers all Greek ships abroad in order to supply the deficiency in food and coal.

Ship Losses:

HMT Susanna ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.

[Sailor Steve]

December 14, 1915:

Air War:
French pilot Georges Guynemer, flying a single-seat Nieuport 10, wins a fight with a Fokker E.III for kill number 4. This is shared with a two-seater crew, Adjutant Louis Bucquet and Lieutenant Louis Pandevant. What type of plane they were in is unclear.

German ace Max Immelmann, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down British-flown Morane LA 5087 for kill number 7. He overtakes Oswald Boelke as the leading ace.



Mediterranean Sea:
French passenger/troopship SS Djurjura, 1,790 tons, travelling in ballast from Salonica to Marseille, sinks after a collision with Canadian troopship Empress of Britain. Both ships were travelling with lights out per wartime orders. Empress, with 5,000 troops aboard, was only mildly damaged.



Canada:
Canadian schooner SV Levuka, 76 tons, bound from Windsor, Nova Scotia to Parrsboro, N.S., is wrecked of Minas Basin.

Canadian sailing ship SV Orleans, travelling from Loulsbourg, Nova Scotia to Montague, Prince Edward Island, runs aground at Big Dover.



Australia:
Australian coastal freighter Captain T. Fenwick, carrying a general cargo and three passengers down the Richmond River from Lismore to Ballina, New South Wales, is wrecked 15 miles south of Lismore.

[Jimbuna]

15th December 1915

Western Front

Resignation of Sir John French, succeeded by Sir Douglas Haig (below) as Commander-in-Chief, former being made a Viscount.
http://i.imgur.com/yvhE6dq.jpg

Eastern Front

Germans report Russians penetrated positions north of L. Drisviati, repulsed by counter-attack.

Russians repulsed near mouth of Beresina river.

Aviation
First flight of the Anatra D.
http://i.imgur.com/qXRvvqF.jpg

Naval

Austro-Hungarian Navy defends the sinking of the ocean liner SS Ancona, stating the commander of the submarine did his duty.

http://i.imgur.com/zybddQm.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 15, 1915:

"I so much enjoyed my too short week-end. I fear I shall not be able to get up to Town again until after Xmas. Had quite a nice journey down, making Stewart's acquaintance on the way, likewise his wife's.

Risk said he thought I had been away months and seemed quite relieved to see me back again. Graham and Ince have put up a first-rate performance. They were not shot down. Graham came down low to see the Huns in the water, and his engine never picked up again. The Hun machine caught fire, and must have had bombs on it, for it exploded on hitting the water. Both machines fell bang in the middle of the fleet, which was duly impressed. Graham, of course, turned a somersault, and both he and Ince were nearly drowned."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, December 15, 1915



English Channel:
British freighter SS Ocean Prince, 5,101 tons, runs aground at Cap de la Hague, Normandy.



Australia:
Australian coaster SS Wandra, 164 tons, en route from Moruya to Sydney, is swamped off Lamont Head, near Jervis Bay.



Canada:
Canadian passenger/cargo ship SS Majestic, 1,578 tons, is lost to a fire at Port Edward, Ontario.



United States:
Swedish schooner SV Carolina, 611 tons, carrying a load of sulphur from Freeport, Texas, USA to Gothenburg, Sweden is wrecked 30 miles west of Galveston.

American freighter SS Lucy Neff, 946 tons, travelling from Falmouth, Jamaica to New York City with a load of logwood, founders off Fenwick Island, Delaware.

[Jimbuna]

16th December 1915

Western Front

British raids near Armentieres.

Southern Front

Italian troops landed Avlona (Albania).

Political etc.

French Minister of Finance: “We did not think the war would last 17 months, and now no one can foresee when it will end.”

Camille Decoppet is elected the new President of Switzerland. He reaffirms the country’s pledge to neutrality.

Austria-Hungary rejects U.S. demands over the sinking of the passenger liner Ancona, further straining relations.

Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng becomes the new king of Burundi at age three.

Ship Losses:

Lemnos ( United Kingdom): The collier was lost on this date.
Majestic ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was destroyed by fire at Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
Nyroca ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom). Her crew were rescued by Pandion ( United Kingdom and a Royal Navy torpedo boat.
Levenpool (United Kingdom): The steamer enroute from New York to Rotterdam with a general cargo hit a mine laid by (unknown) in position 1.5 miles NE3/4E of the Kentish Knock LV - beached but salvaged. No casualties.
http://i.imgur.com/ZL2S0IQ.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 16, 1915:

North Sea:
British collier SS Lemnos, 1,530 tons, bound from Leith to Rouen with a load of coal, is stranded on the Tees Breakwater off Middlesbrough. The crew of 19 all survive.

[Jimbuna]

17th December 1915

Eastern Front

Austrians repulsed on River Strypa (Galicia).

Southern Front

German threat to invade Greece. M. Skouloudis forbids Bulgarian troops to set foot on Greek soil.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians drive hundreds of Kurds back to their mountains.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British advance in Cameroons.

Jang Mangas taken after sharp fighting.

Small German cruiser "Bremen" and T.B.D. sunk by submarine in Baltic.

HMS Cockchafer, an Insect-class gunboat of the Royal Navy, is launched.
http://i.imgur.com/XdNVAx7.jpg

Political etc.

A railway crash at the St. Bedes Junction between Newcastle and South Shields results in in 19 deaths and 81 injuries.

Debate on Anglo-Danish agreement signed 19 November 1915, text not published.

Germany warns Greece that it might have to cross its border to expel Allied troops in Thessalonica.

President Wilson obtains his license to marry Edith Bolling Galt. It is the 2nd marriage license ever issued to a President in D.C.

U.S. Senate confirms the appointment of John B. Hanes as postmaster, not knowing Hanes had died last Saturday.

Ship Losses:

SMS Bremen ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Bremen-class cruiser) struck a mine and sank in the Baltic Sea off Ventspils, Lithuania.
Carolina ( United States): The barque sprang a leak in the Atlantic Ocean off Galveston, Texas and was abandoned by her crew.
Lucy Neff ( United States): The coaster foundered in the Atlantic Ocean 20 nautical miles (37 km) east of Fenwick Island, Delaware.
Marien ( United Kingdom): The coaster came ashore at Hartlepool, County Durham and was abandoned by her crew. She broke in two on 24 December and was a total loss.
SMS V191 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The S138-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the Baltic Sea.

Australian soldiers breaking up rum cases at Gallipoli prior to the evacuation.
http://i.imgur.com/g2gqsVR.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2fBHZqz.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 17, 1915:

Hendon, United Kingdom:
The first prototype Handley-Page O/100, number 1455, makes its first test hop, reaching 50 miles per hour.



North Sea:
British coastal freighter SS Marien, 413 tons, travelling in ballast from Dunkerque to Middlesbrough, is wrecked off Hartlepool.



Baltic Sea:
German light cruiser SMS Bremen and destroyers V-186 and V-191 are operating off the Gulf of Riga. Late in the afternoon the three ships depart the port of Windau (Latvian Ventspils). At 1710 hours V-191 hits a mine. Bremen moves in to tow the stricken destroyer, but the attempt is unsuccessful. At this point Bremen hits two mines and begins to founder, sinking at 1804. V-186 manages to rescues 53 sailors from the two ships, but 250 men from Bremen and 25 from V-191 are lost.

[Jimbuna]

18th December 1915

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks surprised in advanced trenches at Kut, about 30 killed and 11 prisoners.

Political etc.

Sir John French gives his last order to the BEF, expressing “earnest good wishes for a glorious future, which I feel to be assured.”

Britain calls up the first four classes of unmarried men, 19 to 22, to report for duty on January 20th under the Derby Scheme.

Records show that U.S. exports of war supplies to Europe since the war’s start total $785 million, which does not include food and clothing.

United States sends a second note to Austria-Hungary, again demanding an apology for the Ancona sinking, which killed US citizens.

Ship Losses:

Erzen (Albania Albania): The sailing vessel was sunk in the Adriatic Sea (41°47′N 19°31′E) by SM U-15 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy). Her crew survived.
Figlio Preligiona (Albania Albania): The sailing vessel was sunk in the Adriatic Sea (41°47′N 19°31′E) by SM U-15 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy). Her crew survived.
HMT Lottie Leask ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was shelled and sunk in the Adriatic Sea off Sazan Island, Albania (40°35′N 18°45′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Nico ( Norway): The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 3 (Erwin Waßnerand) sank in the North Sea 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km) west of the Longsand Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of two of her crew.
Northmount ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship sprang a leak in the Atlantic Ocean and was abandoned by her crew.

[Jimbuna]

19th December 1915

Western Front

Intense artillery activity on whole French front.

German troops conduct the first phosgene gas attack against British troops at Wieltje, Belgium. The gas attack causes over a thousand casualties, but subsequent German attacks and bombardment fail to dislodge the British.

Eastern Front

Enemy columns dispersed with great losses north of Lake Miadzol (Dvinsk).

Southern Front

British attack at Cape Helles (Gallipoli) won 200 yards of trench.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Naval simultaneous bombardment Turkish front Cape Helles.

Aviation

Captain M.M. Bell-Irving,No.1 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, achieves the first aerial victory by a Canadian when he shot down a German aircraft.

Political etc.

Former BEF Commander Sir John French arrives in Paris from the front after his resignation.

Sweden halts all parcel post from Britain to Russia in retaliation against Britain halting of Swedish-U.S. mail.

U.S. Federal agents begin investigating evidence of German spies in the banking system and police force.

President Wilson and Edith Bolling Galt marries.
http://i.imgur.com/mG5dVke.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rS7PSXR.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 19:

Air War:
Canadian RFC pilot Malcolm McBean Bell-Irving, flying Morane L 5069, attacks a German two-seater over Quesnoy. He reports the enemy "Went into a steep dive and lost to sight at 7,000 feet."

It is the first reported victory by a Canadian pilot.

[Jimbuna]

20th December 1915

Western Front

Battle of Givenchy continued.

Furious German attacks on Indian troops.

Eastern Front

Poland: Russians holding the Bzura against heavy German assaults.

Germany renames the fortress town of Novogeorgievsk to its old Polish name Modlin.

Galicia: Russians begin to counter-attack and to recover the Carpathian Passes.

Southern Front

Suvla and ANZAC cove at Gallipoli are completely evacuated without alerting Ottoman troops. Soldiers remain at Cape Helles.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Armenia: Russians defeat the Turks near Lake Van.

Naval and Overseas Operations

South Africa: Captain Fourie shot; his brother's sentence commuted.

Political etc.

David Lloyd George urges 80,000 skilled workers and 200,000 to 800,000 unskilled workers to work at munition factories.

$450,000 worth of opium is seized onboard a Japanese vessel Seiyo Maru at San Francisco. It is the largest seizure of drugs in the U.S.

President Wilson and Edith Wilson arrive at Hot Springs, Virginia after their wedding yesterday.

Carl Locher, Danish realist painter, has passed away. His “Numerous sailing ships at sea:”
http://i.imgur.com/3XddRNm.jpg

Ship Losses:

Belford ( United Kingdom): The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel off Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France by SM UB-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Huntly ( United Kingdom)(Flag of the Red Cross): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel off the Boulogne Lightship ( France) by SM UB-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.

http://i.imgur.com/6ACOlDg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/y8oJlBn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/e8X8BSD.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

December 20, 1915:

English Channel:
Otto Steinbrinck, commanding UB-10, torpedoes British freighters SS Belford, 516 tons, riding at anchor off Boulogne while en route from Cardiff to Calais with a load of patent fuel; and SS Huntly, 1,153 tons, bound from Portishead to Boulogne with a load of petol. His score is now 27 ships and 13,362 tons.

United States:
American schooner SV Richard Cromwell, 112 tons, sinks at the mouth of the Patasco River off Baltimore, Maryland.

Pacific Ocean:
Japanese freighter Hokoku Maru, 5,038 tons, sets out from Singapore for London with a load of wheat, and is not heard from again.

[Jimbuna]

21st December 1915

Western Front

French success Hartmannsweilerkopf, 1,300 prisoners.

Southern Front

Turks claim evacuation of Gallipoli as great "Turkish victory, heavy British losses". Fact: three wounded.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Mangeles (Cameroons) taken by Colonel Mayer, 3 days' fighting.

Italian destroyer sinks large Austrian ship laden with arms, and rams attacking submarine.

U.S. General Board of the Navy recommends to make the navy “equal to the most powerful maintained by any other nation in the world” by 1925.

Political etc.

Sir William Robertson appointed Chief of Imperial General Staff (succeeding Sir Archibald Murray - to Egypt).

President Wilson bans photographers and cameramen from recording his honeymoon and sends guards to scatter them.

Former President Roosevelt threatens to support Wilson if the G.O.P. panders to the Germans.

Irish MP John Dillon criticizes Asquith: “We are traveling the road that leads not to victory but to financial ruin and loss of the war.”

Premier Asquith asks the House of Commons for a million more troops to reinforce the 1.25 million currently in the field.

Ship Losses:

Knarsdale ( United Kingdom): The collier struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 2.75 nautical miles (5.09 km) east by south of Orfordness, Suffolk with the loss of a crew member.
HMS Lady Ismay ( Royal Navy): The auxiliary minesweeper struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haagand) sank in the North Sea 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) north west of the Longsand Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°48′N 1°39′E) with the loss of eighteen of her crew.
Yasaka Maru ( Japan): The passenger ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) off Port Said, Egypt by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew and all 120 passengers were rescued by a French Navy gunboat.
http://i.imgur.com/6U5alUD.jpg