100 Years Ago Today [Archive] - Page 6 - SUBSIM Radio Room Forums

Jimbuna

12-24-15, 11:01 AM

24th December 1915

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting on the River Strypa.

Southern Front

Salonika in state of defence; Germans disturbed at Allied occupation.

Naval and Overseas Operations

French liner "Ville de la Ciotat" torpedoed Mediterranean, 80 lives lost.
http://i.imgur.com/4mvoOYk.jpg

Political etc.

Premier Asquith announces that 528,227 British soldiers have been killed, wounded, or captured so far in the war.

Great Britain announces that it will not release foreign nationals over the age of 21 who enlists in the British Army.

Kaiser Wilhelm goes to Potsdam Palace to spend Christmas with his family.

Richard Melville Hall, a U.S. volunteer ambulance driver, is killed in France by an artillery shell.

Europe sells its assets in the U.S. in order to raise cash. More than $600 million worth of stocks are bought back by Americans.

Pope Benedict states he will delay canonizing Joan of Arc until after the war’s end to avoid accusations that the Vatican supports France.

Ship Losses:

HMT Carilon ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Margate, Kent. Her crew survived.
Embla ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and was damaged in the Thames Estuary 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) east south east of the Tongue Lightship ( United Kingdom). She was beached but was declared a total loss. Her crew survived.
Envermeu ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship ran aground on the Goodwin Sands, Kent and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.
Lady Iveagh ( United Kingdom): The collier was wrecked at St. Quentin Point, Somme, France,
Moor ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship sank at Dundee, Perthshire.
Ville de la Ciotat ( France): The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 105 nautical miles (194 km) south west of Cape Matapan, Greece (35°10′N 21°26′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 81 lives. Survivors were rescued by Moroe ( United Kingdom).
Yeddo ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 122 nautical miles (226 km) south west by south of Cape Matapan by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by Natal ( Denmark).

Sailor Steve

12-24-15, 11:25 AM

December 24, 1915:

Norwegian Sea:
British coaster SS Morning, 452 tons, travelling from Queenstown to Arkhangelsk, founders near the Faroe Islands.

North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Carilon, 226 tons, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner and UC-1. British freighter SS Embla, 1,172 tons, carrying a load of jute, paper and oil from London to Dunkerque, also hits a mine laid by UC-1. The ship is beached safely, but later written off as a total loss. Von Werner's score is now 12 ships and 10,251 tons.

British wooden steam freighter SS Active, 353 tons, departs Leith for Arkhangelsk with a general cargo and is not heard from again.

British trawler Cameo, 231 tons, is wrecked at Rattray Briggs, Aberdeenshire, with the lose of all 12 of her crew.

Norwegian freighter SS Heidrun, 972 tons, leaves Swansea for Rouen with a load of coal and is not heard from again.

Norwegian schooner SS Skibladner, 180 tons, travelling from Fredrikshald to Sunderland with a load of pit props, is wrecked off Johnshaven, Scotland, with the loss of 1 crewmember.

Skagerrak:
Danish shooner SV Lyra, 452 tons, travelling in ballast from Halmstad to Porsgrund, is wrecked off Lyngoer.

Kattegat:
Swedish coaster SS Export, 159 tons, carrying a load of coke from Emden to Gothenburg, is abandoned near Horns Rev, Denmark.

English Channel:
British coaster SS Cecil, 229 tons, is wrecked off Calais.

British coaster SS Envermeu, 348 tons, travelling from Caen to Newcastle in ballast, is involved in a collision and run aground on Goodwin Sands. The ship is a total loss.

Bristol Channel:
Collier SS Lady Ivaegh, 2,286 tons, is carrying coal from Penarth for the fleet when wrecked at St Quintin Point.

Atlantic Ocean:
Norwegian barque SV Ragnvald, 797 tons, bound from Pugwash, Nova Scotia to Brest with a load of timber, is abandoned in a storm.

Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, commanding U-34, Sinks French passenger liner SS Ville de la Ciotat, 6,431 tons, bound from Shanghai to Marseille; and British freighter Yeddo, 4,563 tons, carrying a general cargo from Calcutta to New York. His score is now 16 ships and 39,431 tons.

Jimbuna

12-25-15, 07:18 AM

25th December 1915

Western Front

The King sends Christmas message to his troops and thanks Indian troops, through the Prince of Wales, on their departure.

Army HQs on both sides warn their soldiers not to repeat the Christmas truce that occurred last year.

Raids & artillery bombardments are carried out in the Western Front to discourage soldiers. Regardless, minor truces are recorded.

Southern Front

Ottoman artillery heavily bombard Allied trenches in the Dardanelles to prevent another unopposed withdrawal.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Principal Arab force attacked and dispersed near Matruh.

Rebel force routed near Teheran.

Prince Firman Firma, pro-Ally, nominated Premier.

Political etc.

Chinese general Cai E launches a rebellion against Emperor Yuan Shikai, starting the National Protection War in China.

Herr Ballin's definition of "Freedom of the Seas" published in "Vossische Zeitung".

Ship Losses:

Lovspring ( Norway): The barque was driven ashore and wrecked on the coast of Northumberland, United Kingdom.
Nereus ( Sweden): The cargo ship foundered in the North Sea. Her crew were rescued.
Van Stirum ( United Kingdom): The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 8 nautical miles (15 km) south south west of the Smalls Lighthouse (51°55′N 6°16′W) by SM U-24 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.
Yrsa ( Denmark): The cargo ship ran aground in Aalebeks Bay. Her crew were rescued.

http://i.imgur.com/umZKVmE.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/o2tD76S.jpg

Sailor Steve

12-25-15, 11:46 AM

December 25, 1915:

Celtic Sea:
Rudolf Schneider begins his sixth war patrol in U-24 with the sinking of British passenger ship SS Van Stirum, 3,284 tons, bound from Rouen to Liverpool. His score is now 23 ships and 78,430 tons.

North Sea:
Norwegian barque SV Lovspring, 561 tons, travelling from Kristiania to Tyne with a load of pit props, is abandoned in a storm.

Swedish freighter SS Nereus, 1,233 tons, bound from Boston, Lincolnshire, UK for Copenhagen, founders 35 miles east of Spurn Head. At least one source claims Nereus hit a mine.

Norwegian freighter SS Rigi, 1,912 tons, carring a load of oilcake from Charleston, South Carolina to Göteborg, hits a mine 47 miles northwest of Texel, Holland.

Pacific Ocean:
Chilean barque SV Ivanhoe, 1,250 tons, carrying nitrate of soda from Antofagasta, Chile to Port Allen, Kauai, Hawaii, runs aground at Port Allen and is written off as a total loss.

Jimbuna

12-26-15, 08:09 AM

26th December 1915

Western Front

German artillery fire and probing attacks cause concerns in France that a German offensive will soon be launched.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German steamers sunk on Lake Tanganyika.

A fire on an U.S. freighter causes the loss of $100,000 worth of sugar that was destined for the Allies.

German surface raider "Moewe" makes first sortie from Bremen.
http://i.imgur.com/I9Cyu1C.jpg

Political etc.

King George sends his Christmas message to his troops, hoping “under God’s guidance lead to victory and an honourable peace.”

Treaty of Darin is signed between the United Kingdom and Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, who agrees to fight against the Ottomans.

Chinese revolt against Emperor Yuan Shikai spreads to three more provinces. Government troops are dispatched to put them down.

Ship Losses:

Cottingham ( United Kingdom): The coaster was shelled and sunk in the Bristol Channel 16 nautical miles (30 km) south west of Lundy Island, Devon by SM U-24 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seven crew.
HMS E6 ( Royal Navy): The E-class submarine struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Herbert Pustkuchen) and sank in the North Sea off Harwich, Essex with the loss of 31 of her crew.
Ministre Beernaert ( Belgium): The cargo ship was sunk in the Bristol Channel 40 nautical miles (74 km) west by south of Lundy Island (50°50′N 5°33′W) by SM U-24 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMT Resono ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) south east by east of the Sunk Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of thirteen of her crew.

http://i.imgur.com/QMFSEjo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/A3Jge64.jpg

Sailor Steve

12-26-15, 09:21 AM

December 26, 1915:

Celtic Sea:
Rudolf Schneider, commanding U-24, captures and sinks British freighter SS Cottingham, 513 tons, travelling in ballast from Rouen to Swansea. He then sinks Belgian freighter SS Ministre Beernaert, 4,215 tons, bound from Newport, Wales to Buenos Aires with a load of coal. Both attacks take place near Lundy Island at the mouth of the Bristol Channel. Schneider's score is now 25 ships and 83,158 tons.

North Sea:
British submarine E-6, 725 tons, and navy trawler Resono, 230 tons, both run into mines laid by Herbert Pustkuchen in UC-5 near the Sunk light vessel off Harwich. This brings Pustkuchen's score to 19 ships and 22,764 tons.

Bremen, Germany:
Converted merchant ship SMS Möwe sets out on her first voyage as a commerce raider.

Canada:
Norwegian freighter SS Kronprins Olav, 3,923 tons, leaves Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia for Montreal, Quebec with a load of coal. The ship and her crew of 30 are never heard from again.

United States:
American schooner SV Luther T. Garretson, 491 tons, carrying a load of lunber from Jacksonville, Florida to Bridgeport, Connecticut, founders 75 miles off Charleston, South Carolina.

American schooner-rigged barge Mary B. Mitchell, under tow from Newport News, Virginia to Providence, Rhode Island with a load of coal, founders off Lookout Point, Long Island, New York.

Jimbuna

12-27-15, 08:08 AM

27th December 1915

Eastern Front

Attack by the Russians on the Austrians in northern Bukovina, ranging from the Pruth river to north of the Dniester river.

Southern Front

French occupy Castellorizzo, near Rhodes. Greek protest.

French General de Castelnau declares that Allied defenses at Thessalonica, Greece is now impregnable.

Political etc.

Sir George Foster, Canadian Minister of Finance, states that Canadians must be willing to taken on a greater financial burden in the war.

King Peter of Serbia is evacuated out of Albania by an Italian Cruiser despite stating he would not abandon his troops.

Britain announces that it is transferring the Indian Army from France to Egypt.

King Constantine of Greece telegraphs Kaiser Wilhelm that he would not allow Central Power troops to cross the border.

Ship Losses:

Clan Davidson ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was driven ashore at Ballyquinton, County Down. She was refloated and beached in Belfast Lough.
Elizabeth Jane ( United Kingdom): The schooner foundered in the Bristol Channel off The Mumbles, Glamorgan with the loss of all hands.
Export ( Sweden): The cargo ship sprang a leak in the North Sea of the coast of the Netherlands and was abandoned. Her crew were rescued.
HMT Ferndale ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler foundered in the Irish Sea off St. Ann's Head, Pembrokeshire with the loss of all hands.
Hadley ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) south east of the Shipwash Lightship ( United Kingdom). Her crew survived.
HMT Ladysmith ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler foundered in the Irish Sea off the coast of Wales.
Lyra ( Denmark): The schooner was driven ashore at Lyngør, Aust-Agder, Norway and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.
Mary Jane ( United Kingdom): The schooner foundered in Swansea Bay with the loss of all hands.
Thor ( Denmark): The galeass capsized in the Baltic Sea off Oxö, Sweden.
HM Torpedo Boat 46 ( Royal Navy): The torpedo boat was wrecked in the Aegean Sea off Lemnos, Greece.

Sailor Steve

12-27-15, 11:34 AM

December 27, 1915:

Celtic Sea:
British trawler FV Ladysmith, 89 tons, disappears in a gale off Milford Haven, Wales, and is not heard from again.

Spanish freighter SS Benlliure, 2,528 tons, carrying a load of coal from Glasgow to Genoa, sends a distress call stating her position as 40 miles northwest of the Scilly Isles. This is the last that is known of her.

North Sea:
British freighter SS Hadley, 1,777 tons, bound from Newcastle to London with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Erwin Waßner in UC-3. This brings his score to 12 ships and 15,282 tons.

Dutch trawler Erin, 164 tons, is sunk by a mine.

Canada:
American schooner Georgiana, 87 tons, runs aground at Country Harbour Ledges, Halifax, Nova Scotia, while on a fishing trip.

Jimbuna

12-28-15, 02:08 PM

28th December 1915

Western Front

French carry trenches in the Vosges.

Artillery activity on whole front.

Departure of Indian Corps for another front.

Eastern Front

Germans routed by Lettish detachments on Aa river (Courland).

Southern Front

Allied commanders agree to evacuate Cape Helles on Gallipoli, which would end the battle.

Naval and Overseas Operations

4,000 lbs rubber seized on the "Oscar II" (Swedish); was consigned to enemy agents.

Huronian (United Kingdom): The steamer was damaged after being torpedoed 8 miles SxE of Fastnet in position 51° 14'N, 9° 26'W by (Rudolf Schneider) whilst enroute from Galveston - Liverpool carrying a general cargo.
http://i.imgur.com/C11LVcR.jpg

Political etc.

UK Cabinet decides for Compulsion - single men before married ones.

French General Gallieni: “Today, she [France] wants war most energetically, and to that end will use all her resources.”

France announces that it has raised 14.5 billion francs ($2.9 billion) in loans to pay for the war.

French Chamber of Deputies votes to apply the income tax in 1916 in order to raise funds.

Japanese passenger lines abandon the Suez Canal-Mediterranean route due to the danger of submarines.

New York City passes London to be the largest city in the world with 7,383,871 people.

Mary Campbell, social economist, states Chicago is ruled by “morons” and that Mayor Thompson could not pass a test for 10 year-olds.

Ship Losses:

El Zorro ( United Kingdom): The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 10 nautical miles (19 km) south of the Old Head of Kinsale, County Cork by SM U-24 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.
Monge ( French Navy): Battle of Durazzo: The submarine was sunk in the Adriatic Sea off Kotor, Austria-Hungary by an Austro-Hungarian Navy cruiser.

Sailor Steve

12-28-15, 02:10 PM

December 28, 1915:

Celtic Sea:
Rudolf Schneider, commanding U-24, damages British freighter SS Huronian, 8,755 tons, bound from Galveston to Liverpool with a general cargo; and sinks tanker El Zorro, 5,989 tons, carrying oil from Port Arthur to Dartsmouth. At the end of his sixth war patrol his score is 26 ships and 89,147 tons.

Portugal:
Portuguese schooner SV Seixas, 1,118 tons, travelling from New Orleans to Lisbon, is wrecked off Peniche, Portugal.

Jimbuna

12-29-15, 07:14 AM

29th December 1915

Western Front

German post destroyed (north of La Fille Morte (Argonne).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Sea fight off Cattaro; Austrian scout and five destroyers driven off by Allied ships.

Ship Losses:

Erin ( Netherlands): The trawler caught a mine in her nets and sank in the North Sea off IJmuiden, North Holland when it exploded. Three of her eleven crew were killed.
Kenkoku Maru ( Japan): The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 75 nautical miles (139 km) south west of Glados, Greece (34°07′N 22°12′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SMS Lika ( Austro-Hungarian Navy): The Tatra-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Durazzo, Albania.
Morning ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was sunk on this date with the loss of all but two of her crew.
SMS Trigalv ( Austro-Hungarian Navy): The Tatra-class destroyer struck a mine and was damaged in the Adriatic Sea off Durazzo. SMS Czepel and SMS Tatra (both Austro-Hungarian Navy) attempted to take her in tow but were unsuccessful. She was shelled and sunk by Casque ( French Navy) and five other French Navy ships.

Sailor Steve

12-29-15, 11:15 AM

December 29, 1915:

Air War:
1200 German pilot Gustav Leffers, flying Fokker E.III 84.15, shoots down BE.2c 2039 for victory number 2. Pilot 2nd Lt. D. Alec Glen is killed in tha attack, observer Sgt. E. Jones taken POW.

1310 English pilot Jack Cunningham, now flying single-seat Bristol Scout 1606, Shoots down an Aviatik two-seater, also his second kill.

Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, commanding U-34, sinks Japanese freighter Kenkoku Maru, 3,217 tons, bound from Cebu to Savona with an unspecified cargo. His score is now 17 ships and 52,648 tons.

Adriatic Sea:
Italian freighter SS Anthipi, 1,182 tons, carrying a load of stores from Italy to Albania, is sunk by a mine. Sources say the mine was laid by a submarine but don't say which one.

Austro-Hungarian destroyer Lika, 1,050 tons, is also sunk by a mine.

Austro-Hungarian destroyer Triglav, 1,050 tons, is damaged by a mine off Durres, Albania, and scuttled.

Australia:
Australian dredger SS Willunga, 787 tons, travelling from Cairns to Sydney, is lost off Middle Percy Island.

United States:
American schooner SV Sausalito, 326 tons, travelling from San Francisco, California to Portland, Oregon, is wrecked on Cape Flattery.

Jimbuna

12-30-15, 09:26 AM

30th December 1915

Western Front

Five German mines explode north of Loos, causing some British casualties.

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting in Bukovina continues.

Southern Front

Enemy airships drop bombs on Salonika, so Allies arrest the four enemy Consuls and send them to Toulon.

Naval and Overseas Operations

The SS Persia is torpedoed by the German submarine SM U-38 off Crete, resulting in the deaths of 343 people, including U.S.A. Consul at Aden.
http://i.imgur.com/oLAbsN9.jpg

H.M. cruiser "Natal" blown up in harbour (Cromarty Firth), at least 390 lost.
http://i.imgur.com/smm5R2j.jpg

Political etc.

Austria-Hungary promises not to target civilian liners and offers to pay an indemnity to the U.S. for the SS Ancona sinking.

French Socialists agree to continue supporting the war until Alsace-Lorraine is returned and Belgium is freed.

Munich reverses its decision that would have allowed breweries and beer halls to raise their prices on beer.

Ship Losses:

Abelia ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 152 nautical miles (282 km) west of Gavdos, Greece (34°24′N 20°51′E by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Clan Macfarlane ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 66 nautical miles (122 km) south east of Cape Martello, Crete, Greece by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 52 crew.
Ellewoutsdijk ( Netherlands): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) of the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°42′N 1°57′E).
Glenariff ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship departed Newport, Monmouthshire for Belfast, County Antrim. No further trace, presumed foundered in the Irish Sea with the loss of all ten crew.
HMS Natal ( Royal Navy): The Duke of Edinburgh-class cruiser was sunk in the Cromarty Firth by an internal explosion with the loss of at least 390 lives.
Persia ( United Kingdom): The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Crete (34°08′N 26°19′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 343 of the 519 people on board.

Miss Eleanor Velasco Thornton, believed to have been Charles Skyes’ model for his Rolls Royce ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’, drowned after the SS Persia was torpedoed by the German submarine U-38 off the coast of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.
http://i.imgur.com/OYYLt2N.jpg

Sailor Steve

12-30-15, 12:00 PM

December 30, 1915:

North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Ellewoutsdijk, 2,229 tons, travelling in ballast from Rotterdam to Portland, Maine, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitsche in UC-10.

British coastal freighter SS Hummersea, 539 tons, sets out from Middlesbrough for Caen with a load of pig iron, and is not heard from again.

Armoured cruiser HMS Natal, 10,850 tons, suffers an internal explosion while moored at Cromarty Firth. Original estimates place the losses at 390, but a later revision makes it 421, including women and children visiting that day. Rumors run wild, with people suggesting sabotage and u-boats. The official inquiry states the most likely explanation as bad cordite spontaneously igniting.

Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, commanding U-34, sinks British freighter MV Abelia, 3,650 tons, bound from Bombay to Hull with a load of manganese ore and cottonseed. He now has 18 ships and 56,298 tons to his credit.

Max Valentiner, in U-38, British freighter SS Clan Macfarlane, 4,823 tons, carrying a general cargo from Liverpool to Bombay; and passenger ship SS Persia, 7,951 tons, travelling from Marseille to Bombay with passengers and a general cargo. His score is now 70 ships and 149,496 tons.

Among those killed are Robert N. McNeely, American Consul to Aden. Mharaja Jagatjit Singh, ruler of the state of Kapurthala in British India, had departed the ship in Marseille, but a large part of his personal treasure was still aboard and went down with the ship.

Because Valentiner topedoed the ship without warning, breaking both the Rules of Prize Warfare and The Arabic Pledge, Germany's own restriction on attacking passenger ships, the Allies will declare him a war criminal.

Adriatic Sea:
French Submarine Monge is rammed by Austro-Hungarian destroyer Helgoland, and then shelled by cruiser Balaton off Durrës (Durazzo to the Italians). The submarine is then scuttled by her captain.

German East Africa:
Monitor HMS Severn is patrolling the mouth of the Rufiji River when the lookouts spot a dugout canoe. The native occupant tells Severn's officers of his escape from his German captors with another native. They managed to break their chains and run, but the other man was killed. He took the canoe and was trying to reach Mafia Island, and that he has information vital to the British. His information turns out to be worthless.

Jimbuna

12-31-15, 10:37 AM

31st December 1915

Western Front

German attack on the Hirzstein (Vosges) repulsed.

Small German success north-west of Hulluch.

Eastern Front

Strong Russian offensive across River Styr (Galicia) at Chartorysk.

Political etc.

King George appoints Czar Nicholas II as an honorary field marshal in the British Army.

Prussian losses to date 2,536,000 of whom 600,000 killed. 356,000 missing.

Prussian Ministry of War forbids the export of any books on medical subjects.

King Albert to President Wilson: “Receive my sincere wishes for…your country, whose generosity to Belgium we shall never forget.”

Allied forces buy 400 Malamute dogs at $100 each from Alaska and Labrador.

German Citizen Groups in the U.S. send 500 pounds of milk to German and Austria-Hungary through first-class mail.

Ship Losses:

Dana ( Denmark): The three-masted schooner was driven ashore at Craster, Northumberland, United Kingdom and was wrecked.
HMT Responso ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Satrap ( United Kingdom): The collier foundered in the Irish Sea off Manorbier, Pembrokeshire with the loss of all eleven crew.
HMT Speeton ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sank in the North Sea off Lowestoft, Suffolk (52°33′N 1°50′E) with the loss of eleven of her crew.
Tynemouth ( United Kingdom): The collier was lost in the Irish Sea on this date.

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 47 ships of 123,000 tons gross. Total for 1915 - 772 ships of 1,323,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses)

Sailor Steve

12-31-15, 10:47 AM

December 31, 1915:

Air War:
Idflieg bi-monthly report on aircraft at the front.

Fokker:
E.I - 26
E.II - 14
E.III - 40
E.IV - 6

Pfalz:
E.I - 14
E.II - 6
E.III - 1

This should help explain why, despite the "Fokker Scourge", there is so little air combat going on in 1915.

I have only reported the fighters. Unfortunately the Allies never compiled similar reports.

North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Speeton, 205 tons, runs on a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. His score is now 4 ships and 4,668 tons.

Dutch freighter SS Ecuador, 5,688 tons, is damaged by a mine near Dover. Who placed the mine is unknown.

Danish schooner SV Dana, 333 tons, bound from Helsingborg to West Hartlepool with a load of sleepers, is abandoned off Coquet Island. The crewless ship runs aground at Craster and is wrecked.

Mediterranean Sea:
British freighter SS Saint Oswald, 3,810 tons, travelling in ballast from the Tyne to Helles, collides with French Battleship Suffren and sinks off Kephalo Point, Imbros.

Strait of Magellan:
Chilean barque SV Phoenizzia, 690 tons, sinks at Caleta Canela, Seno Ottway.

Pacific Ocean:
Phillipino freighter SS Rio Pasig, 3,384 tons, departs from Seattle for Vladivostock and is not heard from again.

Jimbuna

01-01-16, 11:43 AM

1st January 1916

Eastern Front

Russian Offensive on the Strypa and the Styr (Galicia).

Indecisive fighting in north throughout month.

Southern Front

King Peter of Serbia reaches Salonika.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British take Yaunde (Cameroons).

Political etc.

Colonel Edward M. House is dispatched by President Wilson as a special envoy to Europe.

Canada increases her overseas force to 500,000.

French President Poincare to the troops: “Nineteen hundred and sixteen will be our year of victory.”

Kaiser Wilhelm: “We enter the new year with God for the protection of the Fatherland and for Germany’s greatness.”

King Peter of Serbia reaches Salonika.

The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled.
http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/first-successful-non-direct-blood-transfusion-carried-out

Ship Losses:

Glengyle ( United Kingdom): The cargo liner was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 240 nautical miles (440 km) east by south of Malta (35°19′N 19°04′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of ten crew.
Janet (RNLI FLAG.png Royal National Lifeboat Institution): The lifeboat capsized in the Bristol Channel off Oxwich, Glamorgan with the loss of tow of her crew. The Port Eynon lifeboat station was subsequently closed as a result of the accident.
Sandol ( Norway): The barque was run in to by Huelva ( United Kingdom) at King's Dock, Swansea, Glamorgan, United Kingdom and sank. Her crew were rescued.

http://i.imgur.com/EpQziz6.jpg

“Europe 1916” by Boardman Robinson
http://i.imgur.com/mVamefY.jpg

Sailor Steve

01-01-16, 11:53 AM

Sometime during the month of January Hellmuth von Mucke is appointed to command the Euphrates Gunboat Flotilla.

January 1, 1916:

"Had a great evening last night. A crowd of us went to dinner with G------ to see the New Year in. We did it in style. To-morrow I am lunching with the Bax-Ironsides.

I looped on a B.E.2 C in great from the other day. If I had not been very securely strapped in, I should have fallen clean out. As it was, the cushion in the passenger's seat fell out and vanished. One seems to be upside down for a frightfully long time. I did the trick out in the country at between three and four thousand feet. The first time I had barely enough speed, so had a second shot and got up to over 100 knots. I really thought the wings would fall off. We had two topping crashes yesterday, but neither of the pilots hurt.

Tons of love and a prosperous New Year."
Harold Rosher, letter to his father, January 1, 1916

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Avis, 1,074 tons, carrying a load of coal and coke from Methill to Svendborg, is wrecked off Østhassel, Lista.

Dutch trawler Neeltje Catharina, 163 tons, is missing with all hands.

British Admiralty collier SS Tynemouth, 2,222 tons, sails from Cardiff for the Shetland Islands under sealed orders and is not heard from again.

Kattegat:
German freighter SS Franz, 849 tons, travelling from Wismar to Gothenburg with a load of coal, is wrecked off the Kullen Fyr.

Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, commanding U-34, sinks British freighter SS Glengyle, 9,395 tons, bound from Vladivostok and Bombay to Genoa and London with a load of cotton. His score is now 19 ships and 65,693 tons.

Iranian freighter SS Teheran, 1,498 tons, sinks following a collision in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Australia:
Australian ketch Bamba, 20 tons, is lost. Circumstances unknown.

Australian schooner SV Myrtle, 167 tons, is lost off Townsville, Queensland.

Australian ketch Tern, 14 tons, founders off North Queensland.

Canada:
Canadian schooner Marjorie Mcglasken, 100 tons, springs a leak and sinks off the Bay of Fundy.

United States:
American vessel Louis K Cottingham runs aground on Seal Island, Maine.

Jimbuna

01-02-16, 07:17 AM

2nd January 1916

Western Front

Bombardment of Hartmannsweilerkopf (Alsace).

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting north-east of Czernowitz.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks shell Kut-el-Amara.

Naval and Overseas Operations

In the past 6 weeks, Austro-Hungarian and German submarines have sunk around 34 merchantmen and 33 transports in the Mediterranean.

Gallipoli: With General Monro having sailed for Egypt on New Year's Day, the British now end their submarine campaign, recalling "E-2".
http://i.imgur.com/YTUmdcs.jpg

Political etc.

UK War Office announces officer commissions will only be given to men who have completed their course as recruits & preference to veterans.

Muslim League of India demands the British government to give India self-rule.

Ship Losses:

HMT Mediator ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Salaminia ( Greece): The cargo ship caught fire in the Strait of Gibraltar and was abandoned by her crew.
Scot ( United Kingdom): The Thames barge foundered in The Swale at the eastern end of the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. Her crew survived.
Spica ( Russia): The schooner was driven ashore on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued.
Teheran (Flag of Persia (1910-1925).svg Persia): The cargo ship collided with Marietta Costanzo in the Strait of Gibraltar and sank. Her crew survived.
Glocliffe (United Kingdom): The steamer hit a mine 5 miles NNE of the Elbow Buoy whilst enroute from Newcastle - Havre with a cargo of coal and was beached but refloated and repaied.

Sailor Steve

01-02-16, 06:11 PM

January 2, 1916:

Air War:
English pilot Frederick Powell and Australian observer Clive Alexander Brewster-Joske, in a Vickers FB.5 'Gunbus', file a claim for an Aviatik two-seater. Listed as 'Unconfirmed'.

North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Mediator, 178 tons, is sunk by a mine of unknown origin.

Russian schooner SV Spica, 228 tons, en route from Christiania to West Hartlepool with a load of pit props, is wrecked on the Farne Islands, off Bamburgh.

Irish Sea:
American barque SV Poltalloch, 2,254 tons, travelling from Caleta Bay, Cuba to Leith with a load of nitrates, is wrecked at Sam Badrig, west of Barmouth.

English Channel:
French freighter SS Armor, 347 tons, bound from Le Havre to St. Brieuc with a load of petroleum, runs aground at Pointe Jardeheu on Cap La Hogue.

Mediterranean Sea:
British freighter SS Geelong, 7,954 tons, carrying a general cargo from Sydney to London, sinks after a collision with British freighter SS Bonvilston 100 miles north of Alexandria. All crew are rescued.

Jimbuna

01-03-16, 11:42 AM

3rd January 1916

Western Front

In Artois, Germany detonates a mine below French lines, allowing them to capture the stretch of trenches.

Eastern Front

Development of Russian offensive in Bukovina and eastern Galicia and Poland.

Political etc.

President Wilson returns to Washington D.C. as the international crisis mounts over German and Austro-Hungarian submarine activity.

Anti-Ally press campaign in Greece; Greek Government protests against arrest of Consuls at Salonika.

Greek King Constantine states he is not favoring Germany, but warns the Allies he is not willing to abandon neutrality.

Japanese government considers sending cruisers into the Mediterranean after two Japanese ships were sunk by submarines.

Italian government places all ports and dock laborers under military control in an effort to prevent strikes.

Hellen Keller’s magazine, printed in braille, bypasses censors in the UK, France, and Austria-Hungary as officials cannot read it.

Ship Losses:

Geelong ( United Kingdom): The ship collided with another vessel and sank in the Mediterranean Sea.

Halil (Albania): The sailing vessel was taken as a prize off the coast of Albania by k.u.k. U4 (Rudolf Singule).

Sailor Steve

01-03-16, 11:44 AM

January 3, 1916:

"I have got wind of something rather priceless...for when the war is over, I will tell you a little about this scheme, only remember it's strictly private and confidential, so you must not mention it to anyone.

In a nutshell it's this, a flight from _____ to _____. It sounds rather impossible at first, but I think quite a number of people would have a shot if they could get some one to pay expenses. This is where I get a look in. the experience anyhow would be wonderful. One of the subs (sub-lieutenants) here has just put me up to it, and says he has everything arranged. That sounds rather rapid, but he has written for an appointment, so I shal be able to let you know later how things go. In the meanwhile lie doggo and do come down this week-end, if possible, so that we can talk things over."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, January 3, 1916

North Sea:
Swedish freighter SS Hermod, 1,167 tons, bound from Methil, Scotland to Gothenburg, Sweden, is wrecked at Knapper, near Thyborøn, Denmark.

British trawler Malabar, 171 tons, departed from Hull for a fishing trip on December 20, 1915. She was last seen in a storm on January 3, 1916. Listed as missing with all 9 crew.

Aegean Sea:
Rudolf Singule, commanding Austrian U-4, takes Albanian sailing vessel Halil as a prize. Two other vessels are sunk in this action, but details are lacking.

Jimbuna

01-04-16, 12:15 PM

4th January 1916

Eastern Front

Russian counterattack forces Austro-Hungarian troops to retreat from Czernowitz (Chernivtsi), Bukowina.

Southern Front

Artillery duel in southern Tyrol.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

General Aylmer moves from Ali Gherbi to relieve Kut.

Naval and Overseas Operations

White Paper on the "Baralong" case.

Political etc.

Out of the 5 million men of military age in England, Scotland, and Wales, 2,829,263 men have volunteered to serve.

British authorities offer 30,000 franc reward for information regarding the presence of German submarines in the Aegean Sea.

Lord Derby's report on recruiting published.

U.S. Commission for the Relief of Belgium has supplied Belgium and Northern France supplies to feed 9 million people the last year.

Prussian Ministry of Agriculture announces plans to purchase goats in order to provide milk to poor children.

Ship Losses:

Coquet ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 200 nautical miles (370 km) east of Malta (35°34′N 18°22′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seventeen crew of her 27.
Forest City ( United States): The schooner was wrecked at San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Leto ( Netherlands): The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzsche) and was damaged in the North Sea 0.5 nautical miles (930 m) off the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom). She sank the next day 12 nautical miles (22 km) east by north of the Galloper Lightship.

H.L. Burnett, Civil War brigadier general & prosecutor in the Lincoln assassination trial, has passed away.
http://i.imgur.com/VHGHC0I.jpg

Sailor Steve

01-04-16, 12:30 PM

January 4, 1916:

North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Leto, 3,225 tons, carrying a load of wheat from New York to Rotterdam, strikes a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. Nitzsche's score is now 2 ships and 5,454 tons.

Ireland:
British schooner SV Kelp, 267 tons, travelling from Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, to London with a load of skins and tallow, is wrecked at Spanish Point, Miltown Malhay, Ireland.

Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, commanding U-34, ends his fifth war patrol with the capture and scuttling of British freighter SS Coquet, 4,396 tons, bound from Torrevieja to Rangoon with a load of salt. His score is now 20 ships and 70,089 tons.

United States:
American schooner SV Samuel Dillaway, 623 tons, travelling in ballast from New London, Connecticut to Wiggins, South Carolina, is wrecked at St. Helena Sound, Beaufort County, South Carolina.

Jimbuna

01-05-16, 12:56 PM

5th January 1915

Southern Front

Austrian offensive in Montenegro.

Political etc.

Premier Asquith introduces a bill providing for compulsory military service for single men, ages 18 to 41.

E.H. Gary, head of U.S. Steel, warns that the end of the war will negatively impact U.S. exports and urges protective tariffs.

Ship Losses:

Fridtjof Nansen ( Norway): The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzscheand) and sank in the North Sea 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) south west of the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of two of her crew.

Banquet to U.S. Admiral Albert G. Winterhalter in Japan.
http://i.imgur.com/yJNYBOF.jpg

Sailor Steve

01-05-16, 01:24 PM

January 5, 1916:

Air War:
The first Nieuport 11s arrive at the front, joining Escadrille MS 31.

A.M. German ace Oswald Boelcke shoots down BE.2c 1734 for victory number 8. Pilot Geoffrey C. Formelli is slightly injured and observer Willy E. Somervell seriously wounded. Both are taken prisoner.

1330 German pilot Ernst Hess, flying a Fokker E.III, is assisted by Boelcke and Immelmann in bringing down BE.2c 2019. Pilot A.L. Russell lands his plane safely and is captured. The two aces let Hess claim the kill, his first.

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Fridtjof Nansen, 3,275 tons, carrying a load of superphosphate from Bône to Rotterdam, runs on a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche and UC-10.

Norwegian barque SV Olivia, 492 tons, departs Leith for Trondhiem with a load of coal and is not heard from again.

Bay of Biscay:
French barque SV Paul Marie Gaston hits a mine and is lost.

German East Africa:
HMS Mersey reports that two native spies have arrived and are to be dropped near the German-held coastline.

United States:
On November 25th Greek liner SS Thessaloniki, 4,682 tons, departed Piraeus, Greece with 177 passengers. What followed became an odd tale of fright and possible mutiny.

On December 21st the ship ran into a gale which flooded the boiler and engine rooms. A distress signal was sent, and was answered by Italian freighter SS Stampalia. The passengers asked Captain John Goulandris if they could be transferred to Stampalia, but he refused, assuring them there was no cause for alarm. Partial repairs were made and the ship was able to proceed at a speed of 5 knots.

On December 28th the officers joined the passengers in their protests. At midnight First Officer Nicholas Orloff, accompanied by three other officers and the ship's engineers, had the wirless operator send an SOS to the United States Government. This was apparently done without the captain's permission.

On December 29th Orloff told the passengers that USCG Seneca was on the way. At 2230 the captain told the passengers that he had sent an SOS. When the passengers said they didn't believe him the captain wrote out a signed statement that he had indeed sent for help.

On December 31st SS Florizel came alongside and said that he could tow the stricken liner to Bermuda. Captain Goulandris replied that he would accept a tow to New York and nowhere else. At this point Thessaloniki received a message from SS Patris stating that she was coming to help as well. At 2000 hours Captain Goulandris took a boat with ten water casks to get fresh water from Patris, returning and 2300. He then told the passengers they would be transferred to Patris the next day.

On January 1st all 177 passengers and two stewards were taken to Patris, and Stampalia began to tow Thessaloniki to New York. When asked if he thought the actions of Orloff and the officers of Thessaloniki constituted mutiny, Captain Zagoras of Patris replied in the affirmative. "Yes, you couldn't call it anything else." When Patris arrived, however, Captain Goulandris and the officers agreed to patch up their differences and work together. At this time the coast guard steamer Seneca reported that she had still not found Thessaloniki.

On January 5th it was decided the situation was hopeless. Captain and crew were taken aboard Patris and SS Thessaloniki was scuttled 350 miles east of Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Much of the passengers' luggage was also rescued at this time.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990DE7DD103FE233A2575BC0A9679C94 6796D6CF

Jimbuna

01-06-16, 10:58 AM

6th January 1916

Southern Front

British troops attempt to breakthrough Ottoman troops that are besieging the city of Kut, Iraq, starting the Battle of Sheikh Sa’ad.

Naval and Overseas Operations

HMS King Edward VII, a Royal Navy pre-dreadnought battleship, sinks after hitting a German mine.
http://i.imgur.com/p0fPmKm.jpg

British submarine sunk off Dutch coast.

HMS E17
Scuttled off Texel Island after striking submerged rock

Whilst patrolling north of Texel Island on Thursday 6th January 1916, HMS E17 struck an uncharted sandbank. Badly damaged the submarine was forced to surface. The Royal Netherlands Navy Cruiser Noord Brabant approached the stricken submarine to investigate. E17 believing the Cruiser was belligerent submerged, but owing to the damage was forced to surface again. E1 signalled the un-identified cruisers for assistance and her crew were taken off and interned. E17 finally sank at 1140 on Thursday 6th January 1916.

Political etc.

Labour Congress opposes Military Service Bill.

President Wilson proposes a new “Monroe Doctrine,” where countries of the Americas would sign mutual peace pledges.

French General Joseph Maurice Pambet, who had been relieved of command due to “lack of impetus,” is killed in a car accident.

French Chamber of Deputies proposes a bill to lower the retirement age of military officers in order to replace them with younger men.

Ship Losses:

Australian Transport ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship ran aground on Samasana Island, Formosa. She was refloated in early February.
HMT Courtier ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Kilnsea, Yorkshire with the loss of twelve of her crew.
HMS E17 ( Royal Navy): The E-class submarine was wrecked in the North Sea off Texel, North Holland, Netherlands. Her crew were rescued by HNLMS Noordbrabant ( Royal Netherlands Navy) and interned.
HMY Hersilia ( Royal Navy): The naval yacht was lost on this date.
HMS King Edward VII ( Royal Navy): The King Edward VII-class battleship struck a mine laid by SMS "Möwe" in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Wrath, Sutherland and sank with the loss of one of her 777 crew. Survivors were rescued by HMS Fortune, HMS Marne, HMS Musketeer and HMS Nessus (all Royal Navy).

Sailor Steve

01-06-16, 04:13 PM

January 6, 1916:

Air War:
German pilot Hans-Joachim Buddecke, flying a Fokker E.III, shoots down a Farman two-seat pusher for kill number 4. He claims a second Farman but it is listed as unconfirmed.

Celtic Sea:
French schooner SV Alcyone runs aground on the Isles of Scilly, off Normandy.

North Sea:
British freighter SS Camille, 1,111 tons, carrying coal from Sunderland to Le Havre, is wrecked at Haisborough Sands, off Norwich.

0712 British battleship HMS King Edward VII, 15,630 tons, departs Scapa Flow for Belfast where she will be refitted. At 1047 she strikes a mine laid by German merchant raider SMS Möwe. The starboard engine room is flooded and the ship begins to list. Captain Maclachlan attemts to reach the shore and beach the ship, but the port engine room also floods and the ship is stranded. Collier SS Princess Melita and destroyer HMS Kempenfelt attempt to tow the stricken battleship at 1415, but King Edward settles more and Princess Melita's towline parts at 1440. Kempenfelt can't tow the ship by herself, so the attempt is given up. At 1445 Destroyers Fortune, Marne and Musketeer take the crew off. Captain Maclachlan is the last man to leave the ship, boarding destroyer Nessus at 1610. King Edward VII stays afload for another four hours, and finally sinks at 2010.

Adriatic Sea:
Italian passenger ship SS Brindisi, 863 tons, is sunk by a mine off Vlorë, Albania.

Atlantic Ocean:
Norwegian schooner SV John, 114 tons, sails from the Cabo Verde Islands for Gibraltar with a load of fish and is not heard from again.

Norwegian brig SV Lillesand, bound from St. Mark, Haiti to Le Havre with a load of logwood, is abandoned in mid-Atlantic.

German East Africa:
0620 Monitor HMS Mersey drops two native spies ashore.

Jimbuna

01-07-16, 09:52 AM

7th January 1916

Eastern Front

Russians storm Chartorysk.

Southern Front

Sir Ian Hamilton's despatch on Suvla Bay published.

Embarkation of French and English at Seddul-Bahr (Dardanelles) begins, after repulse of a Turkish attack.

Ottoman troops under Liman von Sanders launch an attack against British troops at Gallipoli, but suffer heavy casualties.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

General Aylmer defeats Turks at Sheikh-Saad.

Political etc.

Count Bernstorff presents a memorandum on submarine policy to U.S.A. Government. Germany promises the U.S. that it will offer an indemnity to the Lusitania victims and will safeguard passengers traveling at sea.

Great Britain arranges to ration Holland.

Russian General Oskar Grippenberg, who commanded in the Russo-Japanese War, has passed away.
http://i.imgur.com/JuoBYlD.jpg

Ship Losses:

Euterpe ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of nineteen of her crew.

Sailor Steve

01-07-16, 09:57 AM

January 7, 1916:

Air War:
German pilot Theodor Jakob Croneiss, flying a Fokker E.I for the Turkish Air Force, shoots down a British-flown Farman for his first victory.

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Bonheur, 1,158 tons, bound from Frederikstad to Garston with a load of boards, hits a mine laid by SMS Möwe. This is Möwe's second victim.

British freighter SS Euterpe, 1,522 tons, travelling from Huelva, Spain to Tees, hits a mine and sinks.

Bristol Channel, Cornwall:
British freighter SS Newtown, 1,153 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Oporto, Portugal to Newport, Wales, is wrecked at Barricane Beach, North Devon.

Canada:
Canadian schooner SV Nellie, 59 tons, en route from Mahone Bay to Ship Harbour, Nova Scotia, runs aground off Cape Sable.

Jimbuna

01-08-16, 10:03 AM

8th January 1916

Eastern Front

Severe fighting in Galicia.

Southern Front

Austro-Hungarian troops launch their final offensive against Montenegro with a 500-gun barrage and over 50,000 troops.

British troops win the Battle of Sheikh Sa’ad, but they suffer heavy casualties and Ottoman troops are able to retreat in good order.

Naval

HMS Repulse, a Royal Navy Renown-class battlecruiser, is launched.
http://i.imgur.com/4iTrVfr.jpg

Political etc.

Italian government orders a census of all grains and establishes rules to allow the military to requisition grain supplies.

Colonel House, President Wilson’s personal representative, meets with British Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey.

Ship Losses:

Citta di Palermo ( Italy): The troopship struck a mine laid by UC 14 (Cäsar Bauer) and sank in the Adriatic Sea 6 nautical miles (11 km) north east of Brindisi.
HMT Freuchny ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 14 (Cäsar Bauerand) sank in the Adriatic Sea off Brindisi with the loss of eight of her crew.
HMT Morning Star ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Brindisi with the loss of nine of her crew.

Sailor Steve

01-08-16, 11:29 AM

January 8, 1916:

Air War:
German pilot Theodor Croneiss, flying a Fokker E.III in Turkey, shoots down British-flown Voisin III 8502 for victory number 2.

Adriatic Sea:
Italian troopship Citta Di Palermo, 3,415 tons, and British drifters HMD Freuchny, 84 tons, and HMD Morning Star, 97 tons, all hit mines laid off Brindisi by Cäsar Bauer in UC-14. Bauer's score is now 5 ships and 7,231 tons.

Black Sea:
Russian destroyer Pronzitelynj torpedoes Italian freighter SS Carmen, 4,424 tons, off Kefken Island. Wrecksite gives the 8th in their heading but the 9th in the text. I can find no other sources for this sinking.

Jimbuna

01-09-16, 10:48 AM

9th January 1915

Western Front

Slight German attack in Champagne.

German troops capture the peak near Harmannswillerkopf and capture 1000 French soldiers and 15 machine guns.

Eastern Front

Further Russian offensive in Bukovina.

Southern Front

Austrians assault Mt. Lovchen (Montenegro).

Dardanelles

The Newfoundland Regiment, last of the Allied troops on Gallipoli, are withdrawn.

The Gallipoli Campaign comes to an end. Allied troops suffer 252,000 casualties, while the Ottoman Empire suffer around the same figures.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks fall back to the Wadi.

Political etc.

The Chinese government faces a deficit of $8 million and seeks to raise another international loan.

Ottoman Empire interns 1000 subjects of the Entente still in the country as reprisal against the arrest of their consuls in Greece.

Exchange rate of German Marks to Dollars falls to the record low, with 5.42 Marks being exchanged for one Dollar.

The Allies have bought 195,000 horses, worth $34 million, from the National Stock Yards in St. Louis.

Sailor Steve

01-09-16, 11:47 AM

January 9, 1916:

Air War:
German pilot Hans-Joachim Buddecke files a claim for a Farman two-seater, but it is unconfirmed.

Aegean Sea:
British freighter SS Calioubieh, 407 tons, founders off Moudros, on the Island of Lemnos.

Jimbuna

01-10-16, 11:55 AM

10th January 1916

Southern Front

Austrians take Mt. Lovchen.

Sir A. Murray succeeds Sir C. Monro in command of Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian offensive in Armenia. Battle of Koprukoy begins as Russian forces attack Ottoman troops near Erzurum.

Sir A. Murray's command in Egypt limited to country east of line five miles west of Suez Canal.

Political etc.

British Prime Minister Asquith states the Gallipoli withdrawal “takes an imperishable place in our national history.”

MP Walter Runciman urges “we must do everything in our power to cripple and destroy German finance, credit, and trade…”

British censors open mail destined to the U.S. Embassy. Embassy officials consider filing a protest.

Polish immigrants urge Britain to lift the blockade against Germany so that food supplies can alleviate the ongoing famine in Poland.

An explosion at the du Pont Powder Company, which was making munitions for the Allies, in Carney’s Point, Philadelphia results in 13 deaths.

Ship Losses:

Nostra Signora delle Vigne ( Italy): The brig collided with Pelion ( France) in the Mediterranean Sea and was abandoned. Her crew were rescued by Pelion.

Sailor Steve

01-10-16, 12:26 PM

January 10, 1916:

Air War:
German pilot Albert Dossenbach and observer Hans Schilling, Flying an Albatros C.I, shoot down Morane 'LA' 5091. It is the first kill for both of them.

German pilot Wilhelm Frankl, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down a Voisin two-seater for victory number 2.

North Sea:
Swedish freighter SS Birka, 1,790 tons, bound from Swansea to Gothenburg with a load of coal, is wrecked on Bow Rock, near the Noup Head Lighthouse at the north end of Westray, in the Orkney Islands.

Mediterranean Sea:
Italian sailing ship SV Nostra Signora Delle Vigne, 165 tons, sinks following a collision off Cap Corse, at the north end of Corsica.

Jimbuna

01-11-16, 11:49 AM

11th January 1916

Western Front

Munition explosion at Lille.

Southern Front

French land in Corfu; Greek protest.

Mount Lovcen, the last fortress in Montenegrin hands, falls to Austro-Hungary. They are now 6 miles away from Cetinje, the capital.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Sir J. Maxwell commanding in remainder of Egypt.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German raider "Moewe" reported to be operating in Atlantic.

Political etc.

William J. Bryan, former US Secretary of State, urges a ban on Americans traveling on belligerent ships due to the danger of submarines.

Sir Edward Carson urges the compulsion bill to include the Irish and asserts the recent Allied defeats were due to the lack of men.

Berlin cuts the daily allowance of bread to 200 grams, down from 225 grams, and urges “strict housekeeping” to assure supply.

Italian King Victor Emmanuel returns to Rome from the front for the first time since the start of the war.

Ship Losses:

Corbridge ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 140 nautical miles (260 km) west north west of Cape Finisterre, Spain by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Farringford ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 150 nautical miles (280 km) west north west of Cape Finisterre by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine).

Takashima Tomonosuke, Japanese general and former War Minister, has passed away.
http://i.imgur.com/Lt5WWMv.jpg

Sailor Steve

01-11-16, 11:58 AM

January 11, 1916:

Air War:
A part of German Reconnaissance squadron Feldflieger-Abteilung 23 is reformed as Kampfeinsitzerkommando (KEK) Vaux, with Oblt. Rudolf Berthold commanding. This is the first development of a dedicated fighter squadron in Germany. Previously the Fokkers have been assigned in ones or twos to the Recon squadrons.

German pilot Hans-Joachim Buddecke claims a Farman, but it is unconfirmed (his third u/c in a week).

German Pilot Hans Schüz, flying a Fokker E.III for the Turkish Air Force, shoots down a Farman two-seater for his first kill.

Bay of Biscay:
German armed merchant raider SMS Möwe captures British freighter SS Farringford, 2,146 tons, bound from Huelva, Spain to Garston, England, with 4,300 tons of copper ore. The crew are taken aboard Möwe and the freighter sunk by gunfire.

Möwe also captures British collier SS Corbridge, 3,687 tons, and uses her coal until January 30th.

Jimbuna

01-12-16, 12:17 PM

12th January 1916

Eastern Front

Resumption of Russian offensive in Galicia.

Southern Front

Allies blow up bridges at Demirhissar and Kilindir.

Armistice between Montenegro and Austria.

Aviation

Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke receive the Pour le Merite, the German Empire's highest military award, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft.

Four British aeroplanes on missions to the Western Front are shot down by German troops today.

Political etc.

House of Commons passes the compulsory military service bill by 431 to 39 on its second reading.

Herr Liebknecht expelled from Socialist party in Reichstag.

U.S. Department of Commerce announces that Europe brought more than $1 billion worth of food, a record, from the U.S. last year.

U.S. government orders all ships belonging to belligerent nations in U.S. ports to take down their wireless communications equipment.

Ship Losses:

Algerian ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Herbert Pustkuchenand) sank in the English Channel 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) south west of The Needles, Isle of Wight (50°46′N 1°20′W). Her crew survived.
Haofru ( Norway): The cargo ship ran aground on the Middle Haisbro' Sands, in the North Sea off the coast of Norfolk, United Kingdom. She broke in two the next day with the loss of thirteen of her fourteen crew. The survivor was rescued by the Cromer Lifeboat.
Prudentia ( United Kingdom): The tanker collided with Hermione ( United Kingdom) and/or HMS Iron Duke ( Royal Navy) and sank in Scapa Flow, Orkney islands.
Traquair ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the English Channel 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) off Dover, Kent. Her crew survived.

Sailor Steve

01-12-16, 12:24 PM

January 12, 1916:

Air War:
German Ace Oswald Boelcke shoots down RE.7 2287 for victory number 8. Pilot 2nd Lt. Leonard Kingdom is killed in the crash; observer Lt. K.W. Gray is severely injured and taken prisoner.

German Ace Max Immelman shoots down FB.5 5460 for victory number 8. Pilot 2nd Lt. Herbert Thomas Kemp is wounded and captured; observer Sidney Cornelius Hathaway killed in action.

That evening Boelcke and Immelmann together become the first pilots to be awarded the Pour le Mérite.

German pilot Hans Joachim Buddecke, flying a Fokker E.III in Turkey (where he has been stationed since the first of the year) shoots down a Farman two-seater for victory number 5.

English Channel:
British freighter SS Algerian, 3,837 tons, travelling in ballast from Cowes to Avonworth, hits a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen in UC-5. His score is now 20 ships and 26,601 tons.

British freighter SS Traquair, 1,067 tons, bound from Leith to Dunkerque with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6 just off Dover. His score is now 21 ships and 17,264 tons.

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Havfru, 660 tons, carrying a load of coal from Goole to Amsterdam, runs aground of Haisborough sands with the loss of 13 lives.

British freighter SS Prudentia, 2,781 tons, fueling in Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow, is accidentally rammed and sunk by SS Hermione.

Jimbuna

01-13-16, 07:42 AM

13th January 1916

Southern Front

Austrians take Cettinje.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

General Aylmer attacks the Wadi (Mesopotamia). British troops are defeated in the Battle of Wadi by Ottoman troops, failing to relieve besieged British troops in Kut.

Turks reported at Kermanshah (Persia).

Political etc.

The Curtiss Aeroplane Company, Curtiss Motor Company, Curtiss Engineering Company, and Burgess and Curtis merge to form the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company.

Miners’ Federation of Great Britain votes to oppose the bill for compulsory military service.

Greek Government refuse consent to the occupation of Corfu.

Ship Losses:

HMT Albion II ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight (50°38′N 1°34′W). Her crew survived.
Author ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 225 nautical miles (417 km) west of Lisbon, Portugal by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Dromonby ( United Kingdom): The collier was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 220 nautical miles (410 km) west of Lisbon by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Maashaven ( Netherlands): The cargo ship struck a mine in the North Sea west of the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of a crew member. Survivors were rescued by Goentoer, Maashaven and Prinses Juliana (all Netherlands).
HMT Rosy Morn ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine laid by the cruisers "Stralsund" and "StraÃŸburg, west of Doggerbank and sank in the North Sea.
Trader ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 225 nautical miles (417 km) west of Lisbon by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine).

Sailor Steve

01-13-16, 03:37 PM

January 13, 1916:
English Channel:
His Majesty's Trawler Albion II, 240 tons, hits a mine laid by Herbert Pustkuchen and UC-5 while on minesweeping duty off St. Catherine's Point, the southernmost tip of the Isle of Wight. Pustkuchen's score is now 21 ships and 26,841 tons.

North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Maashaven, 2,609 tons, bound from New Orleans to Rotterdam with a load of grain and cottonseed, hits a mine laid by an unknown ship on Galloper Shoal, half a mile from the lightship there. Maashaven is refloated on the 29th and towed to Rotterdam.

His Majesty's Trawler Rosy Morn is acting as a minesweeper near Dogger Bank when she hits a mine laid by German light cruisers SMS Stralsund and Straßburg.

Irish Sea:
British coaster SS Harrington, 367 tons, is leaving Larne, Northern Ireland with a load of potatoes when her propeller is foulded on a mooring rope. the ship runs aground at Ferris Point and is wrecked.

Bay of Biscay: Spanish freighter SS Bayo, 2,766 tons, hits a mine laid by SMS Möwe.

Portugal:
German armed merchant cruiser SMS Möwe captures British freighters SS Author, 3,490 tons, carrying a general cargo from London to Durban, west of Lisbon; and SS Trader, 3,608 tons, en route from Talara to Queenstown with a load of sugar. Both ships are scuttled with explosive charges. Along with Bayo, Möwe has now sunk 6 ships for 30,518 tons.

Jimbuna

01-14-16, 07:54 AM

14th January 1916

Western Front

Severe bombardment of Givenchy.

Southern Front

Heavy fighting near Gorizia.

Austria-Hungarian troops capture the Montenegrin capital city of Cetinje. Negotiations for an armistice begins.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Arkhava (on Black Sea).

British take Wadi; Turks retreat to Um-el-Hanna.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Ottoman Empire announces it has seized 4,500 cases of ammunition and 45,000 shells after the evacuation of Gallipoli.

Aviation

In response to high losses German Fokker Eindecker fighters are inflicting on Allied reconnaissance aircraft flying over the Western Front, Royal Flying Corps Headquarters orders that reconnaissance planes have an escort of at least three fighters flying in close formation.

Political etc.

Lord Chelmsford appointed Viceroy of India.

Czar Nicholas reiterates wars aims that he will not seek peace until the motherland is free of Germans and the Allies gain victory.

Heavy storms case the Zuiderzee dikes in the Netherlands to break at several places, causing heavy flooding and deaths.

Richard Eckermann, German vice admiral and former chief of staff to the High Seas Fleet, has passed away.
http://i.imgur.com/s57aJnv.jpg

Ship Losses:

Catahlot ( United Kingdom): The whaler was driven ashore at Trinity Harbour, Newfoundland and sank.
Parklands ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship ran aground at Kilnsea, Yorkshire. She was refloated on 24 January.
Breslau United Kingdom): The steamer enroute fom Calais to London in ballast was damaged when she struck a mine laid by UC 3 (Erwin Waßner) in position 6 miles NW of Gris Nez.

Sailor Steve

01-14-16, 10:53 AM

anuary 14, 1916:

Air War:
1015 German ace Oswald Boelcke, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down BE.2c 4087 for victory number 9. Pilot Capt. R. Erskine is unharmed, observer 2nd Lt. Justin Howard slightly wounded. Erskine manages to land the crippled plane safely on his own side of the lines.

English Channel:
British freighter SS Breslau, 1,330 tons, travelling in ballast from Calais to London, runs on a mine laid by Erwin Waßner in UC-5. The ship is only damaged.

North Sea:
German auxiliary minesweeper Sperrbrecher 8, 4,724 tons, is sunk by a mine.

Norwegian schooner SV Tangen, 153 tons, bound from West Hartlepool to Kristiania, is abandoned.

Norwegian coaster SS Varulv, 484 tons, carrying pit props from Brevik to Granton, is abandoned with the loss of 1 crewmember.

Bristol Channel:
British freighter SS Larchwood, 689 tons, carrying a load of coal from Penarth to an unnamed destination, is sunk in a collision with SS Argus.

Jimbuna

01-15-16, 08:55 AM

15th January 1916

Eastern Front

Russian progress on the Styr, south of Pinsk.

Southern Front

Serbian troops land in Corfu.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians enter Kangavar (Persia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

"Moewe" captures S.S. "Appam" and sends her to Norfolk, VA.

British monitors shell Westeinde (Belgium).

Political etc.

British casualty lists for December reveal that 22,081 officers have been killed, wounded, and missing since the war’s start.

Kaiser Wilhelm makes several appearances in Berlin and dispels rumors that he was incapacitated by illness.

Britain confiscates 1,600 bags of mail from Austria-Hungary and Germany destined for the U.S. on the charge that they contained propaganda.

Two Colonels in the Swiss army are accused of treason for relaying French army positions to Germany.

Direct passenger rail service is inaugurated between Berlin and Constantinople today.

Russian government places an order of 30,000 machine guns in the United States through J.P. Morgan & Co.

Ship Losses:

Clan Mactavish ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 120 nautical miles (220 km) south by west of Funchal, Madeira, Portugal by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seventeen of her crew. Three survivors were taken as prisoners of war.
Larchwood ( United Kingdom): The collier collided with Argus ( United Kingdom) in the Bristol Channel and sank with the loss of eight of her thirteen crew. Survivors were rescued by Argus.
Leelite ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was driven ashore at Shoreham, West Sussex. Her crew were rescued.

Sailor Steve

01-15-16, 09:45 AM

January 15, 1916:

North Sea:
British trawler Braconmoor, 204 tons, founders and is lost.

Skaggerak:
Norwegian ketch Hanna, 60 tons, carrying a load of bricks from Sarpsborg to Flekkefjiord, is wrecked at Hestholmen, an island near Farsund.

Norwegian coaster SS Sartor, 82 tons, travelling from Kristiansund to Haltenbanken, is wrecked off Kroggen.

Bay of Biscay:
Spanish freighter SS Belgica, 2,068 tons, hits a mine laid by SMS Möwe west of La Rochelle, France.

Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Madeira:
German merchant raider SMS Möwe captures and scuttles British freighter SS Ariadne, 3,035 tons, bound from Rosario, Argentina to Nantes, France with 4,700 tons of corn. Möwe's score is now 8 ships and 35,621 tons.

Jimbuna

01-16-16, 11:36 AM

16th January 1916

Western Front

Lille bombed.

French troops are reinforcing and strengthening the Verdun forts in anticipation of a German attack on the area.

Southern Front

General Sarrail takes command at Salonika.

The Serbian army in exile promises to provide the Allies with 100,000 men to continue the fight.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians forced to evacuate Kangavar.

General Russian Offensive in Transcaucasia begins.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Westeinde shelled by British monitor.

Political etc.

Manitoban legislature votes to allow women to vote and hold office. It is the first Canadian province to do so.

Ship Losses:

Clan Mactavish ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 120 nautical miles (220 km) south by west of Funchal, Madeira, Portugal by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seventeen of her crew. Three survivors were taken as prisoners of war.
Larchwood ( United Kingdom): The collier collided with Argus ( United Kingdom) in the Bristol Channel and sank with the loss of eight of her thirteen crew. Survivors were rescued by Argus.
Leelite ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was driven ashore at Shoreham, West Sussex. Her crew were rescued.

Sailor Steve

01-16-16, 11:40 AM

January 16, 1916:

Black Sea:
German coaster SS Alster hits a mine and sinks off Rügenwalde (Polish city of Darlowo).

Atlantic Ocean:
German raider SMS Möwe comes across British freighter SS Clan Mactavish, 5,816 tons, carrying a load of zinc, rubber, and frozen meat from Liverpool to Natal. At sunset Möwe spots Clan Mactavish south of Madeira, and closes. When ordered to stop, Clan Mactavish tries to run. Möwe fires warning shots. When Clan Mactavish opens fire with her one gun Möwe opens fire in earnest. Clan Mactavish takes many hits; Möwe takes none. Finally Clan Mactavish surrenders with eighteen crew members killed and five wounded.

United States:
American schooner Edison, 26 tons, is wrecked on Cape Decision, Alaska. All six crew members lost with their ship.

American Schooner Prosper, 513 tons, carrying a load of lumber from Mukilto, Washington to Port Allen, Hawaii, is wrecked at Hanapepe, Kauai, Hawaii.

Jimbuna

01-17-16, 11:27 AM

17th January 1916

Eastern Front

Russian offensive dies down.

Southern Front

Austrians announce capitulation of Montenegro.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks retreat towards Erzerum.

Bad weather hampers the Kut relief force.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Russian torpedo boats sink 163 sailing ships in Black Sea.

Political etc.

Socialists in the Prussian Diet disrupt the legislative session when they demanded “reestablishment of the complete independence of Belgium”.

Pope Benedict promises to launch an investigation into the reports of German atrocities committed in Belgium.

King Gustaf of Sweden, during the opening of Parliament, reiterates the country’s adherence to neutrality, but stresses the need for defense.

Ship Losses:

HMT Fulmar ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Sutherland ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 192 nautical miles (356 km) south east by south of Malta (34°43′N 18°03′E by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Varulv ( Norway): The cargo ship foundered in the North Sea. Twelve crew were rescued by Stegelborg ( Denmark).

Sailor Steve

01-17-16, 12:55 PM

January 17, 1916:

Air War:
English pilot Eustace Grenfell, flying Morane-Saulnier 'N' 5068, is credited with shooting down three Fokker eindeckers and an Albatros two-seater. Victories number 3-6.

German pilot Walter Höhndorf, flying a Fokker E.III, shoots down Voisin 5 V1096 for his first victory. Caporal Henri Follot and Mdl Hennequet are taken POW.

German pilot Gustav Leffers, in a Fokker E.III, claims a BE.2c, but it goes unconfirmed.

English pilot Frederick Powell, flying FE.8 7457, shoots down an Aviatik 2-seater for kill number 3.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2374368&postcount=120

North Sea:
Dutch trawler SS Catania, 132 tons, departs Ymuiden and is not heard from again.

Skagerrak:
Swedish barque SV Krey-Woggersin, carrying a load of pit props, is wrecked in the Vigsø Bugt, off Madsbøl Klitpantage, Denmark.

Mediterranean Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, commanding U-35, sinks British freighter SS Sutherland, 3,542 tons, bound from Bombay to Hull with a load of manganese ore. It is the first sinking for the man who will ultimately become the highest-scoring submarine ace of all time.

British trawler/minesweeper HMT Fulmar, 205 tons, is sunk by a mine in the Gulf of Sollum, on the Libya/Egypt boarder.

Canada:
Canadian schooner SV Stanley L., 19 tons, travelling from Saint John, New Bruswick to Advocate Harbour, Nova Scotia, runs aground at Advocate Beach.

Jimbuna

01-18-16, 10:15 AM

18th January 1916

Eastern Front

Austrians claim complete victory in Galicia and Bukovina.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks repulse British column west of Kurna (Mesopotamia).

Russians take Hasan-Kala (Armenia).

Southern Front

Allied troops stage further landings on Greek territory at Phalerum and Corinth to use as military bases.

Italian troops renew their offensive towards the town of Gorizia and capture Austro-Hungarian trenches at Oslavia.

Aviation

The world's first practical all-metal aircraft, the Junkers J.1, flies for the first time.
http://i.imgur.com/5xjrIUx.jpg

Naval and Overseas Operations

Allied warships bombard Dedeagach (Bulgaria).

Germans evacuate southern Cameroons (retiring into Spanish territory).

Political etc.

Lord Derby is confident about British recruitment, stating men are being turned away due to demand and is sure Germany will get a “licking.”

Russia orders judicial and other administrative authorities to return to Dvinsk (Daugavpils, Latvia) after driving away the Germans.

Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer becomes the new Commander in chief of the German High Seas Fleet.
http://i.imgur.com/jymuiEr.jpg

Ship Losses:

Auvergne ( French Navy): The auxiliary minesweeper struck a mine and was damaged at Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais. She was declared a constructive total loss and was scrapped in 1919.
Evelyn ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North sea 35 nautical miles (65 km) south east by east of Lowestoft, Suffolk by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine, UB 16 (Hans Valentiner).
Foam Crest ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) south east by east of Lowestoft by a Kaiserlich Marine submarine, UB 16 (Hans Valentiner).
Marere ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 236 nautical miles (437 km) east of Malta (35°51′N 19°07′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS H6 ( Royal Navy): The H-class submarine ran aground on Schiermonnikoog, Friesland, Netherlands. She was subsequently interned and later sold to the Dutch, entering service in 1917 as O-8.
Rijndam ( Netherlands): The ocean liner struck a mine laid by UC 1 (Egon von Werner) and was damaged in the Thames Estuary.
Scotia ( United Kingdom): The barque caught fire in the Bristol Channel off Sully Island, Glamorgan and was burnt out.
Sunshine ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 28 nautical miles (52 km) south east of Lowestoft by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine, UB 16 (Hans Valentiner).

Sailor Steve

01-18-16, 12:57 PM

January 18, 1916:

Döberitz, Germany:
Gefreiter Paul Arnold takes the Junkers J.1, the first all-metal monoplane, for its second test flight and first "real" flight. The previous test was a short hop on December 12 that ended with minor damage. This flight reaches a height of 80 meters. Later a second test is conducted, and reaches 900 meters.

Air War:
German pilot Leopold Anslinger, flying a Fokker E.III on the Russian front, shoots down an unidentified "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 1.

English Channel:
French auxiliary minesweeper Auvergne, 523 tons, hits a mine laid by Irwin Waßner and UC-3. His score is now 13 ships and 15,805.

North Sea:
Hans Valentiner, commanding UB-16, stops and scuttles British fishing smacks Evelyn, 55 tons, Foam Crest, 46 tons, and Sunshine, 52 tons. His score is now 13 vessels and 10,057 tons.

British schooner Gleaner, 144 tons, carrying coal from Sunderland to Wick, runs aground at Sandhaven.

Dutch freighter SS Rijndam, 12,527 tons, travelling from New York to Rotterdam, is damaged by a mine laid by Egon von Werner and UC-1.

Mediterranean Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks British freighter SS Marere, 6,443 tons, carrying a general cargo from Fremantle to London. His score is now 2 ships and 9,985 tons.

Atlantic Ocean:
British freighter SS Chasehill, 4,538 tons, carrying a general cargo from New York to Le Havre, founders and sinks.

American freighter SS Frederick, 1,873 tons, departs Louisburg, Cape Breton Island, for Kirkwall, UK, and is not heard from again.

Norwegian freighter SS Graziella, 1,593 tons, departs Risør, Norway for Bilbao, Spain, and is not heard from again.

United States:
Canadian trawler Onward Ho, 323 tons, departed Vancouver, BC on January 6th. The vessel is sighted on the 18th following a gale near Cape Spencer by two other ships, and is not seen again.

Jimbuna

01-19-16, 01:40 PM

19th January 1916

Eastern Front

Renewed activity north-east of Czernowitz.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

General Aylmer resumes his advance up the Tigris.

General Sir P. Lake succeeds Sir J. Nixon in Mesopotamia command.

Southern Front

Russia declares victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Koprukoy near the strategic city of Erzurum.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Allied warships bombard Porto Lagos (Bulgaria).

Anglo-French occupy Ebolowa (Cameroons).

Political etc.

According to published lists in Germany, German casualties are now 2,535,768 total, with 588,986 men killed in action.

Lord Derby meets with the Central Recruiting Committee to organize another drive for enlistment.

Major General Leonard Wood tells the U.S. Senate there is a need for 210,000 soldiers and 2 million in reserves to defend the U.S.

General von Bissing, Governor General of Belgium, threatens the death penalty to any Belgians who attack or resist German authorities.

Ship Losses:

Leoville ( France): The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 1 (Egon von Werner) and sank in the English Channel 9 nautical miles (17 km) south of the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom).

Sailor Steve

01-19-16, 01:50 PM

January 19, 1916:

Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee is made 1st Baronet Sturdee in honor of his victory at the Falkland Islands in December 1914.

Air War:
1205 Gilbert Ware Murlis Green riding as observer in Vickers FB.5 5465 with Lt. A.W.H. James as pilot, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for his first victory.

German pilot Wilhelm Frankl, flying a Fokker E.III, shoots down a Voisin two-seater for victory number 3.

Irish Sea:
American schooner SV Henry J. Smith, travelling in ballast from Liverpool to Cardiff, runs aground off the Mersey River.

North Sea:
French coaster SS Leoville, 775 tons, carrying a load of coal from Grimsby to Dieppe, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1. Von Werner's score is now 13 ships and 11,031 tons.

Australia:
Australian steam paddle boat Sapphire, 22 tons catches fire and sinks in the Murray River, in the State of South Australia.

Jimbuna

01-20-16, 09:48 AM

20th January 1916

Southern Front

Negotiations between Austria and Montenegro broken off.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians take Sultanabad (Persia).

Russian progress in Armenia.

Aviation

Air combat on the Western Front increases, with 14 fights between British and German planes today.

Political etc.

British Government buys 800,000 tons of wheat in Romania.

King Constantine of Greece denounces the Allies as blunderers, with Gallipoli, the loss of Serbia, and the occupation of parts of Greece.

Sweden bans the export of wood pulp as reprisal against British seizure of parcel post packages destined for Sweden.

Four young men are arrested in Japan for attempting to assassinate Prime Minister Count Okuma with bombs.

Ship Losses:

Edinburgh ( United Kingdom): The sailing vessel was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) west south west of São Vicente, Cape Verde Islands, Portugal by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Trematon ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 180 nautical miles (330 km) east by south of Malta (35°24′N 18°09′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Sailor Steve

01-20-16, 11:21 AM

January 20, 1916:

North Sea:
American freighter SS Sibiria, 3,535 tons, carrying a load of wheat and benzol from Montreal to London, runs aground off Goodwin Sands.

Mediterranean Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, commanding U-35, sinks British freighter SS Trematon, 4,198 tons, bound from Karachi to London with a load of grain. His score is now 3 ships and 14,183 tons.

Adriatic Sea:
Robert Teufl von Fernalnd, in Austrian submarine U-11, takes Italian passenger liner/hospital ship König Albert, 10,484 tons, as a prize. A prize court will later release the ship back to her owners.

Jimbuna

01-21-16, 10:10 AM

21st January 1916

Eastern Front

Renewed Russian attack in East Poland.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Failure of attack on Turkish position at Um-el-Hanna, 23 miles from Kut; mud awful.

Political etc.

The Central Powers have captured 3 million prisoners, 10,000 guns, 40,000 machine guns, and 470,000 square km since the war’s start.

Austria-Hungary raises the age of conscription to 55. However, those aged between 50 and 55 will not be posted at war zones.

Ottoman Empire, with the help of German advisers, reopens coal mines in Syria due to shortages.

U.S. Brigadier General Louis H. Carpenter, veteran of several wars and recipient of the Medal of Honor, has died.
http://i.imgur.com/gZnkTo3.jpg

Ship Losses:

Apollo ( Netherlands): The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzsche) and sank in the North Sea 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) south south west of the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°42′N 1°57′E).

Sailor Steve

01-21-16, 01:13 PM

January 21, 1916:

North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Apollo, 799 tons, bound from Valencia to Amsterdam with a general cargo, runs on a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. Nitzsche's score is now 4 ships and 9,528 tons.

British trawler Earl, 169 tons, sets out from Hull and is not heard from again.

Jimbuna

01-22-16, 11:23 AM

22nd January 1916

Western Front

Aeroplane raid on Dover, 1 killed, 6 injured.

Southern Front

Austrians occupy Antivari and Dulcigno (Montenegro).

Austro-Bulgarians take Berat (Albania).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Armistice for six hours on Tigris; relief force hampered by floods.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Russian torpedo boats sink a further 40 sailing vessels in Black Sea.

Political etc.

U.S. House Immigration Committee introduces a provision in a bill that will bar Japanese, Indians, and Chinese from entering the U.S.

Austria-Hungary continues to disarm Montenegrin troops after the country’s surrender, but difficulty in communication slows progress.

Queen Milena of Montenegro, now in exile, meets her daughter Queen Elena of Italy in Rome.

Ship Losses:

Norseman ( United Kingdom): The cargo liner was torpedoed and damaged in the Mediterranean Sea off Salonika, Greece by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached at Mudros but was declared a constructive total loss. Scrapped in situ in 1920.

Sailor Steve

01-22-16, 11:35 AM

January 22, 1916:

North Sea:
British freighter SS Falls City, 4,729 tons, carrying a load of coal from South Shields to Genoa, Italy, runs on a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. The damaged steamer makes port safely.

French cargo boat SS Saint Pol, 34 tons, travelliing in ballast from Le Havre to Flushing, is sunk in a collision off Folkestone.

Norwegian freighter SS Smaragd, 472 tons, travelling in ballast from St Peter Port, Guernsey, to Barry, runs aground and is wrecked entering Barry Port.

Aegean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, torpedoes British freighter SS Norseman, 9,542 tons, bound from Plymouth to Thessaloniki with a load of mules and munitions. The ship is beached at Tuzla Point and crew and cargo are safely landed. The ship ends up being a total loss. Forstmann's score is now 44 ships and 109,348 tons.

Atlantic Ocean:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and scuttles British barque SV Edinburgh, 1,473 tons, travelling from Rangoon to Liverpool with a load of rice flour. Möwe's score is now 10 ships and 42,910 tons.

Jimbuna

01-23-16, 10:45 AM

23rd January 1916

Western Front

German forces, aided by mines and heavy bombardment, win 200 yards of position between Lens and Arras, France.

Southern Front

Austrians take Nikshich and Skutari (Montenegro).

Austria-Hungary continues is offensive southwards in the Balkans and captures the Adriatic port cities of Bar and Ulcinj.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Dispersal of Senussi Camp at Halazin, 25 miles south-west of Mersa Matruh (West Egypt). Deep mud.

Aviation

24 French aeroplanes bombard railway stations and barracks at Metz, dropping over 130 bombs.

German aircraft conduct two raids on the east coast of Kent, but results in only one death and six injuries.

Political etc.

King Nicholas of Montenegro arrives at Rome.

Ship Losses:

Pollentia ( United Kingdom): The passenger ship foundered in the Atlantic Ocean. Her crew were rescued by Giuseppe Verdi ( United Kingdom).

http://i.imgur.com/zd6aGu5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6nhn9Yr.jpg

Sailor Steve

01-23-16, 10:51 AM

January 23, 1916:

North Sea:
Norwegian coaster SS Prima, 619 tons, carrying a load of wood pulp from Risor to Erith, sinks after colliding with SS Hild off Yarmouth.

Atlantic Ocean:
British freighter SS Pollentia, 2,229 tons, springs a leak in a storm and sinks north of the Azores.

Jimbuna

01-24-16, 08:26 AM

24th January 1916

Western Front

German offensive near Nieuport (Yser).

Southern Front

Italians lose ground near Gorizia.

Austria-Hungary occupies the Albanian port city of Shkodër. Serbs and Montenegrins evacuate the city without a fight.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians advance on forts of Erzerum.

Political etc.

Military Service Bill passed by House of Commons.

A proposal is made in the House of Commons that will allow Members of Parliament to visit the front.

Due to paper shortages in Britain, Walter Runciman, President of the Board of Trade, suggests newspapers should cut down their page size.

Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria is confined to his bed due to acute bronchitis.

Germany and Afghanistan establish diplomatic ties in an attempt to threaten British India.

Sailor Steve

01-24-16, 12:14 PM

January 24, 1916:

North Sea:
Dutch trawler Plejaden departs Ijmuiden for a fishing trip and is not heard from again.

Jimbuna

01-25-16, 01:41 PM

25th January 1916

Western Front

Severe fighting near Arras.

Southern Front

Montenegro accepts Austrian terms.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

General Aylmer encamped at El Owasa (Orah).

Naval and Overseas Operations

General Smuts appointed to command in East Africa.

Political etc.

House of Lords pass the conscription law on its second reading without division.

Montenegrin officials sign a treaty of capitulation with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Members of the U.S. Socialist Party meets with President Wilson to urge him to organize a peace conference to end the war.

U.S. Secretary of State Lansing meets with German ambassador Bernstorff to discuss settling the Lusitania sinking.

U.S. War Department is studying the large 42-centimetre howitzers used by the Germans in their offensives that crushed French forts.

Sailor Steve

01-25-16, 01:45 PM

January 25, 1916:

Air War:
German ace Hans-Joachim Buddecke, flying a Fokker E.III for the Turkish Air Force, shoots down a Farman two-seater for kill number 6.

French pilot Mathieu Marie Joseph Antoine de la Tour and a "Capitaine Francois", flying Nieuport 11s, shoot down a German observation balloon. This seems to be the first recorded victory for the "Bébé".

Jimbuna

01-26-16, 09:43 AM

26th January 1916

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Sir Percy Lake joins the Kut relief force.

Political etc.

House of Commons debate on the blockade.

United States Government make informal protest to British Government regarding their " Black List " policy.

Austro-German protest to Romania on sale of wheat to Great Britain.

Ship Losses:

HMT Chance ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.
HM Torpedo Boat 13 ( Royal Navy): The torpedo boat collided with another vessel and sank in the North Sea.

Sailor Steve

01-26-16, 09:44 AM

January 26, 1916:

Air War:
German ace Hans-Joachim Buddecke, flying a Fokker E.III in Turkey, claims a Farman, but it goes unconfirmed.

North Sea:
His Majesty's Torpedo Boat 13, 255 tons, is sunk in a collision.

Jimbuna

01-27-16, 09:50 AM

27th January 1916

Western Front

German attacks repulsed at Neuville and north-east of Loos.

Southern Front

Austrians repulsed on Upper Isonzo.

Kaiser meets King Ferdinand (Bulgaria) at Nish.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Part of Turkish positions at Kut flooded; Turks fall back 2,000 yards.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British monitors bombard Westeinde.

German camp at Nkan captured (German East Africa).

Ship Losses:

Crystal ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) south east of Southwold, Suffolk by SM UB-6 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Political etc.

UK: Conscription introduced by the Military Service Act; applied to unmarried men aged 18–41 from 2 March and to married men in the same age bracket from April/May; it does not extend to Ireland.
http://i.imgur.com/5PcZLGO.jpg

Sailor Steve

01-27-16, 10:25 AM

January 27, 1916:

Air War:
Hans-Joachim Buddecke, flying a Fokker E.III in Turkey, shoots down a Farman two-seater for kill number 7.

North Sea:
Ernst Voigt, commanding UB-6, scuttles fishing smack Crystal, 57 tons, 25 miles south-east of Southwold.

Norwegian freighter SS Vaagen, 201 tons, carrying a load of coal from Leith to Dunkerque, is wrecked at the Longstone Islands.

United States:
American freighter SS Aberdeen, 499 tons, runs aground outside San Francisco Bay.

Schooner Evadne, 361 tons (registry unknown), is abandoned 60 miles off Alligator Reef lighthouse, near the Florida Keys. The ship is later beached on the Florida coast and written off.

Jimbuna

01-28-16, 08:11 AM

28th January 1916

Western Front

Germans take Frise (Somme) and trenches near Givenchy; repulsed at Carnoy (Mametz).

Southern Front

Serbians move south in Albania.

Austrians occupy Alessio and San Giovanni di Medua (Albania).

Allies occupy Kara Burun (Salonika): Greek protest.

Political etc.

David Lloyd George: “I think that for us the war is only beginning.”

Prime Minister Asquith announces that Britain has suffered 549,467 casualties since the war’s start with 128,138 killed.

Sir Herbert L. Samuel, UK Secretary for Home Affairs, urges Britons to save money due to the high cost of war.

British men aged 27 to 35 who registered under the Derby scheme are summoned to report for duty.

Anti-German mobs riot in Lausanne, Switzerland and attack the German consulate. The Swiss government apologizes to Germany.

American protest against British search of parcel mails and British reply published.

Sailor Steve

01-28-16, 09:54 AM

January 28, 1916:

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Perth, 3,522 tons, bound from Fremantle to Fredriksstad with a load of whale oil, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1. The ship is only damaged and reaches port safely.

Jimbuna

01-29-16, 08:34 AM

29th January 1916

Western Front

German troops take the village of Frise in the Somme, capturing 1,000 prisoners and 22 artillery guns.

German offensive at Dompierre (south of the Somme).

Zeppelin raid on Paris.

Eastern Front

Renewed fighting on the Strypa and in Bukovina; Austrians claim success.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians bombard ridge protecting Erzerum.

Political etc.

Lord Rosebery, former UK Prime Minister: “We must bring the Prussian bloodthirsty tyrants to their knees.”

Protest against closing of London museums.

Labour Conference decides to allow its members to remain in the Cabinet.

U.S. drafts rules for submarine warfare, in which submarines would not attack merchant ships and merchant vessels would not be armed.

Ship Losses:

Aberdeen ( United States): The cargo ship was driven ashore at San Francisco, California and was a wrecked with the loss of all hands.
Marian ( United States): The tug was run into and sunk at Baltimore, Maryland by Vedamore ( United Kingdom).

Sailor Steve

01-29-16, 11:05 AM

January 29, 1916:

North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Thuban, 3,260 tons, bound from New York to Rotterdam, runs on a mine laid by an unknown ship. The damaged freighter is beached at Mucking Flats in the Thames estuary and saved.

English Channel:
British destroyer HMS Viking is damaged by a mine while patrolling off Boulogne.

Irish Sea:
British sailing ship SV Ben-Lee, 2,341 tons, travelling from Liverpool to Sydney, is sunk off Holyhead in a collision with American freighter SS St. Paul. The ship is towed to Holyhead where she sinks in 5 fathoms (30 feet, 9 meters) of water. After the war the Ben-Lee was raised and towed to Liverpool.

Jimbuna

01-30-16, 10:04 AM

30th January 1916

Western Front

Germans repulsed by French at Dompierre.

Germany is able to hold its recent advance south of the River Somme despite strong French counterattacks.

Naval

Italian monitor Faà di Bruno, a barge with a 15 inch gun, is launched.
http://i.imgur.com/UBFTYja.png

Political etc.

Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov states Russia has ignored recent offers from Germany for a separate peace.

Colonel House, who is President Wilson’s personal representative, arrives in Berlin and meets with Zimmermann and Gerard.

Ship Losses:

Maasdijk ( Netherlands): The cargo ship struck a naval mine laid by UC 1 (Egon von Werner) and sank in the English Channel off the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°29′N 1°38′E).

Sailor Steve

01-30-16, 10:10 AM

January 30, 1916:

North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Maasdijk, 3,557 tons, travelling in ballast from Rotterdam to Portland, Maine, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner and UC-1. The ship is safely beached but is later written off as a total loss. Von Werner's score is now 14 ships and 14,588 tons.

Atlantic Ocean:
British collier SS Corbridge was captured by SMS Möwe on January 11th, and has been used since then to carry fuel for the German raider. Her coal supply exhausted, the ship is sunk today, 280 miles north-northwest of Fernando Noronha Island, off the coast of Brazil. Möwe's score is now 12 ships and 50,224 tons.

Canada:
Canadian schooner SV H.R. Silver, 199 tons, bound from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Newfoundland with a load of coal, is abandoned at sea.

Australia:
Australian schooner SV Volador, 214 tons, carrying a load of timber from Port Arthur to Melbourne, sinks off Mussellroe Bay with the loss of one of her eight crew.

Jimbuna

01-31-16, 09:31 AM

31st January 1916

Aviation

Six Zeppelins raid East Anglia and Midlands; 70 killed and 113 injured.

http://i.imgur.com/bIcaZ5N.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VCmRF38.jpg

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

Political etc.

War Savings Committees inaugurated.

Baron Wimborne, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, states 86,277 Irish men have been sent to the war.

Germany defends its air raid on Paris by stating it was reprisal for the French raid on Freiberg.

Prince Erik of Denmark arrives in New York City incognito on his way to Canada to study agriculture.

Ship Losses:

Arthur William ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea south east of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Hilda ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 14 nautical miles (26 km) east by south of Aldeburgh, Suffolk by SM UB-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMML 19 ( Royal Navy): The motor launch was lost on this date.
Marguerite ( Belgium): The fishing vessel was sunk in the North Sea off Lowestoft by SM UB-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Radium ( United Kingdom): The fishing vessel was scuttled in the North Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) south east by south of Lowestoft by SM UB-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 41 ships of 92,000 tons gross. (Lloyd's War Losses).

Sailor Steve

01-31-16, 10:21 AM

January 31, 1916:

North Sea:
Ralph Wenninger, commanding UB-17, captures and scuttles British fishing smacks Arthur William, 56 tons; Hilda, 44 tons; and Radium, 59 tons; and Belgian smack Marguerite, 32 tons. Wenninger's score is now 11 vessels and 730 tons.

Canada:
French schooner SV Bretonne, carrying a general cargo from La Rochelle, France to St. Pierre and Miquelon, Newfoundland, is wrecked at Dog Island, at the north end of Newfoundland.

Korea:
Japanese freighter Chikyu Maru, 3,142 tons, bound from Seishin, Korea to Osaka, Japan with a general cargo, is wrecked at Joshin, near the Korea-China boarder.

Jimbuna

02-01-16, 10:24 AM

1st February 1916

Eastern Front

Violent cannonade south-east of Riga.

Southern Front

Zeppelin raid on Salonika.

Serbians repulse Austrians near River Ishmi (northern Albania).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian progress in Armenia.

Russians drive back Turks in Karmanshah district.

Naval and Overseas Operations

General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien announces the expulsion of German troops from the coasts of Serengeti and Kamerun.

"Appam" brought to Norfolk, Va., by a German prize crew.

Sailings from the east coast of the U.S. are canceled due to reports of U-boat activity. Officials state they are unfounded rumours.

Political etc.

French President Poincare states that the Allies “do not intend to become the prey of German rapacity.”

M. Goremykin, Russian Premier, resigns: M. Stuermer appointed.

Prince Yussuf-Izz-ed-Din, Turkish heir-apparent, commits suicide.

Ship Losses:

Belle of France ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 126 nautical miles (233 km) north west by west of Alexandria, Egypt (32°30′N 27°45′E) by SM U-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nineteen crew.
Franz Fischer ( United Kingdom): The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) south of the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of thirteen crew. Survivors were rescued by Paul ( United Kingdom).
Prinses Juliana ( Netherlands): The passenger ship struck a mine in the North Sea off the Sunk Lightship ( United Kingdom). She was beached at Felixstowe, Suffolk but was declared a total loss.
Takata Maru ( Japan): The passenger ship collided with Silver Shell ( United States) in the Atlantic Ocean 200 nautical miles (370 km) south east of Cape Race, Newfoundland and sank. Her 72 crew were rescued by Silver Shell.
Zeearend ( Netherlands): The coaster was scuttled in the North Sea 19 nautical miles (35 km) west north west of the Maas Lightship ( Netherlands) by SM UB-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

Sailor Steve

02-01-16, 12:57 PM

January/February: Fokker begins testing prototype M 17 (w/n 433) and M 18 (w/n 434).

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/D.II%20Prototype%20M17%201_zpsr1ahbcqi.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/D.II%20Prototype%20M17%201_zpsr1ahbcqi.jpg.html) http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/D.II%20Prototype%20M17%202_zpsowoeuykd.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/D.II%20Prototype%20M17%202_zpsowoeuykd.jpg.html)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/M.18%20Prototype%201_zpss1aw7j4y.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/M.18%20Prototype%201_zpss1aw7j4y.jpg.html) http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/M.18%20Prototype%202%20Fokker_zpshrt4xaw9.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/M.18%20Prototype%202%20Fokker_zpshrt4xaw9.jpg.html )

These are Fokker's first answer to the need for a biplane fighter to counter the Nieuport 11 and the new DH.2.

1916 January/February: Four DH.2s sent to France for evaluation. They are distributed among Nunbers 5, 11 and 18 Squadrons.

The exact dates are not mentioned in the surviving records of either event.

February 1, 1916:

Air War:
1515 Belgian pilot Andre Emile Alfons de Meulemeester, flying a Nieuport 11, makes his first claim against a Rumpler two-seater. It is listed as Unconfirmed.

German Pilot Wilhelm Frankl, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down a Voisin for kill number 4.

German pilot Joseph Jacobs, flying Fokker E.I 63/15, claims a Caudron but it is unconfirmed.

English Channel:
British paddle steamer PSS Empress Queen, 1,995 tons, runs aground in the fog near the Isle of Wight. Total loss.

North Sea:
Ralph Wenninger finishes his fourth war patrol in UB-17 with the torpedoeing of British freighter SS Franz Fischer, 957 tons, bound from Hartlepool to Cowes with a load of coal. According to www.uboat.net (http://www.uboat.net), British sources say the ship was sunk by a Zeppelin, but the time and location match the claim in UB-17's KBT.

Dutch passenger ship SS Prinses Juliana, 2,885 tons, travelling from Vlissingen to Tilbury, runs on a mine laid by UC-5 and her new captain, Ulrich Mohrbutter.

Bay of Biscay:
French fishing boat Chemin-de-fer goes missing along with her crew of seven. Believed sunk by a mine.

Mediterranean Sea:
Otto Hersing begins his fifth war patrol in U-21 with the sinking of British freighter SS Belle Of France, 3,876 tons, carrying a load of grain from Karach to Algiers. His score is now 10 ships and 46,303 tons.

Canada:
Japanese freighter Takata Maru, 6,718 tons, carrying a load of chalk from London to New York, sinks off Cape Race, Newfoundland after colliding with American tanker SS Silver Shell.

New Zealand:
New Zealand coaster SS Squall, 369 tons, travelling from Te Araroa, North Island to Port Awanui, runs onto a rock near Horoera Point.

Jimbuna

02-02-16, 11:52 AM

2nd February 1916

Naval and Overseas Operations

Zeppelin "L.19" lost in North Sea. (Admitted by Germany).

German zeppelin L19 crashes in the North Sea due to engine trouble. The crew are found by a British fishing vessel, but they refuse to help.

http://i.imgur.com/tGC0Lu0.png

Political etc.

British government offers £1000 for the next pilot that brings down a Zeppelin after the bombing raid two days ago.

The British Mark I tank prototype is demonstrated in front of Cabinet members and senior members of the military at Hatfield Park.
http://i.imgur.com/0DfrLGT.jpg

President Wilson and his wife breaks Iowa’s anti-tipping law by tipping a waiter and a messenger boy. Police will not fine them.

J.P. Morgan sails out of New York harbor to Europe in order to help finance the Allied powers for the war.

Ivan Goremykin resigns as Prime Minister of Russia due to his declining health.
http://i.imgur.com/ZjXxKLa.jpg

Ship Losses:

Daijin Maru ( Japan): The passenger ship collided with Li-Nan ( China) in the East China Sea 80 nautical miles (150 km) off Swatow, China and sank with the loss of 160 of the 181 people on board.
Franz Fischer ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was bombed and sunk in the North Sea by a German Zeppelin with the loss of ten of her thirteen crew.
Jean Bart II ( French Navy): The patrol vessel was torpedoed and sunk in the Adriatic Sea off Dürres, Albania (41°08′N 19°20′E) by SM U-4 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy) with the loss of eighteen of her crew.

http://i.imgur.com/XiPm02G.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/M7Dcvxg.jpg

Sailor Steve

02-02-16, 11:58 AM

February 2, 1916:

Air War:
German pilots Ernst von Althaus, in a Fokker E.III, and Rudolf Berthold, flying Fokker E.III 411/15, share a victory over Voisin 3 V1321, Althaus' 2nd and Berthold's 1st. Pilot Caporal Jaquin landed safely, observer Soldat Segaud KIA.

Bay of Biscay:
French trawler Lamantin, 106 tons, sets out from Bourdeax and is not heard from again.

British liner SS Orissa, 5,317 tons, travelling from Lisbon to La Pallice with a cargo of copper and tin and carrying 230 passengers, runs aground in the fog. The ship is freed the next day and continues on its way.

Adriatic Sea:
Rudolf Singule, commanding Austrian submarine U-4, torpedoes French auxiliary patrol boat Jean Bart II, 475 tons, off Durazzo. Singule now has 5 ships and 7,719 tons.

China:
Japanese freighter Daijin Maru, 1,576 tons, bound from Swatow (modern Shantou) to Hong Kong, sinks following a collision off Che'lang point.

Sailor Steve

02-03-16, 06:59 PM

February 3, 1916:

Western Front:
Germans shell Loos.

Eastern Front:
Russian forces resume attack in Bukovina.

Political:
Australian war loan totals nearly £21,000,000.

Romanian cereal crop is reported to be sold to an Austro-German syndicate.

Air War:
1110 French pilot Georges Guynemer, in a Nieuport 10, shoots down an LVG two-seater for kill number 5.
1140 Guynemer brings down a second LVG for victory number 6.

English Channel:
British schooner SV Elgarette, 237 tons, travelling in ballast from London to Jamaica, is wrecked off Dover.

British barquentine SV Geraldine founders off Herm, east of Guernsey.

Sailor Steve

02-04-16, 06:58 PM

February 4, 1916:

"Just a short line to let you know I am crossing to Dunkirk to-morrow, weather permitting. I am flying a R.A.F. B.E. across and returning the same day in a Nieuport, if available, otherwise in a destroyer. Am quite looking forward to the trip. Have already crossed the Channel three times by air and about twelve by water. Beacoup de love."
- Letter from Harold Rosher to his mother, February 4, 1916

Southern Front:
Austrians occupy Kroja, 25 miles north of Durazzo.

Air War:
German pilot Theodor Croneiss, flying a Fokker E.III in Turkey, shoots down either a Farman two-seater or a BE.2c (records are unclear) for kill number 3.

English Channel:
French schooner SV Marie, 256 tons, carrying salt and wine from Lisbon to St Malo, is wrecked off the Jardin Lighthouse.

His Majesty's Trawler De la Pole is wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, Kent, with the loss of one of her twelve crew. Survivors are rescued by the Deal Lifeboat.

Norwegian barque SV Souvenir, 505 tons, carrying a load of chalk from London to Lisbon, is wrecked off the Isle of Wight. A coastguard lifeboat rescues all but the captain and one crew member.

North Sea:
Danish freighter SS Nordjylland, en route from Malmö to Grimsby with a general cargo, runs aground off Halmstad.

United States:
American schooner SV Number Twelve, 809 tons, travelling from Norfold, Virginia to Boston, Massachussets, sinks following a collision off Point Judith, Rhode Island.

Brazil:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and sinks Belgian freighter SS Luxembourg, 4,322 tons, bound from Newport, England to La Plata, Argentina with 5,900 tons of Welsh coal. Luxembourg's captain and crew of 32 will be held until February 23, then sent to Tenerife. Möwe's score is now 13 ships and 54,546 tons.

Sailor Steve

02-05-16, 06:59 PM

February 5, 1916:

"Had a most interesting day yesterday. Started off across Channel for Dunkirk soon after 8.0 a.m. in a R.A.F. B.E. - engine running badly at first, but picked up. A most priceless morning with a slight following wind - 5,000 feet at Calais, and made Dunkirk in about 3/4 hour from there. All the lads in great form, but Petre and Peberdy in Paris, and Mulock in hospital with a chill. Baillie going strong, also Beard, Haskins, Graham, Peal, etc., etc. Breakfast and then a good look round. The Baby Nieuports are priceless. I flew one and went up the coast to La Panne and Furnes. When I got back I drove out to Caudekirk to the new aerodrome, and then back for lunch.

At 2.0 p.m. I started home in a Nieuport and made Folkestone in just over the hour - rather a strong head wind. At Folkestone I spent 1-1/2 hours trying to restart my engine, but with no success, so telephoned for a car - tea at the Grand and back here in time for dinner. Have been to Folkestone this afternoon with Ince and his brother and Husky.

Heaps of love.

P.S. Flew back at 2,000 feet."

-Harold Rosher, letter to his father from the Hotel Burlington, Dover, February 5th, 1916

Air War:
1035 English pilot Jack Cunningham, flying recently-arrived DH.2 5016, shoots down an Albatross two-seater for kill number 3. It is the first victory for the new pusher aircraft.

1040 English pilot Frederick Powell, in his prototype FE.8 7457, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 4. Powell also claims an Albatros and an Aviatik, but both are unconfirmed.

1120 English pilot William Victor Strugnell, in a Morane 'N' 5068, shoots down an LVG two-seater for his first victory.

1130 French ace Georges Guynemer, flying Nieuport 10 N320, shoots down an LVG two-seater for kill number 7.

German pilot Rudolf Berthold, in a Fokker Eindeckeer, ahoots down a BE.2c 4091 for victory number 2. 2nd Lts. L.J. Pearson and E.H. Alexander both taken prisoner.

Black Sea:
Greek freighter SS Theoskepasti, 2,461 tons, is sunk by a mine off Sulina, Romania.

Atlantic Ocean:
American schooner SV Bruce-Hawkins, 546 tons, bound from Mobile, Alabama to Huelva, Spain with a load of yellow pine, is abandoned 100 miles north of Bermuda.

Sailor Steve

02-06-16, 06:58 PM

February 6, 1916:

Germany admits full responsibility for Lusitania incident and recognizes America's right to claim indemnity. The story will not be made public until February 9th.

Noted Nicaraguan poet Ruben Dario, founder of the Modernismo movement, dies, aged 49.

Western Front:
German bombardment of Loos continues.

Allies bombard Lille.

French aircraft bomb German gas reservoirs at Navarin.

Adriatic Sea:
British cruiser and French torpedo boat drive four Austrian destroyers to Cattaro, cover Serbian retirement to Corfu.

North Sea:
British coaster SS Balgownie, 1,061 tons, bound from London to Leith with a general cargo, strikes a mine laid by Georg Haag and UC-7. Haag's score is now 5 ships and 5,729 tons.

Atlantic Ocean:
Japanese freighter Kenkon Maru No. 11, 3,522 tons, travelling from Marseille to Granton, is abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean.

Brazil:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and scuttles British freighter SS Flamenco, 4,629 tons, carrying a load of coal to Valparaiso, Chile. Möwe now has 14 ships and 59,175 tons.

Sailor Steve

02-07-16, 06:57 PM

February 7, 1916:

Eastern Front:
Heavy artillery duel around Riga.

Air War:
No. 24 Squadron takes its DH.2s to France, led by Lanoe Hawker.

English pilot Frederick Powell, in his FE.8 7457, claims another Aviatik two-seater, but it is again listed as "Unconfirmed".

Irish Sea:
British sailing ship SV Enterprise, 133 tons, sailing from Liverpool to Silloth, runs aground and is wrecked near Whitehaven.

Ligurian Sea:
Italian barque SV St. Joseph, 1,007 tons, bound from Philadelphia to Savona, Italy with a load of coal, stops at Nice, France. On February 7th she departs Nice and is not heard from again.

Atlantic Ocean:
French fishing boat Dupleix, 58 tons, is working off the coast of Brittany when the crew apparently bring a mine aboard in their net. the explosion destroys the small craft, killing all the crew.

Danish schooner SV Vigilant is abandoned off the Outer Hebrides. The crew are rescued. Vigilant will later be recovered and towed to Stornoway.

Sailor Steve

02-08-16, 06:58 PM

February 8, 1916:

British Government requests naval assistance from Japan. The request is for patrols to stop German auxiliary cruisers laying mines in shipping lanes.

Eastern Front:
Heavy artillery duel around Riga.

English Channel:
British freighter SS Argo, 1,720 tons, bound from Bulogne to Dunkerque with a load of pitwood, hits a mine laid by Erwin Waßner and UC-3. Waßner's score is now 14 ships and 17,525 tons.

North Sea:
British freighter SS Elswick Manor, 3,943 tons, carrying a load of barley from Baltimore to Hull, hits a mine laid by Franz Wäger in UC-7. The damaged ship is beached and later refloated. Since the current commander of U-7 is Georg Haag this is either a mistake in the records or an older minefield laid by Wäger the previous year.

Mediterranean Sea:
Otto Hersing, in U-21, torpedoes French Armored Cruiser Amiral Charner, 4,750 tons, 15 miles west of Beirut, Lebanon. A single torpedo between the bridge and fore funnel sinks the warship in just four minutes. Only 1 survivor. Hersing's score is now 11 ships and 51,053 tons.

United States:
American steam schooner SS Excelsior, 526 tons, sinks in San Francisco Bay after being rammed by passenger ship SS Harvard.

American schooner SV St Nicholas, 825 tons, travelling from Savannah to New York, founders off Frying Pan Shoals, near Wilmington, North Carolina.

Brazil:
German raider SMS Möwe captures British freighter SS Westburn, 3,320 tons, carrying 3,878 tons of prime Welsh coal from Liverpool to Buenos Aires. The ship will be retained until her coal is used by Möwe, and scuttled on February 23rd. Möwe's score is now 15 ships and 62,495 tons.

Sailor Steve

02-09-16, 06:58 PM

February 9, 1916:

"Many thanks for the letter. Am still going strong. Flew four different types of machines to-day, two of them new ones, one a Shorthorn Maurice, and the other a Blériot. The Blériot is the first monoplane I have flown other than a parasol.

You have heard me mention Graham (with Ince he brought down the German seaplane). Well, he has just had an awful bad crash at Dunkirk. Penley also has crashed badly twice out there, and is now back on sick leave. Ford too is home on sick leave with his head cut open, as the result of a bad crash, and his passenger is not expected to live. If one goes on flying long enough, one is bound to get huffed in the end.

By the way, Commander Lambe has shipped another stripe. He is now Wing Captain and acting Captain.

Yesterday I flew to Chingford in a B.E.2c with Blanche as a passenger. It was awfully cold. It took 2-1/2 hours going, via Ashford, Redhill, Brooklands and Hendon. Blanch took the B.E. back, and I took a new Bristol Scout and did the return journey direct (east of London) in an hour. Saw the Pemberto-Billing quadruplane at Chingford."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his mother from the Hotel Burlington, Dover, February 9, 1916

Sopwith's new single-seat scout is given clearance for testing, flown by Sopwith test pilot Harry Hawker. The little aeroplane will bear several official names over the next two years, but mostly it will be known by an unofficial name - the 'Pup'.

Western Front:
French regain part of trenches lost at Frise, and repulse Germans at Vimy ridge.

Air raid on Margate and Brodstairs. Three injured.

German reserves estimated at over two million.

Eastern Front:
Severe fighting in Volhynia and Galicia.

Southern Front:
Bulgaro-Germans reported to be fortifying Monastir.

Germans reported at Gevgeli.

Serbian Government set up at Corfu.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters:
Major General W. Peyton succeeds Major General A. Wallace in command of western force, Egypt.

Political:
News papers inform public of agreement between USA and Germany over Lusitania incident.

Extension of restrictions on lighting and on sale of sugar.

Greek neutrality re-affirmed.

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Vaarli, 1,311 tons, travelling in ballast from Rotterdam to Sunderland, sinks after hitting a mine.

Mediterranean Sea:
Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, torpedoes British freighter SS Springwell, 5,593 tons, bound from Middlsbrough to Calcutta with a general cargo. Valentiner's score is now 71 ships and 155,089 tons.

Central Africa: British gunboats Fifi and Mimi attack and sink German gunboat SMS Hedwig von Wissman on Lake Tanganyika.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedwig_von_Wissmann_(steamship)

This event will become the basis for the ending of C.S. Forester's novel The African Queen.

South Atlantic:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and scuttles British freighter SS Horace, 3,335 tons, carrying a general cargo from Buenos Aires to Liverpool. Möwe now has 16 ships and 65,815 tons.

Sailor Steve

02-10-16, 06:58 PM

February 10, 1916:

German Government sends note to United States Government stating that defensively armed merchantmen will be treated as belligerents starting March 1st.

US Secretary of War Lindley Miller Garrison resigns over differences between his and President Wilson's war policies. Garrison is replaced by Newton D. Baker.

There are several websites saying that the first Military Service Act, instituting conscription of British subjects, went into effect on this day, and one, which I followed (since deleted) which claims it was yesterday. The Military Service act was passed into law by Parliament on January 27th, and took effect on March 2, 1916. It is possible that the 10th was the date it was made public. In any event posters started going up sometime during this period, encouraging patriotic Britons not to wait, but enlist immediately.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/800px-Poster_Military_Service_Act_1916_Attest_Now_zpstmi zuf9e.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/800px-Poster_Military_Service_Act_1916_Attest_Now_zpstmi zuf9e.jpg.html)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/Military_Service_Act_1916_Welsh_poster_IWM_zps7m7h e3w5.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/Military_Service_Act_1916_Welsh_poster_IWM_zps7m7h e3w5.jpg.html)

Western Front:
Germans are repulsed south of Frise.

Southern Front:
Remnant of Serbian Army - 75,000 men - concentrated at Corfu.

Air War:
French pilot Albert Louis Duellin, flying a Maurice Farman MF.11 with a "Captain Colcomb" as observer, brings down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 1.

North Sea:
German destroyers attack a British group conducting minesweeping operations near the Dogger Bank. All the ships involved in the operation manage to escape except for sloop HMS Arabis, 1,250 tons, which manages to drive off three attackers single-handed. A second attack results in Arabis being torpedoed with the loss of 56 of her 79 crew.

Norwegian freighter SS Correct, 1,036 tons, bound from Goole to Dunkerque with a load of coal, is sunk in a collision with British armed merchant cruiser HMS Moldavia.

Scotland:
British freighter SS Belford, 2,076 tons, travelling in ballast from Barry to New York, is wrecked at Smaull, Islay.

Atlantic Ocean:
Norwegian barque SV Hatholmen, 1,220 tons, carrying a load of coal from Birkenhead to Georgia, is abandoned in mid-Atlantic.

Sailor Steve

02-11-16, 05:02 PM

February 11, 1916:

"Had hopes of seeing you for a few minutes to-day. Had the weather been fine, Husky and I were motoring to Town in the morning with Capt Lambe in a Rolls, and both bringing machines back in the afternoon from Chingford. As it is, of course, the weather is impossible.

I was underway first, in under three minutes, the other day when the Germans were reported over Ramsgate. I was over the North Foreland in quarter of an hour at 6,000 feet. Was just turning, when I sighted a seaplane miles below me, so cut off my petrol, and did a spiral vol plané towards it. At 4,000 feet I ran into mist and lost him temporarily, but picked him up again and chased him up the mouth of the Thames almost as far as Herne Bay. Then he turned and shot under me, and I'm blessed if it wasn't a Schneider Cup, one of our own from Westgate! I did not hear that bombs had been dropped until I saw it in the papers the following morning. I thought the scare was about our own seaplane.

Visited the Blimps this afternoon at Capel. They are really most interesting."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father from Hotel Burlington, Dover, February 11, 1916

Germany:
Kaiser Wilhelm II formally allows u-boats to attack armed merchants. Attacks on passenger liners are forbidden.

Western Front:
French success near Mesnil (Champagne).

A German offensive at Verdun is postponed for ten days due to rain and snow.

Eastern Front:
Russian repulsed south of Dvinsk.

Southern Front:
French reinforcements reach Slokika - right bank of Vardar occupied.

Italian detachment reaches Corfu.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:
Hostile Arabs occupy Baharia Oasis 200 miles southwest of Cairo.

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Alabama, 891 tons, travelling in ballast from Le Havre to Newcastle, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1. Von Werner's score is now 15 ships and 15,479 tons.

Light cruiser HMS Arethusa, 3,520 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 6 ships and 9249 tons.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/HMS_Arethusa_1913_mined_zpslbepjalg.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/HMS_Arethusa_1913_mined_zpslbepjalg.jpg.html)

British barquentine SV Fanny, 193 tons, departs Glasgow for Brest with a load of coal and is not heard from again.

Irish Sea:
British freighter SS Nettleton, 2,413 tons, travelling in ballast from Glasgow to Cardiff, is wrecked seven miles north of Bude, Cornwall.

Bay of Biscay:
French fishing boat Angélus, 37 tons, disappears with all seven of her crew, off Ile d'Oleron, near La Rochelle, France. Believed to be victim of a mine laid by SMS Möwe.

Mediterranean Sea:
British freighter SS Glenroy, 2,755 tons, travelling in ballast from Malta to Bougie (modern Béjaïa), is driven ashore in a gale at Les Falaises, in the gulf of Bougie. A shore party led by Mr Thomas, manager of the Grand Fillear Ore Mines, manage to descend the 150-foot cliffs and use ropes to rescue the crew.

Sailor Steve

02-12-16, 06:58 PM

February 12, 1916:

Western Front:
German offensive west of Soissons and temporary success at Pilkem, norh of Ypres.

Eastern Front:
Russian attack on Erzerum begins.

North Sea:
Belgian freighter SS Aduatiek, 2,221 tons, bound from Newcastle to Savona with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Friedrich Moecke in UC-4. British freighter SS Cedarwood, 654 tons, carrying a load of pig iron from Middlesbrough to Fécamp, also runs on a mine laid by UC-4.

English Channel:
British freighter SS Leicester, 1,001 tons, carrying a general cargo from Portsmouth to Cromarty, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6 just south of Folkestone. Von Schmettow's score is now 22 ships and 18,265 tons.

United States:
American schooner SV Emily I. White, 296 tons, carrying a load of coal from Norfolk, Virginia to Charleston, South Carolina, is wrecked at Bull's Bay, South Carolina.

Sailor Steve

02-13-16, 06:55 PM

February 13, 1916:

"Many thanks for note received this morning. As far as I can see, there is no chance of my going out to the other side yet awhile. Husky goes on the 25th and Anreae a little later. Two good crashes to-day. First Blanche on a new Avro - engine failure and landed down wind in a ploughed field. The second was better still. A man hit the one and only tree within miles, in getting off on a B.E. He left half a lower plane in the tree and carried a branch or so on with him for some little distance before crashing to earth.

I hear Graham is no better. He fractured the base of his skull and also has internal injuries.

Love to all"
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, February 13, 1916

It is reported that 2,000 German periodicals have ceased publication owing to a shortage of paper.

Western Front:

German attack west of Soissons repulsed.

Heavy fighting around Frise. French lose ground.

German artillery bombards Hooge.

Eastern Front:
Russians take Garbonovka.

Severe fighting in Galicia

Southern Front:
Entente Governments notify Greece of forthcoming transfer of Montenegrin Army to Corfu.

Bulgarians take Elbasan, Albania.

Asiatic and Egyptian Fronts:
Russians capture fort at Erzerum.

Russians occupy Khanys, Armenia.

Russians occupy Daulatabad, Persia.

Air War:
English observer Frank Billinge, riding with pilot Lt. J.T. Kirton in FE.2b 6336, shoots down an AGO two-seater for victory number 1.

North Sea:
British freighter SS Tergestea, 4,308 tons, bound from Tyne to London with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Friedrich Moecke in UC-4. Moecke's score is now 3 ships and 7,183 tons.

British trawler Scimitar is listed as lost on this date. Details are lacking.

Baltic Sea:
Swedish coaster SS Herman, 344 tons, carrying a load of coal from Stettin, Germany (modern Szczecin, Poland) to Malmö, Sweden, runs aground off Kap Arkona. The ship is refloated, but then sinks in deeper water.

Sailor Steve

02-14-16, 06:59 PM

February 14, 1916:

Britain and France announce that there will be no peace with Germany unless Belgian neutrality is restored and indemnification is paid for destroyed lands in Belgium.

Britain:
In January William Gurden Rigden, William Fownes Rigden and Stanley Fownes Rigden, partners in the Fownes Brothers Glove Company, were charged with "Trading with the Enemy". The Defendants had a branch in New York and another company in Germany and were accused of importing goods from Germany to the United States. on February 14th the Defendants pleaded Guilty. W.G. Rigden was fined £500. W.F. Rigden was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment and S.F. Rigden to four months.

Western Front:
Germans take 600 yards of British front trench between Ypres-Comines railway and the Canal.

Eastern Front:
Continued Russian success around Dvinsk.

Southern Front:
Austrian airmen bomb Milan, Treviglio, Bergamo and Monza.

Asian Front:
Russians take another fort at Erzerum, Turkey.

Air War:
German pilot Leopold Anslinger, flying a Fokker E.III on the Eastern Front, shoots down a Russian "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.

United States:
American schooner SV N.H. Burrow, 240 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newport News, Virginia to Newhaven, Connecticut, runs aground on Hog Island, Virginia in a snowstorm. The crew manage to anchor the schooner in deeper water where she begins to leak. A Coast Guard lifeboat rescues the six freezing crewman and the small ship is left to sink the following day.

Sailor Steve

02-15-16, 06:55 PM

February 15, 1916:

At an early Allied conference speeches are made by Prime Minister Asquith, Lord Kitchener and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov.

In the United States, ex-senator Elihu Root gives a speech to the Republican Convention in New York, condemning President Wilson's conduct of U.S. policy thus far. This is considered the opening of the 1916 American Presidential election campaign.
http://ww1blog.osborneink.com/?p=12245

Western Front:
French regain ground at Tahure (Champagne).

Eastern Front:
Russians repulse German attacks around Dvinsk.

Asian Theater:
Agreement concluded between British Government and chieftains of the Bakhtiari (Persia) for co-operation in protection of Persian oilfields.

North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Bandoeng, 5,851 tons, bound from Batavia to Rotterdam, is damaged by a mine laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5.

British freighter SS Wilston, 2,611 tons, hits a mine 20 miles from Wick, Scotland. Some sources say the mine was laid by SMS Möwe.

Celtic Sea:
British freighter SS Ashby, 1,947 tons, travelling in ballast from Nantes to Cardiff, is wrecked off the Ile d'Oessant, west of Brest, France. Captain Green and one crewman perished, 18 others saved.

Skagerrak:
Norwegian ketch SV Grethe, 66 tons, en route from Odda, Norway to Höganäs, Sweden with a load of scrap, goes missing. She and her four crewman are not heard from again.

United States:
British freighter SS Suevier, 4,662 tons, carrying a general cargo from New York to Le Havre, is abandoned after exploding chlorine gas cylinders set the ship on fire.

Sailor Steve

02-16-16, 07:24 PM

February 16, 1916:

United States refuses German proposals on the Lusitania question.

Entente renews pledges to Belgium.

British War Office takes over defense of London from the Admiralty.

War office also takes over control of Mesopotamian operations from the India Office.

Southern Front:
Remnants of Montenegrin Army land at Corfu.

Asian Theater:
Russian forces capture the city of Erzerum, including 13,000 prisoners and 323 cannon.

North Sea:
Norwegian coaster SS Hjordis, 431 tons, carrying a load of coal from Hull to Calais, is wrecked off Blakeney, Norfolk, with the loss of ten of her crew. It is unclear whether this was the whole crew.

Celtic Sea:
British freighter SS Inver, 1,031 tons, travelling in ballast from Cork, Ireland to Newport, Wales, is sunk following a collision off the Coningbeg Rocks lightship.

Adriatic Sea:
French freighter SS Memphis, 2,382 tons, bound from Corfu to Durrës, Albania, hits a mine laid by Eberhard Fröhner in UC-12. The damaged ship is towed into Durrës but sinks there on the 19th.

United States:
American schooner SV Maurice R. Shaw, 803 tons, carrying a load of lumber from Jacksonville, Florida to New York, is abandoned 38 miles south-southeast from Bodie Island, North Carolina.

Jimbuna

02-17-16, 06:58 AM

17th February 1916

Western Front

Germany explodes two mines under British lines, near Fosses & south of Loos, but British troops are able to repel the ensuing attack.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British land at Chios.

Vurla bombarded.

Political etc.

British military service tribunal decides that barbers are not “indispensable” and therefore are not exempt from conscription.

Allied Powers renew their pledge not to stop fighting until Belgian independence is reestablished.

Republican party in U.S. Congress promises support to Administration in opposition to German submarine policy.

The United States is currently exporting around $2 million worth of arms and ammunition to Europe each day.

Sailor Steve

02-17-16, 07:38 AM

February 17, 1916:

Britain:
British freighter SS Heathmore, 3,147 tons, bound from Huelva, Spain to Garston, a part of the Liverpool port complex, with a load of copper ore, is wrecked at Garston.

Italy:
Italian barquentine SV Filippo, carrying charcoal from Terranova to Gena, is wrecked at Castagneto Carducci, near Piombino.

Jimbuna

02-18-16, 07:14 AM

18th February 1916

Western Front

Artillery duel at Ypres.

Southern Front

Italian advance in Collo zone.

Following the victory at Erzurum, Russian troops now occupy the city of Bayburt and are advancing towards Trebizond.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians take Mush and Aklat (Armenia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Surrender of Mora completes conquest of Cameroons by Anglo-French forces.

German attack repulsed at Kachumbe (Uganda).

Political etc.

Debate in French Chamber on government control in army zone: Government secures vote of confidence.

Prussian Diet discusses issue of declining births in Germany. Minister of Education states the government is conferring with specialists.

Sweden asks the U.S. to organize a conference of neutral powers to protest British interference with trade.

German government apologizes to the Netherlands for sinking a Dutch vessel and offers to pay an indemnity.

Sailor Steve

02-18-16, 09:59 AM

February 18, 1916:

Cameroon, Africa:
After seventeen months of fighting the German colony of Cameroon surrenders to British and French forces. The only German forces left are in German East Africa, where Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and his 10,000 troops continue to play havoc with a British force ten times their size.

Air War:
0845 Austrian pilot Mathias Bernath and Czech-born Heinrich Kostrba together shoot down Italian Caproni Ca.I heavy bomber number 478. It is Bernath's second (and last) victory, and Kostrba's first.
0925 Heinrich Kostrba shoots down an Italian-flown Caudron two-seater for victory numer 2.
0950 Heinrich Kostrba shoots down another Caproni Ca.I for victory number 3.

Sometime that day Austrian pilot Ludwig Hautzmayer also brings down a Caproni Ca.I for kill number 1.

North Sea:
British trawler Rhodesia, 193 tons, founders and is lost 60 miles east-northeast of Flamborough Head.

British coaster SS Theodor, 211 tons, carrying a load of burnt ore from London to Newcastle, founders off Katwijk, Netherlands. (Some sources have this on the next day, February 19).

Irish Sea:
British freighter SS Benshaw, bound from Bilbao to Ayr with a load of iron ore, is wrecked on South Rock, County Down, on the east coast of Ireland.

United States:
American schooner SV Harry F. Hooper is abandoned off Cape Hatteras.

Jimbuna

02-19-16, 09:36 AM

19th February 1916

Eastern Front

General Kuropatkin appointed to command the Northern front.

Southern Front

Russian troops capture the rest of the Ottoman 34th division, which was retreating after the fall of Erzurum.

Naval and Overseas Operations

General Smuts arrives at Mombasa.

Political etc.

British War Office admits that their forces on the Tigris, who are attempting to relieve Kut, were driven back by the Ottomans.

Action begun in Admiralty Court to recover "Appam".

Greek protest against French action in Corfu.

U.S. protest to Turkey on Armenian massacres.

President Wilson writes to the American Red Cross, urging them to be prepared to care for the sick and wounded if the U.S. enters the war.

Russian Finance Minister states he is confident Russia could prosecute the war indefinitely without financial difficulty.

Ship Losses:

John D. Archbold (United States) The cargo ship collided with Hova ( Italy) at New York and was beached.
Telmo (Spain) The cargo ship collided with Sea Cock ( United Kingdom) at Liverpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom and was beached.
Theodor (United Kingdom) The auxiliary schooner foundered in the North Sea off Katwijk, South Holland, Netherlands. Her crew were saved by a Dutch lugger.

Sailor Steve

02-19-16, 11:04 AM

February 19, 1916:

United States:
American schooner-barges J. Carlton Hudson and Shamokin founder off Hog Island, Virginia. The barges are being towed by steamship Richard F. Young when the tow cable parts in a gale. Richard F. Young is damaged and unable to help the barges, but the ship and a third barge, Rockland No. 7, manage to reach shore safely. All four crew of J. Carlton Hudson lost. Shamokin towed to safety but then sinks.

British freighter SS Potomac, 2,472 tons, bound from Middleboro, Massachussetts to Galveston, Texas, runs ground off Halifax, Massachussetts.

Jimbuna

02-20-16, 11:35 AM

20th February 1916

Western Front

Germans attempt to cross Yser at Steenstraate, capture post at Boesinghe.

German troops capture a 300 meter line of trenches from British forces north of Ypres. German aircraft also raid Dunkirk.

The weather is sunny over Verdun, France, allowing the ground to dry after the past few days of rain. The German Army prepares to attack.

Eastern Front

Russian success on the Dniester in Bukovina.

Southern Front

Deportation of Greeks from Xanthi by Bulgarians.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British airmen destroy power station at El-Hassana (Sinai).

Aviation

Two (some sources say four) German seaplanes raids the eastern and southeastern coasts of England, dropping 20 bombs.
http://i.imgur.com/Qlmn4g4.jpg

Political etc.

British Admiralty reports that over a million men are engaged in various work for the Royal Navy, with 320,000 active officers & men.

Farmers in England have donated £50,000 to the farmers’ branch of the Red Cross to help rebuild farms in France.

Romanian Parliament introduces a bill that would prohibit the export of cereals and dried vegetables to ensure domestic supplies.

Berlin introduces ration cards for butter. Each person will be given around 100 grams each week.

Ship Losses:

Dingle (United Kingdom) The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 5 Ulrich Mohrbutterand and sank in the North Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) south by west of the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of nine of her crew.
HMT Gavenwood (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Brindisi, Italy with the loss of eleven of her crew.

Sailor Steve

02-20-16, 11:37 AM

February 20, 1916:

"Another raid on Deal to-day, five bombs dropped and one man killed. I took over the War flight this morning, and had a patrol in the air at the same time. I myself and others were off withing a few minutes of receiving the signal, but no one even saw the machine.

Over sixty ratings arrived this morning without warning, and I had to make all arrangements for them to be fed, housed and washed. All of them were Derby recruits and had been in the service 24 hours, mostly graded as A.M. 2nd class. None had seen an aeroplane before. They were butchers, grocers, cotton spinners, weavers, etc.

The C.O. goes away to-morrow for 2 weeks. Sippe, Andreae, Husky, Viney, etc. go to Paris in a day or so, and I am left to run the Station, School and War flight, keeping up a continuous patrol with four machines.

Love to all."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his mother from Hotel Burlington, Dover, February 20, 1916

North Sea:
Karl Neumann, in his first war patrol in UB-13, takes Belgian fishing vessel David Marie, 27 tons, as a prize, off the coast of Flanders, Belgium.

British freighter SS Dingle, 593 tons, bound from Sunderaland to Caen with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5. Mohrbuttere's score is now 2 ships and 3,478 tons.

Adriatic Sea:
His Majesty's Drifter Gavenwood, 88 tons, hits a mine laid by Cäsar Bauer in UC-14 off Brindisi, Italy. Bauer's score is now 6 ships and 7,319 tons.

Jimbuna

02-21-16, 09:02 AM

21st February 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun begins, 808 German artillery guns begin bombarding French positions around Verdun. Around a million shells will be fired in the next 10 hours.

German successes.

Zeppelin L.77 brought down by French.

Southern Front

General Sarrail received by King of Greece.

Political etc.

House of Commons passed two votes of credit, aggregating £420 million, the largest sum ever voted in any country in history.

French President Poincare, addressing the Anglo-French Parliamentary Committee, promises to fight until the end until peace is achieved.

Germany informs U.S. through a press representative that she regards armed merchantmen as cruisers.

Tsar Nicholas II threatens to prorogue the Russian Duma immediately if the parliamentary body delays passing laws.

Neville Usborne, British naval officer and pioneer in British airship design, is killed during a test flight.
http://i.imgur.com/MYnyY7Z.jpg

Ship Losses:

HMT Carlton (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettowand) and sank in the English Channel off Folkestone, Kent (51°03′N 1°15′E) with the loss of nine of her crew.
La Flandre (Netherlands) The tanker struck a mine in the North Sea off the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°43′N 1°57′E) and sank with the loss of 29 of her 31 crew.[40] The survivors were rescued by Ousel ( United Kingdom).
La Petite Henriette (Belgium) The fishing vessel was sunk in the North Sea off Lowestoft, Suffolk, United Kingdom by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Marechiaro Regia Marina (Flag of the Red Cross.pngRed Cross): The hospital ship struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Cape Laghi, Durrës, Albania with the loss of at least 33 lives, and possibly over 200 lives.
Oleander (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 28 nautical miles (52 km) off Lowestoft by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
W. E. Brown (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea south east of Lowestoft by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Battle of Verdun - Overview:

By 1915, the Western Front had become a stalemate as both sides engaged in trench warfare.

Unable to achieve a decisive breakthrough, offensives simply resulted in heavy casualties with little gain. Seeking to shatter the Anglo-French lines, the German Chief of Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, began planning a massive assault on the French city of Verdun. A fortress town on the Meuse River, Verdun protected the plains of Champagne and the approaches to Paris. Surrounded by rings of forts and batteries, Verdun's defenses had been weakened in 1915, as artillery was shifted to other sections of the line.

Despite its reputation as a fortress, Verdun was selected as it was located in a salient in German lines and could only be supplied by a single road, the Voie Sacrée, from a railhead located at Bar-le-Duc.

Conversely, the Germans would be able to attack the city from three sides while enjoying a much stronger logistical network. With these advantages in hand, von Falkenhayn believed that Verdun would only be able to hold out for a few weeks. Shifting forces to the Verdun area, the Germans planned to launch the offensive on February 12, 1916.

Due to poor weather, the attack was postponed until February 21.

This delay, coupled with accurate intelligence reports, allowed the French to shift two divisions of the XXXth Corps to the Verdun area prior to the German assault. At 7:15 AM on February 21, the Germans commenced a ten-hour bombardment of the French lines around the city. Attacking with three army corps, the Germans moved forward utilizing storm troopers and flamethrowers. Staggered by the weight of the German attack, the French were forced to fall back three miles in the first day of fighting.

On the 24th, troops of XXX Corps were compelled to abandon their second line of defense, but were buoyed by the arrival of the French XX Corps.

That night the decision was made to shift General Philippe Petain's Second Army to the Verdun sector. Bad news for the French continued the next day as Fort Douaumont, northeast of the city, was lost to German troops. Taking command at Verdun, Petain reinforced the city's fortifications and laid out new defensive lines. On the final day of the month, French resistance near the village of Douaumont slowed the enemy advance, allowing the city's garrison to be reinforced.

Pushing forward, the Germans began to lose the protection of their own artillery, while coming under fire from French guns on the west bank of the Meuse. Pounding German columns, French artillery badly bled the Germans at Douaumont and ultimately forced them to abandon the frontal assault on Verdun. Changing strategies, the Germans began assaults on the flanks of the city in March. On the west bank of the Meuse, their advance focused on the hills of Le Mort Homme and Cote (Hill) 304. In a series of brutal battles, they succeeded in capturing both. This accomplished, they began assaults east of the city.

Focusing their attention on Fort Vaux, the Germans shelled the French fortification around the clock. Storming forward, German troops captured the fort's superstructure, but a savage battle continued in its underground tunnels until early June. As the fighting raged, Petain was promoted to lead the Centre Army Group on May 1, while General Robert Nivelle was given command of the front at Verdun. Having secured Fort Vaux, the Germans pushed southwest against Fort Souville. On June 22, they shelled the area with poison diphosgene gas shells before launching a massive assault the next day.

Over several days of fighting the Germans initially had success, but met increasing French resistance. While some German troops reached the top of Fort Souville on July 12, they were forced to withdraw by French artillery. The battles around Souville marked furthest German advance during the campaign. With the opening of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, some German troops were withdrawn from Verdun to meet the new threat. With the tide stemmed, Nivelle began planning a counter-offensive for the sector. For his failure, von Falkenhayn was replaced by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg in August.

On October 24, Nivelle began attacking the German lines around the city. Making heavy use of artillery, his infantry was able to push the Germans back on the east bank of the river. Forts Douaumont and Vaux were recaptured on October 24 and November 2 respectively, and by December the Germans had been nearly forced back to their original lines. The hills on the west bank of the Meuse were retaken in a localized offensive in August 1917.

Battle of Verdun - Aftermath:

The Battle of Verdun was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of World War I. A brutal battle of attrition, Verdun cost the French an estimated 161,000 dead, 101,000 missing, and 216,000 wounded. German losses were approximately 142,000 killed and 187,000 wounded. After the war, von Falkenhayn claimed that his intention at Verdun was not to win a decisive battle, but rather to "bleed the French white" by forcing them to make a stand at a place from which they could not retreat. Recent scholarship has discredited these statements as von Falkenhayn attempting to justify the campaign's failure. The Battle of Verdun has assumed an iconic place in French military history as symbol of the nation's determination to defend its soil at all costs.

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwari/p/verdun.htm

Sailor Steve

02-21-16, 10:58 AM

February 21, 1916:

North Sea:
Wilhelm Kiel begins his career as captain of UB-12 with the capture of three fishing smacks off Lowestoft: Belgian vessel La Petite Henriette, 92 tons; and British smacks Oleander, 34 tons, and W.E. Brown, 58 tons, are all scuttled.

Dutch tanker SS La Flandre, 2,018 tons, bound from New York to Rotterdam, hits a mine laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5. Mohrbutter's score is now 3 ships and 5,496 tons.

English Channel:
His Majesty's Trawler Carlton, 267 tons, his a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6 off Folkestone. Von Schmettow's score is now 23 ships and 17,532 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Italian hospital ship Marechiaro, 412 tons, hits a mine laid by Eberhard Fröhner in UC-12. Fröhner's score is now 2 ships and 2,794 tons.

China:
British coaster SS Ho Kwei, 376 tons, travelling from Shanghai to Chikiang, runs aground runs aground 50 miles off Hainan.

Sailor Steve

02-22-16, 04:44 PM

February 22, 1916:

Britain:
Lieutenant General Sir George Henry Fowke is appointed Adjutant-Generald to the British Expeditionary Force.
Lieutenant General Sir Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready is appointed Adjutant-General to the British Home Forces.

Blockade policy attacked in the House of Lords.

Paris:
Inter-paliamentary Commission opens.

Western Front:
German attack on Verdun is stopped at Brabant, but they take Haumont Wood and the Beaumont Salient.

French Command decides to create a supply road from Bar-Le-Duc to Verdun. It will later become known as "The Sacred Way."

Eastern Front:
General Aliksey Kuropatkin is appointed Commander-In-Chief of the Russian North Front.

Asiatic Theater:
Russians approach Trebizond

English Channel-Celtic Sea:
French schooner SV Amédée II, 349 tons, departs Rouen for Briton Ferry with a load of scrap iron and is not heard from again.

Scotland:
British freighter SS Duckbridge, 1,491 tons, bound from Cardiff to the Orkney Islands with a load of Welsh coal, hits a mine set by SMS Möwe.

Mediterranean Sea:
Japanese warships reported to be in the area.

Atlantic Ocean:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and sinks French freighter SS Maroni, 3,109 tons, carrying a general cargo from Bordeaux to New York, off the Azores Islands. The crew of Möwe offload some of the foodstuffs carried by Maroni, including eggs and cheese, but 1,000 cases of champagne are stored under other cargo and have to be left behind. Möwe now has claim to 17 ships and 67,110 tons.

Jimbuna

02-23-16, 03:18 PM

23rd February 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French evacuate Bois des Caures, Ornes and Samogneux. Germans claim 3,000 prisoners.

French regain part of trenches at Givenchy.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian capture of Erzerum relieves Egyptian front.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Portuguese seize German steamers in Tagus.

General Smuts arrives at Nairobi.

Political etc.

Andrew Bonar Law, British Secretary for the Colonies, announces that Germany has lost 730,000 square miles of territory in Africa.

Lord Robert Cecil appointed Minister of Blockade.

Peace debate in Commons.

Prime Minister Asquith pledges that Serbia will receive extra territory after the war’s end.

Paris War Office officially announces to the public that the Battle of Verdun is underway.

Japan warns Germany that if it continues “unlawful and inhumane” submarine warfare, Japan would not guarantee “generous” treatment of POWs.

Hugo von Pohl, German Admiral and former commander of the High Seas Fleet, dies of liver cancer.
http://i.imgur.com/X2hCyMG.jpg

Ship Losses:

Carmanta (United Kingdom) The brigantine was driven ashore at Aldeburgh, Suffolk and wrecked. Her six crew were rescued by rocket apparatus.
Diadem (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 56 nautical miles (104 km) south west of Porquerolles, Var, France (42°10′N 6°24′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Monsone (Regia Marina) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea of Durrës, Albania with the loss of eight of her crew.
Roubine (France) The brigantine was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) south by east of Porquerolles (42°11′N 6°20′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.
Wilfred Marcus (United Kingdom) The schooner sank at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

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

Sailor Steve

02-23-16, 04:25 PM

February 23, 1916:

North Sea:
British sailing ship SV Carmenta (or Carmanta), bound from Necastle-On-Tyne to Whitstable with a load of coal, is wrecked off Thorpeness.

Mediterranean Sea:
Leading submarine ace Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks Brtish freighter SS Diadem, 3,752 tons, travelling in ballast from Marseille to Port Said; and French schooner SV Roubine, 327 tons, unknown route and cargo. This brings Valentiner's score to 73 ships and 159,168 tons.

Adriatic Sea:
Italian naval trawler Monsone, 249 tons, hits a mine laid by Eberhard Fröhner in UC-12. Fröhner's score is now 3 ships and 3,043 tons.

United States:
American schooner SV Horatio, 388 tons, carrying a load of lumber from Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia to Bridgeport, Connecticut, is abandoned off Cape Ann, Massachussetts.

Jimbuna

02-24-16, 11:34 AM

24th February 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: front extended from Malancourt to Fromezy: part of Bois des Fosses taken by Germans.

Southern Front

Durazzo evacuated by Albanians: Essad Pasha goes to Italy.

Political etc.

German promise of Polish independence announced in Duma.

Charlotte (Norway) The barque ran aground at the mouth of the River Tees, Northumberland, United Kingdom and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.
Daquoise (France) The cargo ship foundered in the English Channel off the coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued.
Denaby (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) south south west of the Île du Planier, Bouches-du-Rhône, France (42°32′N 5°40′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Fastnet (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 55 nautical miles (102 km) south west of the Île du Planier (42°28′N 4°44′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Southford (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzsche) and sank in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk with the loss of two of her thirteen crew. Survivors were rescued by Paul ( United Kingdom and a Royal Navy patrol boat.
Torborg (Sweden) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) of Marseille, Bouches-su-Rhône (42°28′N 4°44′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Trignac (France) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 7 nautical miles (13 km) west of the Outer Dowsing Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of 26 of the 30 people on board. Survivors were rescued by Borgsten ( Norway).[54][55]
Tummel United Kingdom World War I: The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the North Sea 7 nautical miles (13 km) south of the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of nine of her fourteen crew.

Sailor Steve

02-24-16, 11:43 AM

February 24, 1916:

"Many thanks for letter received yesterday.

Risk is still in town. I would far sooner get out East somewhere than any home station or Dunkirk. I understad shortly there will be great alterations in the R.N.A.S. Rumour has it again that we are to give up land machines entirely and stick to seaplanes.

Drove over to Eastchurch yesterday on business, roads in places 18" deep in snow. Coming back I had a priceless skid and finised up in a ditch. No one hurt or even shaken. Returned here by train, and care came on to-day. It was very little damaged, steering arm bent, and one wheel slightly out of truth. It was really rather comic.

Did you hear how Usborn and Ireland were killed? If not, will tell you later. T______ was burnt to death.

Love to all"
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father from Hotel Burlington, Dover, February 24, 1916

North Sea:
British freighter SS Tummel, 531 tons, carrying a load of cola from Grimsby to Tréport, hits a mine laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5. Mohrbutter's score is now 4 ships and 6,027 tons.

French freighter SS Trignac, 2,375 tons, travelling in ballast from Nantes to Newcastle, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6. Von Schmettow's score is now 24 ships and 19,907 tons.

Norwegian barque SV Charlotte Padbury, 642 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Arendal to Middlesbrough, is wrecked off Tees Bay.

Russian barquentine SV Robertsfors, 718 tons, en route from Drammen to West Hartlepool with a load of pit props, is wrecked on Middleton Sands.

Mediterranean Sea:
Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, sinks British freighters SS Denaby, 2,987 tons, bound from Huelva to St. Louis du Rhône with a load of ore; SS Fastnet, 2,227 tons, travelling in ballast from Savona to Cartagena; and Swedish freighter SS Torborg, 1,266 tons, carrying a load of coal from West Hartlepool to Marseille. His score is now 76 ships and 165,648 tons.

United States:
British freighter SS Trecarrell, 3,875 tons, travelling from Huelva to Philadelphia with a load of pyrites, is wrecked on Blackfish Shoal, near Assateague, Virginia.

Japan:
Japenese freighter Seiun Maru runs aground near Ishinomaki.

Jimbuna

02-25-16, 10:32 AM

25th February 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans claim 10,000 prisoners: Germans take heights of Louvemont: French organise line of Champneuville-Ornes and evacuate civil population of Verdun: General Petain arrives.

Fort Douaumont at Verdun is captured by the German 24th Brandenburg Regiment without a single shot. Fort Douaumont was once considered one of the strongest forts in the world.
http://i.imgur.com/l7H6Owl.jpg

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Sakhne and Bideswikh Passes, Kashan and Ispir (Persia).

Political etc.

President Wilson writes to Senator Stone that he will not abrogate rights of American citizens in the matter of travel by sea.

German military governor of Belgium ends a special tax, ten times the usual personal tax, which was imposed on Belgians who left the country.

Prussian Diet adopts resolutions demanding that censorship be limited only to matters necessary for military operations.

Russia negotiates with Japan to buy back Russian warships captured in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War.

Ship Losses:

Saxon Prince (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 620 nautical miles (1,150 km) west of the Fastnet Rock by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were taken as prisoners of war.
Southford (United Kingdom) The coaster struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) east south east of Southwold, Suffolk (52°17′N 1°47′E) with the loss of four of her crew.

Sailor Steve

02-25-16, 11:37 AM

February 25, 1916:

North Sea:
British freighter SS Southford, 963 tons, bound from Tyne to Boulogne with a load of coke, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. This brings Nitzsche's score to 5 ships and 10,491 tons.

British freighter Hans Jost, 954 tons, is damaged by a mine layed by an unknown ship.

Danish freighter SS Bogatyr, 1,360 tons, runs aground off The Wash. Refloated and returned to service.

Atlantic Ocean:
German raider SMS Möwe ends her first raiding voyage with the capture and sinking of British freighter SS Saxon Prince, 3,471 tons, carrying a mixed cargo from Manchester, UK to Norfolk, Virginia. Möwe now has 18 ships and 67,110 tons.

German East Africa:
Monitor HMS Severn opens fire on a newly-discovered German fort near the entrance to Moa bay. The fort is reported as completely destroyed.

Jimbuna

02-26-16, 09:04 AM

26th February 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans capture Fort Douaumont: French save the situation by a counter-attack and repulse Germans at Poivre Hill.

Southern Front

Activity on Italian front: indecisive results.

Italians leave Durazzo.

Serbians, Montenegrins and Albanians withdraw from Albania.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Ashkala (Armenia).

Senussi attacked and defeated by Brigadier-General Lukin near Agagia (Barani, Egypt).

Charge of Dorset Yeomanry; Gaafer Pasha, prisoner.

Naval and Overseas Operations

French transport, "Provence II" torpedoed in Mediterranean (930 lost).
http://i.imgur.com/GdtUBbo.jpg

Political etc.

Taxation of war profits in Germany ordered.

Ship Losses:

Arbonne (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the Thames Estuary 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) off the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-2 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all fourteen crew.
Au Revoir (French Navy) The auxiliary minesweeper was sunk in the English Channel off Le Havre, Seine-Maritime (49°33′N 0°04′E) by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Bogatyr (Denmark) The cargo ship was driven ashore at Chapel Point, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom with the loss of nine of her 23 crew.
Brigit (Sweden) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzsche) and sank in the Thames Estuary 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) off the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°39′N 1°39′E) with the loss of a crew member.
Dido (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of all 26 crew.
HMT Lily Reaich (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Durrës, Albania with the loss of ten of her crew.
Provence II (French Navy) The armed merchant cruiser was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Cerigo, Greece by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 990 of the 1,732 people on board.
Suevier (United Kingdom) The cargo ship caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean and was abandoned by her crew.

Sailor Steve

02-26-16, 02:46 PM

February 26, 1916:

Air War:
German pilot Ernst von Althaus, flying a Fokker E.III, shoots down a BE.2c for victory number 3.

French pilot Jean Navarre, flying a Nieuport 11 with blue, white and red stripes on the fuselage, shoots down a Fokker E.III and a German two-seater for victories number 4 and 5.

North Sea:
Werner Fürbinger, commanding UB-2, sinks British freighter SS Arbonne, 672 tons, travelling in ballast from Le Have to Newcastle-on-Tyne. Fürbinger's score is now 11 ships and 1,354 tons. This is the last sinking for UB-2, which will serve out the war as a training ship. Fürbinger will take command of UB-17.

French freighter SS Hebe, 1,494 tons, travelling in ballast from Caen to Newcastle, hits a mine laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5.
British fishing vessel Khartoum, 303 tons, also hits a mine laid by Mohrbutter, bringing his score to 6 ships and 7,824 tons.

British freighter SS Dido, 4,769 tons, carring a general cargo from Hull to Bombay, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 16 ships and 14,018 tons.

Swedish freighter SS Birgit, 1,117 tons, bound from Stockholm to London with a load of timber, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. Nitzsche's score is now 6 ships and 11,608 tons.

English Channel:
Otto Steinbrinck, in UB-18, sinks French auxiliary minesweeper Au Revoir, 1,058 tons, off Le Havre. Steinbrinck's score is now 28 ships and 14,420 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks French armed merchant cruiser La Provence (aka Provence II), 13,753 tons, carrying troops from Toulon to Saloniki, off Cerigo Island (modern Kythira) at the southern tip of Greece. Von Arnauld's score is now 4 ships and 27,936 tons.

Adriatic Sea:
His Majesty's Drifter Lily Reaich, 88 tons, hits a mine laid by Eberhard Fröhner in UC-12 off Durazzo (modern Durrës, Albania), Fröhner's score to 4 ships and 3,131 tons.

Canada:
Canadian schooner SV Advent, 256 tons, founders off Cape Sambro, Nova Scotia.

United States:
American motor vessel MV Corona, 76 tons, on a fishing trip out of Boston, runs aground at Green Island, Massachussettes.

American schooner SV Metinic, 172 tons, sets sail from New York for Stonington, Maine, and is not heard from again.

excel4004

02-26-16, 02:53 PM

Awesome thread! Thanks for all the infos! :Kaleun_Applaud:

Jimbuna

02-27-16, 08:52 AM

27th February 1916

Western Front

Spring thaw turns the ground of Verdun into mud, which slows the German advance. The frontline stabilizes.

Battle of Verdun: Germans take Talou Hill, and repulse five attacks on Fort Douaumont.

French repulse attack on Eix station.

Southern Front

Austrians occupy Durazzo.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Kermanshah (Persia).

Farafra and Dakhla Oases occupied by Arabs.

Naval and Overseas Operations

P. & O. liner "Maloja" mined off Dover (155 lost).

Political etc.

German government announces new taxes on war profits made by individuals and corporations.

Ship Losses:

Empress of Fort William (Canada) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettowand) and sank in the English Channel 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) south of Dover, Kent (51°05′00″N 1°19′30″E). Her crew survived.
Giava (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea south west of Cape Matapan, Greece by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Holar (Denmark) The cargo ship was driven ashore 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) north of Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued.
Ruth (Sweden) The schooner was driven ashore at Spittal, Northumberland, United Kingdom and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.
Maloja (United Kingdom) The ocean liner struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the English Channel 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) south west of Dover (51°05′N 1°19′E) with the loss of 155 lives.
Margaret Haskell (United States) The schooner was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean. She was reported to be floating in a capsized condition off Cat Island, Bahamas on 6 May.
Mecklenburgh (Netherlands) The cargo liner struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haagand) and sank in the North Sea off the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom). All on board were rescued by Westerdijk ( Netherlands and two other vessels.

http://i.imgur.com/88kpUY4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tllPdG2.jpg

Sailor Steve

02-27-16, 11:37 AM

February 27, 1916:

Great Britain:
Flight-Lieutenant Harold Rosher, author of the letters quoted here over the past year, is killed in a flying accident at the Dover Aeroplane Station.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2384868&postcount=123

North Sea:
Danish freighter SS Harriet, 1,272 tons, bound from Oran to Leith with a cargo of esparto, hits a mine laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5. Mohrbutter's score is now 7 ships and 9,196 tons.

Dutch liner SS Mecklenburg, 2,885 tons, carrying passengers from Tilbury to Vlissingen, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 8 ships and 17,903 tons. (Back in July 1915, the only German POW to escape from Britain during the war, Kptl Gunther Pluschow crossed the Channel in SS Mecklenburg.)

Russian freighter SS Petschenga, 1,647 tons, heading from Hartlepool to Rouen with a load of coal, is sunk by a mine laid by an unknown ship.

Norwegian coaster SS Fotlandsvaag, 23 tons, travelling in ballast from Bergen to Bæøvågen in ballast, is wrecked off Ganglosefluen.

English Channel:
Canadian Freighter SS Empress of Fort William, 2,181 tons, carrying a load of coal from South Shields to Dunkirk, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6. British freighter SS Majola, 12,431 tons, carrying passengers from London to Bombay, also hits a mine laid by von Schmettow, bringing his score to 26 ships and 34,519 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks Italian Freighter SS Glava, 2,755 tons, travelling from Syracuse to Alexandria. His score is now 5 ships and 30,691 tons.

German East Africa:
Aboard monitor HMS Mersey medals are awarded for the Konigsberg action. Her captain recieves the Distinguished Service Order and several crewmembers recieve the Distinguished Service Medal.

Indian Ocean:
British freighter SS Bathampton, 3,090 tons, carrying a load of salt from Torrevieja to Calcutta, is wrecked off Hambantota, Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka).

United States:
Old Great Lakes Ship SS Crescent, 591 tons, is operating off the Atlantic coast when she founders of Cape Hatteras.

American schooner SV Helen G. King, 129 tons, is wrecked in the Cape Cod Canal.

Cuba:
Schooner Wandrian, 311 tons, travelling in Ballast from Havana to Mobile, Alabama, is wrecked off Cojimar, near Havana.

Jimbuna

02-28-16, 08:11 AM

28th February 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German attacks west of Douaumont repulsed.

Germans carry Navarin Farm (Champagne).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Barani (western Egypt) occupied.

Political etc.

French Premier Briand: “We have regained the advantage. Installed upon formidable positions our heroic soldiers remained masters…”

German Crown Prince states there was still a high chance of “considerable moral and material victory” for Germany at Verdun.

Investigator from the Rockefeller Institute states 3 million of Belgium’s 7 million inhabitants are destitute and in danger of starvation.

Food prices in Paris has increased by 75% the last 8 months, or about 250% more than before the war.

Ship Losses:

Ander (Norway) The barque was driven ashore at Blyth, Northumberland, United Kingdom and was wrecked with the loss of four of her crew.
HMT Angelus (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Dover, Kent (51°03′50″N 1°18′20″E) with the loss of two of her crew.
Masunda (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 106 nautical miles (196 km) south west by south of Cape Matapan, Greece (34°54′N 21°20′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Thornaby (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 3 (Erwin Waßnerand) sank in the North Sea off the Shipwash Lightship ( United Kingdom) (52°03′30″N 1°43′00″E) with the loss of nineteen of her crew.
HMT Weigelia (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Dover (51°08′30″N 1°27′30″E) with the loss of a crew member.

Sailor Steve

02-28-16, 10:49 AM

February 28, 1916:

North Sea:
British freighter SS Thornaby, 1,782 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Marbella to West Hartlepool, hits a mine laid by Erwin Waßner in UC-3. Waßner's score is now 15 ships and 19,307 tons.

Norwegian barque SV Auder, 491 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Porsgrund to West Hartlepool, runs aground of Blyth.

Kattegat:
Swedish freighter SS Knippla, 521 tons, carrying 630 tons of raw sugar from Trelleborg to Gothenburg, hits a mine south of Falsterbo.

English Channel:
His Majesty's Trawler Angelus, 304 tons, and HMT Weigelia, 262 tons, hit mines laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-3, bringing von Schmettow's score to 27 ships and 35,127 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, commanding U-35, sinks British freighter SS Masunda, 4,952 tons, bound from Bangkok to London with a load of rice. His score is now 6 ships and 35,643 tons.

British freighter SS Rosslyn, 3,679 tons, has been anchored off the South Mole, outside Gibraltar Harbour for a week awaiting her next cargo. On Monday, February 28th, gale-force winds strike, forcing Rosslyn to drag her anchor and smash into the breakwater. Two tugboats try to drag Rosslyn off the Mole, but are forced to give up. They take the crew off and the ship sinks.

German East Africa:
It is now the turn of HMS Severn to receive a visit from Rear Admiral Edward Charlton, who awards the Distinguished Service Medal to five seamen for their part in the Königsberg action.

Jimbuna

02-29-16, 02:22 PM

29th February 1916

Naval and Overseas Operations

German raider, "Grief", and British auxiliary cruiser "Alcantara" sink each other in North Sea.
German Commerce Raider SMS Greif is sunk by a Royal Navy squadron, with 187 killed and 125 captured.
Armed merchant cruiser HMS Alcantara is also sunk in the engagement, with 68 lives lost.
http://i.imgur.com/AqjEmpd.jpg

Blockade of Cameroons raised.

Political etc.

Germany formally announces to U.S.A. that she will not postpone her "unlimited" submarine campaign, which is to begin at midnight of 29 February.

German Note to Portugal.

Government recognises National Volunteer Force for Home Defence.

U.S. War Department sends 1,050 rifles and 40,000 rounds to Harvard for use by the newly formed regiment of undergraduates.

Italian government interns and seizes 34 German ships that were in Italian waters.

Casualty lists show that the British suffered 18,586 men killed, wounded, or captured in February.

Ship Losses:

HMS Alcantara (Royal Navy) The auxiliary cruiser was shelled and sunk in the North Sea by SMS Greif ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Alexander Wentzel (Russia) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off the Cap de Fer, Algeria (37°21′N 7°34′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMT Chester II (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Eliza S. (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea west of Bizerta, Tunisia (37°24′N 7°42′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
SMS Greif (Kaiserliche Marine) The auxiliary cruiser was shelled and sunk in the North Sea by HMS Alcantara, HMS Comus and HMS Munster (all Royal Navy) with the loss of 97 of her 310 crew.
Lakmé (France) The cargo ship sank in the Bay of Biscay south west of the Île d'Yeu, Vendée with the loss of six of her crew.
Mercia (Sweden) The ship ran aground at Pennard, Glamorgan, United Kingdom. She subsequently broke in two. Mercia was on a voyage from Bilbao, Spain to Briton Ferry, Glamorgan.
HMS Primula (Royal Navy) The Arabis-class sloop was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Cerigo, Greece (34°39′N 22°17′E) by SM U-35 ( 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 - 61 ships of 134,000 tons gross. (Lloyd's War Losses).

Sailor Steve

02-29-16, 02:32 PM

February 29, 1916:

Air War:
Idflieg bi-monthly report on fighters at the front.

Fokker:
E.I - 12
E.II - 20
E.III - 67
E.IV - 6

Pfalz:
E.I - 26
E.II - 11

1035 Australian RFC observer Clive Alexander Brewster-Joske, riding with pilot R.A. Saunders in Morane 'LA' 5119, and Frederick Powell in his FE.8 7457, shoot down an Aviatik two-seater. It is victory number 1 for Brewster-Joske and number 5 for Powell.

Silesian-born German pilot Kurt Haber, flying a two-seater with a Lt. Kühl as observer, shoots down a Voisin two-seater for victory number 1.

British crew of 2nd Lts E.W. Leggatt and T.S. Howe, in BE.2c 1737, win a duel with an Albatros C-Type. Records are unclear but this is probably their only victory.

British Sub-Lt H.R. Simms, in Nieuport 11 3891, brings down an unnamed "Enemy Aircraft".

North Sea:
British armed merchant cruiser HMS Alcantara, 15,831, a former passenger liner, on her way to rendezous with fellow AMC HMS Andes near the Shetland Islands when she encounters German merchant raider SMS Greif, 9,900 tons, herself a converted freighter, flying the Norwegian flag and bearing the name Rena. Captain Wardle orders the unknown ship to heave to. Wardle sends a boarding party in a boat to investigate. When the boat is near Greif changes flags and opens fire, hitting the boat. She then fires on Alcantara, damaging her stearing gear. Alcantara returns fire. Greif hits Alcantara with a torpedo. Within fifteen minutes both ships are on fire and sinking. Captain Wardle orders Abandon Ship and at 1100 Alcantara goes down. Light cruiser HMS Comus and destroyer HMS Munster find SMS Greif stationary and abandoned, and sink the crippled raider. Estimates of British losses vary between 69 and 72, with 190 to 230 Germans lost.

This will lead to Germany suspending surface raiding and recommitting to submarine attacks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_29_February_1916

British trawler Baltic, 154 tons, is forced ashore at Bempton in a storm. The crew are rescued by the local lifeboat company.

His Majesty's Trawler Chester is lost in the Firth of Forth following a collision.

English Channel:
British freighter SS Den Of Ogil, 5,689 tons, bound from New York to London with a general cargo, is damaged by a mine laid by Friedrich Moecke in UC-4.

British freighter SS Malvina, 1,244 tons, carrying a general cargo from London to Leith, is damaged by a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10.

Bay of Biscay:
French freighter SS Lakmé, 3,117 tons, carrying a load of bitumen from La Rochelle to Dunkirk, hits a mine near Ile d'Yeu.

Mediterranean Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, torpedoes British sloop HMS Primula near Cerigo Island (modern Kythira). He ends his first war patrol with 7 ships and 36,893 tons.

Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks Russian freighter SS Alexander Wentzel, 2,832 tons, bound from La Goulette to West Hartlepool with a load of iron ore; and Italian sailing ship SV Elisa S, 209 tons, route and cargo unlisted. Valentiner's score is now 78 ships and 168,689 tons.

German East Africa:
Based on information obtained from a captured native, monitor HMS Severn anchors off Vanga and opens fire with her 6" and 4.7" guns on a hidden German camp. A week later a party of scouts will report that Severn's fire was excellent, the camp being destroyed and the inhabitants having fled in haste.

Atlantic Ocean:
Greek freighter SS Georgios, 3,260 tons, departs New York with a load of wheat for Piraeus and is not heard from again.

Portuguese barque SV Pero d'Alemquer, 1,528 tons, departs New York with a load of petroleum for Lisboa and is not heard from again.

Jimbuna

03-01-16, 02:45 PM

1st March 1916

Western Front

Artillery activity round Ypres.

German ground attacks at Verdun have subsided, but artillery exchanges between the two sides continue.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian advance west of Kermanshah (Persia).

Aviation

Aeroplane raid on Broadstairs and Margate, one killed.
http://i.imgur.com/q8iXAw4.jpg

Naval and Overseas Operations

"Unlimited" submarine campaign begins.

White Star Lines announces it will not carry passengers until April 12th due to an increase of freight necessary for the war effort.

Political etc.

Sir Edward Grey denies German allegations that all British merchantmen are armed and criticizes German submarine warfare.

Order in Council on Government of Ireland Act (1914).

Indian budget presented to Supreme Legislature.

Mr. Bonar Law addresses the Associated Chambers of Commerce.

Prohibition has led the Russian government to lose $346 million the past year due to the loss of alcohol tax revenue.

King Haakon of Norway breaks his wrist while skiing today. It is expected the fracture will heal in three weeks.

Ship Losses:

Harold (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 18 nautical miles (33 km) east of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Kilbride (United Kingdom) The collier was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea (30 nautical miles (56 km) east of Galeta Island, Tunisia (37°40′N 9°31′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Manx Queen (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was driven ashore and wrecked at Filey, Yorkshire.
Reliance (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) east by south of Lowestoft by SM UB-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Trevose (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 18 nautical miles (33 km) east by north of Lowestoft by SM UB-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Try On (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 26 nautical miles (48 km) east by south of Lowestoft by SM UB-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Sailor Steve

03-01-16, 03:45 PM

March 1, 1916:

February/March: Fokker begins tests on second versions of M 17 (w/n 499)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/D.II%20Second%20Prototype%20M17%201_zpspt4x8r7w.jp g (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/D.II%20Second%20Prototype%20M17%201_zpspt4x8r7w.jp g.html)

and M 18 (w/n 501).
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/M.18%20Second%20Prototype_zpskk5wmu3f.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/M.18%20Second%20Prototype_zpskk5wmu3f.jpg.html)

Air War:
RFC No. 27 Squadron flies the first Martinsyde G.100s to France.

French pilot André Julien Chainat, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 1.

German pilot Kurt Haber and observer Lt Kühl shoot down another two-seater for victory number 2.

North Sea:
Karl Neumann, in UB-13, hits a British fishing fleet, sinking fishing smacks Harold, 56 tons, Reliance, 54 tons, Trevose, 46 tons, and Try On, 46 tons. Neumann's score is now 5 vessels and 229 tons.

Swedish barque SV Hyram, 514 tons, bound from Drammen to Blyth with a load of pit props, is wrecked three miles west of Dunbar.

Norwegian freighter SS Lyderhorn, 232 tons, carrying a general cargo from Bergen to Ålvik, sinks following a collision with SS Leander off Lerøyosen, Norway.

Mediterranean Sea:
Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, captures and then uses his deck gun to sink British freighter SS Kilbride, 3,712 tons, carrying a load of coal from Barry to Malta. His score is now 79 ships and 172,401 tons.

United States:
American schooner Ella L. Davenport, 470 tons, carrying a load of coal from Norfolk, Virginia to Providence, Rhode Island, is abandoned in the North Atlantic.

Jimbuna

03-02-16, 07:09 AM

2nd March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans repulsed at Douaumont.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian army advances to within 7 miles of Bitlis in eastern Turkey and captures four artillery guns abandoned by the Ottomans.

Political etc.

Death of "Carmen Sylva", Dowager Queen of Romania.

In the House of Lords, the Earl of Derby urges the government to act quickly and strongly to end unnecessary exemptions for military service.

Ship Losses:

Bathampton (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was wrecked at Hambantota, Ceylon. Her crew were rescued.

Sailor Steve

03-02-16, 10:32 AM

March 2, 1916:

Air War:
1130 French ace Jean Navarre, in a Nieuport 11, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 6.

German ace Max Immelmann, flying a Fokker E.IV, shoots down Morane 'BB' 5137 for kill number 9. Observer Lt Herbert Frederick Birchwood is killed during the fight. Pilot Lt Charles Walter Palmer suffers a serious wound to his foot, which has to be amputated. Gangrene sets in and Palmer dies on March 29th.

North Sea:
Russian collier SS Meri, 1,124 tons, flying the Latvian flag and carrying a load of coal under sealed orders, is wrecked off Flamborough Head.

Portugal:
Russian sailing ship SV Elgar, 1,270 tons, carrying a load of coal from Clyde to Lisbon, is wrecked outside Lisbon harbor.

Atlantic Ocean:
American five-masted schooner SV Margaret Haskell, 2,214 tons, travelling from Pensacola to Genoa with a load of timber and resin, is abandoned mid-ocean.

Jimbuna

03-03-16, 10:31 AM

3rd March 1916

Western Front

Near Verdun, German troops capture the village of Douaumont near the fort. Around a 1000 French soldiers and several artillery are captured.

British regain "International Trench" (Flanders).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British troops recapture towns in Western Egypt. 33,000 rounds of ammo, a machine gun, 50 camels, & “large quantity” of dates are captured.

Naval

HMS Viking falsely reported to be totally destroyed. She was the only destroyer ever to have six funnels.
http://i.imgur.com/xBepb48.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/e4eUlvN.png

Light cruiser HMS "Cambrian" is launched at Pembroke Dock.
http://i.imgur.com/kghkWwa.jpg

Political etc.

Britain bans the importation of canned, bottled, dried & preserved fruits, except currants, unless shipped from British dependencies.

Portugal seizes four German ships at Madeira.

A deputy in the parliament of Baden, Germany criticizes German air raids against “peaceful citizens” in Britain and France.

U.S. Senate tables resolution warning Americans against sailing in belligerent ships.

Italian Chamber discusses German intrigue in Italy.

Ship Losses:

HMT Boy Harold (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Brindisi, Italy with the loss of seven of her crew.
Lyderhorn (Norway) The cargo ship collided with Leander ( Norway) in the North Sea west of Bergen, Hordaland and sank.

Sailor Steve

03-03-16, 10:34 AM

March 3, 1916:

Adriatic Sea:
His Majesty's Drifter Boy Harold, 74 tons, hits a mine laid by Eberhard Fröhner in UC-12 off Brindisi, Italy. Fröhner's score is now 4 ships and 3,205 tons.

United States:
Steamship SS Swatara is towing three schooner-barges from Boston, Massachussetts to Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when two of them break loose in heavy seas. SV Ashland, 838 tons, and SV Kohinoor, 825 tons, were both wrecked off Scituate, Massachussettes. Ashland's captain and four crew were rescued by members of the Scituate Coast Guard Station. The captain and four crew of Kohinoor were lost. The master of the Swatara was tried for negligence and had his license suspended for six months.

The wrecks were discovered by a local diver in 2013.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/20130804/NEWS/308049844

Jimbuna

03-04-16, 10:35 AM

4th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Second phase begins: Germans repulsed at Poivre Hill.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians land at Atina (east of Trebizond).

Naval and Overseas Operations

"Moewe" reaches Germany.

Political etc.

French government publicly reveals that General Pétain is the man leading the defense of Verdun.

Giuseppe Marcora, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, praises French soldiers for their heroic defense at the Battle of Verdun.

Portugal seizes German shipping at Lourenco Marques.

Attempted assassination of Enver Pasha.

1,800 Irishmen meet in New York City, demanding the freeing of Ireland and opposing any U.S. conflict with Germany.

Minneapolis Chief of Police denies at a speech that the city is experiencing a crime wave. Afterwards, he finds that his car was broken into.

50 are killed & 150 injured due to an explosion caused by a soldier dropping a case of grenades in a fort near St.-Denis, a suburb of Paris.

Ship Losses:

HMT Flicker (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off Dover, Kent with the loss of fourteen of her crew. by SM UC-5 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Teutonian (United Kingdom) The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 36 nautical miles (67 km) south west by west of the Fastnet Rock (50°55′N 10°20′W) by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Franz Marc, German expressionist painter and printmaker, is killed in action at Verdun. His “Blue Horse I”
http://i.imgur.com/pnRDUfU.jpg

Sailor Steve

03-04-16, 11:31 AM

March 4, 1916:

Celtic Sea:
Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim, commanding U-32, sinks British tanker SS Teutonian, 4,824 tons, bound from Sabine Pass, Texas, USA for Avonmouth, Bristol, with a load of refined oil. Von Spiegel's score is now 3 ships and 8,186 tons.

English Channel:
His Majesty's Trawler Flicker, 192 tons, hits a mine laid by Matthias Graf von Schmettow in UC-6 off Dover, bringing von Schmettow's score to 28 ships and 35,319 tons.

North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Egero, 1,373 tons, carrying coal from South Shields to Rouen, is lost after a collision with an unknown ship.

Skagerrak:
Norwegian barque SV Vanadis, 521 tons, travelling from Fowey, Wales to Drammen, Norway with a load of china clay, is abandoned.

German East Africa:
Monitor HMS Severn spots a party of Askaris in Muadrini Bay and fires nine 3pdr rounds at the group, dispersing them.

Canada:
Canadian schooner SV Reform, 58 tons, on a trip out of Ship Harbour, Nova Scotia, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, runs aground off Halifax Harbour.

United States:
American schooner SV Juno, 85 tons, on a fishing trip out of Gloucester, Massachussetts, runs aground at Cranberry Island, Maine.

Caribbean Sea:
American schooner SV William B. Herrick, 475 tons, carrying a load of lumber from Pensacola, Florida to Puerto Rico, is abandoned.

Jimbuna

03-05-16, 10:15 AM

5th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans repulsed east of Vacherauville.

German forces shell bridges and railway stations of Verdun in order to disrupt communications and supplies.

Duc de Rohan at Verdun: “The deep snow before and about Douaumont no longer is white. It is red from the massacre…”

Aviation

Zeppelin raid on east and north-east counties. (18 killed, 52 injured.)
http://i.imgur.com/h48eUPo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1600jUC.jpg

Political etc.

Dr. Karl Liebknecht, Socialist leader in the Prussian Diet, criticizes Berlin police’s conduct towards peace demonstrations.

Ship Losses:

Príncipe de Asturias (Spain) The ocean liner ran aground off Ilhabela, São Paulo, Brazil and sank with the loss of 445 of the 588 people on board.
http://i.imgur.com/LLE0cgz.jpg
Rothesay (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 30 nautical miles (56 km) off the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (49°31′N 7°22′W) by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

http://i.imgur.com/0ZJjR8e.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wxV6fn9.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/67Fiqoe.jpg

Sailor Steve

03-05-16, 10:40 AM

March 5, 1916:

Scotland:
His Majesty's Trawler Fly II, 240 tons, is lost after a collision off the Butt of Lewis.

Celtic Sea:
Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim, commanding U-32, captures British freighter SS Rothesay, 2,007 tons, bound from Seville to Troon with a load of iron ore, then sinks her with a torpedo, off the Isles of Scilly. Von Spiegel's score is now 4 ships and 10,193 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
French freighter SS Berthe, 2,468 tons, carrying a load of patent fuel from Brest to Bizerta, put in at Gibraltar. After her departure on March 5th she was no seen again.

Atlantic Ocean:
American schooner SV Cora A., 327 tons, carrying a load of coal from New York to Bermuda, is abandoned.

Brazil:
Spanish liner SS Príncipe de Asturias, 8,371 tons, while approaching Santos in a fog, runs aground at São Sebastião. Of the 588 crew and passengers aboard, at least 445 are lost.

Jimbuna

03-06-16, 09:08 AM

6th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans capture Forges.

German launches a heavy artillery bombardment against French troops at Verdun, centered on the hills of Mort Homme (Dead Man).

German troops also launch attacks at Champagne and Argonne, armed with flamethrowers, and make slight gains.

Australian siege brigade at Verdun.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

El Hassana (Sinai) bombed.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German fleet reported to be cruising in North Sea.

Following a bombardment by the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Russian troops land at Atina (Pazar) in Turkey.

Chinese rebels defeated in Szechuan.

Political etc.

British government states it will blacklist neutral ships that provide coal to German coaling stations or ships.

Women's National Land Service Corps inaugurated.

Ship Losses:

Cora A. (United States) The schooner was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean (approximately 36°N 57°W).
Springflower (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 18 nautical miles (33 km) east of Lowestoft, Suffolk by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine UB 16 (Hans Valentiner).
Trois Frères (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 50 nautical miles (93 km) west north west of Penmarc'h, Finistère by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Young Harry (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 35 nautical miles (65 km) east of Lowestoft by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine UB 16 (Hans Valentiner).

Sailor Steve

03-06-16, 09:51 AM

March 6, 1916:

North Sea:
Hans Valentiner, commanding UB-16, stops and scuttles British fishing smacks Springflower, 59 tons, and Young Harry, 43 tons, east of Lowestoft, bringing his score to 15 vessels and 10,159 tons.

Bay of Biscay:
Having moved south, Edgar von Spiegle von und zu Peckelsheim, in U-32, sinks French schooner SV Trois Freres, 107 tons, bound from Blaye to Swansea, off Penmarch, France.

French fishing boat Marie Desirée, 29 tons, hits a mine off Les Sables d'Olonne.

Canada:
Canadian schooner SV Lauretta Francis, 95 tons, runs aground off Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia.

United States:
Danish barque SV Claudia, carrying a load of pitch pine from Jacksonville to Fleetwood, is abandoned in the Atlantic.

Jimbuna

03-07-16, 02:50 PM

7th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans capture Hills 360 and 265, and Fresnes (south-east of Verdun).

Eastern Front

German artillery active south-west of Dahlen Island (River Dvina).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian troops, supported by the Black Sea Fleet, capture the city of Rize, thirty miles from Trebizond.

Naval and Overseas Operations

General Smuts advances on Kilimanjaro (German East Africa).

Political etc.

Signs in London urge thriftiness: “Don’t be ashamed to wear old clothes in wartime! Don’t keep more servants than absolutely necessary!”

Mr. Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia, arrives in England.

President Wilson secures victory in Congress on submarine question. U.S. House votes down a resolution that would have warned Americans off armed belligerent ships.

Mr. Balfour introduces Naval Estimates. First Lord of the Admiralty Balfour declares that the Royal Navy has increased its tonnage by 1 million since the beginning of the war.

In Munich German automobile company BMW (Die Bayerischen Motoren Werke) is founded.

Ship Losses:

HMS E5 (Royal Navy) The E-class submarine struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Juist, Lower Saxony, Germany.
HMS Coquette (Royal Navy) The D-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the North Sea (51°45′N 1°30′E) with the loss of 22 of her crew.
HM Torpedo Boat 11 (Royal Navy) The torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea (51°48′N 1°34′E with the loss of 23 of her crew.
Ville de Havre (France) The four-masted barque was sunk in the Bay of Biscay off Brest, Finistère by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

Sailor Steve

03-07-16, 03:10 PM

March 7, 1916:

Celtic Sea:
Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Pechelsheim, commanding U-32, sinks French barque SV Ville Du Havre, 3,109 tons, travellng in ballast from Ipswich to Buenos Aires. Von Spiegel finishes his second war patrol with 6 ships and 13,409 tons.

North Sea:
British destroyer HMS Coquette, 335 tons, and Torpedo Boat HM TB.11 (ex-Mayfly), 263 tons, both hit mines laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10 while patrolling Black Deep, the northernmost deep-draft entrance to the Thames Estuary. Nitzsche's score is now 8 ships and 12,206 tons.

British submarine HMS E5 goes missing and is not heard from again. A submarine was sighted and attacked at 0810 that morning off Juist Island, near the mouth of the Ems River, by German battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz and her escorting destroyers. Later in the day light cruiser SMS Regensburg also sights a submarine near a minefield. Niether sighting is conclusive, and E5's fate remains uncertain.

Norwegian Sea:
Italian freighter SS Evelyn, 1,232 tons. carrying a load of pig iron and timber from Narvik to Cherbourg, springs a leak and sinks 60 miles south of the Faroe Islands.

United States:
American schooner SV Edward Stewart, 353 tons, bound from New York to St. John, New Brunswick with a load of coal, runs aground at Little Cranberry Island, Maine.

Jimbuna

03-08-16, 02:57 PM

8th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French regain ground in Corbeaux wood, north-east of Mort Homme.

At Verdun, Lieutenant-Colonel Macker leads a bayonet charge against German positions and retakes Bois des Corbeaux.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Failure of attack on Dujailah Redoubt and Es-Sinn.

Russians occupy Sennah (Persia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

General Aylmer launches the Battle of Dujaila to relieve the besieged British forces at Kut, but fails and suffers 3500 casualties.

Second White Paper on the "Baralong" case.

Russian torpedo boats raid Turkish towns between Trebizond and the recently captured city of Rize.

Political etc.

U.S. Bureau of Navigation releases a report stating 400,000 people crossed the Atlantic Ocean last year despite the threat of U-boats.

German Mark to the U.S. Dollar drops to a record low. 1 Mark is worth 18 cents, compared to a prewar value of 24 cents.

Russian government states there are only 16 Armenians left in Erzerum, Turkey, compared to a prewar population of 20,000.

Ship Losses:

HMT Enterprise II (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea off Brindisi, Italy with the loss of eight of her crew.
Harmatris (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel off Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her crew.

Sailor Steve

03-08-16, 03:15 PM

March 8, 1916:

1916/3/8: Idflieg places order for 12 Halberstadt D.Is. These will be Germany's first biplane fighters.

Air War:
German Pilot Hans Berr, flying a Fokker E.II, shoots down a Nieuport for victory number 1. It is only speculation, but according to the Osprey book Nieuport 11 Bébé vs Fokker Eindekker - Western Front 1916 this coincides with the wounding of Pierre Navarre, Jean Navarre's twin brother.

French pilot Pierre Henri Edmond Dufaur de Gavardie, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 1.

French Pilot Lucien Joseph Jailler, in a Nieuport 10 or 11, shoots down a DFW two-seater for victory number 1.

English Channel:
Otto Steinbrinck, commanding UB-18, torpedoes British freighter SS Harmatris, 6,387 tons, bound from St. John, New Brunswick for Boulogne with a load of oats and hay. Steinbrinck's score is now 29 ships and 20,807 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
His Majesty's Drifter Enterprise II, 84 tons, hits a mine laid off Brindisi by Eberhard Fröhner in UC-12, bringing Fröhner'score to 5 ships and 3,289 tons.

Italian coaster SS Toscana, 177 tons, carrying a load of oil from Oneglia to Genoa, is wrecked off Pegli.

Jimbuna

03-09-16, 08:07 AM

9th March 1916

Western Front

At Verdun, German heavy artillery, armed with gas shells, bombard Fort Vaux. However, the following German assault is repelled.

Eastern Front

German attacks repulsed on Dvina and at Cebrow (Galicia).

Southern Front

Italian general Cadorna launches the 5th Battle of Isonzo with the aim of capturing Gorizia from Austria-Hungary.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks driven beyond River Kalopotamus (east of Trebizond).

Germans reported to be leaving Ispahan (Persia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

British occupy Taveta (German East Africa).

Russian torpedo boat sunk by submarine in Black Sea.

Political etc.

German Empire declares war on the Portuguese Republic after Portugal interned German and Austro-Hungarian ships.

Ship Losses:

Ellen (Sweden) The schooner ran aground on the Ross Sands, Northumberland, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued by the Lindisfarne Lifeboat.
HMS Fauvette (Royal Navy) The armed boarding steamer struck two mines and sank in the North Sea off North Foreland, Kent with the loss of fourteen of her crew. The wreck was dispersed post-war.
http://i.imgur.com/Zy0tnZv.jpg
Louisiane (France) The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) off Cap de la Hève, Seine-Maritime by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
http://i.imgur.com/4P8ctaJ.jpg
Silius (Norway) The barque was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel off Le Havre, Seine-Maritime by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.

Sailor Steve

03-09-16, 10:19 AM

March 9, 1916:

English Channel:
Otto Steinbrinck, commanding UB-18, torpedoes French passenger/cargo ship Louisiane, 5,109 tons, bound from New Orleans and Newport News for Le Havre with a load of cotton; and Silius, 1,559 tons, carrying a load of barley from New York to Le Havre. His score is now 31 ships and 27,475 tons.

North Sea:
British armed boarding steamer Fauvette, 2,644 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 9 ships and 20,547 tons.

Black Sea:
Russian destroyer Lieutenant Pushkin, 427 tons, is sunk by a mine near the port of Varna, Bulgaria.

Mediterranean Sea:
Italian barque SV Fiora, 876 tons, en route from Pensacola to Genoa with a load of pitch pine, is wrecked on the east coast of Cape Figalo, Algeria.

Jimbuna

03-10-16, 09:34 AM

10th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans re-occupy part of Corbeaux Wood and attack Bois-des-Buttes.

Eastern Front

German attacks repulsed east of Kosloff.

Political etc.

Prime Minister Asquith states the total number of non-combatant dead in Great Britain totals 3,153.

German casualty lists reveal that the total dead, wounded, and captured soldiers is now at 2,667,372 men.

Allied powers reject a U.S. proposal that would have disarmed civilian ships so they would not be targets of submarines.

French government introduces a bill which reduces age limits of commanders, in order to replace them with younger officers.

President Wilson orders the United States Army to cross into Mexico to get warlord Pancho Villa “dead or alive.”

Ship Losses:

Lieutenant Pustshin (Imperial Russian Navy) The torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the Black Sea south of Varna, Bulgaria. Fifteen crew were rescued.

Sailor Steve

03-10-16, 09:48 AM

March 10, 1916:

Portugal:
Greek freighter SS Maria, 3,120 tons, travelling in ballast from Marseille to Barry, is wrecked near Sesimbra.

Jimbuna

03-11-16, 08:55 AM

11th March 1916

Western Front

Germans penetrate French positions near Reims. German forces capture 1,400 yards (1280m) of the frontline and push in 2/3rds of a mile.

Their first attack on Fort Vaux (Verdun) repulsed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Kerind (Persia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

British success at Kilimanjaro (Reata Nek).

Political etc.

French casualties are now around 2.5 million, which includes dead, wounded, and captured.

Britain blacklists 125 ships belonging to neutral nations on charges that they represent German capital or have aided Germany.

Neutrality of Scandinavian States reaffirmed at Copenhagen.

German memorandum to U.S.A. on submarine warfare.

President Carranza of Mexico protests the planned U.S. invasion, but is largely powerless to prevent it.

Ship Losses:

Gertrude (United Kingdom) The Thames barge foundered in the River Medway at Rochester, Kent with the loss of a crew member.

Zaandijk (Netherlands) The steamer was enroute from Philadelphia - Rotterdam with carrying a general cargo when it was attacked and damaged by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzsche).

Sailor Steve

03-11-16, 11:20 AM

March 11, 1916:

Celtic Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Zaandijk, 4,189 tons, bound from Philadelphia to Rotterdam with a general cargo, is damaged by a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. Zaandijk will be repaired and returned to service.

Atlantic Ocean:
British freighter SS Horatio, 3,212 tons, catches fire and sinks in Leith Harbour, South Georgia Island, roughly nine hundred miles east of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Jimbuna

03-12-16, 11:14 AM

12th March 1916

Western Front

There is no major infantry action at Verdun today, but heavy artillery exchanges continue to take place.

Southern Front

Italian artillery active on Middle Isonzo.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

General Gorringe succeeds General Aylmer.
http://i.imgur.com/Lsl7h4a.jpg

Naval

USS Nevada, lead ship of the Nevada-class battleship, is commissioned into service.
http://i.imgur.com/kgxgvAX.jpg

Aviation

French ace Georges Guynemer makes his eighth kill today, making his exploits known in France and abroad.

Political etc.

Berlin announces potatoes will be rationed starting on March 20th, alongside bread the butter.

Mexican President Carranza warns the United States that their pursuit of warlord Pancho Villa could result in war between the two countries.

Ship Losses:

HMY Mekong (Royal Navy) The naval yacht was lost on this date.
Seyyar (Ottoman Empire) The banana boat was shelled and sunk in the Black Sea off Karasu by Russian warships.

http://i.imgur.com/XKjMA14.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Dq2Npih.jpg

Sailor Steve

03-12-16, 11:59 AM

March 12, 1916:

Air War:
0900 French pilot Noel Hugues Ann Louis de Rochfort and observer Jean Jacques Perrin, flying Nieuport 10 no. 640, shoot down an LVG two-seater. It is the first victory for both.

1130 German Ace Oswald Boelcke, in a Fokker E.III, brings down a Farman two-seater for kill number 10.

French ace Georges Guynemer, flying a Niuport 10, downs an LVG two-seater for victory number 8.

German pilot Otto Parschau, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 3.

German pilot Ernst Udet makes his first attack against the enemy. When he fires on a French Caudron two-seater, the observer gets lucky, but so does Udet. A bullet tears his goggles off, but somehow doesn't even graze him, leaving his face gouged by glass splinters but otherwise unharmed.

North Sea:
His Majesty's Yacht Mekong, 899 tons, is wrecked near Scarborough.

Black Sea:
Turkish freighter SS Seyyar, 2,875 tons, is sunk by gunfire off Karasu.

Jimbuna

03-13-16, 08:43 AM

13th March 1916

Western Front

German artillery increases its bombardment intensity west of the Meuse on Mort-Homme in preparation for an infantry attack.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks defeated near River Kalopotamus.

Aviation

Six French airplanes raid German positions north of Verdun, dropping 130 bombs.

Naval and Overseas Operations

H.M.S. "Fauvette" mined off east coast.

British occupy Moshi (German East Africa).

Ottoman War Office reports the British lost 5000 men in their attempt to relieve besieged British troops at Kut.

Political etc.

Portugal states it entered the war on the side of the Allies in fulfillment of the Anglo-Portuguese Treat of 1373.

Sailor Steve

03-13-16, 11:09 AM

March 13, 1916:
　
Air War:
1255 German ace Max Immelmann, flying a Fokker E.IV, wins a dogfight with Bristol Scout C 4678 for victory number 10. Major Victor Annesley Barrington Kennet is killed in action.

1300 German ace Oswald Boelcke, also in a Fokker E.IV, shoots down a Voisin two-seater for victory number 11.

1740 Max Immelmann shoots down BE.2c 4197 for victory number 11. The plane spins in out of control, killing Lt. Gilbert Denis James Grune and 2nd Lt. Edward Glover.

French pilot Alfred Victor Robert Auger, in a Nieuport 11, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 1.

German pilot Rudolf Berthold, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down BE.2c 4151 form victory number 3. 2nd Lt. M.A.J. Orde and AM1 P. Shaw taken prisoner.

Bavarian-born German pilot Max von Mulzer, in a Fokker E.III, claims a Caudron two-seater - unconfirmed.
　

　
North Sea:
Dutch trawler Oceaan I, 214 tons, departs Ijmuiden on a fishing trip and is not heard from again.

Jimbuna

03-14-16, 01:53 PM

14th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans penetrate line Bethincourt-Mort Homme. German troops launch an attack towards Mort-Homme near Verdun and captures Côte (Hill) 265, but Côte 295 is still held by the French.

Eastern Front

Great artillery activity on Riga front.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British re-occupy Sollum (Egypt) and scatter Senussi.

British air-raid on Sinai.

Political etc.

British government postpones conscripting married men aged 27 to 35 while so many single men still remain in reserved occupations.

British War Office warns its cavalry officers that U.S. shipments of oats, used to feed horses, contained deadly little pieces of steel.

Mr. Tennant introduces Army Estimates.

Greek government refuses Allied demands to cede control of its railroads in northern Greece and Macedonia.

President Wilson asks for an increase of 20,000 men for the U.S. Army to strengthen the U.S.-Mexican border.

General John J. Pershing takes control of thousands of U.S. soldiers prepared to cross the Mexican border to pursue Pancho Villa.

United States Army prepares to invade Mexico in order to track down and kill Pancho Villa.
http://i.imgur.com/Yno6fU4.png

Sailor Steve

03-14-16, 04:16 PM

March 14, 1916:
　
Air War:
1200 German pilot Hermann Göring, flying AEG G.II 49/15 with observer Lt. Graf von Sschaesberg and a gunner known only as "Boje", shoots down Caudron G.6 for victory number 2. Sgt Gaston Eugene Delpech and S-Lt Georges Thevenin reported missing.

1215 German pilot Hans Berr, in a Fokker E.II, shoots down a Caudron two-seater for victory number 2.

Russian pilot Viktor Georgiyevich Federov, flying a Caudron G.4 for the French Air force, and observer Pierre Lanero shoot down an unidentified "Enemy Aircraft", for victory number 1.

French pilot Jean Pierre marie Joseph de Gaillard de la Valden and observer "Soldat Breton", in a Maurice Farman, shoot down an Aviatik two-seater for victory number 1.

German pilot Gustav Leffers, in Fokker E.III 84/15, shoots down BE.2c 4163 for victory number 4. 2nd Lt James Campbell Cunningham and AM1 John Newton both KIA.

　
North Sea:
Dutch fishing ship Primavera departed Ymuiden on March 7. Last seen on March 14, not heard from again.
　
British trawler Carrington, 194 tons, departs Boston, Lincolnshire, and is not heard from again. This conflicts with a report filed four days later of Norwegian SS Torquay being lost after a collision with Carrington.

Jimbuna

03-15-16, 04:21 PM

15th March 1916

Western Front

French success south of Saint-Souplet (Champagne). French troops launch counterattacks with grenades and bayonets against German advances made at Verdun yesterday, but only make limited gains.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British troops recapture Sollum in western Egypt from the Senussi and pursue them with motor cars, cavalry, and the camel corps.

Political etc.

Lord Kitchener urges married men to enlist in the military, as the “position is an anxious one” due to falling recruiting numbers.

Austria declares war against Portugal.

6000 United States Army soldiers under General John J. Pershing cross the U.S.-Mexican border to hunt down Pancho Villa.

Berlin: Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz resigns as Navy Minister; Admiral von Capelle succeeds.
http://i.imgur.com/i0wj80q.jpg

Sailor Steve

03-15-16, 04:23 PM

March 15, 1916:
　
Air War:
German pilot Hartmuth Baldamus, flying a Fokker E.III, shoots down a Caudron two-seater, killing both crew members. Victory number 1.

　
North Sea:
Norwegian coaster MV Borgund, 321 tons, bound from Bergen to Dieppe with a load of herring, goes missing after passing Kopervik. All eleven hands lost.
　
British trawler Holland, 291 tons, departs Boston, Lincolnshire, one day after Carrington, and also goes missing.

Sailor Steve

03-16-16, 07:56 PM

March 16, 1916:
　
Political:
General Joseph Gallieni resigns as French Minister of War; is rplaced by General Pierre Roques. Roques was the creator of the Armée de l'air (French air force).
　
South Wales coal dispute decided
　
Von Capell succeeds von Tirpitz as German Minister of Marine.
　
Sofia treason trial begins.

Western Front:
At Verdun five successive attacks on the city of Vaux are repulsed.

East Africa:
Sudan force advances from Nahud into Darfur.

Mexico:
American aircraft fly their first mission over foreign soil when Curtiss JN-3s of the 1st Aero Squadron carry out reconnaissance over Mexico.

English Channel:
Otto Wünsche, after a good start in U-25, is now Commanding U-70. He starts his first patrol in the new boat by torpedoing British frieghter SS Berwindale, 7,242 tons, bound from Galveston to Avonmouth with a load of wheat. The ship is only damaged, however, and manages to make port safely.

Later the same day Wünsche stops British brigantine SV Willie, carrying a load of cement in barrels from London to Cardiff, and then sinks her with his deck gun. Wünsche's score is now 22 ships and 14,330 tons.

Arthur Metz, new commander of UB-13, starts his career with the sinking of Dutch liner SS Turbantia, 13,911 tons, outbound from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires. Turbantia is lying at anchor off the North Hindon Light Vessel, fully lit up to avoid a mistaken attack by the British, waiting for dawn to come before proceeding. At around 0230 the liner's lookouts spot bubble trails, but there is nothing to be done with the ship anchored. as the ship begins to sink she sends out distress calls. Quick action by the vessels Breda, Krakstau and La Compine results in the rescue of all 80 passengers and 294 crew

Mediterranean Sea:
UC-12, under the command of Eberhard Fröhner, is laying a minefield off Taranto, Italy, when one of the mines detonates. UC-12 is sunk with the loss of all 15 crew. Later the Italians will raise the two halves of the boat and put her into service as X1.

Atlantic Ocean:
American freighter SS Kanawa, 2,182 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newport News to Rio De Janeiro, founders off Charleston, South Carolina, with the loss of seven lives.

Jimbuna

03-17-16, 09:33 AM

17th March 1916

Western Front

German troops launch five attacks against the village of Vaux and the nearby fort at Verdun, but are repulsed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Continued Russian advance west of Erzerum.

Duke of Westminster's armoured cars release 91 "Tara" prisoners at Bir-el-Hakim.

Political etc.

King George and Queen Mary visit the headquarters of the Irish Guards. The King praises their service at Mons and Ypres.

Kwangsi province (China) proclaims its independence.

Food prices risen 48% in Great Britain.

French Senator Jenouvrier states over 800,000 French children are now fatherless due to the war.

Two U.S. divisions in pursuit of bandit Pancho Villa have advanced 65 miles into Mexican territory.

Ship Losses:

Lindfield (Norway) The barque was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 70 nautical miles (130 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Ask (Sweden) The steamer was torpedoed and damaged near the Noord Hinter LV whilst enroute from Westervik - London whilst carrying a cargo of timber by UB 6 (Ernst Voigt).

Sailor Steve

03-17-16, 06:58 PM

March 17, 1916:
　
Air War:
French pilot Maxime Lenoir, flying a Nieuport 10, wins a duel with a Fokker Eindecker for victory number 3.

　
English Channel:
Otto Wünsche, Commanding U-70, stops Norwegian barque SV Lindfield, 2,230 tons, bound from Portland, Oregon for Queenstown, Blackpool, Lancashire with a load of wheat, and sinks her. His score is now 23 ships and 16,560 tons.

　
　
North Sea:
Ernst Voigt, in UB-6, torpedoes Swedish freighter SS Ask, 1,041 tons, carrying a load of timber from Westervik to London. The damaged ship manages to put safely into port and is later repaired and returned to service.

Jimbuna

03-18-16, 08:29 AM

18th March 1916

Western Front

German attacks at Verdun slows down. French report attributes it to the “curtain of fire” created by French artillery.

Eastern Front

First battle of Lake Naroch begins.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Prince of Wales arrives in Egypt as Staff Captain.

British troops report successes against the Ottomans and their allies near Aden and the western Egyptian frontier.

Aviation

Allies bomb Zeebrugge.

German ace Ernst Udet scores his first kill.
http://i.imgur.com/gwTzmhT.jpg

Naval and Overseas Operations

British drive enemy from Ruwu river (East Africa).

Political etc.

Royal Defence Corps formed.

Members of the German Reichstag urge the continuation of unrestricted submarine warfare against the British.

Ship Losses:

HMT Ameer (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
City of Midland (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was destroyed by fire at Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Lowlands (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 8 nautical miles (15 km) north east by east of North Foreland, Kent by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine UC 7 (Georg Haag).
Palembang (Netherlands) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzscheand) sank in the North Sea (51°50′45″N 1°58′30″E).
http://i.imgur.com/efJ0LMc.jpg
Renaudin (French Navy) The Bisson-class destroyer was torpedoed and sunk in the Adriatic Sea off Dürres, Albania (41°17′N 19°22′E) by SM U-6 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy).
http://i.imgur.com/bkzw4Ji.jpg

Sailor Steve

03-18-16, 01:22 PM

March 18, 1916:
　
Air War:
1710 Six days after nearly being killed by a French bullet that tore his goggles off. German pilot Ernst Udet, flying Fokker E.III 105/16, shoots down a Farman F.40 for his first victory. There were 24 French aircraft in the formation, and Udet managed to bring down one before his gun jammed. Pilot MdLt. Edouard Leroy went down with his aircraft while observer Cpt. Emile Victor Bacon fell to his death.

English pilot Frederick James Harry Thayer and observer C.R. Davidson, in a BE.2c, shoot down an attacking Eindecker for their first victory.

North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Ameer, 216 tons, and British freighter SS Lowlands, 1,789 tons, both hit mines laid by Georg Haag in UC-7, bringing his score to 11 ships and 22,552 tons.
　
Dutch freighter SS Palembang, 6,674 tons, bound from Rotterdam to Batavia, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. His score is now 9 ships and 18,880 tons.

Adriatic Sea:
Hugo von Falkhausen, commanding Austrian U-6, torpedoes French destroyer Renaudin, 756 tons, off Durazzo (modern Durrës, Albania). Though he will survive the war (and the next one, living until 1965), this will be von Falkhausen's only sinking.

Jimbuna

03-19-16, 11:01 AM

19th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans repulsed at Poivre Hill.

Eastern Front

Russian success north-west of Uscieczko (River Dniester).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians enter Ispahan.

Sir A. Murray succeeds Sir J. Maxwell in Egypt.

Aviation

Heavy aircraft activity is reported over the Western Front. France loses four warplanes, while Germany loses three.

Air raid on Kent.
http://i.imgur.com/oNWxAPc.jpg

Political etc.

King George authorizes the formation of the Royal Defense Corps, which will provide security and guard duties inside Britain.

Prince of Wales Edward is appointed staff captain to the Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean expeditionary force.

Romania summons all men who were exempted in previous years from military service back to the colors, as the country prepares for war.

Italian Cabinet comes under criticism for its economic and financial policies, but survives a vote of confidence 394 to 61.

Ship Losses:

Kanawha (United States) The cargo ship foundered in the Atlantic Ocean off Charleston, South Carolina with the loss of seven of her crew.
Nominoe (France) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off Lowestoft, Suffolk, United Kingdom by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Port Dalhousie (Canada) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) off the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nineteen of her crew.
HMT Valpa (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sank in the North Sea off Spurn Point, Yorkshire with the loss of three of her crew.

Sailor Steve

03-19-16, 11:38 AM

March 19, 1916:
　
Air War:
1300 German ace Oswald Boelke,flying the 160-hp two-gun Fokker E.IV, shoots down a Farman two-seater for victory number 12.
　
German pilot Ernst von Althaus, in a Fokker E.III, downs a Caudron G.4 for victory number 4.
　
French pilot Albert Deullin, flying a Nieuport 10, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2
　
French pilot René Doumer, flying a Caudron two-seater with an unnamed observer, brings down an LVG two-seater for victory number 1
　
French ace Jean Navarre, in his Nieuport 11, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 7.

North Sea:
Reinhold Saltzwedel, new commander of UB-10, begins his career with the sinking of Canadian freighter SS Port Dalhousie, 1,744 tons, bound from Middlesbrough for Nantes with a load of steel billets.

Herbert Pustkuchen, in his first patrol in new command UB-29, torpedoes French freighter SS Nominoe, 3,155 tons, riding at anchor off Lowestoft while on a voyage from Rouen to Newcastle in ballast. Pustkuchen's score is now 22 ships and 29,996 tons.

His Majesty's Trawler Valpa, 230 tons, his a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7, bringing his score to 12 ships and 22,782 tons.

Norwegian freighter SS Scotland, 1,490 tons, is wrecked off the southeast side of the Isle of May.

German East Africa:
HMS Severn carries an exploratory group to Mwambani Harbour. At 0628 the monitor anchors and lowers boats for the observation. At 0855 the 1st motor boat and gig are examining the shoreline when enemy troops on the mainland open fire. The boats withdraw without casualties and return to the ship with detailed information. At 1040 Severn departs Mwambani Bay with the second motorboat an gig following. At 1122 the monitor achors off Yamba Island to take the boats and troops back aboard.

Jimbuna

03-20-16, 12:19 PM

20th March 1916

Western Front

Verdun: Germans attack Avocourt-Malancourt line and enter Avocourt Wood (south-west of Bethincourt).

German aeroplanes drop smoke bombs next to French artillery so that German counter-battery fire can better target them.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Naval engagement in North Sea between four British and three German torpedo boats.

Aviation

65 British and French aeroplanes bombard the German naval and air base at Zeebrugge, dropping a total of 5 tons of bombs.

Political etc.

Recruiting conference at War Office.

U.S. Department of Commerce estimates 2000 merchant vessels of all nations have been sunk, captured, or detained since the war’s start.

Ship Losses:

Ginette (French Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 14 (Franz Beckerand) and sank in the Ionian Sea off Corfu, Greece.
Langeli (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south south east of the Corton Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Skodsborg (Denmark) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south south east of the Corton Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.

Sailor Steve

03-20-16, 01:07 PM

March 20, 1916:

Air War:
Russian pilot Eduard Pulpe, flying an unnamed Nieuport, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 3. Pulpe had two kills in 1915, but the exact dates are unavailable.

　
North Sea:
Herbert Pustkuchen, commanding UB-29, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Langeli, 1,565 tons. bound from Rouen to Blyth in ballast; and Danish freighter SS Skodsborg, 1,697 tons, carrying a load of oil cake from New Orleans to Helsingborg. His score is now 24 ships and 33,258 tons.
　
Swedish barque SV Flora, 467 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Arenal to Middlesbrough, is wrecked off Whitby.

　
Mediterranean Sea:
French trawler Ginette, 272 tons, hits a mine laid by Franz Becker, new commander of UC-14.

Jimbuna

03-21-16, 07:39 AM

21st March 1916

Western Front

At Verdun, German troops stop their advance to regroup after yesterday’s successes. Heavy artillery exchanges continue.

Eastern Front

Russian offensive on the northern front; Dvina crossed in force near Jacobstadt.

Russian success on River Dniester.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British forces take the city of Arusha, near Mount Kilimanjaro, in German East Africa.

Aviation

Captain-Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Ellsworth P. Bertholf orders Coast Guard experimentation with the use of aircraft and directs Third Lieutenant Elmer F. Stone to begin flight training. It is the birth of U.S. Coast Guard aviation.
http://www.uscg.mil/history/people/Elmer_Stone.asp

Political etc.

French, British, Russian, Belgian, & Serbian artists meet in Florence & agree to prevent “the infiltration of Teutonic artistic influence.”

Ship Losses:

Aranmore (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 24 nautical miles (44 km) off Eagle Island, County Mayo by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS E24 (Royal Navy) The E-class submarine was last reported in the Heligoland Bight on this date. Believed to have subsequently struck a mine and sank with the loss of all 30 crew.

Sailor Steve

03-21-16, 01:11 PM

March 21, 1916:
The French Air Department authorizes the official formation of Escadrille N.124. Nicknamed Escadrille Américaine, the unit consists mostly of American pilots who want to fight for the Allies. The group will operate under this name until December, when protests from Germany will prompt the name-change to Escadrille Lafayette.

　
Air War:
1115 German ace Oswald Boelcke, flying a Fokker E.IV, shoots down a Farman two-seater for victory number 13.
　
Russian pilot Viktor Federov, flying a Caudron G.4 for the French, and observer Pierre Lanero shoot down a German two-seater. Victory number 2 for both.
　
German pilot Bruno Loerzer, in a Fokker E.III, downs a Farman two-seater for his first victory.

　
Ireland:
Hellmuth Jürst, commanding U-43, captures British freighter SS Aranmore, 1,050 tons. bound frmo Limerick to Glasgow, and sinks her with a torpedo just off Eagle Island on the west coast of Ireland.

　
Skagerrak:
Norwegian coaster SS Urd II, 216 tons, travelling from Engene to Ålvik with a general cargo, founders off Torungen.

　
Baltic Sea:
German freighter SS Sperber, 1,265 tons, carrying a load of coke from Bremen to Oxelösund, runs aground at Havringe Island.

Jimbuna

03-22-16, 11:54 AM

22nd March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans gain a footing on Haucourt Knoll, south-west of Malancourt.

Eastern Front

Russian success at Lake Naroch: 1,000 prisoners reported.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Jebel el Hella (Darfur) occupied by Colonel Kelly's force.

Naval

British Q-Ship (decoy vessel) HMS Farnborough lures the German Submarine SM U-68 and sinks it. All 38 crew members are killed.

Political etc.

Mr. Pemberton Billing attacks the air service in House of Commons.

Central Tribunal for Great Britain set up.

British War Office announces that the military age limit will soon be increased to men 45-years old.

24-year-old Lieutenant J.R.R. Tolkien marries Edith Bratt (the future author will be sent to the front in June):
http://i.imgur.com/EppWjtl.jpg

Ship Losses:

Bougainville (France) The barque was shelled and sunk in the Irish Sea 6 nautical miles (11 km) south of the Coningsby Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°39′N 6°36′W) by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Kelvinbank (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel off Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France (49°27′N 3°27′W) by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
SM U-68 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type U 66 submarine was shelled, depth charged and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (51°54′N 10°53′W) by HMS Farnborough ( Royal Navy and sank with the loss of all 38 crew.

Sailor Steve

03-22-16, 12:25 PM

March 22, 1916:

Celtic Sea:
Otto Wünsche, commanding U-70, stops French barque SV Bougainville, 2,248 tons, bound from San Francisco for Runcorn with a load of barley, and sinks her with his deck gun. Wünsche's score is now 24 ships and 18,808 tons.

English Channel:
Otto Steinbrinck, in UB-18, sinks British freighter SS Kelvinbank, 4,209 tons, carrying a load of frozen meat from Buenos Aires to Le Havre. His score is now 31 ships and 31,684 tons.

Ireland:
U-68 is on station off the west coast of Ireland for her first war patrol. Her new captain, Ludwig Güntzel, sights a freighter and fires a torpedo, barely missing. Güntzel then surfaces and fires a warning shot. Q-ship HMS Farnborough, under Gordon Campbell, drops her disguise and opens fire on the u-boat. One depth charge and several shots later U-68 sinks with all 38 of her crew.

German East Africa:
British ships conduct a bombardment operation against the railway station at Tanga. Involved are old pre-dreadnought battlship HMS Vengeance, monitor HMS Severn and old 2nd-class cruiser HMS Hyacinth. Supporting are gunboats Charon and Styx.

Jimbuna

03-23-16, 08:25 AM

23rd March 1916

Western Front

British extended to include Souchez.

German artillery pound French lines at Malancourt, Béthincourt, Le Mort Homme, and Cumières.

Eastern Front

German concentration at Dvinsk broken up.

Naval and Overseas Operations

"Minneapolis" sunk in Mediterranean.

Political etc.

King George and other members of the Royal Family meet with wounded war veterans at Buckingham Palace.

Mr. Lloyd George speaks on Paris Economic Conference.

General Cadorna received by King George.

Military committee of the French Chamber of Deputies launch an investigation to counter German flamethrowers & develop a French version.

New Zealand sends 2000 men per month to fight on the Allied side in Europe, despite its population being a bit more than a million.

Ship Losses:

HMT Corona (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettowand) and sank in the North Sea off Ramsgate, Kent (51°08′50″N 1°25′00″E) with the loss of thirteen of her crew.
Kannik (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel off Le Havre, Seine-Maritime (49°27′N 3°52′W) by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Minneapolis (United Kingdom) The ocean liner was torpedoed and damaged in the Mediterranean Sea 195 nautical miles (361 km) east of Malta (36°30′N 18°22′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She sank on 25 March with the loss of twelve lives (36°20′N 17°57′E).[13]
Sea Serpent (United Kingdom) The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettowand) and sank in the English Channel off Folkestone, Kent (51°01′50″N 1°11′30″E) with the loss of fourteen of her crew.

Sailor Steve

03-23-16, 10:06 AM

March 23, 1916:
　
Air War:
French pilot Albert Edmond Mezergues, flying a Voisin two-seater with an unnamed observer, brings down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 1.

English Channel:
Otto Steinbrinck, commanding UB-18, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Kannik while the ship is riding at anchor in Le Havre Road, bringing his score to 32 ships and 24,081 tons.

North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Corona, 212 tons, and freighter SS Sea Serpent, 902 tons, bound from Liverpool to Dunqkerque with a load of corrugated steel sheets, both run on mines laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6. His score is now 30 ships and 36,433 tons.
　
Norwegian fishing vessel Boy Thomas, 35 tons, runs aground while returning to Blomvåg from a fishing trip. Four of her crew are lost.

Mediterranean Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks British passenger liner SS Minneapolis, 13,443 tons, travelling in ballast from Marseille to Alexandria. Von Arnauld now has 8 ships and 50,436 tons.

German East Africa:
British cruiser HMS Hyacinth, in company with gunboats Pioneer and Vengeance, stops suspect ship SS Tabora and demands access to examine papers and cargo. Tabora refuses. At 1540 Pioneer opens fire for five minutes. At 1622 Pioneer opens fire again, this time for three minutes. At 1714 fire is reopened. At 1758 Tabora is sinking. British ships depart at 1820.

Pacific Ocean:
Japanese freighter Seiko Maru, 4,207 tons, departs Port Townsend while on a trip from Tacoma to Yokohama and is not heard from again.

Jimbuna

03-24-16, 07:28 AM

24th March 1916

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

El Hassana bombed again.

Naval and Overseas Operations

"Sussex" torpedoed in Channel by SM UB-29 (at least 50 drowned). The SS Sussex only carried civilians, and further increases tensions between the U.S. and Germany.
Scene on the SS Sussex after the explosion.
http://i.imgur.com/z8a4irQ.jpg

Political etc.

The news that explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew has been stranded in Antarctica reaches the world.

Fourth German War Loan stated to have reached ï¿½530,000,000.

Gaelic Press offices at Dublin raided.

A session in the Russian Duma is broken up after a Conservative member blames the Jews for “betraying” Russia.

Ship Losses:

Christianssund (Denmark) The passenger ship struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the English Channel 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) south west of Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom (51°01′30″N 1°11′20″E). All on board survived.
Englishman (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 30 nautical miles (56 km) north east of Malin Head, County Donegal by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of ten crew.
Fenay Bridge (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 54 nautical miles (100 km) west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (49°32′N 7°43′W) by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Fulmar (United Kingdom) The cargo ships struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sank in the North Sea 7 nautical miles (13 km) north east of North Foreland, Kent with the loss of a crew member.
SMS G194 (Kaiserliche Marine) The destroyer was rammed and sunk in the North Sea by HMS Cleopatra ( Royal Navy).
HMY Marcella (Royal Navy) The naval yacht collided with another vessel and sank in The Downs.
Salybia (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south west by west of Dungeness, Kent by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Sussex (France) The passenger ferry was torpedoed and damaged in the English Channel by UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of at least 50 lives. She was beached at Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais. Sussex was repaired post-war and returned to service.
http://i.imgur.com/Od3pZ0D.jpg

Sailor Steve

03-24-16, 10:38 AM

March 24, 1916:
　
Ireland:
Hellmuth Jürst, commanding U-43, sinks British freighter SS Englishman, 5,257 tons, bound from Avonmouth to Portland, Maine, with the loss of 10 lives. Jürst's score is now 2 ships and 6,307 tons.

Celtic Sea:
Otto Wünsche, in U-70, sinks British freighter SS Fenay Bridge, 3,838 tons, carrying a load of wheat from Philadelphia to Hull. His score is now 25 ships and 22,646 tons.

English Channel:
Herbert Pustkuchen, in UB-29, sinks British freighter SS Alybia, 3,352 tons, travelling from Trinidad to London with a general cargo. His score is now 25 ships and 36,610 tons. Pustkuchen also torpedoes French passenger liner SS Sussex. The ship is beached and despite the heavy damage and loss of life, and the fact that that she will not be repaired until after the war, Sussex is only counted as "damaged". Among the dead is Spanish composer and pianist Enrique Granados.

Danish freighter SS Christianssund, 1,017 tons, en route from Falmouth to Copenhagen with a load of salt and tobacco, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6, bringing his score to 31 ships and 37,450 tons.

North Sea:
British freighter SS Fulmar, 1,270 tons, carrying a general cargo from Rotterdam to various points in the United Kingdom, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 13 ships and 24,052 tons.

Jimbuna

03-25-16, 09:24 AM

25th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German artillery active south-west of Meuse.

Naval and Overseas Operations

HMS Cleopatra, an escort of the HMS Vindex, rams the German destroyer G 194, cutting the ship in half and sinking it.
http://i.imgur.com/yaeZgVl.jpg

Seaplanes bomb Sylt and coast of Schleswig-Holstein. Three of the seaplanes fail to return, but the raid draws out German ships into open water. The HMS Vindex:
http://i.imgur.com/6rhl7gJ.jpg

HMS Medusa, another escort of the HMS Vindex, collides with the HMS Laverock, and sinks.

Political etc.

UK: Military Medal instituted as a military decoration for personnel of the British Army and other services below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land.

Hugo Haase, Socialist leader in the German Reichstag: “The best patriots in all countries are those who speak for an honest peace.”

Ship Losses:

Duiveland (Netherlands) The cargo ship struck a mine UC 1 (Egon von Wernerand) and sank in the English Channel (51°33′00″N 1°42′30″E).
HMT Grateful (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was wrecked at Torr Head, County Antrim. She was salvaged in 1917, repaired and sold into merchat service in 1918.
HMT Hilary II (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
HMS Medusa (Royal Navy) The Medea-class destroyer collided with HMS Laverock ( Royal Navy) in the North Sea whilst under attack by Luftstreitkrafte aircraft and sank. Her crew were rescued by HMS Laverock.
Ottomar (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 to 45 nautical miles (74 to 83 km) south east of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

Sailor Steve

03-25-16, 01:58 PM

March 25, 1916:
　
Air War:
German pilot Renatus Theiller, flying a two-seater with an unnamed observer, is credited with his first aerial victory.

Celtic Sea:
Paul Wagenfürh begins his career commanding U-44 with the sinking of Russian sailing ship SV Ottomar, 327 tons, bound from Churchtown, British Guyana for Liverpool with a load of greenhart wood.

North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Duiveland, 1,297 tons, travelling in ballast from London to Sunderland, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1. Von Werner's score is now 16 ships and 17,028 tons.

His Majesty's Drifter Hilary II, 78 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 14 ships and 24,130 tons.

Celtic Sea - Bay of Biscay:
French schooner SV Glaneuse, 100 tons, departs Swansea for Bordeaux with a load of coal and is not heard from again.
British coaster SS Sambo, 144 tons, travelling from Swansea to Morlaix, founders in the Bristol Channel.

Zanzibar:
British monitor HMS Mersey is secured and taken under tow by Fleet Auxiliary Trent. Destination is Durban, South Africa.

Jimbuna

03-26-16, 08:08 AM

26th March 1916

Western Front

German troops explode a mine underneath British lines at Neuville-Stain-Vaast and capture the crater.

French artillery fire west of Pont-à-Mousson hit a German grenade depot, causing it to explode.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turkish base destroyed by air raid on Bir-el-Hassa (North Africa).

Russian progress on upper Chorok (Armenia).

Political etc.

Political and military leaders of the Allied powers gather in Paris for one of the largest conferences of the Allies since the war's start.

President Carranza of Mexico considers seizing lands of Catholic priests in order to boost the country’s currency.

President Wilson warns that “sinister and unscrupulous influences” are trying to make the U.S. and Mexico go to war against each other.

Ship Losses:

Cerne (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sank in the Thames Estuary. Her 23 crew survived.
Ekonom (Russia) The schooner was abandoned in the English Channel off St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued by Westerdijk ( Netherlands).
SMS G194 (Kaiserliche Marine) The G192-class destroyer was rammed by HMS Cleopatra ( Royal Navy) and sank in the North Sea off Tønder, Denmark.
Hebe (France) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Ulrich Mohrbutter) and sank in the North Sea 6 nautical miles (11 km) east of the Sunk Lightship ( United Kingdom (51°53′00″N 1°46′30″E). Her eighteen crew survived.
Khartoum (United Kingdom) The fish carrier struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Ulrich Mohrbutter) and sank in the North Sea 6 nautical miles (11 km) north east of the Longstone Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of nine of her eleven crew.
Norne (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay (47°28′N 7°00′W by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SMS S22 (Kaiserliche Marine) The V1-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of 76 of her crew.
Saint Cecilia (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the English Channel 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) south of Folkestone, Kent. Her crew survived.
Tabora (Germany) (Flag of the Red Cross.): The hospital ship was sunk by HMS Hyacinth ( Royal Navy).

Ishi, last member of the Yahi tribe in California and known as the “last wild Indian,” has passed away:
http://i.imgur.com/mzs91ih.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wWXtM1O.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rFaxNt2.jpg

Sailor Steve

03-26-16, 12:44 PM

March 26, 1916:

Air War:
French pilot André Chainat, flying a Nieuport 10 or 11, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 2.

Saxon-born German pilot Hans Karl Müller, flying a two-seater with an unnamed observer, brings down a French two-seater for victory number 2.

English Channel:
British freighter SS Saint Cecilia, 4,411 tons, bound from Portland, Maine to London with a general cargo, hits a mine laid by Mattias von Schmettow in UC-6. Von Schmettow's score is now 32 ships and 41,851 tons.

North Sea:
French freighter SS Hebe, 1,494 tons, travelling in ballast from Caen to Newcastle, hits a mine laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5. British trawler Khartoum, 303 tons, also hits a mine laid by Mohrbutter, raising his score to 6 ships and 7,824 tons.

British collier SS Cerne, 2,579 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to London, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 15 ships and 26,709 tons.

Bay of Biscay:
Georg-Günther von Forstner, in U-28, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Norne, 1,224 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Villagarcia to Cardif. His score is now 20 ships and 47,867 tons.

Jimbuna

03-27-16, 09:13 AM

27th March 1916

Western Front

Two lines of German trenches captured at St. Eloi (Ypres).

British troops explode a mine under German lines at St. Eloi, south of Ypres, and capture 600 yards of trenches.

Eastern Front

Russian troops continue its offensive in the Dvinsk sector. Germany reports the attacks were made with “unprecedented numbers.”

Southern Front

German air raid on Salonika.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians cross River Baltachi Darassi (Armenia).

Naval

156 Norwegian and Swedish ships, both neutral nations, have been sunk since the war’s start.

Political etc.

Paris Conference opens; eight States represented.

Ship Losses:

Empress of Midland (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 1 (Egon von Werner) and sank in the North Sea 9 nautical miles (17 km) south of the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°31′N 1°43′E). Her crew survived.
Harriet (Denmark) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Ulrich Mohrbutter) and sank in the North Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) east of the Sunk Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°53′30″N 1°45′00″E). Her eighteen crew survived.
HMT Lerwick (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Manchester Engineer (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) west by south of the Coningbeg Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM U-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Sailor Steve

03-27-16, 11:58 AM

March 27, 1916:
　
Air War:
French pilot Albert Mezergues, flying a Voisin with an unnamed observer, shoots down an "Enemy Aircrft" for victory number 2. Mezergues will score two more victories between this date and September 14, 1918, and one more after that, for a total of six, but other than the date for number 5 there are no details other than the basic listing.

Celtic Sea:
Paul Wagenführ, commanding U-44, sinks British freighter SS Manchester Engineer, 4,302 tons, bound from Philadelphia to Manchester with an unspecified cargo. His score is now 2 ships and 4,629 tons.

　
North Sea:
British freighter SS Empress of Midland, 2,224 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newcastle to Rouen, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner and UC-1. Von Werner's score is now 17 ships and 19,252 tons.
　
Danish freighter SS Harriet, 1,372 tons, en route from Oran to Leith with a load of esparto (African grass), hits a mine laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5, bringing his score to 7 ships and 9,196 tons.

Jimbuna

03-28-16, 11:12 AM

28th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German attack on Haucourt-Malancourt front repulsed.

Eastern Front

Russian success north of Bojan (Galicia).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Second Anzac Corps formed in Egypt.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Russian torpedo-boats sink ten ships and destroy munition depot on Black Sea.

Political, etc.

The Allied War Conference ends today. The nations declare unity of military action, economic action, and diplomatic action.

House of Commons debate whether or not to charge workers who plot strikes at munition factories with treason.

Commission handling food supplies for the Entente orders 600 million one-pound tins of Irish stew for the Allied armies.

Heavy rains and blizzards hit England, crippling railroads and telegraphs in many parts of the country.

The Wilson Administration declares it is growing weary of German evasions and excuses concerning its submarine campaign.

Ship Losses:

Eagle Point (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) west north west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Lavinia Westoll (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea 33 nautical miles (61 km) south east by south of the Spurn Lightship ( United Kingdom).
Olga (Russia) The schooner was driven ashore at The Mumbles, Glamorgan, United Kingdom. Her crew survived. Although later refloated, she was declared a constructive total loss and sold for scrap.
Rio Tiete (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 140 nautical miles (260 km) west of Ouessant, Finistère, France (47°30′N 8°25′W) by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Saxon Prince (Royal Navy) The naval trawler foundered in the English Channel off Dover, Kent with the loss of all hands.

Sailor Steve

03-28-16, 01:16 PM

March 28, 1916:

Irish Sea:
British brigantine SV Hildred, 225 tons, en route from Fowey to Glasgow with a load of china clay, is wrecked off Troon.

Celtic Sea:
Otto Wünsche, commanding U-44, sinks British freighter SS Eagle Point, 5,222 tons, bound from St. John, New Brunswick to Le Havre with a cargo of hay and oats. His score is now 26 ships and 27,868 tons.

Bay of Biscay:
Georg-Günther von Forstner, in U-28, sinks British freighter SS Rio Tiete, 3,042 tons, carrying coal from Barry to Alexandria. His score is now 21 ships and 50,909 tons.

North Sea:
British freighter SS Lavinia Westoll, 3,131 tons, travelling from Almeria to Middlesbrough with a load of iron ore, is sunk by a mine laid by an unknown ship. No casualties.

British schooner SV Lembit, 320 tons, carrying a load of burnt ore from Gravesend to Tyne, is wrecked at Happisburgh Beach.
　
British sailing ship SV Lord Dufferin, 120 tons, travelling from London to Dieppe with a load of scrap iron, is wrecked at Kingsgate.
　
His Majesty's Trawler Saxon Prince, 237 tons, disappears in a force 12 storm off Dover. No survivors.

Jimbuna

03-29-16, 09:00 AM

29th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans enter Malancourt village; French recover Avocourt redoubt.

Eastern Front

Russian offensive against the Germans in the Dvinsk region falters due to the spring thaw, inundating the marshes and lakes.

Southern Front

Italian success east of Seltz.

Political, etc.

The Reichstag holds a meeting to discuss the military and political situation, particularly on the question of submarine warfare.

General Polivanov resigns at War Minister; succeeded by General Shuvaiev.

Unrest in Holland.

U.S. troops and Mexican rebels led by Pancho Villa fight in Guerrero, Chihuahua. 5 Americans are wounded, while 56 rebels are killed.

Sailor Steve

03-29-16, 09:35 AM

March 29, 1916:
　
Air War:
1100 German ace Max Immelmann, in a Fokker E.IV, shoots down FE.2b 6352 for victory number 12. 2nd Lts F.C. Pinder and E.A. Halford are both taken POW.

Bohemian-born Austro-Hungarian Otto Jindra, recently upgraded from observer to pilot, is flying Albatros B.I 22.23 with an unnamed observer when they shoot down a Russian-flown Morane parasol two-seater. It is victory number 4 for Jindra, and his first as pilot.

St. George's Channel:
Paul Wagenfürh, commanding U-44, torpedoes His Majesty's Sloop Begonia, 1,250 tons. The damaged ship survives the attack and is towed to Cobh (Queenstown), Ireland for repairs.

North Sea:
British barquentine SV Faithlie, 187 tons, carrying scrap iron from London to Dieppe, is wrecked at Margate. Six of the seven crewmembers are rescued by the Margate lifeboat. Lost is Walter Lewis, age 15.

Jimbuna

03-30-16, 08:03 AM

30th March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German repulsed at Fort Douaumont.

Two German attacks on the east of the Meuse, despite being supported by flamethrowers, are repulsed by French defenses.

Eastern Front

Germans driven back over River Oldenevitz.

Naval and Overseas Operations

"Portugal", French Hospital ship, torpedoed in Black Sea by German submarine U-33; 115 lost.
http://i.imgur.com/yjxbmYq.jpg

Political, etc.

The Reichstag: “Germany’s sea warfare should be carried through by all means most instrumental in securing a successful issue of the war.”

Britain tightens its blockade of Germany. Ships in the area can now be captured even if it was destined to a non-blockaded port.

Ship Losses:

Bell (Norway) The four-masted barque was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean off Ouessant, Finistère, France (48°55′N 7°40′W) by SM U-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
John Pritchard (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the Ionian Sea off Paxos, Greece (38°40′N 20°20′E) by SM U-4 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy). Her crew survived.
Portugal (Imperial Russian Navy) (Flag of the Red Cross): The hospital ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Black Sea off Rizeh, Turkey (41°01′N 41°19′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Trewyn (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 80 nautical miles (150 km) west of Ouessant (47°30′N 7°30′W) by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 23 crew.
Saint Hubert (France) The barquentine was shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay (47°35′N 7°20′W) by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by Livonia ( United Kingdom).

Sailor Steve

03-30-16, 09:55 AM

March 30, 1916:

Air War:
1115 German ace Max Immelmann scores victory number 13, shooting down BE.2c 4116. Lt Wayland Joyce is taken POW, 2nd Lt Geoffrey Joseph Lightburn Welsford KIA.

German ace Hans-Joachim Buddecke, flying a Fokker E.III for the Turkish Air Force, claims a Farman two-seater, but it is listed as "unconfirmed".

French pilot René Doumer, flying a Caudron, is credited with bringing down a Fokker eindecker for victory number 2. It is listed as a shared kill, with a "Soldat Jannotte" being the other pilot. Since the Caudron is a two-seater and a "Soldat" is a private, there is reason to believe that Jannotte was Doumer's observer.

Russian pilot Viktor Federov, flying a Caudron G.4 for the French Air Service with Pierre Lanero as observer, shoots down a German 2-seater for shared victory number 3.

German pilot Max von Mulzer, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down FB.5 5471 for his first confirmed victory. 2nd Lt James Castle and AM2 E.R.A. Coleman are both taken POW.

French pilot Joseph Vuillemin and observer "Lt. Moulines", in a Caudron, shoot down an attacking Fokker for Vuillemin's second victory.

Celtic Sea:
Paul Wagenfürh, commanding U-44, stops and scuttles Norwegian barque SV Bell, 3,765 tons, bound from Portland, Oregon to Falmouth with a load of wheat. Wagenfürh's score is now 3 ships and 8,394 tons.

Gulf of Bothnia:
Finnish freighter SS Ariel, 533 tons, founders in an ice floe.

Bay of Biscay:
Georg Günther von Forstner, in U-28, torpedoes British freighter SS Trewyn, 3,084 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Algiers to Middlesbrough. In British records Trewyn was listed as missing, having passed Gibraltar five days earlier and not being seen again.

The same day von Forstner stops and scuttles French brigantine SV St. Hubert, 232 tons, en route from Lisbon to Saint-Malo with a load of wine and salt. These two sinkings bring von Forstner's score to 23 ships and 54,225 tons.

Black Sea:
Konrad Gansser, in U-33, torpedoes French/Russian hospital ship SS Portugal, 5,358 tons, off northern Turkey. His score is now 44 ships and 120,606 tons.

Ionian Sea:
Rudolf Singule, in Austrian U-4, sinks British schooner SV John Pritchard, 118 tons, travelling in ballast from Patras to Caravassera. Singule's score is now 6 ships and 7,837 tons.

Indian Ocean:
HMFA Trent, towing monitor HMS Mersey, encounters a heavy storm. Mersey's crew are safe, all being aboard Trent, but the monitor itself is described as "...shipping seas and tumbling about considerably".

Jimbuna

03-31-16, 07:37 AM

31st March 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French evacuate Malancourt and positions between Haucourt and Bethincourt.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians defeat Turks at Kara Malachkan (Armenia).

Aviation

Zeppelin raid on east coast: one Zeppelin destroyed; 48 killed, 64 injured.

Political, etc.

Britain calls out nine groups of married men age 27 to 35 to join the colours on May 5th.

McKenna, Chancellor of the Exchequer, proposes expanding taxes to include theatre receipts and advertisements to finance the war.

Army Council takes over hay and straw.

Mr. Asquith in Rome.

French Finance Minister Ribot announces a new loan to finance the war: “France again will respond…because she wants to win & will win.”

Ship Losses:

Achilles (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 90 nautical miles (170 km) west north west of Ouessant, Finistère, France by SM U-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of five crew.
Alacrity (United Kingdom) The ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off Southwold, Suffolk by SM UB-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all fourteen crew.
Clinton (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Ulrich Mohrbutter) and was damaged in the North Sea 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) south east of Pakefield, Suffolk (52°26′N 1°49′E). She was beached but was later refloated, repaired and returned to service.
Egeo (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Gulf of Taranto 20 nautical miles (37 km) off Punta Alice (39°39′N 17°18′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Goldmouth (United Kingdom) The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) west north west of Ouessant by SM U-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived, but her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
Hans Guide (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk on the Atlantic Ocean 55 nautical miles (102 km) west by north of Ouessant by SM U-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Hollandia (Sweden) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea near the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-6 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Memento (Norway) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 5 (Ulrich Mohrbutter) and sank in the North Sea 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) south east of Pakefield (52°26′N 1°49′E) with the loss of a crew member.
Rangatira (United Kingdom) The liner ran aground on Robben Island, South Africa and was wrecked.
Riposto (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Gulf of Taranto off Crotone (39°30′N 17°36′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Vigo (Spain) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) off Ouessant (47°10′N 7°54′W) by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 69 ships of 165,000 tons gross. (Lloyd's War Losses).

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

http://i.imgur.com/w1MDz7t.jpg

Sailor Steve

03-31-16, 12:01 PM

March 31, 1916:

Air War:
French pilot Albert Deullin, flying a Nieuport 10, wins a duel with a Fokker Eindecker for victory number 3.

German pilot Bruno Loerzer, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.

Russian pilot Eduard Pulpe, in an unnamed Nieuport, shoots down a two-seater for kill number 4.

Celtic Sea:
Paul Wagenführ, commanding U-44, sinks British freighter SS Achilles, 7,043 tons, bound from Sydney to Liverpool with a load of grain and wool; tanker SS Goldmouth, 7,446 tons, carrying a load of fuel oil from Tarakar to Falmouth; and Norwegian freighter SS Hans Gude, 1,110 tons, travelling from Cardiff to Oran with a load of coal. This brings his total to 6 ships and 23,993 tons.

North Sea:
Ernst Voigt, in UB-6, torpedoes Swedish freighter Hollandia, 1,115 tons, travelling in ballast from Rouen to Rotterdam, while the ship is anchored near the Galloper Light Vessel. Voight's score is now 2 ships and 1,172 tons.

Arthur Metz, in UB-13, torpedoes British freighter SS Alacrity, 1,080 tons, travelling in ballast from Le-Havre to Seaham. Metz's score is now 2 ships and 14,991 tons.

British freighters SS Clinton, 3,381 tons, carrying manganese ore and grain from Bombay, and SS Memento, 1,076 tons, carrying a load of coke from London to Porsgrunn, both hit mines laid by Ulrich Mohrbutter in UC-5. Clinton is later salvaged. Memento sinks, bringing Mohrbutter's score to 7 ships and 10,272 tons.

Bay of Biscay:
Georg-Günther von Forstner, in U-28, sinks Spanish freighter SS Vigo, 1,137 tons, carrying a load of pitwood from Freijo to Cardiff. His score is now 24 ships and 55,362 tons.

At 0700 hours French fishing boat Rédempteur, 36 tons. hauls a mine into their nets. The crew take their lifeboat to another fishing smack, Clementine, which takes them to shore. At about 1000 hours the boat apparently comes into contact with the mine, which explodes, completely demolishing the smack.

Black Sea:
Konrad Gansser, in U-33, shells Belgian freighter SS Roi Albert, 2,853 tons, near Sukhumi, Georgia. The damaged ship manages to escape. Later that day Gansser stops and scuttles a small sailing vessel. The name of the boat is unknown, but it is credited at 7 tons, which raises Gansser's total to 45 vessels and 120,613 tons.

Balearic Sea:
Greek schooner SV Eutichia, 385 tons, travelling from Arzew to St. Loius Du Rhône with a load of salt and coal, is wrecked at Casa de Alcanar, Spain.

Ionian Sea:
Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks Italian freighters SS Egeo, 1,787 tons, and Riposto, 1,003 tons, in the Gulf of Taranto, bringing his score to 46 ships and 112,138 tons.

Adriatic Sea:
Austrian freighter SS Andrassy, 1,546 tons, converted to a minelayer, hits one of the mines she has just laid and sinks at San Giovanni di Medua (modern Shëngjin, Albania).

Indian Ocean:
With the weather much calmer, Fleet Auxiliary Trent stops and a boat is sent to HMS Mersey. To their relief they find that the monitor has shipped very little water in the previous day's storm. The boat returns and the ships are underway again.

Japan:
Japanese coaster Wakatsu Maru, 183 tons, carrying a general cargo from Fukuye to Nagasaki, is wrecked off Kabashima.

Hong Kong:
Japanese passenger liner Chiyo Maru, 13,431 tons, runs aground at Lima Island (Tam Kan). Crew and passengers are safely evacuated. Several days later the ship breaks in two and is lost.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/chiyo_maru_wreck_1916_zpspmchxrik.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/SailorSteve/media/chiyo_maru_wreck_1916_zpspmchxrik.jpg.html)

Jimbuna

04-01-16, 06:20 AM

1st April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans capture part of Vaux village.

Political, etc.

M. Denys Cochin appointed Minister in charge of blockade in France.

Decline of unrest in Holland.

King George presents £100,000 for war purposes.

U.S. National Association of Clothiers warns consumers that suits might fade more easily due to the war causing shortages in dyes.

Ship Losses:

Ashburton (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 80 nautical miles (150 km) west north west of Ouessant, Finistère, France by SM U-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Bengairn (United Kingdom) The four-masted barque was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 165 nautical miles (306 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her 26 crew survived.
Perth (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) south east by east of the Cross Sand Lightship ( United Kingdom) by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine with the loss of six of her crew.[2]
Peter Hamre Norway World War I: The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) off the Kentish Knock Lightship by SM UB-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of fourteen of her crew.

Sailor Steve

04-01-16, 10:04 AM

April 1, 1916:
　
The exact date doesn't seem to be available, but sometime in April test-pilot Maurice Bequet takes the prototype SPAD S.5 for its first test flights. This will lead to the development of the SPAD S.7, one of the great fighters of the war.

　
Air War:
German pilot Heinrich Arntzen, flying a two-seater with an unnamed observer, is credited with an "Enemy Aircraft", for his first victory. He is said to have three more in 1916, but details are lacking.

German pilot Rudolf Berthold, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down a Farman two-seater for victory number 4.
　
French pilot Lucien Jailler, in a Nieuport 10 or 11, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 2.
　
French pilot Hugues de Rochefort and observer Jean Jacques Perrin, in Nieuport 10 640, claim an LVG, but it is unconfirmed.

English Channel:
Georg-Günther von Forstner, commanding U-28, stops and sinks British barque SV Bengairn, 2,127 tons, bound from Seattle to Queenstown with a load of wheat. This is von Forstner's last sinking. He becomes a senior officer and retires with a score of 25 ships and 57,489 tons.
　
Paul Wagenführ, in U-44, sinks British freighter SS Ashburton, 4,445 tons, at the end of a long voyage from Wellington via Montevideo to London with a general cargo, mostly wool. Wagenführ's score is now 7 ships and 28,438 tons.

North Sea:
Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UB-10, torpedoes Norwegian freighter SS Peter Hamre, 1,081 tons, carrying a load of pig iron from Middlesbrough to Rouen. his score is now 2 ships and 2,825 tons.

Hans Valentiner, in UB-16, sinks British freighter SS Perth, 653 tons, travelling in ballast from Fécamp to Hull. Valentiner's score is now 16 ships and 10,812 tons

Black Sea:
Russian submarine Tjulen sinks Turkish merchant SS Dutor, 4,232 tons, off Sile, near the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara.

Jimbuna

04-02-16, 10:23 AM

2nd April 1916

Eastern Front

Germans repulsed in Liakhovichi region.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians cross Upper Chorok, taking fortified mountain positions (Armenia).

Aviation

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

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

http://i.imgur.com/JZyz5Fr.jpg

Captured German Zeppelin Commander of the L15 states no German officer “would willingly participate in the killing of women & children.”

Political, etc.

A massive explosion occurs in the gunpowder mill near Faversham, resulting in 115 deaths.

Mr. Asquith received by the Pope.

Resumption of work advised by Clyde strike committee.

Ship Losses:

Anniel E. Larder (United Kingdom) The schooner was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean. Her crew survived.
Arena (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea (57°29′N 5°26′E) by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Commandant (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Simla (United Kingdom) The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 45 nautical miles (83 km) north west of Gozo, Malta (36°25′N 13°12′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of ten crew.

Sailor Steve

04-02-16, 11:53 AM

April 2, 1916:
　
Air War:
0655 Irish RFC pilot David Mary Tidmarsh, flying DH.2 5924, and 2nd Lt. S.J. Sibley, in DH.2 5498, share the downing of an Albatros two-seater. It is the first victory for each, and the first recorded victory for Geoffrey de Havilland's pusher fighter.

French pilot Alfred Auger, in a Nieuport 11, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 2.

French pilot Charles Nungesser, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down a German observation balloon for victory number 3.

North Sea:
Otto Wünsche, commanding U-70, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Arena, 1,019 tons, bound from Fredrikstad to Hull with a mixed cargo of Ferrosilicon, paper and lumber. This brings his score to 27 ships and 28,887 tons.
　
French barque SV Borubaki, 2,208 tons, carrying a load of Barley from San Francisco to Ipswich, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. The heavily damaged ship is towed to Butterman's Bay and later repaired.
　
His Majesty's Trawler Commandant, 207 tons, also hits a mine laid by UC-7, raising Haag's score to 16 ships and 26,916 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, in U-39, torpedoes British freighter SS Simla, 5,884 tons, travelling in ballast from Marseille to an unspecified destination. Forstmann's score is now 47 ships and 118,022 tons.

Morocco, Atlantic Coast:
French passenger/cargo ship SS Iméréthie, 3,260 tons, carrying a general cargo from Marseille to Morocco, is lost in a collision with French cruiser Cassard off Mulay Buselhame, Morocco. The merchant had suffered an engine breakdown. At 2330 Cassard is attempting to tow the powerless steamer into the port of Larache when the collision occurrs. The crew of Iméréthie are taken off and despite continued efforts to tow her the ship sinks in the evening of April 3.

Jimbuna

04-03-16, 07:11 AM

3rd April 1916

Western Front

Verdun: French re-occupy west part of Vaux village.

German salient captured, British line advanced on 600 yards front at St. Eloi.

Eastern Front

Germans repulsed at bridgehead of Uxkull (Dvina).

Southern Front

Greeks refuse overland route - Corfu-Salonika to Serbian army.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British retirement at Alawad (near Aden).

Aviation

31 Allied aeroplanes raid the Krupp gun plant at Essen in retaliation for a zeppelin raid on Dunkirk.

http://i.imgur.com/kqLoGp8.jpg

Political, etc.

Germany apologizes to Switzerland after a plane mistakenly bombed a Swiss village and promises to punish the pilot.

Allied Powers reject U.S. protests against the seizure, detention, and censoring of neutral states' mails.

Bulgaria informs Greece that Bulgarian troops have been ordered to withdraw across frontier.

German journalist Maximilian Harden: “Let us come to the conclusion that the war was a mistake, made not by one but by all.”

Ship Losses:

Clan Campbell (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 29 nautical miles (54 km) south east of Cape Bon, Tunisia (36°47′N 11°33′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Ellaston (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 65 nautical miles (120 km) north west by west of Cape Serrat, Tunisia (37°41′N 7°59′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Enrichetta (Imperial Russian Navy) The auxiliary minesweeper was shelled and damaged in the Black Sea west of Lazistan by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She became a total loss by 16 April.
Giuseppe Padre (Italy) The brigantine was sunk in the Strait of Sicily (36°55′N 11°20′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Ino (Norway) The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzsche) and sank in the North Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) south of the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°28′40″N 1°35′20″E). Her crew survived.
HMT Pecheur (Royal Navy) The naval trawler collided with another vessel and sank in the Irish Sea off the Smalls Lighthouse.
Sneaton (United Kingdom) The collier was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 35 nautical miles (65 km) north north east of Cape de la Garde, Algeria by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Sailor Steve

04-03-16, 11:33 AM

April 3, 1916:
　
Air War:
French ace Jean Navarre, in a Nieuport 11, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 8.

French pilot Charles Nungesser, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 4.

English observer Maurice Douglas Guest Scott, riding in Vickers FB.5 2882 with an unnamed pilot, shoots down a German two-seater for his first aerial victory.

North Sea:
Hans Valentiner, commanding UB-16, captures Dutch sailing vessel SV Elziena Helena, 121 tons, bound from Drammen for Poole with a load of timber. His score is now 17 ships and 10,933 tons.

Norwegian freighter SS Ino, 702 tons, carrying a load of coal from Blythe to Rouen, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. Nitzsche's score is now 10 ships and 19,582 tons.

Black Sea:
Konrad Gansser, in U-33, attacks Russian converted minesweeper Enrichetta, 442 tons, with his deck gun. The crippled ship stays afloat, but despite efforts to save her, will sink thirteen days later, raising Gansser's score to 46 ships and 121,055 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rucker, in U-34, sinks British freighters SS Ellaston, 3,796 tons, en route from Immingham to Alexandria with a load of coal; and SS Sneaton, 3,470 tons, carrying coal form Hull to Alexandria. This raises his score to 22 ships and 77,355 tons.
　
Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks British freighter SS Clan Campbell, 5,897 tons, travelling from Tuticorin to London with a general cargo. His score is now 48 ships and 123,919 tons.

South Africa:
After nine days under tow, HMS Mersey and Fleet Auxiliary Trent arrive at Durban, South Africa.

Jimbuna

04-04-16, 01:33 PM

4th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French progress north of Bois de Caillette.

Eastern Front

General Brusilov succeeds General Ivanov in command of southern front.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British attack Lol Kissale (German East Africa).

Aviation

Zeppelin raid on east coast; 1 killed, 9 injured.

Political, etc.

Chancellor of the Exchequer McKenna asks for a budget of £1.825 billion to fund the war, which costs Britain £5 million daily.

Clyde strike ends.

Salvation Army announces a plan to introduce British war widows to bachelors in Canada and the United States.

Netherlands moves its troops to the German border. Dutch officials state it is a “dress rehearsal” for contingencies.

Holland reaffirms her neutrality after a secret sitting of the Chamber.

Daniel Hoan, member of the Socialist Party, is elected mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (he will serve for 24 more years).

Ship Losses:

Bendew (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 1 (Egon von Werner) and sank in the Thames Estuary 9 nautical miles (17 km) south of the Kentish Knock Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°30′N 1°37′E) with the loss of a crew member.
Maria Carmella Findari (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Strait of Sicily by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Giuseppe Padre (Italy) The sailing ship was sunk in the Strait of Sicily
(36° 55'N, 11° 20'E) by U 39 (Walter Forstmann).

http://i.imgur.com/Ked98My.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-04-16, 01:36 PM

April 4, 1916:

Air War:
German ace Hans-Joachim Buddecke, flying a Fokker E,III for the Turkish Air Force, files a claim for a Farman two-seater. It is listed as "Unconfirmed", his seventh such denial.

French pilot Lucien Jailler, in a Nieuport 10, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 3.

French pilot Charles Nungesser, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft", for victory number 5.

North Sea:
British freighter SS Bendew, 3,681 tons, bound from Port Briera, Algeria for Tyne, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1. Von Werner's score is now 18 ships and 22,933 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, commanding U-39, sinks Italian brigantine SV Giuseppe Padre, 184 tons; and SV Maria Carmella Findari, 42 tons, bringing his score to 50 ships and 124,145 tons.

South Africa:
Old 2nd class cruiser HMS Challenger departs Simonstown for Durban.
　
At Durban, work begins transferring stores from FA Trent to HMS Mersey.

Jimbuna

04-05-16, 08:51 AM

5th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans occupy Haucourt; attack on Bethincourt breaks down.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British take Um-el-Hanna and Falahiya position (Mesopotamia), and positions on right bank of Tigris.

Sir J. Nixon's Mesopotamian despatch of 1 January 1916 published.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German submarine SM UB-26 is trapped in a French anti-submarine net and is scuttled by the crew.

"Breslau" aids Turks near Trebizond.

Aviation

Germany claims they shot down 44 British and French aeroplanes in March, while they only lost 14 aeroplanes.

Zeppelin raid on north-east coast: 1 killed, 9 injured.

http://i.imgur.com/Z00k7LI.jpg

Political, etc.

List of certified trades under Military Service Act revised.

"Military Medal" instituted.

General Morone becomes Minister of War in Italy.

Field Marshal Charles Henry Brownlow, veteran of the Indian Mutiny and 2nd Opium War, has passed away.
http://i.imgur.com/1sdg14a.jpg

Ship Losses:

Baus (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 15 nautical miles (28 km) west north west of Cap de la Hève, Seine-Maritime, France by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her crew. Survivors were rescued by a French fishing vessel.
Chantala (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 15 nautical miles (28 km) north of Cape Bengut Algeria (37°12′N 3°48′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nine crew.
Jeanette (France) The lugger was sunk in the English Channel 12 nautical miles (22 km) off St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
SM UB-26 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UB II submarine was trapped in anti submarine nets and was scuttled. Subsequently salvaged by the French, repaired and entered French Navy service at Roland Morillot.
Zent (United Kingdom) The refrigerated cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 28 nautical miles (52 km) west by south of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 49 crew.

Catfish

04-05-16, 09:39 AM

^ "Field Marshal Charles Henry Brownlow, veteran of the Indian Mutiny and 2nd Opium War..."

How nicely phrased..
This thread .. :D

Sailor Steve

04-05-16, 11:29 AM

April 5, 1916:

English Channel:
Otto Steinbrink, commanding UB-18, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Baus, 1,287 tons, bound from South Shields for Rouen with a load of coal; and French lugger SV Jeannette, 160 tons, travelling in ballast fro Boulogne to Ireland. His score is now 34 ships and 35,528 tons.
　
UB-26, commanded by Wilhelm Smiths, becomes entangled in nets laid by French destroyer Trombe. Smiths has no choice but to surface and scuttle his boat. He and the other 20 members of his crew are taken prisoner. Smiths had previously commanded UB-5 and sank 5 ships for a total of 996 tons. After the war Smiths will become German consul in Messina and manage a company manufacturing citrus-fruit essences.

Thorwald von Bothmer, in U-66, begins his career with the torpedoing of British freighter SS Zent, 3,890 tons, travelling in ballast from Garston for Santa Marta, Colombia.

Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, in U-34, torpedoes British freighter SS Chantala, 4,951 tons, carrying a general cargo from Tees and London to Calcutta, bringing his score to 23 ships and 82,306 tons.

United States:
American schooner SV Elsie A. Bayles, 251 tons, sailing out of Providence, Rhode Island, is wrecked off the New Inlet Coast Guard Station south of Bodie Island, North Carolina.

Bahama Islands:
British lighthouse tender SS Carnarvon, 514 tons, travelling from Nasssau to Watling island, runs aground at Egg Island. The wreck still sits on the shallow bottom today.

Argentina:
Norwegian freighter SS Marika, 2,811 tons, carrying a load of maize from Buenos Aires to Aarhus, Denmark, capsizes and sinks off the Rio de la Plata, with the loss of 16 lives.

Jimbuna

04-06-16, 08:30 AM

6th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German progress between Bethincourt and Hill 265.

Germans regain two craters at St. Eloi.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians drive Turks across Kara Dere (Armenia).

Failure of preliminary British attack on Sanna-i-Yat.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Lol Kissale (German East Africa) captured.

Aviation

German zeppelins raid fortifications at Hull and iron works near Whitby in the 5th aerial attack on Britain in 6 days.

http://i.imgur.com/NFGArG5.jpg

Political, etc.

Spanish government demands explanation from Germany for the sinking of the Spanish steamer Vigo.

Count Ferdinand Zeppelin congratulates the Germany military for its successive zeppelin air raids against Britain.

German Chancellor: “We must create real guarantees that Belgium shall never be a Franco-British vassal…”

Houston Stewart Chamberlain, author and son of a British Rear Admiral, applies for German citizenship.
http://i.imgur.com/zT4u2wo.jpg

Ship Losses:

Asger Ryg (Denmark) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel west of Beachy Head, East Sussex, United Kingdom by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all fifteen crew.
Beicos (Belgium) The cargo ship foundered in the Black Sea.
Binicaise (France) The schooner was sunk in the English Channel (50°20′N 7°00′W) by SM U-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Stjerneborg (Denmark) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sardinia, Italy (38°45′N 9°15′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by a Regia Marina warship.
Vesuvio (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 6 nautical miles (11 km) east of the Owers Lightship ( United Kingdom) (50°38′30″N 0°31′30″E) by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seven of her crew.
Yonne (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 18 nautical miles (33 km) north north west of Cape Cherchell, Algeria by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Colbert (France) The troopship was damaged by gunfire from U 39 (Walter Forstmann) off the west coast of Sardinia and suffered two casualties.
Vennacher (United Kingdom) The tanker was torpedoed 28 miles WNW of Skerryvore and damaged by U 22 (Bruno Hoppe) there were no casualties.

Sailor Steve

04-06-16, 10:23 AM

April 6, 1916:
　
Irish Sea:
Bruno Hoppe, commanding U-22, torpedoes British tanker SS Vennacher, 4,926 tons, bound from Glasgow for Key West, Florida. The damaged ship makes port and is repaired.

English Channel:
Thorwald von Bothmer, in U-66, sinks French schooner SV Binicaise, 151 tons, en route from St. Malo to Briton Ferry with a load of scrap iron and steel. His score is now 2 ships and 4,041 tons.

Herbert Pustkuchen, in UB-29, torpedoes British freighter SS Vesuvio, 1,391 tons, heading from Messina to London with a general cargo; and Danish freighter SS Asger Ryg, 1,134 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to Algiers. Asger Ryg is lost with all hands and listed as missing until records are compared after the war. Pustkuchen's score is now 27 ships and 39,135 tons.

Meditteranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, in U-34, sinks British freighter SS Yonne, 4,039 tons, carrying a load of coal from Clyde to Alexandria. His score is now 24 ships and 86,345 tons.
　
Just south of Sardinia Walter Forstmann, in U-29, sinks Danish freighter SS Stjerneborg, 1,592 tons, travelling from Dunston to Bagnoli with a load of coal, bringing his score to 51 ships and 125,737 tons. Forstmann also attacks French troopship Colbert, 5,394 tons, but the damaged ship escapes with the loss of two lives.

German East Africa:
British monitor HMS Severn is patrolling off Dar-es-Salaam when they spot the German signal station there flying a white flag. Severn stops and is approached by a German motor boat. The boat's commander hands over a letter, which is transferred to gunboat HMS Fly and taken to Zanzibar. The German boat returns to Dar-es-Salaam and Severn resumes her patrol.

Jimbuna

04-07-16, 08:59 AM

7th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French repulse an attack south and east of Haucourt.

German artillery continues its bombardment of Rheims. Around a thousand artillery shells hit the city.
http://i.imgur.com/qi3lrxW.jpg

Eastern Front

Renewed fighting at Lake Naroch (south of Dvinsk).

Southern Front

Bulgarians and Germans bomb Salonika lines.

Italian retirement from trenches on the Rauchkofel (Carnic.).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians repulse three attacks on Kara Dere.

Cars raid Moraisa (18 miles north-west of Sollum, western Egypt).

Political, etc.

First married groups called up.

Dutch Chamber authorises calling up of 1917 class.

Great Britain rejects German suggestions that it would end its submarine warfare if Britain loosens its blockade of Germany.

German government expropriates stockpiles of coffee, tea, and chicory in order to control their distribution.

Reichstag member von Payer: “We feel ourselves united with America by ties of blood, and we hope the American people will give us justice.”

German Reichstag again discusses the issue of submarine warfare as U.S. pressure towards Germany grows.

Ship Losses:

Braunton (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km) south by west of Beachy Head, East Sussex (50°39′N 1°11′E) by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Clyde (United Kingdom) The brig was scuttled in the English Channel 32 nautical miles (59 km) north of Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Eemdijk (Netherlands) The cargo ship was torpedoed and damaged in the English Channel 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south south west of St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom (50°30′N 1°19′W) by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached but was later refloated, repaired and returned to service.
Halcyon (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the English Channel 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km) south west by south of Folkestone, Kent (51°01′N 1°10′E). Her crew survived.
Marguerite (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the English Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) north of Cap de la Hève, Seine Maritime by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Rijndijk (Netherlands) The cargo ship was torpedoed and damaged in the Atlantic Ocean 20 nautical miles (37 km) west north west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly United Kingdom by SM U-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached but was later refloated.
Sainte Marie (France) The barquentine was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 30 nautical miles (56 km) west of the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom (49°45′N 7°10′W) by SM U-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

Sailor Steve

04-07-16, 10:23 AM

April 7, 1916:

Air War:
1720 Italian pilot Francesco Baracca, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down a Hansa-Brandenberg C.I for his first aerial victory.

Italian pilot Luigi Olivari, in an unnamed aircraft, shoots down an unnamed two-seater for his first kill.

Celtic Sea:
Thorwald von Bothmer, commanding U-66, stops French barquentine SV Sainte Marie, bound from Fecamp for Newfoundland with a load of salt, and sinks her with his deck gun. His score is now 3 ships and 4,439 tons. Von Bothmer also torpedoes Dutch freighter SS Rijndijk, 3,557 tons, carrying a load of wheat from Portland, Maine, to Rotterdam. The ship is beached and later refloated.

English Channel:
Otto Steinbrinck, in UB-18, stops and sinks British brigantine SV Clyde, 204 tons, travelling from London to Dieppe with a load of scrap iron. His score is now 35 ships and 35,732 tons. Steinbrink also torpedoes Dutch freighter SS Eemdijk, 3,048 tons, carrying a load of maize from Baltimore to Rotterdam, but the damaged ship makes port and is repaired.

Herbert Pustkuchen, in UB-29, torpedoes British freighter SS Braunton, 4,575 tons, bound from Boulogne for Newport with a load of government stores; and sinks French sailboat SV Marguerite, 42 tons. His score is now 29 ships and 43,572 tons.

British freighter SS Halcyon, 1,319 tons, carrying a general cargo from Bordeaux to London, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6, bringing his score to 33 ships and 43,180 tons.

South Africa:
Old second-class cruiser HMS Challenger arrives at Durban, meets monitor HMS Mersey.

The crew of Mersey, meanwhile, are busy loading ammunition and setting up the guns.

Jimbuna

04-08-16, 07:20 AM

8th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French evacuate Bethincourt: German gain at Haucourt reported.

French officer defending Verdun: “The Mort-Homme smoked like a volcano with innumerable craters.”

Ship Losses:

HMS Adamton (Royal Navy) The collier was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 15 nautical miles (28 km) north of Skerryvore (56°32′N 7°26′W) by SM U-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
Moss Rose (United Kingdom) The tug foundered at Barry, Glamorgan. Her crew were rescued.
Sal'dagan (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea (44°52′N 32°40′E) by SM UB-7 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Santanderino (Spain) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 18 nautical miles (33 km) off Ouessant, Finistère, France (48°20′N 5°33′W) by SM U-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her twenty crew. Survivors were rescued by a Norwegian merchant ship.
Zafra (United Kingdom) The collier was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 44 nautical miles (81 km) north of Oran, Algeria (36°26′N 1°00′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

http://i.imgur.com/VKhFCey.jpg
(Western Mail cartoon)

Sailor Steve

04-08-16, 02:05 PM

April 8, 1916:
　
Air War:
German observer Karl Friedrich Kurt Jentsch, riding as observer in an unnamed two-seater with an unnamed pilot, is credited with shooting down a Farman MF.11 for his first kill.

Scotland:
Bruno Hoppe, commanding U-22, uses his deck gun to sink British freighter SS Adamton, 2,304 tons, travelling in ballast to Barry. Hoppe's score is now 8 ships and 17,972 tons.

Celtic Sea:
Thorwald von Bothmer, in U-66, sinks Spanish freighter SS Santanderino, 3,346 tons, travelling from Liverpool to Havana. This brings his score to 4 ships and 7,784 tons.

Black Sea:
Wilhelm Werner, in UB-7, sinks Russian sailing vessel Sal'dagan, 75 tons, bringing his score to 2 vessels and 6,086 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Claus Rücker, in U-34, sinks British freighter SS Zafra, 3,578 tons, Bound from Cardiff to Malta with a load of coal. His score is now 25 ships and 89,923 tons.

South Africa:
British cruiser HMS Challenger departs Durban for Zanzibar.

United States:
American schooner SV Emma F. Angell, 819 tons, travelling from Providence to Norfolk, sinks off Winter Quarter Shoal, Virginia.

Jimbuna

04-09-16, 08:48 AM

9th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans gain footing on Hill 295, but fail in attack on 12-mile front west of Meuse. General Pétain praises the French defenders, calling it “a glorious day for our forces…Courage, we shall have them yet!”

Recapture of mine crater at St. Eloi by British reported.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British attack on main Turkish position at Sanna-i-Yat (Mesopotamia) fails.

Abiad (Darfur) occupied.

Political, etc.

Britain accuses German doctors of abandoning British prisoners when a typhus outbreak occurred in the Wittenberg POW Camp.

Around 1700 men return from Italy to the U.S. after they were exempted from conscription due to age, marital status, & other factors.

Russia cancels export permits to Romania to pressure the country to stop conducting trade with the Central Powers.

Greco-Bulgarian frontier closed to passenger traffic, mails for Bulgaria and Turkey continue.

Ship Losses:

Caledonia (Denmark) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 23 nautical miles (43 km) south south east of the Le Titan Lighthouse, Île du Levant, Var, France (42°34′N 6°44′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Eastern City (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 18 nautical miles (33 km) north by west of Ouessant, Finistère, France by SM U-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Glenalmond (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 27 nautical miles (50 km) north of Ouessant by SM U-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Gryoz (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea by SM UB-7 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Sjolyst (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 25 nautical miles (46 km) north of Ouessant by SM U-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Avon (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sank in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) south east by east of the Tongue Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of two of her crew.
http://i.imgur.com/wb8LzrW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7kkhzRV.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/5IvLxKO.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-09-16, 11:32 AM

April 9, 1916:

Air War:
Bohemian pilot Otto Jindra, flying Albatros B.I 22.23 with an unnamed observer, claims an "Enemy Aircraft" for his 5th kill.

German pilot Franz Walz and observer Martin Gerlich, in an unnamed two-seater, shoot down a Caudron G.4 for victory number 1. The identities of the French crew are uncertain, but French records list a Caudron from Escadrille C.27 as missing, along with Sgt Gaston Henri Felix Guidecelli and Lt Gaston Emile Marie Marchand.

Irish Sea:
British coaster SS Corsewall, 237 tons, carrying a load of potatoes from Coleraine, Northern Ireland, to Liverpool, is wrecked at Banmouth, Wales.

Celtic Sea:
Thorwald von Bothmer, commanding U-66, sinks British freighters SS Eastern City, 4,341 tons, travelling in ballast from St. Nazaire to Barry; SS Glenalmond, 2,888 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Bilbao to Glasgow; and Norwegian freighter SS Sjolyst, 997 tons, travelling in ballast from Nantes to Manchester. His score is now 7 ships and 16,010 tons.

North Sea:
British freighter SS Avon, 1,574 tons, bound from London to Leith with a general cargo, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7. Haag's score is now 17 ships and 28,490 tons.

Black Sea:
Wilhelm Werner, in UB-7, sinks Russian sailing vessel Gryoza, 119 tons, bringing his score to 3 ships and 6,205 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks Danish freighter SS Caledonia, 1,815 tons, carrying a load of coal from Glasgow to Livorno, just south of Toulon. His score is now 52 ships and 127,552 tons.

Durban, South Africa:
Two men reported missing from HMS Challenger turn up aboard HMS Mersey.

United States:
American schooner SV Silver Spray, 164 tons, bound from New York to Lubec, Maine, founders 20 miles off Portland, Maine.

American Schooner W.E. & W.L. Tuck, 395 tons, carrying a load of coal from New York to Calais, Maine, is wrecked near Southwest Harbor, Maine.

Jimbuna

04-10-16, 06:55 AM

10th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Critical day; general German repulse on Meuse and Mort Homme, but slight German gain at Poivre Hill.

Germans gain ground at St. Eloi.

Southern Front

Sir C. Monro's Dardanelles despatch published. http://www.1914-1918.net/monros_gallipoli_despatch.html

Naval and Overseas Operations

Allies decide to form naval bases in Iionian Isles and the Aegean.

Political, etc.

Mr. Asquith defines Allied position in a speech to French deputies visiting London.

Lords Derby and Montagu resign from Air Committee.

Report on Wittenberg prisoners' camp published.

British Liquor Control Board announces it will promote non-alcoholic beer in pubs, starting in the House of Commons.

General von Hohenborn: “Never before has warfare been extended so criminally against women and children as is now being done by England.”

Spanish General Elections are held. The Liberal Party wins a majority with 233 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 88.

U.S. consuls in Europe report the cost of living has risen from 25 to 200% since the start of war in both neutral and belligerent countries.

Ship Losses:

Dorthea (Denmark) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the North Sea (55°45′N 3°30′E). Her crew were rescued by a Dutch trawler.[
Silksworth Hall (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 1.25 nautical miles (2.32 km) off the Corton Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.
Margam Abbey (United Kingdom) The steamer was sunk by U 66 (Thorwald von Bothmer) whilst enroute from Bordeaux - Barry
in ballastSunk in position 55 miles SW1/4S of the Lizard. There were no casualties.
Unione (Italy) The steamer was torpedoed and sunk off Land's End in position 49° 33'N, 6° 09'W by U 66 (Thorwald von Bothmer) whilst enroute from Clyde - Genoa with a cargo of coal. There were no casualties.
Robert Adamson (United Kingdom) The steamer was sunk by UB 16 (Paul Hundius) in position 3 miles NxE of the Shipwash LV whilst enroute from Dundee - Havre carryin g a cargo of props. there were no casualties.

http://i.imgur.com/4pg3CxL.jpg
"Nearing The Brink" (Western Mail cartoon)

Sailor Steve

04-10-16, 12:00 PM

April 10, 1916:

Air War:
Lt. Col. Donald Swain Lewis, holder of the Distinguished Service Order, is flying a Morane 'L' Parasol with Cpt. A.W. Gale as observer when their aircraft takes a direct hit from a German anti-aircraft gun. Lewis is killed but Gale survives the crash.

On September 14, 1914 Lewis, then a Captain, along with Major Geoffrey Salmond, conducted the first experiments using a wireless transmitter for artillery spotting. He also created the "grid-square" system for combat cartography.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Swain_Lewis

Celtic Sea:
Thorwald von Bothmer, commanding U-66, sinks British freighter SS Margam Abbey, 4,471 tons, travelling in ballast from Bordeaux to Barry, and Italian freighter SS Unione, 2,367 tons, carrying a load of coal from Clyde to Genoa. Von Bothmer ends his first war patrol with 9 ships and 22,848 tons.

North Sea:
Wilhelm Kiel, in UB-12, sinks British freighter SS Silksworth Hall, 4,777 tons, travelling in Ballast from Hull to Philadelphia. This brings his score to 4 ships and 4,894 tons.

Paul Hundius starts his career in UB-16 with the sinking of British freighter SS Robert Adamson, 2,978 tons, carrying a load of mine props from Dundee to Le Havre.

Danish freighter SS Dorthea, 842 tons, carrying a load of coal from Methil to Esbjerg, hits a mine laid by an unknown ship.

German East Africa:
Old 2nd-class cruiser HMS Hyacinth conducts a reconnaissance off the Lindi River in company with whaler/gunboats HMS Childers and Echo. At noon they stop off Mgau Mwania. At 1658 Hyacinth communicates with Childers and at 1811 with Echo, regarding plans to explore up the river then next day.

South Africa:
HMS Mersey discharges one of the misplaced stokers for passage to rejoin HMS Challenger.

Jimbuna

04-11-16, 09:29 AM

11th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German attack on Douaumont-Vaux sector fails.

Naval and Overseas Operations

U-boat activity increases. 20,000 tons of ships were sunk in January, compared with 100,000 tons in March & 81,000 tons so far in April.

Kionga (East Africa) captured by Portuguese troops.

Political, etc.

Britain executes Ludovico Zender for spying. He is the last person executed in the Tower of London during the Great War.

Prime Minister Asquith speaks to French Senators and Deputies: “We are not defeated, we are not going to be defeated.”

German losses since beginning of war 2,730,917.

Germany exports fifteen-centimetre howitzers to Switzerland. French arms companies were unable to fulfill the order.

Portuguese Cabinet resigns.

Albanian Relief Committee reports that 150,000 Albanians have died due to starvation and 500,000 more are starving due to the war.

Ship Losses:

Angus (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 76 nautical miles (141 km) east by north of Valencia, Spain (39°57′N 1°08′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Inverlyon (United Kingdom) The barque was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 108 nautical miles (200 km) west north west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-73 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Imperator (russia) The sailing vessel was damaged by U 34 (Claus Rücker) in position East of Valencia, Spain, 39° 47'N, 1° 15'E whilst enroute from Gulfport - Marseille carrying a cargo of timber.

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

Sailor Steve

04-11-16, 09:34 AM

April 11, 1916

Scotland:
Swedish freighter SS Murjek, 4,146 tons, is sunk by a mine off Cape Wrath, the northernmost point of Scotland.

Celtic Sea:
Gustav Seiß begins his career as captain of U-73 with the sinking of British barque SV Inverlyon, 1,827 tons, travelling from Portland, Oregon to Limerick, Ireland.

Balearic Sea:
Claus Rücker, commanding U-34, sinks British freighter SS Angus, 3,619 tons, bound from Calcutta to Bilbao with a load of Jute and Cotton. Rücker's score is now 26 ships and 93,542 tons. Rücker also attacks Russian barquentine SV Imperator, 394 tons, carrying a load of timber from Gulfport to Marseille, but the damaged vessel survives.

German East Africa:
Cruiser HMS Hyacinth, Whaler-gunboats HMS Childers, Echo, and a steam cutter armed with demolition charges anchor off Mgaw Mwania River.
0700 Childers, Echo and the cutter head up-river.
0720 The two gunboats exchange fire with a shore battery.
0727 Hyacinth opens fire on the village of Sudi.
0745 Hyacinth opens indirect fire on a stores ship moored at Samgogore village, with the whalers calling the fall of shot.
0920 Hyacinth recommences fire on Sudi village.
0920 Custom house is destroyed.
0950 The whalers run back down-river under heavy fire by shore batteries.
1020 Echo comes alongside Hyacinth. Dead and wounded are transferred to the cruiser and repairs are made to the whaler.
1150 Hyacinth heads out to sea at 8 knots.
1300 Hyacinth is joined by Childers and Echo.
1700 Funeral service for the dead.
1830 The two whalers leave Hyacinth.

Five members of Echo's crew were killed during the operation.

Tasmania:
Australian coaster SS Toroa, 388 tons, carrying a load of livestock from Launceston to Flinders island, runs aground on a reef on the western side of Rabbit island.

Jimbuna

04-12-16, 02:40 PM

12th April 1916

Western Front

Infantry attacks at Verdun once again ceases, as both sides reorganize their forces. Both sides continue heavy bombardment.

Eastern Front

Germans repulsed near Dvinsk.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turkish right at Sanna-i-Yat forced back 1.5 miles; floods on Tigris increasing.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British occupy Kothersheim (German East Africa).

German Note to U.S.A. on the "Sussex" case.

Political, etc.

Britain classifies gold, silver, paper money, and realizable securities as contraband in their blockade against Germany.

Clyde strikers tried for sedition.

French Senate discusses fixing the cost of life necessities in order to combat rising prices.

Plot in U.S.A. to blow up ships carrying munitions.

Cavalry troops of the U.S. Army and Mexican Army clash in Chihuahua, resulting in 2 U.S. deaths & several dozen Mexican casualties.

Ship Losses:

Orlock Head (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 65 nautical miles (120 km) south east of Barcelona, Spain (40°40′N 2°32′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Prøven (Denmark) The schooner was sunk in the North Sea 22 nautical miles (41 km) north of the Smith's Knoll Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Vega (France) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 80 nautical miles (150 km) east of Barcelona (40°42′N 2°09′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine).[56] Her 33 crew were rescued by Jaime II ( Spain).
Colombia (Netherlands) The steamer hit a mine laid by UC 1 (Egon von Werner) and was damaged in position (51° 51'N, 1° 56'E) whilst enroute from Baltimore - Amsterdam carrying a cargo of maize.

Sailor Steve

04-12-16, 03:24 PM

April 12, 1916

Air War:
Seven Austro-Hungarian two-seaters are sent to bomb a military parade at the Ukrainian city of Chotin, attended by Tsar Nicholas II. Bohemian ace Otto Jindra, in Albatros B.I 22.23 with Godwin Brumowski as gunner, fend of an attack by Morane parasol two-seaters, shooting down two of them. These are victories number 6 & 7 for Jindra and 1 & 2 for Brumowski.

North Sea:
Arthur Metz, commanding UB-13, sinks Danish schooner SV Prøven, 276 tons, bound from Setubal for Göteborg, bringing his score to 3 ships and 15,276 tons.

Dutch freighter SS Colombia, 5,644 tons, carrying a load of maize from Baltimore to Amsterdam, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1. The damaged ship survives.

Balearic Sea:
Claus Rücker, in U-34, sinks British freighter SS Orlock Head, 1,945 tons, travelling from Genoa & Valencia to Glasgow with a general cargo; and French freighter SS Vega, 2,957 tons, carrying a load of coffee, cocoa and tobacco from Santos to Marseille. His score is now 28 ships and 98,454 tons.

South Africa:
At Durban British monitor HMS Mersey moves into a floating drydock and the crew begin cleaning her bottom.

HMS Challenger moves from Durban to Lindi.

Jimbuna

04-13-16, 08:52 AM

13th April 1916

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Australian troops break up Turkish camp at Jifjaffa (Sinai Peninsula).

Russians repulse Turks after six days fighting west of Erzerum.

Political, etc.

Resignation of Portuguese Cabinet withdrawn.

New York City Police arrest four Germans who confessed to have made bombs that targeted ships heading to Allied nation’s ports.

General Carranza, head of the Executive Power of Mexico, prepares to move his capital from Queretaro to Mexico City.

Ship Losses:

Chic (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 45 nautical miles (83 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nine crew.
Lipari (Italy) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 36 nautical miles (67 km) off Cape Spartivento, Calabria (36°00′N 16°49′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Sailor Steve

04-13-16, 09:52 AM

April 13, 1916

English Channel:
Bruno Hoppe, commanding U-22, sinks British freighter SS Chic, 3,037 tons, bound from Halifax to Manchester with a load of wood pulp. Hoppe's score is now 9 ships and 21,009 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Walter Forstmann, in U-39, uses his deck gun to sink Italian freighter SS Lipari, 1,539 tons, route and cargo unknown. Forstmann's score is now

South Africa:
HMS Challenger continues her voyage to German East Africa,
joining flagship HMS Vengeance off Tirene, Mafia Island,
at 1230 hours.

Jimbuna

04-14-16, 07:30 AM

14th April 1916

Western Front

Captain Augustin Cochin at Verdun: “I arrived here with 175 men, I return with 34, half of them half crazy.”

Eastern Front

End of first battle of Lake Naroch.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

General Gorringe drives back Turks on right bank Tigris.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British occupy Salanga (German East Africa).

Italian Front

Italian troops captures Austro-Hungarian positions on the steep crest of Lobbia Alta, over 3000 meters over sea level.

Aviation

Three British aeroplanes fly 300 miles from Greece to raid Constantinople, targeting powder works and aeroplane hangars.

Political, etc.

Cabinet Council on the Military Service Act.

U.S. cabinet approves President Wilson's Note to Germany on submarine campaign.

Russian government orders 5 million pairs of army boots from Britain, the largest single order of its kind.

Princeton University adds a regular course in military training, starting next fall, which can count towards a degree.

42 recruiting leagues in the Dominion of Canada call on the government to adopt a military draft.

Ship Losses:

HMT Alberta (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sank in the North Sea off Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
HMT Orcades Royal Navy The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) .
Shenandoah (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the English Channel 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) west of Folkestone, Kent (51°01′40″N 1°12′30″E) with the loss of two of her crew.

Sailor Steve

04-14-16, 09:31 AM

April 14, 1916

Air War:
0630 Austrian pilot Kurt Gruber and observer Egon Hervay von Kirchberg, in Albatros B.I 22.30 with an unnamed observer, shoot down a Morane parasol. Victory number 1 for both.

English Channel:
British freighter SS Shenandoah, 3,886 tons, bound from Halifax to London with a general cargo, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6. His score is now 34 ships and 47,066 tons.

North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawlers Alberta, 209 tons, and Orcades, 270 tons, both hit mines laid by Georg Haag in UC-7, bringing his score to 19 ships and 28,969 tons.

Jimbuna

04-15-16, 06:02 AM

15th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Successful French attack south of Douaumont.

French troops launch a counterattack against German troops on Le Mort Homme (Dead Man’s Hill), but are driven back after bayonet fighting.

Eastern Front

Russians take two lines of trenches near Lake Naroch.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British advance on Tigris.

Russian success near Bitlis.

British occupy Kharga Oasis (120 miles south-south-west of Assiut).

Naval

Dredging fleets finish removing debris from Gaillard Cut of the Panama Canal, which had been closed for the last seven months.

Political, etc.

German Chancellor meets with the U.S. ambassador and the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister to avoid a diplomatic break with the U.S.

Catholic ecclesiastical authorities in Germany publish a report that over a million Armenians have died in the Ottoman Empire.

University of Michigan investigates two of its professors on allegations that they signed a statement declaring pro-Allied, anti-German sympathies.

Ship Losses:

Fairport (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 31 nautical miles (57 km) north by west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (50°18′N 6°52′W) by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Schwanden (Russia) The barque was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine) at approximately the same position as Fairport ( United Kingdom).
Tusnastabb (Norway) The steamer hit a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sunk off Cape Gris-Nez in position 50° 54'N, 1° 34'E whilst enroute from Newcastle to Boulogne with a cargo of coal. There were no casualties.

http://i.imgur.com/KZ1eX0s.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-15-16, 01:26 PM

April 15, 1916

Germany:
Idflieg holds a demonstration fair. Present are the finalized Fokker D.I and D.II prototypes, the Albatros C.V prototype and a D.I prototype. Ace Oswald Boelcke is invited to test-fly all the new aircraft.

Celtic Sea:
Ernst Wilhelms begins his career in U-69 with the sinking of British freighter SS Fairport, 3,838 tons, bound from Rosario for Manchester with a load of wheat; and Russian barque SV Schwanden, 844 tons, travelling in ballast from Bowling to Pensacola. Wilhelms' opening score is 2 ships and 4,682 tons.

English Channel:
Norwegian freighter SS Tusnastabb, 859 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newcastle to Boulogne, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7, bringing his score to 20 ships and 29,828 tons.

Baltic Sea:
German freighter SS Hispania, 2,644 tons, travelling from Hamburg to Stockholm, hits a mine near Sandhamn, about 50 km from Stockholm.

German East Africa:
British cruiser HMS Challenger rejoins the squadron after several months away, linking up with flagship HMS Vengeance, an old Canopus-class battleship HMS Vengeance and fellow cruiser HMS Hyacinth.

HMS Vengeance reports taking aboard 3,000 pounds of oranges and 10 tons of fresh distilled water, but notes expending 17 tons of water, leaving 87 tons aboard.

Jimbuna

04-16-16, 09:08 AM

16th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German bombardment of Avocourt Wood and Hill 304.

Canadian troops fail to advance against German lines at Sint-Elooi, south of Ypres, and lose all their gains to German counterattacks.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians, after nine days' fighting take a position of left bank of Kara Dere.

Political, etc.

Germany cuts potato rations for animals. Horses are allowed ten pounds per day, cows are allowed five pounds.

Romania calls on the Class of 1917 for conscription and authorizes a 150 million Franc loan, as the country prepares to join the war.

Germany states it will no longer issue passports for people traveling to foreign countries purely for pleasure.

DeLloyd Thompson drops fireworks from an aeroplane over the White House and U.S. Capitol in order to highlight the danger of air raids.

Ship Losses:

Cardonia (United Kingdom) The full-rigged ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of the Fastnet Rock (50°57′N 10°06′W) by SM U-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Demir Hissar (Ottoman Navy) The torpedo boat was sunk in the Strait of Chios by HMS Jed, HMS Kennet and HMS Wear (all Royal Navy).
Glendoon (Norway) The full-rigged ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) west south west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom (49°28′N 7°40′W) by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Harrovian (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) west of the Bishop Rock (49°23′N 7°40′W) by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Papelera (Norway) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Isles of Scilly by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Sunbeam I (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.

Pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille whose names few Americans recognize (from left): Chouteau Johnson, Lawrence Rumsey, James McConnell, William Thaw, Raoul Lufbery, Kiffin Rockwell, Didier Masson, Norman Prince, Bert Hall.
http://i.imgur.com/zQMAoIs.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/iXhRjR1.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/RkI38oP.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-16-16, 09:10 AM

April 16, 1916

Air War:
1005 German pilot Rudolf Berthold, flying a Fokker E.III, shoots down BE.2c 2097 for victory number 5. Pilot 2nd Lt Wallace Sinclair Earle KIA, observer 2nd Lt C.W.P. Selby POW.

German observer Kurt Jentsch claims two Farmans, both unconfirmed.

Celtic Sea:
Hans Nieland opens his first patrol in his third command - U-67, with the sinking of British sailing ship SV Cardonia, 2,169 tons, bound from Seattle to Queenstown with a load of grain. His score is now. 10 ships and 2,606 tons.

Ernst Wilhelms, in U-69, stops and sinks British sailing ship SV Glendoon, 1,918 tons, carrying a load of nitrate from Iquique to Calais; freighter SS Harrovian, 4,309 tons, travelling from New York to Le Havre with a general cargo; and torpedoes Norwegian freighter SS Papelera, 1,591 tons, en route from Göteborg to Nantes with a cargo of cellulose, sulphur and machinery. His score is now 5 ships and 12,500 tons.

Jimbuna

04-17-16, 08:03 AM

17th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans repulsed at Douaumont, but gain footing in Bois de Chaudfour salient.

Southern Front

Italians blow up Col di Lana and take west part of Monte Ancona (Dol.).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Surmeneh and reach Assene Kalessi (Armenia).

British take Beit Aiessa (Mesopotamia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Germans in force at Kondoa Irangi (German East Africa).

Political, etc.

Sir Douglas Mawson urges the British Admiralty to send a relief expedition to Shackleton and his men who are trapped in Antarctica.

Russian government release a 35-page report alleging German cruelty against Russian prisoners of war.

French farmers respond to the tax on wheat by switching to oats, barley, and other grains.

Committee appointed to investigate recruiting.

Italy prohibits trading with Germany.

Anti-American riots develop in Chihuahua in protest of the U.S. intervention in Mexico after U.S. aviators were stationed in the city.

Ship Losses:

Ernest Reyer (France) The full-rigged ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean north west of Ouessant, Finistère (49°07′N 7°49′W) by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Although her 29 crew were allowed to take to the lifeboats, they did not survive.
Terje Viken (Norway) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by U 73 (Gustav Sieß) and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off Cabo Guia, Portugal. Her crew survived.

African American soldiers guarding Pancho Villa’s soldiers.
http://i.imgur.com/jyFhmtF.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-17-16, 10:02 AM

April 17, 1916

Air War:
German pilot Fritz Otto Bernert, flying a Fokker E.III, shoots down a Nieuport for victory number 1.

Celtic Sea:
Ernst Wilhelms, commanding U-69, comes across French sailing ship SV Ernest Reyer, 2,708 tons, bound from Cape Town for Falmouth with 3,500 tons of rice. U-69 shells Ernest Reyer to stop and gives the crew one hour to abandon ship. Wilhelms then fires one torpedo which sinks the ship in heavy seas. The 29 crew are all lost. On May 13th an empty ship's boat is sighted off Ushant. Wilhelms' score is now 6 ships and 15,208 tons.

Portugal:
Norwegian freighter SS Terje Viken, 3,579 tons, carrying a load of grain from Galveston to Lisboa, hits a mine laid by Gustav Seiß in U-73 off Cabo Guia, Portugal. Seiß's score is now 2 ships and 5,406 tons.

Jimbuna

04-18-16, 05:55 PM

18th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German bombardment of Avocourt Wood and Hill 304.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians, after nine days' fighting take a position of left bank of Kara Dere.

Naval

3,117 British civilians have been killed at sea since the war’s start, according to the British Board of Trade.

Political, etc.

U.S. Senate votes 43 to 37 to increase the U.S. Army to 250,000 men with another 750,000 reserves and militia.

General Funston sends another 2,300 U.S. soldiers into Mexico to reinforce General Pershing due to recent clashes with Mexican troops.

In his ultimatum, dated 18 April 1916, Wilson condemned Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, which resulted in merchant vessels being sunk without warning should they be suspected of trading with the Allies.

Wilson warned that the U.S. would not tolerate the continuation of such a policy and demanded it be revoked by the German government (a stance re-iterated in a speech to Congress the following day). http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/uboat1916_usultimatum.htm

Ship Losses:

Ravenhill (United Kingdom) The full-rigged ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 72 nautical miles (133 km) west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Sailor Steve

04-18-16, 05:58 PM

April 18, 1916

Celtic Sea:
Ernst Wilhelms, commanding U-69, stops and sinks British sailing ship SV Ravenhill, 1,826 tons, bound from Port Natal to Falmouth with a load of maize. His score is now 7 ships and 17,034 tons.

United States:
American schooner SV Caroline Gray, 277 tons, carrying a load of coal from Norfolk, Virginia to Cienfuegos, Cuba, is abandoned 128 miles south of Frying Pan Shoals, South Carolina.

Caribbean Sea:
Canadian schooner SV Nellie Louise, travelling from Barbados to St. John's, Newfoundland with a load of molasses, is wrecked off Barbados.

Jimbuna

04-19-16, 12:18 PM

19th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German bombardment of Avocourt Wood and Hill 304.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians, after nine days' fighting take a position of left bank of Kara Dere.

Naval and Overseas Operations

South African troops captures Kondoa Irangi in German East Africa.

Political, etc.

The United States threatens Germany that it will severe diplomatic relations if Germany does not stop its “illegal” submarine warfare.

Prime Minister Asquith admits to the House of Commons that members of his Cabinet are still split on the issue of conscription.

Field Marshal von der Goltz, German adviser to the Ottoman Empire, dies in Baghdad (poisoning is suspected).
http://i.imgur.com/HS1Ky81.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-19-16, 12:19 PM

April 19, 1916

Britain:
British freighter SS Avon, 2,199 tons, bound from Liverpool to Alexandria with a general cargo, collides with another ship and sinks off New Brighton, at the mouth of the Mersey River.

North Sea:
British Trawler Hawk, 181 tons, on a fishing trip out of Hull for Iceland, collides with Brazilian freighter SS Corcovado and sinks five miles northeast of the Spurn light vessel.

Jimbuna

04-20-16, 09:27 AM

20th April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French regain ground near Mort Homme and south of Douaumont.

Russian troops arrive at Marseilles.
http://i.imgur.com/xzqfwiO.jpg

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians take Turkish positions in Bitlis region.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Disguised German warship "Aud" sunk while trying to land arms on Irish coast. Germany attempts to smuggle 20,000 rifles, 10 machine guns, and 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ireland via the SS Libau. However, the SS Libau is trapped by British blockade ships, and the German crew scuttles the ship.

Food situation for the besieged British troops at Kut becomes critical. Civilians in the town are forced to leave.

Political, etc.

British government publishes details of a German plot to invade Canada by recruiting German reservists in the United States.

New Volunteer regulations issued.

Manpower proposals to be submitted to secret session of both Houses.

Sir Roger Casement lands in Ireland and is arrested.

Ship Losses:

Cairngowan (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 55 nautical miles (102 km) west by north of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SS Libau (Kaiserliche Marine) Easter Rising: The freighter, masquerading as Aud ( Norway), was scuttled off Fenit, County Kerry, Ireland.
Lodewijk Van Nassau (Netherlands) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 1 (Kurt Ramien) and sank in the North Sea off the Galloper Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°50′N 1°55′E).
Sabbia (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by U 74 (Erwin Weisbach) and sank in the North Sea 7 nautical miles (13 km) off the Isle of May, Fife (56°07′N 2°18′W). Her crew were rescued by Nordland ( Netherlands).
Whitgift (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of Ouessant, Finistère, France (47°51′N 6°10′W) by SM U-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 32 crew.

Sailor Steve

04-20-16, 10:05 AM

April 20, 1916

Air War:
Escadrille Américaine (N.124) is deployed to Luxeuil-les-Bains, France. The unit had been officially authorized on March 21.

Australian RNAS pilot Roderic Stanley Dallas, Flying Nieuport 11 3987, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 1.

Celtic Sea:
Hans Nieland, commanding U-67, sinks British freighter SS Whitgift, 4,397 tons, bound from Almeria for Tyne with a load of ore. His score is now 11 ships and 7,003 tons.

Ernst Wilhelms, in U-69, sinks British freighter SS Cairngowan, 4,017 tons, travelling from Liverpool to Newport News. His score is now 8 ships and 21,051.

North Sea:
British freighter SS Sabbia, 2,802 tons, headed from Burntisland to London with a load of coal, hits a mine laid by Erwin Weisbach in U-74. Weisbach's total is now 6 ships and 6,972 tons.

Dutch freighter SS Lodewijk Van Nassau, 3,350 tons, carrying a load of nitrate from Valparaiso to Rotterdam, hits a mine laid by Kurt Ramien, new commander of UC-1.

Jimbuna

04-21-16, 08:52 AM

21st April 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French make progress near Mort Homme, Vaux fort and Bois de Caillette.

British retake ground lost at Langemarck-Ypres.

Southern Front

Italian progress in the Carso.

Political, etc.

British government charges Germany of not properly treating prisoners in Southwest Africa. POWs were forced to boil hide for food.

British government stops authorization for the American Red Cross to ship aid to the Central Powers.

Prussian Finance Minister says that the German Empire may have to directly tax its states to forestall financial crisis.

Veracruz, Mexico holds a day of mourning to observe the second anniversary of the U.S. invasion of the city.

John Surratt, Confederate spy who was accused of being involved in Lincoln’s assassination, has died.
http://i.imgur.com/abdnumW.jpg

Ship Losses:

Estafette (French Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the North Sea off Dunquerque, Nord (51°02′N 2°11′E) with the loss of eight of her crew.
Feliciana (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 67 nautical miles (124 km) north north west of the Fastnet Rock (51°08′N 11°27′W) by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

http://i.imgur.com/yP7EaZO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/9949dq1.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-21-16, 09:23 AM

April 21, 1916

Air War:
Irish RFC pilot David Tidmarsh barely escapes death when an anti-aircraft shell passes through the cockpit of his DH.2.

Celtic Sea:
Raimund Weisbach, commanding U-19, begins his career with the sinking of British freighter SS Feliciana, 4,282 tons, travelling in ballast from Cardiff to New York.

German freighter SS Libau, 1,062 tons, disguised as Norwegian SS Aud departed Lübeck on April 9, with an all-volunteer crew heading for southern Ireland with a load of 20,000 rifles, one million rounds of ammunition, machine guns and explosives, all hidden under a load of timber. Managing to evade the British blockade and a major storm she arrived at Tralee bay on April 20th. The plan was to meet with traitor/spy Roger Casement. The plan failed and Libau attempted to escape, but was captured by the blockade. On April 21st she was being escorted by sloop HMS Bluebell when captain Karl Spindler and his crew scuttled their ship and were taken POW.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Libau

North Sea:
French naval trawler Estafette, 276 tons, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6, bringing his score to 35 ships and 47,333 tons.

Jimbuna

04-22-16, 07:48 AM

22nd April 1916

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British repulsed at Sanna-i-Yat.

Naval and Overseas Operations

SS Hsin Yu, a Chinese Army transport, collides with the crusier Hai Yung, resulting in its sinking and 1000 deaths.

British progress in German East Africa.

Political, etc.

Easter Manoeuvres of Sinn Fein volunteers cancelled.

German Kaiser, the Chancellor, and the Chief of the General Staff meet at General Headquarters to discuss military and diplomatic issues.

Portugal orders German citizens to leave the country within five days. Men of military age are interned.

Ship Losses:

Chanaral (France) The four-masted barque was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) south of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom (50°03′N 8°07′W) by SM U-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
József Agost Föherzeg (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (49°36′N 10°06′W by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine).[
Ross (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 108 nautical miles (200 km) west by north of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Tregantle (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by UB 16 (Paul Hundius).

Sailor Steve

04-22-16, 01:41 PM

April 22, 1916

0530 Australian RNAS Roderic Stanley Dallas, flying Nieuport 11 3987, shoots down a two seater for victory number 1.

Celtic Sea:
Raimund Weisbach, commanding U-19, sinks Italian freighter SS Jozsef Agost Foherzeg, 2,680 tons. bound from Barry for Livorno with a load of coal. He then captures British freighter SS Ross, 2,666 tons, carrying a load of ore from Sevilla to Glasgow, and after the crew has abandoned ship sinks her with a torpedo. Weisbach's score is now 3 ships and 9,629 tons.

Hans Nieland, in U-67, stops French freighter SS Chanaral, travelling from Mejillones to Falmouth with 4,000 tons of nitrates, orders the crew to abandon ship, collects the ship's papers and sinks her with a torpedo. Nieland then gives the crew directions Scilly Isles where they land safely the next day.

North Sea:
Paul Hundius, in UB-16, torpedoes British freighter SS Tregantle, 3,091 tons, carrying a load of wheat from Galveston to Hull. His score is now 2 ships and 6,069 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
Italian freighter SS Nilo, 2,768 tons, en route from Naples to Tripoli with a general cargo, is wrecked as she approaches Tripoli.

East China Sea:
Chinese passenger/cargo ship SS Hsin-Yu, 1,629 tons, carrying soldiers from an unspecified port to Foo Chow (modern Fuzhou), collides in a fog with Chinese cruiser Hai Yung off Chusan Island (modern Zhoushan), with the loss of over 1,000 lives. Only 30 survive the accident.

Jimbuna

04-23-16, 06:38 AM

23rd April 1916

Western Front

Aerodrome at Mariakerke bombed by naval aeroplanes.

British bombard Belgian coast.

Battle of Verdun: German attacks at Mort Homme repulsed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

S.S. "Julnar" fails to break blockade at Kut.

Ottoman troops, led by General von Kressenstein, attacks British positions east of the Suez Canal at Katia, Ograntina, and Duidar.

Political, etc.

U.S. Government makes preparations to cut off diplomatic relations with German if it does not stop its submarine warfare.

Greek Prime Minister Skouloudis gives around $1 million (about $21.8 million today) to families of Greek soldiers.

King Alfonso of Spain sends a message to King George V, commemorating the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare and Cervantes’s deaths.

Ship Losses:

HMT Lena Melling (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 7 (Georg Haag) and sank in the North Sea off the Elbow Lightship ( United Kingdom).
Parisiana (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 82 nautical miles (152 km) west of Ouessant, Finistère, France (47°55′N 7°04′W) by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Olga (Norway) The barque was reported to have been sunk by a German submarine. Her crew survived.
Ribston (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 66 nautical miles (122 km) west by south of Ouessant (47°51′N 6°44′W) by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Sailor Steve

04-23-16, 11:01 AM

April 23, 1916

Air War:
0945 German Ace Max Immelmann, in a Fokker E.IV, shoots down Vickers FB.5 5079 for victory number 14. 2nd Lts William Charles Mortimer-Phelan and William Archibald Scott-Brown both taken POW.

1130 German pilot Max von Mulzer, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down FE.2b 5210 for victory number 2. Lt W.E. Collison is taken POW, AM2 Geoffrey F. Atwell KIA.
(Immelmann and von Mulzer were operating together and were both involved in shooting down both British planes. The above is how they divided the credit.)

Celtic Sea:
Raimund Weisbach, Commanding U-19, sinks British freighters SS Parisiana, 4,763 tons, bound from London to Newport News with a load of manure; and Ribston, 3,048 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardiff to an unnamed destination. His score is now 5 ships and 17,440 tons.

British schooner SV Peter James, 90 tons, departs Newport, Wales for Waterford, Ireland, and is not heard from again.

North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Lena Melling, 274 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Haag in UC-7, bringing his score to 21 ships and 30,102 tons.

Iyo-nada Sea:
Japanese freighter Kagawa Maru, 613 tons, carrying a general cargo from Uwajima to Osaka, is wrecked on the west coast of Shikoku.

Jimbuna

04-24-16, 11:18 AM

24th April 1916

Aviation

Aeroplane raid on Dover, no damage.

http://i.imgur.com/j181ykv.jpg

Naval

German submarine SM UB-13 sinks off the mouth of the Thames. All 17 members of the crew are killed.

Political, etc.

King George and Czar Nicholas exchange Easter messages and affirm confidence in eventual victory.

Rebellion in Ireland; Sinn Feiners seize Dublin Post Office. Serious fighting in Dublin.

Irish rebels attempt to seize Dublin Castle, killing the police sentry (possibly the first death of the rising), but fail to take it.

Fianna Éireann members raid the Magazine Fort, disarming & shooting the guards. They attempt to blow up the fort’s ordinance, but fail.

http://i.imgur.com/mYVlb9q.png

Ship Losses:

HMT Clover Bank (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Hsin-Yu (National Revolutionary Army) The transport ship collided with Hai Yung ( Republic of China Navy) in the East China Sea south of the Chusan Islands and sank. There were only 30 survivors of over 1,000 people on board.
HMT King Stephen (Royal Navy) The naval trawler, operating as a Q-ship, was sunk in the North Sea off Lowestoft, Suffolk by a Kaiserliche Marine destroyer. Her crew were taken as prisoners of war.
SM UB-13 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UB I submarine was lost in action off the mouth of the River Thames with the loss of all seventeen crew.
Maashaven (Netherlands) The steamer was damaged when it hit a mine about 3 miles N of Galloper Buoy 51Â°49'30"N 1Â°57'30"E. Beached 1,5 miles SxW of the Beach End Buoy. Refloated May 5.

http://i.imgur.com/XuBwXh5.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8EraXtX.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Khv29iz.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-24-16, 11:22 AM

April 24, 1916

Air War:
French ace Jean Navarre, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 9.

North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Maashaven, 2,609 tons, hits a mine laid by an unknown ship, 3 miles north of the Galloper Bouy. The damaged ship will be refloated on May 5. This is the second mine struck by Maashaven, the first being on January 13. Then the ship had drifted ashore near Calais, refloated and towed to Rotterdam.

UB-13 is lost in a mine net off the coast of Belgium with all 17 crew.

German torpedo boat FL 3 is wrecked, apparently due to a control problem.

Baltic Sea:
Norwegian trawler Strømsnæs, 230 tons, carrying a load of fish from Bergen to Lübeck, hits a German protective mine south of Gedser.

Jimbuna

04-25-16, 03:16 PM

25th April 1916

Southern Front

Fighting in Gevgeli sector (Salonika).

Naval and Overseas Operations

German battle cruiser squadron raid Lowestoft; engaged and dispersed by local naval forces. The squadron bombards the towns of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, England, damaging 200 houses:

British submarine HMS E22 is sunk by the UB-18 off Great Yarmouth. 2 of the crew are captured, while the rest are killed in action.

Aviation

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

Political, etc.

Official report of secret session on Manpower published.

Irish rebels fail to take over Dublin’s train stations and ports, which allows Britain to send thousands of reinforcements.

Lord Wimborne, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, declares martial law in Dublin.

Australians and New Zealanders observe the first ANZAC day in commemoration of the first anniversary of the Gallipoli landings.

Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men, stranded in Antactica, board the small boat James Caird to find rescue.
http://i.imgur.com/uxOhaN6.jpg

Ship Losses:

HMT Au Fait (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Berkelstroom (Netherlands) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Carmanian (Norway) The barque was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles (93 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock (50°16′N 12°02′W) by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.
HMS E22 (Royal Navy) The E-class submarine was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all 30 crew.
Georgiy Pobedonosets (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea south west of Cape Khersones by SM UC-15 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS Penelope (Royal Navy) The Arethusa-class cruiser was damaged in the North Sea of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was later repaired and returned to service.
Zhivuchi (Imperial Russian Navy) The Boiki-class destroyer struck a mine laid by UC 15 (Albrecht von Dewitz) and sank in the Black Sea off Sevastopol.

http://i.imgur.com/TS4LV45.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Wm7HI2L.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-25-16, 03:31 PM

April 25, 1916

Air War:
French ace Charles Nungesser, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 6.

Celtic Sea:
Raimund Weisbach, commanding U-19, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Carmanian, 1,841 tons, bound from Buenos Aires for Falmouth with a load of wheat. His score is now 6 ships and 19,280 tons.

North Sea:
Otto Steinbrink, in UB-18, torpedoes British submarine E-22, 725 tons, off Yarmouth, raising his score to 37 ships and 34,953 tons.

German destroyer G-41 sinks British trawler King Stephen and captures her crew. This was the trawler that had left the crew of Zeppelin L-19 to drown on February 2nd, though a completely different crew.

Swedish barque SV Niola, 714 tons, en route from Pensacola to Dundee, is captured and scuttled by a German destroyer, possibly V-44.

Herbert Pustkuchen, in UB-29, sinks Dutch freighter SS Berkelstroom, 736 tons, carrying a general cargo from Amsterdam to London. His score is now 31 ships and 44,606 tons. Pustkuchen also torpedoes HMS Penelope, but the damaged light cruiser escapes.

Black Sea:
Russian destroyer Zhivuchi, 350 tons, and sailing vessel Georgiy Pobedonosets, 112 tons, hit mines laid off Sevastopol by Albrecht von Dewitz in UC-15. His opening score is 2 ships and 462 tons.

Jimbuna

04-26-16, 02:18 PM

26th April 1916

Western Front

Fighting between Ypres and Souchez.

German forces capture two lines of French trenches in the Vosges, and attacks are renewed in Lorraine. Verdun is relatively quiet.

Political, etc.

British reply to U.S. Note on blockade.

Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Irish writer and pacifist, is executed by a British Captain who mistakenly believed he was a rebel leader.

http://i.imgur.com/Ow4q0Cw.gif

Two other journalists are also executed. Francis Sheehy-Skeffington’s execution is covered up.

British guns deployed at Trinity College and the patrol vessel HMY Helga shell Irish rebel positions at Liberty Hall.

The Sherwood Foresters, an inexperienced British regiment, is ordered to capture Mount Street Bridge, guarded by 17 Irish rebels. After heavy fighting, Mount Street Bridge is captured by the Sherwood Foresters, who suffer 240 casualties. The Irish suffer 4 dead.

PM Asquith reassures the House of Commons on the Irish situation & states that Ireland will be excluded from compulsory military service. Asquith also states 200,000 new volunteers are required or else full conscription will be required.

Ship Losses:

Alfred (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 27 nautical miles (50 km) east by south of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Noordzee (Netherlands) The tug struck a mine and sank in the North Sea (51°49′30″N 1°57′30″E).
Dubhe (Netherlands) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzsche) and was damaged in the North Sea (51°49′30″N 1°57′30″E). She was beached but was later refloated.
http://i.imgur.com/76R2LXz.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-26-16, 02:22 PM

April 26, 1916

Air War:
Irish RFC pilot Joseph Cruess Callaghan, flying FE.2b 5232 with 2nd Lt James Mitchell as observer, are attacked by three Fokker Eindeckers, led by German pilot Max Mulzer. Callaghn manages to land his badly damaged "Fee" safely on his own side of the lines, and he and Mitchell are credited with shooting down one of the Fokkers before Mitchell is killed in the action.

French ace Charles Nungesser, in a Nieuport 11, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 7.

Scottish RFC pilot William John Charles Kennedy-Cochrane Patrick, in Nieuport 16 5172, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 1.

Celtic Sea:
Otto Steinbrinck, commanding UB-18, stops and scuttles British fishing smack Alfred, 24 tons, raising his total to 38 ships and 34,977 tons.

North Sea:
Dutch tug Noordzee, 298 tons, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. His score is now 11 ships and 19,880 tons. Dutch freighter SS Dubhe, 3,233 tons, carrying a load of maize from Baltimore to Amsterdam, also hits a mine laid by Nitzsche but is beached and later refloated.

German East Africa:
Cruiser HMS Challenger escorts HMS Manica, which is using an observation balloon in an attempt to spot enemy troop positions.

Jimbuna

04-27-16, 07:10 AM

27th April 1916

Western Front

Germans launch a gas attack near Hulluch, France, causing hundreds of British casualties. Mines are also detonated beneath British lines.
http://i.imgur.com/4flxJaG.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/n6J5Xb3.jpg

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian progress in Bitlis district.

British occupy Moghara Oasis (90 miles south-west of Alexandria).

Naval and Overseas Operations

H.M.S. "Russell" mined in Mediterranean, 124 lost.
http://i.imgur.com/PHGgVuM.jpg

HMS "Nasturtium" mined in Mediterranean, 8 lost.
http://i.imgur.com/l2OlmS3.jpg

German submarine SM UC-5, which had sunk 29 ships, runs aground off the English coast and is captured.
http://i.imgur.com/xUDqbrT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cyl9Psa.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QAKCyMC.jpg

Political, etc.

Martial law throughout Ireland. General Sir J. Maxwell takes command in Ireland. New Military Service Bill abandoned.

Allied commercial conference at Paris.

Ship Losses:

Industry (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 120 nautical miles (220 km) west by north of the Fastnet Rock (51°11′N 12°46′W) by SM U-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS Nasturtium (Royal Navy) The Arabis-class sloop struck a mine laid by U 73 (Gustav Sieß) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Malta with the loss of eight of her 79 crew.
HMS Russell (Royal Navy) The Duncan-class battleship struck two mines laid by U 73 (Gustav Sieß) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea at Malta with the loss of 124 of her 720 crew.
SM UC-5 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UC I submarine ran aground in the North Sea (51°59′N 1°38′E) and was scuttled. Her crew were rescued by HMS Firedrake ( Royal Navy). She was subsequently salvaged by the British and used for propaganda purposes.

Sailor Steve

04-27-16, 12:56 PM

April 27, 1916

Air War:
French pilot Pierre Dufaur de Gavardie, flying a Nieuport 12 with a "Soldat Carré" as gunner, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 2 (number 1 for Carré).

Celtic Sea:
Erich Sittenfeld starts his career in U-45 with the sinking of British freighter SS Industry, 4,044 tons, travelling in ballast from Barry to Newport News.

North Sea:
German trawler Prangenhof, 215 tons, is stranded off Ostend.

German minelaying submarine UC-5 runs aground on Shipwash Shoal. The submarine is scuttled but the charges fail to explode and boat and crew are captured. Oberleutnant Ulrich Mohrbutter remains a prisoner for the rest of the war, his final score being 8 ships sunk for 10,272 tons. Post-war he will become a movie producer, his most famous being the 1941 U-Boote Westwärts.

Mediterranean Sea:
British sloop HMS Nasturtium, 1,250 tons, and old Duncan-class battleship HMS Russell, 14,000 tons, both hit mines laid just off Malta by Gustav Seiß in U-73, bringing his score to 4 ships and 20,656 tons.

Black Sea:
Turkish freighter Uskudar is sunk by gunfire. No other detail seem to be available.

Jimbuna

04-28-16, 09:45 AM

28th April 1916

Eastern Front

Germans regain all ground lost at Lake Naroch.

Political etc.

U.S. sends 4000 more troops to Mexico to reinforce General Pershing’s forces.

Ferruccio Lamborghini (future founder of Lamborghini) is born in Cento, Italy to two grape farmers.

Ship Losses:

Anzhelika (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea off Adler by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Blessing (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was sunk in the Tyne Estuary by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Christian (Denmark) The schooner was damaged in the North Sea 16 nautical miles (30 km) east north east of the Souter Point Lighthouse, Northumberland, United Kingdom by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached but was later refloated.
Lyusya (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south of Pitsunda by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Unidentified Sailing Vessel (Russia) The sailing vessel of 300 tons was sunk near Sochi (Sutcha) in the Black Sea by U 33 (Konrad Gansser).
HMY Aegusa (Royal Navy) The naval yacht struck a mine laid by U 73 (Gustav Sieß) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Malta with the loss of six of her crew.
http://i.imgur.com/dfDQzAy.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-28-16, 12:31 PM

April 28, 1916

Air War:
German ace Oswald Boelcke, just returned from visiting the Oberusel engine factory at Frankfurt, takes of in his Fokker E.IV. He comes across another Fokker tangling with three French Caudrons. The other Fokker dives away and Boelcke attacks, shooting down one of them for victory number 14. French reports have a Sous-Lieutenant Paul Fabre being wounded in the action, but it is unknown whether it was from Boelcke or the other Fokker.

French pilot Marcel Pierre Viallet, in a Caudron G.4 with observer Paul Dumas, is credited with downing a Fokker Eindecker for victory number 1. This may have been the same one Boelcke reported, and it may have been shot down or it may have escaped.

French Brigadier Marie Gaston Fulerand Leon Vitalis, riding as observer in a Nieuport 12 with a "Sgt de Marolles" as pilot, shoots down an Eindecker for victory number 1, the Fokker crashing within 200 meters of the French lines. No name is mentioned in the report or whether he survived or died, but the German pilot had just shot down and killed French Nieuport pilot Jean Peretti.

North Sea:
Victor Dieckmann starts his career in UB-27, sinking British fishing boat Blessing, 19 tons, and damaging Danish schooner Christian, 227 tons.

Black Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, stops and sinks three small vessels near Pitsunda - Lyusya, 50 tons; Anzhekika, 170 tons; and an unidentified sailing vessel estimated at 300 tons, but probably smaller. His score is now 47 ships and 122,260 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
His Majesty's Yacht Aegusa, 1,242 tons, hits a mine laid by Gustav Seiß in U-73 off Malta. Seiß's score is now 5 ships and 21,898 tons.

German East Africa:
Squadron flagship HMS Vengeance fires on a suspected German camp near Ssasani and a gun position at Ras Upanga, with whaler HMS Pickle and two seaplanes spotting the fall of shot.

Jimbuna

04-29-16, 08:52 AM

29th April 1916

Western Front

German gas attacks at Hulluch and Wulverghem fail.

Eastern Front

German troops regain positions at Lake Naroch (now in Belarus), capturing 5600 Russian prisoners.

Southern Front

Italians take Adamello crest (Trentino).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Kut surrenders to Turks: General Townshend, 3,000 British and 6,000 Indian troops taken prisoner; 143 days' siege. Many British troops will die in captivity, while Townshend lives in luxury.
An Indian solider at Kut.
http://i.imgur.com/xpJHLD0.jpg

Political, etc.

Dublin Post Office, etc., burnt by rebels.

Ship Losses:

Esmerelda (United Kingdom) The schooner collided with another vessel and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off Trevose Head, Cornwall. Her crew were rescued.
Saint Corentin (French Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the North Sea 0.5 nautical miles (0 km) north of Dunquerque, Nord (51°04′N 2°11′E) with the loss of eleven of her crew.
Teal (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) off Seaham, County Durham by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Wandle (United Kingdom) The steamer was damaged by gunfire from UB 27 (Victor Dieckmann) whilst 15 miles SE of Souter Point enroute from South Shields - London carrying a cargo of coal. There were no casualties.

http://i.imgur.com/aBcWfrY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/oat4zQJ.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-29-16, 01:52 PM

April 29, 1916

Air War:
0750 Austrian pilot Ernst Kerschischnig and Hungarian observr Johann Frint, in Lloyd C.III 43.60, shoot down an Italian Farman for victory number 1.
(One source places this on April 16th)

Austrian pilot Ludwig Hautzmayer and observer Benno Fiala von Fernbrugg, flying Hansa C.I 26.08 with an unnamed observer, shoots down an Italian bomber. Victory number 2 for Hautzmayer and number 1 for Fiala.

Celtic Sea:
British schooner SV Esmeralda, 99 tons, carrying a load of china clay from Par to Penarth, collides with trawler Jane Ross and sinks. All three crew rescued by Jane Ross.

North Sea:
Victor Dieckmann, commanding UB-27, sinks British coaster SS Teal, 766 tons, bound from Leith to London with an unspecified cargo. His score is now 2 ships and 785 tons. Dieckmann then uses his deck gun to attack British coaster SS Wandle, 889 tons, carrying a load of coal from South Shields to London, but the ship manages to escape.

French naval trawler Saint Corentin, 216 tons, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6 just outside Dunkerque Harbor. Von Schmettow's score is now 36 ships and 47,549 tons.

Jimbuna

04-30-16, 07:46 AM

30th April 1916

Western Front

At Verdun, French troops capture two German trenches at Mort Homme and Cumieres, along with 83 prisoners.

German attack from Messines Ridge defeated by artillery.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British troops in German East Africa capture a German supply convoy, which includes 200 oxen, 80 rifles, 600 cattle, & 200 donkeys.

Belgian column arrives in Victoria Nyanza region.

Aviation

Verdun: Count Holck killed over Verdun: his Fokker Eindecker shot down by 10 Caudrons. Richthofen comments ‘with a bullet through his head, he fell from an altitude of 9000 ft – a beautiful death’.

Political, etc.

707 Dublin rebels surrender. Sporadic fighting will continue until tomorrow, but the Easter Rising is over.

Irish Volunteers founder Michael Joseph O’Rahilly, nicknamed “The O’Rahilly,” dies of wounds sustained from last night.

Ship Losses:

City of Lucknow (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) east of Malta (36°03′N 15°45′E) by SM U-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her 42 crew survived and were rescued by HMS Rifleman ( Royal Navy).
Mod (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) east by north of the mouth of the River Tyne (55°45′N 0°25′W) by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Vinifreda (Spain) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay (47°48′N 7°48′W) by SM U-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member. Survivors were rescued by Elpis ( Greece).
Bakio (Spain) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
http://i.imgur.com/D7dhy16.jpg

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 92 ships of 193,000 tons gross. (Lloyd's War Losses).

http://i.imgur.com/EWcffTp.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gWyzrqY.jpg

Sailor Steve

04-30-16, 08:13 AM

April 30, 1916

Air War:

Idflieg bi-monthly report on German fighters at the Front:
Fokker:
E.I - 22
E.II - 13
E.III - 110
E.IV - 28

Pfalz:
E.I - 27
E.II - 20
E.III - 4
E.IV - 5

1045 Irish RFC pilot David Tidmarsh, flying DH.2 5965, claims a Fokker E.III for victory number 2. German pilot Otto Schmedes is killed in the crash. The official German report says that the eindecker's flying wires were severed by machine gun bullets, but Tidmarsh reports that he never got closer than 500 yards and never fired a shot.

1415 French pilot Noel de Rochefort, in Nieuport 11 916, claims an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.

German pilot Ernst von Althaus, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down a Farman two-seater for victory number 5. There is some confusion in the report, and this action may have taken place on May 1.

French pilot Albert Deullin, in a Nieuport 10, brings down an eindecker for kill number 4. Rittmeister Erich Graf von Holk is killed. Witnessing the fight from a distance is a former observer and friend of von Holck's now turned two-seater pilot, Manfred von Richtofen.

French pilot Georges Charles Marie François Flachaire, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an unidentified two-seater for victory number 1.

German pilot Friedrich Mallinckrodt, in a Fokker E.III, claims a French aircraft, but it is unconfirmed.

Celtic Sea:
Walther Schwieger, in U-20, torpedoes Spanish freighter SS Bakio, 1,906 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Sagunto, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, to Newport, Wales. Schwieger's score is now 26 ships and 113,238 tons. Bakio is posted as missing until the end of the war.

North Sea:
Victor Dieckmann, commanding UB-27, uses his deck gun to sink Norwegian coaster SS Mod, 664 tons, bound from Göteborg for Blyth with a load of mine props. His score is now 3 ships and 1,449 tons.

Bay of Biscay:
Erich Sittenfeld, in U-45, sinks Spanish freighter SS Vinifreda, 1,441 tons, en route from Valencia to Liverpool with an unspecified cargo. Sittenfeld now has 2 ships and 5,485 tons.

Mediterranean Sea:
1030 Otto Hersing, in U-21, sinks British freighter SS City of Lucknow, 3,669 tons, travelling from Alexandria to Liverpool with a load of onions. The crew are all rescued by HMS Rifleman at 1500 hours.

Canada:
Norwegian freighter SS Cissy, 1,943 tons, travelling from Le Havre to Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, runs aground at Saint Esprit, Cape Breton Island.