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.
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.
