100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

6th January 1917

Western Front

Big daylight raid by British south-east of Arras.

Eastern Front

Stubborn fighting between the Carpathians and Focsani; some enemy progress, especially in the Susitsa valley and near Odobesti.

Russian counter-offensive between Focsani and Fundeni; ground recovered near Obilesti.

Political, etc.

Japan starts arming its merchant ships with 10-inch guns in order to protect them against German submarines.

Deans of 95 medical schools in the U.S. endorse universal military training for young men.

There will be no fetes or banquets during the Allied war conference in Rome, and all meals will conform to ration requirements.

The Dutch government states it has taken no steps to promote peace in Europe, believing it would be worthless in the present circumstances.

Ship Losses:

Alphonse Conseil (France) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 180 nautical miles (330 km) west north west of LA Coruña, Spain by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Beaufront (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 76 nautical miles (141 km) north west of Ouessant, Finistère by SM U-82 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by Aldebaran ( Sweden).
Hudworth (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 94 nautical miles (174 km) east south east of Malta (35°31′N 16°24′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Ville du Havre (France) The cargo liner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 145 nautical miles (269 km) north west of Cape Villano, Spain (44°00′N 10°00′W) by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

January 6, 1917

Celtic Sea:
Hans Adam, commanding U-82, stops British freighter SS Beaufront, 1,720 tons, bound from Bilbao for Tees with a load of iron ore. After the crew abandons ship, Adam sinks her with a torpedo. The crew are rescued by Swedish freighter SS Aldebaran, and Aldebaran's master, Harald Holmgren, is given a British silver cup. Adam's score is now 10 ships and 16,115 tons.



Bay of Biscay:
Berndt Buß, in U-48, sinks two French freighters northwest of Coruna, Spain:
SS Alphonse Conseil, 1,591 tons, travelling from Nantes to Oran with a general cargo.
SS Ville du Havre, 5,026 tons, en route from Saigon to Dunkerque with an unspecified cargo.
Buß's score is now 8 ships and 23,135 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
1430 Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks British freighter SS Hudworth, 3,966 tons, carrying a load of barley and seed from Karachi to Hull east of Malta. His score is now 136 ships and 270,584 tons.



Zanzibar:
HMS Severn is still offloading stores to HMFM Trent. At the same time the other monitor, HMS Mersey, ties up on the other side of Trent and is using her power supply to run their lights. The problem of swells and ships bumping continues.



Australia:
Australian schooner Nugarea, 143 tons, is wrecked at Roebuck Bay, Western Australia.

[Jimbuna]

7th January 1917

Eastern Front

Russians gain more ground south of Lake Babit.

In the snow, Russian troops, using white clothing to cover their uniforms, surprise German troops near Riga & capture 1000 yards of trenches.

Russo-Romanian front broken north-west of Focsani.

Political, etc.

Former Greek Minister of Finance M. Diomede claims that Germany is controlling the Greek army.

French and Belgian officials meet in Paris to protest the forced deportations of French and Belgian civilians in German-occupied territory.

Allied conference in Rome ends today, with a declaration that the Allied nations are united in their war aims.

Ship Losses:

Borgholm (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 75 nautical miles (139 km) off Cape Finisterre, Spain (43°19′N 11°07′W) by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Brenda (United Kingdom) The brigantine was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 10 nautical miles (19 km) south south west of Beachy Head, East Sussex by SM UB-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Donside (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 4 (Georg Reimarus) and sank in the North Sea off Lowestoft, Suffolk (52°17′N 1°44′E) with the loss of four of her crew.
Evangelos (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 90 nautical miles (170 km) west of Cape Finisterre by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Hansi (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 15 nautical miles (28 km) north north west of Île Vierge, Finistère, France (48°56′N 4°55′W) by SM UB-37 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Mohacsfield (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) south east by east of Malta by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew. Her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
Radnorshire (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 110 nautical miles (200 km) east of Pernambuco, Brazil by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Rosalia L. (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Malta (35°07′N 16°53′E) by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

January 7, 1917

Air War:
1100 Australian RNAS pilot Bob Little, flying a Sopwith Pup, shoots down an Albatros D.II for victory number 4.

1230 German ace Erwin Böhme, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down DH.2 7851 for victory number 9. Ethelbert Godwin Stockwell Wagner is killed.
The Albatros D.III is just being introduced to service at this time, and Jasta 2 (Boelcke) recieved some of the first, so it is possible that Böhme is flying one of the new aircraft.

1300 German pilot Walter Göttsch, in an Albatros D.I or D.II, shoots down FE.2d A39 for victory number 4. Thomas Mottershead is badly burned and dies five days later. lt W.E. Gower survives.

Canadian RNAS pilot Edward Grange, in Sopwith Pup N5194, shoots down an Albatros D.II for victory number 5. Grange is wounded in this fight and returns to England, where he spends the rest of the war as a flight instructor. After the war he returns home to Canada and a career as an engineer and businessman, dying in 1988.



English Channel:
Heinz Ziemer, commanding UB-23, stops and scuttles British brigantine Brenda, 249 tons, bound from London for Fowey with a load of manure. His score is now 6 ships and 9,530 tons.

Paul Günther, in UB-37, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Hansi, 1,142 tons, travelling from Newport, Wales to Gibraltar with a load of coal. His score is now 15 ships and 9,122 tons.



North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Donside, 182 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Reimarus in UC-4. this is Reimarus' first sinking.



Spain:
Berndt Buß, in U-48, sinks two ships off Cape Finisterre:
Norwegian freighter SS Borgholm, 1,719 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newport, Wales to Gibraltar.
Greek freighter SS Evangelos, 3,773 tons, en route from Algiers to Dunkerque with a load of wine and esparto.
Buß's score is now 10 ships and 28,627 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Kurt Hartwig, in U-32, sinks Itlalian freighter SS Rosalia L., 7,186 tons, bringing his score to 35 ships and 31,768 tons.

1700 Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks British freighter SS Mohacsfield, 3,678 tons. His score is now 137 ships and 277,940 tons.



Zanzibar:
The crew of Monitor HMS Severn are busy preparing their ship for being towed. The swells in the bay continue, and Severn and HMFM Trent are still bumping, destroying several more wooden fenders between the ships.



Caribbean Sea:
American schooner Frances V. Sawyer, 324 tons, en route from Puerto Cabello to Cuba, is wrecked on the coast of Haiti.



Brazil:
German raider SMS Möwe stops and scuttles British freighter SS Radnorshire, 4,302 tons, east of Pernambuco.

[Jimbuna]

8th January 1917

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting south of Lake Babit; no material change of positions.

Russians recover island in Dvina near Glandau.

Enemy advance in Casin and Susitsa valleys (Moldavia), capture Focsani, with 5,500 prisoners, and make progress near Fundeni.

Political, etc.

President Wilson criticizes newspapers for speculating on U.S. diplomatic moves, as it could lead to war.

Canadian official casualties now number 68,290 men killed, wounded, and missing.

Italy arrests more than 40 people as saboteurs for sinking the battleships Benedetto Brin and Leonardo da Vinci.

Ship Losses:

Andoni (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 46 nautical miles (85 km) south east of Malta (35°19′N 15°07′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.
HMT Cape Colony (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 11 (Benno von Ditfurth) and sank in the North Sea off Harwich, Essex (52°02′N 1°46′E). Her crew survived.
Lynfield (United Kingdom) The collier was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 32 nautical miles (59 km) south east by south of Malta by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member. Her captain was taken as a prisoner of war. Survivors were rescued by Chili ( France).

From yesterday.

[Sailor Steve]

January 8, 1917

English Channel:
British lighter SS Giant, 273 tons, departs Le Hourdel for Dartmouth and is not heard from again.



North Sea:
His Majesty's Drifter Cape Colony, 82 tons, hits a mine laid by Benno von Ditfurth in UC-11. Ditfurth's score is now 6 ships and 10,045 tons.

Norwegian schooner Kitty, 214 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Fredrikshald to Tyne, is wrecked off Marstens Rock, Norway.



Spain:
Berndt Buß, in U-48, captures Norwegian freighter SS Tholma, en route from Cardiff to Genoa with a load of coal. Buß keeps the ship while they use its stores.



Mediterranean Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks two British freighters south-east of Malta:
SS Andoni, 3,188 tons, travelling from Karachi to London with a load of grain.
SS Lynfield, 3,023 tons, carrying rail cars, coal and coke from Cardiff to Saloniki and Alexandria.
Von Arnauld is once again the leading U-boat ace with 139 ships and 280,473 tons.



Zanzibar:
HMS Severn is still offloading stores to HMFM Trent. The swells continue, and the bumping becomes so bad that some of Severn's rivets come loose, and she starts leaking.

[Jimbuna]

9th January 1917

Western Front

British take trenches east of Beaumont Hamel (Ancre).

Eastern Front

Russian advance between Tirul marsh and River Aa.

Enemy cross River Putna north and south-east of Focsani.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British carry Turkish positions at Rafa'a (frontier of Egypt and Syria) and defeat relief force; 1,600 prisoners taken.

British take 1,000 yards of trenches on right bank of Tigris north-east of Kut.

Naval and Overseas Operations

H.M.S. "Cornwallis" sunk by submarine in Mediterranean, 15 lost.


Political, etc.

Resignation of M. Trepov, Russian Prime Minister; Prince Golitzin succeeds.

Allies present ultimatum to Greece demanding immediate acceptance of their demands of 31 December.

Switzerland announces it will be cutting rail services across the country due to shortage of coal.

Sick Benefit Association of Berlin concludes that large number of prevailing illnesses are due to inadequate nourishment.

Ship Losses:

Alexandria (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was damaged in the Atlantic Ocean south west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached but was later refloated.
Baynesk (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 130 nautical miles (240 km) north by west of Alexandria, Egypt 33°45′N 29°24′E by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seven crew.
HMS Cornwallis (Royal Navy) The Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Malta by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of fifteen of her 720 crew.
Excellent (United Kingdom) The collier was shelled and sunk in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) north east of Noup Head, Orkney Islands (59°37′N 4°19′W) by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived but her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
Fernebo (Sweden) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by SM UC-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine) and broke in two in the North Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) north east of Cromer, Norfolk, United Kingdom. Both parts came ashore. Her crew were rescued by the Cromer Lifeboat. Fernebo was declared a total loss. One casualty.
Gladys Royle (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 120 nautical miles (220 km) south of Santa Maria, Azores, Portugal by SMS Seeadler ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Minieh (United Kingdom) The collier was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 170 nautical miles (310 km) east northeast of Pernamboco, Brazil by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Pyrin (Greece) The cargo ship was abandoned in the North Sea off the coast of Norfolk. Her crew were rescued by the Cromer Lifeboat.

[Sailor Steve]

January 9, 1917

Air War:
German pilot Rudolf von Eschwege, flying a Fokker E.III for Bulgaria on the Greek front, shoots down a Farman two-seater for victory number 3.

Hungarian pilot Karl Kaszala, flying Hansa-Brandenberg C.I 63.23 with Lt W. Varju as observer, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.



Celtic Sea:
Walter Roehr, commanding U-84, attacks British freighter SS Alexandrian, 4,467 tons, bound from New Orleans for Liverpool with a general cargo. The damaged ship is beached, refloated and beached a second time, then refloated again and towed to safe harbor.



Norwegian Sea:
Otto Wünsche, in U-70, sinks British freighter SS Excellent, 1,994 tons, travelling from Penarth to Lerwick with a load of coal, north of Scotland. His score is now 42 ships and 54,269 tons.



Thames Estuary:
Norwegian freighter SS Rinda, 5,509 tons, travelling from Newcastle to Naples with a load of coal, is wrecked off Shingle Patch in the Edinbrugh Channel. Wrecksite.eu notes the irregularity of a ship this size leaving no wreck behind, so she may have been refloated, but no one seems to know for sure.



North Sea:
Swedish freighter SS Fernebo, 1,440 tons, en route from Gävle to London with a load of timber, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-19 off the Foulner Bouy, and is near Cromer. Six of the crew make it ashore and are rescued by the Cromer Lifeboat crew. A further 11 are rescued by lifeboat Louise Heartwell. One crew member was lost. Nitzsche's score is now 18 ships and 30,989 tons.



Kattegat:
German coaster SS Proteus, 163 tons, sinks following a collision.



Mediterranean Sea:
Kurt Hartwig, in U-32, torpedoes old British battleship HMS Cornwallis, 14,000 tons, raising his score to 36 ships and 45,765 tons.

Walter Forstmann, in U-39, makes his first attack of the year, sinking British freighter SS Baynesk, 3,286 tons, carrying a load of sugar fro Port Louis, Mauritius to Marseille. His score is now 139 ships and 279,879 tons.



Brazil:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and scuttles British freighter SS Minieh, 3,805 tons, off Pernambuco. Möwe's score is now 32 ships and 129,783 tons.



Atlantic Ocean:
German raider SMS Seeadler captures and scuttles British freighter SS Gladys Royle, 3,268 tons, west of Santa Maria, Azores.

[August]

100 years ago tonight finds my Great Grandfather August and the rest of the 8th Bavarian Infantry Regiment manning the trenches on a sector of the Somme front north of Ancre.

[Jimbuna]

10th January 1917

Eastern Front

Russian progress south of Lake Babit.

Enemy carry two heights in Oitoz valley (Moldavia), but are thrown back across the Putna north of Focsani.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British progress continued north-east of Kut.

Political, etc.

Supreme Court Justice Wesley Howard states the U.S. could blockade all belligerent nations to force a peace in Europe.

German under-secretary of the Interior warns that German food shortages will continue after the war.

The new Premier of Russia Golitsyn declares there will be no internal reforms during the war.

Allies' reply to President Wilson's "Peace Note", accompanied by special Note from Belgium.

Evasive reply by Greek Government to Allies' ultimatum.

Ship Losses:

Bergenhus (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Irish Sea south east of Ireland (48°55′N 10°05′W) by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by Borinquem ( United States).
Brookwood (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 210 nautical miles (390 km) north by west of Cape Finisterre, Spain (45°50′N 11°50′W) by SM U-79 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.
Lundy Island (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 190 nautical miles (350 km) south east of Santa Maria, Azores, Portugal by SMS Seeadler ( Kaiserliche Marine). One of her crew was taken as a prisoner of war.
Netherby Hall (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 300 nautical miles (560 km) east by north of Pernambuco, Brazil by SMS Möwe ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Tholma (Germany) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean (43°23′N 11°01′W). Formerly a Norwegian cargo ship, she had been captured on 8 January by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Tuborg (Denmark )The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel (49°38′N 4°45′W) by SM UB-37 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

January 10, 1917

Air War:
1540 German pilot Hans Körner, flying for Jasta 8, shoots down an observation balloon for victory number 1. Körner is probably in an Albatros D.II, but details are lacking.

Yalta-born Russian pilot Pavel Vladimirovich Argeyev, in a Nieuport, shoots down an Albatros C.V for victory number 1.

German 6-kill ace Otto Höhne is severly wounded, but manages to get his crippled Albatros home safely. He will spend most of 1917 recovering. In early 1918 he will take command of Jasta 2, but step down after one month. Höhne will miss the rest of the war, but serve as a senior officer in World War Two, flying bombers. Following a crash that again put him in the hospital, he would finally become head of a flight combat school. Otto Höhne lived util 1969, dying at age 74.



Celtic Sea:
Walter Roehr, commanding U-84, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Bergenhus, 3,606 tons, bound from Newport, Wales for Portovecchio with a load of coal. His score is now 3 ships and 7,168 tons.



English Channel:
Paul Günther, in UB-37, sinks Danish freighter SS Tuborg, 2,056 tons, carrying a load of coal from Sunderland to Lisbon, south of Cornwall. His score is now 19 ships and 32,829 tons.

French fishing schooner Notre Dame des Victoires, 125 tons, sinks following a collision off Fécamp, France.



England:
British trawler Majestic, 159 tons, runs aground at Robin Hood's Bay, near Whitby.



Spain:
Two days earlier, on January 8th, Berndt Buß, in U-48, captured Norwegian freighter SS Tholma, 1,896 tons, en route from Cardiff to Genoa with a load of coal. After using it for a stores ship Buß scuttles Tholma west of Cape Finisterre, bringing his score to 11 ships and 30,523 tons.

Heinrich Jeß, in U-79, sinks British freighter SS Brookwood, 3,093 tons, carrying a load of coal from Penarth to Port Said, northwest of Cape Finisterre. His score is now 11 ships and 21,555 tons.



Zanzibar:
British monitor HMS Severn is ready for towing. Final preparations are made and the ship battened down. The crew are all aboard HMFM Trent, along with all ship's stores.



Brazil:
German raider SMS Möwe captures and scuttles British freighter SS Netherby Hall, 4,461 tons, off Pernambuco. Möwe's score is now 33 ships and 134,244 tons.



Atlantic Ocean:
German raider SMS Seeadler captures and scuttles British freighter SS Lundy Island, 3,095 tons, off Santa Maria Island, in the Azores. Her score is now 2 ships and 6,363 tons.

[Jimbuna]

11th January 1917

Western Front

British carry German trench on front of 0.75 mile, north-east of Beaumont Hamel.

Eastern Front

German counter-attack near Kalutsem, south of Lake Babit, repulsed.

Successful Romanian attack in Casin valley.

Enemy progress in Susitsa valley and between Braila and Galatz.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British occupy Hai (Mesopotamia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

The seaplane carrier HMS Ben-my-Chree is sunk in the harbor of Kastellorizo, Greece by Turkish artillery.


Political, etc.

Terms of new British War Loan announced by Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Bonar Law at Guildhall.

British Central Liquor Control Board reports that its operations have reduced reports of drunkenness in cities by half.

PM Lloyd George: “The Allies are still convinced that even war is better than peace at the price of Prussian domination over Europe.”

German official casualties now number 4,010,160 men killed, wounded, and missing, not including naval and colonial casualties.

Ship Losses:

HMS Ben-my-Chree (Royal Navy) The aircraft carrying cruiser was shelled and sunk off Kastelorizo, Greece by Ottoman shore based artillery. All 250 crew were rescued. Ben-my-Chree was refloated in 1920 but found to be a total loss and was scrapped in 1923.
Ole Bull (Norway) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 19 (Alfred Nitzsche) and sank in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, United Kingdom. Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

January 11, 1917

Irish Sea:
British freighter SS Kelvindale, 3,230 tons, bound from Liverpool for Buenos Aires with a general cargo, sinks following a collision in the Crosby Channel, just off Liverpool.



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Ole Bull, 1,835 tons, travelling from Hartlepool to Rouen with a load of coal, hits a mine laid off Yarmouth by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-19. UC-19 herself was sunk back on December 6, 1916. Nitzsche's final score is 19 ships and 32,829 tons.

Norwegian freighter SS Garsoy, 642 tons, departs Tyne with a load of coal for Nyborg, and is not heard from again. All 14 crew are lost.



Aegean Sea:
British seaplane carrier HMS Ben-my-Chree (Manx for "Girl of my Heart"), is sunk by Turkish artillery fire while anchored at Castellorizo, in the Dodecanese Islands.



Zanzibar:
0510 Monitor HMS Mersey casts off from HMFM Trent and moves to a dock.
0630 Tow ropes between Trent and HMS Severn are in place, and the ships weigh anchor and proceed for Durban.

[Jimbuna]

12th January 1917

Eastern Front

German attack near Kalutsem again repulsed.

Enemy capture Mihalea, on Sereth (north-west of Braila).

Aviation

Manfred von Richthofen receives the Pour le Mérite (the "Blue Max") for having shot down 16 Allied aircraft since September 1916.


Political, etc.

Large number of Romanian prisoners are sent to occupied France by the Germans to work as agricultural laborers.

Kaiser Wilhelm: “Our enemies have dropped the mask, admitted their lust of conquest and their aim to crush Germany and enslave Europe…”

A fire breaks out at a Canadian Foundry Co. Plant in Kingsland, New Jersey, causing 500,000 artillery shells to explode. No one is killed.

British Central Liquor Control Board reports that its operations have reduced reports of drunkenness in cities by half.

Almost immediately after it is sent, the Zimmerman Telegram is deciphered by British intelligence officers. Its contents are not immediately shared with the American government.

Ship Losses:

Auchencrag (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 20 nautical miles (37 km) west of Ouessant, Finistère, France (48°28′N 5°35′W) by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her crew.
Brentwood (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 43 (Erwin Sebelin) and sank in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) east north east of Whitby, Yorkshire with the loss of two of her crew.
Emeraude (France) The schooner was sunk off the coast of Spain by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Saint Michel (France) The schooner was scuttled in the English Channel off the Owers Lightship ( United Kingdom) (50°31′N 0°25′W) by SM UC-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by a Royal Navy destroyer.
Vestfold (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 70 nautical miles (130 km) west north west of Cape Finisterre, Spain (43°46′N 11°49′W) by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

German steamer Gneisenau, which had been sunk by British in 1914, being refloated.

[Sailor Steve]

January 12, 1917

Air War:
German ace Manfred von Richthofen finally recieves his Pour le Merite ("Blue Max"). He had seven kills when they changed the requirement for the medal from eight victories to sixteen. He got number sixteen on the 4th.



Celtic Sea:
Walter Roehr, commanding U-84, sinks British freighter SS Auchencrag, 3,916 tons, bound from La Plata for Cherbourg with a load of wheat, off Ushant. His score is now 4 ships and 11,084 tons.



English Channel:
Wilhelm Kiel, in UC-18, stops and scuttles French schooner Saint Michel, 419 tons, en route from Le Havre to Britton Ferry with 200 tons of steel shavings. His score is now 27 ships and 23,837 tons.



North Sea:
British freighter SS Brentwood, 1,192 tons, travelling in ballast from London to Tyne, hits a mine laid off Whitby by Erwin Sebelin in UC-43. His score is now 2 ships and 1,731 tons.



France:
American trawler USS Phillip K. Bauman, 304 tons, hits a submerged rock near Trévignon, Brittany. Sinks while under tow to Lorient.



Spain:
Berndt Buß, in U-48, sinks two allied ships off Cape Finisterre:
French schooner Emeraude, 183 tons, en route from Lisbon to Palmpol; scuttled.
Norwegian freighter SS Vestfold, 1,883 tons, carrying a load of coal from Hull to Cette.
Buß's score is now 12 ships and 32,589 tons.



Japan:
Japanese freighter Suruga Maru, 740 tons, runs aground at Shirahama Awa, Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo Bay.