100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

27th March 1915

Western Front

French make progress at Les Eparges.

After heavy fighting, French troops capture the peak of Hartmannswillerkopf in the Vosges Mountains of Alsace.

Eastern Front

Russians repulse German attacks in the Niemen district.

Austria-Hungarian forces halt the Russian advance in the Carpathians and in Bukovina; Russians are also ousted from East Prussia.

Naval

Bosporus forts bombarded by Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Political etc.

German Field Marshal von der Goltz travels to Sofia, Bulgaria to negotiate its entry into the war.

Ship Losses:

Aguila ( United Kingdom): The cargo liner was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 47 nautical miles (87 km) south west of the Smalls Lighthouse by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eight lives. Some of the survivors were rescued by the trawler Ottilie ( United Kingdom).
Coleby ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 460 nautical miles (850 km) north east of Pernambuco, Brazil by SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm ( Kaiserliche Marine).
South Point ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) west of Lundy Island, Devon by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Vosges ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 38 nautical miles (70 km) west by north of Trevose Head, Cornwall (50°42′N 5°35′W) by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.[53] Survivors were rescued by HMS Wintona ( Royal Navy).

[Sailor Steve]

March 27:

London: Sir John French gives an interview to The Times saying they are suffering from a lack of artillery shells at the front. Times owner Lord Northcliffe blames Lord Kitchener for the death of his nephew along with thousands of other British soldiers.



Celtic Deep, west of Cornwall: Georg-Günther von Forstner in U-28 sinks three more freighters, all British: Aguila, 1,295 tons, carrying a general cargo and passengers from Liverpool to Lisbon, Madeira and the Canary Islands; South Point, 3,838 tons, bound from Cardiff to Philadelphia with a load of China Clay; and Vosges, 1,295 tons, travelling from Bordeaux to Liverpool with a mixed cargo. This gives von Forstner six ships and 12,697 tons.



Indian Ocean: Admiral King-Hall has recognized the uselessness of his flagship HMS Goliath in the shallow waters around the Rufiji Delta. While patrolling off Zanzibar King-Hall transfers himself, his staff and his flag to the light cruiser HMS Hyacinth. The old battleship is dispatched to Mombasa while the admiral's new flagship returns to the South Mafia Channel.



Port Reitz, Mombasa: HMS Kinfauns Castle lowers S920 overboard for the last time. The Sopwith is towed to shore. Flight Commander Cull, Flight Lieutenant Watkins and all nineteen mechanics are taken ashore in a lighter.



Al Lith, Saudi Arabia: For the first time since their boarding Ayesha on November 9th, von Mücke suffers the loss of one of his crew. A sailor he names as 'Keil' was one of the ones who came down with typhus in Al Hudaydah. Without medical supplies his condition has continually deteriorated, and he dies at 0300 hours on the 27th. Von Mücke decides to use a rowboat to bury seaman Keil at sea, partly because of tradition and partly because of worry over locals raiding a grave. The body is sewn into sailcloth weighted with stones, draped with the battle flag, given a full military and religious ceremony with a three-volley rifle salute, rowed out to deep water and "we committed it to its last resting place".

[Jimbuna]

28th March 1915

Western Front

French repulse all counter-attacks at Les Eparges.

Eastern Front

Attempted renewal of offensive by Germans in northern Poland.

Failure of Austrian attacks and progress by Russians in the Carpathians.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German submarine torpedoes and sinks S.S. "Falaba". The Thrasher incident, as it became known in U.S. media, nearly became the start of America's involvement in World War I. On March 28, 1915, the British steamship RMS Falaba was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-28. In the incident, 104 people were killed, including one American passenger — Leon Chester Thrasher, a 31-year-old mining engineer from Massachusetts.


Russian Black Sea fleet bombards the forts on the Bosporus.

Smyrna forts shelled.

Bombardment of the Dardanelles by Allied warships resume; there is little return fire from the Ottoman side.

Crews fail to raise the U.S. submarine F-4, which sank 2 days ago off Honolulu; rescuers now believe all 21 submariners are dead.

Political etc.

German government condemns the British for attacking the German cruiser Dresden, which sank off the coast of Chile, in neutral waters.

Greek government issues an official statement stating there is no need to abandon the country’s neutrality.

Typhoid Mary, asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen who infected 51 people, is quarantined for the rest of her life.


Ship Losses:

Falaba ( United Kingdom): The ocean liner was torpedoed and sunk in St. George's Channel 38 nautical miles (70 km) west of the Smalls Lighthouse by U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine with the loss of 104 lives.[55] Survivors were rescued by three trawlers, amongst them Eileen Emma and Wenlock (both United Kingdom).

Cattle is herded to the butcher: provision for Austrian troops in the Carpathians.

[Sailor Steve]

March 28:

Celtic Sea: Georg-Günther von Forstner scores again with U-28, sinking the British passenger/cargo ship SS Falaba, 4,806 tons, bound from Liverpool to several West African ports. He now has 7 ships and 17,503 tons.



Saudi Arabia: Having gathered ninety camels, Hellmuth von Mücke and his men depart Al Lith at 1600 hours. He has purchased a number of straw mats for shade while resting. Most of the camels carry water, with the remainder packing the supplies and machine guns. The men march with loaded rifles due to the number of bandits in the region. Their route is northward, paralleling the coast. They also have an escort of one Turkish officer and seven troops.

[Jimbuna]

29th March 1915

Eastern Front

Germans take Tauroggen (north-east of Tilsit).

Further Russian advance in the Carpathians; 5,600 prisoners.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Battleships Alabama, Connecticut, and Utah arrive off the Virginia Cape to watch over the German raider Prinz Eitel, which is in port.

Political, etc.

British Government conclude agreement with American rubber interests that rubber should not be exported except to Great Britain.

Holland protests against the sinking of one ship, the shelling of another, and the detention of two more, by the Germans.

100,000 Chinese troops, including reserves, are deployed in Peking and the surrounding areas.

Ship Losses:

Amstel ( Netherlands): The coaster struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Her crew were rescued by the trawler Pinewold ( United Kingdom).
Dakar ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship caught fire in the Forcados River, Nigeria. She sank on 31 March.
Flaminian ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles (93 km) south west by west of the Isles of Scilly (49°50′N 7°00′W) by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Theodore Weems ( United States): The coaster was run in to by Heredia ( United States) off New Orleans, Louisiana and sank.

[Sailor Steve]

March 29:

Western Approaches, off the tip of Cornwall: Georg-Günther von Forstner in U-28 stops the British freighter SS Flaminian, 3,500 tons, carrying a general cargo from Glasgow to South Africa. The crew are allowed to abandon ship and the steamer sunk with the deck gun. Von Forstner's score now stands at 8 ships and 21,003 tons.
For a fascinating side note, see here.

Later U-28 attacks SS Theseus, 6,723 tons, en route from Liverpool to Java with general cargo. The ship is damaged by gunfire but after a chase of 57 miles manages to outrun the U-boat.



Valletta, Malta: The monitor convoy arrives at Grand Harbor and moors in Lazaretto Creek. They have encountered some rough weather in the past few days but suffered no damage, not even a broken tow line.



Erongo, Namibia, West Africa: The armed merchant cruiser HMS Laconia has been stationed here for a month, and operating in the area since January. On this day she departs Walfisch Bay for Simonstown, South Africa and a much-needed drydocking.



German East Africa: HMS Goliath arrives at Mombasa. HMS Hyacinth is patrolling the area around Niororo Island. HMS Kinfauns Castle has returned from Mombasa to Mafia Island. She and HMS Weymouth are patrolling the Rufiji Delta in a pouring rainstorm.



Saudi Arabia: As the sun is coming up Hellmuth von Mücke and his men stop for the day and set up camp. The night's journey has been slow. The caravan has made several stops to re-tighten straps loosened by the gait of the camels. They find a watering hole, but the "water" is brown, brackish, full of insects, and despite the dark color they can see a dead sheep at the bottom of the pool. They build a fire and boil the water thoroughly, having no other choice but to use it despite the smell and taste.

[Jimbuna]

30th March 1915

Western Front

Germans bomb Reims Cathedral.

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting continues between Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Uzsok Pass; several feet of snow hinders movement.

Political etc.

Lloyd George: “We are fighting Germany, Austria and drink, and so far as I can see the greatest of these three deadly foes is drink.”

King Albert of Belgium on the defense of his country: “I am not a hero, you will find them in our trenches.”

Kaiser Wilhelm meets in Berlin with Field Marshal von der Goltz, military advisor in Constantinople, to discuss the Dardanelles situation.

Ship Losses:

Crown of Castile ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 31 nautical miles (57 km) south west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (49°25′N 6°50′W) by SM U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her 43 crew were rescued by Magellan ( France).
HMT Trygon ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler was lost on this date.

[Sailor Steve]

March 30:

Western Front: In a letter to his mother Flt. Lt. Harold Rosher repeats a joke popular at the time:
One Tommy, speaking to another over the trenches: "'Ello, Bill, got a lice over there?"
"Garn, we ain't lousy!"
"I mean a boot lice!"



Off the English Channel, south of Cornwall: Georg-Günther von Forstner scores his last victory of this patrol when he stops SS Crown Of Castile, 4,505 tons, bound from St. John, New Brunswick for Le Havre, carrying a load of oats and hay. The crew are allowed to abandon ship and the freighter sunk with scuttling charges. U-28 heads for home with a final score of 9 ships and 25,508 tons.



Malta: The three monitors are battened down. Even the governor of Malta is not allowed below decks when he visits. The six tugs are pressed into service towing military equipment to the Dardanelles and Lemnos in preparation for the upcoming operations there.



Dardanelles: British General Hamilton tells Admiral de Robeck that they should renew the naval attack, since "It is always possible the opposition may crumple up. If you should succeed be sure to leave light cruisers enough to see me through my military attack in the event of that being after all necessary."



German East Africa: HMS Hyacinth joins Goliath at Kilindini Harbour, Port Reitz, Mombasa. Kinfauns Castle and Weymouth are still guarding the mouth of the Rufiji river.



Saudi Arabia: The German caravan sets out on its third night's journey. Short of water they comfort themselves with the knowledge that there are other watering holes ahead and they are only two nights' ride from their next destination, Jeddah (von Mücke calls it Djidda).

[Jimbuna]

31st March 1915

Eastern Front

Germans bombard Libau.

Severe fighting in the Carpathians.

Austria-Hungarian troops advance 35 miles into the Russian province of Bessarabia towards Khotyn on the Dniester River.

Political, etc.

Thomas Scott, secretary of the British Mercantile Marine Service Assoc., urges the arming of merchant ships to protect them from submarines.

Home Secretary appoints a Committee of enquiry into the recruiting of men from retail trades.

King George V of Britain offers to give up drinking for the duration of the war to serve as an example for the country.

U.S. orders Ambassador Page to protest the British decision to impose a blockade against Germany.

General Alexander von Kluck is seriously wounded in the leg while inspecting the trenches.


Ship Losses:

Emma ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 12 nautical miles (22 km) south of Beachy Head, East Sussex, United Kingdom by SM U-37 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nineteen of her 21 crew. The survivors were rescued by a Royal Navy destroyer.
Nor ( Norway): The sailing vessel was sunk in the North Sea off Sunderland, County Durham, United Kingdom (56°13′N 4°25′E) by SM U-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

The four Montenegrin sailing vessels Buona Forte, Fiore I, Hailie and Indaverdi were taken as prizes off the coast of Montenegro by the commander of k.u.k. U12, Egon Lerch.

MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 34 ships of 87,000 tons gross (Lloyd's War Losses).

[Sailor Steve]

March 31:

Air War: Aleksandr Alexandrovich Kozakov repeats the feat of Pyotr Nestorov the previous September when he rams an Albatros two-seater with his Morane-Saulnier G. Unlike his predecessor, Kazakov survives the collision. The story goes that he first tried to snare his opponent with a grappling hook. Kozakov will go on to become Russia's highest-scoring ace.

This event was previously recorded as taking place on March 18th. This is due to Russia still using the Julian Calendar at the time.



English Channel: Erich Wilke, commanding U-37, sinks the small French freighter Emma, 1,617 tons, travelling in ballast from Dunkerque to Bordeaux.



North Sea: U-10, commanded by Fritz Stuhr, stops the Norwegian sailing vessel Nor, 544 tons, carrying a load of lumber from Fredrikstad to Hull. The crew are allowed to abandon ship and the vessel scuttled.



Adriatic Sea: Egon Lerch in the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-12 rounds up a small fishing fleet and takes them back to his base as prizes. Tonnages are unknown.



Saudi Arabia: Around 1100 hours von Mücke's caravan arrives at the next watering hole. They find there a Turkish officer and seventeen soldiers sent from Jeddah to meet them. The Turks have brought a supply of water. The grateful Germans set up their straw mats for cover and settle in for the day. They are only one day from Jeddah and a garrison of more than three hundred soldiers.

At 1600 hours they break camp and start the final night's journey. The terrain consists of sand dunes overgrown with clumps of grass. Visibility is only about 400 meters. As they are riding along in the moonlight they catch sight of a group of twelve or so Bedouins, who immediately trot out of sight. The Turkish officer tells von Mücke that he believes them to be bandits, based on the rumors in Jeddah of a group of forty or so robbers roaming the area. Von Mücke had sent word from Al Lith that they were coming, and assumed that the whole area knew that they were not a merchant caravan but a group of fifty armed men with four machine guns.

Von Mücke divides his caravan into two columns and orders his men to have their weapons at the ready. As the sky starts to grow lighter they relax a little, having heard that the bandits never attack in daylight. He is riding down the columns to make sure everything is in order when a shrill whistle sounds, followed by a heavy volley of gunfire. Von Mücke and his mean leap from their camels and run to the front of the caravan. They cannot see the enemy, but can see the flashes from the rifles. They assume the bandits cannot see them either, lying prone in the sand, and conclude that their camels must be the intended targets.

With fire coming in from all sides, von Mücke decides the first order of business is to get the machine guns ready. They are tied to the backs of camels, two at the head of the caravan and two at the rear. After a few minutes the machine guns are ready and open fire. This unexpected turn of events silences the enemy's fire for the moment. The Germans take advantage of the lull to drag the camels to the ground where they will be a little safer. Once this is done the men organize themselves and prepare for the next round.

Taking stock of their weapons they count the four machine guns, thirteen German and three modern Turkish rifles, ten older Turkish rifles and twenty-four pistols. As the sky grows lighter von Mücke concludes that they might be facing as many as three hundred Bedouins. Von Mücke records that his men behave splendidly, mounting bayonets as a group without being ordered to do so. In the quiet a young sailor calls to his Captain. When von Mücke asks what he wants the boy says "How soon are we going at it, Sir?"
"Going at what?"
"Why, storming the enemy, sir."
"Exactly, my man. Up! March! March!"

The Germans leap to their feet and charge the bandits, who have never seen this type of tactic. They start to mill about in confusion, then begin to run. The bandits at the rear of the caravan also beat a hasty retreat, even though no one is rushing them. When the Bedouins are an estimated twelve hundred meters away the Germans return to their caravan to take stock. They have suffered only one man wounded. Their escort of Turkish gendarmes have mostly fled, leaving seven of the original twenty-four. Of these several have been wounded in the legs. They had attempted to hide behind the camels, which were the enemy's prime target. The Germans count fifteen Bedouin bodies. The rest are still visible in the distance.

Several of the camels are dead. Von Mücke and his men strip the supplies and distribute them among the uninjured camels. The machine guns are stripped and remounted to the camels. Von Mücke decides that they will be safer with the sea protecting one flank, and the caravan turns to its left, toward the coast. The caravan is divided into four rows, with a skirmish line of ten men walking 150 meters ahead. Leutnant Gerdts is in command of the advance guard, with Leutnant Schmidt in charge of the rear and Leutnant Gyssling commanding the flanks.

After marching no more than ten minutes the bandits again start firing from about four hundred meters' distance. Their new tactic is to appear ten or twenty at a time, fire a volley and disappear again. The main burden is on the rear guard. To everyone's surprise not one man is hit during all this. Von Mücke is with the rear guard when he receives a report of heavy fire from the front. When he gets to the head of the caravan he sees what he describes as "...the whole horizon was black with Bedouins." He then hears from Lt. Schmidt at the rear requesting additional camels, as one of the beasts carrying a machine gun has been shot. Then the sound of machine gun fire can be heard from the rear. Schmidt has taken it upon himself to set up the guns and start using them. On his way back to the rear von Mücke finds that one of his sailors, Rademacher by name, has been killed and that Lt. Schmidt is mortally wounded. Leutnant Wellmann, who had taken the two camels to the rear for the machine guns, is now commanding the defense.

Suddenly the enemy fire ceases, and von Mücke sees two of the Turkish gendarmes running toward the Bedouins waving a white flag. The Germans take advantage of this lull to dig trenches and fortify them with saddles and sacks of rice and coffee. The water bottles are buried in the sand to protect them from rifle fire. The camels are gathered in the middle and a protective wall built from empty cans filled with sand. Leutnant Schmidt is carried there on a litter and seaman Rademacher hastily buried.

The negotiations are conducted by the Turkish dragoman and his wife. They will not be seen again until the Germans reach Jeddah. The two gendarmes return from their parley with the bandits' demands. The Germans are to surrender all their arms, provisions, water and camels, and pay £11,000 in gold. Von Mücke sends his reply: "In the first place, we have no money; in the second, we are guests of the country - get your money in Djidda; thirdly, it is not customary with Germans to surrender their arms."

The attack begins anew. The Turkish gendarmes and camel drivers follow the dragoman's example and vanish into the dunes. A new problem begins - the store of ammunition that was rescued from the wrecked zambuk begins to misfire. Several more camels are shot, and the men make use of them for extra protection.

The running fight has lasted the entire day. In the hour between sunset and moonrise they can see nothing at all, and prepare for a possible assault. When the moon rises they can see about three hundred meters, and there is no enemy in sight. The Germans increase their fortifications and distribute water and the first food they have eaten in several hours. trenches are deepened and camel carcasses dragged downwind. Von Mücke sends an Arab who has been with him since Al Hudaydah, to try to get to Jeddah with news of their situation.

At about 2100 Leutnant Schmidt dies. They dig as deep a grave as the sand will allow, and he is buried around 2300. Guards are posted and everyone tries to get some sleep.

[Jimbuna]

1st April 1915

Western Front

British air raid on Zeebrugge and Hoboken.

Germans occupy Cloister Hoek (near Dixmude).

Eastern Front

Russian advance checked in western Poland.

Russians make progress in the Carpathians.

Southern Front

Bulgarian Komstodjis attack the Serbs at Valandovo.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians occupy Tsria (Transcaucasia).

Naval and Overseas Operations

First Flanders UB flotilla commissioned, six boats operational by end of April; U.37 possibly mined off Zeebrugge, Belgium during the month.

South African forces occupy Hasuur (German south-west Africa).

British S.S. "Seven Seas" torpedoed off Beachy Head.

Aviation

French pilot Lieutenant Roland Garros scores the first kill achieved by firing a machine gun through a tractor propeller when he shoots down a German Albatros observation plane.

Political, etc.

Bruce Ismay of the White Star Line estimates that German submarines have cost the British £7.4 million (£517 million today).

Bismarck centenary celebrations.

Herr Dernburg, interviewed by New York Times, justifies sinking of S.S. "Falaba".

Scheme for a Dockers' Battalion at Liverpool published.

Ship Losses:

Gloxinia ( United Kingdom): The trawler was stopped and scuttled in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) north east by east of the mouth of the River Tyne by SM U-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Jason ( United Kingdom): The trawler was stopped and scuttled in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) north east by east of the mouth of the River Tyne (55°27′N 0°25′W) by SM U-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Nellie ( United Kingdom): The trawler was stopped and scuttled in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) north east by east of the mouth of the River Tyne (55°33′N 0°19′W) by SM U-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Seven Seas ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 6 nautical miles (11 km) south of Beachy Head, East Sussex by SM U-37 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nine of her Seventeen crew. Survivors were rescued by a Royal Navy destroyer.

[Sailor Steve]

April 1:

Air War: Jean Marie Dominique Navarre of France scores his first aerial victory. He is flying a Morane-Saulnier 'L' parasol with Jean Robert as his observer. Navarre maneuvers their plane to within thirty feet of an Aviatik B.I, and Robert opens fire with his carbine. Two of the shots hit the radiator and one wounds the pilot, who lands on the French side of the lines.

French pilot Roland Garros becomes the world's first fighter pilot, shooting down an Albatros two-seater with his Morane-Saulnier 'L' parasol.
Details here.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...83#post2302883

Harold Rosher writes his sister detailing his test flight in a Vickers Gunbus, including an engine failure and ditching just off the docks. He concludes with a note: "This afternoon Garros shot down a taube from his Morane. The poor wretches were burned to death. Two of our people raided Hoboken again this morning."



English Channel: U-37, under Erich Wilke, sinks SS Seven Seas, 1,194 tons, heading from London to Liverpool in ballast.



North Sea: Fritz Stuhr in U-10 captures and scuttles three British trawlers, Gloxinia, Jason and Nellie. This brings his score to 4 ships and 974 tons.



South Africa: HMS Laconia arrives at Simonstown at 0754. At 0845 she goes into drydock. By 1145 the dock is drained. At 1515 the dock is refilled
and the ship repositioned. At 1705 the dock is again empty and Laconia properly positioned.



German East Africa: HMS Goliath arrives at Zanzibar. At Kilindini Harbour, Port Reitz, Mombasa, the crew of HMS Hyacinth note that Sopwith S920 is airborne over the town and once circles their ship.



Saudi Arabia: With the coming of daylight the attacks resume. Von Mücke observes that in the distance he can see two large zambuks tied up at the shore. The enemy troops are being resupplied from the boats, and their camels are roaming free nearby, grazing in the grass there. A camel is killed outside the compound nearby. It is upwind, and as it rapidly decays in the fierce heat the Germans can do nothing but endure the smell. Then they are attacked by a new enemy when the camp is overrun by thousands of large beetles. These get under the men's clothes and crawl all over the bodies and faces of the wounded. The men cannot wear headcloths as they make good targets. Accidently touching the barrel of a rifle while firing brings burns to the hands. The camel saddles are coated with grease, and begin to smolder in the heat. To keep the smoke from spreading the saddles are covered with sand. The sand itself blows around the camp, sticking to the sweating men.

Two more sailors are severely wounded. One of them, a fireman named Lanig, dies that night. With darkness von Mücke sends to of the Turkish gendarms to Jeddah, dressed as Bedouins.

After dark the men are trying to get some sleep when one of their sentries opens fire, followed by several more. Von Mücke asks one of them where the enemy is. "Right here, at a distance of about forty meters some of them were creeping along. There goes one now!" The man then shoots at it. After some careful observation the officers determine that the "enemy" are a pack of hyenas feasting on the dead camels.

[Catfish]

The whole thread is very interesting, but i think a lot of the incidents are described a bit one-sided. Especially regarding U-boats and e.g. the Falaba incident on march 28th i have a slightly different view of things
I just hate to let this stand as it is, but i plain do not have enough time

[Jimbuna]

2nd April 1915

Western Front

German attack stopped at Bagatelle (Argonne).

French air raids on German aviation camps in Belgium and Lorraine.

Eastern Front

Russian cavalry defeat German cavalry in northern Poland.

Russians take Cigielka (Carpathians).

Naval and Overseas Operations

English Channel
LOCHWOOD, Admiralty collier, 2,042/1900, Constantine & Pickering SS Co, Middlesbrough-reg, 21 crew, Mr T Scott, from Barry with 3,200t coal, steaming at 8kts in misty weather with sea rough, strong WSW wind. U.24 (Rudolf Schneider) sighted on reverse course on port beam about 1¼m distant, turned away, hoisted Norwegian ensign and went to full speed. U-boat followed, fired a first torpedo at 1745 and a second at 1815, then approached within hailing distance, ordered Lochwood to stop and gave the crew 10min to abandon ship, while doing so a third torpedo hit port-side abaft the engine-room. U.24 made off at 1900 and Lochwood sank at 1930, 25 miles SW of Start Point, Devon (wi - in 49.54.30N, 04.04W).

German steamer Macedonia, which had been interned in the Canary Islands, evades British cruisers and escapes.


South African troops capture the key trading station of Aus, German Southwest Africa (today Namibia).

Political, etc.

Premier Asquith temporary takes the position as head of the Foreign Office as Sir Edward Grey goes on vacation.

American Note to Great Britain on the blockade.

Correspondence between Great Britain and Germany as to submarine crews taken prisoner by former, published.

Austria offers Italy a rectification of frontier in the Trentino.

Ship Losses:

Lochwood ( United Kingdom): The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) south west of Start Point, Devon by SM U-24 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Parquerette ( France): The barquentine was scuttled in the English Channel 18 nautical miles (33 km) north of Cap d'Antifer, Pas-de-Calais (50°20′N 0°16′E) by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

April 2:

Air War:
0600 French pilot Georges Pelletier d'Oisy and observer René Chambe, in a Morane 'L' two-seater, shoot down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 1.



English Channel: Rudolf Schneider and U-24 are already doubly famous, first for the loss of life aboard the French ferry Admiral Ganteaume on October 26th and then for sinking HMS Formidable on January 1st. Now they sink SS Lochwood, 2,042 tons, carrying a load of coal from Barry to an unnamed destination.

Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, stops and scuttles the French barquentine Paquerette, 399 tons, sailing in ballast from Fécamp to Newfoundland.



Valletta Harbour, Malta: Orders are given for the monitors to prepare for another voyage. Most of the tugs are still under service for duty at the Dardanelles, with only Blackcock and Danube II remaining at Valletta. The tug Rescue is dispatched from Gibraltar to aid in the trip.



Zanzibar: HMS Hyacinth arrives from Mombasa. HMS Goliath departs for Aden.



Bombay, India: HMS Chatham, which under Captain Drury-Lowe was the first ship to keep SMS Königsberg bottled up at Rufiji, has been stationed at Bombay for awhile now.



Saudi Arabia: As the sun rises on the third day of battle, Hellmuth von Mücke and his men know that it may be the last. They have only enough water for this one day. Von Mücke gives orders that at nightfall they will make a break for it. The sick and wounded are to be left behind, and anyone wounded along the way will be left where they fell. After these instructions are given the attack begins anew.

Around noon they are approached by a man carrying a white flag. He tells them that the attackers will allow them to keep their arms, camels and provisions if they are paid £22,000. In an attempt to play for time, Von Mücke tells the man that they have enough food and water to last four weeks and are looking forward to the fight. He says that they should be grateful he does not attack them with his machine guns. The man leaves, and returns a half-hour later with the same demands. This time Von Mücke tells the messenger that he will now only talk to the attackers' leader personally.

The man departs, and a quarter of an hour passes with no gunfire. Then another. They carefully take a look around, and see nothing. Fearing a ruse, von Mücke orders his men to wait. After awhile they take another look, and then risk standing up. There is no gunfire, and nothing to be seen.

About an hour later they see two men on camels approaching their camp. When these arrive they announce themselves as emmisaries of the Emir of Mecca. They tell the Germans that troops are on the way to give them an escort.

Half an hour after this the Germans can see a party of around seventy men approaching. They carry a red banner with verses from the Koran written in gold lettering. Their leader is Abdullah, second son of the Emir. He distributes water and offers his men as escort to Jeddah.

Von Mücke comments that loading up for the trip takes some time, "...as getting camels ready to march has as yet not been included in the training for service in the Imperial Navy." With forty of their camels dead they are forced to leave behind a large amount of supplies. As the caravan sets out von Mücke notes that the enemy were quite organized, and had dug their own large system of trenches.

That night they make camp, and for the first time in four days have a cooked meal and are able to bathe and get a good night's sleep. At this point they see searchlights off the shore of the Red Sea. Von Mücke is convinced that the party of Arabs who attacked them were paid to do so by the English, who also supplied their weapons.