100 Years Ago Today

[Sailor Steve]

September 27, 1915:

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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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

[Jimbuna]

28th September 1915

Western Front

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

British capture altogether 3,000 men and 21 guns.

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

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

Eastern Front

Russians abandon Lutsk.

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

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

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

Enemy bolts towards Baghdad.

Naval and Overseas Operations

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

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


Funeral of the victims of the USS F-4 disaster, the first US Navy submersible to be sunk.


Political etc.

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

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

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

Trades Union and Labour bodies debate Compulsory service.

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

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

Ship Losses:

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

[Sailor Steve]

September 28, 1915:

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



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



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

[Jimbuna]

29th September 1915

Western Front

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

Heavy fighting Hohenzollern Redoubt and Hulloch.

British lose ground near Hooge (Ypres).

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

Eastern Front

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

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

Political etc.

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

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

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

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

Ship Losses:

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

[Sailor Steve]

September 29, 1915:

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



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



French destroyer Branlebas is sunk by a mine.



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



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



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

[Jimbuna]

30th September 1915

Western Front

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

Eastern Front

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

Russians still hold Dvinsk strongly.

Southern Front

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

Italian offensive continues amid ice and snow.

Aviation

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

Naval

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

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

Political etc.

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

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

King George sends congratulatory message to Sir John French.

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

Ship Loses:

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

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

[Sailor Steve]

September 30, 1915:

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

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



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



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



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



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

[Jimbuna]

1st October 1915

Western Front

Minor actions, Souchez and Lorraine.

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

Eastern Front

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

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

Southern Front

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

Aviation

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

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

Naval and Overseas Operations

British monitors bombard Lombaertzyde and Middelkerke.

Political etc.

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

Ship Losses:

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

For his conduct at the Battle of Hooge, Lt. Rupert Price Hallowes of Port Talbot is posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

[Sailor Steve]

October 1, 1915:

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

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

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



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



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

[Jimbuna]

2nd October 1915

Western Front

British fleet and Belgian artillery bombard Westeinde.

Aviation

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

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

Political etc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

French General Albert d’Amade (pictured) arrives at Tsar Nicholas’s headquarters, heading a special military mission.


Ship Losses:

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

Lord Ninian Chrichton-Stuart, a British Member of Parliament, is killed in action at the Battle of Loos.

[Sailor Steve]

October 2, 1915:

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



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

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

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Lord Ninian Chrichton-Stuart, a British Member of Parliament, is killed in action at the Battle of Loos.

LT. COL. Crichton-Stuart, The Welch 6th Battalion, the second son of the Marquess of Bute, was one of 22 MPs to die during the war. Another 24 members of the House of Lords were killed. The 6th Battalion suffered heavy losses during the war, with only 30 survivors from the 842 men who set out. But there were still veterans' reunions in Swansea until the late 1960s. The colonel's death still hurts 100 years later:

[Sailor Steve]

October 3, 1915:

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

French bomb Metz.



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

Russian offensive at Postavi-Smorgon collapses.



Southern Front: Germans checked on Serbian frontier.

Bulgarian forces concentrated.

Allied troops arive at Salonika. Greek government protests.



Naval and Overseas Operations: Zeebrugge bombarded from sea.


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



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



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



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



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

[Jimbuna]

Eastern Front

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

Southern Front

Artillery action along Belgrade-Save front.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Two Russian squadrons off Varna.

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

Political etc.

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

Protests in Greek Chamber against Allies landing at Salonika.

Ship Losses:

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

[Sailor Steve]

October 4, 1915:

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



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



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