The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 136 of the Great War, December 10th 1914

Naval operations: English Channel

The expected invasion not happening, HMS HUMBER, MERSEY and SEVERN are sent back to Harwich. Heavy seas are encountered, and HUMBER reports serious damage.

Naval operations: Cape Horn

Captain Lüdeke sends men ashore at Sholl Bay to fell trees and cut wood, hoping it will help supplement the 160 tons of coal he has left aboard SMS DRESDEN.

Naval operations: German East Africa

At 1257 HMS KINFAUNS CASTLE hoists the seaplane overboard. Due to engine problems Cutler is flying alone. At 1304 Cutler is still on his waywhen the engine fails altogether. Cutler puts his plane down in the river. This is spotted aboard KINFAUNS CASTLE and Lt. Gallehawk sets out immmediately with an armed party in the steam launch. The tug HELMUTH follows. One version of the story has Cutler swimming to shore and being captured by the Germans. Another says that Cutler was trying to burn the plane when the enemy waded into the river and captured him. Either way Dennis Cutler became a Prisoner Of War and would remain so for the next three years.

Gallehawk manages to reach the plane and take it under tow, all the while under heavy fire. From 1455 to 1515 Helmuth is engaged in a running battle with German soldiers on the river banks. At 1619 KKINFAUNS CASTLE'S lookouts sight the tug, steam launch and seaplane coming out of the mouth of the river. At 1815 the rescue party reported that Lt. Cutler is missing, possibly drowned or eaten by crocodiles. At 1913 the plane is hoisted back aboard KINFAUNS CASTLE.

Eastern Front: Russians southeast of Krakow go on the counteroffensive

The Russians southeast of Krakow go on the counteroffensive today. With reinforcements from X and XXI Corps, the Russian 3rd Army assaults the centre of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army, and succeeds in pushing the enemy lines back several kilometers. However, efforts by the Russian VIII Corps to drive from Neusandez to Limanowa are unsuccessful, and with further reinforcements are reaching the line for his group General Roth believes that his force may yet be able to outflank the Russian 3rd Army. Meanwhile the advance of General Szurmay's force towards Neusandez is led by 38th Honvéd Division, consisting of only eight understrength battalions. They are halted seven kilometres short of Neusandez by elements of two Russian divisions and a brigade.

Day 138 of the Great War, December 12th 1914

Naval operations: Pacific Ocean

SMS PRINZ EITEL FREDRICH captures the British steel sailing barque KIDALTON, 1,784 tons, carrying a general cargo from Liverpool to Callao. Her crew are put aboard the captured barque Jean and the ship scuttled with explosives.

Naval operations: Atlantic Ocean

SMS DRESDEN arrives at Punta Arenas. The American collier MINNESOTA refuses to sell them coal. They are forced to settle for low-grade coal from the German ship SS TURPIN. Knowing that the British consulate will inform the Admiralty of their visit, Captain Lüdeke refuels his ship and departs again as quickly as possible.

Naval operations: German East Africa

HMS KINFAUNS CASTLE arrives at Port Kilindini.

Eastern Front: Battle of Limanowa

With the counterattacks of the 10th having failed, and Austro-Hungarian pressure continuing through the 11th, General Ivanov of South-West Front recognizes that the present Russian positions south of the Vistula are not sustainable, and issues for a withdrawal. VIII Corps, at the threatened point of the line, is pulled back northwestwards across the Lasosina River, abandoning Neusandez to the forces of General Szurmay. As the Russian forces just south of the Vistula hold their line, the commander of the Austro-Hungarian 4th Army orders his left and centre to hold while Roth's group pursues. The Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army would also continue to advance northwards against the depleted Russian 8th Army.

The Battle of Limanowa-Lapanow is thus a notable, though not a decisive, Austro-Hungarian victory; they are pushing back the Russians, not breaking through their lines. It also needs to be recalled that as early as the conference of November 29th Grand Duke Nicholas, General Ruszkii, and General Ivanov had agreed that South-West Front needed to pull back to avoid overstretching itself. Considering Ivanov's subsequent change of mind, the battle might be said to have convinced him of what his colleagues had been unable to do - namely, retreat. Instead, the most notable aspect of Limanowa-Lapanow is that it is a victory planned and directed by Austro-Hungarian generals from Conrad down, and achieved almost exclusively by Austro-Hungarian soldiers. This is the last time in the war such a battle will occur.

Serbian Campaign: growing disaster in Serbia

The positive news in the north is more than outweighed by the growing disaster in Serbia. Today what is left of the Austro-Hungarian 6th army reaches Sabac on the Sava River, and cross over to safety on the north bank. The Serbian 1st Army has not pursued the defeated enemy with any great vigour, concluding that they should not incur any unnecessary losses fighting 6th Army when it was clear that they were retreating as fast and as far as possible.

Meanwhile south of Belgrade the Serbian 2nd and 3rd Armies were advancing against the lines of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army. During the day Serbian units manage to break through at several places, and this evening the commander of 5th Army orders a retreat towards a shorter defensive line closer to Belgrade.

Map: The retreat of the Austro-Hungarian 5th Army at Belgrade, December 12th to 14th, 1914



The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian position in Serbia has come as a great shock to the government, it coming so quickly on the heels of the euphoria over the capture of Belgrade. Today Baron Arthur Bolfras, the Emperor's Adjutant-General, writes to Potiorek that 'His Majesty is not pleased' - in the refined language of the Hapsburg court, as harsh a condemnation as possible. Potiorek's response is to beg for another chance - with reinforcements, he argues, he will be able to launch a fourth invasion of Serbia in four weeks' time, which the Serbs cannot possibly resist this time. Potiorek's plea for a fourth invasion is greeted with the healthy scepticism it deserves.

Day 140 of the Great War, December 14th 1914

Western Front: two major offensive operations the French army are planned

- Planning continues for the two major offensive operations the French army will undertake in the next week - in Artois on the 17th, and in Champagne on the 20th. Today General Foch meets with General Maud'huy to discuss the Artois offensive, to be undertaken by the latter's 10th Army. Foch emphasizes to Maud'huy that the battle should be approached as if he were undertaking a siege, which means thorough and meticulous preparation combined with a methodical advance, ensuring that the infantry is supported by overwhelming firepower at every stage of the engagement. Maud'huy thus slows the planned pace of the operation, spreading the attack over multiple phases to ensure each attack is strongly supported. Despite the focus on preparation, the French units dedicated to the attack are not sufficiently equipped - 77th Division, which will be leading the main attack, requires over a hundred wire cutters to pierce the German barbed wire defences, but reports today that it has only fifteen.

- In addition to the two major attacks, Joffre is coordinating a number of diversionary attacks designed to distract the Germans from French preparations and force the enemy to commit their reserves elsewhere. One of these secondary operations is begun this morning by units of the French XVI and XXI Corps and the British II Corps in the line south of Ypres. The advancing infantry, however, are slowed by deep mud and intact barbed wire defences, and are unable to make any real progress. Only a small number of British soldiers are able to reach the first German trench line on the western edge of the Petit Bois woods, but this does not pose a risk to the overall German position.

Naval operations: Admiral Ingenohlis getting concerned about the morale of his sailors

For the past month and a half the German High Seas Fleet has sat in port, immobilized by the Kaiser's edict that his prized dreadnoughts are not to risk annihilation in a major battle with the British Grand Fleet. The inaction is concerning to Admiral Ingenohl, commander of the High Seas Fleet, who worries about the morale of his sailors, while Admiral Hipper, commanding the Fleet's battlecruisers, is eager to undertake another attack on the British coast along the lines of that attempted against Yarmouth on November 3rd. Meanwhile, the destruction of the German East Asiatic Squadron on the 8th spurs a desire to secure a victory to restore the public image of the German navy, while the Battle of the Falklands Islands also gave notice that several British battlecruisers are absent from the Grand Fleet. Under these circumstances approval is given to another raid on the British coast - Hipper and his battlecruisers are to bombard Scarborough and Hartlepool. To support the operation, Ingenohl and the High Seas Fleet will sail to the eastern edge of Dogger Bank in the middle of the North Sea, not to seek battle, but to provide support if Hipper fins himself overwhelmed. There is also at least the chance that the Germans might stumble upon one part of the Grand Fleet divided from the rest, presenting the opportunity to even the odds in the North Sea. The Germans are to sail tomorrow morning, with the bombardment scheduled to occur on the morning of the 16th.

As the High Seas Fleet prepares for its raid, wireless signals are sent back and forth among the German ships. Unknown to them, these signals are being intercepted by the British, and though they are coded, the British have managed to break the German codes, thanks to the acquisition of several different German code books over the past few months. In Room 40 at the Admiralty in London, the signals are deciphered, and at 7pm this evening the First Lord and First Sea Lord are informed that the Germans are coming. Crucially, however, Room 40 has intercepted only a portion of the German signals - they inform the Admiralty leadership that the German battlecruisers are intending to raid the British coast, but they have no information that the entire High Seas Fleet will also put to sea. Thus it appears to Churchill and Fisher that only Hipper's five battlecruisers will be undertaking the operation, and so they order Admiral Jellicoe to dispatch an appropriately-sized force to destroy it - the four battlecruisers of Admiral Beatty's Battlecruiser Squadron and the six dreadnoughts of Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender. Together these warships would be more than sufficient to defeat the German battlecruisers, but if they stumble onto the High Seas Fleet, the Germans would have overwhelming numerical superiority. Thus Churchill's and Fisher's response to the intelligence of Room 40 is to give the Germans precisely the opportunity they crave to destroy part of the Grand Fleet in isolation and level the playing field in the North Sea - depending, of course, on the Germans taking advantage of the opportunity.

Eastern Front: Russian armies begin a eastward retreat

The Russian armies between the two bends of the Vistula River begin today the eastward retreat ordered by Grand Duke Nicholas yesterday.

Map: The front lines in Poland on December 14th (on the left) and December 31st (on the right), illustrating the Russian retreat.



Eastern Front: General Potiorek orders 5th Army to retreat north over the Sava and Danube Rivers

In response to the message of General Frank regarding the state of his army, General Potiorek orders 5th Army to retreat north over the Sava and Danube Rivers and abandon Belgrade to the advancing Serbs.

Naval operations: Indian Ocean

For two weeks the schooner AYESHA, with its German crew from the light cruiser EMDEN, has been at the rendezvous point in the Indian Ocean it had signaled to the German merchant ships in Padang. During this time it has twice sighted English steamers, one of which the Germans suspected to be an armed auxiliary cruiser. When the cruiser approached, the crew of AYESHA did all they could to appear to be lost and hapless. First they asked the cruiser for their current position, and when the cruiser asked Ayesha for its name, the German response was to raise a jumble of signal flags that meant jibberish. Convinced that AYESHA was crewed by harmless incompetents, the cruiser had departed, leaving the German schooner to continue its wait.

Today their patience is rewarded when the German merchant ship CHOISING appears out of thick fog. The intention of First Officer Mücke and his men is to transfer to the merchant, but are prevented by the rough seas. Instead AYESHA signals CHOISING to follow it in sailing south, hoping to find calmer weather.

Naval operations: Port Kilindini, Mombasa

HMS CHATHAM departs for the Rufiji River delta.

Naval operations: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

German prisoners from Spee's squadron are transferred from HMS INVINCIBLE,INFLEXIBLE and CANOPUS to SS CROWN OF CALICIA.

Naval operations: Cape Horn

SMS DRESDEN reaches Hewett Bay, near the Gonzalez Channel on the west end of the Straights of Magellan.

Day 142 of the Great War, December 16th 1914

Eastern Front: Joffre send a message to Grand Duke Nicholas

In a message to Grand Duke Nicholas today, Joffre outlines the two major objectives of the French offensives that begin tomorrow:

The objective of these actions is two fold: (1) hold the enemy in front of us in order to facilitate the general action of allied forces; (2) make a breach in one or more points on the front, then exploit this success with reserve troops by taking the enemy in the rear and forcing him to retreat.

The first point is designed to alleviate the Russian commander's concerns regarding French inaction on the Western Front allowing the Germans to redeploy further units eastwards, while the second illustrates that Joffre saw the battle as a relatively-straightforward attack designed to achieve a breakthrough, from which would ensue a return to mobile warfare. Joffre, though, did recognize that the present circumstances on the Western Front required different tools to achieve the breakthrough, weapons akin to thus utilized in siege warfare. As he noted to the Grand Duke, should the attacks fail it would be because they were launched 'with still insufficient means.'

Naval operations: Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby

In the early morning hours Hipper's battlecruisers and their escorts the British east coast. The plan is to divide into two forces, the first to bombard Scarborough and Whitby, the second to strike Hartlepool just to the north. The weather, however, is deteriorating, with rising seas and high winds. The weather becomes sufficiently serious to pose a risk to the light cruisers and destroyers, so at 653am Hipper orders them to turn back and sail eastward towards the Dogger Bank where Ingenohl and the High Seas Fleet are to be waiting.

An hour earlier, however, the situation around the Dogger Bank had changed decisively. As the High Seas Fleet was approaching Dogger Bank, the British battlecruisers under Beatty and the dreadnoughts of Warrender's 2nd Battle Squadron were to the northwest of Dogger Bank, sailing to their patrol point to the southeast. By a supreme coincidence the course of the two fleets brought them into close proximity to each other, neither knowing that the other was nearby. At 515am the seven British destroyers escorting Beatty's and Warrender's force are ten miles east of the dreadnoughts when they stumble upon several German light cruisers and destroyers, the latter being the advance screen of the High Seas Fleet. For the next forty minutes there is confused, short-range fighting between the two forces, with the British suffering the most - three of their destroyers are severely damaged.

As the fighting continued the captains involved signalled their main fleets that they were engaging the enemy. At 523am Ingenohl, aboard his flagship FREIDRICH DER GROSSE, is informed that German destroyers are fighting their British counterparts to the east, and the flashes of gunfire are visible on the horizon. He does not know the composition of the British force opposing him, which allows his worst fears to run wild. What if these British destroyers are the advance screen of the entire Grand Fleet? This would mean that the High Seas Fleet was almost certainly sailing towards its destruction. He was ever-mindful of the Kaiser's edict: no general naval battle is to be risked. In the dark of night, Ingenohl comes to believe that this is exactly what is about to happen. At 530am he signals all of his squadrons to reverse course and turn southeast for home.

Postcard: SMS FREIDRICH DER GROSSE



It was a monumental decision, even leaving aside the fact that Ingenohl's retreat left Hipper's battlecruisers abandoned without even so much as a signal indicating the fleet was returning to Wilhelmshaven. It meant that Ingenohl was turning away from the greatest opportunity the German navy was to have in the entire war to engage an isolated portion of the Grand Fleet. If Ingenohl had not lost his nerve, a battle between his fourteen dreadnoughts and the six dreadnoughts and four battlecruisers of Beatty's and Warrender's force would have likely occurred at dawn. The British would certainly have dealt out serious damage, but the High Seas Fleet would have had the advantage and the most likely outcome of such a battle would have been the loss of significantly more British warships than German. Such a victory in turn would have given the Germans parity in the North Sea - at no point before or after December 1914 would the two fleets be closer in size, and the British margin of superiority would have been erased by the losses such a battle would likely have resulted in. Thus by turning away, Ingenohl threw away the best chance the Germans would ever have to change the course of the war at sea. While Ingenohl bears responsibility for the order, it bears recalling that it was given in line with the instructions of the Kaiser. Ultimately, it was the Kaiser's own unwillingness to risk defeat that ensured he never won the great naval victory he yearned for.

While Ingenohl was making his fateful decision, confusion reigned in the British force. Admiral Warrender, who as Beatty's senior was in overall command of the operation, had been informed that several of his destroyers were engaging the enemy, but they had failed to signal positions, courses, or speeds. Concluding that any small German warships could be swept up after Hipper's battlecruisers were dealt with, Warrender decides that instead of turning east towards the fighting, his dreadnoughts will continue southeast towards the morning rendezvous. By 730am Warrender's dreadnoughts, Beatty's battlecruisers, and Rear-Admiral Goodenough's light cruisers had arrived at their patrol point just off the Dogger Bank. Confused signals continued to come in from British destroyers to the east, with some being missed. Just as Beatty decides to charge eastwards to engage the Germans, word comes that the British coast is being shelled. Beatty abandons the chase, and the British warships at sea turn westward to intercept Hipper.

The German bombardment had begun at the town of Scarborough at 8am by the southern part of Hipper's force, consisting of the battlecruisers DERFFLINGER and VON DER TANN, plus the light cruiser KOLBERG. Out of the morning fog bright flashes were followed by shells crashing into buildings. For a half-hour the three warships fire, and when they depart at 830am seventeen people were dead and ninety-nine wounded - all civilians. These three warships then sailed twenty-one miles up the coast to the fishing village of Whitby, which they bombarded for ten minutes, killed two and wounding two more. The northern part of Hipper's force, comprised of the battlecruisers SEYDLITZ, MOLKTE, and BLUCHER (the latter variously classified as a battlecruiser or armoured cruiser - regardless, it was the weakest of the three), was approaching the shipbuilding and manufacturing town of Hartlepool when at 750am they encountered four elderly British destroyers patrolling offshore. Though one manages to close sufficiently to fire a torpedo, it misses and otherwise the destroyers retreat under a hail of German shellfire. When a light cruiser in Hartlepool attempts to put to see, it is struck by two shells and ran aground. This was the only naval resistance the three German warships would encounter at Hartlepool, and while several shore batteries did keep up a constant fire, their 6-inch shells were unable to pierce the armour protection of the enemy battlecruisers. The German bombardment of Hartlepool lasts from 810am to 852am, during which the three battlecruisers fire 1150 shells at the town. Shells rained down on the shipyard and the steelworks, but also damaged more than three hundred homes. When the Germans depart, eighty-six civilians were dead and 424 wounded. Damage to the six warships was minimal, and only eight sailors were killed and twelve wounded.

Photo: A damaged house at Rugby Terrace



At 930am the two parts of Hipper's force reunite and turn for home, fifty miles behind the light cruisers and destroyers he had sent home earlier in the morning. He signals Ingenohl his course and speed, and asks for the location of the High Seas Fleet. Ingenohl's reply is that it is returning to port. Hipper's response is a rather colourful curse - Ingenohl's hasty retreat has abandoned the battlecruisers to their fate.

On the British side, Beatty and Warrender believe that they will soon be able to find and annihilate Hipper's force - there is a gap fifteen to twenty miles wide between two minefields on the Yorkshire coast through which Hipper must sail, and both British forces are heading for this point. At this point the British are stricken with almost comically bad luck. First, the weather in the North Sea deteriorates rapidly, drastically reducing visual range. Second, at 1125am the British light cruiser Southampton, part of Goodenough's cruiser squadron, sights several enemy light cruisers and destroyers - these were the warships Hipper had sent home early due to the rough weather. Goodenough signals Beatty that he is engaging the enemy, and orders the other three light cruisers of his own force to assemble on Southampton. Goodenough's cruisers had been tasked with scouting ahead of Beatty's battlecruisers, a vital task in the poor weather, and Beatty, not knowing Southampton has met multiple enemy light cruisers, is dismayed to see all of his light cruisers turn away to follow Southampton. He tells his Flag Lieutenant to signal 'that light cruiser' to resume its station ahead of the battlecruisers. The Flag Lieutenant, uncertain which light cruiser Beatty is referring to, tells the signalman, using his searchlight, simply to order the 'light cruiser' to resume its station. Nottingham, the light cruiser receiving the signal, believes the signal, given that it names no specific light cruiser is for the entire squadron, and passes it to Goodenough. The latter, believing he has received a clear and direct order from a superior officer, breaks off the fight with the German warships and orders all of his light cruisers to return to the battlecruisers. The German light cruisers and destroyers disappear in the distance, and when Beatty sees all of Goodenough's light cruisers returns he is apoplectic, believing Goodenough has allowed Hipper's screening force to escape. In reality, the problem was down to a misunderstood signal, not the last time such a problem would bedevil Beatty.

At 1215pm the same German warships that Goodenough had allowed to escape is sighted by some of the dreadnoughts of Warrender's squadron. However, Warrender himself cannot see them, and so never issues an order to fire. The dreadnoughts that do see the enemy believes that Warrender must have some reason for not yet firing, so they never open fire on their own initiative. The German light cruisers and destroyers then disappear again into the rain, a second miraculous escape.

Beatty aboard his flagship LION believes that the German warships sighted, then lost, by Goodenough and Warrender are the immediate screening force for Hipper, and that the German battlecruisers must be just behind them. This leads Beatty to conclude that when the light cruisers and destroyers slip past Warrender, that Hipper's battlecruisers must also be about to escape. To prevent this, at 1230pm Beatty orders his squadron to turn to the east, believing that only his ships had the speed to cut off the Germans from their home base. The reality, of course, is that Hipper's battlecruisers were fifty miles behind the light warships. If Beatty had kept to his original course, he would have almost certainly ran right into Hipper. By turning away, he opened a gap between the minefields that Hipper promptly sailed through. By the time Beatty realized that the German battlecruisers were not in fact in front him, Hipper had slipped away to the north. Several hours of frantic searching by Beatty and Warrender find nothing, and by late afternoon they conclude that the Germans have made their escape.

The bombardment of Scarborough, Whitby, and Hartlepool caused outrage in Britain, compounded by the fact that the raiders had escaped. In the Royal Navy there was immense disappointment that what had seemed like a golden opportunity to destroy the German battlecruisers had gone to waste. There was infighting as the different admirals assigned blame to others, Beatty being particularly hard on Goodenough. In practice luck and the weather had been against the British this day. The muddled chase also showed the limitations of Room 40; though it had correctly detected the battlecruiser raid, they did not realize the entire German fleet was at sea, and the delay inherent in decyphering of signals also played a role - a signal by Hipper giving his position at 1245pm, when he could still have been intercepted, was intercepted but not decyphered and retransmitted to Beatty and Warrender until 250pm, by which time Hipper was long gone.

In Germany the raid was celebrated - naval honour was restored, and the hated British enemy was not quite so safe as it had thought it was behind its Channel frontier. Within the German navy, however, the realization of the opportunity Ingenohl had let pass was a bitter pill to swallow. Much criticism was heaped on the High Seas Fleet commander, including from the Kaiser himself, who informed Ingenohl that he had been too cautious, a case of misplaced blame.

Perhaps the most important impact of the raid, however, was on the morale of the British public. To most in Britain, the deliberate bombardment of largely-undefended coastal towns was an atrocity. The overall number of civilian dead - 105 - seems almost pitifully small from the vantage point of the 21st-century, where the record of the past hundred years has left us almost numb to the notion of civilian casualties in war. From the perspective of Britain in 1914, however, the notion of deliberately targeting civilians was seen as something that no civilized nation would ever do - it was in line with the thinking, then much prevalent, that no civilized nation would torpedo merchant ships without warning. The Scarborough Raid, as it becomes known, is quickly held up as yet another example of German barbarism and perfidy, taking its place alongside the Rape of Belgium to show why the war must be fought and why the Germans must be defeated, no matter the cost. The episode becomes a staple of recruiting posters, which emphasize the murder of women and children at the hands of heartless German sailors, imploring the men to avenge the dead and protect those still living - another example of drawing on gender roles to support the war effort. The memory of the Scarborough Raid live in the minds of the British public long after the physical damage had been repaired.

Map: strategical Plan of the Raid on the Yorkshire Coast



Eastern Front: Russian 1st Army retreats

- In Poland the Russian 1st Army, northernmost of the Russian armies in the great bend of the Vistula River, had responded to Grand Duke Nicholas' order to retreat by fleeing as fast as possible east over the Bzura River. To its south, the Russian 2nd and 5th Armies have only begun their retreat, meaning their northern flank has been uncovered by the hastiness of 1st Army. General Mackensen of the German 9th Army believes an opportunity exists to envelop the Russian 2nd and 5th Armies, and while ordering his northern wing to attempt to outflank the enemy south of Sochaczew, he also requests that the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army to send a detachment to the northeast towards Lubochnia to form the other half of the pincer movement.

- South of the Vistula River, the Austro-Hungarian pursuit of the retreating Russian armies continues to be stymied by strong rear-guard actions that limit their advance and result in hard fighting, suggesting that the Russians do not intend to withdraw a great distance. Despite this, Conrad continues to believe that the Battle of Limanowa-Lapanow is a crushing victory, and his major concern today is how to bring the Russians to battle before they can retreat across the San River.

Naval operations: Indian Ocean

Overnight the schooner AYESHA endures a violent storm that tears away all of the forward sails, leaving it at the mercy of the ocean. In the morning, however, the storm vanishes, and AYESHA is left adrift when the wind proves too light to fill the remaining sails. Fortunately CHOISING appears, and takes AYESHA in tow to the sheltered bay of a nearby island, where EMDEN'S landing party transfers to the merchant ship. They make CHOISING their new home, bringing with them all of their provisions and weapons. The decision is made to sink AYESHA , to prevent it either falling back into British hands or from revealing their most recent position. After cutting two holes in the hull, CHOISING is cut adrift as CHOISING'S engine is started at 4pm. For some time AYESHA continues on its own to follow CHOISING, and the Germans decide to halt to watch its final minutes. At 458pm the AYESHA plunges out of sight, and the Germans give three cheers to honour their former ship.

Aboard his new ship First Officer Mücke must decide where to sail next. His original plan on leaving Padang was to try to reach the German colony of Tsingtao in China, but on boarding CHOISING they had learned of its fall over a month ago. Sailing to German East Africa was quickly dismissed, as the arrival of fifty under-equipped and poorly-armed sailors could not possibly make a difference to the fighting there. Joining with KONINGSBERG was similarly ruled out. It appeared the only option was to sail around Africa until a report in one of the newspapers aboard CHOISING mentioned a skirmish between British and Ottoman forces in Arabia. Mücke thus decides that the best option is to sail to Arabia and return to Europe overland through the Ottoman Empire. The slow speed of CHOISING - between four and seven knots per hour - means the voyage to Arabia will take several weeks. In an effort to avoid suspicion, the crew disguises CHOISING as the Italian merchant ship SHENIR, complete with an Italian flag made of a green window curtain, white bunting, a strip of red, and a painted coat of arms.

Naval operations: Germany

SMS GLYNDWR is commissioned as the first German seaplane carrier.

Naval operations: Pacific Ocean

HMS INFLEXIBLE is proceeding up the coast of Chile in her quest for SMS DRESDEN.

Naval operations: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

At 0440 HMS CANOPUS weighs anchor and moves to her original berth near the navy yard. HMS INVINCIBLE weighs anchor at 1400 hours and begins her journey home.

Thanks for the notice stevep .

Day 144 of the Great War, December 18th 1914

YouTube (The Raid On Scarborough - A Failed Attempt at Intimidation)



Western Front: a British attack against the German line at Ploegsteert Wood is a bloody failure

- Though the French have abandoned their attacks in Flanders, the British have not - they hope that the continued German redeployments to the Eastern Front have sufficiently weakened their lines opposite the BEF to allow for successful, if small-scale, attacks. The reality is that though the German lines are thinner, they are still able to easily repulse hastily-planned and poorly-executed operations. Today, a British attack against the German line at Ploegsteert Wood is a bloody failure, with some of the advancing infantry being killed by their own misdirected artillery fire.

- After the attacks by XXI and X Corps yesterday, the main attack of the French 10th Army's Artois offensive is launched today by XXXIII Corps. However, the same conditions that impeded progress yesterday - heavy rain and insufficient artillery fire - also plague today's advance, and XXXIII Corps, attacking along a broad front, secures only negligible gains. General Pétain decides that instead of continuing to attack all along his corps' front, he will instead concentrate his strength against just the portion of the line at the village of Carency, in an attempt to overwhelm the German defenders.

Eastern Front: Russian armies in central Poland halt their retreat

- The Russian armies in central Poland halt their retreat today, taking up strong and prepared positions on the lower Bzura and Rawka Rivers south to the Nida River. Attacks by both the German 9th and Austro-Hungarian 2nd Armies fail to break through this new line, indicating that the Russians intend to stand and fight here. Mackensen decides to continue 9th Army's offensive in an effort to capture Warsaw before the end of the year, and thus begins a series of attacks across the Bzura and Rawka Rivers.

- For his part, the Russian halt in central Poland is yet more evidence to Conrad that the essential battle is in Galicia where the Russian line in Poland can be turned from the south. The omens south of the Vistula, however, are not promising. In addition to yesterday's check at Lisko, today 4th Army finds its advance halted by Russian garrisons on the west bank of the Dunajec River, evidence that the Russian 3rd Army intends to stand along the Dunajec. Gone is the question of whether the Russians will retreat across the San; instead, it is now a matter of whether the Russians can be forced to continue retreating at all. To accomplish this the left wing of 4th Army is ordered to hold at the Dunajec, while the right wing swings around to the south against Tarnow - if successful, it will sever the main railway and supply route to the Russian 3rd Army and force its further withdrawal.

South West Africa campaign: German force attacks the Portuguese fort of Naulila

Along the border between German South-West Africa and Portuguese Angola, the reaction of the latter to the massacre of the Portuguese garrison at Cuangar on October 31st by a small German force had been to evacuate four nearby border posts for fear of further German attacks. The German commander in South-West Africa, meanwhile, still does not know if Germany and Portugal are actually at war or not, so he decides to shoot first and ask questions later. Today a German force of approximately five hundred soldiers, aided by local Africans, attack the Portuguese fort of Naulila, just north of the border. The Portuguese defenders also number about five hundred, but Naulila was designed to resist native insurrections, not withstand the bombardment of the six artillery pieces the Germans brought with them. When a German shell detonates the munitions dump, the Portuguese survivors break and flee, having suffered 182 casualties.

The Germans halt their advance after destroying the fort at Naulila - in the long term, the much greater threat comes from the British and South Africans along the coast and the Orange River. The German success here, along with the Portuguese withdrawal, does effectively create a buffer zone in southern Angola, which allows the Germans to concentrate their forces elsewhere.

Naval operations: The Admiralty, London

First Sea Lord Fisher sends a message to Admiral Sturdee demanding to know why Sturdee had not sunk SMS DRESDEN along with the rest of Spee's squadron.

Naval operations: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

HMS CANOPUS departs The Falklands to return to Europe.

Naval operations: Pacific Ocean

HMS BRISTOL and GLASGOW part company with INFLEXIBLE. The two light cruisers put into Vallenar, Chile for coal.