The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 637 of the Great War, April 27th 1916

Western Front

Germans launch a gas attack near Hulluch, France, causing hundreds of British casualties. Mines are also detonated beneath British lines.

Photo: An aerial reconnaissance photograph of the opposing trenches and no-man's land between Loos-en-Gohelle and Hulluch in Artois, France, taken at 7.15 pm, 22 July 1917. German trenches are at the right and bottom, British trenches are at the top left. The vertical line to the left of centre indicates the course of a pre-war road or track



Caucasus campaign

Russian progress in Bitlis district.

Sinai and Palestine campaign

British occupy Moghara Oasis (90 miles south-west of Alexandria).

Mesopotamian campaign: Surrender Negotiations at Kut

After the failure of the last relief efforts, Townshend was given permission to negotiate surrender terms with the Turks. Kitchener also sent a number of men from Intelligence in Cairo–including T.E. Lawrence–to try to work out a deal, but they were unable to make contact with Halil Pasha until the 29th.

Townshend and Halil met on April 27th. Townshend wanted his men to be allowed safe passage back to British lines, though they would give their parole not to fight the Ottomans again during the war. He would also surrender all of Kut’s guns intact, and Kitchener was prepared to offer 1 million pounds for their release. Such a plan would also free the Turks of having to feed, transport, care for, and pay the salaries of thousands of prisoners of war–all of which the Turks would be hard-pressed to do, leading to the likely deaths of many of them in captivity.

Halil, however, stood firm, at Enver’s insistence. The furthest he was willing to go was to offer to release Townshend himself on parole, with his personal effects and sword. Townshend and Lawrence would try different offers over the next forty-eight hours: doubling the effective bribe, offering to release an equal number of Turkish prisoners, and so forth—but Kut’s food supply was rapidly being exhausted, and both sides knew it.

Photo: Townshend (front center) and Halil Pasha (front right), in a picture taken two days later



Easter Rising - Day Four

The Volunteers lose some crucial areas in Dublin on the Thursday of the Rising with constant heavy fire raining down on headquarters at the GPO. The Four Courts is experiencing heavy fire from machine guns. Capel St is taken by the British, but, despite numerous attacks, increasingly dangerous conditions in the GPO and a bad injury sustained by James Connolly, the Volunteers remain strong in defense of the building.

8.40: Working overnight, the British had established “slit trenches” (or “defensive fighting positions” as they’re more commonly known) within Fairbrother’s Field to the back of the South Dublin Union, allowing British troops to open fire on Marrowbone Lane Distillery.

Despite their many attempts to take the building, the South Dublin Union continues to be a thorn in the side of the British as they struggle to bring down the Rising.

10.00: Rebel troops begin to reorganize with men and guns sent to those who are struggling to maintain control of their operational centers. The Volunteers in Westland Row train station are hard-pressed and, so, a sortie of rebels on bicycles speeds away from Jacob’s factory in the direction of St. Stephen’s Green to help out.

10.35: Despite several advances, the British fail to take Marlborough Lane Distillery with homemade bombs being flung by rebels whenever troops reach the outer wall.

Those making their way on bikes to Westland Row encounter the Staffordshire battalions positioned around Merrion Square. Unable to break through, the supporting rebels retreat to Jacob’s leaving those in the train station to fend for themselves.

As they cycle back by Stephen’s Green on the way to the factory, a machine gun opens fire bringing down one of the cyclists. The other Volunteers stop to shoot back and are assisted by those holding the nearby Royal College of Surgeons.

11.35: The British attack continues and wave after wave of bullets strike the buildings still controlled by the rebels. Sackville St is pounded with artillery as the British try to bring down headquarters in the GPO. They succeed in capturing Capel Street Bridge and also attack the Four Courts, North King Street, and the South Dublin Union in an attempt to blast through a passageway for troops in a bid to provide access for an assault on the GPO.

At South Dublin Union second-in-command Cathal Brugha is badly injured. Not able to retreat from the Union when the order was given, Brugha was thought to be lost but, although still surrounded by enemy soldiers, he was found by Eamonn Ceannt singing “God Save Ireland” with his pistol still in his hand and brought to safety.

He would go on to fight in the War of Independence and in the Civil War, taking the anti-Treaty side. He would be killed during the Civil War despite his reluctance to take up arms against the pro-Treaty side, refusing to surrender after forcing his men to do so in 1922 when a severe bullet wound severed an artery in his leg. He died on July 7, 1922.

With the GPO coming under sustained fire, a nearby warehouse owned by the Irish Times was hit several times, eventually causing a fire which spread throughout the day.

13.15: The British appear to be planning something large at the Four Courts with sniper fire raining down from the roof of Jervis Street Hospital. Shellfire is increasing and the noise is deafening.

15.02: There are huge casualties reported on Sackville Street as a further assault by infantrymen is repelled just a short time after another failed attempt on Abbey St. Everything between Lower Abbey Street and Eden Quay is ablaze with rebels taking down any British who attempt to escape through a burning barricade. The infantrymen were left with only two choices: be shot by rebels trying to escape the blaze or take their chances in the fire.

16.35: The South Dublin Union is still holding out despite machine gun fire from the Royal Hospital and troops from the Sherwood Foresters’ and Royal Irish regiments going to ground to engage in close quarter combat.

16.42: Things are not looking so good for the rebels around Capel St and on Capel St Bridge as their forces are cut in two by the Sherwood Foresters. Wanting to ensure they can completely secure the area, the infantrymen are removing civilians from their homes.

20.00: Capel St is taken and secured by the British. This is extremely problematic for the rebels on the north side of the River Liffey as the British troops at Capel St can now act as a blockade between headquarters in the GPO and those Volunteers still fighting in the Four Courts.

20.25: It is at this time that rebel leader and Proclamation signatory James Connolly is first injured. Wounded in the forray on Middle Abbey St, he is brought back to the GPO where he is treated by a captured British Army doctor.

Connolly had first been injured by a gunshot to the shoulder outside the GPO and he sought first aid from a medic without drawing attention to his injury. Later, however, he took another bullet to the left ankle which left him unable to walk or stand. Although treated by a doctor he would spend the rest of the Rising on a makeshift stretcher unable to walk with the wound growing gangrenous through lack of proper treatment.

22.00: On the opposite side of Sackville St., Hoyte’s Druggist and Oil Works have suffered heavy damage due to fire from British boat “The Helga” on the Liffey. The Oil Works explode in a ball of flames scattering debris over a wide area.

22.30: By the end of day four, with the continued bombardment from the British, rebels on O’Connell Bridge, south of the GPO on Sackville St, and those along Henry St., which runs just to the north of the building, begin to retreat to the rebel headquarters.

Things in the GPO were getting increasingly desperate. Small fires were breaking out on the roof and in the surrounding buildings while the rebels attempted to put out any they could. Between the buildings around the GPO, the Irish Times Warehouse, and the Oil Works, Dublin glowed red with fire by the time night fell.

Thankfully, changes in wind speed and direction offer some respite for the rebels. Across the street at Clery’s and the Imperial Hotel, however, such is the heat created from the burning interiors of the buildings that molten glass is now raining down on Sackville St.

Machine guns will continue to fire throughout the night. At the end of Thursday, James Connolly lies propped up on a mattress still trying to mastermind the Volunteers' defense. All members of the Provisional Government are now gathered at headquarters.

Aerial operations: Nieuport 16s in action

1 Squadron RFC has finally seen some action in its new Nieuport 16 Scouts. The aircraft is essentially an improved version of the Nieuport 11 with a 110hp engine instead of the 80hp engine. This makes the aircraft nose heavy and more difficult to fly, but regardless it is superior to the Fokker Monoplanes. The aircraft were originally ordered by the RNAS but have been transferred to the RFC.

As the British do not yet have a production synchronisation gear, the aircraft has an overwing Lewis Gun.

At around 9.30 this morning Lieutenant Edward Pellew Plenty got into an inconclusive fight with an Albatross at 13000ft over Messines. Later on around 4pm 2nd Lieutenant Cyril Edgar Foggin fought another enemy Albatross. He claimed to have hit the fuselage and seen the aircraft go down but this has not been confirmed. Foggin was also wounded when his aircraft was hit and wood splinters hit him in the eye, but he was able to fly home without incident.

Foggin is one of the Britain’s early aviators having gained his flying certificate in 1912 and served as an NCO pilot with the RFC in Egypt in 1915.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Erich Sittenfeld starts his career in U-45 with the sinking of British freighter SS INDUSTRY, 4,044 tons, travelling in ballast from Barry to Newport News.

Naval operations: North Sea

German trawler PRANGENHOF, 215 tons, is stranded off Ostend.

German minelaying submarine UC-5 runs aground on Shipwash Shoal. The submarine is scuttled but the charges fail to explode and boat and crew are captured. Oberleutnant Ulrich Mohrbutter remains a prisoner for the rest of the war, his final score being 8 ships sunk for 10,272 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

British sloop HMS NASTURIUM, 1,250 tons, and old Duncan-class battleship HMS RUSSELL, 14,000 tons, both hit mines laid just off Malta by Gustav Seiß in U-73, bringing his score to 4 ships and 20,656 tons.

Photo: HMS RUSSELL. "Cassar Malta" appears on the bottom right

Day 639 of the Great War, April 29th 1916

Western Front

German gas attacks at Hulluch and Wulverghem fail.

Eastern Front

German troops regain positions at Lake Naroch (now in Belarus), capturing 5600 Russian prisoners.

Italian Front

Italians take Adamello crest (Trentino).

Mesopotamian campaign: Kut Surrenders After Five-Month Siege

Hunger forces me to lay down our arms,” Townshend wrote in a letter to Halil Pasha which he dispatched to him at 6AM. He hoped that the Turks could “expedite the arrival of food” immediately after his surrender, that the severely wounded could be released, and that eventually a prisoner exchange could be arranged for the rest of his troops. However, he did not insist on any conditions, as he and his troops were in no condition to insist on any. T.E. Lawrence had been dispatched from the Relief Force to negotiate with Halil Pasha (with an increased bribe) as well, but was unable to convince him to agree to any prisoner exchange. After a few hours, Halil looked at his watch, saying, “At this moment, gentlemen, my army is entering Kut.”

Over the previous night and during the day, the Kut garrison destroyed as much of its remaining stores as it could. Food supplies were, of course, already exhausted. Of the 18,000 mules they had started with, they were down to 26; these had been fed on the meat of other mules until forage became available in the early spring. Munitions, however, they had in excess. Ammunition, apart from a few rounds per man, was dumped in the Tigris overnight. Machine guns and all the artillery were destroyed in under an hour in the morning. Just before 1PM, the wireless operator sent a final message to the relief force, “To all ships and stations from Kut. Goodbye and good luck to all,” before dynamiting his set.

At 1PM, the Turks began to cross the front lines into Kut. The remaining Arab population of the town celebrated, but the Turkish troops, largely disdainful of the local population, took the opportunity to loot what they could find. Townshend, although very sick, handed his sword over to Halil, but was allowed to (temporarily) keep it. The men were to begin their march north as soon as possible. Food was still a great concern, and the Turks were unable to immediately provide it. The British hoped that the supplies from the captured Julnar would be released to them, but were swiftly disappointed.

Easter Rising - Day Six

At 12 pm, rebel headquarters on Moore St surrender. Pearse issues the order to the Volunteers across the city but it is Sunday afternoon before all rebels have laid down arms.

6.30: Dublin awakes to a quieter city than it has seen in days with rebels laying low on Moore St. Plans are being put in place to divert the attention of British troops so as to allow the majority of the Volunteers to escape to the Four Courts, a rebel garrison that has been faring much better than their Sackville St counterparts.

Morale in Moore St is low, however, and Volunteers are just simply exhausted after the fight for the GPO. The new Commandant McLoughlin had earlier suggested a do or die assault on a British barricade blocking their route to the Four Courts but some of the men are in no position to launch such an attack.

North King Street is still a complete war zone and every inch of space is being fought for. Langan’s pub has now been abandoned by the Volunteers and the street is full of the bodies of those shot down as they attempted to escape. Reilly’s pub is still holding but is under increasing pressure.

Volunteers in the College of Surgeons and Stephen’s Green are not under as much immense pressure as those in Moore St but are starving. Groups are sent out from the college to attempt to search for food but return with slim pickings.

Conditions are much better in the South Dublin Union and a nearby distillery although the quiet that has descended on the city is disconcerting for those on the south side who have no idea how Volunteers on the northside are faring. Those in the Union are well rested and well fed and the rebels in the distillery are even planning celebrations of their success for the following evening, unaware that by that time the surrender order would reach them.

8.00: Due to exhaustion and frustration on both sides of the fight, several civilians are accidentally killed on Saturday morning while trying to move to safety. Even shadows are immediately shot at with questions asked later as to who exactly they are.

9.00: The cycle of British attack and retreat seems endless on North King St and wounded men on the street can no longer be tended to. They are not even in reach of the brave firemen, who have families on both sides of the divide and who have tended to the streets for the past number of days.

Father Mathew Hall, where the wounded are being tended, is packed with the injured and medical staff struggle to cope with a large number of patients.

10.00: The battle on North King Street seems to finally be coming to an end. The Volunteers decide to leave Reilly’s and tricking the British into thinking they are about to flood out the front door, they jump through the side windows and escape relatively unharmed.

12.00: A white flag emerges from 16 Moore St. The military council appears to have abandoned any hopes of breaking through the barricade to the Four Courts. Nurse Elizabeth O’Farrell emerges from rebel HQ and approaches the British barricade.

Fighting continues through the city, Volunteers unaware that the Rising is nearing an end.

14.30: Surrender negotiations are now underway on Moore St with O’Farrell emerging again from Moore St, accompanied this time by Pádraig Pearse. They meet with Brigadier General Lowe to discuss terms.

15.30: The surrender is official. Pearse is driven away by the British and it is O’Farrell who returns to headquarters to issue orders. Connolly is gravely injured and again has to be stretchered from HQ to meet the British.

19.00: As word of the surrender order makes its way to Volunteer positions, those in the Four Courts are stunned. When Commandant Daly initially delivers the order they refuse but eventually reluctantly comply.

The Volunteers on North Brunswick St have not yet been reached but a ceasefire is apparently worked out with the help of two priests and fighting stops there also.

19.45: Volunteers leave Moore St in silence, walking to Sackville St to surrender their weapons. They are detained on the grounds of the Rotunda Hospital. The odd gunshot still rings out across the city.

The order to surrender will finally reach De Valera at Boland’s Mill and those on Stephen’s Green and in Jacob’s factory by 10 am on Sunday, April 30.

De Valera, however, decides that he does not take orders from a prisoner and with Pearse now in captivity, he now takes orders from Commandant MacDonagh. MacDonagh also states that the surrender order is invalid as Pearse is a prisoner although he agrees to meet with General Lowe to parley.

Although those on North Brunswick had agreed to a ceasefire yesterday, they would not yet believe that a surrender warrant had been issued. Two priests are allowed access to Pearse in order to acquire an official surrender statement.

MacDonagh meets with Lowe and a further surrender deal is reached with a truce in place until 3 pm.

An exhausted O’Farrell is now traveling around the city conveying MacDonagh’s new surrender order to the Volunteers. Some are angry with the order believing they should fight until the end.

The Irish Citizen Army at Stephen’s Green surrender around midday and 120 men and women march from the Green. At 3.30, Jacob’s Garrison also marches into the custody of the enemy.

It wouldn’t be until after 3 pm that the Volunteers in the South Dublin Union would also lay down their arms. Although they comply with the order, they are unhappy and unable to understand why the fight does not continue.

From 4.30pm, the Volunteers within the grounds of the Rotunda are marched to Inchicore and with Dublin citizens now emerging from their shelter to view the destruction of the city, the rebels are heckled as they make their way there. The opposite occurs as Vice-Commandant O’Connor leads the 3rd Battalion from Boland’s Bakery. Crowds cheer and offer their support for the rebels.

By 6 pm, the fighting has ended.

There were are least 485 deaths, 50 percent of whom were civilians. In total, 1,350 people lie dead or wounded and 3,430 men and 79 women have been arrested by the British.

Naval operations: North Sea

Victor Dieckmann, commanding UB-27, sinks British coaster SS TEAL, 766 tons, bound from Leith to London with an unspecified cargo. His score is now 2 ships and 785 tons. Dieckmann then uses his deck gun to attack British coaster SS WANDLE, 889 tons, carrying a load of coal from South Shields to London, but the ship manages to escape.

French naval trawler Saint CORENTIN, 216 tons, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6 just outside Dunkerque Harbor. Von Schmettow's score is now 36 ships and 47,549 tons.

Day 641 of the Great War, May 1st 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French success at Fort Douaumont.

German attacks repulsed east of Ypres and north of Albert.

Aerial operations: The Imperial Aircraft Flotilla

Since the first “gift aircraft” was presented in January 1915, a further 94 aircraft have been presented, 68 for the RFC and 26 for the RNAS.

The whole scheme has been promoted by the Overseas Club, which has asked each section of the Empire to present an airplane to the Royal Flying Corps, to be named after the district which contributed the money towards its purchase. At the same time an appeal was made by the Patriotic League of Britons Overseas to British subjects resident outside the Empire to make a joint gift to the Royal Navy.

To promote the scheme further the Overseas Club have published a short, but fairly lavish, promotional book called The Imperial Aircraft Flotilla

The book is endorsed by the King and Queen, Lord Kitchener (War Minister), Arthur Balfour (First Lord of the Admiralty), the Army Council, Major-General Henderson (commander-in-chief, RFC), and Bonar Law (Colonial Secretary).

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Walther Schwieger, commanding U-20, sinks French schooner BERNADETTE, 486 tons, bound from Fécamp for Newfoundland with a load of salt. Schwieger's score is now 27 ships and 113,724 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

British freighter SS CATERHAM, 3,411 tons, sinks eight miles off Eastbourne. Further details unknown.

Naval operations: North Sea

Vicktor Dieckmann, in UB-27, torpedoes Brazilian freighter SS RIO BRANCO, 2,258 tons, en route from Chrisiania to Hull with a general cargo. His score is now 4 ships and 3,707 tons.

German destroyer S123 hits a mine near the island of Sylt, off the coast of Denmark.

British freighter SS HENDOHALL, 3,994 tons, carrying a load of wheat from Portland, Maine to Rotterdam, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10, bringing his score to 12 ships and 23,874 tons.

Day 643 of the Great War, May 3rd 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French success at Mort Homme; Germans bombard Hill 304.

Persian campaign: Russian Forces Reach Mesopotamia

The government of Persia had been friendly to the Allies since last November, and the Russians had been increasing their hold on the northern half of the country since. They faced some resistance from a German- and Turkish-backed gendarmerie, which forces under Nikolai Baratov worked to quell in early 1916. Baratov was steadily working his way southwest from Tehran, hoping to eventually link up with British forces in Mesopotamia. There had always been hopes, especially after the fall of Erzurum, that the Russians would be able to save the besieged garrison at Kut.

On May 3, Baratov’s forces entered Qasr-e Shirin on the border with Turkish Mesopotamia, marking a near-final defeat for the pro-German forces in Persia. He was now only 100 miles from Baghdad; however, he heard by radio on the same day that Kut had surrendered. This meant that the Turks could now redeploy many of their forces against him; the Russians would encounter stiffer resistance in the coming weeks as they pushed into Mesopotamia.

Aftermath of the Easter Rising: Executions of Easter Rising Leaders Begin

Despite the hopes of Ireland’s rebel leaders, the Easter Rising in Dublin had failed to spark a popular uprising. The majority of Irish looked down on the rebels as violent shirkers, and crowds jeered the captured rebels being marched through Dublin. Against this backdrop, General Maxwell, the British general put in charge of the Irish situation (by Sir John French, ex-commander of the BEF and now chief of Home Defence), was advised to use minimal force to disperse the rising.

Senselessly, however, Maxwell chose to react with excessive violence. Captured rebels were court-martialed secretly, without a defense for the accused, illegal in British law. Sixteen of the leaders were marked for execution, although one, Eamonn de Valera, was spared because of his American citizenship.

The first three were executed on May 3, including Pádraig Pearse, who had commanded the rebellion. Evidence against many of the accused was actually very weak; Willie Pearse, for example, had taken no part in the Rising, but had fought against England in the Boer War fifteen years before. The executions turned public opinion against Britain. John Redmond, the head of Ireland’s constitutionalist nationalist party, pleaded with London to halt: “thousands of people… who ten days ago were bitterly opposed to the whole of the Sinn Fein movement and to the rebellion, are now becoming infuriated against the Government on account of these executions.”

Image: Three of the pictured rebels were executed on May 3, Pearse, MacDonagh, and Clarke



Aerial operations: Multiple air raids

The German tactic of air raids on Britain has been a relative failure in terms of damaging war capacity or interrupting production. However, the prospect of further bomb attacks continues to weigh heavily on the minds of the public as civillians continue to be killed indiscriminately. Nevertherless, the Germans persist with air raids in the hope of causing damage and carried out further Zepplin raids overnight and a aircraft raid tofday.

The army sent Zeppelin LZ98 to attack Manchester. It appeared off the Lincolnshire coast around 7.00pm but poor weather kept it out at sea and after an hour or so the ship left for home without dropping any bombs.

The Navy planned a big raid on the dockyards at Rosyth, near Edinburgh, which it had raided a month earlier. L14 arrived at Berwick at about 8.25pm but strong Northerly winds prevented its from following the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh. Eventually the ship dropped a number of bombs on various villages around Arbroath without causing much damage. Shortly afterwards, L14 went back out to sea over Carnoustie and headed back to Germany.

The other Zeppelin to reach Scotland, L20 flew around the Highlands in poor weather. At around 12.30 am the mist cleared and L20 found itself over Loch Ness. Unable to determine their location exactly, L20 turned back, but saw light below and decided drop bombs. These fell on Craig Castle causing minor damage. L20 then turned North-East dropping more bombs on various villages without major damage. L20 continued to the coast, crossing south of Peterhead at about 2.40am.

Unfortunately, L20 had flown further north than any other Zeppelin to date and faced with strong winds, did not have enough fuel to get back to Germany. L20 was eventually ditched on the Norwegian coast. Some of the crew jumped overboard before they crossed the coastline and were rescued by fishing boats. The captain and the remaining crew, were interned.

L11 arrived off St. Abb’s Head, near Berwick, and was fired at by the armed trawler Semiramis and armed yacht Portia. They did no damage, But L11 turned away and reappeared near Holy Island dropping two bombs. Bad weather then forced L11 to retire.

Five more Zeppelins raided Yorkshire where the weather conditions were a bit better. L21 came inland near Scarborough at about 9.40pm and then travelled south-east to York where 34 bombs were dropped. The roof of Nunthorpe Hall – serving as a VAD Hospital – was destroyed but none of the nursing staff or patients were injured. A number of houses were destroyed killing Emily Chapman and seriously injuring her sister and mother, killing George and Sarah Avison, Sergeant Edward Beckett, Private Leslie Hinson, Susannah Waudby, William Chappelow, Ernest Coultish and Benjamin Sharpe.

L23 came inland over Robin Hood’s Bay. Dropping one bomb on Denby High Moor and starting a fire, L23 then travelled to Skinningrove Iron Works causing minor damage with 11 bombs. A 6 inch gun at Brotton opened fire on L23. L23 turned away and then dropped six bombs over Easington, injuring a child and damaging a house, before heading home.

L16 came inland at around 10.00pm, and then appeared over Rosedale Abbey 10.30pm. The fire on Denby High Moor, caused by L23 earlier on, attracted L16. Thinking this was Stockton-on-Tees, L16 dropped bombs on the fire. L16 then turned east and dropped more bombs causing minor damage before leaving for home.

L17 arrived at about 10.50pm near Saltburn, and headed for Skinningrove dropping 17 bombs which caused minor damage to the village of Carlin How. The large fire on Danby Moor also attracted L17, and thinking it was Saltburn, L17 added more bombs before retreating.

L13 (arrived near Whitby at about 10.30pm, arriving at Market Weighton at about 11.40pm, having added more bombs to the Danby High Moor fire. AN hour later L14 headed out to sea having dropped two more bombs harmlessly.

In all, police reported 46 craters on Danby High Moor, but also reported that it was likely that any unexplored bombs were likely to have sunk below the bog.

This was not the end of things as at about 3.30pm this afternoon, a single Hansa-Brandenburg NW floatplane appeared over Deal, approaching the town from the direction of Ramsgate. Sis bombs fell near the railway station, causing minor damage to houses but seriously wounding a railway ticket inspector, Mr Potnell, a milkman, Charles Hutchins, and another woman. The roof of the Admiral Keppel pub was also hit but the bomb failed to explode.

In none of the cases were any RNAS planes able to intercept.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Walther Schwieger, commanding U-20, stops French barque MARIE MOLINOS, 1,945 tons, tavelling in ballast from Nantes to New York, and sinks her with his deck gun. His score is now 29 ships and 117,674 tons.
According to the French captain the u-boat fired 15 shells to sink his ship. The Germans then sailed away. The crew were rescued the following morning by Spanish freighter SS WENCESLAO and taken to Villagarcia, Spain.

Day 645 of the Great War, May 5th 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans gain a footing on Hill 304.

Photo: French anti-aircraft guns mounted on vehicles during the Battle of Verdun, 1916



Persian campaign

Russians defeat Turks at Sermil (Persia).

Mexican Border War: Villistas Raid Texas During Cinco de Mayo

The United States was trying to wind down its “Punitive Expedition” in Mexico to avoid permanent damage to US-Mexican relations. However, on May 5, a group of around 80 Villistas crossed the Rio Grande to Glenn Springs, a small town in the Big Bend region. Mainly populated by Tejanos, they were able to blend in as normal visitors to the town’s Cinco de Mayo festival. After dark, they armed themselves and approached the general store, which they looted, killing the store owner’s 4-year-old son in the process.

A group of nine US cavalrymen rushed to the scene and began firing at the Villistas from an adobe structure. The Villistas eventually set fire to the building, forcing the cavalrymen to flee; three were killed in the retreat. Meanwhile, another group looted the nearby town of Boquillas, whose inhabitants somehow managed to capture the leader of the raid. In response, the remaining Villistas took two men hostage while they stole the payroll from a nearby mine. They took the two hostages with them back over the border in a stolen truck. One of them pretended to be German, hoping to receive better treatment from Villa; the other, a Black Seminole, did not have that option open to him.

Naval operations: North Sea

Ernst Hashagen begins his career in UB-21 with the sinking of Swedish schooner HARALD, 275 tons, bound from Goteborg to Tyne with a load of pit props.

Naval operations: German East Africa

British battleship HMS VENGEANCE stands by while monitor HMS SEVERN and armed whales STYX and CHARON cover the advance of troops in motorboats into the mouth of the Simba Uranga River. The troops capture two skiffs and seven native troops, but find no other opposition. Back at Tirene Major Brooks and his sixty troops return to their shore posts.

Day 647 of the Great War, May 7th 1916

Western Front: Germans Capture Côte 304

The battle of Verdun concentrated from February to May on the Left Bank of the Meuse River in front of the city of Verdun, in particular on the French positions located on a 295-meter tall hill called Le Mort-Homme, and another called Côte 304, which gave the French a vantage point and guarded the ridges where the French artillery was concentrated.

The two armies had been fighting over Mort-Homme for months by May, with the French holding the crest while Germans swarmed on the lower parts of the hill. Trenches switched hands daily, regiments from both armies were decimated in days and replaced with new ones fresh for the slaughter. In May, 500 German heavy guns opened up on Côte 304 for two days and one night, smashing in French positions poorly prepared without any deep shelters. In one battalion, only three men survived, the rest of their comrades buried alive. For those who survived, no food or ammunition came for days.

Photo: French long gun battery (155 L or 120 L) overrun by German forces, possibly the 34 Infantry Division at Verdun



Reinforcements still filtered up to the French lines, but no one knew where to go or what to do. “Nobody knew exactly the location of the mixed up regiments,” wrote a French company commander, “It was impossible to move. Orders had pushed up men on top of men and set up a living wall against the monstrous German avalanche.”

France’s living wall could not hold out forever. On May 7, Côte 304 fell to the Germans, who immediately requested double tobacco rations to cover up the odor of corpses. Some 10,000 French soldiers had fallen for this tiny corner of their nation. The capture of Côte 304 marked the first penetration of the “Line of Resistance” which French commander General Henri Petain had set up upon taking command. With Côte 304 fallen, Mort-Homme stood open to German flanking attacks.

Photo: French troops take cover during a bombardment on Côte 304



Macedonian front: Serbian Government Reorganizes in Salonika

Serb forces and civilians had been dispersed to many different places after the fall of the country last year. The bulk of those escaping had retreated over the mountains to Albania before being evacuated by sea to Corfu or Tunisia. Most of those were currently being transported around Greece to join the Allied armies at Salonika, the closest Allied presence to Serbia itself; some British forces had advanced as far as the Serbian border.

On May 7, the Serbian government-in-exile moved to Salonika as well, re-establishing itself on the mainland. Its head of government, however, PM Nikola Pašić, was in Russia at the time–having required an arduous journey via the Arctic route to get there. He met with his longtime ally, Czar Nicholas II, on May 5, and would stay there for several weeks. Two weeks later, he would meet with the First Serbian volunteer division–Serb subjects of Austria-Hungary who had been captured by the Russians and then volunteered to fight for the Allies.

Aerial operations: The paralyser breaks records

The hoped for “bloody paralyser of an aircraft” that is the Handley Page 0/100 continues its development. Since the prototype flew on 18 December, further flights have revealed a number of control problems: ailerons and elevators were effective but heavy, partly due to excessive friction in the control circuit and the rudders were seriously overbalanced.

After minor modifications, the aircraft was flown to RNAS Eastchurch, where full-speed trials were made. On reaching 70 mph (110 km/h), the tail unit began to vibrate and twist violently: the pilot immediately landed and an inspection showed severe damage to the rear fuselage structure but reinforcement failed to cure the problem.

A second prototype was completed in April 1916 and had an open cockpit in a longer nose, with room for a gunner’s position at the end. To save weight, most of the armour plating was deleted. The tail oscillation problem remains an issue.

Nevertheless, today the latest prototype flew to 3000ft in eight and a half minutes with a pilot and 16 passengers – a world record in terms of climbing with load and the number of passengers.