The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 831 of the Great War, November 7th 1916

Western Front

British progress east of Butte de Warlencourt and repulse German night attack west of Beaumont Hamel (north of the Ancre).

French capture Ablaincourt and Pressoir, and advance to outskirts of Gomiecourt.

Romanian Campaign

Russian success south of Dorna Vatra (southern Bukovina).

German attack in Prahova valley (Central sector); resume offensive in Vulkan Pass; repulsed in Tolgyes sector (Moldavian front).

East African Campaign

German attack at Kibata repulsed.

United States: Election Night Returns Suggest President Wilson Defeated for Re-Election

The 1916 Presidential election was very closely fought; the consensus was that Wilson was favored to win, but only narrowly. The war in Europe was on many voters’ minds, but it was difficult for the two candidates to stake out differing positions on the matter. Neither openly favored US entry, with Wilson campaigning on the slogan “He Kept Us Out of War.” Hughes attacked Wilson on military preparedness, his mixed messages to Europe on America’s rights as a neutral, and the largely unsuccessful chase for Pancho Villa in Mexico.

Early returns from the eastern US strongly favored Hughes, sweeping the entirety of the Northeast and Midwest, excepting Ohio (which went for Wilson) and New Hampshire and Minnesota (which were still too close to call). The South, as expected, voted for Wilson, but any respectable showing by Hughes in the Plains and West would seal the election for him. By the late evening, it seemed apparent to many that Hughes was on his way to a convincing win and would become the next President of the United States.

At 9:45 PM, Theodore Roosevelt, the former President and a prominent supporter of Hughes, issued the following statement:

In view of the latest returns I have received, it appears that Mr. Hughes is elected. I wish to express my profound gratitude, as an American proud of his country, that the American people have repudiated the man who coined the phrase about this country, that is, “Too proud to fight,” and whose Administration had done so much to relax the fibre of the American conscience and to dull the sense of honorable obligations in the American people. We are all of us sincerely to be congratulated on the victory of Mr. Hughes.

Hughes himself followed the election results with his family at a hotel in New York. The telegrams he received continued to bear good news. Around midnight, his family congratulated him; his wife “embraced him and saluted him as “Mr. President.”” Hughes went to bed at around 1AM, leaving strict instructions not to be awoken before 7.

Newspaper: The Indianapolis Star



Naval operations: English Channel

Karle Neumann, commanding UB-40, sinks Norwegian freighter SS RIEME, 1,913 tons, bound from Newcastle for Rouen with a load of coal. His score is now 10 ships and 7,074 tons.

Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, stops and scuttles three Allied ships off Cap de la Hève, near Le Havre:
Norwegian freighter SS FURULUND, 1,817 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to Rouen.
British freighter SS SUFFOLK COAST, 780 tons, travelling from Glasgow to Fécamp with a general cargo.
Norwegian freighter SS THUHAUG, 948 tons, en route from Swansea to Rouen with a load of coal.
Wenninger's score is now 16 ships and 5,439 tons.

Naval operations: Gulf of Finland

Russian destroyer LETUN, 1,260 tons, is damaged by a mine laid by Karl Vesper in UC-27. The damage is too extensive for repairs, and the ship is laid up until she is broken up in 1925.

Cäsar Bauer, in UB-46, sinks Russian vessel MALANIE, 116 tons, raising his score to 9 ships and 15,415 tons.

Day 833 of the Great War, November 9th 1916

Western Front

At the Somme, attempts by both sides to advance ends in failure even after hand-to-hand fighting.

End of 3rd Phase of Battle of the Somme.

Romanian Campaign

Dobruja: Russo-Romanians occupy Hirshova (right bank Danube) and Dunarea; fight for Cerna Voda Bridge.

East Africa Campaign

Malangali post (East Africa) attacked (8-12 November) and relieved.

United States: Wilson Wins California and Re-Election

Hughes’ apparent victory in the Presidential race rested on a victory in California. Hughes seemed to be safely ahead there on election night itself, but in the wee hours of Wednesday, a new batch of votes came in from San Francisco came in that put Wilson in the lead in the state. Republicans were hopeful that the remaining vote from the rest of the state would outweigh San Francisco, but Wilson hung onto his lead as the count continued on Wednesday and into Thursday. At 11:25 PM on Wednesday night, the Republican chairman in California conceded that Hughes would not win the state. Together with victories in Idaho and North Dakota, this gave Wilson a majority of the electoral college and thus a second term in the White House.

Hughes’ performance in California was disappointing compared to other Republicans in the state. Incumbent governor Hiram Johnson, from the progressive wing of the party, was resoundingly elected to the Senate. Hughes had never met with Johnson while campaigning in California, despite once staying at the same hotel as him, and Johnson had pointedly never given Hughes his endorsement. Hughes was also hurt by crossing picket lines to eat at a San Francisco restaurant during a workers’ strike.

The Hughes campaign itself refused to concede, and pushed for recounts in California, North Dakota, and New Mexico. The Democrats, in the meantime, called for recounts in Minnesota and New Hampshire. Only in New Hampshire would the recounts change the result in the state, and in favor of Wilson. His margin there of only 56 votes remains the smallest raw vote difference between candidates in any state in any presidential election.

Wilson received the good news from California while on the way to Williamstown, MA, to attend the christening of his grandchild. Despite the closeness of the election, he viewed it as a clear mandate, and planned to immediately continue with his plans for a mediation for peace in Europe. Had he lost the election, Wilson had planned to appoint Hughes Secretary of State, and have both himself and VP Marshall resign, so that there would be no extended ‘lame duck’ period of several months while war raged in Europe.

Newspaper: New York Tribune



Germany: bribing the policemen with food

Germany is rationing food in response to the supply crisis gripping the country. Workers in war industries receive higher rations, reflecting the need to keep the army supplied with the resources it needs. Now the German authorities amend the ration rules to give extra food to members of the police. They fear that food shortages and the strains of war could lead to unrest. If so they will need to be sure that they can rely on the police, and what better way to buy their loyalty than to ensure they are well fed?

Aerial operations: It’s big

The poor weather finally lifted and both sides made the most of it to get their aircraft in the sky. The result, the biggest aerial battle of the war so far. The British sent two squadrons (16 aircraft from 12 and 13 Squadrons) of BE2c’s to bomb a German ammunition dump at Vraucourt at around 9am this morning. Fighter cover was provided by 11, 29 and 60 Squadrons.

Unfortunately fighters from Jastas 1, 2 and 4 were waiting for them as soon as they crossed the lines. German doctrine at this time is still to stay primarily east of the lines. Superior German tactics split the formation into small groups and the British lost seven aircraft, including three bombers and four fighters.

12 Squadron lost three of its bombers. They were flying without observers to increase their bomb load, rendering them essentially defenceless. 2502 with Lieutenant Gerald Featherstone Knight and 2506 with 2nd Lieutenant Ian Gilmour Cameron were both shot down and taken prisoner. Knight was claimed by both Leutnant Hans Imelmann and Oberleutnant S Kirmaier from Jasta 2, and Cameron by Manfred von Richthofen. Cameron died later of his wounds. He was 19. 2nd Lieutenant Thomas Hayes was shot up from behind and was wounded in BE2c 4589 but was able to evade his attacker and limp back over the lines.

One of the escorts from 11 Squadron, with 2nd Lieutenant James Douglas Cowie and Lance Corporal Charles George Sedgwick Ward on board were also shot down. They crashed their FE2b (7701) between the lines and Ward was killed in the crash. Cowie escaped wounded back behind the lines.

29 Squadron lost 2 DH2s. Captain Alastair Cheney Bolton was shot down and taken prisoner by Oberleutnant FO Bernert of Jasta 1. His colleague Leutnant Hans von Keudall claimed 2nd Lieutenant Ivan Curlewis in DH2 A2543 who was also wounded and taken prisoner.

Finally a Nieuport 17 (A272) from 60 Squadron was forced down by Leutnant Westmann from Jasta 2. Its pilot Captain James Douglas Latta made it back to his aerodrome but crashed on landing. He was lucky and received only minor wounds.

Later in the day, the RFC got its first taste of the new Albtross DII fighter when another 29 Squadron patrol was attacked by Jasta 1. Leutnant G Leffers shot down Henry Arthur Hallam in his DH2 (7925) and he was taken prisoner. 2nd Lieutenant Norman Brearley was shot down by Leutnant Hans von Keudall. He crashed in no mans land and his aircraft was shelled. He waited until nightfall and then was able to escape back over the lines.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

British minesweepr-trawler HMT FAIR MAID, 432 tons, and freighter MARGA, 674 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardiff to Lorient, both hit mines laid by Wilhelm Kiel in UC-18. His score is now 11 ships and 6,593 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

British coaster SS SUNNISIDE, 447 tons, bound from Hull for Rotterdam with a general cargo, hits a mine laid by Hans Howaldt in UC-4. His score is now 3 ships and 3,272 tons.

Naval operations: Spain

On November 6th Richard Hartmann, in U-49, captured Norwegian freighter SS BALTO, 3,538 tons. carrying a general cargo from Bilbao to Cadiz. After using her as a supply ship for three days, Hartmann scuttles BALTO.

Hartmann captures and scuttles Norwegian freighter SS FORDALEN, 2,835 tons, travelling from Hull to Genoa with a load of coal. His score is now 11 ships and 21,021 tons.

Day 835 of the Great War, November 11th 1916

Western Front

British bombard Germans on the Ancre; French recapture most of Saillisel, and repulse German attack at Deniecourt.

Romanian Campaign: Germans Launch Offensive Through Carpathians; Rommel in the Vanguard

Falkenhayn’s forces had repulsed the Romanians from Transylvania over a month before, but the Romanians were still able to hold the Carpathian passes and prevented the Central Powers from breaking through into Wallachia. After weeks of preparation, German forces under General Kühne attacked around the Vulcan Pass in western Romania on November 11. German mountain troops secured the peaks surrounding the pass. One company, under the command of a young Lt. Erwin Rommel, captured the 3937′ Mt. Lescului; by the next day, the Germans were well on their way into the plains below.

Macedonian front

Serbs seize Polog village.

Sinai and Palestine campaign

British air raid on Beersheba and Maghdaba (100 miles east of Ismailia).

United States: Democrats Celebrate Narrow Electoral Victory, Europeans Confused by Electoral College

The results of elections was even harder to determine in 1916 than it is today, and for several days after November 7 it was unclear who had taken the 1916 presidential election. The swing depended on California, which narrowly went for Wilson by barely 3,000 votes. New Hampshire was taken by 34. By November 11, Wilson’s win was clearly secure.

Across the pond, the delay frustrated European reporters confused by the electoral system. The New York times reported with some mischievous delight that multiple European editors had even written stern letters asking the Americans stop mucking about and publish the results. The correspondent in France wrote that Parisians had absolutely no idea who had won or why the Americans were unsure. What mattered more to them, however, was that America remain a friendly neutral to the Entente Powers, and under Wilson it would.

Naval operations: English Channel

Egon von Werner, commanding UC-16, sinks two ships off Start Point, Devonshire:
Norwegian freighter SS DPAHNE, 1,388 tons, bound from Newport, Wales for Rouen with a load of coal.
British fishing smack VERONICA, 27 tons.
Von Werner's score is now 33 ships and 40,435 tons.

Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, sinks Norwegian freighter SS SEIRSTAD, 995 tons, travelling from Newport, Wales to Tonnay-Charente with a load of coal.

Naval operations: Gulf of Bothnia

Karl Scherb, in U-22, sinks Swedish coaster SS ASTRID, 191 tons, carrying a general cargo from Stockholm to Rauma. His score is now 7 ships and 2,502 tons.

Naval operations: White Sea

Russian icebreaker ANNA I, unknown tonnage, hits a mine laid by Waldemar Bender in U-76. He now has 2 ships sunk, but his tonnage remains at 1,149.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Richard Hartmann, in U-49, sinks two ships:
Greek freighter SS BARBARA, 2,831 tons, travelling from Alexandria to Bristol with a load of Cotton.
Danish freighter SS RAGNAR, 2,123 tons, bound from Barry for Marseille with a load of coal.
Hartmann's score is now 14 ships and 26,777 tons.

Gerhard Berger, in U-50, sinks three Allied ships:
Norwegian freighter SS LOKKEN, 1,954 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardiff to Philippeville.
British freighter SS MORAZAN , 3,486 tons, travelling from Calcutta to London with a load of manganese ore and jute.
British freighter SS SARAH RADCLIFFE, 3,333 tons. en route from Cardiff to St Vincent, Cape Verde with a load of coal plus general cargo.
Berger's score is now 4 ships and 13,350 tons.

Day 837 of the Great War, November 13th 1916

Western Front: Battle of the Ancre

The weather on the Somme had turned in October, and the British had not been able to make much progress since their last major attack. The ground had turned to mud, making it difficult for infantry to advance, for shells to make it to the artillery, and for artillery to do significant damage on the sodden ground. Nonetheless, Haig wanted to make one final push before winter set in. Certain positions were tactically unfavorable, and he did not want his lines to be subject to unopposable shelling until the spring. More importantly, he explicitly acknowledged, there was an inter-Allied conference coming up on the 15th, and he felt it would be politically expedient for the British to have a victory before then.

The objective of the attack would be Beaumont Hamel, a town that was supposed to have fallen on July 1, the first day of the Somme. There was a week’s long preliminary bombardment, and the main barrage opened at 5:45 AM on November 13; for a month before there had been heavy shelling at that time every morning in order to confuse the Germans. Even after dawn, there was little light due to a heavy fog, preventing accurate German shelling. The British had at last worked out a reliable creeping barrage–when the infantry could keep pace behind it, and the attacks succeeded in many areas. Near Beaumont Hamel, a 30,000 lb mine was detonated, preventing enfilading machine gun fire, and the British were able to capture the remnants of the village within five hours.

Just to the south, Joe Murray (who we last saw at Gallipoli) was in the second wave of the attack:

At 5.45–all the watches were synchronized–’Bang! Bang! Bang!’ All of a sudden, behind us, the whole sky was red…immediately afterwards you could hear the shells going over your head and really and truly you could almost feel the shells. Then you heard the sound, the light was first, the shell was next and then the sound! There was a lot of them falling short. We expected to be shelled by Jerry, we didn’t expect to be shelled by our own men, but you knew by the thrust which way they were coming….We knew we had seven or eight minutes, then the Germans would retaliate, they would bombard beyond the front line to the reserves coming up–which they knew would be there. So the quicker we got out of our positions towards the barrage, in a way the safer we were….

We’d got to still go forward. We go on to to this Green Line and there seems to be more prisoners giving themselves up than what there was fighting men. We…were at least three or four hours ahead of our time….In the afternoon our artillery was firing on the Yellow Line. That was wrong to us. We’d been told that at that time it would move forward to the village of Beaucourt. We move up and then somebody realized, “Look the barrage hasn’t lifted!” It was there or thereabouts that I got blown up. There was a shell burst very near, it hit me crouched down and I got wounded in the abdomen, little bits of shrapnel in here and a bit of a shell took off the skin and pubic hair, nasty. The abrasion was worse than the wound. I can remember thinking what to do and –’BANG!’—something else, I don’t know what. The next I knew I was in Mesnil, lying on a stretcher and somebody washing the mud off my face.

Beaucourt itself (unlike Beaucourt Hamel) remained in German hands at the end of the day.

Photo: Battle of the Ancre. 13 - 18 November 1916. A general view showing a stack of bombs and other stores which were left behind after the Germans were driven out of St Pierre-Divion by 39th Division on 13 November 1916. Equipment left behind includes stick bombs and steel helmets



Photo: Prisoners taken by the 51st (Highland) Division, 13 November 1916



Photo: Battle of the Ancre. French and British soldiers salvaging German rifles at St. Pierre-Divion, captured on 13th November 1916



Romanian Campaign

German advance south of Torzburg, Roter Turm Passes continued: capture of Candeshti (south of Torzburg Pass) and Bumbeshti (Jiu Valley).

Macedonian front

Serbs advance on Monastir, masking Bulgar-German positions near Tapavci (15 miles east-south-east of Monastir).

Aerial operations: No change

The battle for control of the RFC continues. Following Sir Henry Rawlinson’s letter to Army headquarters on 29 October, General Sir Henry Sinclair Horne, Commander of the First Army sent an identical proposal to HQ. Essentially this suggested that Corps Squadrons, who carried out the work of artillery spotting, should be transferred to the control of the relevant Army Commander. He noted that the recent offensive “had proved that tactical success is largely dependent on superiority in artillery and supremacy in the air” and that “until the direction and control of artillery fire from the air is placed in the hands of the artillery we shall not gain full advantage from our superiority in guns and ammunition.”

There followed much discussion at Headquarters about the merits of this approach but in the end Douglas Haig, the Commander in Chief, decided to leave things as they were. Likely, the close relationship he shared with Hugh Trenchard, the CO of the RFC played a part in this decision. Trenchard had written to him on 1 November, following Rawlinson’s original letter, setting out his objections to the change:

“Artillery work is not the entire duty of the Corps Squadron, which is also charged with contact patrol work, trench reconnaissance, and trench photography.

Nor are Corps Squadrons at present equipped with machines of a suitable type to do all the work required by the artillery, such as photography at a distance behind the lines which must be done by fighting machines. If machines working with them were to be handed over to the artillery, smaller squadrons consisting of artillery machines and those doing other work respectively would be necessary, and small squadrons are extravagant both of personnel and material.

Again, technical matters cannot be divorced from tactical employment. A large part of the artillery work is technical, e.g. wireless, use of machine-gun, etc. …

The batteries detailed to work with aerial observation change even more often than do the observers, and it is this which has often prevented the best results in the past. A more detailed knowledge of each other’s work and methods, especially among the higher Commanders, would effect great improvement.

The Fourth Army appear to be under a misapprehension. By far the largest part of the work of ranging batteries is and must be done by the pilot and not by the observer, since the pilot only is able to place his machine exactly as he requires it at any moment to give him the view he desires. The observer s principal duty is watching for, and reporting, other hostile batteries which open fire, and keeping a look-out for hostile aircraft. …More artillery officers would be welcome, but they must form part of, and live with, the squadron, and must be trained as pilots, or they will lose most of their value. The actual observation of the fall of rounds is the easiest part of artillery work, and can be quickly learnt by any one with good eyesight. Skill in the technical work, knowledge of methods employed, careful recording of results and their use are the essentials of good artillery work, and these can be learnt nowhere else but in the squadron.

The number of machines which can work on any length of front at the same time is limited by technical difficulties of observation and com- munication, but it is seldom that the resources of a Corps Squadron as at present constituted are fully employed. The relations between squadron commanders, pilots and observers, and the batteries with which they work, are generally speaking intimate under present conditions, provided batteries are not constantly changed. It is in the higher ranks that more intimate relations and mutual knowledge are required.”

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Egon von Werner, commanding UC-16, sinks French sailing ship MARIA THERESE, 145 tons. Von Werner's score is now 34 ships and 40,591 tons.

Wilhelm Kiel, in UC-18, stops and scuttles French sailing vessel LILLOSIE, 165 tons, sailing from Sables d'Olonne to Port Talbot. His score is now 13 ships and 6,851 tons.

Gerhard Berger, in U-50, sinks Italian freighter SS LELA, 2,987 tons, carrying a load of coal from Glasgow to Genoa, with his deck gun. His score is now 8 ships and 25,083 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Erwin Waßner, in UB-38, captures and scuttles four ships:
British freighter SS BERNICIA, 957 tons, travelling in ballast from Rouen to London.
British freighter SS CATERHAM, 1,777 tons, travelling in ballast from Rouen to Newcastle.
French sailing ship RIQUETTE, 164 tons.
French brigantine SAINT NICHOLAS, 261 tons, carrying a load of flint and granite from Saint Malo to Dunkerque.
Waßner's score is now 30 ships and 28,560.

Naval operations: North Sea

Paul Günther, in UB-37, sinks two fishing smacks:
OUR BOYS, 63 tons.
SUPERB, 50 tons.
Günther's score is now 3 boats and 199 tons.

Heinrich Küstner, in UB-39 fires a warning shot at British freighter SS CORINTH. The freighter's captain decides to run. UB-39 gives chase, firing until the ship stops and the crew take to the lifeboats. The Germans raid the ship for food, clothing and equipment, then Corinth is scuttled. A British destroyer comes on the scene and UB-39 dives and escapes. Küstner's score is now 3 ships and 6,381 tons.

Day 839 of the Great War, November 15th 1916

Western Front

Somme, south: Germans gain footing west of St Pierre Vaast Wood and eastern part of Pressoir; fail to gain Ablaincourt.

Photo: Field kitchen of the 2nd Battalion, Manchester Regiment near St Pierre Divion



Romanian Campaign

Romanian retreat continued; Germans bring heavy guns through Torzburg Pass and capture Targu Jiu (Jiu Valley).

Macedonian front

Advance on Monastir: French and Serbs capture monastery of Jaratok; French and Russians at River Viro (four miles south of Monastir).

Photo: At the Serbian-Greek border, on the Cerna (November 1916)



Entente: Allied Conferences at Paris and Chantilly

With winter approaching, the time for major victories for the Allies in 1916 seemed to have passed. Most of the Allies were exhausted from months of combat, and major fighting only continued around Salonika (where Sarrail still had hope for a breakthrough), on the Somme (if only for political reasons) and in Romania (where the Germans were attacking).

A set of inter-Allied military and intergovernmental conferences were scheduled for November 15 and 16, to discuss strategy for the coming year. The politicians were especially dissatisfied with the lack of progress in 1916. French PM Briand was grilled at a private meeting with some MPs early in the morning. At another meeting in Paris, he listened while Asquith read a prepared statement that was highly critical of both British and French military leadership. Penned by Lloyd George (and hastily edited to be at least somewhat conciliatory), it said that the current strategy of just hammering at well-prepared German trenches was foolish. The Germans had enough reserves to accept the casualties of such battles, while the Allies either did not or might not have the political will to do so. In the meantime, the Germans were prepared to conquer Romania and posed an existential threat to Britain if they unleashed their submarines again. A significant shift in strategy would be needed in order to win the war.

The generals, meanwhile, met at Chantilly, and largely agreed to a repeat of the strategy for 1916. There should be general offensives on every front by February. The British and French would attack again on the Somme, though this time on a much wider front, as would be possible with more British reserves and with increased French participation now that Verdun was no longer under threat. Cadorna’s deputy promised new attacks on the Isonzo, and the Russians an offensive in the east. The main point of disagreement was on the Salonika theater; the Romanians, Italians, and Russians all wanted an increased commitment there, while Haig and Joffre were completely opposed.

The strident attitude of the politicians largely evaporated the next day, at a joint meeting at Chantilly; Briand endorsed the report of the generals, and Asquith did not object to it. However, after the dissolution of the conference, cracks began to appear in the united desire for a common February offensive. In particular Cadorna was unwilling to attack in the middle of the winter, certainly not without additional heavy guns from his Allies.

Photo: Participants of the Third Chantilly Conference



Aerial operations: Short Seven

Due to the shortage of pilots and aircraft, the RNAS is providing more and more support to the RFC on the Western Front. Earlier in the month, 4 Wing RNAS regrouped its aircraft into two squadrons according to role – 6 Squadron equipped solely for aerial fighting and 7 Squadron, equipped solely for bombing. 7 Squadron’s CO is Squadron Commander Christopher Courtney.

7 Squadron was sub-divided into two Flights by aircraft types, Caudron twins and Short Bombers. The Cauldron’s have been around for a while, but the Short Bombers are new in service, with 7 Squadron the only unit so equipped. The Short Bomber is a land version of the Short 184 Seaplane which the RNAS have been using since 1915.

The Squadron flew its first Bomber flew in 1915 and more than mission tonight in its new guise, with four Shorts, each carrying eight 65 lb bombs, attacking targets at Ostend in Belgium along with 18 Caudrons.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Richard Hartmann, commanding U-49, sinks two Allied ships west of Ushant:
French barque LA BRIANTAIS, 255 tons, bound from Trinidad for Le Havre with barrels of asphalt.
British freighter SS LORCA, 4,129 tons, carrying a load of timber from Gulfport to Calais. There are no survivors, and the ship is listed as missing.
Hartmann's score is now 18 ahips and 35,763 tons.

British passenger liner SS LAKE MICHIGAN, 9,2588 tons, travelling from Montreal to Brest and then London with horses and a general cargo, hits a mine laid by Wilhelm Kiel in UC-18. The ship is only damaged and makes port safely.

Naval operations: English Channel

Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, sinks two ships at the far west end of the Channel:
French barque LA ROCHEJACQUELEIN, 2,199 tons, en route from San Francisco to Ipswich with a load of barley.
Norwegian freighter SS TORRIDAL, 688 tons, travelling from Middlesbrough to Hennebont with a load of pig iron.
Wenninger's score is now 21 ships and 11,221 tons.

British freighter SS Saint LEONARDS, 4,574 tons, carrying a load of grain from Philadelphia to Le Havre, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow near Le Havre. His score is now 51 ships and 72,560 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Erich Platsch, in UB-29, takes Dutch freighter SS MIDSLAND, 1,085 tons, travelling from Rotterdam to Newcastle, as a prize. This is his first score.

Naval operations: Barents Sea

Russian freighter SS KOURSK, 6,254 tons, travelling from London to Arkhangelsk, hits a mine laid by Waldemar Bender in U-76 off Svatoy Nos, at the entrance to the White Sea. The ship is only damaged, and makes port safely.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Robert Moraht, in U-64, sinks British freighter FORT MATARAZZO, 2,823 tons, travelling from Cardiff to an unknown destination with a load of coal. His score is now 5 ships and 9,821 tons.

Day 841 of the Great War, November 17th 1916

YouTube (Heavy Action At The Somme - The Fight For Monastir)



Western Front

French Air raid by Captain Beauchamp on Munich, crossing Alps, landing near Venice.

End of the Battle of the Somme.

Romanian Campaign

Battle of Targu Jiu (in Jiu Valley); Germans break Romanian front.

Macedonian front

Struma front: British capture Kavakli on left bank of Struma.

Sinai and Palestine campaign

Suez bombed: Waterpipe reaches Romani.

Aerial operations: French Pilot Bombs Munich, Lands in Italy

The new profession of military aviator attracted all sorts of risk-takers; we hear most about the fighter pilots with disturbingly low life expectancies, but there were also pilots who pulled off foolhardy long-distance flights over enemy territory, purely for propaganda value. Earlier in the year, a pilot had attempted to fly all the way across Germany to Russia, dropping leaflets on the way; he was forced to land 100 miles short of his goal. On November 17, Captain Louis Beauchamp attempted a flight from Belfort to Venice via Munich; the shorter distance would allow him to carry and drop bombs along the way. Around noon, he reached Munich and dropped six bombs on the train station there; it is unclear if they caused any significant damage. Flying over the Alps, he reached Italy safely, despite a bumpy landing. This was the first such “shuttle” bombing mission; while they would not have a significant impact in the war, it did serve as some form of response to the Zeppelin raids on Britain.

Photo: a French Sopwith 1B.2 Strutter in late war camouflage



Naval operations: English Channel

Karl Neumann, commanding UB-40, stops French barque SAINT ROGATIEN, 1,581 tons, travelling in ballast from Dieppe to Puerto Borghi, using his deck gun and a torpedo. His score is now 14 ships and 10,796 tons.

British freighter SS MOMMOUTH, 4,078 tons, carrying a load of steel and oats from Newport News to Cherbourg and the Dunkerque, hits a mine laid off Cherbourg by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-26. The damaged ship manages to make port safely.

British freighter SS Canganian, 1,143 tons, en route from Methil to Scapa Flow, goes missing. Now credited to a mine laid by Ernst Rosenwow in UC-29. If so, this is his first sinking.

Naval operations: North Sea

British freighter SS MANSURI, 3,137 tons, departs South Shields for St Nazaire with a load of coal and is not heard from again.

Spanish freighter SS PELAYO, 1,641 tons, departs Tyne for Barcelona with a load of coal and is not heard from again.

British freighter SS WHITE SWAN, 2,173 tons, carrying a load of coal from Hartlepool to London, drops her anchors off Yarmouth to ride out a storm. The anchors drag and White Swan is driven ashore. After thirteen hours of failed attempts the local Rocket Brigade manages to rescue the entire crew. the ship is totally destroyed by the gale.

Naval operations: Atlantic Ocean

Franz Becker, in UC-20, sinks Portuguese barque EMILLIA, 1,159 tons, off the Canary Islands. His score is now 3 ships and 1,653 tons.

Day 843 of the Great War, November 19th 1916

Western Front: Battle of the Somme Ends

The Allied conference at Chantilly had decided on a resumption of the Somme offensive on a larger scale in February; in the meantime, smaller attacks could be made as the winter conditions permitted. Haig, although initially reluctant, signed off on a continuation of the attacks along the Ancre, for 6:10 AM on November 18th.

The previous night saw the first snow of the year, but the mud was not yet frozen, resulting in some of the most horrendous ground conditions of the war. Private Reuben Smith recalled:

It was snowing hard and freezing, and pitch dark. We were guided by the star shells from the firing line. It was impossible to follow the trench and too risky to get in it. I did get in it once and got stuck up to my waist in mud and ice-cold water. The water in the trench had a covering of ice about an inch thick, and snow on top of it. But as soon as your weight was on it–in you went! That was enough for me.

Many men were less lucky and found themselves stuck in the deep mud; multiple accounts report men who could not be pulled out by their comrades and drowned in the mud.

Visibility was also poor as the snow turned into sleet and rain, and many of the attacking troops became lost or worse, fell into German traps. Despite this, the attackers advanced over a thousand yards, taking Beaucourt. But the British were clearly exhausted after nearly five months of fighting, and the weather had turned against them. November 18 would be the last large-scale offensive on the Somme. The British had lost over 400,000 casualties during the battle, and had gained no more than five miles for it.

Map: Map of the Battle of the Somme, 1916



Macedonian front: Allies Capture Monastir

The weather conditions in Macedonia had been terrible in late October and early November, preventing a quick resumption of the offensive Sarrail desperately wanted. Floods swept the valleys and snow fell on the mountaintops. However, the rain and snow eventually ended, and Sarrail was ready to try again. With time to reflect upon the position, his plans began to more closely match Cordonnier’s, including attacks through the hills that Cordonnier had lost his command for even suggesting. Italian forces had also advanced through Albania and had linked up with the far Allied left. With Russian, Italian, Serbian, French and British forces all having active roles along the front in Macedonia, this was by far the most multinational effort of the war so far.

On November 10, the offensive resumed, with most of the initial progress coming from the Serbians, who captured a thousand German prisoners. On the night of 14th, threatened on their flank by the Serbians and hammered frontally by the French, the Bulgarians withdrew from their positions around Kenali. The weather now turned again, with temperatures dropping into the single digits in Fahrenheit and the roads becoming blanketed with snow and ice. This made the advance difficult, but it made it almost impossible for the retreating Germans and Bulgarians to set up new defensive lines. The Allies simply walked over half-completed reserve lines as they advanced north toward Monastir.

On November 19, the Allies entered Monastir, the Bulgarians and Germans having evacuated the city two nights before. The Serbians saw this as a great victory–this was the first city in their country to be liberated from the Bulgarians, and it was four years to the day from when the Serbians had first taken the city from the Turks in the First Balkan War. Sarrail claimed its capture as the first French victory in the war since the Marne. The capture of Monastir did mark a significant advance for Allied forces in the area, but they were still a long way from Skopje, let alone Nish, Sofia, or any link with the beleaguered Romanians.

Greece

Entente Governments demand the dismissal of Ministers of Central Powers at Athens and the surrender of Greek military material

Romanian Campaign

Retreat of Romanians in Jiu Valley where Germans reach Filiasa junction and Aluta Valley.

Sinai and Palestine campaign

British raid and take Farafra Oasis (180 miles west of Assiut).

Aerial operations: It’s Over

The British offensive on the Somme was officially called off today. The battle has seen the most intense fighting by the RFC since the beginning of the war. Throughout the battle RFC Commander Hugh Trenchard has remained committed to the Strategic Offensive and has been mostly successful in maintaining air superiority over the front in the sense that artillery spotting and aerial reconnaissance in support of the Army has continued.

In that period, the RFC expanded to 35 squadrons on the Western Front from 27, and now has 35 kite balloons instead of 14. Recently the RNAS has also provided a number of squadrons to support the RFC. The number of serviceable aircraft has also increased from 410 to 536 and the number of active pilots has increased from 426 to 585.

The maintenance of air superiority has come at a high cost though. 972 aircraft have been lost either destroyed or missing, though 173 were rebuilt and used again. 222 aircrew have been killed, 151 wounded and 132 taken prisoner. An additional 268 aircrew were put out of action by accidents.

The high attrition rate has no doubt been caused by the inexperience of most pilots coming to the front in general flying time, never mind combat experience.

Naval operations: English Channel

Matthias von Schmettow, commanding UC-26, sinks Norwegian freighter SS FINN, 3,806 tons, bound from Tyne for Genoa with a load of coal and coke. His score is now 55 ships and 80,954 tons.

Naval operations: Gulf of Finland

Russian armored cruiser RURIK, 15,544 tons, hits a mine laid off Gogland by Karl Vesper in UC-27. The damaged ship makes port and is repaired.

Photo: The Russian armored cruiser RURIK. Photographed shortly before the outbreak of World War I



Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Ernst Krafft, in U-72, sinks Italian barquentine MARIA DI POMPEI, 286 tons, raising his score to 6 ships and 4,607 tons. The crew are rescued the next day by French freighter SS TCHAD.