lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Nov 21, 2021 9:09:30 GMT
Day 845 of the Great War, November 21st 1916
Western Front
Photo: Dump of 15-inch howitzer shells near Ypres, November 1916. The shells at the centre of the photograph bear the words 'RMA Guarantee for Peace' Photo: A group of Royal Marine Artillerymen, 63rd (Royal Naval) Division by a dump of 15-inch howitzer shells near Ypres, November 1916. On one of the shells in front of the group is written 'RMA Guarantee for Peace' Romanian CampaignGermans occupy Craiova (capital of west Wallachia). Austria-Hungary: Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary DiesThe Emperor Franz Joseph had acceded to the throne of Austria at the age of 18 during the last period of great upheaval in Europe–the revolutions of 1848. He had brought the Empire largely intact through the events of 1848 and 1849, wars with Italy and Prussia, and the Augsleich which created the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. After nearly 68 years on the throne, he commanded a great personal loyalty among most of his subjects, and still largely had absolute authority in all matters, especially in Austria. On the evening of November 21, he died after a brief bout of pneumonia at the age of 86. His death was a blow to Austro-Hungarian morale after a year of disasters. It hit the troops on the Isonzo especially hard; this was Franz Joseph’s fourth war against Italy (and its predecessor, the Kingdom of Sardinia). Even though Austria had lost territories in the previous wars, they had largely been successful against the Italians on the battlefield. The new Emperor was Franz Joseph’s grandnephew, the Archduke Charles, who had become heir after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand that sparked the war. He thought of himself as a reformer, and wanted to solve many of the social and national issues that were untouchable while Franz Joseph was on the throne. Paramount, of course, was the war, which Austria-Hungary needed to survive intact if Charles was to keep his throne. Charles, perhaps influenced by his Italian wife, Zita of Bourbon-Parma, was in full agreement with Foreign Minister Burián’s plans for a negotiated peace, and within days had asked him to continue with all haste. YouTube (Funeral Of Franz Bosef Aka Funeral Of Franz Josef Or Funeral Of Franz Joseph, 1916)Aerial operations: France In France The Breguet 14 makes its first flight. It will go on to be one of the Allies' premier reconnaissance and bombing aircraft. Photo: a Breguet 14 Aerial operations: Redcar wrecks Such is the primitive nature of both aircraft and training, that instruction remains nearly as danger out as enemy action. Today, the RNAS training school at Redcar suffered a series of mishaps as trainee pilots crashed four aircraft. Fortunately, none of them were seriously injured. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Norman Black crashed an Avro 504 (2930), collapsing the undercarriage, damaging the propeller, engine and bottom wing. The aircraft was written off. Probationary Flying Officer Melvin Henderson Rattray then crashed a Curtis JN3 (8402) wrecking its fuselage, though not enough to write it off. Acting Flight Lieutenant Louis Marcus Basil Weil and Flight Sub-Lieutenant Harold L’Estrange Tyndale-Briscoe were taxiing in a Farman Longhorn (N5037) when they crashed damaging it’s top wing and propeller. Following his earlier crash, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Black made himself very unpopular with his instructors by crashing another aircraft, this time a Bleriot XI-2 (3947). Naval operations: English ChannelKarl Neumann, commanding UB-40, sinks French freighter SS ALICE, 822 tons, bound fro South Shields for Rouen. His score is now 15 ships and 11,618 tons. Matthias von Schmettow, in UC-26, stops and sinks French schooner Cap LIHOU, 252 tons. from Swansea for Granville with a load of coal. His score is now 56 ships and 81,206 tons. Naval operations: North SeaFriedrich Karl Sichart von Sichartshofen, in UB-41, takes Norwegian auxiliary motor schooner THYHOLEM, carrying a load of pit props from Holmestrand to West Hartlepool. This is his first and only success. Danish schooner MARIA, 100 tons, en route from Tyne to Holbek, is abandoned during a storm. Dutch freighteR SS HELENA, 1,798 tons, travelling in ballast from Rotterdam to New York, hits a mine laid by Max Schmitz in UC-11. His score is now 33 ships and 5,633 tons. Swedish freighter SS FAUNUS, 749 tons, carrying a load of timber from Donsjö to London, hits a mine laid off Flamborough Head by Ralph Wenninger in UC-17. His score is now 24 ships and 12,162 tons. Naval operations: Aegean SeaThe ill-fated TITANIC was only one of three passenger liners of her class intended to ply the North Atlantic. The OLYMPIC was launched before her, and continued to serve her normal route to New York for the first few months of the year. However, the U-boat threat was too much of a risk for the White Star Line, and it was determined she would leave passenger service for the duration. On her last voyage, these fears were confirmed when the OLYMPIC witnessed the superdreadnought AUDACIOUS being struck by a mine and came to her aid with lifeboats. The OLYMPIC was eventually requisitioned as a troop transport, and would bring troops to the Dardanelles and from Canada. Construction on the BRITANNIC did not begin until after Olympic entered service. The loss of the TITANIC had necessitated design changes: giving her a double hull in certain sections, improving her lifeboat capacity, and raising the height of the watertight bulkheads. At the outbreak of war, she only needed some interior work; however, the demands of the war meant she could not be completed. In November 1915, the Royal Navy decided to use her as a hospital ship to transfer wounded back from the Gallipoli campaign. Once that wrapped up, it was intended that she would be returned to civilian service, but the malaria epidemic and increasing hostilities at Salonika required her continued use. In November, the BRITANNIC was en route to the Allied base at Lemnos once again. While steaming near the Aegean island of Kea, she struck a mine laid by a German submarine. The explosion tore open a large hole in the starboard side of the ship and damaged several of the watertight bulkheads; together, this meant that a six of the watertight holds were quickly flooding, the most that could flood without sinking the ship. However, many portholes were open in other sections to ventilate the ship, and the other sections began to fill with water too. The captain initially tried to beach the ship, but had to abandon the effort within twenty minutes. There was some amount of panic and some lifeboats were launched prematurely, with two being sucked into the still-running propellers. However, the rest of the evacuation went relatively smoothly, aided by daylight and warm temperatures. Fifty-five minutes after the explosion, the ship rolled over and very quickly began to sink. Violet Jessop, a nurse who had survived the sinking of the Titanic, recalled: She dipped her head a little, then a little lower and still lower. All the deck machinery fell into the sea like a child’s toys. Then she took a fearful plunge, her stern rearing hundreds of feet into the air until with a final roar, she disappeared into the depths, the noise of her going resounding through the water with undreamt-of violence…. Image: BRITANNIC sinking
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Nov 22, 2021 3:45:06 GMT
Day 846 of the Great War, November 22nd 1916
Western FrontPhoto: The beginning of a communication trench outside the Cafe du Centre, Hamel. Four stretcher bearers are carrying a wounded along the road by its side. 22 November 1916 Romanian CampaignFighting near Orsova on the Cherna front. Macedonian frontFierce fighting north Monastir. Photo: Russian troops in Monastir, 22 November 1916 Aerial operations: “It’s a pixie” A British fighter plane, the S.E.5., made its debut as a prototype on November 22, 1916. Built by the Royal Aircraft Factory, the name stood for Scout Experimental (with scout being another word for fighter). The S.E.5. was designed to supplemented the Royal Aircraft Factory’s other fighter, the two-man F.E.2.. It was a one-seater, built around a Hispano-Suiza 8 V8 engine that gave it 150 horsepower that made it one of the fastest machines in the air, with a top-speed of 138 mph. This was later replaced with a 200 hp Wolseley Viper engine. For armaments it carried one Vickers machine gun in the cockpit synchronized to fire through the propeller, and one Lewis Gun on a Foster mount over the top wing, which allowed the pilot to fire backwards and above (although it meant briefly leaving the controls, a rather nerve-wracking experience.) The first prototypes were clumsy and two crashed in tests, killing their pilots. Eventually a final design was approved, with squarish wings that gave the S.E.5. remarkable stability. It was a fine machine and very easy to fly for novice pilots, but it lacked the agility of the deadlier Sopwith Camel, produced later. The S.E.5. made its battlefield appearance for the Royal Flying Corps in March 1917 and was a mainstay fighter for the rest of the war. It is also remembered in fiction, as the machine flown by Biggles’ early rival Captain Wilkinson! Naval operations: Celtic SeaMatthias von Schmettow, commanding UC-26, sinks two ships off Ushant: British freighter SS BRIERTON, 3,255 tons, bound from Karachi for Manchester with a load of grain. Norwegian freighter SS TRYM, 1,801 tons, carrying a load of coal from Partington to La Rochelle. Von Schmettow's score is now 58 ships and 86,262 tons. Naval operations: English ChannelBritish freighter SS ERNASTON, 3,020 tons, travelling in ballast from Rouen to Tyne, is damaged by a mine laid by an unknown ship off Dungeness. Erich Noodt, in UB-19, sinks French freighter SS HOULGATE, 1,550 tons, carrying a load of coal from Montreal to Le Havre, off the Owers lightship. This is Noodt's first sinking. Karl Neumann, in UB-40, sinks two Allied ships near Beachy Head: Norwegian freighter SS CITY OF MEXICO, 1,511 tons, travelling from Blyth to La Rochelle with a load of coal. British barque GRENADA, 2,268 tons, travelling in ballast from Le Havre to New York. Neumann's score is now 17 ships and 15,397 tons. Naval operations: North SeaCurt Beitzen, in U-75, takes Swedish frieghter SS RESERV, 1,700 tons, as a prize. The ship is later released by a prize court. Norwegian barque ORYX, 281 tons, departs the Tyne River for Larvik with a load of coal and is not heard from again. Naval operations: Gulf of FinlandRussian minesweeper FUGAS, 150 tons, hits a mine laid by Karl Vesper in UC-27. Vesper's score is now 4 ships and 7,625 tons. Naval operations: Sailing Ship Begins Career as German Commerce RaiderIn addition to the U-boat campaign, the Germans had from time to time sent surface vessels to interfere with Allied commerce on the high seas. Mostly, these had been ships that were overseas at the beginning of the war, but a few had slipped the Allied blockade and left Germany afterwards. This had become increasingly difficult as the blockade tightened, and fuel for such ships was difficult to obtain as well, both in Germany and abroad. A more economical solution was found in the form of a sailing ship, which would not need fuel except in emergencies. On November 22, the SEEADLER left Germany, posing as a Norwegian timber ship. Many of its crew spoke Norwegian; those who did not hid in the hold as they successfully passed through the British blockade. Over the next nine months, the SEEADLER would capture sixteen Allied vessels in both the Atlantic and Pacific. The ship itself was not originally German, but was captured by a U-36 in July of 1915. Originally the American-flagged vessel PASS OF BALMHA en route to Russia, she was boarded by the British and forced to raise the British flag and divert to the Orkneys. The U-36 then intercepted her; she quickly tried to put the American flag back up, but the Germans did not fall for the ruse and ordered her to divert to Germany. The Americans, annoyed that the British interference likely caused her capture, locked the British marines in the hold for the duration. The Germans let the Americans depart Germany for neutral countries, but kept the ship and the British. U-36 was right to be wary of seemingly-innocent merchant vessels; later that day, U-36 was sunk by a Q-ship. Painting: SMS SEEADLER
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Nov 23, 2021 3:45:33 GMT
Day 847 of the Great War, November 23rd 1916Western FrontPhoto: 16.47 cm naval gun installed near Virginy during the fighting on the Marne. (November 23, 1916) Romanian Campaign: Mackensen Crosses the DanubeFalkenhayn’s forces had broken through the western Carpathian passes into the Wallachian plains. German cavalry had taken Craiova on November 21, threatening to cut off all Romanian troops in the fifty miles to the west. The Romanians were still hopeful that this would not be a crushing setback; their forces held firm in the other Carpathian passes, and they began preparing defensive lines behind the wide Olt river, 35 miles east of Craiova. Although this would mean ceding a third of Wallachia to the enemy, it would shorten their defensive lines and give them a chance to recover. The Germans did not cooperate, however. At 4AM on November 23, Mackensen’s multinational force began crossing the Danube under cover of mist and heavy artillery fire. The crossing in small boats took place over a wide front, stretching thirty-two miles from the mouth of the Olt east to Zimnicea. Outnumbering the surprised defenders nearly two-to-one, they rapidly secured a large beachhead. This completely outflanked the planed Romanian defenses and threatened to cut off the Romanian forces trapped west of the Olt. Once he was across the river, Mackensen began advancing towards Bucharest, only 75 miles to the northeast, and he faced only limited resistance as he did so. Within two days, Austrian engineers had erected a pontoon bridge over the Danube to keep supplies and reinforcements flowing, and Mackensen’s forces had advanced to the outskirts of Alexandria, 25 miles from the Danube. The Romanian situation was not improved by a concurrent change of Romanian commanders-in-chief, nor by the increasingly-hasty evacuation of the Romanian government from now-threatened Bucharest. Photo: Fieldmarshal von Mackensen,at the Romanian side, watching his troops crossing the Danube over the pontoon bridge at Svishtov Macedonian frontFrench and Serbs progress north of Monastir, taking three villages. Russia: Alexander Trepov Replaces Boris Stürmer as Russian Prime MinisterThe head of the Russian government, Boris Stürmer, had been accused in the Duma of either “stupidity or treason” in his running of the war. Already vain and incompetent, his days were numbered after that, and on November 23 Stürmer was sacked (his German surname had raised suspicions among those who took the speech literally). Alexander Trepov stepped up to replace him. A conservative and a monarchist, he nevertheless hoped for reforms to the Russian government, including ending the influence of the Tsarina and her monk Rasputin. Trepov was determined to win over moderates in the Duma to his side. However, the Tsarina did her best to thwart him at every turn. Their rivalry would convince Trepov eventually to try and bribe Rasputin to get him out of the way. The attempt failed and flared even more political tensions, the eventual fallout of which would persuade Russian nobles to have the monk murdered. Aerial operations: Naval Eight in ActionA mixed day for 8 Squadron RNAS in support of the RFC on the Western Front. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Robert Alexander Little scored their first victory when shot down an Aviatik in his Sopwith Pup (N5182). The aircraft was seen crashing into words near Courcellette. They also suffered their first loss when Flight Sub-Lieutenant William Hayhurst Hope was shot down in his Sopwith Pup (N5190). He was last seen diving to identify a group of aircraft, but was not seen again by his flight. He crashed behind enemy lines and taken prisoner. However he died of his wounds shortly after. Naval operations: Celtic SeaMatthias von Schmettow, commanding UC-26, sinks Danish freighter SS DANSTED, 1,492 tons, bound from Cardiff for Saint Nazaire with a load of coal. His score is now 59 ships and 87,754 tons. Naval operations: English ChannelClaus Lafrenz, in UB-18, sinks French fishing vessel HENDRICK, 35 tons, off Cap d'Antifer. This is Lafrenz's first sinking. Naval operations: KattegatCurt Beitzen, in U-75, sinks Swedish freighter SS ARTHUR, 1,435 tons, carrying 1,676 tons of coal from Leith to Göteborg, just off Skagen, at the northern tip of Denmark. Naval operations: Tyrrhenian SeaErnst Krafft, in U-72, sinks Italian sailing vessel MARGHERITA F., 44 tons, bringing his score to 7 ships and 4,651 tons. Naval operations: Aegean SeaBritish hospital ship BRAEMAR CASTLE, 6,318 tons, carrying a load of wounded soldiers from Salonika to Malta, is damaged by a mine laid in the Mykoni Channel by Gustav Seiß in U-73. The ship is beached and the refloated. Four casualties.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Nov 24, 2021 3:45:30 GMT
Day 848 of the Great War, November 24th 1916YouTube (The Death Of Franz Joseph - The End of The Somme)Western Front: Sir Douglas Haig meets King Nicholas I Petrovic of Montenegro
Photo: Sir Douglas Haig greeting the King Nicholas I Petrovic of Montenegro at his Chateau at Beauquesne, November 1916 Photo: King Nicholas I Petrovic of Montenegro and Sir Douglas Haig Inspecting the Guard of Honour, 28th London Regiment, Artists Rifles, Beauquesne, November 1916 Photo: King Nicholas I Petrovic of Montenegro and Sir Douglas Haig, Beauquesne, South of Doullens, November 1916 Romanian CampaignMackensen crosses the Danube at Sistova, Islatz, etc. Greece (royal government): French Admiral Issues Ultimatum to GreeceIn the early fall, relations between France and the Greek government had quickly deteriorated; there was a brief blockade of Greek ports, and ultimately in early October the French seized most of the Greek navy and let former Greek PM Venizelos establish a rival government in Salonika. The country as a whole had yet to flock to Venizelos’ banner, however, and many still held out some hope for a reconciliation between the King Constantine and the Allies. A French royalist MP, Paul Bénazet, met with King Constantine in late October, and was able to come to a tentative agreement. In return for not recognizing Venizelos’ government and not making further demands, Constantine agreed to withdraw Greek troops from Thessaly, where they threatened the rear of the Allied armies at Salonika, and to hand over several batteries of mountain guns. This latter provision was to make up for the fact that many similar guns along with much other materiel were surrendered to Bulgarian forces when they occupied eastern Macedonia in August. Although the Greek army did withdraw from Thessaly, they did not hand over the artillery. The Greek parliament rejected the demand on November 21, as yet another violation of their neutrality by the French, and also due to the fear that the guns would be used by Venizelos’ government. The King adopted a more conciliatory attitude, but still maintained that he could not hand over the guns as a matter of honor. On November 24, Admiral du Fournet issued an ultimatum to the Greek government, stating that if the guns were not handed over by the end of the month, he would land 3,000 troops and take them by force. A few days later, he met with the King again, who assured him that while he could not hand the guns over himself, would order his troops not to resist if the French did land. Greece (National Defence): Greek Provisional Government Declares War on Germany and BulgariaThe Provisional Greek Government declared war on Germany and Bulgaria, bringing at least a portion of Greece into the First World War on the Entente’s side. The outright break with the Royalist government in Athens, which favored neutrality, threatened to start a war between Greece and the Entente. Aerial operations: Hejaz bombedOver in Egypt, pilots from 14 and 67 Squadron made a bombing raid on the Hejaz railway today. This involved a five hour flight over 350 miles, a long distance given the primitive Martinsydes used. Captain Russell Herbert Freeman of 14 Squadron, attacked the railway bridge four miles south of Qal’at el Hasa with two 100lb. delay-action bombs dropped from a height of 20 feet. One bomb struck the bridge, but bounced off and exploded underneath. The bridge remained intact, but part of the permanent way was damaged. The second pilot, Lieutenant Stanley Keith Muir of 67 Squadron, attacked Jurf ed Derawish railway station with one 100lb. and four 20lb. bombs, but scored no direct hits, although the bombs fell close to and damaged their objective. On the return journey, four 20-lb. bombs were dropped on a camp at Asluj, hitting tents. Despite the Herculean efforts of the pilots the attack was essentially a failure. Given the crude aiming techniques and limited payload, this is hardly surprising. Naval operations: English ChannelClause Lafrenz, commanding UB-18, sinks Norwegian freighter SS OIFJELD, 1,988 tons, buund from Bilbao for Boulogne with a load of iron ore, off Pointe d'Ailly. His score is now 2 ships and 2,032 tons. Erich Noodt, in UB-19, sinks British coaster SS Jersyman, 358 tons, carrying a load of coal from Swansea to Tréport. His score is now 2 ships and 1,908 tons. Naval operations: North SeaHis Majesty's Trawler DHOON, 275 tons, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-19. His score is now 16 ships and 29,311 tons. Naval operations: German East AfricaBritish monitor HMS MERSEY fires on German forces engaged in burning the native village of Kissidyu.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Nov 25, 2021 3:44:59 GMT
Day 849 of the Great War, November 25th 1916
Western Front
Artillery bombardment continues at the Somme, but many shells fail to explode due to heavy rain and mud.
Romanian Campaign
German advance on Bucharest; fighting at Curtea de Arges and German occupation of Rymnik; on south, German advance towards Rosiori and Alexandria. Upper Aluta position turned.
Germany: Arthur Zimmermann Appointed German Foreign Secretary
An East Prussian diplomat, Arthur Zimmerman had become Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs before the beginning of the First World War. An arch-conservative, he actively campaigned for Germany to back up Austria-Hungary’s ultimatum to Serbia that began the war. After the conflict began, he worked at causing division among the Entente, helping plots for an Irish and an Indian rebellion against Great Britain.
Zimmerman’s ardent militarism got him a promotion in 1916. On November 25 he replaced the bureaucratic Gottlieb von Jagow as Foreign Secretary, the first commoner to hold the role, largely because he appealed to the military dictatorship of Hindenberg and Ludendorff, who counted on Zimmerman’s support for strong-arming the civilian government towards a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
Naval operations: English Channel
Claus Lafrenz, commanding UB-18, sinks British freighter SS EMLYNVERNE, 544 tons, travelling in ballast from Tréport to Swansea. His score is now 3 ships and 2,567 tons.
Matthias von Schmettow, in UC-26, stops and scuttles two French ships at the extreme west end of the Channel, near Ushant:
Sailing vessel ALFRED DE COURCY, 164 tons, bound from Port Talbot for La Rochelle.
Schooner MALVINA, 112 tons, carrying a load of coal on an unknown route.
Von Schmettow's score is now 61 ships and 88,030 tons.
Naval operations: North Sea
His Majesty's Trawler BURNLEY, 275 tons, hits a mine laid by Hans Howaldt in UC-4. Howaldt's score is now 4 ships and 3,272 tons.
Naval operations: Portugal
Hans Walther begins a new war patrol, attacking two Allied ships:
British freighter SS EGYPTIANA, 3,818 tons, damaged by gunfire but escapes.
French battleship SUFFREN, 12,750 tons, torpedoed, sinks with all hands, 648 lives lost.
Walther's score is now 17 ships and 37,704 tons.
Naval operations: Alboran Sea
Max Valentiner returns to service in U-38, scuttling Greek freighter SS MICHAEL, 2,410 tons, carrying a load of currants from Patras to Liverpool. His score is now 111 ships and 242,451 tons.
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Post by lordroel on Nov 26, 2021 2:45:17 GMT
Day 850 of the Great War, November 26th 1916
Western Front
German attacks against British east of Beaumont-Hamel are repulsed. 2 German attacks in Champagne against French lines are also defeated.
Romanian Campaign
Mackensen reaches Alexandria and is in touch with Falkenhayn.
Macedonian front
French and Serbs capture Hill 1,050 (7 miles north-east of Monastir).
Sinai and Palestine campaign
East Sinai railway reaches Mazar.
East African campaign: British Capture German Column Near Iringa
With the fall of the Central Railway, the German forces in East Africa were on the run. Though the Allies were for the most part unable to pursue, the Germans still had to regroup from the far-flung positions they had previously held. The most isolated Germans were those under Wahle who had previously been defending Tabora before its capture by the Belgians. They now found themselves isolated, with their most obvious avenues of retreat cut off.
The main obstacle was the town of Iringa, which had been occupied by the British three weeks before the fall of Tabora. In late October, Wahle’s forces retreating from the northwest along arrived outside the town, along with 2000 men under Kraut from the east. They cut the town off from communications and reinforcements, and launched an attack on the town itself, though this was repulsed. Though Iringa remained in British hands, the maneuver had allowed most of Wahle’s forces to link up with the main German body in the southeastern portion of the colony.
Not all of his men were so lucky, however. Wahle’s rearguard became isolated after Iringa, and was cut off by British forces (who had at their disposal some cars and trucks that were somehow able to operate in the harsh terrain). On November 26, cut off entirely, 303 men surrendered near Ilembule. Despite the fall of the Central Railway along with most of the colony, this was the largest British victory over German forces since the spring. Although weakened and in unfamiliar territory, Lettow-Vorbeck had managed to extricate most of his forces from the northern half of the colony and was nowhere close to surrender.
Aerial operations: Snowstorms
Winter weather swept the Western Front today, and snowstorms severely curtailed flying.
Some aircraft from 29 and 41 Squadrons got up nevertheless, but probably wish they hadn’t bothered.
Early this morning, 2nd Lieutenant William Bertram Clark got lost flying from 41 Squadron’s aerodrome at Abeele back to 29 Squadron’s base at Le Hameau. Clark had only joined the Squadron in late October and likely became disorientated by the poor weather. He ended up landing his DH2 (5947) behind enemy lines and was taken prisoner.
Later on the day, 2nd Lieutenant George Samuel Deane from 41 Squadron was forced down by heavy snowstorms and a lack of fuel. He has also only recently joined the Squadron on 7 November 1916. Unfortunately he landed behind enemy lines at Roulers. He attempted to burn his aircraft but failed and both he and his FE8 (6454) were captured. Deane is the first 41 Squadron pilot to be lost since their arrival at the front on 15 October 1916.
Naval operations: English Channel
Norwegian tanker SS CALORIC, 7,012 tons, bound from Portsmouth for Tyne, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-16. The ship is only damaged.
Naval operations: North Sea
Heinrich Stenzler, commanding UC-30, scuttles Norwegian barge ROMANCE, 628 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Holmestrand to West Hartlepool. The tow ship, SS LOEKO, is allowed to continue on her way. This is Stnzler's first sinking.
German destroyer SMS G-41 sinks HMT Narval, 214 tons, serving as a decoy ship. The crew are all captured.
Naval operations: Alboran Sea
Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks American freighter SS CHEMUNG, 3,062 tons, travelling from New York to Genoa with a general cargo which includes explosives. His score is now 112 ships and 245,513 tons.
Naval operations: Ligurian Sea
Ernst Krafft, in U-72, sinks Greek freighter SS CHRISTOFOROS, 3,674 tons, en route from Barry to Savona, off Cape Mele, near Genoa. His score is now 8 ships and 8,329 tons.
Naval operations: Ionian Sea
Two Allied vessels hit mines laid by Alfred Klatt in UC-14 off Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy:
His Majesty's Drifter FINROSS, 78 tons.
HMD MICHAELMAS DAISY, 99 tons.
Klatt's opening score is 2 ships and 177 tons.
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Post by lordroel on Nov 27, 2021 8:10:46 GMT
Day 851 of the Great War, November 27th 1916
Western Front:Photo: King Nicholas I Petrovic of Montenegro talking to the Officer in charge of the French Guard of Honour, Boulogne, November 1916 Photo: A mixed French and British Guard of Honour being inspected by the King Nicholas I Petrovic of Montenegro, Boulogne, November 1916 Romanian CampaignGermans advance on Bucharest, capture Curtea de Arges and Giurgevo and occupy Alexandria. Romanians abandon Aluta line. Stubborn fighting by Orsova force. Persian CampaignRussians drive back Turks into Persia, taking much war material. Aerial operations: Two Zeppelins Shot Down In Raid on Northern EnglandNo Zeppelins have been sighted over England since 1/2 October when L31 was destroyed. Overnight, 10 navy Zeppelins raided, with two of them, L24 and L30, turning back early and L36 failed to cross the coast. The remaining seven divided into two groups, one aimed for the north-east and the other targeted the north Midlands. L14 arrived over Hull around 2110 and meandered around the city for a while while the AA guns took potshots, finally retiring at 2225. L16 arrived around 2120 and attacked various villages in the Barnsley area and then flew towards York dropping bombs and causing minor damage. At 0035 L16 flew out to sea again. L22 meandered near the Humber for a couple of hours without dropping any bombs. L13 dropped bombs ineffectively over North Yorkshire. The main action of the night was confined to two airships, L34 and L21. L34, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Max Dietrich, attacked Hartlepool around 2330. The ship was rapidly picked up by a searchlight and then seen by 2nd Lieutenant Ian Pyott of 36 Squadron in his BE2c. Another n targeted the Zeppelin and Dietrich responded by dropping 12 bombs on it causing some damage to buildings. At this point Pyott attacked but without result and L34 turned east back towards the coast. At around 2340 another 16 bombs fell, killing four and injuring another 11. Now L34 was under heavy AA gunfire, and Pyott attacked again. This time he was successful and L34 began to burn, crashing into the sea a mile off the coast. The entire crew were killed. At this point L35 which was nearby and had also been targeted by searchlights, abandoned the mission and flew out to sea. L21 flew over Barnsley dropping one bomb but continued on quickly to Stoke-on-Trent which suffered its second air raid of the war. 23 bombs in all fell on Goldenhill, Tunstall, Chesterton, Trentham and Fenton causing minor damage. L21 then headed South east to Nottingham. At 2255 two aircraft from 38 Squadron spotted L21, but a series of evasive manoeuvres and a climb to 13000 feet threw them off. L21 continued east and was unsuccessfully attacked by an aircraft from 51 Squadron, who had to retire with engine trouble. At around 0600, L21 had reached Great Yarmouth, but the earlier delays meant that it was now getting light and the Zeppelin became an easy target. Three RNAS aircraft took off and attacked. All three engaged and Flight Sub-Lieutenants Edward Laston Pulling and Egbert Cadbury scored hits, wither latter likely firing the fatal shots. At 0642am the flaming wreck of L21 crashed into the sea off the coast of Lowestoft killing all the crew. Aerial operations: Rigid BritToday saw the launch of the first British Rigid Airship (HMA No 9). The RNAS which is responsible for Airship development has produced a number of blimps – where the air pressure maintains the shape of the ship’s envelope, but has not before launched a Zeppelin like airship with a rigid structure. The British had attempted to build a rigid airship previously, the grandly named His Majesty’s Airship Number 1, but it was wrecked before its maiden flight in 1911. Plans were resurrected in 1913 and a shed to house the new airship was built at Walney Island, to the west of Barrow. The ship was nearly completed when war broke out in August 1914, but competing demands for resources and manpower delayed furhter work. Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty cancelled the ship in March 1915 on the premise that the war was expected to be over by the time it was completed. In June 1915, after Churchill had been replaced by Arthur Balfour, the Admiralty considered all airship development. the success of the non-rigid airship programme led to the decision to resume construction of the new airship. The build team were reassemblked and work recommenced in the Autumn of 1915. THe Easter Rising in Oreland further delayted construction as the supply of flax from Ireland was interrupted. The ship was finally completed on 28 June 1916. The design was partially influenced by Zeppelin LZ16/Z4 whihc had accidently landed on Fench soil in 1913 and had been examined by the allies. On 16 November the ship was moored outside its shed for testing and took its forst flight today. Unfortunately it was not up to specification as it was unable to lift the contract weight of 3.1 tons. Again a Zeppelin came to the rescue again, as the crafts twin engines were replaced by a single engine salvaged from the Zeppelin L33 which had crashed at Little Wigborough, Essex, on 24 September 1916. Photo: The airship HMA Number 9, being handled on the ground Naval operations: English ChannelClaus Lafrenze, commanding UB-18, sinks three ships: Norwegian freighter BORO, 819 tons, bound from Port Talbot fo Saint-Malo with a load of coal. Norwegian freighter SS PERRA, 1,682 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Castro Urdiales to Calais; scuttled. British freighter SS RHONA, 640 tons, travelling from Cardiff to Saint Servan with a load of coal. Lafrenz's score is now 6 ships and 5,708 tons. Erich Noodt, in UB-19, sinks two Norwegian freighters near Start Point, Devon. SS BELL ILE, 1,884 tons, en route from Bilbao to Middlesbrough with a load of iron ore. SS VISBORG, 1,343 tons, carrying a load of coal from Barry to Cherbourg. Noodt's score is now 4 ships and 3,251 tons. Naval operations: Tyrrhenian SeaOtto Schultze, in U-63, sinks British freighter SS MAUDE LARSSEN, 1,222 tons, travelling in ballast from Bagnoli to Seville. His score is now 11 ships and 28,938 tons. Naval operations: Mediterranean SeaKurt Hartwig, starts his second war patrol in U-32 with the sinking of two Allied ships near Malta: British passenger liner SS CITY OF BIRMINGHAM, 7,498 tons, carrying passengers and a general cargo from Liverpool to Karachi. Torpedoed near Malta. French passenger liner SS KARNAK, 6,816 tons, en route from Marseilles and Malta to Saloniki. Hartwig's score is now 5 ships and 24,156 tons. Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks two Allied ships near Alexandria: Greek freighter SS MARGARITA, 1,112 tons. British freighter SS REAPWELL, 3,417 tons, travelling from Cardiff to Port Said with coal and a general cargo. Forstmann's score is now 135 ships and 264,036 tons. He is once again the leading u-boat ace. Ernst Krafft, in U-72, sinks Italian sailing ship SALVATROE CIAMPA, 1,728 tons, en route from Baltimore to Savona, south-east of Toulon. His score is now 9 ships and 10,057 tons.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Nov 28, 2021 7:48:28 GMT
Day 852 of the Great War, November 28th 1916
Romanian Campaign
Russian success in Carpathians, heights east of Jablonitsa Pass and east of Kirlibaba captured.
Macedonian front
Bulgars occupy Giurgevo (on Danube).
Successful British raid near Macukovo (left bank Vardar, south-west of Doiran).
Aerial operations: First Airplane Bombs London
The vast majority of aerial attacks on Britain had taken place by Zeppelin. Their longer range and heavier payload made up for their expense, slower speed and maneuverability, and their vulnerability to incendiary weapons. Despite this, there had still been occasional bombing attacks on the southern coast by lone planes as early as December 1914. By late 1916, airplane engines and design had advanced enough where attacks on London were now feasible.
On November 28, a two-man LVG C.IV crossed the Channel and just before noon dropped six 22-pound bombs on London, between Hyde Park and Victoria Station, wounding 10. This was the first attack on London by airplane, and the first air raid on London during the daytime. This took British air defenses by surprise, and aided by haze and the noise of London traffic, the plane was able to make it back across the Channel. However, once across, they were hit by French anti-aircraft fire near Boulogne and were forced to land, and both airmen were taken prisoner.
Despite the loss of the plane and the airmen, the Germans were able to learn of the initial success of the air raid through the neutral press, and began to plan for future bomber attacks on Britain.
Naval operations: English Channel
Claus Lafrenz, commanding UB-18, sinks two Allied ships at the west end of the Channel:
French sailing vessel AUGUSTE MARIE, 63 tons, bound from Port Talbot for Pornic with 100 tons of coal.
Spanish freighter SS LUICIENNE, 1,046 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Bilbao to Cardiff.
Lafrenz's score is now 8 ships and 6,817 tons.
Paul Günther, in UB-37, attacks a British fishing fleet off Portland Bill, sinking 5 of them and damaging 1 other.
DILIGENCE, 42 tons, scuttled.
AMPHITIRE, 44 tons, scuttled.
CATENA, 36 tons, scuttled.
PROVIDENT, 38 tons
SEA LARK, 42 tons, scuttled.
LYNX, 43 tons, survived scuttling explosion and towed to Brixham.
Günther's score is now 8 vessels and 396 tons.
Heinrich Küstner, in UB-39, sinks three British vessels near the Owers light vessel.
Coaster SS ALERT, 289 tons, travelling in ballast from Le Havre to Littlehampton. Scuttled.
Coaster SS ALISON, 286 tons, carrying a load of government stores from Le Havre to Littlehampton. Scuttled.
Freighter SS RAMSGARTH, 1,553 tons, travelling in ballast from Cardiff and Brixham to Tyne.
Küstner's score is now 6 ships and 8,509 tons.
Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, stops and scuttles three fishing vessels:
Smack CLEMATIS, 22 tons.
Ketch LADY OF THE LAKE, 91 tons.
Smack VULCAN, 27 tons.
Also His Majesty's Drifter PELAGIA, 84 tons, hits a mine laid by UC-21.
Saltzwedel's score is now 6 ships and 3,049 tons.
Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea
Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks two British freighters::
SS KING MALCOM, 4,351 tons, travelling in ballast from Marseille to Mauritius.
SS MORSBEY, 1,763 tons, carrying a load of rice from Saigon to Dunkerque.
Forstmann's score is now 136 ships and 270,150 tons.
Otto Schultze, in U-63, sinks Danish freighter Sigurd, 2,119 tons, bound from Cardiff for Cagliari with a load of coal, south of Sardinia. His score is now 12 ships and 31,057 tons.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Nov 29, 2021 3:44:48 GMT
Day 853 of the Great War, November 29th 1916Romanian CampaignGermans capture Campulung and Piteshti (north-west of Bucharest). Mackensen at Calugarino (17 miles south of Bucharest). Eastern FrontRussians' Carpathian offensive continues. Italian frontAustrians massing troops on Carso front. Fight east of Monastir continues in fog. Macedonian frontBritish seaplanes bomb Gereviz (Bulgaria). United Kingdom: Beatty Replaces Jellicoe in the Grand Fleet as Asquith Reorganizes GovernmentAsquith’s position as Prime Minister was slowly growing less tenable as the weeks went by. The heavy losses on the Somme, the imminent defeat of Romania, the mounting debts, and the increasing submarine threat all did not reflect well on Britain’s prospects in the war or Asquith’s leadership. Large parts of the press were now actively against him and clamored for his removal, and his coalition seemed to be fraying in the Commons as well, with votes becoming increasingly narrow due to defections from his Conservative coalition partners. Asquith was convinced that a shakeup in leadership and organization would help improve both the war effort and his own fortunes. With the German High Seas Fleet bottled up in Wilhelmshaven for the moment, the largest naval threat came from submarines. Although the Germans still kept short of unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic, the losses in the Mediterreanean continued to mount, and even the sinkings under prize rules in the Atlantic were considerable. British efforts to combat the submarines had proven largely ineffective. In late November, Asquith insisted that a change was needed immediately at the Admiralty, and on November 29 made Admiral Jellicoe First Sea Lord, the military head of the navy. Replacing him as commander of the Grand Fleet was David Beatty, previously commander of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. Although there had been much intrigue between Beatty and Jellicoe (and their supporters) after Jutland, among the sailors and officers of the Grand Fleet their commander was almost universally beloved. A midshipman on King George V recalled that the ship’s captain beckoned me over, and I doubled across and came to attention and said, ‘Yes Sir?’ I looked at him and there were tears rolling down his cheeks. He said, ‘Arthur, you may as well tell the gun room that Sir John Jellicoe has been superseded.’When Jellicoe left the IRON DUKE later that day, the crew “cheered and wept and ‘stayed on deck watching his barge until she was lost in sight,’” wrote historian Robert K. Massie. This was not the only change in the government or military Asquith was proposing. On the same day, he latched onto a suggestion from Lord Cecil, who noted that the War Committee was once again becoming too large and overtaxed. He proposed that the purely civilian aspects of the war (finance, industry, and so forth) be spun off into their own committee, and that they be given increased authority over the economy, including compulsory service. This bore some resemblance to the proposed Hindenburg Program in Germany, though it was not quite as sweeping in its ambitions. This proposal greatly angered Lloyd George, who thought it would interfere with his duties as Secretary of War, and who had been increasingly frustrated with Asquith’s leadership anyway. Lloyd George began to draw up his own proposal for the management of the war, and was determined to see it enacted at all costs. Naval operations: AustraliaConstructing nearing completion on the HMAS Brisbane, the only cruiser built in Australia. Photo: Starboard bow view of HMAS Brisbane a month after here commissioning  Naval operations: English ChannelHeinrich Küstner, commanding UB-39, stops and scuttles two Allied ships: British schooner GRACE, 135 tons, bound from Charlestown, Cornwall for Rouen with a load of bulk clay and cables. French freighter SS SAN PHILIPE, 3,419 tons, carrying a load of wine from Alger to Rouen. Küstner's score is now 8 ships and 12,063 tons. Naval operations: Thames EstuaryHis Majesty's Trawler LORD AIREDALE, 215 tons, hit a mine laid by Max Schmitz and UC-11 near the Sunk lightship. Schmitz's score is now 34 ships and 5,848 tons. Naval operations: Mediterranean SeaHeino von Heimburg, in UC-27, topedoes British freighter SS LUCISTON, 2,948 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardiff to Malta, off Dellamara point, at the east end of Malta. Naval operations: Sea of CreteBritish passenger liner SS MINNEWASKA, 14,317 tons, carrying troops from Alexandria to Malta, hits a mine off Souda Bay. Kirchner's score is now 4 ships and 14,704 tons.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Nov 30, 2021 3:46:34 GMT
Day 854 of the Great War, November 30th 1916
Western Front
Crown Prince gives up command of German army on Verdun front.
French aircraft bomb Thionville.
Romanian Campaign
Germans force passage of River Neajlovu (16 miles south-west of Bucharest).
Eastern Front
Russian repulse on Zlota Lipa (Galicia).
Fighting in Bukovina.
Italian front
General artillery action Italian front.
Macedonian front
Greek army reported marching north.
Allied troops land at Piraeus.
United States occupation of the Dominican Republic: Americans Declare Martial Law in the Dominican Republic
For all its anti-imperial rhetoric, American imperialism expanded outside the continental United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to its Caribbean and Latin American neighbors. After the Spanish-American War, the US government interfered constantly with other nations in the so-called Banana Wars, a series of military interventions designed to bend other governments towards US strategic and commercial interests. One of these interventions was in the Dominican Republic in May 1916, where US marines landed, ostensibly to protect the American consuls. Before long the American troops occupied the nation and forced the president to resign.
A series of American-imposed dictators worked to pay off debts to the United States, but average Dominicans resented the occupiers. In November guerrilla warfare broke out, causing the United States to declare martial law. The fighting on the island lasted until 1921, when the guerrillas surrendered. US troops finally left in 1922, but the island remained within the American sphere and the US controlled its customs revenues until the 1940s.
Aerial operations: British and German Deceptions at Sea
The British realized that the threat posed by German submarines was dire, but they as yet had few reliable methods for combating them. One method that had occasional success was the Q-ship, an armed ship disguised as a defenseless merchant vessel, designed to lure submarines (which were reluctant to use their small stock of torpedoes on such a small vessel) close before sinking them.
On November 30, the Q-ship HMS PENSHURST had its first success. She approached a merchant ship being attacked by a submarine in an attempt to render assistance, but was beaten to the area by a seaplane, which began to drop bombs on the submarine. The U-boat quickly submerged as a result; the seaplane crew, realizing that they had interfered with a Q-ship, landed and agreed to spot for the PENSHURST while she dropped depth charges. However, the seaplane crashed on takeoff. While the PENSHURST recovered the airmen, the submarine, thinking the threat was over, surfaced to attack the PENSHURST. When the U-boat approached to close range, the PENSHURST opened fire and sank her.
In Germany, opportunities to use surface ships against enemy shipping was quite limited, due to the British blockade and general Allied dominance of the world’s oceans. As a result, the Germans had to use elaborate deceptions; earlier in November they even used a sailing ship crewed by Norwegian speakers. On November 30, the converted steamship WOLF left Germany, bound for the Cape of Good Hope. She was equipped with fake funnels which could easily be assembled and disassembled to change her appearance and fake sides to conceal her weapons, all in an effort to conceal her true nature as a commerce raider. She also carried with her a seaplane, in order to spot targets. The WOLF would cruise all four of the world’s oceans over the next 15 months, menacing Allied shipping in areas the Allies had long since thought clear of the German threat.
Aerial operations: Corps blimey
Earlier in the month, despite entreaties from Sir Henry Rawlinson and General Sir Henry Sinclair Horne, Sir Douglas Haig decided that Squadrons doing Corps work for the army (ie those carry out artillery spotting, contact patrols and local reconnaissance) would remain under RFC control and not be transferred to the control of the local Corps commanders.
Today, this stance was modified a little. GHQ issued instructions that squadrons attached to Corps are to take their orders directly from the Corps Commander for all work in relation to artillery, contact patrol and close reconnaissance and photography work in the Corps area.
RFC Brigade and Wing Commanders remain responsible for the management of their respective formations and for determining how best to carry out the Corps Orders. They also remain in charge of Army Squadrons who carry out the long range reconnaissance and air fighting roles.
Whilst this probably makes sense to ensure than the RFC can support the army’s requirements, it does create some tension between the RFC Commander and his Army counterparts on how best to use resources. Given that Hugh Trenchard main concern as Commnader is to support the army this should not cause too much bother.
Naval operations: Celtic Sea
Claus Lafrenz, commanding UB-18, moves from the English Channel to the north side of Cornwall, where he stops and scuttles six vessels:
Norwegian freighter SS AUD, 1,102 tons, bound from Cardiff for Lisbon with a load of coal.
British schooner CHRISTABEL, 175 tons, carrying a load of silversand from Fowey to Garston.
British smack E.L.G. , 25 tons.
Danish freighter SS EGHOLM, 1,348 tons, travelling from Cardiff to Marseille with a load of coal.
French schooner MARIE MARGUERITE, 136 tons, carrying 190 tons of coal from Cardiff to La Rochelle.
Norwegian freighter SS NJAAL, 728 tons, bound from Muros for Swansea with a load of pit props.
French sailing ship SAINT ANSBERT, 275 tons, carrying a load of coal from Briton Ferry to Fécamp.
Lafrenz's score is now 15 ships and 10,608 tons.
Naval operations: English Channel
Heinz Ziemer, in UB-23, sinks two ships off Ushant:
French schooner GEATE, 170 tons.
British schooner HEINRICH, 125 tons, travelling for London to Saint Malo with a load of pitch.
Ziemer's opeining score is 2 vessels and 295 tons, but there is a problem. U-boat.net and Wrecksite.eu both attribute the sinking to a u-boat mysteriously labelled "UB 29-C19", of which there is no other record. Ziemer was definitely in UB-23, the only boat he ever commanded. Heinrich is not listed in any other sources.
Paul Günther, in UB-37, scuttles British fishing smack CONCORD, 51 tons, off Start Point, Devonshire, bringing his score to 9 vessels and 447 tons.
Heinrich Küstner, in UB-39, stops and scuttles two Allied ships:
Norwegian freighter SS HARALD, 1,083 tons, bound from Algiers for Cherbourg with a load of wine.
Japanese freighter NAGATA MARU, 3,521 tons, carrying a load of rice from Kobe to Le Havre.
Küstner's score is now 10 ships and 16,667 tons.
Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks two Allied ships and damages a third norht of Ushant:
Norwegian freighter SS DRAUPNER, 1,126 tons, travelling in ballast from Saint Nazaire to Cardiff. Sunk.
French sailing vessel THERESE, 165 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Bayonne to Swansea. Scuttled. Crew rescued the following day by French destroyer Fanion.
British freighter SS EGGESFORD, 4,414 tons, travelling in ballast from Bordeaux to Cardiff. Only damaged, made port safely.
Saltzwedel's score is now 8 ships and 4,340 tons.
British freighter SS DARTMEET, 886 tons, travelling in ballast from Saint Servan to Newport, Wales, sinks following a collision with SS Swazi nine miles northeast of Eddystone.
Naval operations: North Sea
His Majesty's Trawler ESKBURN, 90 tons, listed as lost following a collision. Other details unknown.
Naval operations: Black Sea
UC-15 is lost somewhere off the mouth of the Danube River to unknown cause. 15 lost, no survivors.
Naval operations: Tyrrhenian Sea
Kurt Hartwig, in U-32, sinks Italian barque SAN ANTONIO, 611 tons, carrying a load of timber from Rockland, Maine, to Naples. His score is now 6 ships and 24,767 tons.
Otto Schultze, in U-63, sinks British schooner ROMA, 125 tons, travelling in ballast from Naples to St. John's, Newfoundland. His score is now 13 ships and 31,182 tons.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 1, 2021 3:44:44 GMT
Day 855 of the Great War, December 1st 1916YouTube (Romania On The Ropes - Reflections On The Battle of the Somme)Romanian CampaignRussians driven off Rukida and Kirlibaba heights (Carpathians). Romanians retire south-east from Campulung. Severe fighting south of Pitesti. Romanian Government moves to Jassy. Russian troops arrive in Bucharest to reinforce Romanian troops in the defense of the capital. Germans are only 10 miles away. Italian FrontVicenza bombed. Anglo-Egyptian Darfur ExpeditionSurrender reported of sons of Ali Dinar (late Sultan of Darfur); organised resistance ended. Arab Revolt: Fahreddin Pasha’s plans to crush the Arab RevoltSharif Hussein of Mecca is leading a revolt of the Arabs against their Turkish masters. With British help the rebels have secured much of the Hejaz region of western Arabia, but they have been unable to evict the Turks from Medina. Now the Turks decide to strike back. Fahreddin Pasha, the tough Turkish commander of Medina, leads a strong force to attack the rebel held port of Yanbu. If he can defeat the rebels here he hopes to start rolling up their coastal positions, cutting them off from British assistance. Fahreddin hopes that a strong blow or two against the rebels will cause their less committed supporters to desert the cause and return home, leaving Sharif Hussein and his close associates to face the vengeance of the Ottoman Empire. Greece: Noemvriana: Allies Occupy Athens, Battle in the Greek Capital between Allies and RoyalistsNewspaper: Bird's-eye view of Athens and Piraeus during the Noemvriana clashes between Greek and Allied troops To make up for the loss of Greek materiel to the Bulgarians when they surrendered eastern Macedonia without a fight, the French demanded that the Greek government hand over ten batteries of mountain guns to the Allies. Initially, it seemed that Greece would comply, as negotiations with the King by a French PM and Admiral du Fournet suggested. However, the Greek government rejected the French ultimatum, and du Fournet was determined to land marines to take them forcibly. He had been assured by King Constantine that the Greek Army would not resist, and that he could not hand them over only due to the constraints of Greek neutrality and his personal honor. However, there were clear signs out of Athens that any effort to take the guns would not go as peacefully as Admiral du Fournet hoped. Greek reserve officers were called up on November 30, and, more ominously, known supporters of Venizelos found their doors marked with red paint. Du Fournet was unperturbed, however, saying “I don’t give a damn for intelligence reports,” and ordered his men to land in the wee hours of December 1. Around 3000 British marines and French sailors landed and advanced into the city without opposition. However, they encountered Greek troops under Col. Metaxas blocking their way at key points within the city itself. The Allies were unprepared for this and were unsure of what to do, and an awkward impasse ensued for several hours. Some accounts state that the French began firing blanks in order to try to disperse the Greeks. At 11 AM, both sides began firing at each other with live rounds. How this began is still unclear–it may have been an accident, a disproportionate response to the firing of blanks, or a calculated move by the Greek forces. Photo: French troops in Athens, with the Acropolis in the background, during the Noemvriana However it began, the Allies found themselves deep inside Athens, outnumbered by now-hostile Greek forces. After some time had passed and casualties began to mount, King Constantine proposed a compromise, agreeing to hand over six mountain batteries (rather than ten) if the Allies left the city. Du Fournet, who was in the city himself and could see the precarious position of his forces, was more than willing to accept. The resulting ceasefire was not total, however, and was soon broken when Greek artillery began firing on Du Fournet’s position. Fearing he would soon be cut off entirely, Du Fournet ordered his warships to begin shelling the Greeks. Photo: The French battleship MIRABEAU bombarding Athens during the November events Calm was restored by 2:30 PM, however. That evening, the Allies withdrew to their ships. Although in the end they did acquire the six mountain batteries, they had suffered over 200 casualties and thoroughly damaged their relations with Greece. Du Fournet considered a general bombardment of the city the next day, but thankfully decided against it. Photo: French troops with machine guns in Athens Although the Allies were gone by early on December 2, the chaos in Athens continued. Venizelos’ supporters were accused of collaborating with du Fournet and even of firing on Greek troops. Anti-Venizelos riots, supported and encouraged by the military, continued for the next two days. Leading Venizelists were arrested, homes were ransacked, and at least 35 were killed outright. The Allied governments, although they did sack du Fournet, were outraged at King Constantine over the day’s events, and soon declared a blockade of Greece and began making ever-increasing demands of the Greek government. Aerial operations: Gereviz bombedOn the Macedonian front, the RNAS carrying out a range of reconnaissance and bombing missions. Naturally, local German forces have attempted to counter their activities by setting up their own bases at Drama, Xanthe, and Maswakli, and a seaplane base at Gereviz on Lake Boru. From these bases the Germans made a series of attacks on the RNAS aerodrome at Thasos. The British grew tired of the assaults and when it was learned that the aerodrome at Gereviz was expanding, they decided to mount a raid. On 29 November 1916, two Henri Farmans from 2 Wing RNAS set off on the 35 mile trip to bomb the camp. Flight Lieutenant Edward John Cooper and Lieutenant George Master Byng (The 9th Viscount Torrington) were in 3905, and Flight Sub-Lieutenant Charles William Greig and 2nd Lieutenant Rowland Wynne Frazier in 3916. They flew unmolested to Gereviz and dropped their bombs from under 1,000 feet. They were lucky to set fire to a number of buildings, which were then fanned by strong winds, eventually burning the whole camp. The fires were visible from Thasos. Despite their success in destroying the base, both crews failed to return from the mission and were reported as taken prisoner today. They do not appear to have been shot down, so likely the cause is the harsh weather taking its toll on the obsolete Henri Farmans. Naval operations: Celtic SeaClaus Lafrenz, in UB-18, scuttles three Allied vessels off the north coast of Cornwall: British fishing smack T. and A.C., 23 tons. French barquentine INDIANA, 178 tons, carrying 226 tons of coal from Cardiff to La Rochelle. French schoonter SAINT JOSEPH, 182 tons, carrying 245 tons of coal from Cardiff to Bordeaux. Lafrenz's score is now 18 vessels and 10,991 tons. Erich Platsch, in UB-29, scuttles two Allied ships just off the west end of the Channel: Norwegian freighter SS BOSSI, 1,462 tons, travelling from Bordeaux to Barry with a load of pit props. Brotosj freogjter SS BRIARDENE, 2,701 tons, en route from New York to London with a general cargo. Platsch's score is now 3 ships and 5,248 tons. Paul Günther, in UB-37, sinks Norwegian freighter Erich Lindøe, 1,097 tons, carrying a load of coal from Glasgow to Gibraltar. His score is now 10 ships and 1,554 tons. Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks British freighter SS King Bleddyn, 4,387 tons, bound from New York for Le Havre with a general cargo. His score is now 9 ships and 8,727 tons. Naval operations: English ChannelHeinrich Küstner, in UB-39, scuttles French schooner JEANNE D'ARC, 205 tons, travelling from Newfoundland to Granville with a load of salted codfish. His score is now 11 ships and 16,782 tons. French schooner RENE-MONTTRIEUX, 234 tons, is stopped and scuttled north of Ushant. From the description given by the ship's Master this is credited to Alfred Nitzsche and UC-19, giving him 17 ships and 29,549 tons. British fishing smack Camellia, 46 tons, hits a mine laid by an unknown vessel, with the loss of three lives including her master. Naval operations: North SeaRaimund Weisbach, now commanding U-81, sinks Swedish freighter SS DOUGLAS, 1,177 tons, bound from Grimsby to Skien with a general cargo, 120 miles west of Lindesnes. His score is now 7 ships and 20,457 tons. British submarine E-37 is lost off Harwich along with all her crew. Cause unknown but presumed to be a mine. Naval operations: Tyrrhenian SeaKurt Hartwig, in U-32, sinks two Italian sailing vessels: Brigantine CUORE DI GESU, 199 tons. LAMPO, 59 tons. Hartwig's score is now 8 vessels and 25,025 tons. Naval operations: Mediterranean SeaHeino von Heimburg, in UC-22, torpedoes British freighter SS BURCOMBE, 3,516 tons, carrying a load of grain from Karachi to Hull. His score is now 9 ships and 31,286 tons. Naval operations: Canary IslandsHeinrich Metzger, in U-47, torpedoes Dutch freighter SS KEDIRI, 3,781 tons, carrying a load of sugar and tin, plus a general cargo, from Batavia to Marseille and Rotterdam, off Maspalomas, Gran Canaria. His score is now 4 ships and 5,716 tons.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 2, 2021 3:47:56 GMT
Day 856 of the Great War, December 2nd 1916Romanian CampaignContinued Russian offensive in Carpathians. Heavy fighting at Cerna Voda (Dobruja); serious enemy pressure towards Bucharest. Macedonian frontSerbs carry strong Bulgar positions north of Gumishta; Turks assist Bulgars at Seres and Drama. Armistice concluded at Athens; Allied troops withdrawn. Embargo on all Greek vessels in Allied ports. Greece declared in state of blockade. Greek Government agrees to surrender six (subsequently eight) field batteries. Germany: The Reichstag blocks Ludendorff’s plans to completely militarise the German economyErich Ludendorff, the Quarter-Master General, is trying to harness the entire German economy for the war effort. As he sees it, the struggle with the Allies is a Materialschlacht, a struggle in which the side that can better marshal its resources will be the winner. Germany has long conscripted men into the military but now Ludendorff wants civilians to be conscripted into the vital war industries, to ensure the army has what it needs to keep the war going. At Ludendorff’s behest, Groener, the head of the Supreme War Office has drawn up a draft law to extend conscription so that males between the ages of 16 and 60 can be conscripted into Patriotic Auxiliary Service, which generally would mean that Ludendorff and Groener could send them to do anything deemed necessary for the war effort. Today at last the Reichstag passed the auxiliary service law. Unfortunately for Groener and Ludendorff, the politicians have heavily watered down the proposal, diluting the near dictatorial powers the generals had sought. A raft of exemptions have been added to the bill and the Reichstag has insisted on establishing a parliamentary committee to oversee the law’s operations. Worse, the Social Democrats and other left parties have added in provisions establishing worker committees in all enterprises employing more than 50 people, effectively mandating trade union recognition. Workers will remain far more free to switch jobs at will than Ludendorff or Groener had envisaged. Ludendorff is dismayed at the Reichstag’s watering down of his proposals. If only there was some way of getting rid of these troublesome politicians. Then the entire country could be run on efficient military lines. Romanian Campaign: “Romanian Marne” Ends in Defeat Little over a week since Mackensen attacked across the Danube, Romania was in grave danger of defeat. Mackensen had advanced over 60 miles to the Argeș River, only twelve miles from the capital of Bucharest. The government left on December 1 for Iași. However, there was still a concerted element that was determined to fight, and thought the Central Powers could be pushed back. Henri Berthelot was head of the French military mission to Romania, and had been Joffre’s chief of staff on the Marne. He saw a parallel to those desperate days in September 1914 when the French government had itself evacuated to Bordeaux, and thought a similar counterattack could threaten to outflank Mackensen and force him to retreat. Scrounging together all available forces, the Romanians made a desperate attack on December 1. To perhaps their own surprise, it worked, cutting off and capturing 3000 men. However, a complete collapse was prevented by the determined stand of one Turkish division. After the battle, blame fell on the German-educated General Socec for a hasty withdrawal, but the actual course of events is relatively unclear as many of the relevant files disappeared from the Romanian War Ministry later in the war under mysterious circumstances. Regardless, Mackensen was able to stabilize his lines by December 2, as Falkenhayn’s cavalry arrived from across the Ort to safeguard his left flank. The Romanians began falling back into Bucharest itself the next day, and it was clear they would not hold it for long. Map: German map of the battle Aerial operations: Lost ShortOut in Sinai, British forces are preparing to mount an attack on the Turkish forces in the coastal city of El Arish. As part of the build up, RNAS aircraft from HMS Ben-my-Chree, HMS Empress and HMS Raven II have been making reconnaissance flights over the area. Today one of those aircraft was lost. Flight Sub Lieutenant Alfred James Nightingale and Lieutenant Percy Maurice Woodland from HMS Empress were flying a Short 184 (8372) over Ramleh. They were hit by Turkish anti-aircraft fire and the aircraft crashed out of control. Luckily both officers suffered only minor injuries but they were taken prisoner. Before this was known a second Short 184 (8030) with Flight-Commander Tom Harry English and Captain J Wedgewood-Benn was dispatched from HMS Ben-my-Chree, to look for Nightingale and Woodland. They too were hit by anti-aircraft file but were able to limp back to their ship. Naval operations: Celtic SeaClaus Lafrenz, commanding UB-18, sinks Norwegian freighter SS SKJOLDULF, 502 tons, bound from Cardiff for Marans with a load of coal, just off the west end of the English Channel. His score is now 19 ships and 11,403 tons. Heinz Ziemer, in U-23, captures and sinks British freighter SS HARPALUS, 1,445 tons, carrying a load of coal from Penarth to Nantes. His score is now 3 ships and 1,740 tons. Erich Platsch, in UB-29, stops and scuttles Norwegian freighter SS HITTEROY, 1,985 tons, travelling from Glasgow to Civitavecchia with a load of coal. His score is now 4 ships and 7,233 tons. Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks three ships off Ushant: Greek freighter SS DEMETROS INGLESIS, 2,088 tons, carrying a load of maize from Rosario to Hull. French sailing vessel ROBINSON, 186 tons, stopped and scuttled while underway from Newport, Wales to La Rochelle with 250 tons of coal. Spanish freighter SS URBITARTE, 1,756 tons, travelling from Bilbao to Cardiff with a load of iron ore. Saltzwedel's score is now 12 ships and 12,757 tons. Naval operations: English ChannelHeinrich Küstner, in UB-39, sinks Canadian freighter SS PALECINE, 3,286 tons, bound from New York for Le Havre and Rouen with a load of oil. His score is now 12 ships and 20,068 tons. Naval operations: Golfo de LeónErnst Krafft, in U-72, sinks Italian passenger liner SS PALERMO, 9,203 tons, carrying horses, munitions and general cargo from New York to Genoa. Sunk off Cabo San Sebastian, Spain. His score is now 10 ships and 19,260 tons. Naval operations: Ligurian SeaKurt Hartwig, in U-32, sinks Italian brigantine ANGELA MARIA G, 155 tons, just north of Sardinia. His score is now 9 shipx and 25,180 tons. Otto Schultze, in U-63, sinks two Italian ships north of Sardinia: Sailing vessel LUIGIC, 71 tons. Barque ROMA, 643 tons. Schultze's score is now 15 ships and 31,896 tons. Naval operations: Mediterranean SeaWalter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks British freighter SS ISTRAR, 4,582 tons, travelling from Birkenhead to Calcutta with a load of coal plus general cargo. His score is now 137 ships and 274,732 tons.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 3, 2021 7:17:50 GMT
Day 857 of the Great War, December 3rd 1916Macedonian frontAfter three days of bloody street-fighting, Allied forces withdrew from Athens on December 3, 1916. Forty Royalist Greek troops had died; more on the Allied side. How many Liberal Greeks were killed by Royalist mobs is not known for certain. The Greek King agreed to the Allied ultimatum, handing over most of Athen’s artillery batteries to the French fleet encircling the harbor. Tensions did not end, however, and a stalemate existed in Greece for much of the next years, with the King icily opposed to the Allied forces in his country, while a Liberal Greek rebel government on the Entente side in the north. The whole event had been a political embarrassment for the Allies, and the French vice-admiral in charge was relieved of command. Photo: French sailors in the city during the December street-fighting Romanian Campaign: British Sabotage Romanian Oilfields at PloiestiRomanian forces were falling back to Bucharest in disarray after a final counterattack, and it seemed clear that most of Romania would soon be overrun by the Central Powers. Romania had not proven a military asset to the Allies, and now there was a legitimate concern that she would be an economic asset to the Central Powers once occupied. Britain had long had an interest in preventing Romanian supplies from reaching Germany, for example by buying up Romanian wheat well before the Romanians entered the war. Now, there was a danger of Romanian grain, oil, and other raw materials falling into German hands. A Captain J. Pitts worked to destroy grain supplies. Understandably, the Romanians were not willing to cooperate in wrecking food supplies that could be used to feed their own citizens, and “in fact placed obstacles in the way of any destruction.” As a result, Pitts largely focused on the wheat that had been purchased by the British government, and was able to burn a few hundred thousand tons of it. A more immediate concern was the oilfields at Ploiești, just north of Bucharest–one of the few sources of oil in Europe. Lt. Col. Jack Norton-Griffiths, who we last saw demonstrating “clay-kicking” to Kitchener in early February 1915, was in charge of the effort to destroy Romania’s oil. He began sabotage of the Ploiești oilfield on December 3, destroying refineries and burning all the oil he could find. The Romanians saw the need to destroy the oil stocks, but were thoroughly opposed to the destruction of equipment or refineries that they could use if they retook the area (or after the war). However, the Romanians were more concerned with the impending fall of Bucharest and were not able to interfere much with Norton-Griffiths’ work. All these fires lasted several days, the smoke hung heavily over the town and the flames, which at times rose to great heights, illuminated the neighboring districts, thus allowing the enemy for the first time to become aware of our work….[We worked] night and day…riding roughshod over everybody in the pandemonium, generally raising hell in the absolute hell of terrific explosions, smoke, gas the day as night once thousands of tons of oil were well under way…and always the uncertainty of the Boche cavalry cutting in behind us, which they did more than once.” Over the next three days, Norton-Griffiths and his men destroyed over 800,000 tons of oil (by their estimate) and thirteen refineries, before the Germans occupied the area on December 6. The Germans were eventually able to repair some of the damage, but Romanian oil production in 1917 was less than a third of what it had been in peacetime. In the whole of 1917, the Germans were barely able to produce half of what Norton-Griffiths had destroyed in three days in December 1916. Photo: Oilfields on fire at Ploiești Aerial operations: IntelligenceMore that two years into the war, the Army has finally set up a specific intelligence corps for the RFC. Experience from the recent offensive on the Somme has made it clear that a lot of the information being collected by aircraft was not being used as Army units were overwhelmed by the mass of data. Major-General Trenchard proposed in October 1916, that Intelligence Sections should be established in certain squadrons and wings where the Intelligence Officer could be in intimate touch with the flying and photographic personnel. Earlier French experience has shown that there is a distinct advantage to intelligence officers living with the flying officers as this provides the opportunities for question and discussion. This would also allow all information is rapidly collated, interpreted, and communicated to the relevant units. The proposal has now been approved and was embodied in instructions issued to all Armies. Major-General Hugh Trenchard would have preferred that the intelligence units were part of the Royal Flying Corps, but Army HQ ruled that they must remain under the Army Intelligence Chief. The new Branch Intelligence Sections wI’ll have an officer at the head-quarters of each corps squadron and of each army wing. Their duties will include: (i) To interrogate every observer and ensure that full advantage be taken of such information as he might possess (ii) To disseminate to all concerned with the least possible delay information obtained by the Royal Flying Corps which required immediate action (iii) To examine and, where necessary, to mark all photographs and to issue both photographs and sketch maps illustrating the photographs. Even though the intelligence officers are under the army intelligence corps they are also under the direct orders of the officer commanding the wing or squadron who can, if required disseminate information directly to the relaxant units without going through HQ, to minimize delay. Naval operations: Celtic SeaItalian freighter SS GUISTIZIA, 1,168 tons, bound from Lisbon for Glasgow with a load of cork, is shelled and sunk by an unidentified German submarine. It is assumed the attacking boat was either UB-29 or UC-19, both of which were sunk not long after. Naval operations: English ChannelClaus Lafrenz, commanding UB-18, sinks three Allied ships near the west end of the Channel: British ketch MIZPAH, 57 tons, travelling in ballast from Saint Malo to Charlestown, Cornwall. British schooner SEEKER, 74 tons, travelling in ballast from Saint Malo to Plymouth. Danish freighter SS YRSA, carrying a load of lead and fruit from La Garrucha, Spain to London and Newcastle. Lafrenz's score is now 22 ships and 20,270 tons. Heinrich Küstner, in UB-39, sinks French schooner PRIMEVERE, 143 tons, carrying a load of coal from Swansea to Montagne. His score is now 13 ships and 20,211 tons. Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, stops and scuttles three French ships near Ushant: Barquentine AIGLON, 280 tons, en route from Cardif to Lorient. Schooner LOUISE, 155 tons, carrying a load of coal from Swansea to Bordeaux. Sailing vessel VERDUN, 184 tons, travelling from Halifax to Saint Malo with a load of peas. Saltzwedel now has 15 ships and 13,367 tons. Naval operations: North SeaHis Majesty's Trawler REMARKO, 245 tons, hits a mine laid off Lowestoft by Hans Howaldt in UC-4, bringing his score to 5 ships and 3,517 tons. Naval operations: Ligurian SeaKurt Hartwig, in U-32, torpedoes British freighter SS LUCELLUM, 5,184 tons, carrying petroleum from New Orleans to La Spezia, near San Rafael. The damaged ship manages to make Villefranche safely. Naval operations: Gulf of GenoaOtto Schultze, in U-63, sinks British Q-ship SS PERUGIA, 4,348 tons, raising his score to 16 ships and 36,244 tons. Naval operations: MadeiraMax Valentiner, in U-38, torpedoes three ships at Funchal Harbor: British cable-laying ship DACIA, 1,856 tons, picking up telegraph cable from Gibraltar to Madeira. French submarine carrier KANGUTOO, 2,493 tons, travelling from Bordeaux to Madeira. French gunboate SURPRISE, 680 tons. Valentiner's score is now 115 ships and 250,542 tons. Naval operations: Mediterranean SeaWalter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks Italian freighter SS PLATA, 1861 tons, en route from Genoa to Alexandria, bringing his score to 138 ships and 276,593 tons.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 4, 2021 8:29:29 GMT
Day 858 of the Great War, December 4th 1916
Eastern Front
Fighting in Stanislau and Tarnopol (Galicia).
Romanian Campaign
Russians capture peak commanding Jablonitsa Pass.
Struggle continues round Bucharest.
Macedonian front
French and Serbs advance eastwards of Monastir.
Greece: Quieter at Athens; detachments (Allies) continue to re-embark.
Mesopotamian campaign
Great aerial activity on Tigris front (Mesopotamia).
United Kingdom: Final Break Between Asquith and Lloyd George
Tensions had been mounting between PM Asquith and War Secretary Lloyd George for some time now. Asquith’s proposal to reorganize the War Committee and split off its civilian aspects was especially troubling to Lloyd George, who realized it would greatly diminish his authority over the war effort. He made a counter-proposal to Asquith on the evening of Sunday December 3, in which instead the War Committee would be drastically reduced in size, with Lloyd George as chairman and Asquith excluded entirely. Asquith would still have the authority to veto any decision made by the War Committee, however. Asquith agreed to this proposal, and decided that he would do a full shakeup of the cabinet to signal the change in direction.
Details of the agreement leaked to the press by Monday morning, however, and the coverage was extremely unfavorable to Asquith, especially in the otherwise-reliable The Times, which was positively rejoicing that Asquith would be relegated to the sidelines by the move. This had not been Asquith’s intention at all, and he began to regret his decision. This was only confirmed at meetings with other Liberal ministers over the course of the day. Many of them had their own reasons for opposing the deal, as their role in the management of the war would be greatly reduced if they were not included in the smaller War Committee. They argued to Asquith that if he went forward with this deal, he would be Prime Minister in name only; the Prime Minister should be the one to lead the war effort. The veto power included in the deal was not enough, as it would be too politically charged to ever use for any but the largest decisions.
After hearing reassurances from his Liberal colleagues, and encouraging (if actually noncommittal) words from several of his Conservative coalition partners, Asquith decided on the evening of December 4 that he would cancel the deal with Lloyd George. He told him that Prime Minister must chair the War Council and pick its members, and refused to replace Balfour at the Admiralty as Lloyd George had requested. Asquith knew this would be the final showdown with Lloyd George–after the next few days, one of them would no longer be in government. Asquith was confident that he had the backing of the Commons and his Cabinet, and would prevail.
Aerial operations: Back in Action
After a period of poor weather, the clouds lifted and aircraft from both sides continued the battle above the front. The lack of flying has left the armies hungry for reconnaissance and artillery observation and many squadrons were up in force carrying this work. The Germans also seemed hungry for a fight and were up in force. This nevitably led to a large number of air combats and both sides suffered casualties.
2nd Lieutenant Harry Dent Crompton and Flight Sergeant George William Halstead from 4 Squadron RFC were on an artillery observation mission in their BE2d (6732) when they were attacked by 2 enemy aircraft near Miraumont. They were quickly shot down and crash landed in shell hole just south-east of Courcelette. Halstread was wounded but survived the crash. Crompton was not so lucky and was killed. Their 4 Squadron colleague 2nd Lieutenant Philip James Long was also shot up and wounded in the arm but escaped.
8 Squadron RNAS suffered an early casualty when a patrol got into a scrap with enemy aircraft attacked a bombing mission by 27 Squadron RFC. Flight Sub- Lieutenant The Hon Arthur Cameron Corbett and was shot down in his Nieuport 21 (3957) and killed near Flers. His aircraft was completely destroyed in the crash. His colleagues eked out a modicum of revenge by claiming 5 enemy aircraft. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Stanley James Goble claimed an Halberstadt D out of control near Bapaume at 1100 and at the same time Flight Commander Colin Roy Mackenzie and Flight Sub-Lieutenant George Goodman Simpson both claimed an Albatros Scout out of control. A little later, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Robert Alexander Little, claimed a Halberstadt D out of control south-east of Bapaume at 1130. He then forced a second to land in a ploughed field and drove down a third, which also made a forced landing.
22 Squadron RFC also claimed three enemy aircraft shot down.
25 Squadron RFC was returning from a bombing mission over Pont-à-Vendin when they were attacked by 4 enemy scouts and a 2-seater. 2 of the scouts dived and 2nd Lieutenant Derrick Sivewright Johnson and Lieutenant Ivan Heald from 25 Squadron were hit almost immediately in their FE2b (7022) by Leutnant Otto Splitberger of Jasta 12 for his first victory. They crashed east of the lines near La Bassee and both were killed. Lt L Dodson forced one of the scouts to land near Sallaumines. At this point the remaining enemy machines flew off.
40 Squadron RFC was also successful claiming 2 aircraft from Jasta 12. Captain Dennis Osmond Mulholland and Lieutenant Edwin Louis Benbow, were on patrol when they saw three hostile aeroplanes attacking a BE2c from 16 Squadron. Captain Mulholland attacked and destroyed one of the German machines. Lieutenant Benbow closed to within 50 feet of a second and fired twenty rounds. The aircraft turned over crashed in a slow spinning nose dive. The pilot, Vitzfeldwebel Wilhelm Hennebeil was killed.
Naval operations: Celtic Sea
Heinz Zeimer, commanding UB-23, sinks Norwegian freighter SS NERVION, 1,921 tons, bound from Skien for Nantes with a load of nitrate. His score is now 4 ships and 3,661 tons.
German surface raider SMS MOWE captures and sinks Norwegian freighter SS HALLBJORG, 2,586 tons, carrying 3,500 tons of rubber, meat, cars and metal products.
Naval operations: English Channel
Spanish freighter SS JULIAN BENITO1,075 tons, is stopped and scuttled by a German u-boat. Since no boats claimed this sinking it is again assumed to be the work of either UB-29 or UC-19.
Paul Günther, in UB-37, stops and scuttles Greek freighter SS FOFO, 2,615 tons, en route from Tyne to Saint Vincent with a load of coal. His score is now 11 ships and 4,169 tons.
Naval operations: Bay of Biscay
Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks Russian freighter SS PALLAS, 1,202 tons, carrying a load of fruit from Valencia to Bristol. His score is now 16 ships and 14,239 tons.
Naval operations: Kattegat
Kurt Wippern, in U-58, stops and scuttles Swedish barque SENTA, 1,024 tons, carrying a load of lumber from Drammen to Delagoa Bay, South Africa. Sunk just off Ryningen. Wippern's score is 2 ships and 1,164 tons.
Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea
Hermann von Fischel, in U-65, torpedoes British freighter SS CALEDONIA, 9,223 tons, travelling from Salonica to Marseille with mail. The ships master is taken prisoner, along with Major General H.S.L. Ravenshaw and his aide. This is Fischel's first sinking.
Heino von Heimburg, in UC-22, sinks French passenger liner SS ALGERIE, 4,035 tons, travelling from Salonica to France. His score is now 10 ships and 35,321 tons.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 5, 2021 7:42:47 GMT
Day 859 of the Great War, December 5th 1916
Romanian Campaign
Enemy counter-attacks in Carpathians.
Mackensen's demand for surrender of Bucharest refused; enemy advancing on Ploeshti (oilfields); Romanians abandon Predeal Pass; their Orsova rearguard gives battle on the Aluta.
Macedonian front
Greece: Much unrest at Athens, but comparative order. Reservists concerned in attack dismissed.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres
Reported advance of Turks in Arabia to Yanbu Port.
East African campaign
Portuguese invested by Germans at Newala escape over Rovuma River to Nangadi.
Germany: Germany Enacts the Hindenburg Program
Debate over Hindenburg & Ludendorff’s proposed new economic plan continued in the Reichstag throughout November, with many politicians opposed to some of its more extreme aspects. Conservatives opposed the drafting of women into the war economy, while liberals opposed the proposed shuttering of universities. Ultimately, in order to get the bill passed swiftly, Hindenburg & Ludendorff dropped those proposals. Despite this, the resulting act, passed on December 5, was still quite a shift in Germany’s economic policy.
All men between the ages of 18 and 60 were liable to be called up for service in the war economy, if they did not already serve in it or in the armed forces. The military and the government would determine whether particular employers had enough labor to serve the war effort, and if they had an excess, would begin to forcibly transfer people to other jobs. Workers in the war economy could not leave their jobs without the permission of their employer, or by appeal to the government. Workers’ rights within the war economy were strongly curtailed, although workers in firms employing more than fifty people could form Workers’ Councils for the purposes of collective bargaining. However, if a dispute arose between an employer and their Workers’ Council, the government would have final say in arbitration.
Chancellor Bethmann was extremely wary of the act, thinking it amounted to a takeover of the domestic economy by the military. However, the civilian government would also have expanded authority, and there were elements of the law of which the conservative Bethmann did approve.
Aerial operations: “No more mirrors”
After the changes in management of the Corps squadrons and the introduction of the intelligence corps, RFC HQ has also introduced some changes to the way contact patrols are carried out.
Wireless communication for this purpose has now been formally abandoned. It is seen as too likely to be informative to the enemy and, in any case, has rarely been used. The use of wireless will now be restricted to sending targets to the artillery under the zone call system. Furthermore the targets will be limited to ‘minenwerfers’, machine-guns and strong points holding up the advance, troops massing for counter-attack, or to immediate reserves.
The use of mirrors on the backs of the advancing infantry, has also been abandoned, simply because it is too unreliable due to the myriad of light-reflecting objects on the battlefield. From now on troops will only use flares to signify their position. These locations will be dropped back at HQ by message bag, followed by a personal report from the observer when the mission is over.
Communication between Battalion and Brigade head-quarters and aircraft in he sky will continue to be carried out by by signal panel or by lamp. Experience has shown that this method works, providing the aircraft is expecting the signal. The signalling of coordinates of areas of interest by HQs will cease however, as it has proved confusing and difficult to decipher by aircrews. Instead, the clock-code method will be used.
Naval operations: Celtic Sea
Reinhold Saltzwedel, commanding UC-21, sinks Danish freighter SS NEXOS, 1,013 tons, bound from Catagena to London with a load of fruit plus a general cargo. His score is now 17 ships and 15,252 tons.
Naval operations: North Sea
Kurt Wippern, in U-58, stops and scuttles Norwegian coaster SS STETTIN, 412 tons, carrying a general cargo from Bergen to Newcastle. His score is now 3 ships and 1,576 tons.
His Majesty's Trawler TERVANI, 457 tons, hits a mine laid by Hans Howaldt in UC-4, raising his score to 6 ships and 3,974 tons.
Hans Adam, in U-82, begins his career with two Allied ships:
Danish schooner DORIT, 247 tons, travelling from Uddesvall to West Hartlepool with a load of pit props.
Norwegian freighter SS ELLA, 879 tons, en route from Göteborg to Goole with a general cargo.
Adam's opening score is 2 ships and 1,126 tons.
Naval operations: Ligurian Sea
Otto Schultze, in U-63, sinks Greek freighter SS GRIGORIOS ANGHELATOS, 3,635 tons, en route from an unknown starting point to Genoa with a load of coal. His score is now 17 ships and 39,879 tons.
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