The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 921 of the Great War, February 5th 1917

Eastern Front

Ten miles south of Kieselin (Volhynia) enemy attacks Russian positions, but is repulsed.

Italian Front

Italian line heavily attacked by the Austrians in various sectors. All attacks beaten off.

Senussi campaign

Siwa evacuated by the Senussi and entered by British, who capture Munasib Pass, cutting off enemy retreat.

United Kingdom

The decoded Zimmermann Telegram is passed on to the British Foreign Office. Discussion begins on how to tell the U.S.

United States

William J. Bryan, former US Secretary of State, likens Germany to a “drunken chauffeur,” but urges the U.S. to avoid war.

Germany

Referring to the break with U.S.A., Germany says: "The struggle is for our existence. For us there can be no retreat."

Switzerland

Switzerland in a message to U.S.A. decides not to break off diplomatic relations with Germany.

Mexican Border War: US Troops Leave Mexico; Germany Offers Mexico Alliance

The US Punitive Expedition to Mexico, meant to bring Pancho Villa to justice for his attack on Columbus, NM, had failed to capture him after nearly a year of searching. Villa’s organization had been disrupted, but the expedition had little concrete to show for itself, apart from nearly sparking war with Mexico on multiple occasions. Negotiations with Carranza’s government to allow a withdrawal had ended without resolution in mid-January. On January 25, Wilson ordered an end to the expedition, and the last American troops left Mexico on February 5. The order proved to be well-timed; with war with Germany now a real prospect, the last thing the US Army wanted was to be tied down in Mexico.

That was exactly what the Germans wanted, of course. On the same day US troops left Mexico, Zimmermann cabled Ambassador Eckhardt in Mexico City. With US State Department cables closed since the rupture, the telegram had to use Swedish channels instead, a roundabout and lengthy route that had to go via South America in order to avoid protests from the British. Eckhardt was instructed to make the offer of alliance discussed in the Zimmermann Telegram “even now”–that is, before the United States was certain to enter the war. Room 40 intercepted and decoded this telegram as well, though it was not made public until after the war.

Regardless, Carranza, feeling he had won a victory with Wilson’s withdrawal, was now relatively uninterested in German offers; Eckhardt’s attempts to negotiate an alliance would come to naught.

Aerial operations: Grand Fleet

On the 21st of January 1917, Commander of the Grand Fleet Admiral David Richard Beatty, dissatisfied with the naval air situation, wrote to the Admiralty asking what policy they intended to pursue in regard to the Royal Naval Air Service. Five days later, before he received a reply, he set up a special committee of the Grand Fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas to report on the Fleet’s air requirements.

Today, the Committee presented a comprehensive report. The members of the Committee considered the air requirements of the Grand Fleet as follows:

(i) Reconnaissance over the North Sea
(ii) Screening of the Fleet by aircraft while on passage,
(iii) Heavier-than-aircraft for duty with the Fleet,
(iv) Seaplane Carriers
(v) Use of seaplanes and balloons as aids to gunnery.

They recommended that systematic reconnaissance of the North Sea should be the duty of large flying-boats supplemented by non-rigid airships. Airships, also, of the ‘Coastal’ or ‘North Sea’ type, should provide a screen when the Fleet left its bases by daylight.

The duties of the heavier-than-air craft were defined as close reconnaissance, and attacks on German airships. For the latter duty it was recommended that Sopwith Pup aeroplanes should replace the Sopwith ‘Baby’ seaplanes in the Campania, as it had already been decided they should do in the MANXAM.

The MANXAM, a former passenger steamer on the Isle of Man service, had been commissioned in December 1916 to carry seaplanes aft for reconnaissance and Sopwith ‘Baby’ seaplanes forward to fight Zeppelins. However, Flight Commander Frederick Joseph Rutland had been appointed to the new carrier before she was commissioned, and he was soon advocating that aeroplanes should be carried instead of the ‘Baby’ seaplanes.

He argued that the Pup aeroplane was the only craft capable of getting to the ‘ceiling’ of a Zeppelin, that, fitted with airbags, the Pups were safer on the water than the ‘Baby’ seaplanes, that they were a better match for other aeroplanes which might be encountered at sea and, finally, that the adoption of a fighter which was being manufactured for the Western Front would ensure supplies being available and would also enable the Naval Air Service to take advantage of improvements embodied in the type from time to time as a result of fighting experience in France.

Rutland had made the first of two flights off the deck of the MANXAM in January 1917 in one of the ‘Baby’ seaplanes and he had found that the run given by the deck of the ship necessitated a good wind before the seaplane could get away. The adoption of aeroplanes, which could be flown off the deck under less exacting conditions, would also increase the number of occasions when aircraft could be used. Largely as a result of his advocacy and of the trials with the ‘Baby’ seaplanes, Sopwith Pup aeroplanes were allotted to the MANXAM.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Hans Rose, commanding U-53, sinks Swedish freighter SS BRAVALLA, 1,519 tons, bound from Rufisque for Liverpool with a load of ground nuts. His score is now 16 ships and 37,747 tons.

Volkhard von Bothmer, in U-54, sinks British freighter SS AZUL, travelling from Buenos Aires to Cherbourg with a load of wheat. His score is now 4 ships and 13,793 tons.
Von Bothemer also attacks British freighter SS AINSDALE, 1,825 tons, en route from Buenos Aires to Queenstown with a load of maize, but the ship is only damaged, and reaches port safely.

Karlgeorg Schuster, in U-60, torpedoes two British ships south of Ireland:
Tanker SS LUX, 2,621 tons, carrying a load of refined petroleum from New York to Calais.
Freighter SS WARLEY PICKERING, 4,196 tons, bound from Sagunto, on the Balearic coast of Spain for Tees with a load of Iron ore.
Schuster's score is now 3 ships and 11,900 tons.

Raimund Weisbach, in U-81, sinks British freighter SS WATENFELS, 4,511 tons, carrying a general cargo from Barry to Alexandria. His score is now 12 ships and 37,628 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Friedrich Moecke, in UC-46, torpedoes British passenger liner SS ARGYLLSHIRE, 12,097 tons, en route from London to Barry. The damaged ship makes port safely.

Naval operations: North Sea

Bernhard Putzier, in UB-22, sinks British fishing vessel RESOLUTE, 125 tons, with his deck gun. His score is now 4 ships and 4,875 tons.

Theodor Schultz, in UB-34, torpedoes British freighter SS HURSTWOOD, 1,229 tons, travelling in ballast from London to Newcastle. His score is now 10 ships and 6,695 tons.

Rudolf Gebeschus, in UB-35, sinks British freighter SS VESTRA, 1,021 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to Rouen. This is his ferst sinking.

Hans Howaldt, In UB-40, sinks two vessels off Great Yarmouth:
Belgian fishing boat ANNA PROSPER, 70 rons.
British fishing smack EMERALD, 57 tons. Erich Haecker had damaged but failed to sink EMERALD back on July 12, 1915.
Howaldt's score is now 9 vessels and 4,571 tons.

British trawler PRIMROSE, 136 tons, hits a mine laid by Ernst Rosenow in UC-29, bringing his score to 4 vessels and 5,811 tons.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Hans Nieland, in U-69, stops and scuttles Peruvian barque LORSTON, 1,419 tons, travelling from Caleta Buena, Chile to Pasajes, Spain with a load of nitrate; off Santander, Spain. His score is now 16 ships and 16,714 tons.

Heinrich Küstner, in UB-39, sinks French trawler YVONNE, 123 tons, with his deck gun, off Arcachon, France. His score is now 42 ships and 40,904 tons.

Day 923 of the Great War, February 7th 1917

Western Front

At the Somme, British forces make further advances by capturing Grandcourt, aided by the frozen marshy ground around the Ancre River.

Germany

Since the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare last week, Germany has sunk at least 59 ships, with 22 belonging to neutral nations.

United States: Americans (Including Ambassador) Held Hostage in Germany

After Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, the United States, after a brief hesitation, severed its diplomatic ties with Germany on February 3, handing German Ambassador Bernstorff his passports and recalling US Ambassador Gerard in Berlin. The severing of diplomatic relations was usually seen as the last step before war, and, with Bernstorff now having no ability to communicate with Germany, rumors abounded there. They apparently believed that Bernstorff was being held in America, and not guaranteed safe passage back to Germany, and that the many German ships interned in the United States were being seized by American authorities.

In response, the German government refused to give Gerard his passports, and on February 7th announced that they were holding him and his staff as hostages for Bernstorff’s safety. All other Americans in Germany were also forbidden from leaving the country.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Vokhard von Bothmer, commanding U-54, sinks British tanker SS SAXONIAN, 4,855 tons, bound fro Port Arthur for Dartmouth sith a load of parafin oil. His score is now 5 ships and 18,648 tons. Von bothemer also attacks British freighter SS WALLACE, 3,930 tons, carrying a general cargo from New York to Le Havre, with his deck gun, but a British warship comes into sight and he is forced to break of the attack.

Wilhelm Werner, in U-55, sinks British freighter SS YOLA, 3,504 tons, travelling from New York to London with a load of wheat. The ship goes down with all hands, and is listed as Missing until after the war. Werner's score is now 26 ships and 33,720 tons.

Karlgeorg Schuster, in U-60, stops and scuttles Norwegian sailing ship STORSBORG, 2,191 tons, carrying a load of maize from Buenos Aires to Queenstown. His score is now 4 ships and 14,091 tons.

Raimund Weisbach, in U-81, sinks British freighter SS GRAVINA, 1,242 tons, bound from Seville for London with a load of fruit. His score is now 13 ships and 38,870 tons.

Bruno Hoppe, in U-83, sinks Russian barque DIAZ, 637 tons, en route from Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica to Fleetwood with a load of logwood. His score is now 15 ships and 30,078 tons.

Willy Petz, in U-85, sinks two British ships southwes of Fastnet:
Passenger liner SS CALIFORNIA, 8,668 tons, carrying passengers and a general cargo from New York to Glasgow.
Freighter SS VEDAMORE, 6,330 tons, travelling from Baltimore to Liverpool with a general cargo.
Petz's score is now 4 ships and 20,225 tons.
After this U-85 was not heard from again. Originally thought sunk by Q-ship HMS PRIVET, it was later determined that the U-boat in that attack was U-68, which survived. U-85's fate remains undetermined - presumed foundered. All 38 crew lost.

Naval operations: English Channel

French naval trawler NOELLA, 277 tons, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-26 off Le Havre, raising his score to 66 ships and 98,459 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Otto Dröscher, in U-78, scuttles Swedish freighter SS VARING, 2,107 tons, en route from Savannah to Helsingborg with a load of oil cake. His score is now 6 ships and 11.653 tons.

Bernhard Putzier, in UB-22, sinks two British ships off the Firth of Forth, Scotland:
Coaster SS BOYNE CASTLE, 245 tons, travelling in ballast from MacDuff to Sunderland; sunk with deck gun.
Trawler SHAKESPEARE; torpedoed.
Putzier's score is now 9 ships and 5,691 tons.

Theodor Schultz, in UB-34, sinks two British freighters off Whitby:
SS CORSICAN PRINCE, 2,776 tons, en route from dundee to Dunkerque with a load of timber.
SS SAINT NINIAN, 3.026 tons, carrying a load of iron pyrites from Pot Kelah to Tees.
Schultz's score is now 13 ships and 14,689 tons.

Otto Ehrentraut, in UC-39, sinks Norwegian freighter SS HANS KINCK, 2,667 tons, travelling in ballast from Rotterdam to Tyne. His score is now 12 ships and 12,301 tons.

Naval operations: South Africa

Sometime the previous day, British troopship SS TYNDAREUS, 11,000 tons, strikes a mine laid by the German raider Wolf off Cape Agulhas. With the ship down by the bow the men of the 25th Battalion Middlesex Regiment form up on parade. Boats are lowered safely and the entire ship's complement are all taken safely on board SS EMMAEUS and hospital ship SS OXFORDSHIRE.
0115 At Simonstown, HMFM Trent recieves orders to assist TYNDAREUS. SS EMMAEUS and HMS HYACINTH are already there giving assistance, but TRENT'S crew have the most experience with towing other ships.
0135 TRENT is underway.
0745 Fighting a moderate gale, HMFM Trent sights the other ships.
0820 TRENT joins up with TYNDAREUS, Eumaeus and HYACINTH. Three attempts are made to pass towing hawsers on a raft, all unsuccessful.
1130 TRENT passes 14" towing hawser to TYNDAREUS via a rocket line.
1215 Towing hawser comes apart. HMS Hyacinth sends party to TYNDAREUS.
1315 TRENT passes a steel cable to TYNDAREUS.
1515 Second towing attempt fails, with both ships being pushed about by heavy sea.
1655 TRENT'S after bitts, through which the hawser runs, are ripped loose and carried overboard.
2345 Tug LUDWIG WEINER arrives from Cape Town. Towing attempts continue into next day.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks French sailing vessel APHRODITE, 130 tons, near Alexandria. His score is now 125 ships and 175,269 tons.

Day 925 of the Great War, February 9th 1917

Western Front: Operation Alberich

Now that Hindenburg & Ludendorff had control of the entire German war effort on both fronts, they began to focus their attention on the Western Front, bringing reinforcements there from the East. They (incorrectly) anticipated a renewed Allied push on the Somme in 1917. Although the Allies had never broken through in 1916, the German Army had suffered heavy casualties, and Ludendorff was in no mood for a repeat. He planned an intentional withdrawal from the two salients on either side of the Somme, allowing the Germans to straighten their line, increase the density of troops on the front, and use the well-prepared Hindenburg Line fortifications that had been completed in January.

The withdrawal would cede a large amount of territory to the Allies, more than had been taken by force since the front stabilized in October 1914. Ludendorff wanted to make sure that the Allies would find nothing of value in the area. On February 9, the Germans initiated Operation Alberich (named for the king of the dwarves in Wagner’s ring cycle), in which they systematically wrecked the area they would be ceding, leaving booby traps and fouling wells with horse manure. The able-bodied population of the area (over 100,000 people) would be deported to the rest of occupied France, while children and the infirm would be left behind for the Allies to take care of. Ludendorff wrote:

On the one hand it was desirable not to make a present to the enemy of too much fresh strength in the form of recruits and laborers, and on the other we wanted to foist on him as many mouths to feed as possible.

Bavarian Crown Prince Rupprecht, commanding the German forces in the area, strenuously objected to these measures, finding them inhumane, but was overruled by Ludendorff. The operation went successfully; careful control of the press meant that no word of the operation would leak to the Allies for over two weeks, and even then, it was thought any German withdrawal would be a small-scale one.

Italian Front

East of Gorizia, Austrian attack enters certain Italian positions. Austrians claim 1,000 prisoners.

Senussi campaign

Report on Senussi operations issued.

United States

President Wilson makes assurances that foreign property and other assets will not be taken even if the U.S. goes to war.

France

To save fuel, Paris theaters will be closed four days a week and streetcars and subways will cease operations by 10 pm.

Germany

German Government admit having prevented Mr. Gerard communicating with U.S.A., stating falsely that Count Bernstorff has not been allowed communication with Germany. Mr. Gerard receives his passports.

Aerial operations: Germs from the air

Following a letter on 18 January 1917 from retired Colonel Sir Arthur Davidson to Lord Hardinge, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office the War Cabinet asked various bodies to examine the possible spread of epidemics by dropping germs from the air.

Today, the War Cabinet decided not to waste any more resources on the subject as the likelihood of it occurring was minimal and in any case any infections could be contained by measures already in place.

The Royal Society’s War Committee noted:

“The Committee do not consider that the risk of any extensive outbreak of disease in this country could arise from the scattering of disease germs from hostile aircraft. Should local outbreaks of infection be thus produced, they could probably be dealt with by ordinary administrative means. It is not at present worth while to take scientific men from other and more important duties to devise methods of retaliation. A number of such means could be improvised by biological preparation in two or three weeks, if it should become necessary.”

The Army Sanitary Committee added:

“The Meeting was of opinion that the danger of the introduction of disease in any proportion (which could not be readily dealt with under existing facilities), by means of germs dropped from aircraft, is so remote as to make it undesirable at this stage to divert tbe services of scientific men, which are fully occupied in other directions, to the previous preparation of possible retaliative measures. These it is thought would probably be readily improvisable at short notice should the necessity arise.”

Dr. A. Newsholme, C.B., Medical Officer of the Local Government Board noted:

“a) Spread of disease by means of disease germs dropped from aeroplanes is highly improbable. The production of human infection, when possible by such means, would necessarily be partial and casual, and could therefore be brought promptly within control, before it assumed epidemic proportions.
b) A possible exception to this statement is constituted by infection of public water supplies by the germs of cholera or typhoid fever. If infection of water supplies were contemplated, means other than projection of infectious material from aeroplanes would almost certainly be attempted by enemies in this country. The Board have gone thoroughly into this subject in its practical aspects.
Infection of water supplies from the air may be. dismissed as extremely improbable ; and if it occurred, the routine precautions taken by responsible water authorities to protect water consumers would, as a rule, suffice to prevent serious spread of disease.
c) It is scarcely necessary to discuss separately the risk of spread of disease such as smallpox, plague, or anthrax, or foot and mouth disease in cattle, by aerial infection from aeroplanes.There is a possibility of casual and localised infection, so far at least as smallpox is concerned ; and possibly also of foot and mouth disease. Smallpox can be controlled at each place of origin, given prompt action; and its origin in the way contemplated must be regarded as a remote contingency.
d) Against the improbable dangers under consideration, I have not suggested precautionary measures beyond conditions a remote danger must arises.”

Naval operations: Scotland

On January 1 Hellmuth Jürst, commanding U-43, captured Italian freighter SS FAMIGLIA, 2,942 tons, bound from Tyne for Civitavecchia, southwest of Ireland. He put a prize crew aboard her and sent her northward around Britain toward the North Sea and Germany. On February 9th the ship is rounding the Hebrides on the west coast of Scotland when approached by British armed merchant cruiser HMS MOLDAVIA. Rather than let the ship be recaptured the prize crew scuttles her. Jürst's score is now 23 ships and 53,515 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Hans Rose, in U-53, stops and scuttles Dutch fishing boat MARIAN, 71 tons, raising his score to 17 vessels and 37,818 tons.

Bernhard Putzier, in UB-22, stops and scuttles two British fishing trawlers off Aberdeen:
BENBOW, 172 tons.
DUKE OF YORK, 150 tons.
Putzier's score is now 11 vessels and 5,013 tons.

His Majesty's Trawler YESSO, 229 tons, hits a mine laid by Ernst Rosenow in UC-29 right at the entrance to Aberdeen Harbour. His score is now 5 vessels and 6,040 tons.

Naval operations: Helgoländer Bucht

German minesweeper SMS M-56, 480 tons, hits a mine laid by an unknown ship south of Helgoland.

Day 927 of the Great War, February 11th 1917

Western Front

North of the Ancre British take about 600 yards of enemy trenches near the Beaucourt-Puisieux road.

South of Serre Hill enemy attack British new positions, but are decimated.

Eastern Front

South of Halicz small hostile forces force the Dniester on the ice, but is driven back by a counter-attack.

Italian Front

East of Gorizia the Italian recover the trenches taken by the Austrians, and make 100 prisoners.

Mesopotamian campaign

At Kut, British resume attack on river bank of Tigris, hemming the Turks in on the Dahra bend, taking all but the last line of trenches.

Germany

German Government state that the restraint placed on Mr. Gerard was an error of minor officials.

Switzerland

James W. Gerard, U.S. ambassador to Germany, safely crosses the German border into neutral Switzerland.

Swiss Minister sends a message from Germany to U.S.A. suggesting a discussion on ways and means of preventing war.

United States: Rush for Citizenship from German and Austro-Hungarians Living in the U.S

Germans constituted the largest non-speaking immigrant group in America up to the 20th century, concentrated mostly in the Midwest. Although their levels of assimilation into English society varied, especially according to class, many Germans and German-Americans maintained close ties to their homeland. Community schools taught in German and German-language newspapers were widely read. In fact, and American could probably travel from New York to the Great Plains speaking and reading only German.

Many Americans distrusted the German minority, however. Since diplomatic rapprochement with Britain in the 19th century, many Americans now openly celebrated their Anglo-Saxon roots, and adopted a nativist attitude that considered other immigrant groups, like Germans or the Irish, to be “unAmerican”.

As war with Germany looked increasingly likely, this ethnic prejudice turned towards hysteria. Many, although not all, Germans openly supported the Central Powers and followed news of the war closely. Some had even returned to Germany when they were called up for the front. Now that relations between Germany and America had been cut, some suspected Germans in the United States of disloyalty. Thousands of Germans and citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Empire rushed to gain American citizenship in 1917 to ward off accusations of their disloyalty. One Hungarian count even applied for citizenship knowing that he would have to give up his title.

Despite the fact that most Germans in the United States supported their government, they could not shake off hysteric suspicion. When America went to war with Germany a month later, thousands were forced to change their names to something more English-sounding (as the English royal family had done several years earlier - although Americans continued to call Alsatians, German Shepards). Nevertheless, outbreak of war prompted beatings, ridiculous nationalistic sentiment, fake news about Germans in the USA, and even lynchings in the most dire cases.

German occupied Belgium: Germany tries to put the Belgians to work

Belgium was invaded by Germany at the start of the war. The heroic resistance of the Belgian army at Liège may have slowed the Germans sufficiently to deny them victory in France. However in the Autumn of 1914 the Germans overran almost all of the country, apart from a small corner nestling against the French border (which includes the Yser and Ypres sectors). The rest of the country has had to endure German occupation.

In 1914 the Germans shocked the world by their brutal treatment of Belgian civilians and committing vile acts like the burning of Louvain library. Since then the occupation regime has been relatively benign. General Moritz von Bissing heads the military government of the country. He assumes that after the war Belgium will be attached to the German Empire. As a result he is against harsh treatment of the Belgians, hoping to turn them into good citizens of the Reich.

Germany nevertheless is keen to recruit Belgian labour to support its war effort. However the Belgians are not keen to work for their occupiers. And they have no real incentive to do so voluntarily. An international relief programme is keeping them fed, carefully monitored to ensure that food for the Belgians is not diverted to Germany. Belgian civilians are effectively sitting out the war, enjoying a degree of comfort that is relatively rare on the European continent.

Against Bissing’s objections, Ludendorff and Hindenburg order the forced deportation of Belgians to Germany. There they are held in ill-equipped camps, subjected to harsh treatment and poor food until they sign employment contracts with German employers. But the programme is a failure. Despite a high mortality rate in the camps, few of the deported Belgians agree to work for Germany. The programme attracts widespread protests, both from the Belgian clergy and from neutral countries. The reputation for barbarism Germany acquired in 1914 is further cemented.

Aerial operations: First Aerial Combat Victory at Night

Military aviation was one of the new weapons of the war, and one of its newest innovations was flying at night. While obviously essentially useless for reconnaissance, it was useful for bombing, as aircraft were less likely to be intercepted at night, though at the cost of reduced accuracy. Zeppelins generally tried to raid Britain at night, though the British, thanks to searchlights and incendiary ammunition, had recently had some success in shooting them down. Fixed-wing bombers, on the other hand, moving much faster and presenting a smaller target, had yet to be intercepted at night.

This changed on the night of February 11, when a German fighter destroyed two French bombers on landing approach to the airfield and Maizeville. This was the first example of a plane shooting down another plane at night in world history.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Wilhelm Amberger, commanding UB-38, sinks two ships right at the west end of the Channel.
Norwegian freighter SS DALMATA, 1,773 tons, bound from New York for Le Havre with a general cargo.
British fishing smack PRECEDENT, 36 tons.
Amberger's score is now 8 ships and 12,030 tons.

Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks Norwegian freighter SS DERNES, 738 tons, travelling from Bilbao to Newport, Wales with a load of iron ore, northwest of Ushant. His score is now 33 ships and 48,648 tons.

Naval operations: Irish Sea

Otto Steinbrinck, in UC-65, stops and scuttles three British ships just north of St. George's Channel:
Freighter SS LYCIA, 2,715 tons, en route from Genoa and Bougie to Swanseal and Liverpool with a general cargo.
Coaster SS OLIVIA, 242 tons, carrying a load of coal from Garston to Portreath.
Coaster SS VOLTAIRE, 409 tons, travelling from Llanelly to Liverpool with a general cargo.
Steinbrinck's score is now 98 ships and 91,938 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Herbert Pustkuchen, in UC-66, stops and sinks two ships:
British brigantine ADA, 187 tons, bound from Londo for Landerneau with a load of manure; deck gun.
Greek freighter SS VASILISA OLGA, 1,400 tons, en route from Port Talbot to Dunkirk with a load of coal; scuttled.
Pustkuchen also torpedoes British freighter SS WOODFIELD, 4,300 tons, travelling in ballast from North Shields to Newport, but the damages ship is beached and later returned to service.
Pustkuchen's score is now 53 ships and 65,603 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Ernst Rosenow, in UC-29, sinks British freighter SS NORWOOD, 798 tons, carrying a general cargo from Middlesbrough to Aberdeen. His score is now 6 ships and 6,838 tons.
Rosenow also attacks British freighter SS Roanoke, 3,466 tons, but the damaged ship makes it safely to Aberdeen.

Kurt Tebbenjohanns, in UC-44, begins his career with the scuttling of British trawler ASHWOLD, 129 tons, off South Shields.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

1100 Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks Italian sailing vessel ASSUNTA, 132 tons, south of Sardinia. His score is now 140 ships and 280,605 tons.

Day 929 of the Great War, February 13th 1917

Western Front

South-east of Grandcourt British capture a strong point.

North-east of Arras British raid takes 40 prisoners.

Eastern Front

Near Jakobeny Russian counter-attacks repulsed.

Russia: Allied Meeting Negotiates on Postwar Territory: France will be Restored Alsace-Lorraine and will Occupy the Rhineland, Russia will be given Constantinople and an Advanced Western Border

Meeting in Petrograd to discuss the war, Allied representatives sought to clear up their understandings of the postwar division of territory. Two years ago, Britain and France had secretly promised to fulfill Russia’s greatest geopolitical desire - control of Constantinople and the Straights once Turkey was defeated. On February 12, in an audience with the Tsar, the Russians asked for further assistance with regard to their western border. The French agreed, but asked in return for a promise for “the restoration of Alsace-Lorraine and a special position in the valley of the river Saar, as well as to attain the political separation of Germany of her trans-Rhenish districts, and their organization on a separate basis in order that in future the river Rhine might form a permanent strategical frontier against a Germanic invasion.”

The Tsar “was pleased to agree to this in principle,” starting negotiations for an agreement that “while allowing France and England complete freedom in delimiting the western frontiers of Germany, we expect that the Allies on their part will give us an equal liberty in delimiting our frontiers with Germany and Austria-Hungary.” Even as Russia’s armies plunged towards defeat, its leaders eagerly divided up spoils of war.

United Kingdom

Lord Curzon, member of the British War Council, states he is “not dissatisfied” at the progress in limiting losses incurred by U-boats.

Germany/Austria-Hungary relations

Emperor Charles of Austria-Hungary hosts a dinner for Kaiser Wilhelm: “I drink to the health of your majesty, my true friend and ally.”

United States

President Wilson declines to entertain negotiations with Germany unless the Proclamation of ruthless submarine warfare is withdrawn.

U.S. Cabinet becomes divided on the issue of whether or not to arm American merchant ships, as it could lead to armed conflict with Germany.

France: Mata Hari Arrested

The Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari (Margaretha MacLeod née Zelle) was well-known in both Germany and France before the war. Although her dancing days were largely behind her, both sides hoped she would be useful as an agent, hoping she could seduce her way to military secrets. In 1916, the French used her intense relationship with a Russian pilot in the Russian Expeditionary Force to pressure her into working for them, only allowing her to see him after he was severely wounded if she agreed to work as a spy. The French hoped she could seduce Crown Prince Wilhelm, for whom she had danced before the war; Wilhelm was serving as nominal commander of the German forces at Verdun.

She also offered her services to the Germans; whether this was part of a larger plan to serve as a French double agent is unclear. In November 1916, she was briefly arrested at Falmouth, and was interrogated by Admiral Hall (of Room 40) and his equivalent at Scotland Yard; lacking any real evidence, they let her go. By the end of the year, however, both the French and Germans seemed to have enough of her; she seemed to be only relaying gossip at best, or betraying both sides, at worst. The French noticed that the limited information they had given her seemed to have leaked to the Germans. A German military attaché in Madrid broadcast details of her (supposed) exploits for the Germans in a code that he knew that the French had broken.

On February 13, Mata Hari was arrested in Paris. They found little in her chambers (apart from, supposedly, supplies of invisible ink). Whether Mata Hari was actually working for the Germans in earnest, was actually trying to work for France and was framed by the Germans, or whether she was just trying to profit off of both sides, is still unclear. Regardless, the salacious details of her exploits (real and otherwise) captivated public attention in France in 1917 and beyond.

Naval operations: British Admiralty

lord Lytton, for the Admiralty, says counter measures against submarine menace have already achieved considerable success.

Naval operations: Ireland

Otto Dröscher, commanding U-78, stops and scuttles British trawler BARNSLEY just north of the Isle of Inishtrahull. His score is now 7 ships and 11,797 tons.

Naval operations: St. George's Channel

Otto Steinbrinck, in UC-65, stops and scuttles two British fishing smacks near The Smalls Lighthouse, west of Pembrokeshire, Wales:
FRIENDSHIP, 37 tons. The crew of four are lost.
ZIRCON, 48 tons. The crew are rescued.
Steinbrinck's score is now 100 vessels and 92,023 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Paul Hundius, in UC-47, attacks British tanker SS SEQOUYA, 5,263 tons, with his deck gun, but is unable to sink her due to heavy seas. The damaged ship manages to make port safely.
Hundius then attacks British fishing smack FLEURETTE, 60 tons. When the deck gun again fails to sink the small vessel with the gun, so scuttling charges are laid. These also fail to do the job, Hundius departs the area, and the unmanned vessel washes ashore near the Godlevy Lighthouse and is wrecked. The crew are not seen again, and the sinking is credited to UC-47.
Meanwhile British freighter F.D. LAMBERT, 2,196 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newcastle to Savona, hits a mine laid by Hundius near the Royal Sovereign Lighthouse and is sunk without loss of life.
Hundius' score is now 15 ships and 22,087 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

His Majesty's Trawler Sisters MELVILLE, 260 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Reimarus in UC-4 off Aldeburgh. His score is now 4 ships and 1,377 tons.

Kurt Tebbenjohanns, in UC-44, stops and scuttles British trawler KING ALFRED, 159 tons, off Fair Isle, between the Shetland and Orkney Islands. His score is now 4 ships and 1,321 tons.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks Norwegian freighter SS PROGRESO, 1,620 tons, carrying a load of coal from Barry to Boucau; off Lacanau, France. His score is now 35 ships and 50,600 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

1630 Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, stops and scuttles British schooner PERCY ROY, 110 tons, travelling in ballast from Naples to Santa Poloa. His score is now 142 ships and 282,015 tons.

Naval operations: Simonstown, South Africa

Captain Sykes of HMS CHALLENGER opens a board of inquiry aboard HMFM TRENT, examining fifteen officers and men about the earlier troubles aboard that ship.

Day 931 of the Great War, February 15th 1917

Western Front

Attempted German raids near Loos, west of Messines, and north-east of Ypres, break down under our fire.

West of Maisons de Champagne, German attack penetrates French salient, gaining several lines of trenches and taking prisoner 21 officers and 837 men.

Interview with Sir Douglas Haig published.

Mesopotamian campaign

Decisive day of Battle of Kut.

Turks driven from right bank of Tigris.

United Kingdom: “Jellicoe Specials” Begin Service from London to Thurso

The Grand Fleet was based out of Scapa Flow, in the Orkneys, much further away from London and the south of England than the battlefields in France. Sailors returning home on leave had to deal with complicated and irregular train service and transfers, aggravating them, shortening their effective leaves, and overburdening regular train services when large contingents of sailors came on leave simultaneously. To remedy these problems, on February 15, a dedicated service began, running every weekday in both directions between Euston Station in London and Thurso, the northernmost rail terminus in Great Britain (from where they would travel by water to Scapa Flow). It had connections to other rail lines at various stops throughout Britain, allowing sailors to make their way home and back again with a minimum of transfers.

The trains (often called the “Jellicoe Special” for the First Sea Lord and beloved former commander of the Grand Fleet) served an average of 300 people per day in each direction, carrying nearly half a million passengers before the service ended a few months after the Armistice. Running 717 miles, it is the longest continuous rail route every regularly scheduled in the United Kingdom.

Map: The route of the Jellicoe Special, along with some connecting trains. After May 1917, the route was diverted east to run through Edinburgh and Rosyth (where much of the Grand Fleet came to be stationed in the latter parts of the war)



German occupied Belgium

In Brussels, the U.S. Minister is ordered by the Germans to lower the U.S. flag over the Legation.

Germany

Germany reverses its order, allowing U.S. relief corps to continue operating in occupied Belgian areas.

France

French government institutes maximum prices for milk, butter, and cheese to control rising food costs.

Netherlands

The Netherlands accepts 250 refugee children from occupied France. Several hundred more are expected to arrive soon.

Scandinavia

Scandinavian Government's protest v. German submarine warfare.

Naval operations: West of Scotland

Otto Dröscher, commanding U-78, stops and scuttles Norwegian freighter SS STRALSUND, 510 tons, bound from Iceland for Genoa with a load of fish, off St. Kilda Island. His score is now 8 ships and 12,307 tons.

Naval operations: Irish Sea

British passenger liner SS CELTIC, 20,904 tons, en route from Liverpool to New York, hits a mine laid off the Isle of Man by Alfred von Glasenapp in U-80. The ships is damaged but makes safe port.

Otto Steinbrinck, in UC-65, sinks two British ships off Strumble Head:
Passenger ship SS AFTON, 1,156 tons. en route from Bristol to Belfast with a general cargo.
Freighter SS KYANITE, 564 tons, carrying a load of alkali from Fleetwood to Bristol.
Steinbrinck's score is now 106 ships and 99,712 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

British dredger LEVEN, 775 tons, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-16 the previous October near the Newhaven pier. His score is now 46 ships and 51,788 tons.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks two vessels near La Rochelle:
French sailing boat ALINE, 30 tons, on a fishing trip.
British freighter SS MARION DAWSON, 2,300 tons, carrying a load of pyrites from Huelva to La Pallice.
Saltzwedel's score is now 39 ships and 58,117 tons.

Herbert Pustkuchen, in UC-66, sinks three French fishing boats with his deck gun near Sables d’Olonne:
ALMA JEANNE, 33 tons.
ARGOS, 26 tons.
DESIRE LOISE, 31 tons.
Pustkuchen's score is now 58 vessels and 79,167 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, attacks British freighter SS BURANDA, 3,651 tons, travelling in ballast from Marseilles to Cuba, with his deck gun. The damaged ship manages to put into Alicante.

Leading U-Boat ace Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks Italian troop ship SS MINAS, 2,854 tons, carrying troops from Naples to Salonika.870 casualties. Forstmann's score is now 143 ships and 296,296 tons.

Day 933 of the Great War, February 17th 1917

Western Front

South of the Ancre British penetrate 1,000 yards into enemy positions on a front of 1.5 miles. North of the Ancre British take hostile trenches on a 1,000 yard front. In these two operations 773 prisoners taken.

North-west of Altkirch (Alsace) French raid enemy salient, inflicting heavy loss.

Eastern Front

Lavkassa river (south-west of Dvinsk) Germans clad in white raid Russian lines, taking about 50 prisoners.

Mesopotamian campaign

Near Kut, British progress on south bank of Tigris.

North bank an attack on the Sanna-i-Yat positions fails.

United Kingdom

Britain closes the harbour of Plymouth, England to all ships not belonging to Britain and the Entente.

British war loan raises a record of £2 billion, financed largely by small, private investors (the loans are redeemed in 2015).

Greece

Entente Powers call the Government's attention to hostile attitude of Greek press.

Greek Government search private dwellings for hidden arms.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Karlgeorg Schuster, commanding U-60, sinks two freighters near Fastnet:
Norwegian SS DALBEATTIE, 1,327 tons, bound from Glasgow for Gibraltar with a load of coal.
British SS IOLO, 3,840 tons, en route from Cardiff to La Spezia with a load of coal.
Schuster's score is now 7 ships and 22,998 tons.

Bruno Hoppe, in U-83, torpedoes a British freighter and surfaces to finish it off with his deck gun. This turns out to be Q-Ship HMS FARNBOROUGH, 3,207 tons. FARNBOROUGH'S first shot kills Hoppe and the U-Boat is quickly sunk. Eight crew members escape, but only two are rescued from the water, one of whom later dies from wounds.
The badly damaged FARNBOROUGH is beached at Berehaven, Ireland. Once repaired she becomes a merchant again. Captain Gordon Campbell is awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts in saving his ship.

Photo: sinking FARNBOROUGH



Herbert Pustkuchen, in UC-66, sinks three Dutch ships west of Ushant:
SS DRIEBERGEN, 1,884 tons, en route from Port Talbot to Huelva with a load of coal.
SS OOTMASRUM, 2,313 tons, travelling from Penarth to Las Palmas with an unspecified cargo.
SS TROMPENBERG, 1,608 tons, also from Penarth to Las Palmas with an unnamed cargo.
Pustkuchen's score is now 61 ships and 84,972 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Walter Roehr, in U-84, stops and scuttles two ships near Start Point:
French sailing ship BAYONNE, 2,589 tons, en route from New York to Ipswich with 3,300 tons of maize and barley.
British freighter SS ROMSDALEN, 2,548 tons, carrying a load of patent fuel from Swanswa to Calais.
Roehr's score is now 10 ships and 25,837 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Franz Walther, in UB-21, stops and sinks British trawler EXCEL, 157 tons, off the mouth of the Tyne River with his deck gun. His score is now 2 ships and 1,173 tons.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks two Allied ships:
Norwegian freighter SS CABO, 1,254 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newport, Wales to Seville, Spain; captured and scuttled.
French schooner SILENE, 171 tons.
Saltzwedel's score is now 42 ships and 60,681 tons.

Naval operations: Portugal

Otto Hersing, in U-21, scuttles two Portuguese vessels just off Lisboa:
Fishing boat EMILIAI, 25 tons.
Schooner LIMA, 108 tons, travelling in ballast from Lisboa to Setubal.

Naval operations: Balearic Sea

1000 Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks Italian sailing vessel PIER ACCAVAN UBERT, 112 tons, north of Ibiza Island. His score is now 147 vessels and 292,961 tons.

Naval operations: Strait of Sicily

Leading U-Boat ace Walter Forstmann, in U-39, sinks Italian sailing vessel ALA, 359 tons, raising his score to 144 ships and 296,655 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Robert Moraht, in U-64, sinks two British vessels:
HMT HAWK, 243 tons, torpedoed escorting a convoy.
SS OKEMENT, 4,349 tons, carrying coal and a general cargo from Malta to an unlisted destination.
Moraht's score is now 7 ships and 14,413 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Hermann von Fischel, in U-65, sinks French passenger liner SS ATHOS, 12,644 tons, carrying passengers, troops, mail and general cargo from Yokohama to Marseille. 754 lives are lost. von Fischel's score is now 2 ships and 21,867 tons.

Naval operations: Simonstown, South Africa

Aboard HMFM TRENT the Court Martial is concluded and four mutineers sentenced to ninety days imprisonment ashore with hard labour.