The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 996 of the Great War, April 22nd 1917

Western Front

British capture southern part of Trescault (east of Havrincourt Wood, below Bapaume-Cambrai road).

Germans bombard Reims; French repulse German attack on Moronvillers massif.

Photo: Gunners of the Royal Artillery loading pontoons on the River Scarpe with shells whilst a light railway engine passes along the line near Saint-Laurent-Blangy, 22 April 1917



Mesopotamian campaign

British attack Turks in retreat from Istabulat on west bank of Tigris and on west bank of Shatt-el-Adhaim.

France

To conserve food, France orders all restaurants to have one meatless day per week. Butchers will also have to close by 1 pm.

Germany

Kaiser Wilhelm congratulates his son the Crown Prince for “steelhard” resistance against the French at the Aisne.

United Kingdom/United States relations: British Foreign Minister Arrives in United States

The United States had entered the war in early April. However, it was unclear the extent to which they would be involved; many who had voted for the declaration of war had assumed that only the Navy would participate, and that no troops would be sent across the Atlantic in large numbers. Their new allies, naturally, desired a large commitment from the United States, and wanted to do whatever they could to win over the American people and government.

Britain had the harder task here; despite their common language, animosity between Britain and the United States dating back to the American Revolution, combined with America’s large Irish population, were both large obstacles to full cooperation between the two countries. Lloyd George sent a large special mission to the United States to remedy this, led by his Foreign Minister, Arthur Balfour. Balfour arrived in Washington on April 22, and over the next few weeks met with Wilson and other government officials, as well as the press and financial and industrial leaders. The main concern, immediately, was financial; Balfour wanted to ensure that America would help pay for the war. He also advocated for a large American troop commitment, though he acknowledged that it would likely take until mid-1919 to defeat Germany, even with American reinforcements.

Balfour also informed his new allies of the complicated diplomatic situation in Europe; in particular, of the various commitments that had been made to Italy to get them to enter the war, and of the proposed division of the Middle East with France. Wilson was not overly pleased about these, but recognized little could be done at this point; as the United States was not at war with Austria-Hungary or the Ottoman Empire, neither directly concerned him either. In turn, he pressured Balfour on the question of Ireland, telling him that a promise of satisfactory self-government there after the war would help convince the American people of the righteousness of their new allies.

France also sent its own mission, headed by former PM Viviani and Marshal Joffre, which arrived in the United States two days later. Joffre argued that a small American force should be sent to France as soon as possible, as a demonstration of America’s commitment. He then left for a very successful tour of the Midwest and Northeast, on which he was a big hit with the press and the American people.

Aerial operations: Meanwhile in Macedonia

The German bombing group knew as Kampfgeshwader 1 continues to harass British forces in Macedonia. Today the bombed advanced troop bivouacs in the XII corps area.

Aircraft from 47 Squadron RFC and 2 Wing RNAS attempted to intercept but without success. Sopwith Strutter N5087 from 2 Wing RNAS was shot up during the combat. The pilot Flight Sub-Lieutenant William Vazie Simons landed safely but his observer 1st Class Air mechanic A Carder was wounded.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, 407 miles west of Fastnet Rock

Hellmuth Jürst, commanding U-43, stops and scuttles American schooner WOODWARD ABRAHAMS, 744 tons, bound from Pensacola to Liverpool with a load of scored timber. His score is now 29 ships and 71,294 tons.

Naval operations: North of Ireland

Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim, in U-93, stops and scuttles Norwegian sailing ship VESTELV, 1,729 tons, en route from Mobile to Liverpool with a load of Pitch Pine. His score is now 9 ships and 56,537 tons.

Naval operations: Ireland

Herbert Pustkuchen, in UC-66, scuttles British barque ARETHUSA, heading from Gulfport to Claud with a load of pitch pine. His score is now 79 ships and 103,514 tons.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Hans Rose, in U-53, sinks Canadian freighter SS NEEPAWAH, 1,799 tons, carrying a load of pyrites from Huelva to Rouen. His score is now 33 ships and 77,940 tons.

Paul Hundius, in UC-47, attacks British Q-ship HMS GEALIC, 224 tons, with his deck gun off Mine Head. A sailing barquentine, Gaelic is only damaged.

Naval operations: North Sea

Otto Hersing, in U-21, sinks two Norwegian freighters between Norway and the Shetland Islands:
SS GISKO, 1,643 tons, travelling from Ålesund to Hull with a general cargo.
SS THEDORE WILLIAM, 3,057 tons, en route from Narvik to Middlesbrough with a load of iron ore.
Hersing's score is now 35 ships and 107,678 tons.

Kurt Bernis, in UC-41, sinks Norwegian freighter SS GODO, 870 tons, heading from Levanger to London with a load of lumber. His score is now 12 ships and 6,197 tons.

Kurt Tebbenjohanns, in UC-44, stops and scuttles British fishing vessel NIGHTINGALE, 91 tons, bringing his score to 23 vessels and 15,894 tons.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

British freighter SS CAPENOR, 2,536 tons, travelling in ballast from Nantes to Bilbao, hits a mine laid off La Pallice by Reinhold Saltzwedel in UC-21.
Meanwhile UC-21 sinks two other ships:
Americna freighter SS PERCY BIRDSALL, 1,127 tons, travelling in ballast from New York to Bordeaux; scuttled.
Norwegian barque VALERIE, 2,140 tons, in ballast from Bordeaux to St. Thomas; deck gun.
Saltzwedel's score is now 67 ships and 97,789 tons.

Naval operations: Tyrhennian Sea

Gustav Seiß, in U-33, sinks three ships off Civitavecchia:
Norwegian freighter SS BLAATIND, 1,641 tons, carrying a load of coal from Blyth to Civitavecchia.
Italian sailing vessel MARIA S, 133 tons.
Italian brigantine UNIONE, 207 tons.
Seiß' score is now 21 ships and 131,323 tons.

Naval operations: Indian Ocean, off South Africa

0900 HMFM TRENT reports sea increasing again, from the beam.
1000 TRENT reduces speed, reports HMS SEVERN rolling and taking on water.
1300 TRENT reduces speed again, report sea "breaking badly" on Severn.
2000 Sea has decreased, towing improved but still with a high swell from the beam.
1159 Wind and sea moderate, skies clear, towing easy.

Day 998 of the Great War, April 24th 1917

Western Front

Severe fighting from Croisilles to north of Gavrelle (Arras).

South of Bapaume-Cambrai road British advance to St. Quentin Canal near Vendhuil and capture Bithem.

Macedonian front: First Major British Offensive From Salonika

The Allies at Salonika had been planning an offensive against the Bulgarians in the mountains of southern Serbia for several months. They had made good progress last year, taking Monastir, but the winter had prevented further progress, and had let the Bulgarians and their allies prepare their defenses. The most imposing was on Grand Couronné (named by the French for a similarly impregnable height in Lorraine). While much smaller than other mountains in the range (like Kajmackalan), it dominated the British lines and would have to be taken for further progress in the area. In the summit of Grand Couronné was an observation post, sunk into the mountain and protected by twelve feet of concrete. This post, nicknamed “The Devil’s Eye,” gave the Bulgarians an excellent view of all of the British preparations in the area.

On April 24, the British attacked the foothills of Grand Couronné. The British had been generally unenthusiastic about the campaign in Salonika so far, and this was their first major offensive effort. In an attempt to maintain some surprise and cover from the Devil’s Eye, they planned to attack after dusk. It appears that Bulgarian intelligence had figured this out, however, and they were well-prepared. When the infantry attacked at 9:45 PM, they were lit up by German searchlights, silhouetting them and making them easy targets for Bulgarian machine gunners. Only in one sector, where the British had ample natural cover, did the British gain any ground. The attack was called off in the morning, with the British having suffered over 3000 casualties, nearly four times as many as the Bulgarian and German defenders.

The British attack had been meant as a prelude to a larger French offensive to begin on April 26th. However, Sarrail postponed this due to continued snow in the mountains. Lloyd George, once a champion of the Salonika theater, had grown tired of it even before Doiran, and informed the French that he would be moving troops from Salonika to Palestine.

Mesopotamian campaign

Retreat of Turks up Shatt-el-Adhaim towards Jebel Hamrin.

United States

300,000 copies of President Wilson’s war address to Congress are printed and will be air-dropped on German trenches on the Western Front.

United States/France relations

Arrival of French Mission (Marshall Joffre and M. Viviani) in New York.

Portugal

Sen. Costa (Democrat) becomes Premier in Portugal.

Aerial operations: U-boat destroyed (maybe)

As well as the various classes of airship that are carrying out patrols for u-boats, 13 April saw the beginning of H12 flying boats based at various stations are using the spider web patrol routes to try and detect u-boats.

Today an SOS call was received from an Italian ship saying she was under attack from a U-boat south of Portland Bill. Surface craft and seaplanes were immediately sent out, and an H12 flying-boat, which had landed at Portland the previous day with minor engine trouble, also went away to search the area. In the pilot’s seat was Lieutenant Commander Waugh, with observer 2nd Class Air Mechanic Charles Stanley Laycock and two other crew members.

The flying-boat’s crew found the U-boat on the surface and, probably because the morning was misty, approached within a quarter of a mile before the submarine commander became aware of the danger which threatened him.

He then prepared to dive, but while his conning tower was still awash, the flying-boat dropped two 100lb bombs which exploded above the submarine. Oil and bubbles came to the surface and, after a further uneventful patrol in the vicinity, the flying-boat’s crew returned to their base reasonably confident that they had disabled or destroyed the U-boat.

About an hour later, however, a destroyer saw the submarine breaking surface again near where she had last been seen and attacked. The destroyer dashed towards her, but she had submerged before the British vessel reached her. Judging the position of their target from her wash, the crew of the destroyer dropped two depth-charges and, following the explosions, oil gushed to the surface and spread over a large area. Patrols were maintained throughout the day and a hydrophone watch kept during the night. Late in the evening, a motor noise heard in the hydrophone of one of the destroyers seemed to imply that the U-boat had got under way again, but the Admiralty, weighing all the evidence, decided that the U-boat had been destroyed and awarded medals to the crew.

The Official history suggests that this was UB39 which sailed on 23 April, but never returned. However German records suggest that ship was lost on 7 May 1917. The wreck of UB39 was also discovered in 2007 east of the Sandettie Bank at position 51.20N, 02.09E – not far from the Belgian Coast and a good distance from Portland Bill and appeared to have been mined.

In fact German records do not indicate any U-boats lost around this time so the ship was either damaged and escaped or released oil to trick the attackers and then escaped.

Aerial operations: 66 and 9

The action in the air continued with the offensive on the ground. Seven British aircraft were shot down with eight crew killed, 5 wounded and 2 taken prisoner. The British also claimed 36 enemy aircraft forced down or shot down though in the event the Germans only confirmed 2 wounded and 2 killed.

The big operation of the day was a combined reconnaissance and bombing mission to Le Quesnoy and Landrecies. A distant reconnaissance by nine Sopwith Strutters from 70 Squadron accompanied by six Sopwith Pups from 66 Squadron failed due to low cloud and on the way back the formation was attacked over Solesmesby six Halberstadts. One of the two-seater Sopwiths was shot down in flames and one of the escorting pilots was forced to land and was made prisoner.

2nd Lieutenant Clive Harold Halse and 2nd Air Mechanic William J Bond from 70 Squadron in Sopwith Strutter (A1002) were shot down by Leutnant Fritz Otto Bernert from Jasta 2.

2nd Lieutenant Robert Stanley Capon from 66 Squadron got separated from the formation and shot down by Oberleutnant Heinrich Lorenz from Jasta 33 in Sopwith Pup A6175. He crashed near Cambrai and was taken prisoner. Three of his colleagues were also shot but managed to escape back over the lines – 2nd Lieutenant Reginald Myer Marsh in Sopwith Pup A670, Captain Robert Oxspring in Sopwith Pup A7305, and 2nd Lieutenant Cecil Charles Morley in Sopwith Pup A6152.

The bombing formations, which followed, fared better. Five Martinsydes from 27 Squadron each dropped one 230-lb. bomb in the neighbourhood of the sheds at Ath Station. The three escorting SPADs had a brief indecisive encounter with two Albatros two-seaters on the outward journey, but there was no other opposition.

Bernert then flew south to engage a 6 strong bombing formation from 9 Squadron returning from a raid on Busigny and shot three of them down. Lieutenant Charles Lee Graves in BE2e A2941, Lieutenant Frank Arthur Matthews in BE2e A2937, and Lieutenant George Edward Hicks in BE2e 7195. Graves and Matthews were killed and Hicks was taken prisoner.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, far west of Ireland

Hellmuth Jürst, commanding U-43, stops and scuttles Swedish barque CORDELIA, 613 tons, bound from Pascaguola for Newport, Wales with a load of pitch pine. His score is now 30 ships and 71,907 tons.

Otto Wünsche, in U-70, sinks four ships:
Norwegian barque CLAN GAILBRAITH, 2,168 tons, carrying a load of lubricating oil and wax from Philadelphia to Birkenhead; scuttled.
Danish schooner EOS, 179 tons, en route from Darien to Fleetwood with a load of pitch pine; scuttled.
Swedish schooner VALKYERIAN, 233 tons, sailing from Pensacola to Fleetwood with a load of pitch pine; deck gun.
Norwegian sailing ship VESTDAL, 1,690 tons, hauling a load of timber from Pensacola to Greenock; deck gun.
Wünsche's score is now 59 ships and 89,848 tons.

Naval operations: West of Scotland

Raimund Weisbach, in U-81, sinks British barque AMULREE, 1,145 tons, carrying a load of Coal from Liverpool to Santos. His score is now 30 ships and 78,048 tons.

Hans Adam, in U-82, sinks British freighter SS THISTLEARD, 4,136 tons, bound from Tocopila and Norfolk for Clyde with a load of nitrate; 135 miles west-northwest of Tory Island. His score is now 12 ships and 22,010 tons.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Hans Rose, in U-53, sinks two British freighters 150 miles west of Bishop Rock:
SS ANGLESEA, 4,534 tons, en route from Boston to Le Havre with a load of steel and oats.
SS FERNDENE, 3,770 tons, carrying a load of graphite and meal from Table Bay to London.
Rose's score is now 36 ships and 90,548 tons.

Victor Dieckmann, in U-61, scuttles Norwegian barque METROPOLIS, 1,811 tons, heading from Philadelphia to Le Havre with a load of drums of lubricating oil; west of the Scilly Isles. His score is now 22 ships and 39,150 tons.
Dieckmann also attacks British freighter SS THIRLBY, 2,009 tons, travelling from Gibraltar to Dunkerque, with his deck gun, but the ship escapes.

British freighter SS KENILWORTH, 2,735 tons, hauling a load of patent fuel from Cardiff to La Pallice, hits a mine laid off Point Saint Mathieu, Brittany by Gustav Buch in UC-36.
Meanwhile Buch himself stops and scuttles French schooner LA PROVIDENCE, 272 tons, travelling from Swansea to La Rochelle with a load of coal.
Buch's score is now 13 ships and 16,568 tons.

Paul Hundius, in UC-47, sinks two vessels:
British drifter HEATHER, 58 tons; scuttled off Bishop Rock.
British freighter SS PLUTUS, 1,189 tons, travelling in ballast from Rouen to Barry; sunk off Trevose Head.
Hundus' score is now 40 ships and 42,983 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Thomas Bieber, in UB-31, attacks French barquentine SAINT JACQUES, 415 tons, travelling in ballast from Saint Servan to Cardiff; off Portland Bill with his deck gun. The ship is beaced at Portland Roads and refloated.

Max Viebeg, in UB-32, sinks French sailing vessel MARIE BLANCHE, 359 tons, off Cherbourg, bringing his score to 13 ships and 9,061 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Erich von Rohrscheidt, in UB-10, torpedoes Dutch Freighter SS MINSTER TAK VAN POORTVLIET 1,106 tons, en route from Hull to Harlingen; off Ymuiden. His score is now 2 ships and 2,519 tons.

Ernst Rosenow, in UC-29, scuttles British trawler UPTON CASTLE, 145 tons, off Longstone, bringing his score to 11 vessels and 10,576 tons.

Rudolf Seuffer, in UC-50, sinks two ships off Spurn Point:
British naval trawler HMT MARGATE, 162 tons; deck gun.
British trawler MAYFLY, 199 tons; deck gun.
UC-50 also shells HMT GAUL, 270 tons, but the naval trawler does not sink.
Seuffer's score is now 13 vessels and 11,896 tons.

Erich Haecker, in UC-79, takes Norwegian coaster SS HARALD HAARFAGER, 475 tons, in the Skagerrak as a prize. The Prize Court later releases the ship back to its owners.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks British freighter SS BARNTON, 1,858 tons, travelling from Bilbao to Tyne with a load of iron ore, southwest of Pointe de Chassiron. His score is now 68 ships and 99,647 tons.

Naval operations: Portugal

Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, in U-35, sinks four ships off Cape St. Vincent:
Italian sailing vessel BEIN AIME PROF. LUIGI, 265 tons, en route from Fowey to Genoa with a load of china clay; scuttled.
Danish freighter SS NORDSOEN, 1,055 tons, carrying a load of herring from Bergen to Genoa; scuttled.
Norwegian freighter SS TORVORE, 1,667 tons, headed from Swansea to Naples with a load of coal.
Norwegian freighter SS VILLELM KRAG, 3,715 tons, travelling in ballast from Genoa to Barry.
Von Arnauld's score is now 176 ships and 376,409 tons.

Day 1000 of the Great War, April 26th 1917

Western Front

German attacks on Gavrelle (Arras) and Chemin des Dames (Aisne) repulsed.

Macedonian front

British repulse Bulgar night attack (26-27 April) on Hill 380 (Doiran-Vardar front).

United States

Preliminary conferences between the U.S. government and the French war mission begin in Washington D.C.

France

French Socialists refuse to send representatives to Stockholm Conference on 15 May.

Germany

Germany begins calling up men previously exempted by the draft due to their work in vital industries. Women will take their place.

Aerial operations: Bloody Paralysed

7 Naval Squadron has been based at Dunkirk since March 1917 and has been gradually building up tis force of Handley Page 0/100s and Short Bombers for bombing missions over German territory.

Today one of their Handley Page 0/100s (3115) was attacked on its way to a bombing mission by Vizeflumeister Muller of Seeflug 2 flying a Rumpler 6B1 (1037). Muller ruptured the 0/100s petrol tanks and the pilot Flight-Lieutenant Sub-Lieutenant Thomas Samuel Stanley Hood then attempted to fly his crippled aircraft towards land at Nieuport, but was eventually forced to ditch in the sea nearly two miles offshore, where it was immediately shelled by enemy shore batteries. Hood was killed in the crash.

Two nearby French seaplanes took off and one rescued 1st Class Air Mechanic F C Kirby. Another was downed by flak trying to rescue Gun Layer Richard Henry Watson and 2nd Class Air Mechanic William Charles Danzey. Watson and Hood were subsequently taken prisoner as were the French crew Morand de Jouffrey and Mat Bois. Watson died shortly afterwards of his injuries. Danzey died later in captivity.

Aerial operations: Propaganda

Today a bombing raid on Bohain, 20km inside the German lines was carried out by six 22 Squadron FEs, seven 52 Squadron BE’s, and and top cover of six Sopwith Pups from 54 Squadron. By the time they reached Bohain the bombing force had dwindled to just two FEs and two BE2s as the rest had turned back with engine problems.

The formation was attacked by 7 aircraft from Jasta 5 and another 8 from Jasta 26. Captain Frank Neville Hudson, 2nd Lieutenant Reginald Morse Charley and Lieutenant Samuel Greenless Rome from 54 Squadron each claimed to have driven down an enemy aircraft

The two FE’s attempted to fight their way back to the lines losing height from 9,000ft down to ground level before being brought down in German territory near Essigny-le-Petit. The two crews were:

Captain Henry Rupert Hawkins and 2nd Lt George Owen McEntee in FE2b 4883
2nd Lieutenant Geoffrey Mayne Hopkins and Lieutenant Joseph Douglas Miller Stewart in FE2b A825

Both crews were taken prisoner. On inspection of the aircraft the Germans found bundles of leaflets in German. The German authorities then attempted to Court Martial the two crews for “having in April 1917, distributed (by dropping them from aeroplanes) pamphlets, which contained insults against the German Army and Government, amongst the German Army fighting in the Western Theatre of war”.

The RFC abandoned leaflet dropping in June 1917, but quickly recommenced it in July 1917.

Both crews were put on trial on 17 October 1917. The case against Hopkins and Stewart was not proved and they were acquitted. Hawkins and McEntee were also acquitted, despite the prima-facie case against them, due to fact that they were unaware of the illegality of their actions in the eyes of International Law.

Alter the end of the trial, the presiding judge read out a declaration by the Higher Army Command stating that the dropping of incendiary pamphlets is regarded by the German authorities as being contrary to International law and that a communication to this effect had been transmitted to the enemy powers. This declaration was made after the event and therefore could not be relevant to this trial.

This did not stop further cases against British crews. In fact that very day, Second Lieutenant Ewald Scholtz and Henry Charles Wookey from No. 11 Squadron were shot down near Cambrai. They were subsequently convicted and sentenced on the 1 December 1917 to ten years penal servitude for dropping pamphlets.

After this, the RFC restricted leaflet dropping to balloons.

The news reached Britain and on 4 February 1918 a protest was telegraphed to the British Minister at the Hague for communication to the German Government, who were informed that:

“His Majesty’s Government do not regard such action as contrary to International Law and no justification has been produced by the German Government in support of their contention that such action is outside the scope of the laws of war.”

Scholz and Wookey were released to a POW Camp in March 1918 but the charges hung over them. The matter was the subject of a diplomatic to and fro between Britain and Germany that rumbled on to the end of the war.

Naval operations: English Channel

German Naval raid on Ramsgate, night 26-27 April; two killed, three wounded.

British freighter SS ALHAMA, en route from Bayonee to Dunkerque with a load of pit props, hits a mine laid by Ernst Steindorff in UB-12, raising his score to 5 ships and 5,677 tons.

Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, scuttles British fishing boat BOY DENIS, 41 tons, off Start Point, Devon, bringing his total to 70 vessels and 101,949 tons.

Paul Hundius, in UC-47, scuttles two vessels off Start Point:
French brigantine AIGLE, 172 tons, carrying scrap steel from Saint Malo to Briton Ferry.
Norwegian freighter SS JOHN LOCKETT, 842 tons, travelling in ballast from Le Havre to Savanna-la-Mer, Jamaica.
Hundius' score is now 42 ships and 43,997 tons.

Otto Steinbrinck, in UC-65, sinks three vessels off Alderney Island:
British sailing vessel Agnes CAIRNES, 146 tons, en route from Portsmouth to Guernsey with a load of coal; scuttled.
British motor barge ATHOLE, travelling in ballast from Le Havre to Shoreham; deck gun.
French dandy BRETAGANE ET VENDEE, 79 tons.
Steinbrinck's tally is now 157 vessels and 145,808 tons.

His Majesty's Drifter PLANTIN, 84 tons, hits a mine laid off Anvil Point, Isle of Purbeck by Ernst Voight in UC-72, bringing his score to 42 vessels and 13,252 tons.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, far west of Ireland

Hellmuth Jürst, commanding U-43, sinks two vessels in the open ocean:
Rusian sailing vessel EHRGLIS, 238 tons, bound from Pensacola for fleetwood; set on fire.
Norwegian freighter SS HEKTORIA, 5,002 tons, en route from Philadelphia to Birkenhead with a load of oil.
Jürst's score is now 33 ships and 75,929 tons.

Hans Rose, in U-53, scuttles Danish schooner HEKLA, 169 tons, carrying a load of pitch pine from Darien to Fleetwood. His score is now 38 vessels and 91,052 tons.

Ernst Wilhelms, in U-69, sinks two British freighters:
SS RIO LAGES, 3,591 tons, headed from Cienfuegos to Queenstown with a load of sugar.
SS VAUXHALL, 3,629 tons, hauling a load of phosphate rock from Sfax to Dublin.
Wilhelms' score is now 18 ships and 53,431 tons.

Otto Wünsche, in U-70, sinks British freighter SS HARFLETE, 4,814 tons, carrying a load of sugar from Cienfuegos to Queenstown. His score is now 60 ships and 94,552 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Kurt Siewert, in UB-16, begins his u-boat career with an attack on Norwegian freighter SS KONGSLI, 5,826 tons, travelling from Portland, Maine to Rotterdam with a load of grain, off IJmunden. The damaged ship is beached and later refloated and repaired.

Wilhelm Amberger, in UB-38, sinks Norwegian barque KONG OSCAR II, 842 tons, travelling in ballast from Le Havre to Barbados; off Cap de la Hève. His score is now 14 ships and 14,307 tons.

British auxiliary minesweeper HMPMS MERCUREY, 378 tons, hits a mine laid by Benno von Ditfurth in UC-11, off the Sunk lightship. The vessel is only damaged, and returns to service after repairs.

His Majesty's Trawler REPRO, 230 tons, hits a mine laid off Tod Head by Kurt Bernis in UC-41. His score is now 14 vessels and 6,890 tons.

Rudolf Seuffer, in UC-50, sinks two vessels:
British trawler ACTIVE, 149 tons.
Norwegian freighter SS TELEFON, 777 tons, en route from Fredrikshald to West Hartlepool with a load of pit props.
Seuffer's score is now 15 ships and 12,882 tons.

Karl Neumann, in UC-67, sinkss British freighter SS CHERTSEY, 3,264 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to Alexandria; north of Algiers. His score is now 24 ships and 24,380 tons.

Naval operations: Ligurian Sea

Gustav Seiß, in U-33, scuttlds British schooner MONITOR, 138 tons, travelling in ballast from Livorno to Cadiz. His score is now 22 vessels and 131,461 tons

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Gerhard Schulz, in UC-27, scuttles two ships off Cap Bon (between Tusisia and Sicily):
Itallian barque AUGUSTA, 686 tons, bound from Tunis to Alexandria with a load of phosphate.
Italian schooner GENNARINO, 248 tons, travelling from Tunis to Italy with a load of phosphate.
Schulz's score is now 8 vessels and 8,725 tons.

Karsten von Heydebreck, in UC-63, sinks Dutch trawler AMSTELDIJK, 186 tons, off the Haaks lightship, bringing his total to 7 vessels and 2,316 tons.

Day 1002 of the Great War, April 28th 1917

Western Front

British thrust east of Vimy and capture Arleux: progress north-east of Gavrelle.

French advance towards Suippe valley (Champagne).

Photo: Battle of Scarpe. British troops embussing after the fighting at Monchy-le-Preux, which was taken by the King's Royal Rifle Corps and the Rifle Brigade, 37th Division. Arras, 28 April 1917



United States: US Congress Approves Selective Service Act

The United States, like the United Kingdom before the war, had no draft, relying instead on a small professional army. While Congress had been largely united when declaring war on Germany, the question of whether American would send over a large army to Europe forcibly conscripted from its population was a divisive one. Many had assumed that the United States’ contributions would be primarily naval and financial, with perhaps a small role for the regular Army or a volunteer force. Britain had not enacted conscription until they were a year and a half into the war, and neither Canada nor Australia (despite the PM’s wishes) had yet to institute a draft.

Nevertheless, Wilson introduced a conscription bill to Congress on April 7, a day after the declaration of war. There were many reasons for this. Firstly, he recognized that victory in Europe would likely require a large contribution of American troops, beyond what the regular Army and volunteers could provide. Secondly, he believed a draft would unite the country behind the war, with men from all backgrounds compelled to serve. Finally, there were more mundane political reasons. His old foe, Teddy Roosevelt, was itching to lead a volunteer force to Europe, just as he had to Cuba during the Spanish-American war. An immediate reliance on the draft, as opposed to waiting for volunteers, would allow him to reject Roosevelt’s offer in good conscience.

Unsurprisingly, immediate conscription faced some severe opposition in Congress. A faction led by Hubert Dent, chair of the House Military Affairs Committee, argued in favor of conscription purely for defense of the United States, while the regular Army and any volunteers could be sent to Europe. He also opposed the structure of Wilson’s Selective Service proposal, which would not form units on a geographic basis (as had been the case in the Civil War), a feature that House Speaker Champ Clark also derided: men would rather “serve shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow, heart to heart, with their neighbors, friends, and kindred, [rather than] be broken up into small squads and distributed among strangers from distant localities.”

However, with little backing from Republicans, Dent’s proposal failed in the House. When both houses voted on Wilson’s bill on April 28, only 24 voted against, a wider margin than the declaration of war itself.

Russia

German prisoners doing forced labor in Kiev go on strike, demanding 8-hour work day and better working conditions.

Russian workers who were sent to the front as punishment for participating in the revolution are recalled by the Provisional Government.

Austria-Hungary

Italian aviators drop thousands of translated copies of President Wilson’s war speech over Austro-Hungarian territory.

Aerial operations: More of the same

Captain Albert Ball from 56 Squadron was out on a lone wolf patrol in his SE5 (A4850). First he claimed to have driven down a hostile machine near Noyelles. He then destroyed an Albatros two-seater west of Cambrai. Finally he waited above the clouds for any hostile machines to appear and saw a two-seater Albatros which he promptly pursued. The enemy put its nose down and fled.

When at about 500 feet from the ground Captain Ball’s machine was hit by anti-aircraft and most of his controls were shot away and the fuselage was very severely damaged. He got into a spin but righted it and returned to the aerodrome where he made a perfect landing. In the event he was only credited with the Albatross west of Cambrai (for his 36th victory) – though German records do not record any losses that day.

Jasta 11 was also at work again. Early in the moring Manfred von Richthofen brought down 2nd Lieutenant Reginald William Follit and 2nd Lieutenant Frederick James Kirkham from 13 Squadron in BE2e 7221. Both were taken prisoner but Follit died shortly afterwards of his wounds.

Later that morning another group from Jasta 11 clashed with 16 Squadron. Leutnant Kurt Wolff shot down 2nd Lieutenant John Victor Wischer and 2nd Lieutenant Arthur A Baerlein in BE2g A2745. Both were taken prisoner.

16 Squadron suffered further casualties when Captain Augustus Wieland Bird and 2nd Lieutenant Arthur Charles Perryman in BE2e A2896 – had their patrol tank hit. They wrecked the aircraft making a forced landing near Vimy. Perryman was injured in the crash.

Finally, Major Eric Ogilvie McMurtry And Lieutenant Harry Denver Mason were killed when their BE2e A2944 was hit by a British shell destroying the aircraft.

Last of all 2nd Lieutenant Clifford M Reece and 2nd Class Air Mechanic A Moult from 43 Squadron were shot down by Edmund Nathanael from Jasta 5 in their Sopwith Strutter A993.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Scotland

Kurt Wipper, commanding U-58, sinks British tanker SS BULLMOUTH, 4,018 tons, 125 miles northwest of Tory Island; travelling in ballast from Glasgow to Hampton Roads. His score is now 10 ships and 16,998 tons.

Naval operations: Hebrides, west of Scotland

Paul Wagenfür, in U-44, sinks American freighter SS VACUUM, 2,551 tons, en route from Liverpool to New York with an unspecified cargo. His score is now 20 ships and 67,213 tons.

Naval operations: West of Ireland

Hans Nieland, in U-67, torpedoes British barque PORT JACKSON, 2,309 tons, travelling from Buenos Aires to Cork with a load of maize. His score is now 21 ships and 36,170 tons.

Otto Wünsche, in U-70, sinks Norwegian sailing vessel ANNA MARIE, 441 tons, bound from Fray Bentos for Sillot with a load of hides and guano. His score is now 63 ships and 99,244 tons.

Raimund Weisbach, in U-81, sinks two British freighters:
SS JOSE DE LARRINAGA, 5,017 tons, en route from Galveston to Manchester with a general cargo; torpedoed.
SS TERENCE, 4,309 tons, headed from Buenos Aires to Liverpool with meat, wheat and general cargo.
Wiesbach's total is now 36 ships and 95,835 tons.

Naval operations: Far southwest of Ireland

Freiherr Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim, in U-93, attacks Danish schooner DIANA, 207 tons, hauling a load of timber from New Brunswick to Newport, Wales. The ship is towed to Queenstown and written off as a total loss. The wreck is then sold and the new owner has her repaired and returned to service.

Naval operations: Ireland

Otto Steinbrinck, in UC-65, sinks Spanish freighter SS ALU MENDI, 2,104 tons, travelling from Sagunto to Glasgow with a load of iron ore. His score is now 159 ships and 150,844 tons.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Gustav Buch, in UC-36, sinks Russian freighter SS CONDOR, 3,565 tons, carrying coal and ammunition from Cardiff to Gibraltar; west of Ushant. His score is now 16 ships and 22,783 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Thomas Bieber, in UB-31, sinks British passenger liner SS MEDINA, 12,350 tons, travelling from Sydney and India to Plymouth and London; off Start Point. His score is now 2 ships and 14,216 tons.

Max Viebeg, in UB-32, sinks British fishing smack PURSUE, 27 tons, raising his tally to 17 vessels and 27,961 tons.

Naval operations: Skagerrak

Erich Haecker, in UC-79, takes two prizes that are kept by the Prize Court:
Danish freighter SS LAURA, 787 tons, out of Göteborg for Hull with an unspecified cargo.
Danish freighter SS STOREBELT, 599 tons, released by the Prize Court.
Haecker's score is now 8 ships and 5,044 tons.

Naval operations: Barents Sea

Erich Sittenfeld, in U-45, scuttles Russian freighter SS OLGA, 1,672 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newcastle to Kola; off North Cape, Norway. His total is now 17 ships and 25,196 tons.

Naval operations: Alboran Sea

French fishing vessel JULIETTE, 50 tons, hits a mine laid off Oran by Johannes Feldkirchner in UC-25, bringing his score to 6 vessels and 2,519 tons.

Naval operations: Strait of Messina

Otto Schultze, in U-63, sinks British freighter SS KARONGA, 4,665 tons, en route from Newport to Bombay with a general cargo.
He also attacks an Italian fishing fleet, sinking six small sailing vessels:
CARMELO PADRE, 74 tons.
GUISSEPE PADREI, 102 tons.
GUISSEPE G, 100 tons.
I DUE FRATELLIP, 100 tons.
NATALE B, 55 tons,
SAN FRANCESCO DI PAOLA, 41 tons.
Schutlze's score is now 31 vessels and 71,068 tons.

Naval operations: Ionian Sea

Georg von Trapp, in Austrian U-14, sinks British tanker SS TEAKWOOD, 5,315 tons, en route from Port Arthur to Port Said. His score is now 4 ships and 18,990 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Gustav Seiß, in U-33, sinks Italian fishing vessel LISETTA, 40 tons, west of Corsica. His score is now 25 vessels and 132,364 tons.

Otto Launburg, in UC-37, sinks Italian sailing vessel NIOBE, 66 tons, raising his score to 21 vessels and 48,491 tons.

Wilhelm Marschall, in UC-74, sinks British freighter SS PONTIAC, 3,345 tons, bound from Karachi to Port Said with an unspecified cargo. His score is now 4 ships and 16,230 tons.

Day 1004 of the Great War, April 30th 1917

Western Frontt

Near Arras, British troops capture a mile of trenches and take 976 German prisoners. Canadian forces beat back German counterattacks.

Photo: A 9.2 inch howitzer of the Royal Garrison Artillery in action in the ruins of Tilloy-les-Mofflaines,The Battle of Arras, April-may 1917



Photo: A battery of 9.2-inch Howitzers in firing positions at Neuville-Vitasse, 30 April 1917



Six U.S. Red Cross base hospitals are ordered to go to Europe to treat wounded Allied soldiers.

Mesopotamian campaign: Battle of the Boot

Since the fall of Baghdad, the British had been pursuing the Turks along the Tigris, Euphrates, and their tributaries to the north of the city, attempting to ensure that the Turks would not be able to launch a major counteroffensive aimed at the city, which was difficult to defend from upstream. On the morning of April 30, the British attacked Turkish positions, nicknamed the “Mound” and the “Boot,” after a delay of several days caused by dust storms. The British overran the first two Turkish lines quickly, and attempted to push on into what they believed was open country beyond. However, the Turks had prepared more extensive positions than had been thought, and caught them with machine gun and artillery fire in open ground beyond.

Later in the morning, dust storms picked up again, reducing visibility to near-nil and essentially isolating the advance British units from all communications with the rear. The Turks took advantage of this by continuing to shell and shoot at them, and moved troops around to flank them under cover of the sandstorm, inflicting heavy casualties–this would prove to be the most deadly engagement (as a percentage of the force involved) during the present campaign. The Turks in fact had numerical superiority and could have done even more damage, but chose during the latter part of the sandstorm to withdraw into the hills to the north.

France

General Petain is appointed chief of staff at the French Ministry of War.

German occupied Belgium

Spanish and Dutch individuals take over relief efforts in German-occupied Belgium and France from U.S. representatives.

Aerial operations: Idflieg's bi-monthly report on German fighters operating at the front at the end of April 1917

Albatros:
D.I----20
D.II--107
D.III-327

Fokker:
D.I-----5
D.II---33
E.III----1

Halberstadt:
D.I----16
D.II----2
D.III---9
D.V----11

LFG Roland:
D.I-----2
D.II---97

LVG:
D.I----47 (License-built Albatros D.II)

Aerial operations: “Bloody April”

Douglas Haig’s prediction of March 1917 has come to pass. At that time he informed the War Cabinet that:

“Our fighting machines will almost certainly be inferior in number and quite certainly in performance to those of the enemy. In view, therefore, of the marked increase in the number and efficiency of the German aeroplanes, it appears that we cannot expect to gain supremacy in the air in April, and it is even possible that it may pass to the enemy. The seriousness of this situation cannot be overrated, and its possible effect on the results of our operations will no doubt be fully realized by the War Cabinet.”

All in all the month that became known as “Bloody April” was a terrible month for the RFC/RNAS. In March they had lost 92 pilots killed in action, 32 taken prisoner and 64 wounded. The corrresponding figures for April were 207 killed, 112 taken prisoner and 102 wounded.

Despite the casualties, there were some positives. New aircraft (which in the event were to remain in use for the rest of the war) such as the Bristol F2, DH4 and SE5 were now in service and early problems with engines and gun jams were being ironed out.

The British also maintained their presence over the front allowing Corps machines to support the Army whilst denying the Germans the same opportunity.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, west of Ireland

Otto Wünsche, commanding U-70, sinks British freighter SS DALAMERE, 1,525 tons, bound from Maladi to Liverpool with a general cargo. His score is now 65 ships and 104,397 tons.

Raimund Weisbach, in U-81, comes across the derelict British schooner SS ELISABETH, attacked by Hans Rose in U-53 on April 25. The crew had abandoned ship but the vessel refused to sink and was left to drift. Weisbach attacks the ship but again it fails to sink, possibly because a wooden ship carrying a cargo of wood. ELISABETH is left to drift once again and finally washes ashore. Condemned as a total loss but later repaired and put back into service.

Naval operations: Southwest of Ireland

Ernst Hashagen, in U-62, sinks two ships west of Fastnet Rock:
Italian freighter SS FORTUNATA, 3,348 tons, destination and cargo unlisted.
British sloop HMS TULIP, 1,250 tons. Commander Norman McCrea Lewis is taken prisoner.
Hashagen's score is now 23 ships and 28,067 tons.

Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim, in U-93, sinks three ships:
Italian freighter SS ASCARO, 3,245 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Almeria to Ardrossan.
British freighter SS HORSA, 2,949 tons, en route from Port Briera to Cardiff, also with iron ore.
Greek freighter SS Parthenon, 2,934 tons, travelling from New York to Le Havre with a general cargo.

Von Spiegel then attacks the sailing vessel PRIZE. U-93 surfaces and waits for the crew to abandon ship before sinking her with his deck gun. After the "abandon ship party" is clear, PRIZE exposes her 12-pounder deck guns and opens fire. Both Q-ship and U-boat are damaged when von Spiegel attempts to ram the sailing ship. Before contact is made U-93 loses control and plunges to the depths. Von Spiegel and two others are left in the water, and rescued by the Q-ship. Unknown to all, U-93 recovers from her dive and is taken home by her 1WO, Welhelm Ziegner.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Otto Hersing, in U-21, scuttles Russian freighter SS BORROWDALE, 1,268 tons, en route from Newport, Wales to Port Nolloth with a general cargo. His score is now 37 ships and 110,730 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Max Viebeg, in UB-32, sinks French coaster SS PORTBAIL, 378 tons, bound from Swansea for Le Havre with an unnamed cargo. His score is now 20 ships and 28,518 tons.

His Majesty's Trawler ARFON, 227 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Gerth in UC-61 off St. Albann Head.
Meanwhile, Gerth himself sinks two more ships:
Greek freighter SS GORIZIA, 1,957 tons, travelling form New York to Le Havre with a general cargo.
British schooner LITTLE MYSTERY, 114 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardiff to Cherbourg.
Gerth's score is now 7 ships and 5,887 tons.

Werner Fürbringer, in UC-70, sinks Norwegian freighter SS EDEN, 1,304 tons, carrying a load of coal from Tyne to Rouen. His score is now 76 ships and 60,219 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Victor Dieckmann, in U-61, sinks Norwegian sailing vessel JARSTEIN, 198 tons, travelling in ballast from Anstruther to Lillesand. His score is now 23 vessels and 39,348 tons.

Karl Wacker, in UB-22, scuttles British trawler ARGO, 131 tons, off Buchanness lighthouse, near Peterhead, Scotland. His score is now 2 vessels and 260 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Gustav Seiß, in U-33, sinks Greek freighter SS CHRISOMALLI TH. SIFNEO, 2,415 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Genoa to Tees; off Algiers. His score is now 26 ships and 134,779 tons.

Otto Launburg, in UC-37, torpedoes French troopship COLBERT, carrying troops from Marseille to Salonica, with 51 casualties. The ship had survived an attack a year earlier by Walter Forstmann in U-39.
Launburg's total is now 23 ships and 53,939 tons.

Day 1006 of the Great War, May 2nd 1917

Western Front

In Champagne and Moronvilliers region enemy raids beaten back.

United Kingdom

King George signs a proclamation urging people to lessen their consumption of wheat and be frugal in use of other grains as well.

Argentina/German relations

Argentina receives reparation from Germany for sinking of "MONTEPROTEGIDO".

United States: First Liberty Loan Subscription Begins

Poster: Liberty Bond



The United States had already made large financial commitments to the war, and expected to make more in future. Treasury Secretary McAdoo decided to pay for this with both a large increase in taxes and an extensive campaign of bond sales. The Liberty Loan, which was first available for subscriptions for six weeks beginning on May 2, was couched in highly patriotic terms, with McAdoo saying: “The greatest immediate service the American people can render in this war for universal liberty throughout the world is to furnish the means for its vigorous prosecution. This bond issue is the first step.” He also enlisted the support of the Creel Committee on Public Information to help advertise the bond through mass volunteer efforts.

Aggressive appeals to patriotism would be required to sell the bond, which had a relatively non-competitive interest rate of 3.5%. This was chosen deliberately to prevent a mass transfer of savings from private banks to Liberty Bonds. If interest rates were to increase for any future issuing of Liberty Bonds, they would be convertible to the new interest rate, to ensure potential investors would not hold out for future issues.

The smallest denomination of the bonds was $50 (around $1000 in modern currency), which blunted the mass appeal of the Liberty Loan by putting it out of reach for most Americans. This was done to avoid the bonds (which were treated as bearer bonds) from being used as currency for everyday transactions; McAdoo wanted to avoid the inflation that had plagued the US during the Civil War. This effort was ultimately only partially successful; inflation did increase dramatically during the war, in part because interest rates remained so low despite the booming wartime economy. Special certificates in smaller denominations were available as well, eventually convertible to the $50 bond when enough was saved; such certificates were only redeemable for cash by the individual listed on the certificate, to prevent them from being used as currency.

Ultimately, four million people subscribed to the first Liberty Loan, over half of them in the lowest $50 denomination. The loan was oversubscribed by 50%, raising over $3 billion versus a $2 billion target.

Aerial operations: bombing Trier

French aeroplanes bomb Trier in reprisal for German air raids against Chalons and Epernay.

Aerial operations: G&W

Out on the Salonika Front, 47 Squadron RFC and the RNAS have been cooperating to carry out reconnaissance and artillery spotting of Turkish positions.

Today a combined mission by a Sopwith Strutter (9748), with Flight Sub-Lieutenant Holbrook Lance Gaskell and 2nd Lieutenant James Watt from 47 Squadron came to grief.

Their aircraft was hit repeatedly by Turkish anti-aircraft fire. Gaskell attempted to fly back to the aerodrome but on the way back, one of the wings folded. The aircraft plummeted from 5000 feet and crashed. Both men were killed.

Aerial operations: Easing off

After the frantic action of April, things have begun to calm down a little on the Western Front. On the one hand, the new German combat group has taken the pressure off those sectors where it is not operating. On the other Manfred von Richthofen has gone back to Germany on leave and this seems to have lessened the intensity of the group, though perhaps this was inevitable given the pressure of the last two months.

The main event of the day was a mass scrap involving 40 aircraft in the evening. Eight Albatros scouts from Jasta 11 attempted to attack some 25 Squadron FE’s over Vitry. Flight Lieutenant Robert Alexander Little from 8 Naval Squadron then attacked and claimed to have driven one out of control. Little was then attacked by 4 new Albatros scouts from Jasta 10. Little fled for the lines by putting his aircraft into a spin. Albert Ball and Kenneth John Knaggs from 56 Squadron then arrived and shot up some of the the enemy.

Claims were made by both sides, but in the end neither suffered any losses other than minor damage and injuries.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, far west of Ireland

Kurt Wippern, commanding U-58, sinks three ships:
Britsh barque BBESWING, 1,462 tons, bound from Pensacola for Liverpool with a load of timber; sunk with deck gun.
Norwegian barque DIONE, 785 tons, en route from St. Andrew, Florida to Sharpness with a load of pitch pine.
Norwegian barque VANDUARA, 2,079 tons, carrying a load of dye wood from Favannah-la-Mar, Jamaica to Le Havre; deck gun.
Wipern's score is now 13 ships and 21,324 tons.

Ernst Wilhelms, in U-69, sinks British freighter SS TROILUS, 7,625 tons, headed from Clyde to China with a general cargo. His score is now 20 ships and 65,611 tons.

Naval operations: Irish Sea

Otto Steinbrinck, in UC-65, sinks seven vessels in the narrows between Ireland and Scotland:
British coaster SS AMBER, 401 tons, en route from Troon to Waterford with a load of coal.
British coaster SS DERRYMORE, 485 tons, travelling in ballast from Dublin to Troon.
British coaster SS DORA, 296 tons, travelling in ballast from Belfast to Liverpool.
British schooner EARNEST, 111 tons, carrying a load of coal frm Ardrossan to Dublin.
British coaster MORION, 299 tons, en route from Dublin to Cairnlough.
British coaster SS SAINT MUNGO, 402 tons, hauling coal from Troon to Dublin.
Japanese freighter TAIZAN MARU, 3,527 tons, bound from CArthagena for Ardrossan with a load of iron ore.
Steinbrinck's score is now 169 ships and 157,996 tons.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Kurt Ramien, in UC-48, sinks two vessels off Cornwall:
British fishing smack UNITED, 61 tons; scuttled.
British freighter SS WARNOW, 1,593 tons, torpedoed while underway from Penarth with a load of railway material.
Ramien's score is now 28 ships and 42,401 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Claus Lafenz, in UB-18, sinks two British freighters off Cap Barfleur:
SS JUNO, 1,384 tons, travelling in ballast from Rouen to Cardiff.
SS TELA, 7,226 tons, en route from Le Havre to Cardiff with an unspecified cargo.
Lafrenz's score is now 44 ships and 47,983 tons.

Matthias von Schmettow, in UC-26, sinks Norwegian freighter SS CERTO, 1,629 tons, taking a load of coal from Newcastle to Le Havre.
Meanwhile, British destroyer HMS DERWENT hits a mine laid by UC-26 off Le Havre.
Von Schmettow's score is now 77 ships and 113,327 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Paul Wagenfür, in U-44, sfuttles Norwegian barque NATUNA, 1,121 tons, carrying a load of oilcake from Savannah, Georgia to Odense. His score is now 21 ahips and 68,334 tons.

Franz Walther, in UB-21, torpedoes Norwegian freighter SS RIKARD NORDRAAK, 1,123 tons, bound from Sunderland for Rouen with a load of coal. His score is now 7 ships and 6,901 tons.

Max Schmitz, in UC-62, scuttles Dutch KOFF NOORZEE, 136 tons, en route from Rotterdam to Le Havre with a load of milk; near the Noord Hinder lightship. his score is now 35 vessels and 5,994 tons.

Hugo Thielmann, in UC-71, scuttles Dutch fisherman WESTLAND, 108 tons, off the Terschelling lightship, bringing his score to 3 vessels and 8,633 tons.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Ernst Voigt, in UC-72, sinks four French sailing vessels and their escort, off Ile d'Yeu:
Naval trawler KERYADO, 175 tons, escorting the other four, torpedoed at 0030. Only one survivor.
Schooner CANCALAIS, 231 tons, carrying 220 tons of pit props from Pauillace to Cardiff.
Schooner VICTOIRE, 290 tons, Cardiff to Bordeaux with a load of coal. This vessel was attacked on January 21 by Reinhold Saltzwedel in UC-21, and was towed into port.
Schooner RUSSIE, 127 tons, travelling in ballast from Dunkirk to Bordeaux and then to Iceland; scuttled.
Dandy YVONNE, 100 tons, carrying pit props from Mortagne sur Girond to Swansea.
The crews of the four sailing vessels all reach shore safely.
Voigt's score is now 55 vessels and 14,403 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Otto Launburg, in UC-37, torpedoes British freighter SS CAMERATA, 3,723 tons, carrying military stores from Avonmouth to Alexadria; just off Djidjelli, Algeria (modern Jijel). The damaged ship is beached and later refloated and repaired.

Wilhelm Marschall, in UC-74, sinks Italian freighter SS ALESSANDRIA, en route from Karachi to Naples with a load of wheat, 100 miles north of Benghazi. His score is now 5 ships and 24,236 tons.