The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 1010 of the Great War, May 6th 1917

Western Front

French successfully resist all German counter-attacks on the Aisne: 29,000 prisoners taken by French since 10 April.

Third big German counter-attack near Souchez River (Lens) unsuccessful.

Italian front

Violent artillery actions on Trentino and Julian front.

German occupied Belgium: Ludwig von Falkenhausen Becomes Military Governor of Belgium

A successful German general named Ludwig von Falkenhausen became military governor of occupied Belgium on May 6, 1917. His predecessor, Moritz von Bissing, had died of illness several weeks earlier. Falkenhausen’s rule was not much different however: the Germans continued to conscript Belgian workers, exploit the country’s resources, and divide it on linguistic lines, favoring the Germanic Flemmings over French-speaking Walloons. More perniciously, the executions of Belgian civilians, including women and children, continued.

Aerial operations: First Night Attack on London by Airplane

German Zeppelins had repeatedly bombed London by night in 1915 and 1916. The British had begun to intercept Zeppelins by airplane on a regular basis, however, resulting in multiple Zeppelins shot down. In response, the Germans tried refitting their Zeppelins to operate from a higher altitude, but so far had had little success, encountering strong winds at 16,000 feet that prevented reliable navigation.

The Germans had bombed London by airplane on at least one occasion so far, and were planning more organized raids in future. Such operations had been, and were planned for, the daytime, to aid in navigation and target selection. Of course, this would also make it easier for the British to intercept them. As a proof of principle, the crew of an Albatros C VII decided they wanted to try bombing London at night time. They were given permission to do so, and on the night of May 6, they dropped six 22-lb bombs between Hackney and Holloway, killing 1 civilian and wounding two others, before successfully returning to occupied Belgium after a four-hour round-trip flight. This was the first night-time attack by plane on London; they were able to find their way using the full moon and the easily-identifiable Thames.

Higher authorities in German air command were displeased at this solo raid, however. They had been planning to begin major (daylight) bombing raids on London with new Gotha bombers later in the month, and were worried that this attack might spoil the surprise.

Greece

Mass meeting at Salonika demands deposition of King Constantine.

Sweden

Food riots occur in Stockholm, Sweden, which was triggered by the lack of potatoes.

Russia

Russian Provisional Government forbids public meetings and demonstrations for the next two days in response to recent disturbances.

Naval operations: Southwest of Ireland

Otto Hersing, commanding U-21, sinks British freighter SS ADANSI, 2,644 tons, bound from Sierra Leone for Liverpool with a load of foodstuffs. his score is now 38 ships and 115,077 tons.

Naval operations: Cornwall

Johannes Lohs, in UC-75, uses his deck gun to sink French barque PRESIDENT, 354 tons, en route from Saint Malo to Swansea with 250 tons of ore. His score is now 16 vessels and 4,993 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Franz Walther, in UB-21, uses his deck gun to sink Swedish freighter SS HAROLD, 1,563 tons, steaming from Tyne to Göteborg with a load of coal. His score is now 9 ships and 8,484 tons.

Otto von Schrader, in UC-31, uses his deck gun to sink Dutch sailing fisher POSEIDONI, 98 tons, north of the Dogger Bank North lightship. His score is now 30 vessels and 19,912 tons.

British freighter SS HEBBLE, 904 tons, travelling in ballast from Scapa Flow to Sunderland, hits a mine laid by Otto Tornow in UC-42 off Roker Pier, Sundrland. His score is now 6 ships and 3,109 tons.

Reinhard von Rabenau, in UC-77, sinks British freighter SS KAPARIKA, 1,232 tons, carrying a load of coal from Blyth to Sarpsborg. His score is now 13 ships and 9,477 tons.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Erwin Waßner, in UC-69, scuttles two Norwegian freighters off Vaca de Luanco, northern Spain:
SS GURTH, 1,340 tons, bound from Liverpool for Gibraltar with a load of coal.
SS VOSS, 2,390 tons, carrying a load of coal from Penarth to Messina.
Waßner's score is now 52 ships and 67,153 tons.

Ernst Voigt, in UC-72, sinks Italian freighter SS FRANCESCO, 3,438 tons, off La Coubre lighthouse, south of La Rochelle. His score is now 61 ships and 20,376 tons.

Day 1012 of the Great War, May 8th 1917

Western Front

Fresnoy attacked in great strength by Germans and recaptured.

French attack and capture German trenches beyond Chevreux (Craonne); German counter-attacks repelled.

Macedonian front: Allied Offensive at Salonika Frustrated by Dogged Bulgarian Defense

A renewed Entente attack on the Bulgarian lines at Salonika met with failure on May 8. British soldiers crept into no-man’s land for a night attack, but the Bulgarians used search-lights to illuminate them as targets. Artillery smashed in the assault. On a two-mile front, the British only gained 500 yards. Attacking on the following day, Russian, Serbian, Italian, and French troops, including soldiers from French Indochina, attacked north and west of Monastir, but failed to make any large gains. Central Powers artillerymen rained down death from high-peaks with “high-sounding names.” Alan Palmer, a historian of the campaign, writes that “Not a single Allied soldier had come within two miles of the Grand Couronné, the central keep of the Devil’s citadel; from its ramparts the Eye would stand sentinel for another sixteen months, watching and counting and waiting.

United Kingdom

Britain cancels its “meatless days” as it increased demand on other foodstuffs, particularly bread.

United States

U.S. Labor Department publishes plans to make interned aliens of enemy nations work in farms in North Carolina.

Australia

Australian elections result in Nationalist majority in both Houses.

Liberia/Germany relations

Liberia breaks off relations with Germany.

Russia

Lenin publishes the essay “Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism”

Aerial operations: Soft Strutters

Flying was curtailed today due to poor weather.

There were no casualties from enemy aircraft today, although 2nd Lieutenant HR Parry From 40 Squadron RFC was forced to land his Nieuport Scout (B1541) after the petrol tank was holed from the ground. 2nd Lieutenant William Thomas Walder also from 40 Squadron bodged a landing, coming down on one wheel and then putting another Nieuport Scout (A6785) on its nose.

A variety of other mishaps wrecked three Sopwith Strutters. 2nd Lieutenant Charles Henry Harriman and 2nd Lieutenant William Stuart Cattell from 43 Squadron crashed 8232 on landing from gun practice. Sergeant G Skinner and 2nd Class Air Mechanic A Giles from 70 Squadron also crashed 8211 following an engine failure on a reconnaissance mission. Lieutenant John Ross Robertson from 66 Squadron overturned A6154 when he made a forced landing on soft ground following an offensive patrol.

Luckily none of these crewmen were hurt.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, far west of Ireland

Otto Hersing, commanding U-21, scuttles British barque KILLARNEY, 1,413 tons, bound from Brunswick, Georgia for Liverpool sith a load of timber. His score is now 39 ships and 116,490 tons.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Richard Hartmann, in U-49, sinks British freighter SS PETUNIA, 1,749 tons, carrying a load of groundnuts from Gambia to Leith. His score is now 26 ships and 57,866 tons.

Otto Steinbrinck, in UC-65, torpedoes British tanker SS SAN PATRICIO, 9,712 tons, en route from Puerto Mexico to Sheerness with a load of fuel oil. The damaged ship makes safe port. SAN PATRICIO was previously attacked in February by Otto Wünsche in U-70, and escaped then as well.

Richard Hartmann, in U-49, sinks British freighter SS PETUNIA, 1,749 tons, carrying a load of groundnuts from Gambia to Leith. His score is now 26 ships and 57,866 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Franz Walther, in UB-21, takes Dutch trawler BATAVIER II, 157 tons, as a prize. It is later released by the Prize Court.

His Majesty's Yacht ZAREFA, 279 tons, hits a mine laid off Mull Head, Deerness, Orkney Islands by Otto von Schrader in UC-31. His score is now 31 ships and 20,191 tons.

Naval operations: Bay of Biscay

Georg Gerth, in UC-61, shells and scuttles French freighter SS NELLY, 1,868 tons, off Penmarch. His score is now 10 ships and 10,810 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Heinrich Metzger, in U-47, uses his deck gun to attack a small auxiliary motor sailing vessel. This turns out to be French Q-Ship MADELEINE III 149 tons. After a brief exchange U-47 departs, leaving the enemy slightly damaged.

Naval operations: Destroyer Rams, Sinks German SubmarinE

Despite an increasing production of depth charges, and new methods for quickly deploying them, they were not yet the primary weapon for attacking submarines; most ships, even those tasked with hunting submarines, had no more than two depth charges at any given time. When submarines were sunk (which was relatively infrequently), it was most often on the surface, whether from torpedoes by Allied submarines, direct gunfire, or by Q-ship. Since submarines could rapidly submerge, however, all of these required excellent timing or catching the submarine off guard.

One method that occasionally worked was straight out of ancient naval warfare: ramming. Occasionally, the most effective weapon was the ship itself. A quick-moving ship could easily split a submarine in two while suffering little damage itself, as had been proven from the first days of the war, and multiple times thereafter. The British had another success on May 8, when the destroyer HMS MILNE rammed the mine-laying submarine UC-26 in the Thames Estuary, sinking her with all hands. This meant that Allied naval forces had already doubled their sinkings of U-boats from last month–a sign of how ineffective active anti-submarine measures were at this point in the war.

Day 1014 of the Great War, May 10th 1917

Western Front

Small British gains south-west of Lens and on south bank of River Scarpe.

French success near Chevreux (Craonne).

Eastern Front

General Russki relieved of command on northern front by Provisional Government.

Macedonia front

French and Venizelists take enemy position near the Lyumnitsa.

Two attacks on Krastali driven off by British.

United Kingdom

British Ministerial Conference with Engineer, etc. representatives.

Secret Session of House of Commons on submarine warfare.

Earl Curzon reveals British shipping losses during the war total 900,000 tons, but reassures that they can be replaced in sufficient numbers.

Greece

Plot to assassinate M. Venizelos discovered at Salonika.

Russia

President of Duma (M. Rodzianko) affirms Russian loyalty to Allies.

Germany

Germany moves high-ranking French POWs near industrial areas targeted by Allied aeroplanes as reprisals for similar moves by France.

Italy/United States relations

Italian war mission led by Enrico Arlotta arrives in New York City to begin talks with U.S. officials.

United States: John Pershing Given Command of American Expeditionary Force

On May 7, British General Allenby, fighting at Arras, warned Haig that he was running out of troops and that the reserves now being sent into battle were “semi-trained troops unable to use their rifles properly.” In the House of Commons on May 10, Winston Churchill pointed out that Britain’s armies were running dry, and the Americans would not arrive until 1918, and so “Is it not obvious that we ought not to squander the remaining armies of France and Britain in precipitate offensives before the American power begins to be felt on the battlefield?”

Across the Atlantic, American forces were slowly gearing up. On May 10th, the government appointed John “Black Jack” Pershing, who had commanded the Mexican Expedition, as leader of the troops that would be sent to France. Churchill, however, received no answer, and the Allied offensives continued. Allenby himself was shocked soon after when he was sent back to London. Allenby was convinced he was going to be sacked, in fact, he recieved a transfer to Palestine, where he would become the conqueror of Jerusalem.

Aerial operations: 55 Squadron mauled

A photographic reconnaissance of the front lines by aircraft from 55 Squadron RFC was met with stiff resistance and had to fight its way home. During the combat 2nd Lieutenant Bevan William Pitt and 2nd Lieutenant John Sheffield Holroyde in DH4 (A7416) shot down an enemy fighter. They were then shot down and killed by Vitzfeldwebel Fritz Krebs from Jasta 6.

Captain Edward Arthur Beckton Rice and 2nd Lieutenant Alexander Clarke also claimed to have forced down an enemy scout. 2nd Lieutenant Trevor Webb and 1st Class Aircraft Mechanic Walter Bond in DH4 A7149 also did the same.

Webb and Bond were then shot down as well. Oberleutnant Herman Goering from Jasta 26 claimed the victory, but the surviving crews claimed that they were hit by Anti-Aircraft fire and that Bond jumped from the disintegrating aircraft. In the event Webb was killed but Bond survived the crash and was taken prisoner. Captain Norman Senior and Corporal P H Holland in DH4 A7413 were also badly damaged by shellfire and force landed wounding Senior and killing Holland. Leutnant Walter Blume from Jasta 26 claimed victory. Both these claims reflect the tendency of pilots to claim anything that crashed on their side of the lines.

Finally, Lieutenant Cecil Alfred Stevens and Lieutenant Frank Lambton Oliver were shot up in DH4 A2150 but they got back unharmed.

Aerial operations: Disappeared

Earlier in the year, Lieutenant-General Milne’s had made a request for assistance from the Royal Naval Air Service in the Mediterranean, Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil Fiennes Thursby, Commander of the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, had subsequently given instructions for the organization of a special bombing squadron for service in Macedonia.

This squadron, called ‘F’ Squadron, had arrived at a previously selected aerodrome at Amberkoj on 29 April 1917. It was equipped with Sopwith Strutters, and commanded by Squadron Commander Joseph Ruscombe Wadham Smyth-Pigott.

The Squadron has been employed on a counter-bombing offensive against the German Bomber Squadron – Kampfgeschwader 1. For the last week bombing attacks have been made daily on the dumps, camps and aerodromes behind the Dojran front. During an attack on the aerodrome at Hudova today, observers spotted that the sheds and hangars which had been erected by the, together with the special train in the aerodrome siding, had disappeared, and it was concluded that the enemy bombers had left for some other front.
Naval operations: First Atlantic Convoy Leaves Gibraltar

Less than two weeks after Jellicoe approved it, the first long-distance Atlantic convoy left Gibraltar on May 10. Sixteen merchant vessels sailed in three columns, escorted by two armed merchantmen and three armed yachts. This may seem to be minimal protection against submarines, but the bulk of the voyage (from Gibraltar to the Western Approaches) was relatively free of submarines (though not entirely), and the main advantage to convoys was in clumping ships up to maximize the chances that U-boats would not find any of the ships. The few armed vessels present would hopefully be enough deterrent to prevent a single U-boat from picking off multiple ships if the convoy were found.

The convoy did proceed relatively slowly, at only six-and-a-half knots (a common criticism of convoys at the time), but the ships were easily able to keep their stations in the convoy, obey signals, and perform submarine-avoiding maneuvers when necessary. On May 18, for the dangerous final stretch, they were met by six destroyers, before arriving in Plymouth on May 20. No U-boats had been seen during the entire voyage. The merchant captains were enthusiastic about the results, reporting that “they had enjoyed more sleep than they had had for months,” as they no longer needed to worry so much about U-boats.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean

Ernst Hashagen, commanding U-62, sinks two ships southwest of Ireland:
French sailing ship BERANGERE, 2,851 tons, bound from Buenos Aires for Le Havre with a load of lumber; deck gun.
Norwegian sailing vessel GAZELLE, 288 tons, en route from Saint Marc, Haiti to Le Havre with a load of logwood.
Hashagen's score is now 27 ships and 38,820 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, sinks Norwegiean freighter SS VENI, 654 tons, carrying a load of coal from Newport, Wales to Saint Malo. His score is now 70 ships and 86,802 tons.

Georg Gerth, in UC-61, sinks two ships off Portland Bill:
British freighter SS BROOMHILL, 1,392 tons, en route from Penarth to Sheerness with a load of coal.
Norwegian freighter SS MINERVA, 518 tons, travelling in ballast from Caen to Swansea.
Gerths score is now 12 ships and 12,720 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

His Majesty's Trawler LORD RIDLEY, 215 tons, hits a mine laid off Whitby by Gustav Deuerlich in UC-40. His score is now 5 vessels and 3,994 tons.

Karsten von Heydebreck, in UC-63, scuttles Dutch auxiliary motor sailing vessel GRUNO, 171 tons, en route from Rotterdam to London with a general cargo. His score is now 8 vessels and 2,487 tons.

Naval operations: Balearic Sea

Johannes Klasing, in U-34, scuttles Spanish schooner CARMEN,319 tons, carrying a load of wine and dried figs from Valencia to Cette; south of Barcelona. His score is now 14 vessels and 13,105 tons.

Naval operations: Tyrhennian Sea

Ernst von Voigt, in UC-35, sinks Italian sailing vessel LEONE XIII, off Marettimo Island. His score is now 12 vessels and 34,402 tons.

Day 1016 of the Great War, May 12th 1917

Western Front

British storm most of Bullecourt, and Roeux trenches. Enemy's counter-attack fails.

Macedonia front

Artillery activity on Julian front from Tolmino to the sea.

Italian front: Huge Bombardment Opens Tenth Battle of the Isonzo

Initial plans for Italy in 1917 had featured an Italian offensive to be conducted early in the year, in conjunction with a renewed Allied push on the Somme. These plans changed when Joffre was replaced by Nivelle, and despite proposals to lend the Italians artillery, completely fell apart by early February, when Cadorna informed Nivelle that any Italian attack would come after Nivelle’s planned offensive.

The Italians thus had over six months to prepare for a renewed push on the Isonzo. Unlike the previous battles, which had mainly focused on the Karst plateau to the south of Gorizia, the initial drive in the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo would take place on the Bainsizza [Banjška] plateau to the north, with the attack on the Karst to come later once reserves had been diverted. Unlike with previous offensives, the Italians were careful to hide their preparations: concealing troop movements, minimizing radio chatter, and taking advantage of the poor weather in April and early May. The Austrians knew an Italian attack was coming at some point, but were unsure exactly when or where it would occur. Around May 8, improving weather and an increased rate of Italian desertions meant the Austrians knew an offensive was imminent, though a lull in Italian activity on May 10 and 11 meant Boroević for a moment thought he had received a reprieve.

However, at dawn on May 12, Italian guns opened a massive barrage along a thirty-mile front–giving no indication of where the Italian infantry would attack, if at the expense of a concentration of firepower. The Austrian guns, outnumbered nearly two-to-one, could not keep up without risking being knocked out themselves. A Scottish volunteer in the area recalled:

…this extraordinary strip of hell, right down 2,000 feet below like a volcanic rift in the ground, full of noise and black smoke…the [Austrian] trench line stood out as the base of a continuous smoking wall of dirty black fumes.

United States

U.S. House of Representatives votes 215 to 178 to allow former President Roosevelt to raise and lead a division to France.

U.S. Senate votes 38 to 32 to ban the use of grain, sugar, and syrup for the production of liquor, but votes down full prohibition.

Canada/French relations

At the Canadian Parliament, French war mission led by Viviani and Joffre praises Canadian soldiers.

Austria-Hungary

AH Emperor Charles pleads Austrians to “hold on, & in this we shall doubtless be successful, through encountering great hardships.”

France

A Committee of the French Chamber of Deputies submits a report recommending Germany be forced to pay a large indemnity after the war.

United Kingdom

Official figures show British food prices has risen by around 94% since the start of the war.

Two new groups for attestation announced: 41 to 45, and 45 to 50.

Aerial operations: North Sea

The Royal Navy has been planning to bomb the lock gates at Zeebrugge which are a vital link in the communications between that port and Bruges, where German U-boats and destroyers are based. The destruction of the lock gates will make the canal tidal and probably sever the link connection to Bruges.

The Navy has calculated that direct hits from two fifteen-inch shells would destroy the lock gates, but getting close enough to achieve this will be difficult

The Knocke battery {Kaiser Wilhelm II) has a range of 20 miles so the bombarding ships would then be firing close to their maximum range to be safe from attack. Aeroplane spotting is essential because the bursts of the shells cannot be located in any other way.

Vice-Admiral Bacon calculated that 252 rounds would be required to ensure the probability of a hit on the lock gates, and as the rate of fire for each of the three available monitors {Erebus, Terror, and Marshal Soult) was one round a minute, the bombardment would have to go on for 84 minutes.

Also required are a calm sea, weather conditions giving favourable winds to allow of the maintenance of a smokescreen to protect the bombarding ships, a tide running along the coast so that the anchored monitors could keep their broadsides to the target, and the absence of low clouds which would prevent aircraft working,

Three aborted attempts to put the plan in motion were thwarted by bad weather, but morning a further attempt was made and at 0415, the monitors and their attendant ships were in position under conditions judged to be favourable.

The assault however was beset with delays. The ships arrived late, the MARSHAL SOULThad to be towed. Two Sopwith Strutters from 2 Naval Squadron had been over the target since 0300 and even though the mist cleared around 0340, the first shells were not fired until 0447, wasting an hour.

45 minutes later the first aircraft turned for home as they were out of fuel. 45 corrections had been made at that point, but many of the shells failed to explode. The relieving aircraft had engine trouble and failed to turn up. At 0600 the operation was abandoned.

Up to the time the firing ceased enemy aircraft were inactive but after that patrols of Triplanes encountered the enemy. At 0625 4 Naval Squadron was attacked by enemy scouts who shot down one of the Strutters from 2 Naval Squadron – Flight Sub-Lieutenant Norman Von Lilienstein Tapscott and Lieutenant Gurth Alwyn Richardson in N5154 were claimed by Leutnant Theo Osterkamp, from MFJ I. The crashed near the shore and were both interned in Holland. In return 4 Naval claimed to to have downed 5 German aircraft though none were reported lost.

A later patrol by 10 Naval Squadron also claimed to have shot down a seaplane aNd in return Flight Sub-Lieutenant Maurice William Wallace Eppstein in Sopwith Triplane N5456 was shot down by Bertram Heinrich from MFJ I. He crashed into the sea and was killed.

In the end the raid was a failure. Later photographs revealed that nineteen shells had exploded within a few yards of the target, but that the gates had not suffered any damage. Although considerable damage was inflicted on buildings there was no impact on u-boat operations .

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, west of Ireland

Karl Edeling, commanding U-48, begins his U-boat career with the sinking of British tanker SS SAN ONOFRE, 9,717 tons, bound from Querto Mexico for Queenstown with a load of fuel oil.

Naval operations: Northwest of Ireland

Carl-Siegried von Georg, in U-57, sinks British freighter SS REFUGIO, 2,642 tons, en route from Ardrossan to Huelva with a load of coal. His score is now 36 ships and 34,196 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

British freighter SS WATERVILLE, 1,968 tons, hauling a load of coke from Dunston to Le Havre, hits a mine laid by Werner von Zerboni di Sposetti in UC-6 off the Elbow buoy. The damaged ship is beached and refloated.

British passenger ship SS GALICIA, 5,922 tons, taking mail and general cargo from Liverpool to Valparaiso, hits a mine off Teignmouth, Cornwall by Ralph Wenninger in UC-17. GALICIA survived a previous mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1 on July 31, 1915.
Meanwhile, Wenninger scuttles British fishing smack G.L.C., 24 tons.
His score is now 72 vessels and 92,749 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Johannes Spieß, in U-19, torpedoes British freighter SS WIRRAL, 4,207 tons, carrying a load of munitions from London to Archangelsk; off Utvaer Island, Norway. His score is now 18 ships and 21,306 tons.

Naval operations: Balearic Sea

Johannes Klasing, in U-34, sinks British freighter SS ZANONI, 3,851 tons, headed from Tyne to Genoa with a load of coal. His score is now 17 ships and 19,061 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Kurt Hartwig, in U-32, sinks British freighter SS LOCKSLEY HALL, 3,635 tons, en route from Madras to London with a general cargo; south-southeast of Malta. His score is now 42 ships and 53,650 tons.

Third leading u-boat ace Max Valentiner, in U-38, returns to the fray, sinking British freighter SS EGYPTIAN PRINCE, 3,117 tons, carrying a general cargo from Alexandria to Manchester; south-southeast of Malta. His score is now 127 ships and 178,427 tons.

Day 1018 of the Great War, May 14th 1917

Western Front

British line advanced north of Gavrelle.

British troops make further gains at the Arras Battle, taking all of the commune of Roeux and advance north of Gavrelle.

Strong hostile reconnaisances north-east of Vauxaillon (Soissons), west of Craonne, Berry au Bac and in Champagne fail.

Italian Front: Modest Italian Gains on the Isonzo

After over two days of bombardment along the entire length of the Isonzo front, the Italians attacked at noon on May 14. The main tactical objective of the offensive was to capture the Tre Santi, the “Three Saints”: Mt. Santo, Mt. San Gabriele, and Mt. San Daniele, that dominated the Italian positions in Gorizia from the northeast. This would also require the Italians to break out of the bridgehead at Plava and push onto the Bainsizza plateau. The forces further south, around the Karst plateau, would at this stage of the battle only perform diversionary attacks.

The infantry attacked at noon. One of the first objectives was Hill 383 near Plava, which the Italians had been fighting over since the first month of the war. The Hungarian defenders were able to beat back the first two waves of Italian infantry with their machine guns and rifles, but, pounded by artillery, outnumbered by infantry fifteen-to-one, and out of ammunition, they were eventually overwhelmed after three hours of fighting, though they had inflicted 50% casualties on the first two waves.

Further south, the Italians even took one of the Tre Santi, Mt. Santo, on the first attack. Scaling the 2250′ mountain carefully, hiding in the underbrush, they were able to surprise the defenders–who were understandably not in peak fighting condition after a barrage that had literally blown some of them off of the mountain. However, the mountain was retaken by an Austrian counterattack after nightfall, which equally surprised the new Italian defenders–much to the consternation of the generals and politicians behind the lines.

Despite this setback, and additional failures in the attack on Mt. San Gabriele, the Italians had still scored a major success, by their own standards. Although advancing no more than 500 yards anywhere, they had taken Hill 383, had secured the bridgehead around Plava, and were preparing for a push onto the Bainsizza plateau.

United Kingdom

King George tours industrial centres in the North.

Sir John Jellicoe to be Chief of Naval Staff, Sir E. Geddes Controller.

United States

Germans are banned from boarding any American ship heading to any Russian port.

Russia: Russian Government Authorizes All-Female Combat Unit: The Women’s Battalion of Death

Russia was running out of men to fight for her. At the front, soldiers deserted every day, or else they formed soldiers’ councils and refused to listen to their officers. The official revolutionary government wanted to remain in the war, but the spread of radical Bolshevism was making it impossible.

While the government was at its most desperate, a Russian stepped forward promising she would find troops to fight. Maria Bochkareva was a peasant from Novgorod with a dismal life behind her. Married off at 15, she followed her husband to Siberia, but he drank heavily and beat her. When the war began, she saw a way out. Appealing personally to Tsar Nicholas II, she received permission to join an infantry battalion. Unused to a female soldier, the men in her unit harassed her, verbally and sexually. Bochkareva pressed on and proved to be as good a soldier as any man, winning several awards and, according to historian Adam Hochschild, bayoneting at least one German to death. She suffered two wounds at the front.

In May 1917, Bochkareva went to Petrograd to propose to the Duma the raising of an all-female combat unit. If Russian men did not want to fight, why should Russia waste the vast human potential of its female population? The government agreed, and Bochkareva received permission to form the First Russian Women’s Battalion of Death.

Bochkareva called for volunteers, with one condition: her unit would hold to old Tsarist standards of discipline. Officers would be unquestioned, no soldiers’ councils here. More than one thousands women accepted the call, but Bochkareva’s brutal training left only 300 left standing by the end. Able only to give a month of training, due to the desperate war situation, the Women’s Death Battalion marched off to the front lines in June 1917. Bochkareva’s soldiers accounted themselves well, and sevearl more women’s units were formed before the October Revolution. The refusal of most male soldiers to fight, however, meant Bochkareva’s women often fought alone, and the Russian Provisional Government gave up on the program before being overthrown in revolution in November 1917. Bochkareva herself fought for the White Army in the Russian Civil War, being captured and executed by the Bolshevik Cheka while fighting with Admiral Kolchak’s Siberian army in 1920.

Aerial operations: Zeppelin destroyed

On 26 April the Admiralty put a new tracking system in place to detect Zeppelins. As the Zeppelin patrolled, their courses were methodically plotted by the British wireless interception stations, and if they approached within 150 miles of the English Coast the position, course, and speed were communicated direct to one or more of the East Coast flying-boat bases.

Local commanders then had discretion to send out aircraft – keeping them up to date with the Zeppelin’s position by wireless.

Soon after dawn this morning, in misty weather, news was received of a Zeppelin near the Terschelling Light Vessel.

A Curtiss H12 ‘Large America’, manned by Flight Lieutenant Christopher John Galpin, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Robert Leckie, Chief Petty Officer Vernon Frank Whatling, and Air Mechanic J Laycock, was sent out from Yarmouth.

After eighty miles, the flying-boat shut down the wireless to lessen the chances of discovery. At 0448, the crew spotted Zeppelin L22 ten to fifteen miles away, cruising slowly at 3,000 feet, The flying-boat was 2000 feet up and then climbed another 1,000 feet.

Leckie made a skilful approach and dived on the Zeppelin until he was twenty feet below and fifty feet to starboard of her gondolas. Then Flight- Lieutenant Galpin opened fire from the two Lewis guns in the forward cock-pit. After a burst of fire both guns jammed, and the pilot turned away to try and clear the guns. But no second attack was necessary. As the flying-boat turned, the L22 began to glow, and within a few seconds she was falling in flames. Her skeleton plunged upright into the sea, leaving no trace in the dawning light save a mound of black ash on the surface of the water.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, far southwest of Ireland

Richard Hartmann, commanding U-49, scuttles British barque CARNMONEY, 1,299 tons, bound from Buenos Aires to the United Kingdom with a load of maize. His score is now 28 ships and 62,844 tons.

Naval operations: Ireland

Carl-Siegried von Georg, in U-57, torpedoes British freighter SS ARLINGTON COURT, 4,346 tons, carrying a load of timber from St. John, New Brunswick to Cherbourg; off the southwest coast of Ireland. The damaged ship manages to make safe port.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, sinks British freighter SS FARLEY, 3,692 tons, travelling in ballast from Cardiff to New York; 70 miles off Bishop rock. His score is now 75 ships and 97,868 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Claus Lafrenz, in UB-18, scuttles British schooner ELIZABETH HAMPTON, 108 tons, travelling from Cardiff to Carentan with a load of coal; off St. Catherine's lighthouse, Isle of Wight. His score is now 46 ships and 48,629 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

British trawler BWLL LILLY, 168 tons, hits a mine laid off Peterhead, Scotland by Alfred Arnold in UC-49, bringing his score to 4 vessels and 1,832 tons.

U-59 (Freiherr Wilhelm von Fircks, hits a German (friendly) mine off Denmark. 34 lost, 4 survivors.

Naval operations: Balearic Sea

Johannes Klasing, in U-34, scuttles two ships off Valencia, Spain:
1400 French schooner GRAVELINOIS, 129 tons, carrying a load of wine and apple juice from Alicante to Marseilles.
2300 Portuguese schooner TEJO, 201 tons. bound from Cabo Verde for Valencia with a load of coprah (dried coconut).
Klasing's score is now 19 vessels and 19,391 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Otto Schultze, in U-63, scuttles Italian brigantine FRANCESCO RAIOLA, 181 tons, off the southern entrance to the Strait of Messina.
U-63 also torpedoes British freighter SS VOLGA, 4,404 tons, but the stranded ship is later refloated and returned to service.
Schultze's score is now 34 ships and 90,677 tons.

Day 1020 of the Great War, May 16th 1917

Western Front

Enemy attacks on Gavrelle, north of River Scarpe, fail with heavy losses.

British hold on "Siegfried" line, north-east of Bullecourt, extended.

French make appreciable advance east of Craonne.

End of Battle of Arras.

Italian Front

Italians take 4,021 prisoners in last two days' advance in Carso and on Vodice.

Austrians claim 2,000 prisoners in the Carso.

East Africa campaign

General Van Deventer succeeds General Hoskins in East Africa.

Russia: Alexander Kerensky Becomes Russian Minister of War, Soviet Demands Peace

The other members of the Allies had tolerated, even supported, Russia’s democratic revolution. But now war and revolution were becoming hopelessly intertwined. In May, the Russian Minister of War, General Guchkov, resigned in exasperation at mutiny on the front, where soldiers were forming political councils and refusing to follow orders. A few days before that, the Provisional Government had invited members of the Petrograd Soviet to join the official government. The Russian Socialist Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks, the party Trotsky once led, agreed. Lenin and the Bolsheviks remained outside and opposed.

One Socialist Revolutionary, Alexander Kerensky, became Minister of Justice, but after Guchkov’s resignation he jumped up to Minister of War. The position was important but possibly unenviable. “Citizen Kerensky,” now bedecked in army uniform (shorn of its Tsarist decorations) had to to jump-start a war effort that was quickly stalling. The German Chancellor, Bethman-Hollweg, offered peace with Russia a few days earlier, but the Provisional Government declined. Lenin and the Bolesheviks now considered the SRs an enemy too, and anyone else who supported the war.

United Kingdom

Mr. Lloyd George proposes Home Rule at once and suggests Convention.

Philip Snowden, Socialist Member of Parliament, declares if peace does not come soon, Allied countries will be threatened by revolution.

United States

Photo: Private boats acquired for United States Navy World War I use as patrol boats. The boat at far left is unidentified; the remainder (left to right) are USS GYPSY (SP-55), USS DORIS B. IV (SP-625), USS VENTURE (SP-616), and USS COMBER (SP 344), at the Portsmouth Navy Yard



Germany

German Chancellor indicates lines of peace with Russia.

Canada

Photo: Anti-conscription parade at Victoria Square, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opposition to conscription in Canada was widespread (including farmers, employers, recent immigrants), but open opposition was left to French-speakers, primarily in Quebec, May 16, 1917



Aerial operations: Camels on the way

The new Sopwith Camel fighter took its maiden flight back in December 1916. Today the first examples arrived for training with 4 Naval Squadron based at Dunkirk. The Squadron is to be equipped with the type as aircraft arrive.

The Navy is the first to equip wiht the new fighter due to the interminable completion between the RNAS and RFC for resources. The idea is that the Camel will replace the now undergunned Triplane and Pup, though this may prove difficult as the docile flying characteristics of those aircraft are not shared by the Camel, which is regarded as tricky to to fly due to its forward centre of gravity and the high torque of its rotary rngine.

Naval operations: Allies Cancel Nighttime Otranto Barrage

The Allied navies in the Mediterranean had attempted to contain the U-boat threat there by setting up a barrage in the Straits of Otranto, trying to catch any U-boats leaving the Adriatic in a series of nets. The barrage was not very successful, catching only one U-boat in over a year-and-a-half of operation. Considering the Germans never paused their submarine campaign in the Mediterranean, this was not a great result.

Nevertheless, the Austrians saw it as enough of a threat to launch a surface raid against the Barrage, under the command of Miklós Horthy. Engaging before dawn on May 15, the Austrians, despite an inferiority in numbers, were able to inflict heavy losses on the Allies, sinking two destroyers and 14 trawlers versus moderate damage to two of their cruisers on the way back to Cattaro. The Allies had not really been battle-ready, suffering multiple mechanical failures at the outset of the battle.

As a result of the battle, on May 16 the Allies decided that the trawlers should hold their positions only during the daytime, to prevent them from being ambushed again at night. The Otranto Barrage would catch no further submarines during the war.

Naval operations: Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland

American destroyer squadron arrives in Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland and begins anti-submarine operations with the British.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, 150 miles northwest of Tory Island

Franz Grünert, commanding U-30, sinks British freighter SS MIDDLESEX, 7,265 tons, bound from Manchester for Australia with a general cargo. His score is now 16 ships and 21,947 tons.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, attacks French freighter l'HERMITE, 2,189 tons, with his deck gun. The damaged ship manages to escape.

Naval operations: English Channel

Hermann Glimpf, in UB-20, scuttles Dutch schooner FRISO, 171 tons, carrying a load of pipe clay from Fowey to Amsterdam; off Start Point. His total is now 4 vessels and 1,795 tons.

Naval operations: North Sea

Hugo Thielmann, in UC-71, uses his deck gun to sink Dutch sailing vessel HENDRIKA JOHANA, 134 tons, travelling from Gothenburg to Rotterdam with a load of pig iron; off the Maas lightship. His score is now 6 vessels and 9,109 tons.

Hans Howaldt, in UB-40, sinks two British freighters off the Owers lightship:
SS HIGHLAND CORRIE, 7,583 tons, en route from La Plata to London with a load of frozen meat. In August 1915 Highland Corrie survived hitting a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-1.
SS PAGENTURM, 5,000 tons, headed from London to Barry with a load of military stores.
Howaldt's score is now 29 ships and 35,685 tons.

Naval operations: Skagerrak

Erich Haecker, in UC-79, captures Norwegian freighter SS THORUNN, 990 tons, underway from Bergen to the United Kingdom with a load of hay, as a prize. The ship is later released by the Prize Court.

Naval operations: Balearic Sea

Johannes Klasing, in U-34, scuttles British schooner DOROTHY DUFF, off Cabo Cullera, near Valencia. His tally is now 21 vessels and 23,576 tons.
Klasing also hits Spanish freighter PATRICIO, underway from Newport, Wales to Barcelona with a load of coal, with one shell. The ship survived the attack, but whether it escaped or stopped and then allowed to proceed is unknown.

Naval operations: Gulf of Genoa

Ernst von Voigt, in UC-35, sinks American freighter SS HILONIAN, 2,921 tons, carrying a general cargo from New York to Genoa; off Albenga. His score is now 18 ships and 37,732 tons.

Naval operations: Adriatic Sea

Johannes Feldkirchner, in UC-25, torpedoes British light cruiser HMS DARTMOUTH, 5,250 tons, off Brindisi, Italy. The damaged ships is towed to port and repaired.

Day 1022 of the Great War, May 18th 1917

YouTube (Tenth Battle of The Isonzo River - Trotsky Arrives in Petrograd)



Western Front

Artillery activity near Fresnoy.

Germans concentrate on California Plateau, Chemin des Dames; slight attacks repulsed.

Photo: German stormtroops training Sedan May 1917



Italian Front

Austro-Hungarian prisoners captured by Italy in the Isonzo Battle climb to 6,532, as their counterattacks on Italian lines are beaten.

United Kingdom

British Director of Food Economy defends the continued brewing of beer in the country, stating it counts as food and is necessary.

Several labour leaders in Sheffield, England are arrested under the Defense of Realm Act for organizing a strike in defiance of their unions.

Russia

The Duma urges loyalty to Allies on Provisional Government.

United States: Pershing Announced as Head of American Expeditionary Force

The United States had begun preparations to enlist a large force of conscripts for European service. Congress had passed the Selective Service Act in late April, and, with much fanfare, Wilson signed it on May 18. All men between the ages of 21 and 30 would have to register for the draft on June 5. Of course, the draft itself, as well as the training, equipping, and transport of the troops would take quite a while. In the meantime, the question remained of what the regular Army would do, and whether any large contingent of volunteers would be sent over before the draftees.

Wilson answered these questions as well on May 18, announcing that General Pershing, formerly commander of the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa, had already been ordered to lead a division of regular troops to Europe. (In fact, a small contingent of Army medics and doctors arrived in Britain on the same day.) Pershing was a popular, non-partisan choice; other possible choices, like Leonard Wood, were too closely tied to the Republicans. Wilson also announced that he would not seek any volunteer divisions in “the present stage of the war,” instead preferring to rely on a national army of draftees. Organizing volunteers was an unnecessary complication to America’s wartime mobilization, and would not have any appreciable positive effect on the war in Europe even if they got there slightly faster than the conscripts. The volunteer forces would also poach officers from the regular army, who would be needed for the training of the millions of new troops, while the men (mostly older and richer preparedness advocates) might actually prove a drawback on the battlefield.

This was a direct rebuff of his old rival, President Roosevelt, who had made it extremely clear that he wanted to raise a division of troops and lead them in Europe, in a repeat of his Spanish-American War adventures. Wilson mentioned Roosevelt in his statement and did his best to flatter him (and his supporters), while simultaneously implying that Roosevelt was no trained military leader and would not be qualified to lead a division in the field. Roosevelt was understandably angry at the move, but limited his criticism to a defense of his motives and aims, and released the men in his proto-division to serve elsewhere.

Aerial operations: Murray Jones and Felmy

Oberleutnant Gerhard Felmy fron FAb300 is widely regarded by the RFC as the best German pilot in Palestine. His older brother Helmuth Felmy is the commander of FAb300.

Today Allan Murray Jones from 67 (Australian) Squadron (1 Squdron AFC) came across hind while patrolling in his Martynside G100 near Galjun.

Felmy’s Albatross was superior to the Martinsyde and Murray Jones was eventually eounded in the leg and forced to land. Fortunately for him he landed near enough to the British lines to be safe.

Naval operations: North Atlantic Ocean, far west of Ireland

Leo Hillebrand, commanding U-46, sinks two British freighters:
SS LLANDRINDOD, 3,841 tons, bound from Port Natal for Glasgow with a load of Corn.
SS PENHALE, 3,712 tons, en route from Jucaro via Halifax to Queenstown with a load of sugar; torpedoed.
Hillebrand's score is now 27 ships and 57,072 tons.

Naval operations: Cornwall

British freighter SS MARY BAIRD, 1,830 tons, travelling in ballast from Rouen to Newport, Wales, hits a mine laid by Paul Hundius in UC-47, bringing his total to 43 ships and 45,827 tons.

Naval operations: Celtic Sea

Hermann Glimpf, in UB-20, uses his deck gun on two British drifters off Bishop Rock:
ADVENTURE, 50 tons.
PRIMROSE, 62 tons.
Glimpf's score is now 7 vessels and 4,062 tons.

Naval operations: English Channel

Three British ships are sunk by mines laid by Gustav Buch, in UC-36 off the Isle of Wight:
SS CAMBERWELL, 4,078 tons, en route from Tees and London to Calcutta with a general cargo; off Dunnose head.
SS ELFORD, 1,739 tons, headed from Chatham to Cherbourg with a load of government supplies; off the Nab lightship.
His Majesty's Trawler LUCKNOW, 171 tons, on minesweeping duty off the Owers lightship.
Buch's score is now 19 vessels and 28,771 tons.

Werner Fürbringer, in UC-70, scuttles two vessels off Start Point:
British ketch C.E.C.G., 47 tons.
British coaster SS DROMORE, 268 tons, travelling in ballast from Saint Malo to Swansea.
Fürbringer's score is now 79 ships and 62,604 tons.

Hugo Thielmann, in UC-71, scuttles Dutch motor vessel MV ANNETTA, 177 tons, heading from Yjmuiden to Le Havre with a general cargo, raising his score to 9 vessels and 9,443 tons.

Naval operations: Skagerrak

Erich Haecker, in UC-79, takes Danish freighter SS MAGNUS, 1,297 tons, as a prize. It is later released by the Prize Court.

Naval operations: West of Gibraltar

Heinrich Metzger, in U-47, scuttles American sailing vessel FRANCES M., 1,228 tons carrying a load of oil from New York to Oran. The first attempt to scuttle fails. While rigging charges for a second try part of the cargo explodes, killing one U-boat crew member. Metzger's score is now 10 ships and 18,506 tons.

Naval operations: Mediterranean Sea

Hans Adalbert von der Lühe, in UC-20, sinks British freighter SS MILLICENT KNIGHT, 3,563 tons, travelling from Cardiff to Port Said with a load of coal and government supplies. This is his first sinking.