The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

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lordroel
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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 19, 2022 6:35:25 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 19, 2022 6:35:25 GMT

Day 1054 of the Great War, June 19th 1917

Western Front

Small British advances on Arras front.

Italian Front

Italian offensive on Asiago plateau; ground gained on Mt. Ortigara.

United Kingdom

British peerages conferred by the King on Teck and Battenberg families.

Russia

Russian government announces it has been moving state documents from Petrograd (St. Petersburg) to Moscow due to enemy advances.

Russia: Russian Sailors Depose Admiral Kolchak

The Russian Navy, even more so than the Army, had been at the forefront of revolutionary activities in the armed forces. Boredom and strict discipline had led to open revolt during the February Revolution, especially in the Baltic Fleet, where sailors murdered the commanding admiral and imprisoned scores of other officers. The naval base at Kronstadt had even briefly rebelled against the Provisional Government for not being radical enough, before being talked down.

The Black Sea Fleet was not immune from revolutionary activity either, and in fact had a long history of it dating back to the revolution in 1905 and the mutiny on board the Potemkin. The Black Sea Fleet was under the command of a hardliner, Admiral Kolchak. Kolchak had been the only major military commander (other than those who had been murdered by their own troops) not to urge the abdication of the Czar in March, and had been attempting to maintain strict discipline ever since to keep his fleet in order. On June 19, the sailors’ councils of the Black Sea Fleet voted to depose Admiral Kolchak, a move which was soon recognized by the government in Petrograd.

Kolchak returned to Petrograd to report on the situation in the Black Sea Fleet, and urged that only extreme disciplinary measures, including capital punishment, would restore order in the armed forces. Kerensky disagreed, and, once Kolchak became the center of much counterrevolutionary intrigue, effectively exiled him in August by sending him as a liaison to the US Navy.

United States

U.S. loans to the Allies now total $2,756,400,000 after loaning $25 million to Britain and $20 million to France today.

France

France orders 20,000 beds to be made to help house people from recently liberated areas.

French Deputies votes 369 to 95 in confidence of the current government’s general policies.

Aerial operations: Seaplane disaster

At 0600 a Short seaplane, escorted by two Sopwith Baby seaplanes set out on a mine and U-boat patrol. An hour later, while a thunderstorm was raging over Dunkirk, the bell in the pigeon-loft rang to give warning of the arrival of a bird. The messages had come from one of the Sopwith ‘Baby’ pilots, Flight Lieutenant Robert Graham. They read:

(i) “Short shot down Potvin?? Ten NNE Nieuport. One ‘Hun shot down. My tanks shot. French TBD on its way. Send fighters.”

and

(ii) “Short landed O.K. down NNE ‘Nieuport-Potvin? I shot one down but he did not crash. My tanks no good can’t climb. French TBD on its way. Send more fighters. Quick.”

The officers in the Short were Flight Sub-Lieutenant Leo Philip Paine and Sub-Lieutenant Thomas Rogers. At 0720 another message arrived by pigeon from Paine. This gave further bad news:

‘Am shot down. Hit in tank, radiator. Rogers dead. Please send C.M.B. at once.’

It later transpired that the British seaplanes had been attacked by three enemy fighting seaplanes. The German pilot Dyck shot down and killed Flight Sub-Lieutenant Potvin, whose seaplane crashed, but Dyck was himself shot down with a bullet in the abdomen from the machine gun of Flight Lieutenant Graham in the second Sopwith ‘Baby’.

Before Flight Lieutenant Graham could turn to engage the other enemy fighters, one of them (Bieber) killed the observer in the Short and shot through the seaplane’s tank and radiator, forcing Paine to land.

In a further fight, the remaining Sopwith ‘Baby’ seaplane was shot about and, with a failing engine, Flight Lieutenant Graham had no choice but to run for home. He eventually landed alongside a French destroyer and asked the commander to go to the assistance of the British and German seaplanes down on the water. He himself was taken in tow by a French trawler back to Dunkirk.

Meanwhile Bieber had landed his seaplane beside his comrade Dyck, had managed to get the wounded pilot aboard his own aircraft, a single-seater, and had succeeded in reaching Ostend. His fine effort, however, was made in vain as Dyck failed to survive the journey.

The raging thunderstorm made it impossible to send other fighter seaplanes away. The Commodore Dunkirk decided to send out two Torpedo boats which was a risky move given that these were a naval secret, and unescorted they might fall into enemy hands.

On the way, the engine in one of the boats broke down and the other boat went on alone, but was soon afterwards attacked by four German destroyers and, after firing a torpedo at one of them without making a hit, had to turn back. It reached harbour safely without having seen anything of the seaplanes. The other coastal motor-boat, however, crippled by its engine trouble, was cut off from Dunkirk by German destroyers and fell into enemy hands.

Soon after 1000 another pigeon came in from the Short with a message, timed 0910, which said the seaplane was still afloat near the pillar buoy, and asked that the pilot should be picked up. But by this time it was too late to do anything further.

In any case, soon after the message had been written, German destroyers had gone alongside the Short and had taken off her unwounded pilot and dead observer.

The whole episode led to the withdrawal of seaplanes and their replacement with regular aeroplanes.

Naval operations: ship losses

AMALIA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ANTONIO BALBI (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ARIANE (French Navy) The Amphitrite-class submarine was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Bizerta, Tunisia, by the submarine SM UC-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

BATOUM (United Kingdom) The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 6 nautical miles (11 km) south of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-61 ( Kaiserliche Marine). with the loss of a crew member.

BEARN(France) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 8 nautical miles (15 km) north of Tapia de Casariego, Asturias, Spain by SM UC-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

BROOKBY (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 155 nautical miles (287 km) south of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-60 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

BUFFALO (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 80 nautical miles (150 km) north west by north of Cape Wrath, Sutherland (59°34′N 7°30′W) by SM U-70 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HM CMB-1 (Royal Navy) The Coastal Motor Boat was shelled and sunk in the North Sea off Zeebrugge, West Flanders, Belgium by a Kaiserliche Marine destroyer with the loss of a crew member. Survivors were taken as prisoners of war.

DOMENICO MADRE (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

IVIGUT (Denmark) The auxiliary barque was sunk in the North Sea north east of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom (61°47′N 0°03′W) by SM U-58 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

JAKOBUS (Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Aegean Sea by SM UC-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

KATE AND ANNA(United Kingdom) The ketch was scuttled in the English Channel 25 nautical miles (46 km) north west by west of the Les Hanois Lighthouse, Guernsey, Channel Islands by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

KELSO (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 33 nautical miles (61 km) west south west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM UC-75 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

KYMA(Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco (34°34′N 6°42′W) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

LA GIUEPPINA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Strait of Sicily by SM U-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

LA MICHELINA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

LOUISE (Norway) The barque was sunk in the North Sea 135 nautical miles (250 km) east north east of Hook Point, Hartlepool, County Durham, United Kingdom (56°14′N 2°29′E) by SM U-93 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MARIA(Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Aegean Sea by SM UC-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MISTICA ROSA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

NUOVO MONDO CARMELO (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Strait of Sicily by SM U-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

RAFFAELO (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

RAXIARCHOS (Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Aegean Sea by SM UC-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ROSINELLA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

SAN ANTONIO (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

SAN GIOVANNI BATSITA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

SPIND (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) west by south of Cape Busto, Spain by SM UC-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

S. VINCENZO FERRARI P. (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Pantelleria by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

TUNISIE (France) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland (52°10′N 16°00′W by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all 31 crew.

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lordroel
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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 20, 2022 3:00:20 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 20, 2022 3:00:20 GMT

Day 1055 of the Great War, June 20th 1917

Western Front

German attacks on Souchez river repulsed.

British recover ground on Infantry Hill.

Violent German attack near Vauxaillon (Chemin des Dames) gains ground.

Italian Front

Italians carry height on Piccolo Lagaznoi (Carnia front).

United States

President Wilson calls for a recruitment week to boost enlistment, as the U.S. Army is short 70,000 men than planned.

Russia

Russian General Brusilov: “In honor bound, free Russia’s armies will not fail to do their duty.”

United Kingdom: British Royal Family Dispenses with German Titles, Changing Family Surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor

The dog which Americans call the German Shephard was renamed the Alsation in Britain during World War One, when all mentions of Germany became a faux pas. Thus it was awkward that the royal family itself was of a German house - Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The German duchy had furnished its fair share of relatives to the European thrones, not only in Britain, but also in Bulgaria, Belgium, Portugal. George V was Queen Victoria’s grandson; the Kaiser was his cousin.

This, of course, was an unwelcome relation after 1914, and in June 1917 George decided to be rid of the cumbersome surname and the unwanted family ties. In a measure of solidarity and as an anti-German display, he and the royal family renounced their German titles and changed the name of their house to Windsor.

Aerial operations: Increase of the Royal Flying Corps

The British war cabinet decides to increase the size of the Royal Flying Corps from 108 to 200 squadrons, with most of increase coming in bomber squadrons.

Aerial operations: Albatross Test

Today British pilots tested a captured Albatross DIII against a Sopwith Camel and Pup. Captain Charles Phillip Oldfield Bartlett wrote:

“After lunch we all went to the Depot to examine a captured Albatros Scout and witness its performance against a Camel and a Triplane. Casey flew the Albatros (160 hp Mercedes), Le Mesurier the Triplane and Allen the Camel. The Albatros was outclassed for speed and climb but manoeuvred well and doubtless in the hands of an Albatros expert would have shown up better. She is very much on the lines of a Nieuport but more heavily loaded, fuselage in three-ply throughout and finely streamlined.”

Lieutenant Cecil Lewis, now with 56 Squadron RFC also tested it, remarking that it was sluggish, yet strong and reliable. Compared to the SE5, the cockpit was cavernous, and the aircraft altogether seemed large. However, he did not feel able to throw it about the sky in gay abandon, and he found it hard work compared with the lightness of the SE5 he normally flew.

Naval operations: Sailors Begin To Have Say in Food Supply on German Ships

The food situation had been poor in Germany since the beginning of the last winter, with poor harvests, transportation chaos caused by a combination of poor weather and the Hindenburg Program all contributing to what had been called the “Turnip Winter.” The situation had not improved much on German naval vessels. The army, fighting on the fronts, received a choice selection of food; the navy, sitting in port, less so. And unlike civilians, sailors largely did not have the freedom to attempt to find or bargain for food elsewhere in their free time. Since the beginning of the year, sailors had been eating turnips (boiled or dried), and a stew so horrendous that it was nicknamed Drahtverhau (“barbed wire entanglement.”)

On June 20, the Navy tried to rectify this by allowing the establishment of food supervisory committees, to give the sailors a say in the selection and preparation of food. Rollout of these committees was slow, however, and on July 4 sailors on the flagship of the High Seas Fleet, WILHELM DE GROSSE, went on hunger strike in protest. After this and similar strikes, food supervisory committees were finally established on most ships, though four “ringleaders” of the strikes were executed in September in an attempt to maintain discipline.

Naval operations: ship losses

BENGORE HEAD (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 150 nautical miles (280 km) north west of the Fastnet Rock (52°19′N 13°39′W) by SM U-62 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

BENITA (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 15 nautical miles (28 km) south of Portland Bill, Dorset by SM UC-75 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

BIDARTAISE (France) The vessel was sunk in the English Channel 15 nautical miles (28 km) south of Portland Bill by SM UC-75 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ELI LINDOE (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

FIDO(Norway) The barque was captured and scuttled in the North Sea south south west of Utsire, Rogaland by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

KATERINA (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay (43°48′N 7°43′W) by SM UC-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

RUPERRA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km) east by south of Pantelleria, Italy by SM UC-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HMS SALVIA(Royal Navy) The Aubretia-class sloop, operating as a Q-ship, was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland (52°25′N 16°20′W) by SM U-94 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of five of her crew. Her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.

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lordroel
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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 21, 2022 2:46:39 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 21, 2022 2:46:39 GMT

Day 1056 of the Great War, June 21st 1917

Western Front

French recover nearly all ground lost near Vauxaillon and make small advance near Mont Cornillet.

German attack on the Teton (Champagne) repulsed.

United Kingdom

Due to cuts in beer production, some London pubs limit customers to half a pint at lunch or dinner.

Warrant instituting "Order of the British Empire" published.

British Government place embargo on disposal of U.K. securities in neutral countries by residents in enemy countries.

Russia: Kerensky Inspects “Women’s Battalion of Death”

With morale collapsing in the Russian army, military leaders were quick to seize on any opportunity that could show that the Russian people were fully behind the war. Maria Bochkareva, a factory construction foreman, had personally appealed to the Czar in 1914 to fight in the army; her request was approved and she rose to the rank of sergeant. In the spring of 1917, she appealed to Brusilov to let her form a shock battalion of women, largely as an attempt to shame male soldiers into continuing the fight; if women were fighting for their country in the trenches, surely men could as well.

Brusilov, eager as always to improve morale and reframe the Russian army as one based on patriotism, rather than duty to the Czar, approved Bochkareva’s request, and battalion was formed on June 19. It was quickly organized, and War Minister Kerensky himself reviewed the battalion on June 21, before it was blessed by church officials and quickly dispatched to the front. The battalion would have an excellent record in combat (and we will see them again next month), and was effective in inspiring nearby units to follow them into combat. However, on a wider scale, the battalion may have been counterproductive; the recruitment of women was seen as a desperate move by many soldiers, and certain detachments (especially Cossacks) were offended that they would have to fight alongside women.

Russia: Russian Government Arrests Prominent Tsarist Officials

The Russian Provisional Government cracked down hard on members of the old regime in June 1917. A number of leading figures in the Tsarist government and military administrations were arrested, including former Prime Minister Boris Stürmer and General Paul von Rennenkampf, who in 1914 had been part of the two-prong invasion of East Prussia. Both men were easy targets: Rennenkampf’s bumbling had in part caused the disaster at Tannenberg in 1914, and both he and Stürmer were ethnic Germans who had been out of favor for some time. Accused of incompetence and tyrannical use of power, they and a number of others were imprisoned.

Aerial operations: 56 Sent home

Such is the furore surrounding the recent German air raids that the public have been demanding action. Today the Government bowed to public pressure. Against the wishes of the Commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Sir Douglas Haig, and the Commander of the RFC Hugh Trenchard, 56 Squadron RFC have been recalled to the United Kingdom to carry out Home Defence Work.

At the time this was a very big deal. Despite it being against the RFC’s policy to publicise individual aces or to group ace pilots together in elite squadrons, 56 Squadron was as considered one of the elite units in the RFC.

The Squadron moved to Bekesbourne today. After 10 days of no further raids by the enemy, the Squadron returned to its base at Estrée-Blanche. Two days after their departure, the German raids recommenced.

Naval operations: ship losses

BLACK HEAD (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 52 nautical miles (96 km) east south east of the Out Skerries, Shetland Islands (60°22′N 1°00′E) by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

CHILDE HAROLD (United States) The schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Ouessant, Finistère, France (47°50′N 7°50′W) by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

E. T. NYGAARD (Denmark) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) off Cape Ortegal, Portugal (43°44′N 8°02′W) by SM UC-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HENDERIKS (Netherlands) The fishing vessel was sunk in the North Sea off Callantsoog, North Holland by SM UC-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

LAATEFOS (Norway) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea west of Lerwick, Shetland by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

LORD ROBERTS (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 270 nautical miles (500 km) north west by north of the Fastnet Rock (51°38′N 15°58′W) by SM U-62 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

ORTONA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 140 nautical miles (260 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

SCHERIA (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 140 nautical miles (260 km) west south west of Ouessant by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 22, 2022 2:47:08 GMT gillan1220 likes this

Post by lordroel on Jun 22, 2022 2:47:08 GMT

Day 1057 of the Great War, June 22nd 1917

YouTube (The Disillusionment of Lawrence of Arabia)

Western Front

Heavy German attack on Chemin des Dames front; French lose ground south-east of Filain.

France

In the past 2 weeks, U.S. doctors and nurses have taken over 6 British field hospitals in France to free up resources.

Russia

Boris Bakhmeteff, Russian Provisional Government’s ambassador to the US, receives a state dinner with Wilson at the White House.

United Kingdom: British War Cabinet Approves Plan for New Offensive at the End of July

In the aftermath of the successful Battle of Messines, BEF commander Sir Douglas Haig crossed to England to lay down his plans for the continued campaign. Against Lloyd George’s reluctance, Haig convinced the War Cabinet to give the go-ahead to Britain’s summer offensive, which was to be launched on the last day of July. It would be the largest British battle since the Somme, aimed at breaking the British out of Ypres, where they had been bottled up in Flanders since 1914. South African General Jan Smuts supported Haig, who promised that Germany was within six months of total exhaustion and that a final offensive would end the war in 1917.

Naval operations: German U-Boats Attack US Troop Transports

The first large contingent of American troops bound for Europe left New York on June 14, with 14,000 soldiers and marines on board a variety of ships. German Admiral Holtzendorff had said, when making the final arguments for unrestricted submarine warfare, that “I pledge on my word as a naval officer that no American will ever set foot on continental soil.” Pershing already had, of course, but this was Holtzendorff’s last chance to uphold his pledge and see if the U-boats could stop the army that they had brought into the war.

On June 22, German U-boats found the American troop convoy, and made an attempt to attack it. However, any torpedoes they fired missed, and the fast-moving convoy soon passed them by. The Americans would arrive in France the next week without further incident.

Naval operations: ship losses

HIMALAYA (France) The passenger ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 38°03′N 11°31′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 28 of the 204 people on board.

MAGGIE (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 70 nautical miles (130 km) north west of Ireland by SM U-79 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MELFORD HALL (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 95 nautical miles (176 km) west of Tory Island, County Donegal (56°34′N 10°41′W) by SM U-100 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MIAMI (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 11 nautical miles (20 km) east south east of the Fastnet Rock (51°21′N 9°19′W) by SM UC-51 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

TORO (Uruguay) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco (35°38′N 7°26′W) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

BOLETTE (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 95 nautical miles (176 km) west of Feie by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of five of her crew.

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 23, 2022 2:52:55 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 23, 2022 2:52:55 GMT

Day 1058 of the Great War, June 23rd 1917

Western Front

Further German attacks near Vauxaillon and Filain repulsed.

Photo: Portuguese troops putting on gas masks during the anti-gas exercise at the Infantry Training School. Marthes, 23 June 1917

Photo: Portuguese troops train with Lewis guns. Marthes, France, June 23 1917

Eastern Front: Brusilov Begins to Doubt Success of Upcoming Offensive

The upcoming Russian offensive, designed by Kerensky and Brusilov to unite the Russian army in the war effort once again, was beginning to have problems. Originally planned to go forward on June 23, it had already been pushed back twice. In part this was due to Kerensky’s propaganda campaign ahead of the offensive, but mostly it was due to morale issues. There were mutinies behind the lines, and for those units that did start making their way to the front, there was often large-scale desertion. It was worst in the Northern Front, closest to the revolutionary agitation in Petrograd, but even Brusilov’s old Southwest Front, which was to be conducting the offensive.

The planning for the offensive, by this point, did take into account the severe morale issues. Preparatory orders issued June 23 issued that officers should destroy any alcohol captured in enemy stores during the offensive, to make sure that the advancing troops were not slowed down by drunkenness. Note that this issue was not just confined to Russia during the war; Germany would have severe problems during their 1918 offensives in France as troops slowed down to enjoy the material fruits of their victory.

Brusilov spoke to Kerensky, urging him to call off the offensive; even his most veteran units could not be universally relied upon. But Kerensky was committed to the offensive for political reasons. Brusilov recalled that “he paid not the slightest attention to my words, and from that moment on, I realized that my own authority as the Commander-in-Chief was quite irrelevant.”

Italian Front

Photo: Austro-Hungarians in the Alps. June 23, 1917

United Kingdom

British government admits beer rationing were too drastic and orders increases of 33% in production.

France

Return of M. Thomas to Paris from Russia.

Greece

Resignation of M. Zaimis, Greek Premier.

Albania: Italians Establish Protectorate Over Albania

The Kingdom of Italy declared Albania its protectorate on June 23, 1917. The majority of the nation was still occupied by Austria-Hungary, but the Italians had post-war plans to incorporate the young nation into an Adriatic empire. Taking precedent from the French, Italy announced its intention to secure an independent Albania, while truly hoping to make it a client state.

The Italian protectorate stretched only over the southern third of the country, but in 1918 Italian troops and Albanian partisans chased the Austrians out of the rest. In 1920, two years after victory, the Albanians chased the Italians themselves out of their country in a brief and bloody independence war.

Aerial operations: Joint success in Palestine

Out in Palestine, both the RNAS and RFC continue to harass the enemy.

Back in April 1917, agents reported that the Turks have accumulated large quantities of stores at Tul Karm.

Today, around 0500′ the RNAS and RFC carried out a joint operation to attack these stores. Owing to a shortage of seaplanes, the raid could not be made until today.

Three RNAS Shorts from the HMS Empress will bomb Tul Karm while seven RFC aircraft carry out a diversionary attack on the German aerodrome at Er Ramie. One of the difficulties is that the Empress had to make her rendezvous off a comparatively unknown coast, while the Royal Flying Corps aeroplanes had a long journey across Palestine to their objective. Everything, however, passed as planned and the naval bombing of Tul Karm coincided with the Royal Flying Corps attack on the Ramie aero- drome.

The three Shorts dropped six 65-lb. and sixteen i6-lb. bombs. Two of the 65-lb . bombs fell in the station buildings and the others nearby.

The RFC dropped 73 bombs of 20-lb. or i6-lb. weight, some of which were seen to fall on the aerodrome.

Naval operations: ship losses

HMT CORIENTES (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by U 79 (Otto Rohrbeck) and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) north east of Malin Head, County Donegal (55°27′N 7°24′W) with the loss of thirteen crew.

CRAONNE (France) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea south west of Sicily, Italy (38°06′N 5°49′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

ISERE (France) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 70 nautical miles (130 km) west of Cape Spartel, Morocco (35°36′N 6°58′W) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

JULES(France) The sailing vessel struck a mine laid by UC 27 (Gerhard Schulz) and sank in the Gulf of Gabès off Sfax, Tunisa.

KALYPSO VERGOTTI (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 70 nautical miles (130 km) north west of Cape Bougaroni, Algeria (37°55′N 5°21′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MONGOLIA (United Kingdom) The passenger ship struck a mine and sank in the Indian Ocean off Bombay, India with the loss of fourteen lives.

SOPHIE (Denmark) The three-masted schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

STAR (Denmark) The three-masted schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Shetland Islands by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Last Edit: Jun 23, 2022 2:53:23 GMT by lordroel

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 24, 2022 6:03:12 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 24, 2022 6:03:12 GMT

Day 1059 of the Great War, June 24th 1917

Western Front

French recover more ground near Vauxaillon.

British advance on 1.5 mile front near Lens.

Photo: Portuguese infantry battalion on a route march, near Locon, 24 June 1917

Austria-Hungary

New Austrian Ministry, Dr. v. Seidler Premier.

Netherlands

British and German delegates on Prisoners of War question meet at The Hague.

Serbia

M. Pashich forms new Serbian Government.

Dragutin Dimitrijevic, leader of the Serbian Black Hand society which orchestrated Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination, is executed.

Mesopotamian campaign :Enver Pasha Lays Out First Plans for Recapture of Baghdad

Shocked at the loss of Baghdad, the Germans had sent Falkenhayn to Turkey in May to discuss the prospects for its recapture–and to exile him even further from any military decision-making in Germany. He met with Enver in Constantinople, and Enver soon came around to the idea of giving Falkenhayn command of a new army group tasked with retaking Baghdad. While Falkenhayn probably had something to do with this, more important was the material help Germany agreed to provide in the task–a full division (later a corps) and nearly $25 million in gold.

On June 24 in Aleppo, Enver met with his chief army commanders: Djemal Pasha, his usual political ally, commanding forces in Syria and Palestine; Izzet Pasha and Mustafa Kemal, from the Caucasus; and Halil Pasha, from Mesopotamia. He proposed to place Halil and Kemal’s armies under Falkenhayn’s command in the new Yildirim (“Lightning”) Army Group, which would prepare for an offensive towards Baghdad.

Most of the commanders there were not receptive to Enver’s idea; Halil knew the area and the opponent best and did not think recapturing Baghdad was feasible. Kemal bristled at being placed under the command of Falkenhayn, worrying that Turkey was becoming a “German colony,” and pointed out that Turkish reserves were exhausted and could not sustain an offensive. Djemal, worried about a renewed British offensive in Palestine, wanted to keep Yildirim as a reserve, ready to face any new Allied attacks in Palestine, Mesopotamia, or the Caucasus. Nevertheless, Enver refused to back down; Djemal appealed to Grand Vizier Talaat, but was overruled.

Aerial operations: Flying Circus

It has become apparent to the German High Command that they would always be outnumbered in air operations over the Western Front as the average Jasta could only muster some six or eight aircraft in total for a patrol, and would often face one Allied formation after another.

In order to maintain some impact and local command of the air the Jastas began to fly in larger, composite groups to carry out operations.

Today this was made official with the formation of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) by combining Jastas 4,6, 10 and 11. Manfred Von Richthofen is in command. This became known to the British as the Flying Circus.

Its role is simple, to achieve localized air superiority wherever it was sent and to deny Allied air operations over a specific location. The unit will be mobile, and JG 1 and its supporting logistical infrastructure will travel to wherever local air superiority is needed.

Initially based at Marke (Jasta 11), Cuene (Jasta 4), Bissegem (Jasta 6) and Heule (Jasta 10), Richthofen has freedom to select his unit commanders and recruit individual pilots into JG 1, and alternately to transfer out any pilots he does not feel were up to standard.

In the longer run, this policy had the effect of making the Jagdgeschwader an elite unit, but robbing lesser Jastas of their best pilots also reduced the overall standard of the average unit. JG 1 itself suffered a dilution of talent when competent members were posted away to command their own Jastas in late 1917, when the number of Jastas were doubled from 40 to 80.
Political, etc.

Naval operations: Room 40 Begins Aiding Convoys

Transatlantic convoys, which had only begun as an experiment last month, were quickly becoming routine. Four convoys crossed the Atlantic to Britain in June, and they were planned to become more frequent, leaving the Atlantic seaboard once every four days. Convoying greatly reduced the number of targets feasibly available to submarines merely by grouping ships together, but the Admiralty wanted to reduce the U-boats’ chances even further.

On June 25, the Admiralty set up a special Convoy Section dedicated to supporting convoys. Providing dedicated convoy escort ships was its top priority–a task that became easier as the Americans began to contribute more ships to the war. Another task was coordinating with Room 40’s ever-increasing stream of intelligence. Many German U-boats used their radios to communicate back to Germany quite frequently. Room 40 was able to decrypt these transmissions and gain valuable information about German plans, providing useful information on average more than twice per day. Even without this, the radio signals themselves allowed the British to obtain a geometric fix on the U-boats’ locations. The Convoy Section now began to relay this information to the convoys, helping them steer clear of U-boats.

Naval operations: ship losses

AGHIA PARASKEVI (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 23 nautical miles (43 km) off Cap Ferrat, Alpes-Maritimes, France by SM UC-65 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

CABO VERDE (Portugal) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Vilano, Spain by SM UC-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

CESTRIAN (United Kingdom) The troopship was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south east of Skyros, Greece by SM UB-42 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three lives.

CLAN DAVIDSON (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 130 nautical miles (240 km) south west by west of the Isles of Scilly (48°16′N 8°36′W) by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of twelve of her crew.

CONTANTINOS(Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) off Cap Ferrat by SM UC-65 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

CROWN OF ARRAGON (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 124 nautical miles (230 km) south west of the Isles of Scilly (48°10′N 8°14′W) by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

HELMA(Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 110 nautical miles (200 km) north of Cape Vilano, Spain (45°47′N 9°55′W) by SM UC-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HILVERSUM (Netherlands) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Bristol Channel 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km) south south west of Lundy Island, Devon, United Kingdom by SM UC-51 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HMS KEMPTON (Royal Navy) The Racecourse-class minesweeper struck a mine laid by UC 1 (Christian Mildenstein) and sank in the North Sea off Gravelines, Pas-de-Calais, France (51°03′N 2°07′E) with the loss of three of her crew.

KONG HAAKON (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 23 nautical miles (43 km) off Cap Ferrat by SM UC-65 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nineteen of her crew.

HMS REDCAR(Royal Navy) The Racecourse-class minesweeper struck a mine laid by UC 1 (Christian Mildenstein) and sank in the North Sea off Gravelines (51°03′30″N 2°07′40″E) with the loss of seven of her crew.
South Wales (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 128 nautical miles (237 km) west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM U-62 (Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two crew.

SYLVIAN (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 170 nautical miles (310 km) north west of Tory Island, County Donegal by SM U-94 (Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.

TAIGETOS (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) off Cap Ferrat by SM UC-65 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HMT TAIPO(Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 62 (Max Schmitz) and sank in the English Channel off Beachy Head, East Sussex (50°41′30″N 0°19′00″E) with the loss of five of her crew.
Telegraaf XVIII (Netherlands) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea west south west of Hoek van Holland, South Holland (52°18′N 3°10′E) by SM UC-64 (Kaiserliche Marine).

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 25, 2022 6:34:08 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 25, 2022 6:34:08 GMT

Day 1060 of the Great War, June 25th 1917

Western Front

British advance on Souchez river continues.

French carry crest near Hurtebise ("Dragon's Cave").

Photo: Portuguese Stokes mortar team in trenches at Neuve Chapelle, 25 June 1917

Western Front: First American Combat Troops Arrive in France

On June 25, 1917, the first American soldiers landed in France. Some 14,000 men in all debarked at the port of St. Nazaire, following the commander of the American Expeditionary Force, General John Pershing, who had arrived a week before. It was an exciting scene. French citizens welcomed them enthusiastically, cheering and kissing these harbingers of victory. British and French soldiers were also happy to welcome their new allies, whom they called, inscrutably, Doughboys.

Photo: First Americans arrive in France

Yet Allied generals knew that for all the excitement, the American arrival would have zero real effect. A closer observation of the scene revealed great confusion and inexperience in the American ranks. Artillerymen landed without any clue where their guns were. They did not even know what they looked like or how to use them. Almost none of the Americans were regular soldiers, who had been kept back in the States as a nucleus for new units. Many of them had never left their home state before, let alone fought in a battle. When a French general approached an American sentry, instead of standing to attention, the Yank handed the Frenchman his rifle and sat down to roll a cigarette. It would take a long time before the Americans could be sent to the battlefield.

Pershing too was alarmed at the quality of his troops. A logistics expert, he sat down to establishing a network of schools to train the new arrivals. British and French drill sergeants taught the Doughboys how to dig trenches, how to use their guns, and how to throw hand-grenades (a skill in which the baseball-loving Americans excelled.) Nevertheless, the question “Where are the Americans?” had finally been answered. On July 4 a delegation of American troops marched through Paris to the grave of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French nobleman who had helped the United States win its independence. Charles Stanton, one of Pershing’s aides, went up to the grave and announced: “Lafayette, nous voila!” - “Lafayette, we are here!”

Eastern Front

Raid in Black Sea by "Breslau"; Russian wireless station and lighthouse on island of Fidonisi destroyed.

Italian Front

Austrian counter-attacks on Mt. Ortigara.

Untied Kingdom

Chancellor of the Exchequer Bonar Law states the war costs Britain £7.752 million daily.

Spain

Spain institutes martial law to control socialist demonstrations and agitations.

Greece

M. Venizelos returns to Athens and succeeds M. Zaimis as Premier.

Norway

Recall of German Minister to Norway, consequent on bomb-plot.

United States

American Red Cross raises $100 million after an 8-day fundraising campaign to prepare for the U.S. entrance into the war.

Netherlands

British and German delegates arrive in The Hague to discuss the treatment of war prisoners of both countries.

Naval operations: Room 40 Begins Aiding Convoys

Transatlantic convoys, which had only begun as an experiment last month, were quickly becoming routine. Four convoys crossed the Atlantic to Britain in June, and they were planned to become more frequent, leaving the Atlantic seaboard once every four days. Convoying greatly reduced the number of targets feasibly available to submarines merely by grouping ships together, but the Admiralty wanted to reduce the U-boats’ chances even further.

On June 25, the Admiralty set up a special Convoy Section dedicated to supporting convoys. Providing dedicated convoy escort ships was its top priority–a task that became easier as the Americans began to contribute more ships to the war. Another task was coordinating with Room 40’s ever-increasing stream of intelligence. Many German U-boats used their radios to communicate back to Germany quite frequently. Room 40 was able to decrypt these transmissions and gain valuable information about German plans, providing useful information on average more than twice per day. Even without this, the radio signals themselves allowed the British to obtain a geometric fix on the U-boats’ locations. The Convoy Section now began to relay this information to the convoys, helping them steer clear of U-boats.

Naval operations: ship losses

ANATOLIA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 35 (Ernst von Voigt) and sank in the Gulf of Genoa 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) off Genoa, Liguria, Italy. Her crew survived.

GALENA (United States) The schooner barge was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 70 nautical miles (130 km) west by south of Ouessant, Finistère, France by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HMS GELSINA (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 40 (Gustav Deuerlich) and sank in the North Sea off Aberdeen (57°07′N 1°58′W) with the loss of five of her crew.

GUILDHALL (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) south west by west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM U-62 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of twelve crew.

PETRITZIS (Greece) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay south west of Contis, Landes, France (43°25′N 1°30′W) by SM UC-65 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

SAXON MONARCH (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 140 nautical miles (260 km) south west by west of the Isles of Scilly (48°24′N 7°47′W) by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

SOUTHERN (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by U 72 (Ernst Krafft) 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) north east of Port-la-Nouvelle, Aude, France and was beached. She was later refloated, repaired and returned to service.

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 26, 2022 6:47:39 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 26, 2022 6:47:39 GMT

Day 1061 of the Great War, June 26th 1917

Western Front

British advance astride Souchez river; La Coulotte occupied.

Italian Front: Mount Ortigara recaptured by the Austro-Hungarians

The Italians have been attacking on the Asiago plateau, hoping to evict the Austro-Hungarians from territory they seized in their Trentino offensive last year. The Italians managed to storm the summit of Mount Ortigara and then dug in to repel Austro-Hungarian counterattacks. Since then they have had no rest, facing continuous infantry assaults and artillery bombardments. Now the Austro-Hungarians attack with gas and flame-throwers. The Italians have had enough and are pushed off the mountain top. The blood of the Austro-Hungarians is up: they attack along the line, determined to recover all of the Italian gains.

Persian campaign

Russians take Serdesht (Persia).

United Kingdom

British Secretary of State for War Stanley states Britain will not target German cities in reprisal for German attacks on British cities.

London: King George V orders members of the Royal Family to drop German titles: Saxe-Coburg-Gotha becomes Windsor and Battenberg becomes Mountbatten.

United States

U.S. loans to Allied countries pass $1 billion ($20.9 billion today) after it approved new loans to Great Britain and France.

Serbia in Exile: Head of the Black Hand is Executed

The Black Hand, the Serbian secret society that had provided the spark for war, was still very much active in the Serbian military even in exile. Prime Minister Pasic and Regent Alexander were increasingly concerned about the Black Hand’s influence, and in late 1916 decided to arrest Dragutin Dimitrijević (codename Apis), for a supposed assassination plot against the Regent. Much of early 1917 was spent rooting out the Black Hand within the army; one in every thirty officers was removed from the front and sent to Tunisia. The officers of the Third Army had such a high proportion of Black Hand members that the whole army had to be broken up just weeks before a planned offensive.

Apis’ trial was largely a sham; it was revealed in the 1950′s that the testimony against him regarding the assassination plot was entirely fabricated. On June 26, he and two other leading Black Hand members were executed by a firing squad. The Allies were somewhat concerned by all this, worrying that it was a prelude to negotiations with Austria (very belatedly satisfying the original ultimatum), but there is little hard evidence to suggest that this was the case.

Greece: Venizelos Becomes Greek Prime Minister, Mobilizes Army

On June 12, Allied pressure forced Greek King Constantine I to abdicate his throne. For months a “National Schism” had separated Greece between royalists, who supported the king and wanted to remain neutral in the war, and the liberals, who supported the Entente and had formed a splinter government in the north, near Salonika. With the king’s abdication in favor of his son, the split was over. The Salonika regime, called the Government of National Defense, succeeded the royalists in Athens. Greek Liberal leader Eleutherios Venizelos returned as Prime Minister, a position he had held before the war.

With the triumph of the pro-Allied faction, Greece prepared to declare war n the Central Powers and officially enter World War One. Prominent royalists in the government and armed forces were forced to resign. Although this hampered the military, forcing out many skilled royalist officers, Greece would be able to raise ten divisions, 300,000 troops, for the Allied cause.

Aerial operations: Bristol fashion

A reconnaissance patrol from 11 Squadron RFC got into a fight today with mixed results.

Lieutenant Andrew Edward McKeever and 2nd Lieutenant Edward Francis Oakes in Bristol F2b A7144 and 2nd Lieutenant Peter Cunningham Ross and 2nd Class Air Mechanic W Woodward in A7154 were on patrol around 1845 when they were attacked by ten enemy aircraft. McKeever claimed to have shot down one and Ross two enemy Albatrosses out of control near Cambria.

Both aircraft then returned to the airfield, but Ross was found to have been shot in the heart and died of his wounds shortly afterwards.

McKeever was later credited with the victory, his first.

Naval operations: ship losses

BIRDDOSWALD (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) east of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain (41°07′N 1°51′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived, but two of them were taken as prisoners of war.

CATTARO (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 130 nautical miles (240 km) west south west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (48°50′N 7°47′W) by SM U-62 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HMT CHARLES ASTIE (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by U 79 (Otto Rohrbeck) and sank in Lough Swilly with the loss of all seventeen crew.

SMS G96 (Kaiserliche Marine) The G96-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium with the loss of four of her crew.

GERORG (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Baltic Sea off Rauma, Finland by SM UC-57 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

HAVENFORD (United Kingdom) The passenger ship was torpedoed and damaged in the Atlantic Ocean (57°01′N 10°59′W) by SM U-94 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eight of her crew. She was beached at Kinnegar, County Donegal but was later refloated.

MANISTEE (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 86 nautical miles (159 km) west south west of the Bishop Rock (48°57′N 8°08′W) by SM U-62 ( Kaiserliche Marine with the loss of five crew.

MARIE (Russia) The barge was sunk in the Baltic Sea off Rauma by SM UC-57 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MARTINIEMI (Russia) The tug was sunk in the Baltic Sea off Rauma by SM UC-57 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

SERAPIS (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 106 nautical miles (196 km) north north west of Tory Island, County Donegal (56°20′N 10°45′W) by SM U-79 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nineteen of her 22 crew. Two of the survivors were taken as prisoners of war.

TERVO (Russia) The barge was sunk in the Baltic Sea off Rauma by SM UC-57 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

VONIN (Denmark) The schooner was set afire in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Hebrides, United Kingdom by SM U-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was later towed to Londonderry Port but was declared a constructive total loss. Her crew survived.

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 27, 2022 2:48:36 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 27, 2022 2:48:36 GMT

Day 1062 of the Great War, June 27th 1917

Italian Front

Austrian attack on Agnello pass repulsed.

Greece

Greek declaration of 23 November 1916 becomes effective; state of war v. Austria-Hungary and Turkey declared.

Sinai and Palestine campaign: General Allenby Takes Command in Palestine

Like many of Britain’s leading officers, including Sir Douglas Haig, Edmund Allenby was a cavalryman at heart. And like many of his peers, Allenby too met with constant frustration as he tried to fight an unprecedented trench war on the Western Front. Used to the dash and rapidity of cavalry warfare, Allenby had a difficult time adjusting to mud and machine guns, and his aggressive tactics rankled more cautious officers and caused high casualties in his own army. By now, many soldiers knew Allenby as “the Bull” - not only for his atackign spirit, but also because he had a terrible temper.

After a dispiriting performance in the Battle of Arras in spring 1917, Allenby’s tenure in France was up. The British government ordered him home to London, where the general glumly imagined he was to be sacked. Instead, he received orders to leave the Third Army and head to Egypt, where he would take command of the British and Imperial forces invading Ottoman Palestine.

Allenby considered this as good as being sacked. He, and most other generals, figured that the west is where the war would be won. Palestine, Greece, Africa, Mesopotamia, etc. were all side-shows. Nevertheless, Allenby packed his bags and arrived in Egypt on June 27. Two days later he took command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. The War Office tasked him with taking Jerusalem by Christmas.

Spain: Spain Suspends Constitution

Spain, unlike most other countries in Europe, had stayed out of the war. She had no territorial or colonial ambitions that would be served by a war with Germany (despite sharing a small border with German Kamerun), nor had she anything to fear from German aggression (unlike Denmark or the Netherlands). Unrestricted submarine warfare had a negative effect on Spanish trade and Spanish ships were sunk. Unlike in the United States, however, this did not provoke Spain into the war; in fact King Alfonso XIII now saw himself as the leading neutral head of state, in a prime position to mediate a peace.

Despite her neutrality, Spain still felt the effects of the war in terms of food shortages and higher prices, which resulted in increased unrest and labor agitation. Against this backdrop, the pro-Allied Spanish PM, Count Romanones, resigned, in part due to a German-funded press campaign against him. The new government soon faced a threat from a different direction, in the military. Officers stationed in Spain had found that their promotion prospects were quite limited compared to those stationed in Morocco and elsewhere in Africa. The leaders of the military juntas were arrested, but the remaining officers threatened to release them by force, and the new government fell. The next PM, Eduardo Dato, on June 27 suspended various constitutional guarantees, especially freedom of the press, in order to secure the monarchy from the risks of coup and revolution.

Aerial operations: “His feet were still up in the air”

Whilst air to air combat remains a common source of losses for both sides, anti-aircraft fire remains a perennial danger for everyone as demonstrated today.

2nd Lieutenant Frederick Exton Vipond and 2nd Lieutenant George Percival Simon from 7 Squadron RFC were on a photography mission in their BE2e A2800 when they were attacked by three enemy aircraft. However, what did for them was anti-aircraft fire. Vipond recalls:

“The plane took a hit, and half of the wings flew around while a reinforcement of the control wires was hit. I completely lost control of the aircraft and Simon held on to his machine gun, which was his only support, otherwise he would have plummeted down; his feet were still up in the air. During the dive the 3 Germans followed us until we reached the ground. Anyway, they captured three beautiful Lewis machineguns and 10 loading drums with cartridges.”

Vipond and Simon were taken prisoner.

Lieutenant Thomas Edgar Wylde from 11 Squadron RFC was also hit by AA fire in his Bristol F2b (Ok) while on patrol. He was wounded in the shoulder and chest and later died of his wounds. The records do not show who was accompanying him in the aircraft.

Later in the evening around 2230 Captain Walter Thomas Forrest Holland from 100 Squadron RFC was attempting to bomb an enemy aerodrome in his BE2e A1872 when he was hit by anti-aircraft fire. He struggled back home and wrecked the aircraft on landing wounding himself in the process.

Also killed today by anti-aircraft fire was 30 victory German ace Leutnant Karl Allmenröder from Jasta 11. His aircraft crashed near Zillebeke into a hastily dug cemetary. German soldiers took over two hours to retrieve his body.

Allmenröder had just been made commander of Jasta 11 with the departure of Manfred von Richthofen to lead Jagdgeschwader 1. Unlike many of his compatriots he remains in relative obscurity. This is mostly due to his name being used later by the Nazi Party in propaganda and many references to him on street names and memorials being removed post WW2.

Naval operations: ship losses

ARMADALE (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 160 nautical miles (300 km) north west of Tory Island, County Donegal (56°17′N 12°42′W) by SM U-60 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.

BALTIC (Sweden) The auxiliary barge was sunk in the Arctic Sea 75 nautical miles (139 km) west of Holmengrå, Finnmark, Norway by SM U-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

BARON OGGILVY (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 172 nautical miles (319 km) north west of Tory Island by SM U-93 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.

DOXA (Hellenic Navy) The Niki-class destroyer was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea off Milos by SM UB-47 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

KLEBER(French Navy) The DUPLEIX-class cruiser struck a mine laid by UC 61 (Georg Gerth) and sank in the Bay of Biscay off Brest, Finistère with the loss of 42 of her crew.

Photo: The French DUPLEIX-class cruiser KLEBER in the U.S. before the start of the war

INDDRANI (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 36 nautical miles (67 km) south west of the Tuskar Rock, Ireland by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine.

LONGBENTON (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 12 nautical miles (22 km) off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire (53°55′N 0°03′W) by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Solway Prince (United Kingdom) The coaster was scuttled in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) north of Alderney, Channel Islands by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

TONG HONG (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 55 nautical miles (102 km) south by west of Cape Sicie, Var, France (42°09′N 5°40′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived, but her captain was taken as a prisoner of war. The rest of the survivors were rescued by Vega ( French Navy).

ULTONIA (United Kingdom) The cargo liner was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 190 nautical miles (350 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 28, 2022 2:44:56 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 28, 2022 2:44:56 GMT

Day 1063 of the Great War, June 28th 1917

Western Front

British advance on two-mile front south of Souchez river.

German attack north-west of Verdun; French trenches on Hill 304 captured.

Western Front: Battle of Oppy Wood, Germans Attack Again at Verdun

Marching over ground still littered with bones, German troops launched several small-scale attacks at Verdun in the end of June 1917. The German troops actually succeeded in taking several positions they had failed to the year before, and advanced between Forts Douaumont and Vaux. Yet the centerpoint of the war had by now shifted north, towards the Somme and Ypres, away from the French and towards the British.

Photo: Oppy Wood, from the air

Around Arras, British forces renewed their offensive by capturing Oppy Wood on June 28. But the units in Picardy were exhausted after months of battle earlier in the year. The pick of British conscripts and volunteers went to the armies around Ypres, and the British forces further south were running short of competent manpower. Canadians played the most vital role at Oppy, because their divisions still received older, healthier replacements. But it was clear that the next great blows of the war would come not in the Somme, but in Flanders.

Map: Oppy Wood defences, 1917

United Kingdom

London: Prime Minister Lloyd George appoints Gen. Sir Edmund Allenby commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. The prime minister's assignment to Allenby comes in a simple statement: "I'd like you to take Jerusalem as a Christmas present for the nation".

New Zeeland

In recognition of New Zealand's services, "Governor" changed to "Governor-General".

United States

U.S. Senate begins debating whether or not to ban the brewing of beer for the duration of the war to conserve wheat.

Lord Northcliffe, head of the British war commission, warns the U.S. against the censorship “blunder” Britain committed early in the war.

Since last year, British artillery shell production has increased 4-fold. Since March 1915, the increase is 28 times.

France: First American Division Arrives in France

Having successfully avoided U-boats on their way across the Atlantic, the first American troop convoy arrived in St. Nazaire. The 14,000 troops on board finished unloading on June 28. They were greeted rapturously by the people of St. Nazaire, who hoped that American troops would bring the war to a swift conclusion. However, Pershing was less sanguine. He knew that the troops were disorganized and not fully trained, and it would be some time before they would be ready to serve on the front. This was further complicated by more political issues of command; the Americans insisted that the AEF work as a “separate and distinct component of the combined forces,” under an independent American command. This was unlike American naval forces in Europe, which were placed under British command, or the other Allied contingents of similar size on the Western Front (such as the Russian or Portuguese expeditionary forces). Due to all of these factors, Americans would not serve on the front until October.

YouTube (American Troops Land In France - 1917)

Aerial operations: U boat bombing

Today one of the H12 flyingboats from Felixstowe was out escorting a convoy across the English Channel when it spotted a submarine in full buoyancy. The crew (Flight Lieutenant Warren Rawson Mackenzie, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Robert Frederick Lea Dickey, Air Mechanic J. Watts, and Air Mechanic E. E. Hughes) decided to attack immediately.

The pilot promptly dived on the submarine and dropped three 100lb bombs before the U-boat could dive. The submarine then disappeared under the water and oil and air bubbles appeared on the surface suggesting that the vessel had been damaged.

However at the time the destruction could not be confirmed, The Official history published in 1934 suggested that it was probably UB36 which was lost around this time. Later research suggests that UB36 was in fact sunk on 9 May 1917 after hitting a mine. There is no record of a submarine being lost on 28 June 1917, so we can only assume that whichever craft it was escaped.

Nevertheless, shortly after this Dickey was awarded the DSO for this action and the previous destruction of Zeppelin L43 on 14 June 1917.

Aerial operations: Rutland takes off

Back in February 1917, One of the recommendations of the Grand Fleet Aircraft Committee was that fighter aeroplanes fitted with airbags instead of seaplanes should be carried for defence against Zeppelins. Ostensibly this was for two reasons:

- regular aircraft had much better speed and climbing ability and might actually be able to reach the Zeppelins

- the seaplanes were laborious to unload and could only take off in relatively calm conditions enabling regular aircraft to take off from the deck would provide a significant improvement.

Various attempts had been made to fit launching platforms to ships, particularly the light cruisers attached to the Fleet.

In early 1917, the Admiralty agreed to experiment with HMS Yarmouth and the ship was fitted with a launch deck mounted above the conning tower and the forecastle gun to give a run of twenty feet.

Today, Flight Commander Frederick Joseph Rutland took off in a Sopwith Pup from the platform, the first successful launch of its type.

Photo: Rutland's Sopwith Pup takes off from a platform on the forward gun turret of HMS YARMOUTH, June 1917

The approach was subsequently adopted and the Yarmouth began patrols with the Pup at the ready.

Naval operations: ship losses

CORONA (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the North Sea 65 nautical miles (120 km) east of Sumburgh Head, Shetland Islands by SM UC-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

DON ARTURO (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 90 nautical miles (170 km) west south west of the Isles of Scilly by SM UC-62 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all 34 crew.

ELSIE(United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was scuttled in the North Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) north east of Spurn Point, Yorkshire by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

FRANCES (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was scuttled in the North Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) north east of Spurn Point by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

FRIGATE BIRD (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was sunk in the North Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) north east of Spurn Point by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all five crew.

GLENELG (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was scuttled in the North Sea north east of Spurn Point (53°56′N 1°04′E) by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

HARBINGER (United Kingdom) The fishing schooner was scuttled in the North Sea off Spurn Point by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

LIZZIE ELLEN (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the English Channel 46 nautical miles (85 km) south of Start Point, Devon (49°29′N 3°19′W) by SM UC-65 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MARGUERITE (France) The cargo ship was torpedoed in the English Channel 19 nautical miles (35 km) south west of Portland Bill, Dorset, United Kingdom (50°36′06″N 2°58′39″W) by SM UB-40 (Kaiserliche Marine).

MARNE (France) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off the Île d'Yeu, Vendée (46°59′N 2°29′W) by SM UC-71 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of twelve of her 40 crew. Survivors were rescued by Sauterelle( French Navy).

MINERVE (France) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) north of Cape Sigli, Algeria (37°28′N 4°43′E) by SM U-34 (Kaiserliche Marine).

NEOTSFIELD (United Kingdom) The full-rigged ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 112 nautical miles (207 km) south west by west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (48°28′N 8°19′W) by SM UC-62 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

ROSE OF JUNE (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was scuttled in the North Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) off Spurn Point by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

WILLIAM AND BETSY (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was scuttled in the North Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) north east of Spurn Point by SM UC-63 (Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 29, 2022 2:52:13 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 29, 2022 2:52:13 GMT

Day 1064 of the Great War, June 29th 1917

Western Front

Continued British advance south of Souchez river; Avion entered.

German attacks on Chemin des Dames front; French lose ground north-east of Cerny.

German attacks near Reims repulsed.

Italian Front: Battle of Mount Ortigara Ends in Italian Failure

Tenth time lucky? Nine battles had been launched by the Italian army against Austrian positions at the Isonzo, with no success. A smaller effort to take several mountains on the Asiago Plateau failed as well at the end of June 1917. Italian troops initially succeeded in taking one of three targeted peaks, but determined counterattacks by Austria’s elite III “Iron” Corps succeed in forcing them back from each one. By the end of a few weeks of fighting, the Italians had incurred 25,000 casualties, the Austrians only 9,000. Italy’s prime general, Luigi Cadorna, hoped that at least enemy forces had been weakened enough for a tenth attack on the Isonzo to break them.

Photo: Alpini before the Battle

Photo: Italian officers at an observation post on Cima Levante

Photo: Heavy Italian artillery at work

Sinai and Palestine campaign

Announcement that General Allenby has arrived in Egypt and assumed command of Allied forces in succession to General Murray.

Greece

Greek government breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.

Russia

Members of the Russian Duma rejects the All-Russian Congress of Soviets’ call for its dissolution.

Russian General Brusilov pledges that Russia will fight “hand in hand” with America against the Central Powers.

Russia: Ukraine Sets Up Its Own Government

The fall of the Czar had, in addition to its myriad other effect, had also brought nationalist problems to the forefront in Russia. The Provisional Government had largely embraced Wilson’s language about self-determination, and unsurprisingly many ethnic minorities in the former Russian Empire did so as well. A Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, had been quickly set up after the revolution and had been attempting to convince the Provisional Government to make needed concessions in the Ukraine. Chief among these were Ukrainian autonomy, the appointment of Ukrainians to governmental posts in the Ukraine, Ukrainian participation in any peace settlement, and extensive land reforms.

The Provisional Government stalled, questioning the Rada’s authority to speak on behalf of the Ukraine, and saying that they could not make any substantial agreement with Ukraine until elections were held in both Russia and the Ukraine. The Rada grew impatient at the Provisional Government’s delays, and on June 23 unilaterally declared Ukrainian autonomy within Russia. On June 29, after the declaration was approved by the local Soviets, the new General Secretariat of Ukraine had its first meeting. Only a few hundred miles to the west, the Russian army was beginning its barrage preparatory to the upcoming offensive, as the state behind it was coming apart at the seams.

Presented with the fait accompli in Kiev, the Provisional Government eventually recognized Ukrainian autonomy and the General Secretariat. The more right-wing members of the Provisional Government would strongly object to this, however, leading to further divisions in the Russian state.

Canada

Canadian Labour MP Alphonse Verville threatens a general strike if Canada institutes a draft without consent of the people.

Aerial operations: 57 variety

In May 1917, 57 Squadron gave up its obsolete FE2s and re-equipped with more modern Airco DH4s – also changing its role from a fighter squadron to long-range bomber-reconnaissance.

After training on the new type, the squadron commenced operations from Droglandt on 12 June and then moved to Boisdinghem on 27 June.

They have already lost two aircraft and four crew killed. Today, they suffered more casualties.

First, Lieutenant WB Hutcheson and 2nd Lieutenant Noel Martin Pizey wrecked their DH4 (A7439) on landing from photography practice. The crew were unhurt.

Their colleagues Lieutenant Duncan Matheson Goodyear and 2nd Lieutenant Fairlie Russell Martin were not so lucky. Their DH4 A7488 was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed about 1000 yards behind the front line while on a photography mission. It burst into flames on hitting the ground and both crew were killed.

Naval operations: ship losses

HMS BAYARD(Royal Navy) The Q-ship was lost on this date.

DRISKOS (Greece) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south west of the Île de Noirmoutier, Vendée, France (46°55′N 2°31′W) by SM UC-71 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

ESCONDIDO (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 20 nautical miles (37 km) north north west of St. Kilda, Inverness-shire, United Kingdom by SM U-88 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

GEM (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the North Sea 18 nautical miles (33 km) east by south of Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire by SM UC-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

LAUWERZEE (Netherlands) The trawler was shelled and sunk in the North Sea off Hoek van Holland, South Holland by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her seven crew took to the lifeboats but were not rescued.

MANX PRINCES (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the North Sea 18 nautical miles (33 km) east by south of Rattray Head by SM UC-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jun 30, 2022 2:46:04 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jun 30, 2022 2:46:04 GMT

Day 1065 of the Great War, June 30th 1917

Western Front

British capture further enemy defences south-west and west of Lens.

German attack on Chemin des Dames.

Violent artillery action west of Mort Homme (Verdun).

Eastern Front

Heavy artillery action in Galicia.

East African campaign

German forces driven from Nyassaland to the Rovuma border by British and Portuguese.

Greece

Greece breaks off relations with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Russia

Soviet delegates leave Russia for Socialist conferences in Stockholm, England, France and Italy.

Spain

Neutral Spain bans all submarines of belligerent powers from entering Spanish waters.

Germany: Germans Learn of French Mutinies

The mutinies in the French army had been widespread in May and early June. On June 4, it is estimated that only two fully reliable divisions stood between the Germans and Paris. However, the Germans remained unaware of this until Ludendorff finally heard about it on June 30. The mutinies were largely spontaneous and localized; beyond perhaps a neighboring unit, most soldiers, even those within mutinous units, had no idea how widespread the mutinies were. As a result, only French military and political leaders knew the full extent of the mutinies, and they made the fullest use of press censorship to prevent the word from spreading. Soldiers sent on leave were given the strictest instructions not to discuss any sort of indiscipline they might have witnessed on the front.

By the time Ludendorff heard the news on June 30, the time to take advantage of it had largely passed. The mutinies were less and less common, thanks to a cessation of offensives, a more generous leave policy, and, to a surprisingly large extent, personal tours of the front by Pétain himself. Whether the Germans considered an offensive on the Aisne to take advantage of the French morale situation is unclear; their strategic choices in 1918 suggest it may not have been a major factor. Besides, the imminent Kerensky Offensive in the east demanded the Germans’ attention at the moment, ruling out any attacks in the west.

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

Albatros:
D.I----17
D.II---72
D.III-303
D.V--216

Fokker:
D.I-----6
D.II---26
D.V----4

Halberstadt:
D.I----14
D.II---14
D.III---8
D.V----6

LFG Roland:
D.I-----1
D.II---41
D.IIa-128

LVG:
D.I----18 (License-built Albatros D.II)

Aerial operations: Seaplane defence

The Seaplane Defence Flight was formed at St Pol, near Dunkirk, today. The unit came about as a result of continuous attacks by German fighters on the seaplanes at Dunkirk. The Admiralty decided in early June that seaplanes should be phased out of this base and concentrated at Dover.

In the event the seaplanes remained at Dunkirk for some time. As they were unable to counter the enemy, the new Defence Flight was equipped with land aircraft fitted with flotation gear. The first machines used were Sopwith Pups but these were replaced in September by Sopwith Camels.

As a result four pilots from Dunkirk have formed the initial flight. Flight Lieutenant Ronnie Graham is in command. Also present are Flight Sub-Lieutenants Leonard Horatio Slatter and John Edmund Greene.

Naval operations: Merchant shipping losses for June 1917

British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 352 ships of 708,000 tons gross. (Lloyd's War Losses).

Naval operations: ship losses

ALKELDA (Italy) The yacht was sunk in the Ligurian Sea by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ASALIA (Norway) The four-masted barque was damaged in the Western Approaches (51°00′N 13°50′W) by SM UC-44 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She sank the next day; her crew survived.

BENGUELA (Norway) The cargo ship, which had been captured on 14 June, was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Punta Delgada, Canary Islands, Spain (40°22′N 26°05′W) by SM U-155 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

BORGUND I (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the English Channel off Dartmouth, Devon, United Kingdom (50°33′N 2°33′W) by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

BRODERNA (Sweden) The fishing vessel was sunk in the North Sea north east of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom by SM U-79 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

CALEDONIEN (France) The passenger ship struck a mine laid by UC 34 (Robert Sprenger) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) north of Port Said, Egypt (31°45′N 32°23′E).

CHATEAU YQEUM (France) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 22 nautical miles (41 km) west of Portland Bill, Dorset, United Kingdom by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

HMS CHEERFULL (Royal Navy) The Mermaid-class destroyer struck a mine laid by UC 33 (Martin Schelle) and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the Shetland Islands (60°02′N 1°07′W) with the loss of 40 of her 62 crew.
Concettina (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea east of Sicily by SM UB-47 (Kaiserliche Marine).

ENRICHETTA (Italy) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Gulf of Genoa (44°12′N 9°23′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

FLYING FALCON (United Kingdom) The tug was driven ashore in Machrie Bay, Islay and was abandoned. She was salvaged in 1919, repaired and returned to service.

GERMANIA (Sweden) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea whilst in convoy, 40 nautical miles (74 km) east of the Orkney Islands, United Kingdom[400] (59°00′N 1°10′W) by SM UC-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HAIGH HALL Hall (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) east of Malta (36°12′N 15°24′E) by SM U-28 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy). Her crew survived.

IL NUOVO CASPERINO GABRIELE(Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea south west of Marsala, Sicily by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ILSTON (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south east of The Lizard, Cornwall (49°56′N 5°07′W) by SM UB-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of six of her crew.

LADY OF THE LAKE (United Kingdom) The ketch was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 25 nautical miles (46 km) south east by east of Mine Head, County Cork by SM UC-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Lancaster (Sweden) The fishing vessel was sunk in the North Sea north east of the Shetland Islands by SM U-79 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

LYTENANT ZATSARENNI (Imperial Russian Navy) The destroyer struck a mine and sank in the Black Sea off the mouth of the Danube.

MARKERSDAL (Denmark) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 12 nautical miles (22 km) south of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, United Kingdom by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MONT VISO (France) The troopship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Gourraya, Algeria (36°39′N 1°55′E) by SM U-34 (Kaiserliche Marine).

PHOEBUS (Italy) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea off Castletown, Isle of Man by SM UC-44 (Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

PRECEPTOR (Sweden) The fishing vessel was sunk in the North Sea north east of the Shetland Islands (61°42′N 1°17′E) by SM U-79 (Kaiserliche Marine).

SCARA FAMIGLIA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea east of Sicily by SM UB-47 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

SIRAS(Norway) The full-rigged ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Punta Delgada, Canary Islands (40°22′N 26°51′W) by SM U-155 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jul 1, 2022 7:06:38 GMT stevep and gillan1220 like this

Post by lordroel on Jul 1, 2022 7:06:38 GMT

Day 1066 of the Great War, July 1st 1917

Western Front

Violent bombardment, followed by German attacks in Cerny-Ailles sector (northern Aisne); enemy losses heavy.

Successful French counter-attack north-west of Verdun.

Eastern Front: The Kerensky Offensive

After a two-day preliminary barrage, the Russians began their first major offensive after the revolution on July 1. The plan for the offensive was quite similar to last year’s Brusilov Offensive, featuring careful reconnaissance, sapping, and coordination between infantry and artillery. The offensive was taking place over a narrower front than in 1916, allowing a greater concentration of Russian manpower and artillery–though it would also allow a greater concentration of German and Austrian reserves.

Morale in the Russian armies was extremely low, as Brusilov recognized. Although the troops on the Southwest Front were more reliable than those closer to revolutionary Petrograd, the planners of the offensive still made sure that the troops in the vanguard were mainly not European Russians, instead using troops from Siberia and Finland, a brigade of Czechoslovak volunteers, as well as highly trained and reliable shock battalions.

The left flank of the attack had little success, making few gains, none of them permanent. On the right flank, however, the Eleventh Army made excellent progress. Russian heavy artillery had wreaked havoc on the Austrian lines, shock troops quickly broke through weak points, and the preponderance of Russian infantry soon overwhelmed the rest. In the first two days of the offensive, the Eleventh Army had taken the first two Austrian trench lines, captured 18,000 prisoners, and opened a three-mile gap between enemy armies. Whether they could exploit these gains in the coming days, however, was still quite uncertain.

Italian Front

Austrians very active in the Trentino. Attacks repulsed by Italians.

United Kingdom

Britain claims they took 8,686 German prisoners, 67 artillery guns, 102 mortars, and 345 machine guns on the Western Front in June.

Netherlands

Announcement in Holland of assurance by Lord Derby that Britain will not strike at Germany through Holland if she remains neutral.

Canada

Canada celebrates its 50th Dominion Day.

Italy

Italian Chamber of Deputies votes 361 to 63 in confidence of the government and its conduct of the war.

China

Young Chinese Emperor, Hsuan Tung, restored.

Aerial operations: Training in Canada

Basic Military and generic flying instruction has been going on in Canada since 28 February 1917 with the opening of a cadet school at Long Branch airfield. A further School at Camp Borden, began training on 30 March 1917.

The long awaited plans to provide actual ground training for pilots as well, by opening a School of Military Aeronautics similar to that at Oxford, have now been realised.

The staff of instructors for the new School arrived in Canada from England early in June and today School No. 4, began its activities with 204 cadets. Over a four-week period, cadets will be instructed on engines, rigging, wireless, artillery observation, machine guns, instruments and bombs.

The school took over the existing Cadet Wing organization and a new Cadet Wing was formed at Toronto on the 11 July, but did not begin an independent existence until 23 July when it moved to Long Branch.

Naval operations: ship losses

ADVANCE (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was shelled and sunk in the North Sea by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

AMSTELLAND (Netherlands) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 35 nautical miles (65 km) south of Galley Head, County Cork, United Kingdom by SM UC-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ANGELA MADRE (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sardinia by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ARIEL (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the North Sea 15 nautical miles (28 km) east north east of Rattray Head, Aberdeenshire (57°45′N 1°12′W) by SM UC-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

BACHI (Spain) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay west of Sables d'Olonne, Vendée, France by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

CORRADO (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea between Sardinia and Sicily by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

DEMERARA (United Kingdom) The passenger ship was torpedoed and damaged in the Bay of Biscay 6 nautical miles (11 km) west of Sables d'Olonne by SM U-84 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member. She was beached on the Île de Ré but was later refloated.

DON EMILLIO (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 10 nautical miles (19 km) north west by west of the Esha Ness Lighthouse, Shetland Islands (60°33′N 2°08′W) by SM U-80 (Kaiserliche Marine with the loss of a crew member.

ECLIPSE (United Kingdom) The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) north by west of Brough of Birsay, Orkney Islands by SM U-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

GLEAM (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was shelled and sunk in the North Sea by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MARIE(France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sardinia by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MILITADES EMBIRICOS (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea north of Bizerta, Algeria (37°58′N 9°40′E) by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

RADIANCE (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea by SM UC-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

VOLTO SANTO G. (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea between Sardinia and Sicily (38°25′N 10°51′E) by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jul 2, 2022 5:41:43 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Jul 2, 2022 5:41:43 GMT

Day 1067 of the Great War, July 2nd 1917

Western Front

British advanced posts driven back short distance from Lens.

German attacks repulsed north of the Aisne.

Eastern Front

Russian offensive progresses in the region of Zborow (east of Lemberg); 6,300 prisoners taken.

United Kingdom

King and Queen attend service at Westminster Abbey for jubilee of Canadian Federation.

China

President of China Li Yuanhong, trapped in Peking by monarchist forces, refuses to resign in favor of the restored Emperor Puyi.

Greece: Greece Declares War on the Central Powers

After months of debate, political infighting, Allied blockade, a quasi-civil war, and the forced abdication of its king, Greece finally joined the Entente and the First World War. Now presided over by liberal politician Eleutherios Venizelos, who had headed a splinter regime dedicated to fighting the Central Powers and quashing royalist power, Greece declared war on Germany, Bulgaria, Austria, and Turkey. The Greek army had already began mobilizing, and 300,000 troops would head north to Salonika to join the multinational Allied army encamped there.

Austria-Hungary: Emperor Karl frees Austria-Hungary’s political prisoners

Emperor Karl of Austria-Hungary is attempting political reforms in an effort to revitalise popular support for the Empire. He has revoked some emergency powers and curtailed the powers of the army within Austria. There is also talk of relaxing censorship. And today he undertakes the bold step of declaring an amnesty for all political prisoners. The amnesty sees thousands of malcontents released into society, from socialist radicals to nationalists seeking greater rights or outright independence for their particular part of the Empire.

Karl hopes that releasing the political prisoners will allow for a fresh start in relations between the regime and the peoples of Austria-Hungary. But the effect is not quite what he hoped for. Many German-speaking Austrians are shocked to see political prisoners from other nationalities released, fearing that this will strengthen centrifugal forces. And the large numbers of prisoners released only serves to emphasise how repressive the regime has previously been. In Bohemia and Moravia the release of over a thousand Czech prisoners is a particular boost to nationalist elements that were already on the rise. And Karl’s renunciation of the imprisonment of the regime’s political enemies now leaves it looking weakened.

Aerial operations: German occupied Belguim

British aeroplanes bomb Bruges.

Aerial operations: On the beach

With the planned offensive in Belgium, the Navy has been readying itself with plans for an amphibious landing on the Belgian Coast. The places chosen for the landings of the military force were three beaches, a mile apart, between Nieuport and Middelkerke. The plan is to land troops off long pontoons (500 feet by 30 feet beam), pushed into place by monitors.

Early photography showed that the beaches were uneven and that the pontoons might ground on ridges with the surrounding water too deep for the troopsto get ashore. To avert this danger, it was imperative that the Navy carry out a close survey of the beaches.

Admiral Bacon took a two-fold approach, First he carried out a preliminary survey, to get the rise and fall of the tide curves along this stretch of coast. A submarine was sent to lie on the bottom off Nieuport for twenty-four hours and the height of water above her hull was continuously registered from readings on the depth gauge.

Second, he carried out an air photography survey. In preparation for the air survey, two surveys were made of a comparable section of beach near Dunkirk, one by air photography and calculation, the other by direct observations. The photography worked by observing the rise and fall of the sea at specific intervals to calculate the exact contours of the beach. The two independent results coincided almost exactly. It showed that it was possible to deduce the slope of the beach to within an accuracy of six inches from photographs taken 14,000 feet up in the air.

Today, 2 Squadron RNAS carried out the main photographic survey of the beaches From 1125 to 1736, batches of photographs were taken at intervals of twenty minutes. So that the attention of the enemy should not be unduly attracted to the vital beaches, other photographs were taken east of Ostend.

From the air photographs, charts and sections of the beach were compiled by a scientific officer on the Vice-Admiral’s staff.

In the end the effort proved fruitless as the failure of the offensive in Belguin led to the abandonment of the plans.

Aerial operations: Expansion

Following the German Air Raid on London on 13 June, such is the public outrage that the Government has been discussing over the last few weeks what should be done. On the one hand the German bombing campaign has resulted in Sir John French demanding more aircraft to be dedicated to Home Defence, whilst Sir Douglas Haig warns of the impact on army operations of removing fighting squadrons from the front.

The War Cabinet met on 13 and 14 June and at the second meeting the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir William Robertson, urged that there should be a large-scale increase in the number of aeroplanes, even at the expense of other weapons. The War Cabinet agreed in principle and ordered the departments concerned to confer together to draw up a scheme for the expansion of the air services.

Various memoranda were prepared, and after the preliminaries had been explored departmentally, a general conference was held at the War Office, under the chairmanship of Lord Derby, on 21 June. Lord Derby began by saying that the War Office proposed to double the Royal Flying Corps, even if it proved necessary in consequence to reduce the supply of tanks and of motor transport. The conference discussed this proposition and the logistics of it and then put it to the War Cabinet

Today, the War Cabinet agreed to the scheme and called:

“for an increase to commence at once, of the establishment of the Royal Flying Corps from 108 to 200 service squadrons, with the necessary aerodromes and establishment, and for a progressive increase in the output of aero engines to 4,500 a month, including certain supplies from overseas”.

and that there should be a “corresponding expansion and increase of the Royal Naval Air Service”.

It was easy to ask for an extra 92 Squadrons, but it was going to be very difficult to resource and man such as large increase given the current difficulties in keeping the existing Squadron’s supplied.

Naval operations: ship losses

ARGENTARIO (Italy) The barque was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sardinia (38°08′N 9°51′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

BESSIE (Sweden) The trawler was shelled and sunk in the North Sea[17] (61°55′N 1°10′E) by SM U-86 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

GENRAL BULLER (United Kingdom) The drifter was shelled and sunk in the North Sea off Sumburgh Head, Shetland Islands by SM UC-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HAMNAVOE (United Kingdom) The drifter was shelled and sunk in the North Sea off Sumburgh Head by SM UC-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MAY FLOWER(Sweden) The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the North Sea north of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom (61°40′N 1°20′E) by SM U-57 (Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

SHINSAN MARU (Japan) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea by SM UB-47 (Kaiserliche Marine).

THIRLBY (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 122 nautical miles (226 km) north west by west of the Fastnet Rock (51°39′N 12°52′W) by SM UC-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.

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lordroel
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The Great War (1914-1918) in real time Jul 3, 2022 6:47:20 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Jul 3, 2022 6:47:20 GMT

Day 1068 of the Great War, July 3rd 1917

Western Front: Germans Test Once-Mutinous French Sectors on the Aisne

By the end of June, the Germans had found out, through sources in Switzerland, observations of rapid troop turnover, and the occasional prisoner (though Pétain had done his best to try to prevent this) about the morale situation in the French Army. Believing these reports, Bavarian Crown Prince Rupprecht, commanding his own Army Group along the Aisne, ordered an attack along an 11-mile front for July 3. Despite the Germans’ hopes, the French held fast, repelling the Germans along the whole front despite taking heavy casualties.

OHL remained skeptical about the reports, and in fact at this time was stripping the Western Front for troops to head east to counter the Kerensky Offensive. Rupprecht made similar attacks at several other points throughout July. On certain occasions they did make gains, but French forces counterattacked and retook the lost ground, even on one occasion making gains of their own. Several of these counterattacks were conducted by units that had been mutinous and considered highly unreliable during the height of the mutinies in May and early June.

Eastern Front

Russian attack of Brzezany (Galicia) fails.

Artillery activity growing in the Stokhod area (Volhynia).

Netherlands

Amsterdam dock workers go on strike to protest food shortages. Demonstrations and riots continue in the city.

United Kingdom

Statement in House of Lords by Lord Hardinge (Ex-Viceroy of India) on report of Mesopotamia Commission.

China

Chinese President Li Yuanhong seeks refuge in the Japanese embassy to oppose Zhang Xun’s restoration of Emperor Puyi.

Aerial operations: Tracing U

Back in May 1917 the navy finally cottoned on the to the fact that its seaplanes would have the best chance of destroying enemy u-boats if intelligence about U-boats was received without delay at the RNAS air stations. At that point, orders were issued that all reports of U-boat movements were to be communicated direct to air stations in a position to take action.

Now, in an effort to improve matters further, and to maintain secrecy, a special form of squared chart, called Tracing U (Unterseeboot), to cover the North Sea east of a line running from Flamborough Head to the Straits of Dover, was issued to the East Coast air stations required to take anti-submarine action. IN addition the Admiralty arranged that the positions of U-boats as determined by directional wireless would be plotted at the Admiralty and passed immediately to the air stations according to the code of the squared chart.

Naval operations: ship losses

CIMBARIA (Denmark) The three-masted schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom (60°09′N 5°50′W) by SM U-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) north west of Jijelli, Algeria by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HENRIX (Norway) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 60 nautical miles (110 km) west south west of Penmarc'h, Finistère, France (47°25′N 5°22′W) by SM UC-72 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

ICELAND (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 10 nautical miles (19 km) south west of Galley Head, County Cork by SM U-88 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.

IMMACOLATINA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MARTHTE ROUX (France) The barque was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) off Cape Ivi, Algeria (36°30′N 0°13′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MARY BOYES (Denmark) The fishing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Shetland Islands (60°09′N 5°50′W) by SM U-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MATADOR (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 115 nautical miles (213 km) west by north of the Fastnet Rock (51°16′N 12°25′W) by SM UC-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.

MONGARA (United Kingdom) The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) off Messina, Sicily, Italy (38°10′N 15°36′E) by SM U-28 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy). All on board survived.

ORLEANS (United States) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 165 nautical miles (306 km) west south west of Belle Île, Morbihan, France (47°12′N 7°40′W) by SM UC-71 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her crew.

PROEFNEMING I (Netherlands) The fishing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Shetland Islands (60°09′N 5°50′W) by SM U-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

THOR (Netherlands) The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Shetland Islands (60°09′N 5°50′W by SM U-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

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