The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 1124 of the Great War, September 3rd 1917

Western Front

British front slightly advanced near St. Julien (Ypres).

Champagne: French raid gas tanks on Souain-Somme Py road.

Eastern Front: Germans Take Riga

The Germans had crossed the Dvina upstream of Riga on September 1, but since then had been prevented from surrounding the city or even cutting off its railroad connections due to the heroic resistance of individual units (primarily the 2nd Latvian Brigade). On September 3rd, hopeful that Riga could continue to hold out, the commander of the Russian Twelfth Army ordered counterattacks against the German bridgehead. However, by this point the Russians had no effective communications, and essentially no troops willing and able to perform such an attack.

In the meantime, the Germans had brought their artillery across the river, and brought their full strength against the Russians between them and Riga. Most of the Russian troops broke; the rest were swiftly overwhelmed. The Twelfth Army began to stream eastward out of Riga, followed by refugees. Later in the afternoon, the first German troops entered the city. They would capture large stores of materiel that could not be evacuated, as well as 15,000 POWs who were cut off by the German advance. The commander of the Northern Front wrote that “the Twelfth Army’s retreat has so disorganized it that it is positively in no state at all to stop an enemy attack without a well-fortified position.” However, the Germans were not interested in being drawn further to the east, and stopped their advance two days later once Riga and its approaches were securely in their hands.

Photo: German troops enter Riga, 3 September 1917



German warships break into Gulf of Riga and shell Livonian villages.

Germany

German Fatherland Party is founded by far-right militarists (the party will later popularize the “stab-in-the back” myth).

Aerial operations: Austria-Hungary

Five Italian aeroplanes drop pamphlets over Vienna informing the people about the recent Italian victory on the Carso plateau.

Aerial operations: Totally unsuitable

After the mini raid last night, a more serious attempt was made on Chatham Docks tonight.

At 2235 two aeroplanes crossed the coast at Westgate and dropped two bombs at Margate, and five on St. Peters causing minor damage.

One Gotha then retired out to sea, ,but the other continued up the Thames Estuary and was joined by one or more Gothas which flew over Eastchurch at 2300.

Ten minutes later bombs began to fall in Chatham. 26 in all were dropped, but two did most of the damage when they hit the drill hall at the naval barracks in which several hundred men were sleeping. 130 naval ratings were killed and a further 88 wounded. The remaining bombs which fell on the town destroyed a house and damaged property and, in addition, killed a naval rating and a woman, and caused injury to three men (including one naval rating and one soldier), three women, and two children.

None of the enemy aeroplanes was visible from Chatham at any time and no anti-aircraft guns came into action: seven rounds were fired at one of the bombers on its way out at Herne Bay.

The anti-aircraft guns in Sheppey fired on the enemy aero- planes, which were momentarily seen from time to time without the aid of searchlights. One bomber was caught, fleetingly, in the beam of the Whitstable light, but had passed into darkness again when seven rounds had been fired.

16 RFC planes went up though none of their pilots saw anything of the raiders. The combination of bright moonlight and dark clear sky made the task of the search- light personnel difficult and the beams of the lights had little power.

Despite this failure, the night did in fact prove instructive. The pilots from 44 Squadron, whose role was to repel day raiders got fed up sitting on the ground during the attack. They were grounded because contemporary opinion considered that the unstable Sopwith Camel, quick to respond to the controls, was entirely unsuited for night work.

45 Squadron’s CO, Major Gilbert Ware Murlis-Green, sought, and was given, permission to try the ‘Camels’ at night. Three pilots ( Murlis-Green, Captain Christopher Joseph Quintin Brand, and Lieutenant Charles Chaplin Banks) took off.

They got into the air safely, and although were unable to find the enemy, patrolled for forty minutes, and then made good landings. The news spread at once and other day-fighting pilots began to practise night flying. By a coincidence, while the pilots of No. 44 Squadron were in the air demonstrating that unstable single-seater fighters could be flown at night, two pilots in France, also in Camels, were making the same discovery.

Naval operations: ship losses

AGIOS ANDREAS (Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Aegean Sea by SM UC-74 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ALENTEJO (Portugal) The cargo ship caught fire, exploded and sank at Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.

HMS BEGONIA (Royal Navy) The Azalea-class sloop departed on patrol in the Atlantic Ocean. She was subsequently sunk by enemy action with the loss of 94 crew.

La NEGRA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 50 nautical miles (93 km) south south west of Start Point, Devon (49°29′N 3°53′W) by SM UC-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her crew.

MAJOREN (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean north west of Bloody Foreland, County Donegal, United Kingdom (55°14′N 8°56′W) by SM U-95 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

RAGNHILD (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 14 nautical miles (26 km) south by east of Flamborough Head, East Riding of Yorkshire by SM UB-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of fifteen crew.

TREVERBYN (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by U 75 (Fritz Schmolling) and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) east south east of the Ushinish Lighthouse, South Uist, Outer Hebrides with the loss of 27 crew.

Day 1124 of the Great War, September 5th 1917

Western Front

Photo: Photograph of French 320 mm railway gun Cyclone, taken in Hogstade, Belgium, 5 September 1917. This appears to be the 32 cm 25 calibres (i.e. shorter barrel) gun on 20-wheel "sliding carriage" rail mounting



Eastern Front

Germans capture line of River Dvina to Friedrichstadt.

Map: Map of the German offensive, September 1st to September 5th 1917



Italian Front

Struggle continues north-east of Gorizia.

East Africa campaign

East Africa: Germans lose 500 men altogether from 30 August to 2 September, and particularly severely in retreat to Mahenge.

France

"Bonnet Rouge" newspaper case being investigated: treasonable intrigue; French government accused of weakness in connection.

Germany

Crown Prince Wilhelm and Crown Princess Cecilie of Germany have a daughter Princess Cecilie of Prussia.

United States

U.S. Justice Department makes raids on dozens of International Workers of the World meeting halls. 166 IWW leaders will be indicted.

Sweden

The 3rd Zimmerwald Conference, an anti-war socialist conference, opens in Stockholm to discuss peace proposals.

Aerial operations: France

Air raids over British lines kill 37 and wound 43 German prisoners. They bomb 3 British hospitals and kill 19 and wound 26 patients in French hospital at Vadelaincourt, Meuse.

Aerial operations: A lucky escape

One of the problems with the anti-Zeppelin seaplane patrols in the North Sea is that unless they catch the Zeppelins by surprise, the seaplanes do not have the performance to keep up with the Zeppelins who can simply climb out of reach.

The new aircraft coming on stream do have the performance, but lack the fuel capacity and there is the inherent danger should the crew have to ditch in the sea with mechanical problems which are all too frequent.

As an interim solution, the RNAS has sent two DH4s equipped with extra fuel tanks to patrol the North Sea between Yarmouth and Terschelling on the Dutch coast for Zeppelins. The idea is that one of the aeroplanes will patrol with an H.12 flying-boat, when wireless interception reports indicated that Zeppelins were patrolling the Terschelling area.

The DH4 will fly high? and the flying-boat low. When a Zeppelin was spotted, the H12 would then make a feint attack to induce the Zeppelin to climb within range of the DH4. If the aeroplane was forced down on the water the flying-boat would be available to rescue the crew.

Today, following a report of a Zeppelin near Terschelling, one of the DH4s and a flying-boat left to search for it. At 1200 a Zeppelin (later identified as the L44) was spotted at 10,000 feet and the seaplane made its feint attack while the D.H.4 climbed and manoeuvred to give the final blow.

On this occasion the L44 was saved when the DH4 developed engine trouble and was unable to climb above 14,000 feet. The Zeppelin out-climbed her adversary and escaped.

A second airship was sighted, but she, also, put up her nose and disappeared.

The two aircraft turned for home, but fifty miles from the English coast the DH4’s engine failed entirely and the aeroplane crashed. The flying-boat was landed alongside and the pilot and observer were picked up from the wreckage. A rough sea was running and the overloaded flying boat, which had a leaking hull and an unsatisfactory port engine, would not take off. The boat was taxied towards Yarmouth until 1900 when the petrol ran out. Four pigeons were carried in the flyingboat, and these were released with messages at intervals the same evening. It was not until 7 September that one of the birds reached its loft at Yarmouth. The flying-boat and its crew were eventualy found by the Halcyon which took the aircraft in tow.

Naval operations: LUSITANIA U-Boat Captain Killed

Walther Schwieger continued to command the U-20 after the sinking of the LUSITANIA. He even continued to do so after sinking another passenger liner, the HESPERIAN, despite strict orders not to do so (and widespread condemnation afterwards, even within the German Navy). The U-20 was grounded and scuttled on the Danish coast in late 1916, and Schwieger would not return to the submarine war until after American entry into the war, this time in the new submarine U-88.

On September 5, Schweiger ran across the British Q-ship HMS STONECROP in the Heligoland Bight. The encounter did not proceed as planned for either vessel, and resulted in the STONECROP giving chase. The chase abruptly ended when the U-88 ran into and detonated a British mine. The submarine sank almost instantly; all 43 on board, including Schwieger, were killed.

Schwieger’s reputation in Germany had been improving before his death (he was awarded a Pour le Mérite in July), and was cemented by it. His death was not publicized in Allied nations until August 1918. At that point, The New York Times, in full war fever as victory approached, editorialized:

There is a certain plausibility of poetic justice in his end, but if he had been human and not a German machine, he should have lived until he made away with himself; or, his mind broken with intolerable remembrances, he should have passed long years in a madhouse. But he was only a German. He only obeyed orders. To do the arch-deed of pitiless savagery was to win promotion. With what a delirium of rejoicing, shoehorn to what endless bumpers, was that exploit celebrated by the German tribes!

Naval operations: ship losses

SS ALESIA (France) The passenger ship was torpedoed and damaged in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) north west of Ouessant, Finistère by SM UC-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was sunk the next day by SM UC-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ECHUNGA (United Kingdom) The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) north east of Ouessant by SM U-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nine crew.

EMMA (United Kingdom) The sailing vessel was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) north of Sept-Îles, Finistère, France by SM UC-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

HMT EROS(Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 4 (Erich Hecht) and sank in the North Sea off Orfordness, Suffolk with the loss of two of her crew.

FLORENCE MUSPRATT (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 10 nautical miles (19 km) north of Sept-Îles by SM UC-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

FRANCES (United Kingdom) The ketch was scuttled in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) north by west of Sept-Îles by SM UC-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

GLYNN(United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 32 nautical miles (59 km) north west of the Les Hanois Lighthouse, Guernsey, Channel Islands by SM UC-42 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

INDUSTRY (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the English Chaanel 20 nautical miles (37 km) north west of the Les Hanois Lighthouse by SM UC-42 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

JEANNOT (Belgium) The fishing vessel was scuttled in the North Sea off Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MARGARET (United Kingdom) The trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Wick, Caithness with the loss of five of her crew.

PROLETAIRE (France) The sailing vessel was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea 59 nautical miles (109 km) off Cape Bougarouni, Algeria (37°45′N 5°45′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

THEODOR (United Kingdom) The sailing vessel was scuttled in the English Channel 13 nautical miles (24 km) north by west of Sept-Îles by SM UC-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

UNITY (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 8 nautical miles (15 km) east of the Cross Sand Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-10 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Day 1126 of the Great War, September 7th 1917

YouTube (The Fall of Riga - 11th Battle of the Isonzo)



Western Front: Pershing Relocates American Headquarters Near the Front

On September 7 the headquarters of the American Expeditionary Force moved from Paris to Chaumont, near the front-line in the Marne region. This would be the likely sector for American troops once they were deployed. That issue - when the Yanks would be ready - was beginning to strain a little bit otherwise cheerful Franco-American relations.

That day French President Poincaré came to review some of Pershing’s soldiers. Unfortunately the planned parade ground had been chosen at night, in the dark, by Pershing’s chief of staff George C. Marshall. The next day the doughboys failed to impress Poincaré with their muddy maneuvers.

Lurking under the service was tension about American commitment to the war. America’s Secretary of War Newton Baker pledged that now American soldiers would go to the front-line before they had been adequately trained in France. The French believed it was more important to get fresh troops - any troops - to the line. When Poincare’s Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau heard that, he acidly commented that it was less a question of readiness, and instead one of helping France. Pershing feared Clemenceau was right. On September 15th he wrote pessimistically in his diary that even “British morale not as high as two months ago.”

Italian Front

British activity on Struma front (eastern Macedonia).

Italians attack Monte S. Gabriele.

Macedonian front: French Advance in Albania

The Allied forces around Salonika were weaker than they had been for quite a while; the British had withdrawn forces, and a new, generous leave policy for the French soldiers there (an indirect consequence of the mutinies in France) meant most French divisions were understrength at any given time. Nevertheless, Sarrail wanted a victory. A breakthrough in the Struma valley or north of Monastir would be impossible with the troops he had available, but, further west, there were still possibilities in Albania. The French had largely neglected the area, worried about stepping on Italy’s toes and because it had little strategic importance. Nevertheless, only lightly defended by an extremely-distracted Austria, it proved a tempting target.

On September 7, the French launched an attack toward the town of Pogradec, on the southwestern shore of Lake Ohrid. Within three days they had taken the town, at a cost of under 200 casualties. Although it had little strategic importance, it was hailed as a great victory in France, thanks to Sarrail’s contacts in the socialist press.

Assisting the French in the battle was a contingent of 500 Albanians under Essad Pasha, the self-styled President of Albania. No longer backed by the Italians, Essad wanted to prove his value and hopefully gain recognition from his government. Essad’s Albanians acquitted themselves well on the familiar terrain, successfully raiding Austrian positions in the coming weeks. However, Essad’s increasing prominence only served to anger the Italians, Greeks, and Serbians, who all had their own interests in Albania.

Mesopotamian campaign

Health of troops in Mesopotamia reported greatly improved.

United States

U.S.A. contemplate seizing 400,000 tons of neutral shipping in American ports.

President Wilson bans the exportation of gold to Mexico, Spain, and Japan.

Aerial operations: The drifters

The SSZ (Sea Scout Zero) airships are designed and built at the RNAS airship station at Capel-le-Fernenear Folkestone as a successor to the SS class.

Similar to other SS class types, the SSZs has an envelope of 70,000 cu ft (2,000 m3) capacity containing two ballonets of 6,375 cu ft (180.5 m3) each;and like the SSPs, the fuel is contained in aluminium tanks slung on the axis of the envelope.

The design of the car is a streamlined, boat-shaped and watertight cab, floored from end-to-end, and enclosed with sides of fabric-covered 8-ply wood or aluminium. The car is comfortable and accommodates a 3-man crew – the forward position being occupied by the wireless operator/gunner with the pilot seated amidships, and the engineer stationed at the rear. It’s main role is to escort convoys and scout or search for German U-boats.

Today, SSZ-14, under the command of Flight Lieutenant Arthur Stanley Elliott , set out on patrol from Mullion.

She left Mullion on 7 September, 1917, at 9.05 am, and proceeded on her patrol. At 4.25 pm the engine suddenly stopped. All efforts to restart her were unsuccessful. The ship signaled engine trouble and gave her position. At 4.35 she had risen to 2,500 feet and was drifting in a SSW direction. An hour later the drogue was accidentally dropped overboard, but a suitable and efficient substitute was soon made out of a chair, coats and petrol tins.

The Lewis gun was then thrown overboard to prevent the ship from hitting the water, as by this time she had descended to a very low altitude. At 5.45 the sun came out again and the ship rose to 3,500 feet. At 6 pm she was brought down to 100 feet and further efforts were made to restart the engine, but without result. The drogue worked very well, however, keeping the craft shearing just off the wind, and at 6.35 she was drifting south, some forty miles south of Start Point.

Lifebelts were then given out to the crew, and at 6.45pm the ammunition trays, revolvers and pyrenes were thrown overboard. Between 6.55 and 7.35 positions were received from the Lizard, and Brest was informed. At 7.35 cartridges and the cover of the Aldis lamp were thrown out, oil was drained from the tank, and later the water was drained out of the radiator and the petrol was run into the ballast bags. The explosives were taken out of the bombs and thrown overboard.

At 8.57 pm the ship reported to the Lizard that she was over land, and at 9.15 she landed near St. Jean du Doight, Finistere, having used all ballast. There she was deflated and taken by wagon to Guipavas Airship Station, where, with the assistance of the French, the crew re-inflated her, and on 21st she flew back to her station. No damage was done and no spares were required. She had free-ballooned a distance of approximately 120 miles – thanks to the very efficient adjustments made from time to time throughout the forced trip by her pilot, Flt. Lt. Elliott.”

Naval operations: ship losses

HMT BY GEORGE (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 23 (Volkhard von Bothmer and sank in the Gulf of Ruphani (40°38′N 34°54′E) with the loss of two of her crew.

CASA BLANCA (Portugal) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by SM UB-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

CLAN FERGUSON (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 15 nautical miles (28 km) off Cape Spartel, Morocco (35°50′N 6°10′W) by SM UB-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of ten crew.

GRELFRYDA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and damaged in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south west by west of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire by SM UB-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached, but was later refloated, repaired and returned to service.

HAAKON VII (Norway) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) east south east of Land's End, Cornwall, United Kingdom by SM UB-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.

HINEMOA (United Kingdom) The four-masted barque was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 35 nautical miles (65 km) west south west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (49°30′N 7°08′W) by SM UC-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HUNSBRIDGE (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) west south west of Cape Spartel (35°10′N 6°50′W) by SM UB-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.

MINNEHAHA (United Kingdom) The ocean liner was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 12 nautical miles (22 km) south east of the Fastnet Rock (51°17′N 9°22′W) by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 43 lives.

MONT DE PIETE (France) The vessel was sunk in the Bay of Biscay off the mouth of the Loire by SM UC-71 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MYRMIDON (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was damaged in the Mediterranean Sea (37°10′N 6°51′E by SM UC-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew. She was beached at Philippeville, Algeria but was later refloated.

VERSAILLES (France) The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 107 nautical miles (198 km) south by west of Ouessant, Finistère (47°49′N 7°38′W) by SM UC-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

VESTFJEILD (Norway) The four-masted barque was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) south west of the Bishop Rock by SM UC-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Day 1128 of the Great War, September 9th 1917

Western Front

British take 600 yards of German trenches at Villeret (N.N.W. of St. Quentin).

Meuse, right bank: heavy fighting, Germans repulsed.

End of Third French offensive at Verdun.

Photo: Belgian armored cars on the Western Front. September 9, 1917



Western Front: Mutiny at Étaples

Étaples is the site of one of many British bases in France. Here British and Commonwealth troops are trained before being sent to the front. Units that have already been in the line are often redeployed here for more training.

Conditions at Étaples are poor. The base authorities have a reputation for harshness. As many of them have never served at the front they are regarded as shirkers by the men.

The nearby town of Le Touquet is out of bounds to enlisted men, its attractions reserved exclusively for officers; that does not stop ordinary soldiers from slipping over there. However, when a New Zealand private is arrested on his way back from Le Touquet, his comrades assemble to demand his release. Military policemen attempt to break up the crowd, without success.

Then a shots are fired: one of the MPs kills a Scottish private and injures a French woman. But instead of dispersing the crowd, the gunfire inflames it. More soldiers join the demonstration and the MPs flee to Le Touquet. Soldiers then rampage through the camp, at one point reputedly pulling the commander from his desk and parading him around the town as a trophy.

The British army has thus far been spared the large-scale disturbances that gripped its French counterpart earlier in the year. Now the authorities frantically prepare countermeasures to restore order in Étaples.

Italian Front

Austrians claim 6,000 prisoners near Hermada (Carso).

French advance near Lake Ochrida (south-west Macedonia).

Aerial operations: Germany

French airmen drop bombs on Rottweil (Wurttemberg).

United Kingdom

King's special decoration for 1914 campaign announced.

United Kingdom: First Use of “OMG”

Although their relationship had become highly strained over the course of the Dardanelles campaign, Churchill and Lord Fisher remained close friends afterwards. Churchill even subjected himself to some political humiliation by making an appeal in Parliament to return Fisher to the Admiralty. The two maintained a regular correspondence, and on September 9, Fisher sent Churchill a short letter. Most of it discussed German naval preparations in the Baltic. With the fall of Riga, the Germans wanted to push north, putting further pressure towards Petrograd. To do so by land seemed relatively infeasible at the time, and Riga’s usefulness as a port was limited by Russian control of the large islands in the Gulf of Riga.

The Germans planned landings on these islands, with major assistance from large portions of the High Seas Fleet (brought through the Kiel Canal for the purpose). Although their exact plans were unknown, the movement of German ships and their intention to carry out amphibious operations north of Riga were well-known enough to appear in British papers. Fisher lamented that the Germans were poised to do with a small force what the British had not been able to do the entire war (despite Churchill’s plans):

We are five times stronger at Sea than our enemies and here is a small Fleet that we could gobble up in a few minutes playing the great vital Sea part of landing an Army in the enemies’ rear and possibly capturing the Russian Capital by Sea!…Are we really incapable of a big Enterprise?

Fisher concluded his short note with this line:

I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis–O.M.G. (Oh! My God!)–Shower it on the Admiralty!!

This is the first documented use of OMG as an abbreviation for “Oh My God” in the English language.

Russia: Kornilov Affair: Kerensky Assumes Dictatorial Powers, Red Guards Mobilize to Defend Petrograd, Coup Attempt Crumbles

A corps of Cossacks was on its way to Petrograd as part of a coup attempt headed by Russian Commander-in-Chief Lavr Kornilov. The general planned to occupy the capital and break up the city’s soviet, impose martial law, and reform the Provisional Government.

Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky had acquiesced to Kornilov’s demands for a few weeks, reinstating the death penalty in the military, for example. He may have approved Kornilov’s march on the city to strengthen his own position against the Bolsheviks, but if he had, now Kerensky got cold feet. On September 8 he did an about-face, fearing Kornilov would make himself a dictator. In response he declared Kornilov a traitor and released arms to the Petrograd workers to defend the capital. Late that night the Duma granted him dictatorial powers.

But Kerensky had no hope of mobilizing a defense by himself. The Bolsheviks, however, could call on thousands of motivated volunteers and Kerensky opened up his arsenals to them. Bolshevik leaders like Leon Trotsky were released from prison. Red Guards of factory workers and soldiers collected rifles from the government and took up key positions outside the city. Ad hoc committees readied themselves to fight counter-evolution; railroad workers derailed the trains carrying Kornilov’s Cossacks. The Kronstadt sailors, who in July had tried to overthrow the Provisional Government, now arrived in Petrograd to defend it.

The coup attempt ended with anti-climax. No support materialized for Kornilov, and a soviet delegation easily persuaded the forces he did have to lay down their arms. Kornilov and a number of other officers, including the Western Front commander Anton Denikin, were imprisoned in a monastery in Mogilev. Mikhail Alekseyev took over as Russian commander-in-chief. Kornilov’s coup evaporated the faith of most Russian soldiers in the army’s good faith, however, and desertions spiked. The victors of the affair were the Bolsheviks, who were now armed and legitimized as the defenders of the revolution.

Russia: The Kornilov Affair: Russia’s Bonaparte? Kornilov marches on Petrograd

Kerensky and Kornilov, his army commander, had been planning a crackdown in Russia, to return order to a country wracked by revolutionary chaos. But the prime minister has become afraid of his ambitious general. Now he is convinced that Kornilov is about to stage a coup of his own that will establish him as the Bonaparte of the Russian Revolution.

In the early hours of the morning Kerensky meets with his cabinet in an atmosphere of crisis. Desperate times require desperate measures, so Kerensky secures the resignation of his ministers, taking on emergency powers himself. He telegrams Kornilov informing him that he has been dismissed as army commander.

When Kornilov receives Kerensky’s telegram he is astonished. Despite their tensions, Kornilov had thought that he and Kerensky were working together to save Russia. Now Kornilov decides that there is only one possible explanation for this telegram: Kerensky is now a prisoner of the Bolsheviks, who have forced him to send it.

As a man of action, Kornilov knows what is to be done. He orders his men to march on Petrograd to free Kerensky from the sinister clutches of the Bolsheviks.

News of Kornilov’s move causes a sensation in Petrograd. The Soviet executive meets. Despite the hostility of some (especially the Bolsheviks) towards Kerensky and his government, it passes a motion calling for resistance to Kornilov’s putsch.

Aerial operations: United Kingdom

First flight of the Bristol F.2A.

Aerial operations: Three and Out

The foggy weather hindered most of the flying on the Western Front today, although by the later afternoon this had cleared.

At around 1705, a patrol from 70 Squadron RFC engaged several enemy aircraft between Gheluvelt and Houthulst. Flight Commander Captain Clive Franklyn Collett was flying Sopwith Camel B2341. His combat report stated:

“We patrolled as instructed between Gheluvelt and Houthulst Forest. When over Gheluvelt at 5.10 p.m. we attacked three 2-seater enemy aircraft and after a short exchange of shots two made off in an easterly direction. The formation engaged the remaining machine hotly and I got off a good burst at him. Lt. Saward also fired off on this machine and it went down entirely out of control. We did not see it crash as it disappeared in the haze.

The formation then patrol up to Houthulst where three more 2-seater enemy aircraft were engaged at 5.25. I got onto the tail of one of these and drove him down from 10,000 feet to 4,000 feet. The machine was entirely out of control with smoke coming from the fuselage and from 4,000 feet I saw this machine crash north-east of Houthulst Forest.

I crossed the lines at 4,000 feet and climbed to rejoin my formation. I picked up on the remainder of the formation at 5.40 and we then patrolled again towards Houthulst Forest. I saw two enemy aircraft beyond Houthulst towards Roulers.

I heard a machine sitting on my tail and turned round and saw the rest of the formation engaged with a large number of enemy aircraft. I got onto the tail of one and emptied one gun into the fuselage at short range. I followed this machine down and saw it turn over and crash. The machine was not entirely out of control as the pilot made an effort to land it, so I shut off my engine and then flew straight at him, put a long burst into him as he lay on the ground; the machine burst into flames.

I was then attacked by three enemy aircraft and flew along at about 30 feet over Houthulst Forest so the machine gunners could not place me. The enemy aircraft sat on my tail and continued firing at me though I manoeuvred as much as possible.

I crossed the trenches at 40 feet and returned home as I was wounded in the hand by one of the enemy aircraft.”

Three of these were credited, bringing Collett’s Score to 12. But that was it. In the end the wound to hand was severe enough that he was grounded for 2 months. He was eventually killed on 24 December 1917 testing a captured Albatross.

Lieutenant Norman Cuthbert Saward was unfortunately taken prisoner when his Sopwith Camel (B3916 ) crashed behind enemy lines.

Also during the combat, 2nd Lieutenant Hugh Weightman was severely wounded in a combat with two Albatross scouts. He did however manage to force the aircraft of Leutnant Ludwig Luer, from Jasta 27 to crash. Luer escaped with minor injuries.

Naval operations: German occupied Belguim

Naval air raid on Ghistelles, Handzaeme and Lichtervelde (Ostend).

Naval operations: ship losses

ELSA(Denmark) The barque was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 6 nautical miles (11 km) off Kinsale, County Cork, United Kingdom by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of five crew.

PLUTON(Norway) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 6 nautical miles (11 km) east south east of Start Point, Devon by SM UB-31 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of ten of her crew.

STORM (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) off the Sunk Lightship ( United Kingdom) by a Luftstreitkräfte aircraft.

SWIFTSURE Swiftsure (United Kingdom) The coaster struck a mine laid by UC 40 (Hermann Menzel) and sank in Shapinsay Sound, Orkney Islands with the loss of a crew member.

Day 1130 of the Great War, September 11th 1917

Western Front

British bomb south of Lille and Roulers region heavily.

Italian Front: Austrians Maintain Hold on Mt. San Gabriele

The Italian successes on the Bainsizza plateau in August soon became bogged down in attempts to take Mt. San Gabriele, which guarded the Vipacco valley above Gorizia. If it were taken, Cadorna was convinced that the Italians could push on towards Ljubljana to the east, and outflank the Austrian defenses guarding Trieste. On September 4, Cadorna renewed attacks on the mountaintop, taking it briefly. Boroevic was equally convinced as to the mountain’s importance, and devoted his last reserves to the battle, retaking the mountain that afternoon. However, he thought he could not hold onto it for long.

Over the next week, the fight for the mountain continued, in incredibly close quarters. During a brief pause in the battle one night, an Austrian mail carrier got lost and delivered his mail to the Italians instead. On September 8, Cadorna simply began trying to destroy the mountain, bombarding it with such intensity that its peak was reduced by more than thirty feet over the next three days. A defending Austrian recalled: “Who could full describe this San Gabriele, this sort of Moloch which swallows up a regiment every three or four days…”

On the night of September 11, Boroevic was able to scrounge up two elite companies of shock troops and backed them up with a whole artillery brigade. They pushed the Italians clear from the mountaintop, reversing the gains the Italians had paid for with over 10,000 casualties over the previous week. This was to be the furthest the Italians would push until the final days of the war.

Russia: The Kornilov Affair: Kornilov’s coup comes unstuck

General Kornilov has ordered his men to march on Petrograd after being dismissed by Kerensky. Now at last the enemies of the revolution have their Bonaparte, a man who will restore order in Russia. In response to the crisis, the Prime Minister has assumed emergency powers. Now he declares himself commander in chief of the army, with Alexeev his chief of staff. But power has ebbed away from Kerensky: with most of the generals supporting Kornilov, he has no men at his disposal to deploy against the rebel general.

But independently of Kerensky, the working people of Petrograd are rallying against Kornilov. Armed militias comprising workers and revolutionary soldiers have sprung into being, often under the direction of Bolshevik activists. The Kronstadt sailors return to Petrograd to defend the city from the general’s coup. Railway workers have sabotaged the line to prevent Kornilov’s men taking the train all the way to the capital. And agitators have gone to meet Kornilov’s men, to persuade them to abandon the general’s putsch.

Krimov leads Kornilov’s vanguard and is under orders to press on to Petrograd at once and establish martial law. But he finds himself stuck at Luga on the city’s outskirts, with revolutionary soldiers and agitators urging his men to disobey his orders. Krimov’s authority evaporates as his soldiers wander off to impromptu meetings and learn that Kornilov was using them for counter-revolution. Krimov’s men turn on their officers, either ignoring their orders to advance or arresting them. Kornilov’s attempted coup appears to be over.

United Kingdom

First party of British prisoners from Switzerland arrives.

Germany

Kaiser Wilhelm returns from the Riga battlefields to Potsdam with a severe cold.

Aerial operations: Belgium

British seaplanes bomb Zeebrugge mole and air sheds.

Aerial operations: French Ace Guynemer Killed

British newspapers reported it first, before the French newspapers in which he was a hero. France’s top ace was dead.

Georges Guynemer had made his 50th kill in June, achieving for him the status of “ace of aces,” the greatest fighter pilot in the sky. His SPAD XII was equipped, uniquely, with a 37mm cannon. The shook the plane to hell every-time it fired (and had to be reloaded by hand,) but it went without saying that there was no other plane like it in the air.

Guynemer was a wealthy son of a family in Compiègne. He was a good student, but sickly and frail. When the war began the French aviation service rejected him on health issues. But Guynemer persisted, going to the health test four times before his father called in some favors. The 19-year old was assigned as a mechanic on an air base.

He wanted to fly, though, and so fly he did. Guynemer bothered every pilot around him to take him up on flights, where he could learn the basics of flying. Eventually his ad-hoc method paid off and he made his way to flight school. There he showed again a dedication to mastery.

As he took off so did his career. He made a first kill in June 1915, and also was shot down for the first time that year, one of seven times in his career. Returning to service in mid-1916 the young pilot showed remarkable skill flying his SPAD single-seater, Vieux Charles. By the end of the year he was an ace five times over with 25 kills.

Guynemer showed not only great flight abilities but also tinkered with his craft, helping the French air arm develop a more efficient fighter. It was in one of these, a SPAD XIII, that Guynemer made his final flight. On September 11 he and a wingmate ambushed a German two-seater, but were in turn jumped by eight German fighters. The wingmate returned, but Guynemer did not. Germans found his body behind their lines, dead of a bullet through the head. With 53 kills, he was France’s second-highest scoring ace of the war, behind only René Fonck, the top Allied pilot.

Aerial operations: A close shave for Voss

On the Western Front, poor weather in the morning dissipated by the afternoon and as a result activity in the air increased.

The German ace Werner Voss had a busy day in the prototype Fokker F1 Triplane (103/17). This morning he shot down 2nd Lieutenant Raymond De Lacy Stedman and 2nd Lieutenant Harry Edward Jones from 22 Squadron RFC in their Bristol F2B (B1105). They crashed near Langemarck and were taken prisoner, though Jones later died from his wounds.

Later in the afternoon in the same area, Voss’s patrol came across a flight from 45 Squadron RFC in their Sopwith Camels He shot down and killed 2nd Lieutenant Oscar Lennox McMaking in B6236. At the time he was being chased by Captain Norman Macmillan. Macmillan dove his Sopwith Camel within 20 feet of Voss and opened fire. Macmillan reported that Voss turned his head twice to judge the Camel’s position before evading. Then an RE8 blundered across between them, nearly colliding with the Camel and breaking off the attack as Voss dove away. Macmillan claimed an “out of control” victory when he returned to base.

Naval operations: ship losses

EMBLETON (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 150 nautical miles (280 km) west of Cape Spartel, Morocco by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

LUXEMBOURG (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km) north north east of the Pendeen Lighthouse, Cornwall (50°13′N 5°40′W) by SM UC-51 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

ROSY CROSS (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) north west by west of Crackington Haven, Cornwall by SM UC-51 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

TOBOL (Russia) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 70 nautical miles (130 km) east south east of Duncansby Head, Caithness, United Kingdom (58°10′N 1°00′W) by SM U-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

SM U-49 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type U 43 submarine was rammed, shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay (46°17′N 14°42′W) by British Transport ( United Kingdom) with the loss of all 43 crew.

VIENNA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 340 nautical miles (630 km) west of Ouessant, Finistère, France (46°59′N 13°05′W) by SM U-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 25 crew. Her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.

WILLIAM (United Kingdom) The schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) north north west of Crackington Haven (50°56′N 5°39′W) by SM UC-51 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Day 1132 of the Great War, September 13th 1917

Western Front

German attack near Langemarck repulsed.

German raids west of Craonne.

Germans penetrate French advanced line north of Caurieres Wood (Meuse).

Eastern Front

Odessa and Black Sea tranquil; population sympathise with Provisional Government.

France

New French Cabinet announced.

Aerial operations: Austria-Hungary

22 Italian Caproni aeroplanes drop 172 bombs on the city of Trieste, targeting an arsenal and a seaplane hangar.

Aerial operations: Triplane turned

Flight Sub-Lieutenant John Richard Wilford was on patrol over Menin with a flight from 1 Naval Squadron in his Sopwith Triplane (N5429) when they were attacked by aircraft from Jasta 4. He was shot down by Leutnant Kurt Wüsthoff for his 15th victory.

Wilford crash landed behind enemy lines, but his aircraft survived the landing and was painted up in German markings and test flown by German pilots.

As such the capture of the intact N5429 was not a major coup for the Germans. Within 2 months, the Sopwith Triplanes were withdrawn from the Front and replaced by Sopwith Camels

Naval operations: ship losses

ARLEQUIN (Tunisia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Gabès by SM UC-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

CHERE ROSE (Tunisia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Gabès by SM UC-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

COMIZIANES DA GRACE (Portugal) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 6 nautical miles (11 km) north of Cape Sines by SM UB-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

CORREIRO DE SINES (Portugal) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal by SM UB-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

ORTIGIA (Tunisia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Gabès by SM UC-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

SM UC-21 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UC II submarine departed Zeebrugge, West Flanders, Belgium for the Bay of Biscay. No further trace, presumed lost with all 26 crew.

VITTORIA (Tunisia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Gabès by SM UC-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

Day 1134 of the Great War, September 15th 1917

Western Front

Second phase of Third Battle of Ypres: London troops capture strong point north of Inverness Copse (Ypres).

Enemy repulsed by Portuguese at Neuve Chapelle.

Italian Front

Four successive Austrian counter-attacks on Bainsizza Plateau fail; Italians gain ground to south-east.

Germany: Germans Launch Their Last Battlecruiser

The naval race between Britain and Germany continued during the war, though it became increasingly harder to justify the expense as the war continued and the resources were needed elsewhere. In the case of the British, their experience at Jutland had shown that their approach to the battlecruiser had serious flaws, and in February they stopped production on all remaining battlecruisers, excepting the HOOD.

The Germans continued work on two new battlecruisers, although at a much slower pace considering issues with steel production and the increasing demand in the Army and in the submarine arm of the Navy. Nevertheless, on September 15, the battlecruiser GRAF SPEE was launched with much ceremony. Named for the German admiral killed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands and is christened by his widow/

Aerial operations: Haig’s views on the Air Ministry

Following on from General Smuts report on August, the War Cabinet accepted the formation of a separate Air Ministry in principle on 24 August, and then set up the Air Organisation Committee under General Smuts to work on the practicalities with Sir David Henderson leading the work.

At the same time there were misgivings in the War Office about the whole approach Sir Douglas Haig believed that one of the contentions on which the whole argument for a separate air service was based – that the war could be won in the air as against on the ground – was a mere assertion unsupported by facts.

‘An Air Ministry with civilian head uncontrolled by any outside naval and military opinion, exposed as it would inevitably be to popular and factional clamour, would be very liable to lose its sense of proportion and be drawn towards the spectacular, such as bombing reprisals and home defence, at the expense of providing the essential means of co-operation with our naval and military forces.’

However, in his formal response to the report issued today, he confined his remarks to what was necessary to ensure the efficiency of the air service under the new structure, as the principle of the formation of a separate Air Service had already been approved by the War Cabinet.

He had, he said, carefully studied the report, and he found that some of the views put forward about future possibilities went beyond anything justified by his experience. He thought that a full examination of the problems associated with long-distance bombing would show that the views expressed by the committee required considerable modification, and he desired to point out the ‘grave danger of an Air Ministry, charged with such ‘powers as the Committee recommends, assuming control ‘with a belief in theories which are not in accordance with ‘practical experience’.

After reviewing the difficulties associated with long-distance bombing from aerodromes in French territory, Sir Douglas Haig had much to say about the supply of aeroplanes and trained personnel.

“After more than three years of war our armies are still very far short of their requirements, and ‘my experience of repeated failure to fulfil promises as ‘regards provision makes me somewhat sceptical as to the large surplus of machines and personnel on which the Committee counts in . . . its report. . . . Nor is it clear ‘that the large provision necessary to replace wastage has ‘been taken into account.”

United States

Entire sugar industry in the United States is put under federal control to stabilize supply and prices.

Aerial operations: Belgium

Seaplanes successfully attack shipping between Blankenberghe and Ostend.

Naval operations: ship losses

DEPENDENCE (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean off The Lizard, Cornwall by SM UB-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

IDOMENEUS (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and damaged in the North Channel (56°40′N 10°50′W) by SM U-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four crew. She was beached but was later refloated.

PLATURIA (United States) The tanker was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Tangier, Morocco (35°08′N 9°15′W) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of ten crew.

ROLLESBY (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 80 nautical miles (150 km) east north east of Muckle Flugga, Shetland Islands by SM U-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

SANTAREN (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) north east of Muckle Flugga (61°36′N 0°14′W) by SM UB-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

SOMMEINA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 69 (Hugo Thielmann) and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south east of The Manacles (50°01′N 4°57′W). Her crew survived.

SAINT JAQUES(France) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 51 (Hans Galster) and sank in the Irish Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south west of St. Ann's Head, Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom.