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Post by lordroel on Jan 15, 2023 8:39:02 GMT
Day 1256 of the Great War, January 15th 1918
Western Front
Results of Cambrai enquiry published.
Western Front: US Army I Corps Founded
The American presence in France was growing daily. By January 1918, it had grown to a point where an intermediate level of command was necessary between Pershing (in charge of the AEF as a whole) and the individual American divisions; this was also needed to align American command structure with those of their new allies, so that they could coordinate their forces better. On January 15, I Corps was founded, encompassing at first four divisions–the 1st Division (the first to have entered the line) along with the 2nd, 26th, and 42nd Divisions. It was headquartered at Neufchâteau in Lorraine, a relatively quiet sector where most American troops were being sent at present. Given command was Hunter Liggett, a veteran of the Philippine War. Liggett had previously commanded the 41st Division, which was no longer slated to serve in combat, its men instead being sent to other units–a common practice in the nascent US Army that did little to improve the Army’s cohesion on any large scale.
Italian Front
Austrian counter-attacks on new Italian positions are repulsed.
Sinai and Palestine campaign
Considerable air and patrol activity in Palestine.
Arab Revolt
Amman (Hejaz railway) bombed.
Romania/Russia relations: Bolsheviks Order Arrest of King Ferdinand of Romania
“It has been said that the Bolshevik government in Russia is ready to fight everybody but the Germans,” wrote an American commentator on January 15. He was talking about the order that day from Lenin for the arrest of King Ferdinand of Romania, who was accused of starving Russian soldiers that had fought under Romanian command on the Eastern Front, and traitorously conversing with Austrian officers. Lenin issued complete instructions for the King’s detention and trial. Unfortunately for the Bolsheviks, Romania was under German occupation at the time, far away from Bolshevik reach, and if anything the charges were totally made up, as Ferdinand had actually refused to even sign the treaty of peace with the Central Powers imposed on his country.
United States
War labour administrator appointed.
Aerial operations: Administrative Wing abolished
There was no flying on the Western Front today due to poor weather.
Back in England, an Army Order issued today announced the abolition of the Administrative Wing of the RFC. The Administrative Wing was created at the outbreak of war to manage the RFCs affairs away from the front, and in particular the recruitment and training of new recruits.
In its place, a Reserve Depot, Royal Flying Corps, is to be formed, which will deal with the training of recruits for the RFC. The Officer in charge Royal Flying Corps Records would, in addition to his other duties, be responsible for the final approval of recruits and for the transfer of rank and file to the Royal Flying Corps.
Naval operations: ship losses
BONANOVA (Spain) The coaster was damaged in the Mediterranean 8 nautical miles (15 km) off Cape Farrara (43°11′N 4°37′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was towed into Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France where she was declared a constructive total loss.
SPITAL (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 28 nautical miles (52 km) south west by west of St Anthony Head, Cornwall by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine.
WAR SONG (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Bay of Biscay 12 nautical miles (22 km) west of the Île de Sein, Finistère, France (48°02′N 5°10′W) by SM U-93 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of sixteen of her crew.
WESTPOLDER (Netherlands) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by U 79 (Karl Thouret) and sank in the North Sea west of Scheveningen, South Holland (52°11′N 3°57′E).[77] Six of her eighteen crew were killed.
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Post by lordroel on Jan 16, 2023 3:47:22 GMT
Day 1257 of the Great War, January 16th 1918
Western Front
Successful French raid south-east Verdun.
British again bomb Metz.
Germany/Ukraine
Settlement in principle arrives at between Central Powers and Ukraine.
Italian Front
Austrians attack on Italian positions at Cape Sile (lower Piave) repulsed with heavy loss.
United States
U.S.A. publishes documents referring to Caillaux case.
Germany
Prussian Finance Minister Hergt declares sufficient American troops cannot reach Europe.
Romania/Russia relations
Romania ignores Soviet Russia's ultimatum from yesterday, heightening tensions between Romania and Russia soldiers still stationed in the country.
Austria-Hungary: Massive Bread Strikes in Austria
The Austrian half of the Dual Monarchy had the worst food situation of any of the Central Powers in Europe. With its own food-producing region in Galicia ravaged by war, with Hungary generally unwilling to share any of its food, and with Germany unwilling to provide food or coal to ship any food, the outlook in the winter of 1918 was quite dim. On January 14, the bread ration was cut by 20%, from 7.5 oz to just under 6 oz per day. These cuts, combined with the continued frustration that a peace with the defeated Russians had not yet been signed, led to the outbreak of general strikes on January 16. In modern-day Austria, over 100,000 workers participated, and the strikes even spread to Hungary over the coming days.
Emperor Charles wrote to Czernin, his foreign minister and representative at the Brest-Litovsk peace talks, saying “if peace is not made at Brest it will be revolution here, no matter how much there is to eat.” Czernin replied that “I fear it is already too late to check the total collapse which is to be expected in the next few weeks.” The Austrians, desperately seeking to avoid a revolution at home, thus turned to desperation at Brest-Litovsk. Ukraine, considered Russia’s breadbasket, was thought to have large stores of food. Despite having very little bargaining position (having essentially no army of their own), the Ukrainians demanded territory in eastern Galicia, especially the city of Chelm (in modern-day Poland). Despite knowing this would anger Austria’s large (and loyal) Polish population, Czernin was still tempted by the offer. Meanwhile, Trotsky took the news from Austria as a vindication of his strategy–if he could only delay for long enough through the winter, the revolution would spread to Austria and Germany and a humiliating peace could be avoided.
Naval operations: ship losses
HMT JOHN E.LEWIS (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 11 (Ferdinand Schwartz) and sank in the North Sea off the Cork Lightship ( United Kingdom) (51°54′N 1°24′E) with the loss of two of her crew.
GENEVIEVE (France) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 12 nautical miles (22 km) north west of St Ives, Cornwall, United Kingdom (50°23′N 5°20′W) by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
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Post by lordroel on Jan 17, 2023 3:45:13 GMT
Day 1258 of the Great War, January 17th 1918
East Africa campaign
War Office announces progress in East Africa.
German/Russian relations
At Brest-Litovsk, Central Powers reject Soviet Russia’s proposal that armies of the Central Powers leave occupied areas before official peace is concluded.
United States: US Industries East of Mississippi to Shut for a Week
The American railway system, already strained by wartime demands and the sudden nationalization of the railroads, was pushed to breaking point by massive blizzards in the Midwest in mid-January. Coal and other fuels were now in critically short supply on the East Coast, and there was a distinct lack of rolling stock in the West to send further supplies east. As a result, the US Fuel Administrator, Harry Garfield (son of the late President Garfield) ordered a complete five-day shutdown of all non-food-related industries east of the Mississippi river. They would also be shut down for nine consecutive Mondays after that. Announced widely in the press on January 17, to take effect the next day, the move came as a shock to most Americans. Many were concerned that the Germans would take the shutdown as a sign that American industry would be able to keep up with the demands of war. Despite extreme complaints from industry (who were able to prevent the order about Mondays from going into full effect), the move was effective in preventing a heating (and general industrial) crisis on the east coast, and in breaking up the logjam in rolling stock that had crippled the US transportation network.
Aerial operations: Home Defence
Continued Gotha raids in December 1917 had spooked public opinion and, as a consequence, the War Cabinet. The War Cabinet therefore commissioned Viscount French, Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces to report on the state of air defences in London. Today he delivered his report.
In examining the Zeppelin attacks, he concluded that:
“The Zeppelin menace cannot be said to have disappeared. Great improvements have been made in the speed, radius of action, and climbing power of the latest type of Zeppelins, while their visibility has been reduced by camouflaging the underparts of the envelope with black dope. The return of warm weather will probably be the signal for renewed Zeppelin raids, but in view of the recent increases in the defences of London and the south-east of England it is probable that they will direct their attacks on the north-east coast or Midlands. “
On countering the daylight aeroplane raids, he indicated that the reorganization of the gun and aeroplane defences, together with the re-equipment of the defence squadrons with better fighting aircraft, had forced the enemy to give up daylight raids in favour of night attacks.
This, however, created different problems of defence. New improved fighting aeroplanes had been produced and fifty had been delivered to the eight squadrons in the south-east of England. However, only expert pilots could fly these unstable single-seater fighters in the dark and it would take time for the new pilots to become proficient in night-fighting.
The need to provide antiaircraft gun protection for widely dispersed vulnerable points in London and the south-eastern areas made it difficult to arrange an adequate zone for the operation of the large number of Royal Flying Corps squadrons placed between London and the East Coast. The anti-aircraft scheme of fire was based chiefly on sound and it was, of course, impossible, when firing at sound, to distinguish friend from foe.
French noted that, to increase the areas reserved for aeroplane operations, modifications in the disposition of the fixed guns would be necessary. At this point, however it was difficult to determine the ultimate relative value of guns and aeroplanes as weapons of defence, and consequently whether such modifications will even be justified.
French then highlighted the importance of the searchlight. The small 60-m. searchlights supplied for home defence had been effective against the old-type airships, but had proved to be useless against the latest type Zeppelins and against the high-flying aeroplanes. A few 150cm. lights had been obtained from a French firm, and it was expected that deliveries of a considerable number of British-made 120cm. searchlights would begin in the near future. A new type of carbon which would greatly increase the range of the lights was also being manufactured, and sound locators which would enable the lights to be trained on an audible, but invisible, target were being distributed, as were parachute flares to be fired from the anti-aircraft guns. These improvements, he said, “will, it is hoped, have the effect of turning the scale in favour of the illumination of the target. It remains to be seen whether the guns or the aeroplanes will derive the greatest advantage.”
Of the balloon aprons there are three in operation and it is hoped to complete the remainder, up to the authorized total of twenty, at the rate of four each month. The aprons could ascend to a height of 8,000 feet, but the provision of larger-type Caquot balloons would enable them to be raised to 10,000 feet. Their main effect was a moral one, but they tended to keep enemy pilots at heights which made it impossible for them to drop bombs with accuracy of aim.
In addition to these various measures, three hundred Lewis guns had been installed at vulnerable points to keep enemy aircraft from descending below heights at which anti-aircraft gun-fire ceased to be effective, and arrangements had been made to equip with high-angle mountings the machine-guns with the Home Defence Garrison and with Field Army troops.
Finally, to help to establish the height and movements of enemy aircraft, wireless-fitted aeroplanes patrolled given areas: the observers signalled their information to receiving stations which were in direct telephonic communication with the area head-quarters.
Naval operations: ship losses
KINGSDYKE (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 20 nautical miles (37 km) north east by east of Cape Barfleur, Manche, France by SM UB-80 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of sixteen of her crew.
WINDSOR HALL (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean 45 nautical miles (83 km) north west of Alexandria, Egypt by SM UB-66 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the kloss of 27 crew. Her captain was taken as a prisoner of war.
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Post by lordroel on Jan 18, 2023 4:00:44 GMT
Day 1259 of the Great War, January 18th 1918
YouTube (Assassination Attempt on Lenin - Chaos in Romania)
Western Front
German raids near Neuve Chapelle and Lens repulsed.
Western Front: First Full American Division, the Big Red One, Enters the Line in France
A much-needed morale-booster for the Allies came on January 18, 1918, as the first full division of American troops entered the lines on the Western Front near St Mihiel. One regiment, the 16th, had been training in France since July, and its fellow battalions were now eager to begin gaining experience. Entente leaders had questioned, however, whether American units should not be split up and posted with more bloodied British and French troops. American commander General John Pershing had refused this, believing that the British and French had lost fighting spirit in the trenches.
This proved a mistake. The Big Red One only had orders to hold the line, not to make any offensive actions. When the German troops across No-Man’s Land heard that green Americans were across from them, they began operations to demoralize them. On the night of the 18th German raiders infiltrated an American listening post and killed two of the novice soldiers, wounding two others and capturing an unlucky fifth. Returning across No-Man’s Land, they ambushed an American patrol, killing four more, wounding two, and capturing another two.
It was a miserable first night for the Americans. “This thing of letting the Boche do it all is getting on the nerves,” wrote an American officer in his diary later that month.
Italian Front
Italian patrols active on Asiago plateau.
Sinai and Palestine campaign
British advance at Dura, 12 miles north of Jerusalem.
British bomb Samaria.
Arab Revolt
Arabs capture important Turkish convoy east of Medina.
Romania/Russia relations
Bolsheviks send further two hours' ultimatum to Romania demanding passage of troops.
Germany/Russia relations
Germany refuses undertaking to withdraw troops from Russia.
Russia
Constituent Assembly meets in Petrograd and denounces Bolsheviks.
United Kingdom
Mr. Lloyd George again addresses Man-power Conference.
Australia
Mr. Hughes' Government defeats "No confidence" vote.
Germany
All passenger railroad traffic in Germany is reduced by 60 percent in order to free up capacity for the transport of soldiers and war-related materials.
Persia and South Caucasus: “Dunsterforce” Formed
The armistice signed at Brest-Litovsk also covered the front in the Caucasus. For now, the front was quiet; the Russian army in the area had largely melted away, and the Turks had deactivated or transferred some (but not even most) of their forces in the area. However, the British were worried that, upon the conclusion of the peace talks in Brest-Litovsk, the Turks would not only reoccupy the areas they lost in 1916 (and 1878), but push on into Persia as well, as they had done on multiple occasions since 1915. The British did not want to see this happen, but did not have any forces to spare to Persia, nor any means to supply them even if they did. Instead, the British decided to try to organize and fund local resistance to the Turks. The Georgian and Armenian local governments were not on excellent terms with the Bolsheviks, and both (especially the latter) had every reason to resist a Turkish advance through their territory.
On January 18, Major General Lionel Dunsterville arrived in Baghdad and was provided with a small staff. Dunsterville had long experience in more irregular fighting in Waziristan, and was a fluent Russian speaker as well. The goal of his small force, officially the British Mission to the Caucasus but more often called “The Hush-Hush Army” or “Dunsterforce,” was to travel to Tblisi and provide the Georgians and Armenians with funds, training, and weapons if necessary. By the end of January, Dunsterforce would head north into Persia, hoping to travel via the Caspian to Baku. However, northern Persia still had a substantial presence of Russian forces, whose loyalties and attitude towards the British were uncertain after the October Revolution and the Brest-Litovsk armistice.
Naval operations: ship losses
HMT GAMBRI (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 71 (Ernst Steindorff) and sank in the English Channel 0.75 nautical miles (1,390 m) off the Royal Sovereign Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of 21 of her crew.
MARIA P. (United Kingdom) The barquentine was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean 75 nautical miles (139 km) west of Cape Mannu, Sardinia, Italy (39°52′N 6°36′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
VILLE DE BORDEAUX (French Navy) The troopship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Caccia, Sardinia (40°29′N 6°49′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eight lives.
SM UB-66 (Kaiserliche Marine) German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy was sunk by HMS CAMPANULA (38°30′N 24°25′E) on 18 January 1918, 30 crew members died in the event.
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Post by lordroel on Jan 19, 2023 3:51:19 GMT
Day 1260 of the Great War, January 19th 1918
Western Front
Raids and counter raids in Cambrai sector.
United Kingdom
In Britain, it is announced that compulsory rationing will go into effect on February 25th.
Russia: Bolsheviks Disband Constituent Assembly
The long-awaited Constituent Assembly, that would draw up the new Russian constitution after the fall of the Czar, finally convened for the first time on January 18. The Bolsheviks had let the elections for the body go forward in late November, and they performed poorly, polling no more than 25%. Since then, they had done everything in their power to delay and discredit it, stressing especially that the split in the SR party after the October Revolution meant the membership of the body (with a large plurality of SR members from both wings) was no longer representative.
Parties opposed to the Bolsheviks put much faith in the Constituent Assembly as a counterweight to the Bolshevik Sovnarkom, but knew the Bolsheviks would try to get rid of it at the first opportunity. In the hours before the Constituent Assembly opened, they organized a large demonstration calling for “All Power to the Constituent Assembly” (echoing the “All Power to the Soviets” calls of 1917), having abandoned plans for an armed uprising. Bolshevik troops fired on the crowds–the first time shots were fired at protesters since the February Revolution.
When the Assembly opened late on the afternoon of the 18th, many of its members were still imprisoned by the Bolsheviks. Large numbers of armed Bolsheviks were in the galleries, almost outnumbering the members of the assembly, and conducting invasive searches upon entry. A few speeches were made by non-Bolsheviks, and then the Bolsheviks introduced Lenin’s “Declaration of the Rights of the Working People,” which proclaimed Russia as a Soviet republic and endorsed all of Sovnarkom’s radical decrees on land and property. The motion was defeated by a 20-point margin, and the Bolsheviks walked out; Lenin told his colleagues that “the situation is clear and we can get rid of them.”
To appease his Left SR allies, Lenin did not disperse the Constituent Assembly by force, but simply ordered that the doors to the building be locked after the session finished for the night, and that they not be reopened the next day. The remaining delegates left at 4:40 AM on January 19. Russia’s first democratically-elected body had lasted only little more than twelve hours. The anti-Bolshevik majority in the Constituent Assembly did not vociferously object or stage protests, but went back home to attempt to reorganize outside Petrograd. Two days later, a Congress of Soviets convened and wholeheartedly approved Lenin’s Declaration.
Naval operations: ship losses
TROCAS (United Kingdom) The tanker was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) north east of the Skyro Lighthouse, Greece by SM UC-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 24 of her crew.
SM UB-22 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UB II submarine struck a mine and sank in the Heligoland Bight (54°27′N 6°35′E) with the loss of all 22 crew.
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Post by lordroel on Jan 20, 2023 7:57:02 GMT
Day 1261 of the Great War, January 20th 1918
Sinai and Palestine campaign
Samaria again bombed.
Austria-Hungary
General strike in Austria-Hungary wanes, as people return to work. However, demonstrations continue in Bohemia and Moravia, fueled by rising Czech nationalism.
Arab Revolt
Troops of King of Hejaz active.
Naval operations: Naval action at entrance to Dardanelles
Ottoman cruiser MIDILLI (ex-German cruiser BRESLAU) and British monitor HMS M28 sunk and Ottoman battlecruiser YAVUZ SULTAN SELIM (ex-German battlecruiser GOEBEN) damaged.
Since the evacuation of Gallipoli, the Allied naval presence off the Dardanelles had been much reduced. It was especially low in mid-January due to the diversion of a pre-dreadnought to a conference in Salonika, and the Turks and Germans decided to take advantage of this by sending the MIDILLI (ex-German cruiser BRESLAU) and battlecruiser YAVUZ SULTAN SELIM (ex-German battlecruiser GOEBEN) through the Dardanelles to raid British naval forces around the Greek island of Imbros and their naval base at Mudros. In addition to sinking British ships, it was hoped the move would force the Allies to move additional vessels to the area, relieving pressure on Palestine and possibly hampering anti-submarine operations.
The ships exited the Dardanelles on January 20. Catching the British off guard and completely outgunning them, the Germans sank two monitors (killing 139 men) off Imbros before proceeding south towards Mudros. However, the ships soon ran into a British minefield. The MIDILLI hit five mines and sank; the YAVUZ attempted rescue operations but hit two mines herself and was forced to withdraw. Over three hundred sailors were killed; the British eventually rescued the remainder of the ship’s complement. The YAVUZ, heavily damaged, steamed back north towards the Dardanelles and safety, where she was joined by four Turkish destroyers until she ran aground north of Çanakkale. The Turks made plans to refloat her, but in the meantime the British made repeated seaplane attacks in an attempt to sink her; their bombs were too small to cause significant damage, however.
Naval operations: ship losses
SMS A73 (Kaiserliche Marine) The A-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Jutland, Denmark with the loss of 40 of her 57 crew.
SMS A77 (Kaiserliche Marine) The A-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Jutland with the loss of all 33 crew.
FAUSTINA B. (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean east of Sardinia by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HIRONDELLE (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the English Channel north of Le Tréport, Seine-Maritime by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMS M28 (Royal Navy) The M15-class monitor was shelled and sunk by Midilli and Yavûz Sultân Selîm (both Ottoman Navy) with the loss of eleven of her 69 crew.
HMS MECHANICIAN (Royal Navy) The escort ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) west of St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight by SM UB-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of thirteen of her crew.
SMS S16 (Kaiserliche Marine) The V1-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of 80 of her crew.
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Post by lordroel on Jan 21, 2023 7:14:38 GMT
Day 1262 of the Great War, January 21st 1918
Western Front
French raid in Argonne.
British bomb Thionville and Metz district and aerodromes in Belgium.
East Africa campaign
War Office reports further progress in East Africa.
United Kingdom
Sir Edward Carson, Irish unionist politician, resigns his position on the British War Cabinet, as he opposes plans to conscript the Irish into the British Army.
Germany/Ukraine relations
Germany announces agreement with Ukraine.
Russia: Bolsheviks Divided Over German Peace Terms
The Germans’ demands in the negotiations at Brest-Litovsk had only increased over the course of January, as the inclusion of the Ukrainians weakened the Bolsheviks’ position. On January 18, Hoffman presented their new offer to the Russians, which would relinquish Russian rights to essentially all of the territory the Germans had already occupied during the war. Trotsky, galled by the demands, and hoping to stall for time, asked for a recess and left for Petrograd to consult with his fellow Bolsheviks.
Trotsky, hoping that Germany’s extremely annexationist demands would inflame the workers of Europe against them, advocated for a strategy of “neither war nor peace” that would put the Germans in the worst possible light. Russia would simply unilaterally declare that the war was over, demobilize, and refuse to sign the document at Brest-Litovsk. While the Germans figured out how to react, the socialist revolution would hopefully spread to Germany and Austria-Hungary; signs were already encouraging in the latter. If the Germans decided to break off the armistice and invade Russia anyway, they would be committing an act of aggression that would further turn their people against them, hoped Trotsky.
Another faction, led by Bukharin, advocated a resumption of the war against Germany. In the 1790′s, France spread its revolution by warfare, and war was the only way it could be guaranteed to spread to Berlin and Vienna. Fighting for the socialist revolution, as opposed to for the Czar or the promise of a Constituent Assembly, could unite the Army and the Russian people. Given the essentially non-existent state of the Russian Army and the relatively small number of committed Red Guards loyal to the Bolsheviks, this plan was ludicrous on its face. Bukharin even acknowledged this, saying “Let the Germans strike, let them advance another hundred miles, what interests us is how this affects the international movement.” His proposal would attract the slim majority of the vote at a meeting of Bolshevik leaders on January 21.
Lenin did not like either plan. Growing doubtful that the revolution would spread in the coming weeks, he instead argued for an immediate acceptance of the German terms; while painful, it was the best deal they were likely to get:
The army is excessively fatigued by the war; the horses are in such a state that in the event of an offensive we shall not be able to move the artillery; the Germans are holding such favorable positions on the islands in the Baltic that if they start an offensive they could take Reval [Tallinn] and Petrograd with their bare hands….The peace we are now forced to conclude is undoubtedly an ignominious one, but if war begins, our government will be swept away and peace will be concluded by a different government….We need a breathing space in order to carry out social reforms; we need to consolidate ourselves, and this takes time. We need to complete the crushing of the bourgeoisie, but for this we will need to have both our hands free. Once we have done this…we should be able to carry on a revolutionary war against international imperialism.
Lenin’s proposal got the least support, however; its only notable backers were Stalin and Zinoviev. To avoid a disastrous war, Lenin was forced to throw his support behind Trotsky’s plan.
Aerial operations: Direct hit
Today, on the Mesopotamian front, twelve bombers of various types from 30 Squadron RFC attacked the advanced German aerodrome at Kifri. Many bombs were seen to burst near aeroplanes on the landing-ground, though the extent of the damage was unclear.
The raid was not without loss though, as one of the bombers, a DH4 received a direct hit by an anti-aircraft shell and was blown to pieces in the air.
The crew, 2nd Lieutenant William Stuart Bean and 1st Class Air Mechanic Robert G Castor were both killed.
The loss of crew and aircraft were keenly felt as this was one of only two DH4s with the Squadron.
Naval operations: ship losses
HMS LOUVAIN (Royal Navy) The armed boarding steamer was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea (37°38′N 24°10′E) by SM UC-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 227 lives.
MARIA CATERINA (Netherlands) The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the North Sea (52°47′N 3°28′E) by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all seven crew.
TEELIN HEAD (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 12 nautical miles (22 km) south south west of the Owers Lightship by SM UC-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of thirteen of her crew.
WEST WALES (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean 140 nautical miles (260 km) south east by south of Malta (34°00′N 16°50′E) by SM U-28 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy) with the loss of two of her crew.
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Post by lordroel on Jan 22, 2023 7:45:18 GMT
Day 1263 of the Great War, January 22nd 1918
Western Front
German raids near St. Quentin and La Bassee.
Much British bombing at Roulers, Menin and Courtrai.
Russia/German relations
Russian protest against omissions in German report of peace proceedings.
Sinai and Palestine campaign
Samaria again bombed.
France
French government announces it will cut bread rations, starting on the 29th, due to the need to feed arriving U.S. soldiers.
United Kingdom
First meeting of Allied Naval Council in London.
United Kingdom: Secret British Report Declares German Morale in Crisis
A British secret report declared in Germany that enemy morale was in a state of crisis. Based on intercepted correspondence, there had been “a decided increase in letters for an immediate peace.” The British did not know how right they were: the workers of Berlin were planning enormous strikes that week to demand peace. Germany’s wartime union between right and left was breaking down.
Japan/Russia relations
Japanese Prime Minister warns Russia that Japan will intervene in Eastern Asia if necessary.
Austria-Hungary
Resignation of von Seidler (Austrian Prime Minister).
United States: Republicans Call for War Cabinet
The ongoing shutdown of industry in the eastern US brought to the forefront of political debate the Wilson administration’s handling of the war. Much of the nation’s transportation woes were due to conflicting priority orders from various government departments, a problem that was intended to be solved by the nationalization of the railroads. Congressional Republicans, who were generally opposed to these latest measures, proposed their own solution in the form of a coalition War Cabinet, similar to the one existing under Lloyd George in the United Kingdom. The system would greatly reduce the number of cabinet heads with a say on war policy, leading to faster decisions and fewer conflicting ones. More self-servingly, it would bring Republicans into the government and would try to put more severe checks on Wilson’s authority.
Wilson, unsurprisingly, resisted these calls for a War Cabinet, and for a separate Munitions Department, and announced that he would veto any such legislation. With a veto override highly unlikely without significant Democratic opposition to the President, the bill’s sponsors, by January 22, had accepted the measure would eventually fail, but hoped to use the debate to criticize Wilson’s handling of the war so far.
Aerial operations: Mudauwara
Out in Palestine, ‘X’ Flight of 14 Squadron RFC was detached in September 1917 to work directly with Arab forces in their attacks on the Turks. They are working with a number of obsolete BE12s, BE2e’s and a DH2.
Yesterday, Arab forces attacked Northwards at Mudauwara Station on the Hejaz railway south of Ma’an. Three pilots, working from an advanced landing ground at Abu Suwana, about 40 miles south, made three sorties to attack the station and gun-positions with 100lb. and 20lb bombs.
Despite this, the Arabs failed to overcome the Turkish Forces, and a pilot who flew over Mudauwara station today, ready to bomb the Turks, discovered that the Arabs were in full retreat.
He did his bit to get back at the enemy though. He saw a German aeroplane on the ground near the station and attacked it with bomb and machine-gun fire, with the result that the aeroplane was damaged and had to be dismantled and sent back to the base for repair.
Naval operations: ship losses
ANDREA COSTA (Italy) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean off Malta by SM U-27 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy).
ANGLO-CANADIAN (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 33 nautical miles (61 km) south of Malta (35°15′N 15°05′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.
GREATHAM (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) south east of Dartmouth, Devon by SM UB-31 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seven crew.
MANCHESTER SPINNER (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 33 nautical miles (61 km) south of Malta (35°15′N 15°05′E) by SM U-63 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
MOLINA (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) west of St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom (50°34′N 1°29′W) by SM UB-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SERRANA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 10 nautical miles (19 km) west of St. Catherine's Point by SM UB-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of five of her crew.
VICTOR DE CHAVARRI (Spain) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 7.5 nautical miles (13.9 km) north west of Cherbourg, Manche, France (49°48′N 1°45′W) by SM U-90 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jan 23, 2023 4:01:20 GMT
Day 1264 of the Great War, January 23rd 1918
Western Front
Germans occupy trenches east of Nieuport (Belgian Coast) after heavy bombardment. French restore position later.
British bomb aerodromes at Courtrai and Ghent.
French raid east of Auberive (Champagne).
Russia
M. Trotsky declares policy of Central Powers to be "a monstrous annexation".
Rioting with much bloodshed in Moscow.
Congress of Soviets meets in Petrograd.
Leon Trotsky, the Soviet Foreign Minister, decries Central Powers’ demands against Russia to be annexationist. He also accuses Austria-Hungary of simply agreeing to all German demands.
United Kingdom
Labour Party Conference meets in Nottingham.
Signor Orlando, Italian Prime Minister, arrives in London.
Romania: Romanians Occupy Bessarabia
Like many outlying regions of Russia populated by ethnic minorities, Bessarabia (an area roughly corresponding to modern Moldova) split off from Russia after the October Revolution, with the Sfatul Țării (National Council) declaring its autonomy on December 15. However, the Bessarabian government had difficulty maintaining control; the Bolsheviks did not want to give up control of Bessarabia, and their influence was strong among the Russian troops returning home from the Romanian front. The Romanians attempted to make sure that the Russian troops were disarmed before crossing the Prut into Bessarabia, but this was not always achieved; on January 20, fighting even broke out between Romanian and Russian troops, until the latter decided to surrender to the Germans.
The Bessarabian government appealed for aid from the Allies. Worried that the Romanian government’s territorial ambitions, they initially asked for assistance from any available volunteer forces formed from Austrian prisoners of war. However, the forces available were not sufficient, and they reluctantly announced that they were willing to accept Romanian aid. The Romanians had their own reservations; intervening in Bessarabia would make the front line weaker in case the Germans called off the armistice, and crossing into Russian territory might provoke a war with their former Allies. However, the Romanians desperately needed supplies from Bessarabia, and hoped to include the mostly Romanian-speaking territory into their country after the war. Even if the final peace settlement with the Central Powers was not in their favor, gains in Bessarabia could make sure they got something out of the war.
On January 18, Bolshevik forces seized the Bessarabian capital of Chișinău, and the Sfatul Țării fled. In response, on January 23, Romanian forces crossed the Prut, and within three days were able to enter Chișinău. They spent the next two months occupying the rest of the country, facing opposition from Bolsheviks and Ukrainians. Nevertheless, the operation would only cost the Romanian army 125 killed, cheap by First World War standards.
Aerial operations: New and old
Out in Palestine, 111 Squadron has been receiving SE5a’s to replace its Bristol F2b’s, more due to the fact that the Squadron is being changed into a single seat fighter Squadron. Whilst the Squadron may mourn the loss of its Bristol’s, they will be content that obsolete Bristol M1Cs and Vickers Bullets are also being replaced.
Today’s morning, it scored its first victory in the new SE5s when Captain Austin Lloyd Fleming (in B538) shot down an Albatross DIII near Tulkeram. It was his third victory in seven days, the first two in Bristol F2b’s.
Further south the RFC Aden Field Force was cursed with even more obsolete Henri Farmans. Two of them were shot up east of the enemy lines on reconnaissance. One burst into flames and the crew, 2nd Lieutenant John Boag Thomas and Sergeant Hartley were killed.
Another was forced to land after being hit by enemy rifle fire, but in this case the crew, Lieutenant Leslie John Mann and Lieutenant survived, though Owden was wounded. Interestingly Owden was one of the few RFC members from Jamaica.
Naval operations: Canary Islands
Action between a British submarine and three German submarines reported from Canary Islands.
Naval operations: ship losses
ÅLESUND (Norway) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 12 nautical miles (22 km) south west by west of St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom (50°28′N 1°33′W) by SM UC-71 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of six of her crew.
BIRKHALL (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south east of Cape Kafireas, Euboea, Greece by SM UC-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.
KERBIHAN (French Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 67 (Karl Neumann) and sank in the Mediterranean between Pomègues and Cap Croisette, Bouches-du-Rhône (43°14′N 5°19′E).
LA DROME (French Navy) The supply ship struck a mine laid by UC 67 (Karl Neumann) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône (43°14′N 5°19′E) by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 26 of her 60 crew.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jan 24, 2023 3:48:21 GMT
Day 1265 of the Great War, January 24th 1918
Western Front
Great aerial activity in Flanders.
Courtrai, Ledeghem and Douai bombed.
Air raids into Germany on Mannheim, Treves and Thionville.
French repulse raids north of Aisne river and at Caurieres Wood.
Italian Front
Italians occupy Austrian advanced post at Capo Sile.
East Africa campaign
Enemy post at Pamuni Hill (East Africa) taken.
Macedonian Front: Haig Proposes Abandoning Salonika
To most British generals, the campaign around Salonika was an unwelcome distraction from the Western Front, where they thought the war would be won (and it seemed likely the Germans might attack in 1918). The British had already stripped a substantial portion of their forces there for the campaign in Palestine. On January 24, at a meeting with French military leadership at Compiègne, General Haig proposed that all British and French troops be withdrawn from Salonika for the Western Front. This would leave just the Greeks, the Serbs, and the Italians to defend the lines stretching from the Adriatic to the mouth of the Struma–which they could almost certainly not do if the Bulgarians decided to attack. Greece, forced into the war at gunpoint, would likely make a separate peace. The effect on the greater war would likely be limited–it would be a great propaganda victory for the Central Powers and the Germans would have better submarine bases in the Eastern Mediterranean, but the Bulgarians would be unlikely to divert substantial forces to other fronts.
Nonetheless, the French and even most of the British felt they were committed to Salonika; they could not in good conscience abandon the Serbs yet again, nor afford another major defeat to the Allied cause after Caporetto and the Russian exit. Perhaps more importantly, the freeing of twelve divisions from Salonika would make very little difference on the Western Front–their numbers were few and they were in extremely poor condition due to malaria. The French rejected Haig’s idea, and Haig had no authority to transfer any troops from Salonika himself.
Germany/Austria-Hungary: German and Austrian Governments Respond to Allied War Aims
On January 24 the German Imperial Chancellor Count Georg von Hertling, and the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Ottokar Czernin each addressed recent Allied speeches by Woodrow Wilson and David Lloyd George.
The British PM had spoken to factory workers in England, taking a conciliating line about peace with the Central Powers, provided they grant independence to their imperial possessions such as Poland and Czechoslovakia. Wilson had spoken even more pacifically in his “Fourteen Points” speech, which likewise required the self-determination of European nations, but was in many ways a neutral peace that would not punish either side of the war.
Understandably, both Czernin and von Hertling addressed Wilson’s speech. Although both ministers declared that Austria and Germany should be left alone to determine their foreign affairs, they agreed in principle with many of the American’s other claims, such as freedom of the seas, which was not at all a hard condition for the two land powers to grant. Wilson’s peace looked like a way out for the Central Powers, and a future where the German and Austrian empires could continue to exist. Yet their opinions did not hold much sway. By this point in the war, the governments of hte Central Powers had long been de facto commanded by military leaders, who wanted to keep fighting their war to victory or defeat.
United Kingdom
British Food Controller Lord Rhondda announces rationing of meat, butter, and margarine will begin February 25.
Naval operations: Dardanelles
Naval aircraft continue to bomb the Ottoman battlecruiser YAVUZ SULTAN SELIM (ex-German GOEBEN).
Naval operations: ship losses
AGHIA ARENE (Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Aegean Sea off Skyros (39°09′N 25°17′E) by SM UC-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
AGHIOS JOHANNES (Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Aegean Sea off Skyros (39°09′N 25°18′E) by SM UC-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
ANTONIOS J. DRACOULIS (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean off Alexandria, Egypt by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
APOSTOLES ANDREAS (United Kingdom) The sailing vessel was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Alexandria by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
CHARLES (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 16 nautical miles (30 km) south west of the Casquets, Channel Islands (49°30′N 2°45′W) by SM U-90 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of one of her crew. Three survivors were taken as prisoners of war.
CORSE (French Navy) The troopship was sunk at La Ciotat, Bouches-du-Rhône by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS DESIRE (Royal Navy) The naval tug was shelled and sunk in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) north east of Filey, Yorkshire (54°57′N 0°35′W) by SM UB-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of ten of her crew.
ELSA (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) east south east of Dartmouth, Devon, United Kingdom by SM UB-31 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
FLYLGIA (Sweden) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) south east of Bell Rock (56°23′N 2°15′W) by SM UC-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew . Fylgia was part of the same convoy as Jönköping II.
JONKOPING II (Sweden) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) east nortn east of Bell Rock by SM UC-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. JONKOPING II was part of the same convoy as FLYLGIA. One casualty.
X6 and X110' (Royal Navy) The barges were sunk in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) north east of Filey by SM UB-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of six crew from X6.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jan 25, 2023 3:56:21 GMT
Day 1266 of the Great War, January 25th 1918
YouTube (Civil War in Finland and Ukraine)
Western Front
East of Loos, Germans make raid after heavy bombardment.
Great Allied air activity: Courtrai, Tournai, Ghent and Douai districts heavily bombed by British and Thionville, Freiburg and Ludwigshafen by French.
Romanian Campaign/Russian Civil War
Fight between Romanians and Bolsheviks at Galatz.
Sinai and Palestine campaign
Palestine: British bomb troops south of Shechem.
Arab Revolt: Battle of Tafila
The rapid advance of Allenby’s forces in Palestine in late 1917 put pressure on the Hashemite Arab forces to advance north from Aqaba to help guard and relieve pressure on Allenby’s right flank. A force of a few hundred soldiers, under Feisal’s youngest brother, Zayd, and accompanied by T.E. Lawrence, bypassed Ma’an and entered the town of Tafila on January 15, in what they hoped would be the first step in securing the highlands east of the Dead Sea. The local garrison deserted and joined forces with the Hashemites, boosting their strength by about two-thirds.
The Turks sent a new detachment, about a thousand strong, to drive the Hashemites out, and they first engaged with the Arabs on the evening of the 24th. On the morning of January 25, heavy Turkish fire forced the outnumbered Arabs off a ridge east of town, which the Turks then occupied. However, the Arabs knew exactly how far back they fell and were able to quickly range their guns on the ridge they just left, inflicting heavy casualties on the Turks. Meanwhile, detachments outflanked the Turkish positions on both sides. Around 200 PoWs were captured, and most of the rest of the Turkish force was killed or wounded–and most of the latter died as the Arabs gave them no medical assistance.
The Turkish forces in the area soon abandoned Kerak to the north as well, falling back to Amman. However, they still maintained a presence along the railway from Amman to Ma’an and points south, so the Arab presence in the area would not truly be secure for some months to come.
East Africa campaign
War Office report progress in East Africa.
United States
President Wilson cancels all engagements today due to catching a cold.
Russia
Ensign Krylenko, acting Soviet Russian Commander in Chief: “We are against the whole world. We shall fight for the revolution, and the revolution alone.”
Germany/Austria-Hungary relations
Germany and Austria-Hungary rejects Allied peace conditions, particularly on the point that Alsace-Lorraine be returned to France.
Naval operations: Dardanelles
Unsuccessful bombing of Ottoman battlecruiser YAVUZ SULTAN SELIM (ex-German GOEBEN) continues.
Naval operations: ship losses
AGHIOS DIMITRIOS (Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Aegean Sea by SM UC-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
CARIGNAO (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Tyrrhenian Sea off Stromboli (38°58′N 15°08′E) by SM UC-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
EASTLANDS (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 13 nautical miles (24 km) north west of Île Vierge, Finistère, France by SM UB-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.
FOLMINA (Netherlands) The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) south east of Sunderland, County Durham, United Kingdom (55°00′N 1°20′W) by SM UB-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
GIRALDA (Spain) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 30 nautical miles (56 km) off Cape Guardia (41°15′N 9°20′W) by SM U-152 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by Cabo Meñor ( Spain).
GIUSEPPE O. (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Tyrrhenian Sea east of Corsica by SM U-65 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HUMBER (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) east of Sunderland by SM UB-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seven crew.
NORMANDY (United Kingdom) The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) east by north of the Cap de La Hague, Manche, France (49°46′N 1°44′W) by SM U-90 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of fourteen lives.
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Post by lordroel on Jan 26, 2023 3:57:45 GMT
Day 1267 of the Great War, January 26th 1918
Western Front
Germans report air attack on Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne.
Extension of British line to south of St. Quentin reported.
Italian Front
Austrian attempt at Capo Sile repulsed.
Austrians bomb Mestre and Treviso and damage hospitals.
Arab Revolt
Turkish attacks near Tafile and Maan repulsed by Hejaz troops.
Ukraine
Ukraine declares its complete independence.
Siberia
Provisional Siberian Government elected by Regional Government at Tomsk.
Naval operations: Three U-Boats Sunk In One Day
Despite considerable investment, anti-submarine warfare was still primitive, and the sinking of even a single German U-boat was considered cause for rejoicing in the Admiralty. On January 26, the British sank three submarines in a single day, the most success they would have in the war. While returning to port in occupied Belgium after an unsuccessful cruise, U-109 submerged to avoid the a ship in the Dover Barrage, only to strike a mine and sink. Elsewhere on the barrage, HMS LEVEN spotted the periscope of UB-35 attempting a similar crossing, and managed to sink her with a depth charge. At the southern approaches of the Irish sea, the armed sloop PC62 rammed and then possibly depth charged U-84. No men survived from any of the three submarines, with the sole exception of one man from UB-35 who was able to tell the British what submarine he was on before dying of his wounds.
Naval operations: ship losses
ASIMINA (Greece) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Tyrrhenian Sea off Stromboli, Italy by SM UC-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
ATHOS (Norway) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) east north east of Kettleness, Yorkshire, United Kingdom by SM UB-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.
CATERINA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Genoa by SM UB-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
CORK (United Kingdom) The passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 9 nautical miles (17 km) north east of Point Lynas, Anglesey (53°34′N 4°14′W) by SM U-103 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of twelve of the 35 people on board.
GERMANO (Portugal) The trawler was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Mondego (40°11′N 9°37′W) by SM U-152 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HARTLEY (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) north east of Skinningrove, Yorkshire (54°36′N 0°49′W) by SM UB-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
LOUIE VELL (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the English Channel 15 nautical miles (28 km) north of Cherbourg, Seine-Maritime, France (49°53′N 1°44′W) by SM UB-58 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
MAY (United Kingdom) The ketch was scuttled in the English Channel 18 nautical miles (33 km) south east of Berry Head, Devon by SM UC-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
MINISTRO IRONDP (Argentina) The auxiliary schooner was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Toulon, Var, France (43°00′N 5°46′E) by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
ROB ROY (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 20 nautical miles (37 km) south west of St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight (50°17′N 1°30′W) by SM UC-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SERRA DO GEREZ(Portugal) The trawler was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean (40°04′N 9°36′W) by SM U-152 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
UNION(France) The coaster was sunk in the English Channel 7 nautical miles (13 km) north of Sept Îles, Côtes-du-Nord (48°58′N 3°30′W) by SM U-90 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
FIGARO (France) On a voyage from Brest to Rouen carrying coal, the coaster was sunk, maybe by a mine, certainly after an explosion 3.5 nm SW of Les Hanois Lighthouse, west of Guernsey Channel Islands.
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Post by lordroel on Jan 27, 2023 7:13:28 GMT
Day 1268 of the Great War, January 27th 1918
Western Front
Treves bombed by British, Conflans and Metz district by French.
Arab Revolt: Arabs and British Destroy Turkish Dead Sea Flotilla
The capture of Jerusalem had been a turning point in the Middle Eastern war. Where once the Turks had threatened to capture the Suez Canal, now Britain had them on the run across Palestine. Hoping to weaken Ottoman resistance further, General Allenby turned his attention towards the Dead Sea, where a group of barges brought grain daily from Jordan to the Turkish army.
Allenby’s army came to an amazing solution to attack these supply lines. Major Richard “Dickie” Williams, an Australian airman, was asked to give the matter his attention. Williams stripped the wings and tail of a bomber and replaced its wheels with floats, turning it into an unconventional, overpowered, awkward boat. Christened Mimi, the plane-boat zoomed across the Dead Sea, machine-gunning the Turkish grain barges. “It was certainly a strange craft with a strange mission – the Swiss Navy could have shown nothing stranger.”
Eventually the matter came to a more prosaic end. Faisal and Lawrence’s Arab forces, fresh from their victory at El Tafila, stormed the Ottoman positions at El Mezra on January 27 and captured the entirety of the Dead Sea flotilla.
Finnish Civil War: Civil war breaks out in Finland
In Finland the Red and White Guards have been skirmishing and arming themselves in preparation for a civil war that seems all too inevitable. Now the Red Guards go one step further, taking over Helsinki and declaring a Finnish revolution. The socialist militia quickly establishes a dominance over the south of the country, with the industrial centre of Tampere a particular stronghold.
But their opponents, the Whites, are not giving up without a fight. Under Mannerheim, a former general in the Tsar’s army, the White Guard is arming itself with munitions seized from Russian troops still stationed in the country. Mannerheim is determined to lead the struggle to prevent the establishment of a socialist regime in Finland. Both sides are now mobilised. The civil war is on.
Russia/Romania relations
Bolshevik Government breaks off diplomatic negotiations with Romania.
France
French Food Minister Victor Boret says France will stop importing coffee to free up ships for the transportion of troops and other materials.
United states
U.S. government bans the production of white bread. Instead “Victory Bread,” containing 5-20% of other cereals, must be produced.
United Kingdom: British Airmen Sentenced to Hard Labor for Dropping Leaflets
The primary duty of aircraft on the front lines in the First World War was aerial reconnaissance–whether providing it directly, protecting the planes that did so, or denying the enemy the use of it. Attacks on ground targets were a subsidiary mission, but a not uncommon one. Rarer were propaganda efforts like the dropping of leaflets on enemy lines. Both sides engaged in the latter from time to time, but the Germans took grave offense at the Allied efforts. Two RFC Lieutenants, Scholtz and Wookey, were taken prisoner near Cambrai on October 17 after their fighters were shot down behind enemy lines on their way to one such mission. Their leaflets painted a favorable picture of life in a British PoW camp, promising that any German soldiers that deserted would be well-treated and well-fed. The Germans considered this a violation of international law, and charged the pilots with treason. The pilots were ultimately sentenced to 10 years hard labor.
The British learned of this sentence on January 27. They severely protested the sentence through neutral channels, condemning the treatment of the PoWs as a grave violation of international law itself, and would eventually threaten reprisals if the two lieutenants were not returned to a normal PoW camp–which the Germans would do in March. The RFC, meanwhile, never enthusiastic about conducting propaganda efforts in the first place, the next day cancelled all such airplane propaganda missions for fear of future mistreatment of their captured pilots; the ban would remain in effect until the final weeks of the war. The French were not similarly cowed, however, and continued their own efforts; the Americans would start their own later in the year.
Naval operations: GOEBEN escapes
A reconnaissance this morning in difficult weather by an RNAS ‘Camel’ pilot, revealed that the Ottoman battlecruiser YAVUZ SULTAN SELIM (ex-German GOEBEN) which had been grounded in the Darndanelles Straights since 20 January has escaped and with any chance of British forces finally securing its destruction.
In fact the ship had been refloated the day before and by now had reached Constantinople. During the few days in the Straits fifteen tons of bombs had been dropped by RFC pilots.
After the initial attacks on 20 January, further attempts resumed at dawn on 21 January. Low clouds hampered the operation and only one 112lb bomb hit the Yakuz. After dark, nine aeroplanes were sent to the Straits, but visibility was poor and no hits were claimed.
RFC aircraft arrived from Salonika to assist and on 22 and 23 January day and and night attacks were attempted. One direct hit was claimed on the morning of 22 January, with another 112-lb. bomb. There was no opposition from enemy aircraft but a Greek pilot was shot down on 23 January.
On 24 January the carrier EMPRESS arrived and her pilots were used to relieve the overworked officers at Mudros and Imbros. Next day. That evening a monitor, with aircraft observation, attempted to fire at the SELIM, but just as the shells were being signalled near the target a haze spread over the Straits and no further spotting was possible. Strong winds and low clouds continued for the next few days, making bombing difficult.
Pilots had put in a lot of effort to disable the ship, but they had no luck, nor could they be expected to achieve much with the 65lb and 110lb bombs which were much too light to inflict serious damage on the ship.
Aerial operations: Belgium
Naval aircraft bomb Aertrycke and Engel.
RMS ANDANIA (United Kingdom) The ocean liner was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea off Rathlin Island, County Antrim (55°20′N 6°12′W) by SM U-46 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seven crew.
ATTILIO (Italy) The brigantine was scuttled in the Mediterranean off the coast of Liguria by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
CAROLUS (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) south of Dodman Point, Cornwall, United Kingdom (50°11′N 4°47′W) by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
FREE TO THE CORE (Belgium) The fishing vessel was sunk in the English Channel (49°42′N 0°32′W) by SM UB-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
JULIA FRANCES (United States) The three-masted schooner was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) off Lisbon, Portugal (38°01′N 11°28′W) by SM U-152 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
MINNIE (Canada) The brig was abandoned in the Bay of Biscay 15 nautical miles (28 km) off the Sisaragas Islands, Spain. Her crew were rescued.
VOLONTA DI DIO (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily by SM UB-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
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Post by lordroel on Jan 28, 2023 10:12:03 GMT
Day 1269 of the Great War, January 28th 1918
Western Front
Aeroplane raid on London: 67 killed, 166 injured; one enemy machine down.
French make two small attacks in Champagne and one in Upper Alsace.
Air attacks by British on Roulers and other aerodromes.
German raid repulsed between Lens and Arras.
Ukrainian–Soviet War
Heavy fighting between Bolsheviks and Ukrainians at Lutsk.
Finnish Civil War
White troops begin to disarm Russian army units in Ostrobothnia.
Red Guards occupy the Bank of Finland, which is then closed.
Italian Front
Italians attack between Asiago and Brenta Valley and capture Col del Rosso and 1,500 prisoners.
Arab Revolt
War Office reports further operations near Hejaz railway.
East Africa campaign
Ankwalu (East Africa) occupied by British.
United States
Mr. Baker makes statement on strength of Army.
Germany: Massive Peace Strike in Berlin
1918 had begun with no end to the war in sight. Despite an evident desire for peace in Germany, even in the Reichstag, Hindenburg & Ludendorff would hear none of it. Negotiations at Brest-Litovsk were dragging on and seemed likely to impose a punitive peace on the Russians, and the Germans were preparing to continue the war on the Western Front. Attempting to force peace from the ground up, the shop stewards of Berlin organized a massive general strike in the German capital, starting at 9AM on January 28. As many as 400,000 workers across the city (and more in the coming days) walked out of their jobs.
A strikers’ council demanded a peace without annexations or indemnities, the inclusion of the German workers at the peace table, an end to the Hindenburg program, a full democratization of both Prussia and Germany including universal suffrage, and an increased food supply for Berlin. Similar strikes broke out across the country in the coming days, but none with similar duration or intensity as the one in Berlin. The government and military, scared the strike would turn into a popular uprising like the one in Petrograd the previous year, refused to entertain any of the strikers’ demands, arrested the strikers’ leadership, and put factories under military control. The strikers received little support from trade unions or the bulk of the socialists parties in the Reichstag. Within a week, the strike was crushed.
The strike did have major effects in other countries, however. Although disappointed at its failure, Trotsky took it as a sign that revolution might indeed be imminent in Germany and as support for his policy of “no war, no peace” on the Eastern Front. Wilson, noting that the strikes took place so soon after his “Fourteen Points” speech, believed that the German people had been inspired by them and that there was still room to drive a wedge between the German people and their leadership.
Russia/Romania relations
Romanian Legation ordered to leave Petrograd.
Aerial operations: Belgium
Further naval air attacks on Aertrycke and Engel.
Aerial operations: German raiders returned to Britain
After a long winter break, German raiders returned to Britain this evening. Bad weather did not seem to put them off, but 6 of the raiders were forced to turn back, leaving seven Gothas and one ‘Giant’ Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI to make the attack.
Records are unclear about exactly what happened, but it appears that the Giant and three or four Gothas bombed London while the rest attacked towns in Kent. Between 2025 and 2135, bombs fell on Ramsgate, Richborough, Sheerness and Margate. The only significant damage occurred at Sheerness where various ships were damaged in the docks and other buildings were wrecked injuring five, one of whom later died.
The first Gotha reached London shortly before 2100 and the raid continued until shortly after 2200. 39 bombs were recorded destroying many buildings, killing 28 and injuring 77. 14 of these were killed during a stampede to get into the air raid shelter at Bishopsgate Goods Station when the warning maroons were mistaken for bombs.
The Giant finally appeared over London at around 0015. It had already survived an encounter with a Bristol F2b from 39 Squadron RFC (C4638 with 2nd Lieutenant John Gorbell Goodyear and 1st Class Air Mechanic WT Merchant) – the Bristol had had to retire with a holed engine and wounded observer. 5 bombs were dropped one of which smashed down through the pavement lights of Odhams Printing Works, which was an approved air raid shelter, and exploded in the basement killing 38 and injuring 85.
The last of the Gothas was intercepted by two Sopwith Camels from 44 Squadron and shot down. It crashed at Wickford killing all three crew members. Four more crashed on landing, with one complete crew killed. At least some of this was likely due to RFC and RNAS action. 103 sorties were flown and five close encounters were recorded. The anti-aircraft guns fired 14,722 rounds against the eight raiders.
Naval operations: ship losses
DJIBOUTI (France) The passenger ship was sunk in the Mediterranean 8 nautical miles (15 km) off Cape Bengut, Algeria (37°06′N 3°55′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMS E14 (Royal Navy) The E-class submarine was damaged by the premature explosion of one of her torpedoes. She was forced to surface and was sunk by coastal artilleray off Kum Kale, Turkey with the loss of 21 of her 30 crew. The survivors were taken as prisoners of war.
ELSA (Italy) The barquentine was sunk in the Tyrrhenian Sea (41°23′N 12°37′E) by SM UB-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
LYSA (Italy) The brigantine was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea east of Sardinia (40°44′N 9°50′E) by SM UB-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMML 55 (Royal Navy) The motor launch was lost on this date.
NEPTUNO (Portugal) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 140 nautical miles (260 km) off Lisbon (37°12′N 11°37′W) by SM U-152 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SM U-109 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type U 93 submarine struck a mine and sank in the English Channel (50°53′N 1°31′E with the loss of all 43 crew.
URANIA (Italy) The sailing vessel was scuttled in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sardinia (40°15′N 10°26′E) by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
W. H. L. (United Kingdom) The ketch was scuttled in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) south south east of Portland Bill, Dorset by SM UB-58 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jan 29, 2023 9:08:58 GMT
Day 1270 of the Great War, January 29th 1918Western FrontAeroplane raid on London: bombs dropped in outskirts, 10 killed, 10 wounded. Successful British raids and patrol encounters near Havrincourt and Bullecourt (Cambrai). Italian FrontItalian attack continues. Monte di Vall Bella captured. East Africa campaignEnemy driven down Lujenda Valley towards Mtarika (East Africa). Ukrainian–Soviet WarUkrainian-Soviet War heats up, with Soviet Russian troops attacking a smaller Ukrainian force, made up of mostly students, near Kruty. While the Ukrainians lose the battle, they slow down the Russian advance towards Kiev. Finish Civil War: Red Victories in Finland and Ukraine Although concerned about the efforts to rally an anti-Bolshevik army on the Don, the Bolsheviks’ larger concern in January was in the Ukraine. The Ukrainian Rada had been recognized by the Central Powers and was conducting its own separate peace negotiations with them at Brest-Litovsk, undercutting the Bolsheviks’ position there. In an attempt to regain control of the Ukraine and strengthen their hand at Brest-Litovsk (despite Trotsky’s intention to walk out of the negotiations), the Bolsheviks diverted a few thousand troops to secure the Ukraine; they had their first clashes with Ukrainian troops on January 29. Meanwhile, in Kiev, Russian factory workers rose up against the Rada in support of the Bolsheviks; as a result, the Ukrainians had to call back many of their troops to the capital. Further south, on the same day, Red Guards, soldiers and sailors in Odessa rose up against the Ukrainian government there, and had largely secured the city by January 29. Meanwhile, in newly-independent Finland, Red forces mobilized and seized control of Helsinki and the railroad to Petrograd on January 28; over the coming days they quickly seized control of most of the south of the country. They had some assistance from Russian soldiers, whom Lenin had ordered to assist the Finnish Reds, but most simply handed over their weapons and headed home. The Whites fled to Vaasa on the west coast, setting up their government there on January 29. Although they had lost the bulk of Finnish population and industry, the White forces under Mannerheim were generally better-trained and better-led. They still knew that defeating the Reds would be difficult without outside help, and they appealed for Swedish aid. Map: The frontlines and initial offensives at the beginning of the war. Areas controlled by the Whites (in red) and their offensive Areas controlled by the Reds and their offensive FranceLieutenant Colonel John McCrae, Canadian poet and physician known for writing the poem “In Flanders Fields,” has passed away at the front due to pneumonia. Aerial operations: BelgiumNaval aircraft bomb Coolkerke aerodrome (Bruges). Allied air raid on Zeebrugge. Aerial operations: They might be giantsFollowing last night’s raid, four ‘Giant’ Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI set off this evening on another attempt to raid London. One was forced to turn back early with engine trouble. The first raider (R39) arrived at around 2200 over the Blackwater in Essex. Fifteen minutes later it was intercepted by Captain Arthur Dennis, 37 Squadron RFC, in a BE12b. The BE12b was a night fighter version of the BE12, itself a single-seater version of the now ancient Be2. The BE12b had the 200hp Hispano-Suiza engine also used in the SE5a and was fitted with overwing Lewis Guns rather than synchronized Vickers Guns. Dennis opened fire as the ‘Giant’ took evasive action while returning fire. Dennis jammed his gun but got it working again. Whilst trying to reload the drum, the rough slipstream from the Giant’s engines threw his BE12b out of control. By the time Dennis regained control he had lost sight of the Giant. R39 flew westwards eventually dropping bombs on south-west London around 2330. None of these caused much damage. R39 then crossed over the Thames, dropped bombs on Syon Park without effect and then dropped bombs on Brentford, killing eight people, and damaging many properties. Two men were killed and 5 injured at the Metropolitan Water Board’s works at Kew Bridge six HE bombs exploded, killing two men, injuring another and damaging a reservoir, pumping station and boiler house. The final bombs fell on Chiswick where they damaged 99 houses. Before R39 reached the coast, three other RFC pilots engaged her but she escaped. Giant R26 arrived at 2244 near Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex. However by this point the aircraft had only two fully functioning engines ando so was flying slowly and losing height. At around midnight the bombs were dropped to help gain height. These fell harmlessly on Rawreth and Rayleigh. By 0020am the aircraft was back out at sea. R25 arrived over Foulness around 2250 and headed west. The aircraft was picked up by searchlights, and a number of British fighters attacked. At around 2325 a bullet put one of the engines out of action but the crew continued a reduced speed. Shortly after this, they encountered a balloon apron and at this point the aircraft dumped all its bombs over Wanstead and turned back. All 20 HE bombs landed within 300 yards of each other at Redbridge Lane but no significant damage was caused. The R25 limped home and on inspection found 85 bullet holes in the aircraft. 80 sorties were flow in defence and 8,132 rounds of Anti-Aircraft fire to little effect. Naval operations: ship lossesADA (Italy) The brigantine was scuttled in the Tyrrhenian Sea (41°20′N 12°40′E) by SM UB-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine). ADDAX (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 14 nautical miles (26 km) south east by east of Berry Head, Devon (50°21′N 3°18′W) by SM UB-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. BUTETOWN (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) south of Dodman Point, Cornwall (50°12′N 4°48′W) by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. DE JULIA (Belgium) The fishing vessel was sunk in Seine Bay (49°50′N 0°17′W) by SM UB-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine). De TWEE MARCELS (Belgium) The fishing vessel was sunk in Seine Bay (49°50′N 0°17′W) by SM UB-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her crew. HMT DRUMTOCHTY (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the English Channel with the loss of eleven of her thirteen crew. ETHELINDA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 15 nautical miles (28 km) north north west of The Skerries, Isle of Anglesey (53°29′N 5°12′W) by SM UC-30 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 26 of her crew. FANNY (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Genoa by SM UB-49 ( Kaiserliche Marine). GENERAL LEMAN (United Kingdom) The fishing ketch was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 14 nautical miles (26 km) south east of Berry Head (50°21′N 3°10′W) by SM UB-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. GEO (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 6 nautical miles (11 km) north by west of Cape Peloro, Sicily, Italy (38°19′N 15°38′E) by SM UC-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of sixteen of her crew. GUISEPPE B. (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). GLENFRUIN (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was sunk in the Irish Sea by SM U-103 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all 32 crew. GUIANA (United Kingdom) The tug was run down and sunk in the North Sea off Whitby, Yorkshire by HMS Bat ( Royal Navy) with the loss of four of her crew. H. DEBRA HUYSSEME (Belgium) The fishing vessel was sunk in the English Channel by SM UB-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine). IBEX (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 14 nautical miles (26 km) south east of Berry Head (50°21′N 3°10′W) by SM UB-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. JEAN MATHILDE (Belgium) The fishing vessel was sunk in Seine Bay (49°50′N 0°17′W) by SM UB-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. LE JEUNE ARTHUR (Belgium) The fishing vessel was sunk in the English Channel by SM UB-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. MARIA S.S. del Paradiso (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). MARIE (Belgium) The fishing vessel was sunk in Seine Bay (49°50′N 0°17′W) by SM UB-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. MONTEREAL (Canada) The cargo ship collided with White Star Line ocean liner RMS Cedric in Liverpool Bay and was severely damaged. She sank two days later. Her crew were rescued. NAHA MARU (Japan) The passenger ship struck a rock and sank in the Bungo Strait off Shimonoseki with the loss of 36 lives. PERRITON (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 20 nautical miles (37 km) east of Berry Head by SM UB-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. PERSEVERANCE (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 14 nautical miles (26 km) south east by east of Berry Head (50°21′N 3°10′W) by SM UB-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived. TAXIARCHIS (United Kingdom) The sailing vessel was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean 100 nautical miles (190 km) south west of Cape Gala, Cyprus by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine). TOSHO MARU (Japan) The cargo ship was sunk in the La Galita Channel by SM UC-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
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