100 Years Ago Today

[Hedeby]

April 12th 1916

There was one airman lost today:

Air Mechanic 1st Class George Saunders H.M.S. 'City of Oxford' he was just 22 years of age. Husband of Lily May Saunders of 24 Cromwell Road, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea. He is buried at SOUTHEND-ON-SEA (SUTTON ROAD) CEMETERY in Essex
These two cuttings from the Dover Express tell the sad story... We regret to record the death of 1st Class Air Mechanic George Saunders, son of Mr. J. B. Saunders, of 254, London Road, Dover. The deceased underwent an operation at the Royal Marine Hospital, Deal, but succumbed on Wednesday to pneumonia. The funeral will take place at St. Mary's Cemetery on Saturday afternoon. FUNERAL. AIR MECHANIC G. SAUNDERS. The funeral took place on Saturday, at St. Mary's Cemetery, with both naval and military honours, of 1st Class Air Mechanic George Saunders, R.N.A.S., third son of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Saunders, of 284, London Road, Dover, who died from pneumonia following an operation at the Marine Infirmary Deal on April 12th. The burial service was conducted by the Rev. S. Richards. The remains were borne by six of his comrades. There were also present men of the deceased's old Corps, the Cinque Ports (Fortress) R.E. (T.), including Captain Mowll.

There were three claimed aerial victories on this day - both from the Austro Hungarian Air Service, including one whose plane is something of a collectors item amongst many of us....

Opening his account with a double claim whilst flying an Albatross B.1 is one Hauptmann Godwin Brumowski...





A gifted pilot, Brumowski was the Austro-Hungarian Empire's highest scoring ace. When war was declared, he was serving as an officer in an artillery regiment. After distinguishing himself in combat on the Russian front, he transferred to the air service in July 1915. Posted to Flik 1, he frequently flew missions as Otto Jindra's observer before becoming a pilot on 3 July 1916. In November 1916, Brumowski joined Flik 12 on the Italian front. Scoring five victories in less than two months, he was one of the few Austro-Hungarian pilots to receive the Gold Medal for Bravery. In March 1917, after studying German fighter tactics with Jasta 24 on the Western Front, he assumed command of Flik 41J, the first true Austro-Hungarian fighter squadron. Though he continued to favor the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I, Brumowski began flying the Albatros D.III in the summer of 1917, scoring his first victory with this aircraft on 17 August. By October 1917, his Albatros had been painted red, and when airborne, his squadron was easily identified by the macabre insignia Brumowski designed: a white skull on a black background. Having been recognized as an extraordinary leader, he was given command of all Austro-Hungarian fighter squadrons of the Isonzo on 11 October 1918.
After the war, Brumowski tried his hand at farming on his mother-in-law's estate in Transylvania. When that venture failed, he moved to Vienna where he operated a flying school until he was fatally injured in a plane crash in 1936 at the Schiphol airport near Amsterdam.



More on Brumowksi

On 26 July 1889, Godwin von Brumowski was born into a military family in Wadowice, Galicia, in Poland. He attended the Technical Military Academy in Vienna and graduated as a lieutenant commissioned into the 29th Field Artillery Regiment on 18 August 1910. He was serving in the 6th Artillery Division and had just turned 25 years of age when war was declared against Serbia on 28 July 1914. He served on the Eastern front against Russia, winning both a Bronze and Silver Military Medal for Bravery before transferring to air service in der kaiserliche und königliche Luftfahrtruppen (the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops).

He was posted to Fliegerkompagnie 1 (Flik 1) at Czernowitz, commanded by Hauptmann Otto Jindra, in July 1915; von Brumowski was thus initially assigned as an aerial observer on the Russian Front. His flight log describes him as 1.77 meters (5 feet 10 inches) tall, with blue eyes and light blond hair. On 12 April 1916 Jindra and von Brumowski crewed one of the seven Austro-Hungarian planes that participated in bombing a military review attended by Czar Nicholas II. In the process, they shot down two of the seven Russian Morane-Saulnier Parasol two-seaters that attempted to drive them off.

On 3 July 1916 von Brumowski became a pilot with Flik 1, despite the defective vision in his right eye that he corrected with a monocle. In November, he transferred to Flik 12 on the Italian Front. He helped down an Italian Caproni bomber on 3 December. On 2 January he became an ace when he was victorious over an Italian Farman two-seater while piloting a Hansa-Brandenburg C.I. It is notable that von Brumowski became an ace while still flying two-seater craft basically unsuited for air-to-air combat. The next month, when Flik 41J was established on the Italian Front as Austro-Hungary’s first dedicated fighter squadron, von Brumowski was chosen to command it. He spent nine days in March flying four sorties with the Germans of Jagdstaffel 24 to learn German fighter tactics, before assuming his command. While here he met the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen; von Brumowski would later copy the baron's aircraft paint scheme for his own plane. Brumowski continued amassing victories through May, ending the month with a total of eight. By now, he was flying a single-seat fighter, the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I. Although better suited for air-to-air combat than the C.1, it still suffered three major disadvantages: the pilot's vision was partially obstructed; the single machine gun was not synchronized to fire through the propeller arc,and it was a difficult craft to fly because it was easy to spin[8] at any altitude. Aiming and firing a gun mounted above and ahead of the pilot was more difficult than simply aiming the airplane at the enemy and firing a synchronized gun.

As was customary with Austro-Hungarian units, Flik 41j had an assortment of aircraft types available. In June 1917 von Brumowski flew an Aviatik D.I with no combat success. The Austro-Hungarian Fliks were also hampered by a doctrine that tied them to escort of reconnaissance aircraft instead of freeing them to rove and hunt in the German fashion. In July 1917 Flik 41J lost eleven of the D.I fighters in accidents; the Hansa-Brandenburg's nickname became "the flying coffin". In August 1917 von Brumowski scored a remarkable streak of victories, being credited with 12 confirmed and 6 unconfirmed kills between the 10 and 28 August. Two of these victories, on the 19th and 20th, were the result of a partial transition to a newer fighter plane, a German Albatros D.III with twin synchronized guns. On the 20th he scored once with the Albatros and twice with the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I. By the end of August the transition was complete; he would use the Albatross to score the rest of his victories. On 9 October 1917 he shot down and burned an observation balloon for his 22nd victory; it was the first of five balloons he would down. His Albatros that day was painted all red, in emulation of von Richthofen, with the addition of mustard colored skulls on either side of the fuselage. This paint scheme would become characteristic of his aircraft until war’s end. On 1 February 1918 von Brumowski became involved in a fight with eight enemy fighters. Some of the 26 bullets striking his Albatros ignited the fuel tank built into the upper wing. He managed to land at his home field without serious injury, becoming a rare survivor of an in-craft fire. The fire ate the fabric off the upper wing and the inboard portions of the lower one, leaving only the scorched bare spars and struts of the wing roots.

Three days later, while flying another Albatros he fought eight English fighters and took multiple machine gun hits. With his wings breaking up he still managed to land, though the Albatros flipped over and was totally destroyed. Brumowski fought on until 23 June 1918, when he was ordered on extended leave. His last successful fight was on 19 June; he scored his 35th victory and suffered 37 hits in his plane. He had flown 439 combat sorties, but his combat career was ended. Also on 23 June he was invited by Generaloberst (Colonel-General) Ferdinand to make the customary mandatory application for Austria-Hungary's highest decoration, the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. Brumowski's reply: "If I have earned this award through my service, then it should be cause enough for the Commander in Chief to present it to me. It is not my duty to ask or demand it." Austria-Hungary's leading fighter ace never received his nation's highest award. On 11 October even though he was still only a Hauptmann (Captain), he was named to command all Austro-Hungarian fighter squadrons on the Isonzo Front. World War I ended a month later.

The remaining victory was claimed by Hauptmann Otto Jindra - his sixth victory...



On a day we lost 278 men...

Today’s losses include:

A Brigadier General
A battalion commander
A man whose son was killed last year on Gallipoli
A Baronet
Multiple sons of members of the clergy (again)

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Brigadier General Frederick Aubrey Hoghton (commanding 17th Brigade, 6th Indian Division) dies of food poisoning during the siege of Kut el Amara at age 52. He is the son of the Reverend E Houghton Vicar of Woodhouse Eaves.
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Francis Ferguson-Davie CIE DSO (commanding 51st Sikhs Field Force) is killed in Mesopotamia at age 48. He is the 5th Baronet and his son was killed in May 1915 on Gallipoli.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Norrington Packard DSO (46th Brigade Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 46. Major Nevill Swire Mann (North Lancashire Regiment) is killed in action in Mesopotamia. His two brothers were both killed in action on Gallipoli on 10th August 1915.
Private William Christopher Kewley (Nova Scotia Regiment) is killed at age 23. He is the son of the Reverend William Kewley Vicar of Millom.

The Western Front

Tunstill's men: On another wet day conditions were similar to the previous day; quiet in the morning but the Germans use of rifle grenades increased during the afternoon, without causing any further casualties. Pte. Sargent Ellis (14509) died in the care of 69th Field Ambulance and was buried at Hersin Communal Cemetery Extension. He had most likely been one of the men wounded the previous day in the premature explosion of a British rifle grenade.

Flanders: German attack on British trenches on Ypres*-Pilkem road.

Southern Fronts

Trentino, west of lake Garda: Italian 5th Division attacks towards Mt Fuma in Adamello Range at over 10,000ft in a blizzard, gains objective on April 17 after Alpini battalion storms Alba*-Poson di Genova ridge.

Middle East

During operations Subadar Sundar Singh (36th Sikhs) is severely wounded while leading two sections forward under heavy rifle and machine gun fire in Mesopotamia. Although in great pain from a shattered thigh he continues to encourage and hold together his remaining men, who have been severely tried by heavy losses and are still subjected to a heavy fire.

Turkey: Stotzingen’s German 8-man mission reaches Damascus.
Mesopotamia: British 3rd Division gains c.1 mile on south bank for 400 casualties, floods affect both sides on north bank.
East Persia: General Dyer‘s 200 men defeat 2,000 Sarhad tribesmen and secure submission (until April 30).

African Fronts

South Algeria: 500 French soldiers retake Djanet border post but Senussi escape (until April 16).

Sea War

Mediterranean: Allied navies under Admiral Gueydon (including 6 French destroyers, 24 Royal Navy drifters) convoy 125,000 Serb troops from Corfu to Salonika (until May 31).

Three ships are reported lost on this day:

Orlock Head United Kingdom World War I: The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 65 nautical miles (120 km) south east of Barcelona, Spain (40°40′N 2°32′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Prøven Denmark World War I: The schooner was sunk in the North Sea 22 nautical miles (41 km) north of the Smith's Knoll Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-13 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Vega France World War I: The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 80 nautical miles (150 km) east of Barcelona (40°42′N 2°09′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine) Her 33 crew were rescued by Jaime II ( Spain).

HM seaplane carrier Campania returned to Scapa from Liverpool fitted with "flying off" deck and experimental kite-balloon.



HMS Campania was a seaplane tender and aircraft carrier, converted from an elderly ocean liner by the Royal Navy early in the First World War. After her conversion was completed in mid-1915 the ship spent her time conducting trials and exercises with the Grand Fleet. These revealed the need for a longer flight deck to allow larger aircraft to take off, and she was modified accordingly. Campania missed the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, but made a number of patrols with elements of the Grand Fleet. She never saw combat and was soon relegated to a training role because of her elderly machinery. In November 1918 Campania was anchored with the capital ships of the Grand Fleet when a sudden storm caused her anchors to drag. She hit several of the ships and the collisions punctured her hull; she slowly sank, with no loss of life.

The Royal Navy purchased Campania from the shipbreakers on 27 November 1914 for £32,500, initially for conversion to an armed merchant cruiser equipped with eight quick-firing 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns. The ship was converted by Cammell Laird to an aircraft carrier instead and the two forward 4.7-inch guns were deleted in favour of a 160-foot (48.8 m) flying-off deck. Two derricks were fitted on each side to transfer seaplanes between the water and the two holds. The amidships hold had the capacity for seven large seaplanes. The forward hold, underneath the flight deck, could fit four small seaplanes, but the flight deck had to be lifted off the hold to access the airplanes. HMS Campania was commissioned on 17 April 1915. The first takeoff from the flight deck did not occur until 6 August 1915 when a Sopwith Schneider floatplane, mounted on a wheeled trolley, used 130 feet (39.6 m) of the flight deck while the ship was steaming into the wind at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). The Sopwith aircraft was the lightest and highest-powered aircraft in service with the Royal Naval Air Service, and the close call in a favourable wind demonstrated that heavier aircraft could not be launched from the flight deck.

By October 1915 Campania had exercised with the Grand Fleet seven times, but had only flown off aircraft three times as the North Sea was often too rough for her seaplanes to use. Her captain recommended that the flying-off deck be lengthened and given a steeper slope to allow gravity to boost the aircraft's acceleration and the ship was accordingly modified at Cammell Laird between November 1915 and early April 1916. The forward funnel was split into two funnels and the flight deck was extended between them and over the bridge to a length of 245 feet (74.7 m), so that aircraft from both holds could use the flight deck. A canvas windscreen was provided to allow the aircraft to unfold their wings out of the wind, and a kite balloon and all of its supporting equipment were added in the aft hold. Campania now carried seven Short Type 184 torpedo bombers and three or four smaller fighters or scouts; a Type 184 made its first takeoff from the flight deck on 3 June 1916, also using a wheeled trolley. This success prompted the Admiralty to order the world's first aircraft designed for carrier operations, the Fairey Campania. The ship received the first of these aircraft in late 1917 where they joined smaller Sopwith 1½ Strutter scouts. At various times Campania also carried the Sopwith Baby and Sopwith Pup. Campania failed to receive the signal to deploy when the Grand Fleet departed Scapa Flow on 30 May 1916 en route to the Battle of Jutland, but she sailed two hours and fifteen minutes later. Even though she was slowly overtaking the fleet early in the morning of 31 May, she was ordered to return to Scapa Flow as she lacked an escort and German submarines had been reported in the area. The ship participated in some anti-submarine and anti-Zeppelin patrols, but she was later declared unfit for fleet duty because of her defective machinery and became a seaplane training and balloon depot ship. In April 1918 Campania, along with the Grand Fleet, was transferred from Scapa Flow to Rosyth.

On the morning of 5 November 1918, Campania was lying at anchor off Burntisland in the Firth of Forth. A sudden Force 10 squall caused the ship to drag anchor. She collided first with the bow of the nearby battleship Royal Oak, and then scraped along the side of the battlecruiser Glorious. Campania's hull was breached by the initial collision with Royal Oak, flooding her engine room and shutting off all main electrical power. The ship then started to settle by the stern, and sank some five hours after breaking free. The ship's crew were all rescued by neighbouring vessels. A Naval Board of Inquiry into the incident held Campania's watch officer largely responsible for her loss, citing specifically the failure to drop a second anchor once the ship started to drift.

The wreck of HMS Campania was designated in 2001 under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 as a site of historic importance, making it an offence to dive it without a licence. The remains of the four Campania aircraft and seven 1½ Strutters that she had on board when she sank are still entombed in her wreck.

Air War

Britain – Lord Montagu warns in speech at Birmingham: ‘There is no part of industrial England to which a Zeppelin cannot fly and rain destruction’. He demands end to ‘inters*ervice and inter-departmental jealousies’ and a Ministry of Aviation to galvanize aircraft production as Ministry of Munitions has transformed shell and gun deliveries.

Neutrals

Mexico: Carranza troops attack US cavalry entering Parral, 400 miles south of frontier. Carranza demands US pull-out.

Politics etc.

A long shadow is cast over Ireland with the arrival of 'Sir' Roger Casemont just ahead of Easter....

[Hedeby]

April 13th 1916

As the undercurrent of unrest grows in Ireland with the approach of Easter - lets see what was happening back in the war....

RFC records indicate that NO DEATHS ARE RECORDED FOR THURSDAY APRIL 13TH 1916

Likewise there are no aerial victory claims on this day. (unlike this day in 1917 when 29 different pilots claimed 44 kills including a hat-trick for Manfred Von Richthofen, and FOUR for Kurt Wolff

There is one noticeable birthday today... celebrating his 19th Birthday was one Leutnant Verner Voss and in the next 17 months he would prove to be one of the greatest fighter pilots of all time, with a skill and daring admired as well as feared by his enemies. "His flying was wonderful, his courage magnificent and in my opinion he is the bravest German airman whom it has been my privilege to see fight." James McCudden



Highlighted casualties on a day we lose 260 men.

Today’s losses include:

The son of a member of the clergy (yet again)
A man whose brother will be killed next year

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Captain Dudley William Gerald Jackson (Welsh Fusiliers) dies of wounds at age 33. He is the son of the Reverend Gerald Henry Jackson Rector of Hasfield.
Private Henry Robert Harrington (Border Regiment) is killed at age 19. His brother will be killed one day short of one year from today.

On a very quiet day for news even Captain Tunstill's men had an uneventful day... The recent wet weather continued and it was noted that, “the weather is bad for observation and aeroplanes”. There was heavy German shelling directed against Bully Grenay but conditions in the front line remained quiet.

East Africa: 800 South African horse troopers pursue c.200 Germans for 20 miles in rain and occupy Salanga; 190 animals lost to tsetse fly (since April 7).



Middle East
Sinai: 90 ALH (Australian Light Horse; mounted infantry) break up Turk camp at Jifjaffa 52 miles from Canal.

Air War

Eastern Front: Russian IM heavy bomber Mourometz X (Konstenchik wounded) returns on a single engine after severe damage from anti-aircraft fire over Dandsevas rail station.

The Ilya Muromets (Sikorsky S-22) was designed and constructed by Igor Sikorsky at the Russo-Baltic Carriage Factory (RBVZ) in Riga in 1913. It was based on his earlier S-21 Russky Vityaz, which started out as the twin-engined Le Grand, then as the twin tandem engined Bolshoi Baltisky before placing all four of the Baltisky's engines in a tractor configuration along the lower wing's leading edge to create the Russky Vityaz — which had played an important role in the development of Russian aviation and the multi-engine aircraft industries of the world. With the beginning of World War I, Sikorsky was encouraged by the results of the proving flights to redesign the aircraft to become the "Military Ilia Mourometz, Type V, the world's first purpose-designed bomber. The new heavy bomber was slightly smaller and lighter than the Type A. Internal racks carried up to 800 kg of bombs, and positions for up to nine machine guns were added for self-defense in various locations, including the extreme tail. The engines were protected with 5 mm-thick armor. The military version was designed expressly for long-range flying in both bombing and reconnaissance roles. (hang on - armour plate and NINE machine guns - I have to get me one of those - I believe Zvezda make a correctly scales model of this)

When war broke out, only two Ilya Muromets bombers were completed out of an initial production run of 10 aircraft.[15] In August 1914, the Ilya Muromets was introduced into the Imperial Russian Air Service and on 10 December 1914, the Russians formed their first 10-bomber squadron, slowly increasing the number to 20 by the summer of 1916.[16] Operations with the heavy bombers began on 12 February 1915 with a raid on German front line positions.[17] During World War I, the Germans often were reluctant to attack Ilya Muromets in the air due to their defensive firepower including a unique tail gun position, and the difficulty in bringing down such a large aircraft. Once engaged, small fighters also found they were buffeted by propeller wash.[18] On 12 September 1916, the Russians lost their first Ilya Muromets in a fight with four German Albatros, three of which it managed to shoot down. This was also the only loss to enemy action during the war, while three others were damaged in combat, but managed to return to base to be repaired.



The Russians built 83 Ilya Muromets bombers between 1913 and 1918. During this period, they were the first in aviation history to perform bombing from heavy bombers, bomber group raids on enemy targets, night bombing, and photographic bomb damage assessment. They were also the first to develop defensive tactics for a single bomber engaged in an air combat with a number of enemy fighters. Due to systematic weapon upgrades, the effectiveness of bomb-dropping reached 90%. The Ilya Muromets performed more than 400 sorties and dropped 65 tons of bombs during the war. By 1917, attrition from constant flying had reduced the bombing fleet substantially and only four bombers remained at the front line; the other Ilya Muromets were relegated to trainer duties. The heavy bombers of other participants appeared in 1916, all resembling the Russian pioneer to a certain degree. The Russian government and Sikorsky himself sold the design and production license to the British and French governments. The Germans tried to copy its design, using the fragments of the Ilya Muromets they had shot down over their territory in September 1916.By the end of 1916, the design was generally believed to be at the end of its development cycle, with ensuing modifications to individual aircraft, such as additional armor and weapons, making the aircraft too heavy and not suitable for operational use. Continual changes in the field as well as the factory led to many aircraft being re-designated as a new variant. Further designs based on the original Ilya Muromets bombers included a more dedicated attack version.

Western Front*: Poor weather hampers flying (*and on April 15, 17-19 and rain on April 22) so its going to be a bit quiet on that front fo a few days at least

The war at sea

There were two cargo ships lost on this day

Chic (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 45 nautical miles (83 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of nine crew.[
Lipari (Italy) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 36 nautical miles (67 km) off Cape Spartivento, Calabria (36°00′N 16°49′E) by SM U-39 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived

Home Fronts
Britain: Lloyd George tells confidant he might resign.

[Jager]

The new heavy bomber was slightly smaller and lighter than the Type A. Internal racks carried up to 800 kg of bombs, and positions for up to nine machine guns were added for self-defense in various locations, including the extreme tail. The engines were protected with 5 mm-thick armor. The military version was designed expressly for long-range flying in both bombing and reconnaissance roles. (hang on - armour plate and NINE machine guns - I have to get me one of those - I believe Zvezda make a correctly scales model of this)

Bear in mind that if you carry all those MGs (and gunners), you'll lose a lot of bombload and range. Just saying.
Karl

[zenlizard]

Thanks for the detail on the Muromets. One has to wonder if Ares is eventually planning on another special for this aircraft. Thoroughly deserves one.

[clipper1801]

Shapeways has a nice one! So do the elves!





A very interesting aircraft!

[Naharaht]

No Chris, you cannot disguise an Ilya Mouromets as a Bristol Fighter.

[Hedeby]

No Chris, you cannot disguise an Ilya Mouromets as a Bristol Fighter.

Damn - it would make a very nice gunship though

[Hedeby]

April 14th 1916

According to RFC records THERE WERE NO DEATHS ARE RECORDED FOR FRIDAY APRIL 14TH 1916

Claiming his first kill today we have Offizierstellvertreter Kurt Gruber of the Austro Hungarian Air Service. This despite the less then pleasant weather cloaking large parts of Europe.



Flying an Albatross B.I he shot down a Morane Saulnier over Bojan.



Kurt Gruber (1896 – 4 April 1918) was an Austro-Hungarian flying ace during the First World War who held the rank of Offiziersstellvertreter. He was credited with eleven aerial victories, 5 shared with other pilots including Godwin Brumowski. Gruber was a technical student studying engineering in Sachsen-Altenburg, Germany when World War I began. He was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian army. He volunteered to transfer to aviation. He was accepted for pilot's training because of his engineering background. By August 1915 he was assigned to Flik 1 under Hpt. Otto Jindra. He began to build the reputation of being the pilot of choice for the observers of the group. In September he was promoted to Zugsführer (lance sergeant). In January 1916 he received his first Silver Bravery Award.

Gruber scored his first aerial victories on 14 April, 2 May, and 6 June 1916, with Godwin Brumowski manning the observer's guns in the Albatros B.I on the 2nd. On 1 June Gruber was promoted well ahead of cycle to Feldwebel (sergeant). Ten weeks later he was promoted to Stabsfeldwebel (sergeant major). In December 1916 Gruber was assigned a five-month test pilot stint at the Flieger Arsenal. In mid-May 1917 he was assigned to Austria-Hungary's first true fighter squadron, Flik 41J. On 21 May 1917 he spun in from low altitude, destroying his Hansa-Brandenburg D.I and suffering injuries that kept him non-operational until September. He scored his fourth victory on 29 September. He became both an ace and a balloon buster on 3 October 1917 when he destroyed an Italian observation balloon. Gruber was transferred to Flik 60J on 23 December 1917, under Frank Linke-Crawford. The squadron was equipped, with the Phönix D.I. Between 10 January and 4 April 1918, Gruber scored six more kills. Gruber was shot down and killed on 4 April 1918 in combat with Sopwith Camels of No 66 Squadron, moments after his final claim.

On a day we lost 243 men here are today's highlighted casualties.

Today’s losses include:

A man who is shot at dawn
Two families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Lieutenant Kenneth Gunn (Black Watch) is killed at age 27. His brother will die of wounds next September.
Corporal George C Rosie (Seaforth Highlanders) dies of wounds at the 12th Field Ambulance at age 22. His brother will be killed in November 1917.
Private Edward Bolton (Cheshire Regiment) is shot at dawn for desertion. In a strange twist, while under a commuted and suspended sentence of death for a previous offense Private Bolton was allowed home leave in December 1915 and when his leave was over he remained at home and had even taken up civilian employment under a false name. He was arrested and returned to the Arras front, where he was executed in Roclincourt Valley.

More from the trenches and Capt. Tunstill's men...

The weather remained wet and conditions in the line generally quiet, although it was noted that there was heavy German shelling of the pithead at Fosse 10. Orders were received that 69th Brigade was to be relieved by 5th Brigade and that next day, prior to the relief, a redistribution of the front line was to be conducted, which would see the front line, at the request of 5th Brigade, to be held by just two Battalions rather than three, with one additional Company in close support. British trench mortars fired “to put a stop to Fritz’s 12lb mortar … and to silence rifle grenades”.

The family of Pte. John Robinson placed an In Memoriam notice in the weekly edition of the Craven Herald, in remembrance of him; he had died of heart failure on 9th April 1915 while the Battalion was in training in Folkestone (see 29th October 1915):

ROBINSON - In loving memory of Private John Robinson, who died April 9th, 1915.
The shock was great, the blow severe,
We little thought that death was near.
Only those who have lost are able to tell
The pain that is felt in not saying farewell.



The Battle of Verdun - Action at Fort Vaux



The 50th Infantry division arrives to strengthen the Vth Reserve Army Corps at Fort Vaux. At the end of April all preparations for continuing the battle are made. In the meantime General Von Mudra has been replaced by General Von Lochow as Commander of the Angriffsgruppe Ost. Thus far he had been Commander of the IIId (Brandenburger) Army Corps, the conquerors of Fort Douaumont. Von Mudra warns him not to take rash military decisions that will inevitably lead to more unnecessary losses. The next large attack is set for Sunday 7 May, birthday of the Crown Prince. The code name is 'May bowl'.

The German army Command begins to seriously worry about the decreasing quality of the front troops. The Germans were used to sending their troops to the front and let these troops remain there for months. The losses were compensated for with young soldiers, often not above 18 years of age and without any frontline experience whatsoever. The infantry battalion commanders begged their officers to send experienced soldiers. These inexperienced children did not stand a chance there.




The French, commanded by Pétain, used a totally different system. Their divisions were stationed at the front and after a short while completely replaced with fresh divisions. This so-called Noria-system provided the French with less exhausted troops than the Germans were left with. Consequently the French troops felt much more involved with the Battle of Verdun than the Germans did. Approximately 70 percent of the French troops were sacrificed to the 'mincer' of Verdun.

Eastern Front

The Battle of Lake Naroch, an offensive on the Eastern Front by the Russian army during World War I, ends on this day in 1916 after achieving little success against German positions near Lake Naroch and the Russian town of Vilna (in modern-day Lithuania).

With French forces under heavy attack at the fortress town of Verdun, French Commander in Chief Joseph Joffre called on his allies in early 1916 to launch offensive operations of their own in order to divert German resources and ease pressure on Verdun. Britain’s answer to this entreaty would come only months later, at the Somme in June. Czar Nicholas II and the Russian chief of staff, General Mikhail Alekseyev, responded more quickly, with a planned offensive drive in the Vilna-Naroch region, where 1.5 million Russian soldiers would face just 1 million combined German and Austro-Hungarian troops. In their haste to come to France’s aid, however, the Russian command seemed to overestimate the capability and preparedness of their own troops, especially against the well-trained, well-organized German army machine.

The Russian offensive, launched on March 18, 1916, began with a two-day-long artillery bombardment (the longest yet seen on the Eastern Front) against the Germans that for the most part failed to do the planned damage due to inaccuracy. Russian infantry troops from the Tenth Army, commanded by General Alexei Evert, then moved forward against a heavily fortified German defense, suffering heavy casualties. Due to the spring thaw, many of the approaching infantrymen became bogged down in the mud, slowing the offensive; the lack of an effective supply system also hurt the Russians, as the battle stretched on for almost a month. A smaller operation near Riga, begun on March 21 by the northern Russian army division of General Alexei Kuropatkin, met with equal results.

By the time artillery attacks were shut down on April 14, the Germans had recovered the entirety of what little ground they had lost. Russian casualties numbered 110,000, while the Germans lost only 20,000. Both armies’ casualty rates were boosted by deaths due to exposure to the harsh northern weather: 12,000 Russian soldiers died from frostbite. Also on April 14, as battle concluded around Lake Naroch, General Alexei Brusilov, commander of the Russian South-west Army, presented his plan for an ambitious attack along a broad stretch of the Eastern Front, to take place within the coming month. Like the British with their Somme offensive, Brusilov saw the heavy German involvement at Verdun as an opportunity to launch new attacks elsewhere. The famed Brusilov Offensive, launched June 4, 1916, would secure more territory than any other Allied offensive of the war and would succeed not only in diverting German attention and resources from Verdun but would also nearly knock Austria-Hungary out of the war.



Meanwhile, in the British trenches on the Western Front that same day, Winston Churchill, then in command of an infantry battalion, wrote to his wife, Clementine, expressing anxiety over the planned increase in fighting on all fronts due to the upcoming Allied offensives: I greatly fear the general result. More than I have ever done before, I realize the stupendous nature of the task; and the unwisdom with which our affairs are conducted makes me almost despair at times of a victorious issue Do you think we should succeed in an offensive, if the Germans cannot do it at Verdun with all their skill and science?

Middle East
Mesopotamia, Kut: *Townshend reports 29 April as extreme supply limit, civilians’ grain finished. Arab Bureau confer with Lake in HQ ship at Hanna.
Armenia*: Lyakov’s 20,000 men and 30 guns take Turk Kara-dere position, are 8 miles east of Trebizond on April 16.

African Fronts
East Africa: Rainfall at Moshi (*until April 30) 17.86 ins – sometimes 4 ins per day.

Sea War
Black Sea: Battlecruiser Goeben (4 x 88m AA guns since end 1915) first bombed from air by unsuccessful Russian air raid on Stenia Creek.

Air War
Turk Fronts: 4 Royal Navy Air Service Short floatplanes from Mudros bomb Zoitunlik explosives factory and hangars at Constantinople and Adrianople rail station.

The War at Sea

Three ships are reported lost on this day

HMT Alberta Royal Navy The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
HMT Orcades Royal Navy The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Shenandoah United Kingdom The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the English Channel 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) west of Folkestone, Kent (51°01′40″N 1°12′30″E) with the loss of two of her crew

Politics
Austro-German Berlin talks on Poland deadlocked (until following day)

Neutrals
USA: Cabinet approves Wilson’s Sussex note to Germany (send April 18), demands U-boat commanders punishment and future guaran*tees.

Home Fronts
Russia: Secret Police head reports revolutionary spirit among 2,000 at Petrograd Military Drivers School.
Turkey: Currency unification law.

[Hedeby]

Rights its been a nightmare of a week but its Friday, the Rioja is from 2006, the stories are from 1916 - so the world is all of a sudden in a much better place... tonight's edition is brought to you accompanied by the lyrical genius of the late great Mr. Ian Dury and his Blockheads !! (it takes much longer to get up North, the slow way)

According to the RFC records NO DEATHS ARE RECORDED FOR SATURDAY APRIL 15TH 1916

There was poor weather over most of the Western Front and not surprisingly there were no aerial victory claims on this day.

However on this day 39 Squadron Royal Flying Corps is formed at Hounslow to defend London.

39 Squadron was founded at Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in April 1916 with B.E.2s and Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12s in an attempt to defend against German Zeppelin raids on London. It achieved its first success on the night of 2/3 September 1916, when Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson shot down the German Airship Schütte-Lanz SL11, being awarded the Victoria Cross for this action. On 23 September 1916, the German Navy launched another Zeppelin raid against London. Responding to this raid, 2nd Lieutenant Frederick Sowrey of 39 Squadron shot down Zeppelin L.32, while another 39 Squadron B.E.2 engaged Zeppelin L.33, already damaged by anti-aircraft fire, with L.33 force landing at Little Wigborough, Essex, and being destroyed by its crew. On the night of 1/2 October 1916, 2nd Lieutenant W. L. Tempest of 39 Squadron, flying a B.E.2c, spotted Zeppelin L.31 illuminated by searchlights over southwest London and shot it down with the loss of the entire airship crew. The Squadron continued in the defence of London, supplementing its B.E.2s and B.E.12s with three Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s to help deal with daylight attacks by German Gotha bombers, with at least one Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 also operated by the unit. The squadron re-equipped with Bristol F.2 Fighters in September 1917, but had no more success against German raiders until the night of 19/20 1918, when a 39 Squadron Bristol Fighter shot down a Gotha bomber. In October 1918 it was re-equipped with Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b aircraft and sent to France for night bombing, but was disbanded five days after the Armistice.



It was reformed on 1 July 1919, when 37 Squadron based at Biggin Hill was renumbered. The squadron was reduced to a cadre in December 1919, but did not disband, and in April 1921 it was decided to return the Squadron to operations. By May that year, the squadron was fully manned and received a number of Avro 504 to train aircrew in preparation for operating more warlike aircraft. These arrived in February 1923 when the Squadron, now based at RAF Spitalgate in Lincolnshire received 18 Airco DH.9As.As well as training for its role as a day bomber, the squadron also was chosen to perform a formation flying display at the RAF Air Pageant at Hendon in 1923,[15][16] repeating its appearance in 1926 and 1927, when it flew joint formation flying and bombing displays with 207 Squadron. In January 1928, the squadron moved from Spitalgate to RAF Bircham Newton in Norfolk, where it began to prepare to a prospective move to British India.

In December 1929 it left the United Kingdom, leaving behind its DH.9As to equip 101 Squadron. It arrived at Risalpur, North-West Frontier Province India (now part of Pakistan) at the end of January 1929, receiving its complement of twelve Westland Wapitis (which had been shipped out separately) in March that year. It was used for Air Policing in the North West Frontier, carrying out bombing missions against rebelling tribesmen and their villages, and support for the army. In December 1931 it was re-equipped with Hawker Harts, operations continuing as before, also being used as part of the relief effort following the 1935 Balochistan earthquake, flying supplies to devastated Quetta and carrying out medical evacuations. Major military operations included support of the Second Mohmand Campaign of 1935 against hostile tribesmen in Mohmand Territory, and operations against supporters of the Faqir of Ipi in 1938.

In 1939 the squadron re-equipped with more modern Bristol Blenheim I twin-engined monoplane bombers. As the threat of war increased, it was decided to strengthen British defences in the Far East by moving 39 Squadron to Singapore, with the squadron setting off with nine Blenheims on 6 August. The ferry trip was a disaster, with six aircraft wrecked, and three men killed, including Wing Commander Burton Ankers, commander of the 2nd Indian Wing Station at Risalpur, whose Blenheim caught fire and crashed after being struck by lightning.[25][26] In April 1940, the squadron was ordered back to India, arriving at Lahore on 25 April, and then to strengthen defences in the Middle East, being ordered to reinforce Aden, setting out on 5 May, with the air component reaching Aden on 13 May and the ground crew arriving by ship on 10 June 1940.[27]

On that day, Italy declared war on Great Britain and France, and No. 39 Squadron was quickly committed to action against Italian East Africa, carrying out its first combat mission of the war on 12 June when a force of Blenheims attacked Dire Dawa airfield in Ethiopia, causing little damage. The squadron continued operations against Italian forces until 24 November, when it was ordered to transfer to Egypt to support the planned offensive in the Western Desert (Operation Compass), with the first aircraft leaving Aden for Helwan on 29 November. A detachment of three Blenheims operated with 45 Squadron over the Western Desert from 10 December, flying harassment raids against Italian-held airfields, while the remainder of the Squadron remained at Helwan while it recovered from the operations in East Africa, and started to replace its Blenheim Is with Blenheim IVs. In January, however, the squadron was ordered to recall the three aircraft detachment and hand over the squadron's Blenheims to 11 Squadron, which was to deploy to Greece. To replace its Blenheim IVs, 39 Squadron received Martin Maryland bombers, originally built for the French Air Force, becoming the first RAF squadron to operate the Maryland. Owing to the long range of the Maryland, 39 Squadron used it mainly for reconnaissance. The squadron was heavily deployed during the Battle of Crete, claiming at least two Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft shot down in the course of its operations during the battle.

In August–September 1941, the squadron partly converted to the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber for anti-shipping operations, although it retained a flight of Marylands until January 1942. At first the Squadron's Beauforts were armed with bombs but from January 1942 it added torpedo attack to its roles. In late 1941 the unit was split up. One flight moved to Luqa, Malta in December 1941: six months later this flight was combined with others from 86 and 217 Squadrons to eventually form a new 39 Squadron. In 1943 the unit re-equipped with Bristol Beaufighter aircraft in the ground attack role and moved back to Egypt then on to Italy.During the Greek Civil War, it sent rocket-armed aircraft to participate in RAF operations. In December 1944, it re-equipped with Martin Marauders, flying medium bombing missions in support of Tito's Partisans. It re-equipped with de Havilland Mosquitos in 1946, disbanding later in the year.

On a day we lost 280 men

Today’s losses include:

A family that will lose four sons in the Great War
A man whose brother was killed last September
The son of a Justice of the Peace

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Second Lieutenant W J N Dunnachie (Royal Engineers) is killed in action at age 34. He is the son of the late R D Dunnachie JP.
Private Henry Thomas Vranch (Somerset Light Infantry) dies in Mesopotamia at age 30. His brother will be killed next September.
Private James Conlon (East Lancashire Regiment) is killed. He is one of four brothers who will lose their lives in the war.

The Air War

French ‘battleplane’ fires 16 cannon shells at German patrol craft from height of only 300 ft.



The earliest and the most persistent users of cannon-armed aircraft were the French. Despite the fact that early aircraft had considerable difficulty in lifting themselves and their pilots into the air, experiments with fitting large-calibre cannon took place even before World War 1. In 1910 the Frenchman Gabriel Voisin installed a 37 mm cannon in one of his aeroplanes for publicity purposes, but it never flew with this armament. The next year, ground tests of a 37 mm Hotchkiss mounted in front of the propeller of a Blériot 11 wrecked the aircraft. In 1913, a 37 mm gun was finally fired from a "Voisin Canon," a modified Voisin model 1913 with a 37 mm Hotchkiss cannon and a 200 hp engine.
The first of the French 37 mm airborne cannon was the powerful M1902 "Tube Canon" which fired a 37x201R cartridge. The other common French aircraft weapon in this calibre was the short-barrelled naval Hotchkiss M1885, chambered for the low-velocity 37x94R cartridge. The M1885 was later modified with a smoothbore barrel to fire the "shotgun cartridge" shells in some fighters, as a rifled barrel disturbed the pattern of shot.
Various sub-types of the Voisin aircraft were available with these cannon throughout the war, flexibly mounted in the front gun position of the pusher aircraft. The Breguet 5Ca2 was also originally fitted with a 37 mm cannon for bomber escort purposes, as was the Caudron R.14 which appeared too late to see action. Even larger guns were tried, including 47 mm Hotchkiss guns which were fitted to some of the last Voisins (for ground attack) and a Tellier flying boat (for anti-submarine use; in British tests this gun managed to hole a submarine in Portsmouth harbour). Even a 75 mm gun, with reduced muzzle velocity compared with the artillery piece, was reportedly tested in a huge four-engined Voisin triplane in 1918. The ultimate cannon plane was still under construction at the end of the war, and never flew; the four-engined "Henri Paul" was intended to be fitted with a 75 mm gun and several 37 mm for self-defence.



The original purpose of the French cannon was apparently to attack aircraft, and cannon-armed planes were used as bomber escorts. The first recorded engagement between a Voisin and a German plane was in May 1915, but without result. Some success was achieved in shooting down balloons during the Verdun battle, and in March 1916 a Breguet 5Ca2 shot down an LVG with its cannon. Despite this success, the slow-firing cannon stood very little chance of hitting another aeroplane in the air, but the French persevered, drawing up in the spring of 1916 detailed specifications for cannon-carrying aircraft, designated Class D. The D1 types used the low-velocity M1885 37 mm gun and were intended for air combat, while the D2 models had the high-velocity M1902 version and were used for anti-balloon work and ground attack. Cannon-armed aircraft were never very common; by 1 February 1916 there were just twenty-five at the front, and only about sixty by August 1917. One of the last of the pusher planes, the Breguet 12Ca2 of 1917, was equipped with a searchlight as well as a 37 mm gun and stationed for defending Paris against Zeppelins.
Despite the problems of air-to-air shooting, the French fighter ace Guynemer was interested in the possibility of installing an engine-mounted cannon between the cylinder banks of the geared Hispano V8 aero engine, firing through the hollow propeller hub, and he inspired such an installation in the SPAD 12Ca1. There were two different types of 37 mm cannon available; some confusion as to their origins exists but it appears that one was a conventional SAMC design with a rifled barrel, the other was a modified M1885 smoothbore firing canister shot. They are often referred to as "Puteaux" guns but this might just refer to the arsenal where they were made. A Vickers machine gun was also carried. The plane emerged in July 1917 and a number were built (although nothing like the 300 ordered), several pilots, including Guynemer, achieving some successes with it. These weapons were still manually loaded, however, and unpopular with most pilots because of their awkward loading and the propellant fumes which filled the cockpit on firing. Only eight were reported to be at the Front on 1 October 1918.

Forty SPAD 14 floatplanes, and some of the SPAD 24 landplane version, were also ordered with a 37 mm cannon, of which a few may have reached service. Attempts were made to develop automatic loading cannon, but these were too late for the war. Some French airships reportedly carried 47 mm and even 75 mm guns but it is doubtful if they were ever used in action.
The guns used by the French were all manually loaded. Despite being the major users of large-calibre aircraft cannon, the French failed to get an automatic version into service before the end of the War. In 1918, two long-recoil AMC models were being developed at the Puteaux Arsenal, a low-velocity one using the usual 37x94R cartridge and a high-velocity model designed around the 37x190 ammunition of the British C.O.W. gun. The end of the War reduced the impetus for these developments and it appears that neither saw service.

Western Front

Verdun: French reoccupy trenches at Douaumont, taking 200 PoWs.

Middle East

Mesopotamia, Kut: Air food supply drops start (9 planes max) drop 16,800lb (*until April 29) in 140 flights. 3rd Division takes Bait Aisa (south bank) in heavy thunderstorm.

African Fronts

Northern Rhodesia: Northey issues prelim orders to column commanders.

The War at Sea

Six ships were reported lost on this day...

Cardonia United Kingdom The full-rigged ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of the Fastnet Rock (50°57′N 10°06′W) by SM U-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Demir Hissar Ottoman Navy The torpedo boat was sunk in the Strait of Chios by HMS Jed, HMS Kennet and HMS Wear (all Royal Navy).
Glendoon Norway The full-rigged ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) west south west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom (49°28′N 7°40′W) by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Harrovian United Kingdom World War I: The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) west of the Bishop Rock (49°23′N 7°40′W) by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Papelera Norway World War I: The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Isles of Scilly by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMT Sunbeam I Royal Navy The naval trawler was lost on this date

Home Fronts

France: Public dispensary and anti-TB (tuberculosis) measures.
Canada*: 309,000 enlisted to date.

[Hedeby]

April 16th 1916

Struggle somewhat today - very reports about...

There was one airman lost on this day : 2nd Lieutenant Wallace Sinclair Earle - No. 9 Squadron RFC - Killed in action on this day in 1916 whilst flying BE2c 2097 - he was shot down and killed by the German ace Rudolph Berthold.
Son of John Shepherd Earle and Elizabeth Earle, of Picton, Ontario, Canada. Educated at Queen's University. D.L.S., B.C.L.S.



There were two pilots claiming aerial victories today - Rudolf Berthold (see above) who show down a BE2c piloted by 2nd. Lieutenant WS. Earle.



With two unconfirmed kills on the day we have Karl Friedrich Kurt Jentsch - a brace of Farmans over the western front, later on he would be flying an Albatross D.Va and would feature in series one of the Wings of War aircraft miniatures.





Today's Highlighted losses.... Corporal Sidney William Ware VC (Seaforth Highlanders) dies of wounds at Rawalpindi Hospital received less than one week ago and eleven days after he performed the acts that won him the Victoria Cross. During an engagement when the order was given to withdraw to the safety of a communications trench, Corporal Ware, whose cool gallantry had been very marked during the advance, was one of the few men remaining unwounded. He then picked up a wounded man and carried him some 200 yards to cover and then returned for many others, moving to and fro under very heavy fire for more than two hours, until he had brought in all of the wounded and was completely exhausted. He is one of five brothers, of a total of eight who served in the Great War, two of whom are killed. The first was killed in March 1915 and the second will be killed next July.



Today’s losses include:

A Victoria Cross winner
Families that will lose two, three and four sons in the Great War
A man whose daughter will die as a civilian Canteen server next year
Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Major ‘Sir’ John Christopher Willoughby DSO (commanding 1st Armored Motor Battery, Army Service Corps) dies of illness at home contracted in German East Africa at age 59.
Captain Walter Raleigh Trevelyan (Army Service Corps) dies on service at home at age 51. His daughter will die as a civilian Canteen server in February 1917.
Lieutenant John Byron Barber (HMS Bulldog) is lost at sea at age 24. His brother was killed in April of last year.
Private Harold Iredale (Northumberland Fusiliers) is killed in action at age 20. His brother will be killed in October.
Private Francis Trigger (Dorsetshire Regiment) is killed at age 26. His brother will die on service at home in December.
Private Frederick Cooke (Alberta Regiment) dies of wounds at age 18. He is the first of four brothers who are killed in the war the next to die will be killed within two weeks on HMS Russell.

From their billets at Coron d'Aix Capt. Tunstill's men have this to say....As ordered on the previous day the Battalion vacated billets at Coron d’Aix (which were to be taken over by 2nd Ox. And Bucks. Light Infantry) and was withdrawn to Hersin, where again they were to stay for just one night. A billeting party, led by Lt. Lavarack (see 10th April) moved off at 7.30am to take over billets in Hersin, with ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ Companies to begin their march at 10.30 am; ‘D’ Company were yet to be relieved from the support positions (see 15th April) and it was noted that the officer commanding ‘D’ “will receive special instructions”. Given the fact of another daytime relief, additional precautions were taken against the threat of German shelling. The Battalion was to withdraw from Coron d’Aix in sections only, with 200 yards between, before rendezvousing as half companies by Quarter Master stores near the Fosse 10 pit-head. Whilst there, “men are on no account to be allowed to wander about the road, but must be kept well to the side under the Fosse 10 walls. All ranks are to be informed that the whole Brigade is carrying out a daylight relief and as little movement as possible is to be shown”. From Fosse 10 the half-companies would then complete the two mile march to Hersin, where they would take over billets from 17th Royal Fusiliers. The precautions were well-founded as, “About 11.30 am the enemy began to shell the reserve billets at Coron d’Aix. He sent some very heavy shells but, beyond demolishing a few already badly damaged houses, there was no damage or casualties reported”. The move was duly completed and the men were settled in their new billets by late afternoon.

J.B. Priestley again wrote to his family with an update on his medical condition; his condition and treatment seem to be similar to those associated with a number of Tunstill’s original recruits, notably Pte. Tom Darwin (see 4th April): “I wrote to you a fortnight last Thursday (see 29th March) from No.3 Convalescent Depot, to send me, at once, some money & an old pipe. Well, if you have written or sent anything, I haven’t received it, & in the meanwhile I have changed my address & am now at the Base (this being the Infantry Base Depot at Etaples). I have been in front of a Medical Board & am passed fit for the line. I shall be going up there with the next draft, which may be a week or two. I have waited impatiently for the mail every day, hoping to hear something from you, & putting off writing until I did. We don’t get any pay apart from our Battalion, & it is miserable to be without money for weeks & weeks, & there are plenty of YMCA’s etc here. If you have sent it I can’t make out what has become of the letter because, though I have changed my address, the people at Con. (Convalescent) Camp send letters on here. Better make some enquiries. If you didn’t receive my letter, please send off a 10s. or £1 note & an old pipe (not a new one) … I am hundreds of francs in credit & yet I have had no money for weeks – very ironical. This place is one enormous camp – huts & bell tents, for it is the Infantry Base for most of the Divisions out here”.

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German bombardment of Avocourt Wood and Hill 304.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russians, after nine days' fighting take a position of left bank of Kara Dere.

Eastern Front
Baltic Provinces: Russian Twelfth Army Chief of Staff orders secret police, informers, patrols and officers to deal with anti-war leaflets in XIII Corps.

Middle East
Turkey: 106 Royal Marines and Greek irregulars occupy the Long island in gulf of Smyrna entrance (until May 27).
Mesopotamia, Kut: Flour ration cut to 4oz per man, Indian issued opium pills against hunger.

Air War
Western Front: 9 French aircraft bomb Contlans and Arnairlle rail stations and factories at Rombach (night April 16-17).

Home Fronts
Austria: War Profit Taxes imposed.

[Diamondback]

Sorry, guys, I *tried* on big Ilya... but the die was too far cast on the Giants before I was brought in to advise.

Hopefully they'll consider my suggestion for "Giants II" of pairing Muromets with one of the smaller R-types like the SSW trimotors... I get the impression that the Eastern Front doesn't really get a lot of thought in WGF compared to the West and the Med. Can't put a finger on precisely why, it's just a "vibe" in my gut...

[fast.git]

Sorry, guys, I *tried* on big Ilya... but the die was too far cast on the Giants before I was brought in to advise.

Hopefully they'll consider my suggestion for "Giants II" of pairing Muromets with one of the smaller R-types like the SSW trimotors... I get the impression that the Eastern Front doesn't really get a lot of thought in WGF compared to the West and the Med. Can't put a finger on precisely why, it's just a "vibe" in my gut...

I would buy into that... and I agree with your "vibe" DB. Except for the Snipe (and let's face it, they appeared so late that Nexus/Ares had to scramble to find unique looks), we've got one Russian kite... and it's still in French colors.

Might be a good reason to give us a Morane Parasol.

[Diamondback]

The other important thing to remember is, at its heart this game is really all about Bloody April and fighter aces doing knights-in-the-sky crap, not the entirety of the air war.

[fast.git]

That's a fair point... but one can dream.

[Doug]

Never realy understood why England got involved in WW1 until I read the speach by Sir Edward Grey in Parliment (reproduced in an earlier post) now reasons become clearer.

[Hedeby]

I think the Muromets would be a nice addition, just not much available to fly with it

[Hedeby]

Never realy understood why England got involved in WW1 until I read the speach by Sir Edward Grey in Parliment (reproduced in an earlier post) now reasons become clearer.

You referring to the 'lights going out over Europe ' speech Doug?

[Hedeby]

April 17th 1916

Well whilst some of the chaps are enjoying some R&R over in Prague, back here in Blighty we keep calm and carry on with the news...

One airman lost his life on this day - Warrant Office 2nd. Class Guy Burton Hardy of the RNAS (Dover Naval Air Station) - Alas I can find absolutely nothing out about W.O Hardy other than he was the Son of Charles Burton Hardy and Ellen Hardy and was buried at the KENSAL GREEN (ALL SOULS') CEMETERY in London, he was 33 years old.

There were two pilots claiming aerial victories on this day...

Linienschiffsleutnant Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield of the Pola Naval Air Station (Austro Hungarian Air Service) had two unconfirmed claims for shooting down seaplanes whilst flying a Lohner Seaplane



Banfield was the Empire's highest scoring naval ace and the only Austro-Hungarian airman to receive the Empire's highest honor: the Knight's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa. An excellent marksman, he scored all nine victories from flying boats. Participating in more than 400 sorties against the enemy, he was the first Austro-Hungarian airman to score a victory at night. Flying a Lohner two-seater on 27 June 1915, he scored his first victory, downing an Italian balloon near the mouth of the Isonzo River. In February 1916, he assumed command of the naval air station at Trieste for the duration of the war. Following his marriage to Countess Maria Tripcovich of Trieste in 1920, Banfield became head of his father-in-law's shipping company.



The Lohner L was a reconnaissance flying boat produced in Austria-Hungary during World War I. It was a two-bay sesquiplane of typical configuration for the flying boats of the day, with its pusher engine mounted on struts in the interplane gap. The pilot and observer sat side by side in an open cockpit, and both the upper and lower sets of wings featured sweepback. The design was essentially a more powerful version of the Lohner E, and became highly influential. Apart from licensed production by UFAG, the L provided the basis for designs by other major manufacturers. In Germany, Hansa-Brandenburg manufactured a modified version of it as their first flying boat, the FB, and in Italy, a captured example was used as a pattern aircraft by Macchi, who produced it as the L.1. In turn, the L.1 would provide the foundation for a large number of Macchi designs over the coming years. The captured aircraft (serial L.40) was taken intact near the naval air station of Porto Corsini. The captured flying boat was copied by Macchi-Nieuport and the L.1 was built within a month. The L.1s were delivered to Italian maritime reconnaissance and bombing units based on the Adriatic. An improved version was developed as the Macchi L.2 A restored example of an Austro-Hungarian Lohner L (serial L.127) is preserved at the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle.

Lohner seaplanes saw extensive use before and during World War I, and those aircraft that survived the war served for several years. Some important and interesting events are related, such as:

Immediately after the declaration of war by Austria-Hungary on Serbia and Montenegro, from 28 July 1914 to 2 August 1914, Lohner L seaplanes from Kumbor patrolled and photographed the Montenegrin artillery positions, representing the first use of aircraft in World War I. On 16 September 1915 Lohner L 132 piloted by a Lieutenant Commander Dimitrije Konjović and Lohner L 135 piloted by Walter Železni, on regular reconnaissance missions off Cattaro found the French Brumaire-class submarine Foucault and attacked it with bombs. The submarine was damaged in the attack and was abandoned by her crew. One Lohner flying boat landed at sea, captured two French officers and transported them to Kumbor. The other members of the crew were rescued by an Austro-Hungarian torpedo boat. This was the first sinking of a submarine from the air in the history of aviation.

Making his first claim on this day was Oberleutnant Fritz Otto Bernert who shot down a Nieuport.



The son of a Burgermeister, Otto Bernert was in the infantry when the war began. Wounded on several occasions, he eventually transferred to the Fliegertruppe as an observer. The following year, despite the bayonet wound that rendered his left arm useless, Bernert became a pilot. On 24 April 1917, he set a record by shooting down five British aircraft in less than 30 minutes. In June, Bernert became commander of Jasta 2 (Jasta Boelcke) but on 18 August 1917, he was wounded again and his days as a fighting pilot came to an end. Bernert died from influenza the following year.

More on Bernert: Fritz Otto Bernert was the son of a Bürgermeister (mayor). He was born in Ratibor, Silesia, which now is Racibórz, Poland. At the time of his birth, Ratibor was German and part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Bernert was commissioned into the 173rd Infantry Regiment in 1912. He was serving with them when World War I began. He was wounded in ground combat in both November and December 1914; his fourth wound, inflicted by a bayonet, severed the major nerve in his left arm. Upon recovery, it became apparent his left arm was essentially useless, and he was invalided out of the infantry. "Otto" Bernert then applied to the Luftstreitkräfte and trained to be an aerial observer.[3] Upon graduation, he flew reconnaissance missions for Feldflieger Abteilung 27 from February through July 1915. He then transferred to FFA 71, where he served through November.[6] He then applied for pilot's training; he hid his disability successfully and was accepted.[3] The fact that he wore glasses also did not bar him from service.[7]

He transferred to Kampfeinsitzerkommando Metz, a temporary grouping of pilots mostly from FFA 71, for his initial assignment to a fighter unit. By March, 1916, he had his pilot's license and was assigned to KEK Vaux. On 17 April 1916, he scored his first victory while flying a Fokker Eindecker, over a Nieuport fighter. Because KEK Vaux was an ad hoc fighter unit, it was equipped with Halberstadt D.II planes and reorganized into a full-fledged Prussian fighter squadron. It became Jagdstaffel 4 on 25 August 1916. On 6 September, Bernert scored the new squadron's first victory. He became an ace on 9 November 1916, scoring his fifth, sixth, and seventh triumphs. On 1 March 1917, he was transferred to Jagdstaffel 2. This squadron was named in honor of Oswald Boelcke, the founder of fighter aviation tactics and strategy, and was considered the premier unit of the German Air Service.[citation needed] Bernert scored his first victory in this unit on 19 March; on 1 April, he achieved the status of double ace with his tenth win. He scored 14 more times in April, including a record five victories on 24 April, all in a twenty-minute span, to run his total to 24. He was awarded the Pour le Merite on 24 April. On 1 May, Bernert was appointed to command Jagdstaffel 6. His final three victories came in May, with an unconfirmed 28th on 19 May. In mid-May, Bernert crashlanded behind German lines after his engine quit in mid-combat. A few days later, he landed long, ran out of airfield, and crashed next to his home aerodrome, breaking his jaw and bruising himself severely. Although unable to fly, Bernert did not give up his command. However, he did host some pilots from Austria-Hungary.

On 9 June 1917, Bernert was transferred back to Jasta 2, and would command it to the end of his flying career. The previous commanding officer had scored no victories to inspire his pilots; as it turned out, because of his injuries, Bernert could do no better. However, he once again hosted several pilots from Austro-Hungary during his tenure, and thus influenced the fighter tactics of Germany's allies. He also took some leave during June and July. Bernert was severely wounded again on 18 August 1917. This wound removed him from command and kept him in the hospital for three months. It took him off flight status. He was promoted to Oberleutnant upon release from the hospital, and was transferred to Berlin as Inspector of Air. He died of the Spanish flu in his home town on 18 October 1918.

Today's highlighted casualties on a day we lost 411 men are as follows:

Today’s losses include:

Multiple sons of members of the clergy
Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Major Arthur Forbes (Indian Pioneers) is killed in action at age 35, eleven days after his brother was killed on the same front.
Captain Edward Fleetwood Berry (Gurkha Rifles) is killed at age 27. He is the son of the son of the Reverend James Fleetwood Berry Rector of Galway.
Captain Charles Edward Cecil Hill (Highland Light Infantry) is killed at Kut. He is the son of Canon Hill Rector of Bury.
Lieutenant Montague Forwood Ainslie (Liverpool Regiment) is killed at age 23. He is the son of Richard M Ainslie Vicar of Childwall Parish Church.
Sergeant Arthur Leonard Walford DCM (Gloucestershire Regiment) is killed at age 25. His brother will be killed in June 1918.
Private Joseph Frank Bamsey (New Brunswick Regiment) dies on service at age 25 at home. His brother died in January 1915.

The Western Front

Tunstill's men : Following their one-night stay, the Battalion continued their move into reserve. Lt. Lavarack (see 16th April) and the billeting party, departed at 8.45am, followed, at 12 noon by the rest of the Battalion, including ‘D’ Company which, by now had re-joined (see 16th April). The eleven mile march, via Barlin, Maisnil, Roudain, Divion and Houdain, to Ourton, was completed by 5 pm. On arrival at Ourton, orders were received that the Battalion would move again, on 19th, to Beaumetz-les-Aires. En route to Ourton, the men had been fed from the Company cookers, as organised by Sgt. George Edward Smitham. Writing many years later, J.B. Priestley recalled, “Sgt. G.E. Smithams (sic.) of Keighley, famous for his rissoles and the manner in which he always contrived to have a hot meal ready for the men when they came out of the line … and usually managed to get hot food to them when actually in the trenches”.

George Edward Smitham was 43 years old when he re-joined the army in September 1914; he was one of the Keighley contingent of volunteers who were added to Tunstill’s original recruits to make ‘A’ Company up to strength. At the time he was living at 14 Eldon Place, Keighley with his wife, Ann (Gillett), their three children and two children from Ann’s first marriage. George was then employed as a warehouseman but had previously worked as a cab driver when the family were living in Farnborough, Hants, close to where George had been born. As a young man in the 1890’s he had served in the Army. Following his recent letter regarding his fitness for service, Major Lewis Ernest Buchanan (see 6th April) appeared before a Medical Board which declared him unfit for service for a further three months. The War Office replied to the request which had recently been received (see 15th April) from the mother of 2Lt. Samuel Lawrence Glover, who had been posted as missing in action on 13th January. They confirmed to Mrs. Glover that, “no further report has been received … His name, with the names of other missing officers, has been included in the list sent to the American Ambassador for circulation in Germany”.

Southern Fronts
Dolomites: Italian mine exploded (night April 17-18), kills 100 Austro-Hungarians and 160 PoWs made as Colonel di Lana taken, but later assaults on Mt Sief fail with loss of 2,000 Italian soldiers.

Middle East
Mesopotamia – Battle of Bait Aisa (until April 18): 3rd Indian Division (8,362 infantery) storms salient in Turk defences, Gurkhas take 2 guns but 10,000 Turks including German officers (4,000 casualties) counter*attack five times to regain salient (British losses 1,600 + 15 MGs).

Western Front
Verdun: Germans repulsed between Meuse and Douaumont.

Sea War
Eastern Atlantic: First UE minelayer U73 lays 12 mines off Lisbon (Norwegian steamer sunk).

Two other ships were reported lost...

Ernest Reyer France: The full-rigged ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean north west of Ouessant, Finistère (49°07′N 7°49′W) by SM U-69 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Although her 29 crew were allowed to take to the lifeboats, they did not survive.
Terje Viken Norway: The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off Cabo Guia, Portugal. Her crew survived



On this day the USS Porter was commissioned...USS Porter (Destroyer No. 59/DD-59) was a Tucker-class destroyer built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the second U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of both David Porter and his son David Dixon Porter. Porter was laid down by the William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia, in August 1914 and launched in August of the following year. The ship was a little more than 315 feet (96 m) in length, just over 30 feet (9.1 m) abeam, and had a standard displacement of 1,090 long tons (1,110 t). She was armed with four 4-inch (10 cm) guns and had eight 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes. Porter was powered by a pair of steam turbines that propelled her at up to 29.5 knots (54.6 km/h).

After her April 1916 commissioning, Porter conducted her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Porter was part of the first U.S. destroyer squadron sent overseas. Patrolling the Irish and Celtic Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland, Porter severely damaged the German submarine U-108 in April 1918. Upon returning to the United States after the war, Porter operated off the east coast until she was decommissioned in June 1922. In June 1924, Porter was transferred to the United States Coast Guard to help enforce Prohibition as a part of the "Rum Patrol". She operated under the name USCGC Porter (CG-7) until 1933, when she was returned to the Navy. Later that year, the ship was renamed DD-59 to free the name Porter for another destroyer. She was sold for scrap in August 1934.

The Navy Career of USS Porter: USS Porter was commissioned into the United States Navy on 17 April 1916 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Ward K. Wortman. Following her commissioning, Porter's shakedown was conducted in the Caribbean. After the United States entry into World War I on 6 April 1917, Porter was readied for overseas duty and departed from New York on 24 April with the other five ships of her division—Wadsworth (the flagship), Davis, Conyngham, McDougal, and Wainwright. The sextet arrived at Queenstown, Ireland, on 4 May and began patrolling the southern approaches to the Irish Sea the next day.[9] Based at Queenstown, Porter met and escorted convoys from the United States as they entered the war zone. On 16 October 1917, Porter came to the aid of American destroyer Cassin, which had been torpedoed by German submarine U-61 about 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of Mine Head, Ireland. Cassin's stern had nearly been blown off and her rudder was gone, leaving the ship unable to steer. Porter arrived at about 16:00 and stayed with Cassin until dusk when two British sloops, Jessamine and Tamarisk, took over for Porter; Cassin was towed to safety and later returned to patrol duty. On 28 April 1918, Porter severely damaged U-108 while that German submarine was steaming to intercept a convoy. The destroyer was transferred to Brest, France, on 14 June. She returned to the United States at the end of the war, and operated off the East Coast until she was decommissioned on 23 June 1922

Politics
Italy: Government prohibits trading with Germany.

Neutrals
USA: Meat packers agree to British supervision of meat exports to European neutrals for duration.

Home Fronts
Britain: London rumors of Prime Ministers resignation.
Ireland: *General Stafford letter from Cork gives Dublin GOC (General Officer Commanding) only warning of Rising (unheeded).

[Hedeby]

Duplicated post

[Hedeby]

Well as the expeditionary force lands in the Czech Republic, back at home we continue with the news - or at least we try do, but from an aerial perspective it was a very quiet day indeed.

April 18th 1916

According to RFC records, there were no deaths recorded on this day.

Neither were there any aerial victory claims from either side.

Here are today's highlighted casualties on a day we lost 391 men...



For the past two days members of the Liverpool Regiment have been engaged in cutting wire close the enemy’s trenches. Second Lieutenant Edward Felix Baxter while assisting in the wire cutting held a bomb in his hand with the pin pulled prepared to throw it should it become necessary. On one occasion the bomb slips and falls to the ground but he instantly picks it up, unscrews the base plug and takes out the detonator, which he smothers in the ground thereby preventing noise which undoubtedly saves many lives. Later he leads the left storming part in a trench raid and is the first man into the trench shooting the sentry with his revolver. He then assists to bomb dug-outs and finally climbs out of the trench and assists the last man over the parapet on the return to our lines. After this he is not seen again though search parties go out to look for him. He is the only casualty suffered in the raid and will be awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously dying at age 30. He was injured in the 1910 Isle of Man TT race which caused him to give up motor cycle racing.



Today’s losses include:

A Victoria Cross winner
The son of a Baronet
The great grandson of the Baron of Gravesend
The son of a member of the clergy
A man whose sister will die serving in the Nursing Service
Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Captain Stephen Frederick Hammick (Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry) dies of wounds in Mesopotamia at age 45. He is the son of Colonel St Vincent A Hammick the 3rd
Lieutenant Austin Joseph Geoffrey Graves (1st Canadian Mounted Rifles) is killed at age 22. He is the great grandson of the 2nd Lord Graves Baron of Gravesend.
Second Lieutenant Bernard Craig Keble Job (Royal West Kent Regiment) is killed at age 27. He is the son of the Reverend Frederick William Job Vicar of Lower Gornal.
Second Lieutenant Charles Reginald Boue-Blandy (South Lancashire Regiment) dies of wounds at home at age 26. His sister will die serving the Nursing Service at home in January 1919.
Private Francis Henry Ware (Berkshire Regiment) is killed at age 25. His brother George will also be killed in the Great War.
Private Robert Adams (Highland Light Infantry) is killed in Mesopotamia. His brother will be killed in September.

Western Front

Tunstill's men: The day, which was wet, was spent, as per Lt. Col. Hayne’s orders, in “general cleaning up and interior economy”. Orders were issued in preparation for a further move next day. Pte. John William Pontefract, serving with 1st Battalion Honourable Artillery Company, was promoted Lance Corporal; he would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR. Pontefract was the younger of two surviving children (two other children had died) of Sam and Jane Pontefract. His father had been manager of a woollen mill in Huddersfield and John been apprenticed in the same industry before enlisting, aged 20, on 27th January 1915. He was exceptionally tall by contemporary standards at 6 feet 2 ¼ inches, although his physical development was described as only ‘fair’ in his initial medical examination. He had arrived in France on 1st July 1915 and been slightly wounded in the hand on 21st September, being treated in hospital at Rouen for before re-joining his unit.

Middle East
Armenia: Lyakhov occupies Trebizond (Turks evacuated night April 15-16) and engages Turk rearguard 15 miles south next day.

Sea War
Black Sea: Russians capture port of Trebizond. Black Sea Fleet transports 53,000 troops in 2 operations during this campaign.

Eastern Front
Russian general Brusilov reprimands Easter fraternization: ‘I declare once and for all that converse with the enemy is permitted only by gun and bayonet’; officers to be tried.



African Fronts
East Africa: 650 South African soldiers capture Kondoa Irangi (until April 19) from c.400 German troops.
Western Desert: 1,600 British soldiers reoccupy Kharga Oasis evacuated by Senussi, also Moghara Oasis (April 27).

Home Fronts
Britain: Cabinet conscription crisis; Milner and Derby urge it in House of Lords.

Political:

President Woodrow Wilson threatens to sever diplomatic ties between the United States and Germany following the sinking of the passenger ferry Sussex by a U-Boat in the English Channel. The attack marked the beginning of a new U-Boat campaign around the British Isles. But in response to Wilson, the Germans call off the U-Boats.

The War at sea:
This day in 1916 saw the commissioning of HMS Royal Sovereign (pennant number 05) was a Revenge-class (also known as Royal Sovereign and R-class) battleship of the Royal Navy displacing 28,000 metric tons (27,560 long tons; 30,860 short tons) and armed with eight 15-inch (381 mm) guns in four twin turrets. She was laid down in January 1914 and launched in April 1915; she was completed in May 1916, but was not ready for service in time to participate in the Battle of Jutland at the end of the month. She served with the Grand Fleet for the remainder of the war, but did not see action. In the early 1930s, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and based in Malta. Unlike the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships, Royal Sovereign and her sisters were not modernised during the interwar period. Only minor alterations to her anti-aircraft battery were effected before the outbreak of World War II in September 1939. Assigned to the Home Fleet, she was tasked with convoy protection until May 1940, when she returned to the Mediterranean Fleet. She was present during the Battle of Calabria in July 1940, but her slow speed prevented her from engaging the Italian battleships. By March 1942, she was assigned to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean, but after the Indian Ocean raid by Admiral Nagumo's Kido Butai, she was withdrawn to eastern Africa to escort convoys. In January 1944, she returned to Britain, and in May the Royal Navy transferred the ship to the Soviet Navy, where she was renamed Arkhangelsk. She then escorted Arctic convoys into Kola until the end of the war. The Soviets returned the ship in 1949, after which she was broken up for scrap.



Royal Sovereign had a length overall of 620 feet 7 inches (189.2 m), a beam of 88 feet 6 inches (27.0 m) and a deep draught of 33 feet 7 inches (10.2 m). She had a designed displacement of 27,790 long tons (28,240 t) and displaced 31,130 long tons (31,630 t) at deep load. She was powered by four Parsons steam turbines using steam from eighteen oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were rated at 40,000 shaft horsepower (29,828 kW) and a top speed of 23 knots (42.6 km/h; 26.5 mph). She had a range of 7,000 nautical miles (12,964 km; 8,055 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (18.5 km/h; 11.5 mph).[1] Her crew numbered 1,240 officers and enlisted men in 1921. Royal Sovereign cost £2,570,504 upon completion

he ship was equipped with eight breech-loading (BL) 15-inch (381 mm) Mk I guns in four twin gun turrets, in two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. Twelve of the fourteen BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XII guns were mounted in casemates along the broadside of the vessel amidships; the remaining pair were mounted on the shelter deck and were protected by gun shields. Her anti-aircraft armament consisted of two quick-firing (QF) 3-inch (76 mm) 20 cwt Mk I[Note 1] guns.[3]

In August–September 1924, the 3-inch guns were replaced by a pair of QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk V guns,[4] During the ship's 1927–28 refit, the shelter deck 6-inch guns were removed and another pair of 4-inch AA guns were added. These were replaced by eight QF 4-inch Mk XVI guns in twin turrets during Royal Sovereign's 1937–38 refit. A pair of eight-barrel 2-pounder "pom-poms" were added in 1932 abreast the funnel, and two four-barrel "pom-poms" were added in early 1942 atop 'B' and 'X' turrets. Ten 20 mm Oerlikon guns were also added in 1941. Another six were added in 1943. Royal Sovereign was initially equipped with four submerged 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes on her broadside, though the after pair were removed in 1932. The forward pair were also removed in 1937–38, during the ship's last prewar refit

Royal Sovereign was completed with two fire-control directors fitted with 15-foot (4.6 m) rangefinders. One was mounted above the conning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and the other was in the spotting top above the tripod foremast. Each turret was also fitted with a 15-foot rangefinder. The main armament could be controlled by 'X' turret as well. The secondary armament was primarily controlled by directors mounted on each side of the compass platform on the foremast once they were fitted in March 1917. A 30-foot (9.1 m) rangefinder replaced the smaller one originally fitted in 'X' turret in 1919. Similarly, another large rangefinder was fitted in 'B' turret during the ship's 1921–22 refit. A simple high-angle rangefinder was added above the bridge during that same refit. About 1931, a High-Angle Control System (HACS) Mk I director replaced the high-angle rangefinder on the spotting top. During the 1932 refit two positions for 2-pounder "pom-pom" anti-aircraft directors were added on new platforms abreast and below the fire-control director in the spotting top. In the 1937–38 refit a HACS Mark III director replaced the Mk I in the spotting top and another was added to the torpedo-control tower aft. By 1942, a Type 279 air warning radar, a Type 273 surface-search radar, a Type 284 gunnery radar and two Type 285 anti-aircraft gunnery radars were installed. By September 1943, the Type 284 radar had been replaced by an improved Type 284B and two Type 282 radars had been fitted for the "pom-poms".

Royal Sovereign was laid down on 15 January 1914 at the Portsmouth Dockyard. The ship was launched on 29 April 1915 and commissioned in May 1916. She was still working up during the Battle of Jutland and the end of the month, and so she was not present during the engagement. On 30 May 1916, three weeks after her commissioning, Royal Sovereign was present in Scapa Flow when the fleet commander, Admiral John Jellicoe ordered the fleet to sea. Jellicoe purposely left Royal Sovereign in port due to the inexperience of her crew; as a result, she missed the Battle of Jutland the following day. In the months after the engagement, Royal Sovereign was quickly made ready for service with the fleet to further increase the numerical superiority of the Grand Fleet over the German High Seas Fleet. The Grand Fleet sortied on 18 August 1916 to ambush the High Seas Fleet while it advanced into the southern North Sea, but a series of miscommunications and mistakes prevented Jellicoe from reaching the German fleet before it returned to port. Two light cruisers were sunk by German U-boats during the operation, prompting Jellicoe to decide to not risk the major units of the fleet south of 55° 30' North due to the prevalence of German submarines and mines. The Admiralty concurred and stipulated that the Grand Fleet would not sortie unless the German fleet was attempting an invasion of Britain or there was a strong possibility it could be forced into an engagement under suitable conditions. In April 1918, the High Seas Fleet again sortied, to attack British convoys to Norway. They enforced strict wireless silence during the operation, which prevented Room 40 cryptanalysts from warning the new commander of the Grand Fleet, Admiral David Beatty. The British only learned of the operation after an accident aboard the battlecruiser SMS Moltke forced her to break radio silence to inform the German commander of her condition. Beatty then ordered the Grand Fleet to sea to intercept the Germans, but he was not able to reach the High Seas Fleet before it turned back for Germany. This was the last time Royal Sovereign and the rest of the Grand Fleet would go to sea for the remainder of the war. On 21 November 1918, following the Armistice, the entire Grand Fleet left port to escort the surrendered German fleet into internment at Scapa Flow

[Hedeby]

Heres hoping the damn thing doesn't duplicate again....

19th April 1916

One airman lost his life on this day - 2nd. Lieutenant Nigel Dennistoun Scott RFC - attached from The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment). Accidentally Killed while flying near Thetford 19 April 1916 aged 24, reports say he climbed too quickly, lost control of the aircraft and crashed.

There were no aerial victory claims on this day....

Today's highlighted casualties on a day we lose 552 men:

Second Lieutenant Basil George Hope MacLear (Grenadier Guards) will be awarded the Military Cross for successfully leading a patrol which helps to secure a gap in the British line which occurrs during a German attack. When ordered to establish communication with another battalion, he does so over 250 yards of ground in the face of very heavy shell fire, establishing bombing posts as he proceeds” Lieutenant MacLear will be killed on 26th July.

Today’s losses include:

The son of a Jurist
The son of a member of the clergy
Multiple families that will two and three sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Lieutenant William Henry Flett MC (Black Watch) dies of wounds at age 34. He is the middle of three brothers who will lose their lives in the Great War.
Lieutenant J M Hazen (Canadian Field Artillery) dies on service. He is the son of the Honorable ‘Sir’ Douglas Hazen of the Judges Chambers St John New Brunswick.
Second Lieutenant Hubert William Corke (Gloucestershire Regiment attached Trench Mortar Battery) is killed at age 21. He is the son of the Reverend Hubert Alfred Corke Vicar of Holy Apostles Cheltenham.
Second Lieutenant Norman Blackburn Brearley (Warwickshire Regiment) is killed during an attack on a Turkish trench at Beit Aiessa on the Tigris. He is wounded and falls in marshy ground and drowns. His brother will be killed June 1917.
Private Ernest Lancelot Lionel Moxey (Warwickshire Regiment) dies of wounds at age 18. His brother will die of wounds in September 1918.
Private John Latter (Shropshire Light Infantry) is killed at age 37 becoming the first of three brothers who will lose their lives in the Great War.

The Western Front - Tunstill's men...

he day was miserably wet, with a steady drizzle falling throughout. At 7.45 am the Battalion was formed up and, after taking breakfast at 8am, began a 16 mile march to Beaumetz-les-Aires, via Pernes, Sains and Fiefs. Dinner, comprising of bread and bully beef rations, was taken en route at 12 noon and, despite the constant rain, the march was completed by 2.30 pm. It was reported that, “the men marched well. There were 12 cases of men who were unable to keep the pace with the Btn. and were consequently allowed to place their packs on the 1st Line Transport. These cases were investigated by the Medical Officer in charge and were found to be genuine”.



Pte. Edwin Everingham Ison arrived in France en route to join 1st Battalion West Yorkshires; he would later be commissioned and serve with Tunstill’s Company. Ison was the eldest of seven children of William and Lucy Ison; the couple were natives of Leeds and William had worked for many years as a travelling salesman in the leather trade. Edwin had enlisted on 28th June 1915, declaring himself to be aged 19 years and 4 months; in actual fact he had been born on 28th February 1898, and thus had added two years to his age in order to be accepted for service. A month later he joined 19th West Yorkshires, with whom he had remained in training until being posted to 1st Battalion for overseas service.

African Fronts
East Africa: 3 Belgian battalions (Olsen’s Southern Brigade) invade near Shangugu, Belgian Northern Brigade (Molitor) invades Ruanda on April 25. Belgians have 10,000 troops, 12 guns and 60 MGs.
British general Smuts has 30,000 porters.



Western Front
Flanders: German advances at St Eloi and on Ypres*-Langemarck road but British recapture ground (April 21).
Verdun: Three German attacks at Les Eparges (Woevre) but repulsed (April 20). Petain promoted to command of Centre Army Group (Langle retires, aged almost 67 years); Second Army and Army of Verdun under Nivelle. GQG orders Ft Douaumont‘s recapture on April 28.

Middle East
Mesopotamia: Field Marshal Goltz (aged 73) died from typhus, spotted fever or cholera, rumour that Turks poisoned him; buried in Constantinople. Enver’s nephew Brigade-General Khalil Pasha (aged 34) succeeds.
Lawrence arrives at Tigris Corps headquarter, catches fever.

Home Fronts
Britain: Nearly 200,000 women in weapon and chemical industries.
Turkey: Provincial Governors to seize transport and fix food prices.



President Wilson's Address to Congress, 19 April 1916

In pursuance of the policy of submarine warfare against the commerce of its adversaries, announced and entered upon by the Imperial German Government, despite the solemn protest of this Government, the commanders of German undersea vessels have attacked merchant ships with greater and greater activity, not only upon the high seas surrounding Great Britain and Ireland, but wherever they could encounter them, in a way that has grown more and more ruthless, more and more indiscriminate, as the months have gone by, less and less observant of restraints of any kind; and they have delivered their attacks without compunction against vessels of every nationality and bound upon every sort of errand. Vessels of neutral ownership, even vessels of neutral ownership bound from neutral port to neutral port, have been destroyed along with vessels of belligerent ownership, in constantly increasing numbers. Sometimes the merchantman attacked has been warned and summoned to surrender before being fired on or torpedoed; sometimes passengers or crews have been vouchsafed the poor security of being allowed to take to the ship's boats before she was sent to the bottom. But again and again no warning has been given, no escape even to the ship's boats allowed to those on board. What this Government foresaw must happen has happened. Tragedy has followed tragedy on the seas in such fashion, with such attendant circumstances, as to make it grossly evident that warfare of such a sort, if warfare it be, cannot be carried on without the most palpable violation of the dictates alike of right and of humanity. Whatever the disposition and intention of the Imperial German Government, it has manifestly proved impossible for it to keep such methods of attack upon the commerce of its enemies within the bounds set by either the reason or the heart of mankind...

I have deemed it my duty, therefore, to say to the Imperial German Government that if it is still its purpose to prosecute relentless and indiscriminate warfare against vessels of commerce by the use of submarines, notwithstanding the now demonstrated impossibility of conducting that warfare in accordance with what the Government of the United States must consider the sacred and indisputable rules of international law and the universally recognized dictates of humanity, the Government of the United States is at last forced to the conclusion that there is but one course it can pursue and that unless the Imperial German Government should now immediately declare and effect an abandonment of its present methods of warfare against passenger and freight-carrying vessels, this Government can have no choice but to sever diplomatic relations with the Government of the German Empire altogether.

This decision I have arrived at with the keenest regret; the possibility of the action contemplated I am sure all thoughtful Americans will look forward to with unaffected reluctance. But we cannot forget that we are in some sort and by the force of circumstances the responsible spokesmen of the rights of humanity, and that we cannot remain silent while those rights seem in process of being swept utterly away in the maelstrom of this terrible war. We owe it to a due regard for our own rights as a nation, to our sense of duty as a representative of the rights of neutrals the world over, and to a just conception of the rights of mankind to take this stand now with the utmost solemnity and firmness. I have taken it, and taken it in the confidence that it will meet with your approval and support. All sober-minded men must unite in hoping that the Imperial German Government, which has in other circumstances stood as the champion of all that we are now contending for in the interest of humanity, may recognize the justice of our demands and meet them in the spirit in which they are made.

[Hedeby]

Well its another late one, the last remnants of the 12 yr old Glenlivet still burning slowly down the back of the throat, lets see what stories we have today... this evening's musical accompaniment is the 1979 EP Sheep Farming in Barnet by Toyah- one of my earliest ever gigs was seeing her somewhere in Kilburn London ( I think) in 1979. Anyway on with the stories and today we get to welcome our colonial cousins to the fray (in an unofficial capacity only at this stage), welcome to fight chaps, better late than never - I'm sure if there is another World War you won't be late again....


April 20th 1916

According to RFC records there were NO DEATHS ARE RECORDED FOR THURSDAY APRIL 20TH 1916

There were no aerial victory claims on this day as the poor weather continued over large parts of Europe.

Today’s losses on a day we lost 383 men include:

A battalion commander
Multiple sons of members of the clergy
Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Codrington (commanding 120th Rajputana Infantry) is killed in the attack at age 49. He is the son of the Reverend Richard Gibson Codrington.
Lieutenant Isaac Harvey Hodgson (Border Regiment) is killed at age 24. His brother was killed last June.
Second Lieutenant Richard Arthur Maurice Lutener (Shropshire Light Infantry) is killed at age 20. He is the son of the Reverend C Lutener Vicar of Clun.
Sergeant Edward William Stephens (Gloucestershire Regiment) is killed at age 24 and Private Harry Sallabanks (Bedfordshire Regiment) is killed at age 21. Both will have brothers killed later in the war Stephens in September 1917 and Sallabanks in June 1918.


Western Front:
Tunstill's men: There was an improvement in the weather, with the day remaining fine. In the morning the men were left at the disposal of Company commanders, before, in the afternoon, Lt. Col. Hayne supervised Battalion drill. 2Lt. Henry Herbert Owen Stafford arrived in France, en route to join 10DWR. Stafford was the youngest (born, 11th July 1895) of seven children of William and Mary Stafford; the family had lived for many years in Hognaston, Derbyshire, where William ran a tailoring and outfitting business. On the outbreak of war Henry had been a student at University College, Nottingham, where he was also a member of the OTC; he had applied for a temporary commission on 14th July 1915, shortly after turning nineteen, and had been formally appointed to 11th Battalion West Ridings with effect from 7th August.

Western Front:

American volunteer fighter unit N124 Escadrille Americaine formally incorporated in French Aeronautique Militaire. Based at Luxeuil-les*-Bains (Haute Saone) 16 of its 42 pilots will die in action.



he Lafayette Escadrille (French: Escadrille de Lafayette) was an escadrille of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique Militaire, during World War I composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters. It was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, hero of the American and French revolutions. Dr. Edmund L. Gros, director of the AFS Intercultural Programs WWI , and Norman Prince, an American expatriate already flying for France, led the efforts to persuade the French government of the value of a volunteer American air unit fighting for France. The aim was to have their efforts recognized by the American public and thus, it was hoped, the resulting publicity would rouse interest in abandoning neutrality and joining the fight. Authorized by the French Air Department on March 21, 1916, the Escadrille Américaine (Escadrille N.124) was deployed on April 20 in Luxeuil-les-Bains, France.[1]

Not all American pilots were in Lafayette Escadrille; other American pilots fought for France as part of the Lafayette Flying Corps. The squadron was then moved closer to the front to Bar-le-Duc. A German objection filed with the U.S. government, over the actions of a supposed neutral nation, led to the name change to Lafayette Escadrille in December 1916, as the original name implied that the U.S. was allied to France rather than neutral. The unit's aircraft, mechanics, and uniforms were French, as was the commander, Captain Georges Thenault. Five French pilots were also on the roster, serving at various times. Raoul Lufbery, a French-born American citizen, became the squadron's first, and ultimately their highest scoring flying ace with 16 confirmed victories before the pilots of the squadron were inducted into the U.S. Air Service. Two unofficial members of the Escadrille Américaine, the lion cubs named Whiskey and Soda, provided countless moments of relief from battle stress to fliers.

The first major action seen by the squadron was 13 May 1916 at the Battle of Verdun and five days later, Kiffin Rockwell recorded the unit's first aerial victory. On 23 June, the Escadrille suffered its first fatality when Victor Chapman was shot down over Douaumont. The unit was posted to the front until September 1916, when the unit was moved back to Luxeuil-les-Bains in 7 Army area. On 23 September, Rockwell was killed when his Nieuport was downed by the gunner in a German Albatross observation plane and in October, Norman Prince was shot down during air battle. The squadron, flying the Nieuport 11 scout, suffered heavy losses, but its core group of 38 was rapidly replenished by other Americans arriving from overseas. So many volunteered that the Lafayette Flying Corps was formed and many Americans thereafter serving with other French air units such as Michigan's Fred Zinn, who was a pioneer of aerial photography, fought as part of the French Foreign Legion and later the French Aéronautique militaire. Altogether, 265 American volunteers served in the Corps. On 8 February 1918, the squadron was disbanded and 12 of its American members inducted into the U.S. Air Service as members of the 103rd Aero Squadron. For a brief period it retained its French aircraft and mechanics. Most of its veteran members were set to work training newly arrived American pilots. The 103rd was credited with a further 45 kills before the Armistice went into effect on 11 November.[8] The French Escadrille SPA.124, also known as the Jeanne d'Arc Escadrille, continued Lafayette Escadrille's traditions in the Service Aéronautique.



Western Front

France: First 8,000 Russian troops land at Marseilles.

Eastern Front

Russian general Brusilov orders his four Army commanders to prepare for offensive by May 11 without reserves.

Sea War

Irish Sea: German disguised runner Aud (loaded with guns for the Irish rebels) scuttles after capture by sloop Bluebell. Roger Casement (former British colonial civil diplomat) lands from German U-boat U19 in Tralee Bay.
Libau (pronounced [lɪˈbaʊ]; (also known as SS Castro) was a merchant steam ship. In 1916 it masqueraded under the cover name of Aud in an attempt to carry arms to Ireland as part of the preparation for the Easter Rising.

SS Castro was a 1,062 ton steam cargo transport built for the Wilson Line of Hull, England in 1907. Castro measured 220 feet (67 m) in length with a beam 32 feet (9.8 m) and a draught of 12 ft (3.7 m). The ship was captured by the Imperial German Navy in the Kiel Canal, at the beginning of World War I in August 1914. Renamed Libau (the German name of Liepāja), she remained inactive until 1916, when designated as the vessel to carry a cargo of arms to Ireland, to aid the Easter Rising, and given the name Aud. Masquerading as SS Aud —an existing Norwegian vessel of similar appearance— Libau set sail from the Baltic port of Lübeck on 9 April 1916, under the Command of Karl Spindler, bound for the south-west coast of Ireland. Under Spindler was a crew of 22 men, all of whom were volunteers. Libau/Aud, laden with an estimated 20,000 rifles, 1,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 10 machine guns, and explosives (under a camouflage of a timber cargo), evaded patrols of both the British 10th Cruiser Squadron and local Auxiliary patrols. After surviving violent storms off Rockall, Libau arrived in Tralee Bay on 20 April. There they were due to meet with Roger Casement and others, with Casement having been landed nearby by the German submarine U-19. Due to a combination of factors (primarily as the ship carried no radio and was unaware that the date for its arrival off Fenit had been altered from Thursday, 20 April to Sunday, 23 April) the transfer of arms did not take place. Libau, attempting to escape the area, was trapped by a blockade of British ships. Captain Spindler allowed himself to be escorted towards Cork Harbour, in the company of the Acacia-class sloop HMS Bluebell. The German crew then scuttled the ship. Spindler and crew were interned for the duration of the war.

A number of rifles were recovered from Libau before the vessel was scuttled. Several examples exist in various museums in Britain and Ireland. Among these are the Cork Public Museum in Fitzgerald's Park in Cork, a museum in Lurgan County Armagh, the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, and the Imperial War Museum in London. The majority of these rifles are the model known as the Mosin–Nagant 1891, or "three-line rifle", captured in the German rout of Russian forces in the Battle of Tannenberg. These rifles have been referred to in various publications as being 'outmoded and out of date;'– in fact they were well comparable with many of the leading makes of the era. They were a different calibre from German rifles and therefore, for logistic reasons, the Germans preferred not to issue them for the use of their own troops. They were magazine rifles, which enabled the user to pre-load five rounds from a clip plus, when needed, one more in the breech, and then fire in reasonably rapid succession with good accuracy, using relatively modern .30 calibre ( in millimetres 7.62×54mmR ) spitzer-nosed bullets. Per Russian preference, the rifles aboard Libau were equipped with the Russian model of socket bayonets, s.c. "Rat-tails".

At this point Roger Casement and his companions who had been landed by the submarine U-19 in Kerry had been captured in an old ringfort or rath, between Ardfert and Tralee .



One of the two car-loads of Volunteers who were supposed to meet Spindler had crashed into the River Laune, many miles away, at Ballykissane pier, Killorglin, (resulting in the death of three of the four occupants of the car) so there was no hope of an organised transfer of arms. With Spindler and his crew on a ship with no radio or other means of communicating their plight the poorly organised gun-running plan was nearing an end.

Today also the launch of HMS Glorious: HMS Glorious was the second of the Courageous-class battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Glorious was completed in late 1916 and spent the war patrolling the North Sea. She participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917 and was present when the German High Seas Fleet surrendered a year later. Glorious was paid off after the end of the war, but was rebuilt as an aircraft carrier during the late 1920s. She could carry 30% more aircraft than her half-sister Furious which had approximately the same tonnage. After recommissioning she spent most of her career operating in the Mediterranean Sea. After the start of the Second World War, Glorious spent the rest of 1939 unsuccessfully hunting for the German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee in the Indian Ocean before returning to the Mediterranean. She was recalled in April 1940 to support British operations in Norway. While evacuating British aircraft from Norway in June, the ship was sunk by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the North Sea with the loss of over 1,200 lives.

uring the First World War, Admiral Fisher was prevented from ordering an improved version of the preceding Renown-class battlecruisers by a wartime restriction that banned construction of ships larger than light cruisers. To obtain ships suitable for traditional battlecruiser roles, such as scouting for fleets and hunting enemy raiders, he settled on a design with the minimal armour of a light cruiser and the armament of a battlecruiser. He justified their existence by claiming he needed fast, shallow-draught ships for his Baltic Project, a plan to invade Germany via its Baltic coast.[1][2]

Glorious had an overall length of 786 feet 9 inches (239.8 m), a beam of 81 feet (24.7 m), and a draught of 25 feet 10 inches (7.9 m) at deep load. She displaced 19,180 long tons (19,490 t) at load and 22,560 long tons (22,922 t) at deep load.[3] Glorious and her sisters were the first large warships in the Royal Navy to have geared steam turbines. To save time the installation used in the light cruiser Champion, the first cruiser in the Royal Navy with geared turbines, was simply doubled. The Parsons turbines were powered by eighteen Yarrow small-tube boilers. They were designed to produce a total of 90,000 shaft horsepower (67,113 kW) at a working pressure of 235 psi (1,620 kPa; 17 kgf/cm2). During the ship's abbreviated sea trials she reached 31.42 knots (58.19 km/h; 36.16 mph).[4]

The ship was designed to normally carry 750 long tons (760 t) of fuel oil, but could carry a maximum of 3,160 long tons (3,210 t). At full capacity, she could steam for an estimated 6,000 nautical miles (11,110 km; 6,900 mi) at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[5]

Glorious carried four BL 15-inch Mark I guns in two twin hydraulically powered Mark I* turrets, one each fore ('A') and aft ('Y'). Her secondary armament consisted of eighteen BL 4-inch Mark IX guns mounted in six manually powered triple T.I. Mark I mounts.These mounts had the three breeches too close together and the 23 loaders tended to interfere with one another. This rather negated the mount's intended purpose to provide a high rate of fire against torpedo boats and other smaller craft. A pair of QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns were fitted abreast the mainmast on Glorious. She mounted two submerged tubes for 21-inch torpedoes and 10 torpedoes were carried. Her keel was laid down on 1 May 1915 by Harland and Wolff at their Belfast shipyard. Glorious was launched on 20 April 1916 and completed on 14 October 1916.[7] During her sea trials in November 1916, Courageous sustained structural damage while running at full speed in a rough head sea and had the damaged areas stiffened shortly afterwards to prevent a recurrence.[8] Glorious did not suffer any similar damage and did not receive her stiffening until 1918. Upon commissioning, Courageous served with the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. After most of the 1st Cruiser Squadron was sunk at the Battle of Jutland, the squadron was re-formed with Courageous as flagship along with her sister ship Glorious. She cost £1,967,223 to build (costs to 23 Nov 1916). Glorious received a half a dozen torpedo mounts, each with two tubes in mid-1917: one mount on each side of the mainmast on the upper deck and two mounts on each side of the rear turret on the quarterdeck.

On 16 October 1917 the Admiralty received word of German ship movements, possibly indicating some sort of raid. Admiral Beatty, the commander of the Grand Fleet, ordered most of his light cruisers and destroyers to sea in an effort to locate the enemy ships. Courageous and Glorious were not initially ordered to sea, but were sent to reinforce the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron patrolling the central part of the North Sea later that day.Two German Brummer-class light cruisers managed to slip through the gaps in the British patrols and destroyed a convoy bound for Norway during the morning of 17 October, but no word was received of the engagement until that afternoon. The 1st Cruiser Squadron were ordered to intercept, but were unsuccessful as the German cruisers were faster than expected

hroughout 1917 the Admiralty was becoming more concerned about German efforts to sweep paths through the British-laid minefields intended to restrict the actions of the High Seas Fleet and German submarines. A preliminary raid on German minesweeping forces on 31 October by light forces destroyed ten small ships and the Admiralty decided on a larger operation to destroy the minesweepers and their light cruiser escorts. Based on intelligence reports, the Admiralty allocated the 1st Cruiser Squadron on 17 November 1917, with cover provided by the reinforced 1st Battlecruiser Squadron and distant cover by the battleships of the 1st Battle Squadron.[16]

The German ships, four light cruisers of II Scouting Force, eight destroyers, three divisions of minesweepers, eight sperrbrecher (cork-filled trawlers) and two trawlers to mark the swept route, were spotted at 7:30 am,[Note 2] silhouetted by the rising sun. Courageous and the light cruiser Cardiff opened fire with their forward guns seven minutes later. The Germans responded by laying a smoke screen and this made spotting targets very difficult. The British continued in pursuit, but lost track of most of the smaller ships in the smoke and concentrated fire on the light cruisers as opportunity permitted. One 15-inch hit was made on a gun shield of SMS Pillau, but it did not affect her speed. At 8:33 the left-hand gun in Glorious's forward turret was wrecked when a shell detonated inside the gun barrel. At 9:30 the 1st Cruiser Squadron broke off their pursuit so they would not enter a minefield marked on their maps; the ships turned south, playing no further role in the battle.[17]

Glorious required five days of repairs to right the damage caused from the premature detonation and from her own muzzle blast.She fired 57 15-inch and 213 4-inch shells during the engagement. The ship received flying-off platforms on top of her turrets in 1918. A Sopwith Camel was carried on the rear turret and a Sopwith 1½ Strutter on the forward turret. She was present at the surrender of the German fleet on 21 November 1918. Glorious was reduced to reserve at Rosyth on 1 February 1919 and served as a turret drill ship, being also flagship of the Rear-Admiral Commanding the Devonport Reserve between 1921 and 1922.

The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 severely limited the amount of capital ship tonnage and the Royal Navy was forced to scrap many of its older battleships and battlecruisers. However up to 66,000 long tons (67,059 t) of existing ships could be converted into aircraft carriers, for which the Courageous-class ships' combination of a large hull and high speed made them an ideal candidate for conversion. Glorious began her conversion at Rosyth in 1924, but was towed to Devonport for completion, and she was re-commissioned on 24 February 1930. During the ship's post-conversion sea trials she reached 29.47 knots (54.58 km/h; 33.91 mph).[22] Her fifteen-inch turrets were placed into storage and later reused during World War II for HMS Vanguard, the Royal Navy's last battleship.[23]

Her new design improved on her half-sister HMS Furious which lacked an island and a conventional funnel. All superstructure, guns, torpedo tubes, and fittings down to the main deck were removed. A two-storey hangar, each level 16 feet (4.9 m) high and 550 feet (167.6 m) long, was built on top of the remaining hull; the upper hangar level opened on to a short flying-off deck, below and forward of the main flight deck. The flying-off deck improved launch and recovery cycle flexibility until new fighters requiring longer takeoff rolls made the lower deck obsolete in the 1930s. Two 46-by-48-foot (14.0 m × 14.6 m) lifts were installed fore and aft in the flight deck. An island with the bridge, flying control station, and funnel was added on the starboard side as islands had been found not to contribute significantly to turbulence. By 1939 the ship could carry 34,500 imperial gallons (157,000 l; 41,400 US gal) of petrol for her aircraft.

Glorious received a dual-purpose armament of sixteen QF 4.7-inch Mark VIII guns in single High-Angle Mark XII mounts. One mount was on each side of the lower flight deck and a pair was on the quarterdeck. The remaining twelve mounts were distributed along the sides of the ship. During her 1935 refit, Glorious received three octuple 2-pounder pom-pom Mark VI mounts, one on each side of the flying-off deck, forward of the 4.7-inch guns, and one behind the island on the flight deck. She also received four water-cooled .50-calibre Mark III machine guns in a single quadruple mounting.

Glorious recommissioned on 24 February 1930 for service with the Mediterranean Fleet, but was attached to the Home Fleet from March to June 1930. She relieved Courageous in the Mediterranean Fleet in June 1930 and remained there until October 1939. In a fog on 1 April 1931 Glorious rammed the French ocean liner Florida amidships while steaming at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The impact crumpled 60 feet (18.3 m) of the flying-off deck and killed 1 seaman aboard Glorious and 24 passengers and crew aboard Florida. Glorious was forced to put into Gibraltar to temporary repairs. She had to sail to Malta for permanent repairs which lasted until September 1931. Sometime in the early 1930s, traverse arresting gear was installed. She was refitted at Devonport from July 1934 to July 1935 where she received two hydraulic accelerators (catapults) on her upper flight deck, which was also extended to the rear, her quarterdeck was raised one deck and she received her multiple pom-pom mounts. Glorious participated in the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead on 20 May 1937 for George VI before returning to the Mediterranean.

Glorious could carry up to 48 aircraft; when first recommissioned, she carried Fairey Flycatcher fighters, Blackburn Dart and Blackburn Ripon torpedo bombers, and Fairey IIIF reconnaissance planes of the Fleet Air Arm. From 1933 until Glorious returned to the United Kingdom in April 1940, aside from a period when refitting in the mid-1930s, she carried 802 Squadron which flew a mixture of nine Hawker Nimrod and three Hawker Osprey fighters, until re-equipping with a dozen Gloster Sea Gladiators in May 1939. 812 and 823 Squadrons were embarked for reconnaissance and anti-ship attack missions. They flew the Blackburn Ripon, the Blackburn Baffin and the Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers and as well as Fairey IIIF and Fairey Seal reconnaissance aircraft. When Glorious recommissioned after her refit in 1935 825 Squadron was embarked, initially with Fairey IIIFs, but the squadron converted to Fairey Swordfish in May 1936




Politics

France: First 8,000 Russian troops land at Marseilles (Austrians knew it around May 9 from PoW postcards).


Neutrals
Greece: German RM 40 millions loan.

Home Fronts
Ireland: Casement lands from U-boat at Tralee, Co Kerry (arrested April 21).
Britain: Asquith tells Commons manpower proposals to be submitted to secret session. General Wilson to Lord Milner: ‘If ever a man deserved to be tried and shot that man is the Prime Minister’.
France: Food and coal prices fixed plus commodities (done until April 22).

[Hedeby]

Tomorrow sees the start of the Easter Rising - so don't miss our special edition

[Hedeby]

April 21st 1916

The build up to THE EASTER RISING Part 1: Parts 2 and 3 on Friday and Saturday before the uprising proper starts on SUnday 24th.

The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, abolishing the Irish Parliament and giving Ireland representation in the British Parliament. The Irish Parliament that passed the Act of Union was not representative of the Irish people. Although the vast majority of the Irish population was Catholic, only Protestants could sit in the Irish Parliament and only landowning men could vote. Many MPs were persuaded to vote for the union through bribery. From early on, many Irish nationalists opposed the union as the ensuing exploitation and impoverishment of the island led to a high level of depopulation. Opposition took various forms: constitutional (the Repeal Association; the Home Rule League), social (disestablishment of the Church of Ireland; the Land League) and revolutionary (Rebellion of 1848; Fenian Rising).The Irish Home Rule movement sought to achieve self-government for Ireland, within the United Kingdom. In 1886, the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) under Charles Stewart Parnell succeeded in having the First Home Rule Bill introduced in the British parliament, but it was defeated. The Second Home Rule Bill of 1893 was passed by the House of Commons but rejected by the House of Lords.

After the fall of Parnell, younger and more radical nationalists became disillusioned with parliamentary politics and turned toward more extreme forms of separatism. The Gaelic Athletic Association, the Gaelic League and the cultural revival under W. B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory, together with the new political thinking of Arthur Griffith expressed in his newspaper Sinn Féin and organisations such as the National Council and the Sinn Féin League, led many Irish people to identify with the idea of an independent Gaelic Ireland. This was sometimes referred to by the generic term Sinn Féin, particularly by the authorities. The Third Home Rule Bill was introduced by British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith in 1912, sparking the Home Rule Crisis. Although nationalists, who were in a majority in the country, supported home rule, Protestant unionists, led by Sir Edward Carson, opposed it, as they did not want to be ruled by a Catholic-dominated Irish government. To prevent home rule, in January 1913 they formed the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the first paramilitary group of 20th-century Ireland.



In response, Irish nationalists formed a rival paramilitary group, the Irish Volunteers, in November 1913. The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) was a driving force behind the Irish Volunteers and attempted to control it. Its leader was Eoin MacNeill, who was not an IRB member. The Irish Volunteers' stated goal was "to secure and to maintain the rights and liberties common to all the people of Ireland". It included people with a range of political views, and was open to "all able-bodied Irishmen without distinction of creed, politics or social group". Another militant group, the Irish Citizen Army, was formed by trade unionists as a result of the Dublin Lock-out of that year. When the Irish Volunteers smuggled rifles into Dublin, the British Army attempted to stop them and fired into a crowd of civilians. However, British Army officers threatened to resign if they were ordered to take action against the UVF. By 1914, Ireland seemed to be on the brink of a civil war. The crisis was ended in August that year by the outbreak of World War I and Ireland's involvement in it. The Home Rule Bill was enacted, but its implementation was postponed by a suspensory act until the end of the war. A Scottish Home Rule Bill, which passed its second reading in the British parliament in May 1914, also lapsed after the outbreak of war. Although many Irishmen had volunteered for Irish regiments and divisions of the New British Army at the outbreak of World War I, the growing likelihood of enforced conscription created a backlash. The British government began suggesting that it would only implement home rule in exchange for Irish conscription. This outraged the Irish parties at Westminster, including the IPP, the All-for-Ireland League and others, who walked out in protest and returned to Ireland to organise opposition.

Although not 100 years ago it would be remiss of this thread not to mark the passing of the most famous fighter pilot of all time. This day in 1918 saw the death of Manfred Von Richthofen



There were no aerial victory claims on this day however there were still two airmen lost on this day:

Flight Sub.Lieutenant William Hocking RNAS Killingholme Naval Air Station, Killed while flying 21 April 1916 aged 23, as a result of an accident to his Sopwith Baby Seaplane 8155 in the Humber.

Also killed in the a separate accident was Flight Sub,Lieutenant Arthur Connorton Saw. WHilst flying a Sopwith Modified Schneider 3752 for the RNAS near Calshot, his plane dived into sea and he was killed.

On a day we lost 338 men, here are today's highlighted casualties.

Today’s losses include:

A battalion commander
A distant cousin of Basil Rathbone who is also an actor
Multiple sons of members of the clergy
Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Lieutenant Colonel Albert Harold Frederick Younghusband DSO (Bedfordshire Regiment commanding 7th Gloucestershire Regiment) is killed in Mesopotamia at age 39.
Captain Guy Benson Rathbone (Gloucestershire Regiment) is killed at Kut Mesopotamia at age 31. He is a member of Frank Benson’s Shakespeare Company a screen actor and distant cousin of Basil Rathbone.
Lieutenant Reginald Lucien Ward (York & Lancaster Regiment) is killed in action at age 28. He is the son of the Reverend H M Ward.
Probationary Flight Sub Lieutenant William Hocking (Royal Naval Air Service) is killed when he is lost flying in Humber at age 23. He is the son of the Reverend Richard Hocking Rector of Pillaton. (See above)
Private Harold Diplockk (Sussex Regiment) is killed at age 20. His brother will die on service as a result of an operation in March 1919.
Private William Robinson (Cheshire Regiment) is killed in Mesopotamia at age 34. His brother will be killed in September 1917 in an air raid.
Private Walter Elphick (West Surrey Regiment) is killed. His brother will be lost on HMS Invincible at Jutland.

WEstern Front

Tunstill's men: The weather remained fine and the Battalion began a training programme which was to occupy the next five days. This comprised of, “general training, having good route marches and having physical exercises; Platoon, Company and Battalion drill, also receiving instruction on the value of care of Arms, handling of Arms and general interior economy”. This first day was spent in Brigade level training.Capt. Adrian O’Donnell Pereira (see 6th March), one of the original officers of ‘D’ Company, who had been taken ill in October 1915, and, following his recovery had been serving with 11th Battalion in England, re-joined 10DWR. It seems that on re-joining he may have served with ‘C’ Company as he was pictured along with the other officers of that Company at some point in the next two weeks.



The weekly edition of the Craven Herald reported that Pte. James Mason was home on leave, following a period in hospital at Stoke-on-Trent; he had spent more than three months in hospital, having been wounded in December (see 14th January). There is no indication that he ever returned to 10th Battalion and he seems to have remained in England, possibly serving with 25th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, which was a works battalion formed in May 1916, and based in Skipton from August 1916.

African Fronts
East Africa: Lettow decides to concentrate 20 companies (2 mounted) against South African advance, leaving Kraut to face Smuts and Wahle against NRFF (Nyasaland-Rhodesia Field Force) and the Belgians.

Western Front

Verdun: General Knobelsdorf moves doubting German east bank commander Mudra back (Lochow replaces) to his Argonne corps and resists Crown Prince’s doubts same day. The failure of German attacks in early April by Angriffsgruppe Ost, led Knobelsdorf to obtain reports from the 5th Army corps commanders, who unanimously wanted to continue. The German infantry were exposed to continuous artillery-fire from the flanks and behind, communications from the rear and reserve positions were equally vulnerable, which caused a constant drain of casualties. Defensive positions were difficult to build, because existing positions were on ground which had been swept clear by German bombardments early in the offensive, leaving German infantry with very little cover. The XV Corps commander, General Berthold von Deimling also wrote that French heavy artillery and gas bombardments. were undermining the morale of the German infantry, it was necessary to keep going to reach safer defensive positions. Knobelsdorf reported these findings to Falkenhayn on 20 April, adding that if the Germans did not go forward, they must go back to the start line of 21 February. Knobelsdorf rejected the policy of limited piecemeal attacks tried by Mudra, while in command of Angriffsgruppe Ost and advocated a return to wide-front attacks with unlimited objectives, swiftly to reach the line from Ouvrage de Thiaumont to Fleury, Fort Souville and Fort de Tavannes. Falkenhayn was persuaded to agree to the change and by the end of April, 21 divisions, most of the OHL reserve, had been sent to Verdun and troops had also been transferred from the Eastern Front. The resort to large, unlimited attacks was costly for both sides but the German advance proceeded only slowly. Rather than causing devastating French casualties by heavy artillery, with the infantry in secure defensive positions, which the French were compelled to attack, the Germans inflicted casualties by attacks which provoked French counter-attacks and assumed that the process inflicted five French casualties for two German losses.


German dispositions at start of April

In mid-March, Falkenhayn had reminded the 5th Army to use tactics intended to conserve infantry, after the corps commanders had been allowed discretion to choose between the cautious step-by-step tactics desired by Falkenhayn and maximum efforts, intended to obtain quick results. On the third day of the offensive, the 6th Division of the III Corps (General Ewald von Lochow), had ordered that Herbebois be taken regardless of loss and the 5th Division had attacked Wavrille to the accompaniment of its band. Falkenhayn urged the 5th Army to use Stoßtruppen (storm units) composed of two infantry squads and one of engineers, armed with automatic weapons, hand grenades, trench mortars and flame-throwers, to advance in front of the main infantry body. The Stoßtruppen would conceal their advance by shrewd use of terrain and capture any strong-points which remained after the artillery preparation. Strong-points which could not be taken, were to be by-passed and captured by follow-up troops. Falkenhayn ordered that the command of field and heavy artillery units was to be combined, with a commander at each corps headquarters. Common observers and communication systems would ensure that batteries in different places, could bring targets under converging fire, which would be allotted systematically to support divisions.

In mid-April, Falkenhayn ordered that infantry should advance close to the barrage, to exploit the neutralising effect of the shell-fire on surviving defenders, because fresh troops at Verdun had not been trained in these methods. Knobelsdorf persisted with attempts to maintain momentum, which was incompatible with the methods of casualty conservation, which could be implemented only with limited attacks, with pauses to consolidate and prepare. Mudra and other commanders who disagreed were sacked. Falkenhayn also intervened to change German defensive tactics, advocating a dispersed defence with the second line to be held as a main line of resistance and jumping-off point for counter-attacks. Machine-guns were to be set up with overlapping fields of fire and infantry given specific areas to defend. When French infantry attacked, they were to be isolated by Sperrfeuer (barrage-fire) on their former front line, to increase French infantry casualties. The changes desired by Falkenhayn had little effect, because the main cause of German casualties was artillery-fire, just as it was for the French.

Southern Fronts
Trentino: West of Lake Garda Alpini capture Crozzon di Fargorida with Lares and Cavento Passes, but Austrians cling to Fargorida Pass.

[Hedeby]

Yet again when I hit save the post is duplicated - that is every day at the moment - interestingly these little short ones dont seem to have the same issue...

[Mike George]

Again many thanks for your posts

[flash]

Harry Diplock's brother William Charles also died at Gallipoli June 4th 1915.

[Hedeby]

Harry Diplock's brother William Charles also died at Gallipoli June 4th 1915.

Had a lot of that - no Saving Private Ryan stories here though, the loss in some families was truly shocking. Thanks for the addendum Dave

[Hedeby]

Well lets see if I can manage to avoid duplicating this edition.... On behalf of Rob and myself I would just like to thank everyone for their kind words and messages regarding this thread. It is most rewarding to get the PMs and thank you's - it makes the late hours worth while...

April 22nd 1916

There was one airman lost on this day... Air Mechanic Cyril A Jones RNAS No.12 Kite Balloon Section. He is buried at Blaenau Gwent Cemetery, Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, Wales but died whilst on service in Tanganyika.

There was one claimed aerial victory today, a familiar name to many aerodrome members, especially those lucky enough to own a model of his SE5a. Opening his account whilst flying a Nieuport 11 on this day was...

Major Roderic Stanley "Bréguet" Dallas DSO, DSC (and bar).



Dallas joined the Australian army in 1913. When war broke out, he applied for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps but was rejected. Instead, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915. Flying Nieuport Scouts, Sopwith Triplanes and Sopwith Camels, Dallas scored 23 victories before he assumed command of 40 Squadron on 1 April 1918. Two weeks later, he was wounded while strafing enemy troop positions but continued flying combat missions. With the S.E.5a, he scored 9 more victories before he encountered three members of Jasta 14 and was killed in action, shot down by Johannes Werner in a Fokker DR.I.

Citation for the bar to his DSC: Flt.-Cdr. Roderic Stanley Dallas, D.S.C., R.N.A.S. In recognition of his services on the 23rd April, 1917, when with two other machines he engaged a formation of nine-hostile scouts and two-seater machines. Two two-seater machines were shot down, one of them by Flt.-Cdr. Dallas unassisted.(The award of the Distinguished Service Cross was previously announced in the London Gazette of 6th September, 1916.)

More: Roderic Stanley (Stan) Dallas, DSO, DSC & Bar (30 July 1891 – 1 June 1918) was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. His score of aerial victories is generally regarded as the second-highest by an Australian, after Robert Little, but there is considerable dispute over Dallas's exact total. While his official score is commonly given as 39, claim-by-claim analyses list as few as 32, and other research credits him with over 50, compared to Little's official tally of 47. Like Little, Dallas flew with British units, rather than the Australian Flying Corps. Beyond his personal combat record, Dallas achieved success as a squadron leader, both in the air and on the ground. He was also an influential tactician and test pilot. His service spanned almost the entirety of World War I fighter aviation.

Born on a remote property in rural Queensland, Dallas showed an early interest in aviation. He travelled to England at his own expense following the outbreak of World War I and became a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in August 1915. Initially seeing action with No. 1 Naval Wing on the Western Front in Caudrons and Nieuport 11s, he was chosen to test one of the earliest Sopwith Triplanes. This became his favourite type, and he achieved many victories with it through 1916–17, earning the Distinguished Service Order, and the Distinguished Service Cross and Bar. He was appointed commanding officer of No. 1 Squadron RNAS in June 1917. On the establishment of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918, he took command of No. 40 Squadron. Flying Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, he achieved further victories before being killed in action on 1 June 1918 while on patrol near Liévin in northern France. He was buried in Pernes.

Dallas joined the Port Curtis Militia in 1913, and was commissioned as a lieutenant prior to the outbreak of World War I.Believing he had little chance of gaining a place in the recently established Australian Flying Corps, he applied to join the British Royal Flying Corps (RFC), but was rejected. Undaunted, he travelled from Queensland to Melbourne, where he impressed Minister Without Portfolio J.A. Jensen. Jensen gave the young aspirant a letter of introduction to the Australian High Commissioner in London, Sir George Reid. Dallas paid his own passage to England and, once there, applied once more to the RFC.Rejected again, he turned to the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and was accepted, topping the entrance examination over 83 other students. He was commissioned a flight sub-lieutenant and began training at Hendon in June 1915, gaining Pilot's License #1512 on 5 August. On 3 December 1915, Dallas joined No. 1 Naval Wing and began flying combat missions in single-seat Nieuport 11 fighters and two-seat Caudrons out of Dunkirk, France. Early in his career there, a practical joker imitating the commanding officer telephoned Dallas, who was the duty officer, and peremptorily ordered him to take off in a propellerless Breguet. Upon learning that he had been tricked, Dallas joined in the laughter. He not only accepted the resulting nickname of "Breguet", but also used it as a signature on his letters home later in the war.Having made two unconfirmed claims in February 1916, Dallas scored his first confirmed victory on 23 April. He outmaneuvered a German Aviatik C and shot it out of control, following his victim down to 2,000 feet, though heavy anti-aircraft fire holed his plane in several places. He went on to score three more confirmed victories with his Nieuport.

By June 1917, Dallas had achieved over 20 victories in aerial combat. This experience, and his leadership ability, led to his appointment as commanding officer of No. 1 Naval Squadron on 23 June 1917.The unit had been forced to cut back its operational strength from 18 aircraft to 15 due to lack of pilot replacements and a shortage of spare parts for the aging Triplanes. It had also moved airfields, to an unprepared site at Bailleul. As a leader, Dallas made a point of shepherding new pilots through their first flights, and even setting them up with their first victories by manoeuvring enemy aircraft into a good position for the rookie to take a shot.On the ground, he proved to be an efficient organiser, designing and directing construction of the new air base. It was also during this time that he wrote a treatise on air combat tactics, extracts of which have survived. Both the air base layout and the treatise displayed his talent as a sketch artist. On 2 November, No. 1 Squadron moved airfields once more, to Middle Aerodrome, which put it back under overall RNAS control. The unit received its first eight new Sopwith Camels on 9 November as replacements for the Triplanes. On 11 November, Dallas was again mentioned in despatches, this time by Field Marshal Haig. After gaining its full complement of Camels, No. 1 Squadron was transferred to England, and took up home defence duties at Dover. On 16 February 1918, Dallas led his squadron back to France, where it was based at Téteghem, supporting units on operations along the Belgian coast. He commanded it for another six weeks, until 31 March. As part of the amalgamation of the RFC and RNAS to form the Royal Air Force, on 1 April 1918 Dallas was promoted to major and given command of No. 40 Squadron RAF, flying Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s.The squadron boasted several aces in its ranks, and its former RFC members were suspicious of Dallas's naval background. He was nevertheless able to overcome their misgivings and established himself as the new CO with his personal demeanour and courage; the nickname of "Admiral" that they bestowed upon him was an affectionate one. Ten days after taking over, he had adapted well enough to his new mount with its inline engine to score his first victory with his new unit. His men also saw that he would not only look out for his rookie pilots, but would not shirk the dangers of ground attack sorties. His offhand attitude toward two leg wounds he received during a strafing mission on 14 April, after which he made "a perfect landing", especially impressed his subordinates, as did his appreciation of all ranks for their hard work. His studious bent continued to serve him; he kept notes on his methods of attacking enemy aircraft, which often exploited their structural weaknesses, and used them to tutor pilots under his command.



Dallas was briefly hospitalised with the wounds to his thigh and heel on 14 April, but sneaked out four days later to rejoin his squadron. His departure may have been spurred by news of the capture of his friend Richard Minifie. As soon as he was able, Dallas was flying again. By 26 April, he had increased his official score to 37, and been awarded the Distinguished Service Order for operations at Dunkirk. He had also several times been recommended for the Victoria Cross, but it was never approved. His casual attitude towards claiming victories was noted by a member of No. 40 Squadron, Cecil Usher, who related that Dallas once remarked of an opponent, "...he went down belching a lot of black smoke and after he had gone down someways one of his planes came off, but I didn't see him crash so I shan't claim him." On 2 May, during a lull in the fighting at Flanders, Dallas took off in his S.E.5 to taunt his foes. He strafed the German base at La Brayelle to "attract attention" before dropping a package on the aerodrome with a note reading, "If you won't come up here and fight, herewith a pair of boots for work on the ground, pilots for the use of". He then circled in mist until troops came to examine the bundle, whereupon he dropped two bombs and again shot up the base, causing "general panic". News of this singular exploit reportedly provoked laughter from Field Marshal Haig and RAF founder General Sir Hugh Trenchard, two men not known for their sense of humour.While adding to his score and leading his squadron into combat, Dallas had begun thinking beyond the war. He was pleading with his father to quit the dangerous job of mining, with hints that he would support his parents by pioneering aviation in Australia. He also harboured a long-standing ambition of flying from England back to Australia, which would be a record-setting journey.

Roderic Dallas had become almost a legendary character in the RNAS. He was a pilot of quite extraordinary skill, a fighting man of astonishing gallantry, a humorist of a high order, and a black-and-white artist of unusual ability. But, above all this, he was a great leader of men. To be in Dallas' squadron was quite one of the highest honours open to a young fighting pilot of the RNAS and the high reputation held by certain of the RNAS squadrons operating with the RFC during the past year or two has been largely due to the training, example and leadership of Roderic Dallas.



On the day we lost 595 men.....here are today's highlighted casualties.

Today’s losses include:

A Baronet
The son of a Member of Parliament
The son of a High Sheriff
The son of a member of the clergy
Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Gordon Fair (commanding 6th North Lancashire Regiment) is killed in Basra Mesopotamia.
Lieutenant ‘Sir’ John Henry Jaffray (Worcester Yeomanry) 3rd Baronet is killed in action at age 22.
Lieutenant Michael Richard Leader Armstrong (Royal Engineers) is killed at age 26. He is the son of the Right Honorable Henry Bruce Armstrong MP DL and High Sheriff.
Second Lieutenant Oswald Arthur Hodgson (Northumberland Fusiliers) is killed at age 22. He is the son of the Reverend H A Hodgson.
Second Lieutenant William Ernest Albert Clayton (Cheshire Regiment) is killed at age 27. He is the son of Methodist Minister the Reverend William John Clayton.
Corporal Fred Wiltse Pfohl (South African Infantry) is killed in Nairobi at age 24. His brother will be killed in February 1917.
Lance Corporal Harold Richard Everitt (Scouts Section, Canadian Infantry) dies of wounds at age 25. His brother will be killed in September of this year.
Private Fred Cregeen (Royal Army Medical Corps) is killed in action. His brother will be killed in two years in April 1918.
Private Frederick Whitfield (Eastern Ontario Regiment) is killed in action at age 33. His brother will be killed in October 1918.
Private James Dale Elliot (Black Watch) dies of wounds in the Persian Gulf at age 22. His brother will be killed in France in September.
Private A Gerrie (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) dies on service at home. His brother will be killed serving in the Royal Naval Reserve versus German destroyers off Dover on 15th February 1918.
Private William Malcolm (Black Watch) is killed at age 27 in Mesopotamia. His brother will be killed in October 1917.

THE EASTER RISING - THE BUILD UP PART 2

The Supreme Council of the IRB met on 5 September 1914, just over a month after the British government had declared war on Germany. At this meeting, they decided to stage an uprising before the war ended and to secure help from Germany. Responsibility for the planning of the rising was given to Tom Clarke and Seán MacDermott (Mac Diarmada). The Irish Volunteers—the smaller of the two forces resulting from the September 1914 split over support for the British war effort—set up a "headquarters staff" that included Patrick Pearse as Director of Military Organisation, Joseph Plunkett as Director of Military Operations and Thomas MacDonagh as Director of Training. Éamonn Ceannt was later added as Director of Communications.In May 1915, Clarke and MacDermott established a Military Committee or Military Council within the IRB, consisting of Pearse, Plunkett and Ceannt, to draw up plans for a rising.[27] Clarke and MacDermott joined it shortly after. The Military Council was able to promote its own policies and personnel independently of both the Volunteer Executive and the IRB Executive. Although the Volunteer and IRB leaders were not against a rising in principle, they were of the opinion that it was not opportune at that moment. Volunteer Chief-of-Staff Eoin MacNeill, supported a rising only if the British government attempted to suppress the Volunteers or introduce conscription, and if such a rising had some chance of success. IRB President Denis McCullough and prominent IRB member Bulmer Hobson held similar views. The Military Council kept its plans secret, so as to prevent the British authorities learning of the plans, and to thwart those within the organisation who might try to stop the rising. IRB members held officer rank in the Volunteers throughout the country and took their orders from the Military Council, not from MacNeill.

After the war began, Roger Casement and Clan na Gael leader John Devoy met the German Ambassador to the United States, Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff, to discuss German backing for an uprising. Casement went to Germany and began negotiations with the German government and military. He persuaded the Germans to announce their support for Irish independence in November 1914. Casement also attempted to recruit an Irish Brigade, made up of Irish prisoners of war, which would be armed and sent to Ireland to join the uprising. However, only 56 men volunteered. Plunkett joined Casement in Germany the following year. Together, Plunkett and Casement presented a plan (the 'Ireland Report') in which a German expeditionary force would land on the west coast of Ireland, while a rising in Dublin diverted the British forces so that the Germans, with the help of local Volunteers, could secure the line of the River Shannon, before advancing on the capital.The German military rejected the plan, but agreed to ship arms and ammunition to the Volunteers. James Connolly—head of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), a group of armed socialist trade union men and women—was unaware of the IRB's plans, and threatened to start a rebellion on his own if other parties failed to act. If they had done it alone, the IRB and the Volunteers would possibly have come to their aid; however, the IRB leaders met with Connolly in January 1916 and convinced him to join forces with them. They agreed that they would launch a rising together at Easter and made Connolly the sixth member of the Military Council. Thomas MacDonagh would later become the seventh and final member. The death of the old Fenian leader Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa in New York in August 1915 was an opportunity to mount a spectacular demonstration. His body was sent to Ireland for burial in Glasnevin Cemetery, with the Volunteers in charge of arrangements. Huge crowds lined the route and gathered at the graveside. Pearse made a dramatic funeral oration, a rallying call to republicans, which ended with the words "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace".


Thomas Clarke

THE BATTLE OF KUT 1916

The First Battle of Kut, begun on 5 April 1916, marked the final British attempt to relieve the Turkish siege of Sir Charles Townshend's beleaguered 10,000 troops garrisoned at Kut. Its failure sealed the fate of Townshend's force which, at last out of supplies, surrendered unconditionally to Turkish commander Khalil Pasha on 29 April 1916. In charge of the operation to conduct the relief was the newly arrived (and resolutely unpopular) British commander George Gorringe who took over from the recalled Sir Fenton Aylmer.



Rhymes with....


Gorringe's force was boosted by the recent arrival of Sir Frederick Maude's 13th Division. This brought his available strength up to around 30,000, a figure matched by Khalil's decision to draft up reserves from nearby Baghdad. Gorringe decided to open the attack by sending Maude's men against the Hanna Defile once again, in spite of the earlier failure in storming the same position in January 1916. In the interim however Khalil had taken the opportunity of establishing two deep trench lines at Fallahiyeh and at Sannaiyat. Attacking at dawn on 5 April Maude was surprised to discover the Turkish first line unoccupied. He therefore regrouped preparatory for a frontal assault upon Fallahiyeh that same evening. Fallahiyeh was duly taken following an advance across mud-soaked terrain, but at heavy cost.

Meanwhile a secondary attack along the other bank of the Tigris River encountered relatively light opposition. With Fallahiyeh secured reserve forces were set in place in readiness for a follow-up attack against Sannaiyat the next morning. Despite these early promising British successes casualties were nevertheless uncomfortably high: 2,000 on the first day alone. Progress was much more difficult to come by on the following morning. Attack after attack upon Sannaiyat was repulsed over succeeding days. 1,200 British casualties were incurred alone on 6 April, with additional losses suffered the next day and on 9 April.

Frustrated in his attacks against Sannaiyat General Gorringe resolved therefore to switch the focus of his main attack to the other bank, against the Turk-held Bait Asia position. Heavy rainfall however hindered Gorringe's advance. Nevertheless forward Turk positions fell on 15 April with Bait Asia itself falling on 17 April at relatively light cost. Khalil launched a determined counter-attack with 10,000 troops overnight against Bait Asia's Anglo-Indian forces but was ultimately thrown back. Khalil's force suffered a high percentage of casualties: 4,000; however the British loss of 1,600 troops made further progress along the bank virtually impossible. Despite the absence of around 5,000 reserves en route to Gorringe from the British HQ at Basra, General Gorringe nevertheless launched a final attempt on 22 April, switching his focus back again to Sannaiyat. Weakly composed however - the attack consisted of a single brigade preceded by the usual artillery bombardment (which as ever warned the Turks of impending attack) - it was repulsed after Khalil first evacuated his first two lines and then counter-attacked in force. A further 1,300 British casualties were suffered in this latest setback, bringing the overall total during relief operations to 23,000.

No further attempts at relief were made save for a final, desperate effort to send supplies through to Kut via an armoured supply ship, the Julnar (which also failed). Accordingly Sir Charles Townshend, having consulted with higher authority, surrendered unconditionally on 29 April 1916 having failed to purchase parole for his 10,000 men with a £1 million offer. It was the greatest humiliation to have befallen the British army in its history. For the Turks - and for Germany - it proved a significant morale booster, and undoubtedly weakened British influence in the Middle East. In the wake of what was perceived in London as a calamity Maude replaced General Gorringe as commander of the so-called Tigris Corps in July 1916, marking a shift in control from India to Britain. The following month he was given responsibility for the entire front. He immediately set about reorganising and re-supplying British and Indian forces in the region. He rapidly established a reputation as the most successful commander - of either side - operating on the Mesopotamian Front.

[Hedeby]

It's done it again, seems to happen when the post auto saves half way through...

[Rebel]

Worry not Chris, these electronic mishaps are as nothing to what yopu are including in the report. Keep up the good work the pair of you. This post is a 'must read' for me and a lott of others.

[Hedeby]

Thanks Reg

[Hedeby]

On this day of St. George a big English welcome to all our loyal readers - thank you

23rd April 1916

The Easter Rising : Build up part three...

In early April, Pearse issued orders to the Irish Volunteers for three days of "parades and manoeuvres" beginning on Easter Sunday. He had the authority to do this, as the Volunteers' Director of Organisation. The idea was that IRB members within the organisation would know these were orders to begin the rising, while men such as MacNeill and the British authorities would take it at face value. On 9 April, the German Navy dispatched a ship for County Kerry. Disguised as a Norwegian ship called the Aud, it was loaded with 20,000 rifles, one million rounds of ammunition, and explosives. Casement also left for Ireland aboard the German submarine U-19. He was disappointed with the level of support offered by the Germans and he intended to stop or at least postpone the rising.

On Wednesday 19 April, Alderman Tom Kelly, a Sinn Féin member of Dublin Corporation, read out at a meeting of the Corporation a document supposedly leaked from Dublin Castle, revealing that the British authorities planned to shortly arrest leaders of the Irish Volunteers, Sinn Féin and the Gaelic League, and occupy their premises.[39] Although the British authorities said the "Castle Document" was fake, MacNeill ordered the Volunteers to prepare to resist.Unbeknownst to MacNeill, the document had been forged by the Military Council to persuade moderates of the need for their planned uprising. It was an edited version of a real document outlining British plans in the event of conscription.That same day, the Military Council informed senior Volunteer officers that the rising would begin on Easter Sunday. However, it chose not to inform the rank-and-file, or moderates such as MacNeill, until the last minute. The following day, MacNeill got wind that a rising was about to be launched and threatened to do everything he could to prevent it, short of informing the British. MacNeill was briefly persuaded to go along with some sort of action when Mac Diarmada revealed to him that a German arms shipment was about to land in County Kerry. MacNeill believed that when the British learned of the shipment they would immediately suppress the Volunteers, thus the Volunteers would be justified in taking defensive action, including the planned manoeuvres. The Aud and the U-19 reached the coast of Kerry on Good Friday, 21 April. This was earlier than the Volunteers expected and so none were there to meet the vessels. The Royal Navy had known about the arms shipment and intercepted the Aud, prompting the captain to scuttle the ship. Furthermore, Casement was captured shortly after he landed at Banna Strand.

When MacNeill learned that the arms shipment had been lost, he reverted to his original position. With the support of other leaders of like mind, notably Bulmer Hobson and The O'Rahilly, he issued a countermand to all Volunteers, cancelling all actions for Sunday. This countermanding order was relayed to Volunteer officers and printed in the Sunday morning newspapers. It succeeded in putting the rising off for only a day, although it greatly reduced the number of Volunteers who turned out.


Roger Casement

British Naval Intelligence had been aware of the arms shipment, Casement's return, and the Easter date for the rising through radio messages between Germany and its embassy in the United States that were intercepted by the Royal Navy and deciphered in Room 40 of the Admiralty. The information was passed to the Under-Secretary for Ireland, Sir Matthew Nathan, on 17 April, but without revealing its source, and Nathan was doubtful about its accuracy.When news reached Dublin of the capture of the Aud and the arrest of Casement, Nathan conferred with the Lord Lieutenant, Lord Wimborne. Nathan proposed to raid Liberty Hall, headquarters of the Citizen Army, and Volunteer properties at Father Matthew Park and at Kimmage, but Wimborne insisted on wholesale arrests of the leaders. It was decided to postpone action until after Easter Monday, and in the meantime Nathan telegraphed the Chief Secretary, Augustine Birrell, in London seeking his approval.[48] By the time Birrell cabled his reply authorising the action, at noon on Monday 24 April 1916, the Rising had already begun.On the morning of Easter Sunday, 23 April, the Military Council met at Liberty Hall to discuss what to do in light of MacNeill's countermanding order. They decided that the Rising would go ahead the following day, Easter Monday, and that the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army would go into action as the 'Army of the Irish Republic'. They elected Pearse as Commander-in-Chief and Connolly as Commandant of the Dublin Brigade. Messengers were then sent to all units informing them of the new orders.

Two airman lost their lives on this day...

Air Mechanic 2nd. Class Geoffrey Foster Atwell 25 Squadron RFC Killed in Action 23 April 1916 (alas I can find no more)

Lieutenant Alan Wilmot Davies 17 Reserve Squadron killed in a flying accident aged 20. He was flying a BE2c (no 2594) over Croydon when he descended onto Avro 504A no.4063 flown by Lt Oliver Cyril Godfrey who was injured but survived.

On a day we lost 397 men here are today's notable casualties...

Today’s losses include:

Lord Elcho
Viscount Quenington
The son of the 11th Earl of Wemyss
The son of the 1st Earl St Aldwyn
The son-in-law of the 18th Baron Willoughby de Broke
A Member of Parliament
A bronze medal winning artist
An England Polo International
A member of the Worcestershire County Police
A Gloucestershire cricket player
Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Captain Hugo Francis Charteris (Gloucester Hussars) ‘Lord Elcho’ is killed at age 32. He played cricket for Gloucestershire is the son of the 11th Earl of Wemyss and his brother has been killed in action six months earlier.
Captain Michael Granville Lloyd-Baker (Gloucester Hussars) is killed at age 43. He is the son-in-law of the 18th Baron Willoughby de Broke.
Captain Leslie St Clair Cheape (Dragoon Guards) is killed at age 33. He was a member of the England Polo Team that visited Meadowbrook in 1911 and 1913 and his teammate Arthur Edwards was killed in May 1915.
Lieutenant and Adjutant Michael Hugh Hicks-Beach (Viscount Quenington) (Gloucester Hussars), a Member of Parliament for Tewksburty dies of wounds at age 38. He is the son of the 1st Earl and Countess St Aldwyn. His wife died at Cairo on 5th March and is buried by his side.
Second Lieutenant Brian Hatton (Queen’s Worcestershire Hussars) is killed at age 28. He is an artist who won a bronze medal from the Royal Drawing Society at age 8 and later has “The Turnip Cutters” displayed at the British Museum. He was also a member of the Chelsea Arts Club.
Second Lieutenant George Herbert Fox (Royal Field Artillery attached GHQ Intelligence Branch) is killed at age 35. He is a Judge of the Native Courts at Tanta Egypt.


There were two claims of aerial victories on this day in 1916. Up first with his 14th victory (a Vickers FB.5 (no. 5079) we have Oberleutnant Max Immelmann



We also have a second victory in quick succession for Leutnant Max Ritter von Mulzer who shot down an FE2b (no.5210) over Estaire



Eastern Front

Aerodrome at Mariakerke bombed by naval aeroplanes.

British bombard Belgian coast.

Battle of Verdun: German attacks at Mort Homme repulsed.


Captured German 120cm Mortar

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

S.S. "Julnar" fails to break blockade at Kut.

The voyage of the Julnar was never anything more than a forlorn hope. She was a twin-screw steamer and faster than most of the river craft, and if any vessel at all could slip through the blockade she was that vessel. In order to gauge her chances we must appreciate the nature of the task in front of her. First of all, she had to face the ordinary difficulties of navigation - a winding river with hairpins and occasional shoals, which even in the flood season were capable of pulling up a heavily-laden vessel. Secondly, she had to face these difficulties in the dark, for to make the attempt by daylight was, of course, out of the question. Thirdly, she had to run the gauntlet of the Turkish guns on both banks from Annaiyat to Kut - a distance of over twenty miles by river - to say nothing of a possible fusillade by rifles and machine guns. Fourthly, there was the possibility that the Turks might have sown a minefield, or, what was more probable, have stretched a wire hawser or some obstruction across the river, in anticipation of the attempt being made.

Aeroplane reconnaissance was made, and the airmen reported that they could see no signs of minefields or obstructions, but the waters of the Tigris are muddy and it was more than possible that objects beneath the surface would escape detection. Turkish prisoners, however, were unanimous in declaring that no obstructions had been prepared. This information, however, if it could be relied on, only served to emphasise the first two difficulties - the negotiation of the sharp bends in the river and the ticklish job of navigating in the dark. The Admiral himself said that he had very little hope of the success of the undertaking, for the odds against it were too great.

A journey to Kut by a naval vessel had been suggested some weeks previously by a member of the Army Commander's Staff and debated at the highest level of the Army and Navy in Mesopotamia and was at first considered to be out of the question. But the beleaguered garrison was, by now, nearing the end of its tether. The fate of some 900 officers and men as in the balance and the Army had appealed to the Navy for help. The appeal was not made in vain. The Admiral sent out private letters to the officers of the Mesopotamia squadron asking for volunteers for the command of the Julnar. There was no need to point out to them the dangers of the enterprise, or the slender hopes upon which the mission finally had been sanctioned.



Most of the officers went in their names and the Admiral's next problem was that if making the selection. His choice fell upon Lieutenant Humphrey O B Firman, RN and to support him, Lieutenant Commander Charles H Cowley, RNVR was chosen; his intimate knowledge of the river gained in the service of Messrs Lynch Brothers who ran the steamer tours that attracted thousands to the region in times of peace. Mr Reed, another of their employees, volunteered to accompany the expedition and was given a temporary commission as an Engineer Sub-Lieutenant. The crew consisted of one engine-room artificer, one leading stoker, three stokers, one leading seaman and six able seamen - all were volunteers drawn from the gunboat flotilla.. The Admiral said of them: "They are under no misapprehension as to the dangers they will run."

At eight o'clock on the evening of April 24, the Julnar started from Falahiyah on her perilous voyage, and, as though to give her an enthusiastic send-off, our artillery at once opened a terrific bombardment of the enemy's lines. The object of this was, of course, to keep the Turks in their trenches, and so reduced their chances of detecting the blockade-runner; and at first, it really looked as if f the ruse had been successful, for there was no indication that she had been detected. We began to make calculations as to her probable progress; but in so-doing we were obliged to guess her speed, for there had been no opportunity for testing it after she had been armour-plated and loaded. The moon was due to rise at 1.15 am, which gave her just over five hours to cover the twenty odd miles; and taking into account a strong adverse current of about four knots, the allowance was not excessive. After Sanna-i-yat, her course would be fairly straight for the first tow miles or so, as far as Beit Aieese, but after that there would be several nasty bends, including a specially difficult one at the end of the Nakhaila reach. Then came the Ess Sinn position, where it was reasonable to suppose that the Turks would be on the look-out, and some four miles further on was the hairpin bend of Magus's Ferry (sic), which is eight and a half miles from Kut by river, but only four miles as the crow flies. Our only hope lay in the darkness of the night, which was intensified by the high banks of the river; if she had really managed to pass through the front enemy position at Sanna-i-yat without being seen, it was just conceivable that the Turks in the back positions might be caught napping. While we were in the midst of these anxious speculations, a report came from HMS Mantis that a red light had been seen at some distance up the river, and we were told that this was a recognised Turkish signal that a vessel was passing up the river. The futility of further speculation became painfully obvious; there was nothing for it but to sit down and wait patiently for the issue, whatever it might be.

Great excitement prevailed in Kut when it was heard that the relieving force would attempt to send the steamboat Julnar through with rations. It was decided that if the boat got through and was not disabled, it was to come up to Kut itself and be unloaded, but that if it was hit, it was to be beached at the fort. The artillery made special preparations to cover its arrival, and everyone was on edge with expectation. Shortly after midnight, heavy rifle fire was heard down-river, and we knew that the attempt had begun. For fifteen minutes the firing was very rapid; then it died down and our spirits with it. Another burst of firing came, and our spirits rose accordingly; but this also died away into silence and we knew that the attempt had failed. Afterwards, we heard that every member of the crew was killed by rifle fire. The navigator, Captain Cowley had dropped at the wheel with a bullet through his groin, just as he was steering the ship through the most critical place in the whole river, a hairpin bend. While consciousness lasted, he hung on, but the boat was swept into the bank and grounded. When the Turkish officers boarded the boat, they reported that they found him unconscious with his hands still gripping the steering-wheel and that he had he died without regaining consciousness.

Tomorrow we will look in more detail at the two Victoria Crosses that were awarded in this action.

Turks raid Katiya (Sinai) and destroy two British posts: 5th Midland Brigade loses 3.5 sq. ns. Yeomanry.

Aerodrome at Mariakerke bombed by naval aeroplanes.

British bombard Belgian coast.

Battle of Verdun: German attacks at Mort Homme repulsed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks raid Katiya (Sinai) and destroy two British posts: 5th Midland Brigade loses 3.5 sq. ns. Yeomanry.

[Rebel]

Just how big is this glass Chris?

[Hedeby]

Well the first one was not as large as the second - Chante Clair 2014 - smooth as silk, a really nice wine to go with few olives and nibbles..

[Hedeby]

Right then, though I had better start early today as lots to get through, The Easter Rising and Zeppelin raids to start with, so without further ado.....

24th April 1916

The Easter Rising

I have no affiliation as far to the politics on either side of this event and don't know enough to have an opinion either way. I have tried to just present the facts (as recorded by others) and hope that no one is offended by anything that may represent a biased account - that is not my intention.

Summary: On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, a group of Irish nationalists proclaimed the establishment of the Irish Republic and, along with some 1,600 followers, staged a rebellion against the British government in Ireland. The rebels seized prominent buildings in Dublin and clashed with British troops. Within a week, the insurrection had been suppressed and more than 2,000 people were dead or injured. The leaders of the rebellion soon were executed. Initially, there was little support from the Irish people for the Easter Rising; however, public opinion later shifted and the executed leaders were hailed as martyrs. In 1921, a treaty was signed that in 1922 established the Irish Free State, which eventually became the modern-day Republic of Ireland.



On the morning of Monday 24 April, about 1,200 members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army mustered at several locations in central Dublin. Among them were members of the all-female Cumann na mBan. Some wore Irish Volunteer and Citizen Army uniforms, while others wore civilian clothes with a yellow Irish Volunteer armband, military hats, and bandoliers. They were armed mostly with rifles (especially 1871 Mausers), but also with shotguns, revolvers, a few Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistols, and grenades.The number of Volunteers who mobilized was much smaller than expected. This was due to MacNeill's countermanding order, and the fact that the new orders had been sent so soon beforehand. However, several hundred Volunteers joined the Rising after it began.



Shortly before midday, the rebels began to seize important sites in central Dublin. The rebels' plan was to hold Dublin city centre. This was a large, oval-shaped area bounded by two canals: the Grand to the south and the Royal to the north, with the River Liffey running through the middle. On the southern and western edges of this district were five British Army barracks. Most of the rebel's positions had been chosen to defend against counter-attacks from these barracks. The rebels took the positions with ease. Civilians were evacuated and policemen were ejected or taken prisoner. Windows and doors were barricaded, food and supplies were secured, and first aid posts were set up. Barricades were erected on the streets to hinder British Army movement. A joint force of about 400 Volunteers and Citizen Army gathered at Liberty Hall under the command of Commandant James Connolly. This was the headquarters battalion, and it also included Commander-in-Chief Patrick Pearse, as well as Tom Clarke, Seán MacDermott and Joseph Plunkett. They marched to the General Post Office (GPO) on O'Connell Street, Dublin's main thoroughfare, occupied the building and hoisted two republican flags. Pearse stood outside and read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Copies of the Proclamation were also pasted on walls and handed out to bystanders by Volunteers and newsboys.[60] The GPO would be the rebels' headquarters for most of the Rising. Volunteers from the GPO also occupied other buildings on the street, including buildings overlooking O'Connell Bridge. They took over a wireless telegraph station and sent out a radio broadcast in Morse code, announcing that an Irish Republic had been declared. This was the first radio broadcast in Ireland.



Elsewhere, some of the headquarters battalion under Michael Mallin occupied St Stephen's Green, where they dug trenches and barricaded the surrounding roads. The 1st battalion, under Edward 'Ned' Daly, occupied the Four Courts and surrounding buildings, while a company under Seán Heuston occupied the Mendicity Institution, across the River Liffey from the Four Courts. The 2nd battalion, under Thomas MacDonagh, occupied Jacob's biscuit factory. The 3rd battalion, under Éamon de Valera, occupied Boland's Mill and surrounding buildings. The 4th battalion, under Éamonn Ceannt, occupied the South Dublin Union and the distillery on Marrowbone Lane. From each of these 'garrisons', small units of rebels established outposts in the surrounding area. The rebels also attempted to cut transport and communication links. As well as erecting roadblocks, they took control of various bridges and cut telephone and telegraph wires. Westland Row and Harcourt Street railway stations were occupied, though the latter only briefly. The railway line was cut at Fairview and the line was damaged by bombs at Amiens Street, Broadstone, Kingsbridge and Lansdowne Road. Around midday, a small team of Volunteers and Fianna Éireann members swiftly captured the Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park and disarmed the guards. The goal was to seize weapons and blow up the ammunition store to signal that the Rising had begun. They seized weapons and planted explosives, but the blast was not big enough to be heard across the city. The 23-year-old son of the fort's commander was fatally shot when he ran to raise the alarm.



A contingent under Seán Connolly occupied Dublin City Hall and adjacent buildings.[66] They attempted to seize neighbouring Dublin Castle, the heart of British rule in Ireland. As they approached the gate a lone police sentry, James O'Brien, attempted to stop them and was shot dead by Connolly. According to some accounts, he was the first casualty of the Rising. The rebels overpowered the soldiers in the guardroom, but failed to press further. The British Army's chief intelligence officer, Major Ivon Price, fired on the rebels while the Under-Secretary for Ireland, Sir Matthew Nathan, helped shut the castle gates. Unbeknownst to the rebels, the Castle was lightly guarded and could have been taken with ease. The rebels instead laid siege to the Castle from City Hall. Fierce fighting erupted there after British reinforcements arrived. The rebels on the roof exchanged fire with soldiers on the street. Seán Connolly was shot dead by a sniper, becoming the first rebel casualty. By the following morning, British forces had re-captured City Hall and taken the rebels prisoner. The rebels did not attempt to take some other key locations, notably Trinity College, in the heart of the city centre and defended by only a handful of armed unionist students. The failure to occupy strategic locations was attributed to lack of manpower. In at least two incidents, at Jacob's and Stephen's Green, the Volunteers and Citizen Army shot dead civilians trying to attack them or dismantle their barricades. Elsewhere, they hit civilians with their rifle butts to drive them off.

The British military were caught totally unprepared by the rebellion and their response of the first day was generally un-coordinated. Two troops of British cavalry were sent to investigate what was happening. They took fire and casualties from rebel forces at the GPO and at the Four Courts. As one troop passed Nelson's Pillar, the rebels opened fire from the GPO, killing three cavalrymen and two horses and fatally wounding a fourth man. The cavalrymen retreated and were withdrawn to barracks. On Mount Street, a group of Volunteer Training Corps men stumbled upon the rebel position and four were killed before they reached Beggars Bush barracks.

The only substantial combat of the first day of the Rising took place at the South Dublin Union where a piquet from the Royal Irish Regiment encountered an outpost of Éamonn Ceannt's force at the northwestern corner of the South Dublin Union. The British troops, after taking some casualties, managed to regroup and launch several assaults on the position before they forced their way inside and the small rebel force in the tin huts at the eastern end of the Union surrendered. However, the Union complex as a whole remained in rebel hands. A nurse in uniform, Margaret Keogh, was shot dead by British soldiers at the Union. She is believed to have been the first civilian killed in the Rising. Three unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police were shot dead on the first day of the Rising and their Commissioner pulled them off the streets. Partly as a result of the police withdrawal, a wave of looting broke out in the city centre, especially in the O'Connell Street area. A total of 425 people were arrested after the Rising for looting.

... more tomorrow

3 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON MONDAY APRIL 24TH 1916

2nd. Lieutenant James Edward Hutton Freeman 29 Squadron RFC - Killed while flying 24 April 1916 aged 19.

Lt Warren Colclough Pemberton 40 Squadron (Canadian) Whilst flying Avro 504A 4067 near Gosport he stalled in a sharp turn, crashed and caught fire near Gosport. He was 20 when he died.

2Lt Edward William Wise Rebbeck 16th Reserve Squadron RFC Whilst flying B.E.2c 4511 near Beaulieu he sideslipped off a low turn and nose dived into the ground at Talbot Village, near Bournemouth, he was just 19.

There were two aerial victories claimed on this day....

With his 9th kill (a LVG 'C' over Vaquois) Sous Lieutenant Jean Marie Dominique Navarre

"Adjudant pilot of Escadrille MS12, remarkably adroit and devoted, he has had several aerial combats, one of which permitted the capture of two enemy officers and an enemy plane. He volunteers for all the delicate missions, and has executed special and particularly perilous missions with complete success." Légion d'Honneur citation



Claiming his second kill we have Hauptmann Hans Schüz - by shooting down an (unidentified) seaplane on this day. Unfortunately I can't find any English language sites with more information - so if any of our German speaking readers are able to translate and add a few notes it would be most appreciated)

Zeppelin Raids

This was a large raid involving six Navy Zeppelins planned to strike against London in advance of the German naval bombardment of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth. However, strong winds from the south and south-west forced them to seek alternative targets in East Anglia.

L.16 (Oberleutnant zur See Werner Peterson) came inland over Trimingham on the coast of north-east Norfolk at 10.15pm. Following a course to the south-west via Attleborough, L.16 reached Thetford at about 11.30pm. After circling for 20 minutes Peterson resumed a south-west course and arrived over Newmarket Heath at 12.30am from where two machine guns opened fire. Stung into action, Peterson dropped 18 high-explosive (HE) bombs on a line from Newmarket Heath right across the town of Newmarket, to Warren Hill Station. Several houses on St. Mary’s Square were damaged as was a racing stable on Bury Road where a prize racehorse, Coup-de-Main, was killed. A bomb on a house near Warren Hill Station seriously injured its owner. On the eastern outskirts of Newmarket L.16 dropped an incendiary close to the junction of the Bury and Norwich roads, followed by an HE and an incendiary on the ‘Limekilns’, a training ground near Snailwell. Peterson then headed back towards the coast, dropping five incendiary bombs at Honingham, between Norwich and East Dereham at about 1.15am, which fell in wheat fields setting fire to a large haystack which spread to farm sheds. L.16 went back out to sea near Mundesley at about 1.35am.

L.13 (Kapitänleutnant Eduard Prölss) came inland about five minutes after L.16, near Cromer. Her course after passing Hanworth is unclear. It would appear that shell splinters from an AA gun struck the command gondola and although they did not cause any significant damage it was enough to persuade Prölss to turn for home. L.13 went back out to sea a little after 11.00pm near Sheringham without dropping any of her bombs.



L.21 (Kapitänleutnant der Reserve Max Dietrich, with Peter Strasser commander of the Naval Airship Division on board) came inland just south of Lowestoft at 11.10pm and took a course leading to Stowmarket where there was an important munitions works. As he approached the town, AA guns at Badley Park and Stowupland engaged, then two 6-pdrs at Stowmarket opened fire. Dietrich released water ballast at 12.16am to climb quickly out of danger and also dropped nine HE bombs, which landed on Ward Green Farm at Old Newton owned by F. Stearn, two miles north of Stowmarket. They caused no significant damage, merely breaking windows and gouging craters in a ploughed field. Dietrich then followed a north-east course across Norfolk, passing to the west of Norwich and dropping a final HE bomb at Witton, which fell harmlessly, before going out to sea near Bacton at 1.35am. At about 2.00am she joined the German fleet approaching the coast.

More tomorrow....

Southern Fronts
Salonika: General Mahon authorized to move British troops right up to Greek frontier, French already pushing north and west along Monastir railway.

Middle East
Mesopotamia: 15-volunteer* crewed paddle steamer Julnar gets within 8 1/2 river miles of Kut with 270t of food before being snared in Turk steel wires (2 Victoria Cross won). In Kut now 15 dysentery deaths per day. (see yesterday)



Lieutenant-Commander Charles Henry Cowley VC (21 February 1872 – 25 April 1916) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was 44 years old, and a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On the night of 24 April/25 April 1916 in Mesopotamia, an attempt was made to reprovision the force besieged at Kut-el-Amara. Lieutenant-Commander Cowley, with a lieutenant (Humphrey Osbaldston Brooke Firman) (commanding SS Julnar), a sub-lieutenant and 12 ratings, started off with 210 tons of stores up the River Tigris. Unfortunately Julnar was attacked almost at once by Turkish machine-guns and artillery. At Magasis, steel hawsers stretched across the river halted the expedition, the enemy opened fire at point-blank range and Julnar's bridge was smashed. Julnar's commander was killed, also several of his crew; Lieutenant-Commander Cowley was taken prisoner with the other survivors and almost certainly executed by the Turks.



Humphrey Osbaldston Brooke Firman VC (24 November 1886 – 24 April 1916) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Firman was born in 1886 to H. B. Firman, J.P., of New Malden, Surrey. When he was 29 years old, and a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the First World War, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his deeds on the night of 24 April 1916 in Mesopotamia in an attempt to resupply the forces trapped in the Siege of Kut. He was killed in action.

His Citation: The General Officer Commanding, Indian Expeditionary Force "D", reported on this attempt in the following words:- " At 8 p.m. on April 24th, 1916, with a crew from the Royal Navy under Lieut. Firman, R.N., assisted by Lieut. Comdr. Cowley, R.N.V.R., the " Julnar ", carrying 270 tons of supplies, left Falahiyah in an attempt to reach Kut. Her departure was covered by all artillery and machine gun fire that could be brought to bear, in the hope of distracting the enemy's attention. She was, however, discovered and shelled on her passage up the river. At 1 a.m. on the 25th, Gen. Townshend reported that she had not arrived, and that at midnight a burst of heavy firing had been heard at Magasis, some 9 miles from Kut by river, which had suddenly ceased. There could be but little doubt that the enterprise had failed, and the next day the Air Service reported the " Julnar " in the hands of the Turks at Magasis. The leaders of this brave attempt, Lieut. H.O.B. Firman, R.N., and his assistant, Lieut. Comdr. C.H. Cowley, R.N.V.R. - the latter of whom throughout the campaign in Mesopotamia performed magnificent service in command of the "Mejidieh", - have been reported by the Turks to have been killed; the remainder of the gallant crew, including five wounded, are prisoners of war. Knowing well the chances against them, all the gallant officers and men who manned the 'Julnar' for the occasion were volunteers. I trust that the services in this connection of Lieut. H.O.B. Firman, R.N., and Lieut. Comdr. C.H. Cowley, R.N.V.R., his assistant, both of whom were unfortunately killed, may be recognised by the posthumous grant of some suitable honour." The account of the award is preceded by the following paragraph:- "The King has been graciously pleased to approve of the posthumous grant of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned officers in recognition of their conspicuous gallantry in an attempt to re-provision the force besieged in Kut-el-Amara.

Sea War
North Sea: After US protests Germany decides to adhere to prize law in U-boat operations (Scheer told during sortie and radio recalls all U-boats to base, but U20 and U45, unaware, sink 8 ships of 26,751t until May 8).
Dover Patrol begins laying 13*-15-mile ‘Belgian coast barrage’ of moored nets with mines and two lines of deep mines (10 minelayers), 4,862 mines in 16 fields (12 miles from shore). Despite attacks by seaplanes, 3 destroyers and shore guns (which hit destroyer Melpomene and 3 others) barrage completed by May 7, which destroys coastal submarine UB13 (May 24).

Air War
Western Front: French aircraft bomb rail stations at Longuyon, Stenay and Nautillois with bivouacs near Dun and Monfaucon. 15 Anglo-German air combats (2 German aircraft lost).

Neutrals
Switzerland: Second International Socialist conference (until April 30) in Kienthal; 43 delegates (10 parties including German and French). Lenin fails to convince majority.

Politics
Britain: Government replies to US note from October 21, 1915.

[Hedeby]

Good evening one and all and especially welcome back to the (hopefully) safely returned BEF, fresh from their foray to Prague - photo's and AARs please chaps......

April 25th 1916

The Easter Rising cont.

Lord Wimborne, the Lord Lieutenant, declared martial law on Tuesday evening and handed over civil power to Brigadier-General William Lowe. British forces initially put their efforts into securing the approaches to Dublin Castle and isolating the rebel headquarters, which they believed was in Liberty Hall. The British commander, Lowe, worked slowly, unsure of the size of the force he was up against, and with only 1,269 troops in the city when he arrived from the Curragh Camp in the early hours of Tuesday 25 April. City Hall was taken from the rebel unit that had attacked Dublin Castle on Tuesday morning. In the early hours of Tuesday, 120 British soldiers, with machine-guns, occupied two buildings overlooking St Stephen's Green: the Shelbourne Hotel and United Services Club.At dawn they opened fire on the Citizen Army occupying the green. The rebels returned fire, but were forced to retreat to the Royal College of Surgeons building. They remained there for the rest of the week, exchanging fire with British forces. Fighting erupted along the northern edge of the city centre on Tuesday afternoon. In the northeast, British troops left Amiens St station in an armoured train, to secure and repair a section of damaged tracks. They were attacked by rebels who had taken up position at Annesley Bridge. After a two-hour battle, the British were forced to retreat and several soldiers were captured. At Phibsborough, in the northwest, rebels had occupied buildings and erected barricades at junctions on the North Circular Road. The British summoned 18-pounder field artillery from Athlone and shelled the rebel positions, destroying the barricades. After a fierce firefight, the rebels withdrew. They later made an unsuccessful attack on troops at Broadstone railway station.

That afternoon, Pearse, walked out into O'Connell Street with a small escort and stood in front of Nelson's Pillar. As a large crowd gathered, he read out a 'manifesto to the citizens of Dublin', calling on them to support the Rising. The rebels had failed to take either of Dublin's two main train stations or either of its ports, at Dublin Port and Kingstown. As a result, during the following week, the British were able to bring in thousands of reinforcements from England and from their garrisons at the Curragh and Belfast. By the end of the week, British strength stood at over 16,000 men. Their firepower was provided by field artillery which they positioned on the north side of the city at Phibsborough and at Trinity College, and by the patrol vessel Helga, which sailed up the River Liffey, having been summoned from the port at Kingstown. On Wednesday, 26 April, the guns at Trinity College and Helga shelled Liberty Hall, and the Trinity College guns then began firing at rebel positions, first at Boland's Mill and then in O'Connell Street. Some rebel commanders, particularly James Connolly, did not believe that the British would shell the 'second city' of the British Empire.


A British armoured truck, hastily built from the smoke boxes of several steam locomotives at Inchicore railway works.

The principal rebel positions at the GPO, the Four Courts, Jacob's Factory and Boland's Mill saw little combat. The British surrounded and bombarded them rather than assault them directly. One Volunteer in the GPO recalled, "we did practically no shooting as there was no target". However, where the insurgents dominated the routes by which the British tried to funnel reinforcements into the city, there was fierce fighting. On Wednesday morning, hundreds of British troops encircled the Mendicity Institute, which was occupied by 26 Volunteers under Seán Heuston. British troops advanced on the building, supported by snipers and machine gun fire, but the Volunteers put up stiff resistance. Eventually, the troops got close enough to hurl grenades into the building, some of which the rebels threw back. Exhausted and almost out of ammunition, Heuston's men became the first rebel position to surrender. Heuston had been ordered to hold his position for a few hours, to delay the British, but had held on for three days. Reinforcements were sent to Dublin from England, and disembarked at Kingstown on the morning of Wednesday 26 April. Heavy fighting occurred at the rebel-held positions around the Grand Canal as these troops advanced towards Dublin. More than 1,000 Sherwood Foresters were repeatedly caught in a cross-fire trying to cross the canal at Mount Street Bridge. Seventeen Volunteers were able to severely disrupt the British advance, killing or wounding 240 men.[89] Despite there being alternative routes across the canal nearby, General Lowe ordered repeated frontal assaults on the Mount Street position. The British eventually took the position, which had not been reinforced by the nearby rebel garrison at Boland's Mills, on Thursday,but the fighting there inflicted up to two thirds of their casualties for the entire week for a cost of just four dead Volunteers. It had taken nearly nine hours for the British to advance 300 yd (270 m).



To be continued...

There were two airmen lost on this day in 1916:

Lieutenant Edmund Douglas Marrable 42 Training Squadron RFC: He was Killed while flying 25 April 1918 aged 25. He was a passenger in Avro 504 (no. D4394) flown by Lieut C Whelan, which collided with a Sopwith Pup flown by 2nd Lieut A G Levy. He was the Son of the late Douglas Hiron Marrable and Laura Maria Marrable.


Lieutenant Warren Colclough Pemberton 40 Squadron RFC - Accidentally Killed while flying (crashed) at Gosport 25 Apr 1916 aged 20. Lieutenant Warren Colclough Pemberton, R.F.C., was born on the 1st of December 1895 at Mountjoy, Victoria, British Columbia. He enlisted for service with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force on the 18th August 1915, taking his oath of allegiance at Lydd, Kent. On the 31st of that month, he joined the 32nd Reserve Battalion as a Lieutenant, carrying his rank from his service with the Canadian 50th Gordon Highlanders. Lieutenant Pemberton was drafted to No. 40 Squadron RAF, Fort Grange Aerodrome for instruction in flying. On the 25th of April 1916, Lieutenant Pemberton took off from the aerodrome at 12.45 p.m. in an Avro 504A, service no. 4067. The weather on the day was turbulent, with strong gusting winds. The machine rose rapidly to a height of between 100 and 150 feet where it made a sharp left hand turn downwind, upon doing so the aeroplane dipped its nose and crashed onto the airfield.

Lieutenant Pemberton was taken from the wreckage of the aeroplane which had caught fire. He was taken to the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar where he was treated for a fractured thigh and extensive burns to his arms, legs, face, back and severe shock. He survived the night, but passed away during the following morning. At the inquest the suspected cause of the accident was attributed to the fact that the aeroplane 'got out of the eye of the wind', obtained a certain amount of drift and it was surmised that Lieutenant Pemberton attempted to turn the aircraft too sharply which caused the machine to side slip and nose-dive into the ground. A verdict of accidental death was recorded, the Coroner gave strong recommendation to the Commanding Officer at Fort Grange aerodrome that a suitably qualified medical officer be available at the airfield during times of flying was conducted. Lieutenant Warren Colclough Pemberton, R.F.C., was buried on Wednesday 26th April 1916. He is laid to rest, Plot 50 Space 91 and is commemorated by a CWG headstone. Prior military service with 50th Regiment, Gordon Highlanders of Canada. Son of Mr. F. B. and Mrs. M. A. Pemberton of Mountjoy, Victoria, British Columbia. His brother, Captain Frederick Despard Pemberton, RAF, was killed in action August 21, 1917.


Zeppelin Raids Continued from yesterday:

Kapitänleutnant Otto von Schubert brought L.23 inland at Caister at 11.50pm where he dropped three HE bombs but only one detonated, smashing windows and damaging a wall. He then followed a course to the north-west until he reached the village of Ridlington. Here von Schubert dropped nine HE bombs partially wrecking a cottage, breaking windows and extensively damaging the chancel end of the church of St. Peter. At Church Farm, besides breaking windows, the bombs also killed a bullock. Before passing out to sea, L.23 dropped six HE bombs near the coast that damaged two houses, ‘Beech Bough’ and ‘The Croft’, close to the RNAS airfield at Bacton.

The last Zeppelin to come inland over Norfolk was L.11 commanded by Korvettenkapitän Viktor Schütze, which crossed near Bacton at about 12.30am. She made very slow progress south then, between the villages of Honing and Dilham, Schütze released 19 HE and 26 incendiary bombs at around 1.00am. At Dairy House Farm, Dilham, the blast ripped roof tiles from a number of farm buildings, doing the same to four cottages nearby, also smashing windows in another four cottages. Not far away, at Hall Farm, the shock of the raid caused a 79-year-old widow, Fanny Gaze, to die from a heart attack. L.11 crossed the coast near Sea Palling at 1.18am but instead of going out to sea at once, she followed the coast towards Bacton. At 1.25am 3-pdr AA guns of the RNAS Eastern Mobile Section opened fire on L.11 and it appears they had some success, one gas cell was later reported as punctured by a piece of shell, after which L.11 finally went out to sea. The final Zeppelin to come inland did so further north, L.17 (Kapitänleutnant Herbert Ehrlich) crossing the Lincolnshire coast at Chapel St. Leonards, just before 1.20am. She only came inland as far as Alford (about 6 miles) where she dropped three HE bombs from a height of about 10,000 ft, the damage amounting to one broken window. A single incendiary also fell in a field at Anderby. Ehrlich crossed back over the coastline sea near Sutton-on-Sea at 2.05am. Four aircraft from RNAS Yarmouth, one from RNAS Bacton and one from No. 35 Squadron RFC based at Thetford, went up to oppose these raiders but only Flt sub-Lieutenant Edward Pulling caught sight of one, L.23, before losing it again.



This raid by Army airships targeted London but none reached their goal. Five set out, one, the veteran Z.XII, turned back early and survived an encounter with a French aircraft on its return journey. Of the others, LZ.87 never came inland, her commander, Oberleutnant Barth, contenting himself with attacking a steamer, the Argus, in Deal harbour by dropping eight high-explosive (HE) bombs. The bombs, dropped at 9.55pm, all missed their target. Attacked by AA guns at Walmer, LZ.87 turned out to sea and then appeared off Ramsgate at 10.24pm after which she turned for home. The three raiders that came inland were LZ.97, LZ.93 and LZ.88.

More tomorrow...

There was just the one aerial victory claim today : Lieutenant Charles Eugene Jules Marie Nungesser claiming his sixth victory by downing an LVG over Verdun



Western Front
Aisne: After 8-hours barrage 3 French battalions fail to regain ground lost on March 10 until following day, General Mazel suspends operation.

Southern Fronts
Balkans: Joffre writes to CIGS (Chief of Imperial General Staff) Robertson suggesting Salonika offensive as soon as Serb Army arrives, argues Rumania will come in as a result, but British only acknowledge on May 3.

African Fronts
East Africa: 1st British division through train from Voi reaches Moshi thus joining the German Usambara or Tanga Railway.

Sea War
North Sea: 4 battlecruisers (under Boe****er, because Hipper is ill) shell Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (20 civilian and 3 military casualties, c.200 houses destroyed) for 20 minutes.
Cruiser Penelope torpedoed by German coastal-submarine UB29 on way home but towed into Chatham.
Yarmouth’s shelling shortened by Harwich Force intervention (flagship cruiser Conquest sustains 5 hits, 25 killed).

The Harwich Force:

The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war...

After the outbreak of the First World War, a priority for the Royal Navy was to secure the approaches to the English Channel, to prevent elements of the German High Seas Fleet from breaking out into the Atlantic, or from interfering with British maritime trade and convoys to the continent. Most of the major fleet units of the Grand Fleet had dispersed to the navy's anchorage at Scapa Flow or to other North Eastern ports to monitor the northern route from the North Sea into the Atlantic. Consequently, a number of patrol flotillas were organised along the south and east coasts of England, with commands established at several of the major ports in the region. The Dover Patrol was based at Dover, consisting mostly of destroyers, while a number of pre-dreadnoughts and cruisers were based at Portland Harbour. A large number of destroyers, flotilla leaders and light cruisers were centred at Harwich, under the command of Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt.




The Harwich Force consisted of between four and eight light cruisers, several flotilla leaders and usually between 30 and 40 destroyers, with numbers fluctuating throughout the war, and organised into flotillas. Also stationed at Harwich was a submarine force under Commodore Roger Keyes. In early 1917, the Harwich Force consisted of eight light cruisers, two flotilla leaders and 45 destroyers. By the end of the year, there were nine light cruisers, four flotilla leaders and 24 destroyers. The combination of light, fast ships was intended to provide effective scouting and reconnaissance, whilst still being able to engage German light forces, and to frustrate attempts at minelaying in the Channel.

It was intended that the Harwich Force would operate when possible in conjunction with the Dover Patrol, and the Admiralty intended that the Harwich force would also be able to support the Grand Fleet if it moved into the area. Tyrwhitt was also expected to carry out reconnaissance of German naval activities in the southern parts of the North Sea, and to escort ships sailing between the Thames and the Netherlands. Tyrwhitt's objectives were often complicated by the need to provide reinforcements for the Dover Patrol. The force fired the first shots of the war when a flotilla led by HMS Amphion sank the minelayer Königin Luise on 5 August 1914. During the war, the Force captured or sank 24 enemy merchants, and it escorted 520 eastbound and 511 westbound ships between Dutch and British ports. Their ships also took part in the Cuxhaven Raid on Christmas Day, 1914. The force was also active in a number of clashes with the Kaiserliche Marine (German Navy). Their ships were present at the Battles of Heligoland Bight, Texel, and Dogger Bank, and were mobilised after the German raids on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in 1914, and on Yarmouth and Lowestoft in 1916. They were called out during the lead up to the Battle of Jutland, but did not take part in the battle. After the end of the war, Harwich was designated the port at which the remaining German U-boats would be surrendered, and Tyrwhitt's Harwich Force oversaw the operation

Air War
Western Front: 16 Anglo-German air combats. Royal Flying Corps aircraft and balloons range 72 artillery targets (65 on April 28, 49 on April 29).

Neutrals
Coal for Scandinavia not to sail in neutral ships unless with Allied return cargoes.

[Hedeby]

April 26th 1916

The Easter Rising: We have an hour by hour narrative of the day when some of the fiercest fighting took place...

06.20hrs - British reinforcements arrive by ship. Two British troop-ships, the SS Tynwald and SS Patriotic have begun disembarking several thousand troops from the 59th Midland division in Kingstown Harbour. Despite the early hour the beautifully sunny morning has brought hundreds of civilians to the area to view the unexpected spectacle. There seems to be a great sense of urgency among some companies, while others are sitting around in groups, apparently confused as to why they are in Ireland - and not France. More troopships are due to land during the coming hours.
09.00hrs - Jacob’s biscuit factory is being saturated with machine gun fire. As dawn broke machine guns in Portobello opened up on its huge towers, sending half-dozing snipers scurrying for cover. Shooters in Dublin Castle have now opened up on the factory with automatic fire. Hundreds of bullets are flying wildly astray in the city when they miss hitting the towers. Many reports are coming in of civilians being killed as they venture out to seek food or to check on friends and relatives. Others have been killed in their homes. Hunger has gripped the city. Meanwhile artillery fire has begun as Liberty Hall is shelled by the British.
09.36hrs - Both British troops in the Gresham Hotel in Sackville Street and Volunteers in the GPO have been engaged in a ferocious sniper battle for several hours. Shouts claiming kills have been heard from the windows of both buildings. The huge walls of the majestic buildings lining Dublin’s main street resound continuously to rifle-cracks. Gun smoke hangs in the morning air. The crash of artillery is almost constant and echoes thunderously through the streets.
10.30hrs - The Sherwood Foresters are on the way. The Notts and Derby regiments have just begun their march into Dublin City. The exhausted infantrymen appear to have had little sleep but seem very cheerful and optimistic. Shouts and waves of encouragement have no doubt blown some wind into their sails as their sergeants blow whistles and bark orders. Their forces appear to have split up, with two Battalions marching to the city along the coast road and another two heading inland. Their confidence is high.
11.06hrs - Stephen’s Green - A most peculiar ceasefire - incredible scenes! In the midst of an escalating firefight the most bizarre thing has happened. The park’s caretaker left his lodge close to its Earlsfort Terrace corner and has walked calmly to the duck-pond and begun feeding the green’s huge population of hungry ducks. Incredibly, both sides have ceased firing at each other as they are transfixed by such a gesture.
11.23hrs - Sackville Street a fully-fledged war zone! Stephen’s Green may be peaceful right now, but Sackville Street is anything but tranquil. It is now a war-zone like any other. From the south side of the river machine guns are raking the street. Incendiary bullets are setting fire to the few remaining unburnt shop canopies while concrete is gouged from walls. Glass is shattering everywhere. Casualties are mounting on both sides from unrelenting sniper fire. The battle is escalating.
11.48hrs - Jameson’s Distillery has received reinforcements as rebels stole through the nearby streets just before dawn to reinforce the garrison. Perhaps an assault is expected on the position.
12.00hrs - The building that spawned this insurrection, Liberty Hall, has been pulverised by artillery fire. A gunboat has been shelling the building for several hours.
12.15hrs - Madness at the Mendicity - grenade battles! Earlier this morning a vicious battle took place around the Mendicity Institute on Usher’s Island. It descended into complete pandemonium. Unable to overcome the rebel fire the Dublin Fusiliers began throwing hand grenades, but were shocked as the rebels picked the bombs up and threw them back. They are fighting with almost suicidal bravery. The assaulting troops have called off the attack - for now, completely bewildered.



12.40hrs - Terrible scenes on Northumberland Road. At least one officer and ten men are lying on the road at Northumberland Road’s junction with Haddington Road. Their company walked straight into an ambush. Unsure as to the source of the enemy fire, soldiers are frantically trying to find positions of cover. It appears that number 25 Northumberland Road is held by rebels - their number unknown. Screams from wounded men fill the air.
12.45hrs - British counter attack repulsed. An assault has been launched at the corner house at 25 Northumberland Road but has been driven back in disarray. Rapid fire is coming from the building’s upper floors. Men are falling everywhere.
12.50hrs - Indescribable carnage in Dublin’s suburbs! At least two platoons of British infantry tried to outflank the corner house on Northumberland Road. They rushed the junction under ferocious fire. Several Fell. As they turned they were shot down in droves. Forward elements have just seized Baggot Street Bridge, which appears undefended. Men are thrashing around on the ground in what can only be described as hellish scenes. Some are kicking at the ground in agony and frustration, blood is everywhere. Dreadful wounds have been inflicted. Young and vacant eyes now stare from tortured lifeless faces at the nearby crossroads.
12.55hrs - No let up at the Mendicity Institute. Following a brief lull both sides are fighting like cornered animals. Hate-filled shouts accompany the repeated gunshots and grenade blasts. Casualties are mounting among the assailants.
13.08hrs - The carnage continues in Ballsbridge. Just moments ago units from the 2/7th Battalion Sherwood Foresters succeeded in outflanking the corner house and made their way on to Percy Place. They are now under murderous fire from all around them, particularly to their front and left. Men are huddling for cover along the Canal’s coping stones. They are terrified and appear helpless.
13.20hrs - Hundreds of traumatised young infantrymen and their NCO’s and officers are seeking refuge behind the garden steps along the length of Northumberland Road. The Sherwood Foresters appear to be re-grouping.
13.22hrs - The Schoolhouse building on Northumberland Road appears to be the target for the Sherwood Foresters. They appear to be preparing an attack on the position.
13.37hrs - Carnage that defies description on Northumberland Road. Dreadful casualties have been inflicted in a ghastly attack on the Schoolhouse. Roughly 60 infantrymen attacked along the length of the road, only to be mown down by fire from their left flank from two positions and from their front, where Clanwilliam House is now hidden behind huge plumes of rifle-smoke. The young infantrymen have ventured into a trap. They are cornered. Shots are ringing out constantly - men are screaming in panic. The road is littered with wounded and dying men. Only a dozen or so made their objective - the Schoolhouse - but they are being fired on from across the canal. This is a slaughter.
13.35hrs - The firing from 25 Northumberland is incessant. It is still unclear to the British as to enemy strength in the building.
13.45hrs - Ugly scenes at Mendicity - prisoner shot dead. The Mendicity Institute has fallen to the Dublin Fusiliers. Captain Seán Heuston has just led his exhausted Volunteers from D Company 1st Battalion, and the Swords Volunteers, outside through its Island Street exit, but one of his men was shot dead shortly afterwards. It is unclear what precisely happened.
14.17hrs - With the Mendicity Institute out of their way, increasing numbers of British Army riflemen are filtering along the southern quays, and combined with snipers shooting from Merchant’s Quay, are laying down volley after volley at the Four Courts. The 1st Battalion Irish Volunteers are replying in kind. Shots ring out constantly - accompanied by the distant booms of artillery from the east.
14.19hrs - Attempt to outflank Northumberland Road fails. Just moments ago British units attempted to outflank Mount Street Bridge and Northumberland Road by advancing along Shelbourne Road to their east - only do be driven back by Volunteers along the railway line and from positions in and around Horan’s Shop nearby. One British platoon has been assigned to bolster Beggar’s Bush Barracks. An unrelenting rifle battle is under way between the British infantry and the rebels - who appear unwilling to concede ground that would leave their comrades eastern flank exposed. Reports are coming in of numerous civilian casualties as the fighting escalates.
14.40hrs - Sackville Street now resembles Western Front! Sackville Street is under artillery fire from D’Olier Street. Kelly’s Fishing Tackle Shop on Batchelor’s walk is being pummelled with shrapnel shells and Vickers machine gun bullets. The British have set up a heavy machine gun position in Purcell’s Shop at the tip of Westmoreland Street’s junction with D’Olier Street. Sackville Street is being saturated with bullets. It appears that Sackville Street is being softened up for an assault.
14.45hrs - Reports are coming in of several British casualties in Portobello. Houses are being ransacked in the area seeking out snipers. It appears, however, that the fire is coming from Jacob’s Biscuit Factory, where, according to one source, snipers are aiming at glinting bayonets and belt buckles, using the reflecting sunlight to help seek out the enemy. Man will, it seems, always find ingenious ways of improvising when it comes to warfare.
14.58hrs - Northumberland Road has been relatively calm for the last few minutes. Cracks still ring out from various positions but compared to earlier things seem disturbingly tranquil. The British seem to be re-grouping again. Dispatches have sent back and forth to their headquarters in Ballsbridge Town Hall.
15.10hrs - The slaughter escalates on Northumberland Road. A report has just come in that is truly ghastly and grotesque. From close to Clanwilliam House an eyewitness described seeing a mass of khaki to his south along the southern section of Northumberland Road. It was pulsing like a caterpillar. Along the road’s gutters and pavements it was as if a snake-like beast was inching forward, as troops crawled towards the enemy. The rebels fired like they were trying to slay the beast. It was impossible to miss. They fired, reloaded, fired, non-stop. Their shots were accompanied with shouts of encouragement to each other. Clanwilliam House is again hidden behind gun-smoke. Then a whistle blew again and again and companies of troops jumped to their feet. As they did, a torrent of fire erupted from the corner house at 25 Northumberland Road which cut many of them down. As the troops ran headlong they passed the Parochial Hall, also occupied by Volunteers. Again they were mown down in a merciless barrage. But then it got much worse. Clanwilliam House opened up again. Killing and wounding more of them. The troops went to ground, until a whistle blew, and they jumped to their feet again to be cut down again under another murderous hail. The Sherwood Foresters are being slaughtered.
15.20hrs - Lower Sackville Street is still under unrelenting fire from both artillery and machine gun. The sniper fire from the southern quays and Trinity College is lethal. Sparks are flying from the O’Connell monument. It appears that sharpshooters may be using the monument to range their guns. The Hibernian Bank at Lower Abbey Street’s junction is under vicious fire from the Ballast Office on Aston Quay.
15.26hrs - Skirmishes have broken out in Stephen’s Green between Citizen Army snipers and a platoon-sized outfit who were dispatched from the Shelbourne Hotel to flush them out. The rebels have been confined to their trenches since dawn yesterday, but their determination to fight appears undiminished.
15.35hrs - The firing from Clanwilliam House appears ceaseless. To its rear on Lower Mount Street clusters of onlookers stare in awe at the carnage, apparently detached from the danger they are placing themselves in. They appear completely transfixed.
15.45hrs - Petrified young British infantrymen are huddling for shelter behind the canal’s coping stones. Clanwilliam House is to their front and left, Robert’s Yard - another rebel held position - is to their front and left roughly 250 yards away, and Boland’s Mills is roughly 450 yards distant. The latter position boasts an unobstructed view along the length of this small roadway and the rebels there are taking full advantage of their elevated position. The troops here are doomed if they stay put. They are equally doomed if they take to their feet. The entire area is littered with dead and wounded men.
15.51hrs - Marrowbone Lane Distillery is under constant sniper from the Rialto direction.
16.00hrs - The entire southern bank of the River Liffey is infested with riflemen who are still pouring fire upon the Four Courts, as well as a nearby rebel barricade on Church Street. Perhaps an assault across the bridge is planned. To the north the Linenhall barracks has been set on fire and the air in the entire Four Courts area is thick with filthy smoke.
17.00hrs - Ceasefire on Northumberland Road. Incredibly, doctors and nurses from the nearby Sir Patrick Dunne’s hospital have ventured into the kill-zone that is Northumberland Road and begun tending to scores of horrifically-wounded troops. A ceasefire has been called to allow them to bring relief and mercy to the stricken. As British reinforcements arrive in the area the rebels are being spoken of with unbridled hatred. They are being accused of using ‘dum-dum’ rounds, such are the appalling injuries sustained by many of their victims. Shots have just rung out again from Mount Street Bridge - it appears that the British have been seeking to make manoeuvres forward under the ceasefire and have been detected. People are running for cover.
17.11hrs - The British artillery and machine gun fire has died down for a while across O’Connell Bridge. Infantry patrols appear to be preparing a probing attack across the bridge. They are now on the bridge - pressing forward - a platoon in four sections. Shots are ringing out from Sackville Street. Bullets are whizzing back towards the bridge. Sparks are flying from cobblestones and tramlines. The fire is increasing. It is impossible to cross the bridge. Bullets are ricocheting wildly from its ornamental balustrades.
17.18hrs - The corner house on Northumberland Road is under a sustained assault of rifle and pistol fire. Meanwhile a machine gun has been hoisted up to the bell-tower of the church on Haddington Road. Hand grenades are being used against the house. How its occupants are still managing to hold out against such odds is simply staggering. Perhaps they cannot escape. Perhaps they fear that capture will mean certain death. In any event their condition at this stage must be one of desperate exhaustion and sheer terror.
17.29hrs - Armoured car in Sackville Street. An armoured car has been used in an attempt to advance on the GPO from its north. It has halted outside the Gresham. It is thought that its driver has been hit by one of the many huge rounds that struck its huge hull as its overstressed gears propelled it forward. Sparks are flying from its sheet metal skin. Those inside must be suffering terribly. Ferocious supporting fire is being shot from the roof and windows of the Gresham Hotel nearby, but a rescue mission may be impossible until after dark.
17.35hrs - The machine gun in St Mary’s Church has barked to life. It is firing belt after belt of .303 rounds at Clanwilliam House. Geysers of fine grey powdery masonry are being sent flying as rebel rounds from numerous positions attempt to knock it out. Incendiary bullets are being used. They leave tiny grey wisps of smoke in their trail as they fly through the air at hundreds of metres per second. Snipers in the church are trying to silence any threat to the gunners by scanning the horizon for the puffs of smoke that betray the enemy positions.
17.50hrs - Word has come from inside Jacob’s factory that an attack is expected. All of its barricades are manned and the 2nd Battalion headquarters is on a high state of alert.
18.00hrs - The writing appears to be on the wall for the stubborn rebel-held position at 25 Northumberland Road. Its front door has just been blown in with explosives. Troops rushed inside but were met with a deluge of fire which wounded several. The road to the building’s front is being raked with fire.
18.05hrs - Clanwilliam House’s façade is being pulverised by machine gun fire. Plumes of gun-smoke can be seen once again from its upper windows and at the houses side. Whistles of bullets can be heard constantly in the area.
18.20hrs - Troops storming in to corner house. 25 Northumberland Road has fallen to the military. Troops rushed inside minutes ago from both the front and rear of the building. It appears that only two enemy Volunteers have been fending off the British battalions. One has been killed in a hail of fire while the other is missing and presumed dead. Troops stormed inside baying for revenge on the enemy, but many now appear even more terrified. If two men were prepared to hold such a position for so long many fear that a similarly determined enemy awaits them further into the city. They fear the remaining rebel positions are held by unyielding fanatics. Nothing could have prepared these soldiers for this dreadful baptism of fire.
18.14hrs - Desperation leads to almost suicidal bravery near Four Courts. As if to prove the worst fears of the Sherwood Foresters regarding the insurgents’ determination, an act of almost suicidal bravery has been carried out by a pair of Volunteers at Church Street Bridge. Both men rushed across the bridge under a deluge of fire and set fire to the nearest buildings with petrol cans filled with fuel. They then scattered back across under equally ferocious fire while the buildings began to burn intensely. Their mission appears to have been accomplished. Troops are retreating from the buildings along the southern quays away from the burning houses, and away from where they appear to have been preparing an attack. Many have spoken with contempt regarding the motivation of the rebels, but one cannot argue that they are displaying tremendous bravery - as are their enemies. This fight appears to have only begun in Dublin.
18.30hrs - Battered Sherwood Foresters gain further ground. The Sherwood Foresters have just taken their second position on Northumberland Road. Four rebels have been captured at the rear of the Parochial Hall. For a time their captors looked as if they were about to tear them to pieces. One officer attempted to shoot a surrendered Volunteer in the head, until his senior officer put a stop to it and insisted the men were taken prisoner.
18.32hrs - Percy Place is full of British troops who are still crouched behind the low wall. They are still taking casualties. Several nearby houses have been stormed as the infantrymen desperately seek cover.
18.35hrs - The decimated remnants of the 2/7th, backed up by the 2/8th Sherwood Foresters are assaulting the Schoolhouse from its front and rear. They are taking dreadful casualties from Clanwilliam House to their left as they attack and from other positions to their front.
18.43hrs - To their amazement, the British have found the Schoolhouse unoccupied, save for the bullet-riddled bodies of its caretaker and his wife, presumably shot dead in the deluge of lead that was directed at the building minutes ago. They are now taking position behind the Canal wall next to the building. Its shelter is deceptive, however, as fire is being poured on the men from rebel positions to the attackers’ right flank - Boland’s Mills has these men in its sights and the rebels there are firing frantically, as are Volunteers from 3rd Battalion positioned around the railway line to the east. Once again the fighting in the area is escalating exponentially with every coarse crack of shot.
18.47hrs - Liberty Hall has been blown to pieces, and stormed by infantry, only to find the building unoccupied. It appeared fortified, prompting a bayonet charge by the Ulster Composite Battalion positioned around Amiens Street. The sound of gunfire remains incessant.
18.55hrs - Mount St Bridge is a scene of unbridled slaughter. At this stage the killing in this area can only be described as obscene. Every yard gained by the British is measured in bodies. They are literally piling up, one on top of the other. Troops are now attempting to cross Mount Street Bridge, but are paying dearly. The doctors and nurses are standing by. They are not the only spectators however. Scores of civilians remain in the streets on Lower Mount Street, drawn to the carnage like Icarus to the flame. But like the story - one step too close and it will be all over for them. Death is stalking south Dublin as the shadows lengthen.
19.05hrs - Further fighting around Four Courts. The Medical Mission in Chancery Place has been shot up by rebels inside the Four Courts. They have just attempted an assault on the beleaguered building, which has been a refuge for the Lancers driven there on Monday. The assault has failed and one Volunteer has been wounded. Meanwhile, at least two artillery shells have struck the east wing of the courts building. Throughout the area the noxious smoke from burning buildings is making life impossible for the civilians huddling together in their draughty tenements. Pantries are running dry and the overall situation is rapidly reaching desperation.
19.20 hrs - Clanwilliam House under enormous pressure. Clanwilliam House is now being shot to pieces by the machine gunners in Haddington Road. How the men inside are able to cope with this is beyond the comprehension of their assailants, who are still unsure of their number. Any movement on the bridge draws immediate fire from the position, and from the builder’s yard to its right, as well as the railway line, and the mills. The incandescent Foresters seem hell-bent however on crossing this bridge regardless of the cost. Their troops, however, have performed with astounding courage. Only moments ago their reserve was ordered forward from the shelter of St Mary’s Road. The faces of its men paled when they saw the dreadful wounds inflicted on hundreds of their countrymen, yet they haven’t flinched. Like their comrades, they will no doubt go where they are ordered, and die at one another’s side. The fighting prowess of the cluster of men holding these positions today is without parallel. When these infantrymen landed in Kingstown this morning they expected to be met with a rabble. They are anything but. The British here today may hate them, but they would do well to learn from them.
19.35hrs - There has been no let-up in Sackville Street. Its walls echo constantly to shots, booms and ricochets as the third evening of the rebellion sets in.
19.43hrs - The railway line, and the nearby water towers, are infested with rebel riflemen. Their sights are trained on Mount Street Bridge. The mill’s building is occupied by a large squad of men with similar intentions. At this point the Sherwood Foresters have decided that whatever it takes, they will take the bridge and the fortress that overlooks it. The entire area has fallen momentarily silent, but is not expected to stay that way.
19.55hrs - Progress is being measured in bodies per-yard gained. It seems that the final showdown is in play. The battered and decimated remnants of two Sherwood Forester Battalions are gearing up to assault the Republican bastion.
A whistle has just blown. Men are charging. They are being cut down. The air is thick with the cracks of fire from behind the charging men to cover them, but it is useless. The house seems to be occupied by demons, with no regard for their own lives. Vicious fire is cutting into the charging men from their front and their right. Men are again falling in piles. The ground is so wet with blood that the charging men are slipping and falling. They rise again only to fall again, crumpling like sacks under the weight of lead that tears at their bodies. Volley after volley is ripping into the hapless infantrymen. Their officers are being mown down. They attack has failed. They retreat.
20.10hrs - The Vickers Machine Gun is firing non-stop at Clanwilliam House from St Mary’s Church. Incendiary bullets are smashing into the building on several floors. Surely the position cannot hold out for much longer.
20.10hrs - Mount Street Bridge in British hands. The British are across. One of their few unwounded officers has succeeded in reaching Clanwilliam House’s outer walls.
The noise is shattering. Bullets are whining through the air by the hundred. Men are still falling. Smoke is coming from the house’s windows. Scores of sparks are flying from the granite bridge walls and the wrought iron railings of the house.
Volley after volley is being sent at the troops from the railway line and water towers close to Boland’s Bakery, but the tide of khaki streaming across the bridge will not now be stopped. Grenades are being hurled at the windows from which the rebels have been driven from.
20.17hrs - The killing continues. A British NCO has just been killed by his own hand grenade. Having assailed the railings of Clanwilliam House, he hurled the bomb at the second floor window, only for it to bounce back and explode next to his head.
Nevertheless infantrymen appear to be gaining entry into the building. The fire is incessant. Smoke is now beginning to bellow from its windows - this has to end soon.
20.25hrs - Troops screaming for revenge are streaming across Mount Street Bridge. Clanwilliam House is in flames.
20.32hrs - Clanwilliam House has fallen. The building that has for several dreadful hours, helped to heap unimaginable carnage upon two British infantry battalions is in flames. It is unclear as to whether or not anyone has escaped. A number of dead men are inside but their precise number is unknown. The area is beginning to quieten. Only sporadic shots fly through the air as evening draws in. It appears that the insurgents on the railway line and in nearby Robert’s Yard are aware of the position’s capitulation. They may wish to conserve their ammunition, as it now seems that an imminent attack may be coming their way.
21.25hrs - Clanwilliam House an inferno - British taking stock. Clanwilliam House is now a raging inferno. Meanwhile the 300-yard stretch of road between the canal and just beyond Northumberland Road’s junction with Haddington Road is like a scene from Dante’s Inferno.
As the many local residents dare to venture from their homes they are beyond shock at what has unfolded in their normally idyllic suburban streets.
Their shock however, pales in comparison to that of the British Army, now picking up the pieces from what has unfolded here today.
As the wounded are treated and the dead are removed from the streets the shattered men still standing seem to be wondering what other unimaginable horrors await them in this unfamiliar city. The continuous cracks of small arms in the distance suggest that similarly horrific experiences await them. If all of the rebels they have been summoned to kill or capture fight like this then what will become of them?
Just who are these rebels? What makes them fight the way they do?
We’ve got our hands on a photograph of the man who held the vanguard of C Company, 3rd Battalion Irish Volunteers, and died after defending a position against unimaginable odds for six hours. His name was Michael Malone and he was twenty-seven years old. He is currently being buried in the garden of the house he fought so hard to defend; number 25 Northumberland Road.
This man looks quite normal, respectable even. His is the face of a skilled carpenter, not a cold-blooded killer, and yet the carnage he has unleashed on the ranks of raw recruits will not be forgotten for a long time.
The defence of the positions adopted by this man’s comrades was tactically brilliant, and their determination and tenacity unprecedented. If the British Army could boast of having men such as this filling its ranks then surely the trenches in France and Belgium would now be empty, and the men at the front long since returned to their families.
The area is far from secure however, and despite the joyous praise being heaped upon Colonel Machonchy by the locals for saving them from the insurgents, these men will have to fight again, and very soon.
Approx. 234 men from two Battalions, numbering approximately 1,600 between them, have become casualties at the hands a mere handful of rebels.
22.03hrs - As darkness descends on Sackville Street snipers wait at the ready.
22.05hrs - As they do elsewhere in the city. Boland’s is under constant attack.

Zeppelin Raids

LZ.97, commanded by Hauptmann Erich Linnarz, came inland over West Mersea at about 10.00pm and followed a westward course as far as Fyfield where she turned south. At 10.50pm she began dropping the first of 47 incendiary bombs between there and Onger (11 around Fyfield, 15 at Shelley, 17 at High Ongar and 4 at Chipping Ongar). Five of them failed to ignite and the only damage recorded was to a shed at Ongar. From there Linnarz continued towards east London. At Barkingside he dropped a line of 12 HE bombs: six at Fairlop, three at Barkingside and three at Aldborough Hatch (only one of these three detonated, destroying a well). Near Fairlop station six railway cottages had their windows smashed and doors blown in. Three other cottages nearby were also damaged. It is possible Linnarz released these bombs to climb rapidly as he was now coming under increasing AA fire. LZ.97 then dropped another HE bomb harmlessly at Newbury Park, but as he approached Seven Kings, the AA fire became heavier and two aircraft attempted to engage at long range; at least one used the new Brock incendiary/explosive bullets. With the odds increasing against her, LZ.97 turned away from London and headed north-east, dropping two HE bombs at Chadwell Heath. One landed in a field smashing some cottage windows but the other destroyed a house in Farm Terrace. The owner, Mr. Chapman, and his family were outside watching the raid! LZ.97, under fire from guns at Brentwood, Kelvedon Hatch and Billericay, now set course for home, going out to sea at Clacton at 12.34am. Shells fired by the AA guns caused slight damage to 16 houses and Fred Berris of Pelham Road, Ilford, suffered a shoulder injury caused by dislodged debris after an unexploded shell struck his roof.

The second Zeppelin to come inland, LZ.93 commanded by Hauptmann Wilhelm Schramm, appeared at the mouth of the River Orwell at about 10.30pm. She dropped what a report describes as two ‘water flares’ in the sea which may have been incendiary bombs, then a HE landed without causing damage on the common to the north of Landguard Fort at Felixstowe. Three more incendiaries quickly followed, all falling in the mud of the estuary with one landing close to the RNAS aircraft hangers. Six AA guns now opened on LZ.93 from Felixstowe and Harwich as she crossed the estuary to Harwich and dropped two HE bombs within 20-30 yards of Government House, St. Helen’s Green. Both failed to detonate. Schramm then steered north over the mouth of the River Stour to Shotley, dropping three HE and four incendiary bombs close to the Royal Navy training base barracks (known as HMS Ganges), but only a little broken glass resulted. Another incendiary dropped in mud west of the barracks then LZ.93 turned back and retraced its route. Over Parkeston Quay a single HE bomb fell on reclaimed land between the station and the village, disappearing beneath the earth and mud. Flying over Harwich another four of the ‘water flares’ fell in the river as LZ.93 approached the Landguard Fort again before she passed back out to sea at about 10.45pm having caused no casualties and been unaffected by the 195 rounds fired by the guns.


Hauptmann Erich Linnarz

Hauptmann Falck brought the last raider, LZ.88, inland at about 12.30am, crossing the coast near Whitstable, Kent. He switched her engines off at about 12.45 and drifted with the wind to Sturry, north-east of Canterbury, which he reached at 12.53am. Turning the motors back on Falck passed over Canterbury, then turned south-east towards Bridge before changing direction north-east towards Wingham, which he reached at 1.15am. LZ.88 released the first of her bombs five minutes later as she now followed a northerly course towards the village of Preston, dropping nine incendiaries that landed on open ground known as Preston Marshes that merely burnt some turf. Bearing to the north-east now and following the main Canterbury-Margate road, LZ.88 dropped 13 incendiary bombs at about 1.25am, of which two failed to ignite. Most fell harmlessly on Chislet Marshes with one at Sarre, all without causing any damage. Five minutes later, at St. Nicholas at Wade, Falck dropped a singe HE bomb which exploded in the garden of the vicarage. It destroyed duck and hen coops and uprooted two trees, one of which fell against the house smashing windows. Falck then continued on a course towards the coast at Birchington. He dropped four HE bombs on marshy ground between the vicarage and Shuart’s Farm, then another five between there and the railway line running to Margate. The last two bombs dropped on land by LZ.88 were incendiaries, one fell close to the railway and the other on the sea wall at Minnis Bay – neither caused damage – then she dropped three final HE bombs in the sea after crossing the coast at about 1.35am before heading home.

There were five airmen lost on this day....

Air Mechanic Charles Nailard Burstow No.2 Training Centre RFC - died of pneumonia aged just 19
Lieutenant John Milner 10 Squadron RFC - Killed in action on this day
2nd Lieutenant James Mitchell 18 Squadron RFC - killed in action on this day
Sub Lieutenant Cecil Roy Terreneau RNAS Killed in aeroplane reconnaissance 26 April 1916
2nd Lieutenant Archibald Cecil Thouless RFC Killed in aerial combat while flying food to Kut 26 April 1916 aged 19

There were four pilots claiming aerial victories on this day:

Charles Eugene Jules Marie Nungesser claims his seventh kill and second in consecutive days
Hans Shuz grabs a brace on this day flying out in the Middle East one of which is probably 2nd Lieutenant Archibald Cecil Thouless (see above) doubling his overall tally to 4.

We also have two first timers....

Major Joseph Cruess Callaghan MC - who claimed his first kill by downing an Eindecker.

The son of Joseph Patrick and Croasdella Cruess-Callaghan, Joseph Cruess Callaghan served with the 7th Royal Munster Fusiliers before he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in 1915. 2nd Lieutenant Callaghan received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 1829 on a Maurice Farman biplane at military school, Norwich on 4 October 1915. In 1916 he scored his first victory with an F.E.2b but was wounded in action on 31 July 1916. In January 1917, he became an aerial gunnery instructor at Turnberry where his aerial stunts earned him the nickname "Mad Major." In April 1918, he returned to combat as a Sopwith Dolphin pilot and commanding officer of 87 Squadron. By the end of June, he'd scored four more victories to become an ace. On 2 July 1918, Callaghan single-handedly attacked a group of as many as 25 German fighters. He was killed when his Dolphin was shot down in flames by Franz Büchner of Jasta 13.



Major William John Charles Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick DSO MC claims his first by shooting down an LVG over Hazebrouck
The son of Sir Neil James Kennedy and Eleanora Agnes Cochran-Patrick, William John Charles Kennedy's name was legally changed to William John Charles Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick in 1900. He was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire; Tinity College, Cambridge; and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Commissioned in the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps on 11 June 1915. In December 1915, he was posted to No. 1 Aircraft Depot in France. Here he claimed his first victory flying a Nieuport scout. Flying the Sopwith 1½ Strutter with 70 Squadron in September 1916, he scored his second and third victories but, on each occasion, his observer was killed. Promoted to Captain and posted to 23 Squadron in early 1917, he became his squadron's highest scoring ace and the highest scoring SPAD ace of the war, shooting down eighteen enemy aircraft in four months flying the SPAD VII. On 22 July 1917, he was promoted to Major and assumed command of 60 Squadron. Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick left the Royal Air Force in 1919.

Post-war he was an aerial surveyor in South America, Burma, Africa and Iraq. Flying a DH.84 Dragon, Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick, founder of The Aircraft Operating Company of South Africa, took off from Baragwanath Airport near Johannesburg on 26 September 1933. Following a steep turn after takeoff, the plane stalled and fell to the ground from a height of 250 feet. Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick and his passenger, Sir Michael Oppenheimer, were killed.



Sea War
Irish Sea: British gunboat Helga destroys Liberty Hall, Dublin during Easter Rising.



O’Connell Street with the destroyed Liberty Hall in Dublin after the British bombardment. The Irish rebels imagined first the British would not shell their own property. They were wrong....

Middle East
Mesopotamia, Kut: After Kitchener cable authorizes talks, Townshend letter asks for 6-day armistice and 10 days food while surrender agreed. Garrison starts destroying anything of value.

Air War
Eastern Front: Zeppelin SL7 raids Dünamunde (Wenden on April 28) and German planes Dvinsk (Zeppelin LZ86 raids its railways on April 28 and Rieshiza on April 27).

Politics
Sykes-Picot Agreements for Franco-Russian partition of Asia Minor
Germany: Anglo-German PoW exchange via Switzerland signed in Berlin (signed in London on May 13).

[Hedeby]

Apologies for the size of today's bumper edition but the Easter Rising piece was too good to abbreviate or omit.

[Jager]

No apologies needed, Chris. I have not studied anything about the uprising before, and this makes for thoughtful reading.
On the continued subject of the Zeppelin raids: did the Germans ever train their captains and crews on how to bomb targets?
They don't seem to have managed any real hits on anything most of the time. I know it wasn't easy, esp. at night, but really now.
Karl

[Flying Officer Kyte]

I think that from the height they were flying it was hard to target anything, even when they found the correct town/city.
In Ian Castles book is a plan of what was actually hit in London. Mostly Civilian areas.
Rob.

[Hedeby]

Thanks Rob and welcome back

[Hedeby]

Another lengthy one today as the Easter Rising fighting continues unabated, we also see the loss of several airmen and the sinking of a battleship - read on

[Hedeby]

April 27th 1916

The Easter Rising: Another hour by hour account of the day....

08.40hrs - The sound of overnight digging in Fairbrother’s Field at the back of the South Dublin Union has revealed scores of slit trenches. British soldiers from mixed battalions have now opened fire on the Marrowbone Lane Distillery from its west. The Republican sharpshooters are returning fire. An attack in force to clear the rebels from this thorn in the British side seems to be building.
10.00hrs - Apparently Commandant McDonagh has received word that the Volunteers of the 3rd Battalion holding Westland Row train station are hard pressed. Accordingly it appears that a sortie by bicycle from Jacob’s factory has been organised to relieve the pressure and deliver much needed ammunition. Twenty men have just sped away towards Stephen’s Green on bicycles; each man carrying a rifle and revolver.
10.35 hrs - Marrowbone Lane Distillery under infantry attack. An attack in force has just been repulsed from the western flank of Marrowbone Lane Distillery. Earlier this morning several platoons assaulted the position from its west. There was heavy firing as covering fire was laid down to cover the assault. The covering fire seemed to serve its purpose, as the rebels struggled to reply in kind. When the troops reached the outer wall of the distillery, however, they were met with a barrage of home-made bombs which were hurled over the wall. Forced to retreat momentarily they then came under fire from the distillery windows, eventually being forced back. The attack has since been called off.
10.30hrs - The bicycle patrol from Jacob’s to Westland Row has been met with a hail of lead from the Staffordshire battalions positioned around Merrion Square. They are retreating under fire. Westland Row’s detachment of rebels will have to seek support from elsewhere.
10.45hrs - The bicycle patrol has made Stephen’s Green on their way back to Jacob’s. A machine gun has opened up. One man has been hit – his comrades have come to a halt, firing back at the source of fire. Their comrades from the Citizen Army in the Royal College of Surgeons are also firing in support. The noise in the green once again is deafening.
11.35hrs - British artillery blasting Sackville Street. British 18-pound field artillery is blasting the block of buildings between Lower Abbey Street and Eden Quay with both high explosive and shrapnel shells. The noise is deafening. Machine gun and rifle fire is constant. To set foot on open ground is to invite a bullet.
11.45hrs - A report just in from the Boland’s Bakery / Mills area. Several British probing attacks have been repulsed along the railway line by Volunteers under the command of Captain Joe O’Connor. The South Staffordshire Regiment has relieved the Sherwood Foresters and their snipers are making the Volunteers’ lives very difficult. An assault on the railway workshops was repulsed when rebels launched a desperate bayonet charge. Artillery has also been used in the area.
13.15hrs - Unrelenting sniper fire is being aimed at the Four Courts. A Vickers gun has been placed on the roof of Jervis Street Hospital. Its sights are being trained on the huge dome on the roof to the deafening background noise of increasingly intense shellfire. The British appear to be planning something big, but for now information is scant.
15.02hrs - Assault repulsed in Sackville Street – huge casualties. A short time ago, an assault was attempted from Lower Abbey Street into Sackville Street by the Ulster Composite Battalion. It has ended in failure. The entire block between Lower Abbey Street and Eden Quay is ablaze. The infantrymen emerged from the burning street, and attempted to cross Sackville Street through a burning section of barricade. It appears that their enemies allowed them to traverse the barricade, holding their fire until they were within full view before unleashing a torrent of fire, which then drove the infantrymen back to the narrow point at the barricade, desperate to seek cover. At this point the rebels might as well have been shooting fish in a barrel. The Ulstermen were desperate to escape, but were decimated.
16.35hrs - Close quarter combat in the South Dublin Union. Just a short time ago the headquarters of 4th Battalion Irish Volunteers came under a sustained attack by elements from the Sherwood Foresters’ and Royal Irish Regiment. The claustrophobic courtyards surrounding the Nurses’ Home, where the rebels have set up their HQ, are in complete chaos. The attacking troops have gone to ground, unable to penetrate their enemies’ fortified building. Machine gun fire is belching from the Royal Hospital in support of the attack, but it looks like it might not be enough to dislodge the tenacious Volunteers.
16.42hrs - Capel St Bridge stormed by Sherwood Foresters – rebel forces cut in two. For the Sherwood Foresters in Dublin city, necessity has become the mother of invention. It appears that the lessons learned from the slaughter at Mount Street Bridge yesterday have not been wasted on their sister battalion, the 2/6th. Sensing a deluge of enemy fire from the Four Courts two armoured cars were brought forward. Having been assembled in Inchicore Railway Works by coach-building teams, these improvised armoured vehicles can each fit 19 men and transport them in relative safety. As the assault across the bridge progressed each vehicle was loaded with infantry. They then leapfrogged from position to position, clearing buildings which stood in their way, before they were followed by infantrymen on foot, who then came under ferocious fire from the Courts. Machine guns now fire incessantly in the area. Many civilians have been turfed out of their homes by the infantrymen, who are taking no chances when securing the buildings they seek to occupy.
18.40hrs - The destruction of Sackville Street is under way. Buildings are being blown to pieces. The destruction seems almost systematic. The brief shrieks of incoming shells are followed by ear-shattering bursts, flying metal, concrete and glass.



20.06hrs - Capel Street has been secured. It is under British control. A wedge has been driven between the Volunteer Headquarters in the GPO, and their 1st Battalion in the Four Courts.
20.25hrs - Rebel leader James Connolly now a casualty. The Commandant General of the Republican forces has been wounded, possibly more than once, but details are sketchy. Buildings in imminent danger of collapse. Alerted by a runner to the recent British capture of Capel Street, the rebel commander was supervising the positioning of some Volunteer sections in Abbey Street and Princes Street. It is here, in the latter, that he was wounded. As he crawled towards the sanctuary of his HQ, some men rushed to his aid and carried him inside the building. According to a source inside he is being treated by a captured British Army doctor, and appears to be in good spirits. Meanwhile Sackville Street is being pulverised. Rebels will soon need to evacuate the Imperial Hotel and Clery’s Department Store as the entire block appears in imminent danger of collapsing.
21.10hrs - Dramatic rescue of trapped lancers. As soon as the Sherwood Foresters had secured Capel Street a mission was launched to rescue the beleaguered lancers who had been trapped in the Medical Mission next to the Four Courts since Easter Monday. An armoured truck, fresh from having transported troops across Capel Street Bridge under fierce fire, lumbered its way through Charles Street backed up by supporting fire from an accompanying platoon. The truck came under a deluge of fire, but succeeded in its mission. Surrounding rebels subjected the vehicle to a hailstorm of bullets.
21.50hrs - Dublin’s heart is being torn out in Sackville Street. Hoytes Oil Works opposite the GPO has caught fire. It now resembles a blast furnace. Oil drums are exploding, sending many others flying through the air. These in turn are blowing up as they land or while still airborne, spraying the surrounding buildings with more of the scorching fluid. The seemingly insatiable fires on Lower Sackville Street have now begun to spread as far as North Earl Street and are threatening to completely engulf the Imperial Hotel. The back of the building is burning fiercely and its hard-pressed rebel occupants will soon be forced to evacuate.
22.30hrs - The net is closing in. As midnight approaches the Volunteers from Kelly’s Fort have retreated from the ruins of their vantage point overlooking O’Connell Bridge, and together with rebels from some of the surrounding smaller outposts, including those on Henry Street, are filtering into the GPO. As they hurry inside, they are being greeted with scenes of panic and chaos.
Their headquarters is under a sustained artillery assault and is now in serious peril. Volunteers all around them are rushing to its huge basement carrying home-made canister bombs, seeking shelter from the rain of sparks and oily flames now cascading through the numerous holes in its roof. Luckily for all inside the wind recently picked up and changed direction, averting a potential disaster and allowing a brief collective sigh of relief from the torrential shower of burning embers. This relief has been short-lived, however, as just across the road the end beckons for their positions in Clery’s and the Imperial Hotel. The interiors of both buildings are burning with such intense heat that the pavement outside is being showered with molten glass. This will be a long and exhausting night, no respite will be allowed as the machine guns blaze relentlessly away and the artillery lends its deafening support. The net is closing in.

On a bad day for the RFC/RNAS there were SIX airmen lost:

Five of the six were all associated with the Killingholme air station and HMS Killingholme

Flight Sub Lieutenant Andre John Boddy RNAS Killingholme Naval Air Station. Killed in Action 27 April 1916 aged 24, with Flt. Sub Lieut. D G Broad in Sopwith Baby 8147, action against submarine in North Sea. Machine Wrecked
Flight Sub Lieutenant Dennis Gurney Broad RNAS Killingholme Naval Air Station. Killed in Action 27 April 1916 with Flt. Sub Lieut. A. J. Boddy in Sopwith Baby 8147, action against submarine in North Sea. Machine Wrecked, he was aged 32



Petty Officer Mechanic Herbert Arthur Cheston H.M.S. 'Killingholme' Killed in Action 27 April 1916 aged 27, when H.M.S. 'Killingholme' struck a mine in the North Sea.
LM Frank Day H.M.S. 'Killingholme' Killed in Action 27 April 1916 aged 27, when H.M.S. 'Killingholme' struck a mine in the North Sea.
Signaller Henry Alfred English H.M.S. 'Killingholme' Killed in Action 27 April 1916 aged 27, when H.M.S. 'Killingholme' struck a mine in the North Sea.

HMS Killingholme (1916)

This the only ship to carry the name HMS Killingholme was a seaplane carrying paddle steamer. Originally a double-ended paddle steamer built for the Great Central Railway's Humber River ferry service. Requisitioned for the Royal Navy 21-Feb-1916 to carry two or three floatplanes for coastal anti-airship patrols and based at Killingholme. Displaced 508 tons, 195 ft x 31ft 6in x 8ft 7in, powered 2 x compound engines through 2 x paddlewheels. The attempts at intercepting airships were not successful and she was returned to her owners 21-Apr-1917.

Corporal Edmund Wilson RFC Reserve Aircraft Park Died of accidental injuries 27 April 1916 aged 19

There were two first time claimants for aerial victories on this day:

Major Reginald Stuart "George" Maxwell MC DFC: Who shot down an Aviatik over Herlies
Reginald Stuart Maxwell was the son of John A. Maxwell (from Penzance, Cornwall) and Nellie Maxwell (from Plymouth, Devon). The family residence, in 1901, was Willesden. His DFC citation reads as follows...Maj. Reginald Stuart Maxwell, M.C. (FRANCE) On 16th November, on a low bombing raid against a railway station, this officer led his whole squadron to within 100 feet over the objective, thus enabling them to drop their bombs with the greatest possible effect on the trains, transport, etc., in the station. After dropping these bombs he led the formation against troops, etc., crowded on a main road, causing great confusion and inflicting heavy casualties. His magnificent example inspires all who serve in his squadron.

On 22 September 1914 Maxwell was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the 8th (Service) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, but on 25 January 1915 he was seconded as a lieutenant for service with the 21st Divisional Cyclist Company. On 10 June his unit became part of the Army Cyclist Corps, Maxwell transferred the Royal Flying Corps. He was granted Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate No. 1375 after soloing a Maurice Farman biplane at the Military School at Farnborough Aerodrome on 30 June 1915, and was appointed a flying officer on 11 September.[6] He was then assigned to No. 25 Squadron flying the "pusher" FE.2b.



He scored his first aerial victory on 27 April 1916, forcing a German Aviatik two-seater reconnaissance aircraft to land at Herlies. He then transferred to No. 20 Squadron, and still using a FE.2b, scored three more times; for two of those wins, he had future aces riding as his observers, in Herbert Hamilton and David Stewart. He was also appointed a flight commander, effective 11 May 1916, with a concomitant temporary promotion to captain. On 18 December 1916 Maxwell was appointed a squadron commander with the temporary rank of major, and on 1 January 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross in the New Years Honours. Maxwell would return to aerial combat when he was assigned to No. 54 Squadron, flying the Sopwith Camel. On 18 January 1918, he used this single-seat fighter aircraft to destroy an Albatros D.V and finally become an ace. He flew a Camel for four more wins scattered throughout 1918, with his ninth and final victory coming just two days before war's end. His final tally for the war was five enemy aircraft destroyed, three driven down out of control, and one forced to land.

Sous Lieutenant Marcel P. Viallet shot down an Eindecker over Bois de Caures.

Wounded in action while serving in the cavalry, Viallet requested a transfer to aviation in 1915. Receiving a Pilot's Brevet later that year, he was posted to Escadrille C53 as a two-seater pilot. After downing one aircraft and accumulating 376 hours of flight time, he was reassigned to Escadrille N67 in June 1916. Flying single-seat fighters, Viallet scored 8 more victories by the end of the year.



Western Front
Artois: German gas attacks (until April 29) south of Hulluch against British 15th and 16th Divisions of First Army. British trench raid near Double Crassier (Loos) following day.

The Battle of Hulluch begins lasting three days, involving the 16th (Irish) Division of the British Army’s 19th Corps. The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on this night suffer a heavily-concentrated German chlorine gas attack near the German-held village of Hulluch, a mile north of Loos. The Germans begin the attack by first releasing smoke, followed by the gas 1½ hours later. This subterfuge causes the British Army troops to dispense with their Phenate-Hexamine Goggle helmets after the smoke is released, resulting in heavy casualties during the actual attack. Other units of the 16th Division, including the Royal Irish Rifles, the Royal Munster Fusiliers and The Royal Dublin Fusiliers are called on to stem the German attack.



The Gas Attacks at Hulluch were two German cloud gas attacks on British troops during World War I, from 27–29 April 1916, near the village of Hulluch, 1-mile (1.6 km) north of Loos in northern France. The gas attacks were part of an engagement between divisions of the II Bavarian Corps and divisions of the British I Corps.

Just before dawn on 27 April, the 16th Division and part of the 15th Division were subjected to a cloud gas attack near Hulluch. The gas cloud and artillery bombardment were followed by raiding parties, which made temporary lodgements in the British lines. Two days later the Germans began another gas attack but the wind turned and blew the gas back over the German lines. A large number of German casualties were caused by the change in the wind direction and the decision to go ahead against protests by local officers, which were increased by British troops, who fired on German soldiers as they fled in the open.

The gas used by the German troops at Hulluch was a mixture of chlorine and phosgene, which had first been used against British troops on 19 December 1915 at Wieltje, near Ypres. The German gas was of sufficient concentration to penetrate the British PH gas helmets and the 16th Division was unjustly blamed for poor gas discipline. It was put out that the gas helmets of the division were of inferior manufacture, to allay doubts as to the effectiveness of the helmet. Production of the Small Box Respirator, which had worked well during the attack, was accelerated.

First attack: 27 April
The German attack near Hulluch began on 27 April, with the release of smoke, followed by a mixture of chlorine and phosgene gas 1 1⁄2 hours later, from 3,800 cylinders, on the fronts of Bavarian Infantry Regiment 5 and Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 5.The discharge on the front of Bavarian Infantry Regiment 9 was cancelled, as the direction of the wind risked enveloping the 3rd Bavarian Division on the right flank, in the Hohenzollern Redoubt sector. At 5:00 a.m., German artillery began a high-explosive, shrapnel and trench-mortar bombardment, on the front of the 16th Division and the right flank of the 15th Division to the north, laid a barrage on communication trenches and fired lachrymatory shells into villages and British rear positions. At 5:10 a.m., gas and smoke clouds rose from the German trenches and moved towards the British trenches, blown by a south-easterly wind. The gas cloud was so thick at the beginning, that visibility was reduced to 2–3 yards (1.8–2.7 m); wearing gas helmets was necessary 3.5 miles (5.6 km) behind the front line and the smell was noticed 15 miles (24 km) away.

Three German mines were exploded at 5:55 a.m., another artillery bombardment was fired and a second gas cloud was discharged. Several raiding parties of about 20 men each, followed the gas and three managed to get into the British trenches. One party entered the British front line at Chalk Pit Wood for about fifteen minutes, the second was quickly expelled from the lines north of Posen Alley, then caught by Lewis-gun fire in no man's land. The third party got into the trenches on the right flank of the 15th Division, just north of the Vermelles–Hulluch road and was promptly bombed out; by 7:30 a.m. the raiding parties had withdrawn. At 5:10 a.m. on 27 April, a gas alert was raised in the 16th Division area and the divisional and corps artillery began a bombardment on the rear of the German lines, from whence the gas was being discharged. After thirty minutes, groups of German infantry about 20–30 strong, equipped with pistols and hand grenades, were seen heading for gaps in the British wire and were repulsed by rifle and machine-gun fire. At about 6:00 a.m., the three mines were sprung and another bombardment was fired, before sending another gas cloud, which caused many casualties to a Black Watch company, whose commander had ordered them to remove their gas helmets after the first gas cloud, under the impression that the helmets were useless after one exposure to gas. Behind the second gas cloud, larger parties of German infantry advanced and managed to get into the British trenches for brief periods at three points. At Chalk Pit Wood the British had a howitzer, which had been brought up in September 1915, to fire in support of an attack on Hulluch. Since the "Lone How" was only 40 yards (37 m) behind the British front line, orders had been given to destroy it, in the event of a German raid and a demolition charge had been left on the gun with a lit fuze.

Middle East
Mesopotamia, Kut: *Townshend – together with Lawrence and Aubrey Herbert – meets Khalil Pasha aboard launch. Former suggests £1 million gold ransom, latter says ‘Your gallant troops will be our most sincere and precious guests’.

African Fronts
Uganda: British frontier and Lake Victoria demonstrations to cover Belgian advance, which starts on April 29.

Sea War
Mediterranean: British battleship Russell (124 crew lost) sunk by German new U73 mine off Malta, field of 22 also sinks a sloop, armed yacht (April 28) and a trawler.

HMS Russell was a Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.



HMS Russell was laid down by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company at Jarrow on 11 March 1899 and launched on 19 February 1902. She arrived at Sheerness later the same month and went to Chatham Dockyard for steam and gun-mounting trials. Construction of Russell was completed in February 1903. Russell and her five sisters of the Duncan class were ordered in response to large French and Russian building programmes, including an emphasis on fast battleships in the Russian programme; they were designed as smaller, more lightly armoured, and faster versions of the preceding Formidable class. As it turned out, the Russian ships were not as heavily armed as initially feared, and the Duncans proved to be quite superior in their balance of speed, firepower, and protection.Armour layout was similar to that of London, with reduced thickness in the barbettes and belt

The Duncans had machinery of 3,000 indicated horsepower (2,200 kW) more than the Formidables and London's and were the first British battleships with 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines. They also had a modified hull form to improve speed. The ships had a reputation as good steamers, with a designed speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) and an operational speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph), good steering at all speeds, and an easy roll. They were the fastest battleships in the Royal Navy when completed, and the fastest pre dreadnoughts ever built other than the Swiftsure class Swiftsure and Triumph. They had the same armament as and a smaller displacement than the Formidables and London's. Like all pre dreadnoughts, Russell was outclassed by the dreadnought battleships that began to appear in 1906, but she nonetheless continued to perform front-line duties up through the early part of World War I.

When World War I began in August 1914, plans originally called for Russell and battleships Agamemnon, Albemarle, Cornwallis, Duncan, Exmouth, and Vengeance to combine in the 6th Battle Squadron and serve in the Channel Fleet, where the squadron was to patrol the English Channel and cover the movement of the British Expeditionary Force to France. However, plans also existed for the 6th Battle Squadron to be assigned to the Grand Fleet, and, when the war began, the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet, Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, requested that Russell and her four surviving sister ships of the Duncan class (Albemarle, Cornwallis, Duncan, and Exmouth) be assigned to the 3rd Battle Squadron in the Grand Fleet for patrol duties to make up for the Grand Fleet's shortage of cruisers. Accordingly, the 6th Battle Squadron was abolished temporarily, and Russell joined the 3rd Battle Squadron at Scapa Flow on 8 August 1914. She worked with Grand Fleet cruisers on the Northern Patrol. Russell and her four Duncan-class sisters, as well as the battleships of the King Edward VII class, temporarily were transferred to the Channel Fleet on 2 November 1914 to reinforce that fleet in the face of German Navy activity in the Channel Fleet's area. On 13 November 1914, the King Edward VII-class ships returned to the Grand Fleet, but Albemarle and the other Duncans stayed in the Channel Fleet, where they reconstituted the 6th Battle Squadron on 14 November 1914, with Russell serving as the squadron's flagship. This squadron was given a mission of bombarding German submarine bases on the coast of Belgium, and was based at Portland, although it transferred to Dover immediately on 14 November 1914. However, due a lack of antisubmarine defences at Dover, the squadron returned to Portland on 19 November 1914. Russell participated in the bombardment of German submarine facilities at Zeebrugge on 23 November 1914.The 6th Battle Squadron returned to Dover in December 1914, then transferred to Sheerness on 30 December 1914 to relieve the 5th Battle Squadron there in guarding against a German invasion of the United Kingdom.

Between January and May 1915, the 6th Battle Squadron was dispersed. Russell left the squadron in April 1915 and rejoined the 3rd Battle Squadron in the Grand Fleet at Rosyth. She underwent a refit at Belfast in October–November 1915. On 6 November 1915, a division of the 3rd Battle Squadron consisting of battleships Hibernia (the flagship), Zealandia, Albemarle, and Russell was detached from the Grand Fleet to reinforce the British Dardanelles Squadron in the Dardanelles Campaign at the Gallipoli Peninsula. Albemarle had to turn back almost immediately due to heavy weather damage, but the other ships continued to the Mediterranean, where Russell took up her duties at the Dardanelles in December 1915, based at Mudros with Hibernia and held back in support. Her only action in the campaign was her participation in the evacuation of Cape Helles from 7 January 1916 to 9 January 1916, and she was the last battleship of the British Dardanelles Squadron to leave the area. She relieved Hibernia as Divisional Flagship, Rear Admiral, in January 1916. After the conclusion of the Dardanelles campaign, Russell stayed on in the eastern Mediterranean.

Russell was steaming off Malta early on the morning of 27 April 1916 when she struck two naval mines that had been laid by the German submarine U-73. A fire broke out in the after part of the ship and the order to abandon ship was passed; after an explosion near the after 12-inch (305 mm) turret, she took on a dangerous list. However, she sank slowly, allowing most of her crew to escape. A total of 27 officers and 98 ratings were lost. John H. D. Cunningham served aboard her at the time and survived her sinking; he would one day become First Sea Lord.

North Sea: UC5 (Mohrbutter) captured by destroyer Firedrake while stranded on Shipwash Shoal, towed into Harwich.

Air War
Western Front: 16 Anglo-German air combats. Royal Flying Corps aircraft and balloons range 72 artillery targets (65 on April 28, 49 on April 29).

Politics
Turkey: War Minister announces Turkey replaces Italy in Triple Alliance.
France: Allied Paris Commer*cial conference.

[Rebel]

And yet another duplication?

[Hedeby]

And yet another duplication?

Still editing Reg - give me a chance, lol

[Rebel]

Still editing Reg - give me a chance, lol

Not having a go at you Chris. Just wondering why? BLOODY COMPUTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hedeby]

I think it has something to do with the post auto saving - as it can take 45 mins to an hour to pull everything together I think it autosaves at some point, so when you actually do save it you end up with a repeat posting... maybe I should type faster

[Hedeby]

April 28th 1916

The Easter Rising Cont. - another hour by hour account of the struggle...

07.55hrs - Sackville Street being blown to pieces. The centre of Dublin is unrecognisable this morning. Rubble is strewn everywhere. Burnt-out cars, trams, dead horses, human bodies, all matter of carnage fills the capital’s streets. British 18-pounders are booming once again. The rebel HQ is completely surrounded.
09.05hrs - As soon as the sun rose this morning the machine guns and sniper rifles returned to work. Throughout the night, armoured cars have been scouting around Jacob’s factory’s positions. With the sound of heavy fighting and artillery, and word coming down from the factory’s towers of huge fires on the north side of the city, the men of Jacob’s garrison must fear that it will not be long before their own position is assaulted by the enemy.
10.12hrs - South Staffordshires are on the march. Huge numbers of troops from the regiment have crossed the Liffey at Butt Bridge, before marching on to Gardiner Street, and making their way towards Bolton Street. The college there is thronged with hungry and increasingly desperate refugees from the growing chaos. All along Talbot Street and Lower Gardiner Street, a cordon of snipers is covering their march from the rooftops. The length of this narrow street is under fire from the GPO. The troops are dashing across its junction of Gardiner Street in small rushes, with their comrades shooting at the rebel HQ to cover them. Earlier this morning a massacre of a dozen or so insurgents who had been captured, along with another dozen civilians, was prevented at the last minute by a British major. The men are now detained in the Custom House. The tension throughout the entire area is terrifying.
11.05hrs - The 4th Battalion Volunteers in Marrowbone Lane Distillery strained their eyes earlier as their gun-sights fell upon numerous khaki uniforms in the distance at the far end of Fairbrothers Field in Rialto.
Their fingers released their grips on their triggers, however, when they realised what they were doing. Dead enemy soldiers are being placed in shallow graves by burial parties. Rialto is deathly quiet. The snipers seem to be momentarily paying their respects.
11.12hrs - In Stephen’s Green meanwhile the Citizen Army is famished. They wait, and wait. Snipers and machine gunners wait nearby for an opportunity. Any movement in the open is met with the crack of a rifle or a burst of automatic fire.The Shelbourne Hotel is a mess. Its facade now displays bizarre patterns of bullet holes painting an uncharacteristic picture next to its many broken windows. Inside its walls and floors are splattered with blood, and littered with spent shell-casings. The park keeper has returned several times. The ducks will not go hungry in this battle. That particular displeasure seems reserved for its combatants.
11.18hrs - Boland’s Bakery is still holding out, along with the College of Surgeons, Jacob’s Biscuit Factory, South Dublin Union and the Four Courts. The GPO is under enormous pressure, however. The British artillery is unrelenting in its destruction.
In the bakery nerves are also strained. One man, Volunteer Peadar Macken, fell victim to friendly fire during the night, as shattered men fell victim to their over-strained senses. As with elsewhere in the city, snipers wait to pounce at every opportunity.
12.15hrs - Ambush in Henry Street. A detachment from the 2/6th Sherwood Foresters Regiment has been ambushed as they approached the GPO from its rear. The rebels manning buildings on Henry Street waited until they were at point-blank range before opening fire. The infantrymen have retreated in disarray.



13.29hrs - Morale very high among Volunteers 4th Battalion. Commandant Eamonn Ceannt’s men have regrouped since yesterday’s ferocious battle. The nurse’s home, bake-house and boardroom are being reinforced. Vice-Commandant Cathal Brugha was seriously wounded yesterday, and is not expected to survive. 4th Battalion’s morale however appears very high.
14.10hrs - North King Street the scene of vicious fighting. A short time ago, the 2/6th South Staffordshire’s, operating from their headquarters in Bolton Street, took up forward positions on the corner of North King Street and Bolton Street. From here they launched a probing attack in North King Street. As the infantrymen marched to their west a terrific barrage was opened up on them from Langan’s Pub. This was then quickly followed by a frontal barrage from the Volunteers in their position further back in Reilly’s Pub, situated on Upper Church Street’s junction. The soldiers reeled into the side streets seeking cover, but appear to have run straight into an ambush. The survivors are now scrambling back to Bolton Street.
14.35hrs - Sackville Street is an inferno of fire and destruction. The Metropole Hotel is under constant artillery fire, as is the GPO. The entire length of Sackville Street from North Earl Street to the River Liffey is in flames. The Republican Headquarters cannot absorb much more of the incessant shelling. There has been no word of Commandant Connolly’s condition since last night.
14.45hrs - The Volunteer positions in Moore’s Coachworks and Clarke’s Diary situated at the junction of North Brunswick Street and Upper Church Street are involved in a heavy sniper battle with the British soldiers positioned in Broadstone Railway Terminus and the King’s Inn buildings. Casualties have been suffered by both sides.
15.00hrs - Another attack repulsed in North King Street. Another charge has just been launched by two platoons of the South Staffordshires along North King Street under the cover of Machine guns. Langan’s pub came under heavy attack, but the rebel position appears to have held. Reilly’s Pub and Volunteer positions in the Malthouse tower in Beresford Street took up the fight, as did Monk’s Bakery. The attack began to falter, but bolstered by reinforcements, the South Staffordshires were determined to press home the assault against Langan’s. The concentrated fire, however, forced them to retreat. There was no let-up in rifle fire from the Volunteers as the soldiers retreated. It appears that every inch of ground in North King Street will be fought for. Wounded men are strewn along the road and pavements, and throughout the warrens of nearby side streets.
15.15hrs - Relentless fighting in North King Street. Reilly’s Pub has come under ferocious machine gun fire after apparently having been singled out as the main threat to another British attack along North King Street. But the volunteers are returning fire and the British are falling back again. They regroup and charge again, but are unable to get past the barricade straddling the road at Langan’s. Rifle fire is coming from every direction and is causing many additional casualties. Once again the British troops are falling back to their jump off point.
15.40hrs - British military barricading city positions. The British, in the form of the Royal Irish Rifles and Sherwood Foresters, are building a large barricade across the width of Moore Street. Several machine guns are being deployed in the area.
Intense gunfire was heard earlier just to the west of here for a time, but it has now been replaced with the titanic death knell of the artillery once again in Sackville Street and now in Henry Street. Several other barricades are under construction. It seems the military have learned a great deal about street combat from the rebels, and are now putting that knowledge to use.
15.45hrs - The South Staffordshires have moved forward again, but in an attempt to outflank the Langan’s Pub position a section have taken to the rooftops and are working their way towards the Volunteer position. In doing this, however, they have not only exposed themselves to the Volunteers in Monk’s Bakery to their west and the malt-house tower to their south west, but also to rebels positioned on the Bridewell roof at the rear of the Four Courts. They are pressing forward under very heavy fire. They are throwing grenades at the barricade outside Langan’s, but the damage appears minimal. The barricade is holding. Now the soldiers begin their retreat from the rooftops. Nothing is working for the South Staffordshires on North King Street. The frustration is beginning to show. The faces of the attackers are now twisted with hatred.
16.15hrs - Volunteer reinforcements from the Four Courts are rapidly filtering into Reilly’s Fort, as it has been named recently, and the North Brunswick Street positions.
16.25hrs - The Rebellion Weather is holding, as is 1st Battalion around the Four Courts, but the pressure on the garrison is enormous, and incessant. Their number, however, has increased significantly since Easter Monday, and they are well armed and supplied.
16.46hrs - The unbridled ferocity of what was meted out to the South Staffordshires earlier can be measured by the screams and groans of their wounded men being treated by rebel nurses in Father Matthew Hall.
Young men from both sides in this struggle are now dying in adjoining beds, their differences long forgotten. The stench in the building is appalling.
17.04hrs - Two British Artillery pieces are blasting the Metropole and GPO without let up. They have been firing over open sights from D’Olier Street. Buildings are burning and collapsing. The block of buildings along Eden Quay is completely destroyed.
18.01hrs - Armoured car in North King Street. An armoured truck has been ferrying infantry into North King Street. The rebels in Langan’s Pub are firing with a level of intensity that matches that on Wednesday at Mount Street Bridge. It is as if the truck is a ferocious beast that must be slayed. It must be dreadful for the men inside. Its gears are grinding as it lunges forward, its driver doing his best to avoid the wounded and dead who lie on the street.
18.12hrs - Several patrols were launched earlier into Lisburn and Lurgan Street in an attempt to outflank Langan’s Pub, but proved fruitless. The civilians are huddled in their homes, starving and utterly traumatised. The noise is terrifying.
18.17hrs - Just yards from the junction of Lurgan Street and North King Street the armoured truck had its sheet metal door kicked open from the inside. As the first infantryman jumped out he was shot before his feet even touched the ground. This is vicious.
18.24hrs - Huge section of GPO roof now collapsed on its southern side. Roughly 15 minutes ago a huge crash was followed by an avalanche of debris which spewed from the building’s windows. However, shooting is still coming from the northern section of the same building.
19.25hrs - Just minutes ago the armoured truck returned to North King Street, where it deposited another 19 terrified but hate-filled infantrymen. They are currently occupying the terraces of houses on the left hand side of the road facing Reilly’s Fort, at the centre of this picture. Shots are flying through the air as I write. The truck is scrambling away. Something seems to be wrong.
19.31hrs - The armoured truck has come to a halt in the middle of the junction Bolton Street and North King Street. Both its driver and co-driver have been shot and appear badly wounded.
19.39hrs - The GPO is in complete turmoil. Plans are being made for its evacuation. It would make sense militarily to postpone such a move until after dark, but the luxury of time is the last thing this position appears to possess. A patrol of roughly 30 men has just left. They appear to be heading for Moore Street. A man with a moustache in his early forties appears to be leading the forward section.
19.45hrs - The Four Courts’ west wing is under intense machine gun fire from the Smithfield area. A Volunteer officer has been shot in the chest inside the building, the bullet having ricocheted after it struck the elbow of his comrade. Witnesses reported that a priest attempted to give aid but it was hopeless for the man. It is impossible to even stand up in any of the west-facing rooms; such is the ferocity of the fire.
20.09hrs - Just inside the GPO, scores of utterly shattered men and women are awaiting news of the success of the patrol sent out roughly 20 minutes ago. The sound of intense machine gun and rifle fire coming from Moore Street doesn’t bode well for its success. A young captain has just appeared at the scene. As bullets struck the ground like hailstones at his feet he has made a dash to Henry Street’s junction with Moore Street. Looking beyond the shattered remains of the barricade he looks disturbed at the sight. He is now returning at speed, hugging the wall on the opposite side of the road for cover. He has returned with terrible news. He has just witnessed the last of the recent patrol’s men falling victim to the machine gunners. Whatever survivors there are have been forced back into Henry Place. The young captain’s name is Sean McLoughlin.
20.22hrs - The Metropole Hotel has collapsed into ruins. Lieutenant Oscar Traynor has just rushed into the GPO, having evacuated his men from the Metropole Hotel.
As he rushes inside his men are being given frantic orders. The entire building is in a state of total chaos. Men are charging about carrying canister bombs, others are praying as they run here and there. Some of the leaders look shell-shocked. Captain Sean McLoughlin has also returned to his men. Having been promoted by James Connolly yesterday he is clearly justifying his commandant’s decision to do so. He has ordered his men to positions covering the windows to the building’s north. At this point its walls are unbearably hot. Hoytes Oil Works just opposite is an inferno. The heat from there has rendered the walls here too hot to touch. Hoses perforated with bullet-holes are being used to douse them but the water is turning to steam.
Another huge crash has just sounded. Another cloud of dust and debris. The entire Metropole Hotel has collapsed.
20.37hrs - Desperation in Henry Street. The scene is barely describable. Following a rousing speech by Commandant Pearse, an exodus took place from the Post Office onto the fire-swept street. They sprinted in groups of two and three. As they left, the British gunners let loose on them. Firing came from east and west, shattering what few unbroken bricks remain in the buildings still standing. Men ran in panic for the shelter of Henry Place, while others ran further into Henry Street.
More Volunteers are leaving the GPO now, and making a mad dash for the laneway. It is becoming crowded, but apparently its far side is barred by machine gunners. Something will have to be done – and fast – but for now are caught like rats in a trap.
20.50hrs - Dramatic scenes. We are now in Henry Place with the Volunteers. Captain McLoughlin appears to have assumed full control of the GPO Volunteers. The situation here is drastic. More and more battered men are arriving in the laneway. The White House, a building facing Moore Lane, was minutes ago under such ferocious machine gun fire from its right along the length of Moore Lane, that the half-stupefied Volunteers assumed the building itself was an enemy machine gun nest. Captain McLoughlin then led a section inside to neutralise and secure the position but has since re-emerged. He and his men have now traversed the stream of fire still being directed at the building and appear to be seizing a truck of some kind. Captain Michael Collins meanwhile has entered the same building and his men are setting up firing positions, hoping to neutralise or at least reduce the threat from the Rotunda at the opposite end of the laneway.
20.50hrs - Beresford Street, where the wounded from earlier are still being brought to Father Matthew Hall. Rebel fire completely dominates this street. Any movement is lethal. Commandant Edward Daly has moved his Irish Volunteers 1st Battalion headquarters to the Four Courts. Things have quietened down somewhat in North King Street, for now.
21.00hrs - Captain McLoughlin’s Volunteers have managed to place a truck alongside the remainder of a barricade at this point, greatly diminishing the effect of the machine gunners firing from the Rotunda at the opposite end of the lane. Hundreds are passing this point, and entering Moore Street from its southern end at Henry Street. They have begun breaking into buildings. The civilians in the area are suffering terribly in the midst of this battle.
21.00hrs - Tension in Jacob’s Biscuit Factory. Inside a general alarm has been raised, all men rush to their positions, the attack is expected to come through the main gate. The barricade inside the gate teems with Volunteers, all with rifles pointed towards the gate. Some men pray. Others just stare at the gate with fingers on triggers, a sense of relief now that their time has come – the gate will be blown and the khaki will pour in, but they are ready. But now it appears to be a false alarm. Major John MacBride orders the men to stand down. Their frustration begins to grow again.
21.20hrs - Henry Place is thronged with men. They are tunnelling into the buildings on both sides at the end. Yet more are arriving from the GPO, which is in flames.
21.22hrs - Sackville Street; Britain’s second city is engulfed in flames.
21.25hrs - The growing darkness will be of little help to the Volunteers now moving en masse towards Moore Street. The street is lit up by the surrounding flames.
21.28hrs - Bullets are whipping the bricks from Moore Street’s walls, while behind the walls, rebels ‘mouse-hole’ from room to room, and from building to building. The pace of this is relentless. Explosions are thundering out from Henry Street. It appears the British are aware that hundreds of their enemy are exposed and they are zeroing in.
21.33hrs - The exhausted insurgents are making their way ever closer through the terraces of houses and flats. Three of their leaders have set up their temporary HQ in Cogan’s Shop, at the junction of Henry Place and Moore Street.
A barricade is being built across the laneway outside Cogan’s. With the flames from the burning GPO behind them however, casualties are inevitable, and are mounting. The British gunners are making the most of this.
21.40hrs - Moore Street is a fully-fledged battlefield. It is impossible to move on the street. Several wounded men from the earlier attack on the barricade are pinned down in doorways. The dead in the road are being shot again and again, while the dying are groaning and twitching in their efforts to save themselves. It appears that the Volunteers plan to tunnel as far as Hanlon’s Fish Shop at number 25 Moore Street. The pace of the rebels here is frenetic. They may be desperate, but they appear to have saved themselves from certain destruction and are now doing their best to regain the initiative.
21.50 hrs - THE GPO HAS COLLAPSED! Commandant Pearse was the last to leave the burning Post Office, accompanied by a section of men. Commandant Connolly was stretchered out earlier, flanked by a bodyguard of Volunteers. Machine gun and rifle bullets zipped through the air around Pearse’s section as they glanced back momentarily, to witness the terrible roar that heralded its interior collapsing into complete ruins. Only the external shell now remains of the landmark building. The flag pole on its roof which had proudly flown their tricolour is now on fire, while at the far end their other flag still flies its golden letters defiantly. The siege of the GPO has come to an end. The fight will continue on Moore Street.
21.55 hours - Several men are wounded nearby and the man who led the charge against the barricade appears to be in a bad way just inside Sackville Lane. Help is unavailable as any movement will draw the gun-sights of the enemy. Back in Cogan’s an emergency council of war has been held. Connolly is terribly wounded, Pearse and Plunkett are utterly exhausted. Neither Tom Clarke nor Sean McDermott are of military mind, so. a new Commandant has been appointed – 20-year-old Seán McLoughlin.
22.00hrs - The utter futility of war. The centre of Dublin now resembles the type of hell only previously witnessed by its inhabitants in black and white cinema newsreels of the fighting in faraway France and Belgium. Joseph Plunkett remarked earlier, with apparent pride, that Dublin was the first European city to burn since Moscow in 1812, a comment that would have probably been met with derision from the thousands of civilians being made homeless, and the hundreds of innocents being killed. His brief and apparently self-indulgent history lesson was wasted on those around him, however. They are too busy trying desperately to survive, as machine guns clatter incessantly, sending belt after belt of incendiary bullets whizzing through the half-darkness. Increasingly frequent shell-bursts continue to smash metal and concrete all around the half-panicked Volunteers and petrified civilians trapped in the battle zone, sending countless razor-like shards of molten hot shrapnel flying at flesh. Buildings are collapsing, filling the air with thick choking dust, while countless stray bullets ricochet through the smoky streets. The noxious fumes from the oil works on Sackville Street that now resemble a blast furnace fill the tortured evening air with a horrific stench, matched only in its power to repulse by the nauseating smell of burning human waste, and decaying flesh. At one point earlier in Moore Street, a three-legged dog, having been driven mad with the repeated cracks of gunfire and explosions, scampered across the street, and was unceremoniously mown down by the machine gun. It yelped in agony, its pointless death displaying to all the utter futility of war.
22.38hrs - The artillery has ceased. The machine gun fire has tapered away. Only sporadic shots now ring out. As the city burns, the Volunteer leaders have set up Headquarters in number 16 Moore Street. The rebels have dug themselves in and are posting sentries. Rest periods will be arranged in two-hour shifts. The men and women are beyond stupification, but not without hope. Elsewhere in the city the stalemate continues. Neither side seems able to gain any ground, but a showdown is building. The Volunteers in Moore Street seem set to make a breakout for either the Williams and Woods factory on Great Britain Street, or the Four Courts. Whatever option they select, the result will be bloody. The British seem content to contain each garrison, but really it is all they can hope to do with limited artillery support. They can’t seem to make any real ground against these Volunteers and Citizen Army without their field guns. Several have commented that the fighting here in Dublin has been worse at times than the trenches of the Western Front. It appears that tomorrow will be decisive in this fight.

After several days with multiple losses, NO DEATHS ARE RECORDED FOR FRIDAY APRIL 28TH 1916.

There were three aerial victory claims on this day:

Chalking up his 14th victory was Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke - who shot down a Caudron near Vaux



Claiming is second kill was Sous Lieutenant Marcel P. Viallet - who shot down an Aviatik over Avocourt



And notching his first aerial victory we have Adjudant Chef Marie Gaston Fulerand Leon Vitalis who shot down an Eindecker north of Cote 304



I can find nothing in English about Vitalis but he did fly for Escadrille 67, so instead lets have a closer look at that unit....

Escadrille 67 of the French Air Force was founded at Lyon-Bron Airport during the First World War, on 17 September 1915. On 24 September, they were assigned to the IV Armee of the French Army. By late October, the escadrille was assigned to the defense of Verdun. Dubbed Escadrille N67 for the Nieuport two-seaters they operated, the new unit performed numerous reconnaissance, photographic, artillery direction, and bombing missions. For their efforts, they were cited on 25 January 1916. In July, they were cited a second time, for engaging in 257 combats and downing 11 enemy aircraft. The second citation entitled the unit to wear a fourragere denoting a unit award of the Croix de guerre; Escadrille N 67 was the first aerial unit to win this award. During that Summer of 1916, the escadrille traded its two-seaters for Nieuport single-seater fighters. On 1 November 1916, the unit would be incorporated into Groupe de Combat 13, joining Escadrille 65, Escadrille 112, and Escadrille N.124. After service with GC 13, the escadrille was detached from the groupe on 1 June 1917. It was assigned to an ad hoc Groupe Provisoire de Bonneuil subordinated to III Armee. After 1 August 1917, the escadrille re-equipped with SPAD fighters, becoming Escadrille SPA.67. On 18 January 1918, it was posted to replace Escadrille 73 in Groupe de Combat 12. Escadrille SPA 67 remained with GC 12 until war's end. The escadrille was credited with 42 victories during the war.



Escadrille SPA 67 remains an active part of the French Air Force.


On a day we lose 406 men here are today's highlighted casualties....

Today’s losses include:

A Naval Chaplain
Multiple sons of members of the clergy
A family that will lose four sons in the Great War
Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

Today’s highlighted casualties include:

Chaplain Reverend George Anthony Greig (HMS Russell) dies one day after his ship sank off Malta at age 28.
Second Lieutenant Hugh Farrar Northcote (Indian Army Reserve of Officers attached Dogras) is killed at age 32. His brother will be killed in September and they are sons of Prebendary the Honorable John Stafford Northcote.
Second Lieutenant Reginald John Carey Leader (Durham Light Infantry) is killed in action at age 20. He is the son of the Reverend G C Leader.
Second Lieutenant Leslie Kelham Sands (Lancashire Fusiliers) is killed at age 24. He is the son of the Reverend Hubert Sands Vicar of Vurbage Canon of Birmingham.
Private Archibald Thorne (Bedfordshire Regiment) dies of wounds received in action at age 24. His brother will be killed in April 1917.
Private Alexander Joseph McCheyne (Cameron Highlanders) is killed at age 19. He is one of four brothers who will be killed in the Great War.
Private Cecil Hewitt (Worcestershire Regiment) is killed in action at Vimy Ridge at age 22. His twin brother was serving with him at the time and attempts to pull him from underneath the earth and debris from a large German mine explosion. His twin brother will be killed himself next January in Mesopotamia.

Sea War
Italy: Navy commissions its first of 10 wartime monitors (mainly converted captured Austrian barges or lighters).



A busy day for the U-Boats also...

HMY Aegusa Royal Navy The Royal Navy naval yacht struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Malta with the loss of six of her crew.
Anzhelika Russia The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea off Adler by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Blessing United Kingdom The fishing vessel was sunk in the Tyne Estuary by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Christian Denmark The schooner was damaged in the North Sea 16 nautical miles (30 km) east north east of the Souter Point Lighthouse, Northumberland, United Kingdom by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached but was later refloated.
Lyusya Russia The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south of Pitsunda by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine)

Middle East
Mesopotamia, Kut: *Townshend offers £2 millions (increase prompted by T.E. Lawrence), his 50 guns and promise not to fight Turks for duration of war for his men’s freedom. Khalil prepared to accept but Enver Pasha wants absolute surrender.

Neutrals
USA: Scheele and other Germans indicted for conspiracy to destroy munition ships.
British agreement with Chicago International Harvester Corp.

[Hedeby]

Duplicated again, but at least I beat Reg to the punch, lol.
Thank you for reading Reg.