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Thread: 100 Years Ago Today

  1. #2051

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    Can't beat a good bit of sleep deprivation....it's the shelling you know! Damn Hun, don't they ever sleep. That advertisement will come in handy, now the chaps know what to get the WingCo for christmas. Have you returned the horses yet? The WingCo is still unhappy using a tent as his office. Better be sharpish before those gunners turn the office into firewood.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  2. #2052

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    It's those damned whizz bangs don't you know what!
    Kyte.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  3. #2053

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    Right playing catch up now as for some reason I couldn't access the site from yesterday evening until just now, but my guess is that may well have been the same for everyone...

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    December 9th 1916

    Today's (well yesterday's to be truthful... see above) sponsors are... (thought we would go with a time keeping advert given the issues we have had)

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    There were no RFC losses on December 9th, neither were there any aerial victory claims.

    On this day we lost 243 men

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Private Frederick Leslie Pymm (South Staffordshire Regiment) dies of wounds at home. His brother was killed in June of this year.
    Pioneer Ernest Beeby (Royal Engineers) is executed for desertion.

    Below are extracts from his court martial - it is fair to say he was not highly regarded by his officers, but does that warrant the punishment? not in my opinion (I was going to say IMHO but that brought back some painful memories, lol)

    No. 11516 S.Major A. O’Connell, 212nd Field Coy., RE states:

    At Guillemont on 24 October 1916, at 2pm the accused was not on parade. I reported him absent to the C.O and did not see the accused again until he was brought back under escort on or about the 29th October 1916.

    No cross-examination.

    No. 85814 A/Sjt. S. Boalch, 212nd Field Coy., RE states:

    On October 29th 1916, on the 2pm parade the accused was absent. I reported this to the Sergeant Major.

    No cross-examination.

    No. 441 L/Cpl. E. Thomas, M.F. Police states:

    At Harve docks on the 26 October 1916, about 11.15pm I was on duty at No. 1 gate, Gare Maritime, when I saw the accused loitering in the vicinity. I questioned him. He told me he was absent from his unit. I arrested him and conducted him to the patrol guard detention room. The accused seemed to have lost his memory. He was sober. He did not appear to know what he was talking about.

    No cross-examination.

    No. P1328 Colour Serjt. W. Rashbrook, M.F. Police states:

    At Harve on 27 October 1916, at about 8am I was on duty on Harve Docks where I saw the accused now before the court, in custody. I asked him to give me particulars of his name, number, unit. He gave me the following: No. 140320 Sapper Beary of the 90th Coy., RE. I asked him where he came from and he said "I came to France in September about the 9th and landed at Harve. I broke away from the draft just out from England while at No. 5 Rest Camp. I mixed myself with a party to go to "Blighty"". The accused was very strange in his manner.

    No cross-examination.

    The accused states on oath:

    At Harve Docks in October I fell off a Motor Ambulance and was taken to the guard room by a Corporal. That is all I remember. I fell on my head.

    The Prosecutor:

    Was it the same corporal that has given evidence?

    The Accused:

    I can’t say.

    The Prosecutor:

    What were you doing on a Motor Ambulance in Harve Docks?

    The Accused:

    I can’t remember.

    No further cross-examination.

    Evidence as to character:

    Captain H.T. Morshead, 212nd Field Coy., RE produces the accused’s A.F. B.122 (Company Conduct Sheet).

    1. Character.

    From a fighting point of view this man is worthless - nor has he any trade aptitude or qualification fitting him for service in an R.E Coy. His regimental and company conduct sheets shows his behaviour to have been habitually bad. Pioneer Beeby joined 212nd Field Company on 31 August 1916 at the commencement of a spell of Divisional rest, and has hardly been in action. He was sick during a considerable portion of the time the company was in the Third Army area, and he disappeared on the day his section was due to go into the line on arrival in Fourth Army front.

    2. State of Discipline of unit concerned.

    The company is practically entirely free from crime and discipline is good

    I am of the opinion that the crime was deliberately committed with the sole object of avoiding the particular service involved - viz. a tour of duty in the line.

    17/11/16 Sd/ H.T. Morshead, Capt. RE. O/C 212 Field Company.

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    Home Fronts
    Germany: *Hindenburg given the first 1914 Grand Cross of the Iron Cross.

    The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was a decoration intended for victorious generals of the Prussian Army and its allies. It was the highest (normally awarded) class of the Iron Cross. Along with the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, the Grand Cross was founded on March 10, 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars. It was renewed in 1870 for the Franco-Prussian War and again in 1914 for World War I. In 1939, when Adolf Hitler renewed the Iron Cross as a German (rather than strictly Prussian) decoration, he also renewed the Grand Cross. The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was twice the size of the Iron Cross and was worn from a ribbon around the neck. The later Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, instituted in 1939, was also worn from the neck; it was smaller than the Grand Cross but larger than the Iron Cross.

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    The Iron Cross was renewed again on August 5, 1914. There were five recipients of the 1914 Grand Cross in the First World War:

    Kaiser Wilhelm II
    Paul von Hindenburg, later elevated to the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
    Erich Ludendorff
    Prince Leopold of Bavaria
    August von Mackensen

    Raw Materials Office merger/closure agreement on non*essential industries to save transport.

    Britain: New War Cabinet first meets. War Cabinet formed in Great Britain.[The War Committee (see November 3rd, 1915) which held their last meeting on December 1st ceased to function on the formation of the War Cabinet which undertook the duties of the War Committee.] First Meeting held

    During the First World War, lengthy cabinet discussions came to be seen as a source of vacillation in Britain's war effort. In December 1916 it was proposed that the Prime Minister H. H. Asquith should delegate decision-making to a small, three-man committee chaired by the secretary of state for war David Lloyd George. Asquith initially agreed (provided he retained the right to chair the committee if he chose) before changing his mind after being infuriated by an article in The Times which portrayed the proposed change as a defeat for him. The political crisis grew from this point until Asquith was forced to resign as Prime Minister; he was succeeded by David Lloyd George who thereupon formed a small war cabinet. The original members of the war cabinet were:

    David Lloyd George
    Lord Curzon of Kedleston (Lord President of the Council)
    Andrew Bonar Law (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
    Arthur Henderson (December 1916 – August 1917)
    Lord Milner (December 1916 – April 1918)

    Russia: Tsar at Tsarskoe Selo (until December 19).

    Tunstill's Men: This pretty well sums up why we have so little to report on this day...Conditions remained relatively quiet, as on the previous days. There was a thick mist for much of the day. (question - would that be the fog of war?)

    Ships Launched on this day...

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    USS Shaw (DD-68) was a Sampson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I. She was later transferred to the United States Coast Guard as CG-22. Shaw was laid down on 7 February 1916 by the Mare Island Navy Yard, launched on 9 December 1916, sponsored by Mrs. Virginia Kemper Lynch Millard, and commissioned on 9 April 1917, Lieutenant Commander Milton S. Davis in command.

    Shaw sailed from Mare Island on 25 May 1917 and arrived at New York on 10 June 1917 ready for distant service. She sailed a week later as one of the escort of Group 4 of the Expeditionary Force from the United States to France. On 26 June, she fueled at sea from a tanker, and the convoy arrived at Quiberon Bay, France, on 1 July. On the 4th, she sailed from St. Nazaire and arrived at Cobh, Ireland, the next day. On 10 July, she began patrol and convoy escort duty based on Cobh, convoying eastbound and westbound ships through the submarine danger zone around Great Britain and Ireland, for the most part without incident. On 1 July 1918, she received an SOS from the torpedoed American transport, Covington, and rushed to her aid. On arrival, she found that Covington's survivors had been removed and the ship had been taken undertow. But, the crippled transport sank later in the day. On 25 September, a ship in Shaw's convoy was attacked by a submarine but not damaged. On 9 October 1918, while escorting Aquitania, Shaw's rudder jammed just as she was completing the right leg of a zigzag, leaving her headed directly towards the transport. A moment later, Aquitania struck Shaw, cutting off 90 feet of the destroyer's bow, mangling her bridge and setting her on fire. Shaw's crew heroically brought her damage under control, and a skeleton crew of 21 men took the wreck 40 miles into port under her own power. 12 men died in the accident. Shaw remained under repair at Portsmouth, England, until 29 May 1919 when she sailed for the United States. She arrived at New York on 17 June 1919 and moved to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 2 October where she joined the reserve destroyer group and was decommissioned on 21 June 1922.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  4. #2054

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    Yes Chris, both sites were down. At least we still have not missed an edition.
    Thanks for your work.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  5. #2055

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    (Squadron Leader Hedeby MIA?)

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    Sunday 10th December 1916
    Today we lost: 295

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    Second Lieutenant Eric Skeffington Poole (West Yorkshire Regiment) is shot at dawn at age 31. He suffered ‘shell shock’ after being hit by earth brought up by an enemy shell during fighting on the Somme on 7 July 1916. After a period of recuperation he returned to duty with his battalion at the end of August. Eric Poole is the first British army officer to be sentenced to death and executed during the Great War.

    Eric Skeffington Poole–
    was born in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1885. He first served in the Halifax Rifles in the first decade of 1900. His family moved to England, settling in the Guildford area of Surrey. By October of 1914 Eric had joined the Honourable Artillery Company, working as a driver. He earned a commission as a temporary second lieutenant in the West Yorkshire Regiment by 1915. The following year he was serving in France where his regiment was due to serve in the Battle of the Somme.

    Eric was, according to the National Archives First World War project suffering from shell-shock after being hit by clods of earth following enemy shelling on the 7th of July 1916. He was sent to recuperate and returned to his battalion by the end of August. He was soon to be in charge of C Company at Martinpuich near Albert. , During his trial Eric described his injuries which caused him to get confused and at times have difficulty in making decisions. It was during one of these occasions that it is said he wondered away from his platoon while they were making their way to the front line trenches. Eric was arrested two days later. In November the decision was made to try him by general courts martial for deserting ‘while on active service’. Poole was tried in the small Belgian town of Poperinghe towards the end of November. Six witnesses were called It was noted that Eric’s ‘nerves were rather shaken’. While Eric himself, told that during early October he was feeling ‘damned bad’. Two men spoke in his defence, one a Royal Army Medical Corps., officer, who told that his condition made him incapable of intentionally deserting. Eric re-capped his conditions and told he was unaware of the seriousness of his actions. Despite his defence pleading his case the sentence was ‘death by being shot’.

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    Eric Skeffington Poole sentence signed by Haigh

    Days after a medical board was sent to report on Eric, they concluded he was of sound mind and understood the consequence of his actions. Eric Skeffington Poole, the first British Army officer to be sentenced to death by being shot, was executed by firing squad behind Poperinghe town hall on the 10th of December, and as we know he rests in the town’s military cemetery. Eric’s fate was not made public back home. His demise was not published in newspapers and his family were also anxious to avoid the word spreading. The fate of Eric was not confined to the Commonwealth forces – France sentenced more than 600 men to death by firing squad. Often in open spaces in view of the public and passing servicemen, thus trying to set an example to other soldiers and pointing out the fate of desertion.

    Today’s losses include:


    • A Flight Lieutenant shot down and killed by friendly fire
    • The first British Army Officer sentenced to death and executed in the Great War
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • A family that will lose three sons flying in the Great War
    • A man whose brother was killed last July

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    • Captain Ralph Bertram Kite MC (Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry) is killed at age21. He is the son of the Reverend Joseph Bertram Kite Vicar of St Peter’s Ealing.
    • Flight Lieutenant John Douglas Hume DSC (Royal Naval Air Service) is accidentally killed when he is shot down by friendly fire over the Thames at age 28. He is the only son of the Reverend David Hume.
    • Flight Sub Lieutenant Stanley Valentine Trapp (Royal Naval Air Service) dies of injuries suffered when his Pup sheds its wings during a test flight over his own aerodrome at age 26. He is the first of three brothers to be killed while serving in the Air Forces during the Great War.
    • Second Lieutenant Hugh Neville Crooke (Royal Engineers) is killed in action at age 19. His brother was killed in July.


    Air Operations:

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 8

    CPO2 Bradley, W.E. (Walter Edwin), Westgate Naval Air Station, RNAS. Killed in Action (Drowned) when Short Admiralty 184 Type Seaplane No.9054, flown by Flt. Lieut. J. D. Hume dived into sea from a considerable height, while on patrol, near Tongue Light Vessel.

    Flt Lt Hume, J.D. (John Douglas), HMS President, RNAS. Killed on patrol aged 20.

    2Lt Lotan, W.D.G. (William Desmond Guthrie), RFC, aged 27.

    2Lt Brooke, A.G. (Arthur Goulburn), 28 Squadron, RFC. Killed while flying aged 22.

    A Mech 2 Coote, E.F. (Ernest Frank), 12 Reserve Squadron, RFC, aged 23.

    A Mech 1 Newman, A.W. (Albert W.), No. 4 Aircraft Acceptance Park, RFC.

    Flt Sub-Lt Trapp, S.V. (Stanley Valentine), 8th (N), Squadron attached 22nd Wing, RFC. Killed in flying accident when his aeroplane collapsed over aerodrome, aged 26.

    A Mech 2 Waller, H, HMS President II, RNAS.

    Claims: 3
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    Sous Lt Jean Pie Hyacinthe Paul Jerome Casale claims his 5th confirmed victory with N23. Shooting down an enemy aircraft near Brabant-sur-Meuse. Jean Casale, Marquis de Montferato, joined the army in 1913. On 1 October 1914, he transferred to the French Air Service. Serving with N23 and Spa38, he scored 13 victories by the end of the war.

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    Capt Georges Felix Madon claims his 4th confirmed victory with N38. Shooting down a LVG C type near Bois de Autry. Madon's 41 victories place him high among the least recognized top aces of the Great War. Unofficially, Madon was credited with 64 probable victories, for a theoretical total of 105! Having learned to fly in 1911, Madon entered the army the next year and obtained his military brevet in January 1913. Thus, Corp. Madon was one of the most experienced French military fliers when the war began. While flying with BL.30, he strayed into Swiss airspace in April 1915 but escaped internment in December. Assigned to MF.218, then-Sgt Madon requested fighter duty and in Sep 1916 he joined N.38. He scored his first victory that month and by year end had four and was promoted to adjutant.

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    Sgt Paul Joannes Sauvage claims his 7th confirmed victory with N38. Shooting down a Rumpler C type south of Monthois. Until his death on 7 January 1917, Paul Joannes Sauvage was the youngest ace in the French Air Service. He was killed in action when his SPAD was shot down by anti-aircraft fire.

    Western Front


    Tunstills Men Sunday 10th December 1916:


    Front line trenches near Zouave Wood

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    Conditions remained relatively quiet, as on the previous days.

    Major Ashton Alexander St. Hill reported for duty with the Battalion, taking over temporarily as 2IC. He was the son of Colonel W.H St. Hill of Tasmania and had been born in Madras, where his father was then serving, in 1872. Back in Tasmania he had served with the Southern Tasmanian Artillery before joining the Imperial Army in 1896; he had then served extensively in India and in Africa. In September 1915 he had married Lilian Carr in a ceremony at Bombay Cathedral and had then returned to England. He was posted to the Battalion as second-in-command, replacing Major Robert Harwar Gill (see 16th October). The posting of Major St. Hill to the Battalion was to be a temporary measure, in anticipation of the impending departure of Lt. Col. Robert Richmond Raymer, CO 10DWR (see 20th November) who was due to take temporary command of 69th Brigade while Brig. Genl. T.S. Lambert was on leave from early January.
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    Major Robert Harwar Gill

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    Lt. Col. Robert Raymer

    2Lt. Bob Perks, DSO (see 2nd December), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, wrote to his Father, with news on his health. It appears that, whilst on leave at home recently, Perks’ Mother had raised concerns about her son’s health. Following this Perks had visited his own Regimental MO and a specialist in Newcastle and some doubt had been raised about a possible heart ‘murmur. He explained the situation in his letter:

    My Dear Dad
    I am writing to you at Leeds in the hopes that it may reach you sooner because I should think you must wonder what I am doing.
    I am awfully mixed. According to my promise to Mother I asked the Dr to listen to my heart. He said it was not right. I went to Newcastle to a specialist this morning and he admitted he heard a murmur but did not think it was due to anything wrong. I have applied for a medical board to decide the point as I am anxious to be sure Dr Hynes and this doctor both think it is wrong. No one suggests it is seriously wrong to alarm me at all but not France at present. No orders for anyone for France have come through but I don’t think I shall go till I have had a board. I have written to Dr Hynes for his statement of the case and think I can persuade the board to carry out the regimental doctors’ idea of keeping me 2 weeks or so on very active duty and see if my heart is affected by it.
    Meanwhile another complication has arisen; the Brigadier has my name as a likely man for his aide de camp! He actually came to see me this morning but I was out! Whether he since interviewed someone else and took him on or not, I don’t know, nor whether it is a job for an unfit man only. In a day or two’s time I hope to write to say I am passed for home service for a bit and am A de C! but ……………
    Love
    Bob


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    2Lt. Bob Perks DSO


    After appearing before a further Medical Board assembled at Tynemouth, Lt. Thomas Beattie, (see 10th November), currently serving with 83rd Training Reserve Battalion in Gateshead, was declared fit for light duty at home for a further month.

    Pte. Keith Sagar Bain, who had been serving in England since December 1914, was posted to France, having reached the age of nineteen; he would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR. Keith Sagar Bain was born 8th December 1897, the son of William Whyte Bain and his wife Marie Louise. He had been educated at Dulwich College before enlisting, aged 16, in the Honourable Artillery Company in October 1914. He had remained in England, serving with 2nd and 3rd Battalions HAC and had been promoted Lance Corporal, whilst working in the Quartermaster’s Stores in July 1916, but had reverted Private two months later. He travelled overnight from Southampton, arriving at Le Havre, where he was posted to 7th Infantry Base Depot.

    Eastern Front:

    Stubborn fighting in Carpathians, south Bukovina and Trotus Valley.

    Fighting north of Ploeshti.

    Southern Front:

    Bulgars capture bridgehead opposite Cerna-Voda.

    Fighting north of Monastir.
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    Serbian artillery on the winter move. The guns were drawn by oxen, as the roads were of poor quality and often impossible for motor vehicles.

    Serbia: Russo-Serb attacks against Hill 1050 fail (until December 11) against German Guard-Schuetzen Battalion

    Naval Operations:

    North Sea:
    Merchant U-Boat Deutschland returns to river Weser.

    Shipping Losses: 6

    Neutrals:

    Greece:
    Allies demand Greek demobilization and intercept King’s radio messages to Berlin.

    Anniversary Events:

    1817 Mississippi is admitted as the 20th state.
    1861 Kentucky is admitted to the Confederate States of America.
    1862 The U.S. House of Representatives passes a bill creating the state of West Virginia.
    1869 Governor John Campbell signs the bill that grants women in Wyoming Territory the right to vote as well as hold public office.
    1898 The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Paris, ceding Spanish possessions, including the Philippines, to the United States.

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    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 12-10-2016 at 12:30.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  6. #2056

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    THanks Neil - dinner party was very nice, even managed to get a game of Zombicide in, and even a bit of Wings at the end of the evening - so many thanks for picking this up at short notice, so I could drink beer and play games...

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  7. #2057

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    Good catch Squadron Leader.
    Please note that the Captain Ralph Kite mentioned in the Obits in yesterday's edition is unrelated to the Kytes, but thank you to all those who sent commiserations.
    Kyte.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  8. #2058

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    Thanks Neil & Chris for the last few posts - reference yesterday's post
    question - would that be the fog of war?
    Personally I believe it will forever be a "mystery"! Take a Boom card Michael

  9. #2059

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    December 11th 1916

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    3 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON MONDAY DECEMBER 11TH 1916

    2nd Lieutenant Herbert Carrick Barr 10 Squadron RFC Killed in Action 11 December 1916 aged 22, during an aerial combat. Son of Frederick Herbert and Ida Jane Barr, of Pleasantville, N.Y., U.S.A. Native of Saint John, New Brunswick.

    Air Mechanic 1st Class Frederick William Blackett
    Aeroplane Repair Section, 17th Wing RFC - Died of pneumonia 11 December 1916 aged 29

    2nd Lieutenant Glenny WIlliam Dampier 10 Squadron RFC Killed in Action 11 December 1916 aged 27, during an aerial combat he was flying BE2d 7153


    The following claims were made on this day...

    1 1916 Stanley Goble Australia #8
    2 1916 Chester Duffus Canada #5
    3 1916 Eustace Grenfell England #8
    4 1916 Seldon Long England #3
    5 1916 Eric Pashley England #5

    6 1916 Lewis Whitehead England #1

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    The son of Lewis and Adah Whitehead, Lewis Ewart Whitehead enlisted in the London Rifle Brigade in 1914. He was promoted to Captain after he transferred to the 17th Battalion of the King's Royal Rifles. Captain Whitehead received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 2682 on a Maurice Farman biplane at military school, Norwich on 23 March 1916. After transferring to the Royal Flying Corps, he was wounded in combat with LVGs whilst flying a Morane BB on 26 July 1916. Flying the Nieuport 17 with 60 Squadron on 11 December 1916, Whitehead scored his first victory when he and other members of his flight shot down and captured an Albatros two-seater. In May 1918, as a Flight Commander in 65 Squadron, he scored four more victories flying the Sopwith Camel. Captain Whitehead was reported missing in action on 20 May 1918. He was last seen in combat with a Fokker DR.I flown by Fritz Rumey of Jasta 5.

    7 1916 Manfred von Richthofen Germany #12

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    D.H.2 (5986).Near Arras. In his own combat report we read...11:55hrs above Mercatel near Arras. Vickers one-seater No.5986. Rotary motor 30372. Occupant: made prisoner, wounded Lieutenant Hund (sic).
    About 11:45 I attacked with Leutnant Wortmann at 2800 metres altitude and South of Arras, enemy one-seater Vickers squadron of eight machines. I singled out one machine and after a short curve fight I ruined the adversary's motor and forced him to land behind our lines near Mercatel. Occupant not seriously wounded.

    The victim was Lieutenant Benedict Philip Gerald Hunt of 32 Squadron RFC. After being shot down he was held prisoner until April 1918 when because of illness he was exchanged across the border into neutral Holland. Although still interned and restricted by the Dutch, he no doubt enjoyed a much more pleasant regime of confinement until his repatriation on 18th November 1918.

    An original member of 32 Squadron that went to France at the end of May 1916, Hunt was an experienced and aggressive pilot by December 1916, he had three Victories to his name and had taken over command of 'B' Flight a week before meeting the Red Baron. As part of an 8 man patrol escorting 6 x FE2b's bombing dumps at Morchies. On Hunt's returning P.O.W. Report Hunt states he was wounded in the liver. Hunt for the 1st time on this flight was trying out carrying 2 Lewis guns instead of the DH2's normal one, this would have added to the aeroplane's weight + extra ammo being carried ? which may have made the 'curve fighting' by the Baron easier to 'catch' the DH2 already with inferior performance against the Albatros. (Blimey don't tell Tim - an upgunned DH.2 - not that it appeared to be very effective)

    Captain Hunt is mentioned a number of times (and pictured) in Gwilym H Lewis DFC’s book ‘Wings over the Somme’ as both pilots served together in 32 Squadron from May 1916 until Hunt was shot down. Concerning Hunt’s first Victory on 15th October, Lewis writes:

    ‘ We shall have to bring out some very fine machines next year if we are to keep up with them. Their scouts are very much better than ours now on average, and by jove some of their pilots know how to fly them too, as Maremontemboult will tell you, as he got shot down the other day but was unhurt. And also Hunt, who finally managed to creep off by doing a spinning nose dive, and on the way down shot the Hun off Maremontemboult’s tail as he was endeavouring to creep to our side of the lines. This is not the first time Hunt has shewn great judgment in combating two very clever Hun scouts, both in superior positions and on better machines. It takes a bit of doing, and it is in such times that one’s presence of mind is tested, and some of us find it lacking, alas!’

    8 1916 Adolf Schulte Germany #1

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    Schulte joined Jagdstaffel 12 in November 1916. He became its first ace during the opening months of 1917, scoring nine victories.[2] On 12 April 1917, he first downed Edwin Hayne.[3] He subsequently collided with a Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d from No. 18 Squadron RAF to score his final victory, killing both himself and the British pilot and observer.

    9 1916 Keith Caldwell New Zealand #2
    10 1916 Henry Meintjes South Africa #2

    On this day we lost 241 men.

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    Captain Roger Forrest Hughes (Australian Army Medical Corps) is killed in action at age 26. His son will be born on 4th February and killed service as a Flying Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force on 3rd October 1942 and his wife will be killed in a car crash on her way to see their son’s grave. He is the son of the ‘Honorable Sir’ Thomas Hughes.

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Brigadier General George Bull DSO General Officer Commanding 8th Brigade 3rd Division dies of wounds received four days prior at age 49.
    Captain Philip Tillard Foyster (Royal Engineers) dies of wounds at age 28. He is the son of the late Reverend George Alfred Foyster Rector of All Saints Hastings.
    Lieutenant Edward Keith Head (York & Lancaster Regiment) dies on service in England at age 21. His brother was killed in September 1915.


    Captain Tunstill's Men : Meanwhile back on the front line... In the evening, the Battalion was again relieved by 11th West Yorks and again took over their billets in the Infantry Barracks in Ypres. As on their earlier stay, large working parties were provided overnight for the Royal Engineers. John Widdup, younger brother of 2Lt. Harry Widdup (see 20th September) completed his attestation papers in Skipton; he was 27 years old, married and his wife, Frances, was pregnant with their first child. Harry had been working in the family cotton manufacturing business in Barnoldswick.

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    Sea War
    Adriatic: Italian bat*tleship Regina Margherita (many casualties including Captain) sunk by two mines from UC-14 off Valona, Albania, returning to Taranto for refit. Italy only announces the loss on January 20, 1917.

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    The Regina Margherita class was a class of two battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina between 1898 and 1905. The class comprised two ships: Regina Margherita and Benedetto Brin. The ships were designed by the latter's namesake, Benedetto Brin, who died before the ships were completed. They were armed with a main battery of four 12 in (305 mm) guns and could steam at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). Both ships saw extensive service with the Italian fleet for the first decade of their careers. They saw action in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, where they participated in the seizure of Cyrenaica in North Africa and operations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. They were reduced to training ships by World War I, and both ships were lost with heavy death tolls during the conflict. Benedetto Brin exploded in Brindisi in September 1915, and Regina Margherita struck a mine and sank in December 1916.

    After the negative experience with the preceding Ammiraglio di Saint Bon class, which were too weak to engage foreign battleships, and too slow to catch cruisers, the Italian navy wanted a new battleship that returned to a larger, more effective size. In particular, they wanted to be able to challenge the new Habsburg-class battleships being built in neighboring Austria-Hungary. They returned to the 12-inch (305 mm) gun that was standard in most other navies of the day, but sacrificed armor protection to achieve high speed. As such, the ships represented a hybrid type that merged the firepower of the slow battleships and the speed of a cruiser. Benedetto Brin initially wanted to arm the ships with only two of the 12-inch guns and twelve 8 in (203 mm) guns, but after his death, Admiral Ruggero Alfredo Micheli altered the design to double the number of 12-inch guns, at the expense of eight of the medium-caliber pieces.

    Both Regina Margherita and Benedetto Brin served in the active duty squadron for the first few years of their careers, and participated in the peacetime routine of fleet training. Regina Margherita frequently served as the fleet flagship before the completion of the new Regina Elena-class battleships. On 29 September 1911, Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire, starting the Italo-Turkish War. The two ships saw action during the war in the 3rd Division in the 2nd Squadron. Benedetto Brin took part in the attack on Tripoli in October 1911, and both were involved in the campaign to seize Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Italy initially remained neutral during World War I, but by 1915, had been convinced by the Triple Entente to enter the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Both the Italians and Austro-Hungarians adopted a cautious fleet policy in the confined waters of the Adriatic Sea, and so the two Regina Margherita-class battleships did not see action. Benedetto Brin served as a training ship based in Brindisi until she was destroyed in an internal explosion in the harbor on 27 September 1915 with heavy loss of life; 454 men of the ship's crew died in the explosion. Regina Margherita, also serving as a training ship, served for somewhat longer, until she struck a mine laid by the German submarine SM UC-14 on the night of 11–12 December 1916. Some 675 men were killed in the sinking

    Baltic: Vice-Admiral Nepenin’s Fleet order against non-saluting becomes unpopular with officers and men.

    Western Front
    Somme: Violent Allied artillery bombardment.
    Verdun*: Preparatory French bombardment by 760 guns (350 heavy).

    Politics
    Britain: Grey resigns as British Foreign Secretary after exactly 11 years in office, Balfour succeeds.

    Neutrals
    Greece: Admiral Fournet relieved of command for December 1 action.

    Home Fronts
    Britain: Lord Derby succeeds Lloyd George as War Minister. Labour Ministry formed.

    Southern Front
    Battle of the Cerna and Monastir ends

    The Monastir Offensive was an Allied military operation against the forces of the Central Powers during World War I, intended to break the deadlock on the Macedonian Front by forcing the capitulation of Bulgaria and relieving the pressure on Romania. The offensive took the shape of a large battle and lasted for three months and ended with the capture of the town of Monastir. On an average depth of 50 kilometers the Bulgarian First Army (from the end of September German Eleventh Army) gave battle on six occasions and was forced to retreat five times.

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    In August 1916 Romania chose to join the war effort on the side of the Entente and concentrated most of its forces for an invasion of Transylvania leaving its 3rd Army to guard the border with Bulgaria. The Russian and French proposals for a joint attack of the Romanian Army and the Allied Salonika Army against Bulgaria were no longer realistic. The Allies however still planned a large offensive in the Macedonian Front for the middle of August in order to support Romania's entry in the war and pin down as many Bulgarian forces as possible.

    The Bulgarian High Command suspected an impending offensive and the fighting around Doiran that erupted on 9 August only confirmed these suspicions. On their part the Bulgarians had urged for an offensive in Macedonia since the beginning of the year and now planned a strike with the First Army and Second Army on both Allied flanks. The Germans also gave their sanction for the plan as the former army was part of Army Group Mackensen.

    On 17 August the Chegan and Struma offensives began. On the left flank the Bulgarian Second Army meeting little resistance on its way seized all the Greek territory up to the Struma river. On the right flank the Bulgarian First Army captured Lerin and continued advancing in the face of stiffening Allied resistance. The advance soon ground to a halt, the offensive here was called off on 27 August and the Bulgarian forces ordered to dig in. This pre-emptive strike however thwarted general Sarrail's plans and forced him to postpone his own offensive. The need for an Allied attack against Bulgaria became even more urgent in early September 1916, as the Bulgarian Third Army under general Stefan Toshev and field marshal Mackensen achieved decisive victories against the Romanian and Russians in the battles of Tutrakan and Dobrich. By September 1916 the Allies had gathered a substantial force of 6 Serbian, 5 British, 4 French, 1 Italian infantry division and 1 Russian infantry brigade for operations on the Macedonian Front. The ration strength of this army reached between 369,000 and 400,000 men. The battle strength was deployed in 201 infantry battalions with 1,025 artillery pieces and 1,300 machine guns. The Central Powers could initially oppose these forces with the Bulgarian First Army, German Eleventh Army and Bulgarian Second Army in total 172 infantry battalions, c. 900 artillery pieces. In addition there was also the 10th Bulgarian Infantry Division and the forces protecting the Aegean coast from the river Struma to the border with the Ottoman Empire - 25 infantry battalions, 31 artillery batteries and 24 machine guns. General Sarrail planned to strike at the right wing and center of the overextended First Army with his Serbian, French, Russian and Italian forces and content himself with only demonstrative attacks against the Vardar valley and the Struma, that were to be conducted by the British in order to pin down as many Bulgarian and German troops as possible.

    A major problem for the Bulgarians was that their army and resources were stretched to the limits from Dobruja to Macedonia and Albania. In this difficult situation the Bulgarian high command turned to its German allies. The Germans themselves had little reinforcements to offer as the Brusilov Offensive had taken its toll and the Battle of the Somme was still raging. They turned to the Ottoman Empire and convinced Enver Pasha to send the 11,979 men of the 50th Division to Macedonia. In October these forces took up position on the Struma and a month later were joined by the 12,609 men of the 46th Ottoman Division. The two divisions formed the XX Corps and remained in the region until May 1917, when they were recalled to Mesopotamia.[6] This freed some Bulgarian forces that could now be directed to reinforce the Eleventh Army. In addition the Ottoman Rumeli Detachment (177th Regiment) of 3,598 men was also attached to General Winkler's forces.

    On 30 September general Joffre informed general Sarrail of the impending great offensive of the Romanian and Russian forces under general Averescu against the Bulgarian Third Army in Dobrudja and their expected crossing of the Danube between Ruse and Tutrakan. The commander of the Allied Army of the East now planned to use this by coordinating it with a renewed push against the Eleventh Army's Kenali line and eventually knock out Bulgaria out of the war. On 4 of October the Allies attacked with the French and Russians in the direction of Monastir - Kenali, the Serbian First and Third Army in along the Kenali - Cherna Loop line, the Serbian Second Army against the Third Balkan Division - in the direction of Dobro Pole. The allies had 103 battalion and 80 batteries against the 65 battalions and 57 batteries of the Central Powers in the area.

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    The Battle of the River Cherna opened with the Serbians trying to gain a foothold on its northern bank. Initially their progress was slow and further west the French and Russian initial attacks were repulsed. During the next weeks the battle developed in a series of attacks and counter-attacks in which the Allies were gradually gaining ground, owing to their artillery superiority. The Bulgarian and German commands also tried to stabilize the situation by reinforcing the Eleventh Army with troops transferred from the First and even from the Second Army. For the duration of the battle at the Cherna Loop some 14 Bulgarian and 4 German infantry regiments participated actively in the fighting. The French and Russians achieved a breakthrough around Kenali by the end of October but were soon halted by the Bulgarians and Germans. The Italian division was also brought to the front and supported the attacks around Monastir.

    By this time however general Below had decided to abandon Monastir and on 18 November, while the heavy fighting was still going on, General der Infanterie Winckler ordered the Eleventh Army to retreat to new positions to the north of Monastir. The Bulgarian commander in chief General Nikola Zhekov protested this decision but in the end he couldn't stop its execution. On 19 of November French and Russian soldiers entered the town. The Bulgarians established a new position on the Chervena Stena - height 1248 - height 1050 - Makovo - Gradešnica defensive line. Almost immediately it came under attack but this time the new position held firm because the Allies were exhausted, having reached the limits of their logistical capacity. Thus all French and Serbian attempts to breakthrough the line were defeated and with the onset of winter the front stabilized along its entire length. On 11 of December general Joffre called off the offensive.

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    The Entente continued with their attempts for a breakthrough against the Bulgarians in the area of the River Crna in the next year again without any success. The allied offensive in spring 1917 was a failure. The Bulgarian-German army continued to hold the Macedonian Front against French, British, Serbian and Greek troops until the Franco-Serbian breakthrough at Dobro Pole on 15 September 1918.
    Last edited by Hedeby; 12-12-2016 at 02:40.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  10. #2060

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    I thought you said there was little to report Chris! Well done that man.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  11. #2061

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    Thanks Chris - another very informative post

  12. #2062

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    December 12th 1916

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    According to RFC records - NO DEATHS ARE RECORDED FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 12TH 1916

    There were also no aerial victory claims on this day.

    232 men were lost on this day...

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Master Luke Spargo Berryman
    (S S Coath) is killed at age 59 when his ship strikes a mine in the English Channel killing all 16 on board.
    Lieutenant Desmond Patrick Webb Carter (Royal Engineers) is killed at age 19. He is the son of Major General ‘Sir’ John Carter.
    Corporal Albert Alexander Currie (Australian Infantry) is killed at age 23. His brother will be killed in September net year.
    Corporal Thomas James Wright (Australian Infantry) is killed at age 36. He is an Australian Rules footballer who Captained the New Zealand team that completed in the 1908 Melbourne Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival.
    Private Alfred Joseph Sizer (Australian Infantry) is killed two weeks after his brother was killed.

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    Desmond Patrick Webb Carter

    Tunstill's Men: The day was misty, with a threat of snow in the morning which soon turned to rain. Large working parties of around 200 men were provided overnight for the Royal Engineers; otherwise conditions were largely quiet.

    Pte. William Priestley died of wounds at No.13 Stationary Hospital, Boulogne. He was 21 years old (born 5th August 1895) and from Bradford; he had not been an original member of the Battalion but had arrived in France at some point in 1916. The date and circumstances of his wounding have not been established. Lt. Daniel William Paris Foster (see 13th November), Quartermaster, 10DWR, who had reported sick a month earlier, suffering from bronchitis, whilst on home leave, wrote to the War Office to request an extension of his sick leave until he could be examined by a Medical Board (he had already applied for an examination)

    Western Front
    GERMANY MAKES PEACE PROPOSALS.
    France: Foch removed by Joffre from command of Northern Army Group (d’Esperey succeeds on December 27); JOFFRE SUCCEEDED BY HIS CHOICE, NIVELLE (announced December 16, assumes duties December 17) as C-in-C of the Armies of the North and Northeast (Western Front), who cancels long-planned French blow south of Somme.

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    Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924) was a French artillery officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion, and the First World War. Nivelle was a very capable commander and organizer of field artillery at the regimental and divisional levels. In May 1916, he succeeded Philippe Pétain as commander of the French Second Army in the Battle of Verdun, leading counter-offensives that rolled back the German forces in late 1916. During these actions he and General Charles Mangin were already accused of wasting French lives. Following the successes at Verdun, Nivelle was promoted to commander-in-chief of the French armies on the Western Front in December 1916, largely because of his persuasiveness with French and British political leaders, aided by his fluency in English. He was responsible for the Nivelle Offensive at the Chemin des Dames, which had aroused skepticism already in its planning stages. When the costly offensive failed to achieve a breakthrough on the Western Front, a major mutiny occurred, affecting roughly half the French Army, which conducted no further major offensive action for several months. Nivelle was replaced as commander-in-chief by Philippe Pétain in May 1917.

    Robert Georges Nivelle, born on 15 October 1856 in the French provincial town of Tulle in Corrčze, had a French father and an English Protestant mother. Nivelle also was a Protestant and this was a help to him as in the context of the politics of the French military Catholic piety was a handicap. He began his service in the French Army in 1878 upon graduating from the École Polytechnique. Starting as a sub-lieutenant with French artillery, Nivelle became a colonel-of-artillery in December 1913. During that period, Nivelle served with distinction in Algeria, Tunisia and in China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1898. Described as "an articulate and immensely self-confident gunner", Nivelle played a key role in defeating German attacks during the Alsace Offensive, the First Battle of the Marne, and the First Battle of the Aisne, as a result of the intense artillery fire he organised against them. Consequently, he was promoted to the rank of general in October 1914.

    In 1916 the Battle of Verdun occurred (21 February – 18 December), during which Nivelle was a subordinate to Philippe Pétain. When Pétain was promoted to the command of the French Central Army Group, Nivelle was promoted to Pétain's previous command of the French Second Army, which was fighting against the Germans at Verdun, and he took direct control of the army on 1 May 1916. Nivelle is considered [according to whom?] to have squandered the lives of his soldiers in wasteful counter-attacks during the Battle of Verdun; only one fresh reserve brigade was left with the Second Army by 12 June. After the Germans captured Fleury on 23 June, Nivelle issued an Order of the Day which ended with the now-famous line: Ils ne passeront pas! (They shall not pass!).

    Nivelle ordered the employment of a creeping barrage when the French made their initial counter-stroke on 24 October. The artillery supporting the infantry focused more on suppressing German troops as opposed to destroying specific objects. These tactics proved effective: French troops re-took Fleury on 24 October, as well as Fort Douaumont, whose capture by the Germans on 25 February 1916 had been highly celebrated in Germany. Nivelle's successful counter-strokes were an important factor behind the decision to appoint him to become the commander-in-chief of the French armies on 12 December 1916.Briand was extremely impressed by Nivelle, telling the other leaders at the Rome Conference (January 1917) that during his Verdun attacks Nivelle had sent telegrams from various places on the advance, achieving his objectives exactly according to the predicted timetable.

    Nivelle had less power than his predecessor Joffre. He was placed under the orders of the War Minister Hubert Lyautey and, unlike Joffre, Nivelle's authority did not extend over the Salonika Front.

    Nivelle's slogan (also attributed to Petain) was: “the artillery conquers; the infantry occupies”. He believed that a saturation bombardment, followed by a creeping barrage and by aggressive infantry assaults, could break the enemy's front defences and help French troops reach the German gun-line during a single attack, which would be followed by a breakthrough within two days

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    Sea War
    Britain: Carson succeeds Balfour as First Lord of the Admiralty.

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    David Lloyd George became Prime Minister and he reinstated Carson to high office by making him First Lord of the Admiralty on 10 December 1916, a position he held until 17 July 1917. Carson’s predecessor in the role was the pro-Union Arthur Balfour; the two men had shared anti-Home Rule platforms just a few years before. Balfour had stood in for Carson at a rally in Aberdeen in November 1913 which drew an audience of 3000 people. During Carson’s tenure, he oversaw the Royal Navy’s battles in the Atlantic with German submarines and encouraged the development of anti-submarine technology. He supported the use of convoys across the Atlantic to ensure links between Britain, Canada and the USA were protected. During the Great War Carson’s son, Walter Seymour Carson, served in the Royal Navy, eventually commanding a submarine. In a speech in the House of Commons in February 1917, Carson gave a 1 hour 20 minute speech on the work of the Navy, reporting the loss of a total of almost 100 British ships in the previous three months. His former Home Rule opponent, Major Winston Churchill, suggested that Carson may have been exaggerating the scale of the “submarine menace”. After leaving his Admiralty post in July 1917 Carson remained a member of the War Cabinet and Minister without Portfolio.

    There were three ships reported lost (including the SS Coath - see above)

    Coath United Kingdom The coaster was sunk in the English Channel 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) south west of Eastbourne, East Sussex by SM UB-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of sixteen of her crew.
    Conrad United Kingdom The schooner was scuttled in the English Channel 45 nautical miles (83 km) south south east of St. Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight (50°05′N 0°40′W) by SM UB-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
    St. Ursula United Kingdom The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 45 nautical miles (83 km) south east by south of Malta by SM U-32 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four crew.

    Eastern Mediterranean: Admiral Dartigue relieved of command for Athens debacle, Vice-Admiral Gauchet takes over as French and titular Allied C-in-C (outside Adriatic and Aegean) on December 16, for duration of war.

    Politics
    GERMAN ‘PEACE NOTE’ TO ALLIES: Bethmann in Reichstag says Central Powers willing to negotiate in neutral country but does not detail ‘propositions’.

    Germany’s approach toward peace negotiations took a new turn in late 1916. On 12 December, declaring that the Central Powers “have given proof of their indestructible strength in winning considerable successes at war,” Germany and its allies publicly called for peace negotiations with their enemies, stating no specific conditions or demands. On its surface, this peace note appeared based on Germany’s confidence in its military position. In reality, the calculations behind it were more complicated. Bethmann Hollweg, the chief proponent of the initiative in the German government, thought time was not on Germany’s side in the war. At home, Germany’s largest political party, the Social Democrats (SPD), broke apart over supporting war credits in late 1914, and its majority faction, while still behind the war effort, increasingly demanded assurances that Germany wanted peace and fought only in self-defense, not for conquest. Germany’s chief ally, Austria-Hungary, also seemed weak and demoralized and, while Germany’s armies occupied enemy territory in the east and west, the Reich faced an Allied coalition with superior resources and a naval blockade that was slowly strangling Germany’s economy. Desperate to break the military stalemate, German military and naval leaders were anxious to begin unrestricted submarine warfare, a course Bethmann Hollweg feared would bring the United States and possibly other neutrals into the war on the Allied side. Bethmann Hollweg’s peace initiative aimed to relieve all of these domestic and international pressures on the Reich. If the Allies accepted Germany’s peace offer, unrestricted submarine warfare could be averted and negotiations would be based on the existing status quo, which heavily favored Germany. If they refused, which was likely, the Allies would be responsible for prolonging the war, not Germany. This would rally leftist Germans to the war effort and invigorate Austria-Hungary’s determination to fight. By highlighting Germany’s desires for peace and Allied intransigence, an Allied rejection of Germany’s peace offer might also increase the chances of neutral nations, including the United States, tolerating Germany’s unleashing of its submarines. Finally, Bethmann Hollweg expected that a refusal by the Allies to negotiate would spur anti-war sentiment in France and Russia, which might advance another effort to convince one or both of those countries to sign a separate peace with the Reich.

    Neutrals
    Greece: King regrets Athens incidents via Paris Ambassador.

    Home Fronts
    France: Briand creates five-man war cabinet including new Armaments Minister Thomas.
    Germany: Kaiser’s warlike speech to troops at Mulhouse, Alsace. General Groner addresses unique TU (Trade Union) Congress at Berlin, orders War Office bureaux to recognize unions (December 13).
    Britain: Munitions Ministry Trench Mortar committee formed.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  13. #2063

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    Many thanks again Chris. Relatively quiet times, but in some ways that's almost a relief, especially at this time of the year. Cheers, Mike

  14. #2064

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hedeby View Post
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    December 12th 1916

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    According to RFC records - NO DEATHS ARE RECORDED FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 12TH 1916
    Anybody else spot the Editor's whimsical placement of the advert and this remark?
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  15. #2065

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    Be nice if we had one to play them on!

    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte View Post
    Anybody else spot the Editor's whimsical placement of the advert and this remark?
    Rob.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  16. #2066

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skafloc View Post
    Be nice if we had one to play them on!
    I was coming to that Squadron Leader.
    Kyte.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  17. #2067

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    I was wondering if anyone would spot that - well done Rob !

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  18. #2068

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    December 13th 1916

    Today's news sponsors are ...

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    For the second day in a row we have NO RFC DEATHS RECORDED

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

    Offizierstellvertreter Karl Kaszala (Austro Hungarian Air Service) claims his first victory on this day

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    During World War I, Kaszala was the only Austro-Hungarian non-commissioned officer awarded the German Iron Cross, second class. He joined the army in 1914 but transferred to the air service and was posted to Flik 14 as a reconnaissance pilot. Claiming the Aviatik B.III was a deathtrap, Kaszala refused to fly it and was reassigned to Flik 1. Flying the Brandenburg C.I, he scored three victories by the beginning of 1917 and in February of that year, he was reassigned to Flik 41J under Godwin Brumowski. Flying Brandenburg and Albatros scouts on the Isonzo Front, he was credited with five more victories, including one balloon. (alas my translation skills are insufficient to get much more information)

    Major Gilbert Ware Murlis Green 17 Squadron RFC claims his second victory by shooting down a DFW whilst flying BE.12 no. 6601

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    Gilbert Ware Murlis Green joined the army in 1914 and transferred to the Royal Flying Corps the following year. After serving as an observer with 5 Squadron, he completed flight training in 1916 and was posted to 17 Squadron in Salonika. While serving with this squadron, he scored his first six victories flying the B.E.12. In the summer of 1917, he downed an Albatros C while flying a SPAD. Returning to England, he assumed command of 44 Squadron. Flying a Sopwith Camel specially modified for night fighting, Green scored his final victory on 14 December 1917, downing a Gotha G.III bomber over southeast England. It was the first German plane to fall on British soil during a night raid.

    On this day we lost 263 men

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    Ernest Briggs- Gooderham

    Lieutenant Ernest John Robinson Briggs-Gooderham (Irish Regiment attached Machine Gun Corps) is killed at age 22. He is the adopted son of the Reverend A Gooderham Vicar of Eglingham.
    Lieutenant John Denys Hugh Maddrell (Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry) is killed at age 20. He is the son of Canon Thomas Fisher Maddrell Vicar of Gulval.
    Lance Corporal Frederick George Coles (Worcestershire Regiment) dies of wounds at home at age 30. His brother will be killed next June.
    Private Seth Allcock (South Staffordshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 19. His brother was killed in October 1915.
    Private John Joseph Acres (Grenadier Guards) is killed less than two weeks after his brother died on service at home.

    Mesopotamia:
    Maude begins Tigris offensive with 48,500 men; 174 guns and 24 planes against 20,600 Turks with 70 guns: Sannaiyat shelled and Shalt-el-Hai Canal bridged (6 pontoon bridges by December 18).

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    On 20 January 1916, Enver Pasha replaced Nureddin Pasha with Colonel Halil Kut (Khalil Pasha). Nureddin Pasha did not want to work with a German General. He sent a telegram to the War Ministry "The Iraq Army has already proven that it does not need the military knowledge of Goltz Pasha..."[citation needed] After the first failure, General Nixon was replaced by General Lake. British forces received small quantities of supplies from the air. These drops were not enough to feed the garrison, though. Halil Kut forced the British to choose between starving or surrendering, though in the mean time they would try to lift the siege. Between January–March 1916, both Townshend and Aylmer launched several attacks in an attempt to lift the siege. In sequence, the attacks took place at the Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad, the Battle of the Wadi, the Battle of Hanna, and the Battle of Dujaila Redoubt. These series of British attempts to break through the encirclement did not succeed and their costs were heavy. Both sides suffered high casualties. In February, XIII Corps received 2nd Infantry Division as a reinforcement. Food and hopes were running out for Townshend in Kut-al-Amara. Disease were spreading rapidly and could not be cured. On 19 April Field Marshal Von der Goltz died of cholera. On 24 April, an attempt by the paddle steamer “Julnar” to re-supply the town by river failed. With that there was no way the British could resupply Kut. After repeated attempts to break through, the Ottoman attacks on the city. Rather than wait for reinforcements, Townshend surrendered on 29 April 1916. The remaining force in Kut-al-Amara of 13,164 soldiers became captives of the Ottomans. The British viewed the loss of Kut as a humiliating defeat. It had been many years since such a large body of British Army soldiers had surrendered to an enemy. Also this loss followed only four months after the British defeat at the Battle of Gallipoli. Nearly all the British commanders involved in the failure to rescue Townshend were removed from command. The Ottomans proved they were good at holding defensive positions against superior forces.

    The British refused to let the defeat at Kut stand. Further attempts to advance in Mesopotamia were ordered by the politicians on the War Committee (18 September), including Curzon and Chamberlain, who argued that there would be no net savings in troops if a passive policy in the Middle East encouraged Muslim unrest in India, Persia and Afghanistan, and despite the opposition of Robertson. A major problem for the British was the lack of logistical infrastructure. When ships arrived at Basra, they had to be unloaded by small boats which then unloaded their cargo which was then stored in warehouses, which there were not enough of in Basra. Ships often sat for days waiting to be unloaded. Then supplies had to be sent north along the river in shallow draft river steamers because there were almost no roads north. Usually the amount of supplies being sent north was barely adequate to supply the forces in place. A plan to build a railway was rejected by the Indian Government in 1915, but after Kut it was approved.After the defeat at Kut, the British made a major effort to improve the ability to move men and equipment into theater, and keep them supplied. The port at Basra was greatly improved so that ships could be quickly unloaded.Good roads were built around Basra. Rest camps and supply dumps were created to receive men and material from the port. More and better river steamers were put into service moving supplies up river.New hospitals were also set up to better care for the sick and wounded. As a result, the British were able to bring more troops and equipment to the front lines and keep them properly supplied for a new offensive.

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    The new commander, General Maude, despite receiving secret orders from Robertson not to attempt to take Baghdad, was given additional reinforcements and equipment. For the next six months he trained and organized his army. At the same time, the Ottoman Sixth Army was growing weaker. Khalil Pasha received very few replacements, and ended up disbanding the weak 38th Division and used its soldiers as replacements for his other divisions, the 46th, 51st, 35th, and 52nd. Robertson changed his mind when it seemed that the Russians might advance to Mosul, removing any Turkish threat to Mesopotamia, and authorised Maude to attack in December 1916.

    Maude's offensive was launched on 13 December 1916. The British advanced up both sides of the Tigris river, forcing the Ottoman army out of a number of fortified positions along the way. General Maude's offensive was methodical, organized, and successful. Khalil Pasha was able to concentrate most of his forces against Maude near Kut. However, Maude switched his advance to the other bank of the Tigris, bypassing most of the Ottoman forces. The Ottoman XVIII Corps escaped destruction only by fighting some desperate rear guard actions. It did lose quite a bit of equipment and supplies. The British occupied Kut and continued to advance up the Tigris.

    Sea War
    Black Sea: Russian warships shell Bulgar grain mills at Balchik north of Varna.

    Eastern Atlantic: Destroyer HMS Landrail depth charges and sinks coastal submarine UB-29 in southwestern Approaches.

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    The UB classes were coastal sub*marines which stemmed initially from a requirement for a boat of limited performance that could be transported by rail to its area of operations. Though the hull would need to be divided into three main sections to achieve this, the major restriction was on diameter. For this reason, the initial 17 boats com*pleted in 1915 (and later designated the ‘UB I’ class) were single-hulled, with diving, trimming and fuel tanks inboard. They were also single*-screwed and, with the diesel in the unreliable early days of its develop*ment, this proved a mechanical draw*back. Sections were round, flattening forward to an ellipse to allow two 450*mm (17.7-in) tubes to be carried side by side. As there was space for only two spare torpedoes, the lack of a proper deck gun was a real limitation, but those operating from Bruges (fol*lowing assembly at Antwerp) were a nuisance off the British east coast, par*ticularly to the fishing fleet, at that time composed mainly of sailing craft.

    Several operated from Pola on the Adriatic, and one of these, von Heim*burg’s UB-14, sank the troop transport Royal Edward near Kos in August 1915 with the loss of almost 1,000 lives. In the November he sank also the British sub*marine E20, which was keeping a com*promised rendezvous. Though the ‘UB Is’ met their de*signed aims, they inevitably proved inadequate with the war stalemated on land and, therefore, becoming of grea*ter importance at sea. Their 1915-1916 fol*low-ons, the ‘UB II’ class boats, were therefore considerably enlarged to allow for twin-screw propulsion, together with greater power and range. As there was no longer any prospect of rail transportation, they could be given saddle-tanks, the dou*ble-hulled construction allowing some tanks to be carried outboard, thus in*creasing space within. This in turn per*mitted two 500-mm (19.7-in) tubes to be carried forward, vertically dis*posed, together with four reloads. A 50-mm (1.97-in) deck gun and a radio installation were also fitted in the class, which ran to 30 boats (UB-18 to UB-47).

    Politics
    France: Prime Minister Briand sums up German peace note as ‘Heads I win, tails you lose.’.

    Neutrals
    Spain: German Madrid Military attaché radios Berlin about Mata Hari perhaps knowing Allies can read code. In December 1916, the French Second Bureau of the French War Ministry let Mata Hari obtain the names of six Belgian agents. Five were suspected of submitting fake material and working for the Germans, while the sixth was suspected of being a double agent for Germany and France. Two weeks after Mata Hari had left Paris for a trip to Madrid, the double agent was executed by the Germans, while the five others continued their operations. This development served as proof to the Second Bureau that the names of the six spies had been communicated by Mata Hari to the Germans.

    Home Fronts
    Portugal: Military coups until December 14 fail.
    France: Prototype Renault FT-17 light tank ordered (conceived by Colonel Estienne and Renault in July), limited production approved on December 30.

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    The Renault FT, frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the "FT-17" or "FT17", was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to have its armament within a fully rotating turret.[note 1] The Renault FT's configuration – crew compartment at the front, engine compartment at the back, and main armament in a revolving turret – became and remains the standard tank layout. As such, historians of armoured warfare have called the Renault FT the world's first modern tank. Over 3,000 Renault FT tanks were manufactured by French industry, most of them during the year 1918. Another 950 of an almost identical licensed copy of the FT (the M1917) were made in the United States, but not in time to enter combat.

    The FT was designed and produced by the Société des Automobiles Renault (Renault Automobile Company), one of France's major manufacturers of motor vehicles then and now.

    It is thought possible that Louis Renault began working on the idea as early as 21 December 1915, after a visit from Colonel J.B.E. Estienne. Estienne had drawn up plans for a tracked armoured vehicle based on the Holt caterpillar tractor, and, with permission from General Joffre, approached Renault as a possible manufacturer. Renault declined, saying that his company was operating at full capacity producing war materiel and that he had no experience of tracked vehicles. Estienne took his plans to the Schneider company, where they became France's first operational tank, the Schneider CA. At a later, chance meeting with Renault on 16 July 1916, Estienne asked him to reconsider, which he did. The speed with which the project then progressed to the mock-up stage has led to the theory that Renault had been working on the idea for some time.

    Louis Renault himself conceived the new tank's overall design and set its basic specifications. He imposed a realistic limit to the FT's projected weight, which could not exceed 7 tons. Louis Renault was unconvinced that a sufficient power-to-weight ratio could be achieved with the production engines available at the time to give sufficient mobility to the heavy tank types requested by the military. Renault's most talented industrial designer, Rodolphe Ernst-Metzmaier, generated the FT's detailed execution plans. Charles-Edmond Serre, a long time associate of Louis Renault, organized and supervised the new tank's mass production. The FT's tracks were kept automatically under tension to prevent derailments, while a rounded tail piece facilitated the crossing of trenches. Because the engine had been designed to function normally under any slant, very steep slopes could be negotiated by the Renault FT without loss of power. Effective internal ventilation was provided by the engine's radiator fan, which drew its air through the front crew compartment of the tank and forced it out through the rear engine's compartment.

    Renault's design was technically far more advanced than the other two French tanks at the time, namely the Schneider CA1 (1916) and the heavy Saint-Chamond (1917). Nevertheless, Renault encountered some early difficulties in getting his proposal fully supported by the head of the French tank arm, Colonel (later General) Jean Baptiste Eugčne Estienne. After the first British use of heavy tanks on 15 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme, the French military still pondered whether a large number of light tanks would be preferable to a smaller number of superheavy tanks (the later Char 2C). However, on 27 November 1916, Estienne had sent to the French Commander in Chief a personal memorandum proposing the immediate adoption and mass manufacture of a light tank based on the specifications of the Renault prototype. After receiving two large government orders for the FT tank, one in April 1917 and the other in June 1917, Renault was at last able to proceed. However, his design remained in competition with the superheavy Char 2C until the end of the war.

    The prototype was refined during the second half of 1917, but the Renault FT remained plagued by radiator fan belt problems throughout the war. Only 84 were produced in 1917, but 2,697 were delivered to the French army before the Armistice.

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    The Renault FT was widely used by French forces in 1918 and by the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) on the Western Front in the later stages of World War I.

    The battlefield debut of the Renault FT occurred on 31 May 1918 east of the Forest of Retz, east of Chaudun, between Ploisy and Chazelles, during the Second Battle of the Marne. This engagement, with 30 FTs, successfully broke up a German advance, but in the absence of infantry support, the vehicles later withdrew. From then on, gradually increasing numbers of FTs were deployed, together with smaller numbers of the older Schneider CA1 and Saint-Chamond tanks. As the war had become a war of movement during the summer of 1918, during the Hundred Days Offensive, the lighter FTs were often transported on heavy trucks and special trailers rather than by rail on flat cars. Estienne had initially proposed to overwhelm the enemy defences using a "swarm" of light tanks, a tactic that was eventually successfully implemented. Beginning in late 1917, the Entente allies were attempting to outproduce the Central Powers in all respects, including artillery, tanks, and chemical weapons. Consequently a goal was set of manufacturing 12,260 Renault FT tanks (including 4,440 of the American version) before the end of 1919.

    After the end of World War I, Renault FTs were exported to many countries (Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, Iran, Japan, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and Yugoslavia). Renault FT tanks were used by most nations having armoured forces, generally as their prominent tank type. The tanks were used in many later conflicts, such as the Russian Civil War, Polish-Soviet War, Chinese Civil War, Rif War, Spanish Civil War, and Estonian War of Independence. On 5 February 1920 Estonia purchased nine vehicles from France.
    Last edited by Hedeby; 12-13-2016 at 15:28.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  19. #2069

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    14th December 1916

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    There was one casualty for the RFC on this day:

    2nd Lieutenant Bernard Vernon Gordon 63 Squadron RFC: Killed while flying 14 December 1916 aged just 18 He was killed in a flying accident, I believe in Berwickshire.

    Bernard Gordon’s brother, Cedric Foskett Gordon went on to serve with the RFC as an observer after losing a leg whilst serving with the North Staffordshire regiment. We know a lot about the Gordon family as their archive, especially Cedric’s letters of that period survive. Just over a week before Bernard’s death, Cedric wrote to his younger brother who was then in training:

    9 December, letter to 2nd Lieut BV Gordon at the Aerodrome, Cramlington.

    How are you getting on? I am glad you have got over your Preliminary part. I hope you still like flying. What sort of a pilot are you turning out to be? How long will it probably be before you get your wings? Life out here in the Winter is pretty dull. I have only been up twice in the last 3 weeks & there is nothing to do. They have just started quite a decent officers’ club here. I am going there for dinner tonight. We have been having dreadfully dud weather here. Not much chance of it clearing up ‘till about April. A Hun who was out on a night bombing raid lost his way & landed about 2 miles from here 3 nights ago. He only broke his prop. so he did pretty well. There was a great soccer match this afternoon. There is quite a lot of footer out here; I wish I could play & the fellows who can play don’t want to! We have got a very good aerodrome here. The Hun prisoners have made a good job of it. There have been one or two very good concert parties down this way lately & there is to be a boxing show on this week. You ought to try boxing one day, it’s quite good fun & very good exercise. Let me know if I can do anything for you. Who have you got as your Sqdn Commander & Flight Commanders? Nice people I hope. There are a lot of blighters in the Corps. Well, very best of luck. Cheerho.

    There was just the one claim o this day - Leutnant Otto Brauneck of FFA69 who claimed his first kill by downing an unidentified biplane over Monastir.

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    Otto Brauneck was a German World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.[1]

    Brauneck joined the air service and was posted to FFA 69 in Macedonia. He scored first in September 1916. His second victory, over an observation balloon on 14 December, earned him the Iron Cross First Class. After an unconfirmed victory on Christmas Day, he shot down two balloons on 5 January 1917.[3] He then transferred to Jasta 25 on 14 January 1917. On 19 January, he received the Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern. Between 19 January and 6 April 1917, he claimed seven triumphs, only three of which were confirmed. On 20 April 1917, he moved to Jasta 11 on the Western Front, to serve under Manfred von Richthofen. He scored twice in early June. On 22 July 1917, he shot down a 10 Naval Squadron Sopwith Triplane, probably Canadian seven-victory ace Flight Lieutenant John Albert Page. On 26 July, Brauneck fell to the guns of 70 Squadron's Captain Noel Webb. Brauneck's personal Albatros D.III was reportedly painted red overall with a blue nose and spinner.

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    The House Order of Hohenzollern (Hausorden von Hohenzollern or Hohenzollernscher Hausorden) was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses and medals which could be awarded to lower-ranking soldiers and civilians. The House Order of Hohenzollern was instituted on December 5, 1841 by joint decree of Prince Konstantin of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. These two principalities in southern Germany were Catholic collateral lines of the House of Hohenzollern, cousins to the Protestant ruling house of Prussia.

    On August 23, 1851, after the two principalities had been annexed by Prussia, the order was adopted by the Prussian branch of the house. Also, although the two principalities had become an administrative region of the Prussian kingdom, the princely lines continued to award the order as a house order. The Prussian version was then known as the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern (Königlicher Hausorden von Hohenzollern or Königlich Hohenzollernscher Hausorden), to distinguish it from the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern (Fürstlicher Hausorden von Hohenzollern or Fürstlich Hohenzollernscher Hausorden). Although Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated in 1918 as German Emperor and King of Prussia, he did not relinquish his role as Head of the Royal House and as such he was still able to confer the Royal House Order. The Princely House Order continued to be awarded, unofficially, after the fall of the German Monarchy.

    Another development occurred in 1935. Prince Karl Anton's second son, Karl Eitel Friedrich of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, had become prince and then king of Romania as Carol I. Carol I had died childless and was succeeded by his nephew Ferdinand I, also of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. During the reign of Ferdinand's son King Carol II, the Romanian government established its own version of the House Order of Hohenzollern, known in Romanian as Ordinul "Bene Merenti" al Casei Domnitoare ("Order of 'Bene Merenti' of the Ruling House"). This form of the order existed until the Romanian monarchy was abolished in 1947; King Michael also awarded a slightly altered order in exile.

    The Royal House Order of Hohenzollern came in the following classes:

    Grand Commander (Großkomtur)
    Commander (Komtur)
    Knight (Ritter)
    Member (Inhaber)

    "Member" was a lesser class for soldiers who were not officers, and civilians. The Members' Cross (Kreuz der Inhaber), especially with swords, was a rare distinction for non-commissioned officers and the like. Another decoration, the Members' Eagle (Adler der Inhaber) was often given as a long-service award to lesser officials such as schoolteachers. The "Eagles" (the Members' Eagle and the Knights' Eagle, or Adler der Ritter) were solely civilian awards, and could not be awarded with swords. All other grades could be awarded with swords. During World War I, the Knight's Cross with Swords of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern became in effect an intermediate award between the Iron Cross 1st Class and the Pour le Mérite for Prussian junior officers. When awarded with swords it was worn on the ribbon of the Iron Cross.

    On this day there were 262 British soldiers lost...

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Chaplain William Herbert Freestone MC
    dies of wounds received in a air raid on Salonika at age 34.
    Private John D G Sutherland (Australian Infantry) is killed in action on the Somme at age 35. He is the second of three brothers to be killed in a six-month period.
    Private Sydney James Gratton (Australian Infantry) dies of asthma at age 33. He is the third of four brothers who will lose their lives in the Great War.

    Lieutenant Henry James Boyton (Grenadier Guards) is killed in action at age 25. He is the only son of ‘Sir’ James Boyton MP for East Marylebone. He rowed in the Henley Regatta of 1914 rowing bow in the 2nd Eight, which was runner up in the final for the Thames Challenge Cup and was a member of the Marlow and London Rowing Clubs. Lieutenant Boyton took a Commission in the Royal Fusiliers while still at Cambridge and was promoted Lieutenant in January 1914. Soon after the outbreak of War he went to Malta with his Regiment and returned with them to France in March 1915. He was wounded on 9th May 1915 and on his recovery was posted to a Reserve Battalion of his Regiment, in which he became Captain and Adjutant. In July 1916 he transferred to the Grenadier Guards and left for the Front the following October.

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    Capt. Tunstill's Men: Further working parties were provided overnight for the Royal Engineers. Capt. H. Williams of the ASC reported for duty with the Battalion; it has not yet been possible to make a positive identification of this officer. Five new officers arrived in France en route to join the Battalion; all had previously been with 3DWR at North Shields. They were Lt. Arthur Poynder Garratt (see 15th November); and 2Lts. John Robert ****inson (see 25th September); Herbert Middleton (Bob) Hands (see 26th October); Arthur Calvert Tetley (see 25th September) and William George Wade (see 13th November). Lt. Cecil Edward Merryweather (see 7th December), currently on home service with the RFA, appeared before a further Medical Board at the Military Hospital at Ripon. The Board found that, “He is in the same condition as at his last Board. He should report to his M.O. for treatment for his headaches”. They regarded him as still fit only for home service and ordered that he be re-examined in another month.

    Eastern Front
    Rumania: Falkenhayn enters Buzeu in push for Braila and Galatz (Danube towns); all Wallachia in German hands, military government established at Bucharest.

    Air War
    Turkey: RNAS bomb Kuleli*-Burgas rail bridge 20 miles south of Adrianople (and Razlovci in Occupied Serbia on December 15).
    Mesopotamia: RFC BE2c scatters Turk Shumran pontoon bridge, leaving only Tigris Ferry till December 17. 2 RFC BE2cs shoot down Albatros near Kut on December 20. 2-10 aircraft attack Turk depots east of Kut (December 21-22).

    Neutrals
    Greece: Allied 24-hour ultimatum (accepted on December 15).

    Home Fronts
    Austria: Prime Minister Dr Korber resigns against Emperor’s talks with Hungary. Count Clam-Martinitz succeeds on December 20.
    Britain*: Commons votes £400m war credit (total 1916-17 £1.75 billions: war costs £5.5 million per day).

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    In a Paris cinema a movie about the struggle of the British soldiers in France is shown.

    Trouble for the US Navy...

    Stranding of USS H-3 and USS Milwaukee, and salvage of USS H-3, December 1916 - April 1917

    On the morning of 14 December 1916 four U.S. Navy vessels were en route to visit the northern California city of Eureka. The three submarines, H-1, H-2 and H-3, and their tender, the monitor Cheyenne, had come down the West Coast in frequently foggy weather, and now had to negotiate heavy waves to enter the shelter of Humboldt Bay. With visibility limited from her low conning tower, H-3 misjudged her position and found herself in the surf off Samoa Beach, near the bay's entrance. Her one functioning diesel engine was not powerful enough to escape the breakers, and the submarine was soon aground broadside to the beach, rolling heavily.

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    With H-3's crew helpless in the pounding surf, and her companion ships unable to reach her from offshore, the local lifesaving crew began rescue operations. During the afternoon a Coast Guard surfboat was hauled overland and, after fighting its way out through the violent seas, was able carry a line to the stranded submarine. By early evening all of H-3's twenty-seven crewmen had been brought ashore by breeches buoy.

    The problem of salvaging the stranded submarine was now addressed. The Navy tug Iroquois and Coast Guard cutter McCulloch joined Cheyenne in this effort. With great difficulty a heavy cable was run from the submarine out to the monitor, but this broke when Cheyenne and Iroquois tried to pull H-3 free on 19 December. With that, private contractors were called in. A salvage firm offered to do the work for $150,000, but this was deemed too costly. The only other bid, for only $18,000 from a local construction company which proposed to haul H-3 over Samoa Beach and relaunch her into Humboldt Bay, was dismissed as unrealistic. The Navy, though lacking salvage experience and specialized equipment, decided to pursue the task itself.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  20. #2070

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    Another very interesting edition Chris, especially the article on the House Order of Hohenzollern.
    I was unaware of the convoluted nature of this award.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  21. #2071

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    Gordon serving at Cramlington could have been with 36 Squadron. They had dets at Ashington, Bishop Auckland amongst others. Poyet who downed the Zeppelin at Hartlepool served with 36 Squadron. Cramlington gton was the HQ of 36 Squadron. Sadly nothing g remains of these RFC airfields.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  22. #2072

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    Finally managed to access internet on my wife's laptop as my PC singularly refuses to boot up properly some bloody Windows 10 thing called Watchdog keeps causing me problems - how I wish I was still on Window's 7. So apologies in advance as I am going to have to wing large parts of this as my stored links/shortcuts etc are not available to me this evening.

    There were two RFC losses on this day...

    Lieutenant Reginald Robinson Gaskell 14 Reserve Squadron RFC - Killed while flying 15 December 1916 aged 27, in an aircraft accident at Catterick.

    Reginald GASKELL was killed in an accident whilst flying in a Maurice Farman Longhorn A4064, with Lieut Harold Percy Tozer (of No 8 Squadron) , who survived the accident but died the following day on 16 December 1916. He was the son of Peter and Sarah Gaskell and was an architect. He enlisted as a private in the East Yorkshire Regiment and was commissioned in as a 2/Lieutenant. He was transferred to the RFC as an Observer on 5th July 1916. Source David Barnes.

    Air Mechanic 2nd Class W.H. Norris - alas I cannot even find out his full name so scarce is the data.

    There were three aerial victory claims on this day...

    Opening his account flying for FA 203 we have Vizefeldwebel Friedrich Manschott

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    Vizefeldwebel Friedrich Manschott (1893–1917) was a World War I flying ace credited with 12 aerial victories. Manschott earned his flyer's badge on 10 August 1917. His first assignment was to a reconnaissance unit, FA 203. There he downed his first foe, a Farman, on 15 December 1916. He was then transferred to a fighter unit, Jasta 7. Between 5 January and 16 March, he shot down eleven more enemy. Immediately after he shot down his third balloon, on 16 March, he lost a combat to four Caudrons and was killed in action.

    Claiming his second kill was Sous Lieutenant Joseph-Henri Guiguet from Escadrille N3

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    Guiguet was wounded in action on 1 July 1916 whilst attacking an enemy balloon. Wounded again on 23 May 1917. "Remarkable and courageous pilot full of initiative, always volunteers for the most perilous missions and exerts himself with an untiring zeal. On 22 May 1916, he attacked an enemy observation balloon at 1000 meters altitude and downed it." Médaille Militaire citation, 31 May 1916

    Capitaine Jean GeorgesMatton Fernand also claimed his second victory

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    Matton earned a Military Pilot's Brevet on 14 January 1916. After serving with Escadrille MF20, he joined N57 on 23 July 1916 and scored his first victory just five days later. On 2 October 1916, he assumed command of Escadrille N48 and downed 8 more enemy aircraft before he was killed in action the following year.

    289 British Troops were lost on this day...

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Captain Percival Corban-Lucas (Sussex Regiment attached Worcestershire Regiment) dies in Mesopotamia. He is a Rosslyn Park Rugby footballer.
    Chaplain the Reverend Reginald Hardwick Fulford is killed at age 34 in Mesopotamia.
    Second Lieutenant Bernard Vernon Gordon (Royal Flying Corps) is accidentally killed in Northumberland at age 18. His brother was killed last July.
    Private Nicholas Joseph Mann (Worcestershire Regiment) is killed in Mesopotamia at age 38. His brother was killed in August of this year.
    Shoeing Smith Albert Austin Johns (Hussars) is killed in Mesopotamia at age 20. His older brother was killed in May 1915.
    Private Albert Edwin Ginns (Northumberland Fusiliers) is killed at age 30. His older brother will be killed in October 1918.

    Captain Tunstill's Men: A damp and foggy day. The whole of 69th Brigade was relieved by 70th Brigade, with 8KOYLI taken over from the Battalion in the barracks in Ypres. At 7.30 pm the Battalion left Ypres by train for Vlamertinghe and from there completed the short march to Winnipeg Camp, where they would remain until 23rd.

    In a letter to his wife, Brigadier General T.S. Lambert (see passim), commanding 69th Brigade, commented on the current conditions, telling her that, “You could hardly imagine what a lot of mud and slush there is everywhere … There has been a lot of heavy ‘strafing’ by both sides yesterday and all night, but not on our lines, though not far off. I only hope we have done Boche some damage. I think his shells have knocked trenches a bit but not done any great harm to the men”.

    Western Front: Verdun - the closing chapter...

    Monday - 11 December The French shelling start again in all intensity and on Wednesday 13 December the creeping barrage becomes operational again. Still the Germans do not surrender. The losses on French side are enormous but eventually the front breaks open: Bezonvaux, the Bois de Hassoule, the Bois de Chauffour and Louvemont are recaptured by the French troops.

    A German soldier writes to his parents: ...An awful word, Verdun. Numerous people, still young and filled with hope, had to lay down their lives here – their mortal remains decomposing somewhere, in between trenches, in mass graves, at cemeteries....
    German reinforcements that have arrived in a hurry are standing firm in a line which exists of inter-connected shell holes in which the Germans are standing, shivering in freezing cold water that comes up to their knees.

    The last offensive in the Battle of Verdun begins as the French push the Germans out of Louvemont and Bezonvaux on the east bank of the Meuse River. Combined with other ground losses, the German withdrawal ends the immediate threat to Verdun and both sides now focus their efforts on battles elsewhere along the Western Front. Overall, the French and Germans suffered nearly a million casualties combined during the ten month battle in which the Germans failed to capture the city of Verdun.

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    The battlefield afterwards

    Another source explains it thus... GREAT FRENCH ATTACK (north of Fort Douaumont): 2-mile penetration at 1000 hours recaptures Vacherauville, Hill 342 (Poivre Hill), Louvemont and Les Chambrettes with 3,500 PoWs. Mangin employs 4 divisions (with 4 in reserve) against 9 German divisions. Within 4 days French front east of Meuse is re*established almost as on February 20. French take 11,387 PoWs; 115 guns; 44 mortars; 107 MGs.
    Nivelle leaves Verdun for GOG that evening with farewell words ‘The experiment has been conclusive … I can assure you that victory is certain’. Guillaumat takes over French Second Army.

    On a positive note my PC has fired up at last so have just switched back - its all go in the editor's office.

    African Fronts

    East Africa – Fort Kibata: *Baluchis warriors retake Picquet Hill in night attack with first use Mills grenades in this theatre; Gold Coast Regiment takes hill to west.

    Mills Bomb is the popular name for a series of prominent British hand grenades. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army.

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    William Mills, a hand grenade designer from Sunderland, patented, developed and manufactured the "Mills bomb" at the Mills Munition Factory in Birmingham, England, in 1915. The Mills bomb was inspired by an earlier design by Belgian captain Leon Roland. Roland and Mills were later engaged in a patent lawsuit. The Mills bomb was adopted by the British Army as its standard hand grenade in 1915, and designated the No. 5.

    The Mills bomb underwent numerous modifications. The No. 23 was a variant of the No. 5 with a rodded base plug which allowed it to be fired from a rifle. This concept evolved further with the No. 36, a variant with a detachable base plate to allow use with a rifle discharger cup. The final variation of the Mills bomb, the No. 36M, was specially designed and waterproofed with shellac for use initially in the hot climate of Mesopotamia in 1917, but remained in production for many years. By 1918 the No. 5 and No. 23 were declared obsolete and the No. 36 (but not the 36M) followed in 1932. The Mills was a classic design; a grooved cast iron "pineapple" with a central striker held by a close hand lever and secured with a pin. According to Mills's notes, the casing was grooved to make it easier to grip and not as an aid to fragmentation, and in practice it has been demonstrated that it does not shatter along the segmented lines. The Mills was a defensive grenade: after throwing the user had to take cover immediately. A competent thrower could manage 15 metres (49 feet) with reasonable accuracy,[citation needed] but the grenade could throw lethal fragments farther than this. The British Home Guard were instructed that the throwing range of the No. 36 was about 30 yards with a danger area of about 100 yds.

    At first the grenade was fitted with a seven-second fuse, but during combat in the Battle of France in 1940 this delay proved to be too long, giving defenders time to escape the explosion, or even to throw the grenade back, and was reduced to four seconds. The heavy segmented bodies of "pineapple" type grenades result in an unpredictable pattern of fragmentation. After the Second World War Britain adopted grenades that contained segmented coiled wire in smooth metal casings. The No. 36M Mk.I remained the standard grenade of the British Armed Forces and was manufactured in the UK until 1972, when it was completely replaced by the L2 series. The 36M remained in service in some parts of the world such as India and Pakistan, where it was manufactured until the early 1980s. Mills bombs were still being used in combat as recently as 2004 e.g. the incident which killed US Marine Jason Dunham and wounded two of his comrades.

    Eastern Front


    Enemy success on Tarnopol Railway, west of Lutsk.

    Romanian and Russians still resisting north of Buzeu, but retiring from Jalomitsa.

    Strong Russian defence on Moldavian frontier.

    Southern Front

    Enemy bombarding Monastir.

    Fighting on the Struma; repulse of Bulgars.

    Naval and Overseas Operations

    Naval aeroplanes bomb Razlovci, 37 miles east of Istip (Serbia).

    British warships shell enemy at head of Gulf of Orfano (south-west of Kavalla).

    In East Africa, fighting still proceeding round Kibata.

    Political, etc.

    Greek Government accepts Allies' Ultimatum.

    Vigorous speeches in the Duma.

    German Minority Socialists' manifesto against "oracular utterances"; demand Government should state peace conditions.
    Last edited by Hedeby; 12-15-2016 at 15:44.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  23. #2073

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    Thanks Chris. Computers huh! Can't live with 'em. Can't live without 'em!

  24. #2074

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    Quote---"Finally managed to access internet on my wife's laptop as my PC singularly refuses to boot up properly some bloody Windows 10 thing called Watchdog keeps causing me problems - how I wish I was still on Window's 7. So apologies in advance as I am going to have to wing large parts of this as my stored links/shortcuts etc are not available to me this evening." Close quote.

    I know exactly how you feel Chris. I suffered Windows 10 for a month and then gave up and went back to 7. 10 caused all sorts of problems.

  25. #2075

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rebel View Post
    Quote---"Finally managed to access internet on my wife's laptop as my PC singularly refuses to boot up properly some bloody Windows 10 thing called Watchdog keeps causing me problems - how I wish I was still on Window's 7. So apologies in advance as I am going to have to wing large parts of this as my stored links/shortcuts etc are not available to me this evening." Close quote.

    I know exactly how you feel Chris. I suffered Windows 10 for a month and then gave up and went back to 7. 10 caused all sorts of problems.
    I hate it

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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    December 16th 1916

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    3 AIRMEN HAVE FALLEN ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 16TH 1916

    Air Mechanic 2nd Class W. Landrigan Royal Naval Air Service, H.M.S. 'President II' died on this day in 1916. Son of William and Harriett Landrigan, of II, Penlare Terrace, Penzance. He is buried in Penzance cemetery.

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    Penzance Cemetery contains 34 scattered burials of the First World War. Of the 71 Second World War burials, 2 are unidentified seaman. 43 of the burials are in the war graves plot, the rest scattered. The naval casualties include 22 sailors who lost their lives in an attack by German surface craft off Mount's Bay on 6 January 1944, 17 of them being members of the crew of HM Trawler "Wallasea". In addition the cemetery also contains 2 Foreign National burials of the 1914-18 war, including 1 unidentified French Merchant seaman, and 6 of the 1939-45 war, including 1 unidentified sailor of the German Navy.

    Lieutenant Harold Gladstone Murray 12 Squadron RFC - Killed in Action 16 December 1916 aged 23, Shot down by enemy aeroplanes while on photography patrol. He was the observer in BE2c 4204.

    2nd Lieutenant Harold Percy Tozer RFC - Killed while flying 16 December 1916 aged 25. In 1911 Harold Percy Tozer, 19, a clerk for a timber merchants, lived with his parents and sister at 31 Lansdowne Gardens, Stockwell. His father, Henry James Tozer, 43, was a solicitor’s clerk from Shadwell, east London; his mother, Agnes Emma Tozer, 43, was from Ipswich. Lilian Elizabeth Tozer, Harold’s sister, was 16 and working as a clerk for a philatelist (stamp collector/dealer). Both Harold and Lilian were born in South Lambeth. The Child family lodged with the Tozers: Arthur Ernest Child, 32, a cook from Portsmouth; his wife Ethel, 32, from Egham, Surrey, and their son Leslie Eric, 8. The Tozers had been at the same address since at least 1901.

    British Army WW1 Service Records 1914-1920 (Officers)

    Tozer enlisted in the 4th Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders on 11 September 1914 and served for 347 days with them. He was described as 5 feet 9 inches, with a 36½ inch chest which he could expand by 3½ inches. He embarked from Southampton on 19 February 1915 and was wounded in action the following month (gunshot wound to the elbow). He was invalided back to England, to the Fairfield Hospital, Broadstairs on 18 June. Later that year he was granted a temporary commission – 2nd Lieutenant in the Durham Light Infantry (he was gazetted on 20 August 1915). Tozer’s service from then until the accident that killed him in 1916 is not known.

    Aerial Victory Claims:

    Captain Arthur Gerald "Gerry" Knight MC. DSO 29 Squadron RFC. Claims his 8th and alas final victory on this day. Whilst flying DH.2 number A2614 he forces down an enemy aircraft out of control North East of. Gerry Knight would not live to see Christmas as on the 20th December he becomes the 13th victim of 'The Red Baron'

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    MC Citation : 2nd Lt. Arthur Gerald Knight, R.F.C., Spec. Res. For conspicuous skill and gallantry. He has shown great pluck in fights with enemy machines, and has accounted for several. On one occasion, when a hostile machine was interfering with a reconnaissance, he attacked at very close range, and brought down the enemy machine in flames.

    DSO Citation: For conspicuous gallantry in action. He led four machines against 18 hostile machines. Choosing a good moment for attack he drove down five of them and dispersed the remainder. He has shown the utmost dash and judgment as a leader of offensive patrols.

    264 British Troops were lost on this day

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Lieutenant Colonel G F Pridham (commanding 1st/5th Welsh Regiment) dies on service in Egypt.
    Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Robertson (Canadian Army Medical Corps) dies on service at home. He is the son of the Reverend Daniel Gordon.
    Second Lieutenant Eric Alfred Theselton Line (Army Service Corps) dies on service in Salonika at age 21. He is the son of the Archdeacon of Waterford.
    Private James McCallum (Quebec Regiment) is killed in action. His brother will be killed next April.

    Tunstill's Men: Two NCO’s and fifty men and two NCO’s were attached for eight days to work with the Royal Engineers. More men departed for England on leave; among them was Pte. Tommy Harding (see 8th September 1914). On his arrival back at home, according to his pal Cpl. Fred Swale (see 3rd November), “Just as he (Tommy) was going towards home he met his Father, going to post a parcel off to him”.

    Western Front
    Verdun: French 133rd Division (Passaga) recaptures Bezon*vaux and Hardaumont. German counter-attack regains Les Chambrettes Farm on December 17.

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    The commander of the German Fifth Army at Verdun, Crown Prince Wilhelm, talking to a stretcher-bearer.

    Eastern Front
    Pripet: Russian positions between Kovel and Lutsk captured (restored on December 18).
    Dobruja: Sakharov retreats north on Braila (until December 20).

    Southern Fronts
    Greece: Greek Army begins evacuation of Thessaly under Allied supervision (Anglo-French control officers).

    Home Fronts
    Rumania: Bratianu forms Coalition Goverment, Ionescu joins on December 25.

    Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

    Continued bombardment of enemy positions near Kut.

    British Government recognises "King of the Arabs" as King of the Hejaz.

    Naval and Overseas Operations

    General Cunliffe's Nigerian brigade reaches Dar-es-Salaam.

    Political, etc.

    Government decides to take over Irish railways, to satisfaction of Irish public.

    M. Bratinau forms Coalition Government (Romania).

    The biggest news of the day however comes a long way from the front line in Russia.....

    Rasputin, the monk who had wielded powerful influence over the Russian royal family, was murdered by a group of noblemen led by Prince Felix Yusupov and the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich .

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    There are very few facts between the night Rasputin disappeared (Saturday 16/17 December) and the following Monday when his corpse was dredged up from the river. "As far as the Yusupov Palace is concerned, the Police had no right to make inquiries unless invited to do so. The Director of Police was unable to ask the simplest of questions such as who was present at the palace on the night," and "nothing other than a cursory search was allowed inside." So the murder of Rasputin has become something of a legend, some of it invented, perhaps embellished or simply misremembered.

    Assassination

    Felix Yusupov (1914) married Irina Aleksandrovna Romanova, the only niece of the Tsar.

    Yusupov, who had met Rasputin in the past six weeks for treatment, invited Rasputin to the Moika Palace, intimating his wife, Princess Irina, would be back from Koreiz and Rasputin could meet her after a housewarming party. (She later denied she was involved and sued MGM). After midnight Prince Felix went with Dr Stanislaus de Lazovert to Rasputin's apartment. Yusupov did not use the regular stairs at this unseemly hour, but a stairwell for servants in the courtyard; he knocked at the kitchen door. After half an hour they returned to the recently refurbished palace, where a sound-proof room, part of the wine cellar, had been specially prepared for the crime with carpets, stain-glass lamps, and furnuture. Four bottles, containing different kinds of sweet wine, were placed either in a window, a side-board or on a table. Waiting in his drawing room on another floor were the fellow conspirators: Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, Purishkevich, his assistant Lazovert and Sukhotin. Perhaps some women were invited but Yusupov did not mention their names; Radzinsky suggested Dimitri's step-sister Marianne Pistohlkors and film star Vera Karalli. Smith came up with Princess Olga Paley and Anna von Drenteln. Somewhere in the building were a major-domo and a valet, waiting for orders.

    According to both Yusupov and Purishkevich a gramophone in the study played interminably the Yankee Doodle, when Rasputin came in. Yusupov mentions in his unreliable memoirs, he first offered Rasputin tea and petit fours laced with a large amount of potassium cyanide. According to the diplomat Maurice Paléologue, who in later years rewrote his diary, they discussed spirituality and occultism; the antique dealer Albert Stopford wrote that politics was the issue. Purishkevich, a teetotaler, mentions he could hear bottles were opened. Felix played his guitar and sang some gypsy ballads. After an hour or so, Rasputin was fairly drunk. Yusupov went upstairs and came back with a revolver. Rasputin was shot at close quarters by Felix sitting left of him. The bullet entered the chest, penetrating the stomach and the liver; it left the body on the right side.Then Rasputin fell onto a white bearskin. According to Maria Rasputin it went all very quick; no sweets, no guitar nor record playing. Rasputin would have become suspicious as Yusupov's wife never showed up. According to Yusupov's protégé, Victor Contreras, Lazavert who was assigned to poison the wine and cakes for Rasputin, couldn’t do it. After the murder Lazavert seems to have written a letter to Yusupov, where he reported that he, the doctor, who gave the oath of Hippocrates, found no strength to add the poison.Felix's private apartment was on the east side of the palace, Embankment 94. Between the basement and his rooms, halfway up, was a door opening onto a cobbled forecourt of the house adjoining. The photo shows the courtyard (belonging to Moika Embankment 92, also owned by the Yusupovs) and the secret door (between the first and second window on the right).

    However, Yusupov did not succeed in killing Rasputin. According to Maria Rasputin the bullet wounds were slight. After a while "Rasputin opened his eyes and became aware of his predicament."He struggled up the stairs to reach the first landing, opening an unlocked door to the courtyard, which had been—not long before—used by the conspirators. Alarmed by the noise, Purishkevich went down and fired at Rasputin four times, missing three times. Only one bullet penetrated the right kidney and lodged into the spine. Rasputin never reached the gate, but fell into the snow, just outside the door. According to Nelipa both shots were fatal; he would have died within 10–20 minutes, but when the body made a sudden movement, one of them placed his revolver on the forehead and pulled the trigger. Then the body was carried back inside. A nervous Yusupov severely hit his victim in his right eye with his shoe. The conspirators had planned to burn Rasputin's possessions; Sukhotin put on Rasputin's fur coat, his galoshes, and gloves. He left together with Dmitri Pavlovich and Dr. Lazovert in Purishkevich's car, to suggest that Rasputin had left the palace alive.Because Purishkevich's wife refused to burn the fur coat and the rubber galoshesin her small fireplace in Purishkevich's ambulance train, the conspirators went back from the Warsaw station to the Moika palace with these large items.

    Two city policemen on duty, who heard a "rapid fire" of gunshot sequence, had also seen cars coming and leaving. They discussed the issue on the Pochtamtsky Bridge. One of them questioned Yusupov's butler for details, but was sent away. Twenty minutes later he was re-invited to the palace. Purishkevich boasted he had shot Rasputin, and asked the policeman, aware of his mistake, to keep it quiet for the sake of the Tsar. this policeman told his superiors everything he had heard and seen. After the body was wrapped in a broadcloth, Dimitri and his fellow conspirators drove in the direction of Krestovsky island. The sentry on the bridge was asleep which allowed the murderers to draw up quite close to the railing and throw the corpse into a hole in the ice of the Malaya Nevka River. They forgot to attach weights to the feet to make the body sink. They drove back, without noticing that one of Rasputin's galoshes was stuck between the pylons of the bridge.

    Days following

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    Rasputin's corpse on a sledge.
    "The body is that of a man of about 50-years old, of medium size, dressed in blue embroidered hospital robe, which covers a white shirt. His legs, in high leather boots, are tied with a rope, and the same rope ties his wrists.The twine that had originally bound the hands had snapped allowing the hands to separate by the time the corpse was uplifted onto the ice. The corpse stiffened with raised arms." The next morning, around 8 a.m. Protopopov phoned, and asked Rasputin's daughters where their father was. At eleven he still had not shown up. When the police arrived they searched the apartment for compromising correspondence with the Tsarina. In the mean time Rasputin's disappearance was reported by Maria to Vyrubova. When Vyrubova spoke of it to the Empress, Alexandra pointed out that Princess Irina was absent from Petrograd. When Protopopov mentioned the story reported by the policemen at the Moika, they all began to believe that Rasputin had been lured into an ambush.

    On the Empress' orders, a police investigation commenced and traces of blood were discovered on the steps to the backdoor of the Yusupov Palace. When interrogated, Felix explained the blood with a story that by accident one of his sporting dogs was shot by Grand Duke Dmitri. In the early afternoon traces of blood were detected on the parapet of the Bolshoy Petrovsky bridge and one of Rasputin's galoshes was found under the bridge. Maria and her sister affirmed it belonged to their father. With twilight approaching the search had to be abandoned until the following morning. The next day it was sunny, but the temperature dropped to -14 C. The river was frozen. The police concentrated upon the vicinity of the Petrovsky bridge. Then the Neva shores were explored by divers, but the ice seriously hampered their work which produced no result. Felix and Dmitri both tried to gain access to the empress. The Tsarina refused to meet the two, but said they could explain to her what had happened in a letter. Purishkevich assisted them writing and left the city at ten on Sunday evening, heading to the front. Yusupov who also tried to leave the capital was stopped at the train station. Felix and Dmitri were placed under house arrest in the Sergei Palace. When an Uhlenhuth test showed the blood was of human origin they refused to tell where the body was.

    On Monday morning 19 December, Rasputin's beaver-fur coat and the body were discovered close to the river bank, 140 meters west of the bridge. The police and government officials arrived within 15 minutes. In the late afternoon it was decided the frozen corpse had to be taken to the desolate Chesmensky Almshouse. On the next day Makarov was fired, hindering a police investigation, as he had given Felix permission to leave for the Crimea. In the evening an autopsy on the thawed corpse by Kosorotov, a forensic expert, in a poorly lit mortuary room established that the cause of his instant death was the third bullet in his frontal lobe. (Kosorotov's official report is still missing.

    On 21 December Rasputin's body was taken in a zinc coffin from the Chesmensky Almshouse to be buried in a corner on the property of Vyrubova and adjacent to the palace. The burial at 8.45 in the morning was attended by the Imperial couple with their daughters, Vyrubova, her maid, and a few of Rasputin's friends, such as Lili Dehn, Protopopov and Colonel Loman. It is not clear whether Rasputin's two daughters were present, although Maria Rasputin claimed she was there. On the 22nd Irina's father Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich wrote his brother to close the case. After a week and without an interrogation or a trial the Tsar sent Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, and Yusupov into exile. He ensured that Rasputin's murder would never become a matter for the court to judge. On Saturday 24 December Dmitri left at two in the morning for Qazvin in Persia, Felix for Rakitnoe, his estate near Belgorod; during the trip they were forbidden to talk, and also to send and receive telegrams. The police were ordered to stop their inquest. Neither Puriskevich, nor Sukhotin, nor Lazavert were punished at all. On Sunday, 25 December the Imperial family gathered with Rasputin's widow and children at Anna Vyrubova

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    Now that is a story and a half...

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  27. #2077

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    A story and a half indeed Chris - thanks yet again

  28. #2078

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    December 17th 1916

    As the days get shorter and the weather gets worse flying along the Western Front (well pretty much most actiivity on the Western Front) has ground to something of a halt - the French are busy at Verdun but not much is happening in the British sector at this time, so we may have a few shorter editions as there is not a great deal of news about on some days. As ever though, here at the Sniper's Times we will endeavour to dig deep and find you the most interesting stories we can.

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    NO DEATHS ARE RECORDED FOR SUNDAY DECEMBER 17TH 1916

    There were three aces making claims on this day - two for the very first time.

    Leutnant Julius Buckler of Jasta 17 claims his first kill by shooting down a Caudron over Bras.

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    At 15 years of age, Buckler worked for Anthony Fokker but abandoned an interest in architecture to join the Infantry Life Regiment 117 in 1913. Badly wounded on the Western Front, he transferred to the German Air Service. Already wounded 3 times in 1917, he was wounded for the fourth time on 30 November. On that day he was wounded in the chest and both arms and crashed and broke both arms. When he recovered he rejoined Jasta 17, flying "Mops" and "Lilly" to score 3 more victories before he was wounded again on 6 May 1918. He scored his initial victory on 17 December 1916, making numerous passes at a French Caudron over Bras before shooting it down.

    On 17 July he scored victory number 11 although he was wounded again and did not score again until 9 August. On 11 August he downed a British RE 8, and was wounded yet again the next day. Victory 14 was on 29 September, possibly because the wound kept him out of action.[1]

    On 18 November he was commissioned as a Leutnant. He was wounded for the fourth time on 30 November 1917, wounded in both his arms and chest. His subsequent crash then completely broke both arms. He lay under his smashed aircraft for hours before counter-attacking German infantry overran the wreckage and rescued him. On 4 December 1917, while he was recovering from his wounds, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite. The injuries kept him out of action for months and he would not score again until 16 April 1918. After recovering, he rejoined Jasta 17. At this time had two airplanes dedicated for his personal use. He dubbed them Mops and Lilly. He flew "Mops" and "Lilly" to score 3 more victories before he was severely wounded yet again on 6 May 1918, this time in the left ankle. His next victory came 5 months later on 5 October. He scored twice more in the final days of the war, and had his second unconfirmed triumph on 8 November. In 1939, Buckler wrote his memoirs, entitled "Malaula! Der Kampfruf meiner Staffel (Malaula! The Battle Cry of my Squadron)". (available via Amazon - I just checked... for under 7 Euro's. Alas I can't read German) He survived World War II and died in Bonn, West Germany, on 23 May 1960

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    Oberleutnant Eduard Ritter von Dostler of Kasta 36 shot down his first enemy aircraft - a Sopwith Scout over Verdun

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    Dostler was injured in an accident on 21 June 1917. As commanding officer of Jasta 6, he scored his final victory on 18 August 1917. Three days later, he was shot down near the front lines as he attacked an R.E.8 belonging to 7 Squadron. Dostler first reported to Schutzstaffel 27 (Protection Squadron) 27, then being reassigned to Kampfstaffel 36 (Tactical Bomber Squadron 36) on 15 June 1916. Dostler scored his first confirmed aerial victory while flying a Roland C.II two-seater fighter for Kasta 36. He downed a Sopwith Scout on 17 December 1916.

    He then transferred to Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 13, a newly formed squadron, taking command on 27 December 1916. On 22 January 1917, he scored Jasta 13's initial triumph. At that time, he was already an oberleutnant. On 20 February 1917, Dostler assumed command of Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 34 upon its official formation. He had it in action in three days, and scored its first victories on 24 March, shooting down a pair of Caudron G.IV bombers. By the time he left the Jasta, he had become an ace, with eight confirmed victories, and one claim unconfirmed. Dostler transferred to Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 6, assuming command in the wake of Fritz Otto Bernert's 9 June 1917 departure. Dostler scored a double victory on 16 June, with further wins on the 17th and 20th. Two days later, Jasta 6 was incorporated into Germany's first fighter wing, Jagdgeschwader I. By 26 July, when Manfred von Richthofen took command of JG I, Dostler's score was up to 18. The following day, Dostler was awarded the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. He finished the month of July 1917 with 21 victories. On 6 August, he received Germany's highest award for valor, the Pour le Mérite, which is also nicknamed the Blue Max. Dostler's famous commanding officer, the Red Baron himself, Manfred von Richthofen took his personal Pour le Mérite from around his own neck and placed it around Dostler's throat. Dostler shot down five enemy aircraft in August, extending his list of victims to 26. His final victory was scored on 18 August. Three days later, Dostler attacked and was shot down by an obsolete British R.E.8 of No. 7 Squadron RFC, flown by Lts. M. A. O'Callaghan and N. Sharples. Dostler fell near Frezenburg, Belgium. Eduard Dostler was posthumously awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph backdated to 18 August 1917; its award both entitled him to a lifetime pension and knighted him. As a visible sign of his honor, his name became Eduard Ritter von Dostler.

    Claiming his 3rd Victory from the French Air Service we have Adjutant Pierre Augustin Franēois Violet-Marty

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    244 British troops were lost on this day

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Private John George Manson Mathieson (Seaforth Highlanders) dies of wounds after having his leg amputated at age 24. His brother will die on service at home next March.

    Captain Tunstill's Men: In the evening, a party of one officer and 41 other ranks marched to Vlamertinghe and were then taken by train to Ypres, where they worked overnight under the supervision of the Royal Engineers, returning at 2.30am. This same exercise would be repeated on each of the next three evenings.

    More men departed to England on leave; they would spend Christmas Day at home with their families before leaving on Boxing Day to return to the front. Among them are known to have been Q.M.S. Frank Stephenson (see 8th December) and Pte. William (Billy) Hoyle (see 9th October). In the absence of Stephenson, some of his responsibilities as CQMS passed to Cpl. Fred Swale (see 16th December). Pte. Harley Bentham (see 27th October) was also home on leave over Christmas; he had been granted a month’s leave on the expiry of which he would begin an Officer Training course in preparation for his being commissioned. Another of Tunstill’s original recruits to be at home was Pte. Sydney Hoar (see 24th November); he had been in hospital in Glasgow, after contracting trench fever, but was now fit enough to spend Christmas with his family.

    Western Front
    Artois: Marwitz takes over German Second Army from Gallwitz (until September 22, 1918) who goes to Fifth Army at Verdun.

    Eastern Front
    Dobruja: Bulgars break through, causing chaos; 1 st Cossack Division’s radio station with cipher code captured, new code from December 21 no more secret.

    Neutrals
    Greece: Royalist Government issues warrant for Venizelos‘ arrest for high treason and Athens Archbishop anathematized him on December 26.
    USA: Government ends extra-territoriality agreements with Turkey due to her treatment of Armenians and Syrians.

    The Early Birds of Aviation

    The Early Birds of Aviation is an organization devoted to the history of early pilots. The organization was started in 1928 and accepted a membership of 598 pioneering aviators. Membership was limited to those who piloted a glider, gas balloon, or airplane, prior to December 17, 1916. The cutoff date was set at December 17 to correspond to the first flights of Wilbur and Orville Wright. 1916 was chosen as a cutoff because a large number of people were trained in 1917 as pilots for World War I. Twelve of the aviators were women. The original organization dissolved once the last living member had died. This occurred with the death of 99-year-old George Debaun Grundy, Jr. on May 19, 1998. The organization was restarted and is devoted to collecting and publishing biographies on those who met the 1916 deadline. There were many pilots who soloed before the 1916 deadline who never applied to the club to be members. Some have been made honorary members.

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    Edgar Wirt Bagnell (November 20, 1890 – August 27, 1958) was a pioneer aviator who was a member of the Early Birds of Aviation. He was in charge of the 191st Combat Reconnaissance Squadron but by time his training ended World War I was over.

    Many Early Birds, went on to establish careers in public service and the aviation industry.The original organization dissolved once the last living member had died. This occurred with the death of 99-year-old Early Bird George Debaun Grundy, Jr. on May 19, 1998. The current organization is devoted to collecting and publishing biographies on those who met the 1916 deadline.There are pilots who soloed before the 1916 deadline that never applied to the club to be members. Some have been made honorary members.
    A few notable Hispanic aviators are part of the of early birds list, however it becomes obvious to even the amateur aviation historians, that many of the pioneer fliers were not members of the Early Bird organization. Even those who soloed before the cutoff date, December 17, 1916 and were otherwise eligible, were either overlooked as candidates or didn’t bother to apply. Nevertheless, I think they all deserve our respect and remembering, if we are to understand and appreciate the roles they played in the development of aviation.To that end, I hope to add a few to this page as time and opportunity permits.This article is a tribute and recognition of the contributions to aviation of early Hispanic aviators, and includes all known Hispanic aviators whether they were part of the original Federation Aeronautic Internationale or not.Prominent Hispanic Aviators missing from the Early Bird list:

    check out one of the websites dedicated to these intrepid 598 people - http://earlyaviators.com/

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    To finish - here is a picture of the 39 aviators who died between 1908 and 1912 (how many does anyone recognise?)

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  29. #2079

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    Nice edition Chris but I really think it's about time that Mauser came down and the good old Enfield went back up, don't you?
    39 dead aviators and only one of them a woman. She must have been well ahead of her time!

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    Aah well Reg you see, I have the Mauser, Rob the Enfield and Neil the Mosin Nagant... its how you tell us apart, lol

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  31. #2081

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    also Chris has a pair of Bristols, I have a load of Tripe(s) and Rob...well Rob just a flaming good pilot, I mean it, literally a flaming good pilot.........
    See you on the Dark Side......

  32. #2082

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    how many does anyone recognise?
    Not a single one I'm sad to say Nor can I find the key to the numbers in the picture. Thanks for the link though, to early aviators - interesting information there

  34. #2084

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    Here you go Mike http://earlyaviators.com/edeathsa.htm
    I guessed who two of them were but couldn't pick them out.

    "He is wise who watches"

  35. #2085

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hedeby View Post
    Aah well Reg you see, I have the Mauser, Rob the Enfield and Neil the Mosin Nagant... its how you tell us apart, lol
    All I can say to that is, "Come back Rob, all is forgiven. Even the Aspidistra"!

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    Once again Samuel William Cowdrey (Cody) is omitted from the hall of fame.

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    US-born Samuel Franklin Cody took off from Farnborough Common in Hampshire in October 1908 for a flight which lasted a mere 30 seconds.

    In England he started experimenting with kites, becoming the leading expert in man-lifting kites which led to the Army taking him on.
    He later developed aeroplanes with the backing of the War Office and became a British citizen by naturalisation in 1909.
    On 16 October 1908 he took to the skies in his British Army Aeroplane No 1, which he had designed and constructed.
    He reached about 18ft (5.5m) and flew for about 1,400ft (426m).
    It was the first official sustained and controlled flight of a powered "heavier-than-air" machine in the British Isles.
    Mr Cody was in the air for just 30 seconds and flew over a clump of trees before crash-landing after being hit by a gust of wind, damaging the machine.
    The military authorities were not convinced about investing in his new flying machines, which were prone to crashing.
    Mr Cody's funding was withdrawn but he continued his trials and plane-building with his own funds, trying to develop new aeroplanes.
    But on 7 August 1913 he and his passenger, Hampshire cricketer William Evans, died when they fell out of their aircraft and plunged 300ft (90m) to the ground after it broke up during a test.
    Afterwards, the air correspondent for the Times newspaper wrote: "The tragic death of SF Cody is one of the greatest blows which aviation has sustained in recent years."
    His funeral in Aldershot, with full military honours, attracted up to 100,000 mourners and he is buried in the town's military cemetery.
    A full-size replica of Mr Cody's British Army Aeroplane No 1 was built in 2008 to commemorate the centenary of his first flight. It remains on permanent display at the Fast Museum.

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    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  37. #2087

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    Many thanks for that Rob - a shocking admission I agree, I wonder why he is such an overlooked character. I for one have most definitely over looked him, so thank for putting that right.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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    Just for Reg...

    December 18th 1916


    Well one week before Christmas and the editorial staff are working our how to fit in publication after the huge Christmas dinner and before the point the festive libations render sensible thought all but impossible, but fear not there will be an edition on the 25th.
    Anyway back to the 18th and the biggest news today is that the Battle of Verdun officially comes to an end.

    Battle of Verdun

    The German army Command reaches the conclusion that at Verdun a complete defeat had been suffered. More than 11,000 German soldiers and officers have surrendered; they often did not even come out of their shelters to fight anymore. At that date the German army is definitively thrown back in its original positions. The Battle of Verdun has come to an end.

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    The Battle of Verdun, the longest engagement of World War I, ends on this day after ten months and close to a million total casualties suffered by German and French troops.

    The battle had begun on February 21, after the Germans—led by Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn—developed a plan to attack the fortress city of Verdun, on the Meuse River in France. Falkenhayn believed that the French army was more vulnerable than the British, and that a major defeat on the Western Front would push the Allies to open peace negotiations. From the beginning, casualties mounted quickly on both sides of the conflict, and after some early gains of territory by the Germans, the battle settled into a bloody stalemate. Among the weapons in the German arsenal was the newly-invented flammenwerfer, or flamethrower; that year also saw the first use by the Germans of phosgene gas, ten times more lethal than the chlorine gas they previously used.

    As fighting at Verdun stretched on and on, German resources were stretched thinner by having to confront both a British-led offensive on the Somme River and Russia’s Brusilov Offensive on the Eastern Front. In July, the Kaiser, frustrated by the state of things at Verdun, removed Falkenhayn and sent him to command the 9th Army in Transylvania; Paul von Hindenburg took his place. By early December, under Robert Nivelle, who had been appointed to replace Philippe PÉtain in April, the French had managed to recapture much of their lost territory, and in the last three days of battle took 11,000 German prisoners before Hindenburg finally called a stop to the German attacks.

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    Operation Gericht—German for “judgment” or “tribunal”—was the brainchild of Erich von Falkenhayn, chief of the German general staff as the year 1915 was coming to a close. Descended from a long line of Prussian military men, he was a cold, rational, distant man. A personal favorite of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Falkenhayn was faced with a problem: The war against France, Belgium, and Britain was not going as planned by Prussian strategists. Originally, according to the intricately developed Schlieffen Plan, the German armies were to have sliced through Belgium and into northern France, sweeping the French army and its British allies before it in an irresistible strike at Paris. But the Belgians had fought valiantly, France’s Russian ally had invaded the eastern German Empire, and the French had smashed into the exposed flank of the German army on the River Marne, halting its drive. Both sides had dug in, and the war of movement—and German dreams of a lightning victory—vanished into the sullen horror of trench warfare.

    Faced with this stalemate, Falkenhayn sat down in December 1915 to write a long memorandum to the Kaiser. The key to winning the war, argued the chief of staff, lay in the West; Russia, disorganized and unstable, could be dealt with later. France was the crux, and knocking France out of the war would bring the British to the peace table.

    “Within our reach,” Falkenhayn’s memo read, “behind the French sector of the Western Front there are objectives for the retention of which the French General staff would be compelled to throw in every man they have. If they do so the forces of France will bleed to death—as there can be no question of a voluntary withdrawal—whether we reach our goal or not.” Verdun was the site picked for this grim hemorrhaging operation, code-named Operation Judgment.

    The choice of Verdun was a natural for Falkenhayn’s battle of attrition, for here were located probably the strongest fortified systems in the world. More than mere forts, the formidable defenses symbolized the French army, French honor, and independence—indeed, France itself. Falkenhayn was right in arguing that a German victory here would be intolerable to the French, a moral and psychological blow at the country’s heart. In defending it, Falkenhayn believed, they would sacrifice their army and then have to sue for peace.

    As for the forts themselves, the German army felt certain that they would be easily pulverized by heavy artillery—the huge Krupp-made 420mm “Big Berthas” that had leveled the “indestructible” Belgian forts of Ličge and Namur at the beginning of the war. Taking the Verdun forts, Falkenhayn reasoned, would present no great problem. What he could not foresee, however, was how determinedly the French would fight to defend them.

    A sophisticated court insider, Falkenhayn carefully designed his plan to appeal to the Kaiser’s enormous vanity: The official orders for the attack were released on January 27—His Majesty’s birthday—and the Kaiser’s son, Crown Prince Wilhelm, would lead the V Army in the attack. A major flaw in Operation Judgment, however, was its lack of goals. The target of what was to be the greatest German military operation up to that time was not to break through the Allied lines; it was not even to capture the great forts themselves. At the most, taking Verdun would protect important German railway lines 20 kilometers away, but even this could not justify the intensity of the assault. Falkenhayn himself was vague on just what his forces were supposed to accomplish other than destroying the French army by attrition and then, perhaps, seeing what opportunities presented themselves afterward. His thinking was so broadly strategic that he utterly disregarded the details. To this day, military historians are puzzled by what Falkenhayn’s real objectives were.

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    Not having seen Falkenhayn’s memo to the Kaiser, the Crown Prince and his chief of staff, General Schmidt von Knobelsdorf, set about devising a real plan of attack centered on the capture of the Verdun forts. This was to be a two-pronged pincer movement across the western and eastern banks of the Meuse, designed to overrun the forts and, it was hoped, develop into a breakthrough of the lines and a rolling up of the enemy’s forces.

    Secretive, indecisive, and loath to take risks, Falkenhayn vetoed this plan of action. Capturing the forts, perversely, did not fit his idea of a drawn-out “bleeding-white” operation. The actual fall of the forts would make the process shorter, and thereby—in Falkenhayn’s cold logic—inefficient. Significantly, Falkenhayn never explained his idea to the young and inexperienced Crown Prince, possibly because he calculated that few would willingly fight in such a macabre battle. In the end, Falkenhayn limited the Crown Prince and Schmidt von Knobelsdorf’s plan to an attack only on the Meuse’s eastern bank, and thereby weakened the German army’s striking arm. With shrewd calculation, Falkenhayn promised further reserves as the battle progressed, although these were to be kept under his strict control. Thus, the Crown Prince’s V Army believed its target was the forts, while Falkenhayn kept to his original idea.

    Verdun consisted of a network of more than 20 large and small sunken fortresses, with Fort Douaumont, built on a hill 1,200 feet high, forming the anchor of the defense. Located on the River Meuse, the line of forts formed part of a large salient bulging into the German lines, which meant that the Germans could fire on French positions from three sides. It would have been sound strategy for the French to abandon the forts and thereby shorten their lines. Politically, however, such a move would have been inconceivable. French public opinion would have never supported voluntarily surrendering Verdun, the emblem of French military might and national honor.

    Despite the symbolic importance of Verdun, the French had done much to aid German battle plans by weakening the forts. Having observed the relatively easy fall of the Belgium fortresses, the rotund and somnolent French commander-in-chief, General Joseph Joffre, had grandly declared forts to be useless. Subsequently, the fortresses of Vaux, Douaumont, and others were stripped of men and weapons that were then sent to more active fronts. Only one thin line of trenches was dug to defend the forts, now manned by skeleton crews and used as depots for housing men and materiel. No political fool, Joffre did not inform the French public about his decision to castrate these symbols of France’s pride and power. Meanwhile, the Germans were pushing ahead with characteristic thoroughness. As in nearly all Great War battles, the attackers amassed an impressive lineup of artillery: more than 542 heavy guns, 17 305mm howitzers, 13 “Big Berthas”—which were capable of hurling a 1-ton shell for several miles—plus mortars and medium and light guns. The Germans concentrated 150 guns to each mile on an 8-mile front. A total of 140,000 men dispersed among 72 divisions faced an ill-prepared, paltry French defense of only 270 guns and 34 divisions. Also, German aircraft were sent aloft to prevent enemy observation planes from photographing the army’s preparations, a job helped by foggy, rainy weather. Falkenhayn’s plan of attack was novel: a short, sharp bombardment on a narrow front to kill the defenders and wipe out their trenches, followed by the German infantry—not dashing themselves in suicidal waves against the enemy, but advancing in small groups and using the contours of the ground, tactics that would later be perfected by the stormtroopers of the great German offenses of 1918. The infantry’s main role would be to “mop up” the defenders, although it was widely believed that there would be nothing left to mop up after the storm of shells ceased.

    The French were stiffened by their own hardliners, chief among them General Robert Nivelle. Bombastic and flashy, his voice was one of the loudest urging the continuation of the fight and the recapture of the lost forts—an idea in line with Joffre’s thinking. Not to be outdone by Pétain, Nivelle had ended his June 23 Order of the Day with the words, “Ils ne passeront pas!”—“They shall not pass!”—which also found its way onto a government poster. Although able to dazzle the politicians with his confidence and dramatic martial bearing, to his men he was known as a butcher who favored costly attacks against strongly defended German positions.

    Although the French and German armies had pounded themselves to exhaustion at Verdun, Falkenhayn had been wrong: The French did not sue for peace. The protracted battles at Arras, Ypres, Champagne, and in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa were yet to come. The war was to continue for almost another two years. The victims of Verdun were not just the men in the front lines. Reputations died as well, and a few consciences, too. Falkenhayn was replaced as general chief of staff by Generals von Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the heroes of the great German victories against Russia. Falkenhayn, however, was later to achieve much success in the German campaign in Romania. After the war, he was heard to comment that he had trouble sleeping at night, so perhaps Verdun had indeed touched a nerve after all. Joffre was promoted to the figurehead position of chief military adviser to the government, where he could do no more damage to his own army. General Nivelle’s brash and bold talk got him the job of chief of staff. In the spring of 1917, he promised to win the war with a new offensive near the River Aisne against one of the strongest fortified positions in the German lines. Launched in April, it proved so costly in human lives that his troops mutinied, and the cocky Nivelle was relieved of command. One of the ironies of Verdun is the lessons the French drew from it. For one thing, they mistakenly renewed their faith in fortified positions, which resulted in the building of the Maginot Line in the 1930s. This system of fortified concrete bunkers was supposed to have been France’s wall of protection against Hitler’s Germany. When war came, German motorized divisions—led by men who had also fought at Verdun—easily swept around these anachronisms and overran Verdun in a day. The Battle of Verdun had lasted 10 months in 1916; the Battle of France lasted one month in 1940.

    Verdun and the other battles of World War I had sapped the French nation—morally, physically, materially. In this, Falkenhayn’s operation had been successful. By the time of World War II, France had still not fully recovered its immense losses in population and natural resources; the once-rich farmlands of Verdun, for instance, were still so polluted that virtually nothing would grow there. But more than this, France could not muster the willpower to resist the Nazis. The ignominy of the Vichy regime, which collaborated in Nazi atrocities and gashed wounds in the French national psyche that have not healed to this day, grimly illustrates that more than just men had been buried at Verdun.

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    The flesh and blood of two European nations lie side by side as brothers at Verdun, bound together by their suffering, their sacrifice. They share, as Wilfred Owen wrote, an “eternal reciprocity of tears.”

    “Verdun transformed men’s souls,” wrote a German soldier. “Whoever floundered through this morass full of the shrieking and dying … had passed the last frontier of life, and henceforth bore deep within him the leaden memory of a place that lies between Life and Death.”

    The massive loss of life at Verdun—143,000 German dead out of 337,000 casualties, to France’s 162,440 out of 377,231—would come to symbolize, more than that of any other battle, the bloody nature of trench warfare on the Western Front.

    Meanwhile elsewhere...

    There was one RFC loss on this day. Lieutenant Commander James Sholto Douglas RNAS - Longship Air Station, Died of meningitis 18 December 1916 aged 27.

    There were three aces claiming aerial victories on this day, although only two of them were confirmed. The confirmed kills were as follows...

    Claiming his 9th and final victory on this day was Hauptmann Otto Jindra

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    Jindra was the Austro-Hungarian Empire's second highest scoring two-seater ace in World War I. Posted to Flik 1 as an observer on 10 September 1914, he scored 9 victories and was shot down three times. In January 1918, he briefly commanded Fliegerersatz-kompanie 11 before he assumed command of Fliegergruppe G, the Austro-Hungarian bombing group on the Italian front. While serving in this capacity, he was badly injured in a night flying accident. Post-war, Jindra became the Commander in Chief of the Czech Air Force.

    Claiming his 8th (and penultimate victory) was Sous Lieutenant Marcel P. Viallet

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    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.

    255 British Troops are lost on this day

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Private William Robert Gregory (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) dies of wounds received in action in Mesopotamia. His brother will be killed in April 1918.
    Private Peter Isherwood (Royal Fusiliers) is killed at age 30. He is the middle of three brothers who will lose their lives in the Great War.

    Eastern Front
    Rumania: Allied retreat towards river Sereth line, mud slowing German pursuit; Falkenhayn checked 30 miles west of Braila.
    Dobruja: RNAS armoured car unit leaves Tulcea by barge for transfer to Braila (8 cars arrive there on December 21).

    Neutrals
    USA: Wilson’s peace conference circular note asks national objectives.

    I will finish today with Tunstill's men and reference to a very famous British retailing family....

    In the evening a party was again despatched to Ypres, by train, to work with the Royal Engineers.


    Pte. Harold Rushworth was sent home to England; the circumstances under which he left the Battalion are uncertain, but it seems that he had been taken ill at some point and may have been treated at first in France before being now posted back to the Regimental Depot in Halifax. Harold Rushworth was from Shipley and had been one of the men who had enlisted in Ilkley who had been added to Tunstill’s original recruits in September 1914. He was 34 years old and unmarried when he enlisted and had been working as a house painter. Pte. John Roebuck (see 28th October) was discharged from Edmonton War Hospital, where he had spent eight weeks being treated for ICT (inflammation of connective tissue) in his buttocks and thighs. He was granted ten days leave before joining 83rd Training Reserve Battalion at Gateshead.

    Lt. Paul James Sainsbury, (see 4th December) serving with 3DWR at North Shields was again examined by a Medical Board assembled at Tynemouth, just two weeks after his previous examination; the Board now found him fit for general service.

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    Paul James Sainsbury was the son of John James Sainsbury

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    A grocer and the founder of...

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    Those a little longer in the tooth will remember when the shop was called J. Sainsburys, it is only recently that the J was dropped.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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    Good addendum on the Cody biography, Rob.

  40. #2090

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    Thanks Sam, and thanks Chris for another superb summary of Verdun.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

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    19th December 1916

    Well with Verdun out of the way its a case of digging deep for stories...

    Two members of the RFC lost their lives on this day...

    Aircraftsman 2nd Class Cecil G.L.Durrant
    Royal Naval Air Service, H.M.S. 'President II' died on this day.

    Air Mechanic 1st Class Albert Rogers died on this day in 1916

    unfortunately as is often the case with non-officers, I am struggling to find out any more details.

    There were also no aerial victory claims on this day.

    255 British troops lost their lives on this day.

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    Lieutenant Charles Ferdinand Reiss Hanbury-Williams (Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry) dies at home in England at age 26. He is the son of Major General ‘Sir’ John Hanbury-Williams GCVO KCB KCVO CB CMG of Henry III Tower, Windsor Castle.
    Second Lieutenant Charlton Willoughby Foord (Machine Gun Corps) dies of wounds at age 31. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
    Second Lieutenant Patrick Stanley St Pierre Bunbury (Suffolk Regiment) is killed at age 37. He is the son of Major General ‘Sir’ Herbert Napier Bunbury who will lose another son in October 1918.

    Tunstill's Men: The weather became bitterly cold, with snow flurries at time. In the evening a party was again despatched to Ypres, by train, to work with the Royal Engineers. The five new officers, Lt. Arthur Poynder Garratt and 2Lts. John Robert ****inson, Herbert Middleton (Bob) Hands, Arthur Calvert Tetley and William George Wade who had arrived in France five days earlier (see 14th December) now reported for duty with the Battalion

    Along with the new officers came a draft of 73 other ranks, 50 of whom, being new recruits, were immediately sent to the Brigade School for further instruction. Among this draft was Pte. Albert Edward Carter; he had attested under the Derby Scheme in December 1915 and had been called up in March 1916, since when he had served with 3DWR in England. He had been posted to France, with the rest of the draft, on 2nd December. Albert Carter was 22 years old and married with one son (Ralph) when he enlisted; his wife, Lily, was pregnant with their second child, Emily, who would be born on 21s January 1916. The couple had been living in Meltham, near Huddersfield. The Regimental Paymaster, Middlesex Regiment, wrote to the War Office confirming that there was an amount of 11 shillings payable on the account of the late Lt. Harry Harris (see 18th December) from his service with the Battalion prior to his being commissioned.

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    Middle East

    Arabia: British in Cairo meet a French request for £40,000 in gold to give Arabs.

    The War at Sea

    Ansgar Norway The sailing vessel was sunk in the North Sea by SM UB-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
    Falk Norway The coaster was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) west of Cape Finisterre, Spain by SM U-46 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
    Gerda Germany The depōt ship was scuttled on this date. A former Danish coaster, she was captured on 16 December in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Finisterre (47°07′N 7°45′W) by SM U-46 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
    Kornmo Norway The barque was sunk in the North Sea by SM UB-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
    Liverpool UK The coaster struck a mine and sank in the Irish Sea 11 nautical miles (20 km) south east by east of the Chicken Rock, Isle of Man (53°49′N 4°23′W) with the loss of three of her crew.
    Nystrand Norway The cargo ship was sunk in the North Sea 170 nautical miles (310 km) south west of Lyngųr, Aust-Agder (56°47′N 6°08′E) by SM U-81 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
    Ocean France The three-masted schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) west north west of Ouessant, Finistčre by SM UB-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
    Sno Norway The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 25 nautical miles (46 km) west of the Isla de Alborįn, Spain by SM U-47 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

    Home Fronts
    Britain: National Service Department announced under Neville Chamberlain (appointed November 10).

    Politics
    Britain: Lloyd George’s first speech as Prime Minister rejects peace talks without definite proposals ‘… we shall put our trust rather in an unbroken army than in broken faith’. British safe conduct for Austrian Ambassa*dor from US.

    In a day of so little news I think it is worth publishing a large part of this speech that addresses the possibility of a peace treaty at the end of 1916 - given the fact that the war lasted another two years - could history have been changed and millions of lives saved? - you decide

    I am afraid I shall have to claim the indulgence of the House in making the observations which I have to make in moving the second reading of this Bill. I am still suffering a little from my throat. I appear before the House of Commons to-day with the most terrible responsibility that can fall upon the shoulders of any living man as the chief adviser of the Crown in the most gigantic war in which this country has ever been engaged, a war upon the events of which its destiny depends. It is the greatest war ever waged. The burdens are the heaviest that have been cast upon this or any other country, and the issues which hang on it are the gravest that have been attached to any conflict in which humanity has ever been involved.

    The responsibilities of the new Government have been suddenly accentuated by a declaration made by the German Chancellor, and I propose to deal with that at once. The statement made by him in the German Reichstag has been followed by a note presented to us by the United States of America without any note or comment. The answer that will be given by the Government will be given in full accord with all our brave Allies. Naturally there has been an inter- change of views, not upon the note, because it has only recently arrived, but upon the speech which propelled it, and, inasmuch as the note itself is practically only a reproduction or certainly a paraphrase of the speech, the subject-matter of the note itself has been discussed informally between the Allies, and I am very glad to be able to state that we have each of us, separately and independently, arrived at identical conclusions. I am very glad that the first answer that was given to the statement of the German Chancellor was given by France and by Russia. They have the unquestioned right to give the first answer to such an invitation. The enemy is still on their soil. Their sacrifices have been greater. The answer they have given has already appeared in all the papers, and I simply stand here to-day on behalf of the Government to give a clear and definite support to the statement which they have already made.

    Let us examine what the statement is and examine it calmly. Any man or set of men who wantonly or without sufficient cause prolong a terrible conflict like this would have on his soul a crime that oceans could not cleanse. Upon the other hand it is equally true that any man or set of men who from a sense of weariness or despair abandoned the struggle without achieving the high purpose for which he had entered into it would have been guilty of the costliest act of poltroonery ever perpetrated by any statesman. I should like to quote the very well-known words of Abraham Lincoln under similar conditions: — "We accepted this war for an object, a worthy object, and the war will end when that object is attained. Under God I hope it will never end until that time." Are we likely to achieve that object by accepting the invitation of the German Chancellor? That is the only question we have to put to ourselves.

    There has been some talk about proposals of peace. What are the proposals? There are none. To enter, on the invitation of Germany, proclaiming herself victorious, without any knowledge of the proposals she proposes to make, into a conference is to put our heads into a noose with the rope end in the hands of Germany. This country is not altogether without experience in these matters. This is not the first time we have fought a great military despotism that was overshadowing Europe, and it will not be the first time we shall have helped to overthrow military despotism. We have an uncomfortable historical memory of these things, and we can recall when one of the greatest of these despots had a purpose to serve in the working of his nefarious schemes. His favorite device was to appear in the garb of the Angel of Peace, and he usually appeared under two conditions. When he wished for time to assimilate his conquests or to reorganize his horses for fresh conquests, or, secondly, when his subjects showed symptoms of fatigue and war weariness the appeal was always made in the name of humanity. He demanded an end to bloodshed, at which he professed himself to be horrified, but for which he himself was mainly responsible. Our ancestors were taken in once, and bitterly they and Europe rue it. The time was devoted to reorganizing his horses for a deadlier attack than ever upon the liberties of Europe, and examples of that kind cause us to regard this note with a considerable measure of reminiscent disquietude. We feel that we ought to know, before we can give favourable consideration to such an invitation, that Germany is prepared to accede to the only terms on which it is possible for peace to be obtained and maintained in Europe. What are those terms? They have been repeatedly stated by all the leading statesmen of the Allies. My right hon. friend has stated them repeatedly here and outside, and all I can do is to quote, as my right hon. friend the leader of the House did last week, practically the statement of the terms put forward by my right hon. friend —

    "Restitution, reparation, guarantee against repetition" — so that there shall be no mistake, and it is important that there should be no mistake in a matter of life and death to millions. Let me repeat again — complete restitution, full reparation, effectual
    guarantee. Did the German Chancellor use a single phrase to indicate that he was prepared to accept such a peace? Was there a hint of restitution, was there any suggestion of reparation, was there any invitation of any security for the future that this outrage on civilization would not be again perpetrated at the first profitable opportunity? The very substance and style of this speech constitutes a denial of peace on the only terms on which peace is possible. He is not even conscious now that Germany has committed
    any offence against the rights of free nations. Listen to this from the note: — "Not for an instant have they (they being the Central Powers) swerved from the conviction that respect of the rights of other nations is not in any degree incompatible with their own rights and legitimate interests." When did they discover that? Where was the respect for the rights of other nations in Belgium and Serbia? That was self-defence! Menaced, I suppose, by the over whelming armies of Belgium, the Germans had been intimidated
    into invading Belgium, and the burning of Belgian cities and villages, to the massacring of thousands of inhabitants, old and young, to the carrying of the survivors into bondage. Yea, and they were carrying them into slavery at the very moment when this note
    was being written about the unswerving conviction as to the respect for the root of the rights of other nations. Are these outrages the legitimate interest of Germany? We must know. That is not the moment for peace. If excuses of this kind for palpable crimes can
    be put forward two and a half years after the exposure by grim facts of the guarantee, is there, I ask in all solemnity, any guarantee that similar subterfuges will not be used in the future to overthrow any treaty of peace you may enter into with Prussian militarism.

    This note and that speech prove that not yet have they learned the very alphabet of respect for the rights of others. Without reparation, peace is impossible. Are all these outrages against humanity on land and on sea to be liquidated by a few pious phrases
    about humanity? Is there to be no reckoning for them? Are we to grasp the hand that perpetrated these atrocities in friendship with- out any reparation being tendered or given ? I am told that we are to begin, Germany helping us, to exact reparation for all future violence committed after the war. We have begun already. It has already cost us so much, and we must exact it now so as not to leave such a grim inheritance to our children. As much as we all long for peace, deeply as we are horrified with war, this note and the speech which heralded it do not afford us much encouragement and hope for an honourable and lasting peace. What hope is given in that speech that the whole root and cause of this great bitterness, the arrogant spirit of the Prussian military caste, will not be as dominant as ever if we patch up peace now? Why, the very speech in which these peace suggestions are made resound to the boast of Prussian military triumph. It is a long pęan over the victories of von Hindenburg and his legions. The very appeal for peace was delivered ostentatiously from the triumphal chariot of Prussian militarism. We must keep a steadfast eye upon the purpose for which we entered the war, otherwise the great sacrifices we have been making will be in vain. The German note states that it was for the defence of their existence and the freedom of national development that the Central Powers were constrained to take up arms. Such phrases even deceive those who pen them. They are intended to delude the German nation into supporting the designs of the Prussian military caste. Who ever wished to put an end to their national existence or the freedom of their national development? We welcomed their development as long as it was on the paths of peace — the greater their development upon that road, the greater would all humanity be enriched by their efforts. That was not our desire, and it is not our purpose now. The Allies entered this war to defend Europe against the aggression of Prussian military domination, and, having begun it, they must insist that the only end is the most complete and effective guarantee against the possibility of that caste ever again disturbing the peace of Europe. Prussia, since she got into the hands of that caste, has been a bad neighbour, arrogant, threatening, bullying, shifting boundaries
    at her will, taking one fair field after another from weaker neighbours, and adding them to her own domain. With her belt ostentatiously full of weapons of offence, and ready at a moment's notice to use them, she has always been an unpleasant, disturbing
    neighbour in Europe. She got thoroughly on the nerves of Europe. There was no peace near where she dwelt. It is difficult for those who are fortunate enough to live thousands of miles away to understand what it has meant to those who live near. Even here, with the protection of the broad seas between us, we know what a disturbing factor the Prussians were with their constant naval menace. But even we can hardly realize what it has meant to France and to Russia. Several times there were threats directed to them even within the lifetime of this generation which presented the alternative of war or humiliation. There were many of us who hoped that internal influences in Germany would have been strong enough to check and ultimately to eliminate these feelings. All our hopes proved illusory, and now that this great war has been forced by the Prussian military leaders upon France, Russia, Italy, and ourselves, it would be folly, it would be a cruel folly, not to see to it that this swashbuckling through the streets of Europe to the disturbance of all harmless and peaceful citizens shall be dealt with now as an offence against the law of nations. The mere word that led Belgium to her own destruction will not satisfy Europe any more. We all believed it. We all trusted it. It gave way at the
    first pressure of temptation, and Europe has been plunged into the vortex of blood. We will therefore wait until we hear what terms and guarantees the German Government offer other than those, better than those, surer than those, which she so lightly broke. Meantime, we shall put our trust in an unbroken Army rather than in a broken faith. For the moment I do not think it would be advisable for me to add anything upon this particular invitation. A formal reply will be delivered by the Allies in the course of the next few days. I shall therefore proceed with the other part of the task which I have in front of me. What is the urgent task in front of the Government? To complete, and make even more effective, the mobilization of all our national resources — a mobilization which has been going on since the commencement of the war — so as to enable the nation to bear the strain, however prolonged, and to march through to victory, however lengthy, and however exhausted may be the task. It is a gigantic task. Let me give this word of warning, if there be any who have given their confidence to the new Administration in expectation of a speedy victory, they will be doomed to disappointment. I am not going to paint a gloomy picture of the military situation. If I did it would not be a true picture. But I must paint a stern picture, because that accurately represents the facts.

    There is a time in every prolonged and fierce war when in the passion and rage of conflict men forget the high purpose with which they entered it. This is a struggle for international right, international honour, international good faith — the channel along which
    peace, honour, and good will must flow amongst men. The embankment laboriously built up by generations of men against barbarism has been broken, and had not the might of Britain passed into the breach, Europe would have been inundated with a flood of savagery and unbridled lust of power. The plain sense of fair play amongst nations, the growth of an international conscience, the protection of the weak against the strong by the stronger, the consciousness that justice has a more powerful backing in this world
    than greed, the knowledge that any outrage upon fair dealing between nations, great or small, will meet with prompt and meritable chastisement — these constitute the causeway along which progressing slowly to higher things. The triumph of pressure would sweep it all away and leave mankind to struggle helpless in the morass. That is why since this war began I have known but one political aim; and for it I have fought with a single eye — that is the rescue of mankind from the most overwhelming catastrophe that has ever yet menaced its well-being.

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    On the Home Front there is a serious train crash in Wigan...

    "In this case the 10 p.m. passenger train from Euston after arrival at the down fast platform line was drawn forward past No. 4 signal-box to be backed into No 5 bay line, and just as it was being set back it was run into in the rear by the 11.15 p.m. express passenger train from Euston to Edinburgh. The guard of the 10 p.m. train was killed as was also a sorter in a postal van of the 11.15 pm. train. Five post office officials and two passengers were injured, also the fireman of the 10 p.m. train, the driver of the assisting engine, the driver and fireman of the train engine, and the assistant guard of the 11.15 p.m. train."

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  42. #2092

    Default

    A situation with strong shades of Germany in the late 1930s Chris.

    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  43. #2093

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    A great stint keeping the printers on their toes Chris. Typewriter ready to takeover for tomorrow's edition.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  44. #2094

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Skafloc View Post
    A great stint keeping the printers on their toes Chris. Typewriter ready to takeover for tomorrow's edition.
    Roger that Squadron Leader, over and out

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  45. #2095

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    Thanks for everything Chris - enjoy the break

  46. #2096

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    Wednesday 20th December 1916

    This week’s issue’s brought to you by our sponsor:
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    Today we lost: 310

    Today’s losses include:

    • The 13th victim of the Red Baron
    • The 14th & 15th victims of the Red Baron
    • A flying Ace
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • A family that will lose four sons in the Great War

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    • Lieutenant Robert Eric Odell (Black Watch) is killed at age 22. He is the son of the Reverend Robert William Odell Vicar of St Mathew’s Brighton.
    • Second Lieutenant Nigel Felton Drummond (King’s Royal Rifle Corps) is killed at age 21. He is the grandson of the Reverend Arthur Hislop Drummond.
    • Corporal Jack Ware (Royal Army Medical Corps) dies of disease at age 21. He is one of four brothers all of whom will lose their lives in the Great War.

    Air Operations:

    Eastern Front:
    German Navy airships L35 (Ehrlich) and L38 (Dietrich) arrive at Wainoden for Operation Eisernes Kreuz (Iron Cross), a raid on Petrograd (Dec 26th) advocated since early 1915 by Grand-Admiral Prince Heinrich, C-in-C Baltic Fleet.

    Western Front:

    5 Jasta 2’ scouts’ (led by Richthofen) shoot or force down 5 DH2’s.

    RFC observers engage 85 targets including destroying 3-gun anti-aircraft batteries, takes 741 photos.

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 7


    2Lt D'arcy, L.G. (Lionel George)
    , 18 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 28.

    Lt Fiske, H. (Harold), 18 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action.

    Lt Smith, R. (Reginald), 18 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 24.

    Sub Lt Whiteside, R.C. (Reginald Cuthbert), 18 Squadron, RFC, aged 21.

    2Lt Garner, F.L. (Frank Leslie), 5 Reserve Squadron, RFC. Killed whilst flying aged 21.

    Lt Simpson, H.R.D. (Henry Richard Deighton), 60 Squadron, RFC. Killed when the right wing of his aeroplane gave way while he was doing acrobatics and he crashed from 150m, aged 20.

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    Capt Knight, A.G. (Arthur Gerald), 29 Squadron, RFC. Killed in action aged 21.Captain Arthur Gerald Knight DSO MC (Royal Flying Corps) is shot down in flames and killed after bringing down his eighth German machine. He is flying a DH2 when he becomes the thirteen the victim of Manfred von Richthofen near Monchy au Bois. Knight and Alfred McKay were indirectly responsible for the death of the great German pilot Oswald Boelcke last month. While on patrol over the Somme trench lines, Knight and McKay’s DH2s were attacked by Germany’s leading ace (40 victories). A momentary lapse in concentration on the part of either Boelcke or his friend Erwin Bohme, resulted in a contact between their two machines as they dived in on the British pilots. Although Bohme’s machine escapes comparatively unscathed, Boelcke’s upper wing breaks away and he is killed in the ensuing crash. Captain Knight dies at age 21. Captain McKay will be killed in December of next year. Later this day another two men become the fourteenth victims of the Red Baron when their plane is shot down. Second Lieutenant Lionel George D’Arcy (Connaught Rangers attached Royal Flying Corps) and Sub Lieutenant Reginald Cuthbert Whiteside (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve attached Royal Flying Corps) are shot down while on an offensive patrol on the 5th Army front. D’Arcy is the son of Hyacinth D’Arcy DL and is killed at age 28. Whiteside is the son of the Reverend W C Whiteside and is killed at age 21.

    Claims: 14


    Lt Robert Alexander ‘Bob’ Little claims his 3rd victory with 8 RNAS.

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    Capt Edwin Louis ‘Lobo’ Benbow, claims his 5th confirmed victory with 40 Squadron, RFC. Flying an FE8 he shot down an Albatros C type near Lens. After serving with the Royal Field Artillery in France, Edwin Louis Benbow transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916. He received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 3109 on a Maurice Farman biplane at military school, Ruislip on 21 June 1916. Benbow was only the ace to score all of his victories flying the F.E.8.

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    FE8


    2Lt Kevin Crawford claims his 3rd victory with 24 Squadron, RFC.

    2Lt Selden Herbert ‘Tubby’ Long claims his 4th confirmed victory with 24 Squadron, RFC.
    2Lt John Bowley Quested claims his 6th confirmed victory with 11 Squadron, RFC.
    2Lt Reginald Rhys Soar claims his 1st & 2nd confirmed victories with 8 RNAS.
    Sous Lt Joseph-Henri Guiguet claims his 3rd confirmed victory with N3.
    Sous Lt Lucien Jailler claims his 6th confirmed victory with N15.
    Lt Charles Nungesser claims his 21st confirmed victory with N65.
    Lt Hans Immelmann claims his 6th confirmed victory with Jasta 2.
    Lt Hans Karl Muller claims his 8th confirmed victory with Jasta 5.

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    Lt Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen claims his 13th & 14th confirmed victories flying for Jasta 2.

    Combat Report Victory 13:

    DH2 No 7927 29 Squadron RFC Engine No.30413 Wd 4134 Gun: 19234
    1130 hrs, above Menchy.
    Vickers One-Seater, No 7929, Motor Gnome, 30413. Occupant: Arthur Gerald Knight, Lieutenant RFC (Knight was a Captain, winning the DSO & MC during the battle of the Somme), killed. Valuables enclosed, 1 machine gun taken.
    About 1130 I attacked, together with 4 planes and at 3,000 metres altitude, enemy one-seater squadron above Menchy. After some curve fighting I managed to press adversary down to 1,500 metres, where I attacked him at closest range (plane length). I saw immediately that i has hit enemy; first he went down in curves, then he dashed to the ground. I pursued him until 100 metres above the ground. This plane had been only attacked by me.
    Weather fine all day.

    Combat Report Victory 14:

    FE2b No A5446 (Malaya No 11) 18 Squadron RFC Engine No.791 Wd 7151 Guns: 16021: 17924
    1345 hrs, above Moreuil.
    Vickers two-Seater, No A5446, Motor Beardmore, No. 791. Occupants: Pilot Lieut D’Arcy, observer unknown, had no identification disc. Occupants dead, plane smashed one machine gun taken, valuables please find enclosed.
    About 1345 I attacked, together with 4 planes of our Staffel, at 3,000 metres altitude, enemy squadron above Moreuil. The English squadron had thus far not been attacked by Germans and was flying somewhat apart. I had, therefore, the opportunity to attack the last machine. I was foremost of our own people and other German planes where not to be seen. Already after the first attack, the enemy motor began to smoke; the observer had been wounded. The plane went down in large curves. I followed and fired at closest range. I had also killed, as was ascertained later on, the pilot. Finally the plane crashed on the ground. The plane is lying between Queant and Lagnicourt.
    Weather fine all day.

    Home Fronts:

    Germany:
    Chancellor Bethmann comes under sustained pressure from German Army and Navy for unlimited U-Boat warfare without delay (December 20-26). Ludendorff urges immediate unrestricted U-Boat war in view of Lloyd George reply.
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    Reich Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg (left in uniform) with Vice-Chancellor Helfferich and Foreign Secretary of State Jagow. The Chancellor was never able to contend with the ‘falcons’ in the government, the military, and the national circles with their annexation plans. He lost more and more power and influence and his opponent succeeded in 1917 finally to overthrow him.


    Western Front
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    A winters view of the front line.

    Tunstills Men Wednesday 20th December 1916:
    Winnipeg Camp
    In the evening a party was again despatched to Ypres, by train, to work with the Royal Engineers.

    2Lt. Tom Pickles (see 13th December), formerly of Tunstill’s Company, but currently on home leave while serving with 9DWR, was taken ill. He became, in his own words, “severely indisposed”. He then saw his local doctor, who advised him to see the Military Medical Officer at Keighley. A Colonel in the RAMC at Keighley advised him to go back to his own doctor, but would not give Pickles a medical certificate.

    John Widdup, younger brother of 2Lt. Harry Widdup (see 16th December), who had attested ten days earlier, passed his Army medical at Keighley.

    2Lt. Robert Aubrey Hildyard, serving with 1st King’s Own Royal Lancasters, was killed in action on the Somme; he was 19 years old and the only son of Maj. Harry Robert Hildyard, (see 20th May) who had been the original senior officer of Tunstill’s Company but who was now serving with 1st (Home Service) Garrison Battalion, Leics. Regt., having been declared no longer fit for active service. Both Robert Hildyard and 18 year old 2Lt. Godfrey James Wilding, who was killed alongside him as they sheltered in a dug-out, were buried in marked graves close to where they had fallen; in 1920 their remains would be exhumed and re-buried at Peronne Road Cemetery, Maricourt. The original grave marker from Hildyard's grave was returned to England and is now in the parish church in his home town of Hythe, where there is also a memorial window, erected by his parents.

    Eastern Front:
    German advance on Braila.

    Galicia:
    Severe fighting west of Brody.

    Rumania: Russian 12th Cavalry Division reaches Odobesti 15 miles northwest of Focsani (after 450-mile ride without losing a single horse).

    Southern Front:

    Fierce local encounters Cherna bend (Monastir).

    Africa, Asiatic & Egyptian Theatres:
    Turks evacuate El Arish (northern Sinai) and fall back 20 miles south-east of Magdhaba.

    Germans retire from Nangadi (East Africa).

    Naval Operations:


    Shipping Losses: 6


    Political:

    Germany: As the war went on conditions deteriorated rapidly on the home front, with severe food shortages reported in all urban areas by 1915. Causes involved the transfer of many farmers and food workers into the military, an overburdened railroad system, shortages of coal, and the British blockade that cut off imports from abroad. The winter of 1916–1917 was known as the "turnip winter," because that vegetable, usually fed to livestock, was used by people as a substitute for potatoes and meat, which were increasingly scarce. Thousands of soup kitchens were opened to feed the hungry people, who grumbled that the farmers were keeping the food for themselves. Even the army had to cut the rations for soldiers. Morale of both civilians and soldiers continued to sink.

    1916 German War Loan 535,000,000 Marks.

    Neutrals:


    President Wilson's Peace Conference Note handed to Belligerents.

    Anniversary Events:

    69 Vespians’s supporters enter Rome and discover Vitellius in hiding. He is dragged through the streets before being brutally murdered.
    1355 Stephen Urosh IV of Serbia dies while marching to attack Constantinople.
    1802 The United States buys the Louisiana territory from France.
    1860 South Carolina secedes from the Union.
    1861 English transports loaded with 8,000 troops set sail for Canada so that troops are available if the “Trent Affair” is not settled without war.

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    "Hey Tom, what day is it?"
    "I'm sleeping!".
    "I need to know".
    "20th".
    "What Month?"
    "December".
    "What Year?"
    "..........."
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 12-20-2016 at 02:50.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  47. #2097

    Default

    Thanks for picking up the baton Neil..

    I would like to add this little snippet... Twelve silver watches were, on Dec. 20th, presented to special constables of the district where the Zeppelin L32 fell in flames, in recognition of their work on that occasion.


    A reminder of what happened to L-32

    Zeppelin L32 was shot down by Frederick Sowrey, RFC, aged 23, and crashed near Snails Farm, South Green, Great Burstead, Near Billericay. Its target was London, but because of an anti-aircraft barrage, it dropped its bombs near Purfleet. It began to make its was back to Germany when it was intercepted by Sowrey who was on routine night patrol. The airship was picked out in the night sky by searchlights and Sowrey launched his attack. Firing three drums of incendiary ammunition into the body of the airship, she caught alight and plummeted to the ground at sometime after 1 a.m. All 22 of the crew were killed.

    One witness described how in the night sky he saw a pink glare which turned to coppery red, then a ball of flame emerged which changed its shape to a perpendicular cylindrical mass of flame. A few days later the crew were buried at Great Burstead Churchyard. The bodies were later transferred to a church in Staffordshire.By 3 o'clock that night, not only had the local people rushed to see the wreckage, but cars full of Londoners started to arrive to view the wreckage of twisted and broken aluminium struts. Access to the area was limited by a narrow country lane and by 8 o'clock it was reported that the lane was blocked with "motor cars, motor-cycles, bicycles, traps, tradesmen's carts, and pedestrians, all jammed together". By far the most popular transport was bicycles with hundreds laying abandoned on the fields. Souvenir hunting was prevented by a cordon of soldiers armed with fixed bayonets, and police, but this did not deter the souvenir hunters who scoured nearby potato and mangold fields looking for debris. Even lemonade sellers set up their stalls in an attempt to profit on the spectacle. Sowrey was later awarded the DSO; He died in 1966 aged 75

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  48. #2098

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    Thanks for the nice read.

  49. #2099

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    Thursday 21st December 1916
    Today we lost: 344
    Today’s losses include:

    • The brother of the 5th Baron Cronwell
    • The son of a Baronet
    • A man whose brother will be killed next May
    • The son of a General

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    • Captain Redevers Lionel Calverley Bewicke-Copley (Coldstream Guards) is killed in action at age 26. He is the son of Brigadier General ‘Sir’ Arlington and Lady Bewicke-Copley and brother of the 5th Baron Cromwell.
    • Second Lieutenant George Douglas Pechell (Indian Army Reserve of Officers attached Royal Flying Corps) is accidentally killed at home at age 25. He is the son of Lieutenant Colonel ‘Sir’ A Alexander Brooke-Pechell the 7th

    Air Operations:

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today: 4


    Lt Brereton, H. (Herbert)
    , 15 Squadron, RFC. Killed in Action aged 22. B.E.2d 6735 crashed, Observer, 2nd Lieut J P Morkham was wounded.

    2Lt Cotton, W.M.V. (William Martin Vernon), 7 Squadron, RFC. Killed in Action aged 24.

    2Lt Pechell, G.D. (George Douglas), 66 Squadron, RFC. Killed while flying aged 25.

    Lt Wright, P.A. (Percy Andrew), 27 Squadron, RFC.

    Claims: 3
    Sous Lt Andre Jean Delorme claims his 4th confirmed victory with N38.
    Lt Verner Voss claims his 3rd confirmed victory with Jasta 2.

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    Polkovnik Aleksandr Alexandrovich Kozakov claims his 5th confirmed victory with 19th Corps fighter detachment. Flying a Nieuport 11 he shot down a Hansa-Brandenburg CI near Lutsk. Russia's highest scoring ace was educated in military schools and entered the army in 1908. After serving in the cavalry, he transferred to aviation in 1913 and by the following year was posted to the 4th Corps Air Detachment in Poland where he flew reconnaissance and bombing missions in a Morane-Saulnier. Having made several unsuccessful attempts to bring down enemy aircraft by dangling explosives and grappling hooks beneath his plane, Kozakov scored his first victory in the spring of 1915 by ramming his opponent. In September 1915, he assumed command of the 19th Corps Air Detachment but scored no additional victories that year and only 2 more by August 1916 when he assumed command of the 1st Combat Air Group. In February 1917, his CAG was ordered to Romania where Kozakov scored eight more victories before being wounded in action on 27 June 1917. With 20 victories, he resigned his commission in January 1918 and joined the British Joint Military forces at Murmansk in June. Promoted to the rank of Major, he commanded the Slavo-British air detachment at Benezniky and continued flying combat missions until he was again wounded in January 1919. In March, he returned to duty but became deeply depressed by the withdrawal of British forces from Russia in the summer of 1919. On the evening of 1 August 1919, ignoring an invitation to a farewell dinner for British pilots, he took off in a Sopwith only to crash to his death a few moments later. Having watched Kozakov pull a loop at low altitude and stall the plane, Ira Jones concluded the Russian Ace of Aces "brought about his own death and staged it in the most dramatic manner."

    Western Front
    (We have just learned that the Hun have started up there own trench newspaper...a trifle late I might add)

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    A German trench newspaper is printed.


    Tunstills Men Thursday 21st December 1916:

    Winnipeg Camp

    The Battalion, along with 9th Yorkshires, was drawn up in two ranks on the Ouderdom-Vlamertinghe road and inspected by Field Marshall Haig at 12.40pm. Brig. Genl. Lambert, commanding 69th Brigade (see passim) was less than enthusiastic about Haig’s visit, as he revealed in a letter to his wife, “We are being inspected today by the C-in-C and I cannot say I enjoy these functions. I don’t suppose it will last long, but I hope it will go off all right. It is not as cold today, but more inclined to be wet. I hope it is not going to rain as personally I am not very fit to stand or sit on a horse in wet clothes with the rain coming down and no coat! … I wish he could have chosen another time as we are keeping Christmas on this and the forthcoming day. At least the men are”.

    On completion of the inspection the Battalion marched back to Winnipeg Camp, where, in the evening, they had their Christmas Dinner. The menu, as described by Cpl. Fred Swale (see 17th December), comprised of, “pork, beef, potatoes, cabbages, apple sauce, beer, plum pudding, sweets, cigarettes, etc etc, and after dinner we had a concert. A special band, on tour from ‘Blighty’, was the star turn”.

    A payment of £59 12s. 6d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late of 2Lt. Henry Herbert Owen Stafford (see 6th November).

    Eastern Front:


    Western Russia: Fighting south of Dvinsk. Also along Galician rivers.

    Dobruja: Russians drive Bulgars into Lake Ibolota (Babadagh) south of Tulcea.

    Africa, Asiatic & Egyptian Theatres:

    Sinai:
    Australian Light Horse advance to El Arish and find it abandoned by the Turks (1,600 evacuated) who have retreated along the coast to Rqafa and inland up the Wadi El Arish to Magdhaba.
    Turkish base removed from Shumran to Baghela (Tigris); but shipping at latter bombed by British.

    Naval Operations:


    While operating with the Grand Fleet, HMS Hoste (Commander Graham R L Edwards) develops engine trouble and has to return to Scapa Flow with HMS Negro (Lieutenant Commander Alexander Hugh Gye) as escort. The destroyers collide in the Norwegian Sea off the Orkney Islands. The shock of the collision rolls two depth charges off the stern of HMS Hoste which blow off the stern of that ship and HMS Negro’s bottom plating. Both ships are abandoned. The Negro founders shortly afterwards with a loss of 51 crewmen while four crew members of Hoste are killed as she also sinks. Commander Gye is the son of the Honorable Adelaide Gye and dies at age 32.

    Lieutenant William Albert Carmichael (HM Trawler St Ives, Royal Naval Reserve) is killed when his ship is sunk at age 24. His brother will be killed in the Merchant Marine in May of next year. Ten other members of the crew are also lost.

    Shipping Losses: 5


    Political:


    Austria:
    V. Spitzmuller (Austria) unable to form Cabinet; duty entrusted to Count Heinrich Clam-Martinitz appointed Austrian Premier (see 14th, and June 18th, 1917).

    Neutrals:


    Greece:
    Allies' new Note to Greece.Allied note demands control of communications and Venizelists’ release. Similar conditions demanded on December 31 before blockade lifted.

    Anniversary Events:

    68 Vespian, a gruff-spoken general of humble origins, enters Rome and is named emperor by the Senate.
    1620 The Pilgrims land at or near Plymouth Rock.
    1708 French forces seize control of the eastern shore of Newfoundland after winning a victory at St. John’s.
    1790 Samuel Slater opens the first cotton mill in the United States (in Rhode Island).
    1862 The U.S. Congress authorizes the Medal of Honor to be awarded to Navy personnel who have distinguished themselves by their gallantry in action.
    1866 Indians, led by Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, kill Captain William J. Fetterman and 79 other men who had ventured out from Fort Phil Kearny to cut wood.
    1910 Over 2.5 million plague victims are reported in the An-Hul province of China.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 12-21-2016 at 02:06.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  50. #2100

    Default

    Thanks for the past two posts Neil - didn't know that Kozakov had scored his first victory by ramming his opponent. That seems a mighty dodgy way of doing things and I'm surprised he survived it himself

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