100 Years Ago Today

[Sailor Steve]

June 7, 1916

Britain:
First order for 50 Sopwith Triplanes issued.




Air War:
0730 Austrian pilot Karl Urban and Bohemian observer Otto Jäger, In Austrian Albatros B.I 22.10, shoot down a Farman two-seater. Five minutes later they bring down a second Farman. Victories 2 and 3 for and 3 for Urban, 3 and 4 for Jäger.

0930 Czech-born pilot Heinrich Kostrba and Hungarian observer Johann Frint, in Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 26.09, also shoot down a Farman. Victory number 4 for Kstorba, 2 for Frint.



Adriatic Sea:
Italian torpedo boats MAS 5 and MAS 7 enter the Albanian port of Durres and sink freighter SS Lokrum, 924 tons.

[Jimbuna]

8th June 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Violent German attack east and west of Thiaumont Farm.

Eastern Front

Russian offensive continues; 13,000 prisoners reported.

Austrians reinforced from Italian front.

Russians repulse attacks in Vilna district.

Southern Front

Austrians make slight advance near Asiago.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British occupy Bismarckburg and Belgians occupy Usumbara (German East Africa).

British patrols chase Germans into Zeebrugge.

Political, etc.

Compulsion replaces voluntary enlistment in Great Britain.

Major General Sir Sam Hughes reports that 6000 Canadians have been killed or wounded last week at Sanctuary Hill in Belgium.

United Fruit Company gives its employees a month’s leave of absence with pay if they enroll in the U.S. Navy training cruise for civilians.

Ship Losses:

Cementcrug (Imperial Russian Navy) The transport ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Black Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south east of Tuapse by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Ekaterina (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Psezuape Estuary, Black Sea by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
HMT Kaphreda (Royal Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Otto Ehrentraut) and sank in the North Sea off the Corton Lightship ( United Kingdom) (52°31′45″N 1°50′00″E) with the loss of six of her crew.
Malorossija (Imperial Russian Navy) The ship was shelled and damaged in the Black Sea by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached in the Mokopse Estuary.
Principe Umberto (Regia Marina) The troopship was torpedoed and sunk in the Adriatic Sea (40°19′N 19°10′E) by SM U-5 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy) with the loss of 1,750 lives.
Vera (Imperial Russian Navy) The transport ship was shelled and damaged in the Black Sea by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached in the Mokopse Estuary.

[Sailor Steve]

June 8, 1916

Air War:
German observer Erich Bönisch, now riding in an unidentified two-seater with pilot August Ponater, shoots down a British flying boat for victory number 2.

Russian pilot Ivan Alexandrovich Orlov, flying Moska-Bystritsky MBis No 7, shoots down an Austro-Hungarian Lloyd C.II for victory number 1.



North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler Kaphreda, 245 tons, hits a mine laid by Otto Ehrentraut in UC-6. His score is noe 3 ships and 1,891 tons.



Black Sea:
Max Valentiner, in U-38, sinks two Russian ships and damages two more:
SS Malorossija, 893 tons, damaged by deck gun and beached.
SS Vera, 1,231 tons, damaged by deck gun and beached in Mokopse estuary.
SS Cementcrug, 1,086 tons, torpedoed off the port of Tuapse.
SV Ekaterina, 70 tons, sunk off the Psezuape estuary.
Valentiner's score is now 82 ships and 175,058 tons.



Adriatic Sea:
Friedrich Schlosser, commanding Austo-Hungarian U-5, torpedoes Italian troopship Principe Umberto, 7,929 tons. Casualty estimates vary between 1,926 and 1,990.



German East Afica:
Fleet Messenger Trent, towing monitor HMS Mersey, has slow going as her condenser tubes start to choke again.

Monitor HMS Severn reports firing 18 3pdr rounds at a suspected lookout tree at Ras Pembamnasi.

Whalers Childers and Echo, directed by cruiser HMS Hyacinth, fire on a suspected shore position.



Canada:
American fishing vessel Ellen & Mary, 97 tons, on a fishing trip out of Bool Bay, Maine, runs aground off Canso Harbour, Nova Scotia.

[Jimbuna]

9th June 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: German attacks on Hill 304 repulsed.

Eastern Front

Russians capture bridgehead at Rojishche (north of Lutsk) and cross the Strypa; 500 prisoners reported.

Southern Front

Italian counter-offensive in Trentino begins; some progress made.

Aviation

American naval aviation pioneer Richard C. Saufley is killed on Santa Rosa Island on a flight out of the Naval Aeronautic Station, Pensacola, Florida when his Curtiss Model E hydroplane AH-8 goes down at the 8-hour-51-minute mark of his flight.


Naval and Overseas Operations

British capture Ukerewe Island (Vict. Nyanza); fighting at Kondoa Irangi (German East Africa).

Political, etc.

Allied War Council meets in London. French political and military leaders, including Premier Briand, General Joffre and General Roques, arrive in London for the conference.

King of Greece signs an order demobilizing half of its army, numbering 150,000 men, due to economic and political pressures.

Ship Losses:

Orkedal (Norway) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by a German submarine. Her 33 crew were rescued by the trawler Bruinvisch ( Netherlands).

[Sailor Steve]

June 9, 1916

Richard Caswell Saufley, American pioneer of naval aviation technology and holder of altitude and endurance records in a seaplane, is killed in a crash at Santa Rosa Island while trying to set a new endurance record at Pensacola, Florida. He had been aloft for eight hours and fifty-one minutes when the crash occurred.



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Bure, 1,151 tons, bound from England for Norway, hits a mine laid by an unknown ship, and sinks with the loss of one crew member.



United States:
Canadian schooner Virginian, 100 tons, carrying a load of wood from Clementsport, Nova Scotia to Lynn, Massachusetts, is wrecked at Salesbury Beach, New Hampshire.



Australia:
Australian ferries Daphne, 65 tons, and Leichhardt, 68 tons, are lost in a fire at Balmain, Waterview Bay, just outside Sydney Harbour. No passengers are onboard either ship at the time.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Southern Front

American naval aviation pioneer Richard C. Saufley is killed on Santa Rosa Island on a flight out of the Naval Aeronautic Station, Pensacola, Florida when his Curtiss Model E hydroplane AH-8 goes down at the 8-hour-51-minute mark of his flight.

America's first naval aviator to see combat: http://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2009-10/performed-all-their-duties-well

Naval aviation was barely three years old in 1914 when it had its baptism of fire over Mexico. Lieutenants (junior grade) Patrick N. L. Bellinger and Richard C. Saufley(photo) raced over to hydroaeroplane AH-3 and rose aloft in barely five minutes. The members of the naval aviation section assigned to the battleship USS Mississippi deployed to Vera Cruz, Mexico, answered their first call to action after receiving an urgent message at 0908 on 6 May 1914:
It is reported by natives that at a point known as Punta Gorda, consisting of one large stone building near the beach, about one mile north of Vera Cruz, a company of Mexican soldiers, about 100 men, is encamped. A report is requested. By order of Col. Waller McGill.
As the aviators headed northward along the coast toward Boca del Rio Antigua at an average altitude of 3,200 feet, they flew low over a group of Mexican Army stragglers, who opened fire with their rifles and hit the fragile plane. Bellinger immediately pulled up, and he and Saufley miraculously escaped unhurt. On returning to base, the men stepped out of AH-3 and grimly inspected the bullet holes in the wings-the first damage sustained by a U.S. aircraft from enemy fire. As Bellinger> later recounted in an article for National Geographic, the U.S. aircraft carried no weapons and on one of his last flights in Mexico, he decided to exact some measure of revenge on the Mexican forces and grabbed the nearest thing he could find in camp. Thus, he made a bar of soap the first air to ground ordnance dropped from a Navy aircraft.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_N._L._Bellinger USS Mississippi's two Curtiss floatplanes enroute to Vera Cruz < the Curtiss AH-3 is on the turret (photos enlarge) Considering the remarkable career of Vice Admiral Bellinger, the loss of equally able LTJG Sauffley was tragic indeed.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

8th June 1916

A slight footnote to history just in today's perusing's: http://www.newser.com/story/223037/lone-bullet-backs-up-lawrence-of-arabias-story.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=foxnews&utm_ campaign=rss_science_syn

[Jimbuna]

10th June 1916

Western Front

At Verdun, German troops continue to make gains east of the Meuse and capture 1500 French soldiers in the last 2 days.

German artillery very active near Ypres.

Eastern Front

Russians take Dubno (Volhynia); enemy retire from Strypa; heavy fighting on whole front; 3,500 prisoners reported.

Southern Front

Further Italian progress in Trentino. French occupy Thasos.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks sink three British munition barges on Tigris.

Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca, orders his men to attack the Ottoman garrison in Mecca by firing a shot from a window in his palace. Garrison of Mecca surrenders to Sharif.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British occupy Mkalamo, on Pangani River (German East Africa).

Political, etc.

Compulsory service bill passed in New Zealand.

Italian Cabinet loses a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies due to losses against Austria-Hungary. Italian ministry resigns.

7000 German-Americans, waving American flags, march in Newark to demonstrate their loyalty to the U.S.

Ship Losses:

Orion (Russia) The cargo ship was sunk in the Black Sea off Gagri by SM U-38 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Para (Sweden) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off the Alamagrund Lightship ( Sweden). Her fifteen crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

June 10, 1916

Air War:
Australian RFC pilot Alexander Augustus Norman Dudley "Jerry" Pentland and observer W.H. Waller, in BE.2c 4077, are attacked by a Fokker eindecker and shoot it down, bringing about victory number 1. The German pilot's name and fate are not known.



North Sea:
Norwegian freighter SS Orkedal, 2,599 tons, bound from Rosario, Argentina for Ålborg, Denmark with a load of corn, hits a mine laid by an unknown ship.
This is per Wrecksite.eu. Some sources have this happening on the 9th.



Baltic Sea:
Swedish freighter SS Para, 1,818 tons, his a mine and sinks southeast of Stockholm.



Black Sea:
Max Valentiner, commanding U-38, sinks Russian freighter SS Orion, 429 tons, bringing his score to 83 ships and 175,487 tons.



Indian Ocean, off Mozambique:
Fleet Messenger Trent, towing HMS Mersey, receives orders to take the monitor to Tirene Bay, Mafia Island. By this time Trent's condensers are so bad they are described as "fouled". The two ships continue on their slow passage northward.

[Jimbuna]

11th June 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Three German attacks on Hill 304 are repulsed by French forces after hand-to-hand combat.

Germans bombard Ypres heavily.

Eastern Front

Russians reach suburbs of Czernowitz; repel attacks near Dvinsk and Vilna; are checked at Lutsk and lose ground on Strypa; 7,000 prisoners reported.

Russian forces recapture the fortress of Dubno on the Ivka River. Russia claims to have captured 107,000 prisoners in the Brusilov offensive.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Skirmishes at Katiya; Turks bomb El Kantara (Egypt).

Russians repulse Turks at Platina (west of Trebizond).

Political, etc.

Britain orders farmers to report on their stocks of wheat, corn, & barley, the extent of their growing crops & amount of livestock.

The Progressive Party nominates former President Theodore Roosevelt for President, but he declines to run.

[Sailor Steve]

June 11, 1916

Baltic Sea:
Swedish coaster SS Emmy, 496 tons, bound from Soraker for Raa with a load of iron pyrite, hits a mine near Falsterborev.

[Jimbuna]

12th June 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: Germans bombard heavily; German attacks north of Thiaumont first repulsed and then penetrate French line east of Hill 321.

Eastern Front

Austrians retreat south of Lutsk.

Zaleszczycki (Bukovina) taken by Russians.

Southern Front

Italian advance on Asiago plateau and in Lagarina valley (Trentino).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British column (Sir P. Sykes) enters Kerman (southern Persia).

Russians take Turkish camp near Diarbekr and repulse attack at Rowanduz.

Aviation

Britain: Royal Flying Corps has taken 2,568 aircraft into service and struck off 1,427 in past year or 47.7% wastage. 8,403 aircraft on order (2,970 delivered); 15 training stations with 193 all ranks under instruction.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British take Wilhelmstal.

Belgians take Kitega (German East Africa).

Italian destroyers raid Parenzo (Istria).

Political, etc.

Riots in Greece.

Admiral Jellicoe praises the Royal Navy for its actions at Jutland, stating the “glorious traditions” of navy were "worthily upheld."

President Wilson transfers 11 artillery companies to the U.S.-Mexican border in order to prevent further Mexican raids.

[Sailor Steve]

June 12, 1916

Air War:
1930 Transylvania-born Austro-Hungarian observer Rudolf Weber, in Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 26.21 with an unidentified pilot, shoots down a Russian Voisin two-seater for victory number 1.



United States:
American motor vessel Ellvira, 12 tons, is stranded on Montague Island, Alaska. All four people aboard survive. Ellvira is listed as American, but she was registered at Cordova, Ontario.

[Jimbuna]

13th June 1916

Western Front

Canadians retake positions lost at Ypres on 2 June.

Eastern Front

Russians repulsed at Baranovichi (75 miles north of Pinsk); take Torchin and reach the Stokhod (near Lutsk); gain ground near Czernowitz; 6,000 prisoners reported.

Naval and Overseas Operations

Allied fleets bombard Bulgarian positions on the Aegean Sea from Porto Lagos to Dedeagach (Alexandroupoli).

British take Alt Langenburg (Lake Nyassa): Tanga reported to be evacuated by Germans.

Political, etc.

3000 people, including members of the Cabinet and Royal Family, attend the memorial service of Earl Kitchener at St. Paul’s.

Ship Losses:

SMS Herman (Kaiserliche Marine) The auxiliary cruiser was sunk in the Baltic Sea by four Imperial Russian Navy destroyers with the loss of about 60 of her 90 crew.
Maria C. ( Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Tyrrhenian Sea east of Ustica by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Motia (Italy) The coaster was sunk in the Tyrrhenian Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) north of Ustica by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
San Francesco di Paola (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Tyrrhenian Sea (39°50′N 13°45′E) by SM U-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

June 13, 1916

Tyrrhenian Sea:
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, commanding U-35, begins his third war patrol in the area around Ustica, a small island north of Sicily.
Italian sailing vessel Maria C, 77 tons.
Italian coaster Motia, 500 tons.
Italian sailing vessel San Francesco Di Paola, 43 tons.
Von Arnauld's score is now 11 ships and 51,056 tons.



German East Africa (modern Tanzania):
British pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Vengeance leads an attack on the railway station at Tanga Bay.
0140 HMS Challenger joins Vengeance at sea.
0505 Balloon and seaplane tender HMS Manica joins group.
0615 Commander-in-Chief gives instructions to squadron via signal flags.
0735 Squadron anchors in Tanga Bay.
0800 Seaplane sent from Zanzibar lands beside HMS Manica.
0805 Vengeance opens fire with her 12" guns.
0840 Vengeance ceases fire.
0920 Manica hoists out own seaplane.
0958 Both seaplanes reconnoiter Tanga.
1000 Commander-in-Chief moves to HMS Pioneer to direct gunfire.
1026 Manica's seaplane returns and is hoisted aboard.
1100 Zanzibar seaplane departs for home.
1330 HMS Challenger, Pioneer and supporting armed whalers Echo and Childers pull up close to the town.
1405 Pioneer opens fire on Tanga.
1410 Challenger opens fire on enemy positions at Ras Kasone and Tanga.
1440 Vengeance opens fire again, destroying the railway station.
1445 Challenger and Pioneer cease fire.
1452 Vengeance ceases fire.
1455 Challenger shells enemy positions at Ras Chongoliani with shrapnel.
1500 Challenger ceases fire.
1505 Childers reports fouled propeller. Echo tows Childers out of Tanga Bay.
1630 C-in-C returns to HMS Vengeance.
1720 Vengeance departs for home.
1732 Challenger sends diving party to Childers to clear fouled propeller.
1920 Diving party returns to Challenger.



After 12 days at sea - three days longer than the trip to Durban - Fleet Messenger Trent arrives at Tirene Bay, Mafia Island, with HMS Mersey in tow.