The First World War

[palo5]

Originally Posted by deepsepia

"The Mutinies"

One of the less remembered features of WW I is that many of the armies mutinied in 1917 and 1918. The Russians did...

In Russia there was a Revolution, Comrade. There was always much will to fight, but not for the wrong reasons

[knobby109]

The armies didn't exactly mutiny, there were some cases of individual units doing so because of particular situations but not widespread.
People of the time weren't like us, they belonged to an established social order.Men were expected-and expected it of themselves-to do whatever duty demanded of them.Obedience was the norm and every man had his place.This worked both ways of course and the upper classes suffered disproportionate losses as they expected to lead from the front.

[Ennath]

March 31, 1905
Diplomatic Relations The Entente has recognized France’s paramount position in Morocco. Seeking to undermine the new understanding, the German Foreign Office has the Kaiser visit Tangier, where he makes a speech announcing support of Moroccan independence. The expectation is that the French will fold once pressure is applied along the border and the British will realize the worthlessness of French connections and return to isolation. Initially, things go as planned, but British support for France, under the Entente’s terms, stiffens French resolve.

March 31, 1915
Baltic Sea German warships bombard Libau.
Eastern Front The fighting in the Carpathians continues.

March 31, 1916
Western Front, Verdun The Germans capture Malancourt. But the grim weeks of seesaw battle over control of Le Mort Homme have exacted a dreadful toll. French casualties at Verdun now total 89,000, German casualties 82,000. Falkenhayn’s plan to bleed the French army white is working, but his own army is suffering the same fate. Along the “Sacred Way”, 6000 trucks per day now sustain the supply lifeline of the French troops, helping also to rotate them regularly from the front to rear positions for rest and replacements.
War in the Air There is a Zeppelin raid on the east coast. 48 people are killed, but one airship is destroyed.
Caucasus The Turks are defeated at Kara Malachkan.

March 31, 1917
Mesopotamia Despite heavy resistance, British troops pushing doggedly forward from Shahraban complete their mission as the Turks withdraw across the Diyala River at Khanaqin.

March 31, 1918
Western Front There is indecisive fighting in the Luce and Avre valleys. A German attack is stopped west of Albert.
Turkey A major fire in Constantinople destroys 7500 homes in the historic heart of the city.

March 31, 1919
Russia Allied troops repress a communist rising in Murmansk.

[Ennath]

April – May 1875
Diplomatic Relations Alarmed at France’s quick economic recovery and plans to increase her army, Bismarck makes angry threats and the German press publishes excited articles, climaxed by the headline, “Is War in Sight?” Britain and Russia intervene at this point and Germany backs down.

April-August 1876
Balkans Bulgarians rise in revolt against Turkish rule. The brutal suppression of the rising incites passions against the Turks, especially among Slavs.

April 1896
World Affairs Convinced by the anti-Semitism engendered by the Dreyfus Affair that assimilation is an impossibility for Europe’s Jews, Theodor Herzl publishes Der Judenstaat, calling for a Jewish state in Palestine. This marks the birth of the Zionist movement.

April – June 1910
Albania A nationalist uprising is brutally stamped out by Turkish troops.

April 1913
Germany Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg summarizes for the Reichstag the coming “inevitable struggle” between Slavs and Teutons.

April 1915
War at Sea U-Boats sink 191,667 tons of shipping. One U-Boat is lost. The Italian navy orders its first MAS boats. These are small fast boats armed with one or two torpedoes, the forerunner of the motor torpedo boat.

April 1916
War at Sea U-Boats sink 191,667 tons of shipping. Two U-Boats are sunk. Admiral Reginald Bacon, commanding the Dover Patrol, begins creating a barrage of deep mines and nets to impede submarine passage. Not completed until December, it is unsuccessful in preventing U-Boats from accessing the Western Approaches.
Baltic Sea The Germans begin convoys for shipping from Sweden. They also begin laying mines to protect the middle and southern Baltic from Russian operations.
Russia Sukhomlinov is placed under house arrest, but is freed in October at the Tsar’s insistence.
Persia The revolt of the Gendarmerie in south Persia collapses. Many of the men are recruited into the British-led South Persia Rifles.

April 1917
War at Sea U-Boats sink 881,027 tons of shipping. Not even during World War II will this monthly total be equaled. Britain’s reserves of grain are down to a 6-week supply. Two German U-Boats are sunk, along with an Austrian boat. Regular flying boat patrols begin off the British Isles; as these expand in scope, they will prove useful in deterring U-Boats. A Japanese force of a cruiser and 14 destroyers joins the Allies in Mediterranean convoy duties.
Libya The British, Italians, and Senusi sign a peace accord at Akrama, ending the 1st Italo-Senusi War.

April 1918
War at Sea U-Boats sink 278,719 tons of shipping. Six U-Boats are sunk. The coastal Flanders U-Boats abandon the passage of the Dover Barrage and now restrict their operations to the North Sea.
War in the Air The best Allied heavy bomber of the war, the Handley Page O/400, enters service.
Germany The public is disbelieving of the army’s pronouncements and more and more concerned only with food and clothes. The Duo do not get the message. To them, justified protests are only mutiny, the work of shirkers, war profiteers, and communists. What Germany needs, they insist, is discipline. They create a Women’s Home Army to report defeatists and subversives. Denmark and Holland are to be forced to return the tens of thousands of deserters to whom they have given shelter, munitions plants must pass to army control, strikes should be prohibited, draft dodgers rounded up and sent to labor battalions, Black Marketeers to be shot, and censorship increased. OHL is increasingly isolated from reality, in a world of starched uniforms, shiny boots and gleaming helmets, with regular meals.
Macedonia Serbian 2nd Army is joined by a “Yugoslav” Division, comprising Austrian South Slav POW’s. The Germans begin pulling their heavy artillery out of the theater for transfer to France.
Russia With news of German troops in Finland, British, French and American reinforcements are sent to Murmansk. There is temporary cooperation between the Allies and the local Reds against the common threat.
Persia News of reverses in France affects the morale of the South Persia Rifles and many desert. Shiite clerics are stirring violence against them and British troops have to be sent to reinforce them.

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by Ennath

March 31, 1916
War in the Air There is a Zeppelin raid on the east coast. 48 people are killed, but one airship is destroyed.

The Zeppelin in question was the L.15 (builder's number LZ.48)

On the night of the 31st March/1st April, three army Zeppelins set out to raid East Anglia but only one, LZ90, managed to make landfall. Having got as far as Ipswich, LZ.90 turned for home without dropping any bombs. On the same night, the navy sent out seven Zeppelins against London, but none reached their intended target.

L.22 switched targets and attacked Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire. One bomb hit a church hall killing 32 soldiers and wounding a further 48.

L.14 dropped it's bombs on towns in Essex, but claimed to have bombed Tower Bridge!

L.16 bombed Bury St. Edmonds but claimed to have hit Hornsey in north London!

L.9 and L.11 were forced to abandon the raid and return to base due to mechanical problems.

L.13 attacked an explosives factory near Stowmarket but took a hit from a 6-pdr anti-aircraft gun which holed two of the Zeppelin's gas cells. The crew jettisoned equipment and L.13 was able to limp back to base.

L.15 Commanded by Joaqchim Breithaupt flew in over Suffolk, heading for London. Three BE2c's took off to intercept. 2Lt. C.A. Ridley spotted the Zeppelin which had been caught in a searchlight, but as he attempted to gain height to attack, the searchlight lost contact with L.15. When the searchlight once again picked up the Zeppelin, anti-aircraft guns in the Purfleet area opened fire and one scored a direct hit. Four gas cells were damaged so Breithaupt turned L.15 away from the guns and searchlights. However, 2Lt. Alfred de Bathe Brandon in another BE2c spotted the Zeppelin as it lost height, and he was able to make an attack from above. While being fired at by the L.15's upper gunner, Brandon dropped a number of Ranken darts but failed to hit the target. He then lost contact with the Zeppelin.

L.15's crew jettisoned everything they could, but the stress on the Zeppelin's frame proved too much and just after 23.00, her back broke. From a height of 2,000ft she crashed into the sea about 15 miles north of Margate. One of the crew drowned but the others were picked up by a British destroyer. An attempt was made to tow L.15 to port, but the wreckage sank.

2Lt. Alfred de Bathe Brandon was awarded the DSO for his efforts.

The Purfleet gunners were also rewarded, but not quite as they might have hoped!

http://www.thurrock-community.org.uk...oc/gunners.htm

[knobby109]

Regarding the Zeppelin raids-the cost of each of these plus their support organisation must have been staggering and few if any raids would cause damage greater than the expenditure involved.Ok, they caused some concern and led to some aircraft and guns being based in England as a counter but these could easily be spared.The loss of a Zeppelin and its crew would also affect morale not just in the UK but in Germany.

Edit-the only figure I can find for the cost of a Zeppelin is £93 000 which was at a time when a typical man's wages were around £1 a week.

[Mal Hombre]

The morale boost for British people seeing a Zeppelin burning in the sky was very great. Lt Leefe Robinson brought down SL11 over Cuffley in Hertfordshire in 1916,He became a national hero,He was awarded the VC and given command of a fighter squadron in France.Sadly on His first flight over the lines He and five other pilots were jumped by JG1"Von Richtofen's Flying Circus" and all were shot down.Leefe Robinson was harshly treated in captivity and in His weakened state succumbed the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918.

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

The morale boost for British people seeing a Zeppelin burning in the sky was very great. Lt Leefe Robinson brought down SL11 over Cuffley in Hertfordshire in 1916,He became a national hero,He was awarded the VC and given command of a fighter squadron in France.

As an interesting side-note to the story, the airship destroyed by Leef Robinson was originally reported as being Zeppelin L.21 (LZ.61). In a letter to his parents in October 1916, Leefe Robinson himself identified it as such.

I won't say much about "strafing" the Zepp L21 for two reasons; to begin with most of it is strictly secret and secondly I'm really so tired of the subject and telling people so I will only say a very few words about it.

When the colossal thing actually burst into flames of course it was a glorious sight—wonderful! It literally lit up all the sky around and me as well of course—I saw my machine as in the fire light—and sat still half dazed staring at the wonderful sight before me, not realizing to the least degree the wonderful thing that had happened!

My feelings? can I describe my feelings. I hardly know how I felt. As I watched the huge mass gradually turn on end, and—as it seemed to me—slowly sink, one glowing, blazing mass—I gradually realized what I had done and grew wild with excitement. When I had cooled down a bit, I did what I don't think many people would think I would do, and that was I thanked God with all my heart. You know darling old mother and father I'm not what is popularly known as a religious person, but on an occasion such as that one must realize a little how one does trust in providence. I felt an over-powering feeling of thankfulness, so was it strange that I should pause and think for a moment after the first "blast" of excitement as it were, was over and thank from the bottom of my heart, that supreme power that rules and guides our destinies?

When I reached the ground once more, I was greeted with "was it you Robin" etc: etc: "yes, I've Strafed the beggar this time" I said, whereupon the whole flight set up a yell and carried me out of my machine to the office—cheering like mad.

The misidentification persisted for decades, and there has been speculation that the authorities deliberately described the airship as a "Zeppelin" (rather than a Schütte-Lanz dirigible) for propoganda reasons.

To add to the confusion (well, my confusion!), the Wiki entry for L.21 states that it attacked Cleethorpes on the night of 31st March/1st April and bombed a church hall, killing 31 soldiers. In my previous posting, I described the same raid as being by L.22, and listed 32 deaths. I stand by the L.22 claim as my sources are a published book detailing Zeppelin raids in WWI, and a detailed report on the incident in an article about raid on Lincolnshire. That article actually lists 29 dead and 53 wounded.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_61_%..._%27L_21%27%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SL_11

[Ennath]

April 1, 1915
War in the Air Lt. Roland Garros, the first French pilot to outfit his plane (a Morane scout) with a forward firing machine gun (he has metal plates on the propellers to prevent the them getting shot off), shoots down his first victim, an Albatros BII, over the Western Front. The “dogfight” era begins, with aerial combat by lone pilots.
Italy The secret movement of troops begins toward the Austrian border.
Eastern Front The Russian advance is checked in northern Poland. Russian progress in the Carpathians continues.
Serbian Front Bulgarian irregulars raid Serbia at Valandovo.
Southwest Africa South African troops occupy Hasuur.
United States The German consul in New York justifies the sinkings of the blockade in an interview with the New York Times.

April 1, 1916
Western Front, Verdun The Germans capture part of Vaux village.

April 1, 1917
Western Front The British take Savy Wood.
Russia The first Officers’ Union is established. These will eventually emerge as the core of the “White” movement.
Persia The Turks are withdrawing on Kasr-i-Shirin.
Diplomatic Relations Prince Sixtus meets again with Poincaré, presenting Karl’s letter, in which the emperor agrees to the terms proposed by Sixtus except for the issue of Constantinople – he is concerned that the current Russian government will not endure. Although the demurrer on Constantinople raises questions, Poincaré makes clear his desire to pursue a separate peace with Austria-Hungary in order to weaken Germany.

April 1, 1918
Western Front Local German attacks near Albert fail. The offensive is beginning to run out of steam as the men are becoming exhausted and supplies have difficulty reaching the front over ground the Germans themselves had devastated during their withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line the year before. German morale, despite the success of the offensive, takes a hit as they capture large stocks of British supplies – the German soldiers have been told that their U-Boats have Britain on the verge of starvation. Meanwhile, Germans themselves haven’t seen some of these things since 1915.
Palestine The British run into strong resistance around Amman and pull back to Es Salt. The operation is abandoned and the force is ordered back across the Jordan.
British Forces The Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service combine to form the Royal Air Force, the first independent air force in the world, separate from the army or navy. An Air Ministry is created to serve alongside the Admiralty and War Department. The British have adopted notions of aerial warfare eagerly. Over 58% of British aircraft are fighters and fighter-bombers. By contrast, over half of French and German planes are devoted to reconnaissance.
Canada There are anti-conscription riots in Quebec. Troops fire on the rioters.

[knobby109]

April 2 1917
My grandfather was severely wounded in France and sent to the casualty clearing station.
He died the following day aged 23.
Just one out of so many and so young.Left a wife who never remarried (there weren't many spare men after the war) and two young daughters one of them my mother who was 6 months old.