The 4G Blog

<– Part 52 – July 18, 1915  | Part 53 – July 25, 1915 |  Part 54 – August 1, 1915 –>

The Italian offensive at Isonzo continues, and earlier today the Italians reached an objective in the capture of the Cappuccio Wood.  To the north, German planes of the Fokker model have begun causing difficulties for the Entente, as they are armed with a heavy machine gun and are easily defeating the lightly-armed Allied models. Allied troops on the ground are similarly terrified of them.

HMS E14, the famed British sub under Lieutenant Commander Boyle, is reported to have begun a third tour of the straits of Marmara, having evaded an anti-submarine net that was recently installed there.

On July 21, US president Woodrow Wilson sent notes to the Secretaries of War and Navy with orders to begin preparing a defense plan.

The British Army began avenging her humilation at Lahij with a victory against a small Ottoman contingent. Although not numerically devastating, the disproportionate losses and prisoners on the Ottoman side have breathed a renewed spirit into the British troops in South Arabia.

HMS Tamarisk, another Q-ship. When near the German sub, the Q-ship will reveal her weapons, raise the British war flag, and open fire.

Losses for the Central Powers continued on July 24, when the SMS U-36, while in the process of boarding a Danish liner, was caught unawares by the British Q-ship Prince Charles and destroyed. Q-ships are a relatively recent development by the British, and are standard ships converted into warships but retaining their previous appearance. This seems to have been the first successful Q-ship destruction of a German sub.

In the Adriatic, the Germans have launched the “Pola Flotilla”, an attempt to sink Allied shipping in the Mediterranean.

<– Part 51 – July 11, 1915  | Part 52 – July 18, 1915 |  Part 53 – July 25, 1915 –>

British troops saw a painful (though ultimately minor defeat at Gallipoli on July 12 near Helles. Minor skirmishing continues in the area.

HMS E7, a British sub

On July 17, the British submarine E7 damaged a railroad from the Dardanelles, causing damage to trains and forcing a delay in supplies reaching the Turkish troops.

The Regia Marina had both a victory and a defeat on July 18, as the Austro-Hungarian

SM U-4, an Austro-Hungarian sub

submarine U-4 sunk the cruiser Giusepe Garibaldi, though only 53 off the 573 crewman were lost. However, the Italians shelled several of Austria-Hungary’s naval stations that same day.

Finally, the Italians have launched a second offensive at the Isonzo earlier today; there are reports of severe hand-to-hand fighting following heavy artillery barrages. The Italians outnumber Austrians nearly 4:1, with even more Italian reinforcements approaching.

<– Part 50 – July 4, 1915  | Part 51 – July 11, 1915 |  Part 52 – July 18, 1915 –>

July 5 saw both a British victory and a British defeat. In Gallipoli, the attack at Gully Ravine has achieved its (modest results) and advanced the Entente troops up the peninsula slightly. But in South Arabia, under attack by a superior Ottoman force, with reinforcements delayed by sand and weather, and with the heavily-outnumbered troops exhausted by heat and fighting and the sight of allied Arabs fleeing, the British were forced to withdraw. Although strategically it is not so much a problem, the fall in prestige is insulting.

Two days later, with Austrian reinforcements arriving, the Italian attacks at Isonzo were called off, with only minimal gains across the front, at the lost of nearly 25,000 men on both sides.

On July 9, following their loss at Batavi on the 1st, the German forces in South-West Afrika surrended to the South African forces under Louis Botha. Another German colony has surrendered.

Believing Turkish forces in the area to be minimal, the Russian army launched an attack near Manzikert on July 10, but were surprised to find themselves outnumbered nearly 3:1.

Finally, after many long months of fighting since last October, siege warfare, naval skirmishes, ships transported over land, and more, the German cruiser Königsberg has finally been destroyed in the Rufiji Delta.

Damage to the cruiser.

<– Part 49 – June 27, 1915  | Part 50 – July 4, 1915 |  Part 51 – July 11, 1915 –>

The Russians continue their retreat in Eastern Europe. In the south, Italian assaults at the Isonzo continue, though they appear to be weakening.

On June 28, the British troops massed at the Gully Ravine on Gallipoli stormed out of their trenches towards the Ottoman lines. Though it is too early to know for sure, reports from this week indicate that they may have reached their (modest) objectives.

German colonies in Africa. Togoland, the narrow strip to the West, was defeated last August in 2.5 weeks. Next to it is Kamerun. South is German South-West Africa, which seems destined to fall soon. To the east is German East Africa – the SMS Königsberg is currently beached here, and rumors are swirling the Mimi and Toutou are headed towards her destruction.

June 29 saw a modest fight around the town of Ngaundere in German Kamerun, which the British won. They have occupied the town. Two days later, the Germans had another colonial setback to the south, where South African troops under Louis Botha crushed a German force serving as a delaying action. The path seems open now for a complete German defeat in her South-West colony.

Off the coast of Britain, the “mine mystery” was solved July 2, when the HMS Cottingham captured the German sub UC-2. On boarding, it was discovered that she was a minelayer, and had been placing the mines around the British coast for some time.