<– Part 17 – November 22, 1914  | Part 18 – November 29, 1914 |  Part 19 – December 6, 1914 –>

On November 23, the German sub U-18 followed a supply trailer into Scapa Flow, the home base for the British fleet. Fortunately for the British, the fleet was elsewhere, so the sub was not able to sink the British vessels in port. On her way out, the sub’s periscope was spotted by a British guard vessel, who rammed it, disabling the periscope and destroying her depth-maintaining equipment. After undulating up and down in the water, and striking the sea floor at one point, the sub was scuttled. One sailor died, and the remaining 22 were captured by the British.

German U-boats at Kiel in 1914. U-18 is the second from the right in the second row

The German XXV Reserve Corps, stuck in a pocket at Lodz, has reportedly broken out of the pocket on November 26, bringing 12,000 Russian prisoners with them – the prisoners themselves hauling nearly 70 captured artillery pieces. Rumors from the Russian high command November 29 report a general withdrawal from Lodz. It would appear the fighting over the city is ended.

Reports of a surprise attack by Germans upon the Russian Black Sea Fleet have arrived. Apparently sailing through a thick fog, the German warships Goeben and Breslau, perpetrators of the shelling of Sevastopol, site of a Russian Imperial Naval Base, appeared out of the fog and opened fire on the entire Russian fleet, scoring several hits on the flagship before sailing on.