News from the Front - 29th March 2023
The weekly newsletter from from 1914-1918 - The First World War.
News from the Front exists to share great stories and interesting historical aspects of the First World War.
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One anniversary
31st March 1915 - German U-boat successes
On March 31st, German U-boats sunk a number of sailing ships and the French steamer Emma, bringing the total for the month to over 40 ships accounted for by the German navy, mainly by the U-boat fleet.
Earlier, on the 4th of February 1915, the Germans had announced their new policy of establishing a naval War Zone in a notice printed in the Reichsanseiger, the German Imperial Gazette. The text announced that;
“The waters around Great Britain and Ireland, including the whole of the English Channel, are herewith declared to be in the War Zone. From February 18, 1915, onward, every merchant ship met with in this War Zone will be destroyed, nor will it always be possible to obviate the danger with which the crews and passengers are thereby threatened.”
The text went on to warn that neutral shipping was not exempt from the dangers and outlined some areas exempted from submarine operations.
The Emma (weighing 1,617 tonnes) was sunk in the English Channel about 22 kilometres south of Beachy Head in East Sussex whilst on troopship duties between England and France. 19 members of the Emma’s 21 crew members were killed during the incident, with the remainder being rescued by a Royal Navy destroyer.
One news story
Great War era machine guns in operation in Ukraine 2023
News emerged last week from the battle for Bakhmut in the Ukraine where the Ukrainian Army is apparently using old machine guns, dating from the Great War to defend against Russian ground attacks. A Ukrainian soldier explained that the Maxim has a long pedigree, saying that the gun had a “120 years of history killing Russians.”
The Maxim was invented by Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1884 and, being water cooled, the gun is capable of firing for long durations. The Maxim operates by using the power of the recoil to push back the cocking mechanism, with each bullet fired acting as a motive power to set the gun up for the next bullet. the bullets are supplied on ammunition belts.
Since its invention, various iterations of the Maxim gun were developed across the world, with the Germans developing their Maschinengewehr 08 (also known as the MG08) variant, which saw widespread use in the Great War, following its adoption by the German Army in 1908 (that’s where the 08 designation comes from).
The MG08 had a normal operating range of around 2,000 metres (2,200 yards), with a maximum range of around 3,700 metres (4,000 yards) and could fire somewhere between 500-600 rounds a minute. However, development of a better type of bullet extended the maximum range still further, with distances of up to 4,700 metres (5,140 yards) being possible.
Throughout the war, further improvements and iterations were developed, including improving reliability and developing lighter versions that were more practical in assault roles. However, the MG08’s primary role was to lay down heavy fire against attacking infantry, and it is in this role that the Ukrainians continue to use this weapon in the difficult fighting around Bakhmut.
One from the archives
Rifles of the Western Front
This week’s “one from the archives” is a picture comparing different rifle cartridges in use across the belligerent nations during the Great War. So let’s take a quick look at some of the rifles fielded by the main armies of the Great War on the Western Front.
The Germans were equipped with one of the better rifles of the war with the Mauser Gewehr 98 entering service before the war. With a round magazine that contained five rounds, the Germans tended to have a slower rate of fire than the British, but the gun was reliable and capable of tolerating conditions in the trenches.
The Belgians FN-Mauser Model 1895 was very long, especially when topped with its large bayonet attachment. Like the German’s primary rifle, the Belgian gun also had a five round magazine that fire very similar ammunition to that used by the British.
The French soldier was equipped with the Lebel Model 1886. Introduced in 1886, it was one of the oldest variant of the rifles used by the Great Powers and was slow to load, and was also longer than British of American rifles, making it unwieldy. Without a wooden guard on the barrel top, it tended to get hot when fired continuously and could burn the operator’s hands, a feature that, I imagine, did not endear it to the average Poilu.
The British had the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) No.1 rifle, which carried a ten round magazine. Staring the war with the Mk1, which had been introduced after the Boer War, development during the war resulted in the Mk III, which was to stay in service through the Second World War.
One holiday
There will be no “News from the Front” next week as I’m taking a well-earned holiday.
One request
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