In late April 1916, the Germans launched another attack, this time against the British on the Western Front. The attack, which was effectively a gas attack, was launched between April 27 to 29, 1916.

Just before dawn on April 27 the British troops suffered a German cloud gas attack near the German-held village of Hulluch, a mile north of Loos. The gas cloud and artillery bombardment were followed by raiding parties, which made temporary enclaves in the British lines.

Two days later another gas attack was launched, which blew back over the German lines and caused a large number of German casualties, which were increased by British troops firing at German soldiers as they fled in the open. The German gas was a mixture of chlorine and poisonous phosgene, which was of sufficient concentration to penetrate the British PH gas helmets. Gas helmets were found to be of inferior manufacture. Production of the small box respirator, which had worked well during the attack, was accelerated.

On May 3, the Germans begin another attack at Verdun on the west bank of the Meuse. This time they gained the advantage and within three days they captured the two French hills they had been striving for since early March, thus achieving a solid position northwest of Verdun.

Meanwhile on the Italian Front, on May 15, Austro-Hungarian troops attacked Italian mountain positions in the Trentino, which became known as the Battle of Asiago. The Italians withdrew southward, forcing the Austro-Hungarians to stretch their supply lines over the difficult terrain. The arrival of Italian reinforcements and a successful counter-attack then completely halted the Austro-Hungarian offensive.

On May 31, the main German and British naval fleets clashed in the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea, as both sides tried, but failed, to score a decisive victory. Forward battle cruisers from the British Grand Fleet were initially lured southward toward the German High Seas Fleet, but then turned completely around, luring the entire German fleet northward.

As they got near, the British blasted away at the German forward ships. The Germans returned fire and the two fleets fired furiously at each other. However, the Germans, aware they were outgunned by the larger British fleet, disengaged by abruptly turning away. In the dead of the night the Germans withdraw entirely.

The British did not risk a pursuit and instead headed home. Both sides claimed victory. Although the Germans sank 14 of the 151 British ships, the former lost 11 of their 99 ships. The British Navy retained its dominance of the North Sea and the naval blockade of Germany remained intact for the war’s duration.

After the battle, one of the British warships that took part, HMS Hampshire, was ordered to carry Lord Kitchener from Scapa Flow on a diplomatic mission to Russia via the port of Arkhangelsk. It left Scapa Flow at 4.45pm and about an hour later sailed along with her two escorts, the destroyers HMS Unity and HMS Victor.

As the warships turned to the northwest a gale increased and shifted direction so that the ships were facing it head on. This caused the destroyers to fall behind HMS Hampshire. As it was considered unlikely that enemy submarines would be active in such conditions, Captain Savill of HMS Hampshire ordered HMS Unity and HMS Victor to return to Scapa Flow.

The entire nation of France rallied behind their troops in the defence of Verdun, as French generals vowed it would not be taken

Sailing alone in heavy seas, HMS Hampshire was approximately 2.4 kilometres off the mainland of Orkney, when at 7.40pm, an explosion occurred and the ship heeled to starboard. It had struck one of several mines laid by the German mine-laying submarine U-75 on May 28 and 29, just before the Battle of Jutland.

About 15 minutes after the explosion, HMS Hampshire sank by the bow. Of the 655 crewmen and seven passengers aboard, only 12 crewmen on two Carley floats managed to reach the shore alive. Lord Kitchener and his staff lost their lives.

On June 1, the Germans launched another offensive on Verdun to try to continue their success along the Meuse River, where they attacked the French on the east bank, targeting Fort Vaux and the fortification at Thiaumont. Eight days later, both objectives were taken as the French suffered heavy casualties.

The Germans then pushed onward toward a ridge that overlooked Verdun and edge toward the Meuse bridges. The entire nation of France rallied behind their troops in the defence of Verdun, as French generals vowed it would not be taken.

In June, the Canadian Corps held the southern part of the Ypres salient. On the morning of June 2, the Canadians were the target of a crushing German bombardment. The barrage devastated the forward Canadian positions and killed hundreds, including the division commander, Major-General Malcolm Mercer. German infantry then swept forward, capturing Canadian positions at Mount Sorrel and on two surrounding hills.

A hastily organised counterattack on June 3 failed. Three days later, the Germans exploded four mines under the Canadian positions and captured the village of Hooge. The Canadian Corps commander, Sir Julian Byng, was determined to retake the lost ground and attacked, after a heavy artillery bombardment, during the early hours of June 13. In this major set-piece battle, the Canadians drove back the Germans and recaptured much of the lost ground.

On the Eastern Front, on June 4, four Russian armies, under the new commander, General Alexei Brusilov, began a general offensive in the southwest along a 300-mile front. Brusilov avoided the style of predictable narrow frontline attacks used previously, in favour of a sweeping offensive over hundreds of miles that was harder to pin down.

Thinly stretched Austro-Hungarian troops defending this portion of the front were taken by surprise. Realising their distress, the Germans pulled four divisions from Verdun and sent them east. By the end of summer, the Germans had sent 20 more divisions, and they merged the surviving Austro-Hungarian troops into the Germany Army.

Meanwhile, on the Western Front, on June 22, the Germans resumed their offensive near Verdun, targeting Fort Souville, which overlooked the city, and the Meuse bridges. During their initial attack, the Germans used phosgene gas, and they captured the village of Fleury just two miles north of Verdun. However further advance southward was halted by a strong French counter-attack. Verdun had become a battle of attrition for both sides with a death toll already approaching 500,000 men.

An attack was planned for part of the 39th Division to capture the Boar’s Head, a German salient near Richebourg-l’Avoué, on June 30, as part of the effort by the armies north of the Somme to support the offensive, by harassing the Germans opposite them. The attack on the Boar’s Head was fought on June 30 to divert German attention from the Battle of the Somme which began on July 1.

The preliminary bombardment and wire-cutting by the artillery started on the afternoon of June 29 and was reported to be very effective. The British infantry reached the German trenches, bombing and bayoneting their way into the German front line trench and holding it for some four hours.

The second trench was captured and held for about half an hour, during which several counter-attacks were repulsed before the infantry withdrew because of a shortage of ammunition and mounting casualties. The German support position was not reached by the infantry because the German defensive tactics included shelling trenches where the British had gained a foothold. However, the corps commander looked upon the attack as a raid and considered it to be successful.

Maltese killed in the Battle of Jutland – May 31-June 1, 1916

Many Maltese personnel served aboard warships lost during the famous naval Battle of Jutland.

Several sources have their roll of honour, which also includes Maltese ratings. However, all sources differ from each other.

The roll of honour compiled, which was published in the Government Gazette and inscribed on the War Memorial in Floriana inaugurated in 1938, does not match with other sources, such as the Daily Malta Chronicle and the website http://www.naval-history.net. Sometimes even the ranks differ from each other.

The following is an attempted list compiled from the Government Gazette and the above-mentioned website. Hopefully, no Maltese ratings are left out:

Battle-cruisers

HMS Indefatigable:

Antonio Borda (Canteen assistant, Admiralty civilian), Salvatore Cachia (Canteen assistant, Admiralty civilian), Carmelo Camilleri (Canteen assistant, Admiralty civilian), Emmanuele Chircop (3rd class officer’s steward), Joseph Darmanin (1st class officer’s steward), Guiseppi Farrugia (1st class officer’s cook), James Long (2nd class officer’s cook), Francis Mamo (3rd class officer’s steward) , Carmelo Micallef (1st class officer’s steward), Salvatore Micallef (3rd class officer’s steward), C. Monroe (Canteen assistant), C. Rogers (Steward), Giovanni Spiteri (3rd class officer’s steward), Guiseppe Storaci (Cook), George Vella (Canteen assistant, Admiralty civilian) and Publius Viscoso (1st class officer’s cook).

HMS Queen Mary:

Carmelo Bruce (1st class officer’s steward), Carmelo Conti (1st class officer’s cook), Albert Coster (1st class officer’s steward), Antonio Frendo, 3rd class officer’s steward), G. Gaffiero (Canteen assistant), Laurence Gatt (Warrant electrician), Benjamin H. Gale (1st class stoker), Frank Miller (3rd class officer’s steward) and Carmelo Nays (1st class officer’s steward).

Armoured cruisers

HMS Black Prince:

Guiseppe Abela (Canteen server, Admiralty civilian), Carmelo Baldacchino (Canteen server, Admiralty civilian), E.A. Borg (Canteen manager, Admiralty civilian), Emmanuel J. Cachia (Canteen manager, Admiralty civilian), John Cauchi (1st class officer’s steward), Guiseppe Chetcuti (2nd class officer’s steward), Guiseppe Cuomo (Bandsman), Angelo Formosa (Bandsman), Luigi Grasso (Bandsman), Constantino Giunta (Bandsman), R. Glutter (Canteen server), Joseph Magarity (2nd class chief engine room artificer), John Micallef (2nd class officer’s steward), Achille Polizzi (Bandsman), Giuseppe Portoghese (Bandsman), Enrico Portoghesi (Bandsman), Archimede Priori (Bandsman), Matteo Rosmondo (Bandsman), Domenico Strano (Bandsman), Giovannai Urso (Bandsman), Luigi Ungaro (Band corporal) Lewis Vassallo (Carpenter’s mate) and John Vella (Officer’s cook).

HMS Defence:

Alberto Baldacchino (Bandsman), Joseph Bonnici (Canteen server, Admiralty civilian), Nunzio Carmando (Bandsman), Agostino Cavallazzi (Bandsman), Gaetano Chircop (Canteen server, Admiralty civilian), Giovanni Consiglio (Bandsman), Virgilio di Mauro (Chief bandmaster), Nicolo Fondacaro (Band corporal), Abele Giglio (1st class officer’s steward), Emanuele Ligrestischiros (Bandsman), Angelo Magri (1st class officer’s cook), Carmelo Montesin (Bandsman), C. Micallef (Cook), William Minaldi (Bandsman), Paolo Patigniott, (Canteen server, Admiralty civilian), Antonio Polato (Bandsman), and Enrico Portelli (Bandsman), Charles Rodgers (2nd class officer’s steward), Alfredo Ronsisvalle (Bandsman), John Triccas (1st class officer’s steward) and Roberto Venturi (Bandman).

HMS Warrior:

Anthony Alford (Officer’s steward), Roberto Tanti (Officer’s cook)

HMS Inflexible:

S. Azzopardi (Fireman), C. Bonnici (Fireman), C. Chircop (Fireman)

Destroyer

HMS Shark:

Paolo Attard (Officer’s steward)

(Concluded)

Charles Debono is curator of the National War Museum.