17th October 1917 On this day:  Hard Fighting  Daily Activity  Patients Lerwick Action 1917   The Action off Lerwick was a small naval battle on the 17th October 1917 fought in the North Sea. Two German light cruisers attacked a convoy of coal-carrying ships and their escort. In the course of the battle the two escorting destroyers and nine neutral Scandinavian ships were sunk off Shetland. Background The British regularly shipped coal across the North Sea from Norway in 1917. These convoys were lightly defended so the Kaiserliche Marine took advantage of the situation. At first submarines were deployed to sink the merchantmen, but after these attacks failed the German Admiral Reinhard Scheer ordered an attack with surface vessels. U-boats informed Admiral Scheer that a fleet of nine Scandinavian, one Belgian and two British steamers laden with coal were headed west from Lerwick. The two light cruisers Brummer and Bremse, each armed with four 5.9 inch naval guns and two 3.5 inch anti-aircraft guns, were sent to ambush to convoy on 17 October, 65 miles off Lerwick. Escorting the convoy were two British destroyers, Mary Rose and Strongbow with two naval trawlers, HMS Elise and P. Fannon. The destroyers had complements of about 80 men and armament of three 4 inch guns, three 2-pounders and two 21 inch torpedo tubes. Lieutenant Commander Charles Fox led the Allies convoy in his flagship Mary Rose and Lieutenant Commander Edward Brooke skippered Strongbow. Action At about 0600, lookouts on Strongbow spotted the two German light cruisers approaching their ship at a distance of over 4,000 yards. They were mistaken for British cruisers and signaled to identify themselves but no response was received. The Germans mistook the destroyers for cruisers themselves and they began signaling the British to come out and fight. Eventually the range closed to within 3,000 yds, so the German ships opened fire with their 5.9-inch guns. The two destroyers turned to attack and opened up with their 4-inch guns. They were followed by Elise while P. Fannon was ordered to continue west with the convoy. HMS Strongbow was struck first, shells damaged her main steam pipe and others knocked out her radio communications. After a few more minutes of firing, Strongbow was heavily damaged so the Germans turned their attention to Mary Rose and quickly sank her. The Germans then opened fire on Strongbow again and damaged her further while Elise was maneuvering to rescue her crew. Elise opened fire and her shots missed but she drew German fire which was now being concentrated on the merchant ships. Both of the light cruisers fired on Elise and forced her to flee out of range. The convoy was then attacked again and all nine of the Scandinavian vessels were sunk. All together, about 250 Allies and Scandinavians were killed, at least 50 others were wounded. Lieutenant Commander Fox was killed along with about 70 others from Mary Rose with only two officers and eight enlisted men surviving. Strongbow lost half of her complement and four officers and 44 men were rescued. She sank hours later at around 0930. The German forces were accused of shelling survivors in the water but they later denied the accusation. Aftermath When the action was over the German ships returned to base without damage or loss of life. Other British naval forces in the area were unaware of the engagement until almost 1600, so Brummer and Bremse could not be intercepted. The event was regarded as an outrage by the Allies who protested that the attack on neutral ships was illegal and that the Germans gave the crews of the merchant vessels no time to evacuate. This resulted in a large loss of civilian lives. Both of the British destroyer commanders received credit for bravery though some members of the Admiralty felt that by leaving the convoy to engage a superior enemy force, they left the merchant steamers open for attack. Order of Battle Royal Navy HMS Mary Rose, destroyer, flagship HMS Strongbow, destroyer HMS Elise, naval trawler HMS P. Fannon, naval trawler Kaiserliche Marine SMS Bremse, light cruiser, flagship SMS Brummer, light cruiser John Doran  Brigade Reserve  Aeroplane Shoot In Support   18th DLI are at Arleux. Lt Col Cheyne returned from leave and took over from Major Ince. Enemy shelled Battalion front and back area. 1 man wounded (slightly). Weather fine. 18th DLI war diary WO95/2361/1  Blighty Cases  Reorganisation  Shelling  On the March  Training  In the Trenches  Quiet continues  Inspection  Training  Convoy  Training  Havrincourt Shelled  Divisional HQ Moves  Orders  Shelling  Enemy Shelling  On Relief  Rejoining  Training  On the Move  Medals awarded  Training  Training  Large draft of 148 arrived. A very good draft of young men aged around 19 years.  Training  500 15cm H.E. falling  * * * Schedule to O.O.190 * * *  Active Artillery  Correction to Operational Order  Table of Working Party.  Moved to trenches.  Cleaning up camp, Can you add to this factual information? Do you know the whereabouts of a unit on a particular day? Do you have a copy of an official war diary entry? Details of an an incident? The loss of a ship? A letter, postcard, photo or any other interesting snipts? If your information relates only to an individual, eg. enlistment, award of a medal or death, please use this form: Add a story.

Killed, Wounded, Missing, Prisoner and Patient Reports published this day. This section is under construction.

Want to know more about 17th of October 1917? There are:38 items tagged 17th of October 1917 available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.

Remembering those who died this day, 17th of October 1917. Ordinary Seaman George James Allen. H.M.S. Strongbow. Read their Story. Stoker 1st Class Harold Victor Allen. H.M.S. Strongbow. Read their Story. Leading Cooks Mate Henry William Allison. H.M.S. Strongbow. Read their Story. Lieutenant John Philip Allix. Mentioned in Despatches H.M. Drifter Jean. Read their Story. Able Seaman William Bertie Aspland. H.M.S. Mary Rose. Read their Story. Able Seaman Henry Avery. H.M.S. Mary Rose. Read their Story. Gnr. George Samuel Bosomworth. 31st Brigade, D.H. Bty. Royal Field Artillery Read their Story. Rfmn. Walter Brooks. 7th Btn Rifle Brigade Read their Story. Pte. William Henry Carrick. 21st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers Read their Story. 2nd Lt. Paul Norman Jones Christie. 1st Btn. C Coy Bedfordshire Regiment Read their Story. Pte. John Clarke. 24th (Tyneside Irish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers Read their Story. Pte. Joseph Cork. 19th Btn. Durham Light Infantry Read their Story. Probationer Surgeon. Wesley Cope Holdsworth. HMS Begonia Read their Story. Gnr. Wallace Jones. D Battery, 64th Brigade Royal Field Artillery Read their Story. Evan John Kelly. 33rd Btn. Pte Thomas Mates. 21st Battalion Tyne side Scottish Northumberland Fusilliers Read their Story. Pte. John William Middleton. 21st (Tyneside Scottish) Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers L/Cpl. Ernest Newby. 11th Btn Manchester Regiment Read their Story. Pte. John Robert Scott. 7th Battalion Norfolk Regiment Read their Story. PO Stkr. William Alfred "Sedgie" Sedge. HMS Mary Rose Dvr. A. Sikiti. Read their Story. Spr. Arthur Elgar Taylor. 249th Field Coy. Royal Engineers Read their Story. Spr. Arthur Elgar Taylor. 249th Field Coy. Royal Engineers Read their Story. Pte. William Trull. 3rd Btn. Coldstream Guards Read their Story. Add a name to this list.

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