Diary April 13, 1916

13-pounder gun of the South African Mounted Rifles
13-pounder gun of the South African Mounted Rifles at the start of the campaign in typical bush country. The used horses and mules quickly sickened and died in East Africa, where the chronic infestation of tsetse flies spread ‘sleeping sickness’.
Diary for Thursday, April 13, 1916:

African Fronts

East Africa: 800 South African horse troopers pursue c.200 Germans for 20 miles in rain and occupy Salanga; 190 animals lost to tsetse fly (since April 7).

Middle East

Sinai: 90 ALH (Australian Light Horse; mounted infantry) break up Turk camp at Jifjaffa 52 miles from Canal.

Air War

Eastern Front: Russian IM heavy bomber Mourometz X (Konstenchik wounded) returns on a single engine after severe damage from anti-aircraft fire over Dandsevas rail station.
Western Front­: Poor weather hampers flying (­and on April 15, 17-19 and rain on April 22).

Home Fronts

Britain: Lloyd George tells a confidant he might resign.

Oval@3x 2

Don’t miss the daily posts about WW1&WW2!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll to Top