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------Dublin Castle 1105 hrs

Lord Curzon, the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, decided to meet with Augustine Birrell, the Chief Secretary of Ireland. He was somewhat surprised that the War Committee had not yet replaced Birrell as it was common knowledge that Bonar Law and Carson blamed Birrell for the revolt inside Dublin as well as other shortcomings. It struck Curzon that like the fall of Limerick the sacking of Birrell was an event that was always going to happen very soon and yet never materialized. "I am glad to see that you are unharmed, Mr. Birrell," said Curzon, "I was told that the rebels attempted to seize the castle at one point."

"Yes there was some excitement here on the first day of the rising, Your Excellency. I had heard that you were evacuated to the Curragh. That was a prudent precaution."

Curzon snorted, "Yes, indeed I was most disagreeably ordered to leave. And just as disagreeably ordered to return yesterday morning. It would seem that Gen. Hamilton fears that I might learn too much by being in close proximity to his headquarters."

"I have been right here in Dublin Castle, Your Excellency and I have learned only a fraction of what I would like. I have some hazy information about what is happening here in Dublin but only confusing bits and pieces about what is happening elsewhere. Do you know if Limerick been taken as I had been told it would be?"

"Not yet to the best of my knowledge."

Birrell shook his head vigorously, "The imminent fall of Limerick has become something of a running joke between Sir Matthew and myself, Your Excellency."

Curzon grinned slightly, "I often feel much the same way but I derive very little in the way of solace from sardonic humor."

"Did you say 'solace', Your Excellency? I once knew well the meaning of that word but now I have forgotten its meaning."

Curzon wagged a finger disapprovingly, "We cannot afford the luxury of self pity right now, tempting as it may be. Have you heard anything about the portion of Dublin Brigade that escaped to the south? Has Pearse been killed or captured?"

"Uh, I have been told that two Scottish battalions were sent to pursue the escapees and that there is some fighting currently going on in the Wicklow Mountains, Your Excellency. Oh and it might interest you to know that none other that Sir Winston Churchill been placed in charge of the pursuing force."

"Churchill! What a curious twist of fate brings him of all people here to Ireland. Of course this is all of his own making. Without his abominable decision to send only a single battle squadron of the Grand Fleet to the Dogger Bank last December we would not find ourselves in our current predicament. I sure hope he does not underestimate the enemy this time around. Mountain fighting is not easy, esp. if the enemy knows the terrain better than you do. Anyone who doubts this should spend some time fighting the infernal Afghans! So this operation may well take considerably longer than Gen. Lowe is anticipating. Did anyone tell you how many rebels escaped from Dublin?"

"Less than a thousand is what I keep hearing, Your Excellency."

"If it is close to a thousand then two battalions may not be enough to ensure a rapid resolution."

"There are several hundred constables involved as well, Your Excellency."

"That is good but I still worry it may not be enough. Does Sir Winston have any artillery at his disposal?"

"I do not think he has any, Your Excellency. However I may well be mistaken as I only know what they tell me and that is not all that much."

"Yes, yes, I have been experiencing much the same problem. What do you know about what is going on outside Dublin and its bordering counties? I have some knowledge that the main action between our army and the Germans right now is taking place in counties Cork and Clare."

"That is pretty much all that I know as well, Your Excellency. The further that events are from Dublin the less I am told."

Curzon shook his head cynically, "Everyone keeps telling me that now that Dublin has been pacified, that the Irish rebellion has become tertiary and all that matters is defeating the Germans. Perhaps I should say the Germans and Austrians. Yet I know that the rebellion is not just Dublin. The rebels are in Waterford and up in some of the northern counties as well. Do the rebels still hold Athlone? I have been reading up on Irish history, esp. its wars. Both Limerick and Athlone are key points for controlling central Ireland."

"I have not heard anything about Athlone being retaken, Your Excellency, but as I keep saying I am being told very little. Though there is a prevailing assumption that now that the center of the rebellion has been crushed here in Dublin it will fall apart once the Germans are defeated."

"Which we both suspect is going to take longer than London is being told."

"Quite so, Your Excellency. Oh there is one relevant topic of discussion amongst the generals that I am privy to. While Gen. Hamilton and Gen. Braithwaite both feel that the rebellion will disintegrate once the Germans are defeated, they still feel that they need a better command structure to counter it. There are now rebel elements scattered over much of Ireland and they are better armed and organized than the early outbreaks in Galway and Wexford which were handled without too much trouble. Gen. Hamilton feels that neither his own HQ nor that of VI Army Corps should be directly handling most of these operations. He wants to limit the jurisdiction VI Army Corps to Munster. BGen. Lowe is to take command of all forces in Leinster except for Counties Longford and Westmeath. Those counties along with all of Connaught and Ulster Gen. Hamilton wants to place under the command of another brigadier, but he has yet to decide on who that will be. Gen. Braithwaite sees a need for this brigadier to have a large staff at his disposal and they are already short on staff officers so they are asking Lord Kitchener to send more of those."

"Well then, this at least is some sound reasoning on Gen. Hamilton's part. My only criticism shall be to ask why he did not think of this sooner?"

"The excuse that I keep hearing, Your Excellency, is that they did not anticipate a German second wave nor that it would take so long to quash the Dublin rising."

"Hmm. I do wonder how much longer London will take these excuses. I have been told that the military trials of rebels will resume soon. Do you have idea how soon?"

"Tomorrow, Your Excellency, with executions to resume Friday. I have protested that is too soon but have been told that London intends for these executions to make an unambiguous statement."

------SMS Moltke 11˚ 30' W 52˚ 10' N 1120 hrs

Adm. von Hipper puffed heartily on his cigar as he gazed through his binoculars. To the SSW a large mass of smoke darkened the sky. He was sure that was the High Seas Fleet even though he could not yet see the dreadnoughts. What he did see was Stuttgart and Hamburg which had just arrived at the rendezvous point. The rest of the 5^th Scouting Group was off doing some commerce raiding.

Signals were being transmitted to Stuttgart by searchlight while the wireless aboard Moltke was in contact with Adm. von Ingenohl aboard Friedrich der Grosse using the short range bands. There was no need for the flagships to come in sight of each other. 1^st Scouting Group would swing around to the west of the High Seas Fleet which would leisurely reverse course and fall in behind the battlecruisers.

The lookouts now reported seeing additional vessels SSW. "I can see them admiral," Raeder commented, "it is the liners."

"Remind them that they will be travelling with us until we reach the Straits," commanded von Hipper.

------Bélem (Brazil) 1125 hrs

Not all that long ago rubber had made the port of Bélem very rich. At great cost incl. the loss of 6,000 lives the Madeira-Mamoré Railroad had been constructed to facilitate the transport of rubber from the depths of the Amazon. Unfortunately by the time the railroad was completed in 1912 the price of latex had plummeted due to stiff competition from high productive Asian fields controlled by the British Empire. The prosperity that rubber had brought to the ports of Bélem and Maunas had faded rapidly in recent years. However in the last week a buyer had come forward who was very interested in buying Brazilian rubber. That buyer was Germany. The 6,100 ton Brazilian steamer Uberaba now departed Bélem with a cargo of Amazonian rubber. Her captain was surprised to learn to learn that his destination was Cork not a German port.

------SMS Wörth Shannon 1130 hrs

As the attacks by the West Riding Division continued in the vicinity of Sixmilebridge the venerable old predreadnaught Wörth was again called to help. This time she fired her amidships turret with its 28 cm 35 cal. guns. She now had her own cable linking her fire directors with spotting stations on the land. Her rate of fire while finding the range though it was not as ponderously slow as the day before but it was still very slow nonetheless, esp. as she was trying hard not to hit friendly forces. This shelling did manage to inflict a few casualties but its main impact was more psychological than physical, disrupting the latest British attack.

------Old Admiralty Building 1150 hrs

Sir Edward Carson had returned to the Admiralty a few minutes ago and was now meeting again with Callaghan, Oliver, Jackson and Wilson. "We lost the King Orry, one of the Isle of Man packet ships carrying ammunition and reinforcements, off the Larne to either a mine or a submarine, First Lord," reported Adm. Callaghan, the First Sea Lord, "the other packet ships arrived at the Larne without incident."

"This is very disturbing news, admiral. Is there no clue which might lead us to guess whether it was a mine or a torpedo?"

"The explosion occurred in a good location for the enemy to lay a minefield, First Lord but it would also be a good spot for a submarine to post herself. The King Orry was technically a warship so she would be a legitimate target for the submarine. However neither a torpedo wake nor periscope were sighted so therefore we believe a mine is more likely."

"But a submarine cannot be ruled out," added Adm. Wilson, "as all too often lookouts fail to observe such small objects."

"Hmm. That is all too true, admiral. In that case what may I ask what is the Grand Fleet doing right now? " said Carson.

"Adm. Bayly is very reluctant to enter North Channel until more is known, First Lord. He has the Grand Fleet steaming around the Isle of Man right now," answered Adm. Callaghan, "He has gone so far as to suggest that we send supplies to Kingstown via Milford Haven as an alternative to using Belfast and the Larne. He does not fully realize that we have merchantmen at sea outbound from Glasgow. We could redirect them to Kingstown but they would still have to transit North Channel. If the menace is merely a minefield laid parallel to the shore near the Larne and maybe Belfast as well then we can safely get them into Kingstown."

"If my recollection serves me more than half are carrying food for Belfast rather than supplies for the army," stated Carson, "Delivering that food to Kingstown would necessitate shipping it by rail to Belfast and not only is the Irish rail network overworked right now but it has been steadily degraded by repeated acts of despicable rebel sabotage."

"True but in that case, First Lord, some of the food should be distributed to the inhabitants of Dublin," suggested Adm. Wilson, "who need the food as much if not more than those in Belfast."

The other admirals fidgeted slightly and cringed as Wilson said that and looked uneasily at Sir Edward, who took his time to respond, "Uh, yes, that is an interesting option, Adm. Wilson. We were of course planning to send some food to Dublin as well but only after Belfast is properly taken care of."

Carson paused and looked at the admirals. What he saw on their faces made him feel uncomfortable so he elaborated, "Belfast with its heavy industry is absolutely vital to the war effort. That includes the new battlecruiser, Harland & Wolff are building."

"But of course, First Lord," replied Adm. Oliver unconvincingly.

So Carson continued to elaborate and justify, "Besides what I have been told the population of Dublin---not counting the captured rebels---falls into three groups. Those that either never left or have returned once the rebellion terminated, those that fled during the fighting and live in tents on its outskirts and lastly those who have fled far away incl. many who are now in Ulster. This last group is probably the largest so in a sense whatever help we provide Belfast also aids the Dubliners."

"That is quite true, First Lord. So are you suggesting that the freighters with military supplies should proceed to Kingstown but those carrying food for Belfast should wait for minesweepers to clear a safe channel?" asked Adm. Callaghan.

Carson continued to look embarrassed and hesitated before replying, "Well in rough essence, yes that is my suggested plan. I will of course leave working out the details to you distinguished admirals. If for instance you suddenly conclude that it was a submarine after all that would change things."

Callaghan nodded, "As always we appreciate your confidence in us, First Lord."

Carson smiled a little, "But of course, Adm. Callaghan. I am not a pompous dilettante who will run roughshod over you like Churchill did. Now moving on, how do we stand on transferring the Duncan class battleships back to home waters?"

"Now that we know that the High Seas Fleet is returning to Germany, we have decided to use all four of them to escort a convoy of merchantmen being formed at Malta," replied the First Sea Lord.

"How soon will this convoy be ready to leave?" asked Carson.

It was Adm. Jackson who answered, "Saturday morning, First Lord. Additional freighters, mostly iron ore carriers, will be added to the convoy at Gibraltar and La Coruna. Their destination will be Liverpool whose docks have been very under utilized of late."

"And how is Adm. Limpus taking this?"

"He is politely trying to persuade us that 3 of the Duncan class would be more than sufficient as an escort, First Lord," replied Callaghan.

"Which is not true, admiral. The most serious threat to the Atlantic sea lanes once the High Sea Fleet returns home is von Spee's contingent and that includes 3 predreadnoughts, First Lord. It is best that we have some measure of superiority," remarked Wilson.

"You make a good point, Adm. Wilson," answered Carson, "Yet I do wonder if Adm. von Spee's force will be history before this convoy reaches St. George's Channel. He is going to need coal shortly and we all agree he is most likely going to try to coal in Ireland. As he does Adm. Bayly will swoop down on him with the Grand Fleet and the game is over."

"We all agree with that, First Lord but he may be coaling at sea from prizes even though that will certainly damage his hulls permitting him to delay his return," said Adm. Oliver.

"Coaling at sea---esp. in the Atlantic---strikes me as an act of utter desperation," said Carson with a visible shudder.

"Yes it does, First Lord, except that we have reason to believe that he did just that with the Asiatic Squadron," Adm. Oliver replied.

"Nevertheless we expect to eliminate von Spee's current squadron in the next 10 days. If it happens early then the convoy escort will be too strong but that it is better than being too weak."

Carson gave that some thought, "It seems that we do have extremely good odds of destroying von Spee's warships soon. However it is not clear that we will be doing that before he reaches Ireland. This could mean that the roughly 5,000 Yanks he has brought with him will be added to the forces of Gen. von François."

"Surely that would not alter the military situation in Ireland too much, First Lord," commented Wilson.

"No, though it will not please Gen. Hamilton. I am more worried about the political aspects of the situation. Grey has made it abundantly clear to the War Committee that killing just one rowdy Fenian aboard Amerika is causing another tempest in a teapot across the pond right now. It makes one wonder what will happen if thousands of these besotted loons get ashore and start dyng in droves."

"If the Germans give them a rifle and they get slaughtered I would blame the Germans, First Lord, for deluding some dangerously naïve neutrals," answered Wilson.

"Hear, hear. So would all of us here, but there are going to be millions of Yanks who are going to see things differently. Despite their affectations about being supremely practical, the Americans are in fact a hopelessly sentimental lot."

Callaghan chuckled slightly, "Yes they are certainly are, First Lord, though the Foreign Office is more qualified than I to ascertain the political ramifications. While we are discussing the United States I would like to suggest that we finally release the merchantmen we have been holding in port from Baltimore north. Because of his coal situation Spee must be far from the American coast by now. By the time these merchantmen reach the middle of the Atlantic his squadron should be rusting on the bottom of the ocean. There are many valuable supplies, incl. artillery shells, that we have purchased but are merely wallowing in American warehouses near the docks. It is time for them to be shipped."

Callaghan gestured towards the other three admirals, "We are all in agreement on this point, First Lord. We are somewhat hesitant about sending the 2^nd Canadian Division over at this time."

"Why not send them as well, admiral? We need every division we can get right now."

------Neuilly-L'Hôpital (Picardy) 1240 hrs

Some of the batteries of the British IV Army Corps had shifted to new positions. These now opened fire on the advancing battalions of the 2^nd Bavarian Infantry Division south of the hamlet of Neuilly-L'Hôpital disrupting their attack. This was followed by a heroic counterattack by the 1^st Grenadier Guards and the 2^nd Scots Guards. The British regular infantry continued to be fearsome in an open field battle. This attack succeeded in pushing the Bavarians back into Neuilly-L'Hôpital but then they regrouped and were reinforced with 2 more battalions. Combined with renewed artillery fire this stopped the British counterattack but the Bavarians in turn found it difficult to resume their advance on account of enfilading artillery and machinegun fire coming from the east. Likewise the 1^st Grenadier Guards and the 2^nd Scots Guards were repelled when they made another attempt to resume their counterattack.

The advance of the German Sixth Army towards Abbeville had stalled.

------Enniscorthy (Wexford) 1255 hrs

After skirmishing in the early morning with patrols of the Cameronians who had retired to the vicinity of Kittealy, Count Tisza took his Hussar regiment trotting off to attack Enniscorthy with Wexford Battalion following behind on foot. He swung his Hussars to the east of the city feeling that the British defenders would not be anticipating an attack from that direction. These defenders consisted of the half company of Royal Irish Rifles that was now only a little more than half strength, plus 42 constables. They had not been expecting any attack as they felt that the Cameronians had succeeded in thoroughly routing the latest outbreak of rebellion in County Wexford. When the Hussars galloped into town nearly half of the R.I.C. quickly surrendered and most of the rest fled. The Royal Irish Riflemen were another matter. A half dozen of them were taken by surprise and captured in the initial assault but the rest holed up in several key locations incl. the railroad station.

Wexford Battalion arrived at Enniscorthy from the southwest within the hour. The Hussars provided them with the Lee-Enfield rifles they had captured earlier. The battle became one of snipers.

------Kilbeheny (Cork) 1300 hrs

After unsuccessful morning attacks on the right wing of the Welsh Division Feldmlt. Krauss decided to try to turn the enemy's right flank at Kilbeheny in the western foothills of the Galty Mountains. The defenders there were the 12^th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles who were only beginning to entrench. This battalion was part of the 108^th Brigade that the Welshmen had rescued during the Battle of Cork. It had been less than half strength at that time. The Austro-Hungarians began their attack with a 20 minute bombardment. The batteries of the Welsh Division had fired off the last of their shells in the morning. Some of the shells landed at the Larne in the morning were destined for the Welsh Division but they had yet to arrive. The division's minenwerfers participated in the bombardment. When the guns stopped firing the 4 battalions of infantry, 2 Czech and 2 Magyar began their assault. They brought some of the light mortars called presterwerfers with them. These proved useful in knocking out 2 machinegun nests that had survived the shelling and were tearing into the advancing Austro-Hungarian soldiers.

The Ulstermen fought hard but they had been seriously hurt by the shelling and were badly outnumbered. Those that were dazed by the shelling were soon captured. The rest were forced to withdraw as best they could to the west on the road to Ballyarthur.

------Carrick-on-Shannon (Leitrim) 1310 hrs

The Longford Battalion had spent the last week at Carrrick-on-Shannon along with the Leitrim support company. For a while there had been a series of small firefights with the R.I.C. with mixed results but in the last two days the constables had ceded control of the immediate area around Carrrick-on-Shannon to the rebels making it easier for them to scrounge for food and draught animals. They had maintained some communication through messengers with the 2^nd Northern Ireland Battalion to the north at Manorhamilton up until the 6^th Battalion York and Lancaster surrounded the town. Despite some casualties in the skirmishes the battalion had steadily grown with the addition of new members, mostly disenchanted Redmondites, and now numbered 661 men. The commandant had used the recent quiet to conduct intensive training.

Now they had visitors in the form of 3 motor cars and a truck. The lead car flew a green flag with golden harps and the men in it wore I.R.A. uniforms. The guards admitted the vehicles and summoned their own commandant. An officer emerged from the first car. The commandant of Longford Battalion was struck by how short this officer was. "I am Lt. Col. Heinrici, Gen. von François has placed me in charge of all I.R.A. forces in the northern half of Ireland. That includes your unit."

The two of them conversed. Heinrici had brought along 2 of the Vickers machine guns he has captured at Manorhamilton as well as 2 men who would train Longford Battalion to use them properly. "The reason that you have not been able to get any weapons and ammunition from the river boats is that the British have sited artillery near Portumna," Heinrici informed the commandant.

"And that situation cannot be rectified, colonel?"

"Probably not. If Gen. von François has something in mind, he did not see fit to share it with me."

"So do you want me to remain here or join your forces at Manorhamilton, sir?"

"Neither. You are to march as hard as you can back to Longford and from there you are proceed to Athlone, which the general and I both feel is very important and requires reinforcement."

"Should the Leitrim support company remain here?"

"No by itself it is too weak by itself and could easily be overrun by a determined attack of the local R.I.C. I am moving it to Manorhamilton. The Northern Ireland Regiment---I am by the way considering renaming it the Northern Ireland Brigade---is now clearing out enemy resistance in the northern half of County Leitrim. Whatever I decide to call it will advance into County Donegal tomorrow."

------Rathkeale (Limerick) 1325 hrs

The 2^nd Chevauleger Regiment reached the town of Rathkeale as instructed without too much difficulty. The Chevaulegers promptly contacted the rebel outpost there as Oberst Hell had ordered. They informed them that the British had not tried to re-establish their siege line around Limerick but instead conducted frequent vigorous patrols to the south of the city. These patrols had clashed with the 16^th Uhlan Regiment. As the Chevaulegers rested, another column of motor vehicles caught up with them. This group was escorted by the two Daimler armored cars that the second wave had brought with them. There were also 30 men from the 2^nd Cork City Battalion riding shotgun in the trucks. Maj. von Frauenau decided it was necessary to tend to his tired mounts, but once that was done he would try to reach Limerick.

-----SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm Western Approaches 1330 hrs

Commerce raiding was only part of the mission of Kronprinz Wilhelm which had steamed further and further west since departing Queenstown. She now began to transmit periodic encoded wireless messages

------Athlone (Westmeath) 1350 hrs

The Roscommon Battalion had grown rapidly in the last 4 days. With the help of the Athone cyclist company and Marine Cavalry Squadron it had fought several skirmishes with the Connaught Rangers and the R.I.C. to the north while receiving some hurried training. Because of the growing shortage of rifles they had received from Athlone 200 Martini-Henry rifles that had been captured inside Custume Barracks. The Roscommon Battalion departed Roscommon city late yesterday and now arrived at Athlone. The 10^th and 16^th battalions of Royal Irish Rifles had resumed their attack in the morning despite the return of the armored train. They had been unable to advance against the defenders, the 1^st Athlone Battalion and half of the 2^nd Athlone Battalion. With the arrival of the Roscommon Battalion the rebels launched a counterattack against the enemy flank. This attack had some limited initial success allowing the rebels to capture two buildings the Ulstermen had converted into strong points. The enemy rallied though and launched their own counterattack retaking one of their strongpoints in some particularly fierce combat. After that the fighting trailed off with both sides worried about preserving ammunition.

------Laragh (Wicklow) 1405 hrs

Rommel had sent the 4^th Dublin Battalion under Commandant Cathal Brugha down the Military Road to try to make contact with the friendly forces rumored to be in control of Arklow. When they reached the village of Laragh they found 38 R.I.C. waiting for them. These constables had been told by their superiors to intercept a gaggle of poorly armed rebels fleeing in disarray from Dublin which were heading their way. The force they found heading towards them now was larger and better organized than anticipated. The rebels definitely did not surrender in droves after a few shots were fired. Instead they organized a methodical attack under Brugha's direction.

------SMS Blücher mid Atlantic heading east 1415 hrs

The 2^nd Scouting Group had only taken two prizes so far this day. The first was a 740 ton schooner with mixed propulsion out of Liverpool bound for Halifax with a cargo of high quality porcelain vases. The second was a 3,300 ton freighter come all the way from Sydney hauling a cargo of wool bound for Southampton. As they grew closer to Ireland Adm. von Spee decreed that they would be more willing to keep prizes and had issued some guidelines to that effect but it was decided that neither prize met the guidelines, and so both were sunk.

The 2^nd Scouting Group had also stopped a Norwegian flagged tramp steamer during the morning. After verifying the vessel's nationality with an inspection they reluctantly let her continue on her way to Liverpool.

A serious storm had built up in the last two hours and Blücher was now pitching and heaving inside the worst of it. Adm. Maas continued to be disappointed with the results of his cruisers' commerce raiding. The current storm was now sharply reducing the likelihood of finding any more prizes. The admiral silently prayed that it would be one of those storms that dissipates quickly.

Suddenly a sailor from the wireless section approached the admiral and saluted. He held a slip of paper in his hands, "Admiral, we have just decoded a wireless message for Adm. von Spee and yourself coming from the Kronprinz Wilhelm. The signal was somewhat faint but we believe we received all of it, admiral."

------SMS Seydlitz off the Thames Estuary 1455 hrs

Screened by a flotilla of 9 large torpedo boats the battlecruiser Seydlitz now terrorized the mouth of the Thames. Kapitän zu See Moritz von Egidy had been expecting to take several prizes off what is normally Britain's busiest port but he was deeply disappointed bordering on shocked to find absolutely nothing. He had also hoped to provoke Harwich Force or Dover Patrol into doing something rash but they were conspicuously absent as well. Von Egidy was very tempted to shell North Forelend to see if that would stir things up but he had strict orders that he was to conserve ammunition and avoid damage from British coastal artillery.

------British Somaliland 1510 hrs

A gentle rain was now failing. Somaliland was now in what passed for a rainy season in this arid region so the precipitation was merely unusual instead of incredible but it was still welcomed by the men fighting without the benefit of shade. The current attack of the Ottomans and the Abyssinians was not a hit and run raid as they had done before but an all out offensive into enemy territory. The Senegalese initially bore the burden of the attack. Each side was sparingly armed with heavy weapons and had a very limited stockpile of artillery shells so it was predominantly infantry vs. infantry combat. The intense training imposed by Col. Rabadi was now paying off and the Abyssinians were proving to be almost as good as their fierce opponents and with a considerable superiority in numbers that was proving to be good enough. The nearby British forces were starting to come to the aid of the embattled Senegalese but so far this amounted to only a single company of the King's African Rifles, which was under strength as was very common amongst the K.A.R.

Back at his HQ Rabadi opened the finally decorated silver cigarette case and withdrew another cigarette as he was handed the newest batch of casualty reports. He lit the cigarette and momentarily wondered if the enemy kept his line of communication essentially closed it meant he would run out of cigarettes before this campaign was over. The thought of living with cigarettes made him shudder a little. He calmed his nerves by drawing deeply on the cigarette. Then he looked at the casualty report. It was not pretty. That men under his command, both Abyssinians and Ottomans, were dying in droves did not upset provided it meant that the enemy was dying in at least equal numbers. The possibility that he was wasting his men without inflicting commensurate harm did bother him even more than the prospect of living without cigarettes.

The offensive would continue.

.------2 miles south of Charleville (Cork) 1520 hrs

Pressured by the 6^th Bavarian Infantry Division, Brigade Hell and the 111^th Infantry Division (which now had all 3 of its regiments in action) the Lowland Division had been unable to hold Gen. Egeron's planned stop line and was forced to flee back to the outskirts of Charleville, much to the disgust of Gen. Wilson. The Germans pursued vigorously capturing a machinegun and 2 supply wagons as well as the stores at the Buttevant army camp but a sharp rearguard action by Scottish infantrymen prevented any of their precious artillery from being captured.

The transfer of the 11^th (Northern) Infantry Division from Dublin was still not complete but Gen. Hammersley had enough of his forces available to administer a rude shock to the vanguard of Brigade Hell and the 6^th Bavarian Infantry Division both of whom had advanced beyond the support of their artillery. The batteries of the 11^th Infantry Division had an adequate stockpile of shells---unlike all the other British batteries in Ireland which were down to less than a dozen shells each. The hardened veterans of the 6^th Bavarian Infantry Division had survived for as long as they had by learning to respect what shrapnel shells could do to a human body. They quickly halted their attack and pulled back seeking cover. Within Brigade Hell the Bavarian Jaegers had become deeply respectful of artillery. The two Seebattalions and the Prussian Guards were a tad bolder and suffered for it along with the I.R.A. battalions under their supervision.

While this was going on Gen. Egerton halted the retreat of Lowland Division and turned to face the pursuing 111^th Infantry Division. Northeast of Dromina the Highland Light Infantry checked the progress of the German 164^th Infantry Regiment but the division's artillery fired off nearly all of their few remaining shells in doing so. Informed of this setback and that the enemy had been strongly reinforced in the vicinity of Charleville, Gen. Guido Sontag, the commander of the 111^th Infantry Division ordered a temporary halt to his attack on the Lowland Division. He positioned his artillery while allowing the most of his infantry to get some badly needed rest except for the 73^rd Fusiliers Regiment he ordered to move to Dromcollier just over the Limerick county line. Sontag did that because he suspected that the enemy right flank was hanging in the air.

When the 111^th Infantry Division was formed back in March its reconnaissance element consisted of 2 squadrons of the 22^nd Dragoons. When the division was assigned to the second wave of Operation Unicorn, OKW provided them with a cyclist company as well. When they landed at Cork horses were initially in short supply and the dragoons had been without mounts but that had been rectified yesterday. Gen. Sontag finally had his cavalry as well as the cyclist company and decided to make good use of them to probe the enemy right flank esp. since the second wave had brought only a single airplane with them which was very badly overworked right now.

------SMS Köln SSW of Ireland 1605 hrs

During the afternoon Adm. von Ingenohl ordered that the small cruisers of both 4^th and 5^th Scouting Groups to vigorous conduct commerce raiding. Köln now captured a 4,400 ton freighter out of Trinidad with a cargo of cocoa beans bound for Plymouth. After some discussion it was decided to send her into Queenstown.

------Laragh (Wicklow) 1615 hrs

.The 4^th Dublin Battalion continued to press the R.I.C. detachment at Laragh. Rommel had placed so much importance on their mission that he had provided Brugha his remaining able bodied Jaegers. Julius Gaulart in particular was in his element in the mountains. He had succeeded climbing up a mountain slope regarded as impassable and secured a wonderful sniper's post overlooking the constables barricaded in the valley below. He quickly killed one then winged another. Now he badly wounded a third in the stomach. We felt some sympathy for the poor man who would spend the rest of the day dying in agony. Leaning over an outcropping of rock he took careful aim and fired again and the body stopped moving. Julius felt a little better. Suddenly he heard a bullet ricochet off a rock near him. The constables had seen his last shot and now knew where he was. No good turn goes unpunished he muttered to himself with a weary sigh as he slid back behind the rock. He decided to wait a while behind the rock before emerging again to either take another shot or shift position. As he was waiting he heard a strange sound. He tried to identify it as it sound vaguely familiar. He then realized what it was it.

It was a bugle.

The sounds of gunfire had become frequent. Julius cautiously peak over the outcropping. Down below he could see cavalry which apparently had just charged the constables from behind. At first he thought they were German cavalry but they didn't look like any German cavalry he had seen before. For one thing they had no lances but relied solely on the sabre which they were employing with great ferocity. The constables were no longer worried about Julius' sniping as they had their hands full with the cavalry. Julius aimed selecting a constable who was not engaged in close combat with one of the horseman and fired. His first shot missed but his next one wounded him in the right shoulder.

Meanwhile the 4^th Dublin Battalion had emerged from cover and charged the position with Commandant Brugha leading the way. By the time they reached the constables the fighting was almost over. More than half of the constables had been taken prisoner. The rest lay dead or dying. As usual the R.I.C. had motor vehicles with them. This consisted of 4 motor cars, 2 vans and 2 trucks. One of the cars though had been disabled by a bullet in the engine. The R.I.C. had roughly 2,900 rounds of .303 with them.

Commandant Brugha approached the commander of the cavalry who turned out to be a Hungarian Hussars not Germans but unfortunately it turned out that man spoke very little English. Instead one of his NCO's did the talking. He told Brugha that they were part of regiment of Hungarian Hussars that had landed at Waterford. Initially they lacked mounts and instead were ferried to Arklow in motor vehicles along with some Bavarian infantry and Irish rebels. After Arklow was secured they were finally provided some acceptable mounts. Yesterday afternoon they had taken the town of Rathdrum to the south which had been defended by only 11 constables who were easily overpowered. Today they had continued scouting to the north after a rebel platoon from Arklow had relieved them at Rathdrum.

"It is our good fortune that you did and we are eternally grateful for your intervention," replied Brugha, "We are part of the Dublin Brigade that managed to escape into the Dublin Mountains where we are being pursued by the British. We are moderately well armed but we are desperately low on ammunition."

The NCO translated this for his troop leader. His reply when translated back was, "We will do what we can to help you. I take it that some of your rifles are Lee-Enfield's, yes? They are good rifles. You start by sending the ammunition we just captured back to your brigade. Meanwhile we will notify Hauptmann Schumacher back in Arklow. If nothing else we have captured a large quantity of explosives. Do you have anyone who is good with explosives?"

------south of Prichtina (Serbia) 1700 hrs

The massed artillery of the Ottoman III Corps commenced a sharp 20 minute bombardment of the Serbian positions. The weak Serbian artillery here was soon silenced. Esat Paşa had determined through strenuous reconnaissance that the enemy's right wing was their weakest spot and concentrated his shelling there. When the shelling stopped the Ottoman infantry began their assault. The defenders only had a single strand of barbed wire and few of the dreaded machineguns. Nevertheless serious losses were inflicted on the attackers by accurate rifle fire and for several tense minutes the outcome of the battle was far from clear. The Ottomans eventually wore down the defenders with superior numbers. With their forward defensive line compromised the Serbs made a fighting withdrawal into the city itself with the Ottomans pressing them closely.

------Charleville (Cork) 1730 hrs

When Gen. Wilson heard that the Lowland and 11^th Infantry Divisions had fended off the Germans near Charleville he was elated. He sent orders to Gen. Hammersley to follow up his success with an attack as soon as possible. Gen. Wilson also ordered Gen. Egerton to return the 2 battalions and 1 field battery that had been temporarily loaned from the 11^th Division but also told Hammersley not to wait for their arrival to launch his attack

Because German artillery were now in range of the Ballyshakkin train station the British were now forced to detrain at Kilmallock station instead. This slowed further the arrival of the last elements of the 11^th Division as well as the vital supplies landed at the Larne in the morning. Pressured by Gen. Wilson Hammersley reluctantly commenced his attack with his division not yet complete. When he commenced his 15 minute bombardment Hammerley was heartened that the German artillery failed to reply. Instead they repositioned themselves if necessary and awaited the British infantry. It was not a long wait. Hammersley threw 4 battalions into the assault and 3 of them were quickly mauled by German artillery which incl. 2 batteries of 15cm howitzers. The 4th battalion involved in the assault was somehow neglected by the German guns permitting it to attack Hell's Brigade. Most of its attack fell on the Bavarian Jaeger Regiment, which had neither entrenched nor laid down a wire barrier but had set up nests for all 3 of its machine gun companies as well as preparing 4 strong points. They had little difficulty repelling the attack.

------SMS Stuttgart SW of Ireland 1855 hrs

The German commerce raiding continued. Stuttgart now took a 5,000 ton fruit carrier out of Capetown bound for Liverpool. This prize crew was told to bring her into Queenstown.

------GQG Chantilly 1910 hrs

Clemenceau had decided to drop in on Gen. Joffre again. "What is the progress on my grand offensive, general?" he asked eagerly.

Joffre shook his head, "Second Army made no attacks today, premier, because it is rotating two fresh divisions into the line. Gen. de Castelnau will resume his attack tomorrow. Fifth Army made another attack in the Montagne de Rheims but it was unsuccessful. Continuation of Third Army's attack north of Verdun was postponed until tomorrow morning due to heavy rain."

"All of these attacks must continue with unabated fury. What little reserves the Germans have left is being rapidly exhausted. They cannot reinforce all three sectors."

"They might be able to prop up their defenses in all three sectors if they were willing to cease their attacks on the B.E.F., premier."

Clemenceau sighed, "Perhaps that is true, but only because Falkenhayn seems to think the B.E.F. is the weak link on the Western Front. If he had succeeded in trapping the British First Army that would have an opportunity to roll up the front but it has not happened and he foolishly keeps wasting his men and ammunition trying to finish the job."

Joffre shrugged, "The Germans have left the critical line of communication alone recently and are concentrating instead on weakening the British Second Army, which is making a modest withdrawal even though we have repeatedly requested that they refrain from doing so."

"But yes! It was one of my very explicit conditions for providing them the use of two of our infantry divisions."

"Any further loss of our sacred soil is most unpleasant, premier but sometimes it is necessary to withdraw distasteful as it is for me to admit this. Foch outlined the planned zone of withdrawal and I agree with him that they have negligible strategic value."

Clemenceau glared at the general before asking incredulously, "So you agree with the cowardly British decision?"

"The fact of the situation, premier is that the B.E.F. has had a very bad time since the Germans unleashed their fiendish new weapon back in April. The First Army came very near to total destruction and did in fact lose an entire division, something they only admitted to us yesterday. The situation in Ireland has made it impossible for Kitchener to reinforce them properly or even to give them all available ammunition."

"I hope you are not going to suggest that we should reinforce them still more."

"That may be necessary to avoid further loss of territory, premier, esp. if their line of communications to England remains severed."

"Their line of communication will be restored Friday afternoon. Surely Field Marshal French can summon enough resolve to hold out until then."

"It may take more than willpower, premier. If they cannot they could still lose 5 more divisions and maybe half of their heavy artillery. That would seriously weaken the B.E.F. well into the fall when we had expected them to be strengthened by the so called New Armies beginning to arrive here in France. Even if the British destroy the German expedition inside Ireland within the next week which is what they are currently predicting, they will still be too weak to assist in our grand offensive."

"I am not sending them anymore divisions, esp. not after they reneged on their promise not to surrender any more territory and then to make matters worse completely cease exporting the coal and steel we need to wage war. They should be grateful that we are not recalling the two divisions we have already sent or stop providing the B.E.F. with food and fodder."

Joffre shrugged, "Gen. Foch and I are less than pleased with the behavior of our ally as well, premier. Our liaison has deteriorated since Gen. Wilson was reassigned to Ireland. Despite this I worry that we may find that by punishing them we end up punishing ourselves as well."

Clemenceau rubbed his chin as he pondered that, "Perhaps I shall feel more magnanimous once the war critical imports are restored to the proper level. Right now my highest priority remains pushing the Boche as far as possible from Paris, the heart of our great nation."

------Enniscorthy (Wexford) 1940 hrs

The 6^th squadron of the Hussars which had not been able to accompany the rest of the regiment when it departed Waterford due to a lack of mounts had finally been able acquire suitable mounts this morning. They now rejoined their regiment at Enniscorthy. Soon after they arrived the Cameronians showed up from the west having learned from the R.I.C. of the attack on Enniscorthy and that some Royal Irish Riflemen might need rescuing. By this time Wexford Battalion and the Hussars had time to prepare their defenses. The two determined attacks by the Cameronians were bloody failures after which they withdrew to Wexford city.

------Clarina (Limerick) 2005 hrs

On the way to Limerick the 2^nd Chevauleger Regiment ran into the 16^th Uhlan Regiment as it passed through the village of Clarina. However it was only a single squadron of Uhlans and a badly under strength one at that. Maj. Von Frauenau was happy to see them but did not feel they were an adequate escort for his precious cargo and so decided to press on towards Limerick taking them in tow. This turned out to be a prudent decision as they ran into a company of Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers near Mungret. This eventuated an escalating firefight between them and the German cavalry with the armored cars bringing their machineguns into play at one point. The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers eventually withdrew and von Farauenau forbade any pursuit as it would interfere with their mission. They continued into Limerick where they were heartily welcomed by Capt. Schultz, the commandant of the 5^th Kerry Battalion, who was guarding that sector.

------SMS Regensburg mid Atlantic 2025 hrs

The 2^nd Scouting Group claimed one more prize this day. It was a 3,900 oil tanker out of Galveston bound for Glasgow. It was their first prize since Lusitania to have a wireless set but it was an inexpensive set of limited range and marginal reliability. It tried to send out a call for help but Regensburg found it easy to jam the transmission. There was no question this time. This prize was a keeper.

------Clogheen (Tipperary) 2040 hrs

The 2^nd Tipperary Battalion had made good time this day even though much of land they passed through was quite hilly. Part of this was on account of their acquiring 2 mules in Tallow and 3 fine horses in Lissmore which meant that the supply carts no longer slowed their rate of march. Another factor was that the Tipperary Volunteers encountered no opposition until they reached Lissmore and even there the small band of R.I.C. soon ran away in their motor vehicles after a brief firefight which had demonstrated to constables that they were hopelessly outnumbered. The local station yielded 1,200 rounds of .303 and some food. The battalion also picked up 14 new members on their journey incl. a woman whom Capt. Vopel very reluctantly decided to accept.

The Tipperary Volunteers were very eager to return to County Tipperary so they had marched hard all day. When they reached the town of Clogheen the rebels encountered the R.I.C. again. This time though there were 50 of them and they did not flee as soon as they saw that they were badly outnumbered but fell back into prepared defensive positions incl. some buildings turned into strongpoints. Capt. Vopel warned his men against charging those positions and instead tried to encircle the enemy but that took esp. as his men were exhausted from a grueling march. Clogheen was a sizable town and the constables were concentrated so it did not prove too difficult to establish rebel strongpoints and sniping posts around them. Meanwhile the battalion motorcyclist was sent west to inform Feldmlt. Krass of their situation and that had not detected any significant force moving against the Austrian flank.

------HQ British Ireland Command Curragh (Kildare) 2100 hrs

Gen. Hamilton wanted to talk over today's developments with Gen. Wilson before night fell and the wires got snipped as what had become the usual rule of late. "The Welsh Division had its right flank turned at Kilbeheny which made it impossible for them to remain at Mitchelstown, sir," reported Wilson.

Hamilton already knew this from some telegrams he had received so he was not surprised but neither was he happy, "I see. And just how far back does Gen. Friend intend to retreat this time, general?"

"Gen. Friend believes he can hold a line running from Ballyanders west to Killfinnane provided he receives enough artillery shells, general."

"Didn't he receive the shells that were shipped from the Larne today?"

"Yes, he did, sir, but he believes that he will need still more very soon."

"We shall see what we can do, general. However looking at the map I am very worried. The position that the Welsh Division is falling back towards in going to put German---I mean Austrian, artillery within range of Kilmallock station tomorrow. So that will become yet another train station we cannot use."

"I understand that, sir, but the redeployment of the 11^th Infantry Division is still expected to be completed before midnight."

"I am well aware of that fact, Gen. Wilson, thank you very much," replied Hamilton testily, "But going forward there is the need to use the railroad for supplies and reinforcements and as you continue your backpedaling that becomes more complicated."

"The retreating should end tomorrow, sir. Now that the 11^th Division is in place we can and will regain the initiative in Cork!"

"That remains to be seen. For both our sakes I certainly hope so. And why is there no progress at Limerick, general? As I take it we are still not into the city itself, yet. I promised Lord Kitchener the city would be taken today!"

"The Germans are scrapping the bottom of the barrel at Limerick, general. Our latest intelligence is that their artillery there has run out of ammunition which is why they have resorted to such desperate measures such as using their antique battleships in the Shannon. On the other hand the West Riding Division was unable to make use of its artillery because the latest shipment of shells did not arrive until late in the day. They will be ready come tomorrow morning."

------SMS Moltke SW of Ireland 2105 hrs

"The 5^th Torpedoboat Flotilla arrived, admiral," Adm. Raeder announced prosaically as he lowered his binoculars.

Adm. von Hipper took a hearty puff on his latest cigar then removed it from his mouth. Still gazing through his binoculars he answered, "Yes, I can see that. Go ahead and signal the 1^st Torpedoboat Flotilla to proceed to Queenstown and refuel as per their instructions. After that we will signal the 5^th Torpedoboat Flotilla that they will serve as our screen from now on."

"Jawohl, admiral."

The High Seas Fleet had come to Ireland with 5 flotillas. Adm. von Ingenohl had decided against reorganizing his flotillas after the Battle of the Celtic Sea. 1^st Scouting Group had circumnavigated Ireland with only the 1^st Torpedoboat Flotilla and 4^th Scouting Group as its screen. When the High Seas Fleet had departed Haulbowline last night Adm. von Ingenohl had taken 3 flotillas with him leaving the 5^th Torpedoboat Flotilla behind at Cork with instructions that they were to rendezvous with 1^st Scouting Group on its way to the English Channel, replacing the 1^st Torpedoboat Flotilla.

"Tomorrow we run the Channel again," sighed von Hipper who then returned his cigar to his mouth and puffed hard.

------SMS Seydlitz Dunkirk naval base 2155 hrs

The battlecruiser Seydlitz arrived at Dunkirk. Her torpedo boat flotilla had arrived earlier and was already coaling. The Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm had also docked and was soon loading men and well as supplies. Now Seydlitz anchored in the roads because she was too big for the docks. She coaled as best she could from small boats.

------Ennis (Clare) 2200 hrs

Believing that his lack of success at Sixmilebridge was because the German Naval Division had reinforced that sector with units taken from Ennis, which was only partially correct, Gen. Baldock ordered another night attack on Ennis which he believed would allow him another entry path into Limerick. This too was another nasty affair with the burden for most of the attack falling on the resolute Ulstermen of the 109^th Brigade. The amount of German Marines in Ennis had been reduced but not to zero and they fought fiercely during the night alongside the West Clare and Central battalions.

------Old Admiralty Building 2245 hrs

It was another late night for Adm. Sir Henry Oliver, chief of the naval war staff. Capt. Hall, the head of the Naval Intelligence Division, now stopped by and handed Oliver a manila folder, "Room 40 has just decoded this wireless message, admiral. It is from Gen. von François to OKW. Quite frankly it has us all a bit puzzled."

WHAT WILL BE THE COMPOSITION OF FOURTH WAVE REPEAT WHAT WILL BE THE COMPOSITION OF FOURTH WAVE STOP

For a few seconds Oliver blinked even more than Hall then he scratched his chin and shook his head. Finally he asked, "Fourth wave? What happened to the third wave? Are you sure this is correct?"

"Yes it is, admiral, I had my own doubts so I asked the decoders to double check their work."

"So what in bloody blazes does it mean, captain?"

"I do not rightly know, sir? Could it be that the Germans have still another wave coming into Ireland using the northern route again?"

"After the initial landing Adm. Callaghan instituted strong cruiser patrols to prevent the Germans sneaking in undetected via that route again even though it is reducing the availability of cruisers for other operations. Given the short nights I cannot see how the Germans could possibly slip another wave through our net."

"That is what I thought, sir. I am not sure what other explanation is there?"

"Neither do I, captain. It remains something of a mystery."

"Should we share this intelligence with the War Office, sir?"

Oliver took his time and rubbed his chin again before replying, "I think we should hold off on this one at least until we get the reply from Berlin which may shed some light on this puzzle. The First Lord has told us more than once that Lord Kitchener has been critical of the quality of our intelligence. I do not want to supply him with any more ammunition."

"As you wish, sir."

"Before you go, captain, there is one more topic I would like to discuss. Have you taken a good look at Lt. Childers lately? I saw him today and quite frankly the man is a mess. I don't mean his uniform. That is in acceptable condition but the man inside it is not right. For one thing his posture and bearing is all wrong. He looks sickly. When was the last time he saw a doctor?"

"Less than two weeks ago, sir, I too had similar concerns and ordered a physical. I have the physician's report if you would care to look at it. In a nutshell the physicians do see signs of stress taking a toll on him which they attribute to the loss of a limb combined with overwork."

"Are we really working Childers that hard?"

"He was eagerly putting in very long hours at one time, sir, but I forced him to limit his shift except in case of emergencies."

"Which unfortunately have become all too common of late."

"True, but most emergencies do not require Childers' extended presence though he usually thinks otherwise. There is one other thing that I have noticed of late. He tends to get embroiled in political arguments. He is cleared a Redmondite while many of the other officers are vociferous Unionists. Needless to say the current situation in Ireland is making things a wee bit awkward for Redmond's supporters."

"Hmm We should not let politics undermine the unit's morale. The last thing I want to do is come down hard on a national hero, esp. one with a V.C. and a wooden leg, but if the man has become a liability rather than an asset to our outfit then we need to rectify the problem one way or another."

------Drews Court (Limerick) 2305 hrs

During the early afternoon Oberst Hell had decided to release 2 of the Irish battalions from his brigade. The North Cork Battalion he sent to Buttevant for line of communication duty. It was also hoped that unit would be able to drum up some more new recruits. The other change was dispatching the West Limerick Battalion under Maj. Ritter von Thoma to Dromcollier to assist the 73^rd Fusilier Regiment in making a night flank attack on the Lowland Division as he reasoned that they would be familiar with the terrain.

Under a partially cloudy sky weakly illuminated by a crescent moon, the West Limerick Battalion now led the Germans incl. Junger. In the hamlet of Drews Court on the boundary between County Cork and County Limerick they ran into the right edge of Lowland Division's perimeter which was the 1/7^th Battalion Royal Scots which in the fighting it had seen in Ireland starting with the Battle of Dublin had been reduced to roughly half strength. It had not entrenched and had no barbed wire and had established only 2 strongpoints. Their sentries were alert though so the attackers achieved little in the way of surprise. The 1^st and 2^nd battalions of the 73^rd Fusiliers hit the battalion, which were oriented to the northwest, from the north while the 3^rd battalion of 73^rd Fusiliers along with the West Limerick Battalion struck from ENE. Both sides fell in the confusion of a night battle but the Germans enjoyed superior numbers and the Scots were in a difficult tactical situation.

When news of this action reached Gen. Egerton he feared that his entire position was compromised and his artillery threatened. He therefore ordered an immediate withdrawal of the entire division to the east.

------HMS Iron Duke North Channel heading 320° 2350 hrs

"It looks like we made it through North Channel without any problems, sir," Adm. Madden told Adm. Bayly.

The Admiralty had ordered Adm. Bayly to transit North Channel at last light and continue on to the Grand Fleet's new anchorage at Loch na Keal. This would not be the first time that the Grand Fleet had been based there. Back in October Jellicoe had used that base for a while due to his fears of German submarines attacking the fleet as they were anchored.

Adm. Bayly had not objected to the order which he understood was perfectly reasonable, yet he was anxious all during the transit and still felt a bit nervous. The more he thought about the Battle of Celtic Sea the more he was convinced that it was not the great victory that the government and the press were making it to be. In some ways it did not seem to a victory at all and he felt that upon closer examination many in the Admiralty would come to the same conclusion. For this reason he felt that if he were to lose even a single predreadnought in North Channel it might give his enemies within the Royal Navy a reason to campaign for his removal.

"You are probably right, admiral, yet I will feel better once we are past Southend. You should try to get some sleep now. I know that I will need at least another hour before I will be able to get to sleep."

Mike,

If I ever condense OU into 2 or 3 novels I think I will start it with Childers smuggling German arms into the Howth and then leap to Hipper stationing some dreadnoughts outside the Jade Bar (the POD).

Some of the good questions you raise will be addressed in the May 20 posts. The Germans currently have 4 divisions (one AH) plus about a half division of loose ends (eg. the Bavarian Jaeger Regiment) ashore in Ireland and it does present logistical problems. As for what is being left behind:

1st TB Flotilla at Cork

Prinz Heinrich is going to continue raiding

In addition to commerce raiding Kronprinz Wilhelm is acting like a herald to von Spee.

Tom