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9 September 1918
So, today's post, let's see if it works:
Western Front After sharp fighting British gain high ground between Havrincourt and Gouzeaucourt, overlooking the Siegfriedstellung (Hindenburg Line). French push well across Crozat Canal towards St. Quentin and La Fere; main progress made east of St. Simon; they capture Grand Seraucourt, Montescourt, Remigny and Liez Fort. Two strong counter-attacks at Laffaux (between Soissons and Laon) repulsed. German infantry attack in the West: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...e-inf.jpg?ssl=1 No man’s land between American and German lines at Bois des Éparges: © IWM (Q 49848): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...743942978838528 American soldiers in France cheer as their mail arrives: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...774231239196672 Southern Front Greek new advanced line heavily bombed in Struma Valley. Naval and Overseas Operations North Sea: U-92 sunk on Northern Barrage. Black Sea: Anti-Bolshevik troops on a transport ship off the coast of Ukraine: © IWM (Q 55039): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...683489749671936 Political, etc Germany: Lieutenant-Colonel Wilhelm Wetzell, strategic adviser at OHL, superseded owing to rows with Ludendorff. Russia: British report complete anarchy reported in Petrograd; Bolsheviks massacre the "bourgeoisie". Threat to execute British officials. Register formed for British subjects’ claims in Russia (some not compensated till 1987). Churchill writes to Prime Minister on 1919 manpower problems, urges 100,000 men for Tank Corps (55,000 agreed). Ukraine: General Pavlo Skoropadskyi, the leader of German-backed Ukraine, with German Field Marshal von Hindenburg and General Ludendorff at the German General Headquarters: © IWM (Q 45363): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...713710938914817 Turkey: Constantinople papers state 98 firms worth 16.6 million Turkish Pounds (what is actually meant here is the Ottoman Lira) formed during war. United States: French Foreign Legion soldiers march in New York City to help raise money for the Fourth Liberty Loan: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...804432589336577 |
10 September 1918
Western Front
Local fighting in Epehy and Gouzeaucourt sectors. British patrols make progress north-east of Neuve Chapelle. East of Crozat Canal between St. Quentin and La Fere, French make further progress; they occupy Hinancourt and Travecy. Special Order of the Day issued: makes a claim that 75,000 prisoners and 750 guns taken by British in four weeks. Members of Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps growing vegetables in their camp at Rouen, France: © IWM (Q 9303): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...058408165580800 German prisoners being escorted by French cavalry near Roye: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...088609482235904 A wooden dummy tank (modeled after a British tank) built by the Germans at Pontfaverger: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...118810475847680 Eastern Front Fight for Kazan on the Volga; Soviet success. Czechs and Komuch People’s Army retreat to avoid trap. Naval and Overseas Operations North Sea: Coastal submarine UB-83 sunk in Pentland Firth by destroyer*HMS Ophelia‘s depth charges. Political, etc Germany: Kaiser addresses 1500 Krupp workers on only visit to Essen Gusstahlfabrik and gets no response. The Kaiser visits the Krupp works to keep the workers on their toes. Fearing unrest, several divisions are stationed around Berlin: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...Krupp.jpg?ssl=1 |
11 September 1918
Western Front
Cambrai: German counter-attacks at Gouzeaucourt and Moeuvres. British retake 3 villages (Vermand, Attilly and Vendelles ) to south. British rush and hold the "Railway Triangle" position, south-west of La Bassee. Ypres: Belgians gain ground north of Ypres. Meuse: Lieutenant-Colonel Patton instructs 34th Brigade (US) Tank Corps in St Mihiel Sector: ‘American tanks do not surrender … as long as one tank is able to go forward. Its presence will save the lives of hundreds of infantry and kill many Germans …’ France: Belgian King Albert meets Foch at Bombon and agrees to lead Allied Flanders offensive. A German soldier throws a stick grenade: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...rante.jpg?ssl=1 Scottish Red Cross ambulances and drivers at Rouen, France: © IWM (Q 9300): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...149009460514818 Wounded American soldiers receive training in occupation work such as weaving and modeling: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...179229278232576 A camouflaged American machine gun post: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...420805002739712 Eastern Front Ukhtinskaya, Murman front captured by Allied forces. 200 Royal Scots and 2 guns from Archangel repel a 500-strong Red night attack and occupy Priluki on river Dvina (until September 12), occupy five more villages astride river up to 25 miles southeast (September 14-17). Arrival of American troops at Archangel announced. Trans-Caspia: 136 British with 2 guns (arrived September 4) aid repulse of Reds from Kaakha (and on September 18). Naval and Overseas Operations Mozambique: 324 KAR defeat 2000 Masai (revolt vs recruiting) 20 miles west of Narok; talks restore quiet till February 1919. Political, etc Germany: Paul von Hintze instructs appeal to Holland for mediation. United Kingdom: Lieut.-General Sir G.M.W. Macdonogh appointed Adjutant-General, Home Forces, Great Britain (see August 30th). Lloyd George cable thanks Czech legions for service to Allies. United States: Government declines Cuban troop offer due to shipping shortage. Finland: Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (brother-in-law of the Kaiser), announced as candidate for Kingdom of Finland. |
12 September 1918
Western Front
Battle of St. Mihiel begins. First large-scale Allied offensive carried out separately by American Expeditionary Force (AEF) on the Western Front (see 16th September). After 4-hour barrage from 0100 hours by 3,010 guns, 216,000 men of (10 divisions) US First Army (John Pershing), supported by 48,000 French (4 divisions) advance in heavy rain 5 miles on 12-mile front vs Georg Fuchs’ 75,000-strong Detachment C (already withdrawing its 13 divisions); they advance five miles on a twelve-mile front and claim 8,000 PoWs. AEF fires 100,000 round (200t) phosgene; 9000 gassed (50 deaths). Patton and MacArthur meet under fire, former outwalks his tanks (70 of 174 reach startline). The terms “D-day” and “H-hour” are used for the first time. View of the town: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...769346652954624 Allied soldiers and tanks advance towards St. Mihiel, while wounded soldiers and German prisoners make their way back: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...799542898671617 The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line (see October 9th) begin as the series of Allied offensives starting with the Battle of Havrincourt. British success in Cambrai sector, won on 5-mile front by 6 divisions of Julian Byng’s Third Army; Moeuvres, Havrincourt and Trescault taken; over 1,000 prisoners. Western Front, Air: Heavy rain and high wind impedes air work. Greatest Allied air concentration of war support St Mihiel operation with US units; 25 French escadrilles; le Division Aerienne (600 aircraft) and 9 squadrons of Independent Force (c.100 bombers); single Italian, Brazilian, Portuguese, Belgian squadrons. Total 1,483 planes under US Brigade-General Mitchell, bombers and recon planes spearhead Pershing’s advance while fighters maintain local air supremacy (‘barrier’ technique, as pioneered at Verdun). US 3rd Pursuit Group specializes in truck-busting. Rickenbacker shoots down JG2 Fokker (6th kill), but JG2 claims 81 victories for 2 losses (September 12-18). French residents greet Canadian soldiers in the village of Saudemont: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...451004482269184 Civilians leaving Cambrai, France as the fighting again nears the town: © IWM (Q 55406): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...482464471801856 Streets of Thiaucourt, France burn after the Germans were driven out of the town: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...829747071627264 Wounded German soldiers receiving treatment by American soldiers: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...859968336453632 Eastern Front Mikhail Tukachevksi’s Red First Army retakes Simbirsk, Vladimir Lenin cables Leon Trotsky with thanks. Southern Front Artillery activity on whole Struma front. Naval and Overseas Operations Atlantic: The Union-Castle liner Galway Castle is torpedoed by U-82; 154 lives lost when the ship sinks three days later. Mediterranean: Armed boarding steamer Samia sunk by U-boat. Political, etc United Kingdom: Blue Book (Cd. 9146) and (Cd. 8371) , a propagandistic tract issued, describing German rule in south-west Africa and ill-treatment of the natives. United States: The Boston Red Sox wins the 1918 World Series, defeating the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 2 (the Red Sox does not win the World Series for another 86 years): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...603257692352514 13 million additional Americans are required to register for the draft today, as the U.S. government expands military registration to all men age 18 to 45. |
13 September 1918
Western Front
Battle of St. Mihiel: Complete success of Americans in St. Mihiel salient, they make over 13,000 prisoners and 200 guns. Americans close salient at Vigneulles by 0600 hours as US 26th and 1 st Divisions meet (200,000 Americans in reserve). Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) first used in action by US 79th Division. The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Havrincourt: British and French nearing St. Quentin: they take Holnon Wood and Savy respectively. Western Front, Air: Handley Page bombers of No 207 Squadron attack Le Cateau station with 79 bombs (night September 13-14). RAF night raids on 3 German Paris bombing bases (night September 15-16). France: Marshal Ferdinand Foch memo to Premier Georges Clemenceau on ‘The bombardment of the Interior of Germany’ by an ‘inter-allied bombing force’. US gunners aim captured German guns against their former owners at St.Mihiel: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...e-art.jpg?ssl=1 American and French soldiers on patrol shaking hands during the operation to capture St. Mihiel: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...920361675128832 Southern Front Wounded Italian soldier exercising on a stationary bike: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...141795362066432 Political, etc United Kingdom: British Railway strike begins in South Wales. |
14 September 1918
Western Front
Battle of St. Mihiel: Continued German retreat between the Meuse and Moselle, closely followed by French and Americans. French and American troops successfully capture most of St. Mihiel. Captured German prisoners provide entertainment on the piano for American soldiers at St. Mihiel: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...292802322747393 French children with French flags on a car at Saint Mihiel after the town’s recapture by the Allies: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...594796962873344 The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Havrincourt: German counter-attacks at Havrincourt fails. Aisne: French Tenth Army storms Allemant (Legion’s last major action) and Laffaux Mill (Marine batallion) in 5-miles of Hindenburg Line and captures 2,500 PoWs and guns; recaptures Vailly on river (September 16); advances northeast of Soissons (September 17), and repulses five counter-attacks near Allemant (September 20). Western Front, Air: Germany: Largest Handley Page effort (night September 14-15), 40 vs various targets (1 lost). French refugees return to their destroyed town of Villers-Bretonneux: © IWM (Q 11339): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...202198788046848 American troops take cover as tanks advance near Beauquesne: © IWM (Q 57694): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...232398447935491 American troops change the street name “Hindenburg Strasse” in St. Mihiel to “Wilson, U.S.A.”: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...262600469176321 A British soldier walks by the ruined town hall of Combles: © IWM (Q 78747): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...534387773923328 A German bike with wheels made out of springs due to their rubber shortage: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...564591179300866 Southern Front Macedonia: First of 3 RAF pre-final offensive bombing raids (until September 16) on Hudova airfield. Allied final offensive: Battle of the Vardar (until September 25; French: Battle of the Dobropolje until September 17 and Serb Battle of the Moglenitsa) begins with record Balkans 650-gun bombardment from 0800 hours along 80-mile Vardar-Monastir line especially on 6-mile Mountains Sokol-Vetrenik sector. Friedrich von Scholtz wrongly moves Bulgar regiment and 12th Saxon Jäger battalion to north of Monastir, only at 2230 hours discovers the point of attack. Eastern Front/West Asia Border Theater Azerbaijan: British evacuation of Baku begins: British forces in the Southern Caucasus 'Dunsterforce' are forced to abandon the port of Baku to advancing Turkish troops. Eight to ten battalions capture Wolfs Gate. Dunsterforce evacuation ordered at 2000 hours after 180 casualties and 5 RAF sorties. 3 Royal Navy-manned ships take 1,300 British soldiers and 8,000 Armenians to Enzeli (until September 15). Tartars massacre 8,988 Armenians (until September 16). Turks install Khan Khoiski’s Tartar Government on September 16. Oil rigs in Baku in 1918, in which the Germans, British and Turks are interested: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-1918.jpg?ssl=1 Ottoman artillery targeting the city: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...624998526922752 Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Government sends note to US, all belligerents and neutrals suggesting ‘non-committal discussion’ on neutral soil. Allies spurn and Germans irritated. Germany: Germany makes peace offer to Belgium on the basis of no indemnity or reparation, etc. Netherlands: (Listed for yesterday): The largest train disaster in the Netherlands (until the Harmelen train disaster in 1962) occurs when a train derails over a bridge near Weesp, resulting in 41 deaths: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...171996015996928 |
15 September 1918
Western Front
Battle of St. Mihiel: Americans continue advance on 33-mile front; they come within reach of fortress guns of Metz. The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Havrincourt: British capture Maissemy, five miles north-west of St. Quentin. Germans make ineffective counter-attacks south of the Oise. Western Front, Air: German pilots destroy 6 and damage 4 balloons on BEF First and Third Army fronts (RAF manage 3 plus 3). Germans claim 58 Allied aircraft for loss of 12 in air fighting above all but one of the 14 German armies. Germany: Karlsruhe and Mainz heavily bombed by R.A.F. Stuttgart (Bosch and Daimler works) attacked by 9 DH4s of No 55 Squadron; claim 2 defensive fighters shot down. France: last bombing of Paris: 50 Gotha bombers (2 lost) drop 85 bombs (37 casualties). Bulgarian machinge-gunners in action with Maxim Model 1908 machone-guns purchased before the war in UK.: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...etzen.jpg?ssl=1 Construction of Hermann Line behind Army Groups Rupprecht and Boehn begun. German gas response to BEF autumn offensive: 2 million rounds (4,000t) mustard gas expended; 24,363 gassed (540 deaths) until November 11. Flanders: Belgian composer and soldier for duration of war Georges Antoine dies from influenza. A British soldier in the ruins of Bethune: © IWM (Q 11337): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...903223404646401 American soldiers repair shell holes after capturing the area from the Germans, near Montsec: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...934531719733249 A Portuguese soldier holding an improvised gas alarm at Festubert: © IWM (Q 11338): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...964733380255745 Eastern Front Volga: Red Eastern Front (5 armies) total 70,000 men; 225 guns; 1,059 Mgs.. Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: Bulgarian position carried on front of seven miles, and 800 prisoners taken. Eastern Front/West Asia Border Theater Azerbaijan: British forces complete evacuation of Baku. Political, etc France: French losses since 1 July 279,000 soldiers. United States: New York “Congress of Austrian subject peoples” demands Empire’s dismemberment. |
16 September 1918
Western Front
Battle of St. Mihiel: Americans advance along west bank of Moselle. St Mihiel salient fully straightened out for 7,511 US and 597 French casualties (15,000 beds available), 15,000 PoWs and 450 (or 443) guns taken. Germans commit 4 reserve divisions. Metz fortress guns fire (September 15), but c.400,000 Americans now switched 60 miles northwest. Battle of St. Mihiel ends (see 12th). The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Havrincourt: French capture Vailly (north-east of Soissons) and Mt. des Singes. Slight advance by British in neighbourhood of Ploegsteert and east of Ypres. Western Front, Air: France: the overnight last raid on Paris resulted in 6 killed, 15 injured, 2 raiders brought down. RAF claim to destroy 8 German aircraft for loss of 4 over BEF Third Army but, overall, Germans claim 59 Allied planes for loss of 10. Germany: 7 RAF Handley Pages lost on raids on Cologne, Saarbrücken and Trier etc, 6 of them lost to anti-aircraft guns (16,063 rounds fired and 173 searchlights in action, night September 16-17). Soldiers from Britain and its Dominions compete in a log chopping contest near Pont-Remy. The Australian soldier won: © IWM (Q 7076): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...994932952117249 A column of Germans prisoners being escorted by New Zealand soldiers through Havrincourt Wood: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...251629176168448 American soldiers hurl grenades at Austro-Hungarian troops on the Piave Front in Italy: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...280624961703936 Eastern Front Archangel front; successful operation by naval units and Allied troops on the River Dvina; two enemy ships sunk, three guns captured. Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: Franco-Serbian advance continued; the troops advance to a depth of five miles on 16-mile front in region of Dobropolje. Serb Yugoslav Division attacks Mt Kozyak all day (inside Bulgarian 3rd line) and finally takes it, but German 13th Saxon Jäger battalion covers breach. Friedrich von Scholtz cables Paul von Hindenburg, asking for German divisions from Western Front; request forwarded to Austrians, who hedge. Bulgarian 2nd Division withdraws to 3rd line without warning. Italy: Italians makes successful trench raid north and north-west of Mt. Grappa; capture over 300 prisoners and some machine guns. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: 6 RAF D.H.9s raid Deraa for first time; 8 German planes from there cause Arab Army only 2 casualties thanks to B.E.12 (destroyed). Naval and Overseas Operations Great Britain: The world's first flush-decked aircraft carrier, HMS Argus, is commissioned into the Royal Navy. She was the first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight deck that allowed wheeled aircraft to take off and land. Argus in harbor in 1918, painted in dazzle camouflage, with a Revenge-class battleship in the background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_A...rgus_(1917).jpg Monitor H.M.S. Glatton sunk by explosion in Dover harbor. Channel: Coastal submarine UB-103, sighted by British blimp SS 21 (Pilot US Ensign NJ Learned), sunk by several Royal Navy drifters’ depth charges off Cap Gris Nez. An SS class airship with twin ventral fins and a BE2c-type car for the pilot: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...rship.jpg?ssl=1 Political, etc Germany: Count Georg von Hertling tells Conservative leader that Austrian peace move has prejudiced Dutch mediation. Russia: Vladimir Lenin recovers from gunshots, attends meetings (until September 17), but moves to Gorki (September 24 or 25) to convalesced until mid-October. United Kingdom: Balfour calls Austro-German offers unacceptable. King George V cables President Wilson with congratulations on St Mihiel salient removal. Bulgaria: Tsar Ferdinand replies to General Lukov peacefeeler suggestion ‘Go out and get killed in your present lines’. Japan: Recognition by Japan of Czechoslovakia as belligerent Allies. United States: President Woodrow Wilson replies to the Austrian Note by rejecting suggestion for a peace conference (see 15th, and October 4th). A map in front of the New York Public Library displays the “Czechoslovak Nation” in the territory of Austria-Hungary: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...312012213645313 |
17 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Havrincourt: Battle peters out in general fighting. British make local progress north-west of St. Quentin and in the north near Ploegsteert. Localized fighting including British 55th Division capture of Canteleux Trench. Germans counter-attack at Moeuvres. French gain ground north-east of Soissons, capture several strong points. Americans consolidate their line between the Meuse heights and the Moselle. Western Front, Air: “Good” results in bombing attacks by R.A.F. on German objectives. Australian soldiers carrying a dummy tank used to fool aerial reconnaissance: © E AUS 4938: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...598901638365184 A sign in Amiens warns British soldiers not to loot French property: © IWM (Q 23590): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...629109380702209 British cavalrymen stop in the Authie River to water their horses: © IWM (Q 9311): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...659305462784000 A French refugee family returns to the destroyed streets of Amiens: © IWM (Q 11341): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...689531995639810 Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: The Franco-Serbian advance continues; breakthrough is now 6 miles deep and 20 miles wide. General Ruser orders his Bulgarian 2nd Division to retreat from 3rd line behind river Cherna leaving 5-mile gap for Serbs to reach river. Two Bulgarian 3rd Division regiments mutiny. Frriedrich von Scholtz orders general retreat behind river Belasnica. Italy: Italians repulse strong counter-attacks north of Mt. Grappa. After visit to Paris Diaz tells Prime Minister Orlando no premature autumn offensive until clear Allied success on Western Front. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: Arab Army captures Tell Arar bridge north of Deraa. Lawrence gets slight bomb splinter arm wound; 350 Arab regulars then capture station 5 miles west of Deraa, drawing in reserve German troops from Afuleh. Palestine: Desert Mounted Corps secretly concentrated in Plain of Sharon, betrayed by Indian Muslim sergeant deserter, but Otto Liman von Sanders believes him to be a plant. Persia: Lionel Dunsterville recalled, GOC 14th Division William Thomson replaces in command ‘Norper Force’, Enzeli to be held. Commodore David Norris says Caspian Flotilla possible, plans 12 ships (September 27), first ready October 6. Naval and Overseas Operations Great Britain: HMS Glatton destroyed in yesterday’s fire & scuttling. 60 sailors are killed in the incident: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...378720953638912 Political, etc United States: Women deliver heavy ice blocks. Work previously done by men are now being done by women as more soldiers go to the front: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...342208673292288 |
18 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Epéhy: Following the success at Havrincourt, three corps of the British Fourth Army, one corps of the British Third Army and units of the French First Army attacked. The left and right wings of the advance progressed with difficulty, but the two Australian divisions in the centre of the advance were successful in achieving an advance of three miles. Great Australian (5th/6th Australian Infantry Brigades) advance on 16-mile front (north-west of St. Quentin, extending from Holnon Wood to Gouzeaucourt; over 6,000 prisoners and a number of guns captured. The success of this attack showed to the Allies that the German defense, even on the fortified Hindenburg Line positions, was not impossible to break through. An Australian battery of 4,5-inch field howitzers. The high elevation of the short barrels enabled their shells to fall almost vertically into enemy earthworks: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...itzen.jpg?ssl=1 French, in liaison with British, capture Savy Wood and Fontaine-les-Cleres. Germans continue strong counter-attacks north and south of Moeuvres, with some success. Western Front, Air: Rain and clouds restrict flying over Somme (until September 19), both sides’ aircraft losses much lower (September 17-20). Members of the Maori Pioneer Battalion help French peasants with the harvest: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...719724579741696 The Amiens Gun, a large German 28-cm railway gun, on display in Paris after the gun was captured by Australian troops: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...961297494138880 Eastern Front Murmansk front: Karelians defeat German-led forces from Finland at Ukhtinskaya and drive them back over the border. Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: Bulgarians in full retreat before French, Serbians and Yugoslavs; Serbian cavalry reaches Polosko; communication with Prilep (Bulgarian advanced base) cut. Battle of Monastir-Doiran (see 24th), (including Battle of Doiran, 1918), begins (see 19th): Anglo-Greeks attack in neighborhood of Lake Doiran and take the town. Bulgarian 9th Division with 122 guns, British enter Doiran town and take Petit Couronne with 777 PoWs but British 65th brigade (22nd Division) has only 200 survivors (30 poisoned by British gas) from attempt to storm Grand Couronne, (thrice-wounded commander 7th South Wales Borderers Lieutenant-Colonel Burges awarded Victoria Cross). Greek losses 1,232 men, British failure east of lake (900 Anglo-Greek casualties) due to grass wildfire started by Bulgarian artillery. Salonika: RAF sends 372 calls for artillery fire until September 19, only 1 aircraft lost and shoots down 2 aircraft. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: Arab force surrounds Dera'a and blows up railway junction. Palestine: On Allenby’s east flank 53rd Division storms across Wadi-es-Samieh and advances 7 miles (night September 18-19). Siberia: Blagovyeschensk occupied by Japanese forces (see 5th). Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Complete failure of the Austro-Hungarian peace offer, which is rejected by Great Britain, France, U.S.A. and Belgium in turn. Germany: General Erich Ludendorff warns Admiral Maximilian Scheer of plans for abandoning Flanders coast. |
19 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Further British and French gains in direction of St. Quentin; heavy fighting round Gouzeaucourt and Moeuvres, all Germans attacks finally repulsed. British capture Lempire and the French advance beyond Contescourt; they capture Essigny le Grand at end of the day. French troops resting in a trench near the village of Margival: © IWM (Q 78258): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...992758804840449 A wounded soldier (from a Bantam unit) returns from the front near Épehy: © IWM (Q 11329): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...022956107530240 A British officer instructs American soldiers on operating a machine gun in France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...053175749095425 Allied troops win the Battle of Épehy, with 11,750 German prisoners captured. A wounded British soldier and German prisoner share a cigarette near Épehy: © IWM (Q 11538): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...083372321918978 Australian soldiers advancing towards the “Hindenburg Line” near Le Verguier: © IWM (E(AUS) 3260): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...098469639520256 American Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur sitting in a chair at a French chateau after the Allies recaptured it from the Germans: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...360194699874304 American soldiers testing a captured German telephone set in St. Mihiel: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...391630958022656 An American warehouse in Paris destroyed by a German air raid: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...421828357115904 Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: One source claims: Bulgarian rout continues; Serbians cross the Cherna and march on Prilep; over 5,000 prisoners claimed. Another source states: Renewed Anglo-Greek attack fails in 6 bloody hours as some British caught in own shellfire. Milne tells d’Esperey British can do no more. Bulgarian First Army Commander General Nerezov proposes counter-offensive to take Salonika but German-Bulgar (Steuben and Todorov) Prilep conference decides on gradual withdrawal prior to cutting off Allied salient. Franco-Greek attack storms Mt Dzena (7,000ft). Battle of Monastir-Doiran: Battle of Doiran: Battle of Doiran, 1918, ends (see 18th and 22nd). Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: Major Thomas Lawrence destroys Turk plane on ground and engages train in his armored car. Palestine: Battles of Megiddo (Sharon and Nablus) begin (see 23rd and 25th). General Allenby, in the form of Bulfin’s XXI Corps (35,000 men), advances on 16-mile front between Rafat and the sea behind 385-gun barrage; pierces Turkish lines. Desert Mounted Corps follows by 0700 hours, claims 7,000 PoWs and 100 guns in 22-mile ride.Infantry reach railway junction of Tull Keram, cavalry push forward east and north-east to cut off enemy retreat. 3,000 prisoners claimed by British. Turkish Eighth Army headquarter at Tulkarm falls to 60th Division after 18-mile march. Battle of Megiddo begins as Allied troops attack Ottoman positions to drive them out of Palestine. Supplies moving up to the frontlines, while wounded soldiers are carried away on camels: © Q 12973: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...327451387547648 British cavalry is advancing through Palestine: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...stina.jpg?ssl=1 Egyptian Labour Corps 100,000 strong in 99 coys and 30 camps in Palestine. RAF strike Tulkarm-Nablus road, 2 army headquarters, telephone exchanges and 3 airfields. No 113 Squadron twice smokescreens XXI Corps’ advance. Jenin airfield captured on September 28 with 11 burnt German aircraft. Political, etc Belgium: Government formally rejects German peace offer. United States: Mr. John W Davis appointed U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. (although another source says his appointment wasn’t until 21 November). |
20 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: British line pushed forward in the Lempire-Epehy sector; recapture of Moeuvres completed. North-west of La Bassee British front advanced. French repulse five attacks against their new positions near Allemant (north of the Aisne). They advance east of Essigny le Grand. A British convoy passes by a destroyed British tank near Brie: © IWM (Q 23602): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...693623446491137 Eastern Front Volga: Reported set-back of Czechoslovaks on the Volga; they are driven from Volsk, Simbirsk and Kazan by Bolshevist and German forces. Don: Krasnov’s 20 Cossack regiments attack again, breaking Red South Front. Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: Bulgarian First Army receives order to retreat in ‘a stunned silence’. Bombs and leaflets dropped on Constantinople by R.A.F. in co-operation with Greek Navy. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Palestine: Battles of Megiddo (Sharon and Nablus) (see 23rd and 25th): Nazareth and Beisan occupied by British cavalry (see 19th). 2nd Indian Lancers seize Musmus Pass and their charge wipes out 516 Turks. Liman (in pyjamas) just escapes 13th Cavalry Brigade’s swoop on Nazareth (1,250 PoWs). 4th Cavalry Division seizes Jordan crossings after 70-mile ride in 34 hours. 3rd ALH Brigade captures Jenin with 1,869 PoWs. Allenby sees Lawrence at GHQ after latter’s RAF Bristol Fighter flight from Azrak. Naval and Overseas Operations Adriatic: Austrian coastal submarine U-47 (ex-German UB-47) sinks French submarine Circe (1 survivor) off Albania. Ex-UB-47 is put into service as U-47 on 4 July 1916 in Pola: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...9/U47.jpg?ssl=1 Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Vienna Neue Freie Presse mentions rumors of coming Italian offensive. Russia: SOVNARKOM repudiates Russo-Turkish Treaty from March 3, 1918. United States: French Foreign Legion in New York City to promote the Fourth Liberty Loan drive: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...452027450773504 |
21 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Cambrai: British 12th and 18th Divisions (with 9 tanks) capture Le Petit Priel farm, east of Epehy. 119 Australians of 1st Battalion refuse to attack and go to rear. British encounter stubborn resistance but gain ground east of Epehy. British line improved at Moeuvres. Further French gains south of St. Quentin, they take Benay. British Whippet tanks captured by the Germans and then later recaptured by the British near Méaulte: © IWM (Q 23596): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...723813052624896 French Chasseurs on the wharf of Dundee: © IWM (Q 102989): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...754018022486016 American soldiers with gas masks at Essey, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...784234694434817 Australian troops playing a game of rugby during a rest from fighting at Barleux: © IWM (E(AUS) 3355): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...814416859877376 A German war cemetery in St. Mihiel after its capture by the Allies: © IWM (Q 78176): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...147870545817603 An Australian field bakery in Rouen, France filled with bread to be delivered to troops: © IWM (E(AUS) 3462): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...178076304277506 Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: Franco-Serbian troops pursue Bulgarians past Kavadar and threaten Babuna pass. They reach the Vardar near Demirkapu and Negotin. Bulgarians begin destroying their stores and war material preparatory to a retreat, confirmed by 2 RAF D.H.9 observers report 500 Bulgarian wagons and lorries in retreat at 1040 hours. Only 5,000 Bulgarian PoWs so far. RAF (45 serviceable planes) bomb Bulgarians fleeing through Kosturino defile to Lyumnitas, at least 700 killed, 300 wagons destroyed; then attack Kryesna Pass and block Kresni defile (September 28-29). Total of 782 bombs dropped until September 29. The Prince of Wales visiting an Italian airfield with an Italian S.I.A.9 reconnaissance/light bomber: © Q 68809: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...769115176493057 Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: East of Jordan the Hejaz Arabs cut the Damascus railway in numerous places. Palestine: Battles of Megiddo (Sharon and Nablus) (see 23rd and 25th): Advance of British Infantry in Palestine; they reach Shechem and Samaria, and drive Turks into arms of cavalry operating southward from Jenin and Beisan, claim 18,000 prisoners taken. Royal Air Force airplanes operating in support of Generally Allenby's campaign in Palestine attack and destroy the retreating Turkish 7th Army at Wadi el Far'a. T.E. Lawrence wrote of this attack: "It was the RAF which had converted the Turkish retreat into a rout, which had abolished their telephone and telegraph connections, had blocked their lorry columns, scattered their infantry units". 9 1/4t bombs and 56,000 MG rounds delivered in over 84 sorties (2 aircraft lost). British planes strafing the Turkish column in Palestine: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...stine.jpg?ssl=1 Mopping up (until September 24) yields 87 guns, 55 lorries and 842 wagons. Australian cavalry enters Nablus, Palestine while locals look on after the town was captured from the Ottomans: © IWM (Q 12331): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...086200272289792 Dozens of Ottoman and German guns taken by the British after capturing Nablus, Palestine: © IWM (Q 12343): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...056005632929792 Nazareth is also captured by the British. British cavalry in the town at Mary’s Well: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...116412359901184 Political, etc United Kingdom: Sir M. de Bunsen returns from successful mission to South America. War Minister warns Haig against heavy casualties due to poor recruiting at home, but the Field Marshal resolves to continue planned offensive. |
22 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: South of St. Quentin French reach outskirts of Vendeul and gain ground east of Sancy. Australian NCO tests a batch of bread before they are sent to the troops: © IWM (E(AUS) 3489): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...501443305623552 War correspondents inside a trench at Langewaede, Belgium: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...531646530715649 Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: “Great” Allied victory in Balkans; “Brilliant” Serbian attack; Bulgarians retreat on 100-mile front, from Monastir to Lake Doiran. Allies cut Vardar railway and line from Prilep to Gradsko. They advance on Babuna Pass. After Prilep-Gradsko rail line cut, d’Esperey orders cavalry pursuit. Doiran occupied by British forces (see 19th and December 11th, 1915). On the Balkan front, French cavalry brings German prisoners of war to the rear: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...de-KG.jpg?ssl=1 Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: Two Bristol Fighters and 1 D.H.9 reinforce Arab Army east of Deraa, destroy 2 German two-seaters and a Pfalz scout. Handley Page joins on September 23 with fuel and spares and bombs Deraa rail station. West of Jordan. RAF drop 411 bombs and fire 30,000 MG rounds at Turkish fugitives. A German AEG C.IV reconnaissance aircraft in Palestine: © IWM (Q 60316): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...410834721067008 Palestine: Battles of Megiddo (Sharon and Nablus) (see 23rd and 25th): NZ Mounted Brigade seizes Jisr-ed-Damieh Jordan bridge with 786 PoWs. British seize passages of Jordan north of Dead Sea and close enemy's last means of escape. Total of approximately 25,000 prisoners and 260 guns taken in the entire battle. The 7th and 8th Turkish armies are virtually wiped out. Djemal Kuchuk belatedly orders Fourth Army retreat east of Jordan while Colonel Oppen’s 2,000 Asia Corps (700 Germans) survivors ford Jordan (night September 22-23). French cavalrymen of the Chasseurs d’Afrique in northern Palestine at the Battle of Sharon: © IWM (Q 12325): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...441044979953669 British troops lead Ottoman prisoners captured at the Battle of Sharon in northern Palestine: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...471245780701187 |
23 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Series of local battles along front; Germans make stubborn resistance round Epehy. French advance their line east of St. Quentin Canal; they reach the Oise, three miles north of La Fere. Actions round Haumont on American sector (Meuse-Argonne). Western Front, Air: Thirteen German bombers raid RAF Marquise depot, destroy or damage 99 aircraft (172 casualties; night September 23-24). A funeral ceremony for an American soldier at La Rochelle, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...834885843095554 Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: French Cavalry Brigade Jouinot-Gambetta begins 57-mile 6-day advance from Novak, C-in-C gives Uskub (Skopje) as their objective. Prilep taken by French forces (see November 16th, 1915). Bulgarians stream northward toward Veles pursued by Allied troops. Serbians in neighborhood of Demir Kapu are well north of the Vardar. British advance north of Lake Doiran and their cavalry pursue Bulgarians along road to Strumitsa. Serbian soldiers in the town of Prilep: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...774481175601152 Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: East of the Jordan, Colonial and Jewish troops pursue Turkish 4th Army in retreat towards Amman on the coast. Palestine: Battles of Megiddo (Sharon and Nablus) (see 23rd and 25th): Haifa, Acre, and Es Salt occupied by British forces (see 19th). Haul includes 889 PoWs and 18 guns. Liman von Sanders arrives in Damascus (stay until September 29), sends staff to Aleppo on September 25. Ma'an (on Hejaz Railway) evacuated by the Turkish garrison (see 29th). TE Lawrence war not the only officer in the Middle East to ‘go native’. Here a British Lieutenant is in full Arab regalia in 1918: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...idung.jpg?ssl=1 Indian cavalry of the Jodhpore and Mysore Lancers march through Haifa after the city’s capture from the Ottomans: © IWM (Q 12335): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...804686749437953 Naval and Overseas Operations America submarine R-27 being launched: © IWM (Q 68441): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...865085079429120 Political, etc United States: Women of Boston collecting peach stones, which are used in the manufacture of gas masks: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...895281941696512 |
24 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Sharp local fighting renewed in neighborhood of Selency. Anglo-French attack on 4-mile front east of Vermand to within 2 miles of St Quentin. British 1st and 6th Divisions with 20 tanks attack Quadrilateral and Fresnoy (northwest of St Quentin); French capture 2 villages to west. Surprise attack by Germans near Moeuvres and Epehy are repulsed. Artillery actions in French sector. BEF’s best week of war for taking PoWs, with 30,441 claimed (until September 30). British soldiers bring in exhausted, wounded and demoralized German PoWs: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...de-kg.jpg?ssl=1 Western Front, Air: U.S. Navy pilot David Sinton Ingalls becomes the first US Navy ace (he is also the only US Navy ace in WWI): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...228756800516097 Southern Front Macedonia: Battle of the Vardar/Battle of the Dobropolje/Battle of the Moglenitsa: Serbians in posession of Babuna Pass, they capture Veles and Ishtip, press on to Uskub. British cross Bulgarian frontier at Kosturino. Over 10,000 prisoners and 200 guns claimed. End of battle of the Vardar. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Palestine: Battles of Megiddo (Sharon and Nablus) (see 23rd and 25th): British cavalry reach Sea of Galilee in pursuit of Turks, who are fleeing towards Damascus. East of Jordan British cavalry occupy Amman on Hejaz railway. Total of prisoners 45,000 and 265 guns. Australian troops guard a captured German airplane at Jenin aerodrome: © IWM (Q 12345): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...138136815718401 A British armoured car at the Battle of Megiddo in northern Palestine: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...168338031738881 Political, etc Germany: OHL informs Berlin Govt that armistice talks inevitable. Kaiser visits Kiel U-boat School, speaks to 400 U-boat officers and minelayer crews. France: 4th War Loan authorized. United Kingdom: Army educational scheme issued. Churchill first meets S Sassoon. Women workers painting smoke shells at a factory in Lancashire: © IWM (Q 28241): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...198547531452416 Italy: Yugoslav State recognized by Italy as independent. Bulgaria: Bulgaria proposes an Armistice, but General Franchet d'Esperey, (Commander-in-Chief of Allied forces) declines any suspension of hostilities. United States: Girl Scouts and Camp Fire Girls in Cincinnati, Ohio scatter flowers in advance of soldiers leaving for the front: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...910391921881088 |
25 September 1918
Western Front
Western Front, Air: Rickenbacker awarded Medal of Honor; posthumous award to Texas ‘balloon-buster’ Lieutenant Frank Luke, 29 (killed on September 19 after 14 victories in 8 days, including 3 aircraft and 2 balloons just on September 18). Germans claim 41 Allied aircraft for loss of 13 (including on September 24). Germany: 4 D.H.9s of No 110 Squadron lost in raid on Frankfurt (bombed from 17,000ft) to 50 fighters. US ace Edward ‘Eddie’ Rickenbacker joined and later led the elite 94th ‘Hat in the Ring’ Squadron in 1918: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...acker.jpg?ssl=1 Italian Caproni bomber operated by the Americans taking off at Souilly: © IWM (Q 65568): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...500526887514112 Southern Front Serbia: French and Serbs capture vital Bulgarian supply centre of Gradsko on the Vardar with 19 guns and 40 locomotives; General Pruneau of 17th Colonial Division ‘My poilus have their clothes in rags and most … are barefooted’ (September 26). Cavalry Brigade Jouinot-Gambetta reaches Babuna Pass and strikes north through mountains for Uskub covering 11 miles on September 26. British XVI Corps cross Bulgar frontier and enter Kosturino. Bulgarian deserters try to seize GHQ at Kurstendil and commandeer trains to go home, GHQ moves to Sofia on September 27. Eastern Front/West Asia Border Theater Trans-Jordan: 2,750 Anzac soldiers capture Amman with 2,563 PoWs and 10 guns. 400 Australian Light Horse (78 casualties) storm Semakh rail station south of Lake Galilee with 364 PoWs (including c.150 Germans) and 1 gun. Tiberias surrenders. EEF total haul since September 19 are 45,000 PoWs and 260 guns. Palestine: Battles of Megiddo (Sharon and Nablus) (see 23rd and 25th): Battles of Megiddo end (see 19th). Political, etc United Kingdom: Railway strike, which began in South Wales, spreads to other lines; Great Western, Midland and London and South Western affected. ‘Italy’s Day’in London. Bulgaria: Tsar Ferdinand orders Stamboliski freed to calm mutineers in Sofia; 1,500 casualties as loyal cadets and German 217th Division from Odessa and Varna disperse them. United States: Soldiers at Camp Dix, New Jersey gargling with salt water to protect them from the Spanish Flu, which is spreading across army camps: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...258978061062144 |
26 September 1918
Western Front
Allied Meuse-Argonne Offensive begins. Battle of Champagne and Argonne begins (see October 15th): Great Franco-American attack on 40-mile front, from middle of Champagne to the Meuse. French under General Henri Gouraud, Americans under General John Pershing. After 3 hour barrage 37 Franco-American divisions attack at 0530 hours on 40-mile front from Champagne to Meuse with 705 tanks available, average advance 3 miles. AEF gas effort: 800 million rounds (1600t) mustard gas and phosgene; 10,600 gassed (278 deaths; until November 11). Both armies advance several miles, capture Montfaucon, Varennes and many villages. Western Front, Air: William Mitchell’s 842 US aircraft vs 302 German for Meuse-Argonne Offensive (until November 11), but weather restricts close support. Germans claim 63 Allied aircraft for loss of 3. Germany: Four Handley Pages of No 216 Squadron damage railways and bridge at Metz-Sablon causing delays and dislocation for 24 hours. US soldiers with French FT-17 tanks march into their deployment areas in the Meuse-Argonne sector: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-FT17.jpg?ssl=1 Captured German prisoners being led down a French trench in the Marne region: © IWM (Q 70062): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...530734919286784 American soldiers with a “camouflaged” railway gun: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...621371282731009 Columns of German prisoners captured by the Americans during the Battle of St. Mihiel: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...636448249565189 American troops launch the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which is the largest offensive in US history, involving 1.2 million soldiers. A gun crew of the 23rd Infantry: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...850320470396928 A wounded American soldier receiving treatment near Varennes-en-Argonne: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...880528544018432 American artillerymen loading a 14-inch gun on the Argonne front: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...940922864226306 Renault FT-17 tanks, operated by the Americans, advancing in the Argonne Forest: © IWM (Q 58691): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...971122754801665 Southern Front General fighting in Serbia/Bulgaria: British enter Strumitsa. Serbian cavalry, striking east from Ishtip, capture Kochana. Bulgarians make hard fight to retain Uskub. Bulgarian capital Sofia still 130 miles and five mountains ranges to north. Red Cross distributing cigarettes to Italian soldiers. Austro-Hungarian troops have control of the mountain in the background: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...910726215880705 Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: 10th Cavalry Brigade at Irbid fails vs Turkish Fourth Army flank guard. Arab Army (3,000 men) crosses Hejaz Railway north of Deraa (Colonel Oppen’s 700 Germans reach, railed to Riyak on September 27), takes 2 stations and over 600 PoWs. View of the town of Amman, future capital of Jordan: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...560936684670976 Palestine: Edmund Allenby meets corps commanders at Jenin, orders advance on Damascus. Naval and Overseas Operations USCGC Tampa sunk on convoy duty (117 lost). German submarine U-156, which sank 44 ships during its career and participated in the Attack on New Orleans (the only attack on the American mainland in the war), hits a mine and sinks, resulting in the deaths of all 77 crew. Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Count Istvan Tisza's Mission to Bosnia a complete failure. United Kingdom: Railway strike in England ended. Bulgaria: North of Kosturino at 0800 hours (95°F in shade) Derbyshire Yeomanry meets Bulgarian car with white flag and Todorov letter to Milne. BULGARIA REQUESTS ARMISTICE. |
27 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Canal du Nord (27 September - 1 October 1918) The British First Army was to cross the canal continuing the advance following on from the Battle of the Drocourt-Quéant Line and advance towards Cambrai. This sector extended from Sauchy l'Estrees to Gouzeaucourt. So-called Hindenburg Line pierced. Beaucamp, Graincourt, etc., taken; Canadians capture Bourlon Wood. 10,000 PoWs and 200 guns claimed. Rupprecht writes that peace must be made in winter. US 106th Regiment (27th Division) loses 1,540 of 2,000 men attacking three outposts of Siegfried Line (actual name of “Hindenburg Line”). Canadian soldiers with captured Germans watch the fighting on the Canal du Nord: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-Nord.jpg?ssl=1 Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Further Franco-American advance between Reims and Verdun, converging move on the Argonne. Franco-American advance slows: Montfaucon behind Michel Stellung and Varennes (Crown Prince’s 1916 Verdun observation point) captured, 3,000 prisoners claimed. Reported from Christiana that British flag hoisted over (destroyed) German property at Spitsbergen. Western Front, Air: 57 RAF squadrons with 1.058 aircraft support BEF assault; 6 fighter squdrons make low-lying attacks using 70t bombs and 26,000 MG rounds; 3 German airfields attacked. Germans claim 44 Allied aircraft for loss of 10. Handley Pages drop 6t bombs on Busigny rail junction (night September 27-28). American artillery moves up to the front at dawn near Mœuvre for the Arras and Cambrai campaign: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...183805047410689 British, Canadian, and New Zealand troops attack German positions on the Canal du Nord. British infantry moving up during the battle: © IWM (Q 9326): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...229105350942720 Eastern Front North Russia: Allied Archangel advance blocked by far larger Red force at Nizhne-Toimski after 60-mile push, retreat to Borok and dig in until September 28. Southern Russia: Josef Stalin signals Leon Trotsky for 30,000 rifles, 150 MGs and 50 guns or else retirement east of Volga. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: Arab Army cuts in at Sheikh Saad, claims 2,000 PoWs and wipes out 2,000 Turks in revenge for Tafas village massacre. Palestine: Australian Mounted Division begins ride for Damascus by crossing Jordan. Political, etc United States: Broadway actresses from the “Fiddlers Three” perform for American sailors while sitting on a gun of the USS Charleston: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...001337874894848 |
28 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Canal du Nord (27 September-1 October 1918): Messines retaken by British forces (see April 10th). Italians force crossing of the Aisne east of Conde. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Further Franco-American progress; General Mangin advances in Champagne and on the Aisne. Germans retire to the Ailette. American line advanced to Exermont and Brieulles, many villages taken. The Allied Flanders Advance begins with the Battle of the Flanders Peaks (see October 10th) and the Fifth Battle of Ypres 1918 (see November 10th, 1917, and October 2nd, 1918) (Other sources count this as the Fourth Battle of Ypres (until October 2): Allied Flanders Army Group (King Albert, CoS General Degoutte) of 28 divisions with 2,550 guns (12 Belgian with 170,000 men, 10 BEF, 6 French divisions). Successful Anglo-Belgian attack after 3-hour barrage advances on 23-mile front from Dixmude to Ploegsteert under King Albert; Houthhulst Forest captured and claim over 4,000 prisoners, Houthulst Forest shows 4-mile advance; Wytschaete captured. Belgian 4th Carabineers storm Passchendaele. Long range bombardment of Dunkirk. Western Front, Air: Ernst Udet destroys 2 US-crewed DH and receives bullet graze. Lieutenant F Rumey (45 victories) of Jasta 4 killed in action. Bogohl 3 and other German units drop 167,154lb bombs. Most crews carry out 3 sorties (night September 28/29). RAF loss of 424 men since September 15 severest of war, average 15.5 per 100 planes flown (1,404 serviceable). 24 RAF squadrons support final Allied advance, helped by radio telephone. 6 main rail targets attacked, 27 aircraft lost in low-flying attacks. German prisoners carrying a wounded soldier follow a British tank during the Battle of Canal du Nord: © IWM (Q 9345): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...289559263719424 Damaged town of Varennes, France on the River Aire: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...319761993887744 Panorama of Montfaucon, France after its capture by the American Army from the Germans: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...349996860776450 A British soldier guarding German prisoners at Bapaume: © IWM (Q 9339): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...591498971058177 American artillerymen exchanging fire with German artillery at Bois du Fays. A German shell explode in the background: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...621702095458304 British troops underneath a damaged bridge near Mœuvres: © IWM (Q 9640): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...651943358713856 Southern Front Austro-Hungarian attack in Val Giudicaria (Dolomites) repulsed. Salonika: Armistice talks begin at 1600 hours including General Lukov and Bulgarian Finance Minister who hope for neutral status but d’Esperey unyielding. Serbia: French 57th Division occupies Ochrid. Bulgarian soldiers in Allied captivity. Bulgaria’s withdrawal from the war causes the entire Balkan front of the Central Powers to collapse: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...ngene.jpg?ssl=1 Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: British troops under General Allenby cross the Upper Jordan at Jisr Benat Yakub and effect a junction with Arab forces near Deraa. British cavalry at El Kuneitra, 40 miles from Damascus. RAF bomb Damascus airfield from new Kuneitra landing ground, supplied with fuel by air. Aircraft land at Damascus on October 1. Naval and Overseas Operations Belgian Coast: British ships and aeroplanes co-operate in attack on Zeebrugge. Eleven German destroyers evacuate port on September 30 and reach Germany thanks to moonless nights, shoals and rough weather which thwart Harwich Force. Britain: Swan Hunter yard launches first fabricated ‘straight line’ ship SS War Climax, 31 weeks from laying keel. Mozambique: Paul von Lettow recrosses river Rovuma into German East Africa, opposite Nagwamira (8 hippos shot for meat to celebrate return). Kartucol reaches river Lugenda. Political, etc Between Warring Powers: Germany refuses British proposal re: Prisoners agreement. Japan: Baron Goto Shinpei, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, resigns (see 29th, and April 22nd). |
29 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Canal du Nord (27 September-1 October 1918): Dixmude retaken by Belgian forces (see November 10th, 1914). The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of the St. Quentin Canal: British right wing (Fourth Army, 17 divisions) and French left (First Army, 14 divisions) Messines, Gheluvelt and other places occupied. Allies reach Roulers-Menin road. British reach outskirts of Cambrai and break Hindenburg Line on a 6-mile front. 22,000 prisoners claimed in three days. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): General Charles Mangin reaches the Ailette. The Allied Flanders Advance: Battle of the Flanders Peaks (see October 10th) and the Fifth Battle of Ypres 1918 (see November 10th, 1917, and October 2nd, 1918): Passchendaele retaken by Allied forces. Western Front, Air: 337 RAF aircraft (17 squadrons) support BEF Fourth Army’s rupture of the Hindenburg Line although smoke and mist hampers them; 5 German balloons shot down, 6 fighters for loss of 3 including fight between 20 German and 29 RAF fighters, although Germans concede only 2 losses for 8 Allied. Allied soldiers prepare to go forward with the tanks near Bellicourt to assault the Hindenburg Line: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...976598174994432 British soldiers near Bellicourt as a German shell explodes in front of them: © IWM (Q 9349): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...021951918084096 German prisoners carrying wounded soldiers pass by Allied tanks near Bellicourt: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...097466716803072 Southern Front With Bulgaria out of the war, Allied nations on the Macedonian Front begin the “liberation” of Serbia, Albania, and Montenegro. Serbia: Serbs close to Bulgarian frontier south of Kustendil and storm Bulgarian position, 11 miles north-east of Veles. French cavalry enter Uskub (Skopje). Albania: Severe fighting with Austro-Hungarian rearguards in Albania. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Trans-Jordan: Cavalry and car movement towards Damascus continues. 10,000 Turks, part of 2nd corps, 4th army, between Ma’an and Amman, surrender at Ziza (17 miles south of Amman). Palestine: The small remaining Turkish garrison of Ma'an surrenders near Amman (Palestine) (see 23rd). Naval and Overseas Operations North Sea: Coastal submarine UB-115 (oil patch sighted by rigid airship R.29) sunk off Sunderland by depth charges from several Royal Navy destroyers (including HMS Ouse) and trawlers. Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Czechoslovak resolution for liberty proclaimed at Prague. United Kingdom: The Planets, Op. 32, the orchestral suite by English composer Gustav Holst, premiers in London. Gustav Holst: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...082407017984001 Bulgaria: ARMISTICE BETWEEN BULGARIA AND ENTENTE SIGNED. https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...945042819600385 Japan: Takashi Hara succeeds Count Terauchi as Japanese Prime Minister (see October 9th, 1916). Count Yasuya Uchida appointed Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (see 28th). Lieut.-General Kenichi Oshima, Japanese Minister for War, resigns (see 30th, and March 30th, 1916). |
30 September 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Canal du Nord (27 September-1 October 1918): Belgians threaten Roulers. The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of the St. Quentin Canal: The German Army's primary defensive line, the Hindenburg Line, is breached by Franco-British troops, with the help of substantial air support. Important progress on St. Quentin-Cambrai sector, Thorigny-Guistain-Rumilly taken. Cambrai fired by Germans. British in Cambrai outskirts; six villages captured. German incendiarists at work. BEF first uses mustard gas, vs so-called Hindenburg Line. Ferdinand Foch, back from Flanders sees Douglas Haig at Arras. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): General Gouraud, on 20-mile front in Champagne takes Ste. Marie-a-Py, etc. General Mangin progresses on Aisne and Vesle. AEF heavily engaged as its ill-organized motor and horse transport becomes increasingly traffic-jammed. Allied maximum advance now 8 miles with 18,000 PoWs and 200 guns. German September losses 236,200 men. Total 160 Allied divisions (+57 in reserve) vs 113 German front-line divisions (+84 in reserve), but only 59 German divisions classed as ‘fit’. British Army adopts 24-hour clock (French Army throughout) from midnight September 30-October 1. During September 10 more German divisions disbanded (3 more early October) to strengthen depleted remainder. Lack of horses reducing medium batteries from 4 guns to 3. The Allied Flanders Advance: Battle of the Flanders Peaks (see October 10th) and the Fifth Battle of Ypres 1918 (see November 10th, 1917, and October 2nd, 1918): British progress north of Neuve Chapelle., troops 2 miles away from Menin. Western Front, Air: During September German airmen make 130 parachute descents as new Heinecke equipment comes into general use. RAF September loss (excluding IAF) a record 235 aircraft (French 59). German loss 115 aircraft (excluding September 21-23 and 30). Jasta Boelcke scores its monthly record of 46 kills for loss of 2 pilots. Wounded Canadian soldiers on the Western Front: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...369242185117696 American nurse gives a wounded African American soldier chocolate: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...399508006023168 German Field Marshal von Hindenburg and General Ludendorff at a train station in Brussels: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...414588294631425 Eastern Front Canadian contingent lands at Archangel to join Allied Expeditionary Force (see August 2nd). Southern Front Hostilities between Bulgaria and Entente Powers cease at 12 noon, conceding Allied occupation of key points and use of railways vs remaining Central Powers; Bulgarian Army to be reduced to 3 divisions and 2 cavalry regiments. British September sick admissions 9,855 (mainly flu and malaria); 3,137 wounded. Opening of Sobranje and King's Speech. German Alpenkorps (from Western Front) reaches Nis with 219th (Saxon) Division (from Eastern Front) behind. Albania: Italian cavalry patrols reach river Skumbi. RAF photo-recon flight to Sofia. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Syria: Arab flags flown in Damascus as Turks retreat north on two roads and Germans blow ammo dumps. Australian Mounted Division blocks Barada Gorge (Beirut road) and takes 4,000 PoWs; 5th Cavalry Division makes 1,294 for 10 casualties; Arabs take 600 from Turk Deraa column after Lawrence fetches 4th Cavalry Division artillery. Ottoman prisoners captured as Allied troops approach the city of Damascus: © IWM (Q 12353): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...308775412551680 Mesopotamia: Turkish Sixth Army estimated at 13,725 soldiers (more than 4 divisions), 154 guns and 237 MGs. Naval and Overseas Operations North Sea: British seaplane squadron over Heligoland Bight. Atlantic: U.S.S. Ticonderoga torpedoed by U-152 (121 soldiers lost) (another source says 213). USS Ticonderoga: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...338977224183808 Adriatic: Otranto Barrage completed. Allied and neutral shipping lost to U-boats in September: 79 ships (48 British with 521 lives) worth 186,600t (British 136,859t). U-boat figure 91 ships worth 171,972t including 38 ships of 42,693t in Mediterranean (including last Austrian score, 16 ships worth 5,004t); 9 U-boats sunk. Political, etc Germany: Count Georg von Hertling, German Imperial Chancellor, and all German Secretaries of State resign. (see October 30th, 1917, and October 4th, 1918). United Kingdom: The Chancellor of the Exchequer Bonar Law opens a "Feed-the-Guns" campaign to raise a second War Loan of £1,000,000,000. Mr. Balfour on the League of Nations. Japan: Lieut.-General Giichi Tanaka appointed Japanese Minister for War. United States: Woodrow Wilson tells Senate woman suffrage ‘a vitally necessary war measure’. Despite President Wilson’s support of women’s suffrage, the amendment to give women the right to vote is defeated in the Senate by two votes. Wilson’s speech: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=126468 Governor Whitman of New York makes an appeal for citizens to buy Liberty Bonds: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...429698333581314 |
1 October 1918
42 Days until Armistice
Western Front The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of Canal du Nord (27 September-1 October 1918): Battle of the Canal du Nord ends. British and Canadian troops capture the Canal du Nord in France, claiming 36,500 German prisoners. The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of the St. Quentin Canal: St. Quentin retaken by French forces (see September 27th). British progress and take ground south of Le Catelet; stiff fighting near Bony and south of Cambrai. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Quiet in this sector, relative lull. The Allied Flanders Advance: Battle of the Flanders Peaks (see October 10th) and the Fifth Battle of Ypres 1918 (see November 10th, 1917, and October 2nd, 1918): Flanders ridge occupied and Ledeghem seized by British. RAF drop c.24t bombs and destroy 16 German aircraft. Somme: BEF about to break through Hindenburg Line last defences after 7-mile advance since September 27. This Wotan position runs west of Lille, Douai and St Quentin to Reims. Behind, Germans have begun 2 other positions Hermann (Ghent-Valenciennes-Le Cateau-Aisne) and Antwerp-Meuse Line (west of Antwerp and Brussels to Mezieres and Sedan). Ludendorff sends staff officer Major Bussche to Berlin to explain to new Chancellor military situation makes peace moves essential. German casualties since March 21 claimed to be 1,222,299 soldiers, and German Ninth Army disbanded due to shortened front. Artois: Germans evacuate Lens and Armentieres (night October 1-2). British 2nd Division captures Mont sur l’Oeuvre. Canadians (over 1,000 casualties) fight another mile forward north of Cambrai, have captured over 7,000 PoWs and 205 guns since September 27, from up to 12 German divisions. Champagne: French Fourth Army (Gouraud) advances on 14-mile front. Western Front, Air: Fine weather all day. Only 11 of 49 D.H.9s reach and bomb Aulnoye rail junction after midnight, mainly due to engine trouble, but 18 of 21 bomb it in the morning, exploding ammo train. In October Major-General Salmond, GOC RAF in France complains D.H.9 day bomber so inadequate it has ‘to accept battle when, and where, the defending forces choose …’. Allied supplies move through the destroyed landscape near Hooge, Belgium: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...663541825114113 A British soldier with a captured German soldier at Menin Road near Gheluvelt: © IWM (Q 11764): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...739078975229952 American soldiers moving through a crowded road on motor transports and on horseback on the Western Front: © IWM (Q 70182): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...754212846227458 Southern Front Albania: Berat retaken by Italian forces (see August 26th). Austro-Hungarians take defensive measures on their southern frontier in consequence of Bulgarian Armistice. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Syria: Damascus taken by British and Arab forces. Damascus falls to British and Arab forces, and more than 7000 Ottoman prisoners are claimed. Mounted Sharifan irregulars ride through the city of Damascus: © IWM (Q 11764): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...693743288619008 Naval and Overseas Operations Germany: During October 179 operational U-boats. Largely propaganda ‘Scheer Programme’ (October 1) envisages increasing monthly U-boat production from 13 to 37 boats (December 1919) building 376-450 U-boats using 69,000 workers and 11 yards. Britain: Only 257 (5.1%) of 5,018 Royal Navy warships on convoy escort duty. USA: Shipping Board has 3,115 ships of 17,276,318t building. Arctic: British flag raised at Ebeltoff Harbour, Spitzbergen. Black Sea: c.200 Germans take over Russian battleship Volya; 4 destroyers; 2 torpedo boats; and 1 auxiliary cruiser, Volya enters service on October 15. By October 26 Berlin urging return to Russians. North Sea, Channel: Flanders U-boat Flotilla recalls all 8 boats at sea for return to Germany, 4 others scuttled until October 5. Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Baron Husarek (Austrian Prime Minister) on situation: open to Peace offers; great row in Reichsrath. Germany: German majority program issued. Erich Ludendorff cables government to transmit peace offer without further delay, tells staff ‘Our own Army is .. heavily infected with the poison of Spartacist Socialist ideas’. United Kingdom: Wages (men and women) Committee begins. Milk to be controlled in Great Britain. RFP 129% (up 13% due to meat, butter, milk and egg rises). Maximum horse ration 7-13lb per day. In October Film Mrs John Bull Prepared. United States: Senate rejects women’s suffrage third time. During October Flu pandemic at height (October 2-3) suspends draft in several cities, shuts war plants; 14,636 army cases (300 deaths) in last 24 hours, total 88,461 (1,877 deaths). Student Army Training Corps opens in over 500 colleges. Sweden: Landslide in Getå, Sweden occurs, which causes a train to derail, killing 42 and injuring 41. It is the worse rail disaster in Swedish history: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...784444886122496 |
2 October 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of the St. Quentin Canal: Battle of the St. Quentin Canal ends (see September 29th). French eject Germans from the remainder of St. Quentin. Advance north of the Vesle to near Cormicy. Lille being evacuated. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): French capture Challerange. Surrounded US ‘Lost Battalion’ (308th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division) holds till relief (until October 7), 194 survivors from over 600. The Allied Flanders Advance: Battle of the Flanders Peaks (see October 10th) and the Fifth Battle of Ypres 1918 (see November 10th, 1917, and October 2nd, 1918): Battle of Ypres 1918 ends (see September 28th). Germans withdraw on wide front north and south of La Bassee Canal; British recapture Armentieres. Allies stopped short of key objectives (Roulers junction and Menin), but claim 11,000 PoWs, 300 guns and 600 MGs for 4,500 Belgian and 4,695 British casualties. Britain: 3,017 BEF officer weekly casualties since September 25, second highest of war. Western Front, Air: Aircraft of No.82 and No.218 Squadrons of the Royal Air Force (Armstrong Whitworth FK8s & de Havilland DH9s) are detailed to carry food to French and Belgian troops whose reserves are exhausted. 15,000 rations are dropped in bags of earth to prevent damage. German communications bombed (October 3-4). A British Mark IV tank captured by the Germans and then destroyed by French artillery, north of Perthes: © IWM (Q 49089): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...056150544429056 French troops and a Renault FT-17 tank on a road near St. Julien: © IWM (Q 49087): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...086371188432897 British band plays in the ruins of Bellenglise, France: © IWM (Q 9522): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...116590616068097 Mass of recently captured German soldiers held at Abbeville: © IWM (Q 9355): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...146797410521094 Southern Front Albania: RAF from Andrano in heel of Italy make 4 raids on Durazzo (total 29 aircraft), drop 6,280lb bombs. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Syria: Last Australian action: 9th ALH takes 1,481 PoWs, 3 guns and 26 MGs; only 17,000 of 100,000 Turks have escaped north. Lawrence’s Arabs disperse Algerian-Druze riot in Damascus. Hodson’s Horse regiment of the Indian Army marching through the recently captured city of Damascus: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...025939295686656 Mesopotamia: Marshall told to begin Tigris advance without delay. Trading with enemy limits raised in Baghdad and Basra districts. Naval and Overseas Operations Adriatic: Durazzo bombarded by Italian and British warships, which destroy Austrian base; 3 Austrian destroyers and torpedo boats slightly damaged in harbor (Austrian evacuation ordered September 28). Hospital ship allowed out. Austrian U-31 torpedoes cruiser Weymouth‘s stern off. Atlantic: German submarine shells and sinks Spanish S.S. Francoli off Cartagena. Political, etc Germany: Grand conference in Berlin under Kaiser's presidency. Bussche briefs Reichstag party leaders: sustained Allied attacks on whole Western Front make formation of reserves impossible; OHL can no longer make good losses suffered; Germany can continue for some time inflicting heavy losses and implementing a ‘scorched earth’ policy, but she cannot win the war. Every day reduces likelihood of acceptable peace terms. United Kingdom: Allies recognise belligerent status of Arab allies in Palestine and Syria. United States: Italian Bersaglieri veterans in New York City to help raise money for the Liberty Loan: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...814601415970816 Norway: M. Maxim Litvinov arrives at Bergen. |
3 October 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of the Beaurevoir Line (3-5 October 1918): British successfully attack on eight-mile front and take Le Catelet and 350 guns. Elsewhere: Germans withdraw from Lens-Armentieres line and past La Bassee.. British capture Gheluwe; French and Belgians reach Hooglede. Champagne: French take Challerange. US 2nd Division storms key Blanc Mont Ridge (15 miles northeast of Reims) until October 4 to aid Henri Gouraud’s hitherto stalled advance for 5 miles (until October 10) taking c.2,000 PoWs for 6,300 casualties Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Max von Gallwitz stalls US advance, after 7-mile gain, on Apremont-Brieulles line. Western Front, Air: Allies claim successful air fighting, 55 German planes down. The ruins of Villers-Bretonneux’s church: © IWM (Q 58389): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...388325416452097 A crater created by a mine exploded under German positions at La Bassée, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...419757719441408 American cavalryman and a tank arrive in Bellicourt, France: © IWM (Q 103006): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...480160319094784 Eastern Front Northern Russia: Action near Pyavozero Lake (Murman front). Southern Russia: The Ufa (southern Urals) loyal Government declare all Soviet treaties void and propose All-Russian Constituient Assembly. Fighting in the Urals. Southern Front Serbia: 19,000 Bulgarians surrender to Italian 35th Division and French 11th Colonial Division at Sop; Allied forces in touch with Austro-Germans in southern Serbia; Serbs, in fighting against Austro-Hungarian forces, drive back Austrian 9th Division and also capture 7,000 Bulgarians, despite armistice. Italy: Big British trench raid on Asiago front. Heavy fighting and 500 Austrian PoWs by October 11. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Syria: Edmund Allenby visits Damascus and meets Prince Feisal for first time, tells him France will be protecting power in Syria, but he can set up military administration Aqaba-Damascus east of Jordan. An exhausted and disillusioned Thomas Lawrence asks for leave and departs for Cairo on October 4. T.E. Lawrence in Damascus after the entrance of King Faisal in to the city: © IWM (Q 46093): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...449960667631616 Siberia: Japanese reported to have joined Semenov at Ruchlevo; 1,500 Magyar prisoners. Naval and Overseas Operations North Sea: Royal Navy submarine L.11 torpedoes and sinks German torpedo boat S-33. Political, etc Germany: “Brutal” order by Ludendorff re: prisoners. Germans witholding ratification of Prisoners of War Agreement because of Germans interned in China. Prince Maximillian of Baden (Kaiser’s second cousin) becomes last Imperial Chancellor, also replaces Paul von Hintze as Foreign Minister. Hindenburg writes to Chancellor ‘As a result of the collapse of the Macedonian Front … there is no longer a prospect of forcing peace on the enemy’. Prince Maximilian of Baden: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...495263789752322 France: General Charles Moiner appointed Governor of Paris. United Kingdom: Sir G. Cave appointed Chairman of Inder-departmenal Prisoners of War Committee. Bulgaria: Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver, ascends the Bulgarian throne as Boris III. Boris III signs decree demobilizing Army and issues peaceful manifesto on October 6. Former Tsar Ferdinand’s train told to leave Austrian territory on October 5, leaves for Coburg on October 6. Romania: Provisional National Council forms National Council of Unity (France recognizes on October 12). United States: Czechoslovak soldiers marching in New York City. The Allies have promised them their independence after the war: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...555661612163072 |
4 October 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of the Beaurevoir Line (3-5 October 1918): British and French heavy fighting St. Quentin to Cambrai. French and Americans increase gains in Champagne as far as the River Arnes. Announcement re: prisoners, etc.. German guns being removed from Flanders coast. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): US advance resumed west of river, takes Hill 240 and 4 villages in mile or so advance. ‘… Bullard’s Corps forces the enemy back to the Kriemhilde positions south of the Bois de Forest’ (US communique). 3rd Division takes 1,366 casualties vs Curel Heights. Lull follows on October 5 after 8-mile advance. American “Lost Battalion,” trapped behind German lines, is accidentally targeted by Allied artillery. They send a message by carrier pigeon: “OUR ARTILLERY IS DROPPING A BARRAGE DIRECTLY ON US. FOR HEAVENS SAKE STOP IT.” The pigeon is severely injured, but delivers the message. France: Allies announce capture of 254,012 PoWs; 3,669 guns; 23,000 MGs between July 15 and September 30. US artillery in action, equipped with the famous French 75mm M1897 field gun: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...m-gun.jpg?ssl=1 British troops occupy the town of Lens after the Germans abandon it. British soldiers in the ruins: © IWM (Q 11794): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...799763377303553 Mule-drawn carts and Allied tanks pass by each other on a road near Bellicourt, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...860167050743808 The ruins of the town of Lens, France. The mound in the background used to be the church: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...891626717274113 Eastern Front General Edmund Ironside takes over command of Allied forces at Archangel. Southern Front Salonika: Greek troops occupy Seres and Demir Hissar. Serbia: French and Serbs drive back Austro-Hungarians in Vranya region. Albania: French and Italians drive back Austro-Hungarians. Italy: Sharp fighting in Monte Grappa (Upper Brenta) region. 48 Sopwith Camel fighters (no casualties) bomb Austrian flying schools at Campoformido, southwest of Udine and Egna, south of Bolzano (October 5), destroying over 13 aircraft. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Persia: Inspector-General of Communications Dickson reaches Juzzah border railhead, cables need for 14,600 camels or 1,450 vans. Naval and Overseas Operations Atlantic: Japanese steamer Hirano Maru torpedoed off Ireland, 292 lost. https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...845075194195968 Mediterranean: British convoy escorts and SS Greenland‘s gunfire sink coastal submarine UB-68 southeast of Malta, her commander Karl Doenitz (U-boat leader in WW2) a PoW, having sunk 7 ships or 16,993t including one from this convoy. North Sea: Harwich Force hoping to find returning U-boats only finds 2 armed trawlers to sink. Political, etc Austria-Hungary: German and Austro-Hungarian Governments send Notes to President Wilson via Switzerland proposing an armistice on the basis of his 14 points. [The German note was received by President Wilson on October 6th and the Austrian on October 7th.] (see 8th and 18th). Germany: The German government under Chancellor Prince Maximillian of Baden seeks an armistice, but the Allies remain cautious of German intentions and do not accept it. The German Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor in Berlin: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...769561188188161 United Kingdom: British Government learns Turkey has cabled Berlin that she is about to seek peace. |
5 October 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Battle of the Beaurevoir Line (3-5 October 1918): Battle of the Beaurevoir Line ends. Kaiser Order of the Day mentions peace offer, but urges continued stern resistance. The Times, London ‘Our Armies in the West hold the front from the east of Ypres to the north of St Quentin. Since August 8 we have advanced practically at every point.’ BEF claims to have captured 35,000 PoWs and 380 guns since September 27 and broken through Hindenburg Line in 9 days on 30-mile front. Victorious Australian Corps withdrawn to rest after capturing Montbrehain, claiming to have captured 29,144 PoWs and 388 guns since March 27 (21,243 casualties including only 79 missing), liberated 116 towns and villages since August 8, engaged 39 German divisions (30 twice or more, 6 disbanded). Germany falls back between La Catelet and Crevecoeur and burns Douai. British carry Beaurevoir, etc. (East of Le Catelet) Germans fall back towards the Suippe river; fighting on the Arnes (Champagne). French occupy Moronvilliers Massif (east of Reims). Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Stiff American fighting west of Meuse. Western Front, Air: “Much” successful bombing by Allies. A German Hannover CL-III plane brought down in the Argonne by U.S. machine gunners: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...906718599008257 French aviator and fighter pilot Roland Garros is killed in combat. Garros made flight altitude records and flew the first non-stop flight over the Mediterranean, as well as being famous for being the first pilot to shoot down another aircraft with a fixed, forward-firing machinegun from a single-seat airplane: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...223810980388865 2nd Lieutenant Val Browning fires a Browning machine gun, invented by his father, at Thillombois: © IWM (Q 70559): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...118104964976641 Australian photographer standing on top of a tank near Ronssoy: © IWM (E(AUS) 3915): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...148311021158400 A church mined and destroyed by German troops retreating from Armentières: © IWM (Q 58388): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...178511448604672 Southern Front Yugoslav delegates meet at Agram (another source say at Laibach: same town, different name (?)) and decide on the formation of a United National Council (see 29th, and September 25th). German troops reported withdrawn from Bulgarian front. Serbia: Vranje (aka Vranya) retaken by Serbian forces (see October 15th, 1915). Serbian Second Army begins transfer from Bulgarian frontier west to Montenegro and Albania (until October 20). Albania: Dibra occupied. Italy: Italians active on their own mountain fronts. Naval and Overseas Operations Northern Channel: AMC Otranto (Orient Co) carrying US troops (431 lost) sinks in collision, destroyer HMS Mounsey rescues 596 men. Eastern Mediterranean: French Syrian Squadron occupies Beirut, then Tripoli and Alexandretta (both on October 14). Belgium: German Navy at Ostend and Zeebrugge, Belgium scuttles 4 submarines as the Allied forces approach the port cities. Germany: Prince Max speaks in the Reichstag. Messrs. Grober, Erzberger and Scheidemann Secretaries of State, and Dr. Solf Foreign Minister, in attendance. |
6 October 1918
Western Front
British take Fresnoy (north of Arras). French press enemy back along Suippe front. Italian advance north of Ostel (nine miles south of Laon); Laon on fire. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Stiff American fighting on Meuse-Argonne sector continues. Western Front, Air: US airmen Erwin R Bleckley and Harold Goettler posthumously awarded CMH (US Medal of Honor, awarded in the name of Congress) for suicidal supply-dropping mission to ‘Lost Battalion’ at Binarville on October 2. A British soldier picks up a fallen headstone at a destroyed cemetery in Gavrelle: © IWM (Q 9568): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...254014964547585 Eastern Front British officials from Petrograd reach Swedish frontier. Bolsheviks repulsed by Allied troops at Seletskaya (170 miles south of Archangel). Southern Russia: Trotsky recalls Stalin from Tsaritsyn to Moscow (until October 11), returns till October 19. Southern Front Serbia: 65,000 Bulgars have surrendered altogether. Alexander Karađorđević, Prince Regent of Serbia, and later Alexander I of Yugoslavia, accepts promotion to General. Albania: Italians pushing on in Albania, north of Berat, towards Elbasan. Bulgarian soldiers captured in Macedonia. Bulgaria signed an armistice with the Allies late last month: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...555996455624706 Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Reported 79,000 prisoners taken since 18 September 1918. Syria: Sidon occupied by British forces. Zahleh and Rayak (north-west of Damascus) occupied by British cavalry. Palestine: French and British warships find Beirut evacuated. Two of the last wounded Allied soldiers are evacuated on horse-carts in Syria or Palestine: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...stina.jpg?ssl=1 British troops in Sidon (Lebanon) after its capture from the Ottomans: © IWM (Q 12479): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...525792337186817 Political, etc France: France warns Germany re: crimes on French territory. United Kingdom: Prince Max's letter of 12 January 1918 revealed. India: Record of 768 flu deaths in Bombay today. Bulgaria: Peaceful manifesto by King Boris. China: Canton Government declares war on President Hsuh Shih Chang. |
7 October 1918
Western Front
British advance north of Scarpe river. Heavy French fighting all along their line; they take Berry-au-Bac (Aisne river). Americans drive enemy back south-east of Grand Pre. France: Supreme War Council learns new German Chancellor has approached President Wilson with request for armistice. French railway guns in firing position: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...uetze.jpg?ssl=1 The ruins of Merville, France: © IWM (Q 78783): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...844135657091072 King Albert of Belgium and French Marshal Foch reviewing the troops at Houthem Aerodrome, Belgium: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...904541801009152 American artillery firing in a ditch behind a road: © IWM (Q 101504): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...934737451073537 Eastern Front South Russia: General Berthelot proposes Salonika army use in South Russia to Clemenceau to protect Denikin’s White build up; Franchet d’Esperey opposes on October 27. Volga: Red Fourth Army retakes Samara. (Red Eastern Front now 103,000 soldiers; 298 guns and 1,627 MGs strong.) North Russia: US 339th Infantry coy wins skirmish at Borok, but Reds force Allied outposts back (October 9-10). Allies retreat 20 miles to Kurgomin-Tulgas (October 13-17) and repel Red attack (October 23). Southern Front Balkans: Supreme Allied War Council decides Salonika Army will march east through Thrace to Constantinople, Milne to command (October 10), ready with 4 divisions on October 29. Albania: Elbasan taken by Italian forces (see February 2nd, 1916). Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Syria: British occupy Sidon (aka Saida). British and French troops enter and complete the capture the city of Beirut (Lebanon) without any Ottoman resistance. A view of the city: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...874344632516608 Political, etc Germany: Vice-Admiral Ritter von Mann appointed German Naval Secretary. Russia: M. Alexander Guchkov (Minister of War for the Provisional Government) executed by Bolsheviks. Poland: Poles in Warsaw proclaim independence, as do deputies in German Reichstag. United States: U.S. solid views on answer to be given to Central Powers. Sir Edward Geddes and Naval Mission arrive New York. The streets of Cincinnati are empty as the city observes “auto-less day” to conserve fuel: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...586208916525058 “Salomé,” American film starring Theda Bara, is released. Church groups protest the film for combining biblical stories with sexual themes (the film is considered lost today): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...617654100119552 |
8 October 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Second Battle of Cambrai begins (see 9th): Great Allied (3rd and 4th British Armies, 30th U.S. Division and French) three-mile advance on St. Quentin-Cambrai; takes Fresnoy-Rouvroy line northeast of Arras. Armies attack with 82 tanks (22 lost) on 20-mile front between St Quentin and Cambrai, advance 3 miles, take 10,000 PoWs and 150 guns (including 1,500 PoWs and 30 guns by US 30th Division). Third Army captures Villers-Outreaux, Forenville and Niergnies southeast of Cambrai despite 15 German tanks (6 lost) heading 3 local counter-attacks and hitting 4 British tanks (4 A7Vs deliver another, October 11). Army Groups Rupprecht and Boehn ordered back to Hermann position. Boehn’s group then to be broken up; its Second Army to Rupprecht, Eighteenth to Crown Prince, Boehn sent on leave. over 10,000 prisoners and 150 guns. North of Scarpe British take Fresnes-Rouvroy line. French drive Germans back on the Arnes, Aisne and Suippe. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Americans and French take Cornay and Consenvoye, and drive Germans back north of Verdun. After his platoon suffered heavy casualties during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France's Forest of Argonne, American Corporal Alvin York led the 7 remaining men on an attack against a German machine gun nest, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132 others. Western Front, Air: RAF support Second Battle of Cambrai including laying smokescreens with 40lb phosphorous bombs, few air combats. Night bombers strike rail junctions (night October 8-9). German prisoners of war giving their addresses to a Red Cross chaplain so that their families can be told they are alive: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...964937987571713 Allied troops launch an offensive against Cambrai, France. Canadian soldiers advancing towards Cambrai: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...206527851188225 British troops resting besides a disabled tank during the Battle of Cambrai: © IWM (Q 7113): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...236731294351360 American troop advancing towards the village of Prémont, France: © IWM (Q 7084): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...266931042328576 French 320mm guns on the Western Front: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...297139048828931 A wounded German prisoner captured at the Battle of Cambrai: © IWM (Q 11375): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...312233438806016 Eastern Front Southern Russia: Death of General Mikhail Alexeiev at Ekaterinodar (age 60), Anton Denikin becomes White supreme commander and civil dictator. Southern Front Greece: Greeks occupy Drama. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters 26 Turkish Divisions reported wiped out in Syrian and Mesopotamian campaigns. 7th Indian Division occupies Beirut after 2 French destroyers’ arrival, 600 Turks handed over. Colonel Piepape, French military Gouverneur, whose troops arrive on October 20. Naval and Overseas Operations Germany: Rear-Admiral Adolf von Trotha CoS German High Seas Fleet recommends a ‘final sortie’ vs Grand Fleet if U-boat campaign abandoned completely or Fleet threatened by a ‘humiliating end’. Franz von Hipper sanctions (October 10) detailed planning for this Flottenvorstoss (‘Fleet Attack’); Reinhard Scheer’s CoS Commodore Magnus von Levetzow supports (October 16). Scheer does not inform Army, Kaiser or politicians. Mediterranean: Admiral Somerset Calthorpe leaves Malta in cruiser Foresight, arrives at Mudros on October 11. Political, etc Russia: Vladimir Lenin appoints Iosef Stalin to Revolutionary Military Council. France: Ferdinand Foch note gives his armistice terms to Allied Prime Ministers. United States: President Woodrow Wilson replies to Note of German Government, and demands evacuation of occupied territories as first condition of armistice (see 4th and 12th). A New York policeman wearing a mask to protect him from the Spanish flu: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...995142701649920 Spain: Spanish Cabinet (Sr. Antonio Maura) resigns. |
9 October 1918
Western Front
The so-called Battles of the Hindenburg Line: Second Battle of Cambrai: Canadians enter Cambrai, link with Third Army, begin BEF pursuit to the Selle (until October 12) (see August 26th, 1914). British take Le Cateau and Rouvroy (south-east of Lens) and Sallaumines. King's congratulations. 3rd Cavalry Division (329 casualties) takes 500 PoWs, 10 guns and 60 MGs in 8-mile advance, finishes only 2 miles from Le Cateau (2 armored cars briefly enter). A Canadian patrol enters Cambrai this day: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...mbrai.jpg?ssl=1 Germans forced back by French beyond Oise Canal and in Champagne (losing Grand Pre) and from part of the Chemin des Dames. End of Second Battle of Cambrai (see 8th) brings Battles of the Hindenburg Line to a close (see September 12th). Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Argonne forest cleared. 20,000 AEF (American Expeditionary Forces) deaths to date from flu and pneumonia. The American “Lost Battalion” of the 77th Division is rescued after holding out for more than 5 days surrounded by the Germans: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...342433534910465 Western Front, Air: Mainly low-flying RAF operations, wet weather hampers flying (until October 13). Germany: 8 Handley Page bombers of Nos 215 and 216 Squadrons attack Metz, bomb detonates magazine on island in river Moselle, fire burns for 4 days (1 million Reichsmark damage done, night October 9-10). A Sopwith Camel biplane after a forced landing near Noyelles-sur-Escaut: © IWM (Q 12121): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...357536548327426 A wounded German prisoner captured at the Battle of Cambrai: © IWM (Q 11375): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...312233438806016 A Red Cross nurse plays checkers with a wounded African American soldier at Auteuil, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...374154292678658 A British patrol during the Battle of Cambrai: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...555228826177536 French gunners of a 155 mm gun on the lookout for German airplanes: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...585434047725568 Southern Front Serbia: Allies approach Nish, held by Mackensen. Albania: French occupy Prishtina. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Syria: RAF bombs Homs station (October 10 and 12) from new Haifa base, refuelling at Damascus. Naval and Overseas Operations Irish Channel: The Irish mail-boat Leinster torpedoed in Irish Channel; 527 lost. Mozambique: Von Lettow-Vorbeck reported moving to northern end of Lake Nyassa. Political, etc Germany: Major-General heinrich Scheuch succeeds Major-General Herman von Stein as German Minister for War (see October 30th, 1916, and December 17th, 1918). France: French Socialist Congress passes a "Bolshevist" resolution. United Kingdom: Lord Grey on the League on Nations. South Africa: Severe flu epidemic in South Africa. China: Tuann Chi Jui, Chines Prime Minister, retired. Minor Allies: Cuban troops offered to U.S.A. |
10 October 1918
Western Front
Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Over 1 million Americans (record 29 divisions) in action, US Second Army (Bullard) formed (HQ Toul) for Meuse-Moselle sector. AEF holds record of 101 miles front line. Somme and Cambrai: British advance continues to last line of Hindenburg line (Hermann position) along river Selle; Home’s First Army fights its way along Sensee Canal to north until October 16. British 66th Division retakes Le Cateau. France: FOCH’S ORDERS FOR FINAL ALLIED ADVANCES: Belgians advance on Bruges, BEF upon Maubeuge and Mons, and Franco-Americans upon Mezieres and Sedan, to cut German forces’ main lateral line of communication – Brussels-Maubeuge-Mezieres-Sedan railway and to drive Germans into forested hilly Ardennes. A US communications detachment with a field telephone in action; line repairs is a constant task: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...s-det.jpg?ssl=1 A wounded American soldier enjoying chocolate and cakes given to him at Varenne-en-Argonne: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...646032190140416 British troops pose with captured German pickelhaube helmets: © IWM (Q 11367): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...721534925942784 Southern Front Serbia: After 170-mile advance in 25 days Serbs recapture Nis from Germans who begin retreat to Krusevac and Knjazevac (night October 9-10). Field Marshal Kovess made Austro-German C-in-C Balkans (HQ Belgrade), decides on retreat behind Danube and Sava. Bulgaria: British 26th Division reaches Livunovo (Struma valley) in advance on Radomir. Italian Front: 21 divisions; 1,600 guns; 500 mortars and 2.4 million shells moved up for offensive since September 25. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Men of the Black Watch, led by pipers, enter the city of Beirut (Lebanon): © IWM (Q 12407): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...941371858165762 Naval and Overseas Operations Aegean: Coastal submarine UB-48 (Steinbauer) torpedoes French battleship Voltaire (night October 10-11) near Cerigotto. Political, etc Germany: Kaiser and new liberal German Government demand that Navy halt U-boat attacks on passenger ships ‘since any incident that might disrupt the peace negotiations is to be avoided at all costs’. Scheer replies that Navy will demonstrate its ‘fullest loyalty’ by recalling all commerce-raiding U-boats. United Kingdom: Minister of Munitions Winston Churchill with women workers at a shell filling factory near Glasgow: © IWM (Q 84079): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...676213705412609 United States: An airplane crash caused by a cadet’s overalls getting caught in the controls. Kelly Field, Texas: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...706437381898241 Finland: Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, the brother-in-law to Kaiser Wilhelm II, is elected King of Finland: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...615691341594624 |
11 October 1918
31 Days until the Armistice
Western Front Germans forced by pressure on flanks into general withdrawal Flanders: German Army and Marine units hasten evacuation of coastal bases and defences (ships and aircraft leave, guns moving since October 7). Strong German resistance north of River Selle (Le Cateau); Germans retreat from strong positions north of River Sensee; British close to Douai. Artois: 2nd Canadian Division (British First Army) capture Iwuy, northeast of Cambrai, before handing over to British XXII Corps; since August 26 Canadian Corps has gained 23 miles vs 31 German divisions in 47 days. For 30,806 casualties since August 22, Canadians have captured 18,585 PoWs, 371 guns and almost 2,000 MGs, liberating 116 square miles with 54 towns and villages. Champagne: French advance up to 6 miles on 37-mile front, have taken 21,500 PoWs and 600 guns since September 26, including Italian reoccupation of Chemin des Dames. British troops with civilians at Bohain, France. A boy holds a German Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr anti-tank rifle: © IWM (Q 7103): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...971568456228864 Statues at Versailles are covered up to protect them from German bombings: © IWM (Q 78183): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...003029284540418 Canadian troops capture Cambrai, finding it deserted of German forces. Canadian soldiers walk by a burning building: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...033235839905794 Ruins of Cambrai cathedral after it was captured by the Allies: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...063438989418496 Wounded American soldiers in Argonne forest: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...289917400629248 The smoldering ruins of Cambrai: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...320143610449921 British soldiers amuse themselves by wearing a German pickelhaube helmet and sitting in a gutted car in Cambrai: © IWM (Q 11803): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...350328170860544 Southern Front Serbia: Prizren retaken by French forces (see December 1st, 1915); they also complete the reoccupation of Nish (Nis) (see November 5th, 1915). Bulgaria: General Jekor, Bulgarian Commander-in-Chief, dismissed. Italy: Heavy fighting on Asiago plateau; 500 prisoners. Allied raid north of Monte Grappa. Albania: Austro-Hungarians evacuate Durazzo. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Persia: 3 RAF R.E.8s attack Turk columns (2 lost, but 3 aircrew walk 120 miles to safety). Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Emperor Karl receives nationality deputations at Reichsrat. Dr. Sandor Wekerle, Hungarian Prime Minister, resigns. Germany: Herr Erzberger announces German militarism is dead. Poland: Martial law in parts of Poland. United States: Huge military appropriations demanded in U.S. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits Puerto Rico, resulting in a tsunami. Around a hundred people are killed: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...374249398132736 China: Feng-Kuo-Chang, President of China, retires (see July 6th, 1917 and September 4th, 1918). |
12 October 1918
Western Front
Craonne again captured by French forces; they advance within three miles of Laon. Fighting on River Selle. French take Vouziers. End of Champagne Battles (since 26 September); 21,500 prisoners and 600 guns taken. British First Army reaches Douai suburbs but is checked by German flooding. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of Champagne and Argonne (see October 15th): Pershing transfers First Army to Liggett. Germany: Hindenburg warns troops that favourable armistice terms depend on.successful resitance. OHL sanctions Sixth Army retirement (begins early October 15). Mudra replaces O Below (recalled to Germany to organize home defense) in command of Seventeenth Army. Eberhardt takes over Mudra’s First Army. German A7V tank caught in a trench and captured by New Zealand troops: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...440928400424961 A German war cemetery at Sailly-sur-la-Lys: © IWM (Q 9540): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...652308759928834 A soldier wearing a face protector used by Allied tank gunners: © IWM (Q 93249): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...682510902943745 A New Zealand soldier removing a mine after capturing Esnes from the Germans: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...712708105072642 A British patrol on a daylight raid. A soldier fires into a German dugout: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...773113162616832 Southern Front Bulgaria: French occupy Mitrovitsa and Prisrend. 90,000 Bulgars and 2,000 guns captured in 27 days. Albania: Italians take Kavaya. Eastern Front/West Asia Border Theater Azerbaijan: Action of Dushak. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Palestine: Australian light horse regiment leaving Jerusalem: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...742907790077952 Political, etc Austria-Hungary: In Transylvania Romanian National Party demands recognition as administration. Germany: German Government reply to President Wilson's Note and accept conditions (see 8th and 14th). Ex-Interior Minister Clemens von Delbruck replaces Friedrich von Berg as Kaiser’s civil cabinet chief. Poland: Martial law in parts of Poland. United Kingdom: British Government recognize the Polish National Army as autonomous, allied and co-belligerent. Lloyd George given list of rebels and revolutionaries, includes Sylvia Pankhurst, GDH Cole and unions. United States: U.S. troops overseas number over 1,900,000. 11,724 Army flu cases in past 24 hours, total since September 13 are 234,868 (338,257 cases and c.17,000 deaths by December 1). Wilson attends Metropolitan Opera for Queen Margherita’s Fund for the Blinded Soldiers of Italy.[Listed for yesterday]: American painter Archibald Willard passed away. His most famous work is the “Spirit of ’76,” also known as “Yankee Doodle”: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...410729780711436 Minor Allies: Luxembourg begs President Wilson to protect her rights. |
13 October 1918
Western Front
Aisne: French Tenth Army enters Laon (population 10,000) after 11-mile advance in 36 hours, presses north to river Serre, has taken 26,000 PoWs and 400 guns since August 17. Oise: French First Army liberates La Fare. More fighting on River Selle line; progress north-west of Douai. Battle of Courtrai begins as Belgian, British, and French troops attack German positions in Flanders and advance 5 miles. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of the Argonne (see October 15th): Stiff fighting on Meuse, north of Verdun. A French armored car surprises a German infantry column: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...lonne.jpg?ssl=1 A pioneer battalion tasked with clearing debris in Cambrai take a rest by playing a piano: © IWM (Q 9546): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...803307822895104 British lancers returning from the front at Prémont, France: © IWM (Q 72605): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...058738285764611 A Red Cross nurse gives a wounded American soldier a cookie: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...073830930866178 Southern Front Serbia: Serbs storm Austro-Hungarian positions north of Nish. French cavalry enter Pirot. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Syria: Tripoli occupied by Allied forces. (19th Infantry Brigade arrives October 18, whole 7th Indian Division by October 28 having covered 270 miles since September 19). Siberia: French, British and Japanese troops enter Siberia. Admiral Kolchak reaches Omsk. Political, etc United Kingdom: M. Eleftherios Venizelos arrives in London. Turkey: Young Turks resign; Izzet Pasha succeeds Talaat Pasha as Turkish Grand Vizier (see February 4th, 1917). Finland: Government ask German troops to leave. Portugal: Government crushes Democrat military rising in Lisbon, Oporto and Coimbra (until October 14) with over 1000 arrests, but violent crime already rampant. |
14 October 1918
Western Front
Battle of Courtrai: Roulers recaptured by Allied forces (see October 18th, 1914). Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of the Argonne (see October 15th): US First Army attacks*Kriemhilde Line, 32nd Division storms Cote Dame Marie ridge. Aisne: French advance on River Aisne west of Rethel. Western Front, Air: US Northern Bombing Group flies first raid (8 by October 27), 100t bombs dropped (until November 11). RAF drops over 2,000 bombs (40t) in Flanders offensive. An US 155 mm howitzer firing at German positions during the Maas-Argonne offensive: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...onnen.jpg?ssl=1 New Zealand and British troops resting next to a field at Esnes, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...104029516984320 French Prime Minister Clemenceau and British Field Marshal Haig reviewing French troops at Cambrai: © IWM (Q 9553): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...134232154857477 A German prisoner, British wounded, and Belgian stretcher-bearers at a dressing station near Dadizele, Belgium: © IWM (Q 7115): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...406027973906432 New Zealand troops with captured German guns at Esnes, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...436215038304256 Southern Front Italy: Durazzo (see 2nd), Novi Bazar (see November 20th, 1915), and Ipek (see December 6th, 1915) retaken by Italian forces. Eastern Front/West Asia Border Theater British, Indian and Turkoman troops attack Bolsheviks, and after severe Indian losses drive Russians from Dushak (90 miles west of Merv). Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Siberia: British troops from Vladivostok reach Irkutsk (Siberia) (see 18th and July 13th and August 3rd). Naval and Overseas Operations North Sea: S.S. Brussels at Zeebrugge torpedoed by British destroyers. 5 Royal Navy monitors (including 2 with all-time heaviest 18-inch naval guns) shell Snaeskerke German batteries for last time. Eastern Atlantic: Portuguese auxiliary gunboat Augusto de Castilho, hopelessly outgunned and escorting passenger ship (saved), sunk in gallant duel with U-139 (Lothar von Arnauld) between Madeira and Azores. Political, etc France: Czech Provisional Government formed. United Kingdom: Government threatens reprisals if Germany does not redress PoW grievances within 4 weeks. Germany threatens reprisals on October 23. Mr Justice Youngers’ 1918 PoW Report published, reveals ill-treatment close to front line under British fire. (But ignores similar, and prior Allied abuses of this nature). The King presents £10,000 to Red Cross. United States: President Wilson replies to German Government, attaching further military conditions to the terms of armistice, and warning against further breaches of laws of war, and insists on dealing only with a democratic Government (see 12th and 20th). Turkish Government Note to President Wilson proposing an armistice delivered at Washington. A massive fire that broke out yesterday devastates northeastern Minnesota, killing over 450 people. German sabotage is suspected, but it likely started as an accident: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...164434922659845 Spain: Spaniards take over seven German ships as agreed compensation. |
15 October 1918
Western Front
Battle of Courtrai: Further advance in Flanders; Belgians close to Thourout. Menin captured by Allied forces (see October 9th, 1914), who then close on Courtrai. British advance north-east of Lens. Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Battle of the Argonne (see October 15th): Battle of Champagne and Argonne ends (see September 26th). French advance along River Serre and in the Argonne. Edward, Prince of Wales, reviewing New Zealand troops at Beauvois, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...496617944260614 Red Cross nurse feeds a wounded soldier through a tube at Souilly, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...526816018702336 Advancing British soldiers pass by Belgian refugees near Heule: © IWM (Q 7120): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...769670691381248 British stretcher bearers return from the front during the Battle of Courtai, while Belgian civilians watch: © IWM (Q 7119): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...799878819569664 Belgian civilians inspect an abandoned German machine gun post near Heule: © IWM (Q 7122): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...830078303293440 New Zealand troops at Beauvois, France gather around a map to see the Allies’ progress: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...860276218384384 Eastern Front Volga: Pyotr Krasnov’s Don Cossack offensive threatens Tsaritsyn; Ioakim Vatsetis orders it not to be given up. Southern Front Serbia: Serb First Army again in action with enemy including Austrian 30th Division (from Ukraine), pursues (until October 18). First Allied train reaches Veles. Salonika: Milne and Royal Navy C-in-C Mediterranean Admiral Calthorpe discuss combined operations vs Turkey. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Syria: Homs occupied by British cavalry. Australian cavalry on the Damascus-Homs road as Allied troops continue to pursue Ottoman soldiers north through Syria: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...738211641421825 Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Austrian Lublin Government agrees to give Poles eastern districts. Hungarian Prime Minister Sandor Wekerle arrives in Vienna and gets manifesto exemption for Hungarian crown lands. Germany: Since September 26, 43 German reserve divisions committed in the West. Imperial Order subjects military to civil authority. 1,500 Berliners die of flu. United Kingdom: Two Committees on Indian reform announced. American soldiers arriving in England before heading to the front in France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...466415511875584 Emerging States: Yugoslav demand for peace based on popular rights issued. |
16 October 1918
Western Front
Battle of Courtrai: Flanders army advances, taking part of Courtrai, etc. Corporal Adolf Hitler (16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment) wounded by BEF gas shell (evacuated half-blinded to Pasewalk hospital, Pomerania). Last shelling of Dunkirk by long-range gun. Artois: OHL orders Sixth and Seventeenth Armies to retreat into Hermann line.Germans retreats from Douai-Lille front, pursued by British. Meuse: AEF breaks through kriemhilde lines in fierce attacks (October 16, 17 and 18). German coy commander writes home ‘… a quick end is to be hoped for, there is nothing more to be saved’. Americans enter Grand Pre after hard fight. Strong German counter-attack on River Selle. Aisne: French troops (Gouraud) cross river storming Vouziers heights and capturing Grandpre. American Mk V Tanks attacking German trenches: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...cking.jpg?ssl=1 Southern Front Salonika: Greece cleared of Bulgarians; Proclamation issued. Eastern Front/West Asia Border Theater Armenia: Armenian General Andranik harassing Turkish communications about Erivan. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Syria: British cavalry completes the capture of the city of Homs from the Ottomans as the advance towards Aleppo progresses. The city of Homs: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...105631602286592 Siberia: Bolsheviks try to stop Middlesex battalion at Zema. Naval and Overseas Operations North Sea: Royal Navy submarine L.12 sinks U-90 in Skagerrak, G.2 likewise dispatches U-78 on October 28. Germany: Fast light cruiser Frauenlob II launched at Kiel. Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Austro-Hungarian Emperor Karl issues manifesto proclaiming a Federal State six self-governing nationalities, but Transylvania to remain Hungary’s, on the principle of Nationality (see 5th and 29th). Row in Hungarian Parliament. Germany: Peace demonstrations in Berlin; public opinion much disturbed. Russia: M. Vladimir Lenin again wounded. Lenin posing with his books in his Kremlin office in Moscow: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...122099630919680 |
17 October 1918
Western Front
Battle of Courtrai (to 19/20 October): Belgians enter Ostend by land, their King and Queen and Sir R. Keyes by sea; Cavalry at gates of Bruges. Battle of the Selle begins (see 25th/26th): British-American attack on nine-mile front carries line of Selle south of Le Cateau. BEF Fourth, Third and First Armies (8th Division occupies Douai and Canadians cross Sensee Canal) and US II Corps assault Hermann position at 0530 hours on 10-mile front south from Le Cateau (captured) and line 3 miles to east on October 18 with 5,000 PoWs and 60 guns. British reach outskirts of Tourcoing. Meuse: Americans fight west of Grand pre. Western Front, Air: Rain and mist restricts flying (until October 27) and aids retreating Germans. RAF pilots land at Ghistelles, Ghent and in Ostend market square, just as Germans leave. Allied troops take the towns of Thourout, Ostend, Lille, and Douai. Civilians in Lille waving French and British flags to welcome the soldiers: © IWM (Q 11811): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...514812553515008 American soldiers demonstrating a captured German flamethrower: © IWM (Q 60982): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...152377510383616 A wounded French soldier without and with a face mask: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...182692052242432 Men of the Meteorological Section of the Royal Engineers fill up balloons used to assess wind and weather conditions: © IWM (Q 12115): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...212828747255809 American tanks advancing at St. Souplet: © IWM (Q 49398): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...454318908030977 4th Army headquarters inside a camouflaged railway train near Péronne, France: © IWM (E (AUS) 3929): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...484555372924928 Troops of the Northamptonshire Regiment resting in a trench at Molain: © IWM (Q 70745): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...545168841281536 Southern Front Serbia: Franco-Serbs occupy Knyazhevats and Krushevats. Montenegrins rise against Austrians. French capture Ipek. Over half of Serbia cleared of Austro-Hungarians. Eastern Front/West Asia Border Theater Armenia: British troops in Transcaspia capture Dushak, driving back Bolsheviks (announced). Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Persia: Tigris railway extended by British beyond Tekrit. Naval and Overseas Operations North Sea: German Navy evacuates Ostend, Zeebrugge and Bruges, abandoning 9 coastal torpedo boats. Mediterranean: Austrian U-boats ordered home. Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Hungarian Parliament declares independence except for Crown as figurehead. Hungarian soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army in leisurely occupation of a road junction in Prague in October 1918. The Habsburg empire meekly conceded nationalist demands: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...daten.jpg?ssl=1 Germany: Kaiser Wilhelm II & Erich Ludendorff and Prince Max confer on reply to US note. Full Cabinet: Ludendorff demands a fight to the finish, denounces Wilson’s second Note and declares ‘… on my conscience a breakthrough [by Allies] is unlikely’; in 4 weeks campaigning season will be over; that, provided with promised reinforcements he can retire to Antwerp-Meuse Line, to resume in spring 1919. If necessary, Belgium must again become a battleground ‘so that 1914 will be child’s play compared to it’. Ludendorff, interrogated by Imperial Chancellor, calls situation grave but not hopeless (‘perhaps Germany’s luck may return’). War Minister Scheuch says c.600,000 reinforcements raisable but warns that if Rumanian oil … is cut off Army (and Air Force) can only continue operations for another 6 weeks. United Kingdom: British Government recognises Polish Army as autonomous. London subscribes 31 million pounds National War Bonds in nine days. King George V becomes Col-in-Chief, Tank Corps. United States: Bolshevik-German correspondence published in Washington. A New York City postman wearing a gauze mask to protect himself from the Spanish flu: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...243117204824070 Emerging States: Proclamation in Prague of Czech Republic (Council in Paris declares formal independence on October 18), and at Agram of Yugoslav independence. |
18 October 1918
Western Front
Battle of Courtrai (to 19/20 October): British have advanced six miles east of Douai-Lille, and three miles east of Le Cateau. Belgians approach Bruges after strong resistance. Battle of the Selle (see 25th/26th): Charles Mangin’s French Tenth Army wins final victory breaking Hunding line astride river Serre (Czechs in action on October 22), north of Laon. Mangin and HQ withdrawn for planned Lorraine offensive (October 27). Rupprecht letter to Chancellor describes exhausted troops short of artillery, horses, ammo, fuel and officers, ends ‘… we must obtain peace before the enemy breaks into Germany’. Foch moves his headquarter north to Senlis. Meuse: Stiff fighting on Grand Pre-Vouziers line. Germans pushed back. Western Front, Air: RAF Handley Page bombers drop 4t bombs on Namur rail station and Charleroi. A French Peugeot armored car provides fire support: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...wagen.jpg?ssl=1 The ruins of Douai, France after its recapture by the Allies. The north and east side were destroyed by delayed German mines: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...846934208188416 Eastern Front North Russia: Allies push on to Soroka (south-west White Sea) from Murmansk. Southern Front Italy: Italians active on their mountain fronts, but overall, heavy rain postpones Allied offensive to October 24. Bulgaria: Bulgaria cleared of Germans. Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters Mesopotamia: British hold Turks at Fatha (30 miles north of Tekrit, Tigris). Siberia: British troops from Vladivostok reach Omsk (see 14th). British troops repel far superior number of Bolsheviks at Seletsko (160 miles up Dvina river from Archangel). Czechoslovaks pressed back by Bolsheviks in East Russia. Naval and Overseas Operations North Sea: Scheer deceives the Kaiser ‘The Fleet shall again become available for other tasks’ (ie the final sortie) if ending U-boat warfare not followed by an immediate ceasefire'. Coastal submarine UB-123 presumed sunk on Northern Barrage. Adriatic: 16 Royal Navy destroyers leave Otranto Barrage (mine net barrage completed to Fano Island) for Aegean, 24 trawlers follow. Mediterranean: Spanish zone in Morocco in complete anarchy: Raisuli and Abdul Malek and German influence supreme. Mozambique: Lettow learns of Bulgaria’s surrender from captured newspapers. Political, etc Austria-Hungary: Count Istvan Tisza admits defeat. Count Stephan Burian resigns. France: The Czechoslovak Provisional Government in Paris publishes its Declaration of Independence: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Decl...slovak_Na tion United Kingdom: Higher allowances to dependents of fighters granted. Prince of Wales gives £3,000 to Red Cross. United States: President Wilson replies to Austro-Hungarian Note of October 4th (see 27th); declines suggestions. New York policemen carrying an effigy of Kaiser Wilhelm during a parade. The effigy is later hanged from the top of the Woolworth building: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...575321218781184 |
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