The First World War

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by palo5

It is also known that German PoWs were used by the British/French to carry ammunition close to the front line, which is a worse crime. How they forced them to do it is not clear to me, but it can't have been pleasant

Both sides did that. This doesn't excuse the British side for doing it, however. I think German POWs were made to act as stretcher bearers as well; I seem to recollect one account by a wounded man of being carried away from the first aid station by two German POWs who in fact were careful and considerate. As for how the men were "persuaded" to carry ammunition...

[Mal Hombre]

It was usually four POWs plus two British soldiers per stretcher due to the muddy conditions,There's a story that four PoWs brought a young British casualty to the dressing station but He had died on the way.One of the Tommies noticed that one of the Germans An older man, was weeping.He asked Him why and was told "I've got one that age"

[Ennath]

April 13, 1915
Western Front French attacks near Maizeray fail.
Eastern Front The Russians capture heights near Uzsok Pass.
Bulgaria The government orders the disarming of Turco-Bulgarians on the Serbian frontier.
Diplomatic Relations The Italians press Vienna for a response to the note of April 8.
Britain The Munitions Committee first meets, under the leadership of David Lloyd George.

April 13, 1916
Egypt Australian troops break up a Turkish encampment Bir Gifgafa, Sinai.
Caucasus After six days of fighting, the Turkish counterattacks are definitively repulsed.
Diplomatic Relations The Mexican ambassador in Washington delivers the First Chief’s protest of the Punitive Expedition to the Wilson administration, virtually demanding its withdrawal from Mexico. Wilson rejects the demand.
Central Powers Diplomacy Bethmann informs the Austrians that the new Polish state must be under German protection, beginning a series of disputes between the two governments over Poland.

April 13, 1917
Western Front British troops capture the village and wood of Gouzeaucourt. The town of Vimy is taken.
Mesopotamia The British drive Turkish troops from Seraijik.
Russia The Provisional Government receives representatives of the British Labor Party and French Socialists. By this time, some 50% of the officer corps has been eliminated, among them most of the best men. The Germans, watching the disintegration, have suspended all offensive action in the east, lest the Russians reunite in defense of the homeland.
Diplomatic Relations Bolivia severs relations with Germany.

April 13, 1918
Western Front The British reoccupy Neuve Eglise and repulse German attacks there. There is heavy fighting around Wulverghem, Bailleul, and Festubert. The front holds. American troops are attacked northwest of Toul.
GermanyA fire destroys the Zeppelin works at Friedrichshafen.
Russia Kornilov’s Volunteer Army, some 9000 strong, has crossed the Kuban River and is poised to attack Ekaterinodar (Krasnodar). A shell from the Red defenders hits the farmhouse where Kornilov is headquartered and kills him. His disheartened officers and troops abandon the attack and withdraw.
Caucasus Turkish troops occupy Batum.
South Africa Afrikaner Nationalist General Hertzog makes a speech calling for separation from the British Empire.
Yugoslavia A National Assembly of Yugo-Slavs, Croats, and Slovenes at Agram take an oath of solidarity.

April 13, 1919
Afghanistan Emir Amanullah Khan proclaims full Afghan independence from British India.
India Following three days of rioting in Amritsar, British troops open fire on a crowd of protesters, killing 379 people. General Dyer, the local commander, is later censured by Parliament.

[haroldeye]

Never heard of using prisoners as ammunition parties and doubt it would happen close to the front line. Prisoners are a liability near the front line and should be backloaded as soon as possible. The last thing troops involved in a scrap (the time when prisoners are taken) is more enemy soldiers wandering around than necessary. Carrying casualties back to medical facilities was a proper use of POW especially as both Brit and German armies obeyed the Conventions and treated all wounded.

Incidentally the Conventions allowed POW to be used as labour as long as the work was paid and wasn't of military value. Nowadays this would be illegal, as is expecting POW to walk anywhere. POW must be provided with transport.

As to the poor rations given to British POW by the Germans, they were not much worse than those given to the civvi's.

[tygrkhat40]

If I remember correctly, enlisted men were required to work, non-coms were allowed to volunteer for work and officers were not required for either. According to the Geneva Convention.

[Ennath]

April 14 – 27, 1909
Turkey Reactionary opponents of the Young Turks, backed by the Sultan, launch a military coup on April 14. However, a Young Turk force from Salonika captures Constantinople on the 24th. Abdul-Hamid is dethroned and replaced by his younger brother Mohammed V on the 27th. The Young Turks, particularly the Committee of Union and Progress, now dominate the government. They are noted not only for a determination to modernize, but for Turkish chauvinism; others are discriminated against. Their anti-European stance gains them much popular support.

April 14, 1915
Eastern Front A German attack on Osovyets fails. Fighting at Uzsok Pass continues. The Russians make progress east of Czernowitz.
Indian Ocean Signals between the Königsberg and the Kronborg have been intercepted by the British and the German rendezvous is aborted. The Kronborg is destroyed, but the Germans salvage the supplies.
Mesopotamia After three days of intense fighting at Shaibah, the British, low on water and ammunition, manage to drive off the Turks. Both sides have suffered heavily, about 20% for the victors, 50% for the losers. The Turks are also driven from the vicinity of Qurna, leaving the British free to develop this site as a base for possible future operations up the Tigris River.
Britain The government affirms that the dominions will be consulted as to peace terms.

April 14, 1916
Eastern Front The Russians make a final but futile attempt to dislodge the Germans at Lake Naroch. The offensive has not only failed to force the Germans to transfer troops from Verdun, but has also cost the Russians 100,000 men to a German total of 20,000. Most importantly, the battle convinces Generals Evert and Kuropatkin, commanding the northern army groups, that it is useless attacking the Germans; over half the Russian army is now condemned to passivity.
Chief of Staff Alexeev holds a council of war at Mogilev with the three commanders of the armies on Western and Southwestern Fronts (Evert, Kuropatkin, and Brusilov), their chiefs of staff, and War Minister Shuvaev, to present his plan for the recapture of Vilna. Although ill-prepared and ill-supplied for undertaking such a venture, the commanders agree and they set a tentative date in May to begin the offensive. Evert, despite Alexeev’s urging, refuses to support the offensive with more than a minor attack on a 12-mile front. Brusilov presents plans for a more ambitious offensive and gains backing.
Bulgaria The country adopts the Gregorian calendar.
Mesopotamia The Turks are driven back on the right bank of the Tigris.
German East Africa British troops occupy Salanga.
Caucasus After a pause in response to a resurgence of Turkish resistance and false information about the strength of the bastion, the advance toward Trebizond resumes. General Lyakhov’s troops, supported again by the Black Sea Fleet, dislodge the Turks from their defenses at Kara Dere and send them into a full retreat toward Trebizond.

April 14, 1917
Western Front Needing to keep the Germans occupied as the time for Nivelle’s major offensive approaches, Haig sends in attacks east of Monchy. The British take Vimy station and Cite St. Pierre. A German counterattack at Monchy-le-Preux regains much lost ground.
Arabia Having failed to budge Abdullah, Lawrence returns to Al Wajh. Here Faisal has been joined by Auda abu Tayi, a sheikh of the Howeitat tribe, who becomes an adherent of Lawrence’s plan to attack Aqaba. Capturing Aqaba by land entails crossing 600 miles of desert – a strenuous endeavor in which the Howeitat could be most helpful.
United States Wilson appoints journalist George Creel as chairman of the Committee on Public Information, approved by Congress to oversee the media, while providing speakers, news stories, pamphlets, movies, posters and other means of affecting public opinion for the war effort.
Russia Alexeev reports on intelligence he is receiving on German efforts at subversion of the army.
Eastern Front The Germans and Austrians proclaim a three-day Easter truce. There is extensive fraternization. Revolutionary ideas are communicated to the Central Powers troops.

April 14, 1918
Western Front The Germans again take Neuve Eglise. British lines are penetrated at Bailleul, but the situation is soon restored. The drive on Hazebrouck is halted. Rupprecht receives orders to renew the attack. “But what help are all orders to attack”, he complains to his diary, “when the troops are no longer able to attack?”
Diplomatic Relations Clemenceau makes a statement that France does not recognize the present Russian government or its acts.

April 14, 1919
Austria Emperor Karl goes into exile in Switzerland.

[haroldeye]

My father in law was a farmers son and they had several POWs working on the farm. They kept in touch with them for many years after the war.

[rlg118]

Fighting the Flying Circus by Eddie Rickenbacker (just finished)

Finding the Lost Battalion by Robert J. Laplander (just started)

The Doughboys by Gary Mead

Yanks by John S.D. Eisenhower

The First World War by Hew Strachan (the TV series was based on this book)

Would also recommend Chapter Two ("Charge!") of American Caesar, a biography of Douglas MacArthur, by William Manchester

[Ennath]

April 15, 1915
Western Front The French attacks on the St. Mihiel salient are broken off.
Black Sea Russian warships bombard several points along the Anatolian coast.
Central Powers Command Conrad cedes overall control of operations in the east to the Germans.
Austria-Hungary The draft age is raised to 50 to meet growing manpower shortages.
Persia The Turks attack Russian positions at Dilman, but are repulsed, losing 2000 men.

April 15, 1916
Western Front, Verdun The French gain some ground south of Douaumont.
Caucasus Turkish forces are defeated near Bitlis.
Sudan The British occupy Kharga.
Mesopotamia Gorringe’s troops try again, attacking the Turkish defenses at Beit Aiessa, but again to no avail. He begins sending aircraft to drop food and supplies for the Kut garrison, but the drops cannot meet the daily needs of the troops. Townshend’s men face starvation in addition to the malaria, gastroenteritis, dysentery, scurvy, and other ailments that have already claimed hundreds of lives. Townshend’s Indian troops, whose religions proscribe the eating of horseflesh, the only available meat, are too weak to perform their duties.

April 15, 1917
Western Front British troops repulse a German attack on the Bapaume-Cambrai road; there is severe fighting at Lagnicourt. The British take Villeret.
Mesopotamia Unable to advance at Ghaliya, the Turks withdraw into the foothills of the Jabal Mountains. The British turn east to move against the position on the Shatt al-Adhaim.

April 15, 1918
Western Front German attacks capture Bailleul and Wulverghem in heavy fighting.
Finland German troops occupy Helsinki.
Macedonia Greek troops cross the Struma and occupy several villages in the Serres district. British troops take two villages near Demirhissar.
North Sea British light forces sink 10 German armed trawlers in the Kattegat.
Austria-Hungary Feeling betrayed by the Allied negotiators and by the emperor and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Count Czernin resigns as Foreign Minister.
Caucasus Turkish troops take Batum.

April 15, 1919
Hungary Aware of Rumanian preparations, the Hungarians attempt a preemptive attack, but Rumanian lines hold.

[Ennath]

April 16, 1915
Western Front The Germans raid Notre Dame de Lorette.
Eastern Front In the Carpathians the Russians capture two heights near Rosztoki Pass.
Albania Albanian irregulars raid the Italians at Durazzo.
Egypt A French cruiser bombards El Arish.
Mediterranean The transport Manitou is sunk by a Turkish torpedo boat destroyer. 51 men are lost.
Diplomatic Relations Austria-Hungary declares that the Italian demands are, in the main, unacceptable.
The British apologize to Chile for the Dresden incident.

April 16, 1916
War in the Air French officials authorize the Escadrille Americaine (which comes to be known as the Lafayette Escadrille) as part of the French Air Service, with an original component of 7 American pilots given the rank of NCO and stationed at Luxeuil on the Vosges front.

April 16, 1917
Western Front The French open the 2nd Battle of the Aisne, Nivelle’s long planned and oft-postponed offensive. The French employ 1,200,000 men and the first significant French use of tanks. Nivelle has rebuilt the troops’ confidence to a high pitch and they fully expect victory. But the Germans are well-prepared, having captured the plan of attack and then learned of the date when French attaches at The Hague mentioned it at a state dinner. The Germans have also been warned of an impending attack involving two weeks of French artillery bombardment. German planes control the air over the 25-mile front, precluding French air reconnaissance. At 6:00 AM, Charles Mangin’s 6th Army attacks along the Chemin des Dames, while General Mazel’s 5th Army, including the two Russian Legion brigades, attacks along a line from 6th Army’s right near Hurtebise Farm to the sector north of Rheims. Just before the attack, a German barrage destroys many French tanks in march column. The French creeping barrage moves too fast for the troops to keep up. Although both armies manage to push forward along most of the front, the hoped for quick breakthrough fails to occur. French troops take the first German positions between Soissons and Craonne, and the second positions south of Juvincourt. Some troops reach the Aisne canal. Strong resistance and counterattacks by Otto von Below’s 1st Army and Hans von Bohn’s 7th Army prove too formidable, though the French do take 10,000 prisoners. Both sides suffer heavy casualties.
Germany There are strikes in Berlin and Leipzig over poor food distribution.
Russia Provided safe passage from Switzerland through Germany in a sealed carriage by German officials who believe that his role as an agitator may weaken Russia, Vladimir Lenin arrives in Petrograd. He issues his April Theses, denouncing the Provisional Government as bourgeois and calling for “All power to the Soviets!”
United States George Goethels is appointed to head the new Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC).for shipbuilding. Results are slow to materialize due to Goethels’ opposition to the wooden ship program sought by the Shipping Board.

April 16, 1918
Western Front The British lose and then regain Wytschaete. The British abandon Passchendaele. German attacks near Bailleul are repulsed.
Diplomatic Relations Ukraine protests the union of Bessarabia with Rumania.
Austria-Hungary Dr. Wekerle resigns as Hungarian premier.

April 16, 1919
Hungary The Rumanians go over to the attack, forcing the mountain passes in 3 days of heavy fighting.

April 16, 1922
Diplomatic Relations German and Soviet negotiators sign a treaty at Rapallo restoring diplomatic relations and renouncing all past financial claims. A secret annex to the treaty allows German tank and air forces to train in Russia, in violation of the Versailles Treaty, in return for an annual payment and the provision of German military experts to the Red Army.