The First World War

[tygrkhat40]

Originally Posted by Ennath

September 27, 1917
Russia Kerensky orders the arrest of Lenin.

And that solved everything.

[Ennath]

September 28, 1914
Western Front, Belgium On the Yser, the Germans take Lobartzyde. .
Western Front, France British troops retake Neuve-Chapelle.
Eastern Front, Poland The Russians recover Lodz. In Galicia, Austrian troops are defeated at Sambor.
In order to relieve pressure on the Austrians, Hindenburg begins advance with German 9th Army on a wide front between Czestochowa and Cracow. The Russians are preparing an offensive against Silesia with 5th, 4th and 9th Armies.
China The old cruiser Cormoran is scuttled in Tsingtao harbor. Prinz Heinrich Hill falls to the Japanese after a fierce night battle.

September 28, 1915
Western Front At Joffre’s insistence, the Allied offensive has continued at Champagne and Loos, with slight back and forth gains and losses by both sides. Foch’s troops support the British right. At Vimy, the French briefly penetrate the German second line but are driven back again.
Eastern Front The Russians again evacuate Lutsk. The Germans and Austrians gain in the Pripet area but lose heavily in the marshes.
Mesopotamia Townshend has positioned his troops at Kut after a night march on the 26th and a feint to draw off the Turks on the right bank at Es Sinn. The British move forward in the darkness of early morning in two columns. The Turkish frontline trenches fall quickly, but thirst and exhaustion force a British halt. During the afternoon and evening the Turks withdraw, managing to haul away their artillery from the right bank positions.

September 28, 1918
Western Front, Somme Canadian troops push ahead north of Courcelette and also north of Thiepval. The Germans abandon Gueudecourt. The British attack the Schwaben Redoubt on the crest of Thiepval ridge, most of it is taken. The French progress near Morval. The first phase of the Battle of the Ancre concludes.
German East Africa A German force of 2500 attacks British positions on the Ruhudje River in the southwest. They are repulsed with over 100 casualties.

September 28, 1917
War in the Air The Zeppelin RVI makes it debut, two joining 25 Gothas to raid England; it is the largest bomber to see action until the debut of the B-29 in 1944.. The raid is a failure. Many planes have to turn back and three are shot down.
Western Front, Ypres Meeting with Plumer and Gough, Haig declares himself so satisfied with the progress of the renewed offensive that, following the 3rd step of Plumer’s plan, he intends to try to break through the German lines.
Italian Front The Italians gain ground on Monte San Gabriele.
Mesopotamia With Baghdad secure, General Maude has sent troops forward on both the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. On the Euphrates, they force the surrender of the Turkish garrison of Ramadi, some 3500 men.
German East Africa A major German supply depot 82 miles southwest of Kilwa is captured.

September 28, 1918
Western Front A third front of the Allies’ general offensive erupts as the King Albert’s army group (the Belgian Army and British 2nd Army) opens an attack. The British and Belgians attack on a 23-mile front from Dixmude to Ploegsteert. Houthulst Forest is captured, with 4000 prisoners.
Mangin advances in Champagne and on the Aisne. Italian troops force a crossing of the Aisne east of Conde.
The Germans bring forward 13 batteries to pound the American positions in the Argonne. Rains render supply routes nearly impassable, and the American assault falters.
Germany In the presence of his astonished staff, Ludendorff, exasperated and distraught, vents his frustrations in a diatribe of self-defense and accusation – heaping invective on the Kaiser for weakness, on the German people for cowardice, and on the Imperial Navy for an inadequate U-Boat campaign. During the night, still overwrought, he visits Hindenburg and tells him that the war is lost and that Germany has no choice but to relinquish the conquered areas of France and Belgium and pursue a peace based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which, in fact, he has not read. Hindenburg agrees.
The Foreign Minister is finally made aware of the desperate situation of the German army; battalions are at 50% strength and over 20 divisions have been broken up to provide troops for the others. Bands of deserters are roaming behind the lines.
Italian Front An Austrian attack on Val Giudicaria, in the Dolomites fails.
Macedonia The Bulgarians request an armistice, with a view toward peace negotiations.
Bulgaria The Bulgarian mutineers march on Sofia.
Palestine Allenby’s troops cross the upper Jordan and link with the Arabs at Dera’a. British cavalry is 40 miles from Damascus. A Turkish force surrenders to Australians; with the Arabs massacring any Turks that fall into their hands, the Australians allow the Turks to keep their rifles and join in fighting off Arab attacks until reaching Amman, where the Turks are finally disarmed. Another incident occurs at Deraa. Brigadier Barrow’s cavalry arrives to find Lawrence’s Arabs slaughtering the passengers of a Turkish hospital train; the two leaders quarrel and Barrow has his men evict the Arabs by force.
Portuguese East Africa With many of his men suffering from influenza, some falling behind to face death or capture, Lettow-Vorbeck has determinedly pushed on. He crosses the Rovuma River, reentering German East Africa near Nagwamira.

[Ennath]

September 29, 1911
Diplomatic Relations Taking advantage of Ottoman internal troubles, Italy declares war with the aim of seizing Libya so as to challenge the French colonial empire in North Africa.

September 29, 1914
Western Front, Belgium On the Yser, the Germans take Ramscapelle. The Belgians open the sluices of some canals.
Western Front, France There is heavy fighting around La Bassee. The fighting at Albert dies down.
North Africa Desert tribesmen raid into Egypt.
China The Japanese drive German troops from the forts on the outskirts of Tsingtao.

September 29, 1915
Western Front The French capture the crest of Vimy Ridge but are driven off again. In Champagne, attacks progress toward Tahure. At Loos, there is heavy fighting for the Hohenzollern Redoubt.
Russia An imperial decree is publishes proroguing the Duma. Workers at the Putilov armored car plant and several shipyards go on strike in response.
Mesopotamia Townshend captures Kut. His strategy has worked. The British success costs then 1229 casualties to 3000 Turkish.

September 29, 1916
British Planning Haig wants to keep the pressure on the Germans, who he believes are severely strained. He orders a second general attack along the Ancre River for October 12.
Rumanian Front The German offensive sends Rumanian 1st Army into a hasty retreat. The fleeing Rumanians hurl guns and trucks into the Oly River to clear the road out of Hermannstadt so that their troops can escape. The Germans take Hermannstadt with 3000 prisoners. Now Falkenhayn is free to move eastward to attack the Rumanian divisions concentrated near Brasov. The monitors of the Austrian Danube Flotilla raid downriver, damaging enemy installations as they go.
Diplomatic Relations During a press interview, Lloyd George discourages peace initiatives by nonbelligerent nations: “The fight must be to a finish…The whole world – including neutrals of the highest purposes and humanitarians with the best of motives – must know there can be no outside interference at this stage.” His primary audience is President Wilson, who since February has been searching for ways to end the war. But the Allies are not interested in the status quo. They intend to pursue their war aims. For the French, these include expelling German troops from France and regaining Alsace and Lorraine, extracting reparations from Germany, and winning guarantees that preclude future invasions by Germany. British aims include total victory and probably, though not officially stated, the acquisition of German colonies and the reduction of the German Navy. The Germans, occupying enemy territory, have no intention of accepting a return to the prewar territorial, economic and political realities as a condition for peace.
Greece Venizelos proclaims a provisional government on Crete.

September 29, 1917
War in the Air A raid on London kills 14; only 3 bombers manage to penetrate the British defenses. Shell fragments generated by “blind barrage firing”, a new British defensive tactic, prove nearly as destructive as the German bombs.
Italian Front The Italians extend their position on the Bainsizza Plateau, taking 1400 prisoners.

September 29, 1918
Western Front The Anglo-Belgian attack makes good progress. Dixmude, Passchendaele, Messines, Gheluvelt and other places are captured. After hammering the German positions for two days, British 4th Army and Debeney’s French 1st Army, with 2 American divisions, launch the fourth of the Allies offensives. They breach the Hindenburg Line, advance three and a half miles and take 4200 prisoners, reaching the outskirts of Cambrai. 22,000 prisoners have been taken in the last 3 days. Australian and American troops face stiff opposition at St. Quentin. Mangin’s attack reaches the Ailette.
Germany Foreign Minister Admiral Hintze, supported by Ludendorff’s and Hindenburg’s own subordinates, submits proposals for Germany to seek an armistice. Ludendorff and Hindenburg agree to his proposals, as the Kaiser does also later in the day. Wilhelm II says simply “The war is finished, though differently than we had thought.”
Macedonia Serbian troops storm Bulgarian positions north of Veles.
French Moroccan cavalry advances on Skopje, now Scholz’s headquarters. Bulgarian soldiers in the town quickly surrender, while the Germans resist, but by 9:00 AM, the Moroccans control the town. In the evening, news of Skopje’s surrender reaches Salonika, where Franchet d’Esperey is already discussing terms of an armistice with Bulgarian officials. The news jolts the Bulgarians and hardens Franchet’s positions. He demands use of Bulgaria’s railways to transport his troops as part of the armistice concluded during the night.
Bulgaria Bulgarian loyalist and German troops drive the mutineers away from Sofia. Fighting in the southwest continues into October, but the repulse at Sofia has cost the rebellion its momentum and royal forces reestablish control.
Albania The Austrians withdraw northwards. Their rearguards offer stiff resistance.
Palestine 10,000 Turks of 4th Army surrender east of the Jordan.
Austria-Hungary A Czechoslovak resolution for liberty is proclaimed in Prague.

September 29, 1923
Syria France receives a League of Nations mandate to govern the territory.

[Ennath]

September 30, 1914
Western Front, Belgium Antwerp’s waterworks are destroyed. King Albert requests more Allied aid.
Western Front, France The “Race to the Sea” extends northward again, with fighting around Roye and Arras. The French occupy Lille.
Eastern Front, Poland The first German forces in Poland entrench south of Kyeltsi.
Cameroon A flotilla with 150 men sails upriver and defeats a German force at Tiko.
China A German destroyer is sunk in Tsingtao harbor.
Pacific Japanese troops occupy the German Marshall Islands with little resistance.

September 30, 1915
Western Front After five days of unsuccessful attacks, Joffre calls a temporary halt on both the Champagne and Artois fronts.
Eastern Front Though the Russians are still retiring slowly around Lutsk and in the Pripet marshes, the front stabilizes. The Russians’ Great Retreat is over. A major part of the pre-war Russian regular military has been wiped out. The German eastern command relocates to Kovno.
Russia Workers in Moscow strike. There is growing hatred for the Empress and Rasputin. Even priests and nuns begin to turn against the Tsar.
Australia The Labor Council opposes compulsory service unless there are assurances that the wealthy will be conscripted.

September 30, 1916
Western Front, Somme The entire Thiepval ridge, except for part of the Schwaben Redoubt, has been cleared.
Eastern Front The Russians launch a major attack along the Zlota Lipa and advance near Brody.
Rumanian Front Falkenhayn counterattacks in Transylvania at the Roter Turm Pass. Rumanian 1st Army retreats over the Fogaras Mountains.
Macedonia British troops cross the Struma at Orliak. Serbian troops have halted Bulgarian counterattacks and capture Mount Kajmakcalan, 25 miles from Monastir. The Allies have secured a line of advance extending from the mountain westward to the Mala Prespa Lake, but the advance now stagnates.

September 30, 1917
Western Front, Ypres A German attempt on Tower Hamlets Ridge is repulsed.
Italian Front The Italians continue to expand on the Bainsizza Plateau.
China Sun Yat-Sen is arrested for planning revolution at Canton.
Russia A Non-Slav Congress at Kiev demands autonomy for all Russian nationalities.
German East Africa Near Kilimanjaro, South African and KAR forces surround the remnants of Captain Naumann’s nomadic force, now reduced to 179 men. This force has traveled 2000 miles in 8 months, tying down significant enemy forces.

September 30, 1918
Western Front The Germans burn stores at Cambrai in preparation for retreat. There is progress at Cambrai, but resistance remains fierce at St. Quentin. American troops suffer huge casualties here when they are attacked in the rear by German troops emerging from tunnels they had failed to clear in their headlong charge. They are rescued by Australian forces. Belgian attacks threaten Roullers.
Macedonia Bulgaria accepts Allied terms, the armistice taking effect at noon. Bulgaria is the first of Germany’s allies to leave the war. The pressure on Turkey and Austria-Hungary increases as new frontiers are exposed.
Syria The British cavalry engages Turkish rearguards at Kiswe, 10 miles south of Damascus.
Germany Count Georg von Hertling submits his resignation as chancellor to Kaiser Wilhelm II at Spa. Pressed by his advisors, who are concerned by deteriorating political and economic conditions at home, the Kaiser grants a form of parliamentary government in an effort to save his throne.

September 30, 1920
Togoland The French assume a mandate for the colony.

September 30, 1924
Diplomatic Relations The Allies end their control over the German Navy.

[Ennath]

October 1906
Russia Ultra-Nationalist organizations form an All-Russian Black Hundreds organization, sponsoring numerous pogroms.

October 1914
War at Sea U-Boats sink 87,917 tons of Allied shipping. The first attacks on merchant shipping occur. The British begin mining the approaches to the English Channel. The first three British submarines are sent to the Baltic to cooperate with the Russians in threatening German shipping.
French Command Foch and Dubail are given the task of coordinating the armies on half of the front each, making them in effect army group commanders.
Libya and French Northwest Africa The Senusi leadership in the Fezzan declares a jihad against the French.
South Africa The dissident Boers take the field in force. Beyers commands in Transvaal, De Wet in Orange Free State and Maritz in northern Cape Colony. There are rumors, incorrect, of German agents trying to stir up the Zulus.

October 1915
War at Sea U-Boats sink 88,534 tons of shipping, mostly in the Mediterranean. One U-Boat is sunk. The offensive against Mediterranean merchant shipping gets under way. This is generally unrestricted right from the start as few Americans are traveling in these war zones. The Allies are hampered here by a shortage of destroyers.

October 1916
War at Sea U-Boats sink 353,660 tons of shipping. One German and one Austrian U-Boat are sunk. A force of 5 boats operates in the Barents’ Sea against Russia-bound convoys, sinking 34 ships in a couple of months before winter weather sets in.
Russia A report by the Okhrana, the Tsar’s secret police, notes “Everybody is impatiently waiting for an end to this ‘damned war’. There is a marked increase in hostile feelings among the peasants, not only against the government, but against all other social groups.”
The government starts calling up political exiles for military duty. These unreliable men help spread propaganda and disaffection in their units.
Turkey Russian naval operations have badly disrupted shipments of coal to Constantinople, where a major shortage now exists.

October 1917
War at Sea U-Boats sink 458,558 tons of shipping. Six U-Boats are sunk. The success of the convoys cause the Germans to shift operations from the Western Approaches to inshore waters, where many ships sail unescorted to or from convoy assembly and dispersal points. In the last 3 months of 1917, 73% of losses will be from such independents. There are finally enough escorts available to begin small Mediterranean convoys. The British finally have the reliable H-2 mine available in quantity.
Allied Diplomacy The British are preparing their offensive toward Jerusalem. Paris increasingly considers a British invasion of Palestine-Syria to be an attack on France’s declared interests.
Austria-Hungary There is civil unrest in Moravia following a Czech call for the integrity of Bohemian territory. 23 are killed in the violence.
Russia There is an uprising by the Orenburg Cossacks; the Cossacks are increasingly untrusting of the government.

October 1918
War at Sea U-Boats sink 118,559 tons of shipping. With the recall order at the end of the month, several U-Boat skippers scuttle their boats rather than give up. Between this and normal losses, 18 U-Boats are lost this month. Allied naval officers meet in Paris to discuss the new technology of “Supersonics”, later known as sonar, to use sound waves to detect submerged submarines; the first system is not fitted and tested until 1919.
Caribbean Charlemagne Peralte leads a Haitian revolt against the American occupation. The scale takes the Americans by surprise. The revolt is not quelled until 1920.
Persia Tribal resistance against the British in southern Persia has been largely broken.
Middle East The Arab Revolt has cost Britain some 1 billion pounds and many question the return on such an investment.

October 1919
Turkey The new Turkish nationalist movement responds to raids from Armenia with an offensive that captures Kars. There are numerous atrocities on both sides. The Soviets eventually mediate a truce.

October 1922
Russia The Japanese finally withdraw their Expeditionary Force from Siberia.

[Ennath]

October 1, 1906
Technology HMS Dreadnought, the first all-big gun battleship, goes to sea for the first time. She makes all older battleships obsolete at a stroke and other nations are soon laying the keels of their own “dreadnoughts” (The USA already has 2 under construction). Germany in particular sees the opportunity to engage in a new naval race from scratch. The growing strength of the German fleet will force Britain to prevent any power from gaining continental hegemony, with control of all Europe’s fleets. The building race between the two nations will greatly worsen relations.

October 1, 1914
Western Front, Belgium At Antwerp, Fort Waelhem is silenced. The Germans are still too distant to shell the city itself.
Western Front, France The Germans fail to break French lines round Roye. The French destroy the bridge over the Meuse at St. Mihiel. The BEF begins to leave the Aisne front, moving west and north; Joffre has agreed to French’s request to transfer the BEF to Flanders, where the British are concerned for the security of the Channel ports.
Eastern Front, East Prussia On the Niemen, the Russians recover Augustovo and begin nine days of attacks on the Germans in this sector. The Germans are soon back over the border; the September battles have cost 8th Army 100,000 casualties.
Germany Kriegsbrot, “war bread”, made with artificial ingredients, is introduced.
Diplomatic Relations Italy protests Austro-Hungarian mine-laying in the Adriatic.

October 1, 1915
Eastern Front There are German attacks on Dvinsk. Linsingen makes gains east of Lutsk.
Italian Front There are unsuccessful Italian attacks at Tolmino.
Serbian Front Austro-German forces are concentrating north of the Danube.

October 1, 1916
Western Front, Somme The second phase of the Battle of the Ancre begins as General Rawlinson sends his troops against the Transloy Ridges in an effort to consolidate his line near Le Sars prior to the start of the main offensive that Haig plans. British attack along the Albert-Bapaume road. Eaucourt is occupied.
War in the Air Despite their earlier losses, the Germans send another raid by eleven Zeppelins against London. British fighters set fire to the L-31, a “super Zeppelin”.
Eastern Front Russian troops advance near Brody after severe fighting.
Rumanian Front German troops penetrate Vulkan Pass. Rumanian troops cross the Danube into Bulgaria at Russe, but are repulsed by the Bulgarian garrison.
Macedonia The Serbs progress beyond Kajmakcalan. The British capture three villages on the Struma.

October 1, 1917
Western Front, Ypres Major German counterattacks at Ypres are repulsed.
Western Front, Elsewhere At Verdun, the Germans gain some ground at Chaume Wood. A German air raid on Dunkirk causes serious damage.
Italian Front The Austrians are again repulsed at the Bainsizza Plateau.

October 1, 1918
Western Front Mud generated by continuing rains slows the Allied advance in the northern sector. The British take ground south of Le Catelet. French troops take part of St. Quentin. The Germans fall back from the Rheims-Aisne Plateau. British troops occupy Ledeghem. To date, the Flanders offensive has taken 11,000 prisoners and 350 guns.
Austria-Hungary The Austrians make hurried defensive preparations along their southern frontiers in view of the Bulgarian collapse.
Albania Italian troops take Berat and push forward.
Syria Australian troops enter Damascus at dawn. Soon afterwards, Lawrence and his Arabs arrive in the city. The Battle of Megiddo concludes with 20,000 Turkish prisoners in Damascus and the 3 Turkish armies defending Palestine reduced to an unarmed mob. British casualties have totaled only 5400.
Britain Milk is rationed.

October 1, 1920
Austria The rump of German Austria adopts a republican constitution. The new country is reduced to a small, landlocked state without significant raw materials, food, industry, or foreign markets. The country’s economic problems are compounded by a growing rivalry between two militant armed factions, the Socialist Schutzbund and the conservative Heimwehr. The frequent clashes between the two seriously sap the authority of several governments. Sympathy for union with Germany is strong now that the Austrians are rid of their non-German populations.

[Ennath]

October 2, 1914
Western Front, Belgium At Antwerp, the Belgians retire across the Nethe. The Germans occupy Termonde.
Western Front, France The French are hard-pressed around Arras.
Eastern Front, East Prussia The Russians recover Miriampol on the Niemen front.
Serbian Front The Serbs and Montenegrins renew their advance toward Sarajevo.
Diplomatic Relations Rumania informs the Germans and Austrians that they will permit no more shipments of supplies to Turkey.
Cameroon HMS Cumberland captures nine German ships at the mouth of the Cameroon River.

October 2, 1915
Central Powers Diplomacy Bulgaria secretly agrees to enter the war on the 15th.
Diplomatic Relations After a grueling journey, a Turco-German mission reaches Kabul to try and persuade the Afghans to support the German war effort. The Emir stalls them for months.

October 2, 1916
Western Front, Somme Rains deluge the front as Rawlinson’s men continue to grind forward. The Germans regain a foothold in Eaucourt.
Eastern Front Heavy fighting continues along the Zlota Lipa, with little change in the situation.
Rumanian Front Rumanian troops rally south of Roterturm Pass. In the south, a counterattack threatens Mackensen’s communications.
Macedonia The Serbs and British gain ground. The French and Russians drive the Bulgarians from their redoubts on San Marco.
Greece More and more Greek officers are migrating to Crete to join Venizelos’s Provisional Government.

October 2, 1917
Western Front, Elsewhere German attacks at Verdun and in Champagne gain some ground, but French counterattacks retake the lost positions.
Italian Front There is heavy fighting around Monte San Gabriele.
War at Sea The armored cruiser Drake is torpedoed by U-79 off Ireland; 19 are killed.
German East Africa Naumann formally surrenders.
Austria-Hungary Czernin makes a speech in Budapest, speaking in favor of international justice, disarmament, arbitration and freedom of the seas as a basis for peace and as a legal basis for a new Europe.
British Intelligence The British learn of meetings between the Germans and Turks discussing plans to offer the Jews a German-sponsored national home in Palestine. The British begin searching for an Allied formula to counteract this.

October 2, 1918
Western Front The Germans withdraw on a wide front north and south of the La Bassee Canal. British and Australian attacks widen the gap in the Beaurevoir Line, but are unable to seize the high ground beyond. They have, however opened a 10 mile breach in the Hindenburg Line. The French complete the capture of St. Quentin.
French troops near the Argonne take Challerange. The men of the “Lost Battalion” of U.S. 77th Division, who have been cut off for three days, strike out toward the valley of Charlevaux, seeking contact with other American units. They discover themselves completely surrounded.
Germany An emissary from Ludendorff presents an appraisal of Germany’s military posture to the Reichstag, informing the members that there is no hope of forcing the Allies to sue for peace. He insists, however, that the army can endure for months and achieve local victories. He concludes with the admonition that the nation must stand firm “to give evidence that a firm will to carry on the war exists, if the enemy will grant us no peace, or a peace only under humiliating conditions.” Members of the Reichstag listen, thunderstruck. Freidrich Ebert, leader of the Social Democrats, sits afterward in stunned silence.
Adriatic British and Italian warships bombard Durazzo harbor, destroying the Austrian base, along with two submarines. The Italians have acted only because the French have threatened to do so unilaterally and the Italians still cannot accept any action in the Adriatic not under their command.
Bulgaria The Radomir rebellion is suppressed.
Allied Diplomacy The Allies formally recognize the Sherifian Arabs as belligerent allies.
Syria Arab troops loot and pillage in Damascus.
British Planning Concerned that the war may end before occupation of the vital Middle Eastern areas they hope to dominate, the British order a push to Aleppo and Mosul.

[Ennath]

October 3, 1914
Western Front, Belgium The Germans occupy Ypres. The outer defenses of Antwerp fall; foreign legations begin leaving the city. Churchill arrives in Antwerp and persuades the King not to withdraw. The first elements of the British Naval Division arrive. Consisting of marines and sailors without ships, it will become a standard infantry division.
Eastern Front, Poland Austro-German forces begin an offensive toward Warsaw. Austrian troops come under German command for the first time.
North Sea The British Admiralty announces the laying of a defensive minefield in the North Sea.

October 3, 1915
Western Front The Germans recapture parts of the Hohenzollern Redoubt.
Eastern Front There is heavy fighting south of Dvinsk. Russian attacks around Smorgon collapse.
Diplomatic Relations Russia issues a warning to Bulgaria to remain neutral.
October 3, 1916
Rumanian Front Continuing his drive from Bulgaria, Mackensen forces the Rumanians back over the Danube. Falkenhayn’s 9th Army is fighting at Kronstadt, while German troops gain in the Petroseni region.
Macedonia After considerable fighting, the British take Yenikuei on the Struma. The Bulgarians stage a general withdrawal.

October 3, 1917
Western Front, Ypres German attacks at Ypres fail.
Eastern Front Russian artillery stops an Austrian attack in Bukovina. There is a heavy artillery duel in the Jakobstadt sector.
Rumanian Front Bulgarian troops attack along the Buzeu River.
Italian Front The fighting continues at Monte San Gabriele.

October 3, 1918
Western Front The Germans pull back from the Lens-Armentieres line. British troops take Le Catelet. The French and Belgians reach Hooglede. The American drive in the Argonne has lost momentum after penetrating the first two German lines. In Champagne, U.S. troops capture Blanc Mont ridge.
Russia White leaders at Ufa, in the southern Urals, declare all Soviet treaties, including the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, void, and propose an All-Russian Constituent Assembly.
Italian Front British troops make a major raid in the Asiago sector.
Serbian Front Allied spearheads are in contact with Austro-German forces.
Syria With order returned to Damascus, largely through Lawrence’s efforts, Allenby arrives in the city to confer with Faisal, who arrives shortly after the general. Allenby informs Faisal that the French will exercise civil jurisdiction over Syria and that a French liaison officer will be assigned to his army, to which Faisal strenuously objects. Allenby reminds Faisal that he is still a subordinate in Allenby’s command and must carry out orders – the political discussions will have to wait until the end of the war. He instructs Faisal to prepare his force to continue the advance and Faisal leaves. Lawrence informs Allenby that he cannot work with a French liaison officer and requests a leave, which Allenby grants. The Arab Revolt is over.

[rustler]

Originally Posted by squigg58

Having mentioned a possible WWI thread in response to a comment made by our learned friend Mal Hombre in the WWII thread, I suppose I'd better "put up or shut up"!

Mal suggested that "the RFC and RNAS were often forced to make do with planes that were markedly inferior to enemy machines."

I don't disagree in principle, but I do think it was the pace of development which "forced" one side or the other to fly inferior aircraft at any given time; not the respective politicians or senior commanders.

I'm not aware of aircraft development being held back by "the powers that be" during WWI, but I have no problem with anyone putting me right on that score!

In November 1916, a very young, they all were!, and inexperienced Manfred von Richtofen encountered Maj. Lanoe G. Hawker VC. in what was to become a famous encounter.
The already antiquated DH.2 pusher, that Hawker was flying was no match for the new Fokker Albatross, that were just then emerging.
I seem to recall, that Henderson tried to get Sopwith Triplanes and was refused, as these, far superior machines were destined for the RNAS. The result was that Hawker, a vastly experienced pre war flyer and already a national hero, an 'ace', and holder of the Victoria Cross, was, after a long and gallant fight killed. Had he been flying a 'Tripe' he would undoubtedly have killed, or at least shot down von Richtofen, and the pilots and crew of some 70 aircraft would have been saved from a grim fate.

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by Ennath

September 14, 1914
Atlantic Ocean The British auxiliary cruiser Carmania sinks the German auxiliary cruiser Cap Trafalgar off Brazil. Curiously, each ship had been disguising itself as the other.

(My added emphasis)

Sorry, I'm a bit behind the times having been away for a couple of weeks, and it's taken me a while to catch up!

SMS Cap Trafalgar was a three-funneled ship, and as part of her disguise when pressed into service, the third funnel was removed and she was painted to resemble a ship of the Union Castle Line, complete with red funnels topped with black.

SS Carmania was a two-funneled ship of a similar size, and was operated by Cunard.

I think it's streching it a bit to claim that she was disguised as Cap Trafalgar as that would have required a third funnel ... unless she was disguised as the modified Cap Trafalgar, in which case, no changes were necessary ... but that wouldn't have been much of a disguise as she'd have looked the same as she did before!