The First World War

[Mal Hombre]

Originally Posted by Ennath

War in the Air Italy’s leading ace Francesco Barraca (34 kills) is downed and killed by ground fire. Ordered to return to Canada to help organize the new Canadian Flying Corps, Billy Bishop flies one last patrol, adding five more victories, to bring his total to 72, the British Empire’s leading ace.

Billy Bishop's score is a matter of controversy,Most were scored when He was flying alone and very few can be matched to recorded German losses...

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Ennath

J
June 19, 1919
Latvia ...The Allies now insist that all German troops be removed from Latvia. Under British supervision, the withdrawal is completed by November.

Is that true?

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

Billy Bishop's score is a matter of controversy,Most were scored when He was flying alone and very few can be matched to recorded German losses...

To the best of my knowledge, 59 of Bishop's claims came when he was flying alone, and only 13 when flying with other pilots. Of those 13, eight were "out of control" (OOC) claims, with 5 destroyed. Two of those five were shared. OOC claims by the RFC and RNAS have always been a contentious issue because it was a standard tactic for a pilot to spin out of a fight and head home at low level. OOC claims became so numerous that in May 1918 the newly formed RAF stopped adding them to pilots' scores. It's interesting to compare and contrast the RFC/RNAS scoring system with that of the Germans. Using the German system, I fear Bishop's tally would have been very low.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_...of_World_War_I

I haven't read Bishop's book, but I do recall one reviewer saying it was somewhat odd that when Bishop was leading his flight, pickings were rather thin, but when flying alone, the air was filled with German aircraft! Can anyone confirm this?

[Ennath]

June 20, 1915
Western Front German counterattacks on the Meuse fail. French 1st Army has been launching diversionary attacks at St. Mihiel for several weeks, achieving little and losing 16,000 men.
Germany The Petition of the Intellectuals is published. Signed by 1300 prominent artists, writers, journalists, clergymen, lawyers and industrialists, it calls for sweeping annexations after victory.
Italian Front The Italians consolidate around Monte Nero.
Southwest Africa The South Africans capture Omaruru, abandoned by the Germans.

June 20, 1916
Eastern Front German attacks in the Vilna sector penetrate Russian lines at Smorgon, but are driven back again. The Russians cross the Sereth, south of Czernowitz. An Austrian counterattack near Lutsk regains some ground.
Entente Air Operations A specially-equipped French plane takes off to deliver 750 liters of fuel to Russia, but it is forced down at Kholm, still 60 miles short, and captured by the Austrians.
Turkey After a long journey by riverboat or desert march to Baghdad, 80 miles more from there to Samarra on the Baghdad Railway, and a 380-mile desert march to Ras el Ain, the remnants of Townshend’s Kut force now board trucks for the remainder of their deadly journey to camps in Anatolia. They must still traverse the Amanus and Taurus Mountains. Townshend himself, spared the fate of his men, is a prisoner on an island in the Sea of Marmara.

June 20, 1917
Western Front German attacks on the Souchez are repulsed. The British recover the lost ground on Infantry Hill. A violent German attack at Vauxillon, on the Chemin des Dames, gains ground.
Italian Front The Italian offensive in the Trentino shows signs of faltering.
British Planning Haig receives unexpected support before the War Cabinet from Admiral Jellicoe, who asserts that shipping losses are so great that, unless the British can seize the ports at Zeebrugge and Ostend, the war cannot continue. “There is no good discussing plans for next spring – we cannot go on” declares the First Sea Lord.
France The General Staff publishes a study on the looming manpower shortage. Conscription is extended from age 21 to 18 and upwards to age 49. Physical standards are lowered, wounded are rushed back to the front as quickly as possible and divisions are to be reduced from four regiments to three.

June 20, 1918
Italian Front The Italians regain much lost ground. Nervesa is recaptured. Borojevic finally receives permission to withdraw. He removes his wounded first, then, over the next two nights, surreptitiously evacuates his viable troops.
Austria-Hungary There are food riots in Vienna.
Ireland The British government drops its plan to extend conscription to Ireland.

June 20, 1919
Italy Orlando resigns as prime minister. He is under fire for failing to secure Dalmatia for Italy in the peace treaties. Francesco Nitti forms a new cabinet.
Germany The Scheidemann government, deciding that it cannot sign such a draconian peace treaty, falls.

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by Ennath

June 20, 1916
Entente Air Operations A specially-equipped French plane takes off to deliver 750 liters of fuel to Russia, but it is forced down at Kholm, still 60 miles short, and captured by the Austrians.

This one has me baffled! I can't think of a French aircraft in service in 1916 which could have carried such a load, especially all the way to Russia as it would have needed a lot of fuel of it's own just to get there. For example, the Caudron G.4, introduced in late 1915, only had a useful load of just over 100kg.

I'm also puzzled as to why France (which had no oil production of it's own), would ship 750 litres of fuel to Russia.

I think this incident probably refers to the flight of Sous-Lt. Anselm Marchal who, on the night of 20th June 1916, took off from an airfield near Nancy in a Nieuport 10 which had been modified to carry extra fuel. Having carried out his mission to drop leaflets over Berlin, he continued on towards Russia but was forced to land in a field near Chelm (also written as Kholm) in Poland, 63 miles short of the Russian front lines. His flight was cut short due to fouled plugs, and he was attempting to clean them when Austrian troops arrived and took him prisoner. Marchal's flight of almost 1400km was a record for the time.

In 1918, Marchal and the legendary French pilot, Roland Garros (who'd been captured in April 1915), escaped from the Scharnhorst POW camp by marching out of the front gates dressed as German Officers!

News of Marchal's death in a motoring accident, and a brief description of his flight of the 20th June 1916, was published in Flight magazine on June 30th 1921.

[Ennath]

June 21, 1895
Germany The Kiel Canal is completed, giving Germany a strategic by-pass between the North and Baltic Seas and enables her to avoid the Scandinavian straits. This is part of the increasingly pro-naval policies of the young Kaiser.

June 21, 1915
Western Front The French make some gains in Lorraine.
Eastern Front The Austro-Germans take Zolkiew and Rava Ruska. Attacks on the Dniestr at Nizniow are repulsed.
Dardanelles French troops attack at Kereves Dere, gaining two hundred yards, but taking 2500 casualties. The Turks lose some 6000 men.
South Africa Christian de Wet, a leader of the recent rebellion, is found guilty of treason and sentenced to six years and a fine of 2000 pounds.

June 21, 1916
Western Front, Verdun German attacks west and south of Fort Vaux are checked. The Germans gain in Fermin Wood.
Eastern Front The Russians occupy Radautz, south of Czernowitz, and take some trenches on the Styrpa. German attacks in the Dvinsk and Vilna sectors fail.
Greece A joint statement from the British and French governments to King Constantine demands that Greece demobilize its reserves, hold new elections, and dismiss police officials opposed to the Allies.
Mexico General Pershing, encamped at Dublan, sends two troops of cavalry to reconnoiter the nearby area in order to ascertain whether a reportedly large Mexican force is indeed assembling. Captains Morey and Boyd command. Boyd encounters 250 Mexican troops under General Felix Gomez near Carrizal. In a discussion with Boyd, Gomez informs the Americans that he cannot allow the U.S. unit to continue on to Ahumada until he receives permission from his superiors. Thinking the Mexicans will give way, Boyd orders an attack. But the Mexican troops surround the Americans, killing 12, among them Boyd, and capturing 24. Gomez and 29 of his men also die in the skirmish. President Wilson immediately demands release of the American prisoners and prepares a message requesting Congress to authorize him to use American troops to drive bandit gangs out of northern Mexico as war with Mexico threatens to erupt in the aftermath of the confrontation.

June 21, 1917
Western Front French counterattacks at Vauxillon recover most of the lost ground.

June 21, 1918
Italian Front The Italians enlarge their bridgehead at Cavazuccherina, near the mouth of the Piave. New Austrian attacks in the Grappa and Montello sectors cover the evacuation..
Austria-Hungary The Vienna riots subside.

June 21, 1919
Britain The German High Seas Fleet scuttles at Scapa Flow rather than turn over its ships.
Turkey Fighting breaks out between Greek and Turkish troops at Aydin.

[Ennath]

June 22, 1910
Germany Airship passenger traffic begins.

June 22, 1915
Western Front In Lorraine, the French gain Sondernach.
Eastern Front Austrian troops penetrate the fortifications surrounding Lemberg. General Brusilov has ordered the city abandoned and the Austrians move in. Russian 8th and 11th Armies have been ordered to withdraw. Falkenhayn and Conrad mean to continue Army Group Mackensen’s offensive, thrusting against the Russians along the Vistula and Bug Rivers. By this time, the Austro-Germans have taken 240,000 prisoners, while suffering 90,000 casualties.
Italian Front Austrian attacks at Freikofel in the Trentino are repulsed.
German East Africa Brigadier Stewart, with a combined British, Punjabi and African force, raids Bukoba on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria. After disembarking at daybreak and landing at the foot of a steep cliff outside the town, Stewart’s troops meet heavy resistance and manage to advance only two miles by dusk.

June 22, 1916
Western Front, Verdun The Germans unleash a new weapon as part of preparations for a major new attack designed to capture the Thiaumont works and Fleury and, thereafter, Fort Souville, giving them the key to the capture of Verdun itself. The weapon is phosgene gas, called Green Cross by the Germans because of the markings on the shells. It penetrates the gas masks then in use and kills every breathing creature – men, horses, and insects – along French artillery lines.
Western Front, Elsewhere A German attack at Givenchy is repulsed.
War in the Air French bombers launch a large-scale raid on Karlsruhe, killing 120 people.
Eastern Front The Russians continue to advance in Bukovina.
GreecePrime Minister Skouloudis resigns to be replaced by Alexander Zaimis, who accepts the Allies’ demands, except for holding new elections. As a result the Allies relax the blockade they have imposed.

June 22, 1917
Western Front The French lose ground southeast of Filain, Chemin des Dames.

June 22, 1918
Western Front A German attack near Bligny, in the Rheims sector, fails.
Russia Denikin and his expanded Volunteer Army open an offensive against the Red Army in the Kuban. The area is secured in a few weeks.
Persia Colonel Bicherakov returns from a visit to Baku with the intent of transporting his troops, with four British armored cars and some of Dunsterville’s officers across the water to Alyaty, and from there marching 150 miles west to capture the bridge over the Kura River and prevent the advance of Enver’s Army of Islam, 12, 000 string, through Azerbaijan.
ArabiaA Turkish attack on a Sherifian camp at El Haza fails.

June 22, 1919
Germany Bauer forms a new government. The next day he announces Germany’s readiness to sign the peace treaty.
Turkey Kemal and other nationalist leaders in Anatolia issue the Amasya Circular, declaring Turkish independence to be in danger and calling for a national conference.

June 22-July 9, 1919
Turkey A Greek offensive in Anatolia advances over 120 miles from Smyrna, capturing Panderma and Brusa. There is little effective opposition.

June 22, 1926
Canada The Dominion is granted more autonomy. Military or economic acts must now be ratified by the Canadian Parliament.

[paulhuk]

Originally Posted by palo5

Is that true?

It certainly is. The Entente powers originally hoped to use the German forces in the former Tsarist Russian empire as a bulwark against the Bolsheviks.

Not surprisingly, most of the German forces legged it home as fast as possible after the Armistice.

In Latvia, their role was taken up by the volunteer Freikorps, which operated in a murky deal between the Republican German government and the Latvian Nationalist government under Karlis Ulmanis.

The Freikorps initially cleared Latvia of the Bolsheviks but then came into conflict with the Ulmanis government and tried to install their own puppet government under Pastor Needra.

As part of a scheme to distance the German authorities from their activities, the Freikorps notionally became part of the White Russian forces of Prince Avaloff-Bermondt.

Their subsequent attack on the Latvian capital of Riga was in part thwarted by the Royal Navy's Baltic Squadron under Rear Admiral Walter Cowan.

Sir Stephen Tallents, the British Commissioner for the Baltic Provinces, played a major role in negotiating the subsequent terms for the Freikorps withdrawal from Latvia.

As part of that agreement the future Earl Alexander of Tunis became the commander of the Baltische Landeswehr.

All support from Germany for the Freikorps was cut off and the Freikorps were subsequently forced out of Latvia by French equipped Latvian forces.

Paul

[Mad_Hatter]

To me, the First World War was most fascinating in its scope and horror. Yet here in America, it is not as hailed as say WW II.

I have long been interested in that war, ever since I got the game "Dogfight" for Christmas. I even got to meet Capt Eddie Rickenbacker back in 1963 when he was doing book signings.

My sister has been doing some genealogy, and she thinks she may've found out that our gr-grandfather was in the First World War. She found his draft card in online records- now she's seeing if she can find a unit. I'm going to try National Archives.

[Ennath]

June 23 – July 8, 1905
Russia The crew of the battleship Potemkin mutinies. It is a sign to the Tsar’s government that even the loyalty of the armed forces is not certain.

June 23, 1908
Persia The Anglo-Russian agreement is presented by the Shah as an example of the weakness of democracy and orders the Persian Cossacks to fire on the Majlis (parliament). Civil war begins. The Shah’s forces suffer a series of defeats.

June 23, 1914
Diplomatic Relations The widened and deepened Kiel Canal is reopened. A British fleet under Admiral Warender visits for several days. Relations between the two countries seem better than they have been in years.

June 23, 1915
War at Sea The first victory is scored by a Q-Ship, when the decoy vessel Taranaki lures U-40 into a trap by the British submarine C-24.
France The political leadership has been shocked by the Artois failure. They meet with Joffre and the army group commanders. Joffre is criticized for creating false hopes of a breakthrough, which he denies. Joffre and Foch favor resumption of large-scale attacks as soon as possible. Castelnau advises waiting until there are sufficient supplies for two offensives, while Dubail advises simply waiting a few months to recover. All the generals continue to support an emphasis on offensive action and reject Kitchener’s preference for “passive defense”, pointing out that it is easy for Kitchener to make such a suggestion because he does not have occupied provinces to liberate.
German Command Mackensen is promoted to Field Marshal.
Eastern Front On the Dniestr front, the Austro-Germans are checked on the line Zurawno-Demeszknowiec.
Italian Front Following several days of attacks to gain staging areas, the Italian 3rd Army launches a major offensive along a twenty-mile front from the Adriatic to Monte Santo. Here on the Corso Plateau they have a significant advantage over the Austrians: 75 battalions to 40 and 530 guns to 242. The battle opens with a heavy artillery bombardment that the Italians plan to maintain for seven days.
German East Africa Fighting resumes at Bukoba, terminating in the early afternoon with a German retreat. The British blow up the German arsenal and wireless station tower. Stewart grants his troops permission to loot Bukoba. The men go on a shameless, drunken orgy of vandalism, rape and pillage. The scene appalls intelligence officer Captain Richard Meinerzhagen. His view of Stewart is succinct: “A great gentleman, great charm, but a hopeless, rotten soldier.”

June 23, 1916
Western Front, Verdun At 5:00 AM, as the gas shelling ceases and regular shelling commences, the 30,000 men Schmidt and Knobelsdorf have concentrated along a three mile front before Fleury go over the top in formations denser even than those that launched the battle back in February. Fleury falls after a day of fierce combat. The Germans take Hills 320 and 321, but are repulsed at Les Eparges. Reports reach Petain in the afternoon that resistance is crumbling at Thiaumont, where perhaps half the defenders have surrendered. He also learns that the Germans are within two and a half miles of Verdun and only twelve hundred yards from ridges commanding the city. In alarm, Joffre sends four divisions of reinforcements, men intended for the Somme offensive. The French have taken 13,000 casualties, but German losses have also been severe. During the night, Knobelsdorf concedes that, without more troops, he cannot take Verdun, and there are no more troops because the reserves have been sent east. Kaiser Wilhelm II, visiting the front to savor the anticipated great victory, returns in disappointment to his headquarters at Charleville-Mezieres. Also during the night, French determination mounts. Nivelle issues his Order of the Day, ending with “They shall not pass.”
Eastern Front There is heavy fighting in the Pinsk sector. Russian troops take Kimpolung, threatening the Carpathian foothills.
Caucasus The Russians repel several attacks south of Trebizond.
Mediterranean The Italian auxiliary cruiser Citta di Messina and a French torpedo boat are mined in the Straits of Otranto.
War at Sea The steamer Brussels is captured by the Germans. Its commander, Captain Fryatt, had, on March 28, 1915, charged a U-Boat, forcing it to dive and thus escaping. The Germans consider this a hostile act by a non-combatant and now put Fryatt on trial before a military tribunal as a franc tireur. He is convicted and promptly shot. The execution is widely condemned in the neutral press. For the British, Fryatt is another victim of German atrocities.
German East Africa The Germans abandon Bukoba.

June 23, 1917
Western Front Further German attacks on the Chemin des Dames are repulsed.
Greece Zaimis resigns as premier.
Albania The Italians proclaim Albania independent under an Italian protectorate. This causes disquiet in France; the French respond with the ephemeral Republic of Koritsa.

June 23, 1918
Western Front The British make minor gains around Meteren.
Italian Front Finally realizing that Borojevic is evacuating the Montello bridgehead, the Italians inflict heavy casualties on the last of the Austrians to cross the Piave. The offensive, as Borojevic feared, has achieved nothing except the wrecking of the last Austrian army in the field. The Battle of the Piave costs the Italians some 85,000 men. The Austrians lose 75,000, but in addition they suffer the demoralization of seeing the last hope of victory ebbing away, leading to increased desertion. The cautious Diaz, to Foch’s disgust, makes no counterattack. For the Austrians, there is nothing left but to wait for the inevitable Italian offensive.
Austria-Hungary Austrian premier von Seidler submits his resignation.