The First World War

[Tmee2020]

Originally Posted by scoundrel

The Ottoman Empire, rather tenuously controlled by a mafia called The Young Turks, was manipulated into joining the war by Germany; she was running with the wrong crowd.

The British had only themselves to blame for Turkey joining the Central Powers.

No doubt Germany took advantage of the situation.

[haroldeye]

In the Peninsular Portugese troops had initially been pretty poor. Several competent British officers were sent to help train them and the result was an excellent force that fought very well.

A hundred years later they did not have the benefit of such training.

[Ennath]

June 13, 1915
Western Front A French attack at Souchez is repulsed. They make some gains southeast of Hebuterne.
French Command The front is divided between the Northern (Foch), Central (Castelnau), and Eastern (Dubail) Army Groups.
Eastern Front Having advanced across the San the day before, Army Group Mackensen launches a new offensive on a 30-mile front from the San to Mosciska. General Ivanov’s troops resist strenuously, a near-miracle given their condition. Many Russians lack rifles or ammunition and must wait to grab the weapons of the dead and wounded. Official Russian figures estimate their losses in May at 412,000. There is a Russian counterattack on the Styr.
Greece In a general election, Venizelists win 193 out of 316 seats.

June 13, 1916
Western Front, Elsewhere Canadian troops regain the lost ground at Ypres.
Eastern Front The Russians are repulsed at Baranovichi, north of Pinsk. In Galicia, the Russians take Torchin, reach the Stokhod near Lutsk, and gain ground near Czernowitz.
Baltic Sea Three Russian destroyers attack a German convoy southeast of Hafringe Island. The small auxiliary cruiser Hermann sacrifices itself, allowing the 10 merchant ships to escape.
German East Africa The Germans evacuate Tanga.
Arabia The 1000-man Turkish garrison in Mecca surrenders to the Arabs, but the Turks continue to hold two small forts on the outskirts of the city.

June 13, 1917
War in the Air Before noon, 14 Gothas make their first attack on London; 6 others have had to turn back. Liverpool Street Station is at the center of the attack that kills 162 and injures 432 – a great shock for the British, whose fighter planes so far prove ineffectual against the sturdy and well-armed Gothas.
Italian Front The Italian pause has allowed the Austrians to reinforce their lines in the Trentino and even to plan a counterattack, although the Austrian Supreme Command has refused to shift troops from the Isonzo front. An Austrian attack on Monte Ortigara is repulsed.
Greece The Allies occupy Trikala and Volo.
France Pershing and his staff arrive in Boulogne to welcoming ceremonies and board the train for Paris. There Lt. Colonel Charles Stanton of Pershing’s staff visits the tomb of the Marquis de Lafayette and declares “Lafayette, nous voila!” (Lafayette we are here!) Journalists credit the remark to Pershing himself.
Russian Command M. A. Przhevalsky replaces Yudenich in command in the Caucasus.

June 13, 1918
Western Front The battle in Belleau Wood, again a foot by foot struggle, explodes as the Germans counterattack, but are repulsed.
Russia There is fighting at Irkutsk. The Czechs repulse Soviet attacks.
Italian Front An Austrian attack at Monticello Ridge and Tonale Pass in the Trentino is repulsed. This is intended to be a diversion for the offensive to begin along the Piave on June 15.

June 13, 1920
Albania Essad Pasha is assassinated in Paris, where he represented Albania at the peace conference.

[Ennath]

June 14, 1915
Eastern Front The Russians fall back to the Grodek line around Lemberg. The Germans in the north open a new advance around Mitau.

June 14, 1916
Western Front, Verdun The Germans take 700 prisoners near Thiaumont Farm.
Western Front, Elsewhere A fresh German attack at Mont Sorrel fails, bringing the battle to a close. Allied casualties are about 8000, German almost 6000.
Eastern Front There is heavy fighting in the Lutsk area; the Russians take 10,000 more prisoners but make few advances.
Italian Front The Italians take some trenches at Monfalcone, in the southern Isonzo sector.
Caucasus The Russians gain some ground at Chorok, west of Trebizond.

June 14, 1917
Western Front Close of the Battle of Messines. Plumer’s army consolidates a successful battle, with the Germans withdrawing from the last of the positions they have held on the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge. The battle costs Plumer 17,000 casualties. German casualties total 25,000.
Greece Constantine goes into exile in Switzerland.

June 14, 1918
Persia Turkish troops capture Tabriz.
June 14, 1919
Technology Britons John Alcock and Arthur Brown leave Newfoundland on the first nonstop trans-Atlantic flight, arriving in Ireland the next day.

June 14, 1922
Russia Soviet troops take Dushanbe, the last sizable town held by the Basmachi. Guerrilla resistance continues as late as 1931.

[Ennath]

June 15, 1888
Germany Kaiser Friedrich III dies. His son Wilhelm II succeeds. Emotional and unstable, he is prone to bombast and an overdeveloped sense of drama.

June 15 – October 18, 1907
Diplomatic Relations The Second Hague Peace Conference achieves little more than its predecessor. It passes articles concerning the protection of neutrals and unarmed merchant ships and restrictions on the use of naval mines.

June 15, 1915
Western Front British troops take the front line trench at Festubert but lose it to counterattacks. The French attack at Souchez is broken off. In eight days of attacks, it has gained about half a mile at a cost of 10,000 casualties.
War in the Air There is a Zeppelin raid on the English northeast coast.
Eastern Front At Lubaczow, Mackensen’s force smashes through Russian 3rd Army and pierces the front of 8th Army at Mosciska, establishing a new front along a line extending from Zolkiew through Rava-Russka to Lemberg.

June 15, 1916
Western Front, Verdun The French attack Le Mort Homme, taking one trench.
Eastern Front The Russians advance northwest of Czernowitz. Austrian 7th Army has virtually ceased to exist.
Italian Front Determined on one last effort in the Trentino, the Austrians attack at Monte Lemerle.
Persia There is heavy fighting at Saripul.

June 15, 1917
Western Front A German attack southeast of Ypres fails. There is a small British advance near Bullecourt.
Britain A number of Irish rebels are released.
Italian Front At 2:30 AM the Austrians in the Trentino counterattack, taking the Italians by surprise. They break through the Italian line, but are thwarted in fierce fighting and forced to fall back. At dawn, the Italians launch their own attacks, all successfully repulsed, even though Italian artillery batters the Austrian lines.
Macedonia The British withdraw from exposed positions in the Struma valley.
Diplomatic Relations Haiti breaks relations with Germany.
United States Wilson signs into law the Espionage Act, defining the nature of war crimes and granting the president power to regulate exports through creation of the Exports Council.

June 15, 1918
Italian Front With Russia out of the fight, Austrian leaders have seen the possibility of redeploying troops to mount a decisive offensive against Italy. They had planned for the offensive to begin on May 20, but lack of horses and motor vehicles for hauling artillery and men to the front, disrepair of train engines, inadequate and insufficient food and clothing for the soldiers, and lack of spirit, have caused the offensive to be slow in materializing. Both Field Marshal Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf, now commanding the Trentino front, and General Borojevic on the Piave, push for command of the operation. Front commander Archduke Josef compromises, permitting them to attack simultaneously. Since the mountainous terrain and lack of lateral communications would prevent mutual support, the available reserves are split between them. The result is that neither commander will have sufficient strength to exploit any initial success. The Austrian forces are short of practically everything. Conrad attacks in the Sette Comuni sector of the Piave front with the expanded 11th Army, with the goal of Verona. Army Group Borojevic will attack from the Lessini Alps against the Italian flank, striking for Padua. On the very day of the offensive, Austrian armies remain short of artillery, ammunition, gas shells, food, and horses; and the diversionary attack in the Trentino has already come to naught. Deserters have apprised the Italians of the offensive and Italian artillery preempts the Austrian attack by opening fire four hours before the Austrians had planned to begin. The Austrian artillery sticks to the plan and commences firing at 3:00 PM. The Italian artillery gets the better of the duel.

June 15, 1920
Italy Nitti is succeeded as premier by Giovanni Giolitti. No one seems able to form a stable government.

[Ennath]

June 16, 1904
Finland The Russian governor-general Nikolai Bobrikov is shot by a Finnish nationalist nobleman.

June 16, 1915
Western Front The British make a small advance near Festubert. The French make minor gains north of Arras and in the Vosges. After weeks of sallies, General d’Urbal’s French 10th Army in Artois has taken Ablain, the Loretto Woods and the Labyrinth. Now reinforced with three more divisions, for a total of 18, it begins a second general offensive with Vimy Ridge as the first objective. Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria’s German 6th Army has also been reinforced by five more divisions and 130 guns. As the day begins, the French artillery opens up a barrage, but the shells mostly fall short, some on their own lines. The only real success of the day is by the Moroccan Division, which reaches the crest of Vimy Ridge.
Italian Front The Italians finally secure Monte Nero. Italian II Corps takes Hill 383 in hard fighting.

June 16, 1916
Eastern Front Russian troops cross the Styr and Stokhod northwest of Lutsk. The Austrians pull back across the Styrpa.
France The Chamber of Deputies meets in secret session to discuss Verdun. Several members denounce the conduct of the ongoing battle, revealing that casualty figures have been misrepresented as less than those the Germans suffer – the reverse is actually true.
Arabia Following bombing raids by seaplanes and shelling from Royal Navy warships, the 1500 man Turkish garrison at Jeddah surrenders to the Arabs.
United States Wilson is renominated for president, using the slogan “He kept us out of war.”

June 16, 1917
France Pershing meets with Petain. After hearing Pershing’s depiction of the American support that is to come, the pessimistic Petain responds simply “I hope it is not too late.” Pershing returns to Paris to begin plans for dealing with the eventual arrival of the AEF.
Russia A 10-day conference of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets meets in Petrograd. Dominated by the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries, it gives its support to the Provisional Government, rejecting the Bolshevik demand for Soviet control of the government and an immediate end to the war.
The Provisional Government signs an n agreement with the Ukrainian Rada, recognizing it as the National Association of the Ukraine.

June 16, 1918
Italian Front At 7:00 AM, the Austrian infantry moves out on the Sette Comuni front, advancing through rugged terrain and struggling across the Piave. In the afternoon, they confront stiff opposition that drives them back to the start line. British trenches in the Asiago sector are penetrated, but the situation is restored. The Austrians gain footholds on Monte di Val Bella, Monte Asolone, and Monte Solarolo, but are later ejected. At the Montello sector, however, Army Group Borojevic manages to establish five bridgeheads across the river, advancing two miles and holding their ground. The Austrians gain southeast of Montello and Capo Sile.
Bulgaria In an attempt to stifle growing unrest, King Ferdinand dismisses his pro-Austrian premier, Vasil Radoslavov, a man noted for his corruption and brutal suppression of dissent and appoints the pro-Allied Alexander Malinov. Malinov is unable to form a broad-based government as Ferdinand refuses to release the Agrarian Party leaders from prison, so he is forced to maintain the existing foreign policy.
Allied Diplomacy The British government issues a pledge (known as the Declaration to the Seven Syrians) that future governments of the area occupied by Allied forces in Arabia will come into being on the principle of “consent of the governed” and that areas under Turkish control “should obtain their freedom and independence”. Arab leaders assume that this pledge includes a reassurance about the future of Palestine.
United States Prominent Socialist leader Eugene Debs makes a speech in Canton, Ohio urging listeners to resist the draft. He is arrested four days later and charged with 10 counts of sedition. He is found guilty on September 12. His sentence is 10 years and disenfranchisement.

June 16, 1920
Armenia An Armenian expedition is sent to Oltu to suppress rebel Muslim tribesmen, sparking war with Turkey.

[Ennath]

June 17, 1911
Persia Ex-Shah Mohammed Ali, with Russian help, lands on the Caspian coast in an attempt to regain his throne. He is defeated by government forces and returns to exile on September 5. Dissatisfaction with the continued dominance of the old elites leads Kuchik Khan to lead a socialist rebellion, known as the Jangal movement, in Gilan province. The Russians and British increase their military commitment in order to protect their oil resources.

June 17, 1915
Western Front The French take Buval Bottom, north of Arras. In Alsace, the Germans evacuate Metzeral.
Russian Planning Russian commanders hold conference at Kholm. The army is now a half million men understrength and the position in Poland is threatened with envelopment. There are proposals for a retreat from Poland, but the political ambitions of postwar territorial gains militate against this. A withdrawal would also mean abandoning several fortresses, which the “cavalry clique” continue to maintain. The Russians finally decide to order a fighting withdrawal if Lemberg falls.
Eastern Front Near Lemberg Austrian 4th Army drives the Russians back, while to the north German 11th Army reaches Magierow.
Italian Front A surprise Austrian counterattack retakes Hill 383. The week-long battle for the hill has cost some 7500 Italian and 2600 Austrian casualties.
United States A League to Enforce Peace is founded in Philadelphia. It is a prototype for the League of Nations. Ex-President Taft is its president.

June 17, 1916
Western Front, Verdun There is heavy fighting at Le Mort Homme, Thiaumont Farm, and Hill 320.
War in the Air Max Immelmann (17 victories) is killed. Jean Navarre (12 victories) is shot down and permanently grounded with severe wounds.
Germany Helmuth von Moltke dies.
Eastern Front German troops have assembled for a counteroffensive at the Stokhod and are commanded by Georg von der Marwitz. They now attack Alexei Kaledin’s 8th Army south of the Pripet Marshes, gaining a salient a few miles wide and inflicting heavy casualties. Further south, Russian troops occupy Czernowitz. They continue to gain the Lutsk sector and repulse counterattacks at Buczacz. Evert puts off his attack until the end of the month and keeps switching objectives.
Italian Front The Austrians’ final effort comes to naught. Conrad, obliged to redeploy troops to the Eastern Front, calls a halt to the Trentino offensive, which has succeeded in taking only a small section of the Lessini Alps. The Italians on the Isonzo front repulse an Austrian attack on Monfalcone.
Austrian Command Criticized, probably unfairly, for being too slow and steady to exploit success during the Asiago offensive, Dankl is relieved of command of 11th Army. He undergoes throat surgery for a goiter and is later given command of the Imperial Guards.
Greece Demobilization of the armed forces is begun.
German East Africa The Belgians occupy Kitega, capital of Urundi, then halt for 3 weeks to resupply.

June 17, 1917
Western Front The Germans take some French trenches near Hurtebise. Portuguese troops see action for the first time in France.
Italian Front Austrian counterattacks in the Trentino and Isonzo sectors achieve little.

June 17, 1918
French Command General Guillaumat is recalled to command the defenses of Paris. Louis Franchet d’Esperey replaces him at Salonika.
Italian Front Italian and French troops capture Razea Pizzo and heights southeast of Sasso. Austrian attacks across the lower Piave are repulsed. Italian artillery damages many of the Austrian bridges. To make matters worse, the rain-swollen river isolates many Austrian units on the south bank. Thousands drown while trying to cross the river. None of the bridgeheads is more than a mile deep. The Austrians commit their last fresh divisions.
Austria-Hungary A reduction in the bread ration leads to disturbances and partial strikes in Vienna.

June 17, 1919
RussiaBritish MTB’s raid the Soviet fleet base at Kronstadt, sinking the protected cruiser Oleg.

June 17, 1925
Diplomatic Relations The League of Nations convenes the Arms Traffic Convention in an effort to control international trade in weapons and munitions. One result is the Geneva Protocol, prohibiting the use of poison gas in warfare.

[Ennath]

June 18, 1881
Diplomatic Relations Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia establish a League of the Three Emperors to defend conservative, monarchical rule. The alliance is generally anti-British and ostensibly pro-Turkish. Russian participation is somewhat half-hearted.

June 18, 1915
Western Front Toughened German resistance and counterattacks in Artois have thwarted the French offensive and General Foch realizes the fighting must stop as the German defenses are too strong to be breached. At a cost of 100,000 casualties, the French offensives have secured about five square miles, but only the Loretto Heights have any real value. German losses are about 75,000. Relations between the Allies are strained because the BEF has foundered at Aubers Ridge and Festubert, where it was supposed to divert German troops. Now the Germans, following their success in Galicia, are moving troops from the east to bolster their defenses on the Western Front.

June 18, 1916
Western Front, Verdun There is heavy fighting at Fermin Wood and Hill 321.
Eastern Front Brusilov has been pressing for the northern armies to support his offensive with attacks of their own to tie down German reserves. The Lake Naroch fighting, however, has left Evert and Kuropatkin overcautious. Finally, Evert launches a weak and poorly prepared attack, achieving little.
Italian Front The Italians take Monte Isodoro.

June 18, 1917
Western Front The British lose ground on Infantry Hill.
Italian Front Italian artillery opens twenty hours of firing in the Trentino.

June 18, 1918
Western Front French troops repulse a German attack near Rheims.
Italian Front The Piave suffers from floods, hampering Austrian attacks. As his troops have successfully thwarted the Austrian assault, except at Montello, General Diaz begins a counterattack against Borojevic’s troops. The Italians retake Capo Sile. The beleaguered Borojevic asks Emperor Karl for permission to withdraw. The emperor stalls.
Adriatic The Otranto Barrage is reinforced with American submarine chasers.
Black Sea The crew of the pre-dreadnaught Svobodnaya Rossiya scuttles the ship rather than hand it over to the Germans.
Persia A force of about 10,000 Cossacks under Colonel Bicherakov, to whom they are intensely loyal, has gained control of the area between Qazvin and Manjil and now reaches Resht.

[Ennath]

June 19, 1915
Western Front The French make small gains near Souchez.
Eastern Front Austrian attacks in Galicia force the Russians from the Grodek line.
Caucasus The Russians launch an offensive northwest of Lake Van. Turkish resistance is unexpectedly strong and gains are few. The Turks have recovered well from Sarikamish.

June 19, 1916
Eastern Front Russian troops cross the Pruth west of Czernowitz and there is heavy fighting near Lutsk. German troops are arriving to bolster the Austrians.
German East Africa British troops occupy Handem and the Germans retreat along the central railway.

June 19, 1917
Western Front There are small British gains in the Arras sector.
Italian Front At 6:00 AM, the Italian assault begins, spearheaded by elite Alpini, who capture Austrian positions in the Ortigara sector, taking the mountain’s main summit. But elsewhere, including some positions on the Ortigara, the Austrians hold fast, preventing a significant Italian advance. During the night, the Austrians reinforce their positions at Porta Lepozze and Monte Campigoletti.
British Planning General Douglas Haig has traveled to London to try to persuade the War Cabinet that he is right about pursuing what he sees as the advantage opened by the Battle of Messines and unleashing the large-scale Flanders offensive he has planned. But the members of the War Cabinet – David Lloyd George, Andrew Bonar Law, Lord Curzon, Smuts, Viscount Alfred Milner, and General Robertson – respond pessimistically. Prime Minister Lloyd George remains especially disaffected over the prospects on the Western Front.
Austria-Hungary Unable to form a coalition, Clam-Martinic resigns as Austrian premier.

June 19, 1918
Italian Front The Allies gain the initiative on the Piave, with furious fighting from Montello to the sea. In the Asiago sector, French troops take Monte Bertigo and Monte Pennar.
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.
North Sea A British squadron is attacked by German seaplanes without effect.
Finland Decisions as to whether to adopt a monarchy are postponed until 1920; the country will eventually decide for a republic.
SiamAn Expeditionary Force, comprising motor transport units, an aviation section and an ambulance unit, sails for France, arriving in late July.

June 19, 1919
Latvia A four day battle begins when the Baltic freikorps attack the Estonians and Latvian loyalists at Cesis. The Germans are forced into retreat. The Allies now insist that all German troops be removed from Latvia. Under British supervision, the withdrawal is completed by November.

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by Ennath

June 19, 1918
War in the Air Italy’s leading ace Francesco Barraca (34 kills) is downed and killed by ground fire.

As mentioned in the "Did You Know" thread, but worth repeating here, the famous Ferrari "prancing horse" logo was taken from the artwork on Count Francesco Baracca's aircraft.

According to Enzo Ferrari .... "In 1923, I met Count Enrico Baracca, the hero's father, and then his mother, Countess Paolina, who said to me one day, 'Ferrari, put my son's prancing horse on your cars. It will bring you good luck.'"


Baracca and his SPAD with the prancing horse artwork.