The First World War

[Ennath]

May 31, 1902
South Africa The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the Boer War after a year and half of bitter guerilla warfare. The Boers accept British sovereignty. As part of the very lenient terms, Britain grants 3 million pounds compensation for destroyed farms. It has taken the British Empire almost three years and 500,000 men to subdue 83,000 Boers. The experience of some 85 years of little wars is discarded and an entire new system of tactics and techniques has had to be evolved on the battlefield. The war has also demonstrated clearly to the British their position of isolation in the world; almost all foreign powers favored the Boers. The tradition of “splendid isolation” is coming to an end.

May 31, 1910
South Africa The Union of South Africa becomes a dominion.

May 31, 1915
Western Front Fighting continues at Hooge. The French take Souchez refinery and gain in the “Labyrinth”.
War in the Air There is a Zeppelin raid on London.
Eastern Front The Austrians and Germans capture Styrj and the three northern forts at Przemysl.
Italian Front Following several days of Italian artillery bombardments, Italian troops attack along the Isonzo. The Austrians manage to hang on. The elite Bavarian Mountain Corps arrives in the Trentino to reinforce Austrian 1st Army.
Mesopotamia With the oilfields now secure, General Sir John Nixon begins to advance up the Tigris River with al-Amara, 87 miles above Qurna, as the objective. But to reach this goal the British must first rout the Turks from their defensive positions only a few thousand yards from Qurna on both sides of the river. Nixon decides on an amphibious operation, using gunboats and troops poling small boats. The operation, under Charles Townshend, begins at 5:00 AM with two gunboats and two launches moving upstream. Shelling the Turkish positions sends the defenders into flight. British and Indian troops occupy the abandoned positions. The first phase of the attack ends by noon, as intense heat and weariness force a halt.
Cameroon The German garrison of Monso surrenders.
Ceylon There are anti-colonial disorders.

May 31, 1916
Western Front, Verdun There is fierce fighting between Cumieres and Le Mort Homme.
North Sea Heavy winds prevent the use of Zeppelins as spotters, but Scheer has decided to proceed with a revised plan to lure the Grand Fleet into entrapment without air reconnaissance. With U-Boats off the British bases at Scapa, Rosyth, and Cromarty, he sends his two scouting groups under Hipper ahead at 1:00 AM, headed for Norway. An hour and a half later, he moves out with the rest of the High Seas Fleet. Neither the Germans nor the British know the other’s fleet is at sea and they are headed on courses that make their meeting virtually inevitable. In fact, at noon, the Admiralty telegraphs Jellicoe that the German fleet is still in harbor. Scheer remains ignorant also because his U-Boat trap fails; not a single British ship is torpedoed as they steam out of port and no message comes from the U-Boats advising Scheer that the British have sailed.
The opposing fleets contrast sharply. Six of the Grand Fleet’s 37 dreadnoughts mount 15” guns, one 14” guns, fifteen 13.5” guns, and fifteen 12” guns. By contrast, fourteen of the High Seas Fleet’s 27 dreadnoughts have 12” guns and the rest have 11” guns. The British have greater firepower, but the Germans have a speed advantage and their ships are better armored.
At 2:10 PM, the cruiser Galataea, leading Beatty’s force, spots a Danish merchant ship off the Jutland Bank and moves in with the Phaeton to investigate. Hipper has also spotted the Danish ship and comes to have a look. The foes sight each other. The Galataea signals Beatty “Enemy in sight. Two cruisers, possibly hostile, in sight bearing ESE course unknown.” The British cruisers open fire at 2:28. The German cruiser Elbing responds. A shell hits the Galataea, but it is a dud. The British cruisers speed off to the northwest, hoping to lure the Germans into confrontation with Beatty’s fleet.
Aboard the Lion, Beatty unsuccessfully tries to signal the Fifth Battle Division, sailing northeast since leaving Moray Firth to rendezvous with Jellicoe, to turn southeast and join the battle. At 3:20 Hipper’s lookouts spot Beatty’s fleet approaching. The admiral orders both scouting groups – Rear Admiral Bodicker commanding the second – to turn about 180 degrees and steam southward, hoping Beatty will give chase right into the jaws of the waiting High Seas Fleet. The weather benefits the Germans; a heavy mist cloaks their ships while the British ships are clearly visible along the western horizon. Having signaled Jellicoe, Beatty opens fire at 15,000 yards, but the shots are long. He shifts to SSE course and Hipper reacts by moving south – setting the opposing fleets on parallel courses and firing broadside. The Queen Mary misses Beatty’s signal that he will focus on Hipper’s flagship, while the Queen Mary is to attack the Derfflinger, and the following ships attack their counterparts down the line. So the Derfflinger remains free to fire without reprisal for ten minutes. Shortly after 4:00, a German shell destroys one of Lion’s turrets, setting fire to cordite supplies. At the same time, the Von der Tann, though taking several hits, sends several shells into Indefatigable, setting off internal explosions and sending her quickly to the bottom.
Fifth Battle Squadron now arrives on the scene. By now the Queen Mary’s guns are hammering the Derfflinger, which shifts sights to this new challenger as the Seydlitz does the same. Four 12” shells from the Derfflinger set off explosions aboard the Queen Mary that break the ship in half – over 1200 men go down with her. Thick smoke and water exploding upward from shell bursts obscure the unfolding battle. Observing the loss of the battlecruisers, Beatty makes his famous remark “There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today.” The big guns of the Fifth Battle Squadron’s Super-Dreadnoughts restore the advantage to Beatty, but now the High Seas Fleet looms into sight. Beatty signals his fleet to turn to the northwest and move off, expecting the High Seas Fleet to follow after into the oncoming Grand Fleet. Evan-Thomas, with visibility continually worsening, receives the signal late and remains headed toward the High Seas Fleet, whose lead ships open fire. By 6:00, a half hour after Jellicoe, aboard the Iron Duke, observed that the firing had stopped to his south, the commander in chief has had no word from Beatty for over an hour. Beatty is actually less than six miles away. The Iron Duke’s captain records: “Beatty in the Lion appeared out of the mist on our starboard bow, leading his splendid battlecruisers, which were engaged to starboard with an enemy invisible to us. I noted smoke pouring from a shell hole on the port side of the Lion’s forecastle and grey ghost-like columns of water thrown up by heavy enemy shells pitching amongst these great ships.” Jellicoe signals “Where is enemy’s battle fleet?” Beatty is uncertain, but Jellicoe calculates that Scheer is about ten miles distant and deploys his fleet for the attack. In the meantime, Sir Horace Hood, with two battlecruisers and four destroyers comes to Beatty’s rescue from the northeast, destroying or damaging three of Hipper’s advance cruisers, ending the chase, and preventing Hipper from sighting the approaching Grand Fleet, which can now complete its deployment. Hood joins Beatty’s vanguard and heads into Hipper’s fleet with all guns blazing. The Invincible, after hitting the Derfflinger with a few shots, takes a shell amidships, explodes, and breaks in half – 1026 are killed. The Grand Fleet bears down on the High Seas Fleet, but poor visibility resulting from mist, smoke, and low clouds continues to hamper both sides – many of the ships simply cannot be seen. Fearing entrapment, Scheer, at 6:35, orders a maneuver that turns all of his fleet 180 degrees and disappears into the mist. At 8:15, Beatty encounters Hipper’s battlecruisers and damages the Seydlitz and Lutzow. Scheer dispatches some of his pre-dreadnoughts to shield his fleet from Beatty, who, lacking the support of the Grand Fleet, calls off the attack as darkness settles. Four more encounters occur before midnight, resulting in collisions, damage by fire and the sinking of the cruiser Frauenlob by torpedo.
Italian Front The Austrians occupy Arsiero.
Caucasus Turkish troops retake Mamkhatun.
German East Africa The Belgians occupy Usumbara.

May 31, 1917
Western Front Fighting around Moronvillers continues.
Luxembourg Miners in occupied Luxembourg strike. The Germans ruthlessly crush the strike within nine days; the two ringleaders are sentenced by court martial to ten years’ imprisonment.
Italian Front An Austrian attack at Vodice fails.
Austria-Hungary Emperor Karl promises a more liberal constitution after the war.
British Command The government is planning to relieve Murray of the Egypt command. Smuts is offered the post, but insists on a major offensive to knock Turkey out of the war. This is more of a commitment to the theater than the army is willing to make, so Smuts turns down the position.

May 31, 1918
Western Front Hardening French resistance holds the Germans to a modest gain. German troops reach the Marne from Chateau Thierry to Dormans and advance on Compiegne. The French recover some ground near Rheims. The German advance now totals 40 miles and has netted 50,000 prisoners.
Diplomatic Relations The Dutch refuse to allow British examination of their convoys.
Russia The Czechs take Tomsk.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Ennath

May 31, 1902
...The Invincible, after hitting the Derfflinger with a few shots, takes a shell amidships, explodes, and breaks in half – 1026 are killed

It's true, it really broke in half. Here are the ends. It looks unreal, but the ends are on the seabed - the North Sea is mostly shallow

...Scheer dispatches some of his pre-dreadnoughts to shield his fleet from Beatty....

...Jellicoe also turns to shield his fleet from Beatty

[Ennath]

June 1900
South Africa The Transvaal falls to the British and formal resistance ends. A difficult guerrilla war, however, begins.

June 1914
Austria-Hungary The dominant nationalities of the Empire, Germans (23%) and Magyars (19%) together form only a minority of Austria-Hungary’s population – and even these are toying with separatism. There are seven major ethnic separatist movements and the Imperial Diet is the scene of chaotic demonstrations and debilitating national rivalries. The government frequently resorts to rule by decree, theoretically an emergency measure. Only the Poles in Galicia remain loyal subjects, since the alternative for them is Russian rule. With riots and police crackdowns mounting, the view that the Hapsburg Empire is on the verge of disintegration is widely held.
Europe Affairs outside Austria-Hungary seem calmer than they have been in years. The crises of 1905-06, 1908-09, 1911, 1912, and 1913 have all been weathered without resort to war. The Socialist threat has subsided; real wages are up 50% since 1890, trade unions have won the right to collective bargaining if not to strike, and their leaders often sit in parliaments. Social welfare programs are in place almost everywhere.

June 1915
War at Sea U-Boats sink 131,428 tons of shipping. Two U-Boats are lost.
Turkey The Armenian and Assyrian deportations begin. During the harsh marches through the desert, Ottoman troops are allowed to rape, steal from and kill the prisoners. During the war, some 1,400,000 Armenians and 250,000 Assyrians perish.
Arctic A German auxiliary cruiser mines the approaches to Archangelsk.
Singapore A disguised German officer, Vincent Kraft, is landed to contact Indian revolutionaries, but is arrested shortly after landing. He carries several compromising documents relating to a planned rising on Christmas day, tipping off British authorities, who investigate further. Kraft himself is turned and spends the war as a British double agent. He is settled in America with his family after the war.
Indian Ocean A revolt over the head tax breaks out on Grand Comoro but is suppressed by the French in August.

June 1916
War at Sea U-Boats sink 108,855 tons of shipping. Two U-Boats are sunk.
Baltic Sea The relentless demand for more naval manpower leads the Germans to lay up most of the old pre-dreadnoughts and armored cruisers of the Baltic Fleet.
Britain Restless out of politics, Churchill returns to Parliament.
Russia Inflation is rampant. Prices for wood and eggs are up 400% from the star of the war, butter and soap up 500%. In Moscow bread prices are up 40%.
World Affairs There is a “Subject Nations Conference” at Lausanne, Switzerland. Representatives from the various colonial possessions discuss their national aspirations.

June 1917
War at Sea U-Boats sink 687,507 tons of shipping. Three U-Boats are sunk. Although convoys have begun, the idea of offensive patrols dies hard among Allied naval leaders, who see such patrols as the proper role for warships, rather than nursemaiding freighters; the following few months see several such major sweeps, all unsuccessful.
War in the Air The Allied fighter squadrons in France are beginning to receive the Sopwith F1 Camel, the SE5a, and the French SPAD SXIII, regaining air superiority. Although German aircraft and pilots continue to be at least as good as their opponents, they will never again have a sufficient qualitative edge to offset their numerical inferiority.
Persia There is a change of government in Teheran. The new ministry does not recognize the South Persia Rifles and official hostility towards them grows. The force currently numbers over 7000.

June 1918
War at Sea U-Boats sink 255,587 tons of shipping. Three U-Boats are lost. Convoys begin in American coastal waters. New York City institutes a blackout, but it is suspended after 13 days, when authorities decide that it only makes the area more conspicuous since the surrounding areas remain fully lit. Regular convoys begin in the Irish Sea.
War in the Air The Germans reassign their heavy bombers from attacks on England to operations closer to the front, hitting French ports and Allied rear areas. All German air units are beginning to ration gasoline.
India The first flu cases occur in Bombay. By July 1919, the influenza pandemic will kill some 14 million people in India alone.

June 1919
RussiaRed forces fight their way over the Urals.

June 1920
Mesopotamia Revolt breaks out against British rule. It is suppressed by the end of October after 500 British and Indian and 6000 rebel deaths.
Russia Red requisitions lead to a new series of peasant revolts.
Russia The Czechs and western Allies complete their withdrawal from Siberia. The Japanese remain.

June-October 1920
Russia Taking advantage of Soviet preoccupation with the Polish war, Wrangel attacks north from the Crimea, making initial gains. The end of the war with Poland, however, allows the Reds to bring reinforcements and Wrangel is driven back to his start point.

June 1926
Germany Reichswehr commander Hans von Seeckt approves a request by Prince Wilhelm, the Kaiser’s grandson, to participate in maneuvers. Republican opinion is outraged and Seeckt is dismissed. The affair is symptomatic of the divide between the German Republic and its army.

[Ennath]

June 1, 1914
Germany German paranoia about “encirclement” is illustrated by a memo from the Commander in Chief, General Moltke. Convinced, along with a number of other commanders, that France and Russia intend to invade Germany in 1917 at the latest, he stresses the need for a military showdown before they are prepared and concludes “We are ready and the sooner it comes the better for us.” Russia’s recovery from the war with Japan is especially worrying; Russia’s government revenue has doubled since 1900, though social development has failed to keep pace.

June 1, 1915
Western Front Fighting continues in the “Labyrinth”. The French take some trenches near Souchez.
Eastern Front The Germans launch an unsuccessful gas attack west of Warsaw.
Dardanelles Hamilton disembarks to establish his headquarters on the island of Imbros.
Italian Front The Italians hold the slopes of Monte Nero, across the Isonzo and make advances in the Adige Valley.
Diplomatic Relations Bulgaria informs the Central Powers of the latest Entente offers in hopes that the Austro-Germans will increase the stakes.
Mesopotamia The Turks begin retreating up the Tigris from the Qurna region. A British river flotilla pursues, leaving behind most of the troops. Navigating through totally unfamiliar waters, “Townshend’s Regatta” catches up with the gunboats Marmaris and Mosultowing barges filled with Turkish troops. The gunboats hastily cast off the barges, which, along with sailboats also carrying troops, make for shore. HMS Odin veers off to capture the fleeing Turks while the rest of the flotilla continues the pursuit until dark.

June 1, 1916
Western Front, Verdun Since the start of the battle the German have maintained a continuing bombardment of French positions, with 420mm “Big Berthas” pounding Fort Moulainville, though counterbattery fire has destroyed 9 of the 13 immobile “Big Berthas”. German artillery superiority and their possession of Le Mort Homme and Hill 304 have rendered the French vulnerable in this area, but Knobelsdorf’s new offensive shifts the focus to the right bank of the Meuse, the principal targets now being Fort Vaux, the Fleury Ridge and Fort Souville beyond, and the fortifications at Thiaumont to the west. After a morning barrage, the German troops advance rapidly and capture the Caillette Woods and part of the Furmin Woods, positioning themselves for a determined attack on Fort Vaux, while depriving the French of posts from which to fire on their flanks as they move against the fort.
North Sea The final encounters in the Battle of Jutland unfold during the early morning hours. Shortly after midnight, the crippled Lutzow is scuttled. At 1:45 AM, the British 12th Flotilla sights six German battleships. The flotilla leader Faulkner and four other ships unleash seventeen torpedoes. One explodes in the bowels of the Pommern, a pre-dreadnought battleship, which suddenly fragments and sinks. Elsewhere the German dreadnought Thuringen spots the armored cruiser Black Prince, splays searchlights on her and shells her mercilessly, with the spreading fires exploding her magazines – another total loss. At 2:30 attracted by the noise, the cruiser Champion and four destroyers from 12th and 13th Flotillas sight Hipper’s trailing ships and torpedo a destroyer but make no further effort to attack; they also fail to report the sighting to Jellicoe. Finally, at 3:30, the Champion spots four German destroyers moving in an opposite direction, fires desultorily, scoring one torpedo hit, but makes no attempt to give chase. The British make other intermittent sightings of the withdrawing Germans but never report them to Jellicoe. The Battle of Jutland ends with a whimper. Hipper’s battlecruisers and the High Seas Fleet make good their escape past their protective minefields.
Eastern Front Russian troops in the Vilna sector repulse a German attack east of Krevo.
Italian Front The Austrians make a heavy attack on the Italian left center from Monte Pasubio to south of Arsiero. Little progress is made.
Caucasus The Turks reinforced, assume the offensive.
Persia Russian troops are repulsed attempting to cross the Khanikin River.

June 1, 1917
Western Front The Germans make some gains in the Aisne sector.
Italian Front The Italians progress south of Kostanjevica.
France The government announces that it will not issue passports for French Socialists to attend the Stockholm Conference.
Britain The Labor Party appoints deputations to Stockholm and Petrograd.
Russia Soviet-inspired sailors at Kronstadt naval base revolt.

June 1, 1918
Western Front German troops push down the Ourcq, taking Neuilly St. Front and reaching a point 39 miles from Paris. The Germans make other gains in the left and center of the French line. Nevertheless, exhaustion, declining discipline, distance from supply sources (the failure to secure Rheims leaves only one rail line to the front), and increasing opposition are beginning to take a toll on the Blücher offensive.
Portuguese East Africa Lettow-Vorbeck and his column cross the Lurio River near the village of Vatiua and move south into hilly bush country. They are pursued by six British columns and a Portuguese column. Inter-Allied cooperation is poor.

June 1, 1919
Germany French-backed separatists declare a Republic of the Rhineland, but it collapses after a few months due to the hostility of the inhabitants.

[Ennath]

June 2, 1897
Britain Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee is celebrated. The British Empire is at the height of its world power.

June 2, 1915
Eastern Front Austro-German troops attack Przemysl. The Austrians are checked on the Dniestr at Mikolajow.
Russian Command Radko-Dmitriev is replaced at 3rd Army by L. V. Lesh.
Italian Front The Italians begin three days of unsuccessful attacks on Mrzli. Italian troops destroy 6 Slovene villages there, claiming they fired on Italian positions. This only hardens Slovene resolve.
Dardanelles A British submarine sinks a German transport in the Sea of Marmara.
Mediterranean The Allied blockade is extended to include the Ottoman Empire.
Caucasus Armenian social democrats seize the citadel at Shabin Karahisar and hold it until the end of the month.
Mesopotamia “Townshend’s Regatta” sweeps down on the Marmaris, now aground and on fire, and the Mosul, which surrenders. Amara, 50 miles distant, beckons, but Townshend’s larger ships draw too great a draft to continue upriver and the main body of troops remains 50 miles behind. Townshend, however, inspired by the Turks’ headlong flight, decides to maintain the pursuit. He transfers to the Comet with a handful of troops and heads for Amara. Reaching Qal’at Salih, he routs some Turkish troops from the riverbank with gunfire; the village surrenders. Townshend moves on, stopping at dusk a little over halfway to his objective.

June 2, 1916
Western Front, Verdun Vaux, the smallest fort at Verdun, appears vulnerable to the impending German attack as its only remaining 75mm gun turret has been destroyed by bombardment. Machine guns now constitute its largest weaponry. In addition, water supplies are inadequate and no tunnel has been built to the rear for sending in reinforcements and replacements. 600 troops wait expectantly as at dawn the German artillery ceases firing – the barrage had sent over 1500 shells per hour into the fort. Two battalions attack the fort’s northern galleries. Fighting rages through the day, ending in the Germans securing the northern galleries as well as entering one of the corridors to the interior.
Western Front, Elsewhere German 4th Army at Ypres attack a Canadian division, gaining 1200 yards at Mont Sorrel.
North Sea As a result of a communications failure, the German U-Boats patrolling the British coast have withdrawn a day early, and the British squadrons return safely to their bases. British losses in the Battle of Jutland number 6096 dead, three battlecruisers, three armored cruisers, and eight destroyers. German losses total 2551 dead, one pre-dreadnought battleship, one battlecruiser, four light cruisers, and five destroyers. The British have lost over twice the tonnage of the Germans, but the Germans have several badly damaged ships as well, with Hipper’s fleet temporarily unfit for service. The decisive battle the British have longed for has eluded them. Germany claims victory, but Great Britain retains control of the seas and the blockade of Germany will continue. British ships are also repaired more quickly. Jellicoe reports to the Admiralty that the Grand Fleet is again ready for action.
Jutland marks the end of an epoch in naval warfare, being the last occasion on which great fleets slugged it out within eyeshot of each other.
Britain Kitchener meets in a committee room at the House of Commons with his parliamentary critics and defends his policies and tenure at the War Office. His manages to win the MP’s to his side. The field marshal is about to leave for the east as he has been invited by the Tsar to visit the Russian fronts so that he can offer council and report back to the Asquith administration on supply and other problems facing the Russian army.
Italian Front Austrian attacks from Posina to Astico are repulsed.
Macedonia Some Bulgarians fire on Greek troops at Demirhissar.
EgyptThe British drive the Turkish garrison from Katuya, Sinai.
Caucasus The Russians repulse Turkish attacks between Erzurum and Erzinjan. The Turks retire 25 miles.
German East Africa The Germans abandon Nimema, in the southwest.
Persia After three days of fighting, the Turks abandon their attempt to retake Rawanduz.

June 2, 1917
Western Front British troops make gains south of the Souchez River.
Allied Planning With a promise of strictest secrecy, Petain reveals to Haig that the French army is afflicted with mutiny, precluding the possibility of offensive action, in particular a planned attack at Malmaison. The revelation presents Haig with a quandary concerning whether to pursue the Flanders campaign. He decides that at this late date it is best to proceed with the Messines assault. British attacks will now have the added mission of diverting German attention from the French fronts.
Brazil The government revokes its neutrality and seizes German ships in Brazilian ports.

June 2, 1918
Western Front In violent fighting on the Ourcq, the Germans take, and then lose, Longpont, Courcy, and Troesnes. A German attack on Chateau-Thierry is repulsed by U.S. 2nd Division. French troops capture Champlat, in the Rheims sector. There is heavy fighting south of Noyon.
War at Sea “Black Sunday”. U-151 sinks 6 U.S. freighters and damages 2 others off the New Jersey coast in a few hours. Another ship is damaged on a mine laid by U-151 the next day.
Allied Planning During a meeting of the Supreme War Council, Pershing, while maintaining a cool appraisal of the situation, asserts that he will insist on transport of 250,000 American soldiers per month in June and July and agrees to commitment of U.S. troops to fight alongside the French.

[Ennath]

June 3, 1915
Eastern Front The Austro-Germans retake Przemysl. Falkenhayn and Conrad order their combined offensive to continue pushing east of the San River. They reorganize Austrian 2nd and 4th Armies and German 11th Army as Army Group Mackensen, redeploying much of Austrian 3rd Army to the Italian Front and merging the remainder into other formations.
Dardanelles A Turkish attack at Cape Helles is repulsed.
German East Africa The British monitors Severn and Mersey reach Mafia Island opposite the mouth of the Rufiji River and prepare for a mission against the Königsberg.
Mesopotamia As Townshend progresses upriver, he sees nothing but white flags raised in surrender. He sends the launch Shaitan ahead to ascertain whether Amara is fortified. The Shaitan spots a barge loading troops and fires a shot. The troops and others coming downriver disperse. Although Townshend has only a hundred sailors and soldiers available, he bluffs. The town and a Turkish battalion surrender, thinking that the British army is fast approaching.
Diplomatic Relations San Marino declares war on Austria-Hungary.

June 3, 1916
Western Front, Verdun German troops encircle Fort Vaux, cutting it off from contact with the French lines to the rear. With the Germans occupying the top of the fort and advancing along two of the fort’s corridors, the defenders erect barricades, intent on holding the underground interior. The Germans inch forward in the completely dark corridors, only three feet wide and five feet high, with grenades exploding around them and fumes from the explosions choking their lungs. During the night, the exhausted German troops are replaced with fresh units.
Western Front, Elsewhere Two months of tunneling under and blowing up each other’s lines at Arras – with the edge going to the British, who have taken over this sector to aid the French effort at Verdun – come to a temporary end with the British setting off four charges under the German trenches. The Germans have managed to advance slightly during the past two months, but the front is essentially a stalemate.
A Canadian counterattack at Mont Sorrel fails. Only limited British reinforcements are available due to the buildup for the Somme offensive.
Italian Front The Austrians advance on the Arsiero-Posina line but are repulsed on the Arsiero-Lagarina line.
Macedonia The Allies occupy all official buildings in Salonika and declare martial law. Demonstrators protest this usurpation of Greek sovereignty.
Caucasus The Russians repulse a Turkish attack near Diyarbakir.
Persia The Russians defeat a Turkish force at Khanikin.
German East Africa A British force secures Namena after three days of fighting.
American Planning After months of debate on the issue of preparedness, with President Wilson advocating a stronger military to bolster the credibility of his diplomatic efforts, Congress has passed the National Defense Act, which now becomes law. The act authorizes an army of nearly 175,000 men and provides for the National Guard to be increased to nearly 400,000 men over a five year period. The act also authorizes the War Department to hold summer training camps for volunteers and to construct and operate a nitrate factory. Most importantly the act affirms universal military service.

June 3, 1917
Western Front The Germans recover lost ground by the Souchez. There are heavy German attacks on the Chemin des Dames.
After two days of protests and marches at Ville en Tardenois by 2000 dissident soldiers singing the Internationale and waving red flags, trucks transport the rebellious troops to other sites. Similar protests with troops refusing to return to the front- some 250 incidents in all – continue at various cantonments. Of the French army’s total strength of 3.5 million about 35,000 are estimated to be involved – enough to alarm the high command. By now the doubts of many generals about the offensive are known and the soldiers are bitter at being sent into a battle almost none of their leaders had any confidence in.
Britain The Independent Labor Party, to which Ramsay MacDonald has defected after resigning from the Labor Party, has aligned with the Socialist Party at Leeds to advocate a peace settlement. Over 1100 delegates attend, including MacDonald, Bertrand Russell and Philip Snowden. The conference increases anxiety in the government over a growing peace movement.
Italian Front The Austrians open a major counteroffensive on the Carso. Attacks on San Marco are repulsed.

June 3, 1918
Western Front The French retake Choisy Hill. The Germans take Pernant, west of Soissons. French and American troops force the Germans back over the Marne at Jaulgonne.

June 3, 1919
Hungary Rumanian troops are forced to abandon Tokaj. The Hungarians gain several industrial centers in the north and are back to the old frontier in the northeastern Carpathians.
India The Afghans and Waziris are defeated at Thal. A general armistice halts further fighting.

[Ennath]

June 4, 1915
Baltic Sea U-26 sinks the minelayer Yenisei in the Gulf of Finland with heavy loss of life.
Eastern Front Ivanov, commanding Southwest Front, has wasted his reserves and now has no choice but to order a withdrawal
Dardanelles The British and French attack along a one-mile front at Krithia, gaining a few hundred yards, but suffering 6500 casualties. France-style trench warfare settles over Gallipoli.
Mesopotamia Townshend’s troops arrive at Amara in the nick of time. Without suffering a single casualty, Townshend has captured 2000 Turks and large stores of supplies.

June 4, 1916
Western Front, Verdun At dawn, waves of French troops stream toward the western walls of Fort Vaux, but a German bayonet charge drives them off. During the night, the Germans have brought in six flamethrowers. Inserting their nozzles into openings in the fort’s walls, they blast flames into the interior, trying to smoke out or gas the defenders. The effort fails. Near midday, the French send out their last carrier pigeon with a note stating “Relief is imperative.” The bird reaches Verdun with the message and dies, a victim of the gasses from the flamethrowers.
Western Front, Elsewhere A French attack at Casspach, in the Vosges, takes three lines of German trenches.
Eastern Front General Alexei Brusilov has planned an offensive along the entire southern half of the eastern front from the Pripet Marshes south to the Dniestr River. His intention is to prevent the Germans from throwing in their reserves – their standard tactic on the front when hit on a narrow frontage – while probing for a weak spot in the Austro-Hungarian line where his troops may break through. He also hopes to oblige the Austrians to commit their reserves immediately since Conrad has weakened his lines by redeploying troops to the Italian front. Knowing that reinforcements will be few, Brusilov has moved his reserves close to the front. These have dug shelters and galleries enabling the Russian troops to creep within 100 yards of Austrian lines. Assault troops have trained on models of the Austrian defenses while active night patrols conceal preparations. Brusilov’s two main thrusts involve the 8th Army (Kaledin) advancing along the Rovno-Kovel rail line to attack Lutsk and the 9th Army (Lechitsky) driving across the Dniestr into Galicia. At the same time, the 11th (Sakharov) and 7th (Shcherbachev) Armies will attack north and south of Tarnopol. The Brusilov Offensive begins with a brief, but thunderous and accurate, artillery bombardment. The attacking Russians achieve only minor gains, but the Austrians will commit their reserves and fulfill Brusilov’s hope.

June 4, 1917
Western Front The Aisne offensive is formally cancelled.
Italian Front Reinforced from the east, the Austrians launch a counterattack on the Carso. The Italians are forced back south of Jamiano, but hold elsewhere.
North Sea In another attempt to destroy the U-Boat base at Ostend, Admiral Bacon has sent a light flotilla to shell the dockyards. They open fire at 3:00 AM. The attack proves fruitless, however, despite several direct hits. The ineffective British attacks on Zeebrugge and Ostend leave the job of closing the ports to Haig and his Flanders offensive, intended to be supported by 25,000 troops landed by the navy at Westende as the British advance warrants. In the English Channel, some other means must be found to stop the U-Boats.
Russian Command Brusilov formally succeeds Alexeev as commander of the Russian field armies.

June 4, 1918
Western Front German attacks at Veuilly Wood are checked by the Americans.
Caucasus Despite the success at Sardarapat, the Armenians are forced to sign the Treaty of Batum, granting passage to Turkish troops. General Andranik refuses to accept the treaty and breaks away.

June 4, 1919
Diplomatic Relations The Treaty of Trianon forces Hungary to cede Slovakia and Ruthenia to the Czechs, Transylvania and part of the Banat to Rumania, and the remainder of the Banat to Yugoslavia. Hungary thus loses 71% of her territory and 60% of her population. Hungarians are bitter over the loss. The army is limited to 35, 000 men and reparations are to be paid.

June 4, 1920
Palestine Arabs begin three days of anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem. The Jews have 5 killed and 216 injured, the Arabs 4 killed and 32 injured. A British court of inquiry blames the Zionists.

[Ennath]

June 5, 1915
Western Front Fighting continues north of Arras. A German counterattack on the French east of Lorette Ridge is repulsed.
Adriatic Italian, French and British ships bombard several Dalmatian islands.
Russia Interior Minister Maklakov is replaced by the moderate Prince Shcherbatov.

June 5, 1916
Western Front, Verdun At dawn, the Germans blast an opening in the wall at Fort Vaux and attack with flamethrowers, but air rushing from the inside hurls the flames back upon them, and the French move in to protect the gap. Observing that the Germans are digging mine shafts, the defenders signal for artillery fire, which halts the digging. But German shelling destroys the signal equipment. That evening, the French distribute the last of their water supplies – a quarter pint per man that stinks of decaying flesh. Some have not eaten for two days. Miraculously, word gets through that a relief attack will be forthcoming – promised by General Nivelle. German attacks between Fort Vaux and Damloup are repulsed.
War at Sea The armored cruiser Hampshire is mined off the Orkneys. Among the dead is Lord Kitchener, on his way to Russia. His death is widely regarded as a national tragedy but is little regretted by many in the government.
Germany Bethmann-Hollweg tours the southern German states to persuade them to accept central control of food supplies.
Eastern Front As the Austrians have sent reserves south to bolster their lines at Sopanov, where the Russians had effected a small breakthrough, their defenses along the Styr east of Lutsk have been weakened. Now, Russian 8th Army, using well-rehearsed infiltration tactics, smashes through the lines of Austrian 4th Army (Archduke Joseph Ferdinand), taking thousands of prisoners, and routing the defenders. Sakharov also makes good progress. Lechitski’s 9th Army attacks against only scattered resistance. Only Shcherbachev’s assault falters as he has disregarded Brusilov’s doctrine and advertised his attack with a 2-day barrage. Germans attacks on Krevo, in the Vilna sector, fail.
Italian Front Austrian attacks fail. The Italians counterattack Monte Cegnio.
Arabia Ali and Faisal, on the orders of their father, Sherif Husein of Mecca, launch an Arab revolt in Medina against Turkish rule. They lead a force of 30,000 tribesmen and 500 Turkish-trained soldiers. The Arabs can field 50,000 men, but have only 10,000 modern rifles and no artillery. The Turkish artillery at Medina quickly disperses Faisal’s attacking tribesmen.
PersiaThe Russians evacuate Khanikin.

June 5, 1917
War in the Air There is a daylight bomber raid on the Thames Estuary and Medway; 13 are killed.
Western Front Fighting continues along the Souchez and the Chemin des Dames. 300 soldiers of 5th Division pass the motion “We shall not move back to the trenches.”
Italian Front The Italians lose some more ground south of Jamiano.
North Sea There is a light craft action; the Germans lose a destroyer.
United StatesOver nine and a half million men register for the draft in accordance with the Selective Service Act.

June 5, 1918
Western Front A German attempt to cross the Aisne at Vingre fails. The French check attacks at Longpont and Chezy.

[Ennath]

June 6, 1915
War in the Air A Zeppelin raid on the English east coast kills 24 and injures 30. One airship goes down in flames after being bombed by Flight Sub-Lt. Warneford, who wins a Victoria Cross.
Eastern Front Austro-German troops near Przemysl cross the Dniestr at Zurawno and continue their advance.
War at Sea U-Boat commanders are ordered not to torpedo large passenger ships.

June 6, 1916
Western Front, Verdun The French relief attack at Fort Vaux begins with an unsuccessful artillery barrage in the early hours – the shells overshoot the German positions. When the relief forces attack, they are cut to pieces or run to ground, forcing them to surrender.
Western Front, Elsewhere A German attack at Ypres gains ground near Hooge.
Eastern Front Austrian troops retreat in disorder to Lutsk, where Archduke Josef Ferdinand expresses his determination to hold fast. The city’s defense depends upon rattled Hungarian troops who have retreated to the Hills at Krupy before the rapidly advancing Russians. If the Russians take Krupy, they can bring their artillery up to bombard Lutsk from the hills. Russian troops cross the Ikva and Styr, and make progress south of the Dniestr.
Greece The Allies declare a “pacific blockade”. This is in response to the Greek acquiescence in Bulgaria’s border crossing.
Caucasus Russian attacks are checked at Diyarbakir.
German East Africa Rhodesian and Belgian troops renew their advance.
China Yuan Shih-k’ai dies. Li Huan Yung becomes President.

June 6, 1917
Western Front The British takes positions on Greenland Hill. The Germans maintain the initiative at the Chemin des Dames.
Italian Front Heavy fighting continues on the Carso, with the Italians losing ground steadily.
Russia The Kronstadt revolt collapses after negotiations with the government.

June 6, 1918
Western Front The Germans capture the heights of Bligny, near Rheims, but British troops retake the position.
The 3rd Battle of the Aisne ends. The Blücher offensive has cost the Allies 127,000 men; the Germans lose 120,000, again mostly from the elite storm troops.
At 5:00 AM, the Marine Brigade of U.S. 2nd Division attacks German positions west of Belleau Wood. At 5:00 PM, the marines launch a second attack, this one against positions in the forest itself and the nearby village of Bouresches. The marines attack in successive waves across open fields as the Allies did in 1916. Nevertheless they succeed in driving the Germans out of the village and taking Hill 142, at a cost of 1087 casualties.
War in the Air The RAF’s Independent Air Force comes into being. The British had attempted several small raids on Germany, with little success. The strategic bombing campaign is now put on a sound footing and sufficient heavy bombers provided. Sir Hugh Trenchard commands. During the last five months of the war, the IAF will drop 550 tons of bombs, over 220 of this on German airfields. 109 planes are lost.

June 6, 1919
Syria Faisal calls a General Syrian Congress and calls for the full independence of Greater Syria (including Palestine).

June 6-August 20, 1921
Mongolia Soviet forces and Mongolian rebels invade Mongolia, occupied by the mad White expatriate Roman von Ungern-Sternberg. The attack is a success. In November 1924, Mongolia becomes officially a Communist state and the first Soviet satellite.

[Ennath]

June 7, 1914
Panama The Panama Canal is opened.

June 7-14, 1914
Italy Anarchists and socialists launch a series of urban strikes and peasant uprisings that become known as “Red Week”. The government has to deploy 100,000 troops to restore order.

June 7, 1915
Western Front French troops attack 24 miles south of Souchez to support the Arras offensive. . There are German counterattacks north of the Aisne.
Cameroon The Allied columns have joined at Wum Biagas under French command. Accepting the vicissitudes of murderous jungle terrain and torrential rains, and due supply difficulties this far inland, Dobell orders a retreat. The Germans harass the retreating Allies so relentlessly that Dobell must send reinforcements.

June 7, 1916
Western Front, Verdun Fort Vaux surrenders. The Germans, after 2700 casualties in the week-long siege, are astonished to discover that the French defenders number fewer than 300.
Eastern Front The Russians easily dislodge the Hungarian troops from Krupy and then loose their artillery upon Lutsk. Austrian 4th Army falls back beyond the Styr River, abandoning Lutsk. The Austrians have lost some 60,000 troops so far in the offensive, mostly prisoners, and vast quantities of vehicles and supplies.
Italian Front Heavy Austrian attacks south and southwest of Asiago are repulsed.
Arabia Sherif Husein proclaims the independence of the Hejaz.

June 7, 1917
Western Front Haig has assigned Sir Herbert Plumer’s 2nd Army the job of clearing the Germans from the Messines Ridge. Since the previous summer, Plumer’s men have been tunneling under the ridge and have placed 20 caches of explosives at intervals beneath the German positions. Although the Germans have suspected that the British are mining the ridge, their own tunneling has been too shallow to detect the British shafts, some of which are 80 feet below the surface. Even though officers of Sixt von Arnim’s 4th Army have recommended evacuation of the ridge after questioning British prisoners, the general has decided to stay put because withdrawal means ceding six miles of terrain to the enemy. Plumer’s plan is simple: blow up the German positions and send in troops to occupy the ruins. For the infantry attack he has the support of 2233 guns to the Germans’ 630 and air superiority. At 3:10 AM, 19 of the mines explode simultaneously, shaking windows as far away as Dover. The British capture Wytschaete Ridge; 6400 prisoners are taken. Watching British soldiers compare the effects to an earthquake. The advancing British and Anzac troops, protected by a creeping barrage, encounter light resistance, as the explosions have killed 10,000 German troops. By midday, Plumer’s men capture most of their objectives, ejecting the Germans from the heights of the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge and pushing their lines back three or four miles along the 8-mile front. Hastily mounted German counterattacks fail to dislodge them.
Italian Front An Austrian attack on Vodice ridge fails. The Austrians have managed to regain almost all the ground lost in the early stage of the offensive.
Germany An explosion at the hydrogen gas plant in Seddin cripples German airship operations until the end of August.

June 7, 1918
Western Front The French and Americans capture positions west of Chateau-Thierry.
Russia The Czech Legion takes Omsk.