The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 1421 of the Great War, June 30th 1918

Western Front

French success between Marne and Ourcq.

German attack on British near Merris (River Lys) repulsed; British success north-west of Albert.

Western Front: French Tank Attack Breaks Through German Lines

A French attack cut through the German lines at Ambleny on the Aisne on June 30, 1918, with astonishing success. The French victory owed much to the use of new Renault FT tanks. Unlike clunky earlier tanks, like the British Mark I, the French Renault was light and manueverble at only five and a half tons. Small, narrow, and (relatively) fast, the Renault was conceived as a machine that could swarm through the enemy lines. Its turret allowed it to have only one machine gun or cannon but still have have 360 degree coverage, unlike British and German tanks which needed large crews to man guns on all sides.

The Renault was light enough to be ferried to the front on trucks. Each truck had written on the back plate: “Le meilleur ami de l’infanterie” (“infantry’s best friend”). This time the French took a tip from the German playbook and charged through the German lines rapidly to their objectives without hanging around to secure the rear-areas. Only once they had secured their goals did soldiers turn back and capture a thousand Germans they found hiding in caves and dugouts.

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War: First Allied-Bolshevik Skirmish

The British had landed a small contingent of 170 Marines at the north Russian port of Murmansk in March. They had actually come at Trotsky’s invitation; after the Germans called off the armistice in February, the Bolsheviks were willing to accept any help they could find. However, they landed after Brest-Litovsk was signed, and remained there to guard the stockpile of supplies there that had been meant for the Russian war effort. On June 23, they were joined by 600 more, as the Allies, encouraged by Czech successes, began to plan further intervention in Russia. On June 30, the local Soviet announced its full cooperation with the Allies; meanwhile, a group of thirty marines headed south along the Murmansk Railway. The Bolsheviks by this point were taking the Allied threat more seriously, and had sent three troop trains north to reassert their authority in the north. They encountered the British near Soroka [Belomorsk], a small village about halfway between Murmansk and Petrograd. After some brief skirmishes, the British drove the Russians off and secured the village by June 30. The fighting there was the first direct conflict between the Allies and the Bolsheviks.

Italian Front

Italians capture Monte di Val Bello and Col del Rosso (Asiago). 2,000 prisoners.

Aerial operations: France

Two air-raids on Paris.

Naval operations: Merchant shipping losses

British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 119 ships of 263,000 tons gross.

Naval operations: ship losses

ORIGEN (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 115 nautical miles (213 km) west of Ouessant, Finistère, France by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine with the loss of a crew member.

W. M. L. (United Kingdom) The three-masted schooner was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 400 nautical miles (740 km) north north west of Cape Finisterre, Spain by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four crew.

Day 1423 of the Great War, July 2nd 1918

Western Front

Germans re-capture ground north-west of Albert.

French advance north of River Aisne near Moulin sous Touvent (north-west of Soissons).

Italian Front: Skirmishes Continue as Italians Follow up Victory on the Piave

A hard-won victory on the Piave River gave Italians some respite after months of worrying whether the next Central Powers offensive might be a repeat of Caporetto. After a week of fighting, the Italians under their new commander General Armando Diaz had thrown back all Austrian bridgeheads over the river and raked retreating enemy troops; one 1919 estimate believed that 20,000 Austrians had drowned fleeing from the Italians.

The battle had broken the morale of the Austrian military in Italy, which had believed itself superior to the Italians. Bolshevist mutterings among the troops - many of whom had recently been freed from captivity in Russian - were becoming common. As July dawned the Italians set to work jostling for positions from which they could launch a counter-attack and drive the Dual Monarchy out of Italy for good. Another 3,000 Austrians fell into their hands or surrendered in the first weeks of the month.

One man happy to be there was Ernest Hemingway, a young American volunteer driving ambulances for the Italian Army. Hemingway spent his time collecting souvenirs from the battlefield, but found himself spoiled with choice. “I was all through the big battle and have Austrian carbines and ammunition, German and Austrian medals, officers’ automatic pistols, Boche helmets, about a dozen Bayonets, star shell pistols and knives and almost everything you can think of. The only limit to the amount of souvenirs I could have is what I could carry for there were so many dead Austrians and prisoners the ground was almost black with them. It was a great victory and showed the world what wonderful fighters the Italians are.”

United kingdom

Opening of International Commercial Conference at Westminster.

Establishment of (British) Central Council of Agriculture.

United States: Over One Million Americans “Over There”

The United States had been in the war for over a year, but had only had a significant front line presence since late May. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Americans would soon make a significant impact, if only with numbers alone. On July 2, hoping “to give additional zest to our national celebration of the Fourth of July,” Wilson announced in the country’s papers that 1,019,115 troops had sailed for Europe from the start of the war through the end of June 1918, over 275,000 in the last month alone. Only 8,165 of those were casualties so far (on net), including just 291 lost at sea (though one of those was this author’s great-great uncle), contrary to Admiral Holtzendorff’s promise that not a single American soldier would set foot on European soil.

Naval operations: ship losses

ADMIRAL (United Kingdom) The tug was shelled and sunk in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) north of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire by SM UB-40 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

ERME(United Kingdom) The auxiliary sailing vessel was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 240 nautical miles (440 km) north west by west of the Fastnet Rock (52°30′N 16°00′W) by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

SHIRALA (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) north east by east of the Owers Lightship ( United Kingdom) by SM UB-57 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eight of her crew.

Day 1425 of the Great War, July 4th 1918

Western Front: Australians and Americans Take Hamel

Since the German drive towards Amiens stalled in early April, the Allies had conducted some small-scale attacks to take key positions around the large German salient. In late May, the Americans captured Cantigny, and in early July, the Australian Corps was tasked with capturing Hamel. They were to be assisted by ten companies of American troops, as well, in order to give them much-needed combat experience. Pershing was not pleased that Americans would be under Australian command, and tried to pull out his troops. However, he was eventually convinced by Haig to let four companies remain, largely because the attack was scheduled for July 4, and an American victory on Independence Day would improve morale for the whole AEF.

Australian General Monash made meticulous plans for a combined-arms assault on Hamel. A preliminary bombardment began at 3:02 AM, as had occurred on many previous days (when it had included gas shells); meanwhile, the noise of the bombardment let the British tanks move up to the front lines, though they did not always make it by the time the rolling barrage and smoke screens started twelve minutes later. After some fierce fighting, the Australians and Americans took their objectives in 93 minutes, only 3 minutes longer than Monash’s plan had called for, while suffering around 1400 casualties (while steep, they were lighter than the Americans had suffered at Cantigny with a smaller force). The Australians and Americans then dug in beyond Hamel and received fresh supplies carried by tanks and dropped by parachute. This was the first time aerial resupply had been attempted during an offensive (it had only been used previously to resupply surrounded defenders, such as at Kut). The Germans did not counterattack until the next day, and were repulsed.

Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion

Czecho-Slovaks defeat Bolsheviks near Nikolaievsk (50 miles north of Vladivostok) and occupy the town.

Italian Front

Continued Italian advance in Piave delta and on Grappa front.

United Kingdom/Netherlands relations

British Government reiterates British right of search, but waives it re: Dutch Convoy to East Indies.

United States

American Independence Day celebrations.

Ottoman Empire

Proclamation at Constantinople of Vahid-ed-Din as Sultan.

France

Photo: United States Marines parade through the streets of Paris, France on 4 July 1918



Aerial operations: Battle of Hamel

Early this morning Australian Forces (with a small US contingent) under General Monash successfully attacked the town of Le Hamel within 93 minutes. The attack is cited as one of the earliest attempts to implement a combined arms attack using infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft.

Overnight aircraft had flown over the front to mask the noise of tanks moving up. This was repeated at 0302 by 101 Squadron RAF who dropped bombs behind the lines whilst the artillery opened fire.

At 0310 a creeping barrage was laid down and the troops began to advance. 3k Squadron AFC provided contact patrols and the objectives had been taken by 0443. A few minutes later at 0445, aircraft from 3 Squadron AFC began photographing the new front line so that maps could be produced. They continued to monitor the new front line for enemy counter attacks and carried out counter battery work.

At 0600, 9 Squadron RAF, began flying aerial resupply sorties dropping ammunition to the advanced troops. This was done by employing specially designed parachutes (developed by Australian airman Captain Lawrence Wackett). This supplemented supplies brought up by tanks.

As well as this 23, 41 and 209 Squadrons harassed the Germans behind the lines with machine gun fire and bombs. No German fighters appeared over the lines until around 0930 and at that point the RAF became involved in air to air combat as well. The RAF appears to maintained air superiority as losses were slight and the other tasks allotted to the squadrons were completed.

9 Squadron suffered a number of casualties all from ground fire which was unsurprising given the nature of their task.

Lieutenant Harry Heatly Riekie and 2nd Lieutenant William Knowles from 3 Squadron AFC were killed when their RE8 (B5073) crashed after being hit by ground fire while ammunition dropping.

RE8 C4580 after crashing

Lieutenant Sidney Ernest Harris and Lieutenant D E Bell, USAS were on their second run in RE8 C4580 when the came across a group of enemy fighters. They were shot down and crashed south of Hamel. Harris was killed but Bell survived. A little later Lieutenant Hugh Erfyl Pryce was wounded by another enemy pilot but he managed to escape.

In addition, 2nd Lieutenants Eric Raymond Moore and Richard Ernest Hagley were also wounded, though in Moore’s case it was as a result of a crash landing following an engine failure. The pilot Lieutenant David Shearer Ogilvie was unhurt.

Naval operations: ship losses

CORDOVA (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Taormina, Sicily (37°51′N 15°25′E) by SM UC-52 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MENTOR (Norway) The sailing vessel was torpedoed and damaged in the North Sea 12 nautical miles (22 km) east of Hartlepool, County Durham, United Kingdom by SM UB-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member. She was towed in to port but was a constructive total loss.

NAPOLI (Italy) The ship collided with a vessel from Convoy GaG 37 in the Mediterranean Sea and sank.

SM U-20 (Austro-Hungarian Navy) The U-20-class submarine was torpedoed and sunk in the Adriatic Sea (45°29′N 13°05′E) by the submarine F-12 ( Regia Marina) with the loss of all eighteen crew.

Day 1427 of the Great War, July 6th 1918

Italian Front

Piave delta cleared of Austrians by 23rd Italian Corps; 21,000 men and 63 guns, etc., taken by Italians since 15 June.

Russian Civil War: Left SRs Assassinate German Ambassador

The last non-Bolshevik party still supporting Lenin’s Sovnarkom was the Left SRs, the faction of Socialist Revolutionaries that did not opposed the October Revolution. However, by mid-1918, relations were strained. The Bolsheviks, not wanting to share power with them, had tried to sideline Left SR-dominated soviets. Furthermore, they had key differences on agricultural policy, and above all, the relationship with Germany; the Left SRs firmly opposed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

In the early afternoon of July 6, two Left SR agents assassinated the German Ambassador, Count Mirbach. Later that day, the Left SR Central Committee justified the action:

Count Mirbach, torturer of the Russian toilers, friend and favorite of [Kaiser] Wilhelm, has been killed by the avenging hand of a revolutionary in accordance with the resolution of the Central Committee of the Left SR Party. German spies and traitors demand the death of the Left SRs. The ruling group of Bolsheviks, fearing undesirable consequences for themselves, continue to obey the orders of German hangmen.

The Left SRs’ motivations remain unclear. Soviet historiography always painted the incident as the start of a general uprising against the Bolsheviks. However, the Left SRs took few open steps against the Bolsheviks. They did mobilize some of their military units as a precautionary measure, briefly occupied the telegraph exchange, and took Felix Dzerzhinsky (head of the Cheka) hostage after he came looking for the assassins. However, otherwise, the Left SRs took no hostile action against the Bolsheviks, and did nothing beyond criticizing their foreign policy in their rhetoric. It seems most likely that the Left SRs simply wanted to provoke a break with Germany and stop the Bolsheviks from continuing to give active aid to the Germans under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

The Left SRs’ case was not helped by a simultaneous uprising of Right SRs in Yaroslavl under Boris Savinkov. Savinkov had been in contact with the Allies, and believed they would soon land at Archangelsk and send him aid by railway. However, the Allies would not land there for another month, by which time the Bolsheviks had retaken Yaroslavl.

In Moscow, Lenin gathered what loyal troops he could, mainly consisting of various detachments of the Latvian Rifles. Late in the morning of July 7, the Latvians attacked the Left SR headquarters, and the “uprising” in Moscow was soon over.

United Kingdom

Publication of Mantagu-Chemsford Report re: Indian Constitutional Reforms.

Silver Wedding of Their Majesties.

United States

U.S. first large aeroplane launched near New York.

Russia: Allies Declare Vladivostok a Protectorate, Siberian Duma Declares Independence

Allied marines and a Bolshevik committee had icily co-existed in Vladivostok for some time when the first soldiers of the Czech Legion arrived at the end of June and threw the Bolsheviks out. With that complication removed, and with the Entente newly committed to Czechoslovak independence, the Allies declared the Russian port an Allied protectorate on July 6. The Czech troops could embark ships there for the United States, and then on to France and the Western Front. Woodrow Wilson asked whether more Japanese troops might be sent to Russia to help the rest of the Czechs safely reach the coast.

Meanwhile, still far to the West, Czech troops continued to move through Siberia on trains and kick out local Red Guards. Russians who opposed the Bolshevik revolution emerged in the Czechs’ wake and set about organizing their own governments. Irkutsk was taken from the Bolsheviks on July 7. In Omsk, which the Czechs had cleared of Reds, a Siberian Duma gathered to declare their own independence from Moscow. The Bolsehviks feared that Czech soldiers might even reach the village of Ekaterinburg and free the Tsar and his family.

Aerial operations: British sub attacked from the air

Fresh from his victories over Felixstowe flying boats on 4 July, Oberleutnant zur See Frederich Christiansen scored another remarkable success today when he surprised the British submarine C25 on the surface in the Thames Estuary. He bombed the craft killing its commander Lieutenant David C Bell and five other crewmembers:

- Leading Seaman William Barge
- Petty Officer William G Borrow
- Signalman Charles A Buttle
- Able Seaman George S Hamilton
- Able Seaman John M Walsh

Bell and three of the others had been on the conning tower at the time of the attack. One of the bodies blocked the hatch so the submarine was unable to dive. The first Lieutenant, Sub Lieutenant Ronald M. Cobb, and two engine room artificers cut off the leg of one of the bodies with a hacksaw to free the hatch. The other two crew members died while trying to close the hatch.

The German aircraft flew off to refuel and rearm but were driven off on their return by the destroyer HMS LURCHER. The submarine was subsequently towed back to shore and after repairs resumed service.

Naval operations: ship losses

BERTRAND (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 28 nautical miles (52 km) east south east of Cape Bon, Algeria (36°58′N 11°36′E) by SM UC-67 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

GULLFAXI Iceland) The fishing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south of Iceland by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

PORT HARDY (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 78 nautical miles (144 km) west of Cape Spartel, Morocco (35°44′N 7°35′W) by SM U-91 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seven of her crew.

SAN NICOLA (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea (36°06′N 25°19′E) by SM U-27 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy). Her crew survived.

Day 1429 of the Great War, July 8th 1918

Western Front

Successful French attack north-west of Longpont (west of Villers-Cotterets); 346 prisoners.

Russian Civil War

Declaration of aims to Allies by Siberian Government.

Russian Civil War: Red Army Commander on the Volga Mutinies

The Bolshevik situation on the Volga was quickly deteriorating. The Czechs were now openly fighting them, and, with their help, SR members of the Constituent Assembly had created a new government, the Komuch, in Samara. Opposing the Czechs and Komuch was the new Red Eastern Army Group, under the command of General Muraviev, whose previous successes included the capture of Kiev from Rada forces in February. Muraviev was a Left SR, but he was not removed in the immediate aftermath of the Left SR “uprising” in Moscow on July 6, instead quitting the party immediately. However, this proved to be just a ruse, and on July 9, proclaiming himself the “Garibaldi of the Russian people,” called for renewed action against the Germans. He ordered an immediate ceasefire with the Czechs, and hoped they would turn back to the west to help fight the Germans.

The next day, he sailed with a thousand men down the Volga to Simbirsk, where he arrested many who remained loyal to the Bolsheviks, including General Tukachevsky. Whether Muraviev could have rallied the entirety of the Eastern Army Group to his cause, and what he would have done with them if he did, is still unclear–like the Left SRs in Moscow, he did not openly call for the overthrow of the Bolsheviks. These questions were rendered moot on July 11, when Muraviev was killed in an ambush set by Vareikis, a Lithuanian worker who had been sent to lead the local Bolshevik party. His revolt ended, but the incident seriously affected the morale of his army group, and the Czechs and the Komuch were soon emboldened to attack.

Italian Front

Italians win passage of Vojusa and occupy Fieri (20 miles north-east of Valona); French and Italians threaten Berat (north-east of Valona).

Macedonian Front

British monitors aid Italian advance on Lower Vojusa.

United Kingdom

Report of five M.P.'s re: enemy aliens, recommending stricter treatment.

House of Commons prolongs life of Parliament to 30 January 1919.

Naval operations: ship losses

BEN LOMOND (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) south east of the Daunt Rock by SM U-92 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 23 crew.

CHICAGO (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) north east of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire by SM UB-107 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.

HORTA (Portugal) The cargo ship was sunk in the Strait of Sicily by SM UC-73 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MANX KING (Norway) The full-rigged ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean (40°05′N 52°00′W) by SM U-156 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

MARS (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 74 nautical miles (137 km) west by north of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly (49°44′N 8°20′W) by SM U-92 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

SAN NICOLA (Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Aegean Sea off Andros by SM UC-37 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

WAR CROCUS (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) east by north of Flamborough Head by SM UB-107 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Day 1431 of the Great War, July 10th 1918

Western Front

French capture whole of Courcy (village east of Villers-Cotterets).

Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion

General Horvath (Czecho-Slovak Commander) establishes new Siberian Government at Grodekovo (north-west of Vladivostok).

Macedonian Front

Italians occupy Berat (Albania).

Germany

German Socialists in the Reichstag declare they will not vote on a budget unless Germany’s war aims are clarified.

Russia: Promulgation of the First Russian Constitution

The Fifth-All Russian Congress of the Soviets convened in Moscow in July 1918, and when it finished on July 10 produced the first Russian constitution, a document which promised the “abolition of the exploitation of men by men.” The chief failing of the liberal-left Russian Provisional Government had been lack of legitimacy; a new constitution and an elected government had never appeared despite months of promises.

Under the Bolsheviks, a constitution and an elected government was formed through the soviets, which were to elect representatives to provincial congresses. Although ultimately in the aim of eliminating class distinctions, the Bolsheviks proceeded according to Marxist ideas and for the time being afforded more representation to factory workers while disenfranchising the bourgeois and the aristocracy. This was no milquetoast liberal democracy, Lenin was saying, but the precursor to a socialist government. The most important task lay on the battlefield: defeat of the anti-revolutionary Whites and groups on the left which did not support the Bolsheviks.

Germany: Flu Pandemic Affects German Planning

The flu pandemic had, by mid-summer, crossed the Atlantic with the Americans and was afflicting soldiers on both sides of the war. The effects were more pronounced for the Germans, who were shorter on manpower in the first place and were planning two large offensives for the near future. It should be stressed that the flu in the summer of 1918 did not follow the same pattern as the more famous and deadly flu that hit in the fall; mortality was not unusually high, and young people were not disproportionately affected. Nevertheless, the first cases had already caused issues during Operation Gneisenau in June. The next offensive, directed mainly at Rheims, would go forward on July 15 regardless, but worries began to mount for the long-delayed Operation Hagen, aimed at the British in Flanders and currently planned for August 1. On July 11, Crown Prince Rupprecht, in charge of executing Operation Hagen, seriously considered postponing it due to the flu; too many soldiers were incapacitated by it, and it would certainly interfere with the large movement of men back to Flanders that would be necessary over the next three weeks. Rupprecht decided against a postponement, and troop transfers would go ahead as planned, beginning as early as July 16–and by August, the flu pandemic had subsided for the time being. While ultimately Operation Hagen would never take place, it would not be because of the flu.

Naval operations: ship losses

SMS A79 (Kaiserliche Marine) The A56-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of 53 of her crew.

AGIOS LOUKIS (Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea (35°45′N 25°19′E) by SM U-27 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy). Her crew survived.

SMS S62 (Kaiserliche Marine) The V25-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of 27 of her crew.

SMS S66 (Kaiserliche Marine) The V25-class destroyer struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of 76 of her crew.

Day 1433 of the Great War, July 12th 1918

YouTube (The Gardeners Of Salonica Prepare A New Offensive)



Day 1434 of the Great War, July 12th 1918

Siberian intervention

Announcement of Allied force on Murman coast.

Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion

Czecho-Slovaks capture Kazan (on River Volga); Czecho-Slovaks control Siberian Railway east of Penza.

Macedonian Front

French advance on both sides of River Devoli (southern Albania); Austrians retreat.

Germany

Count Hertling in Reichstag on Belgium as a pawn.

Prussian Upper House expels Prince Lichnowsky.

Australia

Mr. Huges (Australian Premier) re: Pacific islands.

United Kingdom

Denaturalisation Bill passes first and second reading in House of Commons.

Naval operations: ship losses

KAWACHI (Imperial Japanese Navy) The KAWACHI-class battleship suffered an onboard explosion and sank at Tokuyama with the loss of 621 of her 1,059 crew. The hulk was subsequently scrapped.