The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 1483 of the Great War, August 29th 1918

Western Front

British recapture Bapaume.

French recapture Noyon and cross River Ailette.

Photo: Battle of the Scarpe. Capture of the Greenland Hill by the 51st Division. Daylight patrol of the 6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders working forward towards Hausa and Delbar Woods. North-east of Roeux, 29 August 1918. Troops crossing an old trench in the No Man's Land



Photo: Battle of the Scarpe. Capture of the Greenland Hill by the 51st Division. Daylight patrol of the 6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders working forward towards Hausa and Delbar Woods. North-east of Roeux, 29 August 1918. Troops firing into a dug-out in a deserted German trench to dislodge any remaining Germans



Photo: Battle of the Scarpe. A tank attached to the 51st Division embedded in the Scarpe marshes. Near Fampoux, 29 August 1918



Western Front: Germans Begin Evacuation of Flanders

On August 29, Ludendorff gave the order to Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria to begin withdrawing his men from the Flanders salient that had been conquered in spring. It was as clear an announcement of defeat as could be: the Germans were leaving everything they had won with so much blood in their great offensive.

The new plan was to survive. The Germans on the Western Front were falling back to the Hindenburg Line, an immensely strong series of fortifications they had built in late 1916. Here they would draw their breath, wait for the Allies to come, and hold them back at all costs.

Macedonian Front

Austrian offensive in southern Albania checked.

United States

Mr. Ryan (U.S.A.) to be Assistant Secretary of War, with title and functions of Director of Air Service.

Germany

Visit of Kaiser Wilhelm to Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria at Nauheim.

Naval operations: U-Boat Sunk By Shore-Controlled Minefield

The Dover Barrage, designed to stop German submarines from passing through the Straits of Dover on their way to the English Channel or the North Atlantic, had grown increasingly sophisticated by the final months of the war. In addition to anti-submarine trawlers and contact mines at a variety of depths, the barrage now had sophisticated means of detecting submarines, and operators on shore who could detonate mines remotely once submarines were detected. These means included hydrophones, picking up any sounds made by the submarines, and large “Bragg loops” of wire, which would detect the large amount of metal in a submarine by induction (similarly to how many intersections with traffic lights detect the presence of a waiting car).

The German submarine UB-109 had left Zeebrugge a month earlier (the blockships sunk there by the British no longer being an obstacle) for a mission to the Azores, and decided to return via the Straits of Dover. There, they were detected by a hydrophone, and then by a Bragg loop seventeen minutes later. At 4:20 AM, the operator on shore then detonated one to four mines in the vicinity. The explosion broke the submarine nearly in two, and it quickly sunk to the sea floor. Many of those in the vicinity of the conning tower survived the initial blast (although they suffered ear damage from the sudden rise in air pressure) and were able to escape, as the water was not too deep. Eight survivors were picked up by an anti-submarine trawler soon after.

A sunken U-boat in shallow water provided a great opportunity for the Royal Navy. Within a day, a team of divers called the “Tin Openers” had found the wreck and began exploring it, hoping to find documents with intelligence value, or at the very least more information about the working of German U-boats.

Naval operations: ship losses

ATXERI MENDI (Spain) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south east of the Tuskar Rock, Ireland by SM UB-125 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

GILBERT (Sweden) The steam trawler struck a mine off Marstrand in Kattegat and sank with all hands, a crew of ten.

HMT PURUNI (Royal Navy) The naval trawler sank in the Caribbean Sea off Mayreau, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Day 1485 of the Great War, August 31st 1918

Western Front

End of Battle of Bapaume.

Germans evacuate Mt. Kemmel.

Western Front: Australians Seize Mont Saint-Quentin

The Germans had withdrawn across the Somme battlefield, leaving the Allies to advance across the broken ground. The Germans reestablished themselves in a formidable position around the town of Péronne, guarded by the Somme river and nearby marshes. General Monash, commanding the Australian Corps, planned a frontal assault, but called it off quickly after the first attempt; tanks were of no use, there was no cover, and engineers were unable to throw up bridges across the Somme while under fire. Instead, Monash decided on a daring raid across the river, hoping to seize the key German position of Mont Saint-Quentin with a small force. Rawlinson thought the plan inordinately reckless, but let Monash proceed.

After nightfall on August 30, the 5th Australian Brigade, numbering at most around 1350 men, crossed the Somme south of Péronne then made their way six miles north, to the base of the hill. At 5AM on the 31st, they attacked behind a quick rolling barrage. One German defender recalled that “It all happened like lightning, and before we had fired a shot we were taken unawares.” The Australians took the hill and 500 PoWs. They were driven off by German counterattacks later in the day, but by this point the Australians had been able to cross the Somme in force. The next day, the hill was recaptured and the Australians entered Péronne; the Germans were forced to withdraw back to the Hindenburg line, where they had started the year. Rawlinson’s chief of staff would call the operation “one of the most notable examples of pluck and enterprise during the war.”

Photo: "Members of the 6th Australian Infantry Brigade moving along a communication trench at 1.30 p.m. in the renewed assault upon Mont St Quentin, which resulted in the final capture of this highly important position. The captures for the three days fighting for Mont St Quentin and Peronne amounted to 1666 prisoners, six guns and many machine guns"



Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War

Bolshevik position 75 miles south of Archangel on Vologda Railway carried by Allies.

East Africa campaign

British attack Germans successfully near Lioma, un Lurio valley (Portuguese East Africa), and drive them south.

Germany

Supplementary Peace Treaties signed at Berlin.

United Kingdom

London Police strike settled; men return to work.

Russia: Bolsheviks Attack British Embassy in Petrograd, Kill Naval Attaché

The assassination attempt on Lenin on August 30 panicked the Bolsheviks. Like the French revolutionaries in 1793, the Reds were gripped by a sudden fear of counter-revolutionaries living in their midst while a war went poorly on the front. Explicit orders were sent to the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police, to conduct a campaign of “Red Terror” which would destroy any lurking fifth column.

Members of the Cheka, however, were not chosen for their diplomatic skill. One of their favored execution methods was to place an iron tube filled with rats on a victim, and then start heating the far side of the tube, causing the rats to gnaw their way through the unfortunate human on the other side.

Fearing that the British were hiding counter-revolutionaries, the Cheka broke into the embassy in Petrograd on August 31. A naval officer named Cromie was in the building, working as an attaché to the diplomatic staff. Cromie drew his revolver and shot down several of the assailants before being killed himself. Afterwards the Bolsheviks arrested most of the diplomatic staff, including a man named Bruce Lockhart who was on an intelligence-gathering mission to Russia. Brave Cromie’s death and the arrest of Lockhart and others contributed significantly to British distrust and hatred of the Bolsheviks.

Aerial operations: Idflieg bi-monthly report on German fighters operating at the front at the end of April 1918:

Albatros:
D.III--52
D.V----20
D.Va--307

Fokker:
Dr.I---65
D.VI---27
D.VII-828
E.V----80

Halberstadt:
CL.II--175
CL.IV-=136

Hannover:
CL.II----31
CL.III--233
CL.IIIa--29

LFG Roland:
D.VIa----58
D.VIb----12

Pfalz:
D.III----3
D.IIIa-166
D.VIII--19
D.XII--168

Aerial operations: Bring me liberty

Today, 110 Squadron RAF finally went to Bettancourt on the Western Front to join the Independent Force. After its formation in November 1917, it had originally trained on BE2s but was now equipped with the DH9a the first Squadron to be so. The Squadron’s initial compliment of DH9a’s was donated by the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Squadron subsequently became known as the Hyderabad Squadron. Major Hazelton Robson Nicholls is the Commanding Officer.

The DH9A was an improved version of the unsuccessful DH9, which was significantly worse than the aircraft it was meant to replace the DH4. The main reason for this was that the Siddeley Puma engine had proved to be totally unreliable and underpowered.

The new design was fitted with new, longer-span wings and a strengthened fuselage structure, but crucially the Puma was replaced by the 400hp American-built Liberty engine which was a much more powerful and reliable engine and had already proved itself in the American built versions of the DH4. The new design proved successful and was included in the post war inventory of the RAF.

Photo: One of the original aircraft presented to 110 Squadron, RAF Museum in London



Naval operations: Merchant shipping losses

British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 151 ships of 283,000 tons gross. (Lloyd's War Losses).

Naval operations: ship losses

GAMO (Portugal) The schooner was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 370 nautical miles (690 km) off Flores Islands, Azores by SM U-155 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

MILWAUKEE (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpeoded and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 260 nautical miles (480 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock (47°22′N 12°14′W) by SM U-105 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

NORTE (Portugal) The trawler was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 30 nautical miles (56 km) off Safi, Morocco by SM U-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

Day 1488 of the Great War, September 2nd 1918

Western Front

On Lys front British also gain ground, and north of Peronne, where Sailly-Sallisel and whole of St. Pierre-Vaast Wood re-taken.

General Mangin continues advance north of Soissons, captures Neuilly and Terny Sorny.

Western Front: Canadians Take Drocourt-Quéant Switch Line

The Germans were withdrawing on a front of 100 miles, but still hoped to stop before reaching the Hindenburg Line. On the northern end of their position was the Drocourt-Quéant Switch Line. It was built at the same time as the Hindenburg Line, but not occupied with the rest of it in March 1917; it was meant as a fallback position in case the British broke through near Arras, but was just as formidable as the Hindenburg Line. The Canadian Corps attacked at Arras on August 26, and soon reached the Drocourt-Quéant Switch. Haig was eager to the continue the attack, but had been warned by the Chief of the Imperial General Staf on September 1 not to suffer unnecessary casualties breaking the Hindenburg Line, and told General Currie not to continue if he had any doubts about taking the line. Currie was confident in his men, his guns, and the weakness of the Germans, and had begun an intense bombardment as soon as his guns were in range–surprise no longer really being a possibility.

The Canadians attacked at 5AM on September 2 behind a massive creeping barrage. Once the infantry reached the German trenches, however, the onus was mainly on them; they only had around 50 tanks supporting their advance. Over the course of seven hours of fierce fighting the German first and second lines were captured, along with 6000 PoWs. Seven VCs would be awarded that day, including one to Corporal Walter Rayfield:

Ahead of his company, he rushed a trench occupied by a large party of the enemy, personally bayoneting two and taking ten prisoners. Later, he located and engaged with great skill, under constant rifle fire, an enemy sniper who was causing many casualties. He then rushed the section of trench from which the sniper had been operating, and so demoralized the enemy by his coolness and daring that thirty others surrendered to him. Again, regardless of his personal safety, he left cover under heavy machine-gun fire and carried in a badly wounded comrade.

The fall of the Drocourt-Quéant Switch, along with the capture of Péronne by the Australians a day earlier, meant that the hoped-for German defensive line was completely untenable. The Germans soon withdrew to the Hindenburg Line itself; in the Canadian sector, their new position was also protected by the Canal du Nord. Around the same time, the Germans also gave up the salient in Flanders won in April in an attempt to shorten their lines. Plans were also made to move Ludendorff’s and Hindenburg’s OHL headquarters back from Avesnes in France to Spa in Belgium.

Aerial operations: Multiple Roles

The fighter pilots and dogfights have always received the bulk of the public’s attention when looking at the air war. Of course, even at this stage of the war the primary role of the RAF remained the support of the army in the field, although this had extended beyond its original tasks of reconnaissance and photography to include contact patrols, ground attack and tactical bombing.

As part of the series of British offensives at this time the Third Army launched an attack today on an area known as the Drocourt-Queant Line, which was a German defensive line consisting of two lines of trenches incorporating fortifications such as concrete bunkers, machine gun posts and heavy belts of wire. The plan involved extensive cooperation with the RAF and the Official History devotes a number of pages to the plans (Volume 6, pages 492-500) indicating the extent of the RAF’s involvement in a variety of roles and the extent to which the RAF was now an integral part of the offensive. Some examples follow.

The night before the attack 148 Squadron RAF bomb the important defended villages of Saudemont, Ecourt St.Quentin, and Palluel from 2100. As well as this, the aeroplanes were flown over the front where the attack was to take place in order to overpower the noise of the assembling tanks.

From the time the attack was launched 8 Squadron RAF was to co-operate with the tanks, 73 Squadron RAF was assigned the special duty of offensive action against anti-tank guns, 6 Squadron RAF was to co-operate with the cavalry, and 5 and 52 Squadrons with the attacking divisions.

13 Squadron RAF gave artillery support to the Canadian Corps artillery support.

The night bomber squadrons of the headquarters IX Brigade were given Cambrai (ville) station and the German aerodromes at Etreux and Mont d’Origny, though in the event bad weather prevented the attack on Cambrai and Marquion was attacked instead of Etreux.

The day bomber squadrons of the head-quarters IX Brigade, escorted by the fighter squadrons, were to attack, between 0630 and 0900, Douai station, Aubigny-au- Bac, Marquion, and certain bridges over the Sensee river. If the weather conditions made it impossible for the attacks to take place before 0900 the objectives were not to be bombed subsequently without reference to Royal Air Force headquarters.

The general scheme for the employment of the low bombers had been worked out as complementary to the programme arranged for the heavy artillery. Offensive patrols, at two-Flight strength, were provided by 40 and 22 Squadrons RAF which were to provide protection for the low-flying aircraft, and attack German kite balloons in the area. 54 Squadron, and the other squadrons flew in rotation throughout the day, although at one time in the morning, when there was some overlapping, ninety low-flying single-seater fighters were attacking German infantry, battery, and transport targets in front of the Canadian Corps.

18 Squadron RAF was to attack Palluel at 0700 with half its strength, and again at 0800 with the other half. Subsequently the squadron was to concentrate its attacks upon the railway at Aubigny-au-Bac.

Contact patrol aeroplanes were to fly over the battle-field to make reports of the general progress of the attack at zero plus 2.30 hours, and afterwards at intervals of three hours.

By noon the whole of the defences of the Drocourt-Queant system had been captured, from the western outskirts of Cagnicourt to Etaing. Stiff resistance was encountered for the rest of the day.

The cost of all this activity was high and the total casualties in the I and III Brigades were 36 officers (22 missing and 14 wounded), and the number of aeroplanes deleted from the strength was also 36, of which 18 were missing. Three British balloons were also shot down.

Naval operations: ship losses

HIRONDELLE (France) The fishing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (47°32′N 8°55′W) by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

NICOLAZIC (France) The fishing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (47°32′N 8°55′W) by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

SAN ANDRES (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) north by west of Port Said, Egypt by SM U-65 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

STORTIND (Norway) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 360 nautical miles (670 km) north of the Azores, Portugal by SM U-155 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Day 1490 of the Great War, September 4th 1918

Western Front

Germans retreat on wider front; Canal du Nord forced by British and villages of Manancourt and Etricourt carried.

Ruyaulcourt also taken and outskirts of Havrincourt Wood reached.

British reach Moeuvres.

Lys front Ploegsteert and Hill 63 carried.

Prisoners since 2nd number 15,000.

Germans retreat before French in Noyon pocket, between Canal du Nord and Oise.

French line now passes through Guiscard and Apilly.

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War

Oboserskaia (73 miles south of Archangel) occupied by Allied forces, after severe fighting with forces led by Germans.

Macedonian Front: Lloyd George Approves Offensive in Macedonia

Given the dire events on the Western Front during the spring and summer of 1918, the front north of Salonika had understandably been overlooked. The British had stripped it (and Palestine) of what men they could, and what attacks had occurred had mainly been conducted by Greek troops. Now, however, with the Germans on the retreat, the French were eager to press the attack here as well, as part of Foch’s overall strategy to keep striking the Central Powers wherever they could. The new commander in Salonika, Franchet d’Espérey, had been preparing for a general offensive since his arrival, though at the insistence of the Americans (who were not at war with Bulgaria) no resources would be diverted from the Western Front for it. Convincing all the other Allied governments to sign off on the attack, however, would be another matter.

On September 4, Lloyd George called a meeting in 10 Downing Street to consider the matter. Making the case for the offensive was General Guillaumat, Franchet d’Espérey’s predecessor. The Allied force there was “good and well found,” and “provided that the mountain artillery which had been promised was sent, there was a good prospect of success; the attack could be begun in a week or two by the Serbs who were practically ready.” General Wilson, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, was not enthusiastic about the offensive, and demurred. Lloyd George, however, was an “Easterner” at heart, and could not help but be attracted by a plan that could knock the Bulgarians out of the war and threaten the Austrians and the Turks from the rear. He told Guillaumat that “The British Government give their consent to the proposal so far as it concerns them and the British troops.” The Italians soon followed suit, and Clemenceau gave his final approval shortly after. The Allies would attack on September 15 after a one-day bombardment.

Aerial operations: 70 Squadron smashed

Work over the lines continued for the RAF today and enemy aircraft were also out in force. The RAF Communiqué reported 65 claims against enemy aircraft, though it’s unlikely that many of these resulted in casualties, as German records only detail three.

70 Squadron RAF had been temporarily attached from the II Brigade for work over the front of the First Army. They were not given much time to acclimatise and perhaps this unfamiliarity was partly to blame for the mauling they suffered today.

While engaged on an offensive patrol near Écaillon, 5 miles east of Douai, they were bounced by a group of around 30 enemy aircraft primarily form Jasta 26. Totally outnumbered 70 Squadron had 8 aircraft shot down. In return Lieutenant Kenneth Bowman Watson claimed one Fokker and 2nd Lieutenant John Stanley Wilson and Lieutenant Dennis Henry Stacey Gilbertson another. Unfortunately Gilbertson (E1472) was shot down and killed along with Lieutenant John Arnold Spilhaus (D9416) and 2nd Lieutenant Kenneth Houston Wallace (D9458):

The five others shot down all came down behind enemy lines and were taken prisoner. These were:

- Lieutenant John Leveson-Gower (B9269).[/s]
- Captain James Henry Forman (C8239).[/s]
- 2nd Lieutenant William Maxwell Herriot (D3406).
- Lieutenant Roland McPhee (D1930).[/s]
- 2nd Lieutenant Sidney William Rochford (D9418).

The eight losses translated to 11 victory claims by Jasta 26, so it’s unclear exactly who go who. The pilots claiming were Leutnant Ehlers, Vitzfeldwebel Erich Buder (2), Oberleutnant Theodor Dahlmann (2), Leutnant Otto Fruhner (4), Fritz Classen, and Oberleutnant Bruno Loerzer.

Naval operations: ship losses

ARUM (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) east of Pantelleria, Italy (36°50′N 12°50′E) by SM UC-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

BOGSTAD (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bristol Channel 18 nautical miles (33 km) south of Lundy Island, Devon, United Kingdom by SM UB-125 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all twelve of her crew.

DORA (United States) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of France (49°26′N 12°36′W) by SM U-82 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

RICHARD (Norway) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Majorca, Spain (39°49′N 1°51′E) by SM U-34 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

SANTA MARIA (Portugal) The trawler was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean off Peniche by SM U-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

VILLA FRANCA (Portugal) The tug was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Lisbon by SM U-22 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

WAR FIRTH (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 33 nautical miles (61 km) south by west of The Lizard, Cornwall by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eleven crew.

Day 1492 of the Great War, September 6th 1918

YouTube (Red Terror in Soviet Russia)



Western Front

Amiens-St. Quentin road British press forward.

Germans in full retreat from the Somme.

Ham and Chauny re-taken by French.

In north English troops advance north-west of Armentieres and re-take Bailleul.

Americans reach south bank of Aisne river.

Western Front: Ludendorff Plans New Defense Lines

On September 6, Hindenburg & Ludendorff summoned a final meeting of the army group chief of staff at OHL in Avesnes, a day before OHL was set to relocate to Spa, further away from the endangered front line and closer to the Kaiser. Hindenburg acknowledged the “extreme seriousness” of the situation: they had, by the 6th, given up almost all of their gains of the year so far, and the Allies were continuing to make headway. Ludendorff continued to blame the men and officers of the German Army for the recent defeats, and announced his plans for continued defense. Due to shortages of manpower and equipment, every battalion would be reduced from four companies to three. Extreme punishments would be carried out for men found to be shirking in their duty. The German Army would attempt to hold the Hindenburg Line, but, in case that did not succeed, new defensive lines were to be constructed twenty miles behind that, and the Meuse-Antwerp position even further east would be shored up.

General Lossberg, chief of staff to General Boehn, believed the Hindenburg Line was not in excellent condition and would not hold for long (as the Drocourt-Quéant Switch had not), advocated strongly for the replication of Operation Alberich on a grand scale. They did not have the resources to build a new defensive line, so the main effort should go into the Meuse-Antwerp line, which would both be highly defensible and over 40 miles shorter than their current lines. The intervening ground (up to 70 miles in some cases) would be subjected to scorched-earth tactics to slow the inevitable Allied advance and deny them any resources or logistical support in the area. Once the preparation of the Meuse-Antwerp line was complete, the German Army would withdraw from the Hindenburg Line; experience had shown that the pursuing Allies would not be able to keep up, and the German Army would gain both space and time in which to recuperate. Ludendorff refused to acknowledge the need for such drastic measures, and continued with his own plan–even refusing to destroy bridges and railroads they would no longer need.

East Africa campaign

In East Africa von Lettow's forces are overtaken on Upper Lurio river near Anguros and attacked by two British columns from south and south-east. Enemy retreat west after severe losses in killed and captured.

United Kingdom: World Learns of the Romanovs’ Deaths

The world already knew that Nicholas Romanov, former Tsar Nicholas II of the Russian Empire, had been executed by Red Guards in Ekaterinburg in July. It did not know that the rest of the Tsar’s family - the Tsarina, son Alexei, and the four daughters - had been murdered as well. Some thought the news was anti-Bolshevik propaganda.

One of the people most affected by the news was British King George V. The British government has proposed giving sanctuary to the Romanovs after the Tsar’s abdication, but George had personally vetoed the plan, fearing that bringing his unpopular cousin to England might flare up revolutionary sentiment at home. Nevertheless, when the King heard of the death of the Tsar’s family, he blamed Whitehall for leaving them out in the cold. Although he did not mourn the Tsarina Alix, who he had disliked, he was gripped by guilt about the fate of the children. For the rest of his life George would oppose normalizing relations with the Bolsheviks, the “murderers of my family.”

Naval operations: ship losses

ALMIRANTE The United Fruit Company passenger-cargo ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean after colliding with the tanker USS HISKO ( United States Navy) 16 nautical miles (30 km) off the coast of New Jersey near Atlantic City at approximately 39°21′N 74°13′W. All but five to seven of the 105 passengers and crew survived.

AUDAX (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 6.5 nautical miles (12.0 km) east by north of Robin Hood's Bay, Yorkshire (54°29′N 0°21′W) by SM UB-80 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.

MILLY (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 2.25 nautical miles (4.17 km) west by south of Tintagel Head, Cornwall (50°30′N 4°52′W) by SM UB-87 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.

Day 1494 of the Great War, September 8th 1918

Western Front

Enemy show increased resistance.

Violent fighting north and east of St. Simon.

Avesnes lost and re-taken by French, who also take Artemps, Happencourt, Fluquieres, Vaux and gain ground both sides of Oise river.

Over 19,000 prisoners taken by British in past week. Over 150,000 taken by Allies since 18 July.

Photo: New Zealand soldiers examining a German tank nicknamed "Schnuck", captured by New Zealand forces on the Western Front, 8 September 1918



Western Front: Germans Prepare to Evacuate St Mihiel Salient as Allies Plan to Attack It

In 1914 the German army conquered a large stretch of French territory between the towns of Verdun and Nancy. Four years later this salient still existed, thirty miles wide cutting like a knife fifteen miles into the Allied lines. Therefore it was a primary objective for the Allies as they prepared for major assaults along the Western Front in the beginning of autumn.

The Germans were fully aware of the coming storm. The French and Americans, who were acting as an independent army for the first time in the war, had massed 3,000 guns and 40,000 tons of ammunition for the opening barrage. No logistical effort was spared: fifteen miles of road had been built using 100,000 tons of gravel, along with 45 miles of standard and 250 miles of light-gauge railway to ferry more shells and men to the front. To be ready for the inevitable casualties, sixty-five evacuation trains had been brought up, and 21,000 beds made available for wounded men. 550,000 American and 110,000 French soldiers waited in the trenches for “D-Day.” There were also 267 light tanks, half manned by American crews. The American tankers were led by an officer named Colonel George Patton.

There was no chance of surprise but it did not matter because of the poor state of the German army. German landsers had been retreating constantly since they had been repulsed on the Marne in August. They were dispirited, especially because there had been so much propaganda telling them the war was almost won that spring. Self-mutilation and desertion had become worryingly common ways to escape the coming battle. Trapped in a hopeless position, German soldiers were fighting less stubbornly than they had earlier in the war, focused no longer on victory but on survival. Faced with clear defeat, Ludendorff ordered the St Mihiel salient be evacuated on September 8, but the evacuation would not have time to start before the Americans attacked four days later.

Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion

Junction of the Czecho-Slovaks at Olovyanna in Siberia with other Czech forces from the east.

Russia: Russian Whites Attempt to Form Unified Government

Anti-Bolshevik forces in Russia were divided among various factions, whose cooperation was limited at best. The SR-dominated Komuch, claiming to be the legitimate continuation of the Constituent Assembly, was in dire straits on the Volga. Over a thousand miles to the east, a Provisional Siberian Government had been created by more right-leaning elements in Omsk. Elsewhere, Denikin and Alexeyev’s Volunteer Army was in the Kuban, the Don Cossacks were threatening Tsaritsyn [Volgograd], and Murmansk and Vladivostok had their own governments under Allied supervision. The Czechs and the Allies were growing increasingly frustrated at the Whites’ lack of coordination, and on September 8 they finally organized an “All-Russian” State Conference in Ufa–though mainly it involved the Komuch, the Omsk government, and several Cossack groups.

Despite severe divisions among its members (and at least one murder), the Ufa conference eventually agreed to a Provisional All-Russian Government. The Constituent Assembly would be reconvened and begin its work in January 1919, though only if a quorum of 250 could be found. In the meantime, a five-man Directory (only two of which would be SRs) would form the basis of the government, and more aid would be provided to the Komuch forces on the Volga. In many cases, this came too late; while the Ufa conference was in progress, the Komuch would suffer major defeats in the field.

Naval operations: ship losses

HMS NESSUS (Royal Navy) The Admiralty M-class destroyer collided with HMS AMPHITRITE ( Royal Navy) in the North Sea and sank.

Day 1496 of the Great War, September 10th 1918

Western Front

Local fighting in Epehy and Gouzeaucourt sectors.

British patrols make progress north-east of Neuve Chapelle.

East of Crozat Canal between St. Quentin and La Fere, French make further progress; they occupy Hinancourt and Travecy.

Special Order of the Day issued: 75,000 prisoners and 750 guns taken by British in four weeks.

Russian Civil War: Reds Recapture Kazan

In response to the Komuch’s victories on the Volga earlier in the summer, the Bolsheviks brought as many resources to bear on the area as they could muster. These included Trotsky himself, tens of thousands of Red Army troops, and even several destroyers from the Baltic Fleet that could make the voyage there by canal. The local Komuch and Czech defenders, despite some daring raids out of the city, were completely outmatched and by early September were surrounded on three sides. Lenin urged Trotsky to begin shelling the city: “In my opinion it is wrong to spare the city and delay things further, because merciless annihilation is essential once Kazan is in an iron ring.” Kazan avoided this fate, as the Whites pulled out and the Reds entered the city on September 10, the same day Trotsky received this message.

Two days later, Red forces under Tukachevsky took Simbirsk a hundred miles to the south. The bridge across the Volga was captured by sending across an unmanned engine to break through the defenders’ barriers, followed by a manned armored train, then infantry. Fighting continued around Simbirsk for the next few weeks, and the Whites did manage to blow up a span of the bridge in the subsequent fighting, hampering Red efforts to move further east. Nevertheless, these were major defeats for the Komuch, who had been understandably unable to raise an army to fight the Reds in the span of three months, and it seriously undermined their ongoing negotiations with the Omsk government.

Naval operations: ship losses

SM UB-83 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UB III submarine was depth charged and sunk in the North Sea off the Orkney Islands, United Kingdom (58°28′N 1°50′W) by HMS OPHELIA ( Royal Navy) with the loss of all 37 crew.