The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

Day 1333 of the Great War, April 1st 1918

Western Front

Local attacks near Albert repulsed.

Grivesnes (southern Moreuil) heavily attacked but remains in French hands.

At Hebuterne (Bucquoy) local fighting in favour of British.

Sinai and Palestine campaign: British Retreat After Failed Attack on Amman

Allenby had turned his attention east in early 1918, hoping to cut the Hejaz Railway at Amman. Even if the Turks were not permanently ejected from the city, the destruction of a rail bridge and tunnel in the area would disrupt rail traffic for months, and hopefully force the Turks to abandon all positions to the south. In late March, he intended to cross the Jericho and attack Amman, while his Hashemite allies attacked Ma’an to the south. However, heavy rains interfered with this plan; the Arabs postponed their attack on Ma’an as “camels and pack animals were floundering in mud,” and flooding of the Jordan meant that the British could not cross until March 23, and had severe supply difficulties thereafter. Critically, the wet and muddy conditions meant that all but the lightest British artillery could not reach Amman. Attacks on Amman from March 27 to 30 were all repulsed by machine-guns in positions that could not be taken out without artillery support. The British lost a third of their force wounded in attacks that were destined to fail before withdrawing back to the west, followed by refugees who were afraid of Ottoman retribution. By April 2, the British had withdrawn all but a small detachment back across the Jordan.

The German offensive in France meant that the time for offensive operations in Palestine and Jordan was quickly running out. The War Office had already ordered one of his divisions away to bolster the Western Front, and two more would leave before the end of April. Allenby hoped to try one more attack before the summer heat set in, but it would be with a quickly-diminishing force.

Mesopotamia campaign

British troops 73 miles beyond Ana (Middle Euphrates).

Germany/Russian relations

Berlin reports the despatch of ultimatum to Russia on subject of Finland.

Aerial operations: Royal Air Force Founded

Today the Royal Air Force finally came into being as a separate Service, independent of the British Army and Royal Navy – the first time that any country had formed an entirely separate and independent air force. The RAF was the most powerful air force in the world with more than 290,000 personnel and nearly 23,000 aircraft. At the time of the merger, the RNAS had 55,066 personnel and 2,949 aircraft. At the same time the Women’s RAF was also formed.

In reality, very little changed for those in service. They remained in the same units, wearing the same uniforms, flying the same aircraft. It would take time for new traditions to form.

The only real noticeable change was that the Naval units were renumbered. Naval Squadrons 1 to 17 serving in France were renumbered 201-217.

The two wings serving abroad were also renumbered. 2 Wing RNAS in the Eastern Mediterranean became 220-223 Squadrons. 6 Wing RNAS in Italy became 224-227 Squadrons. It wasn’t until later (at various times between May and August 1918 that the former RNAS stations in England were designated as Squadrons, becoming 228-272 Squadrons.

Aerial operations:France

Photo: Air mechanics preparing a Bristol Fighter of No. 22 Squadron at Vert Galand aerodrome. On the left a group of pilots and observers in flying kit. Part of the armament was a fixed Vickers gun inside the cowling, firing through the propeller, 1 April 1918



Photo: A Bristol Fighter of No. 22 Squadron, Vert Galand aerodrome, 1 April 1918



Photo: Bristol Fighters of No. 22 Squadron in flight over Vert Galand aerodrome, 1 April 1918



Naval operations: ship losses

ARDFLASS (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 7 nautical miles (13 km) north east of Larne, County Antrim by SM UC-31 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of seven of her crew.

LUSITANO P(ortugal) The barquentine was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores (38°50′N 18°24′W) by SM U-155 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew took to the lifeboats but were not rescued.

Day 1335 of the Great War, April 3rd 1918

Western Front

Local fighting in Scarpe river region and at Hebuterne.

Heavy air fighting and bombing.

One long-range gun reported blown up.

coalition between local authorities and Entente to safeguard Murman railway.

Photo: Men of a labour battalion of the Manchester Regiment (and Royal Garrison Artillery) taking barbed wire reels from a Royal Engineers dump near Arras, 3 April 1918. Note use of stake in carrying these reels




Photo: Men of a labour battalion of the Manchester Regiment (and Royal Garrison Artillery) taking barbed wire reels from a Royal Engineers dump near Arras, 3 April 1918. Note use of stake in carrying these reels




Photo: A 6-inch gun of the Royal Garrison Artillery firing near Arras, 3 April 1918. Note a camouflage netting screen



Finnish Civil War: Germans Intervene In Finland

The Germans wanted a friendly government in Finland, to help supply them during the war, to increase Germany’s influence after the war, and to see off any Allied threat from Murmansk (where Allied forces had already landed). The Whites in Finland also needed Germany’s help; although they had successfully surrounded Tampere, pushing further south would be difficult. Baltic ice made early intervention difficult, but by April 3 it had cleared enough to let the Germans land a division at the port of Hanko, on a peninsula at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland. Red forces had already abandoned the port, but, to the Germans’ chagrin, had taken with them all the trains in the city; the Germans would not, as they had when they invaded Russia in February, be able to simply advance along the rail lines. The still-snowy conditions also meant the bicycles the Germans had hoped to use, as on Ösel last October, were rendered useless; the advance on Helsinki would have to be by foot. Nevertheless, the Germans still took the vital bridge at Ekenäs, 20 miles from Hanko, on the first day.

The sudden threat to Helsinki panicked Russian and Allied naval forces in Helsinki. The Russian forces were supposed to have left for Kronstadt by the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, but not all had yet done so due to the icy conditions; much of the fleet had barely survived an ice cruise from Talinn in February. The Russian commander notified the Germans that their sailors would be adhering to the terms of the treaty and would not be aiding the Finnish Reds in the defense of Helsinki; their ships began leaving in earnest the next day. Also in Helsinki was the British submarine fleet in the Baltic, which was now truly stranded. With escape infeasible, the British scuttled their remaining seven submarines there (along with several Russian ones) once they heard the news of the German landings. The crews would later return to Britain via Murmansk.

Photo: German Baltic Sea Division landing in Hanko, Finland, with Russian warships and submarines in fire, 3 April 1918



Photo: Military engineers of the German Baltic Sea Division fixing a track between Hanko and Helsinki, 3 April 1918



Photo: German Baltic Sea Division charging on the outskirts of Helsinki by the Ladugården tram stop. The photo is staged, 3 April 1918



Operations against the Marri and Khetran tribes

Baluchistan: Successful progress of operations against the Marris.

United Kingdom

British Shipping output for first quarter 320,280 tons.

Austria-Hungary

Count Czernin speaks on international situation and declares he has received peace offer from France (M. Clemenceau denies this).

South Africa

General Botha appeals to "Fellow South Africans" for recruits.

Aerial operations: Fort Worth

After the United States’ entry into the War in April 1917, the RFC wanted to establish training fields in the southern United States to supplement its Canadian outposts, hoping the warmer weather would be more conducive for flying year-round.

In August 1917, the US War Department signed leases with the RFC on three sites around Fort Worth. Hicks Field (#1), Barron Field (#2), and Benbrook Field (#3) and construction began in late August and early September.

The Canadians named the training complex Camp Taliaferro after 1st Lieutenant Walter R. Taliaferro, a U.S. Army aviator who had been killed in an accident at Rockwell Field, California, on 11 October 1915.

Canadian cadets were at Benbrook and Everman Fields, while the US cadets and the Canadian aerial gunnery school went to Hicks.

The Canadian contingent left the Camp shortly after this photograph was taken to return to Canada. The Camp was closed but the three sites were operated separately by the US Air Service.

Naval operations: ship losses

AG-11 (Imperial Russian Navy) The AG-class submarine was scuttled in the harbor at Hanko.

AG-12 (Imperial Russian Navy) The AG-class submarine was scuttled in the harbor at Hanko.

AG-16 (Imperial Russian Navy) The AG-class submarine was scuttled in the harbor at Hanko.

HMS E1 (Royal Navy) The E-class submarine was scuttled in the Gulf of Finland off the Harmaja Lighthouse.

HMS E9 (Royal Navy) The E-class submarine was scuttled in the Gulf of Finland off the Harmaja Lighthouse.

ELSIE BURDETT (United Kingdom) The schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands, Spain (44°38′N 24°28′W) by SM U-152 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her six crew took to the lifeboat but were not rescued.

SYVLIE (France) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 120 nautical miles (220 km) north east of Malta by SM UC-54 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

Day 1337 of the Great War, April 5th 1918

YouTube (Operation Michael Runs Out Of Breath)



Western Front

Germans again attack from Somme to beyond Bucquoy.

British take 200 prisoners in counter-attack near Hebuterne.

French attack north of Montdidier and near Noyon.

End of Second Battle of the Somme.

Map: Map showing British and German units around Bucquoy, France during the final day of the German offensive in the area, 5 April 1918



Western Front: Americans Attached to British and French Divisions

The longer the war dragged on, the more likely the Entente was to win. It was a mathematical fact: while the German army was bleeding to death in its great offensive, the Allies were gaining men every month as more men arrived. By the summer the “doughboys” would be landing in France at the rate of 120,000 a month.

Nevertheless, what mattered was who had more troops now. Recent German victories had seen tens of thousands of British troops taken prisoner and marched to POW camps in Germany, where they would spend the rest of the war. Britain and France were running out of men. Winston Churchill, in France (and almost captured while visiting the front lines on March 21) sent a telegram to Lloyd George reporting that the French government was pessimistic. “It is considered certain here that the Germans will pursue this struggle to a final decision all through the sumer and their resources are at present larger than ours.”

Faced with desperate appeals, the Americans agreed at this point to begin subordinating their brigades to French and British commanders at the front. The Allies had petitioned for this for a long time but the American general Pershing, understandably, wanted to keep his men together under his own nation’s command. Along with the recent appointment of Frenchman Ferdinand Foch as Allied Supreme Commander, however, the Allies were beginning to coalesce into a truly multinational fighting force. It was better late than never.

Finnish Civil War

German landing in Finland confirmed.

Japanese intervention in Siberia

Japanese marines land at Vladivostok, followed by a British detachment.

Italian Front

60 Austrian sailors captured on land by Italians near Ancona.

Caucasus campaign

Van (Armenia) retaken by the Turks.

Ireland

51st Meeting of Irish Convention adopts draft report. Convention adjourns sine die.

Aerial operations: 55 Squadron RAF

The German Armies made another push on Amiens today. The Air Forces of both sides could do little to influence the outcome as the weather was very poor with low clouds, mist, and rain prevailing all day.

The only major action of the day was an attack on the railway station at Luxembourg at around midday. DH4s from 55 Squadron RAF dropped 22 heavy 112lb bombs on the station. Many of the bombs were seen to burst on the railway and a very large fire was caused. The anti-aircraft fire encountered was considerable, and one aircraft failed to return.

This was DH4 A7553 with 2nd Lieutenant Percy Henry O’Lieff and 2nd Lieutenant Sidney Robin Wells on board. They were taken prisoner. This was confirmed by letter on 15 May 1918.

O’Lieff was one of many who started off as an observer, with 1 Squadron RFC, and went on to become a pilot.

Naval operations: ship losses

HMS C27 (Royal Navy) The C-class submarine was scuttled in the Gulf of Finland off the Harmaja Lighthouse prevent her capture by German forces.

HMS C35 (Royal Navy) The C-class submarine was scuttled in the Gulf of Finland off the Harmaja Lighthouse prevent her capture by German forces.

CAMELIA (Italy) The barque was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Cap Caccia (40°38′N 8°06′E) by SM UC-35 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

CYRENE (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in Caernarfon Bay 15 nautical miles (28 km) north of Bardsey Island, Caernarfonshire by SM UC-31 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 24 of her crew.

Day 1339 of the Great War, April 7th 1918

Western Front

Heavy artillery work on the Oise and between the Somme and Armentieres; two attacks on Bucquoy repulsed.

Photo: Royal Garrison Artillery observers amongst the ruins of Ransart, 7 April 1918



Western Front: Ludendorff Calls off Somme Offensive, New Attack Planned on Ypres

On April 5, Ludendorff called off Operation Michael, the Spring Offensive attacks on the British on the Somme. The Germans had broken the British Fifth Army, but failed to capture Amiens and taken a horrible toll in casualties. Both sides have lost about 250,000 men in the offensive so far. Among the dead was Ludendorff’s youngest stepson, shot down over the battlefield.

But the great onslaught was not over. Instead, its focus changed to further north as the Germans prepared to launch the second part of their spring plan, an offensive along the British front on the river Lys, near Armentières. The objective this time was Ypres. The Germans planned to cut off and capture the Salient once and for all, then drive the British troops into the sea at Dunkirk.

Finnish Civil War

Russian protests to Germany about landing in Finland and to foreign Consuls in Moscow about Vladivostok.

Bolsheviks evacuating Helsingfors.

Arab Revolt

Kerak (south of Dead Sea) occupied by Hejaz troops.

Caucasus campaign

Transcaucasia; Turkish troops reported to be marching on Batum.

France

Paris: M. Clemenceau receives Mr. Baker, U.S. Secretary of War.

United States

U.S. announces it has shipped 1.1 million tons of food to the Allied countries in March. Shipments include 200 million pounds of pork, 80 million pounds of beef, and 15.5 million bushels of wheat.

Aerial operations: Zeppelin Explodes En Route to Malta

The Germans had struggled to find a use for the Zeppelin L59 after she returned from what was expected to be a one-way trip to resupply Lettow-Vorbeck in German East Africa. Ultimately, it was decided that she should be used for long-range bombing missions around the Mediterranean, attacking Naples in early March. About a month later, she was sent on her second such mission, bound for the British naval base at Malta–the center of Allied naval operations in the Mediterranean. On the evening of April 7, the submarine UB-59 saw her pass overhead at a low altitude of around 700 feet. Only a few minutes later, there were two bursts, and “a gigantic flame enveloped the airship and it nosed down into the water.“ All 21 on board were killed. It is still unknown what caused the airship’s destruction; there were no Allied forces in the vicinity, so the Germans ruled it an accident.

Naval operations: ship losses

BOSCASTLE (United Kingdom) The collier was torpedoed and sunk in St. George's Channel 14 nautical miles (26 km) north north west of Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire by SM U-111 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eighteen crew.

CATRIENA (Netherlands) The sailing vessel was sunk in the North Sea 58 nautical miles (107 km) south west of Egersund, Rogaland, Norway (58°04′N 4°14′E) by SM UB-73 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

HIGHLAND BRIGADE (United Kingdom) The cargo liner was sunk in the English Channel 6 nautical miles (11 km) south by east of St. Catherine's Point (50°35′N 1°14′W) by SM UC-71 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

PORT CAMPBELL (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 115 nautical miles (213 km) west south west of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

RYE (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 19 nautical miles (35 km) north west by west of Cap d'Antifer, Seine-Maritime, France (49°57′N 0°07′W) by SM UB-74 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of four of her crew.

STEROPE (Regia Marina) The tanker was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores, Portugal (38°44′N 18°09′W) by SM U-155 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

Day 1341 of the Great War, April 9th 1918

Western Front

Heavy bombardment from La Bassee Canal to Armentieres, followed by strong attacks, force British and Portuguese back to Lys river at Estaires.

Neuve Chapelle lost.

Fine stand by Guards Division.

Hangard lost and retaken by French; between it and Noyon all enemy attempts repulsed.

Western Front: Operation Georgette

Ludendorff’s plan for 1918 had always involved a series of offensives, hoping that repeated strikes in different areas of the front would eventually catch the Allies off guard and cause a breakthrough. One of these plans was Operation George, a two-part offensive in Flanders aiming to break through and threaten the Channel ports while pinching off the Ypres salient. The success of Michael, however, meant that plans for George were put on hold. When the advance on Amiens stalled and the attacks on Arras failed, the plans were quickly resumed and artillery and forces sent north to Flanders to attack as soon as possible, while British reserves were still defending Amiens. The scope of the offensive was reduced, as was its name, from “George” to “Georgette.” The accelerated timetable meant that troop and artillery movements had to be made during the day, and the preparations did not go unnoticed by the British. However, Haig and the War Cabinet were convinced the German attack would fall north of Arras, rather than near Ypres, and arranged their forces accordingly.

Map: Positions of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division at midnight on 9 April 1918 (red line). Blue line denotes sector boundary



The initial German offensive would fall between Armentières and La Bassée–areas that had seen heavy fighting in 1914 and 1915 but were relatively quiet since then. Defending much of this area was the Portuguese 2nd Division–a primary reason why the Germans chose this sector. Morale among the Portuguese was low; the men had little opportunity to return home for leave, and the force received little support from their government, which since the coup last December was decidedly against vigorous prosecution of the war. They were due for relief on the evening of April 9, but this would come a day too late; in the meantime, they were holding a front of over six miles by themselves.

The German barrage opened at 4:15 AM on April 9; they had learned lessons from Michael and were more effective than before, if operating with fewer guns. At 8:45, the infantry attacked behind a rolling barrage. Although many of the most elite stormtroopers had fallen during Michael, the Germans were still able to overrun the Portuguese positions entirely within two hours. About a third of the Portuguese force was killed or captured, while the rest withdrew as they could. In some cases, they retreated using the bicycles of the 11th Cyclist Battalion that had come up as their reinforcements. The Germans managed to outflank the positions to the north of the Portuguese as well; to the south, near Givenchy, the British managed to hold on, diverting the thrust of the German offensive northward.

By the end of the day, the Germans had advanced nearly five miles, to the River Lys, on a front of nearly ten miles–they had not struck so deep on a single day even during Michael. Supplying and reinforcing their advancing troops was a concern, but the Germans planned more attacks the next day as they shifted their artillery north.

Caucasus campaign

Transcaucasia: Turks reported before Batum and marching on Kars.

Sinai and Palestine campaign

British advance 1.5 miles on 5-mile front east of Tul-Keram-Ramleh railway.

Arab Revolt

Arabs claim 800 miles of Red Sea coast, and to have put 40,000 Turks out of action since declaration of independence.

United Kingdom

Mr. Lloyd George introduces Man-Power Bill, demands conscription be extended to Ireland in return for Home Rule in order to cover manpower shortages.

Romania

Moldavian Democratic Republic votes to unify with the Kingdom of Romania.

Aerial operations: Gorrell

American forces have had little effect on the war to date, but their strategists have been thinking about strategic bombing.

Hugh Trenchard, until Head of the RFC in the field had generally opposed strategic bombing as he felt it drew limited aircraft away from the primary role of air forces to support the army.

However, the Americans, rather later to the war, and seeing the capabilities of the new range of bombers, had developed a definite and thorough doctrine to support strategic bombardment. The main author of this was Lieutenant Colonel Edgar S. Gorrell, who in December 1917 became head of the Strategical Aviation Branch of the Air Service in the Advance Zone. He drew up plans strategic bombing force should it become available. Wing Commander Spencer Grey of the Royal Naval Air Service, regarded by Gorrell as the “world’s greatest authority on air bombing,” and other British experts, who had participated in bombardment missions, gave Gorrell the benefit of their combat experience.

The resulting proposal for strategic operations was submitted to the Chief of the Air Service late in 1917 and was approved by him as a guide for aerial preparation.

A slightly modified version of this plan was issued as an Air Service bulletin today. It defined the four principal areas within bombing range:

- Mannheim-Ludwigshaven.
- Cologne.
- Saar-Lorraine-Luxembourg.
- The Main (Frankfurt).

Furthermore the plan suggested that, to be effective, all available bombing resources should be concentrated on one target at a time, which should be attacked relentlessly so that “manufacturing works would be wrecked and the morale of the workmen would be shattered.”

In the end the plan was never fully implemented as Gorrell moved on to another post, and the plan came up against the slow delivery of suitable aircraft and the opposition of the Army.

Naval operations: Belgium

German torpedo-boats bombard Belgian coast.

Naval operations: ship losses

AVEIRO (Portugal) The cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea (36°24′N 18°06′E) by SM UB-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

PRESIDENT LEROY-IALLIER (France) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 15 nautical miles (28 km) north west of Ouessant, Finistère (48°50′N 5°13′W) by SM UB-109 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 26 of her crew.

PRESIDENT HOWARD (Liberia) The auxiliary sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Monrovia by SM U-154 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

VASCONIA (Norway) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the Mediterranean Sea north of Alexandria, Egypt with the loss of seven of her crew.

Day 1343 of the Great War, April 11th 1918

Western Front

Fighting in general on whole battle-front.

British forced back beyond Ploegsteert and Steenwercke to south of Neuve Eglise and Bailleul.

At Hollebeke and Messines attacks repulsed.

Enemy captures Merville.

Strong local attacks repulsed south of Arras.

Germans claim 20,000 prisoners in Northern fighting.

Photo: Battle of Hazebrouck. Troops arriving at a railway embankment which they are to defend, Merville, 11 April 1918



Photo: Battle of Hazebrouck. Defending troops lining a railway track at Merville, 11 April 1918



Photo: The 1st Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers watching the 7th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry marching up to the outpost line, 3rd Division, 11 April 1918



Western Front: Haig’s “Special Order of the Day”

German attacks in Flanders, codenamed Operation Georgette, have shaken the British. With his men closing in on the transportation hub of Hazebrouck, Ludendorff hopes that a further push will lead to a British collapse. Recognising the gravity of the situation, Haig now issues a special order of the day to his men. He salutes their fortitude and boldly claims that the German drive is being contained, but nevertheless he recognises that the hour of crisis has arrived.

“Many amongst us now are tired. To those I would say that Victory will belong to the side which holds out the longest. The French Army is moving rapidly and in great force to our support.

“There is no other course open to us but to fight it out. Every position must be held to the last man: there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall and believing in the justice of our cause each one of us must fight on to the end. The safety of our homes and the Freedom of mankind alike depend upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment.”

In truth the tide is beginning to move in favour of the British. More British and Australian units are arriving to bolster their defences while Foch has indeed agreed to release French troops to support them. The German troops meanwhile are increasingly exhausted and worn down by the fighting. But Ludendorff orders his men to press on. Like Haig he believes that victory will come to the side that can endure the most, and he believes that side is his own.

Document: Haig’s “Special Order of the Day”



Sinai and Palestine campaign

Palestine: Turks attack near El Ghoraniya (East Jordan): defeated and pursued by cavalry six miles towards Es Salt. Further attack astride Jericho-Shechem road repulsed.

East Africa campaign

British columns from coast and Lake Nyassa in touch with enemy forces at Medu and Msalu river.

France

Major-General Hon. C. Sackville-West succeeds Sir Henry Rawlinson (to the front) at Versailles.

United Kingdom

Report issued of Government Committee on treatment of prisoners of war behind lines.

Netherlands

Food riots in Holland.

Naval operations: Belguim

British naval forces bombard Ostend and aircraft bomb Zeebrugge.

Naval operations: ship losses: German Dreadnought Runs Aground Off Finland

The Germans had a considerable naval presence in the northern Baltic in support of the Finnish Whites, assisting with the landing of troops at Hanko and elsewhere and threatening the Reds on shore. They also underscored the implied threat to the Russian fleet in Helsinki, which hurriedly left for Kronstadt despite the icy conditions; what ships that could not leave in time were scuttled in the harbor. On April 11, German troops reached the outskirts of Helsinki and two dreadnoughts arrived off shore. A third, the RHEINLAND, was on its way from the Åland Islands when it ran aground on small Lagskär Island in heavy fog. Two men were killed, both of its hulls were pierced, and three boiler rooms were flooded. An attempt to refloat the ship later in the week proved unsuccessful. Over the course of the next month, her crew, her main guns, and much of her armor was removed, and she was only refloated with difficulty in early July before being tugged back to Kiel. Repairs were deemed too difficult, and the Rheinland would not re-enter service.

Naval operations: ship losses

CARMELA G (Italy) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily by SM UB-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

HIGHLAND PRINCE (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 36 nautical miles (67 km) north east of Cape Bon, Algeria (37°27′N 11°32′E) by SM UB-50 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three of her crew.

HMS KING ALFRED (Royal Navy) The Drake-class cruiser was torpedoed and damaged in the Atlantic Ocean 30 nautical miles (56 km) north of Malin Head, County Donegal by SM UB-86 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member.

KINGSTONIAN (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and damaged in the Mediterranean Sea off San Pietro Island, Italy (39°20′N 7°10′E) by SM UB-68 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member. She was beached in Carloforte Bay but was again torpedoed and damaged on 29 April by SM UB-48 ( Kaiserliche Marine) and was a total loss.

USS LAKEMOOR (United States Navy) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) off the Corsewall Lighthouse, Wigtownshire, United Kingdom by SM UB-64 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of 46 of her crew.

MYRTLE BRANCH (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 9 nautical miles (17 km) north east by north of Inishtrahull Island, County Donegal by SM UB-73 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of fifteen of her crew.

SM UB-33 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UB II submarine struck a mine and sank in the Strait of Dover (50°55′N 1°17′E) with the loss of all 28 crew.

Day 1345 of the Great War, April 13th 1918

Western Front

British re-occupy Neuve Eglise and repel further attack.

Continuous fighting round Wulverghem, Bailleul and Meteren, and at Festubert.

Lys river front remains firm.

Sir Douglas Haig issues special Order of the Day.

Meuse river, Americans north-west of Toul are twice attacked.

Long-range gun shells Paris by night.

Photo: Gun crew of a Royal Field Artillery 18-pounder battery prepare to open fire near Meteren during the fighting for Hazebrouck, 13 April 1918



Photo: Gun crew of a Royal Field Artillery 18-pounder battery prepare to open fire near Meteren during the fighting for Hazebrouck, 13 April 1918. The nearest gun has just fired and is seen at recoil



Photo: German Offensive on the Lys. An outpost of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in a ruined barn, Marquois, 13 April 1918



Russian Civil War: General Kornilov Killed in Battle

Since the fall of Rostov in February, the White Volunteer Army had been wandering across the steppe in the middle of winter, trying to avoid railroads and any large towns, both firmly under the control of the Bolsheviks. They seized what supplies they could by force, often brutally killing civilians to do so. Running short of ammunition, he decided in early April to face the Bolsheviks head on by attacking the city of Ekaterinodar on the Kuban, defended by a Red force more than twice the size of the Volunteer Army. Their chances were likely nil, but Kornilov was determined, telling his subordinate Denikin on April 12 that “if we do not take Ekaterinodar, there is nothing left for me to do but put a bullet through my head.”

The next morning, before a doomed assault on the city was scheduled to begin, a Red shell hit the farmhouse that housed Kornilov’s headquarters; Kornilov was killed instantly. His subordinates had warned him to move his headquarters due to the shelling, but he had dismissed it as “not worth the trouble” as the battle would be over, one way or the other, by the end of the 13th.

Denikin, who had never approved of the idea of the siege, took command of the Volunteer Army and broke off the attempted siege. The local Bolsheviks, thinking the death of Kornilov meant the end of the Whites, did not pursue. Lenin agreed, saying ten days later that “it can be said with certainty that, in the main, the civil war has ended.” Kornilov was quickly buried with little circumstance; Denikin did not want his soldiers to dwell on his death. The Reds eventually found his grave, exhumed the corpse, and paraded it through Ekaterinodar before burning it.

Finnish Civil War

Photo: Officers of the German Baltic Sea Division after their tropps had taken the Red Guard headquarters in Smolna house



Photo: German soldiers on Esplanadi, Helsinki, with a machine gun after the surrender of Smolna, the Reds' headquarters



Caucasus campaign

Turks occupy Batum.

Transcaucasian Council break off peace negotiations with Turks.

South Africa

Mr. Hertzog's seditious speech, demanding separation.

Yugoslavia

National Assembly of Yugo-Slavs, Croats and Slovenes at Agram take oath of solidarity.

Aerial operations: Germany

Zeppelin Works near Friedrichshafen burnt out.

Aerial operations: France

German bombers raid Paris, causing around 100 casualties.

Aerial operations: 60-64

Overnight, what turned out to be the last Zeppelin attack of any consequence took place. Five airships, the L60, L61, L62, L63 and L64 set off to bomb various targets.

The L60 was overland only about an hour, and her commander believed he had reached Leeds, but his attack was made south of the Humber, where 34 bombs fell, without inflicting damage.

The L64 approached Lincoln, but did not attack the city which was in darkness and therefore probably escaped notice. At Skellingthorpe and Doddington, however, lights were showing and fourteen bombs fell damaging an engine shed and the railway track at Skellingthorpe. Four other bombs fell south of Lincoln, without effect.

The L63 also reached Lincoln and was engaged by the Brauncewall gun. In response the L63 dropped a number of bombs in the area without effect before going out to sea again.

L61 got as far as Wigan after a two hour flight. No air-raid warning had been issued to the town and the blast furnaces of the Wigan Coal and Iron Company were in full blaze. 27 bombs were dropped in the area killing seven, injuring 17 and causing considerable damage to property. Looking back, Wigan was probably a little unlucky, as the commander would probably have attacked Liverpool instead had he not thought he was over Sheffield. .

L62 eventually reached the Birmingham area having flown from Norfolk. on the way L62 dropped bombs near Wisbech and east of the aerodrome at Tydd St. Mary. A pilot who was patrolling the area climbed after the airship, which he described as ‘sitting’ over the aerodrome at 18,000 feet while she dropped her bombs, but she soon eluded him, and steered a course for Coventry. As she approached the city she was fired on, and she dropped bombs on Coventry and Birmingham, all of which fell without causing any major damage. The L62 then turned east, and at this point, Lieutenant Cecil Henry Noble-Campbell of 38 Home Defence Squadron, spotted the ship and followed for about an hour. He had a brief machine-gun duel with the ship. He failed to get a hit but was wounded in the head by a fragment from his propellor whic was shattered, and made a forced landing at Coventry.

There is some dispute as to how this happened. Subsequently the RAF hierarchy issued a press statement which said that Noble-Campbell’s aircraft had been brought down by fire from the L62, and this was the first incident of its type. Noble Campbell’s squadron commander disagreed with this report. He believed that the most likely cause was a shell fragment from an anti-aircraft gun.

Poor weather prevented a large scale response, and none of the other twenty pilots who got up saw anything.

Naval operations: ship losses

HAREWOOD (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 380 nautical miles (700 km) west by south of Lisbon, Portugal by SM U-155 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of two of her crew.

PROVENCE (France) The cargo ship was torpedoed and damaged in the Mediterranean Sea 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) off the Cape Palamos Lighthouse, Spain (41°43′N 3°09′E) by SM UB-68 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached but was later refloated, repaired and returned to service.

RUTH (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea by a Kaiserliche Marine submarine.

WILSON (United Kingdom) The schooner was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 10 nautical miles (19 km) north west of the Smalls Lighthouse by SM UB-109 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.