The Great War (1914-1918) in real time

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Day 1528 of the Great War, October 12th 1918

Western Front

Fighting on River Selle.

End of Second Battle of Le Cateau.

French take Vouziers.

End of Champagne Battle (since 26 September); 21,500 prisoners and 600 guns taken.

French north of Craonne and within three miles of Laon.

Western Front: Germans Begin Withdrawal From Western Front

On October 12 the German Army began a systematic withdrawal from the positions it had occupied on the Western Front since fall 1914. Many important sites had already fallen to the Allies, such as Cambrai, Craonne, and the Argonne Forest. The thin grey line of Germans could not held what was left; on October 10 a British cavalry division galloped eight-miles forward and captured 500 German soldiers as well as the town of Le Câteau, where the BEF had fought a delaying action in 1914.

German leaders looked desperately around for some way out of a disastrous defeat. Hindenburg and Ludendorff stiffened their resolve to fight on (after admitted defeat days earlier), announcing that a favorable armistice would come from firm resistance. The same day, German negotiators reached out again to American president Wilson. Wilson had required a complete withdrawal from Belgium and France as a preliminary step to any peace talks. Now the withdrawal was underway. Across Europe people became excited at the prospect of peace: “Peace! How much this means!” wrote the German Jew Arthur Ruppin in Constantinople. But one long and bloody month of war remained.

Macedonian Front

Serbs capture Nish after stiff fight.

French occupy Mitrovitsa and Prisrend.

90,000 Bulgars and 2,000 guns captured in 27 days.

Italians take Kavaya (Albania).

Germany: Prince Max replies to Wilson, accepting the Fourteen Points and need to evacuate Allied territory

President Wilson replied to the initial German request for an armistice with a note asking a number of questions. He wants assurances that the government of Prince Max is speaking on behalf of the German nation and also that the Germans are prepared to accept his Fourteen Points. Moreover he makes clear that any armistice would necessarily involve the Germans abandoning all occupied Allied territory.

The Germans have hesitated somewhat before replying. The military situation has improved somewhat — as the Allies advance, they outrun their supply lines, making it harder for them to keep up the pressure on the Germans. Ludendorff has become more confident and is less convinced that an immediate armistice is necessary. However Prince Max now believes that an armistice must be secured as soon as possible. Today he despatches his reply to Wilson, stating that he accepts in principle the Fourteen Points and the need to evacuate occupied territory.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg begs President Wilson to protect her rights.

Poland

Polish National Army recognised by Allied Powers.

United States

U.S. troops overseas number over 1,900,000.

Naval operations: ship losses

USAT AMPHION (United States Army), the troopship was shelled and damaged in the Atlantic Ocean (36°06′N 62°59′W) by SM U-155 ( Imperial German Navy). with the loss of two of her crew.

LAILA (Norway), the cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 6.5 nautical miles (12.0 km) north of the Mull of Galloway, Wigtownshire, United Kingdom by SM UB-126 ( Imperial German Navy) with the loss of seventeen of her crew.

Ohio (Sweden), the cargo ship collided with another vessel and sank in the English Channel while in convoy. All 21 people on board were rescued by a Royal Navy destroyer, but one of the crew later died in hospital.

TRIPOLI II (Italy), the cargo ship was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) off Cape Passero, Sicily by SM UB-105 ( Imperial German Navy).

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Day 1529 of the Great War, October 13th 1918

Western Front

More fighting on River Selle line; progress north-west of Douai.

French capture La Fere and Laon and push well on.

Stiff fighting on Meuse, north of Verdun.

Siberian intervention

French, British and Japanese troops enter Siberia.

Macedonian Front

French cavalry enter Pirot.

Serbs storm enemy positions north of Nish.

Sinai and Palestine campaign

British advanced forces enter Tripoli, Syria.

Ottoman Empire

Izzet Pasha succeeds Talaat Pasha as Grand Vizier of Turkey. This marks the end of the war for Turkey.

United Kingdom

Eleftherios Venizelos arrives in London for discussions on the war in the Balkans and Turkish surrender.

United Kingdom: League of Nations Union Founded in Britain

What would the world look like after the World War? For four years populations across the world had acquiesced to bloody warfare and the total mobilization of society towards victory. As the war neared its end, people began to plan the peace that would justify their sacrifices.

One of the most prevalent opinions in Europe was that only total peace could justify total war. The peace should not be another Congress of Vienna, restoring traditional balances of power. Instead there had to be an effort to abolish war itself, creating a new system of international relations based on transparent politics, national and human rights, and collective security. Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points served as a basis for these ideas, and inspired many people across Europe and even throughout its colonial empires. The millions of Allied soldiers who had died since 1914 would not have died in vain, it was felt, if by their victory over Germany they had won the war “to end all wars.”

In Britain, several associations committed to Wilson’s vision of the postwar world united on October 13 as the League of Nations Union. As the war drew to a close and the process of demobilization began, as well as peace negotiations, the League of Nations Union would convert many people in Britain and its Dominions to its way of thinking and create public support for the establishment of the League of Nations.

Naval operations: ship losses

AGJION SPIRIDON (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy).

AGHIOS ghios Georgios (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy).

BIOLETTA ioletta (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy).

EVANGELISTRIA (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy).

EVANGELISTRIOS (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy).

GLAROS (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy).

HAMIDIEH (Egypt), he sailing vessel was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km) north west of Alexandria by an enemy submarine.

IPGHIGENIA (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.

PANAGHIA (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.

URANIA (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy).

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Day 1530 of the Great War, October 14th 1918

Western Front

French storm Roulers and Sissonne.

German attacks on Selle river repulsed.

French advance on River Aisne west of Rethel.

Western Front: Allied Breakthrough in Flanders

The Allied offensive in Flanders, while achieving dramatic success initially, had slowed to a halt due to supply problems. By October 14, they had been able to resupply and bring their artillery forward, and resumed the attack at 5:35AM that morning, on a front stretching from Dixmude south to the French border. Although the attack was not a surprise, they did not anticipate much German resistance, and had their rolling barrage go forward at the quick rate of 100 yards per minute. Many of the defending Germans quickly surrendered, and the Allies took over 12,000 PoWs in the first few days of the offensive. The next day, Ludendorff authorized a general withdrawal from Flanders, which his subordinates and local commanders had been urging for weeks.

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War

British, Indian and Turkoman troops attack Bolsheviks, and after severe Indian losses drive enemy from Dushak (90 miles west of Merv).

British troops from Vladivostok reach Irkutsk.

Macedonian Front

Italians take Durazzo from land side; enemy evacuate Jakova and retire on Ipek (Montenegro).

United Kingdom

Announced that Germany refuses to ratify Prisoners of War Agreement. British reply.

The King presents �10,000 to Red Cross.

Mr. Justice Younger's report on Prisoners of War in 1918 issued.

Spain

Spaniards take over seven German ships as compensation.

Ottoman Empire

Turkey's Peace Note received in U.S.A.

Izzet Pasha Grand Vizier and Minister of War.

Aerial operations: Flanders

Allied forces resumed the offensive in the Flanders area this morning, attacking along the whole front from Dixmude to Comines on the river Lys,

The weather was much improved on the day and the Royal Air Force was able to participate fully in the attack. The bomber and fighter squadrons flew from aerodrome totarget, and then back again to replenish their fuel and to reload with ammunition.

More than two thousand bombs weighting around forty tons were dropped with the railway junctions at Thielt, Deynze, Lichtervelde, Courtrai, Mouscron, Audenarde, and Melle attacked.

The day was not without losses of course with eleven aircraft lost. 213 Squadron was hardest hit. Losing 6 Sopwith Camels in two separate incidents.

In an early morning bombing patrol, three Camels were lost when the group was attacked by 17 enemy aircraft:

- Lieutenant William Thomas Owen in D3378
- Lieutenant John Cochrane Johnstone McDonald in F3120
- 2nd Lieutenant Louis Burney McMurtry in F5987
In return Lieutenant Harry Coleman Smith, claimed an LVG C.

In the afternoon around 1430, a similar patrol also lost another three Camels when they ran in to 14 enemy aircraft:

- Lieutenant John Edmund Greene DFC in D3409
- 2nd Lieutenant Francis Robert Leslie Allen in D8177
- Lieutenant K MacLeish in D9673

To even things up slightly, Lieutenant Charles John Sims claimed three aircraft shot down.

Naval operations: ship losses

AUGUSTO DE CASTILHO (Portuguese Navy), the naval trawler was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) south west of the Azores by SM U-139 ( Imperial German Navy).

BAYARD (France), the fishing vessel was sunk in the Bay of Biscay (47°30′N 4°00′W) by SM U-91 ( Imperial German Navy).

DUNDALK (United Kingdom), the passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) north north west of The Skerries, Isle of Anglesey by SM U-90 ( Imperial German Navy) with the loss of 21 lives.

SMS M22 (Imperial German Navy), the M1-class minesweeper was sunk by mines in the North Sea.

STIFINDER (Norway), the barque was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean (37°42′N 53°41′W) by SM U-152 ( Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.

Photo: STIFINDER sinking, 14 October 1918

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Day 1531 of the Great War, October 15th 1918

Western Front

Further advance in Flanders; British take Menin and close on Courtrai; Belgians close to Thourout.

British advance north-east of Lens.

French advance along River Serre and in the Argonne.

Sinai and Palestine campaign

British enter Homs (Syria).

Yugoslavia

Yugo-Slav demand for peace based on popular rights issued.

United States: Germany Receives Latest American Armistice Conditions

Since Germany’s armistice appeal and apparent acceptance of Wilson’s Fourteen Points, a series of notes had been exchanged across the Atlantic between the American and German governments, with Wilson attempting to get a firm commitment from the Germans. On October 15, the Germans received a second note from Secretary of State Lansing on behalf of the President. It stressed that the Allies were winning in the field, and that any armistice must “provide absolutely satisfactory safeguards and guarantees of the present military supremacy of the United States and of the Allies in the field.” It demanded that Germany stop its unrestricted submarine warfare; the Germans had not given any signs so far of stopping on this front. On the 10th, sunk the passenger vessel Leinster in the Irish Sea, killing over 500 British and American civilians.

The United States also refused to consider an armistice as long as the Germans continued scorched earth tactics in the occupied territories of France and Flanders from which they were now retreating. Finally, the note reminded Germany that their acceptance of the Fourteen Points and associated statements meant that they were committed to “the destruction of every arbitrary power anywhere that can separately, secretly, and of its single choice disturb the peace of the world,” and that the “power which has hitherto controlled the German nation” was one such arbitrary power. While vague on specifics, the implication was clear–the military would have to be made subordinate to the people, and the Kaiser’s power would have to be reduced to that of a constitutional monarch.

The Kaiser was outraged by the note, calling it “a piece of unmitigated frivolous nonsense” in a letter to the new chancellor, Prince Max. “You must use it to arouse the entire people to rally round their emperor in defense of their sacred heritage, just as the government must stand shoulder to shoulder behind him. This impudent intervention in our political affairs must be exposed to all.” Prince Max, however, knew that the war was lost, and was determined, at the very least, to draft a conciliatory reply.

Naval operations: ship losses

BRETANGE (France), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by SM U-43 ( Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.

EVANGELISTRIA GREECE (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica (38°39′N 25°13′E) by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy).

GEORGIOS GREECE (Greece), the sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica (38°42′N 25°21′E) by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy).

HMS J6 (Royal Navy), the J-class submarine was shelled and sunk in the North Sea off the coast of Northumberland by the Q-ship HMS Cymric ( Royal Navy), which mistook her pennant number J6 for U6 and assumed she was a U-boat. Fifteen of her 45 crew were lost.

MMARIA GREECE (Greece), he sailing vessel was sunk in the Gulf of Salonica (38°42′N 25°21′E) by SM UC-23 ( Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.

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Day 1532 of the Great War, October 16th 1918

Map: Western Front, 16 October 1918



Western Front

Enemy retreats from Douai-Lille front, pursued by British.

Flanders army advances, taking part of Courtrai, etc.

Americans enter Grand Pre after hard fight.

Strong German counter-attack on River Selle.

Dunkirk finally shelled by long-range gun.

Macedonian Front

Greece cleared of Bulgarians; Proclamation issued.

Russian Civil War

Bolsheviks try to stop Middlesex battalion at Zema (Siberia).

Russia

M. Lenin again wounded.

United Kingdom

British Government recognises Polish Army as autonomous.

London subscribes 31 million pounds National War Bonds in nine days.

United States

Bolshevik-German correspondence published in Washington.

Austria-Hungary

Proclamation in Prague of Czech Republic, and at Agram of Yugo-Slav independence.

Austria-Hungary: Emperor Charles Issues Hasty Federal Reform Plan for Austria

Like Germany, Austria had appealed for an armistice on the basis of the Fourteen Points. This included “autonomous development” for Austria-Hungary’s subject peoples, and Emperor Charles wanted to make sure that this did not mean full independence for those peoples a complete breakup of his empire. In an effort to get ahead of Wilson, who had not yet replied to the Austrian note, on October 16 Emperor Charles issued what its supporters would term the “People’s Manifesto,” calling for drastic reforms in the Austrian half of the empire. Austria would be reorganized on a federal basis, with the German, Czech, Ukrainian, and Southern Slav portions establishing their own state governments. Trieste would receive a special status. The Poles, who by this point were no longer loyal to the Habsburgs, would be permitted to join the independent Polish state to be formed out of conquered Russian territories.

In practice, the manifesto was a spectacular failure of judgment that only hasted the downfall of the empire. The Czechs and Southern Slavs had already told the Emperor they would reject it. Hungary, which wanted to maintain its control over its subject peoples in Slovakia, Transylvania, and Croatia, threatened to cut off food shipments to Austria if it were included, and even announced that it no longer considered itself bound by the 1867 Augsleich that formed Austria-Hungary. Hungary’s exclusion from the manifesto meant that Croatia could not be fully included in the new South Slav state, nor Slovakia in the Czech one. The manifesto thus only angered their leaders more, emboldened calls for independence, and exposed Emperor Charles’ weakness.

Naval operations: ship losses

BONVILSTON (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 9.5 nautical miles (17.6 km) north west by west of Corsewall Point, Wigtownshire by SM UB-92 ( Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.

LUCIA (United States) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km) off the coast of the United States (38°50′N 50°50′W) by SM U-155 ( Imperial German Navy) with the loss of four of her crew.

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Day 1533 of the Great War, October 17th 1918

Western Front

British enter Douai and capture Lille (stripped).

Belgians enter Ostend by land, their King and Queen and Sir R. Keyes by sea; Cavalry at gates of Bruges.

British reach outskirts of Tourcoing.

Americans fight west of Grand pre.

Western Front: Battle of the Selle

After the British broke through the last layer of the Hindenburg Line, the Germans fell back to an improvised position behind the River Selle. The British brought their guns up over the following week and then unleashed a two-day preliminary bombardment of the makeshift German position, focusing mainly on their communications and their second line behind the Sambre-Oise canal five miles to the east. At 5:20 AM on October 17, four British divisions and two American ones (under overall British command) crossed the Selle on planks, quickly breaking through the first German position. They threw up pontoon bridges for their artillery and were able to advance up to three miles on the first day and capture 5000 PoWs. Although the Sambre-Oise canal position would remain in German hands for some weeks to come, the Battle of the Selle made it clear that the main limit to the Allied advance was not the Germans, but how quickly they could bring up their own artillery to attack the next German position.

Meanwhile, the Kaiser, Hindenburg & Ludendorff, and Prince Max and his cabinet met in Berlin to discuss the latest American armistice note. Ludendorff had recovered from last month’s panic, and was buoyed by an unrealistic promise of 600,000 men from the war minister. The Germans had suffered considerable defeats in the last month, but it had not turned into an overall rout, and hoped that the situation would improve as the typical campaign season ended; if “we get into winter, we shall be ‘out of the wood.’” Wilson’s latest note was were intolerable, and the Allies must be made to “fight for such conditions.” Prince Max, however, wanted to avoid such a fight, that would likely lead to an invasion of Germany. The meeting ended inconclusively, but Prince Max had already made up his mind–and given Wilson’s insistence on negotiations with representatives of the German people, his voice mattered the most.

Photo: British and Belgian soldiers outside a German cafeteria called "Kaiser Kaffee" (next to Hotel du Damier) in Menin, 18 October 1918



Western Front: Lille Liberated

Lille was one of the largest and most important cities occupied by the Germans during World War I. The city had fallen to the Kaiser’s army on 13 October, 1914, and since then been a major base, serving as an army headquarters as well as an aerodrome hub. Four years later saw the Germans in the midst of evacuation. They abandoned Lille in October, taking everything of value and destroying what remained. Much of the city’s population had been carted off to Germany long ago as forced labor.

The city fell to British troops without a shot on the 17th. That the Germans have given up one of their greatest prizes was proof to soldiers and civilians alike that the war was near its end. Crowds cheered the Tommies and children ran up to greet the friendly soldiers who ended their long occupation. The first French soldier to enter was the son of LIlle’s mayor. Honorary visitors thronged to the city, first Prime Minister Clemenceau, then his President Raymond Poincaré, then British General Birdwood, whose men had liberated the town, and who had been proclaimed a citizen of Lille in gratitude.

The same day King Albert of Belgium rode into Ostend and Zeebrugge, Germany’s major navy bases on the North Sea. As the Western Front collapsed, Germany’s military leaders almost fell into madness, unable to process defeat after such a total war. Grand Admiral Tirpitz wrote to Prince Max urging “resolute reinforcement” of the lines, and a “relentless prosecution” of the U-boat campaign, for “every German must understand that if we do not fight on, we fall to the level of wage-slaves to our enemies.” Ludendorff declared his army would fight on, and that an Allied breakthrough was “unlikely.” He planned a new defensive line based on Antwerp.

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War

British troops in Transcaspia capture Dushak, driving back Bolsheviks (announced).

Macedonian Front

Franco-Serbs occupy Knyazhevats and Krushevats.

Montenegrins rise against Austrians.

French capture Ipek.

Over half of Serbia cleared of enemy.

Sinai and Palestine campaign

Tigris railway extended by British beyond Tekrit.

United Kingdom

British Government recognises Polish Army as autonomous.

Austria-Hungary

Proclamation in Prague of Czech Republic, and at Agram of Yugo-Slav independence.

United States

Bolshevik-German correspondence published in Washington.

United Kingdom

London subscribes 31 million pounds National War Bonds in nine days.

Naval operations: ship losses

BONVILSTON (United Kingdom), the cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 9.5 nautical miles (17.6 km) north west by west of Corsewall Point, Wigtownshire by SM UB-92 ( Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.

LUCIA (United States), the cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km) off the coast of the United States (38°50′N 50°50′W) by SM U-155 ( Imperial German Navy) with the loss of four of her crew. USS FAIFAX ( United States Navy) rescued 86 survivors.

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Day 1534 of the Great War, October 18th 1918

YouTube (The Battle of the Selle - Ludendorff Resigns)



Western Front

British advance six miles east of Douai-Lille, and three miles east of Le Cateau.

Belgians approach Bruges after strong resistance.

Stiff fighting on Grand Pre-Vouziers line. Germans pushed back.

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War

British troops repel far superior number of Bolsheviks at Seletsko (160 miles up Dvina river from Archangel).

Allies push on to Soroka (south-west White Sea) from Murmansk.

Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion

Czecho-Slovaks pressed back by Bolsheviks in East Russia.

Italian Front: Italy prepares to attack Austria-Hungary

Last year at Caporetto the Austro-Hungarian and Germans smashed the Italians with an offensive of such intensity that the country was almost forced out of the war. Since then Diaz, who succeeded Cadorna as the Italian commander, has striven to rebuild the Italian army. Knowing that the army’s morale is brittle he has resisted pressure put on him to attack the Austro-Hungarians: he fears the effect of another Isonzo style bloodbath on his men. Even at the most desperate stage of the German spring offensives this year Diaz denied Foch‘s request for him to launch a diversionary attack on the Austro-Hungarians.

Now though Diaz is coming under pressure to attack from his own government. Prime Minster Orlando sees that the Western Front is approaching its end game. An armistice there could bring the war to an end at any moment. It would be a disaster for Italy if her troops were seen to have sat out the war’s end, as it would weaken Italian claims to Austro-Hungarian territory on the Dalmatian coast and Istrian peninsula.

Orlando has been pushing Diaz to attack for some time now. Diaz agrees that an attack is necessary but his preparations for one are proving to be a bit drawn out. Now Orlando learns that the Austro-Hungarians are planning to withdraw unilaterally from the all territory they are occupying before suing for peace. Orlando needs to have Italian blood shed. He telegrams Diaz frantically: “Between inaction and defeat, I prefer defeat. Get moving!”.

Orlando’s message adds some urgency to Diaz’s preparations, who decides that that the attack will begin on the 24th of October. His plan is to combine a northwards assault on Monte Grappa with amphibious attacks across the Piave river towards Vittorio Veneto. The Italians hope that they will have better luck crossing the Piave than the Austro-Hungarians did in June.

Macedonian Front

Bulgaria cleared of Germans who pillaged to the last.

Italians active on their mountain fronts.

Mesopotamia campaign

British hold Turks at Fatha (30 miles north of Tekrit, Tigris).

Morocco

Spanish zone in Morocco in complete anarchy: Raisuli and Abdul Malek and German influence supreme.

United States

President Wilson declines suggestions in Austro-Hungarian Note of 4 October.

Higher allowances to dependents of fighters granted.

Austria-Hungary

Count Tisza admits defeat.

Count Burian resigns.

France

Czecho-Slovak Council in Paris declares independence.

United Kingdom

Prince of Wales gives £3,000 to Red Cross.

United States: Czechoslovak Provisional Government Declares Independence in Washington

Tomáš Masaryk’s Czechoslovak National Council had gained official recognition from the French, British, and Americans over the course of the summer. Czech units were fighting alongside the Allies, not only in Russia, but in France as well. Czech opposition within Austria-Hungary had consolidated as well, forming a Czechoslovak National Committee (officially unaffiliated with Masaryk) and firmly rejecting Emperor Charles’ belated attempts at federalism. Socialists in Prague attempted to organize a general strike as a prelude to the overthrow of Habsburg rule; the National Committee, however, cognizant of what had occurred in Russia, allowed the strike to be broken up by the military.

On October 18, Masaryk (who was still in the United States) published a Declaration of Independence of the Czechoslovak Nation, co-authored by Gutzon Borglum (who would later become more famous as the creator of Mount Rushmore). It was designed to appeal not only to the Czechs at home and abroad, but also to the American government, fully emulating Wilsonian language and principles throughout.

The next day, Wilson replied to Austria’s armistice note. He made it clear that his statement in the Fourteen Points that the peoples of Austria-Hungary should have “autonomous development” was no longer sufficient. Wilson recognized the Czechs as Allied co-belligerents, and supported “the justice of the nationalistic aspirations of the Jugo-slavs for freedom.” An armistice with Austria-Hungary would have to satisfy not only the United States, but the Czechs and south Slavs as well.

Aerial operations: Constantinople bombed

The RAFs Aegean Group (formed on 1 April 1918) is a disparate selection of isolated stations scattered over the Aegean area from Lemnos to Crete. In theory the Air Ministry’s intention was that each of the two wings should comprise a fighter, a light bomber, and a seaplane Squadron.

However, the reality of demands for pilots and aircraft on the Western Front meant that the wings were always below their allotted strength. Practicality reigned and one wing (62) consisted of three composite units each consisting of two Flights of bombers and two of fighters stationed at Stavros and Imbros, and the third also at Imbros but available to be moved work as required.

63 Wing comprised two seaplane squadrons, distributed among the stations at Talikna(Lemnos), Skyros, Suda Bay, and Syra along with the depot ship Ark Royal. The Group’s headquarters was at Mudros, where the central aircraft depot formed an erecting and distributing centre for aeroplanes to all stations.

The duties of the group are:

(a) Bombing attacks on enemy centres.

(b) Routine patrols of the Dardanelles and Sea of Marmara to give warning of enemy naval activity, with occasional reconnaissances to Constantinople.

(c) Anti-submarine patrols, and

(d) Army reconnaissances on the Salonika front (by the Stavros unit).

As part of this, Bombers from 62 Wing have been carrying out attacks on Constantinople since 1 July 1918 with the aim of bringing the war to Turkish civillians.

Today 12 DH9s in two separate formations of seven and five attacked the city, reporting hits on the War Office, the railway, and on the suburb of Haidar Pasha. All the aircraft returned safely.

Naval operations: ship losses

HMS E3 (Royal Navy), te E-class submarine was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off the mouth of the Ems by SM U-27 ( Imperial German Navy) with the loss of all 28 of her crew.

HUNSDON (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea (54°19′N 5°27′W) by SM UB-94 ( Imperial German Navy) with the loss of a crew member.

RFA INDUSTRY (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) The cargo ship was sunk in the Irish Sea by SM UB-92 ( Imperial German Navy) with the loss of 21 of her crew.

LINZ (Austria-Hungary) The passenger ship struck a mine and sank off Cape Rodoni, Albania. Around 600 people were killed in the sinking.

NJORDUR (Denmark Iceland) The trawler was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (57°02′N 10°58′W) by SM U-122 ( Imperial German Navy).

OCEANA (United Kingdom) The Admiralty tug was run into and sunk in Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands by Stobo Castle ( United Kingdom).

SM U-34 (Imperial German Navy) The Type U 31 submarine departed on patrol. Subsequently sunk off Gibraltar on or before 9 November with the loss of all 38 crew.

VOLTAIRE (French Navy) The Danton-class battleship was torpedoed and damaged in the Aegean Sea of Milos, Greece by SM UB-48 ( Imperial German Navy).

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Day 1535 of the Great War, October 19th 1918

Western Front

British-American advance continued between the Oise and Le Cateau.

British advance east of Douai and Lille and take Marchienne.

French break Hunding Line between Sissonne and River Serre.

Western Front: Liberation of Bruges and Zeebrugge, Belgian Coast Clear of Germans

On October 19, the Belgian Army presented the Yser Medal to all its men who had participated in the desperate battle for survival in October 1914. That month the remnants of Belgium’s tiny army had held off German attacks on the Yser River, preserving a sliver of their homeland from occupation.

Four years later and the Belgians had gone on the attack to liberate their country. The Yser Medal came in coordination with their greatest triumph of the war as Zeebrugge and Bruges fell back into Belgian hands. Zeebrugge in particular had been an important U-boat base. With the liberation of these cities the entire Belgian North Sea coast had been taken out of German hands.

Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War

Allied troops from Murmansk have cleared Karelia of enemy, and from Archangel have occupied Kadish (100 miles south of Archangel) (accounced).

Macedonian Front

Serbs occupy Zayechar (Austrian-Bulgarian-Serb frontier).

French reach Danube at Vidin (Bulgaria).

Aerial operations: The chase

Out in Palestine, after the capture of Damascus on 1 October and Homs on 15 October, General Allenby has decided to make a bid tomorrow for Aleppo some 110 miles further north to give the British a better bargaining position come the inevitable armistice.

Today, the Bristol F2b’s of Captain Ross McPherson Smith and Lieutenant Ashley Vernon McCann (B1229) and Lieutenant Eustace Slade Headlam and Lieutenant William Harold Lilly (B1295) from 1 Squadron AFC were about to leave Homs on reconnaissance towards Aleppo when they heard the sound of an enemy aircraft. They took off and started to chase the aircraft. They were about 25 miles south of Aleppo and at 18,000 feet when they finally caught up with a German DFW. It was the first enemy aircraft encountered for weeks and after both Headlam and Lilly fired the aircraft went down in a spiral and landed in the desert.

Shortly afterwards Smith and McCann landed and taxied towards the aircraft. The German pilot and his observer jumped to the ground and stood with their hands above their heads. At the same time McCann and Lilly circled overhead and attacked a group of Bedouins about a mile away from the aircraft.

Smith decided there was no way they could take the German’s prisoner and so Headlam fired a Very light into the DFW and set it on fire. They then took off again leaving the stranded Germans to the Bedouins, so it’s likely the Germans were captured and ransomed as was the usual practice.

The two aircraft then completed their reconnaissances in preparation for the advance tomorrow. This was Hedlam’s fifth and final victory, making him an ace.

Naval operations: ship losses

AIDA (Portugal) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off Brest, Finistère, France by SM U-43 ( Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.

ALMERIAN (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by U 73 (Carl Bünte) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea 13 nautical miles (24 km) off Licata, Sicily (37°11′N 13°39′E). Her crew survived.

HMS PLUMPTON (Royal Navy) The Racecourse-class minesweeper struck a mine and was damaged in the North Sea off Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium. She was beached but was declared a total loss.

SM UB-123 (Imperial German Navy) The Type UB III submarine struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of all 36 crew.

[lordroel]

Day 1536 of the Great War, October 20th 1918

Western Front

British cross the Selle river in face of heavy resistance.

British two miles from Tournai.

Flanders armies continue advance; British across whole of Lys river on their front.

Western Front: Belgians Liberate Bruges and Zeebrugge

Since renewing their attack on October 14, the combined Allied force in Flanders had advanced at an extremely rapid pace, in some cases aided by a German withdrawal, in others in spite of determined German opposition. Lille, which was outflanked by the breakthrough, was captured on the 17th without a shot being fired, much to Ludendorff’s disappointment; he had wanted to hold on to the region’s industries as a bargaining chip in the negotiations to come. On the same day, the Belgians liberated the port of Ostend, after four years and two days of German occupation. On October 19, they took Bruges and its port of Zeebrugge, the last Belgian port with unfettered access to the sea under German occupation. The U-boats that had been stationed there and at Ostend had been hurriedly recalled, and a few torpedo boats had been left behind. The next day, the Belgian Army reached the Dutch border. The liberation of Belgium had begun in earnest.

Photo: Admiral Roger Keyes and Brigadier-General Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, in the entourage of King Albert I of the Belgians on the occasion of his entry into Bruges, 20 October 1918. The King is accompanied by his wife, Queen Elisabeth



Denmark

Denmark proposes to Germany a plebiscite (as to nationality) for Schleswig Holstein.

United States

Fourth Liberty Loan in U.S.A. exceeds 1,200 million pounds.

Germany: Germans Squabble Over Peace

While Allied troops drew nearer to the German border, the Kaiser’s leadership in Berlin debated what to do. The new Chancellor, Prince Max, and the civilian government favored peace. They replied to an American note that day promising to end the unrestricted submarine campaign, part of Wilson’s preconditions for negotiation.

The military went back and forth between despondency and manic proposals to continue the war. Ludendorff told his generals to form a new line of battle stretching down from Antwerp, and told them use everything in their arsenals to devastate Belgium “so that 1914 will be child’s play compared to it.” More realistically, the Minister for War General Scheüch promised to find 600,000 reinforcements for the front, but added that if the oilfields in Romania fell into the hands of the Allied army advancing north from the Balkans, then the military could only fight on for six weeks.

The generals closest to the front-line had the best idea of the situation. Writing from Belgium, where his wretched army had lost most of its artillery and horses and hemorrhaged men every day, Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria told his superiors that “we must obtain peace before the enemy breaks into Germany.”

Naval operations: Germany Ends the U-Boat Campaign

Although Hindenburg, Ludendorff, and Admiral Scheer were opposed, Prince Max convinced the Kaiser to allow him to accept Wilson’s latest note, if only by threatening to resign. Submarines would no longer be permitted to attack passenger ships, though it could not be guaranteed that the order would reach submarines already at sea. They denied that they were carrying out wanton destruction of property during the retreat from France and Flanders, beyond what was militarily necessary. Germany accepted that the actual armistice terms would be determined by military officials and the situation in the field, rather than by President Wilson. Finally, the German government argued that it had (and all future governments would have) the support of the majority of the Reichstag, that they would enact universal suffrage, and that they had already introduced a bill to ensure that the Reichstag’s approval was necessary for any decisions on war or peace (thus ensuring no “arbitrary power” in Germany could plunge Europe into war again).

Hindenburg fumed, saying that the government “must make up its mind to fight out the struggle for our honor to the very last man.” The next day, Scheer, infuriated at the decision, recalled all of his U-boats, as he had done in 1916, and began to make new plans for his fleet. The few remaining U-boat actions were conducted by submarines that attempted to make the trip back to Germany from the Mediterranean as Austria-Hungary collapsed.

Naval operations: ship losses

EMILY MILLINGTON (United Kingdom) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 13 nautical miles (24 km) north north east of the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly by SM UB-92 ( Imperial German Navy). Her crew survived.

HMS M21 (Royal Navy) The M15-class monitor struck a mine in the North Sea off Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium. She was taken in tow but sank in the English Channel off Dover, Kent.

[lordroel]

Day 1537 of the Great War, October 21st 1918

Western Front

British push on; stubborn resistance.

Belgians three miles from Ghent, across Derivation Canal to Eede (Dutch frontier).

French advance between Rivers Serre and Oise; stubborn fighting north of Verdun.

Sir Douglas Haig's despatch of 20 July, on March and April withdrawal, published.

Italian Front

Italians fighting on Asiago and Grappa fronts.

Macedonian Front: Serbian Advance Continues

After a brief pause near Niš to regroup and allow the French to catch up, the Serbians continued their advance northward to liberate their country. By October 21, they had engaged German rearguards near Paraćin, on the Morava around sixty miles south of the Danube. Although the Germans put up a stubborn resistance, they were outnumbered and received little support from their Austrian allies, who just wanted to get their armies out of Serbia and behind the Danube, Sava, and Drina intact.

Further east, the first French forces had reached the Romanian border on the Danube via Bulgarian railways on the 19th. On the 22nd, the Allies sent a letter to the Romanian government, urging them to be ready to re-enter the war “about the middle of November,” in conjunction with an Allied push across the Danube. The Romanians had quietly been preparing for such an eventuality since the Bulgarian collapse, but were wary that entering too soon would just lead to an even swifter defeat by the Germans than in 1916.

To the south, the first British troops also reached the Turkish border near Adrianople, finding only a single Turkish battalion guarding the border crossing. The Turks, having realized the dire threat to Constantinople, dispatched Charles Townshend, the general captured after the siege of Kut in 1916, to send out the first peace feelers. Arriving at Mudros on the 20th, he suggested the Turks would accept terms that let them keep Syria and Mesopotamia, albeit with a great deal of autonomy. While the British quickly rejected these terms, they were completely fine with Townshend’s other stipulation, that the Turks wanted to negotiate solely with the British; after having been left out of the Bulgarian armistice, they were fine with shutting out the French from the negotiations with Turkey.

Germany

German reply to U.S.A. Note of 14 October issued.

United Kingdom

King George receives Inter-Parliamentary delegates.

German occupied Belgium

German Governor-General of Belgium "pardons" Belgians and neutrals convicted by Court Martial.

Belgium

Belgian Bill for German damage already nearly 400 million pounds.

Naval operations: ship losses

SAINT BARCHAN (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) off St. John's Point, County Down by SM UB-94 ( Imperial German Navy) with the loss of eight of her crew.

MOSCOW (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled at Petrograd to prevent her capture by Bolshevik forces.

SM UB-89 (Imperial German Navy) The Type UB III submarine collided with SMS FRANKFURT ( Imperial German Navy) at Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein (54°21′N 10°10′E) and sank with the loss of seven lives. She was raised on 30 October.

[lordroel]

Day 1538 of the Great War, October 22nd 1918

Western Front

British enter Valenciennes.

French and Czech-Slovaks push enemy back on the Serre river.

Fierce fighting by the Americans on both banks of Meuse, north of Verdun and in the Woevre.

Macedonian Front

Naval and Overseas Operations

Italian ships shell S. Giovanni di Medua (Albania).

Poland

New Polish Cabinet formed under M. Swiezynski.

Germany

Hindenburg's order "approving peace-steps" captured.

Prince Max announced programme of some reforms.

German government offers amnesty to political prisoners in order to counter growing revolutionary sentiment. Socialist Karl Liebknecht is released from prison.

Naval operations: Scheer Orders a Final Attack on the Royal Navy

The German army may have been quickly running out of men and losing the war on land, but the navy was still very much intact. After Prince Max ended unrestricted submarine warfare, which navy leaders had long held as the best hope of victory against the Allies (despite mounting evidence to the contrary), Scheer decided to make use of his “fleet in being” one last time, sortieing from Wilhelmshaven for a final confrontation with the Grand Fleet. He had obliquely mentioned this possibility to the Kaiser during the cabinet meeting on the 17th, saying that the end of submarine warfare meant that the High Seas Fleet would again have “complete freedom of action.” The Kaiser did not react to this, which Scheer interpreted as tacit approval, and he did not mention his plans to the Chancellor. Scheer would later state that “I did not regard it necessary to obtain a repetition of the Kaiser’s approval. In addition, I feared that this could cause further delay and was thus prepared to act on my own responsibility.”

On October 22, one of Scheer’s subordinates arrived in Wilhelmshaven in person and gave the following order to Admiral Hipper: “The High Seas Fleet is directed to attack the English fleet as soon as possible.” There was no written order, all part of Scheer’s effort to hide the plan not just from the British, but from his own government as well. Scheer hoped that “a tactical success might reverse the military position and avert surrender,” and even if it did not, “an honorable battle by the fleet–even if it should be a fight to the death–will sow the seed for a new German fleet of the future.”

Hipper came up with the details of the plan over the next two days. It was similar to other German sorties in the past, hoping to draw the Grand Fleet over German U-boats and mines before the surface fleet attacked. The lure was to be a bombardment of the recently-abandoned Belgian coast, along with raids deep into the Thames estuary. If the submarines did not find their targets, Scheer and Hipper were determined to engage the British anyway, even if heavily outnumbered. If the two fleets somehow missed each other (as they had before), every destroyer would be sent towards the Firth of Forth and, upon finding the Grand Fleet, would launch their torpedoes at least three at a time. The plan had a reasonable chance of dealing considerable damage to the Royal Navy–though whether the High Seas Fleet’s sailors would be willing to carry out the plan remained to be seen.

[lordroel]

Day 1539 of the Great War, October 23rd 1918

Western Front

Big British attack between Le Cateau and Valenciennes carries line forward one to three miles after stiff resistance; Bruay taken and Scheldt reached.

Heavy fighting by French on Serre and Vouziers fronts.

Photo: The Mole at Zeebrugge showing one of the 150mm guns of the Lubeck Battery at the shore end, 23 October 1918



Photo: Guns near lighthouse end of the Mole at Zeebrugge. The torpedoed SS Brussels is in the background, 23 October 1918



Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War

Bolsheviks attack Allied position of River Dvina (south of Archangel) and are repulsed.

Italian Front

Croat troops seize Fiume, but are suppressed.

Mesopotamian campaign

Turks retire, pursued, 20 miles from Fatha (Tigris).

United States: Wilson Issues Stricter Armistice Conditions

In response to the last American note, Prince Max had agreed to end unrestricted submarine warfare and attempted to give Wilson assurances that his government had the support of the Reichstag and the people, and that there no longer existed any “arbitrary power” in Germany that could drag the country into war. Wilson quickly responded on the 23rd, laying down stricter conditions than before. The only armistice Wilson would accept is one that would leave the Allies “in a position to enforce any arrangements that may be entered into and to make a renewal of hostilities on the part of Germany impossible.” What would exactly constitute that was a military matter, which would have to be decided on by Allied military leaders.

Furthermore, Wilson did not accept that the few movements towards constitutional reform under Prince Max’s leadership were sufficient:

It does not appear that the principle of a Government responsible to the German people has yet been fully worked out or that any guarantees either exist or are in contemplation that the alternations of principle and of practice now partially agreed upon will be permanent.

Moreover, it does not appear that the heart of the president difficulty has been reached. It may be that future wars have been brought under the control of the German people, but the present war has not been; and it is with the present war that we are dealing. It is evident that the German people have no means of commanding the acquiescence of the military authorities of the Empire in the popular will; that the power of the King of Prussia to control the policy of the Empire is unimpaired….The nations of the world do not and cannot trust the word of those who have hitherto been the masters of German policy, and…the United States cannot deal with any but veritable representatives of the German people who have been assured of a genuine Constitutional standing as the real rulers of Germany.

If [the United States] must deal with the military masters and the monarchical autocrats of Germany now, or if it is likely to have to deal with them later…it must demand, not peace negotiations, but surrender. Nothing can be gained by leaving this essential thing unsaid.

While stopping short of explicitly demanding Wilhelm’s abdication, Wilson made clear that explicit constitutional guarantees would have to abruptly curtail the power of the military and the Kaiser.

Germany: German Political Prisoners Amnestied

The rapid advance of the Allied armies was matched by a extreme change in the German political atmosphere. The appointment of the moderate Prince Max as Chancellor had done nothing to quell the rising forces of republicanism and socialism. Germans were fed up with the war, and increasingly, fed up with the Kaiser and his warlords.

On October 23 the Kaiser decreed a general amnesty for the state’s political prisoners. He hoped this might appease the mounting discontent. It did the exact opposite. Karl Liebknecht was one of the prisoners to go free. He had been jailed for his anti-war activism, as well as his vocal leadership of the socialist Spartiacist League, alongside Rosa Luxemburg. Upon his release a crowd of 20,000 people went to the Berlin train station to welcome him back to the city. Lenin, fighting for survival in the Russian Civil War, found a Marxist solace in watching the collapse of the Central Powers. “Three months ago people used to laugh when we said there might be a revolution in Germany.” No one would laugh if he said it about Austria-Hungary: in Italy that day Croat troops behind the lines mutinied and seized the port of Fiume before being suppressed by loyalist Habsburg forces.

United Kingdom

British House of Commons votes 274 to 25 to allow women to be eligible to become Members of Parliament.

Germany

Karl Liebknecht amnestied.

Naval operations: shipping losses

239,000 tons Allied shipping (including 151,000 British) lost in September (announced).

Naval operations: ship losses

AGHIOS GERASIMOS (Greece) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea south of Crete (34°00′N 25°31′E) by SM UC-74 ( Imperial German Navy).

[lordroel]

Day 1540 of the Great War, October 24th 1918

Western Front

British attack resumed; advance of three miles after heavy fighting. 9,000 prisoners and 150 guns taken in last two days. German counter-attack on Derivation Canal repulsed by Belgians.

Photo: British and Belgian soldier by a German monument (mine on a pedestal) outside the Kaiserin Battery between Blankenberghe and Zeebrugge, 24 October 1918. Note that the last figure of the inscription "1914-191 " has not been put in



Photo: Hoisting the White Ensign on the wreck of HMS Thetis in the harbour at Zeebrugge, 24 October 1918



Slight French advance on southern fronts.

Macedonian Front

Serbs force enemy back in disorder along Morava.

Italian Front

Third Battle of the Piave begins.

7th British Division seizes part of Grave di Papadopoli Island (River Piave) (night of 23-24 October).

Italian Front: Battle of Vittorio Veneto

The Allies had urged the Italians to go back onto the offensive, for the first time since the summer of 1917, to put pressure on the Austrians in conjunctions with the attacks on the Western Front and in Macedonia. Diaz, not believing his army was ready and wanting to conserve strength for 1919, refused to do so without massive Allied reinforcements that were not forthcoming. By the end of September, however, the political calculus had changed, as the distinct possibility had emerged that the war might end this year. The Italians did not want to be caught at a disadvantage at peace negotiations if they had not participated in the victory, and Orlando ordered Diaz to prepare for an offensive.

The attack was launched on October 24, the one-year anniversary of the Italians’ disaster at Caporetto. Heavy rains and flooding on the Piave meant a delay for the armies poised to strike across the river, so the first attack fell on Mt Grappa; after securing the mountain, the Italians hoped to drive up the Brenta river valley and cut off the Austrians on the Asiago plateau. The Austrians were well-prepared for the attack, though, and knew full well it was coming. Over a week of fighting on Mt Grappa would result in essentially no gains and a cost of over 21,000 Italian casualties.

Despite their successful defense on Mt Grappa, however, elsewhere things were not all well for the Austrians. Early in the morning of October 24, British troops crossed part of the Piave by boat and seized Papadopoli island in the middle of the river, a crucial jumping-off point for a full crossing of the river. Mutiny was also beginning to spread through the Austrian troops, sparked in part by Emperor Charles’ disastrous “People’s Manifesto” of a week prior. Traditionally loyal Bosnian reserves mutinied and had to be disarmed because Charles had apparently forgotten to mention their homeland in his manifesto. On October 24, two Hungarian divisions on the Asiago plateau simply abandoned the front line and headed for home.

Mesopotamian campaign

British cavalry within four miles of Kirkuk (100 miles south-east of Mosul, Tigris river).

British successfully attack Turks at Fatha.

Germany

Growing desire in Germany for Kaiser to adbicate.

Austria-Hungary

National Council in Croatia meets.

Naval operations: ship losses

No reported ship losses.

[lordroel]

Day 1541 of the Great War, October 25th 1918

YouTube (Italy Attacks - The Battle of Vittorio Veneto)



Western Front

Further British advance between Le Quesnoy and Maing.

End of the Battle of the Selle.

Successful French attacks between Rivers Serre and Oise, and between Rethel and Sissonne.

Stiff American fighting north of Verdun.

French and British advance to 10 miles east of Courtrai.

Macedonian Front

Serbs reach Kraguyevats and Chrupriya (60 miles south of Danube).

Mesopotamian campaign

British columns turn Turkish position at mouth of Lower Zab river (Tigris).

Cavalry occupy Kirkuk.

Arab Revolt: Arab Rebels Seize Aleppo

In a matter of weeks the Ottoman Empire had been reduced to a rump state. Indian cavalry striking up from Palestine, joined by Prince Faisal’s Arab army of the Hejaz, reached Aleppo in northern Syria by October 25. Turkey’s Gallipoli hero Mustafa Kemal marshalled the remnants of his scattered forces to try and defend this last bastion of Ottoman power in Arab lands.

But he was fighting a losing battle. As British armored cars and Bedouin cavalry neared the city, Aleppo population itself took up arms to drive out the Turks. Kemal had to face both military opponents and a popular uprising, while his own troops could not be relied upon. The Arab rebel leader at Aleppo was himself a defected army officer named Nuri es-Said. At nightfall Kemal abandoned the city, heading five miles north where he made a stand against the British, effectively setting the southern boundary of the future Turkish state.

Naval operations: ship losses

No reported ship losses.

[lordroel]

Day 1542 of the Great War, October 26th 1918

Western Front

British progress south of Valenciennes and repulse German attack on Maing.

Heavy French fighting on Rethel-Oise front.

Slight advance east of Courtrai.

General Ludendorff resigns.

Italian Front

Remainder of Grave di Papadopoli Island seized by British and Italians.

Mesopotamian campaign

Turks on Tigris retreat during night 26/27 to Kalaat Shergat.

Austria-Hungary

Count J. Andrassy succeeds Count Burian as Foreign Minister.

Yugoslavia

King of Montenegro suggests a Confederated Yugo-Slavia with autonomous States.

Germany: Ludendorff Sacked

Having recovered from his panic at the end of September, Ludendorff now denied that an armistice was necessary and demanded that the war continue. In an unauthorized telegram to the Army on October 24, in response to Wilson’s latest note, Hidneburg & Ludendorff stated:

Wilson’s answer is a demand for unconditional surrender. It is thus unacceptable to us soldiers. It proves that our enemy’s desire for our destruction, which let loose the war in 1914, still exists undiminished. It proves, further, that our enemies use the phrase “a just peace” merely to deceive us and break our resistance. Wilson’s answer can thus be nothing for us soldiers but a challenge to continue our resistance with all of our strength. When our enemies know that no sacrifice will achieve the rupture of the German front, they will be ready for a peace which will make the future of our country safe for the great masses of our people.

There was an uproar in the Reichstag when news of the telegram reached Berlin. Prince Max threatened to resign as Chancellor unless Ludendorff (known to be responsible for the telegram) was removed; Max himself was sick with the flu and would not take part directly in the intrigues of the next two days.

As he had done on many other occasions, Ludendorff submitted his resignation to the Kaiser; over the last two years, this had been a very effective means for him to get his way, as the he was sure the Kaiser would never accept it. When Hindenburg & Ludendorff were received by the Kaiser on the morning of the 26th, however, the Kaiser berated him and perhaps even nearly physically attacked him. The Kaiser was angry at his insubordinate telegram and for their change of mind about an armistice, which put Wilhelm in “a terrible situation.” When Ludendorff defended himself with equal vigor, the Kaiser shouted, “Excellency, I must remind you that you are in the presence of your Emperor.” Ludendorff’s resignation was accepted; after over two years of almost-untrammeled power within Germany, Ludendoff was gone. Perhaps critical to the Kaiser’s decision was an idea planted by the chief of his Privy Cabinet, Clemens von Delbrück, that removing Ludendorff, arguably the “military master” of Germany, would, along with constitutional reforms, satisfy Wilson’s conditions for an armistice while allowing the Kaiser to keep his throne.

Hindenburg stayed on as overall commander of the army; Ludendorff was replaced with a long-time rival, Wilhelm Groener, who had been serving as chief of staff to the German occupation forces in the Ukraine. Ludendorff accused Hindenburg of betrayal and never spoke to him again. As the Kaiser’s regime collapsed in the coming weeks, he fled for Sweden. When he returned to Germany, he fell in with far-right and anti-Semitic politics, and was one of the chief perpetuators of the “stab-in-the-back” myth–that Germany’s loss in the war was not due to Allied superiority, German military failings, or Ludendorff’s poor leadership, but the politicians at home.

Naval operations: ship losses

No reported ship losses.