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Thread: 100 Years Ago Today

  1. #3651

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    6th October 1918

    HMS Otranto is an armed troopship employed in ferrying American “doughboys” to the Western Front in Europe. It is during one such operation that she collides with HMS Kashmir, another liner turned troopship, in poor visibility in the rough seas between the North East coast of Ireland and the Western Isles of Scotland. She is holed on the port side forward and, in the heavy swell, begins to list. The stricken ship then hits rocks and becomes grounded. With the heavy seas pounding her continually against the rocks the ship eventually breaks up and sinks with the loss of 431 lives (351 American troops and 80 British crew members). A number of “doughboys” and crew are saved by a convoy escort, HMS Mounsey, and are taken to Belfast, Ireland. Captain Ernest George William Davidson (Royal Navy) true to the ancient traditions of the sea stays with his ship and goes down with her in the terrible sea as he salutes his men for one last time. Men in the raging sea cling to anything that will float. One man survived by grabbing a large tub of lard that was floating by him. In addition to her Captain, Petty Officer Henry James Greenwood killed at age 26. His father died on service last May.

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    Serving as the convoy flagship for Convoy HX-50, Otranto departed New York on 25 September. Six days later, on the evening of 1 October, the ship accidentally rammed the French fishing schooner Croisine off Newfoundland while the latter was returning home to St. Malo with a full load of cod. The fishing boat passed down the liner's port side and its masts destroyed some of the liner's lifeboats on that side. Captain Ernest Davidson, who was also commodore of the convoy, ordered the convoy to continue while Otranto stopped to rescue the 37 survivors. The derelict Croisine was now a menace to navigation and Davidson ordered his gun crews to sink her later that evening. The liner caught back up with the convoy by daybreak. The following day, the first death from the influenza pandemic occurred and the soldier was buried at sea. Only one other flu death aboard Otranto is recorded, but others may have occurred before she met her end.

    The convoy encountered a strong storm on 4 October that got even stronger over the next several days; by the morning of 6 October it was assessed as a Force 11 storm on the Beaufort scale with mountainous seas. The storm forced the British destroyers that were to rendezvous with them back into port on 5 October and the last American escort departed at 06:00. The weather prevented accurate navigation and the convoy was forced to proceed by dead reckoning. The ship's officers were uncertain if they were off the northern coast of Ireland or the western coast of Scotland. When dawn broke it revealed a rocky coastline 3 to 4 miles (4.8 to 6.4 km) to their east, just ahead of the convoy. Most of the ships correctly thought this was the Scottish coast and turned south, but Otranto's Officer of the Watch thought that it was the Irish coast and turned north. HMS Kashmir, another liner turned troopship, was only about a half mile (0.80 km) to Otranto's north and the turns placed them on a collision course. Both ships attempted to avoid the collision, but their efforts cancelled out and Kashmir rammed Otranto on the port side amidships, a few miles off the rocky coast of Islay. The impact punched a hole some 20 feet (6.1 m) deep and 16 feet (4.9 m) wide in Otranto, from below the waterline up to the boat deck. The hole was right at the bulkhead between the fore and aft stokeholds (boiler rooms) and both instantly flooded, killing most of the crewmen in those spaces. When the engine room flooded shortly afterwards, Otranto lost all electrical power and began to drift towards the cliffs of Islay. The water pressure caused other bulkheads to collapse, quickly flooding other spaces below the waterline and giving the ship a massive list to starboard. The impact also damaged many of the remaining lifeboats on that side. The crew attempted to use collision mats to cover the hole in the ship's side, but it proved to be too large. Kashmir's bow was crushed by the impact, although she was able to steam off when a wave forced the two ships apart soon after the collision.

    The high winds and heavy seas prevented the launching of any lifeboats and Davidson had decided not to abandon ship just yet in the faint hope that some passengers and crewmen might be able to swim ashore once the ship got closer. About a half hour after the collision, the British destroyer Mounsey appeared after searching for the convoy during the night. Despite Davidson's order to stand clear, Mounsey's captain, Lieutenant Francis Craven, positioned his ship on Otranto's lee side to allow the men aboard the liner to jump aboard. Several times the two ships struck and the destroyer's hull was holed, her bridge smashed, two of three boiler rooms flooded, and many hull frames were broken by the force of the impacts. Nonetheless Craven kept his small ship close and was able to rescue 300 American troops, 266 officers and crewmen from Otranto, one YMCA morale officer and 30 French fishermen, although many more men had been washed from the decks or crushed between the two ships. Despite the weight of the rescued men and the damage sustained during the rescue, Mounsey was able to reach Belfast safely although she was too badly damaged to return to her own home port against the storm. About three hours after the collision, a large wave dropped Otranto onto "Old Women's Reef", about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) offshore, near the entrance to Machir Bay, missing a sandy beach just north of the reef. The action of the enormous waves quickly broke the ship in half and then ripped her bottom out. Of the roughly 489 men aboard after Mounsey departed, only 21 (17 of these were American) were able to successfully swim ashore, although 2 of these, including 1 American, later died of their injuries. The islanders were able to rescue some of these men by pulling them up the coastal cliffs or from rocks just offshore. By the following morning, the liner had been completely demolished by the heavy seas and the coastline was strewn with wreckage and hundreds of bodies in piles up to 15 feet (4.6 m) deep. A total of 316 Americans were found and buried on Islay and the nearby island of Muck.

    The best estimate of the casualty toll from the disaster is a total of 470 men: 12 officers and 84 crewmen from Otranto, 1 officer and 357 American enlisted men, and 6 French fishermen. After the war, most of the American bodies were reinterred at Brookwood American Cemetery and Memorial in Surrey, England or repatriated to the United States. And a 80-foot (24.4 m) stone tower was built on the Mull of Oa by the American Red Cross to commemorate the men lost aboard Otranto and Tuscania (1914) which was sunk by a German U-boat nearby.

    The Pursuit to Haritan

    The country north from Damascus, with its grand mountains and fertile valley and slopes, was described as being more beautiful than that to the south of the city. The Nahr el Litani or Leontes river flowing south between the parallel ranges of the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon enters the sea between Tyre and Sidon. Along the valley cattle, sheep and goats grazed and barley and wheat were grown with oats in the north. The only breaks in the north-south Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges occur from Damascus to Beirut and from Homs to Tripoli. On 5 October the advance north was resumed although supply would be difficult.[38] Allenby anticipated capturing the ports of Beirut and Tripoli, which would improve supplying rations to Desert Mounted Corps. "Nevertheless his decision [to continue the pursuit] was born of rare ambition and resolution." It would be a "bold move" as the British Empire troops would be well beyond range of support from the rest of the EEF.

    Allenby briefed Chauvel on his Aleppo campaign plans at Chauvel's new headquarters in a former Yilderim Army Group building in the south–western suburbs during his day-trip to Damascus on 3 October. The Australian Mounted Division commanded by H. W. Hodgson was to garrison Damascus, while the 5th Cavalry Division commanded by Major General H.J.M. MacAndrew and the 4th Cavalry Division commanded by Major General G. de S. Barrow advanced to Rayak 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Damascus, to establish a new forward line to stretch east to Beirut.

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    'B' Battery AIF Heavy Artillery Group crossing the Leontes River during their march to Aleppo from Tripoli in February 1919

    The 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions left Damascus together on 5 October without wheeled transport and guns which rejoined at Khan Meizelun 15–18 miles (24–29 km) from Damascus and 3,500 feet (1,100 m) above sea-level after passing through the city. The Sherwood Rangers regiment which had been on the lines of communication at Kuneitra rejoined the 14th Cavalry Brigade, 5th Cavalry Division. The 12th Light Armoured Motor Battery and the 7th Light Car Patrol also joined the divisions. From Khan Meizelun the 4th Cavalry Division moved to Zebdani on the railway between Damascus and Rayak while the 5th Cavalry Division moved towards Rayak by the main road through Shtora. On the march towards Shtora, "A violent storm, lasting several hours, burst as soon as bivouac was reached and lasted the greater part of the night. This did not improve matters as regards the malaria outbreak, which was by then almost at its height."

    Occupation of Rayak

    They advanced next day to Rayak; towards the railway junction of the main railway from Constantinople with the railways from Beirut and Damascus which branched at Rayak 30 miles (48 km) away. Rayak was reported to be occupied by about 1,000 Ottoman and German soldiers. During the night of 5/6 October, a report was received that the Ottomans had withdrawn from Rayak. The 5th Cavalry Division arrived in Rayak on 6 October to find considerable destruction caused by an RAF air-raid on 2 October and captured some prisoners, railway rolling stock and military equipment. The 14th Brigade arrived at Rayak at 14:00 on 6 October where a great deal of damage had been caused by an RAF air raid on 2 October. Here the remains of 32 German aircraft were found, "including some of the latest type, [which] had been either abandoned or burnt by the enemy." Military equipment, engineers' stores, several locomotives and rail trucks were captured at Rayak. The 14th Cavalry brigade also captured 177 prisoners and some guns when they occupied Zahle a few miles north of Rayak, also without opposition.

    MIDDLE EAST
    Syria: DMC occupies Rayak and Zahle (177 PoWs), 30 burnt planes at former.

    EASTERN FRONT
    USSR: British Petrograd officials reach Swedish border.
    Southern Russia: *Trotsky recalls Stalin from Tsaritsyn to Moscow (until October 11), returns till October 19.

    AIR WAR
    Western Front: US airmen Bleckley and Foettler posthumously awarded CMH (US Congress Medal of Honor) for suicidal supply-dropping mission to ‘Lost Battalion’ at Binarville on October 2.

    Erwin Russell Bleckley (December 30, 1894 – October 6, 1918) was a United States Army aviator during World War I, and posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor, killed in action on October 6, 1918, near the "lost battalion". Bleckley entered service as a member of the Kansas National Guard, was commissioned as an artillery officer, then volunteered for aviation training and duty. His was one of four Medals of Honor awarded to members of the Air Service.

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    On June 6, 1917, Bleckley, then a bank teller with the 4th National Bank of Wichita, enlisted as a private in the Kansas National Guard, joining Battery F, 1st Field Artillery, the second man to enlist, according to the unit commander. On July 5, 1917, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery. A month later, on August 5, his unit was called into Federal service. The 1st Field Artillery was then reorganized into the 130th Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, as part of the 35th Division, National Guard. Bleckley had expressed a desire to become a pilot, but his family objected and he became an artilleryman. When he arrived in France in March 1918, the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force, then organizing, announced a need for artillery officers to train as aerial observers. Bleckley volunteered, graduated from the observer school at Tours, France, and was attached to the 50th Aero Squadron on August 14, 1918. At that time the 50th, known as the "Dutch Girl" squadron from the commercial logo of a scouring cleanser painted on the sides of their airplanes, was based at Amanty aerodrome and had 14 pilots, nine observers including Bleckley, and 18 de Havilland DH-4 aircraft, which the crews called "Libertys" after their American-made Liberty engines.

    On September 2, 1918, in preparation for the St. Mihiel Offensive, the squadron moved to Behonne aerodrome, near Bar-le-Duc to support the V Corps of the First U.S. Army. However a few days later they were shifted to Bicqueley aerodrome, to provide support to the 82nd and 90th Divisions of the I Corps. While arriving at their new base, the squadron lost a pilot and mechanic killed in a landing accident. Bleckley, known as "Bleck" and popular in his squadron, flew his first combat mission at 5:30 a.m. Of September 12, 1918, the first day of the offensive, which was the first coordinated, large-scale employment of Air Service airpower. Flying observer for flight leader 1st Lt. Harold E. "Dad" Goettler in aircraft number 2, the mission supported the advance of the 90th Division, and was the first of several that resulted in a recommendation for promotion to 1st lieutenant for Bleckley on September 17.

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    On September 24, the squadron again relocated, this time to Remicourt, aerodrome of the I Corps Observation Group. On September 26, 1918, supporting the 77th Division, the 50th Aero Squadron flew its first missions of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive with a complement of 15 pilots, 15 observers, and 16 Liberties. At the beginning of October, units of the 308th Infantry Regiment were cut off and surrounded by German troops. Able to communicate with division headquarters only by carrier pigeon, the battalion-sized force inadvertently supplied division headquarters with incorrect coordinates of its location. As early as October 2 the 50th Aero Squadron searched for signs of the cut-off battalion, and on October 5, the division commander, Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander, requested that the 50th Aero Squadron locate and resupply the "Lost Battalion" by air with ammunition, rations, and medical supplies. Four attempts to pinpoint the location were unsuccessful in increasingly bad weather. On October 6, the 50th flew 13 additional missions, ultimately having three aircraft shot down, in what the USAF has termed the first combat airlift in history. In addition to supplies, the 50th attempted to drop two baskets of carrier pigeons to the 308th, using small parachutes from flares to soften the descent. The first resupply mission, flown by Lt.s Floyd M. Pickrell and Alfred C. George, took off shortly before noon in poor visibility. The DH-4 of Lt.s Maurice F. Graham and James E. McCurdy returned from the last mission with McCurdy seriously wounded by a bullet through the neck, but also with confirmation that the location given by the lost battalion was incorrect and occupied by German forces.

    In the early afternoon of October 6, 1918, flying again with Goettler, Bleckley took off to try to locate the "Lost Battalion". After completion of their first mission, they returned to Remicourt with numerous holes in the aircraft from small arms fire, and problems with their spark plugs that had been plaguing the DH-4s for several days. Warned by squadron commander Capt. Daniel P. Morse that a second sortie would be exceedingly more difficult and hazardous, Bleckley was quoted: "We'll make the delivery or die in the attempt!"

    Late in the afternoon, the pair flew a second resupply mission in aircraft number 6, borrowed from Lt. Pickrell when their own was not serviceable. A history of Wichita, Bear Grease, Builders, and Bandits by Beccy Tanner (1991), gives eyewitness descriptions of what followed: "Goettler skidded his plane, he made turns, he side-slipped a little occasionally, he climbed and then dived. Each time the plane turned and its great mottled belly flopped back into normal position, the men of the lost battalion expected to see it tumble from the sky... But on its way it went like a charmed thing, roaring up and down and across, rocked occasionally by the ash of big shells that had just passed... the plane finally crashed into the French terrain."

    The DH-4 flew low, just above the tree tops, cresting hilltops and descending into a ravine in which the Germans could shoot down at the aircraft. The attempt to draw fire to pinpoint German positions would help find the battalion by the process of elimination. By flying low the attempts to drop supplies into an area 350 by 50 yards where the battalion was believed to be dug in would be more precise. Even so, much of the resupply was recovered by German troops, and the aircraft came under intense and accurate fire from German machineguns and rifles. Goettler was struck in the head by a bullet and killed. The DH-4 crashed inside Allied lines, and Bleckley was thrown from the plane and severely injured. Unconscious, he was rescued by French soldiers, and rushed by automobile to a hospital, but died en route of internal injuries suffered in the crash. Morse successfully recommended both men for the Distinguished Service Cross, two of the six received by aviators of the squadron. The awards were upgraded to the Medal of Honor by the Decoration Board in 1922. The medal was presented to Bleckley's parents at the Wichita Forum on March 23, 1923. Maj. Gen. C. B. Duncan, commander of the 7th Corps Area, pinned the medal on the lapel of Bleckley's father, Col. Elmer E. Bleckley, a former railroad agent with the Missouri Pacific Railroad and Vice President of the 4th National Bank. The Kansas National Guard was presented with a painting of the DH-4 and Bleckley moments after the crash, which depicts him as conscious but near death, handing a bloody paper containing the location of the Lost Battalion to French soldiers. However the version appears to be part of the Lost Battalion mythology with no evidence to date to support it.

    Today also saw the death of the American ace 1st Lieutenant Harold Goodman Shoemaker 17th Aero Squadron. He was flying a Sopwith Camel having recently transferred from the SE5a of 74 Squadron RAF

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    The son of Mr. and Mrs. R. Elmer Shoemaker of Bridgeton, New Jersey, Harold Goodman Shoemaker answered the call for volunteers in the summer of 1917. On 14 July 1917, he and several other candidates were sent to Toronto, Canada for training with the Royal Flying Corps. To gain combat experience, he was attached to the Royal Air Force, joining 74 Squadron on 3 July 1918. After scoring five victories as an S.E.5a pilot, he was reassigned to the 17th Aero Squadron on 29 August 1918. Less than two months later, Shoemaker and another American pilot went down over German lines when their Sopwith Camels collided. Reported missing on 5/6 October 1918, the International Red Cross later reported that Shoemaker died in a prisoner of war camp in Germany. He was buried in the cemetery at Bony.

    The Royal Air Force established air squadron No. 269

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    On 6 October 1918, No. 269 Squadron was formed from Nos. 431 and 432 Flights at the seaplane station based at Port Said which had been established there since January 1916, under the command of Major P.L Holmes, RAF. No. 269 was part 64th Wing, and it operated seaplanes from the harbor, plus land-based flight of B.E.2e and Airco DH.9 aircraft. The squadron conducted maritime patrols until the Armistice, and on 15 September 1919, its seaplanes were moved to Alexandria and merged with No. 270 Squadron as its landplane flight had been disbanded in March 1919. The squadron continued as No. 269 until it was disbanded on 15 November 1919.

    The following claims were made on this day

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    In total the RAF lost 23 men today including...

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    HOME FRONTS

    India: Record of 768 flu deaths in Bombay today.

    Captain Tunstill's Men
    : Starting out at 9.30am, the Battalion marched five miles south-west, via Tavernelle to new billets at Montecchio Maggiore. This move was intended to allow the Battalion, along with the rest of the Division, to carry out more training for projected future operations; appropriate training having been difficult in the heavily-cultivated areas around Creazzo. The opportunity for more training was made all the more urgent by a change of plan which meant that the remaining units of 23rd Division would no longer return to France as had been planned, but would instead be prepared for offensive operations on the Piave front. In the words of the Divisional History, “The strictest secrecy was to be maintained; no hint was to be given that the move to France had been cancelled. The training that would be necessary would be in conformity with the idea that it was in preparation for the fighting on the French front, but it needed to be strenuous as little time would be available. The troops were to be prepared for the long marches it was anticipated would follow initial success on the Piave, and the direct co-operation between the smaller units of artillery and infantry was to be practised”.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  2. #3652

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    7th October 1918

    Captain Vivian Telfer Pemberton MC (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed in action at age 24. His brother was killed in December 1914. He wrote the following poem called War Meditations.

    When the snow lies crisp and sparkling o’re the frozen sea of mud
    Which lies round Combles and Peronne;
    When your veins are full of icicles instead of warm red blood
    And your circulation’s absolutely gone;
    When your fingers get so numb your glasses won’t stay near your eyes,
    And your tired of watching movement in Bapaume,
    Don’t you sometimes feel you’d like to have a really damned good cry,
    When your thoughts begin to turn towards your home

    When you’re passing Ginchy corner and the Hun begins to strafe,
    And you want to throw yourself down in the mud,
    But your daren’t because yo kow that the telephonist would laugh
    So you can but hope the next will be a dud,
    ‘When you get to your O.P. and find you’ve worked your factors wrong.
    And you’re well within the hundred per cent zone,
    Have you never felt that feeling when your whole soul seems to long
    For home, a dog, or wife to call your own.

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    The grave of Captain Pemberton

    WESTERN FRONT
    France: Supreme War Council learns new German Chancellor has approached President Wilson with request for armistice.

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    Aisne*: French troops capture Berry-au-Bac.

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    James Towers VC (9 September 1897 – 24 January 1977) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.

    Towers from Broughton, Preston, Lancashire, worked on his father's farm before attempting to enlist in July 1915. When it was discovered that he was underage, he was sent home. He tried again in August 1916, originally enlisting in the 5th Dragoon Guards, but he soon transferred to the 2nd Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).

    He was 21 years old, and a private in the 2nd Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    On 6 October 1918 at Méricourt, France, when five runners had failed to deliver an important message, Private Towers, while aware of the fate of those who had already attempted the task, volunteered for the duty. In spite of the heavy fire opened on him as soon as he moved, he went straight through from cover to cover and eventually delivered the message. His determination and disregard of danger was an inspiring example

    John (Jack) Henry Williams VC DCM MM & Bar (29 September 1886 – 7 March 1953), was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross.

    Williams was born in Nantyglo, Monmouthshire in 1886. He is the most decorated Welsh non-commissioned officer of all time. In November 1914, Williams gave up his employment as a colliery blacksmith and enlisted in the 10th Battalion, South Wales Borderers (part of the 38th (Welsh) Division). He was promoted to Sergeant in January 1915.

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    His citation for the Victoria Cross reads:

    For most conspicuous bravery, initiative and devotion to duty on the night of 7th - 8th October 1918, during the attack on Villers Outreaux, when, observing that his company was suffering heavy casualties from an enemy machine gun, he ordered a Lewis Gun to engage it, and went forward, under heavy fire, to the flank of the enemy post which he rushed single handed, capturing fifteen of the enemy.

    These prisoners, realising that Williams was alone, turned on him and one of them gripped his rifle. He succeeded in breaking away and bayonetting five enemy, whereupon the remainder again surrendered. By this gallant action and total disregard of personal danger, he was the means of enabling not only his own company but also those on the flanks to advance.

    Company sergeant major Williams was medically discharged from the army on 17 October 1918 after being severely wounded by shrapnel in the right arm and leg.

    In 1919 he received the VC, DCM, MM and Bar from King George V, the first time that the King had decorated the same man four times in one day. At the time of the investiture Williams had not recovered from his severe wounds, and during the presentation the wound in his arm opened up with the result that medical attention had to be given before he could leave the palace. His grave and memorial are at Ebbw Vale Cemetery. The original headstone was removed during cemetery clearance and a new headstone was erected on 21 October 1990. In September 2018 the villagers of Villers-Outréaux dedicated a especially commissioned memorial to commemorate him and express their thanks for saving their village from certain destruction.

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    This U.S. Army map from World War I shows the U.S. and opposing German lines and presumed enemy order of battle in the vicinity of Sommerance, France, on October 7, 1918. German forces are classified by their quality of fighting skill; the best units are ranked as first class and poorest as fourth class. Units are broken down into division and then regiment. The length of time a unit had spent on the front line is noted as such information could help planners determine the combat effectiveness or war weariness of a given unit. Territory seized as a result of an American minor attack on October 6 is shown. The information contained in maps of this kind was derived from a variety of sources, including captured German maps, statements by prisoners of war, and aerial surveillance and photography. The fighting shown was part of the great offensive of September 26–November 11, 1918, the final push along the entire Western front by which the Allies hoped to drive the Germans out of France and thereby win the war. The main American attack was carried out by the First Army under General John J. Pershing in the approximately 35-kilometer wide section of the front between the Meuse River and the Argonne Forest. Three corps, each comprised of three divisions with one in reserve, made the attack. The Fifth Corps was in the center and was expected to strike the decisive blow, flanked by the First Corps on the left and the Fourth Corps on the right. To carry out the operation, 600,000 American troops had to replace 220,000 exhausted and battle-weary French troops prior to the attack. The scale of this map is 1:20,000. The map is from the collection of U.S. Army Major General Charles P. Summerall, commander of the Fifth Corps.

    EASTERN FRONT
    South Russia: General Berthelot proposes Salonika army use in South Russia to Clemenceau to protect Denikin’s White build up; Franchet d’Esperey opposes on October 27.
    Volga: Red Fourth Army retakes Samara. (Red Eastern Front now 103,000 soldiers; 298 guns and 1,627 MGs strong.)
    North Russia: US 339th Infantry coy wins skirmish at Borok, but Reds force Allied outposts back (October 9-10). Allies retreat 20 miles to Kurgomin*-Tulgas (October 13-17) and repel Red attack (October 23).

    The Soviet Red Army established the 25th Rifle Division:

    The 25th Rifle Division (Russian: 25-я стрелковая дивизия) was a rifle division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War, formed twice.

    Formed in 1918, it was a Russian, and later Soviet, Red Army formation formed on the Eastern Front during the Russian Civil War. It was named after its first commander, Vasily Chapayev. As Chapayev's command it gained fame during the war and as a result received his name, designated the 25th Chapayev Rifle Division (Russian: 25-я Чапаевская стрелковая дивизия). The division was transferred west to fight in the Polish–Soviet War and was stationed in Ukraine during the interwar period. Moved forward to participate in the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia in 1940, the division retreated east after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. It was disbanded after being destroyed in the Siege of Sevastopol in mid-1942. The 25th was formed for a second time, without inheriting the honors of the original unit, in 1943. This unit served in the Arkhangelsk Military District without seeing combat in the rest of the war, and was disbanded shortly after the end of the war.

    The division was formed in 1918 at the beginning of the Russian Civil War under the command of Vasily Chapayev. Chapayev previously served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I. The division deployed to the Urals where it fought the Ural Cossacks in the Zavolzhye region. On October 7, 1918, the division fought at Samara, on March 11, 1919, it fought at Uralsk, and on January 2, 1920, the division occupied entered Atyrau (then Guriev) for the Bolsheviks. In May 1920, the division transferred to the Ukrainian front. It aided the successful defence of Kiev against the Poles, before moving on to capture Kovel and participate in further operations along the Southern Bug. From April 1921 to the December 1922 the division was responsible for suppressing Ukrainian independence forces.

    On 30 November 1921 the division was renamed the 25th Poltava Rifle Division before becoming the 25th Kremenchug Rifle Division on 4 January 1922. In 1922 the division became part of the Ukrainian Military District, which became the Kiev Military District in 1935. Its former designation, the 25th Chapayev Red Banner Rifle Division, was restored on 11 July 1925. The division was awarded the Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner in 1928 and the Order of Lenin in 1933. The division transferred to the Odessa Military District in May 1940 in preparation for the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia in June and July of that year. After participating in the occupation, the 25th became part of the 9th Army.

    On June 24, 1941, Stavka Order #20466 attached the 25th Rifle Division to the 14th Rifle Corps, 9th Army, Southern Front. It took part in the Battle of Odessa, and was evacuated by sea in October 1941 prior to the city's fall. The division arrived in Sevastopol in time to prepare for the defence of the port against the oncoming German offensive. The division was destroyed during the following Siege of Sevastopol in July 1942. After the end of World War II, the name 'Chapeyevskaya' was given to the 25th Guards Rifle Division.

    The division was subsequently reformed in the Arkhangelsk Military District in 1943. It did not see any further action in the Second World War.[2] While Poirer and Connor list further fighting it took part in, it is believed that this information was incorrect. It was attached to the 4th Rifle Corps of the Belomorsky Military District in May 1945. The division (Military Unit Number 15887) was disbanded on 10 July 1946 along with the corps.

    MIDDLE EAST
    Balkans: Supreme Allied War Council decides Salonika Army will march east through Thrace to Constantinople, Milne to command (October 10), ready with 4 divisions on October 29.

    AIR WAR

    Claims were in short supply on this day. There was however one Hat-trick - The Canadian pilot Captain Camille Henri Raoul Lagesse DFC & Bar of 29 Squadron RAF. He was flying SE5a number E4084

    Joining the Royal Flying Corps in July 1917, Camille Henri Raoul Lagesse was promoted to temporary 2nd Lieutenant (on probation) on 26 September 1917 and posted to 29 Squadron on 20 March 1918. Flying the S.E.5a, he scored 20 victories, including two balloons and accumulated 426 hours of flight time in combat. Credited with his 5th victory on 6 June 1918, he forced down a Fokker D.VII and captured its pilot. Today, the plane he captured is part of the Royal Air Force Museum Collection. Claiming three aircraft on 7 October 1918, Lagesse downed a Fokker D.VII in flames near Staden. His opponent, German ace Herbert Boy, was captured after jumping from his plane with a burning parachute.

    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
    Lt. (T./Capt.) Camille Henri Raoul Lagesse.
    When on wireless interception duty Capt. Lagesse, in company with another officer, was attacked by seven scouts. Engaging one, he followed it down from 11,000 feet to 2,000 feet, when it crashed. Bold in attack, skilful in execution, he has proved himself on many occasions to be a fine airman.
    Supplement to the London Gazette, 2 November 1918 (30989/12968)

    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) Bar
    Lieut. (A../Capt.) Camille Henri Raoul Lagesse, D.F.C. (FRANCE)
    A scout leader of marked ability and daring who, since 28th August, has destroyed thirteen enemy aeroplanes, displaying at all times brilliant leadership and courage. On 2nd October, when leading a patrol of four machines, he dived on eight Fokkers; four of these were destroyed, Captain Lagesse accounting for one.
    Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 February 1919 (31170/2033)

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    A total of 16 British airmen were lost on this day

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    POLITICS
    Poland: Poles in Warsaw proclaim independence, as do deputies in German Reichstag. The Polish Regency Council declared Polish independence from the German Empire
    USA: Sir E Geddes and British Naval Mission arrive in New York.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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    8th October 1918

    William Edgar Holmes VC (26 June 1895 – 9 October 1918) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross. Holmes was 23 years old, and a private in the 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British Army during the First World War. On 9 October 1918 at Catteničres, France, he performed the deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He died in action that day.

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    No. 16796 Pte. William Edgar Holmes, late 2nd Bn., G. Gds. (Didbrook, nr. Winchcombe, Glos.).

    For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty at Cattenieres on the 9th October, 1918.

    Pte. Holmes carried in two men under the most intense fire, and, while he was attending to a third case, he was severely wounded. In spite of this, he continued to carry wounded, and was shortly afterwards again wounded, with fatal results. By his self-sacrifice and disregard of danger he was the means of saving the lives of several of his comrades.

    — London Gazette

    His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Regimental Headquarters (Grenadier Guards RHQ), Wellington Barracks, London.

    Coulson Norman Mitchell VC MC (11 December 1889 – 17 November 1978) was a Canadian soldier. Mitchell was a recipient of the Victoria Cross.

    Born in Winnipeg on December 11, 1889, Mitchell was a graduate of the University of Manitoba in engineering. He enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1914 and went overseas with a railway construction unit. As an officer with the 1st Tunnelling Company of Canadian Engineers he was awarded the Military Cross in 1917.

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    Mitchell was 28 years old, and a captain in the 1st Tunnelling Company of Canadian Engineers, operating with the 4th Division in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on the night of 8–9 October 1918, at Canal de L'Escaut, north-east of Cambrai.

    He led a small party ahead of the first wave of infantry in order to examine the various bridges on the line of approach and, if possible, to prevent their demolition. On reaching the canal he found the bridge already blown up. Under a heavy barrage he crossed to the next bridge, where he cut a number of "lead" wires. Then in total darkness, and unaware of the position or strength of the enemy at the bridgehead, he dashed across the main bridge over the canal. This bridge was found to be heavily charged for demolition, and whilst Capt. Mitchell, assisted by his N.C.O., was cutting the wires, the enemy attempted to rush the bridge in order to blow the charges, whereupon he at once dashed to the assistance of his sentry, who had been wounded, killed three of the enemy, captured 12, and maintained the bridgehead until reinforced. Then under heavy fire he continued his task of cutting wires and removing charges, which he well knew might at any moment have been fired by the enemy. It was entirely due to his valour and decisive action that this important bridge across the canal was saved from destruction.

    After the war, Mitchell returned to Winnipeg to practice civil engineering. Early in World War II, he was assigned to the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE), at Camp Borden, Ont. In 1940, he went overseas and was put in charge of replacement training. Transferred back to Canada in 1943, he was attached to National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa before joining the staff of the RCE Training Centre at Petawawa, Ont. In 1944, he took command of the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering in Chilliwack, B.C. He later achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel.

    In 1946, Mitchell moved to Montreal where he joined an engineering firm in an executive capacity. In 1965, a Montreal branch of The Royal Canadian Legion was named after him. He died November 17, 1978 and was buried at the National Field of Honour in Pointe Claire, Quebec (Section M. Grave 3051). The Canadian Military Engineers chose to honour Mitchell by naming the main building of the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick after him. His Victoria Cross is on display at the museum there. A street in the town of Mount Royal is named after him. Mitchell Avenue, Mount Royal, Quebec. Coulson Mitchell Lake, named after him is located approximately 100 kilometres east of Thompson. The name of the lake is being modified to Norman Mitchell Lake at the request of the family to reflect that Lieutenant-colonel Mitchell was commonly referred to by the name "Norman"

    The Second Battle of Cambrai

    The Battle of Cambrai, 1918 (also known as the Second Battle of Cambrai) was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918. The battle incorporated many of the newer tactics of 1918, in particular tanks. The attack was an overwhelming success with light casualties in an extremely short amount of time.

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    There were three German lines, spanning some 7,000 yd (6,400 m); held by the 20th Landwehr and the 54th Reserve divisions, supported by no more than 150 guns. The weak defense was due to the Allied general offensive across the Western Front, and specifically in this sector, the rapid approach of the Canadian Corps, who had overwhelmed much stronger defenses in the previous days. The German defenders were unprepared for the bombardment by 324 tanks, closely supported by infantry and aircraft. On 8 October, the 2nd Canadian Division entered Cambrai and encountered sporadic and light resistance. However, they rapidly pressed northward, leaving the "mopping up" of the town to the 3rd Canadian Division following close behind. When the 3rd entered the town on 10 October, they found it deserted. Fewer than 20 casualties had been taken.

    Although the capture of Cambrai was achieved significantly sooner than expected, German resistance northeast of the town stiffened, slowing the advance and forcing the Canadian Corps to dig in.

    Somme and Cambrai – SECOND BATTLE OF CAMBRAI (until October 9): British Third, Fourth and First (takes Fresnoy-Rouvroy line northeast of Arras) Armies attack with 82 tanks (22 lost) on 20-mile front between St Quentin and Cambrai, advance 3 miles, take 10,000 PoWs and 150 guns (including 1,500 PoWs and 30 guns by US 30th Division). Third Army captures Villers-Outreaux, Forenville and Niergnies southeast of Cambrai despite 15 German tanks (6 lost) heading 3 local counter-*attacks and hitting 4 British tanks (4 A7Vs deliver another, October 11). Army Groups Rupprecht and Boehn ordered back to Hermann position. Boehn’s group then to be broken up; its Second Army to Rupprecht, Eighteenth to Crown Prince, Boehn sent on leave.

    Lost Battalion
    Army scout Private Abraham Krotoshinsky of the "lost" American units of the 77th Infantry Division found a path through the German line in Argonne Forest and met up with an infiltrating American relief force sent to rescue the stranded unit. Ktochshinsky lead the unit back to relieve the defending units and take the 194 surviving soldiers to safety. Six members of the "Lost Battalion" were awarded the Medal of Honor and unit commander Charles White Whittlesey was promoted to lieutenant Colonel.

    U.S. Army Corporal Alvin C. York almost single-handedly killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 more near Chatel-Chéhéry, France during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He was awarded the Medal of Honor and eventually became the most decorated American soldier of World War One.

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    Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 35 machine guns, killing at least 25 enemy soldiers and capturing 132. York's Medal of Honor action occurred during the United States-led portion of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France, which was intended to breach the Hindenburg line and force the Germans to surrender. He earned decorations from several allied countries during WWI, including France, Italy and Montenegro.

    York was born in rural Tennessee. His parents farmed, and his father worked as a blacksmith. The eleven York children had minimal schooling because they helped provide for the family, which included hunting, fishing, and hiring out as laborers. After the death of his father, York assisted in caring for his younger siblings and found work as a logger and on construction crews. Despite being a regular churchgoer, York also drank heavily and was prone to fistfights. After a 1914 conversion experience, he vowed to improve and became even more devoted to the Church of Christ in Christian Union. York was drafted during World War I; he initially claimed conscientious objector status on the grounds that his religious denomination forbade violence. Persuaded that his religion was not incompatible with military service, York joined the 82nd Division as an infantry private and went to France in 1918.

    In October 1918, as a newly-promoted corporal, York was one of a group of seventeen soldiers assigned to infiltrate German lines and silence a machine gun position. After the American patrol had captured a large group of enemy soldiers, German small arms fire killed six Americans and wounded three. York was the highest ranking of those still able to fight, so he took charge. While his men guarded the prisoners, York attacked the machine gun position, dispatching several German soldiers with his rifle before running out of ammunition. Six German soldiers charged him with bayonets, and York drew his pistol and killed them all. The German officer responsible for the machine gun position had emptied his pistol while firing at York but failed to hit him. This officer then offered to surrender and York accepted. York and his men marched back to their unit's command post with more than 130 prisoners. York was immediately promoted to sergeant and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; an investigation resulted in the upgrading of the award to the Medal of Honor. York's feat made him a national hero and international celebrity among allied nations.

    After Armistice Day, a group of Tennessee businessmen purchased a farm for York, his new wife, and their growing family. He later formed a charitable foundation to improve educational opportunities for children in rural Tennessee. In the 1930s and 1940s, York worked as a project superintendent for the Civilian Conservation Corps and managed construction of the Byrd Lake reservoir at Cumberland Mountain State Park, after which he served for several years as park superintendent. A 1941 film about his World War I exploits, Sergeant York, was that year's highest-grossing film; Gary Cooper won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of York, and the film was credited with enhancing American morale as the US mobilized for action in World War II. In his later years, York was confined to bed by health problems. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1964 and was buried at Wolf River Cemetery in his hometown of Pall Mall.

    York was drafted into the United States Army and served in Company G, 328th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Infantry Division at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Deeply troubled by the conflict between his pacifism and his training for war, he spoke at length with his company commander, Captain Edward Courtney Bullock Danforth (1894–1974) of Augusta, Georgia, and his battalion commander, Major G. Edward Buxton of Providence, Rhode Island, a devout Christian himself. Biblical passages about violence ("He that hath no sword, let him sell his cloak and buy one." "Render unto Caesar ..." "... if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight.") cited by Danforth persuaded York to reconsider the morality of his participation in the war. Granted a 10-day leave to visit home, he returned convinced that God meant for him to fight and would keep him safe, as committed to his new mission as he had been to pacifism. He served with his division in the St Mihiel Offensive.

    In an October 8, 1918 attack that occurred during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, his battalion aimed to capture German positions near Hill 223 (49.28558°N 4.95242°E) along the Decauville rail-line north of Chatel-Chéhéry, France, York's actions during this engagement earned him the Medal of Honor. He recalled:

    The Germans got us, and they got us right smart. They just stopped us dead in our tracks. Their machine guns were up there on the heights overlooking us and well hidden, and we couldn't tell for certain where the terrible heavy fire was coming from ... And I'm telling you they were shooting straight. Our boys just went down like the long grass before the mowing machine at home. Our attack just faded out ... And there we were, lying down, about halfway across [the valley] and those German machine guns and big shells getting us hard.

    Under the command of Sergeant Bernard Early, four non-commissioned officers, including recently promoted Corporal York, and thirteen privates were ordered to infiltrate the German lines to take out the machine guns. The group worked their way behind the Germans and overran the headquarters of a German unit, capturing a large group of German soldiers who were preparing a counter-attack against the U.S. troops. Early's men were contending with the prisoners when German machine gun fire suddenly peppered the area, killing six Americans and wounding three others. The loss of the nine killed and wounded put York in charge of the seven remaining U.S. soldiers.[22] As his men remained under cover, guarding the prisoners, York worked his way into position to silence the German machine guns. York recalled:

    And those machine guns were spitting fire and cutting down the undergrowth all around me something awful. And the Germans were yelling orders. You never heard such a racket in all of your life. I didn't have time to dodge behind a tree or dive into the brush... As soon as the machine guns opened fire on me, I began to exchange shots with them. There were over thirty of them in continuous action, and all I could do was touch the Germans off just as fast as I could. I was sharp shooting... All the time I kept yelling at them to come down. I didn't want to kill any more than I had to. But it was they or I. And I was giving them the best I had.

    During the assault, six German soldiers in a trench near York charged him with fixed bayonets. York had fired all the rounds in his M1917 Enfield rifle, but drew his M1911 semi-automatic pistol and shot all six soldiers before they could reach him.

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    This battle scene was painted in 1919 by artist Frank Schoonover. The scene depicts the bravery of Alvin C. York in 1918.

    During the assault, six German soldiers in a trench near York charged him with fixed bayonets. York had fired all the rounds in his M1917 Enfield rifle,[24] but drew his M1911 semi-automatic pistol[25] and shot all six soldiers before they could reach him.

    German First Lieutenant Paul Jürgen Vollmer, commander of the First Battalion, 120th Landwehr Infantry, emptied his pistol trying to kill York while he was contending with the machine guns. Failing to injure York, and seeing his mounting losses, he offered in English to surrender the unit to York, who accepted. By the end of the engagement, York and his seven men marched 132 German prisoners back to the American lines. Upon returning to his unit, York reported to his brigade commander, Brigadier General Julian Robert Lindsey, who remarked "Well York, I hear you have captured the whole damn German army." York replied "No sir. I got only 132." His actions silenced the German machine guns and were responsible for enabling the 328th Infantry to renew its attack to capture the Decauville Railroad.

    York was promptly promoted to Sergeant and received the Distinguished Service Cross. A few months later, an investigation by York's chain of command resulted in an upgrade of his Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor, which was presented by the commanding general of the American Expeditionary Forces, General John J. Pershing. The French Republic awarded him the Croix de Guerre, the Medaille Militaire and the Legion of Honour. When decorating York with the Croix de Guerre, Marshal Ferdinand Foch told York "What you did was the greatest thing accomplished by any soldier of all the armies of Europe." In addition to his French medals, Italy awarded York the Croce al Merito di Guerra and Montenegro decorated him with its War Medal. He eventually received nearly 50 decorations. York's Medal of Honor citation reads:

    After his platoon suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading seven men, he charged with great daring a machine gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine gun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns. In attempting to explain his actions during the 1919 investigation that resulted in the Medal of Honor, York told General Lindsey "A higher power than man guided and watched over me and told me what to do." Lindsey replied "York, you are right."

    EASTERN FRONT

    USSR: Lenin appoints Stalin to Revolutionary Military Council.
    Southern Russia: Death of General Alexeiev at Ekaterinodar (age 60), Denikin becomes White supreme commander and civil dictator.

    OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
    Poland: Regency Council dissolves Council of State and takes over German administration.

    MIDDLE EAST
    Lebanon: 7th Indian Division occupies Beirut after 2 French destroyers’ arrival, 600 Turks handed over. Colonel Piepape, French military Gouverneur, whose troops arrive on October 20.

    SEA WAR
    Germany: Rear-Admiral Trotha CoS German High Seas Fleet recommends a ‘final sortie’ vs Grand Fleet if U-boat campaign abandoned completely or Fleet threatened by a ‘humiliating end’. Hipper sanctions (October 10) detailed planning for this Flottenvorstoss (‘Fleet Attack’); Scheer’s CoS Commodore Levetzow supports (October 16). Scheer does not inform Army, Kaiser or politicians.
    Med*iterranean: Admural Calthorpe leaves Malta in cruiser Foresight, arrives at Mudros on October 11.

    AIR WAR
    Western Front: RAF support Second Battle of Cambrai including laying smokescreens with 40lb phosphorous bombs, few air combats. Night bombers strike rail junctions (night October 8-9).

    The British Ace Lieutenant Cyril Hayes Sawyer 46 Squadron RAF, is lost on this day

    The son of James Sawyer, a tobbaconist, Cyril Hayes Sawyer joined the army in May 1917. After his transfer to the Royal Air Force, he was posted to 46 Squadron in the summer of 1918 and scored six victories flying the Sopwith Camel. He was killed in a crash at Athies airfield on 8 October 1918. He was 19 years old.

    The following claims were made on this day

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    On another bad day for the RAF another 34 airmen were lost (including...)

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    POLITICS
    USA: President Wilson replies to German peace note, occupied territories evacuation first condition.
    France: Foch note gives his armistice terms to Allied Prime Ministers.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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    9th October 1918


    Lieutenant Alfred Hartley (Royal Garrison Artillery) is killed at age 39. He was a cricketer who played for Lancashire. Hartley was a solid, defensive right-handed opening batsman from the West Indies who had a fairly brief career in English county cricket. He made his first-class debut in 1907, made 1,000 runs at a respectable average in both 1908 and 1909, but only really came to the fore in 1910 when, with 1,585 runs at an average of nearly 37 runs per innings, he was selected for the Gentlemen v Players matches at The Oval and Lord’s. He did little in the first match, but in the second, though scoring only 24 and 35, he impressed the editor of Wisden sufficiently to be named in the 1911 edition as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. His big innings of the season was 234 for Lancashire against the very weak Somerset team at Old Trafford, and he also scored a century in the return fixture at Bath. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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    Private William Edgar Holmes (Grenadier Guards) carries in two men under most intense fire and while he is attending a third case, he is severely wounded. In spite of this he continues to carry wounded and is shortly afterwards again wounded this time fatally. For his actions this day he will be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross being killed at age 23. (see yesterday's edition)

    The Pursuit to Haritan


    On 9 October Allenby issued orders for the speedy occupation of Tripoli by the 7th (Meerut) Division. The town and the port of El Mina were strategically important because supplies could be unloading at the port and quickly transported inland to Homs on the main road to Aleppo. The capture of Tripoli would vastly improve the lines of communication supporting the pursuit.

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    British troops and camels in Tripoli, reached by the armoured cars and XXth Corps Cavalry on 13 October, by the 19th Brigade on the 18 October, the remainder of the 7th Division on the 28 October and the Australian Mounted Division on 7 November 1918

    Tripoli was occupied unopposed on 13 October by the 7th (Meerut) Division led once again by the XXI Corps Cavalry Regiment and the 2nd Light Armoured Motor Battery following Bulfin's orders for the continuation of the coastal advance northwards. The leading column was followed by the 19th Infantry Brigade Group commanded by Brigadier General W. S. Leslie which arrived on 18 October. The remainder of the 7th (Meerut) Division arrived not long after. Rothon arrived in Tripoli on 18 October, after a 15 miles (24 km) march over mountain passes and sand. "Felt absolutely done up when we got here and at times felt like lying down and giving in as I feel as if my very life blood is being drawn from me in these long marches, in addition to which we are only at half strength which means double work for us all." He was hospitalised in Tripoli shortly after and was still there at the end of the month.

    The 5th Cavalry Division was ordered on 9 October to advance to Homs, where they could be supplied overland, along the fairly good road from Tripoli, as a direct result of that town, with its small port of jetties "suitable for landing stores in fine weather", being occupied. On 22 October a casualty clearing station was landed at Tripoli to evacuate 5th Cavalry Division sick and wounded.

    As a side note I used to live in Tripoli and my brother was born there (1964) - editor

    Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse was elected King of Finland in attempt for the country to retain close ties to the German Empire.

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    Frederick Charles Louis Constantine, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse (1 May 1868 – 28 May 1940), Friedrich Karl Ludwig Konstantin Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen-Kassel in German, was the brother-in-law of the German Emperor Wilhelm II. He was elected King of Finland on 9 October 1918, but renounced the throne on 14 December 1918. During his brief reign he was known in Finnish as Frederik Kaarle I, King of Finland.

    Frederick Charles was elected as the King of Finland by the Parliament of Finland on 9 October 1918. However, with the end of World War I, in light of his German birth and the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany ending monarchies in Germany, the arrangement was quickly considered untenable by influential Finns of the time and by Frederick himself. Not much is known of the official stance of the victorious Allied Powers. Frederick Charles renounced the throne on 14 December 1918, without ever arriving in the country, much less taking up his position. Finland subsequently adopted a republican constitution.

    WESTERN FRONT
    Cambrai – HINDENBURG LINE COMPLETELY BROKEN: Canadians enter Cambrai, link with Third Army, begin BEF pursuit to the Selle (until October 12), 3rd Cavalry Division (329 casualties) takes 500 PoWs, 10 guns and 60 MGs in 8-mile advance, finishes only 2 miles from Le Cateau (2 armoured cars briefly enter).
    Meuse and Argonne: 20,000 AEF (American Expedition Forces) deaths to date from flu and pneumonia.

    While other attacks were taking place further to the south in Somme and Aisne, the British and Canadians attacked and liberated Cambrai in two days (8-9 October 1918). The Hindenburg Line was by now breached in a number of places and the battle had turned into a pursuit with the German Army clearly falling apart from the inside. The British advance was now covering a large front across Flanders, Artois and Picardy. The towns of Lille and Douai were liberated on 17 October. Despite a large number of German units being in disarray, others such as the Stosstruppen (shock troops), were continuing to engage in ferocious rearguard actions, in particular during the entry of British and Canadian troops into Valenciennes (1-2 October), and their actions seemed to be what Ludendorff had waiting in store for the Allied troops if ever they ventured on to German soil.

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    AIR WAR
    Germany: 8 Handley Page bombers of Nos 215 and 216 Squadrons attack Metz, bomb detonates magazine on island in river Moselle, fire burns for 4 days (1 million Reichsmark damage done, night October 9-10).
    Syria: RAF bombs Homs station (October 10 and 12) from new Haifa base, refuelling at Damascus.
    Western Front: Mainly low-flying RAF operations, wet weather hampers flying (until October 13).

    Captain Allan Hepburn and Second Lieutenant Horace George Eldeon shoot down a Fokker D VII near Seclin, their second victory in two days. Lieutenant (Acting Captain) John Rose begins a period over which he will destroy seven enemy airplanes.

    Two British aces were killed on this day:

    Captain Lynn Campbell 62 Squadron RFC (Bristol Fighter E2256) (Canadian) The son of Newton and Mary (Ford) Campbell, Lynn Campbell was a Bristol F.2b pilot. He served with 62 Squadron and scored seven victories before he and his observer, William Hodgkinson, were killed in action.

    2nd Lieutenant William Hodgkinson 62 Squadron RFC: William Hodgkinson was from Ainsdale, near Southport. He and his pilot, Lynn Campbell, were killed in action when their Bristol Fighter was shot down by Paul Bäumer of Jasta 2.

    The RAF lost a total of 19 men on this day

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    The following claims were made on this day

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    There was one hat-trick today from Captain Oscar Aloysius Patrick Heron DFC 70 Squadron RAF (Sopwith Camel E7277)
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    After serving with the Connaught Rangers, Oscar Aloysius Patrick Heron was assigned to 70 Squadron in May 1918. As a Sopwith Camel pilot, ten of his victories were over the Fokker D.VII. Heron joined the Irish Air Corps in 1922. He was killed during the Irish Air Corps' first Air Pageant at Phoenix Park in 1933.

    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
    2nd Lt. (A./Capt.) Oscar Alois Patrick Heron. (FRANCE)
    An officer conspicuous for his skill and daring in aerial combats. He has accounted for eight, enemy aeroplanes. On 28th September he attacked, single-handed, three Fokkers; one of these he shot down. On another occasion he, in company with five other machines, engaged six Fokkers, all six being destroyed, 2nd Lt. Heron accounting for two.

    OSCAR HERON finished WW1 as an ace in the RAF with 13 victories, but his subsequent history appears to be unrecorded. In 1922 he joined the newly-formed Irish Air Corps of the Irish Free State as one of its first pilots. His experience was valued as he spent most of his time in a training capacity. His rank was Captain by 1933.

    On 5 August 1933 the Air Corps put on their first Air Paegent at the Phoenix Park in Dublin. Oscar Heron piloted Vickers Vespa 'V6' with Private Robert Tobin as observer. Three Avro Cadets acted as fighters attacking his aircraft in a mock aerial battle. During the display the Vespa went into a spin from 300 to 400 feet altitude and it crashed in front of 12,000 people including Heron's wife. Oscar Heron died at the scene while Robert Tobin died the following day. Both were given full military funerals. Oscar Heron was buried in Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin. Heron had married a French lady but they had no children.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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    10th October 1918

    Apologies but needs must means that today's edition will be done in installments as the editorial team are all over the country today....

    Royal Mail Ship S S Leinster (Captain William Birch) operated by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, serving as the Dublin-Holyhead mail-boat is torpedoed by the U-boat UB-123. Having departed the Dublin ferry port at Kingstown (now re-named Dun Laoghaire) she is sunk just outside Dublin Bay at a point four miles east of the Kish light. When she goes down 501 people perished — the greatest single loss of life at sea in the Irish Sea. Despite many previous requests for a naval escort the Admiralty relied on the Leinster’s speed as her only protection from U-boat attack. She had been unsuccessfully attacked before but the torpedoes missed their target.

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    On her final morning she carries a crew of 77 and 694 passengers, of whom 500 are soldiers. Initially UB-123 fires two torpedoes; one misses, passing harmlessly across the ship’s bow, but the other strikes the Leinster mid-ship forward of the bridge. The ship begins to settle very slowly bow down in the water. In response to her distress call the British destroyers HMS Lively and HMS Mallard go to her assistance. It is believed that at this stage she could have been saved by being towed back into Dublin or Dun Laoghaire harbour but the captain of the submarine decides to administer the coup de grace and finish her off with a third torpedo. This he does as the Leinster continues taking on water and is disembarking her passengers into the lifeboats in rough seas. One hundred seventy-six of the 757 people on board are lost, including

    Captain Birch who has been wounded in the initial attack and drowns when the lifeboat he is in swamps in heavy seas and capsizes while trying to transfer survivors to HMS Mallard. Others killed include
    Lieutenant Commander George Richard Colin Campbell (Royal Navy Compass Department) age 34 the superintendent of the Magnetic Compass Department and inventor of the Campbell-Bennett aperiodic compass who is travelling with his wife and 4˝ year old daughter. All are lost. He is the son of the Reverend Edward F Campbell.

    Clerk shorthand typist Josephine Carr (Women’s Royal Naval Service) killed at age 19 after being in the service less than 30 days. She is the first WREN killed on active service.

    The ship's log states that she carried 77 crew and 694 passengers on her final voyage under the command of Captain William Birch. The ship had previously been attacked in the Irish Sea but the torpedoes missed their target. Those on board included more than one hundred British civilians, 22 postal sorters (working in the mail room) and almost 500 military personnel from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Also aboard were nurses from Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

    Just before 10 a.m. as the Leinster was sailing east of the Kish Bank in a heavy swell, passengers saw a torpedo approach from the port side and pass in front of the bow. A second torpedo followed shortly afterwards, and it struck the ship forward on the port side in the vicinity of the mail room. Captain Birch ordered the ship to make a U-turn in an attempt to return to Kingstown as the ship began to settle slowly by the bow; however, the ship sank rapidly after a third torpedo struck the Leinster, causing a huge explosion. Despite the heavy seas, the crew managed to launch several lifeboats and some passengers clung to life-rafts. The survivors were rescued by HMS Lively, HMS Mallard and HMS Seal. Among the civilian passengers lost in the sinking were socially prominent people such as Lady Phyllis Hamilton, daughter of the Duke of Abercorn, Robert Jocelyn Alexander, son of Irish composer Cecil Frances Alexander, Thomas Foley and his wife Charlotte Foley (née Barrett) who was the brother-in-law of the world-famous Irish tenor John McCormack, Lieut. Col. Charles Harold Blackbourne, veteran of the Boer War, Alfred White Curzon King, 15-year-old nephew to Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, and Maud Elizabeth Ward, personal secretary to Douglas Proby. The first member of the Women's Royal Naval Service to die on active duty, Josephine Carr, was among those killed, as were two prominent trade unionists, James McCarron and Patrick Lynch. Among the less well known were 15-year-old Gerald Palmer, a boy with a physical disability, from "The Cripples Home" in Bray, Co. Wicklow, and Catherine Gould and five of her six children. A Limerick paper described them as "humble decent people". Captain Birch was also among those lost in the sinking. Wounded in the initial attack, he was drowned when his lifeboat became swamped in heavy seas and capsized while trying to transfer survivors to HMS Lively. Several of the military personnel who died are buried in Grangegorman Military Cemetery.

    Survivors were brought to Kingstown harbour. Among the survivors were Michael Joyce, member of parliament for Limerick, and Captain Hutchinson Ingham Cone, former commander of the USS Dale (DD-4). One of the rescue ships was the armed yacht and former fishery protection vessel HMY Helga. Stationed in Kingstown harbour at the time of the sinking, she had shelled Dublin during the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin two years earlier. She was later bought and renamed the Muirchú by the Irish Free State government as one of its first fishery protection vessels.

    The UB-123 was probably lost in a minefield in the North Sea on its way back to Germany, on or about 19 October 1918. The bodies of her commander Oberleutnant zur See Robert Ramm and his crew of two officers and thirty-three men were never recovered.

    SOUTHERN FRONTS
    Italian Front: Italians have identified 43 Austro-German divisions. Intelligence warns of offensive for October 16-20.

    WESTERN FRONT
    USA: Pershing and Bliss promoted first full US generals.
    Ypres: British repulse dusk attack on Polygon Wood, take 380 PoWs.
    Verdun*: Transient penetration of French trenches at Hill 344.

    Battle of St. Quentin Canal – Most of the fighting around the Hindenburg Line ended. British casualties were 8,802,[67] while the Americans had suffered 13,182 on the opening day of fighting. The Australians had 2,577 casualties.[68] German casualties were unknown but 36,000 soldiers were taken prisoner.

    EASTERN FRONT
    Bukovina: Heavy fighting 25 miles south of Czernowitz, Russians take 750 PoWs.
    Russia: Georgia starts a separate army.

    MIDDLE EAST
    Arabia: Lawrence with 150 Arabs blow up Turk supply train north of Maan. Lawrence sees Allenby on October 15 who asks for Arab support of his imminent offensive.

    AIR WAR

    36 British airmen were lost on this day including

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    The following claims were made on this day

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    The American air ace Lieutenant Wilbert Wallace "Wilbur" White, Jr. of the 147th Aero Squadron was killed on this day.

    The son of a Protestant minister, White graduated from the University of Wooster in 1912. Married with two children, he enlisted in the United States Air Service on 3 July 1917. Following flight training in Canada and Texas, he was assigned to the 147th Aero Squadron where he would become the squadron's highest scoring ace. After scoring seven confirmed victories, White received authorization to return to the United States. On the afternoon of 10 October 1918, he chose to make one final patrol over the lines in his SPAD XIII. Encountering enemy aircraft, he observed a Fokker D.VII on the tail of a rookie pilot and turned to aid him. When his guns jammed, White rammed the Fokker with his plane. He was killed in the collision but his opponent, Wilhelm Kohlbach of Jasta 10, survived and was credited with his 5th victory over White's SPAD. For this action, White was posthumously recommended for the Medal of Honor but received an Oak Leaf Cluster to his Distinguished Service Cross. White was the highest scoring ace in the 147th Aero Squadron.

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    Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
    The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Wilbert Wallace White, Second Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action in the regions of Etain and Chambley, France, September 14, 1918. While protecting three allied observation planes in the region of Etain, Lieutenant White was attacked by three Halberstadt fighters. He engaged them immediately, successfully fighting them off and leading them all away from the observation planes, which were thus permitted to carry on their work unmolested. While returning home he dived through a cloud to attack an enemy balloon near Chambley, bringing it down in flames. Two Fokker scouts then attacked him; and, although he was alone, with intrepid courage he attacked the first Fokker head on, shooting until it went down into a vertical dive out of control. Pulling up sharply, he fired a long burst at the second Fokker as it went over him, putting it to immediate flight.
    General Orders 71, W.D., 1919

    Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Oak Leaf Cluster
    The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Wilbert Wallace White, Second Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Toul, France, October 10, 1918. Lieutenant White was in command of a patrol of four planes, which was attacked by five German Fokkers. He attacked the enemy plane which was hard pressing a new pilot. The German Fokker had gotten at the tail of the American plane and was overtaking it. Lieutenant White's gun having jammed, he drove his plane head-on into the German Fokker, both crashing to earth, 500 meters below.
    General Orders 71, W.D., 1919

    French Croix de Guerre
    An exceedingly fine pilot whose courage and brilliant conduct have always been an example to his squadron. In the course of the July operations in 1918, he attacked balloons, forcing them to come down and fired his machine guns at troops on the ground in spite of violent machine gun fire. On 24 July [1918] he attacked alone two enemy planes and brought one down.

    The American Expeditionary Forces established the Second United States Army with U.S. General John J. Pershing selecting General Robert L. Bullard to command

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    Last edited by Hedeby; 10-11-2018 at 11:22.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  6. #3656

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    Have caught up again at last Many thanks guys - great stuff as always.

  7. #3657

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    11th October 1918


    One month to go ...

    Brigadier General Stuart Campbell Taylor DSO (93rd Brigade, 31st Division) dies of wounds received in action ten days prior at age 45. While on an inspection tour of his battalions he is seriously wounded in the head and body by shellfire. He took part in the operations on the North West Frontier in 1897-98 and fought in the South African War in the advance on Kimberley and actions at Belmont, Enslin, Modder River and Magersfontein.

    When with attacking troops northeast of Cambrai which come under heavy enfilade machine-gun fire from a neighboring village Lieutenant Wallace Lloyd Algie (Central Ontario Regiment) rushes forward with nine volunteers. He shoots the crew of an enemy machine gun, and, turning the machine on the enemy, enables his party to reach the village. He then rushes another machine gun, kills the crew, captures an officer and ten of the enemy and thereby clears the end of the village. Lieutenant Algie, having established his party, goes back for reinforcements, but is killed when leading them forward. For his valor and personal initiative in the face of intense fire and saving many lives and enabling the position to be held he will be awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously.

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    Algie was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 11 October 1918 north east of Cambrai, France, which also led to his death. At the time of his action, Algie was a 27-year-old lieutenant in the 20th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Lieutenant Algie was with attacking troops who came under heavy enfilade machine-gun fire from a neighbouring village.

    His citation in the London Gazette reads:

    For most conspicuous bravery and self-sacrifice on the 11th October, 1918, north-east of Cambrai, when with attacking troops which came under heavy enfilade machine-gun fire from a neighbouring village. Rushing forward with nine volunteers, he shot the crew of an enemy machine gun, and, turning it on the enemy, enabled his party to reach the village. He then rushed another machine gun, killed the crew. captured an officer and 10 enemy, and thereby cleared the end of the village. Lt. Algie, having established his party, went back for reinforcements, but was killed when leading them forward. His valour and personal initiative in the face of intense fire saved many lives and enabled the position to be held.

    EASTERN FRONT

    The Soviet Red Army established the 8th Rifle Division.

    The division was formed by an order of the Moscow Military District and was based on the 5th Moscow Infantry Division, 1st Infantry Division in Tula, 2nd Infantry Division in Tambov and the 5th Infantry Division in Kaluga.

    In September 1918 it was named the 8th Infantry Division. On 11 October 1918, it was renamed the 8th Rifle Division. The division received a number of awards between the 1920s and 1930s. On 8 December 1921 it was given the name "Minsk." On 29 February 1928 it was awarded the Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner on the 10th anniversary of the Red Army.

    On 26 July 1926 it was named "Dzerzhinsky," and in 1932 was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. A reference to being 'formed at Semipalatinsk prior to 1936' in Poirer and Connor's Red Army Order of Battle remains unconfirmed by Russian sources, suggesting that said rumours are indeed false. The unit's full title appears to have become the 8th Minsk Red Banner Order of Red Banner of Labor Dzerzhinsky Rifle Division.

    Brigade Commander Vladimir Kolpakchi took command of the unit in 1937. The division took part in the Polish Campaign as part of the 16th Rifle Corps, 11th Army. Brigade Commander Fursin(?) held command from December 1940 (1939?) to 4 February 1940. On 22 January 1940, it was part of the 13th Rifle Corps of the Northwestern Front during the Winter War, but had been shifted to the 23rd Rifle Corps by 31 January 1940. On 5 February 1940 Brigade Commander Fedor Dmitrievich Rubtsov took command. On 8 March 1940 it was part of the Northwestern Front's 15th Rifle Corps. On 27 April 1940 Colonel Nicholas I. Fomin took command from Rubtsov. On 22 June 1941, it was part of the 1st Rifle Corps, 10th Army, itself part of the Western Front.

    Major components at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa seem to have included the 151st, 229th, and 310th Rifle Regiments, the 62nd Light Artillery Regiment, the 117th Howitzer Artillery Regiment, and the 2nd Reconnaissance Company. During the Second World War it was part of the 'Operational Army' from 22 June 1941 to 4 July 1941. The division was stationed at Łomża. In accordance with the Western Special Military District covering plan, the division was to take up positions in the Osovetsky Fortified Region and along the 1939 state border with German-occupied Poland in the areas of Shchuchin, Brzozowo, Ptak, and Servatki.

    On the first day of the war the Division HQ came under aerial bombardment. On 23 June 1941 the Division held the front in the Ščučyn region as well. On 25 June 1941 the division conduct a withdrawal while the Białystok and, because the prisoners were rounded up. On 27 June 1941, at the headquarters of the front had no information not only about the division, but also on 10th Army, which included the division. By 1 July 1941 the division was still part of 1st Rifle Corps, but 1st Rifle Corps had been diverted directly to the Western Front. In early July, the division was destroyed in the Białystok area, as part of the German encirclement west of Minsk but unorganized resistance continued until the end of July. The division was officially disbanded on 19 September 1941.

    The division was ordered to reform in 1941. On 2 July 1941 the division reformed in the Krasnopresnensky District of Moscow, as the 8th Krasnopresnenskaya Peoples' Militia Rifle Division under the command of the Moscow Military District. The division contained an unusually large number of writers, musicians and historians; the writers were put together in the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion of the 24th Rifle Regiment, which became known as the "Writers' Company". By 10 July 1941, the regiments of the division had moved to the forest near Nicholas Urupino and Buzlanova. In late July, the division engaged in the fortification of defensive lines on the Mozhaysk line of defense. From at least 1 August 1941 to its destruction, the division was part of the 32nd Army, itself part of the Reserve Front. On 4 August 1941 the division took positions on the Rzhev-Vyazma line of defence, and from 30 August 1941, in positions on the eastern shore of the Dnieper River as well. On 24 August 1941 the formation was formally renamed the 8th Rifle Division. It included the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th Rifle Regiments. In October, in connection with the beginning of the German Operation Typhoon it moved to the east of Yelnya. The division entered combat on 4 October 1941, the next day, 5 October 1941, losing more than half of its personnel. On 6 October 1941 it was cut off from the main organs of the regiments. Some of the division's surviving fighters were able to join partisan units. While the division was effectively destroyed on 6–7 October 1941 it was not formally disbanded until 30 November 1941.

    The Third Formation of the 8th Rifle Division traces its origins to the 458th Rifle Division, which was formed in Semipalatinsk and Ayaguz in the Central Asian Military District on 25 December 1941. In early 1942 it was redesignated as the 8th Rifle Division. Its rifle regiments, using the same numbers as the first formation, were the 151st, 229th, and 310th. Its full name became the 8th Yampol Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division, after winning the honorific Yampol. On 1 April 1942 the division was part of the Stavka Reserve. By 1 July 1942 it had been assigned to the Bryansk Front's 42nd Army. By 1 October it was part of 13th Army, and stayed assigned to that formation On 1 July 1943 it was assigned to the Soviet Central Front's 13th Army, as part of the 15th Rifle Corps. It participated in the Voronezh-Kastornoye, Eastern Carpathians, and the Prague offensives, the Battle of Kursk, the crossing of the Dnieper and the Desna and Pripyat Rivers. It defended Mtsensk, participated in the liberation of Kromy, Nevel, Novgorod-Seversky, and Chernigov.

    WESTERN FRONT
    GERMANS forced by pressure on flanks into GENERAL WITHDRAWAL between rivers Oise and Meuse to Hunding*-Brunhild line.

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    Flanders*: German Army and Marine units hasten evacuation of coastal bases and defences (ships and aircraft leave, guns moving since October 7).
    Artois: 2nd Canadian Division (British First Army) capture Iwuy, northeast of Cambrai, before handing over to British XXII Corps; since August 26 Canadian Corps has gained 23 miles vs 31 German divisions in 47 days. For 30,806 casualties since August 22, Canadians have captured 18,585 PoWs, 371 guns and almost 2,000 MGs, liberating 116 square miles with 54 towns and villages.
    Champagne: French advance up to 6 miles on 37-mile front, have taken 21,500 PoWs and 600 guns since September 26, including Italian reoccupation of Chemin des Dames.

    SOUTHERN FRONTS

    Bulgaria: C-in-C General Gekov dismissed (had been on sick leave in Vienna).
    Albania*: Austrians evacuate Durazzo.

    AIR WAR

    Persia: 3 RAF RE8s attack Turk columns (2 lost, but 3 aircrew walk 120 miles to safety).

    The Royal Air Force established air squadron No. 156. No. 156 Squadron Royal Air Force was first formed on 12 October 1918 at RAF Wyton and equipped with DH 9 aircraft, but was disbanded on 9 December 1918 without becoming operational. The squadron reformed in February 1942 from the home echelon of 40 Squadron at RAF Alconbury, in the Huntingdonshire area of Cambridgeshire, as part of No. 3 Group RAF and was equipped with Wellingtons. In August 1942 it joined No. 8 Group RAF it became one of the original pathfinder squadrons, converting to Lancasters in January 1943. It continued in the pathfinder role until the end of the war, being based at RAF Warboys, RAF Upwood and finally its original founding base, RAF Wyton, where it disbanded on 25 September 1945.

    For the first time in many months (or is it years?) there are ZERO claims showing for today

    However there were still 29 British airmen lost on this day.

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    Captain Tunstill's Men: The weather, which had been generally good over the last few weeks, now became very wet, with periods of heavy rain.

    Pte. Joseph Blackburn (29722) (see 15th September), who had only returned from leave the previous day, was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance and 39th Casualty Clearing Station to 23rd Division Rest Station, suffering from scabies.

    Lt. John William Headings (see 26th September), the Battalion Quartermaster, who had been injured in an accident two weeks’ previously, and had been treated at 11th General Hospital in Genoa, was evacuated to England, travelling from Le Havre to Southampton. On arrival in England he would be admitted to 2nd Northern General Hospital, Beckett Park, Leeds.

    Pte. George Carter (see 5th July 1917), serving in France with 2nd/6th DWR was killed in action; he had previously served with 10DWR, but, in the absence of a surviving service record, the date and circumstances of his leaving 10DWR and being posted, via 8DWR, to his current battalion, are unknown. He would be buried at Wellington Cemetery, Rieux-en-Cambresis, north-east of Cambrai.

    L.Cpl. James Edward Simpson (see 28th January), serving in France with 2nd/7th DWR, was killed in action; he would be buried at Wellington Cemetery, Rieux-en-Cambresis, north-east of Cambrai.
    Pte. Harold Walker Bray (see 2nd May), serving in France with 1st/7th DWR, was wounded in action, suffering wounds to his left eye and right hand; the details of his treatment are unknown.
    L.Cpl. George Oversby (see 3rd June), serving in France with 1st/4th DWR, was wounded in action, suffering relatively minor wounds to his right hand and foot; he would be admitted to 22nd General Hospital in Camiers.
    Lt. Charles Archibald Milford (see 31st October 1917), relinquished his appointment as an assistant instructor with a British Military Mission (details unknown).

    A payment of Ł2 17s. 8d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late L.Cpl. Arthur Dyson MM (see 29th July), who had been officially missing in action since 17th October 1917; the payment would go to his father, William.

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    Last edited by Hedeby; 10-12-2018 at 05:12.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  8. #3658

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    The Attachment Fairy strikes again!

  9. #3659

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    Nice post keep up the good work.

  10. #3660

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rebel View Post
    The Attachment Fairy strikes again!
    Bugger !

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  11. #3661

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    12th October 1918

    In driving rain and sleet 22-year old Private Frank Lester (Lancashire Fusiliers) performs a deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. During clearing operations in the village of Neuvilly with a party of about seven men under an officer, he is the first to enter a house from the back door. He shoots two Germans as they attempted to get out by the front door. A minute later a fall of masonry blocks the door by which the party has entered. The only exit into the street is under fire at point-blank range. The street is also swept by fire of machine guns at close range. Observing that an enemy sniper is causing heavy casualties to a party in a house across the street Lester exclaims, “I’ll settle him” and dashing out into the street, shoots the sniper at close quarters, falling mortally wounded at the same time.

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    Lester was born on 18 February 1896 in Huyton, near Liverpool, to John and Ellen Lester, Prior to becoming a soldier, he was the organist at the Methodist chapel in Irby. He enlisted in the Army in March 1916 and was posted to the 10th Battalion of the South Lancashire Regiment. He was soon promoted to the rank of Sergeant Instructor, training recruits at Prees Heath, Shropshire and Kinmel Park, North Wales. In June 1917 he was transferred at his own request to the Lancashire Fusiliers and in December that year he was drafted to France with the 10th Battalion of that regiment. In going overseas he relinquished the rank of Sergeant Instructor and reverted to Private. In the winter of 1918, now promoted to corporal, he was wounded during the massive German offensive and was sent to Rouen for treatment. On leaving hospital he returned to England to await another posting. After some leave he was sent to Cromer, Norfolk and in September was sent back to the front in France.

    Lester was part of the British offensive which was steadily pushing the German front line back. They encountered stiff resistance, the Germans were determined to prevent a rout of the "impregnable" Hindenburg Line and fighting for survival. It was 12 October 1918, in driving rain and sleet, that the 22 year-old corporal in the 10th Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers performed a deed for which he was awarded the VC.

    For most conspicuous bravery and self-sacrifice during the clearing of the village of Neuvilly, on 12th October, 1918, when, with a party of about seven men under an officer, he was the first to enter a house from the back door, and shot 2 Germans as they attempted to get out by the front door. A minute later a fall of masonry blocked the door by which the party had entered. The only exit into the street was under fire at point-blank range. The street was also swept by fire of machine guns at close range. Observing that an enemy sniper was causing heavy casualties to a party in a house across the street, Pte. Lester exclaimed, " I'll settle him," and, dashing out into the street, shot the sniper at close quarters, falling mortally wounded at the same instant. This gallant man well knew it was certain death to go into the street, and the party opposite was faced with the alternative of crossing the fire-swept street or staying where it was and being shot one by one. To save their lives he sacrificed his own.

    — The London Gazette," No. 31067, dated 13 December 1918

    He is at buried in row B, grave 15 in Neuvilly Communal Cemetery Extension, France located 3 miles north of Le Cateau. He is also commemorated on the family memorial in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Hoylake, Wirral.He is also commemorated on the War Memorial in the graveyard of Thurstaton Parish Church. His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London.

    Troopship RMS Niagara returned to New Zealand, with future New Zealand prime ministers William Massey and Joseph Ward on board. Although it was carrying a number of people ill with influenza, it was not quarantined. Although later cited as the cause of the Spanish flu epidemic in the country, six persons had already died in the three days preceding the ship's arrival.

    The Imperial German Navy Airship Division flew its last combat mission.

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    Created in 1912 to exploit a new weapon: the rigid airship. The brainchild of Ferdinand von Zeppelin, these giant lighter-than-air craft served two purposes. The more valuable, though less colorful, task performed by airships was fleet reconnaissance. The long endurance of airships provided an uninterrupted aerial platform and a third dimension to naval operations, lengthening the range of view to unprecedented distances.

    The other mission was the bombing of England. This campaign, the obsession of Commander Peter Strasser, counts as history’s first attempt at strategic bombing. Results achieved were less than impressive, a final accounting documenting slightly more than Ł1.5 million in damage and minimal loss of life. The losses incurred and the expense of the Zeppelins led to their being abandoned as a primary weapon and replaced by large bombing aircraft. Zeppelins conducted almost 1,000 reconnaissance missions over the North Sea in support of the Imperial German Navy. A vital lesson that was not learned from the failure of the bombing—by both Zeppelins and aircraft—was that civilian morale rises to the occasion rather than breaking under attack. This hard lesson was learned a second time in the 1940 Battle of Britain.

    WESTERN FRONT
    Germany: Hindenburg warns troops that favourable armistice terms depend on.successful resitance. OHL sanctions Sixth Army retirement (begins early October 15). Mudra replaces O Below (recalled to Germany to organize home defence) in command of Seventeenth Army. Eberhardt takes over Mudra’s First Army.
    Meuse and Argonne: Pershing transfers First Army to Liggett.
    Artois: British First Army reaches Douai suburbs but is checked by German flooding.

    POLITICS

    Germany: Government accepts Wilson conditions (message of October 11 received on October 12).
    Luxembourg: Government begs Wilson to protect her rights.
    Britain: Government recognizes Polish National Army (in France) as an ally.

    HOME FRONTS
    USA: 11,724 Army flu cases in past 24 hours, total since September 13 are 234,868 (338,257 cases and c.17,000 deaths by December 1). Wilson attends Metropoli*tan Opera for Queen Margherita’s Fund for the Blinded Soldiers of Italy.
    Britain: Lloyd George given list of rebels and revolutionaries, includes Sylvia Pankhurst, GDH Cole and unions.
    Germany: Ex*-Interior Minister Delbruck replaces Berg as Kaiser’s civil cabinet chief.
    Austria: In Transylvania Rumanian National Party demands recognition as administration.

    AIR WAR

    There was just the one ace making a claim today - Leutnant Hans von Freden of Jasta 50 - who downed a French balloon over Orfeuil

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    There were however 26 British airmen lost today

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    Captain Tunstill's Men: Billets at Gambellara.

    Pte. William James Nunn (see 12th June) was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance and 9th Casualty Clearing Station to 62nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia; he was suffering from influenza.

    2Lt. Keith Sagar Bain (see 2nd October), who had suffered wounds to his right leg and buttock during the trench raid on 26th August, was posted back to England; he would travel from Le Havre to Southampton and on arrival would be admitted to 5th London General Hospital.

    Pte. Alfred Ambler was killed in action while serving in France with 1st/6th DWR; he would be buried at Wellington Cemetery, Rieux-en-Cambresis, north-east of Cambrai. He was 21 years old and from Bradford, where he had worked as a ‘doffer’. He had originally served with 10DWR, before being transferred, via 8DWR, to 1st/6thDWR; in the absence of a surviving service record the details of his service are unknown.

    Sgt. Richard Wharton, was killed in action while serving with 9DWR; he would originally be buried at Neuvilly British Cemetery no.2, but his remains would later be exhumed and re-interred at Selrdige British Cemetery, Montay, east of Cambrai. Richard Wharton was the younger brother of Sergt. Allan Wharton (see 17th August 1917), who had been one of Tunstill’s orginal volunteers but was now serving with the Northumberland Fusiliers. A third brother, Percy, had been missing, presumed dead, since September 1917.

    2Lt. Thomas Walsh (see 6th October), who had left 2DWR a week previously, having reported sick, suffering from “debility and general weakness”, was evacuated to England and on arrival would be admitted to 2nd Western General Hospital in Manchester.

    Trooper Claude Darwin (see 12th June), was admitted to hospital in Jerusalem, suffering from malaria. He was the brother of Tunstill recruit, Pte. Tom Darwin (see 2nd February), who had been discharged from the army.

    Pte. Walter Ralph (see 18th September), serving in England with 474th Agricultural Company, Labour Corps, based in York, was posted to the Yorks. and Lancs. Regimental Depot pending his formal transfer to the Labour Corps; his transfer would be completed ten days later. Walter Ralph was the elder brother of Pte. Kit Ralph (see 30th April 1917) who had been killed at Le Sars in October 1916.

    The weekly edition of the Keighley News reported on the wounding in France of Pte. Arthur Lindsay (see 29th September);

    Mrs. Lindsay of 101 Keighley Road, Cowling, has received information that her son, Private Arthur Lindsay of the West Riding Regiment, was wounded by a machine gun bullet in the left hand on September 29th and is in hospital at Halifax. Private Lindsay had only been four days up the line when he was wounded on returning from England, after suffering from pneumonia. He enlisted in September 1914 and was wounded at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. Previous to joining the forces he was employed as a warp twister by J. Binns and Sons Ltd, Croft Mills, Cowling. His father, Private Edward Lindsay, is in the Royal Air Force.

    ESCAPE FROM GERMANY

    Bandsman Arthur Metcalfe, of the Royal Munster Fusiliers, whose parents live at Walton Street, Cowling, on Thursday returned to Cowling after escaping from a German prison camp, where he had been a prisoner of war for over four years. Bandsman Metcalfe, whose home is at Bradford, served a term in the Regular Army, and, on being transferred to the Reserve, was employed for a time by Messrs. Harry Newman and Sons, Springwell Laundry, Cowling, afterwards joining the Bradford City Fire Brigade and subsequently the Bradford City Police Force. He left the police force to re-join his regiment on the outbreak of war, and was immediately drafted to France, being a member of the first Expeditionary Force. He took part in the first actions against the enemy, but had the misfortune to be taken prisoner at Mons. From Mons he was sent into Germany and while there was compelled to undergo treatment which caused him and two comrades to resolve to escape at the first opportunity. Eventually they got clear of the confines of the prison camp successfully, and in seven days and nights, swimming rivers and walking across country, they covered 115 miles and reached the Dutch frontier. Just as they were about to make the final dash across the frontier they found they were very near a sentry, a fact which was revealed to them by the man stamping his feet to keep warm. Eventually they passed the man within a distance of ten yards and reached freedom, very much exhausted. Though in fairly good health, Bandsman Metcalfe has suffered by his confinement and though always of slim build he has lost three stones in weight during his internment. He was greatly exhausted on his return but after a few hours at his home in Bradford he was able to pay a visit to his parents at Cowling.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  12. #3662

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    Back on Monday for my 3 day stint Chris. Well done on all the hard work to date and covering my absence earlier in the week.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  13. #3663

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    No probs Neil

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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    13th October 1918


    Second Lieutenant Joseph William Gould (York and Lancashire Regiment) is killed at age 31. His brother was killed in September 1915. The following Privates of the York and Lancashire Regiment are killed on this day having also lost their brothers earlier in the Great War.

    Thomas Daltry is killed at age 23. His seventeen-year old brother was killed last August.

    R J Cranfield is killed at age 19. His brother was killed in October 1916.
    Frederick Bennett is also killed at age 19. His brother was killed in July 1917.
    Lieutenant Claude Handley Trotter (Alberta Dragoons attached Royal Air Force) is accidentally killed while flying at night in Essex at age 23. He is the son of the Reverend Canon John Crawford Trotter. He was previously recommended for the Albert Medal for attempting to save his pilot’s life in an earlier crash.

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    Flight Sergeant Albert Edgar Warne AM (Royal Air Force) dies on service at home. He was awarded the Albert Medal for attempting to save life of a pilot who crashed in January of this year.

    WESTERN FRONT
    Aisne: French Tenth Army enters Laon (population 10,000) after 11-mile advance in 36 hours, presses north to river Serre, has taken 26,000 PoWs and 400 guns since August 17.
    Oise: *French First Army liberates La Fare.

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    EASTERN FRONT
    Siberia: Admiral Kolchak reaches Omsk.
    Finland: Government ask German troops to leave.

    MIDDLE EAST
    Syria: Yeomanry Regiment and armoured cars occupy Tripoli (19th Infantry Brigade arrives October 18, whole 7th Indian Division by October 28 having covered 270 miles since September 19).

    POLITICS
    Turkey: Young Turks resign; General Izzet Pasha (War Minister 1913-14) replaces Talaat and Enver Pasha.
    Greece: Venizelos arrives in London.
    The League of Free Nations Association and the League of Nations Society merged to form the League of Nations Union to promote a new system of international relations, human rights and world peace through disarmament


    HOME FRONTS

    Portugal: Government crushes Democrat military rising in Lisbon, Oporto and Coimbra (until October 14) with over 1000 arrests, but violent crime already rampant.
    The Republic of Zakopane was established in Zakopane, Galicia. Headed by president Stefan Żeromski, the government's primary goal was to push for a unified independent Poland

    The Republic of Zakopane (or Commonwealth of Zakopane; Polish: Rzeczpospolita Zakopiańska) refers to an area in Galicia centered on the city of Zakopane that created its own parliament ("National Organisation") on October 13, 1918. The parliament's principal goal was to join an independent state of Poland. On October 30, the Organisation officially declared its independence from Austria-Hungary and, two days later, made itself a "National Council". This was eventually disestablished on November 16 when the Polish Liquidation Committee took control of Galicia.

    The Republic's only president was the Polish writer Stefan Żeromski

    Harry Blanshard Wood, VC, MM (21 June 1882 – 15 August 1924) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross

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    Harry Wood was born 21 June 1882 in Newton on Derwent, Yorkshire, the son of John Wood, an agricultural labourer, and Maria Nichol Dey.

    At 37 years old, Harry was a corporal in the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards, British Army during the First World War when the deed for which he was awarded the VC took place. On 13 October 1918 at Saint-Python, France, when the advance was desperately opposed and the streets of the village were raked by fire, Corporal Wood's platoon sergeant was killed and he took command of the leading platoon. The River Selle had to be crossed and the ruined bridge gained, although the space in front of it was full of snipers, so the corporal carried a very large brick into the open space, lay down behind it and, firing continuously on the snipers, covered his men while they worked their way across. Later in the day he repeatedly drove off enemy counter-attacks.

    He later achieved the rank of Lance-Sergeant.

    His nerves were badly affected by his wartime experiences. He died 15 August 1924 whilst on holiday; he was walking with his wife when a car mounted the pavement and headed towards them. His wife pushed him out of the way but she was pinned against the wall. She suffered minor injuries but her husband was so shocked that he collapsed and fell into a coma from which he died several days later.[citation needed] He was buried at Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol, England, at Soldiers' Corner, grave number 1738.

    Citation: For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during operations at the village of St. Python, France, on 13 October 1918. The advance was desperately opposed by machine guns and the streets were raked by fire. His platoon sergeant was killed and command of the leading platoon fell to him. The task of the company was to clear the western side of the village and secure the crossing of the River Selle. Command of the ruined bridge had to be gained, though the space in front of it was covered by snipers. Corporal Wood boldly carried a large brick out into the open space, lay down behind it, and fired continually at these snipers, ordering his men to work across while he covered them by his fire. This he continued to do under heavy and well-aimed fire until the whole of his party had reached the objective point. He showed complete disregard for his personal safety, and his leadership throughout the day was of the highest order. Later, he drove off repeated enemy counter-attacks against his position. His gallant conduct and initiative shown, contributed largely to the success of the day's operations.

    Yet again there was just the one ace making a claim on this day

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    Leutnant Hans Christian Friedrich Donhauser of Jasta 17. On this day he shot down a Breguet 14

    As a two-seater pilot with FA 10, Christian Donhauser scored his first victory in May 1918. That summer he was posted to Jasta 17, scoring 18 more victories by the end of the war. He claimed he shot down Quentin Roosevelt. Donhauser was one of five Germans who delivered the first German planes to the allies at Coblenz after the signing of the armistice. Two weeks after he arrived at Coblenz, he was killed in a crash.

    23 British airmen were lost today, including

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    Captain Tunstill's Men:Billets at Gambellara.

    The Battalion marched 14 miles north-east, via Montebello Vicentino and Tavernelle, back to their former billets at Creazzo. Conditions for the march were very poor, with heavy rain for much of the day.

    Pte. Henry Grimshaw (see 10th September) was reported absent without leave at 9.40am and would remain absent until reporting himself to the Military Police at 11.30am on the 15th; he was also reported for ‘losing by neglect his rifle bayonet, scabbard, set of leather equipment and small box respirator”. He was ordered to undergo 28 days’ Field Punishment no.1 and to forfeit three days’ pay and pay for the lost equipment.

    Pte. Ernest William Gilbert (see 4th August) was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance and 9th Casualty Clearing Station to 62nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia; he had suffered an accidental injury to his left knee.

    Pte. Willie Davenport Frame (see 1st October) was transferred from 11th General Hospital in Genoa to the Convalescent Depot at Lido d’Albano.

    Pte. William Shirtcliffe Mallinson (see 5th October) was transferred from 23rd Division Rest Station, via 62nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia, to 57th General Hospital in Marseilles; he was being treated both for boils and “I.C.T.” (Inflammation of the connective tissue) to his left knee.

    Cpl. William Foulds (see 30th September), who had been at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley for the previous six weeks, was transferred to West Cliffe Auxiliary Hospital, Hythe.

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    Last edited by Hedeby; 10-13-2018 at 16:11.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  15. #3665

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    Thanks again guys - interesting reading

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    14th October 1918


    The Battle of Courtrai (also known as the Second Battle of Belgium (French: 2čme Bataille de Belgique) and the Battle of Roulers (French: Bataille de Roulers)) was one of a series of offensives in northern France and southern Belgium that took place in late September and October 1918.

    The Groupe d'Armées des Flandres (GAF) comprising twelve Belgian divisions, ten divisions of the British Second Army and six divisions of the French Sixth Army, under the command of King Albert I of Belgium, with the French General Jean Degoutte as Chief of Staff, defeated the German 4th Army in the Fifth Battle of Ypres (28 September – 2 October). The breaking of the Hindenburg Line further south, led the Allies to follow a strategy of pursuing the Germans for as long as possible, before movement was stopped by the winter rains. Mud and a collapse of the supply-system, had stopped the advance in early October but by the middle of the month, the GAF was ready to resume the offensive.

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    Liberation of Bruges - King Albert I of the Belgians with his wife, Queen Elisabeth enter Bruges on 25 October 1918 alongside Admiral Roger Keyes (far left) and the 1st Earl of Athlone (far right)

    The offensive began at 5:35 a.m. on 14 October, with an attack by the GAF from the Lys river at Comines northwards to Dixmude. The British creeping barrage advanced at a rate of 100 yards (91 m) per minute, much faster and much further than the practice in 1917, in expectation that there would be little resistance from German infantry. By the evening the British forces had reached high ground which dominated Werviq, Menin and Wevelghem in the south; further north the British captured Moorslede and closed up to Gulleghem and Steenbeek. Belgian troops on the left reached Iseghem, French troops surrounded Roulers and more Belgian troops captured Cortemarck. Roulers fell the next day and by 16 October, the British held the north bank of the Lys up to Harelbeke and had crossed the river at several points. By 17 October, Thourout, Ostend, Lille and Douai had been recaptured; Bruges and Zeebrugge fell by 19 October and the Dutch border was reached the following day. The crossing of the Lys and the capture of Courtrai by the British Second Army on 19 October, led to a German retreat on the front of the Fifth Army further south, which encircled Lille on 18 October. Next day the British were in Roubaix and Tourcoing and by the evening of 22 October, the British had reached the Scheldt from Valenciennes to Avelghem.

    A new offensive would be launched by the GAF on 30 October, which would be ended by the Armistice signed on 11 November. By the time the Armistice had been signed, the front was an average of 45 miles (72 km) east of the old front line and ran from Terneuzen to Ghent, along the River Scheldt to Ath and from there to Saint-Ghislain, where it joined with the BEF positions on the Somme.

    At the Canal de la Sensée near Aubencheul-au-Bac, Nord, France, Corporal James McPhie VC (Royal Engineers) is with a party of sappers maintaining a cork float bridge, which when our infantry starts to cross it just before dawn begins to break away and sink. Corporal McPhie jumps into the water and tries to hold the cork and timbers together but this proves impossible so he swims back and collects the materials for repair. Although it is daylight and the bridge is under close fire he then leads the way to the bridge, axe in hand. He is severely wounded and dies almost at once. For his actions he will be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

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    McPhie was 23 years old, and a corporal in the 416th (Edinburgh) Field Company, Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    On 14 October 1918 at the Canal de la Sensée near Aubencheul-au-Bac, Nord, France, Corporal McPhie was with a party of sappers maintaining a cork float bridge, which when our infantry started to cross it just before dawn began to break away and sink. Corporal McPhie jumped into the water and tried to hold the cork and timbers together but this proved impossible so he swam back and collected the materials for repair. Although it was daylight and the bridge was under close fire he then led the way to the bridge, axe in hand. He was severely wounded and died almost at once. However, the bridge was kept open and 1/2nd Battalion London Regiment were able to maintain their bridgehead on the opposite bank until relieved.

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    James Bulmer Johnson VC (31 December 1889 – 23 March 1943) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was a Second Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, The Northumberland Fusiliers, British Army, attached to 36th Battalion during the First World War and 28 years old when on 14 October 1918 south west of Wez Macquart, France, he performed the act for which he was awarded the VC.

    During operations by strong patrols, Second Lieutenant Johnson repelled frequent counter-attacks and for six hours, under heavy fire, he held back the enemy. When at length he was ordered to retire he was the last to leave the advanced position carrying a wounded man. Three times subsequently this officer returned and brought in badly wounded men under intense enemy machine-gun fire.

    After World War I, Johnson served in the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary. He died in Plymouth, Devon, in 1943 aged fifty-three, and was cremated at Efford Crematorium, Plymouth.

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    Martin Joseph Moffat VC (15 April 1882 – 5 January 1946) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross.

    Moffat first served in the Connaught Rangers and was 34 years old private in the 2nd Battalion, Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    On 14 October 1918 near Ledeghem, Belgium, Private Moffat was advancing with five others across the open when they suddenly came under heavy rifle fire at close range from a strongly held house. Rushing towards the house through a hail of bullets, Private Moffat threw bombs and then, working to the back of the house, rushed the door, killing two and capturing 30 of the enemy.

    He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Military Decoration by Belgium. His VC and other medals are on display at the Lord Ashcroft VC Gallery in the Imperial War Museum, London. Copies of his medals and a photograph are on display in Sligo County Museum, Stephen Street, Sligo.

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    John O'Neill VC MM (also spelt O'Niell) (10 February 1897 – 16 October 1942) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross.

    He was 21 years old, and a sergeant in the 2nd Battalion, Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    On 14 October 1918 near Moorsele, Belgium, when the advance of his company was checked by two machine-guns and an enemy field battery firing over open sights, Sergeant O'Neill, with 11 men only, charged the battery, capturing four field guns, two machine-guns and 16 prisoners. Again on the morning of 20 October with one man he rushed an enemy machine-gun position, routing about 100 and causing many casualties.

    He also served in the RAF as an Armourer Sergeant when he served alongside Lawrence of Arabia. In 1940 he was commissioned into the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps as a Lieutenant. defending Liverpool's docklands from air attack. John O'Neill died of a heart attack on 16 October 1942. He is buried in Trinity Road Cemetery, Hoylake, Wirral.

    Thomas "Tommy" Ricketts VC (April 15, 1901 – February 10, 1967) was a Newfoundland soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross. Ricketts is the youngest army recipient fighting in a combatant role.

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    Ricketts, who was 17 years old and a private in the 1st Battalion, Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War, performed the following on October 14, 1918 for which he was awarded the VC:

    During the advance from Ledgehem (Belgium) the attack was temporarily held up by heavy hostile fire, and the platoon to which he belonged suffered severe casualties from the fire of a battery at point blank range. Private Ricketts at once volunteered to go forward with his Section Commander and a Lewis gun to attempt to outflank the battery. They advanced by short rushes while subject to severe fire from enemy machine guns.

    When 300 yards away, their ammunition gave out. The enemy, seeing an opportunity to get their field guns away, began to bring up their gun teams. Private Ricketts at once realized the situation. He doubled back 100 yards, procured some ammunition and dashed back to the Lewis gun, and by very accurate fire drove the enemy and their gun teams into a farm. His platoon then advanced without casualties, and captured four field guns, four machine guns and eight prisoners. A fifth field gun was subsequently intercepted by fire and captured. By his presence of mind in anticipating the enemy intention and his utter disregard for personal safety, Private Ricketts secured the further supplies of ammunition which directly resulted in these important captures and undoubtedly saved many lives.

    King George V presented Ricketts with his VC at York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate on January 19, 1919. At the ceremony, the King reportedly stated: "This is the youngest VC in my army." General Dighton Probyn, one of the oldest living VC holders at the time, was also present at the investiture. While Ricketts is the youngest VC army recipient in a combatant role, he is not the youngest VC recipient. Hospital Apprentice Andrew Fitzgibbon and Drummer Thomas Flinn (who despite strictly being a non-combatant, received his VC for hand-to-hand combat during the Indian Mutiny), both aged 15, were awarded the VC in non-combatant roles. While Ricketts, Fitzgibbon and Flinn were all living VC recipients, Jack Cornwell of the Royal Navy was awarded the VC posthumously for his actions at the Battle of Jutland at age 16. Ricketts was also awarded France's Croix de Guerre with Golden Star in 1919.

    WESTERN FRONT
    Flanders – BATTLE OF COURTRAI (until October 19): BEF Second Army (16 divisions) and Franco*-Belgian troops renew offensive at 0530 hours vs German Fourth Army’ (16 divisions) between Dixmude and river Lys; 12,000 PoWs and 550 guns taken in 18-mile advance (until October 19). French with tanks take Roulers rail junction.
    Selle: German counter-attacks repulsed (and on October 16).
    Meuse and Argonne*: US First Army attacks Kriemhilde Line, 32nd Division storms Cote Dame Marie ridge.

    Major General Louis James Lipsett CMG General Officer Commanding 4th Division is killed in action at age 44. He becomes the last British General to be killed in the Great War when he is mortally wounded in the front of his own line, while engaged in a reconnaissance.

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    SEA WAR
    North Sea: British destroyers torpedo SS Brussels at Zeebrugge. 5 Royal Navy monitors (including 2 with all-time heaviest 18-inch naval guns) shell Snaeskerke German batteries for last time.
    Eastern Atlantic: Portuguese auxiliary gunboat Augusto de Castilho, hopelessly outgunned and escorting passenger ship (saved), sunk in gallant duel with U-139 (Arnauld) between Madeira and Azores.
    German submarine SM U-139 attacked two Portuguese naval trawlers near Azores and sunk one, killing six crew, before being hit and forced away. It was the only time a naval battle occurred in the mid-Atlantic during World War One

    POLITICS

    USA: Secretary of State Lansing answers Germany’s note from October 12 imposing further military conditions and will only deal with democratic government (Berlin receives October 15).
    Turkey: Armistice proposal note delivered at Washington by Spanish Ambassador.
    Britain: Government threatens reprisals if Germany does not redress PoW grievances within 4 weeks. Germany threatens reprisals on October 23. Mr Justice Youngers’ 1918 PoW Report published, reveals ill-treatment close to front line under British fire.
    France: Czech Provisional Government formed.

    NEUTRALS
    Spain: 7 German ships taken over in agreed compensation.

    AIR WAR


    Occupied Belgium: US Northern Bombing Group flies first raid (8 by October 27), 100t bombs dropped (until November 11). RAF drops over 2,000 bombs (40t) in Flanders offensive.

    Second Lieutenant James Herbert Grahame (Royal Air Force) when bombing Herseaux aerodrome, obtains two direct hits on a hangar, completely demolishing it. Four members of 29 Royal Air Force engage a large number of enemy scouts shooting down five, Lieutenant Henry Coyle Rath accounting for two of the victories. For this action he will be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, though he will be killed in a flying accident less than two weeks after this action.

    The first all-U.S. Marine Corps air combat action in history took place, with eight Airco aircraft bombing Pitthem, Belgium. German aircraft attacked the bombing squadron on the return flight, causing marine pilot Ralph Talbot and gunner Robert Guy Robinson to be separated from the rest of their unit. The two ran into a squadron of 12 German fighters but were able to hold them off during the resulting dogfight until Talbot was able to land at a Belgian hospital where Robinson was treated for wounds. The two both received the Medal of Honor for their exploit.

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    After surviving a major attempt on his life days earlier, Belgian flying ace Willy Coppens was wounded after shooting down a German observation balloon near Praatbos, Belgium. It was the last of his 37 victories, 34 of them observation balloons. He was forced to crash-land near Torhout, Belgium, but with the war ending four weeks later, he retained his title as the top-scoring "balloon buster.

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    Willy Omer François Jean Coppens de Houthulst joined the army in 1912 and served with the 2nd Grenadiers before he transferred to the Compagnie des Aviateurs in 1915. At his own expense, he and thirty nine other Belgians enrolled in a civilian flying school at Hendon, England. After additional training in France, Coppens began flying two-seaters in combat during 1916. The following year, he was assigned to single-seat fighters and soon became an expert at shooting down enemy observation balloons. After downing a balloon, Coppens would often perform aerial acrobatic displays above the enemy. On one occasion, the balloon he was attacking shot upward and Coppens actually landed his cobalt blue Hanriot HD.1 on top of it. Switching off his engine to protect the propeller, he waited until his aircraft slid off the top of the balloon, then restarted the engine and watched as the German balloon burst into flames and sank to the ground. On the morning of 14 October 1918, his days as a fighting pilot came to an end near Thourout in northwestern Belgium. Just as he began the attack that would culminate in his 37th victory, Coppens was hit in the left leg by an incendiary bullet. Despite a severed artery and intense pain, he shot down his target and managed to crash land within the safety of his own lines. His badly shattered leg had to be amputated. Nevertheless, Coppens set a parachute jump record in 1928, which he held until 1932, jumping from an altitude of about 19,700 feet. Before he retired from the army in 1940, Coppens served as a military attaché in France, Great Britain, Italy and Switzerland.

    The British Ace Captain John Edmund Greene DFC 213 Squadron RAF was killed on this day

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    John Edmund Greene joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916. Toward the end of 1917, he was posted to 13 Naval Squadron where he scored 15 victories flying the Sopwith Camel. Shot down by Carl Degelow on 4 October 1918, Greene survived but ten days later he was killed in action when he was shot down over the Belgian lines. His body was buried at the crash site.

    The Canadian ace Lieutenant Claude Melmot Wilson DFC, 29 Squadron RAF was also killed on this day.

    The son of C. K. Wilson of Vancouver, B.C., Claude Melnot Wilson served in an artillery regiment before he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in July 1917. He was posted to 29 Squadron on 4 May 1918 and scored 8 victories flying the S.E.5a. Wilson was killed in action when his aircraft was shot down east of Roulers by a Fokker D.VII.

    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
    Lieut. Claude Melnot Wilson. (FRANCE)
    Bold in attack, this officer never hesitates to join in an engagement with the enemy, regardless of their numerical superiority. On 18th August, with four other machines, he attacked a large hostile formation. Five enemy machines were destroyed, Lt. Wilson accounting for one. In all he has four machines and one balloon to his credit.

    The following claims were made on amuch busier day:

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    Top performance on the day was from Captain Francis Ryan Smith MC. DFC of the Australian Air Force (2AF) who shot down five enemy aircraft (all Fokker D.VIIs)whilst flying SE5a (6403) This was the action that won him his DFC.

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    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
    Lieut. (A./Capt.) Francis Ryan Smith, M.C. (Australian F.C.). (FRANCE)
    This officer combines high individual enterprise and determination with exceptionally able leadership. These qualities were conspicuous on 14th October, when, leading a patrol of five machines, he saw a formation of twelve Fokker biplanes above him. Relying on the co-operation of another higher formation of Bristol machines, he, deliberately manoeuvred his formation into a disadvantageous position in order that our higher patrol might be able to attack the enemy while the latter's attention was concentrated upon destroying his, Lt. Smith's, formation. The stratagem was entirely successful, with the result that two enemy machines were destroyed and two others were believed to crash. The Fokkers were then reinforced by eight more machines, and in the ensuing combat Lt. Smith shot down one in flames, his patrol destroying two others. We suffered no casualties.

    Smith was wounded on 8 July 1918. On 10 November 1918, he was shot down by ground fire behind German lines but wasn't captured.

    Another tough day for the RAF with 35 men lost, including...

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    and finally Captain Tunstill's Men: Billets at Creazzo.

    Starting out at 9.30pm, the Battalion marched ten miles north to Villaverla, where they were to board trains the following day for an onward journey. This was another wet march, with heavy rain for much of the day.

    Pte. George Allen Holroyd (see 1st July) was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance and 24th Casualty Clearing Station to 62nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia; he was suffering from diarrhoea.
    Pte. William Ryan (see 5th September) was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance and 24th Casualty Clearing Station to 62nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia; he was suffering from “P.U.O” (pyrexia, or high temperature, of unknown origin).
    Pte. Joseph Binns (19614) (see 31st August) was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance and 24th Casualty Clearing Station to 29th Stationary Hospital in Cremona; he was suffering from diarrhoea.
    Pte. Arthur Clarke (see 29th September), who was in England on two weeks’ leave, was admitted to East Leeds War Hospital; the nature of his illness is unknown.
    Sgt. Harry Clark (see 24th September), who had been serving with 6th (Reserve) Battalion, London Regiment at Blackdown, was transferred to 3DWR at North Shields.

    A pension award was made in the case of the late Pte. John Edward Scott (see 9th July) who had been killed in action on 25th March while serving with 2nd/7th DWR; his widow, Ethel, was awarded 20s. 5d. per week for herself and her son.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  17. #3667

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    Tuesday 15th October 1918

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    Armistice Countdown 27 days

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    Major Roland Edward Elcock VC, MM (5 June 1899 – 6 October 1944) was born on 5 June 1899, in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, and lived with his family at 52 Alma Street. He was the son of George and Fanny Elcock. He had three brothers (George, John and Joseph), and two sisters (Florence and Sarah). He attended Causeway Lake Infant and Junior School 1902 – 1913. He then became a clerk at the Labour Assembly Rooms, Queen Square.

    Keen to be a soldier, he enlisted at the age of 15 years and 4 months, joining the South Staffordshire Regiment, seeing service in Egypt. He left after two years and worked briefly at the Corporation Electricity Works in Commercial Road, Wolverhampton. When he reached 18 in June 1917, he rejoined the Army, being transferred to the Royal Scots.

    He first was awarded the Military Medal, before his heroic actions in France earned him the Victoria Cross. On 15th October 1918, south-east of Capelle-St. Catherine, France, Corporal Elcock was in charge of a Lewis gun team, and entirely on his own initiative he rushed his gun up to within 10 yards of enemy guns which were causing heavy casualties and holding up the advance. He put both guns out of action, capturing five prisoners and undoubtedly saved the whole attack from being held up. Later, near the River Lys, this NCO again attacked an enemy machine-gun and captured the crew.

    When an Express and Star journalist had the honour of conveying the news to Mrs Elcock that her son, Lance Corporal Roland Elcock, had just become the first and only Wolverhampton man to be awarded the Victoria Cross in World War One, she was “overjoyed at the good news”. However, it seems that the family had had some inkling of what was to come. In one of his recent letters home, he had written: “You ask me what I have been doing to get recommended again. Well, if I tell, you will fairly guess what I am going to get for it. So I will leave it till the decoration comes out. I am expecting the D.C.M., but, as rumours go in the battalion, I am in for the V.C. So I hope I get it.”

    On Elcock’s return to Wolverhampton, he was greeted at the High Level Station by thousands of citizens, including the Mayor and other civic dignitaries. Described by the Wolverhampton Chronicle on 5th February 1919 as “modesty personified”, he “did not wish to talk about one of the most remarkable exploits of the war. He was content to let the official record speak for itself.” The streets were lined with cheering and waving, and people shaking Elcock by the hand. In response to the civic reception, Elcock stated, “I thank you very much for the way you have welcomed me home. Wolverhampton is my home, and I appreciate it very much. But in winning this great distinction, I have only done my duty to my King and country.”

    He later achieved the rank of Major in the British Indian Army during World War II, dying at Dehra Dun, India, on 6th October 1944. He was buried in St Thomas’ Churchyard, Dehra Dun.

    His medal group comprising of the VC, MM, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal 1914-20, Victory Medal 1914-19, King George V Silver Jubilee Medal 1935 and King George VI Coronation Medal 1937 are held by the Royal Scots Museum, Edinburgh Castle, Scotland.

    (Ed Note: My father was in Dehra Dun with 1st Cameronians, The Scottish Rifles, in 1944. Searched for but cannot find if they were in the same barracks. The reason why I say this I have a funny story about my Dad (a Sgt at the time) being drunk and slightly incapable whilst gate crashing an officers mess party in Dehra Dun in 1944!)

    Today we lost: 1,107

    Today’s losses include:

    • A Baronet
    • Families that will lose two, three and four sons in the Great War
    • A Military Chaplain
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy


    Today’s highlighted casualties include:


    • Captain ‘Sir’ Walter Randolph FitzRoy Farquhar (Royal Field Artillery) the 5th Baronet is killed at age 40.
    • Cadet Claude Vivian Grigson (Cadet Wing – Royal Air Force) is accidentally killed at home at age 18. His two brothers have been previously killed in the Great War and they are sons of the Reverend William Suckforth Grigson Vicar of Pelynt.
    • Chaplain George Southey Pardoe dies on service in Jerusalem at age 41.
    • Gunner Herbert Colles Kennedy (Royal Field Artillery) dies at home of illness at age 19. He is the son of the Very Reverend Herbert Brownlow Kennedy Dean of Christ Church Dublin.
    • Sergeant William Shells (Durham Light Infantry) is killed at age 25. His brother was killed exactly six months ago.
    • Sapper James Henry Jarvis (Canadian Engineers) is killed at age 37. His four brothers are also killed in the War.


    Air Operations:


    General Headquarters:

    Tbc

    Royal Flying Corps casualties today:

    tbc

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today 19:

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    Other Losses:
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    Claims: 2 confirmed (Entente 2: Central Powers 0)

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    Home Fronts:


    Germany: Imperial Order subjects military to civil authority.
    1,500 Berliners die of flu.

    Austria:
    Hungarian Prime Minister Wekerle arrives in Vienna and gets manifesto exemption for Hungarian crown lands.

    Western Front:


    Germany:
    Since September 26, 43 German reserve divisions committed.

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    Front Line October 1918

    Flanders:
    British 34th Division return to take Menin, as to the south Second Army reaches and crosses river Lys and close on Courtrai (until October 16), Belgian 3rd Division also near to Thourout (October 16).

    British advance north-east of Lens.

    French advance along River Serre and in the Argonne.

    Eastern Front:


    Volga: Krasnov’s Don Cossack offensive threatens Tsaritsyn
    ; Vatsetis orders it not to be given up.

    Occupied Poland:
    Austrian Lublin Government agrees to give Poles eastern districts.

    Southern Front:


    Serbia:
    Serb First Army again in action with enemy including Austrian 30th Division (from Ukraine), pursues (until October 18). First Allied train reaches Veles.

    Tunstills Men Tuesday 15th October 1918:


    Villaverla.

    In the early hours the Battalion moved off as they were due to board trains at Villaverla at 3am and would travel through the day 57 miles east to Mogliano Veneto, between Venice and Treviso. In the event, there were a string of delays and difficulties, all of them compounded by relentless heavy rain. The journey took all day and the Battalion detrained at 4pm and would be billeted overnight in Mogliano Veneto.

    The Brigade War Diary noted that, “The whole of this move was extremely difficult and a great deal of discomfort was suffered by the troops owing to the trains running late and the continued wet weather”. Pte. Harold Charnock (see 12th September) was more personally involved and remembered, “It was a very dark night with almost tropical rain and a strong north-easterly wind. Everyone was wet through. After some hours the train moved off and late in the afternoon arrived at Mogliano between Mestre and Treviso where we detrained. Here we found we had a fairly long march before us so the CO decided to billet there”.

    2Lt. Bernard Garside (see 30th August) remembered the rigours of the day in greater detail, “The first disaster was that our Italian guide lost his way and took us the long way round. Presently rain began – very hard - and soon the full kit carried grew very heavy. We plodded on and on. After what seemed ages, the column entered a long road leading to the station (at Villaverla). We walked, dead tired, and, by an oversight, no order to down packs came. The men stood, now sullen, weighed down, soaked and very tired. Presently, with a crash and a rattle, a man not far from my platoon went down. Before long we heard another. The men began to mutter when, fortunately, the order came to take off equipment. Then we sat there, by now very humpy, cold and thirsty. Then came the order to the rear for the cookers with hot tea to come up to the Company. The first cooker ditched and so narrow was the road the others could not pass. So more time went taking the dixies up by hand. But at last warm tea was served out and the British Tommy, bless his heart, gradually grew cheerful again.

    After a long wait for trucks and carriages we began to entrain. 40 men in each truck (closed) and seven or eight officers squashed in a carriage. Presently we were all steaming hard and I took off my boots and emptied I don’t know how much water out. We travelled like that for eight hours I should think. But in the end came at a little town (Mogliano-Veneto) where we detrained and were allotted billets for our men. We each saw our platoons in and then set out to check billets for ourselves – homes were provided. At long last an American YMCA took pity on us and gave us a meal, took our clothes to dry and we went to bed, naked”.

    A/L.Cpl. Robert William Gough (see 4th September) was confirmed in his rank.

    A/Cpl. Ralph Pocock Crease (see 28th September) was posted back to England as a candidate for a commission; after having two weeks’ leave he would report to no.2 Reception Battalion at Larkhill in Wiltshire.

    Pte. James Henry Innes (see 3rd September) was discharged from 11th General Hospital in Genoa and posted to the Convalescent Depot at Lido d’Albano.

    Pte. Frederick George Westlake (see 24th September), who had suffered an accidental gunshot wound to his right foot on 25th August, was transferred from 62nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia to 57th General Hospital in Marseilles.

    L.Cpl. Frank Mallinson MM (see 29th September), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was reported absent from barracks at 11.30pm and would not return until 5.30am the following morning; he would be admonished but incur no further punishment.

    Asiatic, African, Egyptian Front:

    British enter Homs (Syria).
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    Light Horsemen of the Australian Mounted Division in the bazaar at Homs

    Naval Operations:

    Salonika:
    Milne and Royal Navy C-in-C Mediterranean Admiral Calthorpe discuss combined operations vs Turkey.

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    Submarine J6

    The submarine J6 (Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Warburton) is lying on the surface outside Blyth.

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    Blyth Docks WW1

    The Q-ship Cymric is in the area and has already encountered two British submarines this day. At 16:00 a third submarine is spotted closing to have what Cymric thinks is a good look before attacking. The Cymric at once goes to action stations believing the submarine to be the German U-boat U-6. As shells pour into the submarine the signalman attempts to hoist a recognition signal but is killed. J6 attempts to lose the Q-ship by entering a fog bank but Cymric follows and finds the submarine settling in the water. It is only when survivors are picked up that the mistake becomes clear. Sixteen of her crew are killed.

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    Political:


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

    Two Committees on Indian reform announced.

    Anniversary Events:


    1529 Ottoman armies under Suleiman end their siege of Vienna and head back to Belgrade.
    1582 The Gregorian (or New World) calendar is adopted in Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal; and the preceding ten days are lost to history.
    1783 Francois Pilatre de Rozier makes the first manned flight in a hot air balloon. The first flight was let out to 82 feet, but over the next few days the altitude increased up to 6,500 feet.
    1813 During the land defeat of the British on the Thames River in Canada, the Indian chief Tecumseh, now a brigadier general with the British Army (War of 1812), is killed.
    1863 For the second time, the Confederate submarine H L Hunley sinks during a practice dive in Charleston Harbor, this time drowning its inventor along with seven crew members.
    1878 Thomas A. Edison founds the Edison Electric Light Co.
    1880 Victorio, feared leader of the Minbreno Apache, is killed by Mexican troops in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico.
    1892 An attempt to rob two banks in Coffeyville, Kan., ends in disaster for the Dalton Gang as four of the five outlaws are killed and Emmet Dalton is seriously wounded.
    1894 Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, is arrested for betraying military secrets to Germany.
    1914 Congress passes the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, which labor leader Samuel Gompers calls "labor's charter of freedom." The act exempts unions from anti-trust laws; strikes, picketing and boycotting become legal; corporate interlocking directorates become illegal, as does setting prices which would effect a monopoly.
    1917 Mata Hari, a Paris dancer, is executed by the French after being convicted of passing military secrets to the Germans.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 10-15-2018 at 12:48.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  18. #3668

  19. #3669

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    Only 26 days to buy my poppy then.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  20. #3670

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    Wednesday 16th October 1918

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    Armistice Countdown 26 days

    Today we lost: 1,114


    Today’s losses include:


    • A Victoria Cross winner
    • A school headmaster
    • A man whose mother and son were killed in the Lusitania sinking
    • Families that will lose two, three and five sons in the Great War
    • The son of a General
    • An educator
    • The son of a member of the clergy

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    • Captain John Francis Leather (Army Service Corps attached King’s Shropshire Light Infantry) dies of pneumonia at age 24. He was the Head of Repton School and a Domus Exhibitioner of Balliol College.
    • Captain Peter Handcock Broughton-Adderley MC (Scots Guards) dies of wounds received the previous day at age 27. He is the son of ‘the Honorable’ F M Broughton-Adderley.
    • Captain Francis Chalton Stephens (Quebec Regiment) dies at home of influenza at age 30. He is the son of the Canadian Liberal politician the Honorable George Washington Stephens Sr and his mother and son were killed in the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.
    • Lieutenant Charles William Tomkinson (Cheshire Regiment) dies at home at age 25. His brother will be accidentally killed next month just before the armistice.
    • Lieutenant Richard Henry Charles Ewart (Black Watch) is killed in action at age 26. His is the son of Major General ‘Sir’ R H Ewart.
    • Lieutenant James Melville Dewar (Black Watch) is killed in action at age 28. He is an English teacher at George Heriots School, Edinburgh.
    • Second Lieutenant Owen James Butler (Norfolk Regiment) is killed at age 20. His brother was killed in June 1916.
    • Cadet James Scott Garden (Royal Air Force) becomes the last of three brothers to be killed in the Great War and the second to die in an aircraft accident when he crashes in Canada at age 23.
    • Corporal John McNamara VC (East Surrey Regiment) is killed in action at age 30. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 3rd September of this year.
    • Private Victor Albert Brown (South Staffordshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 21. His brother was killed in April of this year.
    • Private Herbert Newnham (East Surrey Regiment) is killed in action at age 20. His brother was killed in the sinking of HMT Arcadian in April 1917.
    • Private George H Harman (Army Service Corps) dies on service in Mesopotamia. His four brothers have lost their lives in the last two and a half years.
    • Gunner Edwin Borwick Schofield (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 34. He is the son of the Reverend Daniel Schofield Vicar of Stalmine.


    Air Operations:


    Middle East:


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    Hand coloured photo of a Bristol F.2B Fighter of No.1 Squadron Australian Flying Corps flown by Ross Smith in Palestine, February 1918.

    Bristol Fighters of No.1 Squadron moved their base forward from Ramieh to Haifa and by mid October were required to patrol and reconnoitre an exceptionally wide area of country, sometimes between 500 and 600 miles (800 and 970 km), flying over Rayak, Homs, Beirut, Tripoli, Hama, Aleppo, Killis and Alexandretta in support of the pursuit by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade and the armoured cars of Desert Mounted Corps.

    They conducted aerial reconnaissances and bombing raids, bombing the German aerodromes at Rayak on 2 October where 32 German machines, were seen three hours later by two Bristol Fighters to have been abandoned or burnt. On 9 October five Bristol Fighters attacked with bombs and machine–guns, troops getting on trains at Homs railway station. A similar attack took place on 16 October when trains at Hama station were the target.

    General Headquarters:

    Tbc

    Royal Flying Corps casualties today:

    tbc

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today 30, of which the following 19 are recorded:

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    Other Losses:
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    Claims: 1 confirmed (Entente 1: Central Powers 0)


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    Western Front:

    Flanders: Last German shelling of Dunkirk by long-range gun. Corporal A. Hitler (16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment) wounded by BEF gas shell (evacuated half-blinded to Pasewalk hospital, Pomerania).

    Flanders army advances, taking part of Courtrai, etc.

    Aisne: FRENCH TROOPS (Gouraud) CROSS RIVER, storming Vouziers heights and capturing Grandpre.

    Meuse: AEF BREAKS THROUGH KRIEMHILDE LINES in fierce attacks (October 16, 17 and 18). German coy commander writes home ‘… a quick end is to be hoped for, there is nothing more to be saved’.

    Artois: OHL orders Sixth and Seventeenth Armies to retreat into Hermann line.

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

    Americans enter Grand Pre after hard fight.

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    American Mk V Tanks attacking German trenches.

    Strong German counter-attack on River Selle. Lance Corporal Jack Denoon, 2/Lt. Douglas Keep, Corporal John McNamara, VC, and their comrades were killed at Haussy, on the Selle, 100 years ago today, serving with 9th Battalion East Surrey Regiment, 24th Division. Their early morning attack secured the village and nearly 300 prisoners. Unfortunately, a massive German bombardment and counterattack followed.

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    British Fourth Army Headquarters established in a camouflaged railway train at Montigny Farm

    The Fourth Army was reformed in early 1918—once again under Rawlinson—following the virtual destruction and subsequent disbanding of the Fifth Army during the German offensive known as Operation Michael.

    The Fourth Army spearheaded the British Hundred Days offensive that began with the Battle of Amiens and ended with the Armistice in November, 1918.

    In September 1918 the Army was the only British force reinforced with two substantial American (AEF) divisions, the 27th Infantry Division and
    30th Infantry Division.

    Eastern Front:

    M. Lenin again wounded.

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

    Southern Front:


    Greece cleared of Bulgarians; Proclamation issued.

    Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro. Allies forces liberated Durres, Albania.

    Tunstills Men Wednesday 16th October 1918:


    Billets in Mogliano Veneto.

    The Battalion marched ten miles west, via Martellago and Robegano to billets in the Noale area; two companies would be billeted in Noale itself and the other two a little further south in the village of Stigliano.

    Pte. Victor Alexander Wildman (see 25th August) was reported by L.Cpl. Arthur Whincup (see 26thAugust), Cpl. Thomas Mann (see 17th December 1917) and CQMS Hubert Charles Hoyle (see 21st July) for “hesitating to obey an order; ie hesitating to roll blankets when ordered to do so”; on the orders ofLt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge DSO (see 13th September) he would undergo 14 days’ Field Punishment no.2.
    Pte. Sam Sunderland (see 7th August 1917) suffered a minor injury to the little finger of his left hand when pricking it on an acacia thorn; he was treated at the Regimental Aid Post and returned to duty.

    Pte. Joseph Barber Taylor (see 18th August) was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance and 9th Casualty Clearing Station to 29th Stationary Hospital in Cremona; he was suffering from “I.C.T.” (Inflammation of the connective tissue) to his left buttock.

    L.Cpl. John Lamb Watt (see 1st July) was posted from the Base Depot at Arquata Scrivia for duty (details unknown) at Tortona, north of Genoa.

    Pte. Frederick Thorn (see 3rd October), serving as an officer’s servant at XIV Corps reinforcement camp, was discharged from 9th Casualty Clearing Station and returned to duty.

    Lt. Andrew Aaron Jackson (see 24th September), who had suffered wounds to his right shoulder during the trench raid on 26th August, and was currently under treatment at Lady Cooper’s Hospital, Hursley Park, Winchester, wrote to the War Office to make his application for a wound gratuity.

    A payment of Ł4 18s. 6d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Cpl.John Henry Hitchin (see 8th February), who had been killed in the sinking of the troopship HMS Aragon in December 1917; the payment would go to his father, John.

    A payment of Ł7 16s. 11d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Cpl.Edward Woffindale (see 20th September 1917), who had been officially missing in action since 20thSeptember 1917; the payment would go to his father, Henry.

    Asiatic, African, Egyptian Front:


    Armenian General Andranik harassing Turkish communications about Erivan (Russian Armenia).

    British forces pursue enemy towards Haritan, occupy Homs.

    On 16 October, the 4th Cavalry Division arrived at Baalbek on the plain between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains, where the days were hot and the nights cool. Here was found a good supply of water and tibben (bhoosa), but the division was "immobilised by losses through sickness" when a particularly virulent epidemic of malaria (malignant tertian) and influenza suddenly broke out. The division evacuated almost 80 per cent of the troopers; 3,600 were sick of whom 400 died. Allenby and Chauvel spent some days visiting the troopers while the division was at Ba'albek with a brigade at Lebwe. According to Maunsell, "the Middlesex Yeomanry were down to twenty-six officers and men, while Jacob's Horse had an average of twenty-five men per squadron only. The difficulty of looking after the horses can be imagined and we had to have numbers of Turk prisoners to help."

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    The 5th Cavalry Division had not been so badly affected by sickness and was able to continue the pursuit as it had garrisoned Afulah and Nazareth well away from the mosquito infested areas along the Jordan River. Nor were they involved in the fighting at Jisr Benat Yakub, when they were in reserve to the Australian Mounted Division. Allenby now ordered the 5th Cavalry Division to advance to Homs while the 4th Cavalry Division, which barely had enough men to carry out normal camp duties, remained to garrison the Zahle-Rayak-Baalbek area.

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    Model T Ford Utility manned by Australian soldiers and armed with Vickers .303 machine gun mounted on a tripod

    The 5th Cavalry Division was organised into two columns for the pursuit to Homs. The leading column consisted of the 13th Cavalry Brigade commanded by Brigadier General G. A. Weir (who succeeded P. J. V. Kelly), "B" Battery HAC and armoured cars, with the remainder of the division in the rear column, a day's march behind. Chauvel ordered them to advance up the Nahr el Litani valley between the Lebanon and Anti Lebanon mountain ranges, while 1,500 regular Hejaz soldiers commanded by Nuri Bey part of the Sharif of Mecca's Sherifial Force commanded by Prince Feisal, covered the cavalry's right flank by advancing north along the main Damascus to Homs road. The leading column of the cavalry reached Lebwe on 13 October, El Qa'a on 14 October and El Quseir on 15 October a total of 44 miles (71 km) passing through the fertile plain of the Nahr el Litani valley where bread, meat and grain was easily requisitioned at each place.

    The Fourth Army commanded by Djemal Kuchuk had been ordered to form a rearguard to hold Homs for as long as possible, while von Oppen's Asia Corps (formerly part of the Eighth Army) continued on to Aleppo where Mustapha Kemal and the remnants of his Seventh Army were preparing defenses. On 16 October the headquarters of the Fourth Army at Homs was encircled and captured although it had been reported for some days that Homs had been evacuated.

    The armoured cars, 13th Cavalry Brigade and Nuri Bey's Sherifial Force arrived in the city of 70,000 with its crusader castle, on 16 October. By then the 7th (Meerut) Division had captured Beirut and Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast, anticipated rearguards from fresh Ottoman reinforcements had not been encountered and the RAF reported Hama, 27 miles (43 km) north of Homs, unoccupied.

    Naval Operations:

    North Sea: Royal Navy submarine L12 sinks U-90 in Skagerrak, all 38 crew are lost; G2 likewise dispatches sinks U-78 on October 28.

    Germany:
    Fast light cruiser Frauenlob II launched at Kiel.

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    SMS Frauenlob (I) sunk during the Battle of Jutland 1916.

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    Political:

    Peace demonstrations in Berlin; public opinion much disturbed.

    Manifesto by Emperor Karl granting autonomy to Yugo-Slavs. Austria: Emperor Charles’ ‘Peoples’ Manifesto’
    proclaims federations with six self-governing nationalities, but Transylvania to remain Hungary’s, and Austrian Prime Minister denounces.

    Emperor Karl’s proclamation:
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    Despite Austria-Hungary’s military successes in 1917, the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918 was unavoidable. Not only the Polish, Czech and South Slav population, but also Hungary and other states, made clear they wanted to go their own political ways. With this document, the People’s Manifesto, Emperor Karl I clears the way for these efforts, while ensuring they remained under the roof of the House of Habsburg.

    In this proclamation Emperor Karl I declares that he has wanted to achieve peace since his accession to the throne. The ‘fatherland’ is now standing at a threshold and has to be rebuilt. He wants to meet ‘the needs of the Austrian people’. Austria is to become a federal state and there is nothing preventing the ‘unification of Polish lands’. The city of Trieste and its territory will receive special status. Every single national state will be ensured its independence. The government was now commissioned to begin the reconstruction of Austria. The work of peace was set to begin, which would bring ‘happiness to all His people’. It was the last desperate attempt to save the Crown.
    Row in Hungarian Parliament.

    Anniversary Events:

    1555 The Protestant martyrs Bishop Hugh Latimer and Bishop Nicholas Ridley are burned at the stake for heresy in England.
    1701 Yale University is founded as The Collegiate School of Kilingworth, Connecticut by Congregationalists who consider Harvard too liberal.
    1793 Queen Marie Antoinette is beheaded by guillotine during the French Revolution.
    1846 Ether was first administered in public at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston by Dr. William Thomas Green Morton during an operation performed by Dr. John Collins Warren.
    1859 Abolitionist John Brown, with 21 men, seizes the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry, Va. U.S. Marines capture the raiders, killing several. John Brown is later hanged in Virginia for treason.
    1901 President Theodore Roosevelt incites controversy by inviting black leader Booker T. Washington to the White House.
    1908 The first airplane flight in England is made at Farnsborough, by Samuel Cody, a U.S. citizen.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 10-16-2018 at 15:23.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  21. #3671

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    Thursday 17th October 1918

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    Armistice Countdown 25 days

    Today we lost: 1,114


    Today’s losses include:


    • A South African cricket international
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • The daughter of a member of the clergy
    • A family that will lose two sons and a daughter
    • Multiple families that will lose two, three and four sons in the Great War
    • A nephew of the Vice General of the Isle of Man
    • The son of a Baronet

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    • Major Leonard Montague Greenwood DSO (Durham Light Infantry) is killed in action at age 25. He is the son of the Reverend T Greenwood.
    • Captain Joshua Bower Hughes-Games MC (Durham Light Infantry) dies of pneumonia at home at age 30. He was seriously wounded on 1st October 1916 and spent 20 months in hospital prior to being discharged in July of this year. He is the son of the late Reverend Joshua H Wynn Hughes-Games and nephew of the Vice General of the Isle of Man. His brother was killed in March of this year.
    • Captain and Dental Surgeon Lawrence Charles Crockett (Royal Army Medical Corps) dies at home at age 37. His brother was killed in August 1916 and they are sons of ‘Sir’ James Crockett Kt.
    • Lieutenant Charles Wilfred Kidson (Dublin Fusiliers) is killed at age 24. He is the son of the Reverend Joseph Charles Eyre Kidson of Holy Trinity Church Sittingbourne.
    • Lieutenant Charles Leonard Davey (Machine Gun Corps) is killed. His brother will die on service in December.
    • Lieutenant Gordon Charles White (Cape Corps South African Forces) dies of wounds in Gaza at age 36. He was a South African cricketer who played in 17 Test matches from 1906 to 1912.
    • Lieutenant George William Edendale Whitehead (Royal Field Artillery attached Royal Air Force) is killed at age 23. His brother will die on service of influenza in March 1919. They are sons of ‘Sir’ George Hugh Whitehead 2nd Baronet and grandson of ‘Sir’ James Whitehead Baronet and ‘Sir’ William Ascroft.
    • Second Lieutenant Edward Crewdson Pitt Pitts (East Kent Regiment) is killed in action at age 26. His brother was killed in August of this year.
    • Second Lieutenant Lionel William Halse (Gloucestershire Regiment) dies of wounds received in action at age 24. He is the son of the Reverend William Halse Vicar of Holy Trinity Bridlington.
    • Second Lieutenant Oliver Charles Ballard (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 26. He is the last of three brothers who are killed in a year.
    • Flight Cadet Spencer Harold Millard (Royal Air Force) is accidentally killed at age 18. He is the son of the Reverend Frederick Luke Holland Millard Vicar of St Aidan’s Carlisle.
    • Sergeant J H Douglas (Seaforth Highlanders) becomes the last of four brothers do lose his life in the Great War when he dies at home.
    • Sapper John Robert Hall (Royal Engineers) dies in Antwerp as a prisoner of war. He is one of three brothers who served, two of whom fell.
    • Private William Godson (Sherwood Foresters) is killed at age 26. His brother was killed in July 1915.
    • Trooper Bernard Guthrie Whishaw (New Zealand Mounted Machine Gun Squadron) dies on service in Egypt at age 26. His brother was killed in July 1916 while his sister will die on service next month.
    • Private Allen Victor Sallis (Shropshire Light Infantry) is killed at age 19 becoming the first of two brothers who are both killed in the last month of the war.
    • Staff Nurse Annie Elinor Buckler (Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service) dies on service at age 43. She is the daughter of the Reverend John Findlay Buckler rector of Bidston Cheshire.


    Air Operations:


    Western Front: Rain and mist restricts flying (until October 27) and aids retreating Germans.
    RAF pilots land at Ghistelles, Ghent and in Ostend market square, just as Germans leave.

    General Headquarters:

    Tbc

    Royal Flying Corps casualties today:

    tbc

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today 20:

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    Claims:1 confirmed (Entente 1: Central Powers 0)


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    Flanders: Belgians reoccupy Ostend by land, their King and Queen and Sir R. Keyes by sea; Cavalry at gates of Bruges. British Second Army reach Tourcoing outskirts. Allied advance since October 14 has turned Lille defences, BEF FIFTH ARMY (57th Division) OCCUPIES LlLLE without firing a shot (Clemenceau visits on October 20).

    Selle – Battle of the Selle (until October 25): BEF Fourth, Third and First Armies (8th Division occupies Douai and Canadians cross Sensee Canal) and US II Corps assault Hermann position at 0530 hours on 10-mile front south from Le Cateau (captured) and line 3 miles to east on October 18 with 5,000 pow and 60 guns.

    Germany – Full Cabinet: LUDENDORFF DEMANDS A FIGHT TO THE FINISH denounces Wilson’s second Note and declares ‘… on my conscience a breakthrough [by Allies] is unlikely’; in 4 weeks campaigning season will be over; that, provided with promised reinforcements he can retire to Antwerp-Meuse Line, to resume in spring 1919. If necessary, Belgium must again become a battleground ‘so that 1914 will be child’s play compared to it’. Ludendorff, interrogated by Imperial Chancellor, calls situation grave but not hopeless (‘perhaps Germany’s luck may return’). War Minister Scheuch says c.600,000 reinforcements raisable but warns that if Rumanian oil … is cut off Army (and Air Force) can only continue operations for another 6 weeks.

    Britain: King George V becomes Col-in-Chief, Tank Corps.

    Americans fight west of Grand Pre.

    Eastern Front:

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

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    Hungarian soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army in leisurely occupation of a road junction in Prague in October 1918. The Habsburg empire meekly conceded nationalist demands.

    Southern Front:


    Franco-Serbs occupy Knyazhevats and Krushevats.

    Montenegrins rise against Austrians.

    French capture Ipek.

    Over half of Serbia cleared of enemy.

    Tunstills Men Thursday 17th October 1918:


    Billets in Noale and Stigliano.

    Major General Sir James Melville Babington, who had commanded 23rd Division since its creation, left the Division to take command of XIV Corps. He was temporarily replaced by Brigadier General J. Byron.

    Pte. John William Procter (see 24th September) re-joined the Battalion from the Base Depot at Arquata Scrivia.

    Ptes. Joseph Barnes (see 4th August) and Albert Edward Victor Harris (see 9th June) were both admitted to 69th Field Ambulance suffering from “I.C.T.” (Inflammation of the connective tissue). In Barnes’ case to his feet, and for Harris to his knee; both would be treated for a week before returning to duty.

    Pte. John Charles Clarke (see 9th July) was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance and 9th Casualty Clearing Station to 11th General Hospital in Genoa, suffering from influenza.

    Cpl. Mark Butler (see 1st October) was posted from the Convalescent Depot at Lido d’Albano to the Base Depot at Arquata Scrivia.

    Pte. James Young McDonald (see 16th March), serving in France with 5DWR, was reported wounded, suffering from gas poisoning; he would be evacuated to England eight days later, but the details of his treatment are unknown.

    A further medical report on the condition of Pte. Walter Eary (see 5th October), who was being treated for a laryngeal tumour at Queen Mary’s Military Hospital, Whalley, Lancs., noted that “larynx involved; will probably require tracheotomy later”.

    Pte. Albert Drake (see 10th November 1917), who had been in England for almost a year after suffering from ‘neurasthnia’ (shell shock), was posted to 3DWR at North Shields.

    A payment of Ł5 7s. 6d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late L.Cpl.Leonard Mustill (see 23rd June), who had died of wounds on 23rd June; the payment would go to his mother, Mary Ann.

    Asiatic, African, Egyptian Front:


    Tigris railway extended by British beyond Tekrit.

    Naval Operations:


    North Sea: German Navy evacuates Ostend, Zeebrugge and Bruges
    , abandoning 9 coastal torpedo boats.

    Mediterranean:
    Austrian U-boats ordered home.

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    Political:


    British Government recognises Polish Army as autonomous.

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

    Bolshevik-German correspondence published in Washington.

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

    Austria: Czechs proclaim Republic at Prague
    (Council in Paris declares formal independence on October 18); Hungarian Parliament declares independence except for Crown as figurehead.

    Germany:
    Kaiser, Ludendorff and Prince Max confer on reply to US note.

    Anniversary Events:

    1244 The Sixth Crusade ends when an Egyptian-Khwarismian force almost annihilates the Frankish army at Gaza.
    1529 Henry VIII of England strips Thomas Wolsey of his office for failing to secure an annulment of his marriage.
    1346 English forces defeat the Scots under David II during the Battle of Neville's Cross, Scotland.
    1691 Maine and Plymouth are incorporated in Massachusetts.
    1777 British Maj. Gen. John Burgoyne surrenders 5,000 men at Saratoga, N.Y.
    1815 Napoleon Bonaparte arrives at the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he has been banished by the Allies.
    1849 Composer and pianist Frederic Chopin dies in Paris of tuberculosis at the age of 39.
    1863 General Ulysses S. Grant is named overall Union Commander of the West.
    1877 Brigadier General Alfred Terry meets with Sitting Bull in Canada to discuss the Indians' return to the United States.
    1913 Zeppelin LII explodes over London, killing 28.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 10-17-2018 at 09:05.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  22. #3672

    Default

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    18th October 1918


    Chaplain Theodore Bayley Hardy VC DSO MC
    (Lincolnshire Regiment) dies of wounds received in action one week earlier at age 54. He is a Victoria Cross winner from April of this year. He had been appointed to the honorary Chaplain to His Majesty on 17th September of this year.

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    Lieutenant Kenneth Burns Conn (Royal Air Force) when raiding enemy troops in retreat, descends to 300 feet and attacks three companies of infantry with machine gun fire, inflicting heavy casualties. So vigorous is the attack that the troops disperse.

    WESTERN FRONT
    Serre: Mangin’s French Tenth Army wins final victory breaking Hunding line astride river Serre (Czechs in action on October 22), north of Laon. Mangin and HQ withdrawn for planned Lorraine offensive (October 27). Rupprecht letter to Chancellor describes exhausted troops short of artillery, horses, ammo, fuel and officers, ends ‘… we must obtain peace before the enemy breaks into Germany’. Foch moves his headquarter north to Senlis.

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    Horace Augustus Curtis VC (7 March 1891 – 1 July 1968) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.

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    Curtis was born on 7 March 1891 in St Anthony-in-Roseland, Cornwall. He enlisted after war broke out in August 1914, and passed fit for duty on 12 September. He was attested into The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) at Bodmin on 14 September as No.15833 Private Curtis. However, four days later he was transferred to the 7th Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

    Recruiting in Ireland in August 1914 was not as satisfactory as in Britain, and in consequence Lord Kitchener decided early in September to transfer a number of recruits for whom no room could be found in English regiments to fill up the ranks of the 10th Division. Despite these transferees, the division and its battalions consisted of Irishmen (apart from the 10th Battalion Hampshire Regiment) The 7th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers had just started forming up in August at Naas in Ireland, and presumably Horace proceeded there to commence his training at the Curragh in County Kildare. The 30th Brigade moved to Dublin in February 1915 and then embarked for England in May 1915 and onto the Basingstoke area, where intensive training of the 10th Division took place for the next 3 months. During that time, the division was inspected by King George V on 28 May at Hackwood Park and by Field Marshal, Lord Kitchener on 1 June.

    As a result of these inspections the following divisional orders were issued:

    "Lieutenant-General Sir B Mahon received His Majesty's command to publish a divisional order to say how pleased His Majesty was to have had an opportunity of seeing the 10th Irish Division and how impressed he was with the appearance and physical fitness of the troops. His Majesty, the King recognises that it is due to the keenness and co-operation of all ranks that the 10th Division has reached such a high standard of efficiency. The General Officer Commanding 10th Irish Division has much pleasure in informing the troops that Field-Marshal Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, the Secretary of State for War, expressed himself as highly satisfied with all he saw of the 10th Division at the inspection today." Order no. 34 1st June 1915.

    The division embarked from Devonport on 11 July 1915, the 7th battalion R. D Fus aboard H. M. T Alaunia and via Malta and Alexandria, the 7th landed at the island of Mytilene off the Turkish coast on 25 July 1915. Horace's service with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (M. E. F) dated from 10 July 1915. The battalion left Mytilene and landed at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey on 7 August 1915. Other parts of the division had been engaged with the enemy prior to the 7th Battalion arriving and had suffered severe losses, which was also to befall the 7th Battalion. In his book "The Tenth Division in Gallipoli" Major Bryan Cooper, who served with the division, estimates that by the end of the Gallipoli campaign, the Tenth Division had lost 75% of its original strength killed or wounded. In his book "Ireland's Forgotten 10th" Capt. Jeremy Stanley states 3,000 men were killed or died from wounds, 25% of the division's strength.

    After Gallipoli, the 10th Division sailed for the base island of Lemnos (Mudros Harbour) on 30 September and in early October left for the port of Salonica in Greece. During a long stay in the Macedonian theatre of war and bitter fighting, Horace earned promotion during 1916 from unpaid lance corporal on 7 February to full sergeant on 17 November 1916. He was also mentioned in Dispatches in the London Gazette on 21 July 1917. After almost 2 years here, the division sailed for Alexandria in September 1917 for Egypt and the allied offensive against the Turks in Palestine. A further 8 months later in April 1918, the 6th Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers and the 7th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers had left the 30th Brigade, 10th Division and returned to Egypt in order to join units in France fighting the German advance.

    On 23 May 1918, the 7th Battalion left Alexandria and landed at Marsailles, France on 31 May. On 6 June the battalion was reduced to a cadre. Surplus personnel, of whom Horace was one, were absorbed by the 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

    This was to be the fourth theatre of war that Curtis fought in: he had served with the M. E. F and the Eygyptian Expeditionary Force. He was now a member of the British Expeditionary Force (B. E. F) France and Belgium.

    On 20 June 1918, Curtis returned to England where he went to Bermondsley Military Hospital in London for treatment for malaria, broken by a furlough, home leave to Fiddlers Green between 24 July until 3 August, the first time in four years.

    He was finally cleared to return to his unit in France on 19 August and was back in France by 1 September and to the Front by 21 September.

    On 18 October 1918, No. 14107 Sergeant Horace A Curtis, 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers fought in action near Le Cateau that earned him the Victoria Cross. The following is the official citation, which appeared in the London Gazette on 6 January 1919.

    No.14107 Sjt. Horace Augustus Curtis.2nd Battalion, R. Dub. Fus (Newlyn East, Cornwall)

    For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty East of Le Cateau on the morning of 18th October 1918, when in attack his platoon came unexpectedly under intense machine-gun fire. Realising that the attack would fail unless the enemy guns were silenced, Sjt Curtis, without hesitation, rushed forward through our own barrage and the enemy fire and killed and wounded the teams of two of the guns, whereupon the remaining four guns surrendered. Then turning his attention to a train-load of reinforcements, he succeeded in capturing over 100 enemy before his comrades joined him. His valour and disregard of danger inspired all.

    His VC was presented to him by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 8 March 1919.


    SOUTHERN FRONTS

    Bulgaria: Last German troops leave.
    Italian Front: Heavy rain postpones Allied offensive to October 24.

    AFRICA
    East Africa: Lettow learns of Bulgaria’s surrender from captured newspapers.

    SEA WAR
    North Sea: Scheer deceives the Kaiser ‘The Fleet shall again become available for other tasks’ (ie the final sortie) if
    ending U-boat warfare not followed by an immediate ceasefire. Coastal subamrine UB-123 sunk on Northern Barrage.
    Adriatic: *16 Royal Navy destroyers leave Otranto Barrage (mine net barrage completed to Fano Island) for Aegean, 24 trawlers follow.

    Royal Navy submarine HMS E3 was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by German submarine SM U-27 with the loss of all 28 of her crew.

    HMS E3 was the third E-class submarines to be constructed, built at Barrow by Vickers in 1911-1912. Built with compartmentalisation and endurance not previously achievable, these were the best submarines in the Royal Navy at the start of the First World War. She was sunk in the first ever successful attack on one submarine by another, when she was torpedoed on 18 October 1914 by U-27.

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    The early British E-class submarines, from E1 to E8, had a displacement of 652 tonnes (719 short tons) at the surface and 795 tonnes (876 short tons) while submerged. They had a length overall of 180 feet (55 m) and a beam of 22 feet 8.5 inches (6.922 m), and were powered by two 800 horsepower (600 kW) Vickers eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two 420 horsepower (310 kW) electric motors. The class had a maximum surface speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) and a submerged speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), with a fuel capacity of 50 tonnes (55 short tons) of diesel affording a range of 3,225 miles (5,190 km; 2,802 nmi) when travelling at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), while submerged they had a range of 85 miles (137 km; 74 nmi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). The early 'Group 1' E class boats were armed with four 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of eight torpedoes were carried. Group 1 boats were not fitted with a deck gun during construction, but those involved in the Dardanelles campaign had guns mounted forward of the conning tower while at Malta Dockyard. E-Class submarines had wireless systems with 1 kilowatt (1.3 hp) power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3 kilowatts (4.0 hp) systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was 100 feet (30 m) although in service some reached depths of below 200 feet (61 m). Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.

    E3 had sailed from Harwich on 16 October to patrol off Borkum in the North Sea. On 18 October, she spotted some German destroyers ahead but was unable to get into a position to take a shot at them. Unable to pass them, Commander Cholmley retreated into the bay to wait for them to disperse. As he did so, he failed to see that the bay was also occupied by U-27, under Kapitänleutnant Bernd Wegener.

    Wegener was surfaced and patrolling between the Ems and Borkum when at 11:25, an object resembling a buoy was spotted where no buoy should be. Suspecting a British submarine, U-27 immediately dived and closed the object.[4] Although 'conned down', the number 83 was clearly visible on the conning tower of the British boat, now identified as such beyond reasonable doubt.[citation needed] Wegener tracked the submarine for two hours until able to approach 'up sun'. He noted that the look-outs were staring intently in the other direction, towards the Ems. When the distance had closed to 300 yd (270 m), a single torpedo was fired by U-27. Detonation followed shortly after, and E3 sank immediately. Survivors were visible in the water but fearing a second British submarine might have been lurking nearby, U-27 dived and withdrew. 30 minutes later, the U-boat returned to the scene to search for evidence and possible survivors but without success. All 31 members of E3's crew were lost.[4][5]

    In 1990, the stern section was snagged by a fishing boat, which in turn alerted divers from Zeester. The wreck of E3 was discovered on 14 October 1994. The stern of E3 had been blown off in the explosion and was found to be completely detached. The stern section— including the stern torpedo chamber — was later raised. The stern hatch was open, but the nature of the explosion indicates that men in the engine room and motor compartments would have died instantly. The motor and engine rooms are fully exposed and have consequently been looted of all removable fittings, including the bell.

    The conning tower has been removed by fishing nets and the broken periscope standards are still evident. The conning tower ladder is said to have been donated to the Submarine Museum but is not officially listed within their collections. E3's torpedo loading hatch is open and the bow section is largely intact.

    German submarine SM U-34 departed on patrol and was never seen again. It was believed to have sunk off Gibraltar on or before 9 November with the loss of all 38 crew

    SM U-34 was a German U-Boat of World War I. Launched on 9 May 1914, U-34 sank a total of 119 ships during 17 combat patrols, while damaging another 5 ships. The vessel had three commanders during its time: Kptlt. Claus Rucker, Kptlt. Johannes Klasing, Kptlt. Wilhelm Canaris, and Klasing again, in that order. On 18 October 1918, U-34 sailed for the last time, disappearing with all 38 crew members lost. Although it was claimed that she was depth charged and sunk near Gibraltar by HMS Privet on 9 November 1918, it is believed that the U-Boat had been lost prior to that, but it has never been confirmed one way or the other. U-34 sailed 17 patrols, sinking 119 ships for a total of 257,652 gross register tons (GRT), and damaging another five for 14,208 GRT.

    German Type U 31 submarines were double-hulled ocean-going submarines similar to Type 23 and Type 27 subs in dimensions and differed only slightly in propulsion and speed. They were considered very good high sea boats with average manoeuvrability and good surface steering.[5]

    U-34 had an overall length of 64.70 m (212 ft 3 in), her pressure hull was 52.36 m (171 ft 9 in) long. The boat's beam was 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (o/a), while the pressure hull measured 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in). Type 31s had a draught of 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in) with a total height of 7.68–8.04 m (25 ft 2 in–26 ft 5 in). The boats displaced a total of 971 tonnes (956 long tons); 685 t (674 long tons) when surfaced and 878 t (864 long tons) when submerged. U-34 was fitted with two Germania 6-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines with a total of 1,850 metric horsepower (1,361 kW; 1,825 bhp) for use on the surface and two Siemens-Schuckert double-acting electric motors with a total of 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) for underwater use. These engines powered two shafts each with a 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) propeller, which gave the boat a top surface speed of 16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph), and 9.7 knots (18.0 km/h; 11.2 mph) when submerged. Cruising range was 8,790 nautical miles (16,280 km; 10,120 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) on the surface, and 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) under water. Diving depth was 50 m (164 ft 1 in).

    The U-boat was armed with four 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes, two fitted in the bow and two in the stern, and carried 6 torpedoes. Additionally U-34 was equipped in 1915 with one 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30 deck gun, which was replaced with a 10.5 cm (4.1 in) gun in 1916/17. The boat's complement was 4 officers and 31 enlisted

    POLITICS
    The Washington Declaration proclaimed Czechoslovakia an independent republic.
    The Ukrainian National Council was established in Lemberg to be the governing body of soon to be formed West Ukrainian People's Republic.

    AIR WAR
    Western Front: RAF Handley Page bombers drop 4t bombs on Namur rail station and Charleroi.
    Aegean: *Last RAF raid (10th since July) on Constantinople, 12 DH bombers report hits on War Office and rail station.

    The German Air Ace Oberleutnant Fritz Otto Bernert of Jasta 2 was killed on this day. He had achieved 27 victories at the time of his death.

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    The son of a Burghermeister, Otto Bernert was in the infantry when the war began. Wounded on several occasions, he eventually transferred to the Fliegertruppe as an observer. The following year, despite the bayonet wound that rendered his left arm useless, Bernert became a pilot. On 24 April 1917, he set a record by shooting down five British aircraft in less than 30 minutes. In June, Bernert became commander of Jasta 2 (Jasta Boelcke) but on 18 August 1917, he was wounded again and his days as a fighting pilot came to an end. Bernert died from influenza the following year.

    Oberleutnant Fritz Otto Bernert (6 March 1893 – 18 October 1918) was a leading German fighter ace of World War I. He scored 27 victories despite being essentially one-armed.

    Fritz Otto Bernert was the son of a Bürgermeister (mayor). He was born in Ratibor, Silesia, which now is Racibórz, Poland. At the time of his birth, Ratibor was German and part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Bernert was commissioned into the 173rd Infantry Regiment in 1912. He was serving with them when World War I began. He was wounded in ground combat in both November and December 1914; his fourth wound, inflicted by a bayonet, severed the major nerve in his left arm. Upon recovery, it became apparent his left arm was essentially useless, and he was invalided out of the infantry.

    "Otto" Bernert then applied to the Luftstreitkräfte and trained to be an aerial observer. Upon graduation, he flew reconnaissance missions for Feldflieger Abteilung 27 from February through July 1915. He then transferred to FFA 71, where he served through November.[6] He then applied for pilot's training; he hid his disability successfully and was accepted. The fact that he wore glasses also did not bar him from service.

    He transferred to Kampfeinsitzerkommando Metz, a temporary grouping of pilots mostly from FFA 71, for his initial assignment to a fighter unit. By March, 1916, he had his pilot's license and was assigned to KEK Vaux. On 17 April 1916, he scored his first victory while flying a Fokker Eindecker, over a Nieuport fighter.

    Because KEK Vaux was an ad hoc fighter unit, it was equipped with Halberstadt D.II planes and reorganized into a full-fledged Prussian fighter squadron. It became Jagdstaffel 4 on 25 August 1916. On 6 September, Bernert scored the new squadron's first victory. He became an ace on 9 November 1916, scoring his fifth, sixth, and seventh triumphs.On 1 March 1917, he was transferred to Jagdstaffel 2. This squadron was named in honor of Oswald Boelcke, the founder of fighter aviation tactics and strategy, and was considered the premier unit of the German Air Service.[citation needed] Bernert scored his first victory in this unit on 19 March; on 1 April, he achieved the status of double ace with his tenth win.

    He scored 14 more times in April, including a record five victories on 24 April, all in a twenty-minute span, to run his total to 24. He was awarded the Pour le Merite on 24 April. On 1 May, Bernert was appointed to command Jagdstaffel 6.[10] His final three victories came in May, with an unconfirmed 28th on 19 May. In mid-May, Bernert crashlanded behind German lines after his engine quit in mid-combat. A few days later, he landed long, ran out of airfield, and crashed next to his home aerodrome, breaking his jaw and bruising himself severely. Although unable to fly, Bernert did not give up his command. However, he did host some pilots from Austria-Hungary. On 9 June 1917, Bernert was transferred back to Jasta 2, and would command it to the end of his flying career. The previous commanding officer had scored no victories to inspire his pilots; as it turned out, because of his injuries, Bernert could do no better.

    However, he once again hosted several pilots from Austro-Hungary during his tenure, and thus influenced the fighter tactics of Germany's allies. He also took some leave during June and July. Bernert was severely wounded again on 18 August 1917. This wound removed him from command and kept him in the hospital for three months. It took him off flight status. He was promoted to Oberleutnant upon release from the hospital,[3] and was transferred to Berlin as Inspector of Air. He died of the Spanish flu in his home town on 18 October 1918.

    The following claims were made on this day

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    Top performer of the day was Lieutenant Chester Ellis Wright of the US AIr Force 93rd aero squadron, who claimed a hat-trick of victories on this day

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    A student at Harvard University (class of 1918), Chester Ellis Wright held all his school's strength records in 1916. He left Harvard in his junior year to join the United States Air Service in March 1917. He sailed for France on 23 November 1917 and after training at Issoudun and Cazaux he was a ferry and test pilot. Assigned to the 93rd Aero Squadron on 29 July 1918, Wright was appointed flight commander and scored 9 victories. He returned to the United States on 13 March 1919 and was discharged from the army on 1 April 1919. He died, age 36, in Boston, Massachusetts following a two year battle with Hodgkin's disease.

    Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
    For extraordinary heroism in action near Beffu, France, 10 October 1918. Lt. Wright attacked an enemy observation balloon protected by four enemy planes; despite numerical superiority, he forced the planes to withdraw and destroyed the enemy balloon.
    DSC citation

    Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Oak Leaf Cluster
    For extraordinary heroism in action near Bantheville, France, 23 October 1918. Lt. Wright, accompanied by one other machine, took on and sent down in flames an enemy plane (Fokker type) that was attacking an Allied plane. He was in turn attacked by three enemy planes. His companion was forced to withdraw on account of motor trouble. Lt. Wright continued the combat and succeeded in bringing down one of the enemy planes and forced the remaining two into their own territory.

    The RAF lost 27 men on this day including:

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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    19th October 1918


    Lieutenant Commander Christopher John Charles Eddis (HMS Scimitar) dies at age 33. His brother will be killed on 10th January 1924 commanding submarine L24 when it is accidentally sunk during maneuvers. They are sons of the Reverend John Elwin Eddis, Vicar of Holy Trinity Isle of Wight.

    Captain Arthur Bracton Bagley MC (Dublin Fusiliers) dies of wounds at age 27 received two days earlier. He is the grandson of John Higginson JP.

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    Lieutenant Warwick Huxley De Buriatte (Royal Garrison Artillery) dies at home at age 32, three and half years after his younger brother has been killed in action.
    Sergeant George Battison Smith (Cameronians) is killed at age 24. He was the Assistant Librarian at Glasgow University.
    Gunner Arthur James Dewsbury (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 23. His brother was killed in September 1915.
    Private George Albert Park (Dorsetshire Regiment) dies of wounds as a prisoner of war at age 39. He is the son of the Reverend George Edward Park Vicar of Burton Fleming.

    WESTERN FRONT
    France: FOCH’S LAST GENERAL DIRECTIVE to his 14 armies.
    Britain: Haig visits CIGS and War Cabinet in London, considers ‘enemy was not ready for unconditional surrender’ but urges terms for 1918 armistice to prevent winter recovery by Germany.
    Lys: *Ludendorff directs Rupprecht to hold Hermann Lys position for at least 8 days as Plumer’s Second Army forces river in 6*-mile advance taking Courtrai on October 20.
    Flanders: Belgians occupy Zeebrugge and Bruges (King Albert flies in on October 23).
    Artois*: 4th Canadian Division liberates Denain in record day’s advance of nearly 7 miles; Prince of Wales attends thanksgiving ceremony.

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    Allied soldiers visit an abandoned German coastal battery position on the Belgian coast.

    SOUTHERN FRONTS
    Bulgaria: French (227th Infantry Regiment by rail from Sofia) reach Danube at Lom-Palanka, capture convoy of lighters on October 21; d’Esperey reports first French guns heard on Danube since 1809. Jouinot-Gambetta’s cavalry reach Danube at Vidin (October 21) after 437-mile march in 36 days.

    SEA WAR
    German submarine SM UB-123 struck a mine in the North Sea and sank with all 36 crew killed

    SM UB-123 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 6 April 1918 as SM UB-123. She torpedoed and sunk Leinster a vessel operated by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company on 10 October 1918, shortly after the new German Government had asked President Wilson to negotiate an armistice. Leinster went down just outside Dublin Bay. Over 500 people perished in the sinking — the greatest single loss of life in the Irish Sea. UB-123 struck a mine at the North Sea Mine Barrage on 19 October 1918, all 36 crew members died in the event.

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    She was built by AG Weser of Bremen and following just under a year of construction, launched at Bremen on 2 March 1918. UB-123 was commissioned later the same year under the command of Oblt.z.S. Robert Ramm. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-123 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 10.5 cm (4.13 in) deck gun. UB-123 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7,280 nautical miles (13,480 km; 8,380 mi). UB-123 had a displacement of 512 t (504 long tons) while surfaced and 643 t (633 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.9 knots (25.7 km/h; 16.0 mph) when surfaced and 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) when submerged.

    Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Plumpton struck a mine and was damaged in the North Sea off Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium. She was beached but was declared a total loss.

    HMS Plumpton was a Racecourse-class minesweeper of the British Royal Navy. She served in the First World War and was of a paddle wheel design. She struggled in heavy seas. Plumpton was mined on 19 October 1918 off Ostend. The ship was beached on the Belgian coast and was broken up where she lay.

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    The Racecourse-class minesweeper design was developed during the First World War after the earlier success of converted paddle wheel ships. The vessel was propelled by a paddle wheel powered by diagonal compound engine fed steam by cylindrical boilers rated at 1,500 indicated horsepower (1,119 kW). A Racecourse-class minesweeper was capable of storing 156 long tons (159 t) of coal to use as fuel. The Racecourse-class minesweepers were 245 ft 9 in (74.9 m) long overall with a standard beam of 29 ft 0 in (8.8 m) and was 58 ft 0 in (17.7 m) including paddles. The vessel had a draught of 7 ft 0 in (2.1 m) and had a standard dispalcement of 810 long tons (820 t). Racecourse-class minesweepers were armed with two 6-pounder (57 mm, 2.2 in) guns and two 2-pounder (40 mm, 1.6 in) guns.

    Plumpton was ordered as part of the first group of Racecourse-class minesweepers in September 1915. The ship was constructed by McMillan at their shipyard in Dumbarton, Scotland with the yard number 465 and launched on 20 March 1916. In keeping with the class, the ship was named for the racecourse in Plumpton, East Sussex and construction was completed in June 1916. The minesweeper struck a naval mine off the coast of Ostend, Belgium on 19 October 1918. Plumpton was beached on the coast to prevent the ship from sinking. Plumpton was broken up for scrap at the site where she was beached.

    MIDDLE EAST
    Mesopotamia: Germans withdraw all 1200 advisers, planes, guns and transport until October 21.
    South Persia: Despite flu (1,453 sick on October 23) British occupy Ahram, but Zair Khidar and Wassmuss have fled; c.1,000 British leave Shiraz on October 20 to relieve Firuzabad from 2,000 tribesmen (October 25) before flu strikes.

    POLITICS
    A referendum was held in Iceland on becoming a separate kingdom under the Danish Crown. It was approved by 92% of voters.
    The West Ukrainian People's Republic was established in the former territories of the Austria-Hungary.
    The Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was established with Russia next to Kazakh.

    AIR WAR
    Syria: 2 Australian No 1 Squadron Bristol Fighters destroy German two-seater 25 miles southwest of Aleppo (bombed October 23), and Babannet airfield to north attacked.
    Britain: Canadian Western Front ace Quigley (34 victories) dies of flu.
    First torpedo plane squadron with 20 Sopwith Cuckoos embarked in British carrier Argus.

    HMS Argus was a British aircraft carrier that served in the Royal Navy from 1918 to 1944. She was converted from an ocean liner that was under construction when the First World War began, and became the first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight deck that allowed wheeled aircraft to take off and land. After commissioning, the ship was heavily involved for several years in the development of the optimum design for other aircraft carriers. Argus also evaluated various types of arresting gear, general procedures needed to operate a number of aircraft in concert, and fleet tactics. The ship was too top-heavy as originally built and had to be modified to improve her stability in the mid-1920s. She spent one brief deployment on the China Station in the late 1920s before being placed in reserve for budgetary reasons.

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    Argus was recommissioned and partially modernised shortly before the Second World War and served as a training ship for deck-landing practice until June 1940. The following month she made the first of her many ferry trips to the Western Mediterranean to fly off fighters to Malta; she was largely occupied in this task for the next two years. The ship also delivered aircraft to Murmansk in Russia, Takoradi on the Gold Coast, and Reykjavík in Iceland. By 1942, the Royal Navy was very short of aircraft carriers and Argus was pressed into front-line service despite her lack of speed and armament. In June, she participated in Operation Harpoon, providing air cover for the Malta-bound convoy. In November, the ship provided air cover during Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa, and was lightly damaged by a bomb. After returning to the UK for repairs, Argus was used again for deck-landing practice until late September 1944. In December, she became an accommodation ship and was listed for disposal in mid-1946. Argus was sold in late 1946 and scrapped the following year.

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    Sopwith T1 Cuckoo

    The Sopwith T.1 Cuckoo was a British biplane torpedo bomber used by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), and its successor organization, the Royal Air Force (RAF). The T.1 was the first landplane specifically designed for carrier operations, but it was completed too late for service in the First World War. After the Armistice, the T.1 was named the Cuckoo.

    After undergoing service trials at RAF East Fortune, the T.1 was recommended for squadron service. Deliveries to the Torpedo Aeroplane School at East Fortune commenced in early August 1918. Training took place in the Firth of Forth, where Cuckoos launched practice torpedoes at targets towed by destroyers. Cuckoos of No. 185 Squadron embarked on HMS Argus in November 1918, but hostilities ended before the aircraft could conduct any combat operations. In service, the aircraft was generally popular with pilots because the airframe was strong and water landings were safe. The T.1 was easy to control and was fully aerobatic without a torpedo payload. The Arab engine proved unsatisfactory, however, and approximately 20 T.1s were converted to use Wolseley Viper engines. These aircraft, later designated Cuckoo Mk. II, could be distinguished by the Viper's lower thrust line. The Arab-engined variant was designated Cuckoo Mk. I. The Cuckoo's operational career ended when the last unit to use the type, No. 210 Squadron, disbanded at Gosport on 1 April 1923. The Cuckoo was replaced in service by the Blackburn Dart.

    Western Front: King Albert letter to Curzon praises RAF support in Allied victory of September 28-30.

    There were very few confirmed kills on this day

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    However the RAF still suffered 34 deaths, including...

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    Captain Tunstill's Men:
    On another very wet day the Battalion marched ten miles north-east, via the outskirts of Treviso (according to Pte. Harold Charnock (see 15th October), “skirting the picturesque old walls of Treviso), to Limbraga, between Treviso and Lancenigo.

    The recent rise in the number of men reporting sick with influenza and other complaints continued.

    INCIDENTS OF AN ESCAPE FROM GERMANY

    Bandsman Arthur Metcalfe, who returned to Cowling last week, after escaping from Germany, tells some stories of his escape which are not without humour. He and two companions, an Englishman and a Canadian, made their escape together. In the course of their long march of 115 miles in seven days the party almost ran into a sentry box, but the sentry was engaged in conversation with a girl. He left his box to inspect them, but when the escaped prisoners saw his attitude they started singing “The Watch on the Rhine”. Then he appeared satisfied, and he returned to his fair companion and remarked that they were good patriots. On one occasion they crossed a great swamp, which took them five hours, being many times up to their armpits in mud and water. In their emaciated condition this was a most trying experience. Whilst journeying on a country road they were overtaken by a German cyclist who seemed to view them with suspicion, passing and re-passing them several times. The last time he greeted them with a “Good Morning”. Bandsman Metcalfe answered his greeting in German. The cyclist then rode away, but as the party felt somewhat alarmed, they went into hiding. Apparently their alarm was justified for, in short time, the cyclist returned, accompanied by a policeman on a bicycle, who, after making a hasty search, went away, apparently satisfied that their suspicions were false. The party passed through one town, and here they became alarmed, for they were followed by two policemen, accompanied by a savage dog, but after a close scrutiny they were allowed to pass on without molestation. Bandsman Metcalfe said he specially wished to thank those who had sent parcels of food, clothing etc. to the British boys who were unfortunately still in Germany and to the British government, at whose instance the conditions of the prisoners had been improved. He was sure that if the people only knew how their generosity and efforts for the prisoner’ welfare were appreciated – and often enough these meant the difference between life and death – they would be amply rewarded.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  24. #3674

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    20th October 1918

    Serbia – Battle of Paracin (*until October 23): Serb First Army attacks strong counter-attacking German rearguards in Upper Morava valley. Serb Second Army relieves French at Pristina before advance to Western Morava valley via Kossovo.

    John Brunton Daykins VC MM (Ormiston Farm, Hawick, 26 March 1883 – 24 January 1933, Edinburgh) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross

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    Daykins was born in Hawick in 1883 to John and Bessie Daykins, but he moved with his family to Jedburgh when he was a child.

    In 1914 he enlisted with the Lothians and Border Horse and he was at Loos, the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the battle of Ypres. After this he was discharged after suffering from Trench fever. He refused to be labelled as "unfit" and on the third attempt he successfully re-enlisted again in the York and Lancaster Regiment and served in Battle of Passchendaele and again on Vimy Ridge. He was in the 2/4th Battalion at Solesmes, Nord in France on 30 October 1918 with a dozen of his platoon.

    They rushed a machine-gun and during subsequent severe hand-to-hand fighting Daykins disposed of many of the enemy and secured his objective. He then located another machine-gun which was holding up an operation of his company. Under heavy fire he worked his way alone to the post and shortly afterwards returned with 25 prisoners and an enemy machine-gun, which he mounted at his post. His magnificent fighting spirit and example inspired his men, saved many casualties and contributed largely to the success of the attack.

    When he returned to Jedburgh he was made a burgess. In 1924 he inherited his family's Howden farm when his father died.

    Daykins died in 1933 after an accident with a shotgun. He was unmarried and his medals went to his sister. Elizabeth Daykins gave his medals to the York and Lancaster Regimental Museum which is within Clifton Park Museum, in Rotherham,.There is a street in Hawick and Jedburgh decided to lay a commemorative paving stone in 2018. A commemorative event was scheduled to take place in his adopted town of Jedburgh and at Solesmes, Nord where he earned is VC on the centenary of his bravery

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    Alfred Robert Wilkinson VC (5 December 1896 – 18 October 1940), was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

    Wilkinson enlisted in the Royal Scots Greys at the outbreak of war in 1914 and transferred the following year to the 2nd. Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders. He finally transferred to the 1/5th Manchester Regiment and went to France in July 1916. He was 21 years old, and a private in the 1/5th Battalion, The Manchester Regiment, British Army during the Battle of the Selle in the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    On 20 October 1918 at Marou, France, during the attack, four runners had been killed in attempting to deliver a message to the supporting company and Private Wilkinson volunteered for the duty. He succeeded in delivering the message although the journey involved exposure to extremely heavy machine-gun and shell fire for 600 yards. He showed magnificent courage and complete indifference to danger and throughout the remainder of the day continued to do splendid work.

    He later achieved the rank of lieutenant. Wilkinson was killed in a mining accident at Bickershaw Colliery, Leigh where he died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

    Western Front

    British cross the Selle river in face of heavy resistance.
    Battle of Courtrai – British forces occupied the Belgian towns of Roubaix and Tourcoing
    British two miles from Tournai.

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

    Entire Belgian coast in hands of Allies.

    The U.S. Army established the 96th Sustainment Brigade at Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina

    The 96th Sustainment Brigade, is a unit of the United States Army that inherited the lineage of the 96th Infantry Division that served in World War II. Effective 17 September 2008, the unit became the 96th Sustainment Brigade, with its headquarters located at Fort Douglas, Salt Lake City, Utah.

    The division was first organized on 20 October 1918, during the U.S. mobilization for World War I. Based at Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina, the 96th was commanded by Guy Carleton; it was one of the last divisions activated, and the war ended before it could be sent overseas, so it was demobilized on 7 January 1919. The 191st and 192nd Brigades comprised the infantry elements of the division.

    Naval and Overseas Operations

    S.S. "Dundalk" torpedoed in Irish Channel. (although the report below states that this actually happened on 14th not 20th October

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    The date was October 14th 1918, and the destination was Dundalk. The ship 'S.S. Dundalk' was on a return trip from Liverpool when it was torpedoed on 14th October 1918 on her journey to Dundalk. Twenty lives were lost. Twelve survived to tell the story of the tragic loss.

    The S.S. Dundalk was the flagship for the Dundalk and Newry Steampacket Company. Her main trade was in carrying cattle and produce from Dundalk to Liverpool and other goods on the return journey. The ship also carried passengers. In spite of the dangers to shipping in the Irish Sea the S.S. Dundalk made weekly sailing to the UK all through the war years. In December 1917 the S.S. Dundalk was the target of an attack by a German submarine. That assault lasted about an hour and a half. Captain Hugh O'Neill adopted a zig zag course and managed to evade the submarine. The Captain and crew were commended for their bravery.

    But the worst was yet to come.

    On the night of 14th October 1918 the S.S. Dundalk left Liverpool for Dundalk. Shortly after 11pm she was hit by a torpedo and sank within minutes.

    There were dramatic scenes as mate John Higgins and seaman Patrick Byrne succeeded in getting one of the life boats released from the derricks just as the Dundalk sank. Three others Frank Deery, Patrick Kearney, James Tuite, managed to get to this life boat and Kearney was injured in the effort. This life boat was badly damaged and nearly sinking. Two of the gunners Alexander Ferguson and Timothy Connors were pulled from the water, Ferguson was very ill with flu and clad only in his underwear. Another lifeboat was also launched by the deck hands Pat Moonan,and Patrick McCourt. They pulled Thomas Fitzgerald, Hugh O'Neill, and John Mulqueen, from the water. Mulqueen was badly injured.

    The submarine (U90) came to the surface as the men were being pulled from the water. It stayed for about five minutes but made no attempt to rescue the men. The submarine moved away and almost immediately, the S.S. Carlingford also came on the scene. It nearly ran over one of the lifeboats. The men shouted and believed they received an answering call but the steamer didn't stop. The men in the two lifeboats in the darkness lost sight of each other. The men were very cold and hungry. They had no food and very little water.

    The lifeboats were damaged and water had to baled throughout the night. The next morning in one of the lifeboats Ferguson, the gunner who was sick, with a compass helped steer a course for the Welsh coast. The rudder of the boat was broken. They rowed all day. In the evening they were spotted by a seaplane and shortly afterwards the trawler Stormcock picked them up and brought them to Holyhead. The five men in the other lifeboat after 16 hours at sea were picked up by the S.S Douglas and brought to the Isle of Man. Some of the men from both lifeboats were hospitalised.

    In total, there were twenty lives lost in the disaster, including 19 men and one woman. The roll call of the dead featured many people from Dundalk, those who left behind grieving family, friends, neighbours.

    One hundred years later, the tragedy still echoes in the Dundalk area, with stories having been passed down through the generations. Many people can claim ancestors who perished on that fatal sailing. Their legacy lives on in the commemorations taking in Dundalk next week, a fitting tribute those who died.

    Political, etc.

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

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

    Air War

    The Canadian air ace Captain Frank Granger Quigley MC & Bar, DSO died of influenza on this day in 1918. He was a 33 victory ace

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    The youngest son of R. J. Quigley, Frank Granger Quigley attended St Andrew's in Aurora, Ontario from 1907 to 1909. When the war began, he was in his second year as a student at Queen's University in Toronto where he excelled in football and hockey. He enlisted in December 1914, serving with the Canadian Army Engineers on the Western Front. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in early 1917 and was posted to 70 Squadron in France on 12 September 1917. Flying the Sopwith Camel, he scored 33 confirmed victories before he was wounded in action on 27 March 1918. Recovering from a shattered ankle at Le Touquet hospital, he returned to Canada where he served as an instructor at Armour Heights. En route back to England in October 1918, Quigley came down with influenza and died in hospital two days after his ship reached Liverpool.

    Military Cross (MC)
    T./2nd Lt. Frank Granger Quigley, Gen. List and R.F.C.
    For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when engaging hostile aircraft. On one occasion, while on patrol, he attacked an enemy two-seater which, after close fighting and skilful maneuvering, he crashed to the ground. He has, within a short period, destroyed or driven down out of control, seven other enemy machines, and on all occasions has displayed high courage and a fine fighting spirit.
    Supplement to the London Gazette, 18 July 1918 (30801/8470)

    Military Cross (MC) Bar
    T./Capt. Frank Granger Quigley, M.C., Gen. List and R.F.C.
    For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in aerial combats. He destroyed five enemy machines and one balloon, and drove down four enemy machines out of control. He showed splendid courage and initiative.
    (M.C. gazetted 18th February, 1918.)
    Supplement to the London Gazette, 13 May 1918 (30681/5695)

    Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
    T./Capt. Frank Granger Quigley, M.C., R.F.C.
    For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While leading an offensive patrol he attacked a very large number of enemy aeroplanes, destroyed one of them and drove another down out of control. On the following day, while on a low-flying patrol, he was attacked by several enemy scouts, one of which dived at him. He out-manoeuvred this machine and fired on it at very close range. He followed it down to 500 feet, firing on it, and it spiralled very steeply to the ground in a cloud of black smoke. During the three following days, while employed on low-flying work, he showed the greatest skill and determination. He fired over 3,000 rounds and dropped thirty bombs during this period, inflicting heavy casualties on enemy infantry, artillery and transport.
    Supplement to the London Gazette, 22 June 1918 (30761/7395)

    There are no recorded claims by aces on this day

    Apologies but I am unable to bring you the RAF casualties for the day as the usual site is not responding

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    Last edited by Hedeby; 10-20-2018 at 11:20.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  25. #3675

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    21st October 1918


    Major Richard Hugh McGillycuddy MC (Royal Army Medical Corps) dies on service in England at age 34. He is the son of “The McGillycuddy of The Reeks” a member of Irish nobility and active member of the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains.

    Germany suspended all submarine warfare and ordered all subs to port, ending its Atlantic U-boat campaign. (Although I have found conflicting sources stating this happened on both the 20th and 24th October - editor)

    The Atlantic U-boat campaign of World War I (sometimes called the "First Battle of the Atlantic", in reference to the World War II campaign of that name) was the prolonged naval conflict between German submarines and the Allied navies in Atlantic waters—the seas around the British Isles, the North Sea and the coast of France. Initially the U-boat campaign was directed against the British Grand Fleet. Later U-boat fleet action was extended to include action against the trade routes of the Allied powers. This campaign was highly destructive, and resulted in the loss of nearly half of Britain's merchant marine fleet during the course of the war. To counter the German submarines, the Allies moved shipping into convoys guarded by destroyers, blockades such as the Dover Barrage and minefields were laid, and aircraft patrols monitored the U-boat bases.

    The U-boat campaign was not able to cut off supplies before the US entered the war in 1917 and in later 1918, the U-boat bases were abandoned in the face of the Allied advance. The tactical successes and failures of the Atlantic U-boat Campaign would later be used as a set of available tactics in World War II in a similar U-boat war against the British Empire.

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    The convoy system was effective in reducing allied shipping losses, while better weapons and tactics made the escorts more successful at intercepting and attacking U-boats. Shipping losses in Atlantic waters were 98 ships (just over 170,000 GRT) in January; after a rise in February they fell again, and did not rise above that level for the rest of the war.

    In January, 6 U-boats were destroyed in the theatre; this also became the average loss for the year.

    The Allies continued to try to block access through the Straits of Dover, with the Dover Barrage. Until November 1917 it was ineffective; up to then just 2 U-boats had been destroyed by the Barrage force, and the Barrage itself had been a magnet for surface raids. After major improvement in the winter of 1917 it became more effective; in the four-month period after mid-December seven U-boats were destroyed trying to transit the area, and by February the High Seas Flotilla boats had abandoned the route in favour of sailing north-about round Scotland, with a consequent loss of effectiveness. The Flanders boats still tried to use the route, but continued to suffer losses, and after March switched their operations to Britain’s east coast.

    Other measures, particularly against the Flanders flotilla, were the raids on Zeebrugge and Ostend, an attempt to blockade access to the sea. These were largely unsuccessful; the Flanders boats were able to maintain access throughout this period.

    May 1918 saw the only attempt by the Germans to muster a group attack, the forerunner of the wolf-pack, to counter the Allied convoys.

    In May, 6 U-boats sailed, under the command of K/L Rucker in U-103. On 11 May U-86 sank one of a pair of ships detached from a convoy in the Channel, but the next day an attack on the troopship RMS Olympic led to the destruction of U-103, while UB-72 was sunk by British submarine HMS D4. Two more ships were sunk in convoys in the next week, and three independents, but over 100 ships had passed through the groups patrol area in safety. During the summer, the extension of the convoy system and effectiveness of the escorts made the east coast of Britain as dangerous for the U-boats as the Channel had become. In this period, the Flanders flotilla lost a third of its boats, and in the autumn, losses were at 40%. In October, with the German army in full retreat, the Flanders flotilla was forced to abandon its base at Bruges before it was overrun. A number of boats were scuttled there, while the remainder, just 10 boats, returned to bases in Germany. In the summer, too, steps were taken to reduce the effectiveness of the High Seas Flotillas. In 1918 the Allies, particularly the Americans, undertook to create a barrage across the Norwegian Sea, to block U-boat access to the Western Approaches by the north-about route. This huge undertaking involved laying and maintaining minefields and patrols in deep waters over a distance of 300 nautical miles (556 kilometers). The North Sea Mine Barrage saw the laying of over 70,000 mines, mostly by the United States Navy, during the summer of 1918. From September to November 1918 6 U-boats were sunk by this measure.

    In July 1918, U-156 sailed to Massachusetts and participated in the Attack on Orleans for about an hour. This was the first time that American soil was attacked by a foreign power's artillery since the Siege of Fort Texas in 1846 and one of two places in North America to be subject to attack by the Central Powers. The other was the Battle of Ambos Nogales that was allegedly led by two German spies. On 11 November 1918, World War I ended. The last task of the U-Boat Arm was in helping to quell the Wilhelmshaven mutiny, which had broken out when the High Seas Fleet was ordered to sea for a final, doomed sortie. After the Armistice, the remaining U-boats joined the High Seas Fleet in surrender, and were interned at Harwich. On October 20, 1918 Germany suspends submarine warfare.

    Of the 12˝ million tons of Allied shipping destroyed in World War I, over 8 million tons, two thirds of the total, had been sunk in the waters of the Atlantic war zone. Of the 178 U-boats destroyed during the war, 153 had been from the Atlantic forces, 77 from the much larger High Seas Flotillas and 76 from the much smaller Flanders force.

    German naval cruiser SMS Frankfurt collided with fellow naval submarine SM UB-89 in the port of Kiel, Germany, killing seven crew on board. The submarine was raised on October 30

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    SMS Frankfurt was a light cruiser of the Wiesbaden class built by the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). She had one sister ship, SMS Wiesbaden; the ships were very similar to the previous Karlsruhe-class cruisers. The ship was laid down in 1913, launched in March 1915, and completed by August 1915. Armed with eight 15 cm SK L/45 guns, Frankfurt had a top speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph) and displaced 6,601 t (6,497 long tons; 7,276 short tons) at full load.

    Frankfurt saw extensive action with the High Seas Fleet during World War I. She served primarily in the North Sea, and participated in the Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft and the battles of Jutland and Second Heligoland. At Jutland, she was lightly damaged by a British cruiser and her crew suffered minor casualties. At the end of the war, she was interned with the bulk of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. When the fleet was scuttled in June 1919, Frankfurt was one of the few ships that were not successfully sunk. She was ceded to the US Navy as a war prize and ultimately expended as a bomb target in tests conducted by the US Navy and Army Air Force in July 1921.

    Frankfurt was ordered under the contract name "Ersatz Hela" and was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Kiel in 1913 and launched on 20 March 1915, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 20 August 1915, after being rushed through trials.[2] The ship was 145.3 meters (477 ft) long overall and had a beam of 13.9 m (46 ft) and a draft of 5.76 m (18.9 ft) forward. She displaced 6,601 t (6,497 long tons; 7,276 short tons) at full combat load. Her propulsion system consisted of two sets of Marine steam turbines driving two 3.5-meter (11 ft) propellers. They were designed to give 31,000 shaft horsepower (23,000 kW). These were powered by ten coal-fired Marine-type water-tube boilers and two oil-fired double-ended boilers. These gave the ship a top speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). Frankfurt carried 1,280 tonnes (1,260 long tons) of coal, and an additional 470 tonnes (460 long tons) of oil that gave her a range of 4,800 nautical miles (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Frankfurt had a crew of 17 officers and 457 enlisted men.

    The ship was armed with eight 15 cm SK L/45 guns in single pedestal mounts. Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle, four were located amidships, two on either side, and two were placed in a superfiring pair aft.[1] The guns could engage targets out to 17,600 m (57,700 ft). They were supplied with 1,024 rounds of ammunition, for 128 shells per gun. The ship's antiaircraft armament initially consisted of four 5.2 cm (2.0 in) L/44 guns, though these were replaced with a pair of 8.8 cm SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns. She was also equipped with four 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes with eight torpedoes. Two were submerged in the hull on the broadside and two were mounted on the deck amidships. She could also carry 120 mines. The ship was protected by a waterline armored belt that was 60 mm (2.4 in) thick amidships. The conning tower had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick sides, and the deck was covered with up to 60 mm thick armor plate.

    At 19:08 on 21 October 1918, Frankfurt accidentally rammed and sank the U-boat UB-89 in Kiel-Holtenau, killing seven of her crew. Twenty-seven survivors were pulled from the water. UB-89 was raised by the salvage tug Cyclop on 30 October but with the war almost over, she was not repaired and did not see further service.

    In the final weeks of the war, Großadmiral Reinhard Scheer and Hipper intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy, in order to secure a better bargaining position for Germany, whatever the cost to the fleet. On the morning of 29 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day. Starting on the night of 29 October, sailors on Thüringen and then on several other battleships mutinied.The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation. Most of the High Seas Fleet's ships, including Frankfurt, were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow, under the command of Reuter.

    The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Versailles Treaty. Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June 1919, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty. Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd, Reuter ordered the ships to be sunk at the next opportunity. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers, and at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to scuttle his ships. British sailors boarded Frankfurt and beached her before she could sink. She was raised the following month and thereafter transferred to the United States Navy as a war prize.

    She was formally taken over on 11 March 1920 in England and commissioned into the US Navy on 4 June. Frankfurt was towed to the United States. As she had been damaged in the scuttling, she was taken under tow by the ex-German battleship Ostfriesland, which had also been allocated to the United States. Ostfriesland, with a skeleton crew of US Navy personnel aboard, first went to France to take on a load of 14-inch (360 mm) guns from an American railway battery. In company with a group of minesweepers each towing ex-German torpedo boats, Ostfriesland and Frankfurt then crossed the Atlantic to the New York Navy Yard. There, the ships were thoroughly inspected by naval engineers to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the German ships, with the goal of incorporating any lessons learned into future American designs. In July 1921, the Army Air Service and the US Navy conducted a series of bombing tests off Cape Henry, Virginia, led by General Billy Mitchell. The targets included demobilized American and former German warships, including the old battleship Iowa, Frankfurt, and Ostfriesland. Frankfurt was scheduled for tests conducted on 18 July. The attacks started with small 250-pound (110 kg) and 300 lb (140 kg) bombs, which caused minor hull damage. The bombers then changed over to larger 550 lb (250 kg) and 600 lb (270 kg) bombs; Army Air Service Martin MB-2 bombers hit Frankfurt with several of the 600 lb bombs and sank the ship at 18:25.

    SOUTHERN FRONTS
    Italian Front: Diaz’s final orders for upcoming offensive stress aim ‘to separate the Austrian forces on the Trentino from those on the Piave’.
    Bulgaria: British 26th Division arrives by rail (until October 23) at Mustapha Pasha on Bulgar-Turk frontier west of Adrianople where garrison of only 1 battalion with 2 guns.

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    The new Italian C-in-C General Armando Diaz (right), appointed after the defeat of Caporetto, succeeded in reorganising the Italian army and improving morale by making various concessions to the soldiers.

    Pursuit to Haritan
    – Rampant illness and exhaustion among British troops forced Field Marshal Edmumd Allenby to reorganize units among the Desert Mounted Corps and XXI Corps before ordering to occupy Hama, Lebanon and advance north to Aleppo.

    SEA WAR

    Irish Sea: Last merchant ship (coaster Saint Bareham, 8 lives lost) sunk by U-boat in British home waters.
    Britain: Beatty insists to War Cabinet meeting on German Fleet’s surrender as well as all U-boats and Heligoland.

    HOME FRONTS
    Germany: Ludendorff approves Scheer U*-boat plan, including release of skilled workers from front. Kaiser meets Reichstag at Berlin Bellevue Palace, ISP leader says ‘Crowns are rolling about the floor’.
    Austria: German Austrians declare independ*ence at Vienna and form National Provincial Assembly (2nd mtg passes fundamental laws October 30).
    France: Le Matin ‘s ‘Panorama of the Battle of Liberation’ map posted up in Paris.
    Britain: Beaverbrook resigns as Information Minister (ill-health). Labour Minister reports that Special Branch and GHQ Home Forces preparing supply of auxiliary labour. Thomson (Special Branch) writes that working-class morale ‘Probably at its highest point’, but warns of union strike plans.

    AIR WAR
    Germany: 7 DH9As (No 100 Squadron) lost from daylight Frankfurt raid (4 lost to fighters).

    The Royal Air Force established air squadron No.18

    No. 185 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed in World War I and reformed as a bomber and fighter unit in World War II. It then reformed in Malta in the post war period as a jet fighter squadron. No. 185 Squadron was formed in East Fortune, East Lothian, Scotland on 21 August 1918 and was equipped with Sopwith Cuckoo torpedo-bomber aircraft, it did not become operational and disbanded on 14 April 1919.

    The squadron was reformed at RAF Abingdon on 1 June 1938, two days later six Hawker Hind aircraft were transferred from 40 (Bomber) Squadron and from the 21 June these were gradually replaced with Fairey Battles before moving to RAF Thornaby on 1 September 1938[2]. On 2 June 1939 the squadron were re-equipped with Handley Page Hampden Mk.1's before moving from RAF Thornaby to RAF Cottesmore on 24 August 1939 where it continued as a bomber squadron equipped with 15 Hampdens, a Handley Page Hereford and 4 Avro Ansons. The squadron was absorbed into an OTU on 8 April 1940 before re-forming in Malta on 12 May 1941 as a fighter squadron. The squadron formed for a third time on 27 April 1941 on Malta, from "C" Flight of No.251 Squadron. The new unit operated the Hawker Hurricane for nearly a year, before the first Spitfires arrived early in 1942. The squadron took part in the fierce air battles that raged over Malta, suffering increasingly heavy losses late in 1942 when the Bf 109F arrived on Sicily, outclassing the Hurricane.

    The arrival of the Spitfires restored the balance, and by the end of 1942 No.185 Squadron had gone onto the offensive, flying sweeps over Sicily, and then in July 1943 helping to support the Allied invasion of Sicily.

    In July 1944 the squadron became one of two RAF Squadrons to join SAAF (South African Air Force) No 8 Wing (the other being RAF 87 Squadron). In February 1944 the first part of the squadron moved to Italy, operating from Grottaglie (in the Taranto area), and in August 1944 the entire squadron came back together at Perugia. For the rest of the war it operated as a fighter-bomber unit, supporting the Allied advance up the length of Italy. It disbanded on 14 August 1945.

    The following (limited) claims were made on this day

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    28 British airmen were lost on this day

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  26. #3676

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    Tuesday 22nd October 1918

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    Armistice Countdown 20 days

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    David Stuart McGregor VC (16 October 1895 – 22 October 1918) was was 23 years old, and a lieutenant in The Royal Scots (The Lothian Regiment), attached to 29th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    On 22 October 1918 near Hoogemolen, Belgium, Lieutenant McGregor concealed his guns on a limber under the bank of a sunken road, but immediately the troops advanced they were subjected to such intense enfilade machine-gun fire that he realised it was impossible to get the guns carried forward without great delay. Having ordered the teams to take a safer route, he lay flat on the limber, the driver then galloped forward under the heaviest machine-gun fire to cover beyond, the guns were put into action and the advance resumed. Lieutenant McGregor continued directing the fire until he was killed.

    His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Scots Museum, Edinburgh Castle, Scotland.

    Today we lost: 1,288

    Brigadier General Edward John Granet Commanding Royal Artillery dies of wounds at age 60. The wounds he died of were received at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli on 13th August 1915.

    Today’s losses include:

    • A silent screen and Broadway actor
    • A Victoria Cross winner
    • A Brigadier General
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • Multiple families that will lose two sons in the Great War

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    • Captain Charles Holbrook Rosling (Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry) is killed at agae 36. He is the son of the Reverend Charles Douglas Rosling Rector of Caerhays.
    • Lieutenant George William Kenneth Smith (Royal Air Force) dies of wounds at age 19 having been wounded in the throat he flew 30 miles and made a perfect landing at his aerodrome.
    • Second Lieutenant Ernest Llewelyn Rees (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 21. He is the son of the Reverend D M Rees.
    • Second Lieutenant Julian L’Estrange (Royal Flying Corps) dies of pneumonia and influenza at age 38. He is a stage actor who made his debut as the cupbearer in Herod at His Majesty’s Theatre in October 1900. He also appeared as Borachio in Much Ado About Nothing at Drury Lane in The Sins of Society. He frequently appeared with his wife the actress Constance Hardy and appeared on Broadway regularly between 1908 and 1916 and in several silent films. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in Canada but as later discharged on medical reasons.
    • Corporal James Robertson (New Zealand Rifle Brigade) is killed at age 34. His brother was killed in June of last year.
    • Private Arthur Thomas William Oke (Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry) dies on active service in India. His brother was killed in February of this year.
    • Private James William Evans (Machine Gun Corps) dies on service at home at age 36. His brother died of wounds in France last July.
    • Private James William Evans (Machine Gun Corps) dies at home at age 36. His brother died of wounds in July.
    • Leading Signalman (Frederick Albert Habgood) HMS Victory dies at home of influenza. His brother died of wounds in July 1916.
    • Sapper Charles Edward Angus Thorburn (Royal Engineers) dies at home at age 29. He is the son of the Reverend Thomas James Thorburn.


    Air Operations:

    Handley Page Type O. On the night of 21/22 October, four Handley Pages attacked Kaiserslautern with heavy bombs and four dropped incendiaries; three heavy bombers and two incendiary bombers caused M500,000 of damage and Kaiserslautern was bombed again on 23/24 October, along with Coblenz, Mannheim and Wiesbaden.

    Adriatic:
    142 Italian flying boats and 56 Caproni bombers raid Pola

    General Headquarters:
    Tbc

    Royal Flying Corps casualties:

    tbc

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today 35, of which the following 20 are recorded:

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    Other Air Losses:
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    Claims: 19 confirmed (Entente 13: Central Powers 6)


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    Home Fronts:

    Germany: Liebknecht released in general amnesty. Chancellor presents Reichstag with constitutional reform, equal suffrage voted (October 26).
    Austria: Czech Socialist Klofac tells Emperor Czech lands slipping away from Crown.
    Britain: New 10s note design issued.

    Mexico: On October 22, 1918, the director of the Constitutionalist Railroad Lines, Felipe Pescador, said that given the scarcity of coal in the north of the country, the railroads would have to stop. He requested support from President Venustiano Carranza so as not to affect the moving of passengers and merchandise. The shortage was caused by the closure of many mines in Coahuila, Chihuahua and Zacatecas in 1918. This situation was prejudicial to the glass, steel and beer industries established in Monterrey, whose factories were about to stop because of the lack of fuel. The family economy in the region was damaged, since in many houses coal was used for heating and its demand grew with the arrival of winter.

    Western Front:

    Scheldt: British First Army closes in on Valenciennes, 3rd Canadian Division clears Foret de Raismes in 4-mile advance.

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    Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of the 51st Division crossing the railway at Douchy-lčs-Ayette by the ruins of the blown up railway bridge, 22 October 1918.

    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.

    Southern Front:

    Lord Cavan's despatch, dated 14 September (10 March to 13 September), issued.

    Tunstills Men Tuesday 22nd October 1918:


    Billets at Limbraga.

    In the afternoon the Battalion marched a further two miles north-east to the hamlet of Catena, north-east of Lancenigo, where they were accommodated in tents and bivouacs.

    2Lt. Bernard Garside (see 15th October) later recalled, “Bivouacs are small baby tents big enough for two at most and not nearly big enough to stand up in. I went ahead to superintend the erecting of our Company’s. It shows how funny memory is, for the chief thing I remember about those few days is that we had very few cigarettes and Auntie May had sent me some which I told my batman to use within reason, since I knew he liked a smoke. Well the man could not resist not only supplying himself, but also several pals as well, so that when I went next to my box half were gone already. I never quite forgave him for that, for I had come to regard cigarettes as very precious, especially those sent me with Auntie’s love”.

    2Lts. Edgar Leyland Mills Lumb (see 11th September), Robert James Robinson (see 11th September) andSamuel Whitaker (see 11th September) who had arrived in Italy six weeks previously, now reported for duty with the Battalion.

    L.Cpl. Richard Cleasby Chorley (see 30th May) was admitted via 21st Field Ambulance and 39th Casualty Clearing Station to 62nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia; he was suffering from influenza.

    Pte. William Henry Bray (see 9th October) serving with the Assistant Provost Marshall, 23rd Division, was discharged from 51st Stationary Hospital and posted to the Convalescent Depot at Lido d’Albano.

    Pte. Sidney Wood (see 13th August), who had been in England since having been wounded in the trench raid on 21st June, was transferred to 3DWR at North Shields.

    L.Cpl. Dennis Waller MM (see 4th October), who had been severely wounded in action on 8th August while serving in serving in France with 2DWR, suffering a compound fracture of his left femur, died at Edmonton General Military Hospital. His medical notes reported the sequence of events during the day; “Secondary haemhorrage from inner caliper incision; calipers reapplied; ether anaesthesia; several sequestra (fragments of dead bone) removed; 4 hours later, copious oozing from buttock wound; wound repacked; ether anaesthesia; 8pm after rectal salines and intravenous salines, blood transfusion was done, citrate method; 9pm patient died of prolonged sepsis, haemhorrage and shock”. Pte. Waller would be buried at Bradford (Bowling) Cemetery.

    A payment of Ł4 9s. 4d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte.William Northrop (see 26th August), who had been killed during the trench raid on 26th August; the payment would go to his widow, Sarah Anne.

    Asiatic, African, Egyptian Front:

    Affair of Imad (Aden). (Ed Note: Imad could refer to Iman or a masculine form of a family name).

    After the Ottoman departure in 1918, he sought to recapture the lands of his Qasimid ancestors. He dreamed of Greater Yemen stretching from Asir to Dhofar. These schemes brought him into conflict with the de facto rulers in the territories claimed, namely the Idrisids, Ibn Saud, and the British government in Aden. The Zaydi imam did not recognize the Anglo-Ottoman border agreement of 1905 on the grounds that it was made between two foreign powers occupying Yemen. The border treaty effectively divided Yemen into north and south. In 1915, the British signed a treaty with the idrisids guaranteeing their security and independence if they would fight against the Turks. Turkish forces withdrew in 1918, and Imam Yahya Muhammad strengthened his control over northern Yemen creating the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen.

    Naval Operations:

    North Sea: Levetzow delivers verbal operational order (Operations Plan No 19) to Hipper at Wilhelmshaven: ‘High Seas Fleet shall attack and engage in battle the English Fleet.’ Nothing is to be allowed to delay the operation because the country ‘is rushing toward an armistice at full speed’. Plan envisages coordinated raids to Thames Estuary and down Flanders coast with 22 U-Boats off Scotland.

    Adriatic:
    Italian warships shell south of Giovanni die Medua, Albania, as Austrians evacuate.


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    Admiral Reinhard Scheer, the hero of the Jutland naval battle, was promoted in August 1918 to Chief of the Admiral

    Staff and Commander of the Naval War Command. With the command to the High Seas Fleet operation he triggers the mutiny in Kiel, which finally led to the November Revolution in Germany.

    Political:

    New Polish Cabinet formed under M. Swiezynski.

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

    Prince Max announced programme of some reforms.

    Karl Liebknecht released.

    Anniversary Events:


    741 Charles Martel of Gaul dies at Quiezy. His mayoral power is divided between his two sons, Pepin III and Carloman.
    1746 Princeton University, in New Jersey, receives its charter.
    1797 The first successful parachute descent is made by Andre-Jacqes Garnerin, who jumps from a balloon at some 2,200 feet over Paris.
    1824 The Tennessee Legislature adjourns ending David "Davy" Crockett's state political career.
    1836 Sam Houston sworn in as the first president of the Republic of Texas.
    1862 Union troops push 5,000 confederates out of Maysbille, Ark., at the Second Battle of Pea Ridge.
    1859 Spain declares war on the Moors in Morocco.
    1907 Ringling Brothers buys Barnum & Bailey.
    1914 U.S. places economic support behind Allies.
    1918 The cities of Baltimore and Washington run out of coffins during the "Spanish Inflenza" epidemic.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 10-22-2018 at 06:51.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  27. #3677

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    Cheers Neil - for some reason thought it was me - I will be back on Thursday...

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  28. #3678

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    Wednesday 23rd October 1918

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    Armistice Countdown 19 days

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    Lieutenant Colonel Harry Greenwood, VC, DSO & Bar, OBE, MC (25 November 1881 – 5 May 1948) was born in Victoria Barracks, Windsor, the eldest of nine children to Charles Greenwood and Margaret Abernethy.

    Greenwood was 36 years old, and an acting lieutenant colonel in the 9th Battalion, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, when he performed a deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

    On 23 October 1918 at Ovillers, France, when the advance of the battalion was checked by enemy machine gun fire, Lieutenant-Colonel Greenwood single-handedly rushed the position and killed the crew. Subsequently, accompanied by two runners, he took another machine-gun post, but then found that his command was almost surrounded by the enemy, who started to attack. Repulsing this attack, the colonel led his troops forward, capturing the last objective with 150 prisoners, eight machine guns, and one field gun. On 24 October he again inspired his men to such a degree that the last objective was captured and the line held in spite of heavy casualties.

    Greenwood died in Wimbledon, aged 66 and is buried at Putney Vale Cemtery. His medal is held at the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum in Doncaster.

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    Francis George Miles VC (9 July 1896 – 8 November 1961) was 22 years old, and a private in the 1/5th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    On 23 October 1918 at Bois-l'Évęque, Landrecies, France, when his company was held up by a line of enemy machine-guns in a sunken road, Private Miles, alone and on his own initiative went forward under exceptionally heavy fire, located a machine-gun, shot the gunner and put the gun out of action. Then seeing another gun nearby, he again went forward alone, shot the gunner and captured the team of eight. Finally he stood up and beckoned to his company who, acting on his signals, were able to capture 16 machine-guns, one officer and 50 other ranks.

    He joined up again in WW2 serving with the Pioneer Corps.

    His medals are held in the Lord Ashcroft VC collection in the IWM in London.

    Today we lost: 2,367

    Today’s losses include:


    • A Baronet whose brother was the first officer killed in the Great War, whose father was killed in the South Africa War and whose son will be killed in the Second World War
    • Aces
      • 8-victory
      • 5-victory

    • The son of another Baronet
    • A Victoria Cross winner
    • A man whose mother will be killed during the blitz in March 1941
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • Multiple families who will lose two and three sons in the Great War
    • A man whose twin has been previously killed
    • A woman whose brother was killed in the Great War

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    • Major Walter Balfour Barttelot DSO (Coldstream Guards) the 3rd Baronet and former military attaché at Teheran is murdered in his bed by a jealous husband in Tehran Persia at age 28. His brother has been the first Royal Navy officer killed in war in August 1914. He succeeded to the title of 3rd Baronet Barttelot, on 23rd July 1900, after his father, ‘Sir’ Walter George Barttelot, 2nd Baronet, was killed in action during the South Africa War and his son will be killed in action as a Brigadier on 16th August 1944.
    • Captain Thomas Walter Nash DFC (Royal Air Force) is killed at age 26. He is an 8-victory ace.
    • Captain Frank Oswald Spensley (Royal Army Medical Corps) dies at home at age 39. He is the son of the Reverend James Spensley.
    • Captain Hector Charles Seymour Munro MC (Seaforth Highlanders) is killed in action at age 23. He is the son of ‘Sir’ Hector Munro, the 11th Baronet.
    • Captain Eric Victor Morse MC (West Kent Regiment) is killed at age 26. His twin brother was killed on 7th December 1917.
    • Lieutenant Alfred James Baddeley (Sussex Regiment) is killed at age 19. He is the brother of the Reverend Walter H Baddeley.
    • Captain Kenneth Carlyle Gill MC (Cambridgeshire Regiment attached Royal Air Force) dies of injuries received as a result of a flying accident the previous day at age 28. He is the son of the Reverend Arthur Tidman Gill.
    • Lieutenant William Huntriss (Duke of Wellington’s Regiment attached Gold Coast Regiment) is killed in Ghana at age 32. His brother was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
    • Lieutenant William Norman Stubbs (Cheshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 21. He is the son of the Reverend Frederick William Stubbs Vicar of Arbury.
    • Lieutenant H W Trelawny (Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry) is killed in action at age 20. He is the son of the Reverend Frank E Trelawny.
    • Lieutenant Osborne John Orr (Royal Air Force) a five-victory ace is killed in action at age 23.
    • Sergeant Henry James Nicholas VC MM (Canterbury Regiment) is killed near Beaudigniesa when a German patrol charges into his post on a flank guarding a bridge over the River Ecaillon. He is killed by heavy gun fire at age 27. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions performed on 3rd December 1917.
    • Corporal Harry Francis Gully (South Staffordshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 21. His brother was killed in November 1917.
    • Private Percy Benwell (Welsh Regiment) is killed in action at age 24. His older brother was killed in March 1917.
    • Private Charles D B Mowat (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) dies of wounds at Selle. His brother was killed in August of last year.
    • Driver Patrick Ahern (Royal Engineers) dies on service at Ramleh. His mother will die of wounds received 31st March 1941 during an air raid on Stirling at age 80.
    • Worker Rose Cotton (Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps) dies on service at age 26. Her brother was killed in action in 1916.
    • Rifleman Bernard William King (King’s Royal Rifle Corps) is killed at age 30. He is the son of the Reverend William Templeton King Vicar of Christ Church Ealing London.
    • Private Ernest Harold Lane (Shropshire Light Infantry) is killed in action. His brother was killed earlier this year.
    • Private James Murray (Royal Scots) is killed at age 22. He is the last of three brothers who are killed over a three-year time frame.
    • Gunner Arnold Alexander Macully (Australian Field Artillery) is killed at age 24. He is the son of the Reverend Alexander Macully Vicar of Brighton South Australia.


    Air Operations:
    Western Front: More activity than for several weeks, RAFNo 20 Squadron’s Bristol Fightersdestroy 5 Fokker fightersfor no loss, Hirson rail junction bombed.

    Prince Albert flies in Handley Page to join IAF HQ near Nancy.

    Germany: Handley Page bomber destroys Kaiserslautern Greist munitions factory with 1,650lb bomb (night October 21-22). Similar devastation in Wiesbaden city centre (nights October 23-24, 49 casualties).

    Captain Roy Edward Dodds (Royal Air Force) successfully leads a bombing formation home intact from Leuze in failing light while under attack from ten Fokker biplanes, three of which his formation brings down. Second Lieutenant James Herbert Grahame (Royal Air Force) while on a bombing raid to Hirson railway junction, although late in the afternoon with the visibility very poor through heavy ground mist, obtains two direct hits on the railway, one of which causes a very large fire.

    General Headquarters:
    Tbc


    Royal Flying Corps casualties today:

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    Royal Flying Corps Losses today 51, of which the following are recorded:

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    Other Losses:

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    Claims: 63 confirmed (Entente 54 : Central Powers 9)


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    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.

    King and Queen of Belgians fly to Bruges.

    Selle – Third phase: Byng’s Third Army (including 6 tanks) attacks Forest and Ovillers, captures Grand Champ Ridge, Rawlinson’s 18th Division (with 6 tanks) captures Bousies. BEF drives 6-mile deep, 35-mile wide breach into German line until October 24.

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    One of the newer British Tank Mk V towed another tank with a steel cable.

    The 1st Middlesex Regiment is ordered to assault German positions near Montay located in the forest. They capture 200 German prisoners but suffer heavy casualties themselves.

    The 2nd Bedfordshire Regiment in position at Le Cateau is ordered to attack an objective known as Richemont Hill. The attack made across high ground causing many casualties in the battalion.

    Eastern Front:

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

    Southern Front:


    The “Passage of the Piave” during the final Battle of Vittoria-Veneto begins. It will end with the Armistice of 4th November.

    Croat troops seize Fiume, but are suppressed.

    Tunstills Men Wednesday 23rd October 1918:


    In tents and bivouacs at Catena.

    Battalion orders were issued for the forthcoming operations. This “came as a great shock to the men who were expecting the closing stages of the war to be played out elsewhere with little need for them to become involved … hopes were rising that the war would end without our having to take any further active part”.

    Overnight, 23rd/24th, in accordance with plans for the forthcoming assault (see 21st October) troops from 7th Division captured the northern half of the Grave di Papadopoli and, by dawn on 24th, one Company of 11WYR had become the first troops of 69th Brigade to be transferred to the Grave.

    Pte. James Duncan Foster (see 20th October), who had been wounded three days’ previously while serving in France with 2DWR, was evacuated to England from 32nd Stationery Hospital at Wimereux. He travelled onboard the Hospital Ship St. David and on arriving in England would be admitted to the military hospital in Colchester.

    Pte. William Postill Taylor (see 24th September), serving with 3DWR at North Shields, was posted back to France and would 2nd/4thDWR.

    Pte. William Boodle (see 4th June 1917), serving with the 21st Prisoner of War Company, Royal Defence Corps was formally transferred to the Army Reserve Class P. This classification of the reserve had been introduced in October 1916 and applied to men “whose services were deemed to be temporarily of more value to the country in civil life rather than in the Army”.

    Asiatic, African, Egyptian Front:


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

    Naval Operations:


    North Sea:
    Harwich Force last in action. Though weather prevents its seaplanes taking off and 3 of 4 Sopwith Camels broken on lighters, German aircraft driven off.

    Communications are lost with the submarine G7 (Lieutenant Commander Arthur Campbell Russell) during a North Sea patrol. A week later she is declared lost.

    North Sea:
    Admiralty warns Beatty of German Fleet sortie preparation.

    Adriatic:
    Austrian Fleet discipline breaking down with demands to go home.
    239,000 tons Allied shipping (including 151,000 British) lost in September (announced).


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    Political:

    Britain: Commons votes 274-24 for women Members of Parliament.
    Mr. Balfour on the Empire. Balfour speech at Anzac lunch says Germany’s colonies can never be returned.

    Hungary:
    Prime Minister Wekerle resigns. Emperor Charles and Zita open Debrecen University.

    USA:
    Chaplin secretly marries actress Mildred Harris at Los Angeles (announced November 9).
    Wilson refers German note (of October 20) to Allies suggesting armistice terms be drafted.

    Impudent German reply re: prisoners.

    Karl Liebknecht amnestied.

    Dr. Solf and German War Minister on the situation.

    Baron Hussarek still Austrian Premier.

    Anniversary Events:

    4004 BC According to 17th century divine James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, and Dr. John Lightfoot of Cambridge, the world was created on this day, a Sunday, at 9 a.m.
    1641 Rebellion in Ireland. Catholics, under Phelim O'Neil, rise against the Protestants and massacred men, women and children to the number of 40,000 (some say 100,000).
    1694 American colonial forces led by Sir William Phips, fail in their attempt to seize Quebec.
    1707 The first Parliament of Great Britain meets.
    1783 Virginia emancipates slaves who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War.
    1861 President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C. for all military-related cases.
    1918 President Wilson feels satisfied that the Germans are accepting his armistice terms and agrees to transmit their request for an armistice to the Allies. The Germans have agreed to suspend submarine warfare, cease inhumane practices such as the use of poison gas, and withdraw troops back into Germany.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 10-23-2018 at 03:39.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  29. #3679

    Default

    Nice to see a couple of VCs who lived on after the war end and did not die on the field of of influenza afterwards.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  30. #3680

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    Thursday 24th October 1918

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    Armistice Countdown 18 days

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    Frederick William Hedges VC (6 June 1896 – 29 May 1954) was born on 6 June 1896 at Umballa in India, the seventh of nine children. He was later educated at Grove Road Boy's School, and Isleworth County School.
    Frederick married his wife Mollie in Hounslow, Middlesex in 1919 and they had one son, John Grosvenor Hedges born in 1924.

    Hedges was 22 years old, and a temporary lieutenant in The Bedfordshire Regiment, attached to the 6th Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment at the Pursuit to the Selle when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    The citation for the medal reads:
    "For most conspicuous bravery and initiative during the operations north-east of Bousies on the 24th October, 1918.
    He led his company with great skill towards the final objective, maintaining direction under the most difficult conditions. When the advance was held up by machine-gun posts, accompanied by one Serjeant and followed at some considerable distance by a Lewis-gun section, he again advanced and displayed the greatest determination, capturing six machine guns and 14 prisoners. His gallantry and initiative enabled the whole line to advance, and tended largely to the success of subsequent operations."

    Hedges suffered from depression after the death of his son in a drowning accident and committed suicide.

    His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment gallery located in Wardown Park Museum, Luton, Bedfordshire.

    Today we lost: 1,823

    Today’s losses include:


    • A man whose son an RAF ace will be shot down and killed by German ace who will be killed within a week in June 1941 who also lost his father in the Great War
    • Multiple families that will lose two, three and four sons in the Great War
    • Multiple sons of members of the clergy
    • The son of a Justice of the Peace
    • A member of the Penarth Rugby Football Club
    • Two Military Chaplains
    • A man who son will be killed in December 1940
    • A man whose brother was killed in the Great War and his son will be killed in the Second World War

    Today’s highlighted casualties include:

    • Captain Gordon Gordon-Smith (Royal West Kent Regiment) is killed. His brother was killed in December 1915.
    • Captain Victor Hubert Thornton (Northumberland Fusiliers) is killed in action at age 31. He is the son of the Reverend Edward Thornton, late Vicar of Ancroft.
    • Lieutenant William Bannister Augustus Pickop (Royal Fusiliers) dies of wounds at age 22. His brother died of wounds in June 1917 and they are sons of the Reverend Canon Pickop Vicar of Hatcliffe.
    • Second Lieutenant Rowland Hurst Bourne (Sussex Regiment) is killed in action at age 19. He is the son of Rowland Manlove Bourne JP.
    • Second Lieutenant Cyril de Clare Yeld (Indian Army Reserve of Officers attached Supply and Transport Corps) dies on service in India. He is a member of the Penarth Rugby Club.
    • Second Lieutenant Horace Burnaby Cooper (Wiltshire Regiment) is killed at age 19. He is the son of the Reverend Horace Rowsell Cooper Vicar of Thornton.
    • Chaplains William Edgar Jones (attached Yorkshire Regiment) age 30 and Richard William Dugdale MC (Norfolk Regiment) die on active service He is the son of the Reverend Sydney Dugdale Rector of Whitchurch.
    • Lance Corporal Ben Mingay (Suffolk Regiment) is killed at age 33. His son will be killed in December 1940.
    • Private George Arthur Ginns (Bedfordshire Regiment) is killed at age 35. His brother was killed in December 1916 and his son will be killed on 28th May 1943 while serving with the Norfolk Regiment.
    • Pioneer Hubert William Duncan Brewster (Royal Engineers) dies of illness at age 42. His brother died of wounds in January 1917.
    • Private Harry Desborough (Machine Gun Company) is killed at age 29. His brother was killed in October 1916.
    • Private John William Lance Slee (Warwickshire Regiment) dies of illness at age 18. His brother died of illness in November 1914.
    • Private Frederick Arthur (Hampshire Regiment) dies of malaria on Salonika having been released after three years as a prisoner of war in Bulgaria.
    • Private Bertie Atkiss (West Surrey Regiment) is killed in action at age 20. His brother was killed in July 1916.
    • Private Aubrey Henry Simmonds (Warwickshire Regiment) is killed near Haussy, Cambrai at age 19. He is the son of the Reverend Charles S Simmonds Vicar of Exhall.
    • Gunner Thomas Lang (Royal Field Artillery) is killed at age 33. His brother will die on service in the Royal Navy next July.
    • Private Wilfred Simpson (Royal Marines HMS Hussar) dies in Italy. He is the third of four brothers who lose their lives in the Great War.
    • Private Joseph Robert Calder-Smith (Army Pay Corps) dies on service at age 42. His brother was killed on the first day of the battle of the Somme.
    • Private Charles Horace Dunkley (Sherwood Foresters) is killed. His brother was killed in November 1915 on Gallipoli.
    • Private Thomas Wortley Raitt (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) is killed at age 23. His twin brother was killed last May.
    • Private William Ernest Haynes (Somerset Light Infantry) is killed at age 25. His is one of three brothers who lose their lives in the Great War.
    • Lance Corporal Colin Archibald Mungo Park (Royal Sussex Regiment) is killed in action at age 31. He is the son of the Reverend Mungo Park. In June 1941 his son, a World War II Royal Air Force ace will be shot down and killed by German Lufwaffe ace Wilhelm Balthasar who will die in combat less than one week later. Both of the younger men lost their fathers serving in their respective armies in the Great War.


    Air Operations:


    40th squadron moves from Bryas to Aniche on the Douai-Denain road.

    Italian Front: 600 Allied aircraft (including 93 Anglo-French) support final offensive
    ; wreak havoc among fleeing Austrian columns (especially from October 29-30).RAFdrop 20,000lb bombs and fire 51,000 rounds, losing 7 aircraft (until November 4).

    General Headquarters:
    Tbc

    Royal Flying Corps casualties today:

    tbc

    Royal Flying Corps Losses today 25, of which the following are recorded:

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    Other Losses:
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    Claims: 3 confirmed (Entente 2: Central Powers 1)


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    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.

    Slight French advance on southern fronts.

    Southern Front:

    Serbs force enemy back in disorder along Morava.

    Third Battle of the Piave begins
    . (Battle of Vittorio Veneto).
    The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 near Vittorio Veneto. The Italian victory marked the end of the war on the Italian Front, secured the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and contributed to the end of the First World War just one week later. The battle led to the capture of 5,000+ artillery pieces and over 350,000 Austro-Hungarian troops, including 120,000 Germans, 83,000 Czechs and Slovaks, 60,000 South Slavs, 40,000 Poles, several tens of thousands of Romanians and Ukrainians, and 7,000 Italians and Friulians.

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    Some Italian authors see Vittorio Veneto as the final culmination of the Risorgimento nationalist movement, in which Italy was unified.
    When the battle was fought in November 1918, the nearby city was called simply Vittorio, named in 1866 for Vittorio Emanuele II, monarch from 1861 of the newly restored Kingdom of Italy. The engagement, the last major battle in the war (1915–1918) between Italy and Austro-Hungary, was generally referred to as the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, i.e. 'Vittorio in the Veneto region'. The city's name was officially changed to Vittorio Veneto in July 1923.

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    Armando Diaz

    During the Battle of Caporetto, from 24 October to 9 November 1917, the Italian Army had over 300,000 casualties (dead, injured and captured) and was forced to withdraw, causing the replacement of the Italian Supreme Commander Luigi Cadorna with General Armando Diaz. Diaz reorganized the troops, blocked the enemy advance by implementing defense in depthand mobile reserves, and stabilized the front-line around the Piave River.
    In June 1918, a large Austro-Hungarian offensive, aimed at breaking the Piave River defensive line and delivering a decisive blow to the Italian Army, was launched. The Austro-Hungarian Army tried on one side to force the TonalePass and enter Lombardy, and on the other side to make two converging thrusts into central Venetia, the first one southeastward from the Trentino, and the second one southwestward across the lower Piave. The whole offensive, the Battle of the Piave River, came to worse than nothing, with the attackers losing 11,643 killed, 80,852 wounded and 25,547 captured.

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    Austro-Hungarian Skoda Model 1914 149-mm-howitzer in action with Italian forces.

    After the Battle of the Piave, General Armando Diaz, despite aggressive appeals by Allied commanders, deliberately abstained from offensive action until Italy would be ready to strike with success assured. In the offensive he planned, three of the five armies lining the front from the Monte Grappa sector to the Adriatic end of the Piave were to drive across the river toward Vittorio Veneto, so as to cut communications between the two Austrian armies opposing them.
    Allied forces totaled 57 infantry divisions, including 51 Italian, 3 British (23rd, 7th and 48th), 2 French (23rd and 24th), 1 Czechoslovak (6th) and the 332nd US Infantry Regiment, along with supporting arms. The Austro-Hungarian army had 46 infantry divisions and 6 cavalry divisions, but both sides were ravaged by influenza and malaria and the Austrians only had 6,030 guns to 7,700 Allied.

    The Italian armies in the mountains were merely to hold the front line and follow up the enemy when he retreated. The task of opening the attack and taking on the strongest positions fell to Fourth Army (Lieutenant-General Gaetona Giardino) on the Grappa. Twelfth Army, consisting of one French and three Italian divisions was commanded by the English-speaking Lieutenant-General Enrico Caviglia and he had under command Tenth Army (Lieutenant-General Lord Cavan) to protect his right flank. Lord Cavan's army consisted of two British and two Italian divisions and they too were expected to cross the Piave by breaking the Austrian defenses at Papadopoli Island. Third Army was simply to hold the lower Piave and cross the river when enemy resistance was broken. Ninth Army, which contained the Czechoslovak Division and the 332nd US Infantry Regiment as well two Italian divisions, was held in reserve.

    The Allies had 600 aircraft (93 Anglo-French, including 4 RAF squadrons) to gain complete air superiority in the final offensive.

    As night fell on 23 October, leading elements of Lord Cavan's Tenth Army were to force a crossing at a point where there were a number of islands, and Cavan had decided to seize the largest of these — the Grave di Papadopoli — as a preparation for the full-scale assault on the far bank. The plan was for two battalions from 22nd Brigade of the British 7th Division to occupy the northern half of Papadopoli while the Italian 11th Corps took the southern half. The British troops detailed for the night attack were the 2/1 Honourable Artillery Company (an infantry battalion despite the title) and the 1/ Royal Welch Fusiliers. These troops were helpless to negotiate such a torrent as the Piave, and relied upon boats propelled by the 18th Pontieri under the command of Captain Odini of the Italian engineers. On the misty night of the 23rd the Italians rowed the British forces across with a calm assurance and skill which amazed many of those who were more frightened of drowning than of fighting the Austrians. For the sake of silence the HAC used only their bayonets until the alarm was raised, and soon seized their half of the island. The Italian assault on the south of Papadopoli was driven off by heavy machine-gun fire. Nevertheless, the Austrians had been badly unnerved by the savagery of the British attack.

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    Italian machine gunners on Monte Grappa

    On 24 October, the anniversary of the Battle of Caporetto, in the early hours Comando Supremo launched the splintering attack on Monte Grappa designed to draw in the Austro-Hungarian reserves. At 03:00 the right wing of the Italian Fourth Army began a barrage to give time for its men to move into position. At 05:00 the rest of the artillery joined in. The infantry began to struggle up the steep slopes and secondary peaks which the Austrians had held for so long. The flooding of the Piave prevented two of the three central armies from advancing simultaneously with the third; but the latter, under the command of Earl Cavan, after seizing Papadopoli Island farther downstream, won a foothold on the left bank of the river on 27 October. In the evening the Allies had covered so much ground that they were over-extended and vulnerable to a counter-attack. The Italian Tenth Army maintained its ground and had established a bridgehead 2.5 miles (4.0 km) deep and 5 miles (8.0 km) broad. The British captured 3,520 prisoners and 54 guns. Svetozar Boroevic von Bojna, the Austro-Hungarian commander, ordered a counter-attack on the Italian bridgeheads on the same day, but his troops refused to obey orders, a problem confronting the Austrians from that time on, and the counter-attack failed. The first week of the battle involved heavy artillery dueling between the two sides, which were fairly evenly matched in firepower with the Italians possessing 7,700 guns to the Austro-Hungarians' 6,000 guns. From 24 October to 31 October alone, the Italian artillery fired 2,446,000 shells.
    On 28 October, a group of Czechs declared Bohemia's independence from Austria-Hungary. The next day, another group purporting to represent the eventual South Slavs proclaimed their independence, and on 31 October, the Hungarian Parliament proclaimed their withdrawal from the union, officially dissolving the Austro-Hungarian state. On 28 October, under these new political and military conditions, the Austro-Hungarian high command ordered a general retreat.

    Vittorio Veneto was seized the next day by the Italian Eighth Army, which was already pushing on to the Tagliamento River. Trieste was taken by an amphibious expedition on 3 November. The Italian Eighth Army troops which had managed to cross the Piave were only able to communicate with the west bank by using swimmers. The swimmers were furnished by one of the most elite assault units in Italian history — the ArditiCorps, the Caimani di Piave ("Caimans of the Piave"). 82 were recruited by Captain Remo Pontecorvo Bacci after Caporetto. Carrying a resolva knife and two hand grenades, they were trained to remain in the powerful currents of the icy Piave for up to 16 hours; 50 died in the river during the campaign. The Italian Twelfth Army, commanded by French General Jean Graziani, continued to advance, supported on the right by the Eighth Army.

    On 29 October the Italian Eighth Army pushed on towards Vittorio Veneto, which its advance guard of lancers and Bersagliari cyclists entered on the morning of the 30th. The Italian Third Army forced a crossing of the Lower Piave while raids in the mountains disclosed that the Austrians were withdrawing there. Reserves including the 332nd US Infantry Regiment poured over the Piave behind the Italian Tenth Army.

    At dawn on the 31st, the Italian Fourth Army resumed the offensive on Monte Grappa and this time was able to advance beyond the old Austrian positions towards Feltre. In the mountains and on the plain the Allied armies pushed on until an armistice was arranged. The result was that Austria-Hungary lost about 30,000 killed and wounded and 300,000 prisoners (50,000 by 31 October; 100,000 by 1 November; 300,000 by 4 November). The Italians suffered during the 10 days' struggle 37,461 casualties (dead and wounded) — 24,507 of them on Monte Grappa. British casualties were 2,139, while the French lost 778 men.

    The Armistice of Villa Giusti was signed on 3 November at 15:20, to become effective 24 hours later, at 15:00 on 4 November.

    The Austrian command ordered its troops to cease hostilities on 3 November. Following the signing of the armistice, Austrian General Weber informed his Italian counterparts that the Imperial army had already laid down its weapons, and asked to cease combat immediately and to stop any further Italian advance. The proposal was sharply rejected by the Italian General Badoglio, who threatened to stop all negotiations and to continue the war. General Weber repeated the request. Even before the order to cease hostilities, the Imperial Army had already started to collapse, beginning a chaotic retreat. Italian troops continued their advance until 3 p.m. on 4 November. The occupation of all Tyrol, including Innsbruck, was completed in the following days.

    Under the terms of the Austiran-Italian Armistice of Villa Giusti, Austria-Hungary’s forces were required to evacuate not only all territory occupied since August 1914 but also South Tirol, Tarvisio, the Isonzo Valley, Gorizia, Trieste, Istria, western Carniola, and Dalmatia. All German forces should be expelled from Austria-Hungary within 15 days or interned, and the Allies were to have free use of Austria-Hungary’s internal communications. They were also obliged to allow the transit of the Entente armies, to reach Germany from the South. Beginning in November 1918, the Italian Army with 20,000-22,000 soldiers occupied Innsbruck and all North Tyrol.

    The battle marked the end of the First World War on the Italian front and secured the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire. As mentioned above, on 31 October Hungary officially left the personal union with Austria. Other parts of the empire had declared independence, notably what later became Yugoslavia.

    Tunstills Men Thursday 24th October 1918:


    In tents and bivouacs at Catena.

    Heavy rain fell throughout the day and continued into the evening. Despite this, the Battalion marched, via Lovadina, to the Allied front line ready to cross to the Grave di Papadopoli in preparation for the attack, on the following morning, against the Austrian front line. However, just as the head of the column had arrived at the bank of the Piave at 7.30pm, an order was issued postponing the operations and ordering the Battalion to return to camp at Catena. The men were back at Catena by about 10.45pm. It was said that, “The news (of the cancellation) was received with joyous excitement … we marched off singing, but had not gone far when a halt was called, followed by news that the assault would take place next night”. The company of 11WYR who had crossed the previous evening, along with one Company from 8Yorks, who had crossed before the cancellation order was received, remained on the Grave “in very difficult circumstances”.

    A/Cpl. Bertie Thurling (see 27th August) was confirmed in his rank.

    Pte. Benjamin Thomas Alcraft (see 21st June) was appointed Lance Corporal.

    Pte. Arthur Wood (29524) (see 18th August) was admitted via 69th Field Ambulance to 39th Casualty Clearing Station; he was suffering from scabies.

    Pte. Edward Henry Chant (see 19th October) was transferred from 29th Stationary Hospital in Cremona to 62nd General Hospital at Bordighera, near Ventimiglia; he was suffering from influenza.

    Sgt. John William Wardman DCM, MM (see 20th September) was posted back to England from 81stGeneral Hospital in Marseilles; he would travel onboard the Hospital Ship Carisbroke Castle. Also discharged from the same hospital and onboard the same ship was Pte. Charles William Groves (see 15th September), who had suffered wounds to his left hand on 26th August. On arrival in England he would be admitted to 1st Birmingham War Hospital, where it was noted that, “Missing meta-carpal and phalangeal joint of index finger, left hand; some stiffness of 2nd and 3rd fingers”. L.Cpl. Victor Munnery(see 6th October), who had suffered a shrapnel wound to his right elbow on 11th September, was also onboard the Carisbroke Castle; he was posted back to England from 57th General Hospital in Marseilles.

    Pte. Albert William Knight (see 15th September), who had been wounded on 15th September while serving in France with 2/6th DWR, re-joined his Battalion.

    A payment of Ł1 13s. 5d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte.Peter Herity (see 20th September 1917), who had been officially missing in action since 20th September 1917; the payment would be divided in equal shares between his brother George A. Norton and sister Annie Norton.

    On the same day that he had been posted back to England The Keighley News reported on the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal to Sgt. John William Wardman DCM, MM (see above):

    STEETON AND EASTBURN DCM WINNER

    Mrs. John William Wardman, Sunnybank, Steeton, has, this week, received official documents from her husband, Sergeant John William Wardman, of the West Riding Regiment, now serving in Italy, that he has been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Brigadier General A.B. Beauman has sent him a letter of congratulations on being awarded the DCM in His Majesty’s birthday honours list. The official record of the honour reads: “This Non-Commissioned Officer has done continuous good work, and, by his courage and devotion to duty, under fire while acting as Company Sergeant Major has, on several occasions, done much to keep up the spirits of men under his charge”. Sergeant Wardman joined the army in September 1914 and was drafted to France in August 1915. He was wounded in the knee in 1916 and in November 1917 he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery and devotion to duty. On this occasion during the advance his Company was held up by a machine gun, he worked himself round the back and killed the gun team and brought the machine gun back to our lines. Sergeant Wardman is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wardman, East Parade, Steeton.

    Asiatic, African, Egyptian Front:

    Caucasus: By now new Turk Government withdrawing 4 divisions from Armenia and Azerbaijan(Germany informed) and Enzeli advance abandoned, only 3 divisions left in Caucasus after early October advance north to Derbent.

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

    British successfully attack Turks at Fatha.

    Naval Operations:


    No Losses reported today.

    Political:


    Growing desire in Germany for Kaiser to adbicate.

    National Council in Croatia meets.

    German mark drops to 33 to the ďż˝.

    Dr. Wekerle, Hungarian Premier, resigns (see April 27th and November 1st).

    Anniversary Events:


    439 Carthage, the leading Roman city in North Africa, falls to Genseric and the Vandals.
    1531 Bavaria, despite being a Catholic region, joins the League of Schmalkalden, a Protestant group which opposes Charles V.
    1648 The signing of the Treaty of Westphalia ends the German Thirty Years War.
    1755 A British expedition against the French held Fort Niagara in Canada ends in failure.
    1812 Napoleon’s original plans for retreating from Moscow are thwarted by the Imperial Russian Army at the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. His battle-fatigued Grande Armée, forced to withdraw through heavily ravaged areas, will be hobbled by the lack of supplies, the onset of the brutal Russian winter, and constant attacks by Russian peasants and irregular troops.
    1836 The match is patented.
    1861 Western Union completes the first transcontinental telegraph line, putting the Pony Express out of business.
    1863 General Ulysses S. Grant arrives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to find the Union Army there starving.
    1897 The first comic strip appears in the Sunday color supplement of the New York Journal called the ‘Yellow Kid.’
    1901 Annie Edson Taylor, 63, is the first woman to go safely over Niagara Falls in a barrel. She made the attempt for the cash award offered, which she put toward the loan on her Texas ranch.
    1916 Henry Ford awards equal pay to women.
    1917 The Austro-German army routs the Italian army at Caporetto, Italy.
    Last edited by Lt. S.Kafloc; 10-24-2018 at 00:52.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  31. #3681

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    Another stint completed I now hand back over to Chris. See you all next Monday, and remember it will all be over by Christmas.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  32. #3682

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    Thanks for that Neil.
    That was indeed another gargantuan issue.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  33. #3683

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    Many thanks Neil. At least part of the war is now over. Not long to go for the rest of it!

  34. #3684

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    25th October 1918

    East of Maing, France the 1st/6th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders face an enemy counter attack that turns their left flank. As the enemy continues to advance and his company’s ammunition is exhausted Lieutenant William Davidson Bissett mounts a railway embankment under heavy fire and calls for a bayonet charge which drives the enemy back with heavy loss. After another charge his establishes his line saving a critical situation. For his actions Lieutenant Bissett will be awarded the Victoria Cross.

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    Major William Davidson Bissett VC (7 August 1893 – 12 May 1971) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross. Bissett was 25 years old, and a lieutenant in the 1/6th Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC:

    "On 25 October 1918 east of Maing, France, Lieutenant Bissett was commanding a platoon, but owing to casualties took command of the company and handled it with great skill when an enemy counter-attack turned his left flank. Realising the danger he withdrew to the railway, but the enemy continued to advance and when the ammunition was exhausted Lieutenant Bissett mounted the railway embankment under heavy fire and, calling for a bayonet charge, drove back the enemy with heavy loss and again charged forward, establishing the line and saving a critical situation."

    He also served with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and Royal Pioneer Corps in World War II and achieved the rank of major.

    Bissett's ashes are buried in Aldershot Military Cemetery in Aldershot Military Town, Hampshire, England. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum in Stirling Castle, Scotland.

    Norman Harvey VC (6 April 1899 –16 February 1942) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.

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    He re-enlisted in World War II and was killed in action. Harvey was born 6 April 1899 to Charles William and Mary Harvey. He married Nora Osmond. Harvey was 19 years old, and a Private in the 1st Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, British Army during the First World War when on 25 October 1918 at Ingoyghem, Belgium, he performed a deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross:

    Citation
    No. 42954 Pte. Norman Harvey, 1st Bn., R. Innis. Fus. (Newton-le-Willows).

    For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty near Ingoyghen on the 25th October, 1918, when his battalion was held up and suffered heavy casualties from enemy machine guns. On his own initiative he rushed forward and engaged the enemy single-handed, disposing of twenty enemy and capturing two guns. Later, when his company was checked by another enemy strong point, he again rushed forward alone and put the enemy to flight. Subsequently, after dark, he voluntarily carried out, single-handed; an important reconnaissance and gained valuable information. Pte. Harvey throughout the day displayed the greatest valour, and his several actions enabled the line to advance, saved many casualties, and inspired all.

    Harvey enlisted into the Royal Engineers in 1939 and joined 199 Railway Workshop Company. He was promoted to Company Quartermaster-Sergeant in April 1941. He was killed in action, near Haifa, Mandatory Palestine (now Israel) on 16 Feb 1942.

    Captain Oliver Walter Sichel (Warwickshire Regiment) dies of wounds received the previous day at Vendegies at age 26. His brother was killed in February 1915. His father will fund the Oliver Sichel Prize for singing at Harrow after his death. They are grandsons of John Holms MP for Hackney.

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    The Battle of The Selle comes to an end. The Battle of the Selle (17–25 October 1918) was a battle between Allied forces and the German Army, fought during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I.

    After the Battle of Cambrai, the allies advanced almost 2 miles (3.2 km) and liberated the French towns of Naves and Thun-Saint-Martin. Although the capture of Cambrai was achieved significantly quicker than expected and with moderately low casualties, German resistance northeast of the town stiffened. By 11 October, the Fourth Army had closed up on the retreating Germans near Le Cateau, with the Germans taking up a new position, immediately to the east of the Selle River. General Henry Rawlinson was faced with three problems: crossing the river, the railway embankment on the far side and the ridge above the embankment. The decision was made to commence the assault at night and as the river was not very wide at this point, planks would be used for the soldiers to cross in single file. Later, pontoons would be required for the artillery to cross the river. Field Marshal Douglas Haig, aware that the Germans were near exhaustion, initiated a series of operations designed to get British troops in strength across the river and clear a way for a move against the Sambre–Oise Canal, a further 5 miles (8.0 km) to the east.

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    After a six-day halt for preparations and artillery bombardments Fourth Army troops attacked at 5.20 a.m. on Thursday 17 October. Infantry and tanks, preceded by a creeping barrage, moved forward on a 10 miles (16 km) front south of Le Cateau. The centre and left of the Fourth Army forced crossings of the river, despite unexpectedly strong German resistance and much uncut barbed wire. Fighting was particularly fierce along the line of the Le Cateau–Wassigny railway. The right of the attack, across the upland watershed of the Selle, made most progress and by nightfall the German defences had been broken and Le Cateau captured. Fighting continued from 18–19 October, by which time Fourth Army, much assisted by the French First Army on its right, advanced over 5 miles (8.0 km), harrying the Germans back towards the Sambre–Oise Canal.

    The British Third and First Armies, north of the Fourth Army, maintained the offensive pressure the following day. In a surprise joint night attack in the early morning of 20 October, Third Army formations secured the high ground east of the Selle. Following a two-day pause, to bring up heavy artillery, the attack was renewed on 23 October with a major combined assault by Fourth, Third and First Armies; the fighting, which continued into the next day, resulted in further advances. At this stage, the German Army was retreating at a forced but controlled pace. On 24 October, the German Army counterattacked at the Canal de la Dérivation but were repulsed and pushed back by the Belgian Army.

    Lt. Frederick William Hedges was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the battle. (see above)

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    On 26 October, Erich Ludendorff, First Quartermaster General of the German army, resigned under pressure from Kaiser Wilhelm II.

    WESTERN FRONT
    France: Foch, Haig, Petain and Pershing meet at Senlis, formulate stiff proposals including surrender of artillery, railway stock and U-boats, agree to preventing fresh fighting after any armistice.
    Selle – Fourth phase ends: 24 British divisions have forced 31 German divisions well back from river and stand in outskirts of Valenciennes, Le Ouesnoy and southern edge of Mormal Forest. Total captures: 20,000 PoWs and 475 guns. LAST EFFECTIVE GERMAN LINE OF DEFENCE ON W FRONT BROKEN.
    Flanders: British Second Army success at Ooteghem.
    Oise*: French 79th Regiment (XX Corps, First Army) with 4 tanks storms Villers-le-Sec in Hunding Line, taking 150 PoWs, 1 gun, 58 MGs and 1 mortar for 40 casualties despite counter-attack.

    SOUTHERN FRONTS
    Piave: *British overrun rest of Papadopoli Island (night October 25-26) but flooding river delays main crossing. Italian Grappa attacks continue at heavy cost capturing and losing Mt Asolone again with 600 PoWs, Pesaro Brigade and Arditi take Mt Pertica; Austrian Edelweiss Alpine Division thrown into battle.
    Serbia: Austro-German retreat over Sava and Danube (until November 1) by bridges and streamers between Smederovo and Sabac covered by river monitors. Serbs reach Kragujevac 60 miles to south of Danube.
    Salonika*: First 5 Indian battalions from Mesopotamia land.

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    MIDDLE EAST
    Syria: Colonel Nuri Bey’s 1,500 Arabs enter Aleppo at second attempt but again driven out by Kemal’s troops as 500 British cavalry join armoured cars 13 miles southwest.
    Mesopotamia: British armoured cars approach Sharqat from desert as 40th Brigade (13th Division) again takes Kirkuk.

    SEA WAR
    Mediterranean: Scheer orders all seaworthy Mediterranean U-boats to sail home, 12 do so (October 29-31).

    The steamer Princess Sophia sank on Vanderbilt Reef near Juneau, Alaska, killing 353 people in the greatest maritime disaster in the Pacific Northwest

    The SS Princess Sophia was a steel-built coastal passenger liner in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Along with SS Princess Adelaide, SS Princess Alice, and SS Princess Mary, Princess Sophia was one of four similar ships built for CPR during 1910-1911. On 25 October 1918, Princess Sophia sank with the loss of all aboard after grounding on Vanderbilt Reef in Lynn Canal near Juneau, Territory of Alaska. With 343 or more people dying in the incident, the wreck of the Princess Sophia was the worst maritime accident in the history of British Columbia and Alaska. The circumstances of the wreck were controversial, as some felt that all aboard could have been saved.

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    On 23 October 1918, Princess Sophia departed Skagway, Alaska, at 22:10, more than three hours behind schedule. She was due to stop at Juneau and Wrangell, Alaska, on the 24th; Ketchikan, Alaska, and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, on the 25th; Alert Bay, British Columbia, on the 26th; and Vancouver, British Columbia, on the 27th. On board were 75 crew and about 268 passengers, including families of men serving overseas in the war, miners, and crews of sternwheelers that had finished operations for the winter. Fifty women and children were on the passenger list. Four hours after leaving Skagway, while proceeding south down Lynn Canal, the steamship encountered heavy blinding snow driven by a strong and rising northwest wind. Ahead of Princess Sophia lay a rock in Lynn Canal called Vanderbilt Reef. At high tide the rock might be awash or almost invisible under swells. At low tide it looked like a low table, with its highest point standing 12 feet above the water at extreme low tide. Vanderbilt Reef was in fact the tip of an underwater mountain that rose 1,000 ft (305 m) from the bottom of Lynn Canal. The channel at this point was about 6.5 miles wide. The presence of the reef narrowed the main navigation channel to 2.5 miles on the east side of the reef. The area is an extremely dangerous one for ships. It has deep waters with strong currents, rocky cliff faces, and narrow fjords. Tides regularly bring ships dangerously close to the shore. In bad weather, winds in the Lynn Canal quickly become gales.

    Vanderbilt Reef itself was marked with an unlit buoy, which of course would have been invisible at night. There was a manned lighthouse at Sentinel Island about 4 miles to the south. The light station on Sentinel Island had an area of sheltered water that was used for the station's wharf. Princess Sophia passed another manned light station at Eldred Rock, the Eldred Rock Light, 30 miles south of Skagway. Keepers at both light stations kept weather logs, which became useful later in reconstructing the events of the next two days. The dock at Sentinel Island was used as a staging point by the vessels attempting rescue of the Princess Sophia on 24 and 25 October 1918.

    Heading south through Lynn Canal, Princess Sophia drifted about 1.25 miles off course, and at 02:00 on 24 October 1918, Princess Sophia struck ground hard on Vanderbilt Reef, 54 miles south of Skagway.[12] A letter later recovered from the body of a passenger, Signal Corps Private Auris W. McQueen (1883–1918), described the scene on board just after the grounding: "Two women fainted and one of them got herself into a black evening dress and didn't worry about who saw her putting it on. Some of the men, too, kept life preservers on for an hour or so and seemed to think there was no chance for us.

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    Princess Sophia grounded on Vanderbilt Reef, Thursday 24 Oct 1918, showing the navigation buoy. Note that steam is still up on board. When this photograph was taken, enough rescue vessels had arrived to take off all the passengers and crew of the Sophia

    The wireless operator on Princess Sophia sent out a distress call immediately. Wireless was weak in those days. The distress signal could not reach much farther than Juneau. The message did reach Juneau however, and by 2:15am the local CPR shipping agent was awakened with the news. He immediately began organizing a rescue flotilla from the boats in the harbor. High tide came at 06:00 on 24 October. The wind had lessened, but Princess Sophia was still stuck fast on the reef. Low tide came at about noon. The wind and waves forced Princess Sophia even farther up onto the reef, but fortunately the vessel's double hull was not breached. At low tide on the reef the entire hull of Princess Sophia was completely out of the water. The barometer was rising, which indicated a possible improvement in the weather. With the next high tide at 16:00, and the seas so rough that any evacuation would be hazardous, Locke chose to wait to see if he could get the vessel off. This proved impossible. Without a tug, or more likely two or three tugs, Princess Sophia could never be taken off the reef. Worse yet, the passengers could not be evacuated from the vessel without life-threatening danger. At low tide Princess Sophia was surrounded on both sides by exposed rock. At high tide, the rock was awash, but the swells were such that a lifeboat would strike the rocks as the waves pounded up and down.

    Locke warned off James Davis, captain of the fishing vessel Estebeth, who attempted and then abandoned an effort to reach Sophia in a skiff. Davis moored his vessel by tying up to the Vanderbilt Reef marker buoy, which was then in the lee of Princess Sophia and protected from the worst force of the weather. The desperation of the situation was obvious to Davis and the other captains of the small boats at the scene. Princess Sophia had been seriously damaged striking the reef, with a hole in her bow that water ran in and out of at a rate that Davis estimated at 200 or 300 gallons per minute. With no apparent way to evacuate passengers, and Princess Sophia stuck fast on the reef, the only thing that Davis and the other rescue boats could do was to wait to see if the weather would moderate enough to attempt an evacuation. Captain Locke, of Sophia was confident enough of his own vessel's safety to tell via megaphone, Estebeth and Amy, which were taking a pounding in the weather, that Sophia was safe and they should take shelter in a harbor.

    Capt. J.W Ledbetter, commander of the USLHS lighthouse tender Cedar, did not receive word of the grounding until 14:00 on 24 October. Then 66 miles away, Ledbetter got in wireless contact with Captain Locke and set out with his ship to the rescue. Ledbetter asked Captain Locke if he wanted to try to evacuate some of the passengers that night. Locke told Ledbetter that the wind and the tide were too strong and it would be better for the rescue ships to anchor and wait until daylight. When Ledbetter arrived at 20:00 on 24 October he found three large vessels, including the fishing schooner King and Winge which had arrived at 18:20 and about fifteen smaller fishing vessels at the scene, arriving towards the evening on the 24th. Meanwhile, wireless reports of the grounding had reached James W. Troup, superintendent of CPR steamship operations in Victoria. He and other CPR officials were initially not too alarmed. It appeared that the passengers would be taken off soon, and the question would be one of finding accommodation for them ashore.

    Cable communications to Alaska had been lost on 21 October 1918, and partly as a result this, the wireless operators were having to contend with a rush of messages, which made it difficult to transmit essential messages relating to the grounding of Sophia. Efforts to clear non-essential traffic were frustrated by the international character of the disaster. Word of the grounding only reached Cedar eleven hours after the grounding. Whether this was because Cedar was out of range or because wireless channels were jammed with non-essential traffic is not clear. The delay was unfortunate, as Cedar was the largest all-weather ship in the area, which could readily have taken on all of Sophia's passengers and crew. No one knows what Cedar might have been able to do had she been alerted earlier. The delay could have been significant, as the late notice to him was still well recalled 45 years later by Captain Ledbetter. Of all the rescue ships, only Cedar had wireless, and her not being on the scene earlier deprived the rescue effort of this resource, if no other. Ledbetter, having the only ship with wireless, and thereby able to keep in ready contact with Sophia, organized the rescue effort. The rescue plan, although dangerous, and perhaps even desperate, was to wait until high tide at 5:00 covered the reef with at least a few feet of water. This it was hoped would be enough to launch Sophia's boats and use them to take the people from Sophia to the rescue ships. Cedar had anchored in the lee of a nearby island for the night. King and Winge, under captain J.J. Miller, had circled the Sophia all night, the only vessel to do so. On arrival at 20:00 on Thursday, Ledbetter ordered searchlights shined on Sophia. What he saw convinced him that no boats could be then launched. Waves were breaking hard against the trapped steamship's hull, and the wind was rising. Meanwhile, the stranded ship remained fixed firmly in the grip of the rocks. Ledbetter, Miller, and Locke all agreed that the passengers would be safer aboard Sophia and postponed any attempt to take them off by boat.

    By 09:00 on 25 October, the wind was rising towards gale strength. Ledbetter was having difficulty keeping Cedar on station, and the smaller rescue boats that had run for shelter on the evening of the 24th were unable to return to the reef. Ledbetter decided he would try to anchor Cedar about 500 yards downwind of the reef, shoot a line to Sophia (possibly using a Lyle gun), and then evacuate the passengers by breeches buoy. This would have been extremely hazardous and it would have been unlikely that over 300 people could be removed by this method, but it seemed the only thing that could be done. Ledbetter twice tried to drop anchor, but each time it failed to catch on the bottom. Locke could see this effort was failing, and radioed to Ledbetter that it was no use, they would have to wait for low tide when perhaps conditions might be better. There was nothing else that could be done. The conditions grew steadily worse, and by about 13:00 on the 25th both Cedar and King and Winge were having difficulty keeping on station. Ledbetter radioed Locke, and asked him for permission to retire to a more protected area. Locke assented. Cedar and King and Winge then went to the lee of Sentinel Island, where Miller, captain of King and Winge came aboard Cedar to discuss a rescue plan with Ledbetter. They agreed that King and Winge, which carried a 350 fathom anchor cable, would anchor near the reef. Meanwhile, Cedar would stand off to windward of King and Winge, creating a "lee", that is, a calm (or at least calmer) spot by blocking out the wind with the bulk of the Cedar. Cedar would then launch her lifeboats to pick up people from Sophia and ferry them to the King and Winge, thus eliminating the need and the hazards of using the boats of the stranded ship. This plan however could not work unless the weather conditions improved. Given that the Sophia had withstood so far some heavy pounding and still remained fixed on the rock, Ledbetter and Miller felt the better course was to wait for the next day to attempt their plan.

    Just as Miller was disembarking from Cedar to return to King and Winge, at 16:50 on 25 October, Sophia sent out a wireless message: "Ship Foundering on Reef. Come at Once." Ledbetter immediately prepared to steam out to the reef. He signaled Miller on King and Winge to follow him with two blasts of the whistle, but Miller did not at first understand the signal. Ledbetter then drove Cedar alongside King and Winge and shouted out to Miller: "I am going out there to try to locate him. If the snow should clear up, you come out and relieve me." Miller replied: "I will give you an hour to find them."

    The next radio message from Sophia came at 17:20: "For God's sake, hurry, the water is in my room." There was more but the radio operator could not pick it up. Knowing Sophia had weak wireless batteries, Cedar wired Sophia to conserve battery power and only transmit if absolutely necessary. Sophia's operator radioed back: "Alright I will. You talk to me so I know you are coming." This was the last wireless message from Sophia.

    With no survivors and no witnesses to the actual sinking, what happened on Sophia to drive her off the reef is a matter of reconstruction from the available evidence and conjecture. Based on the evidence it appears that the storm, blowing in from the north, raised water levels on the reef much higher than previously, causing the vessel to become buoyant again, but only partially so. The bow of the vessel remained on the reef, and the force of the wind and waves then spun the vessel almost completely around and washed her off the reef. Dragging across the rock ripped out the ship's bottom, so when she reached deeper water near the navigation buoy, she sank. This process, based on the evidence, seems to have taken about an hour. There appears to have been no time for an organized evacuation. Many people wore lifejackets, and two wooden lifeboats floated away (the eight steel lifeboats sank). There were about 100 people still in their cabins when the ship sank. It is hard to know why, if the ship took half an hour to sink, so many people were below decks, but there could be many reasons. As seawater invaded the ship, the boiler exploded, buckling the deck and killing many people. Oil fuel spilled into the water, choking people who were trying to swim away. Sophia had been equipped with extra flotation devices, on the theory that people could cling to these in the water awaiting rescue. These were worthless, as the cold seawater would kill a swimmer long before rescue could arrive.

    With no survivors and no witnesses to the actual sinking, what happened on Sophia to drive her off the reef is a matter of reconstruction from the available evidence and conjecture. Based on the evidence it appears that the storm, blowing in from the north, raised water levels on the reef much higher than previously, causing the vessel to become buoyant again, but only partially so. The bow of the vessel remained on the reef, and the force of the wind and waves then spun the vessel almost completely around and washed her off the reef. Dragging across the rock ripped out the ship's bottom, so when she reached deeper water near the navigation buoy, she sank. This process, based on the evidence, seems to have taken about an hour.

    There appears to have been no time for an organized evacuation. Many people wore lifejackets, and two wooden lifeboats floated away (the eight steel lifeboats sank). There were about 100 people still in their cabins when the ship sank. It is hard to know why, if the ship took half an hour to sink, so many people were below decks, but there could be many reasons. As seawater invaded the ship, the boiler exploded, buckling the deck and killing many people. Oil fuel spilled into the water, choking people who were trying to swim away. Sophia had been equipped with extra flotation devices, on the theory that people could cling to these in the water awaiting rescue. These were worthless, as the cold seawater would kill a swimmer long before rescue could arrive. For months after the wreck, bodies washed up for as much as thirty miles to the north and south of Vanderbilt Reef. Wreckage and the passengers' belongings were also found, including toys of the children who had died on the ship. Many of the bodies were scarcely recognizable as human remains, being covered with a thick coat of oil. Among the dead was Walter Harper, the first person to reach the summit of Denali, the highest mountain in North America. Most of the bodies recovered were taken to Juneau, where many of the local citizens volunteered to help identify the remains and prepare them for burial. The bodies had to be scrubbed with gasoline to remove the oil. Teams of women prepared female bodies, and teams of men handled the males. The volunteers were particularly affected by the bodies of the children. Divers at the wreck site recovered about 100 bodies. Many were floating in cabins for months after the wreck. The families of passengers brought legal action against Canadian Pacific, but these failed.

    AIR WAR

    There was limited action on this day , however the following claims were made

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    The RAF lost another 26 men on this day, including...

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    and finally...

    Captain Tunstill's Men:In tents and bivouacs at Catena.

    There was an improvement in the weather and the level of the river began to fall; as a result the postponed attack was re-scheduled for 6.45am on 27th. Overnight, 25th/26th, the capture of the southern half of the Grave di Papadopoli was completed by troops of 7th Division and, with an eye to the the slow progress of troops by ferry boat, the movement of some troops to the Grave resumed and a further two companies of 8Yorks were moved across.

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    Last edited by Hedeby; 10-25-2018 at 04:41.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  35. #3685

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    SS Princess Sophia - what a tragic story

  36. #3686

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    Quote Originally Posted by mikeemagnus View Post
    SS Princess Sophia - what a tragic story
    Found that almost by accident but it does make a poignant edition

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  37. #3687

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    26th October 1918

    The 8th Royal Berkshire Regiment advances after a barrage at Le Cateau and is immediately met with opposition from machine gun posts. Many men do not make it out of our trenches.

    Private Thomas Blakey MM (Royal Berkshire Regiment) is killed in action at age 32. His brother died on service in March 1915.

    WESTERN FRONT
    Germany: LUDENDORFF RESIGNS at Berlin as First QMG and de facto C-in-C Western Front. Kaiser says ‘The operation is done. I have split the Siamese twins’ (Hindenburg and Ludendorff). Kaiser refuses Hindenburg’s tendered resignation. Ludendorff succeeded by Groener whose railway expertise proves invaluable during the retreat.
    Britain: At BEF GHQ Churchill chairs senior gas officer conference (flies home on October 30).

    SOUTHERN FRONTS
    Piave: Italian Grappa attacks mainly fail, gaining only Peak 1186 and Col del Cuc (Aosta Alpini Battalion 568 casualties to date). Field Marshal Boroevic thanks defenders, confident ‘that they would convince the enemy that their blood had been shed in vain’, but 3 Hungarian divisions ask to be withdrawn home (until October 27). Italians begin 4 bridges at middle Piave.

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    MIDDLE EAST

    Aegean: Three Turk envoys begin armistice talks at Mudros (*until October 30).
    Syria: British enter Aleppo at 1000 hours after c.1,000 Turks leave; 500 Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers (80 casualties) charge Kemal’s 3,000 Turks and 8 guns north of city at Haritan but beaten off after lancing 50 and taking 20 PoWs.
    Mesopotamia: *Cassels’ 1,000 cavalry with 6 guns (11th Cavalry Brigade) ford mile-wide Tigris 13 miles north of Sharqat after 83-mile ride in two days as 17th Indian Division (until October 27) repulsed from Turk Humur line with 618 casualties.

    Pursuit to Haritan – Two regiments of the British Indian 5th Cavalry Division charged the remaining units of the Ottoman Yildirim Army Group at Haritan, Ottoman Syria in what was the last conflict with Ottoman forces in World War One. The charge left 50 dead on the Ottoman side and 20 prisoners, while the British Indian force suffered 21 dead, 56 wounded and three missing in action. The ancient city of Aleppo, which had been incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1516 with a population by the beginning of the First World War of 150,000, is 200 miles (320 km) north of Damascus and a few miles south of the strategically important railway junction of the Palestine and the Mesopotamian railway systems at Mouslimie Junction.Mustapha Kemal, commander of the Seventh Army, and Nehed Pasha, commander of the Second Army, organised the 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers to defend Aleppo.

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    Captain Macintyre, commander of the 7th Light Car Patrol, who unsuccessfully demanded Mustapha Kemal surrender Aleppo, with the flag of truce used on 23 October

    When the armoured cars attached to the 5th Cavalry Division reached the southern defences on 23 October, the commander of the 7th Light Car Patrol under a flag of truce demanded Mustapha Kemal surrender Aleppo, which was rejected. While an attack was planned by the commander of the armoured cars to take place on 26 October, Sherifial forces commanded by Colonel Nuri Bey and Sherif Nasir following an unsuccessful daylight attack on 25 October proceed that night with a successful attack. They captured Aleppo after fierce hand-to-hand fighting through the city streets which lasted most of the night. After the capture of Aleppo, the remnant of the Seventh Army commanded by Mustapha Kemal which had withdrawn from Damascus, was now deployed to the north and northwest of that city. The Second Army of about 16,000 armed troops commanded by Nihad Pasha was deployed to the west in Cilicia and the Sixth Army with another 16,000 armed troops commanded by Ali Ihsan which had been withdrawn from Mesopotamia was to the northeast around Nusaybin. These Ottoman forces grossly outnumbered the 15th Imperial Service Brigade. However, on 26 October the Jodhpore and Mysore lancer regiments of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade without artillery support, but with a subsection of the 15th Machine Gun Squadron, as part of Macandrew's preempted attack on Aleppo, advanced over a ridge to the west of the city to cut the Alexandretta road. They continued their advance north west of Aleppo towards Haritan.

    A strong Ottoman column was seen retiring north of Aleppo along the Alexandretta road by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. The Mysore Lancers advanced at the charge; three squadrons in line of squadron columns, the fourth squadron in support to capture a rearguard position held by 150 Ottoman soldiers armed with rifles and artillery. About 50 survived and 20 were taken prisoner. The Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers made a second unsuccessful charge after the position had been strong reinforced by as many as 2,000 soldiers commanded by Mustapha Kemal. Fighting continued throughout the day until at about 23:00 when the 14th Cavalry Brigade (5th Cavalry Division) arrived and the Ottoman force withdrew ending the last engagement of the war in the Middle East. During the 38 days between 19 September and 28 October, the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade had ridden 567 miles (912 km) and the 5th Cavalry Division had fought six actions, with the loss of 21 percent of its horses.

    While the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade withdrew to the Aleppo area, the remainder of the 5th Cavalry Division; the 14th Cavalry Brigade which had arrived at 23:00 on 26 October and the 13th Cavalry Brigade conducted a reconnaissance on 27 October when a rearguard position was encountered 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north of Haritan.[84] The next day armoured cars reported the rearguard had withdrawn 5 miles (8.0 km) to Deir el Jemal. On 29 October Sherifial Arabs occupied Muslimiya Station; the junction of the Baghdad and Palestine railways, cutting communications between Constantinople and Mesopotamia, ending Ottoman control of 350 miles (560 km) of territory. By 30 October the rearguard position at Deir el Jemal had not withdrawn and 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north a new 25 miles (40 km) long defensive line, in part crossing the Alexandretta road had been established. This line was defended by a force six times greater than Macandrew's, made up of the newly created XX Corps' 1st and 11th Divisions with between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers sourced from drafts and a reinforcement of one complete regiment, and the 24th and 43rd Divisions commanded by Mustapha Kemal Pasha who had his headquarters at Katma. The 5th Cavalry Division kept this line under observation while waiting to be reinforced by the Australian Mounted Division.

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    Bristol Fighters of No. 1 Squadron moved their base forward from Ramleh to Haifa and by mid October were required to patrol and reconnoitre an exceptionally wide area of country, sometimes between 500 and 600 miles (800 and 970 km), flying over Rayak, Homs, Beirut, Tripoli, Hama, Aleppo, Killis and Alexandretta in support of the pursuit by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade and the armoured cars of Desert Mounted Corps. They conducted aerial reconnaissances and bombing raids, bombing the German aerodromes at Rayak on 2 October where 32 German machines, were seen three hours later by two Bristol Fighters to have been abandoned or burnt. On 9 October five Bristol Fighters attacked with bombs and machine–guns, troops getting on trains at Homs railway station. A similar attack took place on 16 October when trains at Hama station were the target. On 19 October the first German aircraft seen in the air since the aerial fighting over Deraa, a D.F.W. two–seater was forced to land. The aircraft was destroyed on the ground by firing a Very light into the aircraft after the German pilot and observer had moved to safety. The Mouslimie railway junction of the Baghdad and Palestine railways north of Aleppo, was bombed on 23 October and at noon five Australian aircraft bombed the city and Aleppo railway station.

    AIR WAR
    France: Trenchard appointed C-in-C Inter-Allied Independent Air Force under Foch.

    Lieutenant Jules Edward Ferrand (Royal Air Force) takes part in an engagement with a large hostile formation. Singling out a Fokker he attacks it at close range, driving it down to crash. Being isolated from his companions he turns to regain our lines but is at once attacked by seven Fokkers, who keep up a running fight for many miles. He maintains a stout defense against these long odds, crashing two of the enemy machines, and eventually reaching our lines with all his ammunition exhausted.

    General Headquarters, October 27th.

    “On October 26th a great deal of reconnaissance and photographic work was accomplished by our squadrons, and nearly 8˝ tons of bombs were dropped, important railway stations being attacked with excellent results. The enemy's aircraft showed some activity over the northern battle front, and in air fighting eight of his machines were destroyed and three more were driven down out of control. Two enemy balloons were shot down in flames. Nine of our machines are missing.

    “In spite of very unfavourable weather conditions, some of our night-flying machines succeeded in dropping over 3 tons of bombs on railway junctions and other targets in the enemy's lines of communications. All these machines have returned.”

    Admiralty, October 29th.

    “Operations of Royal Air Force contingents working with the Navy from October 19th-26th have been considerably curtailed owing to unfavourable weather. Five tons of bombs were dropped on the enemy's railway communications in the Belgian area, a train being set on fire and many casualties caused among the troops by low-flying machines. Anti-submarine, coastal reconnaissance, and convoy patrols have been carried out. Enemy aircraft activity has been below normal, one machine being destroyed in combat. All our machines have returned safely.”

    RAF Communiqué No 30:

    Weather: Fair in Northern sector; low clouds and mist elsewhere.

    Forty reconnaissances, 62 contact and counter-attacks patrols.
    One hostile battery neutralized; 23 zone calls sent.
    No night-bombing was possible; 8˝ tons of bombs dropped by day.
    On the 26th instant, nine shoots were carried out with balloon observation.
    Lieut C Chrichton, No 70 Squadron, brought down a hostile balloon in flames.

    Enemy Aircraft:

    Activity was slight, except in the North in the afternoon.

    Capt A Beck and Lieut H C M Orpen, 60 Sqn, LVG C broke up Le Quesnoy at 13:25/14:25 -
    2nd-Lieut P T Grant, 65 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Sotteghem at 13:30/14:30 -
    Capt J L M White, 65 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Helderghem at 13:35/14:35 -
    Lieut C A Chrichton, 70 Sqn, Balloon in flames Lalaie at 14:15/15:15 -
    Capt F O Soden, 41 Sqn, Balloon in flames Mellen at 14:40/15:40 -
    Lieut G W G Gauld, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Cordes at 14:55/15:55 -
    2nd-Lieut F J Hunt, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Cordes at 14:55/15:55 -
    2nd-Lieut F J Hunt, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Cordes at 14:55/15:55 -
    Capt A C Kiddie, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Cordes at 14:55/15:55 -
    Lieut J E Ferrand, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Cordes at 14:55/15:55 -
    Lieut J E Ferrand, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Cordes at 15:00/16:00 -
    Lieut J E Ferrand, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Cordes at 15:10/16:10 -
    Lieut J E Ferrand, No 74 Squadron, after attacking an E.A. which he followed down to 500 feet and saw crash, was climbing west when he was attacked by seven Fokkers. He dived through them, and saw the right-hand wing of one of them crumple up, and another start falling out of control. Both these machines were seen to crash by another squadron

    Capt O A P Heron, 70 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed south of Monchaux at 15:15/16:15 -
    Capt O A P Heron, 70 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control south of Montroelau Bois at 15:15/16:15 -
    Capt G R Riley, Lieut C E James and 2nd-Lieut J A McDonald, 3 Sqn, DFW C out of control 51.N.21 (east of Le Quesnoy) at 15:25/16:25 -
    Capt F J Phillips & 2nd-Lieut J W London and Lieut T G Rae & 2nd-Lieut F G Smith, 48 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Renaix at 15:30/16:30 -
    Lieut N E Miller, 19 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Le Quesnoy at 15:35/16:35 -
    Lieut T H Barkell, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII in flames east of Tournai at 15:45/16:45 -
    Lieut T C R Baker, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII out of control east of Tournai at 15:45/16:45 -
    Lieut T H Barkell, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII out of control east of Tournai at 15:45/16:45 -
    2nd-Lieut E J Richards, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII out of control Tournai at 15:45/16:45 -
    Lieut H W Ross, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII out of control Tournai at 15:45/16:45 -
    Lieut F Woolley, 79 Sqn, LVG C crashed south-east of Renaix at 16:10/17:10 -
    Lieut P S Tennant & 2nd-Lieut G L P Drummond, 103 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Leuze at 16:10/17:10 -

    Casualties:

    2nd-Lieut W L N Cope (Wia), 79 Sqn, Dolphin - machine-gun fire
    2nd-Lieut C R Knott (Wia) & ? (Ok), 108 Sqn, DH9 - anti-aircraft fire on bomb raid Melle?
    Lieut N E Marshall (Ok), 2 Sqn AFC, SE5a F5465 - took off 06:15/07:15 then struck a ditch landing in heavy fog at Lesquin 09:30/10:30 while travelling from Auchel to new aerodrome
    2nd-Lieut J R Desey (Kia) & 2nd-Lieut R Lister (Kia), 8 Sqn, AW FK8 F7480 - took off 09:55/10:55 then missing during photography
    Lieut H H Hunt (Kia), 1 Sqn, SE5a B7909 - last seen east of Péronne 10:50/11:50 on flight from Senlis to Bouvincourt
    Lieut H C Rath DFC (Kia), 29 Sqn, SE5a C1915 - took off 11:15/12:15 then collided in air with SE5A F900 at 12,000 feet over Tournai on offensive patrol
    Lieut R S G MacLean (Kia), 29 Sqn, SE5a F900 - took off 11:15/12:15 then collided with SE5A C1915 over Tournai at 12,000 feet on offensive patrol
    Lieut T H Turnbull (Kia), 40 Sqn, SE5a F5536 - took off 13:30/14:30 and last seen Valenciennes front on bombing OP
    2nd-Lieut H Thomas (Pow) & 2nd-Lieut F H V Coomer (Pow), 48 Sqn, Bristol F.2B E2532 - took off 12:15/13:15 and last seen 13:30/14:30 on OP Tournai
    2nd-Lieut A E Moir (Kia), 65 Sqn, Camel H7005 - last seen going down in flames over Esseghem 13:40/14:40 on offensive patrol; Ltn z S Gotthard Sachsenberg, MFJI, 29th victory [Essenghem, no time]
    2nd-Lieut M Maclean (Pow), 74 Sqn, SE5a E3942 - last seen 1,500 feet in combat over Cordes 13:45/14:45 on OP
    2nd-Lieut T H Barkell (Wia), 4 Sqn AFC, Snipe E8032 - force landed near Peronne 15:45/16:45 after shot up in combat
    Capt E L Simonson (Ok), 2 Sqn AFC, SE5a D406 - took off 14:05/15:05 then shot through by enemy gunfire 16:05/17:05 on OP Conde
    2nd-Lieut H E Chaffey (Kia) & 2nd-Lieut H P Turnbull (Kia), 42 Sqn, RE8 D4917 - took off 15:00/16:00 then shot down (Sh37).N.6.d.2.2 [south-west of Pont-a-Chin] 16:20/17:20 in combat with 7 Fokker biplanes during artillery observation
    Lieut A D MacDonald (Ok) & 2nd-Lieut G Riley (Ok), 42 Sqn, RE8 C2557 - took off 14:20/15:20 then badly damaged by machine-gun fire after attack by 7 Fokker biplanes on low reconnaissance, returned aerodrome 16:30/17:30

    The Canadian Ace, Lieutenant Henry Coyle Rath DFC 29 Squadron RAF was died of his injuries on this day

    The son of Thomas and Maggie Rath, Henry Coyle Rath was a hardware clerk from Tweed, Ontario when he enlisted. He was posted to 29 Squadron on the Western Front on 5 June 1918. He scored 12 victories flying the S.E.5a. Rath collided with another 29 Squadron plane at 12,000 feet over Tournai on 25 October 1918. He died from injuries the following day.

    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
    Lieut. Henry Coyle Rath. (FRANCE)
    A bold and resolute fighter in the air who has six enemy aeroplanes to his credit. On 14th October he, with three other machines, engaged a large number of enemy scouts; five were shot down, Lieut. Rath destroying two.

    The German Ace Leutnant Olivier "Bauli" Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay of Jasta 19 also died of his wounds on this day.

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    The son of a Prussian army officer, Beaulieu-Marconnay was a 16 year old high school student when the war began. A year later, he was a Leutnant in the 4th Prussian Dragoon Regiment wearing the Iron Cross, first class. "Bauli" eventually transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte, scoring his first victory by the end of May 1918. Shortly before his 20th birthday, he was given command of Jasta 19. Wounded in action on 4 October 1918, he remained with his unit, scoring two more victories before he was critically wounded in combat on 18 October 1918. Before he died at a military hospital in Arlon, Belgium, Beaulieu-Marconnay was awarded the Blue Max. He was the youngest recipient of the war to receive Prussian's highest military honor. He had 25 confirmed victories to his name when he died.

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    The following aces made claims on this day

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    It was an awful day for the RAF with 41 men lost including the following...

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    Captain Tunstill's Men: In tents and bivouacs at Catena.

    Starting out at 4pm, the Battalion again marched to the front line via Lovadina, in preparation for crossing to the Grave di Papadopoli. Each man carried 170 rounds S.A.A., except section leaders who carried 130 rounds and 3 Mills bombs; rifle grenadiers each carried 5 rifle grenades; Officers were given the option to carry Mills bombs “if they wish”. Entrenching tools and helves were not carried. Each man also carried his own rations. Additional equipment such as the Lewis guns, magazines, extra S.A.A., rope and tools, such as bill hooks, were sent forward under the control of 2Lt. Fred Dyson (see 15th May). 2Lt. Albert Joseph Acarnley MC (see 21st June) and four men from D Company were also designated to march ahead of the Battalion and liase with Major Armstrong MC, of 11WYorks, who was in charge of embarkation of the troops of the Brigade. Maj. William Norman Town (see 23rd August; it is not clear exactly when Maj. Town had re-joined the Battalion from England) was detailed to maintain and forward reports regarding the embarkation of the whole Brigade. The Battalion duly concentrated on the right bank of the Piave, just west of the island of Cosenza. Once at the river, the Battalion was joined by one section from the Brigade Machine Gun Company, and two guns from the light trench mortar battery, under Lt. Stephen Moss Mather (see 16th December 1917), who was on attachment to the Trench Mortar Battery, who were to cross to the island immediately in rear of the Battalion.

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    By 10.30pm a footbridge from Cosenza to the Grave had been completed, guaranteeing that troops could be assembled in good time. British artillery now began bombarding Austrian positions on the far bank to destroy the wire. This, in turn, provoked a considerable Austrian response against the ferries and the footbridges, but little damage was done and it did not seriously affect the passage of the troops. The Battalion began its move to the Grave. The first stream, as far as the island of Cosenza, was crossed by means of “a well-constructed footbridge” but subsequent streams were crossed either by simple pontoon bridges or by means of the small ferry boats. The pontoon bridges were described as, “a string of small boats thrown across the river in such a way that the powerful current tended to force them closer together, and they supported a planked gangway … the gangway stood some feet above the water and in the darkness seemed to be hung in the air”.

    Having crossed, the men spread out and lay along the river bank and shingle under considerable bombardment from the Austrians with no cover available. As the barrage lifted a little the men moved forward into the bushes on the island. Here they were to wait for more than seven hours until the attack was launched at 6.45 the following morning. Despite the bombardment only five men were wounded while the Battalion was waiting.

    Writing many years later, the events were described in some detail by 2Lt. Bernard Garside (see 22nd October):

    “I shall always remember marching at the head of my platoon of ‘D’ Company for one reason. I had tried my best to be a good officer to them, whilst seeing to it they were well-trained soldiers, but I didn’t really know what they thought about it all. But on the way up, when they finished one of their songs on the march, my platoon sergeant shouted, “Come on lads – let’s have ‘For he’s a jolly good fellow’, and laughed at me. And how they sang it, smiling at me as they roared it out. And what did I do? – well I nearly cried and tears came into my eyes which I hoped they didn’t see. Some of those singers weren’t alive next morning.

    Well we marched up to the river or within ź of a mile of it and then entered a labyrinth of trenches which bordered it, threading our way about them until we got to the river’s edge. Now I should explain this river is not like most of our rivers at all – at least not where we crossed. It was very wide but was studded with islands, so that it was really a bunch of little streams varying from a few yards wide to say 25-30.

    Now you mustn’t think I’m fibbing if ever you go to this bit of the Piave not far from Treviso, for it’s a long time since I was there now, not far off 30 years - so I may be a bit out in my widths and so on. But there it was, the wide river studded with islands. And I think the name of the big one near the far bank, was Grave di Papodopoli. Some of the little streams we waded; at least one was too wide and deep and we got into boats anchored close in. Then the man in charge let one end float out into the swift current and gave a great heave or two with a long pole which carried us right across, but much lower down the bank of the next island owing to the current. By now we had reached the long G di P I have shown and by now also the Austrians knew there was something on and had started shelling, so that, when I was told to ‘dig in’ with my platoon, we wasted no time. However, on the way up we had lost some of our shovels or something had happened (in fact, it had been ordered that entrenching Tools and Helves were not to be carried; see above), for I remember that my batman and I dug far enough down to shelter us both in the gravel and sand of the island, with our hands. When we had done this, there we stuck from about 11 o’clock, I think it was, till 6, being shelled all the time. I remember several nose-caps of shells hummed loudly, just over my head as their shells burst. However, in spite of all, not many men were hit and we now knew we were to attack at 6 o’clock across the last and widest stream which I have shown with thick arrows. It was very cold and unpleasant just crouching and being shelled and we were very glad when 6 o’clock came.

    But before I go on, I must tell you one rather peculiar story about one of my men at this time. As we went up to the river through the trenches, my platoon sergeant came and told me that one of my men, whom he knew very well, was ill and he wanted to know if he could tell him to leave the platoon and try to find the Medical Officer. I told the sergeant he knew as well as I did that nobody could say where the Doctor was just then and that King (Pte. James Isaac King, see 13th June) the man, would have to struggle on till we came to our post for the night on the island. He could then send him to me and I would see he went to the Doctor right away. The sergeant then went away. In fact, King did not come to me and was the first man in my platoon to be killed next morning. Now the story behind all this was told me by my sergeant some time later, after I had left my old platoon, as you will hear later. He overtook me one day after we had finished our attack and said, “I think I should tell you Sir” (or some such words) “that I lied to you that day, when I said, King was ill”. I looked surprised and rather shocked. I said, “Well go ahead sergeant, and be frank”. He said he would like to be. He said what happened was that King came to him and said, “You know me sergeant; you know I’m no coward, but I know if I go across the river with the other lads tomorrow I’ll be killed”. The sergeant tried to laugh him out of the idea, but he was obviously very serious and said, “Alright then, only I know you and I thought I’d mention it”. The sergeant thought about it and then offered to come and lie to me. I have mentioned what I said. Then, when we were in position, and King was free to come to me, the sergeant told him to do so. But King then said, “No sergeant, I’m damned if I will – I’m seeing this thing through”. And he was killed about five yards away from me next day. I had to write to his family as I well remember. Of course I did not tell them this story”.

    and finally English landowner Cecil Chubb donated Stonehenge to Great Britain.

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    Last edited by Hedeby; 10-26-2018 at 14:30.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  38. #3688

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    Good to see the Bristols back again Interesting account of Tunstill's men today. Enjoyed the personal account by 2Lt. Bernard Garside. Thanks

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    27th October 1918

    There can be only one way to start today's edition - one of the most famous Air VCs of the entire war (and no, its not the one where one bloke 'alledges' he flew off on his own and shot up an entire airfield...)

    During the morning, Major William George Barker (Royal Air Force) observes an enemy two-seater over the Foret de Mormal. He attacks this machine and after a short burst it breaks up in the air. At the same time a Fokker biplane attacks him, and he is wounded in the right thigh, but manages, despite this, to shoot down the enemy airplane in flames. He then finds himself in the middle of a large formation of Fokkers who attack him from all directions, and he is again severely wounded in the left thigh, but he succeeds in driving down two of the enemy in a spin. He loses consciousness then, and his machine falls out of control. On recovery he finds himself being again attacked heavily by a large formation and singling out one machine he deliberately charges and drives it down in flames. During this fight his left elbow is shattered and he again faints, and on regaining consciousness he finds himself still being attacked, but notwithstanding that he is now severely wounded in both legs and his left arm shattered he dives on the nearest machine and shoots it down in flames. Being greatly exhausted, he dives out of the fight to regain our lines, but is met by another formation, which attacks and endeavors to cut him off, but after a hard fight he succeeds in breaking up this formation and reaches our lines, where he crash-lands. This combat, in which Major Barker destroys four enemy machines (three of them in flames), brings his total successes to fifty enemy machines destroyed, and is a notable example of the exceptional bravery and disregard of danger which this very gallant officer has always displayed throughout his distinguished career. For this action he will be awarded the Victoria Cross.

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    Born on a family farm in Dauphin, Manitoba, "Will" Barker grew up on the frontier of the Great Plains, riding horses, shooting, and working as a youngster on his father's farm and sawmill. He was an exceptional shot, using a lever-action Winchester that he had modified with his own peep sight. He was particularly adept at shooting on the move, even while on horseback. One biographer has suggested that he could have been a trick shooter in a circus. He was physically poised, emotionally intense, with wide-ranging interests, and had an innate flair for the dramatic act. He was a very good student in school, but had frequent absences due to farm and sawmill life; he was the hunter providing food for the workers in the sawmill while still a young teenager, and missed classes because of this obligation. Barker fell in love with aviation after watching pioneer aviators flying Curtiss and Wright Flyer aircraft at farm exhibitions between 1910 and 1914. He was a Boy Scout at Russell, Manitoba, and a member of the 32nd Light Horse, a Non-Permanent Active Militia unit based at Roblin, Manitoba. He was in Grade 11 at Dauphin Collegiate Institute in the fall of 1914, just before his enlistment. In December 1914, soon after the outbreak of the First World War and the subsequent call to arms in the Dominion of Canada, Barker enlisted as No 106074 Trooper William G. Barker in the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles.[7] The regiment went to England in June 1915 and then to France on 22 September of that year. Barker was a Colt machine gunner with the regiment's machine gun section until late February or early March 1916, when he transferred as a probationary observer to 9 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, flying in Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 aircraft.

    He was commissioned as a second-lieutenant in April and was given five days leave in London to acquire an officer's uniform and equipment. On his return, he was assigned to 4 Squadron and on 7 July transferred to 15 Squadron, still flying in the B.E.2. On 21 July Barker claimed a Roland scout "driven down" with his observer's gun, and in August claimed a second Roland, this time in flames. He was Mentioned in Despatches around this time. He officially qualified as an Observer on 27 August and on 15 September he worked for the first time with Canadian troops, including his old regiment. On 15 November, Barker and his pilot, flying very low over the Ancre River, spotted a large concentration of German troops massing for a counter-attack on Beaumont Hamel. The crew sent an emergency Zone Call which brought to bear all available artillery fire in the area onto the specified target. The force of some 4,000 German infantry was effectively broken up. He was awarded the Military Cross for this action in the concluding stages of the Battle of the Somme.[9]

    In January 1917, after spending Christmas on leave in London, he commenced pilot training at Netheravon, flying solo after 55 minutes of dual instruction. On 24 February 1917 he returned to serve a second tour on Corps Co-operation machines as a pilot flying B.E.2s and R.E.8s with 15 Squadron. On 25 March, Barker claimed another scout "driven down". On 25 April 1917 during the Arras Offensive, Barker, flying an R.E.8 with observer Lt. Goodfellow, spotted over 1,000 German troops sheltering in support trenches. The duo directed artillery fire into the positions, thereby avoiding a counter-attack.

    After being awarded a bar to his MC in July, Barker was wounded in the head by anti-aircraft fire in August 1917. After a short spell in the UK as an instructor, Barker's continual requests for front line service resulted in him being transferred to become a scout pilot, being offered a post with either 56 Squadron or 28 Squadron. He chose command of C Flight in the newly formed 28 Squadron, flying the Sopwith Camel that he preferred over the S.E.5s of 56 Squadron. Although Barker was reportedly not a highly skilled pilot – suffering several flying accidents during his career – he compensated for this deficiency with an aggressiveness in action and highly accurate marksmanship. The unit moved to France on 8 October 1917 and Barker downed an Albatros D.V on his first patrol, though he did not claim it as the patrol was unofficial. He claimed an Albatros of Jasta 2 (Lt. Lange, killed) on 20 October, and two more, of Jasta 18, on 27 October (Lt. Schober killed, Offstv. Klein, force landed).

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    On 7 November 1917, 28 Squadron was transferred to Italy with Barker temporarily in command, and most of the unit, including aircraft, travelled by train to Milan. On 29 November he downed an Austrian Albatros D.III flown by Lt. Haertl of Jasta 1 near Pieve di Soligo. A Jasta 39 pilot was shot down and killed and a balloon of BK 10 destroyed on 3 December. One of his most successful, and also most controversial raids – fictionalised by Ernest Hemingway in the short story The Snows of Kilimanjaro – was on 25 December 1917. Catching the Germans off guard, he and Lt. Harold Hudson, his wingman, shot up the airfield of Fliegerabteilung (A) 204, setting fire to one hangar and damaging four German aircraft before dropping a placard wishing their opponents a "Happy Christmas."

    Lt. Lang of Jasta 1 was killed by Barker on 1 January 1918, and two balloons, two Albatros fighters (one flown by Feldwebel Karl Semmelrock of Flik 51J) and a pair of two-seaters fell to Barker during February. Awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in March, he also claimed three more Albatros and an observation balloon. Owing to his tendency to ignore orders by flying many unofficial patrols, Barker was passed over when the post of Commanding Officer of 28 Squadron became vacant. Dissatisfied, he applied for a posting and joined 66 Squadron in April 1918, where he claimed a further 16 kills by mid-July. On 17 April, he shot down Oblt. Gassner-Norden of Flik 41J, flying an Albatros D.III (Oef), over Vittorio. He then became Squadron Commander of 139 Squadron, flying the Bristol Fighter. Barker however took his Sopwith Camel with him and continued to fly fighter operations. He carried out an unusual sortie on the night of 9 August when he flew a Savoia-Pomilio SP.4 bomber to land a spy behind enemy lines.

    By this time, his personal Sopwith Camel (serial no. B6313) had become the most successful fighter aircraft in the history of the RAF, Barker having used it to shoot down 46 aircraft and balloons from September 1917 to September 1918, for a total of 404 operational flying hours. It was dismantled in October 1918, Barker keeping the clock as a memento, although he was asked to return it the following day. During this time Barker trialled a series of modifications to B6313, to improve its combat performance. The Clerget rotary engine's cooling efficiency was poorer in the hotter Italian climate, so several supplementary cooling slots were cut into the cowling. The poor upward visibility of the Camel resulted in Barker cutting away progressively larger portions of the centre-section fabric. He also had a rifle-type, notch and bead gun-sight arrangement replace the standard gun sight fitting.

    Having flown more than 900 combat hours in two and a half years, Barker was transferred back to the UK in September 1918 to command the fighter training school at Hounslow Heath Aerodrome. Barker ended his Italian service with some 33 aircraft claimed destroyed and nine observation balloons downed, individually or with other pilots.

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    In London at RAF HQ, he persuaded his superiors he needed to get up to date on the latest combat techniques in France and he was granted a 10-day roving commission in France, wherein he selected the Sopwith Snipe as his personal machine and attached himself to No. 201 Squadron RAF, whose Squadron commander, Major Cyril Leman, was a friend from his days as a Corps Co-operation airman.

    He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on day 10, Sunday, 27 October 1918.

    While returning his Snipe to an aircraft depot, he crossed enemy lines at 21,000 feet above the Foręt de Mormal. He attacked an enemy Rumpler two-seater which broke up, its crew escaping by parachute (the aircraft was of FAA 227, Observer Lt. Oskar Wattenburg killed). By his own admission, he was careless and was bounced by a formation of Fokker D.VIIs of Jagdgruppe 12, consisting of Jasta 24 and Jasta 44. In a descending battle against 15 or more enemy machines, Barker was wounded three times in the legs, then his left elbow was blown away, yet he managed to control his Snipe and shoot down or drive down three more enemy aircraft (two German pilot casualties were Vfw. Alfons Schymik of Jasta 24, killed, and Lt. Hinky of Jasta 44, wounded). The dogfight took place immediately above the lines of the Canadian Corps. Severely wounded and bleeding profusely, Barker force-landed inside Allied lines, his life being saved by the men of an RAF Kite Balloon Section who transported him to a field dressing station. The fuselage of his Snipe aircraft was recovered from the battlefield and is preserved at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.

    At a hospital in Rouen, France, Barker clung to life until mid-January 1919, and then was transported back to England. He was not fit enough to walk the necessary few paces for the VC investiture at Buckingham Palace until 1 March 1919.

    Barker is officially credited with one captured, two (and seven shared) balloons destroyed, 33 (and two shared) aircraft destroyed, and five aircraft "out of control", the highest "destroyed" ratio for any RAF, RFC or RNAS pilot during the conflict. The Overseas Military Forces of Canada recognised Barker as "holding the record for fighting decorations" awarded in the First World War.

    Barker returned to Canada in May 1919 as the most decorated Canadian of the war, with the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Military Cross and two Bars, two Italian Silver Medals for Military Valour, and the French Croix de guerre. He was also mentioned in despatches three times. The Canadian Daily Record, a publication of the Overseas Military Forces of Canada, wrote in December 1918 that William Barker of Dauphin, Manitoba was the Canadian holding the record for "most fighting decorations" in the war. No other Canadian soldier, sailor or airman has surpassed this record, and the Canadian War Museum exhibit, located in Ottawa, Ontario, states: "Lieutenant Colonel William G. Barker, one of the legendary aces of the war, remains the most decorated Canadian in military service." A plaque on his tomb in the mausoleum of Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery, officially unveiled on 22 September 2011, describes him as "The most decorated war hero in the history of Canada, the British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations." Only two other servicemen in the history of the Commonwealth or Empire have received as many British medals for gallantry. These were Mick Mannock and James McCudden and, like Barker, both were "scout pilots" in the First World War. Barker, Mannock and McCudden each received six British medals, including the Victoria Cross. McCudden was also awarded a French Croix de Guerre. But with his three foreign medals and three Mentions in Despatches, Barker received a total of 12 awards for valour.

    Another telling of the story comes in his VC Citation

    Victoria Cross (VC)
    Capt. (A./Major) William George Barker, D.S.O., M.C., No. 201 Sqn., R.A. Force.
    On the morning of the 27th October, 1918, this officer observed an enemy two-seater over the Fôret de Mormal. He attacked this machine, and after a short burst it broke up in the air. At the same time a Fokker biplane attacked him, and he was wounded in the right thigh, but managed, despite this, to shoot down the enemy aeroplane in flames.
    He then found, himself in the middle of a large formation of Fokkers, who attacked him from all directions; and was again severely wounded in the left thigh; but succeeded in driving down two of the enemy in a spin.
    He lost consciousness after this, and his machine fell out of control. On recovery he found himself being again attacked heavily by a large formation, and singling out one machine, he deliberately charged and drove it down in flames.
    During this fight his left elbow was shattered and he again fainted, and on regaining consciousness he found himself still being attacked, but, notwithstanding that he was now severely wounded in both legs and his left arm shattered, he dived on the nearest machine and shot it down in flames.
    Being greatly exhausted, he dived out of the fight to regain our lines, but was met by another formation, which attacked and endeavoured to cut him off, but after a hard fight he succeeded in breaking up this formation and reached our lines, where he crashed on landing.
    This combat, in which Major Barker destroyed four enemy machines (three of them in flames), brought his total successes up to fifty enemy machines destroyed, and is a notable example of the exceptional bravery and disregard of danger which this very gallant officer has always displayed throughout his distinguished career.
    Major Barker was awarded the Military Cross on 10th January, 1917; first Bar on 18th July, 1917; the Distinguished Service Order on 18th February, 1918; second Bar to Military Cross on 16th September, 1918; and Bar to Distinguished Service Order on 2nd November, 1918.

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    SOUTHERN FRONTS
    Piave: Austrian counter*-attacks recapture Mt Pertica (briefly), Istrice and Valderoa (600 PoWs). After wading across from 0645 hours Italians and British form 3 bridgeheads over Piave up to 2 1/2 miles deep, taking 7,800 PoWs and 74 guns. Austrian guns destroy 3 bridges by 0800 hours but parts of 2 Austrian divisions refuse to counter-attack. Eighth and Twelfth Armies rely on swimmers (82 Caimani di Piave) and air supply as 5 new bridges short-lived, only allowing 17 battalions to cross (night October 27-28).

    The decisive assault of the Allied armies across the Piave begins. At 06:45 the 12th Durham Light Infantry begins the advance onto the Green Dotted Line. Very deep swift water is found in the most northerly area of the Piave and while wading this, the battalion suffers heavily from machine gun fire, the leading company losing nearly half its strength. The Companies reorganize and press forward only to be held up by uncut wire close to the objective, which is strongly held. The wire is cut most gallantly by various parties. The battalion presses on, and C Company captures the first objective Blue Dotted Line, (the road from C Padovan to C Benedetti). Here orders are received that as the Italians on the left of the brigade have failed to cross the Piave, no further advance is to be made. The battalion suffers 29 officers and men killed, 114 wounded and eleven missing.

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    WESTERN FRONT

    German attack northwest of Le Quesnoy repulsed.
    Aisne*: French Fifth Army attacks on 7 1/2-mile front northwest of Chateau Porcien (west of Rethel), major bombing of Seraincourt to northwest on October 28.
    Meuse and Argonne: US 78th Division (c.5,000 casualties) captures Grandpre after fighting since October 25.

    Second Lieutenant Keith MacDonald Scobie (Royal Garrison Artillery attached Royal Air Force) is accidentally killed at age 21. His brother was killed in action in July 1916 and he is a Great War Poet.

    Lunae

    Have you ridden alone in the country ever
    By the dusty light of the harvest-moon?
    Cycled intent in a vain endeavor
    To match your speed to your soul’s quick tune
    When there’s never a sound to break the magic;
    For the tyres; crisp whir on the powdered road
    And the hoot of an oul in the distance, tragic,
    Are pricking your heart with a fairy goad?

    Then the hawthorn hedges, sweet dissembling,
    Stealthily close on your path, till fear
    Of their dense bulk looms; and your heartsick trembling
    Shakes into stillness as you swing clear.
    Then the high haw-hedges furious will bide,
    Drawing back from the light of the moon:
    But the black trees haste down the silver hillside.
    You know in your hear that you laughed too soon.

    William McNally VC, MM and Bar (16 December 1894 – 5 January 1976[1]) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.

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    He was 23 years old, and a sergeant in the 8th (S) Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    On 27 October 1918 at Piave River, Italy, when his company was most seriously hindered by machine-gun fire, Sergeant McNally, regardless of personal safety, rushed the machine-gun post single-handed, killing the team and capturing the gun. Later, at Vazzola on 29 October the sergeant crept up to the rear of an enemy post, put the garrison to flight and captured the machine-gun. On the same day, when holding a newly captured ditch, he was strongly counter-attacked from both flanks, but coolly controlling the fire of his party, he frustrated that attack, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.

    His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Green Howards Museum, Richmond, North Yorkshire, alongside the medals of a fellow resident of Murton, James Hall DCM MM

    POLITICS
    Austria: Emperor Charles cables Kaiser ‘My people are neither capable nor willing to continue the war … I have made the unalterable decision to ask for a separate peace and an immediate armistice’. AUSTRIA ASKS FOR ARMISTICE (via Stockholm) AS DOES GERMANY. Lammasch succeeds Hussarek (resigned) as Austro-Hungarian Prime Minister (until October 31), receives Czech Ambassador on October 30.

    AIR WAR
    Western Front: Canadian Major W Barker in Sopwith Snipe of No 201 Squadron single*-handedly battles 5 formations totalling c.60 aircraft over Mormal Forest. He shoots down 4 (50 victories total), receives 3 wounds, and crash-lands behind British lines (Victoria Cross awarded on November 30).
    Italian Front: 6 RE8s drop 5,000 rounds by parachute to forward British troops. 9 Sopwith Camel fighters destroy 3 Austrian balloons. Austrians bomb Allied Piave bridges without success.

    Lieutenant Earl Frederick Crabb (Royal Air Force) having crashed an enemy machine, then goes to the assistance of one of our own that is being attacked, and materially helps to shoot the enemy down. In addition to the above he has accounted for three other machines and assisted in crashing a fourth.

    Italian flying ace Pier Ruggero Piccio was shot down by enemy ground fire and captured by Austro-Hungarian troops. He finished the war with 24 victories, the third-highest-scoring Italian ace of World War One

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    Lieutenant General Count Pier Ruggero Piccio (27 September 1880 – 30 July 1965) was an Italian aviator and the founding Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force. With 24 victories during his career, he is one of the principal Italian air aces of World War I, behind only Count Francesco Baracca and Tenente Silvio Scaroni. Piccio rose to the rank of Lieutenant General and in later years, became a Roman senator under the Fascists before and during World War II.

    Italy organized its air assets into the Corpo Aeronautico Militare in January 1915. When Italy entered World War I in May 1915, Piccio went into combat. For his reconnaissance flights from May–August 1915, during which his craft was hit upon several occasions, he was again decorated with the Bronze Medal of Military Valor. In August, he was posted to Malpensa for additional training on Caproni bombers. After graduation, Piccio became commander of Squadriglia 3, which operated Capronis. Piccio commanded this squadron until February 1916.[1]

    He spent March–April 1916 in Paris upgrading his Nieuport fighter skills. On 31 May 1916 he assumed command of the brand new 77a Squadriglia, a Nieuport fighter squadron stationed at Istrana, near Venice. On 18 October 1916, he scored his first aerial victory, over an enemy observation balloon. The enterprising Piccio persuaded a nearby French escadrille into "loaning" him the latest in anti-balloon firepower, Le Prieur rockets–the loan being conditional upon French pilots partaking in the balloon busting expedition. Somehow, the flight line chauffeur was uncharacteristically late with the French pilots that day, and Piccio departed before their arrival. The subsequent victory won Piccio a Silver Medal for Military Valor for the hazardous combat duty of shooting a German observation balloon down in flames.

    On 26 January 1917, he was promoted to major. On 15 April 1917, he was transferred to command the 10o Gruppo. The group consisted of 91a Squadriglia, commanded by Francesco Baracca, in addition to the 77a Squadriglia. Piccio flew with either of the two squadrons within the group; though he spent the majority of his time with 77a, he tended to credit his victories to 91a, the "squadron of aces". On 20 May 1917, flying with the 91a Squadriglia, he shot down an Albatros to restart his victory tally. By June 29, he was an ace. He continued to score, and on 2 August 1917, he caught Austro-Hungarian pilot Frank Linke-Crawford flying a two-seater without a rear gunner and shot him down for victory number eight. However, Linke-Crawford survived uninjured.

    Piccio accumulated successes until his double wins of October 25, 1917, at which time his tally was up to 17. It was during this stretch of time he transferred from the Nieuport he had been flying, to a Spad adorned with a black flag painted on the fuselage.[citation needed] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in October, 1917, being placed first in command of the "Fighter Mass", then as Inspector of Fighter Squadrons. Once again, there was a break in his victory string. It wasn't until seven months later, on May 26, 1918, that he resumed his winning ways. He followed up with a victory in July, three in August, and an unconfirmed win on 29 September 1918.

    In the meantime, in the summer of 1918, he had become Inspector of Fighter Units. He seized the opportunity to reorganize the fighter squadrons. He instituted formation flying and patrol discipline; he codified the first Italian manual of air tactics. He was also decorated again, this time with the Gold Medal of Military Valor for his leadership skills, as well as a Silver Medal of Military Valor. Piccio had his fighter squadrons massed against the final Austro-Hungarian offensive in June 1918. They gained immediate air supremacy over the Luftfahrtruppen; the Austro-Hungarians called this dismal time the "Black Weeks" for good reason. They lost 22 percent of their pilots, 19 percent of their observers, and an appalling 41 percent of their aircraft between 15 and 24 June 1918. For all practical purposes, it was the effective end of the Austro-Hungarian air arm. The invaders' infantry now faced bombing and strafing from the air whenever there was flying weather.

    Piccio was shot down and captured on 27 October 1918.[citation needed] He was flying a ground attack mission into a storm of enemy ground fire, leading from the front as always, when he took a round in the engine and glided into captivity. He ended the war with 24 solidly confirmed victories. On November 4, the day of the Austro-Hungarian armistice, Piccio returned, having slipped out of the collapsing Empire in an enemy overcoat.

    General Headquarters, October 28th.

    “On October 27th our squadrons accomplished a great deal of reconnaissance and photographic work, and reported many targets to our artillery. Enemy troops were attacked from the air with bombs and machine-gun fire, and our bombing squadrons dropped 12˝ tons of bombs on important railway stations and other targets. The enemy's aircraft showed considerable activity, and there was a good deal of fighting. Sixteen enemy machines were shot down and destroyed, and 10 more were driven down out of control. Four German balloons were shot down in flames. Eleven of our machines are missing.”

    Headquarters R.A.F., Independent Force, October 27th.

    “Our machines carried out heavy attacks on Frescaty aerodrome to-day. Bombs were observed to burst well on the target. All our machines returned.”

    RAF Communiqué No 30:

    Weather: Fair, becoming overcast in afternoon.

    Thirty-two reconnaissances, 78 contact and counter-attack patrols, 96 zone calls sent.
    One hostile battery engaged for destruction with aeroplane observation and three neutralized.
    Three tons of bombs dropped by night and 12˝ tons by day.

    On the 27th instant, five targets engaged with balloon observation.
    Hostile balloons were brought down in flames by:- Lieut S M Brown, No 29 Squadron; Capt W E Shields, No 41 Squadron; Capt F O Soden, No 41 Squadron; Lieut O S Clefstad, No 70 Squadron; 2nd Lieut F J Hunt, No 74 Squadron.
    In spite of the unfavourable weather, raids were carried out by Nos 101 and 102 Squadrons; the former dropped 11 112-lb and 88 25-lb bombs on Aulnoye, Berlaimont and Avesnes, and the latter 30 112-lb and 10 25-lb bombs on Bavai and Bellignies.

    RAF Communiqué No 31:

    October 27th.— Major Barker, on a refresher course from England with No 201 Squadron, while on patrol on a Sopwith Snipe, attacked an E.A. two-seater at 21,000 feet over the Foret de Mormal, and the E.A. broke up in the air. He was then fired at from below and wounded by a Fokker biplane, and fell into a spin, from which he pulled out in the middle of a formation of 15 Fokkers, two of which he attacked indecisively. He then got on the tail of a third, which he shot down in flames from range of 10 yards. He was again wounded and fainted; on recovering, he regained control of his machine and was attacked by a large formation of E.A., one of which he shot down in flames from close range. He was then hit in the left elbow, which was shattered, and he again fainted, his machine falling to 12,000 feet before he recovered. Another large formation E.A. then attacked him and, noticing smoke coming from his machine, he believed it to be on fire, so tried to ram a Fokker. He opened fire on it from close range, and the E.A. fell in flames. Major Barker dived to within a few thousand feet of the ground, but found his retreat cut off by eight E.A., at which he fired a few bursts and succeeded in shaking them off, returning to our lines a few feet from the ground, where he finally crashed near our balloons. During the latter part of this combat Major Barker was without the use of both his legs and one arm, and brought his machine back with the thumb switch.

    Enemy Aircraft:

    Fairly active.

    Capt W S Philcox, Lieut T S Horry and Lieut E F Crabb, 92 Sqn, Albatros C crashed Mormal Wood at 06:30/07:30 -
    2nd-Lieut O Clefstad, 70 Sqn, Balloon in flames Arc - Amieres at 07:30/08:30 -
    Capt W S Philcox, 2nd-Lieut J Daniel, Lieut T S Horry, Lieut E F Crabb and Lieut J V Gascoyne, 92 Sqn, Albatros C crashed east of Le Quesnoy at 07:35/08:35 -
    Capt R B Bannerman, 79 Sqn, Halberstadt CL out of control east of Avelghem at 08:15/09:15 -
    Maj W G Barker, 201 Sqn, two-seater broke up Foręt de Mormal at 08:25/09:25 -
    Maj W G Barker, 201 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Foręt de Mormal at 08:25/09:25 -
    Maj W G Barker, 201 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Foręt de Mormal at 08:25/09:25 -
    Maj W G Barker, 201 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Foręt de Mormal at 08:25/09:25 -
    2nd-Lieut H A Argles, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Ruyssled at 09:00/10:00 -
    Capt W A Southey, 84 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Esquehieres at 09:10/10:10 -
    2nd-Lieut A H Williams, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    2nd-Lieut H G Clappison, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    Lieut C P Allen, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII broke up south of Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    2nd-Lieut J D Lightbody, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control south of Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    Lieut C P Allen, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control south of Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    Lieut R M Gordon, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames St Denis Westrem at 09:10/10:10 -
    2nd-Lieut P A King, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Wondelgem at 09:10/10:10 -

    A patrol of 16 machines of No 204 Squadron engaged 30 to 40 Fokker biplanes over St Denis Westrem. Lieut R M Gordon attacked one at close range, which fell in flames. Lieut C P Allen dived on another commenced to fall out of control, and its wings broke off. 2nd Lieut W G Clappison and 2nd Lieut P A King each shot down one of the E.A.

    Lieut S M Brown, 29 Sqn, Balloon in flames west of Tournai at 09:20/10:20 -
    Lieut R G Robertson, 29 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control west of Tournai at 09:20/10:20 -
    Capt W E Shields, 41 Sqn, Balloon in flames Mullem at 09:40/10:40 -
    2nd-Lieut F J Hunt, 74 Sqn, Balloon in flames Molenbaix at 09:40/10:40 -
    Lieut E G Davies, 29 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed south-east of Renaix at 09:50/10:50 -
    Lieut T S Harrison, 29 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed south-east of Renaix at 09:50/10:50 -
    2nd-Lieut N H Leech & 2nd-Lieut E Till, 57 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Pont-sur-Sambre at 10:15/11:15 -
    Lieut E F Crabb, 92 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Mareilles at 10:30/11:30 -
    Lieut K R Unger, 210 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed west of Locquignol at 10:30/11:30 -

    Maj W S Douglas, 84 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Foręt de Mormal at 10:50/11:50 – Major W S Douglas, No 84 Squadron, while flying low over the Foret de Mormal, was attacked by three Fokker biplanes and chased to the lines when two of the E.A. turned back. Major Douglas then turned on the remaining machine, and chased it back over the Forest, where he shot it down

    Capt J D I Hardman, 19 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Quarouble at 11:50/12:50 -
    Lieut J S Hewson, 19 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control north-east of Valenciennes at 12:00/13:00 -
    Lieut R W Duff, 19 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control north-east of Valenciennes at 12:00/13:00 -

    Three aces were shot down and killed on this day:

    Captain Guy Wilbraham Wareing DFC 29 Squadron RAF

    In August 1917, Guy Wilbraham Wareing joined the Royal Flying Corps. An S.E.5a pilot, he was assigned to 29 Squadron in June 1918. Of the nine aircraft he shot down during the months of August and September, four of them were balloons. Wareing was killed when he was shot down by a Fokker D.VII flown by Josef Raesch of Jasta 43.

    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
    Lieut. Guy Wilbraham Wareing. (FRANCE)
    A bold and courageous airman who has destroyed four enemy aeroplanes and shot down in flames a hostile balloon. He is conspicuous for zeal and devotion to duty.

    Vizefeldwebel Karl Paul Schlegel of Jasta 45

    More than half of Schlegel's victories were against enemy balloons. He was killed in a dogfight with 12 French aircraft after attacking one of their balloons. French combat reports indicate he was shot down by French ace Pierre Marinovitch of Spa 94.

    Captain Hamilton "Ham" Coolidge DSC 94th Aero Squadron

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    A graduate of Groton (class of 1915) and Harvard University (class of 1919) and the son of Professor J. Randall Coolidge of Boston, Massachusetts, Hamilton Coolidge was one of ten Harvard undergraduates accepted from a field of forty applicants for training at the Curtiss Flying School at Buffalo, New York in July 1916. A private with the United States Signal Corps, Aviation Section, stationed in Miami, Florida when the United States entered the war, Coolidge was sent the School of Military Aeronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on 5 June 1917. He embarked for France on 23 July 1917 and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant on 29 September 1917. After additional instruction at Issoudun he was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron on 16 June 1918. He was promoted to Captain on 3 October 1918. On 27 October 1918 he was killed in action, his SPAD XIII taking a direct hit from an anti-aircraft shell near Cheviegraveres.

    Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
    The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Hamilton Coolidge, Captain (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Grand Pre, France, October 27, 1918. Leading a protection patrol, Captain Coolidge went to the assistance of two observation planes which were being attacked by six German machines. Observing this maneuver, the enemy sent up a terrific barrage from anti-aircraft guns on the ground. Disregarding the extreme danger, he dived straight into the barrage, and his plane was struck and sent down in flames

    The following claims were made on this day

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    It was one of the worst days for the RAF with 49 airmen lost including...

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    SEA WAR


    German submarine U-78 was torpedoed and sunk in the Skagerrak off the coasts of Norway and Sweden by Royal Navy submarine HMS G2 with the loss of all 40 crew.

    The following is a verbatim transcription of the recorded activities of SM U-78 known to British Naval Intelligence, Room 40 O.B.:[8]

    SM U-78. Kptlt. Dröscher, later to U-117, but not before May 1917; then Kptlt. Vollbrecht. Was completed at Hamburg (Vulcan) in May 1916, joined the Kiel School and remained there until the 8th of July, when she went to Wilhelmshaven, and was attached to the 1st Half Flotilla.

    11–27 July 1916. Left for the north. By about the 20th had laid 34 mines off Skerryvore. On the 23rd she was in action with the armed trawler CHRYSEA off Fair Island. Took 1 Danish S.S. as prize on the day before she returned to Heligoland.
    20 August – 12 September 1916. Left, going northabout, for the south of Ireland and laid 34 mines off St. Govan’s Head on the night of the 1/2 September, and on the 27th August had chased S.S. FLOREAL off the Butt of Lewis. Returned northabout.
    18–23 October 1916. Apparently on North Sea patrol. Stopped 6 Scandinavian S.S, allowing them to proceed. On last day out took as prize a Norwegian steamer.
    29 October – 22 November 1916. Apparently went to coast of Norway to observe shipping; sank 1 Norwegian steamer.
    3–22 February 1917. Laid mines at various points off the west coast of Scotland, going northabout both ways. Sank 1 steamer N. of Ireland, and possibly another N. of the Orkney Islands.
    30 March – 19 April 1917. Went north, and watched the traffic on north coast of Ireland. Sand 3 S.S, 2 sailing vessels (6,500 tons). Laid mines in the Little Minch and Lough Swilly.
    29 May – 22 June 1917. Went northabout and laid mines off Inishtrahull, and at points off the N.W. coast of Scotland. Was engaged by HMS HELGOLAND (a submarine trap) near Tory Island on 9 June. Claimed 5,000 tons sinkings. She asked permission to return by Little Belt, but was told for a special reason she must come in by Nordmands Tief.
    27 July – 13 August 1917. Laid mines in Sound of Islay. Claimed 2,500 tons sinkings. Returned at slow speed owing to failure of port engine.
    She was to have gone out again in October 1917 but nothing is known of any cruise, and she was apparently not ready for service before June 1918.
    16 June - ? 27 June 1918. Apparently laid mines east of Scotland.
    ? 14–21 July 1918. Left by the Kattegat, returned by the Bight. Had completed an unknown task in the North Sea by the 18th July.
    ? 19 August - ? 26 August 1918. In the North Sea. Made no report as to her undertaking, but returned at 3 knots with double motor trouble.
    24 September – 1 October 1918. Laid mines on the east coast of Scotland.
    About the end of October 1918 she left to lay mines in the North Sea and was sunk by HM submarine G2 in 56°2′N 5°8′E"
    Note: S.S. = Steam Ship; S.V. = Sailing Vessel; northabout, Muckle Flugga, Fair I. = around Scotland; Sound, Belts, Kattegat = via North of Denmark to/from German Baltic ports; Bight = to/from German North Sea ports; success = sinking of ships.

    Captain Tunstill's Men: In the thick of the action...

    By 3.30am all attacking troops were on the Grave, including the whole of 69th Brigade. At 5am a heavy rainstorm swept the island, drenching the troops and making conditions even more difficult. This took place just as the Battalion was moving from its assembly points on the Grave to the positions from which they were to cross the far stream. Despite the difficulties the Battalion was in position by 5.45am. D Company provided four parties, each of three men, who carried ropes to be used to help the crossing of the streams between the Grave and the far bank. Lt. Vincent Edwards MC (see 20th September) and 2Lt. James Henry Midgley (see 23rd August), along with three of the Battalion scouts, meanwhile, checked the status of footbridges which had been constructed by the Austrians.

    At 6.25am the British artillery barrage began against the left bank of the river, creeping forward over the next 20 mins to reach the bund marking the Austrian front line (c.400 yards back from the river bank). Under cover of this barrage, 10DWR advanced in ‘darkness, bitter cold and heavy rain’ to the far bank of the Grave from where they were to ford the far stream and then assemble on the left bank prior to launching their assault. The men encountered desperately difficult conditions in fording the river, which proved much deeper than was expected. Several men were swept away and drowned and many had to swim. Pte. Harold Charnock (see 19th October) recalled that, “the water was much deeper than expected on the Battalion front and it was only by linking arms that many men were saved from being washed off their feet. This was done under the Austrian barrage”. The conditions also resulted in the loss of one of the two guns of the trench mortar section, along with all its ammunition.

    2Lt. Bernard Garside (see 26th October) also gave a remarkable narrative of the crossing of the stream,

    “Well, to go back to my story of the attack. 6 o’clock came. Just before, I and the other platoon commanders got simple orders. We were to take our platoon down to allotted parts of the banks of the stream between our island and the far bank and, each on his own, find a way across. At the given signal, I led my men out on the shingle by the stream and told them to scatter a little and get down. Then, feeling rather as if I was in a dream, I waded into the stream in my ‘Battle Order’, with shells screaming overhead and sometimes near. The stream flowed very swiftly, as the others did, since, you see, the islands partly blocked the whole river and forced the water through less space. Up my legs it crept and round my body – and then I had to begin to lean against the stream and plant my feet more and more firmly on the bottom. Up, up it crept until it was swirling round my chest and splashing my face. Now I was leaning hard and very, very watchful. Ah! The current was swinging one leg off the bottom. Wildly I swung it round and forced it down. It was on the bottom again. But I must not let that happen again. No go! I must go back and try again. I did, and again I had to come to the notion that my men could not get across there. Still the shells were screaming and some machine guns were rasping – but not many guns, for our artillery had blasted most of the Austrians away from the other bank. A third time I waded in, anxiously watched in the dim light by my men. This time I found the place rather less deep and I was able to edge my way along, in little sideways strides, leaning hard on the stream as I faced up it. It was getting no deeper and presently, Oh Golly!, it was getting shallower. And so I got across; the first platoon of my Company to do so. My sergeant had carefully watched my course and now I signalled him to do as we had arranged. He chose the sturdier men to come first and all joined hands. Slowly the chain wound into the stream, slowly it edged its way along my course. I waded in, excited and anxious, to meet the leading man. The horrors! He slipped. I grabbed, found his hand, he righted himself and slowly the chain came to the bank. We were across!”.

    The bulk of the Battalion crossed successfully and rested briefly to re-organise. It was essential that contact be maintained with the units deployed to left and right of the Battalion and, as such, Maj. Herbert St. John Carr West (see 23rd August) was to keep contact with 12DLI to the left and 2Lt. Edward Kent Waite MC (see 26th August) with 8Yorks on the right

    On schedule, at 6.45am, 69th Brigade, with 10DWR on the left, began their assault. A and B Companies headed the attack, with C in support and D in reserve. The assault overwhelmed the Austrian front line; within 15 minutes they had captured their first objective and occupied the front line, running 600 yards eastwards from Casa Polesi. Lt. Vincent Edwards MC (see above) remembered, “Soon after arriving on the other bank we saw an entrance into the side of a low hill. There were one or two Austrian soldiers outside, looking fed-up with the war and ready to be taken prisoner. I had about 12 men remaining of my platoon. The Austrians beckoned to their comrades in the hillside dugout to give themselves up. This they did, leaving their weapons behind, in single file. There were no less than 57 of them! I shouted to an officer who was amongst them, “Alla Piave!” (“To the Piave”). He formed the men up and marched them off. I sent a few of my men (fully armed of course) to see them into our lines and proceeded with the rest of the platoon towards our objective, which we eventually reached”.



    At 7.10am the artillery barrage lifted and the attack commenced against the second objective, a heavily-wired trench line. However, the Austrians proved to be largely dispirited and did not stand to defend the line, large numbers having already surrendered. By 8am the second objective had been secured.

    2Lt. Bernard Garside (see above) recalled that,

    “Now we rushed up the beach to a bank for shelter from the shellfire and collected together, all the Company of four platoons. Then we advanced and from various directions machine gun posts began to fire at us. But ahead of us went a ‘creeping barrage’ of our own shells; that is the shells whined just over our heads and burst just far enough in front not to harm us. Some of our battalion crept up too closely behind the shells and were hit. Already we had been swept downstream in attempting to cross, though some managed to keep up and land lower down where the current was less strong.

    We (our Company) went steadily forward until we came to a big flat field with a farm house at the other end. There the Austrians had knocked away the corner of the house nearest the field, dug a hole under the house and planted a machine gun there. For the moment we were held up, since it was madness to cross the open field. But some of the Company on our flank got round the house and cleared the post. On we went again behind the whining shells and presently rested in the cover of some trees. We had by now had quite a few Austrians surrender to us and we had had to prevent the men gathering around the prisoners and so become good targets for machine guns. The prisoners were glad enough to go back and no trouble. In our tree cover we met men and officers of other Companies who told us which of the men and officers we knew had been killed and which wounded. It was very sad telling”.

    There was then a pause of 45 minutes before the advance continued all along the line towards the final day one objective – the Tezze-Borgo Malanotte-Casa Dalmadella line. Here again the attack was carried forward by A and B Companies. In the words of the Battalion War Diary, “By this time there was considerable machine gun fire and shelling but all ranks pressed on with the utmost determination, well supported by the artillery barrage until the village of Borgo Malanotte was reached about 12noon”. Here they found a metalled road on the near edge of which, in front of Borgo Malanotte itself, among the trees were short lengths of trench which had been partially wired. Across the road were two buildings. The Austrians made a stand here, but, after a sharp attack, trenches and buildings were taken. In the words of the War Diary, “Here the enemy put up a strong resistance having machine guns well placed in the houses of the village but by the bravery of our Lewis Gunners the village was captured together with a Regimental Commander and his whole staff”.

    The events of this phase were described in some detail by 2Lt. Bernard Garside (see above),

    “Then on again until we saw a farm house in front of us and arrived at a hedge and ditch – at least the ditch I remember – I suppose three hundred to four hundred yards from the house. When we went past the ditch, suddenly, rat-a-tat-tat went at least two machine guns from the windows of the farm and all round us bullets sprayed. By this time King (Pte. James Isaac King, see 26th October), who I spoke of, and some others had been hit by machine guns. He was shot straight through the head about five yards from me. When the shower of bullets came, down we went and those nearer the ditch got in it. But we (my platoon) were by this time well beyond it and I had no orders to go back. We lay in the open. And there we lay for an awful two hours or so. Every time anyone lifted a hand, the machine guns opened fire and all round was sprayed with bullets. If we lay still, nothing happened. And so we lay. It was madness to try to go forward and dangerous – in a retreat – to go back. It was clear the men in the house were reserving their fire and had not, as we verified later, very much ammunition. The front line of our advance had thought to go ahead and leave the farm house to be dealt with later. But in fact no-one could get at the men in the upper windows of the house without exposing themselves on the walls or in the gateway so that they could be shot down. And we had no artillery able to hit the house accurately. It was not across the river which was now, I should guess, two miles away. Attempts had been made on the house and any further ones forbidden.

    Presently, I suppose I ought to have had orders before, I was told by the Company Commander to bring my men back to the ditch. Next I got orders to try to get up to the front line and what followed was so hectic and warm that I am not very clear about it. But this is what I think happened. I remember taking my men into the ditch and creeping up it at their head. I also remember some planes coming over and machine gunning us on their way towards the river or coming back. Then I remember we came to a bit of cover and I halted the platoon. I then told the platoon sergeant I was going to try to find a way up farther towards the left and that he was to take any chance of getting up if I drew the attention of the gunners. I took my batman and we rushed off to the left. I had not dared to send men on this dangerous job. Oh dear! I shall never forget the singing bullets, the ground kicked up round us and so on. How they missed us I don’t know. Presently we flopped down and they whistled just over us. I looked back and the remaining men had, whilst they were worrying about us, got further forward and too near the walls to be fired at. I had done the job. I heard later they had spotted them too late to fire from the house, but had tried rushing to the gate with a gun, but my Lewis gunner had got them just as they were going to open fire and killed them all.

    Meanwhile, I and my batman were still in the open and it was obviously impossible to go forward where we were. Anyway, I had got the platoon through by drawing the fire and my idea now was to join them by way of the ditches. We rushed back to the ditch parallel to the road and I reported the platoon through and that I was going up the ditch we had first gone up and hoping to rush into cover of the wall as the platoon had done. The Company Commander however, said that, since my platoon had got through, they would now be taken under the command of the Company in front and I had better stay to give him a hand, since we had lost one officer. This I did. All was now quiet in the front line and no help apparently needed for the time being.

    Soon we got queer orders to build Lewis gun posts facing to our left and right and rear. We knew then we were in danger of being surrounded. In fact, as we learnt later, we had advanced further than either of the Battalions on our flanks and in fact the Austrians were liable to get between us and the river. No sooner had we begun the job than a runner arrived from Battalion HQ to order me to join the Company in the front line near the farm house. In fact one officer from each of the other Companies was ordered, each of them, including ours, apart from the front line Company. The reason was that the front line Company in the course of the day had had five officers killed or wounded and had only one left. So off I went.

    By this time the machine guns in the farm house had run out of ammunition – apart from the one which had tried to rush the gate – and had surrendered”.

    It was in this phase of the operations that Capt. Bob Perks DSO (see 21st October) was killed, as described by 2Lt. William Johnson Simpson (see 26th August) in a letter to Capt. Perks’ father;

    “We had crossed the river successfully and got to our second objective where we had to stay for some twenty minutes. At this point we had a long talk to each other and made our plans for taking the next objective. We moved off in great spirits and on the way encountered an enemy machine gun post. Capt. Perks decided to get round this from a flank. It was in doing this he met his death. He got within a very few yards when he was hit through the head with a bullet. Death was instantaneous. Words of mine cannot tell you what a cloud this cast upon the Company, who made short shrift of the enemy at that point. I had only known your son for a few days but can only say how well he was like in the Company. Being an old Duke’s officer he was well known to lots in the battalion. I have never seen a more gallant officer in all my three years of active service. The name of the place where he met his death is Borgo Malanotte. It was about 9.30 a.m. on the 27th that he was killed.

    Ours was the only Company who had any officer casualties and we had three; two were killed and one wounded. I cannot express how deeply we all feel the loss of your son and our Captain. All the Company wish me to express their sincere sympathy to you in this sad time. Any further information I can give you I should be delighted to oblige”.

    All objectives had now been gained and a defensive flank of 3,000 yards back to the river had been developed on the left of the Division. At 1pm there was an attempted Austrian counter-attack against 10DWR at Borgo Malanotte which briefly recaptured some of the buildings, but, supported by A Company 11WYR, who had come up from reserve, the position had been re-taken by 4pm. An outpost line was taken up some 200 yards to the north of the village and was held overnight by A and B Companies, with C Company in support around 500 yards in rear. The overnight period remained quiet.

    Conditions overnight were remembered by 2Lt. Bernard Garside (see above),

    “I reported with the others to the officer of the front line company just as a message came from Battalion HQ that a counter-attack was expected by the Austrians about midnight. It was just growing dark at the time. The officer read it out to us and we said OK. They then gave orders for putting some barbed wire in front of the shallow holes they had dug so far and for some time we were busy. Then I took some ‘listening posts’ out in front and planted them – one or two men to warn us of any approach of enemy in our front. Then we all set to deepen the holes for protection and await the attack.

    Well, about midnight there was a stir on the ground in front and everybody crouched ready. I remember growling, “Give’em hell boys” and then there came a sharp cry from in front, “Don’t shoot, it’s us!” and it was the men I had put out coming back foolishly to tell us they had heard nothing yet. Well, I put them back and we never did have an attack. Instead we began to be very worried by shells coming quite often from almost immediately behind us and dropping first about 150 yards in front and then gradually nearer till they were just missing us. We were very annoyed that our own artillery should know so little of our position as to be nearly hitting us. But we discovered next morning that they were Austrian guns and that we – our Battalion – were isolated. By morning the Austrians, scared they would be surrounded, had gone back.

    Presently, in the early morning (28/10/18), we posted extra sentries and tried to get some rest. We had collared a lot of blankets the Austrians had left in the farm house and wrapped ourselves in them. It was cold but restful in our fox-holes in the ground. However, next morning, we discovered the blankets were very lousy and almost everyone was lice-ridden! A few were not and I was one! Yet I had been wrapped in the same blankets as the others. They say lice will not attack some people and it must be true”.

    During the day 1,400 prisoners had been captured by the Battalion along with two Field Guns, three “Infantry Guns”, 38 Machine Guns, two Horses and a large quantity of stores.

    On the 26th a pontoon bridge from Salletuol to the Grave had been completed and by the end of 27th (despite being under fire) a further bridge had been constructed from the Grave to the left bank. This now allowed for the rapid movement of troops across the river.

    Despite the success of the operations, the Battalion had suffered considerable casualties. Two officers had been killed in action and one died of wounds the same day; 22 other ranks had been killed in action and another man died of wounds the same day. A further five other ranks were officially missing in action. Two officers and more than 60 other ranks were reported wounded.

    The two officers killed were Capt. Bob Perks DSO (see below) and Lt. Thomas Beattie (see 15th May).

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    Capt. Perks, who had been killed in the actions around Borgo Malanotte, was originally buried near Casa Ancilotto, just south of Borgo Malanotte, but his remains would subsequently be exhumed and re-interred at Tezze British Cemetery. Two other men were buried alongside Capt. Perks and would also be re-interred at Tezze. They were Pte. William Hassall (see 26th July) and Pte. James Henry Quiller. Pte. Quiller was 28 years old and originally from Torquay, although he had been living, with his parents and siblings, in Great Harwood when enlisting. He had worked as a cotton weaver before joining the army and had originally served with 2DWR before joining 10DWR (date and details unknown).

    Lt. Beattie may have been drowned in the crossing of the Piave, as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Giavera Memorial.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  40. #3690

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    27th October 1918

    There can be only one way to start today's edition - one of the most famous Air VCs of the entire war (and no, its not the one where one bloke 'alledges' he flew off on his own and shot up an entire airfield...)

    During the morning, Major William George Barker (Royal Air Force) observes an enemy two-seater over the Foret de Mormal. He attacks this machine and after a short burst it breaks up in the air. At the same time a Fokker biplane attacks him, and he is wounded in the right thigh, but manages, despite this, to shoot down the enemy airplane in flames. He then finds himself in the middle of a large formation of Fokkers who attack him from all directions, and he is again severely wounded in the left thigh, but he succeeds in driving down two of the enemy in a spin. He loses consciousness then, and his machine falls out of control. On recovery he finds himself being again attacked heavily by a large formation and singling out one machine he deliberately charges and drives it down in flames. During this fight his left elbow is shattered and he again faints, and on regaining consciousness he finds himself still being attacked, but notwithstanding that he is now severely wounded in both legs and his left arm shattered he dives on the nearest machine and shoots it down in flames. Being greatly exhausted, he dives out of the fight to regain our lines, but is met by another formation, which attacks and endeavors to cut him off, but after a hard fight he succeeds in breaking up this formation and reaches our lines, where he crash-lands. This combat, in which Major Barker destroys four enemy machines (three of them in flames), brings his total successes to fifty enemy machines destroyed, and is a notable example of the exceptional bravery and disregard of danger which this very gallant officer has always displayed throughout his distinguished career. For this action he will be awarded the Victoria Cross.

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    Born on a family farm in Dauphin, Manitoba, "Will" Barker grew up on the frontier of the Great Plains, riding horses, shooting, and working as a youngster on his father's farm and sawmill. He was an exceptional shot, using a lever-action Winchester that he had modified with his own peep sight. He was particularly adept at shooting on the move, even while on horseback. One biographer has suggested that he could have been a trick shooter in a circus. He was physically poised, emotionally intense, with wide-ranging interests, and had an innate flair for the dramatic act. He was a very good student in school, but had frequent absences due to farm and sawmill life; he was the hunter providing food for the workers in the sawmill while still a young teenager, and missed classes because of this obligation. Barker fell in love with aviation after watching pioneer aviators flying Curtiss and Wright Flyer aircraft at farm exhibitions between 1910 and 1914. He was a Boy Scout at Russell, Manitoba, and a member of the 32nd Light Horse, a Non-Permanent Active Militia unit based at Roblin, Manitoba. He was in Grade 11 at Dauphin Collegiate Institute in the fall of 1914, just before his enlistment. In December 1914, soon after the outbreak of the First World War and the subsequent call to arms in the Dominion of Canada, Barker enlisted as No 106074 Trooper William G. Barker in the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles.[7] The regiment went to England in June 1915 and then to France on 22 September of that year. Barker was a Colt machine gunner with the regiment's machine gun section until late February or early March 1916, when he transferred as a probationary observer to 9 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, flying in Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 aircraft.

    He was commissioned as a second-lieutenant in April and was given five days leave in London to acquire an officer's uniform and equipment. On his return, he was assigned to 4 Squadron and on 7 July transferred to 15 Squadron, still flying in the B.E.2. On 21 July Barker claimed a Roland scout "driven down" with his observer's gun, and in August claimed a second Roland, this time in flames. He was Mentioned in Despatches around this time. He officially qualified as an Observer on 27 August and on 15 September he worked for the first time with Canadian troops, including his old regiment. On 15 November, Barker and his pilot, flying very low over the Ancre River, spotted a large concentration of German troops massing for a counter-attack on Beaumont Hamel. The crew sent an emergency Zone Call which brought to bear all available artillery fire in the area onto the specified target. The force of some 4,000 German infantry was effectively broken up. He was awarded the Military Cross for this action in the concluding stages of the Battle of the Somme.[9]

    In January 1917, after spending Christmas on leave in London, he commenced pilot training at Netheravon, flying solo after 55 minutes of dual instruction. On 24 February 1917 he returned to serve a second tour on Corps Co-operation machines as a pilot flying B.E.2s and R.E.8s with 15 Squadron. On 25 March, Barker claimed another scout "driven down". On 25 April 1917 during the Arras Offensive, Barker, flying an R.E.8 with observer Lt. Goodfellow, spotted over 1,000 German troops sheltering in support trenches. The duo directed artillery fire into the positions, thereby avoiding a counter-attack.

    After being awarded a bar to his MC in July, Barker was wounded in the head by anti-aircraft fire in August 1917. After a short spell in the UK as an instructor, Barker's continual requests for front line service resulted in him being transferred to become a scout pilot, being offered a post with either 56 Squadron or 28 Squadron. He chose command of C Flight in the newly formed 28 Squadron, flying the Sopwith Camel that he preferred over the S.E.5s of 56 Squadron. Although Barker was reportedly not a highly skilled pilot – suffering several flying accidents during his career – he compensated for this deficiency with an aggressiveness in action and highly accurate marksmanship. The unit moved to France on 8 October 1917 and Barker downed an Albatros D.V on his first patrol, though he did not claim it as the patrol was unofficial. He claimed an Albatros of Jasta 2 (Lt. Lange, killed) on 20 October, and two more, of Jasta 18, on 27 October (Lt. Schober killed, Offstv. Klein, force landed).

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    On 7 November 1917, 28 Squadron was transferred to Italy with Barker temporarily in command, and most of the unit, including aircraft, travelled by train to Milan. On 29 November he downed an Austrian Albatros D.III flown by Lt. Haertl of Jasta 1 near Pieve di Soligo. A Jasta 39 pilot was shot down and killed and a balloon of BK 10 destroyed on 3 December. One of his most successful, and also most controversial raids – fictionalised by Ernest Hemingway in the short story The Snows of Kilimanjaro – was on 25 December 1917. Catching the Germans off guard, he and Lt. Harold Hudson, his wingman, shot up the airfield of Fliegerabteilung (A) 204, setting fire to one hangar and damaging four German aircraft before dropping a placard wishing their opponents a "Happy Christmas."

    Lt. Lang of Jasta 1 was killed by Barker on 1 January 1918, and two balloons, two Albatros fighters (one flown by Feldwebel Karl Semmelrock of Flik 51J) and a pair of two-seaters fell to Barker during February. Awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in March, he also claimed three more Albatros and an observation balloon. Owing to his tendency to ignore orders by flying many unofficial patrols, Barker was passed over when the post of Commanding Officer of 28 Squadron became vacant. Dissatisfied, he applied for a posting and joined 66 Squadron in April 1918, where he claimed a further 16 kills by mid-July. On 17 April, he shot down Oblt. Gassner-Norden of Flik 41J, flying an Albatros D.III (Oef), over Vittorio. He then became Squadron Commander of 139 Squadron, flying the Bristol Fighter. Barker however took his Sopwith Camel with him and continued to fly fighter operations. He carried out an unusual sortie on the night of 9 August when he flew a Savoia-Pomilio SP.4 bomber to land a spy behind enemy lines.

    By this time, his personal Sopwith Camel (serial no. B6313) had become the most successful fighter aircraft in the history of the RAF, Barker having used it to shoot down 46 aircraft and balloons from September 1917 to September 1918, for a total of 404 operational flying hours. It was dismantled in October 1918, Barker keeping the clock as a memento, although he was asked to return it the following day. During this time Barker trialled a series of modifications to B6313, to improve its combat performance. The Clerget rotary engine's cooling efficiency was poorer in the hotter Italian climate, so several supplementary cooling slots were cut into the cowling. The poor upward visibility of the Camel resulted in Barker cutting away progressively larger portions of the centre-section fabric. He also had a rifle-type, notch and bead gun-sight arrangement replace the standard gun sight fitting.

    Having flown more than 900 combat hours in two and a half years, Barker was transferred back to the UK in September 1918 to command the fighter training school at Hounslow Heath Aerodrome. Barker ended his Italian service with some 33 aircraft claimed destroyed and nine observation balloons downed, individually or with other pilots.

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    In London at RAF HQ, he persuaded his superiors he needed to get up to date on the latest combat techniques in France and he was granted a 10-day roving commission in France, wherein he selected the Sopwith Snipe as his personal machine and attached himself to No. 201 Squadron RAF, whose Squadron commander, Major Cyril Leman, was a friend from his days as a Corps Co-operation airman.

    He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on day 10, Sunday, 27 October 1918.

    While returning his Snipe to an aircraft depot, he crossed enemy lines at 21,000 feet above the Foręt de Mormal. He attacked an enemy Rumpler two-seater which broke up, its crew escaping by parachute (the aircraft was of FAA 227, Observer Lt. Oskar Wattenburg killed). By his own admission, he was careless and was bounced by a formation of Fokker D.VIIs of Jagdgruppe 12, consisting of Jasta 24 and Jasta 44. In a descending battle against 15 or more enemy machines, Barker was wounded three times in the legs, then his left elbow was blown away, yet he managed to control his Snipe and shoot down or drive down three more enemy aircraft (two German pilot casualties were Vfw. Alfons Schymik of Jasta 24, killed, and Lt. Hinky of Jasta 44, wounded). The dogfight took place immediately above the lines of the Canadian Corps. Severely wounded and bleeding profusely, Barker force-landed inside Allied lines, his life being saved by the men of an RAF Kite Balloon Section who transported him to a field dressing station. The fuselage of his Snipe aircraft was recovered from the battlefield and is preserved at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.

    At a hospital in Rouen, France, Barker clung to life until mid-January 1919, and then was transported back to England. He was not fit enough to walk the necessary few paces for the VC investiture at Buckingham Palace until 1 March 1919.

    Barker is officially credited with one captured, two (and seven shared) balloons destroyed, 33 (and two shared) aircraft destroyed, and five aircraft "out of control", the highest "destroyed" ratio for any RAF, RFC or RNAS pilot during the conflict. The Overseas Military Forces of Canada recognised Barker as "holding the record for fighting decorations" awarded in the First World War.

    Barker returned to Canada in May 1919 as the most decorated Canadian of the war, with the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Military Cross and two Bars, two Italian Silver Medals for Military Valour, and the French Croix de guerre. He was also mentioned in despatches three times. The Canadian Daily Record, a publication of the Overseas Military Forces of Canada, wrote in December 1918 that William Barker of Dauphin, Manitoba was the Canadian holding the record for "most fighting decorations" in the war. No other Canadian soldier, sailor or airman has surpassed this record, and the Canadian War Museum exhibit, located in Ottawa, Ontario, states: "Lieutenant Colonel William G. Barker, one of the legendary aces of the war, remains the most decorated Canadian in military service." A plaque on his tomb in the mausoleum of Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery, officially unveiled on 22 September 2011, describes him as "The most decorated war hero in the history of Canada, the British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations." Only two other servicemen in the history of the Commonwealth or Empire have received as many British medals for gallantry. These were Mick Mannock and James McCudden and, like Barker, both were "scout pilots" in the First World War. Barker, Mannock and McCudden each received six British medals, including the Victoria Cross. McCudden was also awarded a French Croix de Guerre. But with his three foreign medals and three Mentions in Despatches, Barker received a total of 12 awards for valour.

    Another telling of the story comes in his VC Citation

    Victoria Cross (VC)
    Capt. (A./Major) William George Barker, D.S.O., M.C., No. 201 Sqn., R.A. Force.
    On the morning of the 27th October, 1918, this officer observed an enemy two-seater over the Fôret de Mormal. He attacked this machine, and after a short burst it broke up in the air. At the same time a Fokker biplane attacked him, and he was wounded in the right thigh, but managed, despite this, to shoot down the enemy aeroplane in flames.
    He then found, himself in the middle of a large formation of Fokkers, who attacked him from all directions; and was again severely wounded in the left thigh; but succeeded in driving down two of the enemy in a spin.
    He lost consciousness after this, and his machine fell out of control. On recovery he found himself being again attacked heavily by a large formation, and singling out one machine, he deliberately charged and drove it down in flames.
    During this fight his left elbow was shattered and he again fainted, and on regaining consciousness he found himself still being attacked, but, notwithstanding that he was now severely wounded in both legs and his left arm shattered, he dived on the nearest machine and shot it down in flames.
    Being greatly exhausted, he dived out of the fight to regain our lines, but was met by another formation, which attacked and endeavoured to cut him off, but after a hard fight he succeeded in breaking up this formation and reached our lines, where he crashed on landing.
    This combat, in which Major Barker destroyed four enemy machines (three of them in flames), brought his total successes up to fifty enemy machines destroyed, and is a notable example of the exceptional bravery and disregard of danger which this very gallant officer has always displayed throughout his distinguished career.
    Major Barker was awarded the Military Cross on 10th January, 1917; first Bar on 18th July, 1917; the Distinguished Service Order on 18th February, 1918; second Bar to Military Cross on 16th September, 1918; and Bar to Distinguished Service Order on 2nd November, 1918.

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    SOUTHERN FRONTS
    Piave: Austrian counter*-attacks recapture Mt Pertica (briefly), Istrice and Valderoa (600 PoWs). After wading across from 0645 hours Italians and British form 3 bridgeheads over Piave up to 2 1/2 miles deep, taking 7,800 PoWs and 74 guns. Austrian guns destroy 3 bridges by 0800 hours but parts of 2 Austrian divisions refuse to counter-attack. Eighth and Twelfth Armies rely on swimmers (82 Caimani di Piave) and air supply as 5 new bridges short-lived, only allowing 17 battalions to cross (night October 27-28).

    The decisive assault of the Allied armies across the Piave begins. At 06:45 the 12th Durham Light Infantry begins the advance onto the Green Dotted Line. Very deep swift water is found in the most northerly area of the Piave and while wading this, the battalion suffers heavily from machine gun fire, the leading company losing nearly half its strength. The Companies reorganize and press forward only to be held up by uncut wire close to the objective, which is strongly held. The wire is cut most gallantly by various parties. The battalion presses on, and C Company captures the first objective Blue Dotted Line, (the road from C Padovan to C Benedetti). Here orders are received that as the Italians on the left of the brigade have failed to cross the Piave, no further advance is to be made. The battalion suffers 29 officers and men killed, 114 wounded and eleven missing.

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    WESTERN FRONT

    German attack northwest of Le Quesnoy repulsed.
    Aisne*: French Fifth Army attacks on 7 1/2-mile front northwest of Chateau Porcien (west of Rethel), major bombing of Seraincourt to northwest on October 28.
    Meuse and Argonne: US 78th Division (c.5,000 casualties) captures Grandpre after fighting since October 25.

    Second Lieutenant Keith MacDonald Scobie (Royal Garrison Artillery attached Royal Air Force) is accidentally killed at age 21. His brother was killed in action in July 1916 and he is a Great War Poet.

    Lunae

    Have you ridden alone in the country ever
    By the dusty light of the harvest-moon?
    Cycled intent in a vain endeavor
    To match your speed to your soul’s quick tune
    When there’s never a sound to break the magic;
    For the tyres; crisp whir on the powdered road
    And the hoot of an oul in the distance, tragic,
    Are pricking your heart with a fairy goad?

    Then the hawthorn hedges, sweet dissembling,
    Stealthily close on your path, till fear
    Of their dense bulk looms; and your heartsick trembling
    Shakes into stillness as you swing clear.
    Then the high haw-hedges furious will bide,
    Drawing back from the light of the moon:
    But the black trees haste down the silver hillside.
    You know in your hear that you laughed too soon.

    William McNally VC, MM and Bar (16 December 1894 – 5 January 1976[1]) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross.

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    He was 23 years old, and a sergeant in the 8th (S) Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

    On 27 October 1918 at Piave River, Italy, when his company was most seriously hindered by machine-gun fire, Sergeant McNally, regardless of personal safety, rushed the machine-gun post single-handed, killing the team and capturing the gun. Later, at Vazzola on 29 October the sergeant crept up to the rear of an enemy post, put the garrison to flight and captured the machine-gun. On the same day, when holding a newly captured ditch, he was strongly counter-attacked from both flanks, but coolly controlling the fire of his party, he frustrated that attack, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.

    His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Green Howards Museum, Richmond, North Yorkshire, alongside the medals of a fellow resident of Murton, James Hall DCM MM

    POLITICS
    Austria: Emperor Charles cables Kaiser ‘My people are neither capable nor willing to continue the war … I have made the unalterable decision to ask for a separate peace and an immediate armistice’. AUSTRIA ASKS FOR ARMISTICE (via Stockholm) AS DOES GERMANY. Lammasch succeeds Hussarek (resigned) as Austro-Hungarian Prime Minister (until October 31), receives Czech Ambassador on October 30.

    AIR WAR
    Western Front: Canadian Major W Barker in Sopwith Snipe of No 201 Squadron single*-handedly battles 5 formations totalling c.60 aircraft over Mormal Forest. He shoots down 4 (50 victories total), receives 3 wounds, and crash-lands behind British lines (Victoria Cross awarded on November 30).
    Italian Front: 6 RE8s drop 5,000 rounds by parachute to forward British troops. 9 Sopwith Camel fighters destroy 3 Austrian balloons. Austrians bomb Allied Piave bridges without success.

    Lieutenant Earl Frederick Crabb (Royal Air Force) having crashed an enemy machine, then goes to the assistance of one of our own that is being attacked, and materially helps to shoot the enemy down. In addition to the above he has accounted for three other machines and assisted in crashing a fourth.

    Italian flying ace Pier Ruggero Piccio was shot down by enemy ground fire and captured by Austro-Hungarian troops. He finished the war with 24 victories, the third-highest-scoring Italian ace of World War One

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    Lieutenant General Count Pier Ruggero Piccio (27 September 1880 – 30 July 1965) was an Italian aviator and the founding Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force. With 24 victories during his career, he is one of the principal Italian air aces of World War I, behind only Count Francesco Baracca and Tenente Silvio Scaroni. Piccio rose to the rank of Lieutenant General and in later years, became a Roman senator under the Fascists before and during World War II.

    Italy organized its air assets into the Corpo Aeronautico Militare in January 1915. When Italy entered World War I in May 1915, Piccio went into combat. For his reconnaissance flights from May–August 1915, during which his craft was hit upon several occasions, he was again decorated with the Bronze Medal of Military Valor. In August, he was posted to Malpensa for additional training on Caproni bombers. After graduation, Piccio became commander of Squadriglia 3, which operated Capronis. Piccio commanded this squadron until February 1916.[1]

    He spent March–April 1916 in Paris upgrading his Nieuport fighter skills. On 31 May 1916 he assumed command of the brand new 77a Squadriglia, a Nieuport fighter squadron stationed at Istrana, near Venice. On 18 October 1916, he scored his first aerial victory, over an enemy observation balloon. The enterprising Piccio persuaded a nearby French escadrille into "loaning" him the latest in anti-balloon firepower, Le Prieur rockets–the loan being conditional upon French pilots partaking in the balloon busting expedition. Somehow, the flight line chauffeur was uncharacteristically late with the French pilots that day, and Piccio departed before their arrival. The subsequent victory won Piccio a Silver Medal for Military Valor for the hazardous combat duty of shooting a German observation balloon down in flames.

    On 26 January 1917, he was promoted to major. On 15 April 1917, he was transferred to command the 10o Gruppo. The group consisted of 91a Squadriglia, commanded by Francesco Baracca, in addition to the 77a Squadriglia. Piccio flew with either of the two squadrons within the group; though he spent the majority of his time with 77a, he tended to credit his victories to 91a, the "squadron of aces". On 20 May 1917, flying with the 91a Squadriglia, he shot down an Albatros to restart his victory tally. By June 29, he was an ace. He continued to score, and on 2 August 1917, he caught Austro-Hungarian pilot Frank Linke-Crawford flying a two-seater without a rear gunner and shot him down for victory number eight. However, Linke-Crawford survived uninjured.

    Piccio accumulated successes until his double wins of October 25, 1917, at which time his tally was up to 17. It was during this stretch of time he transferred from the Nieuport he had been flying, to a Spad adorned with a black flag painted on the fuselage.[citation needed] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in October, 1917, being placed first in command of the "Fighter Mass", then as Inspector of Fighter Squadrons. Once again, there was a break in his victory string. It wasn't until seven months later, on May 26, 1918, that he resumed his winning ways. He followed up with a victory in July, three in August, and an unconfirmed win on 29 September 1918.

    In the meantime, in the summer of 1918, he had become Inspector of Fighter Units. He seized the opportunity to reorganize the fighter squadrons. He instituted formation flying and patrol discipline; he codified the first Italian manual of air tactics. He was also decorated again, this time with the Gold Medal of Military Valor for his leadership skills, as well as a Silver Medal of Military Valor. Piccio had his fighter squadrons massed against the final Austro-Hungarian offensive in June 1918. They gained immediate air supremacy over the Luftfahrtruppen; the Austro-Hungarians called this dismal time the "Black Weeks" for good reason. They lost 22 percent of their pilots, 19 percent of their observers, and an appalling 41 percent of their aircraft between 15 and 24 June 1918. For all practical purposes, it was the effective end of the Austro-Hungarian air arm. The invaders' infantry now faced bombing and strafing from the air whenever there was flying weather.

    Piccio was shot down and captured on 27 October 1918.[citation needed] He was flying a ground attack mission into a storm of enemy ground fire, leading from the front as always, when he took a round in the engine and glided into captivity. He ended the war with 24 solidly confirmed victories. On November 4, the day of the Austro-Hungarian armistice, Piccio returned, having slipped out of the collapsing Empire in an enemy overcoat.

    General Headquarters, October 28th.

    “On October 27th our squadrons accomplished a great deal of reconnaissance and photographic work, and reported many targets to our artillery. Enemy troops were attacked from the air with bombs and machine-gun fire, and our bombing squadrons dropped 12˝ tons of bombs on important railway stations and other targets. The enemy's aircraft showed considerable activity, and there was a good deal of fighting. Sixteen enemy machines were shot down and destroyed, and 10 more were driven down out of control. Four German balloons were shot down in flames. Eleven of our machines are missing.”

    Headquarters R.A.F., Independent Force, October 27th.

    “Our machines carried out heavy attacks on Frescaty aerodrome to-day. Bombs were observed to burst well on the target. All our machines returned.”

    RAF Communiqué No 30:

    Weather: Fair, becoming overcast in afternoon.

    Thirty-two reconnaissances, 78 contact and counter-attack patrols, 96 zone calls sent.
    One hostile battery engaged for destruction with aeroplane observation and three neutralized.
    Three tons of bombs dropped by night and 12˝ tons by day.

    On the 27th instant, five targets engaged with balloon observation.
    Hostile balloons were brought down in flames by:- Lieut S M Brown, No 29 Squadron; Capt W E Shields, No 41 Squadron; Capt F O Soden, No 41 Squadron; Lieut O S Clefstad, No 70 Squadron; 2nd Lieut F J Hunt, No 74 Squadron.
    In spite of the unfavourable weather, raids were carried out by Nos 101 and 102 Squadrons; the former dropped 11 112-lb and 88 25-lb bombs on Aulnoye, Berlaimont and Avesnes, and the latter 30 112-lb and 10 25-lb bombs on Bavai and Bellignies.

    RAF Communiqué No 31:

    October 27th.— Major Barker, on a refresher course from England with No 201 Squadron, while on patrol on a Sopwith Snipe, attacked an E.A. two-seater at 21,000 feet over the Foret de Mormal, and the E.A. broke up in the air. He was then fired at from below and wounded by a Fokker biplane, and fell into a spin, from which he pulled out in the middle of a formation of 15 Fokkers, two of which he attacked indecisively. He then got on the tail of a third, which he shot down in flames from range of 10 yards. He was again wounded and fainted; on recovering, he regained control of his machine and was attacked by a large formation of E.A., one of which he shot down in flames from close range. He was then hit in the left elbow, which was shattered, and he again fainted, his machine falling to 12,000 feet before he recovered. Another large formation E.A. then attacked him and, noticing smoke coming from his machine, he believed it to be on fire, so tried to ram a Fokker. He opened fire on it from close range, and the E.A. fell in flames. Major Barker dived to within a few thousand feet of the ground, but found his retreat cut off by eight E.A., at which he fired a few bursts and succeeded in shaking them off, returning to our lines a few feet from the ground, where he finally crashed near our balloons. During the latter part of this combat Major Barker was without the use of both his legs and one arm, and brought his machine back with the thumb switch.

    Enemy Aircraft:

    Fairly active.

    Capt W S Philcox, Lieut T S Horry and Lieut E F Crabb, 92 Sqn, Albatros C crashed Mormal Wood at 06:30/07:30 -
    2nd-Lieut O Clefstad, 70 Sqn, Balloon in flames Arc - Amieres at 07:30/08:30 -
    Capt W S Philcox, 2nd-Lieut J Daniel, Lieut T S Horry, Lieut E F Crabb and Lieut J V Gascoyne, 92 Sqn, Albatros C crashed east of Le Quesnoy at 07:35/08:35 -
    Capt R B Bannerman, 79 Sqn, Halberstadt CL out of control east of Avelghem at 08:15/09:15 -
    Maj W G Barker, 201 Sqn, two-seater broke up Foręt de Mormal at 08:25/09:25 -
    Maj W G Barker, 201 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Foręt de Mormal at 08:25/09:25 -
    Maj W G Barker, 201 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Foręt de Mormal at 08:25/09:25 -
    Maj W G Barker, 201 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Foręt de Mormal at 08:25/09:25 -
    2nd-Lieut H A Argles, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Ruyssled at 09:00/10:00 -
    Capt W A Southey, 84 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Esquehieres at 09:10/10:10 -
    2nd-Lieut A H Williams, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    2nd-Lieut H G Clappison, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    Lieut C P Allen, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII broke up south of Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    2nd-Lieut J D Lightbody, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control south of Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    Lieut C P Allen, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control south of Ghent at 09:10/10:10 -
    Lieut R M Gordon, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames St Denis Westrem at 09:10/10:10 -
    2nd-Lieut P A King, 204 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Wondelgem at 09:10/10:10 -

    A patrol of 16 machines of No 204 Squadron engaged 30 to 40 Fokker biplanes over St Denis Westrem. Lieut R M Gordon attacked one at close range, which fell in flames. Lieut C P Allen dived on another commenced to fall out of control, and its wings broke off. 2nd Lieut W G Clappison and 2nd Lieut P A King each shot down one of the E.A.

    Lieut S M Brown, 29 Sqn, Balloon in flames west of Tournai at 09:20/10:20 -
    Lieut R G Robertson, 29 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control west of Tournai at 09:20/10:20 -
    Capt W E Shields, 41 Sqn, Balloon in flames Mullem at 09:40/10:40 -
    2nd-Lieut F J Hunt, 74 Sqn, Balloon in flames Molenbaix at 09:40/10:40 -
    Lieut E G Davies, 29 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed south-east of Renaix at 09:50/10:50 -
    Lieut T S Harrison, 29 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed south-east of Renaix at 09:50/10:50 -
    2nd-Lieut N H Leech & 2nd-Lieut E Till, 57 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Pont-sur-Sambre at 10:15/11:15 -
    Lieut E F Crabb, 92 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Mareilles at 10:30/11:30 -
    Lieut K R Unger, 210 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed west of Locquignol at 10:30/11:30 -

    Maj W S Douglas, 84 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Foręt de Mormal at 10:50/11:50 – Major W S Douglas, No 84 Squadron, while flying low over the Foret de Mormal, was attacked by three Fokker biplanes and chased to the lines when two of the E.A. turned back. Major Douglas then turned on the remaining machine, and chased it back over the Forest, where he shot it down

    Capt J D I Hardman, 19 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Quarouble at 11:50/12:50 -
    Lieut J S Hewson, 19 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control north-east of Valenciennes at 12:00/13:00 -
    Lieut R W Duff, 19 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control north-east of Valenciennes at 12:00/13:00 -

    Three aces were shot down and killed on this day:

    Captain Guy Wilbraham Wareing DFC 29 Squadron RAF

    In August 1917, Guy Wilbraham Wareing joined the Royal Flying Corps. An S.E.5a pilot, he was assigned to 29 Squadron in June 1918. Of the nine aircraft he shot down during the months of August and September, four of them were balloons. Wareing was killed when he was shot down by a Fokker D.VII flown by Josef Raesch of Jasta 43.

    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
    Lieut. Guy Wilbraham Wareing. (FRANCE)
    A bold and courageous airman who has destroyed four enemy aeroplanes and shot down in flames a hostile balloon. He is conspicuous for zeal and devotion to duty.

    Vizefeldwebel Karl Paul Schlegel of Jasta 45

    More than half of Schlegel's victories were against enemy balloons. He was killed in a dogfight with 12 French aircraft after attacking one of their balloons. French combat reports indicate he was shot down by French ace Pierre Marinovitch of Spa 94.

    Captain Hamilton "Ham" Coolidge DSC 94th Aero Squadron

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    A graduate of Groton (class of 1915) and Harvard University (class of 1919) and the son of Professor J. Randall Coolidge of Boston, Massachusetts, Hamilton Coolidge was one of ten Harvard undergraduates accepted from a field of forty applicants for training at the Curtiss Flying School at Buffalo, New York in July 1916. A private with the United States Signal Corps, Aviation Section, stationed in Miami, Florida when the United States entered the war, Coolidge was sent the School of Military Aeronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on 5 June 1917. He embarked for France on 23 July 1917 and was commissioned 1st Lieutenant on 29 September 1917. After additional instruction at Issoudun he was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron on 16 June 1918. He was promoted to Captain on 3 October 1918. On 27 October 1918 he was killed in action, his SPAD XIII taking a direct hit from an anti-aircraft shell near Cheviegraveres.

    Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
    The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Hamilton Coolidge, Captain (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Grand Pre, France, October 27, 1918. Leading a protection patrol, Captain Coolidge went to the assistance of two observation planes which were being attacked by six German machines. Observing this maneuver, the enemy sent up a terrific barrage from anti-aircraft guns on the ground. Disregarding the extreme danger, he dived straight into the barrage, and his plane was struck and sent down in flames

    The following claims were made on this day

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    It was one of the worst days for the RAF with 49 airmen lost including...

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    SEA WAR


    German submarine U-78 was torpedoed and sunk in the Skagerrak off the coasts of Norway and Sweden by Royal Navy submarine HMS G2 with the loss of all 40 crew.

    The following is a verbatim transcription of the recorded activities of SM U-78 known to British Naval Intelligence, Room 40 O.B.:[8]

    SM U-78. Kptlt. Dröscher, later to U-117, but not before May 1917; then Kptlt. Vollbrecht. Was completed at Hamburg (Vulcan) in May 1916, joined the Kiel School and remained there until the 8th of July, when she went to Wilhelmshaven, and was attached to the 1st Half Flotilla.

    11–27 July 1916. Left for the north. By about the 20th had laid 34 mines off Skerryvore. On the 23rd she was in action with the armed trawler CHRYSEA off Fair Island. Took 1 Danish S.S. as prize on the day before she returned to Heligoland.
    20 August – 12 September 1916. Left, going northabout, for the south of Ireland and laid 34 mines off St. Govan’s Head on the night of the 1/2 September, and on the 27th August had chased S.S. FLOREAL off the Butt of Lewis. Returned northabout.
    18–23 October 1916. Apparently on North Sea patrol. Stopped 6 Scandinavian S.S, allowing them to proceed. On last day out took as prize a Norwegian steamer.
    29 October – 22 November 1916. Apparently went to coast of Norway to observe shipping; sank 1 Norwegian steamer.
    3–22 February 1917. Laid mines at various points off the west coast of Scotland, going northabout both ways. Sank 1 steamer N. of Ireland, and possibly another N. of the Orkney Islands.
    30 March – 19 April 1917. Went north, and watched the traffic on north coast of Ireland. Sand 3 S.S, 2 sailing vessels (6,500 tons). Laid mines in the Little Minch and Lough Swilly.
    29 May – 22 June 1917. Went northabout and laid mines off Inishtrahull, and at points off the N.W. coast of Scotland. Was engaged by HMS HELGOLAND (a submarine trap) near Tory Island on 9 June. Claimed 5,000 tons sinkings. She asked permission to return by Little Belt, but was told for a special reason she must come in by Nordmands Tief.
    27 July – 13 August 1917. Laid mines in Sound of Islay. Claimed 2,500 tons sinkings. Returned at slow speed owing to failure of port engine.
    She was to have gone out again in October 1917 but nothing is known of any cruise, and she was apparently not ready for service before June 1918.
    16 June - ? 27 June 1918. Apparently laid mines east of Scotland.
    ? 14–21 July 1918. Left by the Kattegat, returned by the Bight. Had completed an unknown task in the North Sea by the 18th July.
    ? 19 August - ? 26 August 1918. In the North Sea. Made no report as to her undertaking, but returned at 3 knots with double motor trouble.
    24 September – 1 October 1918. Laid mines on the east coast of Scotland.
    About the end of October 1918 she left to lay mines in the North Sea and was sunk by HM submarine G2 in 56°2′N 5°8′E"
    Note: S.S. = Steam Ship; S.V. = Sailing Vessel; northabout, Muckle Flugga, Fair I. = around Scotland; Sound, Belts, Kattegat = via North of Denmark to/from German Baltic ports; Bight = to/from German North Sea ports; success = sinking of ships.

    Captain Tunstill's Men: In the thick of the action...

    By 3.30am all attacking troops were on the Grave, including the whole of 69th Brigade. At 5am a heavy rainstorm swept the island, drenching the troops and making conditions even more difficult. This took place just as the Battalion was moving from its assembly points on the Grave to the positions from which they were to cross the far stream. Despite the difficulties the Battalion was in position by 5.45am. D Company provided four parties, each of three men, who carried ropes to be used to help the crossing of the streams between the Grave and the far bank. Lt. Vincent Edwards MC (see 20th September) and 2Lt. James Henry Midgley (see 23rd August), along with three of the Battalion scouts, meanwhile, checked the status of footbridges which had been constructed by the Austrians.

    At 6.25am the British artillery barrage began against the left bank of the river, creeping forward over the next 20 mins to reach the bund marking the Austrian front line (c.400 yards back from the river bank). Under cover of this barrage, 10DWR advanced in ‘darkness, bitter cold and heavy rain’ to the far bank of the Grave from where they were to ford the far stream and then assemble on the left bank prior to launching their assault. The men encountered desperately difficult conditions in fording the river, which proved much deeper than was expected. Several men were swept away and drowned and many had to swim. Pte. Harold Charnock (see 19th October) recalled that, “the water was much deeper than expected on the Battalion front and it was only by linking arms that many men were saved from being washed off their feet. This was done under the Austrian barrage”. The conditions also resulted in the loss of one of the two guns of the trench mortar section, along with all its ammunition.

    2Lt. Bernard Garside (see 26th October) also gave a remarkable narrative of the crossing of the stream,

    “Well, to go back to my story of the attack. 6 o’clock came. Just before, I and the other platoon commanders got simple orders. We were to take our platoon down to allotted parts of the banks of the stream between our island and the far bank and, each on his own, find a way across. At the given signal, I led my men out on the shingle by the stream and told them to scatter a little and get down. Then, feeling rather as if I was in a dream, I waded into the stream in my ‘Battle Order’, with shells screaming overhead and sometimes near. The stream flowed very swiftly, as the others did, since, you see, the islands partly blocked the whole river and forced the water through less space. Up my legs it crept and round my body – and then I had to begin to lean against the stream and plant my feet more and more firmly on the bottom. Up, up it crept until it was swirling round my chest and splashing my face. Now I was leaning hard and very, very watchful. Ah! The current was swinging one leg off the bottom. Wildly I swung it round and forced it down. It was on the bottom again. But I must not let that happen again. No go! I must go back and try again. I did, and again I had to come to the notion that my men could not get across there. Still the shells were screaming and some machine guns were rasping – but not many guns, for our artillery had blasted most of the Austrians away from the other bank. A third time I waded in, anxiously watched in the dim light by my men. This time I found the place rather less deep and I was able to edge my way along, in little sideways strides, leaning hard on the stream as I faced up it. It was getting no deeper and presently, Oh Golly!, it was getting shallower. And so I got across; the first platoon of my Company to do so. My sergeant had carefully watched my course and now I signalled him to do as we had arranged. He chose the sturdier men to come first and all joined hands. Slowly the chain wound into the stream, slowly it edged its way along my course. I waded in, excited and anxious, to meet the leading man. The horrors! He slipped. I grabbed, found his hand, he righted himself and slowly the chain came to the bank. We were across!”.

    The bulk of the Battalion crossed successfully and rested briefly to re-organise. It was essential that contact be maintained with the units deployed to left and right of the Battalion and, as such, Maj. Herbert St. John Carr West (see 23rd August) was to keep contact with 12DLI to the left and 2Lt. Edward Kent Waite MC (see 26th August) with 8Yorks on the right

    On schedule, at 6.45am, 69th Brigade, with 10DWR on the left, began their assault. A and B Companies headed the attack, with C in support and D in reserve. The assault overwhelmed the Austrian front line; within 15 minutes they had captured their first objective and occupied the front line, running 600 yards eastwards from Casa Polesi. Lt. Vincent Edwards MC (see above) remembered, “Soon after arriving on the other bank we saw an entrance into the side of a low hill. There were one or two Austrian soldiers outside, looking fed-up with the war and ready to be taken prisoner. I had about 12 men remaining of my platoon. The Austrians beckoned to their comrades in the hillside dugout to give themselves up. This they did, leaving their weapons behind, in single file. There were no less than 57 of them! I shouted to an officer who was amongst them, “Alla Piave!” (“To the Piave”). He formed the men up and marched them off. I sent a few of my men (fully armed of course) to see them into our lines and proceeded with the rest of the platoon towards our objective, which we eventually reached”.



    At 7.10am the artillery barrage lifted and the attack commenced against the second objective, a heavily-wired trench line. However, the Austrians proved to be largely dispirited and did not stand to defend the line, large numbers having already surrendered. By 8am the second objective had been secured.

    2Lt. Bernard Garside (see above) recalled that,

    “Now we rushed up the beach to a bank for shelter from the shellfire and collected together, all the Company of four platoons. Then we advanced and from various directions machine gun posts began to fire at us. But ahead of us went a ‘creeping barrage’ of our own shells; that is the shells whined just over our heads and burst just far enough in front not to harm us. Some of our battalion crept up too closely behind the shells and were hit. Already we had been swept downstream in attempting to cross, though some managed to keep up and land lower down where the current was less strong.

    We (our Company) went steadily forward until we came to a big flat field with a farm house at the other end. There the Austrians had knocked away the corner of the house nearest the field, dug a hole under the house and planted a machine gun there. For the moment we were held up, since it was madness to cross the open field. But some of the Company on our flank got round the house and cleared the post. On we went again behind the whining shells and presently rested in the cover of some trees. We had by now had quite a few Austrians surrender to us and we had had to prevent the men gathering around the prisoners and so become good targets for machine guns. The prisoners were glad enough to go back and no trouble. In our tree cover we met men and officers of other Companies who told us which of the men and officers we knew had been killed and which wounded. It was very sad telling”.

    There was then a pause of 45 minutes before the advance continued all along the line towards the final day one objective – the Tezze-Borgo Malanotte-Casa Dalmadella line. Here again the attack was carried forward by A and B Companies. In the words of the Battalion War Diary, “By this time there was considerable machine gun fire and shelling but all ranks pressed on with the utmost determination, well supported by the artillery barrage until the village of Borgo Malanotte was reached about 12noon”. Here they found a metalled road on the near edge of which, in front of Borgo Malanotte itself, among the trees were short lengths of trench which had been partially wired. Across the road were two buildings. The Austrians made a stand here, but, after a sharp attack, trenches and buildings were taken. In the words of the War Diary, “Here the enemy put up a strong resistance having machine guns well placed in the houses of the village but by the bravery of our Lewis Gunners the village was captured together with a Regimental Commander and his whole staff”.

    The events of this phase were described in some detail by 2Lt. Bernard Garside (see above),

    “Then on again until we saw a farm house in front of us and arrived at a hedge and ditch – at least the ditch I remember – I suppose three hundred to four hundred yards from the house. When we went past the ditch, suddenly, rat-a-tat-tat went at least two machine guns from the windows of the farm and all round us bullets sprayed. By this time King (Pte. James Isaac King, see 26th October), who I spoke of, and some others had been hit by machine guns. He was shot straight through the head about five yards from me. When the shower of bullets came, down we went and those nearer the ditch got in it. But we (my platoon) were by this time well beyond it and I had no orders to go back. We lay in the open. And there we lay for an awful two hours or so. Every time anyone lifted a hand, the machine guns opened fire and all round was sprayed with bullets. If we lay still, nothing happened. And so we lay. It was madness to try to go forward and dangerous – in a retreat – to go back. It was clear the men in the house were reserving their fire and had not, as we verified later, very much ammunition. The front line of our advance had thought to go ahead and leave the farm house to be dealt with later. But in fact no-one could get at the men in the upper windows of the house without exposing themselves on the walls or in the gateway so that they could be shot down. And we had no artillery able to hit the house accurately. It was not across the river which was now, I should guess, two miles away. Attempts had been made on the house and any further ones forbidden.

    Presently, I suppose I ought to have had orders before, I was told by the Company Commander to bring my men back to the ditch. Next I got orders to try to get up to the front line and what followed was so hectic and warm that I am not very clear about it. But this is what I think happened. I remember taking my men into the ditch and creeping up it at their head. I also remember some planes coming over and machine gunning us on their way towards the river or coming back. Then I remember we came to a bit of cover and I halted the platoon. I then told the platoon sergeant I was going to try to find a way up farther towards the left and that he was to take any chance of getting up if I drew the attention of the gunners. I took my batman and we rushed off to the left. I had not dared to send men on this dangerous job. Oh dear! I shall never forget the singing bullets, the ground kicked up round us and so on. How they missed us I don’t know. Presently we flopped down and they whistled just over us. I looked back and the remaining men had, whilst they were worrying about us, got further forward and too near the walls to be fired at. I had done the job. I heard later they had spotted them too late to fire from the house, but had tried rushing to the gate with a gun, but my Lewis gunner had got them just as they were going to open fire and killed them all.

    Meanwhile, I and my batman were still in the open and it was obviously impossible to go forward where we were. Anyway, I had got the platoon through by drawing the fire and my idea now was to join them by way of the ditches. We rushed back to the ditch parallel to the road and I reported the platoon through and that I was going up the ditch we had first gone up and hoping to rush into cover of the wall as the platoon had done. The Company Commander however, said that, since my platoon had got through, they would now be taken under the command of the Company in front and I had better stay to give him a hand, since we had lost one officer. This I did. All was now quiet in the front line and no help apparently needed for the time being.

    Soon we got queer orders to build Lewis gun posts facing to our left and right and rear. We knew then we were in danger of being surrounded. In fact, as we learnt later, we had advanced further than either of the Battalions on our flanks and in fact the Austrians were liable to get between us and the river. No sooner had we begun the job than a runner arrived from Battalion HQ to order me to join the Company in the front line near the farm house. In fact one officer from each of the other Companies was ordered, each of them, including ours, apart from the front line Company. The reason was that the front line Company in the course of the day had had five officers killed or wounded and had only one left. So off I went.

    By this time the machine guns in the farm house had run out of ammunition – apart from the one which had tried to rush the gate – and had surrendered”.

    It was in this phase of the operations that Capt. Bob Perks DSO (see 21st October) was killed, as described by 2Lt. William Johnson Simpson (see 26th August) in a letter to Capt. Perks’ father;

    “We had crossed the river successfully and got to our second objective where we had to stay for some twenty minutes. At this point we had a long talk to each other and made our plans for taking the next objective. We moved off in great spirits and on the way encountered an enemy machine gun post. Capt. Perks decided to get round this from a flank. It was in doing this he met his death. He got within a very few yards when he was hit through the head with a bullet. Death was instantaneous. Words of mine cannot tell you what a cloud this cast upon the Company, who made short shrift of the enemy at that point. I had only known your son for a few days but can only say how well he was like in the Company. Being an old Duke’s officer he was well known to lots in the battalion. I have never seen a more gallant officer in all my three years of active service. The name of the place where he met his death is Borgo Malanotte. It was about 9.30 a.m. on the 27th that he was killed.

    Ours was the only Company who had any officer casualties and we had three; two were killed and one wounded. I cannot express how deeply we all feel the loss of your son and our Captain. All the Company wish me to express their sincere sympathy to you in this sad time. Any further information I can give you I should be delighted to oblige”.

    All objectives had now been gained and a defensive flank of 3,000 yards back to the river had been developed on the left of the Division. At 1pm there was an attempted Austrian counter-attack against 10DWR at Borgo Malanotte which briefly recaptured some of the buildings, but, supported by A Company 11WYR, who had come up from reserve, the position had been re-taken by 4pm. An outpost line was taken up some 200 yards to the north of the village and was held overnight by A and B Companies, with C Company in support around 500 yards in rear. The overnight period remained quiet.

    Conditions overnight were remembered by 2Lt. Bernard Garside (see above),

    “I reported with the others to the officer of the front line company just as a message came from Battalion HQ that a counter-attack was expected by the Austrians about midnight. It was just growing dark at the time. The officer read it out to us and we said OK. They then gave orders for putting some barbed wire in front of the shallow holes they had dug so far and for some time we were busy. Then I took some ‘listening posts’ out in front and planted them – one or two men to warn us of any approach of enemy in our front. Then we all set to deepen the holes for protection and await the attack.

    Well, about midnight there was a stir on the ground in front and everybody crouched ready. I remember growling, “Give’em hell boys” and then there came a sharp cry from in front, “Don’t shoot, it’s us!” and it was the men I had put out coming back foolishly to tell us they had heard nothing yet. Well, I put them back and we never did have an attack. Instead we began to be very worried by shells coming quite often from almost immediately behind us and dropping first about 150 yards in front and then gradually nearer till they were just missing us. We were very annoyed that our own artillery should know so little of our position as to be nearly hitting us. But we discovered next morning that they were Austrian guns and that we – our Battalion – were isolated. By morning the Austrians, scared they would be surrounded, had gone back.

    Presently, in the early morning (28/10/18), we posted extra sentries and tried to get some rest. We had collared a lot of blankets the Austrians had left in the farm house and wrapped ourselves in them. It was cold but restful in our fox-holes in the ground. However, next morning, we discovered the blankets were very lousy and almost everyone was lice-ridden! A few were not and I was one! Yet I had been wrapped in the same blankets as the others. They say lice will not attack some people and it must be true”.

    During the day 1,400 prisoners had been captured by the Battalion along with two Field Guns, three “Infantry Guns”, 38 Machine Guns, two Horses and a large quantity of stores.

    On the 26th a pontoon bridge from Salletuol to the Grave had been completed and by the end of 27th (despite being under fire) a further bridge had been constructed from the Grave to the left bank. This now allowed for the rapid movement of troops across the river.

    Despite the success of the operations, the Battalion had suffered considerable casualties. Two officers had been killed in action and one died of wounds the same day; 22 other ranks had been killed in action and another man died of wounds the same day. A further five other ranks were officially missing in action. Two officers and more than 60 other ranks were reported wounded.

    The two officers killed were Capt. Bob Perks DSO (see below) and Lt. Thomas Beattie (see 15th May).

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    Capt. Perks, who had been killed in the actions around Borgo Malanotte, was originally buried near Casa Ancilotto, just south of Borgo Malanotte, but his remains would subsequently be exhumed and re-interred at Tezze British Cemetery. Two other men were buried alongside Capt. Perks and would also be re-interred at Tezze. They were Pte. William Hassall (see 26th July) and Pte. James Henry Quiller. Pte. Quiller was 28 years old and originally from Torquay, although he had been living, with his parents and siblings, in Great Harwood when enlisting. He had worked as a cotton weaver before joining the army and had originally served with 2DWR before joining 10DWR (date and details unknown).

    Lt. Beattie may have been drowned in the crossing of the Piave, as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Giavera Memorial.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  41. #3691

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    Bugger - duplicated - am not going to remove one until I know all images etc have saved

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  42. #3692

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    I think this is the map you are looking for.

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    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  43. #3693

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    Mammoth edition Chris. Bloody fantastic!

  44. #3694

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    Thats the one, many thanks Rob

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  45. #3695

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    WoW, that was one hell of a post Here's to Major William George Barker and Lieutenant General Count Pier Ruggero Piccio in particular, and some more personal accounts from Captain Tunstill's Men: In the thick of the action...
    Cheers Chris

  46. #3696

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rebel View Post
    Mammoth edition Chris. Bloody fantastic!
    1+

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    28th October 1918

    and we have reached the last two weeks of the war, little consolation for all those who continue to lose their lives, Britain alone lost 1255 men on this day.

    MIDDLE EAST
    Mesopotamia – Battle of Sharqat (until October 30): 1/7th Gurkhas ferried over to Cassels after 33*-mile march in 21 hours as he fights 6,000 Turks and 24 guns from Mosul.

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    WESTERN FRONT
    Scheldt: British 51st Division captures Mont Houy south of Valenciennes but driven back to southern slopes, 3 German divisions counter-attack (until October 29).

    SOUTHERN FRONTS
    Serbia: Serbs reach line Uzice-Arandelovac-Pozarevac.
    Albania: Italians enter Alessio.
    Bulgaria*: British 22nd Division lands at Dedeagach (sailed from Stavros) from 17 destroyers (after 2 bad weather post-pone*ments) for invasion of European Turkey 10 miles away, transport and cavalry arrive on October 30 after gruelling overland march. French Army of the Danube formed under Berthelot (until January 25, 1920).
    Piave: Italian XVIII Corps reinforces Anglo-Italian Papadopoli bridgehead, taking 3,000 PoWs, 7 guns and 150 MGs with aid of British barrage. Austrian Sixth Army orders retreat at 2030 hours after Italians join up the 3 bridgeheads and are up to 4 miles from river. King watches operations from Montello. Austrian Armistice Commission meets. Boroevic tells Emperor Charles situation ‘untenable’ (night October 28-29).

    Battle of Vittorio Veneto – The Italian army with British and American support established a bridgehead 2.5 miles (4.0 km) deep and 5 miles (8.0 km) broad into enemy territory. Mutinying troops on the Austro-Hungarian side prevented any counterattack on the position

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    Italian machine gunners on Monte Grappa

    On 24 October, the anniversary of the Battle of Caporetto, in the early hours Comando Supremo launched the splintering attack on Monte Grappa designed to draw in the Austro-Hungarian reserves. At 03:00 the right wing of the Italian Fourth Army began a barrage to give time for its men to move into position. At 05:00 the rest of the artillery joined in. The infantry began to struggle up the steep slopes and secondary peaks which the Austrians had held for so long. The flooding of the Piave prevented two of the three central armies from advancing simultaneously with the third; but the latter, under the command of Earl Cavan, after seizing Papadopoli Island farther downstream, won a foothold on the left bank of the river on 27 October. In the evening the Allies had covered so much ground that they were over-extended and vulnerable to a counter-attack. The Italian Tenth Army maintained its ground and had established a bridgehead 2.5 miles (4.0 km) deep and 5 miles (8.0 km) broad. The British captured 3,520 prisoners and 54 guns. Svetozar Boroević von Bojna, the Austro-Hungarian commander, ordered a counter-attack on the Italian bridgeheads on the same day, but his troops refused to obey orders, a problem confronting the Austrians from that time on, and the counter-attack failed. The first week of the battle involved heavy artillery dueling between the two sides, which were fairly evenly matched in firepower with the Italians possessing 7,700 guns to the Austro-Hungarians' 6,000 guns. From 24 October to 31 October alone, the Italian artillery fired 2,446,000 shells.

    On 28 October, a group of Czechs declared Bohemia's independence from Austria-Hungary. The next day, another group purporting to represent the eventual South Slavs proclaimed their independence, and on 31 October, the Hungarian Parliament proclaimed their withdrawal from the union, officially dissolving the Austro-Hungarian state. On 28 October, under these new political and military conditions, the Austro-Hungarian high command ordered a general retreat. Vittorio Veneto was seized the next day by the Italian Eighth Army, which was already pushing on to the Tagliamento river. Trieste was taken by an amphibious expedition on 3 November. The Italian Eighth Army troops which had managed to cross the Piave were only able to communicate with the west bank by using swimmers. The swimmers were furnished by one of the most elite assault units in Italian history — the Arditi Corps, the Caimani di Piave ("Caimans of the Piave"). 82 were recruited by Captain Remo Pontecorvo Bacci after Caporetto. Carrying a resolza knife and two hand grenades, they were trained to remain in the powerful currents of the icy Piave for up to 16 hours; 50 died in the river during the campaign. The Italian Twelfth Army, commanded by French General Jean Graziani, continued to advance, supported on the right by the Eighth Army.

    On 29 October the Italian Eighth Army pushed on towards Vittorio Veneto, which its advance guard of lancers and Bersaglieri cyclists entered on the morning of the 30th. The Italian Third Army forced a crossing of the Lower Piave while raids in the mountains disclosed that the Austrians were withdrawing there. Reserves including the 332nd US Infantry Regiment poured over the Piave behind the Italian Tenth Army. At dawn on the 31st, the Italian Fourth Army resumed the offensive on Monte Grappa and this time was able to advance beyond the old Austrian positions towards Feltre. In the mountains and on the plain the Allied armies pushed on until an armistice was arranged. The result was that Austria-Hungary lost about 30,000 killed and wounded and 300,000 prisoners (50,000 by 31 October; 100,000 by 1 November; 300,000 by 4 November). The Italians suffered during the 10 days' struggle 37,461 casualties (dead and wounded) — 24,507 of them on Monte Grappa.[26] British casualties were 2,139, while the French lost 778 men.

    The Armistice of Villa Giusti was signed on 3 November at 15:20, to become effective 24 hours later, at 15:00 on 4 November.

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    Wilfred Wood VC (2 February 1897 – 3 January 1982) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross. The VC was awarded for action on the Italian front against Austro-Hungarian forces in the First World War.

    He was 21 years old, and a private in the 10th Battalion, The Northumberland Fusiliers, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place at the battle of Vittorio Veneto for which he was awarded the VC.

    For most conspicuous bravery and initiative on 28 October 1918, near Casa Van, Italy, when a unit on the right flank having been held up by hostile machine guns and snipers, Pte. Wood, on his own initiative, worked forward with his Lewis gun, enfiladed the enemy machine-gun nest, and caused 140 enemy to surrender.

    The advance was continued till a hidden machine gun opened fire at point blank range. Without a moment's hesitation Pte. Wood charged the machine gun, firing his Lewis gun from the hip at the same time. He killed the machine-gun crew, and without further orders pushed on and enfiladed a ditch from which three officers and 160 men subsequently surrendered.

    The conspicuous valour and initiative of this gallant soldier in the face of intense rifle and machine-gun fire was beyond all praise.

    After the war, he returned to his pre-war job on the railways, first as a Fireman, then as an engine driver. He retired in 1960 as a supervisor. A LNWR Claughton Class locomotive was named after him in 1922. When this type was withdrawn from service, a London, Midland and Scottish Railway Patriot Class steam locomotive was named after him, from which the nameplate resided inside Norbury Primary School in Hazel Grove until it was donated to the Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland.

    The JD Wetherspoon pub in Hazel Grove is named after him. (I'll drink to that - editor)

    SEA WAR
    North Sea – Final U-boat sortie: Flanders Flotilla coastal submarine UB-116 (Emsmann) with volunteer crew undertakes ‘suicide’ mission vs Grand Fleet flagship Queen Elizabeth (erroneously believed lying at Scapa). Raider destroyed in electrically*-controlled minefield.
    Adriatic: German personnel evacuate Pola, Cattaro ones sail (October 30), scuttle 10 U-boats there and at Fiume (until November 1).

    German submarine U-78 was torpedoed and sunk in the Skagerrak off the coasts of Norway and Sweden by Royal Navy submarine HMS G2 with the loss of all 40 crew.

    SM U-78 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-78 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic as a minelayer. On 27 October 1918 low frequency communications from U-78 in the Skagerrak were detected by the British submarine HMS G2 which sank her with the loss of her crew of 40. The commonly listed sinking date of 28 October 1918 is in error.

    The wreck has been identified in April 2014.

    AIR WAR
    Western Front: 3 Fokker fighters (2 lost) intercept DH9s (1 lost) over Mons and RAF No 205 Squadron bombs Namur (until October 30).

    Captain Robert North Chandler (Royal Air Force) attacks enemy troops with great success and silences an anti-tank gun. Later he silences two enemy machine guns and inflicts heavy casualties on infantry in shell holes. While so engaged his machine is hit in the engine and he forced to land. Prior this officer has destroyed three enemy aircraft and driven two others down out of control. He has also displayed marked courage in attacking enemy troops on the ground. When on an offensive patrol, Second Lieutenant Sydney MacGillvary Brown (Royal Air Force) in company with three other machines, attacks nine Fokkers; three of the latter being destroyed. Lieutenant Frederick Stanley Gordon (Royal Air Force) achieves two victories, his seventh and eighth, when he shoots down two enemy Fokker D.VII in the area of Wortegem.

    Italian flying ace Pier Ruggero Piccio was shot down by enemy ground fire and captured by Austro-Hungarian troops. He finished the war with 24 victories, the third-highest-scoring Italian ace of World War One. (see yesterday - fog of war strikes again)

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    The only hat-trick of the day was from Captain Thomas Charles Richmond Baker DFC No.4 Squadron AFC. He was flying a Sopwith Snipe E8065

    A bank clerk from Adelaide, Thomas Charles Richmond Baker joined the army on 29 July 1915. After serving on the Western Front with the 6th Field Artillery Brigade, he transferred to the Australian Flying Corps in September 1917. In June 1918, he returned to France and was assigned to 4 Squadron, flying Sopwith Camels. Baker scored six victories before his squadron was re-equipped with the Sopwith Snipe. Promoted to flight commander, he was credited with six more victories in October 1918 but was killed in action the following month. He was 21 years old.

    Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
    Lieut. Thomas Charles Richmond Baker, M.M. (Australian F.C.). (FRANCE)
    This officer has carried out some forty low flying raids on hostile troops, aerodromes, etc., and has taken part in numerous offensive patrols; he has, in addition, destroyed eight hostile machines. In all these operations he has shown exceptional initiative and dash, never hesitating to lead his formation against overwhelming odds, nor shrinking from incurring personal danger.
    (M.M. gazetted 19th February, 1917.)

    General Headquarters, October 29th.

    “Improved weather conditions on October 28th resulted in increased aerial activity on both sides, and a large number of fights took place. Thirty-two enemy machines were destroyed, 10 were driven down out of control, and two hostile balloons were shot down in flames. Eight of our machines are missing. Important railway junctions on the enemy's lines of communication were successfully attacked by our bombing squadrons, which dropped 17 tons of bombs during the day, but at night low clouds again hampered operations, and only one raid was accomplished. The work of our reconnaissance and artillery machines was continued.”

    Headquarters R.A.F., Independent Force, October 29th.

    “On October 28th our machines carried out heavy attacks on Morhange aerodrome. Eighteen hits were observed on the aerodrome, and a fire was caused. In the course of fighting one enemy aeroplane was shot down in flames and fell upon our side of the lines. Bombs were also dropped on Frescaty aerodrome. On the night 28th-20th we attacked the Badische aniline and soda factory at Mannheim, and the railways at Treves and Saarbrücken, where heavy bombs were dropped. The important railway junctions at Longuyon, Ecouviez and Thionville were also attacked, with excellent results. Over 10 tons of bombs were dropped during the day and night. None of our machines are missing.”

    RAF Communiqué No 31:

    Weather: Mist early, becoming fine.

    Twenty-one reconnaissances, 68 contact and counter-attack patrols.
    Six hostile batteries engaged for destruction with aeroplane observation, 14 neutralized, 105 zone calls sent.
    No night bombing carried out; 17 tons of bombs dropped by day.
    On the 28th instant, four targets observed with balloon observation.
    Capt W E Shields, No 41 Squadron, brought down a hostile balloon in flames.
    A successful raid was carried out on Namur railway station by No 205 Squadron, 16 112-lb bombs being dropped. Fires were seen in the sheds and sidings, and considerable damage was caused.

    Enemy Aircraft:

    Capt M W Turner & Lieut L G Kettlewell, 22 Sqn, E.A. destroyed -
    2nd-Lieut I L Dutton & Sergt S F Briggs, 27 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Mons -
    Lieut A Webster, 70 Sqn, E.A. destroyed -
    Patrol, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control -
    Patrol, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control -
    Lieut V Voss & ?, 88 Sqn, Fokker DVII forced to land ? -
    Lieut L F A Green, Lieut E Munro and Lieut A B Ollerenshaw, 208 Sqn; E.A. destroyed -
    Capt W A Southey, 84 Sqn, LVG C destroyed La Queue de Boue at 07:50/08:50 -
    Capt W E Shields, 41 Sqn, Balloon in flames Audenarde at 08:10/09:10 - Brought down a hostile balloon in flames. ;
    Capt E J Stephens, 41 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed (shared?) west of Audenarde at 10:00/11:00 -
    Lieut J C Green and Lieut A S Crompton, 54 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed east of Saint-Maur at 10:40/11:40 -
    Capt J W Pinder, 45 Sqn IF, Rumpler C captured Corcieux at 10:50/11:50 - Gfr Theodor Gambs (Kia) & Ltn Heinrich Weller (Kia), FA 43
    Lieut F Alberry, 2 AFC, Fokker DVII out of control Bandour at 11:20/12:20 -
    Lieut F Alberry, 2 AFC, Fokker DVII crashed Bandour at 11:20/12:20 -
    Lieut G H Blaxland, 2 AFC, Fokker DVII in flames (pilot parachuted) Péruwelz at 11:20/12:20 -
    Capt A T Cole, 2 AFC, Fokker DVII in flames (pilot parachuted) Péruwelz at 11:20/12:20 –

    Pilots of 2nd Squadron, A.F.C., accounted for five E.A. during the day. In the morning a patrol led by Lieut G H Blaxland engaged 12 Fokkers, one of which was brought down by the leader and two others by Capt A T Cole and Lieut F Albery; Uffz Schell, Jasta 58 [?]

    Lieut C O Stone, 2 AFC, Fokker DVII out of control Mons at 11:20/12:20 - Flg Paul Westphal, Jasta 59, Kia [?]
    2nd-Lieut J W Birkenshaw & 2nd-Lieut E V G Bramble, 49 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed east of Lougies at 11:25/12:25 -
    Capt J W Pearson, 23 Sqn, Fokker DVII destroyed Bois de Nouvion at 11:30/12:30 -
    Capt J W Pearson, 23 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Bois de Nouvion at 11:30/12:30 -
    Lieut H N Compton, 23 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Bois de Nouvion at 11:30/12:30 -
    2nd-Lieut H C Hammond, 70 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Bois de Breuze at 11:40/12:40 -
    Lieut P Parker, 70 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Bois du Breuze at 11:40/12:40 -
    Lieut H Wilford, 70 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Bois du Breuze at 11:40/12:40 -
    Capt O A P Heron, 70 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames Quartes - Melle at 11:40/12:40 -
    Lieut K B Watson, 70 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Bois du Biez at 11:45/12:45 –

    A patrol of No 70 Squadron engaged a formation of 22 Fokker biplanes, one of which Capt O A Heron attacked and shot down in flames. Lieut B Parker also sent another down in flames. Lt K B Watson followed one down to 3,000 feet and saw it crash. Lt A Webster also destroyed one

    Lieut T C R Baker, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII crashed south-east of Tournai at 12:00/13:00 - When on patrol by himself, destroyed an enemy scout. ;
    1st Lieut T L Moore, 148 USAS, Fokker DVII crashed north-west of Jenlain at 12:05/13:05 -
    1st Lieut C L Bissell, 148 USAS, Fokker DVII crashed north-east of Jenlain at 12:05/13:05 -
    Lieut L K Callahan, 148 USAS, Fokker DVII crashed north-west of Jenlain at 12:05/13:05 -
    1st Lieut J O Creech, 148 USAS and 1st Lieut F E Kindley, 148 USAS, Fokker DVII crashed north-west of Jenlain at 12:05/13:05 -
    1st Lieut C L Bissell, 148 USAS, Fokker DVII crashed north-east of Jenlain at 12:08/13:08 -
    1st Lieut G C Dorsey, 148 USAS, Fokker DVII out of control north-west of Jenlain at 12:10/13:10 -
    Lieut N T Trembath, 1 Sqn, Fokker DVII destroyed Hirson at 13:30/14:30 -
    Lieut N T Trembath, 1 Sqn, Fokker DVII destroyed Hirson at 13:30/14:30 -
    Lieut B H Moody and 2nd-Lieut D E Cameron, 1 Sqn, Fokker DVII in flames north-east of Hirson at 13:35/14:35 -
    Lieut B H Moody and 2nd-Lieut D E Cameron, 1 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Trélon at 13:35/14:35 -
    Lieut F P Magoun, 1 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Anor at 13:40/14:40 -
    2nd-Lieut H G Daulton & Sergt W Greenwood, 108 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed south of Ghent at 14:10/15:10 -
    Lieut J C MacLennan, Lieut C G Vandyk and 2nd-Lieut B W Berrington, 54 Sqn, LVG C out of control Antaing at 14:20/15:20 -
    2nd-Lieut E W Roesch, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed north-east of Wortegem at 14:40/15:40 -
    Capt A C Kiddie, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed north-west of Wortegem at 14:40/15:40 -
    Lieut R O Hobhouse, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control north-west of Wortegem at 14:40/15:40 -
    Lieut F S Gordon, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Wortegem at 14:40/15:40 -
    Lieut F S Gordon, 74 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed (shared?) north-west of Wortegem at 14:45/15:45 -
    Capt A Hepburn & Lieut Marshall, 88 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control Leuze - Ath at 14:45/15:45 -
    Maj W A McClaughry, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII crashed Ath at 14:55/15:55 -
    Lieut A J Palliser, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII crashed Ath at 14:55/15:55 -
    Lieut A J Palliser, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII crashed south-west of Ath at 14:55/15:55 –
    Lieut T C R Baker, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII crashed south-west of Ath at 14:55/15:55 -
    Capt R King, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII out of control Ath at 14:55/15:55 -
    Lieut T C R Baker, 4 AFC, Fokker DVII out of control Ath at 15:00/16:00 -

    A patrol of 4th Squadron, A.F.C., engaged a formation of Fokker biplanes. Major W A McClaughry dived on one, which he shot down, and Lieut A J Palliser brought down another, and shortly afterwards attacked a second machine, which also crashed. Lieut T C R Baker shot down one of the EA, having previously destroyed an enemy scout in the morning, when on patrol by himself

    Lieut H Holroyde, 29 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed Amougies at 15:00/16:00 -
    Lieut E G Davies, 29 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed east of Avelghem at 15:00/16:00 -
    Lieut S M Brown, 29 Sqn, Fokker DVII crashed south-east of Avelghem at 15:00/16:00 -
    Lieut B E Harmer, 41 Sqn, Fokker DVII out of control (shared?) west of Audenarde at 15:00/16:00 -
    Lieut P G Greenwood, 40 Sqn, Balloon in flames south of Roulers at 15:10/16:10 -

    On a busier day the following claims were made

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    On what must be just about the WORST day for the RAF in this war so far, 67 airmen were lost, alas far too many to list them all here.

    POLITICS
    France: Allied armistice Conference in Paris (until October 30).
    Austria: Galicia severed from Empire. Czech National Council at Prague takes over internal administration. CZECHOSLOVAKIA INDEPENDENT.

    HOME FRONTS
    Germany: Kaiser signs amended constitution, says ‘… (his) office is one of service to German people’, but at Hindenburg’s request returns to Spa by train on October 29 refusing to meet Prince Max.
    Austria: *Agram military command surrender to Yugoslav Council.
    France: BEF march past in liberated Lille (Churchill present).
    Canada: 5th War Loan.

    and finally, Captain Tunstill's Men: Borgo Malanotte

    The night of 27th/28th passed quietly and at 8.30am, on a bright and sunny morning, the Battalion became Brigade reserve as the attack was pressed forward by 8Yorks and 11WYR. However, C Company was attached to 11WYR and advanced with them in the morning and early afternoon before rejoining the reminder of the Battalion, by 6.30pm, in billets in Borgo Malanotte. The village itself was described in the Divisional History: “the accumulation of filth in the buildings recently occupied by Austrian soldiers beggars description, and combined with the relics of battle to make Borgo Malanotte a spot that will live long in the memory of those who sojourned there”.

    The quieter conditions were remembered by 2Lt. Bernard Garside (see 27th October),

    “at daylight we sent people forward to scout and found no Austrians anywhere near us. They had gone back in the night. (Actually they kept going back till they were out of the war a few days later). So we went into the farm house and discovered breakfast already set for us – a meal had been laid for the Austrian officers when we first disturbed them, and there it was, all but the food. I kept one of the mugs, a blue enamel oval topped one for a long time and may have it yet somewhere.

    The next trouble was my boots. The water had burst all the seams, for they were not new. I was non-plussed, but Smith, my batman (I am, as yet, unable to make a positive identification of this man) from Shipley Co-op in peace time, suddenly had an idea. Off he went and presently came back with a pair of boots exactly my fit, taken from a dead Austrian lying in the road near the house. I wore those boots quite a while and they were good ones.

    Now we had a meal and how we enjoyed it! We had had very little for 36 hours – just a few biscuits and little else”.

    Garside also recalled an encounter between Lt.Col. Francis Washington Lethbridge DSO (see 16th October) and a captured Austrian officer, “I remember in the Piave attack the day after we went across the stream, an Austrian Colonel was brought in a prisoner to our Battalion HQ and Col. Lethbridge, a peppery and insensitive old blighter, began crudely trying to pump him and get him to tell about the strength of the Austrians facing us etc. After a lot of uncomfortable silence the Austrian Colonel looked us in the face and said, “My Colonel, I am a soldier. Do not ask me”. One up for him and a poke in the eye to old Lethbridge; a good soldier, but rather a despicable man”.

    Ptes. George Towler Brown (see 27thOctober), William Dixon (see 27th October) and John Thomas Tull (see 27th October), all of whom had been wounded the previous day, died of their wounds at 39th Casualty Clearing Station; all three would be buried at Giavera British Cemetery, Arcade.

    Pte. Ezra Plumb (see 27th October) would later write to Pte. Dixon’s sister, with details of what had happened to her brother, “Dear Mrs. Scholfield, – You ask me to tell all I can concerning Willie. It is something I would rather not do, but as you have asked me to state the worst I feel that I ought to do so, as I know the suspense that you will be in. I thought you would have been notified by the War Office before now. I am sorry to say that Willie met his death on October 27th when we made the advance across the Piave. He was hit with a machine gun bullet soon after we crossed the river. I should like to have seen him, but did not know he was severely wounded until we reached our objective the same day. I was told he had been attended to and carried away on a stretcher, and afterwards heard he had died later in the day. I sympathise with you. I have known Willie since we were in training together; he came out in the same draft as myself. It does seem hard after going through so much to be taken away at the final push”.

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    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  48. #3698

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    Thanks for another cracking edition Chris.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  49. #3699

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    Back for my penultimate set tomorrow for 3 days.

    Seems a long time since I started filling in for Rob and assisting Chris in publishing the daily reports; along with many critical additions from a small band of helpers stepping in sometimes at the last hour, when neither Rob, Chris or myself were available.

    Neil
    See you on the Dark Side......

  50. #3700

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    We have come a long way Neil, the finishing line is just up ahead...

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

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