Łukasz Skowroń
Author
(1516)1918
January
- 04
- Recognition of Finnish independenceOn 4 January 1918 VTsIK approved the Lenin government's recognition of Finland's independence. France, Sweden and Germany followed that day, then others.
- The Hogarth messageIn January 1918 Commander David Hogarth assured King Hussein at Jeddah that Jewish settlement in Palestine would not infringe the freedom of its inhabitants.
- 08
- British occupy Qasr-e ShirinThe British chronology records the British occupation of Qasr-e Shirin on 8 January 1918. Their column was to guard the road into Persia as the Russians left.
- Trotsky at Brest-LitovskOn 8 January 1918 peace talks resumed at Brest-Litovsk. The Soviet delegation was now led by Trotsky, who turned the sessions into a verbal duel with Kühlmann.
- 28
- Russia breaks off relations with RomaniaOn 28 January 1918 the Romanian minister had to leave Petrograd. After the Romanians entered Bessarabia, Lenin cut ties and seized Romania's gold in Moscow.
- Arabs destroy the Dead Sea flotillaAt dawn on 28 January 1918 Abdullah al-Fair's Bedouin raided the Al-Mazraa landing, sank the Turkish grain flotilla on the Dead Sea and took 60 prisoners.
- The January strike in GermanyOn 28 January 1918 Berlin's armaments works came to a halt. 400,000 workers struck, about a million across Germany. They demanded peace and democracy.
February
- 11
- Wilson's Four PrinciplesOn 11 February 1918 Wilson answered Hertling and Czernin before Congress, set out four principles of peace and called self-determination a principle of action.
- Suicide of KaledinOn 11 February 1918 the Don Cossack ataman Alexey Kaledin laid down his powers and shot himself in Novocherkassk. The Cossacks would not defend the Don.
- Resignation of the Kucharzewski governmentOn 11 February 1918 Jan Kucharzewski's government resigned in protest against the Treaty of Brest, which gave the Chełm Land to Ukraine.
- 15
- Allied Maritime Transport Council is set upOn 15 February 1918 four powers' representatives settled at the Foreign Office how the Allied Maritime Transport Council would work, and convened it for March.
- Battle of RarańczaOn the night of 15–16 February 1918 Colonel Haller's Second Brigade of the Legions broke through the Austrian front at Rarańcza in protest at the Ukraine peace.
- 24
- Estonia declares independenceOn 24 February 1918, as the Bolsheviks fled and the Germans neared, the Estonian Salvation Committee proclaimed the Republic of Estonia in Tallinn.
- Start of peace talks in BucharestOn 24 February 1918 at Buftea near Bucharest Kühlmann and Czernin opened peace talks with Romania's prime minister. Averescu refused to give up Dobruja.
- 25
- Germans take Reval and PskovOn 25 February 1918 the Germans entered Reval (Tallinn), and in the night after a brief fight they took Pskov. The road to Petrograd lay open before them.
- British recognition of EstoniaIn late February 1918 London told Tõnisson in Stockholm it would provisionally recognise the Estonian Constituent Assembly as a de facto independent body.
- Food rationing in BritainFrom 25 February 1918 meat, butter and margarine could be bought in London and the surrounding counties only with cards. They were meant to end the queues.
March
- 07
- Giants raid LondonOn the night of 7 March 1918 German giant bombers attacked London without moonlight. A bomb weighing a ton destroyed houses in Warrington Crescent.
- German–Finnish peaceOn 7 March 1918 in Berlin Hertling and envoys of Finland's White government signed a peace treaty and a trade agreement. Finland entered Germany's orbit.
- 09
- British take HitOn 9 March 1918 the British Indian 15th Division took Hit on the Euphrates without a fight, after the Turks had abandoned it. A day later it entered Sahiliya.
- Romanian–Soviet treatyOn 9 March 1918 in Odessa Rakovsky signed an agreement with Romania. The Romanians promised to leave Bessarabia within two months, but never did.
- 11
- First meeting of the Allied Maritime Transport CouncilFrom 11 to 14 March 1918 the Allied Maritime Transport Council met in London. It approved a coal plan for Italy and accepted a 10m-ton import shortfall.
- Airship raid on NaplesOn the night of 10–11 March 1918 the German airship L 59, flying from Bulgaria, bombed Naples. Sixteen people were killed; the military targets were unharmed.
- 21
- Key eventOperation Michael beginsOn 21 March 1918, after a five-hour bombardment and in thick fog, three German armies broke the British front on the Somme. The British lost over 38,000 men.
- Requisition of Dutch shipsOn 20–21 March 1918 the United States and Britain, invoking the right of angary, seized Dutch ships in their ports. The Netherlands protested.
- 24
- Fighting at Es SaltOn 24–25 March 1918 London infantry broke weak defences below the hills of Moab; on the evening of the 25th Australian horsemen rode into Es Salt unopposed.
- British occupy KermanshahOn 24 March 1918 the first British detachment reached Kermanshah, fifty riflemen of the Hampshire Regiment with Lt-Col. Capper and Consul Kennion.
- 25
- Key eventGermans capture NoyonOn 25 March 1918 Hutier's army broke the French reinforcements on the Oise and entered Noyon in the evening. The gap between the French and British widened.
- Belarusian People's RepublicOn 25 March 1918, in German-occupied Minsk, the Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic declared Belarus independent. Germany did not recognise the new state.
- 26
- Fighting at Khan al-BaghdadiOn 26 March 1918 the 15th Division's infantry took the Turkish trenches at Khan al-Baghdadi on the Euphrates; cavalry and armoured cars cut off the retreat.
- Key eventDoullens conferenceOn 26 March 1918, in the town hall at Doullens, the French and British entrusted General Foch with coordinating the Allied armies on the Western Front.
April
- 04
- Key eventFighting on the AvreOn 4 April 1918, in the rain, the Germans struck at Amiens. By evening they were at Villers-Bretonneux, but an Australian counter-attack threw them back.
- Scuttling of British submarines at HelsinkiIn early April 1918 the British scuttled seven of their Baltic submarines off Helsinki to keep them from the Germans landing in Finland.
- Steczkowski governmentOn 4 April 1918 the Regency Council appointed the government of Jan Kanty Steczkowski, a Galician banker, ending Ponikowski's five-week caretaker cabinet.
- 05
- Landing at VladivostokOn 5 April 1918, after a Japanese was killed, Japanese and then British sailors landed at Vladivostok. It was the first step of the intervention in Siberia.
- Turks retake VanIn early April 1918 Ottoman troops returned to ruined Van, held by the Russians and Armenians since 1915. The Armenians had left the town beforehand.
- 10
- Key eventGermans take MessinesOn 10 April 1918 the German 4th Army attacked in fog north of Armentières and took Messines. In the evening the South Africans briefly retook the village.
- Third Military Service ActOn 10 April 1918 the Commons passed on second reading a bill raising the conscription age to 51 and allowing conscription to be extended to Ireland.
- Pact of RomeOn 10 April 1918 a congress of the nations oppressed by Austria-Hungary adopted a joint declaration in Rome and endorsed the Italian–Yugoslav agreement.
- 11
- Germans take Armentières and MervilleOn 11 April 1918 the Germans entered Armentières, abandoned by the British, and broke into Merville that evening. The Lys front fell back towards Hazebrouck.
- Sixtus affairOn 11 April 1918 the French government published Emperor Charles I's secret 1917 letter backing France's "just claims" to Alsace-Lorraine.
- 13
- Germans take HelsinkiOn 12–13 April 1918 the Baltic Division took Red Helsinki after street fighting. The White government declared the Germans had come to Finland at its request.
- Protests against the union of BessarabiaOn 13 April 1918 the Little Rada in Kiev condemned the union of Bessarabia with Romania and refused to recognise it. Soviet Russia soon protested too.
- 15
- Germans take BailleulOn 15 April 1918 the Germans took the Ravelsberg ridge east of Bailleul. That night the British left the town, which in later months was reduced to ruins.
- Second Kattegat raidOn 15 April 1918 British light forces again broke into the Kattegat and sank ten German armed trawlers. Their crews were rescued.
- 23
- Key eventZeebrugge raidOn St George's night, 23 April 1918, the Royal Navy attacked Zeebrugge and Ostend to seal the Germans' exits from Bruges. Two blockships were sunk at Zeebrugge.
- Motono resignsOn 23 April 1918 Japan's ailing foreign minister Ichirō Motono resigned. He was replaced by Shinpei Gotō, also a supporter of intervention in Siberia.
- 29
- Key eventFighting for the ScherpenbergOn 29 April 1918 the Germans attacked the Scherpenberg and Mont Rouge. The French and British repulsed them, and that evening Ludendorff halted the offensive.
- Whites take VyborgOn 29 April 1918 the Whites took Vyborg, the last capital of Red Finland. After taking the city they shot hundreds of prisoners and several hundred Russians.
May
- 07
- British take KirkukOn 7 May 1918 the British entered Kirkuk unopposed after the Turks left it overnight. Lack of supplies made them withdraw from the town by 24 May.
- Key eventPeace of BucharestOn 7 May 1918 in Bucharest the Marghiloman government signed peace with the Central Powers. Romania lost Dobruja and the Carpathian passes; Germany got its oil.
- 09
- Second Ostend raidOn the night of 9/10 May 1918 the British scuttled the old cruiser Vindictive in the entrance to Ostend harbour. The wreck blocked only part of the channel.
- Allied trade committee in the NetherlandsIn spring 1918 trade envoys of four Entente states formed a committee in The Hague to ensure that imports into the Netherlands did not go on to Germany.
- 15
- Shelling of St KildaOn 15 May 1918 the German submarine U-90 shelled St Kilda, the remotest archipelago of the Hebrides, and destroyed a Royal Navy radio station. No one died.
- Portuguese prime minister resignsOn 15 May 1918 Sidónio Pais's first government left office. The president himself led a cabinet of secretaries of state; no prime minister until December.
- Turks take AlexandropolOn 15 May 1918 the Turks crossed the Arpaçay without awaiting a reply to an ultimatum and took Alexandropol. The Armenians fell back to Erivan and Karakilisa.
- 28
- Americans capture CantignyOn 28 May 1918 the US 1st Division took Cantigny near Montdidier and beat off German counter-attacks. It was the first attack by an American division.
- Armenian independenceOn 28 May 1918 the Armenian National Council in Tiflis resolved to assume power over the Armenian lands. The day counts as the birth of independent Armenia.
- 29
- Austro-Finnish peaceOn 29 May 1918 in Vienna Finland made peace with Austria-Hungary. It was the last of its four peace treaties with the Central Powers.
- Germans take Fère-en-TardenoisOn 29 May 1918 the Germans took Fère-en-Tardenois, a railway junction and supply centre of the French Sixth Army. Clemenceau nearly fell into their hands there.
June
- 09
- Key eventStart of the Battle of the MatzOn 9 June 1918 the German Eighteenth Army struck between Montdidier and Noyon. The French knew the hour of attack, yet by evening lost 10 km in the centre.
- Hague conference on prisoners of warIn June 1918 a second Anglo-German conference on prisoners opened at The Hague. London sent the Home Secretary, George Cave.
- 23
- British reinforcements at MurmanskOn 23 June 1918 General Charles Maynard's "Syren" force and the "Elope" mission, bound for Archangel, arrived at Murmansk. Together a few hundred men.
- Seidler government crisisOn 23 June 1918 Austrian premier Ernst Seidler, having lost the Polish Club's support, judged resignation unavoidable and offered it to Emperor Charles I.
July
- 06
- Start of the offensive in AlbaniaOn 6 July 1918 the French and Italians attacked the Austrians on the Devoll and Osum. Next day the Italians crossed the Vjosë near Vlorë into the Mallakastër.
- Assassination of MirbachOn 6 July 1918 the Left SRs Blumkin and Andreyev shot the German envoy Mirbach in Moscow. The killing was the signal for their failed uprising.
- 16
- Dismissal of ConradIn mid-July 1918 Karl I removed Field Marshal Conrad from command in the Tyrol, sweetening it with the title of count. Archduke Joseph August replaced him.
- Key eventMurder of the imperial familyOn the night of 16–17 July 1918 in Yekaterinburg the Bolsheviks murdered the former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, their five children and four companions.
- 18
- Worthington-Evans becomes Minister of BlockadeIn July 1918 Laming Worthington-Evans succeeded Lord Robert Cecil as Minister of Blockade. Cecil became deputy to the Foreign Secretary.
- Key eventMangin's counter-offensiveOn 18 July 1918 Mangin's French Tenth Army, with Americans and hundreds of tanks, struck the German flank from Villers-Cotterêts without a bombardment.
- 19
- Key eventHonduras declares war on GermanyOn 19 July 1918 President Francisco Bertrand declared a state of war with Germany by decree. Honduras was the last of eight Latin American states to do so.
- Sinking of the San DiegoOn 19 July 1918 off Fire Island near New York the armoured cruiser San Diego struck a mine laid by U-156. Six sailors were killed.
- 20
- Germans withdraw back across the MarneOn the night of 19–20 July 1918 the Germans left their bridgehead south of the Marne, won on 15 July. In the morning the French found empty ground ahead.
- Defence of RashtOn 20 July 1918 about 2,500 of Kuchik Khan's Jangalis attacked the British in Rasht. Soldiers of the Hampshires and Gurkhas beat off the assault.
- 26
- Fall of the Baku CommuneOn 25 July 1918 the Baku Soviet voted to invite the British. The Bolsheviks gave up power, and on 1 August the Centrocaspian Dictatorship took over.
- British assurance to RussiaAt the end of July 1918 the British government declared it had no wish to violate Russia's territorial integrity and that its aim was to expel the Germans.
August
- 07
- Second Battle of the Marne endsOn 6 August 1918 Pétain halted attacks on the German line beyond the Vesle; on 7 August he proclaimed victory. The Americans still fought for Fismette.
- Vosugh od-Dowleh prime minister againIn early August 1918 the Shah dismissed Samsam ol-Saltaneh's government, unfriendly to the Entente. On 7 August Vosugh od-Dowleh became prime minister.
- Czechoslovaks take KazanOn 7 August 1918 Vladimir Kappel's detachment and the Czechoslovaks took Kazan after two days of fighting, capturing over half of Russia's gold reserve.
- 27
- French retake RoyeOn 27 August 1918 Debeney's French First Army took Roye, abandoned by the retreating Germans after two weeks of hard fighting for the approaches to the town.
- British occupy KrasnovodskIn late August 1918 British infantry from Enzeli reached Krasnovodsk, a port on the eastern Caspian shore, with the consent of the Transcaspian government.
- 30
- Battle of the Scarpe (1918) endsOn 30 August 1918 the Canadians took the rest of the Fresnes–Rouvroy line at Vis-en-Artois. Horne and Currie put off the Drocourt–Quéant attack to 2 September.
- British retake BailleulOn 30 August 1918 British patrols entered Bailleul, abandoned by the Germans. The town, lost in April, lay in ruins. The Germans were retreating from the Lys.
- Macready resigns as adjutant-generalIn late August 1918, after the London police strike, General Sir Nevil Macready gave up the post of Adjutant-General to become head of the Metropolitan Police.
September
- 03
- End of the Second Battle of the SommeOn 3 September 1918 the Germans broke contact between the Somme and the Sensée and fell back behind the Canal du Nord, ending the Somme and Arras battles.
- United States recognises the CzechoslovaksOn 3 September 1918 the US recognised a state of war between the Czechoslovaks and the Central Powers, and their National Council as a de facto government.
- 11
- Battle of UkhtaOn 11 September 1918 Colonel Woods's Karelians routed Finnish volunteers at Ukhta in Karelia. General Maynard wrote of the complete defeat of their main base.
- Macdonogh appointed adjutant-generalOn 11 September 1918 the Director of Military Intelligence, General George Macdonogh, became Adjutant-General of the British Army in place of Nevil Macready.
- 15
- Battle of Dobro Pole beginsOn 15 September 1918 the Serbs and French took the Dobro Pole–Sokol–Vetrenik ridge in Macedonia, and on 16 September the Bulgarians' second position on Kozjak.
- German peace offer to BelgiumOn 15 September 1918 news spread that Germany had offered Belgium peace. The government in Le Havre rejected it, and Berlin denied any offer had been made.
- 25
- Serbs retake Štip and VelesOn 25 September 1918 Serbian cavalry entered Štip, abandoned by the Bulgarians, and on 26 September the Serbian First Army took Veles on the Vardar.
- Italy and the Yugoslav stateAt the end of September 1918 Italy declared that the Yugoslavs' striving for independence and a state of their own accorded with Allied principles.
- 29
- Key eventBattle of the St Quentin Canal beginsOn 29 September 1918 the British 46th Division crossed the St Quentin Canal in fog, while Americans and Australians stormed the Hindenburg Line at Bellicourt.
- Allies retake PasschendaeleOn 29 September 1918 the Belgians consolidated on the retaken Passchendaele ridge, took Moorslede and recovered Diksmuide, lost in November 1914.
- Lettow-Vorbeck returns across the RovumaAt the end of September 1918 Lettow-Vorbeck's force crossed the Rovuma and, after ten months in Mozambique, returned to German East Africa.
- Hara cabinetOn 29 September 1918 Seiyūkai leader Takashi Hara became prime minister of Japan, the first premier from outside the aristocracy, heading a party cabinet.
- 30
- Key eventArmistice of SalonicaOn 29 September 1918 Bulgaria signed an armistice at Salonica. The fighting stopped at noon on 30 September, the first Central Power out of the war.
- Hertling resignsOn 30 September 1918 the Kaiser accepted Chancellor Georg von Hertling's resignation and announced that men trusted by the nation would join the government.
October
- 02
- End of the Battle of the St Quentin CanalOn 1–2 October 1918 the British Fourth Army took Joncourt and the rest of the Hindenburg Line at Bony and broke into the Beaurevoir Line, but lost Sequehart.
- Bombardment of DurrësOn 2 October 1918 Italian and British cruisers shelled Durrës, the Austrian base in Albania. The submarine U-31 torpedoed the British cruiser Weymouth.
- 03
- Key eventStart of the battle of the Beaurevoir LineOn 3 October 1918 the British and Australians broke the Beaurevoir Line, the Hindenburg Line's last position. Montbrehain fell, but the Germans retook it.
- Abdication of FerdinandOn 3 October 1918 Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria renounced the throne in favour of his son Boris III and left the country. The dynasty survived the defeat.
- Max von Baden becomes chancellorOn 3 October 1918 Prince Max von Baden became Reich chancellor. For the first time in the Empire's history Social Democrats joined the government.
- Italians retake BeratOn 3 October 1918 the Italians, pursuing the retreating Austrians, again took Berat in Albania. The enemy fled north, burning his depots.
- Lost Battalion surrounded in the ArgonneOn 3 October 1918 Germans trapped Major Whittlesey's force of the 77th Division in the Argonne's Charlevaux ravine. The press called it the "Lost Battalion".
- 10
- Sinking of the LeinsterOn 10 October 1918 UB-123 sank the mail steamer Leinster at the entrance to Dublin Bay. Over 500 died, the worst loss in the history of the Irish Sea.
- French retake PristinaIn October 1918 General Tranié's Franco-Greek force advanced from Skopje via Kačanik to the Kosovo plain and took Pristina, abandoned by the Austrians.
- 14
- Key eventBattle of Kortrijk beginsOn 14 October 1918 the Belgians, British and French attacked again in Flanders. They broke through the last German position and retook Roeselare.
- İzzet Pasha becomes grand vizierOn 14 October 1918, after Talat Pasha's resignation, Marshal Ahmed İzzet Pasha became grand vizier. His task was to lead the empire out of the war.
- Ironside takes command at ArchangelOn 14 October 1918 General Poole sailed from Archangel for England and never returned. Command of the Allied forces passed to his chief of staff, Ironside.
- 15
- End of the Battle of Champagne and ArgonneOn 15 October 1918 the Battle of Champagne and Argonne ended by the French naming. Gouraud's Fourth Army reached the Aisne, while the Americans fought on.
- Capture of HomsIn mid-October 1918 the British 5th Cavalry Division and Faisal's Arabs occupied Homs, abandoned by the Turks. The road to Aleppo lay open.
- Britain recognises the Polish ArmyOn 15 October 1918 Arthur Balfour informed the Polish National Committee that Britain recognised the Polish Army as autonomous, allied and co-belligerent.
- 19
- Belgians retake BrugesOn 19 October 1918 the Belgians entered Bruges and Zeebrugge and the British Kortrijk. The next day the whole Belgian coast was free of Germans.
- National Council of the Duchy of CieszynOn 19 October 1918 Polish activists in Cieszyn set up the National Council of the Duchy of Cieszyn to join this part of Austria to the reborn Poland.
- 26
- Capture of AleppoOn the night of 25/26 October 1918 Faisal's Arabs broke into Aleppo; General Macandrew rode in next morning. At Haritan Mustafa Kemal halted the British.
- Ludendorff dismissedOn 26 October 1918 the Emperor accepted General Erich Ludendorff's resignation, demanded by the chancellor after an army order rejecting Wilson's third note.
- 30
- Key eventArmistice of MudrosOn 30 October 1918, aboard the battleship Agamemnon at Mudros, the Ottoman Empire signed an armistice with the Entente. Fighting ended at noon on 31 October.
- Surrender at SharqatOn 30 October 1918 the encircled Turkish Tigris Group surrendered on the Tigris at Sharqat. Ismail Hakki Bey gave himself up with several thousand men.
- Fiume National CouncilIn October 1918 the Hungarians left Fiume. A State of SHS commissioner took over, but on 30 October the Italian National Council proclaimed union with Italy.
November
- 01
- Key eventBattle of Valenciennes beginsOn 1 November 1918 the Canadians took Mont Houy near Valenciennes in under an hour, supported by fire such as no other brigade had ever had.
- British occupy MervOn 1 November 1918 Transcaspian government troops and an Indian detachment entered Merv, abandoned by the Bolsheviks after their defeat at Dushak.
- Sinking of Viribus UnitisOn 1 November 1918 two Italians mined the dreadnought Viribus Unitis at Pola, handed to the State of SCS a day earlier. Admiral Vuković and hundreds died.
- Fighting for Lviv beginsOn the night before 1 November 1918 Ukrainian soldiers seized Lviv and proclaimed it the capital of a Ukrainian state. That same day its Poles took up arms.
- 03
- Key eventArmistice of Villa GiustiOn 3 November 1918 near Padua Austria-Hungary signed an armistice with the Allies. Fighting ceased at 3 p.m. on 4 November; the Habsburg monarchy left the war.
- Kiel mutinyOn 3 November 1918 a patrol in Kiel fired on a march of sailors and workers. Next day the city was in the hands of soldiers' councils. The revolution had begun.
- 04
- End of the Battle of Vittorio VenetoAt 3 p.m. on 4 November 1918 the guns fell silent on the Italian front. Before that the Allies crossed the Tagliamento and whole enemy divisions surrendered.
- British occupy MosulOn 3 November 1918, after the armistice with Turkey, British cavalry entered Mosul. Ali Ihsan Pasha protested, but by 10 November the Turks had left the city.
- Death of Wilfred OwenOn 4 November 1918, a week before the Armistice, Wilfred Owen, 25, one of the greatest English poets of the war, was killed crossing the canal at Ors.
- 05
- Italians in FiumeOn 4 November 1918 Italian warships led by the battleship Emanuele Filiberto entered the port of Fiume. The city, however, was still governed by the Croats.
- Sinking of HMS CampaniaOn 5 November 1918 Campania, a former liner converted into a seaplane carrier, sank in the Firth of Forth. Torn from her anchorage, she rammed two warships.
- Lansing noteOn 5 November 1918 Lansing passed to Germany the Allies' reservations on freedom of the seas and reparation and told it to apply to Foch for armistice terms.
- Polish-Czech agreement on Cieszyn SilesiaOn 5 November 1918 the Polish and Czech national councils split Cieszyn Silesia provisionally. Most of it, with Cieszyn and Bielsko, came under Polish rule.
- 08
- British retake MaubeugeOn the night of 8/9 November 1918 a Grenadier Guards battalion entered Maubeuge unopposed, the Sambre fortress the French had surrendered in September 1914.
- Marghiloman dismissedIn early November 1918 King Ferdinand, at the Entente's demand, dismissed the Germanophile Marghiloman–Arion cabinet. General Constantin Coandă took over.
- 09
- Lettow-Vorbeck takes KasamaOn 9 November 1918 Lettow-Vorbeck's vanguard took the abandoned town of Kasama in Northern Rhodesia. The Germans pushed south towards the Chambeshi depots.
- Key eventRevolution in BerlinOn 9 November 1918 the revolution reached Berlin. The chancellor announced the Kaiser's abdication and handed power to Ebert; Scheidemann proclaimed a republic.
- Anglo-French DeclarationIn early November 1918 Britain and France declared that they sought the "complete liberation" of Syria and Mesopotamia and governments chosen by their peoples.
- 10
- French retake MézièresOn the eve of the armistice the French recovered Mézières on the Meuse, long a key German command centre. Fighting on the river went on until 11 November.
- Piłsudski returns to WarsawOn the morning of 10 November 1918 Józef Piłsudski, freed from Magdeburg, arrived in Warsaw. A dozen people met him; by evening he was talking to the regents.
- Sinking of HMS AscotOn 10 November 1918 UB-67 torpedoed the minesweeper Ascot off the Farne Islands. All 50-odd crew died. She was the last Royal Navy ship sunk by the enemy.
- 11
- Key eventArmistice of CompiègneAt dawn on 11 November 1918 Germany signed an armistice with the Entente in Foch's railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne. At 11 a.m. the guns fell silent.
- Key eventPoland regains independenceOn 11 November 1918 the Regency Council handed Piłsudski command of the army, while Warsaw disarmed the Germans. The day became Independence Day.
- 15
- The cruiser Königsberg in the Firth of ForthOn 15 November 1918 the cruiser Königsberg brought Rear-Admiral Meurer to the Firth of Forth to agree with Beatty how Germany would hand over its fleet.
- Petliura's uprisingOn 15 November 1918 the Directorate called from Bila Tserkva for a rising against Hetman Skoropadskyi, who had proclaimed federation with Russia the day before.
- 16
- Piłsudski's notificationOn 16 November 1918 Józef Piłsudski notified belligerent and neutral governments by radio telegram of the existence of an independent Polish state.
- Hungarian independenceOn 16 November 1918 the Hungarian People's Republic was proclaimed in front of the parliament in Budapest. Prime Minister Mihály Károlyi became head of state.
- 18
- Germans leave FranceAccording to the British chronology, on 18 November 1918 the last Germans crossed back over France's 1914 border. The occupation of the north-east was over.
- Kolchak's coupOn the night of 17–18 November 1918 Cossack officers in Omsk arrested the SR members of the Directory. The Council of Ministers made Kolchak Supreme Ruler.
- 19
- The French enter MetzOn 19 November 1918 troops of the Tenth Army entered Metz, capital of German Lorraine. The parade was watched by Pétain, who learned of his promotion that day.
- Belgians return to AntwerpOn 19 November 1918 Belgian troops reoccupied Antwerp. The fortress, which had capitulated in October 1914, returned to Belgium after more than four years.
December
- 01
- Key eventAssembly at Alba IuliaOn 1 December 1918 the Great National Assembly at Alba Iulia proclaimed the union of Transylvania, the Banat and the Romanian lands of Hungary with Romania.
- Key eventProclamation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and SlovenesOn 1 December 1918 in Belgrade Regent Alexander received the Zagreb National Council's delegation and proclaimed the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
- Iceland becomes a kingdomOn 1 December 1918 the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union came into force. Iceland became a sovereign kingdom, linked to Denmark only through the person of the king.
- 11
- Ukrainians occupy OdessaOn 11 December 1918 Directorate troops entered Odessa. The Russian volunteers withdrew to the port, where an Allied zone formed under cover of Entente warships.
- Mannerheim becomes regent of FinlandIn December 1918 the pro-German regent Svinhufvud stepped down and parliament elected General Mannerheim in his place. Finland turned towards the Entente.
- 14
- Armistice extendedOn 13 December 1918 at Trier Foch and Erzberger extended the armistice to 17 January 1919. The Allies reserved the right to occupy the neutral zone.
- General election in BritainOn 14 December 1918 women voted for the first time in Britain. Lloyd George's coalition won a landslide, and Ireland backed Sinn Féin.
- Fall of the HetmanateOn 14 December 1918 Directorate troops broke into Kiev, and Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi renounced power and went into hiding under German protection.
- 16
- Internment of MackensenOn 16 December 1918 Field Marshal Mackensen's train from Romania was stopped in Budapest. At French insistence the Hungarians interned him at Fót.
- Germans leave FinlandOn 16 December 1918 the last units of von der Goltz's Baltic Division sailed from Helsinki for Stettin. Thousands of the capital's inhabitants saw them off.
- Congress of Councils in BerlinOn 16 December 1918 the first Reich congress of workers' and soldiers' councils met in Berlin. It rejected a council republic and set elections for 19 January.
- 18
- Germans leave DorpatOn 18 December 1918 the Germans withdrew from Dorpat (Tartu). A few days later the Estonians gave up the town without a fight and the Red Army entered it.
- French land at OdessaOn 18 December 1918 General Borius's French division landed at Odessa. At the French demand, the Directorate's troops began to leave the city.
- 24
- Capture of PermOn the night of 24–25 December 1918 Radola Gajda's Siberian Army entered Perm. The Red 3rd Army fell apart and the Bolsheviks spoke of the "Perm catastrophe".
- Christmas fighting in BerlinOn 24 December 1918 troops shelled the Berlin Palace, held by mutinous sailors. The attack failed, and the coalition of the socialists broke up.