October 1918

October

• 01

  • End of the Battle of the Canal du NordOn 1 October 1918 the Canadians attacked north of Cambrai for the last time. They gained 1.5 km and a hill above the city, after which Horne halted the advance.
  • French retake Saint-QuentinOn 1 October 1918 Debeney's French First Army entered Saint-Quentin, abandoned by the Germans. The town, evacuated in 1917, lay in ruins.
  • Capture of DamascusOn 1 October 1918 Australian horsemen galloped through Damascus, followed by Faisal's Arabs with Lawrence. Four hundred years of Turkish rule were over.
  • The Otranto BarrageThe British chronology records on 1 October 1918 a fixed barrage of mined nets in the Strait of Otranto. It was to close the exit from the Adriatic to U-boats.
  • Canadians in ArchangelOn 1 October 1918 the 16th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, arrived at Archangel. General Edmund Ironside came with the same convoy.
• 02

  • End of the Fifth Battle of YpresOn 2 October 1918 Belgian, French and British attacks in Flanders failed. In the evening Plumer ordered the Second Army to dig in and wait for artillery.
  • 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.
  • The British retake Armentières againIn early October 1918 the Germans abandoned Armentières, taken in April on the Lys. The British returned to a town that had been reduced to ruins.
  • Clash at Lake PyaozeroIn early October 1918 Red Finns of the Murmansk Legion routed the last White Finnish detachment at Lake Pyaozero in Karelia.
  • British take LensOn 3 October 1918 the British entered Lens, abandoned by the Germans. After four years of occupation the mining town was a field of rubble.
  • 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".
• 04

  • Key eventPeace notes to WilsonOn 4 October 1918 Germany and Austria-Hungary sent President Wilson notes asking for an armistice and peace talks on the basis of the Fourteen Points.
  • Haller becomes commander-in-chiefOn 4 October 1918 the Polish National Committee appointed Gen. Józef Haller commander-in-chief of the Polish Army. On 6 October he took the oath at the front.
• 05

  • End of the battle of the Beaurevoir LineOn 5 October 1918 the Australians took Montbrehain in their last battle of the war, and in the evening the British entered Beaurevoir.
  • Serbs retake VranjeIn early October 1918 the Serbian First Army threw back the Austro-Hungarian 9th Division and regained Vranje, the first large town in the Morava valley.
  • National Council in ZagrebOn 5 October 1918 representatives of the Slovenes, Croats and Serbs of Austria-Hungary met in Zagreb to form a joint National Council.
• 06

  • Occupation of SidonOn 6 October 1918 the vanguard of the Indian 7th Division, advancing along the coast from Haifa towards Beirut, entered Sidon. It was supplied by sea.
  • Sinking of HMS OtrantoOn 6 October 1918 off Islay, in a storm, the transport Kashmir rammed Otranto, which was carrying American soldiers. About 470 people died.
• 07

  • French occupy BeirutOn 7 October 1918 French warships entered the port of Beirut, where the Arab flag had been flying for several days. British infantry arrived a day later.
  • Italians take ElbasanOn the afternoon of 7 October 1918 Italian troops advancing from Berat up the Devoll valley entered Elbasan. The Austrians were leaving Albania northwards.
  • Key eventDeclaration of the Regency CouncilOn 7 October 1918 the Regency Council's proclamation "To the Polish Nation" declared the aim of an independent Poland and dissolved the Council of State.
  • Relief of the Lost BattalionOn the evening of 7 October 1918 the 307th Infantry broke through to Major Whittlesey's men, trapped in the Argonne. Of about 550 soldiers, 194 walked out.
• 08

  • Key eventBattle of Cambrai beginsOn 8 October 1918 the British Third and Fourth Armies and the Americans attacked between Sequehart and Cambrai. At Niergnies the Germans used captured tanks.
  • Wilson's first replyOn 8 October 1918 Wilson asked Germany whether it accepted the Fourteen Points and for whom the chancellor spoke. On 12 October Berlin answered yes.
• 09

  • Capture of CambraiOn 9 October 1918 the Canadians and the British 57th Division entered Cambrai, abandoned and set on fire by the Germans. The Hindenburg Line battles ended.
  • Scheuch becomes minister of warOn 9 October 1918 General Heinrich Scheuch became Prussian minister of war. He replaced Hermann von Stein, who left under pressure from the new chancellor.
• 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.
• 11

  • Feng Guozhang steps downOn 10 October 1918 Feng Guozhang handed the presidency of China to Xu Shichang. The same day his rival Duan Qirui stepped down as premier.
• 12

  • Allies retake NišAt noon on 12 October 1918 Serbian infantry entered Niš, Serbia's wartime capital, after three days of fighting with the Germans on the approaches to the city.
• 13

  • French retake LaonOn 13 October 1918 the French Tenth Army entered Laon and the First Army La Fère. Both towns had been in German hands since the first days of September 1914.
  • Capture of TripoliOn 13 October 1918 British cavalry and armoured cars took Tripoli in Lebanon without a fight. The port was to supply the pursuit deep into Syria.
• 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.
  • Italians take DurrësOn the morning of 14 October 1918 Italian infantry entered Durrës, abandoned by the Austrians. The same day the Italians took Tirana.
  • Wilson's second noteOn 14 October 1918 Wilson demanded guarantees of Allied superiority, an end to attacks on passenger ships and a change of rule. Berlin gave way on 20 October.
  • 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.
  • Turkish peace noteOn 14 October 1918 President Wilson received, via Spain, an Ottoman government note asking for an armistice and peace on the basis of the Fourteen Points.
  • 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.
  • French take Craonne once moreOn 14 October 1918, French sources say, the French 320th Infantry Regiment freed the ruins of Craonne. The Germans gave up the Chemin des Dames unopposed.
  • Battle of DushakOn 14 October 1918 Punjabis and Indian cavalry took Dushak station in Transcaspia. They suffered heavy losses, but the Bolsheviks soon fell back.
• 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.
  • Allies take MenenOn 15 October 1918 the British entered Menen on the Lys, abandoned by the Germans, and at Comines crossed the river to its southern bank.
  • 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.
• 16

  • Emperor Charles's manifestoOn 16 October 1918 Charles I announced the reshaping of Austria into a federal state of nations. Hungary was left out, and the monarchy's peoples rejected it.
• 17

  • Allies retake Lille and OstendOn 17 October 1918 the Germans gave up Ostend, Douai and Lille unopposed. After four years the Belgian port and the largest city of northern France were free.
  • Key eventStart of the Battle of the SelleOn 17 October 1918 the British Fourth Army, with two American divisions, forced the Selle in fog and by evening had retaken Le Cateau.
• 18

  • British troops reach OmskOn 18 October 1918 the British 25th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment reached Omsk after a rail journey from Vladivostok across the whole of Siberia.
  • Wilson's reply to Austria-HungaryIn October 1918 Wilson rejected Austria-Hungary's request for an armistice. Autonomy for its peoples was no longer enough; they were to decide their own fate.
  • The Washington DeclarationOn 18 October 1918 Masaryk handed in Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence in Washington. It proclaimed a republic and broke with the Habsburgs.
• 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.
• 20

  • King Nicholas's manifestoOn 20 October 1918 the exiled King Nicholas I of Montenegro declared that he wanted Montenegro to join a Yugoslav confederation.
• 22

  • Affair of ImadOn 22 October 1918 at Imad, in front of Aden, one of the last skirmishes between British troops and the Turks in southern Arabia took place.
• 23

  • Start of the march on MosulOn 23 October 1918 Cobbe's I Corps faced the Turkish position at Fat-ha on the Tigris. That night the Turks left it, and the British set off for Mosul.
  • Wilson's third noteOn 23 October 1918 Wilson passed the armistice question to the Allies and warned that with Germany's old rulers he could discuss only surrender.
• 24

  • Key eventBattle of Vittorio Veneto beginsOn 24 October 1918, the anniversary of Caporetto, the Italians attacked the Grappa. The Austrians held, and the swollen Piave delayed the main crossing.
  • Wekerle resigns for goodOn 23 October 1918 Hungarian Prime Minister Sándor Wekerle announced his government's resignation after news of a Croatian regiment's mutiny in Fiume.
  • Andrássy becomes foreign ministerOn 24 October 1918 Count Gyula Andrássy the Younger, son of the author of the alliance with Germany, replaced Burián as the last joint foreign minister.
  • Spanish flu in the Polish landsOn 24 October 1918 it was decided to close Kraków's schools because of the Spanish flu and a lack of coal. The epidemic raged in Galicia, the Kingdom and Posen.
• 25

  • End of the Battle of the SelleOn 25 October 1918 the Battle of the Selle ended. The British reached the Sambre–Oise Canal and the Forest of Mormal, taking about 20,000 prisoners.
  • British retake KirkukOn 25 October 1918 the Turks left Kirkuk at dusk, and General Lewin's column entered the town after dark. The British returned five months after withdrawing.
  • Korfanty's speech in the ReichstagOn 25 October 1918 Wojciech Korfanty demanded in the Reichstag that Posen, Polish West and East Prussia and Upper Silesia be joined to 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.
• 27

  • Austria-Hungary asks for an armisticeOn 27 October 1918 Andrássy asked Wilson for a separate peace and an immediate armistice. A day later Emperor Karl sent an armistice commission to the Italians.
• 28

  • Capture of MuslimiyaAt the end of October 1918 Faisal's Arabs took the Muslimiya junction near Aleppo and cut the railway from Constantinople to Mesopotamia.
  • Key eventCzechoslovak independenceOn 28 October 1918 the National Committee took power in Prague and passed its first law: "The independent Czechoslovak state has come into being".
• 29

  • Italians occupy San Giovanni di MeduaAt the end of October 1918 the Italians took Lezhë and the port of San Giovanni di Medua in northern Albania. The Austrians fell back towards Shkodër.
  • Independence of the State of Slovenes, Croats and SerbsOn 29 October 1918 the Croatian Sabor cut its ties with Austria-Hungary, and the National Council took power in the new State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.
• 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.
• 31

  • Italians occupy ScutariOn 31 October 1918 the Italians fought their way into old Scutari. The Serbs had taken the new town a day earlier, causing a dispute between allies.
  • Revolution in Vienna and BudapestOn 31 October 1918 Mihály Károlyi took power in Budapest and soldiers shot István Tisza. In Vienna the first government of German Austria was formed.
  • Fleet handed to the State of Slovenes, Croats and SerbsOn 31 October 1918 at Pola Horthy handed the Austro-Hungarian fleet to envoys of the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Janko Vuković took command.
  • Key eventLiberation of KrakówOn 31 October 1918 Polish soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army disarmed the Kraków garrison without a shot. The Austrian command handed power to the Poles.
  • Death of Egon SchieleOn 31 October 1918 the painter Egon Schiele died of the Spanish flu in Vienna, three days after his wife Edith, who was six months pregnant. He was 28.