November 1918

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.
  • Serbs retake Belgrade againOn 1 November 1918 the Serbian First Army entered Belgrade, which the last Central Powers troops left that day across the Sava and Danube, blowing the bridges.
  • British occupy MervOn 1 November 1918 Transcaspian government troops and an Indian detachment entered Merv, abandoned by the Bolsheviks after their defeat at Dushak.
  • Attack on FifeOn 1 November 1918 Lettow-Vorbeck struck the British post of Fife in Northern Rhodesia. The entrenched garrison held, and on 2 November the Germans left.
  • 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.
  • False report of Boris's abdicationIn early November 1918 news agencies reported that Tsar Boris III had abdicated and Bulgaria was a peasant republic. It was false; Boris reigned until 1943.
• 02

  • Sinking of *Surada* and *Murcia*On 2 November 1918 UC-74 torpedoed the steamers Surada and Murcia off Port Said, the last British merchant ships sunk by the enemy in the war.
  • Slovenes take over CarniolaAt the turn of October and November 1918 the Slovene National Government in Ljubljana removed the Austrian governor and took power in Carniola.
• 03

  • Capture of ValenciennesOn 2 November 1918 the Canadians cleared Valenciennes, and on 3 November the Germans abandoned the Scheldt line. The occupation had lasted over four years.
  • 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.
  • Italians take TriesteOn the afternoon of 3 November 1918 the Italian destroyer Audace docked at Trieste. General Petitti di Roreto took possession of the city for the King of Italy.
  • 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

  • Key eventBattle of the Sambre beginsOn 4 November 1918 the British crossed the Sambre–Oise Canal and Mormal Forest in fog, and the New Zealanders took Le Quesnoy. Wilfred Owen fell at Ors.
  • 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.
  • Italians take BarOn 4 November 1918 the Italian navy occupied Bar (Antivari), the Montenegrin port abandoned by Austro-Hungarian troops in the last days of the war.
  • 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

  • Foch supreme commander against GermanyAfter Austria-Hungary's surrender the Entente leaders gave Foch strategic direction of the war against Germany on all fronts, including the Italian and Balkan.
  • 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.
• 06

  • The French take RethelOn 6 November 1918 the French entered ruined Rethel on the Aisne. The Germans, threatened along the whole front, were already falling back to the Meuse.
  • Americans at SedanOn 6–7 November 1918, racing for Sedan, the Americans reached the heights above the town and cut the German railway. But Foch sent the French into Sedan.
  • Regent Alexander in BelgradeIn early November 1918 Regent Alexander came to liberated Belgrade with General Franchet d'Espèrey. The old King Peter I returned to the capital only in 1919.
• 07

  • Bavarian republicIn the night of 7–8 November 1918 Kurt Eisner proclaimed the Free State of Bavaria in Munich and deposed the Wittelsbachs. King Ludwig III fled the city.
  • Geneva conferenceOn 6–9 November 1918 in Geneva Pašić, Korošec and Trumbić agreed on a joint government of Serbia and the State of SCS. Belgrade soon rejected the agreement.
  • Lublin governmentOn the night of 6/7 November 1918 the pro-independence left set up the Provisional People's Government of the Republic of Poland in Lublin under Daszyński.
• 08

  • German envoys before FochOn 8 November 1918 Erzberger's delegation stood before Foch in the Forest of Compiègne. It heard the armistice terms and was given 72 hours to reply.
  • 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

  • Occupation of AlexandrettaOn 9 November 1918 British and French warships entered the Gulf of Alexandretta. Mustafa Kemal wished to defend the port, but Constantinople made him yield.
  • 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.
  • Sinking of HMS BritanniaOn 9 November 1918 UB-50 torpedoed the battleship Britannia at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. About 50 sailors died; more than 700 survived.
  • 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.
  • Czechoslovaks in YekaterinburgAround 9–10 November 1918 the Czechoslovaks in Yekaterinburg solemnly celebrated the birth of their state. The legion's regiments received colours.
  • Death of Guillaume ApollinaireOn 9 November 1918 the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, son of the Pole Angelika Kostrowicka, weakened by a war head wound, died of Spanish flu in Paris. He was 38.
• 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.
  • Belgians retake GhentOn 10 November 1918 the Germans left Ghent and the Belgians entered the city. The occupation of the capital of East Flanders, in place since 1914, was over.
  • Romania re-enters the warOn 10 November 1918 French battalions crossed the Danube at Ruse, and King Ferdinand called on the Romanians to take up arms against the Germans again.
  • Kaiser Wilhelm in the NetherlandsOn 10 November 1918 Wilhelm II left Spa and crossed the Dutch border at Eijsden. The government of the neutral Netherlands granted him asylum.
  • 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

  • British retake MonsOn the morning of 11 November 1918 the Canadians entered Mons, where the British had fought their first battle in 1914. The war ended where it had begun.
  • 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.
  • Recognition of Latvia and EstoniaOn 11 November 1918 Balfour confirmed in writing the recognition of the Latvian National Council. In Tallinn the Estonian Provisional Government resumed work.
  • 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.
  • Pogrom in KielceOn 11 November 1918 a crowd attacked people leaving a Jewish meeting at the Kielce theatre. Four people were killed in two days of rioting.
• 12

  • Abdication of Charles IOn 11 November 1918 Charles I renounced any part in state affairs but did not abdicate. On 12 November the Republic of German-Austria was proclaimed in Vienna.
  • Women in Germany get the voteOn 12 November 1918 Ebert's revolutionary government announced universal, equal and secret elections for all German men and women aged 20 and over.
• 13

  • Allies in ConstantinopleOn 12 November 1918 the Allied fleet passed through the Dardanelles and on the morning of 13 November lay off Constantinople. The occupation began.
  • Armistice of BelgradeOn 13 November 1918 in Belgrade Hungary signed a military convention with the Allies. Its line left the Banat, Bačka and part of Transylvania to occupation.
  • Poles in the soldiers' councils in PoznańOn 13 November 1918 Polish conspirators burst into a meeting of the Workers' and Soldiers' Council in Poznań and forced it to admit Poles to its leadership.
• 14

  • Ceasefire in East AfricaOn 13 November 1918 news of the armistice reached Lettow-Vorbeck in Northern Rhodesia. On 14 November, on the Chambeshi river, he agreed to stop fighting.
  • Masaryk becomes presidentOn 14 November 1918 the National Assembly in Prague deposed the Habsburgs, proclaimed a republic and elected Masaryk president. Kramář became prime minister.
  • Wreck of the cruiser CochraneOn 14 November 1918 the British armoured cruiser Cochrane ran aground in fog in the mouth of the Mersey and broke in two. No one was killed.
  • Dissolution of the Regency CouncilOn 14 November 1918 the regents dissolved the Regency Council and handed all supreme authority to Piłsudski. That day Piłsudski named Daszyński prime minister.
  • Founding of the Supreme People's CouncilOn 14 November 1918 Polish leaders in Poznań came out of hiding as the Commissariat of the Supreme People's Council and called a Provincial Sejm for December.
• 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

  • Allied march to the RhineIn mid-November 1918 the Allied armies followed the retreating Germans towards the Rhine. The British chronology gives 16 November, other sources the 17th.
  • Piłsudski's notificationOn 16 November 1918 Józef Piłsudski notified belligerent and neutral governments by radio telegram of the existence of an independent Polish state.
  • Mobilisation in EstoniaOn 16 November 1918 the Estonian Provisional Government decided to raise a volunteer People's Army, conscripting only officers, doctors and military officials.
  • 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.
• 17

  • French enter MulhouseOn 17 November 1918 General Hirschauer's French troops ceremonially entered Mulhouse, returning to a city they had twice had to leave in August 1914.
  • The British return to BakuOn 17 November 1918 General Thomson sailed from Enzeli to Baku with British troops and Bicherakhov's force. The Turks left the city they had taken in September.
  • Moraczewski governmentOn 17 November 1918, after Ignacy Daszyński gave up, Józef Piłsudski entrusted the office of prime minister to the socialist Jędrzej Moraczewski.
• 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.
  • Belgians return to BrusselsIn mid-November 1918 the last Germans left Brussels, Burgomaster Max returned, and Belgian soldiers entered the capital. The occupation was ending.
  • Italians reinforce FiumeOn 17 November 1918 Italian troops under General San Marzano entered Fiume. The Croatian authorities were removed, and the Yugoslavs protested.
  • 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.
  • Pétain becomes Marshal of FranceOn 19 November 1918, the day the French entered Metz, General Pétain learned he would be made a Marshal of France. The decree was signed on 21 November.
• 20

  • Americans enter LuxembourgAround 20 November 1918 the US Third Army, marching to the Rhine, entered Luxembourg. People greeted it with flowers after more than four years of occupation.
  • Surrender of the U-boatsOn 20 November 1918 the first 20 German submarines surrendered off Harwich to Rear-Admiral Tyrwhitt's force. By the spring of 1919, 176 had been handed over.
  • Marushevsky in ArchangelIn November 1918 General Vladimir Marushevsky arrived in Archangel, taking command of the Northern Region's Russian troops and the post of governor-general.
• 21

  • Internment of the High Seas FleetOn 21 November 1918 the Grand Fleet met the High Seas Fleet and escorted 70 German warships into the Firth of Forth, from where they went on to Scapa Flow.
  • Belgian government in BrusselsOn 21 November 1918 Léon Delacroix's unity government, the first led by a titled prime minister, took office in Belgium. Fulgence Masson became war minister.
  • British occupy NamurOn 21 November 1918 the British entered Namur, the Belgian fortress taken by the Germans in 1914. Here the troops marching to the Rhine halted.
• 22

  • The French enter StrasbourgOn 22 November 1918 General Gouraud led the Fourth Army in a ceremonial entry into Strasbourg. After 48 years the capital of Alsace returned to France.
  • Poles take LvivOn the night of 21–22 November 1918 the Ukrainians withdrew from Lviv, and in the morning the Poles took the city. On the day of victory a pogrom broke out.
  • Pogrom in LvivOn 22–24 November 1918, after the Poles took Lviv, soldiers and civilians looted and burned the Jewish quarter. Between several dozen and 150 Jews were killed.
• 23

  • National Council votes for union with SerbiaOn 23–24 November 1918 the National Council in Zagreb resolved to unite the State of SCS with Serbia and Montenegro. Stjepan Radić warned against haste.
• 25

  • Surrender of Lettow-VorbeckOn 25 November 1918 at Abercorn in Northern Rhodesia Lettow-Vorbeck surrendered. His Schutztruppe, unbeaten in the field, had 155 Europeans and 1,168 askaris.
• 26

  • Allies reach the German borderIn late November 1918 the last Germans left Belgium and Allied troops reached the German border. On 1 December all of them moved on towards the Rhine.
  • Allies in SevastopolIn late November 1918 an Allied squadron entered Sevastopol and took over from the Germans the old Black Sea Fleet ships, including the dreadnought Volya.
  • Podgorica AssemblyOn 26 November 1918 the Great National Assembly in Podgorica deposed King Nicholas I and proclaimed the union of Montenegro with Serbia.
• 28

  • Abdication of Wilhelm IIOn 28 November 1918 at Amerongen Wilhelm II signed a renunciation of the crowns of Prussia and the Reich, 19 days after his abdication was announced in Berlin.
  • Bolsheviks take NarvaOn 28 November 1918 the Red Army attacked Narva, which the Germans were leaving. The Estonians had to give up the town. The Estonian War of Independence began.
  • Union of Bukovina with RomaniaOn 28 November 1918 the General Congress of Bukovina in Czernowitz voted to unite the land with Romania. Most Ukrainians boycotted the proceedings.
  • Polish women get the voteOn 28 November 1918 Piłsudski signed the electoral law for the Legislative Sejm. The vote went to every citizen aged 21 and over "without distinction of sex".
  • Voluntary Legion of WomenOn 28 November 1918 the first volunteers in Lviv joined Aleksandra Zagórska's women's militia. In December it became the Voluntary Legion of Women.
• 29

  • Bukovinian deputation in IașiOn 29 November 1918 a delegation of the General Congress of Bukovina led by Iancu Flondor presented King Ferdinand in Iași with the act of union with Romania.
• 30

  • Romanian government returns to BucharestOn 30 November 1918 trains from Iași brought the Romanian government and the Entente legations to Bucharest. The next day King Ferdinand entered the capital.