Timeline

(2760)

December 1918

December

01
03
- Bulgarians leave DobrujaIn early December 1918 the last Bulgarian troops withdrew from Dobruja. Romanian administration returned to Constanța, and the British guarded the ports.
- Polish Provincial Sejm in PoznańOn 3 December 1918 the Polish Provincial Sejm of the Poles of the Reich met in Poznań. It elected the Supreme People's Council and demanded a united Poland.
04
- Sinking of HMS CassandraOn the night of 4–5 December 1918 the British cruiser Cassandra, sailing with a squadron to help Estonia, struck a German mine off Saaremaa. 11 sailors died.
- Demobilisation beginsIn early December 1918 British Army demobilisation began. Men needed by the economy went first, which soon angered front-line soldiers.
06
- British enter CologneOn 6 December 1918 British cavalry entered Cologne at the request of the Germans, who feared an interregnum. Mayor Konrad Adenauer dealt with the occupiers.
08
- Americans occupy KoblenzOn 8 December 1918 the first soldiers of the US Third Army entered Koblenz, evacuated by the Germans. The city became the heart of the American occupation zone.
- Clash on the Caspian SeaOn 8 December 1918 two armed ships of the British flotilla clashed near Chechen Island with Bolshevik vessels covering a landing from Astrakhan.
09
- British retake LahijOn 9 December 1918, over three years after their 1915 defeat, the British returned to Lahij near Aden. Ali Said Pasha's Turks surrendered under the armistice.
- The Serbian government returns to BelgradeIn late November and December 1918 the Serbian government returned to ruined Belgrade after over four years in exile, now as the government of a new kingdom.
10
- Unconditional union of BessarabiaOn the night of 9–10 December 1918 the Sfatul Țării in Chișinău gave up Bessarabia's autonomy, declared unconditional union with Romania and dissolved.
- Bolsheviks take MinskOn 10 December 1918 the Red Army, following the withdrawing Germans, entered Minsk almost without a fight. The Belarusian People's Republic lost its capital.
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.
12
- British cross the RhineOn 12 December 1918 British cavalry crossed the Rhine at Cologne, the infantry a day later. The British occupied a bridgehead with a radius of 30 kilometres.
- Coandă resignsIn mid-December 1918 General Coandă's caretaker government stepped down in Bucharest. The Liberal Ion I. C. Brătianu became premier for the fifth time.
13
- British occupy HodeidahOn 13 December 1918 an Indian battalion appeared off Hodeidah, Yemen's main port. The Turkish garrison would not yield and the landing led to street fighting.
- Wilson arrives in EuropeOn 13 December 1918 Woodrow Wilson landed at Brest, the first sitting US president to visit Europe. The next day Paris gave him a triumphal welcome.
14
15
- Poland breaks off relations with GermanyOn 15 December 1918 Warsaw broke off relations with Germany. Envoy Harry Kessler, who had brought Berlin's recognition a month earlier, had to leave Poland.
16
17
- Scheuch resignsIn mid-December 1918 the Prussian war minister Heinrich Scheuch asked to resign. He left on 2 January 1919 and was succeeded by Colonel Walther Reinhardt.
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.
20
- The Directorate in KievOn 19 December 1918 the Directorate of the Ukrainian People's Republic made its ceremonial entry into Kiev. A service and a rally were held on Sofia Square.
- Protić prime minister of the Kingdom of SCSOn 20 December 1918 Regent Alexander formed the first government of the Kingdom of SCS under Stojan Protić. Nikola Pašić, premier since 1912, lost office.
22
- British in BatumOn 22 December 1918 Gen. Forestier-Walker reached Batum with a 27th Division brigade. The British took the port from the Turks and moved by rail to Tiflis.
23
- Tamagnini Barbosa becomes prime minister of PortugalOn 23 December 1918 President Canto e Castro appointed João Tamagnini Barbosa's government. Portugal again had a prime minister; Pais's secretaries left.
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.
26
- West Ukrainian People's RepublicAt the end of 1918 the government of the West Ukrainian People's Republic sat in Tarnopol. It was building an army and preparing union with Dnieper Ukraine.
- Paderewski in PoznańOn 26 December 1918 Ignacy Jan Paderewski arrived in Poznań. Crowds with torches greeted him, and he spoke to the Poles from a window of the Bazar hotel.
27
- Decree of King FerdinandAt the end of December 1918 King Ferdinand confirmed by decree the union of Transylvania with Romania. It stayed under the Directing Council in Sibiu.
- Key eventOutbreak of the Greater Poland UprisingOn 27 December 1918, after a German march in Poznań, shots rang out by the Bazar hotel. Poles attacked police headquarters and took the station and post office.
30
31
- Bolsheviks retake UfaOn 31 December 1918 the Red 5th Army took Ufa and Tukhachevsky's 1st Army took Sterlitamak. A week after the fall of Perm the Reds won on the southern flank.

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