Western Front
Allied
Meuse-Argonne Offensive begins.
Battle of Champagne and Argonne begins (see October 15th): Great Franco-American attack on 40-mile front, from middle of Champagne to the Meuse. French under General Henri Gouraud, Americans under General John Pershing. After 3 hour barrage 37 Franco-American divisions attack at 0530 hours on 40-mile front from Champagne to Meuse with 705 tanks available, average advance 3 miles. AEF gas effort: 800 million rounds (1600t) mustard gas and phosgene; 10,600 gassed (278 deaths; until November 11). Both armies advance several miles, capture Montfaucon, Varennes and many villages.
Western Front, Air: William Mitchell’s 842 US aircraft vs 302 German for Meuse-Argonne Offensive (until November 11), but weather restricts close support. Germans claim 63 Allied aircraft for loss of 3.
Germany: Four Handley Pages of No 216 Squadron damage railways and bridge at Metz-Sablon causing delays and dislocation for 24 hours.
US soldiers with French FT-17 tanks march into their deployment areas in the Meuse-Argonne sector:
https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-FT17.jpg?ssl=1
Captured German prisoners being led down a French trench in the Marne region: © IWM (Q 70062):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...530734919286784
American soldiers with a “camouflaged” railway gun:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...621371282731009
Columns of German prisoners captured by the Americans during the Battle of St. Mihiel:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...636448249565189
American troops launch the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which is the largest offensive in US history, involving 1.2 million soldiers. A gun crew of the 23rd Infantry:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...850320470396928
A wounded American soldier receiving treatment near Varennes-en-Argonne:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...880528544018432
American artillerymen loading a 14-inch gun on the Argonne front:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...940922864226306
Renault FT-17 tanks, operated by the Americans, advancing in the Argonne Forest: © IWM (Q 58691):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...971122754801665
Southern Front
General fighting in Serbia/Bulgaria: British enter Strumitsa. Serbian cavalry, striking east from Ishtip, capture Kochana. Bulgarians make hard fight to retain Uskub.
Bulgarian capital Sofia still 130 miles and five mountains ranges to north.
Red Cross distributing cigarettes to Italian soldiers. Austro-Hungarian troops have control of the mountain in the background:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...910726215880705
Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Trans-Jordan: 10th Cavalry Brigade at Irbid fails vs Turkish Fourth Army flank guard. Arab Army (3,000 men) crosses Hejaz Railway north of Deraa (Colonel Oppen’s 700 Germans reach, railed to Riyak on September 27), takes 2 stations and over 600 PoWs.
View of the town of Amman, future capital of Jordan:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...560936684670976
Palestine: Edmund Allenby meets corps commanders at Jenin, orders advance on Damascus.
Naval and Overseas Operations
USCGC
Tampa sunk on convoy duty (117 lost).
German submarine
U-156, which sank 44 ships during its career and participated in the Attack on New Orleans (the only attack on the American mainland in the war), hits a mine and sinks, resulting in the deaths of all 77 crew.
Political, etc
Austria-Hungary: Count Istvan Tisza's Mission to Bosnia a complete failure.
United Kingdom: Railway strike in England ended.
Bulgaria: North of Kosturino at 0800 hours (95°F in shade) Derbyshire Yeomanry meets Bulgarian car with white flag and Todorov letter to Milne.
BULGARIA REQUESTS ARMISTICE.