Western Front
Britain: Supreme War Council recommend BEF take over more of French sector, and creation of general Allied reserve (January 23). British War Office orders reduction in battalions per division from 12 to 9 thus disbanding 141 battalions and 2 cavalry divisions until March 10 to compensate for insufficient reinforcements (200,000 instead of 615,000 requested).
Somme: British Fifth Army relieves French in St Quentin sector (completed January 14).
Ypres: British trench raid takes prisoners and captures 2 machine guns.
Ammunition depot near Courtrai bombed.
British recruiting poster with the perished popular Secretary of War Kitchener:
https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...t-you.jpg?ssl=1
(Listed for yesterday): German ace Max Ritter von Müller, who is credited with 36 victories and is the highest scoring Bavarian pilot, is killed in action over Belgium:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...764148161380352
Eastern Front
Brest-Litovsk: Central Powers and Bolsheviks recognize the Ukraine as separate state; latter to be represented at negotiations.
Don: Independent Republic declared under General Alexei Kaledin.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
General Stanley Maude's dispatch of 15 October 1917 issued.
Political, etc
United Kingdom: (Listed for yesterday): The British Air Board abandons plans to move its offices to the British Museum due to logistical difficulties and public protests that the move would make the museum a military target.
British Government assure Russian Bolshevik Government of their support in the creation of an independent Poland (see April 5th, 1917 and February 20th, 1918).
Board of Admiralty reconstituted, with Sir Eric Geddes as First Lord and Sir Rosslyn Wemyss as First Sea Lord.
House of Lords adopts Women's Suffrage clause.
Arthur Balfour’s Edinburgh speech: ‘the horrors of war… are nothing to... a German peace’,
Australia: Conscription Referendum: majority against - 165,000.
Italy: Italy bans the making and sale of cakes, pastry, and confectionery as a measure to conserve food supplies.
Romania: After request on January 6, 3 Romanian divisions cross river Pruth into Bessarabia, enter capital Kishinev on January 26.
United States: (Listed for yesterday): U.S. Cavalry engage with Yaquis warriors in the Battle of Bear Valley in Arizona, resulting in 1 Yaquis death and 9 captured. It is the last armed engagement between the US Army and Native Americans.
US War Cabinet at a meeting today:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...779251653070849
Finland: Danish and Norwegian Governments recognize the independence of Finland (see 4th).
Guyana: Arthur Chung (the 1st President of Guyana and first ethnic Chinese to become head of state in a non-Asian country) is born in Guyana.