Western Front
Kaiserschlacht: Fierce fighting in Noyon sector.
OHL decides on major diversionary offensive (Goerz) against French designed to draw Allied reserves south from Flanders. Once achieved, a further heavy attack will be mounted to encompass BEF’s destruction.
180 German triplanes available. Allied April losses 232 aircraft and 16 balloons to Germans’ 136 aircraft.
A standard Fokker Dr I triplane in 1918:
https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...gzeug.jpg?ssl=1
Since April 27 flights of obsolete DH6s on anti-U-boat patrol.
During April 118,000 US troops sail for France, BEF losses 143,168 soldiers, only 48 of 61 divisions battleworthy.
Trainload of British tanks being transported near La Vicogne, France: © IWM (Q 11495):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...591608168075265
British soldiers defending behind a wire block on a road at St. Jean, France: © IWM (Q 6594):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...606697398964225
Camouflage netting used to hide the American 26th Division headquarters at Boucq, France from German aerial surveillance: © IWM (Q 63746):
Eastern Front
Finish Civil War: Red Western Army cut in half by German-White Guard attacks.
Russia: Ex-Tsar and family brought to Ekaterinburg in the Urals.
By now 386,000 Austro-German PoWs returned home. Turkestan Soviet Republic proclaimed.
Southern Front
Operations during the month confined to artillery, air and patrol actions.
Naval and Overseas Operations
Atlantic: Canadian Pacific liner, S.S.
Oronsa, sunk by submarine.
Irish Sea: Royal Navy convoy sloop
Coreopsis gunfire sinks coastal submarine
UB-85 in Northern Channel.
Further prohibited area in North Sea announced for 15 May.
Allied and neutral shipping losses to U-boats in April: 112 ships (67 British with 488 lives) worth 273,355t (215,543t British from all causes); German U-boat figure 134 ships worth 300,069t including 43 ships worth 80,126t in Mediterranean; 6 U-boats sunk.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Palestine: Second action of Es Salt begins (see May 4th). Line advanced at Mezra (Jerusalem).
Second Trans-Jordan ‘Raid’ (until May 4): Chauvel’s 13,000 men with 66 guns vs 9,000 Turks and Germans and c.70 guns. 60th Division and NZ Mounted Brigade only take first line of Turk Nimrin position east of Jordan, 3rd ALH (Australian Light Horse, mounted infantry) Brigade captures Es Salt (Turk Fourth Army HQ) but 4th ALH Brigade checked at Jisr-ed-Damieh bridge.
Arabia: British reach Tank river on Mosul road and capture 12 guns and 1,800 prisoners.
Persia: Sykes’ Mission: 3,344 British troops and 7,898 South Persia Rifles (292 British-Indian officers and NCOs).
Political, etc
Russia: Rumoured that a counter-revolution is about to take place.
Ukraine: German troops dissolve the Ukrainian People’s Republic and instead install Pavlo Skoropadskyi as Hetman of Ukraine:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...621812013793281
France: Wounded French veterans given training as barbers:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...893635133722624
United Kingdom: Mr. Ian Macpherson, Under-Secretary of State for War, appointed Vice-President of Army Council.
Major-General Charles Harrington to be Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff.