#august 1918

[chaplinfortheages]

I'll over the look the fact his eyes are painted brown, they were indeed blue but seeing him onscreen in black and white (especially up till this time period) most people assumed his eyes were brown.

Upon meeting him in person many people often commented on his intense blue eyes.

[today-in-wwi]

Americans Set New Airspeed Record of 163 MPH

A Curtiss 18T “Wasp” of the sort that broke the speed limit.

August 19 1918, Buffalo--Airplane technology had steadily advanced over the course of the war; planes gradually got faster, more maneuverable, and/or able to carry heavier loads.  Although late to the war, aviation originated in the United States and airplane production had dramatically increased even before they entered due to Allied demand.  After entering, the Americans put more emphasis on developing their own designs; one of these was the Curtiss 18T, known as the “Wasp.”  Designed as an escort for strategic bombers, it was meant for speed, having a highly streamlined fuselage.  On August 19, it set a new (unofficial, of course, during wartime) airspeed record of 163 mph, laden under expected wartime conditions.  It would not see service on the Western Front before the end of the war, however.

Today in 1917: Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo Today in 1916: British, German Fleets Narrowly Miss Each other in North Sea Today in 1915: U-24 Sinks Passenger Liner Arabic; Baralong Sinks U-27 Today in 1914: French Offensives in Alsace-Lorraine Reach Their Crest 

[thewartoendwars]

Emergency bridge built in haste by the retreating Germans over the River Somme, August 1918

[theshadowstage]

Tom Mix makes merry in “Western Blood”

Picture-Play, August 1918. Internet Archive.

[today-in-wwi]

Allies Fight Bolsheviks on the Ussuri

An (over-)dramatization of the action on the Ussuri river; the figure prominently pictured in the center, with the raised sword, is likely meant to be Capt. Konomi, the only Japanese soldier to die in the battle.

August 24 1918, Dukhovskaya--The landing of significant Japanese forces in Vladivostok early in August meant that the Allies and their White allies could consider pushing out of their isolated base there, along the Trans-Siberian railroad.  The Reds still had a considerable presence in eastern Siberia, however, despite their extreme isolation; the Czechs and Whites had taken most of the railroad west of Lake Baikal.  In a skirmish earlier in the month, the Allies had been driven back by the Reds.  On August 23rd, the Allies tried again; a force of Czechs, Japanese, British, and White Cossack troops, supported by two British naval artillery pieces mounted on trains, attacked the Reds at Dukhovskaya on the Ussuri river north of Vladivostok.  By the 24th, the Allies had won in their first real action against Red forces in Russia, destroying two Red armored trains.  The Americans, not wanting to further interfere in Russian politics, did not participate in the battle, instead remaining in Vladivostok or on nearby railway lines.

Today in 1917: Italian Army Suppresses Revolt in Turin Today in 1916: Merchant Submarine Deutschland Returns Safely to Germany Today in 1915: U-Boat Fears in Kenya Today in 1914: Austrian Invasion of Serbia Repulsed

[today-in-wwi]

Highest Battle of the War

A trench dug out of the ice in the Alps; Capt. Berni, who led the attack on Mt. San Matteo, is at right.  He would be killed when the Austrians retook the mountain the next month; his body has never been recovered.

August 13 1918, San Matteo--The far western portion of the Italian front, near the border with Switzerland, had seen little large-scale fighting, apart from a diversionary attack at the Tonale pass in the lead-up to the Piave offensive.  The terrain was too difficult and the conditions too harsh to support large armies.  In one case, a detachment of 100 Italian soldiers had to be supported by 900 porters just to bring up their needed supplies every day.  Nonetheless, fighting continued, at the smallest scales, in conditions unfit for long-term human habitation.

On August 13, a small group of Alpini seized Mt. San Matteo, a peak of over 12000 feet, in a surprise attack.  Many of the defenders were captured, others fled down the peak, and still others were killed.  As glaciers have retreated from the area in the past few decades, several bodies from the battle, mummified by the conditions, have been found in the area.

In early September, the Austrians sent a force of 150 men to retake the mountain, with a large amount (for the area) of artillery support.  The Italians, knowing they could not hold onto the peak, began shelling it themselves as well, killing many of their own defenders.  The operation would be the last Austrian victory in the war; they would lose the mountain in the peace treaty.  The fighting on Mt. San Matteo was the highest-altitude warfare in the First World War; war in similar conditions would not be fought again until the 1960′s, when India and China battled in the Himalayas.

Today in 1917: German Nobel Laureate Dies of Wounds Today in 1916: First British Tanks Depart for France Today in 1915: German POWs Escape, Attempt Rendezvous with U-Boat Today in 1914: Germans Take Three Forts Surrounding Liège In One Day

Sources include: Mark Thompson, The White War.

[today-in-wwi]

British Offensive Expands

A British “Whippet” tank crossing a trench west of Bapaume in late Augsut.

August 23 1918, Bapaume--Byng was satisfied with the advance of Third Army on August 21 around Albert, and wanted his troops to rest and consolidate their gains.  Haig, however, wanted to press the advance on a broad front and keep the pressure up on the Germans.  Organizing another attack in such short notice was logistically difficult:

The artillery had been advancing during the day, and a barrage was organized. Owing to the width of the front to be attacked the barrage could only be a thin one, but what there was of it was reported after the battle to have been extremely good...The whole operation was rendered extremely difficult bowing to the very short time available to get battalions into assembly positions, and to the fact that it was dark very early that night on account of clouds.

Nonetheless, the Germans, having seen the lack of activity on the 22nd, believed the British would not be attacking again so soon, and were once more taken by surprise.  Third Army used around 100 tanks, which were still extremely effective at taking out German strongpoints and demoralizing their infantry; a German soldier later recalled that the “mere mention of a tank was sufficient to put the whole trench into a state of excitement.”  The tanks were not invincible, however; on August 23, in a wartime first, two were taken out by armor-piercing bullets fired from airplanes.  The next day, a single German officer disabled 14 tanks singlehandedly.  Regardless, Third and Fourth Armies, increasingly bolstered by young conscripts, were able to advance two miles on a thirty-three mile front and capture over 7000 German PoWs.

Today in 1917: Black Soldiers in Houston Strike Back at Police Today in 1916: First “Jasta” Fighter Squadron Created Today in 1915: Turkish Ambassador Departs Rome After Italian Declaration of War Today in 1914: Germans Attack British Expeditionary Force at Mons

Sources include: Randal Gray, Chronicle of the First World War; Nick Lloyd, Hundred Days; David Stevenson, With Our Backs to the Wall.

[today-in-wwi]

Women’s Transit Strike Starts in London

A group of striking bus workers.

August 17 1918, Willesden--Although the first were not hired until April 1916, by the summer of 1918 around 27,000 women were employed on British bus, tram, and tube services.  However, despite performing the same work as men, they did not receive the same pay; a problem that was only exacerbated in July 1918 when men were given additional 5 shillings per week wartime bonus pay.  On August 17, the women at the Willesden bus garage went out on a wildcat strike in protest, and over the coming days the strike spread to other mass transit service and even beyond London; eventually around 18,000 women (and some men) went on strike.  One bus conductor told the press:

When we were taken on by the Company they promised to give us whatever rise the men had.  We are doing just as much work as the men who realize the justice of our case and are supporting our strike.

Public opinion quickly supported the women, and by 23rd the strike was resolved among bus and tram workers; they would receive the same wartime bonus the men did.  The tube strike continued for several more days, and they were able to rectify more (though not all) of their pay disparity.

Today in 1917: Nurse is First American Casualty of the War Today in 1916: Bulgarians Launch Offensives into Greece Today in 1915: Kovno Fortress Falls to Germans Today in 1914: Russians Invade East Prussia