#september 1917

[today-in-wwi]

First Use of “OMG”

September 9 1917, London--Although their relationship had become highly strained over the course of the Dardanelles campaign, Churchill and Lord Fisher remained close friends afterwards.  Churchill even subjected himself to some political humiliation by making an appeal in Parliament to return Fisher to the Admiralty.  The two maintained a regular correspondence, and on September 9, Fisher sent Churchill a short letter.  Most of it discussed German naval preparations in the Baltic.  With the fall of Riga, the Germans wanted to push north, putting further pressure towards Petrograd.  To do so by land seemed relatively infeasible at the time, and Riga’s usefulness as a port was limited by Russian control of the large islands in the Gulf of Riga.

The Germans planned landings on these islands, with major assistance from large portions of the High Seas Fleet (brought through the Kiel Canal for the purpose).  Although their exact plans were unknown, the movement of German ships and their intention to carry out amphibious operations north of Riga were well-known enough to appear in British papers.  Fisher lamented that the Germans were poised to do with a small force what the British had not been able to do the entire war (despite Churchill’s plans):

We are five times stronger at Sea than our enemies and here is a small Fleet that we could gobble up in a few minutes playing the great vital Sea part of landing an Army in the enemies’ rear and possibly capturing the Russian Capital by Sea!...Are we really incapable of a big Enterprise?

Fisher concluded his short note with this line:

I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis--O.M.G. (Oh! My God!)--Shower it on the Admiralty!!

This is the first documented use of OMG as an abbreviation for “Oh My God” in the English language.

Today in 1916: Hindenburg & Ludendorff Discuss Full Economic War Mobilization Today in 1915: US Demands Recall of Austrian Ambassador for Fomenting Strikes Today in 1914: Lieutenant Colonel Hentsch Orders a German General Retreat

[today-in-wwi]

First Ship Sunk by Air-Dropped Mine

The Okhotnik.

September 27 1917, Ösel [Saaremaa] Island--After the capture of Riga, the Germans were preparing to move up the Baltic coast, beginning with the large islands in the mouth of the of the Gulf of Riga (now in present-day Estonia).  While the German Navy had yet to move any surface craft into the area, German planes were already bombing the area, including the deployment of a new weapon: the aircraft-laid mine.  The Germans had already made extensive use of mines laid by submarines and surface craft, but this was a new addition to their arsenal.

The mines claimed their first victim on September 27, when the Russian destroyer Okhotnik, part of the small Russian fleet in the area, hit a mine off the Sworbe peninsula at the entrance to the Gulf of Riga.  The ship quickly began to sank, and the sailors apparently rushed for the lifeboats, leaving the officers (who supposedly thought it improper to ask for a place) behind.

Today in 1916: Ethiopian Ruler Deposed; Haile Selassie Now Regent for Empress Zewditu Today in 1915: Austrian Saboteurs Destroy Italian Battleship Today in 1914: Duala, The Major City in German Kamerun, Surrenders

[today-in-wwi]

British Victory at Ramadi

Turkish PoWs captured at Ramadi, under British armed escort.

September 29 1917, Ramadi--The oppressive summer heat had prevented campaigning for several months, and in late September the British were ready to go on the offensive again.  Their first target was Ramadi, hoping to push the Turks up the Euphrates as far as possible and capture as many dams as they could to prevent the Turks from attempting to flood Baghdad.  The British had tried attacking Ramadi in July, but had failed largely due to the heat.  By September, the temperatures had dropped and British logistics improved; much of their water supply was ferried by motorized Ford vans, allowing troops and even horses to operate for longer in the desert.

A cavalry brigade and four armored cars moved around the Turks to the west of Ramadi, and set up astride the possible Turkish line of retreat on the evening of September 28, while the infantry attacked them from the south and south-east.  The fighting was intense, and the British took many casualties from Turkish artillery fire, but continued attacks on the morning of the 29th pushed across the Aziziya Canal, the last main Turkish line of defense.  By 11AM on September 29th, the entirety of the Turkish force, numbering nearly 3500, had surrendered, and Ramadi was securely in British hands.

Today in 1916: Romania Launches Last Attack into Transylvania Today in 1915: Haig Blames Sir John French for Failures at Loos Today in 1914: Belgian Cyclist Saboteurs Return to Antwerp; There, German Artillery Destroys Forts’ Magazines

Sources include: Roger Ford, Eden to Armageddon; Charles Townshend, Desert Hell.

[today-in-wwi]

Canada Reforms Voting Franchise Ahead of Election

A poster urging newly-enfranchised Canadian women (all of whom were closely related to Canadian soldiers) to vote to re-elect the government.

September 14 1917, Ottawa--Canada, like the UK, had put off having a general election during the war so far.  However, by late 1917, it was felt that this was no longer politically feasible; the new conscription was extremely unpopular in Quebec, and for the government that enacted it to continue without a challenge at the ballot box would have been too undemocratic to allow.  Of course, this did not mean that current government could not take steps to help ensure its re-election.  A plebiscite on conscription in Australia had failed last year; PM Borden did not want to lose the upcoming election if it acted as a referendum on the topic.

On September 14, the Canadian House of Commons approved the War-Times Election Act, which enfranchised soldiers’ wives and close relatives for the duration of the war and any post-war demobilization.  This was the first time women were granted the right to vote in federal elections; it was hoped that these women strongly supported conscription, and the Conservative government that supported it, in order to help their relatives already serving in Europe.  On the other hand, the act also disenfranchised conscientious objectors, as well as Canadian citizens originally from enemy countries who were naturalized after 1902.

Shortly after this, the government also passed the Military Voters Act, which would allow soldiers serving in Europe to vote in the election as well.  Ostensibly to overcome the logistical hurdles of delivering a ballot to each soldier appropriate to his original riding in Canada, all soldiers would be given a ballot with only two options: “Government,” or “Opposition.”  These votes would then be assigned to a riding by the party they voted for--not necessarily a riding with any ties to the soldier who voted.  Since it was expected that soldiers would overwhelmingly vote to re-elect the government, this effectively would allow the government to gerrymander on the fly, assigning voters to ridings where their vote would make the most difference.

Unsurprisingly, these measures were extremely unpopular in Quebec, which had few volunteer soldiers, and only increased their resentment of the Conservative government.

Today in 1916: Seventh Battle of the Isonzo Today in 1915: Final Plans Made for Allied Offensive in France Today in 1914: Von Moltke, German Commander-in-Chief, Unofficially Dismissed

[today-in-wwi]

“Those Draftin’ Blues”

A later copy of the cover of the sheet music for “Those Draftin’ Blues,” striking a more straightforwardly patriotic tone than the lyrics themselves.  Earlier copies of the sheet music featured extensive use of darky iconography, as was common at the time with sheet music by black artists or in black-associated genres.

September 24 1917, New York--As the first American draftees of the war had only just begun leaving for training camps two weeks ago, the draft was understandably on many Americans’ minds.  This was reflected in their music, as well.  On September 24, the twenty-year-old Maceo Pinkard, later more famous for “Sweet Georgia Brown,” published “Those Draftin’ Blues,” one of the darker takes on the war in American popular culture:

Now if you've got a lovin' man, You'd better love him while you can Perhaps he'll have to go to war, To fight for dear old Uncle Sam. They're drafting every man right now, To fight the Kaiser and his band Before they call your man, I say; These words you ought to understand;

When Uncle Sam calls out your man, Don't sigh and cry, Because you know he certainly can't refuse. To hold him back might make him "slack," Just say, you've got those draftin' blues.

You know it's gonna break your heart To let your honey go away The nights will grow so long to you, You'll soon be looking old and gray. No matter how you love your man, He's got to answer to his call. I've told you in my little way; I'm sure you'll understand it all;

When Uncle Sam calls out your man, Don't sigh and cry, Because you know he certainly can't refuse. To dress in black can't bring him back, Just say, you've got those draftin' blues.

Today in 1916: Two Zeppelins Shot Down in Essex Today in 1915: Kitchener Orders Troops from Dardanelles to Salonika Today in 1914: French and Germans Reach the Somme

[today-in-wwi]

Trotsky Released from Prison

Trotsky in 1920.

September 17 1917, Petrograd--One of the main beneficiaries of Kornilov’s supposed coup attempt was the Bolshevik party.  Disgraced after the events of July, many of the leading Bolsheviks had fled or been arrested.  Lenin was in the former group; Trotsky, who had only joined the party in July, the latter.  This was not Trotsky’s first time in captivity this year; he had been interned in Canada by British authorities for most of April until they ran out of excuses not to release him.

Kerensky distributed arms to the Petrograd Soviet in an attempt to defend the capital from Kornilov’s troops (who never arrived).  The Bolsheviks, as the only members of the Soviet with their own paramilitary forces, ended up with the lion’s share of these weapons, which they kept after the crisis had past.  With the main threat to the government now appearing to be from the right rather than the left, the Bolsheviks were now viewed more favorably, and on September 12 Kerensky decided to release all but a handful of the Bolsheviks it had arrested.

On September 17, Trotsky walked out of the Kresty prison after bail of 3000 rubles was posted on his behalf.  He immediately assumed leadership of the Bolshevik group in the Petrograd Soviet, and began planning his next move.

Sources include: Richard Pipes, The Russian Revolution.

Today in 1916: Richthofen Scores First Confirmed Victory Today in 1915: Bulgarian Political Leaders Urge Peace to Tsar Today in 1914: French Attempts to Outflank von Kluck Fail on the Oise

[today-in-wwi]

Haig Cancels Plans for Landings on Belgian Coast

The tanks landed in Belgium would have to climb a seawall to be useful on land; a demonstration (in England) of how the tanks planned to do that is pictured here.

September 23 1917, Montreuil--The Western Front ran from Switzerland to the North Sea.  Given Britain’s naval power, many had advocated for an attempt to outflank the Germans on the North Sea coast; we’ve already seen Churchill and Lord Fisher’s discussions of their ideas.  The chief advocate in 1917 was Admiral Bacon, commanding the Dover Patrol.  He had convinced Haig that a landing on the Belgian coast, around Westende just behind the German lines, would have a great chance of success, and would allow the British to secure or at least seriously threaten the ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge, used by the U-boats.

Bacon’s plans were quite detailed and ambitious; the landings would occur at night (under a full moon), and vehicles and even tanks would be landed.  Haig wanted to ensure that the landing, codenamed “Operation Hush,” would complement the offensive around Ypres; he wanted to ensure that the Germans around Ypres were already gravely threatened by the time the landings occurred to deliver the knockout blow and even threaten a double envelopment.  However, progress at Ypres had been much slower than Haig wanted, and he had already had to postpone the landings from August until early October. In addition, the Germans, clearly suspecting something was in the works, had in July successfully pushed the British beyond the Yser (Operation “Beach Party”), which would make it much more difficult for the British troops along the coast to provide any assistance for the landings.

Plumer’s latest attack on the Menin Road Ridge had been successful, but it was now clear to Haig that any continued progress would be too slow for a landing in early October.  Pushing it back by another full moon would be too late in the year given the weather in the North Sea, and pushing it back by less time would make it harder to conduct the landings with enough moonlight.  Bacon and Rawlinson argued that the landings should occur regardless of Plumer’s progress, but Haig was adamant, and called off Operation Hush on September 23.  Bacon and Rawlinson kept some forces in reserve for the landing for a few more weeks in case Haig changed his mind, but he never did.

Today in 1916: Hindenburg Line Construction Begins Today in 1915: Austrian Offensive into Ukraine Repulsed Today in 1914: Serbs and Montenegrins Invade Bosnia

Sources include: Lyn Macdonald, They Called it Passchendaele.

[today-in-wwi]

French Advance in Albania

Essad Pasha meeting with the French in Salonika.

September 7 1917, Pogradec--The Allied forces around Salonika were weaker than they had been for quite a while; the British had withdrawn forces, and a new, generous leave policy for the French soldiers there (an indirect consequence of the mutinies in France) meant most French divisions were understrength at any given time.  Nevertheless, Sarrail wanted a victory.  A breakthrough in the Struma valley or north of Monastir would be impossible with the troops he had available, but, further west, there were still possibilities in Albania.  The French had largely neglected the area, worried about stepping on Italy’s toes and because it had little strategic importance.  Nevertheless, only lightly defended by an extremely-distracted Austria, it proved a tempting target.

On September 7, the French launched an attack toward the town of Pogradec, on the southwestern shore of Lake Ohrid.  Within three days they had taken the town, at a cost of under 200 casualties.  Although it had little strategic importance, it was hailed as a great victory in France, thanks to Sarrail’s contacts in the socialist press.

Assisting the French in the battle was a contingent of 500 Albanians under Essad Pasha, the self-styled President of Albania.  No longer backed by the Italians, Essad wanted to prove his value and hopefully gain recognition from his government.  Essad’s Albanians acquitted themselves well on the familiar terrain, successfully raiding Austrian positions in the coming weeks.  However, Essad’s increasing prominence only served to anger the Italians, Greeks, and Serbians, who all had their own interests in Albania.

Today in 1916: Bees Again Aid Germans in East Africa Today in 1915: Kenya’s Colonists Call for Conscription Today in 1914: Paris Taxicabs Send Reinforcements to the Front

Sources include: Alan Palmer, The Gardeners of Salonika.