Western Front
Unternehmen Mars: French make some progress between Montdidier and Lassigny.
West of Albert German attack is stopped.
Indecisive fighting in Luce and Avre valleys. Eberhard von Hofacker’s LI Corps recaptures woods lost on March 30. Ludendorff orders April 4 thrust for Amiens after supplies brought up. British capture then lose Hangard.
1,059 aeroplanes reported brought down on all fronts in March, of which Allies make the ridiculous claim of 838, and Germans 221.
822 German aircraft supporting Ludendorff Offensive vs 645 British, but only 3 Anglo-German combats as Germans claim 19 Allied aircraft for loss of 4. BEF Fifth Army’s anti-aircraft guns claim 17 aircraft since March 21. Germans admit March loss of 161 aircraft and claim 447 Allied.
Comparative statement of bombing activity by British and German aircraft issued.
Easter Day: Germans claim 75,000 PoWs and c.1000 guns captured since March 21. German Army peak ration strength 7,917,170 men.
BEF March losses 173.721 soldiers, second worst month of war, including 124,462 infantry and cavalry since March 21.
General Erich Ludendorff as hard-working talented staff officer. During 1917-1918 he is the most powerful man in Germany, but he waged war as an end in itself, ignoring Clausewitz’s great maxim:
https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...dorff.jpg?ssl=1
American Army nurses receiving instructions on using gas masks:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...805499347566593
Eastern Front
Ukraine: Germans form new Army Group Eichhorn (18 divisions) at Kiev for Ukraine occupation, CoS Karl Groener to organise railways; Alexander von Linsingen removed and Bugarmee dissolved.
Southern Front
Announced that British troops in Italy are now holding sector on Asiago Plateau instead of Montello.
Naval and Overseas Operations
Black Sea: Battlecruiser
Yavuz Sultan Selim carries Central Powers Armistice Commission to Odessa.
Allied and neutral shipping losses during March: 169 ships (79 British with 490 lives) worth 244,814t (British 199,458t including 3 mined). U-boat figure 190 ships worth 368,746t, including 68 ships of 128,620t in Mediterranean (4 to Austrians); 5 U-boats sunk (2 to unknown cause).
Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
War Office reports progress in Mesopotamia, Palestine, and the Hejaz.
Palestine: However, despite the “progress”, British efforts to take Amman (Jordan) fail due to Ottoman counterattacks and rainy weather that frustrated supply efforts.
Political, etc
Austria-Hungary:
Arbeiter-Zeitung on Sea-power.
Russia: Russo-Romanian agreement on subject of Bessarabia completed.
France: “Blue Bird,” a fantasy film directed by Maurice Tourneur, is released:
https://archive.org/details/theBlueBird1918
United Kingdom: Mr. Lloyd George in message to Dominions says "the last man may count".
Canada: Thousands of Canadian soldiers are sent to Quebec to quell anti-war and anti-conscription riots.
The Toronto Arenas defeat the Vancouver Millionaires to win the 1918 Stanley Cup Finals:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...790393003954177
United States: Agreement between Capital and Labor to refer all questions to arbitration announced.
Daylight Saving Time goes into effect for the first time in the United States, moving the clocks forward one hour.