Western Front
Germany: Germans introduce new ultrasecure 5-letter field cipher for “Ludendorff” Offensive, but French (Painvin) first solve c. April 4, break it on April 26; by May 29 only two-day delay in reading it.
Flanders: Belgian counter-attack north of Pervyse.


Eastern Front
Germans land on Aaland Islands at request of Finnish Government. The islands are now occupied by Finnish, Swedish, Russian, and German troops.
Northern Russia: 130 Royal Marines land at Murmansk (French cruiser Amiral Aube arrives at Royal Navy request on March 19).
Latvia: Erich von Falkenhayn (from Palestine) takes command of German Tenth Army for duration of war.

Southern Front
American Red Cross members gives out gifts to Italian soldiers in the frontline trenches in Italy: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...638836148695041

Political, etc
Russia: The Soviet Russian government moves its capital from Petrograd to the more defensible city of Moscow.
United Kingdom: Sir Eric Geddes reviews shipping situation in House of Commons.
Romania: Preliminary treaty of peace between Romania and the Central Powers, Bulgaria and Turkey signed at Buftea (see December 9th, 1917, and February 25th and May 7th, 1918). Dobruja ceded; Hungarian frontier to be ‘rectified’; 8 divisions to demobilize at once; Rumania to help Central Powers’ march on to Odessa and grant German trade privileges.
Romanian Prime-Minister Alexandru Marghiloman signing the treaty: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...arest.jpg?ssl=1
Finland: Carl Mannerheim cables Ludendorff, thanks Kaiser for weapons and insists on Finn command of German troops and non-interference (Hindenburg agrees on March 10).

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

More really good stuff! Thanks, gg!

Western Front
Failure of German night attack on Belgians near Ramscapelle and Stuyvenskerke.
Unusual aerial activity on British front.
Royal Flying Corps night bombing of railways, airfields and ammo dump on 7 nights until March 20.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Further shipping-loss figures issued. War Cabinet gives 1917 Allied and neutral shipping losses, a 2,632,297t deficit.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Arabia: Turks (including 703rd German battalion) retake Tafila from Zeid and drive him on to Shobek on March 7, but Arabs re-occupy Taftla on March 20.
German troops in Arabia: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...stine.jpg?ssl=1

Political, etc
Austria-Hungary: The Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister and German Foreign Secretary at Buftea, pursuant to the peace treaty with Romania: © IWM (Q 52806) : https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...729439293333506
Germany: Peace Treaty signed with Finland at Berlin.
Russia: 7th Bolshevik Congress renames Party Communist, majority vote for peace on March 8.
United Kingdom: Death of Mr. John Redmond.
United States: A German woman visiting her husband who is interned at an American concentration camp for enemy aliens at Angel Island, California: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...699239973060608

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On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
Airplane raid on Kent, Essex, Herts, Bedforshire and London; 23 killed, 39 injured;
3 of 6 ‘Giant’ bombers sent attack London (25 houses destroyed, night March 7-8) in moonless conditions; second 2,204lb bomb employed. 42 defence sorties killed 2 pilots in collision, no sightings. A claim that one Gotha was downed, but this cannot be verified
Occupied Belgium: Scheldewindeke Giant bomber base opens south of Ghent, probably first airfield with paved runways.
Five-engined Zeppelin Staaken ‘Giant’ bomber: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...XV-04.jpg?ssl=1
American soldiers with captured German flame throwers at Menil-la-Tour, France: © IWM (Q 94318): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...971017056342016
The ruins of Cloth Hall, a commercial building dating back to the 13th century, in Ypres: © IWM (Q 9938): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...001219647983616
A submerged British tank in the destroyed landscape near Ypres: © IWM (Q 8703): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...076726271987712

Naval and Overseas Operations
The SS Faith, the first concrete ship in the U.S., being constructed in California. Concrete ships were proposed to deal with lack of steel-making plants on the West Coast: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...061628816056322

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Palestine: British advance in Palestine, pressed continuously for some days, reaches maximum of three miles on front of 18.

Political, etc
Germany: Paul von Hindenburg persuades Kaiser invading Finland ‘healthy pressure’ on Reds. Hoffman diary ‘Our Bolshevik friends are now beginning to destroy the railways’.
United Kingdom: Vote of credit for £600,000,000. Estimated daily cost per day £6.75 million.
United States: A claim that Woodrow Wilson authorizes bronze Army medal DSM; however, AFAICT, the Distinguished Service Cross & Distinguished Service Medal were actually established on 2 January 1918.
Netherlands: Entente Note to Holland demanding unconditional use of Dutch shipping in ports of Allies (see 18th, and January 4th).

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On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
Failure of heavy local attacks on British near Ypres.
Big airplane raid by night on Paris; 13 killed, 50 injured; one Gotha downed. A second report add some detail: 60 Gotha bombers (1 lost) drop 92 bombs on Paris (59 casualties).
Underground kitchen 60 feet below the ground for the Gordon Highlanders near Arras: © IWM (Q 10713): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...354835776954373

Eastern Front
Ukraine: At Bakhmach, Czechoslovak Legion clash with German forces who are preventing their evacuation towards Siberia.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Irish Sea: German U-boat mine found off Walney Island (Lancashire). Mersey-laid mines found on March 9 and cleared by paddle-steamers in 48 hours.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Mesopotamia: Royal Flying Corps bombs and strafes Turks retreating from Hit (until March 10), 225 bombs dropped.

Political, etc
Baltic: Duchy of Courland’s throne offered to Kaiser; Germans declare protectorate on March 15.
Germany: Admiral Otto von Diederichs, former German commander of the East Asia fleet and Chief of the Admiralty Staff, passed away: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...702185162616832
Russia: M. Georgy Chichérin appointed Russian Foreign Minister and M. Leon Trotsky appointed Minister for War (see November 8th, 1917).
Soviet poster: ‘Comrade Lenin is cleansing the world of dirt’, by sweeping away kings, priests and capitalists: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-welt.jpg?ssl=1
France: Patriotic speech by M. Georges Clemenceau: Vote of confidence in Government.

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
Daylight air-raid by British on Mainz.
DH9 operational debut; controversial DH4 replacement aircraft of No 6 (Naval) Squadron attack St Pierre Capelle. 53 Royal Flying Corps aircraft attack 3 German airfields west of Le Gateau, hits on all three (repeated on Busigny on March 17 and 18). Ludendorffs Michael offensive, air units fly in (until March 12).
The D.H.9 should have been an improvement on the D.H.4, and indeed in terms of design it was. However, powerplant problems gave the new model a performance that was distinctly inferior to that of its predecessor: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...3/DH9.jpg?ssl=1
German gas bombardment for Somme offensive (Ypres-St Quentin): 500,000 rounds mustard gas and phosgene, of which 1,000t directed at British, esp. Flesquieres salient opposite Cambrai, and French positions. 7,223 soldiers gassed (87 deaths) until March 19.

Eastern Front
Finish Civil War: 15,000 Red Guards attack and fail against 7,350 Whites in central region (until March 14). Red C-in-C sacked on March 15.


Southern Front
Germany Navy airship L-57 (Ludwig Bockholt) attacks Naples naval base and steel plant (50 casualties); raid attributed to Austrians (their seaplanes do raid on March 11). Royal Flying Corps claim 64 kills since November 10, 1917 for only 12 losses.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Mesopotamia: Hit (on the Euphrates) occupied by British forces.
Palestine: British cross Wadi Auja (Jordan valley) and advance 2-3 miles on front of 13, astride Jerusalem-Nablus road, taking height of Tel Asur.

Political, etc
Russia: Treaty of Peace signed between Romania and Bolshevik Russia (see 5th).
United Kingdom: War Bonds Week produces £138,870,240.
Romania: Berthelot’s French Military Mission leaves Romania (3 trains to Murmansk).
Switzerland: Last peace feelers till September: Smuts meets Austrian diplomat Skrzynski in Switzerland (until March 14) and Lloyd George’s Private Secretary Kerr also has meeting on March 15. Czernin cables Vienna on March 19 that Franco-Italian annexation demands destroy any continued talks.

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
Many German trench raids on French.
Daylight air-raid by British on Stuttgart. 11 DH4s (1 lost, crew taken PoW) of No 55 Squadron attack Stuttgart Daimler motor works; formation attacked after bombing (1 fighter driven down). Same sequel after 9 DH4s hit Koblenz barracks (70 casualties on March 12).
France: Bombing causes mainly orderly 200,000-strong rail exodus from Paris (until April 6).
Members of the British Agriculture Directorate working to reclaim the former battlefields at the Somme for usable farmland: © IWM (Q 10280): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...140243079004161
BEF GHQ Weekly Intelligence Summary: ‘… the imminence of the [German] offensive in the Arras-St Quentin area has been confirmed …’.
Hindenburg orders Operation Michael (first phase of the Kaiserschlacht [Emperor’s Battle]) Germans begin diversionary operations and feints in various sectors including Champagne and Verdun.
A German 21-cm howitzer is towed for Operation Michael in position: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...llung.jpg?ssl=1

Eastern Front
Austro-Hungarian/Bulgarian advance on Odessa continues.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Hospital ship Guildford Castle torpedoed in Bristol Channel, but not sunk.
Adriatic: Emperor Charles makes 49-year-old Captain Horthy Rear-Admiral and Austrian C-in-C, 4 cruisers and 2 old battleships soon taken out of service to redeploy crews.
Italy: Younger Vice-Admiral Cusani (ex-CNS) appt Italian Fleet commander.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Palestine: British advance 3,000 yards on front of 12 miles astride Jerusalem-Nablus road.

Political, etc
Germany: Frank Wedekind, German playwright known for his influence on the development of epic theater and as a precursor to expressionism, passed away: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...110057897938944
France: German prisoners of war at work in at the Saint-Etienne Locomotive Shops, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...171452345733120
Pile of shoes worn out by American soldiers in Tours, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...438188966006784
United States: Film The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin opens.
George von Lengerke Meyer, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy and ambassador to Italy and Russia, passed away: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...049496296296449

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
A claim that big German raids near Ypres and Armentieres are “repulsed”.
A claim that during a big airplane raid by night on Paris, four Gothas are downed (night March 11-12, 141 casualties including 101 killed when War Ministry hit). Another 66 die in panic rush for Metro shelters. Anti-aircraft guns fire 10,000 rounds. Single bomber attacks on March 24.
(Listed for yesterday): German flying ace Hans-Joachim Buddecke, credited with 13 victories, is killed in action over Lens, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...498591444062209
A destroyed neighborhood in Arras, France: © IWM (Q 78674): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...558992747704323
Lieutenant Paul Frank Baer shoots down a German aircraft, becoming the first pilot of the US Army Air Service (forerunner of the US Air Force) to shoot down an enemy craft: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...800572733710336
American soldier showing off a captured German pistol at Ancerville, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...830774369161216

Eastern Front
Russia: Austro-Hungarians launch first ever scheduled international airmail service (until November) between Vienna and Kiev using modified Hansa-Brandenburg C-I two-seater recon aircraft.
A Hansa-Brandenburg reconnaissance aircraft of the Austro-Hungarian army: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...aerer.jpg?ssl=1

Southern Front
Seaplane raid by night on Naples.

Naval and Overseas Operations
First meeting of the Allied Maritime Transport Council (see February 15th).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Palestine: Further British progress astride Nablus road.

Political, etc
Russia: Lenin article stresses Russia’s might will be restored. US President Wilson sympathy message to Congress of Soviets on peace treaty.
France: (Listed for yesterday): American Secretary of War Baker arrives in France to tour the frontlines and meet with other Allied officials.
United Kingdom: Mr. Lloyd George on connection between Government and Press.
National Expenditure Committee report on extravagance in munitions, etc.
United States: Comedy romance film “Amarilly of Clothes-Line Arlly,” starring Mary Pickford, is released: https://archive.org/details/Amarill...allNeilanSilent

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
12-20 March: This period is marked by greatly intensified air operations on the part of the Luftstreitkräfte (the German Army Air Corps), enabling it to gain air superiority on the Somme sector. Over the Somme, 730 German aircraft, including 326 fighters, are opposed by 579 Royal Flying Corps aircraft, which include 261 fighters.
Daylight air-raid by British on Coblenz.
Western Front: Richthofen’s 64th victory in Jasta 11, clash with 9 Bristol Fighters of No 62 Squadron (4 lost). Next day (March 13) Richthofen’s c.35 fighters destroy 4 aircraft but lose 3 Fokkers and 1 Albatros (including Lothar von Richthofen wounded in crash).
A Fokker Dr.I from von Richthofen’s unit taxis under horse-power on the airfield: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...aerke.jpg?ssl=1
Britain: Zeppelin raid on Yorkshire; Hull bombed, one woman killed. Woman dies of shock, another wounded when Navy Zeppelins L-61, L-62 and L-63 bomb Hull; dense cloud prevents attack on Midlands objectives, 2 of 3 Giant bombers divert to Boulogne; L-42 (Dietrich) drops 21 bombs on West Hartlepool docks (47 casualties, night Mach 13-14).
The French Ministry of War after it was bombarded by German aeroplanes: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...162981155655681
“Repulse” of big German trench raid on Portuguese near Laventie.

Eastern Front
Finish Civil War: German troops land at Aabo (Finland), and advance inland.
Red offensive in Karelia ends, Whites 11,700 men strong
Ukraine: Linsingen occupies Odessa, Austro-German row over precedence. Austrians capture 3 Russian midget submarines at Reni, river Duna.
Siberia: Sino-Japanese volunteers fight Reds at Blagoveschensk.

Southern Front
Salonika: Royal Flying Corps derail Bulgarian train near Porna, shoot German plane into Lake Tahinos (March 13), bomb Drama airfield hitting 4 hangars (March 22, more raids follow).
Macedonia: 3,000 Russians riot at internment camp near Vertikop, French cavalry unit restores order with sabers. Greek 1st (Larissa) Division (12,000 men with 16 guns) begins move to Struma valley, enters British sector line from March 26; 13th (Chalcis) Division replaces 1st Division in Naresh training area.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Mozambique: German-aligned forces driven from Poluvu.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Mesopotamia: Erzerum retaken by Turkish forces (see February 16th, 1916).
Palestine: British advance three miles on 7-miles of coastal sector, taking 5 villages and 112 PoWs.

Political, etc
Romania: General General Alexandru Averescu, Romanian Premier and Foreign Minister, resigns (see 21st, and February 9th).

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
Flanders: Australian raid near Ypres-Comines Canal. British capture strong point southeast of Polygon Wood.
British soldier using a telescope to verify ranges for the anti-aircraft battery at St. Vaast, France: © IWM (Q 8557): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...511514471784449

Naval and Overseas Operations
British submarine D.3 is mistakenly targeted and sunk by a French airship in the English Channel, with the loss of all crew.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, decorating soldiers of the 7th Indian Division near Ismailia, Egypt: © IWM (Q 12526): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...223387928645632

Political, etc
Germany: Lts. Sholtz and Woolley released by Germans (v. 6 February 1918). [note: not at all sure what this refers to: I can find no further explanation].
Interior Minister Max Wallraf decides to cut farmers’ rations not workers to save 140,000t before Ukraine grain arrives.
Female workers in a German weapons factory: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...abrik.jpg?ssl=1
Russia: Russian composer César Cui, known as one of “The Five” who created created a distinct Russian classical music style, passed away: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...526614909825024
United Kingdom: War Cabinet told of Royal Navy Petrograd Attache’s warning that Japanese action may drive Russia into German arms.
United States: Propaganda film “Hearts of the World” is released. Director D.W. Griffith was contracted by the British government to make America more supportive of the war: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...285032663179266

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Suck interesting tidbits always appear in the Political, etc section. Like seldom dp we see German women working in the factories; or think about some of the people who die naturally like Cesar Cui. It's part of what makes me not want to miss a single post. That's gg.

Unfortunately, we have the flu pandemic only barely starting to rear its ugly head: ultimately, this killed more people than died in all of World War I, absent the flu.

But since a huge portion of those affected by the flu were soldiers, the exact numbers are difficult to tell.

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
French recover trenches near Butte de Mesnil lost on 1 March.
Severe aerial fighting; 223 German machines claimed since 1 March.
North Sea: Floatplane clash; 2 Royal Naval Air Service planes attack 5 German planes (1 lost, 1 damaged, 1 observer killed).
Pitched battles were fought over the North Sea between these large, well armed Curtiss H-12 flying boats and Hansa-Brandenburg floatplane fighters: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...s-H12.jpg?ssl=1
A salvage dump with discarded shell casings, petrol tins, etc. near Ypres: © IWM (Q 10717): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...587029299748865

Eastern Front
Reds occupy Ekaterinodar (Kuban Cossack capital).
The Czechoslovak Legion defeats German forces at Bakhmach, Ukraine, securing them passage to evacuate from the front through Siberia.

Southern Front
Italy: Royal Flying Corps No 42 Squadron leaves to rejoin BEF on Western Front.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Palestine: British make small advance in Jordan valley.
Caucasus: Retreating Armenians on old Russian frontier. Turco-Transcaucasian Trebizond Conference opens.

Political, etc
Russia: Congress of Soviets at Moscow ratifies Best-Litovsk treaty by 704 votes to 261, officially ceding the Baltic, Belarus, and Ukraine to the Central Powers.
United Kingdom: Mr. Balfour, speaking in House of Commons, defends proposed Japanese intervention in Asiatic Russia.
Meeting of Supreme War Council in London, attended by Entente Premiers and Foreign Ministers.
Japan: Japanese industrialist Matsushita Kōnosuke founds an electric company (that will later be known as Panasonic).
Belgium: Gennaro Rubino, Italian anarchist who unsuccessfully tried to assassinate King Leopold II of Belgium, passed away in prison: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...868339595530240
United States: Henry J. Hardenbergh, American architect known for designing buildings such as the Plaza Hotel in New York, passed away: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...647418314100737

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
French ace Rene Fonck (20 victories to date) kills German ace and fighter leader Adolf von Tutschek (27 victories) over Champagne.
Captain Rene Fonck, with 75 victories at the end of the war, absolute Allied top ace and one of the most feared snipers among fighter pilots: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...fonck.jpg?ssl=1
African American soldiers at Menil-la-Tour, France: © IWM (Q 85384): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...990142246440960

Eastern Front
German Government proclaim protectorate over an independent Kurland.
SOVNARKOM allows Czech Legion evacuation to Omsk.
Finish Civil War: Mannerheim Offensive (12,000 troops) towards Tampere (until March 19), takes 700 PoWs and 10 guns. Second phase (March 20-25) cuts off town (until March 25), he cables for speedy German arrival on March 20.
Another soruce reports this as: Battle of Tampere starts in Finland, as 16,000 White forces attempt to besiege 14,000 Red forces at Tampere in the largest engagement in the Finnish Civil War.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Eastern Atlantic: Destroyer HMS Michael depth charges and sinks U-110 off North Ireland.

Political, etc
Austria-Hungary: Strikes in Austria-Hungary.
France: Explosion in an explosives factory in the Courneuve district near Paris (30 killed, 1500 wounded).
United Kingdom: Allies in London discuss Japanese intervention “against Germans” in Russia but Americans object.
Turkey: (Listed for yesterday): The Ottoman Empire and the Transcaucasian Commissariat (breakaway state from Russia) meet in Trebizond to negotiate a treaty for recognition and to settle border disputes.
United States: Lucretia Garfield, wife of former U.S. President James A. Garfield who established the first presidential library, passed away: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...959692312510467
Sweden: Publication by "Politiken" of Prince Lichnowsky's memorandum.

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.

Western Front
Germany: Most German Operation Michael artillery now in position, infantry begins night approach marches until March 18.
German infantry marches for Operation Michael to the Western Front: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-1918.jpg?ssl=1
Verdun: Big French raids near Cheppy and Malancourt, and counter-raiding by Germany, French take 160 PoWs, Germans 200.
Britain: Haig tells King he can smash any attack. Churchill memo envisages mine-clearing tanks.
British soldiers looking at a bridge over the Avre river at Roye, France, which was destroyed by the retreating Germans: © IWM (Q 9279): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...322835383574528
Daylight air-raid by British on Zweibrucken (Pfalz), dropping 24 bombs. All bombers return safely.
French soldiers looking at a ruined church at Flirey near the frontlines: © IWM (Q 78983): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...368384736464898
Portuguese soldiers in their trenches at Festubert, France: © IWM (Q 10752): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...595129137926144

Eastern Front
Finish Civil War: The Battle of Länkipohja phase of the Battle of Tampere concludes with a with victory. The battle is known for its bloody aftermath as the Whites executed 70–100 capitulated Reds.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Arabia: Arabs disperse Turk camel corps northwest of Medina. Hejaz Railway near Bowat damaged, train derailed (March 19-20).
Persia: Hamadan (West Persia) evacuated by the Russian regular forces (see March 2nd, 1917).

Political, etc
Austria-Hungary: Vienna police report ‘… great and rather widespread resentment against Germany’.

__________________
On the kinkometer, my kink measures as a sine wave.