#may 1918

❧ The four children of Tsar Nicholas II who remained at Tobolsk while their parents and sister Maria set off for Yekaterinburg, May 1918

The Grillo.

May 13 1918, Pola--The success of the tank on land led some to consider developing a naval version--a “landship of the sea,” as it were.  The Italians had developed a series of fast motorboats to attack and harass the Austrian fleet, but these were useless in attacking their harbors, which were protected by artificial booms designed to prevent access to any unauthorized craft.  The Italians therefore built a handful of naval tanks, designed to crawl over these booms and then launch torpedoes within the Austrian harbors.

On the night of May 13, the naval tank Grillo successfully crawled over four of the five defensive booms at the main Austrian naval base at Pola.  However, the Austrians were on high alert due to previous failed raids (foiled due to mechanical difficulties), and the loud noise of the Grillo’s crawling attracted Austrian attention.  Coming under heavy Austrian fire, the Italian crew scuttled the vessel, though the Austrians were able to raise it and began designing their own version.

Today in 1917: Discontent Among Russian Military Leaders; Kerensky New War Minister Today in 1916: First (and Only) Submarine Caught in Otranto Barrage Today in 1915: HMS Goliath Sunk At Dardanelles; HMS Queen Elizabeth Recalled

One of the Armenian units that took part in the battle of Sardarabad

100 years ago the battles of Sardarabad and Abaran continues the Armenian forces involved in the battles include the 2nd infantry division comprised of the 5th and 6th infantry regiments, the 2nd cavalry regiment, the Partisan infantry regiment, the Partisan cavalry regiment, the Border Battalion, and the Patrol Battalion of the 2nd division.

Included in the Yerevan unit from the Special Armenian Detachment were the 1st and 2nd infantry regiments of Van from the 3rd Special Brigade, the 2nd Special Cavalry regiment of Zeytun, the infantry regiments of Khnus and Karakilisa. the Regiment of Erzincan as well as the 1st Special Cavalry Regiment. 

There were also five infantry batteries comprised of Western Armenian intellectuals, a Yezidi cavalry battalion (the Ottoman Empire was also targeting the Yezidi population during the Armenian genocide so many fled to Russian-held Armenia), and various militia, fedayi, service, and self defense uni

The USS President Lincoln, by Fred Dana Marsh

May 31 1918, Brest--Despite Admiral Holtzendorff’s pledge, the Germans had only sunk one American troop transport bound for Europe, the Tuscania.  On May 23, another convoy of troop transports successfully arrived in Brest, including the USS President Lincoln.  Formerly of the Hamburg-America line, the ship was seized by the US Navy from its German crew at the outbreak of the war (despite attempts by the crew to damage her) and became one of America’s largest troop transports.  On May 29, the convoy left Brest to return to the United States, carrying a few dozen wounded soldiers.  Although a less tempting target than a full troopship, the passage out of Brest was still dangerous, and American destroyers accompanied them until they got out of the main submarine danger zone late on May 30.

Hardtack found on the President Lincoln when she was seized by the US Navy on the first day of the war; now in the collection of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City.

Around 9AM on the morning of May 31, however, the President Lincoln was hit by two torpedoes near her bow, from the German submarine U-90; those on board the President Lincoln were unaware of the submarine’s presence until they saw the torpedoes headed their way.  Seven men were killed in the initial explosions, and the ship quickly began to sink.  Nevertheless, all the remaining crew, along with the wounded (and two paralyzed) soldiers were able to make it to the boats in time, even as a third torpedo struck aft.  The President Lincoln had some armament of its own, and fired at U-90 until the ocean lapped at her guns, but to no avail.  The President Lincoln sank in about twenty minutes, sucking one of the last rafts (with another nineteen men) down with her.

The U-90 then surfaced near the boats, hoping to capture a high-value prisoner.  As everyone kept telling the Germans (falsely) that the captain had gone down with the ship, they instead took Lt. Edouard Izac.  Izac learned valuable information about U-boat movements on the way back to Germany, and repeatedly attempted to escape from his PoW camp with this information, finally succeeding in the final weeks of the war.  The remainder of the crew was rescued by American destroyers after nearly fourteen hours at sea.

Among the 26 killed on the President Lincoln was Ships Cook (3rd Class) Grundy B. Johnson, this author’s great-great-uncle. He is listed here on the Tennessee War Memorial along with the other 3400 Tennesseans killed in the First World War. 

Today in 1917: Press Censorship Defeated in US Congress Today in 1916: Jutland Today in 1915:  Allied Advance up the Tigris

American troops go “over the top” at Cantigny.

May 28 1918, Cantigny--The Americans had been in the war for over a year, and in the front lines for over seven months, but never beyond quiet sectors of the front.  Delays stemming from Pershing’s insistence on keeping American forces together as a cohesive army meant that (beyond a handful of engineers who happened to be in the area) the Americans did not participate in the defense against the major German offensives of March and April.  Eventually, seeing the need for the Americans to do something, if only to boost Allied morale, Pershing allowed the 1st Division to be deployed near Cantigny, on the southern flank of the German salient created by Operation Michael.  If the Germans made another push towards Amiens, the Americans would attack on their flank.  Such an offensive never came, but the Americans went forward with plans for a more limited attack--taking a small German salient centered around the town of Cantigny.

The American plan for the battle was drawn up by the division’s assistant chief of staff, Lt. Col. George C. Marshall, and called for a heavy preparatory artillery fire, followed by a rolling barrage to cover the infantry advance.  Once the infantry had secured the town, the artillery would continue counter-battery efforts so that the infantry could dig in and hold the town without molestation from German artillery fire.  Although all the attacking infantry would be American, they did not have enough heavy weaponry to do it themselves, and would thus rely on artillery, a dozen tanks, and flamethrowers provided and manned by the French.  A day before the attack was schedule to go forward, however, the Germans attacked and broke through on the Aisne, leaving the French scrambling for reinforcements.  It was decided that the attack on Cantigny would go ahead, but the French would pull their forces out after the town was taken in the early morning; the Americans would be on their own to defend against any counterattacks.

The bombardment began at 5:45 AM on the 28th, and the infantry attacked an hour later.  Although they suffered significant casualties in areas where the German machine guns had not been knocked out, the Americans were able to secure the German front line and the town of Cantigny as planned within two hours.  The German survivors in the basements of the destroyed town itself surrendered or were killed by the French flamethrowers.  Although the withdrawal of the French artillery soon thereafter meant that the Americans took heavy casualties to German fire, they were not subjected to an organized German counterattack until nearly 6PM, by which time they had been able to successfully entrench beyond Cantigny.

Although overshadowed by the ongoing German offensive on the Aisne, the American victory at Cantigny was an important moral victory for the Americans and their allies--the Americans were coming, and they could defeat the Germans in battle.  It came at a heavy cost, however; over a third of the Americans participating in the battle were wounded, and another 199 were killed.

Today in 1917: Allies Decide to Depose King Constantine of Greece Today in 1916: Austrians Capture Asiago Today in 1915: Germany Issues Unapologetic Note on Lusitania to US

British forces pictured just south of the Aisne on May 27.

May 27 1918, Fismes--Germany’s offensive in Flanders had been stymied after Allied reinforcements had rushed to the area.  Ludendorff wanted to renew the attacks and push on to the Channel ports, but recognized that doing so would likely end in failure.  Instead, he adopted a suggestion from his staff to attack along the Aisne instead, hoping to draw reinforcements back south before attacking in Flanders once more.  With more time to prepare as compared with Georgette, the Germans were able to bring up their troops in secret, and warnings from American intelligence were ignored; the French did not realize a German offensive was coming until they had less than twenty-four hours to prepare.

The Germans began their bombardment at 2AM on May 27, with over 4,000 guns.  Their registration on Allied targets was deadly accurate, and wrecked Allied trenches, batteries, and barbed wire by the time the infantry attacked at 4:40.  The Allied positions were quickly overrun--including three British divisions, moved south to a “quiet” sector to recuperate after the fighting in Flanders.  The local French commander had concentrated all of his forces in the front line, not wanting to give up an inch of ground on the Chemin des Dames that had been won at such cost last year.  As a result, once the Germans broke through the front line, they were effectively unopposed in their further advance.  They reached and crossed the Aisne by noon, capturing eighty bridges intact, and by nightfall had advanced up to twelve miles.

A train car used by the Czech Legion.

May 14 1918, Chelyabinsk--The sudden end of the war in the East had left many soldiers from both sides stranded in Russia.  German and Austro-Hungarian PoWs were trying to make their way back west. Meanwhile, soldiers from various nationalities oppressed by the Central Powers that had volunteered to serve alongside the Russians now had to figure out where to go.  The bulk of the Polish volunteer forces in Russia surrendered to the Germans (many not without a fight).  Most of the Czech forces were determined to keep fighting, and reached an agreement with the Bolsheviks in March to leave Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok (followed by a long sea voyage to the Western Front).

On May 14, Czechs heading east clashed with a group of Hungarian PoWs heading west in Chelyabinsk in the Urals.  Representatives of the local Soviet arrested some of the Czechs involved; their fellow Czechs soon liberated them from jail and took over the town.  This was the first direct confrontation between the Czechs and the Bolsheviks, though tension had been growing for some time.  The Bolsheviks had held up the Czechs’ trains and tried to confiscate their weapons.  They were also worried that they were trying to turn them around and force them to surrender to the Germans, as the Poles had done; this was not helped by efforts to divert them towards the northern port of Arkhangelsk (though this was actually done at the behest of the Allies).  The Bolsheviks, meanwhile, were worried that the Czechs were Allied agents and would be used to overthrow them.  The incident at Chelyabinsk helped to confirm both sides’ suspicions of each other. 

Today in 1917: Modest Italian Gains on the Isonzo Today in 1916: Patton Kills Pancho Villa’s Second-in-Command Today in 1915: Exposé on Shell Shortage Appears in The Times of London

Czech forces in Vladivostok.

May 25 1918, Moscow--The Bolsheviks’ distrust of the Czech Legion had been growing for months; they were a well-armed, pro-Allied group slowly spreading their way over Russia’s railroads to the east.  After the Czechs took over Chelyabinsk on May 14 following clashes with former Hungarian PoWs and the local Soviet, the Bolsheviks decided to attempt to take care of the problem permanently.  On May 25, Trotsky ordered that “Every armed Czechoslovak found on the railway is to be shot on the spot.”  This opened what amounted to a war between the Bolsheviks and the Czech Legion, and it was not one the Bolsheviks were well-prepared to fight; their power in the east of Russia thin, at best.  Over the following days, the Czechs quickly seized control of multiple cities: Penza, Vladivostok, and Tomsk, among others, followed by Omsk in early June; Bolshevik power in much of Siberia quickly evaporated.

Today in 1917: First Gotha Bomber Raid on England Today in 1916: Great Britain Expands Conscription to Married Men Today in 1915: New Coalition Government in Britain