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"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends". JOHN 15:13.
The final 'Lest We Forget' series of three commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the First World War and once again a single poppy features on the commemorative stamp flanked by country definitives; paying tribute the soldiers of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Words by Peter Caddick-Adams:-
Died July 18, 2009 aged 113.
The third and final Sheet in the 'Lest We Forget' series is now available from Royal Mail.
The 'Lest We Forget' series commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the First World War and once again a single poppy features on the commemorative stamp flanked by country definitives; paying tribute the soldiers of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
After four long years of savage fighting, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns fell silent over the blasted battlefields and trenches of the Western Front, signalling the end of the bloodiest conflict the world had ever seen.
Fighting had raged across the globe, from the mud and blood of the Western Front to deserts of the Middle East; from the Great Lakes of Africa and the icy seas of the Falkland Islands. More than eight million soldiers had died, bombs had been dropped on cities and thousands of tonnes of shipping had been sent to the bottom of the ocean.
The haunting image of a fallen soldier stares out from a new 1st Class Poppy stamp commemorating the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
The stamps are available as a miniature sheet, and for the first time, a Se-tenant sheet (above) which features the new poppy stamp, together with the 2006 and 2007 stamps, and stamp cards.
On the 11th November, there will be a Miniature Sheet Collection, containing all three Miniature Sheets within a folder that folds out as a Remembrance Cross, it also contains a replica embroidered postcard – one of the most popular items sent home from the trenches.
Inside, Chris Taft from the British Postal Museum and Archive (BPMA) talks about the role of Royal Mail during the First World War. The packaging for this unique collection is illustrated with wonderful archive photography from the British Postal Museum and Archive.
As the traditional Remembrance Day commemoration looms at the weekend, the haunting image of a fallen soldier is depicted on the petals of a new 1st Class Poppy stamp.
The new stamp commemorates the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War with the stamp part of a five-stamp 'Miniature Sheet'.
Commemorating the Armistice that brought an end to four years of fighting, the Poppy stamp sits alongside a block of four 81p country 'definitives'.
Royal Mail joined forces with the Royal British Legion to launch this commemorative.
After four long years of savage fighting, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns fell silent over the blasted battlefields and trenches of the Western Front, signalling the end of the bloodiest conflict the world had ever seen.
The symbol of the poppy on this Armistice stamp is a fitting tribute and upholds the memory of all those brave soldiers from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
This, the third and final of the 'Lest We Forget' series, bringing together the images that come to mind when we think of war: the bravery of the common soldier, and the dreadful loss of life.
Lest We Forget - 6 November 2008
90th Anniversary of the Armistice ending World War I
Commercial First Day Covers follow:-
Harry Patch, who fought in the trenches at the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, died on July 25, 2009 aged 111.
Queen pays tribute to 'Last Tommy'
The Queen, the Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Gordon Brown have led tributes to Harry Patch, the last surviving British soldier of the First World War, who has died at the age of 111.
Mr Patch, known as the Last Tommy, passed away peacefully just before 9am at Fletcher House nursing home in Wells, Somerset.
He had become Britain's oldest man when another veteran of the war, Henry Allingham, died a week ago on July 18, aged 113.
The only remaining known British-born veteran of the First World War is now Claude Choules, 108, who served in the Royal Navy and now lives in Perth, Australia.
Mr Patch, a machine-gunner, served in the trenches as a private from June to September 1917 and fought in the battle of Passchendaele in which more than 70,000 British troops died. He was born on June 17, 1898 and grew up in Combe Down, near Bath.
The Queen said: "I was saddened to hear of the death this morning of Harry Patch, the last British survivor or the First World War. We will never forget the bravery and enormous sacrifice of his generation, which will continue to serve as an example to us all."
Prince Charles said nothing could give him greater pride than to pay tribute to Mr Patch. He told the BBC: "The Great War is a chapter in our history we must never forget, so many sacrifices were made, so many young lives lost.
"Harry was involved in numerous bouts of heavy fighting on the front line but amazingly remained unscathed for a while. Tragically one night in September 1917, when in the morass in the Ypres Salient, a German shrapnel shell burst over head badly wounding Harry and killing three of his closest friends.
"In spite of the comparatively short time that he served with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Harry always cherished the extraordinary camaraderie that the appalling conditions engendered in the battalion and remained loyal to the end."
The Prime Minister said: "I know that the whole nation will unite today to honour the memory, and to take pride in the generation that fought the Great War. The noblest of all the generations has left us, but they will never be forgotten. We say today with still greater force: 'We will remember them'."
'Pease' was my dad's (Bill Charlesworth's) favourite rose - he served with the RAF in Nainital, India keeping those Spitfires in the air.
Pease and love, Dave.
IN THE LAST HOURS of WW1 - the 28th North West Battalion, 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division was passing through Bois la Haut at 9:00 a.m. when the battalion received the cease fire order.(1)
"Hostilities will cease at 11:00 hours on November 11th - Troops will stand fast on the line reached at that time which will be reported to Corps Headquarters - Strictest precautions will be maintained - There will be no intercourse of any kind with the enemy".
This meant that the advance was to continue until that hour. The troops were then to halt and establish outposts to secure the line they had reached and have no dealings with the enemy. Brigadier Alex Ross drafted an order containing the original text of the order received and added that officers were to use their discretion about involving troops under their commands in heavy fighting. He also noted that troops should secure some habitable accommodation before stopping because there was little shelter in the area in which the battalion was operating. This he sent forward by runner to the troops in the forward line.(1)
The 28th Battalion had two objectives for November 11 and was able to reach both before 11:00. No casualties were taken in occupying the village of Havre and overcoming some late resistance in a dash to the Canal du Centre. 'B' Company was in the lead through the village and the advance to the canal followed by 'A' Company, then C and D Companies close behind. German soldiers were clearly seen retreating on the other side of the canal and over the high ground to the east.(1) The Battalion took up a defensive position at the Canal du Centre, position four and a half miles northeast of Mons.(2)
Just after the 28th had reached the line of the Canal du Centre, #256265 Private George Lawrence Price of 'A' Company led a patrol across to the far side of the canal.(1) The 20 year old Nova Scotian was accompanied on this patrol by #105410 Private Arthur Barrett "Art" Goodmurphy, and two others from A Company.(1) George Price had joined the 28th Battalion as part of a reinforcement draft nine months before. Some sources state that he originally enlisting in 210th (Legion of Frontiersmen) Battalion (1), however his service number (5) and records indicate he actually enlisted in the 1st Depot Battalion, Saskatchewan Regiment. Arthur Goodmurphy was a fair haired 22 year old and originally enlisted in the 68th battalion in his home town of Regina on November 29, 1915.
It is not entirely clear why the patrol would cross the canal just before the official cease fire. Perhaps to see if the houses on the other side would make good billets or to see what the Germans were doing. It is recorded that a German machine gun had fired upon Price as he approached the bridge that crossed the canal(3) and they went to search the house from which the firing came.(1) The patrol rushed the house, but found only the owner and his family.(1) The Germans had slipped out the back door just before the Canadians came in the front.(1)
The Canadians moved to the next and again found it occupied,(3) but no Germans.(1) The occupant of the house told Price to be careful. The account of his death in the Mons City Museum states: 'Despite this advice, Price went out to attack the enemy with his Lewis machine gun, but he was mortally wounded by a bullet in the region of the heart.(3) Art Goodmurphy recalled that a single shot was heard as he and Price stepped back into the street. Price half turned and slumped into Goodmurphy's arms. Art quickly dragged George back into the house. A neighbour, a young Belgian girl, saw Private Price fall. She risked her life to cross the street to come to his aide. The occupants of the house and the neighbour attended to Price, but to no avail. Private George Lawrence Price died at 10:58 a.m., just two minutes before the cease fire.(1)
Captain Evans Ross, the commander of 'A' Company, was furious when told of Price's death. "What the hell did you go across for?" he raged at the other members of Price's patrol "You had no orders to go across there." The Captain added, in frustration: "Hell of a note, to think that that would happen right when the war's over."(4) The official records of the Department of Defense state that Private G.L. Price, regimental number: 256265; rank: Private; died November 11, 1918 and that the cause of death was "killed in action". It goes on to record that an enemy sniper near the canal killed Private Price at 2 minutes to 11. He was shot through the right breast and died shortly after being hit, although every attention possible was given him and he was buried at the Communal Cemetery in the Town of Havre.(3) Private Price is considered the last Commonwealth soldier killed in action on the Western Front.
On November 11, 1968, several of Price's comrades returned to the Canal du Centre and erected a Bronze memorial plaque on a house nearby to honour George Price.(3) It read:
"To the memory of Private George Lawrence Price 256265 of the 28th
North West Battalion, 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian
Division, killed in action near this spot at 10.58 hours, November 11th,
1918, the last Canadian soldier to die on the Western Front in the First
World War. Erected by his comrades, November 11th, 1968."
I wish to thank Mr. Ben Smith of YAP, a company that produces factual television documentaries, for 'kick starting' my research into the circumstances of Private Price's death and wish him good luck in his future projects.
Also, please read Gord Goddard's article on George Lawrence Price and the end of the war. Gord is a volunteer with the Saskatchewan Military Museum and a few years ago (as of 2006) he put together this article on Private Price. As part of Gord's research he came across a photo of Price which was given to his girlfriend at Stoney Beach, Saskatchewan just before he joined up.
Sources:
1 (Pages 60-61 - Up the Johns - the Story of the Royal Regina Rifles by Stewart A.G. Mein)
2 (Page 18 - To Seize the Victory - The Canadian Corps in World War 1 by John Swettenham)
3 (Page 116 - The Last Day, The Last Hour - the Currie Libel Trial by Robert J. Sharpe)
4 (Page 205 - Spearhead to Victory - Canada and the Great War by Daniel G. Dancocks)
5 (Page 22 - Regimental Numbers - Canadian Expeditionary Force by C.W.O. R.J. O'Connell)
Also (Page 236 - The History of the 28th (Northwest) Battalion, C.E.F. (October 1914 - June 1919) by Major D.G. Scott Calder E.D., Official Historian of the Regina Rifles Regiment.)
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said Mr Patch's funeral would be held in Wells Cathedral and would focus on prayers for peace and reconciliation.
He said: "The funeral cortege through Wells and the subsequent service at the cathedral will be an opportunity for the people of this country to pay respect to Harry as the last representative of those who served in the trenches."
Asked in 2007 about how he would like to be remembered, Mr Patch reportedly rejected the idea of any special funeral arrangements.
But he accepted the principle of a state funeral as a mark of respect for the generation who fought in the First World War.
He said he would like to buried in a private ceremony alongside his family in Monkton Combe Church.
World War 1 Time Line
Events of 1914
June 28 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, are assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
June 29 - Secretary of the Austro-Hungarian Legation at Belgrade sends depatch to Vienna accusing Serbian complicity in the assassination.
July 20 - Austria-Hungary sends troops to the Serbian frontier.
July 25 - Serbia orders mobilisation of troops. Russia arranges for troops to be stationed on Russo-Austrian frontier.
July 28 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
July 29 - Great Britain warns Germany that it cannot remain neutral. Austrians bombard Serbian capital Belgrade. German troops advance to the French border.
August 1 - French military mobilisation ordered. Germany declares war on Russia. Italy announces neutrality. Belgium announces neutrality.
August 3 - Germany declares war on France. Great Britain gives order for troops to mobilise.
August 4 - Germany declares war on Belgium. United States declares neutrality. Great Britain gives Austria-Hungary ultimatum to stand down from hostilities. When Austria-Hungary doesn't comply a state of war is declared at 11.00pm.
August 6 - Royal Navy cruiser HMS Amphion is sunk by German mines in the North Sea, causing the death of 150 men and the first British casualties of war.
August 7 - First members of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) land in France.
August 11 - 'Your King and Country Need You' slogan is published, calling for the first 100,000 men to enlist for Kitchener's New Army. Demand is met within two weeks.
August 13 - The first squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps arrive in France.
August 20 - Brussels evacuated and occupied by Germans.
August 25 - The Royal Flying Corps claim their first 'kill' as three aircraft from 2nd Squadron force down a German reconnaissance plane.
August 26 - The Battle of Le Cateau. BEF suffers 7,812 casualties and is forced to retreat.
September 6 - The First Battle of Marne checks German advance at the cost of 13,000 British, 250,000 French and 250,000 German casualties.
October 14 - November 22 - First Battle of Ypres.
October 16 - The British Indian Expeditionary Force sails from Bombay to the Persian Gulf in preparation for the invasion of Mesopotamia.
October 29 - Turkey enters the war.
November 22 - Trenches are established along the entire Western Front.
November 23 - The British enter Basra, securing oil supplies in the Middle East needed to supply most of the Royal Navy.
December 8 - The Battle of the Falkland Islands. A Royal navy task force sinks three German cruisers that were victorious at the Battle of Coronel in November. Only the SMS Dresden escapes.
December 16 - The German First High Sea fleet bombards Hartlepool, Whitby and Scarborough, killing 137 civilians and proving that the British mainland is susceptible to attack.
Events of 1915
January 19 - In the first airborne attack on British soil, Zeppelins bomb Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn, killing five civilians.
February 18 - Blockade of Britain by German U-boats begins. All vessels are considered viable targets, including those from neutral countries.
February 19 - Allied naval bombardment of the Dardanelles and Gallipoli begins.
March 10 - The British Offensive at Neuve Chapelle begins. Allied losses amount to 12,800 in two days. Some of the blame falls on the poor quality and lack of British shells, initiating the 'Shell Crisis'.
April 22 - Second Battle of Ypres begins. First use of poison gas by Germany.
April 25 - Allied landing at Gallipoli - 70,000 British, Commonwealth and French troops are under heavy fire. On 'Y' Beach, 1,200 out of a force of 1,500 men are casualties.
May 2 - Austro-German offensive on Galicia begins.
May 7 - German U-boat torpedoes British liner Lusitania with the loss of American lives, creating a US-German diplomatic crisis.
May 23 - Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
May 25 - The 'Shell Crisis' exposes the failings of the British Government in supporting front line troops. Discontent over rising casualty figures grows and a coalition government is formed as Prime Minister Asquith struggles to maintain control of the House of Commons.
May 31 - The first Zeppelin raid on London kills seven and injures 35. British morale is shaken as Germany demonstrates it can attack the capital at will.
June 4 - The Third and final Battle of Krithia begins at Gallipoli as Allies attempt to push inland from their beach heads. British losses amount to 6,000 men.
June 21 - British troops reach the Euphrates in Mesopotamia, and reoccupy Aden.
June 30 - German troops use flame throwers for the first time against the British lines at Hooge, Ypres.
August 4 - Germans annex Warsaw.
August 6 - Allies land two divisions at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli. They opt not to take the strategic heights overlooking the beaches and are eventually pinned to the coast by Turkish troops.
August 16 - A U-boat bombards Whitehaven, proving that Britain's maritime defences can be breached by German submarines.
August 21 - The Battle of Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli, is the final British offensive in the Dardanelles. They are repelled and lose 5,000 men.
September 25 - The Great Allied Offensive focuses on Loos and Champagne. At the Battle of Loos the British gas for the first time but the wind blows this over their own troops resulting in 2632 casualties - only seven are killed.
September 27 - British and Canadian regiments take Hill 70 at Loos and break the German line, but lack of reserves to exploit the breach results in limited success. The Canadians alone receive over 9,000 casualties.
October 5 - Under German pressure to open up military rail links to Constantinople and the Middle East, the Austro-Hungarians step up their campaign against the Serbians. Anglo-French forces land at Salonika to counter allied German expansion in the Balkans.
October 12 - British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by German firing squad for helping PoWs escape from Belgium to Holland. She becomes a popular martyr and British heroine.
October 31 - Steel helmets introduced on the British Front.
November 22 - Battle of Ctesiphon, 25 miles south of Baghdad. Allies inflict heavy casualties on the Turkish, but are forced to retire to Kut due to lack of supplies. The Turkish soldiers give chase and besiege the town.
December 15 - Sir Douglas Haig replaces Sir John French as Commander in Chief of the British Expeditionary Force.
December 20 - Allies complete the evacuation of 83,000 troops from Suvla bay and ANZAC Cove in Gallipoli. Not one soldier or sailor is killed in the withdrawal and the Turkish are unaware of the evacuation taking place.
Events of 1916
January 4 - The Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad is the first attempt to relieve the besieged British in Kut, Mesopotamia. The Turkish finally withdraw but the British casualties number 4,000, a situation exasperated by the poor medical facilities.
January 8 - Allied evacuation of Helles marks the end of the Gallipoli campaign.
January 24 - Introducing conscription, the British Government passes the Military Service Act, to become law on 25 May.
February 21 - The Battle of Verdun starts with a German offensive against the Mort-Homme Ridge. The German plan is to bleed the French dry of men and resources. The battle lasts 10 months and over a million men become casualties.
March 9 - Germany declares war on Portugal. Six days later, Austria follows suit.
April 5 - The Battle of Kut. The third and final Allied attempt to relieve Kut flounders in the mud along the Tigris, with 23,000 Allied casualties.
April 29 - Besieged garrison at Kut in Mesopotamia surrenders after 143 days and 3,000 British and 6,000 Indian troops go into captivity. The majority of these die of disease and starvation in the prison camps.
May 31 - June 1 - The Battle of Jutland, the biggest naval battle in history. The German High Seas Fleet is forced to retire despite inflicting heavier losses on the Royal Navy (14 ships and 6,100 men), but the German fleet remains irreparably damaged for the rest of the war.
June 4 - The Russian Brusilov Offensive begins on the Eastern Front. It nearly cripples Austria-Hungary out of the war.
June 5 - TE Lawrence aids Hussein, Grand Sherif of Mecca, in the Arab revolt against the Turks in Hejaz. Lord Kitchener sails for Russia on board HMS Hampshire. The ship is mined off Orkney and Kitchener is lost along with 643 other crewmen and general staff.
June 8 - Voluntary Enlistment in Britain is replaced by Compulsion.
July 1 - The Battle of the Somme sees 750,000 Allied soldiers unleashed along a 25 mile front. By the end of the day nearly 60,000 are dead, wounded or missing for very little gain. It is the worst single day's fighting in British military history.
July 14 - The Battle of Bazentin Ridge marks the end of the first Somme offensive. The British break the German line but fail to deploy the cavalry fast enough to take full advantage. Some 9,000 men are lost.
July 23 - The Battle of Pozières Ridge marks the second Somme offensive. Close to the highest point of the Somme battlefield, Pozières dominates the surrounding countryside. The action to take the village costs 17,000 Allied casualties, the majority of whom are Australian.
August 26 - Under General Smuts, Britain enters the Morogoro Campaign in East Africa. The Germans lead a deadly guerilla campaign, but disease kills 30 men for every on that dies in combat.
August 28 - Italy declares war on Germany.
September 2 - The first Zeppelin is shot down over Britain. The Royal Flying Corps uses a new combination of explosive and incendiary bullets to great effect.
September 9 - The Battle of Ginchy. The British capture Ginchy - a post of vital strategic importance, as it commands a view of the whole Somme battlefield.
September 15 - The Battle of Flers-Courcelette signifies the start of the third stage of the Somme offensive. Tanks are used for the first time. Despite initial gains the Allies fail to break through the German lines.
September 26 - The Battle of Thiepval. Tanks play a crucial role in the capture of this strategic village.
November 13 - The Battle of Ancre. The fourth phase of the Somme Offensive is marked by the British capturing Beaumont Hamel and St Pierre Division, taking nearly 4,000 prisoners.
December 7 - David Lloyd George elected British Prime Minister.
December 12 - Germany delivers Peace Note to Allies suggesting compromise.
December 18 - The Battle of Verdun ends. It is the longest and costliest battle on the Western Front.
Events of 1917
January 31 - Germany announces the continuation of unrestricted submarine warfare, hoping to starve Britain into submission.
February 3 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany as U-Boats threaten US shipping. Intercepted messages reveal that Germany is provoking the Mexicans into war against the US.
February 21 - The Great German Withdrawal begins. They will evacuate Serre, Miraumont, Petit Miraumont, Pys and Warlencourt, falling back 25 miles to establish stronger positions along the Hindenburg Line.
February 24 - Turkish retreat to Baghdad, abandoning Kut in Mesopotamia.
March 11 - Baghdad is taken by the British after three days fighting.
March 15 - Tsar Nicholas II abdicates as Moscow falls to Russian Revolutionaries. Demise of the Russian Army frees German troops for the Western Front.
March 26 - The First Battle of Gaza, Palestine, as the British attempt to cut off the Turkish forces in Mesopotamia from their homeland. They fail to take the town and are forced to withdraw.
April 6 - US declares war on Germany. Troops begin to mobilise immediately.
April 9 - The Battle of Arras. British successfully employ new tactics of creeping barrages, the 'graze fuse' and counter battery fire.
April 16 - The Second Battle of Aisne begins as part of the 'Nivelle Offensive'. Losses are horrendous, triggering mutinies within the French Army.
April 19 - The Second Battle of Gaza begins in Palestine. The plan consists of nothing more than to throw troops against well prepared Turkish positions. It is eventually called off due to mounting casualties - a loss of 6,000.
June 7 - The Battle of Messines Ridge. The British take the ridge with few casualties, as it is preceded by the detonation of 19 mines under the German front lines. The explosions are reportedly heard from England.
June 13 - Germans launch the first major heavy bomber raid over London. Bombs dropped from 18 Gotha GV aircraft kill 162 people and injure 432.
June 25 - First US troops arrive in France.
July 16 - TE Lawrence and the Arabs liberate Aqaba in Jordan after crossing the Nefu desert. This opens the route north for the Arab army and isolates the Turkish army in Mesopotamia.
July 31 - The Third Battle of Ypres begins along a 15 mile front in Flanders. Initial attacks are successful as the German forward trenches are lightly manned.
August 15 - The Battle of Lens (Hill 70). Canadian troops are in the vanguard of this assault. Hill 70 is only 15 feet higher than the surrounding landscape but it dominates the battlefield. The Canadians take the hill and hold it against five German counter attacks. Allies lose 9,200 men.
August 20 -The Third Battle of Verdun begins. French progress is marked by gaining lost territory in the earlier battles.
October 9 - The third phase of the Ypres offensive begins with the British and French troops taking Poelcapelle. 25mm of rain falls in the next 48 hours on already saturated ground. The previous bombardments smashed the drainage systems and the battlefield turns into a quagmire.
October 12 - The British launch their latest assaults at Ypres against the Passchendaele Ridge. New Zealand and Australian divisions in the vanguard of the attack take terrible casualties, are bogged down in the mud and are forced back to their start lines.
October 19 - The last airship raid on Britain is carried out by 11 Zeppelins.
October 26 - The Second Battle of Passchendaele begins with 20,000 men of the Third and Fourth Canadian Divisions advancing up the hills of the salient. It cost the Allies 12,000 casualties for again of a few hundred yards.
October 30 - Reinforced with the addition of two British divisions, a second offensive is launched in torrential rains to capture Passchendaele. The Allies hold the town for the next five days in the face of repeated German shelling and counterattacks.
October 31 - Battle of Beersheba, Palestine. British forces take the town capturing 1,800 Turkish troops. This leaves the way open for the advance on Jerusalem.
November 7 - British capture Gaza.
November 10 - Battle of Passchendaele ends. After months of fighting, the Allies have advanced only 5 miles, but have taken the high ground that dominates the salient. Half a million men are casualties, of which around 140,000 have been killed.
November 20 - The Battle of Cambrai begins. During the attack, Royal Flying Corps aircraft drop bombs on German anti-tank guns and strongpoints to clear a path for the Allied tanks and ground troops. It is an early example of the 'Blitzkrieg' tactics destined to be used by the Germans so effectively in World War Two.
December 11 - Britain liberates Jerusalem, ending 673 years of Turkish rule.
Events of 1918
January 16 - Riots break out in Vienna and Budapest as Austro-Hungarian populace express mounting dissatisfaction with the war.
March 3 - Soviet Russia concludes separate peace at Brest-Litovsk with Germany and her allies.
March 21 - Second Battle of the Somme marked by the German Spring Offensive, the 'Kaiserschlacht'. Germans attack along a 50 mile front south of Arras.
March 22 - Operation Michael is a complete success. The Germans use new 'Stormtrooper' assault teams to smash through British positions west of St Quentin, taking 16,000 British prisoners.
March 23 - German assaults now reach the Somme Line. The greatest air battle of the war takes place in the skies over the battlefield as 70 aircraft are involved in a single combat.
March 28 - The German offensive along the River Scarpe is halted at great loss. The American Expeditionary Force plays a vital role in the battle.
April 5 - The German Spring Offensive halts outside Amiens as British and Australian forces hold the line. The second 1917 battle of the Somme ends, as Germany calls off Operation Michael.
April 9 - The Battle of the Lys, marked by Operation 'Georgette', is the second German Spring Offensive.
April 22 - Allies carry out raids against the harbours of Ostend and Zeebrugge. Obsolete vessels are driven ashore and blown up in order to blockade the entrances. Zeebrugge is partially successful; the Ostend raid fails.
April 29 - The Battle of the Lys ends. Three British Divisions hold off 13 German divisions, inflicting crippling loss.
May 10 - British launch a second raid on Ostend. HMS Vindictive is this time successfully scuttled in the harbour entrance. German cruisers are no longer able to use the port.
May 19 - The German air force launches its largest and what turns out to be its last raid on London. Out of the 33 aircraft, 6 are lost, while 49 civilians are killed and 177 wounded.
May 27 - Operation Blucher, the Third German Spring Offensive assaults the French army along the Aisne River. The French are forced back to the Marne but hold the river after being reinforced by American troops.
June 9 - The German Fourth Offensive on the Western Front, codenamed 'Gneisenau,' between Noyan and Montdidier. It fails to break the French line and ends four days later.
June 15 - The Second Battle for the Piave River, Italy, opens with a massive offensive by the Austro-Hungarian Army. Italian and British troops first hold and then push back the attackers. Despite heavy losses the Allies destroy the Austro-Hungarian army, precipitating the collapse of the Empire.
July 15 - The second Battle of the Marne marks the final phase of the German Spring Offensive. Allied counterattack inflicts irreplaceable German casualties. The defeat leads to the cancellation of the planned Invasion of Flanders and puts the Germans on the complete defensive.
August 8 - The second Battle of Amiens begins. German resistance is sporadic and thousands surrender. Fighting is now defined by mobility as the lines of trenches are breached.
September 19 - The Battle of Samaria marks the British offensive of Palestine.
September 22 - The Great Allied Balkan Victory.
September 27 - The Great British Offensive on the Cambrai Front leads to the storming of the Hindenburg Line. The Battle of St Quentin - The British and Americans launch devastating offensives, piercing the Hindenburg Line along the Canal Du Nord and St Quentin Canal.
September 30 - British and Arab troops take Damascus, capturing 7,000 prisoners and securing the Middle East for the Allies.
October 4 - The German and Austrian peace proposal is sent to the American President, Woodrow Wilson, requesting an armistice.
October 8 - The Allies advance along a 20 mile front from St Quentin to Cambrai and drive the Germans back 3 miles, taking Cambrai and le Cateau. Over 10,000 Germans are captured.
October 17 - British and American troops launch attacks at the Battle of the Selle. The British liberate Lille and Douai. Belgians retake Ostend and reach Zeebrugge the following day. The whole of the Channel coast in the west of Flanders is liberated.
October 23 - The British launch a night attack with all three of their armies, the First, the Second and the Fourth. This time the British advance six miles in two days. The British are now 20 miles behind the rear of the Hindenburg Line.
October 29 - German sailors aboard the High Seas Fleet at Jade mutiny and refuse to engage the British Fleet in one final battle.
October 30 - The Turkish army surrenders to the British in Mesopotamia. Turkey signs an armistice with the allies. Fighting ceases the following day.
November 3 - At Kiel, German sailors mutiny. Austria-Hungary signs an armistice with the allies.
November 8 - Armistice negotiations between the Allies and Germany begin in Ferdinand Foch's railway carriage HQ at Compiègne.
November 9 - Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and flees to Holland. Revolution in Berlin breaks out.
November 11 - Armistice Day. The Armistice is signed at 5.00am and comes into effect at 11.00am. At 10.57am Canadian Private George Lawrence Price is killed with a single bullet to the chest while on patrol in Canal du Centre. He is the last soldier to die in action on the Western front.
November 14 - General Von Lettow-Vorbeck surrenders his East African forces on the Chambezi River, Northern Rhodesia.
November 21 - The Capitulation of Rosyth - Nine German battleships, five battle-cruisers, seven cruisers and 49 destroyers arrive off Rosyth to surrender. Thirty nine U-Boats surrender off Harwich.
December 12 - The British Cavalry cross the Rhine and begin the Occupation of Cologne.
December 13 - Americans cross the Rhine and occupy bridgehead at Coblenz. Armistice is prolonged for one month until 17th January 1919.
Events of 1919
January 10-15 - Communist Revolt in Berlin.
January 18 - Paris Peace Conference begins.
January 25 - Principle of a League of Nations ratified.
February 14 - Draft of League of Nations completed.
May 6 - Under conditions of the Peace Conference, German colonies are annexed.
June 21 - German High Seas Fleet scuttled at Scapa Flow.
